Youngest Child Syndrome?

I recently read an article about birth order for my social work class.  I didn't think any of the descriptions really fit my family until I got to the youngest child.

They’re natural charmers with an outgoing, social personality; no surprise then that many famous actors and comedians are the baby of the family.  Youngest also make a play for the spotlight with their adventurousness. Free-spirited lastborns are more open to unconventional experiences and taking physical risks than their siblings

Today I was looking through some of my old videos from a few years back.  My youngest sister is always front and center and I'm pretty sure she is almost always wearing pink. Girl's got sass. To her credit, most of these were taken three years ago. On a side note, I think my favorite Andrea story happened right before I moved out and went to college. She told me never to wet the bed and always think about Jesus. Words to live by.

ps. Julie taught her the dance moves.

Oh wait...I still do that.

The other day I was talking to a fellow TA about funny stuff we used to do as kids.  I was telling him about how hard it used to be to wake up in the morning and sometimes I would cry.  Then, after a quick moment of introspection, I thought "wait....I still do that."  That got me thinking about all the childish things I have yet to shed from my myriad of quirky traits. 

I still pick the olives off of my pizza.

Making my bed still seems like an overwhelming task that I'm just too little to do.

I am still duck-footed.

I'm still afraid of bus drivers.

I still do the "I just got new underwear" dance.

I'm still horrible at fractions. 

I still dislike my freckles.  

 

I specifically remember having this conversation with my mother: 

Me(unloading the dishwasher):  Mom! I hate sorting the silverware! I hate it!

Mother:  Erin, hate is a strong feeling.  If you are going to hate something, make it more important than the silverware.  

This made sense to me....but I still hate the silverware.  

I still have a huge crush on Leo D. 

Sometimes I still think the only people that really understand me are my pets.  

 I still get mad when I can't go in and have to wait in the car. 

When people refer to the time as "a quarter after," it still takes me a second to realize this does not mean 25 minutes.  

I still think it's funny when my dad sticks items from the dinner table up his nose.

  

I still have absolutely no sense of direction.  

I still LOVE the zoo.

 I still bite my nails.

Aladdin is still the hottest Disney character.

I still like my sister's clothes better. 

The shower things in the produce aisle still fascinate me.

I'm still shy around the opposite sex.

Still think purple is superior to all other colors. 

"DO NOT TOUCH" signs still make me want to poke it that much more.

I'm sorry for what I'm about to repeat...

I posted this last week, but I can't stop listening to the first song on this playlist. Every time I listen to it all of a sudden things are ok, even when just a second before everything seemed to be upside-down and ruined. I can't wait for this semester to be over. I'm exhausted.

Into Great Silence

I recently watched a film called Into Great Silence. It was a documentary about the monks of the Carthusian Order. The film was almost three hours long with almost no dialogue. It took pretty much every ounce of willpower I had to watch all of it but when I was done, I was glad that I had. I was amazed at the devotion and discipline that these men have. They seem calm, collected, consistent, and at ease with their lives. In a world that fills itself with the jumbled noise of consumerism while harboring an obsession with efficiency, how many of us can say that? The film made me want to listen more and speak less and take my own ideas on faith and make them more personal and meaningful. I would recommend watching it if you find yourself unsure of what to do with three hours of spare time. I'll get off my soapbox now. Please forgive me.

"In a certain sense, all of us are running. We are running after money, status, pleasure. We run with gossip, rumors, foul talk, with lies, fiction, and trivialities. We run now to the east and now to the west, panting on our activistic errands. But we are not running on the racetrack."
- Kierkegaard

Summer, but not a Kentucky summer

I can't wait for summer to finally be here. I can't wait to wear flip-flops and drive with me windows down (this was supposed to say "my windows down," but it sounds so great the way I typed it that I'm going to leave it that way).

Summer makes me miss Kentucky.

Unless you're from the South, I'm not sure you can understand. My apologies. It's a culture thing. There's a mixture of redneck acceptance, southern hospitality, and a love of camouflage that doesn't exist in Utah. I loved bluegrass summers. They were the never-wear-shoes, ghetto drive-in movies, after party at Walmart, meet-you-in-the-high-school-parking-lot kind of summers.

The humidity was absurd and it made my hair so ridiculously curly that I didn't even try to control it. I had to be on the lookout in the car because little families of opossums were always trying to cross the road at the worst possible time.

I miss the trees. I miss the horse farms. I miss Louisville. I miss Steak N' Shake at 2 in the morning.

- Erin

Classes are over...

...and I am rewarding myself accordingly.

Had a spare moment and ended up watching these. I think it was time well spent.

Philosophy Football

I've never felt so in touch with my inner dweeb. It's what being a psych major does to you. Not only do I know who these guys are, but I am of the opinion that this is the most masterfully scripted youtube I've ever seen.

"Aristotle, very much the man in form...Kant via the categorical imperative is holding that ontologically it exists only in the imagination..."

Hell Week

I hereby dub this week Hell Week and it's only Tuesday.

What am I going to do when this h-e-double hockey sticks week is over?

- Take the longest bath ever with infinite amounts of aroma therapeutic bubbles.

- Eat oreos and raspberry ice cream.

- Probably watch this movie at some point.

- Sleep in.

- Sleep in.

- Sleep in.

- Be grateful that I am one semester closer to graduating...

Until then, this is my theme song. Yes, I have a #2 pencil.

Finals?

How am I supposed to write my paper about the foster care system in Utah when there are gems such as this on my Blogger Buzz? Listening to Find Your Way by this guy, who was recommended to me by this girl. Love her. Happy Sunday folks. What a beautiful day.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Found myself listening to Aretha Franklin today. I was feeling sassy.

Unbelievable Chemistry

There are a few things on this planet that go astonishingly well together. They are the pb&j combinations that make one wonder how he or she was living before implementing any certain magical duo. My favorites are as follows:

1. Nutella & Ritz Crackers. The salty-sweet mixture is irresistible.

2. Sunday afternoons & naps

3. Shaving my legs & getting into bed = Euphoria: a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio & I. He wanted to make it work but I told him the fame was getting in the way.

5. Matt Damon & I.

6. Matt Dallas & I.

7. Harrison Ford & I.

8. The Shins & discouraging days

9. Summer & Drive-in movies

10. Banana Chairs & free time

11. Kate Winslet & Jim Carrey in this movie:


12. Oreos & Black Raspberry ice cream. I just realized that there is a "p" in the middle of the word ras"p"berry. My entire life I've been thinking the word was "razzbery." Unbelievable. Also, the Oreo combination is incredible. Try it.

13. Rainy weather & sweats right out of the dryer. Divine.

14. Being on the verge of sleep & listening to this:



15. Watching home videos with the family & Eating chocolate chip cookies.

16. My roommate & Caffeine. Our lives are a nonstop slumber party.

17. Bad breakups & Ben Folds


18. Hurried mornings & Dry shampoo...it's amazing.

19. Thrift store shopping & Liz V.

20. Pushing Daisies & Avoiding homework.

Synesthesia

First: read a bit of this.

Second: watch this



This is just really fantastic. It's well-made, unique, and intriguing...which is everything a short film should be.

Mumford & Sons

Obsessed with this song.