Sappy in pink!

I want to run a love business! Man a kissing booth, work on a conversation heart assembly line, give hugs, make someone smile, hold hands. I really do!

That being said I love Valentine’s Day. I always have. Not that every day shouldn’t be dedicated to LOVE but a day mass produced into a major business. Oh my!

Did you know all this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day

So as I sit here smiling while listening to the Amelie soundtrack with a heart so full of love I think it might possibly burst. I can’t help but be THANKFUL. For- Love. For my Rhino, my family, my friends, my doggies.  

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXOXXO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

John hits up the Bus Stop to talk grilling cheese

GRILLED CHEESE ANYONE?

I just want to give a big shout out to my dear friend George Foreman.  Thank you George.  If it wasn't for you I would not have fond memories of lunches with my dear friends Am and Steph.  You see, lunch used to be boring.  You know, take out from McD's, or Taco Hell, or name your other fast food poison.  Or, God forbid, leftovers in the microwave.  Going to eat at an actual restaurant was fun, but limited.  But the best days...grilled cheese on the ol' foreman grill.  This really opened up the possibilities of lunch excursions.  Think about it...you can add ANYTHING to a grilled cheese sandwich.  My personal favorite: onions and hot peppers on wheat bread.  We tended to keep it simple though because the short duration of lunch period we were allotted by our less than generous employer.  So it was the typical classic Kraft sliced cheese on Wonderbread or some other white bread staple. 

Preparations would start in the dark of morning, or what we called in the military "o'dark thirty".  I would get up extra early (well, ok, 2 minutes early), to dig out the machine from the cupboard to haul it from my homestead all the way to work.  We would sit in the lunch area where all the other victims of indebted servitude congregated during this very brief moment of rest from hard labor.  It was a restorative reprieve from the cruelty of the hard lashes against our backsides.  Especially relieving was the anticipation of the greasy cheesy gooey slathered bread slices sliding off of George's invention.  And the smell of it cooking...oh my God!  I can only imagine the smell wafting down the hallways into the dungeons.  I always waited for others to be drawn out of their cubical land, zombie like, searching out this aroma of heaven.  But alas, it occurred to me that perhaps they were on different lunch periods or they were simply non-believers of the classic gourmet meal we came to call the grilled cheese sandwich.

The others that were there on the same lunch period as us...the stares we received....they were like piercing arrows penetrating deep into our brains.  I'm pretty certain the thoughts in their minds were "how dare them.  Look at them sitting there acting all higher than me.  What makes them think they can get away with that?"  But I do not hold any animosity towards them for the stares they threw at us.  As I am certain they were only stares of jealousy.  We would even oftentimes offer a sandwich to them as they passed by with drool hanging down the front of their shirts.  But I cannot remember any of them accepting. 

I was the chef, but I use that word loosely as after all it is only a grilled cheese.  Meanwhile, Steph would be the socialite, talking to everyone who walked by while Am would just stare off into space with sparkles in her eyes in anticipation of the luscious meal about to be served.  We had like 30 minutes to have lunch and this time was allotted as follows: 

1 minute of greetings (as we were in a hurry to get this operation under way)
5 minutes prep time
15 minutes cook time
1 minute devouring time
6 minutes of reflection and socializing time
2 minutes of wipe down and clean up

30 minutes time of our lives well spent!

And of course, 30 minutes later was the gut bomb from eating all that cheese.  A satisfied gut bomb none the less.

 

John espouses his beliefs in his blog site:  http://yugasage.wordpress.com/.  He is a student of just about everything in life, but primarily studying archaeo-astronomy and the humans place in the cosmos.  He enjoys traveling, outdoors, reading, photography, music, family and friends, and trying to figure out where he will be in the next life.  Check out his blog.

When I say Pen You say Pal! PEEEEENNNNN

Happy Saturday everyone!!
 
 
PEN PAL PSA!!!!!
 

 
 
The Bus Stop is built on this idea that you can write something and send it off into the Universe and it becomes a little love letter for whoever receives it. Pretty awesome, right?
 
You know that feeling you got when you were a little kid and you received a letter in the mail? Maybe Grandma was sending you a dollar in quarters with a cute little card or you had a friend that lived somewhere else that would write to you. That feeling you got that someone actually took the time to sit down and write you. Bliss!
 
Then you got older and you discovered the Internet and smart phones and probably didn't even have a pad of paper in your house. Sometimes you would be cleaning out old drawers and come across a perfect little worn envelope that would stop you in your tracks. Before you knew it your body was covered in every letter you ever stashed, cos I mean, who throws away letters. NO ONE that is who. It's not like deleting an email. It's like throwing away a letter is throwing away a personal connection. And I love email and all that gobbly goop as much as the next person, I love how instant it is and how constant it can be. But it's not as lovely as having a rough day and coming home to find something other than junk in your mail box. Pretty stationary, and handwriting all it's own. It's just effin lovely.
 
Well, here is a little secret, you can still have that. You can still buy paper at stores and the pens, OMG the pens they make in every colour your head could ever dream up. You can still get peace from sitting in a quiet room and writing a letter to someone. It's therapeutic and warm. Aside from the happiness it will bring you, imagine what it will bring to the person receiving the letter.
 
* Side note - you can send an anonymous letter ( you know in a non creepy way, more in a pay it forward way) as well. No return address needed in the U.S.
 
Below is a list of great sites for kids and adults.
 
 

For kids (these are safe sites, but please look over for yourself)

http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/menu_penpals.php

http://www.pen-pal.com/

http://dis.ijs.si/mitjal/genre/online/data/file0773.htm

http://www.agirlsworld.com/

http://amazing-kids.org/main/

Military

http://militarypenpal.tripod.com/

www.uso.org/letters

http://adoptaplatoon.org/site/

http://www.operationgratitude.com/

 www.AMillionThanks.org

 

Pen Pals

http://intl-penpals.livejournal.com/

Nerdfighter Pen Pal Group on Facebook. This group is all about ending world suck and not forgetting to be awesome. :) This group is rad because you can sign up for a pen pal your age, even from another country. Or sign up to swap postcards. :)

www.MoreLoveLetters.com An organization that coordinates a community of "love letter writers" with a mission to deliver love letters to those in need of a positive word or encouragement.

 Letter writing is a HUGE part of my life and brings me so much happiness. I hope it brings you some too.

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Amber xoxoxo

Annie Are You OK, So, Annie Are You OK

I decided to write a serious post on obsession (the good kind….). People are always asking me for tips on obsession…ok, not always asking for tips. Occasionally, someone will ask me to find something for them though and I am all over that shizz. Cos I owns the internet’s and all its glorious stalking research capabilities. I mean I am basically an unpaid private investigator. Well, I mean, I get paid. The payment is solving the puzzle and the enjoyment, and the entertainment. OMG – MULDER totally wrote a profile about me in an X files episode (see…obsession)

Let me just start out by saying I am a fairly normal person. Normal has always been defined in my family as able to keep a job. But I have always been a curious person and liking things A LOT has always been a part of who I am.

For instance, when I was five I was totally in love with Adrian Zmed (TJ Hooker) and I used to kiss the TV. I really LIKED Adrian Zmed. My dad said I winked at the doctor when I was born so no one in my house thought it was weird that I was kissing the TV (electric shock and all) whenever Adrian Zmed came on screen.

 

Adrian Zmed was followed by a D.B.Cooper fascination when I was 10. I was totally obsessed with that story, short of calling the FBI to analyze the cigarette butt. I analyzed everything I could get my 10 year old baby hands on. I also had his FBI wanted picture hanging on my bedroom wall. Now most 10 year olds don’t have a pin board full of evidence but ya know different strokes for different folks. Still watch every show on D.B.

 

D.B. was followed up by JFK. Now when I was little I thought JFK lived under my bed. I also thought I was reincarnated and that I was on the grassy knoll the day he was assassinated. When I was 12 my dad drove me to the library so I could check out the Warren Report. I made sticky notes with all the disagreements I had with it and would bring it out when people came over to visit my parents.  

 

 

This was followed by Leo Dicaprio (still reigning..HELLLOOOO OSCAR long over due), Edward Furlong, the New Kids on the Block, Fox Mulder, Belle & Sebastian, countless movies and numerous books…you get my point.

Anyway, a lot of folks use obsession for good like running marathons and becoming doctors…and then there are swimfans, superfans and then my crowd (someone who exhibits a lot of attention to something for a short period of time...or until a new obsession comes on).

Now onto the tips:

If you are a beginner or just starting out you are going to just do your basic Google search. Now Google will give you a plethora of information. From Images (sayyyy whhhaaa) to Wikipedia to IMB and on and on. Pretty basic biography stuff.

Next you are going to want to take it to the next level. So you do some searching on some of the social media sites. NOTE: I am not going into Fanfic, “community” sites, or blogs. Those sites my friends are for you to decide.

Twitter. Now you may not have a twitter account so you are going to want to have a friend (MER) who is obsessed with twitter and who will spend a large portion of time ciphering through shizz for you. This usually comes packaged as a sweet little email or text. Then you are going to want to tweet them (obsession) or have your good friend tweet them. With a little bit of luck, good timing, and persistence they may tweet you back. Don’t be too aggressive or scary though. So maybe a softer version of yourself.

Facebook. Now FB sucks. Don’t get me wrong I am obsessed with FB and I use it all the time but most people you are obsessed with don’t use it. Sorry, it’s the truth. They may have a page that you can like but it’s basically run by your doppelganger in Minnesota. Ya dig.

Instagram. Now if your obsession is of the younger more hipster persuasion they are probably gonna have an instagram. Where they can tease you with all kinds of pictures of them doing fun things and eating things you will never eat and going to bed knowing you cannot steal any of their pictures cos instagram is a selfish bish like that. That being said remember there is always someone a little more cray than you and a little quicker who has probably set up a fan page. Not even close to as good but hey..you take what you can get stingy.

Tumblr. Hallulahyuefrigginelouaaaa. Tumbs is boss. I mean you can follow people, you can steal from tumblr. You can have your friend (MER) track down everything she can find and put it all together nicely for you. Every Gif you can dream of probably exists on there and if it doesn’t BAM..you make it. Side Note: insert amazing theme song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es4t1WBJKqA

YouTube. I don’t really need to go into this one, kids. I mean…its YouTube. Any interview you ever wanted to see, any fan tribute you wanted to see, any anything, it’s there or YOU can make it there. Be a self starter.

There are a lot other sites you can check out but I think you get the jest. Finally, an extremely important tip is having a support system in place so you can eventually have human contact. I cannot stress this enough. When you come out of the rabbit hole like a bear after hibernation you are gonna want someone there.  Your friends and family may not understand your obsession but they can still support it. You may not understand why your friend keeps sending you Daryl Dixon photos at 3 am but you know what...you text back a smiley face before your roll back over and go to bed. Why, because that is what friends do.

 Cheers,

Amber xoxox

 

 

 

2013 Bitches!

Happy 2013 my lovely’s~

I hope you all rang in the New Year with lots of love. I had my yellow underwear on and was surrounded by good friends and Rhino. It was the perfect way to welcome 2013.

What did you all do to welcome 2013? What are your plans and hopes for this year?

IDEA: This year let's do what everyone on Tumblr is doing ( I really, really, really love Tumblr..look me up) and fill an empty jar with amazing 2013 things.

 

Then like the lovely nerds we are we will open them all up on New Year's Eve and be reminded of all the blessings that have happened this year. Who wants to cry and get nostalgic with me? C'mon! If you do put together a jar, post a picture of it in the comments. I want to see these glorious things.

Happy Happy 2013 Ya'll.

Cheers,
Amber xoxo

The Musings of a Small Town Paper~

A while back “Little Buddy (LB)” and I decided that we would make a game of finding fantastic news stories. We would amuse ourselves with our own commentary and add ins. We didn’t have to look too far to see we had a goldmine in front of us. LB in all her glory is a subscriber to the Walla Walla Union Bulletin (UB) (see online here http://union-bulletin.com/).  In this loveliness of a goldmine there is a section called “Emergency Services” which is just entertaining as hell. Over the past few months LB and I have trolled and loved this section. You will too once you have a taste.  Now upon reading these you will wonder if: 1. If someone at the UB has too much time on their hands or 2. Has a sense of humor perfect for two giggly gals.

For example. PURE GOLD!

Or this one. I mean we all love hot cheetos

These are just examples of the brilliance of UB writer Luke Hedgall (whoever you are, you have secured a place in our hearts and if you hear of our love for you, we would love to buy you a beer). If you find yourself trolling the UB site and you find a golden nugget of glory please share in the comments below.

Cheers,

Am xoxox

Disclaimer: It's humor people. All good fun.

P.S. All public posts as they appeared in the UB - the UB did not write the notes - I repeat the UB did write the posts but not the notes.

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS

Books of 2012 –

 

 

*The Fault In Our Stars – John Green.

Shadow of Night – Deborah Harkness (Book 2 in the All Souls Trilogy)

*Experiment in Terror Books – Karina Halle

Insurgent – Veronica Roth (Book 2 in the Divergent Series)

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity -Katherine Boo

The Brontes: Wild Genius On The Moors: The Story Of A Literary Family - Juliet Barker

House of Stone -Anthony Shadid

11/23/63 – Stephen King             

*The Sea of Tranquillity -Katja Millay

The Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir - Jenny Lawson

I've Got Your Number- Sophie Kinsella

*Overseas - Beatriz Williams

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith

 

Albums of 2012

 

 

 

*Justin Townes Earle -Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now

 

*Of Monsters and Men – My Head is an Animal

*The Lumineers – The Lumineers

*Imagine Dragons – Night Visions

*Family Of The Year – Loma Vista

Shovels & Rope – O Be Joyful

The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter

The Shins – Port of Morrow

Beach House – Bloom

Mumford and Sons - Babel

 

Movies of 2012

 

 

*The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

The Hunger Games

Breaking Dawn – Part 2

Les Miserables (I already know)

 

TV Shows of 2012

 

 

 

Nashville

Elementary

Beauty and the Beast

Catfish

 

What are yours?

 

Cheers, Am xoxoxo