Tuesday Ten - Lame Edition

Tuesday came way too fast, and even though I don't usually put a ton of thought into what I'm doing for the week, this time I didn't put any thought into it.

So, for today, I will leave you with 10 random facts about me (some you might know, some you might not know).

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my absolute favorite chocolate candy. (Mike & Ikes are my favorite fruity candy.)
2. I cannot stand the sound of silverware scraping a ceramic bowl/plate/etc. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me. I hate it.
3. The thought of children pulling their loose teeth freaks me out. When I think back on when I was losing teeth, I think about the feeling and flip out. It's disgusting and weird. I know it's life - it's natural - but I hate it. When I have children and they start losing teeth they're on their own. I ain't helping.
4. I have no patience for puppies. As most of you know we recently got a German Shepherd puppy and I can't stand it. Now, I love puppies as much as the next person. But I'm one of those people who likes to play with a puppy and then give it back to the owner. I will never in my life ever adopt a puppy. I will get a dog that's already housebroken/trained/etc.
5. I make jewelry. Well, it's on hiatus now because I'm at school, and I'm busy, and I'm broke. Plus, even if I did make it there's no one to sell it to, because I'm on a campus with a bunch of broke college kids. :(
6. I drove a school bus when I was in elementary school. Yep, I sure did. A real school bus, not one of those rides at the mall - a real school bus. Well, it was a short bus, and I sat in my aunt's lap. But I steered and had my feet on the pedal. And I was in first grade. Yep. Ask my mom. I did it.
7. I love road trips. I love them. I've been taking road trips since I was baby. My grandparents live in New York and every summer we'd drive the 8 hours up and the 8 hours back. I love being in a car. It's fun to see the scenery and creep on other people while they drive. And for beach week, Gen and I drove to the beach, just us, the car, and 4 hours of road. And I LOVED it in May when we drove to New York City and I got to spend 9 hours with some of my closest friends. (: Good times, good times.
8. My brother and I are 9 years apart. It's a big age gap, I know. And mom thought that since there was such a huge age gap we wouldn't ever fight. She was wrong. We fight all the time.
9. I'm obsessed with Gilmore Girls. I have every season on DVD and I quote it all the time. The writing is fabulous and the acting is so good. (:
10. I've run out of facts, because frankly, I'm not that interesting. Pahaha!

It All Barrels Down

As the end of the semester/year gets closer and closer, I'm struck with the realization that most of my friends are graduating in three weeks. Holy. Crap. My mentors, friends, sisters, brothers, and allies are leaving come three weeks and when I return in the fall they won't be here. Okay, maybe a few will be here for grad school, but the likelihood that I'll actually see them is slim to none. They'll be busy working during the day and taking night classes. BCM will be bare of familiar faces for the first few weeks and my weekends will probably consist of remembering all the good times.

Okay, I'm overreacting. I'm sure I'll see them plenty... maybe. These past two years have flown by and I know that next year will fly by just as quickly. I'm getting closer to that point where soon I'll be thinking about my own graduation. I just got my invitation to participate in Longwood's ring ceremony in the mail - the step before graduation. I am really excited to get my college ring, but at the same time, it's just one more stepping stone to leaving this second home of mine. Actually, it's more like a home home here, now. I just frequently vacation at the home of my family during winter and summer breaks. Aha.

As these thoughts all jump around my head, I try to keep calm and carry on, but sometimes a girl just has to have a freak out moment. I'm going to lose some of my dearest friends. And keeping in touch has never been my strong suit. It doesn't help that they live all over Virginia and gas prices seem to be increasing and increasing. "Yes, Lindsey," I tell myself, "It's all part of this cosmic plan of the universe to raise gas and tuition prices and lower chances of a college kid getting a job therefore causing you to be broke all so you can't see the friends you've made."

But I'm not paranoid or anything.

Tuesday Ten

Ten Things I'm Most Looking Forward to for Summer

1. Warm weather! I'm usually partial to fall/winter weather, but in the last year I've slowly been enjoying spring/summer more. I think the winters here are just getting too bitterly cold for my liking (especially since I got to feel an NYC winter this year). I'm ready for the tank tops and shorts, beach weather. It's slowly climbing up to that here at school, which is always welcomed.
2. No class! Well, technically, I will have a class. I'll be taking one class over the summer, but it really doesn't count because it only lasts a month.
3. Work! I miss my kids at the daycare and I definitely miss the money. Plus, if my schedule is anything like last summer's then I won't have to go in early except for many one day a week. Hooray for sleeping in until eleven.
4. Seeing my friends! Over spring break I got a little taste of what I was missing with my friends. A good ol' bonfire will definitely be on my list of ways I want to spend my summer nights.
5. BEACH! My family is taking a trip to the beach in August and instead of a condo that we usually get, we're getting a house since more of us are going this year. I'm excited. Sun, sand, ocean, boys (: Count me in. Plus the beach house has it's own pool. Who wouldn't be excited?
6. FAMILY REUNION! I'm BEYOND excited for this. For the past ten years or so we've had a family reunion every other summer. My last family reunion just happened to fall on the weekend after my high school graduation, which meant it would be a graduation party/family reunion. Fun, fun, fun! This summer we'll be going up to Pennsylvania to my cousins' house for a the reunion on July 4th weekend! Best weekend ever? Yes.
7. JANICE WILL BE HOME! I've missed her so much! And she'll be in Richmond this summer which means I'll actually get to see her! This is long overdue.
8. Rest. I will be busy this summer, but in addition to being busy with work and traveling, I will be busy catching up on much needed rest. I've been going, going, going this past semester and I need to slow down.
9. Switching rooms. This room-switch has been going on since winter break, and because I haven't been home much since then I haven't been able to fully change rooms yet. But I will get that done soon after I'm home, so I can rest in my own little room with A/C and not worry about it being too hot in my room over the garage.
10. PRACTICUM! Teacher interning is so amazing. After interning in the classroom in high school I can't wait to get back in there again. I'm so looking forward to it! I get to play dress up and put on my adult face and pretend I have a classroom. (:

Bad Lindsey

Yes, yes. I'm sorely lacking on posting on this blog. I missed a Tuesday Ten. I completely was swamped yesterday. I had a test this morning that I had to study for last night and then a couple games of Phase 10 with my roommate and hall-mate were a must for a Tuesday night in. I apologize for the inconvenience. Man, it feels like Tuesday got here before I knew it. I distinctly remember writing last week's Tuesday Ten. Wow.

Anyway, like I said, this week is flying by. Which is fine for me because I am going home this weekend. So, there is a upside to not working every Saturday at Caryn's - I can go home! This trip home is long overdue. I haven't been home since Spring Break, which means that I haven't been home in four weeks. That might not seem like a long time, but it's an eternity for me. I want to see my mom, my brother, and my dog.

Just an update with me:

I GOT MY PRACTICUM PLACEMENT! I'm so excited. I'll be interning in a second grade class in an elementary school about 25 minutes from my house. I am beyond stoked. My cooperating teacher and I are currently emailing back and forth. Sometimes I wonder why I want to be a teacher. I'm in school and I think, "Why do I want to do this for the rest of my life?" And then I get into the work experience of it all and remember why. This might sound corny, but the feeling of walking into a classroom is like no other. I want to be the teacher that makes the kids want to learn - that makes learning fun and exciting.

Also, right now, and I type, I'm currently sitting on the second floor of Ruffner because my History class was cancelled for the purpose of letting us type our three essays due Friday - like we're going to take the time to really type up our essays. Class cancelled? Extra sleep! Except for me; I have class at 9. :(

Tuesday Ten

I find myself actually looking forward to Tuesdays now that I'm doing a weekly Tuesday Ten. (: This is very nice, therapeutic. Anyway, I was having a lot of trouble deciding what I wanted to write about, but I finally came to it:

Ten Things I Wish I'd Known at 14

I started high school when I was fourteen, and I went in thinking the world of it. And after graduating I realized I did have many good times in school, but it wasn't nearly as fun as my first two years at college alone. So anyway, here's a few things I wish I'd known then.

1. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. This word defines my entire high school career. I never did things in advance, it was always night before they were due. In college, this only works every once in a while. I've been really good this semester about not procrastinating. Actually, last night was the first time this whole semester that I did procrastinate and it did not feel good. I was in a such a rush. It was 12:30 AM, and I was about to go crazy. Just ask my roommate, Mary

2. It's okay to be afraid of the dark.... Confession; I used to be deathly afraid of the dark. I slept with my television on at night all through high school. If someone was in the room with me and it was dark, I didn't mind because someone else was sleeping in the room. But if I was alone, I would freak out. This past year at school though, our TV is never on, let alone at night. So, I sleep in the dark all the time. And it's okay because Mary is here, but she goes home Wednesday nights for India training and so I'm alone. But the TV still stays off. I've learned to not care anymore. I don't know why I was so freaked out. I think it was because I've watched too many scary movies. My bad. But I've gotten used to not having the TV on when I sleep anymore that when I go home I can't have it on because the light disturbs me.

3. Boys are not important. Okay, yes, boys are cute and nice and sometimes fun to be around, but I've liked being single... for the most part. It's fun. I don't have to make plans to be with someone. I don't have to deal with the awkward transition time of spending time with him and then with my friends. I don't have to worry about what if he and my friends don't get along. I don't have to have the fights and drama. It's nice. Plus, someone once told me that it's better not to have a boyfriend your first year of college just because you get to establish your own friends and such. And so I'm just dragging that theory over into my second year as well.

4. Time heals all wounds. When I was in high school, for me, everything little thing was like "the sky is falling". Fight with a friend? Never speak to them again. Guy doesn't like me? Forever alone. C on a test? F in the class. I was a wreck. So if I was ever in a jam, I felt like it would never get better. But it eventually did. And I'm learning now that even though I feel this way now, I'm not always going to feel this way. Eventually, I'll snap out of it.

5. Friends are forever. Yes. Yes, they are. In high school, I told my select group of friends that we'd keep in touch even if we all went to different schools/states/countries/etc. And we have. But I've quickly learned in college that I'm going to stay in touch with these friends even more than my high school friends. I feel like in college, you can be more picky with your friends because you basically see them 24/7, rather than the 7 hours in school and the couple hours on the weekends. I feel like in college, people choose their friends more wisely, because they are more mature than when they were in high school and because it's like a fresh start.

6. Learn how to do the laundry. Yes, my mother was still doing my laundry at 14. And yes, I did eventually learn. I just wish I'd done it more so that it didn't have to be such a chore when I came to college. Although, I've been cleaning the kitchen since I was 10 and that's still a hated chore.

7. One day, you will not be afraid to sing in front of people. If you told me this when I was in ninth grade, I would have laughed in your face. I was terrified to sing in front of my family, let alone people I didn't know. When I was a kid, I sang anything, anywhere, any time. But once I got into middle school and high school I didn't sing unless it was in the car along with the music. When my family asked me to sing, I said no. And then eventually gave in, but reluctantly. I started voice lessons in ninth grade and had a hard time singing in front of my teacher, Allison. But eventually I became comfortable with her. Then, she told me I had to sing in a recital. I thought I was going to die. But the real thing that gave me so much confidence was partly taking on the position as praise and worship coordinator for BCM and then singing at Bowery in May. A very large portion was singing at Bowery. I was so changed after that trip. I don't even know what happened. A wave of calm just came over me and I've never been the same since.

8. Don't give A.J. such a hard time. I love my little brother, but sometimes he just annoys me to no end. And yes, when I was younger I would yell and argue for no reason, and I still do it now. But I should probably stop because I'm older and I always get fussed at because, "You're 19 years old, and he's only 10. You should know better.... blah blah blah." Yes, I know.

9. Swallow your pride. I'm still telling myself this one. I have a lot of pride, and people may or may not see it. I don't know if I hide it well, or if I let it show. But some things really bother me and then out of pride I go against the grain. This stops me from trying new things and asking for help. I should really work on this one.

10. Do what you want. Okay, I say this within reason. But, I feel like when I was in high school I could have done more things that I wanted to. I was kind of a homebody when I was in high school. I would have rather had people over at my house than go to theirs. I liked to stay in and watch movies or play games than go out and party or whatever. I mean, yes, that's what I wanted at the time. But I wish I could have tried different things.

Ode to Summer

Bare feet, sweet tea, flip flops, and sunglasses.

Sandy beaches, slip-n-slides, sun block and no classes.

Sleepin' in, staying out late, and driving with the windows down.

School is done, so party on, we're gonna rock this town.

Dorky little poem-thing I wrote in honor of springtime with summer approaching.

*Mock as you see fit.

STRESS! STRESS! STRESS!

No, no, no, no, no! I don't like stress! Not cool!

Tomorrow at 6 AM, I sign up for classes. WHY does the school feel the need to make all the sophomores wake up at 6 to sign up for classes they hate to take, anyway? What happened to the 12 AM sign up? I was already up at midnight anyway...

I'm planning on taking six classes... nineteen credits, next semester because I want to graduate on time. Because of my major I have to take twenty more credits than most of my friends. It sucks. Here's my schedule for next semester. Be warned, it's not pretty.

Mon/Wed:

Sociology 10 - 10:50

Chemistry 12 - 12:50

Math 4 - 5:15

English 5:30 - 6:45

Tues:

Theatre 9:30 - 10:45

Public Speaking 11 - 12:15

Thurs:

Theatre 9:30 - 10:45

Public Speaking 11 - 12:15

Chemistry (Lab) 2 - 3:40

Fri:

Sociology 10 - 10:50

Chemistry 12 - 12:50

I just might die. :(

But there is very little flexibility in my schedule because four of the classes I need to take aren't offered next semester, so I obviously can't take those. And a few classes are offered at 8 AM, but I learned my lesson last year about 8 AMs. NEVER TAKING THEM AGAIN - especially since I'll be living off campus and have to drive to school in the morning. I'll probably need to leave 30 minutes earlier than class starts. I'm not waking up at 6:30 in order to leave my 7:30. It just won't work for me. No sir.

Tuesday Ten: Birthday Edition

Today is my birthday! Yay! And coincidentally, it is also the Tuesday Ten day. (: Hooray! So, I figured, in honor of the joining of days, I would write my ten favorite birthdays so far. And since I'm only twenty, it will be half of them in my life. Ahaha.

1. My fourth birthday. I had a Lion King cake and the tumblebus came. Does anyone remember the tumblebus? Where you did gymnastics and got to play? I loved it! That was a fun time.
2. My seventh birthday was fun. It was my first "real" birthday party, I think. At the time I was so excited because I was in first grade and got to invite my friends from school. And my mom said I could only invite three friends, and so I did. I thought I was so sly sticking my invitations into their cubbies at school and not telling anyone else.
3. My ninth birthday was fun because it was at Cavalier skate rink (now Roller Dome) and I had my friends from third grade come and I still have pictures somewhere, but I can't remember where. :P
4. My tenth birthday party was a blast! We went up the New York to my grandma and grandpa's house for the weekend and I got to spend it with my family that I don't get to see very often. My grandma made me my cake and I must say it was the prettiest cake I ever had!
5. My fifteenth birthday was fun because we all went out to dinner and then back to my house for cake and ice cream. And then, Jessie, Gentry, and I played improv games we'd learned from drama! Ahaha, we were dorks. And also, my papa made me a CD/DVD of me when I was little. So getting that present was fun.
6. My sweet sixteen! AHHHHHHHHH! So much fun. It was supposed to be a surprise party, but I ended up finding out about it. It was 50's themed, so everyone looked like they were straight out of Grease. I loved it! Poodle skirts, and then Jeff went all out and made the T-bird's outfit! (Well, actually, his mom did... he's not that crafty).
7. My seventeenth birthday was so fun! I was in Pittsburgh visiting family and so we went to Bucco Di Beppos, a family style Italian restaurant and then went shopping. It was nice!
8. My eighteenth birthday was amazing because obviously, I was turning eighteen! I could vote, I could fight for my country, I could buy cigarettes (not that I would smoke them, but just to know I could buy them was pretty cool). And not to mention, my party was off the chain. It kind of reminded me of a kid's party. We had a silly string fight, a bonfire, crazy straws, ice cream relay races, and countless hours of playing wii (Raymond Raging Rabids and Rockband!).
9. THIS BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! My twentieth birthday was so amazing! I thought I would be going out to eat with a few friends from school, but NO! When we got to Applebee's my mom, nana, brother, and BESTFRIEND were there! I was soooooooo surprised to see them! My mom made me a brownie cake because I'm not a big cake person. And my friends burnt me an apple pie that they tried to make and then bought me a new one. And I got the best presents ever! Jewelry, Tangled, a body pillow, an amazingly huge birthday card, Rice Krispie Treats cereal, a pretty scarf, nutella, and some other fun things!

Okay, okay, I know this has only been nine and I'd gypped you out of a number ten. But it takes

a lot to be ranked on my top ten. Consider this ten to be all the birthdays that will be amazing that I haven't had yet.

Well, it's time for me to spend the rest of my year being twenty. (:

Tuesday Ten

Ten "Photographic" Pictures I've Taken

I love to take pictures and edit them. And after doing this hobby for years I've gotten a little better. I know now NOT to turn up the saturation that high (because I did it ALL the time in high school) and cropping until dropping is not always the best thing for a picture. I know now that having the subject in the center isn't always pleasing to the eye, and landscapes are pretty too. So here's just a few pictures I've taken over the years. Some of them have been posted on here before, but I'm posting them again because I love them.

This is my cousin's cat, Snowball. He's the only cat I really like. He's so sweet.

I took this one on Winter Retreat '09 my senior year of high school. We went to Camp Willow Run. It was so much fun and I managed to snap this when we had some free time. Those are Gentry's feet.

Over winter break, me and my friends went to Maymont Park and I took this picture of Jordan. I love it! Everyone says it looks like an engagement photo, and yes, it does.

JANICE! I took this while we were in New York City in May 2010. We were having an excursion through the city that Sunday and I snapped this. She's so pretty and I miss her terribly. She'll be coming home from Spain soon! Yay! (:

This is my baby cousin Gabe. He's so precious. I took this over spring break at my nana's house. We were all getting together for his mama's birthday.

Ashley and Justin. They are too cute. I took "couple pictures" of them over spring break and this is one of my favorites of them!

This picture can be seen in one of my other posts, about my jewelry obsession. I don't know why I love this one. I think it's the colors. Or it could just be the fact that I love jewelry.

My bestfriend is so beautiful! I took this either our junior or senior year of high school. I can't remember when. But this is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken.

This is such a hipster pic, oh my gosh. I love the lighting and colors in this one. That's my bestfriend. She's fantastic.

This is the coloumns at Maymont Park. Most of my pictures are taken there because it's so beautiful.

And since I couldn't choose which one to get rid of, I happened to put eleven pictures on here instead of ten. So here's an extra. Someone wrote this on a gazebo/hut at Maymont Park and once I saw it I had to take a picture.

Tuesday Ten

Ten things I spend too much time doing (when I should be doing productive things)

1. TUMBLR. I spend about 90% of my life on tumblr. My friend Sarah gave it up for Lent, and honestly, I don't know HOW she did that! I really think I've learned so much from this website. Okay, okay, it's not really anything I can use in daily life - mainly just gossip and useless every day information, trivia about music and movies, and details on upcoming events. But it has broadened my taste in music quite a bit. Now that's something! (:
2. Skee Ball on my iPod. I really like it. And I almost broke my high score today, but didn't. (Sad.) Never fear! At the rate I'm playing it, I'll have a new high score in no time!
3. Talking. If I studied half as much as I talk, I'd made President's List every semester!
4. Sing. Okay, this one I'm not really ashamed about. Because singing it my passion and it's the most amazing stress reliever in the world.
5. Listening to music. This kind of goes along with singing. But yes, I enjoy spending my time not doing homework, listening to music.
6. Sleeping. I take frequent naps. They are quite enjoyable.
7. Writing. And I'm not talking about English papers. Come to think of it, I'm not even taking an English class this semester! Huh. Yes, I spend my time writing the beginnings of many, many stories that I never, ever finish. Maybe one day I'll finish one, maybe.
8. Watching movies. I don't really watch a lot of television, unless Gilmore Girls or Pretty Little Liars is on. When I do watch something it's most likely movies. I like all kinds - chick flicks, kids' movies, action/adventure, comedy - except horror, nope, can't do it.
9. Complain. Yeah, I'm working on that one.
10. Laugh. I love to laugh. It's good for the soul. 'Nuff said.