Let's Talk About Stress

I'm not going to lie, every time I say that title, I sing it. Mostly because I've been listening to the Pitch Perfect soundtrack a lot recently and it goes perfectly with the riff-off. Anyways, we should seriously talk about stress. Because if you're in college, you're probably stressed. If you are living and breathing right now, you've probably experienced stress, are currently dealing with it, or will be in the future. It's an unfortunate part of life that we all have to deal with.

Loving The Skin You're In

A couple of months ago my best friend tagged me in that Facebook meme "Five pictures where you feel beautiful", but I never did it. I've always had a difficult time in being able to find myself pretty and beautiful. I would usually consider myself on the lower-side of being average looking. I've dealt with self-esteem issues for as long as I can remember, and negative thoughts still tend to invade my brain on the daily. However, the other day I looked in the mirror and something happened that hasn't in a long time.

Why Do We Read?

Earlier this week it was National Literacy Day, and to see it celebrated in different ways was so encouraging to me. I'm a huge reader and as a future teacher I value literacy a lot because of how important it is. My first semester of college I took a literacy course from who is now the head of the English department. On our very last day he sat us down and talked to us about why reading is important and why he loves it so much. It literally moved me to tears. I wrote a post about it on my tumblr afterwards, and in honor of National Literacy Day I want to share that with you.

Favorite Guilty Pleasure TV Shows

We all have them, it's okay. You know, those shows that we hate to admit that we watch (and possibly love) but that we also know we'll never stop watching. I've got plenty, and I'm willing to share with you some of these silly tv shows I'm addicted to. 

5 Things Elementary Ed Majors Are Tired Of Hearing

I'm going into elementary education (and special ed), and in a little over a year will be completing my student teaching. I've got friends both in and outside my major, but I also go to a school where a large portion of the student body go into business. We've got a pretty boss business program, I can't even lie. My best friend is in that program now. But because of that, we education majors tend to get thought of as being easy. People tell me things all the time about how easy it must be and let me tell you, it's not easy.

So here are just a few of the things people have said to me over the years that I'm sure myself and other fellow teacher/teachers in training are sick and tired of hearing.

Dear Future Husband

Sometimes I like to think about what my future life will be like when I'm married, not that I'm anywhere close to that point right now. But I just really love to think about how wonderful it will be to be married to my best friend, just thinking about all the crazy adventures we'll have. While I'm definitely not ready to be married anytime soon, it's a nice concept to daydream about. Sometimes I write about certain parts of marriage that I'm excited about, so here are a few I'd like to share with you.

Sorry I've Been Missing: A Blog Update

Hey guys! So sorry I've been gone for the past two weeks, life just really got the best of me. Work last week was crazy, because it was back to school week for Target which is pretty much our biggest week of the year. (I'm pretty sure its better for us than our Christmas!) So work was pretty hectic. Then I moved into my new apartment last week and I'm still in the unpacking process (does it take anyone else this long?? Probably not). Also, classes started back up this week, so I'm still adjusting to my new schedule.

BUT, I think I've got a few fun posts coming up soon, so hopefully there will be something worth reading as I get back into a regular schedule. Wooo!

15 Sports Movies For Everyone

I love sports. I grew up playing soccer, and loved going to baseball games with the family. Whenever the Olympics roll around I pretty much stop what I'm doing to watch. I almost 

lost my voice cheering for the US during the world cup. I watch livestreams of games when I had no tv at school. I'm a bit obsessed at times. And supporting the home team was just always something we did in my house. We stuck by our teams, even when the going got rough. So of course I love sports movies as well! 

There's a sports movie for everyone, so hopefully you could find one that piques your interest within this list!

Tuesday Tunes

This is all about the band Paradise Fears. I've loved this band for several years, and Sunday I was finally able to see them live. It was incredible. Like, I don't think there's anything that can beat seeing your favorite band in person. My best friend and I were also able to snag VIP tickets, so we were able to meet the guys and talk to them. They're so down to earth and chill, it was literally a dream come true.

We'll Miss You

Robin Williams has passed away today, and I couldn't be more sad. This is a man who has made me laugh and cry throughout my life.

One of my favorite movies growing up was Hook. In fact, its still my favorite version of Peter Pan, and it's still a movie that I can watch over and over. Then in middle school there was Dead Poet's Society. Sure, the movie had been out forever, but I had just never seen it. Holy cow. That movie has had such an impact on me, and it's probably one of the reasons I've decided to become a teacher. I think I've cried every time I've seen that movie. Then he starred in the silly but wonderful Night at the Museum movies as Teddy Roosevelt, one of my favorite President's.

And these are just a few of his movies. This man has been in so many wonderful and amazing movies that I just love. I can't believe he's gone.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones, and everyone else out there grieving the loss of this tremendously funny and talented man. You will be missed, Robin. Truly missed.

Tuesday Tunes

So, I'm thinking of making this a weekly Tuesday post, where I show you guys some of my favorite songs at the moment. I'm pretty much constantly listening to music, and I'd love to share some of that with you all!

So, without further waiting, here's the first installment of...

Top 10 "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" Quotes

I love this book. The first time I read it I identified so much with Charlie. The whole not knowing where you fit in while trying to look like you have it all together thing really resonated with me. I just devoured the book. It is also one of the few books I've actually written and underlined things in. Because of this I thought I might share my ten favorite quotes from the book with you!

Favorite Scripture

If you're religious at all, you probably have a favorite scripture. My bible is underlined, highlighted, notated, all sorts of things. However, there is always one verse that I will come back to over and over and over again. 1 Timothy 4:12 ; Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. (NIV)

Bloglovin - A New Way To Follow Me

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13348177/?claim=22eqq6sj5ge">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

So, there's this awesome website called Bloglovin that allows you to follow as many blogs as you want, and it will show you their posts on your dashboard every day. It makes it super easy to follow (and find!) blogs, you can like posts to come back to later, comment, etc. I've only been on it for about a week and I would absolutely recommend it. Who doesn't want all the blogs they follow in one place?

But if you're interested in following me using this awesome site, click the link above! There should also be a button/link on my sidebar in the near future!

The Word No

Well, that title doesn't sound very positive, does it? No one really likes to hear the word no. Most people don't really like to say it, myself included. However, I think it's really important that we as a society learn both how to say no, and to be able to accept hearing the word no.

For the past couple of summers I've worked at my local library for the summer reading program. At the end the kids signed up are given one extra week to come back and get prizes but not earn more points. Just the other day I was blessed with the opportunity to work the first day that people weren't allowed to get points. While several kids and parents were completely understanding, there are always those few who get angry and try to put up a fuss, thinking that they will eventually get what they want. I see this as incredibly problematic behavior.

1. It reinforces the idea that if you argue/complain enough, you will eventually get your way.
2. It shows the people around you that you can't accept that no means no.
3. This type of behavior sets a bad example that your children might emulate.

While I think there can be times where you totally have the right to disagree/complain, it happens all too often for trivial things. If I'm blessed with children in the future, I hope that they grow up knowing that sometimes we need to accept the word "No".

I also think it's vital to one's happiness to learn how to say no. This is something I completely struggle with. I'm a people-pleaser. I hate having to tell people no, but I'm definitely learning that sometimes it can be necessary. I can't count how many times I've said yes to doing something I'm not really interested in, just out of fear of saying no. I've over-stretched myself, ignored my own emotions, and compromised my own happiness because I haven't wanted to say no.

This summer I've realized that if I want to be my own person and just be happy, I have to learn how to say no without feeling guilty. This doesn't mean I never do things outside of my comfort zone, or that I always need to do something that I want. It means that I've stopped completely compromising self-happiness for the happiness of others.  I'm definitely still a people-pleaser, and I don't always say no when I should, but there's been a steady improvement for the past few months. Hopefully I'll be able to continue this trend this upcoming school year.

"No" can be a positive in your life as long as you let it.

Summer Reads - My Life Next Door

I love this book. I absolutely love it. This was probably my third time reading it and my opinion of My Life Next Door has never changed. It's an amazing debut novel by Huntley Fitzpatrick, filled with fun characters, real-life issues, and a summer romance. The best part is that it has a sequel (squeal!) coming out next year!

Noisetrade

There was no way I would ever be able to have a blog without doing a post about Noisetrade, and since I use it so much it seemed fitting to be my first official post!

Noisetrade is a website that has both music and books available free for download. I use it for the music portion, and I can't get enough of this site. It allows artists to distribute their music to the masses easily. Once you've found an artist you're really digging, there's a few simple steps before you have the music.

Welcome

Hey, welcome to Shouse In The House! I've created this blog basically as a space to just write about life. I have a tumblr but I mostly use that for reblogging and things like that. While I post personal things on it at times, it's nothing like an actual blog, which is what this will be! You'll mostly find posts about college, food, entertainment, faith, and maybe even a little bit of fashion thrown in. 
 
So, if you want to see life through the eyes of a slightly odd twenty-two year old, you've come to the right place!

*Obviously if you want to follow my tumblr in all its fandom and just random glory, feel free! The link is under the bio! :)