i n • p u r s u i t

I found myself writing this blog in a day-by-day diary of our trip. Then I read it over and found that it was very boring. So, at the bottom is a brief summary in incomplete sentences if you're really that curious. All in all, it was a fabulous trip. It really was. It was only about two-and-a-half days, which was the perfect amount of time. There were no fights or drama or tension, just a lot of fun. I got to meet more of Mike's family, all of whom I greatly enjoyed. I had the absolute best time with Racki (Mike's cousin's wife) and her son Noah. I was nervous at first because I was dropped off at their house and met Racki two minutes before Mike and the guys took off, but we got along superbly. I also got to meet Mike's sister, brother-in-law and their gaggle of children. I learned that the north isn't all that different from the south. The difference? We have more churches and hills but no Meijer's or Coney Island's. Oh and more paved roads but no Rock...

While I am away, here is some entertainment. I'm with Mike's cousin's wife and I've commandeered their computer for a minute, but I'll be home Monday. ♥Tiffany♥

....hmmm, very valid point. i am an awful lot like a valley girl discussing astrophysics. i shall be honest and throw the charade aside. mary knows the truth anyway. i am almost 100% politically apathetic. please do not lecture me on how unfortunate this is--i am already aware. while i am single, i shall vote for whomever my father votes for and should i ever get married i shall vote for whomever my husband votes for. not because they are making/will make me, but because i am politically apathetic. well, i have taken one government class. obviously, this makes me a expert on the subject. actually, the truth is this: at the beginning of the semester, i knew very little about the government (hence the apathy) and was hoping that this class would increase my knowledge and make me more aware. unfortunately, it did very little of that. anonymous's comment was very right, we're not a democracy. we're a federal republic. a-ha! see, i did learn something. (anonymous, i am assuming ...

Democracy means "rule by the people" a.k.a. self-government by the many. But there is more to it than that: " To help further clarify the definition of democracy, we add three additional benchmarks drawn from both the scholarly literature and popular understandings about democracy. These benchmarks are popular sovereignty , political equality , and political liberty . " (from The Struggle For Democracy , 7th ed.) Of those three defining terms, I would like to discuss political equality . Political equality is the idea that each person carries the same weight political decision making, such as voting. The voice's of various peoples are equal . If each vote counted equally , then the person who receives the most votes wins. It is so simple, right? Wrong! In the 200o election, Al Gore won 48.38% of the votes (50,999,897) and George W. Bush won 47.87% of the votes (50,456,002). Next was Ralph Nader, Patrick J. Buchanan, etc. ( Federal Elections 2000: Presidential P...

I have the best boyfriend ever. Seriously. He buys me things that I really want all the time. (edit: insert sarcasm here.) Except these things come with strings attached. That's right! There's no such thing as a free gift! Ha-ha. I get so excited. Most of these gifts involve cooking, and I love to cook for him. I made one of my tired old dishes last night and it turned out sooo good. It was just chicken & rice & veggies, but the chicken (tossed in Parmesan, rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, and a hint of lime) turned out so juicy and so tender! Yum. Quite possibly the best chicken I had ever made. He's getting me a subscription to Rachel Ray, provided that I cook him meals out of the magazine, and also he bought me two new cook books (Curries & Tapas) with the same provision. Okay, so making curry is a little intimidating, but I'll at least try. I told him to have very low expectations and he said that that wouldn't be a problem. My latest gift? Flower p...

Arena (known to self and others) cheerful , clever , loving , religious Blind Spot (known only to others) able , accepting , caring , complex , dependable , energetic , extroverted , friendly , giving , happy , helpful , intelligent , introverted , kind , logical , mature , organised , reflective , searching , self-conscious , sensible , sentimental , silly , spontaneous , warm , wise Façade (known only to self) observant Unknown (known to nobody) adaptable, bold, brave, calm, confident, dignified, idealistic, independent, ingenious, knowledgeable, modest, nervous, patient, powerful, proud, quiet, relaxed, responsive, self-assertive, shy, sympathetic, tense, trustworthy, witty Dominant Traits 63% of people agree that LadyTiffanyAnne is cheerful All Percentages able (18%) accepting (18%) adaptable (0%) bold (0%) brave (0%) calm (0%) caring (45%) cheerful (63%) clever (9%) complex (18%) confident (0%) dependable (18%) dignified (0%) energetic (18%) extroverted (18%) frien...

stuck on the side of the road emotional over-load he'll seek and destroy everything that i enjoy but, i won't be the one he takes down no, i won't breakdown Breakdown Gather my insufficiencies and place them in your hands, place them in your hands, place them in your hands For The Moments I Feel Faint feelings, inside my head i don't know, but i'm thinking about you understand that it's so hard to tell you, cause you already know you already know when it's twice as hard to realize that i'm still trying twice as hard to satisfy myself on my own Those Words Are Not Enough I'm pressing on, all my distress is going, going, gone. (pressing on, pressing on) And I won't sit back, and take this anymore. 'Cause I'm done with that, I've got one foot out the door. And to go back where I was would just be wrong I'm pressing on. Pressing On ♥Tiffany♥

At my church, we're going through the book of Luke. The past few Sundays, however, we've done a series within a series...a mini-series, if you will. It has been about expectations . Boy, I'm pretty sure this was the perfect timing for just about everyone I talked to. Expectations are the worst. I'm serious. Expectations are the only reason we ever get put in a bad mood. You didn't expect a traffic jam on the way to work. You didn't expect the baby to puke all over you. You didn't expect to fail the test. You didn't expect the lights to go out. You didn't expect that skirt to be dirty. "And I could go on and on and on... but who cares ?" (Gnarles Barkley) I'm tired of my own. I'm tired of silly expectations that I know aren't logical at all. I'm tired of pretending like they don't exist. It's killing me. I don't want the expectations to come to a realization. I just want to be able to say, "Everything is good...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli woman accidentally bit off part of her boyfriend's tongue during a heated French kiss, an Israeli hospital that reattached the tongue said Thursday. Nahariya Hospital said in a statement the man, injured while "passionately kissing his girlfriend," was discharged after the operation and advised to sip iced drinks and "avoid wet kisses" until the stitched wound healed. Reuters.com / Oddly Enough / Love At First Bite? ♥Tiffany♥

...a partial tour of the Belmont Abbey College campus. For a better tour...go there, it's right off I-85. Do you know that I am the only one of my siblings who does not live at an Abbey? Well, I think I should live at Pinckney Abbey...thought I might not be able to name my place of residence that seeing as I am not an abbot. Here is the "nasty Texas creek," I don't know why it's called that, but there you go. Mary admiring the nasty Texas creek. Holy Grounds...a very unique name for a coffee house, wouldn't you say? Mary again, checking her mail. I don't think she had any, so you need to send her some letters. The BAC seal. If you walk over it, you won't graduate...so they say. I can't recall what all of it means. St. Leo's hall named after Leo Haid. He was not canonized. Inside is the Catholic store where you can buy really cool things, such as a bear wearing a hoodie that says "got monks?" Uh, yeah. I don't think it gets very mu...

Thursday afternoon, I realized that I didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day (my meeting was canceled) and I didn't have anything for the next two days until my meeting Saturday evening. So, I kissed Mike goodbye and drove up to Belmont Abbey College to hang out with the sis. I only ended up staying for one night, but we still had fun! On my drive up, I stopped by a McDonald's and got something to eat. As soon as I made my first big turn. My drink (which I thought was stable) flew out of the drink holder and all over the floor of my car! Yuck! But oh well. I made it to Belmont in about an hour and a half and ran through the rain to Mary's dorm. We hung out for a while and I gave her a care package. It had all sorts of cool stuff from the Target 1-spot: a Barbie notepad, Strawberry Shortcake hair clips, a teeny marigold grow kit, a teeny strawberry hanging grow kit, 'grow' capsules that become either dinosaurs or bugs...I forget which, mini drink mixe...

I usually reserve my poems for Not Really An Artist , but for today, I will post a few on here. These are poems that I have turned in to my creative writing class. Sonnet #1 My breath leaves me as my love walks in My mind, it does stop; my heart, it does falter Eager, my eyes land on that expanse of skin Her back, so sensuous, exposed by a halter Suddenly, my exquisite view, it is hidden As my love's love appears and stands at her side He tastes the fruit which for me is forbidden Not wanting to be seen, behind the wall I hide I close my eyes and I pretend it were me My own lips pressed to hers in a soft kiss I love to watch, though I know we can never be And I live in my world of imagined bliss So I sit under a tree, in the shade so cool I try my best not to be a voyeuristic fool. *note: this is from the perspective of a man. i am not a lesbian* Jazz Music --for Mike soft music from black speakers into a dark room candles create light yellow glow feet entwined murmurs whispers sig...

I forgot how two-and-a-half year olds can act. Lauren is usually a very sweet and easy going girl. On occasion, though, Terrible2!Lauren will come out in all her glory. Terrible2!Lauren will take over the sweet girl I know and throw herself to the ground. She will kick and scream and cry and kick and scream and kick and scream. After being put in time-out for two minutes (time doesn't start until the screaming stops, thouhg) I go and get Lauren. Terrible2!Lauren is gone and sweet, easy-going Lauren is back. We talk about what she did and why she can't get her way. She says, "Okay, Tee" and hugs me and goes off to play. Alex, however, is four years old. And let me tell you, that boy has some attitude! Sometimes, I just don't know how to deal. He has got a huge lieing problem too. I have talked to him numerous times about it and so has Janelle. It's still there and it's about silly things. For example: ::Alex exits bathroom:: "Alex, did you flush th...

So, as I was surfing the sites on BlogExplosion to gain more blog traffic (totally coming through as promised!) I stopped over at site where the blog owner offers to link to another blogs site in exchange for a reciprocal link. What a good idea! I am totally doing that too. Here's the deal though, he's got something to offer. A Google page rank of 5. Well, I don't have that. But...if you're a starter-outer like me and would like me to link to your blog in exchange for a reciprocal link, just let me know. Who knows, maybe I could eventually have a better GPR and have something more enticing to offer. (OverAnalyzed, by the way, has a rank of 4/10! W00t. But that's not for sale.)

Despite the perkiness of the previous post, I'm feeling rather un-perky. It's all me, though. Of this I am aware. No one can make me unhappy but myself. And it is totally all of myself. Tonight would be a good night for one of those looong ramblings that I do. But, then again, maybe not. Just keep reminding yourself: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 As my Facebook status says, "Tiffany is getting there." ♥Tiffany♥

I forgot to get a picture of my sexy little black dress. Maybe next time. Saturday was great. I ran errands that morning. ( read: picked up card at the last minute .) So, after much browsing at stupid pink love cards ( do you know how hard it is to buy a card for a guy that says, "I love you" but isn't girly and pink? ) I found a blank-on-the-inside card with good design that would appeal to the graphic designer within. I wandered over to the hair-removal aisle ( razors, shaving cream, waxing kits, depilatory creams, etc ) and perused the depilatory creams. I knew the would probably burn my leg skin off, but I really hate to shave. Suddenly, some guy walks by and whistles at me. I look up and it's Mike! I was greeted with a little kiss. Huzzah! Yay for special days. We walked around together for a little while before parting ways. I decided that, really, I'll just go the safe route and just shave. I don't want the burnt-off-skin look to ruin my outfit. The Bib...

I was testing the children in my Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven. I asked them, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven? "NO!" the children answered. "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?" Again, the answer was, "NO!" By now I was starting to smile. Hey, this was fun! "Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?" I asked them. Again, they all answered, "NO!" I was just bursting with pride for them. "Well," I continued, "then how can I get into Heaven?" A five-year-old boy shouted out, "YOU GOTTA BE DEAD." -- ♥Tiffany♥

My breath leaves me as my love walks in My mind, it does stop and my heart, it does falter Eager, my eyes land on that expanse of skin Her back, so sensuous, exposed by a halter Suddenly, my exquisite view, it is hidden As my love's love appears and stands at her side He tastes the fruit which for me is forbidden Not wanting to be seen, behind the wall I hide I close my eyes and I pretend it were me My own lips pressed to hers in a soft kiss I love to watch, though I know we can never be And I live in my world of imagined bliss So I sit under a tree, in the shade so cool I try my best not to be a voyeristic fool. -- I would like to add that this poem is not from my perspective. No...I do not have surpressed lesbian tendencies. This poem is from a man's perspective.

Dear Mike, I thanked the Lord today, for MySpace.com and O-CHA Tea Bar, two seemingly everyday aspects of my life that suddenly became imperative things that led me to meeting a most amazing man. "I thank my God every time I remember you." Phillipians 1:3 One of the first things we ever did together was go to mass. I'm sure I freaked you out with my "big-ass chapel veil" [I'm quoting a priest...I swear.] and my oh-so-traddy-Catholic ways. But you weren't looking for a girlfriend and I was trying hard to not look for a boyfriend. I had given up dating for Lent. Always the overanalyzer, every time someone said any little thing about you liking me (even if they meant friend-like) I got sucked in . April 2006 Our first 'date'...hmmm. Now, was it that one time we ate at Coffee Underground (speaking of which we so need to have some of their grilled cheese again...yum!), or was it that time we went for sushi? I guess we both generally agree it was that...

These days, I have a new favorite TV show--aside from Jeopardy of course. Also, of course, favorite is used loosely when concerning television. I'm not the biggest fan of television or anything. Ugly Betty is great though, as far as televsion goes. " Betty Suarez is smart, sweet and hard working. The only problem is that she's not thin and beautiful like all her coworkers at Mode, the high-fashion magazine where she works. The only reason the publisher hired her to be his son's secretary, is that he thought Betty was someone who Daniel would never sleep with. Betty's hard work and determination earns Daniel's respect, as she helps him find his way through the shark infested waters of the fashion industry. Ugly Betty is based on a Columbian telenovela "Yo Soy Betty La Fea". " ( imdb.com ) America Ferrera, the actress who plays Betty Suarez is not "ugly" at all! A lot of work goes into getting her to look like her character. The hair...

15 Things I Swore I’d Never Do Move out of my parent's home (this was a loooong time ago) Go into debt. Own fish again. Not talk to Mary every day. Work in Simpsonville Get braces Get sucked into drama Like red wine. Dance in public. Let my apartment get cluttered Forget to feed my fish Go into debt...again. Join a protestant church Wear jeans to church Date an older man ♥Tiffany♥

Today has been a good day so far. Slate, Cameron, and their baby-sitter Tammy came over to play for a good part of the morning. That was good because I didn't really feel like venturing outside but having the kids play together really speeds the day along. They didn't leave until almost 1pm! :-) After that we had lunch: peanut butter & jelly for Alex, turkey & cheese for Lauren. Alex had a "victory" plate, so he got dessert (leftover birthday cake); Lauren did not. Lauren is such a cute little thing and she has the best ever facial expressions! So very serious sometimes, even if she is just saying, "I do like it, Tee!" The kitchen table is covered in bedsheets. It was our "fort" and the kids spend a good deal of time under there. It's a much better fort than couch cushions--those fall over too quick. Today we played with: fire trucks, pirates, legos, dress-ups, baby-dolls, and cannon balls...among other things. And Lauren went down for ...

You want a picture? Of my new sexy little black dress? Well, maybe...but you'll have to wait until after Saturday. I told Mike about it, but I won't let him see it yet because nothing looks all that appealing hanging all flat on a hanger. I'm excited about Saturday. I think I'm even going to be super-ambitious and paint my toenails. ♥Tiffany♥

♥Tiffany♥

This Saturday, Mike and I will have officially been dating for one year. We're going out to a super-nice restaurant which requires me to wear a super-nice dress. Well, I looked through my closet and nothing at all clicked. I have one dress that I always wear when I need to dress up, but, like I said, I always wear it. And everything else is either too casual (church-type clothes) or too dressy (prom-type dresses). So, off to the mall I went. I was prepared to spend at least $50 on a new dress but hoped that I would hit up some sales and not spend more that $20. Sometimes, department store are good like that. Not, obviously, during prom season . Yeah. So, no racks of clearance dresses for me to check out. I did stop in Caché and try on a few super expensive dresses. One looked like underwear, one was too big for my bosom and the last made me feel really pretty. I just tried those on for fun, I'm not paying $258.00 for a party dress. Heck no! So, I checked out all the department ...

Just so you know, my apartment isn't that dusty. Anyway. I had a good day today. I went to math class and understood everything. I went to speech class and made an 82 (92 minus 10pts for being 1 day late) on my recycling speech. I really need to start turning in my speeches on time so I can get the "A" grade for the "A" speech. I learned that I'm an "um" person. I said "um" THIRTY-THREE (33) times over the course of six minutes. That is a lot of "um"-ing. I looked over all my speech evaluations and under "verbal clutter" for each one, he writes "UM!" and underlines is about fifteen times. I had no idea that I was an "um" person! I told Mike and, after laughing, he said that, yes, I do "um" when I get nervous. ♥Tiffany♥

Weekdays at 7:30pm is a special time. Why? It's time for Jeopardy! Barring certain circumstances (special dinners, soup, etc) Mike and I sit on the couch with our dinners to watch Jeopardy and call out (sometimes right) answers between bites. Well, after Jeopardy ended, Dancing With The Stars came on. I had never seen the show before and thought it might be interesting. Well...despite the boring routines, the slutty outfits, and the annoying judges, it was really good. Oh wait, it wasn't. This particular evening, the "stars" were dancing either the "bull fight" dance or the waltz. I preferred it when the couples chose the waltz because it seemed like the other dancers tried too hard to be good but to no avail. I was hoping for some nice pretty flowing gowns from the waltzing girls. But no. They were wearing very backless gowns that were slit up to here and probably double-stick-taped to their skin. If I want to watch Apollo Anton Ono, I'll wa...