nasal spray, anyone?

Has anyone used nasal spray before? This is the first time I've used it and I think I did it wrong for the past week... It would run down my throat after I sprayed it... Today I tried aiming it to the back of my head... is that what you're supposed to do? Haha thanks for any help!

"Much to Yankel's dismay, Brod insisted on cutting that thick black hair herself.

It's not ladylike, he said, You look like a little boy when it's so short.

Don't be a fool, she told him.

But doesn't it bother you?

Of course it bothers me when you're a fool.

Your hair, he said.

I think it's very pretty.

Can it be pretty if no one thinks it's pretty?

I think it's pretty.

If you're the only one?

That's pretty pretty.

And what about the boys? Don't you want them to think you're pretty?

I wouldn't want a boy to think I was pretty unless he was the kind of boy who thought I was pretty."

-Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer

" And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a
bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."-Anaïs Nin

"Above all, be the heroine of your life." -Nora Ephron

Many times we look for others for inspiration, for an example, and that is wonderful because we are keeping each other in check. When I know that someone is looking to me for guidance or for advice, I try harder than I normally would. But isn't it even more important that we look to ourselves for inspiration? Shouldn't we work hard every day to be the purest, most loving and genuine people we can be? Shouldn't our lives be full of action that cause reaction? We shouldn't sit around waiting for others to do something so that we can see their success and follow in their footsteps. We all must be our own heroines (or heroes, gentlemen).

Fiction writers, when you sit down, don't you want to write a story where the heroine or hero bears an uncanny resemblance to yourself? Don't you have to force yourself to give the character a different personality, different traits, different flaws, a different appearance, and an entirely different life? We love talking about ourselves, but not everyone is going to love reading about every little thing that happened to us. In Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, she talks about the story that she was writing called "Arnold." She tried for years and years to get it published, and finally her editor sent it back to her with a note telling her that she had made the mistake of "thinking that everything that happened to her was interesting." Isn't that so true? We all think everything that happens to us is interesting because it affects us in a way that it affects no one else. But we cannot spend all our time writing about ourselves because in the end it is not about ourselves but about the human spirit. We have to find material that everyone can relate to because that is what people want to read, that is what people understand. But that is also why we have to be the heroine or hero of our own lives: so that in our own personal story, the story that only we can read, that only we can know fully, everything that happens to us is interesting.

operatic brilliance

Kate Miller-Heidke is one of my favorite artists. I first heard of her when she opened for Benjamin Folds at the Pageant in St. Louis last October. Ben didn't play any of my favorite songs, so I would almost say that I enjoyed Kate's performance more. That is definitely saying something since I usually don't like seeing live music unless I know the songs! She is trained as an opera singer, but her music generally falls under the category of singer-songwriter. What makes it so unique is that she hasn't given up her operatic background--she incorporates it into her music. Her cute Australian accent makes her even more enjoyable to listen to! Check her out--Caught in the Crowd, Are you F*cking Kidding Me?, and Politics in Space are some of my favorites!

six impossible thing for this semester

1. make st. louis fun.
2. eat healthy and exercise.
3. be organized.
4. meet lots of lovely people.
5. take photographs.
6. save money.

like a kid in a candy store...

that's how i am whenever i walk into a book shop.

oh my goodness, i am in love with books! my shelves are exploding and yet i cannot help myself whenever i'm surrounded by all this art.

right now, i'm re-reading all the harry potters. i read somewhere that the best reading is rereading. i'd agree =] there are a lot of books that i want to read... but there are so many more that i want to read for the first time!

today i bought:
the bell jar by sylvia plath--can you believe i haven't read anything by her?
to kill a mockingbird by harper lee--i have read it twice but didn't own it! it's the 50th anniversary and both times i read it were in grammar school so i figure it's the opportune time to read it again!

books i want to read by the end of the summer:
everything is illuminated by jonathan safran foer
i know why the caged bird sings by maya angelou

books i want to get:
beloved by toni morrison
the elegance of the hedgehog by muriel barbery
the particular sadness of lemon cake by aimee bender
the happiness project by gretchen rubin

i've had these books recommended to me--has anyone read them?:
infidel by ayaan hirsi ali
the caged virgin by ayaan hirsi ali

"And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure." --Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince