It happened, it's over, and I couldn't be happier.

I graduated! Can you believe it? When I started this blog, I was still working on my undergraduate honors thesis and counting down the days until I applied and was accepted into Grad school.

Grad school was not easy, hell it wasn't anything near easy. The classes seemed repetitive, the assignments pointless at times, and my internship was more time consuming and emotion pulling then I could have imagined. However, I managed! I passed, I finished, and I walked across that stage with lots of joy!

Graduation is bittersweet because it marks the end of my college career (yay!) but also the end of a short distance friendship between myself and 4 awesome girls! These would be the girls that I traveled to conferences with, the girls that I watch get married, the girls that have been my rocks for the past three years.

Although we are all graduating and moving on with life, we will forever have a bond of friendship. (It just won't be as easy when we live in 5 different places. )

Moral of the Story: Keep your head on straight and work hard. They tell me it will pay off!

You win some, You lose some

I am devastated. My Florida Gators have lost a game. We didn't just lose, we were crushed. The tide rolled over. It's hard to say but I think this year will not be the same. We lost a lot of great players last year and I am not seeing the same passion form the players on the field. Although I love my Gators, I am hoping that this loss was not the beginning of many more.

However, I did travel to Alabama to see the game and the trip was pretty darn fun. I went with a really great friend and then one of her friends. The road trip was 10 hours each way and we had a blast. We jammed to 90's classics like N'Sync, Spice Girls, and TLC. We chatted about everything, and we laughed A LOT.

When we made it to Birmingham we ate, drank, took pictures, got ice cream, and laughed A LOT.

We went to the game and we tailgated, visited the stadium, took pictures, and laughed A LOT.

Then we left early because the Alabama fans are relentless and I can only take so many foul remarks before I punch someone.

We will now continue scheduled blogging....

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have been busy. Very busy. Let's recap what has happened since August:

1. School started. It was fantastic and after the first introduction week I start to take over portions of the lessons. This was exciting and new and more time consuming then I had ever thought it could be. I went to school all day and then I went home and wrote lessons, practiced reading storybooks aloud, and tried to figure out how to help those students that weren't figuring it out. It was exhausting and I could not possibly give myself the 15 minutes needed to sit down and share the stories with you. Now that a month or so has past, I regret that choice because those stories were darn good and the details are quite as clear now.

2. A great friend married another great friend. The ceremony was beautiful and we had a fabulous time celebrating the beginning of their life together.

3. My friends and I had a Dexter themed dinner party to celebrate the new season. We made blood inspired dishes and it was awesome! Each dinner guest wore black because we were mourning the death of a character from the previous season. (No worries, I won't spoil the show if you aren't caught up.) I made a bag of blood spattered popcorn and served it in a super classy black trash bag. if you don't watch Dexter then please don't judge me. It makes sense if you do.

4. My sister turned 20! Holla!

That kinda catches us up to October. I am going to try to be better about making time for the blog. Seriously.

Movie Review

Remember when I told you I was so excited to see Eat, Pray, Love? I spaced out with this whole school starting business and never recapped the movie. Here I bring you my review:

I LOVED Eat, Pray, Love. I will not discuss in major detail the reasons for which I enjoyed this movie because I hate when people spoil a movie for me. However, I will say: Most of the movie is true to the book, Julia Roberts was fabulous, and the medicine man in Bali was the cutest old man I may have ever seen. Check out this clip of when Julia's character meets Ketut.

I really hate when Hollywood takes a book and butchers it to beyond recognition (a la Confessions of a Shopaholic) and puts the same title on the movie. It makes people less excited to read a book. Eat, Pray, Love did the exact opposite, my good friend and I went to see the movie and as we were walking out she said, "I think I might read the book because it seems like I would understand the movie better." That's an A+ Hollywood.

Moral of the story: See this movie! It will make you want to travel the world and have the experiences Elizabeth Gilbert did. or maybe that's just me.

Sometimes you just need a break...

I love my friends. Really I do. However, I am currently feeling like our friendship is not a great as it used to be. I am wondering if every friendship reaches a point where they question when the friendship broke down and if it will ever get better again. I have been having a rough few weeks with my friends and I just want to go back to the way things used to be.

I didn't really notice anything was wrong with my close group of friends until I was invited out with another group of friends. These second group of friends are not people I hangout with a lot and therefore we spent the time together catching up, laughing, and having a great time. I miss the times when my really close group of friends did that. Now all we do it gossip, talk about the crappy things going on in life, and discuss school. I think that we need a clean slate and a chance to laugh until we cry again.

My friends have made my last three years in Gainesville some of the best times I will ever remember and I would hate to have this awkward period ruin what we experienced together since we met. Our group has a lot of things coming up in the next few weeks because one of us is getting married and I hope the festivities will be remembered as happy and fun and not a memory of catty fighting.

What do I do? Do I try to pretend that things that have been done and said are forgotten? Do I talk to them and hope it doesn't make things worse?

It's my last first day of school

Today was my very last, First day of School as a student. I started my internship today and it was fantastic! I love my teacher, my school, my third grade team, the principal, and I know I will love the kids. I didn't know what to expect for preplanning, but it was a lot of meetings thrown in between a few minutes to decorate the classroom or eat lunch. I loved every minute of it and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the week brings!

This Friday is meet the teacher, where all the students and families come to school and they get to walk to the classroom, find their desk, meet the teacher, get the materials list, etc. I always looked forward to this as a child because its the first time you can see which of your friends are in your class! I am now looking forward to this as the teacher. I will get to meet families, meet the students that I will be teaching, and see all the handwork for the week paying off. I just have to figure out what I want to wear :)

Moral of the Story: This is gonna be a great semester and I am so excited to graduate in December with my Master's in Special Education...how crazy is that.

Spiders......are not my fortay.

I walked out of my house today and almost ran right into this guy!

I screamed a little scream, I almost cried, and then I sat my stuff down and took out my phone to catch him in the act.

I really, really, really hate spiders because they freak me out. They move so quick and have so many legs, I feel like you can never trust a spider.

I'm not sure what type of spider this is, but I do know that he is slowing creating a web of magic out side my front door. MY FRONT DOOR...the one I use like 5 times daily at least. I don't want to kill him because well I feel that death by human is unnecessary for this little guy because he really did nothing wrong except trespass on my front door. As of right now I will see how far he weaves his web and if I start t feel uneasy about him taking residence so close to my home I might have to evict him.


Moral of the story: If you have more than 2 legs, run faster than I, and get in my personal bubble..I might have to move.

Grad School continues

The entire point of creating this blog was to follow my journey from undergraduate to graduate student. I didn't do that. I posted a few times about school and my thesis and conferences, but the majority of posts are about my life. I am totally ok with that. I love grad school and I have enjoyed my experiences, but seeing as many of my experiences involve children (the special education major thing) I refrain from using thier pictures, faces, and personal stories even though they would make for fantastic stories.

Next Monday I start my full time internship. I am excited, ready, but still nervous. What if all of this practice shows me that I am not good at teaching..what if I can't meet the expectations of all of my students, what if I fail? Deep down, I don't think any of this will happen, but it could. It most certainly could and that is what makes me nervous.

I am no doubt going to slow down on posting (my god woman how could you be any slower??) but I am going to make a real effort to blog at least twice a week and to keep the posts interesting and worth while.

Hungry Hippos

I have not played this game in forever, but it kinda rocks. The kids I nanny recently accuried this gem and we have spent all morning eating marbles. I totally won, but since they are 3 and 7, I let them think they won.

Fantastic.
Moral of the Story: Games form my generation are far superior then the crap that kids play now. Hungry Hippos, Sorry, Connect 4..those are classic!

She's Baaaaacccckkkkk

Tomorrow is the day that I have dreaded for the past week. Number 2 will be back at work and can I say OMG..I have cherished the time without her.

Hopefully she returns a different child, but seeing as she was spoiled at Grandma's all week, I doubt it. I am going to put my game face on and teach the kids how to count to five because that is the number of days I have left :)


Moral of the Story: Friday is gonna be a good good day :)

Eat. Pray, Love

You may have heard of it. It's a little movie that comes out next week starring Julia Roberts that is based on a best selling novel. I really enjoyed the book and I am really looking forward to the movie.

I have heard people criticize the entire plot of the book because who can afford to take a whole year off and travel the world, but things were different when she took this deeply personal trip and her situation was nothing like most people can conceive. I think the journey was exciting, nerve racking, and incredibly brave. I hope that one day I can travel the world and have experience of my own that help me the way these experience helped her.

Check out the movie trailer here.


Moral of the story: Movies are never like books, I know. I can only hope that it doesn't massacre the story to be unrecognizable.

Nothing says Party like a Mullet

Business in the front and party in the back..nothing makes me think of the 80's like a Mullet. A decent mullet is hard to maintain, hard to keep trendy and most of all hard to not laugh at when you see when shopping at the mall. Check out this website for some famous mullets that you may have forgotten.

The point of this post was not to reminisce about of the the worst haircuts our generation has seen, it was to talk about my job AGAIN. This morning I strolled into their house and was greeting by two smiling faces, remember no number 2 this week!!! However, one of the smiley faces had an unfortunate mullet upon her head. Apparantly number 2 came across a pair of scissors before she left for Grandmas's and gave number 3 a new do. It's pretty amusing, but sad because number 3 is sooo cute but she can't pull off a mullet. No one can.

I used the photobooth on my computer and although this picture has the mirror affect, it really was the best shot of her new bangs. This picture in disguise might be best because I don't need anyone coming across it and telling the parents that number 2 drives me crazy 94% of the time.

Moral of the story: Your house should be scissor free from age Newborn to 18. You can never really trust those buggars.

Pretending to be an adult for a day

About four weeks ago I received a tiny red envelope in the mail that summoned me to jury duty. I was excited. I felt important, needed, and grown up.

Today was my day to show up for duty and I joyfully woke up, showered, ate breakfast, packed snacks, grabbed a book, and went downtown to the courthouse. I made it through security with only 1 snafoo with my belt and I proceeded to the fourth floor where I was given a sticker with my juror number.

I sat. and sat. and sat some more until they decided to begin 30 minutes late. We watched a snazzy video that I suspect was shown via VCR and created in the 80's (based on clothes and hair) about the importance of being a juror and the difference between a plaintiff and a defendant. (Hello Florida, we have Judge Judy now and we know these things...)

Then the honorable so and so came in, we were sworn in, and the process began to select jurors. The judge said he would first talk to anyone individually who felt they had a hardship and would be unable to serve on a jury. No one stood. He then informed us that they were only creating 1 jury and the case was expected to last 2 weeks. TWO FREAKING WEEKS! The judge then asked again if there were any hardships and 50% of the courtroom stood and started to form a line to speak with him. I debated my situation: stay in the courtroom and take my chance of being selected and miss out on two weeks of pay form nannying or talk to the judge and tell him I am a full time student working full time to pay tuition and I can't afford to serve for two weeks. I went with option B. The judge excused me from jury duty today, but I was warned that I will be summoned again in 8 to 12 weeks.

Moral of the Story: I don't think I like being an adult that much. Bring me finals, internships, and transcripts. You can keep your bills, jury duty, and taxes.

I'm done!

This is what I looked like two days ago when I was rushing to finish a paper and submit it before the due date. I did it and now I am done with this semester and I say thank goodness! The class I have had all summer has been annoying to say the least and I am glad to part ways with the professor and take a mini break before the Fall semester begins.

Moral of the story: Get your shit done early and have sanity.

The hazards of a real job

So remember my post a while back about my real paying job and then the post about how a usual day looks, I have to be honest with you, the majority of the crying, hitting and other headache inducing behavior comes from 1 of the 3 children. We shall call this child number 2. Number 2 enjoys spending the day giving me an ulcer by doing anything to child 1 and child 3. This includes: hitting, kicking, knocking over, breaking toys, punching, throwing toys, crying, more crying, and lastly more crying. This child takes pride in hurting others and always has a smirk on their face. I am thrilled to annouce that next week, Number 2 will be visiting Grandma, and I will have 5 glorious days of freedom. I am beyond thrilled to spend my days with number 1 and number 3 reading, watching tv, playing play dough instead of chasing, yelling and giving timeouts!

Moral of the story: Thank goodness for easy weeks. Take your time to breath and relax because being angry at work is not healthy.

It's my Birthday and I'll eat everything in sight...

I have been sticking to this weight watchers thing pretty clearly for the past few weeks and have seen the results in the lose of a few pounds. However, yesterday was my birthday (Happy 23rd to Me) and I ate everything in sight during the weekend and last night.

I drove to Daytona to spend the weekend with my mom, who also had a birthday this past weekend, and we ate out for every meal. EVERY MEAL! How am I supposed to work with that? Regardless of how many pounds I gained, the food was delicious and I loved everything about it. Friday night we ate at a brand new restaurant called, Vince Carter's, recently built by Vince Carter. He is not vain or anything...

The atmosphere of the restaurant was great and it is beautiful inside. This picture is one I found online because I fogrot my camera that night :( The restaurant has three different seating options: a sports bar, a dinign room, or a piano lounge. We opted for the dining room and it was fantastic. The seats were comfy, the music was pleasant, and the other tables felt far enough away that you didn't feel like you could reach over and grab their salt. The menu was just as diverse as the seating options and you cold order anything from burgers to lamb chops and anything in between. I chose a decadent pasta served with shrimp and scallops in a vodka sauce....delish. I would recocomd this restaurant to anyone visiting Daytona!

When I got back to Gainesville, my friends and I went to a Japanese steakhouse and did the hibachi grill. I love this! The food is always outstanding and we had an exceptional chef who made us laugh and pay attention the entire meal. Plus, I am not sure what they put in the white seafood sauce, but I cannot get enough of it! I pour that stuff on everything that touches my plate.




Moral of the story: Treat yourself on your birthday. You might regret the steamed veggies and sweet potato later but you'll get over a few extra pounds added to your middle.

I have the best friends a girl could ask for

So today is the day before my birth. I thought it was any other day before my birth, but I was wrong. Today was a special day ebcause today was the day that I had my very first surprise party! My girls in Gianesville threw me a surprise birthday party and invited so many people that I love. The best part about the surprise is that I was truly surprised. I had NO idea, NO inclination, and they all did a fabulous job at telling lies and getting me to the party.
I had friends drive two hours from Daytona, friends that I have met in different ways around Gainesville, friends from school, and some great best friends there. Everyone made food, we drank mimosas, talked, listened to music, and ate fabulous cupcakes from Yum Cupcakery!

The girls even made me a hand created sign:



I could not have asked for a better birthday party and now I feel selfish that I planned a dinner for everyone to go out and celebrate my birth, but I am special enough for two celebration so I did not cancel!

Moral of the Story: It feels great to know that my sister and my friends cared enough about me to throw me a surprise party and lie behind my back for weeks.

Is it worth it???

Remember, not too long ago when I was super excited about my real paying job. Let's just say I am less excited today.

These kids are the best form of birthcontrol. They are driving me slowly into a state of total chaos. I knew that working 10 hours a day with three kids under the age of six would be stressful, but I had no idea. I think it strange that my major is elementary education and here I am complaining about children, but let's be real. Teaching is not babysitting. In my classroom I will read, talk about cool things like science and history, we will eat lunch, have recess (hopefully) and then they will get some homework and we will continue the processs throughout the year and they will become more educated, hopefully more socially responsible an din the end I will survive.

My current job goes a little something like this:

I arrive, kids eat breakfast, one kid throws oatmeal on the floor, dog eats eat, kid cries. then we play wit toys, fights ensue, more crying followed by arm biting and hair pulling. Dogs get involved, someone falls down, more crying and probably a time out or two.

We might go to the mall (indoor playground and it's like 200 degrees here) or the museum (free arts and crafts) but this usually involves a 45 minute period of time in which we get dressed, find shoes, grab toys that want to go, put on shoes, grab diapers, get snacks, more crying, probably a time out or two and then we leave.

Lunch involved three different sandwiches, a plethora of sides. I know I could make one lunch and call it done but that might result in more crying and probably a timeout or two.

Then we watch TV. I kid you not the only period of time when there is no crying and not a timeout unless kid one kicks kid two because kid three got too close to them on the couch.

Nap time for kid 3, Kid 2 gets a hour of quiet time, and kid 1 does his own thing. My FREE time and i shall cherish it daily.

Snack time is similar to breakfast and it usually results in a timeout or two.

Then more playing, more crying, more kicking, more biting, more hairpulling, resulting in a timeout or two.


That is my day Monday thru Friday from 8 to 5.

Moral of the Story: Bring on the diploma, I cannot wait to have a classroom where the kids know I am there to help them and not put them in timeout.

What happens in New Orleans was once in a lifetime

I am going to be very frank about this..New Orleans was not so much fun. The city itself was dirty, smelly, and overall very unimpressive.

New Orleans has some perks:

1. Open container law - Very handy when you are walking from bar to bar trying to find a place for your underage sister to get in.

2. Food choices aplenty - We never really had a hard time finding a place to eat since there were many many choices, but they all served the same food.

3. Sweet Aquarium - My friends and I went to the Audubon aquarium and it was pretty awesome :) We also visited the insectarium and the zoo.

If I had to choose a vacation spot tomorrow, New Orleans would not make the top 50. I really did not like the city or the people.

Moral of the Story: New Orleans is not for the faint of heart, those under the age of 18, those over the age of 25, or anyone who has morals.

Hard work pays off

Let me backtrack a little bit...

This is the third time I have attended this summer conference and every year there is an awards ceremony. I love awards and watching people win awards and this ceremony is no different. However, Florida has never won at this conference, mostly because they have never nominated themselves, but it has always been disappointing. Once I took over as President, I was determined to nominate Florida for at least one award and I worked my behind to have a successful year that was deserving of such an award.

Fast forward...

It paid off. We won! Not only did we win the award that I nominated my chapter for, The Local Excellence Award, but I won an award too :) My dear friends nominated me for Outstanding Leader and I won! I am beyond thrilled and little bit sad too. I feel as though I made such an impact in one short year, but now I have to graduate. I keep imagining what cold have been if I had gotten involved earlier and had more time.

This mission if you do so choose to accept will start in 12 hours.

Mission Destination: New Orleans

Transportation: Roadtrip

Length of Stay: 12 days

Tomorrow is the day in which I will learn to sit in a car for 8 hours. I have never, NEVER, been in on a road trip of this caliber and I am frightened. On the other hand, I couldn't ask for better road trip companions and for that I am looking forward to the trip.

Things I am most looking forward to: Bourbon street, creole food, open container law, seeing my friends from around the country, Outreach to Teach, meeting new friends, conference workshops, etc.

New Orleans, here we come! Get ready for the party!

Moral of the story: if I can remember what happens each night, I'll blog about it!

I got me a real paying job :)

Ever since my favorite store closed and left me unemployed, i have tried to decide how I wanted to waste my Summer away. I finally decided that babysitting would be a great way for me to interact with kids, but it is more open ended and flexible then a job at a daycare or preschool.

Thus began the search. I tried Craigslist, my university, babysitters.com, a local nanny placement agency and just when I thought I would never find a job or a family, I received a return email! I went, I interviewed, and I never heard back...

I was so upset, I thought the family really liked me, but then again, I think alot of people like me and it turns out..NOT SO!


I decided to give up and apply for some positions at the mall, a daycare, etc. I went on an interview or two and then I GOT A RETURN EMAIL FROM THE FAMILY! They like me, they really like me and want me to nanny for them this Summer :) I am not sure what I got myself into, the family has 3 kids, 2 dogs, and some chickens and I am working 8-5 M-F.

Anyways, it looks like this girl is a working girl! and I am very happy about it.

Moral of the Story: Just when you think it is all over, it might just turn around and be a happy day!

Alays a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride...

Not like I'm complaining! This little lady, wants nothing to do with marriage or kids until she is at least 30. Seriously, I want to be settled, in my career, and very independent before I decide to share my life with someone FOREVER!


I am however, thrilled for one of my friends who is recently engaged and asked our very close group of friends to be bridesmaids! It is going to be a blast planning and throwing an excellent bridal shower and bachelorette party!


Moral of the story: This is going to be tons of fun and I have already started to collect penis shaped items in celebration!

I am so excited :)

For those who are unaware, I am 1 semester awat from graduating with my Master's degree and I am so excited about it!

My last semester is not spend hunched over a pile of books in the library writing my thesis vigorously... I get to spend my last semester in a classroom teaching students to read, write, and have fun! I am thrilled with this because that means that I am three weeks away from being done with classes and tests and papers :)

However, I am thrilled that I have been placed at the elementary school that I requested with the teacher that I requested! I am so excited!

Moral of the story: I am going into classrooms and teaching kids. I hope they can handle Ms. Roberts and my crazy ideas

More about Me

I found this little quiz on Facebook and I really liked it, so here goes nothing!

Ten Things I Wish I Could Say to anyone

10. I think you are overly self-confident
9. I wish you hadn't said it.
8. Why?
7. Are you glad it's finally over?
6. I'm so jealous :)
5. I'm so proud of you
4. Take out the trash
3. Do you remember that time we laughed so hard it hurt?
2. I miss hanging out
1. I am disgusted by your habits.


- Nine things about myself -

9. I am very opinionated
8. I like veggies.. alot!
7. I am almost done with school!
6. I am obsessed with baking right now
5. I just got a Summer job!
4. I am thrilled about my placement for my internship next Fall
3. I like cats
2. I wear size 10 shoes
1. I'm happy right now



- Eight ways to win my heart -

8. Make me laugh!
7. Make me feel pretty
6. Be intelligent..and us it
5. Write me a note, just because.
4. Change the oil in my car
3. Know the difference between dress shoes and sneakers
2. Sing me a song
1. Understand me without judging me


- Seven things that cross my mind a lot -

7. School
6. Moving out of Florida
5. Friends
4. Family
3. What would have happened if I never came to UF
2. Judgments form others
1. Money


- Six things I do before I fall asleep

6. Grab a drink
5. Shower
4. Set my alarm
3. Read
2. Put T.V. on
1. Give Gracie (my cat) a rub down


- Five things you're wearing right now -

5. Pink shirt
4. Vest
3. Capris
2. Grey and Black Necklace
1. Flip Flops


- Four friends who mean a lot -

4. Steven
3. Sammy
2. The fab five
1. Kaylin


- Three songs that lately you listen to often -

3. Banana Pancakes - jack Johnson
2. Empire State of Mind - Alcia Keys and Jay- Z
1. Chasing pavements - Adele


- Two things you want to do before you die -

2. Write a book.
1. Travel around the world.


- One confession -
1. I am addicted to my computer.

Moral of the story: I like talking about myself :) I hope you like it too.

Now that we have a relationship, maybe I should introduce myself.

Inspired by many blogs that I have visited, I have decided to list 100 things about me:

1. My name is Laura.
2. but I have a second first name too. Ann
3. I am 22
4. I am a Florida Gator!
5. I love all things orange and blue
6. I am in Grad school
7. I am not a fan of my program.
   
8. I am on Weight Watchers
9. I love Spinach
10. I hate grilled cheese sandwiches.
11. I have a fear of dancing.
    
12. Hungry Girl is my new bible.
13. I have a love of cheese..all kinds.
14. I really love my cellphone.
15. I want to be a teacher when I grow up.
16. I want to teach Special Education.
17. I have a fear of failing.
18. I plan on moving to New York after I graduate.
19. The big apple is amazing and beautiful in my opinion
20. I want to live in a teeny tiny apartment that has brick walls.
    
21. I am not looking for a relationship...shocker.
    
22. I want to eventually settle down, but I want to be secure with my career first.
23. I don't understand the rush to get married at a young age.
24. I might have kids, but the idea of birth creeps me out.
25. I'll most likely adopt.
26. Bathtubs are also one of my phobias. Bathing in your own filth? Why?
    
27. I have an awesome digital camera.
28. I have traveled to 7 states since last March. New York, Philadelphia, California, Washington, South Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas.
29. I have been to 4 countries also. St. Maarten, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and The British Virgin Islands.
30. I love traveling and want to do it all the time.
    
31. I have BIG dreams for my life, but no one really knows them.
32. I am currently jobless.
33. I have three cats. they shed a lot of hair.
34. Dogs seem like a big commitment.
    
35. I currently live with my younger sister.
36. We are often asked if we are twins, this is not the case.
37. I want to write a book.
38. I have a really hard time trusting people.
39. I could count my family members on one hand.
40. I have never met any of my aunts, uncles, or cousins.
41. I hope that this can happen one day.
42. I have 4 siblings, but have only met 2 of them.
    
43. I grew up in Daytona Beach, FL.
44. It is not as cool as you may think. Unless you love NASCAR or drive a motorcycle.
45. I love to read.
46. My favorite author is Sophie Kinsella.
47. I am also a fan of Karyn Bosnak and Jen Lancaster.
48. I really want to attend Blogher 10 because its in New York.
49. I am very involved in a club at school.
50. I wish others were as involved.
51. I have trouble delegating because of fact #15.
52. I have no artistic talent ever.
    
53. I have never read the actual bible
54. I have not stepped inside of a church for over two years
55. I like to scrapbook, but I have no time.
56. I love listening to music when I'm doing homework
57. I like Jack Johnson
58. I have a lot of acquaintances, but only a few friends.
    
59. I love my friends.
60. I am sad to say that I have lost a lot of friends over the years.
    
61. I love to laugh.
62. People say I have a great laugh.
63. I love haunted houses.
64. I enjoy Harry Potter. A LOT.
65. I do not understand the hype with Twilight.
66. I have not read the books, but I did see the movies. Still don't like it.
67. I enjoy spending Holidays with family.
68. I love pedicures.
69. and enjoy getting my nails done too.
    
70. I like to drink alcohol.
71. but I like to also remember what happened while I drank.
72. I am a fan of Postsecret.
73. I read my bloglines subscriptions three times daily.
    
74. My macbook is pink.
75. I love to bake.
    
76. I recently signed up for a baking class.
    
77. I love Showtime! Shows like Weeds, Dexter, US of Tara, and Nurse Jackie.
    
78. My favorite candy is heath bar.
79. I prefer using rubber cement to glue.
80. I really enjoy diet coke, diet sprite, and diet dr. pepper
81. I subscribe to multiple magazines: Cosmo, Weight Watchers, Rachel Ray, and People.
82. I really enjoy Rachel Ray and her 30 minute meals.
83. I own orange Rachel Ray pots.
84. I cook with them daily.
85. I normally wear my hair blonde, but I went one year as a dark brunette.
86. I prefer cold weather to hot weather.
87. I love wearing jeans with boots.
88. I have one tattoo and one nose piercing.
89. I can not imagine wearing contacts.
90. I like flip flops and sandals.
91. I cannot eat with chopsticks, I have tried.
92. I wish I had more time to read.
93. I wish I were better with my money.
94. I hope that 2010 is as good as 2009
95. I cannot fathom how this year will end when I graduate and move away from the friends I have made.
96. I will miss Gainesville and the University of Florida.
97. I will miss my family.
98. I am excited to start a new life with a degree and a career (hopefully).
99. I am getting used to this blogging thing.
100. I hope that more people will find me and listen to what I have to say.

I hope that you enjoyed getting to know more about me! I know that I struggled a little bit with coming up with 100 things that seemed interesting enough for anyone to read about me.

Moral of the Story: I am (semi) interesting, at least I think so.

The downside to being in school..

HOMEWORK! It could possible be the end of my very life this week. I cannot stand to write one more paper, yet I have 5 to write. No wonder they don't tell you how much is involved during the application process....

Moral of the Story: Stay away from Grad school unless you: a) want at least one year of having no life, 2) enjoy living in the real world with no sleep, or 3) just like migraines.

This girl has herself a new hobby!

I just signed up for a cake decorating class! I am uber excited to learn the art of cake decorating! I have always been amazed by the shows like Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss and now I am giving it a try. My sister and I are taking the class through Wilton at a local Michael's craft store.This is an actual picture of a cake my friend made! She has just finished her 12th week in the class, and I am starting at the beginning, but if I can create anything even close to this in 12 weeks, I would be so pleased!!!!

Moral of the Story: I should just quit grad school and become a famous cake decorator...AM I RIGHT?

I am thrilled with the results...

I DID IT! and they were great! My picture doesn't do it justice, but the rainbow effect was quite awesome! I am very excited to try these a few more times and perfect the stripes. My friends thought they were cute too.

The best part of the process was how easy it was! Just follow these steps:



Ingredients:Food Coloring
White Cake Mix (and the materials to make the cake according to the box)Cupcake Pan & Liners
5 bowls

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Make the cake batter according to the box. (I recommend using egg white and white cake mix for the brightest colors.)
3. Divide the batter into 5 bowls.
4. Drop food coloring into each bowl. ( I used 10 drops of liquid coloring for each color in each bowl)

5. Stir really well. (You can see that my colors aren't that bright. After research, I have learned that gel food coloring might be the better option for BRIGHT colors.)6. Now you can start to layer the cupcake liners. Start with your darkest color on the bottom, moving up. I found that the best way to do this evenly was to lay about a spoonful of the blue batter down in all 12 liners and then spread it evenly with the back of my spoon. Then I layered the green batter in all 12 cups...etc.

7. Bake according to the package.8. Let cool, frost, and enjoy!
Moral of the Story: TRY THESE! They are great for parties, classrooms, and just to brighten someone's day. Mix the colors up!

I am inspired to bake..

I have recently stumbled upon a few awesome blogs that involve baking and I am inspired to try some new ideas! Stay tuned in the next few days to see how my colorburst cupcakes go (click the link to see where I got the idea), but check out these blogs for now!

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/

http://www.skiptomylou.org/


Thanks for the baking ideas! Are there any things that you have been really excited about doing recently?

AMEN Postsecret!

This is me to a tee! I wish that I could understand the students who choose to act retarded, drink every night to the point of not remembering, hook up with random strangers and then not remember what happened the next day. To the people who wear clothes that don't cover them, or shirts unbuttoned to expose their abs, those with too much makeup on their face to see what they actually look like. The people who act to indy to actually be indy, the people who shop at stores for the logo, the guys that wear polo shirts to look fratish, the guys actually in a frat, the girls that think they are cool, and the girls that wish they could be the girls that think they are cool. I hate the people that party, party, party and then ask you for your notes because they are too hungover to take their own, and the people that let them borrow them because they want to fit it. I hate the people that are too artsy to really do anything productive in classes, and then the people that are here because their parents paid for them to be here. I don't understand the people who listen to Ke$ha because she is cool or watch the Jersey Shore because it is real life. Now I fully understand that there are plenty of twenty somethings that do these things responsibly, but they are a select few.

Check out Postsecret for more fabulous secrets that you may identify with!

Moral of the story: Please don't sit by me if you identify with any of these traits. I cannot be held responsible for my actions.

SPRING BREAK!

Due to the lack of blogging form this girl you can tell my semester has been a little bit crazy! I am excited to announce that it is Spring Break for me and I am gladly leaving the country for a cruise! I can't wait to get going...


Moral of the Story: All work and no play makes a bad situation.

Conference number 2 of 3

I know it sounds like I am a pretty important person since I will be attending another conference this weekend, but let me tell you...I AM NOT important. I am crazy. I have way too much on my plate and I am stuffed.

I am excited for the conference this weekend because I will get to spend the weekend in Orlando, I will eat some good food and listen to some important people talk. This conference does not involve me being very important at all :)

Bring on the King size bed and balcony overlooking Sea World!


Moral of the story: If you say yes to everything that is asked of you...make sure that good food and free trips are involved!

The Peabody

Arkansas was a lot more fun than I expected. I had the opinion that it would be a country, small town, nothing to do kind of place...and it was...but I had fun!

I got to see the Statue of the Little Rock Nine. These kids had guts and I was very inspired to have the courage they did.

I also got to see the Clinton Memorial Library and it was pretty awesome. The building was modern and the insides were full of memorabilia from the Clinton Era in the White House.

After I saw the sights (that was all of them) I hung out in the hotel and got to see the ducks! These ducks are trained to walk a red carpet each morning and evening into and from the pond inside the lobby of the hotel. It was a lot of fun to watch and I took some pretty cute pics :)

I thought that everything was done and finished until some of the other girls asked me to go out with them. Let me start by saying that I am not the going out type and I DO NOT, by any means, dance. It freaks me out, but I decided to go anyway. We went to a dueling piano bar and it was crazy. Tons of people, in plaid, and then the dancing started. I didn't dance, but everyone else did and I sat at the table. Like a loser. Who sits at a table at a bar? I really wish that I could just dance..dance..dance like everyone else, but it really FREAKS me out. I feel like every time I start to do something that even closely resembles dancing, someone comments on it and then I stop immediately. I need therapy.

The trip was successful none the less and I met some pretty cool people :)

Moral of the Story: Please do not make me dance, ask me to dance, or comment if I start to dance. Now I am going to go and sit at a table by myself.

Timeline of Travel

Yesterday was the day I left for my conferences in Arkansas. A break from my everyday life and some professional development to make me a better teacher...bring it. However, I should have known that things would go awry. It always happens. Here is how my yesterday went:

7:20 - alarm goes off

7:30 - alarm goes off again

7:40 - alarm goes off for a third time

8:00 - alarm goes off for the fifth time and I decide to finally get up

8:02 - phone rings (my Mom making sure I got up for my flight)

8:15 - putting last few items in suitcase

8:17 - feed cats

8:19 - leave note for sister

8:20 - Write rent check because its due today

8:25 - pack car

8:30 - Drop rent check off

8:32 - Try to make a phone call, but phone is missing, search car

8:37 - Start to panic and then go through my purse, my carry on, and my luggage

8:45 - drive back to my apartment and search inside

9:00 - decide that I will have to leave without my phone

9:02 - get in the car and phone is miraculously in my purse ( I swear i checked three times)

9:25 - stop and get coffee (really needed this)

9:40- park at the airport

9:50- Checked in, bought some apple juice, waiting

10:30 - Decide to go through security because the line is short

10:45 - Still waiting in line because woman in front of me has apparently never traveled since 2001

10:47 - Woman in front of me didn't have her liquids in a bag, didn't know she had to take her shoes off, and left her laptop inside the computer case. Can people really not know the travel safety rules? Is it not on the 6:00 news nightly?

10:55 - Finally going through security scanner after woman goes through 3 times and forgot to take things off.

10:56 - Guard asks me to step to the side

10:57 - "Ma'am, I am going to have to pat you down" (Woman in front of me turns around and automatically thinks that I am the devil)

10:58 - "Ma'am, I need to check your hands for signs of explosives" ( Now the woman in front of me is freaking out and shaking her head at me)

(I am now freaking out slightly because I want to know if there was a threat by someone who is 22, blonde, and overweight flying from Gainesville to Little Rock or if it was just my lucky day)

11:03 - "Ma'am, you are free to go through"

11:05 - Back in a seat waiting, reading, minding my own business

11:07 - Oldest woman in the world decides to sit next to me and "chat"

11:12 - "We will now be boarding Flight #### to Atlanta. All passengers who spend a lot of money on our airline and who get the comfy seats please line up now. The rest of you wait your turn." (Oldest lady ever gets up)

11:15 - People start to board the plane!

11:16 - The same people are being ushered back into the terminal.

11:18 - "Excuse me travelers flying on flight ####. There has been a small mechanical issue on the plane and we will have a slight delay. We will resume boarding at 11:35)

11:35 - Nothing

11:45 - Nothing

11:53 - "We will now be boarding Flight #### to Atlanta. All passengers who spend a lot of money on our airline and who get the comfy seats please line up now. The rest of you wait your turn."

11:55 - People board

11:57- "We will now be boarding Flight #### to Atlanta. All zones."

11:59- I board

12:01- I am sitting, reading, IPOD in hand ready to tune out everything else

12:10 - "Excuse me everyone, this is Captain So-and-So, we have a slight delay in paperwork and will be taking off shortly.

12:15 - Sitting at gate

12:25 - Sitting at gate

12:35 - STILL SITTING AT GATE

12:42 - Start to back away from the gate

12:52 - Take off. "Excuse me passengers, his is Captain So-and-So, we will be arriving in Atlanta in 55 minutes."

(My connecting flight is at 1:55. This gives me 63 minutes until my flight leaves. Probably not gonna happen.)

1:51 - Land. (I have 4 minutes. Not gonna happen)

2:01 - Still on runway. Why?

2:10 - Finally unloading plane, on the tarmac, no ramp. NO RAMP in Atlanta? Isn't this one of the busiest airports? They ran out of ramps?

2:15 - Get to my connecting flight gate.

2:16 - I ask, "Has the 1:55 flight to Little Rock left?"

2:16 - Woman behind the counter says, "Yep"

2:16 - I say, "Ok, well my flight was delayed and I missed my connection"

2:17 - Woman behind the counter says, "ok" (The woman says 1 word..1 FREAKING word)

(Again I asked myself, Isn't this one of the busiest airports? Shouldn't these employees be prepared to handle situations like this?)

2:19 - After typing, she tells me to go to gate ### and ask them for a ticket.

2:26 - I get to gate ### and the woman behind this counter says, "that flight has been moved to gate ###."

2:32 - Get to gate ###. Get ticket. Sit.

3:42- Take off to Little Rock.

4:59- Land.

5:15- Wait for shuttle and get to hotel. Check in for conference and go to dinner.

Thank you Delta for making my day a fabulous experience from start to finish. I truly appreciated the invasion of privacy, the delays, and the great customer service.

Moral of the story: Bring a lot of reading material, eat breakfast, and plan to sit when traveling by plane. Or drive.

Monthly Weigh In

I have been struggling all month to get back on track with my diet and lose the weight that I have set as my new year resolution. During the month of January, I lost a whopping 2 pounds. Kinda lame, but I am feeling like February is going to be a great month for losing 8 pounds to get back on track for my goal.

So here is to me staying focused, eating better, and working my weight off.

Moral of the Story: If I ask, beg, cry about wanting a chocolate bar...please don't give in. I don't need it.

In the next month I will get around

I will be attending three conferences during the month of February! Exciting? YES! Tiring? YES!

I will be in Arkansas February 3rd-8th (anyone have any fun things to do in Little Rock?), Orlando February 19th-20th, and Jacksonville Beach February 26th-28th. The other days I will be home in Gainesville trying to attend grad school and not fail.

I LOVE being involved with my organization, and I LOVE being state president (it sounds legit right), and I LOVE going to grad school because I will almost be done but sometimes I want to put it all on hold and just sleep and have no responsibility.

Needless to say that the month of February is most likely going to bring me some awesome experiences, new friends, and maybe some sleepless nights catching up on homework.

Moral of the story: No one can be on top of everything all of the time. Not even me.

Have you heard about Hungry Girl?

I am working towards my New Year's Resolutions and I have fallen deeply in love with Hungry Girl! Her advice is awesome and she tells the truth!

Lisa Lillian a.k.a Hungry Girl came up with the idea to remake everyday food into healthy food and she has done it with great success. She currently has two cookbooks with two more coming out this year. My favorite part of the whole idea is that she sends daily email filled with even more recipes, tips, and the latest trends. Check out the hungry girl website.

Hungry Girl has remade some of my favorite recipes and the best part of the recipes for me is that they are all already converted into Weight Watcher points on her website. Let me share with you some of my favorite recipes:

Crazy Good Turkey Taco Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 pound raw extra-lean ground turkey
2 slices of fat-free cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
1/2 cup canned sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 packet of taco seasoning mix, dry

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cook peppers and onions for three minutes over medium heat in a pan sprayed with non-stick spray

In a large bowl, combine onions and peppers with turkey, corn and seasoning mix. Spread half of the mixture evenly into the bottom of the loaf pan (about 9"x5") sprayed with nonstick spray.

Layer the two slices of fat-free cheese on top of the mixture (try to keep slices away from the pan's edges). Evenly top with the remaining meat mixture.

Pour the salsa over the top of the loaf. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

Top loaf with shredded cheese. Return loaf to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes.

Number of Servings: 6
127 calories, 1g fat, 688mg sodium, 7g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 2g sugars, 22g protein

Veggie-Loaded Tangy Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

One 6-oz. can tuna packed in water, drained & flaked
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, or any combination)
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 tsp. honey mustard
1 tsp. sweet relish
dash salt
dash pepper
Optional: additional salt and pepper

Directions:
Combine mayo, honey mustard, relish, salt and pepper, and mix well. Then stir the tuna into this mixture. Finally, fold in all the veggies. If you like, season to taste with some more salt and pepper. Mmmmmm!!!

Number of Servings: 2
153 calories, 2.5g fat, 730mg sodium, 14g carbs, 2g fiber, 7g sugars, 18g protein

Moral of the Story: Try Hungry Girl! Her recipes are fun, easy, and delicious (most times).

Golden Globes

I thought the show last night was very entertaining and here are my favorite highlights:

1. Michael C. Hall - He is amazing as Dexter and I am glad to hear that his battle with cancer is fine and in remission. Dexter deserved to win!

2. Sandra Bullock - I liked her dress. The purple was pretty and I thought her hair looked amazing, but according the reviews I have heard today..I might be the only one.

3. Robert Downey Jr.'s acceptance speech in which he thanks no one was brilliant. Sarcastic, full of personality, and I think it showed us how shocked he really was to win. Now I really want to see Sherlock Holmes

4. Harrison Ford looks old. Real old. Calista Flockhart looks skinny. Real skinny.

5. The cast of glee was so excited to win and I was so excited for them to win. The show is a guilty pleasure of mine and I love to see new shows succeed.

Check out this site for more highlights from the show.



Moral of the story: Awards shows are a really great way to spend a Sunday night. Bring on the Oscars!

Scarves, Gloves, and other warm winter clothes

In Florida we hardly often get to see the freezing temperatures that the rest of the country experiences all Winter long, but not this year! The temperature in Florida has been below 40 degrees for almost 2 weeks and I love it! The best part of the weather is dressing for it, I get very excited to throw on a scarf and a coat because it make me feel much cooler than the way I normally dress.

Right now I am loving:

Source of Wisdom Virtual Stretch Jeans

These jeans have no zippers and you just pull them up like leggings! However, they don't stretch out throughout the day and they come in different styles and washes! I could seriously wear these jeans everyday if I were allowed to wear jeans everyday.

Peacoats

I am addicted to Peacoats! I find them classy yet comfortable. I think that every girl should own at least one and I am a big fan of the buttons on these!




Scarves

If there is even the smallest hint of chill in the air, I am grabbing a scarf and wearing it! They add color to any outfit and the majority of them are budget friendly.




Moral of the story: Since I cannot buy clothes due to my New Year's Resolution, I will blog about them instead.

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

I really enjoy the new song from Jay-Z and Alicia Keys! It makes me very excited about moving to New York! Take a listen:



Moral of the Story: Music can make any bad day, turn around, and be good again!

It's a New Year and a New Me

I have failed my blog. I am turning a new leaf this year and I am going to blog about my 2010 adventures. This year is going to be BIG! I will start and finish Graduate School! I will move from Gainesville to New York City (next December). I will accomplish big things this year, I can feel it!

Since it is customary to make New Year's resolutions, I have. They are:

1. Lose 71 more pounds before December (I have currently lost about 30). Not entirely crazy, but I will have to work long and hard for this. I am continuing Weight Watchers, and I have decided to start attending meetings :)
2. Do NOT buy clothes. Unless resolution number 1 becomes real and I can no longer wear my pants. This is by far the hardest resolution because I am a self-proclaimed shopaholic. I cannot control myself when there are sales. I work in a clothing store for goodness sake. I m going to have to use all of my willpower to complete this resolution.
3. I will BLOG! Seriously..at least once a week.

This is my completed list of resolutions. I have other mini goals that I would love to accomplish in the meantime, but these are the big 3. Promise.

Moral of the story: Turn over a new leaf once in a while,the other side may be greener :)