Half Full Friday!

Half Full Friday is a series of weekly posts that Eyegirl originally started in June 2009.  We believe that a lot of our happiness is determined by our attitude about the things that happen to us.  So by participating, I'm deciding to see the glass as half full instead of half empty; I'm choosing to concentrate on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives.  The Half Full Friday posts are a way to do just that.  They're a list of the things in my life that have brought me happiness over the past week.  I'm determined to find something good in each day.  Are you?

For the next week, I'd like to challenge each of you to keep a list of at least one thing that brought you happiness each day.  Be sure to link up here once you've posted your list!  (This isn't a blog hop so please only link up if you've participated by posting your happy list.  Thanks!)

~I'm happy because...

I had a nice Christmas this past weekend!

My mom bought me a pretty necklace on Wednesday!  

The weather wasn't bitter cold yesterday so the chi's and I took a walk!

I realized yesterday that I was actually excited to get back to school and start the new semester!

I got some new followers this week!  Welcome!

I have more entrants than expected for my first giveaway!  

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If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, make sure you check out the link above.  You get your choice of two different prizes.  It ends soon so don't miss out!  I've tried to keep the rules easy peasy.  All you have to do to enter is follow me publicly (so I can verify) and tell me which prize you'd prefer in the comments.  And I even give you ways for additional entries!

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Any fun and exciting plans for New Years?  I'll be spending it with my mom.  I didn't want her to be it alone or feel lonely.  My father used to go to bed around 10 or 10:30 but at least he was there.  And this year he's not.  I don't know, I just want to be there for her.  All the major holidays are hard the first year after a death and hopefully by my spending time with her, it'll be a little easier on her.  I miss my dad but my mom spent almost 24/7 with him.

You know, in years past, I was always ready to see the new year in and always said that I'd hoped the new year would be better.  But 2011 wasn't so bad!  It definitely had it's bad moments -- losing my dad and spending the vast majority of my small savings to fix the car would be right up there! -- but for the most part, it was one of my better years.  I felt much more at peace with myself and happier than I have for a long time.  I just hope that it continues on into 2012.  I'm excited to see what the new year will bring!

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Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday

My Firstest Ever Giveaway!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas yesterday and that Santa Claus brought you everything you ever desired and more too.  Mine was nice.  Quiet, but nice.

I always told myself if I ever got 100 followers, I would host a giveaway.  That time has finally come.

So what can you win?  You have 2 choices.  Option #1:

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How about a $25 gift card to Starbucks?  We have one on campus and if I could afford it, I'd go there daily.  

Option #2?!  Not everyone enjoys Starbs or even has one near them.  So...

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...how about $25 worth of dog toys?  That's $25 before shipping.

What do you have to do in order to win one of these fabu prizes?  Well, first of all -- you must follow me publicly.  This giveaway is only for my friends!  Please don't follow if you're only interested in the giveaway though; follow because you want to and come back to visit me again sometime.

Secondly, leave me a comment saying which prize you'd rather win.  These two are mandatory.

Want some extra entries?  Blog or tweet about this and leave me the link.  That gets you an extra 2 entries each.

I'll pick a winner on Sunday night, January 1st, 2012, and announce the winner on January 2nd.  And yes, this giveaway is open to entrants outside of the US.

Merry Christmas!!!

Half Full Friday!

Half Full Friday is a series of weekly posts that Eyegirl originally started in June 2009.  We believe that a lot of our happiness is determined by our attitude about the things that happen to us.  So by participating, I'm deciding to see the glass as half full instead of half empty; I'm choosing to concentrate on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives.  The Half Full Friday posts are a way to do just that.  They're a list of the things in my life that have brought me happiness over the past week.  I'm determined to find something good in each day.  Are you?

For the next week, I'd like to challenge each of you to keep a list of at least one thing that brought you happiness each day.  Be sure to link up here once you've posted your list!  (This isn't a blog hop so please only link up if you've participated by posting your happy list.  Thanks!)

~I'm happy because...

I've had the entire week off from school and work!

My mom and I drove around to look at all the Christmas lights a couple of nights ago!

I've spent lots of quality time with the chi's!

Today is payday!  My last one until next semester.

I had an excellent time at the holiday party I went to last weekend!

I never thought it would happen but I officially have 100 followers now!

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I have 100 followers but not 100 readers.  That's ok, though!  I always told myself that if I ever reached 100, I'd host a giveaway.  Details on Monday so be sure to come back and look for that.  Hopefully at least one person will enter.  And then if no one else enters, you'd win by default.  So yeah, make sure ya enter!

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How is it possible that Christmas is just a few days away?  The year has flown by!  I always reflect on the year past, at this time.  It's been a year of change and a year of loss for me.  

I started school in January which has given me hope for the future.  I didn't really have any hope for a long time so I'm so glad I went back; it wasn't nearly as difficult as I made it out to be.  Just thinking about it seemed overwhelming, but it really wasn't!

I also got a job which was another big change.  The job sucks and pays very little but at least it's something.  A friend said to me earlier this year, "Doesn't your job make you appreciate your education so much more?"  And yes, it does!  Hopefully it'll guarantee I'll never have to work at a dead end job again!

The biggest changes were the losses I experienced.  First was my dad's ancient beagle.  Her name was Angel and I loved her as if she were my own.  I collect angels and always said the reason we got her is because I collect angels.  My parents always pointed out that she wasn't my dog though.  Didn't make her loss any easier to bear and I still miss her.

Two short months later, my dad was gone.  I feel his loss even more now at the holidays.  I still mostly just feel relief that he's gone - more for him than for me, but for me too because it was difficult to see him in that condition.  Simple things like decorating the tree remind me of his loss though and I miss him.

And then there's my betta fish, Red.  It's silly but I still miss that fish!  Had him for 3 years and miss him more than I ever thought you could ever miss a fish.  My mom buying me another one has helped but I still think of Red from time to time.   

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In the event that I don't get to stop by everyone's blogs before the big day -- Merry Christmas to you all!

Wordless Wednesday

Power of the Paws Needed

Unless you've been under a rock or haven't bothered to visit Blogville over the weekend, you've seen all the posts dedicated to the Houston Pittie Pack.  Each and every one of them make me cry.  I cry not just for the loss of those beloved dogs and everything else, but I cry because Blogville is a beautiful place and I'm proud to be a part of it.

As you all know, Sandra and her family not only lost their home in a horrific fire, they also lost 5 of their 7 dogs.  My heart goes out to all of them.  I don't know the details of the fire but I do know that they did everything they possibly could to save those dogs.  I can't even begin to imagine the family's pain in going through right now.

What bothers me most is that poor little Shelby had such a horrible life before coming to live with Sandra, who has a heart of gold, and then sweet Shelby had such a tragic ending.  The only positive I can seem to find in all of this is at least Shelby is safe now.  She can run free, she can see out of both eyes again.  She's no longer in any kind of pain and she's 100% healthy again.

Not that the other dogs are worth any less, because they aren't!!!  I didn't follow Sandra's blog so I'm not familiar with the others but I did follow Shelby's progress and they even joined in my Doggone Dog Swap earlier this year.  I was more familiar with Shelby but that doesn't mean I don't feel the loss of the rest of the dogs too.

Sandra and her family lost everything, nothing was salvageable.  Blogville has come to the rescue, as it always does for one of its own.  There's a page dedicated to Sandra's Fire Recovery which has raised almost $6000 as of this posting, several blogs hosted comment-a-thons, there's a memory quilt being created for Sandra with the images of her beautiful angels (click here for more details), Zona's mom is auctioning off an Animals Matter Over-sized Car Seat and donating the proceeds to Sandra's family and I'm sure there's tons more going on that I've missed.  Sarge's Blogville Community Calendar has a growing list of all the activities and if you know of any others, please feel free to add them in the comments so that we can all be aware of them.

If you're in any position to help, please donate.  No amount is too small.  It all adds up quickly.  I know this time of year is a bad time to ask anyone for any kind of donations but Sandra and her family will need all the help they can get for a long time to come.  They lost everything and literally have to start all over again.  

Half Full Friday!

Half Full Friday is a series of weekly posts that Eyegirl originally started in June 2009.  We believe that a lot of our happiness is determined by our attitude about the things that happen to us.  So by participating, I'm deciding to see the glass as half full instead of half empty; I'm choosing to concentrate on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives.  The Half Full Friday posts are a way to do just that.  They're a list of the things in my life that have brought me happiness over the past week.  I'm determined to find something good in each day.  Are you?

For the next week, I'd like to challenge each of you to keep a list of at least one thing that brought you happiness each day.  Be sure to link up here once you've posted your list!  (This isn't a blog hop so please only link up if you've participated by posting your happy list.  Thanks!)

~I'm happy because...

I'm done with school and work for an entire month!!!  Even better, I can sleep in every day!

I ended the semester with 3 A's and a B!  I met my goal of raising my GPA!!!

We had lots of yummy food at the pot luck at work yesterday!

I got a beautiful ornament from Katie's Ornament Exchange!  I'll post a picture next week.

I saw an owl sitting in one of the trees at school the other day!  Never seen one before except at the zoo; wish I'd had my camera with me.

I'm all done with my Christmas shopping!

I'm going to a Christmas party tomorrow!  One of my friends just had a baby and I'm hoping she goes too and brings the baby.  I'm kind of doubting she will though since the baby is less than a month old.

With all the time off, I can scrub my house down from top to bottom and spend tons of quality time with the boys!

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I got lots of cards in the card exchange this year.  Haven't opened them all yet but I'm workin' on it!  Finally got my cards yesterday so my first big project is to get them done and sent.  Some of them may be late and for that, I'm sorry.  If you sent one, I thank you and one will be on it's way to you shortly.  

I had two free sets of cards from Shutterfly but when I went to go order them, I discovered I still had to pay shipping which would have been more than what I could buy cards for at the store so I didn't get them.  I really would've liked to, but $$$ is super tight right now.  

Fortunately, I was able to pick up an extra shift Wednesday and worked 10 hours.  Usually I close but the last three days, I opened.  That meant getting up at 4:45 AM which just absolutely KILLED me!  But it's what's gonna pay the mortgage so I didn't complain.  I asked to work yesterday afternoon after my last final too but they didn't really need me so I just grazed at the potluck for an hour instead.  Because really, who doesn't like hanging out at work when they aren't being paid?  lol

I'll be around to visit everyone soon.  Sorry I've been a bad blogger lately and haven't visited as much as I would have liked.  It wasn't because I didn't want to!  Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day...  

Wordless Wednesday

Half Full Friday!

Half Full Friday is a series of weekly posts that Eyegirl originally started in June 2009.  We believe that a lot of our happiness is determined by our attitude about the things that happen to us.  So by participating, I'm deciding to see the glass as half full instead of half empty; I'm choosing to concentrate on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives.  The Half Full Friday posts are a way to do just that.  They're a list of the things in my life that have brought me happiness over the past week.  I'm determined to find something good in each day.  Are you?

For the next week, I'd like to challenge each of you to keep a list of at least one thing that brought you happiness each day.  Be sure to link up here once you've posted your list!  (This isn't a blog hop so please only link up if you've participated by posting your happy list.  Thanks!)

~I'm happy because...

I picked up an extra shift next week!

I got $150 from selling my textbooks back yesterday and used some of that $ to buy Christmas presents!

I got another follower this week!  Welcome!

A light on my car's dashboard came on and the service place fixed it for free!  I feel like I've had them on speed dial lately.

With the extra credit assignment in Anthropology, it brought me up to an A so I won't be doing the optional final!

I should be ending the semester with 3 A's and a B!  And an F in algebra but that doesn't affect my GPA since it isn't for credit, so yeah, we won't talk about that...  

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I tried to get around and visit everyone this week but it's been difficult.  I'm working 6 days this week and, with classes and studying for finals in the mix, I'm exhausted!  (If I missed you, I promise to make up for it soon.)  No more classes after tomorrow but I'll have 3 finals and work next week.  Monday is gonna be hella long but the paycheck will make it worth it.  If I'm super careful and don't buy anything that isn't a necessity, I think I can swing the mortgage payment next month.  :)

Last semester, I was really sad when school ended because I enjoyed it so much and wouldn't get to see my friends anymore.  This semester, I made new friends and ran into some of the old ones here and there, but it doesn't feel as bittersweet.  It went so quick that it's hard to believe it even happened.  Guess time flies when you're having fun!

I was talking with a friend at work yesterday and saying that I don't understand why my major has to have so frickin' much math and when would I ever even use that shit out in the real world?  She commented that it's not so much about the math, it's more about teaching you to use your brain to think logically.  After contemplating that for awhile, I can see that...  So now I have a new perspective.  Still don't enjoy it but I understand why it's necessary now.

Looking forward to the Christmas break and being with the chi's.  I've missed spending so much quality time with them.

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Is In The Air!

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We got our first real snowfall yesterday.  When I drove to my mom's house last night, the roads weren't too bad yet but I'm worried about how they'll be on the way to school.  The highway is known for black ice and there isn't any alternative route to get to school.  Keeping my fingers crossed because my brakes are bad.  At least I have new front tires.

My boys are very prissy and don't like to get wet.  So I was shocked when Shiver went out while it was snowing!  Didn't stay out long though.  And then he went out again a little later and I was surprised when I couldn't see his little paw prints.  Granted, there wasn't a ton of snow on the ground but still...

My professor gave us an extra assignment in Cultural Anthropology last Friday.  We had to write a 2 to 3 page paper on our culture. Thank you to everyone who sent me emails or commented on this post as I found it extremely helpful.  It took awhile to get started but once I did, I didn't want to stop.  I wrote 3 full pages and could've written so much more!

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On my way to gas up the car last night, I drove through town and admired all the Christmas lights.  I so love Christmas.  This will be the first one without my dad and I have no money to pay my mortgage next month, let alone buy Christmas presents.  It still hasn't dampened my spirit though; I have my mom, my chi's and my friends - bloggy and IRL!  What more could I ask for?

Half Full Friday!

Half Full Friday is a series of weekly posts that Eyegirl originally started in June 2009.  We believe that a lot of our happiness is determined by our attitude about the things that happen to us.  So by participating, I'm deciding to see the glass as half full instead of half empty; I'm choosing to concentrate on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives.  The Half Full Friday posts are a way to do just that.  They're a list of the things in my life that have brought me happiness over the past week.  I'm determined to find something good in each day.  Are you?

For the next week, I'd like to challenge each of you to keep a list of at least one thing that brought you happiness each day.  Be sure to link up here once you've posted your list!  (This isn't a blog hop so please only link up if you've participated by posting your happy list.  Thanks!)

~I'm happy because...

I only have one more week of school, another week of finals and then I'm OFF for an entire month!!!!  Soooooooooo looking forward to having time to actually breathe!  

I'll be especially happy when this day is over because I'll have completed two presentations and an exam!

A girl in my study group found a helpful website to study from!

All of the blood came out of my white sweater!  (Bloody nose)

While I'm not excited about having to work 6 days and probably a ton of hours next week, I'm happy it'll help recoup a tiny portion of the major bucks I spent to fix my car!  The car still needs some work done but I'm out of money.

I got some new followers this week, welcome!   

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April over at dot... dot... dot... is hosting her annual holiday event.  If you haven't had an opportunity to check out the great giveaways, head on over and take a look!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Starbucks gift card, although I'd be quite happy with any of the goodies.  The best part?  I've won at least two prizes from her and she's always come through in sending them out!  Here's Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's posts!

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Don't forget about Katie's giveaways!  I've won a ton  of them from her and she is really good about sending prizes too!  I snagged her badge for this without asking, hopefully she won't mind too much.  Sorry, Katie!

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I probably won't be around much in the next two weeks.  As mentioned above, I'm working 6 days straight this coming week and probably working a ton of hours the following week in between finals. And then I still have to find time to actually study!  Please don't forget about me!

Wordless Wednesday

The Santa Paws Drive!

Y'all KNOW I love animals!  My two favoritest are my beautiful baby boys.  They're well taken care of -- they have plenty of food, water, toys and lots and lots of love.  They're very lucky, even if they don't realize it.

Unfortunately, not all dogs are so lucky!  When I read about the Santa Paws Drive on My Brown Newfies blog, I just knew I had to help in any way that I could.  While neither of my boys came directly from a shelter, I've gotten past pets from there and will get future pets from there too.  

Here's some info taken directly from their web page:

Santa Paws Drive is dedicated to helping shelter animals have a happy holiday season! These furry friends are often overlooked during the holidays, and it is our goal to make sure they get the love, attention and gifts that other pets are lucky enough to get. Please help us bring some joy today! 

Now in our third year, Santa Paws Drive is the first "virtual toy drive" for pets! Donate either cash or gifts (the choice is yours!) and the Santa Paws elves will divide up the goodies and money and send them off to six shelters across the world! Our goal is $900 plus oodles of toys and treats for each shelter!

Check them out on facebook and twitter too!  If you're poor like me but still want to help, post about it and spread the word.  All the shelter pets will appreciate your help, in whatever form you provide it.  Shelter pets deserve happiness too and what better way to bring it if you can't take one home today?

Half Full Friday!

Half Full Friday is a series of weekly posts that Eyegirl originally started in June 2009.  We believe that a lot of our happiness is determined by our attitude about the things that happen to us.  So by participating, I'm deciding to see the glass as half full instead of half empty; I'm choosing to concentrate on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives.  The Half Full Friday posts are a way to do just that.  They're a list of the things in my life that have brought me happiness over the past week.  I'm determined to find something good in each day.  Are you?

For the next week, I'd like to challenge each of you to keep a list of at least one thing that brought you happiness each day.  Be sure to link up here once you've posted your list!  (This isn't a blog hop so please only link up if you've participated by posting your happy list.  Thanks!)

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~I'm happy because...

I've had an entire week off from work and school!  Me and the chi's have spent lots of quality time together!

I've slept in every day but one!

I still have two more days off!

I found a paid internship for next semester that I'm going to apply for!  It pays more than my current job does AND I'd be getting college credit for it!

I mostly got my car fixed!

I got most of my homework done this week!  Just need to catch up on some reading, do an outline and get it sent out to my study group.

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Wow, this week has just zoomed by!  I knew that it would.  Time off always does when it's so limited.  I really appreciate holiday's and long weekends so much more now that I'm back to school and work. When I wasn't doing anything, they were just like any other day.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't convince myself that I need to work on math this week.  Because my professor told us that we didn't have to do our required online hours this week, I haven't touched it at all.  I even have my notebook, pencil and calculator all set up by the computer but I just can't force myself to even log in to the website.

Thanksgiving wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  It was very quiet.  I've never been a big fan of Thanksgiving anyways but I really wasn't looking forward to this year's as it was the first big holiday since my dad died.  Actually, I guess it isn't.  He died July 3rd so I guess July 4th was the first big holiday.  Anyways, I definitely felt the loss yesterday.  As I said, it was a very quiet day.  I kept thinking about how he always watched football while my mom did all the cooking.  He always carved the turkey and would fight with my mom about how to open the sparkling cider bottle.  (He was an alcoholic so we didn't have champagne.)  My mom said a quick prayer of thanks before we ate and her eyes teared up.  It finally occurred to me that as much as I miss my dad at times, it must be 100x worse for her.  

Today is Black Friday and I'll be spending it at home catching up on reading.  After bringing my car in for a simple fix, I'm now freaked out about how I'll pay my mortgage in January.  Thank God I put money away from my job but now that money is all gone and I still have to finish getting my car fixed. I originally took it in because my gas gauge wasn't working.  I ended up with a new fuel pump and they told me I needed to replace the front tires IMMEDIATELY!!!  One tire, the tread was separating from the inside part (can't think of what it's called right now).  I can't believe it was that bad and I never noticed it before!  Still need to replace the brakes and get an oil change.  This has been a good little car though and I've had to do very little maintenance to it over the years so I guess it's all just catching up to me now. 


***Edit:  I don't know why the Mr. Linky thing didn't work and originally, the font was really tiny for some reason.  Blogger is sooooooooooooooo annoying sometimes!

Wordless Wednesday

Monday MeMe

Getting my car fixed today.  It's supposed to take most of the day.  Since I'm stuck without a car, I'll be doing homework.  I can't believe there's only 3 weeks of class left, another week of finals and then this semester is DONE!!!  It went so fast!

I snagged this meme from Curious as a Cat.


1. You arrive at work to find all the items in your cube packed up in a box.  There's no note and you have no idea what's going on.  What do you do?  


After freaking out initially and presuming I must be fired, I'd ask my boss or a co-worker and keep my fingers crossed that the reason my shizz is packed up is because I'm moving to a different cubicle.

2. What continent would you most like to visit?  Explain why.  Have you been there before?  Is it the last one to check off your list?


I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to look up the seven continents.  I remember learning them as a kid but it's not like I use this info daily so it's long since been forgotten.

Anyways, I've decided on Africa.  No particular reason and I don't even know what I'd do once I got there.  I've never been before so it would be fun just to sight-see and maybe visit MaxMom if she wasn't too busy.

3. List some good memories of your father.


When I was a kid, I remember the neighbor girl talking about all the fun things she did with her dad.  My dad worked nights at that time and I remember telling her that I didn't remember the last time I'd seen my dad.  I'm sure I'd probably seen him recently but I was probably only 4 or 5 so it just seemed like forever.

Then I grew into a teenager and my father and I didn't get along.  At all.  I couldn't stand him and the feeling seemed to be mutual.  Things remained much the same way as an adult until I finally moved out on my own.

The last really good memories I have of my dad is when he was in the hospital.  He wasn't of his right mind and didn't seem to know who I was most of the time.  I'd been visiting him for awhile one day when I told him I was going to leave him be and let him rest.  He asked me not to go so I didn't.  I'm really thankful that I stayed because by the end of the week, he was gone.  A day or two later, he seemed to be doing so much better.  He hadn't been able to eat and was being fed intravenously.  I walked into his room to see one of the nurses feeding him.  They left shortly after I came in and I fed my dad.  I was so excited he could eat again and thought he was getting better.  The next day, he was in a coma-like state and the day after that, he passed  away.  So those are the memories I'm going to share today.

4. Show and tell.  What comes to mind first when you see this picture?  Or tell a story if it reminds you of one.

It reminds me of a castle.  I'd love to go there on Halloween and see what spirits were lurking there.