tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53349370313665916022024-03-13T08:57:42.459-05:00Amanda in Real LifeAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-68344554564441255072011-01-21T14:54:00.000-06:002011-01-21T14:54:38.333-06:00Dead or AliveYesterday my boyfriend had food poisoning and spent all day throwing up. Here's a string of texts we sent each other last night. I'm nothing if not a supportive girlfriend.<br />
<br />
Mike: (5:34) I threw up again. Say kind things at my funeral.<br />
<br />
Amanda: (5:35) You want me to lie?<br />
<br />
M: (5:40) Of course<br />
<br />
A: (7:02) Are you still alive?<br />
<br />
(7:17) I guess you're dead then. I'm sad that you died.<br />
<br />
(7:21) I've started working on your eulogy. It's going to be legen<br />
<br />
(7:25) dary<br />
<br />
(7:32) While I'm speaking, I'll put 20 seconds on the clock to see how many comments I can come up with<br />
<br />
(7:39) I'll eat buffalo wings while I do it as an homage to your love of chicken.<br />
<br />
(7:42) I'll get the sauceless kind from KFC because I know you don't like to be messy.<br />
<br />
(7:46) Plus, I need to look good because I'll be trolling for a new boyfriend and can't do that with sauce on my face.<br />
<br />
M: (7:50) Not dead.<br />
<br />
A: (7:51) Do you mean like undead? Because I have a plan of attack if need be.<br />
<br />
M: (7:56) Not a zombie. Just throwing up.<br />
<br />
A: (7:58) Huh. Well, that's anticlimactic. <br />
<br />
<br />
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-8139119595377668432011-01-19T23:26:00.000-06:002011-01-19T23:26:51.333-06:00In The CarI'm not a great driver under the best of scenarios. I always park far away from places so I don't have to deal with parking by other cars. I've never once in my life parallel parked. I both work and attend classes within a five mile radius of my home.<br />
<br />
Or at least I did, until this semester. This semester I have to take an art history class on the campus that's about twenty miles from my house. I know that doesn't sound like a lot, and it's not. But for me, it's <i>much </i>further than I care to drive. Especially during rush hour, since my class starts at seven. <br />
<br />
So of course, tonight, my first night at this campus, it snows. Of course. Have I mentioned that I suck at driving in the snow? In my defense, it doesn't snow here all that often. I mean, it does. But not in great quantities. I sucked it up, cleaned my car off, and got ready to drive. <br />
<br />
While I was stopped at the light leading out of the parking lot, I realized I forgot to clean my side mirror off. I rolled my window down, brushed off the snow, and rolled my window back up.<br />
<br />
Only I didn't. My window was/is stuck. <br />
<br />
I had to drive home the twenty plus miles in a snowstorm with my window rolled down.<br />
<br />
I started off on the highway, but it was too cold and windy. So I had to drive it down the regular roads. All in all, it took about an hour to get home.<br />
<br />
My car door is now wrapped in old towels and a trash bag. <br />
<br />
My left side is still cold. Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-91369309234727986612010-12-31T10:18:00.004-06:002010-12-31T14:33:28.156-06:00Sigh No MoreI love music. Duh. This was a great year.<br /><br />10. The Hold Steady- Heaven Is Whenever<br />9. Janelle Monae- The ArchAndroid<br />8. Broken Bells- Broken Bells<br />7. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs<br />6. Joshua Radin- The Rock and the Tide<br /><br /><br />5.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> 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locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" 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mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Greg Laswell: Take A Bow</span>- I’m not usually a huge fan of singer songwriters. I appreciate the talent, but more often than not I find them boring. Greg Laswell is the exception. His beautiful deep voice is expressive and earnest. The lyrics are sad and happy and clever. He’s absolutely fantastic live; his stage presence and commentary are awesome. If you like the genre at all, check it out. 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mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-weight: bold;">Neon Trees- Habits</span>: <span style=""> </span>Catchy and fun! It’s a light album but almost guaranteed to make you dance. <span style=""> </span>It has a definite 80s tinge, and they’ve clearly listened to the Killers. The lyrics are much deeper than the poppy sounds would make you think. 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mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Black Keys- Brothers</span>: This one is a bit of a departure from the norm for them, but I love it. It’s layered and melodic, instead of gritty and raw like their previous efforts. I don’t mind a bit of polish. It’s still bluesy and soulful. 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mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">2.<span style="font-weight: bold;">The National- High Violet</span>:<span style=""> </span>I know I’ve gone on and on and on about the National, but I just really and truly love them. This was a hard decision for me deciding between this and the number one album, but ultimately, this was my second choice. Matt Berninger’s baritone voice just hits the right spot for me. Combined with their lyrics and melodies, the National is my favorite band. Moody, at times depressing, this album is great for relaxing to. It’s haunting, powerful, cathartic, and a million other great words. <span style=""> </span>I’ve been a longtime fan but just got to see them in concert for the first time this year, and it did not disappoint. 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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults ext="edit" spidmax="1026"> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout ext="edit"> <o:idmap ext="edit" data="1"> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">I’m counting this one on a technicality. It was technically released last year, but it didn’t come out in the US until February, so I think its okay. <span style=""> </span></p><br /><br />1.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> 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Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mumford & Sons- Sigh No More</span>: I’m not sure what I can say about this album that hasn’t already been said. <span style=""> </span>It’s simply stunning, and worth every ounce of hoopla and praise they’ve been receiving. <span style=""> </span>Its craftsmanship, passion, and heart are all apparent through the roaring, rollicking ups and the haunting, masterful downs.<span style=""> </span>The lyrics are beyond most other music that’s out there today.<span style=""> </span>They’re not just lyrics, they’re brilliant 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10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-59949054367235575562010-12-20T10:35:00.002-06:002010-12-20T11:11:59.550-06:00I Alone<span style="font-weight: bold;">DISCLAIMER: This is not me judging you, or your life decisions.<br /><br /></span>Last night at my company Christmas party, I took a figurative bullet for the new guy who works there. Upon discovering he's been dating his girlfriend for two years, the older ladies all started squawking over him, asking what his plans were for the future.<br /><br />I jumped in and commented on how two years wasn't that long. And it's not. Not when you're 21, and your girlfriend is 20. They're both in college. Why the pressure? They need to grow up, discover who they are, and where they want to be.<br /><br />Anyway, that made all the ladies all turn their attention to me. It seems unfathomable to them that I could date the same guy for more than seven years and still not be married. Or have plans for marriage. Or even want to get married.<br /><br />But really, aside from better health insurance, what does being married get me? This isn't 1965. Being married isn't my only chance at being at to make a living for myself. I don't need a man to get things done.<br /><br />What does marriage even mean anymore? With the rampant divorce rate and the utterly repulsive denial of equal rights to everyone, marriage isn't something that means that much to me, especially if marriage is defined as "<span id="hotword"><span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">social</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">institution</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">under</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">which</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">man</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">and</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">woman</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">establish</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">their</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">decision</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">live</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">as husband a</span></span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">nd</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">wife</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">by</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">legal</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">commitments,</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">religious</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">ceremonies,</span> <span style="cursor: default; background-color: transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword">etc" I'm sorry, but that just doesn't sound like something I'm dying to do.<br /><br />Whenever someone changes their relationship status to engaged, people comment on their wall with things like "Welcome to the club!" or "Now you're one of us!." So, I could also join a cult and get the same sort of reception.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This is not me judging you if you're married</span>. In fact, I think it's great that you're married. I'm happy that you've found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with.<br /><br />I'm just tired of being judged because I haven't followed the same path.<br /><br />I get the sense that a lot of people are getting married because it's what you're supposed to do, and because they don't want to be left behind all their married friends. <br /><br />Why is it so unacceptable of me to be comfortable in my relationships as it is? I don't doubt our commitment to each other. I love our partnership. I don't think what we have deserves any less respect just because it hasn't been verified by the state of Missouri.<br /><br /> I'm not saying I won't ever get married. In fact, I probably will. I like to experience new things. But it's not the end goal for me, either. And I don't get what's so wrong with that.<br /></span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-62565345890148745752010-11-30T21:31:00.003-06:002010-11-30T22:13:49.958-06:00You Might Say It's Self DestructiveI've been having a lot of health problems recently.<br /><br />I've been rundown, tired, and sick a lot. Every cold I came near, I contracted. I couldn't sleep. I slept too much. I could barely keep my eyes open in the afternoon. I had no motivation. I was bruising easily. My hair and skin were dry. The former was falling out, the latter was flaky.<br /><br />Along with a few other issues I'm having, Dr. Google told me I had a thyroid problem.<br /><br />Okay, I can handle that. So I went to a real doctor (because, really, have we even <span style="font-style: italic;">seen</span> Dr. Google's credentials?) and got lots and lots of blood drawn to test.<br /><br />I don't have a thyroid problem. Suck it, Google.<br /><br />What I do have? Malnourishment. I'm anemic, vitamin D deficient, calcium deficient, and a bunch of other types of deficient.<br /><br />Which is nothing, really. I mean, when it comes down to it, I just need to start eating. <br /><br />I guess I probably don't eat enough pretty often. I forget to eat a lot. If I'm alone, it seems like too much hassle to make food. Plus, if you drink enough coffee, you hardly get hungry at all.<br /><br />I have a dodgy history with food. I was bulimic as a teenager. I had issues with malnourishment even earlier, in middle school. I was anemic and had to take supplements and get blood drawn regularly, due to my crazy dieting at such a vulnerable age. <br /><br />I can't eat a lot of food. Dairy and gluten make my stomach hurt. Meat grosses me out. I eat it, certainly. But I can't think about it or look at it too closely.<br /><br />But I need to start eating.<br /><br />To borrow from a cliche, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I hate getting my blood drawn, which I apparently am supposed to start doing again.<br /><br />I have a bunch of prescription strength supplements I have to take. Crazy doses, like 50,000IU caplets of Vitamin D, where the normal supplement amount is 100IU. <br /><br />I'm struggling with this. I made a hamburger for lunch today, which is not my favorite, but I need protein. I used beef and veggies in dinner, too. More protein. Even with all that, I didn't even clear 1,000 calories. More than 300 of those were from my coffee and whiskey (not at the same time).<br /><br />I'm also going to see a therapist. I've never had counseling before, but my first appointment is on Thursday.<br /><br />I've started tracking my food again, which I had stopped doing. I'm using <a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/AmandaErin">MyFitnessPal</a> this time, mostly because I'm a follower.<br /><br />I need to break my bad habits. I've been failing at this for more than a decade, and it needs to stop.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-55996624327023838912010-11-23T23:05:00.003-06:002010-11-23T23:16:59.256-06:00You're The Kind Of Girl I like<p>I can't resist these things, I don't know why. Thanks, <a href="www.avitable.com">Avitable</a>!<br /></p><p>Q: <strong>How does the world see me?</strong><br />A: Ridin' Solo- Jason DeRulo<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong>Will I have a happy life?</strong><br />A: Shape of My Heart- Backstreet Boys<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong>What do my friends really think of me?</strong><br />A: Gorgeous- Kanye West<br /></p><p>(I swear I'm not making this up)</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOyd2alrLfI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/0Jt8IU5lmB8/s1600/random.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 72px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOyd2alrLfI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/0Jt8IU5lmB8/s400/random.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542978799562075634" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Q: <strong>Do people secretly lust after me?</strong><br />A: Love Is An Action- The Hours<br /><p>Q: <strong>How can I make myself happy?</strong><br />A: Call Me What You Like- Keane<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong>What should I do with my life?</strong><br />A: Pantomime- Incubus<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong>Will I ever have children?</strong><br />A: Blood- Editors<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong>What is some good advice for me?</strong><br />A: She Says- Howie Day<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong> How will I be remembered?</strong><br />A: All In All- Lifehouse<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong> What do I think my current theme song is?</strong><br />A: Steady As She Goes- The Raconteurs<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong> What does everyone else think my current theme song is?</strong><br />A: Gold Soundz- Pavement<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong> What song will play at my funeral?</strong><br />A: I Wanna Get You Alone- Joseph Arthur<br /></p> <p>Q: <strong> What type of men/women do I like?</strong><br />A: Rocket Man- My Morning Jacket<br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-1556511500035292992010-11-17T22:37:00.013-06:002010-11-17T23:50:51.607-06:00Even As I Left FloridaOn Sunday, we headed out of Orlando to partake in a <a href="http://www.floridaecosafaris.com/ZiplineSafaris/">Florida EcoSafari</a>. I'd always wanted to try zip-lining, and figured my birthday would be a great time to try something scary. They were booked up on my actual birthday, but Sunday seemed like a great day to try. Mike was nervous and thinking I had lost my mind wanting to do this. Until we got there, when things between us switched drastically. After climbing the first set of stairs to the first platform, Mike declared his love of heights. I, however, felt like I was going to throw up. I'm not usually scared of heights, but this was a whole new animal.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOS4BCp7LcI/AAAAAAAAAVI/EDmplhUPBz8/s1600/IMG_1026.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOS4BCp7LcI/AAAAAAAAAVI/EDmplhUPBz8/s400/IMG_1026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540755769604648386" border="0" /></a><br />I was getting queasier and queasier.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSz1tUDbII/AAAAAAAAAU4/1718ZhuY9Z0/s1600/IMG_1016.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSz1tUDbII/AAAAAAAAAU4/1718ZhuY9Z0/s400/IMG_1016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540751176850697346" border="0" /></a>Totally terrified. The zips themselves weren't so bad. It was the climbing the rickety looking (but I'm sure totally safe) stairs and standing on the swaying platforms that got to me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSzBScUoEI/AAAAAAAAAUw/aaF5fDwE4bw/s1600/IMG_1019.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSzBScUoEI/AAAAAAAAAUw/aaF5fDwE4bw/s400/IMG_1019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540750276284424258" border="0" /></a>The worst of all, though, was the horrifying "skybridges." You may notice from my death grip below, I was not liking those AT ALL. I don't like that they moved when you walked on them. I didn't like that the next person started walking on it before you were done, which made the whole thing bounce like a trampoline.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSyZCUblGI/AAAAAAAAAUo/cm6d4FgEg3c/s1600/IMG_1023.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSyZCUblGI/AAAAAAAAAUo/cm6d4FgEg3c/s400/IMG_1023.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540749584761590882" border="0" /></a>I also didn't like that pretty much every time I zipped I got turned backwards, somehow, so in this lovely video you'll see what I was doing to try to right myself (which is the completely wrong way to do it). And if you look really carefully, you'll notice where the rope knot hits me in the face when I land. Not on video is where I ran into a tree. Well, my arm anyway.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16951627" width="400" frameborder="0" height="300"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16951627">How Not To Zipline</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user673971">Amanda Hall</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br />I survived it. And I didn't throw up until after I was safely in their lobby bathroom. It's my new deal: You scare me, I puke in your bathroom. It wasn't a horrible experience, because at least I can say I did it. I didn't do it gracefully, but I finished, without crying. Mike had a fantastic time, at least, and that counts as a lot for me.<br /><br />After I spent the rest of the day recuperating, we met up with <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.avitable.com">Avitable</a> for dinner at the Hard Rock, where he took my meeting a blogger virginity. I've never had the opportunity to meet up with a blogger before (because for <span style="font-style: italic;">some reason</span>, people don't vacation here often. I just can't see why not.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSxlNmP2pI/AAAAAAAAAUg/CxI7eTtr2Hk/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSxlNmP2pI/AAAAAAAAAUg/CxI7eTtr2Hk/s400/photo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540748694435912338" border="0" /></a>Then on Monday, it was time for the reason we went to Orlando: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There's not a lot I can say beyond that it was fantastic. If you're a fan of Harry Potter, you must go experience this. We arrived well before opening time, and the lines weren't ridiculous. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSxPYOmyPI/AAAAAAAAAUY/x0E4e2xgr5c/s1600/IMG_1040.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSxPYOmyPI/AAAAAAAAAUY/x0E4e2xgr5c/s400/IMG_1040.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540748319332419826" border="0" /></a>The food at the Three Broomsticks was so good, we ate there for lunch <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>dinner. I will say, I found Butterbeer to be horrible. I guess if you like cream soda it's good, but I couldn't choke it down. I didn't like the pumpkin juice, either. I did enjoy the beer they have specially brewed for them, though.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSwvD0LwcI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/yJU5JQpIfSc/s1600/IMG_1080.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSwvD0LwcI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/yJU5JQpIfSc/s400/IMG_1080.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540747764097073602" border="0" /></a>The attention to detail was amazing. It legitimately felt like you were walking through Hogwarts. It helped that we were early enough to avoid super long lines, and could walk through the building at our own pace. The paintings talked to you (of course) but it really looked like oil paintings were speaking.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSv8Z1-gSI/AAAAAAAAAUI/Cs-b6LkUj5c/s1600/IMG_1061.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSv8Z1-gSI/AAAAAAAAAUI/Cs-b6LkUj5c/s400/IMG_1061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540746893836845346" border="0" /></a>I was particularly taken with the charm of the buildings in the Hogsmeade portion. It was bustling just like a city, too, so the only decent shots I have are just of the rooflines.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSvS1ZzozI/AAAAAAAAAUA/F6d41QvilBg/s1600/IMG_1070.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSvS1ZzozI/AAAAAAAAAUA/F6d41QvilBg/s400/IMG_1070.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540746179680379698" border="0" /></a> I think the Ollivander's part was not worth waiting in line for an hour for a 5 minute performance where a kid you don't know gets chosen for a wand, but we did purchase a few wands at the end. One was for Mike's sister in law, the other was for "me," but it's the wand Mike thought looked the coolest (Sirius Black's). Now I just need to figure out what the hell to do with it. I assume it will stay in it's box in a closet.<br /><br />After we had thoroughly toured the area, we did the rest of Islands of Adventure, then went to the regular Universal Studios part (per the recommendation of Avitable) and had a great time with all that as well. We went back to the Harry Potter part when the sun went down, and it was just as pretty at night. Our camera didn't have a great night mode, so the pictures don't capture it very well.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSuZ7IUz8I/AAAAAAAAAT4/l5W8hybJIes/s1600/IMG_1137.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSuZ7IUz8I/AAAAAAAAAT4/l5W8hybJIes/s400/IMG_1137.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540745201965125570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSuBzQ_VVI/AAAAAAAAATw/W6vhDNwOFI0/s1600/IMG_1151.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TOSuBzQ_VVI/AAAAAAAAATw/W6vhDNwOFI0/s400/IMG_1151.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540744787537122642" border="0" /></a>And that was it! The next day we flew home. None of our flights were canceled, so I'll consider that a win.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-4645850680418001662010-11-16T22:18:00.012-06:002010-11-16T22:49:57.195-06:00FloridaWe just got home from a quick long weekend in Florida. It was my birthday on Saturday so we decided to get away for a little bit to celebrate. We chose Orlando because I've been dying to see <a href="http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/">The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.<br /></a><br />We flew in on Friday and didn't have anything to do specifically, so while driving around slightly aimlessly, we found an Ikea. I've never been to one before since we don't have one here, but I've always wanted to see it. And man, did I love it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONaDz_RCXI/AAAAAAAAATo/wJBbu4bRk70/s1600/IMG_0893.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONaDz_RCXI/AAAAAAAAATo/wJBbu4bRk70/s400/IMG_0893.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540370988137515378" border="0" /></a>The next day was my birthday, so we decide to drive to the beach and have lunch at <a href="http://www.sunglowpier.com/">Crabby Joe's</a> (the yellow building on the pier)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZ1CujHeI/AAAAAAAAATg/dNqZPMiQUv0/s1600/IMG_0896.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZ1CujHeI/AAAAAAAAATg/dNqZPMiQUv0/s400/IMG_0896.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540370734395891170" border="0" /></a>Then we went for a long walk on the beach. It was cold and windy, but beautiful (especially since the beach was deserted) (please pretend I don't look pregnant in this picture. I'm not. I just arch my back in pictures for no reason)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZs14IxJI/AAAAAAAAATY/toOESdLacMw/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZs14IxJI/AAAAAAAAATY/toOESdLacMw/s400/IMG_0901.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540370593507493010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZmKzp1iI/AAAAAAAAATQ/WM_2BB5ImT8/s1600/IMG_0914.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZmKzp1iI/AAAAAAAAATQ/WM_2BB5ImT8/s400/IMG_0914.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540370478866748962" border="0" /></a>Since we were in the area, we decided to check out the <a href="http://www.ponceinlet.org/">Ponce Inlet Lighthouse</a>. Which, while beautiful...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZdVGoMRI/AAAAAAAAATI/l-jxC1mJP1s/s1600/IMG_0918.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZdVGoMRI/AAAAAAAAATI/l-jxC1mJP1s/s400/IMG_0918.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540370327011864850" border="0" /></a>was a horrible thing to do. Who want to climb all these stairs on their birthday? My legs were <span style="font-style: italic;">screaming </span>at me by the time we reached the top.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZP1dc8HI/AAAAAAAAATA/O68RM5blT60/s1600/IMG_0946.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZP1dc8HI/AAAAAAAAATA/O68RM5blT60/s400/IMG_0946.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540370095179362418" border="0" /></a>We took it easy that night and had a pleasant dinner and many dirty martinis. We walked by Wonderworks after dinner and decided to give it a shot even though I had read horrible reviews for it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZHMFJY7I/AAAAAAAAAS4/jEI_yJJHIxY/s1600/IMG_0951.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONZHMFJY7I/AAAAAAAAAS4/jEI_yJJHIxY/s400/IMG_0951.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540369946632610738" border="0" /></a>And you know what? It wasn't bad. It was definitely overpriced (and it takes a LOT for me to think something is overpriced) but it was fun. (That could maybe be the dirty martinis talking). Or at least, it was fun, until we reached the ropes course portion. I climbed to the first platform and immediately turned around and came back down. My boyfriend, however, enjoyed playing around.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONYeCBB_yI/AAAAAAAAASw/zQNt4dMedJo/s1600/IMG_0958.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TONYeCBB_yI/AAAAAAAAASw/zQNt4dMedJo/s400/IMG_0958.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540369239556357922" border="0" /></a>Then I tried to switch memory cards in my camera because mine was full, and stuck the wrong card in it. It's wedged in there now and I have no idea how to get it out. Mike will be doing exploratory surgery on it tomorrow. So I don't have the pictures from the rest of the trip because they were taken on his camera which I assume is in his luggage somewhere, which is no with me. So hopefully I'll get them soon and be able to recap the rest of the trip (it gets way more interesting from here).Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-89351388030194351902010-10-05T12:57:00.002-05:002010-10-05T13:13:01.600-05:00Not For MeI'm so amazed at people that blindly follow people on Twitter. Do you really want to follow just anyone? It's no fun in your stream is filled with people who are annoying. I follow people all the time because my friends are friends with them. Then I unfollow them because they are irritating, or too negative, or whatever.<br /><br />Even weirder are the people that search phrases on Twitter, then follow them because a person said a certain word. <br /><br />The other day when everyone on Facebook was posting that Ellen video about how gay teens are committing suicide at an alarming rate and how we need to do something about it, a friend of mine posted it saying that this is a free country, and people should have the freedom to choose to be gay. And while I appreciate the vaguely supportive sentiment, that's so wrong. You don't choose to be gay. You are gay. Or you are straight. Or you are bisexual, or you have sex with horses. Whatever. You don't choose to be gay anymore than you choose to be straight. (and if you chose to be straight, you're probably gay.)<br /><br />So anywho, I made a comment about this on Twitter, and all these conservative news story Twitterers started following me. I'm not sure if they saw the word "freedom" and thought I was one of them? Or if they thought I was saying it was wrong to be gay? Which certainly wasn't what I was saying. In fact, it's the opposite of what I was saying.<br /><br />I also said something a few weeks ago about how I don't care about football, and a bunch of football enthusiast tweeters started following me. The same happened when I complained about hiking.<br /><br />I guess people just follow people in hopes that they'll follow them back to raise their numbers?<br /><br />I don't care enough about my numbers to blindly follow whoever starts following me, or to start following someone just because they mention a word that's on my radar. That's not what Twitter is about for me. That's why I follow so few people. If you're not popping out quality tweets, I don't want you clogging up my feed.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-69278603500540199152010-09-13T22:28:00.002-05:002010-09-13T22:34:29.205-05:00On My List<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> 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mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <br />I'm blatantly stealing this idea from <a href="http://www.avitable.com/2010/09/13/my-murtaugh-list-actually-a-bucket-list-plus-benadryl/">Avitable</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Bucket List</span> (I tried not to make them all travel oriented)<br /> <span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><ul><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Move to a different country. Or at least a very different region of this one. I’d love to pack it all up and move to London. That’s my dream. Mike wants to move to Seattle or Vancouver… I guess his dream is easier to obtain. Either way, we were both born and raised here, and we need to explore more. </li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Spend time in a country where I don’t speak the language. We went to Paris for a day and I was SO UNCOMFORTABLE. We stuck to London and Dublin because they’re English speaking. I want to ride a gondola in Venice and the tour the south of France, or go to Russia or Brazil. Somewhere where English isn’t the most prevalent language.</li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>See the Northern Lights in person. Something about this phenomenon has always fascinated me, but I’ve never been anywhere it’s visible. </li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Drive across the US. I’ve seen a fair amount of this country, but I’d love to be able to take a lot of it in at once. </li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Go to Mardi Gras. We tend to avoid holidays and festivities like the plague, but just once I’d love to go to a big huge party celebration. I’m uncomfortable in crowds, so this would be a test for me.</li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Start running, for real. I go for a jog once or twice a week, but I never really get into it. I need to establish a routine. It’s not going to get any easier to lose weight the older I get. </li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Get a tattoo. I know what I want, and where I want it, but I’m a chicken. I need to man up and just do it. </li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Try more “extreme” activities. I haven’t done anything dangerous. I’m not even scared, more apathetic. Sky Diving, Parasailing, and Zorbing are all things I’d love to try. </li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Learn to Sculpt. I’ve taking painting, drawing, and photography classes, but sculpture isn’t something I’ve gotten to experience very often. I’d love to really learn the skill. My mom still has a bowl I “sculpted” in Kindergarten. </li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>See the Shins and Editors in concert. They don’t have to be together, obviously. I’ve seen all the rest of my favorite bands live (Radiohead, Death Cab, Snow Patrol, The Decemberists, The Killers, Starsailor, etc.) but I’d really like to see these two as well.</li><li><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Learn the difference in wines. I know if I like a wine or not, and I can tell you if it’s dry or sweet, but that’s it. I can’t blindly taste the difference between a malbec and a cabernet, or pick up the hints of apple or Edam or whatever. </li></ul>What's on your list?Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-70863723768649084102010-08-24T16:09:00.003-05:002010-08-24T16:41:40.232-05:00Too Shy ShySo, my first day of class was today. I'm only taking one class this semester. I was supposed to be taking three, but one of them got canceled, which pushes me back to graduating a semester later than I had planned. Which sucks. So I decided to drop the other class so I could take it next semester, leaving me to focus on this one class.<br /><br />Pretty much all my friends graduated in the spring, so I only vaguely knew a few people in this class. We're going to have a semester long project based on a country of our choosing. With a partner.<br /><br />Then the teacher announced we were picking our own partners. In a class where I don't know anyone.<br /><br />It's amazing how quickly you can revert back into being a scared 14 year old, on your first day of high school, worrying that no one wants to be your friend. The embarrassment, the racing heartbeat, the flushed cheeks.<br /><br />Only, when I was 14, I wasn't this bad. I was confident. I had friends. I knew what I was doing. Why is it harder now? It's not like its a big deal. It's not embarrassing to not know someone. You just introduce yourself, and voila! You know them. We're all grownups. Well, I am. Some of my classmates are still children.<br /><br />Thankfully the guy in front of me didn't have a partner, either. The cute, well dressed, funny guy in front me.<br /><br />I was starting to get psyched about this, as we discussed which country to choose. I wanted England. He wanted Russia. Or Mexico, where his partner's from. Of course.<br /><br />(We chose Sweden.)Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-44535523938099249192010-08-09T13:00:00.000-05:002010-08-09T13:00:33.575-05:00Chapter Two I Think I Fell In Love With YouI used to see these photo-memes every once in awhile, but I haven't seen it in a long time so I thought I'd resurrect. Take a picture of your book pile. The books you're planning on reading, not books you stick in there to look smart. Don't take out the embarrassing ones, I sure didn't. My pile's a little bigger than normal because I went to the library today and recently raided my mother's bookcase (1-3).<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TFzVUYMCCYI/AAAAAAAAAQI/gHvQbn-ci2s/s1600/BOOKPILE.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TFzVUYMCCYI/AAAAAAAAAQI/gHvQbn-ci2s/s400/BOOKPILE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502507390806919554" border="0" /></a><br />1. Barbara Freethy-<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1009886.Don_t_Say_A_Word">Don't Say A Word</a>: Okay, it's cheesy, but I do like the occasional romantic suspense novel. In moderation. It's about a lady who tries to find where she's from and figure out her past which she can't rememberf.<br /><br />2. Fern Michaels- <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/431326.Late_Bloomer">Late Bloomer</a>: My mom recommended this one. There's a good chance I won't actually read it. I think it's about a lady who makes amends with her childhood friends.<br /><br />3. Heather Graham- <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2930157.The_Presence">The Presence</a>: Not just romantic suspense, but supernatural romantic suspense with a Scottish Laird.<br /><br />4. Guy Gavriel Kay- <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104086.The_Summer_Tree">The Summer Tree</a>: I've heard this is a great book from a lot of people, so I thought I should actually try it finally. For some reason I've really been into fantasy recently.<br /><br />5. Jean Hegland- <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86236.Into_the_Forest">Into the Forest</a>: I love a good post-apocalyptic novel.<br /><br />6. Katie Williams- <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7036227-the-space-between-trees">The Space Between Trees</a>: A coming of age novel. Mostly I grabbed it because of the beautiful cover<br /><br />7. Andrew Pyper-<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186533.The_Wildfire_Season">The Wildfire Season</a>: This is the one I'm currently reading, I'm not sure how to describe it. It's sort of a thriller but really it's a downer. It's depressing me.<br /><br />8. Michelle Cooper- <span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6341739-a-brief-history-of-montmaray">A Brief History of Montmaray</a>: Another YA novel, but this one's a historical novel about a fictitious kingdom and the royal family .<br /><br />9. Jordan Sonnenblick- <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6693329-after-ever-after">After Ever After</a>: Yet another YA novel (I know, I know), this one about a boy whose cancer is in remission and how people interact with him.<br /><br />10. Audrey Niffenegger- <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6202342-her-fearful-symmetry">Her Fearful Symmetry</a>: Her other book, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Time Traveler's Wife</span>, is one of my all time favorites. This one didn't get the best reviews, but I figure it's worth a shot. '<br /><br />*** If you're wondering what the books are sitting on, it's a step thing that came with a step aerobics DVD. I use it as a table for my books now. Because I'm classy.***<br /></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-18823486425536631962010-07-14T13:25:00.004-05:002010-07-14T14:06:38.600-05:00I Got The RecipeI love to cook. I love to bake. I'm basically a 50s housewife, without the husband or the house. I love trying new things, and thankfully, Mike will pretty much eat anything I put in front of him (as long as there's no blue cheese) so I always have a willing guinea pig.<br /><br />Yesterday I was reading an article about <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/154677-10-superfoods-to-look-younger">Superfoods</a> on Livestrong, and decided to try combining a few into a side dish for the pork tenderloin I had marinating. It's basically a succotash with no cream, I guess, but that doesn't sound as yummy as this dish ended up being.<br /><br />It's super healthy, quick, easy, and cheap to make. I know we're all interested in those things, so I thought I'd share it with you all in case one of you wanted to try it. It will make enough for 4 generous servings, and it tasted great with the pork. I think it would be really good with fish or chicken as well. I had some of the leftovers today for lunch and I think it was even better the 2nd time around.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TD4HCpY6xaI/AAAAAAAAAQA/0EvzjzSIu_o/s1600/Photo-0010.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 244px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TD4HCpY6xaI/AAAAAAAAAQA/0EvzjzSIu_o/s400/Photo-0010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493836337490085282" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You'll need:<br />2 ears of fresh corn, de-cobbed<br />1 can of beans, drained (<span style="font-style: italic;">I used butter beans, but kidney or black beans would all work well- And if you use black beans I'd throw in a little chile powder too</span>)<br />1 jalapeno, diced into tiny pieces (<span style="font-style: italic;">We like spicy so I used the whole thing but you could easily just use half</span>)<br />1 red bell pepper, chopped<br />1 shallot, chopped (<span style="font-style: italic;">1/2 an onion would work just as well</span>)<br />2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil<br /><br />I was kind of winging it, but I'd say it cooked for a total of about 15 minutes<br /><br />Heat the oil in a skillet over medium until it's just starting to go soft.<br /><br />Add the bell peppers, and continue cooking for a few minutes (I like my peppers crisp, so I didn't cook for long, but if you like them soft, keep cooking for awhile), then add jalapeno.<br /><br />Add the drained beans and heat until warm.<br /><br />Add the corn for a minute (you don't want to cook the corn, just heat it up)<br /><br />Salt and pepper to taste.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-9067617910252465592010-06-18T08:29:00.002-05:002010-06-18T10:08:02.638-05:00Scatterbrain<ul><li><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TBt0ySSTkVI/AAAAAAAAAPo/savVr4JaP98/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 389px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/TBt0ySSTkVI/AAAAAAAAAPo/savVr4JaP98/s400/Untitled-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484105378504610130" border="0" /></a>So... I get to bring my own food, my own booze, and give them money for their honeymoon? AWESOME. Am I wrong to think this is really tacky? It's fine if you don't have the money for a big fancy wedding, but it seems super tacky to expect the guests to pay for everything, plus give you money on top of it.</li><li>Mike's driving my car to work today while his in the shop and during the five minute drive from the shop to my house, he managed to pick apart just about every aspect of my car (the clock's wrong, I need an oil change, there's an unexplained squeaky noise, the backseat is messy, etc). I believe that was his way of thanking me for letting him borrow my car all day.</li><li>It's hot. There are four air conditioning units at my store, and two of them are broken. My company's to cheap to fix them because, after all, two of them are working. Um, no. It's hot as hell in there. I've been wearing skirts everyday, which is weird for me, but it's a necessary breeze. I'm a little too chubby for this to work though, and my thighs are permanently stuck together.<br /></li><li>I'm really liking SYTYCD this season, but I still don't know that I'm crazy about the new format. There are so many great dancers (Alex, Billy, Robert, Jose, Kent) and I just want to put Kent in my pocket and carry him around with me. But the all-stars distract me from the contestants, especially the female contestants (who are not bringing it yet), because I get so excited to see Twitch, Mark, Pasha, Ade and Neil again that I ignore the dancer who is actually trying to win.<br /></li><li>Okay, I know I'll be alone in this one, but I kind of feel bad for Tony Hayward. Don't get me wrong, he's a tool. But what happened certainly isn't his fault alone, a lot of mistakes were made. The clips from the hearing (grilling) yesterday made me cringe. I think it's got to be hard to be the face of the disaster when so many are to blame. </li><li>Is it just me, or is Train's Hey Soul Sister an awful song? I mean there's a lot of music I don't like (the entire Black Eyed Peas catalog) but there's only a few I really hate. These are some of the most ridiculous lyrics I've ever heard in my life. Yet somehow, this freaking song is on the radio constantly.<br /></li></ul>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-14804280429706742962010-06-02T18:24:00.002-05:002010-06-02T19:11:09.827-05:00Never Give You UpI think I'm going to pick and choose through the questions on that meme everyone's been doing. I don't want to answer all of them, but when one seems interesting I'll play along.<br /><br />My guilty pleasure? I think I've talked about it before, but I love stuff made for teenagers. I love the TV shows , the books, the movies, all of it. I don't know why. I understand the simplicity, the overused plot lines, the poor writing, all of it. I just don't care. Something about it just really interests me. Only 28 more days until Eclipse comes out!<br /><br />Speaking of Eclipse, my 6 year old nephew recently saw Twilight and thinks that Edward is the "coolest vampire ever!" This upsets his step-mother to no end. She's a hardcore goth with a major vampire fetish (yes, for real.) She loves Le Stat and wants desperately to show T Interview with the Vampire, but it's obviously not appropriate for a 6 year old. So now, whenever Mike and I are around T we bring up how great Edward is, and how super cool that baseball game they played during the thunderstorm. It's fun corrupting the mind of a child. And irritating his parents in the meantime.<br /><br />Another guilty pleasure I used to have? Crappy pop music. I've moved on since my early teenage years, but tonight, my former love of shitty music served me a great purpose. One of the local concert venues had a Twitter trivia contest to win tickets to see the sold out The Black Keys concert next week. Thankfully, the question they asked was about who the first band/person to play at the venue were.<br /><br />I knew the response because at the time, this band was a guilty pleasure of mine. A few years prior they were cool (to me and my friends at least) but by the time this concert rolled around they were passe. So I really wanted to go, but I couldn't let my friends know how lame I was.<br /><br />The band in question? Hanson.<br /><br />Hanson helped me win tickets to see the Black Keys, one of the best bands out there. It's sort of deliciously ironic.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-89141130139261356502010-06-01T12:55:00.003-05:002010-06-01T16:14:13.836-05:00Please Don't Take A PictureFor one, I would like to point out that my orchid is still alive. I mean, I think. I haven't looked at it recently. I did water it. Last week. Once. I'm so great at taking care of things.<br /><br />Like my car. I was at the grocery store this afternoon to buy a six pack and the ingredients for rice krispie treats (WHY CANT I LOSE WEIGHT?). When I got to the car, I sat in the drivers seat and moved to put the groceries in the passenger seat, when the bottom of the six pack gave out. A bottle bounced off my console and broke, sending glass and beer all over the front of my car. And me.<br /><br />I was soaked, so I didn't want to get back out of the car looking like I peed my pants. I drove home covered in beer and glass, trying not to move.<br /><br />It took me a while to clean up the glass and beer, and I sliced my finger open on a shard. The smell of hefeweizen has really soaked into the car. So far I've sprayed the hell out of it with frebreze and I have the windows rolled down, hoping to air it out. Let's just hope I don't get pulled over for a very long time.<br /><br />Now if you'll excuse me, I have a pan of rice krispie treats to eat.<br /><br />UPDATE: Ugh! I went to water the freaking orchid after writing this. I guess I overwatered it, and now everything around it is soaked, including the mail and the box of rice krispies. FAIL.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-38884528377270081922010-05-20T10:59:00.005-05:002010-05-20T11:59:25.413-05:00Seven YearsSo, today is our 7 year anniversary. I stayed up really late last night watching a tv show on Netflix, like an idiot. So I woke up late today, around 10. I stumbled into the kitchen and saw a bag from Dunkin Donuts next to a flower on the kitchen table, and a note that said "COFFEE" on my microwave. I opened it to find a delicious Starbucks vanilla latte. I had just started digging into my munchkins when the phone rang.<br /><br />Apparently, Mike came by with the stuff and I was still asleep. He didn't want to wake me up, so he sat in the living room for a half an hour waiting for me to wake up on my own. He started to feel creepy, so he drove to his office and called me to wake me up.<br /><br />It was then that I really looked at the flower on the table. It's an orchid. In a pot. Like I'm supposed to water it and keep it alive. I have never in my life tried to have a plant before. I barely remember to feed and water myself most days.<br /><br />So I've been doing research on how to care for an orchid, and apparently it's complex. Did you know an orchid can get a sunburn? It can. And you have to let it dry out for one day before you water it because it likes to be dry for a day before it's wet again. And you should avoid the center of the plant and just water around the edges. There are a lot of online orchid communities.<br /><br />Any bets on how long it will be before I kill it?Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-11300434247148418982010-05-12T15:01:00.003-05:002010-05-12T16:09:43.106-05:00One More TimeI know I've been all Debbie Downer recently, which isn't the way I like to live my life. So today, I'm focusing on things that are making me happy:<br /><ul><li>They're slowly tearing down a hospital that's on my way to my college. They're actually using a wrecking ball, so the whole thing looks like something out of a disaster movie. Not only is the wreckage rad to look at, but my favorite part is the old men who gather to watch every day. They bring their lawn chairs and sit line up on the sidewalk to watch the destruction. I think it's great these guys, who probably don't even know each other, have found this common ground and camaraderie. They make me smile every time I drive past.</li><li>There's a deaf kid at my school who always parks near me. His car is covered in Daft Punk stickers. Now, he could have purchased the car used, I suppose. I like to think Daft Punk's beats appeal to everyone.</li><li>Last night's episode of Glee. The music? Great. I loved Finn's <span style="font-style: italic;">Jessie's Girl</span>, Puck's <span style="font-style: italic;">Lady Is A Tramp</span> and Kurt's <span style="font-style: italic;">Roses Turn</span>. It was nice to have an episode I really enjoyed again, because it's been a little lackluster for me recently. Also:</li></ul> <span style="font-style: italic;">-"I'm a sex shark. I stop moving, I die"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> -"That's the problem with your generation... you're obsessed with labels. So you like show tunes. That doesn't mean you're gay, it means you're awful!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /> - <em>You’re the only guy in school I haven’t made out with, because I thought you were capital-G gay. But having a perfect record would really mean a lot to me… So, let me know if you wanna tap this.”</em><br /><em> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></em><br /><em> -</em><em>“When I saw a sign on the door that said ‘do not enter under any circumstances, I’m making out with a girl,’ I thought it was the start of one of your murder mysteries.”</em><ul><li>The semester's over! And I passed all of my classes. Only one more semester to go after this.</li><li>I love that you can stream whole seasons of shows on Netflix. I'm watching Prison Break now, and I'll (re)watch Buffy next, while Mike and I together are watching Bones.<br /></li><li>The National's new album High Violet. It's kind of phenomenal. I love The National more than I can describe. It's dark, moody, sexy, beautiful, intelligent, lush, haunting, complex, moving, and I could go on and on. <span style="font-weight: bold;">I LOVE IT</span>. It's not one of those bands/albums that grabs you immediately, and it's probably not for everybody (especially if you're more into pop) but it speaks to me. The National has to be the best "indie" band out there right now. Gorgeous.<br /><br /><object width="580" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yU88IA0aDU0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yU88IA0aDU0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object></li></ul>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-7898667662046215922010-05-06T13:13:00.003-05:002010-05-06T13:29:02.324-05:00We Expected Something Better Than BeforeFirst of all, I appreciate your support. It's good to know that people have your back. I'm kind of a loner, but it's easy to slip from loner to lonely when I'm having trouble because I'm not good at discussing my problems. I love to bottle things up, then push it down deep and ignore it. Expressing real emotions isn't really my thing.<br /><br />I should also specify, my boyfriend and I haven't broken up. We're just going through a rough patch. Everything I said in my last post was true, but it was also written while I was crying and was maybe a little more forcefully worded than I should have.<br /><br />And the truth is, I'm just as bad. That was obviously written from my point of view, which places all the blame on him, which isn't true. I have my problems as well. Neither of us are good communicators, plus we're both indecisive and we're both pushovers. We both ignore problems in hopes that they go away.<br /><br />It makes it hard to have a healthy relationship that way. We are working on it though. I'm not willing to let go just yet.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-55583654106249780972010-05-02T20:22:00.001-05:002010-05-02T20:22:20.064-05:00Start A WarI'm falling apart.<br /><br />I can hardly breathe right now, again. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach, again.<br /><br />I can't keep repeating myself when there's no one listening.<br /><br />I can only have the same argument so many times.<br /><br />You do what you want. Just like always, what you want comes first. You do what you want to do when you want to do it, then you're shocked to find out I'm upset.<br /><br />How many times are you going to make the same empty promises to me? I've lost count. And faith.<br /><br />I bear my heart and soul to you, and you try to explain to me why I'm wrong to feel what I feel.<br /><br />Is it so hard? Is it so terrible to put someone else's needs before your own? It doesn't seem that way to me, but then again, I put you ahead of everything, because you are everything to me.<br /><br />I just wish it was the same for you. I just wish I could be the most important thing.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-40949159403760449682010-03-23T12:49:00.002-05:002010-03-23T13:11:13.046-05:00In An Aeroplane Over the SeaWell, I'm alive. I survived 5 plane rides, 3 train rides, 1 ferry ride, Mike driving a rental car on the left side of the road, cab rides, multiple subway systems and various other public transportation rides. London was fantastic, Dublin was great, and Paris was... interesting. We saw phenomenal works of art, legendary architecture, and the Guinness storehouse.<br /><br />I'd show you pictures but Mike has the camera. I think. I'll get them up at some point.<br /><br />Right now I'm trying not to fall asleep. Our flight to St. Louis from Philly was canceled, so we had to fly to Chicago then to St. Louis, and arrived in about 7 hours later than anticipated. I still had to go to class this morning instead of sleeping in like I wanted. I think we must have terrible travel karma, because we've only been on 3 trips together where we've flown and out of those 3, we've had our return flights canceled twice. Of course, last time we were "stuck" in Vegas, so it was kind of a win.<br /><br />I'll recap later when I find the camera, but for now, I'm alive and well. Mostly.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-57826926393752562142010-02-03T23:32:00.004-06:002010-02-04T00:10:48.168-06:00Check It OutSo, apparently, I only read young adult novels now. It started with the Harry Potters and the Twilights, but it's moved on from there. I know I'm an "adult", or whatever, but something about these books as really been drawing me in .Thankfully, I look like I'm 16 most days, so I don't look quite as weird checking armfuls of YA novels out at the library. I highly encourage you to check out books that aren't written just for adults.<br /><br />Like chick lit and/or romance? Sarah Dessen's there for you. She has a bunch of teen romance novels, with outcast, lonely girls and wounded, sad boys that you just want to save. They're sweet in their innocence and simplicity.<br /><br />Like action/adventure? The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is excellent. I was flipping through the pages as quickly as possible to see what happened next. I read most of the series in a week. I can't wait for the movie.<br /><br />A fan of Twilight? Try the <span style="font-style: italic;">Shiver</span>, by Maggie Stiefvater. It's about werewolves, not vampires, and the quality of writing is a lot better (no murmuring) but a similar compulsive readability and love-at-first-sight plot line.<br /><br />But nothing has prepared me for the sheer amazingness of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. They're about a dystopian North America, where the government pits young people against each other in a televised last man standing competition. I didn't expect to love these as much as I did. I've never even seen an episode of Survivor. But these books are so freaking good, I couldn't put them down. There's a great love triangle (I love Peeta. <span style="font-style: italic;">LOVE</span>), awesome, breathtaking action, and fascinating look at what the future could hold. I can't wait until August when the third and final book comes out.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::<br /></div><br /><br /><br />I'm doing this again because I love it:<br /><br />Copied from <a href="http://www.avitable.com/2010/02/04/my-new-band/">Avitable</a>:<br /><br /><p><strong>1. Go to the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random" class="extlink">Random Article</a>" link on Wikipedia. Write down the title of the article. This is the name of your band.</strong></p> <p><strong>2. Go to “<a href="http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3" class="extlink">Random Quotations</a>” and the last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album. </strong></p> <p><strong>3. Go to Flickr and click on “<a href="http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days" class="extlink">Explore the Last Seven Days</a>”. The third picture will be your album cover.</strong></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/S2pjYmVJDJI/AAAAAAAAAO8/KwcTdIPNW-M/s1600-h/band.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/S2pjYmVJDJI/AAAAAAAAAO8/KwcTdIPNW-M/s400/band.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434265174633155730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><p><br /><strong></strong></p><p><strong><br /></strong></p><br /></div></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-41825023305109056392010-01-11T11:16:00.002-06:002010-01-11T11:45:08.274-06:00The End Has Only BegunI've discovered something weird about myself.<br /><br />Recently, Mike and I have been re watching Pushing Daisies. We watched all the discs in quick succession, until we reached the last disc and suddenly, I didn't want to watch anymore. I wanted to catch up on our tivo'd items, instead. Also, Mike keeps talking (incessantly) about the upcoming, final season of Lost. I'd rather it not come.<br /><br />Even now, after reading the first four books of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Percy Jackson and the Olympians</span> series quickly, I have the final book sitting next to me. I'm listlessly web browsing instead of reading it.<br /><br />I find myself doing this sort of thing all the time. If I really love a book, I'll read through it quickly, then put it down and it will take me days to finish reading the final chapters.<br /><br />Why do I do this? Who knows. I guess I just don't like good things to come to an end. Then it's over, and I won't have it anymore. Sure, you can re read a book, or re watch the tv series, but it's not the same.<br /><br />I'll only find out whether or not Percy can stand up to the Titans for the first time once. I'll only discover (hopefully) why there are two John Lockes, and what the hell the smoke monster is, and who Sawyer ends up with for the first time as the season unfolds. (Although I'm sure I'll watch Lost again on DVD once the whole boxed set is released)<br /><br />You just can't rush that kind of satisfaction, for me.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-17215243912638585582009-12-24T23:15:00.004-06:002009-12-25T00:02:25.441-06:00Get Behind Me, Santa!To share with you how I'll be spending my Christmas:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/SzRUnjnCFiI/AAAAAAAAAO0/9jrfsHU-RDo/s1600-h/Christmas+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GEMmyO4Fdg4/SzRUnjnCFiI/AAAAAAAAAO0/9jrfsHU-RDo/s400/Christmas+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419049290184136226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'll probably eat a lot of food, too. We have breakfast with Mike's parents, lunch with my mom and brother, and dinner with Mike's grandparents/extended family. <br /><br />Seriously, whatever you do, whatever you celebrate, have an awesome day. Be good to yourself.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334937031366591602.post-18990923348489610382009-12-21T10:58:00.002-06:002009-12-21T11:19:02.523-06:00I See YouOkay, so I saw Avatar yesterday. Apparently my take on it was a lot different than most of yours. My review is spoiler free, aside from the summary from IMDB and I don't think there's anything in there that wasn't in the trailer.<br /><br />First, here's a short summary via <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/plotsummary">IMDB</a>:<br /><br /><br /> <div style="font-style: italic;" class="info-content"> A paraplegic marine dispatched to the planet Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.</div><br /><br /><br />Yes, it was beautiful. Yes, it had amazing, unbelievable special effects. It definitely deserves credit for all that. We saw it in 3D, and I've never seen anything that amazingly beautiful on the big screen before. I definitely recommend seeing it in theaters, especially in 3D, while it's there because I think it will lose a lot at home on DVD.<br /><br />However.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.avitable.com/2009/12/20/my-review-of-avatar-spoiler-free/">Avitable</a> wrote in his review "Even with the basic plot and one-dimensional characters, the movie is phenomenal." And not just Avitable's review, pretty much every review I've read has said something like this.<br /><br />I don't think the beautiful picture should make up for the complete lack of original plot. I mean, really, is that what filmmaking has become? We'll just recycle the same, overused plot but pretty up with groundbreaking special effects? Because I can tell you, I knew what was going to happen 30 minutes into it. I could tell how it was going to end, I could tell how the love story was going to go.<br /><br /> If it took James Cameron this long to make this movie, he should have had time to write an original story to go along with all that CG. I've seen this all a million times before, and at least then it didn't take almost 3 hours to tell the story.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08085697948927840565noreply@blogger.com3