dear mr. man,

- - - i hope you like love {among other things} - - -

all my best friends

good music

tasty asparagus

singing

green

sheet tents

old movies

art films

picnics

the mountains

creamy mashed potato goodness

rain 

dancing
color

bicycles 

musicals

fishing

chick-fil-a

the weepies

staying up late

going places

motorcycles
roller coasters

church meetings

italian arias

sunshine 

vintage clothing

breakfast

music to fit the mood

scotland

hiking

driving with the windows down

going to art galleries

good smells

and me.

with love,

girl

She needs to read the rest of the Bible

Aww, aren't they cute?

NO! You're wrong!

They're evil. 

They come into your home and think they can have full rein!

They die and leave their crunchy little carcasses right in the walkways!

Those are not the actions of something cute.

--Conversation with a Ladybug--

Me: "Um, hi, ma'am? What are y'all doing in my rooms?"

Ladybug (her name was Gloria): "We just came in here to hibernate for the winter, woman. You got a problem?"

  

Me: "You don't have very good manners for a ladybug."

Gloria: "Um...that's because I'm an Asian Lady Beetle, ignoramus."

Me: "Oh...well...even so."

Gloria: "Ahem...you were saying?"

Me: "Oh, sorry. No, it's fine that y'all are here, but do you think you could tell your family to quit dying right where I have to walk? It's kinda gross to step on them."

Gloria: "You're stepping on my cousins' bodies?!?! How can you be so crass?! How can you desecrate the dead like that?! Go around them, Big-Foot!"

Me: "I'm sorry! They're just so small, and when it's dark, I can't...really...see...them. Um...What do you plan to do about their funerals...burials...bodies...?"

Gloria: "Um...don't you read the Bible, heathen? It says, 'Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.' We just leave them. They'll disintegrate eventually. It's the best way."

Me: "But you expect people to step over them and not desecrate their bodies?"

Gloria: "Yep. I do. What are you gonna do about it?"

And with that, I promptly went and got the vacuum. I'm sorry, but I'm not about to take that much cheek from something so much smaller than I.

i had to change the title of this post because a few people freaked out at my choice of words in the last one.

today i interviewed a sweetly mcgee girl.
most of you know her.
she is beatrice.
and she has a very cool blog.
and some seriously rad mental chickens.
and she gets out of bed on the left side.


me -- what is your idea of perfect happiness?
beatrice -- in my head i picture it sometimes, and it's beautiful... married, with happy children running around our woodland cottage catching fireflies in the twilight like sprites in pom-pom hats, as mysterious-future-husband and i sit on the porch and shell peas.

me -- what is your favorite food to snack on while you study?
beatrice -- if i'm feeling healthy, frozen corn or an apple... unfortunately, though, i normally go with Twizzlers or chips (BBQ... i know, i know, they're guy chips. sorry. :) )

me -- what is your most treasured possession?
beatrice -- the beautiful antique wedding ring from the 40s that my Grandma Bruce left me.

me -- what is your greatest fear?
beatrice -- hmm... snakes. oh, and leprechauns (due to a horrific viewing of Darby O'Gill and the Little People. SCARY MOVIE!). oooh, and being deserted. so, i guess my biggest fear is being deserted by all my loved ones after i failed to ward off a herd of angry snake-throwing leprechauns.

me -- what is your current favorite song?
beatrice -- I Don't Know, by Lisa Hannigan. she's so authentic, and her music is amazing!

me -- which talent would you most like to have?
beatrice -- either Jazz piano, unicycle riding, or tap dancing skills. because those would be awesome!

me -- name one of your style muses and what it is about her that inspires you.
beatrice -- any way you could reword that? 'cause i don't like everything about any one person's style... but i could give you three people who each have a specific reason.
me -- go for it.
beatrice -- one: Chuck from Pushing Daisies, for her adorable retro put-togetherness. two: Maggie Gyllenhaal, for her amazing style weirdness and subtle fearlessness. three: Zooey Deschanel, because... just because. she is amazing.

me -- what do you value most in your friends?
beatrice -- their unbounded and unbridled compassion, love, and devotion... and the ease with which they show it.

me -- if you could go anywhere in the world and live there for a year, completely immersing yourself in the people and the culture, where would you choose to go?
beatrice -- i'd go to the Czech Republic. Odd as it may sound, that culture and language has always held an inexorable fascination and enchantment for me, and i would love to get to know it better. it's such an odd mix of Polish, German, and Portuguese influence.

me -- what motivates you? it can be a verse, a saying or quote, or even just a thought or idea.
beatrice -- i am motivated by this incredible life God has given me... by the speed of it, by my own need to find all of it and understand God by experience His gift and His creation. life flies by so fast, and i've just figured out that the speed isn't meant to be scary, but to be exhilarating, exciting, like a carnival ride. i want to use every day and every second for adventure and the sparkle of life.

so there you have it.
one small glimpse into her mind, and i'm sure you're hooked already.
there ain't no way you ain't checkin' out her blog.