So I have been told that I have an odd taste in guys. Of course, it seem perfectly normal to me. :) I tend to like longer head hair and no facial hair. And I tend to hate mustaches. A lot.
So here are five guys that I find attractive. Not in any particular order.
Take, for instance, Lord of the Rings. Typically the debate is over who is more attractive, Aragorn or Legolas. But not for me. I think that the cutest guy in the whole movie is Pippin, played by actor Billy Boyd. He'd definitely make this list of guys I find attractive.
See what I mean?
Next on the list would be another guy from Scotland.. David Tennett.
So I love Dr. Who. Seriously love it!! But I wasn't the biggest Matt Smith fan. David Tennant is my favorite Doctor so far (although Peter Capaldi is doing wonderfully and might well give Tennant a run for his money).
Anywho, one thing about Tennant is he is adorable.
Which brings me to another TV show that I absolutely love.. Supernatural. I'll let an image tell it for me:
The guy on the bottom there is Misha Collins who plays Castiel on Supernatural. Another very attractive guy! Here is a better picture:
Misha is known for doing crazy stuff. If you want a laugh, go to pinterest and search for "Meanwhile Misha Collins". Another image I found on Pinterest: (The angels have the phone box!)
Now that I'm three down, I'm starting to see some similarities. All three of these guys have amazing hair, great smiles, and very deep eyes. Apparently I'm a hair, smile and eyes girl. :)
My next guy on the list would be Aamir Khan. If you've never seen 3 Idiot, go watch it. Seriously! It is a really amazing movie. And Aamir is absolutely adorable in it.
And here is a picture. :)
So that brings us to the last guy on the list. I had a debate for this spot, but the longer hair won out.. (It always wins out). The last guy on my list is Bradley James. Absolutely adorable!!
So there you have it! Five guys that I find attractive. :) I love how only one of these guys is American. Although that probably just means I watch too much BBC. :) I'll be back tomorrow with a more personal / less fun post.
Today's prompt is super fun!!! It's to put a playlist on shuffle and write about the first 10 songs that play. :)
I'm a bit behind on the blogging challenge, but I'm just going to skip ahead and post today's post so I don't get too behind. I'm going to try to catch up on the missed posts soon.
I love music so this is going to be awesome! I use spotify for my music, including when I DJ (I DJ fusion swing dances). My username is mystand if you want to find me.
I have a list called Current that includes all of my current favorite music. It changes regularly as I find new stuff and get tired of old stuff. I'm going to use it for today's prompt. Here we go:
1. Eric Church - That's Damn Rock and Roll
So I get to pick the first song that plays, so of course I pick my 2014 song of the year. I always pick a song at the beginning of the year to represent how I want the year to go. I love this year's song!!
"It's ain't about the money you make when the record gets sold. It's about doing it for nothing because it lives in your soul"
"It's the first one to stand and the last one to fall."
"It's doing what you want instead of doing what you're told."
"Give all you got until there ain't nothing left."
Be prepared for happy dancing!!!!
2. One Republic - Counting Stars
So I recently bought the newest One Republic CD and I really love it! This song is especially awesome.
"I don't think the world is sold on doing what we're told."
"I feel something so right doing the wrong thing. I feel something so wrong doing the right thing."
My feelings exactly!
3. Infected Mushroom - Now is Gold
This is a really pretty song mixed with dubstep. I love dancing to it! So much fun. I can do rave/flow dancing and this song nails it.
4. Ellie Goulding - Tesselate
This song is a cover of an Alt J song. If you've never listened to Alt J, you are missing out. They are amazing! But I love this cover. Ellie does an amazing job with this song.
5. Hozier - Take Me To Church
This is a recent find. It is such a pretty song! I love dancing to it. I don't really like the words of this one all that much, but the song is so good to dance to that it still makes my current list.
6. Lindsey Sterling - Crystalize
This is another fun song to dance to. It is also fun to do flow dancing to. It's quite hipnotic. The genre is "Dubstep Violin". How awesome is that!!
7. Dierks Bently - I Hold On
This song is amazing. Truly amazing. This could have been a song of the year for me. It might well be one day.
"I hold on to the things I believe in. My faith, your love, own freedom. To the things I can count on to keep me going strong."
Of course, I'm probably keying in on the word freedom in there.
8. Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You
Very pretty song. Not really sure what to write about it though. It would make a really good wedding song.
9. Kongos - Come With Me Now
I shazamed this song the very first time I heard it on the radio and loved it ever since. Amazing beat! Seems to have a cajun flare to it.
10. Miranda Lambert - Automatic
Listen to the words. I can't quote the whole song. I love all of them! This song really resonates with my heart. I sometimes wish that things are not so automatic. Although I do love the internet. :)
Techinically that is 10. But this is so much fun! I'm going to keep going for a few more songs. :) 11. Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker
"Crazy is what they think about me. Ain't gonna stop because they tell me so."
Yeah. That's a good description of me. :)
12. Colt Ford/Jason Aldean - Driving Around Song
This song is for all of the small town people reading this. If you get it, you get it. :) Here's to having country roots!
13. Imagine Dragons - Demons
This song will never get old. It really won't. It's such a pretty song and great to dance to as well.
14. Zac Brown Band - Free
This song has been in my current playlist for a really long time. I'm glad it showed up today. If you know me at all, you know that I'm pretty obsessed in buying a van. This is the only popular song that I know of that talks about living in a van AND freedom all in one song.
"We live out in our old van and travel all across this land."
"Just as free as we'll ever be"
Oh, just listen to the words. It's great!
15. Dierks Bentley - Drunk on a Plane
Let's end on this fun note. This song makes me smile. It's fun and very catchy. It's a song about a guy who was dumped right before his wedding and ends up taking the honeymoney trip by himself. Sort of a sad situation, but he sure makes a good song about it.
So there you have it. 15 songs on my current playlist. Just in case you wondering, there are about 70 songs total on this playlist. Hope you enjoyed that!
So I'm a day behind on the blogging challenge. I drove to Houston yesterday, so my writing time was limited. But that's okay. I'll catch up.
The next prompt is "Five Pet Peeves". This should be fun.
1. To start, I hate it when people assume that my mind works the same way as theirs does. It doesn't. My mind is different. I have different strengths and weaknesses.
One thing that people assume is that social situations are intuitive and easy to navigate for me just as they are for them. I'll try to explain to people that I don't always know what to say or ask and people will look at me like I'm crazy and say "Oh come on. It's not hard. Just be natural." This makes me sooooo mad. It's not natural for me.
Another way this comes to light is with focus. I have ADD and I microfocus really easily. When I'm doing something, I don't hear what is going on around me. For example, this summer I was visiting my grandmother who is hard of hearing so she'd always ask me to tell her when the timer goes off. But I'd start working and many times she would hear the timer before I would even though I was closer to it. I was just focusing.
Well I've had people tell me to pay attention more. But it's not that easy. I microfocus so I can actually do whatever I'm doing. If I tried to pay attention to things around me, I would never be able to do anything and my brain would probably go crazy. And it would be a conscious effort that would be really exhausting. My brain just doesn't work the same way thiers does. It pisses them off, but it's not something I can help.
Why can't people just accept me as I am instead of hating me for it?
2. That one was deep, so lets do a light one.
Dear Writers,
Learn to use commas correctly.
Thanks
Hailey
I have edited a bunch of work from various people who fancy themselves as writer. 95% of them sucked at commas.
I understand not using commas correctly when writing journal entries or even a personal blog like this one. I'm in flow and really don't care about my writing. But if you are a professional writer selling the things that you write, learn to use commas correctly!
As an editor, I'd expect to correct some commas. The authors are writing in flow and all. It's my job to make things perfect. But come on people! I don't want to fix every single comma ever!
Here is the most important rule:
Commas go between compound sentences only if there is a subject in both parts. Otherwise, no comma needed.
I went to the store to buy some bread and saw Mr. Brown there. I went to the store to buy some bread, and I saw Mr. Brown there.
3. Don't call someone "retarded"! And don't post stupid pictures of yourself in instagram with the hashtag #specialneeds. Seriously people. This is insulting to people who have special needs.
You wouldn't go around using the N word to refer to African Americans. Right? So don't use the R word to refer to people with special needs. It's just as bad and just as insulting. And you will get slapped for it. People with special needs are still people! So treat them with the same respect you'd treat anyone else!
4. So this one is silly because it's just people doing their job, but I hate it when I go into a store and get asked 20 times if I need help with something. It's usually because there are a bunch of workers, and they each need to ask to help me. I don't need help! If I need help, I'd look at you! Or look around confused. I wouldn't be walking confidently in the direction of whatever I'm in the store for. Would I?
Maybe it would be better if they put someone by the door that asked people if they need help with something. Then the people that need help can ask this person and the people that don't won't be bothered until they go looking for help.
5. And the last one is another person just doing their job, but it bugs me to no end. When you are at a restaurant, there is usually the guy that walks around to fill up water when you run out. This is good. But why does this guy always try to fill up your water right before you leave? I mean have given your card to the cashier. You are about to go. And you get fresh water. Seriously? I'm about to leave! Why do I need more water! You are just wasting water! grr.
I will usually hide my water at the very end of the table so he has to ask for it to fill it. Then I'll say no.
So those are my pet peeves. I'll end with a video of Hank Green's pet peeves. It's hilarious. Watch it.
Today's topic is mainstream music. Before I go any farther, I should note that, for me, mainstream music includes mainstream country. I was raised listening to country music. For years, there were two genres for me.. country and that other stuff.
I started to listen to pop around the age of 9. In fact, the first song I really remember liking was "I Saw the Sign" by Ace of Base, which was released in Dec of 1993 when I was 9.
Before that, it was all country all of the time.
Although these days country and pop are intermixed quite a bit. There are country songs on the pop station.
And there are pop songs that are essentially country.
Overall, I tend to enjoy a lot of the mainstream music, country or otherwise. I do fusion swing dance and so I'm always on the lookout for popular song that I can DJ. The crowd loves it when I can include a song off of the radio.
It's when the song are negative and degrading when I start not liking them. I really don't care about butts or drugs or murdering your girlfriend. I much prefer my songs to have good meanings. Songs that say something really profound are way better than sex-filled crap you sometimes get.
Song can be really inspirational. There are a lot of people out there who pick an emotion or word of the year. I do songs.
I started this 3 years ago. I pick a song that represents what I'm trying to do that year. Here are my 3 songs of the year... 2012 was right after a breakup (read yesterday's post) so my first song of the year is about making myself into the person that could win my relationship back. Looking back, it might not have been the best choice... but it's still a good song in it's own right.
On to 2013. I get into a bit of a girl power kick.
And this year... I had originally selected one song but quickly changed it which this song came out at the end of January. I LOVE this song!!!
After re-listening to all of those old songs of the year, I'm now fired up! :)
Over the years, I have been collecting music that represent parts of my life. First crush. Trips to Oregon. Etc. Every time I hear Red Dirt Road, I'll be back in High School.
And just saying that reminds me of this song. So I'll let Kenny say it for me.
And of course, I'm also collecting song for my future. I have the perfect proposal song picked out. (With instructions to a good friend that if I ever got close to being proposed to, that song is suppose to be given to whomever would be doing the proposal.) But all share it here too.
Wouldn't that make an amazing proposal song? I can image it now. That song playing. A guy on his knees with an emerald ring in his hands (I don't really like diamonds). Perfection!
Okay. Back to reality. Music has been a big part of my life. I can't sing for the life of me, but I still love music. And over the years, there is one guy whose songs I've loved more than anyone else... John Mellencamp. He got me through middle school and high school and college. Thinking back, this was probably my original song of the year even if I didn't formalize it as such.
And there was also this song that was so a part of my life around 2000 that it still makes me smile. In fact, it's still a core part of me. I love this song!
Okay that's probably enough. I guess that didn't really answer the question about what I believe about mainstream music. But those are some general thoughts on music.
To end, here is a song that really summarizes my feelings about music...
Almost exactly 3 years ago (exactly in 10 days), I went through a really rough breakup. It wasn't malicious or hurtful and he did his best to make it easy for me. But it was so unexpected that it was a shock. A shock that took me a long time to get over.
Now that it has been 3 years, it doesn't hurt much anymore. Although I'll still get memories that trigger emotions. But they are becoming few and far between. All in all, I've moved on with my life.
The worst thing though is the dreams. I still dream about my ex. I still dream about us together like we were back then. For a few moments while I'm asleep, I'll be back there and we are both happy. Like it was in the beginning. And then I wake up alone and it hurts all over again.
The last day is forever cemented in my memory. I remember waking up and snuggling. I remember how he air kissed at me and knowing something was wrong (he always though air kisses for silly). I remember the pit in my stomach all day. I remember waiting for him to get home. I knew what what coming even if I didn't believe it. And I didn't understand why.
But now, three years later, I understand. You can't see your own flaws when they are right there in front of you.
Since then I've had another relationship and that one was from the other point of view. I got to see first hand what it's like to live with someone not quite as grown up as you. Age is mostly to blame in my new relationship as well as my first one. I've grown up a lot over these last three years.
I've also come to respect myself more. When he broke up with me, I tried to become the person that he wanted me to be. I threw myself into self improvement. And I was doing it for him. I wanted him to take me back. And I don't regret doing this as it gave me something to focus on in that first year. I think this is what got me through that time.
But time passes and I come to realize something. I'm not that person. We grew apart because we are very different people. We didn't really fit. I mean, we have a lot in common, but we didn't have the right things in common. I no longer want to be the person he wants. I want to be the person that I am.
Don't get me wrong. I do miss him. But I now think that he made the right decision for the place we were both at. I needed freedom to grow up. He gave me that. He had the clarity to see that.
This past year has been interesting. In a good way. I broke up with my last boyfriend who wasn't right for me. I almost started another relationship but ended up actually being a rebound girl. I moved back to near Austin so I could travel more and be closer to my family. I'm actually making progress. Things are finally moving forward. I'm finally happy again. I'm finally getting there.
So what I'd say to my ex is this:
Thank you. For everything. The happy moments and the sad ones. I understand now.
Maybe our paths will cross again. Maybe they won't. But whatever happens, I hope you make the most out of it.
If you ever need something, I'll always be here as a friend.
You will always hold a very special place in my heart.
Today's prompt is "Bullet Your Day". Since I'm posting this in the morning, I'm going to make a list of everything I did yesterday. :)
So yesterday I:
Woke up at 7:30
Surfed Instagram
Downloaded a PDF to Note 8 to read.
Made Tea (More on this on the day I write about food).
Talked to my Mom about day
Watched podcast videos on auto-responders
Sent some emails
Got dressed and packed day pack
Helped mom load a table into pickup
Drove to Walgreens to drop off prescription
Went to Post office to mail package and pick up popcorn order
Went to Hoovers for something my mom needed.
Helped my mom unload table at the antique mall
Picked up prescription (got to drive the truck!)
Ate at Schloztsky's (Yum!)
Drove to Bee Caves
Watched "Gone Girl" in Theater
Shopped at Bath and Body Works (I didn't buy anything. Mom bought air fresheners.)
Went to Barnes and Noble (and returned phone call)
Got Milkshake from Amy's (Bad Hailey!)
Followed my mom around Dillard's
Shopped at Whole Foods (I got more goat yogurt!!!!)
Drove home
Helped cook rice and salmon to go with saag paneer from Whole Foods
Ate dinner while watching Gabriel Iglesias (I don't do comedy, but he is funny!)
Shower
Journaled before bed
Bedtime!
So yep. That was my day. It was definitely not a typically day. (I haven't seen a movie in a theater in over a year!) But it was fun. Nice easy day. Tomorrow's post is going to be hard.
Today's blogging challenge topic is a book that I love. This one is hard! I love a lot of books. I don't really have a favorite one. So I'm going back a long ways to write about a series of book that I first read in middle school.
In 7th grade, a friend taught me the basics of speed reading and I went from reading very slowly to pretty quickly. I used this new found skill to read our library's entire collection of Christopher Pike books. Christopher Pike writes teenage supernatural dramas. Think Twilight but way better.
There is one series in particular that stands out. The Last Vampire is a 6 part series about, well, the last vampire. She is named Sita and it is her journey throughout history. Most of the story takes place in modern times.
I really love this series and it is really hard to say why. For one, these books were my first introduction to Hinduism, a religion that I adopted in college. I think I know that I connected well with the stories and mythology of Hinduism even from just reading these books.
It also introduced me to the idea that God is universal. That the Hindu god and the Christian are the same entity just presented differently to reach different people. I clicked with this idea immediately as well.
Funny how a teenage novel can have such a religious impact. But it did.
I even wrote a paper in college about this series and their tie-ins to Hinduism. I also looked at the book Lord of Light, which is also a novel using Hindu characters. I'm not sure where that paper is or I'd post it here.
Anywho, I love these books and they are something that will always be a part of me and my history. Not to mention that the story is fun and they are enjoyable to read.
Christopher Pike recently released a sequel to the Last Vampire series after Twilight came out, but I'd recommend avoiding it. It really wasn't all that great. A lot of the authors that I used to read in middle school are jumping on the vampire re-popularization that was brought about by Twilight. Now if only LJ Smith will finally finish Night World. :)
It's day 2 of the October blogging challenge and today's prompt is "Something You Feel Strongly About." This should be good. And while this might overlap with a later entry, I'm going to write about education.
To me, education is super important. I believe that it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child has a really good education. And by education, I don't just mean sending your child off to school everyday. It is your responsibility to make sure that your child is getting the education that he or she needs in order to make it in the world.
In America, we seem to have this belief that the education system will properly prepare our kids for life. I do not believe that this is the case. I think it does a really good job of preparing the future doctors or architects or engineers, but it leaves out a lot of people.
What about the artist or the entrepreneurs?
These people don't get a very good education in our current education system. The system may teach them Trig, but it doesn't teach them what they need to know to succeed.
I imagine an education system we're all skills are taught. Not just the book skill. And well, we do have art classes and occasional leadership classes, this is not enough. This leaves kids unsure of what to do to succeed once they leave school. The college bound kids will go off to college, but the rest?
And even the college kids may end up floundering after college.
This happened to me. While I was extremely good in school, I didn't know what to do when I got out. Yes, I could have gotten a really good job. In fact, I did. But I hated it. I wanted to make my own way in the world. I wanted to start my own thing. I wanted to work in a way that was flexible and independent. But my school did not prepare me for this. I had to invest in many more educational opportunities in order to learn the skills necessary to really make it in the entrepreneurial world.
What if this was taught to every kid in every school?
The government has this No Child Left Behind policy, but it's not enough. In order to really make it No Child Left Behind, we have to fundamentally change the way we think about education.
Parents need to be involved. Education is not something that you can just send a child off to everyday and assume things are going well. And I'm not saying every parent does this. There are many wonderful parents out there that are super involved in their child's education. But this must be more universal. We must educate parents on their role in their child's education. Right now, it's up to the parent to do the research and not every parent will.
I am currently working on my own plan for what education should look like. It includes both the parent's education as well as the child's. And if I ever have kids of my own, I plan to educate them at home based on this system.
My plan will not be the end of the road. But I hope it is a jumping off point for a new way to look at education. This is what I am truly passionate about.
The prompt maker likes to start out with a bang! The original prompt for today is "Five ways to win your heart". What a fun prompt! But there is a part of me that can't believe I'm posting this online!
The thing about me is that I'm a bit odd when it comes to relationships. I am much more interested in the heart and intellectual connection than the sexual one. This stems from the fact that a) I am not all that good at the sexual side of relationships due to various touch sensitivities, and b) most people think I'm a bit crazy and weird. But don't get me wrong. I do like to cuddle. I really like to cuddle.
As much as I'd like a relationship, I know that I don't make the best girlfriend. I mean, seriously, most males are not that interested in a girl that has a low sex drive and issues around that. When I do get into a relationship, the pressure is usually too much, leaving the relationship broken and guilt-ridden. And if there is one thing I can't stand, it is a guilt-trip.
But assuming for a moment that it could work, here is a how-to guide to winning my heart.
First off, you must not think I'm crazy. You have to get it. I don't want to be "yes dear"ed one more time. The truth is that I may be a bit crazy. I don't fit into the societal norms. I don't want the house. I don't want to settle. I'd much prefer to travel. So really liking my ideas about the world is a great start. This includes my love of math and programming. You don't have to be a programmer, but know that I will talk about it. :) I mean, I do MIT classes for fun!
Secondly, you must be a good person and really show it. I have been hurt too many times to just trust people right off the bat. I mean, I usually assume that people are going to be nice and trustworthy at a friend level, but to get closer than that, I have to trust you. Being honest and open goes a long way.
Third, you have to love to travel and be willing to travel with me. There is no way I could date someone who hates to travel. I love traveling (I want to be nomadic, so yeah). Being willing to take trips, especially long term/distance trips, would be awesome!
Fourth, I tend to be socially awkward. I suck at knowing what people want me to do. This usually causes people to get pissed at me and think that I'm inconsiderate and rude. Helping me in social situations is a great way to win my heart. Trying to understand how my brain works and finding ways to work with me instead of getting angry at me is a trait that I absolutely treasure. I work the best with people who just think I'm a bit weird and figure out how to get around it instead of hating me for it.
The fifth way to win my heart is the easy one. Cook me dinner. Seriously, I love homecooked meals. I have food allergies so you might want to ask for those first. But a home-cooked meal is awesome!!!!
So yeah. Five ways to win my heart. This was a surprisingly hard entry to write and post since it is a very private subject. But hey! I committed to this list. Tomorrow's entry will be easier!
Oh, want a bonus way? This one is definitely not a requirement, but it wouldn't hurt.... I do Blues and West Coast Swing Fusion dancing. Learn to lead. There is nothing quite like a really good dance. Here are two pros dancing to show you want I mean:
