The Days Just Keep Coming as Do the Improvements

Day 57: Saturday March 27

Improvement: Mac Knowledge. Today I looked up Mac keyboard shortcuts so that I could better use my Mac - something I do nearly every day. Now I can do things faster and more efficiently. Yes. I am a huge nerd and even read Mac Life magazine today. Friends Check? Still there?? Hope so.

Day 56: Friday March 26

Improvement: Memory. Today I finished scrap-booking all the photos I have printed out pre-European adventure. This may sound lame to some, but I feel great about finally finishing. It is good to flip through all the memories and look at what a great life I have had. Makes me thankful. Mostly I am just thankful to be done. Scrap-booking is somewhat of a nightmare. Digital scrapbooks here I come.

Day 55: Thursday March 25

Improvement: Said Yes. Although I woke up tired for my journalism class this morning I learned the power of Nike's "Just Do It" campaign last night. Now I know the idea of being a "Yes, ma'am kind of person," could improve a lot of aspects of life. For one, people need to learn to say yes to helping others, having fun and getting the most out of time.

Last night instead of saying, "No, I can't go. I have an 8 AM tomorrow," I said, "Yes" to going to an improv comedy show at the Barrel House. My friend Hannah invited Sam Spurlock and I to watch KU's student comedy group preform. I couldn't be happier that I said yes instead of my first instinctive "No thanks." It was good to get out of the house and even better to bond with my sisters, especially over a good laugh or two.

Day 54: Wednesday March 24

Improvement: Get Schooled. I enrolled in Intermediate/Advanced Photoshop at the Lawrence Arts Center. After doing a news feature story on students taking classes at the LAC, I decided it was time to stop thinking about being better at Adobe Photoshop and time to be better. I loved the two hours I spent learning more about the program. With the extremely small class, I was able to receive lots of teacher attention and learn a ton! I can't wait to see how much I learn in next eight weeks. I once heard that "Creatively likes company," and I think I found some.

Day 53: Tuesday March 23

Improvement: Ventured to the Library. Today was full of small improvements. I finally made a move to study with the cute guy in my class. (I doubt he will ever see this, so I only feela little weird mentioning how attractive he is on a public website). Improvement number two is that I studied really hard for my Politics midterm. Three, I studied at the library and one of the libraries on campus that I never venture to. Not only was it great to study with Mr. Political Hottie but also a change from my normal coffee shop study spot. All in all, it was good to for me to put myself out there and hopefully if all else fails, I didn't fail my politics midterm.

Day 52: Monday March 22

Improvement: Jumped into School Mode. I did an assignment that wasn't due for another week. It was surprising how good it felt to work ahead and not procrastinate. Maybe I'll start not procrastinating tomorrow.

Day 51: Sunday March 21

Improvement: Baked a Cake (and shared). I know I have made fun-fetti cake before but never red velvet. I evened pulled the cake out of the pan to set on a plate to ice the sides. I then took it to a meeting to share. Oh, the lesson of sharing.

Half way there!

Day 50: Saturday March 20

Improvement: Taking advantage of situations. I plan on enjoying being snowed in. You heard me right. It snowed. In March. And I, Sarah Weaver, plan on not saying anything negative about the snow. I plan on spending the day doing everything I said I was going to do over break such as scrapbook, organize my room, maybe even some homework.

Right now I am catching up on my List on my parent's DVR. I am traveling to the depths of South America from here in my parent's bedroom. Samantha Brown celebrated her 10th year with the Travel Channel and I am not watching her TV special.

My thought on Samantha Brown: she is great, but I am better. Well, I may not be better, but good ol' Sam is becoming exactly that - old. The travel channel should be looking to replace her and here I am! In Kansas. Come find me.

Day 49: Friday, March 19

Improvement: Being a good daughter. My dad has a new job as of last October and I had yet to visit his office. It was great to see what he did and most importantly to see him enjoy what he did.

Day 48: Thursday, March 18

Improvement: Daytime television knowledge. I am not used to watching much television, but lately I have been watching lots of Bravo channel specials including The Real Housewives, Kell on Earth, and Shear Genius as well as Desperate Housewives re-runs. It may not be the best improvement, but I am learning to enjoy the little things in life - like Kell on Earth or the time to sit back relax and watch quality tv. Quality can be debated.

Day 47: Wednesday, March 17

Improvement: Kept my cool. I babysat out south early this morning then in Lawrence this afternoon and then I was on a tight schedule to get back to OP to babysit this evening. Bad news bears knocked on my door because my battery was dead. I left my lights on...again. After a friendly jump and an hour and a half later, I was babysitting my third family of the day no problem. Being flexible and friendly was key today. Once again, I made some money and had some fun.

Fun was definitely had. I made green eggs and ham for breakfast for Julia, 5. George (20-month-old) was not having it though. When I tried to offer him a green waffle, he looked at me like I was crazy. It was good green St. Patrick's Day fun.

Day 46: Tuesday March 16

Improvement: Sleep in. I slept a lot. It was great. Enough said.

Improvements Galore

Day 45: Monday, March 15

Improvement: Relations with former classmates. I was invited to a get-together of old high school classmates. Technically this was Sunday night, but it went into the wee hours, so we are counting this as Monday's improvement. It was good to see everyone and hear how things are going. I had a lot of fun.

Day 44: Sunday, March 14

Improvement: Spring Cleaning. I cleaned out my closet and moved most of everything I own at my parents' house into my room upstairs.

Day 43: Saturday, March 13

Improvement: Radio listener and bank account. I babysat all day for a family who only has basic cable. Meaning when KU dominated K State, I had to resort to listening to the game on the radio. It felt like the stone age, but it was awesome. Surprisingly, I paid a lot of attention to the game and enjoyed listening. Plus, I made bank.

Day 42: Friday, March 12

Improvement: Flexibility. I changed my schedule with a drop of hat. There is a lot to be said about a flexible person.

Day 41: Thursday, March 11

Improvement: Interviewing skills. Today I had the best interview I have ever had. I did everything by the books - from researching my subject beforehand, noting his mannerisms to pointing out paintings on the walls. Complete success. Enjoyed ever minute of it. I love journalism, and thank goodness because that's my major.

Shop Local and Go Green

Day 40: Wednesday, March 10

Improvement: Go Green. I bought a green water bottle at Sunflower yesterday, so that I stop buying water bottles between classes. Today I made sure to fill up my water bottle and drink water all day long. So, today I also drank more water and went green.

Day 39: Tuesday, March 9

Improvement: Supported my local community. I shopped locally today. I supported Sunflower Outdoor & Bike (my favorite store on Mass Street) and Dusty Bookshelf by buying some lovely little things. Oh, and Ann Kincaid, Bridget Lamb and I hit up buy-one-get-one-free day at Sylas & Maddy's Ice Cream Parlor.

Support Lawrence businesses and shop locally.

Overcoming Unwanted Obstacles

Day 38: Monday, March 8

Improvement: My Love for the Outdoors. Livia and I went for a short walk today before the rain hit. Then the rain washed my dirty car, which I was happy about. I could complain about my wet flats and the dreary night, but I'm trying not to be negative - wait, was I just negative? Opps.

Day 37: Sunday, March 7

Improvement: My patience. I helped a friend with a journalism assignment and remembered what being an editor in high school was like. I'm glad I have those experiences, but I am also glad those experiences are over. I was patient with my friend and hopefully provided some good help.

Patience is one my biggest flaws. Meaning I am not a patient person. I do try to be patient with others, but often times I am not. Today I was because I care about my friend. I need to learn to always care about others and slowly I will become more patient.

Improvements

Day 36: Saturday, March 6

Improvement: My detective skills. Turns out I am a bad detective. I lost my phone, yes, the same phone I drove to OP the day before to pick up. Thankfully, my friends found it for me. Don't call me Sherlock.

Day 35: Friday, March 5

Improvement: My interview skills. I interviewed the executive director of the Lawrence Arts Center today. Also, I did it all without the use of a phone because my phone was dead and broken. Basically this whole week had a theme of no cell phone use.

Today I drove to OP to pick up a new phone. I'm thankful to have a working phone back.

Day 34: Thursday, March 4

Improvement: My posture. I have bad posture, so today I focused on sitting up straight to better my body.

Day 33: Wednesday, March 3

Improvement: Try something new. I ate tilapia for the first time. I didn't love it, but didn't hate it. It's important to try something new because you can't knock it 'til you try it.

No Phone For a Day

Day 32: No blackberry

I turned off my phone for good today. It woke me up this morning at 7am, and then I removed the battery from my precious Blackberry.

By 9am, I went to reach for my phone and unpleasantly reminded that I didn't have it.

Then 11am rolled around and I needed to call some interviews for journalism, but instead I got in my car and drove to the Lawrence Arts Center to find a source - that failed, so I went to the Mirth cafe to visit a friend. It was there that I found my interview by chance. You never know what you will run into when you turn your phone off.

At 2:15pm I was walking to class without my lifeline and saw a friend I wanted to wave to from afar, but no, she was texting and never looked up. Now, there is a real life example of our obsession with cell phones. People are missing real life.

It's 3pm and I want my phone back, but no I won't turn it until midnight.

It's 10:50. Nearly one hour to go. Technically, I can't and won't turn it on until 7am tomorrow. 24 hours with a phone was not easy or fun. I will reflect tomorrow once I check my many voice mails and texts, I'm sure (not).

Maybe I will realize the lessons I learned today. As for now, I'm annoyed and want my phone back. However, I am very proud of myself for doing something and sticking to it. Maybe next time I will say no to my phone and the internet for a day, that's a big maybe.

I'll be in the front

Day 31: Monday, March 1, 2010

Improvement: Front row seating. I sat in the front row of all three of my classes today. I was more alert and less likely to pull out my phone or use my laptop for things other than note taking. I may start a front row seating trend to continue to better myself as a student.