relocating.

i think i have commitment issues...

i've decided i'm giving wordpress a try over blogger. we shall see how it goes

so, unless i decide to come back for some odd reason,

you can now find me at dhonnette.wordpress.com

i've done a lot

just a few of the things that i've done while i've avoided being overly wordy for the last 3 months.

1. went for a road trip to to Kansas City with my sister to meet the parentals.
2. enjoyed two Twins games in KC. (KC will be seeing me again)
3. weekend getaway to Houston with friends. (La Ha, i miss you)
4. was welcomed into the slow-pitch softball community. different...
5. had quite possibly my most favorite night out in Waco.
6. graduated from Baylor. (✔)
7. completed, and parted (happily), from my first official job.
8. moved (most of my things) out of my apartment & slept on an air mattress for two weeks. (surprisingly, not bad)
9. took in some of the best parts of Waco in my last few weeks in Texas.
10. completed a triathlon in Austin, Texas on Memorial Day. (✔)
11. crashed on a friend's couch for 4 nights while preparing to leave Texas.
12. road tripped home.
13. went to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in KC for a fun road trip stop.
14. crashed in my own bed.
15. moved all (most) of my possessions back under one roof. (it didn't fit)
16. spent hours upon hours of sorting, throwing, and organizing my stuff.
17. helped around the farm with yard work, mowing, etc.
18. experienced the best of J-town. Franks-A-Lot. an epic small town event.
19. moved to the Twin Cities.
20. re-familiarized myself to the TC by driving around. a lot.

21. and finally... had my first Target Field experience!!! (and was on the big screen in the 2nd inning. it's fate - Target Field loves me. & the feelings are mutual.)


soo... now on to finding that job....


no pictures are available at this time.
i seemed to have left my camera cord back in J-town.

wish i were here

isn't she pretty??? (!)

i'm anxiously awaiting my first experience.

from what i hear there's a lot to brag about.

however....

today, it's all about the Minnesota Twins, and their first experience.

Opening Day of Target Field: April 12, 2010

ahh, baseball season is here. Win Twins!


***picture via twins.mlb.com exhibition game v. St Louis Cardinals

wish list: book

this is quite possibly the coolest book ever.



i really, really want one.

if someone wants to gift it to me, that would be lovely. you can do that here.

otherwise, i will eventually cave in and buy it.

come on... you want one too.

darn cat

i made an impromptu trip to Houston this past weekend to crash on my sister's couch and to partake in some crazy March Madness (more on that to come). not only did basketball provide complete and utter chaos to the weekend, my sister's wonderful cat decided to join in on the fun.

after a successful action packed saturday filled with shopping, volleyball, museum-going, and a trip to mid-town, we opted for a low-key sunday afternoon of hanging out by the pool for a couple hours before i headed over to the game. the cat, however, had a different idea.

as my sister treats her cat like a dog, allowing it to venture about the courtyard, chasing birds and what-not, it decided that a trip up the tree would be a brilliant idea. and not just up the tree.

up the tree.

the cat was swaying in the leaves as the wind blew. at least 40-45 feet in the air. it took a solid 2 hours to get this thing down and i, of course, documented the process much to my sister's dismay (i told her she would thank me later).


you can't really see her, but she's up there somewhere...
did i mention there was a bird dive-bombing her? ridiculous.


trying to maneuver her way down.
ever notice how a cat can't go backwards?


From the 3rd floor of the apartment building after some mild success of
making it down from the tip-top.


thinking maybe she would climb across (from tree to third level)...
it didn't happen.


trying to get the view from the bottom.


and the final successful contraption.
coffee table + 4 ft. ladder + rope
not bad.


the guilty party hiding underneath the furniture.


so much for an afternoon by the pool...

stress managed.

i am supposed to be studying reviewing for my stress management test tomorrow. i figured, what better way to do so than by putting my management skills into practice...

so i started googling "calvin and hobbes + stress management" in google image...

totally unrelated. but what a gem.

march madness

my brackets are filled.

contests, entered.

my team is in.

green & gold, baby.

go bears.

the madness begins tomorrow.





SIC 'EM BEARS! go baylor.

movie review: white unknown male

alright, this one was trippy.

white unknown male.

story line: basically a documentary of this guy who wakes up with amnesia. no recollection of anything that has happened. ever. this story basically follows the guy in the aftermath of his memory loss.

as intriguing as it should have been for me, i think i just picked a bad time to watch it. i hardly paid any attention to it and the techno music with trip-tastic scenes gave me a headache.

waste of money.

movie review: word play

movie number two was my favorite.

wordplay.

story line: its a documentary exploring the brains of the crossword puzzle community. including will shortz, the editor of the new york times crossword (fyi, he majored in enigmatology at Indiana... random), and a variety of sorts including those who simply own at crossword puzzles and the mad scientists who construct the things, among others. the end of the documentary features the annual crossword puzzle tournament (not gonna lie, it reminded me of my math league days in junior high. yes, i own a shirt that proves it.) and the drama as it all plays out. very entertaining.


what can i say, it brought out the nerd in me. crossword puzzles amaze and frustrate me to no end. the people featured on here were well, different, but you have to give credit where its due, they're awesome at crosswords and they make me look handicapped. i can handle sudoku, cryptograms, logic, word finds, almost everything except a challenging crossword puzzle, which has led me to add a new lifetime goal to the list:

i will complete a Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle without cheating. no time limit (whatsoever) will be imposed. <--- it does have to be attainable.

bonus, it will help me study for the GRE... kind of.

movie review: my date with drew

awkward.

funny.

if you're up for weird, i'd recommend it.


basically this poor guy has next to nothing but the winnings of a game show and decides to take this money, "borrow" a camera from circuit city, and proceed on a life quest: to go on a date with drew barrymore. within 30 days (the deadline for the return policy from circuit city).


its a good laugh. and slightly inspiring.

date night

after a long day of volleyball, i opted for the low-key, sweats-sportin', movie-rentin', homestyle cookin' evening. i decided to finally make the chili i had been planning all week before the ingredients went bad, and what better way to complement homemade chili than with a great movie. after a look at the redbox options, i decided i had reached that monumental point in my life...

i needed a blockbuster card.

yes, it is true. i have been at college for almost a full four years now and have never sported the blue card. i mean with how redbox has revolutionized the movie rental business, who needs one, right? wrong. honestly, up until recently discovering that some people don't actually like some of the oddball movies i enjoy (the random documentaries or "special interest" films), i've been content with just mooching off of friends' memberships or frequenting those fancy movie-spittin' robots. it was only as i began to suggest the likes of American Shopper or 10 mph: Seattle to Boston that i hit my road block...

so i did it.

*** proud new owner. ***

and i put it to great use. reviews to come.

i relate

its been a while, and i thought i'd share.

i came across this masterpiece the other day.

it described my attempt at fort building almost to a 't'.

i've never really understood that expression (the 't').

awesome.

first of all, i have come to the realization that i like the word awesome.

secondly, this is awesome.

third. i knew there was a reason as to why i don't particularly enjoy talking on the phone.

Pop Corn téléphone portable micro-ondes
Uploaded by sassiere. - News videos hot off the press.


i'm trying it tomorrow.

reality check.

it is true. my heart was broken last night.

the vikes dropped the ball (literally, more times than i can count on one hand, possibly two... i quit counting the ones that we recovered). they had it within reach... just a few yards away to secure field goal range (not that i don't trust longwell @ what, was it 51 yrds?) with just twenty seconds left on the clock. in a few of those short seconds, the wrong hands grabbed the ball and ran it towards the wrong end of the field... and in comes nfl overtime (the only thing worse than nfl overtime is the bcs polling system). the game has left an image in my mind that is like a horrific picture on an etch-a-sketch that was left too long. the picture is permanently scratched into the plastic and no matter how hard you shake it, its just there. it won't erase. a little flair for the dramatic, i know. reality check.

i had already imagined that brand new t-shirt i was going to purchase... you know, the purple one with yellow detail, little white horns, nordic theme...

'Minnesota Vikings - NFC Champs' ... and on to the 2010 super bowl. reality check. ugh, painful.

and well, despite my uncertainties at the beginning... favre, thanks for coming back and helping us along the way, you've got my respect. it was a great season, and a great year.

(picture via vikings.com)

loose ends.

in case you were still wondering...

i didn't get everything checked off my list. sad, i know. and one of the additions was... wait for it... a snow fort. awesome. however.. i didn't finish it. disappointing, i know. it would have been monumental. but lets be honest when it involves large amounts of snow, hours upon hours outside, and a girl who hasn't quite accustomed herself back to the chill air of those harsh minnesota sub-zero temps we should all have realized it was a long shot.

but hey, the snowman made it. complete with pictures. christmas day, snowed in with 20 plus inches, you betcha.

*** note the sweet old brown gloves. a fashion statement for sure.

dear texas,

that is how Minnesota plays football.

love, d.

*** and a video worth a look. classic.

(picture via vikings.com)

a girl's best friend.

love you toby.
you weren't just any girl's best friend,
you were mine.
July 2000 - December 24, 2009

miss you already, boy.

scandinavian roots

in celebration of my scandinavian roots (mostly swedish, some norwegian),

happy saint lucia day!

today, december the thirteenth, is observed in sweden (and in other parts of the world) as saint lucia day. it is a day to honor the martyred christian woman, saint lucia. today it is celebrated as the daughter (often eldest) dresses up as saint lucia in a white gown with red ribbons and a lingonberry wreath with candles. she brings a breakfast of hot coffee and/or glögg and pastries to the family in the early morning. on another note, according to folklore, unmarried girls believed that saint lucia would tell them who their future husband would be on her honored day (not quite sure i'd believe this one...).

this past friday, in honor of the holiday, a couple of friends and i visited a winery just outside of town that was celebrating with free glögg and swedish cookies and pastries. i was quite jealous of the chosen lucia, but i did get my very own "halo" and a lovely handmade ornament.

pictures to come...

more history on the day can be read here.

the christmas list

with two finals left, and less than two weeks left in the crazy 'co', i will be making the trek home for christmas. i have been itching to go home since early november and with the home stretch (literally) in view, i am finalizing my list. not just any list, it is The Ultimate Christmas Vacation To-Do List. it is a work in progress, but at culmination it will be a true masterpiece. here's a hint of the good stuff:

1. make a snowman.
2. cook and bake some new things in the kitchen/make a mess & clean it up.
3. scope out the collection of movies at the library.
4. make my way through a few of the books on my list.
5. sign up for a short-term gym membership - definitely will not be braving my outdoor runs.
6. learn to swim properly for my first triathlon next may.
7. drive my mom's car/suv-ish vehicle.
8. drive my dad's truck (the pattern with a reliable car....).
9. drive my brother's truck... probably won't happen
10. go snowmobiling.
11. never leave the house for a whole 24 hours, while in some form of pajamas or sweats.
12. bundle up in twenty layers and venture into a blizzard to take pictures.
13. a trip to mankato.
14. a trip to sioux falls.
15. a trip to the twin cities.
16. go see this movie.
17. hit up the local wal-mart. (by local, i mean "closest": 20 minutes east on the interstate).
18. enjoy some warm coffee at the downtown spot: coffee choices.
19. drive around town looking at christmas lights with my dad.
20. see friends.

more to come...

growing up is overrated

last night an excursion to the local barnes & noble for no reason at all filled up my evening. my fascination with books evolved when i was just a little tike, subjected to hours upon hours of my sister's "story time". something that i am greatly appreciative of, possibly more now than i was back then. but because of her i am constantly looking for good books to read and always welcoming suggestions (hint, hint).

my adventure became a time warp as i decided to venture to the deepest corner of the store: the children's section. i reminisced on classics that i had memorized as a kid and i couldn't help but open and skim the pages of several. as i usually do at all bookstores, i assumed my position: indian style right in the middle of the aisle (possibly the one place it is actually viewed as normal. or not.) i looked over a plethora of books: chicka chicka boom boom, corduroy, amelia bedelia, and dr. suess galore. it was magnificent. and then.... they were spotted. the books of children's poems. and it just so happened they had two of my favorites:

a book of shel silverstein poems.

followed by a jack prelutsky book.

both masters of an absurd literary style. their poems were crazy and near rebellious at times, but i loved them obsessively. my sister would occasionally read one or two to me here or there when taking a break from the novels, and once i learned to read i began to read them myself. i will bless you with a favorite from each. enjoy.

snowball

by shel silverstein

i made myself a snowball

as perfect as could be.

i thought i'd keep it as a pet

and let it sleep with me.

i made it some pajamas

and a pillow for its head.

then last night it ran away,

but first -- it wet my bed.

Shel Silverstein (1996 - Falling Up)

and

homework! oh, homework!

by jack prelutsky***

homework! oh, homework!

i hate you, you stink!

i wish i could wash you

away in the sink.

if only a bomb

would explode you to bits.

homework! oh, homework!

you're giving me fits.

i'd rather take baths

with a man-eating shark,

or wrestle a lion

alone in the dark,

eat spinach and liver,

pet ten porcupines,

than tackle the homework

my teacher assigns.

homework! oh, homework!

you're last on my list.

i simply can't see

why you even exist.

if you just disappeared

it would tickle me pink.

homework! oh, homework!

i hate you, you stink.

Jack Prelutsky (1984 - The New Kid on the Block)

*** if i can recall accurately, which i most assuredly can, i recited this masterpiece in the 7th grade for my english class. you're welcome mr. e.