Garfield Park Conservatory

Last weekend I went to the Garfield Park Conservatory with my friend Tamry. That Saturday was filled with glad tidings.

The first is the discovery of the Sacred Fig Tree. I've been looking for a Sacred Fig Tree for awhile.

Second was warmth. I don't know if you know, but Chicago is cold. Wicked cold. But the Conservatory was so warm. So, so warm. Sigh. I'm going back in a few days to experience the warmth. And the Sacred Fig Tree.

Third, flowers! Blossoms! Blooms! I couldn't believe my eyes! Coming from California, I have a high nature requirement, and I feel my eyes and soul have been starved for beauty these past few weeks. It felt good to see and feel the green again.

Fourth, this picture was taken from a bench. Which means it's basically the perfect spot for my future husband to get down on one knee. It meets all the requirements: warm, semi private, beautiful, with thick foliage all around so Tara can hide in the bushes, recording the whole exchange and also be close enough to sing back-up when my future husband croons his "will you marry me" song.

Fifth, The International Domino League. I spied this store front on the way from the Conservatory. The International Domino League? Who knew there was such a thing? You probably did. You are probably a member of your local chapter.

Standing Outside the Fire

Sometimes when I listen to music I cry.

I just do, okay?

I was minding my own business on my way home from work today when Garth Brooks came on my cute little iPod. Garth was singing "Standing Outside the Fire".

Oh man.

Oh, man.

Not once in my known memory have I not cried while listening to this song. I remember the first time I saw the music video.
I was in the third or fourth grade.
It was after school, and I was watching CMT.
And I cried.
I bawled.
I couldn't breathe.
I don't remember ever feeling like that before.
But mostly, I was embarrassed and was glad no one had seen me crying at a music video.


Fast forward to the year 2005.
I was living in Idaho, in C4, and I had just come home from work. I was walking through the living room when the music video for "Standing Outside the Fire" suddenly appeared on our TV screen.

I stopped.

I had avoided that video my entire life.
And now, there it was.
There wasn't a soul in the living room.
Just me and Garth.
I stood transfixed.
As the message of the song and video unfolded before my eyes and in my heart I started to cry.
Tears were streaming down my face. I basically knew it would happen. I figured Garth and I could have another private moment. It was about time, anyway. It had been years since I had last seen the video.

As I stood there with my things in my arms, my face glowing with tears, eyes glued to the TV screen, I noticed a slight movement of energy to my left. I turn my head and here comes Tara bustling around the corner. She sees me.

She stops.

She stares.

Her mouth opens just a bit.

She looks at the music video.

She looks at me.

She says, "Are you crying???!"



I have no idea what I did then. I only remember Tara's shocked face. She was astounded, I think. I'm pretty sure Tara never looked at me the same after that.

Anyway, I figure you should probably all watch the video.



I hope this version is okay; I didn't watch it all the way through.

you may wish you were me

The Mid State Fair came to town, and Tara and I went to it.

I'm not a huge Fair person, but with Collin Raye on the free stage, who could keep themselves away?!



Oh man, do you see how close we were sitting?! And i hardly used my zoom.

Although i was pretty excited for Collin Raye, Tara's grandma was the most excited. Collin Raye is a babe after all.




After Collin Raye i bought some overpriced Fair food and we went to the Main Grandstand. A free concert was going on there, too. The Jonas Brothers. Apparently, they are all the rage on the teeny-bopper scene. There were tons of young girls all over that place.
And they appeared to know the songs.

That is one of the Jonas Brothers. He has a dynamite on his shirt. Probably because he is dynamite. Unfortunately, we spotted a wedding ring on his finger. Someone already snatched him up.

I am not Cho

Tara and i went to a Harry Potter party the night that i got home from school. I was very tired, but it was worth it. A complete and detailed entry of this event can be found here.

Skiing

On president's day I went with Tara and Christina to Kelly Canyon. Tara and i have never really skied before, and i was a little nervous.



But Christina teaches little kids how to ski all the time, so we knew we were in good hands.


Top o'the bunny hill. Why is is called "bunny"? And are the bigger hills called jackrabbits?

Somehow, Christina persuaded me to go down the big hill. I'm pretty sure i was more scared of the chair lift than i was of going down the hill.



I will have you know that i didn't fall once on the bunny hill. But i fell when i got off the chair lift. I had never fallen before, so i had no idea how to get up. The chair lift operator had to stop the lift and help me up. I needed a lot of help.
I also fell about 60 times on my way down the hill.


But Christina would go down backwards and hold my hands on the steep parts. She is in the red coat in the way back, helping me down the mountain. I have better pictures of this technique, i just wanted everyone to get an idea of how confident all the little kids are while they zoom around the mountain.

Forgot

I forgot a majorly cool part about my birthday: my cake.
One time, my roommate said something about how she would never fall for a certain line that we had heard about. And i said, Not even if he was your husband and said it like this, and then i changed to a different voice. Since then i have made up voices for all of my roommates future hubands, to use when the need arises, and they have one for mine.

Up until now i had no idea what mine looked like. But now that i know, i can be on the look out. If any of you have seen a man with brown hair, cool sideburns, big ears, chocolate nose and uneven skin, please let me know. He may be my husband.

Karaoke, Texas, and New Chair

Tara's birthday was January 25. It was pretty great. For her birthday gifts, i thought it would be best to set up a scavenger hunt to find them. The gifts were wrapped up fancy in newspaper and i hung this one on a hanger under our roommate's bed. Inside the package: beef jerky.
It was a pretty good gift.

Also for Tara's b-day, we went to Texas Road House Grill, a grill of which i have never seen in California. (It could be there, of course, California is a big state.) Anyway, Tara dared herself to fit an entire delicious roll into her mouth, and she did it! Congratulations, Tara!
Later on we went shopping and Tara bought a karaoke machine, which was her birthday wish, and i found a killer good deal on this chair. I am currently sitting in it and have wondered how i had survived all these years with a little metal folding chair. How did i survive?
I don't know. I just don't know.

Sweet Face

Well, on Tara's birthday, of which i have not mentioned yet on my blog, but will soon, we decided to take pictures of "sweet faces." These pictures were taken on Tara's birthday, so that should explain the crowns, but if you still don't understand the crowns, well..... You simply have not had a really great birthday. I'm sorry.
If you look closely, you will notice my crown has Belle on it. I'm pretty lucky.

I think Tara's Sweet Face is the best. Mine is pretty good. But Jenna.....We aren't sure if she quite grasped the concept. We have tried other facial expressions with her, and they just aren't working. But we won't give up. We are hoping for an "angry face" by the end of the semester.