Julia

She smiles so big. Her eyes have stories behind them and if she's in the right mood, you can see everything she's thinking. I sometimes think she's a genius but she is too young to talk. She is so mellow most of the time and is pleased when she's fed and gets enough sleep. That's all she needs. She's my little napping buddy and my cuddle girl. She's starting to play with toys and make cute noises. I made her laugh this week. I could talk about her forever and I will because she's my favorite. Sometimes she's my best friend and her little hugs are all I need to improve my day. She's my goddaughter and my cute niece. She's my Julia.

Project 365

One of my friends did this 365 day challenge to take a picture every day of whatever happened that day. I have started this challenge a few times but I think it will be easier to take pictures this year so I hope to do this in 2013. I will post them on facebook. I just hope I can last!

Looking back on 2012, I have some pictures that show what I did. They mostly are mass amounts of photos taken on a single day rather than one per day. My graduation day, my spring break trip, visits with my nieces, etc were all great memories but what about that random day in April when the flowers started to bloom? Or when it was boiling hot in July and I couldn't think about taking a picture? These times are random but could be fun to remember.

Post Grad

It's been over two weeks since I graduated and I still don't know how I feel about it. It hasn't truly hit me yet because everyone else is still on holiday break, but I'm sure when they go back to school and I see Facebook and Twitter blowing up with "ugh I don't want to study for this exam" banter that it will hit me. I have no definite plans yet, only to hopefully go to graduate school and see where to go before and after that. I have only met a few people who know exactly what they're doing and I thought they were crazy. On the day of graduation, I met a girl who said this, "Well, I'm graduating today and then getting married in one week. After that I will go on my honeymoon and then get a job teaching MCAT prep classes because I did really well on the test in addition to getting a 4.0 in college. I will support my husband while he finishes up his undergrad and then go to medical school and he will support us then." My jaw dropped upon hearing this. Good for her, but I have met very few people who have their lives planned out to that extent. I once heard someone say that the people whose lives are not planned out and who travel on winding paths are the happiest in the end and I hope to be one of those people.

For now, I'm snuggling and taking care of my nieces and living with my sister. Every time I would come home to visit them I kept thinking how awesome of a life that would be. I know I will get sick of it and should get some sort of job to start paying back my loans, but that has been on the back burner of my mind since I graduated. I have searched a little and should do more, but being a bum has been fun for now. I have gotten emails from some of the graduate schools in which I applied and hope to hear back from them before March. Perhaps I will travel to visit them at some point this spring. I still can't decide about Nicaragua. So many life choices.

Christmas Shopping

My family often celebrates Christmas long after everyone else does. This is nice because you can score some awesome after-Christmas deals and think more about what to get for people. Needless to say, I felt very generous in my gift giving. Perhaps too generous after looking at my credit card and seeing how much I really spent. I should have thought about the gifts more and home made more of the items. That would mean more and be more thoughtful. Maybe I will next year. I would have to start now to think of ideas, though, as ideas often come and go as they please.

People were also very generous to me this year. My family was talking and everyone is in debt in one way or another, mostly through student loans, but we all tried to do something nice for the others in our lives. I always feel bad when people get me nice things, but I guess I deserve some nice things but feel bad when others buy them for me. Then again, I have been trying to get rid of "things" and clutter in my life and have 4 large garbage bags full of old clothes and other items to give to Goodwill, which will inevitably lead to my sister and me going there to purchase new items.

I guess Christmas is about giving and receiving joy, however you may interpret that.

Simplicity

I have a calendar for this year called Simplicity. It has very calming, serene photos and quotes for each month. Since it's December and the year is coming to an end, I thought I would write down the quotes so I could reference them.

True elegance becomes the more so as it approaches simplicity.- Henry Ward Beecher

Purpose is what gives life a meaning. -Charles Henry Parkhurst

How many undervalue the power of simplicity! But it is the real key to the world. -William Wordsworth

A day out-of-doors, someone I loved to talk with, a good book and some simple food and music- that would be rest. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Simplicity is the glory of expression. - Walt Whitman

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice. - Meister Eckhart

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. -Joseph Addison

The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are more of importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. -Thomas Moore

The greatest truths are the simplest. -Hosea Ballou

Simplicity is a jewel rarely found. -Ovid

Teach us delight in simple things, and mirth that has no bitter springs. -Rudyard Kipling

The sunshine of life is made up of very little beams, that are bright all the time. -Conrad Potter Aiken



I always strive to live simply, but it never works. Maybe that will be my 2013 goal.

Been a while

Well it's been a while since I posted in here. I guess that's what the end of the semester does for someone's free time. I always found free time elsewhere but for some reason didn't feel like writing.

I'm done with college. It hasn't hit me yet but I will write about it when it does. My exams were hard and I don't feel like I did well but you never know.

Beautiful Day for Football

MSU Shadows

Today was my final final home game of my undergraduate career. What??? I have always loved Spartan Football. I missed one season and otherwise went to all the other games (except for one this year when I was really sick) It really doesn't matter the weather, when the announcer yells "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR FOOTBALL," you just have to be happy and ready to watch an awesome game. Unfortunately, we lost this game but it was still fun. We had a bad season and lost a lot of close games. I still bleed green. I will always bleed green. It's invigorating to go to football games and be a part of 75,000+ other people in a family of Spartans. Thank you, MSU for this opportunity and GO GREEN!