Forgetting the Past is Hard to do.

So I found my 8th grade journal while digging in the garage today. Let's just say that reading it was a bit humbling. No matter how smart we think we've always been, at one time we were stupid teenagers with an impossible crush. Check this:

APRIL 19, 2003
 I didn't do much today, I thought about Clancy* again. His real name is Clancy Jones, I don't know his middle name. I really like him. I should say that I like things about him. I don't really know a ton about him. I know he plays guitar, I can kinda play the drums-- we could be a musically talented couple. He is a skater, too! He is also popular, the curse of any not super popular but not unpopular girl's crush. He seems so unattainable I know he would never go for a girl like me.

Really, Kristi!? Really? How ridiculous was that? I don't even remember thinking these things let alone writing them down. I'm blushing right now. Gosh, that's awful. The journal just gets worse from there, devolving into amateur sketches and declarations of unrequited love. I was a sad little girl.

I'll say this though, any guy I'm with will know how I feel about him. Apparently, I have lots of love to give. Crikey.

*Name changed to preserve my dignity...and his.

Bah!

I've decided that after this post I will no longer write an apology post after not blogging in forever. Blogging means never having to say you're sorry, right? Besides, it ain't no thang, I'm back now.

I love that phrase,"ain't no thang". I giggle inside every time I say it. People probably hate me. So enjoy it, this my last apology post. Sorry.

All-Hoochies Eve

What is it about Halloween that suddenly makes it okay for girls to dress like a slightly classier version of a hooker working her corner? Bees aren't sexy. They sting you and in some extreme cases even cause death. Ladybugs aren't sexy. They're bugs.

Same with the sexy maid costumes. While I understand that the thought of having someone come in and clean your house for you weekly so you don't have to inspires certain feelings, most maids I've met are older women trying to earn some "mad money". Not exactly Megan Fox.

It baffles me. And kind of makes me sick. All growing up, we had one real rule about Halloween-- we had to be something scary. I've been a ruthless witch, a heartless pirate wench, and a mystically terrifying gypsy. I think there were a few early years where we did cutesy family costumes, but that was it. I distinctly remember once asking my mom if I could be a princess. She responded with a , "you can be a zombie princess who wants to eat everyone's brains." I didn't want blood on my princess gown, so I chose something else.

I always had fun Halloweens and I never felt the need to flash the cleavage or show a massive amount of my pale thighs. For the better of everyone, ultimately. Let's keep our goodies in our treat bags, yes? Thanks.

Consistency

I suck at consistency. My follow-through has never been very good. I always have the best of intentions. I always plan on cleaning my room each day so it stays nice. I always plan on doing my laundry weekly in order to avoid a clothes pile up. I always plan on writing oodles each day. I always plan on being a better blogger. Then life gets in the way and makes everything all hinky. I'm working on it.

In Love

I'm obsessed with this version of Frou Frou's "Holding Out For A Hero". Ella Mae Bowen has a beautiful voice.

I may or may not have had an impromptu techno dance party in my underwear with my sister, while trying to clean my room. Some techno songs are really fun.

Impact

When I was a senior in high school, every student had to complete The Power of One project in order to graduate. This included a report using a specific individual to answer the question , "Does one individual have the power to change the world?" We were allowed to agree or disagree with the question, but our research needed to culminate in a 15+ page report and a 20 minute presentation given to our peers.

I chose Alice Paul, an American suffragette , who fought for a woman's right to vote.  She was an integral part to bringing about the 19th amendment. You all should check out Iron Jawed Angels, it was one of my favorite movies in high school.

I believe that one person does have the power to change the world. I believe that we all have that want, that need, inside of us to leave a mark. We want to leave something behind, to show that we were here.

It's human of us to want to leave a legacy. When I die , I want to have done something important, something worthwhile. It doesn't even have to be big. Just something that changed because of me.

All the greats in the world were just one man or woman. The marks they left started as ideas, as desires to make things different than they already were.

So do it. Get an idea and change the world. See the potential and make it happen. We all have a mark to leave, a gift to give. Let's get moving.

It's a BOO-tiful Season Part 1

My mother is officially obsessed with Halloween. I've never seen her like this before. It's madness. There's a pic bomb going on in this post, and this isn't even the half of it.

Our porch is decorated, our mantle, part of the hallway, the living room, family room, and she wants to attack our bathroom as well.

It's a little bit ridiculous, right? We don't even really get any kids stopping by for candy.

You got to love her, when she goes big , she goes BIG!

Our Hitleresque vamp jack o' lantern window cling.

Ready to begin.

Witches hat underway.

Homemade wreath and fun door garland.

2 of the skull masks we glittified.

My mom really likes the spider webs, we have like 15 packs.

Black hat with purplish feathers and various colored jewels.

Covering the 3D skull in glitter. We used spray adhesive and started shaking.

Have you seen this? I watched this fake trailer last fall and cracked up! I stumbled upon it again and thought I'd share it with all of you.

Jane Austen's Fight Club - watch more funny videos

Craft Collection

These puppies are a part of the collection of craft ideas I want to try out. I saw these shirts at Old Navy a while back and thought they were adorable. The yellow one wasn't in my size, and the pink one was more expensive than I liked. Come on though, who wouldn't want fringe on their shirt!? Huh? That's right! Everyone should want fringe on their tee.

I totally think I could make these with a freezer paper stencil and some fringe and a sewing machine. It seems like it could be relatively simple. Sometime soon, I'm going  to whip these out!

Grave Raver

This guy is called the Grave Raver. My mom bought him for me last night when we were perusing the shelves in Walgreen's. Is it just me, or does he just make you giggle? I can't help but start to dance when the music starts playing.



I recorded a video of mine dancing, but Blogger was being weird and wouldn't let me upload it, so I found this vid on good ol' YouTube. I got the first skeleton shown, I personally think he's better than the 2nd one.

Sunday Snapshot

Do you not feel like fierce x 1000 when your hair is all gussied up? I do.

Update

Russell Stover also makes marshmallow skeletons. Win.

Ta-da!!

The big reveal!!!

New cut and color! Deep auburn with lots of layers and side-swept bangs. I cut a good 5-6" off.

Left: Length comparison Right: Color comparison.

About time...

I'm getting my hair done today, and it's about darn time. This hair has seen no love since the end of March. That's right, over 6 months ago!!! I'll try to be a good little blogger and post pics of the finished product, but it will be later because I have to babysit like all day.

Evolution

The propensity for change that we, as humans, have has always amazed me. The idea that the things that we once loved so much, mean next to nothing to us now, is fascinating. Hairstyles come and go, Hollywood crushes fade, and sometimes that desire to collect trickles off.

We evolve. We grow. That which we once thought was the only thing we would ever love turns out not to be the end all be all.

When I was 10 years old, I was convinced that there would never be a time in the future that I wouldn't LOVE Pokemon cards. I was obsessed. I wasn't one of the posers either. I could battle. I laid out my energies like they were going out of style, blasting rival players with attack after attack.

Vulpix was always one of my fave Pokemon's. She kind of cute, no?

Every Friday after school, Ian, Katie, and I would walk down to Collector's Choice and buy a pack of Pokemon cards. Hoping that in said pack was a holographic card, or that it had a tiny star in the bottom right corner, hailing it a rare and sought-after Pokemon.

That box of cards that I so carefully and lovingly watched over as a youngster has been shoved under my bed. My money goes towards different things now. Books, clothes, music. Not better or worse passions, just different.

Music, I think, is where my tastes have really changed. In middle school and high school, you couldn't have paid me to listen to any slow songs. I was all about the drum beat and guitar riffs. The louder the better. I liked to hear the music pulsing. It felt alive some how.

I'm not sure when that changed, college maybe. There are sometimes that all I need to make it through the day is a soothing croon from Missy Higgins. The tinkling on piano keys or the smooth twang of a guitar. These songs feed my soul.

I'll hear a song and listen to it on repeat, unable to not have the sound surrounding me. Katie, more than anyone, has noticed my palette change.  When we listen to my iPod while cleaning the kitchen and one of my smooth tunes comes on, she says, "Your music is weird." And it might be. It probably is weird. I just know that I need it.

Songs 1-4 and 11 were my angsty tunes that I loved when I was "angry" at the world. 5-10 are some of the chill beats that I love dearly now a'days. (I still kind of  dig the angsty tunes, )

 

  

Confession

This is going to out me as the total treat freak that I am, but one of my favorite things about holidays are the variously shaped, chocolate covered marshmallow candies from Russell Stovers. As it's Halloween, we are gifted with delicious pumpkins.

They are just the right combination of soft and hard. You get a crisp bite of snapping chocolate, followed by the fluffiness of marshmallow. Spot on awesomeness.

** Other varieties include Santa, Easter eggs, and hearts.

Cheater, Cheater.

So I've finally caught up on my 30 Day Blog Challenge. If you're real smart (or not smart at all), you've probably realized that I've been back-posting a lot of my entries. This is because I suck. I went out of town during the middle of the challenge and never really got back into the swing of things.

I have a few more posts on the back burner that I'm working on right now, and hope to have up soon. Here's the challenge I did if you're interested at all.

Remember

This post comes a little late but I've been thinking about it for weeks

but I wanted to get caught up with my other posts before posting new ones.

 

10 years ago today I was sitting in my living room reading a book before class. It was 6:30 in the morning and I was up early because my room was dirty and I had to get up to clean it. My dad called the house and told me to turn on the news. He was at the church where he had driven my sister to seminary that morning.

I turned on the TV and saw the towers. I watched the replay as the 2nd plane hit the towers.  I gasped out loud. I remember not being able to catch my breath. I didn't understand what was happening. I was a 12 year-old 7th grader with limited world experience. I knew, in an abstract sense,  that bad things happened. That there were people that made these bad things happen.

I was sick all day. At school, everyone seemed to me moving in a fog. I remember being in line for lunch when someone popped their chip bag and it sounded kind of like a gun shot. Everyone screamed and I ducked to the ground. Some people laughed. I remember wanting to cry.

The world didn't make sense after that. The idea that there were people in the world that would kill people simply because they were American shook me.

All those lives lost in the initial attack and those of the brave men and women who charged in to help will not go unremembered. 

I was listening to this song on the way home from San Jose a couple of weeks ago and it hit me. In this twisted world, we need to stand together. United we stand. Love one another. Be excellent to each other.

Day 30: A photograph of you today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days.

  Not the best quality pic, but it was taken with my iPhone because I was too lazy to scrounge up my camera and then transfer the photos to my laptop.

So. Three good things that have happened in the last 30 days

1. My friend and fellow blogger, Stacey Bond, came for a visit that consisted of a lot of watching The IT Crowd and painting our nails.
2. I got to go to Salinas to see some friends from college. It was heavenly. Not only seeing my peeps, but also because it was for reals 30 degrees cooler there than in Clovis.
3. I finally found a pair of black boots for the fall!! They're amazing! And I got them on major clearance. Sweetness!!

Via

Day 29: A TV show you're currently addicted to.

Ok. So anyone that knows me, knows that I am a mondo fan of the picture box. I love tv shows. I get all giddy and emotionally invested in them.

A show that I've been a little obsessed with this summer is Rookie Blue on ABC. Though not super heavy on the really gritty side of law enforcement, this dramedy, is character driven. I like the characters and think that Ben Bass kind of kicks butt as Officer Sam Swarek, he's a little dreamy.

Day 28: Your favorite band or singer and why.

I don't really have a definitive band or artist that is my favorite. I have "Favorite Artists of the Moment", though, and my favorite artist of the moment is Elli Goulding. I've listened to her album Lights on repeat for a couple of weeks.