You know what I hate most about being away from my blog for so long? When I finally feel like sitting down and writing an entry, there is so much to talk about that I just can't. If I tried to explain where I've been for the past two weeks-ish, it would be a completely disorganized entry about nothing. So let's you and me pretend I was never gone, okay? Okay, awesome.
I've been planning furiously for a graduation party that my parents decided to let me have. We're having an open-house-type party, and I've just been letting all my creative juices flow. Because let's face it - I love planning and throwing parties. I'm probably going overboard for a simple house party, but what I can I say? I'm a crazy person.
There have been several shopping trips to Party City, Michael's, A.C. Moore, and Target, looking for anything and everything I can use to create the perfect party. Also acquired was The Dress from Forever 21 that I talked about here, as well as a PERFECTLY MATCHING pair of shoes that I bought on clearance at Mandee's. Because I am just that good. Unfortunately the Mandee website doesn't have a convenient little picture for me, so I'll remember to snap a pic of them when I'm home for Easter.
I am so excited for this party mainly because I don't have many opportunities to go a little crazy with decorating and planning. Now I have the opportunity to print my own invitiations, come up with cute and sophisticated flower displays, buy matching-color decorations, make some awesome little give-aways, and plan all sorts of other little surprises. Who knows if anyone will truly appreciate it all in its entirety - I mean obviously different details will be noticed by different people - but I will have come away with a sense of accomplishment and self-indulgence, which is basically the point. I know people are going to have fun at my party regardless of the details, but those details along with the fun will make for my idea of a perfect party.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
who i am, who i'm not and who i wanna be.
Yesterday, after a casual discussion with The Boy, I realized that I have a very strange combination of personality traits.
If asked, I would probably classify myself as a people person. But I'm not sure how true this really is. It's easy for me to admit that I would love throwing parties that would be attended by my constantly growing circle of friends and acquaintances. I already have an affinity for designing all the details of a party, but I haven't actually had much opportunity to be the sole hostess. I am also, apparently, a person who's easy to get along with and easily well-liked by others. The Boy mentions this all the time as one of my most impressive qualities. It's something I've never realized before, mainly because I over-analyze every moment of my interaction with people, especially those I don't know well. I'm so mentally aware of every awkward pause and every strange answer I give to questions, and I always have this nagging feeling that, even though I'm interested in what the person is saying, my reactions make it look like I'm just feigning interest.
I would say that the main thing keeping me from being a complete social butterfly is my extreme dislike of all things awkward. I avoid awkward situations as much as humanly possible. Most times when I see someone I know around campus (besides my close friends), I check my cell phone and pretend to be reading a text to avoid even just saying "hi." It's the strangest thing, but I do it all the time. I just feel I'd rather walk silently past them than say "hey, how are you?"
To top it off, I also worry way too much about what other people think of me. I'm constantly worried about sounding stupid in any means of communication - talking in person or on the phone, in e-mails, even in blog comments and Facebook messages. It's the strangest thing ever, and I can't shake it. I often second-guess myself and will, in some cases, just forget about composing an e-mail or leaving a comment just because I'm afraid of coming across as weird.
I guess what it all comes down to is my inability to be sure of myself, to have complete confidence in who I present myself to be. This is also evident in other aspects of my life - the career I'm currently pursuing isn't really what I want out of life at all, but I'm too unsure of myself to do anything about it. But that's another thought for another post.
If asked, I would probably classify myself as a people person. But I'm not sure how true this really is. It's easy for me to admit that I would love throwing parties that would be attended by my constantly growing circle of friends and acquaintances. I already have an affinity for designing all the details of a party, but I haven't actually had much opportunity to be the sole hostess. I am also, apparently, a person who's easy to get along with and easily well-liked by others. The Boy mentions this all the time as one of my most impressive qualities. It's something I've never realized before, mainly because I over-analyze every moment of my interaction with people, especially those I don't know well. I'm so mentally aware of every awkward pause and every strange answer I give to questions, and I always have this nagging feeling that, even though I'm interested in what the person is saying, my reactions make it look like I'm just feigning interest.
I would say that the main thing keeping me from being a complete social butterfly is my extreme dislike of all things awkward. I avoid awkward situations as much as humanly possible. Most times when I see someone I know around campus (besides my close friends), I check my cell phone and pretend to be reading a text to avoid even just saying "hi." It's the strangest thing, but I do it all the time. I just feel I'd rather walk silently past them than say "hey, how are you?"
To top it off, I also worry way too much about what other people think of me. I'm constantly worried about sounding stupid in any means of communication - talking in person or on the phone, in e-mails, even in blog comments and Facebook messages. It's the strangest thing ever, and I can't shake it. I often second-guess myself and will, in some cases, just forget about composing an e-mail or leaving a comment just because I'm afraid of coming across as weird.
I guess what it all comes down to is my inability to be sure of myself, to have complete confidence in who I present myself to be. This is also evident in other aspects of my life - the career I'm currently pursuing isn't really what I want out of life at all, but I'm too unsure of myself to do anything about it. But that's another thought for another post.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
relay for life countdown: 20 days!
I've been so busy whimpering about my wisdom teeth and wasting my time shopping that I completely forgot about Relay for Life.
The thing I love about Relay is that it's a whole of fun. My school goes all out, hiring a DJ and planning a ton of great events throughout the twelve hours. Last year I participated (and tied for first!) in the limbo contest, my friends took part in a three-legged race, and they have this crazy contest where they ask for random items and the first person to run up with that item wins. Then, of course, there's all the free food! There's a Wendy's run at midnight and a bunch of other random food give-aways, like s'mores and non-alcoholic frozen drinks. Mmm, nothing like the sugar rush of a margarita at 3am to keep you going.
But before all that can happen, before the tents are set up and the "campsite" deorated, before the luminarias are finished and lit, before we even pack up our pillows and blankets for the naps we never take... we need to raise as much money as possible. As much as the night is a total blast, the main purpose is to raise awareness and funding for the American Cancer Society.
And now comes the part you probably expected, where I hit up my [very limited] readership for money. I'm not asking for much, because I'm a broke college student myself and I know what it's like to pinch pennies. I was only able to spend the $10 to register, because I can't afford anything more than that. So what am I asking for? If you can spare $5 or even $10, please do. If you can't, that's fine too - I don't want to guilt-trip and alienate my readers (because I love you!). But if you can afford it, it would mean so, so much to me.
You can click here to visit my page and donate.
The thing I love about Relay is that it's a whole of fun. My school goes all out, hiring a DJ and planning a ton of great events throughout the twelve hours. Last year I participated (and tied for first!) in the limbo contest, my friends took part in a three-legged race, and they have this crazy contest where they ask for random items and the first person to run up with that item wins. Then, of course, there's all the free food! There's a Wendy's run at midnight and a bunch of other random food give-aways, like s'mores and non-alcoholic frozen drinks. Mmm, nothing like the sugar rush of a margarita at 3am to keep you going.
But before all that can happen, before the tents are set up and the "campsite" deorated, before the luminarias are finished and lit, before we even pack up our pillows and blankets for the naps we never take... we need to raise as much money as possible. As much as the night is a total blast, the main purpose is to raise awareness and funding for the American Cancer Society.
And now comes the part you probably expected, where I hit up my [very limited] readership for money. I'm not asking for much, because I'm a broke college student myself and I know what it's like to pinch pennies. I was only able to spend the $10 to register, because I can't afford anything more than that. So what am I asking for? If you can spare $5 or even $10, please do. If you can't, that's fine too - I don't want to guilt-trip and alienate my readers (because I love you!). But if you can afford it, it would mean so, so much to me.
You can click here to visit my page and donate.
Friday, March 13, 2009
cupcakes!!
The other day, my mom mentioned off-hand that a cupcake shop had opened close to my house in a neighboring town. I immediately thought that was awesome, because all the other cupcake places in New Jersey are too far to drive, even for a strong cupcake craving. I've been jealously reading posts about cupcake outings at cool cupcake shops while I'm stuck with a six-pack from the grocery store bakery.
So here I am, Googling the town's community website, and I find the blurb about the cupcakes. I'm expecting some random cupcake place, but much to my surprise and total excitement, it turns out I am now within driving distance of a Crumbs bake shop! How awesome is that?
I think it's pretty cool that I've heard of them before from being part of the blogosphere, and now I'm super excited to actually have a well-known place to indulge my cupcake craving. I'll definitely be venturing out sometime before I go back to school, and you can expect a thorough review when I get back.
So here I am, Googling the town's community website, and I find the blurb about the cupcakes. I'm expecting some random cupcake place, but much to my surprise and total excitement, it turns out I am now within driving distance of a Crumbs bake shop! How awesome is that?
I think it's pretty cool that I've heard of them before from being part of the blogosphere, and now I'm super excited to actually have a well-known place to indulge my cupcake craving. I'll definitely be venturing out sometime before I go back to school, and you can expect a thorough review when I get back.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
everyone was right.
The wisdom teeth thing? I completely and totally overreacted. Well, mostly.
The surgery started off a bit shaky. Since it wasn't a tough extraction, I had nitrous oxide instead of being completely under. And, as a side note, I had used nitrous oxide when I had baby teeth pulled a while back, and I loved it. Not so much this time. It seemed as if they gave me a stronger dosage, and I think because I was still coherent, I started panicking about how much it was affecting me. At first I tried to just relax and convince myself I'd feel nice and careless in a few minutes, but I suddenly started feeling lightheaded and nauseous. So we took a breather - they gave me pure oxygen through the little nose mask, and I felt fine within a few minutes. I asked him to let me have the laughing gas at a much lower dose, and that worked fine.
It was over pretty quickly, and I really felt good leaving the office. Not lightheaded, not sick, not in any pain. I got home and chatted with my mom (through a gauzy mouth, of course), then retreated to my brother's room (because the remote for my television is busted and his is not). My dad came back with my prescriptions, which the doctor had said to take as soon as possible. Okay. So I took the anti-swelling medication, the antibiotic, and of course, the pain medicine. Ten minutes later, I felt the pain meds kicking in, so I crash for a nap.
When I woke up a few hours later, I was quick to realize that hey, my body's not too happy with me taking all those meds without food. Um, oops? I spent two hours feeling really dizzy and extremely nauseous. This was definitely the worst part of the whole experience, but luckily it wore off when the medicine did. After that, I decided there would be no more pain meds for me. I know, I'm a total party pooper.
But actually? I didn't need it. The pain was minimal even that night. And now, two days later, I just have mild pain, but a sizable amount of swelling. As my wonderful, loving brother put it upon seeing me for the first time post-op: "you look like John McCain, by the way."
The only thing still skeeving me out is the whole idea of these stitches. They're just.. ickkkk. I want them gone, plz. Also? I'm getting really sick of eating mashed potatoes, eggs, and chicken lomain. Forreals.
The surgery started off a bit shaky. Since it wasn't a tough extraction, I had nitrous oxide instead of being completely under. And, as a side note, I had used nitrous oxide when I had baby teeth pulled a while back, and I loved it. Not so much this time. It seemed as if they gave me a stronger dosage, and I think because I was still coherent, I started panicking about how much it was affecting me. At first I tried to just relax and convince myself I'd feel nice and careless in a few minutes, but I suddenly started feeling lightheaded and nauseous. So we took a breather - they gave me pure oxygen through the little nose mask, and I felt fine within a few minutes. I asked him to let me have the laughing gas at a much lower dose, and that worked fine.
It was over pretty quickly, and I really felt good leaving the office. Not lightheaded, not sick, not in any pain. I got home and chatted with my mom (through a gauzy mouth, of course), then retreated to my brother's room (because the remote for my television is busted and his is not). My dad came back with my prescriptions, which the doctor had said to take as soon as possible. Okay. So I took the anti-swelling medication, the antibiotic, and of course, the pain medicine. Ten minutes later, I felt the pain meds kicking in, so I crash for a nap.
When I woke up a few hours later, I was quick to realize that hey, my body's not too happy with me taking all those meds without food. Um, oops? I spent two hours feeling really dizzy and extremely nauseous. This was definitely the worst part of the whole experience, but luckily it wore off when the medicine did. After that, I decided there would be no more pain meds for me. I know, I'm a total party pooper.
But actually? I didn't need it. The pain was minimal even that night. And now, two days later, I just have mild pain, but a sizable amount of swelling. As my wonderful, loving brother put it upon seeing me for the first time post-op: "you look like John McCain, by the way."
The only thing still skeeving me out is the whole idea of these stitches. They're just.. ickkkk. I want them gone, plz. Also? I'm getting really sick of eating mashed potatoes, eggs, and chicken lomain. Forreals.
Monday, March 9, 2009
nervous wreck.
Spring Break is treating me nicely, as I've spent my entire weekend out shopping. I actually started planning things for my graduation party, which has been a lovely distraction. However. Now there's a strong realization that oh shit!, I'm getting my wisdom teeth out in the morning.
I've heard all sorts of stories, ranging from awful to okay to "hey, I was doing X, Y, and Z by the next day." Regardless of this, I'm basically having a pitiful nervous breakdown right now. Mistake #1 was to read over the information that explains what could happen after the removal, things that have skeeved me out and made me regret reading it.
The silly thing is, I'm about 90% positive that sometime tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to write one of those "ohmahgah you guys, it was totally fine and I totally overreacted and hey now, prescription pain meds are totally awesome" posts. Unfortunately, this "ohmahgah you guys, what if I bleed forever and the pain meds make me sick and then I'm in pain and I suffer every single complication?!?!" post needs to happen first. Sorry about that.
Distractions are, therefore, very necessary. Lucky for me, today's shopping excursion went very, very well. Mainly because... well, remember this post, and the dress I was dying to own?
BOO-freaking-YAH!
[Pardon the first pic with the flash in my face, but it shows the color much better than the others.]
It's amazing. It's everything I've always wanted. See, when those kimono dresses came in style, I wanted one of those really badly, but they always looked awful on me. But this? Has the same loose quality that's cinched at the waist. I just... I love it! I tried it on in the dressing room and may or may not have bounced up and down a bit, because it looked so good.
And! Because Forever 21 is pretty much the best store on the planet, I found this:
I forgot to mention that the bathing suit I'd ordered from Victoria's Secret ended up not fitting well and not even looking that great on me. Instead of settling for that one, I decided I'll just return it and stick with the one above. Oh, and it looks SO much better in person, because I looked through all the Forever 21 bathing suits prior to my shopping trip and really didn't like any of them at all. So if you saw them online and were like "meh!" I PROMISE they are much more adorable in person.
I additionally scored a cute pair of closed-toe black heels from Payless, because I needed a good pair of shoes for interviews or (fingers crossed) my eventual job.
Basically, the moral of this story is, there is nothing that can't be cured with an amazing find-what-you-want shopping trip.
I've heard all sorts of stories, ranging from awful to okay to "hey, I was doing X, Y, and Z by the next day." Regardless of this, I'm basically having a pitiful nervous breakdown right now. Mistake #1 was to read over the information that explains what could happen after the removal, things that have skeeved me out and made me regret reading it.
The silly thing is, I'm about 90% positive that sometime tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to write one of those "ohmahgah you guys, it was totally fine and I totally overreacted and hey now, prescription pain meds are totally awesome" posts. Unfortunately, this "ohmahgah you guys, what if I bleed forever and the pain meds make me sick and then I'm in pain and I suffer every single complication?!?!" post needs to happen first. Sorry about that.
Distractions are, therefore, very necessary. Lucky for me, today's shopping excursion went very, very well. Mainly because... well, remember this post, and the dress I was dying to own?
BOO-freaking-YAH!
[Pardon the first pic with the flash in my face, but it shows the color much better than the others.]
It's amazing. It's everything I've always wanted. See, when those kimono dresses came in style, I wanted one of those really badly, but they always looked awful on me. But this? Has the same loose quality that's cinched at the waist. I just... I love it! I tried it on in the dressing room and may or may not have bounced up and down a bit, because it looked so good.
And! Because Forever 21 is pretty much the best store on the planet, I found this:
I forgot to mention that the bathing suit I'd ordered from Victoria's Secret ended up not fitting well and not even looking that great on me. Instead of settling for that one, I decided I'll just return it and stick with the one above. Oh, and it looks SO much better in person, because I looked through all the Forever 21 bathing suits prior to my shopping trip and really didn't like any of them at all. So if you saw them online and were like "meh!" I PROMISE they are much more adorable in person.
I additionally scored a cute pair of closed-toe black heels from Payless, because I needed a good pair of shoes for interviews or (fingers crossed) my eventual job.
Basically, the moral of this story is, there is nothing that can't be cured with an amazing find-what-you-want shopping trip.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
grace in small things, 16/365
1. The amazing, warm weather today
2. My yummy guava-scented candle
3. My cousin's gorgeous prom dress
4. Bedtime phone calls with The Boy
5. Having a really good hair day
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
2. My yummy guava-scented candle
3. My cousin's gorgeous prom dress
4. Bedtime phone calls with The Boy
5. Having a really good hair day
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
Friday, March 6, 2009
grace in small things, 15/365
1. Starting to plan for my graduation party
2. All the awesome deals at Old Navy
3. Amazing finds at the dollar store
4. Wearing my knee-high black boots, affectionately called my hooker boots
5. Spring Break!!!
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
2. All the awesome deals at Old Navy
3. Amazing finds at the dollar store
4. Wearing my knee-high black boots, affectionately called my hooker boots
5. Spring Break!!!
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
grace in small things, 14/365
1. Enjoying the 35-degree weather, which seems so much warmer compared to Tuesday's 5 degrees
2. Birds chirping, reminding me of spring's imminent arrival
3. Walking outside in slippers to go do laundry
4. Online wish-listing
5. Silly conversations with family
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
2. Birds chirping, reminding me of spring's imminent arrival
3. Walking outside in slippers to go do laundry
4. Online wish-listing
5. Silly conversations with family
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
woo, spring break!
It is entirely too warm in my house right now. Not sweltering, just warm. The problem with this is that I'm super sleepy, and the warmth is just enough to make my eyelids think it's bedtime. Except it's not.
I just popped in a load of laundry, so I'm forced to be awake for the next two hours. I have some reading for class tomorrow, but um, I'm not really motivated to do it. I'd rather pack my suitcase for Spring Break. The problem there? I'm OCD and don't want to start packing until I have all my clothes clean and available for the picking.
So what are my exciting and thrilling plans? I... don't actually have any. In fact, I have the opposite of amazingly fun Spring Break plans - I'm getting my wisdom teeth out. Fun, fun, fun! The only plus here is getting to stay in bed and sleep as long as I like, and maybe getting a teensy bit spoiled along the way. Hey, I'm going to slightly resemble a chipmunk and be high on pain medication.
What else am I planning on doing? A little shopping, a little hanging out with friends I haven't seen in forever, and hopefully getting a chance to catch up with Lynds. She's prom dress shopping soon, and I'm DYING to tag along tolive vicariously through her see what kind of dress she'll pick and maybe help out a bit. Because I love dress shopping. No, really. I. Love. It. When Lynds had her sweet sixteen two years ago, I and freaked out and spent MONTHS finding a dress. And it wasn't even my party. I might have a problem.
In fact, I've been looking for a cute dress for Easter. Nothing fancy, just something cute and dressy, but casual. Some options:
Belted Floral Dress, Forever 21, $22.80
[I JUST spied this one on the website, and OH EM GEE you guys, I want it so badly.]
Smocked Waist Floral Dress, Forever 21, $22.80
[Cute and simple. Loves it.]
Forever 21 is my favorite store in the entire world. Ever. It's trendy, affordable, and they have about a gazillion things in their store. I am just itching to get over to the mall and try on a bunch of cute dresses.
Eep, laundry's done! Time flies when you're obsessing over unnecessary wardrobe decisions.
I just popped in a load of laundry, so I'm forced to be awake for the next two hours. I have some reading for class tomorrow, but um, I'm not really motivated to do it. I'd rather pack my suitcase for Spring Break. The problem there? I'm OCD and don't want to start packing until I have all my clothes clean and available for the picking.
So what are my exciting and thrilling plans? I... don't actually have any. In fact, I have the opposite of amazingly fun Spring Break plans - I'm getting my wisdom teeth out. Fun, fun, fun! The only plus here is getting to stay in bed and sleep as long as I like, and maybe getting a teensy bit spoiled along the way. Hey, I'm going to slightly resemble a chipmunk and be high on pain medication.
What else am I planning on doing? A little shopping, a little hanging out with friends I haven't seen in forever, and hopefully getting a chance to catch up with Lynds. She's prom dress shopping soon, and I'm DYING to tag along to
In fact, I've been looking for a cute dress for Easter. Nothing fancy, just something cute and dressy, but casual. Some options:
Belted Floral Dress, Forever 21, $22.80
[I JUST spied this one on the website, and OH EM GEE you guys, I want it so badly.]
Smocked Waist Floral Dress, Forever 21, $22.80
[Cute and simple. Loves it.]
Forever 21 is my favorite store in the entire world. Ever. It's trendy, affordable, and they have about a gazillion things in their store. I am just itching to get over to the mall and try on a bunch of cute dresses.
Eep, laundry's done! Time flies when you're obsessing over unnecessary wardrobe decisions.
grace in small things, 13/365
1. Actually waking up at a decent hour
2. Being productive! Yay!
3. Knowing I just have to get through classes tomorrow, and then Spring Break is just a day away!
4. Ben & Jerry's Brownie Batter ice cream
5. Finally getting back in the habit of dancing around my room on a daily basis
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
2. Being productive! Yay!
3. Knowing I just have to get through classes tomorrow, and then Spring Break is just a day away!
4. Ben & Jerry's Brownie Batter ice cream
5. Finally getting back in the habit of dancing around my room on a daily basis
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
grace in small things, 12/365
I had a not-so-great week last week, so I slipped a lot with my GiST posts. But I'm more than ready to get back to it.
1. Snow day! On a Monday, when I have three of my four classes.
2. Lyndsay getting accepted at my college!
3. Watching Lynds compete at states for cheerleading, and get 8th out of 11 teams! (Side note: Their team is a bit new to the world of competing, and for the past three years all they ever got was last place. So that's a major accomplishment!)
4. Catching up on sleep
5. Writing an awesome paper for Buddhism class
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
1. Snow day! On a Monday, when I have three of my four classes.
2. Lyndsay getting accepted at my college!
3. Watching Lynds compete at states for cheerleading, and get 8th out of 11 teams! (Side note: Their team is a bit new to the world of competing, and for the past three years all they ever got was last place. So that's a major accomplishment!)
4. Catching up on sleep
5. Writing an awesome paper for Buddhism class
Doing my part to wage a battle against embitterment; join us.
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