Small Victories

Sometimes it's the little things that we accomplish that mean the most.

A's parents came down two weekends ago and we had a very nice lunch at our new place. I made tacos for the four of us and my parents stopped by after for dessert. After a touch of awkwardness (I mean, it was only their second time meeting after all) it was just so nice to have our families together in our new home. My parents only stayed for a little while and as they were leaving my mom made a comment to A's mom that she was excited the two of them were going to be able to plan a wedding soon and did she want to come dress shopping with us. It was such a little comment (followed by the remark that weddings take at least two years to plan from A's mom... baby steps) but for the rest of the time that we spent with his parents that day, his mom kept bringing up the subject. In the nearly four years that I have known this woman I can literally count the number of chatty conversations we've had together on one hand. I don't know if it was my mom's comment, or if she's finally starting to accept that they are stuck with me, or what, but she was actually being chatty and talking to me and I was overjoyed. I never wanted to get married before A but I always imagined that if I did that I would be super close to my in-laws and especially my Mother in Law. I reconciled that dream years ago but I keep trying anyways and I love that we are finally breaking some barriers down. We have lots of time to become a family.

Last weekend our friends from college came down to break in our new pad with a party. It was so great to see them and have them celebrate with us.

Also last weekend I decided that I was going to run  10 miles before Thanksgiving. I know that doesn't sounds like a lot to anyone but me but with my knee situation that has kind of been a miracle. Today I was able to run 1.25 miles straight and I had the hugest silliest grin on my face. My knees hurt now but I was able to do it. I have 7.75 more miles to go and I'm really excited. I've also been working on the weights and sometimes I think I can see results. My mom and I have committed to going to the gym together after work MWF so that has been really fun and motivating. My eating habits are getting better but living in two places at once is hard. Often I fall asleep at the apartment before I can make my lunch for the next day and then have to wake up and rush home so I can actually go to sleep. Sometimes I manage to make lunch or snacks at the apartment and forget to bring them home in my half asleep rush to get back. I don't have enough time in the morning to make anything for lunch. I barely manage making breakfast. So eating habits are next on my list to change.

A and I officially joined our bank accounts so we are excited about that. One step closer!!!

We have started talking about a venue and a date but nothing is decided yet. We have tentatively picked October 2014 but depending on our venue that could easily change due to availability etc.

I am no longer being babysat at work and am getting to know my coworkers. Tomorrow a bunch of us are going out to lunch together and then after work I am getting a pedicure with one of them. It's fun to have some new friends.

We officially moved Beckham into the apartment. He had a few days of adjustment but it's getting better. We  Anthony built him a "tree", or whatever these things are called:

Anyways, he loves it.

But that's all for now folks!!

If this were a movie

Today marked the end of my second week at my new job. That's right! Two and a half weeks ago I said goodbye to my amazing coworkers and STOPPED COMMUTING!!

Excuse the horrendous picture and my apparent lack of eyebrows

 It's been a little rough. Between new information overload, adjusting to a much harder work schedule, and completely rearranging my sleeping schedule I have been struggling just a little. I have reverted into a full blown Starbucks addict (although today I have made the decision to quit... Except for when my boss so generously buys it for the office because come on... I'm only human) and it's become completely outrageous. The past two weeks have also been completely unhealthy... Stress and not sleeping and eating to keep me awake etc etc.
On top of this we are currently moving into our new apartment.

By "our" new apartment what I really mean is our new apartment that only A is living in currently. I spend all of my time there but since we are not married yet I am not sleeping there. It's been really fun to move in but the day after we got the keys A got shipped off an hour away to stay in a hotel for job training so I was by myself for the week.It has been fun moving everything in though. I will post pictures as soon as we are officially done for the time being. The in-laws are coming down on Sunday to see it so it will have to be done by then. 

On top of all of this we have been super happy. Almost too happy. Everything that we have been talking about for the last couple years has been coming true. About a month ago I started to worry. It seems so silly to see it in writing but it's true. Things were going too well, at least in my mind and I was actually afraid to be too happy. It was like I was afraid to have such a big high because I was worried about the huge low I was sure that was going to follow. I didn't say anything to A because I didn't want  him to worry too. But then, a couple weeks after I started feeling this way A and I were driving and all of the sudden he turned to me and said, "Do you get the feeling that everything has been going too well lately?" I was amazed and so relieved that we were on the same path. "If this were a movie something tragic would happen right about now." I hadn't quite thought about it in those specific terms but he was right, that was the exact line of thought that I had been on. But in the end, that's a terrible way to live. You can't just live life expecting the worst. God has been teaching me to trust Him lately so that is what I am going to do. We are super happy and just trying to live and love and enjoy this precious life. What will come will come and we will take it when it does. As long as we do it together we will be perfectly fine.

One Step Closer

This past weekend A and I did some serious apartment hunting. We finally decided which one we wanted to apply for and spent Sunday and Monday gathering the various documentation from our new jobs etc that we needed for the application (it's seriously hard core). So this morning I took everything and went down to the complex to turn in our paperwork and officially apply for the apartment.
I got there and they won't accept checks or cash, so I had to go down to my bank to get a money order for the application fee and then go and drop it off.
I then drove home and as I was pulling up to my house (having decided that it definitely wasn't worth it today to drive to work) I got the call that we were accepted so long as our criminal check cleared (which it will.. duh)!!!
So I went back to the bank to get ANOTHER money order for the holding fee, went back to the complex to drop it off and came home again.
Basically I feel like I drove around my town about 6 times today.

BUT WE GOT AN APARTMENT!!! Yay! I'm so excited to be able to see it and move in. It's kind of hard to believe that this is all happening and the amounts of blessings that are pouring in are almost overwhelming. But we are so thankful that this is all working out for us right now so we'll take it as it comes :]

Times They Are a Changin

This past month may have been the best month of my life so far. At the very least it's been a whirlwind; a blur of happiness, hope, and plans.
September started out with an engagement. Mine, in fact.
Yes, ladies and gents, I am marrying this hunk:

On September 7th, 2013 after church and a lovely dinner with my parents, we stole away to the beach  for a nighttime stroll in the sand. Eventually we sat down with our feet just avoiding the water and he launched into this story about a tv show we both enjoy and how the series finale (which I haven't seen) involved the two main characters being able to spend two lifetimes together. In response I casually told him that I would spend two lifetimes with him (because, come on, how obvious is that?! :P ) so he pulled out this baby 

How beautiful right?! He picked it out all by himself (**swoon**)

and said "Want to start tonight?"

We got celebratory coffee at Mickey Dee's and then headed home where my father snapped this suuuuper attractive picture of us. It was ridiculously hot that day and humid and awful and not at all a good representation of Southern California coastal weather. So this is what we looked like at the end of the day...

My parents have been very excited and supportive about this. Yes, he asked my dad's permission to ask me. Yes, that's required in my family. Yes, he was super scared to ask (my dad, not me... Obviously I was going to say yes. In fact, my exact words were "Well duh!"). 

So there you have it... I am the Future "Mrs. A". Yes, his first AND last name starts with "A" :] We are so excited to start our lives together... But that comes later in the post so stay tuned.

September continued with a birthday, also mine. September 15th was my 22nd birthday. I got to celebrate it with my friends in the house that I used to live in while I was in school. 

It was hipster themed as per my former roommates' instructions and we all had a great time getting to catch up and see one another again.

September ended with A and myself interviewing for respective jobs. It was a lot of fun because A had to be down here for all of his interviews since the job he applied for is in my hometown. The job I was interviewing for is not in my hometown but in a bordering town so I would only be commuting 25 miles a day instead of 140. That's just fine with me!!!

October so far has been incredibly good to us. 

A got his job in my hometown so he is officially moving down here in two weeks.

I got my job so I am officially going to stop commuting in two weeks.

God has just been so incredibly good to us and I don't think I have ever prayed more in my life. I am so thankful that words fail me on how to convey how I truly feel.

A came down again this weekend and on Saturday we did some serious apartment hunting. We have found the apartment that we want to live in. We are just waiting on official letters of hire from our new jobs to come through to us before we apply for it this week. I am praying that the apartments don't get snagged up by other people before I can get there!

Sometimes it is hard for us to believe that this is all actually happening. That we are finally grown-ups and have big-girl and big-boy jobs and that we are applying for our first apartment together. I'm so excited to have our little family together all in one place (you, me, and the kitty). I am also completely stoked that I don't have to move to LA and I can stay here in my amazing hometown. I am even more stoked that this means I can continue attending my church that I absolutely love. God is so good! 

I had literally given up on my job. I thought that I hadn't gotten it. I made up my mind that the next day I was going to start applying again. I wasn't even upset about it, because I became acutely aware of how much God has taken care of me these past couple of months. For a while I was so upset that all of the plans I was making were falling through and that nothing was working out for me. But honestly where would we be if all of them had "worked out"? God has a plan and that was clearly not in His plan. In a way I feel like He was trying to teach me how to trust Him and as soon as I latched onto the concept and gave everything over to Him I was rewarded with seeing what He truly had in store for me and for us. I feel truly lucky to be embarking on this journey with my best friend and the most incredible guy I have ever known. And I feel so lucky that I have a God that is taking care of us and who has a plan for us. 

Woes of a Commuter

I never expected to be in love with commuting. I never expected to wake up every morning and be excited to have to drive 140 miles that day. I didn't have any preconceived notions that commuting was going to fabulous and easy... I expected it to be my reality for a while and since it was never going to be permanent it was going to be fine...

Commuting has taken over my life.

Don't get me wrong. I am so incredibly thankful for my two jobs. As someone who is currently in the market for a new job, I understand perfectly just how hard it is to find a job. A good job is even harder. I have two great jobs. Even though sometimes I don't appreciate them, they are fantastic. But my main job was a school job and I'm no longer in school. It's time for a new one.

In the meantime I am commuting.

By all standards I am a lucky commuter. I am typically going against traffic (for which I am eternally grateful, I would not have moved home if I had to commute with traffic. For those of you that do, I salute you) so even though I am driving for an hour (1h15m-ish) I am actually driving and not just sitting in traffic. Again, "typically". The problem with how long the drive is, is how much can go wrong between my house and work.

- Immigration checkpoint could be on - Overturned car - Car accident - Fire on/beside the freeway - Construction

So on any given day when I leave my house I have no idea how long it will actually take me to get to work. Almost every time I have promised my boss that I would come in early for work I have, in fact, been late because something has happened on the road outside of my control.

Another problem is that at 10pm the freeways get shut down where there is construction. There are currently 4 points of construction between my Point A and B so when I have rehearsals at night or want to go out to dinner with my friends I don't end up getting home until around midnight sometimes because of closures and traffic.

And because I am now driving so much I have had problems such as this:

I was incredibly lucky that this happened at work and not somewhere within my commute. But I am seriously putting wear and tear on my tires enough that this one literally just pulled apart. Luckily a friend came to my rescue and put on the spare so that I could drive an hour and a half on the freeway back home.

Last Monday I was driving to work and feeling incredibly down and sorry for myself with everything going on right now and as I changed freeways I looked to my right and saw three pristine perfect white doves flying together on the side of the freeway. It was as if God was smacking me in the face for being so ungrateful and untrusting. Literally the first thought that popped in my head was "Touché". So I am trying not to worry about it anymore. A door will open. Everything will be fine. 

On the Wednesday after ^ I received an email from a company about 13 miles from my house (that I had not applied to) asking to set up a phone interview because they liked my resumé. On Thursday morning I had my interview and the woman told me that she was recommending me to the owner of the company to get in touch with me and schedule an in-house interview. I'm really excited and I really hope that I get it because it seems like a great job. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers.

Hopefully I won't be commuting for much longer!!

Long Distance

Long Distance sucks. I always thought that I would never be the girl to put up with long distance... That is until I fell in love with a boy that just happened to move back to his home town three years into our relationship.

In my mind there is really no perk to being far away from each other and nothing to really make it better. I think that perhaps it may have been easier on us if our relationship had been this way from the start. At least then it would be our normal. But it isn't.

A and I met in the dorms of our University our freshman year of college (Fun Fact: My parents met each other in the same dorms, just on a different hall). We both lived on the Honors Hall and started out as friends.

The concert that lead to us getting together 

For anyone who has not had the fortune to experience dorm living, let me explain a few things.
1. Here is how it works: A bunch of strangers of roughly the same age are taken and forced to co-habitate with each other for a year. You find people you love, and those you don't.
2. Because you are all forced to live with each other, relationships are ridiculously accelerated. It shouldn't be that surprising really, you see each other every day, every night, in the bathroom, and in our case for honors we were taking classes together. In this type of environment you find out who people are pretty quickly. So, strangers can become best friends, total enemies, lovers, etc in about 2.5 seconds. One can also go through the stages in about 5 seconds.
3. I was a little bit different. Because I was so involved with the dance team, I spent the first couple of weeks (most of the first quarter actually) away from my hall. By the time I started making friends with people the rest of the hall had already sort of established its groups and whatnot and I slowly broke into some of them.

When I met A, he still had his high school girlfriend, but we became friends. Really good friends. It was in our second quarter when we got together. A few months into our relationship he reasoned that he had already probably spent more "actual" time with me than with his longest relationship. Because in a dorm you literally eat, sleep, and live with your hall mates. In other words... We were living together before we were even together.

Our second and third year at school all of my hall friends moved into the same apartment complex so that we were all still effectively living together. The girls and boys apartments even shared respective patios.

Summers sucked but we made a lot of effort to see each other... Going to Disneyland (the halfway mark) or going on vacations. But it was always okay because it was only 2.5 months and we would just go back to school.

Now because we are both working full time and A's schedule is so inconsistent we maybe see each other once a week.

After living together for three years we are now two hours away from each other with completely conflicting work schedules. My dad says to be thankful that we have modern technology like Skype and cell phones and Facetime... And I am.

But it is 6 months into this arrangement and I don't know how much longer I can handle it. Our plan is to get married but we want to be financially stable and we both need jobs in the same area and... and... and....

It just kind of seems like it isn't ever going to end.

P.S. 

If anyone has any suggestions on how they cope with long distance... I'd love to hear them :]

Summer Time

This summer... Well... Really the past month has been a little obnoxiously crazy and wonderful. One of the reasons that I haven't applied for other jobs yet is because I really wanted to take advantage of how flexible my current job is so that I could fully indulge in my last summer before full-blown adulthood.
So.
A and I went camping.
My family and I went to Tahoe and the Bay Area to visit family and friends.
I went to Central CA to visit my brother's girlfriend.
And I have just been genuinely enjoying myself.
Pictures to come later :]

The only problem with vacations is that after a while all I want is to resume normalcy. Before this weekend I had spent exactly three nights at home in the last three weeks. That's absurd! I had a great time but honestly I am just so ready to be back to normal. What I need more than anything in my life right ow is a weekend at home. I had been planning on going to visit my grandparents this past weekend but I just honestly couldn't. I can't afford the gas but more importantly I can't afford the mental state it would've left me in. I was still currently living out of a suitcase. My room was a disaster. My car is filthy and still lugging camping stuff in its trunk..... I couldn't. I needed to be at home for at least one weekend. Stuff from the move is still everywhere and my room is still completely unorganized and I hate it. I need to finally "move in" to my house so that it isn't just a place I sleep anymore.
Vacation is fun but I always feel like I need a vacation from being on vacation. Anyone feel me? Maybe it's because none of our family is local so we are always traveling when we go on vacation but I always feel like I need at least a couple of days after to just be at one and get back to normal.
Also I am really behind at my second job. A bunch of new responsibilities were just handed to me and although I am really looking forward to managing them I still need to get myself together and get started. I have started but I kind of feel like I am always one step behind where I need to be at work right now.
Between new work responsibilities, finding time for my long distance relationship, performances, two jobs, applying for jobs, and rehearsals... I am a little bit strung out. BUT I was home for the first time this weekend in about a month and it was glorious. My room is now almost beautiful and that in itself can heal so many things.

Roughing It

This weekend A and I were able to sneak off and have a mini-vacation. He was able to request time off for an entire weekend (gasp!) so we booked a campsite a couple hours away near Idyllwild. We both love to camp but also have very little experience doing so and as it was our first trip just the two of us, we had some minor difficulties. For instance, due to work schedules, we arrived after dark and struggled to erect our tent (a grad gift) for the first time, especially because our lantern (also a grad gift) would not light because we couldn't figure out how to make it work in the dark. Luckily a military family camping next to us took pity on us and lent us their lantern so that we could set everything up (after which we figured out the lantern... go figure).
We love camping. It is nice to just get away from the city, breathe some clean air, roast some weenies, and get away from technology. Plus it is cheap so long as you have the supplies (most of which was gifted to us for graduation) so that works perfectly into our tight "justgraduatedandhavetonsofloansandbillsandnewfoundresponsibilities" budget. It was a fantastically lazy weekend. We literally sat around, ate food, talked, enjoyed each other's company, snoozed, took a walk, and had a water fight. It was completely perfect. I even only got sunburned a little! A is far too brown to burn... Lucky guy!
One of the things that the trip made me realize is how much I need would like a nice camera. I want to be able to look back and say, "wow we were super underprepared", or "look how I totally won that water fight... sucker!"when we are old and wrinkly. Or show our kids how young and dumb we were and how much fun we had anyways and how much we love each other. I'm considering just getting an ipod touch or something since those now have cameras and then I could just upload my pictures to instagram but it seems like kind of an unnecessary purchase since I already have a really old version of the ipod touch. And an ipad. And a laptop. I fully endorse simple, uncomplicated living and having that many technological gadgets seems unnecessary to me. Any thoughts? I have a digital camera that I should probably just use instead but that makes it such a process to upload to anywhere except for here.
Wow. I sound like such a little spoiled brat right now. Never mind. I will just find my old camera, and I will make it work. I am lucky to even have it.
Anyways, hopefully the next post will have some pictures. I adore me some pictures!!
I hope everyone had an amazingly relaxing weekend <3

Stress

People told me that when I graduated my life would not get easier. If anything, I was told that it would become more difficult. While it is true that my life has changed dramatically in the last few months, I don't think that it has gotten harder.

When I was in school, I had fun but my life mostly consisted of stress. I was stressed about school deadlines, work deadlines, upcoming dance performances, tests, homework, bills, family. You name it. Even when I was doing something fun to de-stress I couldn't fully enjoy it because the back of my head was constantly nagging and reminding me about the homework I should have been doing. I wasn't getting nearly enough sleep and as a result I was eating constantly to stay awake. My body revolted in a variety of forms; I was sick most of the time, I was physically in pain, and I was gaining a lot of weight.  None of this was okay with me but I couldn't seem to find any other way around it, even with my impeccable time management planning skills. Graduation seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel. If I could only just get there, everything would be okay...

I don't often create expectations in my mind for how things are going to be, maybe because I am afraid of being let down, or maybe because I just don't think about it. But Graduation was different. I was excited. I literally could not wait any longer. Being done with school could not come a minute too soon.

All of the sudden I was done, and guess what? I was right about one thing... It is easier happier.

Yes bills are stressful, yes moving is stressful, yes work can be stressful. Yes. BUT my downtime is my own now; there is nothing in the back of my mind nagging me to do homework. BUT I always have enough money to make it through and then some. BUT my deadlines are much more manageable now.

And then, one night, I made a promise to myself. I decided that from now on, my life is going to be as stress free and happy as possible. Life is just too short. If I don't get something done today, I will get it done tomorrow. If something goes wrong, calmly find a solution. There is absolutely no reason for stress, when life can be lived without. It just isn't worth it to live in that kind of environment all the time.  Obviously it is impossible to do without it entirely, but by taking steps to prevent it I feel that I am much happier now. I've lost weight. I sleep better. I make better choices. It can only be a good thing in my life.

Some things that help me to de-stress are as follows:
- Eating healthy --> This has been huge for me. Becoming a mostly vegetarian/vegan has made me feel so much better. My body seems to function so much better and I don't feel nearly as sluggish or icky. I literally feel clean.
- Exercising --> Everyone knows that exercise gives you endorphins which makes you happy. But honestly, feeling overweight is just such a downer. As I am getting healthier and finally losing some of the weight I put on while I was in school my mood just keeps going up and up! Not because I am getting skinnier, but because I feel more confident in my strength and health. Looking better is really just an added perk to the emotional boost that I get because I am pushing and challenging myself.
- Crocheting --> I love to crochet. No I'm not a granny. I love crocheting because it is mindless and repetitive, and sometimes that is exactly what I need to get my mind to turn off from my day. I happen to do really basic stuff when I crochet, like scarves and blankets. Nothing fancy, no frills. I also crochet to donate. Currently I am creating a collection of them so that I can bring a bunch all at once to a woman's shelter or something.
- Indulging --> This is so important to me. If I want Starbucks, I will get Starbucks. If I want an ice cream, that's okay. If I want to sit around and just read my book for an hour instead of doing something productive, I will. Now, obviously this can't happen every day or it wouldn't be an indulgence it would be a hinderance BUT the more I allow myself to indulge, the less I actually feel like I need to. The second I tell myself I cannot do something, I want to. By allowing myself to partake in these kinds of things, I feel less of a need to actually do them.
- Visiting friends --> Not many people live in my hometown anymore but I really enjoy going an seeing them anyways. It is always fun to get out and go somewhere else to hang out with people in their territory. It always feels like a mini vacation, even if it only lasts for a couple hours.
- Writing letters --> My best friend and I have been writing letters to each other since high school and its a practice that we still continue. I adore writing letters. With so much technological interference we sometimes forget how therapeutic hand writing things are. I could easily shoot her a text (and often do) but there is something that is just so thrilling about receiving something in the mailbox that is not a bill.
- Having a clean room --> This is huge for me. Organization and cleanliness are by far one of the easiest ways for my to head off stress.
- Looking nice --> It might sound superficial but I don't care. When I feel like I look good, I instantly feel more confident and happier. I carry myself differently because of how I feel.
- Playing with Beckham --> Let's face it, cats/kittens are hilarious. It always makes me laugh to see him doing crazy acrobatics while chasing something so mundane like a straw or piece of balled up paper. I mean seriously, who needs to buy "real" toys? :]

Long Overdue

It's clearly been a while. Several months in fact.
Pretty much as soon as I graduated, I decided that I didn't really need to do this, and so I started a journal (that I've actually been keeping, much to my surprise), started working full time, and created an instagram account (elainammarie). Between those things I feel like I've been documenting my life fairly effectively.
But then I realized (not for the first time) that the point of this blog was never necessarily to just document my life... It's because I feel like I have things to say. My journal is nice, and I hope that someone reads it someday, but it is definitely not public, and not necessarily something that I want read while I'm still in that present.I understand that basically no one reads this blog, but maybe one day that will change. At least I am putting myself out there. People can take whatever they want from this but if there is nothing given there can be nothing taken.
With that being said, I thought that I should just give a few quick updates about what's been going on in my life these past few months.
Pictures are worth a thousand words right?

I GRADUATED

My Parents

My Grama and Bopa

A

A's Parents

A's Mom made the cool money leis! 

My Grad Party

Cousins

I GOT A KITTEN

Beckham at 1 week old

Beckham a few days ago

MY HORSE DIED

Noel a few years after I got her

I BECAME VEGETARIAN/MOSTLY VEGAN

ALSO I MOVED HOME
There are no pictures for that but it is extremely important right now. I was planning on moving to Long Beach with a friend but decided that it wasn't the best decision for either of us and we just had to suck it up and do what was right. It's hard but I'm making it work. I am currently commuting approximately 145miles a day during my work week.

I know that none of that information was very in depth but it's been a hard month and I am looking forward to just moving on and living my life.

Pantry Makeover

So I have been getting really restless and can't focus on anything that is school related. I only have a week and a half left and its a good thing because I literally cannot take it anymore. I can't focus, I just can't seem to find the willpower. So today, after several failed attempts at studying, I decided to take on something that was driving me nuts... My Pantry.

I currently live in a small 3 bed 2 bath house with three other people: A married couple (T&G) and my former roommate (V). Because we have all lived on our own before living with each other, we have way too much stuff and have had to downsize, especially in the kitchen. Even after 6 months of living all together, we still have a lot of stuff and it tends to lead to heavy disorganization in the kitchen dept.
As for our pantry, it is just shy of being a walk in and we have divided the shelves according to:
1- Large storage, community storage, and animal food storage
2- V
3- T&G
4- Me
5- Tupperware
Floor- Alcohol
So with that being the layout I have exactly one shelf to house all of my pantry needs. We do not generally share our food with each other because everyone is very individual in their needs and wants and the logistics of trying to share would be a nightmare. Usually my shelf is pretty organized but lately I haven't been very careful and it is very easy for such a small amount of space to become out of hand. Plus it makes it hard to find anything so I never really know what I have or what I want to eat.

I apologize ahead of time for the crappy quality of all of the pictures in this post.  There isn't a light in our pantry.

So last week I needed to run some errands at Target and I decided to look into some super cute organizational baskets I had found via one of my favorite BLOGS and lo and behold, they were on sale! Hurray! Sales totally work in my broke college student budget! And what else? They just happen to come in my favorite color. You can't beat that!
At any rate I bought four and decided to leave them in my car until school was over buuuuut that was a fail. At least I waited a week right?
So I laid them out on my counter and started filling them with like things:

Snack Basket

Pasta/Lentils/Stuffing/Pasta Basket

Spices Basket

Cereal Basket

And then I put everything back into the pantry.

And now I feel so much better about my life and I can actually see everything that is in there. It is much more inspiring than before and it only took me about 10 minutes total. It's the little things that just make such a huge difference.