fun friday links!

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Thank goodness, this week is over! Time to share some fun links!

- Like dogs? Let's look at 40 great dog gifs.

- Ballerinas in the city. Simply beautiful.

- Just lost the word you were thinking of? Here, have some help.

- This man imparts some wisdom on how to not blow your marriage.

- Learn how to laugh on the internet in different languages!

Have a great weekend. :)

Things I Love Thursday: renovations!

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1. HOCKEY IS HERE!!!! I am so excited to see my Boys of Winter play Saturday against the Flyers. Seeing Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Fleury, and everybody else out on the ice is going to be amazing. I've been waiting for this since October!!!!

2. After a stressful work week (which got extended into Saturday with extensive meetings...) online shopping can cure the headache the workplace can give me. I'm already getting my list ready, just need to wait till my paycheck comes in Thursday!

3. My mom wore one of the two necklaces I got her for Christmas and she told me that she got tons of compliments from people at work! Do I have good taste, or do I have good taste... {hint: I have good taste.}

4. I'm truly blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people. I thank God every day for their constant support and loving personalities. :)

5. Crazy weather: snow in the morning and 50 by the time I get off work. HOLLA!

6. I'm going to try to stage a huge overhaul of this blog in the upcoming year. Between all the new, crazy things, keeping this blog up-to-date just fell by the wayside. I'm going to try and get a design I love, get a steady theme going, and start showing my true self. I don't know where this will take me but I hope some of y'all like it and stay for the ride!

What are you loving this Thursday?

Resolutions: Week 2

I'm serious about these 2013 resolutions, guys -- I'm going to keep myself accountable and use this blog in the process! What other way to keep track on how good (or bad) you're doing on promises?

Bravery has been a big thing for me. People think I'm brave because I move all the time, took hard classes, went out with people I barely knew, and travel bunches. But let me tell you, that is not bravery to me. That's only bravery on the surface. To me, people who are brave let people in, let others get to know them personally, and don't reject love.

These are all things I'm prone to do.

I think the real kicker this past week -- what made me truly realize what I've been doing to myself -- was when I lost out on a great chance with a nice guy. The only person I have to blame for this is myself. He chose someone else. I know it's because I couldn't open myself up and take the risk. I couldn't stand being vulnerable.

My church gave me a little blue book the beginning of December, meant to give you food for thought throughout the Christmas season. The last sentence on Friday stopped me:

Sometimes I have to allow others to love me, without demanding that they fully understand me.

As long as I remind myself to be brave enough to be vulnerable, I'm hoping to make progress. The first step is admitting your problem, right?

How do you define bravery?

Weekend Update: homesick

After a 10 hour drive from Kentucky back to southwest Arkansas, I decided to not do anything for my weekend!

Sure, I went grocery shopping and cleaned around the house a bit, but other than that I was lazy. I got a Netflix subscription and watch all the past seasons of Portlandia. I ate apples with cheddar cheese. I finished typing and organizing my work notes. I tried to not get blown away Saturday with the tornado watch in my area.

This recent trip was so fun -- me and 9 other guys drove 11 hours (we got lost) to Kentucky for a work project. We hung out and got to know each other and shared stories. It's great to hear about everyone and their life experiences.

It was tough coming back to my empty apartment. It hit me how homesick I can get -- not for Arkansas, but for my family up in Pennsylvania. Part of me wished so badly that I was driving back from Kentucky to Pennsylvania, I would sleep in my old bed, and hang out with my family again. It's a hard feeling to deal with sometimes.

And while I love traveling, I'm glad to be back in my apartment. :)

Plus, my brother sent me a couple pictures of my cat so life didn't seem so bad after seeing Ginger's little face.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Update: First of 2013!!

My weekend was super low-key: night in Friday, dinner and movie night with friends Saturday, then cleaning and packing on Sunday. Work-wise I've been super busy, so any time to unwind on the weekend is exactly what I'll do!

Also, I finally set up my XBOX that I got for Christmas. I got it primarily to work out with (yay for Kinect!) and to try and cut down on my cable/movie/hulu cost. We'll see how that works out, because saving money would be a huge plus for me!

Tried the demo run of Zumba Core Fitness the other day and it is AWESOME. I had debated on buying an XBOX just to work out with but again, the idea of cost came in -- spend some money on a system that I can watch movies on, play games on, work out with, and enjoy or spend $30 and more a month for a gym. XBOX won out on this one.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some review some work out Kinect games once I try them out. I'm pumped to work out on the new games!

Do you have an XBOX to work out with? Do you like it?

learning new things: chess

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One of the goals I set for myself for the year is to learn something new. There are so many new hobbies I want to try -- knitting, sewing, bowling (shhh, I'm the worst player ever), mountain biking, and chess. Since the weather is so cold right now and I'm pretty cheap, I decided that chess would be my first learning experience.

Have you ever felt like all the people that know how to play chess are smart? I always have, and I've always wanted to be in an exclusive club like that. I mean, they have intense tournaments, which is pretty cool because both kids and adults play. Better yet, some kids beat the adults. Man, how kickass would it be to school someone in chess? CHECKMATE, BRO!

I feel like I'm making the learning process more difficult than it should be. Tactics like skewers (what?), openings like Caro-Kann Defence (oh no), and Forsyth Notations (mmmm, math). I am pretty damned determined to learn this, though. Hell, they have a chessKIDS academy for children. I'm 22, this crap should be easy, right?!

Well, this is going to be an interesting game to learn.

Next up: learn astrophysics (HAHA NOT)

Do you know how to play chess? Love it or hate it?

Things I Love Thursday

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1. Turnpike Troubadours. Yep, I'm on a big Red Dirt kick right now! Even if that kind of music isn't your cup of tea, please give them a listen! They are so addictive and I love singing along to their songs on the way to work!

2. Rocking and rolling at work! I know this might seem stupid, but I just love when everything comes together on a work day! I work with a ton of people, which might get frustrating at times, but I love the feeling of solving a tough problem with a great group.

3. Being 'in like' with someone. Even though nothing may come out of it, I'm enjoying a mini crush. I'm perfectly fine with us being friends, but it's been so long since I've had this giddy feeling in my chest when someone talks to me. What a lovely feeling! ♥

4. Mimosas. I cannot stop drinking them and I never want to! I might just start buying champagne more often...

5. Pay day today! Need I say more?! ;)

What are you loving this Thursday?

Hello, 2013!

Sorry it took me so long to update this, I've been busy watching re-runs of the Rose Parade, watching my Oklahoma State Cowboys beat Purdue, and drinking mimosas. ;) I love lazy holidays!

I'm so looking forward to this year. I have so many plans for myself and I just want to become better than I was last year.

First up, I want to better myself physically. Change my eating habits, become more fit, get my health in check. I'm ready to change myself for the better on the outside!

With those resolutions comes the ones for my inner self and mind... gain more confidence and become more brave. I tend to not believe in myself, shut people out, become meek and timid in certain situations. Since getting my first "big kid" job and going through some experiences, I've realized that I just cannot be that person anymore. I have way too much to offer than to let things pass me by! I'm hoping to use this year to explore myself and become more comfortable in my skin.

I'm so ready to get this party started! First stop... work trip next week to Kentucky!!!!

Hope y'all have a wonderful New Year's, too!!!!

Enough about me... what are some of your New Year's resolutions?!