To Whom It May Concern

Dear Oklahoma City,

I think you're great. I really do.

But, I've been thinking about it, and I think you need an efficient mode of public transportation. I realize that will be a tall order because you're spread all over the place, but you have to start somewhere, right? I mean, we have the Thunder now, and we need to keep up with the growth, so it makes sense, right OKC? Just think, one day you could have a system that looks like this:

Dear Rex and Gypsy,

It's really fun getting to watch you while your parents are out of town. You're some of the cutest pups ever, and I'm not just saying that because you're my doggy siblings.

I know that you love sleeping on the bed, but sometimes you make it really difficult to move during the night. Maybe you could just scoot over a bit? Think about it.

Dear New Glasses,

I'm kind of still obsessed with you. I still feel like I'm betraying my old pair, but we've reached a mutual understanding, and it's time to move on. Even if my co-workers don't like you, you're still my favorite.

Dear Pools,

I don't know where I'd be without you. You're kind of my favorite. Thanks for being you.

Sincerely,

Emily

Highs / Lows

High: I've been house sitting a lot lately. This is always fun, because basically it means that I get to live vicariously through another family that has a bigger house than I do. It also helps if they have a pool.

Low: Since I pack as sparingly as possible when I house sit, I have basically been cycling through the same 2 necklaces, 2 pairs of earrings, and 5 dresses since July 6th. (Don't worry, I wash the dresses). However, I am looking forward to the end of August when I can move back home and start incorporating more into my wardrobe.

High: The Olympics took place. It was an exciting time that included, but was not limited to, the Fab Five's win, Team USA's gold in Basketball, Lochte's tweets, Missy Franklin's all-american-ness, and Mustafina's face. She will cut you.

Low: The Olympics ended. It's true. All good things must come to an end, I suppose. However, the silver lining in this is that in two years they will be back again. And they'll be in Russia!

High: It's SHARK WEEK. An entire week that is devoted to one of my favorite apex predators. Now we just need a saltwater crocodile week (hello, death roll), and a komodo dragon week. (I would also accept a Big Cat Week, which I think might already exist, and a Snake Week, even though I'd have to close my eyes a lot for that)

Low: I didn't go cage diving with Great Whites this year. Maybe next year.

Apparently I'm Predictable

Either I’m the most predictable person in the world or my friends just know me very, very well. Or maybe I just have very specific interests. Or maybe I talk too much?It’s probably a combination of all of those things.

If Anne of Green Gables (or Gone With the Wind. Or You’ve Got Mail) is on TV, at least one person will text me which channel it’s on.

If something happened with Jay-Z, Beyonce, or Kanye, I will inevitably receive a handful of tweets/Facebook posts/texts about whatever happened.
I’m always notified if there have been more shark attacks than usual, or there was a crocodile attack, or they found a man-eating lion (basically, anything apex predator related).

If a documentary about a serial killer is on TV, I’ll get at least one text telling me to turn on the TV.
It’s kind of the best thing ever. I suppose I do the same thing to my friends when something reminds me of them. It all works out.
What pop culture/newsworthy items do you get texts and alerts from friends about?

Update: I literally just received some picture texts from my parents of some sharks they just saw get reeled in off the coast of St. Simon’s Island, GA. They know me well.

I Love My Hair. I Hate My Hair.

I’ve never had long hair. That’s a fact that has put me in much turmoil in my short time on this earth.

When I was really young, my parents kept my hair extremely short. Apparently I did not like getting my hair brushed, and I would speak my mind quite loudly about the subject. That doesn’t sound like me…

But because of this, I look like a boy in every picture (all 6 of them) from when I was little.

As my body grew, my hair for the most part stayed the same length. There would be some years where I would decide to grow it out, but then it would reach shoulder level and I’d think, “how do people have long hair?!” And then I’d grab a pair of scissors and chop off all of my hair a la Edward Scissorhands.

OK, not really. But I wanted to do that quite a few times.

(Honestly, what’s your secret, long-hair ladies? How do you all look so effortlessly put together and cool all the time? I keep telling myself that when the weather starts to cool down things will be better. I’ll probably think the exact opposite when the cool weather finally arrives)

For several reasons 2011 was another year when I decided to grow my hair out. So far I think I’ve done OK. I haven’t made any desperate phone calls to my hair lady. I haven’t shed any tears while fixing my hair (well, maybe a few). It’s a little past my shoulders, and I’m pushing onward and upward. Well, technically downward.

But in the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming that my hair will look like this:

When in reality it will most likely look something along the lines of this:

Dreaming of Fall-ish Things

It never fails. It’s always around this time of year that I start craving the beginning of school and all that comes with it.

Summer is grand, it’s true. But the beginning of the school year / entrance to autumn is just, in my opinion, the best time of year.

School supplies, schedules, books, football, tights (!), boots (!!), scarves (!!!), baking (the exclamation points are endless). The list goes on.

Granted, the weather won’t start cooling down until November, but I’ll take what I can get.

Let's all dream about keeping sipping coffee with the windows open.

Also, I'm a huge sucker for elbow pads.

If it was acceptable to have them on every sweater, I would.

And, this is totally on my fall "to-bake" list. Snickerdoodle cake.

What is your favorite part of fall? Or, what isn't your favorite part of fall?

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Awesomeness

Happy August, everyone!


What better way to celebrate the arrival of August than to highlight a moment in July?

Yes, I realize that it has nearly been a month since the Fourth of July, but there's no statute of limitations on uploading photos from a fantastic holiday celebration, right? That's what I thought.

Sometimes the stars align, and all of your best friends are in the same spot, you don't have to go to work, and food, dancing, and fireworks are all nearby.

Oh, and there are babies. Adorable babies.

(top to bottom: sparkler-dancing, adorable babies, cute babies, hysterical babies, wonderful babies, swim pic, sparkler intensity)

I hope your Fourth of July (slash entire month of July) was delightful!

Living In Someone Else's House

Otherwise known as "house-sitting," living in someone else's house might seem very strange to some of you at first. If I think about it too much, it is fairly strange, but living in someone else's house has its benefits, too.

I somehow got into house sitting when I moved to OK several years ago. It is fairly crazy to think about the amount of time I've spent in the homes of people who aren't family members, but I'm not complaining.
If I think of each house sitting job as a vacation, I'm on vacation 10 weeks of the summer.


I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but Nick the dog is one of the best puppies ever. Granted, one time he opened the door and came into the house in the middle of the night and stood next to the bed and I thought he was a murderer who had broken into the house, but other than that, he's the best.


What's that? You want to see pictures of Nick and my house sitting job? OK.

Isn't he the cutest? He watches Downton Abbey with me, and everything.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to start re-packing for my next house sitting job.