A Little Pink in the Cornfields

These are the days of our lives...

2012-02-09T09:12:00.002-06:00

Bah! I miss you all. This week has been crazy insane and I cannot wait for the weekend. This is only week 4 of the semester and that is a little concerning to me. (I will figure it out though).

Here's a few things on my mind - bullet style. This is not edited because I have class in 20 minutes, so don't judge me.

Last night's interview with the White House intern under JFK? Anybody catch that? I went through a series of emotions. If you follow me on Twitter, you are probably aware. First I was disgusted. Then I was mad. Then I felt bad for her. Then I felt bad for feeling bad for her. Then I felt guilty for being mad - because, dude, we all do stupid things in college. Then I thought, do you do stupid things like for 18 months with the President of the United States? Then I thought, well, she was probably under, like a spell, ya know? You get the point. It was a good interview. I think I want to read her book. At first I thought she was just capitalizing on this horribly embarrassing story, but then I realized she was outed by someone else and by that point, you might as well. (just sayin)
On another subject. I have so much crap for a "future classroom" I think I need a storage space. For real.
I'm down to one Dunkin Donuts k-cup, which is a travesty. I need to make a roadtrip as soon as possible. Who should I come visit?? ;)
Remember when I planned to do four workouts per week? Yeah... that is not happening. So far during the week I seem to be only able to fit in a run on Thursdays because I have almost four hours between my third and fourth class. I have to figure this out and figure it out soon.
I'm doing pretty good on the counting calories, until the evening. Then I just sort of wing the rest of the night. That's probably not working out so well. (especially considering I got my order of girl scout cookies and they call my name every night :/)
The Vow comes out tomorrow and I am going to see it!
Also, I have a second date. Which, yes, I know. I have pretty much completely stopped talking about dating on here. I have my reasons. Maybe someday I will blog about it all. Fingers crossed this one isn't another dud though.

This is pretty much it for me. I'm trying to keep up with everyone else - if I don't comment, please know I am probably still reading just reading on my phone and commenting is super annoying!

What's been going on for you this week? Do you comment on blogs from your smartphone?

Tales from Substitute Teaching

2012-02-06T13:28:00.002-06:00

Substitute teaching definitely has had its ups and downs - as many of you have heard about in the past year, but overall I am so glad that I did this. The experience has been invaluable to my educational career and I consider it one of the ways I have learned the MOST about education. Hands-on experience is always best for me!

In the year that I have started subbing, I have collected quite a few good stories. Enough to definitely start a new weekly feature! We'll see how this does, so let me know what you think!

One of my favorite stories is when I subbed in my own high school for the first time. My high school is my moms school, my grandpa's school and great grandpa's school - it's OLD. Through those four generations we have seen a lot of changes and renovations to the building.

The school is pretty big, with 2,000+ students and growing and in the 12 years I graduated from high school (eeep!) the school has added on a new addition and made many changes to the interior. I had not been in the school for several years and had only seen the changes from the outside when I drove by.

The day I was scheduled to work there, the job description specified a certain building I was supposed to work in. I didn't pay much attention to it, and on the day I was scheduled to work I parked in the staff parking lot (which felt weird) and headed in the main doors to the registrar. When I checked in with her, she said I was in the wrong building. I blankly stared at her and then she repeated herself again and said you're in _____ Building.

Umm, what?

I looked at her and said, "I went to this school and I have no clue what you're talking about."

She proceeded to give me driving directions to the building I was in. Technically, it was within walking distance, and since I sort of knew where she was talking about, I decided to walk.

Bad idea.

There's something to be said about getting lost in your own high school 12 years after graduating.

I felt really old ....

Then the hall monitor asked me for my "pass" as I was outside. I laughed a little and then showed him my staff badge. Luckily, by this time I have embraced my young looking face and can laugh it off. ;)

Did you go to a big or little school? What do you consider big or small? In Iowa we have lots of small towns so there are many definitions of big and small!

Books 'n Bars (8) - Packing for Mars

2012-02-03T04:00:00.000-06:00

Tuesday we met for our eighth Books 'n Bars meeting and it went very well! I'm so proud that this book club is still going on and people are still interested! Our group hasn't grown for a few months, which I'm sort of okay with. Sometimes a smaller group is better and allows for more well-rounded conversation and participants. We tossed around a few ideas for the summer and I'm so excited to start picking out some new venues that feature a patio so we can sit outside and talk books. We also talked about possibly switching the night to a Friday for the spring, and see how that fares... I'll keep you all posted!

Books:

This month we discussed the non fiction book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach.

This book was a change of pace for us, and was definitely a different kind of read for me, but I really enjoyed it! The author spent several years studying space travel and what it is like for the astronauts in space. She didn't want to see the typical astronaut waving and giving the thumbs up sign all the time, she wanted to know what it was really like up there.

This book explored exactly what a human has to give up to be able to spend a year with zero gravity. What do you have to do to your body to prepare? How do use the restroom? How do you even know that you have to use the restroom, considering there is zero gravity and your urine is floating in your bladder.... Yes, folks, I'm serious. These are the things we do not think of, but Mary Roach wrote about for us.

I will say, if you don't like hearing about fecal matter, you might not like this book. There were lots of "turds" floating around. If you do like hearing about poop (don't lie, some people do), you will probably get many giggles out of this book. Poop makes everyone laugh, right? As long we don't have to smell it...

Bars:

This month we met at one of Des Moines' local breweries, Raccoon River. The restaurant/bar is located next to one of the oldest hotels in Des Moines, Hotel Fort Des Moines, and the building, built in 1916, was originally a car dealership! You cannot step foot into any of these buildings in this area of downtown and not take note of how gorgeous they are. One of my favorite features of the building Raccoon River is in now, are the huge doors when you first walk in. I wish I would have taken a picture, because they're so gorgeous to me! The doors were actually salvaged from a historic house built in the 1870s in the Grand area - I just love stuff like that!

Via

So, now that you've read that history, you may be wondering if we drank beer?

Why yes, yes we did!

Two of us tried their light brew, which tasted like Bud Light and another friend tried a malty red brew. I wasn't a fan of the red, but I think I just wasn't enjoying beer at all that night! We also shared some nachos, which were really tasty (although a little greasy - but they're nachos, so I feel a little silly for saying that).

Overall, a GREAT January! Can't wait for our meeting in February, which will be on the 28th at 6pm at The Continental in the East Village! We need some help though... we couldn't decide on a book! It's narrowed down to three: Room, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and The Internet is a Playground, and you can check out all the details (and add your two cents on which book we should read) here!

Today I am linking up with Heather at Blonde, Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday! :)

Work in progress

2012-02-02T04:00:00.000-06:00

I've noticed a lot of monthly goals going on in the blogosphere and, what can I say? I'm inspired! Blogging what you want to do is such a great way to hold yourself accountable, so I figured, why not? There's a lot I can work and since January was a miserable fail, this is a good idea.

January was kind of rough for me health-wise. I started off strong, then I had a weekend getaway in Chicago and I just couldn't get back into working out regularly and eating healthy.

Well, no more!

So, for February here are my goals. Not all health goals, but there are definitely some in there!

Drink a minimum of 75 oz of water a day - this would be filling up my water bottle three times a day. That's the easiest way for me to measure how much water I drink. I would also like to stick with my "one pop a day" rule and not break it as much as I have been lately. I can get out of control with the diet coke and diet coke is like a gateway drug to worse stuff for me. It's like it GIVES me an appetite. No. Bueno.

Work out 4 times a week - whether it's the C25K or just heading to the gym for a little. Just SOMETHING.

Finish C25K - I have been loosely following it as a running plan for ... a long time. Right now I'm on week 5, and honestly when I ran on Tuesday it wasn't easy, but it wasn't hard either. I'd say that's good, but I can probably push myself harder!

Sign up for the Red Flannel Run - I better get on this, it's on February 11th. Last year I said I wanted to run 12 races in 2012. Considering January is over, I better at least get a couple out of the way before spring otherwise achieving this goal might not be possible. Unless I travel... Hmmmmm... <> Did I just come up with a good idea?!

Consume less than 2 alcoholic drinks per week - like diet coke, drinking can get out of hand easily as well. I need to get better at reminding myself to slow down, and that I don't need to have a drink in front of me while out to have a good time!

Substitute teach at least 10 days - I'm only available to teacher on MWF, and on Wednesdays it's an early out. Even though it's an early out subs still get paid for a full day. Getting an assignment on Wednesdays is sometimes harder than getting tickets to a Packers game (ok, not quite that hard). Luckily, the past three Wednesdays I have completely lucked out.

Work 40 hours at the agency - I know some of you are new, so you might know that I work at a local non-profit agency that serves adults with intellectual disabilities. I'm on call staff, but sometimes I just can't seem to squeeze the hours into my schedule, or the hours they have available are when I'm not available. Technically I am supposed to work 15 hours a week, lately I have only been work 5. Oops :/ My goal this month is to get in at least 40.

Enter all meals into My Fitness Pal - are you on MFP? If so, be my friend! My username is AmberWDM. I really like MFP, it helps me stay on track, but I tend to quit entering my meals once I have gone over. I must think, "Oh, well. Day's shot. I don't want to know how bad it is..." Again, no bueno.

How are you doing with your goals this year?

Teaming up today! Pinteresting Wednesday + What I'm loving...

2012-02-01T04:00:00.000-06:00

On Wednesdays I always have a hard time deciding whether to participate in Jamie's What I'm Loving Wednesday or Michelle's Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday. It's such a tough decision, right?! (ummm, #bloggerproblems, anyone?)

So, this week I decided I would just do both!

Be sure to check out these lovely ladies' blogs! I have been reading Jamie's for what feels like forever, and she is the sweetest Southern girl EVER! Michelle is a new one that I discovered from her Pinteresting Wednesday posts, and she's a middle school teacher like me!

This week I am loving...

The amazing gifts I got from friends and family!

My parents got me two new charms for my bracelet, a heart and a little pearl one.

My sister got me Hermione's wand! (Sort of a gag gift, sort of real, allllll perfect!)

My friends got me two new charms as well! A snowflake one and a stack of textbooks with an owl on it. I love the owl one! It's perfect.

Also, my good friend, Lesli got me a gift card to my favorite department store! She's knows me so well... ;)

This week I am also loving that it's Books 'n Bars week and we had our meeting last night! Recap to come soon!

Also, I cannot mention loves for this week and not talk about the weather. It has been GORGEOUS in central Iowa lately and I can hardly believe it. We've had FOUR days where the weather has been in the 60s. This is unreal.

Now for my favorite pins this week!

I haven't been spending as much time on Pinterest lately, as I just haven't had as much time to spare for it, but I did find some good stuff this week...

Can I have this treehouse, please?

Source: treehousepoint.com via &rew on Pinterest

This is the prettiest LBD I've seen in long time, how adorable!

Source: hemlockvintage.com via violettfem on Pinterest

Am I the only one that looked at this and thought, "Broken leg waiting to happen?!"

Source: platinumlandscape.com via Sheila on Pinterest

Yep. It's the truth. Also, want to know something horrible? I'm such a wuss that those Girl in the Black Dress trailers have been keeping me up. I try to change the channel as soon as they come on, but I see that girl in the window and cannot get it out of my head. I'm such a weenie!!

Source: google.com via Desiree on Pinterest

I have a couple of these. They're amazing! :)

Source: Uploaded by user via Morgan on Pinterest

Coolest tattoo ever?!?

Source: photography-on-the.net via Melissa on Pinterest

Annnnd, it woudn't be a pinteresting Wednesday without a Harry Potter pin! ;)

Source: img3.etsystatic.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Blogger book swap!

2012-01-30T10:16:00.002-06:00

In my five-ish years of blogging I have participated in many blogger swaps, organized and hosted by some fabulous ladies, but I have never been so perfectly paired up with someone!

The lovely Heather and Katie, paired myself up with Molly, from Blonde Out Loud. What is so great about these swaps is that I almost always meet someone new. Sometimes it turns out to be a flop and I don't necessarily click with that blogger, but Molly and I totally hit it off! We have so much in common, it's pretty surreal!

Molly and I chatted quite a bit through email and Twitter, and we learned that we're both about the same age, we have several of the same interests and she quickly caught on that my 30th was last week and she went above and beyond to make me feel special.

On top of buying me a book that was on my list of books that I've always wanted, she bought me one of HER favorites (how special?!) along with a postcard and Kate Spade canvas tote bag from.... THE STRAND!

The Strand is a used bookstore in New York City that has been there since 1927 and has EIGHT MILES of new and used books. Basically, the place sounds like heaven on earth for a bibliophile like me, and I have now added it to my list of "must-see places"!

The books Molly chose for me couldn't have been more perfect! She picked up Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson, which has been recommended by several friends and it's pretty safe to say it is one of James Patterson's more popular novels for women. It will by my first novel by him, and I cannot wait to read it! The second book she chose, is one of Molly's personal favorites, Angels by Marian Keyes. I know this author is a favorite among many readers that enjoy the same books as me, so I'm hoping I can get to it soon... Plus, I just love that it's one of her favorite books. What a sweet surprise!

What's your favorite bookstore? Have you been to any cool ones like The Strand?

I'd have to say my favorite practical bookstore is Half Price Books here in Des Moines (which is a chain) and then my favorite "fun" bookstore would be The Vault, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. It's an old bank!

Lauren Oliver review - Pandemonium, Delirium, Before I Fall

2012-01-27T04:00:00.000-06:00

A couple years ago I won an ARC copy of Lauren Oliver's debut novel, Before I Fall and this is when I fell in love with her style of writing. I'm not talking about Before I Fall today - but just looking at the beautiful cover should make any YA fan interested!

Lauren Oliver writes primarily for the YA audience but also recently released a book for the middle grades called, Liesel & Po. Her style and technique is flawless, and I think she sets such a great example for her audience. Her books have just enough risque, without going over the top.

I knew after finishing Before I Fall, that I would devour her second novel, Delirium. The synopsis totally sucked me in, and I was just dying to get my hands on this book! As soon as it came out the beginning of 2011, I bought it on my Nook (one of the first books I read on it!) and took it in in almost one sitting.

From Goodreads:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

It's another dystopian - but we aren't sick of them yet, right?? Like The Hunger Games, this novel is about a society that strives to eliminate love. They believe that passion, emotion and falling in love is a sickness that must be cured. Some people fall for the hype and are brainwashed, others rebel and escape to live in the Wilds as Invalids.

I adored Delirium (obviously) and when I saw that the sequel, Pandemonium was on Around the World Tours, I quickly signed up. Several months later, it was finally my turn to read and review!

Now, I'm posting about both books, because I'm not sure who has read Delirium and who hasn't. I'm hesitant to talk too much about the sequel because I don't want to spoil anything! I didn't love the second installment as much as the first, but it was still very, very good. The first half of the book dragged a little, but once it got passed about halfway through, it was obvious that the ground needed to be set to make way for the real action. I'm glad I breezed through it and got to the good stuff because the end was SHOCKING. I did not see it coming.

I will say, if you liked The Hunger Games and you liked Divergent, you will probably like these too. This trilogy (yep, there's going to be a third!) seems to be more for girls, but it has the same major elements as both THG and Divergent. Dystopian, wannabe utopian society. Possible love triangles. Action and adventure. Chaos. Cliffhangers.

Don't miss out on this author - she's fantastic!

Today I've linked up with Heather at Blonde Undercover Blonde for Bookclub Friday!

Wine & Love : Subbing, ESL, and too much reading

2012-01-26T04:00:00.000-06:00

Today I am participating in Nora's weekly feature, Wine and Love. Each week us bloggers post what we are loving this week and what is making us reach for the wine!

This weeks loves:

♥ Getting a subbing job on Wednesday! I did not expect to work, because most school's get out early on Wednesdays and the district I sub most in still pays their subs for a full day even though they're only working half. To get a job on Wednesday usually requires being requested. I have been requested two weeks in a row now! This makes me very, very happy. Double love!

♥ My ESL (English as a second language) classes. I'm taking two this semester. I've only taken one so far since I began working on my education degree and that was back in the summer. The more I learn about this group of students, the more passionate I get. Hence, yesterdays post. ;)

♥ Adding more charms to my Pandora bracelet. My mom got me two more charms for my birthday and I just love them!

♥ Introducing sushi to my dad, and him liking it!! I'm sort of surprised, even though I knew he would like most of it. For the most part, my parents really like the basic rolls and nothing raw, but it's a start!!

♥ Planning vacations! So far this year I am planning a trip to Vegas for Lesli's birthday and a trip to DC to see Becky. I'm SO EXCITED! I've never been to either place!

This weeks wines:

→ The insane amount of reading for almost every single class this semester. I have no idea how I am going to participate in the three book clubs I am in ~~and keep up on Modern Family, Revenge, The Big Bang Theory, The Middle, The Biggest Loser and The Bachelor.~~

→ So... I get it. Politics and religion are not well received in these parts. The past two times I have even hinted at the subject it got little to no reaction. Sometimes I think it makes perfect sense that politics and religion are two things people don't really talk about it, and then other times I don't understand why we don't talk about it more, so that we learn. I'm not blogging for comments, so I don't really care, but I'm still putting this as a wine because sometimes I would like to initiate a conversation about these subjects with friends in the blog world, but I understand it's a sensitive subject.

→ The fact that my "fat jeans" are no longer that, and they are actually regularly worn jeans. This is just not okay. I'm only whining about this once though. Time to take action and do something about it.

→ Revenge wasn't new last night. In fact, none of my shows were. I was so looking forward to coming home and watching Revenge... Booooo....

That's it for me! I'm super happy that I had more loves than "wines" this week and the fact that I was really stretching for the "wines"!!

What are you loving this week? What's been the highlight of your week?

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T04:00:00.000-06:00

Want to know more about this billboard in Iowa? Read this.
Or, don't read it. Just think about the message.

Na, na, naaa, naaaaa, naaaaaaaaa ...

2012-01-24T04:00:00.004-06:00

They say it's you're birrrrrrthday! Na, na, naaaa, naaaaa, naaaaaa, it's my birthday, too!

Wow! Birthdays always make me feel like a celebrity or something because my phone is going off every two seconds with Twitter mentions, people writing on my Facebook wall, texting and/or calling. Seriously. I feel so loved and blessed! Thank you!

Yesterday was wonderful. I am so glad that early in the morning I decided to skip work (ahh, the luxury of making your own schedule...) and I am so glad I did. When my alarm went off at 5am, I looked outside, said "hell no," and turned my alarm off, put my phone on silent (so I wouldn't wake up to the districts calling) and went back to sleep until 8am. It was glorious.

When I got up, I decided to make french toast and I drank my coffee, ate french toast and read blogs in bed. I would be a happy, happy girl if I could start every morning with blog reading but considering I am not a morning person, that is not always possible!

After laying around for awhile, my sister suggested a sushi lunch. You don't have to twist my arm to take me out to sushi, so I immediately said yes and jumped in the shower ready to GO!

We had sushi at Sakari, which is a popular sushi place in Des Moines that didn't make a good first impression on me. My sister loves it, and she said I had to give it another chance. I'm glad I did, but it's definitely no Miyabi 9 or my new favorite, Wasabi 9. It was nice to have some sister and sushi time just the two of us though!

After she left and went to class, I went down the street to my favorite Caribou location to read for history and my reading class. History is definitely awesome so far, I really love it, but it's A LOT of reading. Other than the intense amount of reading, I'm enjoying it. There's something amazing about learning history as an adult. It's just different. My reading class this semester is also turning out to be a good one... So far, I have borderline hated my reading classes and the texts have been awful and horribly dry. This one is completely different and is written sort of like a novel with lots of anecdotal comments. I love it so far!

So, I spent a couple hours at Caribou, reading and drinking coffee. Oh, and also Whatsapp'ing with Lisa and Becky. Love those girls!

After leaving Caribou, I had about an hour at home before I had to leave to go pick up a friend and head to our nightclass. To fill that time I did a little laundry and also was inspired to take a new Goodreads picture....

I'm a nerrrrrd and I know it (to the tune of the LMFAO song...) lol

At 4:45 my friend that has night class on Mondays with me (different class, same times) wanted to stop at Starbucks before. Of course I complied! Then, she bought me a latte and an oatmeal cookie! I wish I had taken a picture. It was so sweet! :)

As we headed to class, we were about 10 minutes early and I poked my head in the room because it looked like the class had already begun. Ummm... that wasn't my class. I was in the wrong BUILDING! This is why I have a planner... I should have USED it. I had written down in there what building I was in and for some reason I was convinced I was in the same building as her. I had to book it across campus in 10 minutes (which required driving, as it was down the street a ways) and just barely made it on time. Luckily, I have great school friends because, they saved me a seat next to them. ;)

After class I went and bought running tights, as I was discussing running the Red Flannel 5K that's coming up in February and I really need some warmer running pants for cold weather running. I'm hoping some new gear will invigorate me and motivate me to get back in gear. It has been exactly 13 days since I last ran. That. is. not. ok. I was doing so good!

Once I got home I made some dinner and sat down to watch ~~some trashy reality tv~~ The Bachelor and read for my social studies methods class.

Overall, such a great day! I've got a great weekend planned with our last 30th birthday in my group of friends to celebrate and some fun plans on Friday!

Hope everyone's week started off great! Thank you for all the birthday wishes. It seriously made my day! :)

Do you have any traditions on your birthday like staying home from work/school or breakfast in bed?

It's A Wild Ride

2012-01-23T04:00:00.001-06:00

Thus far I have ...

Moved across the country twice - both coasts!

Watched my 100 year-old elementary school, where my mom and the rest of my family went, be torn down, and a new building built down the block.

Survived a horrible three years in one of the roughest middle schools in my districts.

Managed high school without the help of my best friend when she moved away after 9th grade.

Achieved some major personal girls in high school, which included making the cheerleading squad (with no gymnastics or dance background) and becoming an editor on my school newspaper.

Rebelled against my family and chose to attend Iowa State University instead of University of Iowa, successfully converting several Iowa fans into ISU fans. Go Cyclones!

Wrote for my university's newspaper my freshman year, then decided I didn't want to major in journalism anymore and chose the oh-so-practical department of fashion merchandising and design (sarcaaaasm).

Joined a sorority, and after living in a house with 52 girls for a year and a half, deactivated.

Earned my bachelors degree and moved away from home to a larger midwestern city.

Through a sorority sister, I found a very young company that I fell in love with and stayed with for the next five years.

Moved back to my hometown temporarily on a pit stop before moving again. This time to South Carolina.

After almost a year in South Carolina, I felt the worst kind of homesickness and loneliness. I knew I had to move back home.

Quit working for a company that I was head over heels in love with. Luckily, a position opened up again a year later and I began working for them again.

Two months after I got my old job back, the company's owner (another huge corporation) announced that they were closing all stores and liquidating.

At this time I decided to switch careers. For two years, I worked for another company, but meanwhile was planning how to earn a degree in education to become a teacher.

After a horrible Christmas working retail (2010) I quit my job and began graduate school full time

I also began substitute teaching at this time, which solidified my choice to pursue a career in education.

Today, I am ... happy, energetic, hopeful, wiser, optimistic, realistic, and excited for what the next few years may hold....

Today is my 30th birthday, and that? Blows my mind. It feels completely impossible, but I am insanely curious to find out what my thirties has in store for me.

I can chalk this up to these two, simple words.

Time. Flies.

A sizzling love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

Last year when I saw several of the girls in my group of friends reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, I didn't understand the appeal. It's a stuffy old architect from over 100 years ago, right?

Wrong.

In Loving Frank, Nancy Horan creates a historical fiction story about one of Frank Lloyd Wright's long term mistresses, Mamah Cheney. Although the details in the book are made up, the bigger picture is all factual and everything that happened in the book, really happened between 1903 and 1914.

I thought, ok. This sounds good. Maybe someday I will read it, and then I promptly forgot about it.

Then when Lisa suggested touring the Frank Lloyd Wright home in Oak Park, IL while we were all Chicago, she urged me to read Loving Frank. I didn't want to tour his home cold, and know very little about his life, so I checked out the book and planned to begin reading it on the bus to Chicago.

Oh my, am I glad that I did. Not just because I gained some knowledge about Frank Lloyd Wright's family before touring his home, but because it was so interesting and the story was so enthralling. FLW is a very charismatic man that is easy to love and hate at the same time. I commented to the girls once we got to Chicago that I wasn't sure if I liked Frank. Obviously, he's unfaithful to his wife and he's famously carrying on an affair with another married woman, but there are moments in the book where I was literally cheering for Frank and Mamah, wanting them to be together.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current.

So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives.

In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on Wright.

Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan’s Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion.

The end of this book had a twist so shocking and out of nowhere that it left me stunned and heartbroken. Since finishing this book, I have not been able to stop thinking about it and have already recommended it to several people.

You want to know the twist right? I'm telling you, you will fly through this book just to get to this twist!

While in Chicago I was really looking forward to touring FLW's home. His home, which he built for his wife and children to live in is nestled in an Oak Park neighborhood, surrounded by old Victorian homes. It's kind of funny to see, because there are all these homes that look very similar and then sitting on the corner is a FLW home, that is so clearly not like the others.

The tour took about an hour and we toured his family room, dining room, children's bedrooms and playrooms, FLW and his wife's bedroom and his studio. The guide was fantastic and she was so clearly well-educated on his life and career. She had many anecdotal stories and comments about each room. It made the tour so much fun!

Today I am linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for her Friday Book Club - stop by and check it out! I'm always interested in seeing what everybody else is reading.

Blog friends are simply, friends.

2012-01-18T14:42:00.007-06:00

At some point my "blogger friends" have turned into "friends" and, you know what? That's what they are! Sometimes I still slip and say "blogger friends" but that really is an insult, because they are so much more than that.

I may not have met some of these girls in person, but that doesn't make us fake friends. I count people like Nora, Mandy and Stephany as friends that I know someday I will meet and share coffee and conversation with!

This past weekend I traveled via Megabus (review coming soon) to Chicago and finally spent some quality time with one of my favorite bloggers - Becky!

Lisa, Becky, Lesli and I all met in Chicago for a weekend getaway consisting of eating, talking, reading and exploring a fabulous city in the midwest! Lesli also brought a friend, whom I have met on a couple occasions, who was absolutely lovely! Meeting friends in person for the first time, plus making a new lifelong friend? Amazing! Couldn't ask for more.

This weekend really couldn't have been more lovely. We ate lots of yummy food, which included Italian, Mexican twice, and Thai. We watched the Globes together and gave each other manicures. We toured the Frank Lloyd Wright home in Oak Park (I will review that in a separate post - watch for it!). And we spent one afternoon just relaxing, reading and chatting at a downtown Barnes & Noble. Overall, time went way too fast and by the time Monday rolled around, I was in awe.

Now that I have been on two of these "blogger weekends" I am so hooked and am counting down the days when I can see these ladies again and also spend another weekend with bloggers. Hopefully I can make something happen a couple more times this year.

Do you tend to call your online friends "Twitter friends" or "blogging friends"? Or are they simply friends to you?

It's my blog and I'll blog about what I want to!

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

Classes start tomorrow and I have to admit, I'm excited.

I really, really enjoy being in the classroom and it doesn't matter if I am the student or teacher. Either one suits me just fine, and in the past year I have figured out, that it is one of the places I am most happy.

We have had a full month off for the holidays at my university, which is a week longer than most. It's been great, but I'm ready to get back into my regular routine of substitute teaching and attending classes.

When I first started writing this blog post, I thought, why would I talk about the classes I'm taking? Nobody wants to hear about that, but you know what? It's boring. But, it's my blog, and I want to write about it! Maybe some of you won't find it so boring!

This semester I am taking SIX classes. This is only slightly insane for graduate school.

Ok. It IS insane. I don't have much of a choice though.

My program isn't a traditional MBA or other graduate program though. It's basically a teacher prep program with a graduate student component thrown in. We do the same work as the undergraduates do, but we have something extra do during the semester, which is usually research. I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE research. I love searching for articles and analyzing the data. Which, makes me seriously considering working on a PhD someday. That's a post for another day, though.

This semester I'm taking quite the mixed bag... Since I am working on four endorsements, I always end up focusing mostly on one each semester. This semester it's ESL (English as a Second Language) and a couple of middle school classes and reading classes. I'm loading up on as many endorsements as possible, in hopes that I will be more marketable when I finish and begin looking for a permanent position.

So, the classes.

1. American History - Yes, I'm taking an American History class and I AM SO EXCITED about this one, I'm probably the most excited about this one, but also nervous because I'm sure it will be a lot of reading. This class will contribute towards my middle school endorsement. The MS endorsement is all content area classes, and I'm looking forward to it because they're basically electives to me! Most of the endorsement is already satisfied with undergraduate work (which is great for the pocketbook) but I think I will have to take about 4 classes to earn this endorsement.

2. ESL Methods - In this class we will learn how to teach ELL students, I'm pretty sure this requires time in the classroom as well, which is great!

3. Science Methods - Like the PE Methods class I took last semester, this class teaches us how to teach science! All of the methods classes require so many hours in the classroom (usually 10)

4. Social Studies Methods - Just like ESL and Science, we learn how to teach Social Studies! This is one of my favorite subjects, so I can't wait to get my hands on some content!

5. Issues and Assessment in English Language Learners - I'm not sure what this class entails quite yet, but it's taught by my advisor and I really like her! She was an ESL teacher at my middle school growing up - but of course I didn't know her because I wasn't an ESL student. ;)

6. Literacy Assessment and Instruction 2 - I took the first class in this series of classes for my reading endorsement in the fall and enjoyed it. It was mainly a class that taught the many different assessments for reading in elementary aged students. I wish I could say I enjoy the classes for my reading endorsement, but I really don't. I find them rather boring. I hope they get interesting soon...

Fun fact: in Iowa, the reading endorsement is what the ESL endorsement is to states like Texas and California. With this combination of endorsements I'm pretty sure I could teach anywhere in the US. Although I do not plan on moving out of Iowa, you really never know.

Did you make it through all of that? Really? You rock.

For those of you off today, I hope you take a moment to think about the significance of this holiday. For those of you not off today, I hope you also take a moment.

If you could take any class on any subject, what would you take? What was your favorite subject to study in school?

A Love Affair: Amber and Miss Oakley

2012-01-13T04:00:00.003-06:00

Hello friends! I'm currently on my way to Chicago, IL for an extended girls weekend with several of my favorite bloggers. I'm sure by now you've noticed, I'm excited. :)

I didn't want to leave you all hanging, so I asked my good friend, Miss Oakley, to write a guest post for me. You're in for a treat. For real. She's one of the funniest people I know. If she wasn't studying to be a therapist, I'm sure she'd make a living as a comedian. Enjoy!

See you all Tuesday!

Dear Readers,

Hi. I am not Amber. My name is Miss Oakley and I have a “blog” over at Observations by Miss Oakley. It’s not really a blog, but more of a travesty spinning slowly out of control. It’s a mess. There’s no focus and many times I choose to share stories of how super awkward I am. For reasons unknown, Amber asked if I’d do a guest blog post. And, most alarmingly, she said I could blog about “Anything”. And she meant it. She gave me the Serious-Amber face when she said it. (Serious-Amber face is much different than Smiley-Amber face…I don’t have photographic evidence of this, but just trust me…She wasn’t messing around.) I took her up on her offer. Why not? Worst thing that could happen would be: an over-a-decade long friendship ruined.

No big deal.

I'm going to cross my fingers and hope we remain friends afterwards.

Why I'd Like To Remain Friends:

We've known each other for over a decade.

We have pretty much the same friends.

We both attend the same Grad school.

I like her family.

I like her.

I like her pets.

She smells good. (Creepy and an actual fact.)

Our Friendship Explained:

Amber and I have been friends for a long time. So long in fact, that I think she deserves a medal or a trophy. At least a certificate of some sort.

We met in college. To the surprise of Everyone, I was a Resident Assistant (RA) in college. Some of her friends lived on my floor. So like most friendships, we met through our friends. And we’ve been friends ever since.

I wanted to share some stories. But when I started thinking of stories…I realized we’ve done A LOT together and it would take me a year to write about our activities. So I had to narrow my focus. And I came up with three of what I feel are solid Amber-Miss Oakley stories. I would like to share these stories with you, dear readers.

Consider it a gift.

Stories I Would Like To Share Today:

1. My First Day of Grad School.

2. Why Amber Doesn’t Like To Bunk Up With Me.

3. A Recent Trip to Costco.

My First Day of Grad School:

In order to do this story justice...I must give you some back information. We separately decided to completely change our career track and go to Grad school. Both for things totally different than what we originally went to college for. I have a degree in Marketing and have spent years in sales: Business to Business, Pharmaceutical Sales, and Medical Device Consulting. And now I’m getting a Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling. Totally makes sense.

At any rate, it’s been nice having a close friend going back to school at the same time. Plus she went first, so she’s been able to show me the ropes…

And here is where the story starts.

My First Day of Class:

Amber took me to my first day of class. I was nervous. It felt like that feeling you get when you go on a blind date, Combined with that feeling of awkwardness you have in Junior High, and Heartburn (from the pizza I ate earlier). On the drive there I asked her if she thought the other kids would like me. I wish I was kidding about that last sentence but I’m not. I had a legitimate concern that it was a possibility that no one would like me. I then proceed to ask her a series of questions that you can only ask a really close friend. Questions such as: “Is my outfit ok?” “Do you think there will be snacks??” “Do I have any boogers??” were asked. Luckily (for her) it’s a pretty short drive. She only had to endure about fifteen minutes of this. We get to school and as Amber goes to park the car she gave me the mom talk: You know that talk that you get from your mom about being nice to others and sharing? It was basically an updated grown up version of that talk. Also, she told me not to forget my backpack.

Mind you: The entire time she is laughing at me. She already had her first day and wasn’t nervous and asking borderline ridiculous questions like I was. Naturally, she wanted to take a picture to document this momentous occasion. I wouldn't let her. Not because I didn't want photographic evidence of my first day...but I didn't want any of the other "kids" to see me. It was a special moment that you can only have with your Mom…or Amber.

Why Amber Doesn't Like To Bunk Up With Me:

Amber and I have traveled quite a bit with each other. Last year we drove to Canada. Because we could. The past couple of summers we went boating a TON. A couple of our friends have lake houses. And we like all things to do with summer and fun. So…we often frequented said friends lake houses.

And like all houses...Lake houses have a limited number of rooms. Somehow, Amber and I always ended up sharing a room. I think it might be the fact that pretty much everyone else was sharing a room with their significant other.

At any rate, Amber does not like to share a bed with me. I do a lot of thrashing. And gas passing. And I can’t sleep, so I’m always up with the light on reading. Oh, and I hog the bed. And apparently like to sleep horizontally. I have no idea why she doesn’t appreciate me bunking up with her.

A Recent Trip To Costco:

A couple weeks ago we found ourselves at Costco. We’re American….and we like to buy in bulk. Especially when it comes to toilet paper.

It’s ok to run out of canned corn. But NOT toilet paper.

TP is something that you legitimately need to stock up on. For those of you not familiar with this “Costco” I speak of: It’s basically Wal-mart on steroids. If Wal-mart had a big brother: Costco would be it. Also, you can get everything there. Literally. Which is why we chose to buy a huge 40 roll jumbo pack of TP. When we got out to the car we split the pack...in the parking lot.

In summary, we're the kind of friends that go to Costco together and split a jumbo pack of toilet paper together. If that doesn't say "friendship", I don't know what does.

Thank You For Reading About Our Love Affair,

Miss Oakley

**If I still haven't totally scared you, you can check out my blog over at Observations by Miss Oakley. Also, I'm on the twitter. You can find me @MissOakley

Stay by Allie Larkin

2012-01-12T07:57:00.006-06:00

Recently Becky was raving about a book called Stay, when one of my friends raves about a book I almost immediately add it to my TBR pile - which is virtual, btw. Are you on Goodreads? (If you're not and you're a reader, you're seriously missing out).

When I first read the synopsis, I thought, "Anoooooother dog book?!"

Not that I am not a dog person. Or not an animal person in general. I am! My sister is studying to be a vet tech - with aspirations of becoming an actual veterinarian someday. My aunt takes in abandoned dogs and rescues dogs sentenced to be euthanized. We currently have five pets. FIVE. Which? Is why I call it The Animal Kingdom. I cannot remember a time when I did not have a pet.

Long story short. I'm an animal lover.

But the books? They make me cry. The Sarah McLaughlin commercials? They make me cry. Anything about animals doing extraordinary things? They make me CRY!

Stay wasn't just about the dog though. It was about so much more! Somewhere I read it described as Something Borrowed meets the movie, Must Love Dogs - which is COMPLETELY accurate!

In Stay the main character is in love with her best friend, who at the beginning of the book marries her other best friend. (See? Something Borrowed!)

To comfort herself and take her mind off her two best friends honeymooning together, she buys a $6,000 German Shephard from Slovakia off the Internet. If you're wondering if she was under the influence of alcohol, you would probably be correct...

Before I give anything else away, I will stop. I will say that I absolutely loved this book and flew through it. It was a light, fun read and definitely what I needed after the heavy topics I have been tackling lately (The Book Thief, The Invisible Bridge, State of Wonder...). If you're not a fan of chick lit, don't shy away from this book. I wouldn't classify it as chick lit at all. The main character is smart, honest and hilarious, my only problem with her is I wanted her to stand up for herself more - but that's easier said than done for us all, right?!

Do yourself a favor and put this one on hold at the library or buy it soon. You won't regret it! I borrowed it from the library and got it right away!

Are you a fan of chick lit? Do make sure to alternate genres or do you read the same genre all the time?

Tales from The Windy City

2012-01-12T04:00:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow I am off to Chicago, and I couldn't be more excited!

Living in Des Moines, we are very spoiled. We're perfectly centered around four major cities, one of them being one of the biggest cities in the world! DSM is about five hours west of Chicago, three hours north of Kansas City, two hours east of Omaha and four hours south of Minneapolis. This makes it so easy to get to things that we couldn't normally get to at home. I love it!

Growing up my family was not a "let's go the big city for vacation!" type people, we were more of the "let's go to the mountains and camp!" type of people. Both of my parents were raised in the midwest and almost as soon as they possibly could, they skipped town and headed west. Both ended up in Spokane, WA (heeelllo, mountains!) and then I magically appeared. Yes, magically. (ew, guys!)

So, that is the long winded way to say that growing up I did not visit Chicago once, even though we were SO CLOSE. Not once. The first time I visited Chicago was when I was 19 and freshly finished with my freshman year of college. That was when I met all of my best girlfriends that are still my girlfriends today. We were bored one summer, so, we decided to take a road trip to The Windy City!

{Us taking a break from shopping on Michigan for a quick photo opp with Abe.}

None of us were 21 and we hit some speed bumps upon arriving to Chicago and our pre-booked hotel. The very stoic hotel hostess (is that what they're called?) refused, absolutely REFUSED, to let us stay there because we were too young.

What?

We looked at each other and didn't really know what to do. Chicago, you weren't impressing me.

Luckily, we found another hotel that gladly accepted the four of us (and our money) and we were no longer homeless in the big city. After that, we shopped. And ate. Then shopped some more. And I bought fake hair. Remember the fake hair craze? No, not extensions. The clip in kind. I kind of went gaga over that.

See?

{This is a picture of a picture - excuse the flash! ;)}

I loved that thing. I wore it till it was too frizzy to wear anymore. One guy I was dating even thought it was real. (seriously?)

I did not correct him. (teehee)

Fast forward about three years later and I am graduating college and I've accepted a job with a company that had headquarters in Chicago. Each year we would have annual meetings there called The Princess Ball. Yep, you read right. An annual meeting with the entire company (probably about 150 people) called The Princess Ball. You know I was all over that.

The Princess Ball, was basically a week's worth of meetings, but one night we had dinner and an actual BALL. Yes, a ball. We dressed up and watched our colleagues get drunk. It was greeaaaat! I can safely say that I was NOT one of those colleagues. I enjoyed watching them!

In all fun, we were a great group and I miss them all very much!

{We always had the event at the same hotel, the Knickerbocker, and that light up dancefloor was enough to get everyone dancing - even me! }

Since that company closed, I have not been to Chicago. In fact, I was trying to remember the last time I was there and it was over five years ago!

Unacceptable!

Here's the last time I was there... five years ago and many different shades of hair color ago...

{That's me in the middle with the brown hair and being very theatrical... I cant tell I was about to laugh, if the picture would have clicked half a second later, I'm positive I would have been laughing. ;)}

So, on top of being excited to see some of best bloggers-turned-girlfriends, I get to visit a city that I really enjoy and has sentimental meaning to me!

Tomorrow, I will have a guest post from one of my very best friends, Miss Oakley! She's an IRL friend turned blogger and she couldn't be funnier! You all are really in for a treat, so make sure not to miss it. She is HILARIOUS! If you'd like to check out her blog, visit her at Observations of Miss Oakley!

What's your favorite city to visit? Have you ever been to Chicago?

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

2012-01-11T10:42:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since I have linked up with Jamie at This Kind of Love!

She has been hosting this sweet feature for ... couple years now? Maybe that's wrong, it's been more than a year though! She's the sweetest blogger, and one of my favorite southern girls!

Here's what I am loving this week...

I am loving ... that I get to see Lisa, Becky, Lesli and Nora in TWO SLEEPS! I am need of some girl time with some of my favorite bloggers turned friends! I love having something to look forward to (maybe that's why I am such a planner?).

I am loving ... that my bus ticket only cost $2! Thank you MegaBus! I booked my ticket as soon as the dates were available and I got the cheapest possible ticket. If I had driven it would have cost me 120 times that... after parking in downtown in Chicago and the gas to get me there. No. Just no. I'll sit on a bus and happily read until we get to Chicago. ;)

I am loving ... this adorable dress from Ruche! I just need somewhere to wear it...

I am loving ... these apple cider k-cups. I was looking for a new tea to buy, but instead found these and after Shoshanah blogged about how much she liked, I figured I would give it a try. I'm glad I did!
I am loving ... that I finally got back in the classroom this week. It was definitely a welcomed return for me!

I am loving ... this adorable shirt from Etsy that Becky told me about. I think I need it! Also... my birthday is in 12 days. Just saying....

I am loving ... classes start in less than a week! I'm ready for my "normal" schedule to come back. This laying around stuff is getting BORING!

I am loving ... all of the new bloggers I have discovered lately! The blogging world is so big, yet so small at the same time. I just love all the new ladies I have discovered in the past few months. :)

What are you loving this week??

Sneak a peek inside my medicine cabinet!

2012-01-10T05:00:00.002-06:00

Everyone loves snooping through someone else's medicine cabinet, right? Don't lie... we all do it! Or, want to do it... It's okay!

Ok. So, no, it's not okay, but it still gave me a good idea for a post!

I love those posts where bloggers share the contents of their purse or refrigerator, what's on their nightstand or bookshelf or even what's in their car! I'm just nosy like that.

So, today I thought I would share what is in my medicine cabinet. I don't really use my medicine cabinet for medicine. It's full of products. Hair products, makeup products, skin products... I love it all!

This post sort of got out of hand as I started writing out all the products I own. So, if you make it through all of this, you probably deserve a medal or something. Let me know if you made it. I will get your medal right out to you... ;)

I think I'm good for at least the next year and shouldn't need to buy ANYTHING for a long time. Please tell me I'm not alone...

{Excuse the blurriness. I was trying to make it big enough so you all could see what I was talking about}

I was going to put numbers in there, but I think it's too small.

Starting on the top shelf from the left:

1. That gold bottle is spray on hose. No, I'm not kidding. I stole it from sister and I love it. I only use it in the summer, and it gives my legs that extra tan and they match my arms. My legs never seem to get any sun!

2. Redken Guts. This stuff has been my go-to root lifter for a few years now. It's easy to apply and the bottle tends to last me a long time. Love this stuff!

3. John Frieda Luxurious Volume hair spray. I'm a big fan of the John Frieda line. Their blonde shampoos and conditioners are amazing for blondies like me. Every time I use it, people ask me if I had just gotten my hair done. It brightens it up that much!

4. That little silver bottle behind the white bottle? Kenra silkening gloss. This stuff is amazing and smells heavenly! Another product that I have been attached to for a few years now.

5. The white bottle is a new heat protectant I am trying from Fantastic Sam's. It's a knock off of It's a 10 Leave In Conditioner, and I use it to protect my hair from the heat I subject it to on an almost daily basis. So far I like it. I'm not raving about it like the stylist at Fantastic Sam's was, but I like it. (btw, I get my hair cut at Fantastic Sam's and colored at Regis. My hair is long so it's just a trim, and I hate paying over $15 for a cut - I'm cheap like that).

6. Jergen's self tanner. This stuff stinks, like literally, it smells bad. But, it's that or cancer so I only use it twice a week at night. Otherwise I'm pasty white and I can't have that either.

7. That little stack has three products. (do you see a problem here? I do.) The top bottle is Redken Aerate, which is a creme mousse that gives my hair awesome body. The second one is Bed Head Manipulator which I use for my hair when I curl it. The third one is Kenra texturizing taffy, which I also use when I curl it.

8. That white bottle is lotion. Pretty sure it's just St. Ives extra dry skin stuff. In the winter I practically need to bathe in lotion otherwise my skin is so dry and scaly. Not pretty!

9. Cetaphil moisturizing cream. This stuff saves my skin every winter. I use it before bed and I swear it helps ward off breakouts.

10. Box of bobby pins (thank you Club Libby Lu for the lifetime supply of bobby pins).

11. Contact solution

OK, now we can move onto the bottom shelf! From the left again:

1. Clearasil foaming cleanser and Clearasil astringent. I use both of these nightly and swear by them.

2. The black case is my eyeglasses, which I only wear at night!

3. I cannot figure out what purple bottle is for the life of me. It's not there now (I took the picture a few days before writing this post). It's a mystery!

4. Generic brand of Oil of Olay facial moisturizer. This is the moisturizer I use in the mornings!

5. Lovespell body spray - I have loved this scent since I was in college! I don't care what anyone thinks, I've always loved this one. :)

6. A glass of shells. Yes, a glass of shells from the beach. Why you ask? My sister brought them back for me from Cancun, to decorate with (my bathroom is in a beach theme) and I just haven't gotten around to it. They've been sitting in here ever since...

7. Tums. Totally necessary sometimes!

8. Heavenly from Victoria's Secret. I hate that this is "America's #1 scent" because I just love it so much! I don't like smelling like half the women in America so I don't wear it very often anymore. :/

9. Small bottle of Sweet Pea lotion from BABW

10. Toothbrush holder. I have to keep it enclosed somewhere because I have this weird fear that germs will be all over my toothbrush if I don't...

11. Toothpaste! I love that Vivid White kind!

12. Deodorant. I'm not loyal to a certain brand. I'm not a super sweaty person, so usually any kind works for me. Although, recently I bought a "natural" deodorant that didn't have aluminum in it and ... it's not working out so well.

13. Unconditional Love perfume by Philosophy. I got this for Christmas and I just love the scent, but it doesn't seem to last all day.

14. Acne medication. I coat this stuff on when I really need it, and then just use a small layer on trouble areas before bed at night. I also credit this routine to keeping my face clear.

Whew! I cannot believe how much crap I have crammed into this small cupboard! I only told you about the stuff you can see, there's more behind it all! Clearly I need to learn to simplify when it comes to products!

Really though, I blame my mom, (hi, Mom!) she's an extreme salon product advocate and always has something new. ALWAYS. She's always giving me new stuff to try (which, I'm totally grateful for. Please, don't stop) and get addicted to. Her favorite line? Kenra products. My favorite line is probably Redken products, with Kenra in a close second. I don't like Redken's shampoos and conditioners though. I tend to switch up my shampoos and conditioners quite a bit, but I always use salon (except for John Frieda, which I get at Target).

So, what is in your medicine cabinet? What are your must have products that you use daily? Do you splurge on salon products?

December Books 'n Bars @ Rock Bottom Brewery

2012-01-07T13:54:00.008-06:00

I forgot to recap December's Books 'n Bars! It hit me yesterday while running that I forgot, I can't believe I did that.

Oh, well. Better later than never, I say!

The Wednesday after Christmas we met at Rock Bottom Brewery, which is a chain restaurant that brews it's own beers. There are 35 restaurants located in the US and each one brews different beers. I love brewery's like this, but haven't visited Rock Bottom that much, so I was excited when it was suggested. (Also? I really like beer. It's kind of ridiculous).

I was first introduced to breweries like this when I lived in Kansas City. We would would go to McCoy's in Westport all the time and I fell in love with their raspberry brew. Now, I cannot get enough of it, and I can never seem to find it! I think Court Avenue Brewery (for you locals) downtown has it sometimes, but not all the time.

So, enough about beer and the "bars" part, let's talk about the "books" part, shall we?

In December we chose to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This book had been sitting on my shelf unread for quite a while now, so I was excited that we chose to read it. Unfortunately, I did not manage my time well in December and on the day we were scheduled to meet, I still had 250 pages to go...

Luckily, I did it. Yes, I skimmed quite a bit, but I don't feel like I missed anything! I had a little time before meeting to scan some reviews and summaries online, and from what I can tell I didn't miss anything.

Everyone in the group enjoyed it, a few of us weren't finished (hello, December is BUSY!) so we didn't discuss too much.

What we did discuss was the unique aspects from this WWII book we did enjoy. First of all, it's narrated by Death. I had to remind myself several times that it's not the main character talking, it's Death talking!

I also wasn't prepared for the main character to be a young German girl. I just naturally assumed it would be a Jewish protagonist. I began to adore her though, and really wanted to just hug her so many times. It's so easy to assume that during WWII all German's were bad (obviously a vast generalization), but it is so shocking to me how little they knew. How many lies they were told. It's heartbreaking.

Overall, this is definitely a book I recommend, not only for the content, but for the unique perspective and the unique way it is written!

For January we are switching gears a little and reading some non-fiction to appeal to some of the male members of the group (hi, guys!) and attract more members! C'mon guys, don't you want to be in a book club?! (lol)

So, we are reading Packing for Mars by Mary Roach and we're meeting on Tuesday, January 31st at Raccoon River Brewing Co. (another brewery - I am a happy girl!). Check out the event page here! If you're in the area, I hope you consider joining us!

Happy Reading!

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

2012-01-06T00:01:00.002-06:00

Today I'm linking up with Blonde, Undercover Blonde for her Book Club Friday - you know I'm all over this link up!

I recently finished The Marriage Plot, which is the third novel for Jeffrey Eugenides and the second novel I have read by him. His second book, Middlesex, earned a Pulitzer and was also the book we read for our local book club, Books 'n Bars in November. His first book was The Virgin Suicides, which I own, but haven't read. Did anybody see the movie? I remember watching it in high school and being very disturbed by it...

I probably would not have picked this book up if we weren't reading it for #twookclub, which is this awesome book club on Twitter hosted by the adorable Stephany over at Stephany Writes!

Although I didn't love the book, I'm glad I finished it because I think it will create great discussion among the group. The many issues addressed are marriage, homosexuality (slightly) mental illness, what is normal in life...

The Marriage Plot follows three main characters, college students Madeleine, Leonard and Mitchell in the early 80s, at the beginning of the book they are all graduating from college and are embarking on possibly the rest of their lives. All three of them unsure, all three of them struggling to figure out what they're supposed to be doing. Sound familiar? On this premise alone, I wanted to like this book. When I graduated from college I did not adjust well, so I'm always curious how other people attempt this weird transition in life.

So far, how I feel about Middlesex is exactly how I feel about The Marriage Plot. I love Eugenides writing and how he weaves a story together, but I tend to hate the stories he tells. So... it's tough. His writing is just beautiful, and I don't think I have ever come across a storyteller quite like him, I just don't seem to care for the content!

I don't want to go any further because I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book. I can see how some will love it and some will hate it. Now, go read it! ;)

Learning to say no.

2012-01-05T00:01:00.003-06:00

Last summer I took a part-time job at a local non-profit agency that serves adults with intellectual disabilities. Technically my title is "Residential Counselor" but I'm often referred to as "Staff." For example, "Amber is so-and-so's staff." Technically I provide in home care for these clients and help them work towards their "life goals." Their life goals is one of my favorite parts of the job and I love helping them work towards them. Common examples of life goals are cooking goals, exercise goals and budgeting goals.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I have been working with the same client (whom I call C) at the non-profit agency. When I first accepted the position, I specified that I wanted to be on-call staff only, because knowing my schedule changes every four months, I didn’t want clients to get attached and not work with other staff and I also didn't want to have to worry about rearranging my schedule as well as theirs multiple times throughout the year. Somehow I ended up working regularly with C, and although I love working with her, my worst fear has come true.

I ended up working regularly with C because her schedule worked well with mine, I knew her already because one of my best friends worked with her for a year and I knew she would be fun to work with. She’s very high functioning and really does not need a lot of help. Each week we do pretty much the same things. We go to the YMCA and work out (she walks, I run), we go to the library (she's working on her computer skills), we go to Friendship Class (which is basically Bible study), and we go do other normal everyday things like grocery shop or go rent movies.

Now that spring semester is about to begin my schedule is changing again, and I am working one less day with C. I really didn’t think she would mind that much. Sometimes she appears to be so annoyed with me that I thought she would welcome some new staff.

Apparently that is not the case.

I was chatting with another counselor and she was saying how one day she showed up to work with C, and C had left a note saying she didn’t need staff today. Then on another occasion she was scheduled to work C, she decided to call and double check that C was home before driving out to her place. C answered the phone and said that “Amber was coming and that she didn’t want any other staff.”

I wasn’t working that day.

Oy.

I’m touched and really very shocked, but I’m not sure where to go with it. Yesterday I mentioned again that I will not be able to work with her on Mondays and that she will have some new staff on Mondays. I suppose I will have to keep mentioning it and keep asking how things went with the other staff.

This is very surprising, because although I hate to admit this, sometimes I feel like I get a little mean with C. She needs tough love, and I worry that I get too blunt with her. I suppose tough love is subjective and my idea of being blunt is very different from someone else’s. I guess I’m not being mean if she wants me around!

This is exactly what I didn’t want, because although it is very touching, it’s heartbreaking and it makes me want to work with her, even though I am already spread too thin right now. She's having a meeting with other members on her team and I hope we can get some things resolved because she's frustrating a lot of people around her!

Just another example of where I need to learn how to say “no.” As much as I enjoy working with her regularly, I had a feeling this would not end well. I'm confident that we can get this resolved, but I'm worried things will have to get worse before they get better. Don't ya hate that?

Is there an area of your life where you struggle with saying no? For me, it is most definitely work. Always has been!

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

It's the best blog day of the week! Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday! This is by far my most visited post of the week, and definitely the one I enjoy putting together the most. Thank you for stopping by!

If you're on Pinterest you should like up at The Vintage Apple!

On with the pins!

I need to be told this every day. For real.

Source: bitsotruth.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Yes. I would totally do this. My sister and I are currently trying to figure out what North American destination we should drive to in 2012. Read about our Niagara Falls trip in 2011 here!

Source: perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

If you do this to my hair, I will do it to yours! Please?
Why can't I french braid my own hair? I have wasted too many hours trying. And failing.

Source: Uploaded by user via Emily on Pinterest

Genius! Will be trying this!

Source: chloesnails.blogspot.com via Cassandra on Pinterest

I want my hair cut/styled like this! Gorgeous!

Source: meggielynne.tumblr.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Possibly the coolest bathroom I have ever seen!

Source: Uploaded by user via Prem on Pinterest

Sigh. I miss that annoying sand everywhere. I miss that salty smell in the air. I miss people running around in swimsuits all day. I miss living at the beach!

Source: Uploaded by user via Rona on Pinterest

I NEED THIS! I wonder how heavy those pieces are though?

Source: blog.hgtv.com via Jen on Pinterest

You knew it was coming. Right?

Source: babaloud.com via Kara on Pinterest

Hope everyone is have a fabulous week!

Time to caucus!

2012-01-03T04:00:00.002-06:00

Today are the Iowa caucuses. Living in the capital city of Iowa makes it difficult to avoid all the hoopla! All of the nominees are here and there have been people with "Honk for Newt!" signs on street corners and other obnoxious propaganda all over any possible spot.

So, what does it mean to caucus? A caucus is a meeting of supporters, typically of a political party or movement. It's basically supposed to be like a neighborhood meeting or townhall meeting.

Want to know a true fact? Until after college, I lived my entire life in Iowa (except for about a year, which I do not remember because I was a baby) and I thought that all 50 states held nationally publicized caucuses during an election year. I thought Iowa was just special because they were first and typically right. Yep, true story. ;)

The Iowa caucuses are followed closely because it's considered to be an early indicator of who remains in the race, who will drop out and who will win the nomination for their party.

To say it's been insane in this area is an understatement. I don't usually talk about politics. At least I try not to, but every once in awhile I tend to go off on Twitter or climb up on my soapbox. I'm talking about it today, but I'm not really taaaalking about it. If you know what I mean.

I can't tell you who I am supporting, because.... I don't know. It's so overwhelming to me, and the 2012 election is worse than ever! I wish there was a clear nominee that I could say I, without a doubt, support. It's just too early for me to decide. If I make a decision I will undoubtedly change my mind, so it's best just to keep weighing the pros and cons.

I have a love/hate relationship with politics and everything that comes along with it. On the one hand, I love the feeling of being involved and feeling knowledgeable about the people that represent my country and state. On the other hand, I hate the drama, the lies and the uncertainty. I hate what goes along with claiming to be a part of this party or that party.

There's still plenty of time to decide, so in the meantime, I will try to enjoy my home state being in the spotlight! It's definitely funny to see tweets from celebrities asking where to buy winter coats in Des Moines (cough, AndersonCooper, cough).

Do you enjoy politics?

My Favorite Gift from Santa...

2012-01-02T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hi, Friends!

Hopefully you all had a wonderful New Year's! Today I am linking up with Daphne (Flip Flops and Pearls) and Michelle (The Vintage Apple) for a fun after Christmas link-up!

Santa treated me very well this year!! Choosing a favorite gift was really hard.

Ultimately, I have to go with the Pandora bracelet that my group of friends got me. We each got a bracelet with an initial charm on it. I just love it!!!

In the past couple years we have really struggled to think of something to get each other for Christmas/birthdays and have begun to resort to the always-appreciated-but-so-impersonal gift cards.

I'm excited to add more charms as the years go by! To me this is such a thoughtful, sentimental piece of jewelry because each charm will be for a birthday, holiday or other special moment!

What was your favorite gift that you received this year?

How I will kick 2012's butt!

2012-01-01T04:00:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year, Friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday! I'm still in awe that it is 2012... It just doesn't seem possible sometimes!

I debated on resolutions this year...as I do every year. Most of the time I think resolutions are recipe for failure, but I do, however, enjoy goals and planning and working towards something. So rather than set extremely specific resolutions, like lose 30 lbs (don't I wish), I'm going to set some broader, more flexible goals in regards to the major areas of my life.

Graduate School:
This one's easy. I want to get better at doing work right away and not waiting until the last minute. I can be the world's worst procrastinator and even though the work is always good enough, it could be better if I had started it sooner. In my program we do quite a bit of research and although it's easy to earn an A, the work is really what you make of it. I actually enjoy research, so I really hope I can work on this one.

Fitness:
A couple months ago I toyed with the idea of a 12 in '12 goal and run 12 races in 2012. I want to run all timed races. I usually participate in races for the social aspect, and this year I want to focus on running faster and longer, and I can still focus on the social aspect that way too! You're supposed to be able to run and talk at the same time, right? This race goal will naturally involve more running and exercising, so it's not just me saying, "run ____ amount of miles each week.

I would also like to get better at scheduling my workouts. Towards the end of 2011 I got much better at this, but the weeks I was really busy were when I really failed. I would like to get up each morning and work out at home (probably the 30 minute shred) so that I at least have something to fall back on if I don't make it the gym that day. This next semester is going to be insanely busy - I have to have a plan!

Diet:
This ones tough. I have so much swirling around in my head lately in regards to diet. Lately something I eat regularly makes me feel sick, I'm not exactly sure what it is. I'm narrowing it down, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I will be experimenting with a more plant based diet this year to see how it makes me feel. I would like to work more towards cutting out processed foods and meats, so this means I will have to cook more. Which means, I will have to plan ahead, because again, my schedule is insane. Sometimes I just don't have time to cook! I'm going to try and work harder at making the time.

Blogging:
2011 was THE YEAR for blogging. In 2011 I blogged consistently for the first time ever. I never took more than a week or two off at most. In 2012 I want to take it further and develop quality relationships with readers. I want to respond to the posts that I read with thoughtful comments, and not just a "That's awesome!" comment. If I'm going to read someone's blog I want to make sure I leave a comment that is genuine and explains why I think something is awesome.

I also want to do better at responding to comments. I'm terrible at answering questions people ask in the comments of my own blog posts. Mainly because I think I get irritated with the "no-reply@blogger"... if you don't have your email set up on commenting, why?? I'd like to be able to respond to you!

Reading:
I have a secret. I love to read.

You already knew that? Oh.

I do have a secret though.

My days are numbered here at ALPITC. Sad, right? When I graduate in 2013 and get a permanent teaching position I will most likely retire this blog and only write a book blog. Professionally, I think I have to. There's just way too much on this blog that is personal and may not be appropriate if my students found it. This doesn't have much to do with reading. I realize that.

So, in 2012 I want to read more than I read in 2011. This may seem crazy, because I'm taking 18+ credits each semester (I know. I knoooow) but I read a TON of young adult and middle grades so it's easy to read a couple of those a week. In 2011 I read 57 books and in 2012 I set a goal for myself to read 60 books.

Here's how I will kick 2012's butt in just a few areas of my life! There are many more, but rather than bore you with all my goals for the new year, how about you just read this year and find out?!

Hope your New Year treated you well this year!

Did you set goals or resolutions this year?

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

2011-12-30T15:06:00.003-06:00

This book is not for the faint of heart. It's a tearjerker and will leave you pissed off that anything like this can even happen.

Ok, so now that we got that out of the way... ;)

I read this book for Emily's book club over at The Many Thoughts of a Reader - she has been keeping this book club going for TWO YEARS now and although I play along only occasionally, I really enjoy the discussion when I do!

This year could be dubbed the year I studied WWII in depth. Seriously. Who reads a depressing Holocaust novel the week of Christmas?! This girl.

I swear, I am not a depressing person. I'm a bubbly, happy, annoyingly positive person that will drive you nuts with her idealistic (although, not naive) ideas. I really enjoy learning about this period of history, though, and I learn history best through historical fiction. You better believe that if it's possible, I will incorporate it somehow into my curriculum someday when I have my own classroom.

You can read my Goodreads review of this post here. If you're not on Goodreads, you should be. It's perfect for adding the books you're reading, the books you want to read and for connecting with others and finding out what you want to read next. It's definitely the FIRST place I turn to when trying to decide if I want to read something. They even have a mobile app (who doesn't these days?) that is pretty awesome. I use it almost daily. Yep, I am a total and complete bookworm. I am not ashamed.

Now that I am done pushing Goodreads... The Invisible Bridge. This book follows three Jewish brothers that are from Budapest, Hungary in the late 30s and early 40s. The author focuses most of its attention on the middle brother, Andras, and it is so hard not to fall in love with Andras. He is such a well-rounded, neat person. This would be one character that I would NEVER want to see on the big screen, because the idea I have in my head of what he looks like cannot be ruined. Do you know what I mean?

Andras moves from Budapest to Paris to attend college and study architecture on a scholarship. Then the war happens and his visa is suddenly void due to his religious heritage, and he has to move back to Budapest leaving behind the love of his life, Klara. Klara is also from Hungary, but cannot return because of something that happened in her past, and if she does, she will be arrested.

At the train station, she decides she cannot let Andras go without her and she decides to risk it. Together they travel back to Budapest as the war begins to ravage Europe under Hitler's reign. Andras is called to serve three times, and life continues to get worse and worse for both families.

I highly recommend this book if you're interested in the Holocaust, and if you're interested in the differences for Jews in each country of Europe. In school, all I ever really learned about was Poland and Germany. There are so many facets to this era in history that you could study it for ages and still learn more about it.

The Invisible Bridge is so well written and the description is simply gorgeous. The text can be dense and long at times with little dialogue, as descriptive novels are, but it's too rich to ignore. I don't typically ADORE texts that have such solid passages, which is why I didn't give it five stars, but once you're past the first part, putting it down and ignoring Andras and Klara will be impossible.

If you're a fan of Sarah's Key, it's likely you will enjoy the The Invisible Bridge as well.

After all of these WWII books in 2011, I'm definitely ready for more light reading in 2012!

Do you tend to read books with heavy topics like this, or do you avoid them?

Top Ten books of 2011

2011-12-29T05:00:00.000-06:00

I cannot end this year without talking about my favorite books of 2011 - that would be just... silly.

Yesterday Lisa and Stephany both posted their top 10 lists and I just loved reading them - follow the links to read theirs! We have very similar tastes and I just love discussing books with these two. I wish we all lived in the same city so we could meet up and discuss more often. ;)

This year I read A LOT. At the beginning of the year I made a goal for myself to read 50 books, and I didn't think it would happen while being in grad school full time all year, but somehow it happened! I have read 57 books in 2011. A few of those books were for school, which I'm counting because I have a goal to read more non-fiction books. Many of the books are also middle grades and YA books, which several were for my children's lit class.

Narrowing down my list of favorites this year was pretty easy. In fact coming up with ten for the list was a little hard! There weren't many that I just absolutely loved, but for the most part all of these on this list are books that I always recommend to others.

I have noticed on Goodreads, that I am not generous with the five star rating - I rarely give a book five stars, in fact only a few of those books on my top 10 list got five stars from me when I finished them, but that doesn't mean I didn't love them. To me, for a book to get a five star rating, it needs to have me engaged the entire time, the writing should be impeccable and it should be a book I would consider as "couldn't-put-it-down."

I'm not sure what my goal for 2012 will be. I have gotten myself tangled up into three book clubs, so I think I will probably read my adult fiction with them and the rest will be middle grades and YA. I wish I could say I hope to read more in 2012, but know what my class schedule will be like, I don't know if that is possible. I guess I surprised myself in 2011, so who knows?

Anyway. I'll stop rambling. Here are my "Top Ten Books of 2011!" Enjoy!

10. Secret Daughter - this was the third book we read for Books 'n Bars, and I absolutely loved it! This year I began to really become interested in Indian culture and this book really contributed that interest. It's about an American couple that adopts an Indian girl. The father is of Indian heritage and the mother is American.

9. The Lover's Dictionary - this book was FANTASTIC! It's really a dictionary, but in the definitions it tells a story. It's heart-breakingly honest and real. Definitely a must read.

8. Lola and the Boy Next Door - oh, Stephanie Perkins. I don't think she can do anything wrong! Loved Lola - what a great character! If you liked Anna and the French Kiss, this is a MUST-READ.

7. Anna and the French Kiss - it took me a long time to pick this one up, but after seeing it float around the book blogging around and so many people raving about it, I had to see what the fuss was about. Boy, oh boy am I glad I did! What a wonderfully written, cute romance for a YA fan.

6. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt - I will always remember this book because, A. it was the first book that we read for Books 'n Bars and B. Beth Hoffman EMAILED ME TO SAY THANK-YOU! I think I literally squealed out loud when I got that email. This book was wonderful and if you're a fan of The Help, you will like this one too!

5. Divergent - Wow, the response to this book is unreal! This book is action, action, action and will you keep flipping the pages to the very end. If you like dystopians, like The Hunger Games, you will probably like Divergent too!

4. Delirium - Ahhhh, Delirium. I adored this book. I cannot wait for Pandemonium. It's time like this when I wished I put more into book blogging so I could get my hands on an ARC of the sequal. This book was so good - another dystopian that I just couldn't put down. Read it. Love it.

3. One Day - I admit, I didn't love this book until I saw the movie and it sort of brought it all together for me. Now, I think about this story all the time. It's realistic, heartbreaking and so rich. David Nicholls writing is superb and this story will make you happy, sad, pissed off, giggling... cheering for a romance that is real.

2. Sarah's Key - Ahhh, the book that started the WWII obsession this year. I-LOVED-THIS-BOOK and think everyone should read it. This book follows a little girl that is Jewish in Paris during the Holocaust. What happened to Jews in France during the Holocaust? Read this book and you will find out. Then see the movie - because they did a fantastic job.

1. The Help - I adored The Help. I adore Kathryn Stockett. She created a wonderful book about her own experiences being raised in the South by black maids. Although this isn't a memoir and is fictional, after hearing Kathryn speak about her novel and her own childhood maid, I love the book (and the movie) even more.

What was your favorite book of 2011?

Are you on Goodreads? If so, come find me. ;)

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

2011-12-28T15:00:00.001-06:00

It's the best blog day of the week! Another Wednesday, another Pinteresting post! Let me know if you linked up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple!

{Yesssssss! This is sort of what I picture for my "library" that I hope to have in my future house.}

Source: cocokelley.blogspot.com via Mel on Pinterest

{ Inspiring, no? }

Source: zamaszyscie.soup.io via Mel on Pinterest

{ YES! I try not to ask this, but some days it just pops out of my mouth and I always feel like an idiot... }

Source: icanrelate.info via Stephanie on Pinterest

{ Haaaaa, this made me laugh. }

Source: Uploaded by user via Tiffany on Pinterest

{ This drives me crazy! }

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Shelby on Pinterest

{ Did anyone else see this? Hilarious! }

Source: huffingtonpost.com via Whitney on Pinterest

{ This is on my bucket list! I am about halfway there. }

Source: perfectbucketlist.tumblr.com via Mel on Pinterest

{ Amazing! }

Source: strangecosmos.com via Mel on Pinterest

{ London in the winter - someday I will visit! }
{ Side note: I don't know why I assume this is winter, because it's just rain, but for some reason I do. }

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Mel on Pinterest

{ This. is. awesome. I want this done in my future home someday too. }

Source: kidtimes.wordpress.com via Amber on Pinterest

{ Annnnd, the obligatory Harry Potter post. Where can I find the versions like this?? They're gorgeous! }

Source: weheartit.com via michele on Pinterest

Happy Pinteresting Wednesday, Friends!

It's a Christmas wrap!

2011-12-27T09:16:00.007-06:00

Christmas was wonderful, but now that it's over, it's time for the wrap party! Errrr, wait. I hate wrapping. Is this a real wrap party? ;)

Aaaanywaaay. Here's how my holiday went...

Christmas Eve my sister and I always go to my parents house for a crab legs and Bailey's dinner and to open presents. This year my sister's boyfriend joined us for the first time, and I have to admit, I was kind of being a jerk about it at first. I'm really protective of that tradition, and for some reason I was just worried that the dynamic would change and it would feel different with him there.

{ My sister and I! I like to put the bows on my head... ;) }

Luckily, I realized what an asshole I was being (hopefully it was only my mom that noticed) and I decided to make the best of it. We ended up having a really good time! My sister and her boyfriend brought over lobster so in addition to the crab legs we always have, we had lobster too! I make the same mistake every year and I always snack too much and drink too much before the actual meal, so I usually end up just eating some of the crab and whatever side dish my mom made. This year was no different and I gave practically all of my lobster away because I was so full! ::faceplam::

{ Holy yum! The crab legs are my favorite part! }

The food was so good though, and the Bailey's this year was delicious! My dad decided to make it home instead of spending the $20+ on a bottle of it. I will never buy Bailey's again! This Bailey's was so good and so easy to make! After dinner we always play board games and this year we played a new game called Headbanz. Has anyone heard of it? You wear this headband thing and you put a card on the headband that has a word on it. You then have to ask the group questions to figure out what the word is. The group can only answer with yes, no, could be...etc. It was so hard! But, it was so much fun! I even ended up drawing Harry Potter and everyone cracked up laughing when they saw it!

{ I drew the word bookstore too - apparently this game knows me VERY well! }

We started this tradition on Christmas Eve around five years ago, when we decided that we enjoyed sleeping in on Christmas Day. I'm soaking up as much of it as I can, because it's hard saying what will happen to that tradition when my sister and I start having kids.

{My mom aaaalways says she isn't going to go overboard, but every year she does. ;) }

Christmas Day we all sleep in and then we go to my grandma's house out in the country. She used to live near my parents on the east side of Des Moines, but pretty much everyone is moving away from the area, my grandmother included. She now lives about 30 minutes west Des Moines in a really small lake community. It's really nice out there, but we hate that we don't see her as often anymore.

{Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house Lexi and I go! Quite literally over the river and through the woods too... Haaaa! }

There we had Christmas dinner and opened presents with the extended family! I didn't get a lot of pictures on Christmas day!

That evening some friends of mine had planned a Christmas pub crawl, and I kind of debated on whether I wanted to go or not, but eventually they won and I met them out for ~~a few~~ one too many drinks...

{Here we are the first bar - I don't know how they ate pizza (see the empty pan?) I couldn't believe I was even consuming beer, I was so full from dinner(s)! }

The pub crawl was so much, I was so glad I went! I even had an old high school friend of mine that was in town decide to join us which made the night even more memorable! This group of friends does this pub crawl every Christmas, but this was my first time joining them. I think I may have to join in on the fun every year now...

How was your Christmas? Did you start any new traditions this year?

Dear Santa...

2011-12-24T04:00:00.001-06:00

Each of the four Christmases I worked for Club Libby Lu we sold an adorable t-shirt that had this quote on it. I just loved it! We could hardly keep them in stock, especially the smallest sizes. I went searching for an image with that shirt, but couldn't find one. I still terribly miss this company and all of the people that worked there. Just typing that made me choke up a little. I guess today I'm still carrying out their mission statement, just in a different way...

Their mission statement was, "To make every little girl feel special." How can you not just melt at something like that?

Anyway, I came across that quote and just had to post it. I hope you all have done your "explaining to Santa" and he understands! May all your wishes be granted this holiday season! :)

Merry Christmas!
xoxo

Winner, winner!

2011-12-23T05:30:00.001-06:00

Chicken dinner! (you know you thought it in your head...)

Ok, so the winner's not getting a chicken dinner, but they are getting a signed copy of Baby Proof by Emily Giffin!

According to random.org the lucky winner is comment number 2!

Congrats Cassie from Cat Lady in Training! Email me at alittlepinkinthecornfields@gmail.com with your address and I'll get your book right out to you!

Today I am guest posting over at The many thoughts of a reader! We're discussing the third part of The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer - stop by and check it out!

Beer challenge + way too much food = how we celebrate Chritmas!

2011-12-22T10:36:00.006-06:00

In my group of friends we take two things very seriously ... Christmas and birthdays. If someone in the group cannot make either of the two events we are immediately concerned.

Luckily, this year everyone made it to our Christmas party, hosted by our good friend Kristi and her husband Matt!

In the past years we have tended to be pretty creative with gifts and have given each other some amazing handmade birthday gifts and Christmas gifts, but this year we decided to start something new...

Pandora bracelets! Pandora is a jewelry company that carries mainly silver jewelry and their most popular item is the charm bracelet. We bought the basic silver rope bracelet and one inital charm for everyone. Instead of scrambling to figure out a "creative" gift for each birthday or Christmas, we now plan on adding a charm!

At first I thought the bracelets looked kind of gaudy, but now that I have been wearing it for almost a week, I've realized that you can make it as simple or as outrageous as you want. I can't wait to add more charms, but I don't want mine to have a bunch of things dangling off of it or a bunch of different colors.

I cannot wait to see what it looks like in a few years after I've accumulated more charms. Hopefully I have charms under the tree this year! ;)

A party with us isn't a party without drinks and food either! We all brought something for everyone to snack on, and we had plenty to go around! Lisa sent me an awesome recipe for artichoke dip and it was a huge hit!

Here's the recipe:

1 6.5 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 8oz oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 4oz can of green chile peppers

1. Preheat over to 350
2. In a medium bowl, mix the artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, 1 c. of parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and green chili peppers. Scoop mixture into a baking dish (I use an 8x8 pan). Top with remaining 1/2 c. of parmesan cheese.
3. Bake for 25 min or until bubbly & slightly browned. Serve warm.

**I made a couple of small modifications to this recipe. I added an extra package of cream cheese (I used one low fat, one full fat) to add volume, and then I added chopped spinach and for the parmesan cheese, I used the Kraft three cheese blend, that came in the regular jar but seemed a bit fancier? I didn't think it would make that big of a difference but I think it did!

After eating and chatting upstairs, we headed down to the basement to drink and play our annual beer challenge. Kristi and Matt had quite the assortment of beers in their basement that needed to be consumed so we took care of that!

Here's the deal for our Beer Challenge (I should make that a proper noun), one person - the bartender - see me below - pours beers into plastic cups and the participant has to taste each one and guess what they are. Usually, we have just four or five beers, but this year we had SEVEN!

Here were the options:

Bud Lite
Budweiser
Miller Lite
Busch Lite
Miller High Life (heavy)
Michelob Ultra
Bud Lite Lime

Sound hard? It really is!

Those walls are orange and blue - anyone guess why?? Hint: We live about five hours from one of the biggest cities in the US and Iowa doesn't have an NFL team...

I got four out of seven beers - which was shocking! Usually I do the worst! I think the winner got five out of seven? This one was really hard! The only easy one was really Bud Lite Lime.

Overall it was a great time! You know that feeling when you want something to get here faster, but at the same time you don't want it to get here, because that means it will be over soon? That's how I am feeling right now with Christmas and this break in general!

Merry Christmas! Hope your week is going well!

Oh! How Pinteresting Wednesday!

2011-12-21T04:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time again - Wednesday = Pinterest day!

Let me know if you linked up with The Vintage Apple! Happy pinning. ;)

Genius! Can I get a drawer like this please?

Source: theberry.com via Julie on Pinterest

I have been searching for a cute animal print scarf. This one will do! :)

Source: browneyedbellejulie.tumblr.com via Diana on Pinterest

Yeah, I need to remind myself of this quite often.

Source: moneysavingmom.com via Emily on Pinterest

Best. Advice. Ever.

Source: bitsotruth.blogspot.com via Mel on Pinterest

I cannot tell you how many times people have said this to me.

Source: shortpeopleproblems.tumblr.com via Melissa on Pinterest

A-freakin-men

Source: postsecret.com via Lauren on Pinterest

You know I had to post something HP!

Source: Uploaded by user via Tara on Pinterest

LOOOOOVE this quote! Who can tell me what book it's from? If you know me well, and you've read the book, you should know this. ;)

Source: google.com via Shannon on Pinterest

I'm making these. Soon. Very, very soon.

Source: bakerella.com via Laurie on Pinterest

I REALLY like this!!

Source: Uploaded by user via Laura on Pinterest

This made me giggle! The kid kind of reminds me of Chucky from Child's Play though... anyone else see it?

Source: google.com via Kaitlin on Pinterest

Bahahaha. I did this. Love it!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ariel on Pinterest

I will be here in less than one month!! Cannot wait to see some of my best bloggy friends! :)

Source: conspicuousstyle.com via Teryl on Pinterest

Thank you for reading! I love you all!

Urban middle school ramblings....

2011-12-20T08:24:00.005-06:00

I have a million things I could be blogging about, but I just don't feel like it. I'm feeling very blah.

I'm subbing today, and I'm really bored because they're writing in their journals and then watching the end of The Polar Express. I'm also giving myself a headache because I've got one eye on the computer and the other eye on them. Ok, not literally. That would look crazy. It feels like it though.

Anyway, I'm just going to ramble. Go ahead and enjoy. Or leave now if you don't like rambling.

Today I'm back at the same middle school I have been at since Friday. It's another very urban school, which are my favorite schools. I love these kids. They're not touting the latest iPhone or iPad or wearing an outfit more expensive then my monthly salary (ok, maybe that's dramatic, but I wonder sometimes!) they're, in my eyes, completely normal. Being able to buy whatever you want or ask your parents for whatever you want is not average, and that kind of privilege just gets on. my. last. nerve. Don't get me wrong, I'm not angry with those kids that are wealthy, they have no idea how lucky they are. You can't be mad at someone for something they have no idea about. You can however be mad at the fact that innocent kids are growing up without as many resources or basic needs. And those kids? They're well aware of what they don't have.

These kids make me happy, but sad and sometimes angry all at the same time. Sometimes they're downright rude and disrespectful, but most of the time? If I tell them they're rude, they will shape right up. They hate to be told they're rude. Tell a suburban 8th grader she's rude, and she will probably smirk at you. Then smile.

Don't tell me that wouldn't piss you off.

I love being able to bounce around between districts and learn from multiple kinds of classrooms. Sometimes I think I'm getting just as much out of subbing, as I am from my classes. Wait, I know I am getting just as much out of it. Of course, there are days where I spend the majority of my time reading (for fun) or studying for my own classes while students watch a movie or work independently. That classroom management experience does not come on it's own though. Most of the time students are not going to automatically work for a substitute teacher.

The other day I was in the teachers lounge and another sub was asking me how I establish control right away. I had a really hard time articulating how I do it. I don't really know what I do. I do know, however, what I don't do.

I don't raise my voice. I don't make them do anything I wouldn't do. I treat them as adults (they're in middle school or high school!) until they've lost that privilege. I'm never rude first. I don't talk down to them. I don't tell them to do something without telling them why. I don't frown the entire day. I don't act all secretive or like things are confidential. I rarely send students to the office.

Which all translates to...

I make them feel as important as I possibly can. I'm constantly smiling and try to make myself approachable. I make time for a little fun. I remind them that if they are cool with me, I will be cool with them. (I say that line a lot). I use positive reinforcement sparingly and I make it meaningful.

The school I'm at today though? Two kids I have in class are on house arrest. One was talking about a time he brought a gun to school. Most of them do not come with paper and pencil. I doubt most of them have had breakfast. Several of them look like they haven't slept. I choose to be here though.

Not because I have to either. A district in the suburbs called me three times this morning and I love that district. There they can take the content up to a higher level with the students instead of keeping it at just the basic level. The teachers are extremely enthusiastic and can try new things. The technology is top of the line, and there are more resources than you could possibly need.

It feels good to have other substitute teachers ask me what my tricks are. It feels good to be there for students that may not get very much support at home. It feels good when they remember me, and want me to be their permanent teacher.

I may leave at the end of the day feeling exhausted and mentally drained from having to stay on my toes literally every second of the day, but 99.9% of the time, I leave feeling like I at least made some sort of impact on their day, week, month or possibly their life.

Emily Giffin Giveaway!!

2011-12-19T04:00:00.001-06:00

Remember last month when I went down to Kansas City to see Emily Giffin at Rainy Day Books? Well, I got a book signed to giveaway on the blog, and .... I forgot about it! It's no wonder, I blame being so busy.

Better late than never though.

I have a signed copy of Baby Proof to give away to one lucky reader!

All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me what your favorite Emily Giffin book is.

You can earn an extra entry by tweeting this tweet: Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Baby Proof from @AmberWDM and @EmilyGiffin http://bit.ly/w3uiqR

Please leave a separate comment letting me know if you tweeted and what your Twitter name is.

This is going to be short, so get your entries in. I'll choose a winner via random.org on Thursday morning!

Good luck!

Top 10 books I'm looking forward to in 2012

2011-12-18T08:00:00.001-06:00

I'm not doing a very good job at keeping up with the whole "book posts on weekend" huh?? Each week I have all these grand plans to post reviews and other fun bookish posts on Saturday and Sunday, then the weekend rolls around and I just cannot motivate myself enough to write anything! The blogger world is so quiet on weekends, it feels pointless sometimes.

I couldn't let the entire weekend go by without posting something so I decided to write about the books of 2012 that I'm most looking forward to reading. This next year I will be severely cutting myself off from buying too many books, so I will have to plan accordingly which books I want to buy each month. I still haven't decided if I'm going to give myself a dollar limit or a number of books limit for my book budget. Probably a dollar limit, since I can obviously do a lot of harm with just a couple of books (read: hardcovers are expensive!).

Anyway. On with the subject of this post! Here are the top 10 books I am most looking forward to in the next year! Not posted in any particular order...

After reading Save Me by Lisa Scottoline earlier this year, I've been looking forward to reading something else by her! Her writing reminds me quite a bit of Jodi Picoult's and you all know how much I adore her! Come Home will be released on April 10, 2012

I've only read a few of Elin Hilderbrand's books, but the few I have read I really enjoyed! They're perfect beach reads (ahhh, the beach) and always set on Nantucket Island. It sounds like such a beautiful place, after reading any of her books, you will be itching to visit! Summerland will be released June 26, 2012. Right in time for summer and reading by the water!

Ahhhhh! Finally! It's understandable that Emily Giffin didn't release a book last year, with Something Borrowed coming out on the big screen, so I am so excited to read this one! Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors and has been for quite awhile! I had the chance to meet her last month (and I have a signed book to give away to you all! Watch for it THIS WEEK) and she is just as pretty in person, and so NICE! Where We Belong will be released July 31, 2012 - which is going to be painful to wait that long, but is definitely one I will buy and include in my budget.

I didn't love Mini Shopaholic, which was released in 2011, but I absolutely adored Twenties Girl, which was released in 2010. Hopefully Sophie Kinsella's 2012 release will redeem herself! I think the character of Becky Bloomwood needs to retire, and I think Sophie Kinsella knows that too! The synopsis for this one doesn't sound very promising (sad, but true). The main character seems to be pretty flighty, like Becky is, but I will undoubtedly still buy this one and devour it. I have been a fan of Sophie Kinsella's for over ten years now, and is definitely a chick lit guilty indulgence for me. ;)

I've Got Your Number will be released on February 14, 2012 - Valentine's Day!

Jane Green is another favorite author of mine! There really isn't a book of hers that I didn't like! Some I like better than others, obviously, but all of them are great! These are also perfect beach reads. Another Piece of My Heart comes out on March 13, 2013.

Another one to "Ahhhhhh!" at! Jodi Picoult is one of my absolute favorite authors and one that I have driven over three hours to see for three years in a row. It's become a tradition for me to drive up to Minneapolis, meet up with Lesli or Lisa and go to Jodi's readings. Jodi's got the BEST personality and has some of the best signings I have ever been to!

Obviously the cover for this one hasn't been released yet, but I will update this post when it is released!

Lone Wolf comes out February 28, 2012

Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams? Sign me up, please! I really hope this movie doesn't disappoint. Since I am a nerd and have to read the book before seeing the movie, I have the book on my list. The book version of The Vow comes out February 10, 2012 which looks like the same day the movie comes out. That is really weird and I don't like it at all! Hopefully I can read it before going to see the movie.

This is the sequel to Delirium, which I read at the beginning of 2011 and I loved it! Delirium held the perfect amount of action for me in a dystopian YA novel, and the cliffhanger at the end was painfully perfect! It's one of the only books that I have had on my mind all year long, and I don't think I need to re-read any part of it to enjoy Pandemonium! This book comes out on February 28, 2012.

I wasn't a HUGE fan of Divergent, but I did really like it. I think if there wasn't a ton of hype about it, I would have liked it more. It is a book I recommend though quite frequently, especially to students. I book talked this one in my children's lit class and I can think of two students that read it specifically because my book talk (shocker: I can sell a book! Ha!).

I am really looking forward to Insurgent though, and hate that I have to wait until May 5th to read it. This is the only book that I went ahead and emailed the publisher to request an ARC. I got turned down though, they said I needed at least 350 followers to be considered. Good to know!

(FYI, I do not blog specifically for ARCs, but... I do enjoy them. A lot actually)

If you haven't read Divergent yet, and you liked The Hunger Games, you should check it out!

The Soul by Stephenie Meyer is the sequel to The Host, which is a sci fi book that she released right after the Twilight saga wrapped up. I have had The Host on my bookshelf for an embarrassing amount of time and I hope I can read it in 2012. After reading some YA sci fi books, I might be getting into this genre of books that I pretty much disregarded before...

This book doesn't even have a release date yet, so I have no idea if it even comes out next year. That cover is also not the official cover. I have no idea where it came from - probably a fan, because it doesn't look very professional. It's still gorgeous though! Even if that girl looks like Megan Fox, whom I cannot stand.

There you have it! What are you looking forward to reading in 2012?

It's not Christmas without Alvin, Simon and Theodore

2011-12-16T04:00:00.000-06:00

My favorite song around the holidays has always been the Chipmunks Christmas song - I can still remember my mom playing the record (yes, the record from the 60s) when we were kids. My parents had a turntable and always played records. (I wonder where all those records are now? I'm going to find out...)

Does anybody else remember this record? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Another Christmas favorite? This calendar.

For as long as I can remember my mom put this calendar out in December and every. single. morning. before school there would be a fight over "who got to move the mouse."

Today there is an intense fight over who GETS this calendar passed down to them.

My mom has recently released the information that ... the daughter that gives her the first grandchild will get it.

And grand-dogs don't count.

Talk about pressure! Sneaky, Mom. Reeeaaaal sneaky. Also? Not the reason you want your children to procreate I assume. (I kid, I kid).

(sort of).

What is something random about the holidays that you love?

Shh! Don't tell anyone...

2011-12-15T04:00:00.002-06:00

Source: etsy.com via Chanisara on Pinterest

Everybody loves a good secret, right? Here are some secrets I have been withholding lately...

I secretly hope that we get a massive snow storm right in time for Christmas. (Yep. I said it.)
I regularly listen to the Twilight soundtracks. I love them! They have such great indie-ish music on them!
I might listen to the Harry Potter scores too... because, well, I don't know. I just love them.
I have been thinking about stopping working towards a special ed endorsement because I don't want to be "stuck" in special ed forever (this is probably a post for another day).
I secretly love having classes with undergrads. At first they were annoying (ok, sometimes they still are) but now their optimism and enthusiasm is so refreshing.
Even though I posted about my obsession with the Sleep Cycle app just this week, I haven't used it for almost a month.
I didn't wash my hair today. (shocking, right? I showered last night after Zumba b/c I was a sweaty mess)
I have a secret fetish with NPR. I go through these weird phases and like to listen to it in the car.
I listen to Delilah at night while I am reading (yes, it's true).
I got a new car last month and I really love it... but, I think I like the older model better. Is that weird? (not that I am not grateful to no longer be driving Granny)
The running app I use on my phone has a British accent, and I purposely set it that way. I just like it better.
I have "Watch Prancer" listed on my winter break to-do list.

What secrets are you keeping? ;)

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

2011-12-14T04:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. Wednesday = PINTEREST DAY! This site gives me so much inspiration and makes me laugh so hard on a daily basis. If you're not on there, I highly suggest you check it out soon!

As usual, I'm linking up with Michelle from The Vintage Apple!

Here's what I'm loving this week...

Best outfit... Need me a lace dress like this, asap.

Source: gallery.me.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Yep. I'm sure this is true. In fact, pretty sure I liked like this on Tuesday night. Do I care? No. Zumba burns 500+ calories for each class. I don't CARE what I look like. ;)

Source: facebook.com via Anita on Pinterest

Love, love, love this!

Source: weheartit.com via Laurie on Pinterest

The Trinity Library in Dublin. This made my stomach flip. How gorgeous! Doesn't it make you think of Belle in Beauty and the Beast?

Source: fromeuropewithlove.tumblr.com via The Perfect Palette on Pinterest

How fun would this be?? This is totally something I would have done when I was younger... oh wait, I DID do this. Except... I used Koo-laid. Not kidding.

Source: shesitspretty.tumblr.com via Vanessa on Pinterest

I laughed about this for longer than I care to admit! #HarryPotterNerd

Source: t2.gstatic.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Is it sad that I looked at this and thought, "HEDWIG!"??

Wait. Don't answer that.

Source: teachickadees.com via Rachael on Pinterest

How cute! I'm doing this someday and nobody's stopping me...

(the years of the coins signify the year you met, year you married... etc.)

Source: reformedsororitygirl.tumblr.com via beautifulsurprise on Pinterest

Bahaha! Love this - so true.

Source: Uploaded by user via Heidi on Pinterest

Follow the link and read the quote...
Me! Robert Pattinson, I read! You can bring me tea...

Source: 29.media.tumblr.com via Mel on Pinterest

Another good week on Pinterest! What did you find?

PS: Make sure to tell me if you participate so I can check out your blog!

Sleep, why do you elude me?!

2011-12-13T05:00:00.003-06:00

I used to always think I would be one of those people that could just avoid the issues you begin to have as one gets older. You know, things like heartburn and achy muscles. I thought, "I have TONS of energy and I will always have this energy!" "I don't even know what heartburn feels like, and I'm never gonna find out!"

Yeeeeeaaaah, there's my optimism coming out full force.

I still think I have a lot of energy, and that I will have it for a long time, but lately I have noticed some changes. I do get heartburn sometimes (but nothing too terrible) and I get achy muscles, but not from getting older, usually from working out (you know, the good pain!). What I have noticed is mainly how I sleep at night.

Sleeping through the night is practically impossible most nights. Take Sunday night for example, I went to bed pretty early. I was in bed by 9pm and read until about 10pm, then it was lights out. I must have fallen asleep almost immediately, because I woke up again at 12:30 (for reasons unknown) and I was sure that it was almost time to get up. Usually when I wake up in the middle of the night I purposely do not look at the clock because it messes with my mind (and ability to sleep) but Sunday night I made that fateful mistake.

Because I couldn't fall back to sleep.

Somehow I finally fell asleep again, but then woke up at 3am. At this point I considered staying up, but knew that I would be wanting to kill someone on Monday if I did that.

I fell asleep again and slept until 6am. Overall, I got enough sleep, but it wasn't the kind of sleep I needed.

Yes, the kind.

Here comes a little secret of mine.

Ok, so it's not really a secret.

I have an obsession with an app called Sleep Cycle. I'm not the only one either, there are several other bloggers that I know use it too.

This app tracks your sleep patterns at night and graphs it for you.

See?

For, ahem, 182 nights I would sleep with my phone underneath my pillow and right away in the morning I would check out my "stats."

Yeah, yeah. I hear you snickering. I know. I know. It's dorky! But... it's interesting! No?

Over the summer I became really obsessed* with this thing, and completely fascinated with the science behind sleep. I used to always say that when I needed sleep I was like a junky battery that needed charging, and basically? That's true.

There are two kinds of sleep:

Deep sleep and REM sleep.

Deep sleep restores your body, and it's what your body will restore first. REM sleep restores your mind and it restores that second. During the night you should go in and out of deep and REM, but if you need more deep, you'll stay in deep sleep.

So, how does your phone know what kind of sleep you're in, you ask? Well, when you are in deep sleep you're paralyzed. You literally do not move at all (except for breathing, obviously) but in REM you're probably moving a little bit because this is when you dream. The accelerometer in the phone can tell when you're moving or not, and therefore knows what kind of sleep you're in.

As you can see from the screen shot above, I haven't used the app since November 20th. Maybe I got tired of it? I think I need to use it though. When I used it, I was so much more aware of why I was tired and I did a better job of making sure I got plenty of the sleep I needed.

Maybe the struggle to sleep isn't because I'm getting older (I'm only 29 for crying out loud), maybe it's stress. Honestly, that is the likely possibility. I wouldn't call stress either, though. I think it's more of... just a lot going on. I like being this busy, I really do, but it does keep your mind racing a million miles a minute pretty much every day.

Who knows! All I do know is, I like sleep and I want more of it. Both REM and deep, please. ;)

What subject fascinates you, and you can't seem to get enough of, that others think is strange? How much sleep do you need/get a night?

*I was so obsessed that one weekend at the lake I was drunkenly rearranging my friends' guest bedroom furniture so that my charger would reach the outlet so I could charge my phone and use the app. Yeah... I still get crap for that. Probably will for a loooong time.

Pretty me up, please!

2011-12-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

About a year and a half ago I gave up a bi-monthly indulgence that was costing me almost $500 a year.

Can anyone think of what it is?

Go ahead, make a guess. I'll wait.

...

...

...

If you guessed regular manicures, you would be right! I planned for regular manicures in my monthly/weekly budget and got my nails professionally painted and made to look pretty every two weeks like clockwork.

Some people got massages, I got manis. Rarely did I get pedicures (I'm too ticklish), but I loved having my nails painted.

See, I had in my head that I just couldn't do it myself as well as the nail salon could.

After many years of doing this, I finally smartened up and kicked this expensive habit. All of those weeks where I paid to be using somebody else's nail polish, I could have been buying my own!

Today, I buy maybe (maaaybe) two nail polishes a month and I give myself a manicure that rivals an nail salon each week. I love painting my own nails, and I love the comments I get on the colors I choose.

Last week, I was French Quarter for Your Thoughts by OPI - it was a crowd pleaser and got many comments! One guy said it was a little too "January" though, and I should be wearing something "cheerier."

This week I am wearing "Size Matters" by Essie - which is the cheerier red that this guy requested. ;)
Over the course of this transition I have accumulated quite the collection of nail polishes! I clearly need to venture away from reds, pinks, purples and grays - huh!?

Point of the story: I gave up an indulgence and it turned out to be so much better. Now, I actually enjoy picking "crafty" nail projects from Pinterest and giving them a try on myself.

Have you ever given up an indulgence that you once swore you never would be able to? What's your favorite nail color?

In My Mailbox - Scholastic Warehouse SALE!

2011-12-11T09:16:00.003-06:00

In My Mailbox is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where book bloggers share what books they got this week from the library, bought, publishers, etc.

On Friday afternoon after school got out, I headed to the Scholastic warehouse for the first day of their warehouse sale! Educators were able to get a fast pass for the first day and got to shop, shop, shop, till we dropped! Have you ever been in a warehouse full of books? No? Me either!

I went in there on a budget though. It's Christmas, and I needed to be responsible. I had a coupon for $10 off $50, so $50 was my limit.

I think I did pretty good. Here's my haul, and it only came to $41!

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - this one is a science fiction book that we read for children's lit, and I really liked it. I think I need to review this one on here...

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - I haven't read this classic, so I figured I would pick it up.

First Light by Rebecca Stead - I absolutely loved When You Reach Me (which is so fun because it has so many A Wrinkle In Time references), so I figured I would pick up Stead's first book

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne - this is a historical fiction must read for the middle grades, if you ask me. I cannot wait to use this book (or movie) in a lesson to teach about the Holocaust. (Yes, these are the things I think about - I CAN'T WAIT)

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi - This was a total impulse buy. It looked really good and it was really cheap so I grabbed it!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner - A more recent classic that I haven't read, but have been meaning too. I can't wait to read this one.

The Line by Teri Hall - This book looks awesome (look up the cover!) and was listed as a nominee for the YALSA quick picks for reluctant readers - so that tells me it's definitely an engaging read!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - I know most of you have probably heard of the movie by now, but if you haven't at least picked up the book and flipped through it, you are seriously missing out! Hugo is a graphic novel and the drawings inside are simply A-MAZ-ING! I can't wait to read this one, too!

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - I have avoided the movies because I want to read this book - let's hope I can get to it soon!

Most of these books I have my future classroom in mind, since I hope to teach in the middle grades once I am done. That's my justification for buying all of these books anyway!

What did you get this week?

Top Ten Ways College Has Changed in 10 Years

2011-12-09T05:00:00.001-06:00

I started my undergrad years over 10 years ago (oh, gawd) and in that time quite a bit has changed for a college student. Since I am a college student again now, I have been thinking about these changes and since I am a blogger, a post has been swirling around in my head...

Oh, c'mon, I'm not the only blogger that does this. I am constantly writing possible blog posts in my head. Aren't you?

Anyway, I digress.

When I think about these changes in life for a college student, I don't know how I got through my undergrad years (ok, not really serious here. But, it is weird to think about).

Here are the top 10 things that have changed in the past decade for a college student:

10. We had to walk 3 miles each way to class uphill in the snow. Just kidding. Just making sure I have your attention!

9. No Wikipedia. At least I didn't know about it if it did exist.

8. No Blackboard. ISU had something sort of similar, but nobody used it. At least they didn't b/w 2000-2004. If we wanted to know our grade, we emailed the prof... or... get this... we asked!

7. Flip phones were the coolest thing ever - remember Razrs?? Everyone wanted a pink Razr. (Well, girls did.) But, really any flip phone was all the rage.

6. Hardly anyone had laptops that they carried around. If someone used any kind of device to take notes in class, they were "weird." Oh, and the colored Macs? Super popular at this time. My roommate had an orange one.

5. No iPods or any other mp3 device. I don't remember what we used... maybe a discman? I guess that must be what we used if we wanted to listen to music on the walk to class.

4. No texting. It's true. I didn't start texting until about 2004, around the time I graduated.

3. We may not have texted, but we had a nifty little messenger system called... AIM. As in AOL Instant Messenger. AIM = todays texting (but, yes, you had to be in your dorm room/apartment to get the IM)

2. DVR was nowhere near existence. My friends and I scheduled our classes around the soap opera Passions. No, I'm not kidding. The soap Passions. It was all the rage and it was on everyday at 2pm...and we would not take a class at that time. Our priorities were totally in check...

1. Facebook was not around when I was in college. MySpace was just getting to be big the year I graduated in 2004.

Did I miss anything???

And, just because I can't go without posting a picture...

Here's us about ten years ago. Nope, I wasn't always blonde! ;)

And our shirts - are fake. There's no such thing as Gamma Gamma Gamma. We rebelled on the Greek system and made our own sorority. No joke.

I am...

2011-12-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

I found this cute meme from Sneaker Teacher and thought today was perfect for it (especially considering Blogger decided to eat my last post that was almost done. But, let's move on.)

1. I am good at… keeping a clean house (neat freak right here), being ridiculously organized, umm, my planner is color coded, and pinning all the things on Pinterest (I think I need therapy).

2. I am happy when… the people around me are happy, I'm wearing a pretty outfit (yes, it's true), I'm in the classroom - either teaching or my own classes.

3. I am working on… two take home finals and two papers (can you say Procrastination with a capital P?)

4. I am interested in… earning my doctorate someday and writing a fiction novel

5. I am always… on time. I hate to be late. It gives me anxiety. I'm that girl that is always 10 minutes early.

6. I am enjoying… wrapping up the semester and getting my final projects back. I am that student that scrutinizes every single last point. Which? Is a totally different story from my undergrad experience.

7. I am in… in bed. Almost time to sleep, yo!

8. I am reading… The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

9. I am concerned about… how much I am procrastinating this semester. I'm hoping next semester I can make some changes.

10. I am looking forward to… Christmas Eve with my parents and sister - we have a tradition of eating crablegs, drinking a bottle (or two) of Bailey's, playing board games and opening presents. It's basically heaven.

Sorry guys, I wimped out on the pictures. I was going to find a picture for each question, but I am so tired. I need to get to bed. Today I'm subbing at the charter school in Des Moines - our charter school (yes, there is only one) is nothing like the charter schools in big cities. At least as far as I know anyway. I'm interested to see what this is like. Hopefully I have a good report tomorrow.

Hope everyone is have a great week!

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

2011-12-07T00:01:00.001-06:00

Ugh. Yesterday was one of those crappy days. You know those days where if something could go wrong, it does? One of those days where it feels like everyone in your life is just too busy, but dammit, you need to TALK!? That was me yesterday.

No worries, though. I'm fine, and today is going to be a better day!

Just like last week, I enjoyed being able to sit down and look for some great finds on Pinterest. Carving out time for blogging each day really is therapeutic for me (even if it just to search from some pretties on Pinterest).

Here is what I found!

PS: Link up for Oh! How Pinteresting Wednesday with The Vintage Apple!

Favorite outfit that I must recreate soon:

Source: simplyme091909.blogspot.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Favorite cozy, wintery sweater:

Source: girlfriendsmaterial.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Favorite "awwwww" (but slightly vomit-inducing) moment:

Source: tumblr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Favorite eats that I want to try and make soon (savory)

Source: lhj.com via Amy on Pinterest

Favorite eats that I want to try and make soon (sweet)

Source: ourbestbites.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Favorite faraway place that I want to visit ~~soon~~ someday:

Source: delectabledesires.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

(Oh yes. I pinned that. Hogwarts!)

Favorite inspiring education quote (well, maybe not so inspiring, but funny and true):

Source: google.com via Amber on Pinterest

Favorite overall/general quote:

Source: makelifehappy.tumblr.com via Mel on Pinterest

Favorite ~~home~~ car diy:

Source: bhg.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Favorite "ah-ha!" moment:

Source: den10studio.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

What have you found interesting on Pinterest lately?

Gym Class Wrap-up

2011-12-06T00:01:00.003-06:00

We all hated gym class, right? Well, remember that PE methods class I told you all about? Well, this semester we did the fitness test twice (where I improved on my mile!), watched Food, Inc. (which, I had already seen, but if you haven't - you NEED to), we wrote lesson plans that incorporated movement and we did a boot camp class.

This here is the track where I spent many, many, many afternoons many, many, many moons ago (lately I have been very nostalgic for my energy and stamina way back when). These past few months, I have revisited this lovely place we call the track and tried to make friends again. So far, so good.

Next week is finals and that means the semester is quickly wrapping up. On the one hand, I can believe it. But on the other hand, I cannot. Back in August when I wrote about this class, I said that I felt this class was the kick in the butt I needed to get back into working out regularly. With the exception of seriously slacking in November, I feel like I did a good job! I worked out pretty consistently (with the help of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred) and established a pretty regular gym schedule.

Here were my goals I wrote almost three months ago:

STOP making excuses and STOP the negative self talk (such as "I can't do this").

REDUCE the last minute homework/studying and reduce the amount of time spent on the couch watching tv.

INCREASE motivation by working out with a buddy and regularly reviewing the stats from yesterday to keep me going.

START scheduling and planning my workouts at the beginning of each week and hold myself accountable to that schedule like I do with work or classes.

I did a pretty good job at not making up excuses for working out, and I think I did a really good job at quitting the negative self-talk. I decided running was a mind game and that I could trick myself into running for much longer than I originally thought I could. When I wanted to stop all I did was say, "Anyone can do anything for just five more minutes. Keep going. It's simple."

And you know what? It worked.

The last minute homework/studying was an epic fail for me. I do pretty much everything at the last minute. It's bad. I've kind of accepted this about myself and that this is just how I study best. I do my best work under pressure. So, I'm leaving this one alone.

I wasn't able to start working out with a buddy. I've tried with two close friends of mine, but it's just not panning out the way I had hoped with our busy schedules. I do still have my close friend that is a group fitness instructor and I have begun going to her Zumba classes on Saturday mornings, which I know she is thrilled about - so there's that! Then I work out with C on Mondays when I'm with her. She's oddly motivating to me. I have to stay motivated to keep her motivated, so that motivates me. (How many times can I say motivated in one sentence?!)

I did start planning my workouts ahead of time and it has worked out really well! Last week I started plugging them into My Fitness Pal before the workout and although I was a little worried about it at first, it worked out fine. In fact, it worked out better than fine. Seeing how much more I could eat because I worked out that day was extremely motivating. (seriously, you try eating only 1200 calories a day! Not. Easy.)

So, although this PE Methods class was kind of a pain in the butt, I am really glad I took it when I did because it was the kick in the pants I needed! Hopefully I can keep it up throughout the winter!

Does having a workout buddy make a difference for you?

Photo source

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

2011-12-04T15:04:00.005-06:00

I love dictionaries. There I said it.

Ok, so maybe I just love words. But, that means I love dictionaries too.

I know exactly when it happened. I was in the 5th grade and my best friend that year (who is a very good lawyer now) used to read the dictionary.

Like, she literally sat down with the dictionary and read it. So, me being the type of kid that didn't want to miss out on anything, decided to try it too.

(We did a lot of weird things in the 5th grade. Including calling any medical specialist in the area and asking them to send us brochures on different disorders. This is another post in itself, so before I get off track....remind me to tell you all about it sometime).

So, when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it.

This book is one of those books where while you're reading it, you're thinking, "Why didn't I think of this?!" The idea is so original and so simple.

The book IS a dictionary. The entire story is told in the format of a dictionary. I am not kidding. It's really cool. If you like words and enjoy looking up new words, you will like this. I am a total word person and am constantly looking up new words. The Merriam-Webster app on my phone is one of the apps I use the most. I use it to learn pronunciations of words (it has an audio function), get the word of the day or just learn the meanings of words I come across in books or everyday life.

What I liked most about this book was that it had a nice mix of everyday words and words that are just a tad above that (but not quite "SAT words"). I wasn't looking up so many words for it be annoying, but every few words I would look up just to confirm the definition or because I had no idea what it meant.

Here are a couple entries from the book:

lackluster, adj.

And when Kathryn asked you about me, I imagined you said, "He's lackluster."

Which is why I waited for you to ask me out for the second date. Just to be sure I hadn't underwhelmed you.

aloof, adj.

It has always been my habit, ever since junior high school, to ask the question:

"What are you thinking?"

It is always an act of desperation, and I keep on asking, even though I know it will never work the way I want it to.

neophyte, n.

There are millions upon millions of people who been through this before -- why is it that no one can give me good advice?

contiguous, adj.

I felt silly for even mentioning it, but once I did, I knew I had to explain.

"When I was a kid," I said, "I had this puzzle with all fifty states on it -- you know, the kind where you have to fit them all together. One day I got it in my head that California and Nevada were in love. I told my mom, and she said no idea what I was talking about. I ran and got those two pieces and showed it to her -- California and Nevada, completely in love. So a lot of the times when we're like" -- my ankles against the backs of your ankles, my knees fitting into the backs of your knees, my thights on the backs of your legs, my stomach against your back, my chin folding into your neck -- "I can't help but think about California and Nevada, and how we're a lot like them. If someone were drawing us from above as a map, that's what we'd look like; that's how we are."

For a moment, you were quiet. And then you nestled in and whispered,

"Contiguous."

And I knew you understood.

dissonance, n.

Nights when I need to sleep and you can't. Days when I want to talk and you won't. Hours when every noise you make interferes with my silence. Weeks when there is a buzzing in the air, and we both pretend we don't hear it.

Final verdict: A wonderfully original idea for a way to tell a story. It's thought-provoking and shockingly real. There were entries that warmed my heart (contiguous?! That one makes my heart beat so fast, because that moment in a new relationship is so amazing) and other entries that made me want to tear up because I knew exactly what he was talking about (dissonance? That moment is one of the worsts).

Definitely look into this book if you're a word person. It's a fast read and worth looking into!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

2011-12-03T15:23:00.004-06:00

After reading Anna and the French Kiss and falling completely in love with it, I could not wait to read Lola and the Boy Next Door. Lola came out at the end of September and, unfortunately, it had been sitting on my desk since then. Part of my was waiting for a time when I could really savor it and focus on just that book for a couple hours, but another part of me wanted to devour it right away and stay up late reading it. Instead, I decided to slowly read it and take it all in. I didn't start it until late November and I probably only read about a chapter at a time, so I really took my time!

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

First of all, this book is very similar to Anna, but the character of Lola is completely different. She's a 17 year old girl that is just figuring out who she is and what she wants. She has a very distinct style and wears different colored wigs and eccentric outfits everyday. I loved her. She was such a great character to read and was one of those characters that I wished I could be friends with in real life.

And Cricket. What can I say about Cricket? Except that he is possibly perfect? I don't know how many times I wanted to reach through the book and force Lola break up with Max so that she could be with Cricket. Did anyone else feel the same way?

Another aspect of this story that I loved was that Lola's parents were a same sex couple. I thought this very well done and I would have liked to learn more about what that was like for Lola, but on the other hand I'm glad that it was written as if this was completely usual and same sex parents were common. They probably are in San Fransisco (where Lola lives) but not here in Iowa... I hope that more books like this show up with families that are not as "traditional."

Also, how can I not mention the roles that Anna and St. Clair play in the book?? I knew they had roles and weren't just cameos, so I was really looking forward to this! Their roles weren't big, but they were definitely there! It was nice to read about what they were up to and how they were doing living back in the States.

Final verdict: Loved it. I didn't love it quite as much as Stephanie Perkins's first novel, but almost. If you were a fan of her first book, Anna and the French Kiss, then you have to read this book. If you're a fan of YA and (sometimes) cheesy girly romance type books, you will like this! Possibly love it!

Books 'n Bars (November)

2011-12-02T09:31:00.005-06:00

On Wednesday we had our sixth BNB meeting. SIXTH! I'm so excited that we're still growing and that everyone else is so excited!

I need to learn how to make buttons and write codes and stuff because I want a cute little button to market Books 'n Bars. Possibly a winter break project? I should have plenty of time - hello an entire month off! (SO.EXCITED! I have big plans for ... nothing. Besides lots of reading for FUN).

Anyway.

Books 'n Bars was this week at The Lift. There were seven people there with two new faces and one male member (we're up to two now! Woot, woot!)

We read We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver... but, we only had one member able to finish the book. Several others were about 3/4th the way through, so instead of discussing the book in detail we figured we would wait until the end of December when we meet again to talk about it. This month was insanely busy for me, so I understand not being able to finish the book. Usually I make reading for fun a priority, because I think it's important, but this month I just didn't get to this one. (cough, cough - I'vebeenreadingtoomuchYAforchildrenslit - cough, cough)

For the month of December we have decided to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which is a WWII book, narrated by death. Yes, death. I have had so many people recommend this book to me, including Drake professors, so to say I am excited to read this, is an understatement. I love WWII books and I am on a huge young adult kick right now (technically this book is YA) so I really hope this lives up to my high expectations.

We are meeting at Rock Bottom on University in West Des Moines on Wednesday, 12/28 at 7:30. If you are in the area, we would love to have you! Everyone is welcome! If you're interested in participating, but not in the area, contact me. We can figure something out and you can join us via FaceTime (for iPhone users) or Skype. You can grab a drink, sit at home and join in on the conversation! (Don't you just love technology??)

What have you been reading lately? Have you read either of these books?

Note: I'll add pictures of the books later today - for some reason Blogger is refusing to upload them.

What I learned this week...

2011-12-02T00:01:00.001-06:00

Let's reflect on the random pieces of information I learned this week, shall we? Some are random. Some are insightful. Some are just plain silly. Such is life.

So, this week I learned:

Polar bears and penguins do not live together. No matter how many times they are pictured together in movies and books... it is all a lie! They actually live on opposite poles.

Taking one thing at a time is the best advice ever and I don't know how many times I had to dole out that tiny nugget of wisdom to students stressing out over finals. Seriously. Avoid an ulcer. I hear they're not fun.

A glass of wine at the end of a long day makes the day about 54203 times better.

Putting up Christmas decorations is kind of like putting away laundry. It's nice when it's done, but actually doing it is kind of a huge pain in the butt.

Working out everyday between Thanksgiving and Christmas is not only unrealistic, it's also insane. I skipped one day this week and I am fine with that.

Putting 1,000 miles on a car in two weeks is a little obnoxious, but hey, I want to drive my new car!

Leading a book club discussion without having read the book is embarrassing, but at least I had a good excuse. (You try taking six graduate courses, substitute teach 6th graders three days a week and work 15 hours a week with adults with intellectual disabilities. I was busy.)

Making it until December without turning on your heat in Iowa IS possible.

Music is a big part of my day. I didn't realize that I almost always have something playing and it's such a big part of my daily mood!

Pinterest is still addicting (although, I wasn't really doubting that), but can be a great study tool. Really. It is.

No matter what the law does or does not say, everyone (and I mean everyone) could be classified as ADHD, a person with a learning disability or emotionally disturbed. Services for everyone!

(I'm in a really weird mood. Can you tell? Maybe the end of the semester is finally making crazy)

What did YOU learn this week?

What does your music preferences say about you?

2011-12-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

Recently, a music loving friend of mine convinced me that I needed to download an app called Spotify. I had never heard of Spotify. When I first heard the name I seriously thought it was like a key-finding service or something (wouldn't that be amazing, btw?). So, he explained to me what it was and I promptly downloaded it.
And promptly fell into love with it.

Then the free preview ended and I promptly forgot about it (#shortattentinospan).

Spotify is an app that allows you to stream music (for practically nothing) commercial free and without downloading it. You can gather "friends" on there and also listen to their playlists as well, which works out great for me because I hate making playlists (I know, weird. Am I the only one?).

Recently, I remembered how much I liked it and decided to go for it and pay the $10 a month for mobile streaming on my phone. Basically, I wanted to listen to what I wanted, when I wanted without commercials or annoying deejays. Pandora is great, and I will probably still use it regularly, but so far I like the music organization of Spotify and how I can search for one artist and listen to their entire album as much as want for, ahem, only $10/month. Cheeeaaap!

Anyway. The reason for this blog post is I didn't notice until recently that Spotify posts everything you listen to on your Facebook page*, which is fine, but it got me thinking. Sometimes music can be a personal thing! What I want to listen to is determined by so many different variables! My mood, what I'm doing, where I'm going... etc, etc, etc, they all dictate what kind of music I will be listening to that day.

I definitely do not have one favorite type of music and my tastes change every. single. day. It's kinda funny, but my tastes tend to change with the seasons too - for example, in the summer I listen to a lot more country, and in the winter I always go through an alternative phase.

Take yesterday for example, I listened to:

The Civil Wars - while studying. This music is PERFECT for studying. It's not distracting, has just the right beat, and the music is gorgeous (don't try to deny it. They make beautiful music. Just saying...)

Rihanna - usually I'm not a fan of top 40 music. I would rather listen to something a little bit more, uhhh, underplayed? But today? I was feeling it. We Found Love? Not too bad if you haven't heard it 34235674 times. After about a minute, I was on to something else.

Bruno Mars - I love that man. Everything except for The Lazy Song, is top of the list for me. I love Runaway Baby, Count on Me and Marry You. All such good songs! I think I listened to that album about 10 times yesterday.

Glee Christmas Album - yep. I admit it. I love me some Glee music. I don't watch the show (am I the only one???) but I love the music from it! On Mondays and Wednesdays when I work with C, she insists on Christmas music in the car and this is perfect.

Everclear - How can you not love Everclear? They make me all happy inside. I'm also in a serious 90s phase right now. I cannot get enough. Give me some Goo Goo Dolls, Smashing Pumpkins (love), No Doubt (love even more), Cake, Weezer, DMB, Pearl Jam... Ok. I'll stop now. Seriously though, if you're an 80s or 90s child, try not to smile when listening to any of those!

Oldies - Sometimes I swear I am a 50 year old trapped in a 30 year old body. Blame it on my dad. In fact, I DO blame it on my dad. I love the 60s and 70s. I can think of countless times I walked into the house to hear my dad blaring some sort of hippie music that he loved in the 60s or 70s. If I'm listening to the radio here in Des Moines, it is most likely on 93.3, our oldies station. I hate that they have begun to play 80s music though. It makes me cringe and I usually turn it off. Hear that, KIOA?? No. More. 80s. Please, I am begging you. Sincerely, a young fan of the oldies. (if anyone makes a joke about me calling myself young, I will never speak to you again. I mean it.)

So, where am I going with this? Music can tell you a lot about a person and give you a lot of insight into their personality. For me, it can tell you if I'm happy, sad, energetic... whatever. It can tell you if I want to be bothered or not. It can symbolize how easygoing or uptight I am. How outgoing I am feeling, or if I'm feeling shy. It really says a lot.

What kind of music do you listen to? What do you think it says about you? Are you a radio person? Ipod person? Pandora? Inquiring minds want to know!

*You can change the settings so that it does not post to your Facebook, but it kind of loses that comradery** of finding out you like the same music as some of your friends.

**is that spelled right? Merriam-Webster says yes, I think it looks funny

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today I am linking up with The Vintage Apple for Oh! How Pinteresting Wednesday!

Are you on Pinterest? If not, then you should be.

Here's some of my favorite finds this week. This week is seriously slapping me in the face, so kicking back and looking for a few of my favorites from Pinterest was so nice. Hope you enjoy!

Source: blairbrittevents.blogspot.com via Tuttibella on Pinterest

Such a great quote.

Source: bakersroyale.com via Amber on Pinterest

Need to make these. I love s'mores. Even though they do make me nostalgic for the lake right now.

Source: choosecraftiness.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

How amazing is this idea? Why didn't I think of this???

Source: mango-watermelon-love.tumblr.com via Mel on Pinterest

Yes. Everyday.

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via Mel on Pinterest

I try to do this. I wish more more people did, too.

Source: mimuller.tumblr.com via Mel on Pinterest

Ha! Too cute!

Source: jodienoted.blogspot.com via Tuttibella on Pinterest

So simple and so true.

Source: reddit.com via Alison (Wardrobe Oxygen) on Pinterest

Yes. Just yes. Puts things into perspective, no?

Source: simplyme091909.blogspot.com via Becky on Pinterest

I may or may not be wearing this exact outfit today. ;)

Source: laylagrayce.com via Morgan on Pinterest

I need this dress in my life.

Source: vi.sualize.us via Amber on Pinterest

So true.

Happy hump day everyone. ;)

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-29T05:30:00.001-06:00

Yikes, so glad that Monday is over with. This week might as well be finals week. Finals at Drake are so different from finals at ISU. Maybe it's because it is grad school. I don't know... but the projects, papers and presentations are seriously kicking me in the behind.

I'm not complaining though, trust me, deep down I love being this kind of busy. ;)

So, it is Tuesday and it has been far too long since I have played along with Chelsea and participated in her weekly meme!. Ten on Tuesday.

1. Do you wear glasses, contacts, or are you one of those perfect eyed people?
Do those perfect eye people still exist?! If so, I don't like you very much. I have worn contacts since middle school, and have had glasses since the first grade. I can still remember that day I walked (ok, sulked) into first grade and my teacher complimented me on my glasses and I scowled at her.

2. What is the next item you are going to purchase?
Uhhh... no idea. This week I am not allowed to buy anything. Unless it's a present for someone else!

3. Have you ever watched Judge Judy or any other real court show?
Yup. Not really into it. It feels kind of staged to me.

4. How do you feel about fake nails?
I used to have acrylic nails done all. the. time. I look back on it now and kind of hate seeing those pictures with my nails done. Now I love having my nails at a shorter, more manageable length and changing the color every week.

5. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Basketball is most fun to watch. Maybe it's because I was a basketball cheerleader for three years? I just understand and enjoy watching it.

6. If you could create your own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, what would it be and what would it be named?
Hmmm... well, when I have my choice of any topping or flavoring, everything usually ends up in it, so the same would probably happen for ice cream... it would have cookie dough, chocolate chips, strawberries, caramel, peanut butter cups... do you want me to go on? I would call it, Everything but the Kitchen Sink. Or Garbage Ice Cream (but that doesn't sound too appealing, does it?)

7. Do you have any scars?
I have a big scar on my knee where I completely wiped out on my bike when I was about ten years old. I was going around a corner way too fast, there was sand on the street... and you can imagine what happened next. I also have a really weird scar on the inside of my wrist from when I first got Libby and she scratched me. Her nails must have just been clipped and it dug into wrist and left this dot shaped scar.

8. Does your pet’s name fit them? Is there a more appropriate name?
I think Libby, is definitely a Libby. I also love that her name has a story behind it and she's named after the company I used to work for. Zeke was a Zeke when I got him... I don't think it really suits him, because it sounds like a tough dog name and he's not really a tough dog... I don't know what else I would name him though.

9. What is your favorite television show theme song?
Right now, probably Big Bang Theory (gotta love Barenaked Ladies!) and over all... I'm going to get cliche and say Cheers or maybe Golden Girls. ;)

10. What was your favorite activity on the playground?
The jungle gym. I liked to climb on top of stuff. I was that kid that figured out how to get on to the top of the swing set... it's a wonder I don't have more scars or have had any broken bones.

Pick your favorite question and answer it below!

Break recap + a new challenge!

2011-11-28T09:01:00.005-06:00

Hi Friends!!

How was your weekend and/or holiday?!

I had big plans to post all kinds of book-ish things over the weekend, but that went right out the window. I was kinda lazy... I did get a lot of studying done from homework to-do list that I posted on Twitter, but other than that, I didn't do much of anything.

Here's how my break went:

Tuesday
My T-giving break started this day. It was supposed to start Wednesday because Tuesday is usually a sub day for me, but I didn't get a call. I was even on the website and calling like a crazy person for open jobs, but there was nothin'! Kids got out the next day for break, so I am sure that is why. Maybe teachers don't get their holiday pay if they call in the day before a holiday? I don't know.

Instead of working, I went to lunch with a friend, took him to our old high school to (hopefully) show him that I am not crazy for getting lost in there one day (there are new additions to the building) and then we sat at Caribou the rest of the afternoon drinking coffee. Sound delightful? It was!

Wednesday
I headed over to Omaha (about two hours west) with that same friend to watch him race r/c cars. I didn't really know what to expect and was pretty sure what I had pictured in my head was wrong.

First things first though... we ate at Schlotzskey's, which is my *favorite* sandwich place! Whenever I am in a city that has one, I just have to stop. Have you ever had it?

After stuffing our faces with the best sandwich ever, we headed over to the racetrack/hobbyplace/store-with-the-most-small-peices-I-have-ever-seen.

Watching these small cars race was really fun! I had no idea this was even a sport and that so many guys were into it. There weren't a lot of people there racing (hello, day before Thanksgiving), but there was still quite a few!

What I found most interesting was the technology behind it and all the preparation that goes into it. There was small parts everywhere! And the store where everything is sold? Ohmygosh. Small part city. Such a crazy little niche market!

Thursday
I started the day with the gym, and I'm really glad I did. This kick started a new challenge that has been brewing in my head for awhile now. I'll tell you about soon. Promise.

After about 45 minutes at the gym, I went home and got ready for the holiday (which means, I opened the bottle of wine).

I spent my Thanksgiving out in the country at my grandmother's house. She lives in Dexter, IA which is about 30 minutes west of Des Moines and is a really small town. She doesn't even live in the town either! It's a few minutes further west... on a dirt road... but there is a tiny lake! I've never been on the lake, but I hear it's pretty fun. ;)

Thanksgiving dinner was good, we had an odd mix of family that doesn't normally get together but it was fun overall. It's nice to see my grandma. It just in the past few years that she sold the home she's lived in for over forty years here in Des Moines and moved out there. She used to live within walking distance of my parents house, and now she's just too far away :(

Friday
Remember how I planned to go out at midnight with mom? Well, we decided against that. Instead we got up early and hit the shops around 8am. Much more reasonable, right? We started with Menards (a big hardware store in the area) because they had dog beds for extremely cheap! Menards was c-r-a-z-y. The line literally snaked through the store all the way to the back. Luckily the line went really fast and we were next to some fun people in line. I even ran into a girl from high school, that was there for the same thing! ;)

After that we headed to the mall. I really didn't get anything. I just got the dog beds, a travel coffee mug (it was only $5) a sweater at Younkers and some nail polish at Ulta. All stuff for me... oops. Well, I guess the dogs got a gift too.

Apparently Black Friday is the day to run into people because at Younkers I ran into .... and ex. A yucky ex. Luckily, I avoided the situation, in typical Amber fashion... When I noticed him, he had already noticed me, so I flipped around and quickly started walking away - without my mom! She comes running after me, confused. Oops. Sorry mom.

Ugh. Sometimes I hate how small Des Moines is. I have no desire to talk to him.

Moving on. Once I got home, I quickly threw on gym clothes and did a quick 60 minutes between the treadmill, elliptical and bike. I ran into a friend and we ended up talking for quite a while, which helped me stay longer. ;)

That night us girls went bowling. I was so shocked that we were all together - and on a holiday! This is so rare. Especially unplanned like this!

We were just missing Shannon :(

Can you tell I am trying not to laugh? It took about five minutes just to take this picture because I couldn't stop laughing long enough to "frown." lol (There you go, Mike. Posted it just for you.)

Saturday
This morning I got up and headed to Zumba with my friend Kristi. She was teaching the class, and I was excited to be able to attend. Usually her group fitness classes do not work out with my schedule. This class kicked my butt, but was so fun!

After that I headed home and studied the rest of the day. No fun there.

That evening us girls got together AGAIN and we saw Breaking Dawn-part 1. I had already seen it, but I didn't want to miss out on time with the girls, so I went! I'm such a nice friend... ;) hehe.

Sunday
Aren't Sundays kind of depressing? This was such a great break, I was dreading having to go back and finish up the semester all day. The next two weeks are going to be crazy!

Well, on Sunday I spent the day pretty much in yoga pants. I did make it to the gym fourth day in a row* and did another interval workout on the machines, but not before almost falling off the treadmill. I was only going about 3 mph but right after I jumped on I must have tripped over my own two feet, dropped my phone and sort of slid off. I didn't fall completely down (thank god) but there was this guy that came running over to help (how sweet). It was kind of embarrassing... luckily I can laugh at myself, and I just hopped right back on.

The rest of the day I spent studying and lounging around the apartment. That evening I figured I better go grocery shopping because I'm not going to have time to go this week, so I headed to Target. I made a fatal mistake and went while I was starving... I have lots of food now. I should be good for awhile. ;)

So, that was my vacation!

*Now, that random challenge that mentioned above? So, I started it on Thanksgiving, and I need you all to hold me accountable.

I'm having a really hard time squeezing in time to workout each week with my hectic schedule. I need to get better at scheduling my workouts and sticking to it, so I'm starting a Thanksgiving-to-Christmas challenge. I am challenging myself to work out everyday until Christmas.

I did so well in October and then in November I just stopped tracking, and working out. I just felt .... gross. So, that's going to change in December! Who's with me?!

How was your Thanksgiving break? Did you go shopping for Black Friday? Do you have a plan to avoid the holiday weight gain?

All I want for Christmas...

2011-11-25T05:30:00.005-06:00

It's Black Friday, are you shopping today? This post is scheduled to go up at 5:30am, I'm sure many of you will still be going strong at that time. Me? No. I will not.

My mom and I are going to Jordan Creek (the popular mall in our area) to ~~laugh at~~ see the 35,000+ people rush into the mall at midnight. For the past seven years I spent my holidays working in a mall.

For the past seven years I spent this weekend irritable from lack of sleep, yet pumped up from all the excitement and caffeine. Before CLL closed, I was usually traveling around this holiday. In 2006 I spent an entire month in Columbus, OH. Then got stuck in Chicago, trying to get home from that same trip. The past two years I spent it opening a top volume store at midnight for those crazy Iowan's that want to shop at the mall in the middle of the night. But... not this year. This year, I had a glorious SIX day vacation, and, it kind of feels ... wrong.

But, not thaaat wrong. ;)

Anyway, I am positive I have some readers that I know 'in real life' lurking on this ol' blog, so today, I thought I'd help you out...

...with my Christmas List! (Yes, that is a proper noun that needed to be capitalized).

My mom has been bugging me for my list for quite awhile, I knew I had some time though because she cough,cough -doesherChristmasshoppingtheweekbefore-cough, cough.

Hehe, you know I love you, Mom!

Anyway, here are the things I just can't live without anymore.

An Erin Condren iPhone case, if I was practical, I would ask for an Otterbox phone cover, but ... I really want one of these, because I enjoy things with my name on them. Duh.

Various books...
My Year With Eleanor by Noelle Hancock
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Then Again by Diane Keaton
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Peas and Thank You by Sarah Matheny
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (I've read this book, but borrowed it from the library and loved it)
A Secret Kept, also by Tatiana de Rosnay
Educating Esme: Diary of a First Year Teacher by Esme Raji Codell
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Of course I want all of these (and many, many, many more), but the bolded ones are must haves :)

Boot socks
I love wearing boots, with tights/leggings and some chunky socks with a sweater dress. So far this season, it has been my go-to outfit. Now, I just need more boot socks!

Speaking of boots... I need more sweater dresses!

Yes, I know. You have probably seen me shopping many times on Twitter, and have bought several sweater dresses this season, but some I have had to return! (Plus, I am cheap, and love searching for a deal. So I don't feel bad. ;) )

This particular dress is from Target and is the perfect example of what I like. Plus, it's only $23.99, can't beat that! I can dress this up with bright tights and fun socks, a scarf or a belt. I'm a big fan of keeping the actual top/bottom/dress simple, but dressing everything up with accessories! Your wardrobe will last you so much longer if you do that.

Travel coffee mugs.

I am in desperate need of some more travel mugs and I really, really like this cute ceramic mug with a sweater (a SWEATER! Ahh, the cuteness!) from Caribou. How adorable, no? :)

A food processor

This has been on my list for way too long. I don't know why I don't own one. I don't even know what to look for to be honest. Is a good food processor worth spending extra money on? I don't even know. I just know that I really need one. The blender I own is on it's last leg... :/

The Obol.

I hate soggy cereal, so this is absolutely perfect for me. Need. As-Soon-As-Possible.

A new iPhone docking station for beside my bed.

I have a docking station in my bathroom, but I use it everyday while getting read and I'm getting tired of moving it back and forth from the bathroom and my room. This one would be perfect! Anything with a clock will do though... I know these can get a little overpriced, and they don't need to be (imo).

This leaf ring from Etsy.

I saw this the other day on Pinterest and fell in love with it! Isn't it adorable? There's also a matching bracelet... just sayin'....

Also from the same seller on Etsy, I found this claddagh ring that I just love.

I know technically you're not supposed to gift yourself with a claddagh and that a guy is supposed to give it to you. I don't care though, I still want it. I don't care who gives it to me, whether that be myself or someone else! ;)

What's on your Christmas list this year?? Do you know the story behind the Claddagh ring?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 8

2011-11-23T05:30:00.003-06:00

It's Day 8!!!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I will be combining Days 9 and 10 into that one.

I cannot believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Where did 2011 go?? We were just laughing in one of my classes the other day that that when we were kids in the 80s we thought that by the year 2000 there would be flying cars, hover boards and people would be living on the moon. (Thank you Back to the Future!)

It's 2011 and nobody lives on the moon. I have yet to see a flying car. And hover boards (as far as I know) only exist in the movies.

Anyway. I'm off track already. Are you surprised?

Today I am thankful for...

The "Animal Kingdom." Otherwise known as our pets. ;)

For this one I recorded another vlog! Hope you enjoy!

PS: Don't mind my horrible grammar at the beginning. Also, I think Chico peed on me a little. Hope you can't tell. Haha! Ohh, pets. He might have just been wet a little from drinking water, but I'm not sure. Let's go with the water story, ok?

Do you have pets? Tell me something special/unique about your pet! If you don't have a pet, tell me what kind of pet you would get if you could, or what kind of pet you could tolerate.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 7

2011-11-22T05:30:00.005-06:00

Sorry I missed you all yesterday! The day just flew by and before I knew it, it was just too late to post, especially when I knew I would have this post going up early Tuesday morning.

Well, today is day 7 of the Ten Days of Thanksgiving and today I am thankful for...

My common sense.

Source: feltandwireshop.com via Pamela on Pinterest

John F. Kennedy once perfectly described himself as an "idealist without illusions." I love that and I think it sums up how I am just riiiight.

I'm definitely an idealist and I am constantly using the terms "annoyingly positive" to describe myself but, I'm not naive and I know when something is unrealistic and/or won't work.

So, today I am thankful for my common sense and for having a good head on my shoulders.

What made me think to be grateful for this trait, you ask?

Well, last night as I was driving home I was listening to Delilah (hello, Christmas music on 104.1!) and this girl called in and was upset because she didn't know if she was actually in a relationship with her "fiance" who is MARRIED to another woman.

What? WHAT?

He is married. What part of that fact is confusing you? I want to just reach through the radio and shake girls like this. Maybe I'm jaded. Maybe I'm cynical. Maybe I'm... logical.

The story kind of had me fuming and things like this piss me off to the point where I begin to question the meaning of marriage at all. I begin to question when or if I will meet someone that feels the same way I do. I don't think marriage is just a piece of paper, but clearly, others do.

Anyway, before I get completely out of control and high up on my soapbox...

That call got me thinking about how grateful I am that I have the common sense to say thanks, but no thanks to situations like this.

Not that I haven't gotten myself into my fair share of situations when I was younger that were just ridiculous and I should have seen coming a mile away. My common sense came with age and time. It came after making mistakes and learning from them. It came from watching other people make mistakes and learning from them.

And, that's the thing.

Everyone goes through it when they're younger, this making bad decisions and living idealistically, but now that you're an adult and supposedly wiser? Uhh, uhh. Not ok.

So. Yeah. I'm thankful that I'm not a complete bonehead and don't put up with crap like this. Hopefully the girl on the radio figure it out too. Delilah really laid into her, so hopefully she listened. ;)

What do you consider yourself, an idealist or a realist?

PS: Check out my new page... I just put up a 30 before 30 list that I started back in April!

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 6

2011-11-20T17:56:00.005-06:00

It's Sunday... and I'm posting super late (for what is normal anyway), so this is going to be quick!!

I don't usually post anything but book reviews on Saturday and Sunday, so this is strange!

But, it's Day 6 of the Ten Days of Thanksgiving and today I am thankful for...

My iPhone.

Yep, I said it. My iPhone. It's like a really good friend. A really good friend that I seem to an unhealthy relationship with... :/

Really, I'm thankful for every phone I have ever had, but this one really takes the cake. It's always there when I need it. It's very reliable. It's resourceful. Easy to ~~be with~~ use.

Sound shallow and pretty lame? Yep. It is. I can't help it though. I am thankful for the little guy. I would post a picture of my actual phone but... I use it as my camera, and I am much too lazy right now to dig up my point and shoot.

Amber + iPhone = match made in Apple heaven.

What completely shallow, completely unnecessary piece of technology are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 5

2011-11-18T21:45:00.003-06:00

Catch up...

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Today I am thankful for...

My ability to read and love of reading.

Source: teachingliteracy.tumblr.com via Amber on Pinterest

I'm so thankful that my dad passed this passion on to me. You all know I love books and everything book related. I visit the library at least 2-3 times a week (usually with C or other clients), I'm regularly found at Half Priced Books looking for recent releases I have had my eye on and I love studying at Barnes and Noble surrounded by shelves of books.

As I am studying to become a teacher I am definitely one of those that wants to instill a love of reading in my students. Many teachers do. I accept this challenge happily and am convinced I can do it.

With addicting series out like Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games it's easy to get a student hooked on books. All it takes is a few questions and at least a tiny bit of motivation from them. Once you've got 'em, they're hooked.

I'm still reading for children's lit where we still have a few weeks until the semester is over and this week we're reading children's biographies. I knew I wanted to find a book on a First Lady or JFK (surprised? Didn't think so.) When I got to the library and started looking, I ended up walking out with three books on Eleanor Roosevelt, one on Michelle Obama, one on Dolley Madison and another one on JFK.

I almost immediately started reading one of the biographies on Eleanor Roosevelt. I only knew the basics about her and I was eager to learn more, she seems like such an interesting person!

Our Eleanor by Candace Fleming is set up like a scrapbook and follows Eleanor's life chronologically. The book has 150 page of short articles, letters, pictures and other short passages about her life. The way this book is set up makes it very easy to read and also makes it a very fast read.

Before reading this all I knew about Eleanor was that she was a great humanitarian, she was married to FDR, she was First Lady during the Depression and that she didn't decorate the White House (random, I know).

Eleanor was not your typical First Lady, in fact, she didn't even want the job! She wasn't interested in the life full of socialite parties and standing around at luncheons trying to impress other socialites. She was convinced that people were meant to do more.

During the four terms that FDR served as president Eleanor never stopped moving. She traveled 40,000 miles a year and rarely turned down an opportunity she was interested in.

This book tells about her life as a young socialite, her teaching and writing career, her many contributions to the US as a United Nations delegate and political activist and so, so much more. It is mind boggling to read about how much she accomplished in her life, I was tired just reading it, but overall enthralled at such an interesting person in our history.

Eleanor was still going strong up into her seventies, and despite passing away during the Kennedy administration she was a public supporter of his campaign.

This book is definitely for the accelerated and more mature reader. It's definitely not for elementary grades. I would say this book would be best used with 7th-8th graders. I think they might grumble about it (I mean, it's history, of course they're gonna grumble about it) but if you can pick out a few teasers from the book to read aloud and get them interested, I think anyone would enjoy learning more this extraordinary First Lady.

I definitely recommend this book if you want to sit down and easily. read about her entire life in one sitting