1 week?!

Well, I just woke up and realized a week from today Hilary and I will be partaking on epic car ride #4. I can't believe we've made the journey three other times. It feels like just yesterday we were driving down for the beginning of sophomore year. Wow. And just one last week of junior year remains. Hmmm, where has the time gone?

This weekend we have our annual Delta Lingerie Party (don't worry, its more like cute short lacy dresses than parading around in bras and underwear...) AND Lucky Lager (a beer scavenger hunt with the soccer team) and then one more week of classes and we're DONE.

My class has been such a positive experience for me. I look forward to every day of class and want to soak up everything our teacher, Fran, has to say. My journal that I have been keeping, I feel like in ways has temporarily replaced my blog. Since we are supposed to write in it everyday, I find myself spilling my daily feelings on the the pages instead of my usual routine of writing here. Don't worry, the class only has one more week and then I'll be back to writing about my PMS or exciting highlights, haa.

We have already made a dent in packing/the storage unit/all the above. I have nightmares about how stressful it has been in years past so getting a head start has made a world of difference. That's all for now. Its been in the 80's all this week, I was at the pool yesterday and burned my back :( BUT I can't complain in the slightest...

A week from tomorrow I will be back in lovely WASHINGTON, (only for one night) and then off to HAWAII for a week with Hilary, Jackie, and her parents. Woooohooooooo. No complaints :)

Animal Planet

It's 11pm on a Saturday and I'm in for the night. Weird, huh? First Saturday in a while and it feels SO nice! The girls and I went to Mexican and then saw Robin Hood (which I would recommend to anyone! Russell Crowe, mmmmmm) and now bed sounds pretty nice.

Today was a pool day. It was 85 out and the perfect "nothing" day to spend sunning. I woke up pretty late from a very late night last night. Jordan and I went to go see Ben Folds in Anaheim at the House of Blues. It was a blast. Ben is a pianist who also sings and is overall just awesome. We listened to a lot of his stuff when we were abroad so it was really neat that we could see him together. Regina Specktor opened for him, she is this really cute Australian girl and this guy on a guitar and they were absolutely hilarious. She sang a song about getting a Facebook friend request from a man who had done her wrong, you may have had to be there, but she was great. The concert went until midnight, and Anaheim is a little over an hour away, so taking into account the In-N-Out drive thru detour, we were in bed laaaaate.

BUT I seemed to have a semi-productive day. Did some reading for class. Journaled. Tanned. Showered. Packed a few more things up so we can make our first trip to the storage unit tomorrow (grudgingly taking Mom's advice and spacing out the enormous task of packing and spreading it out over a couple weeks...) I hope everyone had as good a weekend as I did. FRIENDS and it's goodnight for me :)

OH WELL I feel I should amend that statement by saying I'm going to attempt to fall asleep. The apartment above ours (4 cross country girls) NEVER have people over, we really never even hear them. Yes, we know we are lucky with how many guys basketball and football apartments there are here. But of course, the one night I choose to stay in, they choose to throw the bash of the year! I think it's themed "Mix'n'match" ? Because every once in a while someone stumbles down the stairs in boxers, some God-awful hat, a t-shirt, and a tie. So, music blaring, little screeching cross-country girls, and stomping feet... it's really like Animal Planet invaded 224.

The animals and I are going to try and get some rest. Sleep tight.

Vegas, take 2. KZZ Formal

the girls...

the boys...

May

Since my last update, the long days of May have been filling in the gaps. For may term, I am taking a class called Wholeness and Healing. I was originally in Experiencing Music, but it ended up not being at all what I thought it was so after hearing about Abbie's class, I decided to try it.

It has been one of the best decisions I have made regarding classes I have taken in my 3 years here at school. I don't exactly know how to describe it. It is a religion class, so we are learning about a variety of different religions. Just yesterday I was apart of a group presentation that researched Taoism. Taoism is belief system that is based around nature and the universe as a whole. It is so interesting to look at these different belief systems that I have never been exposed to and learning about how they interweave in life. We meditate, do yoga, draw mandalas, and keep a running journal of our experiences and feelings through these 4 weeks. This is an exciting class for me because I really have done nothing like it. Our grade is solely based on growth evident in our journal and class participation. The class is very diverse and it is interesting for me hear what people, who are so opposite from me, open up and give their perspectives on things so foreign to me.

This is Week 2 of May Term, and I know very well to expect time to fly. I ♥ Mayy

My birthday, Newport, and everything in between

Ah it feels so good to finally blog again :) After a week of on-the-go, I am back and ready for May. My birthday was fabulous, thanks to my amazing friends and family. Saturday night (my birthday being at midnight) the girls decorated Jackie's apartment and surprised me with a little celebration. They baked me a cake and crafted a drinker for me, it was so cute! I loved it! And I was very surprised, which is a hard task to accomplish given how much time we spend together. haaa

I got to skype with the fam the morning of my special day. It was good to see all their smiling face, I miss being home on my birthdays the most. I got to open my present while we skyped, too! I got a very nice, way too nice, watch that I absolutely ADORE. Mom said that dad picked out all the little details of it specifically for me and he could not have done a better job! It is perfect and I wear it always and every time I look at it I smile.

Around noon we left for Laughlin, Nevada. Laughlin is an annual Greek trip over May break. We stayed for 2 nights... you can really only do 2 nights of Laughlin, coined "the armpit of Nevada." Ha. Tuesday we drove the 4 1/2 hours to Newport and arrived at our adorable hotel on the beach, The Newport Beachwalk Hotel. It felt more like an inn. There was breakfast every morning, a gated place to park the car, and a big bath tub that the girls and I enjoyed :) Wednesday we rented bikes all day and biked to Balboa Island, shopped, got the famous Balboa bars, and enjoyed the sunshine. Thursday we drove to Fashion Island and ate at California Pizza Kitchen for lunch. Mmmmmmm. We had the end of the afternoon to relax and get ready for dinner and I took the opportunity to spend some good "me time" at the beach while the shower rotation of five girls commenced. I forget how calming the beach is until I am there: shoes off, wind blowing, waves lulling. Sometimes it just takes a change for you to look at the things in your life differently. Environment gives you perspective. The water and the peacefulness and how simple things can seem so complicated, I don't know. It's easier to breathe at the beach. With no one watching, no one talking, no one there to judge. It is simpler when it's quiet. I don't think I take time to appreciate the quiet enough.

That night we met up with Lizzie who drove over for dinner and ate at this really cozy Italian place called Sol Grill. It was delicious and the perfect evening. The six of us girls caught up on everything, listened to good live music, and just enjoyed each others company. It was everything I wanted. Liz also brought Sprinkles cupcakes for dessert which was such a treat.

Friday we got to spend a relaxing morning sleeping in and eating breakfast. We took one last trip to the beach to play with the bubbles and sand castle toys that they put in my "Birthday Box" and we took some cute pictures.

All in all it was a great week. I wouldn't have wanted to spend it with anyone else but my girls. Thank you to everyone who made me feel special. x's and o's ♥