Better Late Than Never...

I know it is late, but Happy Valentine's Day!

"Hand Crafted Love"

I can't wait to read my v-day gift "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" by Ree Drummond, a true love story of the infamous Pioneer Women.  I secretly want to cook just like her and be on Food Network, I will keep dreaming. 

True Life Love

With Love,

Tarika

Ugh...

I am tired of being in college, no surprises there.  To help motivate myself not only have I given myself goals, I have also decided that I need to find something to humor myself.  Today as I was sitting in class thinking of what I can do to motivate myself to finish this degree thing.  Yes, I know it is the first day of a semester.  I decided that I would blog about some funnies that happen every now and again while I am sitting in class.  There were so many today, that I decided to post this now rather than later in the week.

Funny #1:  My Fundamentals of Analysis professor was making some lame joke about what time class got out and we all just sat there like robots...I don't know if it was because we couldn't understand him through his thick accent, if we were all still asleep (this is an 8:30 class), or if we are so deathly afraid of pointing out when a professor is wrong that we all freeze.  He was baffled that we wouldn't say anything about sitting in class for an extra 25 minutes.  He told us that we need to lighten up, wake up and be free.  Damn Europeans.  Always telling us Americans we aren't free enough.

Funny #2: The unibomber, mad scientist attire that I get to see each day.  While sitting in class zoning out because I was uninterested with the professor still feeling like he needs to go over the syllabus on the first day, I noticed some interesting fellows walking by.  The first, is a former class mate, who is probably quite intelligent, but I feel that he has some interesting ways of thinking through things.  I feel that his ways of thinking are making their debut with his appearance as well.  His hair was literally flying in all directions and might have looked like it was teased...but was probably just ratty.  I am talking about 3-5 inches of hair in all directions on his whole head.  He looked determined...as some would say, I however call his eyes crazy mad scientist eyes.  I am glad that there were no beakers of unknown substances in the hallway for fear that he would mix them and tell us that he was taking over the world.  The second, a scary unibomber outfit.  Black hoodie with the hood on, covered in a full length black trench and possibly a black ball cap (only the brim was showing).  I saw him after class and he didn't seem too scary in person.  I imagine he was just freezing.  After seeing these interesting fellows, I decided to take a look around the classroom.  I usually try not to look at people in class, I don't want the chance of making eye contact and them talking to me.  Most of you know me as kind of an outgoing, friendly sort, who wants to be friends, but in class, I am different.  I do not want to be their friend, plus they make me nervous.  Strangers make me a little nervous...something about my mother never talking to them and to avoid them at all costs.  Okay, sorry for the tangent.  As I was looking around in the class room all kids seemed to be as glazed over eyed and uninterested as me...or they have really bushy eyebrows.  This really is a pet peeve of mine...but I have to realize that these boys are math majors, they do not know any better, so I just have to get over this pet peeve if I ever have to talk to this person.

Funny #3:  I love when professors tell you to do something that is technically illegal.  My professor just instructed us to never by anything that can be downloaded on the Internet...it is a waste of money.  Basically anything that is on CD is to be downloaded...He then went on to tell us that he was not going to force us to spend money on the book, but it is worth the money since we get to use it for two semesters. This particular book is $200 plus an additional $75 for the lab book.  I don't care how economical you are if think it is a waste of money to by a CD, then you should know that $275 is not a good bargain for any type of book...or media for that matter.

Funny #4: Me slipping and sliding on the side walks on campus.  Seriously if you were following me you got to see me slip on any sort of decline and if you happened to be near my parking spot you saw me almost totally eat it on a piece of black ice as I was getting into my car.  I was even wear boots today...jeez.  Totally embarrassing, but oh well, at least I can laugh at myself. 

Well have a happy Monday and good luck to all of us that we can survive winter and make it to Spring Break!

2011 Goals

I know that I am few days behind, but I really wanted to contemplate what I wanted my goals to be this year. Overall I wanted to work on me, but I wanted to improve relationships as a whole too. So I picked specific goals to help meet most aspects of my life.


Goal #1: My goal for school.


Ultimately, the big goal is to graduate...duh. But there is room for improvement on my study habits and test taking abilities, I know this because my grades tell me so. So obviously I could put "Get better grades" as my goal, but I think that would just be a poor way to reach the goal. After much deliberation I know that I have all of the tools in my basket to get better grades, I just need to apply them. My goal this semester is to make a study and assignment schedule and stick to it. I need to learn to make realistic time for studying and getting assignments done. Yes in theory I would like my statistic assignment to only take 1 hour, but realistically it will probably be more like 2-4 hours depending on if I need to do any research on how to solve the problems. I have 14 credit hours in my bag this term, so I need to devote at least that much time to homework and assignments each week. I know that this seems like there is no way I can do this, but I have the best intentions and I am just going to have to get creative with my time.


Goal #2: Career change.


It is no secret what I want to do with this weird math degree. I want to make business or financial project/plan models for companies. Specifically for NLI, for right now while I am bound and tied to the company because of school. NLI has a plan set in place for this to happen for me, I just want to make it a personal goal, so that I make sure it happens and I get overlooked and not taken seriously about what my aspirations are for my career. It is my goal by the end of the year, that I will no longer be working under a lab section, but in our accounting department, learning and knowing the ways of the CFO at our company. Each year he is in charge of all of our financial goals and knowing our business models for each of the sections.


Goal #3: Bowling goal.


I know that this seems so ridiculous, but I do {heart} bowling! My entering average for this year was 187 and 199 (two different leagues). Both of my averages for these leagues are not even close to this anymore, well maybe the 187 one is the same, but I still think that my bowling potential much better than this. So by the end of 2011 my average for at least one of my leagues will be 205-210. That means that my series average has to be 615-630 each week. Kind of lofty, but I think that I am capable. So I may need to take some extra time during the week or even on a Sunday and go throw a few extra games each week and actually work on my crappy bowling.


Goal #4: Relationship goal.


This is kind of personal and not sure how much I will elaborate on it, but as much fun it is to always say that everything is butterflies and rainbows with the man and I, it isn't always true. We are a real couple with some ups and some downs. Sorry just had to burst the bubble that I do not live in la la land, but it is true. So, just a few goals that I have to have are to focus on the conflict that I am having at the moment, not bring up crap from the past or other things that are on my mind. Get one thing taken care of at a time. And since I don't have the most optimistic partner (even though I do love him), work on talking happy. By this I mean I need to have a more positive outlook on things. I find myself thinking this and then I just fall back in this let's throw a pity party attitude. So I am putting this goal out there so that I am held accountable to not being a pity party girl.


Goal #5: Friendship goal.

This one has been kind of hard for me to think of.  You just assume that your friends are your friends and they know who they are and how important they are to you, but I have found this to be very untrue.  Of course my actions and life don't really make it cohesive to make sure that even though I am not there, I am thinking about my closest and dearest girl friends.  To keep with my theme of having different goals for each part of my life, it is no surprise that my girlfriends and improving the relationships with each of them is on this list.  My goal for this year is to do just exactly what I said, Improve my relationships with each one of them and to let them know that even though I may not always be there at every moment in their lives, I do find them super important and I love all of them dearly.  So be on the look out for fun things that I may do...shout outs on Facebook, this blog, a little email here and there, something super special for your bday, or just a great big hug when I do see you. 


Goal #6: Fitness and Diet goal...more like a challenge.


Of course every year this has to be done. I think that it would be un-American if I didn't make a fitness, weight or diet goal. I have a love/hate relationship with this type of thing. For one, I love how I feel when I am working out and dieting, I feel a sense of calm and accomplishment within myself, but on the other hand I hate what I become when I am dieting and exercising. I become obsessed. I have always had some sort of body distortion image problem since high school. I don't ever feel like I look any different even when I am in shape, and I am obsessed with how many calories are in food. I never look at a dinner and think oh that plate looks amazing, I see 100 calories here, 200 there, and so on. So basically I try to stay away from true dieting because I don't always want to know every single calorie that I consume because I would rather not obsess over something. But it has became aware to me that I need do it regardless. So to hold myself accountable I made a second blog. Please note this blog is not really up and running, but I am getting started. On this blog I will post my weekly goals for workouts, diet and weight/what I want to fit into. I will also be posting a new recipe each week, and my menu for however long I have it planned for, I will try for weekly, but sometimes things come up and it may be only a couple of days. I will then post how well I did at keeping to what my plans were and what I did to account for changes that come up. Of course most of you know I am on-the-go type of person, so there will be times that I am not always the healthiest, but I will always try to do something that is productive to my counter productive actions. I want this to be a life style change so I am giving myself a whole year to get in the right habits not the obsessive ways that seem to be normal for me.

Goal #7:  Family goal.

My family is probably in the most shambles that it has ever been in.  I don't really want to get into the details, let's just say there has been a lot of additions to my family's house this past winter.  For this goal it is going to be kind of short and sweet, but I am going to improve my relationship with my brother.  We don't have a bad relationship, but I would say that we don't have the closest relationship either.  We are 5 years apart and we really don't have a lot of stuff in common.  So I am going to get my unmotivated, quiet, gaming little brother to become a little closer to his demanding, crazy big sister.

Christmas Tree Time!

Dear Blog,

I will miss Christmas time, but on to a New Year, for new adventures.

Love,
T



Christmas Tree 2010



Thanksgiving, Black Friday Shopping, Wedding, The City!

Thanksgiving was in New York this year.  It was kind of weird to be away from my family, but they didn't seem to mind.  My mom kept telling me to have the time of my life...Well I did have fun and Gregg's family is the best.  Such good people to just welcome me into their family like no big deal.  I even have a stocking at his mom's house this year.  My family is not into the stocking thing...so I never really thought much about it, but it did warm my heart to see it there.  I gained like 7 lbs from eating...Gregg's mom is an absolute great cook...I don't think that I have ever disliked anything that she has cooked.  She has the best Italian food...yum yum.  After dinner and I was slightly comatose from gorging on everything from cheese and crackers to rainbow cookie cake, but Gregg's bother and sister in law had convinced us that we needed to go to Toys R Us to help Santa shop for the little rug rats.  I was excited...this is what my shopping career has always wanted to do.  Gregg was dreading it, but then got excited...well the excited for all of us wore off when we saw this line. 

It wrapped in front of a DSW, PetCo, Office Max, and some other store down the side of that other store to the back of the building. 

Seriously.

That is what I was thinking...I knew I was going to have to wait in line, but that was ridiculous.  I was not prepared for this.  After waiting in line for 1 hour we finally made it inside.  I immediately got my shopping hat on and went and got the items that I was in charge of.  I found Gregg, he was empty handed.  So I made him stay with my stuff while I tried to find Michael (Gregg's bother) and other items on the list.  I found a few things on my way, I figured if Michael already had them we could just put them away, but when I found him he had two wrestler figurines.  I thought REALLY! that is all you found, I then went into panic mode because we didn't even get half of the items.  Janeane was going to kill us.  He was so disappointed that we didn't get this bowling set for Little Michael.  He was totally defeated and gave up all hope.  So we started to get in line to check out, even though I was completed disappointed with what we found so far.  Then we found one of the items in the middle of the isle.  I was not about to give up.  I had the guys stay in line while I wondered the store and search every bin and fisher price isle for the items that we were to get on the black Friday sale.  I was very successful.  There was only one thing that we didn't get and I believe that amazon.com saved us with the bowling set.  Yes another Christmas saved by my ability to be stellar at toy shopping...now I have to worry about my niece. 

We were suppose to attack Walmart that night too...I was thinking there is no way we were doing that.  If Toys R Us was that insane, I couldn't imagine Walmart.  (Apparently it was a good idea, there were horror stories on a NYC radio station on Monday morning.)  We went to the mall the next day, but it was just kind of crowded...I didn't find any super fabulous deals, but I got a couple of must haves at H&M. 


The main reason we were in New York for Thanksgiving weekend was for a fabulous wedding.  This is a glimpse of my dress...I will post the photo booth pics that we have as soon as I figure out how to do that! 

The wedding was for friends of Gregg's from college, Joe and Ashley.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  And the food was to die for.  They had a buffet of different types of foods for the cocktail hour and then a full course dinner and for dessert they did a board walk theme that had probably 20 different desserts to choose from. 


The next day it was city time.  We saw Promises, Promises.  Absolutely fabulous.   I love the city even though it involves hours of walking, train rides and freeze cold winds in the winter.  They have the best bakeries there...So many yummy sweet treats that are hard to say no too.  This is time square at night...they already have the New Year's ball lit and ready to go for 2011.

We then walked into the winter wonderland that Gregg's mom transformed her house into.  There is Christmas stuff in every nook and cranny.  Every room has something festive.  The bathroom is transformed into a snow man shrine.  So cute.  This little guy helped decorate: 

He is a good little Santa helper.

So now it is the season of giving, sharing and merry happy thoughts.  My favorite saying of the season is this:



All your Christmas dreams and wishes can't come true unless you BELIEVE!

  

Welcome to the holiday season,

Hugs,

T

Halloween 2010

This year has been all about Lady Gaga and the Jersey Shore...well at least in mine and Gregg's world it has been.  So after using a half bottle of self tanner for Gregg and a tube of mascara for me this is how we turned out for Halloween!

Gaga Style 2010

I can't get the pic of Gregg to load...but it his fake tanner doesn't really show in the pic...so really it would have been disappointing...but he was wearing a really sweet Ed Hardy shirt with rhinestones. 

Pretty Flowers

Well since Fall/Winter are finally here, I figure that I will bode summer farewell with some of the awesome flowers that are grown in Utah's very own Red Butte Gardens.

Can't believe that I was able to photo that bumble bee too.

Loved the Rose Garden

I almost got bit by a snake trying to take this photo.

Where are the frogs??

Gregg was not as big of fan as I was of all the flowers.  Every time he saw a bee (which was about every 20 seconds) he would scream and attempt to run away.  Bye, Bye Summer...now bring on winter and let the snowboarding begin!

Peace and Love.