One Quick Update...

Why do I always wait until midnight to do my homework? It's a good thing I don't have class until either 12:30 or 11:00, because I would be exhausted. I always stay up until like 2:00 am. Sigh.

Tomorrow will be busy. I'll have class from 12:30-4:45. Then, I'll have a networking event from 5:30-7:00 downtown for event planning. I'm nervous. I've never been to one. I have to wear dressy clothes. I have to talk to people. This is a big deal.

After that, I'll have to work on an essay that is due on Thursday, or at least a rough draft. So it's not extremely bad, but still. We're doing peer review and the teacher does check all revisions when we turn them in, so I need to have something decent. I also have another approx. 50 pages left in Wuthering Heights, which I'm currently in a love/hate relationship with. It's definitely not as bad as I anticipated, but it's also just so tedious to read and most of the characters are ridiculous (but aren't they always?). And then we have to write a response on that.

I also asked one of my professors to be my faculty sponsor for Wentworth! He said yes and that he would write me a stunning letter of recommendation. So it's nice to have at least that portion of the application done. Well, the entire thing is done, but it definitely needs some revision.

Like I said...quick update! I really must run along and read some fiction now for my class tomorrow.

Is it a Cold? Or is it Allergies?

Preface: colds, allergies...whatever it is...it's not fun. On Monday I began to feel a bit ill and lo and behold, I was full-blown sick on Tuesday. Luckily it seems to have only lasted a few days. I feel almost completely better now and hopefully when I wake up this morning, I'll feel perfectly normal.

It's been a while. I've been busy. So here's a bit of catching up.

Talk Like a Pirate Day was...last weekend? So naturally, to Mary and I, that means we go to the party store, buy pirate gear, and dress up to get free donuts which ultimately end up costing the same if not more than what it would cost to buy a dozen donuts.

I'm working on my Wentworth proposal and I'm on the last part. After that, I just have to think it over before submitting it. I also asked one of my professor's to be my faculty sponsor for it, which he said maybe because he is taking leave next semester, so he had to talk to the department chair. I'll know for sure if he can or can't next week, that way I have time to ask another professor. But hopefully he can since he's my first choice anyway.

Got three grades back so far this semester and each of them have been A's, so that's looking good.

Supernatural = finished. All caught up. Season ten starts soon so I'll be right on track with everyone else and watching it week by week, so that's exciting.

So now that I'm caught up with that, what show should I watch next?

Sundays are Lazy Days.

Where have I been these past few days? Watching Supernatural...currently in the middle of season eight. I do just really love Misha Collins.

I've also been COOKING. It's taken me a while to get back into cooking because being poor, Michael and I have just been eating whatever cheap frozen dinners we can get our hands on. That, of course, leads to super poor nutrition and overeating because those meals aren't very filling. But lately we've been cooking meals in the crockpot before we go to sleep and then we wake up with lunch waiting for us! Then we eat leftovers for dinner.

So far we've made turkey pumpkin chili, german sausage and lentils, tikka masala, and spaghetti & meatballs. The pumpkin chili was my favorite and definitely something that I'll make again--it's already gone! We've almost finished the german sausage and the spaghetti as well. The tikka masala was a little too spicy for me, so it's up to Michael to finish the rest of that.

We have cowboy casserole in the crockpot right now! It'll finish around 9:30 and then we get to gobble it up and then we'll be making stuffed bell peppers.

This has been working for us because the fact that we have 2-4 choices in the fridge for leftovers at any given time has stopped us from eating out. It's also generally more healthy than most of the freezer meals we buy! So it's a win-win.

One of my professors is out of town this week, so on Mondays and Wednesdays (when I usually have two classes with him back to back), I'll only have one class total! So I go to school at 12:30 and then I'm done by 1:45. It'll be a nice break for once.

I also have a fairly busy week this week! I plan on applying for the Wentworth Fellowship, so I need to start working on that. It's a scholarship-type reward which is only offered to English majors at UNCW. They pick an author, a book, or a genre and come up with a travel proposal. This very kind man donates money every year for these English majors to go and travel. It might not cover all of the expenses, but I believe the rewards are between $750-$1500, which is a pretty good chunk of funding! I've ALWAYS wanted to apply but could never really figure out something that hasn't been done or is unique enough, but after looking through past winners, I think I have figured it out! I will say that my proposal is for New York, where I have never been, but I feel like it is somewhere that I need to go.

I am also volunteering on behalf of the English department/Sigma Tau Delta (the honors English society) for Seahawk Saturday on campus! I'll get to talk to little high schoolers about UNCW and why they should come. I'm excited.

Of course, I also have two reading responses, a final paper, an exam, a final survey for my PR group, and many many many pages of reading due between now and Thursday. So that's fun.

Honestly, though, this has been a very long-winded post so I'm gonna end this for now.

If you guys could travel anywhere to study a book and author, where would you go? Who would it be?

Titles are hard.

Yes, this is my little angel, Leia.

Seriously though, I have plenty of ideas to write about, but absolutely no titles for them. What makes a title so hard? Especially blogging--it's not like a professor is being forced to read my paper. I have to make people want to read it, and the easily way to do this is a title. Yet it's so difficult. Sigh.

This week is a little bit more calm for me this week than last, so that's nice at least. I had two papers due today (one was a rough draft), so it's nice that it's all over (at least for now). I actually accidentally finished the work that was due tomorrow on Sunday (thinking it was due on Monday), so at least I already have that done. Instead, now I can just curl up on the couch and watch Supernatural with my boyfriend and kitty.

My boyfriend and I are almost finished with season six of Supernatural. We stopped for a bit a while back but decided to pick it up again. We're hoping to catch up before season ten starts so we have just under a month until then to finish the next three seasons.

I bought a crock pot today. My old roommate used to have one and I LOVED it and I found one for $15 at Walmart so. It's so nice to just be able to put food in there and leave it be while I'm in class so that it's ready when I come back. I'm actually about to look up some recipes so I can put one in before I leave for class tomorrow, if I find one that I have all the ingredients for.

Do you guys have any good, go-to crock pot recipes?

TGIT (Thank God It's Thursday).

TGIT. My version of TGIF. This semester I have no classes on Fridays, so Thursdays are essentially Friday to me (and every weekend is a three day weekend). The only downside to this is that Monday-Thursday is super busy for me. I'm taking 18 credit hours in order to graduate on time which is 6 classes. So, I have three classes each day and each class happens twice a week.

Today was kind of rough to start with, but it ended wonderfully. In my PR II class (Public Relations II), we had our client interviews today, which I was actually really nervous for but it honestly was not bad at all. The worst part was wearing a pencil skirt, which of course is something that I'll have to do in professional work anyway, so it's better to get used to it now rather than later.

My boyfriend, Michael, and I went to get mexican food when I got out of class. The past few weeks we keep saying, "Okay, TOMORROW we'll eat better" and yet it still hasn't happened. Today was hopefully the last day though because I honestly feel so much better when I work out often and eat healthy (plus I love trying out new recipes). I've also sort of just been lounging around with my kitten some today. Her name is Leia (yes, like Star Wars) and I love her to death. I've had her for almost a month now but she is so incredibly important to me and I've become so attached to her.

Wrightsville Beach: The most beautiful little beach you ever did see.

Afterwards, my friend Mary and I went out and adventured around our little beach town. I'm so lucky to have a friend like her and I really, truly hope that everyone does have someone that they can run to Krispy Kreme and get donuts with at 2 AM because that sort of random friendship is the best kind.

That's about all for this quick, little update. I had planned on doing this earlier today and a more extensive post will probably follow either tomorrow or Saturday, but I really hope everyone has friends, significant others, pets, parents, and other people as dear to them as they are to me. Life would honestly be nowhere as beautiful without them in it.

Little Pieces of Heaven in Wilmington

Some days it's nice to just take a break for a little bit and wander around the town you live. I'm a senior in college so this is now my fourth year living in Wilmington and there are still places that I'm discovering. In fact, I just went to Britt's Donuts for the first time this summer, which many locals may consider blasphemy (Which after trying them, I'll admit it was...yes, they're that good).

Manna, a restaurant in downtown Wilmington.

One of my favorite places in Wilmington is the downtown area. For those of you who don't know anything about Wilmington (or maybe even where it is), it's a beach town in North Carolina and has recently become labeled the "Hollywood East." The biggest movie filmed here to date was probably Iron Man 3, but other movies such as The Conjuring have been filmed here too, as well as the FOX hit television show, Sleepy Hollow.

Coffee from Port City Java, a local coffee shop with multiple locations spread throughout Wilmington.

The downtown Wilmington area is home to more than just star-studded action. Fridays and Saturdays are basically a street party with a wide array of clubs and bars to choose from (p.s. the best one is Goodfellas). Not to mention, there are basically a million places to choose to eat along with quaint, little shops and galleries.

The Pour House, a small tavern below the streets of downtown Wilmington.

One of these days, I'll get around to making a post that centers around the best eateries that downtown Wilmington has to offer, but until then I just wanted to offer a small taste.

Coastal Cupcakes, a speciality bakery.

For those of you who live in Wilmington, what is your favorite part of downtown?