Next week, also known as Hell Week, is quickly approaching. I call it Hell Week because the semester is coming to an end, and that's when everything is due. Projects become overwhelming while finals lurk in the upcoming days. It's going to be a doozie as usual, but it's doable.

On top of all of that, I'm stuck with the task of finding an internship for the summer. I have to have one in order to graduate next May, and I'd much rather not have to worry about my internship while the semester is in session.

Out of all of the internships I've applied for, I really want one in particular. It's paid, which is virtually unheard of, but that's not why I want it. I would be working with a major Indianapolis hospital, and I know I would gain so much experience from interning with them. So far, I have had a great phone interview with the recruiter and received a couple e-mails from HR. I was asked for and gave a verbal agreement, which I think means if they officially offer me the internship, they know I will take it. I guess I'll just have to play the waiting game, which isn't very fun, but I have a feeling and hope it's going to be worth the wait.

1-5-12

"A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be."

-Albert Einstein


1-12-12

There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle.

- Albert Einstein


01-19-12

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.

- Thomas Jfferson


01-26-12

“What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.”

- Napoleon Hill


02-02-12

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."

- Theodore Roosevelt

02-09-12

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

- Abraham Lincoln

02-16-12

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

- Walt Disney

02-23-12

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

- Robert F. Kennedy

03-01-12

"Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have."

- Unknown

3-8-12

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"

- John F. Kennedy

3-22-12

"Everything happens for a reason."

- Unknown

3-29-12

"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results."

- Jack Dixon

4-5-12

"We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough."

- Helen Keller

4-12-12

"Sometimes in life you don't always feel like a winner, but that doesn't mean your'e not a winner."

- Lady Gaga

4-19-12

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."

- Muhammad Ali

"Don't let go of your dreams. If you have determination and belief in your dreams, you will succeed in spite of your desire to let go."

            - Catherine Pulsifer

Have you ever heard of a dog that's afraid of heights? No? Well, now you have. Meet Rocky.

Rocky, our Havanese, won't got up more than one step on a flight of stairs. Today, Amy and I started him at the bottom of the stairs in the basement--it was a feat just carrying him down the stairs without him clenching and whimpering.

No matter what we did, he wouldn't do more than put his front two feet on the bottom step. We even to resortted to bribery. A piece of turkey wasn't enticing enough to get his hind legs off the floor.

Eventually, I put him on the second step up to get him started, but he only went back down to the bottom. For some reason he'll go down the bottom three steps, but won't do anything if higher.


I put him on each step until he was at the top. He wouldn't even go up two steps from the top. He just froze and wagged his tail when we called his name.

I don't get it. He runs up and down the steps on the deck, but when it comes to stairs inside the house, he flips out. The only explanation we can think of is that he's afraid of heights.

Another thing that's leading us to believe that he's afraid of heights is what he does when we hold him while we're standing up. I'm 6'4, and when I pick him up he holds onto me for dear life like he's looking down from the edge of a cliff. Everyone in my family tall, so when we hold him, we can't be standing up or he'll whine, growl, squirm, or try to hold on with all his might.

A vertically challenged dog in a very vertical world.

Do YOU know of any other dogs like Rocky?

This video has received over 8 million views in 24 hours.

Genius.

We've had a tree in our front yard next to the driveway ever since I can remember. Today marks the end of that memory.

It all started last Spring. We noticed that parts of the tree weren't growing or were dying. We cut off the dead limbs, expecting it to get better. Well, this Spring only about a fourth of the tree started to develop buds, so we had a guy come out and look at it.

The verdict: emerald ash borer, some little beetles are killing it. I did some Googling (as usual), and found that these "borers" have been killing trees all across the Midwest since 2002. Adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage. The larvae, however, feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients. This essentially kills it.


These little critters only feed on ash trees, and have killed tens of millions of ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Quebec, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Anyways, the picture to the right is what remains of the tree. Everything else went through a wood chipper, but we can use the logs for campfires at least. Heck, they're so big they could be used as seats around the campfire. Either way, next comes the tough part: getting the roots out of the ground!

Did you know about emerald ash borer? It's sure news to me.

When I discover new things that I enjoy, I like to share them. So, here's my newest discovery. It's called All-In Fitness and it's an iPhone app.


Here's all the features you get with it:

Choose a workout according to your personal needs and abilities and keep track of your calorie intake with the help of just ONE app!

All-in Fitness will help you find a workout that suits you best: just go for one of the 3 modes:

Ready Workouts – comprehensive collection of 100 expert-made workouts for every goal and level (weight loss, muscle build-up, keeping fit and much more) 

Advanced Search – workout selection according to your aims and skills

Create Workout – set up your own fitness routine and share it with friends
For those who want something special, an extra feature is available – personal workout request. Fill in the questionnaire and have an individual workout developed by fitness experts just for you.

The exercise database with 1000 exercises + HD video instructions for each grouped according to body parts, muscles and equipment. The exercises include 300 yoga poses. You're sure to get every exercise right with detailed text how-tos, muscle maps and photos. To make the most of it, you can add your own exercises to the database.

Use the app's top-notch calorie counter for a balanced approach to fitness. Have your daily target calorie consumption calculated automatically as you choose your weight maintenance goal. Log your meals with the help of the database boasting over 300,000 items, including fast food and restaurant brands. See how many calories you've burnt as you log your workouts and daily activities.

Track your progress with the help of body shape logs & charts. Keep tabs on your blood pressure and sugar level every day. Use the built-in calculators to figure out your target heart rate, body fat and one rep max.

The app syncs with the integrated iPhone/iPod calendar, so you'll never miss your workout again.

And last but not least – if you're looking for useful fitness reads, we got that covered too! Fitness magazine with fresh articles, recipes and workouts every month can be found right in the app.

All-in Fitness by Viaden Mobile is your most reliable workout companion!

I've only been using this app for a couple weeks, but I have gotten so much use out of it. I used to keep track of my workouts by writing them down in exercise charts, but I would either lose them or have to make a new chart when I started a new routine. This app has solved all of that.

All-In Fitness is only $1.99 and it's in the App Store. My dad recommended it to me, and I loved it so much I had to share it with you. I hope you get as much use out of it as I have.

This...is... hilarious. Especially around the 1:15 mark.

I might have peed a little.

I barely had any homework to do today, and it was a wonderful 82 degrees outside. I texted Rachel and she was in the process of starting a garden in her backyard, so I helped out!

First, we went to Lowe's and picked up all of the typical gardening tools (trowel, cultivator, watering can, etc.) along with some patio accessories (chairs, tiki torches, and bird feeder!).

The most important decision we made all day was what to plant. That decision was flowers. The only criteria: pretty and easy to grow. The patio gets 6+ hours of sun every day, so that was a factor, too.


The flowers we ended up getting were Asiatic Lilies, Oriental Lilies, and some others. I forget their names, but they're pink, blue, and red (the three in the middle of the row in the picture). This is only the beginning, however. There's still plenty of room to plant all sorts of flowers and/or vegetables.

Rachel's cat, Tipper (named because the tip of her tail is the only white part on her all-black fur) was watching us the whole time through the screen door. One thing caught her attention, however: a fly. She pounced and stuck to the screen like velcro. Luckily, she did it more than once, so I got a picture. It was absolutely hilarious.


After a hard day's work, we made a trip to Ruby Tuesday. The water in the apartment complex was shut off because a pipe in the main water supply was leaking, so eating out was pretty much the only option we had.

Stuffed with artichoke spinach dip and the salad bar, we watched some classic 90's cartoons on Netflix: Hey Arnold! and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. Is there anything better than watching 90's cartoons and reliving childhood memories? I think not.

Today was a beautiful day well spent.