Yay for making a post so close to my last post. Normally it takes me a long time to get a post ready to roll out. But I made a promise to make at least weekly updates and for once I actually have interesting things to blog about!

So I woke up last Thursday morning not really thinking too hard about my upcoming day. I try to be chill when it comes to classes since I tend to get overwhelmed a little easily. I think it was between my psychology class and my spanish class that I decided I was going to get the top part of my ear pierced. I’m becoming more and more spontaneous as time goes on. Of course during my break I researched the pros and cons of having such a piercing. It was about 50/50 so I decided to go for it. After I got home from school I checked out a new local tattoo place. I was going to ask some questions and get an idea on cost. The local establishment was definitely a no-go. The place did not look like a place where I would let a stranger put a hole in me and the woman I talked to wasn’t very informative or friendly. I don’t know about anyone else but I have to have a certain level of trust when it comes to someone giving me a piercing. The boyfriend got an estimate on a tattoo he’s been wanting so the trip wasn’t a total loss. He seemed to think the place looked fine and the staff were friendly. (What?!) So I opted to go to a place 20 minutes away where I had my belly button pierced when I was 16. My mom scoped this place out since I was underage and needed her to take me. The people there were friendly and I had no problems whatsoever with my navel. So we drove the 20 miles – in a storm I might add- just for a piercing that would take all of 5 minutes to do. I tell ya when I get in these moods I seize the moment! The girl that helped me was awesome. She knew what she was doing and was able to answer all my questions without coming off as a cold bitch waiting to go on her smoke break. She even gave me advice on if I should go with a stud or a ring and which cleaning option I should go with. Hands down – she was awesome. The piercing itself didn’t hurt a bit. She told me she was going to be gentle and she was! I didn’t flinch and I seriously thought she still had more to do when she was finished. It’s not too sore anymore, only when I hit it real hard. Yay for random bouts of piercing fetishes!

So I remember the last time I sat down to this blog I shared these feelings of accomplishing stuff with the world. I’m still on my “gotta do it all” kick. I’m still working on that dinner party I plan on having. I’m pretty sure I have the evening menu all planned out. I shall share:

Appetizer- I found 2 awesome cheese dips that would be good for starting the evening out. One is a cheesy bacon dip and the other is a hot Parmesan artichoke dip. Both are simple and easy so maybe I could go with both?!

Cocktails – Last year I went with this idea of soaking raspberries in vodka for a week and mixing it with champagne. The idea did not go over very well with my guests. I’m guessing it was a little strong. So this year I’m going to do something much more simple and easy to just make it in a big pitcher and people can pour what they want and go with it. Last year I had to take time out on dinner to make everyone their own drink. I’m going to be smart about this!

Dinner -  I’m planning on doing pasta this year. It’s easy, everyone loves it, and I will only have to make like a salad to pair with it since pasta is so filling by itself. I love the food network and one night I was watching Rachael Ray make this awesome pasta dish. It had everything people love – pasta, cheese, and MEAT! The sauce is a light garlic cheese sauce and you put huge chunks of cheese it in right before you bake it in the oven with a crunchy topping… and the cheese melts throughout the pasta so when you dig into it, its nothing but stringy cheesey goodness! I plan on making a few changes with my recipe – I’m all about taking something and making it my own. Here’s Rachael’s version: Spinach and Hot Ham Fake Bake. I plan on subsituting the hot ham for chicken since I’m pretty sure hot ham is hard to come by around here – not to mention expensive – and everyone loves chicken. I might want to try this one out though before the party, to make sure I get everything right.

Dessert – Last year I made homemade chocolate truffles. They… were… AWESOME. I know I shouldn’t brag about my own creations but I really out did myself with those. They are so time consuming though so this year I’m going with something more simple, but will taste and look great! Can you see my theme here? If not then it’s SIMPLE! I found this brownie recipe in a cooking magazine we get at the house. You take regular brownies but turn them into mouth watering masterpieces. I won’t go into detail because these will probably be the grand finale! I’ll post pictures of them – of course I’ve got to document all the wonderful food before it gets devoured!

So there are my ideas. I’ll probably experiment with some stuff before the actual party. Would be good to work out any kinks BEFORE people are expected to show up at my house starving. I’m planning on having the party on the weekend that my parents are going to be out of town. Last year they were in PA and it worked out perfectly. Not that I don’t want my parents there, but the house was already full and adding 2 adults who owned the roost to the mix would have probably made me want to pull my hair out.

Enough about the dinner party. On to Halloween! In the past I’ve always been all over the Holidays! I wanted a decked out house for Christmas, scary spiderwebs all over the trees and bushes for halloween, the fall smelling candles with gourds everywhere on Thanksgiving, cute fluffy bunnies everywhere for Easter – you catch my drift. But ever since I started college I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t care. And that saddens me. This year I want to do something awesome for Halloween. I passed out candy last year at a friends house and that was a lot of fun. I put together a costume in like 30 minutes and all kinds of people were complimenting me on it. (I was a warlock from World of Warcraft… lawl) I even had a wand. This year I want to do something twice as awesome. I was thinking about putting together goody bags to pass out to trick-or-treaters. Or turning the front part of the yard into like a haunted cemetery or something. So many ideas… so little time to get them all together.

Oh! I’m having a Mary Kay party in two weeks! I never thought that I would be the type of person to want to host a Mary Kay party. Well, I like hosting parties in general but I’m not the type of person to get all excited about skincare or make up. My twin sister had a party this past weekend and I was so impressed with the products that I bought like this entire bag with everything in it. She offered to take 100 dollars off if I hosted my own party and invited at least 5 people or more. I thought about it… tried to think of 5 people who I knew that would want to come… and decided yes! I would host a party and I would get all these cool products for 100 dollars less! I invited some old friends from high school that I haven’t seen in awhile and they agreed to come! So it’ll be like a reunion party but with food and pampering! I can honestly say I am uber excited about this.

For the first time since my car accident two years ago – I feel normal. I feel like my old self again. I honestly thought I would never get to the point of being functional without forcing it. I’m relieved to find motivation in myself to amount to something other than settling for whatever will be.

I’m in my third week of school and I have yet to miss a class. I’m getting my work done in a timely fashion and I have yet to make a bad grade on a quiz. I have energy to get up in the morning and actually look forward to what the day has in store for me. Around this time last year I was struggling just to walk out my front door. I’m excited about my future possiblilities and where my ambitions will take me. I thought the only answer was to return to university and pick up right where I left off, but I know now that I have other tempting options. I’m considering going to a completely different school next year in a completely different city. The idea of being so far away from my comfort zone scares me – why wouldn’t it? I think the change will be good for me. My legs are strong enough to get me through anything now. I was fumbling around with the idea of studying psychology instead of music last semester. I’m taking a second psychology class this semester and so far my mind hasn’t changed.

In the next few days I’m going to go about applying for my Associate in Arts. I have no idea what I will be doing with this degree and to be honest I had no idea I could obtain it if my advisor hadn’t pointed it out that I had enough credits to qualify. I think it’ll be my “Hooray” keepsake. Proof that something positive came from my time here. When I made the decision to move back home I seriously felt like I was running away. Hiding from a hard experience. If I stay hidden long enough… it would all go away. But I’ve been productive in my recovery. I may never use this piece of paper but knowing it’s there gives me the hope that everything is going to be alright – eventually.

Not only am I motivated to do well in school, but I’ve been taking on small projects. Over the summer I planned a trip for my friends and I to Cedar Point (pictures are here… I just need to post!). I made all the arrangements and planned the weekend. I think I did a good job and my friends all had fun! This fall I’m planning on hosting another dinner party for my friends. I did it last year right before Thanksgiving and it was a big hit. I had cocktails, appetizers, a really good meal, and homemade dessert. The house was clean and I had candles lit everywhere.  After it was said and done, everyone was asking me when I was going to plan another one. Who knows, maybe this will turn into a yearly event! I haven’t made any definite plans yet, but I’ve been brainstorming. Last year I did roasted chicken, homemade mac and cheese, garlic asparagus, and Caesar salad. This year I want to do something different but equally satisfying. I’ve been looking into some really good pasta dishes -  let’s face it… pasta is cheap and it’s a sure thing! Who doesn’t like pasta? I’ve got several promising recipes in mind. I’m planning early so I can decide on the best options possible.

I hate being neglectful when it comes to this blog. And to be honest I have like 3 drafts that I have started but have never finished. Maybe now that my motivation is coming back I can add “daily postings” to my goals list. I’m hoping to turn this into something that my family can read to catch up on what I’m doing. I have family all over the place and it’s sad that I feel like they barely know me. But if I’m only posting once every several months – that kind of defeats the purpose.

Aye! I hereby promise to post at least once a week if not more! If I do not follow through I give permission to Lolcat my room! Hey that wouldn’t be such a bad punishment!