a little rambling + fill in the blank friday

I really either need to stop saying I'll update you on my life later or start updating you on my life as it happens...because I never remember what I want to say or even what I was doing, if I'm being honest...mostly because nothing that happens to me is at all that interesting.

My life is pretty basic these days - classes, the gym, and homework every day; work a few days a week (mostly weekends - gross!); watching TV shows with the roomies a few times a week (our favorites include, but aren't limited to, How I Met Your Mother, Teen Mom/16 and Pregnant, The Big Bang Theory, and Grey's Anatomy, and Say Yes To the Dress. We also tend to indulge in a little Gilmore Girls on the side); and sleeping when I can.

See? You aren't missing much. Last week was particularly busy, but I don't know why I said I'd write about it later, because there really isn't anything interesting about three midterms in one week (two in one day even. Which is gross, but not interesting) and having three papers to write. One in Spanish.

As one of my favorite TV characters Lorelai Gilmore would say, "Oy with the poodles already!"

This week has been a lot calmer, but still very busy. Sometimes I feel like I'm running around like a madwoman, but at the end of the day it all pays off because it results in my to-do list being significantly shorter.

If there's anything more satisfying than crossing something off your to-do list, don't tell me...you'll totally be killing my buzz!

Although if you told me there was something more satisfying, I wouldn't believe you anyway...

But let's not tempt fate, okay?

In other boring college news, one of my "running around like a madwoman" errands led me to an old (old as in former, not age) professor's office hours. I was checking on the status of a recommendation form I requested from him, and was so happy after our conversation. It basically turned into a "Let's say nice things about Abbie for five minutes and completely embarrass her - but in a good way" conversation.

He told me he was flattered that I had asked him, and was so excited for what I'm applying for. He also told me that it's not often that he sees "special students" like me who work hard amidst "a sea of underachievers" (I got A's in both of the classes I've taken with him). He told me that I am going places and am going to do great things with my life.

Needless to say, I left his office confident that he is going to give me a good recommendation. And feeling like I was pretty cool. You know, if we're being honest.

This weekend will take me to Eugene on Saturday (my sweet little bubba [aka my brother] is running in the state cross country meet), back to Corvallis for work on Sunday, then back to Eugene on Sunday night so I can be in town for my dentist appointment on Monday morning. Don't worry - my sister is driving us down on Saturday, so I won't be wasting gas going to and from home a million times. And by a million, I mean two. Clearly.

Thanks for sticking through all that rambling with me...and now we continue on to Fill In the Blank Friday. Link up with Lauren to play along!

1. My last haircut was before school started. I took my hairdresser a picture of Selena Gomez's cute shoulder-length cut with the side-bangs and had her recreate that. So adorable, but I'm lazy and never take the time to make it look like Selena's anymore...oh well!

2. My most daring hair moment was when I got my perm! I've always been obsessed with curly hair, and have spent my life trying to find anything to keep curls in. I finally was brave enough to get a perm, and it turned out fabulously. I did it twice, and it only recently grew out (this spring). Once my hair gets a little longer, I think I'm going to do it again - it fit my lifestyle so much better (I'm such a wash-and-go girl), and I really liked it.

3. A hairstyle I'd never be brave enough to try is anything shorter than my shoulders. My face is way to round to handle that. Plus, if I can't put my hair in a ponytail, bad things happen. Like stress. And nose itching. And stressful nose itching. Not good.

4. I've always dreamt of being a (blonde, brunette, or red-head) brunette...I love my natural color and can't imagine having anything else!

5. My go-to hair do is straightened and down, with a little bow on the side. I know it's bad to do it every day, so I try to refrain...but my hair is that annoying kind that almost is perfectly straight, but flips just enough to make it look like I tried (and failed) to curl just the ends.

6. My biggest hair disaster was when I was five and decided to cut my own bangs the day my mom was taking me to get my picture's taken...they were wet and in my eyes so I gave myself a little trim. Whoops! The picture features me with an extremely gelled half-ponytail.

7. A hairstyle I and dying to try is any sort of cute braid. My hair is too fat and doesn't like to stay in place, making this difficult to achieve, especially when my hair isn't super-long right now.

8. My best hair day was...I couldn't even tell you! I really loved it when it was the perfectly grown-out stage of my perm.

9. The worst hairstyle I ever had was when I was five. My mom thought it'd be cute with really short hair. Like a longer version of a bowl cut, but not by much. Apparently it was popular in 1995, because two other girls in my kindergarten class had the same cut. You know how everyone thinks kindergartners are cute? My mom ruined that for me...

10. My hair is annoying as all get-out, but I love it just the same.

Happy Friday!

♥ abigail

word vomit?

Over the past year, I've gone through periods of major writer's block.

I would start writing, work at it for a while, then end up looking at a blank screen yet again. After a while, those blank spaces start to appear very daunting and unforgiving, which leads me to avoid writing all together.

Then I would be left waiting for inspiration. Sometimes it would come within an hour, but a lot of the time it took a few days or weeks for me to get writing again. I'd get excited, but soon I would be faced once again with the blank page, and the cycle would continue.

So, naturally, when the urge strikes me to write, I take full advantage...this should explain the onslaught of posts from me these days.

For some reason, inspiration has completely taken over, and I always can find something to write about. When I find myself alone with my thoughts (plus a little background music), my mind starts to wander, and it ends up going places where it digs up some profound thought, some tale to tell...and immediately, I feel compelled to write.

Even when I'm not alone with my thoughts, I find things to write about. Last night I received an unexpected phone call from a friend that inspired me in all sorts of ways (look for a more detailed post on that in a day or two - I'm still working out the thoughts in my brain and they aren't quite ready for public viewing), including the post pushing destiny.

I am so happy to be writing again. I am very happy to have an outlet such as this where I feel like I can ramble...because really, that's all I want. I ramble on a daily basis to the people around me, and it's nice to know that there are a few people who aren't around me are semi-interested in what I have to say.

I hope this lack of writer's block (what's the technical term for not having writer's block, anyway? Word vomit seems appropriate, but I hate to call my writing vomit...) lasts...I will be taking full advantage of it for as long as I can!

♥ abigail

I digress. A lot.

Call it a sickness, but I can't tell one story without telling the pre-story first.

Lucky for you (my three lovely readers), this means lots of ramblings for you to read.

Unlucky for you, I lack a camera, so my rambling words aren't broken up with nice photos for you to rest your eyes upon for a second.

Lucky for you, once upon a time I was editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, so I know about breaking up paragraphs into two to three sentences for reading with ease.

Unlucky for you, explaining all of this resulted in you reading more ramblings...and I haven't even gotten close to the point of this post!

Just so you know, in case I never get around to it, the point of this is to talk about my new workout regimen. If I forget to talk about it, feel free to yell at me in the comments section.

I feel like Ted in How I Met Your Mother for saying this, but before I tell you that story, I really do need to tell you this story.

I just returned home from a lovely weekend in Portland. My younger sister (she's 18) and I made the two-hour drive on Saturday to visit our cousin (she's 16) for a highly-anticipated sleepover.

Clearly this warrants another story...this summer we spent a lot of time together. We were inseparable for 10 days in Manhattan Beach, we saw each other a mere two weeks later for the annual family camp out, and then we saw her a week after that for a trip to the coast.

I'm pretty sure I spent more time sharing a bed with her this summer than I did sleeping alone. That's a lie. But it feels true! She and I moved past our days of having cover-tugging battles all night long to having cousin snuggle love all night long...I really had trouble sleeping alone after our Manhattan Beach trip!

But I digress.

Upon realizing (on August 22) that we wouldn't see each other again until the high school state cross country meet (November 6), we decided that would be too much time apart. We decided to orchestrate a sleepover on one of her free weekend's before my sister and I have to start classes...hello, this weekend!

After getting off to a late start on Saturday due to my sister's visit to Urgent Care (nothing too serious, her earache ended up being caused by a canker sore on her throat...weird, right?), we finally made it to our cousin's house in Aloha by 3:00.

From there, we took our bags to our grandma's house in Beaverton, the site of the sleepover (my cousin's house is in the middle of a remodel, and there isn't a kitchen...this is a problem at sleepovers. Especially when pancakes are required in the morning for breakfast).

After leaving a note to our grandma explaining our whereabouts (we showed up unannounced and didn't want her to be alarmed by the mess of clothes we left all over the front room), we set off for the MAX station.

We had a brief encounter with an interesting stranger, in which he gave us the following advice: "When you meet Prince Charming, don't let him lead you into the ocean because when you get bit by a shark it's for life. An arm and a leg. You don't want to live with that."

Thank you, kind stranger. We'll take that to heart.

We hopped on the MAX and wandered Portland for awhile, making a stop at Buffalo Exchange and Powell's, before our cousin (the cousin we were with's older brother) came and picked us up and took him to his house.

He cooked us a fantastic dinner of the most delicious paninis we'd ever had (jury's still out on whether that was because of how hungry we were or because they were just that good), then took us to a MAX station for our ride home.

We then went to a Safeway and spent a good 15 minutes debating what flavor and brand of ice cream we should get (we settled on the store brand's "Extreme Moose Tracks", which was a good choice), then spent another 10 minutes deciding what other snack foods we wanted (we picked Pirate's Booty and cookie dough). We grabbed a movie at a Redbox on our way home, then finally got back to our grandma's.

We proceeded to eat our weight in junk food and watch our movie, all the while perusing my grandma's scrapbook...she just scrapbooked this summer's events (which included two family weddings), so we were anxious to see what the pages looked like (read: how many pictures we were in, and how we looked in said pictures).

Remind me to get back to the picture I found that inspired my workout regimen. I feel compelled to finish the story about the rest of the weekend...stick around, it might amuse you.

Not because it's amusing. Maybe you're easily amused and just like to read my ramblings. I won't judge you if you do. I'll thank you, though!

After snuggling the night away, we woke up and went to breakfast with my grandma (how perfect was it that today is Grandparent's Day?!). Next, Grandma took us to the zoo, where my cousin played tour guide (she's a Zoo Teen volunteer during the summer).

I fell in love with naked mole rats all over again.

Try to convince me they're ugly.

I dare you.

We went and had a quick visit with another cousin and aunt and uncle before heading back to Grandma's for a late lunch before my sister and I hit the road for home.

It was a lovely weekend.

I love my family. Don't worry - my cousin and I will be reunited on October 10 for the Tyler Hilton concert. Yes, he's coming to town again. I am so excited. Again.

If you want to read about the second time I saw him (the first time I blogged about him), check it out here.

What a pretty man. With a pretty voice. I'm dying, seriously.

Anyway. I'm getting to the point here.

We looked at my grandma's scrapbook pages from our time in Manhattan Beach, and this is what I saw:

That's me in the swimsuit. Let me address a few things:

Yes, I know the dangers of skin cancer. Yes, I wear sunscreen (SPF 45 and 55 the entire trip). Yes, I am blessed with the skin of my father, who is of a Polynesian/Hawaiian bloodline. No, I don't know why I'm so excited about eating that apple. No, those party cups are (probably) not all filled with alcoholic beverages.

What struck me about this photo was the fact that I don't look like this anymore.

This was two months ago, and apparently I was doing a much better job of maintaining my fitness. This photo inspired me to get my butt back in gear and get in shape.

I don't look that different, but I have lost a lot of tone. (By the way, I'm not looking for any sympathy or anything of the sort. I'm definitely not one of "those" girls.) But I have lost a lot of tone and definition, and my stomach doesn't look like that.

So tonight, I decided that instead of complaining about it, I would do something about it.

I'm normally an active girl, but the lack of a gym (I don't belong to one at home, and just have access to one while at school) makes me sluggish...for some reason, I can work out for much longer on ellipticals and treadmills than I can while running outside.

I don't like it, but that's the way it is.

Despite this, tonight I went for a two mile run, did 100 lunges, 50 squats, plus a whole bunch of sit-ups and push-ups. (I also wandered the zoo for two hours today, which definitely got me some exercise.) On tonight's run I discovered that my favorite time to run is at dusk - for some reason I have more patience with it and get less bored.

That photo showed me not only what I used to look like, but what I can look like. And that's all the motivation I need to get myself moving again...which I will be doing every day this week (and in the coming weeks), one way or another.

What motivates you? (Besides reaching the end of this post. Congratulations, you did it! And I am so happy you did. But probably not as happy as you are.)

♥ abigail

why my closet is so full

My closet, while impeccably organized, is a scary place.

Every nook and cranny of its expanse is filled with my clothes and shoes. My shirts are hung neatly - all on matching hangers facing the same way - according to color and sleeve length. My tank tops are folded neatly and stacked on their shelf based on category (athletic, lounge, going out, undershirts, simple) and color/pattern. My sweaters are also folded neatly (store-style) on their shelf, arranged by type (cardigans, pull-overs, draped), season, and - once again - color. My jeans are hanging neatly on their respective hangers, organized by wash and length. Above them are my coats and jackets, arranged by weight and color. My dresses hang near them, arranged by color (what else?) and occasion.

On the floor lie my shoes, arranged first in frequency of wear according to the season/weather (the current top five that have prime real estate are my TOMS, my Asics running shoes, my gold sandals from Target, my trusty black Old Navy flip-flops, and my silver sandals from Target). Above those shoes are my drawers, filled neatly with t-shirts, sweats, shorts, under-garments, and socks. Above the drawers my cosmetics and and lotions and potions are arranged neatly according to how frequently I use them, as well as their sizes.

On the highest shelves on my closet - the shelves only reachable to me by a step-stool - are neatly labeled shoe boxes that hold old school-work and mementos that a pack-rat like me simply cannot bear to part with.

Clearly I digress, because none of these extremely organized locations sound that scary.

What's scary is the fact that this closet doesn't contain all of my clothes. There are more stowed away in other drawers around my room, and I'll admit that the only time everything can be put away is when there's at least four days' worth of dirty laundry in my hamper.

Clearly, I know how to deal with this issue while I'm here in Eugene at my parents' house...but by the end of next month I'll be moved into my new house in Corvallis. I would have embellished that with a few explanation points or a smiley face or something, except I'm nervous to make this move.

My closet in my new room is tiny. We're talking a quarter of the amount of space of my current closet (which isn't that big, as far as closets go). My room itself is going to be the size of a shoe box (I'm obsessed with it though, what it lacks in size it makes up for with charm and character), so storing much of anything in there is going to be an interesting challenge.

[As a side note, I'm watching Oprah's "Farewell to Nate Berkus" episode right now, so it's giving me some inspiration on how to deal with such a tiny space.]

Contrary to what you might be thinking right now, the purpose of this post wasn't to ramble about my closet and its contents, or how I'm going to store things - although a post on that will come once I've figured that all out. The real purpose of this post was to 1) get my writing juices flowing again, and 2) brag about my bargain-shopping skills.

You see, on a college student's budget, there is no way my closet should be as crowded as it is...but despite this, my wardrobe has substantially grown this summer. At first, this concerned me - all my hard-earned money should be going to rent and school, not looking good, right? WRONG!

I see no reason why, as long as I can afford it, I shouldn't be able to update my wardrobe in my college-student state.

If you looked at my wardrobe, you'd think I was made of money. My closet is filled with designer denim (Citizens of Humanity, Joe's Jeans, and Paige Denim, to name a few), spendy workout clothes (Nike galore), and random pieces that would have you scratching your head and wondering, "how could she afford that?" (Coach wristlet, dresses from The Limited, cashmere sweaters from Banana Republic and J. Crew).

I am somewhat addicted to designer clothes, and consider myself to be a bit of a label whore, but I am proud to report that I have never ever ever paid full-price for a designer item. Not even half-price, actually. I am that good. I consider myself to be the world's best bargain shopper, mostly because I have the utmost patience when it comes to updating my wardrobe on my meager budget (in my book, the cheaper the better, as far as cost goes).

I have found my jeans (that normally run the outrageous price in between $140 and $180) for anywhere between $30 and $45. I have found my sweaters (that normally run anywhere between $60 and $80) for $20 to $30.

My bargain of the summer was the dress I found to wear to a wedding a few weeks ago - at The Limited it would normally cost me $89.50 (actually, it wouldn't have cost me that much, I would never pay that much for a sun dress) only set me back $5.27.

On that same trip I also scored a pair of brand-new Nike yoga pants, originally $60, for a mere $4.27. My running shoe collection has grown to include a few pairs of Nikes and Asics that I receive for free through my job at the Oregon State athletic department.

Bargain hunting is something that thrills me. I love finding designer duds for a fraction of the cost. I love being able to wear them, see someone else wearing something similar, and thinking to myself - you paid full price for that, and mine looks just as good. (From my experience, you can tell whether or not someone pays full price for their designer clothes based on the first glance...but who knows, looks can be deceptive!)

So thanks to my fantastic shopping skills, I now have to get extremely creative in order to cram everything in my teeny-weensy, sorry excuse for a closet at school.

I'll let you know how that goes.

♥ abigail