i know, i know, jason mraz... but seriously, drew and i lived here! i could tell you where each segment of this video was taken (well, not the beach parts). why did we ever leeeeaaaave?

true life confessions

- if i have to walk across campus when it's cold outside and the ground is wet and slippery, i usually walk inside buildings to get to where i'm going.

-if i'm forced to choose between sleeping and showering, i almost always choose sleep (a decision i've been making a lot lately).

-i don't think i'm cut out for blogging.

why do i think this is so funny? i especially LOVE the clip of the lady in the courtroom, it has been making me laugh all day.

let's be candid

there is this stereotype of artists that conceives that many go insane over time. some blame overexposure to chemicals, and others to an overactive mind. i'm not sure where the truth lies in this notion, but i have to tell you that i literally feel like i'm going crazy. i don't mean that i'm in a really busy season or that i have some emotionally taxing situation, i mean that i think i'm actually going crazy. i can't explain it all here in writing, or even in speech, but certain things have been happening for the past few months that really make me question my sanity. for example, just yesterday i was driving home to my parent's house- the house i lived in for somewhere around 17 years, the freeway exit that i've taken hundreds of times- and somewhere between upcoming holiday gifts and photography ideas i realized that i had passed my exit... 15 miles ago. and lately at work when i have to clock in, it will deny me access and then i'll see that i punched in my exact numbers, but in reverse or in a mirror image on the keyboard. or i'll be reading, and when a sentence doesn't make sense i'll go back and re-read it a few times only to discover that the single word that disrupted the entire sentence flow is in fact 4 lines below.

part of me wants to blame the high fevers from my tango with malaria and the brain cells that were lost as a result. another part thinks the darkroom chemicals are to blame. i don't feel overloaded and i'm not especially stressed out.

let me be real with you, when we were in sudan (how many sentences will i begin with that phrase in my lifetime?), i peed the bed. yep, as a 22 year old, i peed the bed. now, speaking of malaria, the hallucinations that accompany this disease are totally to blame for my midnight soiree with the mattress. i actually believed i was in a bathroom (um, ok fevers of 103 and life threatening disease here!). anyways, my point is that i've been having those dreams again. they haunted me for months after the pee incident. this dream where i am in a bathroom peeing, and then i partially wake up and realize that i'm actually still in bed. the only "accident" happened when i was sick, but i had surreal feeling every time i actually did go to pee, a fear that i might be dreaming instead. well, i had the dream last night and had to feel the sheets underneath me to make sure everything was still kosher (which it was).

i'm usually semi-indifferent toward thanksgiving. aside from the nostalgia that it brings in officially starting the holiday season, thanksgiving doesn't really do tons for me. it may be the issue that with my extended family, it's usually an awkward gathering where no one really has much to talk about.

this year i'll be spending the holiday with drew's siblings, and i'm ultra excited. i think it has to do with the fact that this is the first thanksgiving for us that we are in charge of. usually, i just show up and eat. but this time, we're doing all the cooking. there's a real sense of ownership that comes with being the one to dictate the menu and then to execute it (though i will say that we aren't exactly dictating anything- as the holiday itself basically commands the menu). i'm in charge of desserts, and since i can't cook worth a dime i'm pretty pleased with this responsibility. like i said, i can't cook, but i have inherited the uncanny ability to bake that runs within the women in my family.

i just got a nannying job for the new year. i'm so ready for a job where i can invest in the lives of others. i think it will be pretty perfect.

The $20 Weekend

If you want to know anything about me, then you should know that I will stretch every single penny for miles. I'm a sucker for a bargain, and I will never buy consumer goods at full price, unless I have searched the city and internet and found the best deal, though usually I convince myself to just wait until the latest version comes out and the one I want goes on sale.

Anyways, this habit extends into my social life, and sometimes makes it hard to hang out with friends who like to spend a weeks worth of wages on drinks alone. I am so fortunate to have found a mate who has adapted his frugality to meet mine, and I really think this lifestyle works for us.

This weekend in terms of money:
Friday- Drew and I make a collaborative dinner- he's on the main dish and I'm on the side. $0.
-After dinner we hit the local bookstore for some quality pop culture updates. $0.
-Movie rental: Bella. $1 from redbox.
Saturday- Wake early to go to Tiny Canary with my sister- a local indie arts and crafts fair- think etsy but in person. Arrive early enough to be one of the first 100 people in line and get free handmade, organic tote goodie bags which include free samples and gifts from the vendors like handmade cards, necklaces, keychains, sketchbooks, pens, pins, hair pins, coffee coupons, and patches. $0.
-Splurged on some baked goods from everyone's favorite local vegan bakery, Pattycake. $9.
-Use coupon to get coffee to have with delicious baked goods. 65cents.
-Sell a few articles of clothing at a consignment shop in order to have the funds to support these crazy spending habits. Make $25.
- Take our earnings to a coffee shop and splurge again on a smoothie, a beer and the best chai in Columbus. $10.

So, in total we actually ended up making $5 this weekend. I can't say that we usually have weekends full of almost free stuff, but I can say that I usually feel pretty good about life when we do.

Kamau

This is Kamau. He's 4. Ross just sent me this photo as a Happy Bday photo from Sudan!!! It seriously makes my day to see new photos of our kids. Murielle is leaving for Nimule on Thursday, and of course I get all emotional thinking about her trip and wondering how the kids have changed in 3 short months.