Stephany Writes

Categories: Recurring Series

Ten on Tuesday (Vol. 32)

1. If you work, do you drive to work or take public transportation?

I drive. The bus system in our area is not too good and I’m a little leery of using it at 6am in the morning.

2. How often do you get your hair cut? Do you go to the same person every time?

Usually, every 8 weeks although I tried to make my appointment later this time around so I wouldn’t have terrible hair at my graduation. Only… I forgot which day I had originally set my appointment for. Yesterday, while going through my receipts, I realized my appointment had been last Saturday. I am dying to get my hair done because it’s a) too long and b) my roots are growing like crazy so I’m so mad at myself for writing down the wrong date! Luckily, I was able to get one in two weeks but I have no idea what state my hair will be in by then.
To answer the second question, yes. I’ve been going to my same stylist since I was in 10th grade. I’ve tried other people at the salon, but nobody is as good as she is!

3. Do you read the newspaper? If so, a hard copy or the online version?

I don’t. I make a terrible journalism student but news just doesn’t interest me. It should. I know it should. But hey, I follow Breaking News and journalists on Twitter. They give me all the news I need.

4. What is the best book you have read this year?

Water For Elephants was such a great read. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. But, I have to say, The Truth About Forever (review to come!) was an incredibly, awesome read as well. In fact, I’m still really sad that I finished it so fast and the characters in the story are no longer a part of my everyday life. I haven’t felt that way about characters in a long time. (And, by the way, Sarah Dessen? SHE’S AMAZING! Why has it taken so long for me to discover her?)

5. What is the best movie you have seen this year?

Um. I haven’t seen any movies this year. How sad is that?! I do have plans to see Soul Surfer, Something Borrowed, and Water for Elephants, though! If I see all three of those in theaters, I think I will have hit the total I saw last year in theaters. I find it very hard to fork over money for movie tickets and tend to forget about renting movies when we have a DVR chock full of shows to watch.

6. Do you tend to crave sweet or salty foods?

Usually, sweet. I have a major sweet tooth. Rarely do I crave salty things, although it happens every once in a while.

7. Do you eat breakfast every day? If so, what do you have?

I am really bad at eating breakfast. I’m trying to get better at it but it’s hard when you start work at 6:30am and are basically running nonstop until after 10am. Right now, I’m trying to eat some fruit in the morning and then a granola bar/string cheese for a mid-morning snack (around 10am). Usually, it fills me up which is surprising since nothing has ever seemed to keep me full until lunch.

8. If you celebrate Easter, what Easter treat/candy are you most looking forward to?

Ah…the hollow Easter bunny! I told my mom I didn’t want an Easter basket this year, just a big chocolate bunny and some Robin Eggs. Chocolate bunnies are the best. (I should also mention that I eat a chocolate-covered Peep a few times a week now. Such a yummy treat!)

9. How late is “sleeping in” to you?

Ugh, lately? 9am which I am NOT OK with! Sleeping in for me is at least 10am, but my internal clock has me up by 8-8:30 most weekends now. Bummer.

10. Where are you going on your next vacation?

CAYMAN ISLANDS AND COZUMEL, MEXICO! I AM SOOO EXCITED! 38 days!

Categories: Recurring Series

March Wrap-Up

March was about recovering, school assignments, and taking risks. Since my word for 2011 is risk, I’m actually very pleased with how this month has panned out for me. There were still many other opportunities to put myself out there that I didn’t seize, but it’s a work in progress.

March was welcomed in while I was on the tail-end of my shingles virus, finally starting to feel like myself again (and starting to put on clothes and not cringing every time they rubbed against my blisters). It was an odd way to welcome in the month, but not as odd as the last day of March, in which my area got hit with torrential downpour and tornadoes. Luckily, the tornadoes happened west of me but I heard stories of roofs being ripped off houses, trees uprooted, and fences falling down in neighborhoods and streets I am very familiar with. Tornadoes are not common where I live, so it was definitely a wild day!

But let’s recap March, shall we?

  • A photo shoot. I met up with someone who is quickly becoming a great friend to me to take professional, graduation pictures. I’ve never before done a photoshoot and Emily was the best at making me feel comfortable and taking some pretty fantastic pictures. Anyone who is my friend on Facebook can see the whole slew of them. It was really hard choosing my favorites and the ones to put in my graduation announcements!
  • Reading my short story aloud. Although I’ve always wanted to be a fiction writer, I’ve never thought about the process of writing, editing, and having people critique your story. At first, I thought it would be hard for me to take criticism. I tend to take any kind of criticism, even helpful criticism, to heart and for people to critique my writing? I was just hoping it didn’t turn me into a ball of tears. I wanted to be strong enough to take it as it is: a way to make my story better and stronger. And I did that. I took criticism from blog readers (and lots of compliments!) and from my classmates. I read my story aloud, even as my heart beat a million miles a minute and my face burned through it all. I didn’t fall apart. The world didn’t end. I have one more reading to complete, but since I’ve already shown myself I can get through this, I know I can do it again.
  • A struggle for weight loss. This month was not my month for weight loss. I went up and down on the losing/gaining spectrum, settling in at 2 pounds lost this month, 8 pounds total. But since I was dealing with shingles and an influx of school assignments, I’m taking the positives I’ve developed this month and running with them: I’ve begun to limit my soda intake, I’ve stuck with the program even when it feels incredibly hard and I’m not motivated, and I’m still at a loss. Two pounds is two pounds.
  • Prioritizing my life, once again. I can easily get so caught up in things that don’t matter. Right now, my most important focus lies in school and weight loss, as well as making sure I don’t burn myself out. Usually, the first thing to fall when I get busy and need to prioritize my life is blogging but this time around, I’ve begun to see how much blogging means to me and I need to have a place to write daily. What I realized, during a long walk one day, is how I’m letting Twitter take over my life most days. I’m constantly connected to it, always scrolling through my feed, making sure I catch every important tweet and conversation happening. There’s a lot more I could say about this, but I’ll leave it at this: I needed to break away from being constantly connected to Twitter and I will say I’ve done a pretty good job at leaving my TweetDeck application and Ubersocial app closed lately. And the world hasn’t ended.
  • A new gadget. My Kindle arrived last week and it was love at first sight. I’m already wondering why it took me so long to jump on the e-reader bandwagon because it’s such an amazing little gadget. AMAZING!
Categories: Recurring Series

Confessions, Part 5

1. I can’t stand the word “totes”. I know a ton of people use it, but it sounds totally teeny-bopper.

2. I’ve only had froyo once, and it was plain with sprinkles on top. And it was nasty. Last weekend, I found out that a mall near me is opening a PINKBERRY! Color me excited!

3. I’ve had a Kindle sitting in my shopping cart on Amazon for over a month now. I’m still undecided. (Convince me?)

4. Sometimes, I get consumed with thoughts of Dutch dying. I really don’t know how I’m going to handle it. He’s like an extension of me.

5. I am extremely worried that I’ll still be working at my preschool months after I graduate. I don’t hate my job there, but I am most definitely ready for something new.

6. Yesterday, I found out the reason for my phone battery draining so quickly: Ubersocial, my Twitter app on my phone. I had it set to auto-refresh every minute and didn’t exactly see the little disclaimer that said setting auto-refresh for anything less than every 5 minutes with severely drain your battery. Uh…whoops?

7. I can’t bring myself to give away a baby doll I had since I was 7.

8. As much as I loved supporting her, the day of my mom’s marathon was the worst day of my life. I was running on no sleep or food and worried the entire time about her. Plus, it was cold and we were outside for 8+ hours. I’m so incredibly proud of her and loved being in that environment, but next time, I’m doing things a lot differently.

9. I could never have another drop of alcohol and I would be absolutely fine. The same can not be said about soda.

10. I’ve never gotten anything aside from a Frappuccino from Starbucks. I don’t drink coffee on a regular basis, and it’s always more of a treat when I end up getting something from there. Fraps taste like a coffee milkshake!

11. I’m finding running 100% more enjoyable now that I’m running for fun, and not for a ridiculous goal.

12. In September, I had my running gait analyzed and found out I’m a bad overpronater. So I bought stability shoes and now I think I’m supinating, due to the way the bottom of my shoes have worn away. My feet are weird.

13. I’m currently playing 13 Words With Friends games. I’m a bit addicted. (Add me? Username is stephanywrites and I promise I’m an easy opponent. Heh.)

14. I haven’t been to the movies since May, when I saw Letters to Juliet.

15. There are 66 days until my cruise but it’s hard to get excited about it when I’m caught up in another semester of school. But after graduation? Oh, it’s on!

What are some of your confessions today?

Categories: Recurring Series

Ten on Tuesday (The Name Game)

1. How did your parents decide on your name?
My father originally wanted to name me Doogabock. I’m not sure of the spelling because it’s not a real word. Luckily, my mom vetoed that nomination but wanted my name to be a little different, so I wound up with Stephany. I hated it growing up, but I’ve grown to love the unique spelling.

2. Do your initials (First, Middle, Last) spell out anything funny?
No. It spells out SMR, which always makes me think of the Smurfs.

3. Did you taken your middle name from childhood or did you take your maiden name as your middle name? (If unmarried, what do you plan to do?)
I’m taking my husband’s last name when I eventually marry. I have no connection to the last name I currently have and pretty much hate it. (It’s super German and nobody pronounces it right!) I would probably drop my last name, if I can do that. Just keep my first and middle name the same, with my husband’s name as my last name.

4. Are you or will you name your children thematically (i.e., same first letter, all of the same origin…)
I’ve known quite a few families that have all their children’s names the same first letter. I think it’s kind of cute. I don’t know if I’ll end up doing the same, but it is an option I would consider. Right now, the whole multiple kids ordeal is so far in the future, I’m not even thinking about it.

5. Did you decide on baby names as a little girl? Did you stick to them or change your mind?
Not as a little girl, but probably around fifth grade was when I started really thinking about baby names. I used to be obsessed with them! But my favorites would change rather frequently, so I expect the names I do settle on for my babies will be a lot different than I imagined.

6. Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?
No. I mean, my brother does have my dad’s name but they have different middle names. And he didn’t carry on the name to his son.

7. Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?
Honestly, I don’t put too much stock in meanings. I think they’re important, but not so much that it hinders my decisions. For example, the name “Mallory” is one I love and it’s the name of a cousin of mine. Meaning? “Ill-omened.” Meanings carry very little weight for me.

8. Do you name pets with human names (Sally, Henry) or with pet names (Fluffy, Mr. Bo Bo)?
With all the dogs I’ve had (Minnie, Buford, Dutch), they’ve all been named previously so I had no input on that. (Although I did name the dog next door Rory, because he looks like one.) I had a bird, once, that I named Rachel. And a hamster named Shadow (from Homeward Bound…). I also had fish that I named Jack, Rose, Ti, and Tanic. I am nothing if not original. (And I also had a strange obsession with Titanic as a fifth-grader.)

9. Are there any names you have an affinity or dislike based on a childhood experience/someone you once knew?
There are a few names I’ve taken off my list thanks to other people having the same name. Sometimes, it just ruins the name, you know? And then there’s the names I used to hate due to knowing someone with the name, but then grew to love after knowing someone else with the same name.

10. What are some of your favorite names? Why?
I can’t give a reason to why I like these names so much, but I just love them. For girls: Aubrey, Bailey, and Lucia. For boys: Levi, Jonah, and Noah.

*Hosted by Chelsea

Categories: Recurring Series

Odds and Ends, the March Edition

  • It feels like anytime I write a post on how sometimes I need to step away from blogging to focus on other things, life always calms down enough for me to connect back with my blog. That’s what happened this week. While I talked about needing to step away, I managed to find time this week to post six times since Saturday. Funny how that works.
  • On my Ten on Tuesday post, I talked about how sucky my Blackberry’s battery is. Here’s the proof: yesterday, I took my phone off the charger at 6:10am (fully charged). I locked the screen and did not touch it until 10:15am to find that two and a half of my bars were gone. I had Twitter updates and e-mails from both my personal and school accounts but how do I lose that much power if I’m not even using it? I turned it off at 11am until 12:15pm and by 1:30pm, my battery was completely drained. That is how bad this battery life is. I wasn’t even using it fully during the time it was turned on, just every now and then. I have turned off all LED notifications and wifi, since I use the Sprint network. I close out of my programs the right way, not just clicking off them. I just got this phone in August and had to get a new battery because the one I had before was bad. I want to get my battery checked out again, but I’m learning that it might just be this type of phone. And if so, I really wish they would let me get something new. What do you think? Is it worth it going up to a Sprint store to get the battery checked out?
  • I tried going for a walk yesterday with my dog, but my heart really wasn’t into it. It put me in an awful mood for the rest of the night. I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to work out unless I know I’m going to feel it. There’s a saying that you never regret waking up early to go to the gym, but you always regret not going. For me, it’s such a false statement. I regret a lot of workouts because I don’t put my full heart and soul into them. Going for a walk around my neighborhood isn’t a workout. A part of me wanted to take off on a full run, but a bigger part knew what a terrible idea that would have been. And I know I do need to still take it easy. Even though I’m feeling much better, I’m still not completely healed. I still have the blisters and they still sting from time to time. I have to stop putting so much pressure on myself, which I think is the biggest thing I’ve learned from this virus.
  • I am completely enraptured with American Idol again. I tried to boycott, but I love this show. I wasn’t happy with the hiring of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, but they are actually pretty good! I still miss Simon, especially when they try to be too nice. Sometimes, I just want raw truth. Favorites so far? Casey, Scotty, Paul, and Jacob. No girls really stick out for me. The boys are so much better this year.
  • I’m making some big, huge changes to my blog in the next few months. I’ve cleaned up my sidebar a little, leaving it pretty minimalist. I’m still playing around with it, which I think is one of the most fun things about having a blog. Another big change is that I’m having a custom design! One of the girls I have a huge blog crush on is working with me to create a brand-new design. I’m really excited about it, because I have no doubt she’s going to do an amazing job.
  • Oh, and the biggest news? I bought my own domain name! I bought it through Blogger because it was the easiest way to go. Earlier on, I had thoughts of switching to WordPress and buying a domain through them, but Blogger makes is so user-friendly. And since I love Blogger (my only complaint is I wish they had password-protected posts), sticking with them was an easy decision. I am a little confused about if you need to resubscribe to my feed, although my .blogspot will redirect to my domain name. Anybody know?
  • This week has seemed the longest in the history of ever. I am so glad it’s finally Friday. I can’t wait to catch up on sleep, finish my short story (any takers to look it over and give me feedback?), and do some shopping.
What are your plans for the weekend?