New Year's Resolutions

I'm not usually one for making a lot of New Year's Resolutions, because I can't normally stick with them past the end of January. Sad, I know. But this year, I'm going to try really hard to actually succeed.

My list of resolutions (yes, I actually wrote a list) has about 9 things on it. One of them is to blog more often, which I'm clearly not doing so well with yet, seeing as this is my first post for the month, and it's the last day of the month. I'm trying though. I really am. 

I don't really know what the problem is. I have plenty of free time. Maybe I'm trying too hard to be productive at other things? I don't know. I want my blog to be interesting, and it's obviously something I can use to express myself, so that should mean I want to write in it all the time, but clearly I don't. Maybe I'm overanalyzing it all. Which I tend to do. Then I get frustrated, then sad, then I just shut down, sit in my bed and ignore the world.

Yup. I'm over analyzing. I'm going to try to put less pressure on myself to be a "good" blogger. Maybe that should be another resolution. (Not that I need any more of those!) I think half the problem is that I really like putting my goofy little drawings in my blog, but I am not an artist by nature (if you couldn't tell) so they take SO much effort for me. Which seems silly, since they're so bad. So bad. But really...they're hard for me. So don't hate me, people, but there will probably be far fewer drawings from now on, unless I'm feeling especially artistic sometime. Which is entirely possible. The drawings will not be dead forever, just...rare. Like...seeing the Loch Ness Monster or the likelihood that I would ever sit down and watch a full episode of "Jersey Shore." (Ok, maybe they won't be that rare, but you get the idea.)

So...New Year's Resolutions. I made some. One of which I'm working on just by posting this. But another one I made was to drink more water. I figure it's fitting to mention this one since my first post way back a year ago talked about drinking a ton of water and my roommate telling me I might have diabetes. (I don't, by the way. Not that I'm aware of anyway.)

I really am not a very health-conscious person. I'm not overweight, but I don't exercise, and I really don't eat the greatest things for me. I don't overeat, or eat things that are terrible for me, but I just...could make healthier diet choices. And that's where the water comes in. I know generally "they" say you should drink eight glasses a day. I'm pretty sure that's still what "they" say. Anyway, I don't do that. But for the past few weeks, I have been lugging a water bottle around the house with me all day, making sure I drink the whole thing by the time I go to bed. I'm honestly not sure how many cups that water bottle equals, but I still feel good about drinking it all.

Also, I usually try to make myself drink a Grande sized water at work before I allow myself my free drink of the day, which as of late has been a Grande Tan Line latte. (Caramel and vanilla for those of you who don't frequent a Biggby Coffee.) Those suckers are super tasty, but also super unhealthy. One grande Tan Line is...*gulp* 482 calories. I know I should probably start making them with skim milk and sugar free syrups, but it just makes me so sad to think about. I want all my fattening, tasty, Tan Line calories dang it! All 482 of them!

As a side note, I don't drink one every day, since I don't work every day. And there have been a few work days when I didn't drink one. Those were good willpower days I guess.

Going along with the water, I'm also working out. My sister and I got this workout DVD called the Brazil Butt Lift. Yep. That's really what it's called. The instructor, Leandro, just makes me laugh. He's so high energy, and he calls your butt your "bum bum," but it's pronounced "boom boom." Ah, I'm giggling just thinking about how silly it is. "Squeeze your bum bum!" Not really a direction I ever thought I'd hear shouted at me, much less one I'd follow.

There he is. From here.

Silliness aside, it's a pretty hard core workout. Like I said, I'm not the most health-conscious person, and as such, I'm terribly out of shape. Throw a sometimes questionably cooperative heart into the mix, and working out and I aren't really friends. I really rather enjoy staying conscious. But it's been going alright. My "boom boom" and legs are really sore, so I can only hope that means it's working.

The resolution I'm really looking forward to working on...is reading. I have approximately 23,914,675,261 books to read, give or take 73. Plus I got eight more for Christmas. Six of those eight are in a really awesome box set from my parents. 

Which naturally I took an Instagram picture of because why not?

They're all classics, and I'm really excited to read them. Well, one I've read (Wuthering Heights) and two I started reading and never finished (Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray.) I really don't like not finishing books, but sometimes I just didn't have time to read, and then I'd forget what had happened, so I'd quit. And some books I started too young. Dracula was one of those. It's a weird book, for sure, but I started reading it when I was maybe a freshman or sophomore in high school. I didn't really get it. I think I would get it now. I also have all of the Lord of the Rings books to read. Definitely was too young to really appreciate those the first time I attempted them. Right now I'm reading The Help, which even though I haven't finished yet is great so far, so I would recommend it to anyone.

There are many other resolutions on my list, of course, but I kind of doubt you all want to hear about all of them. If I'm wrong and you're dying to know what the rest of my resolutions are, I really have no qualms with sharing them. Let me know. Comment or email or whatever you want to do. The point is, I'm doing pretty well on them so far, and I'm pleased with that. I really just want 2012 to be a great year. 

Oh...and it would be cool to make it to 2013. That way I didn't waste a year getting my bum bum into shape. Mostly I want to make it beyond December 21, 2012, so that one day my kids can ask me "Mom, why is there a movie about the world blowing up and flooding and stuff back in 2012?" and I can say "Well kids, because people like to sensationalize. And Hollywood people like to blow stuff up and put it on the big screen."

I'm sorry if this wordy post bored anyone, but hey, it's my blog. I'll do whatever I want. So there.

One Year.

Holy crap, my blog has been around for a whole year. That doesn't even seem possible.

I am thrilled to be able to say I've been blogging for a year, especially since I started this whole thing on a whim basically. 

Rather than regale you all with tearful, sappy words of thanks for your follows, comments, and reads, I'm going to instead do something that I am really looking forward to; a summary of what I've done this past year, because I feel like I've done a LOT. 

And maybe this seems like something I should be doing for a New Year's post or something, but I'd rather do it now. So...maybe no one else will find this very exciting, but I'm stoked to reflect on my year. There will be pictures. Lots of pictures. So if you aren't ready to be bombarded with photos...turn back now. And...here we go.

December 2010

In this fantastic month, I took my first steps into the blogging world, and began this blog. Dehydration and Procrastination was born.

I also rocked out my fall term exams of my senior year of college, which felt great.

Then we had an awesome Christmas. I always love Christmas. It just makes me happy.

Tree dance I guess?

Our lovely Christmas tree. :)

Yeah...We're something like this.

And this.

We love big fluffy stuffed animals!

And my one Christmasish post of the month was this one.

January 2011

We rang in the New Year with lots of excitement and fun, and lots of hope for what 2011 would bring. That was about it, so I'm just going to hit you with a bunch of pictures.

Cousin New Year's picture.

First picture of my dog, Maggie, in 2011.

We love our fake alcohol.

And then I wrote a post about our New Year's shenanigans.

February 2011

In February, my AMAZING grandpa turned 80 years old! It doesn't even seem possible that he's actually that old. He's the most fantastic, wonderful, brilliant, loving man I've ever known in my life.

Best Grandpa EVER!

Also, there was Snowpocalypse.

Nothing else super exciting happened in February that I can think of, but I did write my most popular post in February: The Curse of Medical Students' Disease.

March 2011

This was easily one of the best months of my life so far. My spring break was the first week of March, and my amazing dad surprised me with an AMAZING trip...to LONDON!

St. Stephen's Tower. NOT Big Ben. Big Ben is the bell. That is all. 

Me and a guard. Of course. 

Westminster Abbey. 

Harrods all lit up and purdy. What a crazy shopping experience.

Underground sign. Because I had to.

The main reason my dad decided to surprise me with this trip-of-a-lifetime was because...I am a massive Phantom of the Opera fan. (Not massive enough to spell it "Phan" though, because that's just going overboard. Even for me.) I saw it for the first time when I was in 8th grade, and I've been in love with the show ever since.

It just so happened that there was a sequel to Phantom called Love Never Dies. Being a huge fan of Phantom, I got the soundtrack for LND as soon as I could, and listened to the whole thing with my best friend, who is an equally huge fan. The man who played the Phantom in LND was Ramin Karimloo, and basically my best friend and I fell in love with his voice right away. He's incredible. Love Never Dies was only playing in London at the time, and I really wanted to see it. Well...and see Ramin.

So, my awesome dad not only took me to London, he took me to see Phantom of the Opera AND Love Never Dies. Literally a dream come true.

Her Majesty's Theatre.

Enough said.

I got chills when I saw this. And yes, I cried at the end of the show. Like a little baby.

The Adelphi Theatre.

I was super excited.

Phantom was spectacular, as I had expected, and Love Never Dies was incredible. Ramin Karimloo is one of the most phenomenally talented performers I have ever had the joy of seeing. I bawled after his first song in the show, and I bawled at the end of the show. And then, to top it all off, my dad was amazing enough to wait around for almost an hour and a half at stage door just so I could have the chance to maybe meet Ramin Karimloo. It was freezing cold outside, the cast was having a party that night, and there was absolutely no guarantee that they would be out anytime before midnight. But my dad waited around like an incredibly good sport, and...it paid off.

I MET RAMIN!

Let me just say, he was such an amazing, humble, kind man. He thanked us for coming to the show and apologized for how long we'd waited. Then, because we obviously sound like Americans, he asked where we're from. I told him we were from Michigan, and he said "Oh yeah? Not far from me, I'm from Toronto." Then he thanked us again for coming all that way to see the show, I told him in a semi-squeaky voice that he was phenomenal and he thanked me yet again. Then he gave me his autograph (twice, because I HAD to get one for my best friend) and posed for a picture with me. I think I was floating around off my high of meeting him until long after we'd come back home to the States.

At the end of the month, I turned twenty-two. My great friends and family made it an awesome birthday.

My roomies attacked my door with festive streamers! 

My mom and sister came up to take me out to dinner and brought presents! 

Yup. I got penguin footie pajamas for my 22nd birthday. Be jealous.

Can't explain my sister's goofy face, but I can explain the sweatshirt. It's Mal's, and it's a tradition among our friends. 

I wore it to dinner, and got a card from *gasp* Ramin! (aka, Mallory) :) 

"He's" such a sweetheart.

Birthday pub trip.

Why yes, we did take coloring books to the pub. 

Amazing friends. :)

And...to keep up with the trend I seem to have going on with the "post of the month," in March I wrote a post about my socially awkward issues.

April 2011

In April my four years of hard work paid off, and I graduated from college with honors and a BA in Psychology.

There was a dinner and a party for the seniors which were both a pretty rockin' time.

Three cool girls with dress pockets, one sad girl without. Also...this will be our album cover if we ever become a musical group. 

Romantic (?) dance with my awesome roomie.

Roomie love.

We're very pensive girls.

I did it!

And I wrote a post about graduation and the scariness of what post-graduation life might be like.

May 2011

The month of May brought about my second trip to Europe for the year. My spring term class travelled to Austria and Germany for the month to learn about important things in the history of psychology.

Like Freud.

And the Holocaust. (This is Dachau.)

And "Mad" King Ludwig's fairytale castle.

And the Berlin Wall.

And I wrote about the trip a little more in detail when I got home.

June 2011

In June, nothing too terribly exciting happened, but I did get a job! No, it has nothing to do with psychology. You know...that thing I studied for four years in college...? But it's still a wicked fun job. I'm a barista at Biggby Coffee, and I love it. I've been there for six months now, and I still have an awesome time every time I work.

I knew before I'd even finished training that it was going to rock, so I wrote about it!

July 2011

In July...holy crap, my cousin got freaking MARRIED! She's a year younger than me, so it was so weird to have happen. Especially since she'd never dated anyone else. But they're sickeningly adorable together, and I love her husband so much. It's like he was always my cousin. He fits into our family so well.

Cute happy couple. :)

Sadly my only post for the month of July was this one, and it's not even really worth mentioning. I'm ashamed.

August 2011

August was another AWESOME month, because I got to go to Europe again. Yes...for the third time in one year. Insanity, I know. My family and my dad's brother's family got to go to Paris and Rome together. It was incredible.

My favorite place in Paris, the Opera Garnier. (Phantom of the Opera nerd, remember?) 

Notre Dame de Paris. 

Moulin Rouge. No, we did not go inside. Haha.

Gorgeous Sacre Coeur.

Of course, le Tour Eiffel. 

Arc de Triomphe.

Saw this on our last night in Paris. I cried. And then I cried on the way to the airport.

Pompeii. Mt. Vesuvius all ominous in the background. 

Colosseum. 

Trevi Fountain.

Michelangelo's Pieta.

Once again, this was a sucky month in blog world, as I only had one post again. And it was about how much I suck.

September 2011

Honestly...I don't recall anything especially exciting happening in September. Weird. And I have absolutely no posts from this month either. Apparently I was in a coma this month. So...moving right along...

October 2011

This month my family took a trip to Florida for my sister's birthday. We totally hit up Disney and then we went to Hogwarts. No big deal. 

We're princesses too. For sure. 

Yeah Epcot! 

Childhood dreams come true.

Tasty stuff.

Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe! So awesome.

Hilarious conductor of the Hogwarts Express.

Hogsmeade Village.

Oh Hogwarts...I love you.

Um...but seriously, I died and went to heaven. I love Harry Potter. So much.

Then I got to dress up for Halloween. Twice! I wore one costume to work, and one to hand out candy at home.

I was a kitty for work.

And a Gryffindor at home!

And my best friend came over to be an evil Slytherin.

Yet again...no post that month. Fail.

November 2011

November was...not too exciting either. Though there was Thanksgiving, and I LOVE Thanksgiving. Sadly I was a slacker and didn't have my camera with me at the family gathering, so I have no pictures to share. Which is a bummer. But it was an awesome time anyway. 

Also, November and Thanksgiving means putting up our Christmas tree, which is so much fun! 

Our lovely tree. :)

Also, my sister and I have pictures taken every year before Christmas so that my mom has some to send out in Christmas cards. So here's a few of my favorites.

My sister hates this one, but I love it.

We love doing jumping pictures.

My sister looks like High School Musical. 

Festive.

The blog failure continued into this month, sadly.

December 2011

So now we've come all the way to one year after I started this blog. I've had a heck of a year. I'm extremely blessed. I can't believe some of the opportunities and adventures I've had this past year. And I still can't believe how popular my blog is. 142 followers? What?! I mean, really...I'm so thrilled, because I never thought anyone outside of my tiny college, my tiny hometown, and my family would read or care about my blog. 

I know I'm not doing anything wildly creative or different with my blog, but apparently what I am doing works. So I think I'll keep it up. And I definitely want to get back to doing more of my terrible drawings. I know I've had a few lately, but I think I can cook up something really special in the near future.

I'm not going to promise it will be within a week, or even a month, because as you all know, I've slacked several times, and maybe if I don't put any pressure on myself I'll actually be more motivated. Meh...we'll see. 

What I will promise though is that I will continue blogging as long as people continue reading. And commenting too. Comments make me happy. So comment! Please. Unless you want me to be sad. Which hopefully you don't. Because I look like this when I'm sad: 

That's right. My arms get all wiggly. So unless you want me to have wiggly arms...don't make me sad. 

But seriously, I appreciate all of you readers and followers and commenters very much. Thanks for the love this first year, and hopefully year 2 will only get better!

Also...if you stuck around for this whole, extremely long post, I appreciate that even more. So here's a cookie.

I think it's chocolate chip...