Things That Make Me Melt

Guys with babies. There is something extremely wonderful about this. Adam and I had the opportunity to babysit my nephew, Kai, the other day. I figured I would be the one who had to hold him the whole time but Adam was more than willing to take his turn. I went around my brother's house cleaning for a bit and when I came back to check on Adam, I found him laying on the couch with Kai asleep on his chest.

Cutest thing ever!

This guy is naturally good with kids, I'm guessing and Kai just loved being held by Adam (I'll admit that is one of my favorite places to rest my head too). So, like I said, there is something about guys and babies that makes me want to melt, especially when both guy and baby are so dang cute! 

Medical Mishaps Plague Me

Despite my deep aversion to medication, I found myself picking up yet another prescription to add to the cocktail of drugs inside of me. This one was supposedly low on side effects so I wasn't too concerned about my timing while taking it, so I popped one around 6:30pm and then took off to help Adam clean his room (that boy really does need help).

A pill cocktail (even though I only have three medications) 

seems like the worst thing for my belly.

After an hour or so of folding and sock-matching, we called it quits and went downstairs to watch a movie. That's when I was suddenly hit by a wave of drowsiness. I could barely lift my arms or hold a glass of water and I had to hold on to Adam whenever I got up. I was also slightly dizzy and I tried to keep at still as possible so I wouldn't throw up my dinner.

My eyes were having a hard time focusing and I got very very sleepy. I must have been acting a little out of it because Adam tried to covertly check my pulse (he's an EMT). I guess it was normal but I felt anything but. So I sat there and watched Resident Evil and tried to get a hold of my brain and body (great movie, btw). Partially through, Adam started being cute and resting his head on my chest, but then I realized he was just trying to sneakily check my heart rate. If you heard or read anything about my recent hospital visit, you will know I must be forced into anything medical (doctor appointments, urgent care and ER visits) so I didn't want to give Adam an excuse to send me back to the doctors (although, he is very sweet for worrying).

When it was time for me to drive home, both Adam and I were a little worried since I was pretty out of it and so tired that my jokes were really going down hill. Thankfully I made it home safely and fell into a deep, dream-filled sleep. Unfortunately I still feel a little off today, even now that it's past noon. The dizziness is still there and I can't focus on much. I just hope I get used to this medication because I can't be Zombie Haley every day.

If You Want To Stalk My Family

So there has been a lot happening but instead of re-blogging about it, I decided to just link you to our (poorly updated) Barnes Family Blog!!

You should probably check it out, if you are the least bit interested.

Tally ho!

*New hair*

A Lack In Posting

I basically suck at all things blogging. And my attempts at taking pictures of my daily outfits? Thrown out the window. You could say I'm in a bit of a funk, but these things happen from time to time. I kind of lose track of my sense of self and then the "floating" commences. By that I mean the aimlessly drifting through life, not really planning or working towards goals.

But that needs to change.

This weekend will be a good start because I will be busy with babysitting and wedding planning (not me, I forgot to mention my sister got engaged last Sunday!) so I will have to conjure up some motivation and maybe that will get me through the following weeks. With work sucking up my time and creative energy, I'm having a hard time writing anything worth while (which is bad because now it's for a grade) and I don't remember the last time I drew something that wasn't a stick-dinosaur expressing it's love for disco on the back of an assignment sheet.

So basically, I will be forcing myself to draw/write today and do it in a non-rushed, completed manner.

In other news, I cut my hair. No big deal. (I'm regretting it already).

I'm also going to admit that I'm jealous of my sister because of her engagement. As I sit here looking at ideas for her decorations and looking at dress styles, I can't help but want to have a wedding of my own. Maybe that's just the girl-ness I have deep down inside of me, but I feel ready to get married (although I don't think it will be happening very soon).

So here is to a hopefully happy Friday for you and me. Let's get out there and do something productive (but fun) and make sure you go outside and enjoy the weather. I know it's feeling pretty good here in AZ.

Halloween, How I Love Thee

October brings around two great things: cooler weather and costume parties! I do love any excuse to get a costume on and here is a conversation I had with my sister on the subject:



Ariel: Have you settled on a costume yet?

Me:  no, I'm considering cat women or...... a skeleton thing
painting my face
grim reaper maybe?

 Ariel:  Hahaha
You're so fierce!

Me:  I thought it would be cool
I'll send you an email of my idea

*picture sent*

Ariel:  Whoa!
That's a trip.
Why don't you be a princess instead?

Me:  .......
no.
I want to be cool.
on halloweenn you dress up as something you're not.
therefore, I want to be cool.

*end conversation*

So there you have it folks. This may be one* of my costumes for Halloween this year, my favorite holiday aside from Christmas.

*I say one of my costumes because I plan on going to 3+ costume parties this month and I want to do something different for each.

Built To Create

I was built for something creative, I just know it. Although I have a wonderful job, I find it unsatisfying. A lot of you will say "That's how jobs are supposed to be". I believe in doing what you love and loving what you do. Don't take this as I'm going to up and quit my job, I just want to add a few more creative hobbies so I can get a release from all this built up creative energy. With a full time job, some school, a very sweet boyfriend, and attempts to go to the gym, I'm having a hard time finding a few minutes to do something creative.

So here is my new crusade: You may have read a while ago about how I was excited to go to Comicon and dress up as a character (called "cosplay"). Well that's what I want to do more of. I want to create new costumes and this time I'll make it, not just buy it.

This is how my costume came out. 

Not a fail (I hope) but not as good as I wanted.

There is this blog I follow that belongs to a girl who does cosplay for a loving and boy, is she good!

I understand that she has been doing this for years and has a lot of time to do so, so I'm not getting my hopes up that I'll be able to produce a costume like that. She is an inspiration though.

Thankfully Halloween is coming up fairly soon so I get another chance to dress up, and while I still haven't decided, I'm jittery with excitement. Even though I get at least two days out of the year with an excuse to dress up, I think I'm going to do it just for the fun of it. Call me weird if you want, but this is one of the things I love the most. 

Too Cool For School

This is what I've been waiting for. It's been quite a while but I'm finally starting school again. Albeit, it's only one class and not even a pre-req, but I'm excited none the less. Last night I had my first class for Intro to Fiction Writing. I arrived a good 40 minutes early because I'm terrified of getting lost or something going wrong, so I gave myself a lot of room for error.

I came dressed in my skinny jeans and abstract storm-trooper shirt, most likely looking younger than I intended. I walked around the whole building talking quietly to myself until I found my class room and then waited outside on a bench for the next twenty minutes. Other early students started trickling by and one boy dressed in khakis and a sweater vest came and sat by me. We exchanged the required pleasantries and fell into a comfortable silence.

Looking just about the same as when I started High School.

Once one of the braver students went in first, the rest of us followed suit. The teacher was an older lady who dressed like she was still in her twenties. Even I would feel inappropriate in that dress. I had to advert my eyes every time she bent down to pick something up or when she sat on the edge of the desk. Not something I want as a permanent mental image. She really was very sweet though, almost too sweet and I feared that she would be too nice on her feedback and criticism with our work, which I desperately needed.

My classmates were very interesting to me. I looked around the room, trying to guess what kind of writers they were. Although they all seemed diverse, they had a similarity that can only be described as "a little off". I'm not judging or saying it's a bad thing, because I happily lump myself into the same category. It takes a certain kind of person to sign up for a night fiction writing class. There was a skinny, long haired guy who gave off the vibe of a fantasy writer, a larger sweet sounding girl who I fancied to be a romance novelist. and the wide-eyed girl who sat next to me to be a chronic poet. We had a black girl with beautiful skin and a purple streak in her hair, a mother of four who I assumed had been writing for a long time, and the sweater vest guy, who I predicted to be funny, smart, and eventually my friend.

The (3 hour) class went on in the typical first day fashion. We went over the syllabus, tried to make sense of the college website, and eventually did a writing exercise where we wrote a quick story on the person next to us. A couple of the things the teacher said put me a little off, starting off with her statement that the publishing market is going haywire and then moving on to criticize one of my favorite quotes: "Writing is easy. You just open a vein and bleed." I personally find that quote to be very true, but the teacher laughed and said some writers take themselves too seriously. I think writing is a very deep expression of one's self, whether we intend to or not.

Either way, I hope I can learn a lot from this class and further myself as a writer because even if I don't make money from my stories, I just want to finish something because these ideas swim around in my head and I need to catch them and put them on paper before they drown me and drive me insane.

Unsent Letter

To the man in the coffee shop-

I was just running in for a quick breakfast after a blood draw at my doctors office down the street but I realized I had a lot more time than I thought, so I decided to sit and read for a while. I had been stuck twice in each arm before they got any blood out of me so my arms were a little sore and I was tired from class the night before. I ordered my hot chocolate and cinnamon role and sat at the table next to you.

You had your laptop out, sporty red backpack on the floor, and some breakfast of your own. You were handsome in a "graying temples" sort of way, one of those distinguished looking men. I shot a couple glances your way and wondered what you were working on. Was it a report for work? Checking your email? Writing a story? I almost wanted to go over there and ask you, because I hoped you were like me: someone who came here to soak in the busy yet calm atmosphere and get something creative done.

I selfishly imagined that you were working on a story and that you looked at me and wondered the same things about me: what was I doing there dressed up in business attire? What book was I reading? I imagined you being intrigued by me, the way I was intrigued by you. Not in an attraction kind of way, but in a way of a natural human curiosity for how another person lives their life. What motivates them, what they spend their time contemplating.

You went up to the counter to ordered another drink but on the way there you stopped in front of me and complemented me on my outfit. I smiled and thanked you. You don't know how much you helped me, how you made my day because I am one self-conscious girl and have recently been struggling with my self image. To have someone, a complete stranger, complement me on my efforts to look nice is one of the best feelings. I hope you have a good day today, sir. I hope you find joy in many more days to come, sitting in the coffee shop, working away on some unknown project. I hope you feel fulfilled. I hope you have someone you love, and they love you and you never let go of each other.

To the man in the coffee shop- thank you, and I love you.

Labor Day Adventures

Usually Labor Day is just a day where I am thankful I don't have school/work, but this year we actually went out and did something very fun. Adam and I took three young boys from his home ward and his little sister to Golf-land where we had unlimited access to bumper boats, the race track, and laser tag. The kids ranged from age 11-6 so they were full of energy and made sure we got out moneys worth.

We started off with bumper boats and I thought we might get a little wet and I was prepared for that. What I didn't expect is that each boat was equipped with it's own squirter so we all got soaked to the skin, resulting in me looking like a gross boy all day.

Laser tag had to be my favorite because I got free reign to shoot people and not get in trouble. It also didn't hurt that for some reason I was rocking it that day and repeatedly got the highest score by a good 2000 point margin. There's something about sneaking around corners and picking off your enemies one by one that brings joy (and adrenaline) to my heart.

Us looking semi-fierce. Please disregard my grossness. 

Reactions when Tucker saw the highest score.

An awesome Zombie Response Unit we found in the parking lot. 

I must have this!!

Back-side, with cute kids.

After 8 hours of adventure, I was more than happy to go home and sit on my butt, bu it was an amazing day and I'm sure the kids had a blast as well. Definitely better than sitting at home reading or being at work.

I vote for Labor Day Part 2!