I Think I Can, I Think I Can...Swim?

"I just...."

"C'mon, go for it!"

"I don't know yet."

"Here let me show you, it's really easy."

"Wait a second!"

"No, we'll do it together! You'll love it!"

"Hang on! I'm not sure!"

"You don't have to be! Just try it!"

"Just hold on! I'm thinking first!"

"There's not much to think of - let's GGG-"

"WAIT!

"GGggggoOOOOOOOOO!"

One Day, I'll Drive a Ridiculous Car Too

Sometimes when I open my mouth, I hear my dad. Then I look around and Ben Lewis is no where to be found.

How did he manage to say something so quickly and leave? Where did he go?

Oh, it was me speaking. It's just that I am turning into my father.

Is this everyone's worst nightmare? Or is this everyone's eventual reality?

My dad and I are the kind of people who claim to be Type B, but we have so many Type A qualities that the latest edition of the DSM can't keep up with us.

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

I cannot take all the credit for these chocolate chip cookies because I'm not Mrs. Tollhouse, the Inventor of the Chocolate Chip Cookie or anyone like that. I have to give major props to Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction because this recipe has so many great cookie tricks that it is basically FOOLPROOF and a great starting point for any soft, chewy cookie you'd like to try.

20 Facts You Didn't Need to Know

I have this older brother, but this post isn't about him. I essentially grew up as an only child because he is that much older than me, so this post is about me. On my blog. I'm writing about myself on my blog.

You're stunned, I know, but that's sort of the deal you signed up for when you decided to read this post about me on my piece of the web.

Welcome to my self-centered life!

Alice & Mary Blair: Two Cool Ladies

Like any semi-grown twenty-something, Disney movies made a huge impact on my upbringing and the colorful scenes of all those animated feature films set a fire within my imagination. I will gladly belt out any song from Beauty and the Beast at any given moment with gusto. When I watch any of these movies at home (which is way more often than my husband wants to admit), it's basically a sing-along for me.

Don't even get me started on Frozen because that soundtrack is on repeat in my iTunes library on a daily basis.

Growing Up in a Girl's World

At a very early age, I wanted to go to college and have some kind of career. I spent most of third grade writing extra credit papers about all of the planets to hone my writing and research skills.

When I found out about a nearby college-prep middle school, I begged my parents to send me even though that meant years of carpooling.

As soon as I could drive, I started taking community college classes and learning about scholarships.

I never aspired to be married or to have a family. Maybe it's because I was so hyper-intense about school, but my parents never encouraged me to do that or even made mention of it.

Perfection in Shaming You

Body shaming is when you shame another person (or yourself for that matter) for being overweight or large or just not the kind of body that you have been conditioned to view as normal/beautiful/worthy/etc. I have been grappling with this issue for awhile. How do I feel about it? Do I think this is a real thing worthy of my attention? What message am I sending to my children by calling another person fat? By calling myself fat? Short and fat of it, no less. What do I want to contribute on this subject, if anything?

Hump Day Brain Dump

Hump Day: The peak of the week where everything should go downhill thereafter, but we all know poop can manage to float to the top anyway.

Brain Dump: An attempt to organize my jumbled thoughts and internet discoveries so that my mind can have some room to endure the remainder of the week.