Life in Denim and Flip Flops

For the funeral tomorrow, I painted my fingernails bright red. It might seem like an odd choice for a funeral, but I'm doing it in memory of my grandpa. When he was younger, he and his brothers made some sort of bet. The losers had to paint their fingernails red. Of course it was a Saturday, so the next morning involved going to church. Somehow Grandpa was the only one of them to actually go through with it. So there he was at church with bright red fingernails in 1930s Iowa. My grandmother happened to be sitting in the balcony of the church, looking down at the congregation below. She saw the bright red fingernails and thought that was odd and funny. She noted who it was and didn't forget it. And that's how my grandparents met. So on Monday, I'll be sitting in a different church in early 21st century Iowa with red fingernails so Grandpa can find me from heaven. :)

It's been another long week. My grandpa passed away on Wednesday night. Thanks to all of you who have send along prayers and positive thoughts. I really appreciate it. It makes this post all the more poignant, reminding me not to take things for granted. So on with the post. watching the fireworks with my sister : Watching fireworks on the 4th has been a sibling tradition for as long as I've had my license to drive us down there together. We always went super early and found the perfect spot near the fallout zone, but far enough away not to get set on fire. We'd go early and bring card games and snacks and drinks. Last year we missed seeing them together because I was at a friend's wedding, so this year was the first viewing in Dubuque. The YA church group was going to watch together so I thought it'd be fun to go with them. It was really nice. We ended up just blocks from my apt, and away from the fish flies on the river. We had cupcakes for a friend's birthday...

Like Autumn , I did not have a spectacular week, but like she said it's all about perspective. And though there were lots of things I didn't love this week, here are a few things I did! a haircut : I tend to be that girl who gets emotional haircuts. I break up with a boy---I chop my hair, I'm going on a long trip to D.C.---I chop my hair, I go to grad school---3 months later I chop my hair. I'd have a sucky week, so I cut my hair. I've been thinking it was too long and obnoxious for a while, and I've been walking past the salon on my street the last 3 days, so I said, you know what, I need a change. And this is what I ended up with. I love it!! It's totally brightened my mood. farmer's markets : I hit up our local market Saturday morning with a student worker who had never been before. I got some great produce and had a fun time just getting out and wandering around the downtown again. I spent a lot of time downtown at the library and independent booksto...

guacamole and popsicles : everyone needs their hot weather food. You know that food that you eat because you don't want to cook. Guacamole and popsicles are mine. Not much for nutrition, but they get me through. It's sort of an obsession and comfort food all rolled into one. visiting friends : yes I realize I've posted this like 4 times, but I still love it. This time I was in Missouri visiting Emily. This was taken of the four of us at a winery on Saturday. books that transport you to another world : I finally finished The Mortal Instruments trilogy. It was really absorbing. I would have started it all over again if I hadn't left Book One with Amy when I visited. On the ride south, I listened to Scott Westerfeld's Specials . That one got me. I knew what was going to happen, but it still got me. Emotional Becky driving was entertaining. Now I'm working my way through Little Brother , so far it's great. I really love the audio book format! making videos wit...

As is bound to happen when I get cooped up too long in any one place, I got thinking on my drive to Missouri on Friday. I was planning to spend about 7 hours in the car, driving over 500 miles to see my friend. I grew up in a family who loved driving vacations and thought nothing of traveling thousands of miles in the car on annual trips. 500 miles seemed a little daunting to drive myself, but I never thought twice about doing it to visit. It's just what I do. But as I was driving I realized that 500 miles was quite a distance. I was really only driving from one state to another that shares its borders. Not that far in theory. But when I thought about it that drive in a lot of other countries would have me crossing international borders or making a much larger dent in the breadth of the country. After I got home today, I played around with Google Maps and realized a drive from London to Glasgow would have been about 100 miles and 30 mins less than my trip this Friday. London to Gla...

So i realized I forgot to tell you the outcomes of the audiobook hunt. I ended up with "Specials" by Scott Westerfeld. I'd started listening to this one last summer and had to return it before it was due. I listened to "Pretties" last summer as well and fell in love with the reader. I also brought "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow. Another book I started (in print) last fall, but failed to get through before it was due. I was a bit ambitious in the number books I checked out at a time last fall. Must work on that this summer. I'm excited about this one! I also ended up with a cop out ("Assassination Vacation") just in case I get bored with the other two. I also will have my ipod along for traveling music as I like to call it :) I took all your suggestions in with me. I'll admit I got distracted in the YA section. Also, the library is undergoing construction and I had a hard time finding a lot of stuff there. By the time I made it back...

Back for my weekly update about things I love. seeing live musical theatre : I got a chance to see Mamma Mia this last weekend when I visited Amy. Live theatre is like nothing else. I'm so tempted by RENT and Wicked which will be in Des Moines in the next season! Fiesta del Sol margaritas : it was our favorite little Mexican restaurant in college. The margaritas are legendary, and way tequilla heavy :) Having one with Justin last Thursday was just what I needed. SciFi Doctor Who marathons : SciFi just aired 8 episodes of Doctor Who on Monday. It was 8 eps from Season 1 which I haven't seen any of. Love my DVR for being able to save them for me! Google giving me back my account : I joke that Google owns my life. I didn't realize how true that was until yesterday. I almost had no access to my blog, or a lot of photos, or any of my friends' email contacts, or my calendar. I would have been so lost. giving in and buying City of Glass : the second book was amazing. I bought ...