Introducing...

Ladies (and gentlemen?), I'd like to introduce you to a brand new blogger. She is one of my best friends and is HILARIOUS. She's the one who was singing the Eric Berry song in the theater before the New Moon premiere and has also been known to walk around campus with Hannah Montana blaring from her iPhone. What can I say? That's how she rolls.

Her birthday is tomorrow and after we grabbed dinner, I helped her set up her blog, Sins of Rachel Cade. She turns 20 and has made it her goal to blog every day that she is 20. I can guarantee if you give her a follow, she'll amuse you. Promise. She's completely insane - in a good way. So go check out her first blog post!

It's no secret that I love, love, love music. I love lyrics especially and write down ones that I find inspirational, amusing, identify with, or just plain like. I've been writing down a lot of them lately and thought I'd share a few. Some of them are from old songs I didn't appreciate until I got older and others are from songs you've probably never heard of, but hopefully, you'll feel a kinship with at least one of them. After all, that's what music is meant to do:

Lyrics:

"Lucky as a seven, living in heaven." - "Dixieland Delight" by Alabama

"It's a hoot and holler on a touchdown pass, a George Strait crowd when he tips his hat." - "Country Folk (Livin' Loud)" by the Lost Trailers

"It ain't a Rebel flag you bought at the mall, it's a hideaway bed in an old horse stall, two kids gettin' caught, stealing a Boone's Farm kiss. It ain't a John Deere cap that's never fell in the cotton, it's a Jimmy Roger's song that's long forgotten, it's homemade peach ice cream on sun burnt lips - that's what country is." - "What Country Is" by Luke Bryan

"Got the radio on, my old blue jeans, and I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve, feeling lucky today, got the sunshine, could you tell me what more do I need?" - "Place In This World" by Taylor Swift

These two lyrics, I LIVE by:

"With style and grace, kick ass and take names." - "Fight Light A Girl" by Bomshel

"Leave nothing less than something that says 'I was here.'" - "I Was Here" by Lady Antebellum

Dear Santa (What I REALLY want for Christmas)

Dear Santa,

Every year, my parents ask me what I want for Christmas. And every year, I say the same thing: a white Christmas. When I was younger, they found it amusing and would give me a snow globe or a snowflake ornament to appease me. Now that I'm older, they roll their eyes and ask what else.

Well, Santa, it's that time of year again and once more, I'm asking for a white Christmas in my mountains of Virginia. I don't need a blizzard - in fact, a blizzard would be detrimental to my Christmas Day routine - but if you could spare about 3 inches of snow on Christmas Eve, that would be great.

This Christmas will mark a decade since we last had a white Christmas. Let's not reach that mark. I was in eighth grade then and there wasn't any snow in the forecast. Flurries started falling Christmas Eve morning and the weather man said it would amount to nothing. Then there was an inch and he said that's be it. And then 2, 3... We ended up with 6 inches of snow and Norm, the weather man, looked like a fool. It was a great Christmas.

Incidentally, the twins were still 2 months and about a week from bursting onto the scene so they've never had a white Christmas. I'm getting my brother a snowboard for Christmas - wouldn't you like to see the sweet 9 year old boy be able to play with his new toy? Just look how pretty it is on my mountain when it snows. And how happy those cute little kids are.



But Santa, I know you can't control Mother Nature. So I'm offering you a deal. If you put this guy under my tree, with a big bow on his head and a guitar in his lap, I'll forgive the whole no snow on Christmas for the last ten years thing:


His name is Jake Owen and he's a country singer. You'll most likely find him in Nashville or at his family's home in Florida over the holidays since he does a big benefit there every year with his friend Mardy Fish, the tennis player. Yes, I know his fashion choices are sometimes questionable, but have you heard him sing? Or seen him smile? Tacky shirts can be overlooked. And on him, they're actually rather endearing.

So Santa, that's what I want for Christmas - snow and Jake Owen. Pretty please? With sugar on top? I've been a good girl this year, swear!

Merry Christmas!

Love,
Sarah

P.S. - I'll be interning in Nashville from mid-May until mid-August so if you want to arrange it so I run into Jake while out on the town and it's love at first sight, that'd be okay too.

Show Us Your Life - Christmas Trees

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner hosts Show Us Your Life and this week, the theme is Christmas Trees. So here we go!


If you read my blog post a few days ago, you've already seen this one. It's my tree in my dorm room and it has a special story behind it. It was my great-grandmother's and the box is dated 1952. It's a vintage aluminum tree and if you try to find one on Ebay or in an antique story, they run of a couple hundred dollars generally. The price tag is still on the box - Maw Maw Martin bought this tree for a whopping 2 bucks. I'll be taking it apart - a real hastle since every. single. branch. is individually wrapped in heavy butcher paper - and taking it back to VA to set it up for the holidays, Tennessee-colored bulbs and all.


You can see the same tree in this picture from last year - it was decorated in blue lights with red and silver bulbs. My grandpa LOVES blue Christmas lights and was present when it was decorated (we get ESPNU - he doesn't) and dictated the color scheme. I thought it looked beautiful when it was lit and all the lights were off, kind of like it was covered in ice. You can also see Mom's fireplace/mantle with my village on it as well.


This is my Granny and Papa's tree. We spend Christmas Eve with them - right across the street from our house. All of Granny's decorations were burgundy and gold for the longest time. She added in the blue a couple years ago. My mom made the big bow on top of the tree for her.


This is another antique Christmas tree my Mom has. This was another great grandmother's. You can probably tell that my Mom is big on tradition and family and it means a lot to her to have these things sitting around. The three figures in front of it are antique as well.


And now, our main tree. We get a live one every year and you can always tell who picked it out. Mom likes Spruces best (me to0) and stepdad goes for the Firs, which, while pretty, tend to look heavy. And this tree is completely lopsided - another clue that he picked it out. The tree itself was crooked. Trust me, Mom and I spent over an hour one night trying to straighten it before we figured that one out. Stepdad doesn't get a say in tree selection this year.


While most people in our family go for themed trees - I have an aunt who does hers in purple and gold, purple lights and all - Mom likes to have what she calls a 'country' tree. It's full of an assortment of ornaments, some of them a few decades old. She always adds new ornaments each year and I know for a fact there are a TON of new ones for this year - she bought an entire cart full the day after Christmas last year. There are Baby's First Christmas ornaments for all 3 of us on it among other keepsakes.


There are a lot of handmade ornaments on our tree as well. Here are two of them. Mom's friend made the snowflake out of buttons and my little brother made the star when he was in either preschool or Kindergarten. My sister has a similar one on there tree somewhere. She even has ornaments I made in elementary school still. So does my dad. We usually top the tree with an angel though we've done a big bow in the past and I think we might be going that route this year.

I can't wait to see our tree when I get home. Personally, I'm kind of hoping she waits and puts it up after I get home which is likely since it's the last thing to go up - kind of hard to keep a live tree living until after New Year's if you put it up too early! I love helping decorate it. Last year, we ran into a shortage of lights after putting so many up outside before doing the tree so we mixed colored and white lights. She lets the twins pick which color they use (come to think of it, that used to be MY job. Huh...) and they always choose colored. So this year, she bought a ridiculous amount of lights in Lowe's on Black Friday. There will definitely be no shortage this year.

Best Box - EVER

As you can see, my blog has fallen victim to my Christmas decorating spree. So far, I've got a tree up, my dorm room door decorated, my elevator lobby looking like a snow storm hit it, my cell phone's background is the London Eye all lit up for Christmas - my way of paying tribute to Love Actually - and tonight, my desktop background and now my blog are ready for Christmas. I think I'm done now - until I go home in a week. Mom promised she wouldn't set up my Christmas village without me. (Don't worry PSP - I've got the amazing layout you made me saved to my laptop!)

Tonight, my staff had our Christmas party. All semester long, we've been leaving gifts for our 'secret pal.' We all fill out a form about things we like and dislike and base our gifts off of that. Normally, it's something cheap, like a candy bar or a note. Tonight was reveal though so the price was upped to $15. I got my secret pal a picture frame, room spray in Jasmine (it had her initial on it - couldn't resist!), a baggie of gummy bears - her favorite - and a zebra print wrap from Wal-Mart. LOVE Wal-Mart's wraps for only $5. They're so soft!

My secret pal, however, topped everyone. I had no idea who it was until I saw the box it was in. But before I get to that, let me share what was in it:

She put all of my favorite snacks in it, as well as seven (7!) UT shakers. There are no words to express how excited I am about Sour Patch Kids in bulk. I'd take them over chocolate any day. Now I have about a pound of them. YES!

She also threw in no less than 23 miniature water guns. I have plans for those and it involves the boys next door. Or my resident that seems to think it's okay to talk as loud as possible in the elevator lobby at 3am.

But the box... Oh the box... Lauren (my secret pal) cut out clippings from magazines and attached them to a printer paper box. Then she covered it with packing tape which acts as a laminate. She picked out clippings that she knew I would like, that reminded her of me, or that referred to a fun time we've had together. She did an amazing job.

Yes, Taylor Lautner is on it. More than once. Carrie Underwood is there too - because I want her hair and her shoes from the "Cowboy Casanova" video.



This is the top of it. She put my name on it and if you look closely on the left hand edge, you'll see my graduation year. We spent forever on Tiffany's website one night, picking out future engagement rings and charm bracelets. Hollywood, frosted cookies, a picture of a couple in love... She's amazing. Even put my eye color (some days - they change) on it. It's me, on a box lid.


This is my favorite side. Rob Pattinson as Edward, Bella and Edward (not Rob and Kristen - Bella and Edward), a boot since I'm on the search for the perfect pair of boots... And a Top 40 chart. The staff makes fun of me because I dissect the Billboard charts every week.

I think I might wrap a few presents like this for some of the younger people on my Christmas list - it's a great idea. And I'll have time once I get home for break. Sadly, my exams are upon me and I'll be owned by textbooks all next week. So much so that my friends will be getting their Christmas gifts after we come back from break - aka, after I've had time to make them!

P.S. - They're calling for about an inch and a half of snow in Knoxville tonight. I'll regress to childhood at the first sign of a flake of snow. I LOVE snow!

Christmas Shopping, Wants, and Wishes

I love giving gifts. This year though, no one seems to have any clear cut 'I wants' on their list - except my brother who ALWAYS has something he wants. Kid has already made his birthday list. That's in March and consists entirely of baseball items.

My favorite people to buy for are my brother and sister. When they were really little especially. Over the years I've gotten them exactly what they've wanted. Skateboard ramps, a kid vanity, a sparkly guitar like Taylor swift has in the "Our Song" video (I glued rhinestones on one by one by one...), video games in hot demand... I've done good. This year, Brother is getting a snowboard. It's a 'toy' snowboard since Mom is against buying him a 'real' snowboard until he's older and not growing so fast that he'd need a new one for next winter, but he can still use it at the ski resort near our house without having to pay rental fees.

Sister though...

She's growing up - dolls and Barbies don't appeal to her anymore and she's still too young for 'teenage' stuff. It's beyond frustrating to buy for her. She's told Mom multiple games she wants, but that's pretty much it. We're all scrambling for what to buy her. She's extremely artistic though and draws literally ALL the time. She's really into designing clothes so I had a brainstorm this morning and found a whole line of Project Runway toys where she can design clothes, sketch, put on fashion shows... There's also a similar line called Harumika. I sent the links to Mom who is practically kissing my feet right now. But any other suggestions for a 9 year old girl who is fiercely independent and loves both animals and drawing would be highly appreciated - from me and my mother.

Another one I'd love some suggestions for is my 3 month old cousin. There are so many of us that we draw names and I got the baby which I was excited about until I started shopping for him and realized how hard buying toys for an infant is - I want them to be safe, but fun, educational. I'm leaning towards getting him an outfit, but I'd REALLY love some suggestions for him. The gift limit is $25.

And now... My wishes and wants for Christmas. I don't generally have a long list anymore since I'd rather buy things myself, but here are a couple things I've asked the parents for. Well, I asked Dad to just stick to the money gift he generally gives because him going into Sephora...

Sephora Ultimate Blockbuster

I may actually buy this myself - it's retail value is $400 and they're offering it for $48. I'm purposefully not buying makeup so I can use up stuff I have and have a great excuse to go all new. This will likely be my gift to myself if Mom doesn't pick it up first.

Rocketbuster Boots
These aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I LOVE them. This is one of my favorite designs. This is also the gift my parents would sprout two heads if I asked for - apparently $1300 for a pair of boots I'd wear a few times a year at best is, quote, "ridiculous." But when I'm rich and famous...

Really, I don't have much of a Christmas list. I've asked for another couple seasons of Friends on DVD to help complete my collection, some books, and, of course, peppermint bark. For me, Christmas has become what it is for my mom - watching the little kids open their presents and just enjoying the sheer magic of the season. Oh, and conveniently ending up across the street at my grandparents' just as Granny starts ladling oyster stew into their breakfast bowls on Christmas morning:

Enters house with a 'Merry Christmas' greeting of some sort. Granny is at the stove, Papa at the table.
Granny: "Want some oyster stew?"
Me: "Sure - no oysters though." Pours self a cup of coffee and sits down with Papa at the while he just shakes his head and grins.'

Last year Granny had a bowl waiting for me. It took 23 years, but they're finally getting it.

Ode to Bear

15 years ago, not long after my stepdad moved in with my mom and I, he brought his dog - the dog my mother had dared him to bring from his parents house - to our house. Mom and I were terrified of him. He was four years old at the time and had a bit of an attitude problem. He wasn't fond of certain people, particularly men, and for reasons Mom and I can't remember now, we were convinced he was going to eat us for dinner.

Over the course of a couple of weeks, however, we realized the dog wasn't so bad. Sure, his name was kind of lame - Bear is just so unoriginal - but it suited him well. Then the chewing started.

Bear chewed anything and everything. You would have thought he'd be past that, seeing as he was well past his puppy years, but that wasn't the case. He took a special liking to electrical cords late at night. It started with Halloween that year. Mom always goes all out and decorates for the holidays, including lights outside. At night, once the porch light was off and he knew we were in bed, he would chew through the extension cords, or, sometimes, the lights themselves (he was an outside dog who spent cold nights inside). We made it through Halloween and then it was Christmas where five times as many lights were up. Every few days, Mom had to buy new extension cords or a new string of lights.

Well, Mom has a bit of a tempter and had had enough. Looking back, she realizes this wasn't the best move but after spending a small fortune in cords and lights, she wasn't thinking clearly. She left the lights on one night. Bear bit into them. He received quite a jolt and never, ever chewed anything other than rawhide bones again.

I have always had a dog growing up, from the moment my parents bought a St. Bernard when I was an infant so we would grow up together. I had a pretty special relationship with my cat when I was five and didn't have anyone to play with other than my parents and grandparents, but it wasn't until Bear that I knew the unconditional kind of love a pet can have for it's owner.

I'd been away from home with my grandparents for a couple of weeks, visiting my aunt and uncle who then lived in Ohio. I rode on the back of the truck from my grandparents house to home (less than a mile) and the moment the truck stopped, Bear cleared the tailgate in one swift jump and leaped on me, thrilled to finally see me again.

When the twins were born, Mom wasn't sure how Bear would do. I was older when we got him - 9 I think - and the twins were tiny little buggers. My stepdad held onto his collar to introduce them. He sniffed each twin once and then laid down in front of their carriers, appointing himself from that day forward their protector - and herder.

My sister has always been the more hard-headed of the two and has a knack for not listening - or maybe, remembering? - what Mom says. She and my brother (they were about five at the time) were playing on the deck of our old house and were told not to leave it. Natuarally, my sister tested that limit over and over again with Mom repeatedly reprimanding her. Bear got up from his spot in the corner of the deck and went to lay on the sidewalk. Miss Priss tried her luck once again and Bear stood, nudged her with his head just hard enough to knock her down gently and gave her a look that said 'try it again, miss.' She didn't try again.

Bear was my 'Guy Gauge' as I liked to call him. Everytime I bought a boy to the house, I could tell by Bear's reaction if he was a good guy or not. Silly, maybe, but grossly accurate. He liked Rob for a while but his attitude suddenly changed towards him. Rob broke up with me two weeks later. Idiot. Anyways... Bear never liked John. Never. Even bit him once when he wa s playing with my sister and ran up to her and scooped her up. He went for the leg. Heelers are cattle dogs and are trained to go low - to nip at the cow's heels to get them to move where they want them to go. John, my first boyfriend, cheated on me. He commented on my facebook status about bear saying 'Sorry to hear, however I still have a scar on my leg from that dog.' I replied 'Thanks for the condolences - can't say I'm sorry about the scar.'

My aunt refered to Bear as a 'fixture' when she heard the news that he'd died. A better word couldn't have been used. He was the dog waiting for first my bus and then the twins' bus every single day, rain, shine, sleet, or snow. He was the dog who knew how many kids were supposed to get off the bus and then hearded them all towards the house and away from the road. He made it his business to bark only if someone drove up to our house or if something was going outside that shouldn't be. He laid in front of the front door and looked at whoever dared open it and disturb him like they were the worst people in the history of the world. More than once, he stood between our cocker spaniel, Abby, who annoyed him greatly and thinks she's bigger than she is, and our neighbor's rescue German Shephard who thinks just because he's the biggest dog on the mountain means he runs the place.

As he got older and his hearing got worse and his arthritis flaired up, he stopped following us when we would go for walks - or on a good day, he'd go about halfway and lay down until we came back. One day this past summer though, he decided he'd go with me. That day, a stray dog was in my path and bared it's teeth at me. Bear got between us and while he never attacked, he paced the dog back down the road so I could get away. To this day, I swear he knew that dog was going to be in my way. He never went with me again after that and I hate to think what would have happened without him.

Tuesday night when I got home, he didn't greet me. I figured he didn't hear me or was in the house. Sure enough, he was in the basement for the night. Wednesday, he was laying at the end of the sidewalk. I called out to him but his hearing was completely gone. Abby, who had been vying for ALL of my attention, bounded down the sidewalk, barked at him until she got his attention, and then came back to me. He turned, saw me, and his ears perked up. We had a good little reunion.

By Thursday (Thanksgiving), we knew he wasn't going to make it much longer - he was panting and could barely move. Friday morning, he passed away. Our hearts were - and still are - broken but he lived 19 years and was one of the absolute best dogs we could have ever asked for. We're looking for a new Heeler puppy, but it won't be Bear. No one can be Bear.

If there are spelling or grammar mistakes, I apologize. Tears are pouring down my face as I write this and think about my sweet dog. I'm so thankful I got to see him one more time before be passed. He was as much a member of our family as any human would be. I got 15 years of his 19. The twins got 9. We're all thankful for those years and will miss him every day. So will Abby who, Mom says, is slowly but surely regaining the bounce in her step that has been missing since Friday.

Bear
AKA 'Boogie' or 'Boogie Bear'
February 1990 - November 27, 2009

Deck the Dorm

On Black Friday, my mother bought enough lights to make Clark Griswald proud. I'm almost scared to see what I go home to in a couple of weeks, but kind of hoping she hasn't put much up yet so I can help - I love, love, LOVE decorating for Christmas. Really, I love all things Christmas. Like, a lot.

Since I'm only going to be in my dorm room for a couple of weeks before I go home for Christmas, I refrained from going all out and decorating it the way we decorate at home. But I did bring one of Mom's Christmas tree's from home to set up with her permission.

See, this tree is really really special to her and I feel special that she allowed me to bring it to school. It's 3 feet tall, aluminum, and was made in 1952. My great grandmother bought it for 2 dollars, according to the price tag on the warn out box. When she passed away a couple of years ago, my Mom got the tree when she was helping clean out her house.

I thought it was going to look ridiculous when she told me about it - I mean, it's aluminum - but come Christmas that year, when we finally pulled it out of the box, it was absolutely beautiful. Every year so far we have put a different color scheme on it. My favorite so far was last year's red and green. It just worked. Red, white, and blue was also great. This year - and hopefully for years to come because it's amazing - it has orange - Tennessee orange, mind you - bulbs and white lights. I'll take it apart and pack it up to set it back up at home, but here it is, sitting in my dorm room floor:


In other news, tonight I was installed as the 2010 Public Relations Coordinator for my sorority. I am super excited to get started and I have so many ideas about how to better publicize both the sorority and our events. I'm also going to redo our website, add multimedia to it, server space allowing, integrate social networking sites, and stay in closer contact with Nationals - I cannot wait to get started. Clearly, PR is my thing.

Oh, and we also received superlatives tonight. My sisters voted me 'Most Likely to Brighten Your Day.' I cannot begin to tell you all how happy that made me - they really couldn't have given me a higher honor then that.