it's here, it's here!

today's the day, i'm off to great places...

mom, dad, and i are leaving this morning for fort collins--we have an estimated 26 hour, 1,719 mile drive ahead of us. we're planning on getting into town on monday around lunchtime. it'll be a loooong few days in the car, but the destination should be great!

we (mostly my dad) packed up most of my things on monday night and shipped them off in a "relocube", so we're just taking the rest of my clothes and a few random things in my car today!

expect great pictures (unlike this horrendous bb camera one) and details ahead, but for now i need to get the vacuum out for space bags!

nc--i'll see you on the flip side, aka at cornhuskin'!

10 for '10: Revisited

at the beginning of 2010, i mentioned my difficulty in actually establishing short term goals and then really  following through with them. so, as a goal for the year, I decided to make realistic goals and work on accomplishing them. well, personalities and behaviors are relatively stable, so I haven't exactly kept up with checking in on the goals often; however, i've done a pretty darn good job of keeping up with those goals. here's my half-year check in on the goals as well as current musings. there's still room for improvement, but i think i'm doing pretty darn well!

1. to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends who mean the most to me. 
i don't think this goal will ever be fully accomplished, but i've tried to take lots of great time for family especially before my move. but there's always room for more!

2. to apply to graduate school. at least at colorado state. and hopefully get in.
check, check, check! applied january 15th, accepted february 12th, starting august 23rd!

3. to decide whether or not to be a vegetarian again...and stick with it.
so i quit. but i think that more important than being a vegetarian is eating healthily, and i've tried as best as possible to eat well-rounded meals and to cook for myself as much as possible

4. to continue creating new, delicious dishes. and eating delicious things.
i'm so looking forward to being back in my own kitchen in fort collins so that i can cook for myself a little more again

5. to participate in some sort of physical activity at least twice a week, preferably more.
i need to really keep working on the activity...and making excuses for not exercising.

6. to laugh as much as possible.
especially thanks to the many children in my life, check!

7. to move to colorado (or definitely out of raleigh...but preferably to somewhere in colorado).
july 24th we roll out for FoCo!  

8. to take as many pictures of everything as much as possible.
again...this will never be done; however, i've worked so hard to really learn my camera and do well with it, including doing an online photo workshop with sharon clark of smitten photography. i feel so much more comfortable experimenting with my camera and using it in manual now! nonetheless, learning is a never-ending process, so i'm working on continuing to better understand and perform with my photography. 

9. to continue working on finding a balance between my type A and type B personalities.
balance--yes. thank you summer for providing an excellent opportunity for me to be type B. and i will be very ready for school come august to move me into being type A again. i need my routine and looming due dates!

10. to be as positive and happy as i wish others would be. and to surround myself with the things and people who will help me to be positive and happy.
this goal really goes with everything mentioned above. i am aware that i will never be perfect; however, i'm constantly working to make myself happier and better and i think that this summer has been an excellent opportunity for me to reflect on myself and all my relationships.

the biggest new goal i'm working on, especially as of today, is budgeting my money better. and that will be an interesting transition, mostly because i won't have the income i'm used to having with my masses of babysitting jobs.

happy july! happy half-way-through 2010! and happy resolution following!

oh yeah...my blog...

okay so, i know i said i was going to blog more in 2010, but things have been nuts. however, in the midst of my life becoming crazy with work and school and grad applications and getting sick on top of all that, i have done a decently excellent job of working on my resolutions--and i didn't even know it, really!

so...in the past two weeks:

- my friends and i celebrated carolyn's birthday with a KILLER hipster party, which was super fun. and really good times with the friends. (resolution 1!)

- i've been cooking some really delicious dinners including this one from the latest Real Simple mag. and i've been eating vegetarian only...and that hasn't included pasta in a really long time, so that's a major improvement from my usual veggie self. (resolutions 3 & 4!)

- and friday i submitted my application to the Family & Developmental Studies masters program at Colorado State. i really can't anticipate my likelihood of getting in...but going into this program in Fort Collins would be an absolutely ideal next step for my academic career, so i'm going to be keeping my fingers crossed for that one. (resolution 2 CHECK! and still working on 7!)

as for the camera, that's where i'm still lacking most. i'm very much looking forward to some free time and some sunnier days so that i can get out and take some pictures. but i'm still fiddling around with my beautiful camera as much as possible and will be working on the daily camera usage as much as i can!

and there should be some pictures coming soon of the beautiful children i'll be keeping this week while their parents are in key west. my mom says that they were raised as meredith angels since their mom is a staff member here--even if they are boys!

happy week. and i leave you with a shot of my amazingly cool and wonderfully hip friends.

delicious

tonight, my dear friend Adam came over to fix (and eat) dinner. we've known each other since we were in sunday school together in 4th or 5th grade. and were inseparable and up to major mischief in middle school. and have somehow always kept up throughout high school and college, despite the fact that he goes to App.

one reason why i appreciate Adam is that he knows that i've bounced around with vegetarianism, and is totally into trying new delicious vegetarian dishes with me. so, when he requested that we cook dinner in and cook something meat-free, i was totally game...especially since it pushed me toward a couple of my 10 for '10 goals.

Adam and i fixed a delicious dinner--crispy black bean cakes--paired with some guacamole i whipped up and some greek yogurt (my personal favorite alternative to sour cream). we tied everything together with a side of an easy salad and some 2 buck chuck. it was absolutely delicious. and a meal i will definitely fix again. and best of all, adam let me be a little dorky so that i could take a picture of my plate! yum.

10 for '10

one thing i've always struggled with is making short-term realistic goals. i've decided that it would be to my advantage to determine 10 things i'd legitimately like to accomplish in 2010 and to really work on accomplishing them (really in no particular order). so, as the door opens to 2010, here are some things i'd like to do in order to help myself be the best possible marie--not just at the start of this year, but at the start of this decade..

1. to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends who mean the most to me.

2. to apply to graduate school. at least at colorado state. and hopefully get in.

3. to decide whether or not to be a vegetarian again...and stick with it.

4. to continue creating new, delicious dishes. and eating delicious things.

5. to participate in some sort of physical activity at least twice a week, preferably more.

6. to laugh as much as possible.

7. to move to colorado (or definitely out of raleigh...but preferably to somewhere in colorado).

8. to take as many pictures of everything as much as possible.

9. to continue working on finding a balance between my type A and type B personalities.

10. to be as positive and happy as i wish others would be. and to surround myself with the things and people who will help me to be positive and happy.

happy 2010!