Ok.. So I will admit that I definitely did not accomplish or stick to my goal of posting every Sunday... Surprise surprise. But I'm still here! And slightly faithful. Hopefully I will be able to post more fun things as my break continues. I have big plans for the rest of break including gingerbread houses, DIY crafts, baking, and even a trip to Missouri! More to come.

Finals.. Part Uno

So being a freshman in college, I have not yet experienced the hectic, crazy feeling of finals week.  Until Now.  All was well this past week, and I was feeling confident and ready for this week.  Now, it is sunday night and I have all my flashcards made and materials put together, but I have no motivation to actually study the flashcards or materials... Boo.

So instead, I cleaned my room, did some laundry, ate a snack, and now I'm back to the same situation as before: the flashcards staring up at me as I neglect to flip through them... It's a painful sight.  Thankfully I only have one final tomorrow, and I get to use a cheat sheet.  So maybe by the time I finish that one, I'll feel more motivated to study for the other ones.. Probably not, but hopefully. :)

P.S.  I've made the decision to attempt to post at least once a week (Sunday).  Wish me luck!

Appreciate your Life

Lately, I have been noticing several signs being thrown at me to help others appreciate what they have.  I know we all have days when we wish we weren't stuck at school or work, when we wish we could just lay in bed all day, when we wish we could just forget everything... but those are the days we have to remember that God gave us what we have for a reason.  Now I'm not talking about the days when you feel sick and you just want your mommy there to give you medicine; I'm talking about the times when you just feel like you don't give a you know what and you just wish you could go back to bed and wake up on another day. 

God makes the good days good, and the bad days bad.  He controls our lives and what we're given.  It's all for His purpose.  We need to accept His wishes and make the best of what we've been given.  Don't try to throw your imperfections on others or make excuses for your actions.  You have the choice to accept God's challenge to live your life for Him, or to be that sorry kid who wishes she knew what she was doing with her life.  Be open to the challenges that you're facing.  Be thankful. Be appreciative.  And spread the good news.  Our God is an awesome God and through Him we can achieve all good. :)

BEcome Aware.

Don't judge a book by its cover.  Get to know people before you judge them, better yet, don't ever judge them.  You don't know their struggles or pains.  You don't know their past.  Be a friend.  Listen.

(Unknown)

Thanksgiving break was wonderful, but it was such a teaser! Coming back to my dorm felt oddly like returning home after a vacation.  I don't know if I like how that felt. Now I'm up to my ears in studying, projects, and papers.  Ugh.  Should have been on top of things.

Now that I'm back, I begin to realize who some of my new friends are and who some of my new "friends" are.  Yes, there was a slight difference there. Good eyes! My new friends are the ones that I missed and feel the need to reconnect with, while my new "friends" were the ones that, honestly, I didn't miss at all.. I actually dreaded coming back to deal with them.  But I guess that's how life goes; you win some, you lose some.

However, I am very grateful for the friends that I did miss. Surprisingly, I missed that house full of rough and tough teddy bears on S. College... Even their dirty dishes! (Well, maybe not that far..)  And I was ecstatic to go over and see their new bunked couches.

Very interesting to say the least.  And of course I missed my roommate.  We were up late last night (like usual) diddly daddling around and giggling when nothing is funny.  Typical stuff.

As for what's in the future, I am pleased to say that I will be hosting my first visitor next weekend! AND, attending my first ugly sweater party! Yesssss! Two goals accomplished in one weekend. I love being productive. Can't wait to see you Susan!!!!

Shopping to the Extreme!

I am now very proud to announce that I am thankful for SHOPPING! Yes! Who doesn't love shopping? The thrill of searching for items through crowded stores and loads of people. It's such a rush! And then finding the perfect top or even the cutest necklace. It makes you feel accomplished. Simply stated.

This year, our annual shopping trip was with a much smaller crowd than usual, but it was still just as fun, nonetheless.  Olive Garden was simply amazing, and as always, the hot tub was bubbly at the end of the night. :) 

The only cousins available for shopping.. It was sad. But it was fun! Danielle (middle) and Bridget (left), and Liz (not pictured) came along for a bit as well.  

All in all, I bought waaaaay too much, ate waaaaaaay too much, and entirely waaaaaaay too much fun. But this is one of those occasions you stick in the pot of good ones that you'll remember when you're 50 years old and you're taking your own grandkids shopping for christmas every year. I can't wait for it to be my turn! (well, lets be honest. I can wait. I'm just a little excited. Heat of the moment kind of thing. I can't wait for the rest of my life to begin! Eeeeeeeekk!)

And of course, to top off the entire trip, Bridget and myself took a classy picture. And classy is the only word worthy of our amazingness. 

Daddy's Little Girl

Today is my dad's birthday! So you can probably guess what I'm thankful for today... DAD! Yes! I am so thankful for having a father who has always been there for me, through thick and thin, through sadness and joy, and of course letting me make my own mistakes.

Dad and I have always had an unspoken alliance (sorry mom).  When it was his weekend off, he would take me and my brother to Sam's Place for egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches early in the morning.  Then we would waste the rest of the day running errands and mowing the grass, and eventually, we would end up at Creekside for a beverage.  My favorite was always a Big Red.

As time passed, my brother and I became more involved in our school and sports and our saturdays would be spent at football games, volleyball games, wrestling matches, swim meets, and track meets.  I always knew I could count on Dad to be at every event to cheer me on.  And then Sundays would be spent at Grandma's house playing in the dirt.  Dad taught me how to drive the mule, the four wheeler, and how to fish.  I would probably be some girly-girl who was afraid of the dark (hehehe) without his guidance growing up.

Don't get me wrong, I love my mother and all she's done for me just as equally.  Every girl needs to experience her first over-night shopping trip and the purchase of her first homecoming dress, but she also needs her dad to show her how special she really is.  So thank you Lord, for letting me have the best daddy in the whole world! I love you Dad, and happy birthday!

Family Ties

Another thing I am thankful for is my family.  Not just my mom or dad, but EVERYONE.  I'm thankful for every moment I get to spend with each and every one of them as well.  I am so blessed to have grandparents on one side that have a cabin we can go to on the weekends, and of course for having everyone live so close to home.  We love spending time together and creating unforgettable memories.  Some of my favorites include cooking spaghetti on the fire, splitting wood, swimming in the pond, and visiting my other grandparents in Michigan.  I love spending time with everyone and laughing about the little things that most people overlook.  So thank you Lord, for the good times and the bad.  They're all worth it in the end. :)

Thankfulness

I was given the idea from some friends on Facebook to say one thing I'm thankful for every day of November until Thanksgiving.  So here it goes.. I'm going to admit right now that I will most likely forget to do this everyday.. plus a post every day is kind of a lot.. so I will sometimes double or triple up my "giving thanks". :)

For today, let's begin with my roommate Sam.  I didn't know Sam until I came here to Bowling Green.  We became friends almost immediately and began to walk to class together.  Then, due to some unforeseen issues, I moved out of my old room and into a new one with Sam.  Best decision of my year thus far.  Anyway, we have so much fun together... staying up late, watching movies, eating taco bell and cake pops, and of course getting a little bit of studying done as well.  Without Sam, I'm afraid my college experience would have been lacking some serious craziness.  So thank you Lord, for bringing us together. :)

P.S.  I won't title all of these as Thankfulness.. I will probably just disguise them all under some clever creation I eventually come up with... Sus preparan mis amigos.

Halloween 2011

So this weekend was Halloween, obviously.  But this wasn't any ordinary Halloween.  This was my first Halloween weekend as a college student! Yes! Exciting, right? Well, not really.  It was just like every other weekend except we all froze our butts off in cute costumes that everyone was too intoxicated to really notice. Not exactly what I call FUN. 

I was a ketchup bottle! YAY!

Sam was Clark Kent!

Besides the actual dressing up, Amber and myself carved some magnificent pumpkins.  They were so cute.. Mine is still alive, but sadly, Amber's was smashed by the boys.. Meanies.

Here's a small look into our night (ignore the bad quality, it was dark and we relied on a man to take the photo):

All in all I would give the weekend a below average rating, but since I got to hang out with some pretty chill people all night, it was worth it. :)

The Goodness of Breadsticks :)

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you accomplished nothing but really when you think about it you accomplished quite a bit?  Well, today was one of those days for me.  

First, I was able to sleep in for the first time ever at BGSU.  I recently moved into a new dorm and away from a church who's bells rang every hour, into a room with great blinds that keep the light out like no other! So after sleeping until noon, we got up and got dressed because according to Sam, my roommate, "I feel more accomplished when I get dressed.. it's just something about not having a bra on."  I completely agree. 

We then ventured down to the laundry room and to the computer lab.  And while waiting for our laundry we walked to the union for Starbucks and pizza.  Great lunch.

After trekking back to our dorm and putting away our now clean laundry (which doesn't even come close to fitting in my shallow drawers) we proceeded to waste time on Facebook. Of course.  We even squeezed in a little time for Phineas and Ferb.  At 4:30 we both got our acts together and got out of our room.  I started the long haul (which isn't as long anymore) to my brother's house.

There, a huge pile of dishes had been calling my name for days.  I literally mean days.  So I set in on the dirty job (which took an hour) and eventually made my way back to my dorm.  At this point, we were starving.  So Amber came and joined us in our new room and we decided to walk to Campus Pollyeyes for breadsticks.  

The last time we went to Pollyeyes we politely asked for one breadstick not knowing that it was impossible to buy just one stuffed breadstick.  The manager made us a sampler of breadsticks and told us that if we promised to come back we could have them for free. YES.  So this time, we were pros.  We each ordered 3 breadsticks and as we waited for our food we began to sing a little song.  It goes something like this....

After this song, we began to sing another little tune...

At this point, we decided that every time we go to Campus Pollyeyes we must sing these two songs and smile entirely too much. Get ready BG... Get ready.  And it's only 10 PM! The night is young. More to come.

EDTL DEMO

This is a preview of how to create a post on Blogger.

Digging Deeper.

So as the title suggests, we're going to dig a little deeper in this post.  Just past the "that was a really vague post" but before the "whoa, that was too much info". 

I recently joined Pinterest and I LOVE IT! It's the most addicting site I think I've ever been on.  Like clockwork, I check my Facebook and once I think I've "creeped" on everything I need to, I go ahead and switch over to Pinterest.  Well anyway, this post isn't about Pinterest, it's about something I found on Pinterest...

Those words just reminded me of some great things, and some not to great things that I'm sure we've all been through or at least have seen someone else experience it.  

First loves, first heartbreaks, just a lot of firsts that come way too soon in life.  We all have to move on from high school and branch out at college.  Leave the nest, as they call it.  People leave your life and others take their spots.  You learn who matters and who was just a place-holder.  You find out that your family can and will be the most important thing in your life.  

I always thought it was really cliche for people to talk about how they don't need a man to complete them, but sometimes I wonder if people who never find that someone special are truly happy with the life the live?  I'm not sure how I would feel about that.  While in high school, I went through a situation with a really great guy that just ended up blossoming into a hot mess to say the least, and for the longest time I was really upset with myself for letting myself get so attached to what we were that it crushed me so bad when it was over.  I wouldn't say "love" was involved, but it was just one of those things that you can't really help how you feel.  Needless to say, I felt as though I wasn't being treated fairly and so I got out.  However, it wasn't that easy.  Things change, people change, and situations become so unbearable that you think you'll never be able to get past it.  Don't tell yourself that.  You really won't get over what happened if you set yourself up for failure.

I've always assumed that one day I would meet my future husband, maybe not right now, maybe not in the next 3 years, but eventually.  I just wish I would know what to expect.  Expect the worst, but hope for the best.  It's the only thing you can do.  Pray about it, leave it in God's hands.  Don't be afraid to let people in and to share your struggles.  But remember to grow.  

Contemplating Life.

So as I sit in my dorm room setting up my schedule for next semester, I begin to think about what I really want from life... and I remember: I have a bucket list!

63 items are on my bucket list and I'm very proud of the items that I have selected to complete in my lifetime.. I won't share the list with you because I feel like a bucket list is something you have to come up with on your own and not because you want to steal items off of someone else.  However, I will share a few items with you... :)

Some of the completed items include: making a music video, saving a life, wake up on a beach, and learn to drive a stick shift.  In all I have completed 18 of the 63 items.  This is impressive considering I've only been working on this bucket list for about 2 years now.

Music Video

Panama City Beach!

Jack (my instructor) and Illigan (the jeep I learned to drive.. stick shift obviously)

Some items that are yet to come include: adopt a child from another country, fix up a run-down house, get married, ride an elephant, make a traditional chinese meal... Interesting, I know.  I can't wait to get the chance to complete all these tasks and to be able to say that I successfully accomplished 63 things I wanted to in my lifetime.  More to come.. :)

Ehh...

Just a quick word today folks...

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

Take that as you wish.  Make your mark.

Stay excellent.

Awkward is my Middle Name

     Awkwardness.  It happens. Most people avoid this particular part of life, but for some odd reason I have been blessed with the ability to cherish every moment of awkwardness that is thrown my way.  This makes me so happy. So happy.
   
     Lately I have been having more awkward moments than ever before.  I never dreamed this would be possible.  Starting with sleeping in strangers' beds (not what you think, I'll explain later) to being pinned at my pledge ceremony to having secret conversations with my roommate in my brother's bathroom.  The experience here at BGSU has been jam packed with awkward.  Brace yourself.


     Let's begin with the strangers' beds.  While I say strangers, as in plural, really its singular.  It only happened once, but it just seems like one of those things I need to make plural.  Classic case of a misunderstanding between one roommate and another.  It doesn't help when the people involved are slightly intoxicated either... but that's a whole other story.  Back to this one.  One guy said that the other guy would not be home until the next afternoon.  Therefore, he reassured me that it would be safe to crash in his bed for the night instead of making the long haul back to my own dorm.  This obviously ended awkwardly... that's the point of this story.  Needless to say, the other guy was home at 7:30 AM the next morning and he and I both were a bit surprised to see one another.  Him especially, since of course I was in his bed.  Weird.

     Moving on.  At my pledge ceremony for APhiO, I was pinned by a random member whom I've never met before.  I was wearing a nice black shirt that didn't scoop low or anything so when he went to pin me, he had to stick his hand down my shirt.  As if that wasn't weird enough, he then struggled to find the pin to put the back on it and it took him forever.  Very uncomfortable for both of us.. I actually laughed at him. The whole time.

     And lastly, my roommate and myself and our crazy secret conversations.  We were at my brother's house and there was another guy there who was very attractive.  But that's besides the point.  This guy was interested in my roommate and he sent her a very interesting text that I will keep personal.. ha. Well anyway, she proceeds to forward me this message and seeing as I was about to burst out laughing I ran into my brother's room.  She joined me and we continued to giggle and laugh about the situation in my brother's bathroom. Then, she receives a text from this guy and of course he was on to us.. it read, "Go ahead. Have your girl talk."  They know us so well, those boys.

     I can't decide if I like the idea of the awkwardness or if it's just getting to the point where I can't even tell awkward from normal anymore.  It's quite intriguing. :)

Bridget...

Well, well, well.  The day is finally here. This is an important day in history. Why you may ask? Simply because I am about to share with you the most incredible, lovable, annoying, sweet, baby loving, scaredy cat that you will ever come to know.  The best part is: She's my sister. Well I wish..  Only,  I'm pretty sure we would be unstoppable. 

So to start things off I would just like to say that Bridget and myself grew up together.  My grandparents own a cabin and we spent every waking moment of every weekend growing up out there swimming, fishing, jumping on the trampoline, getting lost in the woods, etc.  We loved it.   That's actually where we were in the above photo. :) One of our finest moments of staying up late and looking crappy. 

Cabin adventures...

Our wonderful Mario Bros. Mushroom Cake

Another crazy idea that we came up with happens to be our future plans.  Now we both know that God leads our lives and we will follow him, however we just like to persuade Him.  Well, with me studying Spanish Education here at BGSU, I will be required to study abroad.  During this time I will fall in love with a hot, steamy Spaniard, and we will get married in Spain (Bridget will fly over and be my Maid of Honor of course).  After settling down slightly, I will start a branch of our cake business in Spain.  Bridget will start a branch as well in los Estados Unidos.  Then our lives will be complete forever.  The End.

Some other adventures of our past included:

Our grandparents' 50th Anniversary party.

Our family pictures.

 Disney World.

JDRF Walks, which unfortunately I was unable to attend this year.

Our Skype dates.

And also, Sea World.

I love her, I miss her, and I can't wait to create a million and one more memories of our crazy ideas, cakes, and outings. :) 

I feel like you did that wrong ChaChi... Sure thing Paco. <3

Fishapalooza! :)

So today I went on my very first expedition with APhiO.  We got up at 7 to go to the Bass Pro Shoppe in Perrysburg.  This was a challenge.  As most of you who know me, you know I hate waking up. Ever.  Anyway, upon arrival a real character named Frank checked us in and sent all 9 of us to the Kid's Korner to paint faces.  Needless to say, we painted more on ourselves than on the children.  But the best part of the entire event was definitely going to iHop for the first time.  It reminded me of Bob Evans actually, except that every single item on the menu had some sort of pancake on the side. It was AMAZING.  And of course the entire time I was there, I couldn't help but think of awkward peg-legged pirate jokes. :)

Marisa Coons is Making my Life Better. Everyday.

So I recently told the Facebook world that I created a new blog... aka you.  And then asked my faithful friend Marisa Coons to follow me. And she did. Now I love her forever and I had to create this post about her to let you know my favorite things about Marisa.
1.) Her way of telling stories.  Marisa has the tendency to tell us very funny stories, however there is always a flaw to these stories.  This is Marisa's laughing.  She won't even start her funny story before a huge barreling fit of laughter will overtake her ability to talk and she ends up laughing by herself for awhile.  Of course she eventually gets the story out, but by that point the story really isn't that funny anymore. We love her anyway.... "Adam! I need you!"
2.) Marisa's tendency to sing loudly and badly.  Britney Spears is always a favorite for both of us.. as well as some backstreet boys of course.  But my favorite is her singing all her country songs to me in a very off-key and sing-song voice.
3.) Coke Zero.  Marisa only believes in drinking one way and one way only.  Which is not appropriate due to her age, just saying.  :)  However, we once stopped at mi casa to get some coke zero for Marisa.  We both got out of her stick shift little red clown car and went into my garage.  While walking out of the garage we notice her little cute car rolling down my alley! It was crazy.. and a little funny.  Needless to say, it became one of those stories that she couldn't tell without laughing first.

A huge thanks goes out to Marisa for all those Physics 2 classes and Spanish 4 classes that would have been unbearable without her. :)

APhiO ---> my journey towards a fraternity.

     Welp, hello blogging world! My cousin Bridget Berger started a blog recently and she inspired me to do the same.  I have a feeling most of my blogs will consist of me rambling and pretty much just laying it all out on the screen for you (my eager readers) who I'm sure can't wait to hear about my crazy life.  So far I have not committed to any organizations at BGSU, but tomorrow is the pledge ceremony for Alpha Phi Omega.  I plan to pledge for this coed fraternity because it defines me: service, leadership, and fellowship.  I love to volunteer, especially when it involves community work (i.e. blood drives, trash pick-up, and community meals), so this should be perfect for me.. right? Well we'll see I guess. I'm a little apprehensive about the whole thing, obviously.  I guess I'll just have to jump and hope I land on my feet.. :/