2011: A Retrospective View

ast post of the year! I can't believe that 2011 is just about done; where does the time go. Usually every year I do a best and worst list of that year. The list usually contains things from pop culture instead of my actual life. This year I decided to reflect on this year in regards to me and talk about a couple of things from the year. I took the idea from my friend Ashley and her blog Rich in Smiles and Miles. Reflection is always important and this blog has allowed me to do a lot of it. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you all! 

Marry Me, Atticus

This short time off between semesters has let me catch up on some reading. I went to the library and got a few that were on my list. I also downloaded some free books onto my kindle. Reading is one of my favorite things to do and I wish I did more of it in the school year. I have been trying to get off my computer a little earlier at night and read a couple of chapters before bed. I finished a Christmas Carol by Dickens {ode to the season} on the train home and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. I forgot how truly amazing To Kill a Mockingbird is...WOW! I, like many had to read this book in high school and I never appreciated it.

Ode to My Facebook Statuses

Thanks to the timeline feature I am now able to bring you a gathering of some of my gems of Facebook statuses in 2011.

 Things I have learned this month: Letting go is much harder than holding on AND admitting your weaknesses makes your stronger.

there are only two kinds of honest people in the world: small children and drunk people.- FACT

I walked for miles to find you and found myself

"I think way too much about someone I think so little of"

I was afraid to fall so I held on tighter, but when I let go I found myself firmly planted on the ground.

I let myself fall in love with you..and I let myself let you go...those were the two best decisions I have made in my life

Girls rule and boys drool


You're not for now, I will accept that but maybe our paths will meet again at a time when we are just right for each other. If not I hope you know I loved you with my whole heart and you'll always have a special place there

The pain of a broken heart lets you know you are still alive <--- Oscar Worthy! 

I just side eyed myself... CLEARLY! I went to the Soap Opera Digest school of the arts, where I majored in Facebook Statuses. I am a bit melodramatic! I gotta pat myself on the back though, I managed to be both deep AND give Susan Lucci a run for her money. Please keep in mind that this was over at least a year and a half, it looks so terrible all bunched here in one place. Looking back it doesn't feel as bad NOW as it seemed THEN! Hopefully 2012 will bring me no more of the above..YUCK!

Merry Christmas to All

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope you all are enjoying the holidays with whoever you call family. I am here in West Virginia with my mummy and my little brother Damien. I got up super early this morning and made Christmas breakfast. I made this scrumptious buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake. I got the recipe from Pinetrest {I am so in love with Pinterest} and it was super easy. It turned out super yummy {wow that was a lot of suppers}even Damien loved it and he is the worlds pickiest eater. I added a little cinnamon to it and I think next time I will make some fresh whipped cream to put on top. I will include the link below. The rest of my day will be filled with family time and reading. Have a wonderful day all!

Our tree in the early morning light

Finished  Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

I made that!

Love and Other Drugs

This post is random and doesn't actually have to do with anything on my list but I kinda wanted to share.

Every once in awhile I talk about relationships of all kind and how they have affected me. My friend recently had this suckie situation end and she shared with me some serious insight on relationships. She referred to relationships as drugs..WOAH! So I am going to share some of her experience, hope she doesn't mind. Then add my own pseudo-philological thoughts.

she recently made a slip up and drunk dialed this guy and was kind of freaked out about it. She said:

"the drunk dial didn't set me back,  hey it happens but I think what upset me the most was that I even made it in the first place. It came out of no where, I  have been thinking about him less and less and I've been intoxicated several times prior to this and have no even come close to calling or texting.To me, the drunk dial came out of nowhere. I think I was freaked out that this happened now and I think it is because I don't trust myself not to do it again"   

She then went on to say that:

"his presence in my life became a drug that I absolutely needed. Our relationship was rough and ugly at times but it made me feel good, even if it was a false sense of euphoria. I am fine on my own but I liked it when he was around"

What does that say about relationships....in any form? Do they become drugs? Can we be addicted? Even when you know the side effects and outcomes are bad you still want it. Even when you know that you are way  better off you yearn for it. I am not sure why it happens or how it happens but it sucks.

Anyway, I think it is interesting to think of relationships of any kind as a drug but it makes serious sense. Like a drug, a relationship can make you feel good and when that presence is gone you withdraw from it; sometimes it hurts and is painful. Over the last few years I have gained and lost some relationships in my life and I find that regardless of how those relationships ended there is still a small inkling for that previous familiarity and I think about how quickly one can fall right back into it. I guess like most things in life, getting over a relationship takes time and care but most importantly I think it takes a conscious effort to recognize where you are in the process.

Daddy's Little Girl...with Issues

Here are a couple things you should know before you read this post.

1. This post is pretty personal; I try and keep things I share at an appropriate level of personal.  I think I share enough for you to get the idea with out crossing that over share line. However this post dives a little deeper and I think it is important that it does, in order for me to check daddy issues off of my list.

2. Just so you follow a long, sperm donor = SD = biological father, Dad = my step father

3. If you disagree with any or all of the things I say below please don't argue with me, my findings come from years of scientific research and anthropological viewing.

4. Also this post has a PG-13 rating due to a few F-bombs! {I love them so} 

5. It is long..so get a cookie

Some of you may remember in my {With Every Heart Beat} post I talked about the importance of dads. I can speak to the importance of them due to my lack of one. I have found that an absence of a father in a girl's life often leads to a girl with daddy issues. Furthermore having a bad father can also lead to daddy issues, lucky me I got both!

Hi My Name is Charisse..and I'm and Addict

If only there was a Facebook Anonymous because this girl is ADDICTED! This is my ode to finals week post and in honor of such I had to deactivate my account. I have a serious problem, I find myself facebooking for no damn reason. I knew it was becoming a problem when I would use it as a means for a break "Okay Charisse finish this page, then you can check your newsfeed". Well pages become paragraphs that became sentences and before you knew it I had entire pages made up of ...... It waste so much time and productivity and what do I get out of it NOTHING... actually that is a lie I get copious amounts of pleasure, stalking and commenting on random crap from people I have cyber friendships with. Have you ever been asked by a friend if they heard about so and so and you can basically deliver that person's history in 4.7 seconds flat AND then you realize you haven't seen or talked to that person in 1-5.5 years {I can feel your judgement right now, you know you've done it too}. Well if you have you can thank FACEBOOK! It let's you keep friendships or the idea of them alive because it is instant and keeps you connected.

I already feel myself yearning for it, I have definitely shifty eyed the Facebook icon above a few times already. I quickly deleted it before I started to break into a panic induced sweat. Yea that ish is crazy so in order to save my sanity {and my gpa} I had to let it go for awhile. This relationship is not symbiotic, I have to be out.  You are great for promoting this blog though!

So long for now FB, I shall miss you and the false sense of friendships that you provide for me. Adios!

(until December 12th at noon)

The Change Up

This week I realized a couple of things:
1) I am a very indecisive person and 2) my list felt a little falsified. After deciding to go natural I started to think about other things and before you know it things were popping up left and right. SO I decided to make some changes to my list and be truer to myself about what I REALLY want to do this year. Check out my updated list below!

1.       Sing in public…  

2.       Leap from a plane

3.       Ride a horse

4.       Go white water rafting

5.       FINALLY graduate from college

6.       Be a bridesmaid

7.       WORK a pair of stilettos – preferably  a really expensive pair  with an outfit I've been too scared to wear! 

8.       Take a hot air balloon ride

9.       Visit all of the Smithsonian Museums – the free ones

10.   Learn to tap dance and take a ballet class AND see the Rockettes! 

11.   Go on a nice date with a BOY!

12.   Learn to shoot a gun, so I no longer will be afraid of them.

13.   Experience a hockey game

14.   Master winter sports aka go snowboarding or tubing

15.   Read 5 of the classics I haven’t read {changed these too!}

16.   Have a conversation in Spanish Go to Zoo Lights!

17.   Road trip preferably across country but Marti Gras or Vegas would be nice!

18.   Spend the day hanging out with Damien,  my little brother

19.   Take a segway tour

20.   Run and FINISH a 5K race

21.   See an amazing view   Go natural {with my hair}

22.    Rock an outfit I've been too scared to wear! start and finish all of my little projects

23.   Make a 4 course gourmet meal!     Finally get a tattoo

24.   Start a Roth IRA

25.   Write a letter to someone I admire

26.   Make a mends with my dads

27.   Leave the country

 *learn to play the piano. This is something I have wanted to do my entire life buuuut requires me to have a piano. If anyone has any tips on how to get this done with out the aforementioned let me know!