Thanksgiving Weekend!

This holiday weekend:

*We celebrated Thanksgiving! Bri and I had two dinners on Thursday, one with my whole extended family and one with Brian's dad's side of his family, and then had another Thanksgiving dinner on Friday with Brian's mom's side of his family.

We ate soooo much delicious food (probably too much delicious food!). I'm thankful that we were able to spend the holiday together and with all of the people who are important to both of us. :)

*Brian surprised me with breakfast in bed! One morning, I woke up to a delicious breakfast of French toast, scrambled eggs, cinnamon toast, and chocolate milk (which is my favorite and a million times better than just plain ol' regular milk!) Seriously, I have the sweetest boyfriend in the world. I don't think I'll ever know why he not only puts up with me, but pours his whole heart into us and our relationship, but I'll be forever grateful for it! And I hope he knows that!

*Brian and I built a fort! After the construction, we watched Elf (by far my favorite holiday movie!) from the comfort of our fort. I loved it! :) At other points in the weekend, we danced in the kitchen (while singing my new favorite song, Josh Turner's "Why Don't We Just Dance?"), ate Five Guys (because I didn't want to eat more turkey...I think Brian would have been happy just eating sweet potatoes for the rest of the weekend!), made up 'get to know you' games, played Farkle, and shot BB guns at cans!

*We went to the Christmas tree farm with family friends to pick out the perfect tree, and went back to their house to decorate it! The rest of my family is Jewish, so celebrating the winter holidays together is something we've done every year for a very long time.

Of course, Friday ended up being the coldest day of the weekend, but we still had fun! I like these traditions, but I'm excited to start creating some of my own for Christmas!

To summarize:

I relaxed, ate tons of food, laughed a lot, loved being with B, spent time with my family, and caught up on sleep! A very good weekend, indeed. I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings as well! :)

THE Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving Edition!

I am thankful for my family, my friends, Phi Mu, my health, and the opportunity I have been given to get an education that will make an impact.

I'm thankful for my boyfriend and the time we have together.

I am thankful for stuffing. (I guess turkey is okay too, it's just not my favorite).

I am thankful for a day dedicated to eating, being grateful, eating some more, watching football, relaxing, and just doing a whole lot of nothin'.

I am thankful for oversized sweatshirts and sweatpants (for after the holiday festivities).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Coolest. Thing. EVER.

I recently started seeing commercials for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, which is opening in Spring 2010! As in, next Spring!

 

I am dying to go; I thought seeing Platform 9 and 3/4 in London was absolutely amazing, and I can't even imagine seeing the whole world of Hogwarts and Harry Potter brought to life.

If you're a Harry Potter fan like I am, definitely check out this video that gives a first look at what the amusement park is going to look like and what it will include (Hogsmeade Station, Zonko's Joke Shop, Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head Pubs, where you can relax and have a butterbeer, an Owlery and Owl Post, Ollivander's Wand Shop, Dervish and Banges, and, of course, Hogwarts...along with other neat rides and Harry Potter experiences). Oh my gosh, it sounds so awesome! Malfoy even makes an appearance in the video. ;)

I am SO EXCITED. I need to go. ASAP! Now I just have to convince Brian that Orlando is definitely the place to spend his leave following graduation...

ElfYourself!

This has become somewhat of a holiday tradition.

Here are me and Brian breaking it down, hip-hop Jingle Bells style:

And here are me and my (goofy) friends, in a more traditional(?) Christmas dance:

JibJab has these funny cards for almost every holiday, and I love making them and sending them to Brian. I just think they're hilarious. You should go ElfYourself too. :)

Nooooo, Not Me!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama to talk about all of the things we did *not* do this week!

I most definitely did *not* go to my hair girl with the brilliant idea that I wanted to add darker layer underneath my blonde hair, knowing that I prefer my hair to be a color that occurs naturally in the world. That would just be idiotic. I did *not* follow through with this plan and end up looking like a zebra (which is definitely *not* an exaggeration)

And I certainly would *not* send a picture of my hair (and a bit of pouting about it) to my friends frantically seeking their advice. I would also *not* post said picture on my blog for the world to see.

I did *not* proceed yo go back the next day and get it fixed.  I most definitely did *not* spend two hours on two separate days at the hair salon and pay good money for my hair to look almost exactly like it did before I went to get it done in the first place. (Although, to be fair, I did need to take care of my roots).

I did *not* go to bed at 9 p.m. last night because of an awful headache and skip on studying for my math test today. No, *not me*. I am way too responsible for that.

This morning, when I was just minding my own business and making myself breakfast before my big test, I most certainly did *not* scream like a little girl when I saw a SNAKE in the kitchen. A real, live, slithering snake. I most certainly did *not* just pick up the phone and start screeching to my mom about said SNAKE instead of attempting to catch it and get it out of the house. I would *not* act like a baby and just watch the snake slither away into the air vent on the floor, never to be seen again.

I did *not* breathe a huge sigh of relief when my dad finally caught the icky snake this evening.

I am *not* having an extremely difficult time figuring out what kind of desserts to make for the Thanksgivings I will be attending this year. I would definitely *not* wait until the last minute to figure this out, either. Obviously, I'm *not* a procrastinator. No, *not me*!

I am definitely *not* counting down the hours to seeing Brian even though he has only been back at school since yesterday and is coming home tomorrow! I would *not* be dramatic about missing him for one day when we spend upwards of a month apart all the time.

I am definitely *not* super excited to be a pig and eat way more food than is necessary at three(!) separate Thanksgiving dinners this week!

Head over to MckMama's blog to read what she and everyone else have *not* been doing. :)

Thankful Thursdays: One Week 'til Thanksgiving!

I am thankful that hair is just hair, and when you screw it up and tell your hairdresser to do something totally weird and out of character for you, you can always just go back and get it fixed to something way more normal. :)

I am thankful that there is only one week until one of my favorite holidays! (I mean, it's centered around eating and being grateful...what's not to love?)

I am thankful for only one more wake-up until I see my love!

I am thankful that, starting tomorrow, I will get to see Brian for 9 out of the next 10 days! Eeee!

I am thankful that I get to see my little for a lunch date tomorrow. :)

I am thankful for a weekend weather forecast filled with sunshine!

I am thankful that my weekend has started a bit early. (It might be because I skipped my night class, but hey...you guys won't tell, right?)

Something I'm Not (and Life Lessons)

Yesterday, when I was filling out the survey that came along with one of the blog awards, I got stuck. One of the questions asked for "Something that you aren't." I could think of a lot of things that I am definitely not. I am not a boy. Which is important to note because boys are smelly and have cooties. (Okay, so maybe that one is just silly. Hanging out with elementary schoolers all day is rubbing off on me.) Other things I am most definitely not are tall (I'm 5'3"), a redhead (I'm naturally somewhere between a brunette and a blonde), and a star athlete (sports never came easily to me). These are facts. I am definitely not any of those things.

I also thought of a couple of things that I think I'm not. I don't think I'm very outgoing. I'm not usually the most talkative person in the room. I'm not one to get discouraged, most of the time. But I guess there are some days that I am some of those things.

This is what I ended up writing for that question:

14. Something that you aren’t? negative

Negative. I'm not negative. Later, I got to thinking...is this a fact, or does this falls into that second category of things I am usually not? Of course, the more I thought about it, the more my answer to that question seemed like something that I am most of the time. But it's not a fact, because I'm only human.

Something that you aren't? That's where I should have written perfect.

I'm not perfect.

Because sometimes I'm just too tired and I go to bed without washing my face.

Because I screw up and I make mistakes.

Because I have made some just plain awful decisions in my 23 short years of life.

Because I'm not quick to forgive, even though I know I should be.

Because sometimes I just can't let things go.

Because despite the fact that I am usually a positive person, some days just get me down and I can't see anything but the bad.

Because sometimes I when I say I can't do a certain thing, I know in my heart it's because I'm just not willing to try hard enough.

I wanted to share this article I came across the other day about life lessons. A couple of people who I used to work with had Tweeted about it, and when I read it, some of the lessons rang SO true for me. Like I've been there, I totally get it. There were others that are things I need to work on understanding, need to improve on, and need a new perspective about. Because, you know...I'm not perfect. I'm always learning, always changing, and always working on becoming a better version of myself. And that's okay.

I hope you all find it as relevant and inspirational as I did. :)

Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on

By Regina Brett

May 28, 2006, 10:13AM

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

(source)

For the Love of Blog!

I was given blog awards by two lovely bloggers this week! I love all the love that circulates in the blog world, and still can't believe that people read and enjoy my blabbing. :)

One cool thing about blogging is that it has connected me with a lot of people who also spend time apart from their significant others, and can relate to the loneliness, the countdowns, the sinking feeling in your stomach when you know it's time to say goodbye, and the bummed feeling after a visit. Ams at Surviving Long Distance Love is one of those bloggers, and she gave me the Over the Top Award! Which is very flattering, because I think she is pretty fabulous as well!

So Here are the Rules....

1. You can only use one word!

2. Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers.

3. Alert them that you have given them this award!

4. Have Fun!

The Survey

1. Where is your cell phone? here

2. Your hair? growing!

3. Your mother? supportive

4. Your father? goofy

5. Your favorite food? pasta?

6. Your dream last night? stressful

7. Your favorite drink? tea

8. Your dream/goal? flying

9. What room are you in? bedroom

10. Your hobby? crafting

11. Your fear? weight

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? negative

15. Muffins? love!

16. Wish list item? computer

17. Where did you grow up? Maryland

18. Last thing you did? class

19. What are you wearing? jersey

20. Your TV? Ellen!

21. Your pets? many

22. Friends? amazing

23. Your life? happy

24. Your mood? sleepy

25. Missing someone? duh!

26. Vehicle? Escape

27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes

28. Your favorite store? Target

29. Your favorite color? pink

30. When was the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? no idea!

32. Your best friend? greatest(s)

33. One place that I go to over and over? school

34. One person who e-mails me regularly? Brian

35. Favorite place to eat? Chipotle!

Okay, I have to elaborate on the stressful dream. Last night, I dreamt that I went up to WP for 100th Night, which is early next year and one of the last balls before Brian graduates, and I totally forgot my dress! Bri told me to go to the mall and buy a new one and he would meet me there, but NONE of the stores were selling formal dresses. I ended up finding a sketchy guy who was selling dresses from a cupboard underneath a stairwell- what the heck?- but he was only selling slutty, sparkly, RED dresses. Yuck! At this point, I started seeing other guys with their dates walking around, and they were all already dolled up and ready for the night! And looking fabulous of course. Ugh, it was awful! Brian always calls me in the morning while I'm still sleeping to say good morning, so he luckily interrupted! I was so anxious through the entire dream, and I have now learned not to stress about finding the perfect dress right before going to bed. Haha!

Anyway, I'm going to pass this award on to a couple of other ladies who also know what it's like to be far away from the one you love, and some of them have endured separations of a year or more! I know some of you have gotten this award before, but I just wanted you to know that you give me inspiration! :)

jlc @ French Kiss
Sara @ That's Sassy
J.L.S. @ better when we're together
Amy @ My LaLa Land
SCH @ Uncommon Life, Uncommon Joy

Okay, moving on! One of my newest bloggy friends, ~KS @ While We're Waiting... gave me this adorable award! I'm so glad she found my blog, because hers is too cute. :)

Translation: Your blog is super cute!

Thank you, ~KS! I'm going to pass this award on to some of my newest blog friends:

Katie @ The Mathis'
CK @ God Love Her
Rosalyn @ Dooley and Me
Corinne @ An Italian Strawberry Living in PA

Lastly, I was totally surprised and super flattered to wake up this morning and find that Ruby @ By Ruby had featured me on her blog as part of her Favourite Blogs series! Her sweet words made me smile on an otherwise sleepy and unexciting Monday morning. Thank you, Ruby!

Now I'm going to go enjoy this beautiful day and go run some errands with my car windows rolled down. This might not be typical of mid-November weather, but I'm loving it and am going to enjoy it while I can!


 

Joyful, Jubilant, Jam-Packed Weekend!

I am exhausted, but I had such an amazing weekend so it is totally worth it! I got to see almost all of the people I love the most (with the exception of Brian...but the happy news is that we will get to see each other some way or another every weekend from now until January! That's flippin' amazing!)

On Friday, I went up to school to see my sorority initiate 7 new sisters! There were only a handful of alums there, but it was so nice to visit with some of the girls I went to school with, see my little, grandlittle, and some of my other closest friends who are still in college, and meet the new girls who are now my sisters. It is so cool to see Phi Mu continue to grow, and to see that the girls coming into the chapter will continue our legacy of being amazing! :)

After initiation, we went to Double T Diner, a place I have many fond memories of late, late nights and mornings after late, late nights from my collegiate days. I ordered a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon, and toast and got to hang out and goof around for a while before I had to begin the trek home.

On Saturday, I had to meet with some girls from one of my teaching classes to work on a group project (which I was not thrilled about...honestly, who schedules time for schoolwork during the weekend?!) We got a lot done, though, so hopefully that makes these next couple weeks a bit easier as far as workload goes. After that, though, I went to my friend Julianna's birthday party! In honor of her 21st, she hosted a "Brought to you by the Letter J and the Number 21" party, and everyone was required to dress up as something that starts with the letter J. She was an adorable Juicy Juice juice box (21% juice), and I went as a jogger.

I love going to themed parties with creative people, because there are so many amazing costumes! There were a couple of Junos, a Jackie O and JFK couple, jam, Jack Bauer, a jellyfish, a journalist, Jimmy Neutron, July, "jobless," a Japanese tourist, a junkie, "jammies," a Jazz band, and Joe 6-Pack, among others. So much fun!

On Sunday, I woke up and met Brian's mom at church. It is always nice to see her and catch up with her, even if Brian isn't around and especially when I haven't seen him in a while.  After church, I went ice skating with my sister Rachel, her friend Abby, and Zoë!

First of all, ice skating is way harder than I remember it being when I was little! It took me a while to get my footing and actually be able to move. Zoë, of course, was totally fearless for it being her first time, and was basically running around the ice from the get-go as I struggled to keep up with her. My legs are a bit sore now, but we had a lot of fun and stayed (mostly) on our feet!

Quite an amazing weekend...and lots of exciting ones to come! I love this time of year. :)

Thankful Thursdays: The Mobile Edition

I am thankful for technology, as I am sitting in class posting this entry. :)

I am thankful that my mentor teacher is super nice, is my age, and has already been super helpful!

I am thankful I survived my first day.

I am thankful for naps.

And also Thin Mints.

I am thankful for moccasins. (Seriously, it's like they renamed slippers and made them appropriate to wear out of the house!)

I am thankful for Peppermint White Chocolate Mochas on cold, rainy days.

I am thankful I get to see my Phi Mu loves this weekend!

I am thankful that I'll be hanging out with Brian in 8 days! (I always get excited when the day we get to see each other finally shows up on the 10 day weather forecast, and then we enter the single digits!)

I am thankful that my classes for this week are now, officially, over (and 45 minutes early, too). :)



- Posted from my iPhone

Shopping for a Cause!

As I'm sure you know, today is Veterans Day. It is a day when we should pause and thank the men and women of the armed forces, past and present, who are the reason we enjoy the freedoms we have today. We can sleep peacefully at night, knowing we are safe, because of their sacrifices.

And it is not only the horrors of war that our veterans and active duty military have faced and will continue to face overseas. It is the sacrifices they make every day: extra hours of training that keep them away from home, deployments that separate them from their families for a year or longer, the sometimes very obvious mental strain of service. And veterans continue to face challenges after their service to our country. There are more than 5.5 million U.S. veterans in living with a disability. 35% of Iraq war veterans will experience PTSD. Today, more Vietnam veterans have taken their own lives than died as a direct result of the war. 260,000 Veterans will experience homelessness each year, and 40% of those Veterans grapple with mental illness. It's overwhelming to think of the effects that serving our nation has on those individuals.

I know that I'll never be able to fully understand or comprehend these difficulties. Brian is only in the beginning of his service in the military, and even though it means we are far apart, I have the luxury while he's in school of knowing that he's safe. But seeing his hard work and understanding what will happen after he graduates has given me a new appreciation for the sacrifices these men and women make on behalf of our country. I am thankful, but I'm not sure I could ever express that adequately and it's something that usually gets lost in the everyday. There are so many ways to help, but it is sometimes hard to take the time out of your day to donate the money, or send a care package, or write a letter, or remember to just stop in the middle of all the hustle and bustle to just say "Thanks."

But if there is one thing I am good at, it is shopping! Here are a few things you can buy that will also donate all or a portion of the proceeds to support our nation's military!

Anne Dale's Star of Hope Military Collection

Star of Hope Charm Bracelet

$159.00

A Percentage of profits from a specially-designed pendant/pin

combining the Silver Star and yellow ribbon go to Soldiers' Angels.

Bagettes for a Cause

$20.00

$3 from the purchase of each bag will

be donated to Operation Gratitude.

With All My Heart Bracelet

(AKA the purchase I made today)

Jessica Simpson Collection

$20.00

All proceeds go to the

Armed Forces Children's Education Fund.

Military Support Jewelry

Awareness Designs

Troop Support Toggle Bracelet

$49.00

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Troop Support Bracelets

is donated to a charitable organization that supports our military.
Money has been donated to the USO and to Operation DVD,
which is a program that provides military personnel with
shipments of movies and music while deployed.

You can also do your everyday online shopping through Operation Home Front, iGive, or Shop Smile Save, and a portion of the money from what you were going to buy anyway will go to organizations that support our nation's military.

And the best part is, no guilt! Those are purchases that you can feel good about. :)

Something I Miss...

...about college is the ability to just hang out with your friends doing nothing. Quality time. In college, your friends become your family, and you do everything together. You don't have to make plans or find an excuse to go out to dinner, or go to a movie, or go out on the town. I have so many fond memories of college: hundreds of Phi Mu events, socials, eating in the Commons, going out and celebrating birthdays, trips to the beach, concerts, formals. But it was also okay to just sit around doing homework, or stay in and watch TV, or just literally sit around in pajamas together, and those are the times I miss.

For me, I graduated and that lifestyle was gone. My friends are half an hour away where I went to school, my boyfriend is in New York, my sisters live in different states, and my parents are at work when I'm at home and asleep by the time I get back from class. There are so many people I love and cherish spending time with, and I keep in touch with those people on the phone and make it up to see them when I can, but I spend most of my time by myself.

I have embraced this alone time in a lot of ways; I find that I am more productive and well-rounded than ever before. I can follow my own whims about how to spend my time (and have picked up hobbies I didn't have before) and I get to figure things out for myself. I do a lot of writing and even started this blog! I feel stronger in my convictions given time to think about and explore them. I have a workout schedule that I stick to and love. I get all of my schoolwork done and am not up at 2 in the morning the night before a paper is due. Most of the time, I am my normal, optimistic, content self.

But I'm not gonna lie...sometimes it just plain sucks. Last week was one of those times. The routine of going to class, doing homework, reading or watching TV, and going to bed was really wearing on me.

That made it all the more special that one of my very best friends, Amber (who is probably the best writer I know and is the first friend I roped into blogging), came to spend part of the weekend with me at my house. I live kind of far away from everyone else, so it means so much to me when my friends come to see me! We didn't take any pictures, so here is an old one. :)

The best thing about our friendship and old school sleepovers is the ability to just sit around, wearing pajamas and watching TV, and, for us, doing the piles of work we have in our 'new lives' (teaching for her and school for me), but even that was okay given some company. Saturday night, that is exactly what we did! We also watched Taylor Swift be super adorable and hilarious on Saturday Night Live (So funny. I loved her monologue and the roommate sketch! All of the clips are on NBC and you should definitely watch them if you didn't catch it!)

On Sunday, we woke up and met a friend of hers for coffee at Starbucks (did you know that their holiday drinks are out?! It's the most wonderful time of the year!) and then went to a bar in town to watch the Ravens game! While the game itself wasn't exactly the most wonderful part of the weekend, it was so nice to spend time with one of my very favorite people!

It is relaxing weekends like this one, and quality time with friends (which is so much rarer than it was in college), that make me feel refreshed and ready to tackle another week...a week that brings my first opportunity to student teach, an experience during which I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Eeek, wish me luck!

Cookies + Brownies = ?

I feel like I've been making so many desserts lately, you might gain 5 pounds just looking at my blog. For that, I'm sincerely sorry. Something about the cold weather and the stress of school lately has required a little bit of chocolate. Or a lot bit of chocolate. Either way.

I also have that problem where I have a hard time making decisions. So when given the time and opportunity to bake something, I often can't decide. That's where this recipe comes into play. You see, they are brownies, but also cookies. Brookies? Cooknies? Anyway, whatever you want to call them, they're the perfect dessert for people who just can't decide.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies
(adapted from Betty Crocker)

1 box Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box, using oil, water and 2 eggs. Spread in pan.

2. Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. For brownies, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows.

Betty also suggests you pick up a can of chocolate frosting to top them off with. Bakerella makes a version with a chocolate ganache instead. In addition to being indecisive, I am also occasionally impatient...so I skipped all that waiting and just ate them fresh out of the oven. :)

 

Thankful Thursdays: The First Edition

I don't know where this little blog game originated, but I've decided that in honor of it being the month of one of my favorite holidays (you know, Thanksgiving? The one that gets forgotten in all of the December holiday madness?), it would be nice to start reflecting on some of the things I'm thankful for. I've been having one of those weeks where I really need some perspective; I've been busy and stressed, and I know that at the end of the day, it's not about the things that matter. So, here goes nothing!

I am thankful that I don't really have my curriculum class tonight and just have to meet with my professor about a project.

I am thankful that I got 106% on my first math test! (Mostly because that means I have a bit of a buffer for this next test on stuff I don't understand.)

I am thankful that Brian and I have a trip to Key West to look forward to at the end of this semester (and that we have been given so many opportunities to travel in the short time we've been together)!

I am thankful that I've actually been able to keep my big mouth shut and keep Brian's Christmas present a surprise for four months now (only two more to go!)

I am thankful for purple nail polish.

I am thankful that even though I spilled coffee all over my car and phone, there were no lasting effects.

I am thankful for exciting plans with one of my best friends this weekend!

I am thankful for peanut butter and honey sandwiches when I am hungry at midnight and chocolate chip pancakes for lunch.

I am thankful that I am caught up on episodes of the Office and can actually watch the new one tonight!

I am thankful for a patient boyfriend who only wants to make me smile when I'm feeling down and has a knack for making me feel better.

I am thankful for the amazing and supportive people in my life.

I am thankful we're only one day from the weekend!

I am thankful for this reminder of all that!

Camelbak Indecision

When I go to the gym or to class, I always take a Nalgene full of water. I have a crush on cute water bottles, and my pretty pink Nalgene always got the job done. That is, until the other day when I was washing it...I looked under the cap, and there it was...mold. EW, ew, ew. So gross. I had been using it to mix up a post-workout drink for a while, and at some point it must not have gotten washed well enough. It makes me squeamish to think about how long I may have been using it like that.

Anyway, I'm never going to be satisfied that that water bottle is clean enough to use ever again. So, of course, that means I need a new one! I had been eyeing a Camelbak for some time and obviously this is the perfect excuse to finally treat myself to one. I am probably the most indecisive person I know, so, like most things in life, I can't decide which one to get!

Ocean Argyle

Berry Dots

Black Houndstooth

Help! I need a replacement ASAP. Which one should I get?!