Twenty While Twenty: Twenty Books

Part of the "Twenty While Twenty" list of goals that I created was to read twenty books. Here are all of the books that I read while I was twenty! (:

My hope for this challenge was that I would more than surpass the twenty books, but I didn't. I got a little too distracted with the internet and hulu, but I hope to be better about reading in the future. I have always enjoyed reading, but it seems harder now to know what books to read!

{With the exception of number five, all titles are linked to where you can read more about/purchase the books online.}

1. A Beautiful Mess by Elsie Larson & Emma Chapman

This book is full of ninety-five photography ideas. I thought that there were lots of great and inspiring tips inside. It made me want to go and take pictures right away!

2. Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger

I really enjoyed this sequel to The Devil Wears Prada. It was a little confusing at times when one chapter would all of the sudden be a flashback, or months further in the future, but all in all, I thought it was a good book.

3. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

This book was definitely weird with all of the Shakespearean references, and the first-person-plural narrative, but it was really good and I kept reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen with the three sisters!

4. I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne

I originally read this book my senior year of high school during British Literature, when I was writing a paper on Black Sabbath & Ozzy Osbourne. Yes, I love them and I may have freaked out when I saw Ozzy's star on the Hollywood Boulevard during spring break that year. Anyway, I think this is a really good book if you like rock 'n roll history!

5. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

I bought this book at Target, from the dollar spot when it was on clearance for fifty cents. I was so excited, because I have only watched the movie once, and I wanted to read the book. Well, when I went to read it, I found out that the copy that I bought is a condensed version. It was a quick read, but a good story. Maybe someday I will read the full version.

6. Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath by Tony Iommi

I really enjoyed this book! The only Black Sabbath stuff that I listen to is the stuff with Ozzy, so I didn't really know who Tony was talking about for about half of the book. It was cool to see an overlap with Ozzy's book and seeing both sides for a few stories. My favorite part about this book though, was that in the 369 pages, there were 90 chapters, so they were all relatively short.

7. Eight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney Otto

I can't remember if I first saw this on Kelle Hampton's blog, or if I saw it before then, and decided to read it after she talked about it. There are eight sections/chapters in this book, each about a different woman in a different place and time in history, and each chapter somehow comes back to the main character of the first section. It was about more than just taking pictures, it was about love and struggle and it was beautiful.

8. Space Kitty Blues by pat mAcdonald

I received this book last year from pat, and I wanted to wait a long time to read it. This book is semi-autobiographical, and I thought that it would be pretty weird to read this since I see pat so often. I was packing to leave for an overnight trip, and I wanted a book to read in the jacuzzi, so I grabbed this one, and I am so glad that I did. I didn't want to put it down. It's a great story and a quick read, with some beautiful quotes. Am I allowed to call this book cute?

"They were both just too beautiful for the worlds they were cast down into."

9. White Whine: A Study of First-World Problems by Streeter Seidell

I forgot where I first heard about this book, but I had to put it on hold at the library right away. This wasn't a novel or novella, every one to four pages would just talk about complaints made on social media from people who seem to have their lives pretty well off, with screenshot examples. The author has a website called White Whine, which is where the book is based off of.

10. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

This book is really good! There were a lot of other people in northeastern Wisconsin who wanted to read this book as well, because I was on the hold list for a month to get it! I was a little confused about why one of the three main characters was involved, but I really liked the way the book was written. There was a totally unexpected twist towards the end, and then the epilogue! The epilogue was probably my favorite part of the book, but it was all so, so good.

"This was how it could be done. This was how your lived with a terrible secret. You just did it. You pretended everything was fine. You ignored the deep, cramplike pain in your stomach. You anesthetized yourself so that nothing felt bad, but nothing felt good either."

11. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

I think I might have actually heard about this book before I heard about The Husband's Secret, but after I read The Husband's Secret, I knew that I had to read What Alice Forgot as well. The books aren't tied in with each other in any way, but I really like Liane's style of writing, and they were both such good books that I didn't want to put them down. The simple premise of this book is that Alice loses ten years of her memories, and it helps her see her life in a different perspective.

12. Finding Betty Crocker by Susan Marks

I picked this book up in the gift shop at the Mill City Museum when I was in Minneapolis. I thought that it was really cool to learn the history of Betty Crocker. There are even a few recipes in here, and it kind of makes me want to dress up as Betty for Halloween!

13. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

It took me a long time to get through this one, but I finally made it through! This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I don't really know what I was expecting, but I didn't think that it was going to be a month-by-month look at someone's year. I am glad that I read it; it was a great insight on things that could help make all of us a little bit happier.

14. Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison

I wandered into the library one day to find a book to read (and to get some books for one of my classes at the Y). I think I had heard about some of Beth's books before, and I decided to read this one first, since it seemed as though this was the first one of the three on the shelf. I devoured this book. If I didn't have to work, I would have finished this in less than a day. This is a great story about the lives of four women and how they are brought together by shoes.

15. Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger by Beth Harbison

I didn't like this one as much as I liked Shoe Addicts Anonymous. This one was a little weird because the main character, Quinn, was living a little bit in her past and was torn between two brothers while helping their grandmother get ready for her wedding. Oh, and Quinn almost married one of the brothers ten years before... Talk about small town life and drama.

16. Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that this book made me almost cry a couple times. I guess I just wasn't expecting to read a book about two recent high school graduates and have it apply so much (at times) to my life. The story here is that the girls are given their rooming assignments for their freshman year of college, and they start by talking about a couple things for their room, but they go back and forth all summer telling each other about what's going on in their lives. Two girls in different situations on different coasts, but they share their secrets before they even meet. It was a pretty quick read, and I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next!

17. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

The first thing that you need to know about this book is that it has nothing to do with that place you go for hot dogs and ice cream. I was browsing the YA section at the library, and I was reading a few of the inside covers, and I thought that I would read this one because it's about a girl who lives in Wisconsin. This book is centered around farming and football, two things that I don't really know a whole lot about, but there were enough moments that I could relate with DJ, the main character.

18. The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder

The story of a great adventure; an escape for two teenage girls. My very favorite part was when they spent the night at IKEA, which I would secretly love to do. Zoe and Hannah take off to escape some things that happen in their small town in New Jersey and end up on a tour of the United States. This was another tear-jerker.

19. The Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers

If I would have known that this was a book about twelve year olds, I wouldn't have picked it up. It was cute, but I think I am very much beyond that stage of my life. I did enjoy the way that the book was laid out. The main character (Tink) was writing an encyclopedia about her life, so there were alphabetical headings, which was nice because I like to have plenty of places where I can stop reading if I don't have a whole lot of time.

20. Violet on the Runway by Melissa Walker

Which girl doesn't have dreams of a career in fashion? I know that I was once planning on going to college for fashion merchandising or fashion marketing, but after I had my senior portrait session, a tiny part of me also wanted to model, even though I knew that that was never going to happen. Violet is a shy high school senior who gets discovered and ends up being a model. This book was a story of chasing your dreams and knowing when to stop chasing them.

21. Water Balloon by Audrey Vernick

I actually haven't finished this one, but I started this book before my birthday, so I thought I would include it as a bonus one. This is another book that ended up being about twelve year olds. Honestly, I judge books by their covers. I don't have a lot to say about this one yet, since I'm only about halfway done.

xoxo.

13/52 2014

this week was pretty good, but it was also a little bit of a bumpy ride. life is crazy sometimes, and we just have to ride the wave.

{I feel like this is a blog about my life, yet I don't really talk about my life, which is kind of strange.}

Wednesday 26 March // day eighty-five :: shoes. my pink ones are pretty beat up, so I don't wear those very often anymore. I have a blue pair as well, but I'm waiting until the weather gets nicer before I wear them for the first time!

Thursday 27 March // day eighty-six :: I didn't put Luna in the garage last night because I didn't feel like going back outside in the cold. apparently, we got a few inches of (heavy, wet) snow overnight. I was not too happy about that. At least my dad came by and plowed the driveway, and about half of the snow fell off right before I started to clean the car off so I could leave.

 
Friday 28 March // day eighty-seven :: I got to see one of my favorite musicians, Miss Geri X, in concert! it's still so weird to me to see her playing a different guitar, since I am used to seeing her with her black Babicz. it was a really fun night!

Saturday 29 March // day eighty-eight :: there's a phone in the phone booth again! it doesn't work, but it sure looks cool. and the 333 makes me so happy. we love you, Billy!

Sunday 30 March // day eighty-nine :: refrigerator. colored picture from one of my littles!

 
Monday 31 March // day ninety :: I was going through some stuff and I found some small things with big memories.
-nametag from my first job. I worked there for two and a half years with some really great people.
-writsband from my first concert: the Beach Boys at EAA Airventure in Oshkosh (2006)
-tiny harmonica from pat mAcdonald
-Livestrong bracelet that I wore until it literally broke
-royalty pin that came with my tiara for senior year homecoming
-editor bracelet from senior year yearbook. I wore that bracelet from the first day I got it that year through graduation.
-little seashell dude from one of the girls I used to do summer camp with

Tuesday 1 April // day ninety-one :: keys! the keymote is my favorite thing, and I wish that the door to my house had a remote. haha.

xoxo.

Pomp & Circumstance

On Friday evening, I graduated from college with my associate's degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management! There were about 1400 people graduating with me, but only about 325 of us walked.

All of us graduates had to get there an hour early to stand in a room. There were seven of us walking from my program, which our hospitality instructor said was a large number. The largest groups of graduates were from nursing and business management.

When I was standing with my group, I noticed that four of them were wearing gold cords (highest honors) and one was wearing teal cords (honors). I only got one, maybe two, B's in college, and the rest of my grades were A's, so I was wondering why I didn't have honor cords. I figured it was because I was added to the graduation list late, and I asked one of the other girls when she found out that she was honors. She said that she got the cords with her cap and gown. I was pretty annoyed and embarrassed that I didn't have cords too, since I thought that I had earned them.

After standing in the room for about an hour (and having our picture taken), we lined up to march into the other room where the ceremony was being held. I saw my mom, and she asked me where my cords were.

When we all sat down, I was looking at the program to make sure that I was listed, and I noticed that there were two asterisks by my name, indicating that I was graduating with highest honors. There was nothing on my card that I had to hand to the person to be announced when I walked across stage. I know that this isn't going to matter in five years, but I was pretty disappointed, especially because I just barely missed the cutoff for honors in high school.

college graduation. too many cameras and my dress is kind of short. December 2013.

high school graduation. June 2011.

xoxo.

tagged times three - an about me

I was tagged for the Sunshine Award & Six Things by Nicole, and the Liebster Award by Audrey! Nicole & Audrey are two of my previous partners from Cara Box! (:

I forgot that I was tagged for these until I saw the questions in my drafts, so I'll just answer the questions as kind of a getting to know you thing.

Six Things

Choose 6 questions you'd like:
What is your favorite animal and why?
Would you prefer a city break or a sun, sea, and sand vacation?

Both. Hello, Los Angeles.

If you could travel to one place in the world, where would it be?
How many countries have you traveled to?  How many of the 50 states?

Aside from the United States, I've only been to Canada. I've visited thirteen states: Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, California, and Missouri. I've also stepped into Florida {well, I spent a few hours in/on Amelia Island}, and I think I've driven through Indiana and Ohio.

What is your favorite thing about yourself (or quality you like in others if you don't wanna talk about yourself)?
What is the best advice someone has ever given you? 
What did you want to be when you grew up and what do you do now?

I think I wanted to be a teacher, or something in the fashion industry. I also wanted to be a ballerina at one point. I currently work at a hotel, and I think I'm going to be stuck in the hospitality industry for life! (;

What is a pet peeve of yours?

When people leave the light on when they're not using it! Like, I can understand if you don't want the room to be completely dark, but if you leave on all of the lights it drives me crazy!

What is the LAST concert you went to?

Todd Carey on my birthday!!!

What is something not a lot of people would know about you?

I pray a decade of the rosary every morning.


Sunshine Award

1. What is one thing that defined your childhood? (like, for me, I would say Harry Potter or Pokemon!)

I don't know! I used to play with Barbies and my American Girl doll {Kit} a lot when I was younger.

2. What is the last book you've read?

I am currently reading Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath by Tony Iommi, and I just finished {an abridged version of} the Wizard of Oz.

3. What is your favorite holiday and why? 

I would say Halloween, but my mom always says that that is not a holiday, so I will go with Christmas, because my dad's side of the family always gets together at my grandparents' house for dinner and presents and hanging out.

4. Which fictional character would you love to meet?

I used to be obsessed with the Clique by Lisi Harrison when I was in middle school/high school, and I would love to meet Massie Block so I could raid her closet! (;

5. What was your favorite activity in gym class?

When I was in high school, we used to get to go in the weight room a few days a week, and I would walk on the treadmill. Also, our gym teacher would make sure that we went for a walk or went cross country skiing at least once! Those were always fun trips.

6. Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska and why?

I would love to see both, so I guess it depends on what time of year it was! If it was summer, I would say Alaska, since that is when it is the mildest there, but if it was winter, I would want to escape from the snow here, so I would choose Hawaii for the weather and to visit my friend Meaghan who spends most of the year in Hawaii now.

7. What would your perfect day consist of?

reading and writing and photographing and laughter!

8. What was your first job?

I worked at Arby's for about two and a half years while I was in high school. There is photographic proof of this thanks to my grandmother.

9. Gold or silver?

Gold, hands down.

10. Do you collect anything? 

Well, I have a lot of Vera Bradley, but I don't know if that is really a collection. You know those machines at zoos and museums and such that flatten a penny and imprint a design on it? I have some of those somewhere.

I keep a lot of notes and stuff, and I have kept a lot of stuff related to school, work, personal life, and blogging.

11. What's your zodiac sign? Do you 'believe' in it?

I'm a Leo. I don't really believe in that kind of stuff, but I do think that it is interesting to read my horoscope sometimes.

Liebster Award

1. What is your favorite book?

hmmm. I don't know if I really have a favorite book. I guess my standard answer for this one is always The Lord of the Flies, which I read in seventh grade, but there aren't really any books that I can say stand out for a favorite.

2. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging so that I could have a place to share photos and stories, and so that I would remember what my life was like years down the road.

3. Who inspires you the most?

I am so blessed to have so many incredible people in my life. Among that group, many of them are musicians, and from that demographic, there is one person who stands out more than all of the rest: Miss Geri X. I've probably blogged before about how her music changed my life, and that is the truth. I feel like every song of hers applies to my life in some way.

April 2012

Plus she made that kickass pistol and heart lamp in the picture, and in addition to her art of music {vocals, guitar, keys, etc.}, she does some really pretty drawings. I would love to have her design a tattoo for me someday.

4. Any advice for new bloggers?

Enjoy yourself, share what you want to share, and don't be afraid to meet new people!

5. What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to take photos, bake, and paint my nails, and read, of course!

6. Do you have a favorite workout? If so, what?

hahaha. No. Sometimes I like to go for a walk, does that count?

7. What is your greatest achievement so far?

Um, I graduated high school? I am completing my last few credits to graduate with my associate's degree in hotel/restaurant management in December, and I haven't really done a whole lot with my life yet. I'm only twenty!

8. What is your favorite movie?

I don't really watch a lot of movies, but I would have to say that my favorite is probably the Breakfast Club.

9. What is one of your goals for the future?

I would like to move out of Door County and get a job where I can travel.

10. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?

There are so many places that I would love to visit! I want to go back to Los Angeles; I want to see more of Canada and more of the United States; I would also love to visit Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

11. What is your favorite TV show?

There are only a few shows that I actually watch, and I would have to say that Modern Family is my favorite.

xoxo.

vivid memory

senior homecoming.

so I guess the school I go to is pretty small, compared to most other schools. there were probably about 115 of us in my graduating class. traditionally, during the beginning of your junior year, all juniors would vote for who was going to be on court for Sadie Hawkins and Prom {most popular 16 guys & girls, basically} that spring. in the fall, 8 guys and 8 girls who had played a sport all four years of high school {who weren't already on court for one of the other dances} would be chosen for Homecoming court. there weren't enough girls in our class who met that criteria, so some of the girls had played a sport for 1 to 3 years, others of us were chosen for another extracurricular. so that's how I ended up being on Homecoming for Yearbook! haha.

{disclaimer: I took some of the photos in this post, some were taken by my mom, others by other moms. the outside group shots were taken by Matt Orthober, and the inside group shots were taken by Jason Mann. all photos have been watermarked with my name because they are on my blog, not because I am taking credit for them. the photos and their rights belong to the individual photographer.}

{also, I hope no one gets mad that I posted these photos!}

So here's how Homecoming week went at my high school:

- each day has a dress up theme, such as "dress like a teacher" or "twin day." Friday is always red & white {our school colors} and most people will where their sports jersey/boyfriend's sports jersey/Homecoming shirt

- each day at lunch there is a contest, one of these was a cheese eating contest {hello, Wisconsin}

- Wednesday night is the Powderpuff football game, juniors vs. seniors

- Friday afternoon everyone gets out of class early when the band goes around school playing music, we all go to the gym for a pep rally, and then there is a parade around town, then there's a tailgating party and bonfire before the football game

- the dance is on Saturday night

there are lots of contests and such to win points for your class. these include the lunchtime contests {carstuffing and men's volleyball are popular}, dress up days, float decoration, other contests during the pep rally, etc. whichever class {or teachers} wins gets the spirit stick, which is presented during the pep rally. traditionally the seniors win.

our theme for the week was "Red Monster." the Homecoming shirts that you will see below have the Monster logo for that reason. Lincoln's mom went to the local distributor and got a bunch of Monster drinks and stickers donated for the dance!

my dress is from Deb, and the brand is City Triangles. the shoes I'm wearing are from Target. I still have both the dress and the shoes, and I actually wore the outfit for a Halloween party this year! haha. also, that tiara has been worn for two Halloweens and two birthdays now! definitely got my $19 out of it! (:

me & Destini in Sociology

me & Erin in Yearbook

me & Heather in Yearbook

being announced at the pep rally! me with my escort Christian

during the parade. yes, we are in boats! haha. I wore his cross country jacket that night. ps - my posters look super terrible.

me & Kelsey! after the parade, her mom got Subway for us, and we ate before heading over to the soccer game. since the game started during the parade, Kelsey and Destini were in a float together {their escorts were both on the soccer team}. the game was like a sectional or regional championship game and we won! this picture was taken at the bonfire.

Kelsey and I went across the street to school to help decorate the gym during the football game.

after everyone else showed up. I think this was something along the lines of "our muscles are bigger than Mr. Blizel's!" haha.

random group shot. Dylan, Katie, Kiana, Destini, Kelsey, me, & Cody

after we decorated the gym, we had to practice the grand march.

Katherine did my hair of course! (: this is when Max was still a baby (:

corsage

we all met up at Hunter's house to get our pictures taken, and then we went to a local supper club for dinner.

with my parents

Erin, me, & Heather. one of my favorite pictures with them! (:

Kelsey, me, & Destini {side note: I'm pretty sure that I was the only girl on court who wasn't wearing a necklace. haha}

group shot by Matt Orthober. Kyle, Meredith, Devon, Heather, Destini, Alex, Kelsey, Kyle, Kiana, Hunter, me, Christian, Katie, Dylan, Cody, Lincoln, Erin, Josh, Hannah, & Michael

the girls! {Matt Orthober photo} I'm pretty sure it was my idea to have the spirit stick for photos, and I think Kelsey's mom was the one who stole it for us! (:

Meredith, Kelsey, me, Kiana, Lincoln, Erin, Destini, Hannah, Heather, & Katie

group shot with the spirit stick by Matt Orthober. Devon, Meredith, Kyle, Kelsey, Dylan, Kyle, me, Alex, Kiana, Lincoln, Erin, Cody, Destini, Hunter, Christian, Hannah, Michael, Josh, Heather, & Katie

labeling these group shots reminds me of Yearbook. I should have labeled by rows, but I don't remember if it starts at the top or the bottom. oh well. I digress.

me & Christian. photo by Matt Orthober. I'm really bad at getting my picture taken, because I always blink! when Matt took my school picture for junior year, it took like ten times, no joke. of the four pictures that Matt took of us this night, this is the only one with my eyes open. oops.

after dinner, we went back to school for the dance, where we were like ten minutes late! haha.

I want to say that the grand march was at 11:30. we walked to "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz.

right before the grand march. photo by Jason Mann.

photo by Jason Mann

walking.

after crowning king and queen. photo by Jason Mann.

row 1: Cody & Erin, Katie & Devon
row 2: Michael & Lincoln, Hannah & Josh, Kelsey & Kyle
row 3: Christian & me, Alex & Destini, King Dylan & Queen Meredith, Kiana & Hunter, Heather & Kyle

we danced to Seal's "Kiss from a Rose."

xoxo.

I was once told...

Day 25: something someone told you about yourself that you'll never forget (good or bad)

So I've been trying to document my life through journaling so that I have something to go back on later in life and remember little things that were important to me at that point in my life. One of the things that I've tried to write down is things that people say about me. I'm going to take this prompt slightly different, and write some of my favorite quotes that people have said to/about me, and elaborate on them. Maybe through my reading through old journals I'll find one that goes well for this prompt!

"Teresa looks pretty without her glasses on." - M

I got my glasses right before sixth grade ended, because I was having trouble reading the chalkboard. I could still see up close, so when I was reading a book, I would take my glasses off. My tablemate said that one about me in seventh grade, and I remember putting my glasses right back on once he said that! haha. I think that my nose looks too big when I don't have my glasses on, that's why I won't get contacts!

"Smile and try to have a nice day." - Dan

I used to work in fast food for about the first two and a half years of high school. More specifically, I worked at Arby's. I totally used to mess with this manager I had {Dan} especially if it was just us plus this other girl {Taylor}. Good times. This made me laugh so hard when I found it!

"Do you take that camera everywhere?" "Yeah, I'm on yearbook." "I still have that picture in my binder. And on Facebook." - Christian

At the time, I never realized that I would always have a camera with me! As I'm looking back at these old journals, I remembered taking this awesome {yet totally grainy due to zoom} picture of Christian playing badminton during study hall one day. This made me smile. (:

"This is why you don't do sudoku in pen!" - Christian

Um, I used to be obsessed {and pretty good at} sudoku. Also, I write in pen 99% of the time. Can't help it! (;

"She's like a five-year-old on Christmas!" - Kyle

I was on the yearbook my junior and senior years of high school. My senior year I was the editor in chief! This is an extremely accurate quote to describe my excitement. In this case, it was probably over like a font or something.

"You look like baby Jesus." - Joey

My senior year of high school, I was one of the managers for the boys' swim team {this is probably a story for another day}. One morning, I was standing on deck in a sunbeam, and apparently had a glow around me?

"If you say sorry one more time, you owe me ten dollars." - Delaney

 I say sorry a lot. Like, a lot a lot. More like all the time! My high school classmates would get on my case about it as well, which would just cause me to apologize again.

"Teresa is my right arm." - my manager

It feels so good to know that I matter at work, and what I do matters! It's great to feel appreciated. I love my job!

xoxo.