The Smooch! Project

I was going to save this to post on Valentine's Day, but I can't wait. It's too good to hold in.


The other night I was lazily browsing through the interwebbs (instead of responding to emails) when I stumbled upon this website called The Smooch! Project.

What is The Smooch! Project, you ask?

It is a project started by Minnesota photographer Bonnie Fournier, who one day noticed just how much joy she felt when looking at a photo of her sister smooching her on the cheek. She decided to start a project based on the idea of mudita, or "appreciative joy," a word used to describe the feeling one experiences when witnessing another's good fortune.

And this project, she decided, would be a testing of that idea. So she take pictures of people kissing their loved ones on the cheek.

And she already has thousands of them!

According to the website, it is "intended to serve as a documentary record demonstrating that all humans, regardless of social, economic, or political barriers, share a joyful willingness to welcome love and affection into their lives. The artist's goal is to collect 10,000 exhibition-quality images."


If you ever need a reminder of the basic beauty that is love, this is the place to go.

Today I kinda needed a pick-me-up. So I opened The Smooch! Project on my browser and probably watched a solid five minutes of pictures slide by. By the end, I felt so much better.


If that was the goal of her project, then I'd say it was a huge success! 

Open Letter to Guys with Facial Hair

Dear Scruffy Boys,

There's just something about you that makes my heart go pitter-patter.

Even if, on second glance, you may not be my particular type, I will still crane my neck, awkwardly stop talking, lose my train of thought, and all around embarrass myself immediately when I first get a glimpse of you.

You men just look better with facial hair. I don't know what it is.

For example, we'll start with Zac Efron. Not my cup of tea... too "pretty boy" for me.

But give him a little facial hair, and ...

Not bad.

Or let's look at Jake Gyllenhaal. He's looking kinda cute as a clean shaven fellow. 

Not bad. 

But with some facial hair -- SHA-BAM!

And last, but not least, the Sexiest Man Alive, Ryan Reynolds.

A beautiful specimen already.
 

But add a little scruff, and ....

 

.. Be still, my heart.

*Excuse me while I catch my breath*

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Aaaaannywaaay...

Gentlemen of the world, please stay always rugged and natural. It suits you.

Though, let's not get carried away.

That, my friends, is the definition of getting carried away.

Also, on a side note, let's maintain at least a little weight and not revert completely to a hipster state of being. I prefer a little meat on the bones.

Sincerely,
Looking for My Own Mountain Man

Someday, I will have a personal library...

... and it will look like this.

Signing Up for a Little T.L.C.

I just spent $20 on a coupon for an hour-long massage (which is normally about $45).

Swoop!

Don't laugh. I think it's a perfectly good way to spend my money. In fact, when I get rich, I am going to get a massage at least once a month. They're heaven. 

And if I don't do all the other expensive things like dying/highlighting my hair, getting manicures/pedicures, and/or drinking a venti chai latte with two shots of espresso every day, I'll be able to easily afford (and justify) that massage. 

Yup. Can't wait. 

Maybe I'll treat myself to that massage on Valentine's Day. A single girl's got to do something special for herself on a day like that.

I mean, Valentine's Day is a day of love, after all. And I can't think of a better way to say "I love myself" than with a little massage therapy. 

The Winter Drearies

It’s still wintery and dreary outside. I’m ready for a change of pace. I’m ready for school to start.

You’d think that having so much time off would be a godsend for creativity. With all this free time, surely I’d be able to get around to all the things I want to do, like finish that novel, take a gazillion pictures, finish setting up my blog.

I’ve done some of it. I have this fancy new domain name — www.virginiafrommontana.com — which I am really excited about (but it isn't finished yet, so no need to start heading that direction regularly just yet). And I’m on the constant lookout for the perfect background theme for my blog (still haven’t found one). 

I also got out of the house to take a few pictures, and I’ve been fairly constant about blogging.

But life is slow and boring. I need responsibilities back.

Every time I start imagining I’d be happier giving it all up and living a secluded life as a hermit in the mountains, painting and writing for days with zero human interaction, something like this snow storm happens.

Then, of course, I realize that I’d shrivel up and die without contact with other people. And I love being under pressure. I love stress. I gravitate toward it.

It’s a disease. Currently seeking the cure. Any suggestions?

Strolling Through Campus

Cabin fever is definitely hitting hard. After all this is over, we'll have been doing practically nothing for six days. That's almost the length of spring break, except we're all stuck inside.

So yesterday, after getting out of the house for lunch and coffee, I decided to take my Canon out for a walk in the snow.

Another Day Off and Counting

Today is the first time in about three days that I have put on pants.

Jeans.

I meant jeans.

That being said, not wearing pants at all would have been quite liberating. And cold. Not sure how much my roommates would appreciate it either.

Anyway, what I meant to say was that I am wearing jeans today. And I got out of the house. Another first.

Val and I are at Panera, where I ordered their delicious, to-die-for mac and cheese. I saw a few friends, wrote a couple blogs, read a few other bogs, and have basically frittered away a solid three or four hours doing everything but my miniscule amount of work I actually need to get done. This is pathetic.

And school was just cancelled for tomorrow. Which means that, including the weekend, we'll have had six days off. A mini spring break in the dead of winter. Excellent.

I need to get out of the house more.

The Pursuit of All Things Trivial

In an effort to stem the tide of boredom flooding our house during the "snowpocalypse," my roommates and I whipped out the Trivial Pursuit.

Another Great Way to Waste Time

If you are still stuck in the snow like I am, or need a distraction from your otherwise busy life, check this out.

Just type in a film title, and it pops out a thesis statement that's way more articulate, concise, in-depth -- not to mention incredibly pompous (just what professors love) -- that I could ever be on my own.

Brilliant!

I may or may not be planning to use this on absolutely every paper I write between now and graduation.

Excursion to the Garbage Bin

The garbage bin may or may not be only five feet from the door. But from the vantage point of our front door, the trek between looked dangerous. Maybe watching the weather report for a couple hours straight this morning filled us with a bit more caution than we would normally feel.

Taking pictures of the snow.

But about halfway through the morning, Madison needed a change of scenery.

She decided to take out the garbage.