Spelling

Despite the fact that I am an English major, there are a few words that I never remember to spell correctly. My hope is that after openly aknowledging this on my blog, my problem will be cured.

One of them is awkward. I always want to spell it "akward." It is one of those words where neither one looks right to me.

Another word I always misspell is professor. I always put two f's in it. Why?!

Sugar-coma

Is it possible to get diabetes from just looking at pictures of desserts?

I've recently discovered the fabulous Bakerella (www.bakerella.com) and am quite enjoying looking at her mouth-watering recipes. (With plenty of pictures, of course.)

I love baking, and I can't wait to try some of these recipes...

Like these S'More's cupcakes
And this peanut butter cup fudge cake
Or this cream cheese pound cake

I probably shouldn't make them all in the same week, even though I want to. Heck, I want to go bake them all right now! And then eat them. All. Right now.

But.... I probably shouldn't......

Patented Day-After-Haircut Regret

Well, I got my hair cut yesterday. Finally. It had been like, a year. I have a fear of getting my hair cut.

I never, ever like it. Ever.

Yesterday, after the stylist, a perky spiky-haired girl with tattoos, was finished, I was amazed. I actually liked it! Or so I thought.

When I woke up this morning, there it was. My Patented Day-After-Haircut Regret. There is no cure. Well, except time. It will grow back. And usually after a few days I feel okay. I get used to it, I guess.

I wonder if this is revealing deeper aspects of my personality, like a fear or dislike of change, or maybe just a fear of hairstylists.

This particular haircut must not be that different, because nobody really noticed at work. Greaaat.

Something to think about

I realized something today. Something that I probably should have realized a long time ago.

In looking at the world from the perspective of a "writer," I tend to view my surroundings, and often the people around me, with the slant of a cynic. (Sometimes a very biting one at that.)

Why can't I just see the good in people? I want to. I'm going to make an effort to look for the great smiles and the caring hearts and the intellegence and all of the great things about people. I always hope that people notice the good things about me, and I guess I owe them the same courtesy.

The hard thing about this, is that I don't have a problem seeing the many virtues of those whom I like, but I have a difficult time realizing the merit in those whom I do not like.

Why is it that the negative movie reviews are so much more entertaining than the positive ones? Not only that, but I feel that we all have a tendency to believe the bad comments more than the good ones. And it is the bad ones that stick with you forever, and grate on you like a cheese grater!

Maybe all of my biting comments should be restricted to my creative writing, and not my everyday life. I have a feeling that this will be a habit that is hard to break, but one that is definitely worth breaking.

Irregular...

I am a horrible do-what-I-say-I'm-gonna-do person. Okay, not all the time. I'm usually a reliable person. But apparently I cannot keep up with this blog! I keep saying yadda yadda, I'm gonna write everyday, and all I'm really saying, apparently, is that I will faithfully write for a few days, then get so busy that I don't write for weeks.

Hmm.

Good thing this blog isn't my boyfriend, or he probably would have dumped me.

To make up for being so remiss, I will share an amazing discovery. It is called http://www.dailypuppy.com/. It shows new pictures of puppies every day!! Trust, me. Happiness is just a click away.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday, as you may have inferred from the title.

They were so good! Especially warm from the oven... Why am I writing about it? Well, for one, this is my blog and I can write about whatever the heck I want to, and two, because I ate way too many of said cookies, and now I have a cookie hangover.

I think the only cure is a big glass of milk, an aspirin, and another cookie.

Anthropologie

Anthropologie home is the love of my life. Ok, not really. But I adore their home section. Their bedding, mirrors, furniture, ahh i just love it!

Too bad it is so expensive that I would have to sell myself into slavery to afford it. That is a bit extreme, but really, when you have almost no money, something that costs $300 may as well be $3 million.

Probably my favorite thing is their crazy hardware! I bought two knobs last time I was in their store. Just two, random knobs that I have no use for but desperately needed. If I ever become an eccentric collector, I think my collection of choice will be knobs.

Any way, I occasionally peruse Anthropologie's home section and drool. I'm also working on how to re-create some of their stuff at home. We'll see how it turns out!

It's the little things...

Wow, it has been forever! Sorry folks.

Any who, lately I've been thinking about a few little things that make me happy. I shall now list them.

1. Over-easy eggs. I had them for breakfast this morning, and realized I'd forgotten how incredibly delicious they are! So much better than... hard eggs? Is that what they are called? I just went blank. Moving on.

2. Snuggling with Johnny. Johnny is my dog, fyi. He is not a handsome British guy.

3. Painting my toenails. Even though it is winter, and my feet don't often show, I enjoy keeping my toes painted.

4. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh man, they are so good! I just ate one, and I think I may go for round two. In the words of the Berries and Cream little lad, "Mmm! Delicious!"

5. Gilmore Girls. I freaking love that show! It is a never-fail pick me up. That and Dr. Pepper. (Which I have yet again quit drinking. Mostly.)

6. Coloring with crayons. I find this extremely theraputic! Thanks to my 3 year old cousin for reminding me.

7. The Beattles. I love their music, particularly their early stuff. Major mood-booster.

8. SUNSHINE! The past two days have been *gasp* clear and sunny! Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles! (Now I want to watch Fiddler on the Roof...) Any way, I have all the blinds open today, and I'm considering laying on the carpet in the patch of sun on the floor. 

Well, eight is a somewhat random number, but I am going to go make another sandwich, and turn on Gilmore Girls while sitting on the floor in the sun.  Tee hee!

Lazy

I just had a super great night eating an entire carton-thingy of Ben and Jerry's ice cream while watching a chick flick. Was I attempting to drown my single-ness in said ice cream? Maybe... Yes. Most likely.

Any way, I watched the movie in my room while laying down, and now I am extremely comfortable. The problem? Well, the movie is over, and it is now back to the DVD menu. The song keeps playing over and over again. And over again. I think it is on its five billionth time. I'm too comfortable (and too lazy) to get up and turn it off.

You may be thinking to yourself, hey, this isn't the stone age. Pick up the remote and turn it off!

I'd love to, except my remote fell victim to the great battery-theft of 2009. So here I sit, remoteless, sick from ice cream, and listening to the same two minute song looped over and over again. I will get up soon, though, because I have to pee.

And you probably didn't want to know that. Don't blame me. This is coming from the girl who just ate an entire carton of ice cream... so obviously I'm only so so in the sanity department.

Happy freakin Valentine's Day.

Too hasty to judge...

I have been told before that I am judgmental. Maybe I am... but with good reason. I am usually right.

However, when I am wrong about someone, I'm the first to admit it.

In this case, I was too hasty to judge a certain musical artist. When I first heard one of her songs, I hated it. It was associated with an unpleasant situation, and I vehemently opposed her, and her music.

That being said, I have come to love said artist. I listen to her music all the time, including the song that I initially despised.

Wanna know who it is? Colbie Caillat. Yep, that's right. I'm officially a fan of her. I love her voice, and her mellow sound.

There you go, universe. I was wrong!
Sorry, though, Taylor Swift. My original opinion of you still stands.

Cleaning my room

I started cleaning my room today. I quickly remembered how easy it is to get distracted while cleaning one's room.

Oh, here is a box of old pictures!
Here are some letters!
Here is a story I wrote a long time ago!

Needless to say, it takes forever to get anything done. Of course, not everyone lets their rooms get to the state that I do...that is, the point where it looks like a large hurricane blew through. So it takes longer to clean than those with two shirts and a magazine on the floor. (Or something to that affect.)

I didn't finish. But seeing as how I'm unemployed currently, I should have no problem finishing it tomorrow. Sigh.

So many books, so little time

I have officially decided that I would need five clones of me who did nothing but read 24/7 to get to all the good books out there.

Not only do I have my already favorite books, which I re-read at least once a year, there are quadrillions of great books that I have never read, or even heard of. It is extremely overwhelming!

That being said, I can never seem to think of books to buy, and always end up searching the store, or randomly grabbing something because the cover is pretty. (Yes, the old adage is completely lost on me.)
I should go to the library, but the library here smells funny, and between the incidents of the cross-dressing bearded man, and the librarian with a goofy wig and bow tie, and the fact that every book older than ten years looks like it has been dunked in a coffee pot, I've mostly steered clear.

I just found a blog of a woman who reviews "clean reads." This is a veritable treasure trove to me, because I hate nothing worse than to get into a book and have it ruined with offensive content. Of course, most of the books I have to read for my English classes have offensive content, but that is beside the point.

Any way, the blog is homespunlight.blogspot.com
Kind of a cheesy name, but if someone is willing to wade through and find clean, enjoyable books, I don't care what she calls her blog.

On my "to read list," thanks to homespulight, are:
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Patillo
Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George,
Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfiled
The Companion by Ann Granger
Hearts in Hiding by Brannon Green
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman

I can't wait to get reading! But I have a few more chapters of A Painted House by John Grisham...(A great read, by the way.)
Oh dear. What happened to that list of classics I was supposed to read on my semester off?

Here I am again

Hello again. I'm back.

Boy are things complicated at the moment! I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life, a daunting task... so far my top options are:

1. Traveling Wastrel
Job Description: travel the world spending little or no money
Dress Code: anything that doesn't show dirt. Comfortable/casual. Facial hair preferable.
Starting Pay: $0... in fact, it COSTS money
Job Perks: Free workout, seeing the world (at least until you die of starvation)

2. Beach Bum
Job Description: live on the beach 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Make friends with other beach bums so you don't starve.
Dress Code: Shorts, swim suit, light sweater. Shoes are optional.
Starting Pay: $0 **
Job Perks: Free tanning
**Plane ticket not provided

3. Crazy Person
Job Description: any abnormal behavior
Dress Code: pick any one color and only wear that
Starting Pay: Whatever the state funds for your rehabilitation
Job Perks: free doughnuts.**

** Not really... I made that up.

Ok, so as you can tell, it is looking pretty bleak. Sigh.
First things first, I need a job. Wish me luck! I guess option 3 is always a good back up plan.

Tallyho.

 

Nothing to write about

I am getting extremely lazy about updating this thing...

The snow makes me feel uninspired. I haven't done any creative writing since I got back to the snow. Granted, in Hawaii I was in an actual creative writing class, required to write. But I am filled with new determination to not only do some serious reading during my semester "off.," but to do some serious writing as well. Not serious as in writing about heart attack and war-type things, but serious as in making myself do it on a regular basis.

No, this is not a new year's resolution.

Coughing Sucks

I've had a cough for two weeks. Blech!!
I hate coughing! I'm sitting there, minding my own business, happy as the proverbial clam, and WHAM! I'm coughing like a seventy year old man with emphysema.
I wish I could just cough up a hairball like a cat and be done with it. Ok, that's gross. But I think it would be better than hacking for two weeks straight!
I'm going to blame the freezing cold, dry air here in Alaska. My lungs apparently got attacked while weakened from breathing the warm, moist air of Hawaii for almost six months.
I've been taking Mucinex. I'm not sure how I feel about supporting their company, though. For one, because their commercials are disgusting, and two, because it hasn't really worked at all. But I'm not really sure what it is supposed to do in the first place. The offensive commercials are somewhat ambiguous.
I suppose there is nothing to do but endure until my body gets rid of it on its own.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pick my lung up off the floor.

New Year

So. It is 2010. Strange. I set a great precedent for the rest of the year by sleeping in until eleven.

I wonder how many people are starting diets today, and how many of them have already broken their diets today?

I don't like New Year's resolutions. By the end of the year, if I haven't accomplished them, I feel like crap. I think setting goals is good, I guess, but I have never been very good with writing down goals and accomplishing them. I like to recognize goals after I've accomplished them. For example, I ended this semester with straight A's. That was not necessarily a goal of mine-not that I had openly acknowledged, anyway-but when I got straight A's, I said to myself, "Good job, Beth! You totally accomplished your goal of getting straight A's!"

It gave me a good, accomplishy feeling inside.

So my New Year's resolution is to accomplish at least one great goal that I didn't know I had! And look at that, "Good job, Beth! You updated your blog today, thereby accomplishing that goal!" Now I can relax until next year... anything else can be considered surplus goal-accomplishing.