Books

So I went to the book expo in May, and found tons of books that are coming out this summer and fall. Below are the books that I collected. Some books are out already and some are not. Let me know if you would like to borrow any!

Sima's Undergarments for Women - Ilana Stanger Ross

The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas

Bliss, Remembered - Frank Deford

Voice of America - E. C. Osondu

Think of a Numb3r - John Verdon

Ape House - Sara Gruen

A Call From Jersey - P.F. Kluge

I also have magazines of the books that are coming out in 2010. If you want to see what different publishing companies are coming out with, let me know!

10 Goals

Hey everyone, I am back! Sorry I haven't written anything in a while, I've been busy finishing my summer class and traveling to the Hamptons and the Jersey Shore. But now I have some extra time, and hope to use some of it for blogging.

As promised in my last blog, I have come up with some things I would like to do while I am 23 years old. I have been doing a lot of thinking about this list, and I am still not done. I have come up with 10 things so far.

1. Be vegetarian for a month- Last semester in class, someone gave a presentation about how unhealthy meat can be. Not sure I completely agree, but she convinced me to try and be vegetarian. At first I was going to be pescatarian, since I love sushi, but after the oil spill, I've decided to spare the fish as well!

2. Go Green- In my summer class, we created a unit lesson based on the 4 R's: Recycle, Reduce, Reuse and React. I realized that if I ever taught this in a class, I would want to be able to tell my students that I am green. It's very simple to recycle, reduce and reuse. I will keep everyone updated as I Go Green.

3. Volunteer- I love volunteering. It is something that I wish I had done more of in college. This year, I would like to volunteer at least once a week. If anyone has any recommendations of where to volunteer, it would be greatly appreciated!

4. Send out Birthday Cards- Everyone loves to get mail! Let me know when your birthday is, and send me your address!

5. Learn How to Cook- I am honestly not sure if this goal will ever get accomplished, but I feel like I should learn how to cook. All I know how to make is pasta. And I can microwave. If anyone is willing to give me cooking lessons, please let me know. At the moment, all I would like to learn how to cook are eggs and pancakes. If you think of anything else I should learn how to make, just tell me!

6. Go to the gym at least 3 days a week-I feel accomplished and good about myself when I go to the gym.

7. Watch/Listen/Read the News- I am really bad at paying attention to any news stories. I think it's time I am in the know about what is going on around the world.

8. Blog at least once a week- I need to stop falling behind on my blogging!!!

9. Write about books- During the winter, I tried to write summaries about each book I read. It was fun to do, and it's great to have. If people ask me how I felt about certain books, I can always look and see what I wrote about it. I used to write in a blog, but then I had to be careful and not state what happened in the book. Writing about it in my notebook gives me the privacy to really critique and write about my favorite parts.

10. Organize- I need to seriously organize myself. My room hasn't been organized since I graduated from URI. I also have to clean out my e-mails. I want to choose one thing to organize a day, and hopefully get it done. It doesn't have to be something big, it can just be going through one drawer a day. I know this will make me feel better, and hopefully my room will look a little less cluttered.

This is all I have at the moment. I will continue to think about what I would like to try this year. I promise to keep you guys posted on some of my goals!

10 days and counting

In 10 days I am turning 23. I am both excited and nervous. I am excited because I am finally starting to realize what I want to do with my life, and I am on the way to achieve my goals and dreams. I am also nervous because it means time is going by so quickly, and I feel as if I have nothing to show for it. I am also nervous because it means I am turning into a grown-up, and I definitely do not feel like one. I remember being little and thinking to myself that I don't have to do certain things until I'm a "grown-up". I don't have to read the newspaper until I'm a grown-up. I don't have to drink/like wine until I'm a grown-up. I get to stay up late when I'm a grown-up. I can do whatever I want when I'm a grown up. Well as I approach grown-up age, I still do not enjoy reading the newspaper. And I wish I had a bed-time, maybe this way I wouldn't be up so late every night. And I also still do not do whatever I want, but this is out of fear, not due to age.

I feel as if all of my friends have such exciting stories to tell, and I have none. I try to make New Years Resolutions that I can keep. But the best part about having a summer birthday is being able to redo my resolutions. I can change them or add to them. My birthday resolution is to not over think every single thing. I have been doing a lot of thinking about regret. It seems that everything I think about, I try to decide if I will have any regrets. I'm tired of worrying about regrets. I need to live in the moment, rather than in the future. This is one resolution that will take a lot of effort, but I am willing to work on it.

Another birthday resolution that I have is to be more vocal. I find that sometimes I can be really quiet, and fall into the background of all my friends. In one magazine, I read something that really affected me. The author wrote that she was usually the person taking pictures, rather than being in the pictures. I feel like I am that person. Instead I would like to be the one to give my camera to other people, and join in the pictures and the fun. I think this one resolution can be accomplished. I think I am already starting to become more outgoing. Now I just need to remember to take more pictures!

So as scared as I am to turn 23, I am ready for a new year. I have my camera charged, and I am ready to document my fun! I am also ready to stop over thinking. Hopefully I will be able to sleep better without thinking out every single thing I want to do. Stay tuned for the 23 things I want to try while I am 23!

press pause

As you can tell, I have not posted in a few weeks. I honestly have no idea where the weeks have gone since my last post. I love to keep busy, but I feel like I am missing out on summer. It is not even the start of summer, and I feel like the season is practically over! Luckily, starting next week I will be able to sit at the pool most days (with work), and go to the beach on the weekends. I am excited for my summer to finally begin! For those of you who work 9-5 office jobs, I hope you can enjoy summer as well. And not just on the weekends!

The other day, my brother had to wake up super early for work. He was not looking forward to it at all. I tried to cheer him up by saying he could always take a nap in the afternoon, when he got back from work. I am not sure what he is doing in college, but I know that when I was in undergrad, I majored in nap-time. Staying up late to finish homework, waking up early to get to class, and then coming back to take a small nap. Those thirty minutes were great. It was like a small break from everything. I am going to try to reinstate "nap-time" this summer to help myself enjoy this season.

Everyday, I want to try to take 30 minutes to do nothing. I don't plan on napping those thirty minutes, but I would love to do other things that make me happy. I will use the 30 minutes to read, tan, listen to music, write, organize my room, go for a walk, etc. All of these things are enjoyable (except organizing my room, but it will make me happy). These things will also force me to enjoy the great weather. And since I have a screened in porch, I can relax in it at night time, watching the fireflies outside. I hope you guys can take a break from your busy, everyday lives as well!

New Month, New Season

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone! I can't believe how quickly the year went. I still cannot believe that I graduated college over a year ago. I honestly have no idea where the time went. Life is going way too quickly for my liking, especially the month of May. This month has definitely been one of the best month's I have had in a while. I saw my sorority sisters at least twice every week, went to Rhode Island twice, finished my semester, and read an amazing book (Something Borrowed). The only downside to the month of May was missing the amazing spring weather, since it never appeared. It's either been really hot or really cold. Where is my wonderful spring weather that I'm soooo in love with?

And with the end of May comes the end of spring, and the beginning of summer. I am always excited Memorial Day weekend for the three months I have ahead of me. I always make long lists of what I want to do that summer, and I feel like I never do anything. Summer always passes me by. Not this summer. I am making it a point to do something every weekend (besides tanning). My friend and I have come up with a list of what sight seeing we want to do in New York and New Jersey. Hopefully starting this weekend or next weekend we will attempt something on our list. Of course we planned out what we want to do, and below is a list of what we have so far. I would love to hear what else you guys think we should do this summer! I refuse to let another summer pass me by.

I love living so close to New York City, but I find that I never take advantage of the close distance. I am excited to get started on my summer list, and hope to check each and every thing off.

MOMA

Empire State Building

Chelsea Brewery

Met

Bodies Exhibit

Guggenheim

Madam Tussads

New York Water Taxi

The Cloisters Museum and Garden

Blue Man Group

Botanical Gardens (NY/NJ)

Beer Gardens

Central Park Zoo

South Street Sea Port

SoHo-Shopping

NY Skyline Cruise

Shop Fifth Ave

Brooklyn Bridge

Williamsburg

Butterfield

Serendipity

Blockheads

Atlantic City

I hope everyone enjoys the wonderful weather this weekend, and is able to relax on their three days off from our hectic lives!