Day 5 - 8: Why yes, I love being a slacker (partially) lol.

So I know I'm a slacker, but technically saturday and sunday are not my fault! The internet was out at my apartment so I can only be held accountable for not putting up friday's picture :-P But I do have pictures for all the days :) So here we go!

Day 5 - My Gnomies. They were so cute I had to take a picture!

Day 6 - The gallows in Benton. Talk about a little creepy! They have an annual festival to celebrate the gallows still and if someone wants to choose this as a form of capital punishment they can. (I love learning about the history/current policies of Southern Illinois! lol) 

Day 7 - I name thee Corky! I would be lost without this little guy since I can't seem to open a bottle of wine with a regular corkscrew to save my life! lol. 

Day 8 - My bible. I started attending small group bible study now. So i felt this kind of had to play a role in my day! :)

Day 4 - Cowboy Church

Day 4

"He's going to ask you to believe it when there's no proof and when you believe it there will be proof" 

I honestly didn't know that a cowboy church existed until today. And you may want to laugh at first, because I did. Especially when my supervisor said that cattle were also auctioned off at the church. So i decided why not? It's not like I'll find a cowboy church besides in Southern Illinois right? So later on in the day, we head to the church and when we pulled up and the service was being held in a barn like place. I honestly was wondering what I got myself into lol. But then we went inside and the service started. And I cannot say that I have heard a sermon better then this one. It was absolutely amazing; even the praise and worship. It may not have been the fanciest place for a service but the quality of the words being preached is all that mattered <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 3 - Love is stronger than death.

Sorry for the emo title, but i thought it was fitting for the first half of my day lol. I decided today that I would just take a little time to relax and do some reading outside since the weather is amazing! The book I finished reading is called Fatherless Daughters by Pamela Thomas and you're probably wondering, 'uh what sparked an interest in a book like this?!' Well if you are wondering that question, the interest started due to my internship but then it became my own. I always thought I was alright with my father passing but as a I read this book, I realized that I still have a long way to acceptance. So in the long run, it was a good book for me to read and it helped me realize that I have a long way to go. Here is my picture for the day! My fruit smoothie was amazing and so was the weather! Thank goodness no bugs interrupted my reading! lol.

Day 3

Day 2 - Ernie

Everyone who knows me knows that I usually end up at Midas at least once a month. Well I ended up there today as well to see what was wrong with Ernie. Apparently just some tire balance issues (even though i say it's something else or I'm just super paranoid). But my picture is of the midas invoice reciept they always give me, I swear i have enough to make all of my friends a paper fan for the upcoming summer! lol. :)

Day 2

Day 1... again! lol.

I decided to start over my 365 day challenge because within the last two weeks (that I haven't blogged) my life has completely changed. I graduated with my masters degree, I currently am NOT a student anymore and I'm going into the real world with no job as of yet, and my boyfriend and I are starting a long distance relationship! It seems like within a day, my whole world was turned upside down (not that I wasn't expecting it; but it's just now hitting me! lol). So with all those changes, I felt it was quite appropriate to start over my challenge (and i missed like 2 weeks! lol)

Today because I had some time in between my internship and a meeting i decided to go to TJ Max. I didn't expect to find anything too exciting but I did manage to pick up a wing corkscrew bottle opener for wine and some Bailey's Irish cream chocolates! Yummy! lol. But while looking through the store, I found a cute 'Dream' knick-knack with a quote on it and I decided instead of being a worry wart like I usually am, I want to follow this motto.

Day 1

Day 8 & 9 - Quiet your mind

I feel the change Goin' on all around me
It's strange  How I'm taken and guided
Where I end up right I'm needed to be
Quiet your mind Soak it all in
It's a game you can't win
Enjoy the ride

- Zac Brown Band 

 

I think everyone who knows me has understood (or at least listened to me whine) about the upcoming changes in my life. I've cried, I've been angry, and at one point I was even just down right depressed. But something has changed within me these past few days (maybe it was the enormous amount of thinking I got to do on the 12 hour  round trip to West Lafayette for my interview lol) and I think I'm ready for this new chapter in my life. No it's not going to be easy - it's going to be super weird leaving Carbondale for good (after five years and a whollleee lot of memories) and actually starting a career. And it's going to be weird possibly being somewhere new. Heck, I don't even know where I'm going to be in June! lol. But I'm finally ready for it. I could either fight the plan that has been laid out for me or just go with the flow and enjoy the road that will be traveled. Or I'm just honestly to the point where I've worried about my worries so much that I'm just exhausted and need someone else to worry for me! lol. Either way, I'm looking forward to the changes and I hope that my prayers will help to the pave the road that I would like to see exist for me :)  And I guess if needed a few twists and turns can be added to my 'dream' plan lol :)

Day 8 - On my way back from West Lafayette :)

Day 9 - Ernie (my car) hit 130,000 miles on my road trip. I only put 18,000 of those miles on him in the past 1 1/2 years. He's getting old for sure lol.

Day 7 - Since I'm traveling to Lafayette...

Since I'm traveling to Lafayette today, I decided to put this picture for my challenge picture. I figured this picture represents the past five years of all the studying, test taking, paper writing and researching I have done to get to this point in my life! :-D Not the most creative, but at least I posted! lol. :)

Day7

Day 5 & 6 - Yes, I'm a day behind :(

But, I plan on making up for it!

Day 5 - Friday

Today was honestly a normal day for me. I went to my internship, went to midas to get my air conditioning fixed and then went to work with the babies at my job. However, one thing did throw me off a bit that day. I was put into Toddler Reef, which I was super excited about! I haven't worked with the toddlers since last summer and I really missed working with the little cuties! However... I don't know if it was just the combination of toddlers in the room but it was horrible. One of the toddlers were going through the "I don't want to share" phase and whenever one of the other kids had a toy she just HAD to have it. And then the other child was just beyond spoiled in my opinion. I don't mean to say stuff like this but the toddler would NOT let me put him down since his mom handed him to me in the room. I understand babies cry when their parents leave but the first time I attempted to put this little guy down; he clung to my neck and started crying extremely loud in my ear. Even when I readjusted him on hip he would like freak out! This little boy was basically around my neck the WHOLE 3 hours and 15 minutes. Not kidding you. Not to mention he managed to sneeze all over me at some point lol. So, i hate complaining because I love this job (it's definitely not like McDonalds!). But maybe I'm growing out of Toddler Reef? lol. Who would've guessed considering how much I love babies! But I think it's time to start working with the older children! Or maybe the smaller babies! Anyway, after my shift was over, I came back to my apartment had a glass of wine and hung out with Justin for a little bit before watching 27 dresses after he left! lol

Day 5

Day 6 - Saturday

Yesterday was a fun day! Thank goodness! lol. I cleaned my room (which was a fun thing for me because I got to listen to really loud music and procrastinate while cleaning my room lol). I got a little bit more done on my room when i realized that I have been saving an empty candle that I got from Kim for Christmas for a reason. The candle is really cool! It was cupcake scented and the candle holder is actually in the shape of a cupcake (the closest thing possible to find for a muffin these days! lol). So what I wanted to do was change the candle into a jewelry box since I didn't want to throw the candle holder away. I went to Hobby lobby to buy some white paint, came back and painted the inside of the cupcake and now it is officially a jewelry box! Yay! lol. I think living with Dorian is giving me a chance to express my creative side ;)

Day 6

Day 4 - Meet Jacob :)

Day 4

Meet my plant Jacob! I have been growing Jacob ever since February I believe. He started out as a little seedling that I received on a Christmas card from Kim. Jacob just had a growth spurt, and I hope he continues to keep on growing! I never thought I would grow a plant from a seedling, let alone fall in love with it like it's my own child! lol :) 

Day 3 - Bubble Tea

One of my other favorites place in Carbondale is QQ Bubble Tea. I have been going to this Japanese beverage shop since my freshman year and still have yet to try every drink. However, I have branched out and tried the hot milk tea, the red tea and their fruit slushies. Totally yummy! :) The unique thing about QQ Bubble Tea however is that they have drawings up on the walls from all of their customers that have visited the store since they have opened. I had yet to draw a picture until yesterday and this is documentation my drawing! No, I am not an artist lol. But i felt like I have to leave my mark at my favorite beverage shop in Carbondale! :)

Day 3

Day 2 - A Dilemma

Today I am questioning myself. And honestly it might be for a silly reason, but maybe some people who read my blog will get where I'm coming from. So my day started off at my internship, my client didn't show up so I got to leave early. No biggie. Well i decided that I would stop at wal-mart and pick up some cold medicine because I haven't been feeling. Yes, i'll get to the point in just a moment. After walmart, I came back to my apartment building, parked my car and popped open the trunk before finally getting out. I noticed two men walking through the parking lot and I had a gut feeling that one of them would say something to me. Sure enough, one of the men stopped.

"Ma'am, can I ask you a question?" He asked me.

"Sure" I say.

"Do you have 75 cents I can borrow?" And this is where the dilemma begins. When I was at walmart I had just taken out $20 and sure I did only have the $20 bill on me. But I knew I had 75 cents upstairs in my apartment. After these thoughts race through my mind, I say:

"No I'm sorry, I don't have any money on me." And the man thanked me and walked away.

So I walked up the two flights of stairs to my apartment with this exact thought process: what if the man really NEEDED that 75 cents? He didn't look THAT poor. But what if really didn't have a place to stay or just needed some food to eat? What if I had made him wait so I could get the 75 cents from my apartment? Would he have followed me? That could've been dangerous. What would've he have done with the money if i had given him the 75 cents? And etc etc etc.

I know this happens to people a lot, but for some reason this really affected me. First, I think it affected me the most because of my social work mindset. I instantly felt bad for not helping one person and I instantly wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. I didn't want to believe the stereotypical, he'll probably just end up buying alcohol/drugs with the little money i would have give him. The second reason why I think it affected me so much is because as a M.S.W. student,  who am I to judge if someone is poor enough to give money too? Through out my whole academic career as a social work student, I have been taught not to pass judgment upon someone. And here I am, passing judgment in an instantaneous manner. It feels like I haven't learned anything from my social work experience and education. The last reason as to why I think this has affected me so much is why was I fearful of such a nice person? Was it because he was a man? Was it because he was a stranger? My mom always told me that when she was a little girl, there was no reason to be afraid of the people around you. Everyone in the neighborhood knew everyone else and protected one another, what has happened to our society to change that thought process?

Instead of blabbering on (since I know I can since this single event has affected me in an interesting way), it'd be interesting to know what you would've done in this situation? Am i being silly with these thoughts or would you have thought the same thing?

And finally, here's my picture for the day -

Day 2

Day 1 of the 365 Day Photo Challenge

Day 1

Yes, I have managed to get sucked into the 365 day photo challenge thanks to Dorian and Kim. But mainly, I figured why not document the important and sentimental (to me of course!) parts of Carbondale while I still have the time?

This bridge is located in the Japanese garden which is on the SIUC campus. This bridge (and the whole garden) has meant so much to me over these past five years. The first time I was brought to the garden was by Kim my freshman year. After I was introduced to this place, I wrote stories between classes while sitting on one of the benches and just came to this beautiful place when I needed to think.

Then Sophomore year came. This was the year that I got to introduce the garden to the people who would mold my college years into the most special days of my life. I brought my boy friend here when we were just starting to become friends and I remember just sitting on one of the benches in the garden for hours, talking and just being ourselves. I believe this garden was what honestly brought us together (and of course my cuteness ;)) Also, during this year, my friends and I had a photo shoot all over campus for my birthday. We (minus Kim since she was taking the picture) all took a picture on this bridge and to me that picture is one I will honestly cherish forever.

Since those days, my boyfriend and I have visited this garden as much as possible and it's still one of the places that I go to today just to think. This bridge and the garden have helped me become the person I am today. And as I move on in life, I hope that others will be able to create just as many memories as I have in this garden.

Oh my goodness...

I just realized it's been about a month and a day since I last blogged. Geez so what has happened during this time you ask?

1.) I turned 23 and had an amazing birthday party with all of my awesome friends <3
2.) I've gotten called back for 2 interviews (but considering i've applied to over 100 jobs, I would like a few more!)
3.) I have been super busy with quitting McDonalds, starting work at the Vine, my internship and classes. Oh, and just having a bit of a social life somewhere in there.
4.) I went to the IRHA conference, networked with a ton of people and my poster presentation won 3rd place <3 

So lately, my biggest worry has been graduation and finding a job. It's beyond weird to me to think that I won't be coming back to school in the fall and that my academic career is finally over. It's time to become a big girl and that's super scary for me. Not to mention, I have no idea where I'll be within the next 3 months. So i decided to look up some tips on anxiety (now the trick is just for me to follow these helpful tips!)

1. If you are prone to anxiety you have two choices. Give in to it or learn to live with it. Giving into it also means that your partner will suffer the burden of your fears so, to make your lives a better place to be, find ways to eliminate or at least limit this feeling by taking responsibility for your emotions and knowing you have a choice.

2. When you wake up tomorrow start doing something right away, and keep busy all day. Taking action by doing something, almost anything, will help you work through your anxiety. Sometimes it's doing the dishes or working in your garden. Other times it's reading or meditating. Just sitting around and thinking about your worries won’t make them go away. 

3. Focus your attention on where the feeling of anxiousness is in your body and keep your attention there until the feeling moves or dissolves. For example the tension could be in your abdomen or your neck. Whenever your attention wanders, bring it back to the place in your body where the physical feeling is. Doing this for five or ten minutes can reduce, if not eliminate, the anxiety.

4. Anxiety will grow if it’s not directed into some positive action. Find someone who needs you and lend him or her a helping hand. It will almost always take your mind off your problems and fears. Helping others is actually a way of taking action and responsibility for your own healing.

5. Talking to someone is one of the best ways to overcome your anxiety. Getting together with your family and friends, even your fellow patrons at Starbucks, and talking about what you are feeling can be helpful. If you can't talk to someone, try writing a letter or visiting an appropriate Internet chat room.

6. Exercise is another good way to keep from letting your fears overwhelm you. Sometimes gentle forms of exercise like walking and yoga can be better than a hard workout at the gym. Do what works best for you at the moment and don’t worry about breaking your normal routine, that change may actually help reduce your anxiety.

7. Start a gratitude journal; write down three to five things that you are grateful for. Do this every night, it works and it’s very easy. Become aware of all the good that surrounds you. You can also have a releasing journal where you write about your anxiety and the actions that you can take to overcome those fears.

8. The opposite of fear is faith. When you are anxious, a great way to get out of it is to find some faith. Believing that things will get better is sometimes all it takes to make it better. It also helps to never underestimate the power of positive prayer or visualization, if it can cure cancer it can also reduce your anxiety.

9. If watching the news fills you with anxiety - turn off the TV! The world will continue to revolve even if you’re not watching it on CNN. Limit yourself to one hour a day of news and don’t watch anything that may upset you before you go to bed.

10. Courage is not the absence of fear, but taking action in spite of fear. Doing something new or confronting a fear by taking some baby steps is much more positive than doing nothing. If you need a better reason pick an action that will be helpful to someone else.

If you find that none of the tips above work, then you should take a serious look and consulting with a qualified therapist and physician and asking about medication. Choose to take control of your life and your emotions and don't let them run you or your relationship.(http://www.emotionalfitness.net/articles/10anxiety.html)

Quotes

 In highschool, my friend Kim used to create quote books of all our friends/teachers silly phrases and sayings, so when we came to college, we were full-fledged quote whores lol (and picture whores of course!). But, these are all my quotes from facebook, which have been on there forever and I was gonna delete them and I just couldn't. Too many good memories <3 Enjoy!


"He was all up in my kool-aid" - Casey

" i giggled and look away then i looked back and giggled again, theni looked away again. theni actually really looked at his um............Little Petey. " - Sara

"Is he pushing a human body out of his penis? Then he gets no say so!" - Sara ^_^

No tofu no! - Me

Stick a fork in it! Argghh - Kim

Prostishimmy!

Chickens eat corn... right?

"The highest role of the educator is the maieutic role of Socrates: to help the student come to himself not as a consumer of experience, but as a sovereign individual" -Walker Percy - The Loss Of Creature.

"You think that you see what's present... but you don't you never do... all you can ever see is the past. Look in the mirror, you see a person in the mirror who is younger than you are... because the light has to go from you to the mirror and from the mirror to your eye. So it leaves you, goes back to the mirror and comes back. So whenever you see yourself, you see yourself a little earlier. It's actually uniportant. It's nanoseconds. But the truth is: all any human being can ever observe is the past. You never see the present. And everything you look at is younger than it is right now. When you look at the universe, you are looking at a universe that is billions of years younger." Allen from Bobrauschenburgamerica by Charles L. Mee.

"I think of myself like a bottle of spoiled milk, because im white and chunky" - Nate from Beauty and the Geek

"I'm running in my head!"

"When potato chips attacked"

"You all chilly, chilly/shimmy,shimmy/everything else lol"

"If we were on Amazing Race you would yell, 'USE YOUR BOOBS'
and i would yell 'I CAN'T I DON'T HAVE ANY!!'"

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be" - Shel Silverstein

"Don't step on me little fire!" - best roomie ever lol. (sing this to don't cry for me argentina lol its fun ^^ )

"That's not Japanese at all!" ( When Kim said she wanted to name her baby Sookie and I thought she spelled it like Suki XD)

" Real love is like a ghost. Everyone is talking about it but no one has hardly seen it" - Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Episode 12

"I'm an airplane!" - Kim

"I dont know how far love is from me, is it the distance of a bus ride or the distance from the earth to the moon? But i wish real love will be mine one day." - Hanakazari no Kimitachi e Episode 13

"Adultry is like going out for some milk when you have two good jugs at home" - some random commercial on tv lol

"Beneath this mask there is more then flesh. Beneath this mask is an idea Mr. Crede and ideas are bullet proof" V for Vendetta

"Sometimes people do the wrong things for the right reasons."

"There's fireworks or deatheaters on campus, either one or the other" Kim XD <3

"Laurence, why are you slapping a monkey!" - Night at the Museum

"Ewww it's sour when the stuff comes out!" - My sister <3


And my newest quote....

You have to find out who you are, and be that
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others, 
Because no one else is in the contest of *being you*.

The search for the great american boyfriend....

Don't be thrown off by my title readers! I am not looking for the great American boyfriend XD However, the reason for this post is due to my hulu.com hunt tonight. So out of sheer boredom tonight, I found this show on hulu.com called "Genuine Ken: The search for the great American boyfriend" and wow... it really depicts how America has become shallow - not only to women but to guys (as this show depicts!) as well!

I mean the title does say it all: The marketing directors for Barbie are looking for the next real life Ken to make another doll out of. But as I continue to think about it, if you're looking for the great American boyfriend, wouldn't it be something a little less like Ken? All of the contestants are quite muscular (they make fun of the contestant who isn't muscular and pale) and have beachy tans and even some are past models! But when I think of the great American boyfriend I think of the typical college guy. Not muscular, just average in height, weight, skin tone, looks. If you want someone to represent America, shouldn't it be someone in that average category?

Let me give you some staggering statistics on America and the people who TRULY represent this country:

• About 2/3 men out of 100 men (about 68 men) are between 5'7" and 6'.
• About 2/3 men out of all American men are 5'10" .
• About 1/3 of them are outside this range, with about half of those on each side.
• So, about 1/6 are 6'1" or taller, and about 1/6 are 5'6" or shorter.
• The average American male shoe size - 9-12 (U.S. measure).
• The average American male has 17.6% body fat.
• An average American man weighs 182 lbs. .
• The average American male exercises 2.87 hours a week.
• The average American male has 12.4 inch biceps and a 39.7 inch chest.
• The average American spends $596 dollars on sporting goods and equipments each year.
• The average American spends $874 on vitamins and food supplements.
• The average American male runs one mile in 12 minutes and 17 seconds.
• The average American male runs 110 meters in 16.5 seconds.
• The average American man eats 193 hamburgers and 115 hot dogs annually. ( I thought the extra facts on guys were kinda funny so i kept them in lol. :))

And now for the women...

• The average American woman is 5'4" tall and weighs 140 pounds.
• The average American model is 5'11" tall and weighs 117 pounds. (And this is who our young children are looking up too!!!!! )
• About 80% of American women keep on saying that they're dissatisfied with their looks.
• On any given day, almost half of the women in the United States are on a diet.
• During 2001-2003, the average American female weight was 153 pounds.
• Up to 2006, the average American female weight was 159 pounds. These figures are enough to represent the increase in average American weight by year.

So while i was looking up these statistics, I also found this:

• Almost half of American children between first and third grades say they want to be thinner.
• Four out of five ten-year-old children are afraid of being fat.
• On any given day, one in four men are on a diet.
• Half of our nine and ten-year-old girls say that being on a diet makes them feel better about themselves.
• More than one out of three "normal dieters" progress to pathological dieting. One fourth of those will suffer from partial or full syndrome eating disorders.
• Americans spend over forty billion dollars a year on dieting and diet related products.
• Between five and ten million women and girls in the United States struggle with eating disorders and borderline conditions.
• One million boys and men struggle with eating disorders and borderline conditions.
• The number of people with eating disorders and borderline conditions is triple the number of people living with AIDS (664,921 people are living with AIDS).
• Eating disorders affect at least three times as many people as schizophrenia does (2.2 million people are living with schizophrenia).

Aren't these statistics insane? I mean, children as young as NINE and TEN feel that DIETS make them feel GOOD? They shouldn't even know what a diet is! Not to mention, people are becoming sick because of an image that we have placed in our society as the 'norm'. This not only affects women but it affects men too. Just to think, all i did was watch a few episodes of Genuine Ken which isn't even a publicly aired show (just something made by hulu) and I was wondering why I wasn't more fit like the stick thin girls working for Barbie corporation. But, imagine the children who watch countless hours of T.V. with celebrities who are mostly underweight so that they look "GOOD" on T.V. Is this what the world has come too?

P.S. - I didn't expect this blog to turn out this way BUT, i'm happy that it did lol.

The keys to being sucessful...

It's been a while since I blogged about anything and well my mind has just gone blank recently with any sort of idea except for one. This has been on my mind for a few days now, and I just thought it would be helpful any sort of relationship really - a realtionship between a boyfriend/girlfriend, a difficult friend or even a difficult parent/sibling/or other relative.

1.) Take everything one day at a time or even one moment at a time: This may sound silly but it works. If you keep your focus just on that day it helps to appreciate the moment just a little bit more. This motto gets rid of all future/past anxiety and just allows you to enjoy the day as it is.

2.) Everyone, no matter how perfect they are in your eyes, have their flaws: So accept these flaws and realize that's the reason why you cared for them so much in the first place. Most likely that flaw was there when you first met the person. Don't try to change this flaw (unless it's something super horrible that you just CANT deal with) but instead learn how to work around it.

3.) Give the situation to God/higher power/just give yourself a break: I know not everyone believes in God or a higher power and sometimes they just have themselves to believe in BUT i found out that one of most amazing feelings is when the situation or relationship is just lifted from your shoulders, even if it is just a temporary time. Just asking God/higher power to take control of the relationship and just let him take it where he sees planned is one of the greatest feelings you can ever experience. It helps in two ways because 1.) you're finally letting someone else take control of an aspect in your life which causes less stress and 2.) it allows you to see the relationship or situation with open eyes because you don't have to heal it. You're letting God do that task.

And that's it for today <3

A whole bunch of frustration...

I swear, my research class and this semester is going to be the end of me. I got to my class about 15 minutes early and sat down and some of my other classmates were there as well. So, we start talking about the 13 page study guide that was sent to us over the weekend for our midterm and don't get me wrong; it wasn't a huge deal to me that it was 13 pages, it was the fact that only 25 questions were coming from this enormous study guide. In my mind, instead of taking up her time to write up a study guide, my research teacher should've just said that it was going to be over all the chapters but ANYWAY.

So my research teacher finally gets to class and everyone is trying to convince her that we should have a take home test (which i agreed with this because i really have no time to study a crazy study guide which will probably be about 30 pages when i put my input in) or to cut down the study guide just a little bit since it's only 25 questions. Well my teacher flipped out on us, saying that we shouldn't be getting our MSW if we didn't want to know the material and yeah. Finally, the subject got changed and we started class after 45 minutes of this crazy discussion (productive right? Well it just gets better).

Well she finally starts to lecture and somehow the mid-term gets brought up again by her and she decides to include now that it's an OPEN NOTE AND OPEN BOOK test! I think every single student in that classroom wanted to just beat her with our research books. And she acted like she told us this before, obviously if we would've known, we wouldn't have made SUCH a BIG deal about the midterm in the first place!

So yeah, this semester sucks. My classes suck and i seriously think i may just explode before i even get to graduation.

Two posts in one day :-D

I'm on a roll tonight! But in all honesty, a lot has happened today (so much that it feels like 3 separate days lol). But i have another drawing for you! So, my guy and I had lunch today and he got McDonalds in our student center (where i work haha but i was off at the time). He got his food and came to meet me since i already got subway :). At this time of the day, the employees at the registers of McDonalds mark the costumers initials on their receipt in order for the process to be a little bit easier lol and i noticed his receipt on the table. So i started to draw faces out of his initials (J.H.) and he and I (who i was trying to draw) ended up looking like an Amish cowboy couple lol. But i thought it was cute! Plus, he needed a picture of us for his wallet ;) so i made him put it in there lol. Did i mention that he's amazing for putting up with my corniness? :-D Here's the picture btw!

Welcome to the Nom Nom Cafe...

One day, i don't even remember how or when, i think it was when I first started to make cream puffs; I came up with the idea that I wanted to open a cafe. And of course since it's me, I had to name this cafe the Nom Nom Cafe. It's cute, it's original (or at least i thought it was until a few months ago) and it was something i knew that I'd probably never do but hey why not keep the options open huh?

(i'll get back to the Nom Nom Cafe after this portion about my class! lol) 

Well, my classes were just super horrible today. My research class has always been horrible and it pisses me off to no end. I mean, the teacher just reads right from her notes when she "lectures" and her lecturing is just so horrible. She starts "well the book talks about... blah blah blah" and then she moves onto the next topic " the book also talks about... blah blah blah". Not to mention she uses the same two examples for every topic! I think this woman (who has a Ph. D) has only done 2 research projects in her whole life time.

But today, we had a just speaker however and he was the Head of the social work department and he talked to us about Single System Designs. It honestly wasn't too bad, i read most of it in my book or had knowledge about it before hand, but at least it was reiterating what i had read and not just some random topic! Ugh... lol.

Anyway, after our guest speaker left, we had 30 minutes to do an in class assignment and then 30 minutes to meet in pairs to discuss this assignment. I mean i like the assignment idea BUT when the teacher doesn't give you personal feedback and your conducting an actual research project (going out collecting the data, almost like a thesis but i only have a semester and it's not so crazy) by yourself, it'd be nice if she actually helped us a little bit more and not have us rely on our peers so much.

So that class ended with me being all frustrated and then i went to seminar class where we spent an hour and a half going over simple child welfare terms such as safety, well-being and permanency. I can tell you that this is the third time that our class has gone over these terms since last semester (and it's with the same professor so he should know that!!!) and that was when i decided to doodle.

Now back to the Nom Nom Cafe portion of this blog. I came up with a doodle for the sign outside of Nom Nom Cafe. Now, don't be too judgmental but this is what i ended up drawing during my class lol. You probably can't tell but the O's have muffins in them :)

 And this is what I've been all semester... lol

O.M.F.G

I hate McDonald's. I always say i'm going to quit BUT i never do, so i guess it's kinda my fault that I'm still there. But seriously, when your assistant manager doesn't do anything because she has CRAMPS, that is a bit annoying. Especially when you're the only person on front line (which means that you have to get the drinks, make the fries, do register and hand out the food to people), it's kind of a pain in the ass if it's all your responsability. We weren't horribly busy today but i needed to do 4 different tasks for each costumer. It's a lot and it's NOT my responsability to do all of that by myself. Oh, and the other kicker is that she feels alright enough to be on the phone and get on the labtop she rented from the information station in our student center BUT she can't do her frickin job WHICH she is getting paid for. RAWRRRR. So for about 4.5 hours it was all me. She kind of helped when it got to be TOO busy, but O.M.F.G.

And even when the other manager came in to relieve her, i didn't get to leave until 5:30 (i was supposed to be off at 5) because this manager had to take a SMOKE break five minutes before my shift ended and she was only on the clock for 55 minutes when this occurred. UGH!

Oh, the other thing, when you go to McDonalds and order Ice Cream and the ice cream machine is broken don't blame the cashier. Usually it's not the cashier's fault that it's not working, usually it's the managers fault for not cleaning the machine before opening time, etc. I hate when people act like i'm the most horrible person in the world because we don't have ice cream. I only get your ice cream and prepare it for you. I do not tell the machine or my manager what to do.

Gr. The only good thing about today is that Dorian and I (or mainly me) had a giggle fest because of our first floor neighbor. Such a nice (and cute guy). If only he wasn't a smoker and druggie ( SUPER sad face), we could've hooked Dorian up with a guy! :-D lol.

One of those childhood memories...

I'm sure everyone has fond childhood memories of their favorite t.v. shows, games, music, etc. Well one of my childhood memories was growing up with my friend Sara, her little sister, and my own sister and reading the X-Men comics as well as seeing all of the movies and anything X-Men we could get our hands on. Well today, I just found an article that they're making an X-Men anime!! So not only are they incorporating X-Men, it will also be in anime form which of course is something else that was totally apart of my childhood :-D I can definitely say that I cannot be any happier! I feel like a highschool girl again! lol. I hope they have nightcrawler in the anime, he was my favorite! I mean who wouldn't love a blue furry geman guy with a tail? lol. The anime is being made now so it will be a few years until they get the anime here in the U.S.A. but when that happens, i'm gonna be the happiest person alive! lol. :-D

It's so nice to feel nerdy again <3
P.S. here's the clip of the anime that i found, and yes it's in Japanese but that makes it all the more better (in my opinion!) lol.

2.5 years

But life's not the breath you take, the breathing in and out
That gets you through the day, ain't what it's all about
You just might miss the point trying to win the race
Life's not the breaths you take but the moments that take your breath away

I'm no relationship expert, and I honestly never plan to be. But after 2.5 years I can definitely say that it doesn't matter words have or haven't been said; it doesn't matter if he has or hasn't gotten you roses for every special occasion and it doesn't matter if you see him a lot or just a little. What matters is that as long as your relationship continues to develop that you're with that person you care about and when you're with them you know that they care about you as much as you care about them <3

</End Corniness> lol. :-D

The contradictions of life....

I kind of feel a little contradictory tonight. For my research project, i'm analyzing how faith based counseling interventions reduce relapse of substance abusers. So i'm at the library reading my substance abuse articles for my literature review, and do you know what's consistently playing in my mind? "Bottom's up, Bottom's up..." Yeah, I can't stop it. I've even watched Glee in between hearing the song and reading my articles :( I think that this may be my song for the week.

How NOT to be a crabby-paddy when you're old...

This story is definitely a few days old but it still makes my jaw drop and makes me giggle all at once. On Friday around noon, i left my internship in order to go to Wal-mart to buy the ingredients for valentines day dinner with my guy. So i got to walmart, bought everything i needed (and a few extra things of course) and left with spending only $17 dollars (which is good for me because I usually spend $30 every walmart visit lol).

So i pack up my car and get in all ready to go to Aldi to pick up the ingredients I couldn't find at walmart for the dinner. I start the car and head out. Well, at the front of the Wal-Mart in town there are two stop signs, one stop sign by each entrance. I got past the first stop sign and headed to the second one. I made a short stop and put my foot on the pedal once again. But then i noticed that there was an older man (probably 70 - 80 years old) on the other side of the street and i quickly slammed on my brakes, no where near close to the old man who was still on the other side of the street when i stopped.

However, i looked to the old man and he was glaring at me like i had done something wrong (i swear i didn't!) and then all of a sudden in slow motion i saw his mouth form into the words " You better stop, Bitch" Lol.

At that point in time my jaw was dropped, and i watched as the old man made his way across the street in his slow manner. You think after calling me a bitch, he would've walked a little bit faster in case i did decide to run him over. But, he just kept walking and I went on with my shopping for the day lol. It's honestly funny to me now, but at that point in time i was just at awe in how a man that old would be that grumpy!

Be My Valentine

So, due to the internet dying at my apartment I have to bring my twelve days of Valentine's series to an end a little short :( But that's okay lol. At least I can share my Valentines day with every one.

Friday night - I kind of say that Valentine's started on friday night for me and my guy because we rented 2 movies and cuddled. The first movie was Kick Ass which was a lot funnier then i thought. The second movie we watched as Date Night which also a lot better then i thought it would be. One of my favorite lines was "Someone stabbed that chicken nugget with a sharpie! Now that's badass!" lol. I'd recommend both of these movies no matter if it's for a date or just funny movies to watch :)


Saturday - I had to work Saturday morning but thankfully I got off at 2. I got the kitchen table ready (with Dorian's help of course!)

Then had just enough time to get ready before my boyfriend came over. Of course he was running late ;) lol. but brought us Gloria Jean frappucino's and we started making our awesome cornish hen with amaretto stuffing and honey glaze dinner! It was really yummy, who would guess that amaretto and cornish hens would actually go together? Lol While we waited for the cornish hens to cook, we played mario party (yes we're nerds) and opened gifts.

He already knew that I got him tickets to body world but i felt kind of bad because he didn't have anything to go with his valentines day card(s) yes, cards lol so i bought him a pack of Guiness beer and gave the bottles bow ties.

My boyfriend got me chocolate (turtles which are absolutely yummy!) and he got us tickets to see Gnomeo and Juliet not to mention he also bought the wine for the night and brought me to Fujiyama the weekend before lol.

So finally we ate, had our wine (which we finished the bottle but there's nothing wrong with that right ;)) and then headed to Gnomeo and Juliet. Lol i must say that the movie was interesting. It actually really corny at parts (even a little too corny for my taste) but it definitely had it's cute moments and was good for a valentine's day date night. After the movie, we picked up another bottle of wine, had strawberries and chocolate and watched some t.v. at my apartment <3

I have to say that it was a really fun and romantic valentines day even if we didn't do anything adventurous or outrageous. It was nice having a simple date and just spending time with him where neither of us were stressing about work/internships or school.

But hopefully you all had fun reading about my night and i'm really upset that i never got a picture of the hens we made :( lol. I always eat the food before taking pictures of it XD Maybe next time right? lol.

12 Days of Valentines - Day 7?

Still not inspired but here's a funny Valentines day quote for ya! :)

"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon." -- Author Unknown

P.S. This has nothing to do with Valentines day but instead with McDonalds. Whenever you go to McDonalds for food please remember that it's a FAST FOOD restaurant, not a restaurant where you're getting a 3 course meal. We cannot melt your cheese on your burger (bc that would just involve us putting it in the microwave and overcooking it and then you would just complain about it being over cooked anyway) lol. Boy, i needed to rant lol.

Twelve Days of Valentines - Day 4,5 & 6? lol.

I know i have slacked a little bit (okay a lot) on my twelve days of valentines series. And honestly, i've been busy and when I haven't been busy i've been too lazy (or not inspired :() to post cutesy valentines day things. HOWEVER, i will make up for it by posting cute valentines day comics :)

 

Twelve Days of Valentines - Day 3

Today i realized that Valentines day technically doesn't just have to be about a significant other. It can be about spending the holiday with someone you love like your parents, your friends or maybe that crush you really really like but they don't return your feelings (but your still friends! lol). When my boyfriend and I first met; we were friends for about 8 months before we decided to start dating. I remember trying everything in the book to make our 'first friendship' valentines day special XD. We ended up going to the student center on campus and he played the piano for me and he played lovey dovey songs (I was technically picking them out lol and he probably didn't even realize I was doing it on purpose XD). But anyway, back to the moral of this note. You can spend valentine's day with anyone - or you can also be anti-valetines with people too! (:cough cough: Dorian :-D). But here are some fun activities that you can do with your family, friends or potential significant other :)

1.) Scavenger Hunt
Organize a treasure hunt on Valentine's Day. Write up little notes about how you feel for the people you are celebrating with and what they mean to you and place them around your house (or dorm or somewhere special that you always hang out!) along with a candy heart or other treat. Add a riddle at the end of each note about where to find the next note. At the last note, have something special waiting there, say a teddy bear or other toy or treat.

2.) Touch lives
Saint Valentine gave up his life to be of some assistance to his countrymen. Relax, I'm not advising you to do the same. But Valentine's Day can be a splendid opportunity for you to touch the life of someone else and see if you can help that person in some way. You can visit a nearby hospital or chronic care home to hand over small Valentine gifts to the patients admitted in there; especially those who do not have many visitors or have none to call of their own. Your presence will fill them with a sense of belonging to the community and provide them with some much needed emotional boost. Make sure to call the hospitals or nursing homes beforehand to arrange for your visit. Else, your noble intentions can be misinterpreted and can land you in unpleasant circumstances.

3.) Picnic Fun (However, some of my readers are in places with LARGE amounts of snow, so try having a picnic inside! ).   
Cook up some yummy dishes at home, pack them into your Valentine baskets and go for a picnic with your family. The February weather is apt for a day out in the open. Fill up the picnic hamper with games and goodies and have a wild time! If you prefer to eat out, you can hit your favorite joint with your gang, order what you enjoy the best and savor lip-smacking delicacies like pancakes, cupcakes, cones and roasts.


4.) Balloon Goodies
Buy some red balloons and have them filled with candies. Add a folded-up Valentine's message and inflate each balloon. Attach a paper heart to the string of each balloon, with a note to your loved ones. Then leave them in spots where they are to be found by those you have addressed. It will be a nice Valentine morning surprise. Also, decorate the ceilings by hanging heart shape balloons of colours red, pink, purple and white - the traditional Valentine's Day colors.

5.) Throw a Valentine's Day party (or anti-valentine's day if that's how you roll lol).
Valentine's Day deserves a grand celebration and what better way to do so than to throw a splendid Anti/Valentine's Day bash at your home? No need to invite a crowd; you can keep it a family affair.

Just so everyone knows, these aren't my ideas. XD I just like to make everyone aware of the ideas that are out there though! Hope this helps get the creative juices flowing for your valentine's day planning! :)

A break from my Valentine's day series...

So February is not an easy month for me. For people who don't know me, it will be eleven years tomorrow since my dad died. It's been eleven years, but that doesn't mean that the pain or the grieving will ever go away. My dad was my hero. He helped me with my homework even though he wanted to pull out his hair when it came to math and science (not that he had much to pull out because he was already going bald lol), he inspired me to become whatever I wanted to be (even though he pushed for me to be a doctor so i could one day come up for a cure for pulmonary fibrosis) and lastly, we were almost identical (same curly hair, same freckles, same pale sheet like skin and definitely same bad teeth lol) and as i continue to grow i just see more of him in myself. Well these past few days have been hard for me because it was tuesday night when i realized what the date was and guilt instantly filled me since I had almost forgotten. So i sobbed and I honestly have been crying for the pass few days on and off. And I'm not asking for sympathy, that's not why I'm writing this post. It's more just to get it off my chest, and that's what a blog is for right?

I think the reason why it's so hard for me to get over my dad's death is because of all the questions I have. I was only 12 when he died, so he really didn't get to see much of my life. I just wonder what he would've thought of me today, what he would think of my boyfriend, what he would think of my career as a social worker and not a doctor. Silly questions like that and i'll never have the answers - I think that's what hurts me the most. With my upcoming graduation in May (woohoo Master's degree!) i think this february has been a little bit harder for me then it has been in the past. So i've been kind of down and well today after a meeting for my internship, i stopped at a gas station because i was almost on E lol. So i filled up my gas and decided to get a slushie to cheer me up. I got my slushie, and got in line and I almost stopped dead in my track. In front of me was a bucket of roses - at least 5 each of yellow, red, and white and then sitting in the middle of them all was a blue rose. I mean what gas station has blue roses?! I've rarely ever seen them as an actual florist, let alone a gas station.

Blue roses mean a lot to me and have always brought me comfort ever since my dad died. A few weeks after my dad died, i had a dream about a field of blue roses and he was there amongst them and I've always believed that blue roses were his way of saying that he was alright in heaven and I would be alright without him. And just seeing that blue rose today... it provided me with a sense of relief. I knew that he was looking down on me and making sure I was going to be okay. So i bought the rose and it's currently sitting in my room in a vase right now lol. Even though i may be crying as i write this, it's not because I'm hurting, it's because I'm relieved to know that I'll always have an angel watching over me. And who better for that angel to be then my daddy? :)

I wanted to share pictures with you guys of the rose. So here you go! And i hope this wasn't too upsetting to read. I just really had to get it all off of my chest and to show that God works in amazing ways when he knows that we're hurting <3

Twelve Days of Valentines Day 2

Today's twelve days of valentines is how to make one's boyfriend more romantic. The title sounds like your forcing your guy XD but i promise that's not it. They're actually really cute ideas :)

1. Lead by example. Tuck a love note in his lunch bag or backpack or stop and bring him his favorite dessert just because. Once he sees how special these gestures make him feel, chances are he'll want to reciprocate.
   
2. Tell him what you find romantic. Men and women communicate very differently, and your boyfriend may think changing your oil is romantic, while you'd rather he cook you dinner. If he doesn't know what you like, he won't be able to do it, so be direct with your suggestions.
   
3. Make romance seem like his idea. Mention something romantic you saw in a movie or that you read about in a magazine, and then drop the topic. By planting the bug in his ear, he may start thinking about romance in general and how he could bring some to your relationship.
   
4. Rethink your expectations. Romance isn't always about horse-drawn carriage rides and candlelit meals in front of fireplaces. Something simple, like your boyfriend drawing you a bath so you can relax a hard day can be romantic.
   
5. Realize that your relationship is about more than romance. Remember the things that drew you to your boyfriend in the first place and remind yourself that no one is perfect. Whether he's a hopeless or hapless romantic, he's your boyfriend and you should be happy with who he is.
   

I thought this was totally cute and it's a good thing to remember that you didn't fall in love with the romance, you fell in love with the person <3

Twelve Days until Valentines Day...

So i decided, that since i've run out of blogging ideas (or since my life just isn't THAT interesting because it mostly consists of internship, classes and work) that I'm gonna create a twelve days of Valentines day. For some reason, I'm obsessed with valentines day (heck i started thinking about it when New Years Eve was over! lol) and i consistently think about it until the day comes and is over with. Maybe it's because my guy is my first boyfriend, maybe it's because we also consider valentines day to be our half of year as well. I'm not quite sure but I always love the surprise that comes with the day since my guy usually plans it. However...

My guy isn't the most romantic out there. I mean don't get me wrong! I'm pretty lucky compared to some girls! lol. At least my guy has bought me flowers and candy and we cuddle on a weekly basis so I'm not deprived of cuteness, but I definitely don't have the charming you with songs and poetry every day for the rest of your life type of guy. I think those guys only exist one in a million (even though i personally know two guys who are like that) or they exist in Disney movies lol. I'm happy with my guy, we've had our rough spots and we've had our good spots and I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend :) I think on Valentines day, I just want his romantic side to come out a little bit more ya know? :) Nothing wrong with that right? Oh! And i think he would be more romantic too if we weren't both so busy all the time! Just adding in that side note lol.

So today i typed in a google search, "how to deal with an unromantic boyfriend on valentines day" and I actually found a pretty funny article.

Top Five Romantic Valentine's Day Gifts for Unromantic Guys: Playing to His Preferences 

Some of the Most Unromantic Gifts You Could Give a Boyfriend or Husband on Valentine's Day

1.) "Hair Loss and Replacement For Dummies" - $16.99 at the For Dummies Store

There's nothing quite as tender as helping your honey understand the pros and cons of toupees versus hair transplant surgeries. And the fact that it's from the "For Dummies" collection is really just an added bonus.

2.) "Odor-Eaters Ultra Comfort Odor-Destroying Insoles" - $9.99 at Walgreens

Who doesn't want to be reminded on a romantic holiday of his unbearable foot odor? And, here's the best part: "one size fits all." That means you don't have to put any extra effort into knowing which package to toss in the cart. Could shopping get any easier?

3.) Clearance "Height Increasing Dress Shoes" - $59.95 at ElevatorShoes.com

Not only will this gift help you send the classy message that you're uncomfortable with your man's height, the find can also remind him how cheap you are, too, since you picked a pair from the clearance section. Letting him know he's not worth a penny more is just as good as sending a Hallmark card.

4.) "Silent Snooz Snoring Aid" - $12.99 at Walgreens

You'll be sure to want to highlight the selling point of this particular "Silent Snooz"--the fact that it can be reused for thirty nights. To think: a whole month's worth of happiness for only $12.99! Nothing says "I love you" to your spouse in quite the same way.



5.) Life Insurance Policy on Your Husband - See Your Local Insurance Agent

Another winning plan seems like gifting a life insurance policy to your husband for his Valentine's Day present--one that benefits you, of course. Now seems like as good as time as any to begin allocating resources.

Lol. Maybe i should try rephrasing my search tomorrow XD 

in preparation for your loved one's death. Hey, you don't want to be left out in the cold. I completely understand.