HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEN

Happy Halloween to the blogosphere!!! Check out the google home page before midnight.  It's so cute!!  I hope everyone got to see lots of adorable kiddos in their costumes.  They're the best part of halloween, hands down!  I celebrated the day with LOTS of intern work, lots of Halloween party prep, lots of Halloween partying for kids, and lots of busyness!  I am exhausted, but glad I got to see so many cute kiddos celebrate the day :)  How did YOU celebrate? I was a cowgirl, what were YOU?

#33:  CUTE KIDDOS!!!!

#34: Great conversations with friends I miss.  LOVING my drive convos with Leslie Pants.  Seriously.  They're fabulous.

Group Projects

When I started grad school, I totally thought that my days of group projects and setting up group meetings were done.  Think again.

I have done more group projects in my first two months of grad school than I think I have EVER done.  It's crazy.  I feel like every single week I am meeting with a group to plan a debate, a presentation, a paper, or something.  It's cray cray.

Good thing I like what I'm learning.  And good thing I am actually learning...

#31: Grateful for good groups! 
#32: Grateful for learning. 

Wedding Watchers

Since I have no academic motivation, I have been working out. Lots.  As in today I had to convince myself that going twice was not a good idea.  I made a pro/con list.  I not even joking.  I have a problem.

At the gym (OPCC) the cardio equipment looks out these large windows so you can see the beautiful lake, beach and a walkway dividing the club from the grassy area before the lake.  It is quite beautiful and looking out the window definitely helps the time go by.

The windows on the bottom are the gym, and where those people are standing is where the tent was...

On Saturday, they were setting up this huge tent on this tiny little area of grass.  I was so confused, but the more I watched the decorations go up, the photographer plan her shooting locations, and the groom arrive, it became obvious that they were setting up for a wedding.  As I walked out of the gym, I saw the Bridal Party going into the banquet restrooms (they're huge) and I saw the groomsmen hanging out outside.  The Ballroom was beautifully decorated with tons of flowers and lots of pretty center pieces. 

Everything looked absolutely beautiful, but I couldn't help thinking of how awkward it would be to watch a wedding from the gym.  And how awkward it would be to be watched by sweaty worker-outers on your wedding day!  The tent where the ceremony took place was literally right outside the windows in the gym.  So awkward!

Well when I went on Sunday I watched them tear down the tent outside.  And my creeper self looked through yesterday's sign-in sheet to see if anyone was there at 3 (the time of the ceremony which I know because there was a huge blown up invitation in the entry way).  And there were SEVERAL people there between 3ish and 5ish.  How AWKWARD!!! I love it. 

I'm totes going to try to be a wedding watcher one day.  I'll report back if I get lucky.  (but not the inappropriate kind of lucky.  That'd be even MORE awkward.)

#26: The weather this weekend was INCREDIBLE.  So beautiful, so sunny and so fall-like.
#27: Peace and Quiet.  I slept for 12 hours on Saturday night.  I slept in the basement to ensure no sunshine and no noise.  It was glorious.
#28: NCIS marathons.  They may ruin my productivity, but they keep me entertained for hours.  Not to mention all of the safety tips I am learning.
#29: Tights Weather.  I love wearing tights.  And I love that I can wear them right now without getting too hot and without freezing my ass off.
#30: Text Messaging.  I don't like talking on the phone.  And now I really never need to.  AND I can text my friends that live far away while doing other activities so we can be busy, and still talk :) so cute.

Where are YOU?

Motivation.  I have none of it.  Where did it go???

Halfway through the semester, and I am suddenly motivation-less.  I had been doing so great with motivation; homework filled Saturday and Sundays.  And week days filled with classes, interning, and work.  I had no Saturday or Sunday plans because I knew how much homework I needed to do.  But instead of doing homework, I've worked out, slept, ate, and have hung out with friends.  All great things, but in the scheme of things, I should be doing homework!!!

And where did this sudden desire to work out come from?  I never have a desire to work out.  It is usually just one of those things I know I should do, even though I hate doing it.  But lately, I miss it LOTS when I miss a day.  What's with that? So strange.  It's like I can only be motivated for school or working out.  Never both at the same time.  WTF.  Doesn't my body know how desperate I am for smooth sailing?  I just want school work to keep getting accomplished and I want to be healthy and fit.  Too much to ask for apparently. 

Look how cute these great little work out people are.  I hope I look like I am having that much fun when I work out.  Although I definitely find the smiley working outers completely obnoxious.  There is a lady at the gym who sings and dances along to her iPod while she works out.  It's just so awkward and unusually weird.  I don't want to be her because most people act afraid of her.  But I do often envy the women who can be sexy while working out.  How is it possible? I have NO idea.  But they make their sweat work for them, that's for sure. 



#24: A gym where I can go whenever I want and get a great work out.  Grateful for opportunities to be heatlhy.
#25: Guilt free foods.  I love eating, but there is nothing worse than the feeling of guilt after enjoying a meal.  Guilt free food like fruit, vegetables, and healthy meals are so much more satisfying.
#26: So grateful for the experience of grad school.  It is challenging and difficult but is showing me just how I am meant to work for justice in this world.  I am learning about my strengths, weaknesses, gifting, and passions.  It is a blessing.

Soy Chai Love

I love chai tea. So much so that I have already had two chai soy lattes today. TWO!! Do you know what that does to the number of pee breaks I need? Well it just increases them, really.

I haven't had one all week so I'm making up for it today. Crossing my fingers that it was a good choice considering my little fun with the stomach flu yesterday. Remember when I had the stomach flu for 10 days in the spring? No? Well I do. ER visit included and everything (check the May blogs!). Glad I had some left over nausea pills fo sho.

In other news, I am ecstatic for the weekend. For reals. Bar crawl tonight! Holla! (I've never said that before in my life). Homework tomorrow and homework Sunday! Which makes me happy really. I can get ahead a bit and enjoy the quiet weekend while my padres are at the houseboat (I would be jealous, but bar crawl friends). And I'll actually have time for the gym!

Well, for now, I will dream about tonight while sipping on my glorious chai latte. What are you drinking?

#22: money for chai
#23: fall colors. Go to Dexter friends. Quintessential fall town.

iPad Trouble

I love my iPad.  Seriously.  I love it SO much.  I bring it with me everywhere and it's my favorite little accessory.  I can do so many great things on it and it's helpful and oh so versatile. 

Problem.  I keep missing people's birthdays because of the facebook app.  You have to go through so many steps to see the lists of birthdays, and I am just too used to seeing them on the sidebar that I am missing birthdays!  (sorry!). 

Other problem.  There is no blogger app.  And when I use blogger on my iPad, it always publishes strange.  Bizarre. 

Tips for using blogger on iPad?

Regardless, I LOVE IT! BUY ONE!

#21: Technology is both challenging, fabulous, and frustrating.  It's scary to think of how much I rely on it, and how upset I would be if I didn't have access to all of the technological things I use. 

(your welcome, apple)
(ps. I know you don't need my help)

Bruised

I bruise easy.  Like crazy easy.  Like within 10 minutes, I have a bruise.

I went shopping this past weekend, and while trying on clothes I noticed ALL KINDS of bruises all over my legs.  And arms.  What have I been doing?! It's crazy! Some of them are all kinds of weird colors, others are standard, others are huge.  It's so weird.

When I was going out on a nightly basis, bruises were more expected.  But now that I spend my days reading, writing, and working, where am I getting them from?

#19: Grateful for health.  I complain about my migraines/allergies/etc, but in the scheme of things, I am healthy.

#20: Support for when I am NOT feeling healthy.  When I am sick and weak with some sort of ailment, I am lucky enough to have the support from friends and family to get me through it.

Room Chaos

NOT THAT BAD!!!

My sister was home this weekend, and one of the first things she said upon entering my room was that it was utter chaos! And even though I feel like it is fine and relatively neat, she was completely correct.

I have stacks upon stacks of books, dirty clothes, clean clothes, plants that need watered, shoes that don't fit in my closet, and little things laying all over the place.  It is SO hard to manage my room at the moment because it seems like I have no down time.  Time spent cleaning my room is time that could have been spent on homework, exercising, or blogging.  DUH.  Just kidding.  Not really.

Since it is fall break, I decided to give my room some TLC.  I spent an hour tonight picking up trash, going through stacks of paper and deciding what to toss and what to file (ie what folder for school it goes into.  I don't file.  My father wishes I did.  I don't save receipts, dad.  I NEVER WILL...I just got blacklisted, fyi).  I also switched my clothes around....

maybe one day?

For those of you that don't know, I was blessed with an amazing closet last year.  It had TONS of folding space, shoe space, dirty clothes space and storage space.  I don't hang much, but it had some room for hanging, too.

Since I moved home, closet space has been an issue.  I bought two under-the-bed storage containers, that held all of my bulky sweaters up until today.  I went through and took out all of my summer-only clothes and put in all of my bulky, wonderfully warm sweaters.  It was both sad and Christmas-like!!  I had forgotten about how many wonderful sweaters I own and now I am so excited to wear them all! But not starting tomorrow, because tomorrow I'm wearing a shirt my sister got me for my birthday.  It is super cute.  Yes I lay out my clothes the day before.  If I don't, I'd show up to work in pj's, friends.  No joke.  It has happened.

#18: Thankful for CLOTHES.  I take them for granted, complain about having too many, and not enough at the same time.  They keep me confident, warm, and safe.  THANK YOU.

Orchard

I love going to the Apple Orchard.  It is such an amazing experience.  Between seeing cute families and adorable little kids, the donuts and the cider...it is practically heaven on earth. 

SLIDE

I was able to go to Spicer's (best orchard around) today with my brother and sister.  My padres have been in Key West since Wednesday and are enjoying their summer-extension while we got to enjoy fall!  Brother and sister don't like apples, so we didn't go apple picking, but we still enjoyed going down the slide (see photo), eating donuts, and looking at the massive pumpkins.  We also did WINE TESTING.  Six free samples! I'm telling you, best orchard ever.

And yes, I DID EAT DONUTS!  I gave myself the gift of eating whatever I please today.  I ate donuts and Pizza Hut.  It has been a tummy ache filled day, but oh so worth it to experience the joys of food-freedom every once in awhile.  It is also a great reminder to why I am on the diet I am on.  I feel icky right now; tummy aches and a horrible headache.  It is helpful to know that there are direct consequences from straying from my diet.

#17: an amazing day spent with my siblings.  

Have you been to the orchard this year?  If not, GO!

Beauty

#13: the fall colors are incredible. Driving to work was like driving through watercolor paintings. #14: fall also brings amazing sunrises and sunsets. Thanks, God. #15: thankful for making it through the craziness of the last few days. #16: new life brings joy, excitement and transitions. They're little hands and feet get me every time...

Clothes Dilemma

It's the middle of October (almost).  But the weather can't decide when it is.  There are 80 degree days, 50 degree days, and there are days with temperatures everywhere between there!!  There has been rain and sunshine, and I am seriously conflicted on what to wear on a daily basis.

This Week:
            Monday: 77
Tuesday: 77
Wednesday: 68
            Thursday: 65
        Friday: 57

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DRESS?!

On Sunday I wore jeans and a sweatshirt and about died when I was playing outside with the kiddos.  It was SO hot (80 degrees) and I would have been better off in my swimsuit. 

Don't get me wrong, I love warm weather.  But I hate trying to figure out what clothes to wear on an hourly basis.  Seriously.  Once it's fall, I am ready for fall clothes.  Obviously fall is not ready for fall. 

#11: Sunday was amazing.  I got to play football, got lots of homework done, and got in lots of cuddles.
#12: Scarlet is ALWAYS excited to see me.  ALWAYS.  No matter what time it is, or how long I've been gone (even 2 minutes), she is thrilled at my arrival.  Feeling loved and welcomed on a daily basis from such a joyous creature is incredible.

Secret

I LOVE THE KARDASHIANS.  So embarrassing, I know.  It's absurd.  I don't even know why I like them.  But watching them provides me with so many entertained moments...

A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips...

told you, creepy.

Adorable little Mason...

Mame K's face lift...lol...

Bruce's creepy face lift results...

The DRAMA (understatement of the year)...




Really. It's so entertaining.  Though sometimes I feel like my brain cells decrease as I watch their dramatic, extravagant lives unfold.  Everyone needs their little secret pleasures though, and watching Kim K's wedding is one of mine...

P.s. this is tagged as acceptance so you are all motivated to STILL accept me :)

Migrainezz

So I have headaches.  Lots of them.  And their quite painful.  Well, with the start of school, interning and crazy amounts of homework, my headaches have been INSANE. 

I've been doing a research study with HOPE (a migraine organization) through the university since May.  Because of this, I have had to track my daily pain levels.  It has been super informative to see how often and how severe my migraines really are.  Rarely do I experience days with pain below a 6/10.  And normally it is between a 6 and 8, yet there are quite a few 9's as well. 

I have now been dealing with headaches for almost 6 years, and I have yet to find my magical solution.  I keep seeing doctors, keep talking about options, and keep trying everything they throw out there!

The biggest stress in this for me is the money/financial side.  In Michigan, if anyone is involved in a car accident (regardless of fault) your personal car insurance is responsible for your care for life (though currently they are trying to put a cap in place, but that won't affect me).  AAA has been a pain in the ass for years now.  They have dragged their feet over and over again, and have not communicated with us in an effective manner.  I am trying to stay positive, and just keep reminding myself that they are liable, and that I don't have any assets anyway...so nothing can be taken from me! 

So grateful

Number 7: Beautiful sunset Monday night and beautiful sunrise Wednesday morning. God created art in the sky. Appreciate it. A friend and I discussed the need to stop and smell the roses! Number 8: tears. I got home from a thirteen hour day to a bill AAA should have paid months ago. Quickly, I found myself arguing with my dad though obviously we agree that AAA is dumb. That lead to tears. Which led to me needing a hug. And needing sleep. Thankful for dads, tears, And moments of needing my parents. Number 9: making more friends in the SSW. It has been hard, really because I only see people twice a week. But it is getting easier and more comfortable.  Number 10: thankful for this exercise. I am so blessed and need to remember that. Number 11: GSI position!!! I applied for several GSI positions for this semester, and was an alternate for two courses. As luck will have it, one of those classes has a GSI graduating so I am in! Full tuition, a Huge (to me) stipend, and a great chance to develop references from my department. The class I'll be teaching is women's health, or WS 220 which happens to be one of my favorite undergraduate courses. It will be quite an undertaking; a two hour lecture and 3 discussions per week, but the payout is enormous. I am so excited to have this opportunity and am again reminded of how blessed I truly am. #blessed

Missed Opportunity

Guess what I just found out?  Well, I kinda new this already..but not the little details...

So everyone knows I've nannied for several families over the past 4-5 years, and have been babysitting since I was 10.  For real.  It has been a guaranteed source of income for me because there are ALWAYS families looking for babysitters or nannies...and it has been an awesome job while being in college because of the flexibility. 

International nannying has always been something I've concerned, but have never really looked in to.  There's a lot of paperwork, and at times lots of logistics to figure out the payment/rent ratio.  I was always interested in making more money rather than making less money in exchange for free rent because of the difficult task of making time off, time off. 

SO TRUE

I was reading some websites recently and found out that people were making anywhere from $30-60K a year nannying overseas.  The range is because number of hours and location vary for each person, obviously.  That is a lot a lot of money.  And taking just a year off between undergrad and grad school would have paid for my graduate career.  Easily.  So why did I not do this?!?!

Before putting in your deposit for grad school, make sure you are completely educated on how much it will really cost you.  I am working so hard to make sure I do not end up with copious amounts of debt in the form of student loans...I don't want to be 40 and still paying school off...

Even though I didn't choose to go overseas to work, I will make the best of my opportunities here to keep the amount I pay out of pocket up and the amount I borrow low!!!

Games

I am not into video games, and definitely not computer games.  But put me in front of something that has solitaire and I'm set for HOURS.  I love it.  SO much.  I have an almost equal amount of love for freecell, but I love the quickness of solitaire. 

I don't even really like board games.  Monopoly is the one exception, and I have to be in the mood for it.  I also really dislike things like Eye Spy, Tag, Capture the Flag, etc.  I just am not a game person. 


With my new iPad, however, my world has been opened up to new games.  Angry Birds provides entertainment for hours, and Words With Friends takes more of my time than sleeping does, probably.  I love it.  I can also play solitaire and Monopoly! It's like the best thing ever.  I love it.

just imagine me with my iPad...

But since I've never had to budget time for games before, I'm finding myself lost in these games for hours on end.  What do you do to make sure you don't waste too much time on games??  I'm thinking of maybe only playing Words With Friends during the week, and the other games only during the weekend?  That way I still can play games during the week and weekend, but they all have a limited time frame?  Still learning!

Thankful

#3: children told me I was the best part of their day (they are often the best part of mine, too)
#4: Excited for a fun weekend (that you read about in the last post)
#5: Getting to watch CMT's Top 20 while doing my large amounts of homework, as songs like Jake Owen's "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" reminds me so much of our summers on Lake Cumberland.

#6: Teachers who respond to emails as quick (if not quicker than) as I do.  It helps the process of homework and school that much more doable. 

I'm loving this little project.  1000 is a large number, so thinking of getting up to that number is daunting, but I am loving how much it is changing my mindset.  Instead of thinking of how difficult life is, or how tired or worn out I am; I am spending time looking for the good in little instances, the hope in little instances, and the joy.  It's refreshing, healing and helping me see how God is intertwined in my every move during the day.  Relying on His strength is incredibly difficult for my independent-self, but knowing I can depend on him whenever I need to provides a sense of calm.

What are you thankful for?

Welcoming in October

Well, it's official.  Only 2 months until December 1st.  Which is only 25 days until Christmas.  To me, October signals the beginning of a season filled with holidays! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are all so close that it feels like a blur, really.  But I'm so excited!!

I spent the last day of September hanging out with great friends and watching Michigan kick ass on the field.  And then later watching MSU and OSU look confused on the field.  So interesting (and depressing to see my buckeyes so lost).  It was a great day and I am so grateful to have spent quality time, not just rushed school time, in my favorite little city, Ann Arbor. 

 it was so cold...but so worth it! We were a bit late (thankfully) but thoroughly enjoyed the cheers and the laughs.  But we definitely didn't enjoy the wind.  That's for sure.  Oh so fun otherwise :)

He just really wanted to be in the picture.  So we let him be, but with the consequence of being a bunny.  P.s. check out the chick behind Denise.  She looks unsettled.