Balance & Happiness

Sorry friends! I am such an inconsistent blogger. I love reading blogs, but keeping up my end of the writing is sort of a challenge. Especially now that I'm back to spending my days in front of a computer writing.
I am constantly struggling with balance. The "right" amount of time to ascribe to anything. Sadly I'm sort of an "all or nothing" girl. I am also terribly indecisive. More so now than ever.
It used to be just little things. What to eat for dinner, or which deodorant to buy, but now it's so much bigger. What should I do with my life? Do I want to be a psychologist or an attorney? Or none of the above? Should I go to graduate school this fall or wait for a better program, a better opportunity, etc. Have I found something I really love? Am I settling?
AND WHY OH WHY do I keep changing my mind? If this is self discovery, it is certainly a much curvier path than I expected. I am trying to enjoy the process. The journey, if you will. and I am. Truly. But sheesh, sometimes I just want to be there already!!


Anyway... The lovely blog The Rockstar Diaries has been posting happy lists lately. Lists of 10 things that make people happy. Reading everyone's lists (and seeing their beautiful photos) have been making me happy.
So I decided to make my own. I think everyone should follow suit and post their own lists. because thinking about what makes you happy, actually makes you happy. So make yourself happy, and let me know so that I can share in your happiness.

My list of (15) things that make me terribly happy:
1. Making plans
2. Scrapbooks and memories
3. Happy hour (blue moon beer with extra orange slices)
4. Surprises & thoughtfulness
5. Festivals (and excuses to drink during the day)
6. Fresh fruit from the Farmers Market (strawberries, mangoes, peaches)
7. Falling asleep (& waking up) to the sound of the ocean
8. Being inlove
9. Crawling in to a freshly made bed
10. Snowglobes & heart shaped glass paperweights
11. Cooking with my boyfriend
12. Holidays (& traditions)
13. Open air concerts
14. New seasons (especially Summer!!)
15. The future!

Back To Work

I'm just going to post in bullets because I'm overtired, overwhelmed, and just sort of lazy. Actual structure sounds way too complicated.
I want to blog, but everything has been changing and shifting, and clarity is such a distant memory that I don't even know where to begin.

-Tomorrow I start my new job. This is a job that I interviewed for on Friday, that I didn't plan on getting. It completely changes all my other plans, or not, depending on whether I want it to. It is in an industry that I have never worked in, doing something I have never done, and to be honest I'm actually really excited. I am also super duper nervous. The best part of it is that one of my good friends (who I met at my last job at the ad agency, who set me up with my boyfriend) now works at this company. She is the one who got me the interview (which I almost didn't go to.) Having a friend definitely takes away some of the first day nerves. Which is good since I get really nervous about things like first days (and interviews!).

-Life has been chaotic. but exciting. I am loving the options, hating the decision making. And so I am saying yes to almost everything. And hoping to figure it out along the way. Clarity comes with time, right?

-This weekend was wonderful. The stress of hating, not having, and looking for a job the past few months completely dissipated. Job offers on Friday afternoons definitely set your weekend off to a great start. This was furthered by going to a Dodger game with some friends on Friday night. It was our first Dodger game of the season and the BF bought us each a dodger hat. I am not really a hat person, but I absolutely love this hat. I love that he thought to get me a "girl one," that it fits perfectly, and that it is a sign of summer time and all the games we will go to together.
-Yesterday we had a little Kentucky Derby get-together. My friend Shannon & I dressed up in Derby attire (while the boys laughed at us), and we all watched the Derby. My pick (Pioneerof the Nile) came in second, so that was exciting. In the evening the boys had an alumni event at their fraternity house, so Shannon and I went to an R Kelly 'Trapped in the Closet" party. I had never actually watched the whole R Kelly movie/ musical, and it was certainly "interesting." The rule was that everytime R Kelly sang the word "closet" you take a sip of your beer. Lets just put it this way. He says closet a lot.

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! Is it weird that I'm excited by the return of Sunday nights actually meaning something? Is it even worse that I'm excited to start the weekly Friday countdowns again? Weekends are just far more special when you're stuck in an office all week long. I know I'm going to hate myself for writing that.

I DID appreciate this time though. Really & truly, it has been a great (& much needed) break, but I am beyond ready for this new challenge. Have a great Monday lovelies!

Prom

Growing up I was one of those girly girls. I loved the color pink, ribbons and bows, and was obsessed with all things "grown up." From an early age I planned two events in my life, prom and my wedding. Now, I haven't gotten around to the latter yet, but lets hope I've learned something since my terrible fail at prom.

Danielle is lucky that I adore her, because she decided to be a huge punk and tag me in Jill's hilarious celebration of Prom.

I went a really small school, so we there weren't any prom kings or queens. There was, however, a prom committee, which I was on. The theme, The Great Gatsby, was my idea. My friends and I all dressed in a 1920's, Daisy Buchanan theme. We thought we were really cool.

I am sort one of those girls who almost always has a boyfriend. For better or worse, it's just sort of happened that way. There have been times when I really should have been more independent and single, but I'm a relationship person and that's how things have happened. The funny thing is, two weeks before prom, I broke up with my high school boyfriend. He was a year younger, I was excited about going off to college, and it was the right things to do. He didn't take the news all that well. I remembered later that I just lost my prom date, so I asked if he would still go with me. I was clearly not a person he felt like doing favors for at the time, and so along with a few choice words, he said no. Leaving me at senior prom dateless. Long story short, I had a fabulous time.

So, here are the rules...

1. Upload your prom picture. If you don't have one, email your mom and have her send it to you.

2. Don't forget to include the year it was taken. Again, don't be shy. The older the better.

3. Grab the "Prom Queen" button on Jill's sidebar and add it to your post.


4. Copy and Paste the rules to your blog

5. Tag 5 others!

I am tagging:

Nicole

EP

Shoshana

Lauren

Traci

these are a few of my favorite things... Europe Pics!

Que up the song, and sing accordingly...

Raindrops on Munich, and whiskers on Sean,
Bright copper rooftops and gorgeous stained glasses
Crisp apple strudel and fruity croissants.
Cobble stones streets and deee-licious meals.
Vienna and Salzburg are some of my favorite things...

Dum dum, dum dum..
When the dog bites, when the bees sting, when I'm feeling sad,
I'll simply remember my trip to Europe
and then I wont feel soooo bad!

Ok, so I'm not musically gifted, but the pictures turned out really well!

Treats:



The Sound of Music tour:




The Freud Museum (psych major 4 eva!)




Prague:




And of course, the necessary "Sean & Laura with our backpacks" picture. (Suggested by this girl
.)

I have about 600 more, but I tried to narrow it down for you. If you really want to see more (or discuss any of these lovely places) email me!

I'm Back!

Hello Lovelies!
After 11 days, 3 new (to me) countries, a zillion pictures, very little sleep, and an all around amazing time; I am back.
And oh, how I've missed you! And by you I mean internet friends, my glorious life source (computer), my shower, and not living out of a backpack.
The trip was fantastic. Beautiful. Refreshing. I feel like I actually did make some important discovories, and was reminded of things I already knew. I wandered through the old streets of Prague, drank in beer halls in Munich, fell in love with the city of Vienna, and lived out a childhood dream in Salzburg. In a strange twist of fate I recieved an email while away that I actually was accepted to the one and only graduate school that I applied to. I was rejected from the special, selective program but accepted to the Masters program. Very strange, since I thought the first letter was a clear cut rejection. This was a total curve ball in my planning, but for some reason it was made mangeable by an altered (somewhat removed) perspective. I did not freak out! Not only were opportunities unfolding, but seemingly impossible plans (and schedules) became possible once more. Now I don't have to wait till fall 2010 (which seemed so far away) to start grad school. I will start this fall! Back on schedule. The past few months were filled with chaos and confusion. There were times of feeling out of control and off schedule (umm hello grad school rejection letter? lack of job? lack of direction?). Suddenly within the past two weeks almost everything (which is scary to say) has fallen into place.
I feel greatful and full of faith. Everything does work out the way it's supposed to. It's so refreshing to see proof of what I have always believed.
Anyway. I'd like to say that I wont be one of those people who wont stop blabbering about their trip, shoving pictures in your face, and telling meaningless stories, I can't. Sorry. Not going to happen. To be honest, I am blissfully reveling in the post adventure high where all you want to do is tell anyone who will listen a little fact about the Hapsburg empire or how the Sound of Music tour brought tears to your eyes. (true story.) The only thing better than your desired bus finally arriving in a sketchy southern Czech town, is being safe and clean at home and reliving all of it.
So this is a warning. I might be really obnoxious this next week. I might fill browsers with talk of the excessive amounts of butters, dairy, breads, and sugars I've consumed in the past couple weeks (this coming from a light soy & splenda kind of girl).
I might lose a few facebook friends because I just want to post about a billion albums. (because I think my photos are just too awesome not to share.) I seem to have picked up a whole "everyone cares about my life and my adventures" vibe somewhere over the Atlantic. I promise to dispose of that ASAP. As of now I'm heading to Blockbuster to rent the Sound of Music (because my 2-disc special edition copy is at the BF's house), and I can think of no better way to spend my jet-lag recovery time (have I mentioned that I haven't slept in 30 hours?) than that movie.
God I love that movie.

(Pictures to follow soon. Too many. Promise!)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, my bags are packed...














This list is checked off:


















Playlists are made. Camera is packed. Itinerary is set.
I'm readyyyy to go.
I was going to say that at this time tomorrow I'll be hanging out, drinking a beer in Munich. Then I realized that at this time tomorrow I will actually be zonked out on ambien on an airplane en route to Munich (cross fingers that all goes according to plan, and that i for once in my life am actually able to sleep on the plane). Oh well, its the journey not the destination, right?!
I can't believe this trip has come together so fast. And yet, I cannot imagine this trip not happening. I needed this. I needed a sign that everything happens for a reason. That when one door closes another door opens. (Should I continue with the cliches?) Seriously though, it's nice after a few months of setbacks to have something you have desperately wanted fall into your lap. It's a great reminder to have faith and worry less.
I am bringing my old laptop (the macbook pro is definitely staying safely at home), so I will try and connect when I can. In all honestly it's probably best for me to take a bit of a break from the internet.
I am striving to live in the moment, take it all in, and just savor being in Europe with the boy I love. I will however be taking an ungodly amount of photos. (I wish I would have taken a photography class in college!) So those will surface in a couple weeks.
Until then, take care Lovelies!

Desktop

I love this. I set it as the background on my computer. It is my constant reminder.

I hope everyone had the loveliest Easter!