Happy New Year!

well it is 2011. I'm going to have to get used to that. This is the year I turn 21, not that turning 21 is important to me. It's supposed to be a big deal, though.

I have been thinking about New Year's goals. I don't have any firm ones, but I thought that "to be healthier in all areas of my life" is a pretty good one. I'm going to make a list and how I want to implement that list.

God
Sometimes God is not as important to me as He ought to be. My resolution in this area is to discuss Jesus at least once a day in some way. Talk to people in real life or on Facebook/email about Jesus.

Relationships
One big thing here is that I am still shy and I have a fairly small friend group. My resolution in this area is to practice ignoring my fear of starting a conversation with someone new, which I hope will make me a bit more outgoing. I also want to do acts of kindness more often.

Finances
Okay, I admit it. Having a debit card makes spending money SO much easier! Especially on Amazon. My goal in this area is to spend $10 or less a month on things from Amazon (I often buy music or ebooks). This goal does not include buying textbooks. Another goal is to walk out of Walmart with only what I went there for (usually just milk and other food).

Stuff
I'm lucky in that whenever I want something material I generally can get it. But I have a lot of JUNK and things I don't wear or use. My goal in this area is to radically reduce my stuff. If I wouldn't take it to college, I don't need it. Certain things are exempt from this but not much. I'm going to work on that this week while I'm home alone.

Skills
I'm learning how to knit and crochet, but I still need to learn some skills. This year, I would like to learn how to sew better. I also would like to learn how to cook. I can bake okay, but I can't cook very well. These are probably skills I will have to work on during the summer since I don't have access to a sewing machine or a decent kitchen at school.

Health
I get sick a lot. I want to change that, so here's my plan. I want to be more conscious of what I eat. I've heard of something called the No S diet, it's basically "No sweets, no seconds, and no snacks, except sometimes on days that start with S". I can't do the no snacks thing because I get nauseous if I don't snack, but I can do the other things, which cause more consciousness of what I'm eating. I used to not eat desserts or drink pop at college except on the weekends, but I got really lax on that. I am going to change it!
I also want to work on exercising more often. I have a tendency to just sit around, which obviously is bad for me. I am going to commit to exercising at least on Mondays, which will help because that's the best time to start in the week, because it motivates you to keep going.
Sleep is also important. I am going to shoot for being in bed asleep by midnight EVERY night, including weekends. Except New Year's Eve. Haha.

So this is a lot of stuff, but I am going to work on it. I am going to forgive myself for screwing up when I do, but I am going to work on it every day.

Nobody reads this blog anyway, so this is just a reminder for myself.

Snowy Sunday

Three people I love very much are flying home today. It is snowing so I am thinking about their safety.
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We are celebrating a birthday today.

FINALS!

I am so ready for finals.

My papers are all finished and I have been studying like a maniac. I'm so ready.

well hello December.

It's getting colder, the professors are making us do course evaluations, and they're talking about doing midnight breakfast...

HERE COME FINALS!!!

This Monday marks the beginning of 'dead week' and the following Monday is finals week! I have a lot to do between now and then, but I will get it done. Here's my to-do list:
- STUDY- Greek, Bio, Anthro, and Spanish
- WRITE- two papers for philosophy and a paper for Spanish (written in Spanish)
- Pack!
- Do service (3 times during Dead Week!)
- And other stuff that I am not listing here. This probably involves having a mini-mental breakdown. (that's a joke)

The end is near!

And now I can listen to Christmas music! haha

study break!

Tomorrow I have a bio test, and Wednesday is a practical lab quiz for bio. I've been studying a lot and am trying some new techniques. I hope it helps. I think it is working so far.

I have an "up to 6 pages" paper due on next Tuesday. I've started it already, wrote about a page today. Not a full page but it is about 4/5 of a page. I have general ideas and a sort of outline (not really an outline but it has the concepts I want to hit on) written. The professor wants footnotes, which I haven't used before (or if I have, it was a long time ago). The paper is to be on a topic of my own interest based on the articles in the book. I am writing about language and how it affects people's perception of each other. It's a fascinating topic (I really should be a linguist, eh?).

The following Tuesday (30th) the first round of presentations for Spanish are due. They are 7-10 minutes long and are supposed to have an audio-visual component. I am presenting on conservation in Costa Rica. I haven't done much research yet, but I will. I am just focusing on the paper that is due before then.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving but I'm trying to keep it fairly low-key. I have at least 4 people who aren't family who want to hang out with me during the break, and I'm hoping I can see all of them. Trying to make plans and still respect family plans and kind of stressing about this when I should be worrying about school! haha.

Okay, time to write some emails...

so...

A lot of things have happened since the last time I posted but honestly I don't want to write about all of it, so I'll give Reader's Digest blurbs about things.

- I've been home 3x and got to see my dear bf all 3 times.
- I went on a fall break trip to Omaha, which was fun, and definitely an eye opening experience as I served supper at a soup kitchen for the first time.
- I've been a listening ear for a friend who is dealing with a major life change, incidents at school, and other stressors.
- I had a cold this/last week but it is clearing up, which makes me happy.
- I bought an exercise mat so I can do Pop Pilates in my dorm room without getting bruises because the floor is hard. (Pop Pilates here with Cassey: http://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates )
- This month I am making a point of posting as a status on Facebook what I am thankful for each day.
- I am enjoying my classes and made it through midterms with all A's except one A-.
- I got to test view "The Candy Shop" by Whitestone Motion Pictures, which is a "fable about child sex trafficking" and it is intended to raise awareness against it. ( http://www.whitestonemotionpictures.com/Films/the-candy-shop/ )
- I have been doing a bit of service lately for Wesley Service and it has been fun.

That's all the (semi) important stuff, so there you go. A post at last. :P

well.

Clearly I didn't write more when I got back from class. Oh well.

Float Sink or Swim was fun, there were antics all around.

The game was good today. We lost but we were close to winning. Pep band is annoyed with the school for hiring a DJ for the game who kept INTERRUPTING us! Jerk. Anyway, he eventually got the picture that we were gonna play and he was gonna stop playing.

Other than that, not much to talk about. Tired.