GOALS THIS WEEK

Sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile, my schedule is crazy with the whole going to Austin, then coming home then traveling to my boyfriends and also doing math on the side. It’s crazy. I’m just going to make some goals here on the blog so that I can actually get stuff done this week.

1. GET BACK ON WW. I’ve only lost 3 and since I’ve been home I’ve lost like 5-6. I want my little gold star thing in the meeting. I want to be recognized for my accomplishment. I haven’t been doing bad, but next weekend we will more than likely be in the pool and in my bathing suit. So if I do well this week, I’ll feel better next weekend. 

2. Spend my money frugally. I get allowance still also I’m getting paid for the first time this summer!! WOOO! I’m going to try really hard not to blow it on expensive things that I don’t need. I’m really trying to be more adult about this. 

3. Have patience with moms. My mom bugs the shit out of me a lot of times. My boyfriend’s mom also bugs the shit out of me a lot of times. I need to just accept the fact that I can’t get away from them, no matter how hard I try. 

4. Try hard on math. There is nothing that sucks more than my online math class. I don’t half ass it, which is the annoying part. I really try and really focus on what I’m doing and how to figure the problems out. I need to find a tutor and will before my final but come on brain!

5. Look toward the future, but not too much. I’m going to try really hard not to stress about the things that I can’t take care of in the next week. Things like moving to my new apartment and if I’ll have to do it all alone, finding a job, finding a house, if I want to get engaged sooner or later. I worry a lot, I’m a women after all! I need to quit that. So that’s the goal. 

 

It’s Monday Tomorrow: 

 

Oh wait, I can do this:

 

 

 

 

 

And Remember: 

 

90s Songs You Can Never Make Me Stop Loving

There’s no denying it, I’m a 90’s kid. I grew up with things like boy bands, Catdog, Wonderballs, slap bracelets, jell pens and SLIME TIME LIVE. Last week I discovered a Pandora station that has changed my life, Backstreet Boys. I mean, come on, that’s just plain awesome. People like the Backstreet Boys, Nsync and Brit really morphed me into the person that I am today. Today, I will be throwing it back with my favorite 10 songs of the 1990s. (remember, I just really liked them. There’s no data..or professional opinion here, it’s just what I liked when I was a 10 year old kid)

10. “Every Morning”

Sugar Ray is the bomb. The group’s “whatever” attitude really made you believe you could buddy up with these dudes while they rocked out. 

 

 

9. “All I Want to Do”

My family and I used to be a member of the community pool so during the summer times, I have very vivid memories of loading up in the hot suburban and headed up there. Sheryl Crow’s song was always on the radio and the weird part was, my dad LOVED it! It is the perfect summer anthem and all we really wanted to do was have fun too. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgmBaE1cqD4

 

8. “Goodbye Earl”

Although technically it didn’t hit the charts until 2000, this song was released on the album Fly in 1999. This song is awesome. My best friend and I would sing the entire song and pretend we were Marianne and Wanda. Even though Wanda got screwed over by Earl, at least her BFF was there to save the day. It’s one of the best “don’t mess with my best friends, boys, cause we will come after you” songs in all of eternity. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7gNf_9njs‎

 

7. “Say My Name”

Destiny’s Child had it all going on. I still to this day miss the sassy girl group and although they were a little out there, I loved it. When they were in the superbowl this year, I could have died of happiness. BEYONCE (no explanation needed). I would regularly choose this song during neighborhood karaoke and really thought I blew everyone out of the water. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQgd6MccwZc‎

 

6. “Genie in a Bottle” 

When I first purchased Christina Aguiler’s CD (or when my mom purchased it for me), I holed myself up in my room for a few hours memorizing every single word to this song. My mom had to literally come knock on my door and ask if I was OK. I took out the lyrics from the CD cover and went through the song over and over and over again. Eventually I memorized every single word and still proudly know every word today. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIDWgqDBNXA

 

5. “Spice Up Your Life”

I was ALL about the girl power back then and the Spice Girls was the epitome of it. I owed a taped recording on VHS of the movie and couldn’t get enough of this song. Neither could the rest of my elementary school though, so we played the Spice Girls game pretty often. I often got stuck with Sporty Spice because I played sports but everyone wanted to be Baby Spice, including me. One day I’ll get to be Baby Spice, one day. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wfpXI5PKlw

 

4. “Living the Vida Loca”

When I learned the news of Ricky Martin’s homosexualism, I almost died. This seductive song made it OK to shake that little tush of mine and sing about “taking my clothes off and dancing in the rain”. My next door neighbors and I would often listen to this song on my blue boom box when we were playing in the hose, so it wasn’t like we were actually being seductive. To this day, I’m still not over Ricky Martin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47fEXGabaY‎

 

3. “I Want it That Way”

One time during a karaoke session, I vividly remember tearing up while belting this song at the top of my lungs. The Backstreet Boys are my main guys. My first concert was at a Backstreet Boys concert in 2001 and it might have been the best day of my life. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fndeDfaWCg‎

 

2. “Bye Bye Bye”

I really hate admitting that I like this song better than a BB song, but I do. Nsync outdid themselves with this one. I also liked it more because it came with it’s very own dance moves. I don’t really know what it was, but I had the toy where I could put the one song in the player, thing, and I would listen to it nonstop. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-KmOd3i7s

 

1. “…Baby One More Time”

Brittany Spears was (besides Destiny’s Child) was who I looked up to during my very formative years. She had a million amazing songs, was beautiful, and dated a guy from Backstreet Boys (even though he was the noodle headed one). I still proudly know every word to this song and when it comes on my Pandora in the car, I SHOUT the lyrics. I love it. Nobody can ever stop making me love this song. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-u5WLJ9Yk4‎

 

So those are my faves..What are your favorite 90s songs? 

Sincerely, 

The Intern

Ditch the Gym and Head Outside

Working out has never been something that I was quite into. In high school I was very athletic and never had to worry about the whole “working out” thing, because I was already doing that. I had always been…not a big girl, but never even close to the smallest one in the group. When I got to college, that’s when my weight got out of hand, so I knew then that I had to start working out.

Gyms just aren’t exciting though. The rec center with all the skinny bitches staring at you on a treadmill in their spandex like, “what are you even doing here?” The other gym that I’m a member of (because the rec center at school is too judgmental for me because I’m not a skinny bitch) is full of buff dudes who want to get yoked. I feel better there, because sometimes there are really large people walking on a treadmill and sometimes there are old people, so I fit in. I also like to people watch at the gym, it gets my mind of my burning legs. Sometimes that gets boring and the TV gets boring so I start focusing on my legs and the pain and that makes the work out excruciating. Gyms are not fun.

Yesterday I discovered my new favorite method of workout: walking through the wilderness. There is a state park attached to where I’m working and literally there’s nothing better than cranking up my “motivational playlist”, turning on Map My Run (it’s an app, you should get it) and start walking through the trails. I hiked 3.09 miles yesterday and burned over 600 calories in 50 minutes. I’m not lifting weights or running on a treadmill, but that’s a pretty awesome workout if I do say so myself.

You never realize how much you ache for the wilderness until you’re surrounded by overgrown trees and birds chirping. And for the anti-gym: Wilderness watching is a lot better than people watching. Instead of judgmental people all around you, there is an encouraging breeze, dragonflies flying ahead of you and a flutter of birds going from tree to tree. The amount of vegetation that surrounded me did not make me feel claustrophobic, but safe.

So I encourage you. Ditch the gym every once in a while and get outside. You may sweat your ass off but that only means you’re doing it right.

For a complete list of the Texas state parks check out this link:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/

For a complete list of the National parks check out this link:

http://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/find-park

 

Sincerely,

The Intern

 

The Monday Blues

As you may know, Thursday through Sunday is the weekend for me. I get to roam around without any (major) responsibilities, not go to work, party all night if I wanted to and so on and so fourth, but that makes my Monday at least ten times more difficult than the typical Monday. 

Workaholics is one of my favorite TV shows. I feel like Ders, Adam and Blake really understand what I’m going through with the whole “job” thing. So who better than to help me illustrate my monday: 

Let’s start with Sunday, shall we?

Sunday night my team played The Heat and DOMINATED. Green was on fire so I was all psyched up about that.

 

My alarm went off at 8:20 

 

REALLY didn’t want to get out of bed.

 

Got dressed.

 

Drank some coffee. 

 

Went outside. 

 

Hoped that today wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought. 

 

Got to work. 

 

LUNCH TIME!

 

 

Worked on a really frustrating, time consuming project.

 

 

Went to work out at the gym. 

 

WENT HOME

 

When I wake up and it’s Tuesday

 

So that was Monday. Hopefully everyone has a better Tuesday.

 

Sincerely, 

The Intern

 

Intern Guide to: How to Spot a Hipster

So after I started my internship, I quickly realized that my hour commute wasn’t going to fly. I began thinking about where I could stay in Austin. Last summer I stayed with a family friend, and as fun as that was, it was still an hour commute. So I put my real thinking cap on and found a place to stay.

Austin was hard to deal with but as I started to look up from the road as I drove around, it’s kinda cool. The little eateries, people leisurely walking everywhere, it was not something that I was used to. The saying, “don’t knock it until you try it” came to mind as I became more comfortable with the idea of taking up residence in Austin for the summer. I just don’t want to turn into a Hipster.

If you don’t know what a Hipster is, this blog post is for you.

How to spot a Hipster:

1. They are usually wandering around or sitting in coffee shops.
These people are in no rush, they just want to sit around and discuss philosophy and tell people that they knew about the brand, music, movie, political scandal, charity before everyone else did. They also use large words that seem borderline made up and have a dry, not really witty, since of humor relatable to British comedies. Keep in mind that the coffee shops that you’re probably thinking are too “mainstream” (they use this phrase a lot) so they’ll be at a more local one where they only serve organic or vegan choices.

2. Their since of style is not what a 25-year-old adult in the real world should be wearing.
Hipsters will always be wearing some type of skin tight clothing. The boys will wear some color of skinny jean while the girls will wear tights, leggings, jeggings…you get it. The crop top is a must, and if it’s not a crop top, it better be a tank top. Also, they’ll be cut up graphic T’s more than anything. For not wanting to be in society’s limelight, they sure do put themselves out there. Often times they’re wearing large, wireframe glasses and it doesn’t matter if they actually need them. Floral patterned rompers and high wasted jean shorts are a must also. Above all –Don’t forget the ‘vintage’ doc martins with the high socks.

Who wears that in real life?

3. They smell.
Between the constant discussing of life, asking for the ‘vegan’ option at a wedding and avoiding blind consumerism, there’s really no time to shower. These people will stink like herbal tea and sweat from riding their bike everywhere in town. Also, some even have dreads and that explains a lot. Sometimes you give the men the benefit of the doubt: maybe they just came from the gym, boys just naturally stink but before you do that, make sure to confirm the gender of the alleged hipster. They often times like to blur gender lines.

Gross.

4. They are either dancing or uploading pictures to Instagram.
The filters on Instagram just make the picture vibe so much better. Pictures of sunsets, selfies, in forests, open fields, the ocean, meaningless objects all qualify as hipster pics. With the right filter and hashtag, it could be hipster gold.

Read this Urban Dictionary about Hipster Dancing: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster%20dancing

5. They have a liberal arts degree from a liberal arts college and live with their parents.
They are too busy to look for a job but they also wouldn’t know where to start. They don’t want to get caught up doing things like doing-something-the-entire-world-is-doing, which is having a job. They wouldn’t compromise with their employers to take their piercings off either. Nobody can control them, especially not The Man. That’s why they avoid labels and exist in self-denial.

Here are a few things to illustrate why being a hipster is ridiculous:

Avoid that hipster stuff and keep it classy.

Sincerely,

The Intern

Sunday Night Dinner: Ranch Appetizer and Ceviche

Hellloooo everyone,

After todays rant I think we would take it a little lighter. Today for dinner my parents stepped out, so my boyfriend and I cooked dinner and watched the (unfortunate) Spurs game. If you don’t know what ceviche is, it’a basically like pico de gallo plus some sort of fish, shrimp or any other sea food. I’ve actually had octopus with my ceviche in Mexico! I like to eat it with some kind of chips or crackers. It’s SO good! The recipe that I used is not concrete my any means so if you don’t like something, feel free to change it! Also, just to warn you, we made enough for at least 4 people to have ceviche for dinner.

These are most of the ingredients:

6 jalapeños

2 cartons of cherry tomatoes

1/2 onion

2 avocados

12 limes

1/2lb Snapper

Cilantro

Louisiana Hot Sauce

Lemon juice

I’m missing the fish in this picture!

Cut all the fish up into bite size pieces, put it into a bowl of some sort and squeeze about 10 limes worth of lime juice. Put it in the fridge and let it marinade for about an hour.

While you’re cutting stuff up, I suggest you make an appetizer. Mix the whole pack of Ranch and plain Greek yogurt. That’s it and YUUUMMMMMYYY. I used carrot sticks but we also ate it with Pita chips and Triscuits.

Back to the ceviche- cut everything up

We “de-boned” 3 jalapeños and kept the seeds in the other three.

Cut up all the cherry tomatoes.

You can add more or less onion if you want. I just used 1/2 of a yellow onion.

Mix everything you have so far together. Isn’t that pretty?! Add a little lime juice and you have pico.

Add some avocados. I almost would have wanted to add more than just one.

Add all that together. I just like taking pictures of everything because ceviche is so pretty to make!

I did add this in the beginning picture, but we used this too.

After the hour, take out the fish and cut it into even smaller pieces.

Put it all together and what do ya get- ceviche!

I’m eating mine with a Pita chip! (tortilla chips are the regular, but Pita is slightly better for you, I guess…)

Make the ceviche you’re own and enjoy!

Sincerely,

The Intern

So You’re Going to Steal from Me?

Saturday morning, my family woke up to have a last breakfast all together. If there is one thing my dad gets into (besides softball) it’s cooking breakfast, mainly pancakes. He always makes three different kinds: blueberry, pecan and chocolate chip. He then has at least four different kinds of syrup. My dad loves breakfast.

Anyways, my sister walks outside and realizes that her car has a window broken out of it and my rental car does too. Nothing had been stolen from her car, but my phone was missing. Needless to say, I was not happy. My sister was suppose to be leaving for camp at that very moment, and now we had to deal with this! I mean, we live on a cul-de-sac in the middle of a good neighborhood. I also didn’t get home until 2 AM. My boyfriend and I had to go get my car about 30 minutes away so that my sister could take my car to camp. We then had to take the rental car back up there because we hadn’t taken it the first time so the police could look at it. It’s a confusing story, I know.

Point is: Phone stolen, car windows broken, sister leaving for the summer.

Then, my mother calls me on the way back from the dealership part two and tells me that my sister never sent in the “I accept” form to Gateway (the A&M summer school program). This blows my mind. I know that my sister hasn’t been a team player in that she hasn’t done much to get ready for college. Granted she took the SAT, filled out her Apply Texas…and…attended graduation parties? My mom filled out the form that was due on the June 6th on June 8th, so hopefully they’ll be lenient about it. My sister can’t do much now though, she went to camp.

After trying to wrap my head around everything, I still wanted to attend my younger sister’s softball game. So we caught lunch and headed out to the fields. Then I realized I left my purse at lunch.

It was very much a day for the OCD, we did everything twice. Sent my sister off to camp twice, went out to the dealership twice, went to the lunch spot twice, went to the softball fields twice.

So, after reading everything and having you understand the backstory, I want to go back to the fact that I’m LIVID about getting my phone stolen. If you have ever been stolen from, you’ll know that it’s just upsetting. I work for my stuff, I value my stuff. It just takes some punk ass kids to knock a window in and take what you’ve earned. How fair is this? This takes my brain to a whole new level. First I think about how mad I am, then I think about how I can get these people back, then I think “when I catch you, what will I do or say”, then I think about all the nasty things I could say. Then I realize, this is unrealistic..but only after the fact. If I can’t tell them directly how I feel, I figure that I can just do it on my blog. So here it is:

Dear Punk Ass Kids,

What gives you the right to steal other people’s stuff? Are you really that tight on money that you have to go stealing a slow, shitty iPhone 4? Why don’t you get a real job? The oilfield right now is booming in south Texas, so go there you POS and please don’t come back.

Sincerely,

The Intern

(note: There is a lot more I’d like to say to them but seeing as how I don’t want to cuss like a sailor here, I won’t. Just know that I’m still PISSED)

When was the last time you were a graduate? Today was my sister’s big day and I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate my blog to her. Many of us have long since graduated HS but I’m sure there were certain aspects that you could never forget about it. This big step for my little sister is something that kids do all over the country year, but each one of us can remember a time when they graduated something or another. This post is a refresher that will hopefully send you down memory lane just as it will my sister as she reads this post in the future. I’m sure all of us have felt that “oh shit” feeling when they’re standing on the tape, waiting for the announcer to say your full name.

Her Day: (as told by her)

7:30 –Wake up and had quiet time. Read Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

8:02 –Is that a honk? Taylor must be here. *rush to put on shoes, run out the door*

got lost for 30 minutes

8:30– Grad practice which we did nothing. Basically we just stood around a lot and they lined us up, but then forgot line up..so nothing was accomplished.

11:00 — I got tacos with my two good friends. The entire school was there. I would say about a million zillion people were there after grad practice.

12:00 –I went to a friend’s house and swam and learned how to do a front flip into the pool, so that’s pretty exciting. There were probably about 10 people there. Thought about how much I’m going to miss these people almost the entire time. Not because we were talking about it or anything.

2:30 –This grad needed a nap. So I came home and watched One Tree Hill on Netflix.

4:00 –Started getting ready for graduation. Since I don’t really “do” my hair, I just put mousse in it, I just took a shower.  I also continued packing for camp (she leaves SATURDAY).

5:00ish –People started arriving to the house to feast on a dinner of Italian food and  strawberry cake. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters and even the kids I babysit stopped by. We also took pictures and opened graduation presents.

6:45 –Go pick up my friend Sloan and head to the graduation. I forgot  my spot, remember, so I had to go early to figure out where the heck and what the heck I was doing.

Got semi-lost

7:05 –Arrive at the graduation and started to get lined up… That is, after socializing with friends and taking pictures.

7:15 –Handed my purse off to a friend of my sister’s while panicking about it. Who would have thought that you can’t exactly wear a side-satchel purse with your blue graduation gown?

7:32 –The ceremony began and we walked into the room with “that graduation music” on. (She, of course, is talking about Pomp and Circumstance)

7:45 –Listen to some speeches about how you need a road map for life, blah blah blah. Also, there was a nifty slideshow playing in the background but I was only in two pictures out of at least 600…soo…

8:24 –They actually started giving out diplomas. Yikes.

8:50 –Our row goes up. Heart racing and stomach sinking. Thoughts go through my head like, maybe I should wave to the audience, or what if I just blew them a kiss, or even did a thumbs up for gig em aggies? Naa..I’ll just smile. Wait not sure.

8:54 –I’m at the front of the line. I’m about to graduate High School.

8:55 –Lady pushes me onto the first tape while the person in front of me is announced.

8:55:40 –oh shit I’m next

8:56 –That’s my name ya’ll. I’m graduating High School. I think I’ll just smile.

8:56 –Walk to the diploma lady, shake hands. Give school board vice president a hug and my hat falls off…shucks…keep walking

8:59 –Walking back to my seat OMG I have a diploma.

9:03 –Texted my sister from where I was sitting a simple text “Hi” Then proceeded to take selfies with my friends around me and my new diploma. Then immediately put them on Instagram.

9:32 –We stand and take a debate on whether or not the auditorium wants to know the score of the game. They decide no. Someone shouts it anyways. Our school song is sang for the last time, the tassels are turned and on the final part where we say, “Let’s go! Let’s Fight! We win!” Throw my cap in the air like I just don’t care.

9:35 –Finally find my cap.

9:40 –Finally make my way outside to look for my family. Can’t find them.

(time passes as we are on the phone with her, and our dad proceeds to leave our post and retrieve the graduate)

9:45 –Hugs, Love and more pictures

9:50 –I can’t find any of my friends that I came with, at least my smart sister handed me my purse back.

10:02 –Get in the car with my friends. Listen to really loud music and repeatedly shout, “we graduated!”

10:10 –Arrive at the house, my family wants to chit chat but I don’t have any time for it. We have to be at the bus at 10:30 for project graduation.

10:12 –Ok I guess there’s a little bit of time for messing around…(changes clothes/shoes)

10:24 –SHIT WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE TO THE PROJECT GRADUATION BUS.

10:29 –Made it to the bus, but there is a long line.

10:42 –Get on the bus and hang with all my friends and take some more pictures while the bus driver starts going.

Unfortunately for you, folks, I’m sure you can use your imagination as to what a HS graduate will be doing after graduation, because after that point, I told her to go have fun. I know all the students are at project graduation until 3 AM.

So proud of my little sister! She’s going to do great things in this world one day. Hopefully one day I’ll forgive her for being an Aggie…one day

Hug your family tonight or at least give them a call!

Sincerely,

The Intern

White Pants: A Love, Hate Relationship

From 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM today I wore white pants. If you have ever worn white pants, or have a brain, you know that the universe will be against you that day. There’s no doubt about it.

The first step to wearing white pants is that you really have to commit to them. If you know that you’re going to be eating  BBQ or Italian food at the office that day, then I suggest you go with some dark wash jeans. If you’re all for the salad with no dressing, go for the white pants. If you’re not 95 pounds then you might risk showing some areas you don’t want to show: thighs, ass, calves, you get it. You’re going to have to accept the fact that you don’t look like a skinny betch in them.

The next step is to protect the pants. If you have to take the long way around to get in your vehicle, then do so. If you know your co-worker is messy at lunch time, don’t sit next to them. Avoid anyone with coffee. Avoid driving and drinking anything besides water. Any situation you might seem iffy about, avoid it. Better to be safe than sorry.

Not a good day to be wearing white pants for Megan Fox.

There are other steps, but here is the last one I have: make sure you can come home from work and immediately take the pants off.  If you haven’t gotten anything on them up to that point then I’d like to meet you. If you know you’ve got something after work where you won’t be able to change, then I don’t suggest white pants. Actually if you can handle them, I admire you.

White pants are trendy and they are fun to wear because you don’t get to do that all the time. So I say take advantage of the opportunity that summer gives to you! Wear the heck out of those white pants.

List of things I got on my pants today: coffee, cocktail sauce, mustard, dirt from the ground, dirt from the car, dog slobber, dog hair, brownie?

Good Luck! Oh, and if you’re going to wear white pants, don’t ruin it for the rest of us and invest in a cute style that isn’t too see through. I see that too much. Also ladies, if it’s your Shark Week (we have them monthly) don’t even think about it.

Sincerely,

The Intern

Weight Watchers Wrap Up

On Wednesdays I go to the Weight Watchers meetings and they’re actually not that bad. It turns out that the lady in charge was actually a 4th grade teacher when I went through elementary. Her last name is Sexton, so how could I forget that name? I know, childish, but come on! One of my first grade teachers also attends the meeting as well as my second grade teacher. I live in a small community in a large city, obviously. On Wednesdays, though, I’m hoping to write a post to wrap up what I learned at the meeting. It can either help readers….or I can just help myself by reiterating it. So, here it goes.

Weight Lost: -1.8lbs –good enough. At least I lost and didn’t gain.

We learned this week that to add breakfast to our routine because it is important. I get it, nobody really likes breakfast. (Note: I did not say breakfast food) Nobody has time, stuff to make breakfast, sometimes you aren’t hungry and so on. Well I’m here to say, GET OVER THAT! You don’t have to get up earlier by just grabbing a to-go breakfast bar and be prepared for breakfast. It’s going to come every day and who doesn’t look forward to eating? Something like 70% of people who are actually loosing weight are eating breakfast. It sounds backwards though because you’re consuming more. I don’t know how all the science works, I’m just going to start eating breakfast because that’s what they told me to do and you should too.

That’s it.

Sincerely,

The Intern