wanna bite?

Hanna, Joe and I went to the Franklin Street Bakery one night this past week, just to check out their delicious assortment of baked goods. The mission began when Hanna had coffee with a friend, who mentioned that this particular bakery had really good cupcakes. Hanna and I were sold. (It doesn't take much to get us to make a trip to get dessert.) It was the second night I had dessert before dinner this week. The third night was the next one when we made peanut butter Bulgur cookies. Next on the list is going to be fruit pizza. Summer has started off really well.

Carrot Cupcake

Pecan TarteRed Velvet Cupcakesharing. :)

What's another word for "random?"

Thesaurus.com says: accidental, adventitious, arbitrary, casual, desultory, fluky, incidental, odd, promiscuous, purposeless, stray, unaimed, unconsidered, unplanned, etc. are all synonyms.

I'm just saying that that's what this post will be. I really only like to post when I can include pictures or some other form of entertainment, which has been slowing me down lately as I have been much more engrossed in a few books I am reading than the internet or reconciling my camera's dead battery. Which reminds me, I am making a "Summer Reading List," so if you know of any good books OR if you have something you have been meaning to read and want to confer with someone else about, let me know! I haven't set a goal for how many books I would like to finish, but so far this summer I have read three, started three others, and need to start another one this weekend as research for my internship. They are a great big mix of guilty pleasure, classical literature, fiction and non-fiction, etc., so anything goes!

The three books I am working on are:

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The word "surreptitiously" has been running through my head for days and days. I have no idea why I picked it up, although I am assuming it was in one of the books of the Twilight series. Either way, it is very fun to say. Surreptitiously. Definition: obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth.
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My friend Nick is doing a work abroad program in Australia this summer and started to blog about his time there! I am very, very happy that he is doing this. He is hilarious and can get himself in some pretty great situations, so when he begins a post with "I'm going to start with a story" you know it's going to be good.
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For those graphic designers/typographers/creative geniuses/inquiring minds out there, this is a video of Hitler freaking out over the use of "Comic Sans." I came across this via f letter awhile ago, but just thought of it again as my friends Joe, Hanna, Tanya and I had a conversation about our favorite fonts while eating ice cream outside of Sebastian Joes. There are some wonderful old-fashioned signs in Uptown that I keep telling myself I need to take photos of. But until then, here's the video:



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I have posted this art piece before, but now it is available to purchase at 20x200! I have been mulling it over for some time now, while the number of prints available keep dwindling. As I look into my own dwindling checking account, I can't seem to rationalize buying this particular piece of art over saving up money for my trip at the end of the summer. Nevertheless, I will keep dreaming about it and hope he makes more of his art available to purchase soon.
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I will leave you with a text from textsfromlastnight.com:
(215): Please dont use Danity Kane lyrics to describe your emotions.

Hope you are having a great day!

Brave face.

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” - T.S. Eliot

I am not going to lie, I am little nervous to start my internship today. I am a little fuzzy on all of the details of the job, but am hoping all of that gets clearer as I meet with my boss. Actually, my boss and I are the only two people who are working on this company as of now. She used the word "team" multiple times in the get-to-know-one-another interview I had at the end of April, and as capable and competent as I like to think I am of things, it is nerve-wracking to know that whatever I produce will be scrutinized by the one person who matters. I don't want to end up working on something incredibly hard to have it thrown back at me and told to do it again, but I am bracing myself for that to happen multiple times over the course of these next three months.

I was initially drawn to the position because of the ability to be creative, to see a business start from the ground-up, to learn hands-on marketing tools, and to build bridges in the thriving business community surrounding one of the largest cities in the Midwest. But, today, I am sitting at my part-time job, drinking coffee, eating strawberry pop-tarts, and feeling like a child who can't quite get their shoes tied exactly how they want them while really being afraid for that dreaded first day of school. No matter what though, the child will eventually have to decide that their shoes are tied well enough, put on their brave face, and face what lies ahead. So here's to my brave face, my new black pants (which is one fashion statement I, for some reason, can never seem to like), and getting in over my head. While I do plan on having a lot of fun this summer, I am going to be facing new challenges, too. Bring it on.

peekaboo!

I am officially not home anymore, which also means that I can't ignore the growing amount of emails, texts, tweets, wall posts, messages, etc. that I have racked up since going home. I have loved my time relaxing, but it is now time for my "super relaxing summertime" to change into "relaxing and fun yet productive and responsible summertime." I go back to my on-campus job tomorrow and start up my internship on Wednesday, so I will be getting back into somewhat of a routine while still making an exciting summer to-do checklist. I will probably post this soon, as I am planning on working on it tomorrow. At work. Yes, I am already planning on slacking off. It is going to be a wonderful summer.
While home, I got to meet up with all sorts of people. I ended up spending time with my grandparents on three separate days, hanging out with two of my favorite new moms, my best friends from home, my first ever college roommate and her great boyfriend, and lots of other friends and family, especially at my sister's graduation party. The above picture is from Wednesday, when I hung out with V. We ate delicious food, went shopping, and she filled out a couple applications as I started reading the first Twilight book.
I then had a little time to spend in one of my favorite places ever: Barnes and Noble. I feel incredibly calm in all bookstores, but this particular B&N has an even greater calming effect on me for some reason. I continued reading the first Twilight book on a sturdy wooden chair in the sunlight while a nice old man sat in the above green chair in the shade. I didn't realize how much I missed my university until he got up for a moment and saved his seat using his "Gophers" hat. That wonderfully wrinkled, white-haired, political book lover made my day.

This girl was also a big part of me loving my time at home:
We took a long, windy, absolutely enthralling 4-wheel ride through the few streets of my small town and then went on numerous gravel roads. My hair was beautifully knotted and dirt-filled afterward, and the entire back of my shirt and shorts was covered in a thick layer of light brown dirt. The views, however, made all of this SO worth it. It is so nice to be away from the city for awhile and truly appreciate the vast expanses that I grew up around. The ride happened to be right at sundown, too, so it was even prettier with purple, pink, orange and yellow colors meshing together and traveling across the sky. This was my first day with my new *Blackberry* though, and I am not going to lie, I had no idea how to use it and ended up locking myself out of it. Not good. Therefore, there are no pictures of the skyline, even though I attempted multiple times to figure it all out. The funny thing is, my phone hasn't done the same thing since, so I have no idea how it happened OR how I fixed it. It is definitely time to read the manual.

This one is just for show. I got to ride on the back and Ash did the steering. :)
And I am leaving you with my new favorite picture. This is pre-4-wheeler and I was so excited for it that I made K take a picture of us! :) I have such good friends and family.

"I think you're MIA..."

Whenever I go home for an extended period of time, I definitely "detox." I am horrible at answering my phone and texts, awful at responding to anything on Facebook, and, as I just found out, also don't update my blog or look at any other websites that I am usually glued to while in school and work.

I received the title of this blog in a text that I, of course, actually looked at about 2 hours after it had been sent. I got it on Sunday and finally realized that the person had called every day for three days and sent texts that I had hardly responded to for the same number of days. All of a sudden I realized that my "detox" after finals is not only from the mass amounts of caffeine that I drank, but is also a break from the online or "plugged-in" world I am so accustomed to being a part of day after day.

These last few days I have been keeping busy with my sister's graduation, meeting up with friends and family, having "facetime," adding new movies to my mom's Netflix queue, watching episodes of The Office, working out with Ashley, taking numerous walks, and just being outside in general.

Now, as I come back from my unplugged world, I will post many more pictures, write about graduation, and talk about everything else about home (including my lovely new phone!) But for today, all I have is a block of text and a plan to go to Sioux Falls to meet up with friends and spend some quality time in a coffee shop with a good book. Hope you all have a great day!

4-letter words

CRAM
TEST
DONE
LOLA
HOME
FOOD
PALS
SOFA
CHAT
WALK
CARS
TIME
HUGS
TELE
BOOM
REST
GRAD
BLOG
LIFE
BDAY: Happy Birthday Joe-a-palooza, you old man. :D

just a little list

I always tend to make lists when I feel like I am getting in over my head or just need to finish up some things before I get to do something way more exciting. This happens to be the case today.

Instead of some large to-do list that only benefits myself, I am instead going to reveal a few things I either have done or am going to do. Think of it as a random fact list of my life over these past and next few days.

-I actually cut my finger using scissors yesterday. I get the oddest injuries.

-This cutting happened when I decided my bangs needed a little trim and that I should do it myself. I always seem to get the urge to cut my own hair at this time of the year.

-After too many straight hours in my apartment I get claustrophobic.
-To combat this, I went dress shopping yesterday!

This isn't the one I bought, but I love the "Suzy-homemaker-esque" style (it even has pockets!) and might have to go back and get it. Ah! Dress shopping can be very stressful. I don't think boys understand this, or the fact that it IS necessary to take photos and send them to your girl friends if you are shopping alone. A second opinion is always helpful. A third and forth are just for good measure. :)

-A couple SMSU people head to Ireland this week! I am super jealous, but hope the few tips I gave them will help!
-I am going to dinner with one of my bffs, Alex, tonight.
-I finally posted pictures on Facebook from the impromptu bonfire we had last weekend. A few girls and I found the spot as we were exploring near a waterfall around St. Anthony Main. We then called everyone up, got some things together and had a little party. I love how open everyone was to coming last minute on a Saturday night!

-I am officially finished with three of my five classes!
-I am going home on Wednesday! I just have to finish everything here before I can go. It is definitely the thing that is keeping me goal-oriented.
-I have plans to hang out with my grandpa on Thursday and couldn't be happier about it.
-That Starbucks gift card my mom sent me has officially been used up. I wish it would have lasted forever.
-I went to a Hawaiian-themed birthday party on Friday, met a boy who proceeded to talk to me the entire night and, as I was leaving, said "Facebook me." What has our world come to?
-I REALLY need to keep studying for my last finals!

Dirty Projectors

image via Google images

The Dirty Projectors are getting quite a bit of hype in the music world as of late; I feel like I am just finally catching up on this in my desperate attempt to stall studying for finals. But, they are living up to their hype! Their music is very playful, and one really interesting idea they thought of is that when they do release their new music (June 9), they will be releasing it on limited-edition cassette tapes along with CD and vinyl formats. Anything vintage goes these days, even though most people don't have any form of cassette recorder left, which is why with every purchase of a cassette tape, you also get the MP3 format of the songs so you can actually listen to them.

And my favorite song of Saturday was Zero by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Click here to listen. I am so bummed that their Minneapolis show is already sold out; I would love to see them live!

I would so rather blog and look up new music than study for finals.

Happy Mothers Day!

Gradtime!

SO many big people in my life are graduating this year! I can't even believe how fast college (and high school, for that matter) can go.

I am so proud of this girl:

because she seriously worked her butt off and has now graduated in 3 years! In the age where 5 is the new 4, this is one of the biggest feats I've seen in awhile. I know she is going to rock the working world off its axis.

And she is graduating with this lady:

Lol, these two can make me laugh for days.

I hope their day, ceremony, parties, friends and family are all incredibly wonderful!

There are so many people in my life who are all graduating on the same day, so to all of the SDSU, SMSU, and USD people out there who have today as their big day, please know I am thinking of you!

after finals...

I am going to take this advice.

But until then,I will continue to do this.

person(able)

I feel like if I am going to continue blogging, it should be a little personal at times. So I am going to try to do that a little bit more often. And, of course, to give a certain person *AH HMM* Joe *cough* something to

a. terrorize my friends with at 1:30am
b. text about
c. continue using the word "blogtastic" for

Joe-apalooza, this one's for you. And no, I will not publish a Facebook apology for missing your birthday party in a few weeks. (Yes, Ashley did tell me you said that.) I am sorry, but my sister's high school graduation trumps it. I've known her longer! :) You are just going to have to deal, and we can make up for it at Emery's 125th. Ok?

It's bigger than hip hop.

If I had a song of the day, the one I am listing here would definitely be today's. I stumbled across it this morning and haven't stopped listening to it since! It is a mash-up of Dead Prez’s song “Hip Hop” and Grizzly Bear’s song “Two Weeks." The Hood Internet mashed it up here and call it "Two Weeks of Hip Hop."

Direct link to song here: http://thehood.raptorhideout.com/dead_prez_grizzly_bear.mp3

I actually saw Grizzly Bear at the Sasquatch Music Festival in 2007, but hadn't heard of Dead Prez until now. I am officially a fan, and will most likely be purchasing Dead Prez's new album in June.

I guess if nothing else, this blog is displaying that I listen to multiple genre's of music. :)

And now that I mentioned Sasquatch, here's two quick pictures from that May that I went to the Gorge near George, Washington.Life was so great then. It was my first summer after college. I was with some of my favorite boys and we just were there. There wasn't an agenda, wasn't anything actually. We were just enjoying the music. And life. And I wish I could go back.

Fruitless Friday

I have been super lazy today.

No work has gotten done.

No progress on my large to-do list has been made.

The only thing I really have done is start filling out a bus core leader application for the wonderful alternative spring break trip I do. And by start, I legitimately mean start. It hasn't gotten very far.

But, instead of more whining, here's a song with a little story. One day, V and I were on our way to volleyball practice in high school. We were driving around, like normal, jamming out in order to get pumped up for the massive amount of work we were about to do when "Downtown" came on. Turns out, it just brightened our day SO much that we in turn went into the gym literally screaming DOWNTOWN!!! to all of our friends. And as that turns out, they all knew the words! So, the entire volleyball team just started busting out DOWNTOWN! Things will be great when you're DOWNTOWN! and on and on. What a good day.


Downtown by Petula Clark