I Love...

So I've seen these types of blog posts floating around the blog-o-sphere as of late. Sometimes they're titled "Grace in Small Things" or something equally catchy. I, being the creative diva that I am, have titled this "I Love..." Here goes!

I Love... Publix subs.

If you don't live in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina or Florida...you have no idea what I'm talking about. Publix is a grocery store serving hands-down the best subs (or hoagies) anywhere. Subway has nothing on Publix. Their bread is fresh (and twice the size of a Subway roll), their meat is delicious, and their veggies are to die for. And a Publix sub? Actually looks like the ad you see. A Subway sub doesn't even compare. So if you're ever in the 5 states listed, you have to go to a Publix store and get a sub. It'll be the best you've ever eaten. (Oh, and I just realized Florida is killing in Publix stores. We have approximately 735 stores. Next in line is Georgia with approximately 180 stores. I find this wildly entertaining)

I Love... my dog.

This is Dutch yesterday afternoon, after a much-needed bath. He looks so pitiful here. Dutch has been in my life since January of this year and I can't begin to express how quickly he wormed his way into my heart. In June of 2008, we lost our dog of 11 years to lymphoma and after a few months of grieving, I badly wanted a dog. I badly wanted a daschund. So how perfect was it that my great-aunt was willing to give him to me for free? He's a cuddle monster (which I love) and, quite plainly, one of the best things in my life right now. I love him to bits and pieces.

I Love... bubble baths

And to think just a few short years ago, I was making fun of my mother for taking bubble baths. Here's yet another example of how I'm turning into my mother. It started during my Final Internship From Hell where I dreamed of going home and taking a long, sinfully luxurious bubble bath. The moment your achy feet step into that hot, bubbly water is just heaven in a tub. So now my mom and I fight over who gets the bath first. And I can no longer make fun of her bubble baths.

I Love... taking a good picture.

I'm picky about my profile pictures. I don't want it to look too MySpace but then again, I want a head shot. So, whenever I'm having a good hair/make-up day, I'll whip out my camera and snap picture after picture, pose after pose. It's a sickness. Really, it is. But sometimes, I get really good pictures out of it. Like this one. I'm loving this picture right now.

I Love... football.

God, I love football. I've been catching a few preseason games here and there and it excites me like nothing else. I especially love Peyton Manning. I have an abnormal crush on him. Weird fact that I probably shouldn't mention: I cried when the Colts won the AFC championship. I'm actually not a Colts fan. I'm a Dolphins fan. But there's just something about Peyton. I'm so excited for this season to begin. It's been such a long off-season.

And...that was kinda fun. I'll have to do it again. You tell me...what are some of your loves?

A Smooth Start

Week 1 of the semester is in the books. Only 14 weeks to go? Yikes.

I think I'm going to end up enjoying all my classes. Always a plus. I don't think I'm going to be enjoying all of the homework. I may be a nerd but I haven't gone that far yet.

Teacher-wise, I think I lucked out. All of my teachers seem really awesome. In my Tuesday night class (Beginning Reporting), we have two teachers. One of the teachers brought in a jar full of miniature candy bars. The other teacher brought in oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. Yes, I think I'm going to like them a lot.

It's going to be a pretty tough semester. Looking through the syllabi* for my classes, there are some pretty hefty assignments. I have 2 case studies (and I hate, hate, hate case studies) and an assignment where I have to interview 3 scientists on campus. Since I'm intimidated easily (especially by people with higher education), I'm not looking forward to this assignment.

The good news is, I have friends in all my classes! This is a remarkable moment because I'm usually the shy, quiet girl who never raises her hand for anything. I try to make friends, I really do, but it's hard for me. I'm not friendly and find it hard to strike up a conversation with someone I don't know.

In all of my classes, I have people who were in my Writing for the Mass Media class and I think we all bonded over that experience. Suffice it to say, although my teacher was great, she was dealing with a lot of personal problems and canceled class repeatedly. She assigned 8 papers for us to write but we only ended up writing 3. She only ended up grading 1 of those papers and by the end of the semester, she basically asked us what grade we felt we deserved. No lie. (Guess what grade I received?)

My goal for the semester (other than writing great papers and acing the classes) is to be more friendly. Because I'm so not friendly! I wish I was. And I really want to start participating more in class. I have things to say, but I'm usually too shy to say them. So that's 2 goals (actually, 4 if you count the academic goals).

Here's to (yet another) great semester! (And yes, I understand that was super cheesy)

*I think syllabi is the proper plural term for syllabus. Correct me if I'm wrong, please!

A love story only God could write

It's been a total of 5 years since I've been on a date. Seriously. No lie. Absolute truth.

Sometimes, I think there's something wrong with me. Come on...what normal girl doesn't have a dating life, even a sporadic one? If you can't find a guy at your work, church, or local bar...just hop on the good ol' WWW and find a guy online! I can't tell you how many times I've been tempted to join eHarmony.

It's especially hard when I see friends I've known since middle/high school getting married. I'm only 21! Should I be feeling the urge to marry so soon?

For the most part, I'm happy with my life and where I am. My life isn't perfect by far but it is mine and I have the power to change it. And I am working on changing the things in my life that I don't like.

And while there are many times I feel that there's something wrong with me, I know that I am doing things the right way. I'm not hooking up with guy after guy, trying to find Mr. Right. The amazing thing is, God knows who my Mr. Right is. He created him especially for me. He is preparing him for me and preparing me for him. Right now is not the right time for us to meet.

But we'll meet. And the love story that will follow will be the most amazing I've ever witnessed. It will be a love story God designed. The relationship will be based on God, not ourselves. And I'm so excited to meet this guy. He's going to have to be pretty special to put up with me. That's for sure.

"My fellow nerds and I will retire to the nerdery with our calculators."

Tomorrow, I'll start yet another semester at USF. And I'm really, really excited about it. And anxious.

I'm signed up for 4 classes, all within the College of Journalism. Everything has worked out for this to happen for me. My scholarship came through so I have until October 30th to pay the difference. I was able to swap schedules with a girl at work, which we started on Tuesday. Working 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. is so much nicer than working 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. I used my last paycheck to buy a new laptop and my parking permit for school. And I'm using this next paycheck to buy books.

It's all coming together. I couldn't be happier.

I feel like I've been out of school forever and I decided to go back to school to finish my degree. Maybe because I didn't feel like a student in the spring. I was only signed up for 2 classes (one in which I didn't even have to attend except for 3 classes the whole semester). I never even had a binder for my classes. I just used an old notebook the entire semester. I was only on campus for 3 hours a week. I never bought a parking permit so I parked in 2-hour parking slots (only getting a ticket once, booya!). And it took me 4 weeks after classes started to finally order my books.

But this time, I'll be doing everything the right way. I have my parking permit, my books will be ordered on Friday, and I'm so ready to begin. I've even signed onto the website to look at the syllabi of my classes (only 2 were posted). I bought a new notebook and some new pens. I'm preparing my binder for my classes already. See? I can totally be a nerd.

Since the fall of 2006, I took 8 semesters straight of classes. Fall, spring, summer. Fall, spring, summer. I've been out for almost 5 months and I am so ready to get back into the groove. I'm ready to graduate with a degree I was supposed to graduate with.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!

I'm starting this blog completely new. I'm not going to link back or upload my previous blog posts from Classy and Sassy. I'm not very happy with the way C&S was going. I didn't like the way I was writing. I've been reading other blogs and feel that they've got this blogging thing down and I'm just running around in a maze without any ending in sight.

I needed to make a change and I think this blog is the way to go. I like it. I like the name, the look, the feel, and the direction I think it's going in.

Yes, I take this blogging thang really seriously.

I'm really excited about this. I'm excited about upcoming blog posts and becoming more well-known on the ol' blog-o-sphere. I think this is a good change.