let me tell you the truth about -20 degrees

Okay, so maybe it's only -3 currently. But with the gusts of wind, the news is telling me that it is currently -24 with windchill.

-24 degrees. Twenty degrees below zero.

For those of you who have never experienced such disgusting subzero Arctic temperatures and might have an inkling that Montana is a dreamy paradise you'd like to visit, let me tell it to you straight.

-24 degrees means that the moment you step outside with damp hair, your hair suddenly becomes crunchier than fall leaves. Speaking of crunchy, -24 degrees also means that while you're walking outside, after about five minutes you suddenly scrunch your nose and wonder why you have so many crusties all up in your nostrils. I know this is gross, but this is a true record here. My boogers quite seriously froze in my nose.

And yet, somehow, snot still ran down my lip which was quite a weird experience. Frozen boogies while my nose also acts as a human faucet? I don't know, man.

-24 degrees means spending fifteen minutes scraping the inside of the windshield. It means requiring minutes to let your engine run. It means everyone starts to think that $2 suddenly becomes a very small price to pay in hourly parking on campus in hourly parking if it means not having to walk 3 blocks.

-24 degrees means every exposed piece of skin WILL hurt by the time you get to your destination. Even if you only walk five steps outside.

-24 degrees means that every little thing suddenly becomes so much work. Putting on shoes, tying shoe laces, unzipping your pants before changing into sweats, unlocking doors, wearing glasses- everything.

Oh yeah, -24 degrees also means needing to finger scrape ice off of your glasses after your condensation freezes to them.

Montana! I have nothing more to say to you right now.

Except that I just bought Head and the Heart tickets for a show in Seattle in February. Reuniting with my favorite city to see my favorite band with some of my best friends in the world? I'm pinching myself, both to check that I still have feeling where my limbs are freezing and because I can't believe I"m finally seeing my favorite band in the world live.

sun still rises even through the pain

Things are happening/changing in my part of the world.

The tips of almost every tree has some amount of color to them. It's cold enough to wear my favorite fleece lined Lindsay Weir green coat but not cold enough that I have to wear gloves so I don't freeze on my walk to school. 

My first round of midterm papers have been completed and turned in. My first midterm is next week. My classes so far have been fun, interesting, engaging, and have made me feel like my education actually makes sense for my life. 

Head and The Heart's new album is days away. And they just released two new songs off their new album and the amount of emotion I experienced in my bedroom at midnight last night over listening to the album I'll be listening to in the car and while I walk around Missoula for the next two years until they release a new one was unreal. Favorite line? "Sun still rises even with the pain".

I got a new comforter, new sheets, a new mattress pad, and new pillows. It was time. My bed is quite seriously my haven and I'm so happy to fall asleep in it every night. Also, no more neck cramps! My mood has dramatically increased solely because of that fake Tempur-Pedic pillow I bought, I'm certain of it.

I booked my first wedding after second shooting a few weeks ago so officially my 4th of July holiday next summer is taken. Also, other things are brewing in the wedding photography business as well. I'm thankful it'll be two years since I started taking pictures that I'm getting into weddings. I feel lucky and excited to do it, but it is hard stuff. I'm glad I know my camera, have taken a class, and will be ready. 

I am back to running! Running is so good. I forget how much more I feel connected to this little city and the environment when I run. I forget how slow the world feels when I run and like time is actually tangible for those precious miles on the trail. I'm so becoming my mother. 

A couple weekends ago, I hiked to the top of a mountain at 2am. I went swing dancing last weekend. I stayed up until 5:30am watching New Girl. Today I ate pancakes at lunch. This weekend plans have been made. I'm smiling.

what's on my playlist

into you ingrid michaelson // hopeless wanderer mumford & sons // red taylor swift //

gone head and the heart // nothing the script // come over kenny chesney 

// 3 rounds and a sound blind pilot // stars the xx // i can feel a hot one

manchester orchestra // hurricane matt hires // begin again taylor swift //

hazy rosi golan

can anyone else guess that i'm peeing my pants over the fact that there are only SIXTEEN 

days left until taylor swift's new album comes out?

this album was written for me. i'm convinced. 

all i have to say about right now is

i should be watching the head and the heart at one of the coolest venues

to watch a concert... ever.

instead i'm here?

also, i'm just as disappointed with this lack luster blah post. after tomorrow night,

life will be unpaused and i'll have freedom once more.

also, you know how you convince yourself that college is really awesome

and oh my gosh it's not that hard is it? but then you have midterms week

and suddenly you haven't showered for two days and have been home only

to sleep. and you realize, oh yeah.
COLLEGE.

song of the summer

i love nothing more than rediscovering perfect music.

this song came across my path again on shuffle,

bless my iPod's heart.

it's beautiful. just listen to the lyrics.

awesome things on friday

1. playing apples to apples in creative writing

2. getting coffee brought to you in class

3. waking up via 'sleep cycle' peacefully and not wanting to die by the 6:45

wake up alarm

4. a four day weekend in the horizon

5. buying new pencils

6. a broken phone resulting in using a ten year old Blackberry

7. the song 'after the storm' by mumford & sons

8. and the song 'the lucky one' by jess penner

9. my valentine's day present still sitting on my desk that makes me smile 

every time i see it

10. making modcloth 'love' lists

11. a perfect frizz free hair day

12. knowing you're going to spend your weekend writing in a coffee shop

13. surprise care packages from grandma

14. going to minnesota & mall of america in three weeks

(A REAL MALL!?!?!!??!?!!?! I CANT EVEN BELIEVE IT! this idaho girl is going to

go crazy!!!!)

15. taylor swift's new music video

frostys

there are nights that aren't meant for boyfriends or boys. the kind of nights where

listening to taylor swift in the car is absolutely necessary with your best friend.

getting 99 cent frosty's at wendys (...how did i only just now find out how cheap those things

are!?) at midnight and realizing if you were still in high school, your parents never would have

let you out so late. granted, you wouldn't have not had class until noon the next day if you were still in high school, but still. finding two kids in high school parked at mansion heights with realllllllllly foggy windows, getting mildly lost on a dirt road leading to a creepy house with trespassing signs, taking the longest way home... those are the nights that aren't meant for anyone else other than your best

gal pal.

february playlist

february playlist

the lucky one jess penner // i wanna make you close your eyes dierks bentley // off to the races lana del ray// palm of your hand ingrid michaelson // valentine kina grannis // we are young fun ft. janelle monae // i won't give up jason mraz // a thousand years christina perri // jump then fall taylor swift // in my veins andrew belle // my heart will wait joe brooks // big jet plane angus & julia stone

*valentine's day inspired? i think yes.

January happy playlist

my "happy" playlist:

sparks fly taylor swift// i won't give up jason mraz// you and me gustat spetz// do you wanna the kooks// let us love needtobreathe// reptilia the strokes// who says selena gomez// the cave mumford and sons// crushcrushcrush paramore// daylight matt & kim// count on me bruno mars// eenie meenie sean kingston & justin bieber// fearless taylor swift// go on, say it blind pilot// grace kelly mika// grow a pair ke$ha// here comes your man meaghan smith// i woke up in a car something corporate// howl florence & the machine// rattling locks josh ritter// mushaboom feist

i've never and will never call myself a real music buff. i don't claim to have the best taste in music, as clearly illustrated in my happy song list. i'm definitely more of a blast-your-music-in-your-car-and-sing-along-to-every-word kind of music listener. i'm a lyric girl. i'll listen and look for songs with lyrics that melt my heart. a song that somehow captures exactly how i want to say a feeling in a few words perfectly put together can have a magical kind of effect. i don't believe in "good" or "bad" music nor in genres. i'm not a genre whore. i'll listen to anything and everything because if i like it then i like it and it can be so simple as that. in fact, i kind of envy people that stick to one genre and find crazy cool music that they're strictly passionate about and know everything about. i'm not that cool. i just listen to what i like and soak in every single word. 

jillian edwards

I've listened to more music in the past month than I have in the past year. I like it. I like it a lot. My new iPod touch has definitely been worth the investment. You guys might remember me in previous posts saying that I'm a playlist whore. It's true. So true. I have playlists for everything. For a specific day. For a month. For a week. For a single moment. For a season. For a person. For a mood. It just happens that way. There are some songs, however, that are found in every single one of my playlists and especially lately, that song is "Nonfiction Love Song" by jillian edwards. I first found Jillian Edwards years ago during the old days of myspace. I took notice of her adorable profile picture immediately and fell in love within seconds of listening to her. My sister and I shared a love for her adorable songwriting and angelic voice for two years and we both tell everyone we know to listen to her. Well, our little lady Jillian just released a new album and much to my surprise and excitement, she not only was in the iTunes top 10 this week, but she is featured on their homepage and her album is #1 on the song-writers page. Eeeeep! I love seeing her doing so well. Do yourself a favor. Put on some fuzzy socks. Make yourself some tea. Download both of her albums and just enjoy.

CD swap

Several months ago, I came across a wonderfully adorable, quirky, hilarious, and downright perfect blog written by an equally wonderfully adorable, quirky, hilarious, and downright perfect girl. I started reading her blog and fell bit by bit more in love with this girl's witty posts about her life that included everything from family nights to date nights gone wrong to stalkers to sorority events to loving Utah. I decided to admit my frequent visits to her blog and emailed her and found her to be the sweetest girl ever. We had a CD swap last month and it was utter perfection. I am so thankful for the blogging world and the people I've been introduced to through blogging and I am taking today to thank all of you for letting me be a part of your story and for those of you who have been a part of mine. There are so many of you that I adore and have loved getting to know through emails, letters, and tweets. Go visit Kylee's blog. You will not be disappointed. This song is maybe one of the cutest I've ever listened to and I have Kylee to thank for it.