Flashback

Yes, today was supposed to be a fashion post, thanks for asking. Fortunately and unfortunately, I finally went to the doctor yesterday after being sick for 2 weeks. Turns out I have such a bad sinus infection that all the pressure in my head was building up in my ears to the extent that I was starting to have (temporary) trouble hearing.

So I got me some antibiotic horse pills and should start to feel better in a couple days. Whew.

Back in the good old days (about a year ago), I used to have a "Quote of the Week" every week.

You see, I LOVE quotes. I have a word document 47 pages long that is filled with quotes - from books, from famous people, from not-that-famous people, from movies, and from Starbucks cups.

Either way, I love me some beautiful words. Even if I don't have that many myself.

So the quote of the week for this week comes from Along Came Polly. Didn't much love the movie, but I do love this quote.

"Let go. Move on for your life. It's not about what happened in the past or what you think might happen in the future - it's about the ride for chrissakes. There's no point in going through all this crap if you are not going to enjoy the ride. And you know what? When you least expect it, something great might come along. Something better than you even planned for."

Do you like quotes? Do you have a favorite? I'd love to hear it.

And I make no promises about a fashion post tomorrow. It seems like that kinda week.

Quote of the Week

"I’m sick of people asking me how school was. It’s like asking how a drive by shooting was...you don’t care, you're just glad to get out alive."

And that is my thought for today. By 7 pm tonight, I will just have an 8 page paper to write and then I will be set for the semester. Not a fraction of a second too soon.

Happy Tuesday!

Life to the Fullest

This week's quote of the week is by Grant Hancock (as usual, I have no clue who that is. But I really like the quote:

So far I've learnt that every day of your life must be lived to the fullest. Life is about smiling, laughing, and crying. Life is about making the most of what you have and what you're given. It's about keeping relationships and losing them. Life is about falling in love and losing someone you do love. Life was given to us as a challenge, and it's not easy, but you have to try and meet that challenge and make the most of it while you can because you don't actually know when it will be your turn to lay down to rest. You only have one shot at life, so make sure you take it with both hands and squeeze every little drop out of it you can.

So I've been thinking a lot lately about my mom. It's been almost a year since she died, and I wonder sometimes what she thinks. If she knows that even though I'm screwing up I'm trying as hard as I can.

It's just weird, ya know? I never really thought this would be me: my life, the girl without her mom. I guess in some ways I just still have a hard time believing she's really gone.

My life looks very different from the one I thought I'd be living right now. Weird.

Happy Tuesday!

love,

"That's a Heck of a Day"

I spend my weeks at school in a blur of activity. There are days when I barely remember to pee or brush my teeth (ok, this is a lie - I always brush my teeth). So it's no surprise that I don't exactly savor the moments that are flying past faster than I'd care to admit.

In fact, I noticed over the weekend that I've barely taken any pictures of this year. I don't have one single picture of my roommates and I. And to me, this is sad.

In comes this week's Quote of the Week by

Jim Valvano, aka Jimmy V. And the quote:

"To me, there are three things we should all do every day. Number 1 is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number 2 is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number 3 is you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think and you cry, that's a full day, that's a heck of a day."

And I'm going to try (haven't I been trying this for weeks?) to live each day like a separate day... not just a string of minutes counting down until Thursday at 6:15 (when my last class lets out).

Happy Tuesday!!



love,

Fear

Recently, I have found myself holding back. Letting others think my life is perfect, great, dandy.

I don't want to burden them, don't want them to worry. Life is hard, I get it.

And that's where this week's quote of the week comes in. It's from Tuesdays with Morrie, one of my all time favorite books. And the quote:

"Fear. There were horrifying times, and his first emotions were horror, fear, and anxiety. But once he recognized the feel of those emotions, he was able to say, “Okay. This is fear. Step away from it. Step away." I thought about how often this was needed in everyday life. How we feel lonely, sometimes to the point of tears, but we don’t let those tears come because we are not supposed to cry. Or how we feel a surge of love for a partner but we don’t say anything because we’re frozen with the fear of what those words might do to the relationship. Morrie’s approach was exactly the opposite. Turn on the faucet. Wash yourself with the emotion. It won’t hurt you. It will only help. If you let the fear inside, if you pull it on like a familiar shirt, then you can say to yourself – All right, it’s just fear. I don’t have to let it control me."

Recently, I have been hiding my fears, my tears. Sometimes everything seems so overwhelming... it seems painful to bring the thoughts to light... but I know that they're still there.

I'm trying to open up to others and let people in, but it's not easy for me. I like everyone to think I've got my act together... when in actuality, not so much.

So, this week's motto is to live and feel. Live and feel.

Happy Tuesday!

love,



And P.S. I know these last few posts have been desperate and weepy-sounding. So depressing. But I'm not depressed, just funky - I think. Hopefully I'll snap out of it soon. If only I could get some sunshine around here!!

Quote of the Week: When Every Road Led Home...

This past weekend, I drove home to have my bridesmaid's dress fitted. It was so nice to be able to chat and hang out with my friends from home.

This week's quote of the week is from The Wonder Years:

"The friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect. The ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time where nothing was certain, all life lay ahead, and every road led home."

I love school, and I love my school friends, but there's so much stress and competition here that it's just good to be home sometimes. No stress, just friends.

It was good to catch up and laugh with "my girls"... I feel lucky to be so connected to such amazing women. I love them.

Happy Tuesday!

love,

Be Your Own Leading Lady

This week's quote of the week is from The Holiday.

"Iris, in the movies, we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason, you're behaving like the best friend."

I think that there are times that we all act like the best friend. Whether we are putting ourselves last or letting others walk all over us, sometimes we forget. We forget that - at the end of the day - we are the ones we have to answer to when we are scolding ourselves before we got to sleep at night.

So today - and this week - I hope to be the star of my own show.

I wish I had a cute recent picture of myself to insert here... ohh here I finally found one. Now that I had an hour-long detour through memory lane...
(This was taken on our family vacation, which you can read about here or here.)

Happy Tuesday!!

love,

Until All The Nos Become Meaningless....

This week's quote of the week is from a Nike ad. I have loved this quote for years - mostly because it makes me tear up when I read it.

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. They will tell you no, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. And you will tell them yes."
I wrote this post a long time ago about Dance Marathon. The organization is a year-round event raising money and awareness for critically and terminally ill children (and their families) who are treated at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

Having been treated at the hospital myself as a child, I would do anything (and I mean anything) for this cause.

This year, I have taken over as the Overall Chairwoman for our Dance Marathon. That's right, they let me be in charge (no, I don't know what they were thinking). I'm completely overwhelmed and awestruck that so many people think I can do this job - it's overwhelming.

This quote represents my freshman year when the Marathon was just being established. I remember clearly being told that our target fundraising goal was $3,000. We made $21,047.42 that year.

Last year, we raised $85,296.33. (This is the Executive Council from last year's Marathon. I'm squeezed in on the very right - I was the Public Relations Chair. I also had to set up the photo so I ended up not having a spot - go figure!)

Any guesses on the fundraising goal for this year?




C'mon....







Just guess....








$100,000 !!

Holy crap, I can't believe I just typed that - out here, for the whole world to see.

Happy Tuesday!

love,

Savoring the Last Firsts

As I'm gearing up for my last year in college, I find that I'm savoring the "last firsts." As in - "this is the last first time we'll stay up late together" or "this is the last first day of classes." Today's quote of the week is a reflection of how I hope to live this year: fully and completely. I don't want to miss a single minute because I know as soon as I leave I'm going to miss it dearly. And the quote:

"I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width as well." ~ Diane Ackerman

Happy Tuesday!

P.S. I know I have not been around a lot, but I've got tons of things going on and just a whole lot of craziness to sort out... I'll try to keep up with this blog, promise!

love,

Quote of the Week

This week's quote of the week is by Walt Disney.

"It's not the days in life we remember, rather the moments."

I've got a lot going on this week. Here's a peek:
Monday: babysat neighbor, worked at the mall, cleaned the house for guests, put away leftover garage sale stuff, and bake chocolate chip cookies
Tuesday: get hair cut and highlights, stay at house to get new carpet installed, have physical therapy, pick up groceries
Wednesday: go to Indy to pick up family from airport, get to an Express store and find jeans (must call ahead because the last 2 stores I went to didn't have my size. I ain't drivin down there for nothing!!)
Thursday: entertain the two cousins who are coming with my grandpa, bake a bunch, pack for vacation
Friday: more entertaining, baking, and packing
Saturday: leave for vacation

So I'm either a big baby or I'm just soo busy and stressed. This time of year, the time just flies on by... so I'm hoping to create a lot of memories (and many photos) to share.

love,

Quote of the Week

Today's quote of the week is by Will Rogers.

"Half of our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save."

As summer winds down, I find myself rushing through every little thing on my to-do list without finding time to enjoy the days. Today, I hope to take a few minutes to enjoy these last few moments of summer before they get away from me!

love,

Quote by Pooh

This week's quote of the week is from Winnie the Pooh - I think it was in a book I read while babysitting a long time ago. Anyways, I think this quote can often times apply to my boyfriend, because sometimes I just swear he is NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO ME, which, in my book, is practically a sin. Nobody said I wasn't high maintenance, folks.

Anyways, the quote:
"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."

So, for once in his life, he has really knocked my socks off. I have had my digital camera for about 2.5 years, and have taken about a bajillion pictures in that time frame. Needless to say, being the brat that I am, I have been wanting a new one soooo bad.

The boyfriend has been sort-of wanting a camera to chronicle his experiences traveling with a certain football team come fall. Because I'm a genius, I suggested that he take my old camera while I get a new one. I swear I'm not totally mean - I just know that I will use a camera more often than he will. I'm practical here people!!

And, knock me over with a feather, he called today and said he was buying me one! What a sweetheart! While I really want a DSLR, I realize that it's probably not in the works at this point in our lives. So it will either be this one or this one. The only real difference is $50 and 1x of zoom - decisions, decisions.

Anyways, yay for my boyfriend. Such a catch, I tell you.

love,

Quote of the Week

Today's quote of the week is by Denae Ball (don't ask me who that is - I googled... found nothing. So all I know is that when I wrote down this quote, that's who said it):

"When life seems to be looking down on you, all you can do is look up at it, smile, wink, and laugh heartily. You never know, life probably has a sense of humor."

So, today, in a fit of 'getting stuff done,' I decided to call into the doctor to get an appointment to have my sore ankle looked at. Here's how the call went:
Nurse: Well, can you make it in at 11:30?
Me: What time is it? (In my mind: Crap, 10:40... I haven't even changed out of my sweatpants today, and the damn place is 20 minutes away... crap crap crap).
Me: Sure, I can be there.

So I make it to the doctor and, surprise, it isn't my ankle at all - it's my knee that's giving me trouble. They believe I may have a torn meniscus.

Which, considering I stand on my feet at work and have about a month before vacation and a week after that I have to move back to school, is just great. I have plenty of time to recuperate from surgery.

Anyways, I have an MRI on Wednesday to confirm/deny that this is the problem... we shall see. Until then, I'll just maintain that life has a sense of humor.. haha.

love,

Quote of the Week

This week's quote of the week is by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

I feel like I am constantly treading water under the weight of yesterday's life. While I'm trying to clean out all of my mom's: stuff, I feel like I'm drowning in clutter, memories, and just junk.

So, today's quote is to inspire me to let go of the old and let the new into my life.



love,

Quote of the Week

This week's quote of the week is by E.B. White (the same person who wrote
Charlotte's Web).

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry."

So true.


love,

Quote of the Week

The quote of the week for this week is by Jerry Seinfeld:

"Life is truly a ride. We're all strapped in, and no one can stop it. As you make each passage from youth to adulthood to maturity, sometimes you put your arms up and scream, sometimes you just hang onto the bar in front of you. But the ride is the thing. I think the most you can hope for at the end of life is that you hair's messed, you’re out of breath, and you didn't throw up."

I think this is such a great quote to live by... such a good motto.

love,