We've Got a Lot of Bricks

This song has been passed around on Facebook over the last week, and I can't remember on whose profile I first saw it. 

Anyway, it's a rap about my college: Hendrix College.

The lyrics are below, and they crack me up. If you're not a fellow Hendrix grad, you will probably find this of no real value. But come on, what other school has its own rap? 

And, yes, we do have a lot of bricks. 

"Black and Orange" by Hendrix College's Dylan Reed and Connor Silvestri

Yeah, uh huh, Hendrix College is

Black and Orange

Black and Orange

Black and Orange

Black and Orange

(x2)

Yeah, uh huh

Hendrix College is

the only way to go

so we do it big

Yeah, uh huh

we the best around

cuz every time you're here it's always goin' down.

We reppin our school

you can see it's got a lot of bricks

(black and orange(x4))

I promise you

no other school as a brick pit

(black and orange(x4))

Black and Orange,

not just for Halloween,

it's hendrix college

and we keep it green

i'm working in the lab

on my biology

then i gotta turn around

and do psychology

im born to be a warrior, in fact,

we got sports and intramurals all over the wac

and don't be so appalled

but we've never lost a single game of football at all

at all

Yeah, uh huh

Hendrix College is

the only way to go

so we do it big

Yeah, uh huh

we the best around

cuz every time you're here it's always goin' down.

We reppin our school

you can see it's got a lot of bricks

(black and orange(x4))

I promise you

no other school as a brick pit

(black and orange(x4))

yeah, hendrix college man

we live it up

i bleed black and orange

when i get a cut

man i swear

it's the best school in the world

we've got bricks all around

and 100 thousand squirrels

study in the day

party hard through the night

wake up

go to class

do it again

it's alright

friday night

if somebody asks where i'm at

i'm gon' say hendrix college

number one in the SCAC

Yeah, uh huh

Hendrix College is

the only way to go

so we do it big

Yeah, uh huh

we the best around

cuz every time you're here it's always goin' down.

We reppin our school

you can see it's got a lot of bricks

(black and orange(x4))

I promise you

no other school as a brick pit

(black and orange(x4))

Hey if you rep black and orange

then stop what you're doing

put your hands up

i said

hey if you represent this school

put ya hands up

put ya hands up

i said

Hey if you rep black and orange

then stop what you're doing

put your hands up

i said

hey (x9)

Yeah, uh huh

Hendrix College is

the only way to go

so we do it big

Yeah, uh huh

we the best around

cuz every time you're here it's always goin' down.

We reppin our school

you can see it's got a lot of bricks

(black and orange(x4))

I promise you

no other school as a brick pit

(black and orange(x4))




I'm not sure what the lyrics, and grammar, of the song say about my education, but when have you rapped about your college lately? 

Your Face

This post is really just a note to my hubby who has been out of town on business for two weeks. 

YOUR FACE

P.S. Thanks for the picture, Laura. I kinda stole it from the Internet ;)

The Dust

Bunny bit it. 

Grace's bunny from Christmas, see here, was not torn up in the predictable manner. It's lasted since Christmas. Usually, Grace tears a whole in her soft toys, and then pulls all the stuffing out over days. But Bunny has survived quite some time. 

Not so tonight. 

After carrying it around for weeks and weeks, Grace finally pulled and tore a hole in Bunny tonight. After that, it was all over. All the stuffing came out. I was sure to find the squeaker so she wouldn't swallow it.

But don't worry. Grace is still carry Bunny around the house. She still has plenty of love for it, after tearing its guts out. 

See her in action:

2011 Resolutions

Better late than never is what I told them.

Porter and Grace finally added their 2011 resolutions to their page. 

Click on The Animals tab above to see!

Snow Day!

We saw more snow today in the South. 

Grace got a face full.

This very intent look?

Stick had been covered with snow, and she was contemplating getting wet and cold to retrieve it.

What do you think she did?

Porter enjoyed the snow from the indoors. You can tell from his yawn that he was less than impressed.

HAPPY SNOW DAY

Friday News Round Up

I'm not one to do a random post very often, but here's a little list of somethings rolling around in my mind at the close of this week. 

1. American Express emailed us our bill on Christmas day. Seriously? Can't I at least open my presents and play with my toys before you slam the bill in my face? Terrible.


2. It's been cold, and so I've been wearing my "softies" a lot. Softies are things like fleece jackets and pants and fuzzy socks. Because of this, and the fact that both Porter and Grace stretch out and roll around on our carpet floor upstairs, we've been a shocking family. Grace will come over and put her head on my lap, and BAM. A shot of electricity jumps between us. I'll pet Porter and BAM, a shot of electricity bounces around. Poor animal children probably think I've turned into a witch and gained powers. 

3. I've started drinking my morning coffee with chocolate, or drinking my hot chocolate with coffee. Whichever way you prefer. It's delicious! I use several scoops of my William Sonoma hot chocolate, and then brew the coffee right on top of it with our new Keurig. All supplies mentioned are from my in-laws. Thanks! Some mornings I even add a marshmallow for good measure. 

4. I've very excited to report that I've ordered a new camera strap for myself. I ordered it from Swanky Camera Couture. 
 I can't wait to receive it, and show it off!

5. HAPPY WEEKEND

Scorpio For Life

I have a new Zodiac sign apparently. Or in my case, two. These "new" date are explained pretty well in this article.

It actually comes down to a difference in the Western and true Hindu/sidereal zodiac calendars. The Hindu dates are what you're hearing about on the news recently. Here they are : 

The Hindu Dates:

Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11
Pisces: March 11- April 18
Aries: April 18 - May 13
Taurus: May 13 - June 21
Gemini: June 21 - July 20
Cancer: July 20 - Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10 - Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16 - Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30 - Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23 - Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 - Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17 - Jan. 20

So as an October 30 birthday girl, this chart shows me as a Virgo and a Libra. 

Apparently Wikipedia has known about the discrepancies all along. Here are its definitions: 

Virgo (♍) is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Virgo. In western astrology, the sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. Virgo is traditionally ruled by the planet Mercury. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in Virgo roughly from August 24 to September 22, leaving it at the moment of autumnal equinox, by definition. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from September 16 to October 30.
(You can read about traits of the Virgo here.)


Libra (♎) is the seventh astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Libra. In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Libra is considered a "feminine", positive (extrovert) sign. It is also considered an air sign and is one of four cardinal signs.^[2] Libra is ruled by the planet Venus (which also rules Taurus). Being the seventh sign of the zodiac, Libra has been associated with the astrological seventh house.
Individuals born when the Sun was in this sign are considered Libra individuals. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun enters Libra on the moment of autumnal equinox by definition on September 23, leaving it on October 21. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly around October 19 and November 16.
(You can read about traits of a Libra here.)

Scorpio (♏) is the eighth astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Scorpius. Scorpio is considered a feminine, negative (introverted) sign by most modern astrologists. It is also considered a water sign and one of the four fixed signs.^[2] Traditionally, the planet Mars has been considered to be the ruler of Scorpio. But since its discovery in modern times, Pluto has been considered the primary ruler, with Mars as co-ruler. As the eighth sign in the zodiac, Scorpio is associated with the astrological eighth house. The lower arrow pointing up in the Scorpio symbol represents the venomous tail of the Scorpion or claw of wolf.
Individuals born when the Sun is in this sign are considered Scorpio individuals and are extremely powerful. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun enters Scorpio on October 23 and exits on November 22. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from November 16 through December 15. The Sanskrit name of Scorpio in Hindu astrology is Vṛścika. However, since Vedic Astrology employs the Sidereal Zodiac, rather than the Tropical Zodiac, their "Scorpio" actually corresponds to the sign of Sagittarius in the West; consequently, Scorpios born in the West would be considered "Libras" in the Vedic system.
 (You can read traits of a Scorpio here.)

Doesn't Scorpio sounds so much cooler? I'm sticking with it. No offense Libra and Virgo.

Why I Broke Up With Google Reader...And You Should Too

I admit it. I've been using Google Reader for more than a year now. 

For those of you who don't know about it, Google Reader is a service that allows you to save the blogs you read onto one page. 

It's like a subscription service almost. 

When you want to check on your favorite blogs, you go to your Google Reader account, and you'll see a list of all the blogs you've saved.

 

The neat thing is that you can see which blogs have been updated since you read them last. 

See the bold ones? That shows that I haven't read the latest posts.

To read these un-read blog posts, you simply click on the name, and you can read the blog in the same window. 

No need to remember the web address for the specific blogs. They are just there!

However, this is what you see: 

When in fact, this is what the actual blog post looks like:

Can you see that when you read this post on Google Reader, you don't see the blog design? You only see the content from the post. Not the blog design. 

This also means that if the blog has advertisements on it (as mine does, and most others do) the writer of that blog does not gain impressions, and therefore money, on those ads from Google Reader.

So as a blogger, and a blogger who has her own advertisements, and as a blogger who enjoys seeing each person's blog design, which includes additional pages, I have broken up with Google Reader. 

I don't want people reading my blog on Google Reader. I want my penny from you viewing that ad! And, I really like my blog design/background. So I'm following the "do unto others" thing, and I will no longer be using Google Reader. 

I think the technology and the convenience makes it a great product, but I don't think it supports the creativity of the blogger. So we broke up. 

How do you read blogs? Save them all as favorites on your browser? Through Google Reader? An RSS feed? Type in each address every day?

Cat & Dog

So Chris sent me this, and I think it was from a co-worker. 

While that isn't Porter's nor Grace's photo, I'm pretty sure my animals wrote this.

I Got Shellaced!

No, it's nothing painful. It's a new manicure technique. 

You can read more about it here:

Say Hello to Shellac - CND

Basically, they bake your nails under the blue-light box after each layer. 

I had it done at The Nail Bar on the Island with some friends. 

I had my shellacing on December 22nd, and today, January 7, 2011, I have NO chips. They really do still look shiny and perfect. 

The only problem is that my nails have grown, and you can see my regular nails below the polish now. It's obviously time to take it off--which you can do by soaking in acetone--but they still overall look so good that it's difficult.

The shellac manicure costs more than a regular manicure, but it truly does last longer. Therefore the price makes sense to me.

So get shellaced!!

***This is not a paid advertisement. I just like my nails!***

Book It!

Do y'all remember the reading program Book It from grade school? We got pins with stickers, and for every 10 books you read, you got a free personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut. 

I ate a lot of pizza in grade school. 

I miss things like that. Now if I eat a lot of pizza, I just gain weight--not revered for my reading skills. 

Chris and I own a lot of books, and one of my favorite collections of books is my cookbook collection. 

I enjoy cooking so much that I'm always up for a new cookbook, filled with inspiration and recipes that I will cook once and then re-cook my way.

Anyway, my cookbooks have recently been stored in the cabinets above the microwave. This was sad for a few reasons. Mostly because I am short, and reaching them was a hassle. The other sad part was that they were hidden from the world....and me really. 

Thankfully, I have a VERY talented friend who makes furniture. Real, live furniture. And, one of you observant blog readers noticed my new bookcase in my kitchen. 

She made this!!!

And the CORKS holder on top. Yep, she's amazing.

Can you believe it? It even has cute, cute bead board in the back. 

It even has subtle distressing on the edges, which makes it fit in perfectly in my house.

So now my cookbooks have their own pretty home, and I can gaze upon then whenever I wish.

 

THANKS, LAURA!!

The Finale of 2010

Years, and years, ago, when I used to dance, and therefore had dance recitals, the last number of the show was always the finale. 

Each group would perform one or more times throughout the show, and at the end, everyone would come back on stage for a big show number together. 

That's what this blog post is. The finale when everyone comes together, and to gather, at the end.

First the short performances/stories:

I am fascinated with pelicans. I'm just sure they are true dinosaurs, and I wish they could talk to us. They fly so slowly, and I was lucky to catch this guy right over our heads. 

It's easy to work on symmetrical shots and architectural elements where we stay. And the guy doesn't look too bad either. 

This is how the beach looked most days. My fair skin was thankful to keep the sunshine away, but the dreary weather made for a lazy-feeling trip. Oh wait, we were on vacation, so it's all good!

My family!

I've got to stop my nonsense.  I might need an intervention. Think it would make it on TLC?

I LOVE THIS PHOTO

And this one is great! Thanks Jack for stepping behind the camera :)

Just playing with the lines. Kind of a neat shot.

New Year's Eve night we have even more friends and family over, and celebrate with a seafood feast. 

Thankfully, the feast includes goody bags that pop open and always contain paper crowns. 

They make for such fun photos. 

After dinner, we walked through the town for a bit to see what was going on, and to kill some time before midnight. 

I hate that this one is blurry, but I'm posting it anyway. For it to have been taken in total darkness, it's not all that bad. 

Chris decided he wanted one more group photo before we headed back inside. Jack had to make sure we didn't miss the champagne toast and countdown. 

One more try!

Then, before we could get away, a guy, who might have been drinking all day, walked by and asked if we wanted him to take our photo. I actually didn't want him to touch my camera, but I said a little prayer and handed it over to the kind, but swaying gentleman. 

Good thing he didn't cut our heads off. 

Then it was time to toast the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. Mom did the honors. 

We all decided that 2010 was pretty good, but we have high hopes for 2011. 

Let Me Get My Face On

Most of the time on vacation, I'm in softies (comfy clothes) and don't wear a stitch of makeup. The title of this post, "Let Me Get My Face On," is something I've heard my grandmother say, referring to putting makeup on. I've begun to use it also. As in, Chris is ready to go somewhere, and I'll say, "Give me a second. I've got to get my face on."

So this post is dedicated to those times during vacation that I put my face on.

 

 That didn't take long, did it?

The Best Christmas Gift of All

A VACATION

Seriously, taking a vacation, leaving the day after Christmas, is just such a brilliant plan.

You're on a high from all the Christmas festivities, but also kind of tired and over wrought after the packages, wrapping paper, gift-giving, etc. 

So my family packs up and heads to the beach the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. 

Brilliant.

This was the setting for our week of relaxation. 

Do I look relaxed? Cold maybe, but also relaxed.

All of these outdoor photos were taken with the polarized filter Chris got me for Christmas. A very thoughtful gift, and it was fun because I got to test it out right away.

Doesn't my man's silhouette look thoughtful as he ponders life while walking the beach alone? 

That evening we hung out at the house and opened some gifts with the family. 

I LOVE this photo. I think it looks just like them, if that makes sense. 

Two of my favorite people.

Family and friends!

The girls.

Okay, this photo makes me laugh out loud. I look so creepy! It doesn't even look like me at all. (hopefully) 

I feel like there is a Disney villain, or sidekick, who I look like. Hilarious!

That's how much I love you blog world, I'm sharing photos like this one. 

Let's end with a cute pic of the girls so you won't have nightmares.

Thankfully, there are more beach posts to come so this one will soon be pushed out of your memory. Feel free to leave me a comment with the Disney character I resemble. 

In the picture up there, people!