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 Mine will be out of date, with old technology and unfamiliar slang.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 

Catching Up

Things have been...normal, lately. I'm behind on my readings for my classes, as usual. I'm enjoying most of my classes though, so that's promising. My religious studies class is turning out to be relatively like high school though, in that it's really difficult for me to concentrate and I get distracted very easily. My English classes and my sociology class are great though so I guess it evens out.

Jim came to visit over the weekend, and we went out for pizza with Wells and her boyfriend, to this really cool place in Chevy Chase called Comet Ping Pong. The ping pong was fun and the pizza was fantastic, and I got a piece of tiramisu that was about as big as my face. I definitely want to go back there again.

It was really warm out today, or at least really warm in comparison to how cold it was right at the beginning of the semester, so I actually wore a dress and tights to class for the first time in months.

I love wearing dresses; dresses make me feel feminine and girly and free. I took the pictures using the web cam on my MacBook Pro so they're not very good quality, but you can at least see what today's dress looks like. I got it from Forever21 last Spring and this is probably only the third or fourth time that I've worn it. I really want to start wearing more dresses layered with tights and sweaters during the colder months. It makes me feel happier in the dreary weather and allows me to cycle more clothing into my wardrobe than just jeans and sweaters until the weather warms up!

A General Update

I've been back in College Park for six days, and the first three days of class are over. I've been doing some reorganizing and a bit of redecorating since I came back, to freshen up my room a little bit. New pictures, a calendar, some more books, and baskets to organize all of my girly things like lotion and hair spray. I've gotten almost all of the books that I need for this semester, and my schedule looks pretty promising (except for the fact that I will be sprinting up and down campus every day to get to class on time). I'm hoping that this semester will be much better than last semester, in that I'll focus more and work harder. I really need to bring up my gpa and get better grades than in the Fall.

There really isn't a whole lot going on right now otherwise. I'm getting back into the school groove, and am happy to be back in PG county. Cheers to a new semester!

Friday Five

1. I'll be heading back to College Park for school soon, probably on Monday morning. Classes start on Wednesday, and I want to give myself a little bit of time to adjust to being back before being thrown into the new semester. It's strange to think about going back; I've definitely gotten very comfortable being home over break. Usually I'm pretty ready to start back at school after a break, but this time I'm just fine where I am. I think that's probably due a lot to the fact that I'm able to see Jim almost every day while I'm home, rather than just skyping and using my phone while I'm at school. He'll come down to visit some weekends during the semester though, and I'll be back before May, too. There's always Spring Break!

2. Speaking of going back to school, I really need to do something about my sleep schedule (she says as she writes a blog post at 1:30 am). I start at 10:00 am MWF this semester, and I usually like to try to get up two hours before I have to be somewhere. Last semester's habit of going to bed at 4:30 and getting up at 9:30 cannot happen this semester. I won't let it!

3. Jim and I went to see "Mama" tonight, and I really don't think that it was worth the $9. The theater was pretty full, and it's opening night, so of course everyone was screaming and yelling at the characters. The theater is in our local mall, too, which is the place to be on a Friday night if you're between the ages of 10 and 14, so there were tons of middle schoolers getting up and running out of the theater throughout the movie, too, so the audience didn't really help out my experience of the movie. It really wasn't a bad movie in and of itself though. I thought that it had a pretty interesting story line to go with, but the ending just killed it for me. I dunno, I'm not really into that kind of movie anyway. I guess it just wasn't for me!

4. I've been going a little crazy on Etsy lately, looking at all of these cute homegoods that I want to buy and bring to CP to spruce up the apartment. Wells and I were talking today about how cute we want to make the living space, and I can't wait to get started! I want to get all kinds of things, a clock, curtains, maybe some wall hooks...that's just off the top of my head, and my list is always growing.

5. I actually bought a printable calendar on Etsy today, and I'm having it printed out at Staples tomorrow. I'm really excited to get it all cut out and to put it up when I go back to school. I'll have to make a reminder for myself to post a picture when I have it all set up!

Sunday Bowling

Instalife

1. I caught the sunrise one morning during finals after finishing my last paper for my history class. I can see the Comcast Center from my bedroom, over Lot 11 (if you ever need overnight parking in College Park, Lot 11 is free from 4pm-7am and on weekends!)
2.  I love when Jim wears flannels when we're hanging out because I always take them to wear while we're together.
3. Kyle, Katie, and Tim gave me an inside joke t-shirt, a kitty hanger and a fashion sticker book, and some Tolkien books, respectively, for Christmas.
4. And Jim gave me Lord of the Rings legos!
5. A new bottle of nail polish that I bought yesterday, turquoise & caicos by Essie. Essie is my favorite nail polish brand and also my guilty pleasure as it's $8 a bottle.

My Bedroom Project 2013: "Before"

My bedroom is a huge ridiculous mess of everything that I've hoarded over the last 19 years. I've made it my mission for break to really go through and get rid of everything that I don't need, everything that I've just kept for years for no reason. All of the assignments from high school, old art projects, broken toys, endless piles of STUFF. Part of doing this is just because I'm tired of living in such a mess. Even when it's cleaned up, it's still perpetually cluttered just because there's so much packed into one room. I'm also doing it though because my sister's bedroom is maybe half the size of mine, and it really isn't fair for her to be stuck in her tiny room for the next three and a half years while mine sits empty, so it's kind of a family project right now to slowly swap bedrooms.

So, here you have it. "Before".

Thoughts about New Year's

Yes, I'm about three, technically four seeing as I'm on the East coast and it's past midnight, days late. Whoops! This is typical for me (but hopefully not for long).

I didn't really do anything special for New Year's, I just hung out with my friends. I couldn't drink or anything anyway - not that I do anyway because I'm underage right - because I had my wisdom teeth out last Thursday and was still on various meds by New Year's Eve. Jim and I kissed in 2013 in my car in a Denny's parking lot. It was magical.

I've actually been using the last few days to really think about the upcoming year and my resolutions, in addition to this just being part of my naturally bad blogging habits. I kind of disagree with the whole "new year, new me" thing, just because I believe that if you really want to change a part of your life then you can just do it. It's still kind of a nice sentiment though.

In 2013...

I want to read at least one book every month, and keep a list of the ones that I finish. I love to read, and I used to read so much, but I do it so much less since I started college. It's not that I've lost interest, or even that I don't have time because I waste an unbelievable amount of time on the internet. I just don't read like I used to, and I miss it. I want to bring books and stories back into my life, the way they were when I was younger.

I want to get in better shape. I don't have any kind of weight loss goal or a certain pants size that I'm trying to fit into or anything. I just want to become more comfortable in my body. I'm 5'3" and about 150lbs, although to my benefit people will usually guess me at at least 20 pounds under that, I guess I just carry it well. I don't look fat, my clothes aren't too tight, it's not too difficult for me to find things that fit. I look fine, I am average. I acknowledge this. That doesn't make me any more comfortable with myself though. I've had body image issues since I was probably about 12 years old, which also sounds normal even though it shouldn't be. I've always been a little bigger than most of my friends, and it made me very self conscious when I was in high school. I'm definitely become a lot more comfortable with myself in the last year and a half (just ask my roommates, I walk around in my underwear all the time) and I want to actively keep with that trend. I want to be healthy, I want to be in shape. I want to feel good.

I need to take school more seriously. I've always been a huge procrastinator and it's resulted in me losing hours of sleep and not getting the best grades that I could, and I really need to change that. School is number one right now, and I need to keep it that way.

I want to become more and less serious. I'm always thinking about the future and I need to save money and Jim needs to save money and I need to consider all of my career options and what should I major in and what should I minor in and should I take this class and I need to get this really good summer internship and all of these things that are on the road to growing up. I do need to keep all of them in mind, and there are certainly aspects of my life in which I really do need to start growing up. But I also can't forget that I'm still only 19. I have time to have fun.

I want to try to cut down and minimalize. I've been cleaning out my bedroom at home since break started and I just have so much stuff. I've been throwing away homework assignments from tenth grade and bad drawings from 2006. I'm really bad at getting rid of things that I don't need, and I need to stop keeping everything. It's OK to throw things away. Sometimes you just need to simplify.

I want to really start writing again. Even if it's just ideas or bad first drafts, it's something. I want to document my life and take more pictures, even if it is just instagram. Maybe I'll really look into a nice camera and learn how to use it effectively. I want to bring more creativity into my life.

I want to update this blog more often, and really learn how to use the website. I want to try out making my own layout and making this blog exactly what I want.

Alright, now let's change those "I want"s to "I will"s and we're on a roll!

Happy New Year!