Photo of the Day: May 31

Well, it seems that I'm finally moved in!! Now, we're waiting to see how much of the deposit Justin and I will get back. It's still an unnerving situation. Still... I AM SO HAPPY TO BE OUT OF THERE!!!!!! I can feel my stress dissipating knowing that that woman cannot touch my things or my pet or criticize me anymore. I don't have to tiptoe around. I can enjoy my life and living in this beautiful new place!!! This is the new couch and kitchen!

Play On and On and On

It is the beginning of summer, which means it is time to jump in the car and go on a...

ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!

But, you can't go on a road trip without the right music!!! You have to have the right tunes to get through

• awkward silences
• when the conversation runs out
• when the road trip games take their toll
• when you can't stand to hear anymore about your dad's five-step success plan (as in Little Miss Sunshine)
• and just in general!

So, here is a list of 25 MUST HAVE SUMMER ROAD TRIP MUSIC (in no particular order) that you should definitely consider downloading before your next trip to the beach, Grandma's, or the nearest national monument. You can thank me later! Also in the list are hyperlinks that will take you to one of the many YouTube lyric videos for the song!!! There are some new songs that just came out and some oldies! Prepare and enjoy!!!

IT'S SUMMER!

1. "Paradise" by Coldplay
2. "Underneath" by Adam Lambert 
3. "Blow" by The Prom Kings
4. "Los Angeles" by Sugarcult
5. "Trespassing" by Adam Lambert... which has a very Queen vibe
6. "Starships" by Nikki Minaj
7. "A Thousand and One Nights" by the SMASH cast
8. "Boogie Wonderland" from Happy Feet... because you've got to have something from a musical, as if SMASH wasn't enough!!! Give me some credit, I didn't include anything from Glee
9. "Wild and Young" by American Bang 
10. "Blackout" by Breathe Carolina
11. As much as you can get from the Adventureland and Elizabethtown soundtracks!
12. "Touch Me" by the SMASH cast
13. "Never Close Our Eyes" by Adam Lambert
14. Anything by Carbon Leaf
15. "Let's Don't Call it a Night" by Casey James... in case you're into that country stuff
16. "Dulaman" by Celtic Woman
17. "You're Not Thinking" by Drake Bell
18. "Any Way You Want It" by Journey
19. "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi... from Barney's Psych Mix (How I Met Your Mother)
20. "Never Leave this Bed" by Maroon 5
21. "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons
22. "This City" by Patrick Stump
23. "I Don't Care" by Fall Out Boy
24. "Cuckoo" by Adam Lambert
25. "We are the Champions" by Queen... because you can't take an awesome road trip unless you're a champ!

Photo of the Day: May 28

This was taken in the summer of 2010!! I am missing my kitty so much right now! I can't wait to cuddle him again tomorrow! :)

Movie Minute: Georgia Aquarium Underwater Tunnel

Obviously, I am not actually underwater. The Georgia Aquarium has the very, very cool underwater tunnel where you can ride a escalator through the tunnel as the fish swim beside and over you!! If you haven't been, I highly suggest driving over to Atlanta and checking it out!

5th Time's a Charm

 Well... I find it ironic how much I hate change and have the lifetime desire to find my perfect home, but I keep moving. This will be the fifth time I've moved in two years! Thankfully, I'm not moving across half the state this time. It's just from Cullowhee to Sylva.

Welcome to Sylva, North Carolina

As much as I'd love to divulge why I'm moving again, I'm going to wait until I get my deposit back before I spill the illegal secrets of my landlady and her so-called "business." I always had a twinge of worry in the back of my mind since I never saw the place or met her before I moved into the single wide, two-bedroom trailer up on a mountain covered in tall trees, llamas, and mini horses. Still, even if I had gone over the trailer with a comb... there would have been no way Justin or I could have seen the kind of trap we were moving into!
Right now, I am pet sitting three large and friendly dogs in Greensboro. The day I get back... WE ARE MOVING OUT AS FAST AS WE POSSIBLY CAN!!! Already, Stuart and I have taken box after box over to the new place in Sylva in an effort to just get out of that trailer!! Believe me, I want to get as far away as possible as fast as I can!

The new place!!! <3

The new place is a longer drive from Western Carolina than I would have liked... but it's so beautiful and CLEAN!!! Like you don't think of a trailer as being clean... that's not anywhere close to the stigma that goes hand-in-hand with a trailer. But this... is only two years old, custom ordered with extra insulation, and was kept very neat by the woman who used to live there. The trailer has two bedroom, carpet everywhere except the kitchen, and comes with a beautiful tan leather couch that could double as a bed. No puke green walls or stained carpet!!! It sits on a small property with view and access to Scotts Creek, a small-sized, fast-moving river. There's a yard in the back and on the sides where we will plant a garden and have a screened awning in the back overlooking the creek. The bubbling creek cancels out the noise of the traffic on Main Street, which is across the creek. It's a short walk to the library, the Farmers' Market, downtown restaurants, and the City Lights bookstore from our new place. Sadly, Jack the Dipper ice cream parlor isn't downtown, too. That would be ideal!!

Jack the Dipper ice cream parlor... not in downtown

It will also be the first time since the summer in Raleigh that I will have both of my pets, Sparta and Nutmeg, in my house on a full-time basis. I am so excited to get Nutmeg back. I've missed that crazy hamster, and after reading a hamster care book, Stuart and I found out that we've been caring for her all wrong this entire time!!! And somehow, she never died!! Yesterday, I purchased a wire cage high rise, which attaches to her glass cage in order to give her three extra levels for more fun, more exercise, and more air flow as compared to the stuffiness she has experienced in her glass cage. At the same time, the high rise is easily detachable so we don't have to worry about Sparta trying to pry apart the wire top when we're gone or can't watch them. Stuart and I also plan on feeding her more fruits, a spoonful of fruit yogurt now and then, a pinch of meat once a week (yes, meat!!!), and provide nature's own joys like branches from a willow tree or washed grass. Apparently, hamsters LOVE this stuff!
Now, as to my roommate... well, I'll announce that later on, but I can't wait to tell you all (my four devoted readers, I adore you all). In the meantime, I'm chilling in Greensboro, waiting... waiting... waiting........... I JUST WANT TO MOVE... RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

Movie Minute: Being Told Off by a Four-Year-Old

My four-year-old sister Anne tells me off in front of the camera!!! There is definitely some attitude going on here!

Photo of the Day: May 26

I haven't been doing very well with my Photo of the Day posts... it's more like the Photo of Every Two Weeks!
This photo was taken in the summer of 2009. KATE HAS A MOHAWK OF WATER!!! 

Movie Minute: The Mean Kitty Song

This is the video that inspired Sparta's name!! I missing my little kitty more than anything. We're separated for the next week, and I can't wait to get back to him!
When Ma found Sparta as an older kitten underneath a car at a gas station, we had the hardest time coming up with a name for him. It was at this same time that I discovered this video on YouTube. "And we named him SPARTA!!!"

THIS IS SPARTA

A Typical Family Conversation

This conversation was recorded yesterday while at my grandparents' place. We were walking around the yard taking the dogs for a walk when we came upon my grandfather's beehives.

Anne, 6-years-old: Where do they sting you?
Christine, aunt: Where do they sting? I did get stung by one of these bees.
Ma: I got me stung one summer by the cicada killers.
Christine: Ew!
Ma: And, the thing got me here and here. That was excruciating up to the shoulder for a good 15 minutes. And, usually bee stings don't bother me. It was excruciating. I mean, it felt like it had driven a nail clean through my hand. It was awful.
Christine: Hm!
Ma: That thing was that big. I've seen 'em dragging cicadas across the grass, like I was looking over the edge of the pool and I happen to see one dragging a cicada.
Christine, spots the camera: What's in there?
Ma: Look, I bought the Amazon butt cooler.
Pawpaw, grandfather: The what...?
Kate, 17-years-old: THE AMAZON BUTT COOLER!
Ma: That water's cold!
Anne: Mommy!
Pawpaw (talking about the bees): They gonna be alright. Go over there and tap on the hive. See if any of them come out.
Ma: Ok!
Anne: OH NO! DON'T GO NEAR IT!
Seth, Kate's boyfriend: You can kick it and run, but that's about it.
Christine: He threw a rock at it...
Seth: I would run!
Pawpaw: Let's go, Boog.
Ma: Threw a rock at it?
Pawpaw: Get your camera ready for the black snakes.
Me: Ok! I've seen one down there before. Kate, come take this dog!
Kate: No!
Me: This dog... it won't walk!
Kate: You have a bug on your arm.
Me: What?
Kate: You have a bug on your arm.
Me: Where?
Kate: Your other arm.
Seth: You got a bee on ya.
Anne: (screams)
Me: EEW!! It's sucking me! Get it off! (Ma slaps it) OOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!
Ma: I got it! Look at that.
Christine: EEWWWW!
Anne: I wanna see!
Christine: That is nasty!
Ma: Sorry!
Kate: This dude in my fourth period confessed... never mind.
Christine: Good idea.
Kate: That he drank his own blood once. Yeah.
Anne: Wait, where's the other thing that you had?
Christine: It's right there.
Anne: Ok, good!
Christine: I got it, honey. I got it!
Me: Tara, there are snakes over there. Watch out for the snakes.
Anne: Wait, Christine! Come back. Why are there snakes over there? 'Lexa, why are there snakes over there?
Me: Uh, cause there's wood over there.
Kate: Oh, look a rock!
Anne: Would you pick me up?
Christine: WHY?
Kate: Anne, no!
Anne: Would you pick me up?
Ma: Come on, baby.
Christine: It'll be ok. Because it's easier to run if we're not carrying you.
Pawpaw: Come on, Boog.
Ma: Honey, they're not gonna hurt you.
Christine: We will run like the wind if they come out.
Anne: Are they mean snakes?
Christine: I know but we can move faster if I'm not carrying you.
Tara: There they are.
EVERYONE GASPS!
Me: Oh my gah, that thing is HUGE!

Movie Minute: Clipping an Angry Dog's Toenails

This dog is the devil when you have to clip its toe nails!

What's Going on with Sparta?

Well, that's a good question!! No one really knows.
During the first week of May, Sparta started acting bizarre. He hid under the bed, which he only does if there's a bad thunderstorm or heavy rain. He didn't want to play or be petted. It didn't take me long to see him favoring his back left paw. It was raw-looking, red, and irritated. I was so worried that he had been stung by one of the wasps that get into my trailer or had something stuck in between his toes and foot pad. On a Saturday morning, we rushed to Franklin, North Carolina to the only vet that was willing to see him. It was nearly an hour trip of absolute MISERY!

Back when he still loved me...!

First, Sparta was placed in his cat carrier just in case he injured his foot more from climbing all around the car. The cat carrier was placed in the floor in front of the passenger seat. Barely fifteen minutes into the drive, Sparta started dry heaving. He got car sick unable to see anything and getting tossed about as I took the curves a little too quickly trying to get to the vet on time.
Ten minutes from the vet's office, Sparta decided he really had to go!!! All over his cat carrier and my bath towel, Sparta took a crap and peed. The smell was horrendous, and then the poor cat sat in his own excrement for the remainder of the journey. I couldn't speed to the vet fast enough.
Well, the vet didn't have anything to say for the situation, except to charge me $38. He said it wasn't infected and that there wasn't anything wrong, probably just irritation.

A week later... the foot looked worse than before. We went to a different vet! They gave Sparta a shot, some pills, and some cleaning pads for over $50. Every day, Stuart and I had to hold down a squirming cat to administer half a pill and clean between his toes with a moist pad that turned his foot blue!
But Sparta started getting worse! He wouldn't move, just flop from one spot on the living floor to another. He wouldn't play. He hardly ate anything. All he did was sleep... which is normal for a usual cat, but not Sparta! He was also constantly frustrated and aggravated. If I so much as made a slight contact with his fur, he growled and moved a few steps away so I couldn't touch him. Sparta's the friendliest cat in the world!! He loves people. This behavior was unacceptable.
Back to the vet... We got a $20 bill for them to say, "Oh yeah, his foot looks great. Let's not give him that type of medication again. That must be it. Keep cleaning it, though."
One day later, Sparta was back to his normal self! He was purring, friendly, playing with his toys, and enjoying life again.

Bring your cat to work day

Cue two days ago... He starts throwing up everything that enters his stomach. On a regular basis, Sparta will regurgitate his food because he's dumb and eats his food too fast. Lately, he's been good about not eating too fast too often since we switched from putting his food in a bowl to putting it on a plate. It leaves room for the food to move around, and Sparta is forced to chase it down instead of taking large gulps of kitty kibble. But the other night, he was actually throwing up partially digested food, and no matter what I fed him (Blue Buffalo dry, Friskies canned, Temptations treats) Sparta would throw it up after a 20-minute interval of swallowing. The bizarre thing was that he was still acting like his happy-go-lucky, playful self. Great... now he's got a hairball or something blocking the entrance to his intestines. This behavior continued for over 12 hours, and I called the vet.
That was probably the worst vet trip of all!!! After the anal insertion of the thermometer, which always puts a priceless, horrified face on Sparta, he got a shot to help with nausea that the vet describes as "it stings really bad." I've never seen Sparta react in such a manner!! It took two tries to administer the entire shot because Sparta bucked and hissed so much that they had to try again. When I picked him up after the exam, he nearly tore my face off because I brushed against the sight of the injection. What a miserable kitten! He refused to sit near me for the rest of the day.

Kitty in the sun!

So far... no vomiting since the most expensive vet visit yet. I'm wondering since it was so close together if he's still having adverse reactions to those pills and is trying to purge his system.
Well, here's hoping that will be the last vet trip for awhile. I'm going out of town for a week next week, and I hope that I'm not getting a phone call from Stuart in the middle of the week that says he's rushing Sparta to the vet because he can't stop vomiting. If there's something wrong with my cat, at least let me be present so I can fuss over him and hold him close.
When we got home from the vet, I read to Sparta from a library book about a cat that lived in a library in Spencer, Iowa. Yeah... I know, I know. I read to my cat!! Whatever, haters gonna hate! He also has a brand new kitty bed that is warm and snuggly, which he seems to be enjoying.
Hopefully, this will be the end of the vet. I just want him to be healthy and happy. He's a family member, and no matter the cost, his health is a top priority.

New kitty bed!

If You Give a Mouse a Car...

There's all sorts of wildlife in the mountains, where I live is no exception. The other morning there was a spider the size of Sparta's face sitting happily in my sink. Later that same afternoon, I discovered a family of furry field mice in the trunk of my car!! There's no damage to the car, as far as I could tell, but they did do a number on my very warm red Iowa State sweatshirt (Dear Dad, if you are reading this... next time you go to Iowa, please bring back a new sweatshirt!!! No one makes a sweatshirt quite like Iowa).

Now, there are some stereotypical activities that couples go through that test their relationship:

• Moving
• Redecorating/hanging pictures
• Getting lost and trying to find a place where neither of them have been before
• Planning a trip
• Anything that deals with money and budgets

In each of these circumstances, the strength of a couples' communication skills and levels of patience are tested to the breaking point. In light of recent events, I'd like to add another scenario to the list:

• Removing (without poison bait or killing) live mice from the trunk of a Honda Accord

Yes, a few nights ago Stuart and I tested the strength of our relationship by trying to remove the mice (number still unknown) from my trunk. Let's just say... it didn't go very smoothly.

In the fading light of twilight, Stuart and I stood with hands on our hips in front of my trunk. Because of my belief of not killing a living creature, unless it has more than four legs, I stood on one side with a Tupperware dish waiting to plop it down over a furry mouse. Stuart did the heavy lifting.
First, we removed the plastic tray that extends across the majority of my trunk. In it, a football and some other trinkets rolled around, including a thin sketchpad that would later come in handy.
Then, we removed the bottom mat that covered the spare tire. It was then that we had the first victim in sight. A small gray mouse was bouncing around trying to escape and ended up burying itself under the tire. Stuart unscrewed the bolt that keeps the tire from moving and lifted the tire to where it balanced on one side. He then removed it to the grass, and we watched the horror that squeaked before us!
Stuart had unknowingly pinned the little mouse with the tire as he lifted it out of the trunk, and the mouse had been crushed. Its little furry body now twitched in a very familiar way that my guinea pig had done right before it croaked.
"OH MY GOSH, STUART!" I screeched. "IT'S DYING!"
"No, it can't be," Stuart answered.
"No, Stuart, it's definitely dying! Oh my gosh!! I can't believe you killed it! Why did you do that?" I cried, smacking him in the arm repeatedly.
"I didn't mean to!" 
A minute later, the twitched stopped. The mouse was dead. We both stared at it.
After much more accusation on my part, Stuart gingerly lifted the mouse by the tail and tossed it into the brush behind our trailer. The quest for the other mice continued.
"Don't kill them this time," I warned.
There are many small holes and crevices in a trunk, even with all the layers and the spare tire removed. In Stuart crawled into the back of my trunk with a flashlight to peer into the holes.
"Look! There's one! I can see its ear," he said. "Do you see it?"
"No!" I answered.
Out popped a smaller gray mouse, and I screamed... of course.
"Get it!! Trap it!" Stuart yelled, and I plopped the Tupperware dish over the mouse.
Now begins the part of communication. It is very difficult with my slightly distracted animal-loving brain, which wants to examine and "play" with the mouse, while Stuart's practical-thinking brain wants to immediately get rid of it. His impatience mixed with my distraction created a bad case of lack of communication. While Stuart tried to edge the thin sketchpad underneath the Tupperware, I tried to keep the mouse in as he tried to wriggle his way out, which is simple enough for him to do considering the bowl was perched on an uneven surface. We were doomed to fail from the beginning! With both of us trying to do it in the way we deem best, it wasn't long before baby mouse scrambled underneath the rim of his plastic prison, danced back and forth, then disappeared into a smaller hole than the one we had found him in.
It took a few minutes of tense feelings before we put the trunk back together and called it a night.
Stuart and Lex -1 (for accidentally killing one)
Mice - 1

Let the games continue...!!!!

The Life of a Journalist

As first published in The Western Carolinian newspaper of Western Carolina University...


"I assumed, like everyone else, that it would be several months before I became Editor-in-Chief of The Western Carolinian, if I became EIC at all. When my best friend and employer, Justin Caudell, announced his sudden departure, I was shocked and saddened. After returning from UNC-Greensboro, I looked forward to working alongside Justin again and getting back into the Catamount spirit by taking my time and going slowly. Two months later, I was named Co-Editor-in-Chief with Ryan Alexander, the former Sports Editor. Then, everything went haywire!
Before the first issue created by Ryan and me could hit the stands, a student over-corrected his vehicle and crashed over the edge of Speedwell Road, and a female student died. One of my sports reporters, attending the baseball game, saw the entire accident and texted me immediately. At first, I could not comprehend the message. When my brain slowly came to the conclusion of what the text meant, I shakily got in my car and hurried as safely as possible down the curvy roads of Cullowhee to campus. I parked on Speedwell behind several police cars all casting eerie blue shadows on the tall trunks surrounding the road.
It was my responsibility, whether I liked it or not, to take a picture of the destroyed car and find out the names of the victims. Unable to get close enough or talk to a police officer who would give me information, I did what every journalist must learn to do best. I waited on the side of the road with my camera. During this time, I was called "morbid" and "horrible" by bystanders who wanted free seats to the baseball game by camping out on Speedwell for the perfect view of the field.

I was mortified. Yes, I felt morbid and sick trying to get pictures of this horrible accident, especially after I learned someone had died. I wanted to quit my job and dedicate my life to an occupation that required less guts and more heartfelt feelings like saving the baby fur seals or baking cookies to raise money for the local high school's art program. I wanted to anything right then but be a journalist.
On the way home, I cried. I will admit to that. A student in our community, a small community that I ran back to after a horrible, isolated experience in Greensboro, had been lost in a horrific accident. No matter what my job means or how I am supposed to act as Co-Editor-in-Chief, I had to cry in the privacy of my car and my home after standing on the crumpling edge of Speedwell Road and watching the police, fire fighters and paramedics try to save two lives.
It is no easy task to be a journalist. Through this column, I plan to expose the myths about us and how we do our jobs. I will tell you about the late hours, the constant text messages, the never-ending work week, and I will explain the joys and rewards of reporting, too.
What happened to Stephanie Deese was an appalling misfortune that should not be wished on anyone's young daughter or son. Although my job is morbid, the community needs to be aware of what had happened to one of their own. My staff and I provided that service and will continue to provide information that students, parents and Cullowhee/Sylva community members should be aware of for as long as our right to freedom of press exists."

Happiness isn't Normal

Finals are over!!!

And, I didn't come out at the end of it sick, ten pounds lighter, and about to throw myself out a window... which is saying something considering I was not only writing three papers and working on a web design portfolio and resume, but I also had the newspaper on my plate. I guess it helps that I'm genuinely happier with my life and where I am right now.

Cata-fount

Now that finals are over, I can turn my complete attention to the newspaper. This week started the writing and interviewing process for the May issue, which hits the stands on May 25. I can't say what we're working on... it's top secret!! But, I will say that Sparta is here in the office today. He's hiding under my enormous desk that has been here since the dinosaurs roamed the earth!
This spring semester... I can tell you there's been a lot of stress and tears. A lot of it I can't talk about because it's newspaper drama, and we don't like to air that out in the public eye. But even with all that stress, I've been happy... and that's never happened before.

There were only a few days out the semester that I woke up and was extremely depressed throughout the entire day. If you've known me since August 2009, that's an extremely low number. I have been battling depression since being a freshman at Western, and we all found out that moving to Greensboro didn't help that one bit! Back at Western, I'm here with a billion things to do and several crises to solve with Sparta sick, issues with the landlord, and worrying about the paper... but I'm happy.
It's so bizarre.
And, it's sad that it is bizarre. Why is happiness weird now? When did I get used to not being happy? When did depression and misery become part of my life that being happy and getting up every morning looking forward to the day was not normal anymore?

Looking back, I don't remember thinking that I'd always be miserable. Then, why am I surprised that I'm happy? Nothing has changed really. Stuart may be here instead of five hours away, but we still have problems and strife in our relationship that needs to be repaired now and again. My living situation is better on some levels but worse on others. And, I cannot even begin to describe the pain, tears, stress, pressure, and worry that comes with being an Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper (and it's not even a weekly or daily newspaper!!!!!!)
Maybe I'm happier because I drink more fluids a day. That's probably what Stuart will say it is. Maybe it's because I've stopped skipping meals because I either couldn't afford to buy food or because I was too sick and tired already to even stand up to throw something in the microwave. Maybe it's because I no longer feel threatened by The Viking anymore, and that we've actually become friends again and text on a semi-regular basis.
Whatever it is... I'm happy it made me happy! I am ready to learn how to manage my stress and keep living a happy, healthy life. So bring on the summer... I'm happy it's here!

Sparta is my snuggle buddy!

Movie Minute: Renaissance Music

My classmates performed this in Renaissance during our banquet!! It was quite amazing. They had never played together before this moment, and all three songs were complete improvisation.