Five on Friday

Happy Friday!

I am again linking up with The Good Life Blog, Hello! Happiness, Carolina Charm, and A. Liz Adventures for "Five on Friday."

  

It's always fun to string together five totally random thoughts.

~~ONE~~

It is pretty ridiculous how much text messages -- especially those from my sister-in-law -- crack me up. What's likely even more ridiculous is how I look when I read those messages, especially when I'm walking down the hallway at school, alone in the copy room, or in the middle of a silent meeting.

For instance, here is a string of messages that Aly and I sent back and forth on Wednesday:

We also sent a "smile off," but I'll spare you those hot-mess pictures.

Now, if you've never seen Jimmy Fallon and Channing Tatum's "Ew," you probably don't understand why this was cracking me up so much. (And honestly, even if you have seen the skit, you probably still don't understand. For some reason it just kills us. We can recite the entire thing word-for-word -- and often do. I'm giggling just thinking of it now.)

I posted Channing Tatum's Ew before, so I'll post another one that's pretty funny today. You can thank me later.

~~TWO~~

I mentioned about a month ago that I was thrilled to be able to wear one of my favorite pairs of jeans again. The pair that I fit into at that time was a somewhat relaxed fit of Silvers -- and you'd better believe that I've worn the crap out of them in the last few weeks.

Well, this week I tried on yet another pair of my jeans: my super-skinny Express jeans. And, they fit!

Granted, I have a bit of a muffin top with the super-skinnies right now, but I was so thrilled that they slid on smoothly, zipped up with no problem whatsoever, and looked decent that I could've cared less that my silhouette was not super smooth.

I rocked 'em -- and I will continue to do so as I know they'll keep looking better and better and better.

~~THREE~~

The weather in Des Moines this week has been abysmal. First, it has dipped back down into the thirties! Seriously, Iowa, it's May! Second, it has rained every single day that I have been back from Atlanta. 

I know you were dying for a cute kitty picture,
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You know what doesn't go well together? Rain and frigid temperatures and tennis. Last night was brutal.

Luckily, the weather in Lincoln is looking superb for race day: a high of 75 degrees with a 0% chance of precipitation. It doesn't get much better than that, friends.

~~FOUR~~

This is a little late, but I had to share with you a story for National Donate Life month, which just passed us in April.

Please take three minutes and watch this video, as it involves one of the most inspirational stories that I have ever heard. Cindy, one of my greatest graduate school (and even better real-life) friends, and her husband had one heck of a year: Freddie's heart was attacked by a virus and required numerous surgeries and procedures, constant monitoring, and prolonged stays at Mayo Clinic prior to receiving a second chance at life: a heart and kidney transplant three months ago. Through all of their trials and tribulations, Cindy and Freddie (and their wonderful children) never lost hope and remained the most loving, gracious, and beautiful people they are.

Photo courtesy of stolen from Cindy's Facebook page

If you are in the Des Moines area, please consider attending a celebration and silent auction to help the Windsor family on May 17th with some of the financial burden that they have faced (as you can imagine, it is quite extensive). If you would like more information or, if you are not in Central Iowa but would like to donate, please contact me.

And most importantly, please consider organ donation. It truly is the most generous gift one can give.

~~FIVE~~

I wish that May Day was still a thing for grown-ups. I used to love making May Day baskets, sneaking over the the neighbors' houses and "ding-dong-ditching" before they spied us.

And, let's be real, I loved receiving May Day baskets in return.

Although, I'm kind of glad I don't have to deal with them with the whole "Pinterest Age" that we're in. Seriously, look at the ones in this picture:

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And these were the least crafty ones that I found on a quick Google Image search. I'm pretty sure my May Day baskets were styrofoam cups with a name scribbled on in Sharpie and stuffed full with popcorn, Hershey's Kisses, and Pixie Stix.

As much as I love Pinterest, I feel like it probably causes a lot of one-upping (and angst) for a lot of people.

But I digress: I love May Day baskets and want to bring that tradition to the 30-something crowd. But maybe instead of candy and whatever the heck is in the ones above, ours could include vodka and Ibuprofen.

What is your favorite YouTube video? I love me some laughs! What is a childhood tradition that you'd like to bring to adulthood?


Happy Friday!