This speaks for itself.

And we sing, sing, sing

It was the simply amazing abstract cover art that first drew me to the Silversun Pickups' newest album, Swoon.

I was lost in the mountains of music that make up Barnes & Noble's audio section, listening to CDs at random. A little bit of celtic here, some showtunes there. I even stumbled upon Disney's Wall-E soundtrack. But nothing caught my interest quite like Swoon.

I've never seen a more perfectly named CD. It was love at first listen: they had me hooked at "There's No Secrets This Year". Each audio clip, from "The Royal We" to "Surrounded (Or Spiraling)", was stunning. The music, the lyrics, the vocals-- triumphant!

To paraphrase the band themselves, this album is enough to make you sing, fight, and even cry.

French Phrase of the Week #3

C'est juste un ami.

He's just a friend.

Call in the troops. It's time to regroup.

Okay. What is it, like Day 71? And I have crossed seven things of my list? Mathematically, it's a good rate. But I know if I don't pick up the pace soon, I'm going to fall flat on my face for entire web to see. And I would definitely rather not do that. So it's time I re-examined my list. Refresh, rework, refine: this is my motto.

Work/Money/Volunteering
Hmm. These all seem fairly possible. Granted, I'm having a little trouble in the job department, and by God, how difficult can it be to arrange to volunteer at an equine rescue center? But everything at least seems doable. And I still want to accomplish all of these goals.

Food/Cooking
What with cooking class, the 50 new recipes shouldn't be THAT hard. But Goal #13? I think I'll edit that one. After all, I rarely eat fast food, so it's not that much of a stretch. Instead, how about I bake a tie-dye cake? Now that, that is a goal I want. And the rest of the goals? They look good. I just need to remember them. I'm cooking at least once a week now, though, so I should start crossing things off soon enough.

Friends/Family
Okay, I think this section needs to most work. Goal #21, for example, has to go. I don't want to have a pizza party. That's silly. Why is it there? And Goal #22... Well, aren't half the parties I have on this list themed parties? And Goal #29- All I can say is: Why is that on here? It shouldn't be here. I don't like it. How about I replace Goal #21 with something I'd actually like to do- something like go on a Scavenger Hunt. And Goal #22 can be something challenging, creative, and social- like writing to a French pen pal. And Goal #29 can be the much-anticipated, but never actually planned trip to Florida that my friends have been talking about for the past year. Sadly enough, though, I seem to be overlooking a bunch of these goals. Why can't I remember my friends and family? That's awful.

Self Improvement/Personal
This is a more difficult section. I'm not changing much, though, because I honestly want to do all these things. They're just not going to be very easy. However, there is one I want to change. Goal #46, the private one, is no longer a dream of mine. So how about I read nonfiction books instead? That's self-improvement if I've ever heard it. As for the French phrases... I've already blown it. But let's just see how many I can get done in my remaining 929 days.

Horses/Riding
As always, I know my stuff when it comes to being an equestrian. All of these goals are challenging, and all of them are things I want/need to accomplish. In fact, I have a plan for nearly every one of these goals. So far, this is the most promising section.

Creativity and the Like
Everything's all in order here. And again, I only need to scratch one: #76. The list is basically the same exact thing as Wreck This Journal. And I'm already doing Wreck This Journal, so the list would be redundant. Instead, how about I throw my handmade bows into the mix?

Random Fun Stuff
My favorite section. :) I need to get cracking on a few of these things, because they're going to take a while.