"I'm building a Landon Donovan statue out of apple pie, BBQ and Jack Daniels in my front yard."

today's title courtesy of twitter.

so today is the first time i cried because of a sporting event. luckily, i'm not alone:

this all you're going to get out of me until the high wears off. until then, take a moment to appreciate our team:

edit: well, that was fast...

singing songs and carrying signs

today's title comes from for what it's worth by buffalo springfield. i've been going through this whole hippie/hermit phase lately. no, i don't understand it either.

anyway, since everyone else seems to be doing it, i thought i'd jump on the bandwagon and do a link roundup. so, here's all the things on the internet that've caught my eye lately.

this commercial, because it's awesome:

and to continue the football soccer trend, here's something cute:

apparently a kitten wandered onto the field and had to be carried off in the middle of a game. now let me hear you all say it: awww.

and here's something i've held off on posting for a long time, considering the reaction i got last time i posted anything bieber-related. rest assured, guys - it's good. 600-something people on tumblr agree. so listen to all of them and give this cover a chance:

now, onto the serious things:

from an actual tea party event. apparently there are now tea party crashers.

...or not.

this lovely public service announcement came from this article full of hilarious examples of religious propaganda gone wrong.

and-- oh, i give up. my life revolves around the world cup and will for the next month. here's what i've really been doing on the internet lately:

it's okay, stu. we still think you're pretty. 

ivory coast player didier drogba wins the cutest kid award:

and germany ties with us for the most ridiculous ref award:

but win for their reaction:

here ends your world cup roundup. have a nice day, kids.

the world cup just gets its own post

is it weird that the vuvuzelas are starting to grow on me? well, i don't start watching a match and go "oh my gosh, they're all being attacked by angry hornets" so i feel like that's an improvement.

i find it strange that some people aren't watching the world cup. i mean, i sort of understand not watching the eurocup okay, not really, it was still really interesting since we obviously don't play in it but --- the world cup? where we are actually, maybe, sort-of, please-don't-let-this-be-a-jinx-i-am-knocking-on-wood-with-one-hand-while-i-type have a chance?

i just don't get it. how could anyone not love an event that gives you goals like this:

highly accurate representation of events

reactions like this:

and dancing?

nobel peace prize winner desmond tutu

slovenia. who i once again like as long as they slaughter england next week.

oh, and team bonding!

okay, so this wasn't actually from the world cup. it's still their national team!

oh, fine. i'll post a real world cup gif:

wasn't that better?

what a difference a day makes

today's title comes from narcissus in a red dress by the like. in case i hadn't made it obvious, i love the like, so if you haven't already, check them out, especially if you're a fan of sixties throwback pop.

other things which are amazing include the world cup (of course), makeup (i got some), and the early release club. s-la has a pretty awesome recap of our alternative senior trip posted here, but she forgot one very important detail: the zoo. roller coasters are awesome and all but how could she not mention the cuteness that was:

prairie dogs! they were so cute. not as cute as my own dogs, of course, but close enough.

now, onto the makeup...

it wasn't a very big haul, but i did pick up two of my favorite things of all time, so i thought i'd share them with you.

thing the first is, as you may already know, lipstick. specifically, red red say-it-a-few-thousand-times-and-you-might-understand-how-red-it-is lipstick. in this case, shanghai express by nars.

and thing the second is my new favorite eyeshadow/liner palette of all time. it's so summery and fun. oh, and there's purple. i'm considering picking up another one and swapping out someone's graduation prezzie with it, what do you think? hopefully she'll use it - i've only had mine two days and i'm already in love. it's really great for everyday wear because it's mostly neutrals (and purple! which is supposedly good for brown eyes so my obsession is still justified). go ahead and admire it:

since the boring part of this post is over, let's get down to the important things: soccer and soccer players.

we'll begin by mourning michael ballack and cursing the ghanian player who injured him days before the world cup, depriving us of his hotness presence. here, comfort yourselves, children:

are you comforted yet? no? well, how about you show your patriotism and ogle one of our own players or at least enjoy him being ridiculous:

and even though we were robbed in our last match against slovenia, we at least have happy pictures and tweets like this to amuse ourselves with:

what? that last one had nothing to do with soccer? oops...

since this post is nothing but links and pictures anyway, here's one something i've been listening to a lot lately: 

every night i go sneaking out the door

today's title comes from mama do by pixie lott. i've been listening to her a lot lately. i'm not really sure why - maybe because her style reminds me of amy winehouse who is obviously not singing because she's... indisposed? anyway, listen to it:

since this blog has pretty much replaced my actual diary, i've been thinking that i should have posted about my last few days of school or how i only had to take two exams or how utterly depressed i am that school is ending. i should talk about those things, but i won't, because i've gotten all my nostalgia out already. besides, there's only one thing that really matters right now:

so, with that said, i'm going to turn off the computer, walk my dogs, and wait for the germany game to start.

shine when the sunset shifts

today's title is, once again, from tv on the radio's wolf like me. if you haven't listened to it yet (or heard it before - like i said before: it's old) scroll down and hit play. i'm four winds in love with it right now.

so gina tagged me in the little ha, little, i love you, gina, the way to my heart and bloggy affections is through shiny things and flattery award above (and i, being highly susceptible to flattery, am all sorts of pleased) so i'm going to go ahead and use this as an excuse to talk about my shopping adventures.

i headed out after the interviews (which seemed to go well, except for the part where the manager at guess asked my age at the end and then told me that she would hire me but would have to wait til i'm 18...when i'll be at college. which sucks. but if i need a job next summer i guess i know where to go) to do some graduation present shopping for myself. i picked up a few things for other people, don't worry, but the real highlights of my trip were these:

i got a few other things, too, like a black romper and a green shirt (for ten dollars! ten! at banana republic!) but they're in the washer so i can wear them this week. oh, and then i went to tyson's with the momster. be proud, everyone. i went to free people and bought something for another person who better be damn grateful or i will cut her.

now that i've shared my materialistic joy with everyone, time to follow the rules of the award:

so, five random facts about rachel:

1. all of my electronics have names. my first laptop was named dorothy parker, dot for short. this one is named compy. my ipod is ophelia and my phone is eve. i'm not sure why i always name things, but i think it has something to do with being an only child.
2. when in doubt, i blame my parents for everything. see fact #1. 
3. i worry all the time and about the most random things. i guess i think too much. like, it's impossible for me to get to sleep until i'm dead tired because my brain just won't shut off. 
4. i reread all my favorite children's book series at least once a year. it's all the basics: anne of green gables, betsy-tacy, harry potter, narnia, lord of the rings, and madeleine l'engle's books. 
5. i've had this bracelet since i was a baby. back then it was so big i could wear it around my neck as a necklace. the momster told me that i would grow into it but i still have to fasten it between the zebra and the elephant:

looking at that list, it's very obvious that i'm a pretty boring person. oh well. maybe in my next life i'll be Dramatic and Mysterious. of course, if reincarnation is real i'll probably end up as a cockroach in my next life for all the horrible things i've done (or plan to do, let's be realistic here) but cockroaches can be Dramatic and Mysterious, too. 

now i get to tag 5 bloggers for the award. oh boy! 

1. dulce candy and euchante tv. hell, i'll throw in the stylish wanderer, too, even though everyone already follows her. they're all actual fashion bloggers, so i don't think they need too much explanation. 
2. high kicks and high hopes. this is the blog of one of the radio city rockettes who i found - shameful as this is to admit - during the Dark Days of Yore when i was obsessed with panic! at the disco and the guitarist she was dating. since then she and said guitarist broke up...and then the guitarist broke up with his band...and my stalking activities are sadly curtailed. i still follow her for her interesting posts. it's not a fashion-centric blog but some of her posts are and her style is great.
3. the sassy curmudgeon. i found this blog via jenibean. it's great - she's snarky, looks up to carrie bradshaw as we all should and has great clothes.  
4. last and very definitely least since she is the worst blogger in the world and never updates is The Bean herself. jenibean has fun (albeit overwhelmingly black) clothes, but she's been branching out since the Dark Days of A Little Bit After Yore But Not Yet The Present and buying things with actual colors and patterns. sometimes she even cleans her closet. 

by the way, i finished reading john adams. it was really good. i still have half of that writing post i mentioned a few days ago saved in my drafts, so maybe i'll tack on a review and put it up later. i'm probably going to save it for another day, though. it has actual thinky thoughts in it and i want to do them justice. 

here's what i've been listening to a lot today:

my mind has changed my body's frame

today's title comes from wolf like me by tv on the radio. it's pretty old - i first heard it freshman year - but it was used on so you think you can dance last night and i fell right back in love with it. have a listen:

as you have probably guessed, that terrible immune system of mine decided to give up again last week. long story short: bacterial infection of the throat probably picked up through drink-sharing. dr. emperor-from-mulan, in true crazy doctor fashion, prescribed antibiotics, rest, and - merde - a maximum of two caffeinated drinks per day. two. apparently the caffeine + related nocturnalness (it is a word, damn it. stop lying to me, safari. it can be a word if i say it is) aren't helping my poor, beleaguered immune system.

tony from skins and i are in full agreement. also we're ecstatic that the skins movie is official!

it's actually been a pretty horrible week. the primary source of my discomfort isn't, as one might expect, the disgusting medicines i now take on a daily basis or the itchy state of my throat. no, it's much, much worse:

the momster donated all of our extended editions of lord of the rings to, like, goodwill or the salvation army or one of those. she "thought we had two copies". um, no. now i've only got the regular versions to watch! whatever am i going to do? my woe is endless.

the momster.

other than that, i'm doing pretty well. my makeup homework is, as expected, minimal. oh, and it's all done. so there's one worry off my mind. oh, and i have job interviews! one at cold stone on saturday morning and one at guess in the afternoon. i'm excited. wish me luck?

the lulus have been acting very strangely lately. first, lulu was like this:

and then cookie was like this:

and then lulu turned on her Cute Face and all was well:

until:

my dogs - they're terrifying.

i'm actually going to start in on a second post tonight. it might go up tonight or tomorrow, depending on when i finish it. it's going to be all about books and writing, which seemed too unrelated to this post for me to include it. until then, amuse yourself with one of my favorite dance-around-the-house songs:

and glozelle. who you better watch. especially you, s-la:

oh, and here's another fun video just because: