A Sad Weekend With A Somewhat Happy Ending

Things are not so great here. And I'll give you a couple of reasons why.

Usually my life is happy-go-lucky and my biggest worry is pulling As in my classes and paying for things. But lately things are bad because of the environment in which I live.

LadiesMan has taken the biggest blow to all of this roommate garbage we have going around the boys' suite. TheOther and I haven't spoken since our argument Friday night. The next morning I woke up with the worst cramps of my life (which is maybe TMI but it adds to the situation). And tonight LadiesMan ate an entire bowl full of mashed potatoes, stabbing it with his fork because he feels like punching TheOther's lights out but is trying to be the bigger person here and avoid that.

I spend a lot of time in Prince's suite. I moved my TV into his room when we purchased a PS3, so if I want to play a game or watch some TV I'm in his room. I usually also have my laptop in there because I'm there for most of the day.

This didn't use to bug me until as of late. Obviously.

So on top of feeling extreme animosity flowing through the wall separating Prince's room from TheOther's room, I'm tired and lethargic. And nothing can really be done about this situation until tomorrow when the Housing Office once again reopens its doors.

Consequently, I've been facebooking a lot today.

It turns out that facebook believes I will be married in 2010. To that I say "Fat Chance, Facebook!" Because I am not getting married in 2010 but a lot of people I know are. Tying the knot is something I won't do until after I graduate college. (I almost just typed 'after I graduate high school' which would have been kind of amusing. Don't judge! That's how tired I am!!)

But seriously, I know like 6 people who are getting married this year - which I will readily admit that it makes me want to get married, but seriously. I'm still in school, I'm still pretty young, I'm not financially stable...I mean, there are plenty of reasons to not get married at this time in my life. And still my heart screams "please?"

I'll get over it. I promise. I satisfy myself by watching WE TV's wedding shows and TLC's 'Say Yes To The Dress' while I throw popcorn at the TV and scream "she is such a bridezilla! why does he want to marry her!" And then get all weepy and moany and change the channel.

On a completely unrelated note, in high school I was part of a small group at our church. I was part of a group of girls that were my age and involved in the youth group. We had two very awesome, Godly leaders and I've managed to kind of keep in touch with them since I moved away to school.

One of my leaders has been trying for six years to get pregnant. They've been foster parents and just adopted a little girl before she found out she was going to have a little boy. And the best news? Today they brought that beautiful little baby boy into the world.

I wish I coulda been there...

The Other

Prince Charming lives with two other boys. One is LadiesMan and the other is not. I don't know what to call the other one except for what he is. And in less graphic terms he would be a jerk. But the word jerk does not do him justice for the amount of slothful selfish angry crabby bitchy moany self-isolated flip you off and act like a total asshole just because I don't find you to my liking kind of attitude that this boy exhibits on the daily.

And EVERYONE who lives with him is sick and tired of the crap he gives us every hour of everyday. He blares his screamo music and plays video games non-stop. Last semester he missed so much class and didn't do so much homework that he had to drop a few classes because he 'couldn't handle the load.'

For whatever reason he hates me. I mean it. He. Can't. Stand. Me. And I don't know why. So I brought it up to him.

You want to know why this guy doesn't like me?

He has no reason.

None.

What so fricking ever there is no reason as to why he would rather stab needles in his eyes than talk to me.

No reason.

I don't understand. I don't get it. I mean, he can not like me, that's whatever. I don't really like him either. We have two different personalities that really just don't mesh at all. I can't do anything to change his mind about me. I'm totally at a loss.

He doesn't care. He has decided that it's perfectly okay for him to treat me like the scum of the Earth just because he doesn't appreciate my presence. It's perfectly acceptable for him to flip me off in answer to an innocent question.

I'll tell you my theory.

No one cares about him.

He says his mother let him watch rated R movies when he was five years old. He's been playing violent video games since his hands were big enough to hold the controller. He's voiced on occasion that there is some satisfaction to watching the life slowly drain out of someone's eyes as they die. He looks at porn on his computer. His mother, from what I've heard him say about her, has let him get away with pretty much anything because 'she trusts him.'

Tell me please, why some people are raised to believe that if they don't like you, they can treat you with less respect than a pile of garbage?

I asked him what he was going to do if he actually ended up graduating college and heaven forbid he got a job - what would he do if he didn't like his boss? Would he just treat his boss like crap?

He said yes.

I told him he's not going to be able to keep a job. He said he didn't care.

He just doesn't flat care.

About anything. At all. Whatsoever. And he has no reason why he doesn't care. He just doesn't.

His excuse is that "he's comfortable in who he is, and nothing anyone can say will change that."

Well let me tell you, people do care about how he acts. And the fact that he smells up the room with his trash he doesn't take out for weeks. LadiesMan has decided to get the heck outta Dodge but doesn't exactly know where he's going yet. Prince is wondering if he should do the same thing.

I mean, I don't know if I feel safe being in Prince's suite anymore. This guy, Other just scares me. He's a big guy. He threatens to kill people and talks as if he has no qualms about going after other people who he feels have done him wrong.

We're all worried he's going to break our things when we're not watching. This is no way to live. This is no way to behave. For any of us. It's not fair to the other boys who live here to have to put up with someone who is supposed to be a grown up, but won't even take care of himself.

The One Where I Fix Photos And Stuff

It's Friday again. I feel like this week has just flown by. Along with the hours of each day - I just feel like it's still Wednesday, but in fact it's actually Friday which is a huge relief.

So you all know what happens on Fridays around these parts. I Heart Faces hosts Fix It Friday and this is the 42nd time they've done it. Which means I've participated in just about 42 of these things give or take a couple. I can't believe it's been that long!

Here is the original photo for today:
Here is my first edit:
My second edit: (which I adore)
And finally, my third edit because three seems to be a good number:
To see more wonderful edits, head on over to I Heart Faces.

My Papa

So I've written about my mom before, plenty of times. But I don't really feel like my dad gets enough attention. And that's really too bad because he's the one that religiously checks my blog for new posts.

I've not mentioned that the day I drove home from Rathdrum in Death Fog my dad waited up for me to make sure I got home safe. He misses me when I'm away at school, although to the untrained eye it just looks like he gives me endless crap. I've been told that I look a lot like him, we have similar smiles because our teeth are shaped the same way. I'm the only kid that got that. I'm also the only kid that got his hair. Really fine strands of hair and even though it doesn't look that way, it's really thick.

He taught me to love traveling. He taught me how to drive (even though I drive like my mother). He taught me how to fish and how to shoot a gun. He taught me that its not okay to lie and my relationship with him is an honest one.

He's my daddy and he will always be my daddy even though whenever I come home he picks on me and teases me about DP loving him better because at least she hasn't left him like her older sister did. :)

So yesterday I decided to draw with charcoal pencils instead of charcoal sticks. I wanted to work on contrasting dark with light and drawing the human figure. I came up with the idea of actually putting my charcoal pencils to good use while I was still in my drawing two class and I immediately knew which picture I wanted to use.

Unfortunately I still had another three hour class before I could go and attempt my new project, but when I finally got home I was on a one track mind. And this is what I came up with:

Now to be perfectly honest, I don't really like it all the much. Mostly because I hate how the tree bark looks and the placement of the objects in the background. I love, love, love the figure of my dad though. I think I did a good job on that.

Being a lover and hater of all things facebook, I promptly took a picture of said drawing and uploaded it for all to see. What surprised me was the awesome response I get from my friends and family.

Mostly my dear oma. She is my father's mother. She said she printed it out and is going to frame it. She also linked to it on her facebook page. My mother has already claimed the original, and I don't even know for sure if my dad has seen it yet or not. But I know he'll love it for the plain and simple reason that I did it.

And he loves me.

This is the original picture. I snapped it on his DSLR when we were camping. It just goes to show that even though he may look intimidating occasionally and some people think he looks like Hulk Hogan (it's really only the mustache though), he's still just a big kid at heart.

Expect the Worst, Hope for the Best

I hate the phone. Mostly I think because when someone is calling me, I get this death feeling that I'm in trouble and my mind starts going at about 100 miles an hour of all the things I've done since I last spoke to whoever is calling me to try and figure out what they are going to get on my case about.

And 99% of the time, I'm not in trouble.

Yeah, figure that one out.

I also hate being criticized or reprimanded. I seriously can't stand it. Even some friendly 'hey, just to let you know's break me. I don't know why. I seriously don't. But I do know that I hate being yelled at or sternly talked to. I hate when people tell me 'I don't like that.'

But I pretend to put on the tough exterior. I put on my brave face and I wait until I'm in the shower by myself before I let the floodgates open.

And to top it all off, I generally assume things are worse than they really are. Like when my dad called me today to talk to me about a comment I left on a facebook status. He didn't want to hurt my feelings, but he wanted to talk to me about it. He made it sound like people were offended by my remark.

I was worried.

I wanted to avoid the kingdom that is facebook until I felt like I was ready to face the music. I promptly went to the shower and let it all out. My eyes were still red when I donned my sweatpants and sweatshirt. I made it as far as the hallways before I saw Prince coming toward my room to find out where I was.

I stopped walking.

He instantly knew I wasn't okay and spent the next half hour trying to figure out what was wrong. I just talked to my dad on the phone, I just told Zelda about it, and I didn't really feel like talking about it some more.

I felt like I'd let people down. I felt judged and hated and I didn't even want to read other people's replies to my comment because I didn't want to see what I felt was inevitable to find. So I just laid in Prince's arms while he talked about something I don't remember.

And when he left to go shower so we could go to Bob's in our PJs together, I got on my computer. Unfortunately my homepage is facebook. Temptation begged me to read the other comments. I was sure people were angry with me. I was certain my aunt was probably mad at me.

But I thought "they are family! they know me! they know that I don't want to offend them! this is ridiculous!"

I clicked the link, and with guilty eyes I read the other comments below mine. I held my breath.

And guess what? No one hated me. No one was angry. They took it in a light hearted way, just like I'd intended. The point of my comment was that my aunt had typed xian instead of christian and I had to re-read the word to figure out what she meant.

I ended up learning something too. My oma said that X is the Greek symbol that means Christ. (But that still doesn't mean I'm okay with people saying 'merry xmas' because I still think that's a cop out to avoid offending people that are probably going to be offended by Christmas anyway whether or not you wish them a merry one.)

Also it was reinforced to me that I always go into things expecting the absolute worst, and then I didn't get the absolute worst. I actually didn't feel like they hated me at all.

So why do I let myself get all worked up in the first place? Why do I let my imagination get the better of me? I still have no idea.

No. Idea.

Those Comforting Voices

This is my mother.

In 1975.

She's cute, huh?

I know. And she still makes that same expression too. Her hair is just a lot shorter now than it is in that picture.

She posted this picture on the ever legendary authority on everything from relationship statuses to people innermost thoughts they share through their status updates and picture captions, Facebook.

This photograph is what led me to find out that I am now on dementia medication.

Me: it's weird to imagine that that's you in this photo. i only know you as mom. this is an alternate identity, i'm sure of it.

Mom: Yeah, this is before I became a fun sucker!!!

(Let the records show my mother is NOT a fun sucker. Actually she's awesome and Prince told me that he thinks I'll be just like her whenever I become a mom. Just sayin')

Then my uncle decides to add to our conversation, sparking a whole different direction of dialog.

Uncle Droll: Your mom looks like my sister to me, oh yeah, she is my sister, Natbug looks like her... just not as good looking, hehehe

Me: psh uncle droll. whatever. i look like a good blend of the best features in both of my parents. therefore i am beautiful and mom is beautiful and we are a beautiful family. except, i don't know what happened to you... :)

Uncle Droll: you're off the dementia medicine again...

Me: you know it. i can't stand that stuff. it steals my creativity...

Uncle Droll: it disturbs my voices from comforting me too...

(Don't look at me like that Mom. He's your brother!)

I Heart Faces - Texture

This week at IHeartFaces the theme is all about texture. Texture within your photograph, and texture you've manipulated on your photograph. I don't know how much I really like this theme, but I thought it would be interesting to see what I came up with anyway.

I chose this photo because I like the texture of Princess M's hair in this picture. She has a wild blond mop on her head, and I adore it! Although I hear it's not so easy for her dear mommy to brush, and she's since had a lot of it chopped off.

On top of the texture of her amazing blond locks, I used the texturizer filter in Adobe Photoshop. I used the color burn action and then put a sepia tone on top of that.

I'm pretty pleased with the results, but that's just me. If you want to see what other textured pictures show up on the wide, wide web or if you'd like to even enter your own picture, click the link or on the button to hop on over the IHeartFaces website.

Time Warp

This is me when I was a junior in high school. I thought I was pretty cool.


And these two beautiful girls were my best friends. We were crazy in our own right and caused a lot of trouble. We thought we were pretty bad ass.

And then the almost unthinkable happened. We graduated and spent our last summer together apart. I visited Germany right after graduation and then traveled to Utah a few weeks later. But we still managed to celebrate 18th birthdays and shed goodbye tears before college.

I got to college and experienced SWEET FREEDOM! I celebrated by piercing my nose, much to my father's dismay.

In October, I met this cutie who wowed me with his love of art and music. I was smitten.

After freshman year ended, I was job hunting all the local coffee shops. And then Prince told me there was still an opening at camp, and I semi reluctantly applied. I got the job, and haven't regretted it whatsoever.

I also made some new best friends, since things weren't really working out with Belle and Ariel like I'd hoped. (We've since reconciled, but it was a tough second semester of college.)

And then I entered my first semester of my sophomore year. You know what they say - you can tell a sophomore...but you can't tell 'em much.

Only this time around, this kid joined me at school, along with a new major.

So now here I am, in my second semester of my sophomore year of college and some people still think I'm stuck back in high school because I look so young. But you guys know different, right?

Right.

It's been a long journey. It's not always been pretty. A lot of life around me is completely different than when I started this little blog. And we're not even done yet!

I Heart UR Blog

So Mrs. Lovely at The Ideologies of Melissa gave me this awesome award because she thinks I'm adorable.

She passed it on to me and Cassandra, so I figure I'll just pass it on to two other bloggers. Two is a good number right?

Yes, two is a good number. I see you in the corner! Yeah you! Over there. With the Face. Stop shaking your head! You. Love. Two. I know you do. Okay, now that we have that settled, I'll tell you the two people that I think should get this notorious award.

For two reasons:

1. Because they are awesome

and

2. Because I heart them. Obviously.

So my picks are:

*drum roll please*

King Of Fools at Dead Rapunzel because (besides the other previously listed reasons), she not only rocks my socks but occasionally makes me die with laughter, even if she's occasionally inappropriate and not always family friendly. Oh yeah, and I love her. Tons.

and

Kendrabelle at Carpe Diem because I think she's super sweet and always butters me up with comments. In short, I heart her tons and tons.

So there you are ladies and gentlemen. Now if you'll excuse me, I have minds to warp and values to twist.

Fix It Friday #41

It's Fix-It-Friday over at I Heart Faces today, and because I have no school today I have time to play around on photoshop this morning. So that's what I decided to do. But I do have one question, how come the weekly contests started back over from 1 for the new year, but Fridays didn't?

Anyway, here's the original photo:

This was my first edit. I tried to keep it pretty simple.

My second edit. I was starting to have fun with it. :)

This is the third edit, and not wanting to overdo it, this was also my final edit.

To see more epic photo editing head on over to:

The Difference Between a Caramel Macchiato and a Caramel Latte

Okay, so this question has come up a bunch in my semesters working at a coffee shop. I'm sure you are all familiar with the concept of coffee shops/stands/cafes and know what espresso tastes like whether you drink it regularly or loath even the smell. Correct?

Show of hands?

That's what I thought.

So now the question is, how well do you know your coffee? There are different kinds of drinks. We know this. Especially if the baristas at your local Starbucks know you by name, ask you if you want the usual and can correctly decipher your groggy pre-caffeine grunts.

There is the mocha, the latte, the breve, the macchiato, the americano, the solo and the dopio. If you don't know what a solo and a dopio are, don't worry. They're simply straight shots of espresso, but even some baristas don't know what they're called. *ahem*

So we know a mocha has chocolate. A breve is a latte made with half and half. Americanos are simply shots and really ridiculously hot water. A latte is shots and steamed milk. But what the hey is a macchiato?

Let me tell you something. They call it a macchiato because of how you make the drink. A macchiato is layered differently than a mocha, latte, breve, etc. But not many college students know this, and they only order a caramel macchiato because it is loaded with caffeine and sugar.

But plenty of times I have made them a caramel macchiato only to have them tell me that their drink is not mixed up. I'm sorry, what? This is what you ordered.

So for all you college students out there who have trouble telling their elbow from their kneecap, let me help you understand what a caramel macchiato is.

Because you've ordered a caramel macchiato, here is how I am going to layer it in 5 easy steps:

1. drizzle caramel sauce on sides and bottom of cup
2. add vanilla syrup
3. pour in steamed milk
4. pour in shots
5. drizzle more caramel sauce on top

This is different from what you're expecting because what you wanted was for me to make your macchiato upside down. All that means is that instead of a macchiato, I'm making you a latte.

When making a latte or a mocha you put the shot in first, to give it flavor. If you pour the milk in first, you are flavoring the milk. The steamed milk is used to mix everything together because that's what the majority of your drink is - milk.

I worked with a barista who just made the caramel macchiato by putting in the vanilla syrup, pouring in the shots and then the milk and caramel sauce on top. When I asked her why she made it that way, she answered by telling me that most people don't really want a macchiato, they just like all the sugar that's in the drink.

Well, no more!

Now you can make an educated decision on the type of drink that you would like to order. And if you order a caramel macchiato from me, I'm going to make you a caramel macchiato. And you can talk to Zelda about my supreme caramel macchiato making skills.

She's unsatisfied with other baristas' attempts on campus, but today she stated that the one I made for her was simply fabulous. And I really am modest, I swear...

Everything Nice?

Okay, so I like to think of myself as having a good head on my shoulders, I'm pretty likable, I don't really try to be mean. I like to think I have some sort of tact so that I know how to gingerly approach some subjects and blatantly call out others when deemed appropriate.

But you know what I feel like I completely suck at?

Knowing what to do and say when someone is in a terrible and also when that someone is a person that you care about a lot and want to make their world full of sunshine, rainbows, happy unicorns and an endless supply of candy.

You know?

But when said person is in a crummy mood in which they intend to storm about the room and throw things, I feel like I lock up. I don't know what to say or how to say anything. I'm basically at a loss for words (shocking right?).

All I feel like I can do is pray. Pray that God tells me what to say to them, if words are needed at all. Pray that God will help them figure stuff out. Pray for peace. Pray for wisdom. Pray for their sanity. Pray for my sanity....

I know when I'm really angry and my world is filled with rainy, slushy, thunderstorm-y, thrash about the house like a wild animal who's idea of fun is to rip the upholstery on your couch to shreds, I probably just need a hug. Unless you're the person who dropped the bomb. Then I don't want you to touch me. I might shank you.

Unfortunately for this remedy, not everyone likes being touched when they're on the warpath. I know this. But that just makes it harder for me to help out when people I know are sunshine, rainbow and happy unicorn-less.

Asking 'are you okay' over and over is just going to be annoying. Asking 'how can I help you' doesn't always elicit a response. Sometimes I just get a grunt in return, if anything at all. If you're working with a talker, things are a little smoother. It's the silent but deadly ones you have to watch out for...

So how do YOU put the candy mountain back in someone's dreary existence? I'm curious. Really.

And Just Exactly WHAT Is The Burning Ball Of Gas In The Sky?

Wait? It's the sun?

Noooooooooo. You're lying.

Wait? Really?

Well, can you tell it to stop shining in my eyes and giving my heart false hopes about when exactly Spring could be on its way?

Kthnx.

Seriously. It's January. Say it with me - all together now - jan-you-wear-eeee. January. It is not springtime. It's actually still the middle of winter.

So tell me then, why dear, dear Prince Charming was walking around outside without a jacket on and he wasn't freezing to death. Last year you couldn't even think about going outside without getting frostbite.

Last year it looked like this outside.

So tell me please, because I'm still confused. What is this sun, and why is it here so early?

Four Days Off

I don't have school on Fridays this semester. And today is MLK day, so that means no school either. This turned my usual three day holiday into a four day one - and let me just say right now, I really have no complaints.

Not only did I order a new-to-me cell phone because my current one decides that sometimes it would just rather shut off than work properly, but I also ordered my textbooks. I went with Zelda and Belle to the movies, and we dressed up. Blackmail picture here:



I finished one portion of my homework for Art 112. We were supposed to draw either our hand or our foot. I chose my hand, but it looks slightly disproportionate and more like maybe Frankenstein's hand than my own. For whatever reason, I can't really draw myself. I can draw other people. I can draw still lifes. I've even been known to draw a skull or two.

But for whatever reason, this hand looks for like a mental patient was turned loose with a lump of coal and a sheet of paper and told to go nuts.


Finally, yesterday morning I went to a church across the border in the nearby town of Pullman. I have to admit, I'm completely biased towards my own home church of Lake City in Hayden. I mean, yesterday morning all I really came away with was "it's better to give than to receive." Not a bad message, but perhaps a message meant for someone who is just finding their way into church doors? I don't know. Maybe I was just uncomfortable because Prince and I were sitting in the back and the door behind us were open, so I felt really exposed. And I'm short, so I couldn't hardly see over all the tall giants who decided it fit their agenda to stand in front of me and block my view from all angles.

On the plus side, the pastor was funny and his voice wasn't at all painful to my little ears. And he talked about a book he was given in Hawaii. It's called Da Jesus Book and it's a translation of the Bible into the Hawaiian language. You know like: "Da man dat give is mo good den da man dat got." It's kinda interesting.

So I'm sorry this post couldn't be more interesting, but this weekend was really just a lazy kind of relaxing watch a lot of TV and movies kind of a weekend. And needless to say, it's just what I needed.

How was your weekend?

The Gnome Named Rufstig

It's no secret that I work on campus as the best barista ever. My drinks are all made of awesome, there is absolutely no doubt. So when my friend emailed me about what it was like to be a barista to see if it was something maybe he would enjoy doing, I didn't hesitate to tell him how awesome my job is and some of the perks of being a barista.

I don't think you will fully appreciate my extreme comedic hilarity unless you yourself read our conversation. Then and only then will you understand anything about the title of this post as it seemingly has nothing to with becoming a barista. Or so one might think...

Lets call this friend of mine Zeltor. It doesn't really matter HOW he got that name, other than it's one he's had for a while. So I'm just using it for the plain and simple reason of consistency.

Zeltor Says:
I haven't seen or heard from you in quite some time my dear Natalie. I feel a little left out. What's going on with you? How are you doing?

Cinderella Says:
lol i'm sorry. my life has been chaos lately. i'm sorry you feel left out :( but i'm fine. back at school and working as a barista again this semester. i have three studio art classes and two lecture classes. and i'm super excited about no school on fridays this semester!

Zeltor Answers:
Does being a barista pay well? No School Fridays is epic! 3 Day Weekend EVERY WEEK!

Cinderella Answers:
i make 7.50 ish an hour, plus tips - which is usually five or six dollars at the end of a four hour shift. but i love the customers that i serve, so they make my job worth it. plus the trade is good to know, because it makes you versatile - you can work at any coffee shop anywhere.

Zeltor Thinks:
I've thought about being a barista myself. Might not be a bad idea.

Cinderella Excites:
oooh! be a barista! it's not a bad gig at all.

Zeltor Innocently Asks:
Where did you get your barista license?

Cinderella Laughs Maniacally As She Types Says:
bwaha. barista licenses are hard to come by. you have to go the intergalactic space station and talk to the gnomes on planet Blonograk. The leader's name is Rufstig and if you get on his bad side he will send his army of animated sporks for your soul. On top of all of that, there is endless paperwork to fill out. You need to know your mother's mother's mother's father's last name, the year in which the world begun, how fast a rock would fall off of the edge of the moon and land on the surface pluto, and your imaginary brother's pet tiger's name (which coincidentally is NEVER hobbes).

on a more serious note, you don't need a license to become a barista. you just need someone who will hire you and give you the needed training.

GaGa In The Room

Ladies and Gentlemen, whilst gallivanting around the local Hot Topic shop, checking out the latest festivities, chasing the riff-raff, and seeing just exactly what kind of candy we could steal from poor defenseless babies, I found what appears to be Lady GaGa, in the flesh.

Just look for yourselves:

We've found that Lady GaGa hides curly black hair very well underneath her fabulous blonde wig. She also appears to be a lot tanner in real life than in her music videos. And to top it all off, she looks suspiciously similar to my friend Belle.

They could be related.

Coming Out of The Closet

Okay Bloggies,

Here's the deal. I've thought about this, and I've thought about this, and when I thought I was done thinking, I thunk some more. Now, at first I thought I could go about this one of two ways. I could tell you my real name and what that means to me and how that's shaped me as a person (per MamaKat's Writer's Workshop Prompt) or I could do the same thing except explain why I use Cinderella.

And then it occured to me.

Why not do both?

So we'll start with Natalie. Because that's my name. It is of Latin origin (Latin, not Latino. you know, it's that language that everyone says is dead) and it means "Birthday of Christ" which I always found slightly hilarious because my birthday is no where near Christmas time.

However, it kind of makes sense. Think about it: Natalie vs Nativity.

I remember when I was little I wished I spelled it different than the original n-a-t-a-l-i-e. There are a few ways - my favorites being Nathalie and Natalee. But now that I'm older, I like how my name is spelled. It's traditional. I'm kind of traditional. Occasionally. When it suits me. You know.

My mom didn't want to name me Natalie at first. Mostly because the common nick name for Natalie is Nat, which has the unfortunate coincidence of sharing the same sound as an annoying bug. The gnat. So I was deemed NatBug before I was even born.

And then there's Dawn. Which is my middle name. And I've only met one other Natalie Dawn in my life. You can find her here and I love her because she's an awesome photographer. Seriously.

I'd like to believe the story about my middle name being Dawn because I was born at 5:13 in morning after my mother had been in labor all night. I was an indecisive child. Couldn't really decide whether or not I wanted to be borned. And since then, indecision may or may not still be a problem in my life....

It wasn't until after I was already birthed and named that we realized there are a few other members of my extended family with Dawn as a middle name. So I got a family name and didn't even realize it.

Okay, so now that I feel like I've completely violated my anonymity, let's go into how I came up with calling myself Cinderella.

When I first started blogging, I had nothing to go off as to what I would call myself. My awesome aunt, who was my inspiration for starting a blog simply referred to herself as "C" so I followed suite.

But calling people by their initials can get confusing. Especially because DP and Prince Charming are both M names, so that would get messed up fast. I resorted to giving people code names on TheBlog, which has so far worked out to my advantage. And to help you all keep things strait there is a Cast of Characters list in the sidebar.

But I digress.

When I was younger, my dad called me Rindercella. I complained about chores. A lot. But I knew I didn't really have it half as bad as Cinderella, who is coincidentally my favorite Disney Princess. Mostly because she goes from rags to riches and wears an awesome blue ballgown that I absolutely adore. My senior ball prom dress was Cinderella inspired. I'm just saying. Here's a picture:


So you see, I just had to go with Cinderella because I wasn't sure about going by Natalie. But I see a lot of bloggers use their name, but keep everyone else's a secret. Which is what I intend to do, unless told otherwise.


**Writer's Note: My dear mother just texted me that I, little ole me, has made the Dean's List!! Can I get a What? What? I've NEVER made the Dean's list....**

Back In The 'Scow For Take Two

Dear Moscow,

You are cold. And windy. And dark. Stop that. I realize that it's only January and my propositions might be asking a lot of you, but seriously. I've only been back a couple of hours and my toes are cold.

On the plus side, it's nice to be home in my dorm room in a space that is mine. It belongs to me until the end of this new semester.

Anyway, I'm glad you're still here even though you're cold and windy and dark. Because it means you weren't destroyed by a nuclear bomb over Christmas vacation and no one broke into my dorm room and stole all of my precious belongings that I left here for safe keeping.

So in conclusion, you are going to agree to stop being chilly and windy so this semester will allow me to not freeze my limbs off. Understood?

Signed,
The College Gal Who Is Starting To Wish For Spring

***

Dear New Semester,

Please. Don't. Suck.

Lurve,
Someone With Lazy Bones

***

Dear Rec-Center,

Can we be BFFs? I need you to help me trim down my waist size and sculpt some stellar abs this semester. I already told Semester not to full of suck, so don't worry about his course load. That will take care of itself.

But really, I need some muscle management and it's not something I can do on my own. Promise to help? Please?

Pretty please? With sugar on top? Or maybe a cherry. You know, it just depends on your preference.

Yours,
The Fat Layer That Covers My Abdominal Area

***

Dear Sunshine,

WHY do you never visit the pacific northwest during long, cold, and need I mention dark winter months? Seriously. Wyoming has clear skies, so why can't we?

Indignant,
The Fading Tan Lines On My Skin

***

Dear Readers,

Thank you for putting up with my antics. Now that I'm back at school, I believe my postings should become less sporadic. Hopefully.

No Promises,
Cinderella

An Almost Entry

I was going to enter this picture in the I Heart Faces contest, but when I read the rules for this week's theme it said my picture had to be taken in Dec of '09 or Jan of '10. Well, I had just spent around an hour editing some photos that I really liked from October.

Since this photo is a tenth month photograph instead of a 12th month, I'm stuck.

So I decided to just post the picture anyway and maybe I'll get the energy to dig through my Dec and Jan pictures later. Or you know, I could just be lazy and wait until next week's theme before I enter.

They tell you not to enter to win, because you are far less disappointed that way. But I'm competitive, I'll admit it. And I like winning. Or at least placing in a contest. I'm content with so much as an honorable mention - but you know something?

I've only ever even placed one time out of the whole time I've been playing this game. I go to some people's pages and see that they've got a whole string of awards and I can't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. I try so hard for what feels like nothing - just to be snubbed by some big wig with a digital DSLR.

Some people say you can fool the world with a little point and shoot - and Lord knows I'm trying. But please - even though they tell you there's a fair mix of amateur and professional photographers who are winning the weekly contests, tell me the ratio of point and shoots to DSLRs and then we'll talk.

So without further adieu, here is my almost entry from October:

You're Hot Then You're Cold, You're Yes Then You're No

So there's this thing called 'Arts and Crafts' and some of you may or may not have experienced this phenomenon once or twice in your life. I am all over the artsy side, but the crafty is a bit different for me.

I'm not a very crafty person, but on a whim Momma and I decided to make those hot/cold scented pads. You know, the ones you can buy in a mall or so and they go in the microwave or the freezer depending on how achey your muscles are?

Yeah, we thought we would undertake the task of creating one. Off to Hancock Fabrics we went to buy fabric and thread. All the fabric and thread has to be 100% cotton, and since we didn't have any of that just laying around the house, we jetted off to the store.

I picked out some blue fabric, because blue is my absolute favorite color. I couldn't decide between two of them, so I go both. We just got some fat quaters because it was cheaper.

The fat quarters we bought measured in at 18" by 22" so we cut them down to 18" by 9" for our intended size. Just big enough to span shoulders, stomach or back. You know, whatever strikes your fancy.

I got some blue cotton thread to match. Mom broke out her sewing machine and we double seamed the edges to be safe. Since we were filling them with a rice mixture, we didn't want one seam to break and then have a rice spill all over the place.

After we sewed the edges, it looked like this:


We sewed chambers to fill with rice. The tubes were filled 2/3 of the way with a mixture made from regular white rice and Bengal Spice Tea (which smells divine when heated).

After we filled the chambers with rice, we sewed the open end shut with another double seam.

We heated the new creation in the microwave for 3 min. It came out piping hot and nearly burned TheKeeper, who reacted by prancing around the kitchen as though he had ants in his pants.

Too bad I didn't get any video of that.

Anyway, I would advise only heating it for 2 to 2 and half minutes. It stays warm for a quite a while, smells good. It was only 5 dollars for the fabric, four for two spools of thread, and it took maybe only half a day to do.

I'm only guessing on the time because Momma left me for over an hour to take TheMechanic and DP to an orthodontist appointment.

TheKeeper enjoying the end product:

I had to take this picture while he was actually laughing. Otherwise you would have seen him throwing up a peace sign and making a weird face. Typical teenage boy. Ha, ha, ha.

Ancient History

So for Christmas I received two very lovely iTunes cards each containing the amount of 15 dollars, and today I decided to add them together and start purchasing more music to add to my ever expanding iTunes library.

I am now the proud listener of Rescue Me by Fontella Bass and This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole, among others. But mainly these two because for whatever self imposed reason, I find myself slightly obsessed with music that is before my time.

On our vacation my ears were filled with the likes of Leon Patillo, Larry Norman and other names that are currently escaping my memory. I like the music of the 60s and 70s. It has some sort of appeal to me.

So I've been keeping the stereo volume on high and belting my lungs out to songs that were created before I was even a blip on the radar of life. I think I'm beginning to lose my voice because of this new found addiction, but I'm not about to start complaining.

The music of the past just seems to carry a certain history with it. It's dated. It happened a long time ago (or a short time ago, it all depends really on your point of view). But no matter how long ago the music was created, it revolves around the culture that created it during that period in time.

Much like people.

And people have relatives. And those relatives are now alive. And those relatives have pictures.

Old pictures.

I love old pictures. Just as much as I love old songs.

Because they have history.

I never like history class that much in school. Mostly that was because I didn't enjoy the requirement of learning dates to events that no one cared about and then regurgitating that information on a test that determined whether or not I passed that class. Yeah, that didn't so much intrigue me.

What I loved to learn about what the culture. The people. The events. What may or may not have taken place on November 17, 1846 is of no concern to me. The exact time of day that President Lincoln gave a speech on the subject of slavery does not matter. The fact that he did it, people listened, and history was made is what matters to me.

And also the fact that I am related to people who lived during that era.

Today I was at Grandma's house. Mom and I went over to take down their artificial-i-don't-smell-like-a-real-tree-but-i'm-still-pretty plastic tree. It was fun, and we were treated to a meal at Red Robin for doing such great work. Upon return to my grandparents' dwelling we viewed a picture album my grandma had received from her sister.

All old photos.

Pure gold.

There was a date that was far back as 1917. Wow. I was intrigued. All those people in those pictures! They all had lives and families. Jobs. Cares. Worries. Interests. And they were in pictures that I could see proof of life back then. You know, since I believe there wasn't really a world until I was born and then everyone just sort of showed up and pretended like their shenanigans had been going on for quite some time. They're all just really good actors, you know.

But seriously.

It really started yesterday when I was going through my parents' wedding pictures, followed by pictures from when I was really little and TheKeeper was really little...and well, basically just everyone was really little.

It's just really crazy how much things have changed.

Change.

I think that's my word for the year 2010. Life is full of change. My life is a constant flow of motion. What's here today may not be there tomorrow. And what was here two days ago is maybe gone.

What word best describes how you believe 2010 will be?

2010 Is A Lie

Is it really 2010? Because I remember when it was still in the 1990s and all the cool kids listened to their walkman radios and wore baggy cargo jeans.

I remember thinking to myself that I would never be a teenager, and then when I was a teen I thought I would never get to drive, or have my own car. A steady relationship wasn't even a blip on my radar screen and now I'm in one. My sister was still really little and TheKeeper had only recently passed me up in height.

I remember we lived in a white house and had a white truck. I remember when we brought our dog home. I used to climb trees and hay bales, and now I just climb stairs. I remember watching cartoons on the TV when I got home school at 3:00 - just in time for Arthur.

I remember having a crush on a boy, so all your friends would randomly ask him if he liked you and 99% of the time he would say no. Middle School heartbreak is so dramatic! Now if all your friends randomly ask the guy you like if he likes you, he's going to assume you are completely immature and not really worth his time.

It really is amazing to look back through the years and realize how much has changed. Ten years ago things were even more different than five years ago. I mean, I can remember when my parents got cell phones. My dad had an old "brick" phone out in his truck. That thing was huge! And now cell phones are so little sometimes you have a hard time keeping track of its ever changing location.

I remember riding in a truck with only a tape deck - none of this fancy schmancy 5 disk CD changer and iPod connection cables. But I have to admit, I am not old enough to know the awesomeness that is vinyl albums. Except I will tell you that I've heard they have the best sound quality out of all of the new and "improved" things we have now. Just sayin'.

But as mind boggling as it can be for you to look back through your many years of life, how much more insane is it to try looking forward?

In five or so years I will be graduated from college, potentially with a steady job, perhaps married. That's crazy. Right now I sit and I think about how I want my future to be, but in all reality all I can really do is wait and see.

Wait and see where I end up living. Wait and see how TheSibs all turn out. Wait and see where my relationship with Prince goes. Wait and see what school I teach at. Wait and see what curve balls life cruelly throws in my direction just to see if she can hit me in the face or if I end up dodging it with whatever grace I can muster.

So, I just barely got used to 2009. In June of 2009 I had been graduated from high school for a year - something that before it actually happened I believed it was unattainable. In August of 2009 I entered my second year of college - freaky enough because I remember walking around campus my freshman year thinking that I didn't really want to be in college for three more years. It's funny how much difference a year can make. In November of 2009 I celebrated my one year anniversary with Prince Charming.

This year I will turn 20. This year I will finish my second year of college and begin my second summer at Twinlow (hopefully, lol). This year I will also enter my third year of college (scary!). This year I would like to move into my own apartment in Moscow, celebrate a second year anniversary with Prince Charming, fly to San Diego in March, and make some new friends.

What do you want to accomplish in 2010? And also are you the type of person who says two thousand ten or twenty ten? Or do you not think it matters whatsoever and you are going to refer to 2010 as whatever you feel like depending on who you're talking to, the mood you're in and how much sleep you've had?

I Shot The Sheriff

It started with Prince's idea to ring in the new year by blasting his friends with his newly acquired dart tommy-gun Nerf brand knock-off that's shoots these amazing suction cup tipped darts that stick to windows and bare chested bodies. And I went right along with it.

So he got a hold of a few of his bro-friends and we all brought an immense supply of Nerf guns and ammo to Prince's friend Ty's house. Sprawled out before us was upwards of 100 bullets, at least seven different guns, a funny looking bomb device used for either a Capture The Flag game or a Seek and Destroy mission, and two Nerf swords.

There were four boys. And me.

And we had til midnight.

The boys sat around and strategized about how exactly this big ordeal was gonna go down. Because of the odd number of people we had, the teams were uneven and we had a two versus three match planned. The team of two got the bomb thing which the team of three had to Seek and Destroy. We started the epic Nerf gun battle with the lights off in Ty's basement.

It was a sneak down the stairs and shoot wherever you thought there was or could potentially be a body of an opponent. The trick was to make sure you shot at the enemy and not at your teammate.

I love playing games with boys. They really are so very entertaining.

One hid in the bathroom. One hid under a desk. We were on a search and destroy anything that moves mission. Ty pitted Princey and me against each other for the first 50 thousand rounds, and then we got to team up for the last half of our allotted time for these dart shooting practices.

And let me just say that I kick some major butt with a Nerf gun. Target practice in the dark where nothing is visible, let alone trying to aim at a lurking figure that was nigh invisible in a room without windows or lights, should be tough, right?

Right.

Head shots apparently are my strong point. Dodging dart bullets is a skill I didn't know I possessed, and stealing that bomb thing was something I only managed to accomplish once - but boy was I proud of myself.

We went back and forth with our Nerf guns and knock off branded weapons of mass destruction for four hours. By then we were hot, sticky, sweaty remnants of the glorified shooting match we'd all just subjected ourselves to and the only thing left was a room full of stranded darts and bodies heaving to catch that ever illuding breath of air.

Around the kitchen table we discussed furthering our efforts as professional Nerf Gunners, future pursuit of a snowy hill to sled down in the daylight, and how much sparkling cider we were going to allow ourselves to consume. Some of us pretended to be drunk, some of us were just very tired and others of us we were ready to move on to whatever was next.

I opted to head home to a nice comfy bed and sleep off my post-war adrenaline high.

The new year could not have begun better. 2010 should watch out because I'm here, and I'll shoot it in the head if it tries any dirty tricks. You hear that New Year? No dirty tricks. Cinderella has a gun and she's not afraid to use it.

On a slightly unrelated subject, my only real 'new year's resolution' is a fairly common one in that all I really am wanting to do is get myself into the gym more often. That's one where people start out really strong and hit the gym three times a week in January and by mid-March they're sitting at home saying "I should go to the gym....but really, I'm just too tired. Maybe tomorrow." And they never get off their lazy butts and go.

I don't want that to be me. So I'm going to work hard to not let it become my future. I'm gonna stick it to the man and be all walk instead of just all talk. *crosses fingers*

So if you feel like sharing, I'm curious to know how you rang in the New Year and what you plan to do in 2010 as a resolution. If you even make resolutions, that is. I don't really ever, but somehow this year I talked myself into it.