Georgia on my mind

Most people take 5 days off of work to go to the Grand Canyon. Hawaii. New York. Etc. I am not most people. Last week I took off  for the great states of Georgia & Florida to see my partner in crime. 


I was expecting to lay by the pool during each 85* day, go to a bitchin Eric Church concert, be a tourist, the works. Instead my bikinis collected dust, I cooked like an Iron Chef for 3 hungry boys and a dog and spent about 8+ hours in a car and 18 on a plane back and forth. Not complaining though - I had a blast and fell in love with another po-dunk Southern town (how does this keep happening to me?)


I used to be realllllly good at taking pictures while adventuring but now I seem to having way too much fun to snap anything other than a few shoddy iPhone pics...so that's what you get. I will say that Drake White/Brantley Gilbert/Eric Church put on a helluva show - easily one of the best I've ever seen. And yes, the rumors are true...Eric Church smokes buckets of green during his sets but it's hard to care when the music's THAT GOOD. This concert had an inordinate amount of rednecks, croakies, Sperry Top Siders and visors. Good riddance Florida, have you any sense of decency? (This coming from the girl who wears a men's flannel from Wal-Mart)


I've been home for 2 days and I'm still riding that vacation high. And I've still got Georgia and it's inhabitants (...or just one) on my mind.

Hellooooo Eric!

'Merrrricaaaaa!

Major pyrotechnics on display...to hide all the subversive weed smoking

Strek and Casper, the friendly Seattle ghost. 

Reunited with one of the greatest

I Own Tonight

It's FINALLY HERE!


Tonight I've got a date with destiny. Not really, but I do have a 7 pm sing-a-long scheduled at Key Arena with these peeps. Can we say AWESOME birthday present?

Despite the fact that I detest her Cruella Deville hair and his affinity for Newsies caps, I'm excited to see them

Thumbs Up & Down

Thumbs Up

• It's Friday and I'm headed home to Oregon for the weekend
• Tomorrow is my favorite day of the year
• Lady Antebellum and I have a date in 4 days
• Headed off to meet my old friend, the sun, in Florida and Georgia next week

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Thumbs Down

• My application to RN school in South Carolina got turned down and Charleston remains my Great White Buffalo
• My right earbud is hopelessly stuck in my hair at the moment
• Going home means a 4+ hour drive after an 8+ hour work day. Thank goodness I'll have my trusty sidekick...who lets me dress her up as ET from time to time

Suri's Burn Book

Yesterday I was introduced (by my boss) to one of the funniest Tumblr's I've ever lain peeps on: Suri's Burn Book. This little piece of brilliance curated by "Suri Cruise" (daughter of TomKat) is a deadpan chronicle of various other Hollywood half-pints and their decided lack of sartorial judgement. She frequently mocks her famous parental units and gives the general public snippets of her aristocratic penchants and plebian distaste. The way she relentlessly mocks the Affleck family's affinity for Croc's, shapeless hand-me-downs and altogether lack of taste is beyond entertaining. Rarely do I actually laugh out loud when blog trolling but this one got a few out me.  


Some of my favorites include:

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 "Tom really wants us to start pairs-skating competitively. I told him not until his triple toe loop improves and only if our team name can be The Princess & the Pea. "

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 "This is the grossest thing I’ve seen since Katie decided leggings are pants. Oh, Valentina, I just hope you are fully vaccinated."

Totally Taking Credit For This

From Ben the Bachelor's final blog on People.com (collective "Hallelujahs!" are in order):

"My final blog as The Bachelor. Aside from having hair that looked like a water buffalo, the day I proposed was an exciting day. This damn hair. Maybe it is time for a cut." 

Clearly he read my blog yesterday. And OBVIOUSLY my words were the straw that broke the water buffalo's back. T'will be the best day ever when he lops the ole' mop. Though initially slightly confused at his mammalian reference (Water Buffs don't really have hair), I googled the African beast and found this:

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Though without a discernible coif it looks like these creatures enjoy getting themselves in deep you-know-whatttttt. Ben's proved that he's good at the same so perhaps the comparison is well deserved after all.

That just happened

Can we PLEASE talk about the Bachelor? 


Like everyone else in the nation I said a collective, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" (yet was not surprised) when I saw Lindzi's green velvet cape (WTHell was with the capes and elbow gloves???) exit the first mountaintop helicopter. My eyes shot daggers into Chris Harrison's back as he hugged and wished her luck on what was soon to become a death march up to her waiting caveman in shining armor. With every step I begged her to open her eyes, fully absorb his shallow ways and revolting hairstyle, and RUN FOR THE HILLS. The worst part? When Ben uttered that inevitable "but" and you saw the realization of impending rejection flash across Lindzi's face. Yet she was a picture of class to the very end, failing to give America the 30 seconds of snotty blubbering and running mascara that every other Bachelor reject usually does. Despite my aversion to the shaggy bangs perpetually in her face and cavernous dimples, I liked the girl and was hoping she'd have the cojones to tell him, "Don't bother walking me out" and chuck deuces to the Sonoman neanderthal.

Courtney, oh Courtney. Where do I begin? With your irritating lip bite, mouth pursing (see below) or habitual hair tucking? No, how about with your greatest talents - becoming America's favorite villian in a few short weeks and weaseling your way past Ben's limited sensibilities and winning the worst season ever of The Bachelor. Congratulations on your Swiss engagement and being despised by the general public. Most of all, enjoy wearing a $65,000 ring your fiancee didn't pay for!

And now I have a few notes for Mr. Flajnik hisself...


1. Ben, your hair is atrocious. It solidly aligns you with the Geico caveman and Francine from the hit show "Arthur". I know it must be really easy to sit down with your mom's hairdresser and say, "I'll have what she's having" but please, take a long, hard look in the mirror and CUT YOUR HAIR. Or, at the very least, wash and comb it.

2. Ben...where is your personal pride and sense of style? I'm not a fashion guru but I do know that an olive henley and sleeveless tuxedo jacket do not an outfit make. I also know that former Bachelorette Ali started her season wearing Converse and oversized t-shirts, but allowed the show to hone her style into something a little more refined yet still tomboyish. Your style however, has steadily declined and settled nicely into the "Put a vest on it" (a la Portlandia) comfort zone. 

3. Ben, I'm a big believer in second chances. But this season was your second chance. You were quasi-beloved by America after Ashley's televised rejection but you really put your worst foot forward this season. You seemed exceptionally fickle and, like many foolish men, easily wooed by women with long legs, low self-esteem and maniacal laughs (coughCourtneycough). If you truly consider yourself a friend, please recluse back to the vineyard from which you came and keep your troglodyte ways far, far away from the public eye. 

What the heck did YOU think of last night's finale? 

Brought to You By...This One

My upcoming weekend, brought to you by "this one".

1. Saturday roomie time BTYB...this one

2. Keepin' it bourgeois at the Magnuson Park Frenchie Frolic BTYB...this one

3.  Sunday brunch BTYB...this one

 4. Weekend shenanigans BTYB...these ones

5. Dinner and debauchery BTYB...this one

Full steam ahead, shall we?

Do What You Love

It's been about 7 weeks now that I've known I'm going to be a nurse. Creighton University was the first of four accelerated nursing programs I heard back from, making me ecstatic and terrified all at once. Ecstatic to see a lifelong hope realized, to have an institution say, "We believe in you!" and to finally get the opportunity to do what I love.


But dreams coming true are kind of scary, are they not? They portend large doses of change and generally involve leaving comfort zones behind, new experiences and the unknown. 


Initially when I got accepted I kept thinking, "Omaha...ughhhhh". My prayers were riddled with, "Please let me get in somewhere else". Yet now that I've had some time to stew on it I have to say, the Big O is growing on me. Maybe that's due to all the Omaha research I've been doing  but perhaps it's also The Big Guy's way of preparing me for a move to the Cornhusker state (I do look good in red). 


I accepted Creighton's offer with the knowledge that IF I get in elsewhere, I can forfeit my deposit and accept another school. But as I wait to hear back from three more schools (any day now!), I keep feeling more and more assured that Omaha is where I'm supposed to go. My tune may change if I get into Portland or Charleston (both closer to my nearest and dearest) but I'm really preparing my heart to be 100% okay if I get three rejection letters in the coming months. 


Fun fact: What about New Orleans? I also applied to LSU but neglected to mention it so far in this post. Well, CNN recently came out with a cute little feature on how the Big Easy is also known as the most murderous city in the nation. 1 in every 1,700 people gets murdered in NOLA and I'll be damned if I'm one of them so I'm completely fine with a rejection from LSU. 

Solidarity

At times, my younger brother and I have joked that we must be Irish twins or something because of how eerily close we are - we finish each others sentences and can generally sense what the other is doing. Though 18 months apart in age, we're about as close as two siblings could get and not be grossly codependent. We despised each other growing up but ended up going to college together and lived 2 floors apart in the dorms.  He even braved a household of 5 women for a summer and slept on my dining room floor. When I moved back to the Emerald from Texas, Spence and I got a condo and settled into a happy rhythm until he took up the vagabond's lifestyle in Colorado.


I live life vicariously through Spencer at times. The boy has an unquenchable wanderlust and the spirit of an adventurer and I get giddy when he calls or Skypes to relay his latest and greatest. This weekend I knew he was heading to Vegas for a boy's trip. He called a couple nights ago and all I could make out was, "...some black guys. You can see on Facebook". My interpretation of that was: Sweet! He made friends with some black guys. Pics are on FB. Got it. But as I was making dinner last night, I got a worrisome call from my mom referring to Spencer's Vegas weekend and Facebook. I called him and, turns out, he got two black eyes from a nice little scuffle with his bestie. When you mix booze and Vegas there's really no telling what will come out, am I right? Poor boy thinks his nose may be broken. 

Davy Crockett and I must have subconsciously known this happened though. Because yesterday morning she did her damnedest to break my nose so that I'd be in solidarity with Spence. The little twerp got so jazzed to go potty, she rocketed right into my face as I opened the door. Blood and tears were everywhere and vomit threatened to be if I didn't lie down and call my mom to cry (which I did...at 6 am). But somehow the universe must have known his nose was hurting so mine needed to as well. Thanks, Universe. Luckily my glasses hide the bruising but I'm waiting with baited breath to be sure that:


A) It's not broken and


B) I still have the best nose in the Barnes family.


Stay tuned...

They Color My World

After a few blue weeks, I really needed this weekend. One filled with my pup and my man and my folks. One filled with laughter and actual sunshine, rich conversations and time spent with the ones that color my world. 

And it was so perfect and I loved it so much that I didn't take a single family pic. Not one. But I can tell you we spoiled my sweet mama on Saturday and shared an amazing meal at Purple, celebrating her upcoming 55th birthday and 10 years of teaching full-time (17 years teaching in total). She babysits teaches 8th graders, which officially makes her a saint in my book. After taking the mister to the airport early yesterday morning, we trekked down to Washington's own redneck paradise, Cabela's, and had ourselves a blast. 

Oh and remember my lofty cooking goal? It was a smashing success. On top of whipping out CrockPot pulled pork with homemade 'slaw, I pulled off a tray or two of tasty bruschetta and Taza's delish puffed pancakes. Go me! As a pat on the back I treated myself to two movies this week: Safe House and Act of Valor (both great) and as congratulatory gesture for my culinary wins, Davy Crockett peed on my bathroom floor and gave me a sweet bloody nose to start off my morning. 

He colors my world and I willingly exacerbate his. 

Weekend Plans?

If you don't have weekend plans yet, might I suggest falling in love with Friday Night Lights?

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After hearing about the now off-the-air show from tons of people over the years, I started watching 3 weeks ago and was instantly hooked. And by hooked I mean, I watched all 5 seasons in less than 2 weeks. Don't judge me. I have a very cuddly dog and lots of free time. Hands down, this is the best show I've ever seen and (major plus) it's got all my favorite things: 


Texas, football and hot men (see below). 

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It's honest, thought-provoking and truly authentic. Throughout the show I kept thinking, "They DO do that exact thing in Texas! They DO say that in Texas!" It wasn't a Hollywood interpretation of Texas. It was filmed in Austin and every show is true, blue Texan to the core. Each episode was like a time warp back to my year in Del Rio and made me fall further in love with the Great Lone Star State. Best of all, the relationship showcased between Coach and Tami Taylor is probably television's healthiest marriage of all time. 

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Do yourself a favor and start watching. Mayyyyybe not the entire series in 13 days, but start watching and see if you don't get head-over-heels hooked. The entire series is on Netflix, which is a one month free trial. Do it!


Texas FOREVER.