We Almost Froze to Death in a Blizzard

I promised you video, and it only took a month for me to follow through.

But so worth it.

Here, you will see me talk to you in a pompous way with my weirdly moving lips (seriously, everyone else learned to talk and look normal at the same time... but not me). You will hear poor Laura's lament about our misadventure. And you will learn the dark secrets of Yellowstone.

How can you not watch?



We survived, but JUST BARELY.

Christina Cross Country

WELL.

This was supposed to be updated long before now, but my new camera -- the one with a YouTube sticker on the front -- apparently creates HUGE files when taking video. Not all that YouTube friendly, despite the misleading sticker. I tried uploading yesterday for an HOUR, and only got 45% of the way through a short clip.

So.

I feel angry (cue the T-Rex stomp), frustrated (do I even *have* two hours to upload a minute-long clip?), and completely unequal to the task of explaining how lovely it was to drive across the country with no real plan.

You know, other than to make it home alive.

On the way, I got sunburned by Lake Michigan...



Met the King of the Corn Palace...



Got stuck in a blizzard in Yellowstone...



And spent time with Laura Lee, who not only helped drive (like when I pulled over and said, "It's too windy! I've driven four miles! It's your turn again!") but also let me drag her everywhere in the name of sightseeing.

If I can ever get the video loaded, you will laugh and weep and experience every human emotion and feel a deeper connection to humanity. In the meantime, you can suffer and thank my stupid camera for it.

From Ghetto To Granny

Most of the time, I think I'm pretty awesome.

It's taken years of shaking off expectations, the weight of other people's goals, and personal insecurities to have that general attitude. But I like myself, and generally other people do, too.

Sometimes the reasons why *I* like me and *others* like me are different. This story represents one of the latter.

In grad school, I spent a lot of time in the cubicle I was given. It would've been fantastic if I'd spent all that time studying, but much of it was actually invested in grading, venting, and watching YouTube clips from "Teen Witch" and "Music & Lyrics."

But there was also a lot of singing and dancing, at least when Meng and I were in the office together. We'd take turns playing songs (or letting Jason serenade us with TLC's "Scrubs"), but one day I opted for something different.

For Meng's entertainment, I belted out Blaque's "She Ain't Got the Boom Like I Do" at the top of my lungs.


No one else was around, so I did a few gyrations to emphasize the classy lyrics... and amidst her laughter, I heard a cough.

"Um... Ms. Olson?"

How in the world did someone find his way through the cubicle jungle without a sound?

Thank goodness for teacher glasses and pulled-back hair, because it sped the transformation from ghetto to granny.

Love you, local radio station, for reminding me today of this precious memory...

Have you ever tried to regain your composure and professionalism in a split second? Tell me more, puh-lease.

Top 10 Too Pretty Posts of 2009

You know I'm not a resolutions girl, but I am all for Best Of compilations. So that's what we're doing today: celebrating the year's best Too Pretty posts.


What has been popular in 2009 around here? According to Google Analytics...

Why Am I Too Pretty For This? It's a good question.

A Week of Slight Improvements Apparently, I'm not the only one who avoids anything BUT baby steps.

3 Things You Can Do Today to Communicate Better If you're a regular reader, you know I like the number three.

What Daydreams Revealed It wasn't quite what I expected.

More Than a Haircut Donating my locks wasn't what I expected.

The Power of Hair We women like our hair, but I decided to get rid of mine.

PhD in Procrastinating I doubt I'm the only one with this degree.

45 Things That Don't Make Me Gnash My Teeth With a word like "gnash" in the title, how could this not be a popular post?

The Cranky Professor In which I experience a professional dumping.

I'm the Heroine of This Story A story of hardship that ends with the brave Christina eating a donut.

I'll be honest, I'm surprised by some of these Top Tenners (really, my amazing video didn't make it??). What did you enjoy this year? And what would you like to see increase in 2010?

5 Songs For Instant Energy

With all the cleaning and packing and goodbyes lately, I've needed music playing constantly. If you're anything like me, the right music can get you moving and energized.

Unfortunately for me, the wrong music can have me watery-eyed and wandering aimlessly around my apartment, a box of Kleenex under one arm and the other shoveling food in my mouth.

Even if you aren't moving, the holidays can be stressful. The end of the school term can be stressful. Hey, LIFE is stressful. So today I thought I'd share with you five songs that give me that extra push into positivity.

Not a Springsteen fan as a general rule, but I love this song.

"I don't think they can handle this!" Oh, but I can.

Is this a surprise?

I've never understood the "shaggy dress," but other than that... it's superb.

Just makes me feel wonderful.

Tell me in the comments: what songs make your day better?

How To Lose The Funk

Two days ago, you shared some of your ideas about how to beat the blues. Lose the funk. Just plain old feel better.

Yesterday, I needed all of those suggestions. So in one marathon session, I did every single thing you told me to (kind of). Here's what happened.


Thank you for your help!

The Prank's On You, "Anonymous" Caller

My mother is absolutely horrified that I posted this. My brother is not. Mom threatened to blackmail me, and tried to guilt me into not sharing it.

My guilt sensor must be broken (years of overuse?).

But out of consideration for her, I will pass on her defense: she says she didn't encourage my brother to leave the message, only overheard him and laughed as she walked by.

Believe what you want.

This Song Is Too Pretty. Literally.

This might be the highlight of my week.

My good friend Renee decided to write and record this song based on my signature phrase. She knew I've been having a rough couple of days/weeks/months, and found a great way to make me laugh.

Sorry about the quality of this video -- it isn't Renee's fault in the least. She created this on Facebook, and I went a few roundabout ways to post it to YouTube. The result was unmatched lips and words, apparently.

What has someone done for you recently that made you smile?