ASU will not deter me...

I promised I would keep up the blogging and I will! I just wanted to stop in and say that the fall semester at ASU has begun and is now in full swing... well maybe not FULL swing, it is kind of a wobbly swing if you ask me. ASU's online hub "Blackboard" has been intermittently down all week therefore preventing me from properly being able to deal with my 3 online classes. Luckily my professors of course understand (since they too are experiencing the Blackboard blackouts) and have cancelled due dates of given extensions. whew!

I am really enjoying classes so-far though. I am determined to keep up on the readings and thankfully I have found all my textbooks to be actually interesting! My favorite so far has been my History of Christianity textbook. I had to read 40 pages on the ministry of the Apostles as seen in Acts from a historical perspective!! Awesome! I like that this textbook somewhat likes Christianity and it is great at explaining the theological basis of the religion and how that played into its spread throughout Europe and Asia minor... anyways, Im sure I've lost most of you, but know that I am eating it up. I can't wait to read more!
My French Revolution class is great! I had studied the same time period in England last semester, so the fact that the first part of our reading was about France's relationship with England was incredibly helpful! It also overlaps a bit with my American Revolution class, so I am getting the info from many different places. It helps it sink in.
My American Revolution class and my two English Lit classes are all online... so they are little hard for me to follow cause I don't like not having a professor to listen to face to face. But I am getting by!

I hope this semester is great! It will definitely be busy and full, but I like it like that! I am ready to be busy for a change... summer was TOO lazy for me at times.

Alright... Since I don't have any pictures to post along with the stuff about ASU, I'll just post pictures of my niece!

Emolyn & I

Also check out Nicole's post about her maternity pics on her blog!!

I need a new look...

I am in desperate need of new clothes!! I weeded through my closet (as I occasionally do) of things I hadn't worn in forever. I am a firm believer that if you haven't worn something for the last six months (minus those that are seasonally specific - ie sweaters and coats) or if you look at it and your first thought is "eh", then you shouldn't keep it. So after I cleaned out old unwanted clothes, I noticed that all I had left were t-shirts and tank tops... nothing exciting... nothing stylish... I am a boring dresser. And the clothes I had gotten rid of were also not cute... so I need new clothes! I am determined to dress with more style and flare. I love the clothes at forever21, H&M, etc, but when I go shopping there I tend to get basic Ts and tanks ALL THE TIME!!! Well no more! I have recently discovered LOOKBOOK.nu - a website where everyday people post their cute stylish outfits. Some of them are ridiculous and I would never wear them, but some of the pieces are cute! So I am drawing inspiration from there. Here are some cute outfits I found -

I'm a fan of blazers

The necklace is strange, but the dress is adorable!

perfect!

really wish I could pull off aviators

I actually just like the bag and blazer in this picture... and maybe the necklace

maybe not the shoes or tights... but the rest if super cute!

So hopefully I can stick to my oath of not buying anymore plain t-shirts for a while...

Summer of babies!!!

So I didn't only travel this summer... there were also lots of babies being born - actually just 2... but still it was a summer full of babies and baby showers :)

First up was Jack Matthew-

me & Baby Jack

He was such a peanut! Proud parents Meredith & Andy were so excited for his arrival! All of us girls were excited to have another little boy around! He is so cute!!

Next up was this third little boy in our group! Spencer William -

me & Baby Spencer

My beautiful friend Jeannette!

Spencer William

Some of the girls! The other ones were there earlier so they have a different picture :)

This brings the total in our girls group to 6!!!

Me, Kelsie w/ Rori, Jeannette w/ Madi (Spencer in her tummy), Meredith w/ Jack, Jessica w/ Eli, and Nicole w/ Emolyn (Baby girl in her tummy) - we're missing Sarah & Tara

We definitely have our hands full!!

Up next is Baby girl Thompson in October! I am spending the day with Miss Emolyn Kate and when I look at my beautiful niece it is hard to imagine that I will love another little girl so completely! But I already do!

Me & Em

Emolyn Kate & me!!

I'm back!

Here's what has happened since we last spoke...

- Slept
- Worked
- Ate
- Hung out with friends
- Slept
- TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS!!

Amazing sandy beaches

lovely private beaches

View from our room!

LOOK AT THAT WATER!!!

Me enjoying our view!

the nannies

Rowan & I - I hung out with this little munchkin every night before bed :)

enjoying hand-rolled cigars!

Nicci & I - the only ladies who smoked :)

- Worked
- Boredom
- Slept
- Hung out with friends
- Made money
- CARLA'S VISIT!!!!

Macayo's for Carla's first true mexican food experience

Addicted to QT 32 oz Fountain drinks!

Heading out of town to the Grand Canyon!

Montezuma's Castle

Waiting to get into the Grand Canyon in the rain... Carla fell asleep

Bright Angel trail

enjoying the view from the edge

Tilly & Chels!!!

- Hung out with friends

- Back to school shopping

- School starts on thursday!

So as you can see aside from the occasional trip, my life is pretty uneventful. But I want to start blogging again and sharing with you my search for direction, adventure, inspiration, and just general excitement in life.

I'll be back soon... I promise :)