Bucket List :)

Wow! What a whirlwind of a summer break it's been so far. Can you believe that we are already 4 weeks into summer!? That means that I leave for Japan in just 3 short weeks. I literally have something scheduled for about every day from now until then. You've got to take advantage of the time here and now.

Our kitchen just got finished being redone. Looks great! New paint, tiling, counters, back-splash, and the dishwasher is again working(after being disconnected since March!) It's crazy how small details, like subtle colors make such a big difference in the overall feel and look of a room. It looks much more open and bright than before.

I'm off to Wisconsin Dells in the morning. Free tickets woop woop! Saints game, Valleyfair, and Morgan's soccer tournament next week!

I've been adding to this bucket list for quite awhile, and probably will continue to do so. So, in no particular order...

* go to a Sugarland concert
* go to a Cirque du Soleil performance
* sky dive
* scuba dive
* go on a cruise that goes through Alaska
* take a professional dance class (I've got to learn sometime, right!?!)
* get a 6-pack
* learn to cook and touch raw meat (grosses me out!)
* go to the Sweden Ice Palace
* go to the Sydney Opera House in Australia
* take a coking class in Italy
* bowl a 300 game
* attend both the Summer and Winter Olympics
* train a seeing eye dog
* go to the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade and see the ball drop on New Years eve in New York City
* attend a Superbowl
* swim with the dolphins
* go to a Transiberian Orchestra Christmas Concert
* become fluent in another language
* learn to water ski

"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land amongst the stars" ~Les Brown

It's Summer!

Room is still partially unpacked. Trying to find places to put everything, pack up the things for next fall, get into "summer mode." Ugh it seems never-ending. This whole "living out of a suitcase" college mentality, although fun I guess you could say, isn't my favorite thing in the world. I feel like I'm constantly packing and unpacking, thinking about what I'll need where, and what I don't have where that I'll need to bring with. Make sense? No matter what, somewhere is "messy" and has a load of things traveling between here and there. Takes a lot of planning. And in about a month I will be living out of a suitcase for 6 weeks, coming back to MN for a week, then back to school.

Upcoming exciting things! Grad parties, Valleyfair, Saints Game, possibly Wisconsin Dells, MIA/Global Market, Japan. I'm determined to make this summer the absolute best one yet, live up every day, work hard, and have lots of fun!

Just want to say Just a Kiss by Lady Antebellum is probably my new favorite song :)

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
~Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Until later, happy start of summer!

End of semester updates!

So I saw a link to this personality test from a friend's blog, and I decided to take it. :) Here are the results...

Your personality type: "Social Realist"
Warm-hearted, popular and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. Value traditions and security. Interested in serving others. Need positive reinforcement to feel good about themselves. Well-developed sense of space and function.

Careers that could fit you include:
Home economics, nursing, teaching, administrators, child care, family practice physician, clergy, office managers, counselors, social workers, bookkeepers, accounting, secretaries, organization leaders, dental assistants, homemakers, radiological technologists, receptionists, religious educators, speech pathologists.

Renowned persons with similar personality types:
Björk Guðmundsdóttir, musician
Danny Glover, actor
Dixie Carter, actress
Jack Benny, comedian and actor
Mary Tyler Moore, actress and comedian
Nancy Kerrigan, olympic figure skater
Sally Field, actress
Steve Spurrier, football player
Terry Bradshaw, football player
William McKinley, American president

Seems pretty darn accurate to me!

Besides that...

life is once again crazy busy
- 6 days left of "classes" before my one and only final of the semester
- the annual ResLife Banquet is tomorrow night. Wow! I really can't believe that it's already here. This semester (and year) have gone by sooo quickly! I'm looking forward to summer, but it's coming a little too fast in my eyes.
- Morgan's prom was today! Was super fun getting the girls all dolled up and snapping photos of everything, brings back memories from High School. A few pictures...

"Life Update"

It's been awhile since I've last blogged, so I figured I'd get back with it.

What's new with me?

- The Japan trip is still on, so that's fun to look forward to!
- 5 weeks left of class, including finals. I technically only have one final this semester, Music 350. Blocks doesn't really have finals, just reflections on lessons.
- Woot for nice weather! Went rollerblading and for a walk today
- Teaching lessons to kids is much more fun than to peers, I knew that before, but it has been reconfirmed with being in blocks and teaching lessons. Kids are hilarious, you never know what they're going to say.
- Runway to Success is tomorrow! I get to rock Talbot's awesome, expensive clothes in a runway/fashion show.
- Fun Fearless Female week was a success! It was a hall program that Prucha put on last week. On Wednesday, we watched "Sweet Home Alabama," had orange/root beer floats, and popcorn. On Thursday, we had beauty night with nails, hair, massages, make-up, and cheesecake. On Saturday, we had the "red carpet affair," with appetizers, mocktails, a cute video, and red carpet. Although we didn't have as large of a turn-out as we had hoped for, the people that were there made it awesome! We did some dances, and people got to take home the goldfish center-pieces. All in all, a fabulous week if I do say so myself. :)
- Jason Derulo is coming to RF in May! I'm not necessarily the hugest fan, but still he's pretty much a big deal, especially for such a small University. Got my ticket and am ready for the concert.

As always, I'll leave you with a quote. I guess, in honor of Runway this week...

"Beauty is the promise of happiness."
Edmund Burke

Spring Break 2011

It's been quite the week! Eventful, but relaxing at the same time.

-Spent Monday through Wednesday at the Dells with the family, Angie, and Alyssa. Wandered around Eau Claire (Shopko) while Morgan and Alyssa were touring the campus.
-Celebrated St. Patrick's day in River Falls with (almost) the old staff. Ate a yummy breakfast at the South Fork Cafe.
-went to MOA and literally shopped til we dropped on Friday. Shopped, Underwater World, and unlimited rides, ALL in one day! 12:30-10pm! Quite exhausting, but an awesome day :)
- toured the Wildlife Science Center, went to Hinkley casino, dinner, games, and movies (The Last Song, A Walk to Remember) Definitely fell asleep for most of A Walk To Remember, but what's new? Can't stay awake for the life of me haha... :)

Great spring break :) Ready for school to start up again? no, not really... lots to look forward to in the upcoming weeks though!
* 80's week
* Fun Fearless Female Week
* Zoo trip
* being done planning and revising lessons for blocks, more or less
* finding out more info about Japan
* Spring
* working on the fitness and eating healthy thing, i've sort of almost fallen off the bandwagon, but i'm ready to get back on

We're not perfect. Any of us. We make mistakes, we screw up but then we forgive and move forward. ~The Last Song

Happy Almost Friday :)

Boy oh boy! A few updates on my busy, crazy, awesome life!

* Japan summer 2011!? I think yes!!! Way pumped for that! Haven't picked dates yet, but soon that will happen. It's a 6 week long camp-counselor trip! I've been joking with a few friends, but I'm a little bit afraid about the whole eating situation there. I don't eat fish. Hmmm... pretty sure fish (vegetables and starches too, I've heard) are one of their staples in their diet. I get to stay with a host family, and possibly travel :)

* Desk Manager job next year! I'm excited to live in the suites, on campus but a little more "independently" per se. Have a job that connects me to Residence Life and keeps me busy, but will be different than the RA position, a job I've experienced the past two years.

* Woot woot for lesson planning. Feeling pretty good about it, it's nice to see the home stretch, and have about half of my required lessons planned already for blocks. Spring break, then back in the schools!

Happy Thursday, almost Friday :)

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans”- John Lennon

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Man oh man. This week (and last week too) have been crazy busy! Trying to figure out housing, next year's plans, summer, life in general. Oofta! Why am I writing this, when I have a lesson plan due tomorrow, that still needs quite a bit of work...? No reason in particular, just procrastination I guess. It's all good, tomorrow is Friday. Busy and fun weekend ahead of me. Jazz Cabaret tomorrow, Art workshop at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and home for Morgan's birthday Saturday, dad's come for father/daughter day on Sunday. That means laundry, cleaning, door decs, and bulletin boards now. Oh boy... here we go, hold on tight!

As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more. ~Jules Renard

Hello world!

Spent way too much at Target yesterday, but it's whatever. Got a sweet new water bottle, some "teacher" clothes, and some awesome $1 section magnets. Call me a nerd? Maybe a little bit.

So one of my favorite holidays is coming up :) Valentines Day! Why? Not really sure, I think I just like the "girly," pearls, pinks, reds, fun and excitement that comes with it. Can't forget the heart shaped pizza!

I'm excited to start blocks in the schools next week! Will be long days, but it will be so much fun! Let the lesson-plan writing begin...

"Life As We Know It" just came out on DVD. Great movie! I kind of want to get it.

Happy almost Friday!

back on track

1st week of classes = done. I love the craziness, business, and overwhelming-ness of the first week. I tend to start out being a little bit overwhelmed in the beginning, but then things slowly start to become more manageable, week by week. There definitely is a "buzz" in the hall, people happy to be back with their friends.

Blocks seems like it's going to be good, I will be getting TONS of great experience in the schools and with kids, literally half a semester. That's super exciting! I find out next week where and with what age I will be placed in Stillwater, I requested 2nd or 3rd grade. We'll see... The days so far have seemed long, but I'm thinking it's because it's the first week, the syllabus-type orientation structure of classes, getting used to a different schedule, etc. It's nice to finally be getting to the fun stuff, so it seems. Enough of the gen ed's and boring readings from textbooks.

It's my first weekend of duty for the semester. Nice and relaxing... Way to ease into the semester.

The Japan interview is February 23rd, so that'll be coming up quickly! I discovered kickboxing this week too, man did it kick my booty! My arms were a bit sore this morning. I will be participating in Yoga, Zumba, and Kickboxing this semester. Sounds pretty intense, but lots of fun. Also went to a Self Defense program last night. Learned a lot, it's not at all about strength, it's all about being smart. Very informational and fun!

Tang update: all is well, I sort of accidentally starved the poor fish the first day or so. (Story behind it, Angie told me that if fish are overfed they will eat and eat and eat, and eventually die. I was way scared that this would happen, so I just gave him a tiny little pinch, the size of his eye, or so they say.) Well, I learned that he needs to eat a little bit more than that, but he's doing great now. Happy fish, he even followed my finger around the tank yesterday, awesome! I feel like a proud mom :)

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.
- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Here we go...

Spring semester starts tomorrow. Tomorrow! Can't believe it. It's always that same feeling, the excitement, anticipation, what to wear the first day, who is in your classes, "getting organized" again, etc. All that jazz. I'm sure I'll be way tired the rest of the week, but I like getting back into the swing of things and having a "normal" routine again. Had a fairly productive day today, I guess you could say. Bought a goldfish, named him Tang, organized my folders, notebooks, planners, and hung up pictures. Happy first day of class to whoever starts tomorrow!

as J-term comes to an end...

So I've been thinking about society and money lately. Today, embarrassing enough to say, I watched Jersey Shore. Very dumb, but I watched it. Probably lost a few brain cells, but you know... It shocks me beyond belief that these people on this ridiculous show get millions of dollars to be told what to do and make fools of them selves for it. Yep, if they quit their jobs tomorrow, they'll be set for life, and get publicity and attention for it! Completely set for life.. I understand that there are always things behind the scenes that are unknown, or provoke "so and so," or maybe being a TV star really is "harder than it looks," but really!?! Things are the way they are because it's what society wants and is interested in, at least some of it.

Of course there are some shows that others think are pointless, but I like. (The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, Next Food Network Star, etc.) Yeah, it's all opinion I guess, but I wouldn't mind going without some shows.

Besides my little rant, this week has been great! Had lunch/dinner dates with a few friends, the cousins, and grandma, did a little bit of shopping, ran a few errands (eye appointment, etc.) and have done some cooking, baking, and cleaning around the house for Morgan's high school dance. Cuddled with the dogs, and have gotten my fix of the Food Network (we don't get it at school, so it's pretty much what I watch when I'm home).

P.S.- I wish airfares weren't so high! UGH! Seriously! I was hoping to be going to Florida for Spring Break, but prices are like $400-$450 without extra costs, baggage, etc added in. Man oh man, cannot afford that. Bummer :( What to do now...? Oh, the options... fun stuff around the cities, wait and look at airfares like the week before and hope they're way cheaper, Wisconsin Dells, Chicago, chill and do nothing, duty, hmmm, we'll see about that?

I love the snow, but having a compact car isn't always the best with the winter. Pretty much spun out today, luckily nobody was around. I am a pretty cautious driver, so I was just a tiny bit startled, but it was fine. I don't think I could count how many times my dad tells me "It's icy, driver very slowly!" every week. What can you do... fathers know best!

"When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels."

sleep tight!

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

I think that I have just begun to realize how lucky and greatful I am for what I have. I am happy with where I am and what I have to look forward to. To be in college, have fabulous friends and family, have the opportunities, and experiences that I have to learn from. The list goes on and on.

I get to observe in a 1st grade classroom tomorrow, and I can't even begin to explain how excited I am! Love it :) I'm going to see Little Fockers and half-off apps tonight. Should be a good time with the girls! Also, I might work on my scrapbook. Yep, for those of you who are curious, it still is my "Senior Scrapbook." Yikes! It's time to finish that darn thing and move on to something else! Cross your fingers that I finish it sometime soon. Goodness! Friday, we're going out for the anniversary of my mom donating her kidney to my grandpa ha. Northland Inn, delicious, you should try it sometime ;) I think it's been 3 years? Wow, time flies!

Some "New Years Resolutions," I guess you could call them... A new chance to start fresh and set some goals...

1. Take more pictures!
2. Not worry about the "little things," life goes on and it always ends up working out in the end .
3. Appreciate the "little things," don't assume you know someone's "story," the only way you find out is by asking :)
4. Do some more cooking and baking. Try to get over my fear of touching raw meat. Better get over that soon, or I'll end up being a vegetarian some day, which is not necessarily what I want. Being on a meal plan, it doesn't give you much of an excuse to cook, but it's lots of fun.
5. Pay more attention to the news. In the summers and in High School, I would watch the news or read the paper nearly every day. I feel somewhat "out of the loop" at school because I just don't make the time for it I guess? We'll work on that.
6. Chill, relax, and have fun!

I'm hoping to go on this 6 week Japan trip this summer! I will find out more information once spring semester starts. http://www.uwrf.edu/GlobalConnections/GuyHealyJapan.cfm How cool of an experience would that be, seriously!?

Have a good chilly rest of the day, warm up with some cocoa or tea, yum!