Current Thoughts. . .

I’m off to Washington DC later this afternoon with the rest of Pierce College Puyallup Student Government. We’re off to attend a national conference on Student Councils retuning on Wednesday. I am very thankful and excited for this opportunity — I have never been to Washington DC and this is only my second time on the East Coast! It will be fantastic to see our nation’s capitol and see where history is made — almost everyday!

It is my hope to post during my trip, but realize it may not happen. If I don’t post before my return, I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. Take the time to enjoy your friends and family — and of course give thanks! Then, next Friday, kick off the Holiday season!! Black Friday is one of my FAVORITE days of the year!

Stay warm!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love, love, love music. It’s a really weird obsession I have – seriously, I listen to all music (except Country) from all time periods. I am so thankful that I grew up having music a large presence in my life because music is definitely what gets me through my days. I have songs for all different times of my life and any given song can remind me of a certain time, place, or person. Music is great for nostalgia, too — which is something I fall under quite often.

I thought I would share some songs that I’m really into right now. Some are new, some are old. However, they all have some sort of meaning to me… or have some sort of memory attached.

• Snoop Dogg (feat. The-Dream): Gangsta Luv
• Britney Spears: 3
• Lady Gaga: Bad Romance
• General Public: Tenderness
• Jay-Z (feat. Swizz Beats): On to the Next One
• Kanye West (feat. Mr. Hudson): Paranoid
• Paramore: When it Rains
• The Veronicas: Untouched

Take time to enjoy the music in your life. Whether you create, write, or just listen to music — I’m sure it has an important place in your life.

This Veteran’s Day, it was definitely not a day off. I spent the day working my other job (not my Student Government job) in Lakewood. While it’s nice to get away and have a change of pace mid-week (usually I work out here on Fridays), I could have really used this day to catch up on homework and other things. However, I am reminded that so many of the Americans who serve this country go without days off for long periods at a time – so, on this Veteran’s Day, I can’t really complain for not having one extra day this week to relax and get caught up.

With that, I would like to take the time to thank all of the men and women – past, present, and future – who have and will serve this country. Without these dedicated individuals, Americans would not have so many rights and privileges. Thank you all.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

I forgot to mention one very important thing in my last post — Starbucks starts using their red holiday cups tomorrow (Tuesday, 11/3) and begin serving their holiday beverages, too (peppermint mochas, egg nog, gingerbread lattes, etc.)!! It could possibly be one of my most FAVORITE days of the year — outside of the day after Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Christmas!

Also, for all of you shoppers out there – the Women’s Half Yearly-Sale begins on Wednesday, 11/4, at Nordstrom. Get your shopping bags ready now!!! And maybe even your credit cards!

Okay, I appreciated the extra hour of sleep on Saturday night/early Sunday AM. However, after that first night there is really no benefit (for me, anyway) with falling back for the fall and winter. I get tired a lot earlier in the evening now, and wake up earlier than usual! Plus, driving home in the dark at 5:30pm isn’t really ideal, either! I guess there is a time and a place for everything, but messing with my sleep pattern isn’t my favorite! Especially when I am a night person — not an early morning person… But it looks like my body is trying to adjust with daylight savings.

Here’s hoping that we will hold off on the heavy rain and potential flooding for a few more weeks… I’m still gonna hope for SNOW in December though! (just not around the time I need to get to the airport and fly to LA!)

Have a great week!

I’ve never heard anyone say that they’re excited for Monday… unless they’re on vacation or a holiday falls on a Monday which means you don’t have to work! But you always hear people excited for Friday and the beloved WEEKEND!

I am so ready for the weekend – plus, we all get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday (thanks to Daylight Savings)! I don’t have any big Halloween plans, but I sure have a lot of personal work – homework, scholarship applications, etc. that I need to pay special attention to before these next two-three weeks hit me. Time is going by so fast, and I really have a love-hate relationship with it. Weekends save my life week after week – even though I really dislike Sundays. They are just a big let down and reminder that a WHOLE new week is ahead…

Have a fun and safe Halloween, everybody!! Also, don’t forget to set your clock back before you go to bed on Saturday night! Have a fantastic weekend!

Do I dare say it?! It’s beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS! I think I’ve hinted at this before, but I really love the Holiday season. Probably more than the average Holiday enthusiast, too! Throughout the whole year, I have nothing to look forward to – my birthday falls on December 1st, so I really have nothing to look forward to the whole year except the end of the year when everything I love happens. . . There’s just something about the Holidays that brings an immediate smile to my face. The hustle and bustle, layering of sweaters, coats, scarves, gathering of friends and family, food and beverages, and just enjoying the company of those who are in your life – I LOVE IT!

There’s about 55 days left until Christmas, and you can count on the fact that I’ve already started to listen to Christmas music, started thinking about my gift shopping list, and getting excited for all that comes with the season. . . It’s not helping that TV ads and radio ads are already starting to run Holiday ads – it just adds to my excitement. And just wait until WARM 106.9 starts playing Christmas music (they usually start BEFORE Thanksgiving) — I’ll be the happiest person in Puyallup!

Have a great week!

I’ll admit it – I’m a big Lady Gaga fan… It’s weird, either you hate her or you love her. I personally love her, but know many who hate her. No matter what anyone thinks, I genuinely believe that she has an amazing voice — especially when she sings acapella (like she did on Saturday Night Live earlier this month). Sure, she’s crude and has crazy outfits along with really unique music video concepts… but she’s still an amazing artist! Let’s not forget to mention her crazy fashion sense that is also a definite show stopper.

Lady Gaga is hitting the road next month through the end of January for her “Monster Ball” Winter 2009 tour. Unfortunately, she’s not coming to the Pacific Northwest – and the closest she’s coming is Vancouver, BC on December 9 & 10. Sadly I don’t have a passport and there probably isn’t enough time to get one. Therefore, it looks like I need to hit the road (or fly) to California for one of her shows in San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles. It just so happens that one of my best friends lives in LA and is interested in seeing Lady Gaga, too! Now I just gotta make it happen – finding cheap airfare (especially so close to Christmas) and making sure I buy a ticket to her show before it sells out! While December 2008 turned out to be a huge bust for me personally, it seems as if December 2009 is shaping up quite nicely. . . I’ll keep you all updated of my journey!

The illness that I posted about last week turned into something pretty serious. I was ordered to stay at home all week by my Dr., so I took advantage of the opportunity to catch up on sleep and let my body rest. I will admit, however, I started to go a little crazy being combined to my townhouse for five days! I seem to have recovered now, and it was great getting back to my office this morning. As I said in my post last week, illness always comes at the most inconvenient times – and last week was quite possibly one of my busiest weeks of the academic year. Fortunately, I work with an exceptional team of student leaders who were able to make sure that everything that I was lined up to manage last week was executed. This made my at home recovery go a little bit smoother.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to wash your hands, stay at home when you’re sick, and visit your doctor when you do feel like you are coming down with something. It could turn into something serious, so don’t let it go and take over your body. Embrace the illness and make your home on the couch when you’re sick – you’ll be happy you did.

Fall is here! I am just now starting to embrace the vivid colors of the trees and leaves, pumpkins, hot cider, crisp mornings, and now the rain and wind. The end of the year always gets me excited – maybe it’s because my birthday falls on December 1st and so does Christmas and New Years Eve and I don’t have anything to look forward to ALL year except the month of December… So, October is the starting point for the build up to Thanksgiving, my Birthday, Christmas shopping, being friends and family, etc. I don’t know why I don’t go ahead and embrace Fall when it gives us its first signs – probably because I am a sun worshipper to some extent, too! Having spent over two weeks in Palm Springs, CA this Summer (and then a weekend in Phoenix right before the academic year started) I have embraced sunny and HOT weather. But, like I said – it’s something about Fall and Winter that makes me smile.

Break out your scarves, Uggs, sweaters, and layering pieces… Oh, and don’t forget the umbrella. Embrace the season and be thankful that you’ve made it through (almost) another fantastic year!

Until next time,

LA