Studying and Such

Dear Friends,

I know it has been super duper quiet around here and every time I am posting I am apologizing for not posting for so long.  But I've been really busy.

For the last few weeksin addition to work and volunteering at the vet clinic  I have been studying like a maniac...

You're probably wondering why, since I've graduated college and all..

But on Tuesday last week I took my British driving theory test...

And I PASSED!!! yay now I just have to take the real test where I have to actually drive which is scary!.  We will see how that goes.  Did I tell you we have been renting a car? It's awesome.  I love cars.

The other test I've been studying for was the GRE.  I was feeling pretty stressed about it to be honest.  Like I was gonna spontaneously barf for like a week before the test.  I needed to get a 1,000 to apply to vet school and I was pretty worried I wouldn't get it.  But did!  I almost cried when I saw the score appear on the screen at the end of the test.  But I did a lot of positive visualization of the big G-O-D telling me what the answers were and when that didn't work I thought about.... hmmmm well thats a secret but it worked!  Anyways I am trying this power of positive thinking thing and I think it's working.

In other news we had to go London to take this test.  We stayed at the Ibis hotel (I would not recommend).  We ate at Josephine's Filipino restaurant on Charlotte Street Friday night (I would HIGHLY recommend).  (Sorry no pictures cuz I was stressing!) Then on Saturday I took my test and we went to Chipotle to celebrate!!

Judge me if you will.  I know there are a million delicious restaurants in London, but Chipotle only exists in London in this country and ohhhh my god I miss it.  But it's not half as good here so that was a bit of a let down.  The tortillas tasted weird.  And the avocados suck in this country.  But I guess beggars can't be choosers eh?

Happy Monday.  

I missed you, blogosphere.

ps.  This means I can cross off more items on my Day Zero List.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Let me start by saying that I think the fact that I read this book is a little embarrassing.  Self help books remind me of something that 40ish downward spiraling divorced people read while eating ben and jerry's and sipping on a little too much vino.  I, for one, am only 24, and though I sometimes feel like I'm in the middle of my own downward spiral (helllllllllo quarter life crisis drama queen), I'm not currently shoving ben and jerrys down my pie hole.  And perhaps talking about -admitting, in fact, that I have these sad and depressing moments - is a little too much airing of the ole dirty laundry..... Whatever.  It's not like it hasn't been done before around here right?  Right.  


Oh hi this is me - the creeper with the dirty eyebrows reading self help in the corner by my glitter wall.  

Now that I have written that little confession of sorts can I tell you how great this book has been?  I finished it last week, and I'll be honest it's not a real page turner, but it is interesting and I think within the pages lies the best advice I have ever been given.  Lot's of the advice sometimes seems super tricky to enact, but you know if you did what the author said that your life would be fricking fabulous and you'd smile more and you'd be prettier and skinnier and your husband and parents and siblings and children (future children in my case) and dog and cat and maybe even your gold fish - they would all like you more.  And if they didn't - well you'd be so damn pleased with your jolly EFFECTIVE self that you wouldn't really care all that much.  


I didn't start really trying to perform what I learned in this book as I went.  But once I finished it, I immediately went to the front and started reading it again.  This time I am going to try to use the book more as a tool, rather than a straight read.  Right now, I am 5 days into the author's recommended 30 days of Proactivity.  And let me tell you, it is going down a treat.  


So good in fact, that I question why I was ever embarrassed in the first place.  I mean, surely people who read these types of books are just looking to improve themselves - and what is more noble than that?  My 5 days of proactivity so far have provided me with multiple new friends, a better relationship with my husband, and issues at my job are now being addressed by my boss.  If all this can happen in 5 days, I am excited for what the next 25 more days will hold.  


I would highly recommend this book to anyone who ever talks to a person ever.  Even if the only person you talk to is yourself, actually ESPECIALLY if the only person you talk to is yourself.  

Friends, do you think you are effective?

I feel so effective right now.

ps.  Finishing this book was also on my Day Zero, 

which is back up and running fyi, so I can cross it off!  Woo hoo.

7 Days 7 Dos

Eeeek I have so much to share with you guys lately!  

I've been gettin REALLY busy so you'll probably be tired of my post overload in a minute!

I finished another Day Zero task last week!

Task : Don't wear my hair in a bun for a week straight.

Why: I have SO much hair.

Lately I've been wondering why I have so much 

if all I ever do is put it straight up into a bun.

It's actually a lot of work.

And I was trying to answer the question - 

Is it time to take the plunge and cut it all off again?

To start we have what Nick likes to call my "Princess Leia" look.

Though personally I think it is more of a Heidi (not the dog!) look.

For day 2 we have a lions mane look, 

with a hint of the Donald Trump comb over for good measure.

Day 3 is the old classic, some up some down.  

But at this point I look mostly downsie.

Day 4 is what my little sister called my "soiled housewife" look 

when we were skyping.

Nice.  It's very popular in England right now.  

Still not sure if I think it's cute or I look like a total goober.

Day 5 is a reoccurring some up some down theme,

 but my curls have been enhanced with an iron.  

Definitely a tried and true classic.

Day 6 is missing because I was slightly hung over and on a train all day.  

But it was a side braid - if you must know.

Lastly we have Day 7, a French braid finished off in a messy bun.

I can assure you it wasn't quite so messy at the start of the day.

Oh well!

I still can't decide whether the hair is here to stay,

But I do know that a haircut and some bangs need to be happening in my near future.

Possibly highlights.  

Eeek anyways one more task done!

And thanks to Nick for taking most of these pics.

I have a whole new respect for fashion bloggers who work with their bfs now!

H20 - vember Comes to a Close

Today is the last day of what I have been calling H20-vember.  

One of my Day Zero List goals was to drink ONLY water for a month.

Why would I put on such a stupid goal?

After a month sans kitchen, eating a bunch of crap and picking up habits from my juice drinking husband, my skin was BAD.  

Well not that bad, cuz I generally have alright skin, 

but as bad as it was in high school.

And pimples are NOT a good look for anybody, are they?

Secondly, how many stupid calories was I consuming 

from drinking orange juice and worse - the dreaded...

 tea with 2 sugars please??

Well I'll tell you it was far too many.

Hi, I'm Kelly and I'm a serial yo-yo dieter.  Truth.

Drinking only water for a month was part of my plan to start a small change in my diet, 

that was manageable and perhaps could help me establish more of a

lifestyle change than a "diet."

A way of eating that would leave me feeling 

happy, healthy, confident in my own skin,

and without the urge to do crazy fad diets.

So here is my skin now... courtesy of accidently zooming in while taking selfies yesterday....

For no makeup and no retouching it's pretty good if I do say so myself!  

I'll admit I made a few exceptions to my H20 - vember rules.

1. I could drink herbal tea as long as no milk or sugar was added.
2. I could drink alcohol at Ed and Keeley's wedding.
3. I could drink a glass of wine at our Thanksgiving feast.
4. I had one peppermint mocha, which was technically cheating, but I so needed it! 

So obviously, I wasn't perfect.  

But sometimes life isn't about being perfect.  

Baby steps can make big changes in the end.

What baby steps have you taken recently?

ps.  I have been using Lush products on my face recently, which are also making it fabulous.

Learning from Gaga

I just wanted to tell you that this morning, 

fueled by my Day Zero motivation, I got up before the sun.

I went for a run.  In the rain.

I've told myself every single morning that I was going to do this for about a year.

I failed to get out of bed (on much more pleasant mornings) over 365 times.

But today I actually did.

Somewhere between listening to U2 and singing Lady Gaga to a field full of cows, I realized something.

It's not supposed to be easy.

I know this seems so generic.  But it finally clicked for me.  

If being that fabulous person you want to be was easy then everyone would be fabulous,

and you would have nothing to be proud of when you accomplished something.  

What separates you from your role model?

And with that I'll leave you with a little inspirational music....

Oh and ps.  For those of you who are following my unemployment saga, today I worked for the first time since December last year!  It was really hard minimum wage work at the University where Nick works, but at least I finally made some money on my own.  Hopefully it will cover that lil shopping spree I took myself on yesterday...

Because Bucket Lists Don't Have Deadlines

Today is Day Zero, for me anyways. 

 Because this weekend I started my 101 things to do in 1001 days list.  

I know what your thinking, "Kelly enough with the lists already."   

Loud and clear, blogosphere... 

Let me explain.

Via

I love my bucket list.  LOVE it!  And I'm definitely working on it.  

However, the main problem with a Bucket List is there is no deadline - 

at least for anyone who's not terminally ill or something.
I might live for another 60 - 80 years, (my great grandpa lived to 100 - I got good genes)
 so really, there's no pressure on me TODAY.
Sure I do things when they are convenient for me,
but when is Riding Elephants in Thailand (number 11) going to be convenient?

See the problem?

The great thing about Day Zero is it gives you a deadline.  

We all know how much more we can accomplish when the deadline is looming, 

which is the beauty of Day Zero.  

And the 1001 days is a realistic deadline,

 its about 2.75 years so that gives you multiple seasons to plan ahead, 

but not too many that your goal gets swept under the rug.

The rules are simple : Tasks must be specific, with a result that is clearly defined.

I've pulled some tasks from my original bucket list and put them onto Day Zero.  

I've also added lots of new ones.  

You're welcome to view my Day Zero Project here.

Via

So what are you waiting for?
Get busy!!