12 in 2012

i wanted to look back on 2012, super late but oh well!

1. traveled alone to Amsterdam & Madrid

2. celebrated 5 years with my partner :)

3. tried to teach conservational English to bored French high school students

4. came home after living in france // moved in family home

5. long-distance relationship :\

6. i started flossing (most of the time) 

7. read 31 books

8. got my first (2nd ish) post-college part-time job

9. drove on the freeway (a few times), i hate to drive but something i still have to completely conquer 

10. grew my hair for the entire year

11. made three youtube videos and then stopped ... hahaha

12. got my first graphic design internship !!! & its still going :D

unwishlist #1

a list of things i like and dont plan on buying ... ever!

1) Dahon Briza D7 Folding Bike (Obsidian, 24-Inch) $718.99

2) SONG READER by BECK $34

3) The Gorillapod - Original $19

4) Steve Madden Women's Troopa Boot $99.95

5) Psychedelic Pill (vinyl) $69.99

6) TARTE Eye Catchers 6-Piece SmolderEYES™ And Skinny SmolderEYES™ Collector's Set $59.99

7) Smens Gourmet Scented Pens, 10 Pack $20.79

☾

• ☾: post photo of yourself

    taken just now to answer this question

• æ : tell 5 things about your best friend
• 1. part time lover + full time best friend
• 2. pretty good at guitar / awesome at band names 
• 3. likes gummi candy, candy corn, & circus peanuts
• 4. LOVES is addicted to diet coke
• 5. can quote tons of cheesy 90s movies
• 
  
• ✌: share 5 things that you really want
• 1. new glasses or new to me glasses
• 2. road bike (used)
• 3. replace my recently lost monroe (just spent like an hour looking for one i would actually want to buy)
• 4. full-time employment/money
• 5. to live in/with the same place as my boy
• 
  
• ☮ : share 5 favourite movies
• 1. thin blue line
• 2. magnolia
• 3. rushmore
• 4. lost in translation
• 5. the graduate
• 
  
• ❂ : share 5 favourite foods
• 1. shrimp fried rice from chinese friends
• 2. chicken kabob from tasty burger
• 3. bean & cheese / breakfast burrito from san diego mexican food places
• 4. the loaded potato skins from wood ranch
• 5. bbq chopped salad
• 
  
• ☯ : share 5 person you love being with
• 1. daniel
• 2. jessica 
• 3. arun 
• need to stop being such a loner/be better at making friends, am taking applications :) 
• 
  
• ☪ : share 5 favourite celebrities
• 1. bill murrary
• 2. the beatles
• 3. meryl streep
• 4. britney spears 
• 5. beyoncé
• 
  
• ❀ : share favourite thing you do when you get bored
• not sure i have a favorite thing but to be honest its kill time on youtube watching howto/style beauty videos, awful habit that needs to stop or read my rss feed
• 
  
• ♡ : share 5 favourite songs
• 1. sunshine of your love by cream
• 2. my my, hey hey (out of the blue) by neil young and crazy horse
• 3. almost cut my hair by crosby, stills, nash & young
• 4. someday soon by harlem
• 5. declaration of war by little toys
• 
  
• ❁: share 5 favourite blogs
• 1. http://daintysquid.blogspot.com/
• 2. http://www.mapsandfragments.com/
• 3. http://www.katielouiseford.com/
• 4. http://www.arestlesstransplant.com/
• 5. http://garconniere.tumblr.com/ (where i found this)
• 
  
• ✓: tell 5 facts about yourself
• 1. i am my own harsh critic but lazy.
• 2. i have my office space within the bathroom space ... there is a wall in between and an opening for a door that is yet to be installed.
• 3. i love dr pepper ... too much ruined my teeth.
• 4. i don't have many any friends but I am friendly person just a bit of a loner.
• 5. i have horrible time management and can kill days on the computer not doing much of anything :(
• 
  
• ♧ : share 5 facts about your appearance
• 1. I am short 5'1".
• 2. I have brown eyes and hair (BORING!)
• 3. I have bad pimply skin currently and scars and all. 
• 4. I don't shave my armpits but I hardly ever wear sleeveless shirts.
• 5. I don't have any tattoos, yet.
• 
  
• ☆: share your current mood
• lonely, hungry, and a bit chilly. just okay.
• 
  
• ♒ : share about your crush
• none
• 
  
• ☀ : something that made me smile today
• seeing the kids in costumes 
• 
  
• ✖ : something you hate
• politics 
• 
  
• ☼ : something you love
• my macbook pro
• 
  
• ϟ : ask anything
• whats your biggest dream/goal?
• what do you want to change from your life?

( from )

fall goals

inspired by two bloggers and also life wants & needs in general. i've been really into goal making and lists this year. and here my list of Fall Goals! i know i am just a bit late as fall has started but here goes ...

1. complete & print ten pieces for portfolio (ready to be photographed)

2. redo resume to emphasis design + cover letter for internships

3. spend 4-5 hours weekly on http://www.codecademy.com/ or learning about web design

4. try and catch up on reading challenge (currently 6 books behind)

5. get on a budget & start saving

6. repair bike + get lock + helmet

7. practice self care

8. celebrate anniversary!!!

9. get rid of 100 things that belong to me, give away what i can

10. internet free once a week (mondays or sundays)

will update for sure

things i will miss/will not miss about being about an English language assistant in France

1. the students, the people
2. being completely alone
3. just not understanding anything and trying to deal
4. the food
5. the booze
6. the beauty of this place
7. my own room that is actually very big
8. the view outside my windows
9. the rainy weather
10. going to work and finding out you dont have work
11. being told you are great at your job
12. not having to clean as much
13. or do your own laundry
14. working or hardly working
15. waking up when i feel like on the weekends
16. traveling
17. money in the bank or just getting paid once a month (euros)
18. France, the French
19. having to explain things about English which I am not sure about
20. the bad students / the good ones (because we are all good)
21. being busy doing nothing
23. naps
24. everything closing at 7pm / 15hr

Le site que vous essayez de consulter est bloqué par l'établissement.

Blocked Sites at French boarding school or at least the ones I've tried so far.


Forbidden Category "Social Networking"


1. Facebook
2. Tumblr
3. Twitter
4. Flickr
5. proxy.org :( 

(internet) A - Z

amazon.com
blogger.com
cic.fr
dpreview.com
etsy.com
facebook.com
gmail.com
hipmunk.com
indie_exchange.livejournal.com
jetpens.com
kendieveryday.com/2010/12/on-why-i-remix.html
last.fm/user/dreamystates
mrdthgrvs.tumblr.com
nouveaucheap.blogspot.com
proxy.org
q
raileurope.com
shabbyapple.com
translate.google.com
u
veer.com
waywardyesterday.blogspot.com
youtube.com
zitscomics.com

Books I read in 2011 [updated]

Last year I tried to read 42 books and I failed, which is part of the reason why I decided to try again this year. At first I thought it would just have to wait since all of my books are at home. I have a horrible habit of buying books and never getting around to reading them which is part of my whole reasoning for doing this, trying to read everything I own. I am so grateful to my brother & sister for lending me their iPad, which actually makes a great ereader for now. I want one of my own now! Here are the books I read last year, I am thinking of trying to keep a record of all the media I consume just to be more aware of it and try to watch less TV and instead watch more movies and of course read more. The images and bold titles are my top three four but I enjoyed a lot of these books, you can find me on goodreads to see ratings and other bookish things. I have a hard time reviewing books (anything really) because I never know how I feel about it until much later, when I've read other books and with time I realize, oh I hated that book or I loved it.

edited to add: 

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing. This was a book I was forced to read and a book I would have never chosen to read because here where I am working as a teacher's assistant the BAC Literature students are studying for their BAC ( a french/european A-Levels test) with this book. This book choice was surprising to me because its not a 'classic' book that I would expect for a Literature test but its a really interesting book. Its hard to classify it, its somewhat science fiction, drama, and horror. It was a quick read without chapters. I realized that it has impacted me a lot more then I thought because its a book I am still thinking about, and still I wonder about the fifth child. Why was he so different? I want to read the sequel so much it seems just as interesting, and normally this is a genre I am indifferent about. It is very well written and just so captivating, you can't help but think what you would do in the characters' place and if you agree with their actions.

1. The Story of Lucy Gault / William Trevor
2. The Art of Non-Conformity / Chris Guillebeau
3. The Devil in the White City / Erik Larson
4. You Shall Know Our Velocity / Dave Eggers
5. Water for Elephants / Sara Gruen
6. Silk / Alessandro Baricco
7. Ursula, Under / Ingrid Hill
8. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat & Other Clinical Tales / Oliver Sacks
9. The Alchemist / Paulo Coelho
10. The Time Traveler's Wife / Audrey Niffenegger
11. Rainbow: The Stormy Life of Judy Garland / Christopher Finch
12. McSweeney's Issue 25 / Various
13. The Natural Soap Book / Susan Cavitch
14. The Other Boleyn Girl / Philippa Gregory
15. Henry Lee Lucas / Joel Norris
16. Blankets / Craig Thompson
17. Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life with Style / Marjorie Harris
18. The Black Dahila Avenger: The True Story / Steve Hodel
19. High Fidelity / Nick Hornby
20. Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke / Patty Duke
21. The Black Dahlia (LA Quartet #1) / James Ellroy
22. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Lewis Carroll
23. Alice I Have Been / Melanie Benjamin
24. The Fifth Child / Doris Lessing
25. The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys / Doris Kearns Goodwin

Goals

My mom for the last two years has made us (my brother, my sister, & this time her boyfriend and my boyfriend) make resolutions but I think we all see them more as goals. To be honest these last two years I have really wanted to be a more goal oriented person, to get things done. To be able to say I've done all of this!!! But last year really felt and seemed like a wasted year. I wasn't able to get much of anything done really. I felt trapped or stuck, distracted and useless. I really want to turn things around in this sense and accomplish realistic goals but just be able to be independent from my parents and be able to support myself (and my man). I did finish my university degree and that was supposed to mean something. Or at least I was told that. But I am rambling, so here are my goals for this year.


1. read 42 books
2. do p90x (in the photo i wrote insanity but i have since changed my mind)
3. apply to at least 30 jobs before i return home, starting in may
4. update resume & ask for recommendation letters
5. have a 'rough' and almost finish redo of my portfolio (aim for 15 pieces but plan to reduce)
6. complete my ukulele book (teach yourself book)
7. grow my hair and be a red head(with henna!)
8. listen to 2 new albums a month
9. bike, bike, bike here in doullens ( i still have to ask about this)
10. travel, travel, travel during my breaks & plan & research
11. do dan's band website (learn how to)
12. floss everyday
13. for this blog, i want to have 100 posts on here & maybe do something on youtube… maybe and start working on the learning to love you assignments
14. internet free once a week (maybe sundays or mondays) I won't count skype or email just because of the fact that I am away and aboard but this is something I will like to keep up with after 2012

my list that i shared with my family dans (my boyfriend) list my little sisters (she's 13, now!)