Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Engaged!



Listening to: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Mood: Excited!

Hey friends!

So, I realize it's been a hugely long time since I've posted anything substantial on here and I'm not going to start promising to provide regular lengthy updates on my life, but I have big news!

Brad and I got engaged on Sunday!

We've been together for a little over 3 years now (isn't that crazy?!). One of Brad's favorite pranks to play on me used to be fake proposing. I've been fake-proposed to so many times I can't even count them all. Over Thanksgiving weekend, he kept texting me saying he was going to propose on Monday and asking if I was ready for it. I just laughed it off, thinking he was joking as always. I even said, "When you actually propose to me, I'm going to think it's another joke."

On Sunday, we had plans to go see a movie with Brad's friend Jon and his wife. I was a bit under the weather, but on the way home Brad suggested we stop at a park we went to on our first date as a belated anniversary celebration. I agreed but rather adamantly insisted we only stay for a few minutes because it was cold out and I wasn't feeling well. We ended up getting out of the car and going out on this little bridge over a dam and just stood there for a little bit.

He tried to get me to go over by a lighted gazebo, but I refused to move any further from the car. After a few minutes, he went, "If I was smart, I'd propose to you right now. Like this," and then he got down on one knee. I rolled my eyes and laughed - I totally thought he was joking until he took out the ring! And then I couldn't stop smiling and saying yes and asking if he was serious.

It was basically the most adorable/romantic moment of my life. I'm so happy! Seriously. I still can't believe it. We're planning for a 2 year engagement so I have time to find a job after I graduate (also, I graduate in 2 weeks. Isn't this insane? Seriously. I started this blog when I was a senior in high school and now I'm an engaged college graduate, basically) and we can figure out where we want to live and have plenty of time for planning.

I thought those of you who still check in here might appreciate the update! :)

I'll keep posting as major life events happen, and hopefully someday I'll have time to blog consistently again.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

So, it's been a while

Hey friends!!!

So, I'm pretty sure it's been at least one year (maybe even multiple years?) since I've updated this. Because I'm a horrible person. Just kidding. I'm actually not a bad person at all. I just got busy and started a book blog and started writing for a website and am preparing for graduation and...you know....life.

So!

What's new, you may ask? I'm tempted to answer "nothing" because I feel like my life is just a monotonous blur of work-school-work-sleep-repeat with occasional lovely interruptions like hanging out with my boyfriend or visiting my family.

In reality, I'm sure so much has changed. I just looked back at my last post, and it was in January. So I guess it hasn't been as long as I thought. When I last posted, I listed my new years resolutions. If you need a refresher, my three big goals for 2013 were to:

1.) Eat less junk and exercise more.
2.) Be assertive.
3.) Answer when opportunity knocks.

I honestly forgot I even made any resolutions, but I'm pleased to report that I somehow ended up following through (mostly) with them! I've drastically cut down my junk food intake. I still eat more than I know is healthy, but I'm still working on it. I no longer eat fast food several times a week. I eat more veggies and pay more attention to my caloric intake and output. I don't exactly exercise a whole lot more, but I am a bit more active. I park further away when I go to stores and on campus, and I'm taking a yoga class. So that's pretty nice!

I also amped up my assertion level. I'm still not quite as confident and my backbone isn't always as strong as I'd like to be, but I'm doing a pretty good job of standing up for myself when I need to and taking charge of situations. I've got a leadership position with a club at school, so I think that's helping a lot. I have to keep other people on track and answer questions and troubleshoot problems, so I really have to be sure about what I'm doing and saying and not be afraid to tell people off when they're slacking off or whatever.

I've also taken a few cool new opportunities. Shortly after my last blog post, I started writing for a website called The Daily Quirk. I get to do book reviews and feature-y articles. I even get to interview authors and stuff. It's pretty much the best thing ever. I love it. I've also started networking at the company that I would ideally like to work at someday. I'm still taking baby steps, but I'm pretty sure if I keep working as hard as I do, I could land my dream job. It really helps that one of my classes this semester is pretty much having us assemble all of our things to apply for our dream job (which doesn't quite make the most sense as the class is Technical and Scientific Writing, but since it's really useful stuff we're doing instead, I'm not complaining).

As I've mentioned many times before, I've also started my own book blog (which you can find here or here). I'm working on getting an actual domain name and hopefully customizing it so it's unique and fun and something people want to read. I don't have many followers at the moment, but I'm hoping the more I write, the more my readership will grow.

Mostly, even though I always think my life is boring, things are pretty exciting. My boyfriend and I moved to a new apartment and our cats are adorable and I'm too busy being happy with my life to remember how much I've actually got going on.

I hope the last 10 months have been good for you all, too! Please fill me in on anything I've missed in the comments. I'm hoping to get back in the habit of posting here occasionally, but if you miss me too much, visit my book blog. :)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Resolutions

Location: Couch
Listening to: The Princess Bride

This past year has brought a lot of changes to my life. Some were really great, others not so much. Looking back, the one thing I can conclude is that I am an extremely blessed girl. I have been given so many fantastic opportunities, and I have so many wonderful and loving people in my life.

I've got a number of resolutions this year. I don't remember what my resolutions last year were (I think I made a post about them, but I'm too lazy to look for it), so if I made any, I'm pretty sure I didn't stick to them.

I want this year to be different, because there are some big changes I want and need to make in my life.

1.) Less junk food, more exercise. I think this is most peoples go-to resolution, but it's something I really want and need to do. My diet was terrible this year and I wasn't nearly as active as I should have been, so I've gained weight and am probably not as healthy as I should be at this point in my life. I really want to fix that. It's not so much about what I look like or what other people see when they look at me. I want to know that I'm healthy and that I'm doing good things for my body. I want to feel confident and proud of my lifestyle instead of buying pints of Ben & Jerry's when I know I'll be home alone for a while and eating it all in one sitting. Eating lots of junk is bad. Waiting  to eat lots of junk until you know no one will see you do it is a problem.

2.) Be! Assertive! B-E ASSERTIVE! One of the best things about me is also one of my greatest weaknesses: I always want to make other people happy. I want to make other people happy SO MUCH that I completely ignore how what they want will affect my own happiness. Generally, I'm proud of this fact. But in some situations, wanting to make other people happy makes you a doormat. After a while, people know you'll just go along with whatever they suggest and they begin walking all over you. And then you just get really unhappy. But it's a vicious cycle and it's hard to break. So, this year, I'm going to stand up for myself more. I'm going to find a good balance of trying to make other people happy and trying to make myself happy. Sometimes it's okay to be selfish, especially about big and important things.

3.) Answer when opportunity knocks. As those of you who've been with me the entire time I've had this blog know, I suffer from anxiety. It's not constant and I've got it pretty much under control, but there are times where I let my anxiety dictate my decisions. Sometimes opportunities come up that seem incredible, but I scare myself out of taking them. This year, I want to actually live life. I don't want to stay at home because I'm afraid that the other people my friends are hanging out with won't like me. I don't want to cancel trips to visit my friends because I'm worried that something on my trip will go wrong. I don't want to life my life in a self-inflicted bubble. I want to go and do things and have fun and live!

That's pretty much my plan for the new year. I love that each new year gives you a fresh start. It's always exciting to think about all of the great things that could happen in the next twelve months.

Do you make New Year's resolutions? What were they this year? If you don't, why not? Let me know in the comments!