Frohe Ostern!

This little kid is a tiny bit creepy. All holidays have their creepy sides, so this is perfect!

Did you know that "Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" has Easter lyrics as well? I always forget and then I'm really excited.

I went to sunrise and regular services this morning at church. Both were good, but sunrise service was...early. My whole family was standing around our house before we left wondering why we thought going to church at 7 am was a good idea. But then I got to read the part of the scripture where the ladies tell the disciples about seeing Jesus and the disciples just think they're crazy. It's a nice part.

March 28

March 28: cup

Lenten Photo-A-Day, I know I didn't go to Maundy Thursday service. Why'd you have to choose a word to remind me? I'm going to Good Friday tomorrow evening with my family, and I'm excited about it. ("'Tis Finished! The Messiah Dies" is an excellent song.)

Although I had previous commitments that conflicted with going to church today, I've been thinking a bit about communion and what it means today. (I think a lot. Sometimes I think about how Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes is the worst movie I've seen in a long time.) Jesus took something that was already important (Passover) and just added more importance to it.

Today I took a photo with my water bottle because it's what I used to drink most of the water I had today.

It took me so long to write this that it is now Good Friday.

Good Friday? More like Good Music Friday!

March 27

March 27: help

I thought of the movie The Help. It was also a good book! (I will admit that I committed the horrific sin of seeing the movie before I read the book. But it was requested so much at the public library that I'd still be waiting to see that movie.)

March 21-26

I haven't been taking my photo every day, but today I caught up. I also did some homework, ran errands, and washed my sheets. Not bad for a Tuesday that's still got 8 hours left!

March 21: home

This is my home! We watch way too much basketball during March. I started dreaming about the Southwest Airlines commercial.

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March 22: alone

I know the internet is great for kids who feel awkward and unloved to find their niche, but Facebook is really good at making you feel alone if all your friends are checking in somewhere and you're not with them.

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March 23: restore

I also went to the car wash today to restore my car to its original shine, which was hidden under a thick layer of highway grime and tree pollen. I started sneezing anytime I got in, so it was time to clean it up!

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March 24: blessed

I'm blessed to live somewhere where anyone can say their opinion, as so many of my facebook friends have today concerning gay marriage. (I was honestly shocked. I live in Arkansas, and approximately 75 of my facebook friends posted something positive about gay marriage and only 1 spoke out against it. That goes to show that the anti-gay marriage platform is largely made up of older Americans; in my lifetime gay marriage for all will be legal!)

I'm also blessed to belong to a denomination where things like this happen.

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March 25: rejoice

Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

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March 26: light

Oh my. Light was the word we had to define last night in poetry class. Light is knowledge, holiness, not dark, not evil, safety, and so many other things. Most of our light comes from the sun. The light from the sun is so bright that it looks like I took this in the evening, not at 2 pm.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

I love the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's a typical case of the manic pixie dream girl, but there's something magical about the story and about New York in the 1960s.

I watched the entire movie because the line so elegantly depicted in this gif popped into my mind a few days ago. "People do fall in love and people do belong to each other!"

I'm pretty sure that women are supposed to dislike the manic pixie dream girl, but the problem with that is that most girls have some aspect of that deep down, so we can't entirely discount it. (I have a childish love of airplanes and like to cook. I'm sure there's a MPDG somewhere who could sympathize.)

The problem with this character is that a girl with a family and friends and her own life can never live up to it. I'd rather have those things than try to live up to an impossible stereotype. (Also, at least I'm not inspired by the decorator's character. Quelle horror!)

But the movie is so good. Favorite parts include: 

"Ah, Polly, baby, you got yourself stuffed."

The entire party scene.

"With breakfast on several occasions."

And, of course, the actual opening scene. I'm hoping to do that when I go to New York in May. 

This is the look I had on my face when my French teacher expected me to remember anything we learned before spring break.

March 14-20

Spring break has been a non-stop party!!! Emily and I have been doing homework. It's been crazy. Also really fun because I like studying.

We went to Norman on Monday to check out campus; I accepted their offer of admission to graduate school yesterday. I got to eat German food at a restaurant in Norman called Das Boot Camp. It was lecker! I'm excited to be living in the same town as a German restaurant next year! The next step is to find a apartment in the general vicinity of both an Aldi and campus.

Here are my Lenten photos:

March 14: go

Never fear! I took this photo while sitting a red light of the green light for the cross street.

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 March 15: temper

I spend a good part of the day contemplating the word "temperature," which led me to take a picture of my ceiling fan. I'm usually in a good temper when it first gets warm enough to use my fan!

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March 16: surround

I'm surrounded by high school memories whenever I'm at home.

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March 17: new

Spring = new life = pretty green plants

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March 18: rise

Rise & shine!!

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March 19: dream

I had a dream about being a WWI nurse last week.

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March 20: beloved

The new pope seems to be beloved already due to his humble attitude.

March 13th

I didn't upload my photo yesterday. Oh well. But I'm happy for the Catholic Church and Pope Francis I! I wish them all the best as they begin their journey with a new leader.

March 12: silence

Nothing is as silent as my living room when no one else is home.

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March 13: water

I've started drinking more water since I began college. I get most of my supply from this faucet.

Throwback Tuesday!

I'm having a throwback Tuesday. Unfortunately, the throwback is to the semester where every Tuesday was a bad day. Luckily, I have a fantastic life so the "bad days" are like the best days in the lives of most people. I don't feel fantastic right now, but if I was perfectly happy each day, happiness would cease to have meaning. And even writing these words is making me feel better.

And here is some April Ludgate to make us all feel better.

In other news, the papal conclave started today. I'm really excited about it because this is a man who has perhaps the greatest influence in the world. (Other leaders are influential, but none of them have over a billion people listening to them voluntarily. "Voluntarily" is a word that I use to exclude China.) And this decision is unique in that it doesn't happen with any sort of frequency. The amount of ritual and secrecy that goes into this decision is remarkable. I've been reading up on this...much like I did last time. The more I look back on my high school life, the more surprised I am that I didn't start off my collegiate career as an IR major.

This reminds me, I've got a big decision coming my way in the next week. I'm waiting to hear back from a few professors, and I've been discussing it with my friends and family. As Kenneth Parcell always says: "Everything always works out for the best!"

Song of the Day:

Kansas & Lent

I went to Kansas last weekend. It was amazing...despite the fact that since I was reunited with two of my study abroad friends, the weather decided to imitate Germany and it rained the whole time. I didn't take my photo-a-day though. I did go to Mass for the first time; it was interesting and I'm glad I went. Anyhow, here are the pictures I've scraped together for the past two days:

March 9: faithful

Ahhh, Mt. Sequoyah. A refuge for the faithful as well as a place for local pot smokers to congregate. The beacon on a hill - I can see it when I drive from my apartment to campus (at night). It's a good place to go when I need to contemplate something. I love this place so much.

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March 10: ate

This might be my submission to "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" if that's still a show on the food network. I don't watch TV on a television anymore, so I don't know about that. It was delicious, and I enjoyed it with some amazing friends in one of the best cities in the world. Weisswurst and Bratkartoffeln: dinner of champions.

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March 11: happy

Studying abroad is one of those things that can make a person totally giddy for 2 months straight. I still miss it so much; my classmates were rad and we got to do awesome things like climb a mountain. I was so perfectly happy during this time.

March 8th

March 8: find

I took a screenshot of AVPM because, as everyone knows, Hufflepuffs are especially good finders.

March 7th

Catching up...as always, I took the picture on the proper day, but neglected to upload it here.

March 4: bless

"Praise God from whom all blessing flow." = picture of a semi-flowing creek in the gardens.

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March 5: night

I took this outside of my garage before going to a band concert.

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March 6: shadow

I usually know how trees look by their shadow, since I often look down to walk so I don't trip.

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March 7: no

No parking!!! 

The Stars at Night.

Monday is not a bad day! I got admitted to my second choice for grad school (jury's still out on financial aid; if they decide to give me a better deal, they could sway my decision), I had some really interesting classes, and I got to hear Joe Alessi, one of the best trombone player in the world, perform with the University of Arkansas Wind Symphony. Also, I'm going to visit Kansas on Friday! I cannot explain my excitement at getting to see two of my favorite people with whom I studied in Germany again!

March 3rd

March 3: thirst

Fountain without water is thirsty.

March 2nd

March 2: leave

The first step in leaving is walking out the door. I'm off my creativity game today; I'm also not very interesting.

March 1st

I definitely didn't do this yesterday. But I thought about the picture for yesterday...just didn't follow through. I didn't actually take either of these photos (unless taking a screenshot counts as taking a photo), but they are some of my strongest associations with these words. Anyhow, 30 days to Easter!

February 28: earthly

There is nothing more earthly than Tom Haverford's love of things. Treat yo' self.

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March 1: prophet

The word prophet always makes me think of a line from The Gospel According to Larry in which Josh's dad refers to him as "a for-profit prophet." This was very ironic because Josh/Larry's whole philosophy was that materialism was bad...kinda the opposite of Treat Yo' Self. This book is excellent. You should read it.