Genteman... so that's what you fellas look like.

How amazing is it when you meet someone who brings all the best things out of you? 

Someone who sees what's in you, sometimes before you do, and calls you to be more.

Someone who inspires you, quietly, consistently encourages you, to use your unique gifts and become the best version of yourself.

Someone who challenges you.

Someone who believes in your abilities and capabilities simply because they know your heart.

Someone you can live next to in your own skin and be comfortable with. 

Someone who doesn't leave you constantly deciding which mask to wear to be accepted. 

Someone with tremendous hope to share; a seemingly impossible pragmatic idealist.

Someone respectful, compassionate, responsible, perceptive, passionate... and absolutely hilarious.

Someone to run beside you, who you can pace with, but also look up to.

Someone you can trust. Completely. With things that are important. Not because they're perfect and infallible, but because they have both of your best interests at heart.

Someone who wants to protect you and encourage you and engage you about everyday life. 

Someone strong. Someone brave. Someone who makes your face hurt from smiling so much.

Someone you would never want to not know.

Someone who wants to pick you up.

It seems I've always been able to believe... for everyone but myself.

Now?

:)  :)  :)

That's putting it mildly.

"For I KNOW the plans I have for you.

Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you.

Plans to bring you hope, and a future [beyond your wildest imaginings]."

I'm walking through every day with unspeakable gratitude and tremendous joy.

:)

Waiting.

Why is the right side of my facebook wall now covered in all these pictures babies with too many eyes? Whose brilliant idea was that?! It's disturbing, though not quite as disturbing as all the pictures of disgusting teeth that keep popping up as well. The way I feel about pictures of teeth could be compared to way a lot of people feel about clowns or the way my roommate feels about sleeping in socks. Sick and wretched and disgusting. Maybe a little scary, but mostly gross.

Yesterday, someone at one of my tables asked me if I used to be Miss Tennessee. Is this a compliment? Do I exude an air of washed up celebrity/pageant queen? I certainly hope not. If I used to be Miss Tennessee, I would HOPE I wouldn't have to go back to waiting tables... then again, these are hard times.

A different man on a different day at another table once told me that I looked like a female prince. I looked at him like he was dumber than a bag of hammers and said "You mean like, a princess?!" To which he replied, "No-- no, I mean like a female Prince. As in Artist Formerly Known As." To which I replied something like, "Oh. Ohhh... okay, that's-- not as dumb."

There's something simple and beautiful about catfish. When I taste it, there's this nostalgia about the flavor. Carefree, comforting, refreshing, simpleness. With just a hint of mud. It reminds me of drinking out of the hose in the summer when I was a kid. Clearly, you shouldn't make a habit of drinking out of the hose. You probably shouldn't go around eating catfish all the time either. But tonight, I ate one and a half pieces, fried, with mashed potatoes and lentil hash, (which tastes much better than it sounds). It was like sticking my face in a sprinkler in Texas in July. And I loved it. 

Also, when she was a kid, my roommate Joanna used to catch catfish with her brother in the lake by their house and nail their heads to wooden posts to kill them. She's so darling. I've never been fishing... and I could keep it that way.

Slacking...

Currently Reading: Kingdom Come by Alex Ross & Mark Waid and Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott (slowly, because I keep stopping to write)

Currently Listening: The Best Mixtape Ever: Comprised of everything from Stevie Wonder to Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz to JT, Mutemath to Copeland and Jon Foreman. I can't turn it off!

Currently Watching: LOST Season 5, Scrubs Season 5 and Chuck Season 1.

Currently Writing: A vignette that I can't decide whether to adapt for screen or narrative.

Currently Waking Up At: 8:30. On a regular basis. Just cause

Currently Eating: Chocolate Pumpkin cupcakes. Mmmm. 

Currently Drinking: A lot of hot green tea with honey and lemon

Currently Living: In a movie. A fantastic, daring, romantic blockbuster of epic proportions.

Currently Feeling: Like eleventybillion dollars. Encrusted in diamonds. And chocolate syrup.

:)   :)   :)

Snapshot of the American Music Industry

AKA the Grammys: Cacophonous Fusion Extravaganza of 2009 

Timberlake and Rev. Al Green. A good idea. Shakily executed at first, but it worked itself out. Plus, Justin is so freaking adorable that it doesn't matter. 

Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. I see the logic. And while I'm not a Taylor Swift fan-- she came across as incredibly mature tonight. She did a great performance and she's a good writer who totally gets her demographic. In contrast? Miley Cyrus just kind of makes me want to wrap my face in Saran wrap.

Kanye West and the Afro-Mullet. A resounding NO.

MIA and the Rap Pack was the most ridiculous and abrasive thing I've seen since/heard... since Katy Perry descended to the stage in a banana and proved once again that she is the worst performer EVER.

I can't even talk about Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers. I don' t even know where to begin. Pairing Legend with Fad is such an icky, uncreative marketing ploy.

Paul McCartney & Dave Grohl?

Okay, that one worked.

JT, TI, Drumline and The Cello Girls weren't bad. I liked Justin's  scarf. And the cellos. 

Smokey Robinson, Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo and Duke Fakir... were actually very good. It was a nice tribute. And Ne-Yo really surprised me.

Mad props to Sugarland and Adele, who totally deserved their accolades for being phenomenal with little to no visible effort.

And to Coldplay-- who are adorable. And very talented.

Also, props to 

• Queen Latifah and Jennifer Hudson, for looking like sleek, beautiful, old-school jazz singers.
  
• Kate Beckinsale, for being gorgeous and classy.
• Alison Krauss' amazing purple dress.
• Jack Black, for having a hilarious face.
• Moses Martin, for letting his dad borrow his shirt to wear to the Grammys.
• Adele and McCartney's drummer for blatantly chewing gum on stage.
• Jason Mraz, for attractive facial hair. And a very handsome hat.
• Carrie Underwood's rockin female guitar player.
• Radiohead, for bringing a marching band onstage.
• Christina Aguilera's Target Superhero Comic commerical
• The quartet of diversely talented guitarist gentlemen (including Keith Urban, John Mayer and BB King)
• And Justin Timberlake.

It's not over. But I'm done!