Shoes. OMG! Shoes.

Yesterday, my mother bestowed a great gift to me, third only to the gift of life and friendship. She gave me her oxfords from the eighties.

I had been coveting some online for quite some time, knowing that even at $30, I really couldn't justify the purchase right now what with all of the textbooks I'll have to buy. The ones that my mother gave me were not just hers in the eighties, though; they were the shoes she wore on her honeymoon. I was so honored when she said I could have them.

Don't you just love generosity? If only I had some fabulous pumps to give her in return.

Buh.

I'm afraid there's not much to post as of late. Things have been more of the same; working out, babysitting, sleeping for an ungodly amount of hours. Only five days to go and I'm back in school.

To be honest, thinking about it is probably why I sleep in so late. It keeps me up. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the atmosphere of school. I love my friends there, I love classes, even studying gets me giddy (self-professed nerd). But it's stressful. If I were to buy my books right now, it would be over $700. That's absurd. I'm hoping that some professors won't require some books and others might accept different/cheaper editions. There was a sudden change in a couple of situations at school that blasted a whole through my high hopes. And there's the fact that I'm leaving the solace of my home once again. Maybe I'm odd, but I hate leaving my family every semester, no matter how excited for school I am. My parents are my favorite people on this planet. And I was recently moved into the largest bedroom in the house. It's oh so cozy. I have a feeling I'm going to miss this.

The most I can do now is just prepare; prepare for the classes and stress to follow. Anticipate seeing friends and continuing to learn and love with them. Understand that I am there for a purpose. And, most of all, succeed.

Ugh. Too serious. Something lighter next time, promise. :)

Photo: Me. Downtown Franklin in the Winter.

Precious

Sometimes, it's best to just sit back and pray for the things we're thankful for. And one of them is my dog.

Bear was lovingly adopted into our home in January 2008 by myself and my mom. We only told my father AFTER we brought Bear home, and considering we'd never had a pet larger than a lizard, it was a stretch. But the rest of the family (even the lizard) grew to love Bear for the little ball of adorable energy that he was.

Lately, though, things have not been going as well. Bear develops anxiety issues when the family is away, so last spring when we had him in doggy daycare, he stopped eating. He developed ulcers, and unbeknownst of us, he had 22 bladder stones up and down his urinary tract. I had to leave school and drive home to rescue him. This is going to sound dramatic, but for as long as I live, I will never forget the way Bear looked at me that day. He was in so much pain, and his body was shaking so badly that only his eyes were able to plead for help.

Luckily, help was there. After a massive surgery or two, Bear started to recover, only now, he's completely incontinent and has to wear a diaper 24/7 unless he's outside. Right now, he's sleeping on the couch next to me, blissfully unaware of how much he means to the whole family and how grateful we are that he's alive.

Bear, we love you. :)

Back to School College Survival Kit, Part One

It took me a while to figure out what was essential when coming to college. For example, no one needs five shower curtains. No one. And, if you can fit your drawers into your closet, you’ll have a nice giant space in your room for bookshelves, or the like.

This year will be a little different. We’re on the second floor, so there’s two doors into the main room, and we have a personal balcony. This, I am excited about. Not so excited, however, at having people above us AND below us. Not only do we need to be careful about noise for those below, but whoever’s living above… I just hope they have an early bedtime.

These are items that I have found I just can’t live without in the dorm environment.

1. Command Clips (I use these EVERYWHERE.)

2. Personal bowls (I like mine smaller: ice-cream dishes, soup bowls, etc.) and mugs

3. An uber-comfy hoody (because even though it’s 100+ outside, it’s cold inside

4. Printer (saves you mooooola)

5. Stapler (always need it, never have it)

6. Hot glue gun (you will be everyone’s best friend when it comes time to hang posters)

7. Stuffed Animal (Yes, I know, I’m 20 years old and still need one of these. But there’s nothing like having something to hug when you’re upset and your friends and family are miles away)

8. World Map (great decoration, goes with anything. Also, helpful for geography)

9. Laptop (obvious)

10. Moleskines (Great for class notes. I love them because they’re so tiny; just pop ‘em into my purse and I’m ready to take notes)

Of course, there’s more, but it’s a start. J

Collegiate.

Two weeks from today, school starts up again. In some ways, I'm extremely excited. I miss some of my friends dearly, and can't wait to see them. My classes all seem like they're going to be challenging but not impossible, and being the geek that I am, I love an academic challenge. And the beginning of the school year always brings tons of events and exciting book purchases and redecorating.

On the other hand, I will miss my family. It's always hard, after the summer, to go off and live away from the people you grew up with and spent all summer with. Leaving that support system is something that has always been difficult for me, but it's character-building as well. All in all, going back to school gives me a much-needed boost to stop sleeping in so late and do something with my life.

Oh, and there's the epic movie and Grey's Anatomy marathons me and my roomies always have. And ordering out Chinese food that takes hours to get there. And studying late nights at the Yellow Deli. So it'll be amazing. I think. :)

Photo credit

The Rules of Blogging

Like the rules of health....

1. Consistency is the most important

2. Have meaning to what you do

3. Don't binge on things that are unhealthy for you (hellooooo Publix chocolate chip cookies)

4. Pace yourself

And 5. If you fall down, pick yourself up and keep walking.

Picture: Alex Stoddard

Edit: The picture was too big for the blog, and I'm still a formatting novice. But check it out. It's fab.

I'm Harry Pot-ter, Harry Harry Pot-ter

So I work out now. All of the time. And I'm pretty dang proud of myself for doing it. It took a really long time to find my stride, but I think I've done it, thanks to a unique combination of timing and distractions.

I wake up, eat something, wait an hour. Then, without really thinking about it, I put on gym clothes, grab my gym bag and just get there. It's the getting there part that helps, because once I'm there, I feel stupid if I drive back, like it was a waste of time.

Now onto the real key to gym success: that darn wizard (and one of my biggest obsessions), Harry Potter. I started re-reading the series, and lo and behold: the font is big enough so that I can read on the elliptical without getting dizzy. As an added bonus, re-reading JK Rowling's masterpieces helps me to study her writing with the eye of a writing student. Analyzing each sentence for its structure, the paragraphs and scenes. It's a workout for the brain as well as the mind.

And before I know it, I've just done half an hour on the elliptical. Thank you, once again, for your genius, JK.

Light as a Feather

Occasionally, I'm going to share my favorite blog finds. Sadly, I spend a lot of time on the internet. However, not sadly, during one of my web excursions, I stumbled upon (no, not while stumbling) a blog called Feather Report. My inner fashionista died.

How cute? Very. Very, very cute. And customized to the weather. Normally, the girls at Feather Report base the outfits they put together on New York City weather, with options for hotter and cooler weather. Occasionally, they spotlight different cities (I've been dying to ask what exactly one should wear on 100+ F days) and the local weather, usually at the request of a die-hard reader. Another great thing about the site? They list the prices and where to find the unique pieces. The only downside? Most of the pieces are so out of the college student budget, its not even funny. Occasionally, they'll feature a post where everything is under $100, but even then, I open my wallet and weep. On those instances, if I see something I must have, I usually peruse the internet for other options that carry the style without the pricetag.

Hot Hot Heat

Tennessee is burning.

No, for real, it's like 104 F every day here. Heat indexes even higher. No rain. I can honestly say I will be glad if this is my last summer here. Pacific Northwest, here I come!

But in all honesty, it has forced me to get creative. I've gone miles in my novel, plot-wise. I've watched things that I never had time to watch during the school year, like The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Up in the Air (both INCREDIBLE). And I've made time to workout, because if I'm already sweating when I wake up, why not sweat some more?

The only exercise that I've discovered I really hate doing in the heat is yoga. It's just slippery and sticky and all sorts of disgusting. Usually, yoga is much more pleasant; warming, even. But no one wants to be warmer right now, unless perhaps you live in the southern hemisphere. Lucky Aussies.

Update: Just rained! Hallelujah!

Photo from Mace2000

Make It Work!

I know I'm a week behind, but guess whaaat? Tomorrow night holds a new episode of Project Runway! The above picture is of the Season Two cast, my favorite to this day, what with the numerous memorable quotes...

"Daniel Franco, where did you go?"

"What happened to Andre?"

"Lighten up, it's just fashion!"

and pretty much anything Santino Rice said, ever.

This season is going to be interesting, I think. I won't dare say good yet, because frankly, I only saw maybe one or two standouts. The best thing about the show this season: what comes afterward. The incredible duo of Austin Scarlett and Santino Rice, making people over. I loved the first episode, and I can't wait for more.

New Blogger Beginnings

It seems that every time I intend to write a blog, the same thing happens.

Step One: See someone else's blog and it looks soooo pretty and fun, so hey, why not make one of my own?

Step Two: Spend unnecessary hours making the blog, afraid that the name of the blog will sound stupid, or that I won't think of the write first post.

Step Three: Write a post or three and think, hey, I'm getting good at this.

Step Four: Abandon blog for months, forget that it every existed.

Step Five: Even more months later, get into an anti-technology mode and delete everything.

So why make another one now? Good question. I think it will be helpful, for a few reasons. For one, I don't like to bother people on Facebook with my ramblings and poetry, or my cover songs or any other nonsense. When other people post their nuanced ideas and record themselves doing this or that and post it for everyone to see, I usually find it annoying, unless it's a good friend. I would block the annoyances, but it feels mean and unnecessary when I could just post it here.

Also, I have travelled frequently in

recent years and plan to do more. As is the trend, I figured I might write about my travels here for family and friends to read about. Post pictures, thoughts, ideas, recipies, websites, anything.

I'll bother the people that want to be bothered.