{In love with Life}

Despite being frustrated with school, life has been nothing short of amazing. I won't bore you with all the details. But things continue to fall in place and there has been a never ending smile on my face. Its definitely all about the little things.

This Sunday I went out of the country and road-tripped through Mexico with the boy and his mom. This wasn't my first time in Mexico, but this was my first time physically crossing the border. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. As soon as I crossed the border into Tijuana it was a completely different world. I'm not just talking about only seeing things in Spanish and Mexican people. But the quality of things and the way of life was shocking. It was true poverty up close and personal. But I wasn't in Tijuana for too long because we headed to Ensenada for the day. We drove along the pacific ocean all day and the stopped in a little town about two hours south of Tijuana. We took some random dirt streets behind some houses and ran into a beautiful buffet/restaurant. It was great and so yummy! I was stuffed and had so much good food from pancakes, to tacos, to chocolate cake. Of course I stood out like a sore thumb. I was the only black person and english speaking person in sight. I did get a few random looks, but I never at once felt uncomfortable or unsafe. After the buffet we headed 30 more minutes east to a huge winery. It was gorgeous and it was a beautiful day. The whole tour was in Spanish so the boy had to translate everything for me haha. But the wine was yummy, and after the tour we purchased some bottles to take home. We then sat out in the shade and took out one of the bottles and snacked on some cheese, crackers, bread, grapes, and olives. It was absolutely perfect and so relaxing. His mom is the cutest for packing our wonderful picnic. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful Sunday in Mexico. I'm glad that I went and I'm hoping that we can do it more times this summer.

{Keep busy, stay happy}

(Dinner at Gladstones in Malibu)

My life has still been non-stop lately. And I enjoy the hustle and bustle of things and always having something to do and look forward to. At the same time, I miss the "me" time. Its weird because I am definitely a social butterfly and I enjoy being around other people, interacting and establishing relationships. But I definitely need those hours where I am in my room, door closed, spending time with myself. I found myself craving that this weekend. I realized that this past month I haven't been at home much at all. I'm only at home to eat, shower, and sleep. And half the week I don't even sleep here. I found things piling up and getting out of control because I simply have not been home and haven't had the time to take care of them. On Sunday I made sure I slept in, started laundry, went to the gym, went to work, and went to church. It felt amazing! A day by myself doing what I wanted/needed to get done.

Being in a new relationship has been taking up so much of my time. I now see why God has waited the last two months of my college career to let me have one. I definitely would have flunked all my classes! Now, I have better time management and I am also so close to the end that it doesn't matter anyways. But it all makes sense now. Although I love spending every second I can with the boy, I do need me time. I even feel bad enough to say that I haven't seen friends in so long. I never wanted to be that girl. I mean its not just him and its been work and school too. Its just more convenient to see him because he lives so close while all my other friends live downtown or by the beach.  But I will done with midterms tomorrow and will be seeing friends this weekend. I also want to make it a habit to take more me time! I say this all the time, but I don't get days off. I'm either at work or school. When I take a day off work its to study for an exam, not to just have a free day off. Hopefully, that will change this summer. I love staying busy and active. But I need at least one or two days a week to unwind and take some me time.

So Monday, I took a fun road-trip around southern california. I headed from San Diego to San Bernardino for an exam for a job I applied to with the county. I never want to talk bad about where someone else lives, but San Bernardino is completely different from San Diego. I couldn't really picture myself living there. But I made it fun and did a little shopping when I was out there. I got a cute outfit (sheer top + tribal print skirt) for less than $10! Score! After that I decided to drive to LA (about 2 hours west in traffic) to visit my friend Jess that I haven't seen in months. I saw her lovely family and her gorgeous house (she lives in pacific palisades over looking the beach). And we went to dinner at Gladstone's right on the beach. It was much needed girl talk and catching up. I love the fact that every time we link up, no matter how long its been, there is no awkwardness just good times. I definitely have some LA exploring to do this summer. I need to take advantage of the fact that I have a lot of friends that live there and that its really not too far from San Diego. Being in the Santa Monica/Malibu area definitely warmed me up to the city of angels.

The nice thing is that things should be slowing down after Thursday, which is my last exam until finals.  I did request the day off on Sunday so that I can do some wine-tasting with the boy. And I can finally take care of those little things. I keep telling myself if I wasn't in school and didn't have so much studying to do, I wouldn't be so busy. But I only have four more weeks left of this college lifestyle.

{Graduation Wishlist}

I have four weeks left until I graduate from college and a month from today I will be taking my last finals ever. Its quite mind blowing. I've kind of been putting things off in terms of graduation planning since I've been so busy. But after this week I want to start planning things out, like my dress, decorating my cap, taking pictures, etc. I'm the first kid to graduate college so its kind of a big deal.

The other day I was on the phone with my mom and she asked me what I wanted for graduation. I thought at least 100 things would race to my mind at once, considering I have been a broke college student for so long. But instead I found myself thinking "ummm....I don't know". I mean I have everything I need. I've definitely learned how to live simply these past few years. And when I get something flashy or expensive, I kind of feel guilty about it. But my mom imposed that I come up with a list so that she can have an easier time coming up with something. So here is my long thought out list. What did you guys ask for or receive for graduation?

1. Iphone 4s

Because I still have my Iphone 3 and its been good to me, but

its also time to upgrade. Hello facetime and a camera in the front :)

2. New Nikes

I run, hit the gym, and hike a lot. My shoes get worn out so fast. And its 

been a while since I've had my current gym shoes. I'm looking for 

something a little bit for light and sleek and these babies are perfect

3. Chemical Peel

I've been wanting one forever, like seriously. My back has so many scars from acne,

and with summer coming up it would be nice to get rid of them. I'm tired of

hiding my back and covering up. If someone paid for this I'd be a happy girl :)

4. A massage

I could really use one. It would be nice to work out all the knots in my 

back from all the stress I've been through after these past five years.

A day in the life: My productive wednesday

Yesterday was so a go go go day for me! I didn't have class which was awesome, because I could finally take care of all the things I needed to. I woke up next to my boy and he made us some yummy breakfast. I am definitely enjoying the fact that he is a fabulous cook and is Mexican. I would probably gain weight by how much he feeds me if he wasn't also health conscious. For breakfast we had chorizo (but Soy kind), eggs, tortillas and coffee. And boy did it hit the spot! I felt all energized and ready to face the day ahead of me. I then hit the gym and did the stair-master, which I don't do too often. Sometimes I'll do a quick 10 min sesh after running the treadmill to switch it up and burn some quick calories. But this time I did a 30 minute session and almost died. Like I was seriously so dizzy I felt like I was going to faint. After my gym session I headed to school to finish a paper, work on a presentation, and study for an exam next week. I was there for almost five hours and I got so much done... it felt good. I then came home and got ready for some line dancing with my friend Ashley. We like going to this cowboy bar called incahoots on wednesday nights. The first time I went I thought it wasn't my "scene", but its definitely a lot of fun. We learned a dance called "dizzy" which was hard to learn at first but we got it down. We also had a few alabama slammers which are my new favorite drink. I ended the night asleep next to the boy sharing stories and being crazy as usual. It was a good, productive, and fun Wednesday.

{Easter Weekend}

I went into this weekend knowing that I'd be busy focusing on two things: work & studying. Work almost drove me crazy this weekend. It was so incredibly slow and I was so bored. It didn't help that the weather was absolutely gorgeous and I felt that I should be outside soaking up the sun. And I didn't get much studying done, go figure. But I did end up having another lovely weekend. After work on Friday I came home for a little and then headed out to my co-workers house for her tea party themed birthday. I'm so mad I left my phone in the car, because I wanted to take pictures of all the cuteness. There were teapots from England, finger sandwiches, and everyone was at their classiest. There was even a yummy rainbow cake (pictured above). I tried studying a little when I got home but that was a FAIL, I was too tired and fell asleep. Saturday after work I was on the verge of crying (Thank you hormones!) and I needed a de-stressor. So me and the boy headed out to old town for some Mexican food and margaritas. It was much needed and I was happy. Sunday evening the boy made me a yummy fish and rice dinner and we headed out to Heaven Sent Desserts in North Park. Its his favorite, but it was my first time there. It was literally heaven in my mouth. Overall, it was another great weekend despite stress and worry.

So now my hell week starts. And I will be spending all of today in the library studying and getting work done. I have an exam, presentation, and paper due this week. On Monday I will be driving up to San Bernadino to take an exam for a county position. I'm then planning on driving out to Santa Monica from there to go visit a friend and get dinner.  And that Thursday I have yet another exam. But after that I will be a free bitch. And I'm very excited to say that I might be going to Mexico next week! We are going to head to Ensenada to do some wine tasting for the day. Haven't been out of the country since this time last year (but I was in Cabo for spring break). So hopefully we both get the day off so we can head out there for some much needed fun. Other than that there are just a few weeks left until summer and I need to start thinking of my bucket list.

{thankful thursdays}

(via--weheartit)
This Thursday I am thankful for having a person in my life that makes me happy and that I cannot get enough of.  I am thankful for him and everything he does for me:

1. gets my sense of humor

2. buys us wine and movies

3. always lets me pick the movie, and watches them happily

4. holds my hand

5. tells me i'm cute

6. always opens doors for me 

7. makes me yummy breakfast

8.  always makes me feel completely comfortable

9. isn't turned off by my huge appetite

10. encourages me to work hard

11. is the perfect study buddy, and stays 100% silent 

12. doesn't mind how much I talk in the morning
13. is one of the most humble people I know
14. takes walks with me in the evening
15. is an amazing cook :)

He is the very reason I've been neglecting this blog a little lately. But thanks to him I've also been having more adventures. So definitely expect more pictures and wonderful stories. What are you ladies thankful for this Thursday?

Start each day with a grateful heart

Spring break kept me busy, on my toes, and enjoying life. Now I am entering my last six weeks of my college career. My goal this month is to simply work hard, but to not get too stressed out. I've had enough freak outs and stress these past five years. I want to keep up that positive and care-free feeling that I've experienced this past week. I am so close to the finish line.

Life has seriously been amazing lately. I don't even know where to begin, but every sector of my life has been improving in many ways. I don't think many people know (not even too many of my friends), but I've been battling with what to do post-graduation. It left me in a frenzy of applying like crazy, because I simply did not want to be "stuck" after college. I have a hand full of friends that have graduated this past year but have moved back home with their parents and are working odd jobs that don't require a degree. I am not trying to knock what they are doing, but I just feel like that is not an option for me. One: there is no room for me at my parents house and I would be miserable. Two: I want to constantly be progressing forward with my life and goals. So I applied to grad schools and both jobs, even though deep down I would like to work after college as I am burned out from studying biology these past five years. I am pleased to say I was accepted into my first grad school at the University of Iowa. Quite an accomplishment for me, but still debating if this is what I want to do for the next two years. Moving from San Diego to Iowa will be quite the culture shock. I'm not sure if I can adjust. Its been difficult applying to jobs without officially having my bachelors degree. But I have applied to a few and have heard back. So I have an exam for one position in less than two weeks, and I hope that goes well. I love that opportunities are opening up, and I couldn't feel more blessed.

So you know that boy I mentioned earlier? Well, me and him have been spending tons of time together. We are both really busy with work and school, so since we were both on break we tried to spend as much time together as possible. Again, nothing is official between us. But I truly enjoy his company and the person that he is. He is completely different then any other guy I've ever dated or had a relationship with in the past, and believe me when I say its a good thing. He is so intellectual and has true hobbies and interests. He reads the newspaper in the morning, is into astronomy, and is a painter. So different from the typical "the world revolves around me" partying SD douche bags that I've talked to in the past.  But I appreciate how much I enjoy being around him, his positive attitude, his support and encouragement, and just him. He is already aware of the fact that I could very well be moving away in as little as two months, which is why I don't see anything very serious happening. But we've made lots of plans to do things and I am excited.

These good things happening and coming together makes my heart full of love and happiness. It was just a few months ago, that I was depressed. Many didn't know, and I tried my best to hide it. I tried isolating myself, and everything I did made me feel miserable. If anyone else is going through similar feelings, just know that things will get better. If you need someone to turn to, God will always be there. And remember things happen his way and on his time.

Awake. Alive. Blessed

This Spring Break has been absolutely simple yet perfect. 

More than I could have eve hoped for or wished for.

Margaritas dates. Wine and movie nights. Hiking. Amazing opportunities. Compliments.

Jobs well done. Cuddling. Gym time. Having breakfast made for me. Sleeping in.

Dancing like no one is watching. Learning new & random facts. Endless games of scramble with friends.

Free time. Staying up late and talking. Getting accepted into grad school. Having someone show they care.
Food in my stomach and a roof over my head. Mini road-trips. Discovering new cities and places. Cute kids. Endless laughter. Making new friends.

And most of all:

Lovely little besos
And I loved all of the beautiful little kisses I received this Spring Break