It's Good to be Good

When I first started teaching 5th grade, I had a boy in my class named Chase.  Chase was quite the little charmer, very funny and smart and, I'm convinced, a future politician, as he could be quite the schmoozer.

Every morning he'd come in smiling and our conversation would go like this:

"Hey Ms. Yates, how ya doin?"--Chase

"Im good, Chase, how are you?"

"I'm good, Ms. Yates.  It's good to be good."--Chase

"It's good to be good."

Wouldn't it be nice if we had someone to remind us first thing in the morning how good it is to be good?  Because it is. We aren't required to be great or spectacular everyday, and if we were, we'd all be cast in The Stepford Wives 2. At least in my books, being good is enough for me (and sure beats the alternative).

This isn't to say that I don't want great days, or to be a great therapist or a great friend, or have everything in my life just great.  Because that would be...great.  But, I also don't feel like I'm settling when things are just good. It's good to be good.

The Lurking Challege: Admitting We are Lurking on the Internet

It is time we admit it.  I'm guilty. You're guilty.  Your coworkers, classmates, and friends are guilty. Guilty of internet stalking.

It just so easy to do.  You are friends with someone who is facebook friends with so-and-so and next thing you know, you're looking at sorority pictures of so-and-so from 2005.

Another favorite: "Omg, did you see _________'s wedding pictures?? That dress/ring/bouquet/groomsman is beautiful!" Um no. I didnt see it because I havent seen or spoken to __________ since high school.  BUT, now that you bring it up, I'm going to go check it out for myself.

Not to get all 'researchy' on ya, but studies on happiness and perceived happiness say that this kind of stalking ('information gathering' as I prefer) has a particularly detrimental effect on women.  We are much more susceptible to the happiness comparison, mainly because women are more like to post pictures and statuses about things that make them happy.

Ex: "The gorgeous flowers my finance sent me! (with picture)" or "Just refinished the kitchen in our dream home (with picture)!"

I, too, am guilty of these things.  Let's get real.  You are too.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/why-everyone-needs-to-accept-that-theyre-a-giant-creeper-on-the-internet/

A GREAT weekend!

What a fantastic weekend! 

Jason Aldean Concert!

Friday was the Jason Aldean concert in Denver.  He. Is. Amazing.  And a really great performer.  Corinne, my fave country concert goer, is a blast to go with!

Zombie Crawl

Saturday was the long-awaited, second annual Zombie Bar Crawl! Last year (for reasons we still arent sure of...) we went as 80's workout girls (?).  This year, we went with actual zombie makeup.  Next year, we are shooting for fake blood.  
                                                                 

Ive never seen the sky so blue

fun :)
Then, today (Sunday) Sam, Corinne, and I went to our favorite brunch spot, Cafe Vino for bottomless mimosas.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day--I have never seen the sky so blue! So, in an effort to procrastinate further, we went for a walk in the residential area by my apartment, taking pictures and goofing off.  It was a great afternoon.  I even practiced some of my amateur photography skills. 

laying in the 'graveyard'

I love the 90's!

This is soooo great!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2539916142295

Boy Meets World. Jurassic Park. Are You Afraid of the Dark? A Goofy Movie.  Rocko's Modern Life.  Fruity Pebbles. Sister Sister. America's Funniest Home Videos. Anamaniacs. Bill Nye. Captain Planet. The Mighty Ducks. Game Boy. Saved By The Bell.  Full House. Home Alone. Legends of The Hidden Temple. Wayne's World.

This pretty much sums up my childhood.  The only thing missing is those classic Nickelodeon shows: Salute Your Shorts, Pete and Pete, and Hey Dude.  THOSE were the classics. And, how could Titanic not be on the list??  Yes, it came out in 1997.  We were 11.

Fall and Football

Horsetooth Rock

Last Friday, I finally got to hike Horsetooth Rock.  It was a gorgeous fall day--perfect for a good hike.  Sam and I took about 100 pics each, and therefore, the 3 hour hike was closer to 4.  From the top of Horsetooth, looking to the west, is Rocky Mountain National Park.  To the east you can see almost clear to Kansas.  It was beautiful, peaceful, and a very spiritual experience sitting at the top looking out from 7500 feet.

Looking out over the Rockies

Also, this past weekend was our annual CSU football game and trip to the Pumpkin Farm.  By annual, I mean we did this last year and again this year...irrelevant.

GORGEOUS sky

tailgating

CSU played Boise State.  And yes, we got our asses handed to us.  Final score: 63-13.  FIFTY POINTS.  It was great to see such a good team play, but man, poor Rams. As usual, tailgating was a blast and I didnt get my bourbon taken away this year.

Harvest Farms

At the Harvest Farm pumpkin patch, we tried to rope fake cows, saw 3 rabbits humping each other, took a hay-less hayride, watched a pig race, and half of our group got lost in the corn maze and had to be retrieve by a guy who worked there. It took a solid 10-15 minutes to find them.

A solid weekend I would say!

Read First:

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/so-youre-getting-married-thats-really-really-cool/


This spiel pretty much sums up where I am in my life right now. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy for friends who have found the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with, I love going to weddings and celebrating with them, and essentially love love and a healthy relationship (hence my future profession).  However. I blame Facebook. 110%.  Every weekend I see that little red heart and "so and so is engaged to _______". In addition, people I would normally not know about (acquaintances, friends of friends, etc.) I now the the intimate details of their love lives.  I am not being cynical--just observing and commenting on our current life phase. I know I cannot be the only one to feel this way, as I have had the conversation with several friends. That being said, I cannot wait to celebrate the weddings in the near future with dear friends.

Up next....baby phase.

Sometimes I forget this....

A friend just sent me this link:

http://www.lshs64.com/enjoytheride.html

Sometimes, and I am sure I'm not the only one, I forget all of the blessings in my life and focus on the small annoying distractions.  It can be so easy to forget that I have great friends and a great family, or that I am doing exactly what I want to be doing with my life, or that I have so many opportunities to be thankful for. Sometimes, school and life get so overwhelming, that all of these other things go on the back burner until the grad school fog lifts and I can see it again.  Maybe I will make this my New Year's Resolution....can I start it in October, though?

Grad School Humor

My statistics midterm was turned in today at 12:30 on the dot. After spending several hours (~15+) on this, my brain is too full to function.  But, alas, Stats class started at 12:31 on the dot. My professor, who is German, tends to make at least 1 or 2 sexual references per class--and yes, I have kept a tally.  Today, though, got a little out of hand.  In learning about Factor Loading (and dont worry, I dont know what it means anyway) we use a sort of rotation to determine the amount of factor loading. So, in regards to this (and to help us understand...??) my professor offhandedly told us that "when we are statistical experts, our pick up line is 'baby, you can rotate my factors anytime'." 1 point. And, in response, a friend asks if that is how he met his wife....our department head. 2 points.  Awkward. So, he told us no, they knew each other before they were statistical experts.  So, in response to THAT, another friend mentions that it was simply "statistical foreplay" before they were experts, which is a phrase he likes to say quite a bit in regards to Exploratory Data Analysis (which, I hardly know the definition....or the purpose). 3 points. Double awkward.  Cue awkward laugh all around.

Grad School Humor

Georgia/Tennessee game in Denver!

Let's Go Dawgs!
For the UGA/UT game I finally made it down to Denver to watch the game with my fellow Colorado Dawgs.  I have been meaning to go for awhile now.  Mellow Mushroom hosts the Colorado Dawgs for every Georgia game and it was awesome to watch the game with them! Luckily, too, UGA won 20-12.  Great game, but kind of a nail-biter towards the end! To make things EVEN better, my good friend Kelly was in town from ATL and it was great to see her! Also, I took my friend Amy to her first ever UGA watching because she "wanted to see how we watch football"... we meaning UGA fans and SEC fans in general. I think she may have been alarmed.

Me and Amy at Mellow Mushroom

 After the game, we went out on the town--it has been a minute since I have gotten to go out in Denver.  We even went to Coyote Ugly...not necessarily my fave kind of place, but fun nonetheless.  And, the really DO dance on the bar.  And it IS choreographed. 

Beth, Kelly, and Me