There's a beautiful park behind the Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport. But today when my brother took his girlfriend and Tipton on a walk there, I decided to check out the current exhibit inside: "The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century." There were paintings by contemporary artists placed next to miniature reproductions of older works from which the artists drew their inspirations or comparisons. One of the older men working there came to talk with me about some of the pieces, explaining a few. He asked me if I understood a particular one. I said, "Well, no, I don't know that I understand it exactly..." And he kind of gave me his interpretation, and said, "You know sometimes I don't really care to understand it, I just like to look at the art." Agreed.

Chardin's "Young Man Blowing Bubbles" was one of my new finds

I'm a nerd. 

An art nerd. A magazine nerd. A writing nerd. A nerd who gets excited over book covers (last year I played around with the idea of designing book covers for a living...which led to playing around with the idea of opening an art gallery one day. I'm more set on the latter at the moment, but who knows).

And to extend my nerdiness of paper products, I'm an appreciator of journals. I realize 'appreciator' is an odd word (and heck, I don't think it even is a real word), but let me explain:

I envy people who manage to consistently keep up with a journal. Well, I also envy people who consistently keep up with their blogs, for that matter. But like I said, I appreciate journals. I feel like if I say I love journals, I'm being a poser. Because as much as I like them, I don't keep up with one on a regular enough basis to feign love (love takes work, after all). 

But because of that appreciation, when I saw this boxed-set of 12 journals at Pottery Barn the other day, I fell in love with it. There is one for each month. 

But it was pricey. So I'm on a mission to recreate the set in a cheaper way. And reuse the set for a few years, until each month fills up. Because blogs, I'm sorry, you've got nothing on the specialness of writing your thoughts with your favorite pen on something you can flip through time and again years from now. So right now I'm a nerd browsing journal and notebook Web sites, dreaming.

moleskines are always a favorite

from thedailyplanner.com

and tell me what you like to scribble and doodle on, too.

merry southern Christmas.

it's 68 and sunny.

i've been overly compensating for the unwinterlike weather by putting out any random holiday decorations my mom decided to keep in the closet this year.

we need all the help we can get to make 68 degrees feel a little closer to 30 and snowy.

but Jesus knows no climate.

tis the beauty of it.

i heard a sweet song on the radio, corny, but sweet. 

'i need a silent night' by amy grant. 

talks about the craziness of the hustle and bustle of the holidays...

...then sings "i need a silent night, a holy night.

to hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise.

i need a midnight clear, a little peace right here.

to end this crazy day with a silent night."

i love singing silent night at christmas eve mass. it's such a peaceful song to me.

here's the song, in case you're curious.

(and since i'm curious, would someone like to tell me how to embed youtube videos in posts?consider it a christmas present)

i made it home today!

after...

getting on stand by for a flight from KCI at 8:25 a.m. (instead of my original 1:20 p.m. flight)

making it to dallas at 10:30 a.m. and gett

ing put on stand by for the 11:00 a.m. flight

getting a seat

but getting delayed every 15 minutes

making it on the plane a few hours later

only to be told shortly after that we were to get off the plane because there was something wrong with the oxygen.

in the end, leaving dallas at 2.

to get home at 3 (still 3 hours sooner than origi

nally planned!)

oh the joys and woes of traveling.

snippets from the past few days:

*circuit city is going out of business so i got a cd for 3.90!!

 

(Newton Faulkner, a band pandora has been p

laying a lot for me lately, and which i was planning to buy with my itunes giftcard, but now don't have to : ) )

*i learned how to play Yahtzee.

*it was sad saying bye to jonathan at the airport today, but then i realized a group of soldiers on my flight were on their way to iraq. and i recounted my blessings and said a prayer.

*i got my first college B(+). darn you history of journalism.

*BUT i got a beautiful A at the Missourian!

3 things down, 1 to go.

my semester at the missourian has come to an end.

guess what, i survived.

thank you, friends, for your support and listening ears : )

ironically, the piece that gave me the most gratification this year was not a written story.

it was my final assignment, an audio slideshow that was part of a larger project.

some of us interviewed music students while they rehearsed for their juries, the music equivalent of finals.

and i discovered how much i love piecing together a story in an alternative way, layering audio and music. it was really enjoyable, and i'm pretty sure this piece has gotten me the most positive feedback of anything i did this semester.

go figure.

if you're curious, check out these 5 talented music students.

the ones i spoke to are the 3rd and 4th show.

despite the fact that finals are looming

today has been a great day

i sold back a book and got more than i expected for it

i did some studying and it actually clicked in my head

ate lunch with a friend

got really excited at the prospect of doing the new york summer internship program with the j-school. because it starts 5 days after my brother's graduation, so i'd already be in the city. that is if i can secure an internship. like at Cucina Italiana, which would be phenomenal.

i volunteered at mustard seed, one of my favorite places, with some of the funnest girls

and don't really have anything planned for the night, but for some reason

today feels magical

remind me of this feeling when i'm miserably stressed later this weekend

and oh yeah, last night i finished watching meet me in st. louis and started reading the new ARTnews.

smiles.

first, an apology. where have the last two weeks of memorable moments gone?

my dreams, perhaps. because most other moments of my day have been taken up by thinking about

other things. but that's no excuse, i know.

truth is, i've been a little burned out on writing. not the lovely leisurely writing that is this blog.

but the "focus focus focus focus" writing that is... everything else.

this is my break from two papers.

i invite you to enjoy my companion for this past week, and next two. meet joe purdy (that is, if you're not already acquainted). he's nice enough to let you listen to all of his music on his Web site.

my favorite is his self-titled album.

and in other news, because news is my life-ha...(semi-delirious laugh) check out this local genius kid and be amazed.