Why 2013 wasn't all it was cracked up to be...

I didn't accomplish much I planned on in 2013.

Yes, I got a great job just out of school.

Yes, I am still with a great guy.

Yes, I adopted a puppy who needed me.

Yes, I bought a house.

Yes, I kept in touch with the people from college who really mattered to me for a whole year.

Yes, I have managed to hold my adult life together for a year after graduating college.

However,

No, I didn't volunteer any more than I did in 2012.

No, I didn't blog like I planned.

No, I didn't accomplish a single thing of my thirty before thirty list.


I have spent a lot of 2013 not really sure of what is going on in my life. I want to go back to school, but that is not something that is likely to happen anytime soon--Purdue is awfully proud of their education programs... $$$

I read an blog today about getting married young and how it's becoming the 'thing to do'.  Graduate college, get married. I see it all over Facebook. Getting married. Having babies. How so many girls choose to just follow the beaten path and get married and knocked up by 23--all simply to hide behind the perils and tribulations that come with being an adult. This is how she worded it:

I can’t help but feel like a lot of these unions are a cop-out. It is a way for young people to hide behind a significant other instead of dealing with life’s highs and lows on their own. It’s a safety blanket. It’s an admission that the world is just too big and scary to deal with it on your own; thus, you now have someone that is legally obligated to support you till one of you dies or files for divorce.

(Mind you, one of my best friends is married, 23, and pregnant, and I love her to death for it. I don't think every single point the blogger made applies to every single person out there. Buddy is doing exactly what she always wanted to do. Make babies. Teach babies. Love every baby.)

You know, the blogger made some great points.

"If your love is truly eternal, what’s the rush? If it’s real, that person will continue to be committed to you 2 months from now, 2 years from now, and 2 decades from now."

"Because at the age of 22, I have no idea who I am, what I’m doing, and who I’ll be doing it with for the next year… let alone for the rest of my life.  And that’s awesome." 

" I NEED to develop MY dreams and MYSELF before I can truly be the type of woman you WANT to marry."

Maybe this blogger hit home with me because of the place in my life I find myself. I feel like we might be friends if we were in the same place.

While I don't plan on completing the exact same 23 before 23 the blogger mentioned, I think I might strive to take the next five months of being 22 and try to figure out a few of these things.

More to come.

T. Swift.

T Swift. Now 23 years old.

Yeah, her songs are obnoxious.

(Think "We-eee are never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever getting back together.. okay! We get it!! )

Maybe it isn't her.

Break up with a guy.

Write an album.

Kind of melodramatic, eh?

I think T Swift is beautiful and had a great voice.

But I have always thought she needed to grow up a little. Write about something that changes people. Write about something that means something. Not just a little love song after you get dumped/do the dumping.

But I was thinking the other day. After the CMAs, AMAs, etc.

Maybe it's not her.

Maybe it's me.

By 22, she gave away more money than I will make in my entire life.

Her dream was to be a singer. And that she is. Shoved--albeit, by choice--into the spotlight. She can't buy chocolate and wine without people speculating she has broken up with the next boyfriend. She can't go to a party alone without people clammering about her next album and who will be the target of a snarky comment on national television. (We-eeeee are never, ever, ever...)

Maybe she just wants to be 22.

Maybe, sometimes, I need to think a little more like T Swift.

Let's all just be 22 for a little while.

If I won the lottery..

I will envision this as winning a big one. not just a 100,000 or something.

The powerball.

First,

I would legitimately hide half of it. at least. not for spending.

Then I would pay off everything I owe.

Student Loans, house, parents.

The I would go buy a bunch of stuff.

clothes.

car.

stuff.

Then, I would buy land.

Lots of land.

and pay my dad to get bigger equipment so he could farm it.

then, I would start an ag scholarship fund.

I would donate some money.

Local Animal Shelters.

People who really need it.

My Earliest Memory

To be totally honest, I don't remember much about being little. I don't remember a lot of growing up.

The earliest thing I think I remember is when I got stepped on my a horse.

It's hard to know if I actually remember it or if I have just heard about it enough.

I was 'helping' my mom fix the fence. I was about three.

The horses all came running.

I was in the way.

I don't really remember that part.

I do remember the paramedics asking who I wanted to ride in the ambulance in me.

Dad. Of course.

The paramedics taping my head to the stretcher. It hurt.

In retrospect, it might have been the fact that a horse stepped on my head that caused that to hurt....

And the paramedics gave me a small, stuffed bear when I got taken off the ambulance.

What's in my fridge:

A half gallon of milk.
A bag of grapes.
An empty bottle of ranch.
Special K Protein Shakes.
Leftover pizza.
Leftover pizza that needs to be thrown away.
Butter.

A box of wine. Yes. a BOX of wine.

fifteen of my favorite things in no particular order....

1. Books

2. Dogs

3. Boyfriend

4. Books

5. Pools

6. Hedgehogs

7. Pizza

8. Packers

9. Books

10. Shells and Cheese

11. Harry Potter

12. Hunting
13. Duck Dynasty
14. Writing
15. Books

best physical feature...

Well?

I don't know.  If I left this up to the boyfriend to answer, I think we all know what it would be...

However, I have always liked my eyes. They aren't quite any particular color. Sometimes they seem to be a different color depending on the day.

worst habits...

procrastination.
avoiding responsibility.
picking fights when I am upset.
leaving the dishes til I don't have any spoons left.
eating peanut butter out of the jar.
getting too attached to book characters.
not getting up in the morning.
not paying attention during conference calls.
eating the whole box of mac and cheese.

In my handbag?

Uh... crap.

Wallet.
Receipts.
Chapstick.
Random business cards.
Batteries.
Fingernail clippers.
Coupon.

My Pet Hates: AKA Pet Peeves

Being put on hold.

Arguing for no reason.

Low battery alerts.

Calls dropping.

Asking questions I have already answered.

Not listening.

Facebook game requests.

Unnecessary, rude comments.

Not being able to find help in the store.

Five Senses: Right Now

Touch:

Computer. Couch. Fleece. 

Taste:

Pringles

Smell:

Warm Honey Glade Plug-In

Hear:

Pawn Stars. Kids playing basketball

See:

Computer. Blog. Pawn Stars. Someone else's blog

Ten Songs

Each song has it's place. Number 8 was a new find for today. 

Say what you think. Love who you love. 'Cause you only get so many trips 'round the sun. 

1. Taio Cruz: Telling the world

2. Adele: Sky Fall

3. Tyler Farr: Redneck Crazy

4. Luke Bryan: Crash My Party

5. Billy Currington: Hey Girl

6. Chris Young: Aw Naw

7. Halestorm: I Miss the Misery

8. Kacey Musgraves: Follow Your Arrow

9. Luke Bryan: That's My Kinda Night

10. Jason Aldean: Night Train

fears

What am I afraid of?

Lots.

Failing.

Letting people I care about down.

Not living up to expectations.

Not having fun in life.

favorite quote of today

 “I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long.

If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”

 A.A. Milne

 Winnie-the-Pooh

twenty things about me

Twenty things about myself: to be compared to an earlier blog post...

1. I love pizza. and mac and cheese.

2. I also love the Packers.

3. I miss school.

4. Corn and soybeans are my job.

5. my handwriting sucks.

6. I really enjoy writing.

7. I play it cool, but sometimes my job is really overwhelming. I manage a 20 million dollar business. I'm 22.

8. I am very sensitive to caffeine. 

9. I hate stupid facebook games.

10. I would like a tattoo--but I am a chicken about something so permanent. 

11. I bought a house.

12. I miss showing cattle. 

13. I love my dog. 

14. I love my boyfriend. 

15. I like grapes, but I hate grape flavored things.

16. I want to travel. Everywhere. 

17. I love history.

18. And dinosaurs. I love dinosaurs. 

19. I am, and will always be, a Harry Potter nerd. 

20. I have no idea what I want to do with my life. 

Here we go again: Intro

Okay. 31 one day challenge. Let's try this. 

I have no idea how to introduce myself. It's been a long time since I blogged about myself. 

outgoing

agriculture

hunting

swimming

netflix

corn

soybeans

showing cattle

archery

history

friends

family

pets

packers

Whoops?

Well. It's August. I have blogged like twice all year. I just haven't really been able to sit down and compile my thoughts. This year has flown by. So many things have happened. Some questions answered. Where would I be? Well. The middle of nowhere, Minnesota. Hurray. Here I am.

I bought a house. Crazy. I never thought I would buy a house myself. Everyone kept asking me if I was excited. I wasn't really. I was a little apprehensive. I always assumed I would be buying a house with someone--especially when I have the someone I thought I would be buying a house with.

I need to get back in the swing of blogging. It always helped compile my thoughts. Straighten out my mind. I need to find a good blog challenge. That always helped.

I'll be back when I find one.

Rainbows

Rainbows come out after storms. 

It just stormed. Now there is a rainbow.

This weekend has been an interesting one. I graduated from college five months ago and returned to school for the first time since I graduated. I hadn't intended to go to commencement. Until I heard about an incredible act by the University. 

My roommate sophomore year was killed in a car accident the day before she started her senior year of college. We weren't super close anymore; but that girl was amazing. The kindest girl anyone will ever meet. 

The higherups at school responded to requests from her friends to award her her diploma. 

I heard about this after the ceremony had started and almost sprinted to the hockey arena. I slipped into the back of the room right as they were announcing her. They explained to the audience what happened and how this girl was so influential and active. Her younger sister and brother walked across the stage and accepted her diploma. 

I didn't cry at her funeral. Oh, how I wanted to. I didn't cry after. Many days in the last eight months, I have wanted to. 

Tears rose in my eyes as I watched Heidi take Tif's diploma. As I resisted the urge to melt into a puddle, I thought about Tif. I know I made her cry a few times, but she never held that against me. She knew I wasn't really in tune with feelings and all that crap. 

She wouldn't have wanted me to cry for her at her graduation. She would have been bawling tears of joy/"oh my goodness I am never going to see you again" tears. I am almost sure of it. But, no. This was a happy day. She earned that diploma. I fought back the tears and smiled. 

While rarely a day goes by that I don't think about her and sometimes it's just how tragic this is-how sad. But mostly, I think about all the great times we had. All the times she saved my butt. All the times I embarrassed her in front of a boy (or a professor). How lucky I was to know her. 

I was told a long time ago that a rainbow was God smiling down on us telling us the storm was over and everything is okay now. I miss her; but, I know she is there. Always there. I love you, Tiffy. 

2013

Wow. So I had made great goals for 2012 to blog all year--Post often!

Sorta fell off the bandwagon.

I had to write an awful lot for school and I just got tired of writing.

Writing would mean I needed to face things I was deliberately avoiding.

Was I ready to graduate?

A girl I used to be very close to, a great, wonderful, sweet girl, was killed in a car accident.

Would I get a job?

Would it put me a long way from home?

Where was my life going?

Did I even pick the right major?



I think it's time I step up and move into 2013.

Here we go.

Goals for 2013

1. Improve the contact with my friends--don't loose contact.
2. Try to establish a better, healthier lifestyle.
3. Volunteer.