W.W.T.J.D?

I believe my life changed after Trader Joe's came to town. I'm nearly obsessed with the store and absolutely adore taking trips to get groceries. The fact that you can purchase 20 items for the same price as 7 items at a "regular" store makes a great deal of difference. Emphasis on the deal part. Trader Joe's is not just your Average (trader) Joe. They have plenty of options to cater to most of your food needs. After this post you would think I work at Trader Joe's. It's not the case. I'm just one of their biggest fans! I'm not sure I've ever left a store without something new to try in my handy reusable TJ's bag. Now, let me get this out there. Not everything in that store is worth writing home about. Believe me! I only send my family letters when I get something really tasty. Kidding…but it is worth a mention! Even though I am such a fan, there are some aspects that certainly don’t sit well with me. The pros outweigh the cons and I still shop there more than any other grocery store. Not only is the food good, the works are incredibly friendly with their Hawaiian shirts and pleasant conversation. If you are not a people person and don’t want to talk to anyone then you probably shouldn’t travel to TJs. They will start a conversation and it’s only nice to be polite.

I can’t believe there are only 340 Trader Joes around the country. Well, half of them are in CA so I have been quite lucky to have one in my town! These statistics could be a little off since I did quickly search on Wikipedia and we all know how that is not a valid source. Someone could change that amount of stores to 5,000 tomorrow and people won’t give it much thought! Oh well, at least this blog is not a research project. The APA citations can be left out. Phew. If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s in your town and you haven’t shopped there as often as you should be shopping there, I encourage you to test it out. Don’t yell at me if you get something that isn’t good (Hint: Be cautious of the frozen food section). Now that I have professed my love for Trader Joe’s, I must take a trip there today! It’s the right thing to do. When you are trying to think of the right thing to do in life, ask yourself, What Would Trader Joe Do?

Best,

Anne

Weather you like it or not.

Why does the subject of the weather seem to be a "go-to" topic when having a conversation? Is it because there is nothing else to talk about? Is it because it changes so you always have something to fall back on? Is it because our moods rely on the weather? I like to think it's all of the above. Certainly, talking about the weather is the safest bet when nothing else can come to mind when you are having a conversation. It's so natural to everyone that people don't think twice about it. Well, unless you are me and you think about it enough to dedicate a post to the subject. It's not really a bad thing to talk about the weather when there is nothing else to talk about. It is what it is. It's too late to think about it any further. The weather changing is helpful to new and exciting conversations such as "The wind definitely picked up yesterday!" or "Guess what...it was raining this morning but at 3:00 the sun came out!" Talk about keeping your audience in suspense! Thrilling. I especially enjoy looking out the window in the morning and letting the sky decide the fate of my mood. I love the mornings when it tells me I'm in for an ominous kind of day. One thing is for sure, I have yet to be upset by seeing the sun. I fully admit, I am in a better mood and love to talk about the weather when it's so nice out. Who isn't? It's as if we've never seen good weather before and want to gab about it nonstop. Who cares? People just want to shout from the rooftops on those warm days with a slight breeze that make things interesting. Can you guess why I'm writing this? It's fifty-seven degrees here and sunny. What's the weather there? I've already talked about the weather half of a dozen times to people today. Must be something in the air. Ha. Ha. Enjoy your Saturday!

Best,

Anne

PS: Downside to nice weather----procrastination.

Time to book it!

People set goals for themselves all the time. They think about them on a day to day basis. They write them down in hopes of crossing them out as soon as they are completed. I love goals. In fact, I like to think of it as a to-do list that may take a day or lifetime to accomplish. Goals, to-do lists. Tomato, tomahto. Essentially, the same thing! My goals can range from finishing a homework assignment early to running a marathon before I die. Marathon---check! I really don't think goals have to be extravagant for one to feel satisfied when they are done. One person's goal is another person's pleasure. Feel free to quote me on that:) Anyway, I have thrown around an idea for my to-do list for quite some time. At first, it was in a joking fashion but I believe it to be a brilliant goal to cross off my list (someday).

I'm studying Community Health. I have a passion for learning everything that changes about the field (and believe me, it changes constantly! That's why I think I have a chance of getting a job someday that will last). I'm not in a journalism class. I'm not taking a writing class (yet) and I don't like science (I'll get over it, don't worry. Can't dodge that for this major) But, I love to write. I'm sure you may be thinking, Anne, we know you love to write...why else would you have a blog? You're right. I don't know why I'd have a blog if I didn't enjoy using it every once in awhile. The fact of the matter is, I want to write a book. WHOA. I said it. I haven't grown up with the idea of wanting to write a book but I also didn't grow up with the idea of wanting to run a marathon. Life happens and puts everything into perspective one day at a time. Anything is possible right? Don't worry, I'm not trying to compete against the brainy Nobel Prize contenders for Literature but I do want to write a book about something I am fond of, or should I say "someones". As often as I talk to my mom, I appreciate her more every single day. Without giving away the mind-blowing details, she has dealt with a lot. Enough that can fill a book....probably a sequel! We owe that thanks to life and the interesting ups and downs that occur. That's why the other person I will write about is my dad. This will be in the same book, not a joke book. I knew that was what you were thinking. Never fear, I will incorporate some of those hilarious jokes into the text and maybe the not-so hilarious jokes, too. I'll play it by ear, okay? Regardless, I admire my parents so much. They have dealt with far more than they ever imagined dealing with and have learned, been rewarded, and traveled down many new paths. I think they deserve a book and that's that!

So why am I telling you this? I figure if I put it out there, you will count on me to check this off the to-do list. Now there are a few things to remember. 1. Don't think I will be blogging in a week saying that I am halfway through. 2. Don't think I will be blogging in three years saying I am halfway through. 3. Patience. Someday, alright? 4. I need to get the "okay" from the stars of the book. I look forward to confirmation from them as soon as they have read this blog post:)

I'd say stay tuned but that sounds like I'll be back soon with good details. How about...Just relax. That's better. Have a great rest of your Wednesday. Halfway through the week!

Best,

Anne

P.S. Obviously without a background in journalism it will make it difficult to be taken seriously as an author. Therefore I will rely on my google search of "How to write a book". I assume that'll do.