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Friday, January 4, 2008

Pictures from the Holidays

So I had the day off from work and I have to say it was great to have such a short week after a long holiday break. It will hopefully make the transition from no work to busy season a little bit easier. Because I know the 2 days back from work this week were definitely hellish and drawn out. But here's to hoping this busy season won't be as harsh as the last.

I revamped the page to add a few new aspects. New pics, new quotes and such. And I also changed the decor to fit the Buckeyes colors in honor of their game coming up on Monday....GO BUCKS!

And Mom finally sent me pictures from Christmas and there are a few other from our little circle of friends Christmas party.

Rocco in front of the Christmas Tree!!

Some of my holiday decorations




Pics from our little holiday party at my place....little did Xtina know what her surprise gift would be...or that Nicole would be surrounded by what she calls my "creepy christmas bears" I still say they're NOT creepy....they're CUTE!!








My fireplace and my Christmas tree...i love christmas!


And here are pics of me unpacking my fabulous new flat screen tv!!













still in the box.....oooh la la!
















Getting it out of the wrapper....
















Starting the setup!!
















Halfway there!!















Almost done!!!















Me and my new tv remote control...yes I'm a dork
















And here is the beautiful end product....I love my tv


So those are my pics!! I hope you all enjoy the process as much as I enjoyed it at the time! And have I said this at all lately.....i miss christmas! Way too sad that its over.


TOO bad the decorations are staying up for another couple weeks... YAY!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Broadening My Horizons

So as part of my attempts to add things to my life during 2008 I'm also including my music and movie collections in the tasks. My goal is to get a handful of movies every month and to fill up my new 8GB IPod and have music left over :-)

To do this I will be needing suggestions from friends and family!!!

Please post your suggestions in the comments section please!!

And sister...I expect you to way in heavily on the subject kapeesh? Considering you have one of the most extensive collections for both movies and music!

Thanks all!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!!

January 1, 2008.....can you believe it? Because I'm having a thoroughly difficult time in grasping the fact that it is now 2008 and that another year is upon us. Its really quite amazing to me. And I have to say we went out with a bang. Nicole and Chad hosted a little party at their house and it was by far one of the best new year's celebrations I've had. I realized that I had not celebrated new year's eve properly since my senior year in high school. We were always having simple evenings with family or I was in San Diego by lonesome so it was nice to finally have a place to go, friends to spend it with and time to party. The party didn't end until 6am and I am still recovering as I write this at 11:30 at night.

So I've been sitting on my couch contemplating what I really wanted to write in this blog, and there are so many things on my mind when it comes to the new year that I don't know where to start. New beginnings, new discoveries...new possibilities.

I don't really know if I believe in the idea of New Year Resolutions. I think they're pointless in a way. Everyone sits through the new year celebration and begins compiling lists of resolutions to better themselves or stop bad habits, but in reality 90% of those resolutions fail within the first month. So why make them? Why refer to them as resolutions? Why don't we make plans to add things to our lives and not necessarily to eliminate things? Set forth ideas which we might actually follow through on.

As I'm sitting here thinking on the subject of resolutions/plans I look back and it feels as if yesterday was graduation day from USD. But low and behold its a year and half from that day, and yet I feel stuck in the same position. I've been a college graduate for 19 months, I've worked at my job for 15 months, lived in two different apartments within the last two years, and although I feel stuck in the same position I feel as if I've learned quite a lot. And that these lessons have prepped me for the upcoming year. Here are some of the things I've learned:

1) Money isn't everything - Making a decent amount of money is a great thing, but it isn't everything. Money doesn't buy you time with friends or family. It doesn't buy true happiness. And it doesn't buy time. Time needed to enjoy life and actually live. Yes having money to buy things is great. You can buy nice things and spoil yourself and those you love, but in the end if you don't have the time to enjoy the money you have and the people you want to spoil then what is the point??

2) Time Matters - even when you're pressed between a rock and a hard place making time for friends and family should be your top priority. You can't continually make excuses about being too busy, having no time, being obscenely tired and expect the people in your life to stick around or make extraordinary efforts to see you. Even if all of the above is true, time is something you will never get back and in light of this fact you must push through and make efforts to keep in touch with those you love.

3) Work is not Life - You should not work to live. Work should not merely be a means to an end. It should not be something you do to get money to get by. Work should be something you do because you are passionate about it, you enjoy it and it does not consume you and make you miserable. I know this seems idyllic but I believe it. So many people have told me that you just get by doing your job. Not everyone is lucky enough to be put in a position to do something they love, but shouldn't we strive for that?

4) Real Love Exists - This lesson I learned from my sister, and it is one that I am continually learning. Both my sister and I have always been pretty jaded in the love department. Whether you want to say it was in part because of a lack of fatherly love or whether its due to living in a world where divorce is so frequent it no longer is considered unnatural is up to you. We live in a world where people idolize famous musicians, actors, or actresses...people who seem to trade spouses or significant others like trading cards. And its ridiculous. So no wonder I've never really believed too much in the idea of love and that people can truly offer themselves up to love. But my sister has begun to change my opinion on the matter. She has found herself a man who truly completes her. And now they're married. So I know it exists, its just getting my heart to believe in the matter.

So these are by far not all of the lessons I've learned within the last year and a half of my life, but they are probably the most pertinent. So in light of all these lessons learned I've decided to take a new approach to the new year. I've decided to add things to my life and to begin my path on actually acknowledging my learned lessons. Because although we learn these things along the way, its not too often we actually encompass these learnings into our own lives.

After all of this contemplation, I've come upon a few key concepts/ideas/plans to integrate into my life:
  • Stay in better contact with friends and family
  • Travel home more often
  • Travel to Europe
  • Go Sky Diving
  • Follow my heart (in regards to work, friends, and life)
  • And finally.....be open to love

And thats my list....well not all of it, but at least the main gist of it. Its very general because some of the things are by far too personal to be posting on this journal, but at least it gives a good overview.

There you go. My first blog of the new year. Probably longer than I would've liked, but then again I could've continued to write on the topic for a lot longer than this. But here is to what I am hoping will be an amazing year. One which will hopefully lead me on a new path and provide me some much needed hope that things are going to be better.

Happy New Year!