Arts and Crafty

Today after I got everything done that really needed to be done I was so stressed out. Thankfully, I've been planning on turning one of my dresses into a skirt and it gave me something to relieve some stress that built up from all my running around. I haven't tried it on, so I might have to do some alterations to it, but so far this is the finished product. I'm quite excited to wear it! I got this dress a few years ago and I have worn it only twice. Once as a dress and once all pinned up into a skirt. I really liked wearing it as a skirt. With that said...tah dah!!

Let Whatever You Do Today Be Enough

Since I started classes on the 17th I have only been able to run twice. One of those times was today! I was so excited to put on my running shoes. I had to go to the gym to do some stretching and work on some things from my modern class, so I decided to take my shoes with me. It felt so good! I only had time to do about 25 minutes, but I figure that between that, my small 30 minute stretching/ab workout session with my friend, and the hour and a half of dance class I took this morning, that I've done enough today. I'm tired!
I had quite a lot of things to get done today, but there are several things I will have to push to tomorrow since my mind basically turns to mush after 10. Oh well. I like to think of the saying, "Let whatever you do today be enough." I have to tell this to myself sometimes because I usually want to cram everything in and get it done. A lot of the time when I do this the outcome is not satisfactory, or I don't enjoy doing it. I want to enjoy as much as I can about the things I do! So I have to remind myself to step back...I don't have to get everything done right away, and I can't stress over things that can be left to tomorrow. Quality and enjoyment should never be sacrificed for quantity, in my opinion.
All in all I had a good day, though. I got a job, and I got a great workout in! I'll be posting about that later this week after I work out the details. Also, this week I will be working on an art project. I'm getting my creative juices flowing (sort of not really), and it feels good!

My current computer background....It de-stresses me and my to-do list. (:

If I had a super power...

If I had a super power it would be speed. Then I would be able to read really fast and have a chance to read all the books in the world.
Today while We were at The Square in Oxford we stopped by a couple of stores, two of them being bookstores. I always love being in a bookstore. There is just something about the shelves and shelves of books just waiting to be read that amazes me....like if I could read every book there I would get the answer to all of life's questions. Magical!
I didn't get a book today because I currently have three books I'm trying to get through, (The Fitting Room, Mansfield Park, and Water For Elephants) but as soon as I finish them I plan on getting three more books to read. I am not sure which ones I should tackle next. I need suggestions!!

Day 27: Love friends!

I'm posting this from my phone! We'll see how this goes (: Today I headed up to Oxford after my classes (which were quite a blessing today), to see Laura, Kate, and Zack! It was so good to get away from school, even though I haven't been back long at all. After we chilled a while, which explains the pick of Kate and Laura playing on their phones, us girls went over to AJax's to eat dinner with Zack. It was do good and fun! I've never eaten there wrote and it was quite delicious. Laura and I shared some good veggies. Yum!! After dinner we all met back up at Kate's apartment and watched a movie. Fun!

Back to my classes today - I got a blessing! While I was in history I helped a woman with her notes. At the end of class we got to talking and she told me she was from Cuba, and she needed some help understanding what we were doing in history. After asking me a few questions and talking a bit she offered to tutor me in Spanish of I were to help her with history. I'm do excited! God is taking care of me and my language anxieties for sure!!

I have another (hopefully) great day with my friends here in Oxford tomorrow. I can't wait to see what we have in store. A picnic in the grove? You bet!

Day 26: Homework...gross

Well I just finished my first big batch of homework. I finally got the rest of my textbooks today after class, and I thought I might get started. [It's not like I've waited until 2 weeks to finish getting my books or anything. (:] I'm thinking that I'm not going to keep waiting until the night before it's done to do my homework this semester. I'm a slow reader and I did not realize how much I would be reading when I signed up for my classes this semester (I'm taking sociology, history, AND literature along with two other easier classes.) What was I thinking?!
I am very pleased that I'm done for the day, though. I when my alarm went off this morning for me to go running, I woke up the a crazy loud and heavy thunderstorm. I went back to sleep, but now that I've finished everything up I'm so excited that I can put on my running shoes and head to the indoor track we have here at school!
Tomorrow I will be heading up to Oxford to visit with my sister and a few of my dear friends. We'll have to see what kind of shenanigans we will get into this weekend. I'm really looking forward to it!

Day 25: New plans to be excited for!

Well as of today I have some new and exciting stuff to add to my plans this year! I found out I've been accepted into the study abroad program at school! I applied back in August, so finally hearing from them is great. Now I'm feeling my need for a job more than ever. Tomorrow I'm going into high gear work search mode. I guess I really need to start working on my Spanish now, too. Wish me luck!

Day 24: Deal Lover

I had to go to the store today and get a few things. I wasn't really feeling like going all the way over to Target so I just stopped by the campus store thinking that I could just run in and get what I need. I could have done that very thing, but one look at the prices and I thought, "Hey! There is no way I'm paying this much money for some contact solution!" With that said, I decided to do some comparison. I snapped some pics of the things I needed, comparing the campus store to Target.
The first picture is NyQuil from Target. Not only is it a dollar fifty less, but it also has twice as much product in the box. I noticed this with the other products too. I think my college is trying to rip me off...

                  

 I also needed some more contact solution. This time there was also twice as much for a less price at Target. The same happened with the toothpaste! What's with this?

So I know that this discovery might not be such a big deal to you, but I am so glad that I found this out! I'm pretty sure I saved a good $5 not counting what I saved with my coupons!
As I was strolling the aisles after finding the things I needed, I cam across these dried banana chips. Now you might be all, "Gross Anna. How could you eat that?" I wasn't so  sure, but I was curious enough to get them and have a try. They are actually really good! I'm so excited that I've found another healthy food I can have as a snack. (I checked and they really are healthy, not just fake healthy!)

Day 22: Work

Finding work is hard work! Today I decided to start my official job search and so far....one application. No one is hiring! I did not have that much time today, anyway, because it is Sunday and therefore cram in all your homework day, and I did not get to go many places. Tomorrow I will prevail, though. I have several places that I want to apply at, so we'll have to see how this goes. I am really going to need a job if I'm going to be reaching my goal to finance another trip this year, not to mention school and life in general. If you have any suggestions of places I should check out, let me know in the moment section. ( :
Have a good week, everyone!

Day 21: Marathon Makeover

Hi Everyone! Today was the kickoff for Marathon Makeover 2012, and I think I'm right to say this looks like it is going to be a great year! If you did not watch the video, check it out! I encourage you to go to the website for Marathon Makeover and see if it is something you're interested. I don't know anyone who has done this program and not like it. I did it! It has helped me with fulfill my biggest accomplishment so far.


For all of you who made fitness your 2012 resolution. I challenge you to do this!

Day 20: Big Day Tomorrow!

Well tomorrow is the big day. It's the 2012 kickoff for Marathon Makeover! (Check out the website!) For those of you who do not know, this is my parent's business that trains people to go from couch potatoes to marathoners. It is such a great program. I'm not just saying this because I am their daughter, but because I took part in it last year and it was such a good thing for me to do.

For the past few moments I have been sitting here at the computer making out a playlist music to take up noise while everyone is waiting for the informational meeting to start. I've decided to go with some good, upbeat tunes like "Ain't Nothing Wrong With That" (Robert Randolph & the Family Band) and "Count On Me" (Mat Kearney).

One of the things I like so much about the Marathon Makeover events is that I am always put in charge of the music that is played. I take my music very seriously, and it is nice to be asked to play DJ every once in a while. I really like to put in some good dance music so that people are encouraged to move around and have fun, me being a dancer and all. I'm usually successful, too! Last year the kickoff took place right after "Hey Ya" was released on the new "Just Dance 2" video game and when it played through the speakers in the building several wonderfully shameless people actually started doing the choreography. It was great! The best so far, though, was after the Run For Life Marathon I had the announcer play "Party Rock Anthem" over the sound system and we had ourselves a giddy little dance party...A big dance party actually. We had people dancing that we would have never guessed would  do so in a million years.

Some of my favorite memories are accompanied by music. It's kind of like a life soundtrack!
Here are a few of the songs I'm finding are good memory makers in our household right now:

"Ain't Nothing Wrong With That" by Robert Randolph & the Family Band
"Winner Takes It All" by Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!
"Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO
"Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO ... Long funny story. We just can't get enough of this song! (Well, except for Caroline)

Day 19: Countdown

I'm such a summer baby. Most of my best memories have come from the summer, and it is hard for me to think of a time of the year that I am ever happier than I am during those few months between school where the weather is sweltering hot, the sun is bright and my only obligation is to go to the beach...not to mention that my birthday is smack-dab in the middle of the summer. It will not come as a surprise to you, after hearing this, that I have already begun counting down until the day in May that I can pack my bags and head back home to enjoy the months of summer with my family and friends.

As my picture of the day I would like to post this screen shot from my phone. I have the wonderful app that counts down the days until a big event. My big event is summer! Now you might be thinking, "Now Anna, you shouldn't wish your life away for better days," but trust me, I'm not. I am very much enjoying my spring semester of classes, and I'm looking forward to what is going to happen before these 113 days are up!

After thinking about how few days 113 is I realized that I need a goal. Really, I'm not much of a competitive person, so goals are kind of hard for me. I was talking to a friend today, discussing my noncompetitive tendencies with him and I had a light bulb moment. Maybe I need to be more competitive and be more driven so that I can actually get the things I want (example = that dance audition I had yesterday). Therefore, I'm going to be more competitive with my strong will to say, "whatever" and slap this 113 day deadline in the face with some accomplishments.

Here are some things that I want to be better at or have done by the end of this semester:

1. I'm going to be ready to run another half-marathon by the end of these days so that when I get home I can go out with my runners and get another medal.
2. I will learn to talk less and listen more. I tend to get on a roll then go on and on when I talk to people. I forget to listen sometimes.
3. I want to have at least a third of the money raised to finance my next trip abroad.

These are small goals, but it is important to have even the smallest of goals. Everyone needs things that they can work towards and things that break up the monotony of everyday routine. Although routine can be good and is a big part in success, I believe that routine is one of those things we are given to break and not bubble rap like an ole vase. It is where we get our best inspirations and most memorable moments.

I guess that is one of the things that make summer so alluring to me during these winter months...routine, or the lack there of. Summer's just great like that.

Day 18: OEC!!!

Today was quite a long day. I had an early class so I'm pretty sure I was up before the sun. Once the sun came up, though, the day was quite beautiful! After all of my classes I went to the dance department's RDC audition and danced for a good two hours. It was so fun! Between dancing and them posting the results I walked over to OEC with my friend Deanna and got this yummy meal. Unfortunately I did not make it - I'm a dance minor and they cast mainly majors - but I'm very optimistic that I will do better on my next audition and hopefully make it. So may this next semester be dedicated to improvement and enjoying my dancing more!

Day 17: Rain Rain Go Away

Well classes started today. Luckily on Tuesdays I don't have classes until 1:00. The downside to that is that I have back to back classes until 5. Whatever gets the job done right? Instead of sleeping in this morning, I woke up and got a good workout in before I got started with the day. Thankfully it was not raining yet, but once I was ready to actually get out and have to walk around campus, of course, it was raining...and not just a little drizzle. It has been drenching ever since I left for classes. What is one of the few things I forgot to pack? An umbrella. I guess I'll have to be more responsible next time I pack! I hope that everyone has a wonderful hump day tomorrow! Halfway to the weekend, yay!!

Day 16: Back to School!

Well I'm back in Hattiesburg and the wonderful weather and my fresh, clean room have me very optimistic about the remaining 116 days of my sophomore year of college. I'm almost half-way through my college career! I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

Ok so I promise my picture will not be of food every day, but I just happen to really like it! So there will be many days where that will happen. It's kind of true that my days revolve around what I eat, though. Today, when I got into town I walked over to the neat coffee shop across the street from campus, Java Werks, and got a snack. Doesn't that blueberry muffin look just delectable? It was. After picking up my muffin and caramel coffee and walking back to my room to unpack I decided that my new spot is going to be one of the tables at Java Werks. I'm so excited!

Day 15: Guilty Pleasures

Is it possible to have too many guilty pleasures? I can think of a couple that I have off the top of my head that I have (the delicious combination of Wendy's frosty and fries, and the movie Disturbia), but I am sure that I have more. Disturbia is the one movie I have made sure is packed to take with me back to school and today after going to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D, we went and got my other guilty pleasure!

Am I the only one that thinks so, or is this one of the best food combinations that God has given to man? It's the best for sure.

Day 14: Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands...

"Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands..."

-Elle Woods

Can you guess the quote? If you guessed Legally Blonde, then BINGO! This is one of my favorite movies. Whenever it is on the TV I just can't bring myself to change it....I'm a big Reese Witherspoon fan. The first time I heard her character say this I just laughed, but I have actually come to use the quote as a reason for why I exercise. I mean, it's true! Doesn't it make you feel all cheerful or at least good after you run around doing something fun or have a dance session or whatever you fancy for a bit?

Now for today's photo... I went running this morning! I did about 5 miles and it felt absolutely wonderful. It was a great way to start off my last weekend at home before spring semester starts. I have not run since the beginning of December when I did the St. Jude Half Marathon, and I have missed the trails and running with the wonderful running buddies so much.  *By the way I am still taking donations on my St. Jude page until January 31! (Sponsor Website)* After, we went to brunch at Corner Bakery Cafe, my favorite. Now, I feel the best I have in such a long time and I am in such a good mood that I feel like I could spend the whole day in the sun wasting time and having fun. Maybe that's what I'll do!

So to tie things all together I have a challenge for you all. Let's make ourselves happier people. If it's as easy as just going out and throwing a ball around, taking a walk with people you enjoy, have a dance party in your kitchen with your family...whatever gets those endorphins flowing, get off of the couch and do it because life is too short to not feel the happiness they create!

For some inspiration here are a few of my favorite songs from my running playlist that really get me moving:

"I Like How It Feels" by Enrique Iglesias
"Domino" by Jesse J
"Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse
"Hey Hey Hey" and "I'll Be Waiting" by Michael Franti

Enjoy and get moving!
Anna

Day 13: "Una nota falsa" and eggplant!

Is it weird that I'm excited about getting a textbook in the mail? Really, I love getting anything in the mail. If you want to make me happy that is pretty much all you have to do... But a textbook? I promise I'm not just desperate for mail. See I have been taking Spanish classes for about four years now, and you would think that with that much time I would be able to hold my own in a conversation with someone...wrong! The thing is I get stage fright. I know what you're thinking, "But Anna, you are a dancer. How do you get stage fright!?" It's totally different when you can't see the faces of the people you are "performing" for. As soon as someone starts talking to me in Spanish I totally go blank - I can't even think in English. It's crazy! Anyway, I haven't done any studying to prepare for my next semester of language classes since I took my exam during finals. Then lo and behold today this came in the mail and I thought, " Oh great. What have I gotten myself into. I have to read a whole book this time?" I decide to flip through the book to try and get familiar with it before class start and guess what. I read through a bit of it and understood it like English or something. I'm so so excited now! Guess I just needed a break.

Aaaannnddd...We had fried eggplant with dinner! It's one of my favorite foods, and I have not had it in a really long time. Thanks to pizza and good stuff like this, my vegetarian adventure is going just fine so far! Oh and some healthy vegetables as well.

Day 12: The little things that count

This is my view as we waited to pick Caroline up from school. The sky was beautiful blue which was a nice break from that nasty weather that has been in town the past few days. I hope that we get a few more of these pretty days.

I leave home in a few days to go back to classes, and it is a little bitter sweet. I am quite excited to be getting back into my schedule of school and dance down in Hattiesburg, but I really like being home spending time with my family doing everyday stuff...like sitting in the carpool line listening to music and enjoying the weather.

Here is my other little things of my day that made it good:

Today Caroline borrowed one of my purses and found my favorite lip balm! Now, this might not sound like a bid deal, but trust me, it really is. I got this one during the summer and it is the best I've had. I was devastated when I thought I lost it forever, but thank goodness Caroline found it!

Then I got a new a new coffee cup to add to my collection! Now I am the proud owner of 3 very different, but matching coffee cups (One is bright red and the other is a pretty white and turquoise pattern).

I found my new preferred flavor of Vitamin Water...not as big a deal as the cup or lip balm, but all the same a little thing that matters.

Today was definitely a good example of how the little things are what make life good.

Day 11: Truth about Lies ... and awesome drinks

First, the picture... This is my view of dessert tonight. Dinner was good, but my favorite part was the huge brownie and coffee I got to enjoy during hymns and Wednesday night study. This brownie was huge! It was definitely worth skipping the chocolate eruption cheesecake I could have had at lunch.

I have other pictures to follow, but I wanted to share something I learned tonight first. It's not like I didn't know the main lesson already, I mean it's that lying is bad and truth is good, but the speaker for tonight gave a very good example. He talked about Abraham and Sarah, about their lie that she was his sister, and how that one little lie affected the course of history. If you do not know the story, in short it is that Sarah was very beautiful so when she and Abraham entered Egypt they decided to tell the people she was his sister that they were brother and sister so that he would not be kept.  After hearing about Sarah, the pharaoh took her as his wife and kept Abraham in great riches. Soon he found out that Sarah was married to Abraham and banished them because of their bad morality, but he let them keep all their riches and servants. Sarah thought she could not have children so Abraham had a son with her servant and named him Ishmael, then he ended up having a son with Sarah. It was then said that Ishmael's descendants would be against each other. Muhammad is in direct lineage of  Ishmael, directly followed by Sadam Husain, Gadaffi. I think that's crazy how one little white lie causes such big things in history. What would have happened if Abraham had not lied about Sarah being his sister? What are untrue things we say that could be more important that we think?


Now for some lighter stuff... My mom and I went to Sweet Pepper's today and had lunch with one of our great friends! We just had to eat there because they have the coolest new drink machine!

Coke has come out with this cool new drink machine that pretty much allows you to make up your own drink concoction. All you have to do is decide what brand you want (Sprite, Coke, Coke Zero, Fanta, Barq's, Dr. P, etc) and click on it, then it goes to another screen and you pick what flavor of that flavor do you want. There were so many options! I ended up with vanilla Coke, my mother ended up with strawberry Sprite, then lime Coke, and Pam ended up with grape Fanta. It's insanity! Everyone should definitely go to Sweet Pepper's Deli at the Renaissance and check it out.

Day 10: Dessert!

Today was quite a boring day. I stayed home all day waiting for a UPS package that did not arrive and was not for me....

...Oh well! It's Tuesday, so that means Biggest Loser and an ice cream treat!! It is one of my guilty pleasures to eat something bad while watching Biggest Loser. It makes me feel like I am breaking the rules.

Day 9: Let's Eat!

Let's Eat! ... Not this! If you can not tell what this is, it is Vienna Sausages. This right here is one of the reasons I'm going to try vegetarianism. (No offense to those who enjoy eating these) Caroline likes to eat these and just seeing her cook them and smelling them when she sits at the table sets me on edge...sorry Caroline! I've never been a big hot dog/mystery meat/heavily preserved meat eater and a recent documentary I have seen has sealed my fate a little bit more.
The other day, my dad and I watch a TV program called "Food Inc." which was a documentary about today's food industry and how it has been taken over my over processing and unhealthy production procedures. It really grossed me out and made me kind of sad. I am a very visual person so this was probably not a good idea for me to be watching this show. I just could not take my eyes from the screen, though. I learned a lot of things like the fact that the number of companies controlling our meat production and consumption is in the single digits, and farmers are being paid and are held under contract not to tell us, the consumer, how our food is raised and processed. We need to know what is in our food, people!
With this said, I have decided I need to become more aware of what I am putting in my body. This is not to say that I think that being a vegetarian is going to totally do that for me, but at this moment in time, especially with all the mystery meat my school tries to feed us, I'm going to turn towards the healthy vegetable alternatives. I need to have more of those in my diet anyway.
Now for some happier photos. I decided that today I would make all my pictures ones of the food I consumed today. Enjoy!

Today I was really wanting some avocado, so when I went to the grocery store with my mom we got some guacamole mix. It was delicious! There is still some left over so I can't wait to eat the rest tomorrow!  


  


We also picked up some pizza! This is my favorite food. Ask anyone, and they would probably tell you that I could eat it every day. It's true...I'm a pizza fanatic and there is nothing I can do about it. This one was a thin crust cheese and tomato pizza. I'm definitely going to buy this brand again because it was great. My mom and I at the WHOLE THING!

Day 8: Healthy Obsession?

I have a new TV obsession. I enjoyed "New Girl" for a while, but now I'm kind of over it, so I have been looking for a good show that I could get hooked on. I found it! It's the new show "Once Upon a Time," and I'm totally loving it so far. It's by the same people who wrote "Lost," so how could they go wrong? I saw the commercials for it back in the fall and got a little curious, but there was not much extra time so it fell to the wayside and I never got to check it out. Yesterday, though, I walked in the room as my mom was watching it and I got stuck watching the last half. Now I am hooked. Muti and I sat and watched 4 or 5 episodes this afternoon! I'm really enjoying trying to figure out who everyone is.
If you don't know what it's about, the storyline is that all the people living in this little town are trapped by a curse, but they do not know it, and they are actually all fairy tale characters like Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella, and Red Riding Hood from an alternate reality or something. It sounds lame, but it's great, and it is always fun to have a story to get into for a while each week and kind of take a load off. I can't wait to see how the writers work out this complicated story!
Are there any programs that you just can not miss?

Day 7: Blue Skies

Is it really winter? It definitely did not feel like it today with the sunny skies and temperature in the 70s! I think God heard my prayer earlier in the fall when I asked him for a good winter...I really don't like the cold. I am very pleased with this weather, though! I even spent a bit of time outside today to enjoy it. This morning my mother and one of her good running buddies took advantage of the good weather and went running this morning, ( GO TEAM!!), and Caroline, my dad, and I met them at the wonderful Jo's Diner after they finished. It was delicious! This picture was taken by Caroline on the way home from breakfast as we were crossing back over the reservoir. Isn't it beautiful?  We took great advantage of these beautiful blue skies by opening the sun roof and cranking up the tunes. Today was a Party Rockin' day. We love our Redfoo and Skyblu! It had me already daydreaming about my days in the sun this summer. I hope that we get a few more wonderful days like this before the inevitable cold comes our way.

Day 6: Chololate Heaven ... Hopefully

Since I finally went away away from home for college I have finally realized how much I enjoy the kitchen in my home and the time spend with my family there. I really like to spend time every now and then cooking and have now become quite interested in cookbooks. Today, my mother and I came across this one today. It's over 100 recipes for chocolate things. I'm so excited to make something from it! Maybe I will try to make whatever this is on the cover. That would probably be delicious!

Day 5: Tag-Teaming

These are my dogs Daisy and Zoey. We've had Daisy for about five years, and Zoey came into our family this summer when my parents and I went on a trip to Dallas. Daisy was not pleased at all when we brought home Zoey because she is used to being queen bee around this joint. Ask anyone who has ever spent time in our house and they would agree.

    For the past several months it has been quite evident that Zoey will never stand a chance when it comes to getting on Daisy's good side, or so we thought. Now I'm not so sure. Since I've been home I've noticed that there might be a friendship bonding between this unlikely pair. Don't get me wrong...This is ALL the work of Zoey, and none of Daisy, but I do believe Zoey might be creeping into Daisy's small grinchy heart.
    Daisy, in her small size, is very easily ignored, unlike Zoey. I realize the other day that my dogs were using this to their advantage. The other day Daisy was going around the house trying to tell anyone that would listen that she wanted to go outside. When she didn't get what she wanted, she dejectedly sat in the middle of the kitchen doorway. When she saw this Zoey got up from her bed and they huddled for a few moments then Zoey went up to my dad and licked him until he let her out. I was very impressed by  Zoey's quite intentional (it seemed) strategy. I think she knows what she's doing.
    Maybe I'm crazy for devoting a whole blog post about my dogs, but watching them while I've been home has definitely entertained me over the past few weeks.

Day 4: Tah Dah!

I finished my savings jar! Now I am so excited to watch it fill up a few times and try to decide where to go...put some suggestions in the comment section!

    I am very pleased with the finished product. I only wish I could have fit all of the little pictures I printed out onto the jar. I think I will just drop them inside so that I will see them when I empty it. I got the pictures from perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com. The person who composes this Tumblr comes up with some pretty good pictures. I ended up going through several pictures and picking out just a few of my favorites.

Day 3: Who Left the Pickle in the Pickle Jar?

Today while taking some things out of the fridge, I came across this jar taking up room. It's rather large, and what is in it? ONE PICKLE!! Who leaves just one slice of pickle? Why not just take it and throw the jar away? Sometimes I wonder what goes through the heads of the people I live with (I love them, though!).
Right as I was about to throw the jar away I changed my mind! When I was rinsing it out I remembered a day a little over half a year ago that I was texting someone while at the grocery store. I was going to visit him soon and out of all the things he asked me to bring him from America, he wanted pickles.  Well, you can't take pickles on a plane so needless to say, he didn't get the pickles, but the thought still makes me laugh sometimes. Here's where the saving the jar part comes in: I have decided that I want to go on another adventure, like last year, by the end of 2012. I saved up the majority of all the money I ever made from June 2010 to June 2011 for my last, and one of the most effective ways for my saving was having a money jar. Therefore, I'm bringing about new savings in the form of this pickle jar! I'm going to decorate it after it goes through the was and make it beautiful to add more inspiration. I will post another picture of that later.
Isn't it great how random things can bring about great thoughts? I love it, and I am now very pleased with what started out as a second long annoyance. Can't wait to start filling up this pickle jar and get moving towards my next trip!

P.s. Caroline just told me it was her, and it was one pickle too many for her tuna.

Day 2: Just For Fun

Today was quite a good day! I ended up running out to the mall with some friends, and not only did we score some good deals, but we also went to the Lancome makeup counter and got our faces done... a first for me. It was a great experience. The woman who we saw (She was kind enough to take a picture with us!!) was so nice and I learned several new things. One of the best things about this outing, though, is that it was just for fun.
I don't think people do enough things with the intent of "just for fun." I know I don't. Most of my free time is wasted thinking of something reasonable to do. Usually the simple or just because things can be the best, but are a lot of the time missed. This leads to getting stuck in a rut and ruts are bad...doesn't everyone prefer to keep moving? I get bored in ruts.
When you get out of the rut and onto the road, going with the flow, and filling some free time with "just for fun"s, and "Why not"s. Life is way more interesting and more is learned. If I had not said why not and stayed home today, I would not have gotten to learn things from the makeup artist, had a great time with my friends, and all I would have had to say for the day was hours of "Sister Wives" and Sour Patch Kids. <-- Definitely a rut kind of day.
So my challenge to you today is to not sit around, but instead pave over your ruts with Just Because's and Why Not's. I'm glad I did and I'm excited to more of these days in the future!!

Starting the Year Off Right

One of my favorite days of the year is New Year's Day. Not only is it the first day of the year, but it is the last official day of the my family's Christmas time celebrations, the last time that my family gets together to eat good food and spend good time together. I guess you could say it's my family's big sending off of everyone for the year.
My picture today is my plate from lunch. We have the same two foods in our meal pretty much every year: Cabbage in the form of cole slaw (prosperity for the future), black eyed peas (good luck). The old people actually eat straight boiled cabbage, but I can't get past the way it looks, so I wimp out with for the cole slaw. Yum!
I never put much thought into why we do this. We aren't superstitious or anything, but I got some thoughts from it today... Everyone wants to be wealthy and lucky, including me. Usually, though, people never do anything about it. I wasn't going to make a resolution this year -  I usually don't - but I do think this year I will make an effort to not just say that I want this or that but actually work to make it happen. As of today, I want to be more a person of action and not a "someday I will..." person.

In honor of my black eyed peas and cabbage, may everyone have better luck and prosperity in 2012...but may you work for it too. (:

Oh and we had some more "Baptist Champagne," as Mimi would call it, today, too! I love this stuff!!








Anna

Happy New Year!

Today - err yesterday? - was New Years Eve!! I have to say I have been very blessed with such a great 2011 and I hope that this next year will be just as good, if not better. This past year was the best yet. I got to do my first international traveling, start my second year of college at a new school, and run my first 5K, 10K, marathon, and half-marathon. I expect great things for 2012.
My family and I decided to start this new year off right tonight with an intimate gathering involving four of our five, a good friend of my little sister, and one of my best friends and her family. It was so fun preparing for it as well as actually having it! For my first day of pictures, I have selected a few to blog on!

For my wonderful friends and family I got adventurous and made my first attempt at tomato basil soup. This is some point in the cooking process before I blended it all up and the blender spewed hot tomato soup across the kitchen and down my shirt. It was a learning experience. I have to say, though, that it was quite a success. I think I will make it a couple more times and try to improve it because it came out kind on thin in the end, though. I need suggestions.

This is my friend Mrs. Renee pouring our new years drinks! Bubbly grape juice, of course! Only 2 more years until it is the real thing. Even then we probably won't have the real thing, though. It just wouldn't be right in the name of tradition.

My mom is so funny! She really seemed to be enjoying her drink. (BTW she is doing a year in pictures blog also. check it out at reluctantmarathoner.blogspot.com. She's great!)

New years eve part dos...We always do the countdown twice. Once at 11 with Dick Clark in NYC and then again for real! 

 

What a great NYE I had! I can't wait for the days and pictures that are to come! I can already tell that this is going to be a great year.

XXX
 Anna