wounded

the illustrious Supergreen after his longboard crash

♥, TiffanyAnne

spotted

♥, TiffanyAnne

I so did not see this coming...

Not that I'm into politics or anything...but still.

McCain's VP pick is Sarah...um...hang on...[type, type, type, google, google...] Sarah Palin. That's right. She has been the govenor of Alaska for a year and a half.

Interesting.

♥, TiffanyAnne

cooking dinner

♥, TiffanyAnne

definitely shoulda drank decaf

augh. i hate not being able to sleep. i have been in and out of it since i got to bed. sleeping only for an hour's stretch and then waking up only to realize that it is still the wee hours. i just ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. it was not that great, but i was hungry. usually pb&j tastes great when i am hungry. you know what would taste good right now? sleep.

i could not figure out why sleep was evading me until i looked at my phone. one new text message: shoulda drank decaf. hmm...someone else cannot sleep either. caffeine used to not really affect me. but i guess i do not exactly drink a 20oz of vault every day anymore. sheesh.

for once i decided to use my time wisely and work on memorization.

Aleph
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart, and also do no wrong, but walk in His ways.
You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules
I will keep your statues, do not utterly forsake me.
Psalm 119:1-8 (ESV)

curled up in my comforter, i read and recited over and over again. i thought of cj mahaney and how he repeats the same thing in different ways, like this passage. what a good way to really drive a point home!

while it did quiet my brain nicely, i still cannot sleep. but it is five am and i can still get a good ninety minutes in. no sense in not trying.

♥, TiffanyAnne

No I'm not "Andrew's sister"...

A few weeks ago, the local swing dance had a Vintage night. I got all excited and dressed in my cute new dress and vintage boy scout hat. Voila! Andrews Sister inspired outfit, no?

No, apparently not.

I was surprised how many confused looks I got when I told someone that I was dressed as an "Andrews Sister" or was wearing an "Andrews Sisters inspired outfit." These ladies are a cultural icon and so many people (not just the young punks) have never heard of them. Hints such as "1940s USO" or "Boogie woogie bugle boy" rarely elicited recognition in their eyes.

So as I sit waiting for the next class to begin (because my class was twenty minutes instead of seventy-five minutes), I will happily inform those of you who are blissfully unaware. I will enrich your knowledge of some 1940s history.

Ready? OK.

Three gals from Minnesota, LaVerne, Maxene, and Patty Andrews formed a trio when they youngest of the three was only 7 and went to to be the best-selling female vocal group in the history of popular music.

Two songs I always think of when the Andrews Sisters are mentioned are Boggie Woogie Bugle Boy and Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree. Other popular songs include: Bei Mir Bist Du Schön and Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar. Oh my gosh. I LOVE dancing to those two songs, particularly the former. :)

My knowledge on the Andrews Sisters is not fantastic. I know who they are and a few of their songs but nothing extensive. To give you some decent factual information, I read through their Wikipedia page. When reading through it, I particularly enjoyed the section on their hit songs because many of their songs are songs I seriously love to dance too. I will do you a favor and not list them all here because, seriously, how many of you have heard of Hold Tight, Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood, Mama?)? Yeah...thought so.

Interesting fact:
Some of records that the Andrews Sisters set decades ago have yet to be surpassed like their 113 charted Billboard hits, 46 of which reached Top 10 status. Not even Elvis or the Beatles did this.


♥, TiffanyAnne

filipino game

♥, TiffanyAnne

serene

I took this photo two years ago as I wandered the sands of Folly Beach. It was a windy day in early April and I was alone. To be honest, I was kind of bored and trying to kill time. Right now, though, I wish I could be back there on that beach with no one else around. Just me and my beach bag packed with books, pencils and paper, my camera, and of course, sunscreen. Time to think, time to reflect, time to write, time to capture beautiful images.

♥, TiffanyAnne

anti-climactic*

First day of school was today. As always, it was very anti-climactic...except for the false fire alarm going off three times today--that was just annoying.

It was silly of me to not anticipate the awful traffic that was in store for me. It was also silly of me to forget to bring something to keep me occupied between classes. I forgot that the first day of class consists of reading the syllabus and then adiosing the students outta there.

I ended up going to the nearest big box store to find a book to read. I spend most of my day in the Humanities building getting chastised for having my feet on the table (well, that only happened once) and reading Stolen Innocence. The book is written by a woman who was raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). She was married off to her 19-year-old first cousin when she was only 14. She did not even know what married people did in bed together besides sleep.

All my classes are journalism classes a few of which require me to be on the up and up when it comes to current events. This is something I currently do not do. But I suppose if I would like to see a nice line of five A's in a row at the end of the semester, I had better start checking those headlines.

When asked our career goals, I said I would like to do freelance one day. More often than not, I was met with raised eyebrows. I know that doing solely freelance is something I will be able to do right out of college if I want to, you know, have a place to live and have food to eat. Maybe it is something I will never be a good enough writer to do but right now, it is something that want to work towards. Because will you never know until you try.

♥, TiffanyAnne

*anti-climactic. Last time I used this word, people needed clarification. I think it is self-explanatory...but maybe I am wrong. Maybe I only get it because it is one of my favorite words. Essentially, the word means lacking climax. I use it when I am really excited and it ends up being boring (like the first day of school) or when I have high expectations that are not met. Now you know.

diy

I made this yesterday to hold my non-leverback earrings. I've been trying to come up with ways to hold my jewelry in such a way that does not take up too much space (as I do not have a lot to work with) but also displays my jewelry. When you are running late, it can get annoying to have to search high and low for that other earring or to spend precious minutes untangling long necklaces.

I got the idea for the photoframe after a google search led me to this page.

♥, TiffanyAnne

day go by

Just picked up Alex from Kindergarden for the first time. (That line, omg.) Spent me into a spiral of reminiscing. I was 19 and he was 14 months when we first met. Now, four years later, there are few things in life that I love as much as I love that boy.

♥, TiffanyAnne

attar of rose

114 days until I turn 24 and, while 24 is still rather young, the idea of getting old is getting to me. I have friends who look way older than they are and that makes me paranoid. This is kind of because I look quite young. The last time I went to vote, the woman asked me if I was old enough to be there. Someday, however, I will be fifty and I like to think that if I get a head start now I will thank myself later.

It does not add a lot onto my routine, this serum. Just a few droplets do the trick and people say it works wonders. It is something I already owned (was a gift) so, I figured it it would not hurt to give it a go. I don't even know what an attar is.

♥, TiffanyAnne

billy goats gruff

Actually, these fellas are not so gruff at all. They are nubian goats. They are very friendly and hang out peacefully with the chickens and do not bite when you pet them. When you bleat at them, they perk up and bleat back. Until, that is, they realize that you are not saying "Hello, how are you today, goat?" and, in fact, mocking them. Then they ignore you and go back to eating the chickens' food. My parents, who were given the goats this past weekend, now live on a proverbial farm. Ponies any day now, I tell you!

My mother and I tied some rope to their collars and tied them up in the back yard so they could mow the lawn. The guy in black got really annoyed with me trying to tell him where to go (even though I was super friendly and all "here, goat!" in a high pitched voice), so he sat down. I managed to tie his rope to a post and he stood there for five solid minutes leaning away from it...like that would do some good. The other goat happily followed my mother and eagerly filled his belly with green yummy grass.

They do not have names because they are going to be eaten eventually anyway.

♥, TiffanyAnne

fortune from last night's cookie

♥, TiffanyAnne

love isn't a feeling, it's an ability

I watched Dan in Real Life with my roommate just now. It was a fantastic movie. Very sweet. Lots of awkwardness, of course, because Dan is played by Steve Carell who does awkward so very well. I cried--wasn't expecting that. When he started talking about his deceased wife, I just lost it. It was not a typical romance, but one that felt a little more real than we usually see in movies. A romance that is complicated and hard and messy and someone could get hurt. That is closer to real life. Life is often messy and people get hurt. Whether it is a family member or a friend, love makes you vulnerable. And who wants to put themselves out there and risk that? But, I guess, if you don't risk it, you may never find out what might have been.

"I just don't want to go the rest of my life wondering about the woman in the bookstore..."

Dan in Real Life left me with that weird unnameable feeling in my chest that makes me want to read something sad so I can get out all those tears I held in...but at the same time wants to read poetry and dream of that over-the-moon-wonderful type of love.

♥, TiffanyAnne

fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell

I registered for classes today. I have five classes today--four at a campus that is 40 minutes away and one online. I vow to do better in this online class than in my previous ones. The ones where I scraped by with a C by reading the text while taking the test.

I had most picked out when my adviser pointed out one that he wanted me to take. It was a Thursday night class at the Main Campus. I wasn't all to thrilled about the timing but, Let me sell you on this one, he had said. After he explained the class, I eagerly signed up.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist is going to be my professor.

♥, TiffanyAnne

Vintage

Last night was vintage dress up night at the weekly swing dance. So, instead of my usual dance uniform (I almost always wear a pink button-up and black skirt) I wore my new "military-style" dress and vintage Boy Scout hat.

Unfortunately, because this picture is sepia tone, you cannot see my vintage makeup. My ruby-red lipstick, to be specific. Can you tell that I am wearing false eyelashes? They were a pain to get on, but kind of neat and not too over the top. I do not think that anyone noticed them unless pointed them out. Which almost sort of makes them seem pointless. But I liked them, even if no one else saw them.

Something neat: when I was looking for stuff about 1940s fashion, I came across the American Vintage blues website. The 3rd picture on the side looks very similar to my dress, I think. Cute!

♥, TiffanyAnne

See. I am not a stewardess!

simple

it was not what i wanted to say

but i said it

maybe for your heart
maybe for mine

i uttered that simple 'no thank you'
knowing we would both be better for it

anyway
friend is a six-letter word

♥, TiffanyAnne

today

We watched this video at bible study last night. It really hit home for me.

"We aren't who were and things aren't how they were. I mean, how much energy to people spend wishing things were how they were?" ::Rob Bell::

Lately, I have had a really hard time letting go of some things in my life but what I realized in watching this video is that I need to celebrate things that have past for what they were. I need to embrace my present and my future instead of living in all my yesterdays. I cannot go back and changed what has already happened. It happened and it was good. But new things are happening, and they can be just as wonderful and often are even more so. I have usually been prone to live in my future. Now, I am struggling with living in my past. What I need to do is live today.

Carpe diem, eh?



♥, TiffanyAnne

Baby stuff

I let him watch a TV show after his nap and he picked out Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends. He likes Miss Spider. It is a fun show. With lots of bugs in a family together. In today's episode, they are dressed up as knights. Very cool. On Noggin, before a show comes on there is a pleasant female voice telling you the virtues of this particular show. She generally mentions something about how it is good for preschoolers because it encourages their imagination or something to that effect.

He hears this and looks at me. "Wait." He thinks for a moment. "Is this show for pre-schoolers?"

And in that sentence what he meant to say was, "If this show is for preschoolers, I (a rising kindergardener) am way to old for that baby stuff!"

♥, TiffanyAnne

gateway

No good pictures from today...so here is another one from the garden. I came across this picture from a few years ago:

and I see all the green growing on the brick part of the gate. There was none of that this time.

with ♥,
TiffanyAnne

sparse

My first visit to Mepkin Abbey was in September of 2006 and I took pictures of lots and lots of flowers. (See the photo album here.) During this visit, I took a bike down to the garden for more picture taking fun. Unfortunately, there were only a few daisies and it was stifling hot. This shot is of flowers in the bed right outside the gift shop.

posted retrospectively
with ♥, TiffanyAnne

irish

I sat in the golf cart next to some casserole dishes we were borrowing from the monks so my mother could cook up a Filipino feast. My brother had ran off to his room--an area of the monastery to which I am not allowed to go. I got out of the cart and took pictures of the things while I waited. Thing that caught my eye, like this Irish flag brick that looked rather out of place next to an old building.

posted retrospectively,
with ♥, TiffanyAnne

humble abode

The house is the first one you come to after turning onto Mepkin Abbey Road and is called St. Peter's. It was four days into the trip before I realized that the house was named such because it was situated at the front gate. Go me. I felt like I snagged the best room in the house when I found the one picture above. Not only was it the only room in the house with only one bed--the other rooms both had two twins--but it was cozy and picturesque. One of my favorite features that you cannot see from this picture is the two steps leading down into the room making it feel even more cozy. :)

posted retrospectively,
with ♥, TiffanyAnne

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N in the summer sun!

In just a wee bit, I will be leaving with my family and headed westward to the coast. A family vacation. We will be visiting my kuyah (tagalog for brother) and I am rather excited about all of this because I really cannot recall the last time we were all five of us together in one place that was not a courtroom. I have never visited my brother with my family; once with Mike, once alone, and once with the other Mike.

Anyway, I highly doubt that I will have great access to the internet while I am away so I have taken the liberty to add a handy little twitter widget to the blog--temporarily. This is for those of you who check my blog daily. You shall not check in vain!

♥, TiffanyAnne

p.s. when you see some tinyurls in my twittering that is when i have uploaded photos...

the angry seas

You might recognize the above photo from OverAnalyzed; it was my profile picture for a little while. Wait, I just checked--it still is the profile picture. Anyway. The t-shirt I am wearing in the above photo is available from Portland Studios and was designed by a friend of mine. It is seriously one of my favorite t-shirts.

I went shopping with Ellen today--yes, this is relevant information. We went to the mall in pursuit of pieces to add to her wardrobe to make her appear more professional. I was wearing the aforementioned t-shirt. As we headed to the exit at the end of our excursion, I saw a guy sitting on a bench. His shirt looked familiar and I realized that we match. I thought this was kind of funny and, as we pass, I waved at this stranger.

"Nice shirt!"

daily photo: rain

"as you make your bed, so you must lie on it"

two nights ago i made a bed
a bed made not for resting
'twas borne of friends arresting

two nights ago this bed i made
i will be honest here
two weeks ago the sheets did fade
still bedtime is drawing near

two minutes ago i realized
two things i already knew
this life is what you make of it
even without sheets
of the deepest blue

two nights ago i made my bed
and on it i must lie