Baby Claire

This picture fills me with joy on so many levels.

Claire Barnhardt, Age 5, wearing glasses, holding a bunny. What more could you ask for?

Computer:

Fried. Nothing much can help a computer that is literally split in two. Except for a lot of money. The kind of a lot of money that makes getting a brand new computer worth it.

Welcome to the family, new guy.

Please don't crack in half.

Chip Chop

Did I mention that I cut my hair? And maybe dyed it red? Like, really red? Well, I did. And so did just about everybody else I know.

Thursday was haircut day around here and Claire, Frances, Olivia and I all got a little fancy shmancy after we got our trim action on.

And in an effort to share my new hair in a less obnoxious way than last time (remember this?), I made a new video to show off our new looks.

Behold: Hairathon 2012.

Sad day

My poor laptop was forced to go into emergency surgery today after months and months of a slowly progressing disease. Somewhere along the line, the screen and the keyboard started having differences and decided to amicably separate. Irreconcilable differences. Which they were ok with, but I, was not so comfortable with the idea. So they are in counseling... I mean... Surgery. Wait. I'm mixing metaphors. Either way, my computer is broken. The thing literally broke in half. Which means the possibility of less blogging for a couple of days while it gets fixed. Don't cry.

This is just unfortunate for you because I was about the share a major surprise. Maybe one of the roomies will take pity on me and let their feeble computer-less roommate leach off their computers for a bit. Or-- worst case scenario-- I have to go to the library for a bit. But something that terrible would never happen.

20|20

Today I read "20 New Years Resolutions for 20 Somethings" and they were great. So, I'm going to share them with you. But why would you read my blog if I didn't force you to listen to my opinion on everything? Especially because now I'm technically a twenty something. That'd be so lame. So, I'mma add on to everything with my own opinion in italics.

1. Before you status update, Tweet, Tumble or Instagram, pause and say to yourself, “is it entirely necessary that I share this morsel of thought with my entire social network?”and if the answer is not, “yes, I absolutely must,” then step away from the Internet. (Guilty. I mean, what else is social networking for than sharing unnecessary information? BUT! I have gotten better at this. Hence the blog. It's my place to purge all of my random opinions on things)
2. Know which candidate you’re going to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, and know why. (I MOST DEFINITELY agree. Stop me before I let the political monster out of it's dark place in my tummy, but I will say that it is alarming to me how many people my age have no concept of any sort of going ons when it come to the upcoming election. And worse than that-- vote even when they have no concept of what they're voting for. Scary scary.)
3. Enough with the 14-day juice cleanses. If you want to lose a little weight quickly, eat less and exercise like crazy. If you want to lose a lot of weight slowly, do whatever Jennifer Hudson did. (Ok. Why in the world would I want to do a juice cleanse? Answer: I wouldn't. In regards to Jennifer Hudson: Yeah. She looks amazing. Her commercials make me cry. It's whatever.)
4. If you really like the person you’re hooking up with and would like them to be your boyfriend/ girlfriend, find a way to tell them, and hope for the best. If you don’t and wouldn’t, stop. (Preach.)
5. Find a way to save approximately 300 dollars and spend it on a flight to see a friend or family member who lives far away. (If only it were that easy. But where would I go first? Let's see (in alphabetical order): Asheville, Austin, Berkley, Eugene, La Mirada, New York, Palm Springs, San Diego, Spokane... Any Benefactors out there want to fund this?)
6. Please stop liking the Kardashians, all of them. It’s not helping anyone, least of all the Kardashians. (If like the Kardashians is wrong, I don't want to be right. I will watch them until they die, if that is their grand master plan.)
7. Spend less than or equal to the money you earn each month. (Working on it. Not sure if this is easier or harder to do when you are not earning any money...)
8. Wear clothes that fit you, especially to work. (So, I have to give up all of my sparkly pink tube dresses? Shoot.)
9. Call someone on the phone at least once a week, and speak to him or her for at least ten minutes. (Mom, you can vouch that I'm good on this one. But other than you, I sort of suck at communication. It's not personal. I just hate talking on the phone.)
10. Start preparing now to get over the fact that Facebook is probably going to change again in six months. You’re not going to deactivate your account. You don’t know how. (Call me a total dork, but I really like it when Facebook changes. It's like an unexpected challenge. Yeah. I know how that sounds. And I'm ok with it.)
11. Wait 30 seconds before you look up a fact you can’t remember on your phone, and try to remember it using your brain. This is what the olden days were like. (Ok. Here's the deal with this one: We all know how much I love me some iPhone. And I will say that there is a lot of google searching going on in my life, but I do own a Dictionary (a real  life one) and I have made it a Julia Rule (or a "Rulia") to always look up words in that sucker instead of online. So, bam.)
12. Replace one terrible reality show you’re currently watching with one wonderful scripted show currently available on television.  Swap suggestion: Real Housewives of Anywhere for HBO’s Enlightened. (I can't, won't, will never give up my Real Housewives. They are the lifeblood to my TV addiction. Not going to happen. But I will watch as many scripted shows that are recommended to me. My Tivo cup runneth over.)
13. Try that food you think you don’t like but have never actually tried, unless it’s brussels sprouts. They really don’t need any more attention. (Done. And I'm sorry, but I like brussel sprouts. If you are skeptical,  please invite me over and I will cook you a brussel sprout that will change everything you thought you knew about them.)
14. Cut one person out of your life who you truly do not like and add one person who you truly do. Note: not on Facebook, on Earth. (This is harsh. But I get the point. ...I'm having a hard time thinking of someone to get rid of, though. If you suddenly stop hearing from me, now you know why. Wait-- that was a joke. See my answer to #9)
15. If you’re still blacking out regularly, you should stop. (Yeah. No.)
16. Volunteer once over the next 90 days.  You’ll feel really good about it, and probably end up volunteering again over the next 275. (I'M TRYING BUT THE LADY WON'T EMAIL ME BACK!)
17.  Tell someone who you love that you love them on a more regular basis. To their face, not in a text. (I would, but Ryan Gosling is just out of town a lot.)
18. Back up your entire online life onto an external hard drive, especially your photos.
19. Crap or get off the pot. This applies to whatever thing you’re not doing that you should just sack up and do already. (But, seriously. Truer words have never been spoken.)
20.  And in the eternal words of Tom Haverford, “TREAT YO SELF!” (Can't argue with Tom Haverford. Ever.)

So what do you guys think? Pretty good rule book, eh? Or should I say... "Jule Book."

"..."

I love how clever good writing can be.

It's a Doozy.

I have a to-do list the size of an 8.5x11 paper. And it's growing. Since I took this picture (2 minutes ago) I have added 5 more whole things to it! This is no ordinary list though. It has been expertly crafted including things as mundane as "Windex Desk" to as foreword thinking like "Graduate." What can I say? I'm a planner. I guess I'd just rather write it down and know it's coming than get blindsided in 2 and a half years when I think I have an open Saturday and it turns out I have to be somewhere.

Anyway, I've made an accompanying playlist to get me through these hours/days/months/years of work ahead of me, like I'm known to do from time to time. This one is short and sweet, but it's getting the job done.

Like usual, it showcases my embarrassing taste in music, and also like usual, this doesn't even include the really embarrassing stuff. Come on. I've got a reputation to worry about.

Closing thoughts: This quarter is a marathon that I feel I am being forced to sprint through. There will be an eventual burn out. And it won't be pretty. I know it's coming. You've been warned.