Bunnies in Sweaters (Like Bananas in Pajamas)

Before you ask, no, I did not dress Snickers up in a costume tonight. Frankly I just don't see any way that rabbit could be cuter than he already is.

In the event you must see Snicks wearing something, here he is wearing a sweater in Christmas 2010 when he was but a wee bun of not-yet-one.

Doesn't he look thrilled.

Hope you had a very happy Halloween, indeed!

That En Vogue Song "Don't Let Go"

Nothing is better than hearing a song you like and just jamming out. (Or, if you're me, car dancing.) Often you can't explain why you like a song, you just do. If I hate a song, I just hate it and if I love it... well for a time it's my jam. Like my JAM.

One of my jams of the moment is that song Royals by Lorde. You know the one I mean. Don't act like you don't. I love it when she says "You can call me Queen Bee" because it reminds me of this fabulous picture right here:

That's me and my sister Erin in New York City. Erin got got us headbands before the trip so we could go sit on the Met steps like Blair on Gossip Girl. And Erin let me sit up higher than her so I could be Queen Bee. :)

In other news I've recently gotten into yoga. I have taken yoga classes in the past, but, frankly, never liked it because I felt like you had to be quiet and not move a whole lot and I'm a dancer for the love of Baryshnikov. But my hips and knees (really everything) have been hurting lately due to, you guessed it, dancing, so my mom thought maybe yoga would help. So I went to a class with my friend Sarah about two months ago and really had a great time.

One of my favorite parts of yoga is Shavasana. I mean, isn't that everyone's favorite part? Because I usually have a hard time falling asleep at night because of extreme stress or whatever reason (like stress) but during Shavasana I really do feel quiet. Like I wish I could sleep there.

Except there is one problem sometimes, and that is I cannot find the switch that turns off  my brain. How do other people do this? It goes something like this:

What will I eat for dinner when I get home? I'm really glad I picked up those beers at Bottle and Wedge before class. It's hot in here, is anyone else hot? Man my shirt is soaked. I'll have to do laundry. But can I wash and dry this shirt since I wonder-undered the front of it? And I already did a load today and this shirt would have gone in that load. If I can wash it, which I still don't know if I can. Anna you have got to free your mind for this Shavasana. Free your mind... didn't En Vogue sing that? Oh, remember that one En Vogue song Don't Let Go? That was good. I seem to remember a video of the four of them standing in a room singing and they were wearing leather or something dark and there were other people there. Wow that was a long time ago. I wonder if I have Don't Let Go on my iPod. Where is my iPod? Oh right, it's in my iPod dock, which I can't use since Snicks chewed the cord. Remember you ordered like three new ones but none of them were the right size or voltage even though you could have sworn by the third order you knew what to get? Where are those three other ones? Maybe dad could use them for something. I should look when I get home...

You get the picture.

Don't Let Go though, that really was my jam for a while in 8th grade or whenever that was.

For your viewing pleasure:

Conversations with Erin

I truly love  having conversations with my sister Erin. She recently moved to Morgantown (our mom's family is there) and is now three hours away. We talk via Facebook messenger almost every evening. She is the funniest person I know, and often I go back and wonder -- how the hell did we end up talking about this? An example:

Erin and me. Keeping it real in NYC.

Anna: My dream is to eat donuts all day at the beach. Also, apparently, to be an Oscar Mayer wiener.
Erin: I just want to watch TV then talk about watching TV.
Anna: That sounds nice. I could also watch Once Upon a Time all day and talk to Story all day about Once Upon a Time. While eating donuts at the beach.
Erin: Why don't we have more money, that's the real problem.
Anna: Mo' money, mo' problems. Incidentally, what happened to Mase?
Erin: Is Mase a person?
Anna: .................................................... Erin. Seriously.
Anna: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUhRKVIjJtw
Erin: No.
Anna: You remember this video.
Erin: Yes.
Anna: OMG I'm rocking out. It's like 8th grade. Also, Mase returned a few years ago on a track called "Welcome Back" that sampled the Welcome Back, Kotter theme song. Then he disappeared again. I don't know how I know these things.
Erin: You shouldn't know them.

But really -- what happened to Mase? And I dare you to watch the video below. I dare you. Because I did... and I couldn't stop listening.

B-I-G P-O-P-P-A

Just sayin'.

Seven Quick Takes -- With the Clan

Joining Jen's linkup at Clan Donaldson today!

1. I really love dinosaurs. REALLY. I have something like six dinosaur tee-shirts. In a related matter, my internet has been intermittently not working lately. It will just go in and out and in and out again. I have no idea what the deal is, but I do know that if I turn my router off and turn it on again it fixes it for a while. What does that have to do with dinosaurs you ask? Because anytime I'd try to refresh a page when my internet was shutting down, I'd get this message:

I have no idea what that t-rex has to do with my internet not connecting, but I'm for it. In fact, I feel like Apple/Comcast read my mind and knew that the only thing that would talk me off the ledge of internet going in and out hate is a picture of a dinosaur to bring me the bad news.

2. A few Saturdays ago my friend Sarah and I had to go to Lowe's to pick up landscaping supplies for a volunteer project we were coordinating. In the course of getting the plants and such, Sarah and I stumbled upon some really pretty mums on sale. Sarah decided to get some for her house. She told me I should get some too. And I was like -- Oh Sarah, where would I put these mums and what would I do with them? Sarah says, "You'll take them home and put them on your table and then when they die because you never watered them you'll throw them away." Touche, Sarah. So I did. That was... two Saturdays ago now? Something like that. At any rate, I watered them for the first time this evening.

3. I went to Hobby Lobby after work today because I needed to get a picture frame. Now, I get off work at 4 p.m., which is about an hour earlier than most people. I got to Hobby Lobby around 4:20/4:30 and can I just say I had NO IDEA Hobby Lobby was the place to be at 4:26 p.m. on a Friday. I could not believe how many people were there! It was nuts.

4. So there is something I've been doing for a while, and I'd like to see if anyone else does it too. From time to time when I'm doing work errands during the day, I'll drive by the alley where I live. And I can assure you that I NEVER drive by my alley without looking down at my apartment, fearing every time that my house is on fire. For one second I honestly believe that my house is on fire and baby Snicks is burning up. Because, of course, no one would call and let me know my house is on fire. Every time. Without fail.

5. I got a text message from Verizon the other day letting me know I can get $100 off a Samsung GS4 for a limited time! !!! It told me to reply 'x' to stop messages. So I did. And then I got another one and it told me to reply q. I can't make this stuff up:

Wow. It really reminded me of this (which cracks me up):

6. There are so many things I love about Once Upon a Time (newsflash, I know) but I realized today that out of all the wonderful messages that show gives -- like love is the most powerful magic of all, have hope, etc. -- there is one I may love more than all the rest.

If you love them and they love you, they will always find you.  

They will always find you. That's so nice to hear if you're waiting to be found.

7. Melissa and I are taking our dancers to a dance weekend at Jackson's Mill this weekend. Even though I will be FREEZING COLD, I am happy to do something that makes them so happy. I have packed three sweatshirts, two long sleeve shirts, three pairs of socks, a scarf and a hat... for two days.

126

So... it's THURSDAY night! Woot woot! Although, believe it or not, this week I've been trying to make dinners at home thanks to a very much needed trip to the grocery this past weekend, tonight I fell off the wagon. Hi my name is Anna and I just polished off a container of Sheetz nachos. Apparently making rice and stir fry vegetables, gnocchi and chili in one week was too much for this girl. That is honestly more meals than I've made total in the past few months. (Incidentally I just Facebook messaged Erin and said "I fell of the wagon." She replied, "You.......... bought fast food didn't you?" She knows my soul.)

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

At any rate, I drove to the Sheetz after teaching ballet, around 6:45, and went in to MTO my nachos. To be honest, I was fairly appalled at the sheer number of people MTOing at that time. I mean, this is not the first time I've been to Sheetz for dinner around this time, and I don't recall there ever being this many people. As I waited on my nachos, even more people piled in the store. I honestly started wondering if they were running some kind of major deal or something I was unaware of.

Finally they called number 126 (me) and I grabbed my nachos and headed for the door. The second I pulled open the doors to head outside all my questions were answered.

It was the unmistakable scent of marijuana. (Or mariwhhhhana as Stewie Griffin would say. Can't find a link. Take my word for it.)

Based on what I smelled, the west end Sheetz did a helluva lot of business tonight. Stay classy west Huntington.

Aspirations

Last night after substitute teaching a ballet class, I headed up to the Huntington Museum of Art for the Fourth Tuesday Tour. Every fourth Tuesday of the month the Museum hosts a themed tour for adults. This month it was a Harry Potter-themed Halloween tour, which was very cool. My friend, Cindy, coordinates the tours at the Museum, and three years ago, when I still worked at HMA, Cindy and I developed the Harry Potter tour together.

One of the docents is someone I know from church and I used to babysit her kids as well. My mom recently told me Linda had gotten a job with the Museum, going around to first grade classrooms in the area and teaching art lessons. This is a perfect job for Linda. Mom told me she is so excited -- SO EXCITED -- to get this job. I mentioned it to her and we talked for a bit about how happy she is to have this job, and I could really tell she is just loving it.

I got home that evening, and, I usually do, found Snicks under the bed so I laid there on the floor and gave him a little pet. And as I petted him I thought about Linda and how much she loves her job and how she thinks it's perfect for her. I thought about what my perfect job would be, if I could do anything. What would make me the happiest; what would I truly like to be.

And do you know what immediately came to mind?

Oh I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener. That is what I'd truly like to be.

Seriously. Anything in the world. An Oscar Mayer wiener. First thing I think of.

On Monotony

On my way to work this morning, I started wondering out of the blue what is the point to days where nothing seems to really happen? (What can I say... it was raining and cold, perfect for introspection.) You know the days I mean... days that just seem to go by where you don't have an important conversation with a friend or you don't feel the light of God's presence in some significant way or you don't accomplish something important at work. I really wondered what the point of days like that are. In the grand story of my life or the grand story of God's plan for the world, what are the point of 24 hours that go by where things just seem... monotonous.

I suppose it should come as no surprise to me that I saw this on Facebook today:

This would absolutely not be the first time that Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen has spoken to me directly. I smiled to myself when I saw this post because I thought -- he's still watching. For whatever reason God is allowing him to watch over me. I really believe that one day, God willing, I will make it to Heaven and there he'll be, Archbishop (Saint) Sheen. And I will hug him and tell him thank you and I love you. And he'll say you're welcome and I love you too.

St. John tells us that if he recorded all the miracles Our Blessed Lord had worked, the world would not be large enough to contain the books thereof.  There was only one time in His life that He ever cursed a thing, and that was the day He saw the barren fig-tree which was not producing its fruit in due season, and therefore was not enjoying the thrill of monotony.  There is necessarily bound to be a thrill in working toward any goal or fixed purpose, and therein is the final reason for the romance of repetition.  There, too, is the line of division between genuine Christianity and modern paganism.  The Christian finds a thrill in repetition because he has a fixed goal; the modern pagan finds repetition monotonous because he never decided for himself the purpose of living.  Instead of passing the test, the modern mind changes the test;  instead of working toward an ideal, it changes the ideal;  it is not marvel that existence is drab, if one has never discussed the reason for existence.    How dull, for example, golf would be if there were never a green; how monotonous would be a sea voyage, if there were never a port; or a journey if there were never a destination.  Since the modern mind has never decided the goal of life, nor the purpose of living, nor the reason of existing, but like a weathercock has changed with every wind of doctrine and suggestion, it is necessarily bound to find life dull, drab, and monotonous.” 

Archbishop Fulton Sheen - Moods and Truths