Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 28

  On this last day of February, I give you photos taken today while hiking with Morgan and his mom. This is Nigel, a ring-necked snake that we found on the trail!! He was the sweetest, cutest reptile I've ever met!! If Sparta wouldn't have eaten him, I was seriously contemplating taking him home as a new pet! But I could never take a healthy, happy animal from their natural environment. So Nigel the snake was sent on his way and I have a really awesome memory and photographs of a really awesome snake!





Breather

Today has been a rather relaxing day.

I woke up this morning next to Morgan in his gigantic queen-sized bed with soft, feathery dark blue sheets. We ate Raisin Bran Crunch in the living room while finishing the next episode of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" on NetFlix. I showed off my new sun dress that his mom helped me pick out at JC Penney. It's an "animal palm" print and I adore it!! I don't remember ever owning a sun dress, and this one is super cute paired with a new necklace of a silver chain with a large orange jeweled daisy as the centerpiece.



Shopping at JCP



We headed to Morgan's parents house to drop off his laundry because there's no washer/dryer at his new apartment. Then, we shopped for bedroom curtains at Target before lunching at Panera Bread. I consumed a a warm, gooey bowl of macaroni and cheese, a soft pumpkin muffin, and tangy fresh lemonade. Then, we walked around the shopping complex in the finally warm sun looking at all the different shops that I've never imagined before settling down at a strangely named frozen yogurt joint. Inside, you could pick your container size, pick your frozen yogurt flavor, then add in frozen fruit for the perfect taste. Morgan decided on blueberries and strawberries giving the yogurt a bluish purple color with a sweet, sweet taste!

With purple tongues, we got back into the car and visited a lovely park with a dam and sandy beach. My toes still have flecks of sand between them. I built a small pond turtle out of sand and Morgan tried once again to teach me how to skip stones.

Off to his parents house we went again to pick up his laundry. His younger brother, father, Morgan, and I all participated in some healthy banter while Morgan's dad tried to fix the trunk on Morgan's car and I incessantly hiccuped in the background. We also grabbed some chairs, an umbrella, and towels for our beach trip in a few days!!!!!

It was a gloriously peaceful day with such beautiful weather. Now, I am relaxing more at the apartment while Morgan is working hard at the restaurant. Hopefully, he'll be home before midnight and we can have another peaceful day with beautiful weather tomorrow!

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 27

This is a magnet at the discount book/movie store Morgan and I went to. And, I love it!!! I wish I had bought it because I'm obsessed with reading sarcastic magnets or bumper stickers and finding out that I identify with them. This one takes the cake!!

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 26

In honor of Morgan being super sweet last night on his night off, I wanted to post this picture. Morgan went through a lot to make sure all of this went smoothly but also as a surprise. He hustled out and bought flowers then arranged them himself! He roasted baking potatoes in the oven and even set off the fire alarm while grilling the steaks! It was an unbelievably delicious meal and the sweetest of surprises!!!

I love you, baby!

Distance Traveler's Girlfriend Part 1

I cling to particular novels or movies during important events in my life. Some people may cringe when they read this but when I was going through the aftermath of dealing with The Viking, I constantly watched New Moon and reread Meyer's novel. I loved seeing my sadness and desperation mirrored in what Bella was going through, and I longed for a Jacob Black of my own.

Now in a happy, loving relationship and dealing with being separated from Morgan, I have turned to The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Henry DeTamble is a time traveler and begins a love affair with his future wife when she is six years old. Told in first person by both Clare and Henry, you read about their life together as Henry disappears and reappears at and in any moment of time. The book was turned into a very moving movie starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. I first fell in love with the movie. When I read the book, I savored every page!

Now, it has even more meaning to me as I identify with Clare's emotions and thinking process while Henry is away time traveling. There are passages and moments that hit me so hard that I wish to share through these "Distance Traveler's" posts. Maybe you will fall in love with the book and look it up or be able to identify with these moments from this timeless novel (no pun intended).

"PROLOGUE

CLARE: It's hard being left behind. I wait for Henry, not knowing where he is, wondering if he's okay. It's hard to be the one who stays.

I keep myself busy. Time goes faster that way.

I got to sleep alone, and wake up alone. I take walks. I work until I'm tired. I watch the wind play with the trash that's been under the snow all winter. Everything seems simple until you think about it. Why is love intensified by absence?

Long ago, men went to sea, and women waited for them, standing on the edge of the water, scanning the horizon for the tiny ship. Now I wait for Henry. He vanishes unwillingly, without warning. I wait for him. Each moment that I wait feels like a year, an eternity. Each moment is as slow and transparent as glass. Through each moment I can see infinite moments lined up, waiting. Why has he gone where I cannot follow?"

--- Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc, 2004. Print.

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 25

This is my new favorite bookstore. It's located in Sylva, which is the sister city of Cullowhee, and it's amazing!!! They have new and used collections of books. There is a large couch and chairs seated around a real wood fireplace where you can sit and read. The employees are friendly and extremely helpful!! The first day I visited, I became a member. After buying 10 new books, I get my 11th for free. If I bring gently used books, I get credit for other used books I wish to buy. In April, they are getting a little cafe downstairs!! It is my new home away from home!!!!!
So far, I've purchased Hatchet as a gift for Morgan, The Time Traveler's Wife my new favorite novel, and Northern Lights, which was on the $1 stand.

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 23

I have started my Spring Break, which has already been full of dramatics and complications. But more on that later... right now, here's a photo of a puzzle Morgan and I completed this morning. I did most of the work while he was at work but he helped me with the more complicated fish pieces after breakfast!!
There's a piece missing at the bottom because it's lost at the apartment in Cullowhee at the moment!

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 18

This is some kind of bathroom figurine I saw at Target. I just adore the frogs!!!!!

Kodak moment: Photo of the Day Valentine's Day

Morgan and I can't be together today, but our bears were in this photo! On the left is Mr. Mars and on the right is Morgan's chocolate cub Morgan.

Message from Job

Whenever I feel lost or worried, I read this passage from the Bible.
Job has lost everything. His friends tell him to turn from God because God has been horrible to him. God steps in before Job loses faith and his speech makes me realize how small I am in comparison to the world. My problems are not as great and unmanageable as I think. (And I love that God uses sarcasm)

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said:

"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone - while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?

Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.

Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.

What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?

Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Beat with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?

Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind? Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clouds of earth stick together?

Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food...?"

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 12

One morning Morgan and I were sleeping in his room in Raleigh when his mom came into the room. Morgan was still half asleep and I was pretending to sleep when there was this sound of something falling before Morgan's mom left.

"What was that?" Morgan asked.

"I think it was your mom," I answered. "I think she dropped something on the air mattress."

In our sleepy state, we forget about the whole incident until about 20 minutes later when I was sitting up in bed and spotted what had thudded on the air mattress.

MUFFINS!!!

"Aaawwwwwww, baby, look!!!" I cried delightfully and scooped up the package of muffins. "Your mom brought us muffins!"

And I immediately ate a lemon poppy seed.



Misunderstanding

A few days ago I wrote a post that was talking about the problems I will be facing over the summer when I transfer from Western Carolina University and essentially lose my job.

Unfortunately, what I wrote was slightly misunderstood. My mom took it that I was complaining about life and that I didn't want to deal with my problems. She got the idea by my first sentence in the last paragraph. Maybe you remember it: "These are not things a 19-year-old and a 22-year-old should be worrying about..." I made it really big and really bold because that was my "rock" statement, the statement that is supposed to "wow" my audience or whatever. Anyway, the statement was misconstrued as I was complaining about how horrible my life is.

The message of that post was actually that I was venting my frustration because I have this pile of problems but I can't solve them as of yet! That's the important part: they can't be solved right now. I don't mind solving the problem. In fact, I want to be the one who does it. I wasn't trying to say I wanted my problems gone. I want to find the perfect place to live that I'll love and find a job I'll at least semi-enjoy and pick out the university that will give me the best education. That's what I want to do! The reason I was so upset is because I'm someone who wants to just get things done or else I'll never stop thinking about them! And right now, making decisions and fixing problems is what I can't do because I have to:

• wait for my lease to run out
• wait for UNCG to respond to my application
• wait to see if Morgan and I continue to be in a relationship to know if I even need to find a job in Raleigh or camp out here in Cullowhee until I can move

It's just a lot of waiting, and I'm a horribly impatient person.

I'm sorry for those who didn't understand my meaning in the last post. I just wanted to get out there what was going on and get some support from the important people in my life.

Thanks to everyone who responded and reached out to Morgan and myself.

SHOUT OUT

I just want to give a huge shout out to my mom's parents, Nanny and Pawpaw!! They are absolute angels in my eyes for what they've done! I don't know how to thank them. They have given me such a gift. Thank you, thank you!

Hug!



Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 10

This photo is only funny if you've seen Season 1 of "How I Met Your Mother." Morgan took this picture at a supermarket in Raleigh and it pokes fun at "The Pineapple Incident" episode where Ted wakes up after a night of drinking to discover a pineapple on his bedside table and more!

WHAT ABOUT THE PINEAPPLE?!

Borrowing an Idea

A blog writer I follow is of a very creative, opinionated girl in the Midwest. I found myself to be a lot like her: she works at her college newspaper, she loves movies, she has a steady boyfriend but remains a virgin, doesn't drink or smoke anything, loves to write. Lately, she's been writing a series called "Will you be Mine" in which she describes the celebrities she would like to have a Valentine's date with. Mostly, she's taking actors and writing about dream dates that actually correspond with characters they have played in the past. Inspired by this, I'd like to write something similar: "Will You Be Mine: Movie Characters."

Today's movie character (because I watched the movie last night) will be Gabriel Van Helsing from Van Helsing, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale.

I would love to sit down with him at a nice dinner outside with the glowing stars over Transylvania and listen to him talk about his history and everything that he's seen. Supposedly, he doesn't remember anything, but I'm sure there's something we can dig up. Afterwards, we can ride Transylvanian horses through the night fighting vampires and werewolves! Heck yeah!

Life Comes at you Fast

Recently, I've stumbled upon a major predictament. Let me break it down.

1. I am transferring in the fall, but I am officially dismissed from Western to freely transfer in May.
2. I lose my paying job in May because I no longer a Western Carolina student thus am no longer allowed to work for the University.
3. I have a cat... with fleas.
4. I have a boyfriend five hours away.
5. I would like to transfer to UNC Greensboro or to Greensboro College which is an hour away from my boyfriend.
6. I have an apartment with a lease that ends on July 31st.

Results from this:

• I can get a job in Cullowhee for the summer and never see my beloved boyfriend five hours away.
• I could half move-in with my boyfriend and his roommate. But what about the cat and the fleas? What about all my furniture in Cullowhee?
• I am supposed to move in with Joe and Anna in Greensboro should I go to UNCG. I wouldn't be able to officially move until August 1st.
• I will have to get a job in Raleigh if I stayed with my boyfriend. Because of this and even though we'd be living together, I'd never see my boyfriend. Odds are I'd get a job at a Old Navy or McDonald's and work from 8 am to 5 pm. My boyfriend works four to five nights every week from 4:00 pm to after midnight. See the problem?
• I will have to get a job in Greensboro after either the job in Cullowhee when I move or after the job in Raleigh when I move. Meaning at the end of it all, I would have searched for two different jobs in two different cities in the span of less than four months.
• Where does Sparta fit into all of this?
• Am I ever going to see my boyfriend again on a regular basis? And, what is that going to do to our relationship?

Simple solution:

1. Get over the fact that I HATE the city of Raleigh and attend NC State so I don't have quit the job I hope to find in Raleigh.

Problems with simple solution:

• I hate Raleigh!
• I want to be with Joe and Anna, too.
• What if Morgan and I break-up? I'm stuck in a city I hate without any friends.
• I really don't like Raleigh! And, I really don't like NC State.
• Morgan's apartment does not allow pets... persay.

These are NOT things a 19-year-old and a 22-year-old should be worrying about!!!!!! They're just not!! I should be worrying about making the best of grades and Morgan should be worrying about if he's doing his job properly and the responsibilites about being a new apartment-renter.

But we're not. We're worried this isn't going to work. Or is it does... will we have enough energy and stamina to pull it off?



William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet starring Leo DiCaprio



Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 7

Happy four-month anniversary to Morgan and me!!! Here he is making a birth certificate for the bear he built me!! He named it Mr. Mars after the dad character in my favorite TV show "Veronica Mars." It's the cutest, most huggable bear there is!!!
I love you, baby! Thank you for going through the rituals of building a bear, including kissing a little plush heart and sitting at the bear computer and making a birth certificate. It meant so much to be that we got to do that together for our anniversary! Right now, Mr. Mars is sitting on my bed and as soon as I'm done typing this, I'm going to go cuddle with him!! I miss you.

Yours,

Lex

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 6

Today, Morgan and I are celebrating our 4-month anniversary (even though it's really tomorrow!). We're kicking the morning off with some Snickers pancakes! Later, we're going to Build-a-Bear workshop to build bears for each other. And of course, there will be some "Veronica Mars" and reading from Three Weeks with my Brother by the Sparks brothers.

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 5

Today's picture is my baby Piddy Paws. I miss him so much!!! The day this picture was taken he had hopped in Kate's dresser drawer and decided to take a nap!

Random Memory: Dance

One of my favorite things to do is to reminisce. Lately, this memory has been popping into my head.

* * *

Kate took a year of dance before I did. I was jealous of her mostly because she got a trophy at the end. The next year, I took a combo class of jazz, tap, and ballet. The trophy totally wasn't worth it as I recall.

Often when Kate danced, Ma and I would wait in the little side room with the other mothers for their child to finish the 45-minute-or-so class. It was like a walk-in closet jammed with chairs.

That day I had to sit on the floor next to Ma's chair which was closest to the door. From my spot, I could watch the younger dance class practice, which had a bunch of blonde girls and one poor boy who looked miserable. Ma was in the chair grading papers for her high school biology course... or maybe it was 7th grade science?! The other moms were quietly reading, staring into space, or messing with whatever.

Suddenly, Ma let out a strange, LOUD cackle! If you've ever heard my mom laugh, you know she can really let it fly. She has this giddy cackle that can be heard for miles! And that's exactly what she did that day.

The other mothers immediately froze. I nearly jumped out of my skin from fright. We all stared at her.

When she finally noticed the rest of us, Ma continued to laugh.

"I'm grading my class's test papers," she said.

Apparently, one of them was either really dumb or really sarcastic and had written something completely outrageous. At that point in my life, I probably didn't get a high school science problem or why someone's answer would be funny in comparison to that problem. Back then, all I wanted was to play; I hated school! Which would explain why I don't remember what my mom told the women that day. It was Greek to me!

The rest of the room laughed, maybe a few out of politeness because it went over their heads, too. Then, the "closet" returned to quiet until it was time to gather up the dancers for home.

* * *

I don't know why I remember this simple story so vividly. I'm not even sure Ma will remember what I'm talking about after she reads this post. I guess it's because that was one of the few times I saw my mom as the center of attention of a larger group of people, particularly women.

Growing up, Father and Ma never had any parties at the house or went out with a large group of people, leaving Kate and me with babysitters. If there was ever a group they socialized with, it was when their Bible study group at Cook's Presbyterian Church started reading the Bible chapter by chapter and supposedly grew closer. Suddenly, all they were talking about was what this chapter meant and what So-and-So and Jane were doing. Even then, I never saw those interactions; I merely heard about them secondhand. Ma never had cocktails with the other lady teachers on a Wednesday; Father never spent a night out of the week to skip family dinner to hang out with his work office in Charlotte at a sports bar. It wasn't because we couldn't afford it. They just didn't. It was one of those things that we all shrug at because that's just how it was.

I'll probably always remember that day of Kate's dance class, and I'll probably never figure out why I remember it. It's just one of those random memories.

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 4

Today it's rainy and nasty here in Raleigh so I wanted my picture today to be sunny and crazy. The picture is a nod to my awesome summer in 2009. It was right before I was shipped off to Cullowhee, and I had a blast every second! This was taken at a friend's where we decided to jump off the diving board "High School Musical" poster style!

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 2

Today's picture is something I found on the Internet. It's a collection of buttons that have different phrases from my favorite TV show "How I Met Your Mother." My favorite has to be the "Slap bet Commissioner."

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 1

It's finally February - the month of love! Morgan and I are taking my Build-a-Bear bucks and are going to make teddy bears for each other this weekend!! That's probably about as overly romantic and mushy as I can take, but don't let me fool you... I'm super excited about going to do it!!! Even if it means having to wave a little plush heart in the air and screaming, "I LOVE MY BEAR" in front of a bunch of people!
The fact that Morgan has to do the same thing... TOTALLY WORTH IT!
And because of that, the photo of the day is the February month bear of my little month bear set in honor of February and building bears!