8:11

2010 marked the first year of my life that I actually followed through with a new year’s resolution.  Last January 1, I resolved to take a photo of what I was doing every single day at 8:11 pm.  I chose this time because I wanted it to be a time where I could feasibly being doing something different (not like 11 am—sitting at my desk at work… again). When deciding on this post-work/pre-sleep time, I chose 8:11 because my birthday is 8/11. I set a daily alarm for this chosen time on my phone and began taking photos. 

I post these daily photos on my Twitter.  Some days I’m doing really interesting/exciting things at 8:11, and some days I’m eating dinner alone in my apartment.  Here is a random sampling of some of my 8:11 photos throughout the year, including the captions that I posted with them. (Please excuse the poor quality of the photos. I take almost all of them with the camera on my phone, which doesn’t have a flash and leaves much to be desired…)  In random order...

8:11- Mary and margs at el coyote! ay carumba! :-)

8:11-bowling! let it be known that i took bowling at OU. bring it. ;-)

 8:11-decking the halls! :-) has mistletoe ever REALLY worked for anyone?? i dont think so...

 8:11-from 37,00 ft! taking advantage of the spoils of my unexpected/AMAZING seat in 1st class on the way to alabama. holla!

 8:11-waiting for fireworks at manhattan beach. hooray america!

 8:11-trying to get my life in order w/mother. this pitiful photo makes me 'lol'.

8:11-at the funnest wedding/college reunion ever! Dance partyyy w/ Kayla, Mary, etc.

8:11-'love' the beatles cirque du soleil show...beyond amazing!! WOW.

8:11-beer and pizza as we unpack... a lovely rite of passage at a new apartment. 

8:11- someone is not hiding as well as he thinks he is...

   8:11 (on 8/11!)-- birthday din with some of my darlings. :-)

I definitely going to keep this fun little project going.  It’s such a great way to document your year!  In fact, several people (and even the restaurant/bar Seven47 in Norman have told me they want to start taking their own “8:11 pics” this year.  I'm excited to see the pictures. :-)

Currently listening to: Iron and Wine's new album "Kiss Each Other Clean"
Why: It's freaking awesome.  You should get it.  For real. 


xoxo, 


at. 

A Response to Emerging Adulthood?

Mary posted a great end-of-year survey from Daily Candy in the previous post, so I decided do it myself.  


A certain Jesus pimp who shall remain nameless was so not worth stressing over. 
All I could listen to this year was Ingrid Michaelson.
Next year I promise to blog more and eat chocolate less.
The best thing I ate in 2010 was my Italian grandma's homemade Christmas dinner. 
The night of the Lost series finale I continued my trend of having never seen a minute of the show, nor wanting to.
"The Real Housewife" will be the new cupcake flavor in 2011. 
I'm proud that I bought a new car this year.
Remember when Kanye joined Twitter and ridiculous hilarity and craziness ensued?

Your turn! As Mary said, "I would LOVE to see some repeats of this rather illuminating questionnaire in our comments section of this post." Go on... it'll be fun. :-) 


Currently listening to: my "chill wonderfulness" playlist. 
Why: Tonight has been a much needed chill night, and I'm loooving it. The last few tracks on this glorious playlist have been: 
"Grace's Amazing Hands" by Dave Barnes.
"Wildflowers" by Tom Petty.
"Life is Beautiful" by Vega4.
"Dreams Be Dreams" by Jack Johnson.
"Simple Life" by The Weepies.


xoxo, 


at

2 Weeks of the 4 Fs: Family, Friends, Food, Fun

I’m composing this post on my flight back to LA after 2 weeks of the 4 Fs.  I thought that two weeks would be more than enough time to see and do all the things I wanted to do over the break, but that was definitely not the case. It went by so quickly!  I wish I had another week or so to rest and visit before diving back into the real world.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my parents moved to Houston this year after living in Duncan, Oklahoma, for 30 years.  This was my first time to see their new house, and it was great! It’s in a gorgeous neighborhood and my mom has done a great job decorating.  My favorite things about the new place are the wonderful hiking/biking trail behind the house, the incredible jacuzzi bathtub in the master bath, and the peaceful back deck with a pretty fountain (that is the home to several cute little goldfish) where we liked to eat breakfast in the morning and drink wine in the evening. J

Christmas morning at the new home. Also, pictured here: the matching glasses that Daniel and I unknowingly both chose at the eye doctor recently. (We made sure to not wear them at the same time  the rest of my visit so we wouldn't look like awkward twinsies or something...) 

As always, I loved seeing my family (and kitties!!). I miss my cats so much while I’m in LA that I turn into a legit cat lady when I’m home with them.  (Anyone who follows me on Twitter can attest to this). ;-) It was wonderful to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins too.  My darling cousin, Erika, got home from serving a year in Iraq days before Christmas, so that was extra special. The local news even did a feature story on her! You can watch the video here. Pretty much, I have the best fam (and kitties), and I love them a lot, a lot.  J

After all that glorious family time, I spent my last weekend of my trip in Oklahoma to celebrate New Years Eve and the wedding of two dear friends from college, Sarah Larson and Colin Morgan .  This was truly one of the best weddings I’ve ever attended largely because it was a huge reunion of tons of college friends I haven’t seen since graduation 2 ½ years ago!  It was an absolute blast to catch up with these old friends and dance the night away. 

So happy to be reunited with Amber and D!

Always fun to party with my beloved brother. 

Dancing with the beyond beautiful bride.

Doing a cheesy huge Delta on the bride (or at least attempting to...)

I’m already looking forward to my next visit with my family (in May for my brother’s graduation!) and the next big wonderful reunion with college friends. Someone else needs to get married… stat.  ;-)

Currently listening: Ingrid Michaelson

Why: I’ve already established in previous ‘currently listening’ posts that Ingrid is one of my very favorite musicians these days, but the reason for my listening to her lovely tunes this evening in particular is that Sarah and Colin danced their first dance as husband and wife to her adorably sweet song “The Way I Am” from her album “Be OK”. Maybe the sappiness from the wedding hasn’t worn off yet, but let’s just say I’ve listened to this song  and her cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” more than a couple times on this flight home. ;-)

Sappily,

at

Day 365

December 31, 2010

In the grand tradition of exceptional New Year's Eve celebrations spent with loved ones, Annie and I had the great pleasure of ringing in 2011 together tonight in Oklahoma City. Our expectations for NYE parties have been forever tarnished by several Caribbean cruises in the early 2000s over this festive holiday, and it seems that unfortunately we have peaked.  Let's just say this year, it's 6:36 PM and our plans for the evening are currently TBD...

January 1, 2011

Well, we made plans.  We started the night with a delicious din at my favorite restaurant in Oklahoma, Ted's Escondido. Then our beloved friends, Kayla, Leigh, Caroline and Brooke joined us and we went to a disco-inspired dance club called Groovys. It was...groovy, to say the least.  Ha. 

Pre-Groovys

Groovys

Not only does 2011 mark the end of what we both declare to be the most difficult year of our lives thus far (good riddance, '10), it also marks the 1 year anniversary of our blog!  We are optimistic for the new year and excited to keep writing. :-) In closing, despite the good times and the bad, we look forward to the future and leave you with this...

Best wishes for 2011,

Annie and Mary

Merry Christmas!

 A very Merry Christmas from your favorite bi-coastal best friends. :-) 

"All I Want For Christmas is a Tri Delta" Date Party, December 2006

I hope your holiday is wonderful and cozy and spent with people (and/or pets) you love. As this is my first Christmas in my parents' new home in Houston, I'm missing Mary in Duncan very much.  Luckily we'll be reunited soon as I'll be heading to OK for New Years and for a very fun wedding 1/1/11. Thank goodness.

Until then, a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.  :-) 

A Public Service Announcement: Beware of Jesus Pimps

While you may not be familiar with the term Jesus pimp (coined by my 'little' Anne Birkett in 2005 when describing the king of Jesus pimps in action at the OU cafeteria), you are more than likely all-too-familiar with the kind of guys it describes.  


Ben Lee gives the basic definition of a Jesus pimp in his song Get Gotten... "Big, big dreams in a small, small world, and I'm using God to pick up girls..."  


And that is what they do, whether on purpose or not, Jesus pimps use the inherent 'good guy' status associated with their church involvement, community service, extracurricular activities, etc, to lure in unsuspecting girls.  Sometimes they find their perfect match in a lovely little Jesus pimptress (yes, girls can qualify for this as well), but often their actions just lead to annoying confusion and frustration.  After witnessing and experiencing the obnoxious behaviors of Jesus pimps far too many times throughout the years, I decided that the world needed a PSA warning against their kind.  (Please note that I am by NO MEANS issuing a PSA about Christian guys in general.  As a Christian myself, a guy's faith is of major importance to me when deciding whether or not to date him.  Jesus pimps are not your average nice Christian guy, although sometimes they can be cleverly disguised as one, hence the need for this post.)


In order to best detail the variety of J.P. tendencies, I've broken them down into five categories: the multi-tasker, the evangelist,  the over-eager, the non-committer, and the wolf in sheep's clothing.  


1.) The Multi-Tasker

 A distinct breed of a "player", this type of Jesus pimp leads numerous hopeful girls on simultaneously. What distinguishes him from regular players is the fact that while he's irresponsibly wooing multiple girls, he does not actually hook up with them, like a normal player would. Instead, the multi-tasking J.P. simply takes a multitude of girls on seemingly innocent dates in the guise of 'just hanging out', ergo, not getting serious with any of them. He is overly (read: annoyingly) friendly and outgoing and thinks that every female between the ages of 18 and 29 is automatically great friends with him after one brief introduction.  He tends to be very affectionate, embracing even minor female acquaintances in huge bear hugs upon seeing them. He's fun-loving and spontaneous but also slightly indie and pensive, so get ready for invitations for free-spirited activities like playing frisbee outside barefoot and cool slightly alternative activities like getting coffee and studying together in the library.  With this seemingly 'great catch' giving flirty affection to all the girls he is 'really close friends' with on a regular basis, it's no wonder that many girls fall into the trap of thinking he's totally into them and about to make them his perfect little Jesus pimptress girlfriend.  I'm sorry to break it to you, darlings, but he's not.  He's probably taking another little fresh-faced female to your favorite coffee shop right now. 


2.) The Evangelist

 This type of Jesus pimp is heavier on the Jesus, lighter on the pimp. The term 'missionary dating' comes to mind here. This type of J.P. likes to bring females of lesser spiritual vigor than himself on 'dates' such as attending a worship night or Bible study together.  He often wears some type of Christian influenced jewelry and is likely a member of Christian fraternity like BYX (Brothers Under Christ).  His hobbies often include playing the guitar or djembe in a worship band and going on mission trips to Africa.  


3.) The Over-Eager

 This J.P. is ready to be a hubby and if you do something as innocent as introduce yourself to him at a crowded bar, this makes you a worthy candidate to be his wifey. Seriously, this guy goes from 0-60 in less than 10 seconds. Heaven forbid you actually agree to go on a first date with him...date #2 might be looking at engagement rings.  Okay, this is a bit of hyperbole, yes, but this type of J.P. really does want to dive into an intense serious relationship ridiculously quickly, often based simply on the fact that you too like Jesus and you have given him the slightest bit of attention.  He does not understand subtlety, so unfortunately, when you catch onto his craziness and screen all of his calls, he won't get it.  You're going to have to just be up front and tell him it's a no go and to look elsewhere for his love connection (and even then, he will probably sporadically try to flirt with you via facebook chat for many months/years to come), unless of course you too are one of the "ring before spring" types, in which case, every happiness to you both... 


4.) The Non-Committer

 This type of J.P. is particularly confusing. He will take a girl on many legit, non-deniable dates and play the complete role of a boyfriend (planning the dates, picking her up, opening the car door, paying for everything, etc.) only to claim that he and the girl are 'just friends' months later when the girl finally caves and brings up a DTR (define the relationship) conversation of sorts. These are more than the 'hang out' dates common to the multi-tasker; these are nice dinners/drinks/movies/concerts/etc. Straight up dates.  During these wonderful dates, there will likely be a confusing lack of affection.  When the ridiculous mixed signals get the best of her and the girl brings up a DTR (because he certainly won't bring it up himself) he will likely say some sort of (lame) excuse like that he really loves spending time with her but that he just can't be in a relationship during this season of life or that he doesn't think God wants him to date right now or something like that. 


5.) The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

 This J.P. comes off as an innocently sweet guy, chivalrous, respectful and thoughtful to the max, but in reality he just wants to take off your pretty little church dress. He will likely play up the good guy card big time, sharing many qualities with the evangelist and multi-tasker.  Don't let the fact that you met him at church, he volunteers with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and he brings you on such innocent creative dates like flying kites and feeding the ducks at the duck pond fool you.  He can throw those positive moral values down the drain and turn into the likes of a horny frat guy faster than you can say "P-I-M-P."  


So there you have the five main categories of Jesus pimps. Several of these behaviors overlap between categories (especially The Evangelist's characteristics), and the tendencies/behaviors of this special breed of boys are by no means limited to those described here. 


I hope this PSA is an enlightening resource to help girls avoid the confusion and frustration of encounters with Jesus pimps and to help boys not be Jesus pimps themselves.  Spread the word: friends don't let friends date/be Jesus pimps. 


your PSA announcer, 
Annie

A Response to Besties: Abridged

A hilarious remark from my dear (snarky) friend, Garrett, drew my attention to how particularly awkward the photo from our 8th/9th grade visit to Disney World was in Mary's wonderful previous post. (He said, "That photo is the funniest thing I've ever seen.  I'm glad you got your eyebrows under control.")  That made me a.) laugh a lot and b.) look at that photo again... and he's right.  YOWZA.  That was not my finest moment. Ha!  I thought it would be nice to do a little compare and contrast to see what a significant difference a little over a decade can make... 

1998

 

2010 

Let us all thank the good Lord in heaven that we outgrew our painfully awkward stages...and that I did indeed learn to control my eyebrows.  ;-)  

Awkwardly yours, 

at