30 March 2012

fill in the blank friday.

Happy Friday friends!
Time to fill in some blanks!!




1.  My greatest strength is   doing work.  Getting stuff done.  I'm a pretty productive person...most of the time.   .

2.   My greatest weakness is    doing work.  Sometimes I forget to take a break, stop worrying about all my assignments, and enjoy the day That or a man with a beard, accent, and 3 piece suit.   .

3.  People always compliment me on     ummm...I don't know if always is the right word...but my creativity/crafty projects.   .

4. If you found me procrastinating you'd probably find me     watching something on Netflix.

5. The most cozy place in all the world is  my bed  .

6. Something new that I tried recently was    the Dortios Locos taco from Taco Bell.  Yep, I went there.  The one with the Dorito chip for a shell.  And I enjoyed every deliciously horrible second of it .

7.  This weekend I would like to   go hiking...and I think I'm actually going to be able to do that!   .

Hope you do something fun this weekend!

xo
Hope

29 March 2012

Thursday is Nerd-Day


Yep, that was me today.  It was Interlibrary Loan Day.  And I hate when books are bigger than you expected.  I seriously don't have time to read a 500 page book on the history of U.S. immigration policy. But I am so stoked for this paper.  I never in a million years would have thought that I would be focusing on immigration history in grad school.  Never ever.  Serious nerd alert.

27 March 2012

Tuesday Tune-Day: Mellow or Melancholy


This song takes about a minute to get into, but when it does, wow.  It's worth the wait.  So give it a chance.  It's pretty indicative of my musical tastes.  On more than one occasion, I have been told that I listen to "depressing" music.  Maybe it is, I'm not sure.  But one thing I do know is that I like mellow music.  I have music playing pretty much all day.  I like to turn it on first thing in the morning while I'm getting ready.  I like to listen to it at work while I'm processing documents.  I like to listen to it in the library while I'm reading.  In the kitchen when I'm cooking.  In the shower. In the car when I'm driving for any distance, short or long.  When I'm trying to fall asleep at night.  I probably spend more time listening to music than anything else.  And because of this, I something that can be playing in the background and not be too overpowering.  And I want real music.  Guitars, banjos, pianos, strings.  I want lyrics that tell a story.  I'm pretty much the female version of Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy with all the brooding I tend to do -- and real music with a real story like The Barr Brothers helps me make it through the day.  What music keeps you going?

26 March 2012

Movie Monday: My Chronic Wanderlust

Even if you've only known me for a short while you probably know of my love for Amelia Earhart.  So I was super excited this past week when a friend sent me this article about Hillary Clinton meeting with a team that thinks they might have found the island where she was stranded following her plane crash.  This article inspired me to watch the film Amelia  for probably the hundredth time.  It stars Hilary Swank as AE and Richard Gere as her husband and publisher George Putnam, along with the always handsome Ewan MacGregor as Gene Vidal.  It got pretty horrible reviews when it came out -- but I love it!  It's filmed in a flashback and it jumps around a lot.  If you don't know the story of her life, I could understand how you would be confused.  But...I've read just about every biography/autobiography published on her.  

I've never felt such a strong connection to an historical figure.  I find aviation endlessly fascinating.   I also identify with her sense of wanderlust.  And in that sense, I think her disappearance was somewhat poetic.  Her flight around the world was going to be her last flight.  She was going home.  She was going to be grounded.  And so she left this world doing the one thing she loved most.  I keep a photo of her on the wall in my room to remind myself to be fearless.  To be determined.  To never give up.  To live life on my own terms.  To find adventure.  

23 March 2012

fill in the blank friday

Today is Friday,
the day we fill blanks.




And today's theme is....COLOR!  






1.  My favorite color is     yellow   .

2.   My home decor color palette includes    yellow and gray in my bedroom, red, black, and white in the kitchen   .

3.  Other people always tell me I look good in the color     that weird salmon/orangish pink color...I don't know what it is about it but I have had some seriously random people tell me that they like it on me    .

4. The color I detest is    is purple.  I don't know why, but I really don't like it at all.  Pink is a close second -- probably because my entire room was pink when I was growing up -- pink carpet, pink bedspread. It was a tomboy's worst nightmare! .

5. If you were to look in my closet most of the colors you'd see would be    a lot of blue for some reason.  And gray.  And yellow.  I'm on a mission to diversify my color scheme.  I just got a green cardigan and I am in love with it!.

6. A color that I simply cannot pull off no matter how hard I try is    purple.  Maybe that's why I don't like it. .

7.  The color of my favorite dress is   ummmm...navy blue and green aka my graduation dress from last year   .

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

xo
Hope

18 March 2012

Weekend Update: Hope Goes to Washington: Part II

Some highlights from my spring break trip to Washington, DC:

Washington, DC is a beautiful, beautiful city in the spring.  I couldn't believe it had been two years since I was there -- but I was happy to see the magnolia trees in full bloom...

...and so were the cherry blossoms!  Which made me think of this song by The Wailin' Jennys.

But the best part of the trip was being reunited with my wonderful friends from Monmouth.  It felt so good to have the gang back together again!
We literally laughed until we cried.  And made pancakes.  And watched entirely too much Grey's Anatomy.  And slept all night in a leopard print Snuggie. I wish spring break lasted forever.

09 March 2012

fill in the blank friday




1.   I am looking forward to       flying out to DC on Tuesday morning!  Ok, so maybe not the part where I have leave my house in the middle of the night to make my 6:00 am flight. Or the layover in Atlanta.  But I can't wait to be back in the District of Columbia. I fell in love with our nation's capital during my semester there two years ago.  This will be my first trip back since then!     .

2.  Something kind of embarassing that I still love anyway is    Hallmark Channel movies.  Especially the Christmas ones.  Or the historical ones.  They are so predictable -- and cheesy.  And I think that's what I like about them -- their simplicity.  Sometimes you just need to sit back for a couple hours and not have to think about anything. .

3.  My favorite car is     Volvo wagon.  And I WILL have one some day.  I bet no one has ever given that answer.    .

4.  If I could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be    partly cloudy and a high of 68.  I don't where this happens on a regular basis, but I would like to live there.  .


5.  My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is     take a really hot shower.  To literally wash it all away.  Or make some coffee  .

6.  This weekend       I will be packing for DC.  And hanging with my grandparents (that's the plan for today).  And going to the movies with friends.  And going to Chicago to visit my sister.  That's a pretty full weekend!   .

7.  If I were a color, I'd be     green     because,       I took two different online quizzes just now and they both said I was "green" because I am a very calm and contemplative person and that others are drawn to my peaceful, nurturing nature.  HA!  I would have never said that about myself -- but the internet doesn't lie! :-) . 

Happy weekend!

xo
Hope

06 March 2012

Tuesday Tune-Day: The Lyrics to My So-Called Life

I think that Adele and I could be best friends.  The lyrics of her songs speak to me in ways that no other artist can.  Take this song, "Don't You Remember." A friendship that ended abruptly.  Not having any closure.  Always wondering what went wrong.  Wanting to talk to that person so badly.  Wondering if you'll ever see them again.  Wanting to ask them if they remember why you were friends in the first place.  Trying not be bitter.  Wanting so badly to apologize, but not being given the chance.  Praying that one day that person will come around because you really do want to be friends again.  Yep, that's where I'm at.  Thanks, Adele for being there to see me through.

05 March 2012

Movie Monday: March Madness & Women's History Month

It's that time of year!  The most wonderful time of the year (in my opinion)!  I love March Madness basketball -- always have, always will.  Growing up, I was that annoying 7 year old who would take you to town on bracket predictions -- just ask my dad -- I think I beat him every year when I was little.  I'll spare you my bracketology (and trust me, I could lecture for hours), and jump right into the post...
So to get in the spirit, I thought I would share a film that my parents got me for by birthday last month.  The Mighty Macs is about the Immaculata College women's basketball team and their legendary coach, Cathy Rush.  Talk about an incredible coach -- she built the program from the ground up in the 1970s against insurmountable odds.  Immaculata College was tiny -- only 500 students -- all female.  And somehow, Rush was able to get her team to the very first NCAA championship for women's basketball.   Before Geno Auriema and UConn, before Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Lady Vols, there was Cathy Rush. This story is basically the movie Hoosiers for the women's game.  And it's one of those films that's going to be a classic in my house.  I watched Hoosiers every year on the first day of basketball season, and one day I would like to share Mighty Macs with my future daughter on the first day of her basketball season.  And yes, I will have a daughter someday (if only so I can name her after Amelia Earhart) and I will most definitely share my love the game with her.

And I also plan to share my love of history.  March is women's history month.  So I urge you -- scratch that -- I implore you to celebrate.  Pick up a copy of The Mighty Macs and reflect on just how far the women's game has come.  Read a biography of a woman of your choosing.  I'm hoping to have time over spring break to read this book about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  So this March, let's celebrate the Emma Willards, the Alice Pauls, the Jeannette Rankins  the Amelia Earharts, and the Cathy Rushes.  Let's celebrate those who helped to empower women.

02 March 2012

fill in the blank friday

Happy Friday, friends!  Sorry I've been failing at this whole blogging thing as of late.  Grad school can be pretty brutal from time to time.


1.  The highlight of my week was    getting some Cajun food on Monday night as a reward for our hard work on our cataloging assignment.  Yes, my life is that exciting.  But Dats in Bloomington might be my new favorite restaurant.

2.   If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic it would be   a fusion of vintage, laid back, and kind of rustic.  But basically anything travel oriented or yellow works for me.

3.  My first vehicle was   a 1999 Ford Ranger pick up.  It didn't have a CD player or power anything.  Good times.

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is   Diet Coke.

5. My favorite way to waste time is   Probably Facebook or Pinterest.  But I like browsing sites like Etsy.

6. Right now I could really go for   a little West Wing on DVD   .

7.  This weekend I will be   reading.  What else is new?  And trying to get ahead so I won't be totally stressed when I leave for DC during spring break! .

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

xo
Hope