The triumphant return!

It has been MONTHS since I even checked my blog, mostly because I didn't really have much to say. But, a lot has happened, so here's a (very) quick update.

My amazing boyfriend/best friend/companion/comrade Ryan and I are living with our friends Liz and Dianna now. We have a tiny lavender room with an adorable window, and there are two awesome cats running around. I get to cook all sorts of delicious food, which is cool. We're both job-searching, and the job market here seems way more promising than it was in our last town. Positive energy, prayers and good thoughts are appreciated while we hunt gainful employment!

I've become (unhealthily) fascinated with Pinterest. Find me on Pinterest here. It's full of all sorts of nifty things, like craft tutorials and ideas for green cleaning. I think that's the direction I'd like to pursue with this blog...updates on my life, but with tutorials, trial-and-error pictures of food I've made and experiments I've tried, and general kitsch. I tried making my own laundry soap already, so that will probably be my first post. It looks congealed and terrifying, but it gets my clothes amazingly clean, and smells divine!

 I told you it would be very quick! Adios para ahora, la Red.

Oh hi, October.

I can't tell you how many people have approached me and said "Why haven't you blogged lately?"

Well, maybe I'll tell you. No one said that, except my inner Zach Braff.

I have internal monologues ALL THE TIME.

 There are, in my opinion, legitimate reasons for my absense on crownedwithflowers. One, I've let myself get really behind on classwork, so I've had to really buckle down to get caught up. Two, I have a job. Three, I've been spending a huge amount of time with friends. When I'm not doing something I absolutely must do, and sometimes even when I am, I'm with the coolest cats at Catawba. But, I feel bad for neglecting the internet, so I'll take a few minutes to catch you guys up on all the amazing things I've been doing. Don't get too excited. No, really. Settle down.

I've been hanging out with (cue dramatic suspenseful music) FRESHMEN. This year's freshman class really surprised me. Typically, freshmen get on my nerves. The girls are still trapped in high school, and the boys tolerate it because they don't even realize they can survive without all the girly drama. Usually there are a few freshmen I'll get along with, and I wait for the rest to grow the heck up. Not this year, though. Some of these frosh are awesome kids.

I've been spending lots of time playing in the woods. I have a friend (one of those freshies) that likes to run and play as much as I do, so we play in the nature preserve at Catawba. We play tag, and chase each other around, and explore. I hardly ever watch TV anymore, and I've even been dropping weight because of all the exercise!

I've also been spending lots of time putting out feelers for cool new music. My friends and I are sharing lots of sweet tracks among ourselves, and I read Seizure Chicken like it's my job. I've found some cool interesting stuff. When I get around to it, I'll type up the playlist and let you guys see what makes my ears happy. Don't get worked up about it though. It could happen this morning, it could happen next year, I could just forget and listen to it without you guys.

I tried to write poetry. So far people seem to be enjoying them, so I'm going to submit them to the school's "literary magazine," the Arrowhead. I'll let you guys know if they get published!

So...yeah. That's my life for the ENTIRE MONTH that I forgot I had a blog.

Good catching up with you, Internet.

Sorry, no dice.

Actually, that's a lie. There are totally dice. I bought them today, actually. They're shiny, pink and freaking awesome. Here's a picture:

Natural 20. I actually didn't plan that.

I bought dice because I've been playing D&D lately. If you aren't familiar with the game, there's a great introduction at Do A Spot Check.

http://doaspotcheck.blogspot.com/p/ive-never-played-d.html

On nights when I'm not rolling dice or working, I find other fun stuff to do. We spent a night recently playing Hide and Seek, Sardines and Ninja in the only 24-hour building on campus. It was intense! At one point, everyone abandoned the game and roamed the hallways hiding from each other. It was EPIC. Interestingly enough, there are "orbs" in several of the pictures. I can't claim paranormal evidence, though, because we didn't notice them when we were taking the pictures, so we didn't make any real attempt to debunk them. They're still great pictures though! Most of them need some serious redeye removal, I don't have Photoshop on this computer, and Picnik keeps making Ryan look like he's wearing blue eyeshadow, so the vast majority of these will fall into the "someday I'll fix and post these" category.

Pre-game photo op!



Which is creepier, the orb or Ryan?



This is what a game of Ninja is supposed to look like.



Not sure if they're bowing, or playing whiplash...



Ryan and Megan are too cute!

So yeah, that's what I do when I'm not in class, or at work, or asleep, or practicing music. One of these days I'll post about music, and my latest musical endeavors, but it's nearly 1AM, and I don't love you guys enough to stay awake and post again.

Sleep tight, Internet.

Things I Wish I Knew As A Freshman

So, this year my college let in a HUGE freshman class. My first year, I was one of 1,000 students. This year, there are over 300 freshmen. The campus is so crowded! The lines at the cafeteria are long, the lines at the bookstore are out of the door, and the dorms are at capacity. As I watch them all kind of aimlessly wander, I think about all the mistakes I made when I started college, and it made me wish I'd known better. So, for your enjoyment, or just to clutter up your RSS feed, here's a few of those things.

You don't have to do EVERYTHING in a group of the same people that you see every day.
Seriously, YOU CAN WALK TO YOUR CAMPUS MAILBOX ALONE. Or with one other person. Or with someone you don't go everywhere with. Having friends is awesome. Being surgically attached to the same group of people gets boring, breeds drama, and really limits your college experience.

Wear real pants.
People notice when you never get dressed. Pajamas and sweats are sloppy. I know, sometimes you pull all-nighters, or get sick, and you wear sweats. That's okay...OCCASIONALLY. But seriously. You'll look more professional, cuter, and you'll be a better person if you wear pants.
P.S. skirts are okay too.

Your professors aren't just mean old people.
Some professors might be, but give them a chance. It's in their best interests to see you succeed, so let them help you! This means do the assignments they ask you too, no matter how much you'd rather be making a late-night Cookout run. Burgers and fries will exist after you read that chapter, I promise.

It's OK to be stressed.
Seriously, it happens. Even the straight-A student with her freshly ironed clothes and her perfect hair and her organized binder and her well-kept planner and her clean, fresh-smelling room gets stressed. Just take a deep breath. You aren't crazy, you aren't incompetent, you're human.

No more drama. No, really. Stop it.
Right now, it seems important that what's-her-name said your friend likes your friend who likes your other friend, or that Douchebag McDrunkard passed out on the front steps of your dorm, but IT ISN'T. Granted, upperclassmen engage in gossip to, but don't let it run your friendships. Starting or continuing drama is NEVER good for ANYONE involved.

Go to class, idiot.
I don't care how hungover you are, or how late you studied, or that you need a day to meditate, or whatever. I can tell you from experience that if you don't go to class, you won't do well. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Put on your real pants, pick up your backpack, and go to class. You'll thank me when you get your midterm grades.

Step out of your comfort zone.
Don't rule things out just because they don't look like something you'd enjoy. When I started college, I made fun of the nerds watching Harry Potter in the common room. Later, after tons of drama with my first clique, those guys became my best friends. We've been through thick and thin together, and we're still really close today. I would never have imagined that I would play Dungeons and Dragons, but now I'm doing spot checks LIKE A BOSS.

For goodness' sake, get some sleep.
If you don't, you're going to look like you got hit by a bus. You won't be able to concentrate, you won't retain the things you learn in class, you'll get REALLY grouchy and mean, and eventually you won't be able to keep going. You will exhaust yourself if you don't rest. And on that note:

Take care of yourself.
College is hard, and there's no one else that will take responsibility for your well-being. You have to make sure you eat, and sleep, and take time to relax. You'll miss the best parts of your college experience if you aren't good to yourself.

Stay fresh, Internet freshmen.

The most delicious pork chops I've ever made.

I really wish I had pictures of these to share, they were beautiful. Unfortunately, my camera was dead, and we couldn't wait to charge batteries because we were STARVING  and they smelled amazing. They weren't that hard to make either.

Don't worry, I didn't serve my friends Doug Funny's dog. Also, for those of you who don't know, Teen Nick is re-airing old episodes of shows like Doug, Kenan and Kel, All That, and Clarissa Explains It All. Thanks, Nickelodeon. I needed more reasons to stay awake all night.

Ingredients I used:

• Four pork chops (mine were bone-in, about an inch thick, so that's what the cooking times are based on. I'd love to try them with boneless pork chops, so if you do make them and you use boneless chops, let me know how it goes)
• About 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt and ground red pepper
• About 1/4 cup (four tablespoons) butter or margarine
• About 1/4 cup (four tablespoons) brown sugar

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/4 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

How you make them:

If you have boneless pork chops, hit them a few times with a meat hammer to make them nice and tender. If your chops have bones in them, oh well, they'll still be delicious. Next, mix together the flour, onion, garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper on a plate. Melt about a tablespoon of butter or margarine in a frying pan over medium heat. Cover the pork chops in the flour mixture and brown them slightly, about three or four minutes on each side. Remove the chops and put them in a baking dish (I used a clear 9X11 glass pan.) Put about 2 teaspoons of butter on top of each chop, and a tablespoon of brown sugar on top of the butter. Cover the pan with foil and bake at around 400 degrees. Mine took about 20 minutes, but it depends on the size and thickness of the meat. 

While the chops are baking and making your house/apartment/commune smell like paradise, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for the glaze. Cover and simmer over low heat until the sauce gets nice and thick. Mine ended up a little thicker than syrup. 

Remove the pork chops from the oven and pour the glaze on top. Then devour them like a hungry wolf (sorry, Duran Duran references make me chuckle. They have the same name twice!) or eat them politely. The choice is yours. I served mine on top of rice, with a side of green beans, and it worked pretty well. Experiment with ways to serve them, then tell me so I can appreciate your culinary genius.

Eat well, Internet!

I am a terrible blogger.

I'm a horrible blogger for three reasons.

Reason why I suck at blogging number one:
I break the number-one, all-important rule of blogging every time I post. I don't blog about a theme, like cooking, or fashion, or sports, or music. You want to know why? Because I'm too ADD to focus on any one thing that much. I think about too many diverse things. Think about it. I couldn't write about spraypainting my van and disguising myself as a member of a teenage detective gang in a cooking blog. I couldn't post pictures of delicious food (which I'm going to start doing more often very soon) on a music blog. I want the freedom to write about whatever I want. If that doesn't make your RSS feed happy...oh well.

Reason why I suck at blogging number two:
I don't post often. I don't even post occasionally by some standards. I just post when I have the time. This semester should allow more time for blogging, since I'll be spending time at the Coffee House (I'm going to let myself finish, but the Coffee House is the best work study OF ALL TIME) and that means lots of downtime on the computer. Unfortunately, I'll also be a full-time student with a work study job and a job off campus, so don't expect posts at regular intervals.

Reason why I suck at blogging number three:
I'm not that exciting! No, really. I know working two jobs, driving a beat-up minivan, taking business classes and living in a tiny town where even McDonald's closes relatively early might sound glamorous, but it's not. It's not inspiring, and it's definitely not blog inspiring.

However...
I do plan on making time to blog this semester, since it's something I enjoy. I plan on getting back into the habit of taking pictures of EVERYTHING, and I'm saving up for a new camera. I'm hoping I'll be cooking more (goodbye, Kraft macaroni and cheese) and I'd like to explore more interests and blog about them. So, I apologize for being so lame, and I hope you guys are looking forward to next semester's adventures and blog posts as much as I am.

Stay fresh, Internet.

I am determined.

My van is going to turn into a pretty legit mystery machine. It's going to happen. The plans are falling into place, and I'm hoping it will be done by Christmas.

Oh yeah. It's going to happen.

 First things first. The exterior needs to be painted. I only paid $400 for the van, so I'm not really excited about paying a ton of money to have it painted. So, I'm going to use my artsy friends and spraypaint. I know, it doesn't look as good as auto paint, done properly with a sprayer, but...for goodness' sake, it's going to be the Mystery Machine!

I worried at first that the patterns on the side would be difficult to paint, so I decided to make stencils. Our local paper gives away the ends of the newsprint rolls, and I think that I'll use that to stencil the designs. My friend Liz has already offered to help!

Giant paper...for stencils, and random fun activities.

The interior is important too! I'm planning on installing shag carpet. I'm not sure yet whether I'll order carpet by the square yard, or just get a rug and cut it to fit. I need to actually get into the van and take some measurements before I decide which will be cheaper. I don't know if the original Mystery Machine had shag carpet, but it just seems appropriate and awesome. I'm thinking I'll go with green carpet.

Groovy, baby.

I'd really like to change the color of the seats, but I'm not sure whether or not I want to drop the cash on seat covers. I might just start scouring junkyards for seats and door panels. I'd like to go with tan, but we'll see.

Of course, if I'm going to spend so much time and effort on making sure the van looks good, it's going to have to sound good, too. I already have a pretty decent sub, now I just need...umm...everything else. Luckily I work at Radioshack, so I have access to everything I need. The receiver I'm interested in has an input for my Ipod or my phone (yes please!) slots for USB and SD memory, and IT LIGHTS UP IN DIFFERENT COLORS. I think I'm in love.

So, that's the plan. We're going to roll in groovy, teenage-gang style. Rest assured that when this process gets started, there will be TONS of process pictures, and the finished product will grace the pages of my blog often. Who knows, maybe I'll start a Mystery Machine blog.

I'm off for now, to keep Google searching for anything that might possibly relate to my plans. Stay fresh, Internet. I leave you with this:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75481959/original-scooby-doo-mystery-machine?ref=sr_gallery_40&ga_search_query=mystery+machine&ga_page=1&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

First day of work = success.

So...yeah. I think my first day at the Shack went well. I activated prepaid phones like a boss. I also did price audits, and vacuumed. Exciting stuff, right? I liked it though. Not too boring, but not too fast-paced either. I like my coworkers so far too, even though I've only met two of them. My supervisor, Christie, is really laid-back. My other coworker, Austin, whistled songs from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time while we worked. So yeah...I've pretty much got it made.

I go back in tomorrow, and I'm pretty much pumped. Now if they could just get me into the computer system as an employee...

I go back to school in less than a month. It seems strange, this summer really flew by. I'm excited though. I can't wait to get back to the coffee house, and to start bathroom decorating with Bianca. The classes...meh. Classes are just a necessary evil for college students.

In other news, there's no other news. Sorry for such a short post, but my life is boring.
Adios, Internet.

I fell off of the world.

Not really, but that's what it looks like on the internet. My computer is not functional right now (the saddest day ever!) so I'm only online when I can mooch internet and a keyboard from someone else.

I've also been busy doing important things like oh, I don't know, FINDING A JOB. Thank God (and my sister, who hooked me up with the interview) that search is over, I was getting really tired of countless, seemingly identical applications. I was offered a position at Radioshack, and I'm really excited about it. The people I'm going to be working with seem pretty cool, I can wear my black Converse, and, um....hello, can anyone else say employee discount? I'm going to use for EVERYTHING. Cell phone, computer, headphones, and even car audio. Just wait. My van is going to be pimped out in all the latest electronics. Oh, and I'm saving up to have it painted like the mystery machine.

It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.

That's the thing about having a job...I have a million things I want to spend money on! But, I have my priorities in line. First, getting my van's insurance taken care of, and tying up the loose ends so I'm driving again, instead of bumming rides like, well, a bum. Then, getting my own cell phone in my own name, instead of Dad paying for it.

Then, the van becomes the pimped-out mystery machine it was always meant to be.

My first day at work is tomorrow, so I'll try to post and let the WHOLE INTERNET know how it went. In the meantime, stay swag, internet.

I can't move.

Oh, archery. A test of skill for sure, and a test of how much your arms and shoulders can take. I'm exhausted! I wasn't using a bow with a heavy pull, but still, I'm not used to using those muscles. After we shot, I took some ibuprofen and stretched out some, and thank god I did. If I hadn't, I might never have lifted my arms again. It was so worth it though! I'm not a great shot, but I'm getting much better with practice. If I keep this up, I'll be a dead shot when the summer ends, and have epic shoulders too.

After archery, we started cleaning my friend's room. Started. That's quite a project...she has a lot of stuff. It really got me thinking about all the junk I hang on to and why. Pretty soon you'll see a post where I went nuts and cleaned my room like a madwoman. All my stuff will be gone, and I'll be much happier. Or, alternatively, I'll go home, think about cleaning, then realize my shoulders are sore and find a marathon of America's Next Top Model.

Pictures of my deadly accuracy with a bow will be posted soon. In the meantime, be good to yourself.

Mmmmm yummy cookies.

At a request from Liz's mom, we spent the afternoon making banana drop cookies with banana frosting. Because they are absolutely freaking delicious, I'm going to share the recipe with you. Let me know if you make them.

Anyway, you're going to need some ingredients first.

For the cookies, you need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the icing (optional, but highly recommended, it's delicious)

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup mashed banana (one small banana)
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To start, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make sure you check the oven, someone might have filled it with pots and pans while you weren't looking. Use some shortening and grease a baking sheet. Then, mix together the dry ingredients.

Then, use an electric mixer to beat the butter for about 30 seconds. It's seriously fun, as nerdy as that sounds. Mama P's mixer lets you set the speed and time so you can walk away from it while it mixes, but where's the fun in that? Once you've beaten the butter, add the sugar and beat it until it gets fluffy.

Then, add the eggs and vanilla to the mixer and beat for a while.

Then, take turns adding the banana and the dry ingredients. Beat well in between each addition. Then, eat the dough.

Alternatively, you can continue making the cookies by chopping up the walnuts and adding them to the dough.

The original recipe says to drop them by teaspoon full onto the cookie sheet. I think that makes ridiculously tiny cookies, so I use a tablespoon instead. Then, bake them for about nine minutes.

While the first batch is baking, you can make the icing. First, sift the powdered sugar. Put the sugar into the sifter, then tap it against your hand until all of the sugar falls through.

Then, mix the rest of the ingredients together.

Once the cookies are finished baking, take them off of the tray. I let mine cool on a wire rack, but if you don't have one you can just lay them out on paper towels. Don't leave them on the tray, they'll stick like gum on the bottom of a new pair of pumps. After they cool, spread the icing on top. Then, share them with a friend. Haha, just kidding. They keep just fine in the freezer, so you can hoard them.

The cookies won't turn out right unless you rock out while you make them. Turn on some music and go nuts. Enjoy your cookies, and peace out.

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.

That's one of my favorite quotes, partially because my mom started drilling it into my head at a very young age. I was always raised to be fiercely independent, and to shun the oldfashioned notion that a woman needs a man to take care of her.

Now, I'm single, and I'm trying hard to resist getting caught up in all of the relationship drama going on around me. I'm always hearing gossip from my friends about unrequited love, and about who had sex with whom, and about who's in love with whom. It makes me feel like my life is somehow incomplete without someone by my side. The social norm in my generation is that if you aren't in a relationship, you should be looking for one. Women who are focused on their own lives, instead of searching for Prince Charming, are looked upon poorly. Think about your typical Katherine Heigl movie, for example. Career-driven women who don't search for a man are portrayed as "missing something." I'm sick of it.

As much as I would enjoy the companionship and stability of a relationship, I'm perfectly fine without one. No matter how hard society tries to turn me into one of those desperate, clingy women you see in romantic comedies, wasting all of their time searching for someone to tolerate their mood swings and irrational insecurites, I won't cave. I have excellent friends, a loving and caring family, and most importantly, I'm happy with myself. As long as I can fall asleep at night knowing I'm a good person who lives an awesome life, why should I stress over being single?

After all, a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.

That's-a one spicy meatball!

Ok, they weren't really spicy, because preggo doesn't eat spicy food. They were still delicious though!

First, we took some ground beef and seasoned it. We used seasoned salt and some pepper, but you can add a lot of other things. I personally like basil, but that's just me. I'd add basil to nearly anything. Seriously. Name a food, and I'll try it with basil.

Then, Teri shaped them into balls. She likes them because they look like tiny hamburgers. I didn't have the heart to tell her that they are, in fact, tiny hamburgers.

Once that was done, we heated a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan. We heated the oil over medium heat, then turned it down to a lower heat when we added the meat.

Once the meatballs were brown, we served them with spaghetti sauce on top of spaghetti noodles. We also poured some Parmesan cheese on top. We're white, we like cheese. So sue us.

Mmmm, yummy. Be jealous. Actually, don't. This post is over, so be good to yourselves.

Tell me all your thoughts on God.

And blue is nice, but other colors of cars count too. Racism towards automobiles is a very real issue, people.

Actually, it isn't. That's an incredibly stupid, uninspired thing to say, and it isn't really funny. If you did manage to produce a chuckle, shame on you.

That's what I'm thinking about right now...the mundane, unintelligent, unimportant things we say all the time. When we want to get to know someone, we talk about silly popular culture references and what pizza toppings we enjoy. For some reason, we avoid deeper issues like the plague. Religion, philosophy and politics are the Lord Voldemort of polite conversation, they simply aren't mentioned.

And yes, when I say Lord Voldemort I mean @Lord_Voldemort7. He may be interesting or funny, but when you start talking about him at Thanksgiving dinner things get awkward.

So why don't we try to give our conversations a bit more substance? Think for a minute about some of your family and friends. Do you know whether or not they believe in God? Or fate? Or gay marriage, for that matter?

Find out. Really get to know the people you know. Sharing your thoughts will help you grow.

Peace be with you.

Summer weekends are for burning your skin off.

Okay, so my skin isn't actually burned off, it's just kind of pinkish. But, there's going to be another afternoon spent by the pool today, so goodness only knows what it will look like tomorrow. Stupid skin.

I've been spending a lot of time with my friends Liz, Jonathan, Josh and Teri. Teri and Josh's apartment complex has a pool, so we've been swimming and enjoying the sunshine. It's been ridiculously hot outside, so I suffer through the sunburns and mosquito bites to swim. Don't worry, it'll pay off. I'll be a bronzed goddess after a couple of days.

I've been hiding out at Teri and Josh's because there seems to be so much going on with most of my friends. It's nice to take a break from gossip, especially when the gossip involves people I care about. I don't want to hurt anyone, and I don't want to broadcast every detail I know. Some things just aren't anyone's business. Don't get me wrong, I love all of my friends. At the same time, though, I have my own issues. I don't live a perfect charmed life, and sometimes I just can't handle everyone's problems. Right now, I need to bask in all the positivity I can find.

I think that's the biggest life lesson I've learned lately. Negativity only creeps into your life if you let it. Yes, bad things happen, but how we respond is what determines what kind of positive or negative energy we feel. Our lives only take on a positive direction if we let them. A friend once told me that what makes us human is our ability to decide how we feel about anything. That doesn't mean we can choose to be happy when it's easy. It means that we can choose to feel good about our lives all the time.

I have a friend right now who is coping with a lot. She's been hurt a lot, but she still has her head up. That's the kind of person I want to be...someone who handles negativity with poise and grace. She doesn't even realize what an impact her strength has on the people around her. She's teaching us all how to stay positive no matter what.

And think, I'm complaining about the sunburn I haven't even gotten yet.

Be alright (the disc golf day)

I'd never tried disc golf before this weekend, and let me tell you, it's a lot harder than it looks. The rules are similar to golf. You have a certain number of throws per hole, and at the end of the game, the person with the lowest score wins. Instead of hitting a ball with a club into a hole, you throw a small Frisbee into a basket. It's not as easy as it sounds. Honestly, it's a bit hipster. I mean, there are different styles and weights of discs. We even saw one serious player carrying a case full of discs. Really, dude? You're going to drag your elementary-school kid around the park to watch you throw your collection of special discs at a basket? I shake my head at your poor parenting choices. Poor, young, bored kid.

Jon wasn't bad at all, but he was much too busy climbing on things and showing off his acrobatic skills.

After we finished "playing", or throwing discs with no apparent goal or reason for throwing, we decided to explore the park. My favorite part of the whole place is the bridge. When you walk up to it, it looks like this.

But, when you climb around the bridge to the other side, you find this.

The water is very shallow, so we naturally took off our shoes and waded around. I mean, what else are you supposed to do here? There was a whole family exploring the water too, but I'm not enough of a creeper to take pictures of someone else's adventures, especially not when there are children involved.

After we finished playing in the water like hippies, Jon and Faron posed for pictures with the graffiti like the hipsters they are.

After the park had ceased to amuse us, we ate dinner at Faron's and jammed out on her collection of instruments. The three of us are going to make beautiful music together.

The rest of the pictures from the park are on Flickr, if you really want to take the few seconds out of your life to look at them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamcrownedwithflowers/sets/72157626680387855/

I'm sorry, what just happened?

I have no words.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE05iHYFKqc&w=425&h=349]

Um.

So yeah. That's five minutes and twenty-three seconds you'll never get back.

We already know so much.

All of this post is based on conversations with Jonathan. He inspires me so much.

The Greek word for learning actually translates closer to what we call remembering. They believed that our souls were all-knowing, and that this knowledge was lost when our souls were trapped inside our bodies. It's an interesting thought.

I think that sometimes we know a lot more than we think we do. Sometimes we just sense what others are feeling, or we know what's going to happen to us eventually. We're more aware of God's plans than we realize. Maybe it's because we're afraid of knowing. Maybe we just don't want to accept that we have that power.

I think that "fate" is really just a matter of being where we're supposed to so that good things can happen to us. I think that God, or the universe, or whatever you want to call what's bigger than us, has already set opportunities in place for us. We just have to be the best people we can, and recognize the opportunities in front of us. When we accept that things are as they're supposed to be, then we can truly be happy.

Just sayin'.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.

I need a break for sure...this week has been crazy! Living like a rockstar is more awesome in theory than in practice. My friends and I had so many adventures, and so little sleep. We've crashed on couches and in floors, stayed out until 5AM on more than one occasion, and generally stuck it to the man in every way we could. Some of these stories will be discussed in more detail in later posts (you'll get pictures of me and Liz making pancakes) but for now, I'm just going to share last night's highlights.

After a long day of cooking, napping and playing video games (more exhausting than it sounds) Jonathan, Jarrett and I were ready for adventure. At about 10:30, we decided it would be a great idea to drive better than half an hour to find our dearly beloved friend Chris, then, in truest American teenage fashion, sketch about and explore his neighborhood. We trekked across muddy empty lots in a housing development, climbed over a fallen tree, and sat by a creek casually talking. By the time we'd walked back, we'd talked about what seemed like a million things, and only about half of them were important.

One of the most important things we discussed was where we would sleep. After much discussion, we decided that since Jarrett was staying in a motel anyway, we'd grab a few beers and hang out there.

Best idea ever.

We bought the beer at a Circle-K a few minutes away from Chris' neighborhood at around 1:15 in the morning. We struggled to agree on a type of beer we could all enjoy (since honesty, who really drinks light beers?) We finally settled on Coors, but the store only had Coors light, and again, light beer=no bueno. So, we ended up with Icehouse. I'm not a fan personally, but I digress.

The best part was, I finally had the opportunity to say in the proper context "Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K." I've wanted to for forever, since the first time I saw Keanu Reeves awkwardly struggle through a role (obviously, I saw Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure before The Matrix and The Replacements.)

Then, onward toward the motel, which was another solid 45 minutes away. We crammed ourselves into the car, shared cell phone pictures, and nearly hit a possum. Chris led us through back roads in the middle of nowhere. I swear I could hear the banjos picking and the Cthulu cults  chanting.

When we finally showed up at the motel, it was after 2AM. There were only four other cars in the parking lot, and spilled Fruit Loops were the only sign that anyone besides us had been there in the last couple years. We went inside, watched TV, listened to music, watched YouTube videos, and passed around a straw cowboy hat. We also called up our friend Stephanie, who unfortunately isn't living nearby. We put her on speaker and told her about our night, and even sent her pictures of Chris in his Puka-adorned hat.

The moral of this story? If you're going to drink beer, start earlier than 2AM. I'm so tired and cranky, and I feel like it would be a good idea to bite someone's head off just because I can. No really, I can. I could make someone cry if it was necessary. But, I won't. I shall overcome. There's a lake trip planned for tomorrow night, and a bonfire on Saturday, so I can't quit now. I'll just keep being a rockstar for a few more days.

Don't worry, I won't trash any more motel rooms.

Peace, brothers and sisters.

Kitchen adventure!

I just finished cooking dinner with my friend/little brother Jonathan, with all the preparatory work handled by our friend Liz. It was simple, chicken alfredo made with sauce from a jar, but it was a pleasant experience. There's nothing quite like sharing a kitchen with someone you are comfortable with. It's like starting a creative venture together. You're forced to be close to each other, and so you accept that person in your personal space. Usually I don't like to share a kitchen because of that closeness, but with good friends I don't mind at all.

After cooking, we shooed away Jonathan's cat, Kitten, while we ate. We listened to his jazz-fusion and made cheesy jokes together. I wonder which was cheesier: the jokes, or the pasta?

Happy times.