new bosom buddies.

Why they're new bosom buddies? You'll just have to ask Millie or Eric.

BA.

Kuckelman looking fly as usual. On our way driving to Kansas City, KS for dinner at The Yard House to celebrate Anthony's birthday.

jaunt in the countryside.

Ashton, Tyler, Lauren & I got lost in the country today - on purpose. It was so relaxing to get away for a couple hours & explore places I didn't know existed in Lawrence. From finding an abandoned old church to jamming to Mika in Lauren's deserted house, I would call the evening a success.

Here you see a train passing in northwest Lawrence, with the sunset in the distance.

you can change this suit without wearing it first.

You know what photography & houses of cards have in common?

They both require a steady hand. I'm not sure how talented I am at either, because I have trouble with both long shutter speeds & getting past the second level of card houses.

einstein.

Wasted or genius? You be the judge.
(Caption credit goes to Lauren Crandon.)

april showers.

I never needed rainboots until I moved to Lawrence, KS, where I'm constantly walking outside & all the hills cause huge puddles. On rainy days like today, I'm always super grateful to keep my socks dry.

typical lawrence local.

Lauren contributed a new addition to our room! I will neither promise nor refuse to use it. We'll see how the mood strikes.

home for the holidays.

I arrived at my parents' house today to celebrate Easter weekend & have enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of doing laundry, burning incense, reading & watching "How to Train Your Dragon" with the family. The only non-relaxing part was shoe shopping for the ASHC Spring Formal next weekend. Shopping is the bane of my existence, & doing so under pressure makes it even worse. Finally, I returned home with a pair very similar to the shoes I'd had in mind. Even more than that, what made me happy was that I could leave the store.

Pictured above, you can see my parents' chandelier. Why don't we have one of those in Sellards?

home alone.

Enjoying the night at Ashton's house. Would you compare Eric more to Macauley Culkin or Tom Cruise?

P.S. As a specially included contest, who can find Ashton first?

gp coffeehouse.

In addition to hearing my new favorite band for the second time this week (Louisiana Street Band, half of which is shown above), I had a phenomenal time at GP Coffeehouse tonight. The men of Grace Pearson know how to have a fun time, & I didn't even want to leave at 11 45 when my blog called me home.

Back to Louisiana Street Band: visit their myspace & listen to their music: www.myspace.com/louisianastreetvoodoo. Do it now! You won't be sorry!

:)

High, I'm Mary Grace.

fried chicken.

When I walked into the house after a long afternoon of classes, I was overwhelmed with the scent of hot oil, & I knew we were having fried chicken for dinner. Combine that with macaroni & cheese, corn, & garlic cheese biscuits, & you've got yourself a deal - plus a plate full of yellow foods. Here you see Mariah gingerly placing breaded chicken in the deep frier. Just like Paula Deen.

aroma.

I have to show off my new incense cone, which my mom bought me this weekend. In many ways, I like it better than the sled, because the smoke actually comes out of each of the stars & the main opening on top. It looks sweet. Dave, Bri, Ashton & I sat around on Saturday night, enjoying the scent & being mesmerized by the way it looked. The only disappointment is that I can't burn incense in Sellards. However, in a month, I'll be home & can burn it every waking minute if I so choose! P.S. Just a fun fact, "aroma" means "because of you" in Kaqchikel Maya. So now the word looks weird to me if I try to read it in English!

tulips.

The tulips looked spectacular today during my walk through campus. I reckon the bugs thought so, too.

good thing i speak parseltongue.

A lot of exciting things happened today, so this snake should be grateful it made it on my blog. First, my mom came for lunch, coffee & shopping on Mass St. Great quality time. Then, the Pearson Lawn Rock-a-Thon was epic, especially the Louisiana Street Band. I didn't want them to leave! Fantastic mix of funk, blues, and shag. But the perfect end to the night was walking into the kitchen to find this little beauty in the sink. In the words of Steve Irwin, the infamous Crocodile Hunter, "it's GLORIOUS!" Everyone else was jumping on tables & I didn't find that to be helping the situation, so what else could I have done than pick it up & take it outside? Thankfully, I was able to charm it with my fluency in Parseltongue. It was glorious.

tripod.

Look at the ex-cheerleader, she's still got it. Note the facial expression, so serious. This was taken after an enlightening viewing of Zoolander (2001). Not only did it include razor scooters & yo-yos, but the whole room lost it when Derek brought out the classic, "Gotta tame the beast before you let it out of its cage." I feel like I know Bri that much better now.

brownie batter.

Here you see Cooper Nickel, hard at work with a batch of brownie batter. Look at that batter whip, just look at it go. I can only come to the conclusion that that effort is what made it so delicious.

Movie night! Anchorman. Will Ferrell. The 1970s. How much better could it get?

godzilla.

Coming soon: "The Return of Godzilla." Starring Dayna's La Croix, Lauren's Diet Coke, my iPod wall charger, Orbit gum, & a blue kaleidoscope my mom sent me in the mail. And now introducing the random car someone left outside our room & Yasi's foot.

"get out of the office & into the springtime."

Belle & Sebastian had it right in that lyric: spring time is glorious. I go outside for a minute and feel like I've fallen in love (there's just no guy). That's the best way I can describe it. It's just weather that makes smiling mandatory.

miss bunny bunny... I didn't name it.

Is this Yasi's idea of a joke? She got the bunny from McDonald's & the fact that she named it Miss Bunny Bunny shows me she doesn't have a firm grip on the English language yet. I tried to help her come up with a more sophisticated name. My favorite girl name is Alice but I didn't want to waste it on a stupid plastic rabbit, so then we thought of some Persian names to reflect its adopted heritage. Yasi Jr, Yasette & Gelarette were tossed around. I think Gelarette is my favorite. Way better than Miss Bunny Bunny at the very least, right?

ants on plants.

According to Laura & Bri, ants love the plants growing beside our picnic table. If you look closely, you can see them! I really like the plants themselves because they look like miniature palm trees & remind me of Florida.

kc film fest.

A tribute to Walt Disney at Screenland Crossroads Theatre. What better way to express my love for independent film & support local filmmakers than the Kansas City Film Festival?

"keep your enemies closer."

A delicious mafia movie was exactly what I needed tonight. Someday, I would really like to be the next Godfather (Dona Felton, maybe?). One person shoots at you & - boom - a hundred of your closest allies jump out like a SWAT team & hunt them down. That kind of power is just really appealing to me.

terrorist yasi.

I guess she doesn't like hugs.

not a soul.

Dark, deserted hallway in Marvin Hall. My first adventure into the art design building.

graffiti.

I love graffiti. It's all so unique and truthful. I don't see it as vandalism but rather spontaneous art that is free & convenient for us to see. I wonder what the artist of this piece had on his mind when he created it. To me, it seems optimistic. Even though I continuously hear that the job market is brutal, I really don't have any fears about everything panning out next year after I graduate. I'm just on the ride & excited to see where it takes me.

cloud.

After the thunderstorm last night, I woke up to this neat looking sunrise, topped by a dramatic dark cloud.

xtan (aka ashton).

I decided to be nice & not post the picture of Ashton which depicts her as an angry bee. I like this photo because although you see part of the face, it could still be anybody. You don't see her mouth or eyes, so you don't even know if she's happy, angry or sad.

local talent.

I love happening upon these impromptu corner concerts downtown. Lawrence has a lot of talent to offer. I actually pulled out the old Nikon on this outing & was surprised by what it could do. That warm sunlight on their heads & shoulders is real. The weather was intoxicating this afternoon.

spring & swing.

Lawrence locals Shawna & Aaron enjoy a gorgeous spring day on the swing set at South Park. When spring comes around each year, even college students seem to appreciate childlike endeavors like playing at parks.