British Word of the Day

"Chunder."

American translation: to vomit/puke/barf/hurl. Yuck.

Love

"Maybe it's real. And if it's not real, then it's just good practice." -Tessa gives advice on the new man in Steph's life...

Carrots, anyone?

Best event-invitation line of the summer:

Living A Fairy Tale

"You may be a princess or the richest woman in the world, but you cannot be more than a lady." - Jennie Jerome Churchill (mother of good ole Winston).

Recovering from last night's Leavers' Ball (where all the ladies looked like princesses).

Graduation - UK Style

"You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world." -Tom Brokaw

Congrats and best wishes to all the Uppingham leavers. Looking forward to the ball this evening :)

En Route to England

This keychain was a present from Mark to his wives; we're all excited for our family reunion in Uppingham this weekend! U.K. here I come!

Float Trip

"Sometimes you have to lose yourself 'fore you can find anything." -one of the more profound statements by Burt Reynolds in Deliverance. Watched it for the first time last night ... glad I don't live in Georgia.

Hope

"Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow." -Dorothy Thompson

The Write Stuff

"Most intelligent people realise that actual, honest-to-God holding-power-to-account journalism is one of the most vital things we have as a society. And equally most of us are smart enough to know that the people doing that journalism need to be paid to do it full time, even if, traditionally, that pay has been pathetic considering the hours they put in, and the dangers many face." -thoughts from the Guardian's Paul Carr. The rest of the article is pretty interesting, too.

Beverage of Choice

Life Cycles

“Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.” -Sarah Bernhardt. Stolen from the Jeff City Road Runners page.

Last Night's Fortune Cookie

Effort. Lots of It.

"Hard work is the best medicine yet devised for all the ills of man - and of woman." -a line from Revolutionary Road, one of the most depressing books I've read recently.

Love Connection?

"I hope I didn't link you to porn. Actually I do, that would be awesome." -a professor jokes about links to our online summer reading.

Match Made in Heaven

"I met this short, furry Jewish man, and he's awesome." -Aaron contemplates how his dream woman might describe him. I made note of this statement; Matt made the following addition:

Hello, Bible Belt!

One of many entertaining church signs on the trip from Columbia to Springfield, Mo. to Grove, Okla. and back.

Shopping Spree

In a Rocheport store window...

Quick Visit to Grove

"There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow. The corn is as high as a elephant's eye, And it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky. Oh, what a beautiful mornin', Oh, what a beautiful day! I got a beautiful feelin' Everything's goin' my way." -Oklahoma. Crossing the border into the Sooner State today...

Going to the Chapel

"True love stories never have endings." -Richard Bach

Heading to Springfield, Mo. for Louis & April's wedding.

In Case You Forgot...

...here are step-by-step instructions on how to wash your hands (spotted at a St. Louis Starbucks).

Religulous

The entire documentary was good, but this was one of the more entertaining conversations:

Bill Maher: You're a Senator. You are one of the very few people who are really running this country. It worries me that people are running my country who think - who believe - in a talking snake [the creation story].
Mark Pryor (D, Ark.): You don't have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate, though.

Flaming Fast Food

As seen at a Columbia Taco Bell. Why anyone would want to eat this, I don't know.

Carbon Leaf @ Blueberry Hill

Pretty much sums up my weekend (apart from winning a stuffed monkey in the St. Louis zoo 5k). Long story short: three girls, two scalped tickets, one spot on the guest list thanks to Carbon Leaf being awesome.

Go Saxons!

The Langley lacrosse team prepares to dominate today's state championship game against Chantilly. My parents' response to Andrew's 'hawk: "Dad thought it was hilarious. Mom thought I looked terrible but funny."

A Virginia Band in Missouri

"Live a life less ordinary, live a life extraordinary." -Carbon Leaf. Going to see them tonight in St. Louis!

Friday Night in Rocheport

“If a June night could talk, it would probably boast that it invented romance.” -Bern Williams

Abigail's for dinner. Yippee!

My Situation Exactly

Bumper Sticker Love

Practice Makes Perfect

"Revision isn't drudgery. It's a chance at excellence." -advice from Michael Evans in The Layers of Magazine Editing. Definitely good to keep in mind as I navigate my way through Magazine Staff this summer.

Over His Head

"That was fun! ... Don't do it again." -a little kid's reaction to being plunged quickly under the water in the pool (after he'd repeatedly asked his mom to dunk him).