Putting Up Reindeer; Singing Songs Of Joy & Peace

've been listening to River (Joni Mitchell) again and again and again. It kind of gives me that feeling of being alone but not at all lonely...plus it reminds me of Emma Thompson in Love Actually--and really any association to Love Actually is always a good thing.

I took a sequence of strumming a G chord on the guitar for a project in human bio. The final result was entitled 'Striking the Right Chord: The Muscles Behind Playing Guitar.' I'll give you a minute to digest that cleverness there.

Forever 21 leotard, mom's boots, vintage (Finnish?/Swedish?/Hungarian?) embroidered vest, Kohl's skirt

Anywho, on my old blog, I used to do a 'Week in Pictures' update, so here is a glimpse into what's been going on in the past few weeks...
Friday, December 11th

My first encounter with latkes! Annie's mom makes the best I've ever had. (:

We watched Jeopardy during dinner, and although I felt slightly incompetent next to Annie AND her pro family's selves...it was so much fun. And of course I got the Harry Potter related question right! (House elves was one of the answers, can you believe it?)

After we headed out to a coffeeshop fundraiser to see our friends play.

Annie made a guest appearance on stage with our friends' band to sing an acoustic version of Lady Gaga's Papparazi. It was fabulous.

Jess tried to resist photos at first...but just look at how pretty she looks! She couldn't hide for long.

The current members (Chris, Austin, Matt) of Heatherbird together...albeit all looking in different directions!

***

Saturday, December 19th

I went into the city with Chris and his family. Christmastime in the city is absolutely magical. Especially when it's snowing. I could have stayed for days and days.

We checked out the window display on 38th and 39th in Lord & Taylor. It gave you that feeling of just wanting to be instantly transported into another world. This girl had the most adorable coat...and was perhaps 30 times a better ice skater than I can ever hope to be. Seriously, I skate like one leg is paralyzed...my friends will testify...it's a problem.

I love taking pictures of other people's poses. If I ever get a good one I always want to send it to them but I don't ever end up asking for fear it sounds too creepy and stalkerish. Still, I love taking the photos...it's kind of like a little time capsule of these people's lives that they don't even know exist. Think about it: how many of other people's pictures do you think you're an unknowing subject in? I always wonder how many people's vacation's photos I have unwittingly (and unattractively) been a part of.

SO jealous of the little girl's hat! And it totally would have matched my Christmas sweater (have I mentioned my Christmas sweater? Well, if you'd like a little peak at it, check out Annie's recap of our day in the city.)

VACATION BEGINS AT 12:30 TOMORROW!

Adventures will include an annual holiday party with my four best friends, exchanging of presents, and duckpin bowling (in which you do NOT bowl like a duck, Lily!)

Happy Holidays to all!

A Wintry Revival

So, it is officially...(still not) winter! But it feels like it should be, doesn't it? Not exactly because of the weather or anything...just because it's December. And really, shouldn't all of December be considered "winter"...not just this from December 21st on rip-off, you know?...Okay, ramble over.

SO, you might remember Annie's post from way back when in October. Remember how it was bursting with color and leaves and all fall-like things?

Well, now, I've given the other part of our photo shoot from that day a bit of a wintry remix!

(In these photos I took of Annie from that day, she wore a vintage jacket and camisole, Forever 21 skirt, gifted tights, vintage suede and cork wedges, and earrings from Portobello Road in London)

Fall was fabulous, but I think these fit the current mood of the season a little better.

In other news, life is crazy busy this week. Between rehearsals for the underclassmen play, a human biology project on muscles, and an essay on The Scarlet Letter, I think all I'm going to have time for this week is school, homework...and er, sleep? Mmm...maybe, we'll see. However this weekend should be fabulous at least, including a chem class reunion, a trip into the city with Chris (with the distinct possibility of running into Annie and Luke) and hopefully starting to make concrete plans for the upcoming holiday break!

On me in photo above: borrowed-from-mom vest, Gap waffle top, randomly found ring

P.S Shh...don't tell, because it's not FOR SURE yet...but I might really, really start liking Lady Gaga! I believe it was a combined doing courtesy of Sarah and Annie. First of all, Annie sang Paparazzi for our friend's band the other night (AND TOTALLY ROCKED IT, I must say) and then Sarah showed me this...and I think I might be hooked. (Note Ellen at the end by the way...totally adorable!) But, human bio now includes me and Sarah trying to harmonize Bad Romance...and then getting told to sing louder by kids in our class/testing our teacher's patience? But still. Worth it.

Alas, Pilgrims!

I forgot the extent of my love/hate relationship with disposable cameras. It's exciting to wait and see what you get...but the week wait?? It can be difficult!

Anyway, this year's day before Thanksgiving tradition involved some from the old and some of the new, too.

After we got our table at a Chinese restaurant and had gobbled down our scrumptious appetizers, Bex volunteered to go with me to the CVS a block away to get the traditional disposable camera. This guy above indulged me in my back and forth “is the CVS brand or Kodak better for blah blah blah” and was really very helpful. So, after we left and were barely five feet outside from the exit, I said to Becky "You know, I really want to take a picture of him." She said I would regret it if I didn’t, which I knew I totally would so we went back. Just look at that lovely smile!
Biggest tourist spot of the town, clearly!
Our entrees came just a little bit after we returned. Of course, we had to sample each other's dishes here and there...
After lunch, we had lots of fun with shopping carts.

Lineth somehow got stuck in the middle!

Then of course it was time for portraits!

Now and then

Now and then

Now and then

Now and then

Now and then

(I think we've agreed Bex's is our favorite from this year!)

I took a shot of this year's poster in order to keep with the tradition, but then we couldn't help fooling around with the other posters, too...

Favorite photo from the entire day? I think so.

After getting our seats in the theater, we ducked out in groups to stock up on less-expensive-than-those-at-the outrageous-movie-theater treats at Stop & Shop.

Lineth and I decided on sharing gummies and a cookies & cream Hershey's bar. Yummy choices, if I do say so myself!

I gave Sarah and Lil the camera to take with them on their adventures...little did we know that we both clearly had troubles with decision making and needed to spend some time deliberating in the candy aisle.

After the movie we stopped into Starbucks...

...to use the bathrooms? Ahem, uh, Lily?

All in all, year two matched up to the first and was a blast. I'm already anticipating next year's mix of movies (R rated perhaps, as we'll all be 17!) library brick walls, and other shenanigans around the town.

Now, I must go pass out from exhaustion, (oh, and read a chapter from The Scarlet Letter whoops...) so good night (and sleep tight.)

(Oh no...there I go with those parentheses again...)

November's Yin & Yang

Yang
Very good episodes of Gossip Girl (sans Hilary Duff!)

Talking with my bus driver
Sarah’s family over for ThanksgivingAfter taking Kelly, our favorite four-legged guest from Pennsylvania on a walk, we stopped around my neighborhood to take some photos.

Long conversations with Grandpa

(And the brick wall photos that later ensued)
Grandma and Grandpa kissing for no particular reason (I asked, and they had to scrounge for some excuse why!)
Err...possibly the result of that above kissing? (Pop pop and my daddy...can you see any similarities?)
How I now know where I got my modeling skills...

I mean, look at that man! A natural born model!

Logical trig problems

Channeling the writing style of Herman Melville
When I can see the floor of my room
Buy U A Drank
SAT Questions of the Day
Somehow Sarah and I got our whole human bio class (including the teacher) to participate in answering

If you guessed b you’re qualified to pass the SATs! (or something like that)
Day before Thanksgiving traditions
Really excellent dreams

Using gala as a synonym for party
Becky playing piano

Um...did I mention she's amazing?

***

Yin
Disposable camera induced anxiety
Terribly confusing essay prompts
Broken laptops
Dissecting chicken wings in human bio

***

There’s always a little good in the bad and a little bad in the good.

My Spanish Cow (he says "Mooochas gracias!" when you squeeze his tummy) amidst a section of my dad's books

Although November's my favorite month of the year, I am very ready for December...more specifically, December break! Still, I'm going to try to remember not to waste away the time and instead really try to savour these last few weeks of '09.

Now, tell me. What's your Yin & Yang been for the past month?

Day Before Thanksgiving Traditions

Have you ever started a tradition one year and by the next you treat it as if it's been in place for your whole life? Soon enough, you start saying "No, wait. We have to go to the same place for lunch...c'mon we do it EVERY year!" Well, case in point for me is our (Lineth, Sarah, Lily, Bex, and my) half day before Thanksgiving festivities. I don't know what it is about our semi newly created pre-Thanksgiving rituals, but it truly feels like a long standing tradition (and hopefully it will continue to be!)

Last year entailed...attempts to create "band photos" (or at least what our CD cover would look like if we had one!),

running up trees,
dashing across crosswalks,
individual portraits in front of white brick walls outside of our library,
candid laughing "you never know when she's gonna take it!" shots,

Salvation Army bell ringers,

confusion at non specific directions on restaurant signs,

witnessing the chaos that is the supermarket lines the day before Thanksgiving,

seeing the first Twilight, permanent eye damage from an unbelievably bright flash,

and getting the best seats in the movie theater. As our friend Ginger said when she saw us today in our (traditional!) middle middle middle five-seater "Aw, it's like it was made for you guys!" Which is a wonderfully nice (albeit a teensy bit vain....) thing to believe.

***

SO, good news: our adventures today lived up to every bit of the fabulousness from last year. I'm going to try and get the disposable cameras developed ASAP, and I can't wait to see the results. (Ah the simultaneous frustration/excitement of disposables!) But for now, we are (finally!) onto THANKSGIVING ITSELF! Sarah and her family are coming over along with my grandparents, my dad's best friend from his old town and her dog. Lil's mom very very sadly has pneumonia and will most likely not be able to come (which is quadruply disappointing as she has come every year since we first invited her,) but yet she STILL made us a sweet potato souffle. Can you say dedication? The good news though is that Lil's still going to drive herself over (that little licensed girl, can you believe it?) and spend the night. An evening of amazing food, intensely competitive board games, and plenty of laughter will surely ensue.

Well, I must rest before I get up bright and early to see our team's (last!) football game of the season. Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

P.S Oh my word. Just read this over, and whoops...in my last two paragraphs alone I used 7 parenthese-ridden interjections. (Um, forgive me?)

She Defied the Laws of Physics

On Saturday, Chris, Jess, Matt, Emily, and I all piled into Emily's car and trekked over to Hartford for a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. Jess and I got stuck with sitting in the way back with about a foot of leg space, but I guess compared to Matt's Voldemort-like limbs, it was probably a fair deal. When we finally got to the XL Center, we waited out in the rain for a while, keeping ourselves entertained by the amazing trumpet player outside. I almost died of happiness when he started playing some Sound of Music tunes, (as it is basically my most beloved, most watched movie of all time.) Liesl=my dream part if there ever was one!
Anyway, after being ushered inside to get our seats relocated "at the relocation desk with the relocation lady!" (although we weren't really sure why) we grabbed some WAY overpriced rip-off imitations of food, (Chris's corn dog was about the size and thickness of the average person's index finger...c'mon now...lame, lame, lame) we got our new and improved seats! We were so high up (in section 228) and were almost directly across from the stage, so I was happy with them! TSO is perhaps most known for their rendition of Carol of the Bells, which they changed to make a little political this year. We agreed that they didn't get as far as actually making a point about their opinions on politics, and that it functioned more to get some ideas out there. Nevertheless, the effect of the different country flags flashing on stage looked really cool.

However, the two most spectacular parts were undoubtedly 1) the ongoing light shows (really, the crew who designed/worked on all those light stunts deserves a standing ovation of their own) and 2) the electric violinist.

Now this lady defied the laws of physics. She literally spent the entire concert whipping her hair up and down, around and around, and NOT ONCE did it get caught in the violin. As Chris pointed out, that's just not possible.

The finale involved a surprise jet-like platform and lots more hair swinging. It was awesome.

(All photos taken by me)

P.S It should be noted that when we got out, (nearly three hours later when the "light" rain had turned into more of a pouring one), the trumpet player was still at it! I gave him a dollar for his admirable stamina.

I wore this to school yesterday. This plaidenomenon has swept the nation and left behind no survivors; in fact, flannel Friday seems to be an unspoken grand ol' tradition here at the high school now. I must say, I have proudly participated. Yesterday in my literature class, we counted and I believe eight people in total were wearing some sort of plaid. I think it just looks universally awesome.
(Forever 21 plaid, gifted button earrings, Secret Treasures leggings, mom's belt)

I think I'm going to get a haircut soon. I'm planning on getting bangs at some point, but I always seem to find a new excuse not to do it...for example...it's summer! Bangs will just be annoying and get in the way...oh no...school pictures are coming up! What if the cut looks hideous?! I don't want that to be remembered...wait, the fall show is next weekend; Bonnie would slay us if we all start getting haircuts now! Oh shoot...I've just been cast in the underclassmen show...I can't change it now! So, yeah. In conclusion, I need to suck it up, stop making excuses, and get to it! (So, around January 24th...as soon as the underclassmen show is over...then I'll do it! I "promise.")
My dad and I just spent the last twenty minutes cracking up at Whose Line is it Anyway? videos. I love that show. In the words of Colin "It all started with a badly timed bald joke!"

I'll be doing a blog catch-up (yay!) with all of your lovely blogs later, but for now, good night! And sleep tight.

If Wishes Were Fishes

I need about a week in this bed to recover from the past week. I wish it was mine.

(Photo cred: Ian Aleksander Adams)
I wish Lily and I had gone on our annual apple picking before it got too late.
I wish it still looked like this at my bus stop...
...instead of like this.
Yet I think I would rather take this...
over this. I'm just all jumbled up inside!
I wish I had been waiting for a certain someone to come in the door...
...except instead of that luncheonette I wish I'd been waiting in Les Deux Magots...
(Photo cred: Zeny Cieslikowski)

...and perhaps wearing this instead.

(Vintage dress, mom's lace camisole, TJMaxx tights)

And if wishes were fishes, I know where I'd be

Casting my net in the dark rolling sea

And if my net's empty when it comes back to shore

I'll throw it away and go fishing no more

My mom’s started playing Eric Bogle again, so I know it’s getting close to the holidays. It’s just one of those things!

P.S This blows my mind. I can’t wait to find out more.