A List

I have new clothes!! And a new hair cut!! I like it mucho. And Silas is here! Mucho fun with a tiny person! He talks quite a bit now, when he wants to, but he's adorably shy. He's just so CUTE!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Things bought at the mall on Wednesday:
- 1 pair all purpose Gap jeans
- 1 pair dressy cropped trousers
- 1 jean skirt
- 2 stripy shirts with puffed sleeves
- 1 sweater-shirt with stylin' pattern
- 1 cute brown overshirt
- 3 cool headbands, assorted varieties
- 1 tiny black wallet, to replace duct tape ancestor

And other things were bought the yesterday, such as a new alarm clock and a bath robe. I'm feeling so much more prepared already!
Now, I still have to get a few of the little things, like kleenex, a shower caddy, laundry detergent, wall stickies, etc.
And I still have a lot to do. But I'm not stressing about it, 'cause most of it is fun stuff. Canoing tomorrow, leaving with Lyss on Sunday, and going to Green Bay with Maddie next Wednesday are included.

What's NOT so much fun is looking over my classes and trying to scramble everything around to fit in different classes. Eventually I gave up, and my new plan is to scramble things after my first week of classes so I have a better idea of what I'm getting in to. I'm just glad I finally learned to buy my text books after the first week. You never really know what you're gonna use until you see the syllabus.

As for my weekly goals, I can say that the food and mind bits are going alright, but as for the exercise...
I console myself with the thought of a gym two blocks away starting in September.

Oh my gosh! Thunderstorms tonight! Crap. I'm really psyched about the Ness' bonfire party. I'll be bummed if it's canceled.

Better go check the weather again...

Ohhhhhhh, updates.

I just found the coolest music program! It's called TuneUp, and it works with your iTunes to name tracks that you have no idea about, and to clean up tracks that have become distorted, not to mention give you the album art you're missing, give you music recommendations, and let you know when your favorite bands are playing near you. It's awesome!

Anyway.

Our time is running out, as Muse would say, and I STILL have a million things to do. I'm not feeling too stressed about it, though. I'm trying to think of "back to school" as just an extenuation of time, instead of the beginning of a new era, which is how I usually think of it. I put time in boxes labeled "summer," "back to school," "christmas break," etc., and each season feels like it exists apart from the rest of time. I'm not sure what the benefit of this system is, but the downside is that when I jump into a new block of time, I'm cut off from what came before, which doesn't feel very safe.

But hey, that's why I'm going to a shrink. ;-)

Meanwhile, money worries are piling up. I feel badly about costing Mom and Lance so much money, and yet I can't seem to stop. I need dentist appointments, and supplies for school, and a hair cut, etcetera etcetera. It never seems to end, and I can't seem to help much since I don't currently have a job. And I probably won't be getting one this semester because I'm going to be spending all my time in class. Curses.


BUT, I am really excited about getting my hair cut. It's been driving me crazy ever since I decided to cut it short again. So, I shall be happier shortly. Hah. Shortly.
AND, I'm going to be spending my father's money on new clothes tomorrow. Good times. I feel bad asking him for money too, but he's not paying child support, so I figure this is letting him off easy. But I am thankful. I would like a few new pairs of pants.

Here are my goals for the week:
Physical goal - Do some form of outdoor heart-rate-increasing exercise for half an hour every day.
Food goal - Get a bar of super-dark chocolate (anti-oxidants!) to nibble when I have terrible cravings, but ignore all other sweets until Sunday.
Mind goal - Stop telling little lies and stretching stories to make them sound better. I don't do it often, but when I do do it I feel crappy. It's a bad habit which requires breaking.

So, I am now off to get shorn, get ready for school, and become a better person. Wish me luck! ;-)

School Schedule!

I thought this might be helpful, especially for members of my family who tend to call me during class. ;-)

Alison's Tentative Class Schedule for Fall Semester 2008:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday- 9:35-10:25 Food Animal Products for Consumers, 12:50-1:40 Animals and Society, 3:35-4:25 Intro to Chemistry
Tuesday- 10:15-11:30 Crops, Environment and Society, 12:50-2:45 Crops Lab, 6:20-8:50 Rise of Civilization
Thursday- 10:15-11:30 Crops, Environment and Society, 6:00-9:00 Chem Lab

Hiyah!

My sister Maddie is awesome. I just caught up on her blog, and it reminded me that I've been meaning to start one myself. So, here it is; a sounding board for my thoughts as I begin the second half of my college career. It's like a grown up version of my livejournal for the grown up version of me. Mostly.

First musings:

-School starts soon, and I am unprepared. I have clothes to go through and send to the Epilepsy foundation, a few spiffy new articles to buy during the whole "back to school" craze, several trips to take with family and friends, people to see, places to go, things to do. Etc.

-Haircuts are on Tuesday and I'm seriously thinking of chopping it all to the length of my bangs. It needs a change. But do I really want to forfeit the ability to get up, put my hair in a pony-tail and leave?

-I need to add some more physical activity into my day. I just can't justify driving to Burnsville with Maddie and Dad every other day to work out at the health club, plus, I don't have a membership. I went today and lifting again felt really good, but I also realized how fast I run out of breath during cardio. Unacceptable!

-I have to stop justifying crappy food. Period. Spend more money, get better food, get happier body. No excuses.

-Respect Olympic athletes! The dedication shown by Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson in the last week is inspiring, and it makes me want to really work towards something for myself, which I don't feel like I've done recently. I need to throw myself into something that is personally rewarding and get lost in it a bit.

-More non-fiction reading is required. I've been immersed in Camelot lore for the last two months, and I need to get out and learn a few new things.


Schedule for the next week or so:
1) Sunday - Ren Fest with the fam.
2) Tuesday - Haircut
3) Thursday - Rico's show with fam.
4) Saturday - Canoe trip with fam.
5) Saturday night - Possibly leave with Alyssa for our Summer Triangle Trip.
6) August 26th-27th - Return from Triangle Trip.
7) August 27th - Maddie leaves for school! :-(

And now for sleep, which is another thing I need more of. At least I have Angelo, Alyssa's adorable kitten, who will cuddle up with me.

Night!