How to Grow a Woman From the Ground

An unrelated amusing quote:

"Girls are dumb! Its not what you look like naked that counts -- its the naked."

You have made me a sucker for seersucker, and pleased with corny pastel polos. Where is my head when you put on knit ties? None of this quite makes very much sense, except that I love that I love so many new things!

So pardon me, but this is going to be a very like-y post. And by "like" I mean something else.

You know what really gets me down? When people lie. Like, they do a really great job of convincing you to believe them, and then, suddenly, when you believe them and the time is now, they're letting you down. It's heartbreaking. And all you can do about it is make sure you have enough of the right kind of people around you at the time to help you with the fall. For this, I really am grateful for my family of amazing women, along with Alex Weiss, Kattie Kranich, and Stitch.

I'm bringing the art back into my life. It starts with white backdrops and ends with a sigh. Sometimes people inspire you to share the beauty. When there's so much happy in you that it's spilling over and you don't know what to do with all that beautiful elation dripping from your heart, sometimes art is a good idea, and it is finally one of those times again. I don't care if the products look mediocre or amateur, because we'll know that the looks will be deceiving... there is no way all the love I put into it will show entirely. (Similar to that time I made you tortellini.)

"To my heart I must be true, there's nothing left but me and you. You're the one that I want, the one I need."

I started taking my Greek class, and I'd just like everyone to know... I am pretty awesome. I learned to read in 20 minutes, and write an hour later. I am flying through my homework, learning words for real by heart, and only mildly intimidated by using cases and grammar again. I'm pretty thrilled that this is one of my languages this term. Hopefully french gives me so much mercy. I hope french is anywhere near this fun. I really love what I've gotten into already with Greek... I just take a little time to adjust to my professor's accent!

Also, supposing I manage my time, you know, AT ALL this term, now that I'm not depressed from a broken heart and have some spring time motivation, I have some great plans for my non-homework hours! I will learn my instrument better, in addition to a language. And before you know it, my renaissance woman features will be flourishing. Haha. That was a moment of vanity. No one cares, Autumn.

There's no need to complicate, our time is short, this is our fate, I'm yours.

I really love just nice, acoustic, clean-voiced music. It can be so refreshing to take a vacation from most radio and bathe in Jack Johnson's prowess pond, spend some time on the Outer Dave Matthews Banks, swim with Hootie and the Blowfish, and soak up some sun on the Beach Boys in their acapellas (see below playlist.) It just reminds me of pure, perfect times with the most gentle of kindness, happiness, and good feelings. Like warm sun and fresh cut grass at a concert in the park.

This is possibly the girliest playlist ever:

I'm really glad all this talk about punching infants has subsided.

Every opportunity I miss makes me panic so badly, and I'm not even busy lately. I can only imagine what this term will do to my spirit with every missed chance to see your face.

Springtime outside my window, though no photos are doing it justice...

Stitch and I finally went to get sushi and it was pretty much a blast, because we're pretty much extremely fun and entertaining people. Add exotic fish to the mix and success was unavoidable. I wish I'd been able to get pictures, because his reactions were wonderfully priceless. And to capture those moments in both stills and video, this would have been perfect:

It's a carabiner, and it's a camera, and it's a video camera. And I got 2 on woot yesterday. They weren't as good as this one, though, I'm sure, Mine have the batman logo on them. But sometimes we wish we had a camera and we don't. I figure if it's on your keyring, you'll always be ready.


So, I'm just going to put this out there, that I really would love being a housewife. Every day I cut flowers for my apartment, make tea, sweep my floor, and cook something delightful. I want to make my guests breakfast in the morning, and it takes restraint to not put effort into it. I have gotten out both my iron and sewing machine officially. Where is my husband?

I went to Trader Joe's with a gift card and bought ginger beer, a 4 pack. I wish I'd only bought one. It's kind of gross.

There's something hauntingly beautiful about being able to watch things progress from the beginning, like the hours of a butterfly fresh out of chrysalis fanning its wings dry. I've been able to watch the trees outside my window blossom over the past few days, from the first day when the dark pink buds formed, and the next day when few petals poked out, and in the night, the flowers emerge, like a snowfall that sneaks up and covers the world while you sleep. These flowering trees outside my window before sunrise are painfully gorgeous in their quiet, elegant progression.

Finally, yesterday was wonderfully wonderful in that I was able to help my friend Scott from afar. I'm so glad his trials and tribulations will soon be coming to an end and that he can start enjoying himself without so many worries, now! Bring on the hot foreign girls...

"Rent? I'd rather have a fucking sandwich than pay the rent."

My first preemptive birthday email came today.

"Take my advice: use an oak. That advice is applicable to both hammock trees, and to making magic wands"

He makes me feel this way, this pure and this sweet, and he picks me up like I'm the nicest thing to ever have in his arms.

Texts from last night are cracking me up lately. I need to take a break.

My daisy dukes got a lot of attention from the internet community! Minimal attention from the real life community. Probably for the best. But on a brighter note, I got sushi yesterday! Just a 12 pack from the store for 5 dollars. It's not that good. I'm just sad I'm not going out today for sushi birthday date. :(

This silk linen sweater will be mine, thanks to bored window shopping going on in Greece.

Let me introduce a character named Steve Politzer-Ahles. I proclaim him bff4lyfe. He said he'd come see me in a little over a week. HE TOTALLY LIED. That's all for this edition of Steve.

Anyway, I understand that I clearly have the world's most breathtaking fashion sense (see jelly shoes, holey sweaters, and typical product (red) t-shirts), but you should know, it hasn't always come to me so easily. I have a fabulous purple dress. I also have fabulous red shoes. I have to stop myself some nights and remind me that there's a thin line between double fabulous and the Red Hat Society on a teenie bopper.

A super cute video that I'd like to make with a fellow dancer. I would be the awkward one, as usual:

I'm miles from where you are. from n'tima simons on Vimeo.

So, I'm going to clean my house today. It's pretty much a disgrace since post-move and me not returning folded clothes to drawers. Anyway, I wish I had a nice straw broom for the task. My parents are coming tomorrow to bring my bed and a rocking chair! And then I'm hosting a friend sometime or two this week, and HOPEFULLY someone on the 10th. Unfortunately, Stitch just convinced me he and I need hammocks. I'll need to figure out where to put a hammock in this apartment. I'm secretly thrilled.

Finally, a playlist! I was going to due a tribute Thursday of flaming gay music for some boys I know, but then I just went on with my life in today's continued scatterbrained fashion:

"Θα γυρίσω."

'I am wearing a shirt and tie and my gorgeous new deerskin oxfords, sprinting through the port and into the wild streets of Piraeus...'

I just realized last night that I want to get married on Bioko, either on a beach by the waterfalls, or overlooking Lago Biao. It can even be down at the water on Biao, I don't care. But I think a mountaintop wedding would be amazing. Realistically, if my lover didn't like this idea, I would understand and go somewhere safer/more accessible.
I also think it's time for a new language! I'm going to have to finish out French here to meet my requirements, but I'd like one of my last free electives to be Greek! Cyrillic alphabet is versatile, phonemic, and challenging. Hello, Rosetta Stone! I think it would be a funny surprise to a friend of mine, and a fun way to rejuvenate my interest in language.

It's time to spill the beans to all my avid readers--- my birthday is this Sunday. As is customary, I will disappear from the world for a bit, ignore all comments pertaining to the occasion, and eat Birthday Flan. But I will also make a small collage right now of things I would like.

To be in an exotic and cinematically charming happy-ending romance. A round-trip flight to Greece (Crete) for about a week, any time before August. A tall, bottomless glass of perfect lemonade.

A reasonable list, right? ;)

MY COMPUTER HAS CAUGHT A HORRIBLE VIRUS! Hopefully my friend Stitch will be able to resurrect it. The brilliant Casey insists wiping the hard drive is the only answer. I have this huge project due Thursday and I've already called in a "no-can-do."

Finally, I have a puppy, and we hang out a lot. He doesn't really have a name, but he's soft and wonderful.

Sunshiney weather? Sunshiney music! I am so ready for a lovely day in a lovely dress!

"Sunshine... on my window,... makes me happy... like I should be..."

"The words 'I love you' become nothing but noise. But that’s why we kiss. To say with our lips what we couldn’t before."

It's raining again... but the rest of this week is supposed to be gorgeous! Time for spring and pastel love! I almost bought one of those moulds to make giant cupcakes this weekend, but I couldn't find a price. I now realize it was $30. Good call on not just buying it anyway.
Because my life apparently revolves around everything being either disgustingly sappy or quaintly beautiful, I found the tumblr fuck yeah kissing pretty wonderful! It sometimes makes you jealous, but mostly you just think HOW FREAKING BEAUTIFUL AND HOW CAN I MAKE THAT BE ME?

On the topic of how obnoxiously into sweet, pretty things I am, I'm doing a really intense run in a month, maybe you've heard of it? The Tough Mudder is approximately 7 miles on a ski mountain, through lakes, and through mud, just doing a ridiculous obstacle course of pain. I thought it would be way more fun than a marathon, though I realize it will be more intense and tiring. I'm just hoping the fun and entertainment part of it will distract me from being too miserable to finish. Especially since a nurse told me this weekend I probably have cracked ribs from my extreme coughing. MY LIFE IS EPIC.

I really want sushi. I'm definitely too poor for it, but I had a sushi date planned with my friend Stitch this week as a joint birthday experience. He's out of town for the rest of the week, so it will have to wait. So will my personal-size cake with lots of icing from Fresh Grocer.

(dav english floral rain boots, yes please. )

I found this pretty version of Lovers in Japan, acoustic. Not quite the upbeat springtime feeling I was going for when I sought it out, but it's still lovely enough to share. A couple covers, a few slow songs, not at all a chipper Little April Showers playlist. Aim and miss, but some reminiscent old stuff for a smile or two.