It's all about balance.

I feel like everyday I just try to balance. Most days it is more difficult than I think it will be.
I have noticed this materialistic attitude that I have, that I absolutely, positively hate. I have convinced myself that I need so many things.
I need a smartphone, I need new jeans, I need new bras, underwear, shoes, hair clips, jewelry.
Ugh. But then once I convince myself that I do not need things, I look at blogs and like someone's outfit, or wish I could take cool Instagram pictures on my phone and put them on my blog or I want to have the same art print for my kitchen. Blah, blah, blah.
We are so wired to always be thinking of the next things we want, when we don't even really want those things. We want the experiences that are advertised to come with those things. I want to have cool pictures of my life to share with you, and my family, and my future children and my old, old self. I want to look that cute, I want to see that art print everyday and remember its message.
It's advertising. I can't stand advertising. It tells you that you are going to become so much happier once you have your hands on that product, but it's empty. It is a completely empty promise. You will not be happier. Happiness comes only from within, not inanimate objects.
Yeah, I would love that new pair of shoes and to buy that cute dress from MODcloth, but I would rather save my money to use to experience something real. Go to Europe, go see Annie, go home, go see Denby. Go, see, do.

I have never been much of an outdoors kind of girl, but these days I find myself aching to go outside. I live in Montana for God's sake and I have gone hiking maybe five times in my whole life. Montana has two national parks, tons and tons of empty space and beautiful mountains. I just want to be outside. I want to go hiking, I want to swim in a lake, I want to camp. But I have to work 40+ hours per week and take summer classes. I feel so fenced in and unable to do what I want. Geeeeeez.

On a lighter note, I fly out Thursday to go to Minnesota and see one of my best friends, Annie, get married!!!!!! I am able to go because of the incredible generosity of her parents, who, once they found out I couldn't make it to the wedding (not enough frequent flier miles, flights out of Missoula are $600 one way to Minnesota, YUCK!) they pooled their own frequent flier miles to fly me down there. I fly out on Thursday, the wedding is on Friday and I leave on Sunday. It will be a very quick trip, but I am so exctied to see Annie and Drew, see Minnesota, see where Annie grew up, see one of my best friends get married (what? we are this old?) and to get out of the dorms for awhile! EEEEEEK!

much love TO YOU.

Tiny letters.

Dear Garlic-chicken-broccoli-noodle dinner,

you are so yummy.

I can't stop eating you.

Dear Tori,

Happy Anniversary to you and Luke.

I love you so much and I am so happy that you and Luke are happy!

Dear Residence Life Office,

Please have more hours for me to work, so I can stop freaking out.

Dear banana bread,

Please make yourself.

I want to eat you so badly, but I don't have the energy to make you.

Dear Jeff's yucky stuffed up nose,

Stop being!

You are making him spit nasty loogies everywhere.

It's gross.

Love,

Libby

um. i'm sorry.

oh hey.

Sorry I have been such a terrible, terrible blogger lately. Spring semester comes and goes so quickly, I feel like it was January, like, two days ago! I rarely had time to do anything enjoyable since February, so here I am. I am back and hoping to be regular again (not like the bowel movement type, the blogging type!)!!

Here are a few highlights from the past few months:

I went home to celebrate my 21st birthday and went to an Elton John concert with mine and Jeff's families. Sunday morning, before the concert, we baptized Jameson my handsome nephew.

(Tall one and I enjoying my first 21 year old drinks together!)

I finished my junior year with a 3.8 GPA (eff you, linguistics!), watched two of my best friends graduate and moved into the actual, long awaited apartment!! EEEEEK!

It isn't completely set up yet, but when it is there will be pictures...many, many pictures. This is making me happy, man.

I have been in my apartment for six days and am pretty settled in. My brother brought up my queen-sized bed from Billings, as well as an old couch from our basement. I am so in love with my apartment! Except for the fact that they (who are they? I don't know) shut off ALL hot water on campus, and I have been forced to shower at Jeff's house. Ick, boy showers. But I shouldn't be complaining because a lot of the summer staff for Residence Life has been showering in cold water on campus because they have no where else to go. I guess I am thankful that I had icky boy showers. Okay, wait. Icky boy showers sounds like I had showers with icky boys and that didn't happen. What I mean by icky boy showers is that I showered in the same shower as icky boys. Yep.

So, now I am working as a summer supervisor for Residence Life and there is much working involved. We work 40 hours per week and I am taking a summer class as well, soooo you know.

BUT I HAVE A KITCHEN, A KITCHEN, A KITCHEN, A KITCHEN. I went grocery shopping today and it was the most exciting thing EVER. Plus the most expensive thing ever. But I don't even care. I love, love, love my kitchen. Yay!!!!!

Much love, peeps.

I promise it won't be long =)

Old movies.

So, I seriously love, love, love old movies. Usually, I see them on Turner Classic Movie Channel completely in the middle of the movie, and I have no idea what is going on, but I can't stop watching. I love everything about them. I love how stylized they are. I love how the actors speak, so deliberately and deeply. I love how they are produced and made with such quality and care.

One of my favorites is Gone With The Wind. I absolutely love Scarlett O'Hara, even though she is a royal pain in the you-know-what. She is so determined, even though her determination is often self destructive and ruthless. I love her story and I love her independence.

Mostly, though, I love her dresses.

Vivien Leigh is so beautiful and talented!

This one is my favorite. Scarlett wears it on Christmas when Ashley comes home from war.

This is the dress she wears to the bar-be-que in the beginning. So pretty!!

Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era. Can you imagine wearing dresses like this everyday? I would probably actually hate it, but they are so feminine and gorgeous!!

So, this is what I am doing with my day. Watching Gone With The Wind in the office and doing some random homework. Tomorrow I go home for birthday celebrations and Elton John! I can not wait!!!!

New Apartment!!!!

Okay guys!

Since my promotion to Head Resident, I now get to be completely OBSESSED with decorating a new aparment.

I move in on May 15th or 16th and (get this) it is an actual apartment! Not like the we're-saying-it's-an-apartment-but-really-it's-the-smallest-room-in-the-building-with-a-bathroom-attatched kind of apartment that I have now, But a real live apartment complete with kitchen, dining area, living room, bedroom, AND bathroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My excitement can NOT be expressed. The kitchen is what I am most pumped about, if you couldn't tell. A kitchen?! A kitchen!!! OH DEAR GOD, A KITCHEN! I love, love, love, love to cook and bake and not having one seriously bums me out. The kitchen is super, ultra tiny and retro and I absolutely love it! It has an over that is about, maybe, 16 inches wide (super tiny!) and only three burners, a mini-fridge and not very much storage space. BUT WHO CARES!

To add to the fridge space, I am bringing my own mini-fridge (two mini-fridges equals one big fridge, right?). I am buying a microwave cart to put my microwave on, so that it doesn't take up more of my non-existent counter space. I am also going to put some nails in the wall next to the sink so that I can hang skillets and stuff and they won't take any of my already limited storage space.

Also, after a few days of being frustrated by trying to find a nice, used bar type of table that won't take up very much room, Jeff's brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law told me they had the perfect one and would just give it to me! It is dark wood, square and has two bar stools that come with it! Geee!!!

My parents are giving me an old loveseat and I am keeping the BFC (Big Freakin' chair) and my parents are also letting me take my queen sized bed from home!!!! I bought this duvet cover for it...

It is reversible! I think I will mostly keep it on the side without the flowers... Geez, I can not wait to move in and decorate. It is seriously one of my favorite things to do! YAY DECORATING TIME!!!!

hi...

(For some reason this blog will not stay formatted, so I am very sorry for the HUGE post without any paragraph breaks. I tried!) (I am saying this in a whisper) Hi...I'm sorry for being gone so long. Forgive me? (This, I am saying at my normal voice level...which is loud) HI!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD, FRIENDS, OH MY GOD! The day that I had been waiting for for months and months finally arrived. I had been waiting for months to find out where the directors of Residence Life were going to place me and if they were going to promote me to Head Resident. For the months that I waited, I thought of every possible thing that could happen. 1) They could make me stay Assistant Head Resident in Turner. Shit. I can't do three years here. CRAP CRAP CRAP. 2) They could ask me not to come back...I don't know why they would! I am great at my job. Gosh, what if I did something bad and didn't even know?! 3) They could put me in a huge building with a huge staff and I WOULD BE SO OVERWHELMED! 4) They could put me where I ask, but that is a long shot. When I had my "interview" for the Head Resident position, they first asked where I wanted to be. I said "I want to be Head Resident of Knowles/Turner." They all pretty much freaked out and were like "Whoa! Stepping up to the plate!" They said this because Knowles and Turner are two seperate buildings, and they are experimenting by combining the staff of each building into one. So there will be one head resident, two assistant heads and 11 RAs. Totally new and scary. All the other supervisors said they did not want anything to do with it, and I said that I wanted it. I want a challenge, I want to be the first person to try this. It is a huge responsibility and privlege to be the first person to work with this experiment. But I wanted that. On Friday, April 1st, my letter came. It said that I was being promoted to Head Resident in Turner/Knowles Halls. I. SCREAMED. MY. HEAD. OFF. What an honor. I am amazed that they are trusting me with this and I am further amazed that they listened to what I said and gave it to me. I must have done something right =) So, that being said, I was placed with two AMAZING assistant head residents, Eric and Sean. I am so, so, incredibly excited to be given this opportunity. In charge of a staff of 13? Wow. I am so happy and proud!

pfffff

This terrible, rotten, no good, very bad weather is seriously doing a number on my motivation.

Usually, I can wake up on a Saturday morning and get TONS of homework done, but alas, today I cannot.

I have spent two hours reading blogs, searching Etsy and looking at my Educational Psych book without taking one single note.

I woke up and it was negative four degrees outside. Time for me to move far, far away from Montana.

Right now, all I want is to cuddle up with a book (of my own choosing, thank you very much literature classes) and sip tea. But I gots so much homeworkieeee, turkey.