Just a bit on Christmas

I've written before about Christmas.
About songs that annoy me and some present mishaps.
But past all the tinsel that's actually pretty easy to clean up, there's something else.
Why do we buy gifts for people?
To prove we love them?
Because it's socially demanded?
In hopes that they bought you something at least as cool / useful / expensive as you bought them?
Or because we really want to give them a gift as God gave us a gift on Christmas?

There are people who are having skinny Christmases this year.
There are people giving gifts of meals, partial tuition, car repairs, and new clothes for work or school this year.
There are people who literally have nothing to give to the ones who mean the most to them.
But we can all give something.
This thing isn't material.
It costs you nothing, so it fits any budget.
And it won't be forgotten by New Year's Day.

Give the gift God gave us.

Give the gift of sacrificial love.
(And I'm not just preaching at you, I'm talking about me, too.)

Love the people who love you.
Love the people who annoy you to death.
Love the people who make your life more difficult.
Love the people who are a bit prickly.
Love the people close to you, because you see them every day.
Love the people you'll probably only see once, because it means more than you might know.
Love the people who think they are unlovable.

We certainly were.

"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8b

High Five for Friday!

1 ~ Business Writing Class

Doesn't sound like it would be, but that class can be a blast.
We're supposed to be working on proposals for a program for our college, which actually is pretty interesting, but we talked about every type of project but that for about half the class Wednesday.
But classes like that are usually only fun because of the professor. . .

2 ~ Professors Who Cancel Class on Fridays

Yep, it's my Business Writing professor.
He's awesome.
And to his credit, he cancels class on Friday because we turn in a report on our work, so it's not like we're getting a totally free pass.
But still.

3 ~ I got the internship I really wanted!

I've been volunteering at a local non-profit organization for about two semesters, and the work I've been doing has become more and more computer based and complicated.
(One of them actually didn't realize I was a volunteer and was about to hire me as a consultant.)
But now, I can get college credit for working, and I'll get a ton of experience!

4 ~ Mushrooms

I just love mushrooms, but we don't often have them.
We did last night, and that made me very happy.
And while we're on the subject of food. . .

5 ~ Doggy Antics

. . . Our dog Bud has a bad habit of begging.
We don't cave.
"Never?"
"Never! -- Well, hardly ever. . ."
But last night, I heard the telltale sounds of happy licking.
I had dropped some food earlier and picked it up and threw it out, but I figured Bud was just savoring the vapors.
Um, no.
He climbed onto my chair and ate an entire bowl of fettuccine alfredo.
Doggone it.

High Five for Friday!

I've decided to participate in this lovely link-up because 

1) it's pretty fun, and 

2) it's good to get in the habit of looking back and being grateful for things, no matter how small or inconsequential they may seem to be.

So, here we go!

1 ~ Fall Break

Oh come on, if you're telling me you are / were far too studious to be excited about a break, you're lying.

Really.

Of course, even if you aren't / weren't studious, you probably still have / had plenty of work to do, because not only do some professors seem to not understand the concept that you're enrolled in more classes than just theirs, they also seem to have a poor grasp on the term "break".

2 ~ I got my wisdom teeth out

I know, this sounds really sick and grisly, but when you've been in on-and-off pain for about 4 years which became far, far worse in the past 3 months, and way worse in the past 3 weeks . . . well, you'd be pretty excited to get that over with, too.

Plus, Fall Break (see above) allows me basically a whole work week to recuperate, and since I'm making sense typing all this, I'd say I'm coming along nicely.

Minus the chipmunk cheeks.

3 ~ Mashed potatoes, grits, applesauce, ice cream, and basically every mushy food there is

Yep, mushy foods have been my dear friend the past day and a half.

Good job I actually like all those foods, otherwise I think I'd be on a strict ice cream diet, and that doesn't bode well for the running I plan to be doing soon.
Oh, and also for me mum, who spoon fed her 21 year old daughter the applesauce, and for my dad, who makes awesome mashed potatoes.

4 ~ Yogurt + granola bites

I'll be honest, I'm feeling a little too lazy to get up and see what kind of granola it is I'm talking about (let's chalk that up to post-op dizziness), but I know the vanilla clusters I got are in a blue box, looked pretty healthy, and I got them from Target, so they're automatically awesome, right?

Also, I'd have lumped this in with #3, but I think granola's a no-no right now.

5 ~ Netflix

Need I really say more?

Being 21

Remember when you were a kid and you thought Sweet 16 was so far away? I mean, heck, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Snow White were married at 16!

And then you turned 16 and you realized that you didn't know anything and what the heck were those girls thinking, getting married at 16?!

You just got your driver's licence!

You thought 18 was the thing. You could tackle anything when you were 18.

Until you turned 18.
Then you realized you totally do not have a handle on much at all.
The next milestone is 21.
21.
Where you can literally - and legally - do anything you want.
Within reason, obviously.
Well, let me tell you, Girls-younger-than-21, 21 is not what it's cracked up to be.
Yeah, you can basically do whatever you want . . . but with that said, there's a lot of responsibility on your shoulders.
I know a lot of gals my age - including myself - that would just love nothing more than to curl up with a tub of ice cream or and popcorn and watch Disney Princess movies all day.
And maybe a little a lot of Doctor Who.
But we can't.
We've got college.
We've got jobs.
We've got bills to pay, assignments due, and people counting on us to get things done.
That's not to say that we don't have moments of calm or just time to have fun and relax, but those moments don't come often.
Girls-younger-than-21, treasure your moments of freedom.
You might be bored, but another word for boredom is free.
And treasure the innocence.
And the simplicity.
Enjoy it while you can.
It's not going to last.

Writing Well is Hard

I'm in a senior seminar this semester. We're all working on either fiction projects or poetry projects.

For those of you who have read my poetry, you've probably gathered that 1) I'm pretty good at free verse, and 2) anything not in free verse is not my cup of tea. 

Now fiction . . . fiction is my cup of tea.

You could say that I've had a bit of experience writing fiction.

I self-published a pretty short book about two years ago, and most of the people who left reviews liked it.

This semester I'm aiming for a full-length novel.

Oh my giddy aunt, y'all.

You have no idea how hard this is.

Keep in mind, this isn't necessarily for enjoyment, though I'm sure I will enjoy it for the most part.

This is for a grade.

And credits.

Mostly the credits.

But get this: there's a prospectus.

We've gotta outline it.

We've got to cover everything from beginning to end, no plot holes.

And we're likely going to get critiqued.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining -- I love critiques of my stories. Love them. It makes for a better, more coherent, more detailed story.

But gosh . . . it's hard.

But hard is good.

Creatures of Habit

Long story short:

my place of work has a mailbox right next to the mailbox for the dentist's office next door.

I walk into work this morning and end up stopping to stare at where the mailboxes used to be.

Key word USED.

Past tense.

Somebody moved them.

Normally that wouldn't be such a big deal. 

Except for one little detail that I'm not sure was missed or deliberately ignored.

They switched the mailboxes around.

Let that sink in for a moment.

. . . sigh. . .

We're all in for some confusing mail calls. . .

The Difference Between "Working Out" and "WORKING OUT"

So, I don't know if any of y'all have made those New Year's Resolutions that go something along the lines of "I'm gonna get healthy and workout every day and lose a ton of weight and keep it off forever!" or not.

I'll be honest: I have.

To be even more honest, I still am.

I wanted to lose 15 or 20 pounds by the end of the year.

I was doing well at first -- I lost 6 pounds in January, but then I gained it back.

Know why?

I wasn't doing it right.

I wasn't eating a whole lot, but that was it.

That's not the way to approach it.

Now I'm working out at least three times a week, usually about four or five, in addition to watching what I eat.

I was counting calories, but now I'm not really. It's in the back of my mind to be conscious of it, but I'm working eight hours a day, so I don't have much time to eat -- nor am I really that hungry by the time I do get a chance.

I've actually started a Tumblr where I post workout plans and such for those that might just need a game plan for actually working out. The series I'm posting now is a week long SPARTAN Workout, which are mostly strength training exercises (don't worry -- you don't need a gym subscription or equipment at home!) I'm planning to start a S.H.I.E.L.D. Workout soon, which will focus on building flexibility and perhaps post a (theoretical) weekly menu. Maybe.

Another really good thing to do when trying to lose weight or even get healthier is to have support and keep track of your progress.

MyFitnessPal is great for keeping track of your weight, measurements, and calories (if you plan to count them). If you'd like to add me, feel free to!

MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Also, if you'd like a quick - but effective - workout, I'd suggest doing this one. It's 4 minutes long, but those 4 minutes burn about 130 calories!

There's just a few things that you really can't afford to forget:

- God made you the way you are. You're tasked with maintaining the temple, not overhaul renovations exactly. Just to be a good steward of what you're given. He's made you as you are purposefully and you're beautiful (or handsome, as the case may be) that way.

- You can't change what you look like too much. I mean, if you have curves now, you're probably going to always have those curves. If you curve-less now, you're probably not going to have a whole lot later. And if this gets you down, just re-read the section above.

- Don't do anything you won't be able to keep up for the rest of your life. As my mom says, don't diet, live-it! Don't do some crazy diet that promises to help you shed 50 pounds in a week because that's 1) not realistic, and 2) you can't eat - or not eat! - like that forever. Slow and steadfast wins the race. And if this gets you down, read the top part again.

Confessions: I Could Have Been a Math Major

DISCLAIMER:

This is not a dig at people who enjoy math, who have degrees in math, or jobs related to math.

It's just me being snarky and slightly honest.

Sometimes people ask me why I'm an English major.

They're like "Oh, do you want to teach?"

I don't really, and I can't help but think that if I wanted to teach, I'd be an education major.

But English is just something I enjoy and that I'm good at, and I thought reading books and writing essays for four years would be alright.

Yep.

But I'm also good at math -- or at least I was about five years ago. 

Haven't taken it since then.

I'm taking it now.

And I love it.

But the thing is, I just couldn't do math for four years.

Well, maybe I could have, but I don't think I'd have liked it.

Mostly because of Geometry.

Just not my thing.

In high school, my math teacher begged me to be an engineer, but I hate Geometry, so that wasn't really something I wanted to do.

I finally got him to stop telling me that by saying that if I did become an engineer, all I'd make is roller coasters and he'd have to test ride all of them.

That worked.

But I used to be really good at it.

I could solve small-ish matrices in my head, I still can foil quite a bit mentally, and stuff like that.

I'm surprised my professor hasn't gotten on me yet for not showing a lot of my work.

I might take more math next year, just to fill up empty space in my schedule, but next year is pretty much anything I want to do, so maybe I'll take some math. . .

Maybe I won't.

Heck, maybe they'll offer an equestrian class.

That'd be fun.

But don't think I don't like math much because it's hard.

No, that's part of why I like math: you have to figure it out; it's not just memorization.

I mean, English is hard too.

You try remembering what the Great Vowel Shift was, or how Proto-Indo-European converts Greek and Latin to English and stuff.

I like a good challenge.

But I have to admit that math has a one-upper on English as far as I'm concerned.

In English, you can read things pretty much however you want, but in math, 2+2 always equals 4.

I like that.

Consistency and concreteness is cool.

(And that's ^ alliteration.)

There's just one thing I don't really understand about math.

I mean, English majors learn how to think critically, and that's a skill you can use anywhere.

Math majors learn how to think analytically, and that's a skill you can use anywhere.

But I just don't understand why we learn some of the stuff we do in math.

Isn't a lot of that more theoretical than applicational?

Theoretical's totally fine, really, but . . . isn't applicational more useful?

I mean, under what circumstances would somebody need to know this?

I'm not being snarky here, I swear.

This is an honest to God question.

Is this like a real thing?

I've got the concept down fine, I'm just curious.

Other than teaching my kids someday.

If I even remember it that long.

Spring Break

So Spring Break is next week.

I don't know why they call it that.

It's not much of a break for a lot of us.

It's more like designated time to get your work done at home, sleeping in. 

And people go places for Spring Break?

. . . Like, how?

I couldn't do that. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I did that.

And I can tell the break's already starting to catch up with me because I woke up thinking "I need to do ___ today" 

. . . And I can't remember for the LIFE OF ME what it is!!!

On the flipside of things, BBC's Sherlock Series 3 starts filming on the 18th.

Sleepy Saturday Link Up!

I love Saturdays.

Like, really.

I really love Saturdays. 

Way more than I used to.

It's the one day I can sleep in, though I find myself jolting awake at 8ish and thinking "OMIGOSH I NEED TO GET TO CLASS NOW!"

It's a rude awakening, but the realization that I don't have to get out of bed is a beautiful thing and almost makes up for it.

Almost.

So this Saturday, I'm doing boring stuffs, namely schoolwork.

I've got a paper to start.

A book to read in its entirety. 

Research a presentation.

Look into internships.

Apply for a job.

And . . . I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting, but oh well.

What are y'all up to this loverly Saturday?

Be Still and Know

Psalm 46:10

"Be still and know that I am God. . ."

Sunday, one of the songs we sang in church had to do with trusting God and being still in His presence. 

Monday, a dear family at our church buried their three month old daughter. One of the songs at the funeral was about being still and worshiping God. 

The funeral shook me up quite a bit, and afterwards I went for a drive, just to think and pray alone. 

I ended up at a beach, just staring at the waves. 

And that's when I realized (again) what being still with God really is.

You know when you're with that friend and you don't need to say anything to fill in the silence because it's a comfortable one? I think that's what being still is. It's sort of like a lull in the conversation, where you've poured out your heart, and you're just waiting on Him to speak to you.

It's really nice. And very comforting. 

And it isn't something you only do when things are hard.

It's something we should be doing all the time. 

It's hard. I know it is. There are so many distractions, from school, work, friends, obligations, technology (hey, I admit this freely, and I love my gadgets).

But God gave us the time we have . . . shouldn't we "spare" some for Him . . . ?

Homemade Cash Back Rewards Program (and other money saving tips)

We'd all like more of this, yeah?
Well, I know that being a commuting college student who works part-time can mean a really, really tight budget.
I'm seeing all these commercials for "cash back rewards programs", but those are all for credit cards, something most of us really don't want to become entangled in.
So what's a girl to do?
I've given this more thought than I could afford to and came to this realization: most full-time students work more hours during the summer than during the actual school year.
This means that we're generally making money over the summer to last us during the "drought" so to speak.
So, how do we make sure that we're saving enough for the important things like textbooks, car insurance, and rent?

First, the homemade cash back rewards program.

I'll admit it: this is more or less a result of my laziness and unwillingness to carry around change, but hey, it works.
Make all planned purchases in cash.
This means groceries, makeup, clothes, and other things that you'd typically put on a shopping list.
Here's how the cash back works: take the change* you've gotten back from the purchase and stash it away for later. This can be a Black Friday fund, a rainy day fund, an emergency fund (which is probably the wisest, especially if you're living off your own means).
*(When I say "change", I mean the actual coins, but it's up to you what you stash away -- it can be anything less than a $5, less than a $20, whatever works for you in your current situation.)

Second, save money online.

This is a lifesaver for those of us that buy and rent textbooks and such online: Ebates. I know it sounds like a scam, but it's not; I signed up and have already gotten a "big fat check".
This is how Ebates works: you go to their site and search for the store you want to shop at, say Chegg.

You'll see that Chegg has a 4.5% cash back value; this varies per store.
All you have to do is click "Shop Now", and you'll be rerouted to that site. Shop as you would normally, and a percentage of your price will be put back in your pocket!
Ebates also has coupon codes for sites, so those are worth looking into as well. (RetailMeNot also has coupon codes. Very handy indeed.)

Third, be smart when shopping for textbooks.

Of course it's easier to just check Amazon and Half.com for textbooks, but I've found that those aren't always the cheapest places to get them.
Here are some other sites you'll want to check as well:
AbeBooks
Bookrenter
Chegg
Ecampus
Textbooks.com
Also, when you're planning to buy books, get them as early as you can. Most people sell their books at the end of the semester, which means there will be a large supply, usually lowering the cost. This also means that if you're planning to sell, wait until a week or two before school begins; those who have procrastinated will be hunting the books down and most will already be sold out.
If you're planning to rent, you'll learn that some sites offer books for a "semester", while others simply offer 60, 90, and 125 day periods. Calculate how long you'll need the book (fall semesters generally end the first week of December while spring semesters typically last until the first week of May), and rent the book as early as possible to keep your cost down.

Fourth, take advantage of gift cards.

When somebody gives you a gift card, it's usually the best gift ever.
But what if you don't like the restaurant, or there is no store around you to use it in?
Simple: sell the card or trade it.
How?
Plastic Jungle.
You can sell unwanted gift cards and buy discounted gift cards to places you actually like. This is also a great way to save even more money on sales, too.

Fifth, spend some time budgeting.

I know it's a pain, but it really comes in handy. Whether it's making an Excel Worksheet, keeping a ledger, using Mint, or what have you, it's a good skill to learn. Here's what my Worksheet looks like:

All I do is enter my income and my formulas do the rest for me.

10% is taken out for a tithe.

The tithe plus any other immediate bills (textbooks, loans from parents) is subtracted from the net income to give me my subtotal.

Now, my car insurance is taken out monthly from my savings account at Bank #1, so that's pretty much all I use that account for. 60% of the subtotal is deposited there.

At Bank #2, my savings is (theoretically) untouched (read: emergencies) and my checking is primarily for gas, as I commute to school instead of live on campus. 25% of my subtotal is deposited into checking for gas, and the remaining 15% percent is put in savings. 

Obviously, this can be tailored to what you think is best for your specific situation.

Also, if you want this Worksheet, just email me and I'll get it sent to you.

And finally, be open to making money on the side.

This can include blogging / being sponsored, making things to sell on Etsy, babysitting, self-publishing stories, pretty much whatever! Just don't get too caught up in the income part of it (Proverbs 31: 10-31).

If you have any other tips for how you save money or work your budget, leave a comment below!

700 Calories

I've been trying to lose weight for years. I lose some, then gain some, then lose some more . . . yeah, there's nothing steady about it.
This summer I've lost 10-15 pounds.
As a reward, my mom bought me a betta fish. (You know, the one I almost boiled alive?)
It was really funny, because I picked the fish over a month or two of them paying my car insurance.
And I'm 20.
But anyways, my parents got me a bike for my birthday.
I was so happy.
It's been years since I had a bike.
It's weird though; it's more work now to ride it than it was when I was like, 12.
Oh well.
I've been trying to alternate between biking and walking during the week, and today was one of my walking days.
I use the MapMyRide app on my Blackberry to track how far I go and how long it takes when I ride my bike and when I walk.
(On that note, if you're going to use it while biking, come to a complete stop before stopping the app . . . took an Olympic-worthy tumble learning that lesson.)
I was listening to music today, so I was willing to go a bit farther and faster than I usually would. That, and it was only like, 85-90 degrees this morning instead of 95-100 like it's been lately. Still pretty muggy, though.
Anyhow, I usually go about 3.5-4 miles . . . I looked down on the way back and saw that I had already gone almost 4 miles -- and I was just now turning around!
I ended up going 6.51 miles. It took me about an hour and 15 minutes to do that, but I was pretty proud of myself.
I burned over 675 calories . . . Yay!
Not like I eat a whole lot anyways, but still.
But I did have a Birthday Cake Shake from Zaxby's yesterday.
I might have maybe burned that off . . .

A Loooooooooooooong Day

Well, I got my work out today . . . at work.
I was asked to come in an hour early to install some blinds.
The instructions said it would take 15 minutes.
Remember that. That's important.
I told my boss it would probably take about half an hour.
. . .
Right . . .
So, the instructions were very poorly written . . . I was given two different types of screws and they never said which screws were for what, so I had to take an educated guess. I think I was right . . .
Anyhow, I had to drill holes before putting in the screws, and I followed the directions which said to use a 1/16 bit. That seemed to be way too small, but only after we forced about five screws into the holes.
Once we got the holder-thingys up, we tried getting the actual blinds in.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooh my goshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
These kinds of blinds are cut to your specific needs in Lowe's. Apparently my boss asked for 62". She got 62 3/4".
Doesn't sound like much, but when you're trying to slide a metal box into a fixed space . . . IT MATTERS.
So she says that somebody needs to go back to Lowe's and have it recut. I'm the only one not really needed at the office, so I volunteered. She was fine with it until we remembered my car's still in the shop. She then decided I could use hers, but then she was like "Hey, no, wait, you had that really bad accident a while ago!"
(It was actually three years ago, but I understand her reluctance.)
She made me promise to be very careful and then gave me the keys.
Hahaha, POWER!!!
So, I go to Lowe's and just as I pull up . . . it starts raining.
Great.
I end up lugging this huge, heavy thing into Lowe's, holding it for like half an hour while somebody else's blinds are being cut (which is totally fine; they were there first) and I finally get it cut.
I go back to work and TA-DA! it slides right in.
PRAISE. THE LORD.
So, once the blinds are up, I tried to lower them.
And tried.
And tried . . .
After 20 minutes of messing with it (including taking it down again), we finally got it working.
This whole process took like three and a half HOURS.
Fifteen minutes . . .
Pfft, yeah, right!

My evil final writing project . . .

So, for my Development of the English Language class, we got to pick our final writing project from three different options.
I picked something along the lines of "pick a small group that uses non-standard English and write about the differences".
'Kay.
Being the dork/geek/nerd that I am, I picked n00bs. N00bs that speak 1337. 
I asked my professor if that was okay.
He said sure . . . and proceeded to inquire what a n00b and 1337 was.
This paper is going to be so fun . . .

First day of school!

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo . . .

Today was the first day of school!

I worked full time this summer, and realized that it's going to be very strange to not be working all the time . . . Yes, it will be very strange indeed . . .

Anyhoo, the day went by really well! I just wish I'd known I didn't have to bring that 20 pound Shakespeare anthology to class . . . everything would have been much lighter.

I met with two other friends for lunch, and that was fun! (If one of you is reading this, we're on for next week!) Luckily, there is somebody I know in all of my classes, except for perhaps the one I have once a week.

But whatever.

I'm just grateful I was able to go back this year. I just pray that I do well! XD