Currently, vol 46.

Well this week has been a blast. Busy at school, work @ Panera, and my 21st bday. I just finished my bday recap. Today will be a busy day of lots of homework, and installing a new water heater. Our basement half flooded, and we have no hot water. Therefore, no shower till it's fixed.

Finally 21!

Currently...

Reading.. The Fault in Our Stars. I am still reading it, and it is a great book to pick up and continue after a long day of learning or work. 

Writing.. in my new 5-year journal I received for my bday. It asks the same question everyday for five years. 

Thinking.. about all the homework I should have accomplished yesterday.  

Listening.. to Catching Fire in the background. I seriously love this movie! 

Smelling.. nothing. 

Wishing.. for warmer weather. I am thankful there is no snow, but getting out of the 30s would be better.

Wearing.. a sweatshirt and pj pants. This is my go-to Sunday outfit before church, but since we have no hot water.. no church for us. 

Loving.. the sunshine. It is coming through my window, and it is so bright! 

Wanting.. to find food for breakfast. I ate a hard-boiled egg; not filling at all. 

Needing.. to go for another run yesterday. I took tommy out yesterday, and we went maybe a half mile because it was so cold. Also a lady had her dog off it's leash (city law: dogs must have a leash). She proceeded to tell me she didn't care, and she definitely called me a bad name. Jerk. 

Feeling.. so much better than yesterday. My head killed because of the alcohol from Friday night. Oh well. 

Have a great week!

-b

P.S. The Blackhawks won on my birthday!! We watched the game at the bar in the casino! 

21st Birthday!

I was born on March 21, 1993 @ 6:22 a.m. to two loving parents. I was born five weeks early; which my original due date was the 28th of April. I was 4 lbs. 15 oz and who knows how long. So this year my birthday was: On a Friday, My golden bday, and obviously my 21st!

I woke up at 6:20 because it is tradition with my mom and I to be awake at the time I was born. I laid in bed until 6:30 because I knew my mom was wrapping my gifts. We ate coffeecake for breakfast, and I definitely contemplated having either a shot or a Mike's hard lemonade with it. At 9, I got my stitches taken out after having my wisdom teeth out over spring break! Fun times.

I got the 5 year journal, Catching Fire (with/popcorn + 100 grand bar),
iTunes, 21 button, and a shot glass!
As well as money to spend at the casino. :)

Mom and I went to Wildberry (which is a breakfast/lunch place with amazing food) to meet my Grandma for a late breakfast. The food was good, and the company was great. I got a caramel latte, and a bacon/cheddar omelet with hashbrowns and pancakes. I was full for probably seven hours.

Delish! 

The surprise cake they brought while I was alone at the table.
Mom and grandma both went to pay or something. 

After breakfast, we headed a mile down the road to the DMV. I wanted more than anything to get my license changed. We spend maybe thirty minutes waiting in one line just to go the cashier/sit to wait again to get my picture taken.

My mom and her best friend Laurie took me to Rivers Casino for a night of fun. I spent seventy dollars of birthday money, and I didn't win anything! I had many drinks, and I felt great. lol We went to the steakhouse they had at the casino, and boy it was expensive. I got the cheapest thing on the menu for 14 dollars. We got home around 1am, and I went straight to sleep. I had a terrible headache yesterday, and doing homework was absolutely terrible.

I am happy to share my birthday with someone I have grown up with for a long time. My neighbor Chelsea also turned 21 on the same day! We are 6 hours apart, and I am older!

Playing the slots since I don't know how to gamble!

Laurie, Mom, and I.

Now back to reality of homework, homework, and more homework.

Currently, vol 45.

I'm sitting under my miss-matched Christmas lights, watching Fireproof, and just relaxing. I am writing this post on Saturday night because I am working two shifts at Panera tomorrow. I get the joy to toast bagels, create delicious drinks, and take customers orders for 12 hours. This both sarcastic and not sarcastic. Sunday marks the end of an uneventful spring break. I got my wisdom teeth removed, ate out with friends, watched way to much Netflix, and did barely any homework. I am ready to start classes again, and I am excited to see my college friends again. :)

Adorable puppies from a pet expo on Friday.

Currently....

Reading.. The Fault in Our Stars. I am still reading it, but I have enjoyed not having to read textbooks.

Writing.. this blogpost among journal articles and essays for scholarships.

Thinking.. about taking my shower tonight and not in the morning so I can wake up just a tad bit later. 

Listening.. to Fireproof. It's a Christian movie with bad acting, but it is cute every once in a while.

Smelling.. nothing right now, but my sweet neighbor brought mom and I a whole pie from Bakers Square.

Wishing.. and hoping that the snow they are predicting will not be a lot. 

Wearing.. a sweatshirt and sweatpants. This will probably never change. I am not complaining.

Loving.. the break I had from school. Much needed.

Wanting.. to get good sleep before the week starts. Sleep is going to get sparse again. 

Needing.. to start exercising. I lost six pounds this week due to not eating cause of my wisdom teeth surgery, and I want to keep it up.

Feeling.. excited. 6 days until my birthday!

Have a great week!

-b

Currently, vol. 15

Oh what a week it has been here in Northern IL. I had an awesome week both at work and having fun with friends. I worked only three days surprisingly, and it was awesome to finally start sleeping in past 7am. Friday was my old high school's graduation. I graduated with 4 other people, and this year's graduating class was just the same: Five people! I look back now, and I think that is crazy. I hate saying that I was Salutatorian of my class because that isn't so hard to do. So, my entire class was reunited to go to graduation , and it felt just like old times. Some of us even went to Denny's at 11 pm. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Saturday, one of my best friends, Monic, turned 20! She is the last of my graduating class to leave the teen years. We met her and her family for pizza last night, and after my friends Monic, Aryan, Chris, and I went bowling until midnight! I then stayed up until 2, and got up for work at 5:15am. Wow. That was a lot. So, I am relaxing, staying updated on the Blackhawks game, watching Life of Pi, and after that Safe Haven. Life is Good, and God is Great!

Ms. D (my fav teach), Precious, Aryan, Monic, Me, and Chris.
This is my old class!

Bowling!

Goofing off. 

Chris, me, Ary, and Mo.

reading The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. 
writing up a job application to the movie store down the street, and applying for many jobs. 
thinking about all the things around the house that need to be done tomorrow. I need to mow, sweep, clean my room, pull weeds, and go for a 4 mile run. 
smelling nothing?
wishing for a call from one of the many jobs I applied for! 
hoping to accomplish a lot this week in many areas of my life. 
wearing my new Blackhawks t-shirt!!! It is for #19 Toews! We are currently in the lead in Game 2: 4-1!!
loving not having homework!
wanting to clean. I never want to do that so something must be wrong with me.  
needing to go close my window. It is 44 degrees outside right now. Umm, hello? I thought it was June.
feeling stressed financially.(again same from last week and the week before that)
clicking the post button. 

Have a great week everyone. 
-b
P.S. check back later this week for a post about the infamous quotes from working at Panera Bread!
P.S.S. i've lost three pounds or more this week!

Currently: 3/24

Weekly lesson learned:
Don't give stuffed toys to TomTom.

The last day of spring break is here. Sigh... I don't really feel up to going back to school. I did practically no school work while home. I only did anatomy homework while watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Hey, it was spring break and my birthday; so therefore, I have an excuse to not do homework. I loved going to church today. It was Palm Sunday, and of course we waved our palm branches during the hymns. Our church partners up with another church to put on a cantata every Easter and Christmas, and this year it was fantastic! Something about the orchestra and voices just spoke to me. It was entitled Footprints in the Sand. I think it was a great way to begin the week leading up to Christ's death and ultimately His resurrection. Plus I am excited to wear my new Easter dress. (from Ross for $15).

Currently...
reading Life of Pi. It is pretty fantastic so far! I have to read part one for tomorrow. My goal is to finish it before the Amazing race starts tonight. 

writing my philosophy paper due Wednesday. I have begun thinking about it, but who would I be if I didn't wait until the last minute as always? I promise you that procrastination is a gene written into my families DNA. My Aunt swears by it!

listening the gentle hum of my laptop, and the distant chattering of dog tags (one is currently walking around my room).

thinking about all that I need to do to drive back to school tomorrow at 6:45 am. I just didn't feel prepared to drive back tonight. Too much to read, and too much to pack. It's not like I only have 3.5 days of school this week due to Easter. 

smelling my hair shampoo from this morning combined with whiffs of flat iron. I got my hair cut yesterday. No, not picture worthy. It was just a trim. Although, I did cave into getting side bangs again. 

wishing all my friends safe drives back to school. I know a couple of people driving east along side the snow storm. So, I wish them luck and god speed. lol I just hope they arrive in one piece and not too frazzled. 

hoping to accomplish a lot of homework this week so that I can focus on family and Easter celebrations this weekend. Easter is a big deal to me. I want so badly to have Easter be refocused onto Christ and not the Easter bunny. Yes, he is cute and delish, but chocolate is only temporary. The real reason I celebrate is because of Christ's resurrection and my eternal life because of Him. 

wearing sweats and a t-shirt of course!

loving my new shoes I got for my birthday! I got Sperry's for the first time, and I think I am in love. They are so stinkin' comfy!

wanting to go for a run at least three times this week. I just am hoping that the weather will cooperate with me. Chicago's springtime is a delayed winter apparently. Every year it is so confused!

needing to check my bracket for March Madness. I am rooting for Indiana this year. I don't know why, but that is where my gut is. I typically like girl's basketball better than men's. 

feeling like writing this post was a good idea. It gave me a chance to step back and regroup before diving back into my book. It also gives me a reason to procrastinate some more. 

clicking summer job opportunities. I found this link on Pinterest, and it makes me want to work somewhere crazy this summer. Yes, it is about travel, but it has put my mind in a place to think about where to apply for jobs and such. 

I hope you all have a great week!

-b 

link up here

This little piggy...

So, my mom's best friend Laurie (dubbed Auntie LuLu) posted to Facebook before her birthday saying she wanted this cake.......

It's a pig kit-kat cake!

So, I was talking to my mom, and I said, "We can totally make that!" See, my mom worked in a Jewel-Osco bakery back when she was in her twenties, and I have heard so many stories about that job. I thought that with her baking and decorating experience that we could totally do this. I was right! It took about two hours from start to finish. All you need is...

- 1 cake mix (preferably chocolate) split into two 9" baking pans

- Bake them and let them completely cool!

- Stack the two cakes with icing to hold them together

- Put icing on the top and then sides for glue

- Approx. 30 kit-kats for the sides

- Mold the piggies from pink fondant! 

Our's looked more like a pig pile!

I think this turned out great!

So, met my mom's friend at Red Lobster for dinner to celebrate, and we totally surprised her!!!

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed home.

This little piggy had roast beef. 

This little piggy had none. 

This little piggy cried "wee wee wee" all the way to my belly! JK. 

-b

Twenty years young!

Today is my twentieth birthday! What? How did this happen?
I am so thankful for my life, my family, and my friends. I am so lucky to have so many great people in my life! I was born on March 21, 1993 at 6:22 am. I was born five weeks early, and I weighed 4 pounds and 15 ounces. I couldn't have asked for a better life!

Today, I went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch with my mom! We had a good time there and window shopping after. My mom bought me three pairs of shoes yesterday (Sperry's, new mocs, and black flats), and she gave me a licence plate holder that says the Chicago Cubs on it!! I love it, and the Cubs! After being at the mall we drove to Ulta cause I needed to buy new makeup, and I had a coupon. We headed over to Starbucks after that. Because it was my birthday they let me get anything on the menu! Say what? So I got a soy hazelnut macchiato. It was fantastic. Sort of like nutella in a cup. For the rest of the night, I just want to kick back and relax!

They wrote 'Happy Birthday to You' on the plate! 

Free Starbucks! 

I just want to quickly thank my great friend Lori. She wrote an awesome birthday blogpost about me! She is fantastic, and I am so grateful for her! Thanks for making my day special!
-b

SB 2013....

Spring Break. Oh how I love those words, and I do mean love. This semester has been terribly busy, and from here on out it will just get harder. I am supposed to work over part of spring break, but I am forgetful about having to call one of my managers to have them put me on the schedule. I am excited to go home. Home is definitely where my heart is, but I am also sad to leave my friends. I am looking forward to spending some much needed time with my fam and my doggies. I can't have too much fun since I do have papers due after spring break... Who does that? Seriously, we need a break. My profs need to calm down. They get to relax, and so should we.

Also over spring break is a sort of important day... My birthday! I will be turning 20!?!? When did this happen? I honestly don't know if I am ready to turn twenty. It sounds so weird, and I am not going to be a teenager anymore. Gah, I hate getting older. 

Oh well, I have 2 days of classes left until I depart for my homeland, my bed, my dogs, and my momma. 

What are you all doing for SB, that is if you have one still?

-b