This week I got my "you're all set to graduate in April (as long as you pass the classes you're in now)!" email. I'm 10% freaked out, 20% thrilled to make "grown up" money (hopefully), 30% excited to be out of school for the first time in 18 years, %40 stressed about finding some kind of employment, and 100% pumped to be part of the "real world."
When I was a kid I wanted to be everything from a teacher to a lawyer to a pediatrician to a lawyer again. I went into college knowing I wanted to major in political science but having no idea what I could actually do with my degree. Two years ago I decided to minor in social welfare and started interning at various nonprofits and foundations.
My time at my internships has really been more influential in helping me decide what I want to do with my life than my actual schooling has. My current internship has really changed my focus and made me love something I thought I never would.
All that said, I started to look at job sites in January and felt very overwhelmed. My plan was to move to DC and find a job at a nonprofit, get some experience, then go back to school (hoping that those working years would help me figure out exactly what I wanted to study). Well...things have changed yet again.
Two years ago I interned in DC and read and heard a lot about the Peace Corps. I love the idea of the Peace Corps but not the reality of being alone in one place for two years. That led me to discover Americorps. Initially I though Vista was more my speed (working for an agency for a year through the program) but my time at my current internship has convinced me that I could actually handle City Year. A week or so ago when I started to look at application information for City Year, I stumbled across a new program called Food Corps.
All that said, I am currently working on both City Year and Food Corps apps and hoping this all works out.
Has anyone applied for Americorps programs? Tips? Good resources?
I've always loved macaroni and cheese but grew up in a blue box household. My mom only ever made that mac and cheese in the Kraft blue box. 
(I'm of the school that twists and shapes actually taste better)
Recently, Stacy mentioned on twitter that she'd made baked mac and cheese for dinner. My first question was "Will you be posting that recipe on your blog?" The answer, of course, was yes.
Around the same time (it maybe have actually been the same day), F posted a recipe on her blog for baked mac and cheese.
I took a quick survey of my family (who I planned to cook the mac and cheese for, if I did it for myself I was concerned about the quantity I would consume) and, while I knew they were not fans of spice (I'm not either), I was surprised to hear them say they perfected a mac and cheese without crunchy breadcrumbs on top.
So, for that reason, I went with F's recipe. 
Yum, yum, yum! I had a few issues with mixing the milk and the cheese (my Velveeta did not want to melt) and made a nice mess but other than that it was easy and tasted awesome! The only thing I'd do differently next time is to buy a throw away pan to make it in because the dish I used is going to be a bitch to clean (it's soaking now).
What are your favorite mac and cheese (or pasta in general) recipes?
I've loved to read for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid and couldn't sleep (anyone who knows me knows this is a life long issue), my mom would tell me to read until I fell asleep. That ended pretty quickly when she realized I would stay up most of the night to finish the book I was reading. In high school and the beginning of college I didn't do much reading outside of school work because I had no time. In past years when I have had more free time (summers, for example), I was working and/or interning and just wanted to be lazy when I got home.
By my count (which is really my GoodReads account plus my fuzzy memory), I read about 75 books in 2010. I forced myself to spend most of my free time this past summer reading and it paid off. I also got a Nook this summer which helped! I know that my 2011 will be much busier than 2010. This semester I have 4 classes, an internship (which is sure to be exciting but stressful), work, will be graduating college in late April (which will hopefully lead to a grown up job in DC), and am in 2 weddings (maid of honor in one), so there will plenty of can't miss social events, too.
So, blah, blah, blah. The whole point of this post is my top 10 books of 2010. These didn't all come out in 2010 but I read them last year so I'm counting them.
10) 
Commencment
9) 
The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy
8) 
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
7)
The Promise: President Obama, Year One
6)
Half the Sky
5)
Eighteen Acres
4)
First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life
3) 
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University
2) 
Goodnight Tweetheart
1) 
The Hunger Games
So what were your favorite books of 2010?
