ya. ya. i changed the design here. i was never 100 percent happy with the black and pink because i felt like it was suffocating my blog. the dark wood on the edges closed everything in too much.
also, i’ve been really wanting an interactive twitter feed on the side so people could just click “follow” and Viola! they’d be able to follow me. but even the narrowest twitter widget didn’t fit on the old site, so i HAD to change the design.
i know you guys hate change. so i am sorry. but i promise to commit to this for at least six months.three months. a week.
moving on.
yes, yes, I’m still vegan. it’s been 13 days. and today my roommate wanted ice cream and i was all OHH! OHH! maybe dairy queen has fruit smoothies made with just fruit!! Let’s call to ask.
so she called to ask, and was all: yes, do you guys have anything without dairy in it?
well, we have nachos and i’m pretty sure the cheese doesn’t have dairy in it.
a. yes. yes it does. and b. if it doesn’t, they probably shouldn’t call it cheese.
accepting defeating, we instead went to culver’s, where i could get a lemon cooler. except, apparently they don’t start selling those until summer. i asked, ‘when specifically do you start selling them?’ and was told “umm, when we order them.”
i figure i’ll give them till April 1.
in other news, i kind of met my hero today. and by kind of, i mean i did.
her name is heather b. armstrong. and her blog is dooce.
i got to interview her for 40 minutes for a story im working on for my day job.
yes. she’s awesomer than life itself in person. yes. she’s super nice. and yes, i would like to be her when i grow up.
after the article runs sometime within the next few weeks, i will link to it.
but today, my human roommate taught me how to trick the little buddy. a technique i first thought was mean, but eventually came to realize was actually just a really great boost to my self esteem.
see what i do is fake throw it, and the whip of my hand makes him think i actually throw it.
i know. im tricky.
the poor guy will wonder around the house for like MINUTES searching for it.
MINUTES! people.
and the whole time im just sitting on the couch all proud of my ability to out smart a lower life form.
it almost makes up for the fact that i pick up his poop on a daily basis.
like pull out my camera from my purse, which is sitting on the passenger seat, while driving home, because the sunset is THAT amazing and i NEED to shoot a picture right this second like a crazy person on one of those “what not to do” auto insurance commercials. (note to geico: ya. that’s, umm. not true. i’ve NEVER done that. ever).
and i should confess, this is not the first time i’ve acted like an insane person out of my love for the perfect shot of the perfect sunset.
just last week i was driving along with my little sister monica to get groceries and a movie from Family Video, when I noted that the beams of light coming from the sun were just a little too awesome and the way the colors had lit of the sky were just a little too fantastic and vision of oranges and reds were just a little spectacular to pass up.
So i drove the poor girl like five miles out of town to a corn field, trying to find a good spot to capture the sight without buildings in the way. And then i pulled over and walked down half a block so i could get an angle that included a little weed because i wanted to frame the sun with plant life.
i left the poor girl in the car while i did this. and let’s just say she was in there for about 7 solid minutes before embarrassment ensued and she decided to successfully lure me back to the car by shouting that i had a text message.
i was super excited to show her my prize-worthy pictures, figuring i could use the opportunity to explain to her that it’s important to take time out and enjoy natural beauty like sunsets. i gasped as i flipped through them and beamed as i started my car toward town.
but im sure i did not capture the sunset’s beauty with my camera that night. because despite my armature plant-framing techniques, it is just REALLY hard get awesomeness like that in a photograph.
something about it just doesn’t capture.
that’s how i feel when i try to explain to people how much i really love my sister.
when i try to tell them that she’s amazing, and perfect and kind of like the 9-year-old self i wish i had been.
how when she and i talk, i feel like we share a brain. and how i can look over to her with a thought in my eyes and she can understand it. thoughts like “let’s change the channel” or “life is not ok. let’s fix it.”
how i had prayed for a sister since i was a wee one, and the 15-year wait it took for me to get her was totally worth it.
how i think she’s going to grow up to be a rock star, or a doctor, or president, because she can so totally be whatever she decides. and im not exaggerating one bit.
how she’s finally getting to the point where i can talk to her like an equal. and how actually, i’ve always talked to her like an equal because i knew she’d grab hold of my conversations and remember every, single, thing i said.
how i’d literally untie my shoes, take them off, and then remove my socks, so i could plant my bare feet on hot coals and proceed to walk across them for miles if she needed me to. and how when i pray for her every night i beg Jesus with my heart to watch out for her, and protect her, and to let her be as happy as possible as often as possible.
how i didn’t really know there was a love like this until i met her. such pure, complete love.
i often wonder how — be it in writing, or in conversations or in photographs — i could possibly ever explain that love to people. how i could possibly ever capture its essence.
but i’ve come to realize that it’s like a sunset. it just has to be experienced.
