The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

I love strawberry pretzel salad. I especially love the vegan Jello Whitney gave me so I don't have to feel guilty eating it. Because let me tell you, I've been eating a lot of it. I love my friend Nancy. She is supportive and non-judgmental and a good listener. She's having a hard time this weekend, and I'm really hoping things work out for her. I love my cowboy boots. How did I ever dance without them? Although last night, even my boots were not enough to counter the effects of the alcohol, and as a result I looked stupid on the dance floor. During the Watermelon Crawl, when we had to get down on the floor and jump back to our feet, I had trouble getting up. Thanks for the helping hand, Kelly. I love White Christmas. Can't wait to go see it at the Music Box theater. I love snow in December. I'll be sick of it in January, but for now it puts a big grin on my face. I love Christmas shopping. Too bad I'm out of money. But at least I'm over half

I don't want to write about Thanksgiving until my brother sends me the pictures so I can post those, too. But I do want to reflect on something I'm thankful for. When we have to list what we're thankful for, everyone always says family. But I really mean it. This year, my brother's girlfriend joined us for Thanksgiving. She wanted to hear stories about my brother when he was little, and asked if there were videos. This led to an evening of home movie watching, which was hilarious. One of the funniest things was seeing the presents we got for Christmas and our birthdays. Some of my presents included Kriss Kross and Tiffany tapes, a 90210 nightshirt, and that jewelry box with the ballerina that every little girl had. Anyway, these videos made me realize how lucky me and my brother were. I don't think most kids had all of the things we had. We had parents who chose to sacrifice financial gain so that my mom could stay home with us. We had a mom who played with

It's Twilight day!!!! Just got home from seeing the movie, and I LOVED it. I just made the mistake of looking at what the critics are saying, and it makes me sad. Yes, of course the film had flaws. There were many things left out that I would have liked to see. But didn't we all know going into it that that just wasn't possible? I thought the acting was amazing. Rob and Kristen totally got their characters. Some of the looks on Rob's face were just perfect. Not only did he dazzle Bella, he dazzled me! Especially in this scene: I can see why people might not like this movie if they haven't read the book. For me, it was just exciting to see some of those moments I loved come to life. And the 2 hours just flew by. I always hate when people say that, because no matter how good a movie is, I have trouble sitting still. But that was not the case with Twilight. I could have watched for several more hours. I just wanted it to go straight into New Moon. But I

I talked to Jacob (my baby I gave up for adoption) and his mom last night. He will be 8 next month! It's getting weirder as he's getting older. He lets me guide the conversation, and I don't really know what to talk about. We talked about books, movies, and sports, but he basically just gave me one-word answers. At that age, I think it's very difficult to have a conversation with a random adult. Marilyn told me a kind of funny story. They are Republicans, and they watch a lot of Fox News. Jacob often watches the news with them, and before the election, he asked his mom about Obama killing babies. She tried to explain it without going into too much detail. Jacob thought about it for a minute and said, "Well, I guess my birthmom was a Republican then, because she kept me." Pretty good reasoning for a 7 year old. We laughed about it, and I told her she could tell him that I'm not a Republican, but I am a Christian. I read that verse in Jeremiah (&

There is so much going on. I'll try not to ramble on for too long. I'm not going to talk specifically about what I'm thankful for, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Friday night I talked on the phone with my birthmom for 2 hours. (Did you realize we were on the phone that long, Kathy? I couldn't believe it when I hung up and looked at my phone!) I will not share what we discussed because it was not all appropriate, but I'm so blessed to have that relationship. It was such a nice way to spend my Friday. Then, around midnight, Rachel called with her news. So I spent Saturday running errands, trying on bridesmaid dresses for Jen's wedding, and worrying about/praying for Rachel. Nina and I picked her up from the airport Saturday night and took her out to her parents' house. As I hugged her mom I told her how I'd been praying, and she said she didn't doubt it because she could feel the prayers. I've been praying so much since then,

Today, I am thankful for Rachel's forgiving heart. Her father committed suicide last night. Her parents were going through a divorce, and I know the family wasn't too happy with him. But Rachel is one of those people who believes that Love Wins, and just this summer she started building an amazing relationship with him. She'd forgiven him and was getting to know who he really was. Even though this situation is unbelievably sad, her ability to forgive is making this bearable. She has no regrets about her relationship with him and can take comfort in the fact that they reconciled before he died. Please keep her in your prayers.

Okay, yesterday I was thankful for a few things, but didn't have time to blog. I was thankful that we got a perfect score on our presentation, and my student loan refund check came, and I got to order the Charlie Brown Christmas tree I've been wanting. Today, I really am trying to think of things, but I can't. It was an awful teaching day, as usual. The day ended with me rearranging desks, and during that chaos, some kids squirted hand sanitizer all over the papers on my desk. I stayed late after school to grade some papers, and one of my students came in to talk to me about how worried she was about the class. "Ms. B, they're going to take you down. They've got a plan that starts with them stealing stuff from your desk. I'm worried about your safety. These kids are crazy." "You think I'm going to get jumped?" I asked. "I don't know. These kids just don't care. They say we are in 6th grade, and it is OUR year, and y

When I was pregnant, life pretty much sucked. I went away to a conservative Christian school where I had no friends (except you, Paula!) and my boyfriend was cheating on me with my best friend. I would cry because my shoes would come untied and I was too big to tie them myself and I didn't have a husband to do it for me. But in the midst of all this awfulness, I started keeping a journal of things I was thankful for and ways that God was working in my life. Tonight at Bible study we were talking about the whole "I am the resurrection and the life" thing and what it means to believe in God and believing that God is good. And I do believe that God is good. So maybe I need to start thinking about what I'm thankful for on a daily basis. And what better time to start than Thanksgiving time? Today's list: 1. My small group. Tonight I giggled more than I have in a really long time. I love these girls and their wisdom and different perspectives and silliness. I&

I need to do something crazy. My life has become nothing but work and school. I am both bored and boring. Help me think of something big. And cheap. And slightly dangerous.

This is more of a reminder to myself than a real post. This year, I am going to buy boots. Snow boots, to be exact. Last year, I did not own boots of any kind, and I felt like an idiot. Nina and I looked pretty ridiculous snow tubing in sneakers. And hiking in the snow in sneakers sucks as well. I kept thinking "Well, it probably won't snow anymore, and then I'll have wasted money on boots. I'll make it without them." And then it just kept snowing and snowing. This year will be another story. I will have snow boots. I will not be inappropriately dressed and feel like an ass.

It's almost funny when you're not in the moment... Me: Kajuan, turn around. Put your knees under your desk. I don't want to see your back when I'm teaching. (Kajuan heaves a huge sigh and turn around.) 2 minutes later... Me: Kajuan, turn around please. (Kajuan reluctantly turns around. I continue teaching.) 2 minutes later... Me: Kajuan, you do not need to be facing the back of the room while I'm teaching math. If I have to tell you to turn around again, you will have a strike. (Kajuan makes a big show of turning around, making everyone around him laugh. It takes a minute for me to get the class refocused.) 2 minutes later... Me: Kajuan, you have a strike. Kajuan: But I didn't even DO nothin'!!!! Later that morning... Me: Tavaris, go spit out your gum. You have a strike. (Tavaris saunters over to the trash can and dramatically spits out his gum.) 1/2 hour later... Me: Tavaris, go spit out your gum. That's another strike. Tavaris: But I don't h

Friday night I had the opportunity to see Obama speak in Highland, IN. It was pretty last minute, so I couldn’t find anyone to go with me, but that didn’t even matter. I waited for 4 hours, and it was totally worth it. I was towards the front of the line when they let people in, so I got a perfect spot. I was no more than 50 feet away from the stage, right in the middle. Miraculously, there were no tall people in front of me, so I had an unobstructed view. And it was a beautiful sight. They set the stage up in front of these big, gorgeous trees whose leaves had turned all sorts of colors. Once we got into the stage area, we still had another 2 hours to wait. So everyone made friends with each other, and we cheered things like, “Yes we can” and “Ready to go- Fired Up.” There was such a sense of hope, unity, and excitement. I had to wonder if McCain rallies have the same feel. It was magic. When Obama took the stage, I burst into tears. Yes, I know, I’m such a nerd. But I tru

I'm a huge fan of the Pieces of Flair application on Facebook, but today I was really upset by the political flair I was seeing. It's hard for me to imagine people actually having those views. I wanted to argue with the people who made that flair, but since that's impossible, I'm sharing my views on these controversial topics on my blog. I have a lot to say, but I'll only write about a few things today. I hope no one's offended. Abortion It’s a woman’s right to choose. It is not ideal, but how can I judge someone for aborting a pregnancy that’s the result of rape? I would never choose to have one, but I don’t think it’s right to push my morals on other people. What upsets me about abortion is when women do it because they think it’s their only option. I wish adoption was considered more often. I hate it when girls say, “I’m just not strong enough for that.” How do you know? You do what you have to do. Once you become pregnant, things will n