new year's resolutions

I have never really been big into making New Year's resolutions but this year is different. I decided to make a few resolutions to better myself in a few ways. My first resolution is pretty obvious...

#1 Be healthier: I don't have a set goal to loose so much weight in a year or nothing but I figure making healthier food choices and jumping on the elliptical a little more than I have been is something that I should be doing. So I decided to start a journal documenting what I eat and when I workout. It has helped in the past but for some reason I end up not keeping up with it. So my goal is to keep it going for the entire year.

#2 Be braver: I look back on my life and there are things that I really wish I had done but the lack of courage was holding me back. I've decided to start taking those chances and don't let the fear of the unknown get in my way. A few months ago I got a fortune cookie and the message really stuck with me.

#3 Finally kick my Diet Coke habit: I usually give Diet Coke up for Lent every year but I usually can't stick with it. If I do I just go back to it after Easter. I decided that this would be a good resolution. Diet Coke isn't the healthiest thing to drink and I know I drink WAY too much of it. So I decided that starting tomorrow I would break that habit. Wish me luck!

I can't wait for the new year to start. It really feels like a fresh beginning where anything is possible.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

secrets

an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident

The first night in Vegas we went to the mall across the street from our hotel. We ended up eating at California Pizza Kitchen (one of my favorite restaurants) for my birthday dinner and afterwards Whitney and I started walking around the mall a bit.

We decided to go into Bloomingdale's just to say that we have been inside Bloomingdale's. There is no way either of us could afford anything in that entire store. Now Serendipity is one of my favorite Christmas movies. Well it's not so much a Christmas movie as just the first and last few scenes take place at Christmas time. Anyway, in the first scene Jonathan and Sarah meet at Bloomingdale's. While Whitney and I were at Bloomingdale's, the same song that played in the background during that first scene was playing on the store's sound system in Vegas. How great is that? I love how those little coincidental moments happen in life.

Wait! I'm not finished. We walked around the mall a little more and wandered into a store called Tommy Bahamas. It totally smells like a Pina Colada in there. While we were checking out all the beach clothing and wondering to myself how much do they actually sell in Vegas in December, another Serendipity song came on that store's sound system. That made me laugh out loud. Seriously, too great.

Then the next day we went wandering down the strip trying to find H&M and what do you know? We stumbled across Serendipity 3! We just had to take a small break from our shopping to enjoy a little frozen hot chocolate. So worth the 10 bucks! It was delicious. All in all I would say that it was a very serendipitous weekend!

the bucket list

• see the northern lights
• swim with dolphins
• finish a crossword puzzle by myself
• go to a Rocky Horror screening
• glass blowing
• visit New York and D.C.
• ride on a helicopter
• see a Broadway show
• get a passport
• go parasailing
• live in a foreign country
• learn a different language
• see the Atlantic ocean
• see the pacific ocean
• Christmas eve mass at the cathedral
• learn to play guitar
• own a digital SLR camera
• go ice skating
• visit all the continents
• shopping on Black Friday
• go skiing
• see Macy's Thanksgiving day parade
• go to an Ellen show taping
• ride in a hot air balloon
• see BSB in concert
• get good seats at a Jazz game
• learn how to wakeboard
• go on a spontaneous vacation
• find a four leaf clover
• go one day without wearing makeup
• go Christmas caroling
• run a 5K
• kiss someone under mistletoe
• see Bravo Broadway

I think that's it for now but I am constantly adding more

bet your bottom dollar...

It's been days since I've been able to see the sun and blue sky. It's definitely a reason to celebrate!

joyeux decembre

It's officially December! I LOVE December. It seems like everyone is in a better mood and are extra charitable even with their chaotic schedules that come this time of year. And with Thanksgiving right before, New Years right after, Christmas and all the birthdays in December if feels like the entire month is a celebration. Here are some of the things that I love about December:

• Christmas--of course!
• Dad's birthday
• My birthday
• Cousin Tyler's birthday
• Cousin Baylee's birthday
• All my friend's birthdays (I love birthdays)
• Christmas music
• SNOW!!!
• Sleeping with multiple blankets on my bed
• Christmas decorations
• ABC Family Countdown to Christmas and Falalala Lifetime
• The Salvation Army
• Dressing up and going to church on Christmas Eve
• Watching A Christmas Story after church every year
• Hot chocolate
• Spending time with my family
• Having multiple celebrations with my friends and my family
• Snowball fights and snow angels
• Advent wreaths and calendars
• Getting family Christmas letters
• The anticipation of starting a new year
• Looking back at all the exciting moments of the past year

shopping on black friday...check

This weekend was great. I love Thanksgiving! It is my favorite holiday with Christmas at a very close second. Every year we always wait to celebrate Thanksgiving until Sunday so Thursday my mom and I decided to put up our tree and all the Christmas decorations. We usually wait til the day after Thanksgiving but I was a little bored. Then we went to Walmart to get some shopping in. We bought my nephew some really cute stuff. I also got a little tree for my room which made me unbelievable happy. I love Christmas decorations! Seriously probably more than I should!

So after all the decorating got done we decided to go to Marie Calendars for their Thanksgiving dinner. Yes I said we wait until Sunday to celebrate but you can't not have thanksgiving dinner on thanksgiving. Just our entire family isn't always available on Thursday so those who are join us for a dinner out.

On Friday I woke up and got ready to go to the bank. As I was leaving I asked my mom if she wanted to go. She said she also needed to stop at the bank and go do a little shopping so that's what we did. I don't think I have ever really done the black Friday shopping before so that has been on my bucket list for a while but I don't think I would ever do the silly door buster shopping...those people are just crazy! So we had a jam packed day of shopping which was so much fun! Sales galore! Oh and mom got the best parking spaces at 2 different stores! Seriously--steps away from the doors. That never happens!

Saturday was pretty much the same story. I went to breakfast with the fam and then more shopping! Mom and I stumbled upon a massive Joann's sale so we ended up getting more Christmas decor. happiness..

Yesterday is when we did our big thanksgiving dinner. My family was watching the Green Bay game and I decided that Sue was probably as bored as I was so we went shopping...again :) We went to target and Pier 1 but I didn't buy any presents for anybody which was the plan. Just a game, a hat and some makeup...all for myself. Anyway, we came home and helped my mom out a little by finishing cooking the dinner. Sue made green bean casserole, which can you believe it, I have never had before. I'm not a huge fan of canned green beans though so that is probably why. After dinner we played apples to apples. Most of us had never played before so we had a lot of fun. Then I ended the day by watching one of my favorite Falalala Lifetime movies. I love Kristen Chenoweth and she plays a PR girl so I think I was destined to love that movie.

My cute little tree!

happiness...

Guess what! I finally made it through the "B" movies! Whitney and I had a Bourne movie marathon on Saturday which was fantastic....except the fact I kinda had a headache when I left. Watching all three in one day was more ambitious than I thought it would be. But I still had a lot of fun. Then after I got home I watched all the Brian Regan dvds that I have and yesterday finished out the Bs with Bride Wars. I forgot how great that movie is. So silly.

Anyway, I am now officially onto the Cs. First up--Can't Buy Me Love! I can't wait!

I also got to see one of my favorite Christmas movies last night. I have been waiting all year and it was finally on. And bonus--I saw a commercial this morning. Its gonna be on again tonight! I think I may have to just watch it again.

(I promise not all I do is watch tv)

My dad finally finished all the work in the basement so now I have a place to workout again. For the past little while he has been closing off our storage room from the rest of the basement and walling it all off so its not so cold down there. Its finally done and looks great. And my room stays nice and toasty now. My dad also put in a cinnamon scented filter in our furnace yesterday so now our entire house smells like cinnamon. That always makes me happy.

It SNOWED! I love the first snowfall of the year. I love the smell of it especially. It is finally starting to feel like Christmas. It is definitely my favorite time of the year. I also bought the Glee Christmas album and have pretty much been listening to that non-stop for the past week.

(P.S. I am so excited for this week's episode. I LOVE Carol Burnett!)

Vegas is officially happening! Okay it has been official for a while now but I am getting more and more excited. Its going to be so great! I think I wanna buy a new camera before we go. Mine has kinda lived its life.

I found two pairs of jeans that I totally forgot I had yesterday. I decided to go through my dresser and clean out the things that I don't wear anymore and I found them. I have been thinking that I need new jeans but now I don't. Can't beat that.

you'll never know what Meryl Streep looks like

I've been slowly making my way through my movie collection and although I haven't yet finished the "B" movies, I couldn't wait to put up some quotes. This time I put more than one per movie. Go ahead, guess!

(Here is a hint: They all start with "B")

#1 "Smashing? What, did he hit you over the head with his charm?"

"I've been to the moon"

"He's been to Europe.

He's from Europe."

#2 "My avatar's dressed like a whore."

"Expecting what? A social security check?"

"Your eggs are from, like the 40s."

#3 "There must be steroids in macaroni."

"Wow I always wondered who lived here. I just thought it was Clay Aiken or something."

"I didn't know athlete had 3 syllables. That's a-ma-za-zing."

#4 "We wasted the good surprise on you."

"What's your name? He'll write it on the wall."
"I have a belly button."

#5 "Suntan lotion is good for me. You protect me--tee hee hee."

"When I graduated first grade, all my dad did was tell me to get a job."

"Stop looking at me swan."

#6 "Well there is the usual things. Chocolates...flowers...promises you don't intend to keep."

"I've been burnt by you before."

"It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas and thinking.."

#7 "It's a black...tank."

"You're not the devil. You're practice."

"Should've tipped better"

"You look very fashionable. Apart from the mud."

#8 "St. James Josh. It's religious!"

"Three dimes, a hundred dollar bill, and 87 ones."

"Wow...Thanks!"

#9 "Yeah Danny. That's usually how it works. Otherwise they arrest you and charge you with rape.

"Help! There is a blind kid driving this train!"

"Squidgy."

Come on, GUESS!

happy veteren's day!

Happy Veteren's Day to all the vets out there. Thank you so much! Love ya bro!

i know i talk a lot about dreams but...

I keep having this reoccurring dream and I can't figure out why. I graduated college almost 7 months ago and I have to admit I was a little nervous about the possibility of not getting my diploma. I basically relied on my advisor to do my scheduling for me and I just followed what he said. However he got a job in another part of the school and left so the last year and a half I was pretty much on my own. So I started second guessing my choices and wondering if they met the requirements I needed for graduating but thankfully everything went great and I got my degree on time.

So my dream is kind of freaking me out. I am back in school and it is my last semester. I am taking all these classes that I like and are easy except for one. I can't stand this class. The teacher is so boring and talking about anthropology or something but in a really monotone voice like Ben Stein. I go to this class once and decide not to go again. However, I don't drop the class for some reason. I just don't go and I actually end up forgetting about the class completely until the semester is almost over. Then I start thinking that I have to go or I won't graduate and how mad my parents would be if that happened. So I start trying to get to this class but something always gets in the way and stops me. One day it is a massive blizzard. Another day the bus just keeps on driving and never makes any stops. Eventually these things stop but not until after the class has ended.

It seems like I never actually get to the end of the dream. I never find out if I get back to the class or graduate. I've had this dream now 3 or 4 times and I had it again last night. This time the bus keep driving but would only drop me off at the frat houses. When I refused to get off at one he would drive to the next one and then the next one... I really hope I don't have this dream again cause it's really stressing me out and I wake up feeling anxious. It's amazing to me how your body reacts to dreams. Like how you can be crying in your dream and you wake up and you have tears streaming down your face. Anyway, I thought maybe talking about the dream would keep me from having it again. That seems to work for me. I'll let you know if it comes back.

men are such babies

I've been working my way through my movies alphabetically and i just wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes from the movies I've watched so far. Try to guess what they are from!

1. "I want you. I need you. Oh baby, oh baby."

2. "I think our hands just made a baby."

3. "You steal the Bible you go to Hell. Those are the rules."

4. "I feel like i just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich."

5. "Aloha. Sorry about your brain."

6. "Yeah. Her...uh, Bible-hugging, crucifix-wearing, honk-if-you-love-Jesus people."

7. "An explosion of flavor. I'm working with some very unstable herbs."

8. "I'm a concert Pianist. That's a pretentious way of saying I'm...unemployed at the moment."

9. "Oh sure. Blame the bat. What the heck? We're easy targets."

10. "Check out my totally invisible finger!"

11. "Can you make boobs come out of hiding?"

no more pizza...ever

So I had kind of a not so great weekend like I had hoped. Saturday was supposed to be a shopping day in Park City with whitney, my mom, and her friend Jodi. My parents decided to spend the weekend there with their friends but I decided to hang back at home. Mostly because I love having the house to myself and my dog is still recovering from his surgery and I had to help take care of him for a little bit more. So Friday I was just chilling out watching tv and totally pigging out on pizza when I started to feel a little sick. I figured it was just because Papa John's always makes me feel a little weird and I had way too much pizza than I should have but it didn't go away. Then I spent the entire night and the next day in the bathroom sick. Not fun. My brother Chris was supposed to come on Saturday to watch the dog while I was shopping but since that wasn't happening, and I got about an hour nap in during the morning and felt much better than I had been, I told him not to bother coming but he did anyway. He even brought me some sprite to help settle my stomach. However, it was Sprite Zero meaning that there is no sugar in it so there is no syrup in it which is the part the settles your stomach...oh well. It was very nice of him to try. I know he doesn't read my blog but thanks again Chris! Luckily we had some Mountain Dew which helped a lot surprisingly.

Anyway, so instead of shopping I continued my movie watching marathon (if you don't remember what I mean, check out my last post). I am now on movie number 8...I have a long ways to go. I fell asleep during Accepted which I was kind of bummed about cause it's a pretty great movie. My mom asked if I had to watch it again haha. I told her I've seen it enough times that it will be ok if I just went on.

Yesterday my parents got home around 11 and I went to target and the mall with my mom. A much needed shopping trip after a crappy couple of days. She always "pays" me for watching the dog when they go out of town and this time I got a shirt, 2 sweaters and a hoodie. Thanks mom! Then I came home and just relaxed with my family. My mom made this delicious dinner with things she bought at Harry and David while in Park City. I absolutely LOVE that store and I'm so jealous I wasn't there. Then Sue yelled at me for not eating my peas lol. Then came the Green Bay game. Packers won! YAY! It looked like they had lost it in the last minute but they pulled it out. Very happy family of Packers fans :)

(This is the Cowboys but they actually played the Vikings)

So that was a little recap of this weekend. Sorry it's a little long but I hope it was entertaining!

what a week

A lot has happened since the last time I posted but here are the highlights.

I have decided to start watching all my movies in alphabetical order. I don't know how long it will take me but I am quite excited.

I went and saw Thriller with my family and Whitney. I have seen it three times now and I think it is going to be a permanent Halloween tradition for me. I always end up leaving feeling like I wanna cry because I miss dancing so much.

Then I went to the Drowsy Chaperone with Miss Whit. We have waited so long for 2 and a half hours of pure bliss. No where near enough time. It ended way too fast but I thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted. I really really wanna see it again very soon. Good thing its going to be at the Capital Theater next year. Yay!

I got to see a new episode of Glee this past week. Interesting...but still great. I'll love that show no matter what. My favorite part was Mike Chang. He had so many lines and even got to sing! Loved it!

Had planned a trip up to Logan on Friday but that ended up not happening. Probably a really good thing though. My dog had surgery in the morning and was supposed to stay there overnight but was sent home early so it was good I was home to help my dad bring him home. He was so groggy yesterday but today he is back to his normal self.

Whitney and I decided to make our own calendars for next year. It's a tradition of mine to get a silly calendar every year as you know. So far I've had Boyfriend of the month, Studs in Spurs, and Porn for Women (not what you may think). I have been trying to think of what I could get and then Whit came up with the most brilliant idea. A Matthew Morrison/Mike Chang calendar! I can't wait to get started on it!

best week ever!

why?

1. any week with a new glee episode is happy

2. beauty and the beast came out after who knows how long it's been in the Disney vault. it's my favorite

3. i re-finished my vanity which has been a long time coming. check it out!

4. i am going to see thriller on friday with my family and whitney. my parents have never seen it before so i'm very excited and hope they like it.

5. after waiting a year and a half, the Drowsy Chaperone is finally here! can't wait til saturday!
6. i did some shopping online which is always a happy event

7. the weather has been so great. i love when it starts to cool down and get all dark and stormy

8. i need to buy a calendar for next year...i just can't decide which one. beiber or lautner? haha

9. cleaned my room today...love :)

10. glee has been playing non-stop on my ipod...well that happens every week but still.

I could go on but you get the picture. Life is good this week!

i need some words of wisdom from miss pillsbury...

Lately I have been feeling kind of out of sorts. Like I almost need to do something or be somewhere but I haven't figured out what that is yet. It's kind of starting to bother me a little. I'm actually feeling a little lost or that something is missing. I start to feel like this every year around this time. It's happened for the past 5 years or so, I'd say since i started college, but this time it's almost worse because I don't have school or roommates to distract me. It's a really unsettling feeling and I hate feeling this way. It's more than just being bored and wanting something to do. That I can handle. This feeling usually lasts for weeks and it seems like there is nothing I can do to fix it. I just feel like this time, since I don't have anything to focus on to distract me, it might last a lot longer.

Hopefully I can figure something out soon. I think I'm gonna have to do some soul searching.

congratulations

This past week my cousin Nick got married to his longtime girlfriend Bree. She is so awesome and I'm excited to have her as a part of our family. Also my brother got married to his longtime girlfriend Sue so now I can offically call her my sister-in-law.

Congratualtions and I love you all!

it doesn't matter...it's in the past!

Last night I went and sae the Lion King with my mom. She got us tickets to see the Broadway Across America production at the Capitol Theatre. It is one play that I have been wanting to see for a really long time so I'm so happy I finally had the chance to go.

The play was amazing. The costumes especially are unbelievable! If you haven't seen it check out this video. It doesn't really do it justice but it's still pretty cool.

If you ever get the opportunity to see the Lion King..GO!

It's too good to pass up.

"just come out so we can talk...or sing about it"

I love fall...mostly because this is the time of year when all my shows come back on. I've had them marked on my calendar for a while now...some may think that's pathetic but I prefer the word "dedicated".


For sure the most anticipated show for me is Glee. No question. I especially cannot wait to see John Stamos' debut and the Brittany episode. However, I have been sort of addicted to the show Supernatural for the past 5 seasons and wasn't sure if it was going to come back for a 6th. They basically wrapped up all the loose ends at the end of last season because I think they weren't sure if they were going to get picked up again. It kind of ended a little weird like they didn't have enough time to plan out the story line before shooting but I am so excited I get to see more of the story. Its kind of a weird show but very entertaining. And the two brothers on the show are quite attractive. I'll be honest--that's the reason I started watching it in the first place lol.


Of course all the CSI shows are coming back as well. I don't really care so much about Miami and Vegas...New York is my favorite. I love me some Don Flack :)


Also this fall I am going to see the Lion King at the Capitol Theater. I cannot wait for that! I am so excited. And October brings The Drowsy Chaperone! I saw it a year and a half ago in Logan and have been waiting to see it again since then. I saw it was going to be at Hale Center Theater 2 Aprils ago and I have been anxiously awaiting for it to open. Only 1 more month to go!

dreams...

My computer hasn't been behaving well lately so I never want to get on it to do anything. First it kept locking up on me right after it would load and after my dad fixed that it started doing some other weird stuff...To make a long story short I need a new computer. Its so frustrating that by the time I can do anything on it, I'm so frustrated I just want to shut it down and forget about anything I needed to do. But I promised I would look up what my dream I had last night meant so here it is.

I dreamed that my cat got stung by a scorpion. While I was dreaming this I thought, "I need to look up what a scorpion means in your dream." So this is what I found:

"Scorpion
To see a scorpion in your dream, represents a situation in your waking life which may be painful or hurtful. It is also indicative of destructive feelings, "stinging" remarks, bitter words and/or negative thoughts being expressed by or aimed against you. You may be on a self-destructive and self-defeating path. The scorpion is also a symbol of death and rebirth. You need to get rid of the old and make room for something new. Alternatively, the scorpion represents a person who is born under the astrological sign for Scorpio."

I can't figure out what that applies to in my life exactly but I have never really been able to do that with any of my dreams.

Next I dreamt that my cat was punctured in the next by a lion. Here is what I found on that:

"Lion
To see a lion in your dream, symbolizes great strength, courage, aggression and power. You will overcome some of your emotional difficulties. As king of the jungle, the lion also represents dignity, royalty, leadership, pride and domination. You have much influence over others. You also need to exercise some restraint in your own personal and social life.

To dream that you are attacked by a lion, suggests that a force may be driving you to self-destruction. You need overcome these challenges and obstacles."

So apparently my cat is self-destructive and needs to overcome some kind of challenge haha. Who knows...maybe I just need to stop staying up so late.

updates

Alright I suck! I have totally been slacking on my blog posting even though I said I was going to post at least once a week...I didn't make it. Anyway I have a few things to tell all of you.

1. I went to the Josh Turner concert and I actually got to meet him! It was pretty epic. He signed my guitar! (I will try to post some pics of that later....)

2. I finally finished my new headboard. I know I said I was going to do a wood head and footboard but I totally changed my mind and went with just an upholstered headboard. It took quite a while to gather up the materials and finally finish it but it is done! My family and I put the final touches on it tonight and I think it turned out awesome! Check it out!

3. I learned the other day that Whitney is coming down sooner that planned so we can go see Step Up 3D! I can't wait. It's gonna be so cool!

4. I got some great new about the up coming glee episodes like...Britney, Michael, Figgins' Beat It, Nazi Hunter Carol Burnett, Mike Chang finally getting a bigger part (and a girlfriend--totally called that one!),...and much more but I think you get the point.

5. I had yet another Will Shuster dream. I was part of his glee club practicing the choreography and it was pretty awesome. All I could think of when I woke up was the line in the "Home" episode when April yells in the cabaret roller rink, "Will Shuster?! I had a sex dream about you last night!" Too funny

....I'm sure there is more that I am missing but I am going to call it good. If I think of anymore I will let you know. But now I am going to check out the meteor shower! Hope it's good!

new bed!

If you remember this post on my old blog you can see that my headboard doesn't exactly go with the rest of my furniture, especially the nightstand. The vanity matches pretty well but that will soon be changed..Anyway, one day I was looking on Fancy Bred Photography's blog when I saw this post where she linked to this site. I saw that headboard and thought it was so cute. I went to the store and priced it all out and now I am just waiting for it to all fall into place so I can go buy the wood and start building...or rather have my dad start building. I'm thinking about painting it dark to match the rest of the furniture so I picked up some paint chips and I think I found the perfect color. Oh and I am really excited about having a footboard. I know that sounds really lame but I've never had one before and kind of always wanted one so I can't wait for that to happen. Hopefully it will all happen soon so I can share the pictures but I will keep you all posted. (Sorry there is no pictures but there are lots of links)

fresh

I felt like I needed a change in my life and I have been thinking about setting up a new blog for a while. So that is what I did and here it is. My goal is to also keep this one more updated that the last. I want to post at least once a week. Hopefully that happens. Let me know what you think.