First week? Piece of cake.

Well, I guess that whole '3 times a week' goal didn't fly this week.

Oh well.

I breezed through my first week of the semester.

I didn't even have class Friday.

And that will happen at least half of the semester.

Awesome.

While I am in a lot of project-oriented classes,

if I just stay on top of things

and am always working on them,

I think this semester could be pretty swell.

And we don't have classes Monday for MLK Jr. day.

Yeah, it's been a good first week :)

Back to the grind

Well, Monday brings a new semester.

Just 1 1/2 years until I graduate!

So crazy.

Of course, I've been geeking out with new supplies.

Those notebooks up there?

$1 each at Target.

Such a steal. And such gorgeous colors and patterns.

I'm taking all journalism classes and one comm class this semester,

so it's going to be nonstop creativity.

I'm actually pretty excited!

However, let this be your warning.

We all know how my blogging slows down during school.

But I am going to try my best to update at least three days a week.

I guess we'll see ;)

Whimsical postgrad future...if I have the guts and money

So I often come down with a case of wanderlust,

and I got to thinking the other day about 

how awesome it would be to find a first job

by traveling the U.S. and looking for opportunities

in the places you would die to live.

Then wait and see how the chips fall.

Of course, this would take a good chunk of

cash to fall back on.

And some guts to actually go out and do it.

But still, it would be way fun, right?!

We'll see... ;)

So What Wednesday

So What Wednesday

Link up with Life After I "Dew" if you wanna dish too!

So what if I am finishing up The Hunger Games trilogy for the second time in a year. It's the next best thing after Harry Potter, and the first movie comes out this spring!

So what if I had a slight advantage in Country Dance for Wii because I had previously learned the Hoedown Throwdown. (Please don't judge me.)

So what if I have been to listening to That Thing You Do! every day since Christmas. My dad was watching it and the song is just so catchy!

So what if I plan to watch the complete Mighty Ducks trilogy this week. Robin (HIMYM) has me craving some hockey, and I still have a few days off.


So what if I have been blasting music and singing at the top of my lungs all week, even though I know how thin the walls in this complex are. "If it makes you happyyyyy...."


So what if I have been watching too much HGTV lately. In another life (or maybe later in this life) I want to be an Emily Henderson. (From Secrets From a Stylist)

What I did on break, besides being lazy

And trust me, a lot of my time was spent being lazy.

But, I also had a lot of fun with my family and friends at home.

After driving to Chicago to pick up my sister and nephew from the airport (on very little sleep, I might add),

we headed straight home and to Meredith family Christmas.

Seven little boys all with new punching balls is madness.

But I'm sure it was tamer than seven little boys and four grown men

all in one house while the women were at my cousin's baby shower the next day.

Monday, I had my annual girls' night with some close friends from home.

It's always a good time catching up :)

--------

My nephews had sleepovers every night, either at my mom's or my other sister's house.

I woke up to a lovely fort one morning...

And what would Christmas break at Grandma's be without a gingerbread house?

Of course, Grandpa decided one night that it needed a crawlspace...

Jared was less than thrilled.

Jenn and I unloaded all of our childhood from the attic and sifted through it.

So many books, stuffed animals and beanie babies.

Such a hassle to clean up, too.

And then there was that night we diagnosed our family according to astrology,

while my dad was trying to watch a basketball game.

We know he was secretly enjoying it.

It's amazing out spot on these books are.

(But more on that later...)

Later in the week (after it finally stopped raining) we took the boys to the zoo.

And while they are so many cooler animals around,

Caleb kept chasing this guy around the tree until we had to drag him to the sea lions.

And while we would not get to see a dolphin show

because of winter hours,

we at least got there just in time for a mini sea lion show.

We still pet the sharks...

walked under the dolphins...

played with Timone...

hung out in the African plains...

and watched a tiger take a cat nap.

And as if a trip to the zoo wasn't eventful enough for one day,

Jenn and I went to the Colts game that night.

(Thanks to cheap tickets from my roommate!)

It was the first NFL game for both of us.

Of course, between tailgating and the last, oh, 30 seconds of the game,

it was kind of a drag.

Not much going on in the game.

But we pulled through at the end and won!

Then it was Friday, and time to start getting ready for Christmas Eve.

The boys helped Grandma bake cookies.

And then Saturday night looked like this...

but five hours later, it was all open,

so much sugar had been devoured,

and the boys were dressed in new pj's and ready for bed.

Then it was two days of complete laziness on my part.

And then it was back to Muncie.

I'm doing my best to keep busy now, 

working just a few days a week as usual.

And then next week,

it's the beginning of a new semester.

So I have 5 days to break out of my lazy streak.

Yay...

The 2012 Project

While resolutions are rarely accomplished, I'm making them anyway.

Pessimism is no way to start out a new year.

First is the inevitable health resolution. I am terrible about drinking milk, but it's so good for you. Same with water. I almost always feel dehydrated. I'm going to try to drink one full glass of milk and four glasses of water a day. I'm also going to be more mindful of grocery sales so that I can afford fresh produce. In addition, I'm going to try harder to take a multivitamin everyday, something I kind of failed at these last 6 months. Finally, the dreaded exercise clause. I'm just going to try and keep switching it up so I don't get bored. So far this break, Just Dance for Wii has been a favorite! (And boy do your arms get a workout.)

Second is a resolution about life in general. I am making a decision, here and now, to not let failure knock me down for good. No more wallowing in self pity, but taking these disappointments as fuel to the fire. I am going to dream bigger and live with more vulnerability, because I'm not going to get my sweet slice of life standing behind the yellow line. And I'm learning when to say 'no,' something I will carry into this new year.

Third, I truly want to be a better blogger, because who knows where the next couple of years will take me. This is a great way to keep my family in touch with my life, so the better I get about it now, the easier it will be to keep it up when it will matter even more. Plus, I'm going to use it to further my design skills. I'm going to work on designing my own template, honing both my design and web skills, and I'm going to try to integrate my practices in within my posts, like this lovely lady over at Design Love Fest.

Fourth, I just really want to learn the guitar already! 

Fifth, I want to volunteer more. My hope is to find something I can do once a week, but time will tell how much time I can budget. I've just been thinking back on everything I used to do, and I really miss reaching out and helping people, feeling more connected to the world around me.

Finally, I want to rediscover myself. Define myself for me, not anybody else. I have changed so much over the past few years, more than I ever thought possible. I need to figure out who I am and stay true to it.

I certainly have my project cut out for me, but I going at it with all positivity. 

Good luck to you in all that you want to accomplish this year as well!

2012

happy new year.

i'm off to work for the night, but here's what to expect this week:

• obligatory resolutions post

• lengthy recap of my winter break

• so what wednesday

• crazy idea for post grad job hunt (a while off, i know)

• back-to-classes disclaimer

:)