When You Read This...

...I will be prom dress shopping.

Oh. Yeah.

Age 2:

My mom buys clothes, I wear them. The end.

Age 5:

My mom buys clothes, I wear them backwards because I think they look better that way.

Age 8:

My mom buys clothes, I wear them out in a month because I'm a tom-boy.

Age 10:

Shopping takes too long. My feet hurt. I'm hungry. When are we leaving? Can we go look at the toys?

Age 11:

I hate everything pink or remotely girly; other than that, I don't care.

Age 12:

I want the most expensive, sexiest clothes out there. I am told no.

Age 13:

See this black sweatshirt? I love this black sweatshirt. I'm gonna be buried in this black sweatshirt. I want to marry this black sweatshirt.

Age 14:

What's everyone else wearing? Okay, buy me a knock-off of that and let's go home, PLEASE.

Age 15:

>my mom doesn't buy me clothes because I "don't take care of the ones I have," AKA leave them in the floor of my room<

Age 16:

Ugh, let's go home--oh, hey. That's kind of cute. I would actually wear that. And I bet it would look good with that... It does. And with that belt... Oh my gosh. This is SO MUCH FREAKING FUN :O

Age 17:

I like shopping :3

Yep, as you read this, I'm probably having a lot of fun trying on dresses that look revolting on the hanger but end up looking good on a body. You can probably expect pictures. Au revoir!

~Stephanie

In Which I Give an Embarrassingly Long Rant About a Crush

I love that no one who reads this knows me in real life {with the exception of Sam, who I doubt is still reading XD}. It's tremendously freeing. Like, if I wanted to talk about a guy in my class that I might have a crush on, I could.

Oh, hey, now that I've mentioned it...

There's a guy in my class that I might have a crush on :3

>.< It makes me mad to think about it. Because part of me honestly despises him, but the other part of me does not. He's one of those people who have two sides: one of them is awesome, one of them sucks. Obviously, I like the awesome part. The sucky part makes me want to punch a kitten. Then I just want to punch myself for allowing myself to like the awesome part.

C'est l'amour -_-

So I know you're just dying to hear about this guy {or not. In which case, go away.}, and I don't have a problem sharing. What a win-win situation.

First things first: I'll just go ahead and appease the shallow in all of us by saying that's he's attractive. By a fairly large margin. Personally, I think he's one of the hottest real people I know. He channels Jeremy Sumpter, and we all know how I feel about HIM.

Moving on. His personality perfectly fits my ideal guy. He's smart, funny, stubborn, mischievous, and a great talker/debater.

General Personality:

I kind of already covered that. He's really funny, one of those people who can pull off stuff no one else can. He's stubborn, but gives in easily when he knows he's wrong. He's not too proud in that area, which is nice because I most definitely am.

He has a great streak of mischief in him that I don't think he'll ever completely outgrown :] It's not the stupid kind of mischief either, the kind that's immature and gets you in trouble. It's a clever, creative, funny kind of mischief.

He's a bit of a pyromaniac, which I completely understand, being one myself.

He can talk about almost anything and not sound stupid. He likes to talk, and he's good at it. If we were to go together, I wouldn't have to do all the talking, which I LOVE. I'm a talkative person, but I can't even tell you how much I love it when someone else likes to do the talking, too.

In School:

He struggles in math exactly the same way I do: he's basically lazy and looses concepts if he doesn't work on them every day. American history and philosophy are the subjects he gets into the most, and the same goes for me.

Most of the people in my class don't enjoy those two subjects. At all. They pretty much do the bare minimum and try not to think.

This guy and I love to explore the possibilities and let our minds race. The philosophy discussions mostly consist of one of us bringing up something we noticed, the other playing off of that, and the two of us going back and forth, faster and faster, deeper and deeper, until we hit upon some huge moral or logical breakthrough.

All the while the class kind of stares at us like they're watching a ping-pong match and the teacher watches us go with wide eyes.

American history goes about the same. We feel the same way about history and the government, so much so that I'm constantly shocked that anyone could mirror my opinions so exactly. We both see things in black and white, value justice over mercy, and believe that the government has taken too much control. We like the same presidents, and have the same thoughts on the economy.

Every once in a while, we have opinions that are different, and discuss them out in class. He explains things in ways I've never thought of, and I help him see the other side to the situations.

He's a champion debater when he tries, but lots of times he's too lazy to do the research. Even when he doesn't, he thinks on his feet better than anyone I know, and uses sound logic all the time. I'm a great debater myself {um, in all modesty, I mean...} and usually do the research, but I'm a planner. Either way, we both kick butt and neither wants to go against the other.

In Athletics:

If I had to pick one sport love, it would be dance.

If I had to pick one sport PLAYED WITH A BALL, it would be soccer. This guys is a pretty great soccer player. He specializes in goalie, and is really good at it. We were on the same rec league team two years in a row and I got to see his soccer skills in action.

Also his abs. Because he likes taking his shirt off in front of everyone to change into his goalie jersey. What an obnoxiously gorgeous show-off.

He beats himself up if he feels like he caused the game to be lost. He can also be something of a hot head and occasionally loses it. Maybe this should freak me out. It doesn't. I think it's hott.

The Bad Side:

All that, is him when he's at school or at soccer. When he's not, he's a total douche.

I'm talking two-faced, low standards, fallen morals, drug-dabbling, spaghetti-spined wannabe pimp.

So...damn.

On the one hand, he's great and we're basically perfect for each other.

And on the other, there's no way.

I know he can be an amazing person, but apparently that person isn't "cool" enough for him. He has to go off and be someone else, someone I despise. I wish he would realize his potential and stick to the awesome side of himself.

After that, it'd be good if he'd notice me as more than just the girl he likes to talk to in History. I mean, if we were friends outside of class maybe he'd come around...

Actually, no. Screw that last sentence a million times over. I have neither the time nor the desire to reform a guy. I'm also almost positive that it never works out.

*sigh* See how conflicted I am? I'm never going to get anywhere with this XD

If you made it this far, I will give you an award. No lie.

~Stephanie

Word on the Street...

I have a pretty good vocabulary. There aren't a lot of words that I'm unfamiliar with, and my stupid Latin background can help me figure out the rest. Most of what I know comes from reading, which I've been obsessed with since I was about 2. That's fine and everything, except for one thing:

You have to actually SAY the words in real life.

Facade ~ It's not actually pronounced fa-KADE. There's a little French thing on the C that apparently makes it an S...fa-SOD. The French would.

Vigilante ~ See this one I thought WAS French-sounding. vih-jil-AHNT. Little did I know, it's actually vih-jill-ANT-ee. Go figure.

Phoebe ~ I read a book about a girl named Phoebe when I was 8. I pronounced it POE-bee. Being 8, I didn't think about it. Then when I got to be about 13, I realized...that was little off.

Lambaste ~ I thought it rhymed with "cast." It rhymes with "paste." ...whatever.

Preface ~ It is not PRE-face. It's PREH-fiss. I hate words like this; they trick you with how simple they look, then all the sudden you find out you've been mispronouncing it since fifth grade.

Placate ~ ...yeahhh, I'm still not sure how this one goes.

Then there's the opposite problem, where I've heard a phrase all my life, but never actually seen it spelled.

You know the phrase "the whole kit and caboodle"? Until yesterday, I thought it was "kitten caboodle." Yes, I am seventeen, thanks for asking.

Ever heard someone was the "spit and image" of someone else? ...was I the only one who thought it was "spitting image"?

"For all intents and purposes." I finally saw that one written down a few months ago. Come to think of it, that makes a HECK of a lot more sense than "all intensive purposes." ...what was I thinking?

Hope this was good for a laugh, and maybe even a little bit enlightening XD

~Stephanie

Top Nine Blogger Pet Peeves

1. Hidden music players. THE VOICES! MAKE THEM STOP! MAKE THEM STOP!

2. When you have some tiny error in a html code and it causes your whole freaking post to get deleted or reformatted. I. HATE. THIS.

3. People who post, like, five times a day. Seriously, save your brea…fingers…

4 Special effects and gadgets overload. CLICK ON THE SPARKLY BUTTON! FOLLOW ME! LOOK, MY BLOG IS SNOWING! FEED THE FISH! LOOK AT THIS PICTURE! SPARKLES SPARKLES SPARKLES!!!!!

5. Fakes. Not just stalkers, I'm also talking about the people you KNOW are not that cheerful in real life.

6. Word verifications. Don’t you love it when they spell funny stuff, though? I got one the other day that said “ausum”, and then one said “permed” when I was on a hairstylist’s blog.

7. Beggars. Somehow shrieking for more followers is just not endearing...

8.People who have a million followers and they're not even that great. I'm probably just a bad person, but it always pisses me off to see someone with a mediocre blog who somehow made it big via Pet Peeve #7.

9. When you click on peoples’ names in the follower list, and it doesn’t give you the link to their blog, only the blogs they follow. How am I supposed to stalk you?

Hope on the complaining band wagon! :D What are some of your Blogger Pet Peeves?

~Stephanie

Friends

I love people. I love meeting new people, hanging out with old people, hating annoying people, loving funny people, the whole people-person sha-bang. Making friends is a great pastime, and there here are so many types of friends to make.

THE TYPICAL CAST:

OFFICIAL BEST FRIEND {or BFF}: An official best friend is the girl who gets the title, even though you might not see her all that much. She's awesome and you tell each other everything, but you don't have as many every day things in common. Usually this a person you've known for a long time.

FUNCTIONING BEST FRIEND: A functioning best friend is the girl who might really be your BFF if it weren't for the official one. You do life together and have more in common, etc., but you can't replace your Official BFF because she'd be pissed/hurt/etc..

THAT GIRL: That Girl is basically the girl that's in your crowd, but you don't actually know her that much. She seems sort of nice {or mean}, but you don't really know her enough to make a judgment. So she sits there in friendship limbo until...well, never.

THE POPULAR CHICK: This is the girl that everyone is nice to because she's gorgeous and has 1682 Facebook friends. You know she's not a particularly dynamic personality {and you may even really hate her}, but you're nice to her because everyone is. It's a law of nature. And who knows, maybe you can grab one of her cast-off guys.

THE QUIET ONE: Um, yeah. She's quiet, so who knows? You can't strongly like her or dislike her because she never opens her mouth except to say "Bless you" when someone sneezes.

THE CHEESE-GRATER: Everyone has one of these. The friend that you grit your teeth and call a friend because...you don't even know why. She's that girl who somehow annoys the flaming piss out of you by doing next to nothing. Maybe she tells stupid jokes, or chews with her mouth open, or laughs like an ape, or any number of subtly obnoxious things. The Cheese-Grater is even more irritating if you're the only one who feels this way.

THE CLIFF: You know that girl that you're always self-conscious about? The one who calls every "That's what she said" joke, talks really loud in restaurants, and occasionally scares off the cute guys? Yeah. She's constantly on the edge of TOO FAR {hence "The Cliff"} and you can never be sure that she knows when to stop. It's nerve-wracking.

ADDITIONAL TITLES {These may apply to another friend, or be added to someone who already has a title.}

THE SPONGE: The Sponge is the girl who always seems to have misplaced her wallet. {"Oh my god, I am so sorry, I can't believe this, I must have left it at a home...What? You'll pay for me? Oh my gosh, are you sure? Thank you so much." *repeat*}

THE FLIRT: It's a classic. Batting eyelashes, giggle incessantly, pushing herself into the seat next to the hottie, etc. It's even worse if the guys go for it.

THE SENSITIVE ONE: She cries when the dog dies. She funds Save the Seals programs. She acts as if you've committed murder when you laugh at anything that looks slightly underprivileged. It's sweet you guess, but also monumentally annoying.

~Stephanie

Coke vs. Pepsi

To many Americans, it doesn't matter. It's a dark, carbonated, caffeinated beverage. Who cares what brand it is?

Then there are those of us who realize the monumental importance and PICK A SIDE.

I, as you may have already guessed, belong to the latter group. To me, it's obvious that there can be only one winner, and the world is divided accordingly:

Those Who Love Coke

"Coke, please."

"Is Pepsi okay?"

"Is paying in Monopoly money okay?"

and

Those Who Pretend Pepsi is Just As Good

"WE HAD SNOOP DOG IN A COMMERCIAL SO HA..."

Now, I realize that some of you may be offended by this grouping. I am here today to bring you along to the light side. {We have Coke.}

REASON #1: COKE IS THE ORIGINAL COLA.

Which came first, the Pepsi or the Coke?

Coke came first, simple as that. That automatically makes anything super similar to it a knock-off.

1886, this awesome guy named John Pemberton mixed up a solution, added carbonated water and decided it was pretty damn good. He only sold about 9 glasses a day of the for the first year. Now, over a billion servings are drunk every day :)

Yeah, Pepsi's a wannabe.

REASON #2: AND PEPSI KNOWS IT.

It might be different if Pepsi held its head up and and conducted itself with confidence. Unfortunately for Pepsi, this isn't the case. It spends all its time trying to convince people that "PEPSI IS JUST AS GOOD AS COKE." {<--click that} If this were true, they wouldn't have to work so hard to make people agree. You don't see Coke going around trying to be Pepsi.

Even Pepsi agrees: it's a wannabe.

REASON #3: COKE HAS BETTER COMMERCIALS.

You know it's true. There's something about watching a Coke commercial that just makes you smile, sigh, and agreed wholeheartedly.

Remember the commercial with the skating teenagers? {<--another clickable}The blonde girl skating around with her friends, doing little tricks, drinking Coke and loving life? And that song... "Oh my, starry-eyed surprise, sundown to sunrise. We're gonna dance all night, dance all night to this DJ..."

Good times, good times.

REASON #4: COKE TASTES BETTER.

Pepsi is too sweet, thick and fake-tasting. Coke when through a weird phase where they added too much sugar, and people started complaining that "it tastes like Pepsi!" Ha, wow. You know Coke tastes better when calling it Pepsi is an insult.

I could go on and on, but I won't. I don't need to. Coke's just better.

Face it world: Coke is the Chuck Norris of soft drinks.

~Stephanie

Eye Like Eyes

Inspired by Miss Raquel.

I have a long-time obsession with eyes. Hence my profile picture.

Bet you just looked to the left. Hah.

And since Dandalily was hoping that Hott Guys would become a regular thing on Pandora, I decided to combine my two loves (eyes and guys) into this fabulous piece of work. Prepare yourself for a load of gorgeous as I present to you...

Stephanie's Top Ten Guys with Very Pretty Eyes

1. Alex Pettyfer

I look for intensity in eyes, not just color, and Alex hits the ball out of the park with his simmering stare. In color, his eyes are this neat blue-grey-hazel.

2. Jared Leto

Let's here it for both intensity AND color! I had a lot of trouble deciding whether he had Alex beaten, and I had never even heard of this guy before today. It's not surprise that he pops up when I searched for "actors with pretty eyes." Plus, he's like the older-man version of Zac Efron.

3. Wentworth Miller

Another guy I had never heard of. I'm not a big fan of his over-all face, but his eyes are fascinating.

4. Orlando Bloom

I think it's safe to say that we all know Orlando has GORGEOUS piercing brown eyes.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio

Another intense stare. The only reason he's a bit low down the list is because I'm not sure how unedited this picture is.

6. Zac Efron

So cute, so blue.

7. Paul Walker

They're so pale and interesting.

8. Shia Lebeouf

I'm not really a big fan of the guy, but I love green eyes. His have a smoldering quality.

9. Elijah Wood

Oh my gosh, he is just too cute. And he has MASSIVE blue eyes.

10. Chris Pine

They're so fascinatingly sharp and light.

And there you have it. Ten lovely gentlemen with pretty, pretty eyes. Hope you enjoyed ;)

~Stephanie

Melodramatic Arachnids

I turn on the radio nice and loud. I brush my hair. I undress. I step into the hot water of the shower. The warm, beating drops feel good on my face. I get out the soap and get started. My eyes wander to the ceiling...the corner...

Spider.

I freeze, that tiny jolt of adrenaline jamming into my stomach. It's small. It's just the simple black kind. But ew. Gross.

Now I'll have to spend the entire shower with my eyes glued to that corner. Not my idea of a relaxing 15 minutes.

I could just get out and go find a shoe or something. Or my mom. But I have soap on me now, and anyway, it's really stupid.

The spider is more scared of you than you are of him.

That's what it WANTS you to think.

*gulp*

I speed through the washing process, craning my neck to watch the Spider. I know it's ridiculous, so I try to limit myself to one glance every so often. But I just know that every second I'm not watching is a second he could be getting somewhere without my knowledge. So I keep staring.

Shampoo next. I naturally face the direction of the Spider, so it shouldn't be too hard to keep an eye on him. Lather, lather...I'll have to step closer to the Spider to get the tips of my hair. If I stay where I am, the water will just wash the shampoo off right away...

You're being ridiculous, just step forward a little bit, out of the water.

I take the step. Spidey doesn't move. *relief*

I rinse the shampoo out--

HEMOVED. HEMOVED. HEMOOOVED.

Oh my gosh, oh no, it's the LONG-LEGGED KIND. TEH KIND WITH THE TINY BODY AND LONG, CREEPY LEGS.

I can just picture him strutting down the wall, his long legs brushing and wobbling in jerky, predatory movements. Or worse, what if he TRIES to move but just falls? No warning, just BAM. Spider on my leg. Or arm. Or FACE.

Do I even have time to do conditioner? Should I risk it? Should I just get out now? I haven't even shaved yet. That might just have to wait. But conditioner, I think I can do that.

I grab the bottle and squirt some out. I'll have to step closer to the Spider, out of the way of the water again. In a tremendous display of bravery, I inch forwards a bit and hastily spread in the conditioner.

*whew*

I step back and go full-speed ahead, rinsing like nobody's business.

Has the Spider moved? I think so. I'm not sure. My eyesight is getting fuzzy from staring at the same spot for so long. Should I get out now? If I don't shave, I'll feel disgusting. I need to shave. But if I stick my leg out to shave, it'll be RIGHT UNDER THE SPIDER. It would be just ASKING for trouble. One little slip and he'd sure be on my leg. Ewwwwww...

I decide to risk it. I tear the little plastic thing from my razor and uncap the shaving gel. Squirt, lather... Now the moment of truth. I stick my leg out to shave, directly under Spidey.

On your mark. Get set. GO.

*shaveshave--the Spider's still frozen--shaveshaveshave*

Right leg down.

*squirt, lather, shaveshaveshave--So far so good--shaveshave*

Left leg down.

*rinse, replace plastic thingy, recap shaving gel*

Can it be? Am I really finished?

*shut off water*

*FLYING LEAP OUT OF THE SHOWER*

~~~~~~~~~~

So, I made it. The Spider is still there, and I'm safe. I'm pretty sure the shower was a speed record, too. Hopefully you found this amusing. Personally I see nothing funny about a girl being threatened in her own bathroom.

Well, maybe a little.

Anyone else have great Spider stories?

~Stephanie

Darren

Thanks for following, Polka Dot and Samarah!

First off, I stole this tag from Lily and the picture from Cassie Anne XD

Character tags are my favorite, being a writer and all. Basically what you have to do here is come up with a character {or use an existing one} and answer the following questions about him or her. Eaaasy.

{Character Tag}

1. What is his/her full name? Darren Arius Blackburn-Lonwyn {Hey, you said FULL. He only ever goes by Darren Blackburn though.}

2. Does his name have a special meaning? *gasppp* I have never, ever done a tag that asked this question. I can't believe this! Name meanings are SO important to me, but I never have a good place to talk about it. Sweet. "Darren" means "small great one."

3. Does your character have a methodical or disorganized personality? Well, he's a teenaged guy, so how methodical can he be? XD Generally, he's a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants type, but when the situation calls for it he can cowboy up and make a pretty good plan.

4. Does he think inside himself more than he talks out loud to his friends? (more importantly, does he actually have friends?) Darren is an out-loud thinker. Even if he doesn't necessarily want people to comment, he works things out better when he can hear himself. He definitely has friends. He was always the "popular" type.

5. Is there something he is afraid of? He doesn't like being out of control. Whenever he's in a position where he can't do something or when someone else is calling the shots, he gets uneasy. His biggest fear is somehow causing someone he loves to be hurt. He beats himself up about things.

6. Does he write, dream, dance, sing, or photograph? He does not. He's the athletic type.

7. What is his favorite book (or genre of books)? He doesn't read a WHOLE lot, but he enjoys it when he does. He like action-suspense type books, or books about wars.

8. Who is his favorite author and/or someone that inspires him? He's always found soldier stories inspiring: men who showed courage in the face of danger and pulled through while staying loyal to their country.

9. Favorite flavor of ice cream? He's not picky, but Moose Tracks is a favorite.

10. Favorite season of the year? Spring. He loves baseball.

Anyone who wants to do this, have at it. And lemme know so I can come read it :D

~Stephanie

"Red Riding Hood"

{Random Observance: Note how awesome it is that the "CurrentObessions" list on the left is in a perfect stair-step thing. I didn't even plan that. I love my life.}

Soo, the other day Rebecca kind of asked me what I thought of the movie "Red Riding Hood." So, being the opinionated individual I am, I decided to post a reviewish thing. I shall try to steer clear of spoilers.

Critics have not been nice about "Red Riding Hood." Rottentomatoes.com gave it, um, rotten tomatoes. IMDb gave it 4.6 out of 10. All the newspapers were condemning it as a cheap Twilight knock-off.

Maybe that's why I thought it was good.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the movie of the century, and I don't especially want to own it, but after bracing myself for a massive failure, it really wasn't that bad. There wasn't a lot to the story line, but it was suspenseful enough to get away with it. The character development wasn't GREAT, but it wasn't the worst I've seen.

Really, I think it's suspense and mystery that pull it off. You cannot figure out who the wolf is. Almost everyone in the movie is implicated at one point or another, so you're left just as conflicted as the main character, Valerie.

However, even though the suspense is pretty good, it's not a scary movie. AT. ALL. I'll be honest, I've never seen a legit "horror movie." I was sort of excited at the thought of seeing one, even a low-grade one. Well, "Red Riding Hood" did not satisfy that, that's for sure. I think I jumped twice, and it was slight. My fourteen-year-old sister saw it, and she's not exactly Richard the Lionhearted. She was fine with "Red."

The love story of the movie takes a bit of a backseat. I thought that was a breathe of fresh air after the Twilight movies, which seem completely driven by how loudly Bella and Edward can breath while they eat each others' faces. The kissing scenes in "Red" actually made you want the guy, instead of a barf bag.

The decision between the two fellows, Peter and Henry, is also 100 times more difficult than the Edward-Jacob dispute. Both Peter and Henry are good-looking with desirable character traits, and neither one of them is pasty or controlling. (Personally, I'm partial to Peter, which is no surprise to anyone who knows me.)

Overall, I actually liked the movie. I'm not sure why, because I'm a total movie snob and I figured I'd hate it. But I didn't. It might be really bad and somehow I don't see it, or maybe the critics are just looking at it wrong. See for yourself and let me know what you think.

~Stephanie

{Stylish}

Apparently I'm a stylish blogger. At least sweet pea thinks so, which kiiinda made my day.

It's my first award over here at Pandora, so that's extra exciting. I really love Pandora. It's so freeing. I swear, the second I feel myself starting to fall into a mold or care too much about what people think or care too much about how many followers I have, I'm gonna smash myself against the sides of stereotyping so freaking hard.

Anyway. The rules of this award are to tell 7 things about yourself, then pass the award on to 15 Stylish bloggers. Which may take me a while to come up with.

1. Laura Ingalls Wilder and Ashton Kutcher have the same birthday as me.

2. It's really important to me that I like my boyfriend's voice. I'm single, but when it happens, I have to love his voice. Voices are one of the first things I notice about people.

3. I am allergic to the Three Ps: pets, pollen and peanuts.

4. My knees are slightly double jointed. I think it's gross.

5. My favorite holiday is the Fourth of July.

6. I don't think there should be a law about wearing your seatbelt. If it's not endangering anyone but yourself, the government should butt out.

7. I love God a lot and we're getting tighter. Which is awesome.

Alrighty now, 15 people with stylish blogs... I may have to go hunting for this. So if you are reading this because I awarded you and you have no idea who I am, this would be why.

1. Jezebel because...she loves/has tattoos. Automatic WIN.

2. Shurt'ugal's Post/Mary because...we think alike. So if I'm stylish, so is she. So yeah.

3. Dandalily because...Does this even need an explanation? The second you come to her blog you know she's got style.

4. Psycho because...she picks fascinating topics.

5. Kristen because...somehow she figured out the complicated process of getting extra fonts on her blog...

6. Haze because...she talks about Jesus on her blog. Another automatic WIN. (Even though I'm pretttyy sure she already got awarded...)

7. Katie because...she introduced me to Charlieissocoollike. I think I'm in love.

8. Lily because...she likes Relient K.

9. Miss Raquel because...she loves eyes and has a Latin blog title. Awesome.

10. Follows Your Heart because...she blogs in Spanish, which I'm trying to learn.

11. Bea because...her blog just kind of scream "stylish," along with the Alpha-Omega tattoo. {Greek = my all-time faaavorite language.}

12. Alyssa because...I love her header.

13. Tegan because...she has pictures of footies on her blog.

14. Andie because...her profile description rhymes.

15. Shannon because...we did the same tag.

~Stephanie

;)

Am I the only one who loves winking.?

Winking is so entertaining. It communicates so much. It's so much fun. And there's so much you can do with it.

Relationship Winks

Sister Wink = Love ya. Watch this.

Best Guy Friend Wink = Help me troll this person. Oh wow, nice. {And all the above.}

Best Girl Friend Wink = Wow, no one knows what I really meant by that except you. Did you see that? {And all the above.}

Other Winks

Guy-to-Girl = You're cute. I like you. I want to talk to you. Notice me.

Girl-to-Guy = Do you have the courage to talk to me? I think you're cute. Come here. You'll never get me.

Guy-to-Guy = We're having a bromance moment.

Girl-to-Girl = {See "Best Girl Friend Wink."}

And my personal favorite...

Random Stranger Wink: I'm just trying to screw with your mind. Did it work?

I winked at a random guy at the fair last year. He ran into a trash can.

~Stephanie

To Baffle the Bilious Bureaucracy

School assignment: Pick a bunch of random big words and use them in a poem. I picked all "Bs."

To Baffle the Bilious Bureaucracy

To baffle the bilious bureaucracy,

Or maybe to bypass the brig,

Every bumbling billet-doux is balderdash.

Whether they be small or big.

In order to botch all the brackish

Ballistic bores found in the bog,

The brave and blithe young youngsters

Must always begin with a blog.

This big and bodacious beginning

Is always bombarded with brawls.

Although it’s most often benevolent,

The bureaucracy sees that it falls.

~Stephanie

Stephanie's Life is Average

Today it was 80 degrees and I went out to tan. Somehow, I only tanned on one shoulder.

Today I hardcore danced in the bathroom. To Celtic music.

Today I choked on an ibuprofen tablet.

Today I started a texting conversation, then immediately forgot and walked away from my phone for hours. Three times.

Today I searched my entire room for my house key, only to find it was in my purse where it belongs. How weird.

Today I realized I had an entire hour to get ready to go. I spent 45 minutes doing nothing and was pissed when I had to rush around the last 15.

Today I had to reach waaaay up to help my "little" sister with her hair. Depressing.

I've been planning on going prom dress shopping with my friend tomorrow for weeks. Today it occurred to me that I needed one too.

Today I read my assigned section of "Hamlet" and was so into it that I kept going.

My life is average.

~Stephanie

Erin go Bragh

I've been thinking about St. Patrick's Day for WEEKS now. I have absolutely no idea why I was so excited for it. I think I just like going all out for things, and with St. Patrick's Day, it's pretty easy to go all out. Clearly.

Me and my sister, who's actually younger than me even though she's taller (you can't really tell here).

~Stephanie

P.S. I promise something of actual interest is coming up. I'm bound to have something good to say sooner or later.

Zombie - Natalia Kills

Why do I love this? I do not know. But I do. O so much.

~Stephanie

A Day in the Life...

Have you ever played Tower of Bunnies?

I'm going to assume not. It's not that catchy. But it looks like ^that^. My sister bought it a few days ago as something to do with this kid she was babysitting.

So, today I was doing school work. Just the usual. APUSH. Blah.

And I noticed the plastic packaging the little bunnies had come in.

And I was like "DUDE." I mean, it's obvious, right?

In a matter of seconds, my desk looked like this. And I got right to work. Paper, scissors, markers, crayons, tape, Polly Pockets...

It took me a full minute to decide whether or not I could defile this virgin page of stickers.
But then I found another page, so I decided it was okay.

Ten well-worth it minutes later, I had this little baby. {Click to enlarge. It looks better up close.}
{Note the racial diversity and the chewed-up face of Rick. My grandpa's dog did that when I was nine, but he's still my favorite Boy Polly. I think the scars make him look rugged.}


Hell. Yes. I love my life.

~Stephanie

*Names*

Today, names are like labels. Want to invent something? Name it. Just discovered something? Name it. Wanna know how to call someone? Name them.

Personally, I LOVE names. They're one of my long-time obsessions. {...*adds it to sidebar list*} I love naming things, and I love making up names. But I got to thinking about it, and names shouldn't be like labels. A long time ago, they weren't. Names were something intimate and almost destiny-shaping. Names used to MEAN something.

In Ghana, the first part of a kid's name depended on the day he was born.

In Nigeria, kids were given 3 names: first, a name that relates to the family's circumstances. Second, an attribute the kid is hoped to have. Third, a family name.

In Hispanic countries, kids used to be named according to which saint's day they were born on.

In ancient Hebrew times, kids were just simply named something meaningful.

Wouldn't it be cool if it were still like that? You'd tell someone your name was Sarah, and they'd automatically know that meant "princess." Or maybe a baby was conceived in Hawaii, so the parents name it Innis, which means "island." Or say you want your child to be brave, so you name him Drystan, meaning "bold."

Then there's the downside, though. I mean, some names have awesome meanings, but sound...awful. Like Kuonrat {"bold counsel"}. Or Leofwine {"dear friend"}.

But still. Wouldn't it be cool to live in a name-oriented culture, where names are meaningful and intentional? I think it'd make everyone feel special to be named for a real reason. It would almost feel like people were "worth more." Haha, isn't that a totally twisted thought?

I used to hate my name. A lot. I thought Stephanie was completely boring, right up there with Jane and Martha (no offense to anyone named that). I changed it several times growing up.

Now, I really like my name. I really do. "Stephanie" is Greek, and Greek is my favorite language. I like the "ph" because it shows the Greek-ness. And I like that it means "crowned." To me it's a way of saying "royalty" without the implied prissiness of "princess." I dunno. I just like it. I'm not sure if my parents put THAT much thought into it before they named me, but it's cool that it still worked out.

What about you guys? Do you like your name? Were you named for a reason?

~Stephanie

The World of Lost Mysteries

In 1492, Columbus accidentally stumbled upon the Caribbean. But he didn't know that. He thought it was India. He DIED thinking it was India. He just didn't know.

In the middle ages, the people thought the world was, 6/7 water: a chunk of land with salty puddles in it. They just didn't know.

Before Copernicus, everyone thought the sun revolved around the earth. It was clearly moving around us. They were pissed at Copernicus's crazy new theory. They just didn't know.

And that was the fun of it. No one. Really. Knew.

Columbus, Copernicus, and just the ordinary people saw the world as one giant mystery waiting to be solved.

Is the earth really flat?

Who made everything?

What if the Earth were the thing revolving instead of the sun?

How do I know I'm really alive?

How do you cure the measles?

Why are babies attached to their mothers?

Questions. Endless, exciting, bewildering, dangerous, difficult questions. Who knows? No one? Alright then, I'll find out.

Just imagine. A world where you just. don't. know. Everything is new, exciting, mysterious. Like being a child, only better because you can grow up and things are still just that exciting.

Now come back. To our world, our time.

"No, it's round. Duh."

"'Science' says no one made everything, okay? Drop it."

*eyeroll* "The earth IS revolving. And so are the other seven planets."

"Hook yourself to a heart monitor if you're so concerned about whether or not you're living."

"Gah, I don't know, just get the vaccine. It doesn't matter."

"Just Google it, will you?"

We know everything now. We have Science, the Internet, and all the philosophers before us to figure things out. We've got it from here. It's all old news.

And I find that deeply troubling.

I think science is really important. It's good that we've figured things out and have vaccines and treatments. It's good that we've come so far. It wouldn't be right for us to sit around and NOT figure things out.

But...it's a little sad at the same time. All the wonder, the bright-eyed questions and thousands of little mysteries every day...they're gone. We've solved the mystery. Cracked the case. Finished the puzzle. We think there are no more questions. No more mysteries. We've resigned ourselves to contented boredom.

We've lost the beauty of Wonder and the joy of Discovery. I can't even imagine a world where people Just Don't Know. I would want to get out and discover things, find the answers, think my very own thoughts.

There's no way to go back to ignorance, and I'm not saying we should. I'm just saying....well, I guess I'm just saying. We live in a World of Lost Mysteries, and to me it's sort of a beautifully orchestrated tragedy.

~Stephanie

{Like, Love, Hate}

Thanks for following, Dandalily :) Right now Blogger is being stupid and not letting me follow you back. But don't worry, I'm gonna keep trying.

Speaking of Dandalily, I got this tag from her. I'm not sure I understand the rules 100%, but basically, here it is.

Fill in 12 likes, 1 love and 8 hates. The bold things are what you must include. Tag three people and link back to them, as well as link back to me.

I like boys with strong principles and girls who aren't judgmental.
I like nightmares.
I like feeling needed.

I like waking up to bright sunlight.

I like making lists.
I like going to restaurants where you can color on the tablecloth.
I like being scared with other people.
I like finding patterns in the stars.
I like talking late at night when everyone is too tired to care about "awkward."
I like going to bed a little bit hungry in the summertime.
I like swimming in the lake.
I like feeling like I have lots of brothers and sisters.

I love feeling like myself (I'm gonna have to steal that one, Dandalily. It's perfect.).

I hate Satan.
I hate people who aren't in touch with reality.
I hate being ganged up on.
I hate when people lie to me.
I hate being suuuuuper full.
I hate the part of me that struggles with addiction.
I hate touchy-feely, but in a way, it's sometimes nice.
I hate being trapped.
I hate when people refuse to admit they're wrong.

Kinda cool :) I'll tag anyone reading this. Let me know if you do it so I can come read yours.

~Stephanie

Explanation + Actors

Hey, what's up.

Yeah, no question mark. When I type, I like to type the way I talk. When I say "what's up," my voice doesn't go up at the end. So, no question mark. Okay?

See, that time it did.

Anyway, glad you're here. {I'm totally aware that no one is likely reading this.} I thought I'd kick this blog off in about the worse way possible and post about next to nothing. I'll probably follow with posts about hott actors and crappy pop music and maybe some teenage angst and whatever else I just feel like posting.

Yeah, I am just that dull and shallow.

I'm actually not, but every once in a while, I get these shallow/girly/boring/profane urges to post something that's probably crap. That's one of the reasons why I started Pandora. I need an outlet where I don't have to worry about coming across a certain way.

See, I have a secret. But I'll tell you because I'm gonna be sort of vague and you won't know exactly what it is. Ready?

I have another, pretty successful blog. I'm talking lots of followers, cool layout, been at it for years, etc. But it was starting to feel kind of...cramped. I would think of something I wanted to post about, and then go, "Nah, better not." I wanted a blog where I don't have to do that.

Hence Pandora.

So with that said, I'm going to post about hott actors because I couldn't do that justice on my other blog, and if you don't like it, guess today is just not your day ;)

But come back tomorrow, because I have a good feeling about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are more or less in order. "More" because I tried, "less" because they appeal to me in different ways, so it's kinda like comparing apples and oranges.

Stephanie's Top 10

1. Jeremy Sumpter {Sexy Scale: 9.5}

Yeah, he's #1. There's no doubt in my mind. You look at Jeremy Sumpter and all that's left of you are the chills running down your spine and your heart beating in your wide eyes. He has eyes that slice into you, carrying an aura of mystery, adventure and mischief. Something about him screams the contradictions of "fierce-gentle" and "strong-sensitive."

2. Hayden Christensen {Sexy Scale: 9}

I never understood the expression "I melted" before I saw Hayden Christensen smile. You know how in books girls are always saying, "He smiled at me and I melted inside"? Yeah, I never got that. And anyway, I'm not the melting type. Just period. But Hayden...man, he has something special. I'm also a sucker for the cocked eyebrow thing.

3. Heath Ledger {Sexy Scale: 10}

Have you ever seen "A Knight's Tale"? He's strong and tan and can pull off a British accent like no one else, even though I think he's Australian... For some reason I absolutely LOVE IT when he says "shite" in "A Knight's Tale." I don't know why, but it's sexy. He's like the definition of "sexy." It just sucks that his name is "Heath."

4. Alex Pettyfer {Sexy Scale: 8.5}

Yikes, the eyes! So sharp and intense. I love that. I used to think he was the sexiest thing in the world, but he's slowly falling in rank... Still, he's got an air of arrogance without being annoying, and nice abs. Nice abs always help.

5. Shane West {Sexy Scale: 8}

If you've seen "A Walk to Remember," you know why he's amazing. Bad boy turns nice but still kicks ass. It's just great. His character is like my dream guy, so that gives the actor some points too.

6. Zac Efron {Sexy Scale: 8.5}

Ah yes. Zac Efron. What can I say? No one can deny that he's incredibly gorgeous. He has the intense eyes, the crooked smile, the tan skin, the hair, the abs, etc. But he's not especially INTERESTING-looking, not particularly ORIGINAL, so that's why he's #6 and not higher. And frankly he's a much better actor than High School Musical gave him credit for.

7. Michael Vartan {Sexy Scale: 7}

Quite sexy, and also the one of the stars in my FAAAAAAAVORITE TV show, Alias. He's a little old for me, so it's borderline creepy, but he's still very attractive. He has a friendly-mysterious-fun thing going on.

8. William Moseley {Sexy Scale: 7}

He is gorgeous. There's no doubt. He has flawless skin, a strong jaw line, piercing grey eyes, and something about him that kind of screams "SMOOTHPROTECTIVETYPE." He's quite pretty in general. But kind of too squeaky-clean for me to find him SUUUPER attractive.

9. Johnny Depp {Sexy Scale: 6.5}Dreeeeeeeamy. And he looks the best with facial hair of anyone on earth. I think.

10. Michael J Fox {Sexy Scale: 6}

What can I say? He's just adorable.

~Stephanie

καλώς ορίσατε!

Welcome!

Welcome to fear, hate, envy, anger, selfishness, sickness, greed, death and betrayal.

But also welcome to hope. Welcome to life, love, laughter, learning, joy, wisdom, creativity and humor.

There are so many bad things about me, but also a lot of good. Here's to a place where I can finally be free to show it all. Here's to the good, the bad, and the shocking. Here's to uncensored media.

Here's to the curiosity that damned us all and the hope that'll bring us all through it.

~Stephanie, Live and Uncensored