The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

I love it when a friendship moves to the next level. When your friend sends a text, and you can tell she's a hot mess, so you're like, "I'm coming over there!" and it's the first time you've hung out that hasn't been scheduled at least a week in advance, and the time isn't structured, it just involves driving to McDonald's for a Diet Coke and then sitting in the car for an hour talking about love and life and anxiety, and she's not wearing a bra, and your hair is still wet from your post-run shower, and "Run" by Snow Patrol is on repeat because it fits the drama of the moment. I love when a friendship becomes raw and honest and real.

I was listening to the Science Friday podcast this morning, and they were talking about butterflies. I almost skipped ahead to the next episode, because butterflies are terrifying. But I gave it a chance and was upset by what I heard. Monarch butterflies are fascinating.  They migrate down to Mexico every fall, and then every year on March 21, they leave to come back north.  They usually have a life span of a few weeks, but the generation that migrates lives like, three times as long.  (I'm not going to fact check that, because it would involve going to a website about butterflies and seeing scary pictures.) They go to the same places in Mexico every year, and scientists have been tracking this for about 20 years (I think.) They have seen a steady decline in the number of monarchs making it to Mexico, and then, in 2010, there was a terrible storm that killed a lot of them.  Like, dead butterflies 3 feet deep completely covering this area of land.  (I'm going to have nig

My brother posted this on Facebook a few months ago, and for some reason, I found it hilarious. Like, belly laughing, tears-streaming-down-my-face hilarious. I'm not sure why. I can't explain it. So then a few days later, Bernie and I were texting, and something came up that I didn't want to discuss. I responded with a picture of Urkel. It effectively ended the conversation. A few days later, after a few drinks, I thought it would be awesome to just bombard Nina with pictures of Urkel. "Aaahhh!! Stop Urkeling me!!!" she responded. And I just couldn't stop giggling about it. I mean, I'm giggling even now, imagining what it would be like to just keep receiving random pics of Urkel on your phone. There was another night where I was up late, and I randomly decided I needed to send Whitney an Urkel pic. I knew she was most likely in bed, and once again, I just couldn't stop giggling when I pictured that being the first thing she saw w

I mean, there's just too much going on. Bernie told me I'm not allowed to run in any more races. That shouldn't be a problem. Well, except for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. That IS happening. Then he was like, "Babe, I've got the best idea. You're a schoolteacher- we'll just homeschool our kids and like, live out in the middle of the desert. It's perfect!" Um, YOU homeschool the kids, dude. I love my job. But I love that this quote from Mr. Rogers kept popping up everywhere: And I love the sentiment behind it.  The stories that have come out of the whole Boston thing are stories of kindness, proving once again that Love Wins.  You can't stop it.  It's the way the universe works. So there's all this terrible national news. Luckily, my parents were spared, but my aunt's basement had at least 6 inches of water. Their neighborhood got 10 inches of rain! After hearing about people being stuck in traffic for hour

You know how most of the time, when you picture how something's going to be, it usually doesn't turn out that way? Last night was actually just the way I pictured it. It was the perfect night with one of my best friends. Nina and I started out with dinner at Uncommon Ground, where there was a lot of giggling and secrets exchanged. Then we headed over to the Metro for the JD Mcpherson show. Nina got me tickets for my birthday. The crowd was very cool- lots of guys copying the JD hairstyle, or dressed as greasers in leather jackets, and the girls were all dressed like they were from the 1940's- adorable dresses and curls and bright red lipstick. We got there right before JD went on and we each ordered a glass of Maker's Mark. The bartender was VERY generous with his pours. We found a great spot to watch the show, and JD opened with "Firebug." I wasn't prepared to do my choreography so early in the show! (I made up a little dance to go with part of the

I wasn't crazy about my small group at first.  I mean, the girls all seemed really nice, but I felt like they were all these perfect Christians and so, even though they were nice, I couldn't just be myself around them. But that slowly changed, and especially over the past few months I've come to really appreciate our small group.  Our discussions are raw and honest and emotional.  People are dealing with some pretty big issues, and our group is a safe place to talk through those issues without fear of judgment, or, worse yet, people saying, "You know, you should..."  We have a "no advice" policy.  We just listen and love each other through whatever's going on.  We're all kind of fumbling through the same problems together.  We only have three weeks left together, and we were thinking we wanted to mark the end of this time in a special way.  We've been talking about leaving bad stuff behind because God is calling us to something greater, a

Today I was inspired to plan this summer's trip. I am surprised by how quickly and easily I figured it out. I am quite pleased with the end result and can't wait to get on the road. My newly acquired "Passport to the National Parks" was a huge help in planning this trip. Bernie and I were Facetiming yesterday, and I used this time to show off my new favorite thing. (I think he was disappointed that this was all I showed off.) The booklet has a list of all the national parks, historic sites, monuments, battlefields, etc. And at each site, you can get a stamp or sticker in your book. I have my friend Kestelle to thank for this new hobby... She is on a mission to collect all 403 stamps and the process is actually changing her life. I plan on collecting 27 stamps on this summer's trip. Here's the basic outline: - Run the Thelma and Louise Half Marathon in Moab, Utah on June 2. - Travel up through northern Utah and see Timpanagos Cave National Monument and

I feel like I was on the phone almost all day yesterday. Everyone was calling or texting. Pete even threatened to stop by, which thank God he didn't because I spent half the day working out and looked disgusting. (Funny, when things ended with Chuck back in the day, I also coped by working out constantly...) Everyone wanted to hear about my fiasco of a trip, but there's also been the unspoken question of, "Are you okay? Because we all thought you were going to end up with this guy, and that all just fell apart." And that's what set this guy apart from all the others. I don't know why, but EVERYONE, from my parents to my doctor to my best friends, thought that he was the one. I mean, honestly, I did, too. I had some concerns, but it just felt right. And everything was falling into place for us to be together. I could picture what our life would be like. We would do well living together, because he is the most laid back person on earth, so he could handle ho