Time to take a break for the serious...

To readers of my blog:
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
A question I hear a lot, and a lot of people who are questioning their faith ask this.  This is one of the best answers I've ever heard, from Dawn Michele, lead singer of Fireflight (an AMAZING band.  If you like rock, check them out!).



Peace OUT! 
<3Lolly

Bucket list: part 1

Rather than continue cleaning my room (which was clean right before I destroyed it), I decided I'm going to start my bucket list.  Plus, who really needs to study for a Spanish final?  Really?  Or honors.  (haha...)

Okay, here goes!

1. Create a bucket list.
2. Take a dance class and NOT give up on it.
3. Go to New Orleans...not necessarily during Mardi Gras.
4. Do mission work in another country.
5. Become more flexible.
6. Learn how to water-ski from someone cool--not just anyone!
7. Quit caffeine.  (not sure how serious I am about this one...)
8. Become fluent in Spanish.
9. Get married in Italy...preferably the Vatican.
10. Serve as a missionary (NET?  please?) for one year.

More to come the next time I get bored!
<3 Lolly

Song of the day: I am the Walrus (Beatles) (Look up the meaning to these lyrics...it's pretty funny.)
Quote of the day: Every time you spend a dollar, you are casting a vote for the type of world you want to live in.  (I don't remember who says this.  Sorry, otherwise I would credit you!!)
Saint of the day: Juan Diego!
Random word of the day: custard

Ten Things I Learned Last Weekend

The weekend of December 5, 2009, I went with my media naranja Michelle to stay at her house in the Twin Cities.  I have to say, it was a really educational experience, because I had to drive in the city, I ended up staying up until 4:30 when I didn't have to, and I realized the terror of The Brave Little Toaster.  Along with those, here are 10 important things I learned:

1. Steve Angrisano is my new best friend.  He just doesn't know it.
2. Falling headfirst off the top bunk hurts.  A lot.  Especially when you hit your shoulder really hard.
3. I can (barely) fit underneath a futon.  And so can Michelle!
4. The home team (NET) is....AWESOME!!!
5. "Farmers don't 'kill' animals.  They just send them away on a truck and they come back in a package!"
6. Duke Boris.  'Nuff said.
7. Michelle...can be a bad influence.  But I can't say that I'm much better.
8. Lady Gaga knows she's a sellout.
9. Apparently, we don't have 'real' malls or grocery stores in Iowa.  

And the most important thing I walked away with is knowing that God has a plan for me and I should quit trying to mess with it!  I met amazing, awesome people and it just really gave me hope for humanity.  With that said, happy Immaculate Conception and peace out!

<3 Lolly (or Frankie as my floor calls me...)
Quote of the day: read #5.
Song of the day: "The Unwinding Cable Car" by Anberlin
Food of the day: omelette
Random fact of the day: It is proper etiquette to always eat asparagus with one's fingers.

TLC: The Learning Channel?

Since Chartwells made me sick yet again, and I have no intention on commencing my IQR or Spanish presentation (which are both due tomorrow), here's yet another ponderism: the T.V. channel TLC.

In case you've been living under a rock, TLC is a quite popular television channel owned by Discovery.  It is especially popular among women.  TLC apparently stands for "The Learning Channel," and indeed in the past boasted of such educational shows.  However, here is a sampling of what you can see on TLC today:

• "What Not to Wear"
• "Little People, Big World"
• "Eighteen (or nineteen?) Kids and Counting"
• "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant"
• "Jon and Kate Plus 8"
• "Say Yes to the Dress"

If by now you can't figure out why this is popular among the female gender, I suggest you ask the nearest female why.  Still, what exactly is educational about shows where someone has a whole slew of kids (or artificially created a whole slew of kids)?  Or about deciding how to dress fashionably?  And take your pick of any of the other shows.  I hardly see any of them as educational, except the occasional warning of how expensive in vitro children or wedding dresses are.
Some may argue that TLC stands for Tender Loving Care.  While these shows MIGHT fit that label, the fact still remains that TLC calls itself "The Learning Channel."
Others argue that there are shows such as Trading Spaces that are indeed educational.  I agree; to some extent, they are.  Good decorating tips, etc.  But isn't that what HGTV is for?  Or DIY? 

To conclude, I believe that TLC needs to examine its own name and decide whether it wants to keep being a reality-show soap opera or if it would like to uphold its namesake.

<3Lorelle
(Don't mind my scatteredness.  I am kind of hurrying on this one.)
Song of the day: still "Desperate" by Fireflight (YOUTUBE IT!)
Flavor of the day: cotton

My new platform

Recently, I have decided to lobby the state government of The Land of 10,000 Lakes to see if they could possibly be more welcoming to Iowans.  Let me put this into perspective here:
*Crossing the bridge from LaCrosse, Wisconsin into Minnesota: "Welcome to Minnesota!" is cheerfully displayed on a large road sign.
*Crossing the bridge into Lake City: "Welcome to Minnesota!"
*It is rumored that crossing from the Fargo, ND area to Minnesota, there is also a very large and beautiful "Welcome to Minnesota!" sign.
*HOWEVER; entering the state via Highway 43--nothing.  Nothing but a tiny blue sign that says "You are now entering Fillmore County."
This is a travesty.  Also, the former route we took into Minnesota, Highway 63, indeed did not have any welcoming signs.  Very few people actually realize they are in Minnesota until they stop in their first Minnesotan town.  This has led me to conclude one of three things:
1. Minnesota is cheap and doesn't want to spend tax dollars on being welcoming toward Iowans, who really have no business being there because their own state is spectacular.
2. The "Welcome to Minnesota" signs used to be at the Iowa border, but they were vandalized so often (because Iowa is superior) that they were eventually removed for fiscal purposes.
3. Minnesota hates Iowa.  This would be called prejudice or discrimination, since the hatred is unfounded on anything concrete.

I must write to Governor...Governor...*looks up the Governor of Minnesota* Pawlenty and tell him of the travesty.  As a potential future constituent, he must be aware of the Iowan immigrants and their needs as well.
(need I point out that Iowa has welcome signs on the border?)

It is 12:30 and I have done one slide on my Spanish presentation all day.  Time to retire.
<3 Lorelle
Song of the day: "Desperate" by Fireflight (Look it up.  NOW!)
Free iPhone App of the day: Spanish Tutor
Merchandise item of the day: HyVee guacamole

Lights, camera...ACTION!

WELCOME to my blog!
First post ever!
Okay, an intro...
I have a crapton of homework...I have to peer-review three papers, as well as study for a Stats test tomorrow.  Boo for hypothesis testing, although I was ecstatic the other day when I read the results of a poll and actually understood what a 95% confidence interval was.  I also have to read two chapters in Song of Solomon by Friday and finish my Honors paper.  I plan on staying up late ;)  OH!  And we're going to New Moon at midnight tomorrow (or is it technically Friday?)....and I get to drive to Rochester and back at about 2:30 AM.  Oh joy.
Topic for first blog: the fascinating Minnesota dialect.
I'm noticing that most people here are from the Cities, so their accent isn't so bad.  My roommate, for example, doesn't really say anything of interest, except when she says her sister's name it's not just Ali, it's like Ay-a-li.  However, whenever I go into town and hear a Winonan say "about" like a Canadian, it cracks me the heck up.  So anyway, it's nothing like Drop Dead Gorgeous...most of the time.

Okay, time to close.
Song of the day: "Again" by Flyleaf, look it up!  NOW!
Quote of the day: Sopranos and Tenors get high without drugs.
<3 Lorelle