Sour Lemons

"When Life hands you lemons. . . make lemonade."
Oh how I hate that cliche'. No, I'm not a pessimist. In fact, I'm just the opposite. But still, it's just something about that saying that's just so--- over used? Hence cliche.
But what if life hands you bad lemons that are not good for making lemonades? What if they are old and stinky and to say the least--- useless? What do you do then?
In my Public Speaking class, we have these thirty second exercises that each student must present. Our first week we had to give a toast to the new year and then last week we had to give a thirt second speech on a mystery topic.
Some kids had topics like penguins, ducktape and even hocket. Maybe I'm just bitter, but I felt like my topic was a little bit off the wall; Driftwood. Quite the sour lemon of a topic don't you think???
According to Wikipedia, Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man.
How in the world was I suppose to write a thirty second speech on Driftwood that was, creative, and somewhat entertaining for my fellow classmates.
Let's be honest, there is nothing very exciting about Driftwood. Yes, I know there are tons of interesting crafts that can be made with Driftwood. But that wasn't exactly the route I was thinking about.
So, I decided to simply Google the word Driftwood and see what happened. Low and behold a horror film entitled Driftwood came out in 2006! It was perfect. I would spend the first 25 seconds of my speech talking about sadistic Captain Doug and his henchman Yates being haunted by spirits and then the last five seconds, throw the bunch line!
Looks like I will be learning more than simply Public Speaking skills this year. I will be learning how to turn life's stinky, sour lemons into lemonade. Or in this case, a creative thirty second speech that earned me 10 points!

Sour Lemons

When Life hands you lemons. . . make lemonade."

Mannequin or New Room Mate??

School is back in session. This means hundreds of new freshman are moving into their dorms for the first time and stepping outside their comfort zones. Some may move in with people they knew from high school, others get paired with a random roommate.

I'll be the first to admit that making new friends isn't always easy, especially when you find yourself living in a 10-by-10 room with them.

No one wants to step on the other person's toes by taking up to much space or taking too long in the bathroom. Needless to say, tensions can be high.

Thankfully, this year I have my very own apartment, so I don't have to worry about anything like that. But my friend Cecilia is a new freshman, and she is learning first hand, just how hard it is.

Cecilia walked into her freshman dorm room after taking a random selection and met her new roommate. In her words, she was the ultimate "dork." Her roommate was majoring in fashion merchandising and design.

Cecilia is going to school to be a physical trainer. She is not a "girlie girl." Her roommate had paper dolls scattered across her desk and Glamour Magazines stacked her bookshelf. She even had her own mannequin in her room!

Cecilia not only had a new roommate but she now resided with a MANNEQUIN!

When Cecilia walked in and put her basketball shoes on her bed next to her duffle bag, the girl introduced herself with extreme enthusiasm. She invited Cecilia to go to Green Bay with her on the first of the month because the fabric store changed fabric lines and all the new stuff came in and the old stuff was going to be discounted. Cecilia said she would think about it.

She then called me in a rant about her new girlie girl roommate. I tried to calm her down. I told Cecilia that the girl seemed nice and that she should give her a chance. After all, Cecilia was new in town and didn't have many friends. Plus, you can never have too many friends.

"But she won't party with me." Cecilia complained. "And I'm sure she can't even dribble a basketball! How am I going to be friends with someone like her?"

"Maybe an uptown roommate could be a queen of the party scene," I said, "But is that the road you want to travel down? Teach her how to play ball. You are here for school, not to party or to hang out with carbon copies of yourself. Give her a chance."

So here's a little advice to all the incoming freshman from someone who has been there. First year of college is full of new experiences. It's just up to you whether they are going to be positive or negative ones.

And give your "dorky" roommate a chance. For all you know they could be the next Bill Gates or J.K. Rowling.

A Visit Home

Everybody needs a break every once in a while. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
And what a better place to take a break then back in the town that I grew up in.
So last weekend, my boyfriend Erik and I took the hour and a half journey down M95 to my house in Iron Mountain.
Pulling up in the driveway, I'm insistently filled with the comfort of home.
I love the way my living room still smells like apples and cinnamon (courtesy of my mother's Yankee candles). My puppy Bruno and dog Ransom always great me at the door with their tails wagging. I knew they would never forget me.
My mom is not far behind them with her arms open ready to give me a big welcome home hug.
Erik and I take off our shoes and plop down on the couch. I take a deep breath and exhale. Home at Last.

Gratitudes:
* Those who love me unconditionally
* A Bible verse from mom
* A piece of Pecan Pie

A work-aholic

I think I'm starting to get a hang out this whole blog thing... sort-of.
I'm finding it harder and harder to find the time to sit and write about my day to day events. Hell who I am kidding, I'm finding it hard to find time to simply sit down.
To give you a brief over view, I'm a college student working several jobs while trying to maintain a social life. My days start at 8:00 a.m. and usually don't end until midnight or so. Yes I am in fact a work-aholic.
On top of my crazy job schedule I'm also struggling with some health issues. :(
I know life can't always be sunshine and rainbows. so if you could send your prayers this way. Please and Thank You.
Until next time,
Love & Lettering,

Gratitudes:
* A Friday Paycheck
* Unfailing faith
* Phone calls from home

Barbie Dream House

Growing up I was one of the many girls that owned a Barbie Dream house. I would spend hours rearranging furniture, placing different stickers on the plastic walls and driving Barbie around in her pink corvette.
That was the great thing about Barbie, there were no boundaries. This was a place where budget was no option and dreams were only limited by the imagination.
Even though the days of the Barbie dream house have long passed, a new dream house has come into my life, my apartment.
I know the lat time I wrote about my apartment, I was starting to get the essentials together--furniture dishes, FOOD! Well I"m happy to report that I now have a bed to sleep on and ramen noodles in the cabinets.
It's amazing what living by oneself can do to a person. I know it may sound silly but I really feel like I"m coming into my own--- if that makes sense. I have developed a shabby-chic kind of style and it covers my entire apartment. I'm learning different tips and tricks when it comes to grocery shopping and I've even become a coupon clipper to save every nickle and dime possible.
But despite my efforts to embrace my adulthood, I can admit that I miss those days of the Barbie Dream house. Sometimes when I come home from work I can still imagine walking through the doors of my house back in Iron Mountain. Everyday after school, I always did the same thing. My brother would trample off to his room to catch up on some reading or play with his N64. I would pour me a Coke and warm up a hot dog (no bun) and sit down in the living room to watch Full House.
Both of our parents worked so we always had thirty minutes to ourselves before our mom got home. It's no secret that we loved the freedom-- even if it was just thirty minutes.
Funny how that works. The second I am given complete and total freedom of my life, Iwant my old routine back. I'm beginning to realize that no matter what it is, the grass will always be greener.
Even though my apartment is not filled with plastic furniture,neon frames and a pink corvette in the parking lot, I still love it. Clipping coupons and returning coke cans isn't a bad way to save money ( I would like to think of my self as thrifty ) And I still warm up a hot dog, no bun, when I get home. Just like the old days. . .

A writer's inspiration

Now that I am finally done with school I can take some time to sit back and write. Even though I took several writing classes through-out the fall semester, I wasn't writing what I wanted to write. Assignments would include stories about a fire that took place on Washington street, or write a personal profile on ourselves. Even though they are good exercises and yes, I did learn a thing or to. . . it wasn't -- relaxing?
There was that constand fear of not meeting the standards or not doing my personal best.

Last year a professor told me that every good writer should write 300 words a day, of just nonsense. She said that it helps prevent writers block and helps clear a writer's head. I'm all for improving my skills so I went out and bought a journal. Even though 300 words is not that much it's not easy getting that so called "Nonsense" out of my head. Nevertheless I will continue writing and see where it gets me.

The freedom of summer has also caused me to read even more than I do during the winter. I have found that I am cranking out about one book every other week. So any suggestions of good reads out there let me know :)
Until next time

Gratitudes:
* Sunday Afternoons
* The love of a Lab
* Fish Fry with Friends