Beach Life

Hello internet friends!

I'm sitting here in my aunt's living room in sunny Florida, enjoying life out of the big city for the first time in six months!! It's been a whirlwind two-ish weeks as I've been travelling slowly down from the chilly north all the way down to sunny Florida. My first journey was an exciting bus ride down to Baltimore and then a carpool with my cousin Natalie over to Annapolis, MD. We spent a lovely week and a few days catching up, journeying to Black Mountain, NC in the process for a week of church... well, it was Ridgecrest Music Week, a retreat for church ministers of music and others who help in musical things within their churches. But I literally attended a "church service" of sorts 7 times in 3 days. I think I'm caught up for a while... Anyways, after that we drove to Conyers, GA, the town I essentially grew up in (attended the last two years of elementary school and all of middle and high school there) and got a chance to quickly see some of my old friends. After a quick nap (slept about 3 hours that night), my mom and I woke up at the crack of dawn and drove to my aunt's house in sunny Ormond Beach, FL. And here I am, about to journey to Best Buy with my lovely sweet boyfriend.

A shout out to him for being so sweet and patient with me this past few days. My family isn't the easiest to deal with sometimes, and I sometimes don't act like myself around them. I love Josh and he's really helped me keep my cool. :)

happy mother's day!

On this very special Sunday, I would like to give a shout out to the best mom in the world. My mom has been my supporter and my best friend for many years. We've been through some rough times, but we've come out stronger and with a more solid relationship than ever. This is the first mother's day I've spent away from her, and I'm a little sad about that... But I know that she knows how much I love her and I hope she knows that I'm there with her in spirit! I miss my mom every day, and I can't wait to get to see her and the rest of my family this summer!

In other news... I had my third interview with Victoria's Secret today. That's right. My THIRD interview. For a retail job. Perhaps a bit much? Maybe. I have a second interview with Banana Republic tomorrow, so here's hoping I get an offer from both places and get to choose the best one for me. My boyfriend is flying in on Thursday night, and I am so so excited to see him. Living so far apart is tough, but I'm holding on to the hope that once I finish my master's degree we can finally move in together and begin to start our life. Every time I think about it I just can't stop smiling. :) He's amazing, and I just know that he will be the man waiting for me at the altar one day in the future.

Anyway, happy mother's day to all the mother's out there!! Enjoy your day! :)

my cinqo de mayo celebration

And this is how I celebrate things... I spent the better part of my evening watching Toddlers & Tiaras on Netflix while eating essentially 3/4 of a bag of Cheetos Puffs... after which I talked to my wonderful boyfriend for a while, discussed potential baby names just for kicks, and then napped for a while. I woke up a little while ago and am currently making Chai tea and thinking about mapping out a grocery list for the Beach Body Boot Camp diet plan... and also figuring out how much it will cost... In other news, I'm excited for my Banana Republic interview on Saturday at 1pm! Hopefully, they'll love me and hire me on the spot! Since I still haven't heard back from Victoria's Secret... Anyway, I'm thinking about doing some yoga before I go to bed to counterbalance the cheetos...but we'll see. :)

Thoughts on Rain

So as I was sitting here in my living room in Boston, with the windows open, I realized how much I love the rain (at least when I'm indoors). There's just nothing better than a sudden cloudburst with the windows open where you can smell the rain and feel the breeze that it causes... It's just amazing. :)

my opinion on recent news

I just wanted to share this quotation with all of you, as it sums up my feelings on the recent news of Osama bin Laden's death perfectly.

‎"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" -- Martin Luther King, Jr

I know that not everyone will agree with me on this, but I feel pretty strongly about it.

Free time and shopping fun

So, today was the first day I've been officially out of school for the semester. AKA I basically did nothing today. Well, not NOTHING exactly, but you know... My late night turned into a late morning and by about 3:30 I was finally on my way to pick up my jury comment sheets (they were ready a day early). I ended up doing better than I expected on my jury after all! An overall grade of an 89 and I also got a lot of positive comments!

In celebration, I headed over to Prudential Center, the swankiest mall I have ever seen in my life. My goal was to find another cute dress to wear out dancing, like the one I bought there at Arden B. a few weeks ago. Sadly, I was unsuccessful. Although I found a bright pink dress that I kind of liked and almost bought... I ended up not buying it after sending a few pictures of things I tried on to my boyfriend. After an initial response of "I hate the pink one", obviously I wasn't going to buy it. For someone who hates shopping so much, he sure is opinionated and picky... Unfortunately, trying on some ok things and other things that didn't fit me, I got depressed and wandered in to, where else, Bath and Body Works. Where I proceeded to purchase about $50 dollars worth of lip glosses, candles and lotions. But whatever. It made me feel better. And I'm obsessed with the tiny Bath and Body Works candles. (As a side note, I get really annoyed when clothes that say they are a 2 are not actually a 2, but are basically a 00... it only makes me feel fat.)

Once I had my feel-good bag in hand, I had to make a decision on how to get home. Should I A) take the extremely crowded T, B) take the bus, or C) walk home. Due in part to my dismay in finding that I didn't fit into a dress that was supposedly my size (probably thanks to BHOP's buffalo chicken pizza with blue cheese dipping sauce...so good...), I went with option C. Walking would get me in shape, especially with my new Reebok EasyTone sneakers (awesome by the way), and then I wouldn't have to stand next to sweaty, annoying people on the T. Good choice. The weather was nice, and I the walk was about 2 miles. Now for the rest of the evening I will... entertain myself somehow. Thanks for reading! Peace.

Early Morning Thoughts

So, it seems I have successfully completed my first semester of grad school up here in Boston. It hasn't been easy... being so far from my family and friends has been rough. But I'm pulling through, thanks to some pretty great roommates and the best boyfriend in the world. This blog has been a thought in my head for some time now, but I just haven't really had the time until now. So, here it is. A way for my friends and family to keep up with me and read about what I'm up to here in the big city and a place for others to read a little about who I am and what I do. The trials and tribulations of an aspiring young oboist might not be as great as the latest vampire novel, but at least they'll be totally real and completely fang-free.

Right now I'm thinking about my boyfriend, who will be getting up in about 40 minutes for work. If I'm still up by then, I will most likely call him. Long distance for over 3 and a half years isn't easy, but he makes it worth every second. I miss him every day and I can't wait until we can really be together.

I'm also thinking of my cat, as she is currently curled up next to me purring. She keeps me company, and always knows how to make me feel better. But tonight, I think it might actually be time for bed. I managed to get caught up in some ridiculous movie on netflix that wasted 96 minutes of my life, that I will never get back. Oh well. In any case, welcome friends and welcome strangers, to my new blog. Enjoy!