Where are all the parents?

How can it possibly be that are never parents on tv? like ever? except for FNL- which is awesome. And why am I watching one tree hill on glee night? Because Shea never comes home from work on time- that's why. But really- can you have a whole Thanksgiving episode on a 20ish character show and no one goes home to visit their parents?

Gnomes and Sailors oh my!

As it turns out I am horrible blogger- but you already knew that.

I know- its been ages. But I have been busy. Excuses over. Here is what I have been up to-
Homecoming- it really did rock- weather was fantastic. I saw some really great friends, ran a successful write in campaign for Alumni Band Board and won 2nd place in the costume contest. Once again- I can never thank my mom enough- I have never in my WHOLE life had a store bought costume. Therefore I have always done pretty dang well in costume contests. Yay craftiness.
Elections 2010- I managed to figure out same day registration at my polling place. I only threw a small tantrum when I did not receive an "I voted" sticker. I watched election coverage all evening- and it wasn't even a homework assignment, super adult of me I thought.
Apartment Shopping- my lease is up at the end of December here. And while I will be sad to bid my roommate adieu I am actually pretty stoked to have my own place again- and enough closet space for all my stuff.  Plus a den! Can you imagine the awesomeness when I instead refer to it as my Library- or Office???? Finally someplace to hang that really expensive diploma!
P.S. Family members-I am working my Christmas list- are you?
P.P.S- Non-family members that love me thisssssssssssssssssss much you can have my Christmas list too!

My pumpkin could kick your pumpkin's butt!

Clearly I am awesome- you only have to look as far as my pumpkin to confirm it. My roommate Shea and I have a tradition of getting intoxicated at Old Chicago and craving pumpkins (hey if it happens twice, it is tradition)
Behold:

My first attempt- it is entitled Sorrow!

Shea's pumpkin- he always free hands and I will admit it is good- but not great like mine. 

I got so excited when I made me first one, I went out and got another. and it kicks butt. 

I love Halloween- have you craved pumpkins? Are you going to dress up? Let me know!

Little Charley Johnson is pretty adorable

Charley loves his hands- eating them that is

Also he enjoys standing and the dogs...

So freaking adorable you can't even stand it!

I was very blessed last week to spend a few hours hanging out with Greg, Chelsey and Charley. Everyone was having a good time, including little Charley- he giggles, smiles, and tries to roll over (Greg and Chels assure me he can, he was never able to get over his arm while I was there.)

Thank you!

Special thank you goes out to everyone for the awesome birthday wishes. Special props go out to Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Jim- because they sent me my birthday card while on vacation from Hawaii!- Cheryl has never forgotten to send me a card and it is one of the highlights of my year to get it in the mail- thank you!

The amazing Birthday Pie- Laura and Emily made me!

The Kibbe's made my birthday extra special- they took me out to dinner. We went to Fuji in Ames, and sat at the Hibachi Grill- so both dinner and a show!

Laura and Emily made me a Cherry Pie (my favorite) Apparently Emily had voted for Chocolate Pie, but since it was my birthday, I was lucky enough to get cherry.

Emily working on my card

Emily was very excited to make me a birthday card- she showed me all the types of glitter she had, and which ones she wanted to use. She wrote both her name and mine in the card.

It turns out you can find tons of things a Ikea

This is what Ikea did to my living room.

Also it moved my TV

But then I built some of it, and it started to reform...

Look at that sharp looking shelf, built all by myself!

Sexy Shelf with one door.

Look that door even opens! Thank you Shea for your door making skills.

Two shelves built, the tall one still incomplete 

Now the 2nd shelf has 5 drawers. Hooray!

Inside the drawer with the fancy DVD holders!

Finished project with hardware- the tv is even hooked up and working. Also I will buy a pop to whoever can first name the cancelled tv show I am watching!

Meeting Loretta...

She's a beaut and she is all mine. I love her down to her very last inch and cannot wait to show her off to EVERY SINGLE PERSON I KNOW. So if i know you, you should invite me somewhere, and then I will show up with Loretta and things will be grand!

Lovely lovely Loretta...

It is hard to tell, because I take pictures at night, but she is really a lighter blue than this.

The amazing Robert Kibbe- who did someone a amazing work both finding and  bargaining for this car has promised to remove the dealer sticker for me!

I love her, you should met her. Yes so so much!

And now for some smiles...

It was like God said- "Lynne, you had a rough day, so now here is some news that will make you smile" :http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/09/26/emily-deschanel-weds-in-l-a/
This is the most awesome combinations of two shows I love I can think of.
Congrats Emily and David!  I hope at the reception the whole cast of It's always sunny and Bones got together to think over a crossover episode.

Goodbye old friend....

Well my car is officially a goner. Yesterday I was in a car accident on my way to Ames to babysit, the football traffic, and rain caused an accident at the exit, that in turn caused traffic to stop suddenly and my brakes locked up and couldn't avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. We are thanking God that everyone walked away with little more than seatbelt bruises. My car was not so lucky- it couldn't limp away on its own, a wrecker took it to its final resting place at Carney's salvage yard. But as sore as I am today I will be forever grateful for my car fulfilling its last job, Rob said it did exactly what it should have, the airbags deployed and the front in crumpled just like it was supposed to and stopped the damage from entering the cabin of the car. Even if I had a passenger with me they would have most likely been just as safe as me- only bruises from the seatbelt and air bag. This also means the new car search/decision 2010 can be put off no longer. Rob has found 2 good leads in Iowa- so I might have a car by the weekend. To speed things up I have decided to open my mind and not picky about color any longer.

Meeting Noelle...

I love being an aunt- and this one is already a looker. Welcome to the family Noelle Rose Kibbe!

Noelle's lovely parents checking her out fresh out of the bath

Charley, being pretty freaking adorable, plus startled by the flash

Why don't the ebay gods love me?

I have won the same car twice, TWICE on ebay! And still- not a real winner- because the reserve still hasn't been met. I just want to own it, ebay, own it!

I agree, I so, so agree

Lourve him!

Please Ron Perlman, Please. My love for Guillermo Del Toro knows no bounds. My love for Hellboy is a very close second. So please Ron Perlman, PLEASE!

a clever title is still eluding me

A Skyscraper Amongst the Corn
In the Capitol of Corn
In a City with a Single Skyscraper
In a State with a Single Skyscraper
In a skyline of corn


I need more ideas! Everyone please help!

I located that charger, now you can locate cuties!

My car hit 150,000 miles on my way to Grandpa Johnson's

Laura and her (and mine) nephew Charley!

The lovely Family (reach for it Charley, reach!)

Charley and I chillin at Em's 4th birthday (thank you Greg for capturing this)

Emily turns 4!

I need a new title- as this is no longer descriptive...

Okay I have been a former resident of my village of wooden shoes for more than 9 months - so I finally have decided to take the plunge and change the name of my blog. But I need some help- which one do you like?

In a City with a Single Skyscraper
In the Capitol of Corn
In a State with a Single Skyscraper

Other suggestions are welcome!

were going vintage y'all

After a delightfully filling Buffet City dinner, Shea, Nicole and I came home to be lumps of the couch. While in the process of being lumps I turned on the tv and Baz Luhrmann's version of Romeo and Juliet was on the Fox Movie Channel. I happen to love this movie it takes me back, way back to six grade and Katie Petty's house. As I continued to tell Shea and Nicole the various reasons why I love this movie, they both confessed they had never seen this version of the movie. And I am all like what? Where were you in 1996? See I was in LOVE with Leo DiCaprio like maybe 18 months before every other girl my age was. Which rocks. But also kind of a curse with me I love something a lot, but when it hits super mainstream I resent all other who get on board. But now as time has passed I can LOVE it again. So this weeks Film Friday is vintage y'all. If you haven't seen this version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet you totally should.

I'm a grown up now.

Different people gage being a grown up in different ways. This is how I gage:
In the last year....
I went through a period of unemployment without having to seek assistance with my financials.
I stop waiting for someone else to care as much about my birthday as I did, and threw myself the best 25th birthday party I could imagine.
I went on a fabulous vacation (and crossed an item off my life list) by going to the Winter Olympics, just because I wanted to.
I turned 25 (lower car insurance rates).
I test drove a car for the first time, and sat through the "we want to get you in this car" speech without once being tempted to go for it, even though I really liked the car.
I got a job that I actually get excited to go to everyday.
I moved without my brother's truck or friends truck, but not without my brother's assistance.
I threw my back out.
I started to enjoy the taste of coffee for the first time.

What made you say- I'm grown up now?

From the Urban Dictionary of Lynne

Fancy Pants:
1. Pants appropriate for a business causal workplace
2. Contain more than one button/ slide catch
3. Enable it impossible to pee faster than a minute thirty based solely on the unbuttoning/buttoning of the pants.

I am so thirsty I could just quaff that down...

Again- courtesy of dictionary.com:

quaff

  [kwof, kwaf, kwawf] 

–verb (used without object)

1.

to drink a beverage, esp. an intoxicating one, 
copiously and with hearty enjoyment.

–verb (used with object)

2.

to drink (a beverage) copiously and 
heartily: We spent the whole evening quaffing ale.

–noun

3.

an act or instance of quaffing.

4.

a beverage quaffed.

Origin: 
1515–25;  orig. uncert.

—Related forms

quaffer, noun

outquaff, verb (used with object)

un·quaffed, adjective

—Synonyms 
1.  swallow, gulp, swig, guzzle. 

This week I am not sure I used it right, but I love it all the same. 

This is what a young cool girl does on the 4th of July

I didn't do anything fun. I mean I had fun but I imagine the average person looking in would have been: "What? That poor girl has no life" I cleaned the kitchen, did all my laundry, and completely rearranged my room. It's hard going from a huge 1 1/2 bedroom apartment all to yourself to a 2 bedroom apartment where one of the other rooms belongs to someone else. I have like 1/5 the closet space and twice as much furniture that needs to be in my room that can no longer hang out wherever I want it to. I used yesterday to essentially open Shea's Bedroom door and go "Oh yeah, that floor plan works better" and shamelessly copy it. (except you know with better style). Luckily for me Shea was out boating and didn't have to see me eying all his stuff. Now I have even space in my room to throw out my arms and twirl round and round. Because isn't that what every girl want for her room?

Yankee Doodle Pops

It was a lovely evening with the family!

This is horrid

Horrid, is like my new favorite word. For sure. I have used it in like perfect context 4 or 5 times in the past week. I want everyone else to enjoy it as well. So here you go, from dictionary.com:

hor·rid

   [hawr-id, hor-] 

–adjective

1.

such as to cause horror; shockingly dreadful; abominable.

2.

extremely unpleasant or disagreeable: horrid weather; She thought her uncle was horrid.

3.

Archaic . shaggy or bristling; rough.

Why is it sill there?

Conversations with Emily have always been adorable, and no more so then the one I had with her Friday night:

(a little background- I have three small stars tattooed on my right foot. Emily has seen them many many times before, she usually just points at them and says "stars" at which point I say "yes, those are stars" the end)

Emily: "Why is it still there?" (pointing at my tattoo)

Me: "Emily, those are always there"

Emily: "But why? Mine come off."

Me: "Mine are permanent, they stay on all the time, no matter how much I wash them."

Emily: "Sometimes, I have tattoos, here or here (pointing at her arm, and leg) but then I rub them, and they come off."

Me: "Yeah I think your Mom likes it that way."