Forget what we're told before we get too old...

I cut my hair all off!  Well, not actually all of it, but the back is all razored and the sides are a little longer than chin length.  I've had similar cuts before and I really like it, and I hope to stick with it for a while.  I'm dying it tonight and then it'll be even better.  Half an inch of mousy brown is showing right now.  Bad news.  Turning it all into dark auburn is good news.

I don't really know why I'm blogging right now, because I really don't have anything to say.  I think I am just trying to not neglect my blog and the few people who read it.  Wouldn't want to bore anyone or anything.  Not that I'm very interesting to read about.

I am going to Women of Faith in a couple weeks.  I'm kind of excited.  I was more excited, but now I'm not as much for some reason.  I am just bipolar, maybe, or something like that.

I am watching American Idol.  It's boring.  These guys aren't very good.  I only like three or four singers (Didi Benami is my number 1 favorite so far) out of the top 24, and I think they're all girls.  That is, however, a vast improvement from last year, when I didn't like a single singer on the entire show.  Ultimately, I just miss Jason Castro, and that's my only real feeling about American Idol.  Jason Castro was the best.  Too bad he couldn't sing loud songs.

Work is still going well.  I only have Alex and Jacob this week, which is nice.  In three weeks I'll only have Anna and Gabe, which will also be fun.  Today Jacob was crabby and wouldn't sleep.  His teeth are hurting him.

Awww, man.  This guy singing Snow Patrol is bad.  I will write him a note.

Dear Mr. Deweezee or whatever your name is,
You pick good songs but you should hit your notes better, please.
Sincerely, Mara

Simon likes him.  He must sound different in person.  Hrmph.

Enough about American Idol.  Hair dying time hopefully is soon.  Mom is supposed to help me.  I would just do it myself but it's easier when I have help.

I am done with this lame, boring blog post.  I will put you all out of your misery.  Hahaha.

Mara Tenille

No one expects you to get up, all on your own with no one around...

The second half of The Fray's first CD might be my favorite chunk of an album ever.  Not that there is anything wrong with the first half, but Look After You, Vienna, Dead Wrong, Little House, and Trust Me are some of my favorite songs, and the combination of them is almost perfect.  Look After You was even featured on Andrew's Valentine's Day mix CD, which I can actually show you now.  So, here's the cover art (which is looking more brightish light blue than the slate grey blueish color that it is in reality) and also the track list:

1. Breaker by Alex Arthur
2. Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional
3. Testing the Strong Ones by Copeland
4. Snowbirds and Townies by Further Seems Forever
5. Suicide Baby by House of Heroes
6. The Ocean by Mae
7. Vanilla Twilight by Owl City
8. Firefly by Jimmy Needham
9. I Hated Prom by Transistor Radio
10. Haight Street by Anberlin
11. Look After You by The Fray
12. Broken by Lifehouse
13. Sunday by Bebo Norman
14. The City Lights by Umbrellas

I happen to think it's a pretty good collection of songs.  I tried to stick a few happy songs in there, like Firefly and I Hated Prom, so it wouldn't seem really depressing.  Alex Arthur, who wrote and sings Breaker, seemed concerned that it was too depressing a song for me to put it on a mix CD for my boyfriend.  But it has lots of good lines that aren't depressing.  When I'm with you, my heart is home.  I don't find that depressing, personally.  Maybe in the context of the rest of the song it is, or maybe to Alex it is, but regardless I think it's a beautiful song and so it kicked off the CD.  Alex is a friend of a friend who used to live in Ames and played (plays?) in a band called Keep and Confess.  They play metaly screamy music, so it may be a little shocking that he wrote and recorded such a pretty acoustic song.  But I think it's pretty awesome that he can do both.  So anyway, yes, if you don't know that song, that's probably why.  To hear it you can go to Alex's MySpace.  Other songs you may not know... I Hated Prom is by a band called Transistor Radio.  They disbanded a year or so ago.  They were actually a band that I found on PureVolume years ago, and this was one of their original songs before they ever got signed or recorded a CD or anything.  I like it.  You can't find it anywhere online anymore, so I don't have any way for you to listen to it.  It's kind of a cute, prom-y song.  This year will be the last time Andrew and I go to prom, so it was fitting.  Prom is kind of a big deal when you never thought you'd get to go.  But anyway, I think you can find all those other songs pretty easily if you want to check them out.  I recommend all of them.

Tomorrow morning my hair is getting chopped off.  I miss short hair.  It will be pretty different than what I've done before, but I'm really excited.

That's all for now.

You've been given the green light to go entertain them, they're waiting for you...

For Andrew, the title to this blog is a little sneak peak to his Valentine's Day present.  Every year I make him a mix tape (it's actually a CD but calling it a mix tape just seems cooler) with cover art and a little sleeve booklet and everything.  I mean, I go all out and like, take the jewel case apart and measure stuff and print double-sided things and all that.  It's a pretty big deal.  This year is only the second year I've done it, but I decided before I even did it last year that it was going to become a Valentine's Day tradition.  I like picking the songs and I LOVE designing the cover art.  I think Andrew likes it, because I worked really hard on getting it all finished tonight, and it was kind of exhausting because I was stressing so much about making it perfect.  I think it paid off.

Valentine's Day is a weird holiday.  Lots of people hate it.  I don't really care if people hate it, but when those people make sure everyone knows that they hate Valentine's Day any time it comes up, that's pretty lame.  Because I actually like Valentine's Day.  Not so much all the floofy pink hearts and whatnot, and not so much with all the marketing and hype, but just the idea of having a day to celebrate being in love.  Call me cheesy, but I think it's sweet.  And really, the people who don't have a "significant other" aren't really any worse off than those that do, in my opinion.  At least, not enough that they need to complain and whine about it to those of us who have boyfriends/girlfriends/wives/husbands/etc.  That's just silly and rude.  But I guess somehow we're discriminating against all the loners or something.  I don't really know what I'm talking about though, and it's really late so I am probably not even forming totally coherent sentences and stuff.  Meh. Whatever.

I have a cold.  I caught it from one of the munchkins.  My nose is raw and irritated from using terrible Kleenex.  I sound ridiculous when I talk.  But I did learn that even though Vicodin has no effect on me whatsoever, Dollar General brand night time cold medicine knocks me out.  Good stuff to know.  It's been nice to take that instead of sleeping pills.  Sleeping pills just make me groggy and mindless.  At least, they did the few times I tried to take them.  I don't sleep any better and I end up miserable and unable to function the next day.  But anyway, all that aside, colds are just stupid, and I wish they would all go die in a hole.

Work this week was good.  On Thursday Anna was sick, so we were at the other house with just Jake, Alex, and Gabe.  That was pretty fun.  Gabriel didn't eat or sleep well, but I think maybe he was just overwhelmed with all the new things.  He'd never been over to that house before so it will be a big transition.

Time to try and sleep.  What will win, caffeine or cold meds?

Mara Tenille

It's me and the moon, she says, and I have no trouble with that...

I successfully completed my first week of work as a nanny, and I didn't go insane.  Go me!  So far it has been really great.  There were a couple days where I was ready to rip my hair out, but the days where it isn't like that are awesome and a lot of fun.  The kids are really great, and their parents have been really good too.  Here are some pictures of the little munchkins.  The top photo is of the girls.  Alex is on the left, and Anna is the one with a mouth full of peaches.  Alex is 3 1/2 and Anna will be 3 later this month.  They are both really sweet little girls.  Anna can be a hand full at times but she is hilarious.  Alex is like a little mom, always wanting to take situations into her own hands.  I don't know how many times I've said "I've got it under control, Alex.  Go play now, please."  The second picture is of Alex and the boys.  Jacob, Alex's brother, is on the left, and Gabriel, Anna's brother, is on the right.  Jake is 16 months and Gabe is 11 months.  Jake is adorable and usually very sweet.  He carries around a pacifier and a big brown blanket, and he calls those two things his baby.  He'll walk around saying "Beebee? Beebee?" looking for one or both of them until he has it and then he is all cheerful.  He is also obsessed with the dogs, Jack and Gwen.  The first thing he says when he walks in the door or wakes up from his nap is "Puppies!"  Gabriel is a funny kid, too.  He's really into throwing things and he is working on standing on his own.  He doesn't like to be left alone in a room, and if you do leave him alone he will whine and crawl after you until he can see you, and then he'll play there.  His favorite toy is a big globe beach ball.  Gabe and Jake get a little territorial over the toys sometimes but they are learning to play together.


Anyway, so that's that.  The second order of business in this blog is that I'm looking for a car.  I'm selling off the Miata for something that isn't rear wheel drive, and I've been scouring Craigslist for cars in the $3500-$5000 range.  So far there hasn't really been anything really awesome, but I'm still refreshing the search query every hour or so and hopefully eventually something wicked sweet will come up.  I really wanted this Jeep Wrangler, but Dad was concerned that the previous owner had driven it to crap because it was only a 4 cylinder or something.  Right now Dad is emailing a person about a black 2004 Kia Optima.  We looked at some Sebrings, too.  Dad went and looked at an orange Beetle but it wasn't in very good shape.  So yes, the hunt continues.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the day that Andrew first told me he liked me.  He was in seventh grade.  He had liked me for about a year before that.  I got him the best present ever, but you'll have to see a picture of it once I remember to take one... hehe.

I am mad that there is youth group on Valentine's Day.  So not fair.  *angst*

My cousins are staying with us for the weekend.  That means there will be lots of Wii competitions.  Yesssssss.  I don't know it I mentioned here that we got a Wii, but we did.  We also have Wii Sports Resort, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, and Lego Indiana Jones.

Okay, I am out of things to say.  I seriously am devoid of creativity lately.  Blech.

Sincerely,
Martastic the Dominator