TILT- Celebrating the 1st week of Spring!

The past week and a half or so has been very productive for me, and I feel a lot of good things are coming my way.  Feeling positive and being surrounded by nice spring weather is amazing!

• This week, I interviewed for the Summer Internship, and I was offered the position this morning!  I am very excited to work for the History Museum this summer!
• This week also happens to be RA appreciation week, and I was appreciated by receiving bags of goodies, a huge plate of cheese, and a huge cup of punch!  
• Watching clips of "Who's Line is it Anyways?" with some of my favorite people
• Wearing dresses and gladiator sandals to class
• My university just put on a very inspiring, intense program called Tunnel of Oppression.  For those of you that attend MSU, I urge you to go.  I was very moved by this program.  For those who don't attend MSU, other universities across the country participate in this program.  Go check it out!

Small Things:

"She asked 'what do baby elephants eat?' and I was like that is totally irrelevant!" "Was it irrelephant?" * THIS link * "If raindrops were gumdrops...That would hurt!" * My necklace Matt got me was fixed this week * Communication Communication Communication * Being able to sleep in * Watched Tank Girl for the first time * making S'mores bars and cake! * Getting excited about the end of the semester! * I want THIS to be hung in my house

Spring Lovin'

I am overjoyed that Spring is officially here!  Spring means: enjoying shorts/skirts weather, wearing sunglasses, going on walks, blooming flowers, and finding adventures!  I have compiled a short list of things that everyone should do this spring:

• Fly a kite!  I think more people should fly kites more often
• Take a walk with a friend and buy cupcakes together!
• Blow bubbles on your way to class/work/out your window
• Volunteer somewhere!  Help Japan by volunteering at the Red Cross.  The Humane Society is great too! Stand up for women's health with Planned Parenthood!
• Take a class and learn something new.  I am going to learn how to shoot a gun (!) sometime soon
• Read a book on a blanket outside
• Take a roadtrip somewhere and do as many touristy things as possible! OR be a tourist in your own town!  Maybe you will learn something new about your town!
• Kiss frequently and passionately
• Write a love letter to yourself about how wonderful you are
• Feed baby goats at a farm!  
• Go on an adventure.  Bring a disposable camera and develop the photos right away after the trip.
• Get a super glittery manicure (and a pedicure to match!)
• Take a weekly bubble bath
• Order customized Jones Soda for your friends!

What other activities would you suggest?

For your viewing enjoyment: Baby Elephants taking a bath:

Things I Love Thursday!

I have been absent from this blog due to the fact that the previous week was my Spring Break.  I spent my time helping my family move houses, so I barely had time to do much of anything (oh, like homework or sleep).  Needless to say, I am still exhausted from a very busy week.  BUT, I have a lot of great and exciting things to share!

Spring is almost here!

Things of Note:

• I went to the Mizzou Graduate School information session.  I am absolutely EXCITED about that particular program.  Now, I am creating a plan on how to study for the GRE so I can finally take it before August.  
• I had a job interview today and I get to interview someone tomorrow!  Also, my summer internship interview is next Tuesday!  I am very excited about all of these opportunities! (And investing in interview clothes!  Yes!)
• I joined FitDay, a free website that calculates the calories, protein, fat, etc you consume everyday and other nutritional facts.  It also records exercise information and calculates that with what you ate.  You can track weight loss or weight gain on it too!  A very handy website, indeed!
• I got glasses so now I can read signs when I drive and read powerpoint presentations in class without any struggle.  And I look sassy while being able to see clearly!
• I have given up eating out at restaurants (including fast food) for Lent.  I plan on saving money and not gaining weight because of this.  Also, this changes what Matt and I do for date night, so I am trying to think of new things to do during this time.

Smaller Things:
Matt going shopping with me and being a good sport about it * PoHo * Fitting back into my favorite interview slacks * Discovering that I eat enough protein everyday * Naps when sleeping in is not an option * Thinking of new activities to partake in * The lovely spring weather * Feeling positive overall about the future * Silly dreams * Mother/Daughter dates to the Art Museum * Dinner with friends who live in different cities *  Matt overall: he is very supportive and wonderful, and also very handsome!  How lucky am I? (Mushy I know!) *

That is what is going on in my life.  What lovely things are you experiencing?

TILT - The First Week of March!

March has arrived!  That means spring is in reach!  How exciting!  I love spring, and I love Thursdays!  Here are some things that I loved this week:

This weekend, I narrowed down the graduate schools that I will be applying to.  They are (in no particular order): Mizzou, University of Illinois, Syracuse University, and University of Hawaii.  I have also created a timeline of application deadlines and GRE testing deadlines!  It's very exciting and very scary!

Spending time with mon petit ami Matt.  On Tuesday we went and got Gelato downtown.  It was really tasty!  I got the almond-joy flavor, and Matt got the dark chocolate mint flavor.  The gelato was topped with a Leaning Tower of Pisa cone. Tres cute!  Afterwards, Matt played piano for me.

I am two days away from Spring Break!  This is the first time this semester that I am able to go home, so I am pretty excited!  Fun times ahead!

Small things:
*The wonderful weather! * Discovering my superhero power * Dastardly dessert plans * Taco and guacamole dinner tonight with Matt * People still not recognizing me because of my new hair * Weekly PoHo runs with Kyla and Kelli * Colin Firth winning Best Actor at the Oscars * Grouchy Rabbit * My new perfume!  I smell like Spring! * Free food when I work the desk during Rotary Club * Regretsy



God, I miss this show.

I Love Movies

Today, I did not attend class because I fell ill.  I was feverish and completely congested.  My allergy medication did not help at all, which was a clear indicator that I was sick.  I took a super steamy shower to help clear my sinuses and decided that I would watch a movie since I was already up at 7:00 in the morning.  When I attended the UNI conference, we stopped by a closing Blockbuster and I bought four movies for a fraction of the original price.  I bought: The Fall, An Education, Revolutionary Road, and I'm Not There.  I had already seen the latter two before the purchase, and I watched An Education about two weeks ago.  Today was the day to finally watch The Fall.



I absolutely ADORE Lee Pace.  I have the biggest crush on him thanks to Pushing Daisies.  He was the main reason why I bought the movie.  I had no idea what the movie was about.  The movie is beautiful - interesting plot, visually pleasing, wonderful soundtrack.  Unfortunately, I feel asleep the first time around (hello, sick coma!), but I have watched it again since this morning!



An Education is another movie I liked.  I've watched it four times since my first initial viewing two weeks ago.  Apparently its adapted from the book An Education by Nick Hornby (who wrote A Long Way Down and High Fidelity).  I enjoy Hornby's writings, so I knew that this movie was right up my alley.

What movies do you recommend?

TILT - Growing up, making changes, and dreaming of Paris!

Paris

This week has been a very good week.  Its been very busy, but I feel like a lot of good things are in store.

The first thing I am most excited about is Apartment Hunting!  I have been saying this a lot, but its super fun and exhilirating!  I like being able to chose where I want to live and going through the process of touring the different complexes.  

Second, I am excited about everything that follows afterwards: job opportunities (and taking them), internships, finishing up classes, finally getting serious about applying and getting into graduate school!  Its all happening quickly, and I can't wait  for all of these changes!



Super dark!



Third exciting thing: Personal changes.  Over the past two weeks, I have felt extremely optimistic and utterly happy.  I have a lot of motivation for the future, and I have the thirst for change!  So, I changed my hair color.  I am no longer a red head!  Over the weekend, I watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a few times and gawked at Zooey Deschanel during my free time, so that inspired me to go dark.  Well, dark is definitely what I got.  It came out a LOT darker than I anticipated.  At first, I was really upset with how it came out, but it has really grown on me.  I have gotten a lot of compliments and a lot of other people really liked the change.  Also, in the mail today I got one of my birthday presents I ordered for myself: Philosophy's Field of Flowers.  It smells just like it sounds! I absolutely love it!  The best part is that the perfume came with a lotion, all for the low price of $35!!!  I love getting deals!

Lastly, I have had the most ridiculous dreams!  The other night I dreamt that a friend's family offered me to go on an all expenses paid trip to Paris for spring break because my friend could not go anymore.  So, the dream was me wandering around Paris, eating delicious food, and looking at beautiful things.  I was so disappointed when I woke up.  I also dreamt that I was on Glee, and I was annoyed that everyone on cast had an opportunity to sing a solo except for me.  Weird, huh?  I rarely remember my dreams these days, so I am excited that I could remember these!

I may have listened to this a lot this week:

I hope everyone else had a wonderful week full of love!

Goal Check In!

Can you believe it? February is almost over!  I am definitely dumbfounded at how quickly this month has flown by!  So, I think its time to discuss my goals and how I've been doing with accomplishing the goals.

Rus Anson

Lets start with the goals that fell short:

• I have fallen off the p90x wagon.  This is about the time last semester that I fell off, too.  Its getting to that time where mid-semester projects are due and mid-terms follow shortly after that.  
• My eating habits haven't been the best this month.  Valentine's day quickly followed my birthday, so Matt and I did a lot of celebrating (candy, delicious cooked meals, cupcakes, etc).  Also, I am a stress eater, so when the working out went out the window because of school work, my intake of food increased.  Uh oh.

Here are some successes:

• Although I have stopped p90x, I have already lost 1 1/2 inches along my waist, an inch on each thigh, two inches around my bust, and an inch around my hips.  I think that is something to celebrate :)
• Yes, February has been filled with candy eating, but I have also tried to eat healthy. I try to stock my fridge with salad, fruit, and other veggies for lunch and dinner.  I eat granola when I am between classes and drink Instant Breakfast every morning for breakfast (duh).  I am still fiddling with my caloric intake.  One of the residents that live in my building is a nutritionist and a trainer, so we talk a lot about food and exercise.  Through him, I am readjusting my diet.
• My morning routine goal is actually pretty successful.  I wake up every morning between 7:00 and 9:00.  I only sleep in on the weekends (this weekend was a doozy, let me tell you), but I've been trying to wakeup at a consistent time.  I have not increased my time wasting activities, unfortunately.  That is another thing I need to take care of.
• Finding a place to live: This is about to be taken care of.  My future roommate Kyla and I have been apartment hunting, and that was our big task over the weekend.  We looked at a TON of apartments.  We still have a couple more that we want to look at, but we found two that we REALLY like for a decent price.  
• Funding a place to live: This semester, I have been trying to be more responsible with my money and trying to stop senseless spending.  I have put aside a bit of money for the apartment, and I am beginning to feel more comfortable about getting a place.
• Finding a job: Oh, its going :)  My mom and I had a great conversation about it tonight, and I feel very optimistic about what I am going after.
• Graduate School: I am actually looking at more details of the Graduate Schools that I want to go to.  This weekend I plan on narrowing down my choices to four so I can do things to apply for them (like take the GRE and write those admission essays!).

I feel fairly optimistic and rejuvenated to complete these goals.  Nothing but the best is in my future!  All aboard the success train!

Things I Love Saturday!

This week has been crazy busy for me.  I cannot even put into words the type of week that I had.  BUT, there is always time to reflect on things that I love, even if it comes late.

Hey, guess what?

In case you didn't know, I am beyond obsessed with Valentine's Day.  Its one of my favorite holidays for sure!  It has all of my favorite things: pink and red hearts, glitter, candy, pink pastries.  What isn't there to love?  I love it whether I am single or taken!

I sent this card to Matt.  FOR REAL.

This year, I celebrated with my boyfriend Matt, who is my first ever repeat Valentine!  We got celebrate on Tuesday (the day after Valentine's), and I had a master plan up my sleeve.  All month, Matt was trying to get out what I was going to get him for Valentine's, and I felt pretty proud of myself for keeping it a secret.  I decided that I was going to make Red Velvet Cupcakes and surprise him at his apartment with them.  In order to do this, I had to get help from Matt's roommate, Alex.  Alex happily obliged.  On that Tuesday, I knew when Matt would be in class, so I headed over there during that time period.  I decorated the cupcakes there and let Alex taste-test them for me (thumbs up, by the way!) and then I got the rest of Matt's present (Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Heart and a pack of Boddington's Beer).  The hardest part was to get Matt back to him apartment because he thought he was going to pick me up at my place.  He was grumpy from class and did not want to drive back there, but eventually he did after finally convincing him to do so.  BUT when he saw all of the cupcakes and me all dressed up for our date, he quickly forgave me for driving out of the way to pick me up ^_^  Matt got me a box of Godiva truffles, and they were amazing.  I just ate my last one for breakfast today.  After exchanging gifts, we went to eat.  Dinner was fantastic; we ate at Gallery Bistro, a ten table Modern American joint, and it was delicious.

What I wore:

 I couldn't get a good full body picture, so only webcam pics of my hair and makeup!

Other things that I Love:

Candy on sale everywhere * Girl Scout cookie season! * feeling financially stable and responsible * Apartment hunting and finding a place that we like! * Buying Birthday presents for myself with a gift card * Getting the poison out of my life * "How you doing Miss Venom?" * Sushi lunches * Impromptu BBQs * the lovely Spring-like weather * Constantly being excited about the future * Loving the present moment * Perfecting the fishtail braid * Ch-ch-ch-changes!!!





What's good in your life???

I Love Braids!

Since my hair has been getting rather long, I have been trying to find new things to do with it.  My latest obsession are braids.  And not just the typical "three part down the back of your neck" braid.  Braids are definitely a hot trend right now, and there are so many different ways to wear braids.

"Braids are SO HOT right now"

Over the summer, I experimented with the French braid along my crown (a la Lauren Conrad).  This worked very well with my hair even though I did not have a lot of length.  I also never knew how to french braid until then!  Thanks to the magic of YouTube, there are many tutorials on how to do anything to your hair!

My favorite braid at the moment is the "Fish Tail Braid."  I kept seeing pictures in magazines of this peculiar braid, and I did not understand at ALL how to make my hair like that.  Thanks to YouTube, I found yet another tutorial on braiding!

Me with a FishTail Braid

The fishtail braid looks complicated, but its actually really easy to do!  Its a little bit more time consuming than a normal braid since the strands are a lot smaller.  After I finish the braid, I like to pull at it to make it look less neat and more thick.  

My hair inspiration

Another braid I found that I like a lot is called the "irregular braid."  It looks thicker, and you can even weave in fabric into your hair!  I tried it without the fabric, and it still looks great!  Again, after I finished the braid I pulled at the hair to make it look less neat and more full.

I am totally loving this trend.  How about you???

  

Things I Love Thursday

This week has been a very challenging week for me, but I think things are looking up and my worries will soon be far away. 

Via Etsy

The thing I love most this week are my Bestest Friends!  I do not know what to do without them.  I had a wonderful time with them this past weekend, and I can't wait to see them again!  I also love the friends I have here.  They keep me sane.  And, I have made some new friends over the past few days.  

Last week, I submitted a proposal for the Art Symposium that my school does.  Its highly competitive, and only three people get selected.  I did not get selected.  I was rather upset about it, but I think things do happen for a reason.  I really did not know how much time I would actually have to devote to it, especially with everything else that I have in my life.  Knowing that I have some free time makes me very happy.

Other small things:

*Trying new things * library nerdiness (playing with databases!) * upcoming fashion project *Valentine's Day decorations everywhere! * Feeling relieved and free * The Glee Valentine's Day episode * Brittany S. Pierce's new style on Glee.  I totally love it! * Silly texts from my boyfriend * My boyfriend for always being wonderful * My Mommy * Winning Twinkies for dressing up as twins with someone * THIS post by my friend Celia (you should follow her too!) *

Now, what do you love this week???