10 of the Month for May!

 (photo via ffffound.com)

Ahh, you thought I forgot, didn't you? Well, the truth is... I sort of did. And, I'm bummed about it. I had some fantastic mental lists going on, but I was never able to have them materialize. So, here we go for May... (I'm sure you can imagine what will dominate this month's list!)

1. Graduation.

Two years in a Master's Program - Complete! Yesss! I'm oh-so thrilled to have my Mom in town on Wednesday night to help me celebrate.

2. Summer Movies! 

Alix and I just saw IronMan. (Anybody else super smitten over Robert Downey Junior??) Annnnd, Sex and the City 2 is coming out next week! Psyched! 

3. Trips to the Beach! 

Alix and I are scouting out Jones Beach and all the which ways we can get ourselves there. 

4. Packing away  

coats and scarves

5. Pulling out shorts and flip flops! 

Alix and I have every intention of camping out on the roof of our building for some much needed Vitamin D. Winter lasted faaaar too long this year. And now, it's like summer outside. Somebody get Al Roker on the phone.

6. Patio Eating, Patio Sitting, Walking-by Patios

Anything to do with me being near a patio actually qualifies for the number six spot. And if there are some Johnny Appleseed buckets filled with summer blooms included, even better!

7. Leisure Reading

Oh. My. Goodness. I've got THREE, count 'em, THREE books on my Leisure Reading list for the rest of the month (and part of June) and I couldn't be MORE psyched about it. 

8. Having a normal-ish schedule

I'll be honest, I spread myself a bit thin this semester. I'm pretty excited to go to work, go to research, then do a little bit of playing. I haven't had much time for play recently.

9. Hearing Baby Kate say, "I love you." 

Baby Kate is officially a chatter box. She's got "I love you" down pat. My dear Sister has gotten into the habit of calling me on the weekend mornings so sweet Baby Kate can gurgle "I love you" in the phone. Ahh, my heart tinkers, I miss her so!

10. Salsa on 2???

I'm all about trying new classes. You've heard me obsess over Zumba. Now I'm obsessing over Salsa. I'm enrolling in a class or two next month. It *might* get interesting...

Ten Things for December

10 Things That Make Me Incredibly Happy

1. Christmas Lights

2. Greeting Cards

3. Ear Muffs!

4. Countdowns to Vacations (15!)

5. Mama Meyer's original Apple Pie (Mama Meyer makes it TWICE a year. This year, unlike last year, I get to have it TWICE!)

6. My Tattoo. I've had it for well over a year and I still love it as much as I did the day I had it done. (Sorry, Mom, Dad, Mel!)

7. Promotions at Work (Yes!)

8. Sending FREE post-cards via HippoPost on my Blackberry! (Thanks, Katrina!)

9. Chasing Baby Kate

10. Books on sale

Ten Things for November

(image via ffffound.com)
Ten Things That Make Me Terribly Happy

(November) 

1. 20 Days Until Thanksgiving Break! (Yessss!)

2. Writing research papers. (Nerd Alert!) Ok, I'm gonna be serious... Writing research papers isn't exactly "fun," but it's a pretty good time in its own way. And, I kinda dig it.

3. Holding the door open for people and hearing them say, "Thank You!"

4. CVTC.

5. Planning adventures.

6. Fresh pineapple.
7. Chatting with my mom and sister on the phone.
8. Sexy Sangria.
9. Waking up early.
10. Sleeping in late.

10 Things for October

10 Things That Make Me Insanely Happy

1. Halloween. It's a fun holiday. Not as cool as Thanksgiving, of course... But, Halloween is the first holiday of the holiday season. It ushers in a series of wonderful little events and activities. Plus, you get to dress up as something totally ridiculous and get away with it. Thumbs up for Halloween!

2. Grey's Anatomy. The entire show has gone down hill, but I still watch loyally. I can't get enough of McDreamy... Or... McSteamy... Or... Kirev...

3. Changing leaves. I'm a desert rat, thus I'm not a big fan of cold weather, but it's pretty sweet to see the leaves change with the temperature drop.

4. Boots, Mittens, and Scarves - oh my!

5. Kicked my nail-biting habit. For good. (Yess!)

6. Pedicures. They are quite lovely. I wear flip flops religiously, so my terrible little toes get a real beating. Thanks to the nail shop around the corner, they'll be looking fabulous by Sunday.

7. Greeting Cards. Snail mail is so under-rated. I just love sending and receiving cards in the mail. It's like a burst of sunshine emerging from the mailbox.

8. Luden's Throat Drops. I'm slowly recovering from a wicked head cold. Luden's Cherry Throat Drops are like candy, but oh-so helpful to soothe my sore throat. Indeed, there's a silver lining to everything. ;)

9. Researching doctoral programs. (Nerd alert!)

10. Countdowns to Vacations. (Thanksgiving = T - 51 days)

10 Things for September

10 things that make me terribly happy:
1. Visits from friends and family.

2. School. Work. Research. Being busy = Phenom.

3. Netflix. Alix and I recently got on board with Netflix and we're totally loving. It's like a little surprise twice a week.

4. Watching the temperature slowly drop. This summer was hot and humid and horrible.

(Please note: 8 weeks from now, I'll be complaining about the temperature drop.)

5. Spending $27 for books this semester. Yes, I said it. Twenty-seven big ones! 1 of my classes is not requiring a book. I'm borrowing a book from a friend for my second class. And my third class - the books put me back... twenty. seven. dollars. Amazing. :)

6. BBM. BlackBerry Messenger might be the coolest technological advancement since... AOL Instant Messenger? Hmm... ;)

7. New shoes. (Like I need them!)

8. Thanksgiving in Phoenix. It's happening this year. I bought my ticket and I'm rawring to go.

9. Getting older. This month, I'll celebrate my 24th birthday... And I'm pretty psyched about it. Getting older is fun.

10. Fall. I'm not talking about the temperature drop. I'm talkin' about the attitude and style that is Autmn. Yes, the leaves change and the air turns cool; however - there seems to be a little smirk on the faces of those sporting their new scarves, boots, and mittens.

Happy September! :)

10 Things for August

I've been seriously slacking in the "10 Things" department. In my defense, I was without dependable internet access while I was abroad last month. So, here's the scoop for August...

10 things that make me terribly happy:

1. My independence. After returning home from Prague last month, I had to give myself a pat on the back. I booked the flight, my hostel, arranged for airport pickup, galavanted around the city without a map, and swooped into a pub for a beer the night before my program started... All. By. Myself. :)

2. Washington Square Park. They're done renovating. And, they did a pretty remarkable job. After I spent Sunday recuperating from a weekend of birthday shenanigans with Rachael, I decided to treat myself to a Starbucks and walk through the park. There were half a dozen children swimming through the fountain. Their vibrancy made my heart tinker.

3. Five Napkin Burger.

4. Zumba. Yes, Zumba remains on my list. I found a wonderful studio on the upper west side called Manhattan Motion. I'm pretty smitten with this class.

5. Mama Meyer's trips to NYC. It's been a couple months since my beloved ma has had a layover in the city. She'll be here on Saturday and I'm realllly looking forward to it.

6. Alix coming back from Phx. She just returned last night from her summer at home! We had dinner at Five Napkin Burger to celebrate. (See no. 3.) Then, we chatted away while she unpacked her suitcases. She has a lot of work to do. :)

7. The 500 Days of Summer soundtrack. I saw the movie a few weeks ago with some pals and it was pleasantly surprising. Bonus - the soundtrack is amazinggg!

8. Countdown to Sister and Brother's Trip to NYC. They'll be here at the end of August and I can hardly wait! Naturally, we have some serious debauchery planned.

9. School. Classes start again in just a few weeks and I'm sincerely looking forward to it. I very well might be a student for the rest of my life, but that's hardly something to groan about. Minus my student loans. Laaame.

10. Fresh Flowers. My pal Blake picked up some flowers for me last week to thank me for letting him crash at my place while he perused through the city. They were just gorgeous and filled my shoebox with the most pleasant aroma. Whatever a girl says, "I don't like flowers," she still loves receiving them.

10 for June

(as promised, my ten of the month...)

10 things that make me terribly happy: 

1. Baby Kate. As I was clearing out old photos from my phone yesterday, I stumbled across this oldie but a goodie. She was probably 10 or 11 months in this photo and already expressing her sense of humor. 

2. STA Travel. Thanks to a travel agent named "Huck," I was able to book my flight to Prague, with an excellent rate, over the phone (sans customer service booking fee!) Thanks, Huck!

3. Chipotle. 'Nuff said. 

4. Zumba. Chandra and I are trying a new dance studio. I'll let you know how these classes measure up to my previous experiences. If it's Zumba, it's gotta be good. 

5. 40 hour work weeks. Really, Lauren? Yes, Really. I'm a starving student! Any opportunity to keep myself out of trouble (shopping, eating, pricey galavanting) and making dinero is certainly something worth appreciating. 

6. Living just a short 20 minute walk from campus. I walked to campus today. Minus the humidity, it was a pleasant experience. 

7. Book recommendations. After e-mailing one of my professors a request to suggest some course related summer reading, she responded: "I have a ton of books I'm trying to get rid of! You can have them." Cool!!

8. The new Twilight trailer. I know, I know. I'm 23 and I'm a sucker for the newest edition to the teeny-bopper Twilight saga. There are no excuses; I'm hooked. Clear and simple.

 

9. My cool friends. I can tell you a dozen absolutely fantastic things that each one of them is doing. They've got their lives together and they're making things happen. It's totally inspiring to witness.

 

10. My blog. I struggled with it in the beginning, citing my entire subscription to blogspot as kind of silly. But, I'm pretty passionate about it now. I know I'd like to write professionally one day. Until then, cuethesunshine provides a healthy outlet for that desire. 

10 things

i'm an avid reader of iheartkiwi, a lovely blog out of phoenix, az. so, i swiped one of her recent blogs - "10 things that make me happy," who she snagged from rockstar diaries. simply put, you make a list of 10 things that make you happy right now. basically, i think it's a fantastic idea, so i'm partaking.  what i've picked up about the "10 things" exercise is that they're ongoing and ever-changing. 10 things that make me happy this month might very well be different from 10 things that make me happy next month. so then, i shall participate in this wonderful little activity once a month. i encourage you to try it. it proved to be a very therapeutic exercise for me. 

enjoy. 

10 things that make me terribly happy: 

1. pictures of baby kate sent to my cell phone every morning. {thank you, sister.}

2. home-made, no sugar added peach tea. {thank you, mama meyer.}

3. key lime pie bought in bulk.  {thank you, alix.}

4. writing. about anything. 

5. engine #54 - 8th ave. & 45th st. 

6. "laurie loo! how are you??" - my dad 

7. ctp.

8. bob marley.

9. ozzie, my neighbor's dog. 

10. pineapple mojitos.