end of the year jitters.

So I've been so busy with Christmas and everything lately that I haven't really had a chance to blog much. But on the plus side, I have taken quite a few Instagram photos that I would love to share. Hopefully it explains my absence well. :)

[1- All my hard work paid off! Graduated from Creighton][2- My sister thought she would be funny and get me a "bag of coal" since I am always threatening to do that to her...she's got guts.][3- Creighton in the only snowfall we've had all winter, the campus looked so pretty!][4- Some photobooth pictures with my Germans at the movies.][5- The cutest seasonal candy bowl that I bought and am currently loving for chocolates.][6- My gift from Iwan before he and Lina left for Germany, really sad day.][7- I've been to the bowling alley a lot lately, to help my sister practice and with my friends.][8- Getting ready for Christmas Eve midnight Mass which my sister served, had to drink lots of coffee that night to stay awake!][9- My new obsession, Dexter. Is it so bad to stay up all night watching it? Not even sorry about it.][10- Doing my best to learn German. Not going too bad, it makes me happy every time I can remember what I learned the day before. :)][11- Our Christmas tree at our house, my mom always does an amazing job decorating.][12- My favorite Christmas tradition- sugar cookies! Decorated by my younger sisters.]

Getting ready for my annual "New Year's Resolutions" list...I'll definitely be posting it here so that I can finally be held accountable to it. Maybe I'll actually do everything on the list this year :)

work hard, play harder.

This past week was filled with scrambling to adequately finish my final paper and presentation for my capstone Spanish class, but I finally did it! In the nick of time. My final presentation on Friday went basically amazing (with the help of some homemade cookies for the class), and now all that's left is a class dinner at my professor's house and then graduation! :)

Saturday was an amazing night! We went out to dinner at Brewburger on 72nd and Pacific, and even though I didn't get anything to eat (I had already cooked earlier), it was a pretty nice place- so much bigger on the inside than it looks! Then we had a really fun night at Austin's, just some tippy cup, foosball, and random dancing. Such a great way to start Christmas break!

Also, happy 27th anniversary to the best parents ever :) they have truly taught me what love is (sorry, sorry, I know I'm being cheesy...but it's true!).

just some comic relief.

I was so lucky to be able to attend the baby shower of one of my former co-workers at Sam and Louie's, Reanna. She found out she is having a boy, whom they decided to name Charlie (only one of my most favorite names of all time). She held it at Greek Islands in Omaha, which I had never heard of before this. All I can say is, delicious! Can't wait to head back there as soon as possible for some pita bread and hummus. Mm Yum. :) This week is going to be crazy, my last week of undergrad. One paper, one presentation, and two classes away from my degree! Ahh!!! I just can't wait! Probably some baking later on in the week though, so I'll post some pictures of that when it gets done.

And just some humor to get through the rest of today...Friday, come quick!!

[all humor pictures via Pinterest]

picture-crazy weekend.

Since it was such a long weekend, I got the chance to take tons of pictures. Wednesday night was tippy cup night, which never fails to produce a good time. It was such a nice way to start off the Thanksgiving weekend, especially considering I was on the winning team. :) As you saw the last post, Thanksgiving day was one big feast, and it ended with some friends out at DJ's Dugout. I thought about going out Black Friday shopping like Heidi did (crazy, traffic was terrible all night and day), but I got a super great surprise from my dad, who happened upon a friend selling Husker tickets for really cheap. So I got my butt up early with some friends and went down to Lincoln for the game! It was so fun, it's always the best when you can see a win. Rani and Lina got to see their first Husker football game ever, and Lina even had her first Runza ever (obvi, she loved it, everyone does).

Friday night was fancy dinner party night at Beau's house, we got all dressed up and brought out the wine bottles and black lights. We played a few card games (P and A...I was pretty terrible), danced, and basically had a crazy good time. Saturday was work as usual, made dinner with my baby sister, and went out for just a bit since it had been such a long weekend. But now it's back to the books...got to get my thesis paper all polished and what not. So close to the end of the year...can't wait! :)

a very happy thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving this year was, as usual, delicious! My mom cooked way, way too much food so we were eating turkey for about three days straight. Not that I was complaining, since I love my mom's cooking :) We had all the classic Thanksgiving foods, ending with some pumpkin pie that was gone before I could get a picture of it. After we were able to get out of a major food coma, we ended the day with some croquet outside since it was absolutely beautiful! Couldn't really have asked for more..

And this weekend was major fun- can't wait to post all my pictures!



cheers to the freakin' weekend...

This weekend was definitely successful. To start it off, I got to have sushi with Gina, which I have been craving for such a long time! It was my first time at Kona Grill out at Village Pointe, and it was so delicious! Happy hour sushi and drinks is becoming one of my favorite things to do. :)

Saturday night was really fun, even though Heidi, Sam, and I didn't get out til late because there was a huge party at work. After, we went out to our friend Austin's house which ended up being super fun! Some foosball, some drinks, and it was a great way to end the weekend. Although ordering three large French fries at McDonald's was probably not a very healthy way to end the night...haha ;)

I have a DIY necklace that I am making from a bracelet that I didn't like much after the first couple of times I wore it...I can't wait to show the pictures once I am done. I've been getting so obsessed with gold jewelry right now, and this is a good way to get a new piece of jewelry since I am on a spending diet until December- ick. But on the plus side...I've been getting so excited for Thanksgiving, it is one of my favorite holidays. Football, food, family...what could be better?! My favorite thing to eat is green bean casserole, my mom makes my grandma's recipe which is seriously to die for- Heidi and I are always fighting for seconds, thirds, and the leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving break! Just a little video of my parents doing their thing..hahah :)

not time to get skinny- time to get fit! part one.

As I said in an earlier post, Heidi and I are trying to get a more consistent workout schedule going. We made a little "workout board" where we schedule our workouts for the rest of the week. For me, it's easier to be held accountable to what I'm supposed to be doing if I have it concretely written in front of me. It also helps to have someone to do the workouts with/be accountable to (Heidi). We both think that doing it together makes it harder to ditch on, and for us, it adds a competitive spirit to working out which helps to drive us to do it the hardest and the best so we get the best results (meaning...we want to beat each other, haha).

I think it's an important thing to change up your workouts. Not only do you work out different muscles, it keeps your workouts from getting repetitive. That always seemed to be a huge problem with me and running everyday- as in, I would linger at my homework so I wouldn't have to run... saddest thing- but I find that if I am mixing up running on the elliptical with walks through the neighborhood, zumba sessions, and some workout videos (Jillian & Bob from Biggest Loser, usually), it makes it a lot more bareable. Even when I don't have time to do an hour workout, I usually have a back-up plan for a quickie. :)

Here's a couple of the workouts I've been doing (all found via Pinterest):

I have made what I call my "always running" playlist, so when I go on the elliptical I know I have to get through this playlist before I can get off. I like to get my mind off of the time that I'm running so that I can concentrate on other things (watching TV, reading a book, studying, etc.) while I'm on the elliptical.

My current playlist:

Cinema- Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go
You and I- Lady Gaga
Wild Boy- Machine Gun Kelly
Super Bass- Nicki Minaj
Give Me Everything- Pitbull
Without You- Usher & David Guetta
Criminal- Britney Spears
We Found Love- Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
On the Floor- Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull
In the Dark- Dev
What You Know- Two Door Cinema Club
I Roll Up- Wiz Khalifa

Okay this has been a super long post, but I promise to post more about healthy eating in a different post. This thesis paper is kicking my butt, I just can't seem to get into a rhythm to write it- so frustrating! Although multitasking while trying to write it is probably also not the smartest idea... :)

[all images via Pinterest]

It's finally here...11-11-11!!

I'm getting super excited for 11-11-11, it's going to be such a fun day! Hehe :) I can't wait until the highlighter party that is going to be epic. I'm not really one to wish at 11:11 on a regular basis (even though Gina always makes me), but it'll still be fun to make a wish at 11:11 on 11-11-11. Maybe this time my wishes will come true! :)

Just wanted to share some of the great things I've been finding on Pinterest. It has seriously inspired me in my cooking, I have to tell myself not to make all the desserts at once because I won't be able to work it all off. :) Not to mention all of the really cute do-it-yourself projects on there. I've done a couple already but I have a huge list of them I really need to get on. Also loving the fashion that is on there, I think I have discovered four or five new online stores (which is not good for my bank account!! haha).

If you have time this weekend, you should definitely read this article! In the midst of all the young Americans trying to find jobs, I think this adds some humor to the truth and maybe even lets us in on some underlying truth...

This weekend, I have a huge post coming up on fitness and all of my different inspirations for workouts, healthy eating, etc. Also some things that inspired me to get off of by butt and running! :)

1. Great day outfit with the oversized shirt. (recreate with Zara shirt and Lulu pants)

2. Super chic, loving that red. (Zara pants and shirt)

3. Perfect jet-setting outfit. (BDG jeans, Zara blazer, Banana Republic handbag)

4. Fun day-to-night outfit! (same Zara blazer as above, Forever XXI shirt, Delia's skirt)

1. Caprese salad- it is SO cute this way!

2. A fun and yummy way to eat avocado!

3. Cilantro Lime Shrimp- great with sauteed peppers!

4. 33 different types of cupcakes- I don't even like cupcakes but these looks delicious! Especially the lemon meringue cupcakes.

1. How to fix shorts that are too short

2. Something fun to do during the year.

3. A way to ensure that your zipper never falls. :)

I love the inspirational quotes that I find on Pinterest, too, along with the funny images. So happy Friday, hope these make you smile. :)

[all images via Pinterest]

kindness.

Last week I got an e-mail about the launch of a new website that one of my high school friends, Megan Carroll, has come up with. It's called Kind-Post, and basically it is a site that promotes kindness by offering a place where people can share the good experiences they've performed, received, or observed. This is not to say that people don't need a place to vent (FML.com, etc.), but it seems like there is not enough recognition of the good that is happening in the world as opposed to the bad. Even the news has become a source of bad news...so I think that Megan has a really fantastic idea here. Check out the site out and post about your experiences of kindness! See if you can spot my submission. :)

Post your kindness here!



Thanks to Megan, who is truly inspring.

Standing Bear Lake.

Before the random snowstorm on Wednesday, my sisters and I got to spend some time at Standing Bear Lake while the sun was setting. It was so beautiful! When it started snowing and sleeting the next day, it was kind of crazy to think of how nice it had been the day before...God's little joke, I guess. Hopefully we'll have a few more nice days to go walk around the lake, I'm just not ready for winter to come :(

Right after I slipped into the water. Heidi couldn't stop laughing...until I threatened her with pushing her in.

Heidi took all the pictures because she didn't want to be in any. We had a ton of fun jamming out in the car while Jena was sleeping her way home. Oh, the joys of sister bonding :)