Dawn Saves the Trees--with Zach Braff

God, I am being annoying with all the videos. Sarah B's post made me search youtube for The Baby-Sitter's Club and I found this gem. I completely remember this.

Kids Incorporated

Kids Incorporated 1991 Theme Song

This is the Kids Inc. I used to watch. I saw some of the Fergie ones, but mostly my girl was Love Hewitt. But watching this now, who knew that Eric Balfour was on here. You might remember him from Six Feet Under as Claire's crazy boyfriend or the first episode of Buffy as the first friend to get killed and become a vampire.

Oak Ridge Boys Elvira

Now, I only heard this song for the first time like six months ago, and I lurv it. The bass makes me smile every time. I don't know how someone can make their voice go so so low. Also the lead singer looks like the guy from Hall and Oates. Enjoy. Your Welcome.

Dr Bunsen Honeydew

I don't know if I've shared this before, but Brad bears a resemblance to a certain muppet:



Of course some alteration to the "action figure" was requried.

New Apartment

I haven't had time to write about my new apartment, and I still don't have the time right now! But it is all I imagined it would be. It feels huge and has a lot of natural light. Our cat, Merlin, loves it. He is actually my sister's cat and she is going to take him back next week. I might have to cry about that. He is the best cat I have ever had. He loves to cuddle and play and he looks like a lion (with crossed eyes).
So now I am on the look out for a new kitten. I am actually looking for two new kittens. I adore kittens so much, I want to stick their little heads in my mouth!

ANTS

I have lived in my apartment less than a week and I already have ants! I haven't seen bugs for like three years so i was really creeped out by them. When I used to live in Ahwatukee (suburb of Phoenix) our apartment was backed up into a foothill so there were always cockroaches and scorpions around. But since I moved from there I haven't seen any bugs inside.

A few days ago I saw two ants crawling on the wall, killed them and thought, eh? But then two days ago, Brad poured a bowl of cereal and they were covered in ants. Thankfully I was still sleeping and didn't have to witness that. Still, I had not seen any during the day time. Then last night after going to bed, I got up to get a glass of water, turned on the kitchen light and there were like 15 ants crawling on the kitchen wall.

They startedd scattering, I grabbed some spray cleaner and paper towels and proceeded to kill as many as possible. I think they are coming in/living behind the cabinets. Of course the cabinets that I decided to keep our FOOD IN! I had dreams about this last night, it was not fun. My skin is crawling just thinking about this. Thankfully a sprayer guy is coming today to get rid of them.

I don't like killing insects, but for a really crazy reason. I am always scared that their friends are going to stalk me and attack me while I'm sleeping.

This is similar to the fear I had as a child when it came to my dolls and stuffed animals. I always kept them upright, face up, and talked nice to them. I didn't want them to be mad at me and come to life at night and attack me. I still can't sleep with the closet door open. Seriously. Crazy.

Notes

I have been reading this blog for a while. Sarah B. and her roommate started the original Cringe in New York. It is a monthly event where people get together at a bar and read from their old diaries and journals. As I can only imagine from my writing at that time, it must be hilarious. They just did a piece about it on Friday's Nightline, you can see it here.

Seeing as I was supposed to be unpacking yesterday, I of course got sidetracked and started reading notes from high school. I have saved most of the notes I received from friends and boyfriends from like 7th grade on. There are some decorated with swirly vines and flowers and some folded into paper footballs. It is so funny reading them, because I left a lot of stuff out of my journals and it fills in some of the gaps. But what I would love to read is the notes I sent in reply. That would be entertaining.

You know what's kinda sad, kids probably don't even write notes to each other any more, they just text message each other.

Moving Day

I get my new apartment today! I will post new pics as soon as we get the computer hooked up. Have a great weekend!

Dirty Briefs

In high school I worked at Target. One night while working in the men’s department I took a call from a man looking for underwear. He kept asking me things like,

“What kinds do you have? What colors?” I don’t know if I was naive or what but I kept going on,

“Oh, we have boxers, jockeys, briefs, and boxer-briefs. They come in many colors; white, black, maroon.” Then he started breathing weird and asked me about my underwear. I finally caught on and hung up. By that point in my life I was no virgin, but I really didn’t get what was going on until the end of the conversation. I was shocked, but oddly flattered. That sure did help to raise my self-esteem.

Saved by the Bell

Yes, I know all the words.

The Hills

Yes, I watch MTV sometimes. Usually it is just the reality shows about really rich people who think they are cool; like Super Sweet 16, Laguna Beach, and now The Hills.

I was watching The Hills the other day and Brad would not believe me that it was a reality show. The cinemetography is so amazing that it looks like a movie or at least a scripted show.

What I can't believe is that Heidi got that job as an assistant and then couldn't handle it when she had to get her boss a sandwich or stuff envelopes. She thought she would go straight to hanging out with Stars! Btw, who pays these kids rent?

A friend of a friend

I don't really talk bad about people on here, so hopefully this doesn't bite me on my ass.

This weekend, the topic of Dane Cook came up between a friend and me. I said that he was very funny and, seeing as he has over 1 million myspace friends, many other people think so too. So my friend told me that this acquaintance of ours said something to the effect of, “Only jocks like Dane Cook, you can’t be in our scene if you like Dane Cook. He is only funny because he talks loud.” I am definitely paraphrasing here. When I first saw a Dane Cook DVD like 3 years ago, I laughed out loud. His topics related to me, as I’m sure it did with others my age. He talked about things most had experienced as child; communion, not talking to strangers, the Kool-aid guy busting through the wall, and the Speak and Spell that talked like the devil.

By “our scene” he meant the local punk rock scene because Brad and all of his friends are in local bands. Now, I really don’t consider most of the people we know to be punks, ourselves included. That is just the sound of their music and semi-lifestyle. Although I have been known to poke fun at the bro-dude jocks with their pink polo shirts and way too much testosterone, I never believe that they are all like that or that just because someone is dressed a certain way that they only like certain things. It really gets to me when people comment about their own group of friends and what they should and should not like. I think it is bull-shit to generalize like that. It is like saying everyone in our group must wear all-stars or must like The Ramones. It reminded me of when this hipster girl I knew said that she didn’t listen to a band she liked because they had become too famous. That is crap.

I think the definition of being cool is to like what you like, popular or not, and go with it. I always thought of true punks being a group that accepted anyone who didn’t fit the mold. You don’t have to have torn jeans, patches and an anarchist to be a punk. I wasn’t sure of this guy before, and now I definitely don’t appreciate his opinions. Next time he is around, I will have to put on my Spice Girls cd and wait for him to berate me for not being true to the "scene".

Job Hunt

I still don't know where I will be working this semester. I have to go down to working part time because of starting school full time, and my current job doesn't offer it. I have given my notice and my last day here will be August 18th. I work in a call center for a shipping company and have worked here for three years. I have worked here longer than any other place and it is my highest paying job. I am not looking forward to going back to $8-$10 dollars an hour. But it will be nice not have the stress.

I wouldn't mind working at Target, but I burned that bridge back in high school when I quit without telling them. I absolutely loved working at Target. I worked in Soft Lines, which is the clothing side of it. I didn't have to deal with a lot of customers and I did what I love to do all day; organize. I go to Target now and see that the clearance racks look like crap. There is no organization at all, not by size or style. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Who ever I am shopping with at the time has to stop me from straightening things up. I swear it is a sickness. Don't even ask me if I color code my closet.

Realistically, I am hoping to get a job either at Barnes & Noble or the local Public Library. Lets hope my crazy luck with jobs continue. I have had like two interviews in my life. I have always just been in the right place at the right time and jobs just come flying at me.

Movin' on up

We are moving in two weeks and I am very excited. Last year when I moved out of my Mom's I could fit everything in my Ford Ranger. I had a twin bed, a dresser, bedside table, a bookshelf full of books, a couple of boxes of memories, one lamp, and two bags of clothes. Now after living with Brad for a year we have three times that, enough to completely fill a two bedroom apartment.

Right now our apartment is in a great location, but it has no patio, no W&D, and no pets allowed. It is also very dark, since we have to keep the blinds closed to hide our illegal kitty. Since our rent was going to raise to $650 we decided to find something better because it wouldn't be that much more expensive. There didn't seem to be much left in Tempe that wasn't turning in to condos or that actually had a washer/dryer, but we actually found a place. It is a place where we already have friends that live there, and we are actually going to be only a building away from them.

We get 100 more square feet, another bathroom, a washer/dryer, a patio, kitty friendly, more sunshine, and about 200 feet away from a grocery store and a Target. This is all for $100 more a month and only a couple miles from our old place. Since I've seen the layout I have been dreaming of the furniture arrangments. I am looking forward to this fall when all the windows will be open, the sun streaming in, a breeze blowing through the house, me reading on the couch eating grapes and my cats (we hope to get another one) bird watching in the windows.

This will be the first place that Brad and me have lived in without a roommate, even though the roommate has been gone for 10 months. I am excited to start building a home with Brad. I am thankful for hand me down dishes and furniture, but i want to start buying things that are not just good for right now and more good for the long haul.

Happy Birthday Candace!

Candace8
Originally uploaded by flyabuv.

Tomorrow is my sister's 21st birthday. To celebrate (humiliate), I decided to post baby pictures of her on the internet. This will prove how much I lurv her. Have fun Candace, but not too much!

Top Ramen

Today I burnt my thumb while making Top Ramen in the microwave at work. I feel a little stupid since I have been making this since I was 8, but I never use the microwave to make it so I was caught off guard.

I think there are two types of people, the ones who microwave and don't measure the water while making top ramen and the ones that actually follow the directions. I am in the latter camp. Every time I think I can just fill up the pan until it looks right, I get scared.

"What if it is too salty or too watered down?!"

So I get out the measuring cup and put in two cups of water and wait for it to boil and then put the noodles in (half crushed up). Then about two minutes later I take it off the heat and add the seasoning. I think that one reason I get worried about the broth is because I actually like the broth. I think those people are weird who pour it out.

Intead of going through the anxiety, now I just let Brad make it, he uses the stove but doesn't measure out the water or wait for it to boil before putting in the noodles, but it always tastes great. Lately we have even been pouring out some of the broth and adding tomato juice. Try it, it's good!

p.p.s. I can't believe I just posted about Top Ramen

Ryan Gosling & Rachel McAdams - VMA kiss

Have I ever told you how much I love The Notebook? Or that much to Brad's dislike, I can watch it over and over again, and cry every time? I am in love with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, their characters in the movie, and the fact that they are together in real life.

Side Note: I cannot believe their kiss was compared to those other shitty ones! I could totally tell that Jennifer Garner was not into the girl on girl thing.

Shape Up!

So, I have a subscription to SHAPE magazine. Don't ask me why, I do nothing other than look through it, think about getting up to exercise, and then turn House Hunters. But this last month's issue had a great idea that I thought I should mention.

I know everyone likes to watch tv or listen to music while exercising, but one SHAPE success story mentioned how she always listened to books on her Ipod. That is something I could get into. Unless it is something I can continously sing too, I lose interest in listening to music while exercising. But concentrating on a book's plot would keep me from looking at the clock every 15 seconds.

So that's it, I need and Ipod and I will be skinny! Amber, we will be able to wear bikinis next summer like we've been promising for 8 years!

Mr. Barnes

When we are at the grocery store and I scan my Safeway Club card, but then Brad pays, they always call him Mr. Barnes. Then we look at each other akwardly because we don't know if we should correct them, because they really don't care. I find it kind of endearing, only because I think it makes Brad feel weird.

I have to do that at my job on the phone, anyone that calls you must get their name and use it in the following sentence. I hate it though because when I call in somewhere and they say, "How can i help you Ms. Barnes" I get very annoyed. You don't know me, stop saying my name!!!!!! So I get uneasy because I have to use people's names while talking to them. I am scared that I will make a mistake and call a woman sir, or vice versa.

btw if you don't know me it might help to tell you that my last name is Barnes, but Brad's is not.

Note to Self

Shannon, why did you go to the mall yesterday? Do you not remember the last time you were there? You started crying because it was raining, and there were so many cars, and you could not find a parking place. Then Brad got frustrated and started getting angry. That is what happens, you see. When girls get frustrated they cry, but boys get angry and spit when they talk.

But yesterday you actually did find a place to park outside of Ross, you went and ate at Sbarro's and it was pretty good. But you only went there because you were going to go see Pirate's of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which you don't even want to see that much but it is the only thing playing that you are willing to see. There is no way you are going to see Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties, you didn't even see the first one.

So you finished eating and went to buy tickets and they were sold out! So you went to Old Navy and spent money you don't have. The only redeeming thing about the trip is that you got a little exercise. Basically you wasted two hours circumventing all the hood/mall rats.

You are never to go to the mall ever again on a weekend. EVER!!!