Day 19!

Day 19: Make a Drink.

I had planned on a long night with a good friend making margaritas and mixing them with coronas. It's one of my favorite drinks, and I want it to be my signature.

Until I heard that I was waking up at 5:00AM the next morning to drive Matt & Troy to run thirteen miles in the cold. Cancel the coronita, I'm going to sleep at 7.

So I made myself a drink at dinner to experiment, and to fulfill the "make a drink" for today's blog. Triple Sec, Gin, and Orange Juice tasted good for the first few minutes, and then it just tasted like disappointment. Let's call it "Walk of Shame."

One of these days I'm going to make the deliciousness that is the Coronita. Mostly so I don't have to spend $7.00 on it anymore at On the Border, but also because I want it to be my signature. I'll make it with the friend I always drink it with and play Lady Gaga & Beyonce's "Telephone" in the background. Because the best drinks are made with the best of friends.

Day 18!

Day 18: Get Rid of the Negative.

I had no idea how many negative thoughts run through my head in one day.

Until today.

I considered myself a fairly optimistic person who enjoyed the art of sarcasm as my form of humor. What I didn't think about was how much of my humor was fueled by my negative thoughts.

Yesterday morning, I woke up feeling like I was hit by a train. I was incredibly sick, I had already had a day off from work that week, and I knew I had to get to work somehow. So between getting sick and getting ready, somehow I made it into work. I proceeded to have the most pathetic attempt at working for one hour before I knew I had to give up and go home. White flag.

So as I was laying on my couch, thinking of the repercussions this could cause me at work, feeling bad for myself, drinking water and eating soup, I tried to think of the positive in this scenario. I get to watch re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond all day because Drew Carey makes it impossible to watch The Price is Right when you're sick, I guess. But when I started thinking of the positives, I wasn't feeling better. I was feeling guilty.

How dare I think of the positives of being sick from work today! I'm missing work, damn it, and we're really far behind! So I read work emails until I fell asleep because the mental fight between feeling guilty or feeling negative was too much for my sick-brain to handle.

And after a long day of the back-and-forth, I had to pick up my friend Troy from the airport. He's never been to Philadelphia and was excited to experience all of the charms and magic our city had to offer. Within the first hour in the city, he had made a Good List and a Bad List. Here's what it looked like:

Bad:

Traffic

Pollution

A lot of cops

Building on fire

Guy peeing on the side of a CVS

Good:

Cheesesteaks

I attempted to think of the people in traffic as having their own story and coming from nice, loving families, until someone cut me off on the boulevard. Then the screaming commenced and Philly Danielle scared the hell out of Charlotte Troy.

But if you would have caught me on my day off this week, which consisted of a manicure, teriyaki steak, and a Ryan Gosling movie, it would have been much easier to write today's blog. So let's just pretend that Friday was Wednesday, and that I didn't fail at being a positive person amidst the traffic and disease.

Day 17!

Day 17: Take a half hour of complete peace & quiet.

Well, the November Project followers, I failed today.

Anyone that has spent more than ten minutes with me probably knows that I hate silence. I find it incredibly awkward. I make small talk with everyone from gas station attendants to the random person that's checking their mailbox at the same time as me. If I spend more than a few minutes near someone, it's pretty likely I'll break the silence.

During my lunch-break today, I had to run to the grocery store. I thought, great, this is the perfect opportunity to complete Day 17. I promised myself I would enjoy the quiet time. After racing through the aisles, twenty minutes in, I already fought breaking the "peace and quiet" by talking to the cart collector as I walked in, commenting to a guy buying Us Weekly, or giving a high five to someone in a Michael Vick shirt (it took everything in me NOT to say something to him!) By the time I was at the cashier, I was CONVINCED it had been thirty minutes, and I made every small talk comment possible, including, "Can you believe how cold out it is?," and "Crazy you guys are open on Thanksgiving!" When I got to the car, I realized it had only been 27 minutes, oops.

This 1/2 hour for me, well almost 1/2 hour, was not peaceful or quiet. It was almost painful for me to stay silent that long. My point today is, sometimes, you have to embrace who you are, and maybe that's what makes everyday extraordinary.

I hope everyone else was more successful at Day 17 than me!

Day 16!

Day 16: Plan a Trip.

I love Disney.

No really, I'm confident that this is, in fact, the happiest place on earth.

I went to Disney for the first time in the summer of 2010 on a family vacation, and I fell in love with the lights and the magic. If it weren't for the expensive prices holding me back, I'd probably go every weekend.

On the other hand, Matt suggested to me a few months back that we start a "Vacation Fund." We wouldn't spend any of our change, and instead, would put it right into the vacation fund. I had no idea how big of a difference my change would make, but half a container of Glenfidditch later, filled with quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies, we have what appears to be almost $150.00 in change:

Our plans are to go to Universal/Disney [select parks, of course finally featuring Harry Potter] for our three year anniversary in July. Three years. I can't believe time has gone by this quickly, but I'm also hoping the next seven months fly by. I'm ready to ride a magic carpet again.

So get a bottle, a container, a whatever-you-have, and refuse to spend your change. Put it directly in your vacation fund, and you'll be shocked at how much you can save towards your dream come true.

Day 15!

Day 15: Volunteer

Not only is November full of fun calendar days we have composed, but nationally, November has special days marked on it's calendar each year.

Today, two special national days come to mind: November 15 is National Philanthropy Day & November 11 is Veterans day. In the spirit of these special days, I decided to combine the two causes in my volunteering.

Can you imagine being deployed in the military? Leaving your home, family, friends and comfort zone for months to do your job? Sometimes, I feel restless leaving my home for an eight hour workday. So, today, I decided to write a few letters to soldiers through the website: http://www.letterstosoldiers.org/

More than ever, I'm reminded that no matter how bad my day might seem, there are people out there that are fighting much larger battles. Even though I'm not there to fight these battles, it's extraordinary for me to know I can contribute by doing something as small as writing a few letters of thanks.

I hope everyone had a fabulous November 15 and if you volunteered today, comment and share below!

Day 14!

Day 14: Make a Playlist.

I have 2,000 songs in my Itunes.

That probably seems low compared to most people, but I'm the kind of girl who wants her music organized, and doesn't have a lot of time to organize it. Adding more music would be neglecting the music I already have, and I've always been taught to make the best of what you have rather than wanting more of what you don't.

I'm also the kind of girl who is incredibly nostalgic about life. I idealize my past and would do anything to travel back and experience most of it again.

Which is why today was a great excuse for me to make a playlist called, "I'll Be Your Memory," named after that lovely Sugarcult classic--a playlist of songs that remind me of my past.

The playlist is forty songs of memories. Here's a sample of my past:

1.) "Everything is Alright" - Motion City Soundtrack

*Riding around in Laura Stomber's SUV all around Wingate until we got so lost we had to use a GPS to find our way back to campus--belting out this song at the top of our lungs.

2.) "Since You've Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson

3.) "The Potion" - Ludacris

*Singing this with my best friend in the whole world.

4.) "No Leaf Clover" - Metallica

5.) "All for You" - Janet Jackson

6.) "Telephone" - Lady Gaga

*Zack dancing to this song at my Christmas party.

7.) "Blue & Yellow" - The Used

8.) "Boogie Shoes" - KC & the Sunshine Band

*Every Chi Omega formal, semi-formal, or parking lot dance party.

9.) "American Baby" - Dave Matthews Band

10.) "Angel" - Shaggy

*My first boyfriend I met at church camp sent me these lyrics in the mail. "Peeps" was very romantic language.

11.) "Apologize" - Timbaland/OneRepublic

12.) "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" - Jet

*The prettiest-looking boy I ever met sang this to me in Myrtle Beach. He was a waiter at the Hard Rock Cafe, and I'm also fairly certain he is a fairy.

13.) "Back Here" - BB Mak

14.) "Bass Down Low" - Dev & the Cataracts

15.) "Beat It" - Fall Out Boy [cover]

*Every summer with Bobby, Michael, Zach, Troy, in Bobby's hot-tub, Bobby's tree-house, or Bobby's "property."

16.) "Big Casino" Jimmy Eat World

17.) "Breakdown" - Forever the Sickest Kids

*Having a dream come true, and covering Warped Tour as a published writer.

18.) "Build Me Up Buttercup" - The Foundations

*An 11 day trip to Tunisia, North Africa with classmates I will never forget.

19.) "Cell Block Tango" - Chicago Soundtrack

20.) "Change Your Mind" - Sister Hazel

*Crowd surfing. Being dropped on my head. Experiencing one of the best weekends I've ever had at Wingate, two weeks before I graduated.

21.) "Chasing Cars" - Snow Patrol

*Getting wasted in the ocean in the Bahamas because of the coconut man.

22.) "Cherry Pie" - Warrant

23.) "Chewing Gum" - Annie

24.) "Chillin'" - Wale

25.) "Chop Me Up" - Justin Timberlake/Three-Six Mafia

*Spring Break of sophomore year in Tampa, Florida and a spring break cruise to kill.

26.) "Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk" - Rufus Wainwright

27.) "Cry for Mercy" - Jeffrey B. Scott

*The song I heard when I was eleven years old and decided to become a Christian.

28.) "Do You Like It" - Our Lady Peace

29.) "ET" - Katy Perry

30.) "Everybody" - BSB

31.) "Everytime We Touch" - Cascada

32.) "Grace Kelly" - Mika

33.) "Headsprung" - LL Cool J

*A high school homecoming dance I planned against the wishes of the administration. It completely ousted formal, and I'm still damn proud of it.

34.) "Hey Ya" - Outkast

*The soundtrack to my junior year of high school.

35.) "I'm Feelin' This" - Blink 182

36.) "I'm Real" - The Starting Line

37.) "It's Tricky" - Run DMC

38.) "The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World

39.) "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.

*Dancing in the parking lot of Pizza Hut with 30 of my sisters.

40.) "That's Not My Name" - The Ting Tings

*Dancing in the kitchen with my mom and not caring who was watching.

There are so many songs that remind me of the most wonderful memories with friends and family--songs that have kept me remembering the good memories and the best of friends. I hope your playlist today reminded you of love for other people or love for yourself.

Music has a way of doing that.

Day 13!

Day 13: Celebrate Someone Special in your Life

Long before the November Project started, the 13th day of November has always been a celebration for me, it's my brother's birthday! Being 1,000 miles from home, I decided to still celebrate one of my favorite people, Matt, by reflecting on him, drinking his favorite beverage: scotch, and eating a cupcake!

Being 12 months & 2 weeks apart, Matt & I were fortunate to grow up pretty close. Don't get me wrong, we definitely argued like brother and sister and still occasionally do. I still get teased for saying during a fight when we were younger - "I wish Mommy & Daddy only had 2 kids" and he quickly replied "Me too, then it would only be me & Pat". Despite the silly fights... we've gone through a ton and he's remained one of the constant, supporting people in my life.

Like the time he drove down to Wingate for my homecoming:
or my Graduation:
or came to visit Memphis (not to mention helped me move in 8 month earlier!):
I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world to call Matt my old brother, and be able to celebrate such a fun, loyal, and funny person today.

November 13, will always be a celebration for me, and as I finish sipping on scotch, (seriously Matt how do you enjoy this stuff?), I wish everyone has someone as special as Matt to celebrate today.