a couple of years ago i was sitting bored at my computer at work. for some reason i started looking at wedding dresses (for no particular reason at all) and stumbled upon a site call theknot.com. in order to look at wedding dresses, however, you had to sign up. which included setting a wedding date.

i just got an email today saying 10 months to go! it advised me that i should be shopping for my gown, auditioning djs and bands and booking my officient.

i suppose i better get on that.

i'm really tired right now and i just want to sleep but i have a ton of homework to do.

plus, i really want lots of sweets right now. like frosting. and chocolate chip cookies. and ice cream.

but i can't. but i can thursday night. i'll try and hold off until then.

for now....back to homework and 3d. eh.

my eye is twitching, i'm dead exasted. i had to do a mad dash across campus today that should have worked off all the food i ate in the past 24 hours...it was a long haul. i think i'm going to go take a nap and then have at-er again. to do tonight:

-3hd!
-art history paper
-read art history
-inventors of the future paper work
-battle of the bands preparations
-yoga make-up at 4:30

i have a lot of 3d to do this week. blah.

what????

Australia's Thorpe retires from competitive swimming

By MERAIAH FOLEY, Associated Press Writer
November 20, 2006

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe retired from competitive swimming Tuesday at the age of 24, saying breaking records "wasn't as inspiring as it should have been."

Thorpe, who held a news conference at a Sydney hotel, said he decided at "2:53 on Sunday afternoon" not to swim at next year's world championships in Melbourne and to end his pro swimming career.

"It's been a tough decision to make," he said. "I had to pick a time, that was the time. None of my goals included breaking any more world records. I knew how to do it, but it wasn't as inspiring as it should have been."

Speculation swirled for months about whether Thorpe planned to pull out of the world championships or quit the sport entirely. Local media reports predicted Thorpe would pull out of the national trials in Brisbane next month, citing the effects of a recent bout with glandular fever.

Plagued by illness, injury and a lack of motivation, Thorpe hasn't competed in a major international event since the Athens Olympics.

Thorpe burst onto the swimming scene as a teenager and swam to 13 world records between 1999-2002, becoming an international star after dominating at the Sydney Olympics.

"I was catapulted into the international limelight as a kid," he said.

He had to train in California earlier this year to escape the heavy media scrutiny in Australia.

"I've reached all the dizzying heights of this sport," he said. "I've also had a tremendous amount of success. I've also had setbacks -- the last round of them sent me to LA where I could focus on what I was doing with fewer distractions than I have here."

Thorpe said his training has gone well in the United States, but he still decided it was time to call it a career.

"It's a very dark question for me. Swimming has been a security blanket," he said. But, "I haven't balanced out my life. I realized I had to prioritize other things and had to let swimming take a back seat -- I'm looking at the next phase."

Thorpe and American Michael Phelps are acknowledged as the stars of the sport.

"Ian was an inspiration and a terrific champion," Phelps said in a statement. "He elevated the worldwide interest in swimming and was a great ambassador to our sport. I wish him the best of luck in the future."

The Australian swimmer, nicknamed "Thorpedo," won the 200- and 400-meter freestyle events at the Athens Olympics.

He planned a yearlong break after Athens, claiming "mental fatigue" and hoping to stay fresh for major competitions down the road.

He later decided not to compete at last year's world championships in Montreal, then dropped out of the Commonwealth Games in March.

Thorpe, who won five Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles, did not entirely rule out a comeback.

"I never rule anything out, but it's not going to happen," he said as more than 100 photographers and reporters packed a hotel conference room for the announcement.

U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel called Thorpe a great Olympic champion.

"Whenever Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe were on the pool deck together, there was instant electricity," Seibel said in a statement. "It had the feel of a championship prize fight or game seven in a World Series. You couldn't wait for the race to start, and once it did, you didn't want it to end. It was captivating ... two great competitors who brought out the best in each other and represented the highest values of international competition."

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-thorpequits&prov=ap&type=lgns

my sister, the stud that she is, dropped 2 seconds in her 100 fly to take 7th at state the other weekend...and she's a 8th grader. must have been that pixie dust that i made her that said "alli, you can fly!" gf central also took 3rd...the highest they've ever taken at state.

i pulled out my photography skills. here's some of my favorite shots that i took from the 2 day event:














some of the girls getting ready for warm-ups













central's freestyle relay team












red river getting ready for parade of athletes












practicing starts












michelle-belle waiting her turn for starts












michelle-belle during her 100 back prelim













the team with their trophy













hannah before her one of her races...she won both.



















rachaelann getting ready for a back dive.













cheers!













no matter what alli says, i think this one is cute (she focuses on her butt...)













alli doing breaststroke













cheers!













kathryn cheering



















alli before her 100 fly prelim. she looks tough.













warm-ups.













one of the girls doing breaststroke.













red river cheers!













michelle-belle doing backstroke.













alli doing her pretty butterfly.














apparently this picture hates me. the background is originally all black...and it looks really professional...but right now, it hates me...

those are just a few of my favorites...i took 900 pictures this weekend. wow.

the other night, i got to be a friend. granted i had homework assignments flashing through the back of my head, but this once, i got to sit down and listen and help instead of being plugged into a computer, typing up crap and researching and designing. i felt human again.

i missed that.

also, the other night, i got to cuddle. i had been missing that, too.

it's amazing how little emotions and gestures can bring so much meaning into life.

1 month till the semesters over!

here's a little truth about me. i am extremely independant. i do not take others advice unless i go looking for it. in fact i despise those who think they can give me advise. unless i ask you specifically, don't tell me what to do, just listen.

i know people are just trying to do the right thing, but sometimes, especially for me, the right thing is just to listen. don't even give me advise. i more than likely won't take it anyway. i'm just that stubborn.

but sometimes, you can catch me without my guard up. i'll be willing to curl up and let someone else actually take care of everything for the moment. after awhile i'll realize what i've done and my guard will go back up. and truthfully, i prefer it that way.

2.2? heck yes.

apparently i can still loose weight after eating a pumpkin pie blizzard at dairy queen the day before weigh in. how i did it? i will never know. total = 9.4

end of the semester (yes end...it's coming to an end...there are only so many weekends left to do homework) homework:

-thesis, thesis, thesis!
-3dh project...completely procrastinating
-art history paper
-world music paper
-journey that matters book

i can name more...well, there's tests too...ick.

just trying to stay ahead of the game! but i would ten times rather be:

-working on grad plans
-drinking and dancing with friends
-watching tv
-working on things (such as habitat and design guild things) that mean a little more to me right now
-sleeping
-finding a job
-making a much cooler resume
-making my resume website

i hate priorities.