Bad Timing

So in three days I am attending the Harkins, Marvel/Avengers Marathon. It is a super sweet deal of Hulk, Iron Man 1 &2, Thor, and Captain America movies followed by of course the Avengers at midnight. 

I can not tell you how excited I am! First off, I have forced myself not to watch any of the Avengers trailers.  The only thing I've seen was the little clip at the end of Captain America, and that is it. 


I want to be completely and utterly blown away in the movie, which I guarantee I will be.  


All this being said I woke up this morning with a sore throat and some congestion up in my nose. And as the day went on it hasn't gotten any better. 

I've got a slew of products to keep me in check. I absolutely CAN'T get sick. Which means I most probably will get sick. Horrible timing really.  Now when I get sick one of two things happens.
1. It lasts 1 day at most and everything is happy and rainbows are everywhere.
2. It lasts 2 weeks and I wither away to a mere image of myself.


That being said, I hope that it is option #1. Because regardless of how sick I am I will be in that theater May 3rd, and I'd hate to have to sneeze/cough on everyone in the theater. 

Pioneer Woman Arizona Book Signing

I can not believe PW is coming to Arizona April 28th! To be honest I didn't know of her til Kelsey introduced me to her lovely site a year or so ago, and it was a match made in heaven. I LOVE her blog. I read all her blogs in one day. I was hooked. She's hilarious and makes the most delicious, scrumptious, mouth-watering dishes I have ever laid eyes on. Plus cowboys intrigue me.


When Kelsey reminded me that she was coming to AZ, I almost had a heart attack. I will be so star struck. I'll probably laugh hysterically the entire time. If she asks how I'm doing I'll answer by laughing. I wish I was joking, but that what happens when I'm nervous. 


Or if I do say anything to her it'll probably come out all weird and awkward. My awkwardness never fails. If she asks my name I'll probably say, "Al-hahahahahahaha".


If anything she'll walk away thinking, wow what an awkward child. But that's fine. I'll get a picture with her, have her sign my book (well her book but my copy), and try to advertise Second Friday. I know no shame. 


GAH. I'll be a wreck. Stay tuned. 


Oh and for anyone who is in the Arizona area and wants to get in on the book signing action she will be at Dobson High School- 1501 West Guadalupe Road, Mesa, AZ from 2-5pm!

The longest/shortest three days of my life...

So this whole business about my thesis, want to know what's going on? Well I'm going to take you through the long story cause this here is my blog.


So back on Friday, I made the decision to avoid all social media.  That means no Facebook, no Twitter, no Pinterest, no Youtube, no Blogger, and the most devastating, no texting Kelsey. I informed Kelsey so she wouldn't think I was ignoring her.  Both of us knew this would be rough. It was. I picked up my phone no less than 50 times to text her something, but I stayed strong.


My thesis defense was set for today, Monday, at noon. On Friday it seemed like forever away. I was wrong. 


I woke up early on Saturday to meet with a committee member to go over my thesis, did some necessary household shopping, got back to my house and worked on my thesis and my presentation. Oh and I had had had to get my announcements done.  Which meant photoshoot time! Little sneak peak...

This photo wasn't used, but let me just say it was SCORCHING in the gown. So so so hot. Speaking of hot, my AC just broke. Arizona is starting to hit record highs for April, I'm talking 101. WHY.


Anyways, I got back to work, which ran into all Sunday, my sticky note addiction was well satisfied. 

 And what I thought would seem like years, felt like mere seconds. Before I knew it, it was Monday. 11am. Last minute practice time.

And then real time presentation time. I was a wreck.

I stood for an entire hour in my heels. No big deal.


But moral of the story, I PASSED! So yay! I won't have to throw away all those announcements I made. 


I was exhausted afterwards. Just drained. So on the way home I got some celebratory food goodness.

Oh Taco Bell. You are delicious.


But I didn't grab Taco Bell until I did one more very important thing.


I sent a text to Kelsey that said, "BEST FRIEND!!! I MISSED YOU! D:" And yes, you should read it as if I'm yelling it at the top of my lungs. 

Missing Pictures

So it has come to my attention that some of my pictures are missing in a few of my earlier blogs. The reason? I have absolutely NO idea. In fact I am quite frustrated by this whole situation.  I'll go back and re upload the photos when I get a chance and when I can actually find the photos but until then, I hope no more photos decide to run away. 


Thank you for your patience.


Also, I guess I should give a heads up to the fact that I'll be defending my thesis in about a week. I am a WRECK. But hopefully I'll pull it together for the defense. Wish me luck, pray for me, sacrifice a gummy bear for me, or do whatever it is you do for helping someone out. If I post between now and then you'll know I've given in to procrastination, if not that means I've really buckled down. 


I just have to remember... Only 9 more days. 

Garden - 1 month update

I know you've been dying to know how my garden is doing, and I must say it's doing swimmingly well. Especially since the day after I planted all the seeds Arizona went into this freak cold spell. There were freeze warnings and everything. Go figure. But no matter it's Spring and things are finally growing. 

I took my hat off walking to work one day and surprise surprise, everything is green! It snuck up on me.  The semi-awkward angle was due to me trying to take a picture without anyone realizing I was taking a picture. For some reason I find it embarrassing if people see me taking pictures on campus. Don't judge.

Spring also means that the apricot tree in our yard is getting ready for fruit! Being all awesome and flowery. I digress, this is suppose to be about my garden and that is what it shall be...

Here is a little garden breakdown for you.

Garlic! If you love gardening and want to stop buying it, seriously plant garlic. It is quite possibly the easiest thing to grow in Arizona. I promise.

Celery! Another simple thing to grow, just cut off the bottom of the celery stalk in your fridge and place in your garden. Water and watch it grow!

Yellow bell pepper! It is still doing lovely. And by lovely I mean it is the cutest darn thing I've ever seen.

Oregano! These guys just started to pop up. Little fuzz!

Cilantro! I transplanted this bad boy and after the initial death shock it finally pulled through and is owning the garden like a boss.

Here is the cilantro I planted from seeds, just starting to get it's first cilantro-y leaves. Beautiful.

Thyme! Much like the oregano just some little sprouts breaking through.

And the lovely flowers on the side of the garden are also doing fabulous. In a few more weeks I hope to see flowers. Glorious flowers!

Tomatoes! I wasn't too sure they would pop up but wouldn't you know almost every seed has grown into a lovely little plant. Don't worry about spacing, when they become sturdy I'll transplant them into the ground, but for now they get to enjoy a little separation from the garden.

That's all that has popped up. Well that and some weeds, if anyone has a fool proof way to kill weeds please, tell me. Another set back is birds. Those lousy creatures keep eating little sprouts and seeds which means total heartache for me. 

So, I decided to do some starter pots and get some great little plants going before I put them in the garden. Take that birds!

Oh how I love Spring.

Wanna see some buns?

Whoo Easter time! I've always enjoyed Easter, with the painting of the eggs, the disturbing kleptomaniac bunny and the delicious food. It always comes back to the food. 


Today was no different, well except I didn't color eggs this year. I think it might be the first year. I'm getting so old.


But I may have a new tradition, making hot cross buns! Of course the recipe comes from the ever amazing Pioneer Woman and they were quite delicious! 

What do you think of these buns?

My buns bring all the boys to the yard... Alright no more bun puns.

 Don't worry I made more than three but these were the prettiest. The lily in the back was my dad's present to my mother. Aw so cute.


I sang the "Hot Cross Buns" song at least 50 times while making them, I think it is a necessity.


We didn't make our typical meal this year, we had brown-sugar baked ham, hasselback potatoes and green beans with of course bacon. My sister even made a delicious cheesecake from scratch.

This was my serving of green beans. This is the RIGHT way to eat them. I promise.


Hope everyone has an awesome Easter, and if you don't celebrate Easter, then I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. 

The Woman in Black

Without a doubt I love horror films. This in no way means that I am all tough and that I don't get scared. On the contrary, in recent years I find myself unable to handle the scary movies.  In my younger years I could watch any type of horror film with little effect on my psyche. But now, with the combination of my inability to withstand suspense and being beyond paranoid I tend to get frightened very easily. 

And still, I love horror films. 

Now the reason I write this is, for one to get my mind off the horror movie I'm currently watching, and mainly to discuss the film. 

1. The main character

Always, always the same. The main character is always the most courageous idiotic person in the film. You aren't suppose to follow the shadows, you mustn't stay past dark, and most certainly not start your own damn investigation into the happenings. 

Note: My doorbell just rang. And I almost cried, wept is more accurate.

2. Dolls/  Inanimate Objects

Such a sure way to creep everyone out without doing a thing. Oh hey, let's make a non-creepy moment and send shivers down everyone's spine. Dolls, clowns, toys that just start moving on their own, blegh. If I ever have kids they aren't getting one single toy. I will never be able to sit in a rocking chair again. Will always question if the doorbell is rattling on its own.  Monkey figurines disgust me. Musical toys make me want to throw up. Mirrors give me the chills. Doors that open on their own need to be burned. Do I need to continue?

3. Music

Oh the music always does me in, congrats to the sound guy because without him my nerves wouldn't be shot by the end of the movie. The shrills, the crescendos, the horrid chords. You make the stomach dropping moments of the film that much more horrendous.

4. Possession

Why. Just why. 

5. Children

The ultimate creep factor. Their innocence/naivete makes everything they say/do just unsettling.  Even doing normal kids things is creepy with the right musical chords. (Thanks again music guy.)

6. Angles

The hallway shot, the point-of-view around the corner shot, the creeping-up-behind-you shot, the hey look what the main character doesn't see but you do shot, the slow agonizing pan over everything shot, so wonderful. Horror movies are ALWAYS about the angles. Trust me. 

7. Anticipation

You know what's going to happen. They've made that very clear. You feel it in your gut. It isn't over. But still you have to sit through every second. EVERY SECOND. 

8. The End

Biggest problem with horror films, when the scary thing looks at you. Not in your direction but an actual, hey I know you're watching this look. I'm glad it's over. 


Though I must say, I loved the movie! So wonderfully done. But tonight just before I fall asleep my mind will think hey, do you hear that rocking chair? Thanks brain.

Now that that's done, what should I watch next?

[All photos are courtesy of Hammer Film Productions, and all those associated with the production of The Woman in Black, I do NOT own/claim to own any of the above photos]

I don't know if it is necessary to have a disclaimer. But I'm a poor college student. Can't take any chances.