Dazed and Confused

Ok, so I don't really get Halloween anymore.
I understood Halloween when it was like this:

And I understood Halloween when it was like this:

I still understood it when it was like this, too:

But somewhere between this:

and this:

I got lost.  Baffled.  Confounded.  Muddled.  Perplexed.  Puzzled.  I just don't get it.
When did Halloween become so inappropriate?  So tasteless?  So... slutty?

When did the goal of Halloween become to show as much skin as humanly possible without being naked?  What happened to good old-fashioned creativity and a little homegrown ingenuity? 

I haven't dressed up for Halloween since college, and, being that I was never a big Halloween fanatic anyway, I haven't really missed donning a thrown-together costume and swilling down hunch-punch at some equally thrown-together house party.  Call me old-fashioned (or just old, if you like), but I've moved on.  (Let's be quite honest, the part of Halloween that gets me is this:)

I don't mean to sound harsh, but I just don't understand.  In all honesty, I just don't get it.
I mean, honestly, do nurses really dress like this:

Does a police officer go out in her cruiser dressed like this:

I work in a school.  How often do I see anyone dressed like this:

And, seriously, could Pochahontas have canoed all over creation (not to mention painted with all the colors of the wind) wearing only this:

It baffles me.
And not to mention the message it's sending to younger kids, who want to look grown up and dress like they see older people dressing.  (My job now creeps into every facet of my life... it's a knee-jerk reaction I have no control over.)

What's so wrong with dressing like this:

Or even this:

I know, I know... I'm 100 years old.  I can't help it.  It'd be fine with me if everyone created their Halloween costumes from objects lying around their houses--creating masterpieces out of cardboard boxes and pipe-cleaners, but I know (sadly) that's not the way of the world these days.

On a happier note, I'm so excited to see the Bulldogs play today!  I can't wait to see them take on Kentucky tonight, and I cannot believe how pumped up everyone is.  I'll leave you with this video someone put together in preparation for the game tonight.  Go Dogs!!



Happy Halloween!  (I'm not really sour, you know, just an old soul.)

Weekend Update

So, before you say anything...
I know I've been slacking big time lately in the blog department. 
Can I blame the insanity that is work and school 100%?  I hope so... because I am.
Work is absolutely nuts most days and every day is a new adventure, but I really like what I'm doing, and I love the people I'm doing it with.  I'm beyond blessed by all of the wonderful people who have entered my life during the past thirteen weeks (thirteen weeks... how nuts is that?!), and I'm so thankful for their guidance, wisdom, and influence.
This past Friday I took my master's comp exam.  I'm not going to pretend I aced it; I'm not even going to pretend it was remotely easy.  It was quite the opposite, actually.  In other words, it was really, really hard.  In fact, it might have been the hardest test I've ever taken to date, but, you know what?  Lord willing I passed, and it's over.
Friday night Lindsey and I went to downtown Columbus' Ghosts & Legends tour.  It was admittedly cheesy, but it was a good time and a new and different look at my hometown (which is not easy to come by in a place I've lived for almost twenty-six years).  It was great to get to hang out with Lindsey and a fun night all around.

Saturday I spent the day/night in Starkville tailgating and cheering on the Bulldogs.  Did I hear someone say bowl eligible??  I couldn't be more excited about our postseason possiblities, and, although Saturday night's game wasn't pretty, I'm always excited to add another 'W'.  I had the greatest, most relaxing day, and it was so great to be able to enjoy such a leisurely Saturday in one of my most favorite places in the world.

I've got another busy week this week, but I'm excited to be back in Starkville Saturday to see the Bulldogs take on Kentucky.  I'm hoping we can keep this winning streak going, and I'm excited to hang out with so many of my favorites again, too.
Oh, and how could I forget to mention my favorite new thing in my life...

Fro-yo has arrived in Starkville!!  As you may know, I have been a little obsessed with the frozen yogurt phenom since my Spring Break trip to Dallas.  Therefore, ever since I first heard of Starkville's very own yogurt store opening, I couldn't wait for that great day.  And now it's come!  Local Culture opened Thursday, I've already been twice, and I love it so much already.  I'm so thrilled that fro-yo is making a comeback.

The Winds of Autumn

Today is the first day of fall.  Although it doesn't feel like it here (according to my car, it was a sweltering steamy 98 degrees when I left work this afternoon), it's starting to look a little bit like autumn, and there's a tease of the changing season in the morning air.  In tribute to all the good things that come along with this my favorite time of the year, I thought I'd kick off the season with, of course, a list.  (Y'all know they're my favorite.)
101 Things to Love about Fall

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house, so I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."--Nathaniel Hawthorne

1.  Cardigans
2.  Scarecrows
3.  Flannel sheets
4.  Reese's peanut butter pumpkins
5.  Apple cider
6.  Bales of hay
7.  Class reunions
8.  Trick-or-treating
9.  Pumpkins

10.  Cinnamon

11.  Chili

12.  Indian summer

13.  Pumpkin patches

14.  Your favorite old worn blanket

15.  Turtlenecks

16.  Caramel apples

17.  Carving pumpkins

18.  Beautiful sunsets

19.  Passing houses decorated with pumpkins and mums

20.  Suede

21.  Halloween
22.  Harvest moon

23.  Halloween parties

24.  Pretty fields ready to be harvested

25.  Cornfield mazes

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."--William Cullen Bryant

26.  College football

27.  Huddling under a blanket at football games

28.  Candy corn

29.  Tailgating

30.  Ghost stories

31.  Haunted houses

32.  Cool weather

33.  Halloween candy

34.  The warmth and comfort of home

35.  New fall TV

36.  Tailgate food

37.  Rosy cheeks

38.  Leaves changing

39.  Sweaters

40.  Rainy afternoons

41.  Smell of burning leaves

42.  Corduroy

43.  Raking leaves

44.  Bonfires
45.  Boots
46.  Fall weddings

47.  High school football

48.  Scarves

49.  Cozy socks

50.  Fall mums

"Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up.  What was is not and never again will be; what is, is change."--Edwin Way Teale

51.  Warm pajamas

52.  Wind blowing the leaves

53.  Jumping into a big pile of leaves

54.  Bourbon

55.  Neil Diamond's September Morn

56.  Building the first fire

57.  Driving with the windows down

58.  James Taylor's October Road

59.  Hot chocolate

60.  Sleeping with the windows up

61.  Rosemary Clooney's Shine on Harvest Moon

62.  Burning candles that just smell like fall

63.  Argyle

64.  The juxtaposition of life and death

65.  Cowboy boots

66.  Dark nail polish

67.  Hearty foods

68.  Hayrides

69.  Cool mornings turning to warm afternoons

70.  Decorating for Halloween

71.  New school supplies

72.  Apples

73.  Cold fingers and noses

74.  Fall colors:  orange, red, rellow, and brown

75.  Walking through crunching leaves

"Deep inside, we're still the boys of autumn, that magic time of the year that once swept us onto America's fields."--Archie Manning

76.  Nutmeg

77.  Shorter days

78.  Letter jackets

79.  Bobbing for apples

80.  Thanksgiving

81.  Pep rallies

82.  Mini pumpkins

83.  Gourds

84.  Scary movies

85.  Wool coats

86.  Indian corn

87.  Fall festivals

88.  New fall clothes

89.  Homecoming

90.  It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

91.  Remember the Titans

92.  Pumpkin pie

93.  Hocus Pocus

94.  Walks in the woods

95.  Tomato soup and grilled cheese

96.  Reading outside on a fall afternoon

97.  Holidays

98.  Long-sleeved t-shirts

99.  Harvest

100.  Apple pie

101.  Rogue cotton on the side of the road

"The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."--Eric Sloane

Happy first day of fall!!

Family Ties

"Love is stronger than death, even though it can't stop death from happening.  No matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love.  It can't take away our memories, either.  In the end, life is stronger than death."--Author unknown
Tonight I am lifting up the Perkins family.  Since Spencer's tragic accident ten days ago, they have been forefront in my mind, and tonight is no different.  I am certainly not alone in sending up prayer after prayer for this family, for our entire community--and especially the Heritage Academy family--have been lifting them up together.
I can personally attest to the support, power, love, and strength of the Heritage family.  This group of people has been there for me and my own family time and time again.  After my dad's death; before, during, and after both of my mom's knee replacements and the complications that followed; and, at other times throughout my life--they've always been there.  Through my own highs and lows, successes and failures, they've been there every time.  Without their support and strength, I'm not sure I would have been able to withstand what was happening around me.
Once you're a member of the Heritage family, you're a member forever.  I started kindergarten at Heritage in the fall of 1990, and I've been a member of the Heritage family ever since.  Just because you graduate or move or leave for some reason doesn't mean you have to turn in your key; you're a part of this group forever.  I spent 13 years of my life walking those halls and formed lifelong friendships and connections there.  When I think of coming home to Columbus, the people I'm eager to see and catch up with are people that Heritage brought into my life.  Good or bad, for better or worse, I have a connection to the other members of my Heritage family, and it's a tie that cannot be severed.  Because we're small, we can't help but feel close-knit, and, when one of us is in trouble, we rally together in support.  Tonight the Perkins family needs our love and our support, our strength and our comfort, our thoughts and our prayers.
I know the coming days will be difficult for the Perkins, and I pray the intricacies of our daily life will not distract us from remembering how much they still need us.  Although Spencer was young, he made a huge impact on the people and the world around him, and there now exists an unfillable hole in the lives of many.  In unexpected tragedies such as this one, there is obviously no time to prepare for what is to come, which is, I think, both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing in that every moment of life up to the tragedy is lived fully; a curse in the sheer cruelty of unexpectedness.  Having endured this same type of unexpected tragedy myself, I can imagine some of the pain this family will face in the coming days, and I pray we will stay with them.  Love them, comfort them, and support them through our words, our touch, our presence, and, of course, our prayers.
To Mr. Tim, Mrs. Paula, Sparks, Sophie, and Sawyer:  know that we are with you.  We love and cherish you as if you are members of our own family, for that is really what you are.  You are treasured members of the Heritage Academy family, and we wouldn't be the same without you.  We'll hold you up until you regain your strength, and we'll keep Spencer's memory alive in our hearts.  Keep him alive in yours, too.  Talk about him, laugh about him, cry about him, remember him.  His time on Earth is through, but the impact he made can never be erased.  We love you; we're here for you; we're praying for you.
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."--Psalm 34:18

Come September

I know I've been away forever, but things have just been too too busy.  Between work and class and work for class, life has been pretty full.  I have really started to enjoy my internship, but that's another post for another day.  Today is all about the fact that September is here, and I couldn't be happier about it.
Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward to This September:
10.  Wedding parties and celebrations for several of my closest friends.
9.  This weekend's beach trip to Destin.
8.  The premier of Joaquin Phoenix's new documentary, I'm Still Here, detailing his decision to give up acting and pursue a career in rap.  Kidding... sort of.
7.  The autumnal equinox... fall's official arrival!
6.  New fall TV.  I couldn't be more ready for some new Glee in my life.
5.  International Chocolate Day, September 13.  It's a for real holiday; look it up.
4.  College football.  And by that I mean tailgating.  Oh, and seeing all my favorites, of course.
3.  Labor Day holiday... no school!
2.  Cooler weather.  Did someone say 'cardigan'?
1.  Seeing Jerry Seinfeld's comedy show in Memphis with Katie.  I can't even make sense enough to express how excited I am about this.... eeeeeeeeeeee, I can't wait!!

Big Time or Bust

Tomorrow I start my internship.
I don't really know what I'm doing; I have no idea what I'm wearing; I'm not even sure what time I'm supposed to be there in the morning.  I'm flying by the seat of my pants, and that's a way I've never flown before, believe me.  I would much prefer coach, where I can make my own rules, decisions, and beverage choices, but God gave me this boarding pass, and I think He's pretty particular about sticking to the seat to which you were assigned. 
I am really, really nervous and excited and scared and intimidated and freaking out all at once, and I know that tomorrow morning I'm going to enter a different world that will consume my life for the next ten months.  I feel the winds of change blowing in, and I feel like this year is going to be big.  In a lot of ways.  In a lot of great ways.
As said best by the Black Eyed Peas... let's get it started! 
'Cause, let's be honest, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
I found this little blurb in a random magazine today and thought it was sort of appropriate for the attitude I'm trying to adopt for the year.  A sort of This Is The Time lifestyle.  Here goes:

"Hey, it's ok!
... to laugh so loudly that everybody stares.
... to spend a whole happy hour making up names for that band you all are totally going to start one day.
... if the erotic appeal of toe-sucking utterly baffles you.
... to not have the kind of dad who plays golf, wears ties and serves as your personal ATM. (Hear that, greeting card people?)
... if you have a 'type.'  The heart wants what it wants.  Also, the loins.  They want what they want, too.
... to tell him you'll need more than a drawer at his place.  Please:  counter space in the bathroom, room in the closet and a spot for your soy milk.  Let's be real.
... to have a couple of holdover phrases from high school that you just can't get rid of.  Sweet!"

Some of those do not apply to me at all, and if you know me at all you will quickly see which ones I could leave off. You get the drift, though... it's okay to be who you are. I know that may sound elementary to some, but, on this night before I begin a year of working with hundreds of students from kindergarten to twelfth grade (who could say or do God only knows what at any moment, mind you), it was a point of which I was glad to be reminded. It's okay to be who I am... today, tomorrow, and the day after that.
Wish me luck tomorrow, friends.  Let's just hope I don't immediately get off on the wrong foot by saying something wholly uncool or walking out of the bathroom with t.p. trailing from my shoe or spilling chocolate milk on my white jeans (a la Never Been Kissed, of course).
True life:  I'm twenty-five years old, and the first day of school still terrifies me.