BEDA Un...The Beginning

Ok, so I wasn't going to commit to doing this, but my dear friends Sarah and Marlena are, so I thought it be good to join in the fun.  By the way, you should check out their blogs.  They are lovely writers and a whole lot better at this than I am.  So now I'm committed and can't back out and I have friends to motivate me to do this.  For those of you who don't know, BEDA stands for Blog Every Day in August, though I suppose it has been used for Blog Every Day in April, as well.  Aaaanyway, because I recently rediscovered that I have a blog, I think this will be good motivation for me to keep up with it. 

Here goes...OMG it's August!?!  Holy crap, where did summer go?  I mean, I still have, like, 25 days before I return to school, but seriously.  Time...AHH!  So it's now been about a week at home, and I haven't died yet, which I suppose is a good thing.  Instead of being whiney like usual, I think I will list the top 10 reasons why home is good:

10. Getting to sleep in...after 11 weeks of getting up wicked early, it is so great to sleep in past 7:30!
9. My queen-sized bed.
8. Driving my car. I missed it.
7. Shopping with my mom.
6. Home-cooked meals.
5. Teaching at my old studio ($$)
4. My YMCA membership and favorite yoga studio.
3. My church.
2. Pets-2 dogs, 2 cats, and a turtle. Not bad company.
1. Family-When we're not fighting, they are lovely...really.

I'm hoping to go into Chicago a lot this week to take class.  A week off is plenty and I need to remain in the shape I was in upon leaving Orlando.  I'm also hoping to meet up with some friends there as well, so hopefully, at least some of my boredom will be relieved.

I still miss everyone from everywhere more than you know.  I'm also really worried about finances at the moment, for the audition season is looming (well, Jan-April, but still) and I'm trying to wrap my mind around how much my family and I are going to have to fork out for flights and hotel reservations and postage for audition packets and video and blah blah blah...AHHHH!  Trying not to freak out.  And also praying for a miracle that will help me make do all the things I want to do next summer, including LeakyCon.  Stay tuned.

Before I go, I wanted to briefly mention that I saw Inception last night and loved it.  I'm still not convinced one way or the other of the end, but regardless of plot (which was awesome), the film-making involved was just epic and amazing.  Also, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard <3.  I love movies that make you think, and I think I'm going to have to agree with the critics who applauded it.  Other movies on my list still to see this summer are Charlie St. Cloud and Despicable Me.  I'm really pumped for Mao's Last Dancer, as well.
 
I'm feelin' good about this whole BEDA thing.  Keep up with me.  If you'd like to follow me on twitter, you can click here.  I also have a tumblr in case anyone's interested...mostly I just reblog photos and quotes and things other users post.  Here is where I do the "serious" blogging.  Happy August!  Rabbit, rabbit.  Love ya'll <3

New Year, New Semester, New Babies

Sorry it's been a little while...not that anyone's reading this...are you?  Tell me!  Seriously, comments are sooo appreciated!  Anyway, basically I wanted to update you on my life since 2010 began.  Here goes the recap:

1. I spent New Year's Eve in Chicago visitng my best friend from high school who I NEVER get to see.  It was absolutely wonderful and perfect and we picked up right where we left off like we were 16 and living in the dorms again as usually happens when a Bridgette/Ellen reunion occurs.  It's sad because I never really see anyone from my ballet high school anymore.  They are so far away from me and making time/getting the money to see them is difficult.  They're hoping to organize an alumni reunion for the 25th anniversary of the spring ballet show, but finding the time around my school/finals schedule to get to Virginia might be way more work than it's worth.  We shall see.

2.  I left home to return to school a week early for Sorority Recruitment.  While it proceeded to give me headaches, a sore throat, laryngitis, a cold, and insane exhaustion, it also helped me remember why I pledged Delta Gamma just one year ago.  I got to read a letter to the chapter at Preference Round, and I got quite emotional at the end of it.  I don't deserve these women in my life.  They are incredible.  There is a cliche quote that many sorority women use to explain why they joined their chapters:  "They say joining a sorority is paying for your friends...if that's the case, I didn't pay nearly enough."  But it's so true.

3.  School started yesterday.  I have mixed feelings about the stress of the semester beginning.  I'm not entirely as excited about my Epidemics in History class as I thought I would be, mostly because my professor says "um" and "uh" practically after every single word she says and it's VERY distracting.  Ugh...hopefully, I'll get used to it.  I'm also teaching beginning ballet at 8 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays this semester.  I hope I'm not a total grouch and that these kids give me something.  Being upbeat and chipper at 8 am is REALLY difficult for me.  My English class (19th Century Lit) looks promising, though.  We're starting with Persuasion and I'm ecstatic!

4.  Finally, yesterday, our hard work and sleepless nights of Recruitment paid off when our new baby DGs arrived at the house.  They are all beautiful and amazing and so cool!!!!  We are soooo lucky to have them and I'm so excited about the coming week of hanging with the babes and the fun of Bid Week :)  The picture below is of some of the sophomores and juniors waiting outside our house for the newbies to arrive on the buses last night.

5.  My mom's wedding is in 5 weeks.  I'm trying to find a dress to wear in it as I will be her maid of honor/only attendant.  The search is going pretty well, although finding a decent, simple black dress for under 150 bucks is not as easy as it would sound.

6.  I'm going to be really sore tomorrow.  Third day of ballet.  Ow.  End of story.

7.  One last thing, I am now caught up on Doctor Who.  End of Time Part 1 and 2 were heartbreaking and tearful and I'm so sad David Tennant will no longer be the Doctor, but I'm optimistic about what Matt Smith will bring to the table as Eleven.  Hopefully, it will be great.  DT = <3 though :) 

I'll leave you now.  I need to get to bed/get my runny nose taken care of.  My nose hurts from blowing it with toilet paper as I can't find any Kleenex :(

The End of Break...Not Happy

Tomorrow I head back to school a week before school resumes for Panhellenic Recruitment.  While I am incredibly excited about the prospect of new DGs, I am not thrilled about a) having to spend Monday night moving rooms, b) leaving home, and c) the fact that I will probably be in Delta Gamma Land for the next week.  I have had a wonderful break.  It has been so great to be home, away from the stresses of school with the family enjoying the holidays.  Honestly the idea of being back at school kind of makes me nauseous at the moment.

I'm the kind of person, and I'm sure this is due to my anxiety/worrying, who dreads things.  I find it very hard to just let things be.  I am constantly thinking of what will come next, what I have to look forward (or not look foward) to.  I almost dread the day after Christmas more than I look forward to the 25th of December.  So, in short, I am dreading the return to the grind...the rehearsals, the books, the papers, the parties, etc.

I know, I know, I should take a deep breath and snap out of it, drive down to school tomorrow, relax and enjoy.  Believe me, I'm trying.  It's just difficult.