Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Something Day!

I found time to drop in today!  I just finished one big test and am taking a break before my next one.  I think in a few minutes I may go start packing, since we fly out tomorrow!  If you'd like to pray for our safe trip, it'd be so greatly appreciated.  I'm so excited I can barely stand it.

So excited, in fact, that I sort of need a nap.

And would you look at the time!  It's February 14th!  Isn't that something or something?  Isn't the 14th of February some sort of holiday or.... umm... something?

Oh yeah.  Valentine's.

I'm going to be brutally honest here.  This girl?  Is not big on Valentine's day.  I used to think it was so cute and so sweet, and I honestly still think it has cuteness and sweetness potential.

But.  I just think it's sort of a silly holiday.  I guess when I'm older and love someone in a cupid-shot-me kind of way, it'll be great to get cards and flowers and chocolate (in fact, y'all are welcome to send me chocolate at any given time) but for now, I'm just not quite an advocate of Valentine's day.

If you are, that's great.  I do like pink and red and white, and it's one of the prettier holidays, in terms of decorations.  I've been known to cut out a paper heart or two in my life time.  Nay, even glue some dry macaroni to one!  All I'm trying to say is, it's not really my thing.

With all that said, though, I wish you all a happy Valentine's day.  And I would just like to point out that yes... someone did ask me to be their Valentine.  I hemmed and hawed and FINALLY caved to.... Lauren's demands.

Got you there, didn't I?  You really thought... ha.

I love you, Lauren.  As I say all the time, you're one of my favoritest people in the whole world.

I think best friends make great Valentines.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Studying, coffee, airplanes, cauliflower, instrumental music. (Alternate title: Complete Incoherency)

Hi everyone!  I'm just taking a brief study break to say hello.

Hello!!

Now that that's out of the way, I just want to explain my absence.  I've been studying like mad for the past few days because I have several big assignments I need done by Monday, since we're flying out very soon to go to the States.  I'm thrilled about going, but I won't reach my full excitement potential until I'm at the airport, suitcase and carry-on in hand.

Also in my hand?  Will be my Starbucks gold card.  I'm just going to cuddle it on the flight over, and apologize to it for being so neglectful.  It's not my fault, but I'm sure it's little self is deeply saddened by the lack of use.  It's probably out of shape, but I plan to get it right back into running order very shortly.  I shall capitalize on my month in the States as best as I can.

Meanwhile, I'm surviving on coffee from our French Press, which is really tasty.  I'm into the Millstone Hazelnut Cream blended with a bit of French Roast right now.  To be quite honest, I'm just liking Italian coffee less and less.  That may come as a shock to you, but this is how my mother very aptly explains it. We like being able to get a grande or venti drink and just sip at it for a long time over a conversation or a book, as opposed to grabbing an espresso, kicking it back, and that being the end of it.

But I have realized, I'm a complete and utter coffee snob.  I wanted iced coffee, but had never been thrilled by what I could make.  I consulted the Google, and the internet, which is always true, told me that I need to COLD brew my coffee.  Basically, overnight I steeped the grounds in icy-cold water, and let me tell you.

DELICIOUS.  When you cold-brew coffee, it gets all the great flavor, but without all the acidity and bitterness. It's a very smooth cup, and I literally could not focus during that first cup.  I was sitting there reading dates for a timeline, but I couldn't remember the span King Henry VIII's reign or the year Shakespeare was born.  The coffee was just that good.

After the initial wonderment wore off, I went back to studying and sipped and sipped and sipped away, and it made studying all that better.  Also, I've been listening to Hawaiian and Irish instrumentals (my mama's study playlist) and that also helps my mood.

I've been staying up way too late the past couple of days, just trying to get everything done, but that's probably a good thing, because that will make sleeping on the airplane more likely.  Unless the usual happens and the person in front of me leans their seat back.  On the flight to Rome, and Italian lady did that to me, but she was leaned so far that I honest to goodness couldn't help but bump her chair every time I so much as breathed too deeply.  She kept looking back and scowling at me, and knowing no Italian, I simply shrugged and made motions to indicate that "Lady, this is soooo not my fault."

Mealtimes were blissful because you have to raise your seats to the upright position.  I wept tears of joy all over my mysterious meat-product covered in brown liquid and some sort of mashed potato, which I was pretty sure was actually mashed cauliflower.

All this is to say, I'm a little scatter-brained right now.

This is probably my last post until we land in the States.  Do your best not to miss me too much.  ;)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Baby's First... Professional Highlights?

This is what I look like at this very moment:

Hawt.

Oh, the things we do for style.


**Note, you may be wondering how I'm blogging while I have foils in my hair.  We have an awesome stylist who comes to our house to do our hair, so I can just sit here with Sophie the Mac while he works on Mama's locks.  So, yes, I'm at home.

Friday, February 4, 2011

A Poem-less Winner

We've got a winner for our little first-name contest!  But here's the deal... TWO people got the answer right.  I just quickly pulled up a random number generator to see who officially won, and this is the result:



Without further ado, the winner is..........

Stephen O'Loughlin, who guessed correctly that my first name is, in fact, Sara.  (No "h" at the end, mind you.)

Long story short, my mama and daddy named me Sara Caroline, but it turned out that I looked more like a Caroline than a Sara.  And so it was, and so it is, that I am Caroline.

I was Sara in 3rd and 4th grade when I went to private school, but that's because we were learning cursive and it takes a loooongggggg time for a lazy little girl to write eight letters when she has the option of writing four.  And thus, I was Sara for two years.  Truly, though, I've always liked Caroline better.

Here's the deal, though.  Stephen specifically asked for no poem to be written in his winning honor, and so I shall respect that.  Next week, we'll have another contest with another poem, though, so keep reading, my friends!

Love,

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Handwriting Tag

I'm going to let a few more comments trickle in on the last post, but stay tuned for the winner!

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I grabbed a fun meme from Grace.  This is my wildly miserable amazing handwriting.  Here you can see some of my cursive and some of my print.

Prepare to be underwhelmed.

(And you betcha that's on graph-paper.  I just finished geometry homework.  And I had to take several shots because I couldn't fit it all onto one photo with it still remaining legible.)




































This is what y'all, tagged or untagged, need to write down and show on your blogs!

1.  Your name/Blogger name
2.  Your blog name URL
3.  "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
4.  A favorite quote
5.  A favorite song
6.  Favorite bands/singers
7.  Anything else you would like to say?
8.  Tag 3-5 other people


Now, pardon me as I go practice writing out my ABC's a few times.