My new motto!

Let me just preface this post with one little fact: I don't mind writing. I actually think I could grow to like, maybe even love it if I spend more time actually sitting in front of my computer and typing away. However, I find it daunting, overwhelming, and frightening. That's why I am loving the book I'm currently reading, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. She has broken down the process of writing into manageable steps! Who knew! I'm still overwhelmed with the amount of things I can write about, but at least I know where to start. Throughout the next few weeks I'll be sharing thoughts on my readings and samples of my writing. Comments and criticisms (be nice) are always appreciated, so fire away!

One thing that jumped out at me as I read, was this quote in the chapter entitled Perfectionism: "Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground." This will be my new motto! Now, I'll admit that I like this quote out of context because I tend to be slightly on the messy side... Ok, I practically rule the messy side. But I like my life that way! And Lamott has made me feel proud of my messiness! Even if the clutter she references probably isn't the same type of clutter that clogs my nightstand, computer desk, closet, and bookshelf, I think both ideas are distant cousins. I know I'm a cluttered writer. Although I rarely save drafts of pieces I've written, I know that they tend to branch off in multiple directions, often losing focus and purpose until I go back through and weed through the bits and pieces that suffocate the really good parts.

Lamott also instructs writers to write small assignments. She encourages writers to get through the inevitable writer's block by just writing one paragraph, one paragraph of dialogue, or one setting description, for example. I'm going to try this daily. Knowing me, I'll probably end up with more than one paragraph on most days. Even if what I write will probably end up as a "shitty first draft" as Lamott calls it, I'm ok with that.

So from now on, I'm going to live by my new motto and embrace my clutter! I'm going to get all of my thoughts out and weed through them later. Chances are, somewhere within all of the junk, there will be a small gem waiting to be polished.

Ok, I said I was going to blog every day, so here goes!

Last week I had a lot of fun on my pseudo-spring break. I say "pseudo" because I still had to work, and I had a TON of homework to do! So, it really didn't feel like a break. But I did get away for a little bit... Thursday night I went to the BOB with Carrie, Jenna, Matt, and some of Matt's friends. We had a really nice dinner, mini bottles of champagne (YUM), and went to Dr. Grins for a night of laughing. I also tried a new drink, Nuts and Berries. I'm sure it was about a million calories, but it was delicious. It was hazelnut Bailey's, Chambord, and cream.

The comedians were hilarious! Dwayne Gill was the first guy, who had actually spent some time in lil ole Ionia! Of course, he had a lot of funny things to say about my hometown. The headliner, Matt Kirschen, was a riot! I was laughing so hard, at one point I had tears coming out of my eyes! Go see them if you can. You will not be disappointed!

Here's a pic of Carrie, Me, and Jenna from dinner:

I've got LOTS more to blog about, but I also have 5 papers and 3 exams in the next 9 days, so I'm swamped! I promise I'll blog a littttle more tomorrow : )

Daily Musing...

As I've mentioned before, I have attended/will be attending a total of 9 weddings in a 13 month period. So far, I've been to 3 and they were each amazing in their own way. With 6 more coming up (one in 10 days!!!!), I'm constantly perusing bridal blogs and coming up with new loves. As I was browsing the other day, I came across this oh-so-adorable suite from Studio on Fire. I'm a huge music lover so these jumped out at me. Plus, the combination of bright colors + letterpress = invitations that are so unique, people will be talking about them long after you say your I Do's! Maybe it's the graphic designer in me (or the remnants of that one year in college where I was a graphic design major), but I LOVE interesting type and fonts.

Big Loser

Well.... I did it! I'm the Biggest Loser out of the 11 people who started : ) It was tough, but SOOO rewarding. I ended up losing 23.2 pounds, and as a group we lost over 80! I thought we did a great job encouraging each other and trading yummy healthy recipes. We're going to start again in a week, so I've got to get ready to kick some butt! Today I purchased some new running shoes so I can start training myself to run. I really want to run a 5K, so I figured I need to get off my butt and start working on it. I'm going to use these podcasts to help me out. I also purchased some new running shoes... because, let's face it, new shoes are a good incentive for anything!

And- because Jessica of this amazing blog always says every blog deserves a pretty picture, here's my inspiration! I'm headed to North Carolina at the end of May and I want to run one morning on the beach!
I think I would feel guilty disturbing the perfect sand with my footprints!

Super Quick Catch-Up!

Ok, Ok, Ok... I know it's been FOREVER since I last blogged. I'm a horrible blogging slacker. But... I've been very busy (I know, a likely story). Rather than post a new entry for each and every thing I've done over the last month, I'm just going to post a few highlights with captions. Sorry - but you're really not missing much : )

I hereby vow to [try] and blog each and every day [or at least 5 out of 7] so add me to your reader and prepare to be amazed! Haha... not really : )

Here's a pic of me and Linds from the Oakwood in March. I got horrrrrribly sick after this night. No, it wasn't from drinking, it was the worst sinus/headcold crap I've had in a long time.

Me + Linds + Steph at the Oakwood... Happy B-day Stephers! [please pardon the black eyes... apparently my red-eye removal doesn't know what it's doing]

A pic of me + Erin + Jenna at Amanda's bachelorette dinner at the B.O.B in GR. As you can see, I'm still feeling slightly under the weather at this point. Don't you LOVE our coordinating brown and blue outfits! All the better to match the wedding, my dear : )
And a pic of the custom-made, ribbon-trimmed bachelorette veil that my sister and I made for Amanda! (Yes, we actually are that talented!)
Erin and I in Bay City for St. Pat's Day!! The ONLY place to celebrate (other than Ireland, of course). How much do you love our headbands!
...and my classy t-shirt for the day ; )

Quick pic with two of my favorite boys : ) We had a meeting in East Lansing so we decided to come down the night before and pretend we were still in college for a night at Harpers
Jenna and I! I love this girl!
Kase, Jen and I at Harpers for the MSU v. UConn game! GO GREEN!

Absolute pandemonium after the Spartan win! Victory for MSU!!

Goodies!

So, my plans for this past weekend changed about 400 times before I actually decided on what to do. First I was going to visit Jenna, but then I realized I was overwhelmed with homework and the drive there, going out, staying the night, and driving back probably wasn't the best use o my time. Then I almost had to puppy-sit for Frank while my mom and Jim went to the casino. Then ended up not going, so that left me with an open weekend. Until Thursday. Thursday I was listening to the radio and heard about a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser where they auctioned off Bachelors and Bachelorettes. I convinced Matt to go but then, for reasons which shall remain nameless to protect the guilty, I did not go. THEN I was going to go to Bay City to visit people and go out with one of the girls that works in Ionia. Her bowling tournaments were in Bay City and I thought it would be a good time to head up there. But, Saturday morning, before I left for my hair appointment, Brenda called and asked me if I wanted to ride with her to visit Jenna and do some shopping. Initially I said no, but after thinking about it I realized I was crazy! Of course I wanted to shop and see Jenna (and maybe go to the casino)!! So after my hair appointment I headed over to Lyons and we set off for Farmington Hills.


We had a great time, as expected with the Lemke women. We went to Twelve Oaks mall, where I was about to walk out empty handed... until I glanced over at FYE and saw they had a ton of TV on DVD for $10 a season! I was thrilled because I saw Friends! But... lurking on the other side of the shelf was... GILMORE GIRLS! I've been wanting the series for quite some time now, so I figured this was the best time to get it. The sale ended up being $27 per series with a mail in rebate of $17 so the price is $10. So to get the actual $10 price it's going to take some work, but I figured I'd never find them for that price again. Here is my second favorite purchase of the day!
Yes, I said my second favorite purchase. My ultimate favorite purchase of the day would have to be my new red leather Coach purse. I LOVE IT! It's the perfect size for all of my stuff, with little compartments on the inside. And the straps are the perfect length to perfectly fit over my shoulder. I also picked up a purse and little coin purse for Lindsey for her birthday in August. She says she doesnt want to use them til her birthday, but I told her I couldn't guarantee they'd last in the tissue paper that long!

The lighting doesnt do it justice, but I still think it's pretty cute!

My favorite little man!

I was cleaning out my camera and I came across quite a few pictures of Carter so I figured they deserved a blog post. Seriously, how cute is he! For Christmas, I took him to Build-A-Bear so he could make a T-Rex. He was much more interested in running around and playing with the kids instead of actually building a bear...

Carter and Mommy!

Carter and I giving Rex a bath!

Typing up Rex's birth certificate!

Carter with the finished product! Rex with a yellow hard hat, just like Carter's!

I picked up this book at Borders called "I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean!" It was pretty cheesy but he seemed to like it. He read it over and over to himself and pointed out the blue and purple pages : )

What a happy face!

Reading it for about the fourth time

Carter and Ashley came over and surprised me today! Carter looked super cute in his lil' train conductor pants! Here he's looking at Justin's fish bubble thing and turned around when I snapped the pic. He kinda looks goofy, but he's still cute!

Watchin a little bit of Nemo!

Ashley and James bought me this beautiful necklace, "just because" they appreciate how much I love their baby. How nice is that (and how can I NOT love Carter!). I LOVE the necklace and can't wait to wear it! It's a beautiful diamond and sapphire pendant and it's very sparkly!!