A Survey

1) Please state your name for the record?

Elisabeth (yes, with the biblical spelling), but everyone calls me Lizzi, Liz, or Miss Liz. No, I’m not a teacher.

2) If you were a penguin, on the other hand, what do you think your name would be? Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Spazzy.

3) Would you consider your ears to be smaller than average, average, larger than average, or freakishly large?

When I was younger they were HUGE thanks to my grandpa’s Polish/Jewish blood, but thankfully I grew into them.

4) Are you more of a Beatles or an Elvis fan? (If you answer the latter, please proceed to go set yourself on fire and then die in a hole.)

As much as I like Elvis, I feel that the Beatles were the original full out pioneers of rock and roll. Not to mention Paul McCartney is freaking awesome.

5) Have you ever killed anyone? If so, did you do it with your bare hands?

No, but I did kick a guy so hard he actually vomited. I had a lot of pent up rage as a young child.

6) If you could use any fruit to describe the size and shape of your head, what fruit would you use?

I’m guessing I’d use a honeydew melon, or an Israeli cantaloupe.

7) Is there any famous person you'd go gay for? Please state their name. This question is, of course, purely for academic purposes.

Not really. I really like men. (mmm… Matthew Lewis.)

8) If you had the choice, would you rather go to space, meet Paul McCartney, scuba dive in the Pacific Ocean, or sleep with Carmen Electra?

Hands down meet Paul McCartney. I mean, are you kidding me? Who would want to scuba dive--- you could get eaten by sharks!

9) How long have you had your blog? What made you start one?

I’ve had my blog since I was in the 8^th grade (circa 2008) and I started it because my mom is technology illiterate and while she could snoop in my diary, she couldn’t snoop out my blog!

10) What is your weirdest phobia?

I’m afraid of someone breaking into my house and killing me. Not too weird, but I go to irrational measures to ensure this will never happen. I even have a "survival plan" mapped out just in case someone does break into my house. It also doubles as a zombie invasion plan. Oh yes, I'm also afraid of a zombie apocalypse.

11) Do you believe in God?

Touchy question. Let me answer it this way: I was raised in a strict IFB church from the time I was born all the way up until I was 12 when my parents divorced and my dad left organized religion. I believe in karma, and a higher power, but as to what or who that power is I have no idea. Organized religion has left me a little jaded, but I respect ALL religions as long as they don’t condone the harm/defamation of other people.

12) If you could start a collab. blog with any four bloggers, which ones would you do it with?

Hehe… well I actually was a part of a collab. blog called Mix Tape (check it out!) for a short while, but due to school I inevitably had to take a hiatus from it. However seeing as how I can pick ANY bloggers I’ll aim high and pick Perez Hilton, Agent Lover, Matthew Lewis (does Twitter count as blogging?), and Christopher, just because he made this survey.

13) If you were trapped on a desert island with the same four bloggers you mentioned in the last question, which one would you eat first? With which one would you procreate?

…. Well this is awkward. Obviously we would feast upon Perez Hilton. As to whom I would make babies with, isn’t it obvious?

14) What's your favourite 80's movie?

Back to the Future.

15) What kind of music do you listen to?

Err’thang. No really. However if we were to get specific I’ve been recently listening to a lot of Asher Roth, The Streets, Chiddy Bang, Say Anything, Cake, Gwen Stefani, Vampire Weekend, Pantera, AX7, Andrew Bird, Amy Winehouse, Sufjan Stevens, The Sunshine Underground, Chameleon Circuit, Ke$ha, and Tom Felton. Yes, you read right, TOM FELTON.

16) Imagine that you open your bedroom closet one day and suddenly a portal opens up. You can't see what is at the end of the portal, but there is a totoro inside it motioning you to follow him. Would you go inside, even if it might mean you'll never come back?

No. Well perhaps. It depends on whether or not I'm properly dressed.

17) If you're a woman, do you find facial hair on men attractive? If you're a man, do you find facial hair on woman attractive?

Yes, I find it highly attractive. Mmm… unshaved Matthew Lewis…

18) Do you like babies?

I LOVE BABIES. SO MUCH. Even when they scream and throw poop, I find them extremely adorable.

19) What's the most violent thing you've ever done to an inanimate object?

??? I punched a balloon once.

20) What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?

At a debate tournament this guy named Travis took my timer and taunted me with it. I yelled “Give it to me!” really loud and he promptly responded with “That’s what she said!” and literally, a crowd of 40 people (mainly guys) busted out laughing. I ended up getting even with him because I beat him to a metaphorical bloody pulp when I debated him later that night.

21) Do you think the world will end in 2012?

No.

22) Have you enjoyed this survey? Be honest, now.

It was amusing. I was expecting it to be a little different.

23) Are you following The Nerd Archives? If not, DO YOURSELF THE FAVOUR OF DOING SO NOW.

Yes.

Read more: The Nerd Archives: A Blogging Survey Named Nicolai http://nerdarchives.blogspot.com/2011/07/blogging-survey-named-nicolai.html#ixzz1TeTqMcmF

As far as tagging, I'm lazy and don't feel like pulling up my friend list so ANYONE who reads this is tagged. Yes, even YOU (people from my school who read my blog but never comment).

My brain is going to explode. Again.

As I type this my parents are discussing whether or not I should apply for early action/decision for college. I'm a little antsy. And excited.Hopefully if all goes as planned I'll know by November 23rd on whether or not I'm accepted. Then if I am indeed accepted I get to start the wonderful process of filling out their Presidential Scholarship form and applying for their blogging team.

Since last year I've been doing all sorts of scholarship things and I'm also antsy about the fact that within next month they'll be announcing the winners and whatnot.

As for my AP Enviro. homework, I've managed to complete part of it! Hooray! Now I just need to finish it. After writing my last post I felt immensely guilty and I just plowed through until I literally almost fell asleep on my laptop. I dreamed of big leaf mahoganies, and of course, Anderson Cooper.

Yesterday I had a meeting with Ashley concerning Yearbook things and we actually ended up getting a lot done. We met again today and pretty much ironed out most of the management issues and what we were going to tackle when it came to meeting our new staff. I start to itch with excitement whenever I realize that WE will be in charge of making something that the rest of our senior class is going to cherish and hold dear once they exit high school. Or at least that's what I imagine they will do when they see how awesome it is.

Anyways, back to the title of my post. I've been filling out scholarship forms like a crazy madwoman, and you can tell. I spend all day in either shorts or sweats, my hair is in a permanent bun atop my head and--- you should have seen my eyebrows yesterday. They were beastly. Luckily I plucked them early this morning so they don't look too awful.

BTW, I can't stand it when guys say that they hate when girls get their eyebrows done. I knew a guy (that I almost dated) who would rant about how pointless it was. Pointless? I asked him if he would ever date a girl with a unibrow, and he responded with a quick "No way!"

Pointless?

Well yeah, I guess it would be pointless to pluck your eyebrows if you never ever wanted to date.

Needless to say I'm glad I never dated him because apparently he has no idea the time and effort (and not to mention pain) that goes into being a girl. Silly boy, girls aren't naturally hairless minxes!

Also, on yet another completely offbeat tangent: I've fallen in love with dryer sheets. Yes, you read right, DRYER SHEETS. According to this informative article on HelloGiggles, it can be used as mouse repellent, a dusting sheet, odor eater for shoes, static guard, and bee repellent.

Recently I've been using them for dusting, and I must say that they actually work better than those silly swifter things (sidenote: only use the "used" dryer sheets for dusting). Pretty much everyone in my family knows how much I completely DESPISE dusting. It's so tedious, especially when you're like me and you have 20 gazillion trinkets that you have to pick up and dust individually. Gah. But by recycling my used dryer sheets I feel motivated by the smugness I acquire by knowing that I am not only cleaning and dusting, but also being GREEN.

Ok. So I should probably stop myself before I continue to ramble on and on and on and--- well you get the idea.

Oh, but before I forget, if you're participating in Christopher's homework assignment I'd like to

give you guys a little motivation.

And I did it all without having to resort to anonymity. If I can do it, so can you! Plus, it's really great for stress relief. Personally I pretended my insults were being directed towards a certain someone that I've become annoyed by as of late.

I really need to NOT procrastinate.

So aside from my parents procrastinating about ordering two books for me off of Amazon (consequently causing me to "procrastinate" reading them), I've been procrastinating about my AP Environmental Science homework.

THERE. I admit it.

But honestly, it's not for lack of trying! I've already picked out my 3 endangered species, read up, collected data, come up with witty transitions--- it's just actually putting it in essay form that has me literally staring at the screen for five minutes, only to get distracted by my dog, who needs to go outside ALL THE FREAKING TIME. Ok. Blaming my dog and lack of proper yard fencing isn't fair. I also get distracted on Google news.

Oh, and I also sometimes find myself Googling pictures of Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Gorham, and the majority of the male Harry Potter cast. Interestingly enough, Matthew Lewis, the actor who played Neville Longbottom has become really handsome as of late. No really, LOOK AT HIM. Not to mention his charming accent AND he's quite funny on Twitter. Guys, I think I'm in celebri-love (sorry John Stamos, but the love I had for you when I was 5 has slowly dissipated).

Also, I find myself wondering why I even signed up for AP Enviro. I mean, the teacher is infamously harsh and known for making her students cry (some find this quality oddly endearing...) and the course load is INSANE. Oh, did I mention her name is Eunice?--- it's almost too good to be true. I really didn't want a blow off science class though. I mean, our Forensics class literally just watches Bones all the time and learns how to make synthetic marijuana.

I also didn't want to go to college only to end up having to adjust to taking difficult classes. Pragmatically I realize that keeping momentum is probably for the best, but I can't help but wonder what I signed myself up for.

AP Breakdown and future excuse as to why I won't blog as much during the school year: AP Economics, AP Govt., AP Environmental Science, AP Studio Art, AP Art History, AP English (literature). That's 6 honor courses that I have the potential to get college credit for--- if I ace the exams at the end of the year.

Not to mention I'm yearbook Co-Editor, so my time is going to be sparse as it is. I really don't want to drop any of my honors courses, but I'd also like to avoid having a mental breakdown due to all of the stress that I'll probably have. Hopefully I'll actually form, and meet with study groups during the year.

Anyways, this post was pretty much a form of procrastination towards my AP Enviro homework. I sat down and typed an introductory paragraph about big leaf mahoganies, only to erase all of it because it was complete and utter crap. Ugh.

OH. Dude. I just read on the news that Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy injured his Achilles tendon CHASING a burglar! How kick ass is that? Btw, I'm a die hard Jeopardy fan. Sexy, I know.

OH. And just in case you were too lazy to click on any of the Matthew Lewis related links:

Insert dirty Harry Potter pick up line here: ____________________________________

Yeah... I don't think those papers are going to get done anytime soon -.-

College Anxiety

click to enlarge. do it to see how ridiculous the distance is.

College.

The idea of moving 975 miles and 15 hours and 46 minutes away is a bit daunting, especially the part about living with a complete stranger. While a little scared I am extremely excited about going somewhere new, where I know no one. Fresh starts are completely wonderful, and I’m looking forward to make the best of the one that faces me next fall.

I’ve been doing a lot of research at the college I’ll be attending and they have 6 different rooming situations ranging from a traditional double room that is included in the comprehensive college fee, to a single deluxe suite that is $4,750 a year. My first year I’m most definitely going to be in a standard room so without question I’m going to have a roommate, and I’m a little apprehensive about this.

What if she hates me?

What if she’s completely annoying?

What if she judges me for my personal tastes?

Of course, I’m not perfect either. I live in a state of organized chaos that irks my OCD stepmom. I always have a clean floor, but my bookshelves are stuffed to the brim and there are even more piles of books everywhere else I can squeeze them. I don’t have any proper area for my art things so they kind of just lay wherever, and my computer desk? Yeah. I don’t even want to talk about that. But I’m clean for the most part. My dirty laundry ends up in its basket, if I drink something or eat something the night before the dishes get put up and cleaned in the morning. I’m not a fan of dusting, so I usually do that a few times a month (gastly! I know.) and my decorations are eclectic/indie.

Needless to say I’m sure a lot of my habits will annoy whomever I end up rooming with. I’m so envious of my friends who are going to the same college and have the opportunity to live with each other, but at the same time I would hate the possibility of conflict.

Out of all of this jumbled mess of nerves that comes with preparing for college the roommate situation is what bothers me the most. If I’m stressed out I can’t seek out solitude and my parent’s house for the weekend, and what if I get sick? I’ve never had to deal with being sick or physically stressed on my own before. I’m good with taking care of others, but if it weren’t for my parents I’d be going to school with fevers and whatnot, completely unaware of why I felt under the weather.

I like planning ahead, or at least I like knowing what to expect. I’m quite aware that this is my inner control freak coming out, but when I read things like this, I get anxious. I feel the need to form a game plan, if you will, so that I won’t be caught off guard.

Like me, I know a few of you guys are in the same boat as me--- preparing for college and whatnot and I feel a little relieved that I won’t necessarily be the only one stressing about this. My friends for the most part are staying local, so they don’t have to worry about things as much.

Anyways, I found this article a little reassuring. However the roommate contract thing seems like it would be a little weird to approach, but helpful in the long run.

What about you higher education veterans? Any advice?

What I do when I have the house to myself.

Rain Update: It rained again the next day! And it was sprinkling lightly this morning! Personally I hate walking in the rain, but since we don't have a fence around my yard and my dog can jump out of his 4ft high pen my sister and I rotate the days we walk him. However it's been so dry and miserable as of late that I'm actually willing to go outside and get a little wet. All of our umbrellas have either disappeared or been chewed up by my dog so I've just been using a hoodie to keep myself dry. Yesterday a rain shower caught me off guard and I didn't feel like walking back inside to grab my hoodie so I just toughed it out and walked around with my dog until he felt content. Not smart. After about a minute or so I was thoroughly drenched and to top it off I was unaware that I was wearing a white t-shirt until a truck full of Mexicans and their lawn gear drove by and shouted and whistled at me. Yeah. Thwarted by the white t-shirt yet again.

And now for the scheduled post:

I like being home alone. Well, I'm not really alone because I have my dog, but still. Today I started my day by drinking chilled water and watching Law and Order: SVU all by myself. And then I took a LONG nap without any judgement or accusations of being anti-social.

Periodically I walk my dog and secretly let him off the leash to roam as he wishes. No matter what time it is, if I feel motivated I make yummy food for myself including, but not limited to: plum cake, french toast, omelets, pasta with homemade sauce--- all made from scratch. I'm thinking about making crepes later tonight, but I'm having difficulty deciding on a filling... Or I might just wait until tomorrow morning and do a fresh fruit filling.

I crank up my music and bellow out with Adele, Amy Winehouse, Ella Fitzgerald, Gwen Stefani--- really I sing anything I halfway know the words to. I sing in the living room/kitchen though so I can keep an eye on the driveway. My dad has an erratic work schedule and I want to avoid any awkwardness.

Speaking of awkwardness I hate wearing bras. So I usually ditch them and go about my daily activities carefree and unrestricted. Sometimes I secretly do this, but I wear a baggy shirt or thick sweater so no one can tell, but when I'm alone? I just wear a regular shirt. I like to equate the feeling to "free balling". Oh is it glorious.

Sometimes when I'm feeling particularly productive I draw an herbal bath for myself and read a few books or so.

I really enjoy having the house to myself. I know that what I do is a little cliche and not at all daring or risque, so what about you guys? I sincerely hope none of you kill hookers.

Rain is nice.

source

_{It rained yesterday.}

_{And it was glorious.}

_{When I left on vacation I left behind dead, dry, cruchy grass that was my yard for the tropical wonderland that is Florida. From the moment we hit Louisiana things felt moister than my area of Texas in a long time. I savored the weather, which was actually in double digits.}

_{As soon as I returned home I observed with a little sadness that things were still dry, and very, very brown. My dad, unlike our neighbors, sees no point watering a yard in a middle class neighborhood. It makes sense. Who are we trying to impress? Why waste valuable water, and run up our water bill for that matter, on grass that my dog is using as a toilet? It makes sense. My dad says that the reason it’s averaging 100-105 degrees right now is because the moisture in our soil is currently 5%, as opposed to our usual 10%--- not to mention by this time last summer we actually had a significant amount of rain.}

_{But when it did rain? The sun was beginning to set as dark clouds approached my neighborhood and it started to pour. When I looked outside I expected to see the shade of grey that usually accompanies showers, but instead I was met with an eerily stunning sepia tone. Scientifically I couldn’t help but wonder if the sepia effect was caused by the sickly hue of our grass playing off of the droplets.}

_{It needs to rain more.}

I'm going to talk about the last HP movie

For a long time I had been mentally preparing myself for the end of this series. Sure, like everyone else I knew how the movie was going to end, I knew who was going to die, and of course I knew the happy ending that was awaiting everyone. However seeing the final movie cemented what I had known all along: Harry's story was finally over. I will never see Dan Radcliffe in those trademark glasses, nor will I see James and Oliver Phelps in all their ginger glory ever again.

The cinematography was absolutely brilliant, and the book to film adaptation was nice. Yes, I was a little disappointed that they had left some things out--- however when has Hollywood NOT left out important details? I was greatly upset that the movie was only a mere 131 minutes and also the shortest of the eight films. Personally I would have liked a Lord of the Rings type movie that would have been tremendously long(or at least over 200 minutes), but we can't have everything.

Honestly though, I had a great experience during the film. Throughout the entire movie I was a bit teary, and I was especially so during Snape's memories. Seeing as how Fred was one of my favorite characters I was a little sad that they didn't put more emphasis on his death, but then again, I probably would have cried like a baby if they had. Currently I'm trying to fill the gaping hole left in my heart now that the films are over with re-reading the books, fanfiction about George Weasley, and kicking holes into walls. Ok. I lied about the last one. I'm really actually just playing tug of war with my doggie.

And, at least we'll have Pottermore!

I'm back! And tan!

Guys. If you ever get the chance you must visit Universal Studios. MUST. Before I had stepped foot onto the park I was just expecting to see Harry Potter world and be done, but honestly I think I had more fun seeing everything else than the Harry Potter part.

Even though a lot of my friends had told me in advance that the Harry Potter portion was small, you really can’t comprehend how microcosmic it is compared to everything else until you’re there to see it for yourself. That being said, if you’re a hardcore Harry Potter fan like me you’ll definitely be impressed by their attention to detail on everything. The architecture was spot on, Buckbeak was believable, and the Hogwarts castle (and talking paintings!) make you feel like you stepped into one of the films. Sadly, I wasn’t able to go inside Olivander’s because the line literally was the length of the HP park; however I did manage to squeeze into the other shops. I also managed to ride The Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff three times each.

The Butterbeer was yummy, but it was basically just butterscotch flavored soda with a cream topping (btw, I love butterscotch flavorings). It’s $10.50 US for 12oz. in a souvenir mug, so it’s kind of one of those “one time” things. Speaking of prices, I brought $80 with me (which was less than what I brought with me to Las Vegas) and I spent about $78 and got ¼ the amount of souvenirs that I bought last year. Everything there was EXTREMLY overpriced; the quality was mid-grade. I got a t-shirt, the Butterbeer, and my friend Rebekka’s birthday gifts and that was it. Overall I’d give my HP Universal experience a 8/10. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel (which was awesome) and all of the service people were super nice. Also, in order to get to the park from the hotel you had to take a water taxi, which ran until 2am. Judge me if you want, but anything boat related I get super excited about for some odd reason…

One thing I found interesting about my stay at the park was the fact that 80% of the people there weren’t American. While I was there they had SIX Brazilian tour groups, not to mention various Europeans and Asians who were taking their vacations there as well. Oh man, I’m going to miss those beautiful, gorgeous, HOT Brazilian guys. Ah, and all of the lovely French men were appreciated as well. According to my dad, due to the fact that the American economy is worth shit right now foreigners are taking advantage of the fact that the American dollar is so low. BTW, if China buys out America I’m probably going to move to Australia or New Zealand. Just saying.

Anyways, my grandparents were awesome and paid for Express passes that let us cut in most of the lines; however there were a few rides that you had to wait in line for despite having an Express pass. In the three days we were there my sister and I managed to ride all but three or four of the rides at the park (unfortunately Jaws was broken :( ). I’m pretty roller coaster-ed out. Also, next time I visit a theme park I’m not taking my sister. She was a mega bitch most of the time and complained and whined until she got her way despite the fact that this trip was MY senior trip from my grandparents. Also, sharing a bed with her SUCKED--- she kicks in her sleep and steals the covers. I woke up cold almost every night and had to steal back a portion of the blanket so I wouldn’t freeze (my family cranked the AC every night) and then she would kick off the remaining blankets in her sleep and blame me in the morning for stealing it. It’s so hard to not be petty around her. I seriously thought about cutting her hair in the middle of the night, but luckily I had enough self control… I’m so glad that she’s leaving for Houston in a few days.

Horrible sister aside, I did get to work on my tan while I was in Florida, and I am now a toasty golden brown. I took advantage of the weather (which was a lot nicer than Texas’) and went to the pool as often as possible. I’m so lucky that I don’t burn like the rest of my family. The worst that has ever happened to me was when I spent the entire day at a water park with my friend Hannah and I got a little pink, and peeled a little. Gross, I know.

Currently I’m trying be more interesting while writing this, but honestly I’m so tired from travelling that all I want to do right now is crash. I guess I’ll just leave you guys with these pictures.

The only thing that bothered me was the fact that at certain angles you could see palm trees surrounding Hogwarts...

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Vacation!

Guys. You have no idea how excited I am. I know, I know most of you are sick of me talking about how I get to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but if you can imagine somewhere that you’ve always wished to go to times 10, you could understand my excitement.

Anyways, we’re driving down there and I’ll be there for about four days(!) and then we’re driving back home. Keep in mind we’re driving from TEXAS to FLORIDA. Luckily for me I live in east Texas, so at least we don’t have to cross the entire state.

I promise to take pictures and upload them ASAP, but until then I probably won’t be blogging too much. I’m bringing my laptop, but I’m not going to use it that much due to the fact that my real life > my online life right now.

I SHALL RETURN!

Subway with Dad

Today was nice. I went to Subway with my dad and had a nice lunch.

As mediocre as that sounds, I look forward to these lunches/outings due to the fact that my dad is forever busy with running his business. Since he's an entrepreneur he works around the clock, and when he's not working, he's usually too tired to do anything but eat and rest. However, he's been like that my entire life, even before he started his own business.

My mom of course was batshit and would think that whenever he was out of town with his welding gig he was cheating. According to my dad, the only mistress he ever had was Work.

So like I said, whenever he makes time for me I feel extremely special. We pretty much just talked more about college and whether or not I wanted to stick with advertising, and about my AP scores which came in.

I made a 3 on my AP US History test and a 4 on my AP English Language and Composition test, meaning that I passed both of them, but only got college credit for English. Ah well, I honestly did the best in my ability on the APUSH test however I didn't feel like my teacher adequately prepared me for it. That being said, at least I didn't fail it! Also, in case your school doesn't do AP, it's pretty much just a wide-range knowledge test over the subject and is scored on a scale of 1-5(being the highest) and you are eligible for college credit if you manage to get a 4 or 5.

Next year I'll be taking 6 AP exams. Wait, did you guys hear that? I think that was my social life evaporating into thin air. Oh well. At least for right now I can just focus on being happy because my tummy is full of a yummy delicious Subway sandwich.

Thrifting is fun

On Saturday I embarked upon a wonderful adventure with my friend Rebekka. Our original plan was to hit up an Estate sale and various scattered garage sales, but when you live in a town like mine, there isn't anything too special waiting to be "discovered" from the yards of our fellow townspeople. So we made a plan B and just hit up various thrift/antique places around town.

Overall we went to 3 shops, and even managed to swing by our local art museum. It was really fun, despite the scorching weather. No, really it was 102 degrees and sunny--- so you can imagine the heat index was more like 105.

The first place we went to was just your average thrift store. I ended up scoring a VHS of Pocahontas. I had a copy when I was little that I would watch OVER AND OVER until parts of it skipped so bad that you couldn't even see what was going on. Anyways, I would have much preferred a copy of it on DVD, but I'm cool with a VHS copy-- I mean it was only $1.99! While we were there we discovered this lounge/couch thing that was straight out of the 80s.

When I lifted up the cushion the wicker underneath was all duct-taped together, and clearly on it's last legs. It was only $6! What a steal! *sarcasm*

A record player straight out of the late 70s, early 80s! And look at me and all my no-make up glory! Shameless. Actually, there was pragmatic strategy behind my actions believe it or not. I knew that if I did indeed wear make up I would just sweat it off in the heat, so in order to save myself from looking like my face had melted off I settled for the au-natural look. And I was lazy.

Later on we went to this place called Betty's Antiques and it was HOT inside. It was really awesome though because it was this giant wearhouse stacked floor to ceiling with the coolest stuff you could imagine. It reminded me a bit of Wearhouse 13, but none of the stuff was paranormal... or at least I hope not. There were a lot of dream catchers, so who knows!
The entire place was jam packed and you had to squeeze your way into certain areas and there were books EVERYWHERE. I snagged a book club edition of Stephen King's Dead Zone for $3! I've already started the process to hollow it out.

Anyways, since then I've cleaned my grandparent's house (which honestly wasn't that bad) and met with Ashley to discuss yearbook things. I'm leaving for Universal Studios soon, so I really need to be packing and whatnot...

btw, Rebekka took all of these cool pictures!

Why is this diagram so true?

I promise, a post with actual writing, paragraphs and whatnot will be coming soon.

Take Home

I've been getting a lot of pressure from my ENTIRE family (sans my mom) to bring home a guy. And the thought that I will eventually have to bring someone over scares the crap out of me. With Shawn I was pretty lucky that he was so busy with boxing and work that the only spare time he had was to hang out with me. I also lucked out in the fact that T conveniently lived four hours north of me, and then once he moved closer to go to college he was too busy studying/gaming to be invited over. And Paul--- well that just wasn't going to happen.

However I'm fully aware that I'm not going to be able to give my parents the runaround forever. Eventually I'm going to have to bring someone home and have to get over my fears that everything will just be so awkward that I'm going to shrivel up an die.

I probably wouldn't be so freaked out if they didn't mention it to me all the time. My sister goes through boys faster than her nail colors (which change bi-weekly) and is completely fine with talking about her relationships and whatnot, whereas I'm extremely uncomfortable. Whenever I find something that I really cherish it's kind of one of those things where I just don't like to share or talk about it until I feel like it's... safe. I don't know. It's hard to explain.

Ugh. And with it being my senior year of High School they've been "concerned" about prom for me. I specifically got a request from my nice, yet senile grandma to not take a girl. WTF. I wasn't planning on taking a girl. If fact I was probably just going to ask one of my guy friends. My stepmom's request is to actually go with someone that I like in a non-platonic manner. Well, if I could somehow convince Anderson Cooper to take me to prom then perhaps I could fill that request. I just don't want to go with someone who's going to get plastered and puke on everyone before prom has even started. Plus from a parental standpoint going with a friend should not be taken for granted. At least I won't find out that I'm pregnant right before graduation like this one girl at my school.

What's even worse is whenever I go to family things, as soon as I walk out of the room and I hear all of the adults talking and 9/10 times they say something along the lines of "she does like boys... right?"

JESUS. Holy Mary Mother of God if I didn't like boys then why, pray tell, do I possess a mini shrine of Adam Lavine? Why do I run to the TV whenever I find out that Anderson Cooper is on? Why do I freak out when I discover that my childhood crush Christopher Connor might be coming to the U.S. from China (his parents are missionaries) to visit? Let me tell you, it's definitely NOT because I'm hoping to emulate their manliness.

Sometimes, when my parent's are being particularly dramatic they try to guilt me by saying that the only reason why I won't bring anyone home is because I'm ashamed of them. That hurts a little. The fact that they would make that assumption, and then accuse me of it upsets me. I wish they would just give me my space and let me work things out on my own terms. And I also think they should be counting their blessings that I'm too preoccupied with school, extracurricular activities, the news (and C-SPAN!), and art to get seriously involved with guys. I mean, my stepmom is always talking about her friends in high school who got too wrapped up in a relationships that they usually ended up screwing their entire lives up. So far, there are at least 4 girls in my grade who have gotten pregnant and guess what? It all started when they brought a boy home.

Ugh. I'm over all this pressure. I'm almost tempted to pay one of my guy friends to just come home with me and pretend we're dating for a week. Then we'll have a dramatic break up fight at the door and it'll end in him breaking a window out of anger. And then the cops will be called, and my parents will never speak to me about bringing home another boy ever again.

Everyone and their mom has a blog

Lately I have been feeling paranoid due to the fact that more people that I know IRL* are starting to blog/read my blog. While most of you might find this silly, I've been blogging since the 8th grade. Don't believe me? Check my 2008 archive that is so unbearable to look at that I've contemplated deleting it. I started blogging because it was the only way I could write without my mom snooping in my journal and demanding that my dad send me to counseling because of my unnatural obsession with Tom Felton and my weird drawings. No lie. I had to endure 2 years worth of counselling with a shrink merely due to the fact that my mom felt uncomfortable with what I wrote in my journal.

When I began I initially went solely under the pseudonym Bookish.Spazz, and never even DARED mentioning my real name or anything. Over the years I met some wonderful, like minded people who made me feel comfortable enough in my writing and the things that I shared that I became a little more lax about things (like becoming FB friends/Twitter followers, etc.). At the time a handful of my friends knew that I wrote a blog, and only my closest friends even had the URL.

But now? As I grew older, and as blogging grew in mainstream popularity more and more people at my school started blogging and discovering my blog. What makes it worse is the fact that things that I've shared with you guys (my wonderfully awesome blogger friends) are now known to people who I previously thought could have cared less about my personal life. At school I'm classified as the sarcastic, artistic spazz who often has contrasting opinions on pretty much everything (especially politics), but online I feel more like myself--- and the fact that people can read about my love/hate relationship with my grandma or my somewhat crazy mom, and other awkward things at times makes me feel a little uncomfortable because in person, it's really hard for me to talk about these things without cracking a cynical joke here and there and brushing things off like it's no big deal.

Earlier today I thought about removing some posts that I thought would offend people from my school, but the more I thought about it the more I realized how absurd that was. This blog is for me. The reason why I made it and kept it is because it not only allowed me to share the triumphs and high points in my life, but it also was a way for me to open up and get words of support and comfort when I was down. So you know what? I'm done being paranoid and uncomfortable with the idea that people that I know IRL read what I write.

If they don't like it they can just read the disclaimer off to the side and move on with their lives.

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Now onto another tangent. I've also been getting an influx of new commenters who just drop by, tell me I have a nice blog, and ask me to follow them. This bothers me. It's like a one night stand, but in comment form. This happened to me before, back when I was a blogging newbie and I naively took the bait and followed/linked them only to never hear from them again.

Let's get two things straight right here and right now:

1) I don't like popularity/attention whores in real life, so obviously that means that I don't like them online either. Getting new readers is awesome, but honestly it means nothing to me if they don't genuinely care about what I'm writing and their only ambition is to hit 1000 followers so they can brag about it to their friends. There's a difference between meeting new bloggers to become friends with and just using people to boost your blog up the ranks.

2) If you stumble upon my blog and just randomly decide to follow me, I'll check out your blog, and if I like it I'll follow it. It's as simple as that. Rarely do I follow fashion blogs because I honestly think most of them are just random girls who think pairing a heavy wool sweater with daisy dukes and stilettos is cool. It's not. It just means that you still dress like a 5 year old and you have no idea what the weather is outside. If I find a fashion blog that I like (ex. this, this, or this) then I follow it and I don't expect a followback because usually the blog is run by someone in the fashion/design industry and they have better things to do than read some 17 year old's blog. However I often get these follow requests from amateurs who are only trying to gain quick popularity and I just ignore them.

Anyways, I'm going to step off of my soapbox for now and call it a day.

*In Real Life

DIYs FTW

I’ve been crafty lately! Yesterday I found this really awesome DIY for how to make a hollow book. Whenever I get excited about something I usually have a “right now” mentality, plus when I get that excited I tend to have a one track mind. Yesterday morning I gathered up all of my supplies and got to work, wanting to finish the book as soon as possible. On the DIY guide it said that it would take upwards to two nights to cut out all the pages, but since I’m also impatient I got in done in less than 2 hours. Did I mention that I was watching Scott Pilgrim vs.

The World while I was working?

Sure, if I was a perfectionist I would have spent more time meticulously cutting out the pages making sure that there weren’t many raggedy edges, but hey I’m not. After I was done cutting out the pages I sanded the edges slightly to make it look a little better. And I kind of like the raggedy edge feel. It took me forever to find a book that I was willing to cut up, but I finally settled on this old withdrawn library book that I rescued a year ago.

The book is about Buddhism, and it came from a tiny library in my dad’s hometown. I’m a bit sad that I sold a lot of my hardcover books a few weeks ago, but I think I might go thrifting for more hardcover books this weekend. -Look at all those pages! It didn’t really take that long to cut out all the pages, but then again I didn’t really do it too neatly. Honestly the thing that was the most time consuming was waiting for all of the glue to dry that’s holding the pages together.

Aaaaand it’s done! I put some patterned paper in the back to make it look prettier. I don’t really know what I’m going to use it for yet… I guess if any burglars come to my house they won’t be able to steal my quarters and gift cards??

Or I could use it to store all of my trinkets and sparkly things! I don’t know. I’ll probably just use it to sneak beef jerky into my AP Economics class next year. It’s not really deep enough to hide anything aside from candy or money. Oh well, at least I finally have one! I’ve always wanted one, but I didn’t want to buy the crappy fake looking wooden ones and I really didn’t feel like paying $15-$45 for one on Etsy (plus shipping?!) because, well, I’m a Frugal Fran. However, if I did have the cash I would probably splurge on this flask shaped one, even though I don’t have a flask :/

The next time I make one I'll probably spend more time on it so it doesn't look so raggedy.

My Wall, and more designs.

I know guys, how have I not posted a picture of all of the wonderful things I have on my wall?! Oh wait... you don't care?

Oh well. Let me be delusional in the fact that you actually do indeed find my wall hangings interesting. A few days ago I had the pleasure of spending time with one of my friends home from college for the summer. Excited about getting another opinion about my designs I whipped out my humongo laptop and showed him the different templates I had made thus far and he was silent for a little while.

I was a little freaked out by the lack of commentary until he looked up at me and said, "Dude. All of your picture placements look like your wall. You know, the one next to your bed?"

WHAT.

I felt a little silly for not noticing this sooner, but at least I know that my design habits are consistent. Sidenote: please don't judge me for the Prom movie poster. I'm a girl.

And now we're at the part of the post where I dump three more template designs on you guys. As per usual, I put some pictures in to help simulate what the book would look like with images.

Yeah. I tried designing some sports templates, but they didn't really turn out the way I wanted them to. And I couldn't even finish one due to the fact that I was so fed up with it. I'm sure Ashley will have no problem whipping up a few for the yearbook :) Ah it's so nice to have a Co-Editor to help design things!

My Bag

Well, hey there!

A while back Lizzie did a ‘what’s in your bag’ type of post, and being a bandwagon-y type of person I decided to do one too.

I’ve had this bag since, my gosh. I think the 7^th grade--- which means I’ve had it for about 6 years. It’s not the bag that I use all the time, but whenever I’m in a rush and I just need to throw everything in a bag and get out the door this is usually the bag I grab. This girl Savannah that I used to be friends with gave it to me because she was sick of it (after only having it for 2 months!) so I gladly relieved her of it. I love this bag because it’s HUGE and it’s good if I’m packing to go somewhere on the weekend, or if I’m sneaking a box of sushi into the movie theater. Plus, it’s very bohemian and I can wear it with almost my entire wardrobe, unlike some of my other bags.

CONTENTS:

1. My pencil/paintbrush/x-acto knife case! It has all of my art utensils that I use when I’m on the go. It was a gift from my Great Aunt Judy.

2. My Texas wallet that I bought at the Alamo. Yeah it’s kitschy, but it’s so convenient! While my more fashionable friends think it’s tacky and roll their eyes at the sight of it, I love its inherent Texan charm. Plus it has a strap for my house key, the only key I posess.

3. The coolest kaleidoscope ever. I got it at the cracker barrel, and whenever I’m bored at school or in a vehicle travelling I just whip it out and enjoy the pretty colors. It was a gift from my (nice) grandparents.

4. A mirror compact, that was also a gift from someone that I don’t really talk to anymore. It smells like cherry blossoms.

5. My tiny, tiny phone. Since I don’t really text a lot my parents didn’t really want to invest in anything fancy.

6. RED MOLESKIN! I love this thing. I bought it about 2 years ago and all of the pages are almost full. I need to buy a new one. Also, I have about 3 full pages of nothing but chinese fortunes. I saved all of my favorite ones.

7. Yet another journal. I use it mainly for non-artsy things like interviews, homework reminders, personal reminders and whatnot.

8. A flashlight that was a gift from Hannah’s mom to use while we were at camp. Since it was a low-tech camp there were very few lights and after each nigh activity we had to walk back to our cabins as quickly as possible in order to make it back in time for curfew. It was literally a 10 minute walk that required us to walk through forest-y and swampy areas, so it was imperative to bring something to light a walkway. If you didn’t you’d either trip over massive tree roots or step into marshes and get all wet and soggy. I haven’t taken it out of my bag because you never know if you’ll need a flashlight!

9. A make-up bag that I got for Christmas from my aunt Andria. 80% of the time I don’t wear make-up, but when I do it’s usually just eye make-up. I also have band-aids, bobby pins, and a emergency sewing kit inside. It’s good to be prepared!

Geez. Now that I read this, over half of my stuff is just stuff that people gave me. Eh, I’m cool with free stuff :P

What about the rest of you guys? I’m curious to see what you carry around on a daily basis…

Untitled

In my last post I said that I cut my hair, which prompted some of you to ask for a picture of what it looks like now. Well here you go! Sorry if it’s a bit anti-climactic. I didn’t do anything fancy with it, in fact this is what my hair looks like au-natural with no product/spray. All I did was brush it. If any of my family has noticed, they haven't led onto the fact that they have. Plus, my hair is naturally curly so it's sort of hard to tell that it's any shorter.

Anyways, today was pretty good because I got to hang out with my friend Rebekka. We went to the movies and saw Super 8, which was surprisingly funny. Or perhaps I just have a weird sense of humor. Since going to the movies was pretty spur of the moment, we just barely made it in time before the movie started showing. Of course, all of the seats were taken except for the front row so we had to strain our necks to see the movie. Oh well, if was better than being at home.

The process of leaving my house was ridiculous. As soon as I informed my stepmom and grandma that I was going to leave around 2 they piled a whole bunch of chores on me last minute saying that I needed to do them before I left. So it was 12:45 and I needed to shower, get dressed, clean the kitchen, put up laundry, and sweep all the floors in the house. Yeah.

It started with being asked to clean the kitchen, and I thought, ok, no big deal I can get this done in 20 or so minutes, and then it just spiraled downhill from there. I got it all done though! It’s a good thing I’m pretty low maintenance because just as I finished putting on my eye shadow Rebekka showed up at my house.

When I got home after the movie I had to help my sister bring in an extra table because my step-grandparents were coming over for dinner. I like them. They don’t nag me, or make me feel stupid. Plus, the only biological grandchild they have is my little brother, so they treat me and my sisters really well. Because they were over my grandma was on her best behavior and didn’t bother my sister and I as much as she usually does. It was nice.

As most of you guys stateside are aware, tomorrow is Independence day! I’m going to spend it with my family; we’re doing a traditional BBQ brisket with veggies and watermelon for dessert. Then after that we’re probably going to see my city’s firework show. It’s nothing too extraordinary; just the usual all American day. To everyone else celebrating, have fun and stay safe!