Oh weather

Spring is occasionally in the air. It was sunny and warm on Friday. Today it snowed. So, naturally the world is a little confused and no one knows what's going on or who's in charge of what. The snow elves keep making that white stuff because the orders for the winter-weather-halt was misplaced between the pansy layout and the request for lily-bulb upgrades. It's all in chaos, more or less, but we manage by wearing our coat while carrying flip-flops (just in case). I just hope they get it settled soon. I want a warm weekend!

Things I Love About Life

• Swimming
• Movies (good ones with friends, snuggles, and candy)
• Letter-writing
• Inside jokes
• Rolling down hills
• Absolutely wonderful younger siblings
• Inspiring older siblings
• Silly parents
• A friend finding happiness
• Creating something you like
• Worrying you're going to fail, then not failing
• Jamming out to a great song
• Sunshine
• Discovering a new and wonderful book
• Passion
• Jumping in puddles
• Laughing
• Making someone laugh
• Realizing you do homework better than you thought
• Good food
• Hot chocolate
• Warm showers
• The clickity-click of this keyboard

And much much more!

Good Ol' Monty

I took a Monty Python class last semester, and I loved it. I thought I'd share with you one of my more favorite skits. Perhaps it will brighten your weekend.

A List of Creativity

I have been feeling the need for some newness and creativity. You know how it gets when you just want to express yourself or do something but your cramped by space, time, and money?

So I've compiled a list to help get one out of a creative/activity slump:

• Take a good picture (it may take a few tries. That's the point.)
• Find new music you like
• Find a new blog to follow
• Paint something (a card, a painting, a chair, etc.)
• Try a new hairdo
• Do some crazy makeup
• Write a haiku
• Bake something (delicious)
• Do yoga
• Rearrange your furniture
• Watch an artsy movie
• Tie a scarf or belt around your person in some new manner
• Sew something (a button onto something, your initials, etc.)
• Cut some paper (into shapes or make a pop-up card)

So there you go, if you're ever in need for a creative pick-me-up, I hope this helps.

Have a good day!

Some More Pretty Pictures

So today, class, we are exploring some American painters. I hope you enjoy (I certainly did).

Inness "Home of the Heron"

Don't you just feel it? That brooding expectation?

Cassatt "Breakfast in Bed"

Isn't this just beautiful and wonderfully understated?

I love her profile, and for some reason her right arm. It's very elegant, but that right arms adds a great deal of reality to the piece.

Apparently she was quite the scandal, with numerous affairs and possible abortions (very daring for the time period). You know women of the age would sometimes put arsenic on their skin to make it translucent (so you could see the blue veins underneath. How strange!)

Whistler, "Blackboard"

I love her dress, the texture and such.

The British Language

Here are some fun British phrases I hope you'll enjoy:

Lollipop man: The crossing guard in front of schools.

Jam tomorrow: a common expression meaning that if you do something today you'll be rewarded tomorrow.

nouse: common sense; intelligence

scupper: to defeat (originally it was used in the Hornblower sense, as in to sink an enemy ship)

chuffed: delighted, pleased ("chuffed to bits")

Sod off!: Go away!

moose: unpleasant, boring; ugly person

Family White Elephant

Every after Christmas and before New Year's we have a family adult Christmas party that includes the passing of white elephant gifts. This year this is what my brother brought:

In case you can't tell that is a drum cymbal with a self-help relationships video, a glow stick, and hand warmers taped onto it. It was voted as one of the worst gifts present. The other gift that tied for worst was my cousin's sack lunch that he took out of his car and wrapped up with the host's wrapping paper.

This party is usually very fun, as my family can get quite creative with what they bring. There were also some Cialis pill boxes (empty, but containing money), a plethora of dollar-store man-candy calendars, a jar full of homemade puppets' heads, and I think my personal favorite was a live lobster wrapped up in a macey's clothing box. Ah, family.