ZzZzZzZz…

Lately I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I went through a period of about a year where I couldn’t sleep  soundly at all -- I would wake up several times a night in a cold sweat. For the past year I’ve slept like a baby… I usually even go to bed at a decent time!

Lately though I’ve had some troubles. I don’t get tired until late at night, but all day long I am completely exhausted. I don’t know what’s gotten into me but I certainly don’t like it!

Do you have good tips for sleep? I’ve tried tea, but even decaf hypes me up. Maybe it is because it’s a hot drink and I don’t usually drink those.  I purchased a sleepytime candle on Black Friday but haven’t gotten a chance to try it out yet. I’ll let y’all know what happens!

What I’m Reading… 11/29

Since my last “What I’m Reading” post, I’ve finished FIVE books!

Thanks to my recent reading spurt, I’m only five books away from meeting my 2011 goal! I’m reading a few different books right now and I still have the whole month of December left!

You can follow me on Goodreads if you’re interested in more frequent updates. I try to update my progress once a day!

Fighting Like Cats & Dogs

While in Tennessee, my dog has had a really rough time sharing attention with a cat.

I wish they could just get along!

My dog Ozzie is used to being the center of attention, and my grandma’s cat Lulu is used to being the center of attention too! Lulu stays in a separate room, but Ozzie can see into it and he gets very excited when he sees her. She hissed at him the one time we tried to put them together.

Lulu is still a kitty… she’s still weighs 3 pounds and Ozzie is full grown at 12. Hopefully the next time we come up Lulu will be big enough to defend herself and play with Ozzie.a

Outrageous Christmas Wish List

So in my mind I have a few wish lists going. One is of things that I could conceivably get and would be of some use to me in my life. Another one is a semi-outrageous list of things I don’t need at all but would be nice to have.

I’d love the full set of Muppets Tervis Tumblers.

The $2,000 Yurman Morganite Cable Classic is so pretty but so expensive!

I have no idea where I’d wear this Kate Spade necklace but it sure is pretty!

Now I won’t lie, everyone in my family knows I want an iPad REALLY badly. But I doubt I’ll get it. They are awesome though.

College Football

As the college football (my favorite sport) season comes to a close, I thought I’d do a post about some of my favorite teams!

I go to school at UCF, so obviously I’m including them. We didn’t have a great season this year for my senior season (5-7), but hopefully they’ll be better next year.

My mother is from Tennessee, so I’ve grown up cheering for the Volunteers. It’s been a disappointing few years for the Vols but I think next year will be our year!

 

The same way I cheer for Tennessee, I cheer for WVU. My dad is from West Virginia so I’ve cheered for WVU my whole life as well. I’m so excited that they’ll be in the Big 12 next year!

Who are your favorite college football teams??

Black Friday!!!

I go out for Black Friday EVERY year! Usually we head out at 3 am but this year since so many stores are opening at midnight we are leaving the house at around 11:30! I’m actually writing this blog at around 8 and taking a nap before I have to go out!

Our plan of attack is Target, Kohls, Bath and Body Works, Belk, JC Penney, and then wherever else we end up!

Are you going out for Black Friday? Where do you plan to go?

Things I Love Thursday: Thanksgiving Edition

Call me a cheeseball but Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! I always go to Tennessee to visit family and we have such a great time!  Here are some pictures from last year.

I am also really excited for the Macy*s Parade! Do you think they will have a Kermit balloon this year?

Also Thanksgiving marks the start of the Christmas season! Lights, decorations, and listening to Christmas music without getting funny looks… what more could a girl ask for?

I have so many thing to be thankful for this year, but mostly I’m thankful for my/my family’s good health and happiness! Have a happy Thanksgiving y’all!

Thanksgiving Favorites

Most people like traditional Thanksgiving foods, like stuffing or cranberry sauce. Not me.

Squash Casserole is my FAVORITE Thanksgiving dish! Squash, eggs, peppers, and LOTS of cheese!  What could be better?

Travel Necessities

Today I will be spending 10+ hours in a minivan driving up to Tennessee for family time over Thanksgiving break.  I’ve been making this trek with my family since I was born though, so I’ve gotten pretty good at being prepared for long car rides

The most important thing to have with you is a good book! I just finished The Hunger Games, but if I hadn’t been completely glued to it all day Monday I would’ve brought it with me in the car. Hopefully I’ll download/find Catching Fire early in the day!

Movies to watch on your laptop/personal DVD player are also a must to pass the time! Some of my favorite movies to watch on road trips are Enchanted, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Hairspray!

This last one is pretty obvious. If you have your laptop. there’s always something to do! Whether it’s play games like The Sims or Angry Birds or possibly finish your homework (just a suggestion =P) , there’s always SOMETHING that can be done on your laptop.

What are your travel necessities?

Sick Favorites

I've been sick in bed all weekend (except for the hour I spent at Best Buy on Saturday with my laptop). Luckily I don’t have classes this week and I am starting to feel better!  These are some of my favorite things to have or do while I'm sick.

Eos Lipbalm is my favorite in general, but it’s especially nice to have a really hydrating lip balm while you’re sick. I find that whenever I am sick my lips always get really chapped.  The flat bottom on the Eos is really handy to sit on your nightstand without fear of getting toppled over!

The tissues of the gods.  Puffs plus lotion are my absolute favorite tissues because they are soothing on your nose. When you’re so sick you’re going through a box of tissues a day, it’s very rare that you find one that doesn’t crack the edges of your nose. If you’re congested I recommend Puffs Plus Vicks as well!

If you follow me on twitter you might remember that about 6 months ago I deactivated my Netflix account.  I am really busy, and I  didn’t feel like spending $10 a month in the off chance I might get a chance watch one or two movies. Luckily my brother has turned into a bit of a cinephile lately, so my mom purchased him a Netflix subscription. He logged me onto his account on my mom’s computer and I’ve spent the better part of my weekend in bed watching movies like Tangled!

I’ve also played a shameful amount of Mario Kart Wii. Toadette is my favorite!

What do you like to do when you’re sick in bed? I’m really glad that I don’t have classes to worry about this week and I got to sit around and relax while I’m sick for the first time since starting college!

So long, farewell

My poor aluminum Macbook was sent away to Geeksquad tonight.

Hopefully it is an easy fix and I can get it back in about 3 weeks. Until then I am using my mom's PC... I haven't used a PC in years! Really the only thing I like so far is the "Snap" feature... I am always multitasking and this makes it so easy!

I miss my Mac keyboard, the command key, and my twitter app! Are there any good Twitter desktop applications for Windows?

Sexiest Man Alive...?

Unless you've been living under a rock this week, you have probably already heard that Bradley Cooper has been named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2011. While there's no denying that he is beyond attractive, there has been a cult movement against him!

Over 500,000 people have read a Buzzfeed article called "63 Reasons Why Bradley Cooper Definitely Isn't The Sexiest Man Alive" in the last three days. The article, by Matt Stopera, contains 63 pictures of Ryan Gosling. Making me pick between Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper is like making me choose between nail polish and eyeshadow--if my life depended on this decision I'm sure I could make it, but since it doesn't I'll take both.

Who's your "Sexiest Man Alive" for this year? I can't in good conscience say anyone but Luke Bryan. He is just so cute!

OPI Muppets Collection: Excuse Moi!

Y'all know I love anything Muppets and beauty-related. Well OPI's holiday nail polish collection this year is Muppets themed!

I was at Ulta today and couldn't pass up my favorite brand of nail polish and my favorite Puppets! I picked up Warm and Fozzie as well as Excuse Moi!

As soon as I got home today I painted my nails with Excuse Moi! It is a perfect pink/red base with silver microglitter and rainbow glitter chunks.

Excuse my terrible nail painting skills! I really LOVE this color even though it isn't very holiday-themed. It would be great for New Years Eve with a LBD and some other glittery accessories!

Once I try out Warm & Fozzie I will do a post with some pictures of that as well =] On a related note, does anyone have good clear top coat recommendations? Mine has been causing my nail polish to peel off! I had a hunch that the top coat I was using had gotten old or wasn't working so I painted a few nails without it and LO AND BEHOLD those haven't chipped 

Things I Love Thursday: Kate Spade

More specifically, Kate Spade's tumblr. Do you follow them? They always post the best photos!

Winter Accessories

Even though it's going to be 86 here today, I am really ready for winter. I'm going to Tennessee next week for Thanksgiving and it's not even that cold there! I really wish it was. There are so many cute winter accessories!

H&M has this adorable red scarf with POCKETS! Whoever thought of pockets in a scarf deserves a prize.

I love this beanie from Forever 21... the bow is just too cute!

This animal print metallic scarf is great to make a neutral outfit a little more interesting!

I couldn't talk about wintery accessories without including one of Lilly Pulitzer's Murfee scarves. I love the Bravissimo print--navy and pink is my favorite color combo!

Organizing my Desk

The big organization project I've been trying to get done for YEARS is my desk at home. I was at home studying for finals all weekend and it really got to me.  Warning: These pictures are TERRIBLE.

I'm not proud of this picture, but if I don't post it I'll have no motivation! There is so much clutter! I don't have many surfaces in my room so I use my desk for storage, makeup, studying, and everything else!

There is SO much stuff there! I really need to go through and get rid of most of it. I don't have time to even really start this until Winter Break, but once I'm home from finals I'm going in head first! I'll definitely post pictures or maybe a video tour of my reorganized desk!

Bonus Picture! Studying has CONSUMED MY LIFE. I have two finals, one exam, one in class paper, and two quizzes this week. Can it be Thanksgiving Break already???

TV Shows I'm Loving

I thought for today's blog post I'd let you guys know a little about some of my favorite TV shows. Only one of these is new, but they are all awesome and SO funny! I am a huge comedy fan and that's definitely reflected in my television choices.

Monday 8:00 PM - CBS

How I Met Your Mother is a show I found one night while channel surfing to procrastinate on some homework and BOY am I glad I found it! I got sick a few weeks later at a very opportune time while I wasn't missing much in my classes and watched EVERY EPISODE within a week. I love that while it's funny like a traditional sitcom, it's format is totally different--there actually so many flash backs/flash forwards that it can't be filmed in front of a live studio audience. It's really creative and unique and I think everyone should at least try to catch a couple of reruns now that it is in heavy syndication.

Tuesday 9:00 PM - FOX

New Girl is one of two new shows I have gotten around to watching this Fall (but it's the only one I can watch live).  Jess's relationship with her roommates is so funny and her quirks and mannerisms remind me so much of myself! I love when I can see myself either as or being friends with characters in a show--that's how I know it's realistic! If you haven't seen any of the episodes of New Girl yet, you really have to check it out.

Thursday 8:00 PM - CBS

The Big Bang Theory is an oldie but goodie for me. I've been watching week in and week out since the second season. I see a lot more of myself in Sheldon than I probably should, but I know people like ALL of the characters.  The group is (in general) a really smart bunch, and I think that being kinda nerdy and having a lot of nerdy friends really makes this show speak to me.  I know plenty of non-nerdy people who love it too though!

Thursday 8:30 PM - NBC

Parks and Recreation is probably my vote for most underrated comedy on TV right now.  Amy Poehler is so gosh darned funny as Leslie Knope, a member of the Parks and Recreation department of Pawnee, Indiana.  The rest of the cast play roles that you see in every job you've ever had. There's the person who doesn't care, the person everyone makes fun of, and the person who has NO CLUE what is going on. Ever. 

Hope this has inspired you to check out some of my favorite TV shows! I also consistently have been watching Up All Night, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Does anyone else feel the same way about some shows in their first season? Also, I am really missing 30 Rock! Can't wait for that to get back on the air!