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!!!