Busy-ness

My life is about to get ridiculously busy this week. I'll have school (I'm taking 5 classes) three times a week and will be working about 26 hours a week. Plus, I got the internship at the hotel! So I'll be there three times a week.

On top of that, I will be helping my best friend plan her wedding for January 5th. She got engaged on the 4th of July, so they were thinking about a May wedding. Then, they decided to change it to January...as in 3 months from now! I have a bridal shower to plan in December. I've never planned a shower before, so I'm not too sure what to do. All I know is that the invites will look like this:

via Etsy and Pinterest

And her wedding colors/theme is peacock, so I'll make the invites in a matching color palate. Her and her fiance have been dating for a few years and I'm so happy for them! And I'm excited to plan my first bridal shower! It will definitely be an adventure.

Lately...

A few things have been happening lately...

School started last Thursday. I'm not too happy to be back, 

buuuuuut I am kinda excited because this will be my last "real" quarter. Yay! 

Textbooks and other online course access fees cost me about $250 this quarter, 

which is definitely NOT a nice number.

I stopped interning at GBK Productions in Hollywood. There were a number of reasons I decided not to continue interning. It's a great company, but it just was not the right fit for me. 

I have an interview with the Radisson on Friday morning though!

I did get a manicure and pedicure for the first time in years and it was AH-MAY-ZING! 

I wish I had money to get them every other week. 

(Or that my nail polish would just stay on for longer than 6 hours when I paint my own nails!)

 One of my friends is in the hospital with the West Nile Virus. She isn't doing too great. The last I heard, she was still on the respirator (and has been for the past 2 weeks) and she still can't really move anything but her feet. Please keep her and her family (husband and 5 year old daughter) in your prayers.

Other than that, still just working in the office and with the babies at church and that's about all.

Busy, but nothing too interesting.

To Do

There are so many things I want to do. I might keep adding items to my 21st Year List here. What do you think; can I add on more or should I just be happy with what I've already written? I think that I can add more until my birthday. That sounds fair to me, so that is what I will do. I have some goals for this blog too. Actually, they are more like stepping stones to get to the ultimate goal that's mentioned on my list. So maybe I'll put that list up on Saturday. After that, I promise not to do anymore lists for a while!

10 Things to do in my 21st Year of Life

1. Learn to use Photoshop
2. Ride horses with my boyfriend (Surprised? I do have one though. I just haven't mentioned him yet, even though he plays a major role in my life. Maybe I'll talk about him in a future post.)
3. Buy a bike (a cute yellow one!)
4. Go on a vacation (Not a family vacay, those don't count)
5. Learn to knit a beanie
6. Grow out my hair
7. Have 300 followers on Ampersand
8. Learn to use Illustrator
9. Graduate college
10. Get a full time job! 

I'll update you on this list as I get things crossed off!

Adult-ness

My 21st birthday is almost here (10 days!). It's exciting because I'll officially officially be an adult, but it's not like I'll go crazy and start getting drunk every night (or at all. Apparently, being drunk isn't pleasant and I don't want to do anything stupid, so I'm happy sober. Thank you kindly). Anyway, it doesn't seem like the huuuge milestone everyone makes it out to be since the only thing that changes is that I'll legally be able to drink. Besides that, I just don't feel 21. 21 always seemed like it was so old and I really don't feel that old. Maybe I'll feel older once I graduate college? Maybe when I get a full time job? Maybe. Probably not. We will see though, huh? I'll let you know when I start to feel my age. Actually, I take that back. I feel old when I realize that my little brother is a junior in high school. A junior! And, girls actually like him! Yuck! :) So yes, when I think about that, I feel old.

Anyway, I'm writing a list of things I want to do in my 21st year of living. I'll post that next. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Throw Yourself A Party

So already I’m falling behind with posting. Booo! I figured out what the problem is though. I need to post on Tuesday. If I don’t do it on Tuesday, then it won’t get done until Saturday. So I will start posting on Tuesdays and Saturdays! You probably don’t need to know that, but it will help me in the future. Promise.

But, here I am getting off on a tangent before I even start writing. So, without further ado, today’s post…

Babies! Most of us are drawn towards them (especially if they aren’t our own). Babies are cute. They have huge eyes, long eyelashes, chubby arms and legs, toothless smiles, and the most adorable wobbly walks. Plus, they have a general excitement for living life. Anything and everything is new and fun and has the potential to be a great adventure.

I bring babies up though, not to just talk about how adorable they are, but to tell a story and make a point. Children, even infants, know the difference between right and wrong. They know if they are supposed to do something or not. Just the other day, in the toddler class at church, one on our babies finished eating the goldfish we had given him, so he went over and threw his cup away. None of us teachers were really paying attention to him, but he knew he had done what he was supposed to do. He yelled, “Yaaaaayyyyyy!” and started clapping for himself with a huge grin on his face. Cutest. Thing. Ever.

Seeing this toddler’s reaction made me think. So many times, we do things and then look for others’ approval. Even though we know that we did what we were supposed to do, we still need other people around us to affirm our actions or words. This little boy saw that nobody else was paying attention, so he threw his our party. Sometimes we need to do this for ourselves, because nobody else is doing it for us. I once heard a quote that said, “Toot your own horn, because no one else will toot it for you.”

So, I encourage you. Get out there and toot your own horn. Give yourself a pep talk. Write yourself an encouraging note. Pat yourself on the back or make cookies when you accomplish something. YOU CAN DO IT!

Do you encourage yourself? In what ways? Does it make you feel better?

Three Things

So I think my first few posts will just be me, clearing my head of everything that is happening to me at the moment. And maybe with some random thoughts will be thrown in for good measure. Who knows? Thankfully, this is my blog so I can post whatever I want. :) And so far, I am off to a good start. Two posts in a week. Woot! 

Anyway, the second thing I am hoping that this blog will do is help me with my career search. I’m thinking that if I have a good blog going and know the ins and outs of blogging, then maybe I’ll be able to land the job of my dreams, which is… Ok, I have no idea what the job of my dreams is. I know what it may involve, but I don’t specifically have a dream job.

 I know that it involves helping people (especially children) rise above the poverty around them. Not just giving them a fish, but actually taking the time to teach them how to fish so they can have an independent future. Not a future where they have to depend on others to provide for them. Once they have learned how to fish, then they may be willing to teach others around them. Poverty is such a big problem, no matter where you are in the world, but I have learned that even the smallest change can make a big difference. Ever heard of the ripple effect?

I also know that my dream job includes creativity. I would die just sitting at a desk doing mindless tasks for eight hours a day. I want to do something that will stretch my mind and allow me to use my creativity. And if I could work from home after a few years with the company, then that would be great!

I would also love to travel (or get a lot of paid vacation!) Traveling is so much fun. Not only because I get to see different parts of the world, but because I can see different cultures. How people live and do things differently than we do here in Southern California. And collecting things from different countries is fun too!

Aside from these three things, I’m not too sure what else I may be doing in the future. I just know that these are the things I’m passionate (read: madly in love with) and I would love if I could find a job that includes all of the above.

What are you passionate about? What would your dream job be and why? Are you working your dream job now? If you are, tips on how you got there would be very much appreciated!