True Love's Apple Stem

Whenever I eat an apple I always make sure it still has the stem. I heard somewhere, when I was like 5 or 6, that as you twist off the stem, say a letter of the alphabet with each twist. For example, the first twist is A, the second is B, and so on. Then, whatever letter the stem comes off at is the first letter of your true love's name.

It's probably just some old wives' tale. I mean, what are the chances of getting the same letter every time? It never fails, though, I do this every time I eat an apple. Call it superstition, habit, hope. I just like the thought of it. Something so grasping, true love, being found in an apple.

Who knows? Maybe it is true. I've gotten the letter I quite a few times... I should start keeping a tally of each letter.

Scratch Off Challenge

Lazy blog is lazy. I saw this on Kathy's blog and I just had to steal it. It brought me back to the good ole days of middle school sitting on MySpace filling out bulletin post survey after bulletin post survey. Those were the days. Basically all you do is cross off the lines that apply to yourself. Simple, right?

Appearance
I have/had piercings besides the ears.
I want piercings besides the ears.
I have many scars.  I've had a couple stitches and once ran into a brick wall. But I also have some scars on my feet from mosquito bites.
I tan easily. I wish.
I wish my hair was a different color.
I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color. I have never dyed my hair. Ever.
I have a tattoo.
I want a tattoo. I really do want one, but I want it to be something meaningful.
I can be self-conscious about my appearance.
I have/had braces.
I have more than two piercings.

Embarrassment
Disney movies still make me cry. I'm a sucker. What can I say.
I’ve laughed so hard I’ve cried.
I’ve glued my hand to something.
I’ve laughed until some kind of beverage came out of my nose.
I’ve touched something sharp/hot/etc to see if it would hurt. I'm also sometimes an idiot.

Health
I’ve gotten stitches. On my forehead from running into a door jamb when I was 3 and on my knee from this incident a couple summers ago involving a table.
I’ve broken or dislocated a bone. I broke my right ankle playing summer basketball when I was 10.
I’ve had my tonsils removed.
I’ve had my wisdom teeth removed.
I’ve had chicken pox. But I have had the vaccine.
I've had malaria.
I've had typhoid.
I've had jaundice.

Travel
I’ve been on a plane.
I’ve been to the US.
I’ve been to Europe.
I've been to at least one other country.
I've never been out of my country.
I’ve driven/ridden over 200 kilometers in one day.

Experiences
I’ve gotten lost in my city.
I’ve seen a shooting star.
I’ve wished on a shooting star. I'm not quite sure why I didn't wish on it... like I said, sometimes I'm an idiot.
I’ve seen a meteor shower.
I’ve gone out in public in my pajamas.
I’ve pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
I’ve slapped someone. I acted like I was kidding, but I was serious.
I’ve kissed someone underwater.
I’ve chugged something.
I’ve crashed a car.
I’ve been skiing.
I’ve been in a musical.
I’ve auditioned for something.
I’ve been on stage.
I’ve caught a snowflake on my tongue.
I’ve sat on a rooftop at night.
I’ve pranked someone. 
I’ve ridden in a taxi.

Honesty / Crime
I’ve been threatened to be arrested.
I’ve broken a law.  Ahem.
I’ve done something I promised someone I wouldn’t.
I’ve done something I promised myself I wouldn’t.
I’ve sneaked out.
I’ve lied about my whereabouts.
I’ve cheated while playing a game.
I’ve been in a fist fight.

Death
I’m afraid of dying. 
I hate funerals.
I’ve seen someone/something die. Do bugs count?
Someone close to me has attempted/committed suicide.
I have attempted suicide.
I’ve thought about suicide before.
I’ve written a eulogy for myself.

Materialism
I own over 10 music CDs.
I own over 10 novels.
I own over 5 electronic gadgets.
I’m obsessed with anime/manga.
I collected comic books. Archie comics anyone?
I own a lot of makeup.
I own gaming console(s).
I own a car.
I own a bike.
I thrive on compliments.
I thrive on hate.

Random
I can sing low key.
I’ve stolen a tray from a fast food restaurant.
I open up to others easily.
I watch the news occasionally or always.
I like to kill bugs.
I sing in the shower.
I’m a morning person.
I’m a sports cricket fanatic.
I twirl my hair.
I care about grammar.
I love spam.
I’ve copied more than 30 CDs in a day.
I bake reasonably well. I like to think I'm a master pastry chef.
My favorite color is either white, yellow, pink, blue, red, black, purple, or orange.
I would wear pajamas to school. I just can't do it. I have this theory that if I dress nice my day will be a good one.
I like Martha Stewart.
I laugh at my own jokes. 
I eat fast food weekly.
I’ve not turned anything in and still got an A in a certain class.
I can’t sleep if there’s a bug/insect in the room.
I’m really ticklish.
I like  chocolate. But only if it's white chocolate or somehow involved with caramel.
I bite my nails. I pick at my nails.
I’m good at remembering names.
I’m good at remembering dates.
My memory sucks.
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.

People
...used to ask if I was anorexic/bulimic.
...called me fat.
...say I’m skinny.
...have said I’m ugly.
...have said I’m pretty.
...have spread rumors about me.
...force me to eat.
...say I eat too much.
...say I eat too little.
...say I eat too fast.
...say I eat too slow.
...have called me a genius.
...have given me gifts.

Eating
I’ve lost weight.
I’ve gained weight.
I’m at my thinnest.
I’m at my biggest.
I’ve lost weight and kept it off.
I’ve lost weight, but gained it back.
My weight affects my mood. 
I diet. 
I’m vegan/vegetarian. I tried it once after watching a Tyra Show special on tape worms. Lasted about a month.
I exercise.
I’ve fainted from exhaustion. 
 
Family
I’ve sworn at my parents.
I’ve planned to run away from home before.
I’ve run away from home.
I have a sibling less than one year old.
I want kids.
I’ve had kids.
I’ve lost a child.

Relationships
I’m engaged.
I’m married.
I'm in a relationship.
I’ve gone on a blind date. Never again.
I have/had a friend with benefits.
I miss someone right now.
I have a fear of abandonment.
I don't like to depend on others. 
I’ve gotten divorced.
I’ve had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back.
Someone has/had feelings for me when I didn’t have them back.
I’ve told someone I loved them when I didn’t.
I’ve told someone I didn’t love them when I did.
I’ve kept something from a past relationship.

Sexuality
I’m a cuddler.
I’ve been kissed in the rain.
I’ve hugged a stranger. Why does this have to be sexual?
I’ve kissed a stranger.

Bad times
I regularly drink.
I can’t swallow pills.
I can swallow numerous pills at a time without difficulty.
I’ve been diagnosed with depression at some point.
I have anxiety problems.
I shut others out when I’m upset.
I don’t have anyone to talk to when I’m upset.
I have taken/take anti-depressants.
I’ve slept an entire day before. When I'm sick all I want to do is sleep.
I’ve plotted revenge.  I plot revenge all the time, although I've never actually acted on it. Someday.... someday.

Breakin' the Law

Last Wednesday. Ho-hum. Ever had one of those days where you look back and say, "If I had done this one little thing my day would have been ten times better." Or perhaps, " If I hadn't done this one thing I could have avoided a catastrophe mistake." Well that's how last Wednesday went for me.

It was a dark and stormy night... Okay, not so much. Actually, it was a normal day. So normal, that I really can't recall much of anything that happened that day. Or maybe this one incident just over-shadows everything else. I suppose I woke up, went to school, came home from school... And got a speeding ticket. Yep, my first ever.

The neighborhood I live in is surrounded by a golf course. Not good. I hate the golfers. For some reason they think they're all hot and stuff and can do whatever pleases them. For the purposes of this post, please refer to the drawing I have beautifully created.

 The horizontal street you see is the street I, and most of my friends in my neighborhood, take to get to and from school. Originally there was supposed to be an underground tunnel that connected both sides of the golf course underneath the street. However, due to poor planning on the park district's part, there was nay money to fund such a fairytale. Then they proposed closing the street altogether so the pretty little golfers could safely cross the street on their fatmobiles golf carts. Big no-no from the city. Instead, they put up a speed limit of 25 mph along about half of the street. The speed limit on the rest of the street is 40 mph, just as it has been for as long as I can remember. [You only have to go 25 mph when the light on the speed limit sign blinks. Which is pretty much all day.] See the street where the cop park ranger car is? Well it's pretty well known for park rangers to sit there and try to catch people speeding. This was actually the first time I've seen one there.

So I was driving along on my way home from jamming to some music. I'll be the first to admit that I don't actually go 25 mph. Usually I slow down to 30-35 mph over the cross walk and then speed back up. I mean, that's what most people do. As I turn into my neighborhood I look into my rear view mirror and see those stupid red and blue lights. At first I have this insane thought, "Okay, maybe I'm not getting pulled over. Maybe he's just trying to get around me." Duh. Of course not, I was just being stupid. He pulls over behind me and gets out of the car. "Miss, you were going so fast you were burning rubber!" Right, because tires burn rubber going 43 mph. Then he tried to tell me I didn't use my turn signal turning into my neighborhood. Which is a lie, I know I used it. [I've been told by many people I overuse my turn signal. But that's only because I hate it when people don't use it.] Mind you it wasn't even a police officer, it was a park ranger. He asks for my license and registration. And what do you know. I had forgotten my license. I think at that point I was ready to cry.

So after he comes back to my window after searching for my license number he says, "I could get you for four violations right now." Then he stopped talking and just looked at me. I think he wanted me to cry. Which I did, but that's not the point. He didn't need to be a jerk about it. Then he goes, "However, I'm only going to give you a ticket for going 43 in a 25." And, of course, he was all smug about it. I know he was being nice, but you could tell he knew he was being nice. Then I drove the 2 minutes I had left to drive to my house.

Now I have to go next Wednesday to the state attorney's office to get court supervision. Basically, if I don't get a ticket in the next six months the speeding ticket will be taken off my record. I have to pay $120 for the ticket and $100 for the court supervision. I'm so mad. Mostly at myself and a little at the park ranger. Plus any time I tell anyone I got a ticket from a park ranger they laugh. The one time I didn't get stuck behind an elderly person actually driving the speed limit there's a park ranger! Ugh.

The Stairs Slasher

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. Thankfully, I pushed through it and [hopefully] finished it decently. We still have two more drafts to do so I can fix it if not. [Lex: I wish Word did that! But sadly not, our teachers require us to use turnitin.com]

Unfortunately, I haven't yet had time to work on figuring out how to upload my pictures. But! I have been given an award!

1. Thank the person who gave you the award:
Thank you Kathy! It really is an honor to receive this from you. You guys should seriously go check out her blog if you haven't already. Especially if you're a Harry Potter fan. Who isn't?

2. Reveal three random facts about yourself:

• I can never just walk up or down stairs, I always have to run. It started out because I always felt like someone was trying to chase me. But now that I've seen a bunch of horror movies I have this random fear of getting my Achilles tendon slashed. Freaky, I know. But it's always in the back of my mind.
• I'm always making bets with myself. For example, when I'm driving through an intersection I'll think something like, if I make it before the light turns yellow or red I'm going to have a good day.
• I love to drive. I don't know what it is, but there's something really therapeutic about it. I would seriously drive across the country if I could. My friends all know this about me so I'm usually the one driving when we got out to do stuff together.

3. Pass the award on:

• DB from Free to Dance
• Lex from the lexical gap
• M.K. Murray from Imagine Me Complexly
• Victoria from Victoria's World
• Allyson from allyson kate

I think Friday or Saturday morning I'll have some time to try to figure out the whole picture situation. I'm going to a baptism in Kentucky this weekend so I'll probably have some pictures from that as well. Hope you had a happy Hump Day!

That mailbox had it coming!

Yep. I did it again. Near death experience, what number is this? Dos, tres, cuatro? Who really knows at this point. I'm really not that bad of a driver! I know, I know, at this point it is very questionable. But see how I say near death experience? I'm still here aren't I?! And no damage done that's undoable.

Last night I saw Cars 2 with my friend Morgan; her brother Michael and sister Allison; our friend Collins, and my friend Kayla. [The movie was sooo cute. Every time I see the Disney castle and hear that music it brings me back to my childhood.] We had all met at Morgan's house so we could just take two cars. Well we got back after the movie and my friend Kayla needed a ride home because she lost her license for two months. I offered to take her, she lives like 5 minutes away.

It was sort of raining, more like a drizzle. On the way back I wasn't really worried because it had all but stopped. Of course, I forgot about the puddles. And the wet roads. I might have taken a turn just a tad too fast. Next thing I know I'm hydroplaning and start fishtailing towards a house. Mind you this is out in the country, on a pretty much deserted county back road where there's a house every 5 minutes. While trying not to freak out I start correcting it, when I over correct and head straight into a ditch on the other side of the road.

It all happened so fast. All I know is I saw of flash of red and thought I took out a mailbox. Those mailboxes are built to withstand combines, tractors, weather, anything. I'm thinking, okay, this could be really, really bad. Do I get out and check my car? No. Because I watch TV, I've seen the movies. I am not going to get killed by a psycho, drugged up killer. Luckily, Morgan's house was like a minute away, so I drove out of the ditch [thank God for Jeeps] and to her house. Where I walked into their living room and promptly burst into tears in front of her and Collins. They consoled me until I was able to tell them what happened. And, God bless them, they started telling jokes and stories about accidents they've had to try and calm me down.

When I finally calmed down I called my dad and then we went out and inspected my car. Considering I thought I just murdered a mailbox the damage really wasn't bad at all. I busted the casing of my right front headlight and the front bumper sagged a little. My Jeep being old those pieces will be easy to replace, the expense not too bad. My dad got there, checked it out, and we went home.

We went back to the scene of the crime this afternoon because it's "the right thing to do." [My dad's big on that.] He was going to offer to buy the people a new mailbox. But when we got there we discovered that I actually didn't hit the mailbox. I came within inches of the stupid thing, but didn't even touch it. I guess it didn't go flying, I did. We knocked on the people's door anyways, but they weren't home. The only thing that ended up injured was my headlight. Oh, and my pride. Sigh. I'm just wondering how many more lucky shots I'm going to get.

Day 11

A picture of something you hate.

I absolutely hate it when people eat with their mouths open. It's so disgusting. And it's not really the whole chewed up food thing [My dad and brother would always chew their food up and show it to me when I was younger, so now I'm immune to it.] I think it's just the noise. Is it really that hard to chew with your mouth closed? I don't want to hear you chowing down on some chips or sandwich or whatever. The sound of someone's lips smacking or their teeth grinding down some food makes me want to puke. One of my friends eats like that, I can hear her crunching the food between her teeth. It's all I can do to keep from tearing my hair out. My brother does it too, even though he's constantly reminded not to. Thankfully, I rarely eat with him, so that's okay.

Fact: embarassing pictures are my favorite kind.

I think my life is coming in full circle. Last night as I was getting ready to go over to my friend Kristi's house (she's one of my oldest friends, we haven't done anything recently but every time we get together it's like no time's gone by) when two of my old friends (Morgan and Jordin) rang my doorbell. I was absolutely flabbergasted (I love this word). I never expected to see them there. They said they wanted to kidnap me and take me to Krekel's (the best greasy food joint ever). I felt kind of like a jerk, like I was blowing them off, but I really did have plans.

So I met them at Rock Springs (it's like a mini-national park) and we went hiking and basically talked about what happened all those months ago. They said they were sorry for letting things get so bad and that we hadn't been friends for so long. And honestly, I felt kind of bad. I mean, I know I was right in what I did. I didn't like the things they were doing. But I still love them and all. In the end, we made up. They say they don't party much any more (we'll see). But honestly, if they want to party, whatever. I just won't go with them. I have other friends I can do things with. But they are the people that know me the best and I feel so comfortable with them. I can tell them anything and they won't judge me. So I guess we'll see how this goes. Everything's not back to how it used to be (I haven't talked to the other two yet), but I feel like it could get there. I can't lie, I've had the best times of my life with those girls. Just this time last year was when we became super close, weird that it's happening at the same time again.

Anywho, this little thingie was passed onto me by Free to Dance and I highly suggest you check out her blog, it's one of my favorites. The rules are as follows:

1. List three things that you love about yourself.
2. Post a picture that you love.
3. List five bloggers to whom you are passing this along.

So here it goes!

1. My musical ability. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm a relatively talented musician. I've played piano since I was six years old and flute since I was nine years old. To be honest, I don't think it's too hard to become a good musician. It just takes a lot of practice. So what I mean is my musical expression. Whenever I play I'm really expressive and put emotions and colors into the music. (To be somewhat hippie) I would say I try to feel the music and make others feel it to. Just last year I won top award for my piano playing at the local university. And my friend Haley and I were a half point away from getting a perfect score for our flute duet at the Solo and Ensemble contest.
2. My sense of humor. (I know DB used this one but it really is one of my favorite things about myself.) I have a really dry, kind of mean sense of humor. (Some might say bitchy.) But I always manage to lighten up the tension in the most serious situations. People have told me that my one-liners are the best. Usually I say something awkwardly true and it's as easy as that. I know I'm not funny all the time, but I don't like it when things get super serious so I like to try and lighten things up. Plus it sometimes lets me get away with being bitchy (I try not to be but sometimes I can't help it).
3. My honesty. I think I get it from my dad, he's an extremely honest person. I hate lying and whenever I do lie I get this awful feeling in my stomach. I just think it's so gross to be dishonest. I want people to be able to trust me and know that I would never lie to them. I'll admit it's gotten me into some bad situations. Sometimes I'm too blunt and hurt peoples feelings. I feel bad when I do, but like I said I hate to lie. The bad thing is that sometimes I expect people to be just as honest as me. Which usually results in my feelings getting hurt (i.e. the whole situation with my friends back in November). But when I say something I feel good knowing that people can take my word for it.

 This was hard because I have so many favorite pictures. That is not a flattering picture at all. Of any of us. In fact they would probably hate me if they knew I used this picture. The girl standing up in the sunroof is Morgan and the one driving is Kayla. We all look so ridiculous. I think I took this when we ran to the grocery store to get stuff for s'mores for one of the many bonfires we had last summer. (The air freshener says, "Smile if you're not wearing any panties." Typical Kayla.)

the lexical gap, allyson kate, The Anxious Apple Core, Imagine Me Complexly, and Victoria's World are some of my favorite blogs. I strongly suggest you check them out.

That's all for now! Another blog for the 30 Day Picture Challenge should be up tomorrow or the day after.

Day 04

A picture of a habit you wish you didn't have.

No matter how hard I laugh my eyes always water. To the point that I'm basically crying when I laugh. I don't even know how many times I'm sitting there laughing about something and someone walks up and goes, "Oh my God, Kate! What's wrong?! Why are you crying?!" And then I have to go on and explain how I cry when I laugh. Which makes my friends laugh because they know how much it annoys me. Which makes me laugh because when other people laugh I can't help but laugh to. I laugh pretty easily. It's gotten so bad that I now wear almost all waterproof make up. I don't want my make up to always be running, but waterproof make up is impossible to take off.

(I'm not sure if this is actually a habit? I mean it's not really voluntary. Obviously I'd stop it if I could. But my other habit is picking at my cuticles. I tried to find a picture on Google, but that was a mistake. The pictures were so gross, I couldn't share that one with you guys.)

(In case you hadn't noticed I'd like to point out my pink/red eye. Last spring I got sick and then after that my eye got all blood shot and was constantly irritated. It got to the point where I couldn't wear a contact on that eye. It was so gross. And of course I got made fun of. All the time.)

Well, my friend's texting me about the trig homework so I better go do that (why do I always post when I should be doing my trig homework? Literally, the only times I blog are when I have trig homework to do). Oh, and I have some other things I want to blog about. So that'll happen very soon!