Friday, March 28, 2014

The Fault In Our Stars - Blogger Book Club

Congratulations! You have made it to Friday!
On the agenda for today:
  • Review March's Blogger Book Club read - The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
  • Announce April's Blogger Book Club read.
  • Choose the April BBC link-up date.
  • Beg everyone who read The Fault In Our Stars to link-up today.

The Best of Intentions


First up.. My review of March's book.

by John Green


GoodReads Summary -
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
 
The Good
--Oh my lanta!! I LOVED this book. I've already re-read the last few chapters (and cried a second time) and I have no doubt in my mind that I will read the book again and again! 
--I cried. At first I thought I wasn't going to. I definitely had the "oh my goodness, that's so sad!" feeling going on, but I thought I was going to make it all the way to the end without actually crying. Then I didn't. I'm not sure I was crying for the reasons I should've been crying (Gus) I was crying because of because of everyone else and their reactions to things.
--Cancer is a hard topic to cover in a work of fiction because cancer isn't a fictitious thing to a lot of people. It is also hard for me to have an opinion on this, because I've never experienced cancer in the way the characters did. However, I really like the way John Green handled the topic. I won't go into it much more than that.
--I loved Isaac.
--I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the ending. I was so nervous getting towards the end, because I had loved the book so far and I was so worried that the ending was going to disappoint, but the ending seemed so, so fitting.
--It terms of writing style, character, plot development, etc.. I have absolutely got to give it to John Green, because this was a well written book. Grammatically and stylistically I was very pleased and I can be hard to please in this area.
--John Green lives in Indiana and this book was set in Indianapolis which is a hop, skip, and a jump from where I live, so I loved all things about the setting. Obviously.

The Bad
--This isn't necessarily bad, but the way the main characters spoke and the language they used was unrealistic. I enjoyed it, but the whole time I was thinking that these were supposed to be 3 teenagers who have barely been to school and spent so much of their life in hospitals and yet they speak much, much more eloquently than their parents. It made the characters unique and interesting, but it was also unrealistic in an otherwise very realistic book.
--I'm going against everyone right now, I'm sure, but I did not love the Amsterdam section of the book. Spoiler, kinda.. There's this whole section about Anne Frank and I think that could've easily been plucked from the book and not changed a thing for me.
--I am still totally undecided how I feel about Peter Van Houten.

Final Thoughts
I recommend this book. I'm curious to see how well Hollywood does with this move adaption. I laughed out loud at more than one part, I snapped pictures of quotes on my phone to save for later, and I ended up crying into the pages at the end. A good, good read.

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
April.
Yesterday I asked for assistance in choosing a book for April. I posted 3 choices of books that had been recommended to me and 1 book that has been on my "To-Read" list for years! In comments, emails, on Twitter, and through texts the 3 choices of books that had been recommended to me were all eliminated rather quickly. I was not getting very many good reviews for any of them. Turns out, I got zero comments on the book I've had on my list for years. So, guess which book I chose for April.


by Nancy Pickard

One beautiful summer afternoon, from her bedroom window on the second floor, Jody Linder is unnerved to see her three uncles parking their pickups in front of her parents’ house—or what she calls her parents’ house, even though Jay and Laurie Jo Linder have been gone almost all of Jody’s life. “What is this fearsome thing I see?” the young high school English teacher whispers, mimicking Shakespeare. Polished boots, pressed jeans, fresh white shirts, Stetsons—her uncles’ suspiciously clean visiting clothes are a disturbing sign.

The three bring shocking news: The man convicted of murdering Jody’s father is being released from prison and returning to the small town of Rose, Kansas. It has been twenty-six years since that stormy night when, as baby Jody lay asleep in her crib, her father was shot and killed and her mother disappeared, presumed dead. Neither the protective embrace of Jody’s uncles nor the safe haven of her grandparents’ ranch could erase the pain caused by Billy Crosby on that catastrophic night.

Now Billy Crosby has been granted a new trial, thanks in large part to the efforts of his son, Collin, a lawyer who has spent most of his life trying to prove his father’s innocence. As Jody lives only a few doors down from the Crosbys, she knows that sooner or later she’ll come face-to-face with the man who she believes destroyed her family.

What she doesn’t expect are the heated exchanges with Collin. Having grown up practically side by side in this very small town, Jody and Collin have had a long history of carefully avoiding each other’s eyes. Now Jody discovers that underneath their antagonism is a shared sense of loss that no one else could possibly understand. As she revisits old wounds, startling revelations compel her to uncover the dangerous truth about her family’s tragic past.

Engrossing, lyrical, and suspenseful, The Scent of Rain and Lightning captures the essence of small-town America—its heartfelt intimacy and its darkest secrets—where through struggle and hardship people still dare to hope for a better future. For Jody Linder, maybe even love.

The Best of Intentions


We will be linking up our Blogger Book Club reviews for this book on Wednesday, April 30th.
However, as usual, the linkup remains open for 2 weeks after that date.



Thursday, March 27, 2014

"Four Things I'm Thinking Right Now"

I'm really beginning to loathe the word "busy". It started as an annoyance, grew to a mild dislike, increased a smidge to hatred, and now we've hit the "loathe entirely" phase. I don't just hate the word, I also hate the feeling that comes with it. So this last week I figured if I didn't say the word "busy" then I could hold off feeling busy. It didn't really work all that well.

The conundrum here is that I like being "busy" and I'm the person in charge of making myself so "busy".
I'm basically a nut case. 
Please, don't try to understand me.
You will fail and I will feel bad.

Wait, where is the post going? Shit.. I have no idea. Seriously, I'm typing my thoughts as they come into my head and I swear to you that I had sort of plotted out a post idea (in my head) before I started rambling about the word "busy" and now I just have no clue where that was going. Son of a bitch.
So.. This is awkward now.

Uh.. Let's wing it?

One.
I still haven't chosen a book for April's Blogger Book Club. Ugh. Sometimes the pressure to choose the perfect book gets to me and I panic and usually don't choose a book until right before I write the post. Not always, but sometimes. Okay actually, I just spent the last 15 minutes narrowing the choices down to these four. Help me choose! Especially if you'd like to link up and join us! (we are linking up TOMORROW for march's bbc book The Fault In Our Stars, by the wayyyy) Wink wink, hint hint, nudge nudge.



The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Marie Semple
The Smart One by Jennifer Close
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

OR we could just read Divergent by Veronica Roth because I really want to read it so I can see the movie, but I'm so damn "busy" that I don't have time to read extra books. BUT if it was the BBC book for April, I'd have to read it. See where I'm going with this?

Two.
My NCAA bracket is totally jacked up. It's actually really annoying to me because IU isn't in the tournament this year (no, i really, really don't want to talk about it) so I chose all of my picks with my head and not my heart. I was feeling so, so good about it this year! The really, really annoying thing is that a lot of my upsets really happened. It was my smart, "safe" picks that blew up in my face. And my Duke pick. Damnit Duke, what the hell? I'm gonna go ahead and tell you guys that I have Michigan State winning it all, so if they lose this weekend I'm gonna be shitty. Yes, I do care about things like this. Yes, I am a girl. Yes, I will be spending my entire weekend in a skirt and heels. Yes, I will still check the scores to the games while no one is looking. Don't try to understand me.

Three.
It's Allie's birthday today. I shouldn't have to tell you what you need to do now.

Four.
I'm obsessed with this song right now. Also, he's quite attractive. I'm just throwing that out there.




Guess what.. I just decided that I'm going to go up there and number all of those things I've typed and then title this post something like "Four Things I'm Thinking Right Now" or something else stupid and super cheesy. Yep, just decided that's what I'm doing. But if you've read this far then you probably already know that I've done that.. So, this seems like a wasted paragraph. I refuse to delete it now though. On principal.

Well thanks for stopping by today guys. It's been a pleasure, as always.
Uhh.. wish this post was better for you, but uhh.. It's not. Sooo...

HAVE A HAPPY THURSDAY!

This is an old picture, but I'm throwing it up here because #1, I can.  #2, I'm giving you all a thumbs up for the day. But #3, most importantly because it's a selfie and I'm also obsessed with this super annoying, super stupid song that's barely a song.. 

I quote it all the damn time. It's so annoying. ILOVEITSOMUCH! #Live

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Tough It Out Tuesday - The NSV Edition

Can I just say, what a difference a week makes! I was fairly close to basket case status last week and my Tough It Out Tuesday post was not very positive, uplifting, or motivating, which basically reflected my current mood. But this week, holy cannoli! I'm back in business.

For all of you TIOT returners.. You might notice something a little different.


My pretty, pretty partner in crime, Allie gave her blog a little facelift and that included a new name and site domain! So I've created a new button.. Which is a temporary place holder until I create (another) new, much prettier button. I'm sorry. I know how annoying it is when a link-up switches their button a million times. Trust me, I know. Been there, complained about that.. BUT it is was it is and so apologies all over the place!

Nothing else has changed..
The "rules" are simple -
1. On Tuesdays write a post about anything fitness, weight loss, healthy living, etc. etc. and link up with Allie and I.
2. This isn't strict or heavily structured. Allie and I really just wanted a mutual place to motivate each other and everyone else who drops by!
3. The main, big, huge purpose of this link up is to motivate and encourage others. I would really love it if you'd take the time to click around the links listed below and give some words of encouragement to everyone else. Maybe even let them know that they aren't alone in their journey. Sometimes that's all someone needs.


So this week I wanted to talk about something I used to talk about a long, long time ago. Non-scale victories. I first learned about NSVs from Katie about a year ago. She actually hosts a Non-Scale Victories linkup every Thursday that you should check out. I've participated in it more than once. Anyway, the idea behind non-scale victories is that generally people only determine their success by the number on the scale. Making a healthy lifestyle change is so much more than that and the little challenges and successes add up to the big ones.

Here are my NSVs for this past week - 

>>  I can feel and I can tell that my endurance is getting better. I'm doing C25K, but this morning I decided to not turn that app on and to just walk/run at my own pace, just to see where I was without an app telling me when to walk/run. Turns out, I can run for a lot longer than I gave myself credit for! This was huge for me and I was basically floating on cloud 9 after I left the gym today.. Which is why this post might seem a little more peppy than usual!


>> A guy called me beautiful and he meant it. Sometimes it's just really nice to hear.

>> My eating has been pretty close to top notch! (yes, i did have ice cream on friday night and yes, it was delicious) My biggest victory with eating is that I've just stopped making it a big deal. I love food and I love trying new things, but sometimes I just need to keep it simple and remember that for right now, food is just fuel. It really clicked this past week and while I don't expect it to last forever, I'm pumped that it's here at all!

>> 64oz of water a day is EASY now. Easy. I can't believe I'm even saying that. I don't even think about it anymore, it just happens. It's awesome, awesome, awesome.


>> I'm noticing differences in my confidence. I don't know if it's my working out or my new "be brave" mentality, but I feel good about myself. Really good about myself.



All of those NSVs should be enough, right? But actually, this week I also had a mini scale victory. Sunday morning I stepped on the scale and saw a very pretty number that made me very happy. I may or may not have fist pumped into the air. I'm not just saying that to add pizazz into this blog post either.. I actually fist pumped the air, alone, in my apartment.

WOO HOO!!

Now, I've got some questions.
Bloglandia is full of people who know more about this than I do and gosh darnit, I want you to share your wisdom and experience with me!! Here are the questions I currently have..
  • I read 2 separate articles about lifting weights before cardio and how that's much better. If I'm doing weights that day, I tend to always do them after cardio. There's no reason I do this, I just do. What I'm wondering is if I should switch that up? Or if that doesn't really matter in the long run.
  • I live in Indiana, so I've been doing all of my running this winter on a treadmill. Obviously, I'll be a running a 5k outside. See the difference there? Last year I got horrible shin splints while I was running outside and I haven't noticed any while I've been on the dreadmill. I also have different shoes, but still.. Tips, tricks, helpful hints for moving from dreadmill to outdoor running?
  • I read another awful, horrible article about the damage ab exercises can do to your back and posture. Well hey, I need to work on my darn posture anyway. So this article recommended back exercises, specifically lower back exercises, but then it didn't give me any. So uh.. what the heck kind of exercises should I be doing? Or should I just stop reading articles I find on Pinterest?
Okay, on that note.. HELP ME!
Also, did anyone else have some non-scale victories this week?
Who else is obsessed with Allie's new blog facelift?
Who is mad at me for being a bad blogger? It's okay, I'm mad at me too.


The Best Of Intentions



Monday, March 24, 2014

How Big Is Your Brave?

Okay, here's my obligatory apology for slacking in Bloglandia lately.
The Best Of Intentions has taken a backseat to everything else going on in my life right now.
Which is ridiculous, because this little slice of the internet is basically my best friend.

Now that the obligatory apology is out of the way, I want to talk about a post that has been in my drafts for a long time. A month or more. After this weekend, it seems even more relevant.
If you'll recall, for my birthday this year I wrote 24 things on my 24th.
Some things were just random facts about me.
Some things were silly and meaningless.
Some things were hopes and wishes I had.
#12 said "I want to do something that takes a lot of bravery this year. I'm not very brave. I want to work on that."

Brave.
I wanted to be brave this year.
Not confident.. Brave.
There's a difference.



Since my birthday, I've really been thinking about that a lot.
In fact, on more than one occasion I've given myself the "be brave" pep talk. That's what I refer to it as now, because I've given it to myself so often.
And since I decided I wanted to be brave, I have done so many things that I wouldn't have normally done. Some of them have turned into really, really good things and some of them have turned into learning experiences. Either way, I haven't regretted a single one.



I spent a long time though trying to figure out what it meant to be brave.
What the non-dictionary definition of "brave" was, but also what "being brave" meant for me.


I think that so far, for me, being brave has meant saying "yes" to something I would've said "no" to.
Being brave has meant doing something I wouldn't have normally done, because I was too scared.
Being brave has meant saying something when I usually would have kept my mouth shut.
Being brave has meant listening to the opinions of others and then ignoring them and doing what I think is best for myself.


So remember back in the first week of January when every one was choosing a word for 2014?
Mine has been Brave.


Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Tough It Out Tuesday - The Do-Over Edition

Well hey, it's Tough It Out Tuesday.

The Best Of Intentions

The "rules" are simple -
1. On Tuesdays write a post about anything fitness, weight loss, healthy living, etc. etc. and link up with Allie and I.
2. This isn't strict or heavily structured. Allie and I really just wanted a mutual place to motivate each other and everyone else who drops by!
3. The main, big, huge purpose of this link up is to motivate and encourage others. I would really love it if you'd take the time to click around the links listed below and give some words of encouragement to everyone else. Maybe even let them know that they aren't alone in their journey. Sometimes that's all someone needs.


Let's get this started.. And actually, we're going to start off with a confession.


If you'll recall, last week on TIOT I had made a plan. I was going to continue my 5k training as well as start a 30 Day Shred challenge. Well... Remember that overwhelmed thing I discussed yesterday? It effected the plan too.
Let's put it this way.. I did the 30 Day Shred dvd exactly twice last week. Which doesn't really work for a 30 day challenge.

I'm declaring a Do-Over.

I restarted the 30 Day Shred challenge last night. Took new measurements (which actually hadn't changed more than a 1/2inch, but i wanted to be thorough) and I took a new weight this morning. Printed off a new tracker sheet, so I started everything completely fresh.

I'm just keeping it real with you guys.
I don't have my ish as together as I like to pretend I do.
I screw up.
I need do-overs.
This lifestyle change stuff is hard.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OK..
Switching gears just a little bit.
Let's talk food.

I'm still meal planning and meal prepping. Honestly, it will probably be a long time before I stop that. It makes my life so much easier. However, last week was a shit show. It was just one of those random, weird weeks. I spent half of the week at my parent's house staying with my little brother and sister and cooking for them and then it was the bosslady's birthday on Thursday and then I had a friend's 21st birthday on Friday and then my grandma cooked on Saturday and then my parents took us to the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday night.. and just.. It was a bad week.

So yea, you read that correctly - on top of not doing the 30 Day Shred last week, I also threw my meal plan out the window. Like I said, bad week. We've all got had 'em.

This week, I went a little old school and a little classic.
Salads, veggies, fruits, eggs, baked chicken.


Overall pretty simple things, but things that everyone knows are very effective. I'm cutting out tons of carbs, cheese, and sugar, because I can not be trusted with those foods. I love them oh so much and have ZERO intention of cutting them out of my life completely. Hi, yea.. no never going to happen. I am going to cut them back though, especially this week.

I think that's everything for today.
Lots of smoothies, salads, and Jillian this week.
My goal dates are quickly approaching and I need to make it happen.

What about you guys? Anyone else cutting out that delicious mac-n-cheese? Food of the Gods, I tell ya.
Don't forget to click around the links below and check out Allie's progress! Which is far better than my own! Girl is an inspiration.

The Best Of Intentions




Monday, March 17, 2014

Overwhelmed.

I'm feeling overwhelmed.
And it is no one's fault but my own.
I'm creating this pressure I'm putting on myself. I'm creating my long (loooooong) to-do lists. I'm the one trying to cram 36 hours in a 24 hour day. Me.

How do I combat that overwhelmed feeling?
I don't. 

Simple, easy, honest answer - I just don't. Usually I let it build and build and then one of two things happens..
  1. I lose my cool. I'm can be an emotional person anyway and sometimes when I get overwhelmed I start to get stressed and I handle stress in unusual ways (not eating and cleaning like a crazy person) and eventually I run out of ways to handle that stress and then I have a little breakdown and I cry for no reason about something totally irrelevant. And then I feel better and that's the end of that.
  2. OR.. It just goes away. Honestly sometimes I'll be going and going and I'll feel so overwhelmed and so stressed and so like my life is not put together and then one day I just wake up and I don't feel that way anymore. I can't explain it. The first time it happened was in high school and nothing changed and nothing special happened, but I woke up one day and just felt a thousand times better. Just like that.

So obviously, I love my #2 option. I love just waking up and feeling all of a sudden like I have a handle on things and that overwhelmed feeling that I hate is just gone. The catch is that sometimes while I'm waiting and hoping for Option #2 to happen.. Option #1 happens. 

Which leaves me with where I am today.
I'm overwhelmed moving quickly into the stressed phase.
For no reason.
Guys seriously, there's no reason for this. I know this. But I can't seem to stop feeling it anyway. And it ANNOYS me. I'm annoyed with myself. I'm overwhelmed, stressed, and annoyed. I mean, really? If this were a Road Runner cartoon this is the part where I'd get smacked with a frying pan for being ridiculous.

For now I'm just going to keep taking deep breaths and counting to 10.
...And probably scrubbing my shower or organizing my spices...

*no, there isn't a photo to go with this post. the thought of finding a picture to add was overwhelming me and starting to piss me off. sorry.*

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Unplugging.

This has been on my mind for a while now. Every time I go to check my phone "just for a second" and the next time I look up and an hour has gone by, I think about this.

I like social media.

I completely acknowledge all of the horrible things that can and do come from it, but I think it's easy to forget all of the good things that can and do come from it. I'm a big fan of social media and the internet, and technology in general. I have a blog for crying out loud. I'm a supporter.


However, social media is a huge time suck.
I have the ability to waste more time on my phone or computer than I ever thought possible. And I truly consider most of those as "wasted" hours. I think there's a huge difference in being productive and using my social media hours to promote my blog, connect with blog readers, promote my Mary Kay business, support IU athletics (where i'm also employed), and things of that nature versus mindlessly scanning Twitter, spending 20 minutes to choose the perfect Instagram filter (after spending 20 minutes taking the perfect instagram picture), getting irritated at my personal Facebook page (people i went to high school with cause me to shake my head far too often), or obsessing over 6 second Vine videos.

All of my goals end up suffering because of the social media trap.
It's frustrating.
Monday night I ended up only getting 3 hours of sleep. Why? Because when I went to bed at 11pm I opened my phone and immediately got sucked into all of my social media apps.. for hours. That's about the time I decided I needed to reevaluate.

I'm not giving up Twitter or Instagram. I'm certainly not giving up my Vine addiction.
Let's not talk crazy.


I am going to make a conscious effort to use my time wisely. I'm not going to "unplug" in the typical way that you hear most people talk about it. I don't think spending one day a year or one day a month completely "unplugged" is that realistic and I also don't believe that it solves the long term problem. I just don't. Instead I'm going to just check my phone less throughout the day, every day. I think it's that simple.

So if I'm taking a long time to respond to your email or several hours to respond to your tweet, well, just know that in that time I'm out living my life. Maybe I'm doing an income producing activity, maybe I'm spending a few extra minutes talking with my mom. Maybe I'm watching one of my favorite tv shows and giving it my full attention. Maybe I'll be listening to Jillian kick my ass. Maybe I'm spoiling my puppy nephew. You never know what I could be doing, but the point is that I'm out doing it. Hopefully it'll give me more things to blog about.

Maybe I'll take more pictures to include to posts like these so I don't end up filling it with pointless gifs..


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tough It Out Tuesday - The Goal Edition

Lots and lots to discuss today!
First, welcome back to Tough It Out Tuesday!

The Best Of Intentions

The "rules" are simple -
1. On Tuesdays write a post about anything fitness, weight loss, healthy living, etc. etc. and link up with Allie and I.
2. This isn't strict or heavily structured. Allie and I really just wanted a mutual place to motivate each other and everyone else who drops by!
3. The main, big, huge purpose of this link up is to motivate and encourage others. I would really love it if you'd take the time to click around the links listed below and give some words of encouragement to everyone else. Maybe even let them know that they aren't alone in their journey. Sometimes that's all someone needs.


Alright, second, if you remember on our last edition of Tough It Out Tuesday, I told you guys that I lost the DietBet I was in. 0.8lbs away. Frustration tears occurred.
Well, the rest of last week I was in a funk. BUT I also did some thinking and some planning.
I read this really wonderful article that I can't find now, but in the article the author was really stressing how important it was to really think through your goals and to write them down. She also discussed writing down your "whys". WHY are these your goals? WHY do you want them? WHY are you going to succeed? WHY have you failed before? She stressed over and over again how important the "whys" were to your goals and their success.
So I spent last week writing all of these down.
It might seem like a waste of time.. It isn't.
It was such a good experience.
Now, I took my time writing everything down and going back the next day and revising it and then adding to it the day after that and scratching out things the day after that, but this is absolutely something you could do in one sitting. And it's worth it. No one else ever has to see it except for you.


This brings me to today.
Today I'm making goals.
So here's my current plan..

>>It is full steam ahead with my 5k training. If we are being honest, then honestly, I think that I need to run a 5k more than I need anything in the world at this point. I need it.
>>I'm going to do a 30 Day Shred challenge. Yesterday was Day 1. I'm doing it on top of my 5k training and any other gym time I get in. I took "before" pictures and measurements yesterday and I will take "after" pictures and measurements at the end of the 30 days. Good or Bad, I'm posting them.

I made a little template so that I can cross off every day after I do the 30 Day Shred.


So now I have 2 questions:
1. Who wants to join me in my 30 Day Shred Challenge?
2. Who is linking up with Allie and I today?

The Best Of Intentions




Monday, March 10, 2014

Wild & Crazy Saturday Night

Are you ready for this? Things are about to get all kinds of ridiculous up in here.

This story really starts on Thursday, when a friend of mine ended up having emergency gallbladder surgery. Her birthday was on Friday and we had plans most of the weekend for this big birthday.


Needless to say, my weekend plans were altered.
Also, I may have mentioned that I'm watching my little brother while my parents are on a cruise. So all of my cancelled plans equaled lots of sibling bonding time.

Saturday night my brother went into his man cave, also known as his bedroom, to play PS3 or Xbox Live or something. I don't pretend to have a clue what the difference is. Anyway, I found myself without anything to do, so I got comfy with my laptop and planned on working on blog things and Mary Kay things. I need background noise though.
Seriously, fun fact about me - I need background noise so that I can concentrate. It pretty much makes no sense, but hey, it works for me.

So I started channeling surfing and you guys will not believe what my remote landed on!
Remember this post from last Monday? If you don't, you probably want to read it now or you're going to be confused..

Waiting.. Waiting.. Waiting..


So back to Saturday.. I'm channeling surfing, looking for background noise and I land on Scooby Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster!


Holy mother of goodness! So of course, I HAD to watch it.
And guys.. It is terrible. So awful. Really and truly just.. bad.

It was so bad that I almost wonder if it was supposed to be that awful. Sort of like Scary Movie or The Brady Bunch Movie. Those were made to poke fun at other movies or tv shows. I'm now wondering if these Scooby Doo movies were made for the same reason. However, they don't tell you that, so it's hard to figure out. Actually, if there were made to be that awful on purpose, then it kind of makes them funny, which makes them about a 1,000x better. So I'm going to go with that theory.

I leave you with some quality quotes from the show, where I LOL'd.

Shaggy: "Cause who'd want a girlfriend in daylight savings time?"

AND

Shaggy: "Oh great! My first love and she's possessed by an evil witch."
Fred: "Join the club."

See you tomorrow for Tough It Out Tuesday with me and Allie!

The Best Of Intentions

*UPDATE*
**BLOGGER PSA**
I have been getting so many comments from no-reply bloggers lately! This means that when you leave me a comment I can't reply to your via email. Listen up people, you leave me awesome, fantastic, fabulous comments and sometimes ask me good and thoughtful questions, BUT I CAN'T RESPOND TO YOU! This makes me a very sad blogger. So, Sarah has one of the BEST tutorials on how to fix this! It takes just a few seconds and it'll be helpful for a lifetime! (;
ALSO.. I've noticed that Google is being a big butthole and changing people who have always been reply bloggers and making them no-reply bloggers. So please just double check! Thank you, that'll be all for today.
PS. I love you.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Moments Of Happy

The weirdest thing has happened this week.
Usually I'm constantly trying to figure out what I'm going to blog about. I don't put a ton of effort into it, because I want it to be something I enjoy and I've noticed that when I'm forcing myself to write I start hate my blog. However, I very, very rarely start a post more than a day in advance. And usually that's after a big brainstorming session.
But this week, for some crazy reason, I've had tons of ideas and tons of things I want to talk about. I've already started 5 blog posts. I just have so much I want to talk about and so many things I want to say. No idea where this inspiration has come from!

So today I wanted to post something short and sweet. Just a little list of some other things that have been on my mind lately.
 
Getting a compliment from a stranger. Those kinds of compliments really make me happy because a stranger usually only compliments you if they really mean it. Big smiles all around!

Made for TV Christmas movies. I love them. So much love. They are always cheesy and always corny and usually very poorly acted, but I get so excited to watch them every year. What can I say? I guess it's my guilty pleasure!

When my Dad calls me Ashley. It's my middle name, but no one and I mean no one else in my life calls me Ashley except for my Dad. To be honest, he rarely uses my first name. Almost never. He always calls me "Ashley" or "Ash" and it's like our little thing. Something that only him and I have together and it makes me smile and makes me happy. 

IU Athletics playing well. Puts me in an instant good mood. Basketball to soccer to baseball to tennis and track. When IU is doing well in any and all sports, I get giddy. Hoosier fan for life.

When a child experiences something for the first time. There is jut something so precious and adorable about it. They always start out so confused and trying to take it all in and then watching their face while they try to decide whether they like something or not, whether it's a thing or an experience, it's just so fascinating. So many happy smiles.

Being appreciated for the hard work I've put into something. Yea, sometimes I need that praise and I won't apologize for it. If I'm putting in hard work and sometimes blood, sweat, and tears then yes, praise me. Show me that it was all worth it and show me that you value my time and my skills. When you do you're likely to get twice as much of it and I'm likely to be twice as happy.

Taking my little brother to school. He's not a morning person. None of my siblings and I were morning people when we were younger. I barely tolerate mornings now. But when I'm driving him to school he's chatty and it's awesome. He's 12 and he's such a young man now and it's so crazy to listen to him talk about school and his friends and life. Usually after I drop him off I've got a ridiculous smile on my face. I'm a big fan of that kid.

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