Not too old (or young) to BBQ

Last-minute Thursday night BBQ?

Success.

Good work, team.

This experience has made me feel older. I mean, one's parents host barbecues, so when one hosts one herself, doesn't that make her a little more on par with the older crowd?

I mean, you know I aspire to be part of the older crowd. Oftentimes I consider myself to already be a member, and for some of you I don't have to do any convincing of this being a fact.

Holler, talk at y'all lata.

--Gramma B

Make-up post #4 (this one's for you, Diblets)

Umm...

I don't generally post so many times in such a short period of time like this.

This is kind of a lot of pressure.

I could let Dibby type:

I just offered him the keyboard and he exhaled a deep breath. I'm gonna take that as a "You just don't get it, Woman. Feed me."

Guess I know what I need to be doing now. If you'll excuse us...

Make-up post #3 (this one's for you, Kristen)

I kind of liked that video compilation. Let's do my fave Celine songs, shall we?

I'm putting my all time fave/my anthem at the top for those of you who aren't going to make it all the way to the bottom. Yeah, you know who you are...Your loss, though. Just sayin'. This woman's got some pipes!!

And...

Make-up post #2 (this one's for you, Ri)

The following are my favorite scenes from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Do enjoy. Pop some popcorn first, if you have some.

Mmm, I wish I had some popcorn...

That clip reminds me that I still want to see DreamGirls:

What I'd like to do this summer

Well, per my wedding travels this month, I have some make-up posts to write. We'll count this as one of them.

The term "make-up" is similar to that of "make-out."

I've been thinking lately I could go for some making out.

:)

I was watching The Last Song the other day--and couldn't bring myself to finish it; sorry, Miles--and watched the part where Miley Cyrus' character and her boy toy are making out in the ocean surf.

Yeah, I could handle some of that right now, I think.

Am I freaking you guys out??

Okay, end of make-out, oops, I mean make-up post #1. On to the next (do you dare to read it?).

Turning the "Grr" into an "I'm going!"

I made a list of places I want to go.

Some are in Missouri, some the nation, some the world.

Well, I guess they're all in the world. Outer space isn't on the list at this time.

Making this list was kind of cliche, and also frightening for me. Yes, frightening.

Because you guys need to understand--and if you've known me for a particularly long time you might already know this--that I say "no" a lot. To myself, that is.

I talk myself out of things before I even let myself make an opening argument for considering going somewhere or doing something cool, fun, risky, expensive, something that might be beautiful or new, might make me feel for once that I did something big I wanted to do instead of just continually thinking about the fact that I haven't done it, as I flip through channels for the millionth bajillionth time.

Seriously. No, no, no. That is my automatic refrain. I hardly ever tell myself I can do something.

"Of course you'll go to Italy someday, Bailey." "You wanna visit a winery in Missouri? Absolutely, we can make that happen!"

No, the above thoughts are--no pun intended; well, maybe--foreign to me. Instead I hang out on Facebook and think:

"Ugh. Look at so-and-so hanging out in Germany. Mom and Dad must have paid for that..." "Oh sure, if you grew up with missionary parents, then it must be easy to have the easygoing world travel mentality." "Jealous, jealous, jealous." Or, simply, and probably most often:

"Grrrrrr."

Well I made a list. It's a step. I need to kick my little ass into positive-thinking gear (is there a store where I can get some positive-thinking gear? On a budget?) and tell myself that, one at a time, I can at least visit some of these places. And I will perhaps have the chance to visit all of them, eventually, if it's in God's will.

Well, if you could assist in kicking my ass with emails, phone calls, in-person encouragements, as well as pray for my attitude,* that would be awesome.

And if you're curious, here's the list (it's not complete):

1. Carlsbad Caverns, N.M.
2. Overlook Mountain House, Woodstock, N.Y.
3. Hermann Wine Trail, Hermann, Mo.
4. Italy
5. Greece
6. England
7. Australia/New Zealand
8. Memphis, Tenn. (been there twice, actually, but would like to make a longer visit; I have been to the Civil Rights Museum, which is amazing, you should really try and go (look at me, preaching at you**))
9. New England
10. Philadelphia, Pa.
11. Birmingham, Ala.
12. Big Sur, Calif.
13. Lake Tahoe
14. Hawaii
15. Alaska (I'm not sure if this is very high on my list, but I'm gonna put it in here)
16. Savannah, Ga.
17. Cape Girardeau, Mo. (been here, too, but only briefly)
18. Rockford, Ill. (I have a friend who lived there, not sure if she still does; if she's moved, this locale might get the boot from the list)

*(attitude, meaning: not in the sense that this is about me just pleasing Bailey, but that it's kind of about a bigger issue that I am legitimately, seriously pretty negative pretty often, and being jealous is no way to live fruitfully. Me being selfish and just wanting to travel rather than having a willing servant heart is a whole other issue that we will continually return to, I'm sure, here at the Daily Bailey)

**Also, the Apartheid Museum in South Africa is incredible, and ironically considering the content of this post I have been there. If you can go to the Apartheid Museum, I strongly urge you to. You will be in there for hours, and you will be changed. And while you're in the country, you might as well visit Robben Island.

Cammy...

New show I'm watching (Sundays on Oxygen): The Glee Project.

Do I watch Glee? Nope.

My two favorite contestants, who I picked out during the first episode? Hannah and Cameron.

A-MAZ-ing song performed by Cameron this week? "Your Song." This version is incredible. I think you may fall for Mr. Mitchell yourself once you hear this/see his adorableness. I love it so much!:

All the women, independent

I went grocery shopping today.

I'll pause for your applause and pats on the back for finally taking care of this task.

I spent around $70.

The spending part wasn't comfortable, but I have milk now. I like milk. And two apples. And a tomato. (And some other things; I didn't spend $70 on those things only).

I held out on toilet paper--still have some rolls--and only got one box of facial tissues instead of a 3-pack.

Wrote the check for my car payment today--will be paid off this year!!!* Next up for big expenses? The student fees bill, I believe. Paying minimum payment due? You betcha. ;)

*I already have party plans to celebrate, involving a cake with a red matchbox car on top.

Broke, continued

46.

"What is the code for Chewy SweeTarts Minis in the newsroom vending machine, Alex."

Wanna know why I know that?

Well, besides the fact that I bought a bag yesterday (pretty sure I didn't memorize the code yesterday), when I went to buy a bag today, it got stuck.

So I went to my car to get more change, bought bag #2.

Bag #1 fell to my sweet tooth's pleased dispense,

AND BAG #2 GOT STUCK!

Well, I already felt bad/nervous for taking a longer-than-planned-due-to-the-double-dangling-tarts-event break from my shift, so I decided to head back to the print desk.

Well let it be known, after my shift I went back to my car, got more change, and purchased bag #3--which did NOT get stuck; finally, a well-behaved one--and collected bag #2 along with 3.

And, three dollars later...here we are.

Eavespetting

Just had pizza and beer with Sarah, Tony, and Tony, and the people at the table next to us dropped the name "Bailey."

"Ten bucks says they're talking about a dog," I said.

They were.

And they kept talking about their dogs. It was a little ridonculous. I mean, people who talk about their pets...

Make new friends, but keep the old...

I signed up for a bunch of groups and events on Meetup.com today.

I think I need to make some friends.

Yeah.

Today I went for a walk and talked to three people on the phone while I was walking--none of whom live here in town.

So I signed up for some walking/hiking groups and asked to receive emails about some other stuff.

Here's to branching out...

Regressing

Candyyyy!

I got myself some:

SweeTarts

Peanut Butter M&M's

Swedish Fish

and an Airhead

I'm telling you, more and more I find myself wanting candy almost every day. It's like I'm eight years old again.

Ahhhhhh. Can we add a bubble bath to this equation?

After six very full days--travel, travel, rehearsal, wedding, reception, brunch, more travel, more travel, shift at the paper, midterm, shift at the paper (and emotions thrown throughout)--I am

finally

at home with a glass of wine, Will&Grace on TV, and a beautiful cat on the floor, with nothing on the schedule for the next 24 hours.

And tomorrow I sleep. (Perhaps a mani-pedi will be on the agenda, but I'm still deciding if I should spend the dollahs.)

I'm a happy camper.

Tast-eeee

I discovered something this weekend:

Raspberry margaritas at Applebee's are deeeelicious.

Yum!

P.S. Congratulations, Riley and Caitlin!

It's my brother's wedding and I'll cry if I need to

My brother's getting married tomorrow.

Nick, bring tissues. It is your responsibility to supply me with them. Both during the service and at the reception, when viewers can tune in for Watch Bailey Try to Make a Toast, Take 2.

And since I don't plan to wear mascara, I can really cry up a bucket if I want.

Time saver

I'm staying with my friend John tonight, and he just brought me an alarm clock for my makeshift living room bedroom.

He was setting the time on it for me, so I told him the time: 12:54.

He started pressing the minute button over and over to get it to 54, then rolled his eyes, sighed, and said,

"I should've waited six minutes to do this, it would've been one button."

Meaning, only the hour button: 12 a.m. Bam. Done.

Confection Land

I am not even kidding when I say that more than once in the last couple of months I have desired to have an assistant who could go to the store and get me candy.

Not because I want to boss someone around and say, "Get me candy!" but because,

well, I'm lazy.

And I've just been wanting candy more so than usual.

Currently I could go for some soda, cookies maybe, and some other things. But in general, as of late, candy.

Who are you hanging out with this weekend? I'll be with some peeps who look like moi

So, since I was without wireless Internet for a couple of nights at the lake, I'm going to do some make-up posts. (This is one of them :).

Just want to show you all who I get to see this weekend:

And this guy! (Nick! Perhaps we should reprise our cotillion outfits!):

And these peeps! (Sorry, I screwed up this pic with hair in the face):

Aaaaaand, these friends (those two on the right are tying the knot Saturday)! Are we gonna have fun?, I think so!!:

Caloric daydreaming

Sometimes I go on these runs where I hold out on grocery shopping. You know, to "save" money (save in quotes because eventually I'll splurge and spend way too much money).

Right now I would love some milk, salsa, beans and rice, chicken, a burger.

Lots and lots of calories, basically.

But I'm holding out.

Okay, I bought a bag of mini donuts this morning--which I forgot about until just now when I sat down to write this--along with glue sticks, sheet protectors, and coffee.

Okay, okay, and then later I bought spaghetti sauce, butter noodles, carrots, and a newspaper.

But I'm holding out on that big grocery shop. You know, the one where I'll buy milk, and deodorant (calm down, I still have some), produce, spaghetti, maybe some meat, pickles, a tomato...

Mmmmmmm.

Right now I'm cooking carrots.

I'm leaving town in a couple of days, who shops right before they leave town?

Yeah, I probably will. Gotta check on the carrots.

Nerd in your presence

I wasn't looking forward to this class.

I was grateful for the grace which was shown in allowing me to alter my schedule, to get some credits out of the way and swap a class in order to do so. But I was really just trying to check a box. But now, the truth is:

My name is Bailey, and I'm a nerd and I like copy editing.

I really do!

There's something about trimming down an AP story to make it fit on the newspaper page--such power! It's like, "See ya, unnecessary sentence! Bam!"

And headline writing? Can be obnoxious, but when one of yours goes to print--pretty nice sense of accomplishment. And it's kind of like an undercover byline...nowhere does it say, "By Bailey Daily," but I know that I crafted that there headline.

Hollerrrr.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to work on my editing scrapbook to present to my professor tomorrow--I'm not a kiss up, it's an assignment, you guys...calm down. The only scrapbooks I make voluntarily are those about my (mostly) non-academic memories and, of course, cows. :)

Yours nerdily*,

Bailey

*Whoa, trademark! I just made that up, and I want credit!

Yay for summer fun

Super fun night playing the card game "Hand and Foot" with friends, old and new.

And we ate hot dogs. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Nummy nummy. Sleepy girl now, waiting for her laundry to finish and trying to get Dibby to quit begging for food.

Smooches, friends,

--B

Happy camper :)

I've been in a pretty strange mood lately.

And by that I mean a positive one.

Right?!

I mean I've been positive in the past year--granted it was probably around this time last year--but even this is a different type of positive.

Hopeful.

I know!

Now, and I don't mean to sound super negative when I say this, it might go away. Who knows, maybe not. I certainly hope it sticks around.

I don't know if it's because my schedule is (overall) more slow, because I'm in a pretty positive, team-oriented environment at the newspaper, because I'm getting more sleep, because it's sunny...all of the above?

But last week was my best friend's wedding, and to be honest earlier this spring I wasn't sure what kind of mood I would be in surrounding her big day. And obviously I wanted her to end up with a good guy who she loves and who loves her and who loves Jesus, and I'm so happy she did, but raise your hand all of you who think that watching your best friend get married is super easy.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

It's hard! I mean for one, we are human and if you're not in love yourself, then it can arouse jealousy when you see others in love. Particularly to a point of making a confident life commitment to each other.

Let's. be. honest. here.

And the truth is that when people get married their lives change, and the friendships they have change. Not in a bad way, necessarily, but it is another change to adjust to, and it is usually a big one.

I can speak on this matter because I've already been there for the weddings of two of my brothers. And I've started to think on the toast for Riley's next week and have already shed tears in doing so. A lot of that's because I love him and Caitlin so much, but I know that at some point there will be tears over the changes that their marriage will bring about, and there certainly have already been some as a result of my anxious thinking-ahead.

He's my baby brother...

I've dealt with change--we all have, but some to different degrees than others--several times in my life. My family moved three times before I graduated high school, for crying out loud. So let's just say I'm pretty seasoned to "adjustable friendships" (that sounds really bad), but that doesn't make me give them a big smooch (the friendships, not my friends), saying, "Oh that was fun, moving cross country and trying to keep in touch! Now let's, hmm, let's see what happens when one of us loses access to email, just for kicks."

It's not fun dealing with change, but after dealing with it over and over it gets "easier" to utter the words, "Well let's move forward," and find a way to do just that. And, for me anyway, I get "better" at greeting my emotions at those crossroads, detours, roundabouts, changes in direction--for the most part--with an, "Okay, let's get to feeling. Tears, are you here? Anger, I expect to see you soon. Numbness, okay you want to hang out for a while? Well come on in..."

So I thank God that I was in such a good place for Corie's day, and have been since then. We had sooo much fun, and it was beautiful, and I cried not because I was grumpy gills but because I do that and it means I was actually feeling things that day which is better than being numb. And we had soooo much fun.

And I've been friends with Cor for almost ten years and we haven't always been in the same city--we aren't now--and we're still friends. That's huge. I've been cavorting with Nicholas for almost eight years now, too--also huge. Those two have helped keep me afloat so many times.

And ever since Cor's wedding I've been in this freakish Positive Polly state of mind, thinking about my future husband with a sense of, "All right, I'm ready for him!"

...but not in the sarcastic, bitter way that I would usually make that statement.

I don't know what's up, but I like it.

Aisle 3: Weird items or weirder

Just had a delightful evening with Emoke, drinking wine, chatting, watching Becoming Jane.

And Em cut my hair, thanks lady!

Well to prepare for our night o' relaxation I bought wine and hair cutting shears with leopard print handles. Do you think that made me look a little...strange to the people at Wal-Mart?

In through the nose, out with the worry

Bailey Kathleen,

STOP. The spending.

A skirt, shorts, and two tops are not going to make the summer go any faster, make your anxiety level lower, or change who you are.

God made you you. You are anxious. You are sometimes not as anxious.

Yes, you pray the anxiety will flee you when you hit your thirties, or have kids/get married, whichever comes first. But you don't know if that will happen even then.

You worry, that's what you do. Should you trust God and try to worry less? Yes. But can you help it if you continue to worry anyway, even though God is always there? Well, maybe. But God made you, you didn't make yourself, and if He decided to wire you to worry (although I'm not sure He does that...Matthew 6:25-34), well that's really up to Him.

But you can stop the spending.

Take deep breaths. Call your friends (turn on those ringers, guys, you might be hearing from me soon). Read. Run. SLEEP. EAT. Pet Dibby Darling.

Pray.

Breathe.

Pray.

Love you guys, I could use your prayers. Let me know if you need some of mine. Now I shall post this and move forward in my summer.

Time for dinner, Fannie!

So I have a quiz tomorrow over part of the AP (Associated Press) Stylebook (and our local newspaper stylebook, but blah blah, I'm sure you don't care that much about these details).

Anyway, the AP style guide (I'm calling it a guide, I like the way that sounds better--haha, which is ironic, since the book/guide tells you all about preferred terms) has a bunch of rules for how to abbreviate military titles, when to hyphenate, what's considered derogatory, names of international airlines, blah da bee blah da bee blah.

Oh and if you're wondering the proper spelling is "G-string," with a capital 'G' and a hyphen. Pay attention, people, there will be a quiz.

Oh man, I hope that's on the quiz tomorrow. It's open book, but I've got that one down.

Well the bulk of the book is an alphabetical list of, well, a whole bunch of stuff that you might come across while editing a news story (see G-string, above).

So, in order to study for my quiz(zes), this essentially feels like reading the dictionary, albeit abridged.

So this goes without saying, but it's pretty boring. I definitely skim. However occasionally some interesting things pop up (see G-string).

Tonight, for example, I discovered the following terms:

Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.

None of them are people.

I still don't really get what they are/do exactly, but they're all housing/mortgage organizations (Ginnie Mae=Government National Mortgage Association, Fannie Mae=Federal National Mortgage Association, Freddie Mac=Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation).

Say what?!?

Did you all know about this?

I would have had to come across one or more of these terms several times within context before I would have deduced on my own that these were governmental giants, I think. Otherwise I'd think the New York Times was chatting about its cousins in Georgia.

Sleeper town--well, for now. I'll take it!

It's pretty quiet in this town right now.

I think I might have a back-and-forth opinion of this throughout the summer.

Last week I had hardly been back in town for more than a week and I was sooo ready to go to the lake for Cor's wedding. Today I walked through a strip mall parking lot--to be fair, it was pretty far from campus, but I still think it would have been more crowded during the school year--and it's possible my walking speed slowed so as to enjoy the relative peacefulness of the suburban environment.

I have to travel again in less than two weeks, which should be super fun (and emotional--big emotional wedding #2, here we go, then y'all need to give me a break for a while), but I imagine when I get back I'll be exhausted and thus enjoy the quiet college town again upon my return.

As for this time next week, when it's not quite time to leave town for wedding #2, but I'll have had some more days without class or a shift at the paper? Who knows.

The trick is to 1)not lose my mind (seriously; that's one of my biggest fears during summer, if I have too much free time to think) and 2)control the spending.

Control the spending, Bailey. Are you listening to yourself type this?

Today I went for a run--ahem, after buying some running shoes and a pair of cutesy shoes--which is a hobby I hope to get back into. First, because I want to; I've missed it, and I'm a freak who likes running in the humid heat (most of the time). And second, better health, etc. etc. But third, because when I run there is the prep stage:

i.e., eat to up the caloric energy level, let some of the chow digest so Ms. Bails doesn't vomit during her run, and remain seated in front of daytime television to give the legs a little break.

Okay that leg break thing applied a whole lot more when I was working a job that had me standing for several hours, but I'm allowing it to remain in effect.

What, do you want me to stand in my apartment just because? Please.

Then there's the running stage itself, followed by the everything-else stage:

shower, eat, and then eventually get really tired, and

Ta dah! We made it to bedtime without spending money!

Except for today, when I bought shoes...and a newspaper...and coffee and a scone.

Better luck tomorrow? We'll see...I want to take my new cutesy red shoes out for a spin. Maybe we'll go to the federally-funded, free library and show ourselves off there.

Midnight competition

You know how some nights you're really hungry and really tired, and one wins out over the other?

Sometimes when I reach that point, I pause for a little moment of thought, and ask myself if I'd rather ignore the hunger and crash, or if I'm too hungry to successfully hit the pillow just yet.

Little tip: opening the fridge door can help to expedite your decision, I've found.

Well, tonight's score?

Ice cream, 1. Sleep, well, not exactly a zero (I hope!), it's just pending. I've had a good serving of Cherry Garcia, so I think I'm good to move to the sleep department now.

Public Speaking

I cried while I was writing that toast. So of course I hardly got any of the words out when it was time to read it.

Love you so much, newlywed bestie Corie. Congrats to you and Cyle, and thanks for having such a fun, FUN wedding!

P.S. Guess who caught the bouquet. I'll give you a hint: she has a blog with a rhyming title. ;) You know what that means...!

P.P.S. At the rehearsal dinner, I sandwiched a hamburger patty and pulled pork together (I think this was Riley's idea, although he might have been joking, but I went with it) and then I dipped it in ranch salad dressing before each bite (Riley did not support this action). It was AWEsome.

Hollerrr

I missed yesterday's post, I know.

Found an Internet connection briefly.

At the lake celebrating Corie's big day!

Smooches!

Bossypants says read this book!!!

I finished it.

Just prior to 3 a.m., I believe.

A book that made it to my top ten list.

That's a big deal, people.

Mark Obmascik, thank you so so so much for such a great read: The Big Year.

It had been a long while since I'd just lapped up a book. I've been exposed to a lot of acclaimed writing in the past year, but I picked this up from a public library display and was more blown away by it than any of the Esquire clips I've been shown here at school.

This book is soooo good. I'm not sure that I'm going to get any of you to read it yourselves--even though you should--but I'm not going to tell you how the book ends. Because I was wondering up until the final chapter.

I just talked to Riley on the phone and he made a sarcastic response to my plug for a book about birdwatching: "Sounds great..."

But I'm telling you, Riley Francis, and the rest of you out there: Give this book a chance! You might get hooked!

Oh, and the movie release date is October 14. Later than the July 4 I was hoping for, but worth the wait I say. But guys, don't rely on the movie.

READ. THE. BOOK.

Do it!!!