What Guys and Girls On My Campus Are Wearing - Spring 2012!

1. Shortie Short Shorts
Yeah, we love being young and we love showing off our young and artificially tanned legs! CAN'T BE TAMED! I have difficult feelings about shorts (particularly athletic shorts...yuck.) In my humble opinion, short shorts are far kinder and better proportionally than Bermudas, or even shorts that hit mid-thigh, but if I, a woman of 5 feet and 10 inches, wear a pair of very short shorts, the visual is this never ending strip of white leg. So, to be chopped off and accentuated where you need it least or be a never ending pair of legs? I just can't decide.

2. Floral Prints
Large floral prints are huge this spring, and for one my campus decided to get with it and hop on this fabulous trend. Well done, ladies! I still like little floral prints, as they are more feminine, but I like large prints better than I thought I would. Some are still gaudier than I prefer, but all in all a lovely spring trend.

3. Color
Yet another crazy awesome trend that's being embraced is color and lots of it! Not a lot of neon or color blocking, but people have been making some bolder color choices to liven up their t-shirts and jeans. I wish I was seeing more in the way of colored denim, but it's the Midwest and we're slow to catch on.

4. Dresses and Skirts
It's warm. Wear a dress! You have a speech today. Wear a dress! It's laundry day and you have nothing left! Wear a dress, wear a dress, wear a dress! Not to stereotype, but Catholic girls love their little dresses-complete with cardigan to cover those shoulders! I'm not a huge fan of the floral print dress with black leggings and a cardigan, but I can understand trying to make your wardrobe stretch as far between seasons as possible.

5. Blazers
I need to get one. Like ten minutes ago. Like ten months ago. I love all the colored and cute blazers that are cropping up over campus. I seriously hope the blazer will become more of a staple in a young woman's wardrobe, because you have no idea what it can do for you. A well cut blazer will accentuate your waist, broaden your shoulders and draw attention to your neck and face. What more can a girl ask for?

6. TOMS
I have serious shoe jealously. Love, want and need a pair. Painting and otherwise embellishing them is a big thing here. One of my favorite pairs of the one's I've seen is navy and the owner painted branches and leaves all over them. Super cute.

7. Twists
Words cannot adequately express how much I adore this hair trend. The braid was huge last season, and it was nice, but a little exclusive for those of us with short hair or who can't braid to save our lives. The twist is all-inclusive, super easy and looks absolutely amazing! It's also the best way since the Snooki-Poof to hide those stupid bangs you're growing out.

8. Sandals
Hmm. I'm a flats girl, but I'm a little disappointed by how many people are wearing last season's sandals. Seriously? This season has so much more to offer your, from wedges to boat shoes to oxfords, I'm hoping people will start picking up on shoe trends other then 'the return of the jellies'. *Shudder*

9. Flowing Tops
YES! Finally! I am so sick of skin tight tops. Even when this trend dies down, I'm never going back to my drawer of tiny t-shirts that are only flattering on people with rock hard abs and no boobs.

10. Bold Nail Color
Pink! Green! Yellow! Blue! Great and interesting nail color, nail art and even the occasional decal. Right now, my nails are a neon pink I stole from my roommate. It doesn't match my outfit at all, but I love them so I don't care.

Reasons I Hate This Time of Year

1. Holidays. Why are they all in the winter? Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day... it's just too much. I've expressed my rather dire feelings about holidays in general before, so it should come as no surprise that I feel clusters of them are uncalled for. Lucky, the worst is already behind us.

2. Forms. FAFSA, W-4, W-2, Taxes... federal shenanaganizing. Askeroscarooscarfug. (Congrats if you came up with some way to pronounce that.)

3. Snow. *sighs* Alright. I confess. I hate snow, but not really. It's complicated. Just when I think it's bearable and maybe even kind of pretty, it proves me wrong and gets in my boot or tries to trip me up or just generally interferes with the delicate task of living my life.

4. Darkness. I like the dark. It's fine. But the long dark mornings and nights make me want to sleep in and go to bed earlier, and me wanting to go to bed at 5 P.M. is rather annoying and counter-productive.

5. Cold. I loathe being cold. More than being hot, more than being sweaty, more than losing a toe to a shark. Okay, maybe not the last one. Being cold makes me feel like I'm about 100 years old and lacking the appropriate medication for my various conditions that are causing me this aching pain. Dire? Yes. They aren't your joints, so deal with it. (For the record, if they are your joints too, I express my sincerest sympathy and the offer to get together to have a warm beverage and discuss our unnamed condition.)

I know I complain rather a lot. I guess it's because it's the one thing I can do about the things I can do nothing about. And for some reason, complaining about things in a vaguely amusing thing somehow helps me to feel better about them. Go figure, eh?

What Girls and Guys on My Campus Are Wearing -Winter Edition!

1. North Face. UGH. Do these come in any color other than ugly? If they aren't boring black, they are this hideous fuchsia. I know they must be warm... but seriously? Everyone, guys and girls alike. They're seriously not that flattering.

2. Uggs. Double ugh. I loathe these boots. They are so ugly and when they get ratty and nasty... I literally cringe at the sight. Again, I understand the importance of warmth and utility, I really do. But this is uncalled for. Swear by their unsurpassed comfort all you like, but I will never, ever wear a pair.

 3. Mittens. Love these. Particularly the ones that have the fingerless gloves and then the mitten part folds over. So cute and perfect for texting.

4. Tights. Sadly these are all too rare, but I feel like giving the select stylin' few their due.Very nice, ladies. I'm impressed. And jealous.

5. Pea coats. I particularly love the brightly colored ones! The pink, teal and mustard ones were my favorites. I had to stop myself from staring. There is one guy on campus who has a lovely gray pea coat and let me tell you- that kid looks sharp. Take notes, boys. Nothing is more swoon worthy than a man in a nicely cut coat. Except maybe a man in a good hat...

6.  Muckluks. Okay. I don't know why, but these are so much cuter than Uggs. I hesitate to call them stylish, but I don't violently loathe them or feel vaguely nauseated when I see them.

7. Scarves. There are not words that can express my affection for, devotion to and adoration of the scarf. The cuteness is so intense it's painful. At least once or twice a day, I see someone wearing one I am positively enamored with. I regularly steal my roommate scarves because she has a lovely collection she never wears. Feminine, smexy and warm. What more can we ask for?

8. Hoodies. I have a complex relationship with the hooded sweatshirt. I feel it is a reprehensible article of clothing that much of the undergraduate population uses to get away with not caring. Yet I must admit they are warm and, in some cases, appropriate. But when you use them as gym wear, your outfit for class and your coat... I just feel like you're limiting yourself. And failing to flatter any curves you might have.

9. Sweatpants. I own one pair and that is too many. Wear them with a hoodie and you just look sad. Like the poster child for despair. "I've given up on any fabric that isn't cotton. My depression is too deep for even denim." I really don't mean to sound like a total and absolute snob. Wear them if you like. You might even by some miracle look half way decent in them. You are free to wear them and I am free to despise them and feel sorry for anyone wearing them, much less that poor smuck I see wanting campus all too often wearing the North Face, a hoodie, sweatpants and Uggs. That's just too much sin for any man or woman to carry around on their person.

10. Trapper Hats. Which always make me think of Kingsley. Which is an excellent connotation. Plus, it's the fake fur trend which somehow looks so fab on everyone else but I have no desire to adopt it myself. Meh. It happens.

So Close, Yet So Far

Summer is so close.

The end of this school year is so close.

It will be the end of highschool for me.

There are a million things that will change, flex, grow, fade and maybe even shatter.

You know you're getting older when you start 'thinking' about things.

'Thinking' is hard on a lot of things. It tests and challanges what you think you know and believe and what you think you might want to know and believe and what you think you might someday know and believe.

Do forgive me if I fail to make sense, it happens with alarming regularity and I'm over it.

On the Wind

The wind is blowing firm and warm today. (My hair, however, is not taking this development in stride) Spring is famous for such. In between seasons are like teenagers- not knowing what they're going to be and a little confused about how to go about being whatever it is the decide to be on a given day. Today its not sunny, but its also not cold. The wind gusts indecisively. I cannot help but love, loathe and feel a sympathy for 'in-between-ness.'

Flowers will be blooming soon. I cannot wait. "Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity - John Ruskin" I love this quote. Flowers seem just a cut above the rest of us.  So effortlessly perfect and beautiful. They are like children, shamelessly beautiful and perpetually happy. They just... live.

I'm ever so glad spring is starting to make her appearance. It's one step forward and two steps back here in the Midwest. The calender says April, but there's still a change you might be getting snow. It's May, but that doesn't mean you are supposed to expect anything warmer than thirties with a nice freezing cold wind on the side. Yet in spite of this, spring is coming. Some days the sun is bright and warm, and the wind is tamed to a cool breeze. She's coming shyly, gently and carefully, but definitely coming.

Robins? Check.

Warmer weather? Check(ish). We've discussed the freakishness of the Midwest.

Daffodils? No check, but I'm waiting expectantly.

Spring is definitely in the wind today. I cannot wait.

Circles In The Sun

I love the sun. It is beautiful, bright and it keeps the world I'm living on alive.

I need light. I need warmth.

I love the sun in the Summer and the Spring (I love tans,) but I think I love it most in the Winter. I am allowed the luxury of taking the sunshine for granted during those warmer months, but in the Winter, the sun is not always there.The contrast is sharper. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, presence makes your love stronger.

The presence of the sun today certainly strengthened my already burning love.

I walked a lot during the summer with my dog but since the cold came, the road has been abandoned for the couch.

Today I walked circles in the sun.

Two things I have missed, returned.

It was lovely.

But I concluded that I just want Summer back.

One day, one season at a time.

Thankful for a day of sun.

Waiting for seasons to come.

Of Chipping Paint and Left Overs

My ten day wear nail polish is chipping on the fourth day. Does that mean it has failed? I suppose there will be some paint on them in six days, though there will be even more chips.

Oh, the pretty, empty promises of packaging.

I've eaten Thanksgiving leftovers for three meals since Thanksgiving dinner. Each time they taste a little blander, colder and staler. They are aging, quickly and surely.

Oh, the sad short life of cranberry sauce.

It is still Fall according to the calender, but the temperature tells me it's Winter. Fall is dying in Winters birth.

Oh, the sad in between of seasons.

Now that Thanksgiving has past, the focus seems to have shifted to Christmas in full force. I don't know if I'm ready yet. I still have Thanksgiving leftovers.

Everything feels finished yet incomplete. I painted my nails for Tuesday, yet the remain imperfectly on Saturday. Thanksgiving has past, but traces of it's taste linger. For how long, I wonder? Christmas is coming in less than a month. Less than a month! Can you believe it?

Black Friday I went on Amazon and bought a bunch of Christmas presents. That was relieving. I love to give gifts, but only if I like them. If I feel I could not find the right gift or got the wrong gift for some reason, my joy is gone. It's a stressful thing, this perfection.

Holidays are hard. They demand so much of it. People take time off of work to celebrate, but I think celebrating has become even more draining.

Does it refresh you to break out of normalcy? In a way it refreshes me but I also feel as though nothing is normal. Some things can be done over and over on the same days, but nothing is ever really the same. Nothing.

Every day, every moment is a beginning and an end. Where did the beginnings begin and where is the end of endings?

Or is life truly that much of a circle?

Winning Winter, Trying Fall

It's cold outside, Baby.

And being my ridiculously cold self to begin with, this makes for pleasant days for Anna.

Here in the Midwest, November is bitter. I was having a nice time with the 70 degree days and balmy(ish) breezes. But last night it snowed North of us and scared me. Winter... is that you?

I'm clinging, so desperately to some semblance of Fall. There's still some trees who are holding out, hanging on to their leaves.

I love those trees for trying.

Winter is coming. I can't deny it too much longer. The trees and I can hold out until it snows though, right? We can cling to Fall for a few more weeks?

I'll feel better, just for trying.

Hibernation: Phase One

After the temperature drops below sixty degrees, it starts. My semi-hibernation.

I am a pretty cold person, actually. This is actually recent, but as I've gotten older, I am cold a lot of the time. Not like disproportionally with the weather, I'm not wearing a sweater in July, but come October? Yeah. I'm wearing a sweater. And shoes with socks. Which is just wonderful living in the Midwest. And to add to the fun, I live in an old farmhouse. With leaky windows. Yeah. It gets cold. Once January hits, I'm pretty much in full blown hibernation. My adaption of hibernation is not nearly as good as the real thing, but human beings don't seem to get away with naps that last more than a day, much less ones that stretch over a whole season. So I do what I can (besides wishing I was a bear) to keep somewhat warm and sane during the colder months of the year.

Phase one of the hibernation: I drink like seven cups of something hot every day.

It begins with a nice cup of coffee. Oh, glorious coffee! I don't have a set way I 'take' my coffee, as it were. Sometimes I like it black. Sometimes with just a little milk. And sometimes I go cream and sugar. It depends on the mood.

Then, I have a mid morning cup of green tea. I love green tea. So, so good. It's got spunk. Don't tell me it doesn't taste like anything, because it does and I like it. You can enhance this with honey if you're feeling healthy or sugar if you just can't live without it. Most often, I go for the latter.

Then comes my three o'clock(ish) cup of oolong. Another splendid tea. It's a bit like black and green tea blended as far as flavor in my opinion. This needs sugar. Period. This is the one tea I interchange. I must have green in the morning! I must!! But this afternoon cup of tea sometimes becomes afternoon cups of tea and so I'll start with oolong, move on to apple cinnamon and finish off with a nice cup of gingerbread, depending on how adequately stocked the tea cupboard is and what I'm in the mood for.

Last but not least is the bed time cup. In the dead of winter, this is very important. This is the cup that needs to get you through that awful moment where you jump into you bed and shiver as you try desperately to circulate body heat... brrrrr.... It's almost (and I said almost) as bad as that moment getting out of bed. No. Forget it. I lied. It's not even close. It's only getting into the fifties at night here and I have two blankets and a comforter (folded in half) on my bed. My sister asks what I'm going to do when it's really cold.

Drink more tea. And find more blankets. And wear more clothes. It's all part of the grand hibernation that keeps me alive during these cold and cruel winters.

We're only in phase one right now. And goodness, you have to love tea. I hope you love coffee as well, because it is quite fabulous also.

I've just finished my cup of coffee. They say it will be in the seventies today, but if not, you can bet I'll be drinking a nice cup of green tea in a few hours.

Maybe I'll drink it anyway... it's good stuff, you know.

Today Was A Fairytale

Today was a fairytale, I wore a dress...

It's one of those magical days between Summer and Fall where the change is in the air, but it hasn't quite happened and it isn't quite there.

It was one of those quaint days where you feel like wearing a dress or a skirt. Where nothing else would feel quite right- pant legs are more of a bother and a burden than anything else.

It was one of those lazy days where you really don't feel like doing anything with your hair. So you don't. You live and let live and avoid mirrors. When you do happen to pass one, you just smile indulgently at the mussed and carefree reflection... live and let live.

Can you feel this magic in the air...

It was one of those breezy days where the wind is alive. It plays with your hair and teases your skirt, lifting them ever so slightly before dropping them back and fluttering them like flags on the pole of your body. Where the trees whisper and the cornfields rustles softly, gently, happily. All borrowing life from the wind.

It was one of those gentle days where the sun is warm, not hot. Bright, not blinding. The shade is cool and it's warm out in the open. Laying out in it, lifting your face to it, soaking up the warmth that will fade in a few months. Letting it seep all though me and embrace me. Deep in my bones and deep in my heart.

It was one of those days where you did some singing out loud, in you head and in your heart. You hum love songs and think about someone somewhere. It's happy and sad, painful and wonderful all at once. It makes you smile, but it brings a tear to your eye.

Time slows down...

It was one of those days where it wasn't quite good, but it wasn't too bad. Everything was alright, though. Steady and simple like the beating of your heart. It was a day to be alive.

Today was a fairytale.

The Seasons of the Slob

Today I cleaned out my room- big time. We were moving furniture, thus making it an excellent opportunity to do so. (Okay, so truthfully I pretty much had to clean it in order to dig out the furniture, but what's really more important here? Cause or effect?) When I say "cleaning" I mean dust bunnies that have been living under my bed for months (if not years) were kicked out of house and home. Like you can finally see the floor, I found all the stuff I ever lost and now I'm disoriented because things are actually sort of put away. Yeah. That kind of cleaning.

That kind of cleaning is both fulfilling and draining (though I have found most fulfilling things to be). I wonder why I put it off so long yet at the same time I remember exactly why I did. I wish I had just put things where they belong in the first place instead of throwing them every which way. I contemplate pitching everything I own into the nearest dumpster and running away to be a hermit in the Alps with only the clothes on my back. And after going through all of this, after riding such an emotional roller coaster... now I only have a big pile of stuff left to organize instead of a mountain.

In case you were wondering, I don't clean my room all the often. At all. In fact my Mother takes my temperature whenever she finds me doing so and my siblings look out the window to check for flying pigs.

I'm not exactly a... slob. *wince* Okay, I am. But I don't mean to be. I like to have things clean. I like for things to be neat. Reality just doesn't always line up with that.

Why don't I clean my room, you ask? Lots of reasons.

Reason Number 1: I have a motto: Why do today what you can plan to do tomorrow? A.K.A Cleaning Procrastination Disorder. CPD. Or if your prefer, just plain old Procrastination. So I put it off and let it pile up and the dust bunnies keep breeding... and you get the idea.

Reason Number 2: I have a problem: Half way though the project I get bored/distracted/fall asleep. A.K.A Chronic Laziness Syndrome. CLS. Laziness. I often lack the follow through to just get it done. (Which is why my desk still looks like a disaster. I did do some cleaning...lots of cleaning...)

Reason Number 3: I have a teddy bear: I wake up in the morning, look around and think "Oh. Wow. Didn't look so bad in the dark last night, but I should really clean this place." And then I move on and completely forget about it until that night, just before I'm going to bed when I think "Oh shoot. I'll do it first thing tomorrow". At which point the cycle repeats itself and so on and so on. . A.K.A Forgetting the important things sort of kind of on purpose. Which would be something like FITSKP but that doesn't really abbreviate anything, but it confuses a lot of things. Yeah, I can't really blame the teddy bear, but it sounded good in my head.

So you see, the real reason I don't clean my room is because of my deep rooted psychological challenges that prevent me from functioning. (Hopefully you are buying that, because I'm not. Didn't think so...)

So after all that work you would think I would work harder to keep it clean, right?

Nah. I give it a couple days. Tops.

And in a few months I'll have to dig everything out again and repeat the whole process. Think of it as a cycle, like the seasons. Clean = Spring, Less Clean = Summer, Really Messy = Fall and Disaster Area = Winter. See? Natural, necessary and sustaining. Or you could just think of it as the result of forgetful and procrastinated laziness. I prefer the seasons thing myself, but whatever works for you.