whoa.

that picture above is just far too big....but i'm so stinking challenged, i can't even figure out how to fix it. likely it will stay this large for 10 months.

weekend update.

so, this is a smattering of people that i go to school with (as a reminder, i made a somewhat insane decision to go get my 2nd masters degree in higher education).

a LOT of people say to me "what is a degree in higher education going to do for you - or anyone for that matter". which i totally understand. it's kind of...vague.

but, for example, people in this photo are interested in working with college students in some pretty amazing areas, such as: universities and their "arts" scenes, student health/wellness, financial aid, athletics, greek life, residence life, development/fundraising, student activities, study abroad/international affairs, admissions..the list could go on.

the best one, and i say this tongue-in-cheek, is the residence life interest. i say to them..."let me get this straight: you are earning another degree so that you can go back and live in and preside over a dorm? are you crazy? let me answer that for you - yes, you are". i respect it immensely, yet it makes me sleepy just thinking about it!

anyway, the lot of us wanted to go rent a big house and go "skiing" (aka: slushing) in VA, so we did just that. most of us didn't ski but rather sat around eating baked goods and reading and playing games and making fun of one another. the group of 16 got along quite well, there were nearly enough beds for all, and we each paid only $53 for 2 nights rent for this fantastic mountain get away.

a good time was had by all! :) off to catch up on some sleep!

get em while they're hot...

if you are lucky enough to be on the Groupon email list for the Greensboro, NC area, you too could get in on this deal....

a two-for-one special on Justin Bieber toothbrushes.

though the Groupons usually just junk-up my inbox, I'm constantly amused by the descriptions of their deals:

Part of the joy of getting a new toothbrush is the ability to use the old one to clean hard-to-reach places, such as inside the mouth of a pet piranha. Brush your way to a beaming smile with today’s Groupon: for $14, you get two Justin Bieber singing toothbrushes from Brush Buddies (a $29.90 value).

The dental-hygiene heroes at Brush Buddies transform ho-hum teeth-brushing sessions into enamel-whitening extravaganzas with a signature line of fun, ergonomic toothbrushes designed to ensure kids polish their pearlies for at least 120 dentist-recommended seconds. Endorsed by dentists and screaming tweens around the country, each replaceable brush head sports soft DuPont bristles and a plastic sheathing that complements a thick handle graced with Justin Bieber’s dreamy doe eyes, floppy crop of hair, and incandescent halo. After pressing one of two buttons—one for both morning and evening brushes—cavity-crushers can enjoy Bieber’s cherubic croon for 120 seconds, the exact length of time dentists recommend for shining smile bones. Brushers can serenade bathroom-mirror reflections with the echoing sounds of Bieber’s “Baby” and “U Smile” from one brush, or whip out its counterpart to show off hygiene habits and subtly court secret crushes with midday brushes set to the tunes of “Love Me” and “Somebody to Love.”

one word.

i don't know if bill shakespeare has it all right or all wrong, but i'd like to reflect for a sec.....

i think that if i had to sum up the last 5 years of life in a phrase, i may just go to this one above. not for its somewhat depressing/hopeless vibe it initially gives off. because i actually think that expectations can be a source of joy and happiness.

for example: going to see people you love and enjoying the time together to the fullest. or ordering a dress on sale from a website and when it arrives it's PERFECT. like that stuff.

but i do believe that there is something so very true about constantly wrapping your mind around everything/everyone As They Should Be and then feeling let down.

let down that a family member behaved badly or dismissed something that was important to you. bummed out that an event you wanted to be special was, well, kinda lame.

so i've decided that there is more (not less) merit to the above statement. i think that there is power in letting go of what things and people Should Be and letting things and situations and people in our lives be just as they are. less judgment on my part, more acceptance and openness to say "i like you for all that you ARE, not all that you are NOT" - cause truthfully the people i've experienced who don't just let me be who i am without wanting to change me aren't for me.

this is turning into a post that somehow sounds like i'm angry or mad at someone. but i assure you that i'm not.

lest i keep rambling, i'm gonna wrap it up. i want to let go of expectations for the better. to understand more about living in the moments for all that they are, not all that they lack. to believe that maybe nothing is lacking at all. that things and people are as they should be.

Trophy Life, out!

oh {scary} new year

wha...wha...what?! 2012? huh.

not trying to make too many promises that i can't keep, but i would like to do the following this year:
1). in the next week, set up some automatic debit to a new charity of choice.
2). try to remember more often (more often than NEVER) to take all of these reusable bags to the grocery store so i don't have this massive collection of plastic bags
3). train for and complete a 10 mile or 1/2 marathon race.

and that concludes my not-too-over-the-top hopes/resolutions for 2012

(P.S. - it is very disturbing what one finds when one looks at Google images for 2012. i really don't want the world to end....just sayin')

The dog days of Christmas...

kudos of the week.

my mom got me these for Christmas. but she won't let me open them until Christmas.

this company (Joules) has such cute wellies and some of them are reasonably priced. some of them are dumb-expensive though.