Here We Go Again

That time is here again.
The beginning of the new semester has arrived.

My feelings? Dread, Self-Doubt, Fear.
My hope? Anticipation, Confidence, Success.

I can't explain my dislike for this process of education that I'm going through.
I wish so badly that I loved school.
I wish I loved tests.
I wish I loved studying.

Instead, I love people.
I want to be with people.
I want to hang out with people.
I want to eat with people.

Ultimately, my end goal will be working with people.
I'm sure this grad- school thing will be worth it in the end.

This year, just like everyone else, I plan to start new things and stick to them. Let's see how well I do..

Here is a list of things I am going to work my hardest to improve on in 2011:
+Cooking.
-Photography.
+Studying AHEAD of time for exams.
-Starting papers BEFORE the night before they are due.
+READING textbooks and even non-school books at the SAME time!
-Looking for the positive in every situation.
+Making as much hand-made decor as possible.
-Getting people gifts for no reason.

Happy New Year!

A cocktail I learned to make to start off the New Year! :)

Break

For the first time since moving to our new place,
we finally had a break.
Thanks to Thanksgiving, we had the opportunity to get away from chaos and relax in North Carolina with family.

Life has been going non-stop.

I felt like the little social life I had developed in Chicago was no more. I had no time for anything/anyone except school related assignments.
I really thought I was hitting the point where I was going to have to start from scratch.
Luckily, there are some really amazing people in Chicago and Florida who love the heck out of me and I am so unbelievably grateful for them.

I am so thankful for new friends.
I am thankful for those friends who encouraged me when I was at my lowest points.
I am thankful for my ridiculously amazing family.
I am thankful for my super awesome husband.
I am thankful for the ability to create.
______________________________________________
Because of all the hectic things going on, we haven't gotten a chance to focus on decor for our place.

I've been eyeing a bunch of things from CB2 that are definitely way too expensive.

I've had my eye on this sweet abacus that I think would go well with our living room.

Only problem is that I would want 2 and that's just not going to happen.

cb2.com

cb2.com

cb2.com

____________________________________________
I had ideas of one day maybe making one, but with the way life was going, there was just no time for crafts.

Well, I was talking to my cousin Pete about it, and he said "why don't you make one?"

I was like, "yea, why don't I make one?"

This is the perfect time. We are in the mountains, relaxing.

What better time to do arts and crafts then while in the mountains?

It just so happens that a Michaels just opened down in Boone.

So, we picked up some supplies and decided to start the abacus making project.

I took some photos along the way.
Hope you enjoy:

I bought some wooden beads so I could
choose the colors we would paint them.

I chose blue, green, gold, and brown paint
to match our living room.

Ruben , Pete, and I each painted a
different color.

I bought these 24 inch sticks and cut them in half.
Then, we drilled holes every 2 inches so they would fit
the smaller wooden rods we bought.
The smaller wooden rods were 36 inches and I cut three 12 inch rods from each one.
The holes on the side also give a nice texture on the side of the abucus.

This glue takes FOREVER to dry.

We put the beads on the rods and then squeezed
 them into the pre-drilled holes.
(Note: One of the green lines has 9 and one has 11-
we didn't realize until after the project was complete
- it's ok though, it was just a practice run)
Then we tied the wood pieces together so the glue would dry properly.

The final product!
Our hand-made mini abucus!

This was a super fun and fairly simple project.
It is fun to play with too. I plan on making two larger ones for the wall above our sofa when there is time.
This one will probably be on our coffee table for people to play with when they are over. :)

Thanks to Pete, Ruben, and my mom for help with the project!

Hope you all have a great week!
Driving back to Chicago tomorrow.
Wish us luck!

Delightfully Baked Apples

Ever since I saw the recipe for Delightfully Baked Apples from gina's skinny recipes, I've wanted to try it out. I thought this would surely happen after we went apple picking in October (for the first time in my life). Unfortunately, it wasn't until I looked at them tonight and saw that they were starting to go bad that I realized it was time for the simple recipe.

This recipe requires so little. I had all the ingredients for it in my kitchen already.

My photo didn't come out nearly as beautiful as the one on Gina's blog, but I did take a picture.

I served it with Cool Whip on the side.
I think it would have been better with vanilla ice cream.

Here it is:

Delightfully Baked Apples

Ingredients:

2 larger apples, cut in half

2 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

4 tbsp quick oats

pinch of cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Cut apples in half and remove core and seeds with a small pairing knife or spoon.

In a small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon. Spoon on top of the apple halves and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place of a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm with fat free whipped cream or low fat ice cream. 

Let me know if you try it out.
I want to hear what you think!

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Positive Happenings

Due to that fact that school has taken over my life, 

I haven't been able to find time for blogging. 

It's the middle of the semester. 

That means papers, exams, and stress levels that are just not healthy. 

I have cried more these past two weeks than I have in a while. 

I have contemplated dropping out of grad school daily. 

Multiple times a day.

I have taken exams that I have studied for so long and 

still managed to not do well. 

I have wanted to smash my computer through

a window after it did not cooperate with me. 

Instead of dedicating this post to all things negative, I decided to talk about the positive things that took place these past couple weeks. 

During this time of non-stop anxiety, I have experienced some positive happenings:

1. I found the most perfect hand lotion for me.

2. I made cheesecake again, and this time it turned out 

     better than perfect. 

3. Relationships I have made at school have been 

     strengthened. 

4. I have experienced genuine love, concern, and care 

     from friends and family. 

5. I discovered that bacon should be part of every breakfast 

     (minus the overwhelming, lingering smell).

6. I finally have a dresser.

7. I got a brand new coffee press.

8. I met our new neighbors who are totally God- sent. 

I wanted to take pictures of all of these things and post them.

Unfortunately, my camera battery is dead and I have no idea where the charger is. 

I decided to find photos online of as many of the things I wrote as possible and post those :)

I hope you enjoy some of the things that brought a smile to my face during some of the hardest times.

I'll admit, it doesn't take much to make me happy. 

On the other hand, the same is true for making me sad. 

Ok, here they are. 

Some positive things from this week:

Aveeno Intensive Hand Cream
AKA BEST LOTION EVER.

 no- bake cheesecake - skinnytaste.com 

turkey bacon - Aldi

Malm dresser - Ikea

Awesome Bodum set - Coffee press and travel press (Costco)
Ruben surprised me with it after ours broke :)

Poop

That's right, you read this title correctly - poop.

You see, I come from a family who is not shy to talk to you about it, and I married someone who comes from a family who is anti- bathroom talk. In my family it was common to hear "be right back, gotta poop." I naturally thought all families were equally as open. Becoming part of a family who tells their children that "girl's poop flowers" was definitely not something I expected. Luckily, they have opened up a little more to the idea of bathroom talk.

You may be wondering why on earth I would choose to talk about this for an entire blog post..

Well friends, what if I told you that you could win $50,000 by simply talking about your toilet using experience?

No, this is not a joke.
Thanks to my awesome not-ashamed-to-talk-about-poop cousin, I am now aware of a competition being put on by Charmin. Yes, the toilet paper. It's called Charmin Go Nation Contest, and YOU could win :

• King or Queen Grand Prize (1 Prize): $50,000, plus an extended stay in NYC through New Year's Eve!
• Finalist First Prize (5 Prizes): A three-day/two-night trip for two to NYC the week of December 27, 2010, for the finale event at the Charmin Times Square Restrooms (plus $500 spending money)
• Charmin Go Nation Representative Prize (51 Prizes): $500

All you have to do is submit a video about why you "enjoy the go" most in America!

I say it's worth a try.
Let's face it, everybody poops! Why not talk about it?
They have a sample video on the website to give you a better idea of what they are looking for.
There are only 22 days left to submit your video, or you can go to one of the locations and do it in person.

For more info on how to enter, click here.

Happy Pooping! :)