Bucket List #29: Relearn to Crochet

For Christmas, I made scarves for various friends and relatives.  The pattern was pretty remedial.  It was surprisingly easy to relearn to crochet...now on to more complicated projects.  I look forward to finally making and finishing a blanket.  Pictures of that to come.  For now, here is one of the scarves I made:

Phantom Planet - Always On My Mind

Recently I stumbled upon a web show called...drum roll... Rockville, Ca.  The show is essentially a comedy about two super quirky music enthusiasts that meet and frequent a fictional rock club in Los Angeles. The live acts that were featured were incredible. The Kooks, Duke Spirit, White Lies, and Oppenheimer are but a few.

One of the bands that I hadn't heard of yet was Phantom Planet.  I YouTubed them and this is the first song that popped up.  I am officially in love...with this song...with this band.

Watch the show that got me hooked: Rockville, Ca.

November 13th: Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche

As an early Christmas present, one of my roommates surprised me with tickets to the Red Wings game against Colorado Avalanche.  A huge group of us went and we all had a blast. 

 

Look at those smiles!!  We all got really pumped before the game.  

Jess is in the green.  She gave me the tickets.  Thanks Jess!!!

 

 

I'm glad that I got to share this experience with these two.

  Kim and Kelsey, you rock!

 

 

Before the game, the rink was pretty empty. In all our excitement, we got there early.  

There wasn't an empty seat by the time the game started. 

 Still waiting for game to start.

 OOO...It's started.

Cleary (#11) had an awesome game. 

He's my favorite player...but sadly I do not have a good pic of him. 

Colorado only scored once during the game.  

It was on a power play and the Wings were down two players.  

 Kim and Greg at 2nd intermission.

 Final score!!! Red Wings kicked butt!!!

First Snow! Yay!!

This morning I woke up to a winter wonderland. It's my first snow up here in the Soo and I am oober excited.

There are lots of things that I plan to do when the snow really settles in.  Here are just a few:

•  Get a proper winter coat...pronto.  My peacoat jacket is probably not going to cut it when the weather finally starts to get really cold.
•  Curl up with a good book while drinking hot cocoa.  I wish that I had a fireplace for this purpose.  Maybe I can befriend someone with a fireplace and house sit.
•  Learn to ski or snowboard...or both.  Thinking about heading over to Marquette to go with my cousin.  She too has yet learned either and so we can fall on our tushes together.
• Get new wipers for my car...also pronto.
• Snowshoe to Tahquamenon to see the falls after they freeze.
• Go sledding.  
• Have a massive snowball fight.  I'm imagining teams and forts and a full out war.
• Go tanning at least once.  I heard that this help to lift one's spirits after months of little sun.  Of course I could just take a vitamin D supplement instead and probably get the same effects.
• Snuggle with someone to keep warm.  I have yet to figure out how to accomplish this.  It will come to me.
• Still walk to class every morning.  Sadly it is too late in the semester to break down and buy a commuter pass.  Oh well, I still need the exercise anyways and it will help me to better admire the beauty of winter...

  

Cass and Admissions...Just Beautiful!!!

Really, I'm Studying!!

Pathophysiology is such a terrible class to study for.  Who really wants to memorize the symptoms of a cardiovascular accident when one can be laughing and singing along with random YouTube songs instead.

D-d-d-duck tales....! 

Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg 

Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes - it's a duck blur 

You might solve a mystery or rewrite history 

Duck Tales, Oo-oo
Everyday they're out there making Ducktales.

Tales of derring-do, bad and good luck tales, oo-oo

When it seems they're headed for the final curtain 

Bold deduction never fails, that's for certain 

The worst of messes become successes!

Duck Tales, Oo-oo
Everyday they're out there making Ducktales.

Tales of derring-do, bad and good luck tales, oo-oo

D-d-d-danger, watch behind you - there's a stranger out to find you 

What to do? Just grab onto some Duck Tales, oo-oo! 

Hope you sang along too!  Now back to studying.

When Bad Boys Go Good.

I am catching up on Vampire Diaries (yes, I actually watch this crap...gush!) and just finished episode 2x08, "Rose".  It was crazy awesome by my standards, even if the plot was only sub par. For a while last season I quit following this show because I felt that the story had already been done many times before (it's hard to be original these days), but then I picked it up again when the character development started getting good.

Damon is the character that I love to pretend to hate...but secretly do love...no hate whatsoever.  Well, in this episode, Elena gets kidnapped and Stefan and Damon run off to save her (see, so unoriginal).  For most of the episode I wasn't really paying much attention; then, the final scene came. 

I have re-watched this scene nearly ten times...today...and I swooned each time.  Could Damon actually be going to the light side?  Probably not!  I expect him to be back to his brooding, devilish self by 2x09.   

Finding Inspiration

No Reserves!

No Retreats!

No Regrets!

Note: Please Google William Borden!  He was an inspiring man.

Turn that Frown Around!

Have you ever had one of those days where you wake up groggy and already feeling like the world is against you?  Today started out like that for me.  If I could have, I would have snoozed my alarm and slept in till tomorrow.  Actually, I've had a few of these days lately.

But then, while eating my pudding at lunch, I looked down at the pull top and got this pleasant surprise.

 

 "Frown is a four letter word!" 

Uh, no it's not!  Frown is definitely a five letter word.  But whatever...I got the point.

Thank you Jell-o for starting to put quirky sayings on your cups (even if they are not entirely correct).  It made my day.

Mini Life Lesson: Try not to let life get you down...because it only takes a second to turn that frown around.  Let yourself smile at the little things.  

Take a crack at it.

Kiley Tidbit #1: I'm a nut.

Not in the literal sense.  Don't worry, I am definitely not crazy...I am however hard to crack.  I have this rather tough shell (defense mechanism, I guess) and a lot of times people have a hard time getting past that.

Though, just like a nut, once you break me open, there is a tasty treat.  I am a caring, sometimes witty, funny, quirky, down to earth girl.

But I do not just magically open up.  You cannot simply say "Abra Kadabra " and get Kiley.  So unless you plan on going out and buying a nutcracker, plan on having to wait just a little while to get to the really good stuff.  It takes patience to crack this shell.

And if you think that I am worth cracking, you will have patience.

Yes, I'm a nut...but I am working on that.  If anyone knows another food product that I could be better suited as, please let me know.

Thompson Square - Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not

If I actually believed in that happily-ever-after stuff, I don't think that I'd mind if my story went a little something like this....

Countrified bliss at it's best. 

Trick-or-Treat

Last weekend was my first Halloween in the Soo.  It was awesome.  Here are some pics...and stuff.

Friday
     The weekend started out with me working of course.  The kids at the Childcare Center looked frightfully cute in their costumes at the Halloween party.  There were three princesses, a pirate, a Buzz Lightyear (too great for words), a devil, and a fire fighter.  I wanted to pinch each one's cheek...but Kendal was the only one that would let me.
     After work, there was trick-or-treating Downtown.  Seeing all those kids dressed up had me eager to get my costume on too...

You are never too young to trick-or-treat.  Ok, you are, but peer pressure made me do it.

And I am not a chicken!

Saturday

   My roommates threw a party. And I didn't hate it...especially the part where Jess and I were beer pong champions.

 Henry always gets all the action.

 Danger Zone!!!! Danger Zone!!!

 Couch Potatoes.

 Three's Company minus Jack Tripper. 

 Stanley (bowler cap) and Bryce (St. Louis) dressed up as Abbot and Costello.  

I actually sewed those buttons onto Bryce's shirt.

 Friends Forever!

 Me and Michele! BFF!!

 

Pocahontas meets Fight Club!

Sunday 

   The TEAS is a four to five hour test (kinda like the ACT) that is required to get into nursing program at LSSU.  It is not a joke...and yes I did study hard for it...

...But I probably should have gotten a little more sleep. Lol.

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - What I Am

Today my sissy was thinking of me.  She remembered how much I wanted this song and so posted it on my facebook.  Heard it on the radio a while back but couldn't figure out what it was. Thanks Kelsey!!

Bucket List #35: Dance in an Empty Parking Lot

So with the help of my roomies (Kim and Jess you two rock),a pumpkin named Henry, and some Hall and Oates, I have crossed yet another item off of my bucket list.

 

Why not be silly?  Dance in an empty parking lot...no one's watching!

The Beginings of a Bucket List

1. Become Closer to God
2. Love myself more
3. Visit all 50 states
4. Save a life
5. Fall in Love (Dan!!)
6. Forgive Eric...forgive myself  (Completed Spring 2010)
7. Read 150 books from the Ultimate Reading List (65 down)
8. Road trip with friends (Minnesota, Completed March 2011)
9. Accept Dad for who he is 
10. Study in China
11. Get Mom a tombstone (Completed Spring 2010)
12. Disneyland/ Disneyworld 
13. Call K+M 2x every month (be friends forever)
14. Find the perfect cup of tea (Right now that's Tazo Zen green tea)
15. Pay Jim and Hazel back
16. Become the best nurse I can be
17. Finish a story for Floyd (no matter how bad)
18. Raise $10,000 for Relay for Life
19. Visit London
20. Visit Italy...Rome
21. Visit Prague
22. Visit Paris
23. Visit South Korea
24. Stay at Atlantis
25. See all the wonders of the world
26. See Wicked on Broadway
27. Eat healthier
28. Meet a President
29. Relearn how to crochet (make blankets for kids in need) (Scarf - Winter 2010)
30. Smile at a different person everyday
31. See the Northern Lights
32. Learn a foreign language
33. Get a tattoo (Swallow on left foot; completed Sept. 2010)
34. Swim with dolphins
35. Dance in an empty parking lot (Completed 10/25/2010)
36. See Phantom of the Opera production (Winter 2015)
37. Run a marathon
38. Get a pen pal
39. Get married (August 2014)
40. Witness a miracle
41. Have a family
42. Finish a scrapbook (Gram's Xmas present, December 2010)
43. Be in two places at once (Wisconsin/Michigan border, March 2011)
44. Go to a batting cage
45. Try foods from 15 dif. cultures (Taiwanese, Chineses, Mexican...)
46. Take on a mountain (Pike's Peak, August 2010)
47. Attend a dance class (Technically completed Sept. 2010, but call redo since only attended once as friend's fill-in partner)
48. Learn to rock climb
49. Reread the Harry Potter series
50. Go to the Zoo (Spring 2010)
51. Sing karyoke (October 2011)
52. Go out on a official date (Spring 2011)
53. Learn to flirt (always a work in progress)
54. Fly in an airplane/helicopter (Aug 2010)
55. Learn to play an instrument
56. Volunteer at a homeless shelter
57. Visit the Sydney Opera House
58. Visit a museum yearly
59. Test drive a Ferrari
60. New Years at Times Square
61. Take a cooking class
62. Finish a 'Purpose Driven Life'
63. See a Gothic Cathedral
64. Ride an elephant
65. Experience weightlessness (Haha, every time I go swimming)
66. See Shaun White snowboard
67. Bowl a 100+ game (December 2011- 108 BABY!!!!)
68. Ride in a hot air balloon
69. See a kite fighting festival
70. Sleep in a tree house
71. Watch every movie that has won an Academy Award for Best Picture
72. Travel to Tahquamenon Falls in winter to see falls frozen (March 2012)
73. Kiss someone under the mistletoe      
74. Go snorkling
75. Go cliff jumping
76. Attach a lock to the Love Bridge
77. Be married 50+ years - just like my grandparents
78. Slow dance in the rain
79. Go into an airport and buy tickets for a random flight
80. Ride a mechanical bull
81. Have a cute guy buy me coffee (January 2012 - Dan)
82. Have a valentine on Valentine's day (February 2012 - Dan)
83. Throw someone a surprise party
84. Be a bridesmaid (September 2013 - Kim,  June 2016 - Michele)
85. Watch sunrise with someone special
86. Watch sunset with someone special
87. See Halley's Comet
88. Write a letter to myself and open it in 10 years 
89. Run a 5K