Back to the Grind

I can't believe it's back to being Monday again.

I also can't believe how exhausted I am and it's only Monday.

Maybe I feel a little bad that Monday gets to be a such a bummer day.

But I'll give you a recap of last week:

1. Landed an internship for next semester doing social media. That's pretty cool!

2. Went to the gym 3 times during the week (that's an accomplishment, trust me).

3. Hosted a party for some of my friends. We called it Witches' night and involved us dressing up as witches and make pumpkins from pretty paper (thank you, Pinterest):

4. Watched Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. What you don't know is that I never before made it through both movies. I have fallen asleep every single time I tried to watch either of them (which may have been like one try for each movie). I feel the need to get Return of the King and polish it off.

It was a decent week. I didn't do as much as I hoped to with my schoolwork or work projects, but hopefully I'll do better this week. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Also, I'm wishing that my big bed would come soon. I think we're down to a couple of weeks worth of waiting now. HURRAY!

Monday Night: Exercise Night

I love a good weekend.

A weekend of relaxing. An extra day where I take a mental health day to recoup. Watching Arsenic and Old Lace with my sister-in-law and niece (I think we're on four years running with this tradition. We all adore Cary Grant.).

And then Monday comes around.

I've found that living in a basement apartment brings me trouble. I used to use the sun as an alarm clock. Currently, I don't see the sun in the morning. It's dark. So mornings are getting a little harder for me to handle.

So... what's on tap this week? Well, I've already landed myself an internship for next semester so it's figuring out 3-4 learning outcomes for that. As well as work, starting my paper, and getting ready for the Witches' night my friends and I are having.

But tonight? Tonight is always spent at the gym with my friend Lucy. We go and we work up a good sweat. Because I need to lose weight. Seriously. I think I'm going to have to post one of these days telling you about my journey/story of losing weight. But I do love gym night. 

Now I should go to bed. Since I'm having trouble waking up and all.

Vacation

It's been two and a half weeks. 

This is what happens when you move.

But I'm back now. Settled. The front room is mostly empty of boxes. I only have to take a couple of more trips to Target to purchase plastic bins for my nick-knacks and yarn (yep... I have a lot of yarn. I crochet. Did I mention that? I try to keep that on the DL...). So I can get back to blogging.

Since I've been away:

 Twin came into town and visited me. I gave him the grand tour of my office building.

 

 My boss said something rude so he bought me a maple bar to make it up to me.

I'm a sucker for a maple bar.

 

 Watched my sister play softball. 

She's still got it.

 Pumpkin spice is back at Starbucks. I usually get a hot chocolate.

Also, a place I frequent in the current locale is Beans & Brews. They have a maple vanilla that is to die for. Just as a recommendation.

 Why yes... I purchased new shoes that are totally not my normal style.

But I couldn't resist.

And now I'm looking at my outfit today and I realized that I should've worn them. DANG IT!

 I've discovered that Pandora is cruel.

See exhibit A above.

The weather has turned cold. There is frost on my windshield every morning.

And now an advertisement telling me about sunny vibes.

Don't worry. 77 days until Christmas and probably 75 until I'm back in San Diego.

Moving Week

I have good news and bad news...

Good news: I'm moving to a beautiful new apartment (BIG!!) with cheaper rent.

Bad news: I'm moving.

[source]

I loathe packing. I loathe loading up my car, driving two miles and unpacking the car. I hate reorganizing.

I do appreciate the de-junking process. I will be taking multiple trips to the local secondhand store with various donations.

But it also means between that, a full-time job and two graduate school courses, I'm running a little thin on time. So if I disappear again this week (like last week) just know that blogging had to come low on the priority list.

It happens. 

Sunburns

Is it really Monday?

Of course it is.

And yes... my face is bright red. You can't see it because I don't have a picture of it, but trust me when I say my forehead and my nose are red.

I got a sunburn on Saturday.

My favorite thing that all day people have been asking me, "Did you get some sun this weekend?"

I've started to say no and ask them what they mean. It throws them for a loop.

But being at a football game meant that it's been practically a week since I posted.

I love game day though:

 

 

I also really love football.

But really, I'm trying to just figure out which way to go:

Yes... this was on someone's house and was discovered on a walk with my friend.

Any suggestions?

Currently, Volume I

I love lists.

I have to-do lists at work, and to-do lists for home. And to-do lists for school.

Since my classes begin again this week, I'm going to give you a sneak peek into my currently lists:

Music:

1. She's So Mean by Matchbox Twenty

2. Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson

3. Waiting by Matt Wertz

4. Use Somebody by Tyrone Wells

TV Shows

1. Bunheads (ABC Family)

2. Perception (TNT)

3. Suits (USA Network)

4. White Collar (USA Network)

(I might be more in love with summer television than I am when it's the normal season)

All other quirky things:

Green or purple click pens

fabric shopping

sewing

new books

writing (duh)

pool time

8 mile bike rides (I really need to get a water bottle holder though...)

What are some of your current favorites? Do you have a favorite tune that you want to play in the car? Favorite TV show? Perhaps favorite book? I'd love to hear about it!

Fresh Start

I'm actually always grateful when Monday comes around. 

I have more energy on Monday than I do on Friday.

Plus, I get to put the past week behind me. Wednesday was my death day last week.

I had to be somewhere by 3:45 AM. I had to drive myself. So that meant I had to be awake and take a shower before leaving on said adventure. 

From there, I returned home to nap, shower, and prepare myself for a wedding. Then I went into work again for another hour before trekking north. 

The wedding was lovely. The drive home at 9:30 PM was not. 

But while I was in the land northward, I stopped by one set of grandparents' grave. Grandma passed away in March and I haven't been to visit since. I don't do death or aging really well. But I went and had a long talk with Grandma and Grandpa. 

In all honesty, they probably thought I was silly to be sitting there talking with them. But I just needed to express some things out loud, without my friends listening. 

And I believe they heard and laughed with me and maybe shed a tear. 

But the best part of Monday? It's putting away all my worries from last week, and starting fresh again. No mistakes. Not a big to-do list. 

TGIM... Thank God It's Monday.

Monday, Oh Monday

Saturday came and went without a good story. 

I'm sorry.

I ended up playing softball. And when I say I play softball, I don't just mean that I stand around in the outfield watching butterflies. I grew up with 6 brothers, remember? I know how to play.

Unfortunately for me, most guys don't want to give me a chance to show them.

(Story of my life sometimes... ha ha.)

But it was fun. I got a base hit. Felt good about that. Maybe played first base for two innings and caught some outs. 

And now we're to Monday, once again.

I heard this analogy today and I love it. I realize I should probably start talking about something OTHER than my dating life. This Saturday, I will. I'll tell an amazing story that has nothing to do with my dating life.

But here's the analogy with dating:

Think about how you shop. The clothes that you love that you consistently wear, they make you look good and feel good. They give back to you. Something on the rack? You have to try it on and sometimes it just doesn't look right. It's not the right fit. So you return it, put it back on the hanger and try again. Sure, your body changes but in reality you have your own style.

It's the same with dating. We try things out and we decide if things work out or if they don't. And we can return. But the best relationships are the ones that give back to us and make us feel good. 

So look for those relationships. 

And have fun! Because that's the best part of shopping.

It's why we, girls, don't love to shop alone. It's better to have someone with us.

(Trust me. I was measured for a bra for the first time a few weeks ago. My friend was there and it was easy to shop because she would say "Yes. That looks great" or "I like the other one better." Made my day. And now I have a real bra. That fits. Because my last one apparently shouldn't have...)

There's my advice for you and me today. Until tomorrow...