starbucks on saturday

today i went to starbucks to get coffee.  this is unusual for me on a saturday morning because typically i view a triple venti skinny latte with cinnamon (the real stuff, not that horribly syrupy shit that makes me sick) as a treat or relief during the week, i.e. i make a starbucks run when i MUST GET OUT OF THAT BUILDING.  usually, it helps me survive.  (seriously, yall, i like my job, but sometimes - and i'm sure everyone feels like this - those walls feel very tight and confining and on those days i NEVER feel guilty for using my planning period to run around in the fresh air...)

but this morning i have been up and running, so i decided to swing by.  i got my drink and actually remembered to read the quote on the side.  it is one of the best i have ever read off of a cup and it may, just may, be the best representation of my life philosophy.  i may have to steal it for a future resume or job application.  do you think it would be looked upon poorly to quote a starbucks cup when trying to get a new job?

our prejudices arise from the fear of things we do not understand.  if my generation has a single goal, it must be to promote education - education that advances us not only technologically, but also intuitively and emotionally.  in today's fast-paced world, advancing has to mean more than scientific discovery; it is our responsibility to force ourselves beyond our comfort zones and become knowledgeable about the people around us. - jessica arden ettinger

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THE reason i am up and going today is that i got a call from haverty's at 8:30 that they would be at my door in 30 minutes . . . and they were!!!  so i've gots a new bed.  now i am feeling quite motivated to hang up all of the stuff on the walls in my place.  you know, all of that stuff i've had for like a year that is still just leaning up against furniture?  yep.  that stuff.  maybe by the end of the weekend it will look like i live here again.

not that you REALLY care, but here is my bed . . . and it is MADE.

here is the foot of my bed.  i don't quite know why.

and here is what my bed will look like on a regular basis.

tres vestidos

it was an "ice event" here in north texas today.  for me, that means i slept in and then spent the rest of the day cleaning.  it doesn't matter that you can't really tell i cleaned . . . that tends to happen when you drag everything out of your closets to decide what to keep and what to give away.  i'm giving away a lot.  this is a good thing, i have to keep reminding myself.  to feel better about clearing perfectly good clothes out of my closet, i am looking for clothes i would rather have on this magical land of the internet.  in just under 5 minutes i found these three dress from anthropologie.  i don't know if i will actually buy any of them - i tend to turn very practical when i walk into anthropologie and can't seem to shell out the money . . . but i may just have to break down so i can have a summer frock this year . . . or drop a big enough hint toward my people who sew . . .

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the last one is my absolute favorite.  i don't know if the detailing on it will show through here or not, but i HEART it.  

a lot.

time for bed before i drift over to j. crew.

manic monday

it's been a day.  i'll just leave it at that.  such a day, that it's not even 7:30 and i've already been to the gym and am back curled up on the couch.  usually, i'm just now getting ready to head out, but i've decided sleep will be a necessity tonight to deal with the twitterpations of 7th and 8th graders (and their teachers!  yes, me included!) hoping for a "snow day" on wednesday . . . 

hey!  did yall notice the new changes on the blog?  i decided to go all white and use my favoritest colors (orange and green - duh!) more obviously.  the "old" look was almost a year old and it was time to retire the very cool masthead that jessica not the sister made for me when i moved the myspace blog out into the public.  since i am still completely ignorant in all things photoshop, this time i hit up cody to help me out.  i sent her the link to my new favorite website (yeah, i don't know where this started, but let's just say i can't wait until i've got more cabinet space...) and told her some of the patterns i really liked and she used her graphic design skills to  help me out.  so thanks friends!

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so i've decided that on mondays i'm going to start a new happening here on the blog called "music mondays."  really, this is for two selfish reasons: 1 - it will make me write at least one thing a week and 2 - since i'm planning to post my weekly running soundtrack, it will keep me motivated in that direction.  also, i've gotten very lazy with the musics lately and am not searching out new and good stuff.  so, um, maybe this will help?  i dunno.

okay.  i decided last week that i needed a new running playlist when it dawned on me that i was probably the only one in the gym running to old billy joel songs.  (and what?  i'm not apologizing.  it had just been about 6 months since i'd updated and i do love me some billy joel circa 1984.)  feel free to suggest any songs you think i need to include in my playlist for next week.

1. i try - ben taylor*

2.  girls just want to have fun - greg laswell 

3. paper planes - m.i.a. (there is another version of this on the slumdog millionaire soundtrack that is really great . . . just a little too long for my playlist)

4. heartless - kanye west

5. my life would suck without you - kelly clarkson

6. hate that i love you - rihanna and chris brown (rihanna is always on my list.)

7. get silly - v.i.c.

8. always be my baby - mariah carey (yeah, i totally had a flashback to high school and driving in jenno's car after school)

9. love lockdown - kanye west

* so the new genius on itunes suggested ben taylor's cover of macy gray's "i try" to me.  usually, i ignore those suggestions, but i'd always been curious about ben taylor (he's the musical spawn of james taylor and carly simon) so i fell for the suggestion.  i am SO glad i did.  check out the somewhat creepy fan video below.  i tried to find a good video of him singing, but 'twas not possible.  

sleep over sight

i went to the eye doctor this week because i am convinced that i'm becoming nearsighted.  or developing nearsightedness?  hmm.  not sure how that should read.  anyway, according to the eye doctor, i still just have a mild astigmatism.  and he didn't seem all that pushy about me needing glasses or anything - even for reading.  i have my prescription and have decided that if i stumble across any glasses i love, i'll get them.  but, since i don't get headaches from reading and grading and driving like i use to, i'm in no hurry.

that brings me to my point.  apparently, since i don't need glasses immediately, that means i can spend the money i'd set aside for said glasses on something else.

so i did.

a bed! this bed, to be exact . . . 

it gets here next weekend and i am so excited.  i'm even pumped enough to go clean my bedroom out and actually take all of those bags of clothes to goodwill like i've been promising.  for someone who typically plans big purchases out like this, i've lucked out with my two-day spontaneity.  first of all, haverty's has free shipping this weekend.  AND now that i've gotten home and read the online reviews, i'm even more excited because this bed has great reviews AND they are going to put it together for me.  SCORE!

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sarah's steps to becoming an adult . . . 

1.  buy washer and drier - check

2.  buy "grown up" furniture instead of relying on the kindness of hand-me-downs - half a check (still gotta get that new couch this summer)

3.  buy a house - eh . . . 

4.  buy a piano - someday . . . 

so i'm kind of half-way there, right?

letter trio

dear neighborhood old navy (henceforth known as n/o/n) -

you are one of my favorite o/n stores and trust me, i have visited quite a few. for some reason, your store seems to be well- organized (like today in the clearance section how everything was organized BY COLOR - kudos n/o/n and your j crew-like ways!). generally, you are also able to avoid looking like yall just dumped the recently delivered sweaters onto the tables and said "screw it" to folding them since they are going to get unfolded within a few minutes anyway. so typically, i like walking around to see what all i can gather in my arms. and today, trust, i was doing quite a bit of gathering (yoga pants are SUPER cheap this week, how could i not?) and was having quite a good time . . .

until i was accosted by your overly enthusiastic salesperson, dan. dude. dan. when you asked me (okay, honestly, you SCREECHED it at me) the first five times "if i was having a pleasant shopping experience" and i answered "mmhmm, yep, yes" or just simply nodded i was being honest. but when you asked me for the 11th time, i'll be honest, my answer was a bold-faced lie. but it was a lie i felt like i had to tell because if i said no then HOLY CRAP you might want to HELP me and dan, dan, dan, that just wasn't going to happen. and hey. did you notice when you asked if i wanted to sign up for an o/n-gap-banana card how quickly i ran to the front of the store to get away from you? oh wait? you didn't? that's riiiiiiiiiiight, 'cause as soon as i said no, your head whipped around to the poor lady next to me and you started the whole accosting experience over with her.

so in conclusion n/o/n, i do not plan on boycotting your store. (um, hello? your yoga pants are my fave!) but if you could, please, just post dan's schedule so i know when i should avoid dropping by.

thanks ever so much,
sarah

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dear chipotle man #1,

i love me a meal from chipotle. i do! and maybe since i go way too often (thanks missy!) it is more of a statement on my character that i can spit my order out and be in and out all in 3 minutes. but seriously my friend, i have NEVER waited behind someone so freakishly picky about their order in my life. and you were RUDE to the chick making it even though she was trying her hardest to make sure she followed all 138 of your directions.

also. you never said thank you to them. even though they spent 12 1/2 minutes waiting on you.

boo.
-sarah

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dear chipotle man #2,

first of all, let's get this straight, i was here first. wait in line, buddy. you are creeping me out a little when you come stand directly behind me, 'cause sir, that ain't how it works at chipotle. stand to my left, please. preferably at least 12 inches away. oh. or 2? seriously - creeping me out.

secondly, yes, i know that man #1 is FREAKING ANNOYING and slow, but just because i agree with you, please do not make it look like i am in cahoots with your verbal (and grammatically incorrect) assault on his pokiness. and c'mon people! what is with being rude to the workers today? making them dump your "carnitas bowl" (with no rice? what is that about? it's the best part of chipotle!) and start over because in the 30 seconds it sat there it got cold? whatever. also. that guy behind the counter? he speaks english. better than you, actually, so please quit talking to him like he's an idiot.

again, no thanks to your burrito maker? you suck.

-sarah

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editor's note: i would like to add that neither of the experiences to either of these establishments will prevent me from spending money there pretty much every thursday. it's what i do.

welcome back . . .

kelly clarkson!!!  

my car stereo has missed you.  but just one song?  really?   please finish the album so i can proceed to embarrass myself in traffic as i perform concerts for my fellow drivers.

also, can we be bff's? 'k? thanks.

a tagging

i've had a few people tag me with the "16 random things" post that is going around.  i just spent quite a bit of time driving up and down i-35 and part of the way i entertained myself was to think of things i could includ on this list.  so here we go . . . 

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1.  i once heard maya angelou speak/sing ('cause she sings a lot) at the brady theater in tulsa.  ten years later, i got to hear s.e. hinton and amy tan speak (they did not sing) in the same place.  all three of these women wrote books that changed my life.

2.  i'm fascinated by names and own no less than three baby name books.

3.  i was tattooed by a man named troll.

4.  due to watching a quantum leap episode about the l.a. watts riots when i was 12, i have had a strong/obsessive interest in anything and anyone associated with the civil rights movement since.

5. in college, a guy i dated was told by one of his church leaders that i was "satan's temptress."  true story.  i was HORRIFIED and HUMILIATED by this and all it implied . . . i've since decided it was most likely because i had a brain.

6.  when/if i get married there is a strong possibility i will not change my name.  there is also a strong possibility i will blame this on being a feminist when really it will mostly be because i am lazy.

7.  i spent every morning of my childhood summer days at the feedlot "helping" grandpa, richard, larry, and robert feed the cattle by riding around in the truck and getting to push the red button that did something SUPER-SPECTACULAR . . . i'm still not sure what, though.

8.  i'm claustrophobic in crowded places.  surely this has absolutely nothing to do with being in washington d.c. for the 4th of july in 1988 and walking back to our hotel along with 500,000 other people and being terrified i was going to be separated from my parents and sister.  

9.  for someone like me (issue from #8), visiting the empire state building in new york city was pure torture.  skinny hallways, long long long lines, people pressed up against you, riding up 1000 floors or whatever in a tiny elevator with at least 50 other people crammed in when really it should only hold 5  . . . 

10.  um, yeah, but looking back the empire state building is something i am very glad i did.

11.  when the horse died in never ending story, i stood up on my chair and wailed and had to be carried out of the theater.  

12.  i once was booed at a 7th grade girls "c" team basketball game because i was trying to run the clock and maybe kinda slightly screwed it up.

13.  one of my proudest moments of teaching is when a team member told me that he had overheard several students (and yall, this was the ROUGHEST group of kids i have ever had, which is actually saying a lot) talking about how mean and tough i was in class.  i still don't know how i tricked them.

14.  another moment of teaching pride: when i watched that class graduate from high school.

15.  my closet and much of my life may not be as organized as some would like it to be, but my computer files - on all three computers, mind you - are impeccably organized and it drives me crazy to be on someone else's computer that is not so.  seriously, how do you people live?  ;)

16.  my toenails are painted blue right now.

i was gone, now i am back - aka the top 11 things i learned over christmas break

so yeah.  long time, no blog.  i'm sure you had gone into some sort of life low in not being able to read my ramblings.  not to fear - sarah is back to the babbling.  so thanks for stopping by.

before christmas, i was having a hard time trying to focus on writing and i'll be honest, the lack of focus has only increased in the two weeks i haven't written ANYTHING at ALL except for facebook status updates.  some of those, though, have been masterpieces . . . but i need to get in the habit of writing more because - as always - one of my new years resolutions is to, um, write more.  last year, i actually somewhat accomplished it via this here bloggy thingy.  this year, well, not such a great start.  but i'm BACK!

and i think here on this bloggy thingy i have kind of started a trend/habit/tradition of listing what i learned when i've gone somewhere for vacation or something.  well, i mean, i know i did it that one time.  so because i do want to write about my 2 week respite from junior high kiddos, but also because of the whole inability to focus thing, i am going to fall back on the ol' "what i learned" format.  catch ya on the flip side.

(not quite sure why on earth i just wrote that last sentence.)

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the top 11 things i learned over christmas break 

(someday i will figure out a more creative way to title these entires.  promise.)

1.  i have will power.  it's been a while since i had been able to find it, yall, but let the fact that i did not eat a single piece of aunt sylva's cherry pie (made by mi madre just for me) illustrate the fact that will power does exist in my dna.  also, i ran-ish.  a lot-ish.  even when it was COOOOOOLD in the arctic tundra that is oklahoma/missouri.

2.  number one is not always the case when wine is involved.  basically all you need to know (and really i'm just telling you this so you don't worry) is that wine + sarah = sleep.

3.  i heart steve nash.  and that will always be the case even if i am made fun of for having such a crush.  but yall i do have to say . . . watching nba basketball in oklahoma city was SURREAL.  i'm not knocking oklahoma at all in pointing this out . . . it's just, i guess, something i never really expected?

4.  you can find a lot of random crap at wal-mart.  especially a wal-mart in springfield, mo.  (and by random crap, i do NOT mean jan.)

in case you cannot tell, yes, that is an ENTIRE display of mizzou paraphenalia . . . purses, headbands, bags, scarfs . . . it was terrifying.

5.  i still like springfield, mo (despite the above horribleness available at their local establishments.  and by above horribleness i do NOT mean jan.)  and the people i know there.  (hi family!)  who knew we could laugh so hard about stealing gift cards to bookstores and bar-b-cue restaurants from one another?

6.  i am apparently the shortest person in my family.  i'm sure this has always been the case, but for some reason just now this christmas, i actually noticed it.

seriously?  what is that?  like 6 inches?  HOW COULD I NOT NOTICE THAT IN THE LAST 12 YEARS?

7.  my cousins make some cute babies.  (is that risque?  gasp!)

evidence #1 - joey!  (also, honesty time here . . . i took like 123 pictures of this kiddo and this is pretty much the only one that wasn't blurry.  obviously, i need to learn how to use my camera.)

evidence #2 - lizzy!  (another round of honesty - i took like 53 pictures of my dad holding lizzy and this is pretty much the only one where her eyes weren't red.  or where she wasn't flipping me off.  again.  must learn to use camera or convince this child to like me.)

8.  it's easy to fall into old habits.  i'm not going to elaborate on this one.  just know that it has nothing to do with the wine mentioned above.  not that that ever was a habit.  really.

9.  it's okay to let go . . . of control, of things you think you absolutely have to do because you always do them and oh my god if you don't do them then life will end, of assumptions, of  . . . yeah, so i kind of got some thinking done . . . again, no elaboration, but know that all is good.  very good.  

10.  i have had my fill of i-44.  no offense dear stl fam and no offense s-field fam, but it might be a while before i hang out on that glorious stretch of road between tulsa and where you are . . . please do not take it personally . . . 

11.  i am very blessed.  with friends.  with family.  with opportunities.  i didn't really need to LEARN, this, per say, but i think God likes to remind me in obvious ways since sometimes i don't stop and pay attention to the obvious.  see number 6 for evidence if you must.