Monday, November 30, 2015

November Playlist

Just another little monthly playlist to start your week off right! All I can say is, you all are suuuuper lucky that "Hello" is the only Adele song on Spotify. :) Hope your Monday is relatively painless!



Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving + a Recipe

Happy Thanksgiving! I am extra thankful this year that I work in a school system and can take full advantage of the holiday schedule. :) We're having dinner with my sister-in-law and her family, so I thought it would be a good excuse to whip up my go-to quick dessert: Butterfinger Pie. (Don't worry, we're having pumpkin pie too!)

When I was in high school I had one of those weird best-friend/boyfriend relationships; we were both from small towns where there really wasn't much to do, so apart from swimming in ponds (ick ick ick, what was I thinking?) and discussing the great mysteries of the universe as only teenagers can, we spent a lot of time with each other's families. His grandma was one of my favorite people on the planet, and she gave me her super-secret recipe for Butterfinger Pie. I have no idea where it came from--I only know that this was a world pre-Pinterest, and I got it from a grandma. So you KNOW it's good, right? Bonus: it's also quick and easy to make, and only requires 5 ingredients. So if you're a procrastinator, I've got you covered.

 Ingredients:
1 block cream cheese (8oz)
1 tub of whipped topping (8oz)
1 cup sugar
2 Butterfinger candy bars (you can get king size if you're feeling naughty)
1 graham cracker crust

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Currently.



Feeling: Tired. It's 6:30 pm. #grandma

Drinking: Sweet tea. I seriously need to stop keeping it around, because I can drink a gallon in less than a week.

Watching: an Unsolved Mysteries marathon. Seriously, I am turning into my grandmother.

Reading: a book on Old English. Learning to read Anglo-Saxon documents is sort of a nerdy goal of mine.

Thinking about: Getting this apartment in order (and decorated for Christmas!)

Loving: having a 5-day weekend. Seriously, a school work schedule is the BEST.

Excited about: Sarah coming to town this weekend! Hopefully I'll finally get to explore KC a little!

Listening to: SO MUCH ADELE. My white girl is showing.

Worried about: whether or not I passed that dumb test. I honestly thought I would be relieved that it's over, but not knowing is KILLING ME.

Obsessing over: this Neko Case record collection. Anyone have an extra $200 laying around? It's the stuff my dreams are made of.


Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Hope you're having a nice relaxing evening. <3

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Vinyl Love// Daughter: If You Leave



If You Leave by Daughter.

In 3 words: ethereal, emotive, balanced

Favorite tracks: Youth, Amsterdam, Human

This record became one of my favorites immediately after it came out a couple years ago. Even though it's old news by now, I decided to post it anyway, because I rediscovered it recently and I've been spinning it nonstop again. It's perfect cold-weather music, and is equally enchanting whether you're zoning out in your apartment or driving around in your car with no destination. I think it's a delicate balance making a record that is cohesive without every song sounding too much the same, and Daughter achieves that balance very very well. They have a new record release just around the corner (in January), and you better believe I'll be pouncing on that one the day it comes out. 

Monday, November 23, 2015

Catching Up


I don't know what is more embarrassing: the fact that I have so many months of absence to catch up on, or the fact that there really isn't much that happened in those months. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably think that all I do is study, pet my cats, and take Lush-sponsored baths (Note: Lush doesn't actually sponsor me, but Lush, if you're reading this, you can totally sponsor me). To be honest, that's not been far off the mark, but a few things have happened around here since I stopped blogging consistently. So here's a quick catch-up.

01// I studied. A lot.

02//We moved to Kansas City in September. I wrote a little bit about this before and shortly after my move, but it was quite the process. Rental hunting was an....um, adventure, and I ended up living with my very generous sister-in-law and her family for a month before we officially "moved." Honestly, I loved staying with them and had a blast, but my brother-in-law is probably glad to have his "man cave" back. :) Thankfully, we--and all our things--have our own place now. Confession: half our stuff is still in boxes, two months later. That's my next project....

03// I started a new job. It's so funny; I swore in high school that I wouldn't be a teacher or work in a school because my mom was a teacher and I saw all the struggling, bureaucracy, and general BS that she had to deal with. I saw how hard she had to fight just to be able to do what was right for the kids she taught. Well, it's 2015 and I'm not a teacher....but I do work in a school district. **Life tip: never swear you won't ever do something.** The thing is, though, I really really really love my job now. There are a lot of things about the move to KC that have been less than ideal, and there are a lot of things I miss about Springfield, but this job is one thing that will definitely keep me here. I could see doing this for a very very long time.

04// My grandmother passed away about a month ago after a long battle with Alzheimer's. I debated about whether or not to even post about this here, because I have a lot more to say about this than can be captured in a paragraph embedded in a catch-up post. It also seems to flippant to just casually mention it in a list of life events. I decided to, though, because it happened, and it affected me--probably more than anything in recent memory. It's still affecting me, and I'm still processing it.  I may very well be for a very long time.

05// I turned 30. That is so weird to say. Cognitively I know it, but there is nothing about me that feels 30. Maybe it's because there was so much going on around my birthday that we didn't really celebrate it or maybe that's just the way it is with getting older now. But hey, I'm in the 30 club. No shame.

Hope you all have a great Monday (is there such a thing?)!

Monday, November 16, 2015

Monday Morning Playlist

Just a little playlist from last month to start off your Monday. I've been trying to start a new one monthly; this one is from October, but November is in the works. Now that I spend a little more time in front of a computer for work, I need some good tunes to keep me sane productive. I'll probably post them here as I finish them, but feel free to follow along with me on Spotify if you want to listen ahead. :)


Saturday, November 14, 2015

One week

In exactly one week, I'll sit for my behavior analyst certification exam. Honestly, I'm relieved and terrified all at once. The pass rate right now is hovering around 60%, and I wish I could say that I feel confident about being in that top 60%. I really wish I could say that. What I do know is that I use behavior analysis every single day at work, I LOVE what I do, and that I am good at my job--good enough that my boss has already assured me that regardless of whether I pass or fail, and despite the fact that BCBA certification is in the job requirement, my job is safe. What I'm not so sure of is whether all of the months of classes & studying and the years of working in ABA will translate to a passing score on what is undoubtedly the most intimidating test of my life. I hope it does, but I'm not sure.


Like most every weekend in the past few months, I've spent this one studying. I woke up around 7:30, and started in on study modules. I took a break around 9 to eat breakfast....while reading study materials. I just got out of the bathtub...and I even took my iPad in there to do modules too. Writing this is literally the only break I've taken today. It's weird to see how consuming this process has become, and to realize that a lot of it has been driven by anxiety and fear masquerading as dedication. It hit me at work the other day when someone asked when I was taking the exam, and I hesitated; if I failed, and someone knew when I was taking it, I'd have to admit that I didn't make the cut.


  But you know what?


To destroy fear you have to admit it, and then face it.


So this is me admitting it--publicly. I'm afraid of this exam. I'm afraid of not making the cut. I'm afraid that I won't be able to compartmentalize failure if it happens, and that I'll struggle with not incorporating it into my identity. I'm afraid of what people will think of me, and I'm afraid that my consultations at work won't hold as much weight. I'm afraid of having to repeat the study process, and of losing several more months of my life to this.


I admit it.
I face it.


  Next Saturday, I'll kick it in the freaking face. Study Thanks for reading my ramblings tonight guys. I can't wait to be finished with this process and to get back to caring for this little space again. We have so much to catch up on.

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