Just got out of the shower and can't wait to cut my toe nails! LOL!!

Let's talk about Facebook. We've all heard of it and most of us have given into its seduction. It is the social network of my generation. Which has now become our parents generation. Which is fine cause if I were old I would want to laugh at the homecoming queen that got fat and ugly too.

Because I just said that, I am bound to be fat and ugly. Karma.

Anyways, the worst part about the FB is that some people get obsessed. Now you might guess that my weakness is posting pictures. I'm the one at the party with the camera and I have pictures from anything and everything online. And luckily my lifestyle makes these pictures acceptable for parental viewing. So, yes, we all have our weaknesses.

The worst Facebook-obsessers, though, are the Compulsive TMI Status Updaters. It's a special breed of Facebookers that are convinced we all care about their hourly activities.

Now don't get me wrong, I've been known to update the status quite regularly. Hourly? Not so much.

My updates are more along the lines of "Bob set the oven on fire" or "Running around in a onesie" and not so much "Can't wait to kiss my .:*wOnDeRfUl BoYfRiEnD!*:. XOXOXO" or "Gym then shower then lunch then shopping then talking on the phone then dinner then kissing my .:*wOnDeRfUl BoYfRiEnD*:. then bed!!"

Or even better, the CTMISUs that express their emotions openly via status. For example, "Can't believe he would do that with her when he knew that we were like totally dating. I can never trust another guy again." Or the ever popular, "Thinking of HIM."...we know you're not referencing God. Or the more nauseating but ever so obnoxious, "I think I have the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. How did I ever get so lucky to meet such a wonderful boy? Love you honey bear! Kisses!"

We get it. You managed to find the one man that enjoys watching back to back episodes of Say Yes to the Dress popping Bonbons and sipping apple martinis. Maybe you should think about that one...

Anyways, you know who I'm talking about. And you know if you're a CTMISU.

So to all you CTMISUs out there...we just really don't care. Unless something remotely interesting and out of the ordinary happens, don't update your status. Just let it sit there. Even press "clear" if it's outdated. If this seems like too much to handle, I'm positive a Facebookers Anonymous group will be starting soon if it hasn't already. So good luck to you.

..."Just updated my blog, now pulling the covers up to about chin height and turning off my light! Maybe rolling over and then off to sleep! LOL. xoxoxo"

Hey, good lookin...

You all got a little sneak peek at how I like to dress in public with that incredible psychedelic vest I posted earlier. Thought you all might want a look at other things I've dressed as for socials, date nights, and just for fun sometimes. Nothing better than making a fool of yourself.

**Nerd day for high school homecoming week**

**Dressed as road signs for our church halloween party**

**Michael Vick for our Welcome to Atlanta social**

**80s skating party for a friends birthday**

**"S stands for..." social. Spice girls, of course**

**Fake prom 2008**

**Leopard and zebra for Hunters vs. Hunted social**

**"Shoulda been a bulldog" social... MIT and Georgia Tech**

**Asian tourists for an Olympics themed social**

**Dazed and Confused social**

**Peter Pan and Tinkerbell for Disney vs. Nickelodeon social**

**Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch for our famous couples date night- best costume winners!**

Left side! STRONG SIDE!

I'm sitting here on my couch watching my most favorite movie ever, Remember the Titans on TV when I decide that I actually need to watch the whole thing commercial free so I pop in the DVD.

I can't help but remember how my high school team, the Northview TITANS, would chant "We are the Titans, the mighty might Titans!" whenever we got a first down (luckily it wasn't often enough to get annoying).

Because of my small large obsession with T.C. Williams finest, I was pretty pumped to see The Blind Side over Thanksgiving break. Have you seen it? Cause it's awesome.

Mix of races, determination, over coming circumstances and football pretty much make up the recipe for a good movie to me. Extra credit if it's a true story.

So with that movie critique, I will leave you with some incredible quotes from Remember the Titans so that you'll be inspired to watch it.

"If we get to Rev once, just one time, I swear to God I'm gonna hit you so hard, by the time you come to- oooo boy you gonna need a new haircut!" -Bertier

"Man I just gave your momma a piggy-back ride and she weighs twice as much as I do!"

"I don't want them to gain another yard! You blitz... all... night! If they cross the line of scrimmage, I'm gonna take every last one of you out! You make sure they remember, forever, the night they played the Titans!" -Coach Yoast

And maybe my favorite of all time...

"You're a Hall-of-Famer in my book"

Now back to letting Bertier and Sunshine help me study theology...

This just in: North Pole relocated

My house has now turned into a winter wonderland. Santa came very early to decorate 2157 in the 72 degree weather. Not only do we have a four foot christmas tree but we all managed to return after Thanksgiving with boxes full of our moms' old Christmas things.

Included:

- a string of M&M themed Christmas lights

- an awkward amount of garland that almost covers our front porch

- wreaths that hadn't surfaced in a number of years

- multiple wooden gingerbread men made many years ago by my grandfather (thanks gramps!) that are now hiding in various places around our house

- an extra slippery rug that caused some awesomely embarrassing moments before it was angrily thrown into a corner

And because we knew we had to add our own special touch, a night was spent cutting out snow flakes and tacking them to the ceiling to complete our North Pole motif. So if you drive down South Milledge anytime soon, try not to be too jealous. We're pretty legit.

2am and I'm still awake writing this...blog.

It's 2 in the morning and I just finished the 8 hour process of taking 45 minutes of audio and editing it down to 90 seconds. It included background noise and such. And I think it's awesome. I think it's so awesome that I am blogging at 2 in the morning to say how relieved I am that it's done and I finally have a hold on my final photojournalism project.

Basically it's a multimedia project- audio put over a slideshow of pictures. I did it on my superwoman friend Amanda. She's a UGA cheerleader, visitor center tour guide, sorority chaplain, Jesus lover and all round superstar.

Hopefully I'll be able to somehow post the final project but until then you can all just stare at this awesome picture of her face.

She's adorable. You're welcome.

Groovy.

A few weeks ago my roommates and I decided to forget that we're too old for frat parties and went to a rave at SipEp. In our defense, one of the roommates is dating a SigEp. The point is, we thought it'd be great to dress appropriately for said rave.

I lied. IIII decided it'd be great. So what do I break out? The most colorful piece of clothing I've ever laid eyes on. It's been worn to Tacky Day at school a number of times and it pretty much an outfit for all occasions. Observe.

I thought it'd be best to pair it with a tall tee and New York glasses. And I looked good.

This awesome piece of polyester love was actually made by my grandmother. Made and WORN by my grandmother. Needless to say, she is awesome. So I will continue to rave in this psychedelic vest in her honor.

A different kind of stereotype

I'm home for Thanksgiving break, back in the Fretta. We have the whole week off since they cut our fall break short by one day. Wellllll, TECHNICALLY they cut our fall break short but usually the teachers cancel classes. Or else everyone skips them. Go Dawgs.

So we go to church yesterday cause my church is awesome. And everyone loves Jesus. I make it a point to put my phone on silent and not text, etc. cause it's pretty rude and there is a huge stereotype that my generation can't live without their phones. Not sayin it isn't true, just sayin it's a stereotype.

Pass the peace. Celebrations and concerns. We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing...

And then the Lord's Prayer. Everyone bows their heads. I see the person next to me fidgeting out of the corner of my eye and I tilt my head just in time to see him put his iPhone on the seat between us.

...for Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

I look up. The person sitting next to me texting on his iPhone during the Lord's Prayer is a 70-year-old man with his frail old wife.

Take THAT, stereotype!

Male-born transgender woman lesbian

For my class on writing and reporting I have to go to a variety of speeches to write stories on them. The one I chose to go to yesterday was about transgenders.

I know I've seen transgenders before but I've never talked to one or heard their story. So I was actually pretty interested when I heard Stephanie Dykes was speaking at my school.

Yes, her name is Stephanie Dykes. No pun intended. She was born Steven Dykes and changed it when she began her transformation 5 years ago. She made a ton of jokes about having a last name like Dykes.

She's a 51 year old male-born transgender woman lesbian. And she has some serious balls. In the courageous sense. Get your mind out of the gutter.

A little rundown on her life: she remembers being an 11-year-old boy and praying every night to wake up as a girl. She always felt different but thought that maybe she just liked to crossdress. Stephanie convinced herself enough that this was the case that she married out of college and had a son. Her wife found out she was a "crossdresser" a few years into the marriage and 13 years after that they divorced. Stephanie hasn't seen her son since. He's 16 and the only time she's talked to him is when he called to beg her for permission to change his last name.

Yall, I don't care if you're transgender, straight, yellow or a kangaroo...that's sad. Every person on this earth would have their heart broken if they were torn away from their son simply because of who they really are.

But Stephanie has a "chosen family," apparently common in the LGBT community. They rally around eachother for support when their biological families abandon them (another argument for another day). She also sings in a gay men's choir. "Gay men?" you might ask. She says, "While I may not identify with "male", and I may not identify with "gay", I do identify with "baritone"." Which she sings beautifully by the way, she belted out the first verse of "Amazing Grace" when asked at the end of the lecture.

Now, if you've read my earlier post on the legalization of gay marriage, you know that I'm a huge advocate of human rights. Naturally, Stephanie Dykes is too. Her argument to the government is this; "If when I was born I had the right to marry any woman I want, if someday I may legally be a woman...can I no longer marry a woman? And, if so, is that basic right being taken from me without my constitutional right to due process?"

Homegirl is smart. Full legal name; Stephanie Dykes, Ph.D. Ahhh, yes. Queer people have the ability to learn just like straight people. They also have the ability to love. She said it like this,"I'm 51, so that cuts down my pool of potential women alot. I'm transgender which cuts it down a LOT, and I'm a lesbian, so I have very very minimal choices. I just want my happily ever after like everyone else. I just want to be held by someone who wants to hold me too."

But seriously, who can blame her? Isn't that what we all want?

So if you read the title of this post and got your judging-face on, wipe it off. When you see a transgender or gay couple don't be quick to stereotype or put them off as different. Cause they just want to be held. Just like you.

Jack-o-lanterns and Georgia/Florida

I've felt for a while now that I need to visit Charlotte to see my sisters and new brother-in-law. So last weekend for Halloween and the Georgia/Florida game, the man and I went to visit.

Friday night we thought it'd be fun to carve pumpkins, in the spirit of the season. Turns out we were a little late for the pumpkin patch because when we got there a rope had been wrapped around the area, creating a barrier between us and our desired gourds. What do we do? In Ashley's words we "stole the pumpkins." In anyone else's terms, we stepped over a rope. At which point we each chose a pumpkin and in true thief style, each slipped a $10 bill into the owner's shed. Rebellious.

About an hour into carving our pumpkins I straightened up and realized that the way the pumpkins were being carved was an exact match of our personalities- sisters and significant others alike. Here's a rundown:
Ashley and Hunter- still poking holes in the pattern, each with their own pumpkin, and each expecting their pumpkins to be perfect.
Lisa and Matt- Lisa helped pick the pattern and then poured herself a glass of wine to sip on while she watched Matt carve it for her.
Me and Jason- I finished picking the pattern, poking the holes and carving the pumpkin in 30 minutes. Then I was on to turning Nutter Butters into white chocolate-covered ghosts. Jason never considered carving, he was eating the pumpkin seeds. Just too perfect. Anyways, aside from Georgia getting an expected beating from Florida the next exciting event was HALLOWEEN! In true triplet style we dressed as the three blind mice. Some of the pictures make even me look twice. We dress alike to mess with people's minds. Jason and Matt dressed as the hoodrats that they are. What does Hunter go as? An orange dinosaur. Which isn't surprising. What else isn't surprising? His mother made the costume for him in a day. Someone's an only child. Last time my mom made one of us a costume was when Ashley was a shark. Which was then passed down so that I could be a shark in 5th grade. Shall we reminisce?

**Check out that scary shark in the back left.**

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Unfortunate Air Time

So I've been epically bad at writing this past few weeks but that's what happens when you're on your death bed. Ok maybe not my death bed but my health hasn't exactly been stellar.

To make you look twice today, check out a fellow brothel member of mine, rockin her body at the GA/FL game.

http://deadspin.com/5394371/why-is-this-gal-not-wearing-a-top-at-the-florida%20georgia-game

Yes, she's wearing a top. We like to keep it classy.

Have a little faith

My aunt forwarded this to me today and I thought it was worthy of the blog. Remember to count your blessings especially when things get really sucky.

Ewwwwww BUGGGGSSSSS

What do I love? Taking pictures. What do I love taking pictures of? Everything. But particularly bugs. I've been known to get up close and personal with these lovable little creatures so enjoy the ones I got pictures of. **Cricket at the botanical gardens in Athens, Ga.**

**Incredibly huge centipede at our campsite in north Georgia.**

**Bug that had lost it's flight and died shortly after I took this in Memphis, Tenn.**

**Wasp I caught, killed and pinned for my lab in Costa Rica**

**Wasp in Costa Rica at the base of the Arenal Volcano**

**Beetle on a raincoat that was at least 2" long in Costa Rica**

**Moth during out butterfly catching lab in Costa Rica**

**Glass winged butterfly during our butterfly catching lab in Costa Rica**

**Leaf cutter ants in Costa Rica**

**Leaf bug in Costa Rica**

**Bug in Costa Rica**

**Tarantula in Costa Rica**

**Monarch in Sapelo, Ga.**

**Some sort of caterpillar in Costa Rica**

**Yellow beetle outside my room in Costa Rica**

UPDATE

You may have all read my previous post about ridiculous TLC shows.

Recently new on TLC:

"My Monkey Baby" and "Mermaid Girl"

Drink it in.

Like Old Times

So back in the day I was quite a volleyball player, mostly in the hours I put in and not so much in the talent I got out of it. But it was enjoyable nonetheless. Yesterday I went to my very first UGA volleyball game and took the darling camera device with me. What's that? You want to see pictures? Well, since you asked...

**Homegirl got ups**

Art of an Artist

A friend of mine that I went to high school with and am now in college with (in the same sorority might I add) is majoring in art and is extremely talented. Last year she took a photography class and convinced me to be her subject for a few projects. So I cashed in my favor on one of my recent phojo projects and had her pose for me with some of her art. First of all- her art is incredible. Second of all- these pics turned out pretty cool.

Potty Training

Everyone has those couple of bathrooms that you use all the time whether they're at home, work or in my case school. So this is a post dedicated to my favorite bathrooms.

As some of y'all might know, I'm a journalism major and a religion major. So where do I spend my time? In the journalism and religion buildings. Luckily they aren't far from each other.

Let's begin with first floor journalism, site of the photojournalism lab. The bathroom is minuscule. It has two stalls which everyone beelines for after our 2 hour long class and makes for a lot of awkward waiting-in-line-to-pee conversation with people that you kinda know from class but really have nothing to say to.

Then, fifth floor journalism. There are plenty of stalls and no awkward conversation but I'm a creature of habit so I always use the same stall. Every single time I've been in there this stall has been open. Every other stall will be taken except this one. Am I missing something? Apparently. But it's been a loving stall so far so I'm still loyal.

Then of course the religion building. As you might suspect there aren't many religion majors out there so we share a building with philosophy and Native American studies. Which aren't exactly in high demand either so we still have a tiny building. The bathroom is in the basement which is creepy to start with. Then when you walk in there is a strange half-wall which makes me think it was built for people to like change behind it or something. I would personally use a stall but variety is the spice of life. So I always think someone is going to be hiding behind it to pop out at me. Creepy point #2. There are little nooks and crannys when you get in there. Once a mop fell out of one of these nooks while I was washing my hands and I almost reemptied my bladder. All this in addition to the fact that the building must have been built on the 5th day of creation which adds a whole nother level of creepy oldness.

I knew you were all curious about this subject so...you're welcome.

Get Yo Chalk On

So yesterday was another day of epic rain in good ole' Athens so tailgating was not an option. Instead, the manfriend and I took advantage of a break in the downpour to express our emotions through the art of sidewalk chalk. Be amazed. And if you're wondering how I manage to look this good, just know that it's not easy.