ch ch changes

i'm brunette now.

this weekend was friend-filled in nashville. all i can do is hope that one day my brain research dreams will come true and i will be going to vanderbilt, living in a fun, trendy apartment in nashville close to all the people i love..(chicago wouldn't be so bad either).

the 4th of july is this weekend and i don't feel very prepared. it seems like i've always had really big 4th plans in the past... well, it doesn't just seem like it. i have. for as long as i can remember my parents have had a huge 4th of july party for friends and family and family friends at our house with about an hour long firework show (we have a lot of land). but for the past 2 years i've been on other fun trips. in 2009 i went to rothbury, michigan for a music festival (fireworks, nice cool weather, and music with friends and boyfriend... greatest trip ever). and last year after returning from a month in europe in june, my friends and i went to hilton head and watched fireworks on the beach. ostensibly, this next monday has a lot to live up to. hope it makes the cut and i end up doing something enjoyable..

the whole month of july i will be studying for the gre. when i went to go buy new study books this summer, i found out that the entire test is being changed august 1st, and that's when i had planned to take it. so now instead of being out of 1600, it will be out of 170. i'm curious to see how grad schools will respond to this change and if it will help or hurt my chances since there's no previous stats about what scores they'll be looking for. only time will tell.

rufus caused me to get hardly any sleep last night. he will not accept sleeping anywhere else but one millimeter away from my head, neck, or body. and it wakes me up a lot.

i signed up for a meditation webinar tonight to learn how to meditate! hah.. but i'm really serious about this you guys. determined to clear my head.

guilty: i really want/(think i'm going to buy) this lip stuff because us weekly told me that some of my favorite celebrities wear it.

bicycle police

much to my dismay, my bicycle has gotten me 2 "notices" in the past week. what's a girl gotta do to find a place to lock her bike outside the apartment? i don't understand why i cannot lock my bike on the stair railing out of everyone's way, not blocking anything. there's no way i'm carrying that thing up 3 flights of stairs. i need to be innovative this afternoon in finding a new parking spot for it.

RUFUS is lighting up my life. he is the cutest thing. i've found that i call him baby, pronounced "beebee", more than i call him by his name. ah! this is the first animal that i've ever actually owned. and it was a surprise from my lovely sydney grigg. growing up we always had cats and dogs, but i was never interested in being the one to take care of them. but now, when i wake up in the middle of the night and he's cuddled up to me as close as he can get, i'm more than willing to give him food and love and keep the litter box clean. ha.

i've been having hair loss issues for quite some time now and it's about to drive me crazy. i've tried numerous avenues to try to stop the falling out and kindle the growing back process, but not with much success. i don't want to lose my whole head! so, i've decided to try out meditation. i've tried to do it on my own and it is very very hard. so i want to go to some type of class for it or something, just to actually learn how to do it on my own. if anyone has any suggestions or tips, fire away!

i think this poem is cute:

Location, Location, Location

             I could have kissed you
under cherry blossoms,
pale petals drifting down
like the trees wanted to
pretend they could be
snowclouds.

I could have kissed you
in the rain, drenched to
our bones and not even
caring that the skies
opened up above us
and tried to wash us out.

I could have kissed you
in a clearing in the most
secluded woods, with
just the sound of wind
rustling through the leaves
and a few voyeuristic
finches peeping at us.

Instead, I kissed you
in the parking lot of a
Waffle House, just shy
of 2 a.m. in the middle
of a hectic week, with
our waitress grinning
at us from the other
side of the window,
because, honestly,
how could I not?

KITTY

this is my new baby rufus.

quotes that mean something today

there are four questions of value in life.

what is sacred?

of what is the spirit made?

what is worth living for?

and what is worth dying for?

the answer to each is the same.

only love.

-johnny depp

everyone is a genius.

but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,

it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.

-albert einstein

stayin busy

i am now a bicycle owner. and it has a basket and a bell and no speeds. i've become a little obsessed with it because it's made me so active. it's so nice to stroll around because almost everything i need to go to in knoxville is within biking distance.

also it's been such nice weather in knoxville. well, a little too hot. but my favorite thing is not having to worry about putting on a jacket every time i go outside.

eventful past couple of weekends!
my little sister, jenna, graduated from high school. she's coming to ut knoxville in the fall and i couldn't be happier to finally live in the same city with her again.

i'm so grateful to be a part of the family that i have. whenever i make a trip home, i'm reminded of how fortunate we are.

this weekend, my friends and i assuaged the extreme heat by spending all day saturday on the lake. fun times with fun friends. i really miss all of our college friends and being able to run right up the road to see them whenever i please. just a part of growing up, i guess.

just a few more things

• i really love the instagram app on iphones. (and facetime)

• this is my picture i painted by instruction...

• i'd really like to visit this place at some point in my life.
• i like this story about love.
• don't take your hair for granted. hair loss is not fun to go through.