These Shoes Rule! Let's Get 'em!

Ladies, have you ever had one of those days where you're out shopping for shoes and after searching numerous department stores you're just about ready to conclude that classy gray pumps are apparently just not "in" enough to offer anything that isn't satiny or covered in rhinestones and you're just, JUST about to walk out of Macy's in defeat and then THERE THEY ARE SHOES FIT FOR A QUEEN but they cost a bazillion dollars? No? Guys, have you? No takers?


Well, twist ending - this happened to me today. Let me just break it down a little bit more for you. As stated earlier, I guess gray is not the color of the season because let me tell you, gray heels are really no where to be found. At least not cute ones. Silver shoes, sure. But I'm not going to prom. I want to pretend to be slightly more mature. Anyhow, I really was about to give up for the day until I decided to take one last swing through the Macy's shoe department and I found them. I think they literally spoke my name as I stopped in front of them. They had an angelic sort of glow emanating from them, like the genie's lamp in Aladdin or something. After I checked the price and privately cursed the fact that I'm not independently wealthy, I just stood there looking at them. Then came the salesperson...


Me: (to self) I'm not going to buy these shoes. I can't spend this much money. It's not practical. Ugh but they're so pretty. I waaaant them. No! No. Must. Resist. Shoe. Temptation.


Salesman: And what size do you need in that pretty shoe?


Me: (hands over shoe) 8 and a half.


Ok, ok. But I was just going to try them on. Until I did and it was love at first step. At this point the shoes were practically begging me to adopt them. What could I do? Just leave them there? To be taken home by someone who could never love them as much as I already did? Of course not. That would be rude. So I bought them. And tried not to think about my poor checking account, which was unquestionably also screaming at me, but for other reasons.


I'm not sure there are too many good life lessons to be learned from this tale, besides maybe that I need to stop anthropomorphizing inanimate objects. But you know what? I don't even care. I love these shoes and I'll cry (with joy) if I want to.

Going Mobile... A Lesson in Never Losing Hope

So it has come to my attention that I have not updated Sparlke, Sparkle in quite some time, which is surely throwing all of your lives into a tailspin, wondering where your joy is going to come from now. Well, for that I must say I am deeply apologetic and I hope that any and all future haituses will not be as long or emotionally painful.

I was feeling particularly content with life about 45 minutes ago, which prompted me to think, "Hey! I should spread this contentedness via the intraweb!" So I ventured to my grandparent's basement to try my luck at their antique desktop. Alas, it was not my day. After loading a second tab on Internet Explorer, the computer got frazzled and decided to go catatonic. So I'm attempting to write this from le iPhone.

"I'll just get on Safari and type away!" I thought foolishly. Nope. Apparently you cannot actually type in the New Post box on le phone. This is still a mystery to me. So I try to download a blog app, which should solve all my problems right? Wrong. "Cannot connect to HTTP. Try again later," this app told me. No! I have to spread joy NOW!! So I got a different app and finally, success! The moral of this story being, if you don't give up hope, you will eventually be able to bore people to tears with the tales of your unimportant phone malfunctions.

But maybe I'll stop being totally shallow for just a moment and say what I really wanted to say originally. Which was in fact, don't lose hope. I have been blessed recently to find myself feeling rather good about life. Job is a little tedious, but at least I have one. I'm going to be coaching volleyball again in the fall as well as taking some art/art history classes , so I'm looking forward to that. And I'll be getting an apartment soon! All good things. And just a year ago, heck, just 6 months ago, I was thinking if I survived this year, it would be a miracle. It reminds me of something someone said on Twitter once: "Last year was shitty and this year I live in Paris. So if you aren't happy, cross your fingers for luck, put your head down and work." I know it's just Twitter, but I thought that was actually rather inspiring. So much can change in a year, or even in a few months, or sometimes even just a few days. As cheesy as it is, there really is no way to know what is going to step in front of your life's path.

So please, dear sparkle, sparkle fan, if you're having a tough time of it, don't lose hope. Much like connecting to your blog on your phone, sometimes it takes a few tries to make a proper connection. But seriously. Eventually you will find joy, and if you're not looking around, joy will inevitably find you.

Sparlke, Sparkle Showcase: Tim

I'm sure by this time you all were thinking, "Is Sparlke, Sparkle gone forever?? Where is the joy in life???" Well, have no fear, ladies and gents. I have not disappeared completely. Although that is slightly deceiving because today's post is actually by guest author, Tim. Here's a quick bio. Tim is a friend of Devin's, ergo, a friend of mine. He likes bike riding to and fro, using maps as decorative elements, formulating intricate plans to win the love of Katy Perry, and pondering the moon. So without further ado, a sparkly bit of prose from the one and only Tim.

***

a yarn of a pool

Today, I wanted to share a story with you about the pool party that never was meant to be. To give a fair warning: it’s a story of heartbreak. But stick with me because when the dust settles you just might learn something about yourself on this short journey we’re about to take.

Back in late January, I went with my friend Dan to the ARC to run on an early Sunday afternoon. I had made the stereotypical New Years resolution of getting into shape, and I knew that it would only last until mid-February, so I had to act while there was still time. We ran at the indoor track-- not anything too extensive, just enough for us to realize how much running sucks again. Afterward we decided to lounge in the pool.

The purpose of going to the pool was just to chill out after the run, it wasn’t meant to be any sort of intense exercise. After a while we learned it was a lot of fun just splashing around and jumping off the diving board. I reminded myself that I cannot jump off a springy diving board, and came to the realization that I may never learn how to properly do it, and will have to go through the rest of my life not being able to.

But anyway, between the splashing and jumping off the diving board in an incorrect manner, an idea hit me. Now, ideas flow through my mind on a daily basis like the Deepwater Horizon pumps oil into the Gulf of Mexico (is this joke too soon, or too late? Maybe a little bit of both). But this was different, and I knew it right from the onset. My idea was a simple one: sometime in the spring we should all get together and have a pool party at the outdoor pool here at the ARC. You know, there will be sunshine, warm weather, beach balls, dance music, everything.

But what day to choose? That, my friend, is simple. The very first day the outdoor pool opens. Why? Why not? But what day was that? I had no idea, so I decided to ask the lifeguard there, “Could you tell me when the outdoor pool opens?”. “Well, I think it’s late April, early May, I’m not exactly sure.”

This, of course, was absolutely no good. I’m a man of dates, of specifics, of marking things on a calendar. I can’t pencil in vagueness into my calendar.

So, I got to work. On Monday I called the ARC and started my investigation. They told me that the ARC outdoor pool was set to open on Saturday, April 30th. I searched weather records, finding average highs, average lows in Champaign, IL for April 30th. The data was overwhelming. Numbers, graphs, charts, old video weather reports dating back to 1982. Finally, I arrived at a conclusion: the average high was 61 degrees. Is this doable? Yes. Well, wait. Actually 61 is quite cool for swimming weather, isn’t it? Well, it’s not that big of a deal, and 61 degrees would never stop me from going into the pool. Ever.

Turns out, that’s exactly what happened. (This is the rising action part of the story).

It was decided and the date was set. A simple Facebook event was created, and invites were sent out. People were excited. I was going to buy a beach ball. What could go wrong?

Actually, several things. The first major clue came in mid-February. At approximately 3:30 a.m. I decided to run the Champaign-Urbana Half-Marathon, which, coincidentally, was April 30th. The same exact day as the pool party. Well, I decided I would do both. The race was in the morning so it left plenty of time for pool fun in the afternoon.

What followed was 2 and a half months of patiently waiting. The buzz was building up. Rumors were flying around about guest celebrities that were set to make an appearance. The week before the pool party was relatively quiet, and again, this should have been a clue that something was amiss, but alas the curtain of naivety was placed before me and my conscious coaxed me into thinking that everything was all right.

Then, during the week before the party all of a sudden I get news from my friend, Sarah. She told me that the website of the ARC has the pool opening on Sunday, May 1st. May 1st!? No! This can’t be.

Needless to say, my world was completely flipped upside down. We were mere days away from the big day and just like that the date had been pushed back. I immediately got on the phone with the ARC. They said that the pool always opens on May 1st, and it was never set to open April 30th. I knew I was defeated. Frustrated, I said, “You have no idea how this impacts the lives of so many people,” and hung up.

Well, I calmed down. The date would just have to be moved to the next day. Luckily, many people still had their schedules free on that Sunday so it was not much of a hardship.

Race day arrived. It was a perfect day to run, and likewise would have been great for a pool party. The original forecast was for rain the entire weekend, but Saturday slipped by as being a nice spring day.

The next day, Sunday, May 1st, is when it all went down. In the morning, it was very nice out-- sunny, warm in the mid 60s. You could tell it was going to be a bit chilly to be jumpin in any pools, but it was definitely doable. Then, around 1pm in the afternoon the temperature dropped. It got cloudy and cool very fast. Now we were in the 50s with just a couple of hours until the party at 3pm.

At around 2:30 you could just tell no one was going to show up, but the captain always has to go down with his ship, and I decided that I was going to go anyway. At least I’ll be able to say I was in that pool the first day it opened.
Well, two of my buddies somehow agreed, and we decided to meet at 3pm. I got to the ARC just before then and as I entered I saw that the pool was completely deserted. When I went inside there was a sign at the desk to swipe in that said “Pool Closed.” Pool closed? I asked the attendant about it. “Well, when the temperature gets below 60 degrees the lifeguards have to close the pool because it’s too cold. It’s a safety thing.”

Talk about dreams getting crushed. And safety issue? Please! I don’t need Big Brother going around telling me when it’s too cold to jump in frigid water and when it’s not. I can get hypothermia all by myself, thank you.

That was it. My two friends and I went in the indoor pool, but it was not the same as a full fledged outdoor shindig.

Sometimes in life, you gotta roll with the punches every now and then. Sure, plans didn’t go as expected, but at each stage you have to view with what was given to you and go from there. Just because things didn’t go exactly as you had planned doesn’t mean you failed. Look at it as being nudged into changing direction. Take it from nature herself-- flexibility is key. Trees bend instead of resisting the wind. Bears just sleep for a whole winter because it’s cold out and can’t find anything else to do. Elephants got stuck with a really long nose but they use to to throw twigs and stuff at each other. I think you get the idea.

So I think we can all sparkle a little brighter if we keep our heads high, never look back, but also never forget the lessons learned from the past. My lesson? You’re really throwing the dice when you plan to swim when it averages 61 degrees outside. But you know, I would still play those odds any day of the week. Life can punch you in the stomach sometimes, but you have to get back up and kick it right back, because you just can’t take that nonsense from anybody, especially if you’re trying to plan an outrageous pool party.

Summer, Or That Time of the Year When I Don't Want To Cry When I Go Outside

I'm a warm weather girl. I don't think there's ever been a time when I've actually been excited about going out into 30-degree weather. Some people relish the crisp sting of frigidness, but if I could, I'd hibernate inside from November to March. I hate the way you have to tense your muscles just to retain any sense of warmth, rendering you perpetually sore for an entire season. I hate the way you have to wear 18 layers of clothes just to feel remotely comfortable. I hate the way my fingernails turn blue on a regular basis and my nose always feels like ice. Snow is pretty, but I don't want to be in it. Give me a white Christmas, and then pack it up by New Year's, thank you very much.

Anyhow, this ranting is not to focus on the trials of winter, but rather to show you all just how much I love summer! Summer is warm and bright. The days are long and the nights are beautiful. Sure, we midwesterners deal with humidity that does scientifically unexplainable things to a gal's hair, but it's a small price to pay for being outside without growing icicles off your eyelashes. So now that it's officially summer, here's some things I'm looking forward to in this hot and sunny season...

*Eating and drinking outside is fabulous. I can't think of anything more pleasant than sitting outisde in the evening after the worst of the heat is gone and just relaxing in the sunset. Doesn't it sound like a Norman Rockwell poster of the 21st century? I mean, really. Talk about a utopia. As long as there's no 50 mph wind (which, unfortunately, is rare in Nebraska) I would do this everyday.

*The OUTDOOR pool! Woo! Let's get excited for laying out right next to a glittering oasis of chlorine! Except that's going to have to wait here in Seward. Apparently there were some massive repair errors at the Seward Municipal Pool, and now it won't be open for another couple of weeks. Well, you say, just go to another pool in town. Ha! Do you know where I live? We're lucky to even have one. So I continue to trek to the YMCA and swim inside, which is less conducive to tanning/burning in my case.

*As kids, my brothers and I would always get dragged along to outdoor summer concerts by my parents (read: by Papa Lange) and although I don't really remember getting into the music, I do remember running around various parks, just absorbing summer at it's finest. Now that I'm older and can appreciate this, I'm going off on my own summer concert adventure. Yes, I will be channeling my inner hippie at Bonnaroo, a music festival in Tennessee. Despite my nerves about possibly not sleeping and/or showering for 4 days, I'm pumped to see talent the likes of the Black Keys, Florence + the Machine, Amos Lee, Alison Krauss (Cham-paign Cen-tral clap, clap, clap-clap-clap), Mumford & Sons, Iron & Wine and oh so many more. Not to mention, Lil Wayne will be there, so how can you go wrong?

*Summer themed cupcakes! Why stop at cake when you can take that extra leap and make summer cake?? Really, all this involves is putting some fruit or something on top, and you instantly have something that is more reminiscent of warm weather and summer vacation. I like raspberries and strawberries, personally. There's also the bonus of getting sucked into the delusion that putting fruit on cake makes it healthy. Which is totally accurate, right? Riiiight.

And there's so many other things that are wonderful about summer. Summer dresses, summer storms, summer road trips, summer sporting events, summer weddings... the list goes on and on. So soak up your summer! Get outside and do something that looks like it could be a spread in a home-living magazine! Roller blade! Bike ride! Jump rope! Hop scotch! Drink scotch! Whatever you need to do to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year, do it! Marvel at this world in its peak of alive-ness. And don't forget the sunscreen! (mostly note to self.) Happy summer!

My Therapy, Or Why I Like To Swim

I can't be upstairs with my grandparents right now because they're watching Minute to Win It. I don't have anything against that show, but it makes me so nervous to watch people do ridiculous things like bounce pencils into cups or balance a slinky on their head. I just can't handle it. Don't ask me why, usually game shows don't have this adverse of an effect on me, but that's just how this is. (I'd much rather be watching Hour to Deflower, right Davo?) So here I am, in the basement, Sparlke, Sparkling it up for you all.

I've been swimming a lot lately and I've been thinking about why it is that I like this form of exercise so much. One, I hate to run, and this feels a little like the kinder, gentler cousin of running that doesn't make me want to scream in agony. Two, I like being in the water. I always have. As long as it's not frigid, I'm happy being in a pool or lake or ocean. It just feels nice, don't ask me why. And three, swimming is the best form of self-therapy I've ever discovered. Think about it. You can't really listen to an iPod in the pool (unless you get super fancy and buy a bunch of water-proof gear, but that's kind of ridiculous in my opinion). So there's a ton of time to think. Sometimes it's trivial thinking, but recently I've seen a lot of correlation between the act of moving through the water and just life in general. Bear with me here. Swimming can be broken down into three simple parts.

Pull. This would be the arms part, for those of you unfamiliar with the sport. This is where I do the most work, mostly because my legs get lazy, but I can be much more efficient when I really reach forward on each stroke. That's basically how life works, right? I don't think I need to tell you that if you put a little effort into whatever it is you're doing, it's easier to achieve those goals. I've been mood-swingy about my current job and life situation these days - feeling like I'm not really good at what I'm being asked to do at work, and not always enjoying it either. Maybe I'm not reaching far enough. Recently, Devin told me she doesn't want to see me settle simply because it's the easy thing to do. What a wise best friend I have. It's hard to pull yourself forward, but you kind of just have to do it to keep moving.

Kick. Obvious what this is about. Like I mentioned before, this is where I get lazy. It's really easy to let my arms do all the work and sort of drag along in the back. But that's exhausting, because then I have to deal with all of this dead weight that naturally wants to sink to the bottom of the pool. Hellooooo life metaphor! What happens when we don't actively work to slough off the negativity in our life? Yeah, it just tries to drown us. Whether it's tricky emotions, bad habits, or being tied down to the past, we have to kick these things if we want any chance of staying afloat. Get them off and away, and make sure they don't sneak back and grab hold again.

Breathe. This part is so rhythmic, you would think I'd forget it was happening. But this is the part that hurts the most. Not a consistent hurt, but when I'm tired, every breath is like fire in my lungs. And you can't just breathe however you want to, unless you want a nose full of water (which I don't...it will make me sneeze). Swimming forces me to breathe on a beat, a pulse, a 1-2-3-Breathe, 1-2-3-Breathe. Sometimes I don't think I'm going to make it past the 1-2, but I always do. I've never (yet) had to stop in the middle of the pool because I simply can't catch my breath. Even though it hurts and aches, I've realized I can go a lot further than I think. And such is life, no? Maintaining a sense of rhythm in life is good. It means we have something to push us along when we feel we're losing our grip. Just stick with your beat, whatever it is, and you'll probably be able to keep going even when it's rough.

So that's why I like to swim. Because I can find ways to cope with life and the curveballs it throws at me. Because it gives me some time to myself where I can reflect on the day or create my mental to-do list or whatever. And because when I'm finished, I come out totally clean. And that's a sparkly life-thought, too.

One Year Out.

Well, today is graduation day for a lot of folks in the great town of Valparaiso, Indiana. It's a little hard to believe that I'm no longer among the most recent grads of Valpo. I definitely don't feel like too much more of an adult than I did after I walked across the stage. And yet, when I reflect upon the last year and everything I've done and experienced and felt... then it starts to seem impossible that it could have all happened in only 365 days. Just for kicks, let me take you through a couple of the highlights (and lowlights) of the first year of "real life." This will be fun, I promise.

-I got a job. And not a lifeguarding summer job, not a 2 hours a week job in the Christ College office (although that was a sweet gig, who knew stuffing envelopes could be so fun?) But a real, legitimate, I have to sign a contract to accept this job, job. Granted, I don't think it's what I'll be doing for the rest of my life, but that's neither here nor there. I get paid on a regular basis, woo!

-I started living with my grandparents. This is where I sort of feel like I regressed a little in the process of becoming an adult, but I didn't think I was going to be in Nebraska for more than 3 months...then I didn't think I was going to be in Nebraska past this year...you see where this is going, no? But bottom line is that I'm fortunate to have family that will take me in from the rain and snow (a lot of it here, as much as Valpo? Hard to say.) and even make me dinner most days.

-I figured out how difficult it really is to get five girls together in the same town on the same days. Frankly, I'm amazed I got to meet up with my girlfriends from Valpo even twice this year. And though it's a little daunting to look forward to a whole year of logisitical planning to see people once in a blue moon, it's worth it when we finally reunite and the world spins properly on its axis once more.

-I went through the entire spectrum of possible emotions: joyous, sad, amused, bitter, excited, disappointed, surprised, tickled pink, numbed. You name it, I did it. Thankfully, I feel like I've reached a content, happy place (for the most part) and no longer am I tempted to climb to the top of my house and throw myself from it. Moral victory? I think so.

-Although not as thrilling as some of the more major events, I've learned a whole slew of completely specific art-related tasks that will most likely bear no practical importance to me in the future. But they're still fun to do, like making stained glass windows, or screenprinting or glazing ceramic tiles. I suppose you could call this "building my life resume?" Maybe. Still working on the language for all that.

OK, maybe that wasn't really that fun. But it's been an interesting year, and those are just the things that popped into my head during this brief look back. I can only imagine that the next year of my life will be just as surprising as the last, so I'm trying not to make as many unalterable plans as I did before. If anything, this year I've learned to go with the flow, because frankly, it's exhausting and quite pointless to swim against it. Things will happen or not happen, people will be there or not be there, you will move or not move. There's no way to know. But that's what makes it exciting, right? Or at least, that's what my dad is always telling me. So yeah, the first year as a real person is over.

Last thought, here. My friend Stephanie is an amazing singer and in one of her songs, she says, "Another year passes, I try to keep up. I wonder how it will all be beautiful." I think this everyday. I do wonder how my life will be beautiful, but I've learned that it could happen in a million different ways. I'll give you the update in another year, and we'll see where we're at. For now, congrats to all of you who are graduating. Keep your chins up if you can't see the future clearly, and keep your eyes open so you don't miss anything. Theoretically, it all comes together at some point. :)

Fashion, Or What You Should Be Wearing This Spring If You Want To Be Popular

Spring has been non-existent in Seward so far this year, but that does not mean spring fashion is going to hold its horses! Oh no. We must press forward toward a brighter, more fashionable future despite the fact that this abysmal weather only makes me want to wear sweatpants and hoodies. However, for those of you that know the fashion calendar, you know that "spring" fashion is really fall fashion. While the general public is just barely thinking about spring dresses and flip-flops in March, designers are already looking ahead to next winter. That's why they call it fashion-FORWARD. At any rate, you may normally go to Style.com to get up to date on the latest trends. But I argue that Sparkle, Sparkle is just as valid, if not more, of an insider source on the fads you shouldn't miss out on. Let's delve.

This girl is clearly making not only a fashion statement, but a philosophical declaration as well. By wearing her cardigan backwards, she defies the normality of button up sweaters and asserts that the opposite of our social standards may very well be considered par for the course, if only we open our minds to the endless possibilities of wearing our clothing improperly. My only question is this: why stop at cardigans? I hope spring 2011 is full of backwards hats, jeans and pumps. So metaphysical.

Just when you thought capes, floppy hats and velveteen pantaloons were so out, Christian Dior proves to us that some trends never go out of style. Whew, what a relief. I was hoping I'd get some more use out of my leatherette blouses.

Now this look really has a lot going for it. It's so accessible, so attainable for the average Joe or Josephine. Just grab your favorite thick-knit sweater, some costume wigs and a glue gun and you've got yourself a DIY project that will take mere minutes to complete. The result? Fashion. Pure fashion.

If someone would have told me last year that furry, rolling suitcases were going to be a must-have for this spring, I probably would have nodded sagely thinking, "Of course. It's about time." What I could not have told you however, was that it would be necessary to pair this timeless accessory with a hairstyle that resembles 1964 on speed. Now that I know this though, you can bet your bottom-dollar I'll be sporting this funky fresh combo as soon as I can get my hair dyed gray.

I'm sure I don't have to remind you of that commonly-said phrase in the fashion world, "Someone's always watching you from within the clothes." What? You've never heard of that phrase? Well, I hate to be so esoteric, but at least you'll get the gist now that you've seen this pretty little ensemble. Yes, those are eyes collaged into her shirt. Now you know why fashion says things like this. And let's not even talk about all of the catchphrases having to do with pink feathers emitting from one's hips. There are just too many to count.

So hopefully this Sparkle, Sparkle guide to spring/fall/arbitrary seasonal fashion will give you some great ideas for how to kick off the season in style. Yes, it's legit. Yes, you'll look amazing. Yes, everyone can pull it off. You're welcome.