Oscars Recap

Soo...what did everyone think of the Oscars this year? I always forget how long the show is (three and a half hours? Really??), and I hate that they save all of the best awards for last. By eleven, I had enough of the Oscars and decided to check online later to see who the big winners were. I chose to Skype with one of my dear friends who goes to school in Virginia instead. I was very happy to read that Colin Firth won best actor (He will always be Mr. Darcy to me <3), and that the lovely Natalie Portman took home best actress. I think it is so precious that Natalie Portman is pregnant right now, too. It is like her future bebe can say he was there when she received her Oscar- how sweet is that? I remember when I was little, my best friend told me how she had never been on a plane before except, "one time when my mom was pregnant with me, and we flew to California." It's funny we thought that way when we were so little.

Via Google Image Search

Anyway, I thought almost everyone's dresses looked gorgeous last night. Wouldn't you love to be Anne Hathaway and be able to switch gowns so many times in one evening? She looked beautiful in all of them, too! Do you know who else was looking incredible- Jennifer Hudson! I loved her in that red gown. She looked fantastic. As for gowns I did not enjoy...definitely Florence from Florence and the Machines and even Amy Adams. Mehh...

Unfortunately, I have to admit that she and James Franco were kinda lame when it came to hosting... Hugh Jackman was so funny last year; he was a hard act to follow. I felt like Anne and James would try to be funny, and then their jokes would just flop. It was super uncomfortable and weird. I hope they stick to a comedian from now on or at least someone more entertaining.

Mika Love

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me three Mika songs in an email, and now I'm kinda Mika-obsessed. I wanted to upload a music video of my favorite Mika song ("Any Other World"), but I couldn't find an official one, and all of the "homemade" videos were a bit odd and/or creepy. If you do ever listen to "Any Other World," be sure to fast-forward 1:34 to hear some of the most beautiful strings :) That instrumental music makes you want to run after someone in the rain and profess your love to them. Seriously. Here is another song of his I like though called "Grace Kelly":

Hope everyone is having a lovely and lazy Sunday!

Productive Friday

It's only 1:00PM here in Cincinnati, and I've already had quite a productive Friday. I woke up at ten (which I'll admit was difficult to do; on mornings I can sleep in I literally want to stay in bed all day) and did my exercise for the day. I've been doing so well staying committed to my daily treadmill sessions this week, which is always good news (and rare). Afterwards, I took a shower and got ready for the day. I've even done a load of laundry, been to the grocery store, and cleaned the kitchen for my mom. I must say- très impressive.

Right now, I am making myself bruschetta for lunch since I've been craving it this entire week! The one tomato cost $2.00 (I just saw something on the news about tomato prices being up, but I wasn't paying attention and consequently, I have no idea why the price has increased), but I just needed some bruschetta today. Also- lesson learned: will always try to avoid grocery store on a Friday. It was an absolute madhouse in there today. I hate shopping anywhere when there are so many people. This is the main reason why I cannot and refuse to ever participate in Black Friday shopping. I'll just pay full price and avoid the crowds, thanks!

via Heart of Wisdom
This bruschetta looks incredibly better and more delicious than mine.

I have to go pick up my little brother from school soon, and then I plan on coming home and being even more productive by doing some homework (Okay, that probably won't happen) and cleaning my room (This hopefully will happen). Tonight, I have plans to hang out with my best friend and his boyfriend, which should be lots of fun :)

Hope everyone has a magnificent Friday!

Adjustable Rings Rant

I'll admit- this post is a little random, but I just have to ask: Does anyone else hate adjustable rings?

Probably since this past summer or autumn, I've noticed that all of my favorite stores where I buy jewelry/accessories have switched over most of their rings to this awful elastic band. Therefore, all rings are  "one size fits all." These adjustable rings just look so cheap and tacky to me. I realize I am just buying costume jewelry, but I would at least like a ring with a solid band. Is that so much to ask? I'll see a ring I absolutely love, and then sure enough...it has that awful elastic band covered in silly gold.

A seemingly okay ring from Francesca's Collections.
Too bad it has an elastic band!!

I want my regular costume rings back, please!!!!

Handwritten Post

Today, Leah tagged me in a really neat post! It is one where you answer eight specific questions in handwriting instead of typing. I think people's handwriting says a lot about them. I have always written extremely small. In high school, some of my teachers would say, "Everyone can write this assignment, but Jenna has to type it because she writes too small." I write THAT teeny. I never use cursive- only print. I think I'm still bitter from all of those dumb cursive lessons in the primary grade.


Enjoy! :)

1. What's your name / blogger name?

2. What's your blog's URL?

3. Write "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

4. Favorite quote?

5. Your favorite song?

6. Your favorite band / singers?

7. Anything else you want to say?

8. Tag 3 ladies to participate.

Sorry my printing is so small; I realize it is hardly readable!!!

Exciting weekend!

Oh, wow! I had quite the eventful weekend, full of much exciting and happy news! On Saturday, my cousin delivered her triplets!!!! :) So far, she and the babies are all doing well :) There will be a lot of continued prayer for them so they can grow and come home soon!! My cousin and her husband are two of the kindest people I know, and I (along with MANY other people) am so happy for them and their new family. They're going to be absolutely phenomenal parents.

I received even more magnificent news on Sunday when I found out that one of my best friends at the salon I work at got engaged!!! Jill's fiance did an amazing job choosing her ring. It's absolutely stunning. Jill is such a fabulous person, and I am very excited for her wedding. I know it will be totally glitzy and glam. I am very much looking forward to watching all of the wedding planning over the next year! SO EXCITING! 

Crazy, exciting, happy few days, huh? Today has been quite docile compared to the weekend. I woke up to the rain, which is always a wonderful thing when I'm sleeping in :) Waking up to the rain when you have to get up early has quite the opposite effect!

I've spent much of my day doing schoolwork. I have two longer papers due tomorrow, and they are on topics I'm not exactly excited about. Should be absolutely dreadful. I was eating Starburst jelly beans before and dropped one only to have Ellie snatch it up immediately. When I opened her mouth to retrieve it, I noticed it had gotten stuck on one of her teeth. I had to stick my hand inside her mouth and pull it off- oh, the depth of a mother's love... ;)

Anyway, I've been trying to watch Presidents Day specials to honor the national holiday taking place. Who is your favorite President? I know I've previously mentioned that mine is Lincoln, but I also find President George W. Bush to be extremely charming (Did anyone catch his Oprah episode?). I received his book, "Decision Points," for Christmas, and I am looking forward to reading it someday when school isn't being selfish with all of my time. One of the Presidents, William Henry Harrison, is actually buried about five minutes from my house. He was the ninth President of the United States, and he died only 32 days into his term!!! He spoke too long during his Inauguration speech in the bad weather, and he caught pneumonia. Isn't that depressing?

via Google Image search
Love the Louboutins, Oprah!!!

Happy Presidents Day!! 

And the award goes to...

Today I was so excited to read that I had been passed along "The Stylish Blogger" award from my fellow lovely bloggers Leah and Kristen. One of my favorite parts of having started a blog is discovering all of these other amazing blogs written by young women all of the country. The blog community is so great!! :)

The rules of this award are to write seven facts about yourself, so...here we go!

1. It's impossible for me to enter a Target store and not spend waaay more than originally anticipated. I go inside expecting to just pick up a pair of leggings or maybe some body lotion, and I end up leaving with a Valentine's Day cookie plate (WHY??), a cute picture frame, a headband, a pair of shoes that was on sale...etc, etc. You get the picture. And everything is priced so low, you don't believe you're spending a lot until the cashier reads your total (which can be a scary number).

via Google Image search

2. I hate mean people. When I used to be a waitress, I would get so anxious before going to work because I just faced so many awful people (unfortunately, it came from both the other people I worked with and the customers). I don't understand why people are mean to others. I try to remind myself that they may be going through a difficult time or just having a bad day.

via Google Image search
Hahaha- this is awesome!

3. My dream car is a Mini Cooper. Blue.

via Wikimedia

4. I am the middle child and the only girl. I still often wish I had a sister, but I've also grown to appreciate having two brothers. Besides, being the only girl has loads of perks. I've always had the biggest room, biggest bed, never had to wear hand-me-downs, etc. Despite having two brothers, I am a total girly-girl. I find this extremely shocking in that I spent most of my childhood attending way too many baseball/basketball games and golf lessons. I was also forced to be the "outfielder" while my older brother hit baseballs thrown to him by my dad. Basically, being the "outfielder" was code for running around and chasing down all of the baseballs. It was terrible.

This picture was taken by my wonderful and very talented friend, Megan Vogel :)

5. I hope that I can one day publish a novel. I don't write deep or insightful literature, but I do love to write light-hearted romantic lit. My grandma was an English major and an incredible writer, and I always hope that I inherited at least some of her talent. The authors I look up to the most are Sophie Kinsella, Emily Giffin, and Meg Cabot.

via Google Image search
The amazing Emily Giffin- her novel "Something Borrowed" is being made into a movie this year.

6. I look forward to when I run out of body wash. I love going to the store and choosing a new one each time (I never use the same one twice in a row!). I guess I should also mention here that I'm obsessed with cleanliness. I take a shower each morning and a bath each night before bed.

via Google Image search
Olay is one of my favorite body wash brands.

7. I am a hopeless romantic. Despite my past love life (which has been quite weird at times), I still believe in love. I have experienced all kinds of relationships and been broken up with for a variety of reasons (Religion, Distance, Sexuality [Sorry Jenna, but I'm gay]), but I still am confident that it will all work out in the end.

via Google Image search
My future husband?? Please?

Thanks again to Leah and Kristen for passing along this sweet award! :) I'd like to pass the stylish blogger award off to Emma at Sparkle and Fashion Beauty Blog. She's a fabulous new blogger, too, and an even more fabulous girl!

Spring Breeze

Right now is my absolute favorite time of the week- Thursday night! I love the very first night of the weekend because you still feel like you have so much time ahead. I still have some online homework to complete tonight for my marketing class, but then I am planning on watching "Milk" (I can't believe I haven't gotten around to seeing that yet), and snuggling up with Ellie. 

Today was a lovely day. It was my turn in my creative writing class to have my story workshopped. I LOVE my creative writing class. It's such a nice break from the rest of my schedule, and it feels refreshing to be able to write something I enjoy for once. I always love getting feedback on my writing, and it's really neat to have other people read it. It makes me feel like I'm Emily Giffin or something. I was really appreciative when one of the guys in my class wrote his critique on how my piece was a successful "chick-lit" story. He had remembered from the beginning of the quarter how I had talked about my love of chick-lit, and I like that he read my story from that perspective. 

My last class of the day got out half an hour early (AWESOME), and it was sooo wonderful driving home with the windows down. I took a LONG nap this afternoon (Why am I always so sleepy?), and then I went over to my neighbor's for Grey's and Private Practice! When I was walking home, the breeze was blowing, and it just felt so springlike. I stood there with the wind blowing, and I felt like I was having a "moment" with Nature. 

Off to do my homework! Happy weekend to all!

Looks like the groundhog was right...

Today while I was driving to pick up my little brother from school, one of my biggest pet peeves occurred- someone pulled out in front of me and then proceeded to drive ten miles under the speed limit!! Mehh!!! Honestly, I don't really mind if someone cuts me off but then drives insanely fast (as unsafe as that may be- they are at least getting out of my way quickly), but when someone cuts me off and then decides they are going to drive painfully slowly? ANNOYING. Of course, I did the immature thing and drove way too close to them the remainder of our time together, but at least I didn't cross the double yellow and pass (which I did consider).

In much more pleasant news, the weather is absolutely stunning today!! It is so warm and wonderful that Ellie actually just sat in the backyard and relaxed. She usually runs outside, does her business, and runs back in. The times she does stay out longer, she is running like a maniac around the yard, digging holes, and eating dirt. The fact that she was content to just lie in the sun really says quite a lot about the beauty of this day! Elle Belle also enjoyed the drive to and from my little brother's school today. She had her head out of the window the entire time, and the wind blowing through her hair.

I am so excited to wear SANDALS to work tonight! I realize that is a bit premature, but I don't really care. I bought a fun pair of Tory Burch sandals a few months ago, and I've been just dying for a chance to wear them.

Happy Wednesday!

Favorite Historical Figures!

Today in one of my (many) English classes, we were discussing Kate Chopin's "The Awakening." I think Ms. Chopin sounded like such a cool lady. She wrote waaay ahead of her time and so her writing really wasn't appreciated until later on. Anyway, talking about Kate Chopin made me think of neat historical figures I would most like to meet...

1. Abraham Lincoln: My favorite United States President, without a doubt! I have so much respect for Lincoln for a number of reasons. He kept running for elections after having lost, he had a good sense of humor (read some Lincoln quotes!), and he ended slavery. Love President Lincoln!!!
2. Jane Austen: So I am totally obsessed with Jane Austen. I am actually quite sure that I will one day name my first born daughter after her. She wrote such romantic and beautiful stories with strong and independent women. My school is offering a Jane Austen class next quarter, but it doesn't fit into my schedule. Quelle dommage!
3. Alexander Hamilton: He has always been one of my favorite people in American history. I mean, he was killed by Aaron Burr in a duel! Hamilton was a founding father and the United States' very first Secretary of the Treasury. I feel like the only reason I want to meet him, though, is because of the whole duel thing. I don't know.
4. Jackie Kennedy Onassis: The classiest first lady in United States history (according to me). Jackie O. was just so elegant and cultured. She handled everything with such grace. I would love to meet this woman!!
5. Emily Dickinson: Dickinson was a total recluse during her life. She hid away in her room and had very little contact with the outside world. I love Dickinson's poetry, but I usually have no idea what the woman is trying to say.

Those were just a few of the people I thought of off the top of my head. Who are your favorite people of history??

The lovely Miss Austen!

Vday = Me Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all! How are you celebrating the day? I have decided to celebrate the love of myself today, which sounds borderline narcissistic, but that is alright. My grandparents came over yesterday for a little Valentine's Day dinner, and my grandpa gave me a box of chocolates (which is really the most important part of Valentine's Day) so that was nice! Today I am wearing a red dress with a heart necklace, and I even have a bow in my hair. I feel quite festive! Even though I'm a singleton, I really enjoy Valentine's Day. I like that we have a holiday celebrating love. I plan on watching "While You Were Sleeping" tonight while I do my homework and eat chocolate. Oh, it sounds divine.

Happy Valentine's Day from Ellie & me!

This morning I had to run to Kinko's to pick up an order of SCHOOL papers. For my creative writing class, my professor wants each of us to bring in twenty copies of our short story on our workshop day. Twenty physical copies of a ten page story which equals TWO HUNDRED PAGES (!!!!!). This order cost me $21.30- which is not bad for 200 printed pages, but it's just ridiculous that I had to pay so much to print out something for school. Meh, obviously I'm bitter.

In much happier news, I was alerted last night that Target had gotten their capri leggings back in! Miracles do happen!!! I stopped by there and picked up a few pairs. I had no idea Target was so busy around noontime! It was absolute chaos at the registers, and the crowd was not even Valentine's Day procrastinators.

Hope everyone has a lovely Vday! <3

Sunny weekend!

My weekend got off to a fun start Friday. The temperature had gone up quite a bit (it was a scorching 36 degrees! Wow!), and I took Ellie to the park near my house. I imagined it wouldn't be too crowded since it is still winter, but unfortunately, it was. Ellie does not do well at the park when there are many other park-goers. She has a difficult time understanding the concept of walking on the right side, and she also believes that every person or animal we pass is just dying to meet her!!! We still had a nice time, though, and we both enjoyed getting some sun.

Ellie leads the way.

That night, I went out with a friend to a bar in a beautiful part of Cincinnati called Mount Adams. Mt. Adams actually has a neat city feel to it, and dare I say it, it even feels a bit European-esque. The night was great albeit expensive. I'm really weird in that I almost always regret money spent on food, drinks, transportation, etc. because I can't help thinking about what I could have bought with that money had I gone shopping!! Still, it was a very fun night indeed!

Today has been even lovelier. I went up to the salon where I work because my favorite (and the cutest) client was in...Baby Kaleb!! I am totally obsessed with Kaleb, and few people are immune to his insane cuteness. He comes in with his fabulous mom every few weeks when she gets her brows done, and Kaleb visits are always much anticipated. He is just soooooo CUTE!!!

I can only hope that my future children are as adorable as Kaleb.

After stopping in to see Kaleb, I met one of my favorite people for coffee. My friend goes to school out of town, and it was a nice surprise to hear she would be in Cincinnati for the weekend. We have so much in common, and our conversations are always the kind that just really make you think about things in a new way. She is also an amazingly talented photographer and always working on a neat project. I just know she is going to go places in life, and it's always inspiring to be around such people! :)

I'm currently eating chocolate covered almonds and pondering where to begin in cleaning my room. Such a mess! Bon week-end!

School Success and ZzZzzZ

Every Thursday evening, I am reminded why my schedule is so awesome... I get to start my weekend an entire day early! Today was a wonderful day at school. One of my professors who is a difficult grader gave me an A on my paper and wrote some lovely comments on it. It absolutely made my day. I also got an 100% on the iMovie I made last Thursday. I feel quite fabulous.

Confession: It was an A-, but for that class- it may as well have been an A+!

Usually, I go over to my neighbor's to watch Grey's Anatomy (and almost always stay for Private Practice- I don't know why I don't watch that show more devotedly!), and we have such a fun time watching the show(s) together and just talking. Unfortunately, I had a terrible eczema breakout today (stress induced, ugh), and I took some Benadryll to make the extreme itching stop.

While the awful itching is beginning to stop, my eyelids are also having a difficult time staying open. So, it doesn't look like I'll be able to stay awake for Grey's tonight :( Instead, I'm buried in my down comforter with Enya playing, ready to call it a night.

At least it is the weekend!!!

Poor Ellie has a 7:30 bedtime tonight!

Things I'm thankful for today

Things I am thankful for this Wednesday:
1. My dad made rice krispie treats last night.
2. There are only 4.5 weeks left of winter quarter.
3. I slept until 11 this morning.
4. My mom had my favorite tunic dry-cleaned.
5. Glee was absolutely amazing last night!! :)
6. The nail polish on my fingers and toes finally matches.
7. It's getting closer to the weekend!

Target - Leggings = Sad

Unfortunately, my Tuesday has been quite subpar. Tuesdays never start off well for me as my alarm goes off at 6:00am, an ungodly time indeed. It was a little icy driving to campus (I feel like I say it was icy all of the time), and the walk to class was freeeeezing. During my break between classes, I went to one of the computer labs to get an assignment done before my next class. Things were fine until this guy came in and sat beside me. He reeked of cigarette smoke, and he had his iPod blaring obnoxious rap music. The smell made me want to cry, it was so awful, and the music was driving me absolutely insane. I kept giving him meaningful stares and dramatically covering my ears, but he never seemed to notice. In my Writing for Majors class, I realized I had forgotten to do a response. Meh. My other two classes were normal. On the way home from school, I had to stop at Target and pick up a few pairs of leggings. And THIS is where my day goes from mehh to terrible.

I walked into Target and went straight to the clothes section. Strangely, the leggings were not in their usual spot. As I walked around the section, my pace quickened. Where were the leggings? I was starting to panic now. The leggings were no where in sight (though Target has put out some REALLY cute spring clothes!). I quickly approached a sales associate and asked with more emotion than one should employ when asking about a clothing item, "Where are your leggings????" She simply said, "Oh, they are out of season now. We aren't carrying them right now." 

OH MY GOSH.

Did this woman realize that I wear a pair of leggings every single day of my life?? I rummaged through the clearance racks but only found a few pairs in a size XS. I had been defeated. My favorite leggings were gone until next fall. I would have to return to buying the Forever21 kind that tear easily.

Morosely, I walked aimlessly through the store. I found myself in the chocolate aisle. I bought myself some Lindt hazelnut truffles (milk chocolate). Then, I bought myself Haagen-Dazs butter pecan ice cream. I don't know why I bought these things. I was in a fog. I then picked up a deodorant, something I actually did need to buy.

My unexpected Target purchases. No leggings.

When I got home, there was a package waiting for me from Forever21!!!! My Tuesday had been saved at least a little bit! It was actually the Valentine's Day gift I had picked out for myself from my mom so I won't get to enjoy it for a few more days, but that's okay!! Of course, Glee is also on tonight so I have a good feeling that my Tuesday is going to rapidly improve :)

Travel Channel and Kindle Love

Today I caught an episode of Samantha Brown's "Passport to Europe" while I was eating lunch. This episode featured Samantha visiting Florence, Italy, and as I watched her give viewers a tour of her luxurious hotel accommodations (rooms ranged somewhere from $350 to in the thousands per night; when I was in Europe, I was staying at hostels that cost about 50 dollars each night! So glam!) and shop at designer shops, I thought what a perfect job that woman has. Can you imagine being paid to travel all over the world and be filmed as you explore new cities? Eat magnificent foods? Shop at the most unique places? Samantha Brown has it made.

Anyway, I've spent most of my Monday reading/writing/wondering why I am an English major... Okay, not really the third one, but sometimes when I have 300+ pages of reading to do between classes, I do feel a bit overwhelmed and stressy. It's funny, I am on my fourth major now, and it FINALLY feels right. I met with my counselor last Tuesday, and she said, "Jenna, you just seem so calm now. You're so at peace." I'll admit, I was a little caught off guard. "What do you mean? Was I really that frazzled of a French major?" She replied that yes, yes I was that frazzled of a French major, and she could tell I had at last found the major that fit me. I really am so happy being an English major. I love the English department at my school, and I have the feeling that this is where I belong- a feeling missing from my three previous majors.

I am also feeling much love for my Kindle today. It aids my procrastination as I didn't have a book I need to read by tomorrow... I simply shopped in the Kindle store and had it wirelessly delivered in less than 60 seconds. MY KINDLE IS SO AMAZING!!!

Happy Monday!

Movies to watch on a snowy night

This morning when I woke up for work, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was just beginning to snow! Luckily, my dad drove me to work because the roads were already getting slick (We saw one car slide off the road completely!), and it was just nice to be able to watch the snow while working today. It even started to rain for a while, and that was also pretty to watch. Anyway, while I was at work I was thinking about how tonight would be the perfect weather to watch a good movie, which naturally got me to thinking about my favorite movies of all time...

1. "The Sound of Music"- What a timeless movie! I absolutely love this film. It has such a strong plot incorporating motherless children, Nazis, and a romance between a nun-to-be and an engaged military commander. Pretty scandalous stuff! Julie Andrews is lovely. The music is beautiful, and the children are adorable. I cannot say enough good things about this movie. 

2."Bridget Jones' Diary" (both the first and second- equally good in my opinion)- I actually have a poster of the image above in my room I love Bridget Jones so dearly. This movie always puts me in a great mood and makes me laugh. It has an incredible cast (I thought Renée Zellweger was British for years, and Colin Firth? Always a plus), it's just a really fun and romantic movie. Favorite line? "I'd finally die, fat and alone, and be found three weeks later half-eaten by wild wolves."

3. "Dangerous Beauty"- This movie isn't very well-known, but it is sooooo good! One of my roommates freshman year recommended it to me. It is about Veronica Franco, the Venetian courtesan. This movie is so romantic and VERY feminist, which is surprising considering it is about a courtesan. If you went to a Catholic girls school that hammered feminist principles into your head or you enjoy movies about empowering women- this is your film!

4. "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging"- This movie is such a hidden gem. It is based off the British book series, "Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging," which is geared more towards pre-teens, teenagers. Even if this movie if meant for a younger crowd, I still LOVE it!! It is funnier than I can even describe, and it has a cute story line. It was actually called a younger Bridget Jones in one review (Daily Mirror)- that's probably why I love it so much. They use such cool lingo in this movie, too. You'll be calling people "mingers" and "fitties" soon after!

5. "While You Were Sleeping"- This is a movie my mom and I used to watch when I was little, and I still love it today. Sandra Bullock plays a CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) token taker (which shows you how dated this movie is, Hi 1990s!!!) who is crushing on this businessman who passes through her station each morning. This movie takes place in Chicago during Christmastime, and it's just a very sweet, heartwarming, and romantic movie. 

6. "It's Complicated"- AWESOME movie!!! I love this cast (Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, John Krasinski), and the plot is just hilarious. I also loved the beautiful setting. I thought this movie was extremely well-done. I always enjoy watching it, and it's made it way up in my clearly prestigious list of favorite films. 

7. "Love Actually"- I saved my absolute favorite movie for last. Wow, where do I even begin with "Love Actually" ?? Obviously, it has a brilliant cast. Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, and Emma Thompson are just a handful of my favorites in this film. I adore the fact that the movie takes place in London leading up to Christmas, and I just really love watching all of the different love stories work themselves out. "Love Actually" has a wonderful soundtrack, too. I could watch this movie any time of the year, and it makes me VERY (!) happy whenever I do.

Sooo...clearly I am a bit genre specific in my tastes, but oh well... I'll admit, I am not a huge fan of action movies, and I CANNOT do horror, but I like to dab into other genres now and then. Hope you get to snuggle up tonight and enjoy a good movie!!! :)

Je ne sais pas!

Today while I was listening to my iPod on shuffle (I always listen to my iPod on shuffle), a song came on that has a very big memory attached to it. It was Destiny's Child's, "Independent Woman." This song saved my sanity this summer. Really, it did.

So a bunch of people from my study abroad group had gone to Munich, Germany for a long weekend in July. I had booked my returning train ticket to Paris late, and if I waned to ride on the train they were all scheduled for, it would have cost me almost 200 euros! Obviously, I wasn't going to spend that (That would have killed my shopping budget) so I booked a ticket for a much less expensive night train by myself. I was actually really excited for the night train. I bought a few English books from the international book store, some Cadbury chocolate, and a big bottle of water. I was thinking how relaxing this train would be, and how it would be nice to have some alone time.

Happier times in Germany. Shopping, naturally.

Oh, I was so, so, SO wrong.

The train we had rode to Munich had been an extremely modern and fancy one. The train I rode from Munich? Well, it was VERY OLD. I boarded the train and found out that it was organized into assigned cabins. I entered mine to find two Austrian teenaged girls, a newlywed couple from Oman, and an elderly French woman. I sat down in my small seat and noticed how hot it was. "Will they turn the air conditioning on once we get moving?" I asked my cabin mates. "Nope! No air conditioning on this train!" OH MY GOD. It was almost 100 degrees outside, which meant that this train was feeling even warmer than that! And the train ride was going to last TWELVE HOURS. That is when I knew, this was going to be one of the worst experiences of my life. And it was.

I pulled my book out of my backpack and my chocolate. The chocolate had completely melted in the heat. Of course. The Austrian teenagers were very nice girls, and they talked to me most of the trip. The one had "Los Angeles" tattooed across her arm because she wanted to become a movie producer and asked me, "So, is it difficult to become a movie producer in Hollywood?" The two girls were off to Spain to meet some guys they had met on Facebook. These girls were also only seventeen-years-old. Safe, right?? The newlywed couple was a result of an arranged marriage. They were becoming acquainted for the first time that night, and the poor woman had to remain totally veiled (head to foot) in the sweltering heat. I was sweating bullets in my jersey sundress! I still don't know how she did it.

Around 2:00am, our train suddenly stopped. It didn't keep moving. There was an announcement in German over the intercom. The Austrian girls shook their heads, saying, "Oh, no." Confused, I asked what was going on. The one girl simply replied, "We lost our caboose!" HOW DOES A TRAIN LOSE ITS CABOOSE?!!! I still cannot figure that one out. So basically, our train sat on that track for HOURS waiting until the caboose was returned. I was totally freaking out because I had a connector train to make in Paris that would take me back to my small town, and that connector train wasn't even leaving from the train station we would be arriving in. I had to budget myself time to arrive in Paris and navigate the subway system to the different train station.

The elderly French woman kept asking me a million questions in French. I felt bad for her because she didn't understand what was going on. I translated things as best as I could, sometimes drawing pictures when necessary (How does one say "caboose" en français?). Because I spoke that little French to her, she assumed I was fluent despite my constant reminders of, "Je parle un peu français" (I speak a little French). The entire rest of the trip she talked my ear off, and I would just kept responding, "JE NE SAIS PAS!" (Translation: I don't know) Whenever I was close to sleep, she'd tap my shoulder and sputter another question off in French. At this point I was totally about to have a melt down. I took my phone out into the hall and called my dad, about to cry. He replied, "I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio. I really can't do much for you now." Um, thanks, Dad!!!

I returned to my cabin and put in my iPod. Destiny's Child's, "Independent Woman" came on, and I thought, Okay! I can do this! I am an independent woman! Lame, I know, but that song is what got me through the rest of my trip. I was even able to sleep for two hours (which I regretted, as I woke up feeling even more nasty and greasy- soooo gross!!!).

We arrived in Paris late, but I was still able to hustle and get myself over to the Montparnasse train station (navigating the Paris metro alone was a miracle in itself). I survived my terrible trip, but every time I heard "Independent Woman" play, I think that if I could get through that, I can survive anything.

Manners, please?

So many thoughts to write about today! First of all, I am running on less than three hours of sleep, and I am definitely feeling it. I was up until past 3AM doing schoolwork and had to be up by 6. I am a huge procrastinator, but I'm also very good at what I do. Last night, my biggest project was putting together an iMovie on Alzheimer's Disease in pop culture. I was using my mom's Mac with the newer version of iMovie so I had to learn how to use that version and put together my film... It took forever, but it did get done! :) When I finally went to bed, Ellie cuddled up by me, and it was one of the sweetest things ever. If only she was that caring all of the time (Currently, she is sitting in time-out for nipping at my little brother). Anyway, the lack of sleep is catching up to me today. Sooo tired...

At school this morning, I was walking ahead of a girl into a building. I stopped and kept the door open for her, and she didn't even say, "Thanks." The rest of the day I was hyper-sensitive about observing the use of manners around me. So few people say "Thank you!" when someone goes out of their way to hold open a door, and almost no one says, "Excuse me!" anymore. Maybe the winter just has people feeling down because I think everyone at my school is generally polite. One time during spring quarter I was reviewing notes for a presentation outside when my note cards flew away! This random guy ran around and chased them all down for me. Now THAT is nice! :)

I am very happy that Grey's Anatomy will FINALLY be new tonight!! What was up with all of those reruns these past few weeks? So lame. Also lame? The latest plot development that Callie has been impregnated with Sloan's offspring. I'm sorry but really?! As much as I love Grey's Anatomy, I can't help but notice how downhill the series has gone.

In my opinion, the show peaked in season three and hasn't been quite the same ever since. Once Dr. Burke left, the show always felt like it was missing something. He was such a central character. Then, when George and Izzie said adieu, the show just really started to lose its allure! I'll admit, Dr. Burke was and still is my favorite Grey's Anatomy character EVER (And I strictly mean Burke as a character, not Isaiah Washington as a person, who I have little knowledge about). He was so handsome, intelligent, and sophisticated... I'll stop myself now before I go off on a Burke tangent. Basically, I'm excited Grey's is back but hope they don't go too overboard on these plot lines!

Below is one of my favorite Burke scenes ever. What a man!!

Snail Mail & Strong Winds!

Today I received a postcard in the mail from my friend, Becca, and I got to thinking how much more satisfying REAL mail is in comparison to email. Of course, I am so thankful for technology. Facebook, Gmail, texting, and Skype are the main ways I keep in contact with long distance friends. I don't know what I'd do without these websites/services!!

But anyway, back to today.

It was just so nice to receive a postcard in the mail with a handwritten note. I think I am going to make an effort to write more letters instead of emails.

When I woke up this morning (Confession: I was supposed to go with my mom to yoga class and instead overslept and didn't physically get out of bed until 11- Oops!), it sounded like my house was blowing away!! My bedroom has two exterior walls, so the strong winds were really quite loud! The news report says there are winds today ranging from 20-30 mph. I haven't yet had to venture outside, but when I do in a little bit for work, at least I will be sporting my new coat. That should help some. At least morale-wise. Speaking of weather, I'm still sad I'm not experiencing the blizzard in Chicago. Mehh...

Hope everyone is keeping warm this Wednesday!

Icy Tuesday

Oh, what a day it has been! My February got off to a nice start this morning when my 8AM class was cancelled because of the ice, and I discovered a filled gas tank compliments of Wendy (Always appreciated). Luckily, there were only a few slick spots on the road driving to campus, but the real problem came when I attempted to walk from my car to class. The sidewalks were completely iced over!!! Basically, I had to walk in the street and dart between parked cars whenever a car approached. It was kinda stressful, and with the spitting rain and brutal wind, it was totally miserable. But I made it to class!

On my break, I headed over to Starbuck's for a mocha chip frappuccino (bien sûr!). Naturally, there was a long line. I was waiting behind these two guys who were standing together at the same register when the barista called out, "Next!" I looked towards the two guys, and neither of them moved, so I headed over to the available cashier who quite rudely looked at me and said, "I don't believe you were next." Then, one of the guys, who I had assumed wasn't ordering anything, finally realized it was his turn and walked over. The barista made me feel like such a mean and awful person for cutting in line. Luckily, my cashier gave me some reassuring words or else I probably would have cried. Seriously.

When I finally made it home this evening after a slippery drive, I had a package waiting from Ideeli!!! For anyone unfamiliar with this awesome website, it is one where everyday there are new sales featuring different designers. You have to act quick because the items come in such a limited quantity, but about three weeks ago, I scored big time! I bought this gorgeous, Nautica down coat...

My lovely new coat was originally $260 down to $59!!!! I would have felt guilty for not buying it, basically. It's really warm, though, and I love the blue interior. It also fits perfectly (Thank God since it is unreturnable). 

Lastly, I have been feeling a bit blue today since I wish I was up in Chicago for the crazy blizzard they are getting! My friends are off school today and tomorrow, and it all sounds like a lot of fun. I love the drama that big storms bring. I'm jealous we aren't getting any snow and are stuck with this rain!!!