Early Valentine's Day

Happy Early Valentine's Day! I would wait until the 14th to write this post but my school work often keeps me very busy and I am taking 18 hours of classes. I hope this post finds my readers happy and doing well.
My boyfriend and I will be celebrating Valentine's Day the weekend after it because we both have school. But it will be nice since we don't have to face the crowds at the restaurants on the real day. I can't wait until I get to actually spend Valentine's Day with him on the actual day.
I know that Valentine's Day is also Single Awareness Day, but love does not only have to be erotic or the feelings you have for your significant other. Love can be that which you hold for your family, friends, pets, etc. and it should nit be looked over simply because it is not a romantic love. Treasure those who love you and those you love, not just on Valentine's Day, but everyday.

Reflections of the Holidays

As the holidays have passed and it's only a few days before I go back to school, I have spent today reflecting on the past year, where my life is, and where my life is headed. Some of my reflections were happy while others were not.


I have determined that I am not really happy where I am in my schooling and don't really like the major I am stuck in. While I love being closer to my family and friends, I do not like the school I attend and do not feel challenged at all. I got a 4.0 GPA this semester, but it felt like I had to little to earn it--unlike at Roanoke, where I had to work for my A's. I am truly not looking forward to this next semester or the last year of school I have left, but I will survive and hopefully I will find an occupation that I truly enjoy in my major.


On a lighter note, my relationship with my boyfriend has grown stronger and, while we have had a few disagreements and miscommunications, we still love each other and are working through them. I am truly blessed to have found such an amazing guy who loves me for who I am, not just what I look like. I feel like I am so lucky to have found such a wonderful guy so early in my life and I believe that we will defeat the odds and be together the rest of our lives. In the words of Cecelia Ahern in PS I Love You: "Finding someone you love and who loves you back is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. But finding a true soul mate is an even better feeling. A soul mate is someone who understands you like no other, loves you like no other, will be there for you forever, no matter what. They say that nothing lasts forever, but I am a firm believer in the fact that for some, love lives on even after we're gone."


I hope everyone's Christmas and New Year's went well and they were able to spend it with the ones they love. Mine went well and it was nice to spend time with family and friends.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

My brother, who is training to be a Navy SEAL, was able to get leave for Christmas and will be coming in tomorrow. It has been such a long time since I last saw him and got to spend time with him. While he was home for a weekend this past summer, I think I saw him twice during the two days because he went out with all his friends and was rarely home. This time though, he'll be home for two and a half weeks and he'll be coming down to see me in Corpus before we both go back to San Antonio for the holidays. It should be a wonderful time and I can't wait to see my baby brother.


Here's a picture of my brother, sister, and me from the last time he was able to come home:

I am so happy that he is able to come home for Christmas and I know that it will be a while before we get to see him again. Earlier this month, he sent me a quote that I love: "Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It's for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough..."

I wish that the men and women of the armed forces were able to be home with their loved ones during the holidays, but I know that isn't possible. Still, I wish all of them and their families a very merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. God Bless our armed forces for without them, we would not be able to enjoy all the freedoms we have.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

While this post is a few days late, I want to wish all of my readers a happy Thanksgiving. I hope your holiday was more relaxing than mine. I went Black Friday shopping with my sister and mom for the first time in several years.

Let's just say, I was very disappointed with the greed of people.

My sister wanted a stand mixer and I wanted a set of frames from Wal-mart and when we got there, both of those items were completely out of stock, but people were going around the store with carts full of those items and were completely unwilling to let anyone else have one. I honestly wish that Wal-mart would put a max on the number of the sale items each person could get, so more people have an opportunity to get what they want. According to my aunts, there was a fist fight at another Wal-mart over a silly toy car that kids can drive. People like that should be ashamed of themselves. Do you really need that TV so badly that you're willing to punch someone out for it?!?

After the chaos of Wal-mart, shoppers in Target were a lot more civilized and organized and I was relieved that I was able to get things on my list there with little problem. Also, the employees were a lot more friendlier than Wal-mart employees. It annoys me when employees are extremely rude to customers, especially when a customer is nice to the employee and low maintenance. I realize that it was a busy day, but biting a customer's head off can make your employer lose customers and money.

Let's just say that by the end of the night I was exhausted and ready to sleep for a week. I do not know if I will go Black Friday shopping again next year, it was so much more stressful than past years and I am sick of people's greed when it comes to special sales on Black Friday. I think I'll just stick to the safety of my own home and the virtual wonder called Cyber Monday.

Once again, I wish my readers a very Happy belated Thanksgiving and remember to be thankful for the things in your life every day of your life, not only once a year.

1 Year Anniversary!

Well today is the one year anniversary of this blog. Yay! Well, although this isn't the most popular blog out there, I still love doing this and will post more in the future. Thank you to all of my readers and I hope you'll stick with me for the next year and the many years to come.
I'll end this quote with one of my favorite quotes:
"Life is not measure by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away."

Isn't that the way they say it goes...

Well, it's been awhile but I'm back. School has kept me extremely busy and next semester isn't going to be any easier since I'll be taking 18 hours. I have a project and/or paper and/or presentation in all of my current classes and they're all due in the next three weeks.

On the topic of school, I have been contemplating what I want to do once I graduate from college. I was talking to a friend the other day and they were talking about life after college and how important it is to do something you love. That made me pause because what I love has nothing to do with the major I am in or the possible career choices I've thought about. I realized that the jobs I was thinking about pursuing are interesting, but not something I see myself doing long term and that the jobs I would truly love either do not pay well, require extra schooling, or are impossible to get in to. While I will stick with this major and career outlook until I graduate and can afford to look into other job opportunities, I still want to end up doing something I love.

My family all support my current major and career choice. One side of my family thinks that my "loves" are a foolish waste of time and money and that if I try to do these jobs, then I should look for a husband who will be able to "take care of me" and the bills. It frustrated me and wanted me to tell them off, but if I did that, then I would have estranged myself from an entire side of my extended family.

I was listening to the Jim Croce song "Operator" and the first line of the chorus really stood out to me: "Isn't that the way they say it goes." I realized that life goes on, regardless of our wants, needs, or desires and often  things end up how they usually do, no matter what we may do to try and change them.

Life may be out of our control in our eyes, but I know that God is in control of everything. I hope your week goes well and I will post again on the one year anniversary of this blog (Sunday, November 20).

Homemade Earring Holder

A few days ago, I was frustrated that I did not have enough room for all of my earrings in my jewelry box, so I decided to improvise and make my own. I think it turned out really well, so I thought I'd share with you readers how to make one of your own.

Step 1: Gather Supplies

For this project you'll need:

• Plastic Canvas: any size or shape you want, but I used a rectangular sheet since it seemed the easiest to do (you can get this fairly cheap at any craft store)
• Fabric: again you can go for any type and color you want, but make sure that you can completely cover the plastic canvas
• Scissors: so you can cut the fabric and thread
• Thread: it looks nicer if it matches your fabric, but really it's up to you
• Pins: to hold the fabric together
• Sewing Machine: so you can make a pocket for your plastic canvas (you could also use some sort of no-sew stuff--like glue or fusible fabric tape, but I sewed mine)
• "Coat Hanger": basically something to hang your earring holder off of (I used a coat hanger but you can use virtually anything)
• Fasteners: so you're able to attach the earring holder to the "coat hanger" (I used safety pins, but once again, it's up to you)

 Step 2: Prep the Fabric

Next you'll need to measure the amount of fabric you'll need for the project by wrapping the fabric (wrong side facing out) around the plastic canvas so essentially, the fabric creates a pocket around the plastic canvas with a 1/4in seam allowance. Leave one end long (about 3-4 inches) so you can create a tube in which to insert your hanging tool. After you measure and then cut off the excess fabric, pin around the canvas so you know where to sew, leaving the long side open so you can take the plastic canvas out.

Step 3: It's Sewing Time

After you have your fabric ready, take the plastic canvas out and sew the fabric pocket for that canvas. Be careful not to sew too close to where you marked with the pins, otherwise you won't be able to put the plastic canvas back in.

Step 4: Sewing Part 2

After you finish the first part of the sewing, take fabric pocket and turn it right side out. Then slip the plastic canvas back in the pocket. Pin where the plastic canvas ends on the long side and sew the plastic canvas into the fabric pocket. The last sewing you'll have to do with the machine is to hem the long end so there are no loose threads.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

When you're done with all the sewing, take your earring holder and wrap the long end around the tool you plan on using to hang the holder. I used a coat hanger and brought the long end to where the plastic canvas ended at the top of the fabric pocket, essentially creating a tube. Then you'll need to close the tube with some sort of fastener. I chose to take the easy way out and use safety pins so I can change how I hang it up.

Once you're done with all of that, enjoy hanging all of your earrings up. :)

Here's what your earring holder should look like in the end: