My happiest happy

So here's the deal.

I have a thing for the movie We Bought a Zoo.

And one of my favorite things (aside from the killer soundtrack)

is the way they say "your happy"

Instead, of just referring to laughter or a smile,

it's your happy.

And I want to adopt that in my life.

Because I often steal creatively written things from movies and introduce them into my own life.

You know, on the off chance someone is filming me in my natural habitat, 

I'd like to appear to be generally adorable and lovable, rather than outright crazy.

Back to business.

Here's my happiest happy from the past year.

 

I look forward to another year of happy.

And taking ridiculous pictures along the way.

One of my resolutions is to include more silly.

Because my life isn't mine without ample amounts of silly.

And so, here's to looking back on a year of happy.

2012

So here's the thing.

I tend to make these plans.

And then, life decides that my plans aren't right.

Which is fine.

(mostly)

I mean, when my plan is

"Hey, I wanna blog on New Years,"

I thought it would be harmless.

But then life was like,

"Oh no, emergency room visits are where it's at on the first day of the year,"

And I mean, I wasn't about to disagree, because I couldn't feel my face.

Turns out, those sinus infections are pretty brutal when they wanna be.

 

 Anyway,

I've been meaning to get around to this whole blog thing.

It's been three whole days.

But, you know, I'm not so good with the whole do-things-when-I-say-I-will concept

But here's how my 2012 went.

The quick version because no one is really all that interested.

(don't be that person that lies right now and says you are)

You see, I started my 2012 in love.

But then like I said, my plans don't always work out.

Things ended.

And I got a taste of heartbreak.

Like the serious kind, you know, not the "I'm mad for a day or two but then totally cool" kind.

TV shows don't really portray these things in the right sort of light.

 

Anyways, so I went back to school.

I got busy.

Like really busy, the kind of busy where you get gray hairs at 19.

(It's not really always as fun as it sounds)

And then a really crazy thing happened.

In the middle of all my busy and my sad and my heartbreak.

I was happy.

My life, even though it wasn't where I imagined it would be, is pretty great.

And my happy is pretty great if you ask me.

I am starting off this year as the vice president of my sorority.

I'm really freaking excited about it. 

In a few months, I'm going to NYC.

I'm taking really awesome classes this semester.

Things are pretty great if you ask me. 

I'm also really excited about some other things in my life.

But, for now, those are my happy to keep to myself.

So as I start 2013, I'm looking back on this year, and wondering why I spent so long

wondering why things weren't working.

I mean, my life is pretty awesome.

Then I realized what I need to do for this year.

Stop worrying.

I'm in no hurry.

I want to enjoy myself.

I want to have fun.

I want to be silly again.

And that's exactly what I plan on doing.

I hope you all have a splendid year regardless of what your plans are.

Just be silly and have fun.

The happy will come when it's ready.

 And like so many of you, I have chosen a word for this coming year.

Well, techincally two. 

I'm a rule breaker that way. 

These words are: 

Silly and balance.

Both are things I need more of and both are the way to be happy in my book.

Happy 2013.

From me and my silly.

A heavy heart

I know I haven't written in a long time. It's been longer than I'd ever hoped. I had hoped that today's post could come as a celebratory one.   But instead, I'm writing with a heavy heart. I'm writing with a heart in a million pieces. Today so many innocent children were taken from the world too soon. They woke up like it was any other day. But unlike any other day, they will not return home safely. They were ripped from this world before they were able to really live. May angels lead them in to Heaven. They are in God's kingdom. And they are at peace. The prayers that need to be said are for the families of these innocent angels. The ones left behind. Because while these precious children's stories ended today, their parent's lives will continue on. They have to learn a new reality.   I was sitting at home thinking how it made me so sad that this happened. But then I realized I have my voice and I can make a difference. I'm calling on all of you to pray and only pray. Please don't make this political. I have my thoughts on guns and they would probably surprise you. But I won't share them with you all. Because I don't think that these perfect babies lives should be used to achieve some sort of political gain. I believe they should be remembered in a better light than that. The amount of gun control posts I have seen breaks my heart. That's not what this should be about. This day should be about remembering the lives of those who can't live anymore. They are home with Jesus and they are at peace. Pray for those who are left behind and pray for their peace.    I just finished reading a book called "The Fault in Our Stars". And this book was sad, but happy at the same time. That's how I believe this day should be. Be sad for those families. Be sad for the man who killed them. Be sad for the children who don't get to grow up. But be happy that they are in the hands of God. Be happy that you have the future they never get. Be happy that your children were not at that school this morning.
Be happy that you still have a chance to observe this world.   My favorite line from this book was  "Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed" I think this is something we need to take away from today. Be happy that you get to notice the beauty that surrounds you. The beauty that is life. The amazing things that lie around you. Be happy that you have your life and still get to notice the universe because it certainly wants to be seen. Say your prayers for these children and their families. Say your prayers for the Connecticut community that has to rebuild. Say all the prayers you can. But please take a moment to thank the universe and  God for all that you are and the wonderful  gift that is your life. I think the best way we can honor deaths like these, it to take advantage of our lives. To truly live and to love with all our hearts. Please don't take any moment for granted. Soak up all the greatness in your world and remember that in a moment it can all disappear just like it did for the sweet children in Connecticut.

Dear Blog,

I'm really sorry. I love this outlet in my life more than I probably should. But it's taught me more about myself than I ever thought it would.
And here I am, neglecting it every day. I've had so many great things happen in my life these past weeks that I haven't been writing. I mean, I haven't even told you that I'm vice president of my sorority yet.  What is becoming of us?  Does blogging not take a priority in my life anymore? 
What happens when my life gets too crazy to find the energy to write? What happens when my blog gets left behind? What happens when I miss out on my writing time? I don't like, blog. I don't like it at all.  

  In fact, I hate it.   I miss this place on the internet every day. But here's the deal, I'm busy. Aren't we all? And I'm stressed. I'm even going gray. I've already found 5 gray hairs..  It's an embarrassment at age 19. And blogging normal fixes all that stress for me. But these days, I can't find the energy. So my poor space on the internet just sits quietly and waits for me to get around to it.   I promise that soon I'll try harder. I promise that I'll start to make an effort. I've been making a ton of changes in my life these days and I can't wait to share them. I want my blog to grow. I want my life to be enriched because of my time spent here. And I really and truly think that it will. I think that I can make blogging a staple in my life that I won't be able to forget about. But for the next three weeks, I have to focus on getting through this semester. It has been a rough one. And once it's over, blog, you're coming back into my life.  As for now, just know that I miss you. And that I'm looking forward to spending more time with you.  

Last Weekend

Today I'm gonna do a recap. Of last weekend. So, I'm just a week late. It's not a big deal... Better late than never, right?
Last weekend, I finally got to use my birthday present from my friends. See, they bought me a ticket to visit them in Austin, TX. They all go to UT so it was the perfect gift since I got to see all of them at once. I flew out on Friday morning. Bright & early at 6:25.. But it was ok. It meant I got to spend more time there.
Friday, they showed me around ATX a little bit, and I hung out at their apartment. Then that night, we celebrated.

One of my best friends just got her American citizenship. So they threw a red, white, and blue party to celebrate.

It was so much fun. Everything was themed and it was so cute.  And apparently red, white, and blue, is an easy theme since every single guest was dressed up.
Saturday, we went to breakfast at this cute restaurant on the water.  And then we saw Pitch Perfect. 

Sunday, I had to leave.

It was sad since it was such a great weekend

 and I rarely get to see them anymore since I live so far away now,

but sometimes returning home is the best part of a vacation.

It's good to get back into the flow of your daily life after a great weekend with best friends.

Well, until my normal was messed up this week due to an ear infection..

It kicked my butt this week and I was basically knocked out for two days.

I am feeling much better now, but I am still not up to par. 

Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back at 100%. 

Now just to get on top of all the work I missed being sick.. 

Being in Austin last weekend made me realize something.

As much as I would love to go to school with all of my closest friends and be much closer to home,

I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

Austin is a very cool place, but Lubbock feels more like home to me.

I see myself here and I love every moment of my life here.

I miss my friends dearly, but I know that my life is working out the way that it is supposed to.

Does it make me crazy?

Oh, hey, look at me doing a link-up on time. That's right. I actually have a free moment today. Mostly because my class was cancelled. Also because I've deemed today a lazy day and  have yet to get dressed. That's a lie. I did make it to Chickfila in less than 6 minutes this morning rushing to get me some chicken minis. You better believe those were the best chicken minis I've had in a long time. 
Ok, before I head of to my next class, I'm gonna tell yall about my crazy. And trust me theres plenty of it. The link up is called "Does that make me crazy?" But here's the thing, I already know all of these things make me crazy. SO I'm not really asking. I'm just telling you. 

1. I'm afraid of showering if I'm at home alone. Hopefully, I don't have to live by myself any time soon because I can't handle showering when I'm alone.  And when I'm in a bathroom with a window.
2. This leads me in to number two. Well, I'm also afraid of people watching me while I shower. In my bathroom at home, I had a small window and I was convinced people could see me at night. Granted, it was on the second story and faced my backyard. But we aren't concerned about that, it was obviously a real possibility for someone to see me.
3. Apparently all of these have to do with showering. I am deathly afraid that someone will break in and murder me while I'm in the shower. I'm mostly not afraid of this at any time but when I'm in the shower. And I think it largely has to do with my nakedness while showering. I mean, honestly, do you think that you'd be able to defend yourself to your best ability when naked? Because I certainly don't.
4. I'm slightly afraid of the sound that vacuums make. Take out the slightly, and that would be a true statement. I try to avoid vacuuming at all cost, but I also really love when my floors are clean. It's a catch 22.
5. I love to take notes. But I hate when my handwriting doesn't look good. If it doesn't look good, I will never study what I wrote down.
6. I love the smell of gasoline, leather, and skunks. I find them fascinating and I never want the smell to fade. Except with skunks, the reason I like it so much is because it's temporary when I walk by. And I find it a really interesting smell.
That's all I'm willing to admit on the blog today. Trust me, it's only the tip of the ice berg when it comes to my neurotic tendencies. But for now, I'm off to class. Which really means, I'm off to go laugh at my teacher for an hour and a half while I eat some skittles. They're the same thing if you think about it. 

I believe

The other day, my very favorite blogger Erin at Living in Yellow did a link up. We all know my abilities to actually make it to link up parties are a little lacking.  So obviously I'm doing it late. I think it's become my thing to write my link up post a few days late. If only it would be as effective as linking up on time. But whateva, whateva. It's my blog. I do my own thang.

Onward to the actual point of this post.

Her link up was called I believe.

And there are many things I believe.

Here goes nothin': 

I believe in chocolate. Excessive amounts of chocolate.

I believe in the knowledge that no one can hold you back from your dreams.

I believe that if you put in the work, big things will come to you.

I believe in laughter.

I believe that a day without a smile is not a day worth having.

I believe in fresh starts.

I believe in forgiveness.

I believe in the color yellow and it's abilities to cheer me up.

I believe in buying cookie dough simply to eat, never to cook.

I believe in the power of a compliment.

I believe in skinny vanilla lattes.

I believe in silliness and dancing like a freak. 

I believe in making silly faces.

I believe in kindness. 

I believe in nail polish and makeup. 

I believe that happiness is a persons best quality.

I believe in sunlight.

I believe in confidence. 

I believe in family.

I believe in being trusting even when I have no reason to. 

I believe in honesty.

I believe in community. 

I believe in Alpha Delta Pi. 

I believe in love.

I believe in holding your head up high and fighting through the pain.

I believe in new clothes and occasionally shopping.

I believe in spoiling myself within reason. 

Lastly and most importantly, I believe in Jesus Christ and all He has given me.