pretty.rainy.blog.

warning: there are some graphic descriptions here ha ha

a while back my friend angel went on an organic beauty product rampage, telling all of her friends the benefits of using natural products and the dangers of using the products we use everyday. i'm not one to usually buy in to these sorts of things, but i decided to try it.

one of my biggest concerns was deodorant. i always felt like deodorant gave me the cystic pimples i get under my arms all the way over to my breasts. they are extremely painful. it was to the point where sometimes i would not put deodorant on for days so i could avoid it.

i have been using a really great deodorant made by tom's of maine. it has a really great natural apricot fragrance and last pretty long, although i do usually have to reapply once a day. since using this, i hadn't gotten any of the bumps.

last night i used dove deodorant before i went to sleep because i felt like i had sweated quite a bit and wanted some extra protection. this morning i woke up with 3 boils under my arms. painful, painful boils. this to me is a conformation that my deodorant was causing these problems. ladies, we shave our underarms at least once a week. they are a sensitive area that is constantly being tampered with, so we have to be careful what we put there.

the biggest thing you can look for is that your deodorant doesn't list fragrance as an ingredient. companies can put so many ingredients that they don't want to list under 'fragrance,' call it a trade secret, and never have to release it to the fda. please be smart enough to know what you're putting on your body. i promise there are many products that will make you smell good and are good for you.

yesterday was the first real valentine's day i've had in a while. usually adam and i skip out because it's smack dab between our birthdays, but to my surprise i got presents, chocolate, and we went on a valentines lunch (we both had to work last night). after work i made chocolate covered strawberries :) i also tried to do the pringles like that chocolate store in ada, which turned out tasty but since i didn't realize we were out of foil and wax paper they all stuck to the plate and broke into bits. but i'm going to try it again soon.

i also watched 'garden state' last night. i know it's so unhip to love that movie, but i do. it's probably mostly nolstalgia for a time in my life when that movie was the most important thing that ever happened to me. if it wasn't for that movie i would most likely have never loved film or good music, so i am forever grateful. and the soundtrack is still amazing. and natalie portman is still too cute. and peter sargaard is still one of the best actor ever.

cody's dog, stretch, has also been here all weekend. this has caused much tough growling from nacho and much marathon running from sophie. sophie loves it when stretch is here because he's her baby. and he looks exactly like nacho. it's pretty crazy.

other than that my life has been consumed by playing animal crossing online while everyone else has become reobsessed with magic the gathering. my nerdy adam is so cute.

i think confidence is a strange thing for me. i grew up with a sister infinitely more beautiful than i am. i always got comments like 'you'd be gorgeous if you just lost about 50 pounds' or 'wow. cortney looks like a supermodel and you look like a school teacher.' no one ever had qualms about verbalizing those differences between us. and it's well deserved, she's one of the most gorgeous women i've ever met.

this isn't a pity post. it's a post about my style.

when i went to college, i began to see beauty in other things. one of the biggest inspirations for me was the first season of project runway. fashion became a glorious passion for me. i wanted to create my own style, something no one else did. i wanted to be a trendsetter. i wanted to be an inspiration for style.

i've always known that my sense would be seen as ridiculous here, but i just keep on telling myself i am some sort of mold breaker. and that's where i gain my confidence. i know it sounds strange, but it's how i deal with things. sometimes i get tired of hearing about it from everyone when my clothes don't exactly match you perceptions or when my shoes seem a bit unfit for the situation, but i live everyday like i am being examined. it's strange that what would kill others confidence is what creates mine, i had to create my own.

last year, i discovered a new way to express my fashion passion (i love that it rhymes). polyvore, a virtual wardrobe website, has passed by many a dull hour and a sad night.

i know many people who have questioned my tastes, and many more who knew no other reaction other than 'that's so cute,' when they weren't really sure if that was the correct reaction, just that i garnered one.

and luckily i married a great guy who tells me he thinks i'm gorgeous (even if he says cute or pretty or whatever) everyday. i lurv him.

so to my great dismay, i have been bitten by the 'twilight' bug. i tried to hold out. i didn't want to be one of those girls. but i took one sip and now i can't be satiated (lame vampire joke...).

i blame it on that stupid movie. grace and i went to watch it when all of the boys we hang out with decided that for a few days they would be obsessed with james bond. i despise action movies. grace had read the book, so for some strange reason i decided to go see it. it wasn't very good. at all. but that damn iron & wine song during the prom scene touched my heart. the song, not the scene. i had totally forgot it until for some odd reason we were watching jay leno, a show i never watch. the guest was iron & wine and they played that beautiful song, 'flightless bird, american mouth.' i remembered the scene and i couldn't get it out of my mind. then for three days that song (not the album, just that song) was the only thing i listened to in my car. so i borrowed the book from grace and began devouring it. today i began reading the sequel, 'new moon,' and already i am over half through with it. i don't even know how i got to this point.

they aren't even good! i don't even really like them! but it seems to be pure escapism. i think about it constantly. even in writing this i am worried about getting done with this and folding my load of laundry and getting back to finding out how bella comes to realize that jacob is a werewolf (of course it's obvious to see, there are no true suprises in the story).

i'm not going to be naming a pet or a child after a character in the book or anything (no offense to dana and kendall, who both have named adorable dogs bella, and it's fitting). but i can't keep my secret any longer.

by the way i am still reading george r.r. martin's 'a song of ice and fire' and it is still the most important piece that i am reading. and when i do have children, if i do have a daughter her name will most likely come from his daenerys. and i'm not ashamed of that fact.

our household resolution this year is to stick to the cleaning schedule that i attempt to make every once in a while. this includes cleaning two rooms a week and a dishes rotation. i will be the first to admit that i, personally, am the worst at sticking to it. more often than not adam ends up doing all of it once it gets crazy. did i mention how much i appreciate him?

so today in an effort to remain to task i cleaned most of the day. i also worked more on painting my kitchen, which i have been working on since late september. i sincerely hope to finish it this week because i want to paint the hallway to justin and grace's room desperately. desperately pink.

for breaks during cleaning and to keep my sanity, i have been creating a cleaning playlist. i've described it as not necessarily upbeat songs, but songs that make me happy and keep me pumped. oh look...a sample mixtape...

while on the subject of music, i must direct you to npr to hear andrew bird's forthcoming album..

it is one of the best things i've heard in a while. makes me very excited for music this year.

i think my new year's resolution should just be to blog more. so let me tell you some highlights of 2008.

1. buying my house:)
2. my pretty puppy sophie.

3. getting rid of sophies puppies (thank god!)
4. seasons 2 and 3 of tim & eric.
5. a-kon, although i plan for a-kon to be much better next year, but a-kon is always awesome regardless.
6. visits from dana, john, and ciera.
7. my birthday party. which was the greatest party ever.

8. gracie moving in :)
9. fallout 3 and animal crossing.
10. working at radioshack, which was one of the best jobs ever except for the nothing pay. so i had to leave. sad.
11. going to yard sales alone on saturdays. sometimes my sanity for the week. (i'm such an old woman.)
12. becoming closer with my dad than ever before. it's been a huge help.
13. my anniversary with adam at the fair. should be a yearly tradition :)

14. the visit to sam's house.

15. one of the most awesome christmases ever.
16. going to the movies every weekend during one of the best years for blockbuster movies in a long time. and getting all the good indie ones from netflix :)
17. scrubs and 30 rock.
18. 'you don't know me' by ben folds. and the music video.
19. 'his dark materials' and 'a song of ice and fire'
20. the new year's eve party that definitely rivaled the birthday party.
21. dallas and okc with old friends.
22. reconnecting with justin and calloway. now justin lives with us and calloway is disconnected again.
23. the medieval fair. where michael became axe thrower.

24. red bulls and amps from cody.
25. learning to become a better wife, a better friend, and just a better person. constantly changing, but constantly working towards the goal. bear with me.

despite it's overly typical jay-z opening rap, rihanna's 'umbrella' is the most perfect pop song of our generation. the song was apparently written for britney spears who turned it down for her album 'me against the music.' what a shitty move brit, but maybe the world wasn't ready for this song. not only was this song one of the biggest smash hits of the summer of 2007, so many people brought umbrellas to her shows last year security had to start confiscating them. that's the power of pop legendry.

the song is about not letting fame make you forget the people important in your life before you were famous, but i believe what speaks to people is the chorus:

When there’s sunshine, we’ll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella

it's a song of friendship. it doesn't matter what happens in your life, you're bound as friends and you're going to go through it together, the good and the bad.

when looking for pop music perfection, the music and production are also key. i'm sure you've all heard this song, but if not listen. i'll also add some of my favorite covers in my playlist. and the best music video of 07:


and thank you, the dream and tricky stewart for writing the perfect song.