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.