Monday, October 31, 2011

'Cat'erpillar

We got so antsy throwing Halloween decorations in our shopping cart on Saturday morning prior to our party, that we thought it'd be a good idea to also purchase a costume for our kitty. So we did just that. We bought Luna a caterpillar costume. Quit appropriate if you ask me.

When we returned from running our errands, we dressed Luna up and to her dismay and our amusement, she had a pretty hard time walking around with her costume on. She would take a few careful steps until she finally plopped down on her side. It was pretty hilarious, but we decided to give Luna a break and let her just come to our party as a black cat. We are such nice owners.





More on the party soon!   

Friday, October 28, 2011

Five Feel Goods (Halloween Edition)

Not only is it the weekend, but it is Halloween weekend. That is a bunch of double goodness if you ask me. Brian and I decided at last minute to have a Halloween party tomorrow night. And by last minute I mean we officially let everyone know the time. . .this morning. So we'll see how that turns out. Some people don't like Halloween. I am a person that in fact likes Halloween a lot. I think it's a fun holiday. And yes, I guess there are some aspects about it that maybe rub me the wrong way, but I really do appreciate the holiday for what it's worth. Watching scary movies while curled up in a blanket, carving pumpkins, drinking hot chocolate in the mornings instead of orange juice, gathering articles of clothing to create a costume, going to corn mazes on the weekends. . .see, Halloween really is a grand holiday.

And here are five Halloween-themed things that have made me feel good about October 31st:








This idea is adorable. You just stack two bunt cakes on each other and make them look like a pumpkin. Festive and delicious.








I watched Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho for the first time this October and I totally appreciated it. It's funny to see how much movies have changed. Especially where this movie is rated R and could probably pass for PG in today's world. I think everyone should indulge in old horror movies. Something about a black and white horror movie just gets me. I think Alfred Hitchcock is a genius.










I came across this costume idea on Pinterest and I've already decided that years from now when Brian and I have a little demon child running around, that the demon child will be a penguin, I will be Mary Poppins, and Brian will be Bert.









Michael Jackson's classic "Thriller" music video is PERFECT for Halloween. It cracks me up every time I watch it and one day I WILL learn the dance. This also brings back memories of my first boy/girl party in middle school, because my mom set this up for us to watch. Ah, the memories.









Last but not least, everyone in their right mind enjoys a good caramel apple when the Halloween season creeps around. I think they're delicious, but they have a few downfalls. First, I can never seem to eat the whole thing. Secondly, they are dang messy. I always end up with caramel covered fingers and a sticky face. It's like I'm in 2nd grade again and I don't know how to eat with my manners. But then I discovered a bit of heaven on one of my new favorite blogs, abeautifulmess.typepad.com, when they made an easy recipe for caramel apple bites. I'm excited to try.



I hope everyone has a delightful and safe Halloween. Wish us luck on our party. We hope it comes together and turns out fun.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Grasshoppers


So it seems pretty easy to post things on this blog of mine when it's just ramblings of my life and the thoughts that buzz around in my head. However, I'm really nervous about this specific post, because I'm sharing something that I didn't just write and ramble on about on the spot. In this post, I'm going to share a short story I wrote for my Fiction Writing class.

Fiction Writing is my favorite class this semester. It almost feels like a break from my other classes. All we do is host workshops every class where we go through each classmate's stories and discuss how to improve them. It's pure bliss I tell you! Any ways, this story is a short story known as 'sudden fiction'. Sudden fiction is a very short story where you take a big story and then just make a little segment of it into your story (if that makes sense). Sudden fiction tends to be something that will shock the reader as well. So with that said, here is my sudden fiction story. I got an A on it, so I guess that means it doesn't suck. But that doesn't exactly mean it's wonderful either. . .so I hope you supportive people out there reading this will enjoy it. I got the story idea one afternoon when Brian and I were at his parents' house. We were walking through the grassy pasture and the grasshoppers were hopping about like crazy. There was basically a shower of grasshoppers at our feet. Then I said to Brian, "What's a grasshopper's lifespan?" And with that one question, an idea for a story was formed. So here it is, "Grasshoppers"


 Grasshoppers
            The sun lazily creeps behind the rolling hills, ready to tell the earth goodbye for the day. There will still be sunlight for about another hour, and the last hour is the brightest of all. Rays of sun seem to light everything on fire, bringing the land alive with hues of sleepy gold. The days are growing shorter. The temperatures are dropping. Soon, the mornings will greet layers of frost on the ground and soon after that, snow. Benny Driggs pats the last milk cow in line on the hind, thanking her in a way for providing a chance for him to raise his son. Dairy farming does not provide for the most luxurious of living, but that is fine with Benny. He has never been one to want luxurious anyways. Luxury for him is being able to work outside with animals, wake up early to smell the scents of a new day, and go home in the evening to a warm meal.
There once was a time when Lydia made those warm meals. He would walk into the kitchen after taking his work boots off at the door, and quietly walk up behind her, sliding his arms around her petite waist. There once was a time when his arms slid there and Lydia would let out a light laugh of surprise, her smiling eyes as sparkling as the modest diamond on her left hand. Now Benny’s own mother, who lives just across the street, makes the warm meals.
            With another day of work done, Benny locks the barn up for the night. As he slides the barn door shut, grasshoppers begin leaping in all directions from the tall grass, alarmed at the screech of the thick wooden door. Benny takes a moment to watch the creatures hop around in a confused dance, shades of tans, greens, and light yellows blending together. He then turns to admire the countryside behind him. The fields are turning brown, growing old and tired. The sky has been a cool grey all afternoon long, but with the setting sun, the clouds now seem to wake up and dance in colors of deep purple and orange, orange like the pumpkins growing plump in the garden. Those pumpkins sit and patiently wait for the time to come when they will be picked and have menacing smiles carved into their thick sides. Sitting and waiting for growth. Sitting and waiting for a time to be set free. Sitting and waiting. It seems to be not only a habit of pumpkins, but of people as well. People will spend their whole lives sitting and waiting.
 Benny admires the river that runs close by his farm. The cattails are growing in thick along the riverbeds. They sway a little, almost laughing at Benny as he watches them. Laughing at him as he remembers days of his childhood he spent wandering along the river, fishing. He had been quite the fisherman. He begins wondering why he ever stopped. At that moment, he decides he will pick it up again and start fishing again, and he will teach his boy, Jackson, how to fish too. He is getting old enough.
 Jackson will be seven next week. When Jackson was born, Benny had felt so nervous about being a father. He remembers how he clumsily held Jackson’s baby body in his arms for the first time nearly seven years ago. When he looked at Lydia, searching for advice on what to do, she just gave him an exhausted smile, her honey-colored hair in wisps across the hospital bed pillow. Benny had felt so nervous about being a father. Now he couldn’t imagine a life without Jackson in it. Every evening Jackson asks if he can go with to tend to the cows and every evening Benny grants his wish.
            Benny trudges away from the barn. “Jackson, the cows are all tended to. Where’d you go, boy? Jackson?”
“Over here, Dad!” Jackson’s head pokes up from the tall grass. His cheeks gleams with perspiration and he seems slightly out of breath. His baseball cap slips down over his eyes, too big for his little seven-year-old head, “I’m over here! I’m trying to catch a grasshopper.”
 Benny chuckles and remembers how grand it was to be a young, adventurous boy. Benny strolls slowly over to his boy as he pulls the sleeves of his flannel jacket over his thick, tan arms. Thick from work and tan from sun, that’s how the arms of a farmer are made. Benny playfully tugs Jackson’s baseball cap down further over his eyes and bends into the grass to grab at one of the many grasshoppers weaving their way through the leaves. He catches one in his palm and gently lets his callused fingers close on top of the leaping locust. Benny then turns to his son and lets his fingers spread apart, just slightly, to reveal the strange creature with the long legs. Jackson gasps and smiles up at his father. Benny can’t help but smile too, because he knows that Jackson believes his dad can do or conquer anything. Because being a dad entitles you to be a conqueror of all. If only that were true, Benny thinks to himself.
            Jackson carefully takes the grasshopper from his father’s hand but makes the mistake of picking it up from the leg. The grasshopper kicks at the air as a startled Jackson hurriedly wraps his small hands around the creature. He then lets his fingers gingerly pat the grasshopper’s head. His fingernails are caked with mud. Jackson thoughtfully looks at the grasshopper’s alien-like eyes, a million questions buzzing in his young brain. “Dad, what happens to the grasshoppers when it gets too cold outside?”
“Well, my boy, they die. They can’t handle the cold. Their bodies just freeze.”
Jackson’s lower lip plumps out, forming a small frown. “You think if I take this one home and put him in a jar, he’ll make it through the winter?”
“No, son. Grasshoppers never live long anyways. I was once told their lifespan was about three to five months. I guess they don’t need longer than that to accomplish all the things in their lives. They aren’t as stubborn and scared as us humans when it comes to things like living.”
Jackson looks up into his father’s face. His hazel eyes look thoughtful. He then sets the grasshopper in the dirt. It doesn’t move so he scoots at its legs with his fingers, causing it to jump off into the weeds. “If I only had three months to live, I’d do lots of living. Know what I’d do, Dad?”
            Benny runs his fingers through his beard and smiles, “What’s that, son?”
            “Well, I’d probably start out by telling Mandy I love her. She sits next to me in Mrs. Daniel’s class. She’s got pretty, curly hair and she’s smart too. Sometimes I peek off her in spelling. She always spells the words right,” Benny just smiles and waits for his son to keep going, “Then I’d tell Grandma that she needs to stop bothering me about eating all my vegetables cause if I ain’t gonna live to be a grown man, then eating my vegetables don’t really matter much. She always says they’ll help me grow big and strong but three months isn’t much time to be growing much bigger.” Benny lets out a laugh at this, thinking about how his own mother and Jackson always seem to fight it out over the vegetable situation.
            “I would also learn how to milk all the cows. So you wouldn’t have to do it, Dad. Then me and you, we could go climb around in the mountains and do man stuff together.” Green and brown grasshoppers are now gathering around Jackson, as if to hang onto every word he is saying. “Then I’d go to the jail. And I’d tell Mom it’s okay that she’s so sick. I’d tell her I still love her, even though she kind of forgot just how to take care of me,” Jackson is staring down at the ends of his boots now, “Because I know she’s sick and when a person is sick it’s hard to want to take care of other people. And I’d tell her when she gets out of jail that she won’t have to worry ‘bout taking care of me. I’ll take care of her instead.”
            Benny reaches out for his boy. He pulls the baseball cap off Jackson’s head and softly plants a kiss on his messy blonde hair. “I love you, son. And your mom loves you too.”
Then Benny slips back into the memories. He remembers the night he walked into the bedroom to see stolen prescription bottles scattered along the nightstand and his wife limp in bed, and he came to the shattered realization that he couldn’t fend for his drug addicted wife any longer. He remembers how she yelled at him in court, and accused him of ruining their family, as shiny handcuffs were placed on her frail wrists. He remembers how Jackson still wakes up crying at night, so the two of them go into the kitchen and drink a glass of milk to calm the both of them down. Then a familiar moo from the barn breaks the silence, and Benny is able to pull himself from the painful memories and mask his feelings once again. Still, he can’t help but think about the grasshoppers as the sun goes down and the world grows dark, and he wonders if life would be much different if he only had three months to live.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Truth Tuesday

(Brian and Luna turned into a psychedelic poster) 


  • Today was a rather rough morning. It started out nice, with both me and Brian being ready to go to class on time. Then, however, I couldn't find my van keys anywhere. This is a problem seeing our parking pass was locked within Goldie the Van. After twenty minutes of tearing our place apart, we couldn't seem to locate the keys anywhere. So we came to the conclusion that Luna, our playful and very sly kitten, must have carried the keys off somewhere. She has an obsession, after all, with car keys and all things jingly and shiny. So we drove to class, parked on campus, and paid a ridiculous amount to use the lot for three hours.

  • After returning back to our home about thirty minutes ago, we searched the place again for any sign of my keys. We even told Luna that if she showed us where they were, we'd reward her with a can of tuna. She didn't seem to understand. Finally, I found my keys hidden in the depths of my cluttered purse. I guess you could say I felt pretty foolish. Brian mocked me. I was mad. In the end, we both agreed we would still blame Luna for the key incident, but guys, she's just so cute! I can't tell lies about her. So there you have it: the truth.

  • Over the weekend, I made cookie dough, planning on turning the dough into chocolate chip cookies. That never ended up happening. It remained in dough form and me and Brian ate it from the bowl with a spoon. While watching an old horror movie, of course. 

  • Sometimes, I forget to put a bra on before I get dressed. So I get completely dressed, realize I forgot something, and then have to get redressed all over again. Maybe one day I'll learn. 

  • So I guess I'll now reveal what Brian and I are being for Halloween. Since it's Truth Tuesday and all. We are being old people. I'm excited. I think we'll make an endearing old couple. 

  • I realized that lately I haven't been doing much focusing on others. I can do better. Sometimes I get a little too caught up in my own life and I forget that I have it pretty easy. 

  • I finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined Pinterest. You can find myself right here  I honestly don't get what all the hype is about. It's nice, but I think blogger and facebook are still cooler. But it is nice to look for craft ideas, party ideas, and home decor ideas. I don't really get why you'd pin music, celebrities, or books though. I know what books I like. It's stored in my brain. And I don't feel it's important to waste time looking for pictures of Hillary Duff so I can pin them to my "Celebrities I Like" board. Maybe it'll grow on me. After all, I did make fun of people with blogs before I tried having one myself. 


Bottoms are Scary

With a name like 'Little Bear Bottoms', you'd probably think of something very cutesy. Like maybe you'd imagine the furry behinds of baby bear cubs. That's kind of what I think of. Well, most of what 'Little Bear Bottoms' offers is very cutesy and kid friendly. There's a ridiculously easy corn maze, hay bales galore for energetic children to climb on, tractor rides, and a white sheet set up so all can watch and enjoy Disney's Sleepy Hollow projected on the sheet.

 The one thing that doesn't exactly fit in with the rest of the old farm which has been turned into a Halloween-themed park, is the Haunted River Walk. It's very well done, each part you journey through has been creatively planned out and arranged. From an old lady at an organ, to clowns following you with knives, to a man being hung from a tree, to a run-down truck chasing you through a corn field, to the Headless Horsemen himself. . .the simple place tucked in the valley of Wellsville sends chills down the spine and made me shriek in surprise and giggle in amusement all at once. It was a thrill. I am so happy my mom, sisters, and Saige (my sister's good friend) were able to make it down our way this weekend so we could get in the Halloween spirit. Brian and I really had a great time, so thanks girls!

Just to mention, we went on this same Haunted River Walk last October, and my baby sis, Chloe, got scared to death. She bawled nearly the whole time. She was extremely brave this time and didn't cry at all. Just clung to Brian's neck a little tightly during the scary parts (he gave her a piggy-back through the haunted walk).

We finished the night off right with hot chocolate back at mine and Brian's apartment. Goodness, I'm thrilled for Halloween. Enjoy some pictures of our spooky adventure:












Saturday, October 22, 2011

Some Logan Love

I live in Logan, UT. A beautiful country town set in a farming valley between chains of mountains. My school's campus is one of the more gorgeous I've seen, since it sits on a hill overlooking everything and is mapped out almost at the very mouth of Logan Canyon. It is especially gorgeous this time of year, when the leaves on the trees are changing and falling from the branches to slumber on the earth's floor.

In high school, I was always that girl who wanted to get out. Move far away from the Idaho/Utah border. Funny thing is, those are usually the people who end up staying forever. I don't know if I'll be around here forever, but there's a good chance I'll be in Logan a while. And you know what, I am feeling pretty excited about that. I love that Bri and I are right in between both of our parents. And Logan really is a lovely place.

I hear lots of students at Utah State University complain about how they have nothing to do, or say that Logan is boring. Well, truth be told, if you're bored you're probably being boring. So stop being boring and stop complaining. Take some action and try to appreciate where it is you live. Wherever in the world you might be.

So in honor of appreciating the place I live and wanting to spread my pride and joy of Logan, I have decided to do a series of posts. In this series of posts, I will be featuring certain places throughout my town. I really feel that Logan has some little treasures of shops and restaurants and I don't think many people are aware of these treasures. So it's time to dig up these treasures and let the bored people of Logan become entertained. Watch out, in the future you'll be seeing some "Logan Love" posts.

This is a picture of Old Main, the oldest building on USU's campus. For those of you that aren't USU savvy. :)

Friday, October 21, 2011

Chinese Food & a Pumpkin Walk

Occasionally, on days when Brian gets home from work and I get home from school, neither of us feel like cooking dinner. It can be a lot of work; cooking. All the planning of what to prepare, all the mess you have to make, all the waiting for the meal to be ready to eat. Not to mention, once you finish eating, you have to worry about cleaning up and washing dishes. C'mon guys, cooking can be a pain.

So on such occasions when neither of us want to do so much as look in the direction of a pot or pan, we take the luxury of eating out. Thursday night, we chose Chinese food. It really hit the spot.



 Then, after nibbling away at our fortune cookies, we also treated ourselves to the luxury of going to the pumpkin walk.

The pumpkin walk was packed with people. There was a huge line that went all the way out of the park. Since the cold was nipping at our fingers and toes, we didn't want to wait in the long line. So we decided to go through the park backwards. A handful of other people also had the bright idea of going through backwards so we weren't complete loners. Being backward folk was a bit strange and we didn't get to take our sweet time at all the displays, but it was still a good time. Plus, we didn't have to stand in line for hours at a time and didn't develop hypothermia. Any ways, I always love a creative pumpkin display. Way to go pumpkin artists! I snapped a few pictures so you can feel like you're going on a pumpkin walk too. You're welcome!  








Tangled. . .this was my favorite display!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

A Booo-tiful Long Weekend

WARNING: This entire post is mostly just nonsense.

It is Utah State's fall break. Which means we get tomorrow off. Yay for one day breaks! One day break or not, I need it. After the grueling amount of studying and assignments I worked on last week, I'm thrilled to just stop thinking for a while. Maybe tomorrow I'll sit on the sofa and just drool on myself. Just because I can.

I hope the whole weekend will reveal just as lovely weather as today's. Today was the perfect fall day. I even went on a run. I am finally over my cold. I gave that same cold to Brian, and he's beginning to feel better too. Brian and I want to do some Halloween type things this weekend. Which we probably will. And we need to hunt around for our Halloween costumes. We know exactly what we're going to be, but I don't want to reveal it quite yet. But if you need an idea of what to be this Halloween, just ask me, I have lots. Sometimes during boring lectures, I just sit and think up costume ideas of what I could be in future years. So I'd be happy to lend you an idea.

For example, if you have a cat similar to Luna, you could be a pirate and then just dress your cat up like a parrot since she loves to perch on your shoulder.


And yes, I'm sporting a snazzy Allstate jacket in this photo. BWell surprised me with it. That boy is just full of surprises. I love him and I love my Luna too.

And one more thing, if you haven't figured it out by now, we are most likely now keeping Luna permanently. She is so cuddly and perfect. She's like that stuffed animal you had as a kid that you always wished would come alive. That's Luna, a living, breathing, purring stuffed animal. Plus, Brian likes making her chase things way too much to return her. And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be able to convince me to chase his truck keys like he does to Luna.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Forgotten Thank Yous

A list of thank you notes I'll never send in the mail. . .  .


Dear Life Cereal,
Thank you for making a cinnamon version of your bad self so I have something delicious to snack on. I read on your box this morning that you're also celebrating your 50th birthday. Go Life! You rock!


Dear Hastings,
Thank you for all the free movies. Brian and I rent from you so often that we seem to always have credit. Especially lately since we've been on a scary movie kick.


Dear Lady sitting behind me in the temple,
Thank you for passing me the cough drop during my deathly coughing episode. Through that experience, I discovered that the temple is the worst place to choose to cough uncontrollably. Thanks for making my life a little less awkward. The cough drop felt nice on my raspy throat.


Dear Chick-fil-A,
Thanks for being my comfort food. Something about your polynesian sauce, nuggets, and waffle fries just wins me over.


Dear 95.9 Classic Rock,
Thank you for the great music from days when rock still rocked and my dad still had a mullet.


Dear Newscast teacher,
Thanks for handing out Kit-Kats today. I was sincerely excited about it.


Dear family,
Thank you very much for our kitty. . .because I don't think we plan on giving her back like we originally said. We've just grown much too attached.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Drab to Fab for Dirt Cheap

So last week when I was suffering from a very evil cold, I decided to go to the place where everyone should go when their nose is stuffy so they can't smell a thing. That place is Deseret Industries. So I wandered into the aisles of the store which is full of a bunch of weird house smells all meshed together, and started searching for secondhand treasures. I came across a very tacky painting, but I was in love with the bright yellow frame it was in.

 I felt torn. Tacky painting. Awesome frame. Tacky painting. Awesome frame.



Since it was only $3.00, I came to the decision that I'd buy it. However, over the weekend, I gave it a little makeover. This makeover was not only cheap, but insanely easy. So easy even my cat could do it. All you need is a tacky painting or a painting you're not totally in love with, sticker letters, and paint (I used spray paint). Let me tell you what I did. 


Step One

Take your sticker letters and place them on the painting. Since I am the paranoid type, I cut the stickers out before sticking them on so I could get them just how I wanted. Feel free to place them as perfectly or as crookedly as you fancy. You can say whatever you wish on your painting. Choose a favorite saying, quote, or catchy song lyric. My space was pretty limited. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to say, since most the quotes I liked were too long. Finally, Brian and I decided on some lyrics from a song by Third Eye Blind (one of the best bands ever) called, "Deep Inside of You". The lyrics we chose were, "Boy make girl feel good". Simple, but sweet in so many ways.




Step Two 

Paint over the painting and letters. You could use acrylic paint if you so desire, but I just used spray paint. Spray paint is a lot faster, plus I wanted to make sure it wouldn't bleed through the stickers. Make sure you choose a color that won't blend with the colors of the original painting. Using white paint would almost always be a safe bet. I chose a very light sea foam color. Then just wait for it to dry. 




Step Three

After the paint has dried completely, just carefully peel your stickers off. This was my favorite part. It's fun to see what each letter looks like. Brian used one of his razors to easily take the stickers off. I would recommend using a tool besides just your fingers.

  

There you have it. Three basic steps and you have yourself a new piece of wall art. I'm excited with how it turned out. It'll be a great addition to our cozy bedroom. After experimenting, I'll now probably be on the hunt for crappy art more often. 



Friday, October 14, 2011

Five Feel Goods

Today is Friday. Praises. Sadly, I fear the majority of my weekend will still be spent doing homework.
Is it Christmas break yet? 

But despite the nasty load of homework I have ahead of me, I'm sure BWell and I will still find some time for fun. 

Remember how I used to do a "Five Feel Goods" every Friday? Remember how I haven't done it for quite some time? Well, I decided to start back up again. Because there is nothing wrong with focusing on the simple, lovely things that make us feel incredibly happy.








Pretty fall colors on my coffee table make me feel really good. A dish of candy corn and caramels, a book I still have to read and return to my grandma, and a handkerchief that is usually found around Luna's (the kitty) neck.








This sweet saying makes me feel good. It's from a Winnie the Pooh movie. Gosh, I love Winnie the Pooh. I would like to eventually make a sign like this and put it in our bedroom.









This tutorial  on how to make vintage suitcases even cuter! I have a plain brown suitcase I scored at an antique shop about a month ago. I totally plan on trying this with it. Perhaps this weekend as a break from writing papers?







Fall clothing. I love the fact that fall is here. It's my absolute favorite! If I could live somewhere in the world where it was fall weather all year, I'd move there. Stat. Okay, maybe. I do love my seasons. However, fall just makes me chipper. And it allows me to bust my favorite articles of clothing from my closet. Boots, leg warmers, sweaters, cardigans, leggings, hats. . .the fun just never stops.







Speaking of fall, it's the perfect time for me to make my favorite cookie. Pumpkin chocolate chip. There is nothing quite like curling up in bed with Bri and feasting on pumpkin chocolate chip cookies while drinking milk out of our special mugs.



I feel oh so good. I hope you feel good too, and have yourself a spectacular sort of weekend. 

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Let's Take a Stand and Pour Perfume Down the Drain

Tonight I had the privilege to go to a showing of a film called, "Killing Us Softly". I went to get extra credit for my Social Inequality class, but I really just wanted to go because it was something that interested me. The film is about how women are portrayed through media and advertising. I have always been disgusted and frustrated with how women often portray themselves through the media, but this film only opened my eyes wider to the problem.

And you know what else? It empowered me. It made me want to do something.

Women and even young girls have false images of what beauty is. We see a girl on an advertisement who is way too skinny, has perhaps had plastic surgeries, and then on top of that, the picture has been airbrushed and edited beyond belief. . .and then we believe that to look beautiful, we must somehow look similar to the image we see. The truth is, that girl in the image doesn't even look like that.

Why are advertisers entitled to define what beauty is? Beauty doesn't come in a certain pant size or the right bra size either. Beauty is much broader than that. Every single woman is entitled to feel sexy in their own skin. No woman should feel pressured to starve herself in order to lose a certain amount of weight or undergo surgery so she can be happy with her body.

In my opinion, a beautiful woman is one who can be happy with herself. Plain as that.

Also, there are many advertisements out there in the open that are very pornographic and degrading to women. Some of these advertisements which were shown in the film seriously left me with a sick feeling in my stomach. Dolce & Gabbana's ads were some of these that I found very most disturbing. I'm a bit unsure about even showing this on my blog, but I want to get some readers out there as angry as me. So. . .brace yourselves. . .


I own a bottle of Dolce & Gabbana perfume. A boy gave it to me one Christmas, and I honestly didn't even know what Dolce & Gabbana was. Remember, I'm a po-dunk Idaho girl, guys. However, my friends seemed excited about it and explained to me that it was nice perfume and I thought it smelled pretty, so I wore it on occasion. I have about a quarter of the bottle left and I plan on rinsing that quarter of perfume down the sink. I have made a decision to never buy Dolce & Gabbana again. No matter how good it smells.

The whole point of advertising is to make money. It's as plain as that. So if we, the consumers, don't buy the product, they don't make money. I know I'm just one person and Dolce & Gabbana would probably just laugh at me, but everything has to start with one person's actions. So join me in washing my perfume down the sink.

To find out more about the wonderful lady who is the genius behind the "Killing Us Softy" documentary, check her website out at http://jeankilbourne.com/

Sore Thumb

Today I am sticking out like a sore thumb.

Which if you think about it, that's kind of a funny saying.
Same with, 'cuter than a bug's ear'. I mean, is a bug's ear even cute? Or a better question yet, do bugs even have ears? Just something to think about.

No matter how silly the sayings are, today I am a sore thumb. Because I'm wearing red pants. Which I'm very happy about. Buying these red pants was basically a way to buy happiness. And people say you can't buy happiness. Well, they're wrong because I did.

I also have new hair, and it is pretty funky indeed. It's almost a purple color with a couple streaks of blonde here and there. It makes me feel like a new woman. A woman who lives on the edge.





Hooray for positive change! I'll be a sore thumb any day.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Truth Tuesday


  • We are both suckers for this kitty. I tied one of my many vintage handkerchiefs around her neck and she quadrupled in cuteness. And Brian has apparently been looking up tips on how to train cats and how much it costs to de-claw them. Suckers I say! 

  • I haven't been working out like I used to. And I miss it. I hate that I have to prioritize things over exercise. Like hours and hours of homework. And eating. And washing clothes. 

  • Dirty dishes in the sink gross me out. I am not a fan of touching them, let alone washing them. I'd rather wipe bums than wash dirty dishes by hand. 

  • As of late, I have an obsession with watching scary movies. I'm a fan of Halloween and just October in general. 

  • I had to do a story on a Harry Potter event that took place on USU's campus last weekend, and since then I've had Harry Potter music stuck in my head. And I sort of want to reread all the books. But when will I ever find time for that? 

  • Tomorrow for my newscast class, I'm directing our show. I'm super nervous. Pray for me, people. 

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Temporary Roommate


Brian and I don't see eye-to-eye on everything, but then again, there are quite a few things we have in common. 

One thing we do have in common is that we love animals.

 I grew up in a home where my mom had this huge soft spot for animals. I think people basically dropped no longer wanted pets off near our home because they knew my mom would take the abandoned animals in. I also have various memories of going to pet shops or other places where animals were for sale, and somehow my mom got succored into making a purchase. Then the whole ride home was spent thinking of things to tell my dad so he wouldn't freak out about my mom turning our house into a petting zoo. One of those times involved a pig. A potbelly pig. 

So any ways, it's always been weird for me to be at college and not have a pet around. Now that I'm married. . .I just really want a pet of some kind. So does Brian. We both agree that we would love to have a dog. But we just don't have the space right now for it. 

So I thought to myself, "Why not get a cat?"

 Of course, they aren't always as sweet as dogs are, but sometimes you can get lucky and find a sweet one. Plus, they are small, they know how to use a litter box, and they don't make very much noise. 

Brian wasn't too fond of this idea. He has never had a pet cat. Only barn cats. And guys, barn cats are vicious. Like tear-your-face-up-with-their-claws vicious. So I convinced Brian to at least test the cat idea out. 

So back to the thing about my parents' house being a petting zoo, naturally, my parents have about twenty cats. So they were willing to let us borrow one. It would hardly be missed, really. So we chose the black runt of the pack. None of the other cats like her much because she is a little strange. And she tends to follow the dogs around, so she has grown to think she is a dog. So it actually works out perfectly. Her name is Luna. She will be staying with us temporarily. Maybe for a week or so. Brian said she could come home as long as we kept her off the furniture. But look what happened. . .  



And I can proudly say that I am not the one who broke down and let her nap on the sofa. 
It was Brian. I think Luna is growing on him. It's actually quite hilarious. Luna wants to be Brian's companion. She is by his side constantly, following his every move. At first Brian was annoyed. But now he's just an attached sucker. . .



We're just working on converting cat haters to cat lovers one guy at a time.