The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

So today I was listening to that Kenny Chesney song, Beer in Mexico (because I heart country music). And I could really relate... I'm freaking out about turning 25. I'm not sure why. I think because I always thought that being 25 would be the best it could get. Halfway through your 20's- old enough to be established in your job and have a little money, young enough to still be fun and fabulous. So now 25 is here. Is this as good as it will get? Will everything go downhill from here? Besides that, my life is not how I planned it would be at 25. I know that things do not always go as planned, but I don't think my goal of being married by 25 was that unreasonable. I guess I actually did come close twice (TJ gave me a ring and everything when I was pregnant that I ended up throwing back in his face; Chuck claimed he wanted to marry me and was making plans to have "the talk" with my dad when I found out he was sleeping with another girl (See previous posts

Today was one of those days that makes all the bad days worth it. At the end of the day yesterday, I went off on my class about how disrespectful and rude they've become. Today, it was like a new class. They were focused and attentive all day. When we read a Langston Hughes poem (Let America be America Again), I have never had so many volunteers to read. As I asked them questions to help them interpret the poem, you could actually feel them thinking as hard as they could. When the poem was finished, they applauded. One student even told me it was inspiring. In math, everyone understood the lesson. Because I had no behavior problems, I was able to spend time one-on-one with the kids who needed extra attention. When it was time for writing, everyone had already finished the paper that was due at the end of the period. In science we are working on brochures. The assignment is to pretend that a cell is an amusement park and the organelles are attractions, and try to sell it i

This morning I went to church and got ashes on my forehead before I went to work. I knew my students would be full of questions. Sure enough, one of my students thought I had cigarette ashes on my head. Another student thought they were the ashes of a dead person. Maybe I should have just waited and gone to church tonight. The weather is so nice here! Finally above 40! I took advantage of my day off on Monday and went hiking at this beautiful place called Apple River Canyon State Park . It was so peaceful, and I was glad to be there alone, even though everyone yelled at me later about it. At first I was afraid it wasn't going to work out. When I got there I realized I hadn't taken into account the foot of snow that was on the ground. So I couldn't even see where the trail was supposed to start. This made me a little nervous since I was going to be hiking on bluffs above a river. But I managed to find a trail with a set of footprints and followed those. Everything was going

1. Do not use a picture of your nasty, old, topless self as your main profile picture. 2. Do not send me a picture of yourself in a black shirt with silver, glittery, pinstripes. I feel like I'm being punished for being single.

Ever since I visited Cortnee in Texas, I've been loving the country music. My former policy on country was that I would only listen to it if I was in the country. But now, I've been listening all the time. And I think cowboys are so hot. Cortnee and I went to Billy Bob's honky tonk in Ft. Worth, and pretty much every guy wearing a cowboy hat was hot to me. Unless they were wearing tight jeans. So now I'm on a mission to date a cowboy. This might be somewhat difficult, considering I live in Chicago. But I am determined. I posted an ad on craigslist, so we'll see what happens. I had pretty good luck with my last ad, so hopefully I'll have good luck with this one.

I just have to comment on this, because I was super-annoyed today. I love my current swimsuit. Nina teases me and calls it a dress (which it does look like), but it is flattering and I don't feel completely awful in it. And it is not an old lady swimsuit either. But it is getting old, so I decided to take a look at the swimsuits at Target today. They have tons of cute new ones, and I want to look good on the beach in Florida (since I've already lost 8 pounds with Weight Watchers! woo hoo!). But they have like, no one-piece swimsuits! At least, I didn't see any. And in the past when I've looked, they only have a few and they are ugly. Why do they only make cute swimsuits in bikinis? Even when I was thin I didn't feel comfortable wearing one. Why is it so bad to want a one-piece? It can look just as sexy as a bikini! I don't understand how anyone can feel comfortable in one of those tiny bikinis. It would be worse than someone seeing me in my underwear. Unless I w

Last night, I was kind of bored and feeling sorry for myself because it was Saturday night and I couldn't afford to go out. I decided to call my old roommate, who now lives in CA, and catch up. We were on the phone for more than an hour and a half. It was so good to talk to her! I got to talk to her toddler, too. She got on the phone and I felt silly that she wasn't talking, but apparently she was nodding at everything I said and blowing kisses at me. It was just so good to talk to someone that I have so much history with. We went through a lot together, and it's so nice to hear how happy she is. She also had some reassuring things to say to me, so I was definitely uplifted after talking to her. Then, I had another great experience this morning. I think I've found a new church! I went to Resurrection Lutheran Church in Lakeview ( http://www.rlclakeview.org/ ). It was smaller than I expected (I'm used to going to bigger churches), but everyone seemed reall

I need to teach my kids about irony for the ISAT. Is this a good example? Today I called in "sick" with a migraine. I'd been planning it all week. I just needed a day to catch up with my life so I can relax a little. Tonight Faye and I went out to Lalo's. I only had one margarita. It's not like I was out doing anything crazy. Now, I have a migraine coming on. It started at the base of my neck and is slowly working it's way up to make my whole head be in agony. I will be completely incapacitated within an hour. I haven't had a migraine in a year and a half.

Has anyone noticed how completely amazing the snowflakes are today? Yes, the snow sucks and it is really cold and my heating bill is ridiculous because I keep my thermostat set at 82. BUT, the snowflakes look different today than usual. Maybe it's because it's so cold. After they land, they keep their shape for a while and you can see the beautiful, intricate designs. I was so excited, I had to text all my friends and tell them to look at this. I only got one response-from my brother. I think everyone thinks I'm a little odd. But seriously, it was so awesome!

-Go tubing -Plant flowers -Go to Maxwell Street Market -Visit the art galleries in my neighborhood -Learn how to salsa at Summerdance -Go to the beach -Achieve self-actualization -Make cheesecake -Find my birthfather -Go to a batting cage -Ravinia -Tom Sawyer Days in Hannibal, Missouri -Ghost hunting -Another tattoo? -Take a yoga class in Millenium Park -Go see Rachel in AZ -Go horseback riding -Try cooking the vegetarian recipes I've been collecting -Go to Mars Hill to hear Rob Bell preach -Volunteer

1. Houston. This is going to be a fabulous way to spend my 25th birthday. Although I was really looking forward to my original plan, which was to rent a Hummer and drive around playing songs like, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" and "Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta" and perhaps even have sex in the backseat. 2. Spring break in Florida. I'm pretty sure my mom and I are going to make this an annual trip. Last year, there were definitely some difficulties, but this year, my brother is just not invited. So it will be a wonderful week of laying on the beach, seeing the manatees, and maybe even Disney World again! 3. Summer. I have been looking forward to summer since the beginnning of January. This is probably not good. It's not that I don't love my job. I just can't stand this weather. And there are so many things I want to do when it gets warm! I think I am already going to start my Things to Do This Summer list. It's really no

I am a new Ugly Betty fan, and I'm so in love with the show. I just completely relate to her. Like tonight, when she was feeling like she is totally overshadowed by her big sister. That's exactly how I feel when I'm with two of my best friends. They are gorgeous and confident and attract boys like crazy, and I just feel ugly and socially awkward. Not that I have completely low self-esteem- I know I'm not really. It just feels that way when your friends are goddesses. Speaking of friends, I have a new group of friends at work. I feel like I am in with the popular girls, even though I really haven't cared about popularity since I was like, 15. One of the ladies invited me to go to Houston for a 4 day weekend we have coming up, which also happens to be my 25th birthday! Her family owns a condo down there, and her cousin owns a car dealership there. Apparently last year during this trip, he lent the ladies a Bentley to drive for the weekend. So it should be t