The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

As I mentioned before, Flight of the Conchords is one of my new favorite shows. I found out at the last minute that they would be in town this week, and I HAD to go. Stephanie went with me, which was funny because when I invited her to go, she had only heard the name but knew nothing about them. She went on YouTube, saw the video below, and decided to go based on that. I'm so glad she did, so I didn't have to go alone. There's not much to say about it except that it was great and that they are just as funny in person as on TV. Here is a video someone took from last night. It's kind of lame because they just recorded what was on the screen, but at least you can hear a little of them talking and singing one of my favorite songs, Hurt Feelings. One of my other favorite songs by them is called Business Time. I'm so excited that I got to see them live. And speaking of excited, I just need to say that it is extremely frustrating to have friends who are never excite

In the style of Chandler, could tonight BE any better? I got three new books from Amazon today: "God Was in This Place and I, I Did Not Know" " Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels " which is freakin' hilarious. I'm actually laughing out loud and just can't put it down. I don't know if it's so funny to me because I've been reading romances for 16 years, or because it's just brilliantly written, but I highly recommend it. Even if you are not a fan of romance novels, it is worth reading because of sections like this: "Behold our new Smart Bitch line of "Holy Crap, I Raped a Virgin!" greeting cards. (Because that's what happened all the time in old school romances.) With sentiments like: "Sorry I Raped You... Again. And Again. And Again. "I Thought You Were a Whore, Not a Real Person... Please Forgive Me?" "Mom Was an Evil Slut and I Assumed You Were, Too... But

It has been the perfect weekend. Friday night I drove down to U of I to hang out with my cousin Katie . I've always wanted to go to a frat party, and I realized that pretty soon I'll be too old to do it. So Katie graciously invited me to a party at her frat, and I was so excited. The party was fun, and we both drank a lot, but the best part was actually hanging out with Katie. I love that girl. It was also fun to meet some of her friends, who all seem like really nice people. We slept in on Saturday, then walked over to Flat Top Grill for lunch. Then, because it was such a beautiful day, we hung out on the quad and I worked on progress reports. Here's a pic of the quad: Notice the guy on the right who is just wearing underwear. Normally, I would think this was pretty inappropriate. But his body was amazing. Seriously, he could be an underwear model. So I had no problem at all with him playing football in his underwear. After enjoying the beautiful weather, Katie

The past few days at work have actually not been so bad. On Tuesday we watched West Side Story (to build prior knowledge before reading The Outsiders, and also because it's a movie everyone should see), and my kids were enthralled. Yes, there was a little complaining during songs such as "Maria," but overall, they were silent and attentive. Yesterday, they were still talking about it and acting out scenes and walking around snapping. It made me so happy. Then on Wednesday, the weather was beautiful, and the kids really wanted recess, so most of them behaved very nicely. K, one of the boys who usually has the most trouble behaving, was so excited to have recess that he asked me to play football with them. I kicked off my shoes and ran around barefoot in my skirt, blocking and catching passes and even running for a touchdown. It was great. One of the boys was like, "Dang, Ms. B, you got stats and yards!" And I noticed a change with the boys yesterday; I w

One of my goals for this year was to try different foods, since I'm a really picky eater. (Although not as bad as the vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables.) I really haven't done too well with this except for falling in love with falafel. When I was grocery shopping the other day, the yogurt section caught my eye. I've always wanted to like yogurt, but the last time I tried it (years ago), I was not a fan. But those commercials for flavors like strawberry cheesecake drew me in, so I bought a few cartons. Tonight I tried the Key Lime Pie flavor and was in love. As I basked in the happiness of finding a great new food, I glanced at the ingredients label. Kosher gelatin? Seriously? How is yogurt not vegetarian???? I was so disgusted I couldn't even finish the carton. I looked online and found that's a common ingredient now because if you use gelatin, it's easier to make yogurt fat free. Apparently there's some kinds of vegetarian yogurt that I&

I was listening to Rob Bell today and he said this: "If church isn't the place above any other place where you can be as honest and raw about the actual junk in your life, then I don't want anything to do with church. If church doesn't lead the way in being the kind of place where you can be transparent and honest about your struggles, then it isn't church... If this time and this ritual with this tribe of people isn't the kind of place where you can actually reflect and you can actually go into the most dark, painful places, and you can have people come around you and carry you, then we're just pretending." I had to pause my iPod and think about this. It's funny because church is usually the opposite of that; we don't want people at church to see all our mess. We want those people to think we have it all together. When I found out I was pregnant, I know my parents REALLY did not want anyone at church to find out. But we had amazing commu

Four of my friends are getting married this summer. Yesterday, wedding season kicked off with Abby and James' wedding. It was simple and beautiful and reflected their personalities. During the ceremony, Abby was literally bouncing with excitement. It was adorable and oh so Abby. A few things I liked about the wedding: James started to cry when Abby came down the aisle. They had a reading from Blue Like Jazz. And their recessional music was the theme song from Indiana Jones. I was also in love with this girl's hairstyle. You have to zoom in on the pic to see it well (my camera's broken, so all I have is my iPhone), but her hair is tied in a bow. There was no alcohol or dancing at the reception, but Abby and James did dance to "At Last." And all of the Incubators (and former Incubators) posed for some pics. (These didn't come out too well... when the other girls post theirs on Facebook, I'll post them on here if they're better.) Actually, Abby is

Being at Disney World made me think of my favorite Disney movies. Here they are, in no particular order (because I can’t rank these; they are ALL my favorites) . 1. Mary Poppins I remember liking this movie when I was young, but it wasn't my favorite or anything. Then I saw it in high school and realized how brilliant and cleverly written it is. It is a great movie for both adults and kids. There are so many jokes that kids wouldn't understand. Like how Mrs. Banks is all about "Votes for Women!" but whenever her husband's around, she's all "yes dear" and does whatever he wants. Such irony. This movie has great music, a great story full of important life lessons, Julie Andrews, and Dick Van Dyke. What could be better? 2. Peter Pan I think this is my mom's favorite, too. This movie came out when she was little, and she thought that all she needed was faith and trust and a little bit of pixie dust to fly. She jumped off the top of her

I don't really have anything too exciting to say, but I figured I should post about Florida. It was a pretty typical trip. I worked on my tan, drank cherry limeades, hung out with my family, and went to the Magic Kingdom. This time I actually went on Big Thunder Mountain, which I think is the root of my roller coaster phobia. My mom took me on it when I was 5, and I think it was just too much for me. 22 years later, I finally worked up the nerve to try it again, and I loved it. It was the perfect amount of scary for me. Another highlight of the trip was watching Flight of the Conchords with Faye and my Uncle Joel. Season 1 came from Netflix right before I left, so I brought it with. That show is freakin' hilarious. We were laughing so hard we were crying. Finally, I really enjoyed the food on this trip. I had some avocado spring rolls at Mai Tais that were amazing. And we went up to St. Augustine one night to see my friend Liz, and the restaurant had delicious peanut

One time Brian said to me, "You always have some crazy story." This was after hanging out like, three times. Today, I signed onto my bank's website to check my account balance, since I leave for Florida tomorrow. -$34.80? What? Then I looked back at the transactions. There were ten that were not mine. I remember having my debit card at the Taco Bell in Homewood yesterday. I thought I put it back in my purse, but apparently not. So I got on the phone with the bank, and I guess I'll be getting my money back in about 2 business days. Meaning it could take until Monday. So I'm getting on a plane tomorrow night for vacation with no money. I have no cash either, so I have to borrow $2 from a coworker so I can take the L to the airport. It's not quite as bad as it seems. I do have a credit card with like, $100 left on it. And my dad was worried, so he is putting some money in my account tomorrow. But I definitely got yelled at since I was going to Florid

It's my favorite week of the year. I love the emotions of this week- the triumphant entry on Palm Sunday, where we all have palm leaves and sing Hosanna; the somber mood on Maundy Thursday, when the Last Supper occurred, and Jesus said some of the most beautiful things in the Bible and prayed and suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane; Good Friday, when Jesus gave his life so we could have eternal life; and the joy of Easter Sunday, when we celebrate his resurrection. Easter is my favorite holiday, and I feel like this Easter is even more meaningful to me because of the Lenten devotions my small group has been doing. I'm more aware than ever of my sinful nature and how selfish I am, but that makes God's grace even sweeter. I hope you all have a blessed Holy Week and joyful Easter.

Tonight was my friend's personal shower. My friend at work suggested making them a mix cd of songs to listen to during intimate moments. I wasn't sure what my friend would like, and she might not know either, considering she and her husband will both be virgins on the wedding night. So I just made a playlist of stuff I enjoy. It starts off romantic, then gets into the good stuff. Here's what I ended up with: 1. "Moon River" by Andy Williams 2. "The Very Thought of You" by Nat King Cole 3. "At Last" Etta James 4. "Come On Get Higher" Sugarland 5. "Eyes on Fire" Blue Foundation (from the Twilight soundtrack) 6. "#1 Crush" Garbage 7. "On and On" Erykah Badu 8. "Red Light Special" TLC 9. "Just a Lil Bit" 50 Cent 10. "Candy Shop" 50 Cent 11. "Closer" Nine Inch Nails 12. "Crazy Bitch" Buckcherry 13. "Caress Me Down" Sublime 14. "