Strange habits. And rainbows.

This post might end up being the one post that sends you away thinking "wow, what a strange gal!" But I'm okay with that because indeed, sometimes I am a strange girl. There are times I LOVE being a strange girl because it gets a laugh and I LOVE making people laugh. So here's my confession, I love rainbows and as a result I have developed some peculiar habits surrounding ROYGBIV.


Why rainbows? Because they're visually pleasing to the eye. If you line up crayons, post it's, anything really, in rainbow order, it's just easier to look at. Heck, even Apple lines up their iPod's in rainbow order on their website! Here are some of my rainbow habits:


1. The Closet. When I'm super organized (which I admit is rare) I hang all my clothing according to rainbow order. I start with whites, then pink then I run through ROYGBIV and then cap it off with black and then finally dark to light neutrals. I can't tell you how pleased I am after this is accomplished.

2. Highlighting. When I have multiple things to highlight on a single sheet of paper, I always go in rainbow order. You don't always have the full spectrum, but I stay in order as much as possible.


3. Candy eating. Why I only care about eating food in rainbow order when it's candy and not good ol' lunch, I don't know. Any sort of multi-colored candy I have to eat in rainbow order. A perfect example is M&M's. Now, I don't just tear open a bag and start fishing for reds, I've got this down to an exact process. If you don't think I'm crazy yet, you will after I explain.

Christie's guide to eating M&M's in rainbow order

Open bag.

Pour out M&M's







Start to line M&M's in columns according to color.

Continue sorting until all M&M's are in their respective color columns.

Start eating column of M&M's with largest number. Continue eating until column is equal with next largest number.

After all columns are equal, eat in rainbow order. This can be done singularly, in groups or by selecting the top M&M from each column so you are eating one of every color.

Continue eating until only one M&M is left in each color column. Finish by eating singularly or all together.

Mmm. Tasty!

A hug is the new high-five

I love hugs. Hugs can be platonic, excited, friendly, welcoming, warm, romantic and just plain awesome. Who doesn't like getting hugs? One great thing about not living close to a lot of my friends is the fact that I get to hug them when I see them. If I have a bad day, just a couple minutes of a hug turns my mood right around. A hug can comfort you in ways that are unexplainable when situations arise that are too deep for words. A hug is a genuine way to say "I care about you."

Apparently not everyone shares my love for hugs. Apparently there are school principals and teachers around the nation who view hugs amongst friends as "dangerous territory." Really? You think hugs are dangerous? Are the concerned that a hug will lead to a kiss which will lead to....? Give these kids some credit. It's a hug. I hope this isn't what America has come to. Forbiding hugs - give me a break!

I hereby make it my personal vow to hug as much as possible. Not so much that I get creepy or anything, but when necessary and relevant, I'm gonna hug. You're gonna like it.

Ear plugs

There are some days that I really wish I would invest in a pair of ear plugs. I'd carry them in my purse because there are so many times a day I could use them!

Do you ever go into sensory overload? I do. I don't know that it's really a sensory overload but more of a sound overload. It happens to me when there are so many sounds my brain is trying to process that I start to go nuts. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, I absolutely hate it. It happened today.

I was at work where our office walls are pretty thin and you can usually hear a conversation next door, especially if folks are laughing. Well I've already got a jaw ache (cavity fillings yesterday, ugh!) and so my sensitivity is heightened. There were three people chatting in one office next to me, what sounded like two people in the office on the other side and at least four people talking loudly and laughing down the hall. Now I'm not saying that casual conversation doesn't belong in the work place. It does. It's to no fault of the people talking, I'm just a bit cranky and my brain was trying to process every voice all at once. Couple that with hearing the phone ring and doors opening and closing and printer's printing. Yikes. My head almost exploded.

So on my next shopping trip, I'll once again debate on whether or not to buy some ear plugs. If you see me wearing them, take no personal offense.

The Simpsons, Frank Sinatra, the U.S. flag and Edgar Allen Poe

What do these four have in common? In the present or some time in the past, these four have all been featured on a United States Postal Service stamp. That didn't even cross your mind, did it? Here's my beef with the postal service and it has nothing to do with their service. As a friend of mine pointed out, they do a heck of a job delivering a letter from NY to CA for only 42, scratch that, 44 cents.

I'm not really that agitated about the price increase. They need to make money, I get it. What I'm irked about are the stamp designs. Please don't think I'm unpatriotic but I'm incredibly bored with the the Liberty Bell and the U.S. flag. I've always thought of stamps as the accessory on an envelope. Just like a pair of diamond studs says classy and sophisticated to an outfit, a U.S. flag says here's my money Westar, thanks for the electricity. Boring! Although I must admit that the newest flag design is a vast improvement over the past few.

Instead of issuing a set of stamps that contains brightly colored flowers or a stain glass window design, they issue this, this, and Lord help us, this!

I have no desire to put cartoon characters with electric solid backgrounds on my neatly addressed, pretty envelope. The Olympics have been over for some time now, and Mr. Poe would necessitate for me to address my envelope with my left hand to make his creepy portrait stamp work.

I don't think I'm asking for too much. A cheery, relevant stamp. Alas, I've decided to purchase the newest "love" stamp, the King and Queen of Hearts. It's the best out of the bunch.

I'm begging the stamp designers out there, please, no more Edgar Allen Poe!

Staying committed

Do you know what I really don't like? I don't like it when some one says they are going to do something and then they don't. Like they tell you that they're going to be ready to go out around 10:00 pm and then at 11:15 you're tapping your toes (in your new black patent leather high heels you're waiting to show off) as they finish styling their hair. Or what about when people start a blog and promise to faithfully create entries and then disappear for months at a time? That's this girl.

I had to turn my life over to the Columbian Theatre for the good parts of February and March, hence my inability to muster enough energy during my one hour of free time a night to blog. But I shall prevail! Look for more entries coming soon....be cause I said I would.

Hitting all the red lights

I despise slow drivers. Especially the ones who drive 3-4 miles below the speed limit. I also hate when I get stuck in a pattern of catching every single yellow light. I don't like congested traffic, especially when I get boxed in by two previously mentioned slow drivers. I don't like getting into my car when it's hot and stuffy but more than that, I hate rolling the windows down because I can't seem to get my hair to blow behind me, it always blows into my face.

But today is a new day. Today is the day that I was begging for and seeking out each and every one of these. Today, it was 84 degrees in Manhattan, KS. Yes, it's March 5 and it feels like May 30. I loved it. I had to force myself back to work after my lunch break. Driving back to work is when I realized I didn't mind driving 27 mph with the windows rolled down and hitting every red light. Heck, the lights would turn yellow and I'd slam on my breaks in an attempt to spend one more minute in the sun. And that stuffy car never felt so fantastic. I didn't even mind the hot steering wheel. This is grilling weather my friends, beer and brats. And that's exactly what my night consisted of, after hitting every red light on the way home.

Karate Chop!

I have encountered many things in my life that I feel are completely underrated. Cheese, socks, space heaters, french toast, things like that. As I slowly approach my third decade (yikes!) in this life, I think I've found the most underrated thing. The karate chop.

I'm not referring to the "hey hold this concrete block steady so I can smash it with my karate chop" kind of chop. I'm referring to the "oh my goodness I'm in sore muscle heaven...keep going" karate chop. It's a massage technique and it is oh so underrated. It's able to find sore and tense muscles you never knew existed. As much as I love the traditional "kneading" technique to massages I'm seriously contemplating a request that my masseuse give me a full 60 minutes of the karate chop.

So next time your shoulders and back and....okay I'll admit it, your butt are sore, ask your loved one to give you a karate chop massage. You'll be so glad you did! LOVE it!