christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so it's Christmas Eve, in case you haven't heard.

snow is falling [at least here in Rochester], cookies are being baked, and some last presents are being wrapped.

Christmas with my Dad family has already happened and it was awesome.

i have about a million Christmases left to attend in the next few days and we are nothing but excited.

Christmas is crazy here with my family [and i'm pretty sure everyone says that], but i love it.

love love love it.

this is one reason why.

i got junk to do and family to be around, but i just wanted to stop by and say hi to you guys.

i hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season and that you all enjoy Christmas with your families and that nobody gets run over by a reindeer.

i'll be back in a few days probably with pictures and stories and all that jazz, but for now, i just wanted to give you this.

allie posted it last week i think, and it's a retelling of The Night Before Christmas with Ryan Gosling and Jim Carrey acting it out. Eva Mendez is in there too, but she doesn't matter. Especially because apparently her and Ryan are dating now. What is that?

anyways, it's mildly inappropriate [language reasons], so if you get offended by that sort of stuff, don't click on the link.

otherwise, it's hilar.

Merry Christmas, everyone :)

and that's it

some days i just don't have words.

i fumble over them, i stutter, i mumble.

there seems to be a disconnect between my heart and my brain and my mouth.

and today, i'm not in a mood to try to force it.

to be honest, i just want to get over to my sick boyfriend's house and take care of him.

but i'll be listening to this the whole way there.

                               

i'm yours and that's it, forever.

day off

sometimes all i need on my first real day of break [cause i just finished that dang paper yesterday] is to sleep in until 12:30, lay in bed and read a good book, lay around my house, and have plans of christmas concerts, wrapping presents, and watching It's a Wonderful Life later.


it's the most wonderful time of the year, amiright?




picture from here

the graduate

my momma, the graduate.
it happened way too early Saturday morning, but now she's totally, officially, one hundred percent done with her second Master's degree.
we spent the day with family, eating and celebrating. 
especially because she was offered a teaching job by her program that morning too!
what a smart lady. 
we're all so proud of her.

ain't she cute?

the one where i show some pictures and then admit a quirk

as we speak, benjamin is sitting in the middle of my floor, playing mario.

he's under the illusion that i'm working on my last (!) paper of the semester, but obviously i am not.

obviously blogging is way better.

and as long as he hears the keys tip tip tappin away, i won't get scolded.

that'll come later tonight or tomorrow when he reads this.

i'm sorry i've neglected you guys for so long.

finals week is a pain in my bootay.

lucky for us all, i have a dandy little iphone that takes fabulous pictures for me.

here is an update, in picture form.

plus some words, cause we all know i can't keep my mouth shut.

[also, my instagram/twitter buds may have seen some of these already. whoops.

follow me and you'll get real time wildchild action. such an incentive, right? #bribesthatdontwork ]

there's been lots of Words with Friends (i'm addicted. let's play), some creepin on the ground like a little squirrel by my roommate, lots of papers, and a perfect christmas gift found for a catlady friend.

friday night i went home to get the christmas tree with the fam. ma made dinner, and we hung out, and then we finally made it to the tree farm and picked out a tree within the first minute of being there. i don't understand. that never happens. also, i'm not sure what that reindeer is doing to santa up there.

benny had drill this weekend, so i went up there for date night on saturday. that was the last beard pic for a few days. RIP. there's the pretty patriotic christmas tree and an outfit shot to send my sister, and then i may or may not have worn the same shirt again the next day...

...when we went back to my house to decorate said tree. everyone struggled figuring out the lights while ben and i just sat and watched. we're so kind. also, there's my mother who every time i tell her to smile for a picture, she decides to wave. what  a cutie. then there's my brother and his girlfriend, and my sister and her camera shy boyfriend.

our fat dog, agape, just hanging out, a decorated tree with some models, and a pretty, lit up final product, made even more beautiful on instagram.

and last but not leastie, a final that involved christmas partying at our awesome professor's house, taking the forklift for a ride at church, doing some "research" for my friend chelsea, who just got engaged (!), and a plate sized chocolate chip panacake. 

and yes, i said panacake.

that's how i say it. it sounds more correct to me that way.

 everyone makes fun of me, so don't you start too.

[and as i've mentioned earlier, ben hates pictures.

 he's making that face on purpose, just to ruin it. dang kid.]

so there ya have it. 

it's been a really really good week.

i'm off to actually do my paper now.

maybe.

-wildchild

a peace offering

i think i'm going to be out of creativity until finals are done.

until i have almost a month long break where i can read lots of good books, bake cookies with my mom and my sister, spend all the time in the world with ben [without the distraction of papers and to-do lists], have christmas celebrations with my many families and ben's as well, and to travel to beautiful new york city with some of my senior class for a little "hurrah, it's our last semester" trip.

so to placate you all until i have time for something real, here are a bunch of linky-links from around the web that i've been loving lately.

oh, and a picture of me and loverboy, for good measure.

• there's this cool paint chip wall art DIY
• this sweet NY Times article about love is so well written
• an incredibly comfy looking scarf that i wouldn't mind getting for christmas
• another cute DIY, this time of glittery lyrics banners
• a brilliant, wise tumblr we all could stand to read, about etiquette for a lady
• a reminder to remember, from one of my favorite blogs ever
• and lastly, another daydream about one day

that's all for today.

to those of you still in school: good luck with the final push of the semester!

and to those of you out: you lucky ducks.

i'll see you around.

-wildchild

p.s- i'm a little tweeting fool, so if you can't get enough here, find me on twitter!

and on instagram too.

username [for both]: wildchild_jack

i'll keep you safe

from here

today, my heart is full.

full of love for my ben, the kind of love that takes your breath away when you catch him staring at you,

full of comfort that i have a family that will welcome me home any time of the day or night, 

full of joy that i know i'm right where i'm supposed to be, doing what i'm supposed to do, even though this degree has absolutely nothing with what i want in the future,

full of excitement about my future!

about spending my life with this kid, spreading our wings and following our dreams, having this whole road ahead of me to just live as it comes.

also full of dread a little bit. 

leaving this family who loves me so much is going to be hard.

we'll only be about a 4 hour plane ride away, 25 hours of driving, probably 3 weeks of walking if you really put your mind to it, but jeez, that's a lot different than being separated by a few walls in our house. or a 20 minute drive from school to home. or a 12 minute drive from home to dad's house.

my sister left a note in my purse this past weekend when i stayed at home for the night.

a note about how i'm her best friend and she loves me so much, and she sees that benny boy makes me so much happier than anyone could have hoped for and she understands that we need to go to texas and do what's on our hearts, but dang, it's going to be hard.

she said she's going to miss me so much. it's going to be weird not having me right here to count on. to cuddle with and fix her hair and tell her when she's being a stubborn teenager. even though she's planning on following me right down there as soon as she can get out of the house, it's not going to be the same for a few years.

she cried when she wrote it. i cried when i read it. and i'm crying now.

i love her so much. 

i love my family so much.

and i love ben so much.

today i'm thankful that i have so much to fill my heart.

this post, that Megan pointed out, has been one that i've kept coming back to, as these thoughts have been bouncing around in my head.

please go read it.

it'll make your heart burst.

the last paragraph makes me stop every time.

-wildchild

i wanna move mountains the way you moseyed in

not much to report over here today.

i'm just still working away at my end of the semester to-do list,

drinking lots of Naked juice and being accompanied by my Bon Iver pandora station.

why is it so good?

WHY?

today will be the first time i've seen benny since i got my fancy phone, so be prepared for an onslaught of instagram photos tomorrow.

[find me! wildchild_jack]

i love the camera on this thing.

also, incidentally, today is our anniversary!

but a half year one, so maybe it's called something different?

Megan would probably know :)

but yeah, two and a half years together today.

2 and a  1/2 stinkin years.

i know to all you old people, that's nothing, but you don't understand.

you don't understand how many boys i went through before this one found me.

or all that we've made it through in these past 30 months.

or how loved i feel every.single.day.

all i know is that i love this man more than anything in the world.

i'm so blessed.

-wildchild

p.s. go see me over at Mr.Taylor and His Lady today.

my Here's to Happiness list is being featured.

and yes, it's a little bit old.

i don't have to skype my deployed lover anymore cause he's back home in my arms :)

and i'm back in blackkkk

fill in the blank:
 i should be doing ________ but instead, i'm playing with my new toys.

i got new technology over break!

 a new laptop on black friday, 

[in which i walked right up to the counter at 7:30 a.m, told them i'd like this computer and they handed it right over. easy peasy. didn't even have to wake up [too] early],
 so i'm trying to transfer all of my old junk from my external hard drive onto that and get that all set up.

and i got an iPhone for my birthday!

there was some confusion as to which one to get, and then we had to wait for shipping, so i didn't actually get it until today, but i am in love.

seriously, in love.

playing with all the cool apps and turning the volume up so i can hear all the cool noises it makes and just staring at the screen. 

it's so prettyyyyy.

if there are any awesome apps i need to get, lemme know.

i'm on it.

these will be explained later. but aren't they awesome?

in case you needed that one blown up a little bit.

yes, he's hugging a palm tree.

my birthday was one of the best birthday's i've ever had.
probably the best.
i got to spend it with a bunch of people that i love and it was so.much.fun.
din with my fam was awesome and delicious, and then seeing my friends after was crazy fun.
emphasis on the crazy.


and i absolutely scored in the presents section:
[not to be an annoying bragger or anything, but i just have to share cause i'm so in love with all of it]

• dad & [stepmom] wanda gave me a luggage set! very grown up and practical, and absolutely perfect for all of my traveling coming up in the future.
• as mentioned earlier, momma gave me a beautiful iphone.
• jake gave me a Nook gift card to buy more books.
• jenn [his gf] bought my ticket to the concert we all went to the night before, which was also so much fun.
• jessa gave me a framed photo of my apartment in France and a certificate to make my own picture book of France on Picabo. i'm super excited to make that.
• my awesome aunt and uncle gave me the Instax camera and i'm in love [beautiful examples above].
• another aunt and uncle gave me the comfiest VS yoga pants in the world. they were my lifesaver for that 6:15 a.m flight the morning after my birthday.
• my roommate gave me a plethora of things from American Eagle, including an awesome new sweater, some undies, earrings, and a bracelet.
• and benny boy gave me books of poetry by Walt Whitman and Pablo Neruda, my two faves :) and also a bouquet of pretty flowers and Dove chocolate. he knows the way to my heart.

and TEXAS!

good ol' texas.
first of all, look at what we found on black friday:

is that not perfect, or what?

i stopped because the keychain proclaiming "hot hot hot" grabbed my attention, and then benny boy pointed this one out, and it was just meant to be.

he got one that said "danger".

obviously.

but texas was so much fun.

spending time with b and l [ben's sister and brother in-law] was awesome, and they were kind enough to let us stay with them the whole stinkin week.

what nice guys.

we lazed around, watching movies and playing video games and i read the hunger games books [! they're so good! i'm not finished with the 3rd one yet though, so no spoilers].

we ate. and ate and ate. chick-fil-a, sonic, whataburger, mexican, amazing italian, alton brown's pan fried chicken [thanks to the boys], and so much BlueBell ice cream.

good lord, it was delicious.

we ventured out a little bit. for a new huge tv, some excursions with cousin becca and her babes, thanksgiving dinner with the whole fam, a walk in the sunshine, christmas tree purchasing, and visiting some fam.

all in all, it was definitely a successful trip.

and it made us want to move there even more.

so watch out Spring, Texas, cause in summer 2012, here we come.

i'm off to catch up on the mounds of work i have to finish before the end of the semester.

it cannot come soon enough.

jeez louise.

-wildchild

woo woo!

from here

oh right, today is!

it's my 21st birthday, kids, and i'm already having a wonderful day.

i'm off to breakfast with my momma, a few classes (gross), hanging out with benny boy, dinner at Olive Garden with my fam, out tonight with my crew and then texas in the morning!

i'm not sure when the next time i'll get to post is, so i just wanted to say i hope everyone has a wonderful day and night and weekend and everything.

i know i will.

peace.

-the newly 21 wildchild

lalala

oh hey there.

this is going to be a post about nothing.

get excited.

-it's this week actually. thursday. the festivities already began this past weekend, but i'm just so excited. i love birthdays more than anyone i know i'm pretty sure. especially my birthday. I.LOVE.BIRTHDAYS!

-benny and i hop on a jet plane to texas on friday morning. we're going to visit his sister and brother in law, and the rest of the fam, and i'm just so excited. i've really missed her. and also the 80 degree weather. sundresses, here i come. also, who doesn't love flying? hopefully i can bribe benny into giving me the window seat. that way i can look death right in the eyes if our plane starts to crash. [i kid, i kid. but there's some truth in that.]

-black friday for this girl means a new computer! woo woo. times like these, i wish i was a nerdy nerd so i could know what all the laptop lingo means and what i really need. but then i remember that my boyfriend kind of is and he'll totally help me out. [he's a hot nerd of course.]

-jillian michaels is a stern mistress. my bod hurts, people. i kind of skipped saturday and sunday cause weekends are meant for sleeping in, not working out, so this was only my 3rd morning i guess. but still. every muscle in my body is aching. even muscles i didn't even know i had.

-i'm really starting to miss this.

it was always sunny, always low 80's, always a blue sea and a brown tan.

dang, that tan.

and i miss that girl too. 

[oh hey, emily :) ]

and now more homework calls.

always the homework.

like a nagging wife.

not that i'd know...

later gators.

-wildchild

current november status

from here

my November

[in another form]

idea by allie

Current color: i like light pink? and dark red. and light aqua blue. there's not really anything that stands out right now. call me indecisive. or just apathetic.

Current playlist: josh garrel's new album. also, my roommate has been playing coldplay's new one like a fiend. so there's that.

Current read:  school workkkk. but i have some good books lined up for thanksgiving break. crossing things off my by 2012 goals list one by one.

Current excitement: date night with benny boy tonight. woo woo! 

Current mood: awesome. always.

Current drink: chocolate milk. i can't get enough.

Current food: i just tried oatmeal this morning for the first time since like first grade. and i loved it! weird.

Current favorite show: lace and i finished up season 7 of The Office, so now it's time to catch up on season 8 on hulu hulu honolulu.

Current wish list: umm food? i'm starving. and also, skin that doesn't break out every two seconds.

Current needs: a new laptop. mine is headed for the computer graveyard at full speed.

Current bane of my existence: dang homework. and also, i broke the necklace b gave me for our one year anniversary this morning... hopefully the jewelery store will give me a new chain fo free.

Current indulgence: halloween candy. take it awayyyy.

Current blessing: it's 70 today! on november 9th! this is unheard of, so i'm soaking it up.

Current outfit: a light blue sundress that my sister got me in romania and some dark brown boots. my wardrobe isn't sure what season it is.

Current celebrity crush: well, there's ryan, always. 

Current triumphs: girls's night with lacey last night. we're both super busy, but when is there not time for brownie batter, chips and queso, and some chick flicks?

Current link: OhLife [brought to my attention by e] is an awesome site that e-mails you every night to ask how your day was, you just reply to their message and bam, an online private diary.

side note: the celebrity crush line is not supposed to be bolded. that is not more important than everything else. but blogger is being strange right now.

so here's a picture of my dad family, from the end of summer.

just to distract you from the mess that is the formatting of this post.

hope everyone's day is awesome and that your computer doesn't frustrate you so much that you want to throw it out a window, like me and mine.

byeeee.

-wildchild

this is my november

from here

when the beginning of the week is super busy and intense [like now], i'm thankful for weekends like the one we just had so that i can go back and daydream about them while i procrastinate on the here and now.

there were long walks in the sunshine through the leaves 

[even in the leaves when benny pushed me in. and when i retaliated],

there were trips to the grocery store for special ingredients to make dinner,

there was driving with the windows down and Josh Garrel's new album 

[thanks again Maddie!],

there was time for naps and time for staying up late with our friends,

and of course, time for football [him] and homework [me].

i'm thankful for weekends like these with a boy like this.

now i've got to go cross some things off my to-do list and maybe go for a bike ride.

the weather in new york is just beautiful this week!

and also, my birthday is in 9 days.

so i'm in a good mood.

a good good mood.

-wildchild

senioritus

from here

excuse my whining, but

i don't want to do homeworkkkkkkk.

tonight is a night for exactly what it says above.

i have to go figure out how to officially drop out of college.

brb.

-wildchild

who doesn't love a good birthday?

welcome to the first friday in november.

otherwise known as t minus 13 days until my 21st birthday!!!!

that's my big news from last night.

the big suspense you were all waiting for.

[don't be too disappointed]

but i LOVE birthdays.

especially my own.

[who doesn't?]

and especially cause it's the big 21.

i'll officially officially be an adult [more so than at 18], i can legally do some fun things that i couldn't before [ahem], and it's a perfectly good reason to have a big party!

i'm all for the tiaras and sashes and big flashing birthday buttons.

anything to draw more attention to myself, really.

so to make it easier on my loved ones [or anyone that wants to get on my good side], i've devised a wishlist of gifts appropriate for a 21st birthday such as mine. 

or you could just draw me a little card.

i'd love you the same probably. maybe. i'd think about it.

please excuse my lame, unexperienced polyvore skills

and note that this list goes in no particular order.

1. the Fujifilm Instax Mini 7s White Instant Film Camera- i love the little mini photos that come from these things! mostly i just love any camera that will give me a picture i can hold in my hand right away. i'm not exactly a patient person. so this camera is perfect for more than one reason.

*get it here and the film here. or just kill two birds with one stone and get this.

2. subscriptions to Cosmo and Glamour magazines-  i'm a magazine junkie. for some reason, i just love flipping through the glossy pages, reading the funny/helpful/totally trashy articles and looking at the awesome pictures. and subscriptions are a heckofalot cheaper than buying them at target every month.

*get them here and here, respectively.

3. a pair of Victoria's Secret yoga pants- i have a pair that i've worn so much, they're starting to get see-through in the bum area. enough said. time for some new ones.

*get them here [except it says no longer available, so the store would probably be the best way to go].

4. a beautiful iPhone 4- they're so prettyyyy. and they do so many magical things! i'm aware that there's a newer one out there, but this one is $100 cheaper, so i don't really care. an iphone is an iphone [but correct me if i'm wrong]. i want the instagram app so.bad.

*the only person who would possibly ever get this for me is my parents, and they know how to hook me up. here.

5. the works of Walt Whitman and Pablo Neruda- these are my two favorite poets in the whole entire world. call me a nerd, or a hopeless romantic, or whatever, but these guys' love poems are my jam.

*i like this edition of Whitman's, though i wish there was a copy with a prettier cover. and this one of Neruda's. he just gets to me.

6. a Nook gift card- my awesome boyfriend got me a Nook for my last birthday and i'm in love. getting a gift card to buy more books would make that gift even better. I LOVE TO READ.

* get them here

and thus concludes my awesome wishlist.

you have 13 days.

13 days till my birthday!!!!

-wildchild

p.s- i have a little mini sponsor spotlight on Mr. Taylor and His Lady today, so if you just can't get enough of me, hop on over there.