Counting My Blessings As Thanksgiving 2010 Approaches

I don't know about you, but around this time every year, it seems like I'm never prepared for how fast Thanksgiving just seems to sneak right up on us. Leaves start changing color, pumpkin spice lattes come back in season, hoodie/sweater weather arrives, and Halloween comes and goes. Alas, the Thanksgiving season is upon us once again, and after a half day of work tomorrow morning, I will be hitting the road and heading home to the Valley to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

Do you remember back to those days in elementary and middle school when this time of year rolled around and your teachers asked you to write a list or draw a picture of things you were thankful for? It seemed so routine back then. The teacher would hand you a construction paper cut-out shaped like a turkey, leaf, pumpkin, or even a cornucopia. Then you would list one word responses as they came to mind. From what I can remember, mine typically went something like this: "I am thankful for...my family, friends, food, clothes, shelter..." Granted, the list probably became a bit more elaborate as I got older, but you get the idea. Then, the teacher would display what we were thankful for on a hallway bulletin board for others to see.

It's kind of funny to me that now, many years later, I was just thinking about this for whatever the reason. In the adult world, I feel like it's so easy to get caught up in our day-to-day affairs, that we oftentimes forget to stop and realize how blessed we really are. Please don't think for a second that I'm pointing fingers here. I'll be the first to admit that I am guilty of this far too often. Sometimes I think it's almost like we have this sense of entitlement....the notion that "I deserve to have a great job...I went to college" or "I deserve to go out to dinner several nights a week....I work hard all day!" But whenever those thoughts pop into our heads, we need to push them aside and remember that these things are not entitlements, but rather, they are blessings from God, and they can be taken away from us just as quickly as He gave them to us. 

I took a women's studies course during my junior year at JMU (it turned out to be a terrible idea on my part, but I thought it was going to be an easy A, and by the time I realized that the opposite was true, there were no other electives left that would fit in my schedule. I painfully tolerated the class and did a LOT of lip biting, and did manage to pull out an A in the end, but I digress). I remember one topic that was discussed in that class quite frequently was the idea of oppression of certain groups in society (for brevity's sake, I will not elaborate on this, as it will likely throw me into a tangent). One of the discussion topics that my professor brought up (and many in the class sided with her on) was the idea that it is wrong for you or me to refer to ourselves as being "blessed," because that insinuates that we think we're better and more deserving of gifts/material wealth/social & economic stature/social acceptance/etc. than oppressed individuals/groups. I honestly can't recall a statement from a professor in my entire 3.5 years of college that made me feel more angry/upset/violated/hurt than that moment. How can anyone possibly be of the notion that it's selfish to consider yourself BLESSED?!?!?!  Is anyone else on board with me in thinking that it's beyond selfish to consider ourselves as anything BUT blessed?! There are certainly plenty of less fortunate individuals in the world, but God expects us to use our blessings to help those in need.

So, while I still ended up going off on the tangent that I had intended to avoid, hopefully you can still see my point. We are never too young or old, too rich or poor, too busy or bored, too hurt or depressed to stop counting our blessings. Therefore, I'd like to take a few moments to expand upon my elementary school assignment and share what I'm thankful for with you. And yes, I realize that I posted a similar list back in the summer after my surgery, but in my opinion, you can also never count your blessings too often! :)

I'm thankful for.....

• a wonderful, strong, and loving family and great friends who are always here for me through everything
• being able to spend Thanksgiving with my family, especially God's blessing of letting Dad spend one more Thanksgiving with us, and his determination not to adhere to what the doctors predicted
• faith. I have absolutely no idea how anyone manages to get through life without it.
  
• good, soul-soothing music. Songs with lyrics that tug at your heartstrings and remind you of special/fond memories. Maybe that's a weird thing to be thankful for, however, I've been dealing with some pretty painful stuff in my life lately, and the music really helps. I don't like silence, especially when I'm by myself with lots of time to think, so the likes of Daughtry, Jon McLaughlin, John Mayer, Lifehouse, Five For Fighting, Josh Wilson, Matthew West, and Chris Tomlin have all been dominating my playlists lately. There's nothing quite like a song that fully expresses exactly how you're feeling at any given moment in time.
• having a job that I enjoy and the best bosses/coworkers/friends that I could possibly ask for!
• overall good health, positive follow-up reports at the retinal specialist, and a diagnosis for my knee injury so it can start healing
• forgiveness. Goodness knows I've made well beyond my share of mistakes, so it sure is refreshing to know that with a simple prayer for forgiveness, God wipes the slate clean
• great memories and the people who experienced them with me. Even when you're going through a sad or painful time, all it takes is one sweet memory to make you smile :)
• concerts & football games
  
• fun times, laughter, & every moment of every day that brings happiness to the people I care about :)
  

The is certainly not even close to being an exhaustible list, but alas, I need to start packing for the holiday weekend. As usual, thanks so much for taking the time to read my ramblings. I would love to hear what you're thankful for if you're willing to share, but either way, on Thursday, when you're about to dig into that turkey (or tofurkey, since my coworkers have been picking on me about that for the past week or two), don't forget to stop and remember what the holiday is actually about. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!!!!! :)

Brrr it's Fall....the perfect time of year for cooking with Pumpkin!!!!

Wow, I've certainly been slacking big-time on my plan to update this thing more often. Oops!  Well, what better way to make a come back than by sharing a recipe that I just concocted about an hour ago! One of my favorite things to do when I have the time is to experiment in the kitchen. Whether trying out a brand new recipe, tweaking an old one, or just perusing my cabinets and concocting something out of the ingredients that I have on hand, cooking experiments are oh so much fun! Fall recipes are my absolute favorite (especially ones that include pumpkin or butternut squash!), and since my pantry was already well-stocked with canned pumpkin, tonight I decided to raid my spice cabinet and create a new pumpkin soup recipe. Certain people tend to think that I have unique tastebuds, so this recipe might not be ideal for many of you, but if you do decide to try it out, please share your feedback! :)

Juliana’s Homemade Pumpkin Soup Recipe

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 (15 oz.) cans pure pumpkin
• 2 1/2 cups organic low-sodium vegetable broth (from 32 oz. carton)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup nonfat half & half
• 1 tbsp sugar-free maple syrup
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 pinch cajun seasoning
• 1 large pinch chili powder
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:
Saute onion and garlic with olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in pumpkin, vegetable broth, milk, half & half, bay leaf, and maple syrup. Add garlic powder, cajun seasoning, chili powder, parsley, black pepper, and salt.

Bring mixture to boiling, then turn back down and simmer on low for about 15 minutes, or until heated through and of desired consistency (mine was pretty thick, but that's how I prefer it). Remove bay leaf from soup and serve.

Makes approx. 4 servings

The final product....fresh off the stove-top

I garnished mine with more parsley and freshly ground black pepper (Can you tell I'm a little obsessed with freshly ground black pepper?....I think I enjoy using the grinder too much! Haha).

Be Thankful :)

Well, it's certainly been quite a while since I posted on here and I apologize for being such a slacker. Needless to say, A LOT has happened during my 2 month blogging sabbatical! I won't bore you with my typical rambling stories detailing every aspect of that time frame, but here are a few highlights: After my tireless job search last winter (which, looking back, I apologize for complaining about so much), in April, I was blessed to receive two job offers. Thankfully, God pointed me in the right direction to a job in Richmond that I absolutely love. My coworkers are fabulous and the work environment has proven to be exactly what I'd hoped for! I found a cute apartment in an adorable neighborhood, and have been enjoying pretending to be an adult in the sense that I now get excited about shopping for furniture and house wares, and thinking of ways to decorate my humble abode. Fun times!

It didn't take me long to adjust to my new beginning/first full-time job/really being on my own for the first time. I was quite content with the way things had been going...that is, until several weeks ago, when life decided to throw me a monkey wrench. 

It all began on Memorial Day. My boyfriend and I spent the holiday shopping at Short Pump Town Center. As we perused through various stores, I randomly started noticing lots of floaters and red and yellow flashes of light in my peripheral vision of my right eye. Despite the fact that my retinal specialist constantly warned me that these symptoms are a sure sign of another retinal hemorrhage (or worse), I shrugged it off as being paranoid, and continued shopping. Later that evening while out to dinner, I again noticed the symptoms, but yet again, decided to ignore them, convinced that I would sleep it off that night and wake up symptom free. Well, imagine my disappointment when I awoke the next morning and the first thing I noticed was a lighting bolt shaped flash of light in my eye. By this point, I had transitioned from blissfully ignorant to slightly concerned, so I did the adult thing to do and called my retinal specialist. After describing my symptoms, they scheduled an appointment for me with a specialist here in Richmond for the next afternoon. Upon heading to my appointment, I had already prepared myself to hear that I had relapsed and was suffering another retinal hemorrhage (I had the first one during my freshman year at JMU)....I would probably have to endure another round of Avastin injections in my eye, and maybe a few Visudyne (photodynamic) treatments, but I survived it before and now I knew what to expect, so this should be a cinch....or so I thought.

It turns out that the reason I was seeing all of those flashes of light was because I had experienced a retinal detachment, the doctor explained to me, and I would thus need to undergo surgery the next day. 

Okay, so I wasn't ready for that news after all. Surgery?!?! I'm the girl who didn't get her wisdom teeth cut out because I was terrified at the thought of undergoing surgery (which was okay, b/c my orthodontist assured me that I had room for them to come in...what he didn't prep me for was how painful the "coming in" process is, but I digress). Anyway, since it was scheduled for the next day, I didn't really have time to stress out about it, which was certainly for the best. 

I've rambled too much already so I will spare you the details of the surgery, but it went really smoothly and I've spent the past 2 weeks recovering. I was especially thrilled yesterday when I convinced my doctor to let me return to work tomorrow on a part-time basis. She replied with "Wow, you sure are motivated aren't you?!" considering the fact that the recovery process is supposed to take 3-4 weeks. But being the energetic and social person that I am, 2 weeks of being mostly confined to my apartment is about to drive me crazy! But anyway, the point of me telling you this lengthy story, (yes there actually is a point! haha), is not for you to feel sorry for me, but rather to serve as the backstory for the title of this post ("Be Thankful"). Admittedly, I laid around for the first couple of days after surgery feeling sorry for myself with the typical, yet pathetic, "why me?!" attitude. But being forced to lay around for 2 weeks provided lots of time for me to think and reflect upon things, and God quickly took the opportunity to change my mindset and help me realize how much I have to be thankful for. So, I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you several of the things that came to mind. 
I'm thankful...

• that God knocked some sense into my stubbornly ignorant head and prompted me to go to the doctor in time before the detachment was so bad that I lost my eyesight forever
• for all of my wonderful family & friends and all of the thoughts and prayers that they sent my way before, during, & after my surgery
• for my friend who took off from work to drive me to my appointment, waited with me so I wouldn't have to nervously await a diagnosis from a new doctor at a new clinic in a new city by myself, did his best to make me laugh and cheer me up once I heard the news of my impending surgery, emailed everyone back at the office with a status report so I wouldn't have to break the news to them, drove me home, then drove me to my surgery the next day and again waited with me until they took me in for prepping
• for my boyfriend who spent countless hours helping to take care of me, keeping me company, and driving me to and from my follow-up appointments 
• for all of the flowers, cards, phone calls, visits, food, etc. from my wonderful family & friends just to remind me how much they care :)
• for my coworkers that picked up my slack while I was out and took care of a lot of stuff in my absence so I won't be overwhelmed with work when I return tomorrow
• that the surgery went smoothly with no complications
• for so many blessings in my life that God has given me to be thankful for!

Isn't it awesome how God can take an overwhelming and difficult event and turn it into something so positive?! And while there are a million more things that I am thankful for, there's one more that I want to discuss here; I'm thankful for my eyesight. 

Since I was a kid up until 2 weeks ago, I always wondered why I had to be the unlucky one with the thick glasses, special contacts, and the designation of being "one of the most nearsighted patients" at every eye doctor's office that I've ever visited. This used to really bother me and I dreamed of the day when I could have corrective surgery so that I could at least wear normal glasses and contacts. Now, don't get me wrong, I still hope to have the surgery one day, but my 2 weeks (and more to come) of being totally dependent on only one eye has given me a new perspective on things. At least I have the comfort of knowing that in several weeks, my eye will heal, and with an increased prescription, I should be able to see pretty well out of it again. But my temporary predicament has given me a whole new respect for how blind people go about their daily lives. I frequently found myself complaining about how bored I was just laying around my apartment with nothing that I could do besides sleeping, listening to music or audiobooks, or talking on the phone. Watching TV or movies was too strenuous on my good eye, and I found that even simple tasks require a certain level of depth perception that just one eye doesn't provide. And although over the past few days I've managed to walk safely to the post office, pharmacy, and library by myself, watching for traffic with limited peripheral vision can prove to be an interesting task. So if these things are this difficult and nerve-racking for me, I can't begin to imagine what a blind person endures in his or her lifetime. I know people say that your other senses learn to compensate for the loss of another, but I'm here to tell you that undergoing that transitional process is not as simple or painless as it may sound. So, now I realize that despite the fact that I may need thick glasses or special contacts in order to see, at least my vision is correctable. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would be more than happy to wear thick glasses, or any other visual aid that may be deemed socially unattractive, if it would only grant them the ability to see God's beautiful creation.

Anyway, getting back on topic, I'll wrap up by saying that I'm thankful that God granted me a speedy recovery and that I get to return to work tomorrow! On that note, I should probably be getting ready for bed soon, considering that I actually have a daily schedule to get used to following again. So I will leave you with a challenge....the next time you are faced with an unexpected hardship or bump in the road, try to take a moment or two to stop and reflect on the situation and see if you can find something to be thankful for. Chances are, once you find one thing, the list will just keep growing from there! :)

Thanks for sticking around to read this ridiculously long post to the very end! Goodnight and God bless you! :)

George Strait Touched My Hand!!!!! :D

In keeping with my concert-going trend as discussed in my previous post, I checked another phenomenal show off of my list last night. Don't worry, I haven't already abandoned my aforesaid intention of cutting back on shows until I find a job... It just so happens that Jon's Christmas gift to Mom and I this year was 4 tickets (2 each) to the George Strait, Reba McEntire, and Lee Ann Womack concert at JPJ. The show was originally scheduled for January 31st, however, that concert date just happened to fall smack-dab in the middle of one of the various snow storms that hit Virginia this winter, so the show was rescheduled for yesterday evening. Unfortunately, Mom wasn't able to enjoy her gift, as she ended up having to stay home to take care of my father after he suffered a recent setback due to his Multiple Sclerosis. :( Although bummed out that Mom couldn't join us, my brother, my boyfriend, and I met up in Charlottesville for a tasty pre-concert dinner at Mellow Mushroom (which has become a favorite spot over the last few years, since its menu caters to my "tree-hugging vegetarian" diet by offering hummus, tofu, and lots of veggie options, as well as pleasing my bro's carnivorous tastes with the likes of the infamous "Mighty Meaty" pizza. After dinner, we headed over to JPJ and started getting pumped for the concert.

Somehow, Jon always manages to get fantabulous seats for shows....we were on the floor for the Jimmy Buffett show last fall, then lower tier for John Mayer, and 4th row off the floor last evening....however, there was a super exciting perk to our seats last night: We just so happened to be seated directly beside the entryway where the performers entered and exited the arena!!! So, we got a perfect view of Lee Ann, Reba, and George as the security guards led each of them past us toward the stage!

Lee Ann Womack opened the show and got things off to a great start! Admittedly, I'm not a huge follower, so I had never heard several of the songs that she sang, but she sounded awesome, nonetheless! As expected, she wowed the house with "I Hope You Dance," and I especially enjoyed singing along with "Last Call" and "Ashes By Now."

Next, the stunningly gorgeous redhead took the stage and gave a dynamic performance! I was thoroughly impressed as Reba exhibited all of the qualities of a true entertainer. She captured the audience with an all-star combination of her glowing personality, band interaction, upbeat dancing, and (last but definitely not least) her incredible voice. She dazzled with older favorites like "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia," "Why Haven't I Heard From You," "The Fear of Being Alone," etc. Then, naturally mixed it up with some songs from her newest album, including "Strange," "Consider Me Gone," "I'll Have What She's Having," and her current single "I Keep On Lovin' You" (written by Ronnie Dunn). Midway through Reba's portion of the show, Lee Ann came back and joined her for a stunning duet performance of "Do You Love Me?" (originally recorded with Linda Davis). Even Reba's former co-star and current host of The Singing Bee, Melissa Peterman (who played Barbara Jean on the Reba sitcom), stopped by for a quick comedy bit leading up to the performance of the show's theme song, "I'm A Survivor."

As Reba left the stage prior to her encore performance, it was blatantly obvious to the audience which hugely popular song had been left out...Minutes later, the jumbotron began playing a clip from a 1990 music video that opened with Reba sitting in the back of a taxi cab, staring out the window while donning huge 80's style sunglasses and a fur coat....I think most of you probably know where this is going. Immediately, a smaller scale model of a taxi cab drove slowly by us toward the stage, then stopped, and Reba jumped out of the passenger side door in a red-sequined dress and matching heels, then she returned to the stage to join her band on "Fancy." Needless to say, Reba sure knows how to make an entrance!!!! (not to mention ending her part of the show on the highest note possible)!

Then, after a brief intermission, it was time for the King of Country (not to mention the world record holder for the most #1 hit singles!) to take the stage. Yet again, another great mix of classics and newer songs. He included hits from his newest "Twang" album, including the title track, along with "Where Have I Been All My Life," and "Living for the Night." He also pleased with "Seashores of Old Mexico," "She'll Leave You With A Smile," "Give It Away," and "Troubadour." But of course, the crowd favorites were the oldies: "Check Yes or No," "Amarillo By Morning," "The Chair," "Heartland," "Ocean Front Property," and "I Cross My Heart" (the hit song from Strait's box office hit, Pure Country). I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed that he didn't sing some of my other favorites: "Carrying Your Love With Me," "Write This Down," "I Get Carried Away," or "Blue Clear Sky," but as we discussed after the show, when you have 57 number one hits, plus a new album to promote, that gives you no choice but to leave out some popular tunes.

The absolute highlight of my night, (which I'm sure you've already guessed by now, based on the title of this post, lol), came after George finished his encore performance and headed off the stage. He veered off path a bit to touch the hands of his adoring fans along the first and second rows of neighboring sections, then headed for the exit....but I was ready! I had been plotting my move all evening, so I jumped over Jon (okay okay, so I didn't literally jump over him...in fact, he moved aside quite willingly for me, but jumped just sounded so much more epic!) so I would be standing directly against the side-rail of the stands. I stretched out my left hand, yelled "We love you George!" (which I'm pretty sure he didn't hear, considering the loud roar from all of the cheering fans in the arena), and he reached over and touched my hand for a full second (just to clarify that it wasn't one of those quick hand slaps like when players on high school sports teams do the whole generically nonenthusiastic "good game" lines after a match-up). After he released my hand and exited the arena, I turned around to Jon and Scott, jumped up and down in my typical mondo-excited manner, and screamed like a little kid. The way I see it, you're never too old to show genuine excitement over events like this! :) As we headed up the stairs to leave the arena, I texted Mom to tell her about this unforgettable experience....Since she couldn't be there to experience it with me, I wanted her to at least be the first person I shared my story with!

So, while this may be my last concert post for a while (unless the tides turn in my job search anytime soon), it was an incredible show, and I highly encourage other country music fans to check out the show if it comes near you.

Hope you all had a blessed and Happy Easter!!!! :)

Life In The Post Graduation Real-World: Phase II

Well, it has officially been one week since the 2010 General Assembly session adjourned Sine Die and I moved home from Richmond. Thus, I have officially been unemployed for one week, as well. On that front, I had an interview in DC last week and should hear back something from them later this week, and I also have an interview in Richmond this week, so please pray that God creates an opportunity for me wherever I am supposed to end up. :) The upside to not finding a job yet is that I have plenty of time to catch up with family and friends, sleep in, and just relax in general. :) On another optimistic note, spring is here! (hence the pastel spring colored theme change on my blog :) I've been enjoying all of the driving that I've been doing lately, thanks to the gorgeous warm & sunny weather! The coming of spring also seems to have helped get everyone past the gloomy winter blues and into their happy, smiling selves again, which is certainly a positive transition to witness!

I spent yesterday evening enjoying the gorgeous weather with a good friend at the charmingly adorable Charlottesville Downtown Mall. At the suggestion of my friend, we started with dinner at Downtown Thai, which I eagerly agreed to (FYI, I love Thai and Indian food!). We were seated by the window, which was the perfect spot to watch passersby on the street outside while we enjoyed our dinner. I highly recommend the Drunken Noodles with Tofu....absolutely delicious! Afterwards, we went for a stroll around the mall, which was filled with other people who were also out enjoying the beautiful Saturday evening. For dessert, we ordered crepes with strawberries and white chocolate from a little crepes stand that was tucked away on Water Street, but it was certainly a nice find! (I would have never discovered it on my own, but luckily my friend graduated from UVA Law, so he knows many of these hidden treasures that the city has to offer). Needless to say, they were incredibly tasty, but countered the 3.5 mile run that I went on earlier that morning. So much for that Post-Richmond detox diet that I keep saying I'm going to start....maybe tomorrow's the day....haha. Anyway, we had tickets for the Carbon Leaf concert at the recently renovated Jefferson Theater, and had been anticipating the show for several weeks. Having just recently become a fan of this Richmond based band, this was my first time seeing them perform live, and I must say that they put on an impressive, high-energy, toe-tapping show! I will definitely be on the lookout for any of their nearby shows in the future.

On that note, having just gone to the John Mayer concert at JPJ earlier in the week (the tickets were a surprise birthday present from my awesome brother... Mayer was every bit as amazing as I expected, by the way), one of my friends mentioned this morning that I go to a lot of concerts. This led me to take a minute to think back over the concerts that I've been to within the past year and this is the list that I came up with (starting with the most recent):

Carbon Leaf (3/20/10)

John Mayer w/ Michael Franti & Spearhead (3/16/10)

Daughtry (11/09)

Jimmy Buffett (11/09)

Journey (9/09)

Counting Crows w/ Augustana and Michael Franti & Spearhead (9/09)

The Doobie Brothers (8/09)

A Capitol Fourth w/ Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Natasha Bedingfield, and The Jersey Boys cast (7/4/09)

I guess it's pretty obvious that going to concerts is one of my favorite hobbies, but I mean, what's not to love? Nothing beats a night filled with live music & dynamic performances from my favorite musicians...an awesome experience that is shared with family members and/or close friends, not to mention the dancing, singing along together, and fun memories that result! However, as I told my friend, frequent concert-going is an expensive hobby, one that I will unfortunately have to give up should I not find employment soon. This helped me realize my dream (although incredibly farfetched) career.....an entertainment critic! I mean seriously, how cool would that be?! Get paid to attend concerts, plays, films, you name it, and then write a column about it. That would quite possibly be the most enjoyable job that I could ever imagine. Sooo if anyone knows of any newspaper/online blog producers who might be looking to fill such a position, please send them my way!!!! :)

Don't worry, I'm not giving up my day job (er, make that job search) anytime soon.

Hope you all got a chance to go outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather that we were blessed with here in the Valley this weekend! :)

Take care until next time....

Snowed In....Might as well post something

The Virginia Capitol after last weekend's snow

For the second straight weekend, I, like most of you, am snowed in once again. My weekend thus far has consisted of napping, laying on the couch, listening to music, wasting time on Facebook, reading, going to the gym, and oh yeah, eating....A LOT. I returned from the gym earlier (after feeling really guilty about that dark chocolate peanut butter that I scarfed down at lunchtime), with the mindset that I was going to be good for the rest of the evening and save those burned calories for tomorrow's Super Bowl watching party. But, as soon as I got back to the apartment, my roommate says "We should order pizza!" I thought that sounded like a fabulous idea, but was reluctant to admit so at first, as the guilt hit me again, so I attempted to dance around the subject by responding with "Do you really think any place is delivering in this weather?" Well, to make a long story short, it turned out that Papa John's was indeed delivering (and the 2 hour wait that we were told to expect turned out to actually only be a 30 minute wait!). So, 2 parmesan garlic breadsticks, 2 slices of green pepper & onion pizza, 1 container of that infamous garlic dipping sauce, and 1 Diet Coke later (as if the Diet part is supposed to balance out the rest of that meal, ha!), I am again slammed with that guilty feeling of wasting my time at the gym. Maybe I'll order a salad while watching the big game tomorrow....but then again, I wonder how many cheese fries or nachos will be consumed in addition to that salad? Hahaha....okay, enough about food....you know you must be bored when you blog an entire paragraph about eating.

On a random note, one amusing discovery that my roommate and I made a few days ago (and have been enjoying ever since) was that among the plethora of digital cable channels we receive, there's a channel called CMT Pure, which plays country music videos 24-7. (You remember, like the original CMT used to do before it got all corrupted with random TV shows that have nothing to do with country music). This has taken me back to my roots and gotten me back on a country music kick....which makes me miss singing karaoke even more than before, but alas I'll hopefully get a chance to get back to that soon!

Switching topics entirely, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my life once session ends in mid-March. I'm not usually one to plan things too far in advance, but having a job is kind of important, so I've been trying to act like a responsible adult and have been working on job applications....so far I just keep hearing back that most stations aren't hiring and won't be for at least several months, and even then, they want someone with "experience." I've decided that "experience" is one of my new least favorite words. In college, everyone advises you to get an internship, because apparently that's supposed to count as experience. So, I heeded their advice, applied to the NJC, got accepted into the program, moved to DC, and completed the internship, (while having the summer of my life in the nation's capital!). I came back to JMU last fall to finish my last semester of undergrad, thinking that I now had the "experience" that I needed to get a job. I mean, I worked for a TV news program in DC, and have lots of hands-on video/studio experience from SMAD classes...that should count for something, right? Well, apparently not....I'm sorry, this wasn't intended to be a rant about my fruitless job search. I'm more than grateful that my current boss so graciously offered me this position, and I realize that many December grads still haven't found even a temporary job yet. It's just discouraging to realize that I'm stuck in a loop wherein I need experience to get a job, but I need a job in order to get experience. In the meantime, I can feel my videography skills getting more and more rusty with each passing day....okay, that may be an exaggeration, but seriously, the saying goes that "if you don't use it, you lose it," and I certainly don't want to lose the skills that my parents paid 3.5 years of tuition for me to learn.

Okay, on that note, I think I'm going to go enjoy a cup of coffee while getting back to more country music videos. Enjoy being snowed in and be careful if you have to venture out in this weather!!!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.....Go Saints! :)

Inauguration Day Pics!!!

Inauguration Day festivities were a blast! I thought I'd share some of the pics I took for those of you who couldn't be there.

Lt. Governor Bolling takes the oath of office.

Governor McDonnell takes the oath of office.

Governor McDonnell gives his Inaugural address.

Fife & Drum Corp. marching in the Inaugural Parade

MRDs!!!!!

First Week of Session Down....Inauguration Day Ahead!

Wow, what a fun-filled first week of working at the GAB! It's been a great experience thus far, although I'm still trying to learn my way around the building and remember whose office is where. LOL. My roommate and I went to Lt. Governor Bolling's Inaugural Celebration at the Science Museum of Virginia on Thursday evening. It was a very nice event and we had a blast....not to mention the fact that it was free, which is always an added bonus! In a little bit, I'll be heading back to the Capitol for Governor McDonnell's Inauguration, followed by the Inaugural parade, and then a celebratory reception at the Marriott sponsored by Americans For Prosperity. It's a happy day for Virginia Republicans, (and we need a morale boost after losing that Senate seat earlier this week)!

Well, I should probably go finish getting ready for the festivities ahead! Have a wonderful (in some cases extended) weekend everyone! :)

A New Year's Resolution....To Post More Often...Ha!

Happy 2010 everyone! I suppose a New Year deserves a new blog post…hopefully now that I’ve graduated I’ll do a better job of posting more frequently, especially since I no longer have the excuse that I’m too busy studying for exams, writing papers, or pulling all-nighters in order to finish final projects. With that being said, I’m in the process of packing up to move to Richmond where I will be working as a session aide for my state senator. After thoroughly enjoying my experience living in D.C. last summer, I'm super excited to move to another capital city where I can observe the legislative process firsthand (not to mention the fact that Richmond has considerably more options for twenty-somethings to spend their free time than my beloved H-burg). I'm also really looking forward to learning more about state government, and can't wait to meet new people! Of course, I'm going to miss everyone back home, along with my JMU friends (it's such a weird feeling not to be getting ready for classes when everyone else is coming back to start a new semester). Alas, I will return in two months and go back to the drawing board in my job search, but that's not even on my radar screen right now....I'm too excited about (and very thankful for) my current opportunity and hope to make the most of it!

On that note, my room currently looks like my closet exploded, so I should probably get back to the packing process. Expect another post once I get settled in at my temporary new place. As always, thanks for reading, God bless, and I hope 2010 is treating you well thus far! :)