ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

Love animals? Have a one (or a few) of your own? Wanna come brag about 'em?

Then come be a part of "Furbaby Friday!"

Every Friday I will have a guest blogger write about their furbabies. You can write whatever you want as long as it is completely related to your pet(s).

I am very excited to do this and even more thrilled to hear about all of your pets! I will start it off this Friday with my own furbaby =] If you'd like to join in, please e-mail me at lifeandtimesofmellynel@gmail.com.

Help me spread the word by grabbing the button in the sidebar and tweeting this post!

Dear Monday 7.30.1012

I am linking up with Megan for the first time for Dear Monday =]


Photo courtesy of Megan (I was too lazy to make one)



 Dear Monday, you are gloomy but that's okay.

Dear Followers, thank you so much for following! I can't believe I'm at 11! That may seem like a small number to many of you but to me, that's amazing!

Dear Birthday, you are in less than a week!!

Dear 5 pounds, I know that you are water weight so go away!!!

Dear Ashley, I know it's not the best of days but I love you and I'm here for this roller coaster life has thrown you on.

Dear Kenzie, I haven't seen you since December and I am super excited!!! So ready to have my best friend back in my life <3

Dear Olympics, Usually you bore me but after watching some last night... you're okay.

Dear Apartment people, please approve Kenzie & me. Thanks.

Dear Everyone, Have a beautiful day =]

22 in 22

Living in Yellow posted an awesome post called "26 in 26" where she listed all the goals she wants to accomplish in her 26th year of life. Since my birthday is less than two weeks away I figured this would be a great post to write!

So here is my list of 22 things I want to do in my 22nd year of life =]

1. Lose 80 pounds: I have been struggling with my weight for quite awhile. I would love to get a lot of it off me and be healthy in 23!

2. Take a trip somewhere out of the Midwest: I have NEVER been out of the midwest. Maybe I'll go to Nashville or more likely visit my Ashley in Georgia.

3. Volunteer for something: I love to volunteer but it's been a couple of years since I've done it. I'd like to start again.

4. FINISH writing a novel: Like a lot of writing majors, I want to write a book. The problem is finishing it!

5. Get something published: Yep, I've been slacking.

6. Go to a concert: Since I've been in college, I have made it a habit to attend one concert a year and I've done so (plus some)!



Freshmen Year: I saw Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, & Flyleaf. I also went to Shinedown and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus [Three Days Grace Pictured]



Sophomore Year: I saw Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan.



Junior Year: All Time Low (Sorry for the crappy quality picture)



7. Throw Kenzie an awesome bridal shower and/or bachelorette party: My best friend is getting married. This is a must!



8. Hit 100 followers: This is a purely selfish goal haha



9. Complete Couch to 5k program:I've always wanted to run and I've heard this program is awesome!

10. Back up everything on my computer: This is more of a to-do item. My laptop is hitting it's breaking point and I have nothing backed up. (Once again, I reiterate my slacking point)

11. Organize my life: Photos into albums, cadboard boxes organized into plastic tubs, stories filed and categorized.... yep, all needs to be done.

12. Read every book by Jodi Picoult that I haven’t yet: This is my favorite author and I would love to have read all of her novels. She's amazing.



Nineteen Minutes is my favorite

 13. Start a future in the real world: I graduate in less than a year. Time to start planning for post-college.

14. Forgive and let go of the past: I wouldn't say I hold grudges, because I don't but there are some things I've needed to comepletely forgive and let go. Like my dad and my ex. I can't move on until I have forgiven what they did, especially my dad since that is 21 going on 22 years of harbored feelings. I'll get there though.

15. Get professional pictures of my brother and me done for my momma: We haven't taken professional pictures in AGES. I think my mom would love this. As well as some of our other family members.

16. Contribute more in class: I am ridiculously shy in class and it has a lot to do with looking stupid in front of my classmates and professors. It's time to let that go and show what I can contribute.

17. Do more, expect less: I feel like I expect so much from the world when instead I could be doing more. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

18. Up my GPA: I want to graduate with the best possible GPA I can earn for myself.

19. Make a scrapbook for senior year: This would just be fun! I already put all my pictures in albums but since senior year is so important, I wanna do something special.

20. Drink more tea: No, I'm not trying to give up coffee. BUT tea is so much healthier. I put this on the list beacause when I drink a glass of tea, I feel relaxed and I really don't take enough time for myself to just relax.

21. Stop and enjoy the moment: During the school year I get so busy with this paper or that assignment or the exam the next day. Since it's my senior year, and may be the last time I'll have all of my friends in one place, I want to take more time to enjoy the moments while they're happening instead of thinking about what's happening next week or next month.

22. Live to the fullest-you’re only 22 once: Just a nice goal to end my list with =]

Sharing Some Love and Doing Some Showing Off =]

Over the past week I have been helping one of my best friends redesign her blog and it is FINALLY finished so everyone should go check out our hard work!

She is an AMAZING blogger and I love her to death so don't forget to follow too!

Check her out here!

Random Thursday: My {Dream} Vacation to Italy

It's time for another installment of Random Thursday with hosts Linny, Natalie, & Kailyn!

This week's prompt is "What is your dream vaacation?"

I have always wanted to travel. I've never left the midwest (unless you count Owensboro, Kentucky as the south?) So when I saw this was the prompt, at first I excited but then after thinking about it I couldn't help but want to pick the entire world. But since I must pick, here it is:
My dream vacation is most definitely Italy and Paris, France.

I love the art, culture, & history that is still so significant to Italy today. Such as in Rome where art and history make beautiful music together.


The Sistine Chapel

The Colliseum

Of course, a trip to Italy isn't complete without going to Venice! This city looks so absolutley beautiful.

Also, I would hit the beaches of the beautiful Naples.

Those are just the main cities I'd love to see, but I can't forget any place I can visit in between!


Pisa



Florence



Sicily

Tuscany

And finally I would end my trip in the "City of Lights"- Paris, France.

Now it's your turn! Sign up for Random Thursdays and recieve a new prompt every week =]

Pour Your Heart Out- Aurora, Colorado: The True Tragedy

Join in at Things I Can't Say.

Normally I would use PYHO Wednesday to talk about something personal or something happening in my own little world. But today, I decided to talk about something weighing on a lot of people-- Aurora, Colorado.

The more details come out, the more chilling the story becomes. We all know what happened (hopefully). So I won't talk about details or even the shoote himself. I want to pour my heart out for the victims.

12 dead. 58 injured. The shooting is being deemed the largest shooting massacre in our nation's history. I find it terrifying that one man took 12 lives. These 12 people died simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I didn't personally know any of the victims but my heart aches for them and their families.

One victim was a 6 year old girl. Many were around my age. Ths rips my heart to shreds.
But what pains me more is how some of us are reacting to this tragedy.

I've been reading comments on the news stories being published online and some of it just sickens me. One one article, the comments turned into a heated political debate. I understand that it is an election year, but I feel it is disrespectful to the victims.

In the midst of sympathetic thoughts, there are comments like "This is Obama's fault!" or "If Romney is elected, massacres like this will stop."

It doesn't matter if you are Democrat, Republican, or a political party that wants Spongebob in office. THAT is not how to mourn the dead. We should be mourning these lives lost instead of arguing over candidates.

Even worse, on a story by People magazine about the victims, somone commented:

"and there goes the meaning of the word hero. getting shot by a crazy gun man does not make you a hero. And yes, I feel sorry for all the victims and the survivors (victims and families). But they are not "heros." You can find that story here.

Men were diving in front of their girlfriends and wives and taking bullets. Men were dying for those they loved because some guy decided to go crazy and shoot a lot of people. And they aren't heroes?

I hate to question where our morals have gone. We have so much divsion and hate and just a lack of consideration among us these days. THAT is the true tragedy here.

We should remember and mourn these victims for the heroes that they were, not argue over politics and question whether they were heroes to begin with. These people diedfor seeing a movie.

They died heroes.

R.I.P

Gordo Cowden, 52

Micayla Medek, 23

Jessica Ghawi, 24

Matt McQuinn, 27

John Larimer, 27

Alex Sullivan, 27 (It was his birthday)

Alex Teves, 24 (Took a bullet for his girlfriend)

Jonathan Blunk, 26 (saved his friend)

Alexander Jonathan "AJ" Boik, 18

Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32

Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6

Read more about the victims here.

Ten on Tuesday =]

It's time for my second link up with Ten for Tuesday! Go on over and join in!


1. I never realized how much I love healthy eating until I do it and then slip back into eating junk for a few days. It's a MAJOR change. WHen I'm eating crap I feel sluggish and gross, but when I'm actually eating good, I feel great. Definitely motivates me to eat better ('Cause who wants to feel like crap all the time?)

2. Why are books so friggin' expensive! I swear,college bookstores are RIP OFFS! Hello Half.com and Interlibrary Loans!

3. Speaking of books, I am now currently reading The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides. It's pretty good so far. Nothing like some "provacative" (seriously, it's in the description) contemporary fiction.

4. Does anyone know how how to stop a puppy from chewing your socks and underwear? My dog is a year and a half and she digs through my hamper and pulls out all my socks and underwear to chew on while I'm sleeping. I've had to go back to keeping her in the crate at night which always makes me feel like a horrible dog mama because she loves to snuggle with me at night (in between sock and underwear chewing apparently).

5. School starts August 22 and I don't know if I'm ready. On one hand, I'm excited to embark on Senior Yeardom, but on the other, I know once it starts it's all going to fy by and I'm not ready for it to end.

6. Businesses around town are FINALLY putting out "Hiring" signs. Now I just need some luck on catching one of these jobs.

7. For the past few days I've been helping one of my friends design (well, re-design) her blog and it is looking awesome! I'll post her button when it's finished. I love doing this. It's just so much fun for me.

8. Tumblr. Does anyone have one? I'm thinking about getting rid of mine. I'm never on anymore and I think Pinterest has become the Facebook to its Myspace.

9. On a related note to Tumblr, why does instagram let you post directly to Tumblr but not Blogger? Laaame.

10. This having no followers thing is bumming me out. I mean, I blog for fun and the occasional vent but it'd be nice to know people are reading and actually care. I'm getting page views BUT no followers. Makes no sense.

Now it's your turn! Head on over to Linny's Vault and link up your ten =]

Random Thursday!

**Hosted by Linny, Natalie, & Kailyn so check out their blogs and sign up! Each week is a different prompt.

This week's prompt is "Who is your Doppleganger?"

I don't think I look like anyone out there really. But it's always fun to be compared to celebrities.

My mom thinks I look like Sophia Bush (From One Tree Hill and various movies)

Hmm not so sure

The Celebrity Look-Alike collage maker at MyHeritage has a whole slew of people it compares me to. I tried a few different pictures of myself so here ya go!

Emma Watson 80%



LaLaine 75%



Katherine Heigl 74 %





Kate Bosworth 76 %

I don't think I look like any of them. What do you think?

Blogger 411!

So there is an awesome link up going on at From Mrs to Mama's blog that I've decided would be fun to participate in so here it goes!

1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?
I have been blogging since 2009. I've always loved writing (hence my major) but I didn't start blogging until my friend Ashley persuaded me. I don't know if my blog has changed much. I've tried a lot of different things with it and have changed the title a few times and of course its look. Recently, the biggest change has been becomeing more involved in the blog world and taking my blog a step outside of just writing about my life.

2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?
Yes! I am currently in college now at the University of Evansville. I'm in my senior year. I am studying Writing with a minor in Psychology.

3. Where have you traveled?
Uh, no where. I am so lame lol. I've never been out of the midwest but I'm hoping once I'm out of college that will change.

4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
I would pay off my student loans!

5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?

1. Liars- I hate people who are just dishonest for their own selfish benefit.
2. Bad body odor- self explainatory
3. Judgemental/Close-minded people- There's just no reason for it.

6. What is your favorite movie?
I have soooo many! A walk to Remember, Marley and Me, Aladdin, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, etc, etc.

7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?
Sweet Tea is my favorite. But I usually drink water.

8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?
READ! As a college student I am given so much to read during the year that it's hard to make time for "fun" reading so I devour books whenever I have the time. I also like to paint and listen to music.

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?
[Can I pick more than one?] Either Barnes and Noble, Old Navy, or Walmart.

10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.
Hmm... I'm always doing embarassing stuff. One time when I was 7 or 8 years old, my mom and grandma took me clothes shopping. I went to pull a pair of jeans off the rack and like 10-15 racks toppled over like dominoes. It sucked. The store clerk was really nice about it though.

11. What day would you love to relive again?
The day I graduated high school. It was the last time I was together with all my old friends.

12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you?
Mandy Moore or Sophia Bush. I love them! mandy Moore would be a better fit though.

13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?
Day care assistant and library worker.

14. Show us a picture from high school or college

The day I graduated high school

.
15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?
Italy, definitely. All over it. And Paris.

16. Show us the most current picture of you or you, or your family, or anything of meaning to you.

This is all 3 :)

17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now?
I don't really know any specifics. In 5 years I'll be 27. So I hope to be in a place where I am surrounded by my closest friends and family. I hope to be writing or working as a librarian. I also see myself with 3 dogs haha and hopefully there's a great guy in there somewhere :)

Now it's your turn!

Ten On Tuesday!

Okay, so thanks to [life of love]'s (who I randomly came across during a 15 day challenge)  Ten on Tuesday post, I discovered the awesomesness of this link up so I'm definitley going to participate and so should all of you! Just go on over to Lin's blog and link up!

1. I started a new novel today (yep, catching up on all that fun reading that college deprives me of). The reviews on GoodReads said this book really over stepped some controversial boundaries which always makes for an interesting read. I love this author. She writes her novels completely in poetic verse and it is AMAZING.

2. This morning I woke up to a not so lovely present from the cat I'm fostering this summer--- a dead mouse. Yuck!



He looks innocent enough, right?



3. Today Kenzie and I decided on our top 3 apartments we want to apply to. It's getting close! Can't wait to live with my best friend again!

4.Why is summer so hard on my poor feet? I don't think my flip flop/ no shoes at all addiction helps....

5. I went and saw "The Lucky One" last night and loved it. I really liked the book. I was a little iffy about Zac Efron playing Logan but boy has he come a looong way since his High School Musical days.

Point made

6. Catty girls- Hate them. Just get over yourself.

7. Chobani Yogurt is my new obsession. LOVE the pineapple one.

8. Blogging. I love that I'm getting more into the hang of it. I was using my blog more as a personal outlet but now I see how fun it can be.

9. My birthday is less than two weeks away and I have no clue what I'm doing for it. Ideas??

10. I want a boat! or maybe one of these?

*********************************

Now go do your own! It's fun!



A Rough Few Days...

Hey all!
It has been a solemn few days. Let me start from the beginning...
Around this time of year I'm always a little less cheery because my mind is on my grandmother who passed away 6 years ago as of yesterday (July 16th). This year has been especially hard because I'm going into my last year of college and my grandma isn't here to enjoy that with me when she was one of the people pushing me so hard.
AND her birthday is the 18th so it's just a hard time all around. My grandma was such an amazing woman and she literally helped raise me and was like a second mom to me. It's hard having her gone especially around such an important time in my life.
Then Saturday night my mom called me and told me that my Aunt Jessie was admitted into a hospice and was preparing to die. She has been battling colon cancer for awhile now and when her husband died a few years ago, she just kinda gave up fighting.
Yesterday when I got out of work, my mom called me to tell me my Aunt had passed and she went peacefully. I couldn't help but ball because it was the stupid 16th so I was already in a melancholy mood.
So I tried to get out of the house and go on a fun kinda date thing which was going well until I get to a bar and this girl is just talking stuff about me to my date. REALLY??
It just was not my night.
We ended the night at IHop and I was sitting there thinking that even though I'm sad, my grandma would kick me in the ass right now. She taught me to be strong and smile and to always laugh because life is too short not to. I am very blessed and even as I grieve, I appreciate the things and people I have in my life every day.
I'm blessed to have a grandmother that still has such a profound impact on my life even though she's gone. That's something I can be grateful for.
The family is having just a small service for my Aunt Jessie and she was cremated. Her ashes are going to be spread across the grave of the love of her life, my Uncle Noel. That kinda love should be celebrated not mourned. She may be gone, but she's also reunited with her soulmate and that's what matters here.
So, yes, I'm mourning both my Aunt and my Grandma but I am also celebrating two amazing women and the love they brought into the world that is still here even though they're gone.

R.I.P Jessie Foreman





Blog Changes! [Again]

Hey everyone! It's been awhile.

As followers and friends know, I was on blogger under a blog named Chasing Sunshine and then I switched to Wordpress. I hated Wordpress! So here I am back on blogger with a new look and a new name-exciting!

Let me explain my blog name.....
I am a Writing major so "Revision Makes Perfect" was just fitting especially in life (maybe mine more so) we constantly are revising our lives to find our ideas of perfection, or fullfillment. I thought this was more fitting to what I write about than Chasing Sunshine so I hope you like it!

I promise this will be the last blog change unless Blogger becomes completely obsolete. I almost gave up blogging completely but I know I'd miss it too much so I can't wait to keep writing. I have a lot of new stuff  I want to blog about and a new approach to this whole thing so I'm really excited :)

I hope you all follow along!

How Many Places Can a Girl Be at Once?

With senior year on it's verge of unfolding and graduation less than a year away, you can bet I've been using a lot of free time this summer to narrow down what options I have after graduation. And there are definitely a lot.

At this point, I'm most leaning towards going to grad school to get my master's in library and information science. The catch is, if I want to stay in Indiana, the only school I can attend is IU in Bloomington. Which isn't bad. But then again, I don't want to go to a new city with my no car situation. So taking a year off to work is still very much a possibility. After this chapter in my life ends, I'm left wondering, what's next?

And then I think, well what will make me happy?

I came to Evansville away from all my family, to be closer to a boy. This time, I'm going to make the right decision, and choose to be closer to my family. But my family is so spaced between Missouri and Indiana that it's a difficult question. I love Indiana. It has felt like home since the summers of my childhood. But I also love Missouri. It's where I was raised and my roots are very much grounded there. The only thing that would make me consider going back to Missouri is my family. My parents and brother live there but they've been talking about moving up towards my Grandma in Indiana for years. My grandpa though, is still is in St. Louis and has limited time left (which is a scary thought). And of course there's my sister, brother-in-law, and the kiddos. I want to have a close relationship with them and I don't want to be a faraway aunt. But if I choose Indiana, that's what I'll be. I already hate seeing them maybe once a year already. That's not enough time to be the sister and Aunt that I want to be. Plus, in that distance future when I have kids, I want my sister and BIL to be there and I want Maci and Logan to be close to their cousins.

But in Indiana, I have my grandma, cousins, aunt and uncle and my happy place. I want to be close to that. I want to be surrounded in the place that was the answer to the question "What's your favorite place?" or "Where's your happiest place?" That is where I feel like I belong and where I would want to settle down but then again it keeps me far away from my sister's clan.

I wish I could be close to all of them. I love my family more than they probably know and I want them to be a part of my life. I want to be able to go out for drinks with my sister after work, take my niece and nephew out for ice cream, have sleepovers with my cousins, help my grandma when she's in her usual fuss about a clean house... all of that. but I have to choose between one place or another and it's hard to do because I have such amazing people in my family that make me happiest when I'm around them. 

I need to be in all these place at once and my lack of ability to do so is letting me down.

Updates! Get Your Updates!

So it's been a little while since I've written last. Not much has happened.

I've been working part-time at the library. Went through the interview process for another job BUT alas I didn't get it. However, I saw the other day that the Central Library here in Evansville is hiring and I am way qualified for that job. So, I've got my fingers crossed on that one. If I get that job than I can pretty much stop worrying about money since I really just need another part-time job to be bringing in enough moolah.

My summer has had it's ups and a few downs. I was rejected for the school loan that pretty much paid for the rest of my school expenses. I took a day to be angry and cry and whine but then I moved on. So what? I didn't get what I wanted or expected. People suck. What's new? I'm not going to let it ruin my summer.

But it has showed me how great my parents are. My mom has always been great, but I actually have to give my dad some credit. He did everything to make sure I got there to my brother's graduation. Even bought me a new dress. All of which is very uncharacteristic of him. And when all this loan stuff happened, he went to the library and him and my mom got a bunch of books on paying for college, something they haven't done in the whole 3 years. Things with my dad have been rocky. Ant the past is always going to be there. I know he hasn't "changed" and he probably isn't going to but for the time being he's being a pretty great dad. He's never been real supportive of me being in college. he's always seemed indifferent to the whole thing but lately he's been trying to do everything to make sure I finish. They're still unemployed and it's hard so they can't financially support me. But I never wanted any money. They've been here and that's made all the difference.

Yeah, there has been some downs and I'm still struggling with some stuff but beside all that my life has been pretty awesome. My family has been great, my friends are great and it's those people who are making this whole ride worth it.

I'm not where I want to be yet, nor am I exactly the person I'd like to be but this whole growing up and living is pretty worth it when you have a bunch of great people to share it with.