An Up and Down Kind of Week

This post is so difficult for me to write. I've had a lot of ups and downs in the past seven days, and I am still trying to process it all. Sorry for a downer, but I want to make sure to keep my blog real and write what I feel.

The "Big Creek" Owl Emblem 

This past week I was in Caretta, an unincorperated town in the southernmost county of West Virginia. You may be familiar with the area if you have seen the movie Rocketboys. The organization that I work for has a long-standing partnership with the nonprofit organization Big Creek People in Action. We had a great week working on 3 different families' roofs and had an even better time getting to know the people of Caretta and each other. I am sad since this was the last time I will get to work with most of my students before I go to graduate school.

Our six hour drive back to Kentucky was extended by another half hour or so when the HUGE Suburban that I was driving got a flat tire. It was definitely the worst flat tire I have ever had, but with the help of two of the great men on our trip, it was fixed.

:(

After I got home I really thought my vehicle troubles were over. D was at my house working on a grant proposal and I went to sleep. D woke me up around three to tell me the worst news I have had in a long time. Someone had vandalized my car.

I haven't told you all this, but last month I bought a brand new Honda Civic. I saved up a big portion of my pay check each month and worked hard to research what types of cars would be right for me. I felt sick when D told me this had happened and had to go directly outside to file a report with the police officer who was outside.

I found out that someone (who we could not identify or locate) broke a large vodka bottle and used it to put four long scratches on my car. They then took the potting soil from next to my back door and poured it all over my car.

I know it sounds cliche, but the damage to my feelings of safety and my mental health are much worse than the damage to my car. The scratches may even just buff out, and they are not even as deep as they could have been if the person/people had keyed my car.

I don't know who it could have been, and truthfully I believe it was a random act of people under the influence of some sort of substance. I have been contemplating moving to another type of campus housing for the last month of my employment here, but I may just stick it out and park my car elsewhere. It really scares me to be alone in my house, but I don't think it will be happening again and don't want to run from a problem when I don't need to.

Reflections on my First Year Post College

I graduated one year ago this Sunday. 

It is still so strange to think that I have not been a student for a year, but since I work for my alma mater, live in a college-provided house, eat meals in the dining hall, and have many of the same friends it is difficult to realize all of the changes that have occurred and at the same time how little has really changed in my life over the past 365 days. 

My big life changes were postponed a year, and they will start very soon. As a senior in college I wasn't sure "what I wanted to do with my life". I knew I wanted a family, wanted to be happy, and probably would want to continue crafting, reading a lot, and travelling. This year helped me really decide what I wanted out of my professional life. So I took the plunge and applied to graduate school. 

I was so nervous to turn in the application. The school was too competitive. The program lasted a long time. Maybe I was not ready to make such a big decision. Ultimately I applied but didn't expect to get in this year. But I did. So this fall I will be moving to Nashville to start graduate school in Sociology. I am incredibly excited and scared. 

I am ecstatic to have such a great opportunity and  already trying to figure out where to live, what I need, and how to pack up all of my things and decide what is worth taking. I can't wait to experience and share this new chapter in my life! I will be very sad to leave my college; it has been my home for five years, my treasured school, and my first "real" employer. I can't say enough good things about it, but I will miss it dearly.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mom Rose. She has been a mother for 23 years as of tomorrow and actually became a mom on mother's day in 1989. I couldn't ask for a better or more supportive mom.

I hope all of you have a lovely day with your moms. I can't go home to see my mom this year, but I am so happy to be moving back to Nashville this July and am thrilled to get to spend more time with all of the members of my family!

No More Sleeping on Wet Hair!

I have always hated to blow dry my hair. I will choose to shower at night and sleep on wet hair rather than try to deal with a bad blow dryer, long hair, and a lack of drying technique. I really don't understand how some ladies can get gorgeous hair with a round brush and blow dryer.

Luckily, something happened that has changed that for me! I was so lucky to be contacted by Brian from misikko.com to review the best blow dryer on the market! Really y'all, I have no idea why I was selected, but I jumped at the offer. The reviews online are SO positive, and I could obviously benefit from a dryer that doesn't take forever to dry my hair.

The dryer I was sent to review is the Hana Air Premier Hair Dryer. Whoa. Even the name sounds intense, but I was so not prepared for what a wonderful experience it would be. The package that arrived on my doorstep was big enough to hold four hairdryers. I excitedly unwrapped it and not only found this awesome hair dryer but Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner in a nice tin, an eye mask, nail files, hand sanitizer, an awesome towel hair wrap, and many other wonderful surprises. After poking around more on their website, I found out that they send these extra goodies with all orders! How nice!

Anyways, I was so impressed with the dryer. I have been using it for two months and could not be more satisfied. It has a long cord, doesn't get too hot, and dries my SUPER LONG hair in about 6 minutes. This is so much faster than my Target blow dryer ever could do. The only potential downside to this dryer is the cost. It retails for $334, but it is on sale with Misikko right now for $194. It seems very sturdy though, and as they say, you get what you pay for. I can tell it is high quality and is going to last a very long time.

Misikko also sells awesome hair straighteners, and I will definitely be considering getting one of them as well. After the great experience I had with the company and their products, I will definitely be keeping them in mind when looking for hair tools! You can bet I no longer sleep on wet hair!

(Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. I was sent the product for review. All opinions are my own!)

Resolutions

Everyone seems to take New Years as a time to make their lives better, make changes, and resolve to improve themselves. I believe that happiness is a choice and that I am in charge of making myself happy and loving myself. Because of this, I am constantly setting and working on new goals. You can see from my 101 in 1001 challenge that I love trying new things and keeping myself accountable. This year I set 12 resolutions (12 in 2012). They are mostly habits that I want to form or break based on how I already live my life.

So here they are, the resolutions of 2012. 

Some will be difficult to achieve, but if you don't set goals you have no chance of reaching them.

1. Eat out no more than once per week. D and I have gotten into the habit of eating out often, and even though I love to cook I haven't done as musch cooking as I should.
2. Do something active each day. I absolutely love Pop Pilates for days when it is gloomy outside or I miss the hours when the gym is open. This leaves no excuse for not being active since the workouts are so much fun!
3. Take more pictures. Y'all may have noticed that I still haven't uncovered my camera from moving. I know it is awful, but I think I may be able to find it; after that, expect many more glimpses into my life!
4. Keep up a regular beauty routine. I love getting new beauty products, but I am awful at incorporating them into my daily routine. I am going to try SO hard on this one!
5. Blog Regularly. This is the one y'all can keep me accountable on, haha!
6. No more coke. This one will be one of the most difficult. Truthfully, I have already broken it. I am not sure that I can totally eliminate soft drinks from my diet, but I definitely can drink less of them. And hey, any progress is good progress, right?
7. Tell D something I love about him each day. Sometimes it is easy to take for granted the people you love the most, and y'all, D is a great boyfriend and friend. It should be no trouble at all to let him know how much he means to me.

8. Read more for pleasure. I get too busy at times, and need to remember how relaxing it is to read for fun and not for any particular purpose. Hopefully I will be adding many more books to my reading list.

via pinterest

9. Clear my email inbox each day. I hate having 30+ emails in my inbox, and need to just get it done!
10. Learn to cook 12 new dishes. This is only one per month, and with my "iron chef" pinterest board, I should have plenty of fodder for new cooking fun.
11. Keep in touch with old friends monthly. I love chatting with old friends and writing letters, so I just need to make it a priority in my life.

12. Grow an herb garden. A fun goal to round out the list!

via pinterest

Homemade Eggnog

This year my dad and I decided to make homemade eggnog for Christmas. My parents raise chickens, so we have an abundance of eggs and are able to make lots of great, fresh treats!

This is Emma, one of our sweet hens who makes great eggnog eggs.

The recipe we used did not take long to make and tasted great. It did call for bourbon, but you could definitely leave that out (or use rum in its place) and get great eggnog. I also would have liked to add more nutmeg or some cinnamon. The recipe is from a sheet that my dad printed out quite awhile ago, so I'm not sure how to credit it. If you are familiar with the recipe and know where it is from, please let me know!

12 eggs separated
6 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups bourbon
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

In a large bowl use a mixer to beat egg yolks together with sugar until the mixture to be firm and the color of butter.
Very slowly, add in the bourbon a little bit at a time while mixing.
Chill for 30 minutes
Stir milk into chilled yolk mixture.
Stir in ground nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream on high speed with mixer until the cream forms stiff peaks.In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Then fold the cream into the egg mixture.

Let me know if you try it! It is a great recipe. I would recommend that you drink it within 2 days so that it is fresh.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope that you have a great time with family and friends.