It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

For such a busy time of year, I am surprisingly laid back. Anne and I got the Christmas tree up a few weeks ago. Since I am a perfectionist, it looks amazing! I haven't gotten any Christmas baking done, but maybe I can squeeze some in this week. I only have finals in one of my classes this semester, so when everybody else is stressing big time, I am pretty stress free!

With the new year coming, I am trying to take time to reflect on my future. Ick. I don't really enjoy living in Rochester. I feel like I am too far away from everybody. I love living with Anne, but that is about all the pros Rochester has. I signed up for all online course for the spring semester so I will be more flexible, and hopefully have some extra time to really decide what I want to do. I thought occupation therapy was the ticket, but recently I have been rethinking my decision. I really wish someone would just give me a crystal ball; that would solve a lot of life's uncertainties.

The good thing about thinking about my future now is that I might not make a last minute decision like I usually do. I really want to move to Duluth, but before I make the decision to do so, I HAVE to determine what I am going to do with my future. I haven't decided yet, and all my possibilities don't even coincide with each other. My "plan" right now is: taking online courses through RCTC this spring, finding a better paying job in Rochester for January-April, working at Coho starting in April though August, and then moving to Duluth??? The moving to Duluth is the big question mark. I have to figure out what schools offer the best options for my career, once I figure out what that career is. Growing up is hard to do!!!

I am stoked for this week to be over! Once Friday is over, the fun begins! Saturday the Wrights get together for the Christmas party, and Sunday the Paulsons (Mom's side) get together for THEIR Christmas party. Both parties are in the cities, which is perfect because Molly flies back on Sunday too. I am hoping to be able to dip out on my family for a while to see Molly sometime Sunday night. After the weekend, I get to head up to the North Shore! I have been e-mailing Didi (my manager from Coho), and will be able to pick up a few shifts at Coho. I am excited to be able to make some extra cash, and, better yet, see all my favorite Bluefin employees!!! I have already been talking to people up there, and it looks like in my free time I will be able to play catch-up with old friends. What a wonderful time of year!

Well, I think I have managed to slack off enough here at work, so I better get back to it!

Here you go Anne!

Anne tagged me, so here we go...

I am: at work.
I know: that I am going to have to delete all the lowercase 'i's to capitalize them.
I want: to be done with work.
I have: to do laundry.
I miss: Molly,Lake Superior, and summer.
I feel: like sitting in the sauna to warm up.
I hear: the sound of treadmills and the radio.
I smell: hand sanitizer.
I crave: Coho's carrot cake.
I cry: a lot more ofter since my first TEC.
I search: to try to find a direction in my life.
I wonder: when Anne and I will have a clean apartment.
I regret: a few things, but learned from them.
I love: making people smile.
I worry: about losing people that are close to me.
I remember: a lot of things that other's wouldn't.
I dance: more often when I have a few drinks in me.
I don't: really want to be at work anymore.
I argue: because I enjoy it.
I write: most often for school.
I win: everyday. It makes me stronger.
I lose: everyday. It makes me stronger.
I wish: it wasn't practically necessary to go to college to be successful.
I listen: but don't always agree.
I can usually be found: but am not always there.
I am scared: of disappointing my loved ones.
I need: to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Holiday time is near..

Yesterday, Anne and I took the trip north to Hinckley to meet with my parents at Grand Casino for my mom's birthday. None of us walked aways big winners, but it was an enjoyable experience nonetheless it was great to meet with my parents and give my mom her gifts. During dinner my mom and dad gave Anne and me $40 bucks for Thanksgiving grocery shopping. It was then that I realized we are in the holiday season!!!

Even though the Holidays are quickly approaching, I find it hard to be in full Holiday Spirit. I wish that I would wake up one morning to a fresh blanket of snow that wouldn't melt by noon. I think growing up in Minnesota had programmed my mind into thinking there needs to be snow on the ground for it to truly be the holidays.


On my Christmas Wish List so far I have: the "new" Mason Jennings CD (he released sometime around May), a Ipod nano, and money to get my laptop fixed.

The nicest parts of these holidays: Molly coming back from Italy, working at Coho and living up North for a bit, a break from school!

This Thanksgiving it will be my first time having Thanksgiving at "my" place instead of my parent's. My parents are actually going to be coming south to Roch, so Anne and I are in charge of Thanksgiving! I don't know when we are going shopping, but I am excited. Although there are many elements to the Thanksgiving meal, the only ones that I NEED to have at mine are: turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie w/ whipped cream. Everything else is just extras to me.. but those are the ESSENTIALS!

I have a lot to do before I will be ready for the Holidays, but I know that they aren't going to wait for me to get everything in order. Anne and I haven't put up our Christmas tree yet, but we did decorate our sliding glass door with a cute penguin and a Christmas wreath. It's a start!

I haven't blogged in a while...

... so I am going to be lame and copy and paste something. I won't usually do this, but I love these "21 RULES TO LIVE BY".
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much. NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly.. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN.. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

I think these rules are worth living by; hope you found them worth reading!

The popping of the blogging cherry!

Evidently, another school year is in full swing. I have no clue what happened to the summer, but it has undoubtedly vanished. I figure with all the homework pilling up it is a perfect time to find another activity that will aid to my procrastination. (As if Facebook isn’t enough.) Well, why not give blogging a shot? It seemed like a good idea, so here I go.

Firstly, well rather secondly, I am not going to be any good at this. Consider yourself warned. I do tend to ramble, so you may end up reading a long blog about pretty much nothing. Sorry in advance.

Seeing since I can’t decide whether this would be thirdly or secondly, I will stop try to number my points. It is a rather annoying habit anyways. Sorry if that offended any of you, but I do find truth in that statement. Back to the point at hand, I think there has to be a purpose for my blog spot. I will be trying to come up with some type of theme to write my blogs under. The reason for this is basically because I do not live a very exciting life. Although I consider myself being pretty good at adding meat to a story, I first need the story to add the meat to.

This blog post will be a dry attempt to catch you up with my great, exciting life.

***If you know what my life has been like after high school, skip the next paragraph***

As you should already know, I graduated from high school! YAY. It was a while ago. I then went to Bemidji State University, which is a beautiful school. It just wasn’t the school for me, or possibly the right school, wrong time. Anyways, I only ended up staying a semester, but did learn a lot during that one semester. Moving on, I got a job a Bluefin Bay Resort. Rather, I got two jobs there. The first was housekeeping. Ick. Definitely not a favorite, but it was money. Soon enough I found myself working at Coho Café and smiling everyday. I love it there. Even when my feet are aching and I am so tired I am taking shots of espresso to keep my eyelids from drooping, I usually still have a smile on my face. Although I was enjoying my time out of school, being a college dropout and working a dead-end job, I wasn’t the biggest success story. For some reason, it bothered my family more than it bothered me. To tell the truth, I was actually pretty content. I like to live in the present, but I don’t like to be scared of the future. That is what brought me to Rochester. Well, that AND my sister, Anne’s, gracious offer to let me be her roommate. So, currently I am attending RCTC, in hope of one day entering the field of Occupational Therapy.

Let’s see. What else can I tell you?
-I had an amazing summer working back at Coho. Met new friends, and became closer with some of the oldies.
-I got a job last week working at Northgate Health Club. I start on Monday! I have been a member there for a bit, and am looking forward to starting. It is only three shifts a week to start with, but I am hoping it turns out to be a positive experience.
-I am already missing the North Shore like crazy, and hope I can get up there before Thanksgiving break.
-Anne and I are trying to get our act together. We are going to join forces and whip our apartment into shape. We are both piglets, so the place is far from spotless. We have a lot of artwork and such that have never made it onto the walls, so hopefully in the next few weeks the place really starts to transform.
- I am thinking about taking a course in sign language next semester. Kind of random, I know, but I think it would be really fun.
- Anne loves fall, and I hate it. I see it as the end of summer and sun, and the beginning of winter and its bitterness. Oh, and of course, school. Ick.

Well, I suppose this is all for now. Remember, I warned you in the beginning of this post that I am rather bad at this, so if you feel like reading this was a waste of time, it’s your own damn fault! Don’t worry, it can only get better from here! (I hope.)