My Tornado Life

School is crazy. Absolutely insane. My life is like a great big tornado throwing me from one place to another and then back again. So. Not. Cool. 

Take a look at what I'm dealing with right now.

Two MAJOR things happen next week. And I'm trying to prepare for both of them. Holy cows! I'm scared to death about both things. Prayers are much needed.

But on a BIG, more exciting note, I signed up for St. Jude's half marathon yesterday.

And I became a St. Jude's Hero. Basically I will be fundraising for St. Jude's during my training period leading up to the race.Visit my Heros page, and make a donation. Every little bit helps. And it all goes to help pay for families who can't pay for cancer treatments for their children.

I've got a lot going on. So just stay with me. I'll be back to my regular scheduled posts as soon as school calms down enough where I can breathe. T-minus 8 days and counting.

Sidenote: The Little Rock Farmers Market is amazing. Go there. Get the locally grown strawberries.

It will be unlike any strawberry you've ever had. So delicious. But don't eat them all at once...like I almost did. 

Have a great week! Happy Hump Day!

Tell me something good.

A Weekend in Pictures

Spent a lot of time here.

Doing homework, lamenting over my non-existent social life and eating dark chocolate.

The 60s was an interesting time in Arkansas politics. Ask me anything...I bet I know it. Seriously.

For study breaks, I'd go outside to check the progress of my zinnia sprouts.

Early on Day 1

End of Day 1 after a full day in the sun

Day 2

There was a day 3, but I can't find it right now. Update on that tomorrow.

I ran yesterday.

Here are my stats:
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 34:16
Best Pace: 8:28
Average Pace:11:26
Calories: 357

I'll go into detail about that tomorrow. I've done some research that deserves a separate post. So stay tuned for something new I learned about running and side pains.

I had a lot of really wonderful food this weekend.

Waffles. Classic.

Rigatoni with a mushroom cream sauce

Parmesan and dill scrambled eggs on an English muffin

These beauties are on the way to my doorstep.

HOLLA. I'll be walking on a dream in no time.

How was your weekend?


Tell me something good.

Shoulds V. Wants

I've been struggling here recently with juggling stuff I should do and stuff I want to do. I've broken it into three specific categories so ju guys can see it.

Stuff I should do No. 1: Homework

So much to do in so little time. I've really had a hard time with self-motivation this semester. It had to be taking the summer off. I settled into my lazy ways of watching too many movies, cooking delicious food and doing whatever I wanted. School started back, and I didn't really jump on the bandwagon. So now I'm sprinting to catch up with school, while trying to keep up with my social life. It's very tiring.

Stuff I want to do No. 1: Running

I ran yesterday after work. I didn't want to because of the wind and the cold. But I had the best 3 miles ever. And probably my fastest.

Distance: 3.00 miles
Time: 34:41
Best Pace: 9:24
Average Pace: 11:30
Calories: 355

Look who was a whole minute faster than normal. And the best part was the run didn't feel like it was too much. It didn't get bigger than me. I felt in control and good the entire time.

Stuff I want to do No. 2: Cook and Eat

Pinterest has become my go to I'm-bored-and-don't-want-to-do-homework-so-lets-waste-time-staring-at-recipes-online thing. I'm not ashamed since I've found some seriously good looking food.

OH MY LORT! I just want to cook and eat. All the time.

It's getting out of control. Seriously.

Who wants to pay me to make their meals? I'll do it for a small fee.

I think the whole food thing has become a problem. But for all I know, it could be my life's calling.

Cooking and eating and writing. I could totally live with that.

Goal for the rest of the week/weekend: Finish all homework. ALL homework. Cooking something divine...I'm thinking Cheesy Potato Soup (my momma's recipe). And run 5 miles.

What are some of your shoulds v. wants?

Any recipes you want to share? I'm always looking for something new to make in the kitchen.

A Slow Down

I'm gonna tell you that I have truly lost all motivation to complete the rest of this semester of graduate school. My brain is so tired, and I've found myself much rather wanting to do other stuff. I hate to say that school has taken a backseat to procrastination, but it has.

Case in point: Last night, I got home from work and sat down a few minutes before starting dinner. Around 6:15 P.M. I started cutting up sweet potatoes for homemade sweet potato fries. And let me just say how extremely difficult sweet potatoes are to cut up. I was using the biggest knife I had along with all the muscle I had, and those babies barely got cut into fries.

After putting those in the oven, I started on the main course. Cheeseburger flatbread melts, c/o Kevin and Amanda. You can get the recipe here. When everything was finished, I sat down to eat. The cheeseburger melts were TO DIE FOR GOOD. I could not have asked for a more satisfying meal. It was so tasty and savory. You should totally make them. So easy.

My sweet potato fries did not fair quite as well. I think it will take me a little time to perfect my baking process. Some of my fries were too small so when they cooked they were EXTRA crunchy. But in my defense, some of them turned out perfect. Sweet potato fries, for me, could be better than real fries. I love the added flavor that you don't get in a real french fry. And it's an added bonus because sweet potatoes are naturally flavorful and good for you. So I'm not complaining.

After all the hard work of cooking, I sat down and fell asleep. Not for a few minutes, but for an hour. Can you say old lady? I've gotten to the point where I can fall asleep, and then wake up not knowing how it happened. The hallmark of old age is setting in at the ripe age of 23. Ekk.

I have to admit I've missed cooking quite a bit. I forgot how good it feels to make food. Food that makes the whole house smell delicious. I can't wait for it to become part of my daily routine again. I'm so tired of eating out and having Smart Ones for dinner. But when class gets out at 9 P.M. not much cooking can be done.

So I wait patiently for May 13, the end of my first year of graduate school. It always goes back to that. My life revolves around school and homework. And that is the cold, hard truth. My decisions are made based on school and homework, and I think I've reached the point where I don't want that anymore. Partly because it's the end of the semester, and partly because I resent the whole thing for taking over my life. But enough of that, I'm halfway done. And I'm thankful for the opportunity, but it's hard to see the forest when you've been staring at individual trees for a year. Har Har.

But on to the next. I will make it work for nine more days. I will keep moving forward...maybe just not as quickly as I was in the beginning of the semester. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Take it one assignment at a time. Keep ever moving forward.

Until next time...

The Home Stretch

So here I am on a Saturday at my sweet nook desk in my new apartment. And I have absolutely no motivation to do homework of any sort.

Moving here has really put a damper on my motivation, although I think I always knew I was slowly running out of steam. This weekend I must accomplish a PR Case case study and figure out how I will present it to my classmates and the craziest teacher who will eat my alive if I don't know what I'm talking about.

I have already decided that I will just break down in a cry-fest if she says one thing. I'm a ticking time bomb. She is just so rude and gruff. And to be totally honest, I don't have time for that.

On a lighter note, my historical research paper received rave reviews. Thank the Good Lord because I'm not sure I have it in me to fix it. All it needs it minor tweaking, and Dr. Z said it would be good enough to submit to a conference. Har har.

So today it is back to the drawing board. I have to get my final discussion board post knocked out ASAP so I can move on the paper and presentation. Ah, PR Cases. I can't wait to be done with you.

I hope you have a great weekend. Do something fun. I'm ready for the fun to happen again. I need it to happen. The home stretch is upon us. Two weeks left. One more weekend of homework (remember, I never count the weekend/week we are in). Time to get cracking.

See ya on the other side.

Until next time...

Celebrate

Yesterday, I set three goals. Two of which didn't get done. But one did. And that would be the dreaded original research paper for my historical methods class. Nothing about that sentence sounds fun, and trust me it wasn't. I'm just thrilled that it is actually written.

So basically no packing got done, and I didn't really sleep because my brain would not shut off. How many times do I have to tell myself to go to sleep, and then the next thing I know I'm off thinking about what so-in-so is doing or when I will have time to work on this assignment or what is happening at work this week. The question is how do you tell your brain to shut up? It would be helpful to know the answer...any thoughts?

And the cherry on top of this week's stress is a fever blister. It's still very small right now, but that doesn't mean that my whole face won't swell up later. No kidding, it runs in the family. Sigh. So I'm going to have to nip that in the bud for sure.

So here is what my week looks like as of today:

For school: prepare for oral presentation in media theory class, revise and perfect my research paper to be turned in, and start on a PR Case study for the online class from hell.

For work: take photos, write stories, find statistics, design letter templates, develop newsletter, take more photos, and look for new story ideas

For moving: PACK EVERYTHING that can be packed.

On a lighter note, we will be signing our lease at our new apartment today. We have picked a cable service provider so now I have to set up an account. I have to call Entergy to set up an account. Oh, and pack stuff. It should be totally awesome.

I am still super excited about moving to Little Rock. No more driving. No more fighting commuter traffic and feeling like I've been beaten every morning on the way to work. (I'm basically tired when I get there.) No more missing out on the fun stuff that happens because I live in Conway.

And the moving also means I'm one step closer to being out of school for summer. Deep breath. And go.

Hope you guys have an awesome work week. Got big plans for the weekend? What's going on? Want to come pack a box while I read and type stuff? Maybe?

Until next time...

A Ton of Bricks

It has officially hit me. I'm moving in two weeks. My paper is due a week from Thursday. I have two other papers to write, oral presentations to give, revision to make and bags and boxes to pack. EEEKKK!!!! And this necessary freak out stems from a letter shoved between my doorjamb.

How nice of the apartment complex to stick a checklist of what needs to be done to the box before we move out. Just what I needed. A little extra stress. Basically we have to clean everything, which is not surprising. But was is surprising is that everything includes the under and behind of the fridge, washer, dryer and water heater. Not complaining, just a little shocked at the size of the job.

I also have to figure out what cable provider we will be using, set up an account with Entergy, coordinate my family members coming to help out with the move, and do school. DOUBLE EEEKKK!!!

I just hit me like a ton of bricks. We move in two weeks. I've got so much to do still for school. How will it all work? What will I look like once school is over and the move is complete? I am so looking forward to the days of lounging by the pool with a book of my choice that has nothing to do with Arkansas history. Gosh, it will be so great. But getting there is the challenge.

I have officially written 15 pages of the 18-25 page original research paper. What it looks like/reads like, I have no idea. I'm sure it will lack the necessary transitions to make for a smooth read, and I bet there will be too many quotes and citations. But it will be done.

Goal numero uno of the day: Finish rough draft of paper...so the revising/rewriting can start ASAP.

Goal numero dos of the day: Pack some boxes...because we're moving.

Goal numero tres of the day: Take some time to unwind the mind...hopefully I can get some serious sleep.

I hope you guys had a nice weekend and got to do fun things. I did get to see the family for a short while and eat the best cake in the world. So that means it was a success. Catch ya on the flip side.

Until next time...

My Daily Happenings

My stress level has been exceedingly high the past few weeks. I blame this.

Stress-maker number uno: Books for the media theory paper I am trying to write. By trying I mean I wrote six pages and have no idea what I was talking about. So this paper should be interest. You are looking at a total of 20 books: 18 from the UALR library and 2 from a UCA professor trying to help me out.

Stressor numero dos: This is the current state of my kitchen table. Needlesstosay, my 900 sq. ft. box can't take this kind of clutter. And I can't do anything about it until the second paper, a 25-page original research paper is complete Not sure how many books make up the "context" of this paper. But that black portable filing thing is FULL of newspaper article and editorials from June through November of 1966. I'm such a historian.

As of the 23rd of this month, we will be moving. And this is the only box I have packed. I figured I wouldn't be playing Mad Gab until the above items are taken care of. And nobody uses an actual dictionary anymore since dictionary.com came along. There are about 30 empty boxes taking up residence at the box. And I have no time to deal with them.

So there you go. A brief look into my life and today's daily happenings. Tomorrow will be totally different because I have to work. Sigh. Pray that the boxes get packed and the papers get written. Time to hit the books.

Stay classy, bloggies. (Couldn't help it. Anchorman was on last night. LOVE. IT.)

Until next time...

I See a Light....Very Small, Yet Actually There

The bestest of news came my way yesterday, bloggie friends. My laments for graduate school are soon to be over.

I had a meeting for advising with the graduate coordinator. I went into it without the faintest of hope that the upcoming semester would look nice and easy. And I just KNEW he would say I had to take summer classes. I have been dreading this meeting because I knew I would have to think about 9 more hours of fall classes and 3-6 possible hours of summer classes. That thought makes this girl not a happy camper.

So I ask first about summer school since it would obviously come before fall. Plus I need to know what to tell my job since I am graduate assistant. (There is a bunch of hullaballoo when it comes to grad assistants and paperwork and money...Point being that I would have to jump through hoops...and I want to get it over and done. One less thing to worry over. And so I still have a job and get paid cash money).

Major break numero uno: NO SUMMER CLASSES FOR ME! He advised against it. Saying that the graduate school only likes to give out money in the fall and spring. Summers are hairy times to pay tuition. And I would have to take 6 hours (full-time summer courses all summer long), which would mean no school break for me.

Oh the absolute joy I felt when he said no summer school was beyond anything I have ever felt before. This semester has killed me. Drained me of spirit and pep. Ruined my some-what of a social life I had before. Killed my ability to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. You get it.

Major break numero dos: I only have to take two more actual classes where I sit in a classroom for 3 hours lectures. One in the fall and one in the spring.

I will take one elective class in the fall with 6 hours of thesis, which is basically working from home on the ole book which will be my thesis. And then in the spring I will take my final research class (which will end with a paper serving as one chapter of my thesis) and one elective that will be a readings class where I will read books and write little book reports on different books on my thesis topic.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS?

After the next five weeks of hell, it will calm down a considerable amount. I will be working toward the goal of finishing my thesis. The light my friends is shining. I can see it. It is far, but I can see it. Hope has returned to this little body of mine.

I can do anything for five weeks. Lose sleep. Write 50 pages worth of papers. Kick grad school's ass. Yep. Renewed confidence and a true zest for life has returned. Time to hit the books. I've got five weeks of pure hell ahead of me. But the light is shining. Thank you, Jesus.

Until next time...

All night long: A Solution to My School Ailments

I am contemplating pulling an all-nighter. How does everyone feel about this?

I'll tell ya I'm a little nervous about it because I have never done one. Now I have stayed up into the wee hours of the morning hanging out with friends, kicking it at Relay for Life with my sorority sisters, or dancing it up in downtown Little Rock.

But never have I ever pulled an all-nighter for school.

When I got out of class last night with a huge assignment on my plate and many more assignments ever looming over me, I felt completely defeated. I mean full-on pity party mode. "Why am I doing this?" "This is stupid and hard and it won't help me in the real world with a real job...." harump! Sad face. I know very "whoa-to-me" I was after a three hour lecture and assignment beating.

As I laid down in bed with my eyes wide and mind abuzz, it hit me. Thought: I should pull an all-nighter. Other people I know do it all the time, multiple times in a row. Why can't I do it.

I realize sleep is important, and I am one of those people who need all the sleep. But I am to the point of desperate. Completely at a cross-roads of grad school life. Do I stay up and work all night? Or do I get the rest and stress about all the things I need to do tomorrow?

Something has me sold on trying it out. I think I'm to the point where insanity has set in, and I need to try something different to see if it can bring me back to a sane frame of mind. So as of Sunday night...I am pulling an all-nighter. I will fuel myself with inconceivable amounts of coffee and snacks and just hack away at all the stupidity that is my school life.

Maybe this will help me see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or maybe it won't. Never know til you try, and apparently the way I've always done things isn't cutting it because the stress level is at 110 out of 100 and my anger/rage meter is basically on edge all the time. Plus I feel like crying any time anyone tries to hand me another assignment (at work or school).

Pray for me. Your prayers are much needed and appreciated. The Big Guy will know what to do with them while I'm still binging on coffee and snacks.

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? How was it? Success or just one more reason to stress out?

Until next time...

Nerves of Steel

Last Friday, I drove to Memphis to visit my oldest and dearest friend who is in dental hygiene school. I was so excited to see her since we hardly ever get to because school rules our lives.

I printed out directions because nobody wants to get lost in Memphis during rush hour traffic, and I set out for the even bigger city.

Now, Little Rock traffic is no biggie for me. I can pretty much navigate it with my eyes closed. People in Arkansas are pretty predictable as far as their driving habits are concerned: If it rains, we stop. If a car is pulled over on the shoulder with its flashers on, we stop. If state troopers are spotted, we slow way down as in 15-20 miles under the speed limit or stop. (I'm sure they hate that).If there are wrecks, we stop. Traffic will be bumper to bumper coming down 430 and 630 at 7:30 A.M. and 5 P.M. no matter what.

Memphis is a completely different ball game. My friend forgot to mention that I would be driving through the old Memphis. As I was getting off the old bridge, I had to exit immediately onto I-55 South going toward Jackson, MS. My handy-dandy Google map informed me that I was to take exit 289. First exit I saw was 7. I thought I had completely screwed up.

There were cars everywhere. The area was run-down and scary. There was an abandoned train yard to my left, where I'm sure someone was shot. On right were old warehouse buildings looking too much like gloom and doom. Not my cup of tea, especially when you don't know what you are getting into.

So I called my friend and started spitting out exit numbers and street names. She said, "I don't know the names of streets, Ashten. Just take exit 289." I said, "I just passed exit 3 this can't be right." She said, "Call Vicky!"

At the time, I didn't know Vicky was the Direction Queen. So I called my own personal version of a direction queen, my momma! Thankfully, she helped me figure out that I was on the right road going the right way. She told me there would be another place where I would have to merge and that I would start seeing signs for Southaven.

I did not realize that merging in this case would mean merging into crazy traffic with 8 lanes of pure hell. I hate the feeling of not knowing what to expect and then getting a BIG surprise when it happens. It felt like one of those times. Cars were zooming by me like I was sitting still, and clearly I wasn't. I was driving 70 with my hands at 10 and 2, praying the whole time I would get to my exit and not end up in a body bag. Seems a little over-dramatic, but seriously abandoned train yard....umm no thank you.

I'm surprised I didn't have a panic attack. And I don't have panic attacks, never have. It just seemed like the opportune time for me to have my very first one. Thankfully, I didn't, and I made it to her house without anymore major hang-ups.

Saturday was productive. My friend cleaned my teeth for four straight hours. Like I said, she is in school so she has to be meticulous and make sure she covers all the bases of a dental check and teeth cleaning. Although I got the flossing lecture, I was in pretty good shape. No cavities. Nice pearly whites.

She gave me dental sealants to prevent any future cavities in my uber-groovy molars. And then we went to eat, and then I found myself back on the road again.

Moral: I have nerves of steel.

Reasons I know this:

• I endured 6 hours of interstate driving to a place I had never driven before and survived the 8 lanes of terror. (BTW, the 8 lanes of terror should be a scary ride at Six Flags).
• I endured a 4 hour dental check up and teeth cleaning. Sidenote---it's safe to say I'm not fond of the dentist and all the teeth scraping. Hands down, one of the worst sounds ever.
• I did 4 days worth of homework in 2 days. This included a 2 question essay test (which turned out to 9 pages printed), a historical discussion paper and reading, a bibliography for a 25-page paper I haven't had time to work on, numerous reading assignments in all the classes, and the ever-dreaded online homework from hell.

Yep, nerves of steel people. Nerves of steel.

Sidenote----Notice the sweet subscribe bar I put on the page last week. If you enter your e-mail, all my posts will be sent straight to your inbox. Pretty schnazzy! Check it out.

Dark Days are on the Horizon

I have officially started school. And I say this because I have a syllabus for every class. So that means what little bit of a social life I did have is now over.

Going into the semester, I knew I would have to write a 20-25 page original research paper. I did not know I would have to write a 15-20 page term paper in another class. So needlesstosay, my social life is over until May.

There is one small glimmer of hope. My birthday is two weeks away. Usually by now I am so excited people can hardly stand to be around me. This year I have planned my birthday events around my school workload. It's a sad day in paradise to admit this sorry fact. But this is how I know I have gotten old.

Birthday celebration consists of: Friday, a trip to Cajun's Wraft for too many Play-de-doughs and dancing, Saturday, a day at the horse races in Hot Springs with beer and hot dogs, and Sunday, my actual birthday, a "Superbowl/Birthday extravaganza". So it should be a pretty eventful weekend. I guess homework will be designated to Friday day and Monday. I am looking forward to it.

I hope everyone else has a better looking semester than the one that is staring at me. A much needed break in the homework pace will be provided thanks to a birthday celebration. Then it is all up hill until May. I am trying to stay optimistic, but it is tough when 40 pages of work fill the days ahead. Until next time...