What a week this has (already) been!

Wow. This week has already been pretty much insane. Monday I called and scheduled an appointment with the school nurse for this problem I've been having for several months. I worried about it ALL day on Monday. So much in fact that I couldn't focus on hardly anything.

So Tuesday rolls around, and I go to my appointment. I'm there for almost an hour because she had to draw boold to do all of these tests on to check out some stuff. Basically a lot of scary words were used by the nurse which totally freaked me out because the most sick I have ever been was the occasional flu bug, and my spiderbite...so basically anything is worse than that really. lol. So I was on the verge of tears most of the morning worried about it. But I decided that I'm strong and I will do whatever I have to in order to be healthy.

Then I had to go back today to get the results. I am happy to report that I don't have PCOS, or other hormone problems. Yay. So now I've got to take this medice for like a week to test and see if I have a different cause of this problem. Yeah, joy. lol But still, I think that's a kinda good sign that I don't have PCOS or whatever.

Anyway, so yeah that's my week. I'm pretty sure that I stressed out about nothing, but I think that makes me all the more grateful today to have found out that it is nothing. :)

Anyway. Phase 3 of my New Year's Resolution begins today: journaling every single bite of food (or drink) that passes through my mouth for at least 90 days.

Here is why this particular thing is so lucky as to be number three. Studies have shown that basically everyone (even nutritionists were included in this) under estimate how much they actually eat by as much as 10%, and even more. WOW. So let's say you think you eat about 2,000 calories a day....chances are you more realistically eat 2,200. That's not a huge difference really...but when you are trying to lose weight and stuff, man 200 calories a day can totally add up. Anyway, so that's my goal. I hope to use my journal as a foundation to refine and rehealthyfy (haha) my eating habits even further in the future.

Yay for the year of the better me!



(not just year though, I'm thinking LIFETIME) word up.

Are you freaking kidding me? (aka The dumbest rant ever)

So...Before school started this semester, I drove my little self down to Walmart to buy some pens and pencils. I wanted some mechanical pencils, a few normal ones, and some good pens. I had decided that for once, I would splurge a little bit and buy nicer, more expensive ones because in my humble opinion few things are better than a great writing utensil. This is especially true considering I am a freak about penmanship and I write things rather than type them as often as possible.

So anyway. I got these pens. Zebra Orbitz. I've had them before and loved the way the wrote. So it's like $3-4 for a package. No big deal. There were 6 pens and 3 ink refills in the package. We are starting the 3rd week of school and I have ran 4 of the pens out of ink AND used 2 of the refills. WHAT? Are you FREAKING kidding me? Ugh. So now, I guess I'm going to have to guy buy new pens again soon because these will be gone within a week. On average, I use a tube of ink every 2 or 3 days. I don't remember having this problem last time I bought them, but I didn't use them as consistently either...but seriously--that's not much writing before the pen wears out, so it's kinda frustrating.

I also paid almost $5 for some freaking mechanical pencils. They are like bic something or other, they looked really nice so, no big deal--right? Wrong. The pencils won't hold the lead that they came with...I dont' know what's wrong with them, but I can't use them because no matter what the lead always falls out. Once again. Are you freaking kidding me?

Then on to the normal pencils. You would think that there is very little room for error in a graphite pencil (or whatever they are made of). But once again, I decided to go for the slightly more expensive brand--a) because they were pretty [solid black] and b) because they claimed to be smooth writing [I can't stand a pencil that scratches against the paper, it's almost as bad as fingernails on a chalkboard]. I paid like $2 for 6 pencils, thinking that they would be all around high quality. Heck no. Their erasers don't erase AT ALL, they smear it around and make a big ole mess and the lead breaks pretty much every time I try to sharpen a pencil. AAAANNNDD the pencil is really scratchy against the paper, so once I finally get the dang thing sharpened I can hardly use it because it sends chills up and down my spine. Dang it. I'm so mad.

I mean, I know it's only ten dollars...but it's ten dollars freaking wasted and I am really mad about it because I could have just bought the crappy brands that I normally use and had a higher quantity of stuff, not to mention the fact that I've never had any trouble with it. UGH.

See, people laugh becuase I'm such a cheap skate...but apprarently NOT being a cheapskate doesn't work out for me, so just shush your mouth and leave me be. GRR.


Stupid pen and pencil companies.


Post script: Yes, I do realize how stupid and petty this rant sounds. After all, why the heck would someone get upset about stupid office supplies? Yeah, well the answer to that question is simple: me. It's one of my things, call it an idiosyncrasy, call me weird, whatever you prefer...but that's just how I am.

Did you know?

So, I've been trying to cut down on eating junk food, and watch the food labels on my food more closely. Basically, a month is too long to wait between starting one goal and beginning another, because I have grown a little bored with only changing what I drink. lol. But I'm pretty sure I'm over soda. Man, I see people drink tons of soda and the thought of it just makes me sick to my stomach. So much sugar, dehydrating carbonation...ew. Water is SO much better, and I feel better now too. It's pretty much great, and I've realized that the whole thing where they say that most people mistake thirst for hunger--yeah, that's totally true. Anyway, good times, and as of week three I had lost 5 pounds, which is more or less right on track with what I was hoping for. yay. :D

Anyway, so here's my did you know question. You know those little cans of Pringle's chips you can buy that are like the tube thing, but only a "single serving" or whatever....Right, anyway. Did you know that one of those little tubes had EIGHTEEN grams of fat in it, five of which are saturated fat??? WOW. I bought a can yesterday cuz Pringles sounded good, and then bought another today and just so happened to look at the label as I was opening them...man, it really makes me not want pringles anymore. I had kinda figured that since there was only one serving in the container, I would be better off buying that than a bag of chips. Which I sorta was, it's less fat, but it's still way more than that little can of salty chips is worth. Holy cow. I'm amazed at how many things have so much fat and then you look down on the label and they have virtually no positive nutritional value. No wonder Americans have so much trouble with weight....I'm stunned, I never really realized this. (Well, I've been told, but never really put two and two together so much).

Anyway, today marks the day I move on to contract number 2, of my year to a better me. I hereby commit to exercising 5 days a week, for no less than 10 minutes each day, but preferably 15-30...for the next 90 days.

Wow.

School is officially insane.

Every morning I go to work at 8, then work until 10 or so, and then go to class. I average about 3 or 4 hours of class every day, then go to work after class until 3. Then I proceed to go home and work slash study. Some days, I go to the library to work on research trying to solidify my choice for a topic for my Capstone.

So far, I have been unsuccessful, but I have narrowed it down I think to either A) Modern Hispanic Women's Writers or B) Religion, Mythology, and Legend in the Inca culture or C) Latino and Latinas Represented in Hollywood. The problem with A is that I'm not really feminist, and that topic is virtually entirely about feminism, and so I don't know if I want to do that. The problem with C is that I haven't found much information yet. The problem with B is that....well, I dont' really know...haha. Oooo...I just had a good idea! Option D) Mysteries of the Pre-Colombian Latino Cultures....Nazca lines, Machu Picchu, I'm sure there are some from the Maya and Aztec as well......


But I digress, last night marked the beginning of the Perspectives course. The class was MINDBLOWING. I can't wait to dive into my homework for this week. I'm pretty sure that anyone who loves Jesus should take that class, it will revolutionize the way you think...




Also....We are ONE week into school, and my 1" binder is already full. WHAT?!? I only used that much binder in ALL of last semester....I need to buy a bigger one I guess.

Wow. This semester is going to be really hard, but yet I am super excited about it. haha. What's up with that?

Numbers of my life.

1 pen that ran out of ink today while I was taking notes in class.
2 articles that I have to write for work this week.
3 number of butterflies I made to decorate my mom's birthday cake with.
4 fingernails that I have left...
5 pounds that I have lost after my break up with soda.
6 fingernails (fake ones) that have fallen off since Monday night.
7 hours of sleep that I try to get nightly.
8 mission trips that I have been on. (7 international, 1 in Wyoming)
9 pieces of clothing that I don't have room for in my drawers or my closet.
10 times that I yawned in my astronomy class today. (It was entirely accidental, that class is interesting)
11 most times I have listened to the song "To Zanarkland" in a row.(it's a great, relaxing piano song)
12 pages of notes that I need to type sometime today.
13 reasons why I LOVE my new backpack.
14 things that I need to get completed within the next week. (school and otherwise)
15 number of minutes I have to give a speech for my Spanish capstone.
16 (ish) weeks until I graduate from college.
17 hours I spend in class each week.
20 ounces of water that I drink with every meal (except for breakfast, sometimes).
32 Glittery CDs that surround my bulliten board.


:) hehe.

Paper trails...

Let me tell you. The amount of paper work it takes to be one of the first people to graduate from your university with a BA in Spanish is astounding. I just spent the past hour and a half, looking for professors, and advisors, and depatment chairs, and deans, and the Provost, to sign no less than 5 different sets of paperwork I had to fill out. Basically, it was kind of crazy.

The Dean of my college didn't realize that there were going to be new Spanish majors graduating, and he kept saying "that's astounding", which is particularly fun for me because he has an amazing Middle Easter accent. Good times. It's funny because everyone is "so proud" that our first class of Spanish folks are graduating...and it is pretty cool, I must admit. :)

Of course what is even more exciting is that I am finishing college and in September I will be starting the job of my dreams, AND working with some of my best friends! Yay for how things work out! Yay God. :)




"It's gonna be alright, cuz I know my God saved the day and I know his word never fails and I know my God made a way for me!" -Hillsong.

Last semester of school.

Well, it's official. I have begun my last semester of college. Yikes.

Today was great though. I have friends in all of my classes but one, which is nice. I am also super excited because I bought my textbooks tonight all for like $75. Yeah, it's basically amazing. The only ones I didn't buy were my $40 lab book and a few other little ones that I am just going to borrow from a friend. Seeint as how I saved so much money and all, I bought myself the new Ogio backpack I have been wanting for basically forever. I got it for fifty dollars on Amazon with free shipping, so I basically got a great deal. :) I'm excited.

There is a new quote up. Check it out. :)



Dance, let them think you're crazy....

Hooray for Post-Christmas sales.

Part of the joy of being at least semi-grownup is the ability to put up and decorate my very own Christmas tree every year. I must admit, it's a BLAST. This week, my family had to make several different trips to a town about 30 minutes away from home and this town has a Kmart. Usually...I hate Kmart. But they had some Christmas decorations that I absolutely LOVED...but being the cheapskate that I am, I passed them up because I decided 50% off was just not cheap enough.

Tonight we happened to go back just to hang out, and I noticed that the Christmas stuff was all 75% off and now, I was ready to buy! I got some amazing ornaments for my tree next year, a bunch of them...for like $15. I also think that I am going shopping again tomorrow, and I will probably buy even more. lol. I can't wait for Christmas next year when I'm in my own apartment and I get to decorate my tree!!!

:)

In other news, I haven't drank anything other than water and juice since Monday, and I'm pretty proud of myself. heheh.

On Resolutions.

This year I have a few resolutions. There are about...five actually. But the first one, is the only one with a clear cut plan. I'm not gonna say that it's foolproof, it's going to take a lot of work...but I think it's one of the best ideas I've ever come up with.

For the sake of ease, I'll share resolutions 2-5 first....

2. Finish college strong, really dedicated myself to my courses for the spring semester and graduate on a good note.

3. Read. I want to read more books, not only fiction or Ted Dekker, but books that increase my knowledge of the world and stuff.

4. Develop and encourage my talents. I can do lots of stuff, and I want to learn more and become even better at various things such as drawing, singing, computer stuff (like Photoshop and HTML codes) whatever.

5. Live my time to the fullest, and make the most of every day! :) (I tend to get rather negative sometimes, but there are so many great blessings in my life, that I really want to focus on those)


Now back to my first resolution. I'm making contracts with myself. On the first of every month. Today I signed a 90-day contract to not drink ANY soda. Along with this, I hope to increase my water intake, which I think is step number one to a happier, healthier me. :D

Anyway. I'm glad it's a new year...New things are always fun. :) 2007 was pretty great to me, and I hope that 2008 is even better.


Yeah...I'm super behind on my weekly quote...but here's a great one for the new year and all of your resolution making and stuff:

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.”