Sunday, August 29, 2010

I Get to the Point In Paragraph Three

I have always enjoyed listening to things as I fall asleep. When I was a kid, (okay...so until I was about 16) I loved listening to "Adventures in Odyssey". I remember being so thankful when the cassette player would automatically play the second side of the tape after the first side ended. There would be the comforting "click-click-click" of the cassette player preparing to play the second side...and then you knew you wouldn't have to climb out of bed to flip over the tape. High tech, baby.

Lately I have been trying to go to bed earlier and it has been taking me hours to fall asleep. I am not even sure if you can call it falling asleep. It is more me forcing my body into sleep (which doesn't work). Part of why I can't fall asleep is because I can't stop thinking. So I just lay in bed and think. And think. And figure out my next day. Then my week. Then I attempt to figure out my life. Not even joking. It drives me crazy. Consequently, I have begun listening to podcasts to help me fall asleep. Listening to something takes my mind off whatever I would be thinking to death/dissecting into a million pieces, and then I can usually fall asleep.

The point of me even beginning to talk about this is that I have been finding some hilarious and entertaining podcasts.

-Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (From NPR). It's just so good. I have often found myself laughing into my pillow when listening.

-The Food Network Humor Podcast. Okay, this will probably only be funny if you are more than slightly familiar with the Food Network channel and the hosts of the shows. Basically this is a podcast that makes fun of the cooks, their quirks, and their recipes (in a totally good natured way). As I said, this isn't for everyone. But it is a gem.

-This American Life (also from NPR). One of the reviews I read for this podcast was almost as good as the podcast itself. "...You'll start out the hour laughing (perhaps harder than you've ever laughed at a public radio show) but inevitably and seamlessly, in a completely unconscious manner your emotions will be turned inside out and you will end the hour sobbing in your car in the Target parking lot you've been parked in for the last 40 minutes. And sometimes you won't even know why you're crying, all you'll know is that some sort of emotional release is needed before reintegrating yourself into the outside world." I laughed just reading the review. Perhaps because I have absolutely sat in my car for a prolonged period of time, wanting to hear the conclusion of a story from A Prairie Home Companion or when listening to Car Talk (and needing to know just why Susie's truck is making that clunking noise). Or perhaps because I often have to hide both my laughter and my tears from the people in the vehicles around me, who can see through my-totally-not-tinted-one-tiny-little-bit-windows of my car, and probably think I am a crazy/unstable woman who shouldn't be driving. Either way, the first episode I listened to ("Rest Stop") produced silent pillow laughter, three tears, and a warm, "this is why I love Americans...because we are so dang weird" feeling in my heart as I (finally) fell asleep.

Wow. Kudos to you if actually you persevered through those last two sentences. Double kudos if you understood a word of what I said.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

JT (Joke Time. Duh)

What is the one animal that will never tell you the truth?

A lion.

Yep. Totally came up with that. May or may not be kind of proud of myself.

Showers, Girl Power, and Family Matters

Okay, so maybe that didn't rhyme as well as I was hoping it would.

Today was my sister's (Jenny's) baby shower (Baby shower number 2!). It was so special and a lot of fun. She is due in just two weeks! I care so much for the little girl already, mostly just because I love Jenny so much and she is part of Jenny. Baby Shaw (whose name is a secret but I actually know what it is, because Jeremiah said it when I was around..) is going to have two amazing parents. I am kind of jealous of the little girl.

My sister Megan took me home from the shower, and we ended up talking about what else...(no, not babies) but love. Falling in love. Being in love. Oh, and me turning 21. You know, all that fun lovey-dovey girl stuff that I rarely allow myself to talk about because I often think it is kind of dumb/pointless. But sometimes you just have to let it out with a sister, you know? And those times are just so darn uplifting and relaxing. Almost like chocolate. Almost.

Meg has two kids and told us a couple weeks ago that she is expecting a third child! I feel like my family is getting really big, really fast. In the past 4 years we have added six people (okay, two of those six aren't born yet, but still). Now we have my mom and dad, Michael, Megan+Chris, (Mikayla, Aiden + third child-to-be) Jenny+Jeremiah,(Baby Shaw/Little Girl) Me, and Ashley.

There are days when it is hard having so many people around, because at times I feel lost in a crowd when I am with my own family. Sometimes people don't notice when you aren't there (or when you are there..not sure which is worse) because there are eight other people talking/laughing/singing and two kids crying/giggling/running around. Yet other times, being part of a big family is the sweetest thing (for the very same reasons) and feels like such a great blessing. I know I have three best friends for the rest of my life in my sisters. And I have two brother-in-laws who are incredibly artistic, musical and creative (well, my sisters are those things as well). And my brother Michael is just so dang smart, successful, adventurous, and committed to God.

I realize that I am feeling a little mushy/gooshy/slooshy (whatever that means) about my family today. It's okay though. I'm allowed to brag about my family every once in a while, right?

Friday, August 13, 2010

AAA

Oh wait, that's who you call when you lock your keys in your car. I meant AA.

"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be." (Groucho Marx)

Okay. So that quote definitely sounds like it belongs in group therapy: "Repeat after me--I, not events..." Dear Lord.

And no, I have no idea who Groucho Marx is. However, I am pretty sure he could blame his parents for his unhappiness. Who names their child "Groucho"?

About Me

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This blog is basically how I de-stress from 1.) all the awkwardness I encounter and cause on a daily basis and 2.) life in general. You know all of those little situations and bumps in the road that you don't give a second that about? (No, you don't know, because you didn't give them a second thought.) Well, those kinds of situations tend to create existential dilemmas in my soul. So at some point I will probably give you too much in depth information on my emotional, spiritual, and mental health, because some self-absorbed part of me thinks you really want to know.

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