Word Vomit

I'm incapable of forming rational thoughts (and sentences) when around attractive members of the opposite sex. My brain starts shooting out nonsense information which turns into word vomit. Word vomit and bad jokes. Really, really bad jokes that people only laugh at, not with.

I was sitting in the cafeteria with some friends when a really attractive guy (bacon for sure, but that's for another post) sat down beside me.

"My friends were sitting here but I guess they left me."

He said that sentence. All I heard was a choir of angels singing.

"Oh, it's ok, you can sit with us."

In my angel-induced fog, I managed that coherent sentence.

I munched on my salad and he joined in on our conversation about class and how ridiculously packed the caf has been lately because the freshmen haven't figured out that caf food sucks.

When the salad was gone and the rest of us were contemplating real food, I glanced over at his plate.

"Your chicken looks good," I stated, and he put a protective hand over it.

Surely he's joking, I thought, so I added a ridiculous joke:

"Give me your chicken!"

In a high-pitched robotic voice.

Yes, I said robotic. And yes, that was a joke. One of those jokes you laugh at, not with.

Except to him, it wasn't even funny enough to laugh at.

He excused himself and left.

Like I said, word vomit.

Mundane Monday

1. Mustard Yellow

is my new favorite color. I have been dreaming of a cardigan to wear this fall in the very color. It goes with browns, greens, blues- the possibilities are endless. So when I saw this cardigan at Old Navy (my favorite store), I HAD to buy it. The blue dress was on sale, so I thought, why not? Pretty cute Monday ensemble if I do say so myself.

2. Western Civ

has got to be the most boring class I have taken thus far in my college career. Don't get me wrong, I like history. However, the 1300's holds none of my interest. In class today, I skipped 30 chapters ahead and read about World War 2. I am a total WW2 junkie.

3. Chapel

As if Harding doesn't have enough couples everywhere, I sit behind the most affectionate couple ever in chapel. If you want to hold and rub each other's legs, sit in the student center at 9 every morning instead of in front of me, please. And come on man, get your head off of your girlfriends shoulder. You look dumb. (And next time you kiss her shoulder in the middle of a song or prayer, I will kick you in the face.)(I actually won't.)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

KAAG

Dear Kaylee,

You are moving to Idaho in a few days to attend Brigham-Young University.

You are excited. Too excited for my liking.

Did you know Idaho is 1,516.5 miles from Searcy?

On my drive home from your house tonight, I kept thinking about all of our memories. Remember when we became best friends in second grade? You had a fuzzy brown fro and I had straight bangs that hung down into my eyes.

More time passed. Your fro turned into very beautiful brown curly hair and I side-swooped my ridiculous bangs. We graduated high school sitting beside each other, just like we did in band every day from 6th to 12th grade.

Remember when you and Joey got in a fight and I came to your house with chocolate.

Remember when the doctors told me I had cancer and you left work to come see me?

Remember going to Utah together this summer?

I can't believe I just saw you for the last time until December.

I miss you already.

Senior year of high school

Junior year of high school. You're crazy.

Graduation day - 2 years ago

Thank you for always being my go-to girl- the one I know will be honest.

Thank you for sharing the same morals as me.

Thank you being as weird as me. (KAAG. Remember when we made up stories to go along with the music in band?)

Thank you for being you, my best friend.

"Pants will wash, friends won't."

Your best friend,

autumn

Tonight, last hug

Epic Proportions

The weight of my backpack has reached epic proportions.

To see how much it weighed, I stepped on the scale with it on my back, my body hunched over in protest. It was a good 10 pounds. (I never want to see that number on the scale again.)

I should expect a Chemistry, Statistics, and Western Civilization book, plus 3 binders and a Bible, to weigh that much. I really should. But picking it up and swinging it around my body to strap onto my back is always a not-so-welcome morning surprise.

When I was walking to chapel, I caught a glipse of my shadow. All hunched over. Am I developing a hunch back from the epic-proportion backpack? Will I need bigger shirts? XL instead of M to accomadate the hunchie?

Will people talk to me anymore? WILL I have friends?!

Am I developing a complex about my hunch back?

Of course, this is all theoretically speaking. I don't have a hunch back. But I do have a heavy backpack.

So They Say..

1. "3 Swings & a Ring"

Harding University (Christian school) + SPS* = Marriage factory. This school is the biggest promoter of marriage. It's everywhere. With that being said, we have white bench swings scattered all over campus. The last I counted, there were 10 or more. Rumor has it, if you swing on 3 different occasions with the same guy, you will get married. These swings have witnessed many proposals.

2. The Bell Tower

There is a bell tower on campus that used to be part of Galloway College school for girls, where Harding sits today. Apparently, if you walk under the bell tower alone you will never get married. If you walk under it with a boy, you will marry him. This piece of history has also seen a lot of proposals. And probably crying girls who didn't realize they just walked under it in a hurry to get to class.

3. Gertie

Back when Harding was Galloway, a young woman named Gertrude died. Some say she fell down the elevator shaft, others say she was murdered. Since then, the dorm she was in was replaced with another building. However, they used the bricks from her dorm to build Pattie Cobb dormitory (my lovely home) and the music building. So basically, I am living with Gertie. People say she is nice. One girl says she even got a hug from her once. At least she's nice.

*Single Potential Spouse

Miscellany Monday at school

1. Bunk Beds

I have come to the conclusion that I am a really good roommate. The best, some say. This belief is founded on the fact that I compromised with my height-fearing roommate Ali and took the top bunk. We didn't have to bunk, but it gave us a ton of floor space. See, I really am the best roommate. You would want to live with me, right?

2. Gym

I decided I am healthy enough to go back to the gym. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and did 2 miles on the bike and some work on the elliptical. I am trying to get into a gym schedule, so this week I am going to see how MWF at 2:00 works for me.

3. Mormon Tabernacle Choir

I am loving Come Thou Fount by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It is so pretty and peaceful.

4. Naps

I am tired. School, gym and my social life are wearing me out. I am trying to stop taking naps so I can sleep earlier at night. It is definitel going to be an adjustment!

Sophomore Year

Katie and Jill

Sophomore year of college is going to be amazing, I can tell.

We have grown a lot. For instance, last night we had a deep conversation about religion and death.

Let's forget the fact that 10 minutes later we were quoting Mean Girls.

Okay, maybe we haven't grown that much.

Ali and Brette

Class starts tomorrow and I am actually ready! I'm sure that a week from now I will be questioning my sanity, but for now, I'll take ready.

It is SO good to be back at Harding.

The Cobb

Here's a little tour of Pattie Cobb (my dorm.)( The Cobb is what we call it.) 320 (my room). I didn't take any pictures of Ali's (the roomie) side because she's not quite as settled as I am. As in, yesterday our room looked like an episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive.

It looks much better now.

My desk from an angle.


Desk again.


My purple chair with my monogramed blanket.
(With tag and string hanging down.)


Closet doors

Our beds. We aren't morning bed-makers.

I'm a big fan of our view. I can't wait until that big tree starts changing colors.

I hope you enjoyed your view of the Cobb. I plan on taking pictures of campus today because 1) it's so pretty and 2) I just can't help myself.

I Know

3 Things I Know

1. I know. I know. I have been MIA for days.

2. I know that you should never take Ortho Evra, the birth control patch. I know this because I was in and out of doctors offices, hospitals and emergency rooms this week because of it with severe chest pain. On top of ruptured ovarian cysts.

3. I moved back to college Tuesday. I know that it is great to be at Harding University again.

So Long Sweet Summer

After packing up everything I own and maneuvering boxes into my car, I relaxed under the setting sun with my four month old nephew, Paxton Lucas.

Lucas like Luke Skywalker. His older brother, Elijah (age 5) got to choose the middle name. We are lucky it isn't Yoda.

I am so in love with this baby.

He is 15 pounds of love, this chunk of a kid.

I played with him outside until I brought him inside. I patted his bottom and rocked for a few minutes before his eyes rolled back into his head (it's so cute) and he stopped sucking on his bee.

(Bee translates to passy. Every family calls them something different, I'm figuring out.)

I move back to school tomorrow, so playing with this baby was the best last-day-of-summer present.

So long sweet summer.

Glass Half Full. Glass Half Empty.

I feel like complaining.

It could be the multiple medications I am currently on talking, or it could be the late hour. Or both. Bear with me, folks.

1. On top of previously blogged health issues, I am now experiencing the side effects of my new monthly hormone. "Tired and feeling unwell." It really says that, and that's really how I feel.

2. I ran out of Grey's Anatomy DVD's and it's too late to go to Hasting's. Probably shouldn't do that while medicated anyways.

3. I still need to pack for school but I feel too sick to move. I move back in Tuesday, so this is not looking good.

4. I can't run because I am too sick to move (see above). I want to run, though. I am picturing myself on my new morning route right now and I can hear my running shoes calling my name.

I can be happy too, though.

1. I have Dr. Pepper. It's a little flat but this is my "glass half-full" part of the post so we won't focus on my DP's lack of carbonation.

2. I am listening to this dreamy song and it's dreamy.

3. My dad is taking me to look at cars and cameras. Me plus car plus camera equals trifecta.

4. I figure I will be in school for 4 more years, which means 4 years until I can move to Utah. I actually might need to move this up to the "glass half-empty" part of the post...

In conclusion, I feel complainy and have complained. I also feel cool because I made up a word: complainy. Beat that, Webster.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

Friday the 13th

A day of superstition and bad luck is today. The most this day can come around is 3 times a year, and will most definitely be on the horizon if a month begins on a Sunday.

So here we are, amongst some crazy beliefs. I got curious, why is Friday the 13th taboo? I found some very interesting things.

exhibit a.

"In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners."
-Wikipedia

exhibit b.

Many people believe Jesus was crucified on a Friday because "it occurred during the governorship of Pontius Pilate (between A.D. 26 and A.D. 36) on a Friday on or near Passover (Nisan 15). Several analyses based on astronomical data and computer simulations agree on the date Friday April 3, A.D. 33"

exhibit c.

Hospitals and hotels rarely have a #13 room.

exhibit d.

If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.

exhibit e.

More than 80% of high rises skip the 13th floor.

exhibit f.

On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.

exhibit g.

Many say the No. 13 pointed to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.

exhibit h.

I believe I now have friggatriskaidekaphobia- the fear of Friday the 13th.

Give Me The Meds.

I woke up in pain last night.
Very familiar lower back and abdominal pain.

To the hospital we went, where more cysts were found on my ovaries
(that seem to hate me.) One ruptured (you don't want to know how bad that hurts) and is leaking fluid. The other one is just hanging out.

But it's okay because I'm on the good stuff.

All of the Above.

2 years ago

I was feeling reminiscent this morning while tying on my Sonic apron for the (possibly) last time. I started working there my sophomore year of high school, and now in my sophomore year of college, I have created a love/hate relationship with America's Drive-In.

Then I got to work and I couldn't remember why I was reminiscent at all. Maybe it had something to do with the 104-degree weather, the fact that strawberries were spilled all over my white shoes, or that ice cream exploded into my face and ran down my arms while I blended a shake.

Or all of the above.

I hate the job. Customers are rude- I can't figure that out. Why be rude to someone who is dealing with your food? I could very easily squeeze jalopeno juice into your drink. Maybe I have done that. Maybe I haven't. Fact is, I could.

Plus, it's hot, or it's freezing, or it's raining, or it's icing.

Or it's doing all of the above.

I came home after 9 hours with aching feet, sticky arms and red shoes. And a stench. Hey, it was 104, what do you expect?

The love part? Working with great friends and making tips. Free food, too.

Peace out, Sonic.

I doubt you will be missed.

My Friend Rain.

February 1995

Blonde, hazel-eyes, and four years small, I shared a room with my brother and sister. They had the bunk beds and I had my very own gold bed across the room from them, right next to the window.

I wasn't a child that was afraid of storms. Quite the opposite. I was full of sass and spunk- I can assure you that has changed. Wink wink.

Late at night when the clouds thundered I would sit up in my gold bed, pull back the curtains and watch the rain.

October 2008

17 years old found me in my junior year of high school. My alarm sounded at 7:15 and I woke up to rain and thunder.

Early morning rain is the best, I thought, and snuggled under my covers for more sleep. I was late for school every day, anyways. Why rush to get up when it's raining?

Eventually I got up, dragged a straightener through my thick hair and brushed my teeth.

And all day long I wished it would keep raining so that when I got home, I could take a nap. Really, any sleep while raining is marvelous.




via

August 2010

College years, almost 20-something years. I am tempted to be mad at the rain pouring down outside because it has messed up the satellite signal and I can't watch Grey's Anatomy.

But then I turned off all the lights, opened the windows and enjoyed something that makes life so beautiful. My best nature friend, Rain.

I'm thinking about a rain wedding? Would you like to come?

Opening the scrapbook...Panama City, FL

Me (top left), Morgan, Katie, Emma (bottom left), Kaylee

Meet my best friends,

aren't they gorgeous?

(Inside & out)

They make my laugh a little louder,

my smile a little brighter,

& my life a little better.

Operation: Eat No More Cheese (burgers, tots)

I have zero -and I mean ZERO- self control.

When it comes to eating healthy, that is.

It doesn't help that I work at Sonic.

While working a 10-hour shift and getting hungry, a cheeseburger doesn't seem so bad. Or those cheese-tots over there.

Don't even get me started on wanting to stop drinking Dr.Pepper. I can do it for oh, a week, and then I neeeed it! Diet Dr.Pepper has kept me satisfied, but I would like to knock out carbonated drinks as much as possible.

Exercise. The bane of my existence. I enjoy running but I have hit a wall. I can run about 3 miles before I am done. So done, it's not even funny. I wish I could hire a trainer, but college = poor. I know, 3 miles is better than no miles, and doing that 3-4 times a week is good. I just hope I can push past it! Come on, 4 miles!

The point of this post is to get me more motivated! I'm thinking that if I have to share my updates, I will push myself more. I'm hoping this will be a lifestyle change, because fried food and lack of exercise is so bad for you and has no positives.

If I (ever) get skinny I will post before/after pictures. Not feeling quite that confident yet!

I Have a Love For All Things 'Autumn' and Utah.

This hot, sticky, humid 106 degree-Arkansas weather makes me long for dry, 88-degree Utah weather.

I am not only longing for Utah weather, but for my favorite season- fall. Or autumn. How appropriate.

Which got me curious. What does my favorite state (Utah) look like during my favorite season? Glorious, I'm sure. Since I can't see for myself, Google image will have to suffice.

It steals my breath. The mountains are amazing enough, and then to add red, gold and orange leaves?

I know, you are all wanting to move there with me now.

It's okay, let the power of Utah overtake you.

And now,

to pack our bags.

Lets meet in front of the Provo Temple.

And then lets eat at The Training Table, with

vaNIElla cupcakes for dessert.

See you soon.