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So maybe I'm not the best blogger...my poor scheduling skills and procrastination habits should have been a clue before I ever even started, but oh well. I've managed to stay semi-active for the last year and a half, and I'm hoping to become more active in the new year.

You can probably guess one blogging trend that I've noticed over the last few days: new year's resolutions! Personally, I'm more of an anti-resolution kind of girl. Not that I think that resolutions are bad or that you should aim to not change at all, but I believe that if you want to change something about your life, then you should just DO it instead of planning out a list and waiting for a specific date to start. I get that it's a nice way to start the year and it gives you something to work for and look forward to, but I think it's also a big form of procrastination, and I definitely don't need any more procrastination in my life.

However, I'm also a sucker for making lists and setting goals (you should see the amount of index card to-do lists in my trash can right now - WOW), so I'll brainstorm here and leave you with a list of a few goals that I would like to work toward in the new year.

• Better scheduling habits: I'm in my fifteenth year of school and it's high time that I really nail down some good scheduling habits. I'm tired of burning myself out with all-nighters and having never-ending to-do lists that carry over week after week as I fail to accomplish everything that I need to do. Whether it means that I have to pay more attention to my planner and set schedule reminder alarms in my phone or that I have to disable Netflix and Tumblr on my computer, I really need to work this year on using my time wisely and efficiently.

• Try out more recipes: I'm tired of eating the same pasta, fish, and chicken over and over. Part of my boring diet is due to my own laziness in grocery shopping, but I really want to work on trying out new things, maybe one new recipe a week. I'm only taking four classes and have only two evenings of meetings this semester, so there are no excuses. I will shop better and cook more!

• Exercise: My physical health has never really been on the top of my list of priorities, but maybe it should be. My mom is always telling me that now is the time that I should be developing good eating and exercising habits, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard that my body is going to slow down so much as I age and that I'll never have this body again. Well let me tell you, sometimes I'd rather not have this body now! I'm of pretty average build and I'm not the biggest girl in the room, but I'm definitely not the smallest one either and I'd be lying if I told you that I could go through a whole day without having any insecurities about my body. Most of the time I'm pretty comfortable with myself, but I don't get any good warm-and-fuzzies from comparing photos of me now to photos of me from 2.5-3 years ago. It's taken me 2.5 years to gain the freshman 15, and I'm realizing now how stupid I've been not to take advantage of the recreational facilities available to me both on campus and in my own apartment complex. It's definitely something that I'm going to be paying more attention to this year, both so that I'll feel a little better looking in the mirror and so that I don't get winded anymore walking from one class to another - it's hard work regulating my breathing so everyone around me won't realize how out of shape I am just walking up a hill to get to the English building!

I know myself better than to try to make a longer list than this, or even to try to include something about writing more blog posts. If it happens, it happens, but these are the things that I've been thinking about the most lately so they're what I'm going to focus on the most in the upcoming semester. 

This semester obviously hasn't been rife with blog posts. This is my to-do list for tomorrow.

At a Glance

Thoughts on My Personal Library

Tonight I decided that it was time to reorganize the bookcases in my room. I have two cases, seven shelves total. Over the years as the shelves have filled up and stacks began to grow around my room, I've had to cull the collection and put boxes into storage, and this is another one of those times. I'm hoping that reorganizing my books and putting some into storage will help my room look less cluttered, and will get old books that I have no intention of rereading out of the way.

I have at least two, maybe three large boxes full of books in the attic at home, in addition to the books in my room and some on a case in the basement. They date back through elementary, middle, and high school, and I can only imagine how many boxes I would have if I actually owned all of the books that I got from the library over the years. As I was growing up, I always imagined having my own home full of bookcases and shelves, covered in all of the books that I had read throughout my life. It was a cute idea in theory, but when I'm 30 years old and have my own home, am I really going to want a bookcase full of all of the books that I read in middle school? Probably not. And yet, I can't bring myself to get rid of (donate - I don't think I could ever throw away a book even if I hated it) any of them. I always thought that I would keep all of my old books and then my kids could read them, when and if I had kids. But when I have kids in 10 years, there will be new books. Mine will be out of date, with old technology and unfamiliar slang. The Little House books will always be classics, and I'm sure I'll try to persuade my kids to read all 7,000 of the Redwall books, but for the most part they will probably want to pick out their own modern books over my old dusty ones from the attic. It almost makes me sad, but at the same time just because my kids may not (or may - I can't predict the future) want to read my books doesn't mean that no one will. Perhaps when I move into my own house, I'll sort through my old boxes, pick out the books that were special to me, and donate the rest.

As far as specifics go, I don't know how much people say that what you read represents who you are, but I have a lot of fantasy, classics, and historical novels, in addition to stacks of modern YA lit. Yes, I have a few vampire books (but I gave my copies of the Twilight saga to my little sister when I was in high school - give me a break, they came out when I was 12!), in the same stack as Redwall and Lord of the Rings, and right next to The Historian, All the King's Men, and 1984. I have Jane Austen and Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling and Sarah Dessen. John Green will always have a place on my shelf, and John Steinbeck can stay at the local library. I have a lot of books that I have yet to read, that I got when I was younger and could never quite get into but that look pretty appealing now a few years later. Poetry, Edgar Allan Poe collections, short story anthologies. If you put it in my hands, I will probably read it.

I've always enjoyed going through my books, and spending tomorrow organizing them is just what I need after spending most of last night writing a paper. I'm looking forward to a new system of organization, and to making a reading list for the rest of the year.

It's been about a year since I started this blog, and I'm obviously not very good at keeping up with it. The spring semester has passed. I finished my exams, got a 3.0, got a haircut. Taking a summer class, still looking for a summer job.

Let's call this a new start.

Checking In

It's been midterm madness here at Sheer Wonder, Baby. Today alone I had 2 midterms, and I have another paper due tomorrow afternoon. This coming week is Spring Break though, and I will be welcoming the break from classes and a busy schedule. I'm not going anywhere exciting, just returning home to Western Maryland for the week. I'll get to see my family and friends, and spend lots of time with Jim. Sounds like the perfect break to me!

I got an iced mocha at the cafe in our student union today to celebrate my 96% on my religious studies midterm, and my friend Steph was working so she made my drink with love!

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes!

I made these cupcakes last week and they were an immediate hit with my roommates. Easy and delicious, they're definitely something that I'll make again!

Cupcakes: 
1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

- mix flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- in a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy
- reduce speed to low and add vanilla extract and egg
- alternate adding milk and flour mixture while still mixing
- stir in chocolate chips
- pour into lined cupcake pan/cups
- bake at 350 degrees(F) for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out almost clean

Icing:
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
3 teaspoons cocoa powder
splash of milk

- mix cream cheese and vanilla extract at medium speed until creamy
- while beating, gradually add sugar, cocoa powder, and milk
- spread on cooled cupcakes
- top with chocolate chips or coffee beans (optional)

I got the recipe from this pin on pinterest, but I don't know where it came from originally.

MD v DUKE

I definitely should have made this post about two days ago, but: THE MARYLAND / DUKE GAME!!!!!

The basketball game on Saturday was my second UMD v Duke game. We lost last year, which just makes this win even more sweet for me. Duke and UNC are probably tied for rivals with UMD, and can we please acknowledge that one of my first full sentences as a child was “we hate Duke but we’ve hated Carolina longer”. I’ve known for my whole life that Duke’s Blue Devils really are devils, and getting to watch the game in person on Saturday was amazing.

I went with two friends, Jon and Tyler, and we ended up standing in the aisle at the bottom of the student section because the stadium was so packed that we couldn’t find three seats together (or any seats by the time we got there). The air was electric; there was an incredible amount of energy in the stands. I screamed until I was hoarse and Tyler tried to carry off chants involving Duke’s coach and STD’s. Or are they STI’s now? Anyway... We had a flash mob dance thing (I don’t really know if it counts as a flash mob but I think that’s what they’ve been calling it?) and the entire student section did the Harlem Shake during half time. It was so crazy, and so much fun.

We stormed the court for the 83-81 win, and even though I’m only 5’3” I managed to make it in and out unscathed. I got elbowed in the face but it didn’t leave a mark so it’s all good! I came out with a flask that I didn’t have going in, too. A couple of older men had joined the students on the court, and one picked up a flask from the ground a few feet away from me, and his friend noticed me and handed it to me saying “Here student, you need this more than we do!” before walking away. A pretty good prize, in my college opinion.

Jon, Tyler, and I missed the majority of the ‘riot’ down Route 1 after the game, and we joined the mob around 9:30 to watch lots of crowd surfing and hear calls of “Show your tits” and “Fuck Duke”. At that point, it seemed like everyone was just waiting for something to happen that was never going to come, so I made it back home by a surprisingly early 11 pm.

I’m so glad that I got a ticket for the game. It was definitely one of my best college experiences so far, and the kind of thing that I hope to be a part of again and again over the next two years before I graduate.

I hope that UMD will schedule games with Duke and UNC out of conference after we officially move over to the Big 10. That was a pretty big concern within the UMD fanbase after the Big 10 announcement was made. My dad told me though that with the way that the ACC was taking in more schools, there would only be a home game with Duke every other year anyway, with one game between us each year. The Big 10 will be a big change for us, but the ACC isn’t what it used to be, either. Hopefully we can develop new rivalries and still keep up the tradition of hating any team in blue that hails from North Carolina!

On My Back

February 14, 2013

dress / Forever 21 ;; sweater / Forever 21 ;; tights / probably Bon Ton