shady seedy sketchy, and my personal favorite....janky

what do these adjectives have in common?
i'm glad you asked! they all describe the motel i stayed in with my bff beth this weekend. our night at the knights inn in downtown columbus was sketchy to say the least, dangerous to say the most, but completely bearable. i can't speak for beth, but i, for one, left patting myself on the back for not being so high-maintenance as to require luxury accommodations.
that being said, the fear of bedbugs and the dirty washcloth left in the bathtub made me think that camping might be the way to go from here on out. this was definitely, definitely the second seediest motel i've ever stayed at. and if you haven't heard about the pacific sands motel in santa monica california, we must talk asap. it is a good story indeed. the experience was shared with another great girl, my dear friend jessica.

check it out here
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g33052-d119459-Reviews-Pacific_Sands_Motel-Santa_Monica_California.html

laughing out loud right now, because the "candid pictures" say it all. love love love. oh the memories!!


in other news, i now give you ten facts about my last week. you know, things that don't warrant a whole post. stream of consciousness a la viriginia woolf (see, i remember something from brit lit)

1. my grandma has precisely 11 jars of candy in her kitchen. i stopped by for a quick visit after my saturday o' bff bliss, and i promptly took up residence next to said candy jars as i warded off judgmental comments from my dad (jk, JSR!)

2. i finally called my dear friend and former roommate lydia tonight and, in keeping with tradition left an obnoxiously long voicemail message. every time we call each other and leave messages, we talk until we run out of time. it's a continual effort to outdo the last effort.

3. i dig the new fall nail polish color trends this season. currently sporting two shades of purple.

4. currently reading:
Radical
A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichal
Gripped by the Grace of God
and they all come highly recommended.

5. i recently started a new flossing regimen. riveting.

6. i have developed a delicious lower-fat and lower-calorie pumpkin pie type dessert. basically its pumpkin pie filling sans crust, made with 2% evaporated milk and half the sugar called for in the recipe. try it, you will like it.

7, have i mentioned how much i love being a school counselor? what a great gig.

8. what does it say about how i have spent my time in the past year when i've already seen all SEVEN of the dvr'd forensic files episodes? seriously?! and the worst part is, i was kind of annoyed about it.

9. i am so totally grateful for my friends and family. i don't know how to express that any other way, and i feel like a broken record, but it's true. and i'll say it again, i'm sure.

10. orange you glad we're at fact 10? speaking of citrus, i am in need of some new satsuma lotion from the body shop.



and on that not, the weigh in is over, and the voting has commenced. must focus on the biggest loser before i head upstairs for bedtime. fall break starts in approximately 16.5 hours. yay!

HA-HA-Ha-liday and other miscellany

so i'd forgotten that i have to "moderate" comments on this here blog and i was feeling very much unloved (and therefore stopped writing). and then i realized that i had several comments pending my approval & yet to be published. long story short, i had lots that were just spam comments or whatever and only two good ones (from two of my favorite people and you know who you are). so with two easy clicks, they are now published.

and while i didn't publish this one, i did laugh, out loud. and i quote:

"Are you a lover of animals not? if any, to invite you to my blog my blog .on many lovely animals. http://petverylovely.blogspot.com/"

there are so many things i love about that, that i'm not even going to mention them. just take it for what it is, have a few laughs, and now give me your full attention.

ahem.

CCN 10 is just days away. and if you don't know what CCN is, you probably shouldn't be reading this because clearly you don't know me. so i ask you...what will YOU be doing october 25?

yikes, i have gotten off to quite a sarcastic start, have i not? something i'm working on not doing. but i think that's the theme of my life--making plans and not facing the music (as a wise friend once said).

and speaking of wise friends. a wise friend's brother told her that she needed to do two things (i don't remember the context). but one of them was to get enough sleep. because if you don't you'll look haggard. and i looked in the mirror just now, and haggard is the exact word i'd use.

loverly.

in other news, i get to take a miniature solo road trip to meet up with my bff beth in columbus ohio. i am so totally excited to see her. she bid on a room on hotwire and we're going to take what get, hope for the best, and get up early to drink coffee, do a crossword puzzle, and then proceed to take columbus by storm. i, for one, would like to stop by the ohio state student union, where the best-ever flash mob dance was executed and recorded. youtube it. just type in "ohio state flash mob dance." you will not regret it. and if you do, i will pay you one dollar.

why, you ask? because i am NOW EMPLOYED!

well, i have been for a while but i just transitioned into my new role as counselor. loving it, so much!

more later, my friends. for now, i've got to pack for my trip, organize my closet, brew** a giant pot of chai tea and watch project runway late into the night. tgif tomorrow! yahoozers.

**rlw4@calvin.edu has forever marred my perception of the word "brew." you know who you are. and i was not the only one so traumatized. (right, ajb5?)

love to all, merry ccn, and happy weekend!