My New Favorite Show

I have been so busy with work and school lately that I have barely had time for anything else, including TV. Now I have never been much of a television person (like I’ve said, I’m a bookworm), however, I always had a few select shows that I would make a point to watch the one night of the week that they were on. This year, though, I’ve noticed that I have none. I used to be a big fan of the show “Lost”, but now that the series has ended, it has left a void. Only recently have I come across a show that could possibly become a new favorite. The show is called “House”, and I am extremely late in jumping on the fan bandwagon. The show has been out since 2004 and has apparently created quite a following. As imdb.com explains: “The series follows the life of anti-social, pain killer addict, witty and arrogant medical doctor Gregory House with only half a muscle in his right leg. He and his team of medical doctors try to cure very ill ordinary people in the United States of America.” The show combines mystery and humor, which to me is a great combination. I am beginning to get to know each character and understand their individual stories. I like the show because I become so intrigued in the mystery of solving each patient’s unique illness. I wish I could have discovered the show sooner.

My Gift Idea

If you are looking for an original gift (for a book lover) a personalized book might be an idea. As I have mentioned before, I am an avid reader. Well, while cleaning out my closet last weekend, I came across an old children’s book of mine. It was a personalized book that my parents had made for me. It said my name throughout the story and the story was about me going on an adventure with two of my cousins. I browsed through the internet this weekend to look for a book like this for my niece and came across several websites that provide this service. Usually you can choose a book of your liking. You can then choose one or more names that you want to have featured in this book. Below I have listed a small selection of websites that provides this type of book.

A2Z Personalized Children’s Books

You can choose out of 150 books for children. There are also some titles available for adults. All the books are hardcover and it will cost between twelve and fifteen dollars to have a book made.

Printakid

This website sells personalized stories for children. The fun part is that the illustrations are also personalized to look like the child.

Created4Me

This company has only one book on offer, but it adds first, middle and last names to the book. Most other personalized books only have first names.

MadLuck Books

Here you can pick from a variety of themed books for babies, children and adults. The books can have the name, age, home town and other names printed in the story.

My Picture Post

Hello everyone! Well, my last update was pretty depressing (at least to me), so I’ve decided to make this one a little more happy and carefree. Lately I have been getting really into reading other people’s blogs to get inspiration for my own. While doing this, I’ve came across many blogs that are focused on positing artsy pictures along with quotes. The pictures are very random. Some are happy, some are sad, some are serious, and some are funny. Anyways, I have really begun to enjoy browsing through the pictures and thought I’d share some with you today. I hope they can brighten your day a little like they have mine.

My Childhood Tragedy

I recently read a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that both touched and saddened me with its truthfulness. It said, “Fear defeats more people than any one thing in the world.” It reminded me of a specific event in my childhood that permanently changed my view of the world. It was the day before Labor Day, September 2nd, 2001. My grandparents had come home that night from playing cards with their friends to find out that someone had broken into their home. The burglars were still in the house when my grandparents arrived home, but quickly fled when they heard my grandparents enter the house. They left the same way they came in, through the bathroom window. From that day on, I dreaded the nights when my parents wanted to go out, because I was terrified of returning home and finding someone in our house. I was afraid of almost every stranger that I passed in the grocery store or at the playground. Over time, I felt myself gradually leaving behind the wonderful, ignorant days of my childhood. I felt myself outgrowing the innocence of my youth.  It wasn’t the break- in itself that caused this change in me, but the sudden realization that there is a lot of evil in the world, and that evil can touch my family too.

My Obsession

I am absolutely obsessed with quotes. I don’t know when exactly this obsession started, but I have been a quote lover for quite some time now. I literally collect quotes (if that is even possible). My quote collection is becoming rather extensive and I have about 20 Word documents on my computer alone designated to random quotes I find while searching the internet. I have also decided that I would like a hard copy of all the quotes I collect in case I ever lost the documents on my computer. Therefore, I have also begun writing them down in notebooks, and printing off the documents to keep them in folders. Anyways, while searching the internet for quotes, I have found that surprisingly I am not alone in my obsession. So I wanted to share just a sample of some of my favorite quotes with you. Enjoy!

“I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live.” – Jonathan Safran Foer

“You know what’s weird? Day by day, nothing seems to have changed, but pretty soon … everything’s different.” – Bill Watterson

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that’s all.” – Oscar Wilde

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste the experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.” – Henry Miller

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"'That proves you are unusual,' returned the Scarecrow; 'and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.'" — L. Frank Baum (The Land of Oz)

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop & look around once in a while you could miss it."
- Ferris Bueller

"Be happy for this moment...this moment is your life." - Bob Marley

My Fall Break

Unfortunately I didn’t get to enjoy my Fall Break to the fullest since I had to work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I did, however, get the chance to go home for Friday and Saturday. I haven’t been home to see my family or my boyfriend in about five weeks now so I really enjoyed it. The weather was almost perfect too. I live in Youngstown, Ohio, which is about three hours from here. When I first got home I went out to lunch with my boyfriend at Friendly’s. Then we went to the local grocery store where he works and bought a pumpkin because we decided we were in the mood to do something “seasonal”. We spent the next few hours designing and carving the pumpkin together at his house. To my surprise, it didn’t turn out that bad. Afterwards, he introduced me to pumpkin seeds for the first time. He seasoned them and put them in the oven. He made me try some, but I didn’t enjoy them nearly as much as he did. After that, I enjoyed a home cooked dinner with my family. The next morning, my boyfriend and I got breakfast, went to the mall, and then came back to my house to bake chocolate chip cookies. This is something we have never done together so we figured it might be fun. It was fun and, once again to my surprise, the cookies actually turned out delicious. I then spent the rest of my Saturday watching movies and lounging around the house. Overall, it was a much- needed, relaxing weekend and I was disappointed when I had to drive back to Toledo on Sunday to work. Hope all of you had a good Fall Break also!

My Major

I’m not sure if I mentioned this in a previous blog, but I am currently a student at the University of Toledo, I am majoring in business but have not declared an official major yet. However there is only a month or two left until I need to officially choose what area of business I want to major in. One occupation I have been interested in since high school is accounting. I became interested in pursuing this career after working at a local golf course in high school. My supervisor at the golf course asked me to come in twice a week and do some clerical work for him. This work included keeping track of our weekly sales from each department and organizing the totals in a spreadsheet. I found that I was very good at this job because of my knack for paying attention to detail. I then decided to take an accounting class in high school and, not only did I do very well in the class, but I also enjoyed it. Since then, I have decided that accounting is the best career path for me. However, I wanted to see if I would still do well in a college accounting class. Well, I am pleased to say that I am doing very well in my accounting class and have officially decided to major in Accounting. I plan on getting my Master’s degree in accounting, and am considering a double major because of all the benefits it could provide. I plan on becoming a Certified Public Accountant and hope to someday work for a public accounting firm.

Always Audrey

Today I remembered that I am supposedly going to a baby shower with my cousin this weekend. This led to me rummaging through my closet trying to find something decent to wear. After much debate, my cousin came in and pulled out a little black dress from the back and said that it would be perfect. I then was reminded of the reason I bought the little black dress. Audrey Hepburn has always been my favorite actress and fashion inspiration. When I saw the dress in the store one day, I couldn’t help but think of her saying how every girl should have one little black dress in their closet. Anyways, I am dedicating this blog to the elegant and iconic Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn once said, “I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people’s minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing”. Whether Audrey considered herself to be an icon or not, that is exactly what she was. When she was first introduced to America in the 1953 classic Roman Holiday, she captured the hearts of a generation of moviegoers. Immediately, both men and women were drawn in by her sophistication, grace, and manner. Only a few weeks after the release of Roman Holiday, a generation of women throughout the world were copying her gamine, yet elegant style. Audrey’s style was unprecedented in her time. She introduced a different way for women to dress and behave, at a time when the main focus was on sex appeal. Ever since Audrey’s rise to stardom, females everywhere have strived to pull of the “Audrey Hepburn look”. Over a half century later, Audrey’s style is still being copied by famous designers, and she is still known to be one of the greatest influences on fashion.