You Eat WHAT?

Ok, so I'm not sure if anyone else does this or not but I have the most skewed eating preferences ever. Like ever ever. I am a huge snacker and think it necessary and healthy to have a snack with at all times all day. Midstate: snack. Rehearsals: snack. Phone shopping: snack. CVS: snack. I am perpetually scouring for food like a stray animal. When I "think about my next fix" it ain't crack it's Cheez-its.

So here are some examples of strange ass food.

Oreos dipped in tomato soup
Chili and pb&j
Salt and vinegar lays with ice cream
Chinese takeout and marinara with lemon pepper
Leftover crepes and sour kraut

You get the picture. I woke up this very morning and had a breakfast of bananas, nutella, and Cheez-its.
You can't see the Cheez-its in the picture but yeah, happy eating.

Breed All About It!

Ok. Now for the awesome stuff that's happened to me.

Several weeks ago my mother and I sat down and began watching Must Love Cats and Too Cute! on Animal Planet and began discussing the pros and cons of getting a second cat. We ultimately decided this was impossible because cats can be difficult and demanding. And Scout will definitely fight with another cat. He has lived with other animals before, specifically a black Siamese and a feral kitten we raised, who was probably half Persian. We also had a rescue Schnauzer. Unfortunately, moving, financial struggle, and conflict between pets, led us to just keeping Scout, my domestic short hair male. He is my baby; I have never had a connection to an animal as I have with Scouters.
But we wanted another pet.
I will digress here to say that I don't like kids. I like photography involving children (I mean that in the most innocent way possible), but if you are younger than the age of about 6, I can honestly find no way to relate to you. Babies frighten me. Toddlers irritate me. Kids in general are creatures I would rather avoid, as cold and bitchy as that sounds. Pets on the other hand, are like my children. If I could replace the majority of the world's population with puppies and kitties and gerbils and shit, I'd do it.
Anyway, I have devoted myself to several animal causes over the years since I was about 11 or 12 after we rescued our first shelter dog. Before that we lived with animals and had a lot of pets. I always found solace with dogs and cats.
Mom and I watched Too Cute! Puppies and lo and behold we looked at each other and knew. For that next week we did research. After that we began seriously talking about getting a dog. Can we do it? Do we have the time? Money? Sanity? We said yes yes yes lets do it. That old familiar itch began again. So we began the process of inquiries, rescue visits, contacting foster moms. We familiarized Scout with dogs again by bringing in Lola, my aunt's toy poodle. We even experienced "cold feet" of several fostering families who realized they were too fond of they're foster pet. I felt like a mom waiting to adopt a child. It's the same thing to me. We dog proofed the place, discussed names, bought a bed, treats, etc. Just like expecting parents. It was devastating when a foster mom backed out. We were close to just forgetting the whole idea when mom said, "Lets go." We found ourselves going to the pound. It has always been an emotional experience for me. But we found our girl. A chihuahua/Manchester terrier hybrid. About a year old, picked up as a stray. We thought she was perfect. And, two weeks later, she is one of the gang. Her name is Harper Lee and she is the biggest goofball I've ever met. She dig, sniffs, pees, eats, scratches. She is the stereotypical dog's dog. I love everything about her. And I have obsessed myself with wondering where the hell she came from? Why was she a stray? Why is she so people friendly but timid in certain situations? Either way, she is here now. Whatever her past was, it is the past. And now she can move forward as the best little dog she can be. She is so spoiled. She has her own crate, blankets, bed, treats, chewy and squeaky toys. She watches TV with us, especially the old game shows (Dawson!), rides in the car with us, tears about the yard, chases her own tail, nibbles our fingers, licks our faces. I adore her. She went into Petco today and had a grand ole time.She made a friend, another chihuahua. Named Chipper.

So, we have a new edition to our family, a cherished goofball. It makes me feel so good that we rescued her from the concrete floors of a lonely cage. Before that she had nobody. I tear up thinking that this loving little creature was alone and searching. But that is behind her. And now things can move on for the better. Pictures to come! And hopefully some more frequent blogging since I have nothing to do but be a stay at home pet mommy.

Oh and if anyone has any suggestions for a human interest article that I'm putting together, tweet me or comment below.

Going Back to Basics

New blog! Finally! Sorry for the hiatus. I have been on a break. My life sort of became crazy and outta control and I was in a period where I didn't know what to do with myself. I had to sit down and consider my life and what to do with my future. It was a rough patch. But, as Dan Savage advocates for, it gets better. It always gets better. You have to better yourself and realize the people that are positive and love you and surround yourself with them.
I have been busy essentially with schoolwork and registration. I'll be looking at colleges over the summer. Woot.
My laptop is about to die so I'll update later.
By the way, I've been watching GSN and falling in love with Gene Rayburn and Richard Dawson.

I am currently sipping hot chocolate whilst hunched over my keyboard trying to see in the dark. I was supposed to be asleep by now, but of course that is a battle that is currently being lost. So I said to myself, why not blog? So here I am listening to Green Day and randomly trying on different lip glosses trying to see how resistant they are to hot beverages. I have nothing significant to blog about. But I do have pictures to post as usual, The first set will be of my birthday dinner and the ones after that will be random shots taken out of pure enjoyment of my camera. I just can't seem to put Louis down. I even took him to this appointment I had and to an IHOP lunch afterwards because, I rationalized, you never know when a cool shot will come up.

These next few are from a family Winter BBQ which is an unorthodox tradition of ours.

That's all I feel like posting tonight. I have the munchies and would like too make a sandwich and go to sleep. Mom and I are having a froyo trip tomorrow. I am seriously considering another blog all together dedicated to my various frozen yogurt escapades.

Book & Song Update: I have recently renewed and refreshed my love for all things Green Day. As for book: my mother and I have dabbled in some Flan O'Connor short stories. Southern Gothic literature is a weakness and passion of mine.

I Am Still Tickled Pinkberry

Due to some difficulties, here is Part 2!

Mom's yogurt: blood orange, strawberry, and pineapple.

Aunt Les's yogurt: chocolate with strawberries, nuts, and coconut.

 

 

I Was Tickled Pinkberry

My birthday was on the 23rd! I had a great day and got my long awaited for lovely new camera who I have named Louis. I have my reasons. Louis is dignified. We're pretty much best friends now. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves what I did on my birthday which was spent with close family on a bitter, grey day in downtown Nashville where the smell of BBQ and cigarettes emanate out of the bars downtown. One can also hear twangy music and old crooners singing an old song or two. Then there's the river, a peaceful area, sort of industrial. We spent most of the day in the nicer, more "citified" district around Vanderbilt University where you'll find Starbuck's and PF Chang's and Barnes and Noble (formerly Borders *tear*), music stores, and, of course, the frozen yogurt lounge of Pinkberry. Of course it should've expected our money. Delightful times :)

My yogurt: pomegranate with pineapple, blackberries, and mixed nuts.

Lucy's yogurt: blood orange, kiwi, some sort of nut, and chocolate chips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rants, Revelations, and Incredibooth

Salutations :)
    I don't want to be the Negative Nancy of Blogspot here, but I have had a ROUGH past few days. Early last Thursday morning I took a little spill down the stairs, giving myself a concussion and still have not been back to school for the second semester. These past few days have involved dizzy spells, headaches, vomiting, and random sleeping patterns. I tried to make it to school Friday but ended up basically passing out and scaring my dear friends and teacher. I went back to the doctor today and have an appointment tomorrow to get a CT scan. I'm a little bit apprehensive because I don't want anything major to be damaged. Hopefully all will go well.
    This brings me to the next thing I'd like to discuss. And that, my friends, is the importance of winding down, taking a break, recharging your batteries, and setting your priorities straight. I have had to deal with this concussion and going back to school with loads of things to study for (ACT, AP Exam, EOCs) and music to learn including All-State music, Governor's School music, which I can probably no longer do, and musical auditions. I have been sitting at home with my stomach in knots stressed to death because of these things, and the doctor is telling me I can't be at school. Not to mention my mother is also sick, and I can't help but worry about her. Point is, it is not a good time for me unfortunately. And this period of time has made me realize that I need to sit down and prioritize my time. I need a break. I need to recharge and just learn to let go of certain things and accept that I just can't do everything I want to do. I need to take it easy the rest of the school year. You need to be optimistic and sometimes say, "Screw it," and chill and do things that make you happy and surround yourself with positive things.
    Now that I am through with my rant and revelations, there is nothing else for me to discuss except I discovered this new app called Incredibooth that is on iTunes for $1.99 maybe? Anyway, I have been passing my time posing for it stupidly. If you follow me on Instagram than you have noticed my use of the photostrip look. I really like it, and I enjoy the series of photos sort of thing so a little mini story pans out in front of you. So, because I like to have some sort of visual with a blog, I am posting these embarrassing pictures. Your welcome.
For book and song: Still reading the same thing for class but I just spent a portion of an iTunes gift card and got some Charlotte Sometimes and Noah & the Whale. Specifically the song "5 Years Time" by the latter is fantastic.

There's more but I honestly think this is more than enough.

I'm Very Proud of Ya, 2011

Whoosh! I have officially made it through the holidays alive! Now, if the rest of this winter doesn't kill me, I will be one happy girl. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a kicking New Year's Eve. I spent it with the best mother in the world and my best friend in the world, my lovely cousin, Laurana Walk. You should probably go tweet her @peacemaker68 and tell her how awesome she is. Anyway, I had a lovely Christmas and New Year's Eve and wanted to share with you some photos.

These photos were taken by a friend's mother, so they are not mine. These are from some charity work/ singing my chamber choir did.

It was extremely fun and heart-warming, and I'm very blessed to have been a part of something so special, with special and giving people. These next photos (also taken by my friend's mother) were taken at our choir's Christmas concert on December 15th. Now THAT night was pretty stellar.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my 2011 and hope 2012 is even better. There are several albums/ concerts I am anticipating, so hopefully this girl will be partying her little butt off. I have also made the resolution to eat and overall BE a healthier person. I have several sleep disorders and food and overall health has a lot to do with how I feel. I'd like to try the natural route as opposed to popping a bunch of pills. It makes me feel like crap when I do that, so I need a change.

Song Update: Laurana has introduced me to some early AFI so Very Proud of Ya is a good I-wanna-smash-your-face-in-and-sing-about-it kinda album. Good stuff.

Book Update: I'm about to start The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for class. I've already read it once, last year for another class. That book literally changed me when I read it. I have never cried harder over another book. It speaks for itself.