These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

I realized a couple days ago that I haven't really been open as to who I am exactly. My likes, dislikes, blah blah blah. Well.. Now it's time for a little get to know me session... And maybe a giveaway :)

Anywho... A random list of things that I am obsessed love.

• Oatmeal Cookies. Especially when my dad makes them. They are homemade bar cookies and to die for. Nom nom delicious.
• Owls. Anything with owls on it, in it, around it. Whatever. I.FREAKING.LOVE.OWLS. I would love an owl tattoo, but I doubt that will happen.
• Llamas. Freakin adorable little monsters.
• Hip Hop music. I'll never admit it in public (we're all family here) but I love me some Snoop Dog.
• The color maroon. Not only was it one of my colors in college, but it's so flattering!
• Books. Pretty books. Ugly books. Long books. Short books. Hard back. Paper back. Ebooks. Books. I love books. I'm a book whore bibliomaniac/bibliophile. Either way. Love books.
• Writing. It's a shocker, I know. I have a blog, so I must like writing. Not exactly. I'm sure not all bloggers write for the joy of writing. I actually have written a couple of fiction pieces. I'm not 100% sure I'm ready to share them with the world, yet. Maybe some day.
• Pretty journals. I'm a sucker for a pretty journal. The cover, the blank pages, so many possibilities. My set back is that I buy cute journals and I never use them, because I don't want to jack up the pages. Which brings me to the mention of free stuff!!

The beauty pictured above is currently up for grabs!! (Notice the maroon? My pillowcase.) It is a beautiful journal that caught my eye while browsing through my local Ross. There is where I came up with the my favorite things giveaway. Every once in a while, I'll host a giveaway featuring something I love. It may be small, or it could be big! You never know :) I can say, it won't be contained to the list above :)

Enter using the Rafflecopter below! Contest starts NOW! And will run until March 13th at 12:00am. Good luck! You must follow my blog for any of your entries to count! I WILL CHECK!! :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Quest to Funky-dom

When I restarted my blog, I was determined to not let it be solely a weight loss blog. Chunky is more than just a body type to me. Chunky is more a state of mind. My depression, career, fitness, weight, and relationships all fit into my state of mind. Today's post is more about my career. Where have you been and where are you going? I'm going to be Funky dammit! :-)

Right now I'm in the process of trying to get a Master's degree. Currently I work as a substitute teacher and it's just not enough for me. I am eligible to apply for teaching positions in the state of Texas as an 8-12 ELA/Reading teacher. For the last few weeks I've been filling in for the librarian. I love it in here. LOVE it. LOVE IT. LOVE IT! Sorry. Point made.

Anyways, I have my Bachelor's in Psychology because.... Well.... I needed a Bachelor's degree... That's all I'd ever been told. Get a degree! Get a degree! Degree=job! Yeah... About that... Not so much.. Yes, I had a full time job before. Yes I'm subbing full time now. Know how much I made when I was at my peak income? $29k... That's barely enough to make rent and make a car payment, much less pay off my effing student loans.

I love teaching. I love books. I love teaching kids about books and with books and all the wonders that are books. (Remember how I called myself a nerd? Yeah).

My problem? I was a complete and total SCREW OFF during my undergraduate career. My ending GPA was a lousy 2.45 and my GPA for my last 60 hours was something around a 2.28. Yep... That's what I get for having NO direction. I wanted to graduate. Graduate=job, right? That's what I always thought....

Here goes my journey to Funky-dom... One headache at a time...

Books, Books, Books

As of late, I've been subbing in a high school library. One of the things that I've wanted to do is get back into reading like I used to. When I was younger (late elemetary school) I always had a book in my hand. I won numerous awards for most books read (we didn't have AR tests back then) and I often was a member of the 600 Minutes Reading Club. The 600 Minutes Club gave free tickets to Six Flags to the students that logged 600 minutes of reading time in a month's time. Even as early as 2nd grade I was able to join this club.

As I progressed into junior high I turned into your typical JH girl... Boys, clothes, friends and general pre-teen girl idiocy began to outweigh my love of reading. These habits followed me through junior high, high school, and through the first year or so of college. Then I met my dear wifey, Britt. She's not really my wife.. She was my roommate my sophomore/junior year in college. She is the absolute, ultimate book nerd. Thanks to her, I found my love of books again. It started off slow, maybe a book a month or so (I was still a college student, after all). I graduated college in May of 2010 and slipped on my reading again. I was consumed with the desire to find a job and hopefully move out of my parent's house.

Fast forward to October 2011... I am living on my own, dating a book worm and I'm slowly becoming BFFs with another bibliophile who recommends I read the Harry Potter series. I finished all 7 books in about 3 weeks. I'm back. A raging bibliomaniac with a thirst for new and exciting adventures in the form of print on pages. I have a Goodreads account that I update almost daily. Working in a library has its perks! My most recent read is Divergent by Veronica Roth. It's similar in style and genre to The Hunger Games trilogy. I love dystopian fiction!