I really don't need a prompt to tell me what my best decision this year was.

So since I really have to get ready for work and blogger failed at saving my first draft to this post, it will be very short and just mention the prompts from Reverb10.

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)

Either this year was just boring or I cannot think right now but I guess I am going to have to go with my sorority's formal that was in the spring. Despite having some fun date drama I still managed to have a good time and get incredibly shit faced. The drinks were not watered down as usually are and I found myself very drunk by the end of cocktail hour. The rest of the night consisted of even more drinking, sloppy dancing, me crying my head off and then throwing up in another girl's room. I woke up the next morning on the floor, wrapped in a blanket and still wearing my dress. When I was finally able to pick my head up I looked over to see one of the new girls passed out in a ball pit. I guess you could say that Formal 2010 was a success. I'm still not sure if I am going to go next year, it all depends on who is going and where I am with my life.

December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)

The wisest decision that I made this year was to transfer out of St. John's and into court reporting school. I have never been happier and have never done so well in school. My motivation has not let up, mostly because I now have a direction in my life. I know that upon graduating I will have a job and be a court reporter. In St. John's I had NO idea what I was going to do after graduation. I knew that I was going to have to be placed on suicide watch because of my student loans though and with an entry-level position in the hospitality industry, had NO clue how I was going to pay them off. Court reporting school is cheaper so my loans will not be too, too bad but I will still have my loans from St. John's to pay off. These are just some of the many reasons why I feel I made the best decision that I could have made for my life.

This was like the third or fourth prompt that the answer has been about school. I guess it really was the best decision I could have made for my life.

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart but the very next day you gave it away

… Well, in the case of my last Christmas he didn't even take it at all!

Since its too late to begin a real post (I like to get at LEAST six hours of sleep at night) I will just do two Reverb10 prompts.

December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

The only thing that I could really think of is the one of court reporting students. Between students that are in higher speeds in school and ones that I have found on twitter, I know that I have a support system to go to whenever I feel frustrated with school and get stuck at a speed.

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

I guess it would be my personality? I like to make people laugh. I accept that I am not normal, know my biggest flaws and find that they are what make me, me.

What I have made, besides a mess.

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)

I have no idea what to make of this one. The last thing I made was something that I cooked so I guess I will go along with that?

"Chocolate Covered Strawberries" Pancakes



All I did was make whole wheat pancakes from a mix. I folded 1 tbsp. of chocolate chips into the batter and instead of butter and syrup I topped them with strawberry preserves. These are amazing, healthy and they really do taste like chocolate covered strawberries.

One of the items on my 101 in 1001 is to learn how to cook some new dishes so I definitely would love to set aside some time to do that. What I know how to cook, I can cook it well but I am definitely always up for some new recipes.

Sometimes its better to forget what you want and remember what you deserve.

Here are the two Reverb10 prompts from this weekend that I missed.

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

I guess I just did a lot of wondering about my future and where my life was going. Its not that much different from what I have wondered every other year of my life though.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

I let go of the dream that I had of graduating from St. John's and becoming an event planner (ultimate goal is to open my own catering hall). I am 23 and would be 27 by the time I would have been done with everything, including grad school. I also would be in close to $150,000 worth of debt starting out in an entry-level position in the hospitality industry. Not happening. Now I am much more motivated to go to class and do my work because I know what direction I am heading towards now. Who knows, maybe one day I will eventually open that catering hall but for right now, I know that I am meant to be a court reporter.

I had a lot of fun this weekend thanks to both my family and the guy that I went on the date with. He ended up driving down to PA, going out with us after the wedding and staying over with me. I am still behind on my homework so I am going to go into the details and that and the weekend in general tomorrow.

Its always a good idea to make a blog post when you're running late.

So I had such good intentions of being on the road early, getting to East Stroudsberg (whaddup stalkers) during the early afternoon, etc… But I don't think I am going to end up leaving until at least noon. Considering I just woke up, need to pack (i.e. figure out what I am wearing tomorrow), get a quick mani/pedi and then run over to work and settle some business. Yes, I am fucking awesome when it comes to time management. Oh and my mother just texted me, apparently I have to add stopping by my uncle's repair shop to make sure my car can handle the ride. Yeah, I think we're just gonna lie about that one.

So last night I had what I would like to call an Amazing First Date. I have only had a few AFDs in my life so far so this is kind of a big deal and pretty sweet. More deets on that at a later time, I just don't have the time to write about it now and also I don't wanna talk about something until I know what it is. Just know, that it was REALLY GOOD.

I guess I will also get today's Reverb10 out of the way. Obviously I am not going to be able to do tomorrow's on time so Sunday will just be my make-up day. I actually like today's and feel that it is more relevant to my life than my blog (which is my life so that statement makes NO SENSE but whateva).

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

In September during the week I had off from school Dora and I spent a lot of time together and explored a lot of new places (to me at least). One of the places that she took me to was the Gateway National Recreation Area (Great Kills Marina/Park/ish). We parked over by the water and stared out at the marina. It was the end of September and we were by the water so it was very windy but I did not mind. I just stood there, staring out, letting the wind mess up my hair. The water seemed like it just went on forever and the sun's reflection off of it was absolutely beautiful. Dora and I were sitting in different areas just thinking. I was reflecting on the semester that just ended and how far I had come as person in just a short period of time. I have no idea what Dora was thinking of but I hope sitting there helped her find some peace in this rough time that she is going through. Afterwards we cleaned out her trunk, took some great pictures and then explored a little more. When the weather gets warmer I would definitely love to go back out there. Who knew such beauty could exist on Staten Island?

I have a family wedding this weekend and I am kind of excited for it. This is my father's family and while I love that I have contact with them because they are my only link to them, I still need to fully warm up to them. This is my third time in 15 years being around them so I feel that its only normal. The last Pennsylvania wedding that I went to was um, different then what I was expecting so I am definitely curious to see what happens at this one.

Well, I'm off to shower/pack/complete my laundry list and definitely get a last minute cuddling session with my dog. Have a great weekend!!

Day 2 of Reverb10

Since I might possibly have a date (more on this later!) tonight, I am going to rush through the Reverb for today and get it done before work. Todays prompt -

December 2 Writing.
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

I'm going to tweak this one a bit because outside of this blog I really don't write and its not this serious. So I am going to refer to writing as writing on my steno machine (AKA practicing). What really affects me from practicing more is utter laziness. I am just so wiped out between work and school then when I get to go home and have free time, I sleep. A two hour nap turns into a four hour nap and then I end up not practicing that night because I am too tired. Right now I am still at lower (i.e. - EASIER) speeds so its not too big of a deal but in a few weeks I will be taking my 50WPM and 60WPM tests and for those I NEED to practice. It is impossible to get through court reporting school without practicing on your machine for at least 1-2 hours a day in addition to class time so I really need to step up my game. To help with this I have been staying after school (where I can't sleep) and practicing for a few hours a night and I am already starting to see an improvement.

Someone suggested on my last post that to celebrate 100 posts I should do a small re-cap of my favorite posts so far. I will definitely think about that, especially for my new followers (shoutout!) who might not know what is going on. I have an out-of-town wedding this weekend but will get that post started soon.

100th Post and Reverb10

Today is kind of a blogging milestone for me - its my 100th post! I usually don't keep up with things so the fact that I kept up with somewhat-regular posts (I missed a month or two somewhere) must really say something. I'm not going to do a a review of all my posts because I plan to do one later this month for the upcoming new year. I first started this blog in May of 2009 with the title "A Single Girl in the City" thinking that I was going to write all about my adventures with being newly single in New York City but that never happened. I had met Minute Man that summer, never got to act single and forgot that I had made a blog. January of this year I remembered this blog and decided to keep the title because I had no clue what direction I wanted to take this in. I was in such a different place from where I am now. I had no job and basically no direction in life. In one of my earlier posts from January I decided that 2010 was going to be the Year of Nikki and I almost feel that it has been. The job opportunity¹ that I mentioned in that post ended up becoming a reality and I have been there almost a year now. I knew that I needed to make a change in my life in order to survive, I just had no idea what that change would be.

I am also participating Reverb10 this year.



Each day in December you get a prompt on something to post that reflects on the past year and helps you look forward to the new one.

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

I guess in going with this post and what I have done this year my word for 2010 would have to be CHANGE. I know that it is cliche but this year has just brought forth so many changes that have all been for the better, even if I had not felt so at the time. The word I hope will capture 2011 will be SUCCESS. Yes, its another cliche but by this time next year I want to be healthier, happier and most of all, I want to be typing at (or very close) to 225 wpm. I know this is an achievable goal, because of the many people I have seen in school complete this in the same timeline. I know that I have the mindset for this, I hear it all the time. I also know how I am and that if I put my mind to this, practice just a little more each day, I can definitely achieve this goal. I desperately want to run the 2012 ING NYC Marathon and by this time next year I would need to have made some serious steps towards this goal. I just hope that somewhere I can find the strength and motivation to do this because I know how proud of myself and how much happier I will be.

What would your word for 2010 be?


_{1. Ironically, the hot guy that aided in getting me the job is now the manager at my branch.}