stalling

i really shouldn't be blogging. i should, as a matter o' fact, be translating two pages of english text to german. but i'm going to blog because i'm feeling overwhelmed with life and this usually helps.

there are 7 school days left of the semester. there's the first stress. so much to do in so very little time as it is at the end of every semester. and, like me, everyone else is procrastinating and will end up pulling one or two all nighters, but not until absolutely necessary. not until the bitter end. the bitter end for me being next wednesday night around 8:00. but hopefully all is well by then...hopefully. so, i think until then, instead of bitching about all of the things i have to do i'm going to write down some things that i'm grateful for. here goes...

1. for my loving family and friends who can always make me smile and always give me a shoulder to cry on

2. for my dog who always understands me

3. for a great boyfriend who likes me for me

4. for KU football's kick ass season. 11-1 ain't too shabby. :)

5. for my mom, as she is my rock and i am hers. plus, she's taking the pressure off of me and taking care of all of the post-recital food and drink details.

6. for getting snow the day after thanksgiving...it was quite pretty for the time it was there even though it melted pretty fast.

so. time is time. i don't really think it can be wasted or saved, we just spend it, live it and try our best not to rush through it. may we all do a little less bitching and a little more thinking about what we are grateful for in our lives. at the very least, we should be grateful that we ARE alive, for that is a great gift in itself.

"solace"

well life throws you curves, but you learn to swerve...

It's amazing, how you can go all afternoon not thinking about something that is upsetting and then all of a sudden it hits you. My aunt is the third person in the past three years to be diagnosed with cancer in my family. She has breast cancer. My dad (father) is recovering from prostate cancer surgery. My dad (stepdad) is going strong after surviving colon cancer. Several years ago my grandmother had lung cancer and my grandfather died shortly before I was born of leukemia. My stepgrandmother passed away of pancreatic cancer.

It just doesn't seem fair. We live our lives to the best of our ability and many of us end up with this disease in some shape or form. All we can do is take preventative measures in order to "catch it early" and have "early detection." It's frightening. For women, for men, for everyone involved. So quickly a life can change, so abruptly. I can't even imagine what it's like to hear those words from the doctor. Cancer affects families throughout the world. To be quite honest and blunt, it just plain sucks that as we grow older, generations before us (parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles) also grow older and ultimately end up dealing with things such as cancer just as my generation will also deal with illness in our own bodies someday...as some already have. And we fight. Families help each other fight the cancer. It's a will power thing. If you believe it, it can happen.

So, live life to the fullest. Be kind to people as you never know what they are going through. Tell your family and friends that you love them and that you care about them. And have faith that everything will be okay in the end...otherwise, it's not the end.

KU vs. Mizzou

Grandpa Simpson tells it like it is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv1G2-Cz6ek

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK GO KU!!!

Trippin'

i am visiting our nation's capitol this weekend and let me tell you that the pictures you see on t.v., in magazines, in movies, do not even begin to do this place justice. it's just amazing. i don't think i stopped smiling all day. i'm still smiling now. :)

this city has got it down...from memorials that give you goosebumps, monuments that make you feel so physically small that it's hard to fathom, and just a genuine national spirit that i don't think you can really pick up on quite like this in many more places.

seeing kermit the frog, dizzy gillespie and louis armstrong's trumpets, and george washington's uniform all in one place was completely mind blowing. seeing a memorial of the war that my grandpa fought in and that my other grandparents were children during was soulful. we were totally bloated after having an amazing lunch at a D.C. "must go", Old Ebbitt's where i ate amazing crabcakes, canneloni and an incredible piece of cheesecake. but getting to do all of this with my best friend was probably the best part of the entire day--i have a feeling it will be the best part of the entire trip. :)

i was thinking today about how happy i've been lately and how you can be different kinds of happy. being here in D.C. with my best friend makes me happy (she said matter-o-factly). i cannot think of another person that i would rather see this stuff with. we had so much fun today and laughed so hard and walked so far that on the way home we were so completely and utterly exhausted that all we could do was sit on the metro in complete silence. that is how you know you are good friends...when you can sit in complete silence with someone and still be having a conversation. that is a bond that no one can break.

good night d.c. see you in the morning.

jefferson memorial--amanda and karen '07

my life: the soundtrack

I did this by taking all of my songs that I have on my computer and put it on shuffle. I took whatever song popped up...I went through twice because I felt like it. :)

Opening credits: "You're in My Heart"--Rod Stewart, "Above Ground"--Norah Jones
Waking up: "Days Go By"--Lifehouse, "Favorite Year"--Dixie Chicks
Average day: "Stoppin' the Love"--KT Tunstall, "Jaded"--Aerosmith
First date: "A Walk on the Ocean"--John Mayer (remake), "Get Ready"--The Temptations
Falling in love: "Name"--Goo Goo Dolls, "Here Comes the Sun"--The Beatles
Love scene: "Dancing with Angels"--SheDaisy, "This Woman Needs"--SheDaisy (two in a row!)
Fight scene: "Humble Me"--Norah Jones, "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash"--Huey Lewis
Breaking up: "Kokomo"--The Beach Boys (haha!), "Slide"--Goo Goo Dolls
Getting back together: "I Rock the Party that Rocks the Party"--Queen Latifah, "Oh Love"-- Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood
Secret love: "Build Me Up Buttercup"-The Temptations, "Taking The Long Way"--Dixie Chicks
Life's okay: "Love is the Movement"--Switchfoot, "1, 2 Step"--Missy Elliot and Ciara
Mental breakdown: "Those Sweet Words"--Norah Jones, "Broadway"--Goo Goo Dolls
Driving: "Throttleneck (instrumental)"--Brad Paisley, "Don't Stop Me Now"--Queen
Learning a lesson: "Heal Over"--KT Tunstall, "Letter to Me"--Brad Paisley (very fitting)
Deep thought: "All at Once"--The Fray, "New York"--Frank Sinatra
Flashback: "Lose Control"--Missy Elliot, "Why Georgia"--John Mayer
Partying: "Symphony No. 6"--Beethoven (huh?) :), "Everything is Everything"--Lauryn Hill
Happy dance: "Hello, Dolly!"--Barbara Streisand, "She's Some Kind of Wonderful"--Huey Lewis
Regreting: "Ironic"--Alanis Morrisette, "Heart Shaped Box"--Nirvana
Long night alone: "You Left the Water Running"--Huey Lewis, "It's All Been Done"--BNL
Death scene: "Everytime We Say Goodbye"--Ray Charles, "Fish Heads"--Dr. Demento (haha!)
Closing credits: "Bye Bye Miss American Pie:--Don MacLean, "Sugar Sugar"--The Archies

"Sea Foam"--AF 2007

music

i love being able to sit down at my desk and have all of my music at my fingertips. i can listen to ella fitzgerald, john mayer, chicago, the beatles, or carole king all with the click of a mouse. time flies when music is in my ears. 2 hours gone, just like that...kind of like tonight.

music--i highly recommend it. it's a soul healer, mood lifter, time waster, and a good friend that knows exactly how you feel. my life is a soundtrack--every emotion, every situation, every day.

"What we play is life."--Louis Armstrong

"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness."--Maya Angelou

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."--Victor Hugo

"The Little Rascals"

Simply the Best

thank you for always being
my rock and
my light
you are the best
i love you
happy birthday mom!




mother and daughter