show me where you want your gift

I'm going to choose to believe that this song was not actually ever written. My hope in mankind depends upon it.

my beef with Edible Arrangements

I think that this is a fantastic idea. Fruit! In a bouquet! As a gift!

That being said, I wonder if it is really plausible. A) there is a lot of bad fruit in the world. B) Isn't pre-cut, anonymously gathered, shipped-through-the-postal-service fruit a little... sketch?

I could look past those two things, but this most recent commercial about Fathers' Day? Getting your dad a fruit bouquet, to make him feel special? That is RIDICULOUS. No dad I have ever met would like a fruit basket for a masculine holiday. Why don't you just give them a pair of your stilettos and send him off for a day at the spa. Because a FRUIT BASKET-- and I could be wrong here, as I am a chick-- but I think a FRUIT BASKET looks masculinity in the eye and says, "You're so cute!"


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In an unrelated note, I want everything here and am a sin-haven full of lust.

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

how cute is this thing?

measuring worth through colors

One of the blogs I read posted a little color test, found here, linking your favorite color with a brief synopsis and judgment of your character. My favorite color is, of course, brown. But reading the description could not be further from my actual personality.

"You are down to earth, comfortable with who you are and have a great ability to find joy in life. You don't take things personally, you can rebound from failure, and you go for what you want."

Down-t0-earth is a stretch, but is leaps and bounds ahead of, "comfortable with who you are," and, "don't take things personally," and, "can rebound from failure". I took this test and had to look aorund and laugh at the irony of the universe's practical joke on me.

So I went for color number 2: Gravel. (I am a paralyzingly neutral person, apparently).

"Pressure stimulates you and you like setting goals for yourself. You are exciting, very curious, and are great at parties. You surround yourself with lots of unusual people and have loose boundaries."

Unusual people and loose boundaries. Now THAT'S something I can hear resonating within me. They must have left out the character trait of, "hating yourself for being unable to be something stupendous like people who are PAPAYA or POOL and MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE because come on, Gravel, these traits are all euphemistic ways of telling you YOU HAVE THE CRAZY."

Just kidding.

But seriously.

believing God can talk through the Chronicles of Narnia

"I was the lion." And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. "I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

"Then it was you who wounded Aravis?"

"It was I."

"But what for?"

"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own."

I don't know which way I'm going, I don't know which way I've come

This weekend I went to Des Moines. It was super fun. I had some of this:

and some of this:

and went antiquing and found satanic-worship thrones and this thight thing:

We stayed with my sweet Betsy and saw the Coldplay/Snow Patrol show. It was fantastic. Snow Patrol didn't play very long, but it was good. and Coldplay was, of course, brilliant. No pictures because taking pictures at shows makes me feel SUPER lame. But here's a little video, because this is one of their best live songs. Kinda shakey because W.T.EXPLETIVE CHEAP-SECTION-PATRONS?! THERE'S A REASON WE DON'T STAND UP.

(I have to figure out how to do the video...)

domesticity

I made this delicious treat, courtesy of Annie's Eats (one of the most fantastic food blogs, because she has a NEW RECIPE, LIKE EVERY DAY, AND THEY ALL LOOK SCRUMTRULESCENT): Sour Cream Coffee Cake. Coffee cake is, in and of itself, a kiss from the Lord himself. But I really like how the sour cream gives it kind of a... tangy moistness. Not an overwhelming tangyness. Okay, my spiritual gift clearly is not using words to describe delicious food. But drop by my house and I'll be glad to share a piece with you.

Then, breakfast was so on my mind that I gave in to eating blueberry pancakes for dinner.

You may say, Mara, do you think that was a healthy decision? I'd say no. And I admit that I ate them guiltily. But um, if eating something like that for dinner is wrong? I'm not sure I want to be right. Please do not ask me what I drank with it. Because I was NOT out of milk. and I was NOT raised to think tap water is something fish have sex in. and I absolutely did not drink a Boulevard.

Lastly, I have picked up a new pursuit. Long story short, I am new Mara. (a phrase which must have been used in this blog upwards of a million times) and new Mara is going to be a proficient seamstress. Even if the learning to sew does take place on my bedroom floor sitting Indian style. (politically correct?)

kiosks

Can someone tell me when in this society we started telling people to put an entire store on a cart in the middle of an aisle at the mall and call out to passersby telling them they needed this! a new motorized helicopter! a cuticle cream! a new straightener!* by means of harassment and verbal assault? Because I think this causes nothing but dissension. And does our society REALLY need more dissension? Let's bring the consumerism back into the stores, okay?


**At Oak Park mall, there used to be this kiosk outside F21 that sold straighteners. They would always do everything in their power except literally grab your chin to make eye contact. They'd be all, YOU! HEY YOU THERE! DO YOU USE A STRAIGHTENER?! To avoid this nuisance, I once was all, Yes, thanks! And they were all, COME SEE HOW WELL THIS ONE WORKS. The next time, having learned my lesson the hard way, I responded by saying, NO, thanks! And then they said, COME SEE THIS ONE. This, you crazy foreign straightener-pushers, is called a TRAP.