A royally remarkable Friday

On Thursday night, I made scones (which turned out surprisingly delicious) and set out my William and Kate commemorative mug. I brought my down comforter and pillows downstairs and slept on the family room couch with my alarm set for 5AM.

It was all worth it.

I had such a lovely time watching the wedding ceremony and the parade. Kate looked stunning. William looked handsome. And everyone was clearly quite happy.

My scones were hearts, regular circles, flowers, wedding bells, and elephants (since William and Kate were engaged in Kenya)

At work, I wore pearls, my sapphire ring (which is just a bit smaller than Kate's...), and a big hat that one of the stylists had brought in. I began my day wearing a tiara, but when the girl at the coffee shop next door came over to deliver our pot of Hazelnut coffee and commented, "Aw- is it your birthday today? I love your birthday tiara"- well, I knew I needed a change on headwear.

So I drank lots of tea (and coffee) from my William and Kate mug and ate entirely too many scones yesterday, and I tried to stay upbeat when a few clients asked, "Wait, what wedding?"

Heartbreaking.

Even with those sad comments, it was still a wonderful day, and I truly enjoyed being able to witness and celebrate a modern day fairy tale.

Oh, and I think we should begin a royal family in America now, too.

Ellie is all ready to serve as the first princess.

I have a poem to share. And I promise it's not boring.

Until recently (as in the last two weeks), I have been a skeptic when it comes to poetry.

I've always found poetry difficult to understand, and poem explications left me feeling lost and frustrated.

But now, I've seen the light.

Ellie during a poetry reading.
Okay, actually this is from when I attempted to dress her up as Harry Potter.

This light was shining from the brilliant Romantic poet William Wordsworth. I've read Wordsworth before, but I've never had a professor who read his poetry so beautifully or who explained his work so well. 

"She dwelt among the untrodden ways"

She dwelt among the untrodden ways

Beside the springs of Dove,

A Maid whom there were none to praise

And very few to love.

A Violet by a mossy stone

Half-hidden from the Eye!

---Fair, as a star, when only one

Is shining in the sky!

She lived unknown, and few could know

When Lucy ceased to be;

But she is in her Grave, and, Oh!

The difference to me.

Are you crying yet? Because I am.

I have one more poem to share with you that has lead to my reform from a poetry hater to a poetry appreciate-or. 

This one is by a relatively more modern poet, an African-American woman named Lucille Clifton.

"Homage to My Hips"

these hips are big hips.

they need space to

move around in.

they don't fit into little

petty places, these hips

are free hips.

they don't like to be held back.

these hips have never been enslaved,

they go where they want to go

they do what they want to do.

these hips are mighty hips.

these hips are magic hips.

i have known them

to put a spell on a man and

spin him like a top.

I LOVE THAT POEM. 

After hearing it today, I feel like I strutted around campus with my hips.

Oh, yes.

I am a 21-year-old has-been

During my high school years and my first few of college, I was one of the best procrastinators you could ever meet.

As in Queen of Procrastination Nation.

I would pull all-nighters constantly.

My sophomore year of high school, I read a 700 page book and wrote a paper on it in one mere night. And that paper received an A. It was my very first all-nighter and quite a stellar performance by such a rookie. My mom wasn't very proud (as she should have been). I believe her words to me were, "You're going to make yourself sick." Something like that.

Senior year, I had an ominous end of the year paper due called "The Asian Literature Project." It still sends chills up my spine. The Asian Lit project consisted of reading a number of novels, poetry, etc of Asian literature and then writing a 50 PAGE PAPER. Shout-out to Mandy over at A Northern Girl With a Southern State of Mind who also survived this feat. While I did not get any sleep for the better part of a week, I did complete that paper. And I did get an A.

I was slowly making my way up the ranks of procrastination royalty.

During my freshman year of college, I stayed up an entire night reading and writing but when I had finished all of my work early at 5AM, I decided that instead of going to sleep for a few hours, I would go swim a few laps at the campus rec pool instead.

I was just that good. 

But now? I am sad to report that I've lost my touch. It's not that I can't whip up a good paper in a small amount of time and still get a nice grade (All English majors can do that. If we couldn't, we wouldn't survive). It's that I can no longer stay awake the entire night as I used to.

2AM will come along, and I will really be feeling the fatigue. I drink a can of Diet Coke Lime. I awkwardly sing along and jam-out to a Glee song. Or maybe some invigorating Broadway tune.

But these things don't work.

I think, "I cannot go on. Leave me behind, fellow procrastinators of the universe." So then I have to sleep for two hours and set my alarm for 4AM so I can complete all of my schoolwork (which is really quite horrible). 

Being able to pull all-nighters was my most powerful strength in my procrastinating abilities. And now I've lost it. 

I am no longer the Queen of Procrastination Nation. I think I'm just a peasant.

This is from my freshman year of college. My roommate and I would make "study forts" for our all-nighters (because that made it a billion times more fun, you know?). She was a procrastination legend.

There are two kinds of people in this world...

…royal wedding lovers and royal wedding haters.

I am (proudly) a member of the former group and am habitually accosted with questions such as, “Why do you even care? What’s the big deal? Do you not have a life?”

Well, royal wedding haters out there, I can answer all of your questions.

Why do I, a 21-year-old English major living in Cincinnati, Ohio, care about a wedding taking place across the world between two people I do not know?

I actually have three reasons for that one.

The most obvious is that I fit that stereotype of the little girl dreaming of becoming a princess. I eagerly took part in board games such as “Pretty, Pretty Princess” (the purple jewelry was always mine; don’t ever try to assign me the green kind), and when I played Barbies, they were always princesses of respective countries (I was neither geographically nor politically advanced at a young age. I probably just used England, France, and America). I read books about princesses, and I hosted princess tea parties. I believed that being a princess was one of the most magical things in the world.

The second reason is that this is a major historical event. I am a big believer in taking interest and being educated on world events. I cannot stand it when people are only concerned with their respective city, state, or nation. A royal wedding does not take place everyday, you royal wedding haters! This is big!

Finally, I care about the royal wedding because I am a hopeless romantic. I am that creepy girl who looks through bridal magazines and who watches countless hours of “Say Yes to the Dress” and “A Wedding Story” (Remember that show on TLC? They haven’t shown it in years. Meh!) and will cry every time. The fact that Kate Middelton will become a princess following her “I do” only makes the royal wedding that much more romantic.

So royal wedding haters, I hope you can see just what is the big deal here from my reasons for caring.

If not, you possibly have no soul.

Oh, and as for the third question, I’m not entirely sure.

Scale Scare

This morning I stepped on the scale expecting the worst.

Since having my wisdom teeth out, I haven't done much exercising, and I've consumed A LOT of varieties of milkshakes.

The amazing McDonald's $1 Frappe deal did not help matters.

And the Easter weekend full of candy, ham, egg casseroles, mashed potatoes, green beans, chocolate, etc, etc, etc (This is actually a bit alarming recalling everything I ate over the holiday) could only make the situation more dire.

I am up 3.5 pounds.

Ugh.

I'll admit- I was thinking my weight gain would be more dramatic after 10 days off my diet/exercise routine, but gaining back 3.5 pounds is still pretty discouraging.

My mouth finally feels just about normal, though, so today I am getting right back into my old ways.

So, now I have 13.5 pounds until I've arrived at my next weight loss goal (Oh, that actually is quite depressing adding the extra 3.5 pounds, ouch).

On y va!

Girl, Exhausted.

I am worn out, fellow bloggers.

But I have made it through a very busy Easter weekend at the salon.

I worked Thursday evening after class, open-close Friday, went to an Aveda Earth Day Event that night (more to come on that in just a bit), and then worked open-close today.

I'm tired.

But back to the Aveda event from last night.

Aveda sponsored an evening called "Cocktails For A Cause" in honor of Earth Day. All of the proceeds from the night went to the Sierra Club, and each Aveda salon in Cincinnati was invited to design a "Water Warrior." The Water Warrior was supposed to wear a costume made entirely from recycled items and be what each respective salon envisioned a water warrior to be.

Well, our salon's water warrior won FIRST PLACE.

Oh, yes. We felt quite fab.

I documented the whole process below. Amy, our brilliant stylist in charge of our warrior, spent hours and hours constructing the outfit and fixing Courtney's hair and makeup.

What do you all think?

Courtney before her transformation.

Avatar or Water Warrior?

Glitter makes everything wonderful.

Courtney and Amy (the creator) and me later that night! :)

All by myself

I haven't been in a serious relationship since my freshman year of college. And that ended badly. As in my boyfriend was gay. 

There have been a number of flings and short-term relationships since then, but nothing lasting.

Usually, I am content (even happy) to be single for a number of reasons:

1. I like my alone time, and I like not feeling obligated to see any one person (That sounds very cipher-ish and anti-social. Oops).
2. When I make my decision on where to attend graduate school in one year, I want the decision to be entirely about me. 
3. I can spend so much time with my friends, and I don't ever have to worry about becoming "that girl" who chooses her boyfriend over her friends (since there is no boyfriend in the equation, not a problem!).

Recently though, these positives of being single don't feel so great. I have been feeling more like Bridget Jones than Samantha Jones. When did I stop viewing the singleton life as fabulous?

As more and more of my friends find themselves in serious relationships, I have begun to wonder: Is there something wrong with me? 

Then, I get mad at myself because that is quite an unfeminist thought to be having.

I am not hoping to meet the love of my life anytime soon. I am only twenty-one-years-old.

But I would like to meet a nice guy. Maybe even one who looks something like this?

Source

Please?

Only kidding.

I suppose I need to get back in touch with my singletonhood and learn to like it again.

I could be there a while longer.

April edition of things I'm loving/hating...

This morning when I woke up for class, my mouth was absolutely throbbing (which has become normal over these past few days). As I brushed my teeth, I accidentally hit one of the tooth extraction sites, and I felt the worst pain followed by nausea. I think taking my pain medication on an empty stomach is what drove me to get sick this morning, but as of 1PM, the upset stomach has still not gone away.

Fortunately, I have amazing professors who were really understanding when I emailed them about my current condition. I absolutely hate missing class, but they all made me feel better about it.

Instead of continuing to depressingly blog about these dumb wisdom teeth, I am going to write about something else instead.

What I am currently loving:
1. These Vivienne Westwood heels from Akira. They are the perfect shoes to be wearing when the love of my life finally shows up and kisses me. Under an umbrella and in the rain. And my foot pops.

2. Pride and Prejudice. In my Jane Austen class, we are currently working on Miss Austen's most famous novel. This will be my third time reading it, and it is one of those books that just gets better each time (Another book like that? The Poisonwood Bible. Go read that. Now). It's one of the best love stories ever written. Sigh.

3. My mom. Okay, so I love my mom all of the time but especially when I am not feeling well! Moms are the best. They actually feel sorry for you when you're ill and want to do whatever they can to make you feel better.

4. Sleeping in the rain. Last night, we had TONS of big thunderstorms. Ellie normally doesn't mind thunderstorms at all, but they were really strong and loud last night, and when I woke up at one point- her head was on my pillow! She was practically on top of me! I just love how cozy and warm I feel in my bed during a good storm.

5. Raspberry Soft Lips Chapstick. This is my new favorite chapstick. I am obsessed with the smell, and how soft it makes my lips feel (hence the name- Soft Lips??). 

Source

And now...

What I am currently hating:

1. Not being able to exercise. Whoa- did I just type that? I am not allowed to go back to my normal exercise routine for a little bit because of the wisdom teeth surgery, and I'm actually really missing my daily workouts. Who would have thought?

2. Missing class. I feel so guilty right now as I am sitting here at home, and I should be in my Jane Austen class. I realize I am sick (I just threw up half an hour ago. TMI? I apologize), but I still feel bad for not being in class right now.

3. Trashy high heels. Whenever I go out to the bars, I notice how many girls are wearing these awful high heels that actually look like they belong more in a strip club. They are normally featured in blinding white or hot pink and are WAY too tall. They look like they could be DEB merchandise. Need I say more?

4. Greasy hair. I cannot stand it when I can tell that someone has not washed his or her hair in days. If you can go a while without washing your hair and still have it looking clean, good for you, but if you look like you just dunked your head in a tub of grease- it's not working and please go wash your hair because it grosses me out. 

5. William Shakespeare. Self-explanatory. 

Whoa- long post. I apologize.

I want real food.

I have fond memories of eating Cream of Wheat in the morning before school as a child.

Now, it tastes gross. And bland.

I am getting REALLY annoyed with the wisdom teeth healing process. I am hungry. I want real food. This is a million times worse than dieting.

I am tired of my mouth being sore. It hurts to yawn or laugh or SMILE. Now, isn't that sad?

Also, I can't brush my teeth without causing excruciating pain (and I am addicted to brushing my teeth multiple times each day).

I hate you wisdom teeth!!!

And I hate that I keep blogging about this!

I was not as happy as that little girl this morning. 
My Cream of Wheat happened to be gross.

Swelling makes a surprise attack!

My oral surgeon warned me that my swelling would be the worst and that I'd feel the most terrible on Sunday.

Since I had such great days yesterday and Friday, I wasn't expecting to feel this bad today.

Or be so swollen.

And now I still have to go see Julius Caesar for my Shakespeare class this afternoon. I have to sit through hours of Shakespeare in this much pain.

I am starting to suspect the ghost of William Shakespeare is out to get me.

I couldn't even muster up enough motivation to put on makeup today. Too much work.

In much happier news, the Groupon yesterday was for Dogeared Jewelry!!! I didn't even know about Dogeared until my friend gave me one of their necklaces when I left my old school to transfer home. The meaning of that necklace was "New Beginnings," and it was one of the most thoughtful gifts I had ever received.

The Groupon yesterday was that you could pay $25 for $50 worth of merchandise. I (obviously) purchased that Groupon, and today I bought myself this absolutely amazing necklace:

Source

I bought this necklace because it reminds me of the Harry Potter lightning bolt, and I think it will be très fantastique to be wearing Harry Potter-esque jewelry. Also, when doesn't one need a little reminder of her "strength and power" ??

My new purse! Oh, and I did I mention I lost 20 pounds?

AHHHHHHHHHHH

When I stepped on the scale this morning- the number was exactly twenty pounds less than the one I had started with.

I got on the scale for a second time. And then third.

Could this be true?

Why, yes it was!!!!

I ran to tell my mom. She was SO excited for me, and promptly searched beneath her bed until she pulled out a box. She hadn't even opened the package my purse had come in so I got to open everything myself to reveal my new Kate Spade Margo handbag.

Voila! Sorry for my lack of makeup/any effort put into my appearance. It was like Christmas morning. 

It feels amazing to know that I worked so hard for this handbag, and that I could accomplish a goal that felt so far away (I honestly believed that I would never lose 20 pounds, and this handbag would simply sit under my mom's bed until my birthday or Christmas).

My next weight loss goal is 30 pounds.

Here we go!

Happy Saturday everyone! :)

This is Me. Without Wisdom Teeth.

Warning: I have been misspelling and misusing words so if you find any grammatical blunders, please do not judge my intelligence. I am still on drugs.

But here we go.

Flashback to last night. I was totally unconcerned about getting my teeth taken out. I was actually looking forward to the sleep. I was completely shocked when my dreams last night all consisted of wisdom teeth nightmares!! The oral surgeon didn't show up...I took the wrong medicine...my face swelled up HUGE... I experienced quite a variety of what can go wrong.

I started my day off this morning with an Adivan (Spelling? I have no idea), which I expected to make me all loopy, and instead just felt like I ate a jar of Benadryll tablets. I was so sleepy.

Most of my friends tell me that they can only remember getting to the office and then being either in the recovery room afterwards or simply just home. My surgery was weird in that I have vague memories of the whole procedure. I could hear them doing certain things, and then I remember getting up and going to recovery. I feel like I was in this fog yet still there.

Creepy.

This afternoon I have been able to take a short nap (despite the fact that you can't lie down and can only be propped up, which really hurts my sleeping style!), and drink fruit juice. I've already told my mom that I will consume no food until I have regained total feeling of my lips and mouth. I do not want to be that person with ice cream dripping out of their mouth.

Ickkkkk.

I have yet to swell, and I have kept the ice around my face like it is an oxygen line (even though my mom insists on taking it off every now and then).

All in all, wisdom teeth surgery has not been so bad!

Oh hello! Just lying here looking gorgeous!!!

My furry alarm clock

Recently (as in this past week), Ellie has gotten into the strangest state of mind.

I think she may believe she is my alarm clock.

Dreaming of being an alarm clock? Maybe so.

Every morning when my phone alarm sounds off, Ellie will either do one of two things. If she is sleeping on the floor, she will jump up on top of me until I wake up or if she is sleeping in the bed, she will tap me on my shoulder (and face) until I get out of bed.

It's really cute and also totally strange.

Anyway. Today I was at my wit's end in two of my classes. In the first class, a girl was chewing a piece of what I suspected was hard candy. I heard the crunch of each little bite, and it was making me cringe. My last class of the day featured a girl enjoying a bag of caramel popcorn. That chewing was so awful that I had to leave the room and seek refuge in the restroom, hoping that she would finish her popcorn in the meantime.

I hate loud chewers.

In other news, I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow so if my posts this weekend sound all trippy and like I'm on drugs?

It's because I am.

Extreme Couponing, Extremely Crazy

So last night I caught my first episode of TLC's "Extreme Couponing."

Wow.

This was the first lady, J'aime, on last night's episode.

While I think it's amazing how much $$ these ladies are saving, overall, I just felt really annoyed with them. The first woman featured on the show says she began her extreme couponing after her husband lost his job. I was thinking, "Aw, well that's understandable. Good for her." THEN, she goes on to say how her first thoughts were, "How am I going to afford to go out with my friends? Will I have to stay home when they go out for a glass of wine?"

Um, if I had a husband and children I'm not entirely sure this would be my initial concern.

This same lady and her husband went on their extreme couponing adventure, and at one point, they bought something insane like 77 bottles of mustard. What if I went to that grocery store one day for a bottle of mustard (Note: I hate mustard) and I couldn't get one because the extreme couponer lady had already struck? I would be so angry!!!!! NO ONE NEEDS THAT MUCH MUSTARD.

The other family featured on the show was much more likable in that they participated in extreme couponing so that they could save money for their children's college educations. I wasn't that annoyed with them except their entire house was filled with groceries. Even under the children's beds. In the master bedroom.

EVERYWHERE.

Why would people want to live like that???

Basically, I'll just continue to pay full price for my groceries.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

So technically, only Mondays get me down. I happen to like rainy days. I suppose only part of that song lyric applies to me.

I've been feeling really down these past two days, and I don't exactly know why. This time last year I was busy making all of the preparations for my study abroad in France, and I wonder if I am feeling melancholy because I'm not planning for any big adventures like that one. Or it could be how overwhelmed I feel with school. When I get home from work tonight, I will be up the entire night doing schoolwork (and I'm not even sure I'll finish it all).

I have a lot to be excited about right now. I am down 18 pounds (oh, yes!), and I think I'll have my beautiful handbag by the weekend. It's spring quarter, which means summer is around the corner. I really do not have any reason to be so glum yet I am. Very, very glum.

I think I'm going to online shop now.

Shakespeare Hel(p)

I am really struggling with Shakespeare.

With my reading intensive workload, I am used to being able to read really quickly through assigned novels, short stories, etc., etc. Honestly, I have no other choice than to read so quickly. I barely finish all of my reading assignments as it is.

Shakespeare is killing me in that I cannot read through a Shakespeare play at that same rate. I cannot even read through a Shakespeare play at a normal pace. It takes me FOREVER to read and comprehend a single page, and judging by my performance on last Tuesday's quiz, I'm apparently NOT comprehending the text.

Going into mental breakdown mode now.

UGH.

+= ENEMIES

(Source)

10 Questions Post

One of my favorite fellow bloggers Leah over at An Ordinary Fairytale tagged me in this fun ten questions post yesterday.

Enjoy!

1. What is your dream job?
I have three dream jobs, and they have all to do with books! The first (and these are in no particular order) is an acquisitions editor. That is the person who reads through manuscripts to decide which go on to become novels. Emily Giffin has an incredible book with a main character who is an acquisitions editor called Baby Proof. It's one of my favorites.

My second dream job is to own a little, independent bookshop. It would be in an old row home (in a big city) and have a wonderful fireplace and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves (with an accompanying ladder, obviously). There would be big, comfy armchairs, and I would serve fresh made lemonade, coffee, tea, etc. In this dream bookshop, I would also live above my store and simply have to walk downstairs for work in the morning. Oh, and I wouldn't be sold out by Barnes and Noble.

Finally, my third dream job is to be an author. I would love to see my novel(s) categorized with the brilliant chick-lit writers of our time: Sophie Kinsella, Emily Giffin, and Meg Cabot (my personal top three anyway). I want to write novels that make people happy and give them a break from the stresses of life. I have no aspirations to write the next great American novel (yeah, right!). I just want to write light-hearted romance.

The fabulous Sophie Kinsella
Source

2. What is your favorite drink?
Starbuck's Java Chip Frappuccino or Jamba Juice's Razzmatazz

That is A LOT of Razzmatazz
Source

3. What is your most important beauty secret?
I don't think I have one! Um, I brush my teeth four times a day?

4. If you had an all-expense paid vacation to go anywhere, where would you go?
Tough question! Switzerland is my favorite country that I have visited, and I would love to do more exploring there, especially around Interlaken.

It takes my breath away just looking at it!
Source

5. If a genie popped up right now, what would your three wishes be?
To have all of the money I could ever need (I realize that sounds shallow, but with that one wish alone, quite a few other wishes could be accomplished)

To get into my my number one choice for grad schools

For all of my friends and family to be healthy and happy (Sorry Leah- I totally copied you here!)

6. If you could have one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Häagen-Dazs ice cream

7. What is one talent you wished you had?
There are a lot of talents I wish I had! Hmm... I think I'll go with singing. Whenever I watch Glee, I really wish I could sing like the New Directions! And dance, too, for that matter.

8. Who is your biggest celebrity crush?
Michael Bublé

Source

9. If you could look into the future, would you?
Nope. I have absolutely no desire to do that.

10. What made you start your blog?
A friend of mine was getting really into blogging, and she suggested that we make our own. I absolutely love blogging now! I love the "friends" I've discovered, and I love getting to have such an intimate look into other people's lives.

I'd like to pass this post along to...
Mandy at A Northern Girl With a Southern State of Mind

Kristen at and the green grass grew all around

50 Years

Today is my dad's 50th birthday. To be honest, it's a bit scary to me that my dad is turning half a century old!! 

We are getting ready to go out to dinner at a restaurant called "Montgomery Inn." They serve AMAZING ribs, and to say I am overly excited about my supper tonight would be an understatement.

I can't wait to give my dad his gift later on this evening. I have always been very close to my dad. He and I are much more similar in our personalities than really anyone else in our family. I made him an iMovie of his entire life from when he was a baby to now. It took me ages to scan so many pictures in, but I am really, really happy with how it all turned out. I am so excited to show him. I usually just buy my dad something golf related or a gift card to his favorite book store, and I never realized how much better it feels to actually give a present that was a labor of love.

circa 1990?

Problem Area

Today, I would like to announce that I am officially down SIXTEEN POUNDS!!!

Only four more until I get my purse! I can hardly believe it.

I have been noticing definite weight loss through my thighs, legs, arms, basically EVERYWHERE except not so much my stomach. Does anyone have tips for toning abs? Not that I am attempting to look like a body builder or anything, but I would love a flatter stomach. I have been doing thirty sit-ups each night (which I detest), and I try to do that arm sway/power-walker movement thing when I'm on the treadmill.

I am currently resorting to Google searches.

So reliable.

Source

I want that stomach. Please.

Pennies from Heaven

Sorry for all of the negative Nancy posts as of late. School just had me feeling so irritable and stressy.

This morning started off horribly. I went to my Shakespeare class where we were set to have our first quiz of the quarter. I had heard some really awful things about this professor's exams, and sadly- they were all true. As we went over the exam and I gradually realized there was no chance of me passing (I got 2/12 correct-OUCH!), I just wanted to cry. I was so tired from being up late finishing all of my reading, and it was just one of those moments were you get all dramatic and think, "NOTHING I DO IS EVER GOOD ENOUGH!!!"

Totally normal.

After my embarrassing quiz performance, I went to the computer lab to work on my presentation for my next period. I was still feeling so down and miserable until I looked on the ground and saw a penny.

Finding a penny is a very special occasion for me. My family believes in something called "Pennies from Heaven" in that when you find a penny, someone in heaven is thinking of you (namely my grandma and grandpa). This pennies from heaven started shortly after my grandpa's death. Whenever my mom or her siblings were faced with a tough issue concerning my grandma's care or something else serious, they would find a penny and it would let them know that my grandpa was thinking was them.

The most difficult time for my family was deciding whether or not to place my grandma in assisted living. My mom and her siblings felt so torn. During this time, my aunt was cleaning her kitchen and wondering if it was best for my grandma to be in assisted living where she would have around the care help. When she had finished cleaning, there was a single penny sitting out on the counter despite the fact that no one else was home and she had just cleaned every inch of that kitchen!

When my mom and her siblings took my grandma to tour the potential retirement home where she would be living in an apartment, the nurse's name was Penny.

Those are just a few stories of pennies from heaven (sorry, I didn't realize this post would go on for so long), but when I found that penny this morning, I knew that my grandparents were up in heaven watching over me, and my day drastically improved from this simple reminder :)

1AM and going strong

It is 1AM here in Cincinnati, and I still have a ton of reading ahead of me. Despite the fact that I actually did not procrastinate for once and worked on homework before the night before it is due.

I still have to read an entire Shakespeare play (And William and I DO NOT get along. We just don't understand one another) and 11+ chapters of Sense and Sensibility (Miss Austen and I clearly share a much more amiable relationship) tonight.

Sleep goal is now 4:30am (which would ensure we me a solid three hours of sleep).

Okay.

 Let's see how this goes.

School is bullying me.

As mentioned in a previous post, I LOVE STORMS, and I am happy to report as I type this post, there is definitely a big storm brewing outside! The winds are so strong that they are blowing through the open windows and slamming doors shut. The skies are turning gray.

I am so excited.

I wish I didn't have a million and ten things to do for school. How am I supposed to focus with this fun storm approaching??

Anyway. Today I am feeling so stressed over school, and it is only the second week of the quarter. I only have five courses this term, but with all of them being English, it adds up to a ton of work. I don't know what I was thinking when scheduling my classes! Each English course assigns 100+ pages of reading (not even counting the writing) between classes, and since I am taking five classes, that equals over 500 pages!!!!

That is like reading a Harry Potter book. But not as awesome and entertaining.

Mehhhhhhhhh

Merry Maid Me

Last night I got up to use the bathroom.

And tripped numerous times over shoes, my backpack, and other items thrown haphazardly on my floor.

This morning, I took a long look around. My room had truly turned into a complete mess. Clothes were on the ground, I had the contents of an old purse spread out on my vanity, books, old papers, and nail polish bottles covered my desk...etc, etc. It was a disaster.

But this evening? I would like to present to you- MY CLEAN ROOM!

Concerning

This is a random post, and I apologize if it comes off as a bit of a rant (it probably will).

Why do women care so much about what their boyfriends, fiances, or husbands think? Working in a salon, I am always surprised and disturbed when a woman has certain restrictions when it comes to HER hair.

"My husband says he doesn't like it short."

"My boyfriend really hates the smell of this shampoo so I can't use it anymore."

"Well, I like it darker, but my husband likes me blonde so I won't dye my hair brown anymore."

Really? The last time I checked the hair is on your head- not your husband's.

It is comments such as these that make me absolutely livid. Since when does your significant other have any say over how YOU like to wear YOUR hair or what YOU buy for YOURSELF?

I find it really sad when women sacrifice what they want just to please their boyfriend, husband, whatever.

Okay. Rant is complete.

Awesome Professor Moment

Yesterday I was sitting in my Jane Austen class and wondering why my professor wasn't there yet (She is always exactly on time).

After five minutes or so, my professor showed up with another English professor. They were both dressed up as women from Jane Austen's time! Complete with bonnets, dresses, and British accents.

"Hello class. I'm sorry your professor cannot be here today, but she asked me to stand in for her. My name is Jane Austen."

I LOVED IT.

We were scheduled to learn more about Jane Austen as a person that day, and our professor chose to act like Jane herself in order to explain her life. The other professor acted as her sister, Cassandra, and they shared pictures from the Austen home, personal letters, and other information that taught us more about Austen.

Both professors did an incredible job of staying in character the whole class ("We don't have these in the 18th century!" when using the computer), and it just made me so happy that a college professor would put so much creativity and time into a lecture in order to entertain her students.