Short posts are better than nothing at all...

...right?

I had a wonderful weekend. Babysat on Friday night for my fav family. It was the most interesting experience with them ever. Managed to accidentally lock myself and the kids out of the house while we were playing outside. Mom had to come home and let us in, but she didn't get there soon enough and the youngest had an accident before we could make it to the neighbor's bathroom. Shoot. Everything turned out ok, but I learned my lesson about closing doors before checking if they lock automatically.

Saturday I spent the morning catching up with my friend, Julie. We ate a delicious breakfast at the Cookie Jar (their caramel rolls are amazing.) She's such a sweetheart, and it was good to spend time with her. Soon enough she'll be married and moving away, which makes me sad. But I suppose we all must grow up someday.

Visited the gym Saturday afternoon, and then went on a wonderful date with Jonathan. He had a great groupon (yes, I spelled that right. Don't ask me what a groupon is...because I still haven't figured it out) to Timberlodge Steakhouse. If you don't mind shelling out some serious money for a meal, go there. It was excellent.

Normal Sunday activities included church, napping, and laundry. I was able to read a few chapters in my book as well as complete a little more of my gift that I'm making for Julie. I sure hope I can finish it before the end of May.

There's a pretty short run down of the weekend's amazingness. And, as always, I'm counting the days until the next weekend. Everyone lives for the weekends, but even more so after you are out of college and working day in and day out. I think this week should fly by, though.

Weekend has arrived!

I don't think I've ever been so grateful for a weekend to arrive. This week has been very....off. I don't know what the deal is, but I just had trouble focusing all week.

Hoping an evening with my favorite babysitting family will bring my spirits up.

Book Review - The Shack by William Young

I'm very behind the trends when it comes to book reading. "The Shack" has been circulating book stores for quite a while. I've heard very polarized opinions about this book. Some people hate it because it isn't the "God in a box" like they're used to, while others love the fact that someone had the guts to take God out of the box.

No matter what your opinion may be, I think this book is a good piece of fiction that should be read. The book starts with its main character, Mack, who receives a letter from "Papa" in the mail. Papa is the nickname that Mack's wife uses for God. The letter asks Mack to spend the weekend at the shack.

A flashback in time reveals the story surrounding the shack. Mack's youngest daughter, Missy, was abducted while the family was on a camping trip. She was never found, but the trail led them to a shack in the woods where they last found evidence of her.

Without revealing the entire book and all of its "out of the box" contents, Mack ends up going to the shack, and he meets God there. He learns some amazing things about himself, about Missy, and about God's love for him and his family.

It took me quite a while to read this book (only because I don't make the time to read like I should). I really enjoyed it, and I loved that the author took God out of the old, white, grandfather like figure that everyone defaults to. If you want to stretch your views about God, love, and forgiveness, read this book. I'd even let you borrow my copy.

Blog Direction?

I don't really want to discontinue with this blog forever. It's fun to write out things once in a while for people to see, and for myself to read back on later.

I'm trying to decide what direction I want to take it, though. Let's face it, it's pretty boring right now. Sporadic updates on my mundane life just isn't cutting it. I just end up writing the same things over and over. And over. And over.

A few ideas that just popped into my head:

-Book reviews (though I have just as much time to read as I do to update this blog. Hmm.)

-Local/National events and my opinions about them. (Might be fun.)

-Music reviews....though I'm guessing my taste in music is quite a bit different than most of my followers (all two of you.)

-Workout log. I'm not trying to lose weight, just get fit. I like to set goals for myself, so maybe it would help me keep track of them better.

-Cooking. I like to cook. I don't do it very often. But I like to read the blogs with recipes and pictures of all the yummy food that they make.

Maybe a mixture of all of the above? Plus the normal and mundane? Maybe everything put together would make it more interesting.

What do you guys think? Any ideas?

Update

Well...the non resolution resolutions are going fairly well. Though I've done my fair share of worrying, I've done my best not to.

But the best part is that I joined a gym this past weekend. And I've gone to it five times already. And I feel great.

That's all.

Virtual Slumber Party

Earlier today, I got a facebook message from a friend. She's feeling a little lonely where she's living now with her husband, so she decided to recreate some of the craziness that we used to have in high school in a unique way. A virtual slumber party.

In high school, our lives seemed to revolve around slumber parties. Staying up all night watching movies was the usual. So, my friend proposed we all have our own slumber parties in our respective places. Take pictures of ourselves doing everything over the course of the evening and then share with each other. I thought it sounded fun.

I discovered tonight that high school was a long time ago...and that I feel like an old lady not being able to make it past eleven.

Nevertheless, I did what I could. It's a lot more fun when you're with someone than alone, I'm afraid. So, also for your viewing pleasure: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45026563@N02/?saved=1

A Good Start

In an effort to record some progress and keep all my devoted blog readers updated (like there are so many of you), I've started making at least a little progress on my non-resolution resolutions.

First step began two evenings ago, when I spent the entire evening balancing my checking/savings accounts and figuring out how much money it actually takes to sustain my life for a month. It felt good to finally have everything pretty much in order. Now, if only my upcoming paychecks can live up to my projected needs. Hopefully.

In other news, I haven't made any attempt to become active yet. But, I discovered the perfect amount of sleep to feel good in the morning: 8 to 8 1/2 hours. Maybe now I can plan an appropriate bedtime. Instead of thinking, I can survive on 6 hours of sleep, I should be thinking...I need 8 to 8 1/2 to function tomorrow. This is all wishful thinking, because I haven't been able to make myself have a bedtime since I was like 14. We shall see.

Snowy day today. On the Early Show on CBS, the weather map said our part of the country was the "Frozen Tundra." I would say that's pretty appropriate. I've been enjoying the morning off of work, but feel somewhat obligated to go in this afternoon. I'm rather enjoying just watching the snow blowing around outside my window rather than going out in it.

Until next time!

Non-Resolution Resolutions

I've never been a big fan of New Year Resolutions. They rarely work out, and then when the next new year comes around you just look back and think about the failed attempts.

So...I normally don't make any. That doesn't mean that I don't think about things that I want to change when the new year rolls around just like everybody else.

A couple of things that I would like to change (but that I will not label as resolutions):

1. Worrying. I worry way too much. Probably enough for me and five other people. This has been pointed out to me multiple times, mostly by my boyfriend. And lately, I just know that I'd be a happier person if I'd quite worrying about how things are going to turn out and just let them happen. So, here's to hopefully at least worrying less from now on. I somewhat made the decision on Sunday at church. It's been working pretty well so far.

2. Budgeting. I've tried budgets before, but never stuck with them very long. Since my savings account was emptied of it's last few dollars at the end of December, it's more important now more than ever to figure out where the heck my money is going, and to plan for it.

3. Exercising. The times are against me at this point since I just lost my free gym privileges as a college student, and I have no way of paying for a gym membership. However, I do have taebo dvd's, and some excellent home workouts in a magazine I subscribed to. I have not started anything yet, but I hope to.

I think three is a pretty good number for resolu....I mean....changes. We'll see how it goes.

Bittersweet

Part of me is rejoicing that I'm not joining the rest of the college masses and going back to classes tomorrow. And part of me feels really weird that I'm not trying to find the cheapest textbook and looking up to figure out where my class meets tomorrow.

Being done is weird.

That is all.

Happy New Year!

2010. Seems like a foreign number, right? I remember when my youngest sister graduated from kindergarten, they announced the class of 2011. Everyone laughed, and I'm pretty sure I thought that the 2000's would never exist.

But here we are, ten years into them. 2010 seems to be starting off with a lot of exciting prospects on the horizon.

So what does this year hold for me? I guess we'll have to wait until December 31, 2010 for the complete answer.

Please Understand...

Sometimes, I get frustrated. About a lot of things, but one thing in particular I will expand on a little here.

For the last four months, I've been student teaching. That means being at school from 7:30am to at least 4pm five days a week without being paid. Then, since I have bills to pay just like everyone else, I work two evenings a week and weekends. In addition, I work on lesson plans and projects for school, which we'll call homework. I usually leave my apartment around 7:15am, and don't get back to it until at least 8 or 9pm, and sometimes later. I don't say any of this to get sympathy, but as an explanation. My social life has been somewhat non-existent this semester.

Now, it's not because I don't want to hang out with my friends. Though I might not be the most outgoing person in the world, I do still like to have fun. The unfortunate part about my schedule is that I'm just so wiped out that I cannot even think about leaving my apartment once I arrive home, unless I've scheduled something a few days in advance.

People just don't understand that, I don't think.

School is just ending for me. I'll no longer be a college student after Tuesday. I may have just a little bit more free time on my hands, which I'm excited about. So, if you were offended by the fact that I've been unavailable...now you know the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

First Real Snow and Christmas Shopping

Last night and today was our first real snow of winter. Meaning, there's actually still some of it on the ground, and I think it will stay there for a while. I guess I don't really mind winter or the snow. There are so many people that just complain for three months straight, but I guess I just find it another part of the year. I've lived in the midwest all my life, so I can't imagine winter or Christmas without snow. I enjoy the changing of seasons.

I went Christmas shopping with Julie last night. Got a few people crossed off my list, so that's good. I'm trying to be pretty conservative with gifts this year, due to limited financial means. However, that doesn't mean I am not trying to buy people something that they'll like!

Only six days and a presentation away from being done with college. How crazy sick is that?

Holiday Season

Long time no talk, readers. I've been way too busy with school to update everyone on the comings and goings of my life.

It's Thanksgiving time, so I've decided to take a breather from the festivities and write a few things. Actually, my mom and I are in the middle of putting the Christmas tree up, but took a "computer break."

I've spent this semester finishing up school. I officially have two weeks and a presentation standing between me and my college diploma. That's right. Be jealous.

Next semester will be spent substitute teaching and job searching. Hoping to find a teaching job in the area somewhere, but I wouldn't mind commuting too much either. Just hoping there's something out there for me.

Right now I'm "home home" in Nebraska. I spent Thanksgiving with my family, which has been great. Lots of dutch blitz and phase ten games, movies, eating, and all that jazz. Can't believe the weekend has flown by so fast, though.

My only regret is that I couldn't spend the holiday with Jonathan. He and his brother went home for Thanksgiving, too. Plans just didn't align quite right for everyone to be together. It's been different without him around.

Lots of stuff planned for my sister's and my last day here: decorate for Christmas inside and out, watch lots of movies, and play cards. I told everyone we had to be on a tight schedule for all this to work. They just laughed at me.

Yay for family!

Five Love Languages for Singles

Here it is: the promised book review. While I had great intentions of writing this last weekend, I didn't get a chance to finish reading the book until today.

The Five Love Languages for Singles, by Gary Chapman, is the singles version of the Five Love Languages. The first book was intended for married couples, but the principles can apply to any type of relationship. Hence, the sequel for singles.

I had a friend who has been telling me to read this book and learn about the five love languages. I wish I had listened to her earlier. As a brief summary for my readers, the five love languages are:

1. Words of Affirmation: Which means speaking your appreciation verbally. Encouragement. Compliments. Etc.

2. Gifts: Giving items to someone.

3. Acts of Service: Doing things for someone else, whether they ask you for help or not.

4. Quality Time: Spending undivided time with the people you care about the most.

5. Physical Touch: Somewhat self explanatory. This is not meant in a sexual manner, unless you're married of course.

Gary Chapman advocates that everyone has a primary love language, and in order for them to feel loved, their love language must be spoken by their mate, boyfriend/girlfriend, friends, family, etc. Though all items are an important part of any relationship, each person has a specific one that means more to them than the others.

The same friend that had been telling me to read this book already had my primary love language nailed down...partly because it's her primary love language, too. I've discovered that what means the most to me is spending quality time with the people I care about. Lack of quality time often makes me feel cranky, lonely, and unloved or neglected.

Reading this book has made me think a great deal about my relationships. I think people often focus so much on their romantic relationships that they don't think they are responsible for satisfying the needs of their family members and friends. While it is true that our romantic relationships are a priority, we cannot forget the people that have stuck with us for our entire lives.

The other interesting thing is that it's so easy to think that everyone needs to be loved in the same way. Since quality time is my love language, it is easy for me to speak that language to the people around me, and expect that they want/need the same thing. The truth is, someone else might feel the most loved by being complimented or being told that their work is appreciated. Or another might feel more loved by getting a hug from a friend, or a backrub. Yet others feel the most love by receiving gifts from the people they care about. Still others need their loved ones to serve them. Though each person can feel loved through all of these things simultaneously, one of the languages is more significant than all the rest. This differs from person to person. We should be able to fluently speak all love languages, especially if we know which ones mean the most to the significant people in our lives.

I would recommend this book, or The Five Love Languages (for marrieds), to anyone. If you are willing to make a significant improvement in your own life, and in the lives of the people around you, it would be worthwhile to pick up a copy. I'm looking forward to discovering and speaking the love languages of the people I care about.

A couple things...

Just a couple of things I've been thinking about/doing:

1. For the sake of my own discretion, I'll just say a big milestone for me begins Monday. While I have no idea how it will go, I'm very excited and nervous. Hoping all my fears will just disappear.

2. I don't feel like a college student any more. I don't feel like I belong on campus. Someone described as being similar to purgatory (if you believe in the concept, that is). It's the best explanation I've heard so far. Almost graduated, yet not quite done. It stinks.

3. I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately. Not just boy/girl relationships, but all relationships in general. I got a free book in the mail a few days ago. The only stipulation was that I write something about it on my blog. The reason I'm writing now is so there will be some sort of activity before I write this said blog post. I'm really excited about the book: "The Five Love Languages for Singles." While I'm not exactly single, I'm not married either. I have a feeling this book will be helpful in all of my relationships....friends, family, and my boyfriend. My goal is to read quite a bit of it tomorrow and Friday. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend I will have finished it, and start processing for an awesome blog post.

4. Fun fact: I made coffee for the very first time today. My parents bought me a coffee pot almost two years ago. My roommate and I bought coffee when we moved in to our apartment over a month ago. And I finally made my first pot of coffee today. Somehow, it turned out great. I'm determined NOT to get addicted. So, as much as I want to make another pot tomorrow...maybe I should just make it on the really desperate "I'm not sure I can make it until lunch" kind of days.

5. Season premiere of "The Office" starts today! Also..."Big Bang Theory" starts Monday. Between my roommate and I, we have a lot of shows we want to watch. Both of us are incredibly busy though, so we'll see how it all turns out. "The Office" and "Big Bang Theory" are my musts, though.

And....that's a wrap folks. I really should try to write more on this blog.

Not sure what I think

I've started writing a few blog posts before this, but never ended up finishing them. I've found myself doing the same with FB and Twitter updates: starting a thought, but then just deleting before posting. I think part of it is, I'm not sure anyone really cares what I'm doing right this second. What's the point of updating the world if the world just reads it (or doesn't read it) and moves on?

This week I decided I needed to do some things for me. I'm tired of sitting on my butt waiting for things to happen. Yesterday, I went sunbathing by myself, which I'd been wanting to do since I moved a month ago. I also went on a bike ride both yesterday and today.

I'm not sure how this ties in, but I guess I feel like things are changing. Much more than I could have ever imagined. And, whether I like it or not, I have to deal with it. I'm not sure how I feel about it all...but it's been an emotional roller coaster of a month. I really can't explain much of it. I'm sorry I'm so vague, but I haven't really sorted it out enough in my head to convey it here.

In light of all this new stuff and confusion, I've once again realized that I like to hold on to the things I know very tightly. I don't like new situations. I often don't like meeting new people that much. But at the same time, how boring would life be if I just did the same things with the same people for the rest of my days? Especially since the people I know have a much easier time moving through their stages of life...and aren't willing to stay put in my little bubble? :)

I guess I'll just leave it at that. I pretty much just talked in circles, but this blog is for my benefit, right? It doesn't have to make sense.

Since my last post...

Lots has taken place since my last post. Not really sure why I didn't keep you updated all along, but part of it might be lack of time. Part of it might be lack of new information.

I have two jobs now. I'm nannying four days a week for three girls. Plus my office job in the evenings. I leave the dorms around 7:35am, and get home anywhere between 7 and 8:30pm at night. I'm pretty wiped out.

Found an apartment and signed a lease with my new roommate. I'll be moving in a few days before August 1st. I'm buying a queen sized bed frame, box spring, mattress, dresser, and nightstand from a coworker for $200. Can't get any better than that.

This summer has had its ups and downs...and stresses. But I'm finding that things always work out somehow.

Wedding Season

So my fellow readers, as you probably already know, it's wedding season once again. Today, Jonathan and I attended and took pictures at a beautiful outdoor wedding. As fun as it was, I'm wiped out.

Another wedding to attend next weekend. I'm excited to just be an attendee at this one. Weddings are much more fun to attend than to help/work at. Or even be in. Way too stressful.

Weddings have to be one of my favorite things. I confess I watch the WE channel on TV way too much. I'm not sure why. I'm weird I guess. I like watching all the planning stages...getting the dress, the cake, everything. So fun.

Summer

I think I built up summer way too much in my mind. I was so excited about not having any responsibility and no homework that I forgot one thing.

Not having any responsibility isn't necessarily always fun.

I've been sitting on my butt the last two weeks waiting for answers from prospective employers. One of which is out of state. The other just seems to be avoiding me.

So my new found freedom is bittersweet with a lack of money and an excess of time to do absolutely nothing. I wish I could say I was enjoying it. Part of me is. But the other part is realizing this wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

The sun finally came out today after about a week of clouds. Very jealous of my roommate and her nanny kids as they're heading to the pool this afternoon. I wish I could have gone, but I'm waiting for a friend to arrive. Shopping and a bridal shower to go to tonight. That should be fun.

Lazy Days....but I didn't ask to be sick!

The last few afternoons have been completely lazy.  Part of me is still worried about getting another job, but the other part has no desire to do anything.

Today, I came home from work sick.  Caught some sort of stomach bug.  I haven't really felt good all day.  Hope it's just a short term ordeal.  I hate the flu.

On the other hand, I'm very glad it's Friday!