the end!

1. went ziplining today and it was so much fun! got to see a lot of my friends and spent a long time on the course. it felt really nice and was beautiful weather. 
2. getting ready to go out and spend time with all my friends from high school and some from college! can't wait for hopefully a fun-filled night. happy new year's eve errybody!!!
3. http://shine.yahoo.com/page/2011-horoscope read all about it! i read mine already...they're pretty fun. 

i wanna celebrate and live my life, saying ay-oh, gotta let go. these are appropriate lyrics with which to start this final blog post. i am all torn up inside about it...i can't believe it's ending. i really don't want it to...but all things must come to an end. it's been an insane year and i would not have traded it for the world. i have done some reflecting already in the past few blog posts, but this is different. i didn't have time today to go back and read all my old posts, so i will do that tomorrow. new year's day. seems pretty appropriate. i am just as sad to see 2010 go as i am excited to usher in 2011. so much happened in my personal life and in my academic life. the year of the tiger was promised to be eventful and crazy and exciting and how i started off my new year last year was a pretty accurate reflection of that...this year is different. it is the year of the rabbit and things are supposed to be smoother and more about living the life that the year of the tiger set up. i am fine with that; i am very happy with the life i lead going into 2011 and i am more than excited to continue that, but also to embrace any changes that come my way (but of course still trying my hardest to keep things the same). that has been a big part of why 2010 had so much change for me. i learned to embrace it rather than fight against it and it served me well. but i am still a fan of tradition, don't get me wrong. i feel like people are expecting a lot from this blog post. i mean, i am too, for goodness' sake, but i feel like i have almost said it all. here's to a wonderful year in the blogosphere. thanks a million to my readers and supporters. maybe check back every now and then and see if i have posted any new updates. but for me, it's time to say goodnight and good luck. not good luck, really, that's just from the movie title. but i truly appreciate all the support and i hope that people can take what they wish from this blog, but especially that it was a positive experience for me and i am happy with myself for doing it. so...i will continue to fly and say c'est la vie. xoxo, farewell!

TFM

1. woke up early and went to go visit family and have a nice meal. it was a good day! my cousins are adorable and the food was great. 
2. can't wait for tomorrow! and the entire weekend actually. yippee!!!
3. this bowl game has been ridiculous so far...i can only imagine how this is going to end...hopefully with a win for us...UPDATE: WE WIN!!!!!

this is my last blog post before my for real last one that is themed. i can't even come up with what to say. i feel so much pressure! but all i have to say is that this has been a helluva year and i wouldn't trade all the craziness and all the change. see, i can change! i can accept new things! it's possible and i proved that. i hope people make resolutions that are for the betterment of self and the world around them. i am honestly just in a tizzy right now over this win and how it's almost the end of the year.

almost there...

1. busy day today. had breakfast with my girls from home : ), took my friend out for his 21st birthday, went to the mall and did some errands, then came home to a yummy dinner!
2. started reading love in the ruins by walker percy and i have some high expectations for it. i might end up putting that book on hold once i get (hopefully) the girl with the dragon tattoo. but i could save that series for summer when i have more time...we'll see.
3. only three more days after midnight tonight and then i wake up on the fourth day and get ready for the longest day ever! haha, not really, but sunday is the big day. can't wait!

i am not a patient person. but this has been the biggest test of my patience and my stubbornness that i have been put through so far in my life. it has been a yo-yo of an experience and i am so thankful that it is almost over. but i think it has made me a better and a stronger person. and that can be said about my whole year of 2010. only two more posts after this one and i am still weirded out that this year is over! my blogging is coming to an end. i have to think of a good resolution for 2011. and one that i will be able to keep and one that is more centered on inner growth as opposed to outer appearance. i strive to be healthy every day, so that should not change when the new year starts. i'll think about it.

too many titles

1. tonight is a tired night for me. but i had a pretty good day. went to the gym at least so that was definitely a plus. 
2. made gnocchi alla romana tonight and it was very good! i forgot how good whole milk, semolina flour, salt, butter, and parmigiano reggiano cheese is when all baked together. 
3. i am thankful for the busy days ahead and praying for saturday to go by like a flash of lightening! but then i want to slow down time and make break last longer!

so there are two english classes i really want to take, but i only need one to fill my minor. the other can certainly count as an elective, but i also don't want to have a strenuous senior year (since i will have my thesis and applications to be worrying about). the first is the english class on jane austen. sounds like my dream class come true! i have two semesters left after this spring and i sure hope they end up offering it. the next i found the other day and it's war in shakespeare's plays. the professor is legendary and it sounds like a good mix between history and english. i wish i could take the second one this semester, but it conflicts with political psychology, which fills a requirement and sounds cool to boot. not that any of you cared about my conflicting english classes! i just think it's fun to write about random stuff sometimes. clearly... but anyway, i am honestly getting kind of freaked out about 2010 ending. this happens to me every year but this year in particular is very hard. it's been one of the best years ever and i hate to see it ending! this blog, too, now is a special thing to me. it'll be so strange  not to log on every night and blog about whatever i want. i will definitely miss it sometimes. maybe i'll do a random post every now and then just for old times' sake. again, i must say thank you to all my loyal readers. i say "all" like there are a lot of you, haha. but those of you who have read, it means a lot. ALOT.

my liminal space

1. being at home is the best! i love all the snow and i love my family and i am so grateful to be safe and happy and on break. it's been a great one so far and will only get better. 
2. tomorrow is the first adventure since the snowstorm. off to the gym (much needed) and to take my mom around on some errands since her car is out o' commission.
3. lazed around the house today and watched rom coms and started thank-you notes. do you see why i love winter break? haha. 

the closer i get to no more blogging the more confused i feel. really, this has been such an experience for me and it's been a big part of my growth process this year. i just randomly decided to do this thing and a few people have been reading ever since. that has meant a lot to me; the people who have read this, on and off, but especially those who have been faithful readers. before i start waxing too nostalgic, i suppose i should remember that this is not my last blog post, just one of the last. until i start my travel blog, that is. i am honestly quite sad to see 2010 go...it's been a really great year for me, but also a really tough one. but those are not mutually exclusive for me. the hard parts have made the other parts even better and more worth it. it's fun being 20. not a teenager but not 21. not a kid but not an adult. though, at times, i find myself wishing i was a kid again and freaking out that i never will be a kid again. it's a really scary thought if i think about it too much. but it's frustrating sometimes not to be an adult and living a post-school life in the real world. i have always been mature (most of the time) and sometimes it's hard being constrained by a number to a certain standard of behavior. alas, that is why i am comfortable with being 20.

make your own damn dinner!

1. only 4 more posts after tonight...isn't that strange? it certainly is for me. 
2. snowed in! we have about a foot and it seems to still be snowing. i hope that we can make it out by tuesday and start taking care of things. but it sure is beautiful. 
3. watched iron man 2 with my parents tonight and liked it a lot. the first was better but i liked this one because of how it ends. 

i started looking at my cookbooks and regular books i got for christmas and am very excited to go through all of them. my book about the italian language is fun so far and i think it will only get better. i got one cookbook and lucked into a second one as a bonus present and i have found some good recipes in both so far! cooking is fun and can be relaxing once i am organized and in the zone. i learned from several excellent cooks and bakers (mostly family members from both sides) some important tips and tricks. i have more to learn and that is fine with me...just gives me an excuse to be in the kitchen (tasting along the way). therefore, my bucket list item (my final one, i suppose, though i may add in one on the last day) is to compile family recipes. i want to have my go-to recipes for holidays and other traditional dishes ready for when i move into my own place and am cooking on my own. i even have a monogrammed chef hat--silly, but necessary!