How You Remind Me

Everybody's heard the Nickelback song "How You Remind Me;" I'm going on this assumption, at least. I was in 9th grade when that song became popular at Lebanon High School, and there was always someone blaring "Never made it as a wise man, I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'....." in the student parking lot when Bran and I would drive to our respective parking spot in Big D. I form all kinds of associations with songs and events, it's just kind of how my mind works, and this song always always always reminds me of LHS football season. I went to all the games, painted my face red, white and black, wore ribbons in my hair, made tee shirts, you name it, I was as school-spirited as you could get without wearing glitter or being a cheerleader (I always wanted to be one when I was a little girl, but something in me just couldn't quite do it when I got to high school...wait, I can't remember if I did or didn't wear glitter.). Anyways, I went to LHS's homecomings game my first year of college, and that was the last time I'd been...until two weekends ago. I went to see a playoff game with my aunt and uncle and their famdamily (Morg, or Skillet as Dad calls him, plays JV) at our home field. I hadn't been to a game in 4 years, and it was so fun and awesome. Here are some pictures from the game.

"Skillet" is #87

Proud dad and little brother

And the fine gentleman in the black shirt is Doc. Doc has been a coach for LHS's football team since I can remember being in school. Some things never change. He's awesome.

And here's the famdamily minus one member...Ace, you know who you are.

When I go back to Lebanon, people always tell me how grown up I look and that they remember me when I was "this tall" (including the hand gesture that would make me 4'6"), and it's kind of difficult searching for the right response. Do you say, "Oh really? [long pause] Awesome...." It's always kind of awkward. What are you supposed to say to things like that? Yeaaaah, but seriously, my cousin Morg has really grown up, but then again, I'm not that tall. It was a great day for a football game.

Rocky Mountain High

Remember when you were a little kid in the 5 ft section of the swimming pool? You used to have to hoist yourself out of the pool because there was never a ladder near by (and it was way over your head). Well, when I was in Boulder in the summer of '08, that's how my bed was.....too tall and no ladder. I used to have to jump really high to get in bed, but I was so tired at the end of the day that it was very laborious. And then when I got out of the bed in the morning, I always expected to put my feet right onto the floor, but no, you had to slither off the bed and hit the cold tile floor with a thump on the bare feet. And it always stung and tingled badly when I did that. Sometimes when I get out of bed now and I feel that achy, tingly feeling, it always makes me think of when I lived in Boulder for 1.5 months. Great memories, best summer of my life. I don't think I've ever walked as much as I did that summer.

This was the view outside my window: Chautauqua Mountain, part of the Boulder Flatirons....Boulder's in the foothills of the Rockies: Here is a dear friend I made while in Boulder. We are standing next to a Glacial Lake at Pike's Peak: We went to Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO also. Here's a little "lake" (looked more like a pond to me) that we found called Cub Lake. The funniest part about this is that we didn't know what it was while we were there, but I was in a gift shop in Estes Park later and saw a post card that looked like this, minus me and my bra strap sitting in front of it (and it showed more of the actual "lake"):

I realize that this post may lend itself to nostalgia, but I'm enjoying the memories while writing. I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains, and if you don't already know or haven't heard, they're totally amazing. People forewarned me about the beauty of Colorado, and coincidentally, they all said the same thing, "It's a different beauty out there." I didn't know what that meant until I got there. It really is gorgeous; however, I was glad to come back home to Virginia after a month and a half. I had missed it. Two of my closest friends that I met and worked with in Boulder, J. and S., who I hope will continue to be lifelong friends, came to visit me in Charlottesville last year. We had a great visit, and I took them to see some real beauty up on Skyline Drive:

I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)

When I wake up in the morning, I always like to hit the 10 minute snooze button....more than once. And as a result, I end up scurrying around my apartment, trying to put on heels, eat breakfast, and brush my teeth at the same time. Oh, and I have to wash whatever dishes I use because the ants will come out to play if I don't, and that means the centipedes will come out to eat the ants (always at 5:20 when I get home). I guess I could just go to bed 20 minutes earlier the night before and actually wake up when I intend to, but where would the fun be in that? My goal is to leave at 8:45, as I have to be at work at 9:00, and timing is very tedious with the morning traffic. Here's why: Everybody wants to leave at 8:45, so if you actually do get out the door then, you'll be sitting in traffic with all the other people who are presumably "on time," and you'll actually walk in the door a minute past 9:00 because this time slot is classified as the "rush hour." If you leave at 8:50 because you were trying to leave at 8:45, you're just out of luck; 8:50 is the 8:45 has-been. What I mean is, you're not walking into the office before 9:05, which makes for a bad impression on the boss. So if you ever want to cut driving time, here are a few tips: when sitting at a stoplight, try to find something in your bag or open a tube of lip gloss, because by gosh, as soon as you do that, the red light will turn green every time. Can I get an amen? If you wear glasses, take them off to get a shiny clean luster on the lenses, and there you have it, that light will turn green faster than a New York minute. Put the car in Park, do some arm stretches to get your day going, only if you're in a hurry though (because it doesn't work if you're actually on time), and you'll be to work before you know it. The funniest thing about the 8:45 Has-Been (8:50), is that if you just wait 3 minutes and leave your house at 8:53, there's virtually no traffic. It's utterly amazing. How does a mile long car line cease to exist in 3 minutes? Forget leaving early; live life in the fast lane.

Yellow

I took this picture outside of World Market this past weekend; it was such an inspiring tree. I am really into green and yellow together right now; I think there's something very striking about the combination. I'm really bad with tree names, and I wish that I knew how to identify all of them by their leaves (besides maples and oaks), but don't know what the official name for this little tike is, but I think it's quite lovely. When I think of the personification of trees (not that this is a normality for me or anything), it's slightly comical to me that I always want to give them female names. I guess I was just highly influenced by The Giving Tree and the mother willow in Disney's Pochahontas....Anyways, if I were to name this tree, her name would be Lola.