My Novel

I'm not entirely sure how to begin the end of the year post. I could write about how I went to Busch Gardens with Alexis and we stood in line for two hours. I could tell the world more about how I jumped at every scream and firework because I was expecting a hoard of people to come running. But that isn't really what this post is supposed to be about I guess.

A year ago today I saw a picture about how the next day was the first page of a 165 page book that challenges everyone who read it to make that book a good one. More than a hundred labels, 6331 views and countless pictures and I can't honestly say that I feel like 2014 has been a good or a bad year. It was been full of ups and downs, tears and laughter, fantastic moments and some of the saddest I've ever experienced, failure and successes. Do I think that tomorrow is the start of something better than this last year? Not particularly because tomorrow is the start of another book and it is up to me to make the changes I want to see in my life.

This year I had a multitude of things I wanted to see happen and I can guarantee you that I did not get to all of them. I did not go see the nutritionist and I didn't lose the weight that I wanted to lose. I did not manage to get any better at not disappointing myself.  I even missed blogging days because of one reason or another. But 2014 and this little experiment has taught me so much about my self and about others but we would be here for WAY too long if I tried to put all of those lessons into words. The cliff notes version would be that I am a born procrastinator and I don't know if I can change that, people will always surprise you, words are hard, and I really have a hard time reflecting on things.

I hope that anyone who reads this found a lesson for themselves this year and I hope that you, like me, are going to take those lessons as markers for a new life in 2015. I hope that whatever journey you were on or might still be on went/goes as smoothly as possible and that all of your resolutions and wishes come true.

In the words of Walt Disney- "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths"


Well that is it I guess. My novel, the book that was my life for the last year, has come to a close. All the pages have been filled out and there is no more to say about 2014. Happy New Year friends.

Keep Reflecting Forward

I walked Anderson home from school because he hates going to karate and then I closed the store. I missed American Horror story but I'll catch up on that later. On the way to his school I passed the baseball fields that I have seen thousands of times. It has my grandfathers name attached to it which I think is pretty cool, even if I don't remember him.

I also passed my middle school which was tons of fun to reflect on. I have the memory of an elephant when it comes to school. I remember every inch of that campus and my schedules. I probably spent about 25 minutes just staring at the track remembering track and field practices and all the times I thought about just running to my grandmothers house and skipping school. Good times.

What I really wanted to talk about was this quote from the lead singer of Thirty Seconds to Mars:

We all go through moments where we completely doubt our abilities or where we second guess why were are where we are. Even moments where we absolutely hate who we have surrounded ourselves with and the choices we've made. We can't let ourselves do that very often and when we do have to go through the moments, it helps to have something that brings us out of them. Mine recently was his quote. It is so obvious but still, it meant a lot to me. I went for anger crying to completely fine when I found it the other day. I like it so much that it even replaced a Hunter Hayes background picture. 

Heading to Orlando

I was lucky enough to be blessed with a manager who understands that things come up and who is willing to work with me  and switch shifts so that I can end up in Orlando when I need to be there. You are a beautiful human and I am so SO grateful for all of your help this weekend!

 I finished worked at 4:45 and we immediately headed to Orlando so that the family could experience their first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We ended up staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort so that it was easy to get to Magic Kingdom. However, when we checked in they did not have all the MNSSHP tickets ready. This meant that we would have to spend about 20 minutes waiting in the guest relations line acquiring said tickets before we could go to the event. Afterwards we made a stop at town hall and then we made a stop at Casey's so that my sister could find something to eat. We tried to encourage the older of my nephews to come with Snow White (me) and watch the parade. Our attempts at fun were met with adamant "no"s and stern refusals. This kid hate parades. 

We finally made it to some Trick or Treating spots which meant that I ended up not being able to see Celebrate the Magic (IT IS THE MAIN REASON I GO TO DISNEY WORLD) and then we ended up on the Dumbo Ride during WISHES. This is when we discovered that the older of the two also HATES fireworks. Like hates them to the point of being on the Dumbo ride and sobbing every time one of them made the booming sound.

We calmed him down enough to get him to go on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which he also hated and was very scared by. More Trick or Treating and some other rides and then the night got better. We finally went home and I took a shower in order to sleep in a little be more before the big interview!

"It's a Metaphor"

Minus some setback in the earlier part of the day (I WILL HANG OUT WITH ALEXIS THIS WEEK I SWEAR TO GOD) the rest of the day went fairly okay. I was able to create a pretty awesome makeup look that would have been perfect for USF Football games had I accepted that as my college and not FSU. I also put on blush! I NEVER PUT ON BLUSH!

Why did I end up getting all dolled up? There was a group of us from work who were going to go see Guardians of the Galaxy and grab food items. Due to time constraints and rain only two of us showed up but we had a lovely time. We learned some innovative ways to play BINGO and I now know that the original Hairspray movie was terrible and had some interesting writing.

Then it was Guardians time but we had a little time before the movie started so we tested out this thing called a DBOX which is essentially where the seat moves with the screen. We were crying from laughing so hard. Very odd experience. Anyway the movie came on and I won't lie, I was a little nervous. I love the Avengers to the moon so trying to accept another group of superheroes has proven to be a little difficult for me.GUARDIANS IS SO FUNNY THOUGH! And Groot is just the most precious little thing ever! I'm not a Chris Pratt person but he didn't annoy me so good on him. I was way more focus on Batista playing a the uber literal Drax the Destroyer though. One of my favorite lines is depicted in the picture above. The gang mentioned that a metaphor went over his head and... we you get the picture. Over all it was a good movie and I am glad I went to see it.

Lost and Found

While my Birth Certificate is still missing and is going to cost 50 dollars to replace, I FOUND MY GLASSES!! I also got my work schedule and I am working during my appointment so I need to either find someone to switch with me or I need to reschedule the appointment. 

Finding my glasses was an adventure in its self though. I own two pairs and the pair I was looking for was not the pair my nephew and I found. I told him I was going to clean my room and he said "I want to help" because he's 6 and doesn't understand why my room looks the way it does. However, this was on the contingency that he gets to keep all the change he finds in my room. I've been paying Amanda and Brett that way for years, might as well right? We found my second set of glasses around 35 minutes into the excavation process that is cleaning my room. I have so many bags and boxes and containers that I keep things in it was a LITTTLLEE tricky but we succeeded! Afterwards he proceeded to go spelunking under my bed for change and found a charger cord I've been looking for since June!

Two steps down and three steps still to go but it is progress!

An Impromptu Adventure

Even though I knew that I would be hanging out with Kayla today, we didn't exactly plan out our day so after I was collected we kind of twiddled our thumbs in search of things to do. 

We started our day with a trip to the bank and then we headed to Channelside/Ybor to find food items. After an okay lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings we got lost in a sketchy neighborhood and then somehow found our way to the Florida Aquarium. I've been there tons of times but one thing I've never actually done is watch the dive show or visit the penguins! Kayla and I can cross that off the list though as we did get to do that today! 

Afterwards we went to find dinner and I directed her to EATS! American Grill which is delicious if I must say. We had Mac'N'Cheese fritters the size of our fists, entrees, and then split a deep fried Oreo sundae to finish the day. So good!

I'm so glad I got to see her today as she is one of the girls I don't get to see too often! SUZY TUESDAY WITH CATHERINE TOMORROW!

Suzy Tuesday's Recap

This one was late. I didn't intend for it to be but Tuesday was just such a long day that I came home did maybe three of the twelve things I planned to do and then passed out. I started my day by heading to Catherine's around 7 o' clock which is earlier than I have been awake in weeks. I got there and she and I took Penny out for a quick walk and then she made whole grain banana pancakes with eggs! Everything was super delicious and I have no idea how she does it. 

We started our day at Busch Gardens around 1030 and we were going to start with Cheetah Hunt but it was closed. Instead we moved to Montu and, while I think she enjoyed going, poor Catherine had to scream the whole time in order to breathe. We also were greeted by rain as we pulled out of the station on Montu so that was unexpected. The rain also meant ride shut downs for the entire park so we went to look at all the animals instead! Around 2 hours later we were able to get on Rhino Rally, Cheetah Hunt, and then Congo River Rapids before the rain set in again and we decided to go home.

Catherine made ride and beans for Alex, Austin, herself and I and they were awesome as well! Then we watched "Saving Mr. Banks" which has given me some inspiration for the next coming weeks.

So It's Tuesday

Not really. I didn't post on time and now, at 11 o'clock the next day, I'm going to write something that feels like a post. Three months ago I would have flipped out about missing a day and slacking on the blog as much as I have been. I *HAVE * to find more motivation to finish this year out. 

I was supposed to catch up on storyline challenge and pick a point to restart ab challenge from but I didn't. I did catch up on Teen Wolf because I was up at 8:15 in the morning and it was on the DVR. This season isn't as enthralling as the last seasons and I'm not sure where it is all leading to. 

Suzy Tuesday was tons of fun as usual! I was able to help Catherine get her allergy stuff and then I was able to experience the glorious-ness that is Taco Son (> Taco Bus) which is now my second favorite Mexican place ever. Then we went craft supply shopping, got ice cream, and then might have planned a vacation to Universal Studios... Maybe...

I really need to call Alexis back and open my savings account. And drive. 

Having No Life

...can be kind of entertaining but most of the time it is just boring. Particularly when you have to write about your life. Obviously, this blog is my choice. No one is forcing me to write this, I do this for me. I'm not even sure if anyone actually reads anything I write. Sure I see that I've had nearly 5,000 views since I started but of those 5,000 views, how many are people actually reading?

Moving on, I have no life. I work and I come home and sometimes I see some friends. This is routine. This is normal. This is average. This is boring, Is this the type of life we're all socially groomed to aspire to? Is this what we go to school, spend money, worry and cry about? Routine? I understand that I'm only 21 and I understand that my so called "life" is still on the cusp of really beginning.  But, to be honest with you, I never really had routine until I was 16 years old. That's five years of routine and a lack of spontaneity and I'm not so sure I agree with it. Is this what Belle meant when she said "I WANT SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS PROVINCIAL LIFE!" because I definitely want adventure in the great wide some where. 

"I want so much more than they've got planned."

Day For Adventure

Which is what we did! Originally Ilana and I were going to hang out before she left for Spanish camp (I think that what it is?) but because she got her braces taken off today (YAYYYYY) we had to reschedule. I finally started feeling back to normal last night so I called up Alexis and we planned an impromptu visit to Busch Gardens! I am no in possession of an annual pass to both Busch Gardens and to Adventure Island so if you want to go, hit me up!

Today was really fun though.  I haven't been able to go and just goof around at Busch Gardens in a really long time so our little half day was really nifty. I went on the Skyride for the first time! That was a new experience and a good one at that! Fallon's Fury isn't open yet but believe me when I say, I will be one of the first people there the day that it does spread its wings. I might die but that's okay. 

Also, I used today to knock off a bunch of goals! Have adventures, go outside, take more pictures and being active were all accomplished today. Now I just have to keep finding ways to do that.

Road Trip Time!!

Today started at 7am and ended about 30 minutes ago.

You see, today was grad school information session day at UCF and I was lucky enough to have wonderful, amazing Catherine agree to take me a the way out there and back! I was also lucky enough to have an amazing leadership team at the store to work with who got  me out of work early so that I could go! Thank you so much!!

The meeting was very helpful and it will give me a leg up in the interview process if I make it that far. It also gave the opportunity to see the campus and learn about staff.

I also got to see my wonderful Biggles today as well!! Catherine, Alex, and I were able to join her for a yummy dinner and four hours of giggles.