so...

at night, after all the crying children have gone to sleep,
this hospital kinda sounds like an airplane.
the same noises it makes...
only thing that's missing is the uncomfortable seats. :)
but i could still pretend...

so...
where are we off to tonight?

moments...

hello. :)

i am now twenty-one, one week, and one day. AND the proud owner of a new, shiny, state-of-the-arkansas drivers license! superior to all others in its class D. i give you all freedom to be as envious as you wish.
so far, being twenty-one has been rather convenient, mainly in the workplace. you see, being an under age waitress in a dry county produces major problems when serving alcohol to your tables. ordering the drinks is no trouble at all, but when everyone is busy and, being under twenty-one, you can't actually physically carry the drinks to your table, it sometimes gets messy. regardless of how close your table is to the bar, you have to find a someone (preferably who works there) over the age of twenty-one to handle the alcoholic beverage from bar to customer. its ridiculous. however it is also the law. one which, now that i'm old enough, i will openly admit to breaking a time or two under business circumstances almost out of my control.
whatever. don't act like you wouldn't have done the same thing. i still like my job.
and my birthday party was wonderful thanks to tristan, jolie, and all my fabulous friends (and some acquaintances). i made it ten shots through my shot book. we have yet to enjoy the last 11 pages. hehe.

it was a beautiful day today! sunny, clear, and almost warm! considering the monstrous clouds which have been a constant companion the past four days, it is refreshing to once again believe that summer may be fast approaching. as for the monstrous clouds, though, some good did come of them. rain. lots and lots of rain. three days ago, i spent alot of time in the rain.

ever notice the parts in movies that make life seem so much more interesting? like, the really simple but crazy parts that make you want to do what they did? in the notebook when ally and noah lay in the middle of the road or kissed in the rain? and in twilight when edward and bella 'climbed' the tall trees? or in mr. and mrs. smith when they... ok analogy stops there. hehe. :) {tristan will know how to finish that sentence!}
anyway, she and i recently had a 'movie' moment. and it was... so invigorating. saturday night we went to the cutest little restaurant for jolie's birthday dinner. fred's hickory inn- lovely, just don't order the sirloin- but that's another story. after dinner, (instead of going to a baseball game- remember- its raining) we hula-hooped in walmart for a while, purchased a board game, then went back to the girls' apartment to turn it into a drinking game. after a few cocktails and a silly string fight, jolie decided to go to her brother's house to finish out the evening while tristan and i then headed out to the hot tub, despite the sprinkling-ness of the evening. we drove my car around from her apartment to mine, stripped down to the bare necessities (swimsuits- not totally bare- goodness!) and we ran for it.
about half an hour into the sprinkles, the wind began to pick up, foreshadowing quite the storm! but of course, the thick-headed, adventure-thirsty females that we are refused to be swayed by a litte rain. besides, we were already in the hot tub! you know the saying, when it rains, it pours? well, my friends, pour it did.
it was our perfect movie moment: arms up, mouths open with laughter, and dancing in the pouring rain, entirely lost in the moment of twirling like children. it was incredible! how foolish we must have appeared to to any unfortunate onlookers... however we soon found just that!
through the heavy rain mixed with steam from the scalding hot tub, i noticed two beady eyes watching us from the side of the pool. not watching- staring! we soon discovered that these eyes belonged to none other than a frog. not just any frog, mind you. a GIANT frog. a frog that could easily be mistaken for a watermelon with eyes. yes, it was huge!
if God's plague on the egyptians was frogs anywhere close to the size of our spectator, i can totally see how mortifying it must have been for them.
so i decided to get the frog. however, let me just say that i've never in my (21) years come across any amphibian so terrifying. (seriously- the "frogs" in memphis are the size of a quarter- an egg if you're lucky!) my prey sat there silently- watching me approach cautiously- and slightly clumsily from the quickly consumed cocktail. as each tiptoe drew me nearer, i reached out a toe- as if testing the water- towards the massive creature with his beady eyes. then suddenly, with a swiftness which no knight in shining armor could possess, it leaped! as if in automatic response, i leaped, followed by the frog leaping again, and me screaming at the top of my lungs and running back into the hot tub. (in hindsight, i'm surprised the whole apartment community didn't come after me with pitchforks for waking them at such an hour. i suppose the incliment weather helped drone out my piercing shreiks...)
then tristan tried. it went a little better for her. our enemy soon realized he wasn't welcome, and then immediately retreated as she marched upon him. the little weasel escaped through the fence with his legs flailing behind him.
of course only after his rapid departure did we decide that we needed him for a few test kisses. hehehe.

the rest of the night... shall stay disclosed in my personal box of favorite moments with best friends. :)

seeing as i was up till 2am doing homework and studying (like any normal college student i suppose) i am sufficiently exhausted. today has been productive. at least it feels that way now, as i head towards my welcoming pillows...

*************************************
tonight, i am thankful for... my roommate. :) and for the hope of spending a few days next month with marianna! i can't wait. i am thankful that God is unfolding His perfect and much sought after will in the lives of each member in my family. i am thankful for my exciting and unusual hot tub experience. make that my exciting and unusual life. ;) yay for springtime.
goodnight.

another candle on the cake

tomorrow i turn 21. *deep breath*
while on one hand it feels like a big thing, on the other it feels like just another ordinary day. however one in which i gain a whole new set of responsibilities.
remember when we were 10? and birthdays were all about what you got in those colorful packages? when the best present determined who your best friend was to be on that day and if you weren't the center of attention at all times it was heartache.
now it seems they're all about friends and just spending time with the people you love the most. this is the first birthday that i'm spending away from my family. its strange. even on my 16th birthday- which i spent flying to south africa by myself- my daddy took me to the airport and we had a birthday goodbye. this is unfamiliar to me. but i suppose this is what growing up is...

another candle on the cake
another tally mark to make
another chance to learn to dance
from all of my mistakes

one more year around the sun
one more year of too much fun
one more year that i am here
this new race has just begun

it seems that time has gone so fast
it seems that youth has all but passed
it seems that i forget to breathe
to make the the precious moments last

the time i got my first tattoo
the time i watched her say, 'i do'
the time we spilled wine and our hearts at one time
the time i became best friends with you

let's drink to the times we've yet to share
let's drink to the promise that we'll be there
let's drink to the pictures to bring back these times
that we spend enjoying a friendship so rare

to remember that laughter will always ensue
to remember that truth will see us through
to remember the best and forget all the rest
to all of my favorite moments with you

the future seems far off and often unclear
but mine is in the hands of One i hold Dear
so i know i'm alright, with Him holding me tight
as my twenty-first birthday draws near

****************************************
today i am thankful for good friends and for good times with said friends. i am thankful that i have a job, a place to live, a car to drive (that works now- praise the Maker!), and that i have a spectacular life, both behind and before me, and that every day the sun rises over me.
:)

happy birthday, me!

midnight spells a rhyme

i'm not the girl with the front row seats
or the girls who everyone's dying to meet.
i'm not the girl who makes herself known
by the clothes that she wears or the skin that is shown.
i'm not the girl with the colorful hair
who needs constant approval to know that she's there;
and i'm sure not that girl with the guys on her arm
who "ooh's" them and "aah's" them with buttery charm.

i say the wrong things when the time's not quite right
and i forget to make the best use of daylight.
i'm clumsy and foolish and sometimes a bitch
but my bills are all paid, and in friendship i'm rich.
my life can be messy, my heart can be deep
oh what am i saying! i should be asleep!
the point of my rambling, i guess you can see
is that i am not perfect, i'm just plain old me.

with my flaws out before you, i feel slightly bare
but i know somewhere deeper, there's more to me there
my heart is real honest, my words don't deceive
as far as the future, i dare to believe
the reason i'm happy is deep down inside
in the core of my being, there's so much i hide
but the real me is in there, and out here to see
its fairly quite simple, i am just me...