Hello children!

Well, look at me, blogging again.

I just can't stay away.

Also, I've had many a request for a new blog.

Apparently, ya'll can't stay away either!

(Yes, I said ya'll, I live in Texas and my parents are from Tennessee! Don't judge.)

So as some of you may know, last week I got to go to my little hometown of Federal Way, Washington!

It was a delightful trip, even though I had to leave my Husby behind.

We survived; thank you for your concern.

Like I said, the trip was super amazing. We did a whole lot of shopping, went walking round the block, took partial family photos (partial because Stephen wasn't there), went to Rachael's graduation, ate way too much food at Mongolian Grill, and basically just spent a whole lot of time together.

I love my family. They are amazing people and I wish that Stephen and I did not live so far away from them.

However, I feel completely blessed that I was able to spend 6 days with them (and I am VERY grateful that my parents paid for my plane ticket; without that, I would not have been able to go).

Still, it was not all fun and games. I had some pretty trying moments also. And because my downfalls are usually very amusing, I will choose to share one of these moments with you!

We took partial family photos in a little park near downtown Seattle. It was a beautiful day: 70 degrees, sunny, a few wispy clouds, a gentle breeze- basically the perfect Seattle summer day.

Stupidly, I wore heels.

This may not seem that stupid, but keep in mind that we were in a PARK!

And also, it's been several months since I've worn heels and I am not practiced in wearing heels.

So the photographer found this really cool looking, low-branched tree for us to pose under, and I was having a hard time balancing on my heels.

Then, as I headed to the tree to pose for my pictures, I was looking at the ground to try and step lightly, and my heel went all crooked.

In my haste, I over-compensated and ran head-first into a low-hanging tree branch.

I saw those little stars flying round my head, like in the cartoons.

A lump formed almost immediately.

I cried.

And laughed a little too.

And feel verrrrrrry sheepish.

So that is my story. It doesn't sound as funny told in blog form, but I'm sure ya'll chuckled a little anyway.

I miss my fam a ton already. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will live close enough so that we can see each other every few days instead of every 6 months or so.

The End.

(maybe I'll be back)

Think about it...

Well, I did it.

I finally had my hairs cut.

Here is the sad thing: I called, like, 7 salons.

I tried to be very thorough. I wanted someone who knew curly hair and could cut it well.

And I found a woman who has curly hair and said she has curly headed clients and has been hair cutting for 16 years.

I thought, "Yay! She will understand and do a good job!"

So I made the appointment, went to the salon, met this woman.

She had stick straight hair.

First of all, I think it is sad when people boast about having curly hair but they straighten it all the time.

NO ONE IN THE SALON KNEW SHE HAD CURLY HAIR!

What does this tell me? Either she really hated her curls or she never learned to manage them.

Secondly, I explained (in great detail) what I usually get, what I like, what I dislike, and how I wanted her to cut my hair.

She listened pretty well, and for the most part I think I like the cut.

However, she overlooked a very very crucial part of my directives: Shape.

Curly hair, when cut straight across or cut without a slight layering effect looks like a box.

This is how my hair now looks.

Like a box.

I told her that I usually have my hair cut in a subtle V shape, so as to give it shape (and to prevent it from looking like an overgrown mullet (which I thought went without saying) but apparently I needed to have said this out loud) and when my hair was still wet I could not tell very well how this task was accomplished.

It was not done at all, I fear.

Now, maybe my hair is just in shock. I have had this problem before, when I have had several inches taken off my hair, and it goes into severe shock.

This could be the case.

But I couldn't resist looking at pictures from my last 2 hair cuts and they looked sooooo much better than this one!

It was cheap-ish though. For a curly hair cut. $20. Not bad at all.

So, if in the next few days, I'm not completely satisfied with my purchase, I'll just scoot back to the store and get a refund. (Or I'll just ask her to fix it a little)

I'd attempt to fix it myself, but I think the word *DISASTER* says it all.

Me, scissors, and my hair is a Bad (with a capital B) Idea (with a capital I).


In other news, Stephen bought me A.A. Milne's The House at Pooh Corner and a package of mini-pens. Happy!

I love miniature things! Just ask Stephen: anytime we go anywhere, if I see something little, it's cute and I want it.

I don't know when this started or why, but who cares?

Little things are awesome.

And cute. Like teacup pigs.

Maybe, another time, I'll do a whole post about tiny things. But for tonight, I'll say goodnight. Maybe post some new hair cut pictures tomorrow!

GOOD NIGHT BLOG!

Because I am too tired to actually try:

If only we were llama

No matter if we knew how to place a comma

Although we couldn't wear pajama

And have no fingers for Bowl-a-Rama

I'd be happy with having less drama

Can you imagine a llama Obama?

Weekend listing- Sunday edition

Go ahead, you can laugh.

If you know me well, you know that I have an irresistible pull to any kind of music and/or movies that are just awful. I like to call them "masterpieces of suckiness". Of course, I do like good music and movies too. There is really no in-between for me, though. It's either good or it's real bad.

So, today's list is simple. Now you can sympathize with my poor husband and some of my former roommates. I would apologize to them for my preferences, but they all love me enough that they accepted my eccentricities. Or at least didn't mock me behind my back. All mocking was done to my face, which I appreciated.

That said, I give you my list of favorite really bad music and/or movies*:

1. Get Over It: a lesser-known movie starring Ben Foster and Kirstin Dunst, Martin Short, Colin Hanks (Tom Hanks' son), Sisqo, Shane West- to name a few. I could list more, but I think you get the idea. This movie is hilarious! Is it lame and ridiculous? Absolutely. Does that diminish my love for it? Nope. If anything, it makes me love it more!

2. Grease 2: Starring a young Michelle Pfeiffer and the unknown Maxwell Caulfield, this delightful musical is awful. From the start, a very weak connection is linked to Grease, but it doesn't do much for the movie. The songs=lame. The dancing=lame. The dialogue=way way lame. But I love it. I love it so so so much.

3. Footloose*: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Chris Penn, John Lithgow. What a cast! Memorable lines? "Jump back!" "I thought this was a party?!? Let's dance!" And that is pretty much it. But the dialogue is priceless nonetheless, and Kevin Bacon's dancing is -in a word- awesome.

4. From Justin to Kelly: American Idol (season 1) winner Kelly Clarkson teams up with the runner-up Justin Guarinni (or something like that) to give the world a really really lame "musical". (I am using the term musical lightly). It is just rough. Bad music, bad dancing, bad talking, bad acting. It is the "perfect storm" of bad! And I adore it. I've seen it more times that I can count and I have the music on my iTunes. Good times.

5. Alex and Emma: A relatively unknown Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson film. Why is it relatively unknown? Because it is bad. Really bad. Luke Wilson is an author who has to write a book in 30 days or be killed by the Latin mafia. And Kate Hudson is a stenographer, to whom he dictates the book. To sum up the movie in one word: lame. But I love it! I can't explain these things.

6. N'SYNC*: I love them. All 3 CD's. I have favorite songs on every CD, but I also know every song on all the CD's. They are cheesy songs and funny songs and I can't get enough. I drive Stephen crazy wanting to listen to them in the car.

7. Dirty Dancing soundtrack: Could have been an example on the movies part, but I chose to single out the soundtrack. Mostly for songs like "She's Like the Wind" and "Love is Strange" and "Hungry Eyes". The whole CD is lame/awesome, but these three songs are the best. I could listen to them over and over.

8. Daniel Bedingfield: I only have one song of his left. I had his whole CD, but in my shift from Windows Media Player to iTunes I lost a lot of music. But I still have this one song: "If You're Not the One"... If you listened to the pop radio stations between 2002 and 2002, you would know this song. Or other DB classics like "He Don't Love You Like I Love You" or "I Gotta Get Thru This". He was much more popular in Europe than in the US, but to teen girls in 2002, he was the bomb.

9. Plus One*: What can I say? I have a thing for boy bands. I am fully aware that the "boy band fad" has long passed, but my love for them will never fade. I have an extra special love for Plus One, because I saw them twice in concert. And yes, I love love love the cheese-ball lyrics.

10. Lame musicals: I can't escape them. They are the heart and soul of my music collection. And I am not ashamed to say that I blast them in the car and sing along as often as I can. "Musicals" like Footloose, From Justin to Kelly, High School Musical, Grease 2, and Hairspray. These soundtracks offer fun, peppy, catchy (and yes, lame) songs to sing along to. And some songs are just downright hilarious.

There are many more I could list for you. Movies like 16 Candles, Hot Rod*, and the Will Ferrel version of Bewitched. Music from the likes of Miley Cyrus, Spice Girls, BBMak*, and the Jonas Brothers.

But my arguement has been and will always be: If I don't love the "masterpieces of suckiness", who will?

(This list was complied with help and mockery from Stephen Cowden)

*Some on this list I don't necessarily include on my list as "really bad" but I have gotten grief for loving them, so I'll include them on the list with an asterisk.