I am living in my apartment (finally) and have been there for about a month (yea!).  I’m still trying to get settled, and it is still under construction a little, but all in all I’m moved in and enjoying it.  However, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been there much, other than to sleep.  It’s a cute, little, studio apartment, but I think that I’ve added my personality to make it seem homey.

My family welcomed two new additions: one by marriage and one by birth.  One of my cousins got married, while her sister had a baby.  Everyone is very happy.  The wedding was a destination event, so I did not attend but the pictures where fun to look at.  The baby was a beautiful, little girl.  Both events stirred up much excitement and activity (a lot of showers and get togethers).

I’m two months strong with my boyfriend and things are going great.  And, that’s all that I will say about that.

My semester classes are almost done.  One finished a few weeks ago and the other is done next week (yea!).  Then, I’ll have a few weeks off before my summer online course begins.  In addition, I’ll have a HUGE test to study for and take, and then, programs to apply for.  It’s going to be a busy summer, but I’m planning on taking advantage of the nice weather, too. 

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now.  There shouldn’t be as much time between this and the next post.  I even revamped my page to celebrate Spring and inspire me to blog.  SO, I’ll be writing soon.

This entire process has been so frustrating that I hope that the actual living at the place will go much more smoothly.  In addition, I’m supposed to be hosting a party on Saturday night in my new place, and now I don’t know if I’ll even be living there yet.  I’m keeping my fingers, toes, hands, feet, legs, and arms crossed that I’ll be able to move in before the end of this week.

Other than that, my weekend was great, although it went by entirely too fast.  I could have used another day or two.  Saturday, I did some shopping after I signed my lease and then had date night with my boyfriend.  We did dinner and a movie.  And, I ended up going shopping at IKEA on Sunday and got a few necessities for the apartment, then packed up all my stuff (which I ended up unpacking a good chunk of yesterday).

This week is going to be a waiting game with my apartment.  Waiting to hear when the apt. will be done and when I can move in.  Until then, I’ll be sleeping on the couch and living out of a couple boxes.  Arg.

Most importantly, my birthday was two days ago and I turned 26.  I ended up working all day but afterwards, I had a delicious dinner from one of my favorites: Holy Land on Central in Northeast Minneapolis.  Following the meal, my mom and I went to play Bingo.  At the Roseville Bingo Hall, birthday boys and girls get to play for free.  I ended up winning $99, so Happy Birthday to me. 

The weekend before my birthday I celebrated the big day (and my grandma’s birthday, too.  She’s 87!) with friends and family.  I ended up being busier that I thought, but saw a lot of people and had a ton of laughs.  My official birthday celebration with my friends won’t be for a few weeks because everyone’s schedules are so crazy. 

This weekend could potentially be crazy busy, too.  A lot of it is up in the air, but I am moving (hopefully) on Monday, the 16th, so much of the time will be devoted to packing and preparing for that big day.  I can’t hardly wait but am nervous that the big move won’t be on Monday but instead later during the week.  My apartment is currently under construction, it’s a brand new unit, and knowing my luck, something will happen where they won’t be able to finish in time.  I’m trying to keep positive, but my move in date has been pushed back several times (I was originally supposed to move Dec. 1, 2o08), so I’m trying to be realistic. 

Other potential plans: trip to Treasure Island or Mystic Lake casinos, date with some friends, date(s) with the boyfriend (if he ever makes it back into town), shopping (always), cleaning/packing.  It may be a while before I write because I won’t have internet at the new place and I’ll be super busy with that and other things.  I’m a social butterfly who refuses to be captured and mounted in a frame to be hung on the wall.

This cycle of business is only temporary (or so I tell myself) and things will calm down soon enough.  But, I’m one of those people who tends to clear my schedule for others, leaving very little time for myself.  It is something that I am trying to work on and improve.  However, sometimes it’s more fun to make time for others, depending on who they are.

At first, I was disappointed, but after looking at the photograph, I realized that the frost was beautiful, too.  And, that this photo is actually pretty cool.  The more I looked at it, the more I thought that my life is like this picture.  I’m always trying to see the big beauty in the distance, that often I miss the little beauties that are all around. 

With this picture, I was forced to see the frost that was right in front of my face.  This photograph taught me to see more that just the sunrise that morning.  It also taught me to see the little wonders that are everywhere, everyday, that I don’t take time to apprectiate.

I watched friends have mood swings, argue, and get drunk.  People talked about others behind their backs and to their faces.  I tried my best to stay out of it all, be the eternal peace keeper and problem solver, laugh off remarks that I was embarassed and offended by, and somehow,  I walked away more confused and stressed than the rest of my fellow partiers. 

It’s days later and I am still the one who is trying to sort out the weekend, mend things between others, and figure out how to solve issues that are only getting more complicated.  It’s amazing to really look around, see how different we are, see how interconnected we are, and yet, see how unaffected most are.  Parties are definitely great for anthropology.  I know that I have learned a lot over the course of the last few days.

Someday (within the next 5 years), I would like to buy a house, get a new car, go on vacation…etc.  But, instead of being thankful that I have a little money in the bank and a job (two: full time and part time), and looking forward to when I can purchase said items above, Suze Orman (who was on Oprah and has her own show on Saturday night), a very wise financial advisor, is giving me nightmares about how I’m screwed financially.  I’m lucky that I have the amount of debt I have… I can’t imagine having thousands upon thousands of dollars. 

Well, I guess this girl is just going to have to breathe and believe that everything will work out.  Even though I may not have enough money now to cover both debt, bills, savings, and future, I can take care of it and maybe within the next year or two, I’ll be where I need to be.  With even further budgeting, I can get there.  Okay, freak out over (for now).

Should Joelle have gone home?

Last night, after curling up with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate (see previous post), I settled in on the couch to watch one of my favorite, inspirational shows: Biggest Loser.  After thoroughly enjoying the conflict between Joelle and Carla in Detroit (I felt so bad for Bob and feared a little for his life when the two women got in eachother’s faces) I was so upset about who was sent home (spoiler alert).  I felt as though Damien deserved to stay on the ranch due to his hard work and positive attitude.  His team agreed with me and was reassured by the other team that he would stay.  They stated that they would support Bob’s team’s decision to send home Joelle and would go along with it (like Bob’s team had done last week, when sending Jerry home). 

Well, those backstabbers all voted to kick off Damien and keep the drama queen, Joelle, on the show.  I know that it was because they think that  Damien is more competition and that Joelle’s drama prevents the others from fully benefitting from Bob’s workouts, but come on!  Don’t they realize that her drama hinders their workouts, too.  And, when Carla gets back on the ranch, she’s going to be big competition.  Plus, now there is going to be hell to pay.  Their decision disrupted the harmony and friendship in the house, forever causing distrust.  You could just see how made Bob’s team was when they were betrayed. 

Even though I don’t care for Joelle and feel like she probably won’t be around for long, thanks to her attitude and lack of commitment, I do enjoy the friction that she causes.  I was laughing so hard, mocking and adding my own ridiculous comments, at her fight with Carla.  I seriously thought that Carla was going to start throwing punches, if not at Joelle at Bob.  Even Bob stated last night that if Joelle leaves, Carla is going to kill her. 

While, I’m not a fan of Joelle, or the outcome from last night’s elimination, I do enjoy Carla and will be happy when she returns to the ranch.  I have been a fan of hers since the beginning, but she won me even more when she showed her exercise routine: sweet dance moves.  Now, that’s my kind of exercise.

If only I were a bear...

Often, I wonder if humans are really as evolved as we think we are.  I mean, we still share some very basic, animal characteristics with our long, lost, mammal relatives.  For example, it’s winter and Minnesota is having a very yo-yo season.  The weather has been going from one extreme to another: snow storms to sunshine and sub-zero temperatures (-20°F) to heat waves (30°F) in twenty-four hour periods.  I have noticed that people are entering their “hibernation mode.”  We still work and stay awake our normal, routine hours, or try to, but we are walking around half asleep. 

Because of the snow and the cold weather, Minnesotans (for the most part) have been curling up with a good book or the t.v. instead of doing something active when they have free time.  And yet, we aren’t adjusting our diets to compensate.  As my dad always used to say, “I’m packing on the pounds to help me get through the cold, long winter.”  But, we aren’t sleeping these months away and surviving on our fat storage.  Instead, we’re moving even more sluggishly than before and yawning more often.  

One of two things needs to happen:  either we a).  continue on doing what we are doing – packing on those extra, unhealthy pounds and living life half awake all the time, or b).  we succumb to our animal instincts and hibernate for the winter – stop working and take the time to catch up on sleep, living off our supplies.  Right now, I’m voting for option b.  I know that it’s a silly concept, but wouldn’t you rather be curled up under the covers right now?