sweet whispers

I didn't realize how... in the middle of a crowded room, everyone can melt away, for just a second, as sweet compliments are whispered in your ear.

Vegetarian

I have been a happy and proud Vegetarian for almost a week.

I had been thinking about going Veg for almost a year, (and I was a vegetarian many many years ago) but more and more recently I have realized how much I don't enjoy meat.

I decided after talking to Billy last week to make it official. I have been reading more into it, and I can't be happier with my decision. Learning about meat plants, and how they raise animals, and what they do to them is really very awful and terrible. And since I don't like meat all that much, animals would be killed and tortured for me... to not enjoy eating them.

I am a pescatarian, so I will eat fish. I will also eat meat if it is organic or free range, because the animals who are raised for it, are treated humanly.

Reading into what happens at meat plants, and a great book called Skinny Bitch. I don't want to just avoid eating meat. I want to be a LOT more conscious of eating more natural and organic things. It's better for my health and body. And when I eat like I do back home, I feel more energized and healthier.

What I see at Common grounds...

...The most adorable squirrel being extrodinarily brave, searching for nuts. He is doing a great job of finding a lot, and burrying them lots of crazy places. I love watching squirrels hide nuts. After digging a hole and putting the nut in it, they pat over the dirt very carefully, while looking around. As if they are very inconspicuous.

...A girl just ran into her old friend and told her she was engaged. Girls get to excited about this. It's funny to watch.

...Some guy is rocking out to the music on his head phones.

...A lady is just sitting enjoying the sun and her book, with her pet parrot on her shoulder.

...The same parrot then got dropped off on his stand. He proceeded to bob his head up and down, ruffle all his feathers, eat a piece of fruit, hang on his food bowl by his beak, and try to nibble on some rocks. Eric and I dared to pet his unexpectedly rough feathers. This parrot was my favorite part of the day. He gave me a great laugh.

...Micheal, Eric, and Jerry! Three of the greats, whom I don't see nearly as much as I should.

...John and his yellow lab.

...A mom and daughter catching up over coffee.

...lots of studying.

...Ben Dudster and Tommy!

I need to remember how bad my allergies are when I am outside and take my medicine for them! All my sneezing and itchiness is awful!

Buddy's play date

Robbie, Grant, and Chris went down to Austin for the weekend. Mom asked if Buddy could have a playdate with Toby. So She got to go down too. I decided to let her play all week until I go down for Easter at the end of this week. But I already miss her too much! She is just such a sweet girl, and her kisses in the morning are the best way to start my day.

Saturday cravings for chips and salsa

Jeff and I had another official date yesterday. We have a lot of unofficial dates, which are mostly our mid-afternoon or late night hangouts, which always result in cuddling, or dinner. We normally don't do anything that exciting on our unofficial dates, but they are always just as much fun as our official ones. We take turns thinking of what to do on our dates, and who ever is the one planning the date, gets to be the one who pays.

Jeff planned this official date. We first went to cameron park (which was my idea) and walked around and he took pictures. It was extremel

y beautiful, the weather was perfect, and some of the trees were in bloom.

Next he took me canoeing, and did most of the paddling...since I am not that strong. haha It was fun to just be outside with him. It made me realize I need to spend more time outside.

Then, since I was hungry (of coarse) we went to Food for Thought and satisfied our cravings for salsa and chips! I had fun just listening to him talk about theatre stuff, and Disney movies.

After a short break of doing homework

(for him) and drawing and the gym (for me) we reunited to e

mbark on his date. He took me to a roller rink! Which was so much fun, and

made me think of when we'd go skating as a little kid. I was a huge rollerblader back the day, making ramps, and always skating around the neighborhood. It was fun to relearn roller skating, since they didn't have Rollerblades in my size. We had a super fantastic time! We talked about bands, and songs, and vacations we have taken. It was nice because I like to hear about stuff he likes, because he can be not as talkative as me most of the time.

We went to Baris of a late dinner. The homemade everything was incredibly delicious. And we continued our random blurting out random facts about ourselves.

The more time I spend with him, and the more I learn about him, the more I like him. I am sure whoever reads this gets tired of me gushing about him. But he is just such an amazing guy, I can't help it.

The date ended at the outpost. We and Jacob watched Inglorious Bastards...and I fell super asleep on him. lol

Most Romantic night of my life...

Maybe it was the combination of a sort of sick (yet still drop dead gorgeous) boyfriend, watching 500 days of summer (and the conversation about love is sparked afterwards), or snuggling on the couch watching the second best lighting storm of my life...either way, it was the most romantic night of my short 20 years.

I don't think I can really say enough how perfect of a boyfriend Jeff is. In my head I had expectations (formed from previous relationships and dealing with boys), and what a dream boy would be like...Jeff has kinda surpassed everything I could possible dream about a boy. The sweet things he says to me, the way he touches me, and kisses my head and neck, are just all so perfect and fantastic. I can't imagine anyone could be so wonderful.

okay enough gushing about boyfriend. =)

My heart is torn...

Between these three boys...

Chris keeps texting me and talking to me on facebook. I miss him terribly already. I wish I could fly up there and play with him for the afternoon.

Roy is so adorable. And just turned three last weekend. Seeing him and Lily Tuesday nights is the highlight of my week. His sloppy wet kisses are the best kisses!

What can I really say about Jeff?...Ideal boyfreind. Way too sweet. Dashingly handsome.

Best Monday ever...

Mondays for most are usually long, tiring, and the last thing people want after a glorious weekend.

My monday was particularly splendid. First by waking up to Buddy jumping into my face (she had a little too much energy in her jump, so instead of landing on the bed she landed and ran into my face). I was very much "on my nut" as Jimmy Stewart would say during drawing. My pictures are looking rather glasssy! Carndog gave me a call during a class...I was hoping he wanted me to watch the kids. Yoga class was fun as well, since I ran into Billy there, and TJ after. The rest of my day was pretty normal, with an exception advising, and an earth shattering nap. I don't know what made is such a fantastic day. Maybe it was the weather, or just an awesome mood, or the fantasticalness of the weekend carrying over.

The one completely awful thing that happened...I could only run about 2 miles because of my knee. =(

ps. I found out last week that when I asked Jeff to go to the movies to see Fantastic Mr Fox...he was kinda hoping it was date. As was I.

funny huh?

Sugar town

Every so often I get a song stuck in my head. But it's not just stuck there, its replaying over and over all day long. And I never seem to get tired of it. The last song this happened to was Nancy Sinatra's "Sugar Town".

Now instead of a song, its a boy I can NOT stop thinking about. This maybe childish and giddy, but I am falling pretty hard for him.

The stars lean down to kiss you...

I wrote this a while ago, and thought I would post it. I thought about this again when I was in New York and tried to look up at the night sky and saw pure cloudy gray...

What if everyone in the world, or America, or just Texas, or even just McClennan county turned off their lights for a few minutes. Now I am not asking for much, just darkened their houses, streets, and cars. and stopped. For only a moment, and looked up. With all the lights dark, and nothing reflecting up in the sky to darken the beauty of it. Just think of how many stars, meteors, planets, galaxies we would be able to see. The night sky would be able to unfurl it’s true beauty and splendor. I like to think it would look gray, from the abundance of stars making it not black. I like to think it would be like looking at a very freckled person, if their body was space and their freckles were stars. I think it would really shock people how many stars you can see from earth, and maybe make some sad, thinking this could be our night every night. But the lights from our towns, roads, houses, and cars, dim the light that is our night sky. We just have to slow down and look up. In this looking up, we can see our creator’s workmanship. For Jesus said even the rocks will sing me praise. God can be seen in his creation, and nature praises God just by being so wonderfully created by him. But we won’t know this unless we stop and look up, or look down. Pausing out of our busy day to admire the evidence that is our Creator. We live with this evidence everyday, but fail to look closely and celebrate it.

sick girl

I'm a very sick girl today. I haven't done anything except, sleep and drink tea.

Hopefully I will feel better in a few hours. I really want to see Macbeth.

PorkChop and Royal...

I love the Carney kids. Being able to hang out with them during mi casa every Tuesday is the highlight of my week. They are the most wonderful, adorable kids in the entire world.

Yesterday, Roy kept running around the living room in circles, laughing his head off. His laugh was the sound of what pure joy sounds like. Later him and I played fort under the kitchen table and he read stories to me. I also got a sloppy kiss before I left. =)

Lily kept pulling up my shirt, and I was like uhhh... Lindsey told me she wanted to see my bellybutton. So I let her pull up my shirt and stick her little fingers in my bellybutton...she laughed and laughed and laughed. For some reason she thought it was the funniest thing in the entire world and kept doing it. She also kept eating the brownies out of my hand...which was funny because they were hot and she didn't know what to do with hot brownies in her mouth.

Basically I am in love.

Back in town

For as much as I enjoyed Spring Break, I am overjoyed to be back in Waco! I do get homesick for Waco, oddly enough.

I did not realize how much I could miss buddy in just one week. But I do love being back with her! I also missed someone else a lot more than I expected. But they do say...absence makes the heart grow fonder. Very true.

Yesterday, was a gorgeous day. 77 degrees, and sunny. A perfect day for laying in the grass with a boy whose embrace I had missed.

Weekend in New York

Me sitting on the train to the airport, with my NEW rainboots!
Pictures from the cab. It was so hard with the rain. But I still think I captured some of the beauty from the day.



Our tea party escape from the rain!
She loves me
I love her
Guggenheim. We never made it in, but I enjoyed the outside, nonetheless.
We have been sleeping in the same bed since we were born.
We saw Phantom of the Opera! It was phenomenal!
We were like little kids in the gigantic Toys R Us.

Lunch
Times Square

10 things that make me terribly happy

Here is my Happy List:

1. The smell of fresh summer rain

2. The taste of warm homemade chocolate chip cookies just out of the oven

3. Being woken up by bunny kisses

4. Watching butterflies play with each other in the flowers

5. The feeling of moist grass under my toes

6. Picking strawberries in my garden

7. Christmas lights year round!

8. The feeling after a good run

9. Looking at wedding photos

10. Stargazing

What's your Happy List?...

Julia's day off with Cousin Maria

Most everyone on the Mashnouk side of the family calls me cousin Maria. Since there are two Maria's and I am the lesser seen one. Sometimes I am MK or Maria Knorr.

Aunt Rach woke me up early, and I got to play with Chris before he went to school. Since I made him peanut-butter, bananas, apples, honey, and granola yesterday for a snack. He insisted I make him breakfast. He loved yogurt, strawberries, and granola. We went outside early to wait for the bus and played in the snow!...This kid has the life...

Anyways, Julia took off school today and we went for a walk, watched Hannah Montana, had lunch at the Olive Garden -while complaining about silly things family members do, and how awful Maria Julian was to me!

Off to Wonderland with her and Dana. We had the whole theatre to ourselves. I got my LONG awaited Dunkin Donut fix!

When we got home, Chris and I were total buddies all night.

He loves baking, and helped me make lava cakes. Then after a dinner of Candy Bars!!!!! (a wonderful trick that was played on me) We played monopoly together. It was then that I realized I was absolutely head over heels in LOVE with the sweetest little boy in the world! We layed in his bunk bed and watched a movie as he fell asleep next to me. I am really sad that I haven't spent more time with him, since he is absolutely the greatest thing in the entire world!

Again blurry Julia pictures.

Hair Straightening...

I was showing Chris pictures on my computer and we came across ones of curly and straight haired Connor. So since he (as I do) hates his curly hair he asked me to straighten his brown locks.

Before (handsome in the middle) After

The gorgeous curls before...

During....As we learn Julia needs to stand stiller to take pictures...After....I think he looks like Max from Where the Wild Things Are....all he needs is a wolf suit!