fill in the blank friday

Well, after a crazy-busy week, I have finally taken a break.

This week consisted of numerous assignments, four Spanish papers, a mid-term, three short essays, test revisions (very extensive ones, mind you), and who knows what else.

Needless to say, I spent pretty much all of my time at school, doing homework, studying, or at work...normally I have nights where I am able to schedule in a bit of roomie time, but I even had to skip that since I was so swamped. As for quality time with my boyfriend, that consisted of us studying in the same room. Sweet, right?

But this week has been an incredible one - due to fantastic blessings and the wonderful people in my life, I was able to get a Kindle (thanks, grandma!) AND the iPhone 3GS...yay! Both these new things make me feel very tech-savvy (or not so tech-savvy, depends on what I'm trying to figure out) and blessed. I am excited because they were both practical purchases (believe me, I'm the most practical person in the world when it comes to my money).

I am taking the Kindle to Spain so I can take books and dictionaries with me - it's really all about saving space! And I am also taking my new phone...the nice man at the AT&T store explained that I can take it, keep it on Airplane Mode and not be charged any roaming fees or receive calls and texts, but will still be able to use WiFi. Meaning, I will be able to call people via Skype. How great is that?! I'm so stoked.

Also, I want to get this app...I hope I won't need it much, but it'd be good for back-up. Or for when I get there and am feeling overwhelmed while trying to get somewhere on my first day in Santander.

Anyway, after the stress of this week ended today at 1:00, I spent a relaxing day napping and reading Harry Potter with my boyfriend, getting my phone, and watching movies with the roomies. Tomorrow will bring a trip home to find "sensible shoes" for Spain and see the family a bit before heading back on Sunday to study study study!

Hope you all had great weeks and have fun weekends planned! Here is a little help to get you started - Fill in the Blank Friday :) Link up here to play along!

1. The phrase or punctuation I overuse most is: As far as the phrase, I say "Shut up!" more than enough...not in the "Be quiet" way, but in the "No way!" way. I'm also a fan of "Shut the front door!" (a nicer version of "Shut the f*** up") and "Let's be real..." As for overused punctuation, I'm a sucker for ellipses...clearly :)

2. Today I am thankful for so many things! To narrow it down: my family, my boyfriend, my roomies, my Kindle, my iPhone, my upcoming trip, my ability to power through this week.

3. My best friends are my sisters, hands down. I was so lucky to receive two automatic best friends, just because of the family I was born into.

4. A quirky thing about me is that I can't feel okay about leaving my house for the day if the bed is unmade, I insist on aisle seats wherever I go, and I brush my teeth at least five times a day.

5. This weekend I am going to get some family time in, study, and enjoy one of my last weekends in the states before I jet off for Spain (less than three weeks away - eek!).

6. Something that worries me is ... too many things. I'm a worrier. Recurring worries as of late involve my trip to Spain...we'll talk about those some other time though.

7. On my night stand you would find a lamp, a box of tissues, my Bible, my journal, whatever book I'm currently reading (it was just Redeeming Love on my Kindle), and a candle.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

♥ abigail

go-go-go!

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you're "go-go-go!" all day long and still haven't accomplished everything on your to-do list?

Today I feel like I've been doing so much, yet haven't been productive at all...a terrible feeling, especially for someone like me who loves to cross things off lists to make me feel like everything I've been doing is worth my time.

Today started with my workout class, followed by work. At work I hoped to get in a little homework (I have a daunting assignment due tomorrow evening)...but today I was asked to offer a little insight on rowing (ha!) to the intern who will take over for me when I'm in Spain (eek!), then I did my normal transcription of the basketball press conference, then interviewed the rowing coach, then scanned some photos that were requested of us...I had a few minutes to get started on my rowing story then was out the door and onto my next task: the gym.

Thanks to my new Kindle (which I will have to tell you about later, I swear I should be paid to advertise the Kindle with how much I've talked it up to everyone I know in the 24 hours that I've owned in), I was able to get an hour of cardio in today (Redeeming Love holds my attention so well...accompanied by the fact that I didn't have to awkwardly turn the page while on the elliptical, and could increase the size to easily read while moving...but I said I'm ramble about that later. And I will. One of these days).

Sorry about the lengthy parentheses in that previous paragraph. The bare bones of it was this: Thanks to my new Kindle, I was able to get an hour of cardio in today.

Phew.

I raced home for lunch then began to work on my assignments due tomorrow.

I finished a Spanish paper, struggled over a story and 15 deep, insightful questions until it was time to go to my sister's (every Tuesday night my boyfriend and I make dinner with her and her fiancé. Such a fun tradition!). After dinner, I came back home and have been working on homework ever since.

I'm currently struggling over an assignment for my copyediting class, but still have a lot of studying and prep for an in-class essay to do before tomorrow.

And here I am, blogging. Why? I suppose I just needed an outlet. I feel like nothing off my list has been checked off today, but I've been working my butt off all day.

All that's getting me through right now is knowing that I'll somehow manage to get it all finished, and that in a week (or even a day or two) I'll realize that all of this wasn't even worth stressing over.

But until then, I'll sit here, frantically working into the night, until I feel accomplished enough to go to bed. I have a feeling 2:00 a.m. and I will meet (for the first time this term) tonight...

♥ abigail

fill in the blank sunday

In hopes of getting back into the swing of the blogging world, I am attempting to get back into Fill In the Blank Friday...so here it is! Link up here if you want to join in!

1. I am currently obsessed with Nivea's "A Kiss of Shine Pink Glossy Lip Care", Friends, daphne, my day-planner, cleaning compulsively, Adele's new CD, and the weather.

2. Today I am content because I spent the day cleaning, doing laundry, and finishing homework. I spent a few hours this evening making soup with my boyfriend, baking Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes, and watching Charlie St. Cloud with the boy and my roomies (the soup was delicious, the cakes were perfect, and the movie was better than I expected). After dropping the boy off at his friends' 21-er (one day I'll be 21 too!), I returned home where I finished putting away my laundry before settling in with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (the boy and I are reading the books together, then watching the movie...I feel asleep during it the other day so I'm taking the time to catch up) and OPI's "Under My Trench Coat" nail polish. It was a lovely, relaxing day.

3. The age I am is 20 and the age I feel is dependent on the day. Some days I feel very much my age, some days I feel young, and some days (a lot of them lately) I feel older than my 20 years. It really has a lot to do with how much I have to do and how focused I'm feeling.

4. My favorite place is anywhere with the people I love...curled up on the couch with my roomies, lounging on the beach with family, home with my siblings...you name it, I'm happy. I don't like being by myself, except when I'm driving along Highway 99 between Eugene and Corvallis with the sun shining...that lovely road connects my two homes, and the drive brings me a great sense of peace.

5. Something I have been procrastinating is my essay declaring my Liberal Studies major...I probably should get on that.

6. The last thing I purchased was groceries. I'm trying to save my money for Spain...but my grandma graciously gave me money to buy a Kindle for my trip, which I get to do on Monday :) I love books, but I have a feeling a Kindle is going to be great to have!

7. The thing I love most about my home is how it makes me feel. Last year my apartment made me miserable and I avoided it at all costs...but this year I'm surrounded with people I love, and that makes all the difference. I look forward to going home and I enjoy the time I spend here.

epiphany?

Let's be real, people: I've been terrible at blogging lately.

I don't really have any good reasons aside from the fact that I'm really busy and I haven't had anything to write about.

Wait - are those good reasons?

Regardless, I miss it. I love writing, and lately all I've been writing are weekly papers for my Spanish class and essays for my sociology class. Obviously these types of writing are not the same as rambling on about nothing in a post that has nothing to do with my grades and GPA.

Part of the reason I haven't been posting frequently is because I don't feel like I have anything to say. I enjoy reading blogs about people's day-to-day lives, but that was never what I myself intended to write about.

Let's be honest - my life is not that interesting. I can give you a quick rundown right now if you'd like: I go to class Monday through Friday. I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I complain about my 7:00-10:00 p.m. class every Wednesday. I make dinner, do homework, watch whatever show is on that night (How I Met Your Mother on Monday, Glee and Teen Mom on Tuesday, nothing on Wednesday, The Big Bang Theory and Grey's Anatomy on Thursday, and Say Yes To the Dress on Friday. Note to self: You watch way too much TV), and go to bed...get up and repeat. On weekends I work, do homework, clean, and grocery shop.

See? No big deal. So what am I supposed to write about? I always feel the need to post "deep" thoughts on life. Maybe not deep, but somewhat profound...something to think about it.

But I thought about this - I don't have a huge epiphany every day. I don't always have some brilliant thought that I feel compelled to share with the world...sometimes, all I have is what I did that day. And what I do every day, no matter how mundane, is profound just the same.

Because it's my life. And I'm living it. I'm choosing every day to continue my education, to cultivate my relationships, to work hard so that someday I can be where I want to be.

This doesn't necessarily mean more posts...really, it's okay that no one wants to read about how my day was. I wouldn't either. But I guess this means that I won't just write off my days as insignificant anymore...because while they may not be significant enough to provoke a deep thought, they are significant enough to keep me going.

And maybe that's significant enough to get me writing?

We'll see...stay tuned!

♥ abigail

on another note...

Hopefully you all got to see my Valentine's Day post from earlier this morning...if you didn't, check it out here...it felt good to get writing again!

I just created another blog for myself - Abigail Abroad. I am going to use it to talk about everything and anything related to my time studying in Santander, Spain this spring. Check it out here and follow if you are so inclined!

♥ abigail

thoughts on valentine's day

It's hard to be cynical about today, Valentine's Day, because I have that special someone in my life...and according to him, there are various tricks up his sleeve for today, one of his favorite days of the year.

I've always disliked Valentine's Day, simply based on principle. Sure, when I was younger I enjoyed it - but receiving a Valentine and gobs of candy from each of my classmates in our hand-crafted "mailboxes" was so exciting! In high school my appreciation for it dwindled, not because I was single (but really, isn't everyone single in high school? Not to be bitter, but in my experience and from what I've witnessed, these days most high school relationships end up in the toilet even before they're actually relationships...but we can talk about that some other time), but because it seemed silly to me that there was one day a year when it's essentially required to express your love for the important people in your life.

It seems that I've always managed to get around Valentine's Day simply by saying I think it's silly and stupid and I don't like it. And it is silly. And it is stupid. And I know I don't like it, but that doesn't mean I hate it.

Is it silly that there is a specific day of the year where we're supposed to give chocolates, flowers and cards to show our love? Yes. But is it a nice break from the regular, plain ol' days with people? Yes.

My guess is that a lot of people who choose to celebrate Valentine's Day do so because they already celebrate love every other day of the year.

And isn't that kind of nice?

Having a special day with sweet treats and surprises really isn't anything I can turn my nose up at. And think about it - isn't have a special day all part of the fun?

On Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ - but I celebrate that every day through prayer, every Sunday at church, every time I read my Bible.

On Thanksgiving we celebrate all we are thankful for - but I celebrate that every day through time with friends and family, feeling blessed for things in my life like food and a roof over my head, remembering to enjoy the small things.

On Independence Day we celebrate our country and its freedom - but we celebrate that every day by enjoying all the rights and privileges we have simply by living in the United States.

On our birthdays we celebrate our coming into the world - but I celebrate that every day when I marvel at all the wonderful people in my life and know that they all had to get here somehow.

I guess what I'm saying is that while we may celebrate every day, even though we don't necessarily recognize it. So what's wrong with taking a little extra time to recognize something that's also worth celebrating - love?

While Hallmark tends to make it all about romantic love, this day can be about the love you share with any of the important people in your life - friends, parents, kids, cousins, grandparents...because in the end, it is all about love.

Having a day devoted to love is pretty wonderful. I could do without all the pink and red, but at the end of the day, I'm not complaining - there are far worse things to celebrate than love.

And that's really what today is all about...so even though you love them all 364 other days of the year, make today special for those you love. Remind them of why you think they're so wonderful, why you're glad they're in your life, and why you love them.

It doesn't have to be cheesy or tacky or over-the-top. It can be. But it doesn't have to be. We all express love in different ways, so you don't necessarily have to buy what Hallmark is selling...but don't be like I have in the past, boycotting the lovely day of love, simply because you're too stubborn to see that love is something that definitely deserves to be celebrated.

♥ abigail

I'm Back?

Well. It certainly has been a while, hasn't it?

The last time I blogged was on December 19 - and that post wasn't even a real one, just a fun little Fill In the Blank Friday.

Tonight, for the first time in over a month, I have had time to sit and mull over my thoughts. I'm not going to lie to you - there's nothing very deep going on in my head right now. I've exhausted my brain over the past few hours with Spanish papers, copyediting assignments and grammar studies...and now I'm sitting and listening to music, snuggled up in a blanket, feeling very peaceful and very happy that it's the weekend.

Life has been so busy lately. Brief recap - my sister got engaged recently (I am the maid-of-honor and am in full wedding planning mode as of late), I got myself a nice boyfriend (he' definitely a keeper), I'm working to keep my decent GPA (3.53 cumulative, which is pretty good for college, if you ask me), I'm working hard at work, and I'm readying myself to go to Spain in March (passport arrived in the mail a few weeks ago so it's starting to sink in that I'm actually leaving).

Between all of these things, I haven't had much time for myself.

Not that I'm complaining - I like to stay busy. I get restless when I'm not doing something. Just the other day the instructor of my Cardio Combo class gave us extra stretching time and walked us through some yoga...it was definitely not relaxing for me. Instead of focusing on my breathing or letting myself relax, I felt as if I were wasting time. I even felt a little guilty lying there when I had so many other things I needed to do.

I think I have a problem.

But even though my doing nothing involves doing something (reading, writing, watching Friends or Gilmore Girls, cleaning), I think that's okay - because that's what I need.

I'm going to try to ease back into this whole blogging world...I've missed it! I don't know what, if anything, I have to say...but if I come up with anything, you all will be the first to know!

And now I'm off to relax...aka organize my closet. Hey, to each her own, right?

♥ abigail