Goodwill Find #1...

My Goodwill find and my curious doggy.

Trying to live of a babysitter's salary means finding things CHEAP. Thick sweaters were/are in this winter. And living in Seattle, you gotta have some nice thick sweaters for gray, cloudy, rainy, wake-up-last-minute-and-throw-something-on days. I got two thick knit sweaters from Goodwill for $5 each. Pair it with a scarf (that was super cheap at a local festival in the summer) and a dark wash pair of jeans (stretchy, comfortable ones of course!) and you got yourself a comfy outfit that you can wear on those days where you don't even wanna try.

And as a Senior, I've been having a LOT of those days lately.

Carpe Diem,

-A

What Am I Up To?...

Good news.

Check it out at my other blog (mainly because I'm too lazy to restate what has already been said).

Gracias por su tiempo,

-A

Frenchie...

Looking Forward to Summer Already...

I have the best friends on the planet. Not only are they funny, smart, and loyal, they are super generous. Because of my friends, I have been able to go shopping in San Francisco, college visiting in Oregon, swimming in Lake Chelan, dining in China, and have a standing invitation to visit Israel. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not as spoiled as that sounds (well, I am, but in generosity from friends, not in money). I spent all my own money on my trip to China, my parents have helped me out on some of my trips as 16th/18th birthday presents and I funded the rest, and my friends have been so so so kind in providing some of the other things (one friends' mom works for the airlines so she bought my ticket for me, I haven't had to pay for hotels, etc.).

Recently, one of my friends invited me to go with her to her dad's house in Florida. After much begging and consideration, my parents said I could go (and this time as a Senior vacation gift!). I am so thankful and excited for this opportunity! We are missing three days of school and going for about a week towards the end of school-perfect timing, too, because Senioritis will be HORRIBLE those last few weeks of school. We'll be going swimming and to theme parks and I am MOST excited to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan and am absolutely ecstatic!!!

So in preparation for this trip, I have been looking online for swimsuits (I have outgrown my bathing suit from middle school...finally) and found a ton of cute things that I want to get.

Like these swimsuits from Victoria's Secret. I am totally into the Bandeau tops. Especially since I am flat chested and I can't wear a lot of other styles. I also want the outfit above (from Delia's. Click on the photo link to see items). Especially the shorts! I mean, everyone needs a beach cover-up outfit, right?

I cannot wait for the summer!

-A

Christmas.

Ho ho ho. Happy holidays.

I love Christmas. Mostly because of the cookies but also because it's just a magical time of the year.

I got what I wanted!

Now my nails will look like Sarah Jessica Parker, Mariah Carey, Anna Kendrick, Penelope Cruz, Selena Gomez, and many, many more!

This picture really sucks but I like how it captures the gleam of the gold flecks. (My hand sort of looks like an embryo)

And TOMS! Man, I've been wanting these. I was obsessed with TOMS (still am). I want the botas next. And the cordones that look like oxfords that I can never find.

My grandma got me two scarves from Nordstrom, this being one of them. So soft, so perfect with this blue sweater that I bought for $5 (!!!) from...shh...(Good Will). Hey, ya can't beat a $5 bulky knit sweater!

One more obsessive picture of my TOMS!

My aunt gave my sister and I these clutches to share (hah, yeah right). The top is Etienne Aigner, the bottom is Simply Vera.

I hope you all had a magical, cookie-filled Christmas! (Or holiday season if ya don't dig).

-A

They can't do that!...

Or can they?

A man by the name of Alan Gribben is working with NewSouth to publish an edition of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn that replaces the N- word with "slave". According to Gribben, "in the new classroom, it's not really acceptable."

(Screeching sound of tires coming to a halt)

What? Not acceptable in the NEW CLASSROOM? Are you kidding me? It's more acceptable now than ever. And this is coming from a student herself. Now more than ever, children are learning about social acceptance and are aware from a younger age that there are people out there that don't look, speak, or live like they do. In this day and age, students learn early on about what has happened in American history so as not to repeat it. Why, why, why would you ever take out the n- word from such a widely known book? Gribbens says, "for a single word to form a barrier, it seems such an unnecessary state of affairs."

Well you know what I think? I think there is a market for this kind of book. Take, for example, Texas. Yes, all of Texas. The state that removed Thomas Jefferson from the history curriculum because of the fact that he had children with slaves and promoted separation of church and state. In an attempt to eliminate any part of history that Texas found inconvenient for them, they took out one of the most influential thinkers in American history. Well, then, yes. This new version of Tom Sawyer sounds perfect for them. It makes sense that Gribbens would want to publish this book. Okay, I get it now.

Oh wait. No. Gribbens does not admit that he is just a money hound searching for any way possible to make some moola. No. He says he wants to allow a wider audience to appreciate and read the great classic. Ha. That's funny. How can you call yourself an educator, Mr. Gribbens? Your logic makes sense if you just admit to being the typical, money hungry capitalist that most Americans are. But when you claim that you are doing this for the sake of childrens' education, well, that's where there is a misstep in your reasoning.

By taking the n- word out of books, you are finding an easy way to evade the topic of racism at its most vicious, you are choosing to turn a blind eye on part of history and, in fact, harming the students learning about the book. Since when is less knowledge more knowledge?

I understand you want to allow those offended by the language a chance to read this classic, but really, you are just encouraging people to avoid the truth.

So I say, great going, guy. You really screwed this one up.

-A

Happy New Year?

If my New Year's celebration is any indication as to how 2011 is going to be, I'm screwed. Everything was pretty uneventful, even the countdown.
Maybe it's good that it was so low key though. 2011 will be a hectic year for me anyway (graduation, starting college, enjoying the last year before the world ends...) so there's no need to have a huge SHABANG at midnight to kick it off...right? Right?!

Sigh.