Love actually is all around.

One of my favorite quotes ever is from one of my favorite movies ever (beautifully written intro sentence, I realize this).

"Love actually is all around."

This quote is from the movie "Love Actually," and I absolutely adore Hugh Grant's delivery of it.

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I try to think of this quote anytime I see something terrible on the news, have my feelings hurt by a client at work...really just any moment where I feel down about the way people treat others and truly just the entire state of our world.

Today, I was driving to my "home home" from my campus house when I got stuck behind a school bus.

I initially felt irked over being held up every two or three houses while the bus stopped and dropped off kids, but that quickly changed when I actually watched these little girls and guys trample off the bus and run excitedly to their parents or grandparents who would be waiting at the end of the driveway.

It must have been the first day of kindergarten because I also noticed a lot of parents taking photos as the kids hopped off the bus, some wearing construction paper hats and all of them with backpacks twice the size of themselves.

Watching those happy children run into the arms of their parents and grandparents just made my day, and reminded me that love actually is all around.

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around.
"Love Actually"

Looking back on September 11th

I know this post will not be very original today, but I don't think that's so important on a day such as this.

As I sit here eating my bagel and drinking my hot tea this Sunday morning, I cannot help but think back to that Tuesday morning in 2001.

I was eleven-years-old and sitting in my sixth grade math class.

There was a knock at the door, and another teacher leaned her head in and motioned my teacher to come over. I can still remember my teacher's face as she received the news. Her eyes widened, and even though I was young, I immediately knew that something very grave and awful had happened.

My teacher walked swiftly to the TV and turned on the news.

We were faced with the image of the first tower of the World Trade Center engulfed in flames and smoke.

I kept hearing the news anchors referring to the buildings as the twin towers. My dad works for a company in Cincinnati whose two buildings are sometimes referred to as that. My stomach flipped, and I wondered if it was my dad's work they were talking about.

Several classmates of mine were picked up early, but I rode the school bus home like any other day.

That afternoon, I was glued to the television. I remember feeling just so sick that day. I was petrified of what was taking place in my own country. I was also at an awkward age to receive and interpret the events of September 11th. I was old enough to somewhat understand what had happened, but I was too young to truly comprehend what it all meant.

A few nights later, I heard a plane fly over our house. I ran to my parents' room, terrified. I was convinced that a plane was going to crash into our house.

For almost three months after that, I had to sleep on the family room couch with earplugs so I wouldn't hear the planes fly overheard. Whenever I heard a plane at night, those images from September 11th came flooding back, and I felt certain that my house would be destroyed. I would have such vivid nightmares where I'd be standing in my driveway, paralyzed and helpless, while a plane dived into my house. I could always see the face of the hijacker. They were horrifying dreams.

Ten years later, my stomach still dips a little when I hear a plane flying overhead at night. I think about how much our nation and our world has changed because of that day in September.

September 11th makes me feel angry, bitter, frightened, and sad.

I know I will be saying a prayer today for all of those lives lost on September 11th as well as the men, women, and children killed by acts of terrorism since then- in America and all over the globe. I will also be praying for all of the people who have lost loved ones in terrorist attacks. I just cannot imagine losing a loved one to such a cruel act of terror.

Thank you to all of the firefighters, police officers, and other heroes of September 11th, and thank you to all of the men and women who continue to keep our nation safe every day.

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The end of an era...or at least a summer job.

Well bloggers, I DID IT.

I survived my summer of working at my family's metal casting factory.

There was a lot of blood (okay, really very minimal blood), sweat (truly A LOT of this), and tears (yep- lots of these too) involved, but I really learned quite a bit from this experience.

1. I can wear jeans, and I won't melt.
2. Pallet jacks require a special kind of maneuverability skill I will never possess.

This is a pallet jack. They are evil.

3. Sometimes, dirt does not come out of your fingernails. No matter how hard you scrub.
4. When the garbage man arrives on Friday morning, it is oddly amusing to have the privilege of running into the machine shop and getting to shout, "TRASH!!!!!!"
5. Steel-toed shoes are hideous yet imperative in the factory setting. You will thank those ugly shoes the first time you drop a metal part on your foot.
6. If you do not wear gloves, you WILL get blisters. They will hurt.

In all seriousness, I am really proud of myself for doing a manual labor job. There were moments when I truly felt empowered while moving a heavy crate or working with tools. I also realized how hard some people have to work every day, and I have a whole new appreciation for my salon job and my education.

Let me leave you with a short iMovie I made for our company's YouTube page. Enjoy!

Just a minor scare.

Last Saturday night, my roommates and I were enjoying our first evening together in the house by having a few friends over.

We were hanging out in the living room, which is at the very front of our house. 

Suddenly, my one roommate screamed, "THERE'S A FACE IN THE WINDOW!"

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And then we were ALL screaming and running towards the back of the house.

Another one of my roommates shouted, "SHOULD WE CALL 911?"

Someone else yelled, "I KNEW THIS WAS A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD TO LIVE IN!"

We all began running up the steps while still maintaining our high-pitched screams.

Our unfortunate friend, Mike, was making his way downstairs at that exact moment and was nearly trampled.

MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!

Anyway, it turned out that the "face in the window" was just one of my roommate's boyfriends.

Very dramatic. I know.

On a side note, we are getting our security system activated this week.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Wednesday Weigh-In is back after a two (three?) week hiatus!

Having moved out into my campus house, I am discovering that it's surprisingly much easier to stick to my diet there.

Living at home, there were always delicious snack foods available to me since obviously not every member of my family was dieting.

One of my greatest weaknesses.

Actually none of them were dieting so imagine all of the delicious foods tempting me at every turn!

I love the control I have now over what foods I keep in my kitchen. I naturally keep a few guilty pleasure foods around, but I don't have to worry about such a plethora of them anymore.

Also, I only recently realized how expensive it is grocery shopping for yourself. So that will also deter me from spending too much $$ on snack foods.

Current weight: 142 pounds

Not too shabby!

It's just SUCH a big deal!

Do you ever find yourself getting irrational?

I think it definitely qualifies as a fault of mine.

For example, when my alarm clock goes off at 5:30AM on my factory days, I literally get tears in my eyes. Bloggers, I almost CRY over having to get up early.

I think, "Oh my God. I don't know if I can do this. I am just soooo tired."

It's very dramatic and irrational to say the least.

Speaking of waking up in the morning, when I oversleep and have to reorganize my morning agenda, I feel pretty close to crying as well. It's as though my entire day has been ruined over the mistake of waking up late.

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I am truly trying to work on putting my little life problems into perspective and handling them calmly.

And no more tear-filled eyes.

Does anyone else occasionally get irrational?

I'm back on the grid!

So I have been a lame blogger these past several days.

My weekend has been insanely busy with moving to my new campus house. It has taken me four days and MANY trips back and forth between home,  but I think it's just about complete!

What? I didn't mention I moved into a charming English cottage? ...meh, I wish!

I can't wait for show you all pictures of my new home, especially my bedroom, which I believe turned out particularly adorable.

Our house won't have wireless until at least Friday so I'll be pretty spotty on here the rest of the week, but I can't wait to catch up on all of my blog reading and be filled in on all of your happenings!

Oh, and I had no idea how much moving sucks.

Or how many bruises I'd acquire in the process. I look like a victim of domestic violence. Awkward. Especially since I'm single.