Waitin for Lost

So Tyson and I were killing time while we waited for Lost to fill our DVR. We like to fast forward through all the commercials. Tyson was being all cute taking a few self portraits and I ... well, I am what I am.

Sorry about the little patch of back-skin showing. I didn't realize how glaringly obvious my immodesty was.

Take me out to the ball game!

So last night the weather was warm, the sun was out, the grass was freshly cut and it was a perfect night for a ball game. And what do you know! Tyson just happened to have a softball game scheduled that night.

Here's a shot of the field all empty and waiting for some players.

Hey, there's a player now! It's my cute love putting his cleats on.

Here I am! Notice that I have that look in my eye as if I don't want my picture taken and yet I took this picture myself. Heh heh.

Okay so game time right!? ... Um, hello?... Game... time...?

Well, turns out the other team didn't have enough guys show up to play so it was an automatic forfeit. In other words... WE WIN!!! HOORAY!

The Next Day

So, lets give this another try. Lucky for us, Tyson had another softball game scheduled for tonight, you know, since he won that one last night and all.

GOOOOOO BAAAAAAABE!!!!

It was about this point that I got distracted by the beautiful sky behind the game. Maybe it's a good omen for our team!

There's my guy in the blue shorts far far away looking all casual after making an amazing catch to get a guy on the other team out. I was especially proud because all the wives on the sidelines cheered for that one. See, we pay attention!

And to really prove that I pay attention I keep score every game. Notice how close the game was, but who won? Allow me to explain the method to my madness. The little 1 next to the A means that the "away" team went first. each dash is a run, and the little squiggly in the upper left corner is where my pen ran out of ink.

So typically the Home team is Tyson's team, well because he lives in my home, and the Away team is the other team, our enemies. Unfortunately at some point when the teams were tied I forgot what I was doing and marked the other team's score on the Home team side.

So yeah, you guessed it. Tyson's team lost by one agonizing run. Dang!
Maybe he'll feel better if I buy him some peanuts and cracker jacks? Or maybe that will just make me feel better, ah well, either way!

The Shirt

I was going through my closet looking for something to wear when I found this shirt hidden in the back.

Cute shirt huh? Bet you're wondering why its hidden in the back of my closet.

Well, I'll tell ya.

The last time I wore this shirt (and by last I mean the most recent time AND the very last time) was in February of this year. Now I had no business wearing this shirt in the dead of winter with its short sleeves and all but I thought it was cute and I had just gotten it for Christmas! Anyway, I had worn it all day and kept it on when I went to my friend's wedding reception. Tyson and I were enjoying ourselves what with eating the wedding food and mingling with other guests... Okay, truth. We actually didn't really know anyone there besides the bride and so we were standing in a hallway sipping lemon water wondering how soon we could leave without being impolite.

And that's when the unthinkable happened.

The mother of the bride, who (whom?) I knew, saw me and came over to say hi. As she left she leaned forward, patted my stomach, and winked at me with that "knowing" look in her eye. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the only people who get their stomachs patted and who get that look are pregnant women. I don't meant to state the obvious but I was not, and am not preggo.

What could I do!? What should I say!?

I was speechless so I just smiled back at her and silently cursed that 5th piece of pizza that I clearly should not have eaten. I grabbed my coat, buttoned it up to my chin then looked around for the bride wondering if I should silently make my escape or say goodbye before I left. Well, I did find her and explained the "situation" so that she wouldn't think I had gotten pregnant without telling her. That led into a whole other conversation of humiliation where I unbuttoned my coat to show her the shirt and everyone had a good laugh but me.

So, to make a long story short we eventually got out of there and I went home and did 500 crunches as I burned the shirt. Ok, not really about burning the shirt... or the crunches.

The shirt remains in the back of my closet.

So I've been thinking...

And I know this is a scary and dangerous thing. What I've been thinking is that I kinda want to get my hair cut. Now, I've been growing my hair out for like 5 years so this is a huge decision, and one that I would rather not take lightly. So I started looking on the internet for pictures of styles that I like and ran across a program that lets you load a picture of yourself and try lots of different hairstyles and colors. Have you seen those? Well pshh. I can definitely do that stuff on my own! I don't need to pay for some program to do it for me!

First things first I need to find a good picture...

Ack! No! Not this one. Yikes.

Okay this is better. I appreciate that it is more um, recent if you will.

Okay! Lets get started.

I'll give her some bangs and a new short do....

Alrighty then. Looks like a helmet. And believe me it would totally look like a helmet in real life too. So I'm gonna say that's a no on that one.

Lets go a slightly different direction...

Maybe a little longer with a side-swept bang.

Hey, not bad! That actually turned out kinda nice.

We could even add a little more length to it and see what it looks like.

Yeah, I like it!

Maybe I would like being a blond?

Ooh!

Or something a little more funky...

Nice, it definitely brings out my eyes.

How about one of those cute pixie haircuts?
That could really be nice...

Or not.

Yeah, that's really not so good.

At this point Tyson wandered over and wanted to see what I was doing. He told me that if you outline your face it makes you look like a cartoon. Maybe that only works for some people. I'm pretty sure what I actually look like is a drag queen.

Well, I would say that was really successful! If you would like me to give you some great ideas for a new do, feel free to send me your picture, I'd be happy to do it. As a bonus I will definitely outline your face in black so you look like a cartoon!

If I actually cut my hair I'll be sure to show you all!

Dear human girl next door,

I just wanted to start this letter by thanking you for allowing me to bark all night. My humans were not home and I was forced to protect our apartment with my intimidating yapping. I also get nervous when I'm alone for long periods of time (don't tell anyone) and keeping you awake always makes me feel better. And hey! Thanks for barking along with me! Okay, honestly I couldn't really tell if you were barking or yelling but you know me... the glass is always half full. You were, of course, barking.

I did want to apologize for scaring you the other day though; my condolences to your bladder. I truly thought you would like me sneaking up on you and snarling at your butt. I guess not every one appreciates my superior sense of humor. I promise I will snap at you from at least 3 feet away from now on.

Oh, and believe me when I say I am mortified that the contents of one of my "deposits" ended up on your shoe. I swear I don't know how that got there, I thought my human always cleaned up after me. I guess it's hard to keep up with such an exquisite canine specimen. Personally, I don't mind the odor, but judging from the fact that you left your shoes on your doorstep for three days I'd guess you don't appreciate it like I do.

Well, thanks for "listening". If you need me to bite you or eat your trash or anything don't hesitate to call.

I love you,

Barf-Breath*

*Dog's name has been changed to protect identity

Why...

is it that watching shows like The Biggest Loser always make me do

THIS!?

Is it that the show is so fabulous I secretly aspire to be a contestant myself? Or that the people on the show are always talking about food? I think it's that I'm so hypnotized by the activity on the screen that I don't realize the irony of what I'm doing or how many of these delicious little morsels I've eaten. Just look at my glazed-over eyeballs. There is no way I am responsible for this!

Well, now that I've gotten that off my chest I think it's time for a cupcake.

Hiking the Y

Saturday night Tyson and I had a fun time going out and hikin' the Y. We wanted to enjoy the lovely weather and get a workout so this seemed the perfect solution!

Okay! I'm ready to go!

Show us where it's at babe! Yep, that is the Y up there. Bring it on! I am ready!

This is where I told Tyson I was tired and wanted to go home.

Whew, we made it! Okay, not really. This was just our first break.

Here I am taking yet another break. See the little 4 on that post? Yeah, we were on switchback 4 of 13. Ugh.

Huff. (I hate my life)

Puff. (I wish I was wearing shorts)

I'm coming babe! (You know, he RAN ahead of me to take these pictures. RAN.)

We made it!!!

We brought a couple of sandwiches to eat as we sat atop the Y.

I am LOVING mine.

The view from here was glorious. I could look at this view all day.

Look! I can see my grandparent's house. Hi Grandma!!!

We saw this bird walking on the trail on our way back down. It looked cooler and bigger in real life so I took its picture. What is that Dad?

We were too sweaty and hideous for a 'real' picture. Okay Tyson wasn't but I was. He is never hideous.

Hi everyone!

Today...

is my birthday.
I'm just gonna put it out there.

Don't you just love hearing the date of your birthday knowing that it is your day? I love that. Like on commercials, "Sale ends May 12", "Free phones May 12", "Buy by May 12".

May twelfth

05/12/83

May 12

May 12

May twelfth

05/12

May 12

Oh I love it, so much fun. May 12. Oh sorry, that last one slipped out.

I have found that I am beginning to feel the horror of growing older that many adults experience on their birthdays. I have also found that the discomfort can be alleviated by telling people you are turning 22 instead of 25. Most of my friends believe it. That's the beauty of still being in college.

I wasn't sure what I really wanted to say today besides that I felt in the mood to post something. So I think I'll tell a story that pretty well sums up my life.

One day, in about 3rd grade I think, I was outside at recess with my friend Jen. We were standing by a metal horse and I decided that I wanted to sing her a song.

"Jen, wanna hear me sing somethin?"
"Ok"

So I launched into my spectacular 9-year-old version of "part of your world" or whatever it's called from the little mermaid. I finished the final note with my childish shaky voice vibrato and looked at her waiting for the praise.

"Um, what's that?" She said, her eyes never straying from my face.
"What?"
"That thing by your nose. Is that a booger?"

I reached up. Yes. Yes it was a booger. I'm pretty sure we called them cliffhangers actually. You can imagine how I felt. Luckily for us all I have pushed through the pain and have been able to sing again.
I just check my nose first.

I don't think I have ever shared that story with anyone. It's a refreshing experience just laying it all out there like that. You should try it. In fact you can tell me your embarrassing stories if you want. I won't judge you. And Jen, if you're out there, do you remember that? I hope not.

So that is the story that I have chosen to tell you on this momentous day. It is probably an innappropriate birthday story since it has nothing to do with anyone's birthday, least of all my own. But that's okay. After all it's MAY 12. My day.

Ode to Mom

Mom,

You taught me how to tie my shoes,

You hugged me when I had the blues.

You showed me how to put on hose.

You held me while I blew my nose.

You did so much to show you care,

You even took the time to brush my hair.

We made some crafty little things,

Do you remember those wooden earrings?

Back before we had dot com,

My friends said you were the prettiest mom.

Even then I knew I was proud,

Although I didn't say it out loud.

I appreciate all the things that you do,

I hope to someday be more like you.

So even though we're all away,

I wish you a Happy Mother's Day!

Love,

Mari

The time I was a vegetarian

Once upon a time, a few years ago, I decided that I wanted to be a vegetarian. I wasn't really a fan of red meat so I figured it would work... plus I just wanted to tell people I was a vegetarian.

I don't know why.

Anyway, about a week later I was thinking to myself, "You know, I should probably eat poultry. Chicken is good for you and it's not like it's a cow or anything. It barely even counts as meat!"

So I became a vegetarian who ate chicken. On rare occasions. When I could afford it. (I was a single, poor, college student at the time) That had a good run. I was feeling strong, healthy, proud of my new status as a pseudo-vegetarian when bam!

Junior Bacon Cheeseburger

*Sigh*

Thus ends The Time I was a Vegetarian.

Tagged

So I've gotten tagged a couple times lately and I thought it was about time I respond to them! So here goes.

Tag #1: The Bag Tag

In this tag you have to talk about your favorite bag and expose to the world everything that is in it... Without cleaning it out first, yikes!

Here goes.

This is my beloved bag. My mommy dearest got it for me for Christmas this year and I've used it everyday since then. I love it!! (Thank you mutha)

And here are the contents of that bag. I'm always surprised at all the things that can be squished into one little purse.

The main items are uh, miscellaneous trash, candy wrappers, a piece of candy (okay, I actually ate that piece before the picture was taken... oops) pens, checkbook, name tag from UMEA conference, bogus tickets to conference, lip gloss, 37 bobby pins (oh that's where they are!), and my trusty pitch pipe.

I seriously thought that doing this would at the very least get me to clean out my purse but no. I just stuffed everything back in just the way it was before.

Oh, and you may notice the lack of wallet in this mishmash. That's because it's in my backpack. Gotta love school!

Tag #2: Middle Name Tag

Now, I've got to describe myself using the letters of my middle name. Luckily it's a short one!

J-Joyous

E-Energetic/Eccentric

A-Antsy

N-Noisy

Okay! All done! Now I tag... pretty much anyone who wants to do this. Maybe if you do it you'll clean your purse... unlike me.

Lost keys anyone...?

They are always in the last place you look.

Yes, this would be the outside door of my apartment.

The notes went sour

When the seam split

So what is that magic word that will bring clarity to this crazy sentence???

Bagpipes

Cool Lesson

So just when I was getting used to the idea that the semester was over... I started summer classes. Yes, yesterday was the first day of classes, not even a week after my last final. Even though I'm not sure that I'm ready for school again so soon, it should be a good semester. One class that I think is going to be really interesting is my Educational Psychology course. We started off with a lesson on the schema theory which basically says that we learn new info by making connections to old info. Anyway, our teacher had a cool exercise to demonstrate how our students feel when we are trying to teach them something without activating prior knowledge. So I thought I would share.

The notes went sour

when the seam split

Makes no sense right? At least it made no sense to me when my teacher wrote it on the board. It just takes one word to activate your prior knowledge and bring clarity to this sentence and I will reveal that word.... Later. Yes, I will pull a Jessica (love you Jess!) and wait 'til everyone has had a chance to read this before I reveal the magic word. If you figure it out or already know the word (Rebekah...) don't tell!!

Oh, and one more thing!

The results from last semester are in and I got 11A's and one, yes ONE, lousy A-. Not bad I must admit even though that one little - will drive me crazy for a little while. So close... yet so far...