this lady looks distressed, doesn't she?

but guess what. 

she has it easy.

see the sun shining through the trees behind her?
see her long-sleeved cozy sweater? {...even though the sun is shining through the summer-leafed tree...}
see her perfect hair and manicured nai...oh wait. that's not relevant.

one wednesday morning...well, no...actually, it was a tuesday night...i unwittingly locked my keys in my car because i didn't immediately get out after i turned off the car. i was on the phone, so i took out the keys, put them on the seat beside me, and sat in the car for about 10 minutes. when i was done, i picked up my purse and coat, stepped out of the car, locked the door, shut it, and went inside.

but i didn't realize my mistake until wednesday morning...5 minutes before Joey needed to leave for work in my car.

now.

under normal circumstances, i would've gotten a wire hanger, finagled it into the car thru the crack, and hit the unlock button.

BUT.

during the night, it had iced. and it was still under 20 degrees outside {chill factor of 5 degrees, by the way}, which meant that the door was frozen shut. 

no way was i going to stand outside {in the freezing cold} and try to push thru the thick layer of ice barring my way to the unlock button.

so we called the locksmith thinking that it would cost around $40. he finally came 30 minutes later. and, standing in the freezing {freezing freezing} cold in my pajamas, he said that it would cost...wait for it...$100.

yes.

you heard me.

one hundred. bucks.

no way. hosea.

and i told him so. to his face. {in the freezing cold.}

not in those words, of course.

but he took pity on me and offered to call his boss and see if he'd let him knock it down a bit. which his boss did. 30 dollars worth.

i had no choice. i had to accept. {in the freezing cold}

blah.

a few days later, Joey asked if he could borrow my car to take to work. so i went to find the keys. i looked in my purse. in my room. in my pockets. on the bar. on the couch. in the couch cushions. 

no luck.

here's how my thought process went.

"oh no...i didn't immediately (please, God) get out of my car this afternoon (please, God, don't let them be locked in). this is horrible. OhGodohGodohGodohGodohGod."

{please don't misunderstand and think that i was taking His name in vain. no. it was a genuine plea to Him.}

i ran out to my car and peered through the glass. 
there they were. 
on the seat. 
just like before.

 my inner Luke Skywalker yelled, "Nooooooooooooo!!!!!" 
{yes, i did just reference Star Wars and reveal my nerdity.}

 i walked back into the house, head hung low, and told Joey.
Joey, being the sweet man that he is, didn't tease me, didn't heave a sigh.
he just said he would look at it and see if he could get it out. 
we went out to the car.
Joey tried the door handle.


and it opened.

and Joey, being the annoying man that he is, teased me unmercifully. {i love you, Joey.}

now.
would i rather lock my keys in the car than have my car stolen because i was dumb enough to leave the keys in it with the door unlocked?
yes.
but God was merciful to me.
He let me be dumb.
{oh wait...He doesn't have to let me. i can do that all by myself.}

the moral to this story ----
always, always check to make sure the car isn't unlocked.

before i die, i will master these

a human being should be able to  

change a diaper. 

plan an invasion. 

butcher a hog. 

steer a ship. 

design a building. 

write a sonnet. 

balance accounts. 

build a wall. 

set a bone. 

comfort the dying. 

take orders. 

give orders. 

cooperate. 

act alone. 

solve equations. 

analyze a new problem. 

pitch manure. 

program a computer. 

cook a tasty meal. 

fight efficiently. 

die gallantly. 

- robert heinlein

i find it funny that for guys, collar shirts are dressier, but for girls they're considered casual.

question post

yes, you should work at your friendships (the close ones. the ones with the people you'd call your best friends.) and try to develop or even just maintain them, but when does it become working too hard? 

if you're having to exert a lot of effort to keep the friendship on good terms (or alive at all), is the relationship worth it? 

shouldn't truly close friends not have to try hard and not have to be careful what they say or do (within reason, of course), and still know that they will love each other (and almost more specifically like each other) unconditionally and without judgement?

you shouldn't have to be afraid that your chum will look down on or criticize you...right?

the peace of wild things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

it's coming to a love day near you.

now all i need is a man.

please don't eat the whole bowl of icing, joey

barbara got a little cookie kit before christmas, but never got around to getting it out and actually doing it. so yesterday, being a biting cold and windy day, the sort that makes you want to bake, we made and decorated gingerbread cookies. 

here are barbara's and the little boys'. can you guess whose is whose?

a hint for you: cord fell in love with the mini chocolate chips and got a little carried away.

the two left cookies are mine, and the right one is joey's.

christmas is long gone and valentine's day is just around the corner, so we decided to turn them into love cookies. 

since our creations had such life and sparkle, joey and i gave them personalities.
the gingerbread boy on the left is the smart, preppy son with a can-do attitude. the one on the right is the slobby, deranged son who stays at home all day and plays video games.

the end.

this might just be the best thing...of the world

i've never ever really wanted to do ballet. even as a little girl, it wasn't my thing.

but i would've LOVED to do some other sort of dance.

modern, maybe?

i would've liked to have been a dancer in the crowd.

so when i saw these pictures...

the gallery is called Dancers Among Us

yes. i would do this. if it were physically possible.

she looks so happy!

such ease...

snow dancing!

if you're gonna feed the birds, do it right.

yes. 

even graceful dancers have to go to the bathroom sometimes.

too cool. i like his boots.

"yep, just waitin' fer the bus."

at least she can enjoy doing laundry.

he's got places to go and people to dance on...no...wait...

yes. if you can do that, please pay the cab driver that way.

it will make his day, i promise.

just a little leg lovin'. 

gene kelly?

wedding loves

if i end up going to the justice of the peace or such like to get married, i wouldn't mind wearing this dress...or such like.

print bridesmaid dresses. green and yellow accents. = luv 4ever

if only my reception could be this small...

::hides face in embarrassment::

yes, i realize that i've been in TX nearly a month and haven't posted once.

so much for sturdy resolves.

i don't really know where to begin, though. it's all running together in my mind and not making much sense.

first off, let me say that it's amazing to live 4 minutes from target, dsw, sephora, old navy, etc, etc...not that i've really taken advantage of that...but even just the knowledge is kinda cool. and i'm also just 8 minutes from a really nice outlet mall and an ikea (amazing!). and 2 minutes from HEB, the best grocery store in the world because of the incredibly tasty tortillas that they make in the store. you can buy them still warm. yum.

i promise that this blog won't degenerate into posts solely about cute things the little boys have said, but here are some kickers, all courtesy of Cord. 

"my tummy has a headache."

"Eleanor! do you want to come watch Sleeping Beauty and the Beast with me?!"

"pink is a serious color."

"i didn't know you back then because i was a little baby that drank milk all the time."

after some serious thought and consideration, i've decided to announce my dark secret.

i like candy corn.

in fact, i could easily become addicted.

thank God for a tight budget.

and don't judge me.

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

fall. fever. is now.

 

 happy first day of Fall.

 

crunch a leaf today.

 

wait, what? 

oh. right. that's what my car looks like. except...not quite as skinny and old ladyish looking.

:) 

i'm excited.

bust a move

I realize I haven't posted in quite some time. 

I have no excuses, and I'm not going to try to diagnose why I haven't. 

I will just say that I hope to be more consistent and regular this fall, because...

I'm going to be living in Texas till mid-December!

(Yes, I realize that bluebonnets won't be in season during my stay. 

And I don't think I'm going to be near very many longhorns...or just plain old cows for that matter. 

But you get the idea.)

Crazy, right? 

I know.

Plans for my future have changed so quickly and unexpectedly.

I've gotten a job (or rather, was offered a job) as a live-in nanny for my second cousin. 

She's got three adorable little boys (yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. I'm not going to think they're so precious after living with them for two and a half months. To that I say, quoting Alfred, Batman's butler, "Nevah."), and I will be sitting them three days a week while she's and her husband are at work.

Also, I'll be about 45 minutes away from some of my best friends in the whole wide world, so hopefully I'll get to spend some time with them! Yay! 

This is new.

I didn't really ever think I'd leave home until I went to college, (and yes, I know that two and a half months away is not exactly "leaving home," but it's the closest I've ever come to it (and also, there's a good chance that I'll be going back next semester for a few months)), so I haven't had quite as much time to get used to the idea, but I'm very excited about it. 

Adventure! 

A little more independence and a good stretch of the wings! 

Especially since I'm (hopefully) going to be buying my first car from my [other] cousin. 

It's quite a delightful prospect. 

And hey, I can even call myself a Texan for a little while! 

{hat tip to Mama's home state}

Must get a cowgirl hat. 

Just kidding.

Anyway...

"Psh. Right, Eleanor. You're gonna post more regularly. Uh huh. Sure."

Yes. 

I will.

Why, you ask? 

Because I don't have a journal. 

And plus, even if I did have one, I probably wouldn't write in it. 

But I can type faster than I can write (a sad sign of the age we live in), and so I'm going to use Fiery to journal this new experience.

"Oh, great. We're gonna get every little detail about her life and every stupid bit of junk that passes through her mind."

Yep.

Pretty much.

Enjoy!

Yes, I am aware that the first part of the first sentence sounds like a movie trailer.

What would it be like to live in a world where the only person who formed your opinion was yourself? Think about it. Every single thought that you have, every like or dislike, and every decision that you make is somehow biased or shaped by someone else. 


What if we lived in our own little bubbles, and weren't affected by anyone or anything but the own creativity and originality of our own minds.


How would it affect our individual fashion styles? Our music tastes, our food tastes? 


I mean, seriously, who decided that raw fish eggs are a delicacy, and that extremely distorted guitars, static, and screaming lyrics sound good and therefore should have an entire following just to themselves?


It's interesting to ponder. Would you really wear that outfit if you weren't considering how other people would view it, and by extension, you?

stupid cupid...quit pickin' on me.

if this bike were a person and i met it, i think i'd marry it.

OR...

if i were a boy bike, and i was driving my person along the beautiful streets of Helsinki, and all of a sudden we collided with this bike and its person...i'd pull a Pongo-and-Perdita and get our people married so that we could get married too...and have adorable little bikelets.

OR...

someone could buy me this bike for Christmas or my birthday. 

that'd work, too.

wouldn't it just be too perfect for riding around campus? ::sigh::

{happy loveliness found here}

i'm having 6 teeth out in the morning.
and they're going to cut holes in my face...er...under my face...in my gums.








and katie, if you take a picture of me while i look like a black and blue chipmunk, you will pay the consequences. that black and blue chipmunk will turn into a howling, black and blue chipmunk of vengeance who will swoop down upon you in the dead of night and wreak havoc on your face. 'cause that's what howling, black and blue chipmunks of vengeance do. that's how they roll. so...watch it.

Re:

They Call Me Thumper, yes, I did actually do #9. I wish you could've seen it---you would've appreciated the amazing end result. 


Brian Regan is a comedian. I must educate you, Ceridwen.


I meant...Logan...but you're wonderful too, Pearl and Gwen! Just not over-protective. Or paranoid. Most of the time, at least. I'm just going to be quiet now.


Pearl, the chance to meet one, the chance to use one, the chance to eat ice cream with one, the chance to jump on the trampoline with one, the chance to marry one...that's what I meant. Just don't pass one up. Period.


Katie..."dimply mouth?" You make it sound as if I've got cellulite on my lips or something. Not a very pretty thought.

"well, it's sunny with a high of 75..."...wait...nope. more like 110.

i'm in Texas for two weeks.

Texas in August.

i think i just evaporated.

::gulp::

oh no. 

i think i'm lusting. 

not good.

i know just what type of wedding this dress would go with, too.

but i have to admit, i'm very tired of strapless wedding dresses.

seriously, ladies! let's be a little more creative!

a little bit cliche, i know...

but don't scoff at my dreams.