An adult's playground

Alright. I don't know who created this gem, but to whom it may concern: you are a genius. If only every little kid understood this concept. I know that reading isn't for everyone, but there is a book for everyone. This makes me want to teach 1st grade so that I can watch children's minds spin as they grasp the beauty of text and margins and underlining and big font books.

On My Mind

Instead of doing homework, I've been losing myself in text and annotated margins of my own free will.

I recently read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. And man, did it throw me for a loop. My blessed, book-loving, soulmate of a friend Madi gave it to me from her book collection. Let me tell you - there is nothing better than book borrowing. Especially when that book has little notes tucked in the cracks and the pages are bent because the owner stayed up late one night, reading that page over and over again and circling that one word that stands out like darkness in New York City. It feels so good to read something that has been read and loved by somebody else. Magical.

Anways, in the book, the main character Charlie talks about feeling infinite when he listens to songs and falls in love. And that word infinite has been resounding in my head for quite some time now. Because, really, we all have those infinite moments. Like spending time in bookstores, or driving at midnight in the beloved highschool crap car, listening to slow music and letting the breeze crawl through your hair. Or even eating macaroni&cheese.

So when these moments creep along beside me, I grapple for them. There is nothing better.

Also. I've been obsessed with many things lately. These are just a few.
[most are from tumblr, so I'm not sure of their sources]

Nothing Better

...than doing your homework by candlelight.
Taking it back 11th century style, y'all.

Realization.

BOOM.
Just like that. A loud sound vibrates through my being.
I have a hobby.
My family is all very unique and talented. Dad is annoyingly brilliant, Mom is gifted with designing and picking out color schemes in a room, brother can play the guitar and piano by ear (not to mention kill every sport he plays) and sister can dance crazy well.
So all my life I've wondered what my gift was, what pastime would wile away the hours.
And then I saw this nugget on Tumblr:

How did I not realize this sooner? Writing, reading...those are completely legitimate hobbies.
When I was younger, I tried everything - collecting receipts, photography, the 50 states quarter collection...you name it, I probably considered it at one low point in my life.
*whew*. Rest assured self, you have a pastime. And a pleasant one at that.
Over and out.

A Little Shoppin'

Nothing like antique shopping to get the weekend off and roaring. Downtown does a fun festival called First Friday that we love to attend. String lights are broken out, food is grilled and malts are whisked out of the soda shop like clockwork. It's the only taste of culture we seem to have around these parts.

P.S. - obsessed with the "An Education" soundtrack. I really enjoyed the movie, and I'm wondering why it took me so long to discover the same goes for the soundtrack...

Craftin' Up A Storm

It's like therapy. I was gonna say free therapy, but, alas, it's not. I still had to pay. But what I didn't have to cash out the moolah for was sitting on my floor, watching Pride and Prejudice and having great conversations with splendid friends. Other things I did consisted of Hobby Lobby runs,

[nervously] checking my bank account constantly, reading Shakespeare, decorating journals, staring at Mason jars,

 and more Mason jars with books and my meager Paris fund,

partaking in Sonic Happy Hour,

trying to be artsy and painting,

and scouring StumbleUpon. Suffice to say, it's been a fabulously slow weekend.
The roomie wasn't here this weekend. I missed her. But I also enjoyed solo dance parties to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and singing without caring whose eardrums would burst. Oh, and sleeping in an oversized flannel shirt and curling up in bed to some late night poetry. Mmmm. The good life.

Life Lately

It's been a while.
Life moves at a glacial pace sometimes, and then there are the other days that I wake up and wonder where the months of June, July and August went. ZOOM. Right out the window. This summer over all was fantabulous. Don't get me wrong, it was hot and long and sometimes downright wearisome, but through it all I learned a butt load of things about people and myself. So to keep things updated, here's what my life has consisted of lately:

Did the whole "camp" thing. Made tons of friendsies, which is great. The Lord broke my heart and taught me what it means to be a true servant. My favorite part was having an excuse to wear my ridiculous costumes. However, it's not always easy to take care of other people's (bratty) children...

Wilson Road Trip 2011! Gosh darn I love these boogers. Every year it gets harder to leave home and let my broda and sista have a life without me. Hopefully they will be joining me in a few short years. Anyhoo...we journeyed forth to Austin for Shirley's 80th birthday shenanigans. Pure greatness. My grandmother is one of the most resilent and honest women I have ever met. She has lived a long and true life, dedicated to her children and walk with God. I couldn't be prouder to call her my Mama C.

Then I moved in with this girl. Basically, I have the coolest roommate anyone could ever have. We laugh like crazy, do stupid things and watch whole seasons of "Friends" and "Boy Meets World" late into the night. I've never had more fun living with someone before. The Lair prevails!

Bought a hammock. I have never felt more granola in my life. It's just peachy. I took a 2 hour nap in a park by myself the other day, and haven't been that happy since. And to top it all off, my hammock buddy, Madi, and I drove back to the house and hollered at people. I mean, what fun is yelling at people without a penguin suit? Gotta love it. The college life is just swell. 

Took a weekend off to go visit high school and camp friends at TCU, and had lots of hooligan activities. Mainly sneaking into closets and rearranging clothes. *snicker snicker*

Ah. So happy to be back at Breakaway. God did so many amazing things in my life my freshman year, and Breakaway was just one of those happy moments. Every Tuesday I get to gather together with 5000 other Aggies and worship our Savior. The worship is incredible, and the talks are always just what I need to hear. 

And to top off the summer PLUS September, I got to see one of the most amazing concerts EVA. Matt Nathanson, whom I loved, but am now obsessed with, performed with Train and Maroon 5 on their tour. He was hilarious on stage and incredibly sweet off stage. He even signed my CD! Needless to say, the roommate and I were giddy over meeting him. What a great weekend.

But now its time to hit the books and get back to snatching that diploma. Five tests in three days = no bueno. But hey, at least I'm studying what I love. Except geography. And math. And sociology. Ok, so really only English. But you know what, I wouldn't trade it for nada.