Things I Love Thursday

It is that time of week where we reflect on all the happy!

Lush: Everytime I try a  new product from Lush, I fall in love!  I bought Ultimate Shine and  Trichomania.  I have only tried Ultimate Shine, but it was AMAZING!!!  My hair is really soft and shiney.  YAY!

Snow: I love when It snows because the snow is so pretty.  Sure it makes driving conditions terrible and you need to bundle up extra and still freeze, but sitting inside with a cup of hot tea looking outside into a winter wonder land is quite relaxing.

Simpson's Seasons 1-11:  I love older Simpsons.  I am in posession of seasons 12 and 20, but I haven't seen 12 and 20 is rather dissappointing.  The new stuff is too "Family Guy", which I don't find funny at all.  Plus, older simpsons had such classic songs!

Sorry about the quality of this...It was the best I could do while keeping the original video.

Classic Simpsons is far superiour!

My Cardi-Wrap: While I was home for the holidays, I started working on a cardi-wrap. Since returning to school, I haven't touched it and that made me very sad. I was able to do some work on it last night. Now, all I need to do is put sleeves on and hem it. It is so close to being done and I am so excited! Pictures to come upon completion!

Snacking: I hate cooking and avoid it when possible. I prefer to snack all day as opposed to a large meal. Because of this, I finally got some snacky foods that are healthy. I have stuff for salads, carrot sticks, greek yogurt, and fat free cheese sticks. Yay for snacking!

How to Stay Inspired When Classes are Bringing you Down

Classes, often times, are nothing more than a way to pass the time on your way to a degree.  I am starting an experiment and I would like you to help me along so we can see if it works or not.

So here is the experiment: Take your binder (or notebook if you prefer) and find a picture that relates to your class (cute animals or pretty flowers for biology, geodes for geology, girls/boys in lab coats with test tubes for chemistry, rollar coasters for physics...you get the idea).

Print out these pictures (in color if possible) and put them in the clear front pocket of your binder (if you are using a notebook or a binder that lacks the transparent front cover, you can always take a plastic sheet protector and tape it onto your notebook/binder or put it as the first page in your binder).

The pictures should relate to the class so you stay interested.  If in a few weeks, you are bored with the picture, change it out.  The sheet protectors are a way to help keep the pictures looking nice while your binder/notebook takes abuse from your bookbag.
(And who better than Jude Law?)
Here is what I have so far for my classes
Geology and Lab (pretty self explanitory)
Business Law (And who better than Jude Law?)
Human Resource Management (such a funny episode)
Information Systems Management (I like desktop backgrounds, so I figure I use that as a picture for this glass)

Things I love Thursday

Photo Credit:pattpoon of flickr

It has been a while, but I have a lot of things I love!

My Puppy: My little pup is growing up so much!  She is really energetic, but is always ready to be picked up and cuddled (which is going to end soon because she is 5 months and 47 lbs.)  She is always super excited to see me, and she just loves to play.  She will fall asleep very quickly if nothing is going on (or she will squeek her squeek toy when my mom is teaching on her computer)

My Family: I recently lost my grandfather (it was the first grandparent of mine to pass, so I am still getting over the shock of it all), and that meant driving up to Albany (where he lived) for the funeral.  I got to see all my family for the first time since my grad party in high school.  I enjoy being with them, but I can never get around to visiting them because of the distance.  It is such a shame...

My car: I finally got my car.  It is a 2003 Hyundai Elantra and is the car I learned how to drive on.  It is a dark blue-ish green and is soo pretty.  I also have a car friend to travel with.  None other than Yurtle the Turtle (Kohls is always selling Dr. Suess plushes, so check it out)!!!

My sewing Machine: For Christmas, I got a really nice sewing machine.  I have used it for a few things already, and it is amazing.  I am still getting used to things like changing the presser foot and needles, but it is all good.

Lush Bath Bombs: Also for Christmas, I got lots of Lush stuff.  The bath bombs are really awesome!  I like the fizzing in my hand!  I love the smell of them so much, I dont care having to scrub the ring out of my tub!

Awesome breakfasts: So I made scambled eggs, sausage, and toast for breakfast a few days ago.  Nothing too fancy, right?  Wrong!  The toast had a heart cut-out (by hand) and was filled with scambled eggs (which were filled with sharp shredded cheddar cheese, but you can use any shredded cheese if you wish).  Garrett absolutely LOVED it!  I would say it is a repeat thing!

Painting my nails: So I havent really been too into painting my nails for a while due to lack of time and the fact that my job makes my nails chip much more quickly than they should.  I have started to not care so much and just paint them when I want.  I can always take it off and reapply.

Nippon Ichi Games: Nippon Ichi makes tactics-style RPG's.  Phantom Brave is about a girl who can see ghosts (It has been a while, but I think she needs to calm down all the spirits) and the DisGaea series takes place in the Netherworld (it sounds really dark, but it is really funny)!  All the artwork is anime-esque and the games used amazing sprites rather than 3d images which can make a game look REALLY awkward (See Final Fantasy X).  Be prepared to invest some serious time into these games.  I have heard of save files that weighed in at over 1000 hours (take FFVII which is about 76 Hours (including side quests) or Chrono Trigger with is about 20 hours).  The games have a very cute quality to them and they are really fun games for those who enjoy tactics-style games.

Just TRY and watch this without smiling. I DARE you!


Not as good as the other one, but still has it's moments. The ending ALWAYS gets me!

So what is making you smile?

Welcome 2010! (sorry for how late this is)

Ok, so I am horribly late in posting this and for that, I apologize. My life was recently turned upside down and I think I am getting everything back on track. Many people are already loosing steam from new years resolutions, so many those people will find this a little pick-me-up!

Let's start short term:
Get organized.  I have never really been all that organized in my life.  I am always scrounging around last minute to get things together.  I purchased an organizer (blue zebra strip Keroppi organizer.  It is SO CUTE!) and I will be able to keep track of assignments.  I am also going to my apartment (currently at my parents house) and cleaning up a lot of stuff.  My boyfriend is moving out soon, so I need to clear things out.


Eat Better.  So, everybody has a different definition of what that could mean.  For me, it means no eating fast foods and no eating a lot of carbs.  No pretzels, chips, crackers, or drinking.  I will reward myself with these kinds of treats with working out and loosing weight.  I need to start cooking for myself (typically my boyfriend did all the cooking), so I need to not rely on ready-made food (high in carbs and sodium)

Work Out.  So, you might have noticed the trend of really predictable resolutions.  I want to be able to get back on my work-out regime.  I noticed results almost immediately.  However, I get really light-headed by a lot of it.  I am going to try taking work-out classes and see what I like.  I also need to get a hold of my badminton stuff (I know a fair bit of people who play) and get back into that.

Sewing project a month.  I got a nice new sewing machine for christmas and I really want to use it.  There are a ton of reasons to not do something (no money or time) but those are mostly just excuses.  I already have a few projects planned out (and I got fabric to start one) and I am super excited about getting started.


Reconnecting with Friends.  Since moving off campus, I no longer have a meal plan.  Going to dinner with my friends at the dining halls was how I mostly stayed connected with everybody.  I want to be able to hang out with everybody I was unable to hang out with.  I might even try and save them from campus food!  Who knows?  I want to make it a point to hang out with people at least once a week.

Learn New Craft Techniques.  I love beading and crocheting, but after a time, everything just feels the same.  I want to make it more interesting.  Not only will that increase what I can do, but it will keep me sane!  Doing the same things over again cannot be healthy.


Read More.  This is kind of vague, but the only things I read are assignments...things I need to grind through.  I want to read at least one fun (non-class) book a month.  To get a head-start on this, I have gift cards to Barnes and Nobles.

Pass the JLPT 4 Exam.  Japanese Language Proficiency Test is a standardized test.  Everything else about it is self explanatory aside from the number.  The level 4 exam is the easiest of the tests.  In Japan, they have a Kyu system (commonly seen to rank people in Go) where the higher the number, the lower the rank.  Think of it in terms of medals and it makes sense (level 1 is like 1st place, etc.).  I am studying to take and pass this exam so I have some way to differentiate myself from everybody else graduating with a BS in Business Management.  I have about a year until the next exam is held in the country, so I should be fine.

Learn HTML.  I am terrible at coding anything.  I always try and it messes up.  That makes it take even longer to put anything together.  I want to be able to post pictures without tags from hosting sites...The ad tags tend to be large and obnoxiuos.  I would love just regular pictures with not tags.

Done with short term.  Lets move onto long term:

Launch My Business.  I want to open up a combination cafe/bar/craft shop.  Garretts little sister wants to open those kinds of shops too.  I was thinking a partnership with her to get things started.  I also have a name on Etsy and My aunt is starting an e-business (http://www.simplychiccollections.com/ check for updates) and she said she would sell my stuff on consignment.  It seems like I have a ton of options and I am loving it!