Friday, January 23, 2009

My Oasis In A World Gone Mad

I was just sitting here in my bedroom, wondering what to do. I know I know. it's almost one in the morning. go to bed, Jo. yeah but there must be something to do first. then I was just looking around my bedroom, looking at everything in it, and thinking how much I love it. the things in my room are like children to me. I couldn't choose between them, and I couldn't give them up.

Things in my room that I love:

1) My coffee pot, currently filled with India Spice Chai tea. Mmmm.
2) My Christmas tree, which is so so cute, it always stays up until late February or early March.
3) My many books on my bookshelf, which are indeed a diverse assortment. (i.e. Sherlock Holmes, The Interpreter's RX, King Of The Wind, Don Quixote, Medical Terminology 1, The Great Divorce, Claro Que Si, ecc.)
4) My cards (as in playing cards) that I've got stashed away. once I put them all in one place, I realized that I've got over 10 decks. no lie. I like cards, okay?
5) My cute shelves and the cute things on the cute shelves.
6) My spotted blanket that is SOOO soft that Mom gave me. (I'm officially madly in love with it)
7) My fake bouquets of flowers from the wedding that I was in (Yes, I caught the bouquet! :)

There is so much more that makes up my room. movies galore, tea and coffee, my cool bottle collection, my window seat, and so much more.

Now, as a separate subject, I'm going to talk about all the random stuff in my room. stuff that serves no apparent purpose. stuff other people would not have laying around their room. stuff that makes my room awesome.

1) The flashlight behind my coffee pot.
2) The tools laying under my desk.
3) The purple heffalump pez dispenser.
4) The pencil and pen holder filled with coffee beans.
5) The picture of KC and Tori wearing blonde wigs.
6) The "kiss me, I don't smoke" sticker on my closet door frame
7) The "nametag tree" where I keep my assortment of nametags when I'm not using them.

These are strange and random items, to be sure, but they are what makes my room the best. without them, it would just be a bedroom that anybody could live in without thinking about it...or the guest bedroom it's supposed to be. :/

And so, without further ado, I hereby declare my bedroom, 100% amazing.

"In The Year 2525" --Zager And Evans. I'm not quite sure what to think of this song, but it's certainly thought-provoking.

Monday, January 12, 2009

That Age Old, Yet Still Prevalent Question.

Why?

It's a dumb question, sometimes. it's a very valid question, sometimes. it's a very annoying question, always. but it's a question everybody in the world has asked at some point, and it's a question I ask myself every single day of my life. Why? I dunno but it makes for a great blog. :)

Why did I put on two different colored socks this morning?

Why do people always think I'm joking when I say, "Let's do that again!"?

Why did Nikki lie about using my toothpaste?

Why doesn't Lincoln ever get any decent snowfalls?

Why does all my electric stuff break?

Why is it so cold in here?

Why didn't I get to go home first from work, even though I'd been there the longest???

Why do I have a flashlight hidden behind my coffee pot?

Why am I not allowed to go into the attic above my closet? (highly suspect)

Why did that lady at work ask if I was wearing my boots??

Why can't I make my left hand do things my right hand can do? (and "Jo, you're right handed" isn't good enough!)

Why do we find words on a page between two pieces of cardboard so exciting?

Why can't money grow on trees?

Why can't Douglas come back and teach Marcus who's boss?

Why can't people understand that Pepsi and Coke are exactly the same?

Why do squirrels run across the street right when there's a car going by? WHY??

Why can't Macy tell Gimbel?

Why am I asking all these questions? Hmm. maybe I should've asked myself that before now.

I love the question "why?". it has the potential to make people question what they've just said and it can make people very angry (which is sometimes funny, depending on the person and just how angry they are). another reason I like it is because you can use after any statement in the world. maybe that's why little kids crack me up so much. they need reasons for everything.
"Let's go to the park." "Why?"
"I'm hungry." "Why?"
"Clean up your mess." "Why?"

I'm done. why? the world may never know. (that's always the safest answer, I've decided).

PART TWO!!

Yep. this is a multi-part blog. saves me the trouble of making a new blog in a few days, and it saves you the trouble of checking back for a while! see how I'm making life better and easier for everybody??

Anyways, just so's everybody knows, Nikki and Justin are now officially ENGAGED!! yep, it's true. after a long, agonizing wait, they've done it. or I suppose I should say, he's done it. it was kinda funny, cause after they got engaged, they came to our house, and told mom and dad. the rest of us were scattered throughout the house, so Dad calls out: "Hey everybody, come here! you've all...got mail!"

I was in my room at the time. got mail? please. IF I ever DO get mail, it's usually about three weeks before anybody tells me I got any. since when was my mail so important? my dad has better things to do with his time than herald mail announcements. and we all got mail?? at eleven o'clock at night? right. I could've thought up something better in my sleep. I wondered what was going on.

I suspected, the minute that I came to the top of the stairs, that they had become engaged. I was 90 percent certain. Nikki and Justin were standing in the entry. Nikki had her hands behind her back. they both had funny looks on their faces.

I started to grin as I came down the stairs. much as I suspected it was true, I didn't want to freak out and be like, "Oh my gosh!! CONGRATULATIONS! When's the wedding?!?! How'd he do it?!?" if it turned out to be something else. how embarrassing.

But then, when I looked at Mom, and she grinned really big and nodded at me, I knew it could be nothing else. I began to shout, "Let me see it! Let me see it!!" at about that same time, Mary and Rachel came into the room. from their point of view, they saw the ring first. Mary's gasp lasted about ten seconds. it was hilarious.

I don't remember what I did. I think I giggled like a fool for about fifteen minutes, hugging Nikki, Justin, and whoever else I laid eyes on. I could barely take my eyes from the ring. it's beautiful. after waiting so long (and yes, I know it was a longer, harder wait for Nikki and Justin, but c'mon, a sister is allowed to be in suspense, too) they had done it.

So now, two siblings engaged to be married. I realized a few months ago that these days are the last blissful days I've got before everything changes. I'm not sure why, but I don't deal with change very well (maybe that's why I didn't vote for Obama?? :P). I don't like when things change. hopefully they'll be easy changes to adjust to.

I'm really excited for the weddings. I'm excited to see my brother take a bride, and for my sister to take a husband. I'm excited to watch them start their lives together. I'm really excited to have nieces and nephews. but y'know something else? I'm gonna miss my big sister and my big brother. I'm gonna miss them something terrible.

"New York's Not My Home" --Jim Croce. Ahh...this song takes me back to CNA class.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

No. Absolutely Not. Never In A Million Years. Okay.

I try to tell myself that I'm not. it doesn't help. I try to tell myself, "Self, stick to your guns for once." all the while, the internal Johanna is clutching her sides and howling with laughter. guns? what guns? You're a pushover, a softy. and you know it.

But it's not like I don't try. it just does no good, at least where my siblings are concerned. they can make me do whatever they want, with a bat of the eyes or a subtle compliment. sad thing is, I know the game. I know what they're doing, or more importantly, what their motive is, before they do. I just can't overcome it. curse my own weakness!curse it a thousand times!!!!

Okay. a few examples. you know I wouldn't be writing about this if I didn't have a bazillion examples.
1) My big brother Jim and I were going somewhere, and I was just in the bathroom putting on some makeup. Jim is an impatient person. if he's ready, you'd better be ready too, or else he'll do nothing but complain complain complain. but it must've dawned on him that when he complains, I just ignore him, so he tried something different. "Johanna, you don't need makeup. you're gorgeous already." Now, I may be dumb, but I'm not a complete imbecile. I had enough sense to know he wasn't sincere in his sappy compliment. however, coming from my big brother, whose policy is "Never ever in a billion years give a compliment to your sister", I found it cute. so cute, in fact, that even though I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he was just trying to hurry me to the car...it somehow worked.

2) At my house for Christmas, we (sometimes) draw names when it comes to buying gifts. last year, I drew Nikki. this year, I drew her again. I smell a rat. I like to think that I give good gifts and Nikki "arranges" for me to draw her name. maybe. who knows? but that's not the point. the point is, at church they were selling stuff in the back, and Nikki wanted this purple scarf. I was hesitant, to say the least, because the scarf was quite a chunk of change. she looked at me, her vibrant green eyes locked in a war with my own. and I was losing. in about five seconds, our eyes had a complete argument.
"Please?"
"No." Stick to your guns, Jo.
"Please?" *Precious Moments eyes*
"No..." Stick to your guns, Jo.
"Oh, Please! look how pretty it is! Please, Jo? I love you!"
To heck with the guns. "Oh alright."

3) Jim again. He was downstairs with Dad and Josh watching football. he was sprawled out on the couch, taking up all of it. he saw me enter the room. "Hey, Jo, go bake me a pizza."
"No." I replied, attempting to stand up for myself.
"Please? I'll love you forever."
I glared at him. "I know what you're doing." I said.
He grinned. "But we both know you're going to do it."
And I did. I'm like that. I can't help it. I hate saying "no" to people.

"Will you marry me?"
No, Creep Face. "Yes!"

"Can I borrow two hundred dollars?"
I don't even KNOW you! "Sure."

"Can I borrow your car? I crashed mine."
How stupid do I LOOK?? "Why not."

Pushover. Softy. Wimp...Aw blast.

"His Favorite Christmas Story." --Capital Lights. AWwww! I love this song!