Top Tens

With the end of the year, and the decade, right around the corner, I decided to make a list of my Top Ten Favorites over the past ten years. Now, I ask that no one would judge me on any of my choices, and keep in mind that I was only 10 years old when the decade began, so I may not remember a lot of things spanning over this entire time span. So, sit back and enjoy... and feel free to give some input (as long as it isn't criticism ;)

Football players:

10. Brett Favre (before he retired and unretired a million times; as in, Greenbay Packer Brett Favre)

9. Eli Manning (I got to keep it in the family with this one)

8. Teddy Bruschi

7. Darren Sharper

6. Tiki Barber

5. Reggie Bush

4. Deuce McAllister (he will always have a special place in my heart)

3. Peyton Manning

2. Drew Brees (I must say, it was definitely hard putting him at number 2)

1. David Carr (he will always be my first love. Loyalty is important… and I am sticking with my man!)

Books: (keep in mind, I only recently have become a reader… so try not to judge me too harshly)

10. Great Gatsby

9. The Glass Castle

8. The Once and Future King

7. The Scarlet Letter

6. The Giver

5. Quiet Strength- I just adore Tony Dungy

4. The Magicians Nephew

3. Don’t Waste Your Life- though I am not done, I can just already tell this will be at the top!

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

1. Redeeming Love

Songs: (most of these songs may not be “good” songs, but they all bring back some memory or have some kind of meaning to me, so spare me any criticism)

10. Home- Michael Buble (ps: this song no longer makes me ridiculously sad, just sentimental, so I thought it deserved a place)

9. Don’t Trust Me- 3OH!3 (I had to do it… DG and LG will understand)

8. Unfailing Love- Jimmy Needham

7. Lead Me to the Cross

6. The Solid Rock

5. See You Again- Miley Cyrus

4. Last Christmas- Taylor Swift

3. Daylight- Brave Saint Saturn

2. The Climb- Miley Cyrus (classic)

1. The Call- Regina Spektor (this is Black Deaths song… always has a special place in my heart!)

Movies: (these movies may not meet your definition of “good,” but they are movies that I have thoroughly enjoyed over the decade, no matter how dumb they are)

10. Ocean’s Eleven

9. Juno

8. She’s the Man (I love to quote this movie!)

7. That Thing You Do! (technically not in this decade, but I didn’t see it until this decade… so it counts)

6. UP

5. Stick It

4. He’s Just Not That Into You (sorry Andrew, I had to do it)

3. Highschool Musical (specifically the 3^rd one. I simply love it! Best stress-reliever)

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

1. Pride and Prejudice

Actors/Actresses:

10. Steve Burton (from GH)

9. Katherine Heigl

8. Rachel McAdams

7. Ginnifer Goodwin

6. Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Darcy…of course)

5. Mariska Hargitay

4. Christopher Meloni

3. Kate Winslet

2. Matthew Morrison

1. Hugh Laurie

TV Shows:

10. Friends (this is number 10 because it started before the decade… but I still LOVE this show, and I have watched it throughout the decade. This is probably in my top 4 honestly)

9. Make It or Break It

8. Grey’s Anatomy

7. What Not To Wear

6. Bones

5. House

4. Scrubs

3. Law and Order: SVU

2. General Hospital

1. Glee

Pictures: (this was by far the hardest category and there is no way I could limit it to only 10. deal with it. I also realized there were a lot of people I have hardly any pictures with)

Greetings from Boston.

I haven't blogged in a while because I haven't had too much to say. But, just to assure you that I am still alive, I will give a little update.

1. Got to Boston a week and a half ago-ish. I made it without any flight complications. Ah. What a nice change.

2. Christmas in NYC. We took the train in and spent a few days. We came back the day after Christmas. It was a neat trip. Beautiful city this time of year. I did miss my family, but all is good. Christmas is a great time of year.

3. Completed readings: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and (as of about 30 minutes ago) The Magicians Nephew. Yes, I read them in that order. Very good books. I enjoyed them. I will give more detail in the future.

4. I plan on starting Don't Waste Your Life tomorrow.

5. I haven't made a large dent in my reading list yet. I have been doing more sleeping than I originally anticipated... but I am definitely not complaining.

6. I am terribly out of shape.

7. I have been watching so much football lately. It rocks. Saints are officially the number one seed in the NFC and have clinched homefield advantage throughout along with a first round bye. It. Is. Awesome. However, I am ridiculously superstitious when it comes to football. I have come to the conclusion that I can not wear any saints paraphernalia during any of the play-off games. That has been the common denominator in their two losses.

8. I still have a bunch of stuff to get done before school starts... like order books! yikes.

9. I found out my semester grades today. I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up with a B in physiology, but I consider that a success. That class was horrid this year. But the big surprise was that I ended up with an A in nutrition (making physio my only B). You see, I would have needed a 95 on that final to make and A, and considering I only had the night before to study thanks to my other finals, and at 1 in the morning before that final (which was at 8am) I had two people sit me down to tell me how awful of a person I am, I didn't have high expectations. I also hadn't made and A on a single test all semester, and the final was comprehensive and worth 25% of our grade. I had mentally prepared for a B... but God is good and by His grace I pulled off an A. I salvaged my GPA and get to keep my scholarships. :) Man oh man. It was a close one.

10. I watched the E! special for the Jonas Brothers, and I have been converted into a fan. Judge me if you must.

11. It is so cold here. I really dislike winter. I also like it in theory... but experiencing it is a whole other thing. Summer is definitely my cup of tea. But... I do like scarves, and I have been getting a lot of use out of them while here.

12. I have been staying up into the wee hours of the morning and then sleeping in until well after noon. It is kind of ridiculous... but I think I am finally catching up on all the sleep I didn't get this semester. I better enjoy it while I can.

13. I was asked to be a bridesmaid for Courtney's (my roomie from last year) wedding. Unfortunately, I might not be able to. The wedding is June 5... but if I am working at the hospital I may not be able to get any time off... or have a way to get to oklahoma. :/ hmmm... we will see though. I would love to be a part of it.

14. In regards to number 13, everyone is getting engaged and married. Seriously. It is insane. When is my turn?! ;)

I am DONE!

As of today, I have completed my third semester of college. Weird. Only 5 more to go. Ha. I am so relieved to be finished with school. It has been exhausting, to say the least. But, God totally sustained me throughout this semester in a way I was not expecting, and especially this past week. It's cool to look back on this week, and think about how much was going on, and how I would normally freak out so easily about everything, but instead I was able to find peace and push through. It is one of those things where you realize, "that was all God." It is pretty wonderful.

Today's finals were kind of hard to focus on, because last night I was told some things about myself that were pretty hurtful, and from what I and everyone I have talked to thus far can tell, not true. Ya know, it's stuff like this that Satan would absolutely love to use to try and bring me down. It is hard not to be discouraged by what other people say about you, and it is hard to not be hurt, but I think the best thing (and the only thing) I can do is be in prayer about it. If there is something in my life that needs to be addressed and changed, God will reveal that to me. I must remind myself that my confidence is in Christ, not in what people say about me. It is hard for me to put into practice at times, but it is truth and I need to seek that out. I cried, a lot, about this, and spent the morning sick to my stomach, but the wonderful thing is that through the day God has just given me a strange peace about everything. I am still going over every word that was said to me and still trying to process it all and see if I can find any truth in those words, but ultimately, God has really sustained me. I know its only been a day, but this kind of stuff used to have the potential to destroy me. It is totally another thing where all I can say is that "It is ALL God." My strength is not keeping me going... only His. Let me say, I am so grateful for that!

In other news, my roommate from last year, Courtney, will be here in the morning! I am so excited! I have missed her and it will be nice to just catch up on each others lives. Oh yeah, and she is engaged now. As of Sunday to be exact. I wasn't surprised one bit by it, but it is still exciting nonetheless. We have been talking about her marrying this guy since the beginning of spring semester last year... its about time the made it official ;). They haven't picked a date or anything yet, but hopefully it will be a time of the year that I can make it. Ha. I have a feeling I will be talking about weddings A LOT tomorrow... I am pretty pumped. I can't wait to see her ring! :)

I fly out Thursday morning and officially start my break. My connection is in Houston (interestingly enough), but I will be flying to Boston first. I am praying that everything goes smoothly with my flights. I have a tendency to have bad luck with airplanes. ;). But, there is not snow in the forecast this week in Boston... so that significantly improves my odds of a peaceful and non complicated flight. I am excited to get to Boston... and to go to NYC for Christmas. Ah. It is going to be so cool. Once in a life time experience, I'd say. I get back in to Houston on January 6th and will be there for about 2 and a half weeks. I love these long Christmas breaks!

Oh, just a little update.

I haven't blogged in a while simply because nothing too interesting has been going on. I must say, I am completely exhausted. I desperately wish OBU believed in this whole "dead week" concept rather than "cram-everything-you-possibly-can (including tests and papers)-into-the-last-week-before-finals-starts-and-time-runs-out" week. But, I suppose I should just be grateful that it is Friday and at 2pm my 3rd semester of college classes will be complete. Victory. Here is my final schedule, in case you are curious:

Monday: 8:00am- Civ (comprehensive. blah)

3:15pm- Physiology final #1 (Lecture portion; comprehensive)

4:15pm- Physiology final #2 (Lab portion; comprehensive)

Tuesday: 8:00am- Development and Nutrition final (this is the one I am most worried about; comprehensive)

3:15pm- Sociology final (not comprehensive)

THEN I AM DONE! I can't wait. Just the word "finals" is making me cringe these days. Sheesh. I am just so ready for this semester to be over. It has been truly exhausting. Christmas break will be a sweet relief. I plan on finally relaxing. Ah, it sounds wonderful.

In other new, my roommate from last year is going to come up on Wednesday to visit me (seeing as how I don't fly out until Thursday)! I am excited. I have really missed living with her and I think it will be super fun to just catch up and hang out. It takes me a long time to get comfortable around people, but she made it pretty easy last year. We got along so well, and we both got to be ourselves. Super fun. I am looking forward to seeing her.

I have been making some serious cash off of my books thus far! It is awesome. The sad part is that I have made $185 so far... and it ALMOST pays for my ONE nursing book next year. Oh college, why are you so obscenely expensive?! sheesh. The good news is that at least I am making money back to put towards the book fund, so it wont be quite as overwhelming of a cost.

I have been studying a good part of the afternoon/evening for my physiology finals. I started to get REALLY stressed out in realizing how much there was to learn. So, once I finished for the night I decided my best bet to calm my anxieties was to put in HSM3. I must say, it was a great decision! That movie makes me SO happy. I wish more than anything that my life was a musical.

Lately (more specifically, today), I have been craving spontaneity! I am an organized person, generally speaking. I do really well with routine and I am comfortable with very little change. I like to be able to plan my days and know what I will be doing, when and where. Surprises are so appealing to me in theory, but typically they stress me out more than anything. I like structure... it works for me. I am cautious. I like safety and security. However, I would really like to, for just a moment, be spontaneous. Not crazy or stupid, just spontaneous. Something that just makes you feel alive. I don't know what it is, and I don't have anything in mind, I have just been restless lately. I feel like a small adventure could do me some good. Sigh, at least I can dream!

I just have to laugh.

So, the past few days have been rather odd, but slightly humorous. I thought I would share a few stories with you all.

Story 1:

Setting: Lobby of my dorm room, talking to my old RA. In walks this guy (his name starts with a J, past that, I don't remember). He sits down on the couch between Kaitlyn and I and starts talking with her (they are friends, don't worry). Eventually I become part of the conversation. Ten minutes later the realization hits that guy and I have not ever met. We exchange pleasantries. Here is what unfolds:

Guy: Where are you from? oh wait, don't tell me, let me guess.

Me: Oh, ok. Go for it.

Guy: Give me the state

Me: Texas

Guy: (looks at me intently for a few minutes... sufficiently awkward) When people as you where you are from, you answer Houston, right?

Me: (thoroughly surprised) Well yeah!

Guy: But you aren't technically from Houston, right? You are from a suburb of Houston, right?

Me: (kind of freaked out, yet impressed) Yeah, you are right.

Guy: Is it an area similar to Katy?

Me: Yeah, it is similar, but no it's not Katy.

Guy: Ok, past that I don't know any other areas other than Magnolia, and that's not it.

I told him where I was from and both my RA and I were in shock as to how he guessed. Apparently, DFW girls have a certain "look," which I was lacking. I am not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. He said he was between either Houston or Tyler. Very weird, but pretty funny. Today, I saw this guy again as I was walking to the ARA (our cafeteria) and he waved enthusiastically and said "Hey new friend!" Ha. So apparently, I got a new friend out of the deal. Cool.

In other news:

1. Our Civ professor brought her dog again today.

2. We got out of Civ an hour early.

3. I found out today, our physiology professor will be placing a curve at the end of the semester that could very possibly bring my B to and A! It is not set in stone, of course, but for the first time all semester and A is a realistic possibility. I am trying not to get my hopes up and just keep working hard, but this is rather encouraging news.

4. I am ready for break! That also means lots and lots of fun reading! :) I have a list going and I am pumped to get started.

5. It is snowing in Texas. Remind me why I left the state?! ;)

6. I have a super creepy stalker. He sits next to me in Civ. Awesome. He is a 5th year senior, ex baseball player and loves to get wasted on the weekends. A real winner.