Summer days

Sizzling hot concrete that radiates sunshine through your feet making you run towards the ice in your strawberry lemonade like water. Goosebumps emerge like the lips that kiss you in the bed of the truck, the stars hanging above, dangling like the way he has your heart, making sure to capture the glimmer and dazzling wonder. Short skirts and tanned skin that still show the white as snow tan lines that flirt and peek behind the white tank showing the nautical bikini that not only turns boys heads, their hair that looks like straw from riding a horse all afternoon, yet still smells of fresh water and sunscreen. The red lines turns the skin the same color as the sun beats down on the leathery skin of fresh babes and teenagers that think they know it all. The smell of cookouts that mean that volleyball and fresh cold beer that have dew that runs down the edge like the water that runs down your chin while eating watermelon, spitting out the seeds. Finishing the day laying in white sheets, window open, full moon that lights your legs on top of the sheets, warmth below your body feeling the burn with every movement, yet the top feeling the cool from the breeze gracing the aloe vera. Hair still wet from the late night swim. Summer lives on.

Shooting Star

Like the wind in the willows, the leaves gracing the grass, the sunshine dandelions bursting with affection. The tender touch of an aged woman with her olive green veins as it pats the china glazed skin of her granddaughter, with her red, white laced dress, shiny black shoes with the puffy laced socks to match. The laughter that twirls and capers within the halls. The familiarity of Sunday morning pancakes.

Yet today the comfortless sky fills the bodies of souls with grief as tears slide down the cheeks like molasses syrup. Though clear, it feels dark and sticky, not able to be moved without creating a trace behind. Heading to where dark never see's light, the last time to see the ghost face, life not coming out ever again. Seeing only the end of the shooting star, the luminous streak that came and went before being able to grasp the living, the best part of the sparkling moment.

Reaching out, grabbing tightly for the loose ends. Hanging onto the last moment, like a kodak into the mind. The smile, the way life shown out of his eyes, his worker hands laced with sawdust, the squeaking of his socks down the tiled hallways. The vegetable soup from the Campbell's can as he watches his football team win. And the more treasured moments, the ones that make you feel like the most important thing in the world. The way he combed the blonde hair in the bathroom with a tooth-combed brush, mirrors lining the wall as he said "Monsieur madame" the giggles filling the atmosphere. Fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning from the orange trees as he sat in loafers reading the paper as we ran around in the green grass still wet from the morning dew.

And as the leaves graces the grass, playing amongst the willow tree, I look back, your smile beaming at his wonderful children, knowing how wonderful, happy and great his kids are, and all they will accomplish. And knowing that there will never be a better day because I was able to see the entire shooting star. I will keep that forever.

(Though I have never lost my dad, just trying to write such a blog was difficult and tears came to my eyes. All my love and thoughts to those who have.)

Scrunchies!!

There are always trends. Some are more fashionable then others. Through the years I look back and say, "What the heck was I thinking?"

Scrunchies used to be a big hit. Multi-colored fabric that made your ponytails hand higher off to the side of your tea. I have very thin hair so it looked like a rat tail that stuck up like pippy-longstocking. The skort used to be popular as well as it was a skirt and shorts in one. I could now wear a skirt and not be embarrassed about showing off my flower power underwear. As I started getting older, things such as jelly shoes, yo-yos and see through bags came in as quickly as they left.

MY SCRUNCHIE ICONS :)

I remember in 8th grade, thongs used to be the big deal around the girls and I always said I owned one yet really too embarrassed to say my mother still bought me my underwear. To be in the up crowd and a big girl I told my mother to stay in the car while I went into Walmart with my allowance money. I had looked at my underwear size before going and saw that it said size 10. I went straight to the women size not knowing that a girl and women size 10 is very different from one another. I bought the 7 dollar, 2 pair thong and felt so excited to put them on. When I went home and opened the box I realized they were enormous. Of course I am not going to return them and fess up I don't even know my own size so I improvised. I rolled them. I remember wearing my skort (which was out of style at this point) and you could see the rolled up bunch of a thong that I created. During lunch I told a girl I had a thong on and even showed her by pulling a side of them up. I was finally in the "I wear a thong girl club." I never wore them again... the wedgie hurt more then the pain of not knowing my own size underwear.

Now as I am 24, I looks at freshman year in college where the fish face was popular as you take pictures. Now its the hand on the hip. I look at pictures and I still do fish faces which were SO last year. I have never truly been "in," but I am sure that when styles come back in I will be able to say that I was in style at one point or another.

Dear Josh

Dear Josh-

I have never in my blog history, which isn't long have directly named somebody. Many have known who a blog is about, but I am directing you for more then one reason.

You always wondered why I had pushed people away. Always asking to open up to you. Why I never said what really burdened my heart, kept me up some nights crying, always trying to find the thing that could get me up but managed to always trip. You then said the three words. I have heard them before, every guy I ever dated has said those precious words, but I felt that you truly meant them, as you promised me over and over that no matter what you would always be there for me.

So I spilled. Out of the numerous men I have dated I felt that for the first time I could share my story. I could try and let someone in that I have never been able to. I cried. I sobbed. And my heart felt a bit better, that it would be safe.

Then I messed up. I pushed you away because you were more then I had imagined. You challenged me and I honestly have never had that in a relationship. You said no second chance. Nothing more. I tried and tried. Then somewhere I thought having you as a friend would be better then none. As you said, no matter what you would always be there.

Not knowing who to turn to while my world recently turned upside down I reached out to you. You said only texting. Fine. I did. Last night when finding out my brother sleeps in a car and your parents want "tough love" to be the trick is hard knowing your brother is suffering more battles then one. Anyone that knows me and my heart would know that no one should be in a car with no heat, no food and in the middle of Michigan, especially when they are family. I called you. Mistake I know now, but you ignored me. Then blocked me. The guy who said he was different, a Christian. Let me tell you this:

God gives more chances then one. I trip daily and he is still there. And he won't ignore me, block me, and not be my friend. I stand here wondering what is it that made you into a person I once loved and now baffled by your lack of empathy. Its not up to me. As much as I want to hurt your feelings, belittle you, it won't get me anywhere. You have hurt my feelings and truly are not the man you once were but that gives me no reason to get back at you. I thought it was me, but I know its not. I really just have to be careful with my heart.

"Guard your heart for its the wellspring of life"

-Natalie

Let the Hunger Games begin!

I have been instructed to write. And there are a couple of things that have already made me want to stop. Somehow my spacebar key has something stuck in is so I have to press REALLY hard to create a tiny space. I could write a blog withnospacesandjustthis, but I feel I am nicer and should go through the agony to produce something worth reading. Secondly, I have been addicted to the Hunger Games books. I am currently on the third book and am hooked. My sister a couple days ago showed me the trailer. One of the main characters whom I had pictured in the book to be dashing and so do-worthy, turned out to be a kid that looks like he should squeak while speaking because his balls have yet to drop. He also reminds me of our neighbor in Michigan who is a ginger, and only gives me a reason to hate him when he insists on "playing" drums that echoes annoyance and creates a headache.

The other character though who doesn't play as huge of a role is the most do-worthy guy in the whole world. I am planning to go see him and all of his amazing-ness in this movie. He is plastered on my man wall and I stare at him daily while dressing... I know, pathetic. But if you are looking for a good read, this one is sure to keep you reading.

Ugly guy on the left---- Amazing, let me do you right now, guy on the right :)

Besides this and the daily working my butt off at night, I have no great topic to discuss. I haven't had many douche-bag stories, or something to bash about, so I am putting my nose into books. This weekend is my roommate's bday and I am sure I will have a good story or three to tell. Until next time...

Man Candy.

I have a man wall. If you are clueless on what a man wall contains, it holds pictures of handsome, drool down your shirt, pee your pants in excitement, man candy. I put these pictures in my closet. This closet is a walk in so its pretty decent and I have a part of it dedicated to these handsome fellas. I am sure they don't mind being there as they can see me undressing and dressing. Their eyes don't even blink... I don't blame them. Either way last night while getting dressed I was trying to find similarities in them to find what drew me to put them on the wall of desire. Was it Taylor Lautner's sexy body, Liam's smile, or Channing Tatum's "let's do it" eyes? Then I noticed their eye brows. THEY WERE ALL THE SAME, mostly. I mean I dig a guy with some whiskers and a dashing smile, but bushier eyebrows were the thing I noticed they all had alike.

You know how women always bitch about men staring at boobs rather then their smile? Maybe I was trapped in trying to look at something besides their amazing washboard abs, glistening biceps and.... SO, I resorted to eyebrows? Now that I think of it, is there a ton of ways to style an eyebrow for a man? There are many too ways for a woman: bushy, too thin where you have to curve them in or like the infamous hispanic ladies where they Sharpie them in. Some are curved inwards, outwards, flat and so on.

My mother told me to never pluck mine because I would end up with none. My mother has to pencil her's in, and I never found pain to be something fun especially when I have to stop to wipe my eyes from tearing up from plucking just one hair at a time. So I have never plucked or waxed... why deal with the pain just to have to paint them in when I get older? But men? There is too bushy and the dreadful unibrow. I used to pluck my ex's because he grew one that made him look like an Ewok from Star Wars. Now that I think of it... its disgusting I plucked for him. Justification: maybe seeing him wince in pain was payback and felt good at the time.

So I guess this entire blog was centered on eyebrows. Aren't you lucky? Finding the same similarity on why those dashing, make me want to rip my clothes of in an instant men was all on figuring out its because of their "brows." I don't mind going in my closet and "looking" closer for more similarities.

Wise man builds his house upon a rock

What is love? Is it the butterflies in your stomach, the goosebumps on your skin, or is it something deeper? I see many people "in love," and I can't help but want to have the same feeling. But how does one know its real love? The kind of love that will stay true through morning breath, the past that comes like a lightning storm hitting different spots at once, and the many pet peeves you didn't think you had but now suddenly do. I think I have fallen in love and out of love faster then  your bread going from toast to toasted. I enjoy the warmth, the beginning of flirting, cute texts, and phone calls, but somewhere between those I quickly fall right back out. Is it the guy, or is it me? My mother told me of a guy who really turned out to be a good guy and her telling me to "settle." Settling. Settling for just okay, good enough, get me through the day. Not reaching for the one that challenges me, makes me want to change the world, and not stop until I do them all.

As a child I went to a Mormon church and there was a song, the wise man built his house upon a rock. It was one of the only nursery rhymes that made sense to me. A foolish man builds his house upon the sand and when the rain comes and floods rise up, the house washes away, but the wise man's house on a rock will stand strong and not wash away. I know this has to do with faith and creating a relationship with God, but I see so many people building relationships on sand. Sand feels good, especially between your toes. Just like men feel good the whispers in the ear, their worker hand that somehow fit perfectly within yours. But when the rain comes, and the floods rise that's when it crumbles and his anger that you set aside now becomes worse, the not listening starts to bother you, and the once "sturdy" relationship is nothing but fighting. Build a relationship on a rock though? It can do wonders.

Unless your create your own rock first, your own solid foundations, sand will always be more appealing and those handsome green eyes will get your every time. But see past the eyes, knowing what you want. When your dreams become the focus you'll find the green eyes will be just that, green eyes, though amazing and beautiful, your own morals and values will still be the main focus and gleam brighter. I am 24 and don't want to settle, and won't. I want the best. I want to make myself the best and do the dreams I have wanted to capture before having a guy capture my heart. It will happen. And once I have that solid foundation and know that he does too... well, bring on the rain baby.