{weekend wrap-up}

Wait! Am I really on spring break? It sure doesn't feel like it.... yet. Hopefully, it will soon. This weekend was simple and sweet. Lots of good things happened that put a smile on my face. Actually by Sunday evening I just felt so happy and content with life. I'll spare you the exceedingly long details and keep it short.

1. Spending Friday + Sunday evening with the new boy. Having wine + movie night. Enjoying nights dancing downtown. Late night burrito runs. Late night talking. Him stating that it was a great weekend.

2. Getting my first tip ever in my life after working my first bday party. It was a proud moment for me. Check the photo above.

3. Work being easy and smooth, especially compared to the madness of last weekend.

And now I am looking forward to a slow week, dinner with friends, interviews, movies with the boy, and hopefully a short but perfect get-away.

{can you spend a little time, time is slipping away}

So something tragic happened this week. I broke my dearly beloved hot pink watch. I some how got it stuck on something at work and it snapped apart. For those of you that don't know, this is my favorite accessory. I wear it every. single. day. I feel naked without it. And it has gotten me so many compliments from both girls and guys a like. I'll have complete strangers come up to me and be like, "Hey is that Michael Kors?" I have to correct them and tell them it was the best $15.00 I ever spent at Target. Like this watch seriously attracts soooo much attention. I mean its hot pink and freakin' cute, so why wouldn't it? I love it, and now its done for. I haven't made a trip to target because I've been so so busy. But I am crossing my fingers they still have it even though I bought mine about a year ago. In the meantime I've been rocking another similar type watch that I got as a christmas present. Its all white with a purple border around the face. Its a cute one too, but its just not the same as my hot pink target watch. RIP dear friend.

Lots of others things have been going on this week. For example:

My internet/cable has been down. Yes, thats what I haven't been blogging this week. Even though I was miserable this week, it couldn't have came at a better time. I had a lot of assignments to get done, so it forced me to get my butt to the library and away from all my distractions. But now its back and I am officially on spring break, so lets bring on the laziness. I will show you senioritis at its finest.

I still have not cemented any spring break plans. I have ideas and have been working on a list of things I would like to do, but I have no for sure plans. Bummer. Hopefully, I do figure something out soon. I am happy to say that I do have an interview via skype next week, for one of the grad programs I am applying to. I'm pretty sure I will have two more scheduled for next week also. I've actually never skyped before. So I should probably do a trial run before these interviews take place. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. 

As mentioned in the previous post, I almost died St. Patricks day weekend. Not really, but it sure felt like it. The funny thing is I feel 95% better, but I still have some sickly symptoms that should have should have gone away by now. Anyone want to pour orange juice in my mouth every hour so that I can get better? My immune system always fails me.

I've been talking to a new guy. Not too many details yet, because it honestly hasn't gone that far and isn't that serious. Its just so nice to actually get my mind off my ex and spend time with some new that I like a lot. At the same time I want to play it safe, I don't want to get hurt like last time.

Lastly......I got my cap and gown! No pictures because everything is still all packaged up, and I refuse to take it out before graduation. But the end is near my friends. Its so close, I can taste it. 8 weeks from now I will be receiving my bachelors degree.

{chin-up buttercup}

What a completely unexpected weekend. I totally came into this weekend wanting it to be chill and low-key. I planned on sitting at home and getting some assignments done. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way. Friday I went out with my co-workers which was a lot of fun. I might have had one too many drinks, but it was still a good night. But Saturday I felt like death. Not from drinking, but  I felt like I was coming down with something. It persisted all day until it felt like my body was literally breaking down. To make matters worse, work was extremely busy. For more than half the day we had a line out the door with over a 30 minute wait. You'd think people were trying to get into disneyland or something. Plus we were very understaffed. So I spent my st. patricks evening sleeping away and resting up. I slept a good 12+ hours and still woke up feeling very out of it. I wanted to call out of work, but I knew they would need me. Sure it enough it was another busy day, but definitely not as crazy as Saturday. Whew. Its now the end of Sunday evening and I am just praying I get better. I am tired of being sick and getting sick.  Can someone remind me to load up on vitamin C for the rest of my life?

{Friday Favorites}

As my school week comes to an end, my work week is just getting started. Thats how my Fridays go. I miss having the weekends off, or a full day off for that matter. I'm in school Tuesday through Thursday, and I work Friday through Monday. Although I like to think of myself as superwoman, I miss those days and times to myself. The two biggest things I'm looking forward to after graduating college is 1) No homework/studying which=lots of free time AND 2) Getting my weekends back. The Saturdays I do get off, I am the happiest girl. I'm sure a lot of you take it for granted, but there is nothing like sleeping in on a Saturday and exploring the city.

Modern Bridesmaid dresses WITH pockets!

This beautiful reminder <3

These drinks look delicious and have me exicted for summer

Always strive to be the best (via)

A chevron cake in pretty colors? Don't mind if I do (via)

So much lovely inspiration before the weekend! What is currently inspiring you?

{counting my blessings}

(via)

After this past week, I feel more than happy--I feel blessed. After a nine month "funk", I feel like things are looking up. I've stopped stressing out as much, I have taken things day by day, and opportunities have been opening up left and right. Although, I have no idea what I will be doing with my life in two months I feel secure and completely fine with that. I maybe be living across the country in a different state, I maybe be living in a different part of California, or I may still be here in my apartment in beautiful San Diego. Thats the crazy yet wonderful thing about life, you never know what will happen tomorrow or the next day. And thats the very reason why I am trying to enjoy each day that I live. I am very close to closing a chapter in my life and even though I wish to rush through it, I am trying to make sure I appreciate every last second of it. This week I feel blessed for so much in my life and I thank the lord for it all. Last month after feeling at an all time low, I thought he had forgotten me. Like he was mad and choose not to listen to me anymore. I had felt depressed for 10 months and I had prayed like crazy, but things continue to get worse. But the lords desires are greater than my own, and he will allow things to happen in his way on his time. I am starting to see that and this week I am grateful for so much:

1. Opportunities --I know I mentioned in my last post that I got interview in Chicago. Well, I am happy to say that I can add Nashville to that list. Yes, I know its very exciting. These interviews are both for grad programs. And although I can't apply for the jobs I want until after graduation, I hope to apply for as many jobs as possible. I just feel like things are finally starting to take off.

2. Spring--Yes, I LOVE daylight savings time. I could care less about losing an hour of sleep (I'm up early anyways). I love that it stays sunnier longer. I love that the weather will start getting warmer. I love it all!

3. A church that I enjoy attending and feel comfortable in. I haven't felt this way in a long time, but I sure am happy that I do.

4. My friends and family--Even though I don't see my family as often as I wish I love them to pieces. My mom especially has been such a rock for me this past month. I didn't know how she would handle me telling her I was depressed. But she jumped on the plane to come see me and stayed with me for a week. We talked and she helped me out in ways unimaginable. Since then I made a 100% turn around and haven't had any feelings of depression. My friends are and have always been ahhhh-mazing! I honestly don't know what I would do without them. Never any drama or bad times; its always love, laughter, and happiness.

Its an indescribable feeling and I am so happy and thankful.

{love the life you live}

What an action-packed weekend, and I enjoyed every last bit of it. I had to work all day Friday-Monday, but at night I enjoyed myself and spent time with good friends. Friday night my friend Taylor was in town, so we all went in to PB for a girls night. Of course we started the night with dancing and ended the night with delicious Mexican food. Saturday night I knew I had to keep it low key, so I got dinner with a co-worker. My other friend Ashley was is town so we acted crazy and got all dolled up in our sweat pants and hoodies to grab some yummy fro-yo. Of course I went to bed and passed out early. Sunday was a crazy day at work, but I was excited because I knew I would being seeing Drake in concert! It was an amazing concert and I had a really good time. He is a great performer and had such a such stage presence. Not to mention he sounded amazing live! I love that man :)

Basically Monday came and snuck up on me, is it really already Tuesday? Do I really have to go back to school? Wahh! I am very happy to say that I will be graduating in 9 weeks! Yes, its crazy and its becoming more of a reality. I am trying to keep things as least stressful as possible. I want to enjoy life just like I did this past weekend. Oh and I have a very very good news to share....

                                           

I GOT AN INTERVIEW IN CHICAGO 

Yes, its for the grad program I was applying to. I am excited, but still debating if I should go or not. Basically, I am looking to apply for a job instead of school. I am broke, and I cannot struggle any longer as I am barely holding on. Flying to Chicago would be freakin' amazing, but thats money I don't have right now. I still got to figure it out, and I still have time as its not until mid-April. But I am definitely, happy things are looking up. Cheers to good friends, good times, and writing the last chapter of my life.

{feeling icky}

I seriously feel like I'm falling apart right now. Yesterday, I started coming down with a headache and I related it to my allergies since I had been sneezing earlier. I'm awake and the headache is still here, and I can't tell if its a cold or a sinus infection (I tend to get both pretty commonly). And I can't figure out whats the best way to treat it because I'm unsure what I have. To top it off I'm kind of achey and I started thinking about this other symptoms I've been having lately (which may or may not be related) and kind of started freaking out. I may just be a hypochondriac. Thanks webmd! Nahh, but really I'm prone to getting sick so if this doesn't get better to the hospital it is.

And I didn't already want to go to school, so feeling this way is making it 10x worse.

KONY 2012

If for someone reason you have been living in a box the past 48 hours (or simply have not used any social media), please check out the video above. Its about stopping rebel leader Joseph Kony, who kidnaps children in Africa. He gives the boys guns and they become apart of his army. The girls become sex slaves. He has abducted 1000s of children, and although he has moved out of Uganda this man is still abducting children and adding to his growing army. I watched the original Invisible Children video in high school, I remember it so vividly. I was so taken back and couldn't believe it. Unfortunately, I never really felt compelled to do anything because I didn't know what to do. But I think EVERYONE can watch this video and feel moved to do something. Especially since the video gives us little ways on how we can help.  Now that you guys have seen the video, I hope you also share it with as many others as possible. The great thing about the world now! Through our blogs we can share so much so easily we others, we are all connected even if its not completely physical. Also consider checking out the website and donating to tri and ordering an action kit. Lets make this happen this year!

{15 Things: #6 Start attending Church}

I have spent the past two years trying to get closer to God. My family perspective on religion is a bit strange. Both of my grandparents are devout christians and very active in their church (my grandpa is a deacon). I was forced to come along to my grandparent's church at a young age. It was a small church, with a small congregation, made up of old southern baptists. My grandma would give us candy throughout the service to keep us entertained and help us stay still. And even though I went a lot, for some reason it never stuck with me. Its not that I didn't believe in God, because I definitely did. But I think being so young and having to listen to a preacher talk to a congregation of people that were a lot older than me was hard. I couldn't understand the messages and having to sit through it felt like such a chore. I simply was not connecting. My parents are also religious but on a different scale. I can count on two hands the number of times we attended church as a family. I was happy though because I always felt out of place in church. Yet, even though they hardly attended they still has a strong faith.

It wasn't until my senior year of college when I wanted back my relationship with god. Over the years I had very much believed in him, but he wasn't involved in my life. I'd pray every now and then, but mostly when I just wanted something. I realized thats how it shouldn't be. Things were also slowly getting harder and harder for me. I needed someone to turn to...and he was there. Believe me it wasn't an over night process and still I am taking it step by step. One of my goals for 2012 was to start attending church, and after talking about it for a while I have finally made the leap.

I don't know how I learned about rock church, maybe it was a random google search. I was first amazed by the website and spent an hour looking through it. They had ministries for everything and even past video series. I decided to watch one of these videos and seriously was hooked. The pastor was great! He was hilarious, he was silly, he was real. You could feel him reaching out to everyone of all ages and backgrounds, he made the message pertain to my life. He wasn't too uptight (like I had experienced at my grandparents old baptist church) but very open while still resonating a lesson. I would watch services online weekly, but was still scared to set foot in the church. After all this church is huge, we are talking a mega-church. For someone who hadn't attended a service in years this made me more than intimidated.

My mom had randomly come into town for a week, and I thought who better to ask to come to church with me. She happily agreed. I remember the night of she was getting all dressed up, and I told her it was unnecessary as it was a "come as you are church".  She didn't understand. The churches at home were full of people in their best sunday clothes and outfits. Again, this showed how times had changed and how different areas are from one another. We drove to the evening service that started at 7:00pm and there was traffic getting into the parking lot. This really was a mega-church. Groves of people were crossing the street. When we had parked the car and joined all the people walking to the church--it was a weird feeling. I was happy I was finally taking the leap, happy that my mom was by my side, and happy to see people of all backgrounds, ages, and races.

Entering the building was crazy there were people everywhere, entering the sanctuary was even more crazy. The sanctuary was like a school auditorium but on a much larger scale. There were hints of technology everywhere. This is the church of the future. The service was great, again I found myself laughing but still learning and understanding how god works. It was a little bit awkward standing up and singing songs as I knew absolutely none of them. But other than that it was great. I even ran into a friend that went there, and we made an agreement to start going together.

This past weekend was my second time attending. I had planned to go with my friend, but he actually was out of town. I really wanted to go....... so I went by myself. Of course I debated for a while if I should even go, and I made every excuse not to. I would feel awkward by myself, I would feel dumb not knowing any of the songs, I was tired and needed to finish writing a paper, etc. But I am more than happy and proud of myself that I did. I have been battling with a question in my head now for a while now, and as I go through life and see more examples I've been more confused and lost. I couldn't believe it when the pastor had directly answered my question in a way I understood. It was like it was meant for me to go. I left another service feeling good and proud of myself.

I am happy to say that I have started one of the larger goals for 2012. I hope to attend as much as possible, and when I can't I'll definitely be watching online. I'm interested in joining ministries and a small group, but I'm really not sure how much longer I will be in SD. I have 10 weeks not until graduation. If I find that I get a job through summer than I will definitely be joining some events and a small group. I'm happy with this subtle but major step in my life.

{happy friday & march goals}

{gel nails for the first time}

Happy Friday! I can't believe how fast this week went by. Its started off stressful and my mom was still in town. And now I am ending it stress free with another friend coming into town. I spent the second half of this week pampering myself and it was much needed after all the stress. I got my hair done (bye bye nappiness), shaved everything (byebye winter fur), and got my nails done (yay for cute nails). Basically I AM ready for spring.  I feel like a new woman. Now I am looking forward to seeing what this weekend has in store for me.

So I've already updated a little about being excited for the month of March for a few different reasons. But as always, I look at each month as a new beginning. There are things to be accomplished and adventures to have. So whats in store for this month?

1. Apply for jobs like crazy. I've already started the madness, but I have lots of deadlines this month for jobs in the field I want to work in. That means I need to make sure I get them all done during the days that I'm not overwhelmed with school. I'm hoping and praying something will come through, but the one thing holding me back is not having my bachelors degree (despite having all the other necessary classes).  I mean I know I will be graduating in 2 months from now (unless something really unfortunate happens...but lets not dwell on that) and I'm just wondering if anyone will actually wait for me. Hopefully. I also plan to hear back from orthoptic programs towards the end of this month, which is very very exciting. Crossing my fingers for interview.

2. Eat healthy. I made alot of progress in March in terms of going to the gym and cutting back on certain things. But when I go to the gym and work-out hard my body craves the most fattiest and carb filled foods. Its kind of funny and contradicting. But I need to start making plans for myself and finding foods that fill me up and aren't horrible for me. Of course I want to continue going to the gym on a regular basis (at least 4 times a week).

3. Try new looks. I've kind of become bored with my routine. I want to try something new and different with my make-up, hair, clothes, etc. I mostly want to try a new every-day look with my make-up and I'm thinking about trying neutral shadow and some false eyelashes. But I am so bad at doing make-up, which is why I keep it simple. Can't hurt to try, right?

4. Get-away. I need one. As much as I love San Diego to bits and pieces, its nice to get-away every now and then. The last week of this month is my spring break. I kind of have a few things bouncing around in my head in terms of what I want to do. I was planning on spending a few nights in marina del rey with a few friends and splitting a hotel room. I have yet to hear back, so who knows if thats going to fall through. I have another friend in the same area who I would love to visit which would also be a lot of fun. And lastly if I get interviews at the end of March I will happily buy a plane ticket and whisk myself off to another state. They all sound wonderful, but I would love to do whatever cost the least amount of money. I still need to save!

What are your goals for March? Anything you are looking forward to?