April 2012
26 posts
3 tags
Day 264 - Late!
That’s another photo from my walk last week. I actually managed not to take any photos this weekend!
Mike and I had a wonderful time at my house this weekend. We visited our first wedding venue on Saturday morning. We really liked it and are excited to see some more options late next week. Then Mike’s parents came down and we had a really nice gathering of the parents with Mike and...
2 tags
Friday Five
Here are five happy things from my last week of classes!
1. Pomegranate white tea - I cannot get enough of this stuff!
2. Baking cookies
3. Iced tea and a new wedding magazine
4. The sunny weather we had early in the week and being able to go on walks
5. A surprise dinner that Mike brought to share with me on Tuesday evening
This week’s Act of Kindness: I baked cookies and...
4 tags
Day 263 - 'V' is for Victory!
Yesterday M, S, and I went out for lunch at a cute little upscale diner starting with the letter ‘V’. M and I both got cheese burgers with fries, which funnily enough, we’d both been seriously craving (we attributed this to a recent lack of protein). S got chicken fingers. I forgot my camera, so S and his iPhone saved the day and brought you this photo. Actually, I was so...
2 tags
Day 262 - Winding Down
It seems strange that the semester is already coming to a close. The last day of classes is tomorrow. This semester has not been too busy or stressful for me, so I don’t feel the normal sense of relief that everything is ending. We still have finals to go though, so I’m sure that feeling will come. I’m taking my first final tomorrow morning, and then I just have a project and a...
2 tags
Day 261 - Flowers and a Walk
Yesterday afternoon I had the time to go for a walk through the historic area of town. It had been awhile since my last walk through this area, and I was really excited to see brand new flowers in bloom! The last time I went around the gardens the tulips were out in full swing. This time the foxgloves had started to come out.
I had a really lovely walk. It was a sunny and brisk, and I caught...
2 tags
Day 260 - Baking Radio
After giving two presentations yesterday, I wanted to have a relaxing evening. I’ve been yearning to bake for over a week, so I decided to give in and make brownie cookies. I wanted to try these focaccia rolls, but I didn’t have any yeast (they might become this afternoon’s project). Anyway, Mike and I made these cookies a few months ago, and I am happy to report that they are...
3 tags
Day 259 - Dancing the Weekend Away
I had a really fantastic weekend!! Friday afternoon, Mike and I went to a Zumba class, which I wasn’t sure I would enjoy since I have about as much hip-shaking and shimmying ability as a cucumber, but I actually had a really awesome time. That night, we attended the annual ball our college has outdoors in a tent on the lawn, and we had so much fun dancing to the live band.
Saturday, I...
2 tags
Friday Five
Here are my five happy things from the week!
1. Gift certificates! I received the WaWa one for a res life award, the Barnes and Noble ones for volunteering with the Graduate Research Symposium, and the massage certificate for the rec center pedometer program!!
2. Studying outside and making smoothies
3. The Bridal Expo my Mom and I went to and all the information and pamphlets we obtained...
1 tag
Day 258 - Makes Me Think
Wednesday evening as I was browsing for ideas for my weekly acts of kindness, I came upon the website Makes Me Think. I stumbled upon this site several months ago, and I was happy to look through the stories that had been posted since then. Makes Me Think is a place for people to share stories that inspire them or provoke inner reflection. Some stories are sad and some are happy, but all of them...
2 tags
Day 257 - The Smoothie Experiment, Take 2
So after Monday evening’s smoothie-making disaster, I tried again without the spinach and things turned out much better.
I used a little over half a cup of slightly thawed mixed berries, half a banana, and three spoons of vanilla yogurt to make this smoothie. To start off, the color is much more appealing! The smoothie also tasted really good. I need to get some straws though because...
1 tag
Day 256 - The Dyslexic Dining Club Takes On X & W
Yesterday afternoon, M, S, and I checked X and W off the list of lunch adventures. Now we only have, V, U, and T left, and with three and a half weeks until graduation, I think we’ll make it through the alphabet!
Finding a restaurant whose name starts ‘X’ proved difficult, so we ended up stopping by the campus convenience store, called the X-Change, to get drinks and a snack...
2 tags
Day 255 - How not to make a smoothie
After seeing all the lovely smoothies Elsie of A Beautiful Mess made using spinach and other ingredients, I was inspired to try my own creation. Unfortunately, mine did not come out quite so well.
I used a handful of spinach, a half cup frozen mixed berries, a half cup of water, and in my first attempt, a quarter cup of oats. It turns out that mixed berries and spinach make a lovely brown colored...
5 tags
Day 254 - Relaxing Weekend
I had the best weekend at home!! It was really relaxing and rejuvenating, and I feel completely ready for the last two weeks of class.
Friday afternoon I caught up with my Mom and talked about wedding ideas. Then I went out to a really cute coffeeshop with my wonderful friend S. We had an awesome time catching up!! I had a delicious strawberry smoothie and an amazing sausage, egg and cheese...
2 tags
Friday Five
Here are my five happy things from this week!
1. Bride Magazine and Cadbury Creme Easter Eggs
2. Leftover Thai Food
3. Engagement Cards
4. Catching up with friends through skype, phone calls, and letters
5. A strawberry frosted doughnut Mike and I shared on Thursday evening
This week’s Act of Kindness: I brought in snacks to the office.
2 tags
Day 253 - Homeward Bound!
Later on this morning, I’m heading home for the weekend!! I am so excited to see my parents, and my sister is coming home from school too! I can’t wait to see her! Unfortunately, I have quite a bit of homework to get done, but I’m also planning for relaxation time. This afternoon I’m meeting up with one of my oldest friends, and on Sunday afternoon my mom and I are going...
2 tags
Day 252 - The Proposal
Today I am simply thrilled to share the story of our engagement and some photos of Mike and I from the proposal and our engagement photo shoot!!
The short version: Mike asked me to meet him by a sundial in front of our library to study outside on the afternoon of Saturday, March 31. I called my mom on the way there to chat and was still on the phone when I arrived at the sundial. Unfortunately,...
2 tags
Day 251 - Writing
This week I’m working on a design submission of my research for a competition! It’s been interesting to write but very long. The maximum page limit is 40 double spaced pages, and it seems that most of the winners from previous years hit that max, so I’m just writing away. I’m about halfway through at the moment, and I’m hoping to finish it up by Thursday evening...
3 tags
Day 250 - Farmer's Market Take 2
My friend S and I went to the Farmer’s Market right after Spring Break, and I was really excited to take photos. I thought I’d gotten some good ones too, but then I got home and realized that my camera had been on a manual setting and all of the photos came out over exposed! Since then, I’ve been much more careful with the settings on my camera.
M and I decided to visit the...
2 tags
Day 249 - Fun at the Winery
I had the best weekend!! Just before lunch time on Friday, my dear friend M arrived! She and I were roommates when we studied abroad in Florence in Spring 2010. We had such a fantastic time together in Italy and have stayed in touch through letters and e-mails. She also came to visit me last year around Easter, and this year we realized that we’ve spent time together around Easter for the...
1 tag
Friday Five
This was a really wonderful week with many happy and exciting things. Here are five of my happiest things from the week.
1. Mike and I got engaged!!!!! (This one kind of trumps everything else)
{Photo taken by our lovely and wonderful friend L - more to come next week!}
2. Mike’s family sent me a giant basket of yummy food to welcome me to the family
3. My morning class was...
2 tags
Day 248 - Hello Weekend!
Yesterday, I attended a conference held by an organization I received a fellowship from. I presented my research for other students and some faculty, and then I also got to present my work to the board of directors of the organization!! Both presentations went well, and I had a lot of fun hearing about the neat things everyone else at the conference has been working on.
This weekend, M, my...
1 tag
Day 247 - The Letter 'Y'
Mid-morning yesterday S called me and asked if I was up for lunch, and of course the answer was ‘Yes!’ (I’ve been saying that a lot this week!). M and S picked me up a little after noon, and we headed out to a French restaurant starting with the letter ‘Y’ for a fancy mid-week luncheon!
We all decided to try the lunch special. I started with the French Onion...
1 tag
Day 246 - Little Facts Day!
1. The Body - I love to work out!! I find exercising really fun and energizing. Plus, I love feeling in shape.
2. Peeve - I have a few little pet peeves, but right now my biggest one is when a photo I take doesn’t come out the way I wanted. I’m still learning how to use my new camera (and I have so much more to learn), so this is happening a bit too often at the moment.
3. Allergy - I...
2 tags
Day 245 - Easy, Yummy Quesadillas
Last week, one of my friends in my grad program introduced me to Budget Bytes, which is where I found this awesome Black Bean Quesadilla recipe. The Budget Bytes blog has really great recipes with ingredients that are reasonably priced. I’ve found so many things to try! I’d also been getting a bit tired of the same old pasta and veggies routine that I’d gotten into, so I am even...
2 tags
Day 244 - Guess What!?!?
Saturday afternoon Mike asked me to marry him, and I said ‘YES!!’, which makes this the best weekend ever!!!!!
After making many wonderful, happy phone calls, we decided to have an evening picnic of sandwiches and bread ends from one of the local shops. Then we got dressed up and went out for dessert before heading to the party my program was having. We had a fantastic time at the...
3 tags
Blogger Book Club - Nineteen Minutes
I’m participating in a really awesome blogger book club! There are three groups of five bloggers, and we each send around one of our favorite books. The first book I received was from Jess. She sent me Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.
This was the first book I’ve read by Jodi Picoult, and I really enjoyed it. I found it very compelling and read the entire thing in two...
