Pucker Up

"She was flexing all the muscles in her cheeks." -Andrew describes Mom's face as Dad drove the Wrangler up one of St. John's steepest hills (she was not a happy camper).

Can't Compete

"There were plenty of hunnies but they were all around Kenny for some reason, instead of me." -Jackson fails at picking up girls in the same bar as Kenny Chesney. Go figure.

Belly Up

Jack: The drinking age in St. John is 18. It's going to be hammer time. I'm going to drink a mojito.

Whitney: Do you even know what a mojito is?

Jack: No.

Creepy

"It makes me want to be a vampire." -Steph enthusiastically describes her obsession with the Twilight series.

Skimpy

"I'm saving room in my suitcase. Instead of a real swim suit, I'm packing a speedo." -Jackson prepares for our trip to St. John.

Leaving today, back in a week. Don't be jealous ;)

Love in the Mirror Aisle?!

"You have a man waiting for you at Lowe's." -the creepy Lowe's employee who told me I was smart and beautiful (I was wearing gross running clothes) and then decided we were going to be best friends (or more). Yuck.

Merry Christmas

"Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends." -Margaret Thatcher

*photo = the girls (cousins) on Christmas Eve.

Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

What Lies Beneath

Stolen from Justin's blog ... too funny to pass up!

East Coast

"Up men to your posts! Don't forget today that you are from old Virginia." -George Pickett

Headed back to the Old Dominion this afternoon...

Modesty...

"Modesty is the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it." -Oliver Herford

Thomas Jefferson

Whitney: He's my other true love.

Matt: Well, I'm glad he's dead.

A Toddler's Trauma

“A burn accident does not just inspire a relationship between a doctor and a patient. You really have to involve a multidisciplinary team from the get go. There are a lot of people who are going to have stakes in how a patient is cared for.” -Dr. James Kraatz, director of the George David Peak Memorial Burn Center at the University of Missouri Hospital. Read my story about a two year-old burn survivor here.

Lawn Care

"I want a turf yard, or something." -Aaron's future plans don't include mowing the grass.

Cold Day

"O wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?" -Percy Shelley

If These Walls Could Talk...

"Peace, love and happiness for all who enter here." -painted on the wall of a house in Spokane (scene of Saturday night's shenanigans post XC Nationals).

Horse of a Different Color

XC Nationals

"It was fun in a weird, twisted, I hate my life sort of way." -Billy's reflection on yesterday's race.

Don't think I have ever been so cold in my life.

Cooling Off

West Coast

"Washington is nicknamed the 'Evergreen State' because it sounds better than 'The Incessant Nagging Drizzle State.'" -Dave Barry.  

Off to Spokane for the weekend to compete in the National Cross Country Championships with the Columbia Track Club.  Supposed to be cold and snowy. Yikes.

Writing

"The whole process - sitting at your desk, focusing your mind like a laser beam, imagining something out of a black horizon, creating a story, selecting the right words, one by one, keeping the whole flow of the story on track - required far more energy, over a long period, than most people ever imagine." -Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Kind of how I feel this week ... literature reviews, research papers, stories, final papers, critiques, etc. Can't wait for the weekend.

Party On

"An intellectual kegger." -theme of our last Mass Media class, to be held at Professor Hudson's home this afternoon.  Ziplines, labyrinths, basketballs and pianos will apparently be included ... among other things.  Sweet.

Alamo Bowl

"Some are already calling this the Journalism Bowl, given the reputations of Missouri and Northwestern’s journalism schools." -Kansas City Star article about our just announced December 29 bowl game in San Antonio.

An Old African Song

Do not seek too much fame

But do not seek obscurity

Be proud

But do not remind the world of your deeds

Excel when you must

But do not excel the world

Many heroes are not yet born

Many have already died

To be alive to hear this song

That is a victory.

"This is a theory, a concept, a big idea about how to live. Sometimes at these hectic points in the semester we forget - and then, maybe if we are lucky, we remember - how to live with vibrancy, clarity, and grace." -an Old African Song and good advice from a professor. Let's hope it gets me through finals week...

The Urban Dictionary

Thanks to Meg for this. Find out if your name has a definition here.

The Best Things...

"When what's left of you gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left." -Phil Davis (Danny Kaye), in White Christmas (played at the Missouri Theater last night).

Professor Praise

"Whitney, your presentation was one of the best I've seen in my Mass Media classes. I encourage you to keep pursuing the subject." -email from Dr. B.H. that totally made my day. Maybe I'm not going to fail out of grad school after all ...

Love and Food

Isn't this great?! (spotted in this store).

My Brother's Beard

December Evening

"Twilight drops her curtain down, and pins it with a star." -L.M. Montgomery




Last night's view from my balcony of the moon, Venus, and Jupiter.



Photo cred: Kristy :)

Code Red

I feel like it's only a matter of time. . .