Categories: Recurring Series

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 2)


I missed doing this last week, although I planned on it. Friday was a super busy day for me so I never got a chance to even got online, much less write a blog post! So here’s my second installment! If you do one of your own, head over to ConversionDiary.com and submit your link.

One.
On Friday, I went to my brother’s apartment after work. He had the day off and my mom was babysitting my nephew while he did some shopping. My nephew, who is almost 14 months, went through a period of bursting into tears whenever he saw my mom and me. And he would only calm down if we took him in his room to play with him. Separation anxiety at its finest! Well, this Friday, I came into the apartment and put the food I brought on the table. I turned around and my nephew is holding onto my brother’s pants, with this humongous smile on his face. He let go of my brother and just about ran over to me to give me a hug! Then he sat down next to me and clapped! Seriously, best welcome ever! He’s never done that, although he has gotten better about not crying his eyes out when we come over now.

Two.
Mom and I bought a new game called In A Pickle. I didn’t read the instructions correctly, so we went through the entire 300+ deck of cards during our first game. Generally, for a two-player game, you go through 50 or so. Yeah. I realized that once we were mostly done with the game. But the game was a whole lot of fun!

Three.
Mom and I went to the recycling center to get rid of our plastic bottles, soda cans, and some glass last weekend. I love tossing the glass bottles into the bin and hearing the crash. It’s a good stress reliever. Try it sometime!

Four.
I’m so close to the end of this semester! Although I was excited to begin the semester, I have experienced more stress and exhaustion than ever before. Probably not at the level I was at with my final internship but a close second. I only have 9 assignments to go until I’m finished! I will be so excited to have a break from writing and studying and researching. It’ll be nice to recharge my batteries.

Five.
I really need to find 3 new purses. The one I use for school, when I bring my laptop, is one I’ve had for probably 3 years now. The one I use for school, when I don’t bring my laptop, is one I’ve had for over a year now. And the last one I use, for when I go out, is one I’ve had for about 2 years. So I’ve been searching and have found the two I (tentatively) want:Both are from Kohl’s. I actually found a really cute laptop bag from Target, but I can’t find it on their online store. It’s $30 and I really want it. I’ll be putting all three on my Christmas List. (Yes, I still make those!)

Six.
I’m still not sure what I want to do with my hair. I like it long but like it short. I love feeling cute and sassy with a short hairstyle but also love the feel of my long hair. Because let’s face it: I have beautiful hair. I’ve been told on numerous occasions by complete strangers how beautiful my hair is. It’s my best feature. And yes, I’m a bit conceited when it comes to my hair. I have a hair appointment on Black Friday for a haircut. I’ll be scouring hair magazines and hair websites in the meantime but I’m leaning toward a trim, but haven’t decided whether to grow my bangs out (they’re chin-length now) or cut them. I’m usually not this indecisive when it comes to my hair.

Seven.
I went to work in a horrible mood on Wednesday. And I try but it’s really, really hard to stay in a bad mood when surrounded by bubbly, joyful two-year-olds. Granted, they are not always that way but bright early in the morning, they are bubbly and joyful. Kids just have such a great spirit about them. It’s hard to stay in an awful mood with happy kids!

Categories: Recurring Series

Ten on Tuesday (vol. 3)

If you do this as well, click here to submit your link!

1. What are some of your family traditions?
We have a lot, and none of them big. But I like our traditions and I really don’t want to grow up, leave home, and have to deal with making new ones. (That scares me. A lot.) Anyway, when my brother and I were growing up, we started a tradition of sleeping in the same room and trying to stay up all night. My mom let us open presents at 6am so we tried our hardest to stay awake. We were allowed to get our stockings after midnight, which was always like the precursor to Christmas. My brother moved out in 2006 and now I actually get some sleep on Christmas Eve! As a side note, we only managed to stay awake one Christmas and it was because we stayed over at my uncle’s house and had his plethora of movies to watch during the night. (But I ended up crashing at 8am the next day.)

Anyway, our Thanksgiving tradition is Mom and I waking up at the crack of dawn to participate in the Turkey Trot. This will be our fourth year and we’re trying out the 10K. My mom is running it and I’m trying the walk/run. (I’m not excited about this. Sorry, Mom!) After breakfast at IHOP and a shower, we head over to my grandma’s. The guys and I watch football while my mom and my grandma and my grandfather cook. Dinner is at 3pm but we never eat until 4pm or later. We eat dinner, have lots of laughs, and then my mom usually cleans up the kitchen. The rest of us laze around, watching football.

Christmas is done similarly. My mom and I wake up whenever and open presents. My brother comes over to open presents and give us his gifts. And then in the late afternoon, Mom and I head over to my grandma’s for a repeat of Thanksgiving. We open more gifts, eat a lot of good food. The only problem with Christmas is a.) Christmas season is over and b.) no football!

And this was an extremely long answer. I applaud anyone who read this whole thing. I’ll eat one of my extra-special Christmas cookies for you.

2. Do you know how to change a flat tire?
No, I don’t. I would like to learn, only because I have major anxiety when it comes to having something go wrong with a car. When I was younger, my mom, brother, and I were driving back to our apartment from my grandma’s house when our tire blew out. It was horrible, on a super-busy road and we had to walk home. People kept stopping us to give us a ride but my mom declined every time, showing us not to hitch rides with strangers! She also bribed us with the offer of an ice-cold Coca-Cola when we got home. (Back in the day when Kool-Aid or milk were our only drink options.)

3. Do you subscribe to any magazines? What are your favorites?
The only magazine I subscribe to is Shape and I love this magazine to pieces. It is chock full of healthy living advice, beauty advice, awesome success stories, and great workout ideas. I do enjoy reading Us Weekly because it’s nice to sit back and read some great gossip. It’s a nice relaxer. But that’s about it.

4. What are your top three favorite office supply items? (If you don’t share the love of office supplies with me or if you are male, you may skip this question.)

Well, I do love office supplies so I will participate.

First off, I’d start with a pen. My current favorite is the Pilt EasyTouch Retractable Ballpoint Pen in clear. It writes so well and smoothly. I love it.

Post-Its! Of course! Who doesn’t love Post-Its? I don’t use them as much as I did but I love the Post-It Flags, for marking my spot in a book. I’m not big on bookmarks or dog-earing so these Post-Its work great! (And I, too, love when I finish a dispenser and have a new color to look forward to!)

Page protectors. I use them for school, mainly to hold my syllabi for classes. My eighth-grade English teacher was a big fan of these and totally turned me onto this amazing office supply. I always make sure I have them in stock for any necessary emergency.

5. Are you a good public speaker?
No, I’m awful. I make a lot of awkward pauses, say “um” a lot, and get the shakes. I quickly get a dry throat and I hate every aspect of it. I lose my train of thought, as well. I think this is a major reason why I failed at teaching.

6. How do you feel about acronyms?
Acronyms? I have no feeling about them whatsoever. Kind of like asking how I feel about Sweden.

7. What’s the most creative things you’ve ever done? (Bloggers, feel free to include pictures!)
Oh man. This is going to be hard. I’m not a creative person at all. I just write well. I have no answer for this. I’m just too boring.

8. I’d rather jam a pen in my eye than…
…read about vampires or witchcraft. I don’t get the buzz about Harry Potter or Twilight. I tried getting into Harry Potter but I honestly couldn’t stand the books. They annoyed me. I haven’t “tried” Twilight yet but have no urge to go out and buy the book. None at all.

9. What company has the best advertising?
I love Microsoft’s response to the Mac ads. I hate the Mac ads. And they are so stereotypical, it’s just wrong. I love, love, love Coor’s Light ads, with the press conferences. They are my absolute favorite!

10. When is your birthday?
My birthday is on the 28th of this month. Am I excited? You betcha! It falls the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Mom and I are still deciding whether to venture up to Orlando for the weekend or not. But I love my birthday and celebrate it all month long. I’m also have 3 birthday celebrations, ha! One with my brother and nephew, one with my family on Thanksgiving, and a third with just my mom and me. I. Can’t. Wait!