Looking Back at 2013...

I'll have to be honest -- 2013 was a good year to me. I started dating my best friend. I travelled. I was happy. More than I can say for 2012. 

And yes, 2013 had some really shitty parts too. Losing Simba, losing family members, still squatting on my mom's couch, money problems. But, what kind of year would it be if it was just all good? 

JANUARY:

- I reunited with my friends.

- Watched Space Jam.

- I made this awesome post about my ridiculous Google searches. 

FEBRUARY:

- Mike and I started dating. 

- My brother and I went to a Suns game. 

MARCH:

- It was Mike's birthday and we had an 80's themed party. 

- I saw Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

- We went to the Beer and BBQ festival -- my favorite springtime event.  

- I went to New York to visit my best friend and my long-distance dog - the Louis. 

APRIL:

- Mike and I went to Tucson to see Modest Mouse. 

- I went up north to meet Mike's parents for the first time. 

MAY:

- Mike and I went to San Diego - Parts One and Two. (I told him he better have enjoyed SeaWorld because we're never going back)

- I went to Phoenix Comicon. 

JUNE:

- We went to Vegas!

JULY:

- My Peanut turned one year old. 

- Mike bought us our matching bikes. 

AUGUST:

- Mike and I went up to Sedona and Jerome. 

- We also rode our bikes. A lot. I wish we did that more often. 

SEPTEMBER:

- Buster joined our family. 

OCTOBER:

- I got one of my wisdom teeth removed. 

- I ran my second 5K.

- My 24th birthday.

- I actually dressed up for Halloween ... and I looked good.

NOVEMBER:

- Hiked A Mountain. 

- Started couponing. (And, in the past two months of couponing, I have saved over $275!)

DECEMBER:

- Ran my third 5K.

- Had an amazing Christmas with Mike, my family, and his family.

2013 was good to me and I'm looking forward to what 2014 has in store. 

Christmas is Finally Over.

This Christmas season was hard for me to get into the spirit. Money problems, work, and family issues were causing me so much stress that I just threw my hands up and decided whatever happens, happens. 

I'm glad I did because we ended up celebrating more Christmas than anyone should. 

Christmas Eve was spent with my family. Christmas, after I got off work, we went to mike's family's for dinner. The day after Christmas, we went to Mike's parent's place for dinner and presents. And then, Friday, we spent with my family for "Family Night" and presents. 

Whew. I am so glad it's all over. Not because it wasn't fun, but this time of year gets so stressful. "Will they like the gift I got them?" "Who's going to cry in my family tonight?" "Will his family like me?" Thankfully, all of my worrying was for nothing and I ended up having a great 4-day Christmas.

HOW TO SAVE: The College Textbook Edition.

The semester just ended -- I know -- but now is one of the best times to start getting your books for the Spring Semester. When I was in college, I would start immediately after Christmas to find the best prices on books and one of the cheapest ways to get books is to rent them. With CampusBookRentals.com, you're going to save 40-90% off what the book store is charging you.

I rented books all the time. Why bother buying a book and never being able to sell it after the class because the newest edition just came back? Renting textbooks is so much cheaper and once you're done using it, you send it back to CampusBookRentals.com for free.

If you've been buying books the whole time you're in school, don't worry about it. You can now rent your books to other students with RentBack.com. If your books are eligible, you can make 2-4x more than if you just sold it to an online retailer. I wish I would have known about this program before selling all my textbooks off.

I'm always looking for new ways to save money and I have always recommended to my friends that they should rent their books -- it's cheaper, it's easier, and you don't have to lug that book around when you move.

DISCLAIMER: This post is sponsored by CampusBookRentals.com, but all opinions are my own. 

WEEKLY ROUND UP // 35 (The Christmas Edition)

As I'm compiling this post, I'm making my family's shopping list for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. I'm not the biggest Christmas fan. We have such a small family that it seems like any other day for me. And this year, I'm working as well. I wanted to get in the spirit this year and I wanted to dazzle everyone with gifts and baked goods, but the stress of everything else going on in my life has rendered that impossible.
I'm usually constantly listening to Christmas carols and this year, I never even turned on the Christmas station in my car (I keep on my podcasts to keep me awake while I drive). I've wrapped exactly three presents. And, the biggest gift I gave this year was fixing my mom's car.
I am excited to spend my first Christmas with Mike as a couple and that should be exciting and new and I worry that my Debbie Downer-ness will affect him. So, here are some Christmas-y things that make me happy and will hopefully put you in more of a Christmas spirit too! -- Not like the blogging community needs anymore Christmas spirit though. You guys have been amped for this holiday since November 1st.

-I love Picard and my favorite part is "SHUT UP WESLEY"

- Why isn't this my Christmas --- errr... Snapemus tree?

- This is my favorite Christmas video. Ever.

- Want more Patrick Stewart being amazing? Here he is with two buddies.

- Another nerdy Christmas song.

- A Christmas list for the nerd in your life if you recently won the lottery. #12 frightens me. And please don't ever show my brother #5.

- Maybe I can make these in time for next year. And yeah, it's Star Trek related.

- Still haven't finished shopping? Shop Amazon - Free One-Day Shipping on Last Minute Gift Ideas. 

RECENTLY WATCHED: Blackfish.

If you haven't heard about the documentary Blackfish yet, you are definitely missing out. Earlier this year, I saw the trailer and knew I had to watch it. Unfortunately, it was only playing at one theatre in my neck of the woods and I just kept missing the times. I was getting ready to rent it on iTunes (Even though my iTunes giftcard is all gone because of Beyonce) when I heard it was on Netflix. I finally watched it last night and woah. 

The main premise of the film is to look into the death of a Sea World trainer and the whale responsible for her death. The film explains that there were many incidents with this whale leading up to this highly publicized death in 2010. 

In short, the film is heart wrenching. And, you're going to feel guilty for ever going to Sea World because while these animals are gorgeous, they are not meant for captivity. 

Obviously, there are two sides to every story, but Sea World's statement regarding the 2010 death blatantly ignores the video footage in the film (No, you don't see the actual attack -- thank God -- but you do see the beginning of the attack when the whale grabs her arm). So, how can you really believe their other statements when you SEE the whale grab her arm and Sea World says, "Oh no, he totally grabbed her hair. Trust us." 

While difficult to watch, this is a conversation we need to be having. If my recommendation doesn't make you want to watch it, it has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. If that isn't a glowing recommendation, I don't know what is. 

CURRENTLY...

Apparently, I've been pretty MIA from my blog. I guess that's part of the whole holiday stress season. In addition to working 6 days a week, my family is down a car, which means I get to wake up an hour earlier than normal to drive my mom to work and I don't get to take my nap until way later since I get to pick her up from work too. Throw in some, "How the hell am I going to afford Christmas presents?" stress and that makes for a very unhappy Kaileigh.

Last night, I decided it was time for an update and of course, my computer wouldn't turn on. Life. But, here I am and let me fill you in on what I've been up to lately.

READING // Just finished Going Clear. I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it to anyone. Now, I'm reading The Cuckoo's Calling. I'm trying to go in without any expectations, but I feel as if it's fairly obvious it was a female writer from the get-go.

LISTENING TO // In addition to all my podcasts that I follow, I downloaded Beyonce's album. I HAD TO. I wasn't planning on it, but I saw tweets of some of the lyrics and IT WAS DONE.

EATING // Cookies. All the cookies.

DRINKING // More coffee than usual. Since I'm waking up earlier, I finish my first cup before 5 am and I immediately want another one.

WATCHING // During one hell of a hangover on Saturday, I managed to watch the entire last season of Futurama.

LOOKING FORWARD TO // The holidays being over. I really thought I was going to get into the Christmas spirit this year and money is just holding me down. Or, I guess the lack of money. I'll be working most of the holiday anyway so, time with my family will be limited.

WEEKENDS // 5K, Arts, and Why ASU, Why?

This was such a busy weekend. Friday night, Mike and I had plans to go downtown, but I ended up crashing hard in the afternoon and didn't wake up until the time we were planning on leaving. We went to our favorite bar - Casey's - instead. That explains why we slept in so late on Saturday.

But, we had things to do on Saturday. Like, pick up my race packet for my 5K on Sunday morning. After grabbing my number and awesome new hoodie, we were thinking of something cheap to do. His parents got us a giftcard for this restaurant Citizen Public House in Scottsdale so we went there and ate the most delicious food. We were stuffed, but decided to go out for bar trivia (Third place!) and the ASU game. 

Here's the thing about ASU football. I never care about it. And then, they started doing well and my hopes got high. Last week's win over UofA felt so good. And, whomp whomp. We lost to Stanford. 

Sunday, we woke up at 5:30 AM to get down to Scottsdale for the Hot Chocolate 5K. I ran this race last year. This year, my baby brother joined me. He beat me -- by 54 seconds. However, this was my best time for a 5K yet and I can't wait to run another one. And maybe get Mike to join me. 

After running and breakfast with my family, I napped before Mike and I rode our bikes up to the Tempe Arts Festival. It was a lot of fun. I love getting to be outside and be cold - definitely not something I'm used to out here in Arizona. 

I was not enjoying the cold this morning before the race.

Getting a little bit more excited to run.

Nate with his Finisher's Cup.

Post race. I look dead.

WEEKLY ROUND UP // 34.

- This is the best tumblr ever: Texts From TNG. Remember when Texts from Last Night were a thing? Well, now they're relevant again.

- D.C. is getting a Sci-Fi Museum. Even more of a reason to go back there.

- My favorite part about the end of the year is all the book lists that different sites compile. Here is the NY Times one and one from Slate.

-
This kind of, sort of really creeps me out. WHO WOULD WANT THAT?

- Breaking Bad fans: This is what Vince Gilligan thought happened to Jesse. Kind of a bummer, but I totally get it.

- Fondant. Hogwarts. That is all.

Musings on Mid-Twenties.

Now that I am officially in my mid-twenties, I can muse about it. 

It's not that being 24 is especially hard. It seems as if no one else my age has anything figured out any better than I do. Some of us have jobs. But, the most are just kind of flailing around. I can't even think of anything coherent enough about the job situation to make a profound statement on. Who knows? Who knows what'll happen? Fingers crossed.

I'm more concerned about how I just cannot get it up to go out anymore. Last week was GO OUT GO OUT GO OUT. DRINK DRINK DRINK. And this week, I dread it. As I'm writing this, I'm supposed to be getting ready for a family birthday at a sports bar and I'd rather just hang out on the couch and finish watching Fringe (I'm on season 4 and HOLY SHIT).

Going out doesn't appeal to me. It's not funny anymore to be the "hot mess" friend that constantly fucks up. None of it's cute anymore.

If you would have told 21 year old Kaileigh that it stops being fun, she would have laughed at you and stolen your drink.

Now, I'm concerned about moving off my mom's couch, finding a job, thinking about my future, budgeting.

I don't have any answers because I just keep coming up with more questions.

OOPS... A Recap of Thanksgiving Week.

Wow. I completely fell off the radar last week. Between work, family, and friends, I had no time for anything else. Even my laundry. Guys, that laundry pile was depressing. But, I'm back! And the laundry has been taken care of. For the most part.

Some highlights from this week:
- Addicted to Emoji Pop. It's like pictionary ... with emojis.
- That picture is a very accurate depiction of last week.
- Thanksgiving was great. No tears at my house.
- I cannot stop watching Fringe. Even though Mike has made his "No Fringe-ing" rule at his house.
- I worked all weekend and it honestly didn't bother me because $$$$$.
- A lot of people think I am engaged because I drunkenly may have posted a picture of me wearing a ring on Facebook. I'm not going to correct anyone because Mike even commented on the picture, "You snooze, you lose I guess."

So, overall, Thanksgiving and last week were awesome. I love my friends. I love my family. I'm thankful to be employed. And, I'm thankful to have this blog to get to say stupid shit like this. I promise, I will write some real posts this week. Swear.