22 Accomplishments: September Update

-I sent out 3 birthday cards this month.
-My chair is primed and I have the paint bought, just have to actually paint it!
-Our family photo was taken at a Cancer Survivor Picnic.  It was so awesome to see how many people are SURVIVORS!
-Finished the book, The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen.  Good book.  The best part was in the last 2 pages :)
-I've lost 7-8 pounds, respectively.  Woo-Hoo!
-In order to finish my Oscar movie list I have to watch 8 movies a month.  (Man skipping last month was rough.)  I only made it to 4...oops!  I watched:
An American in Paris.  Love Gene Kelly!
Rain Man.  So good!  One of my top 10.
A Man For All Seasons.  Ummm, I listened to it.....
Unforgiven.  I feel like it only won an oscar because it had some big time people in it.

This is what my list looks like now:

1.  Make dinner for a family who is going through a tough time. (Dinner: January 22, 2011.  Care Package: July 21, 2011)
2.  Get back to my ideal weight.--half way there!
3.  Finish college.
4.  Get a 'big girl' job.
5.  Go a day without getting on the computer (or getting on the internet via iPhone.) (July 4, 12, 23)
6.  Send birthday cards to all my good friends. (January, February, March, July, August, September) (No friend birthdays in April, May, or June)
7.  Make a Christmas advent tree like this one.
8.  Fix and paint my desk chair in my room.
9.  Try 5 new foods. (Soy beans, raspberries, Apple dumpling, mango, fried pickle)
10.  Create (and do) a cleaning schedule to keep my room better organized.
11.  Take a family photo each month for a year. (January, February, March, April, May, June, August  (July), August, September)
12.  Do a 52 week portrait challenge. (Have completed 35 weeks so far)
13.  Feel more comfortable cooking, especially meats. (August)
14.  Plant tulips in mom's garden. 
15.  Make Wrist Key Chains.  Found here.
16.  Clean out my closet.
17.  (Finish the quilt I started 4 or 5 years ago.)  Make a quilt.
18.  Learn to make French Toast.
19.  Reach $2100 PCV  in my Silpada sales for 3 2 months. (February)
20.  Go on a family trip.
21.  Read 20 books.
  Here is the list I've read so far:

1.  Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

2. Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah

3.  Marrying Daisy Bellamy by Susan Wiggs. 

4.  Borrowed Bride by Susan Wiggs

5.  The Child Called It by David Pelzer.

6.  What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

7.  Dear Cupid by Julie Ortolon

8.  The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

9.  The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand
10.  The Opposite Of Me by Sarah Pekkanen

22.  Watch every movie that made 'Best Picture' in the Oscars.
 Here is the list: I've marked off the ones I've already seen.  There are a few that I've already seen, but I need a refresher before I check them off the list.  (Too bad, I could cross off another 6 movies...)

*Note: The ones that are marked out but don't have a date by them are movies I've already seen in the years past.

1928 Wings (April)
1929  The Broadway Melody
1930  All Quiet on the Western Front (June) 

1931  Cimarron (May)
1932  Grand Hotel (May)
1933  Cavalcade (June)

1934  It Happened One Night (April)
1935  Mutiny on the Bounty (April)
1936  The Great Ziegfeld (June) 

1937  The Life of Emile Zola
1938  You Can't Take It With You (July)
1939  Gone With the Wind
1940  Rebecca (May)
1941  How Green Was My Valley
1942  Mrs. Miniver (July)
1943  Casablanca
1944  Going My Way
1945  The Lost Weekend
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives (June)
1947  Gentleman's Agreement (May)
1948  Hamlet
1949  All The King's Men
1950  All About Eve (March)
1951  An American in Paris (September)
1952  The Greatest Show on Earth
1953  From Here to Eternity
1954  On the Waterfront (June) 

1955  Marty
1956  Around the World in 80 Days
1957  The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958  Gigi (March)
1959  Ben-Hur (August)
1960  The Apartment (July)
1961  West Side Story
1962  Lawrence of Arabia
1963  Tom Jones
1964  My Fair Lady (May)
1965  The Sound of Music
1966  A Man for All Seasons (September)
1967  In the Heat of the Night
1968  Oliver
1969  Midnight Cowboy
1970  Patton
1971  The French Connection (March)
1972  The Godfather
1973  The Sting (July)
1974  The Godfather Part II
1975  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976  Rocky
1977  Annie Hall
1978  The Deer Hunter
1979  Kramer vs. Kramer
1980  Ordinary People (June) 

1981  Chariots of Fire (June) 

1982  Gandhi
1983  Terms of Endearment
1984  Amadeus
1985  Out of Aftrica
1986  Platoon
1987  The Last Emperor
1988  Rain Man (September)
1989  Driving Miss Daisy
1990  Dances With Wolves
1991  The Silence of the Lambs (February)
1992  Unforgiven (September)
1993  Schindler's List
1994  Forrest Gump
1995  Braveheart
1996  The English Patient
1997  Titanic
1998  Shakespeare in Love (March)
1999  American Beauty (June) 2000  Gladiator
2001  A Beautiful Mind
2002  Chicago

2003  The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

2004  Million Dollar Baby

2005  Crash

2006  The Departed

2007  No Country for Old Men

2008  Slumdog Millionaire

2009  The Hurt Locker

2010  The King's Speech

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: September 25, 2011

Low Key

This is from the archives.  It is part of my 52 week project a few months back.

The Color Wheel

When I read this prompt I just saw the words color wheel and not the words monochromatic and analogous.  Oops!  

Circle

It's beginning to look like fall!  Mom and I both collect pumpkins.  

Scarf

Week 38 | September 20

Phone

Can't go anywhere without these

Linked up here.

A Promise...

September Family Photo | Cancer Survivor Picnic

Me:  Good night.  I love you.
Dad:  I love you too. See you tomorrow.
Me:  Ok, good night.

Without realizing it, dad makes a promise to me every night.  To always see me the next day.  Having almost lost him in the middle of the night a year ago makes the three simple words mean so much.
See you tomorrow.

Yes, yes you will.

12 of 12 | September

01.  Good Morning!  Dad still hasn't figured out my school schedule.  He came running into my room thinking I was going to be late when in fact I had another 45 minutes to sleep.  (At least it was my late day!)
02.  My hour long drive to school isn't complete without some tunes.
03.  The bridge I cross every day.  Well, Monday through Thursday.
04.  I may or may not have been driving while taking this pic :)
05.  Today was a beautiful, sunny day!
06.  Visited my friend Audrey at her work.
07.  Class notes.
08.  Stuck in traffic.
09.  Mailed some letters.
10.  Dinner?  I think so!
11.  My guilty pleasure.
12.  Goofball

Scavenger Hunt Sunday-September 11, 2011

I had higher hopes for the weeks set, but school and life had other plans.

Bokeh

Process of Elimination

Remember
I wish I had a photo from September 11, 2001.  However, I was in 7th grade and not really into photography yet.  So instead I will remember something a little more happy.

Week 36

Last Sunday, my friend Jenny and I went to see Matt Nathanson, Train, and Maroon 5 in concert.

It was amazing!

Statues

This one is from the archives.  I took it during my first college photography class.

Flying High

Geese flying over us at the concert.

Linked up here.

{happy} thursday

Woke up this morning at my best friend's house.  (This will be a weekly girl's night ritual.)

Took me 5 minutes to drive to school.  (As opposed to the 1 hour it normally takes me.)

Matt Nathanson playing on the radio.

Ready for the weekend!

Needing to get a wedding gift before Saturday.

Plans to hang out with another good friend on Sunday.

Wishing I could be out in the 70 degree sunshine with camera in hand!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday September 4, 2011

It has been a while since I've done a Scavenger Hunt Sunday post.  The last few weeks have been insanely crazy.  Two weeks ago yesterday my uncle died in a bicycle accident.  And the following week I was busy with the visitation and funeral.  Plus, on top of all that, school started that same week. Crazy, right?

I was excited about these prompts this week, but I think some of my photos might be a stretch.  So bare with me :)

Stairs

This might be a little bit of a stretch, but the 'stairs' of the piano.  

Macro

I was about to leave for KC to have lunch with my friend Mallory when this little guy jumped on the roof of my car.  

Clouds

There aren't any clouds in this photo, but you can tell they must be there to get this insanely crazy lightning bolt.

Linked up here.

Abstract

N/A.  While writing this post I realized I accidently deleted my photo that I had in mind for this prompt.    Awesome!

Smile

Week 35

Part of my 52 week project.  Abby and I playing with her baby.

Linked up here.

Also.. could do me a HUGE  favor?!?

For my marketing class I have to have a marketing blog where I talk about  various articles, commercials, etc.  I will be graded on how often I post and the content I post, but I will also be graded on how many people I can get to follow my blog.  So, I am asking you, pretty, pretty, please could you follow my marketing blog?!  You only have to follow it till January.  Please!

My grade depends on it!

And I will love you forever!  

Thank you!

http://mebumkc.blogspot.com/

These Years...

On my hour long drive to school I was reminiscing about the last four years and how unexpected and unplanned they were.  I have just completed my second week of my last semester of college and it is strange to think this chapter is coming to a close.

When I graduated high school I had high hopes of how college would turn out.  I was ready for the new adventures and excited for 'the best years of my life.'  I think in my mind I would meet Mr. Right, create friends that would define my adulthood, life with my closest friends, and have crazy wild memories of all the fun times we had together.    But of course, these didn't happen...at least not how they should in my mind.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, because like I've mentioned before, my life never follows the norms.

My freshman year started out great.  I was never homesick.  I met a lot of people and had a lot of fun.  It was an adventure and I was having a blast.  About half way through, things started to go downhill.   I had a pretty bad roommate who disappeared in the middle of each semester.  (I still have no idea where she went.)  I also had my first, somewhat serious, relationship.  It ended horribly.  So bad that it took me the rest of the school year and the entire summer to fully recover.  (The relationship wasn't horrible because it was my first broken heart.  It was horrible because he had changed how I viewed myself and it was in a very negative way.)

My sophomore year got better.  I had a roommate that was actually a good friend.  We had a lot of fun together, but her degree sent her to a different school where her degree could be completed.  I became more active and rushed Delta Sigma Pi, a business fraternity and Gamma Alpha Lambda, a Christian sorority.  During this year I also embarked on another relationship.  The outcome was obviously not good and resulted in me to ward off boys all together...at least for a little while.  (Long enough to say that this was my last relationship to date, but I've become more open to the thought of dating again, when the time is right.)

My junior year went downhill even more.  I moved off campus and had high hopes for apartment living.  The decorating, the new living environment, it was all so exciting!  However, I ended up moving in with some friends (more of acquaintances) who are a couple (boy/girl).  They were controlling and I felt very out of place.  I pretty much lived in my bedroom and only came out to get something to eat or to leave for class.  And of course, when I moved out at the end of the year, they were not happy.  (Too bad!)

Then summer came.  It was the summer my entire world changed.  My dad was diagnosed with cancer.  You can read the post here.  The following year, my senior year, I moved back home and commuted 2 days a week for class.  I stayed as a full time student and took care of my dad the days I didn't have class.    With only taking 12 hours for the last 2 semesters, it pushed me back a little and I am now on my 3rd semester as a senior.  (No big deal.)  Then the summer after my dad was diagnosed, his younger brother died in a freak accident.  Both of these situations have proved how fragile life is and how much it is taken for granted.


I'm not really sure why I am sharing all these personal details of the last four years of my life.  The events that happened in these four years were not what I had in mind four years ago, but there is a little part in me that is thankful for these years.  I may not have found my person and I may not have created a solid group of college friends, but I did meet some incredible people who I know I will be friends with for a lifetime.  I am thankful I have maintained my high school friends throughout these years, which is often difficult to do.  And there still holds hope to find my person in the next stage of my life...if not found by December.  (Haha--who am I kidding!)

In all, these years are unforgettable.  These years hold the biggest impact to my life.  These years have molded me to who I am today.