Sunday Fun Day

Ohhhh Halloween weekend, how you always creep up on me. I'm kinda ashamed to say this year I did not dress up. But if I went out I would have been Tom Cruise from risky business because it's easy to be and I didn't have to spend a dime! :) I'm frugal when it comes to spending money on unnecessary things. 
I live in a garden apartment in the city. My buzzer has already buzzed at least 3 times and every time I go to the door and no one's there. Then I remember its halloween and they go up the stairs to the 2 flats above me and they just hit the wrong buzzer. Good thing they didn't come down to my apartment though, I didn't buy candy this year. opps!
Anyways, last night I went out to dinner and ice cream with my boyfriend. We went to a little bar/lounge in Lincoln Park and it was so good! What was even better was the frozen yogurt we got afterwards. If anyone is ever in Chicago and wants AMAZINGLY delicious frozen yogurt, go to Berry Moon on Clark Street. I don't know about anyone else, but no matter HOW much dinner I eat, I will always eat dessert. I think I have a separate stomach for dessert.  
Well, that is all for today. I want to keep reading others blogs today and I still have homework to do. :( I'll leave you with this quote (I blame my sister for getting my obsessed with quotes! Thanks Kate) lol
"Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian".-- Shari R. Barr

day dreaming...i mean math class

I wish all of these three rooms were in my future house. I LOVE the openenss of the lofted bedroom. The kitchen is modern, yet homey. I love that! And of course the family room has a gorgeous view and seems so open. I love the open layout concept. Makes the home feel so much bigger and everyone can interact with everyone. Oh, how I love to day dream and wish about these things while in class. This is a perk of having the internet on my computer in the math lab! :)

These pictures are a result of bordem in math class. I'm learning probability of flipping coins. I've done this since I was in 4th grade...I'm now a senior in college. Please tell me why my professor insists on repeating things 7 times in a voice like his directing traffic on a highway. UGH!!! GET ME OUTTTTA HERE EARLY PLEASEEE!!!
 I love everything about this kitchen!
  I love the openess feel of this bedroom. I could proabably only sleep in here though until I get annoyed from not having any privacy. :/ the views of this room are GORGEOUS!!



ps. Does anyone have a Kindle? I would like reviews on it pleaseee!!! :)

10...ok 13, things you MIGHT not know about me

So, some thing you might not know about me is that I have a lot of quirks, habits and obsessions. I'll only list 10, to save you the time and me the energy to think of more. Here it goes:

1. I LOVE puppies, dogs, and animals in general. Over the summer I fostered two different litters of puppies from Animal House Shelter in Huntly. I loved fostering. The shelter gave me food, their puppy medicine, a cage and some toys! I didn't get paid either. If you or someone you know would like to help saving more dogs and foster click here to go to their website. I miss them though. I hope they are all doing well! (The first 3 pictures are of my puggle pups and the last 2 are of boxer-mix pups) 

      

2. I day dream all day long. Sometimes I day dream up until I go to sleep and I'll actually dream about it that night. 

3. I'm a 'future' thinker. I love to think about the future. I think about moving into my own apartment/house, establishing a solid and secure teaching career, and of course getting married and starting a family and all the jazz. I wish being a stay at home mom came with an annual income salary :) But I'm still living my life in this moment, right now. 

4. Because I like to think about the future a lot, I am a HGTV and TLC fanatic. I watch, 'Say Yes To The Dress', 'House Hunters', and 'Property Virgins' to name a few. 

5. I have a skin condition called Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome. I have very light and pale skin. This makes my skin an easier target for sun to damage my body. Most of my freckles can turn into dysplastic nevi. That means if I'm not careful they can turn harmful and may turn into skin cancer. I wear sun screen everyday in both summer and winter. So far, I've had 5 moles/ freckles removed that showed more irregular cells and needed to be removed with a surgical procedure. 5 moles gone and I'm sure there will be 5 more sometime in the future.

6. If I wasn't going to school to be a teacher, I would 110% be a real estate agent. Ever since I could remember I have been interested with looking inside people's houses. Seeing how they are set up inside, how big (or small) the houses are and how much money you can get in different parts of the state and even elsewhere in the country. 

7. Growing up I hated reading. I was never good at it. About a year and a half ago, I started to read for enjoyment and I loved it. I love reading what I want and not what school tells me I have to read. I wish I had more time to read. If anyone has any good recommendations, please let me know. :)

8. I only have one sister. We're 20 months apart. Growing up, we did not get along. As we both got older and more mature we got a lot closer. I sometimes wish I had more siblings or a brother to bother and beat up. But that's what my future family is for! :) And I know my sister and my parents will be the best aunt and grandparents ever! (In like 6 years mom, don't freak out) lol

9. I found a new fascination with hot tea. My roommates drink coffee. I have tried to like coffee and I just can't come to drink it. Tea on the other hand....LOVE it. I love all the flavors. I got my teapot for $7 at Target and tea is cheap. So I'm happy I found a new drink that is cheap and delicious! 

10. I love shoes. They're just so dang expensive that I can never afford them. I can't wait to be able to buy whatever I want when I finally have a steady income. 

11. I'm very indecisive. I wish I can hire someone to make decisions for me. Example #1: I have changed my major over 5 times. Example #2: I have been to 3 colleges and University's. Enough said. haha!

12. If I could eat two foods for the rest of my life it would be ice cream and pizza. I can eat more ice cream than anyone I know.

13. Over summer 2011 I'm going to get 4 different certificates that will hopefully broaden my work resume and make me more marketable. I'm going to get a Professional Organizer certification, a Real Estate certification, a Wedding consultant certificate and a veterinarian assistant! I'm so excited!!!!

Another Day

One thing I am very passionate about is teaching. I love helping others and making an impact on children. I'm going into Elementary Education and in a year I will be student teaching!! :) This quarter, I'm a volunteer math tutor in a low-income, low parent involvement, bad neighborhood Elementary School in the city of Chicago. I tutor about ten 2nd graders that have a math proficiency level of a kindergarten. I go once a week for about an hour. I go with one of my education professors. This experience has really opened my eyes into a new educational world that (I guess) I was oblivious to. 

Yesterday, after our tutoring session my Professor and I started walking out. She was headed towards her car and I was headed toward the CTA, which were in the same direction. We got to the first side street on the right and saw a bunch of African-American KIDS in a circle. I heard screams, shouts and crying. As I'm walking across the street I cannot believe what I am seeing just 10 feet off the school campus. My professor says, "Kristen! Get in my car now! Do you see a gun?" I jumped in her car and looked back at the fight. I saw no gun, but we didn't know for sure. Anything could have been going on.

A boy (looks about 8th grade) is kicking and punching this little boy (looks about 4th or 5th grade) and won't get off of him. Other kids are kicking the big kid trying to get him off this little boy. I see an innocent, little boy crying, whaling, in the fetal position on the corner of an apartment building. I hear, "Yo dude, give him all his stuff back!" My professor and I called the cops, along with other passerbys. The big kid ran off with his backpack, wallet, and shirt. I started shaking. The little boy crying, was comforted by an older sister. He got up and limped away before the cops got there. The older people or neighbors that came to his rescue tried to convince him to stay there until the police came but he refused.

I look back and think that this poor little kid is probably use to this stuff. It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon and this kid is on the ground getting kicked and beaten up. I couldn't believe my eyes. As I stood there I felt so helpless and sad. Gang's and fights are probably so common where they live. The sad part is the bully that beat him up got away with no punishment or anything because they couldn't find him. The kid that got beat also wasn't there to give a description or anything. He just limped away as if it was 'just another day...just another fight.'

I was in such a sad mood afterwards. My professor drove me home. I reflect on that day and wish I could just take that little boy home with me and show him a safe neighborhood. I still get choked up even writing it now. I felt SO helpless, scared and sad.

 I wonder if these children have role models? Do they know what love is at home? Do they even feel safe in their house? I think about the teachers these kids have and if they have an impact on these little boys. Or if this teacher is someone who they can come to talk to? I just hope one day I can be a teacher that children feel safe with and can talk to me about anything. I feel truly blessed that I grew up in a GREAT neighborhood, with a SAFE house and LOVING family and friends that brought me up to who I am today.

To Blog or Not to Blog?

So I've been debating over the past week whether or not to start blogging. I read some 'advice' online about writing blogs, how to maintain them and where to start. However, the majority of the advice I read said that I should write about something I'm passionate about and stick with it. Well, I'm passionate about many things, not just one! Therefore, I'm going to look at this new blogging experience as a place to put my thoughts, stories, opinions, experiences and even future hopes and dreams of mine as I get older.


The one question I get asked the most during interviews are, "If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?" This is the simplest and shortest way that I can tell you a little bit about myself without boring you. I often have a hard time picking JUST three, but I usually say, "Funny, kind and motivated." I also sometimes say, organized, honest, passionate and loyal, among others. This is me in a nut shell. I hope by blogging I can share with you my passions and hobbies, in hopes of learning more about you too. 


So as I start this new hobby of mine, feel free to post comments or advice for me! I look forward to reading them and commenting on yours as well!!