Week Ten: I guess my computer is not okay with typing today. Sorry for any screwups!

I'm getting a new iPod today! I splurged on 'cyber Monday' sales and bought a brand new (not refurbished!) 32gb iPod touch 3rd generation. That's the second largest, newest kind, thank you very much! A luxury I'm certainly not used to having. I have to go pick it up when Benji gets out of class. Ah excitement.

Anyway, I have to do some Christmas shopping this week. Preferably today for all of the cyber Monday sales, but other than that I'm back on my blogging regime.

Goal Number 91: Be more harsh with myself when buying needless things.
Dear Stephanie, please do not load up your online shopping cart with things YOU want. Christmas is about giving. Love, your wallet.

Goal Number 9/38: Gain confidence in a bikini/Be able to look into a mirror and not critize my bulgy hips/stomach.
This one will take longer than a week, but will most likely take THE MOST determination and concentration. My goal is to have this completed by January 3rd*, the night before I leave for Miami, so I can try on my bathing suit in my room at my father's and look at myself and (believe! know!) think I'm a babe.

Double digits with the weeks means only 42 weeks left to complete... a whole heck of a lot of goals. I'm still having fun!

*This gives me 1 month and 4 days. I have a plan, though, which is basically the same as my plan I did in the Spring to lose all that weight for prom.
Monday-Saturday: No snackaroos that aren't, like, fruit. No cookies, no overloaded coffee drinks, none of that. Carrots dipped in ranch dressing, trail mix...
Sunday: Indulgence day. Small piece of cake, whatever. No guilt day, glutton day, whatever it is you want to call it.
Err'day: Park a little farther from the entrance to wherever I'm going. Take a walk, do something, anything to get moving. SERIOUSLY.

Week Nine: I meant to post this a long time ago!

I have to take a mini hiatus.

I KNOW I KNOW. There's nothing keeping me from doing my goals, but!

1. I have to finish this Christmas list for my father. The man wants it ASAP, which is fine, but I can't think of anything I really, truly need that falls within my budget.

2. My friends are in town and I've been spending as much time as humanly possible with them before they go back to the land of (real) academia.

3. It's Thanksgiving (HAPPY EATING!) and I've been busy. And now I'm going to be busy shopping for Christmas and, only two weeks after that, I'm going on my first cruise. Yippee!

Before I say goodbye, I want to say that I'm thankful for my family, my friends, electricity, every person in the world, and love in general. Thank you and I'll be back to blogging as soon as I can!

Try not to miss me too much!

Tis the season for jacket shopping, fa-la-la-la-la....

While I'm sitting here helping Ben write his speech for Human Communications 101, I decided to share with you my purchase of the day.

My friend Sam and I decided to go shopping today, and we stopped by our local PacSun. Now, I'm not a label snob, except for in that store. I refuse to buy anything made by Fox Racing, and I'm very picky about anything that is not Roxy. It's pretty sad of me, but hey!

Anyway, this is what I ended up with, on sale for 49.99:


Now if only the weather would get a little colder. And snow would be divine...

I have ten minutes to kill.

I've been in kind of a strange mood today, but it started when a friend-of-a-friend walked into the cafe. I tend to pick up bad vibes, and we ended up ranting about things that just put me in a bad mood.

So I sent a text message to one of my good friends, Adam, who always listens objectively. Most of the time it's nice because it's nice to have someone to tell you things straightforward rather than "Stephanie, you are so right" even when I am so wrong. Adam's the type of guy who will let me know when I'm wrong, but not in a mean way, just in a way like "you're wrong and you need to fix it". Anyway, I'm going to call Adam soon and just vent for a little bit. I miss him.

Hopefully talking to him will cheer me up, and if not, I have this weekend to think about. It's our two year anniversary, and I swear, I have the best boyfriend in the world. He's taking me to stay in a lighthouse on Rose Island off of Newport. He told me he thinks I deserve an escape. I feel so lucky, you don't even know.

It's almost time for me to duck out. My mom is babysitting our former neighbor's kids tonight. She was only supposed to watch the youngest two, but I guess the oldest is here too. And I don't want to listen to her problems tonight, I wanna talk about my owwwwwn.

Selfish night. We're all aloud one, right?

Week Eight: "There are people who get mauled by tigers who get off easier than that lady".

Dear Cape Cod Community College,
I hate you. I want to leave you and go to Boston. Please cooperate with me.
XOXO,
Stephanie

I honestly can't think of any goals I want to do this week. Maybe I'll sit through an entire game of Monopoly. That'll be a challenge seeing as Monopoly frustrates me. The last time I tried to play I was in my friend's basement at his parents party and I ended up just playing with his dogs, which I swear didn't even like me. I was twelve, but still. Sucks.

I don't know why I'm in such a blah mood right now. Oh well, I'm sleepy, it's Monday and I need to go eat something, plus I'm a little concernicous about a couple friends. And I'm missing Alli and Adam really bad right now.

I'm going to Facebook both of them so I can feel a little better.

Goal Number 129: Go on a Big Date - Completed!

Ben and I just got back to my house after our big date, and man did we love it. We ate dinner at the cafe, and it was delicious. We shared an appetizer of prosciutto e fresca fruita (Italian ham with fresh fruit), and I had fettucini bolognese (fettucini with meat sauce) and Ben had penne, which we can't remember how to pronounce.

It was so so nice. We sat at my favorite corner table next to the window, and we sat and talked for two hours (missing our movie). We talked about everything, past, pressent and future. And about halfway through the meal he just turned to me and told me how much he's enjoyed our relationship. How great it's been. To which I laughed and asked if he were breaking up with me. A no, of course. And he added "that would be mean, letting you pay for dinner just to dump you". Uh, yeah. Just a lot.

Here, because I'm bored and in love, some pictures that are probably too big for the entry frame. Oh well, enjoy anyway!


The day I got my belly button pierced, I let Steven sit in the front (a reward for sitting in the parlor while I got stabbed) and I took several stupid pictures of myself.

Ben and one of my best friends, Adam.

Floyd, Benny's kitten.

Vinny, who got me the job at the Cafe.

That's all for now!

Tonight is gonna be a good, good night.

Tonight, Benji and I are going on a 'big date'! We're going to go see a movie, hopefully there's something good playing, and we're going to go out to dinner at the cafe. I'm so excited! I'm going to wear my loverly new dress, black tights and black mini heels. And my Northface, which I haven't worn in awhile. I sure hope it still fits.

I don't think I've ever posted a picture of Ben and I. So here we are!



But the real reason I was updating was to talk about how much better I feel about myself. Over the past few weeks, I feel way more confident than I ever have. I still have my things I hate about my body, but don't we all? At least I'm working on it. I've also been buying clothes that I feel comfortable in. In other words, I've been shopping for my body now, not what I want it to be. And it's working. Seriously. :)

Goal Number 35: Get These Kittens Out of My Room - Completed!

Okay, fair is fair. These kittens have technically been out of my room for a few weeks, but my room was still trashed. I should have worn a HAZMAT suit while I was cleaning it, but hey, I'm still breathing.

But guess what?! Two hours, five bags of garbage, and three loads of laundry later, I'm done. My room feels like mine again! My bed is all made, my mirror is decorated, my things are all in their places!

Okay, this 'complete' might be a little premature. I still need to gather my hair straightener and welcome it to my room ("Hello, Conair Dryer, meet Chi Straightener. I know she's a little snobby, but you'll get used to her. She makes my hair silky smooth and straight, you'll love her!") and put away my entire collection of clothes that have been hanging out all over my house. I never realized I had so many! It's going to take, like, a half hour! And the pasta at Sweet Tomatoes is calling my name! I can hear it!

...I guess I have time to finish. Darn.

Help a fellow blogger out!

Please help out one of my blogtastic friends, monogramgirl, who writes the blog A Nantucket State of Mind and check out this auction to support CVS: Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. The auction opens tomorrow morning! Go go go!

Clicky clicky!

Goal Number 121+122: Copy and Duplicate my Mom's Cranberry Bread Recipe - Completed!

Yesterday, Ben and I had nothing to do. It was absolutely wonderful. We slept in until about 11:30 (without getting woken up by his brother and his brother's girlfried, who are loud and frankly, quite rude when you ask them to be quiet) because I had felt sick the night before and didn't want to move from my couch to his bed 2.5 miles away. My couch to my bed was a nice 30 feet.

So we went to the super market and got all the ingrediants we needed for peanut butter and jelly cookies, and cranberry bread!

Here, for your cooking pleasure, is my mother's famous recipe for cranberry bread. Drumroll, please!:

You'll need
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tbs butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional, and my sister and I always opt out)
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

And you'll need to
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Beat together the orange juice and butter.
3. Add sugar and mix, then add cranberries and walnuts.
4. In seperate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda.
5. Stir flour/salt/baking soda mixture into the liquid mixture and mix together with a spoon.
6. Spoon into buttered 9x5 bread pan.
7. Bake for one hour.

And finally, enjoy!



Here is the cranberry bread, located next to our delicious peanut butter and jelly cookies. Yesterday was just a wonderful day for baking, it was cloudy and windy and just a good day to stay inside.

Week Seven: I finally took a day off for myself.

You heard right! Tomorrow, Tuesday, I will not have to work or go to school. Plus, Benji works from nine in the morning to nine at night, so I will have all the freedom in the world. Watch me crinkle my nose, though, at what I need to get acomplished during these precious few hours.

1. Write a persuasive speech on a topic I have yet to choose.
2. Write a 8-10 page paper on my grandmother's life.
3. Research and put together a presentation on depression. Luckily, this project involves three other people, so the thirty minute presentation doesn't fall entirely on my shoulders.
4. Complete a take-home exam for US History.

I'm not exactly worried about all this. Since unofficially dropping out of my math class (I'm still enrolled but since the looming F seems to be getting closer) the stress is almost gone. I'm able to focus more clearly on the three classes I'm doing well in-and my goal is to continue doing so incredibly well so my GPA doesn't blow up in my transferring face. I want O-U-T.

Anyway, this week's goals!

Goal Number 112: Whiten My Teeth.
The other night, my mom called me into her room. She asked if I had been brushing my teeth. After I was done whining (MOOOO-OOOOOM) I told her that yes, I have been brushing my teeth two, if not three times daily. She asked how much coffee I have been drinking, and for a stressed out college student, it isn't much. She asked if I were smoking, to which I laughed and replied with an honest no. I hate the smell. So she suggested I invest in whitening my teeth, because her teeth have always been on the yellow side, too. And anyway, who doesn't want a bedazzling smile?

Goal Number 121+122 (another one? Woah.): Get and Copy my Mom's Recipe for Cranberry Bread.
My favorite thing about the Thanksgiving season is my mom's cranberry bread. She bakes loaves of it every year, and I just can't get enough. Unhealthy and terrible dieting as it is, I could sit there and eat an entire loaf. It's that good.

Plus, I found another typo. It seems as though I really wanted that vintage dress-I put it twice on my list, once at 99 and once at 170. As a result, I'm moving one of my replacement goals up to the 170 spot. Hasta la vista!

I have another hour for break and then psych later this afternoon. I'll be catching up on blogs at some point tomorrow during my day of working almost exclusively at my laptop!

Goal Number 99: Buy a Vintage Dress - Completed!

Off of Amazon, I have purchased this baby

a "50's Rockabilly Tux Ruffle Sundress".

I have a thing for dresses anyway. I own way, way, way too many of them, but I have a shortage of 'little black dress'es. This will be a nice little edition to my collection. You know, some people love shoes, some love handbags. I love dresses.

Now, to match I could use some little black flats, a little black bag, a little black sweater...

Pictures from Goal Number 121: Carve a Pumpkin!

"No more pictures!"


It's a man's job to get out all the gross guts.


Mine is in the front, Ben's in the back.


Glowing!

Week Six: Shopping Goals, anyone?

Goal Number 99: Buy a vintage dress.
Have you ever been on unique-vintage.com? Well, they're really cute vintage dresses. I love the 50s rockabilly dresses. Since seeing them while I was searching for prom dresses last year, I fell in love. And I'm craving one.

Goal Number 90: Obtain a credit card and be responsible with it.
With the state of the economy lately, and the state of my mom's complaints, I've realized how important it is to be responsible with credit. And if I ever want anything later in life, I better freakin' have good credit, or I'm not going to be able to get it. I plan on paying it off at the end of every month (I know, credit card companies are going to HATE me) so I'll be safe. I know that credit cards are not 'magic money cards', like some people think.

And, mini goal: FInd the perfect anniversary gift for Ben.
I'm thinking Monin syrups. The boy loves Italian sodas. And beef jerkey. And venicin. I'm thinking a big bag full of random food things he loves.

And, I'd like to pass on my award! I'd like to pass on the Over The Top award to Amy, writer of kelinda.KELINDA. She's so sweet and she takes pictures of her beautiful outfits every day to share with the world! Amy, you now have the honor of displaying this award in your blog and have the choice to answer the famous 35 questions.

Goal Numbers 49+130: Dress up and throw a mini Halloween party - Completed!

As you know, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. This year, my friend Sam and I decided to throw a little party and get dressed up. She dressed as an angel, and I dressed as a fairy princess. Don't worry, pictures are coming at some point.

We managed to cook some food, and the party was a success! Her friends James, Bryan, Steven and Tara came, and our mutual friends Dylan and Ethan, and my friends Cat, Kelli, Jack, Jared, Lis and Nick. Plus, of course, Ben was there. We ate, took pictures, walked around the neighborhood, then took a walk through a graveyard. It wasn't very scary, but then we decided to walk through the woods at Burgess Park. Yes. Scary. Dylan and Ethan ran ahead to scare us, but we ended up taking a different path, so we lost them for a good fourty-five minutes.

Overall, it was a success. I'll have a picture post update soon, I swear. I seem to be running out of time lately.

Drum roll, please!

Lookie what I got!



Thank you so much to Jenni over at (clever title goes here)! I love the encouragement I've started to get from many readers around the blogspace! If I could give you all a big hug, I would. Seriously.

Now, the 35 Questions.

1. Where is your cell phone?
Sitting right next to my laptop.

2. Your hair?
My hair is wavy, brown, and unruly. I can only successfully straighten the right side, the left side rebels and prefers to stay wavy. It's past my shoulders, finally, and I'm going to grow it past my shoulder blades/long enough to donate for the third time to Locks of Love.

3. Your Mother?
Most likely at work somewhere in Dennis. She's a homemaker and visits all the elderly folk around the Cape, cleaning up after them and hanging out with them, keeping them company while they watch daytime TV.

4. Your Father?
He's presumably at work in Hyannis, Nantucket, Eastham, Sandwich or Yarmouth. My parents have been divorced almost ten years, and he lives in New Bedford. I don't see him as often as I used to, so he's harder to keep track of.

5. Your favorite food?
Ice cream! Cheese raviolis! Anything that being lactose intolerant should prevent me from having, but I eat anyway cause I just looove it so much. Even now I'm sitting here cursing how delicious bagels with cream cheese are. Owwwww...

6. Your dream from last night?
I honestly can't remember.

7. Your favorite drink?
Coconut strawberry Italian sodas, but only if I make them. I also enjoy really chocolatey hot chocolate, peppermint mochas, and water. Oh boy, I love water.

8. Your dream/goal?
To be happy wherever my life ends up.

9. What room are you in?
The "quiet study" room of the library at Cape Cod Community College, even though I have no homework to be doing. I love this place for it's peace and quiet.

10. What are your hobbies?
Snowboaridng, surfing (the waves and the web), learning, writing, reading, Facebooking, shopping, dreaming...

11. What is your fear?
Tragedy, of any kind.

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
In six years I'll be almost 25. So I'll answer that with on a plane to anywhere. My twenties are going to be full of traveling, if I get my way!

13. Where were you last night?
In bed by 8:30, watching Dilbert.

14. Something you are not?
Patient. Especially when someone mutters the word surprise.

15. Muffins?
Cranberry, please!

16. Wish List Items?
I haven't made a wich list yet. I don't really get it. Could someone please explain?!

17. Where did you grow up?
Same little house I live in now, on Cape Cod.

18. Last thing you did?
Talked to my long lost favorite cousin, Hayley, on Facebook. I haven't spoken to her in maybe three years because she's been shipped from one problem house to the next. Finally I think she's found some stability. Her mom just died of swine flu, so we were talking about that. :(

19. What are you wearing?
American Eagle jeans, Hollister sweatshirt (my first Hollister purchase), tank top, and flip flops.

20. Your TV?
Personally, I don't have one. I got rid of it years ago. I do, however, watch my mother's TV and my boyfriend's family's TV.

21. Your pets?
Five cats. Floyd, Fifi, and Hayley (not the same as my cousin!) live at my mother's, and Sadie and CiCi live at my dad's. Two dogs, Oliver and Chloe.

22. Your friends?
Benji, Sam, Ethan, Adam, Jared, Jack, Parisa, Vinny, Lis, Samantha, Nick, Laurel, Kevin, Cat, Alli, Twig.

23. Your life?
Zero complaints. I love my life.

24. Your mood?
Annoyed, since I have to go to stupid ol' math in twenty minutes. But overall, I'm happy.

25. Missing Someone?
Hayley, the cousin one, not the cat one.

26. Vehicle?
2005 powder blue Ford Mustang.

27. Something you're not wearing?
Makeup.

28. Your favorite store?
Anything online.

29. Your favorite color?
Pink.

30. Last time you laughed?
Half hour ago-ish.

31. Last time you cried?
The night before last.

32. Your best friend?
Benji, and everyone else.

33. One place you go to over and over?
Disneyworld.

34. One person who emails you regularly?
Facebook with notifications.

35. Favorite place to eat?
Sam Diego's. Fried ice cream, end of story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Again, thank you so much! I'll be back posting later this afternoon. I had to take an unexpected hiatus when the Halloween activities began (which means goals have been completed!), my mom's aunt died of swine flu, and school started getting difficult. Yesterday I wrote a five page research paper on the late great Karen Horney.

I'll catch up on this project and catch up on all of you later!

...and a big hello to my new followers. Welcome!