Happy New Year!

Happy 2012 to all of my family and friends!  I had an amazing Christmas break this year and I couldn't be more grateful for those I got to spend time with!!


I was able to spend a couple days in Michigan with my family celebrating my brother's birthday and Christmas, a couple days celebrating Christmas in Ohio, a few days at the Houseboat, and several days celebrating the new year with friends in Columbus.  I couldn't have asked for anything more.  I am excited for what this new year will bring, and I can't wait to share it with you!


Now I'm not a resolution making type of person, but I do have goals for every semester:
1. Work on maintaining balance in my life.  Saying no is not a bad thing.
2. Always be honest about expectations, desires, needs, and wants in professional and personal situations.
3. Enjoy every moment; don't wish away the months, days, hours.  Every breath is a gift.

4. Put my health as a priority.  Headaches need to be controlled! I need time to work out and time to eat. 
5. Do something I've never done before...like a 1/2 marathon in April...or something like that :)

#104: New experiences, new friends and new adventures.
#105: Watching my buckeyes lose in Columbus was sad.  But watching the game around hundreds of other buckeye lovers was amazing. 
#106: Planning for my first teaching semester is nerve wracking but exciting.  Appreciating all of the encouragement.
#107: Nothing better than friends being excited about my life.  I'm excited about my life.  I love my life.  And I couldn't be more grateful for that fact.

Columbus!

#108: Columbus is an awesome city.  Not only because everyone loves the buckeyes there, but also because family life is HUGE there and there are SO many adorable, happy families there.  It's such a blessing to see smiles on the faces of little rascals.

Christmas

I hope you all enjoyed a family and fun filled Christmas!! I know I did!

Enjoy a few pictures of our celebration week!

Christmas Lights

I LOVE Christmas, people.  I love Christmas music, movies, decorations, and LIGHTS.  I love the season for so many reasons, and I love seeing other people celebrate the season as well.  It's such a joy.

Because of the craziness of my life, I seem to always be driving late at night...and that is such a blessing this time of year!  Instead of it just being dark and gloomy, the night sky is filled with Christmas lights!! I love it.

I'm going to Columbus later today to go to the zoo for the Zoo Lights.  I have never heard of such a thing but I couldn't be more excited.  I love animales, I love Christmas lights, and I'm excited about who I'm going with :)  Just one happy girl right now. 

#99: Smiles.  I smile ALL of the time.  Some people get annoyed.  But it's part of who I am. And I enjoy being smiley and happy.

#100: One hundred! Crazy to think how long it took me to get here, and how I am only 1/10th of the way done.  Couldn't be more excited about this crazy journey of looking at my life and finding more and more things I am grateful for.  Thanks for being a part of this journey with me!

A Whirlwind

So I'm on break.  But I'm not sure that it feels like it yet.  I've finished my entire first semester of grad school (YAY!) but I am still interning, I have been working lots, and I have been traveling lots too!

I am getting so excited for Christmas and the joy that comes from those few days where all of my family is together.  I am excited to see extended family, excited to see friends, and excited to relax after this Thursday!

Until then, it is crazy crazy.  And I'm STILL not done Christmas shopping.  Which is a whole other level of stress!!

I hope your holiday season has started off beautifully, and that you're looking forward to the celebration of Christmas that is coming up this weekend!

#95: Joy.  I have felt LOTS of joy lately.  It's been incredible
#96: Honesty.  I love when people are honest with me, and straightforward.  I like input, and I hate sugar coated input.
#97: Memories.  One of my great college friends started a Facebook note where she recounted all kinds of memories from our undergrad years.  It has been so fun to think about more and more funny things we have all been through.  It's beautiful!
#98: Love.  This time of year is so much more full of love than any other time of the year.  I enjoy seeing other couples enjoy each others company. 

Bullying

I admitted a few months ago on Blogger that I love the Kardashian's.  Well since that post, KimK ended a 72 day marriage, KourtneyK got knocked up, and Kourtney and Khloe take NY 2 began.  Surprisingly, the Kardashian sisters have been involved in something incredibly positive in the past few days, too.

The Kardashian sisters went on Extreme MakeOver: Home Edition to support a family whose children had suffered greatly from bullying.  Though bullying has been receiving lots of attention lately in the media with the rise of bullying-related suicides, bullying is still both rampant and detrimental for children and youth.

Watch Jonah's Story.  He is full of honesty, brokenness, strength, and triumph.  His story is moving, powerful, emotional, and inspirational.  Join me in lifting his struggles and pain up to the One who can impact his life.

#89: I am grateful to be at a place in my life where I can be confident without being cocky, myself without being afraid, and free without feeling judged. 

#90: Celebrities are a confusing population to me.  They get paid to live their life, basically.  Though movie stars or musicians get paid for their goods/works, what made the Kardashians famous?  Despite this weird-ness, I am grateful that their fame and the fame of others is doing good in some ways.  Many ways, even.

#91: Christmas is upon us.  Though that means materialism, Hallmark, and money in many ways; it also means donating to those in need, making Christmas happen for families in need, and spending time decorating the house for the holidays.  I love this season.

Interesting

I love Ellen.  She is funny, makes me laugh, helps mornings go by, and stands up for some incredibly causes.  On her show the other day was this beauty of a commercial.  The commercial is actually from a new TLC show "Virgin Diaries" that follows couples who have "saved themselves for marriage".  Since I know several couples who have done just that, I find the show both interesting and a train wreck waiting to happen.  While the show sheds light on this ever-shrinking population, it is also making a spectacle of these couples, mocking them in a way.  Watch this video for example...

There were serious outcry's from this commercial in particular, so TLC released a new one that addresses some of the dialogue that the couples engage in where they discuss their reasons for waiting, their excitement, and their "plans" for the wedding night (kinda awkward, honestly). 

Regardless of how I feel about not having sex until marriage, which honestly I can't say my feelings on this are set in stone, I am kinda disturbed by how many people are laughing at this couples' first kiss.  I can only imagine the excitement that led to the kiss, and the embarrassment that they are feeling now...

Is it fair to make fun of these couples who take waiting for sex to heart?  I get mad when religious groups require such practices, so shouldn't I also fight for the rights of these couples to practice their beliefs in privacy?  Then again, they chose to put their lives on TV.  Did they chose the mockery or the exposure? 

So interesting!

#87: Grateful my life is not on camera.  Privacy is a beautiful thing.
#88: Country Christmas Special.  Beautiful, peaceful, and a great reminder of the joy in the season.

25 Days of Christmas

ABC Family does this great thing called the 25 days of Christmas.  Wanna know something really funny?  They have a countdown to the 25 days of Christmas.  Ie. a countdown to a countdown...

But it has begun! Christmas is a mere 24 days away! Are you ready? Do your shopping friends! Get your Holiday cards out!

But while we get busy with the Hallmark holiday of Christmas, let's also think about the true meaning of Christmas.  It'll mean different things to each of us, but to me, it signifies the birth of the salvation for this world. 

#84: Salvation through the life of a tiny little baby who came to this world to offer eternal life.  I may not really understand what this means, but I am sure to understand it one day.

Christmas List

Madre and sister yelled at me for days about making a list.  So I finally made my Christmas List.

It's hard to name things as I have gotten older because if I need something I simply go buy it.  Since I make my own money, I am in control of where that money goes and how it gets spent.  This is freeing for many reasons, dangerous for others, of course.

Living at home has equated to having very little expenses and lots of money to go shopping with.  Luckily I don't have much free time.  I am excited to go shopping this holiday season for my family.  I love to give.  I love to shop.

#81: I love Christmas.  I love the decorations, the music, the gifts, the food....
#82: Looking forward to Britt's Christmas Party.  Adult Christmas Attire!
#83: Looking at old Christmas lists.  I found one I wrote to Santa in first grade.  I asked for a basketball and erasers for my best friend Taylor.  Social Worker for life.

Wolverine Love

I admit that it can be troubling to people to hear that I love both the Buckeyes and the Wolverines.  But I assure you that the condition can exist, and does within me.

If you were at the game Saturday, you'll know the video I am talking about.  It was really catchy, really cool and really great and had a We are the Wolverines song in it.  I can't find it. Help a sista out.

#73: Anti-Nausea pills.  Long story. Just grateful
#74: Secured a donation for a party for my clients in December.  It felt incredible to see the willingness of others to donate out of their limited resources. 
#75: Seeing so much family this past weekend reminds me of so many things and reminds me to not take a single thing for granted. 
#76: Holiday Season is upon us.  I am excited to shop for others, love on others, and celebrate this season with love.  Grateful does not begin to describe this feeling.

Fourteenth Birthday

My baby brother turned fourteen today.  It's so weird to think of him as a teenager, and not as a child.  As he gets older I realize that I actually am getting older as well; people often expect me to be in a relationship, expect me to be moved out of my parent's home and expect me to be more mature.  I prefer to stay younger for a bit longer.

I love being close to my family, and I love the memories that I build with them each Christmas.  At dinner this evening we discussed some infamous vacations we've taken.  Of course Lake Cumberland is on the list, but our trips to Saas Fe, Switzerland, Nuremberg, Germany and Disney World were irreplaceable.  As I enjoy being young and depending on my parents for a lot of my support, I do in fact look forward to the day when I can include my future family and cute children on my awesome families vacations.  So few can vacation like the Polen's vacation!

This years tree!

Saas Fe!

Pure beauty...God is real.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!! 

Shopping Hell

They say Black Friday is the #1 day for shopping...I want proof! Today, my sister Brittany and I went shopping at my all time favorite mall, Twelve Oaks. I've been to malls in several countries..but Twelve Oaks has every store I would ever want to shop at...which is awesome!

The problem? Everyone and their mom was there today. From itty bitty babies in massive strollers to the elderly walking oh so slow...everyone was out shopping. I have to say though, the sales were incredible! And I was able to find presents for my dad, mom, and brother!! I only need a couple more things for my sister and I'll be ready for the holidays :)

Lucky for me, the trip was full of hysterical happenings. My sister is hilarious; we laughed, complained, whined and counted down until we were finally home. It was great, especially considering she is now 4 hours away. It was fun, and though it was a crazy marathon of shopping, full of dodging people and allergic reactions, I wouldn't trade it for any other kind of shopping!