It's Here!

It's Here!!

Alright, so I gave up on the countdown. Life just got too crazy and I perhaps got a bit lazy. I've decided that today's post should probably be a spontaneous poem off the top of my head. So here we go:

The days will be long and treacherous too

The chickens will cluck and the cows will moo

My crap is loaded in the big uHaul trailer

22 plus hours with mom...hope I don't kill her

Or should I say that I hope she wont kill me

either way we'll probably laugh excessively

Yes off to Texas I go again

Bags packed and a big country grin

Yeehaw to that I say

I'm sure we'll see lots of horses eating hay

Yep, off I go, Texas please come near

If you help me move my furniture, I'll feed you beer.

T-minus 8 or 9 hours and Mom and I will be hittin the road! The bummer is that we have to go 55 mph the whole time. Ugh, that'll be rough. Lots of quality car time with the mama! Yeehaw! Talk to ya from Tuscon....probably with lots of good road trip stories. ;-)

Days 9 and 8...Colorado!

Day 9 & 8 --

Yesterday me, the mom and pops flew into Denver to visit my bro and his fam! I was super excited to see snow...turns out Colorado is a barren wasteland right now...fail. But the highlight of the whole day was REI. I mean holy smokes folks, this REI is incredible! The building is an old train station and each section of the store is on a different level. I think I walked in quivering with joy and could have stayed in there for hours.

Anyways, it's been awesome to be here in the cold brisk air and just chillax with the fam. My little nugget of a niece, Riley, is growing by the second and is going to be walking by herself in no time. She is already so fast! My brother is in for some trouble ;-)

Today we are headed into Boulder to walk the little strip mall and enjoy the hippies everywhere. Although I think I'm the only one in the family that can truly appreciate that.

That's all for now! We're back to San Diego tomorrow and I'm going to be going insane trying to see friends for the last time before I move and packin up! yahoo!

ps- im pretty sure i need to live in CO for some part of my life.

making up for a couple days...

Making Up For A Couple Of Days

So I have slacked hardcore with the blogging. Finals sorta got in the way and my laziness took over. So I am going to give you random facts for the days I missed. Here we go:

Day 13 -- Half of my wardrobe is tie-dyed. Seriously though...slight obsession.

Day 12 -- My parents had their 37 year anniversary on December 16th! How legit is that? They've stood each other for THAT long! ;-) I feel blessed to have such incredible parents.

Day 11 -- I really enjoy old school wooden pencils.

Day 10 -- At some point in my life I want to write a book.

Those are the random facts for now! Maybe more to come soon. :-)

Words of wisdom

Countdown to Fort Worth - Day 14

I forgot to blog today! So here is my passing thought...

Always dance in the dressing room when trying on new clothes. What's the point of buying them if you can't dance in them? Exactly, there isn't one. I tried something on today and I realized that I was dancing in front of the mirror. I probably realized it because I am not really very good at dancing...it'd probably catch anyones attention. haha. However the realization didn't stop me. I kept dancing and was quite happy about it. So, my words of wisdom for the day - Always dance in the fitting room. Because why the hell not?!

Day 15: Go ahead....just laugh.

Countdown to Fort Worth: Day 15

Go Ahead....just Laugh.

This post is really just a post to throw myself under the bus and for you to laugh.

While most of you have been bundled up in layers of clothes and sitting by your fireplaces, I have been in shorts and a tank top in San Diego's freak 85 degree weather. Yesterday was the first day of this hot weather, so I decided it was a good idea to ride my skateboard to the bay and get some reading done. I grabbed my books, a towel, threw on my bather, and headed out the door with my skateboard in hand. It all started out great. The wind whisping through my golden locks, shades on, me pretending that I'm really bad ass, etc etc. I get to the intersection where I needed to turn left and a car was coming so I started to slow down thinking that they would just go straight through the intersection. Well they decided to turn on their turn signal last second, which means that we could both turn at the same time. Or ideally, that's what should have happened. In the midst of the turning and slowing and then speeding up and one foot on and off and balance struggling and car turning and me in the smack dang middle of the intersection....for lack of a better phrase - I hate shit. Flat out on my bootay. In the middle of the intersection. I sat there on my butt and just watched my skateboard roll all the way to the other side until it smacked into the curb. I tried to ignore the people walking and biking past me. Mostly because I knew their laughter would only bring my ego down another 1000 points. Luckily I was not hurt. Just some scraped palms. So I swallowed by pride, walked to my board, and continued down the hill to the Bay. Needless to say I was a bit nervous to get back on my board when I went home.

Lesson to be learned...well, I guess there really isnt one except don't fall in the middle of an intersection because you'll look like an idiot. At least I can laugh at myself! (secretly I'm still embarrassed)...

Day 16: Tradition

Countdown to Fort Worth: Day 16

-Tradition-

Every year my mom, dad, and I hang all the ornaments on the tree. Probably one of my all-time favorite traditions of Christmas. Mom blares the music way too loud and dad and I sing along. Luckily we don't hear mom singing because the music is so loud...I guess thats why she does that! (trust me, it's a good thing). I just got back home from my parents house and hanging all the ornaments. First of all, the tree is HUGE. Nice work picking that one out Daddy-o. But the best part of hanging all the ornaments is seeing exactly what all the ornaments are. My favorite are the homemade ones and Andy, Chris, and I all made when we were little. I mean, it's really high quality stuff! But it's also fun to see the ornaments that we got on different vacations. Or ones labeled with the years my parents got them. I picked on up tonight that was a Pi Phi ornaments from 1989 Pi Phi Convention. I didn't even know I would be a Pi Phi then! Anyways, I love Christmas traditions. I know someday I won't be able to hang all the ornaments on the tree with my parents, so I guess I'd better soak it all up now.

^Me in pre-school.

^ I think this is first grade. I just look so joyful....not. (it's okay to be jealous of my glasses and outfit)

17: I'm a Doodler

Countdown to Fort Worth: Day 17

I'm a Doodler.

As most of you know, it is cramming time for finals. It's time for coffee (tea in my case), books, notes, cafe's, and some sort of motivational drive (working on that still). As I write I'm sitting in a cafe and have been here for 3 hours with the intention of studying my ass off. Now has that happened? Absolutely not. I did get some studying for Spanish done...but that's about it. And clearly I'm blogging right now and not studying. Fail. During my "study time" today I was flipping through my notes and a reoccuring theme appeared. I doodle. Excessively. To a point that's possibly unhealthy. The picture above is by far my most exquisite doodle and I felt as though the world would be a better place if a shared it. Yes, the duck is quacking, the dinosaur is telling us he's an herbivore, and the cow is mooing because he has been tipped (unfortunate). Oh the state of delirium that I must have been in when I drew this is astounding. I'm looking forward to the binders full of doodles I do next semester!

18: Oh Grandma Millie

Countdown: Day 18

Grandma Millie Monster

I've realized I accidently missed yesterdays post, so this one will be relatively short. I decided that you should all know about my Grandma Millie. She is not your ordinary Grandma. No, no, she just turned 90 and she is still kickin with the fiery pep left inside of her! Here are the top 5 facts about Grandma Millie:

1. She has given our whole family animal names. Jan Jaguar, Tom Turtle, Chris Crocodile, Andy Aardvark (sometimes Armadillo), and Robin Rhino.

2. She held that parrot above at a farmers market I played guitar at...we turned around and there she was...just holdin a parrot. NBD.

3. We call her Grandma Millie Monster. Although sometimes she likes to be called Millie Magnificent my Favorite Monster. nbd again.

4. About 5 or 6 years ago she decided that she wanted to go to the batting cages. So she would go all by herself and hit softballs. haha

5. She is now a Great Grandma to my niece Riley.

Those are the facts of the day! Good ole Grandma Millie. I always tell my mom she's turning into her...and then I realize I am too. Yikes! :-)

19: In Spite of Ourselves

Day 19

"In Spite of Ourselves"

I was jamming out to Pandora the other day and had an Avett Brothers station goin when a song caught my attention. I tuned in a little more, listened to the lyrics, and couldn't help but smile. The next thing I knew I was downloading it on iTunes and listening to it on repeat. If the lyrics weren't slightly inappropriate at times I would want it to be my wedding song. Here are the lyrics:

"In Spite of Ourselves" by John Prine and Iris Dement

She don't like her eggs all runny

She thinks crossin' her legs is funny

She looks down her nose at money

She gets it on like the Easter Bunny

She's my baby I'm her honey

I'm never gonna let her go

He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays

I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies

He ain't too sharp but he gets things done

Drinks his beer like it's oxygen

He's my baby

And I'm his honey

Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves

We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow

Against all odds

Honey, we're the big door prize

We're gonna spite our noses

Right off of our faces

There won't be nothin' but big old hearts

Dancin' in our eyes.

She thinks all my jokes are corny

Convict movies make her horny

She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs

Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs

She takes a lickin'

And keeps on tickin'

I'm never gonna let her go.

He's got more balls than a big brass monkey

He's a wacked out werido and a lovebug junkie

Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon

Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon

He's my baby I don't mean maybe

Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves

We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow

Against all odds

Honey, we're the big door prize

We're gonna spite our noses

Right off of our faces

There won't be nothin' but big old hearts

Dancin' in our eyes.

There won't be nothin' but big old hearts

Dancin' in our eyes.

20 Day Countdown

Hey Folks!

Today is the beginning of the 20 day countdown to me being back in Fort Worth, TX! So for the next 20 days I will provide a random tid-bit of whatever I feel like. Could be funny, could be serious, could be inquisitive....so be on your toes! It's been a while since I've blogged and tis the season to pick it up again. With that, let me begin:

20

This past weekend I went snowboarding with some friends up to Big Bear, which was an absolute BLAST. Not only does snowboarding rock my world, but the mountain always blow my mind. Just LOVE it. However, that is not the point of this tid-bit. On the way up to Big Bear, Katie and I had to stop at her parents house to grab her boarding hear. So while we were stopped we raided the fridge for some lunch where I made a bagel with turkey, lettuce, and avocado on it. I was eating my bagel and super happy because it was delicious when I saw it. I looked down in the middle of a joyous bite and looked at what was left of my bagel...and it was Texas. Literally...it was shaped like Texas! Totally unintentially. I pulled a grilled cheese Jesus Glee moment and decided that it was an affirmative sign that I really am supposed to be going back to Texas. I had a minor celebratory moment, took a picture, and laughed at my bagel Texas... then I ate the rest of it. :-) It was a great moment in my life. Quite life-changing, let me tell you. And if you don't believe me, look at the picture below!

acronyms of the week

Decided it'd be fun to put my acronyms in here from the week. More fun to see them all together. haha

M y gosh I don't want to get up early
O h shitake I overslept
N ow I'm gonna be late
D ang I need some caffeine
A cow jumps over the moon
Y ikes it's November!

T otally got to sleep in later
U niversity ain't got nothin on me
E ek! yes it does...
S ooo I should probly go study
D o wa diddy diddy dum diddy do
A pparently you're supposed to read the books...
Y eah, I think I'll just go rockclimb

W ho said we're supposed to go to school?
E 'ryone else act a fool
D oodling doodling and sometimes drool
N o Robin, that's not cool
E eeny meeny miny mo
S uper stylish is my big toe
D ing dong the bell will go
A cronyms...I'm a pro
Y o yo yo yo!

T oday is Thursday
H ats off to Friday
U ber excited about the weekend
R iff ram bah zoo!
S tarbucks red cups are here
D ude, it's crafternoon!
A utumn is way too hot this year
Y ikes, my teacher has drool on his chin

F inally it's here!
R eally!...it's the weekend!
I made some sweet new tie-dyes last night
D riving up to Julian for the weekend
A weekend with no phone :-)
Y ay for sleeping in a sleepingbag!

Itch for the Outdoors

I don't know what it is lately, but I have had this extreme itch for adventure. Everything in me wants to just drop everything and go camp, rockclimb, scramble, backpack, etc etc. But I never get to actually go do it. Or very rarely at least. Life keeps getting in the way dang it. I got to go on a backpacking weekend trip up to San Jacinto a couple weeks ago and that was a stinkin blast. Maybe that's when it all hit me again. I get going on trips, completely surrounded by wilderness, with everything I need in a backpack on my shoulders, and I absolutely love the freedom. I love the fresh air. I love the beauty. And I love not being by civilization. Don't get me wrong, I grew up in the city and I love it. But man do I love to get away. I feel like this semester I have really discovered a passion of mine. The outdoors. Recently I have been trying to research different mountains, state parks, campgrounds, and hikes. I am trying to teach myself how to read a topographic map...hah. That's a work in progress. For my birthday coming up I have asked for camping gear...and thats it. I just really want to learn everything I can about living outside. I have a TON to learn. And I really don't think you ever stop learning about it. I really just need to get out and discover new places and get my hands dirty. But the problem is me being a young girl. I can't exactly go on escapades by myself. That would be dumb. And I never really have someone to join me...because either their life gets in the way, or they just don't like camping. So for now I'm just going to researching I guess. haha. I'm sure the kids sitting behind me in class think I'm insane because I'm constantly looking up different trips, places, and organizations on my computer. Speaking of organizations...I found this organization called Summit For Someone (www.summitforsomeone.org). It's super cool! Basically you pick a trip you want to go on, you raise a certain amount of money, and the money you raise goes a little towards your trip, plus you end up allowing 5 underprivelaged kids who don't normally get the chance to go outdoors, the chance to go on an outdoor adventure. And I think thats pretty stinkin awesome! What a cool organization.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do this summer and I'm either thinking of doing a Summit For Someone trip, a NOLS program, or a father/daughter summit of Mt. Kilamanjaro. All of which would be legit. I know I sound insane, but I just need to get outside. It's not even a thing where I want to discover something or prove something, it's just a pure passion that is developing and in full throttle right now. haha. Clearly I chose the wrong major yet again. Should have been a recreation major. Damn. Too late now. haha. I will graduate with a teaching credential in Secondary English, but who the hell knows what I'm gonna end up doing with my life. I've always wanted to work for a camp full time. Maybe start a camp? Take over a camp? Work for some sort of outdoor adventure school or program. Who knows! I guess the good part about being a teacher, even if I do end up doing that, is that I get summers off! And I can always adventure then. :-)

Anyways...hopefully I'll get some more experience on different trips soon. But right now I am just trying to learn everything I can. Hopefully I'll get some help from people of more knowledge of what to do next. I'm hoping to make a camping trip with my brother and dad over my birthday weekend...so pray that it happens! Alright, that's all I got for now. Just needed to vocalize my thoughts at the moment. I'll leave you with this quote...

"...nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." - Chris McCandless (aka- Alex Supertramp)

nature, old books, and pie. Oh my!

It is amazing how school sucks a lot of fun out of our lives. I've been in school for a whompin 2 weeks now and this weekend I had had it! That itch was comin back....the itch to do something spontaneous, adventurous, and outdoorsy. So I made a spur of the moment decision and Joleah and I drove up to Julian on the beautiful Saturday afternoon that we had. Julian is a cute little town up in the mountains that has amazing campgrounds, lakes, and pie. Oh how they are known for their pie. So long story short, Joleah and I hiked around just kind of making our own path. We layed in the middle of a field, sat on a broken tree, took some pictures, and overlooked the absolutely beautiful creation around us. It was exactly what I needed. The fresh air gives me a little kick in the booty every time. It just makes me feel me again. But the day got even better! Not only did we eat the most amazing pie ever, but there was an old resale bookshop...and I think I fell in love with it. Holy smokes I could stay in there forever. I walked out of that shop with a book titled "Literature and Philosophy", which was published in 1892, and book of poems titled, "Poems that Touch the Heart". I know it sounds cheesy, but that book of poems seriously is touching my heart! I love it. I haven't read one poem yet that I didn't somehow relate to. While we were eating pie I was reading them aloud. Yes...I am that big of a dork. But there is something about reading poetry out loud that makes it come alive. Overall, the day was amazing and just what I needed. Here is one of the poems I read...it's my favorite so far:

"Away"

I weary of these noisy nights,

Of shallow jest and coarse "good cheer,"

Of jazzy sounds and brilliant lights.

Come, Love, let us away from here.

Let us lay down this heavy load;

And, side by side, far from the town,

Drive on some lovely country road;

And, wandering, watch the sun go down.

What time is left to us, come, Love.

The woods, the fields, shall make us whole;

The nightly pageantry above

Our little world, keep our soul.

No peace this city's madness yields--

A tawdry world in cheap veneer.

Out there the lovely woods and fields.

Come, Love, let us away from here.

- Max Ehrmann

dwarf servant. or something like that.

Today was what I call a "la-la" land day. Holy smokes I was out of it. In English this morning we got into a huge religious and controversial debate. The teacher asked us to raise our hands if we were a Christian...I was one of about 5. Difference #1 in a state school. haha. Not a bad difference, I find it quite interesting hearing everyones views. I tried to talk about my view on some things, but I'm pretty sure I didn't make sense. However, now I'm in a mood to have a theological debate, so if you want to join, please call me. Or else the little angel and devil on my shoulders will be yelling at each other (aka-I'll be talking to myself...maybe not healthy). As I'm writing this I'm sitting in mythology class. I sat in the back today for some reason and as a result, I cannot hear a thing. Plus, my teacher has an English accent (which is awesome), but I can't really understand him because he tends to mumble. Something about dwarf servants. I perked up when I heard that term. I mean who wouldn't?..."dwarf servant"...really? It's gotta be something good. I'm sad to say that I never figured it out, so here I am writing this on a piece of paper (which obviously was typed). Oh good...he's putting in a movie. I hope I see a dwarf servant.

-------------------------

(Later on....while I'm typing what I wrote above)

I didn't see the dwarf servant. I'm a little bit bummed about it. Now I am sitting at a table at the Pi Phi House and it's the first night of rush. It's a really really surreal feeling being in a different chapter. I don't know anyone. To fill my time I made a YouTube account, so you should go check that out. I'm gonna post new music recordings periodically. For the record, recording yourself in a video is super awkward...so just go with it.

The link is: www.youtube.com/robindarcyacoustic

Enjoy!

wow...lame

Sorry fellow blog followers, I had about 2 paragraphs typed out and almost ready to post...then I decided that they were lame, unworthy, and that I couldn't quite say what I wanted to say. Rare occasion for me... Maybe something entertaining will happen soon so I can write about it. Until then, over and out like a trout.

"Remember that time I was a 4th year freshman?"

I had to write a short essay for class about a "memorable first" of some sort. I thought this would be fun to share via the blog...enjoy.

I am officially a senior in college. A senior! Am I really that old already? Most people go into senior year thrilled about what’s ahead of them, nervous about their future, and ready to live it up with their friends for the last and final year. However, my situation is a bit different. I was walking around campus, thinking about what I was going to write for this short essay, looking at my hand drawn map of campus (complete with pathways and drawn trees), when I realized how lame I am and how much I feel like a freshman again. I attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX for my first three years of collegiate academia. For many reasons to another I transferred to San Diego State University to finish up my college years and be able to attain my teacher certification in the state of California.

My first day at San Diego State University was a whirlwind of activity that made me feel like a confused freshman entering college all over again. The SDSU campus is about three times as large as TCU’s campus, which in turn made for the necessity of a hand drawn map to ease my experience. I arrived on campus about an hour early to make sure I was not stressed on my first day. Once arriving, Starbucks lured me in with its glorious smell of crushed coffee beans. I sat down and began to pull out my computer to make it look like I knew exactly what I was doing and that I was a SDSU veteran. The time ticked by as I stalked people on facebook and it finally hit 8:40am, the time to walk to my first class. With my handy dandy map I made it to class in lightening speed and figured I would be one of the first in the classroom to pick my oh so comfy desk. But no, I walk in and the whole freaking class is already seated with their paper and pens out ready to go! What kind of school is this? It was a class full of twenty-minute early, over-achieving brown-nosers who already got their desk of choice while I got stuck with the cracked one with no legroom. Did I mention that I was fifteen minutes early? It was ridiculous. Class finally began, I moved on with my life, and just pray that those little scholarly nuggets would learn that you do not need to be twenty minutes early to class.

The rest of my day went relatively smooth (probably because of my map) and I made it to each class in plenty of time. Being in a new school for the start of my senior year is one of the strangest feelings. I keep looking around and wondering who I know that I could yell at or embarrass, who I will meet for lunch, or who I will run into in my next class. Then I realize that I don’t know anyone (kind of depressing at times). I suppose I could try and embarrass someone, but that would be awkward. Or I could yell a random name and wave as if I am waving to a good friend, but maybe someone would see that I am waving to no one…and that would be awkward. So for now I will wander around with my map from class to class and hope to make some friends very soon.

The first day of my senior year was a nostalgic one indeed and all the old feelings of being a lost freshman came rushing back. I was constantly feeling like I should own the school as one of the oldest, but battling the unknown that was before me. I know that it will get better and that soon I will feel just as comfortable as the rest of the student body. So until that day of comfortable, map-less walking….I will just laugh at myself in good humor and thrive on the fact that I’m a nerd; because I think being comfortable in who I am is going to get me through every tough time. So if tomorrow entails another first day of school….bring it on. I’ll just be me (and I’ll probably have a map).

pure joy = school supplies

Tonight is the eve of the eve of the eve of the eve of school starting....and all I can think about is how freakin excited I am to scrounge through the aisles at Staples for school supplies! I mean what is the deal? Why is buying school supplies so much stinkin fun? It's the smell of new pencils and paper. The glorious look of neat and organized binders that only stay like that for about a week. It's buying a new pen that you swear makes you write more exquisitely. Oh ho hum I cannot wait! And I believe tomorrow will be the day. The day where I put on my old, beat up, squeaky converse that used to be navy blue, my floral Patagonia shorts, a v-neck shirt of some sort, and tote my Nalgene for hydration purposes while I conquer the home of school supplies, the owner of knowledge, the sleek red designed building that is screaming my name...Staples. You know what's funny is that I rarely buy staples at staples. Hm...maybe I will just to give the name some credit tomorrow.

Friday, August 27th shall never be forgotten. It is the day that my education truly begins at San Diego State University. The day I bought my school supplies. Ugh, I can't wait!

PS - I realize I am a huge nerd, but I like it that way. I bet you wish you got joy out of the small things in life too! ;-)

funky town get down!

Funky Town get down! This past weekend was a very bittersweet weekend for me. I went back to Fort Worth to sing at Pi Phi rush and see all my friends along the way. Every time I go back to Fort Worth it is just a very strange and surreal feeing. It's like I never left...but at the same time I don't live there anymore. It is really kind of confusing actually. I normally go back and stay with my old roommates in my old house, except there is someone new in my room and it certainly doesn't look like my chaotic hippie room did before. Actually, the house looks a lot better since I left...haha, maybe I should have left a long time ago. hahaha. (There is still a broken window from me throwing a tennis ball too hard once...oops. I put some duct tape on it....all better!). Anyways, the point is that it is just flat out weird.

I was soooo glad that I was able to go back this past weekend and finish my last rush with my pledge class that I started with at TCU. It was emotional to see everyone crying together and realizing that this is our last rush together (a very good thing and hallelujah moment, but sad at the same time). As I was singing the words to my song "I Love You" all I could do was look at my friends and feel how much I appreciate each and every one of them. Especially when I sang the line, "you're the only one who gets my jokes". It's true! Not many people get my humor I think....quite unfortunate if you ask me. Long story short, I am so thankful that I was able to go back and be with everyone for this moment. It meant a lot to me and I will treasure it forever.

Overall, my weekend in Funky Town was absolutely incredible in so many different ways. I love my friends and no one will ever take the place of them. But now marks a whole new journey for me. I start school in 5 days! Yikes! But I could not be more excited to get going, get a set schedule, and meet new people! The hardest part about this summer has been not having friends...well, I'm ready to make some dang it! Tomorrow I am going to Pi Phi workshops for rush and it will be the weirdest feeling to be at a different chapter. It will be new and exciting, but very strange. I'm hoping that I will meet some awesome friends there and maybe...just maybe there will be a few that are as big of a dork as I am (doubtful...but I can dream. haha).

I still believe in my heart that this move will be a good thing for me and that I did make the right choice. I am big believer that things do happen for a reason and if I wasn't supposed to be doing this than it wouldn't have happened. There are a lot of blessings in disguise about this move and I am excited to see what they are and how they develop over time.

change and trust

"Sometimes an imbalance for love means a balance for life". - Eat, Pray, Love

Tonight I went to go see "Eat, Pray, Love" with some friends and I actually really enjoyed it. I went into it thinking it was just going to be another movie that was talked up way too much, when in reality it was quite informative and made me reflect a lot on myself. There were a lot of things that really hit home for me.

A lot of change has happened for me recently. I just transferred from TCU to SDSU my senior year of college. I just changed majors in December. I moved into a new apartment. And I didn't go to camp for the first time in 13 years. That's a lot of big change if you ask me. Transferring was something I had thought about every semester I was at TCU. I had a lot of frustrations with TCU and eventually got to a point where I was fed up with it. At the same time though, I had made some incredible friends. I don't regret my original decision to go to TCU. I truly think I went there for a reason and that I became a better person while in attendance. I had incredible experiences and a couple teachers that truly influenced me in a great way. I found who I am at TCU and I really don't think that would have happened if I had stayed in California for college. As much as I thrive on being different than other people, I still always felt slightly out of place at TCU and I could never pinpoint what exactly it was that made me feel that way. Deciding to transfer back to California was obviously a huge decision for me. It was risky, but I was up for the challenge. Since I have been back in San Diego a lot of things have indeed fallen into place. I feel better about myself, I love where I live, I love being close to family, a lot of connections and opportunities have opened up for me, and I love the active lifestyle that I didn't get in Fort Worth. But with all that said, this is probably one of the hardest times in my life. It has been a harder change that I honestly thought it would be. I miss my friends in Fort Worth. I miss dance parties in the kitchen. I miss my besties and I hanging out on one of our beds and just talking for hours. I miss getting scared at night and calling Megan or Allie to see if they will come sleep with me. I miss sitting in a baby pool in the backyard with a corona. Heck, I even miss Billy Bobs! There are a lot of things in Fort Worth that I wonder what could have happened. But here I am. In San Diego. Just trusting that I made the right decision and that God is going to open up this whole new life to me that is part of His wise (confusing if you ask me...) plan. It's hard. I'm not going to pretend like it isn't anymore. And I'm going to go ahead and assume that the next few months are going to be the same way. School will start, work will consume, and friends will come. Unless they think I'm some psycho that says y'all (very frowned upon here). Ultimately I came back to CA so I can get my teaching credential here, so that's what I should keep my focus on. I feel like the quote at the top of the page is one that I can relate to many different areas of my life right now. Love for music, love for people, love for learning, love for the outdoors, love for friends, love for family, and hopefully love for someone that's going to steal my heart. I'm seeking all of these things out of love, I am incredibly imbalanced, and it is quite unnerving. But screw life if it's balanced. It's never balanced and it shouldn't be completely balanced. How boring would that be? So I'm reminding myself that this discomfort, confusion, frustration, and doubting can actually in turn be a thriving and thrilling life to live. It's just a matter of seeing through the cloud and trusting that each of the next steps I take have their own purpose. That's all I can do. And hell freakin yea...it's hard. But I'm willing. My theme for the past year has been "day by day". And that is certainly how it is going to stay.

"Sometimes an imbalance for love means a balance for life". - Eat, Pray, Love

Tell your story

So tonight I just decided that I will share some song lyrics with you from Deb Talan. This song is phenomenal and I love the words. I just got a little gadget at the store that says "tell your story" on it and I instantly thought of this song. But i think it's very true. It is important to tell your story. It's what makes us our own. We each have different stories and they make up who we are. So in whatever which way that you want to do it, just tell it. It's important. You're important. And you never know who's going to be touched by your story. More people than you probably would have imagined.

"Tell your story" by Deb Talan

Tell it to the judge, man.
Tell it to your motherless reflection.
In a sock and one shoe
after the great defection
he said, "tell a lie sometimes, tell the truth
when it suits you, and when you've lost your way
tell a story."

Tell your story, tell it, tell it.
Tell your story to anyone who'll listen.
Tell your story, don't stop talking
just tell your story walking.

Listing through Carol Gardens
on the way to Cobble Hill
I stopped by a psychic's dusty, wilted windowsill.
Forgot what she told me, mostly
but I remember one thing she said
"You may slip and call some lousy fuck your friend
but in the end you'll come out even
then, tell your story."

And it's a sorry, frightful thing
when you want to cry, but you can't keep from laughing.
Outside the church that's so quiet it dares you to shout
you put a hand to your mouth to stop the rain.
You do a St. Vitus dance, to the sky you raise your voice.
This is your chance, you have no choice
you tell your story.

music and me

Today I realized something about myself and my music. It had been a long day and I was showing my roommate, Francie, a song that I had recently written titled "Hummingbird". Hummingbird is the one song of mine that kind of encompasses them all. It is a song about hope, love, fear, and cherishing each moment. As I was listening and talking about it with Francie, I realized how good it makes me feel to make music. One thing that people are always telling me is to write more upbeat songs or add a drumbeat to my music. Most people think that my music doesn't necessarily fit my personality on the outside. I tend to be very upbeat, energetic, "bubbly" if you will, and just kinda a quirky person I think. However, I think the people that truly know me, know that I've got a lot more thought that goes on in my head that isn't always portrayed on the outside. I've realized that music is my outlet. It lets me say everything I'm normally to scared to say. It's like my missing half and with it I feel so much more complete and well-rounded. It's my vulnerability. But my music is soft. It's mellow. It can have a somewhat majestic feel to it I suppose. And it's very raw. It's my way of allowing others to see inside. Without a guitar and pen and paper, I think I would be very shut off. So I am very thankful that I've been blessed with music and I now completely see one of its purposes in my life.

Some people may like my songs and others may not, but one thing I think I need to always remember is what do I like? What makes me feel good? And something I have come to find is that generally, if I feel one way and am able to portray that feeling in a song...there is someone else out there who will relate to it and know exactly what I am talking about. And that is what makes music matter. The connection. All I can hope for is that someone else hears it, gets it, and knows they aren't alone.

PS - the one CD in the world that I connect to the best is "A Bird Flies Out" by Deb Talan. That CD is the one that makes me believe I'm not alone. And that gives me hope.

Bicycles.

I say curse the car. It's big. It's initially costly. It continues to stay costly. It guzzles gas. Which in turn is costly. It can be tough to park. And there are simply too many of them in our world. As much as I really really enjoy taking long drives, I am cursing their existence. Living in PB has opened my eyes to an old fashioned way of life that I have embraced whole heartedly....the bicycle.

I have always loved riding bikes. I will never forget learning how to ride a 2-wheel bike in my old neighborhood. The thrill was immense as I took off and realized I was balancing on my own. It granted me this whole new freedom that I had never experienced before. That feeling never left me. I have always been the one wanting to ride bikes places. The one who wanted to get on some sort of moving machinery that challenged my body. The one who took chances. Bikes bring back so many incredible memories for me. Bikes remind me of family. The long rides we took together around Mission Bay. Bikes remind me of friends. The times we made dirt jumps for our BMX bikes. The times we attached a rope to the seat post and put someone on a skateboard and towed them behind. The times we road around the streets on each others bike pegs. Bikes remind me of laughter. Bikes remind me of the San Diego coastline. The many days I rode my road bike along the 101 with my dad and brothers. Bikes remind me good conversation. Bikes remind me of drinking...don't ask. And bikes remind me of hope. They remind me of the good days. They bring a feeling of nostalgia to my life and I love that.

I recently bought a super old beach cruiser (as previously stated in the last blog). I named it Ethel. Great name, I know. Every time I hop on that bike I am seriously in my happy place. It's like nothing else matters. Today I decided that I was going to hop on my bike and run all my errands. First stop...Ace Hardware (Dad, I hope you're proud). I bought some bungee chords then hopped on my bike and rode to Staples. There I bought printer ink (ps- why does it have to be so expensive? Ridiculous) and I bought a plastic crate. I then went out to Ethel and bungeed that crate to the back of my bike and hoped to goodness it would stay on. I cruised over to Wells Fargo and deposited some checks and then rode Trader Joes grocery store and got my necessities. I took purchased goods to my bike, they fit perfectly in the back crate, rode home with no accidents and was at total peace the whole time. There was no rush, no parking hassel, no idiots on the road, no radio, just total peace the whole time. Plus, there was so much more people watching! One thing I really appreciate about PB is the variety of people in the area. There is a little bit of everything. On my ride today I saw plenty of interesting tattoos, a 90 year old woman buying an exacto knife, a homeless guy playing drums on the street, another guy jammin on the guitar, families walking, plently of tourists, and people just havin a good time in the sunshine. So I say screw the car! Bring on the bike.

Riding my bike really does bring me to a simpler way of life that I love. It makes life seem easy. It makes me think. It makes me cherish the things and people around me. It makes life seem timeless and hopeful. So ditch your car for a few hours, go ride a bike, and let go of life. Hopefully you will be filled with the same joy that I feel.

The past 4 weeks...

Man, it has been quite some time! Life has been a whirlwind of excitement the past month and a half and I have been itching to blog about it. Sad, I know. I feel like the best thing to do in order to catch you all up would be a good ole fashion list. Everyone loves lists. So here we go:

1. Europe was amazing this summer. I feel so blessed that I got that opportunity to explore.

2. La Jolla Kayak didn't work out, but I am now working for San Diego Sol Basketball and that has been really good. I'm kind of working all over the place...working the door, coaching basketball camps, working in the cafe, and soon to be doing some photography for them.

3. Megan and Allie came to visit for a week and that was a blast! Disneyland was complete insanity and we saw Goofy throw a hissy-fit. I also must be old because the teacups made me incredible nauseous and "It's a Small World Afterall" creeped the hell outta me. I also forgot where I parked and hunted for about a half hour in the parking garage yelling for my car. (clearly I thought it was going to respond...)

4. I moved into my new apartment with Francdog! It has been absolutely amazing living in our precious lil apartment. All of our neighbors are so nice and the neighborhood is so much fun. Love Love Love it.

5. I really am addicted to fro yo and it's not a good thing.

6. I bought a SWEEEET old beach cruiser bike that is just phenomenal. Mom thinks it's the same bike that she got for Christmas when she was 10. haha. The plan is to fix it all up and make it purrty again. It really is very convenient having a bike where I live though because the parking is terrible. It is so nice being able to ride my bike to restaurants, bars, grocery store, errands, etc. Anything! I love it. And I would much rather get out and ride my bike than drive.

7. It has been incredible gloomy in San Diego this summer and I don't appreciate it. The sun FINALLY came out today and I about jumped outta my skin I was so excited!

8. Two weekends ago I flew back to Texas for a good friends wedding and it was great to be back again. I can't believe my friends are getting married! I had a somewhat crazy night Friday night when I got there and I found out that I am terrible at darts. Sad day. I also went to the Fort Worth Zoo for the first time and had a BLAST! It was amazing. I heard the lion roar, saw monkeys swing, gazed at massive creepy snakes, pet a goat, and saw the lion poop. Successful in my book. :-)It was a very very strange feeling being back in Fort Worth though. I still don't think it has completely hit me that I am not going to school there in the fall. Sometimes I seriously question if I am doing the right thing by transferring to SDSU, but I really think that I am making the right decision. It really is amazing how many things have just fallen into place since I have been back and how much better I feel about myself too. It's really strange actually. I miss my friends in Texas like none other though. That is really tough. Luckily I can count numerous times that I will be back in Fort Worth. So thats a plus!

9. My current undertaking is making a t-shirt quilt of all my old camp ozark shirts. So far so good! I have never made one before, so I'm hoping all goes well. If i can figure out how to thread my sewing machine maybe I'll actually start....minor detail. haha.

10. We met the neighbors on the other side of us Friday night....what an interesting night it was. Oversized straws, terrible accents, energy drinks, Typhoons, nerds, skipping, slip n slide at 3am, bed by 5am. Yikes. What a solid first night out.

11. I think that's all for now folks! I'm exhausted and need to get some sleep. Consider the blogging commenced again! I have missed it and i know you have too...right? ;-) Just wanted to give you an overview of life before I really began talking about serious topics...hahaha riiight.

Until tomorrow!

PS - SHARK WEEK! ugh, live it. love it. I'm fascinated. The End.

Rome- Day 3

Who’s been watching Looney Tunes in Italian?....we have! Every morning as a matter of fact. This morning the cartoons were especially funny, so I just felt like sharing about our 7 year old habits. Everyone loves a good Tom & Jerry cartoon though. Admit it…you do. After a lazy early morning we went over to the train station and booked our train tomorrow morning to the airport. Got that business done, got lost trying to buy a metro ticket, figured it out, and got on the metro that would take us towards the Vatican. This metro trumps all the others we have been in. It was air-conditioned and glorious. After arriving at our stop we made it to the street and joined a tour group that would give us a guided tour of the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s church. The lady that guided us on this journey was Patricia. Now Patty (lets just call her Patty for fun) was a special guide. A one of a kind if you will. In other words, she was loooopy and absolutely in her own world. She talked too close to the microphone and her accent made it so I really couldn’t understand a thing, but oh well. She was nice and I appreciated her services still. However, not everyone else did. There was some miscommunication with people in our group I guess and they though we wouldn’t have to wait in any lines. False. Everyone has to wait in a security line no matter what. So people weren’t really happy about the 2 hour line we stayed in before entering the museums. I felt bad for Patty…people were reaming her. Poor Patty. Lo and I got a kick out of people watching in line though. We may have had one extremely awkward girl with an overbearing and bitchy (pardon my French….ugh, its always the french) mother and then we had another very large girl (probly 6’ and weighed 230) that was wearing an awkward lengthed white floral dress and she was pasty, pasty white. Not that we were judging or anything….(oops). But I think Lo and I died inside when the two of them became friends and just started chit-chattin away. I just envisioned them skipping off together holding hands and playing jump rope in the middle of a garden. Ok, I’m done now…I just wanted you to get an idea of how my mind works when I see strange things. Haha.

The museums were cool, however it was INSANELY packed inside. The crowds were enormous. Turns out that Vatican City was closed all day yesterday due to a holiday. So as a result, today was crazy. But we followed Patty like diligent children and I kept imagining Patty as Ms. Frizzle and hoping we would get on the magic school bus soon. (Again…my head…I don’t know.). Anyways, the artwork was very impressive, but the Sistine Chapel was phenomenal. I have learned about the artwork in art history before, but seeing it in person is truly overwhelming. I can’t imagine painting all that! After the Sistine we went to St. Peters church and it is HUGE. Very impressive yet again. Overall, we were both very glad that we waited forever to get in, but it was worth it….I mean, I wasn’t extremely excited about it or anything, but it was still good to see. By the end I was so done with crowds and just wanted to get out though. So out we went, found our way to the metro and went to Hard Rock Café to spend a few hours dining joyously. Hard Rock was wonderful yet again and we got a few delicious drinks. Our bartender also gave us a free shot! Ooh ooh! Num Num. After dinner we went back to our hostel, showered, packed, and we have been chillin like a villain. We watched Sunny in Philadelphia, listened to music, told stories, told more stories, played patty cake, played concentration, etc etc. It was basically our own 6^th slumber party. And now I am typing this while Lo is reading. Successful last day in Rome.

So…this was really our last day in Europe. Crazy! When I was in Paris I thought this day would never come and now that it’s here it feels like it flew by, but at the same time I feel like I was in London months ago. It’s crazy how time works. As for rating the cities in comparison to one another….from best to worst city – Lindsey: Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, Venice, London, Paris. And for me: Cinque Terre, Venice, London, Rome, Florence, Paris. It’s funny how ours ended up pretty different! This trip has truly been amazing. It has had it’s really fun times, really stupid times, really memorable times, and it’s frustrating times. Lo and I have learned so many things about each other that we didn’t know but we have grown so much closer because of it. So legit. Even though we learned a ton about history in each of these places and random facts that neither of us knew, even though we figured out and learned how to travel by ourselves successfully, and even though we dealt with language barriers….none of that is what I am going to take away. I think the biggest thing I have figured out is to have a love and appreciation for my own country. USA has absolutely no pride compared to Italy. It’s really quite sad. When do you ever see people selling USA shirts in the USA? Never. At least I’ve never seen them. I am so incredibly thankful that I live in our amazing country and I think that this trip made me see that. I now want a USA shirt (may have to find one at Walmart) and I want some jean overalls really badly (also may be at Walmart). Haha. Here’s what else I discovered…there is one universal thing (as cheeseball as this may be)….laughter. Everyone laughs. (except maybe people in Paris…I don’t think anyone ever laughed there) I can think of oodles of moments when we were all laughing no matter what language we speak. Which is awesome. If we can keep that up, I think we’re all gonna be alright.

Off to the airport tomorrow for a fun day of 18 hours of travel. Blah. We’re headin home! USA or bust!

Rome - Day 2

“Blondie! Touch my body. Yes, I love my job”. Yep, that’s what a Roman soldier told me today! This morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and went on a bus tour of Rome that we could hop on and off of. We boarded the bus around 9:45am and got off first at the Coliseum. We found a guide outside of the Coliseum that gave a guided tour in English and made it so we wouldn’t have to wait in line at all. So we jumped on that opportunity and part of the fun was getting to take a picture for free with one of the fake Roman guards. Obviously Lo and I were incredibly excited about this and jumped on the opportunity. I went over to take a picture with him and he called me blondie, told me to touch his body (aka- my hand on his chest), and said that he loved his job. Haha. It was hilarious and we were instantly put in a fabulous mood. The coliseum was nuts. It’s pretty mind-boggling to think that it used to be real, in use, and not so broken down like it is now. But what they have saved is still incredible. I was amazed by how huge it is and I still can’t wrap my mind around how they built something that large back then. Not to mention how many people and animals were killed in that arena! It’s insane! I’m glad I didn’t live then. I can’t even imagine if we still had fierce competitions like that now a days and I went to watch people die…I mean, that’s just not okay. So weird to think that it was the norm.

We went on after our tour of the coliseum and walked around the rest of the ruins, which were also very cool to look at. We frolicked in pretty flowers and took plenty of pictures too. Always fun. And it was ROASTING hot. Seriously, we were sweatin bullets walking around and had to keep filling up our water bottles. We got some lunch, then jumped back on the tour bus and continued on our way. We got off again at the Trevi fountain and did the traditional wish with a coin into the fountain. I know that it’s fairy tale, but I would really like my wish to come true…and I know Lo would too. Haha. We also were recommended to get Gelato right by Trevi and it changed our lives forever. I don’t know what it was, but they put something in this gelato that made it exquisite. Mmm….goodness, I can’t even explain. You’ll have to go yourself and try it. The Trevi fountain was actually really cool. I loved it. It reminded me of all the movies I have seen with it in them and I think that it somehow brings hope. I don’t even know what that means, but it makes sense in my head. I guess there is something about so many people making wishes into one fountain that brings everyone, no matter where you come from, what nationality you are, or what language you speak, back to one equal level. Everyone is hoping and wishing for something. And that is just really cool.

We eventually got back on the bus and made our way around the entire city for another 2 roasting and toasting hours. It was totally worth it though. The bus tours are the best! Later on after a quick rest period at our hostel, we walked to the Hard Rock Café and had some delicious fajitas that we had been craving! A little taste of home I guess. And we also had a couple drinks at the bar that were sooo num num good. The bartenders were legit. We had a fun walk back to our hostel, stopped at a bookstore, stopped at the pharmacy cause I still have a stupid cold, and then got back and showered and we are now watching futbol.

It’s been a really successful day and tomorrow is our last full day in Rome and on this trip! We plan on doing the whole Vatican scene and Sistine Chapel tomorrow, which we think will take quite a few hours. We also miiiight end up at Hard Rock again for dinner…haha. I’m so stinkin tired of pasta and pizza. Ugh. Anyways….last day! Time to live it up! Viva la Roma!!

Rome - Day 1

Roma! We made it to our final destination and I haven’t been able to stop singing Dean Martin songs since we got off the train (sorry to everyone around me). This morning we ate breakfast, used the internet, and went down to the train station early. Of course our train got delayed 20 minutes (typical for us), but we made our connection in La Spazia and got on our train to Rome. The train ride was about 3 and a half hours long and I would like to tell you that something exciting happened, but I slept almost the entire time. This funny little Asian girl sat next to Lo and I was really entertained seeing the girls head abruptly fall down asleep every 6 seconds. Haha. Oh the small moments of joy. Finally arriving at our station we got off our choo choo train, followed the directions to our hostel, and found it no problem. After a short wait, the owner came to let us in the gate and showed us our fantastic room. It is a cute little place. There are only 3 rooms in the hostel and it is very modern looking inside. Everything is spick and span clean and there are fun colored comforters that make me happy. Haha. We settled in, dropped our stuff, and realized that we were starving! We started walking the streets until we found a cute restaurant where we sat and enjoyed our early dinner. Four girls about our age sat by us and started talking to us. Turns out that 2 of them were from Houston and one had actually worked at Camp Ozark one of the same years that I did. Small world! So we had a bunch of mutual friends. It was crazy. We talked to them for a bit, then went back to our hostel and have been watching soccer highlights and relaxing. Tonight we just plan to chill and watch some TV. Our adventure will start tomorrow! We plan on doing a big bus tour around the entire city and then seeing the Vatican and Sistine Chapel as well. Hopefully we will be able to see everything in the next 2 days. Normally that isn’t an issue. We are actually pretty good at seeing everyone in one day. Anyways, there is a ton to see and a lot of history to unveil. Wish us luck in Roma!

super quick...

So yet again we dont get internet in our hostel...so we are at an internet place, but i cant use my own computer. I had previously typed out the blog, but now thats worthless and i dont feel like retyping. It wasnt super exciting anyways. Hopefully tomorrow I will find time to write a real update. For now, just know that we made it Rome safely and I cant stop singing Dean Martin songs! haha. The real adventure begins tomorrow!

Wish i could write more, but it will have to wait till later! Over and out!

Cinque-tastic!!

Hello my dearest friends and family! I know you have been waiting at the edge of your seat constantly refreshing the blog site just waiting for me to post this. Wait no longer! Tis here…

Cinque Terre is amazing. Seriously, it is probably one of the most unique and relaxing places ever with a non-touristy feel. Quick update from last night…Lo and I bought crackers, slices of turkey, homemade pesto, strawberries, and of course some vino and brought it down to the rocks by the water where we ate our magnificent meal at sunset. The cool breeze was blowing, the sun was saying goodnight, and the sound of water hitting the rocks was incredibly relaxing. I could have stayed there for hours upon hours. However, the USA futbol game was on, so we decided to call it an early night so we could go back to our room and watch it. Lo and I got ready for bed and watched the game which was undoubtedly a sad loss, but for some reason I was kind of happy for Ghana. I mean, when else do you hear about Ghana? So good for them! Plus, I thought we played kinda cruddy. Anyways, we soon crashed because we were exhausted from our long hike that day.

This morning we decided to sleep in and see where the day took us. So we woke up a little after 10am and opened our shutters to the sunshine and looked out over the ocean. Not such a bad way to wake up! There is just something about waking up, opening up the blinds (shutters in our case), and seeing the sun shiny day outside. My roommates always thought I was crazy because I slept with my blinds open. I just like waking up to natural light….puts me in a good mood. Lo and I made breakfast again of toast, jam, and fruit. I forgot to tell you how we made our toast yesterday, please let me share. We don’t have a toaster, so we decided to stab our bread with a fork and hold it over the old school stove (that we lit ourselves) and roast our bread like marshmallows until it was golden brown. It worked deliciously! We walked down the million steps (actually 133 steps), found some nice flat rocks by the water, and caught some rays. It was perfect outside and everyone was merry. I finally finished my book and Lo was reading Pride and Prejudice for the 37^th time. We cooked ourselves like bacon in the sun, flipping back and forth to not burn too bad and then decided it was time to cool off and go for a refreshing swim. The water felt soooo good and the lil fishies swam around with us while we paraded around their territory. There were a group of guys all cliff jumping nearby that we had been watching all day. They were slightly crazy though…they were doing front flips, back flips, dives, and combinations of those off the rocks into the water and people were lined up all along the land watching them and clapping for each guy going. I thought it was so weird that I hadn’t seen one girl jump off the rocks yet and I was getting really antsy. Finally I made us swim over to the rocks and climb on up to join the boys and take the plunge. I was so excited and Lo was psyching up to conquer her fear of heights. I rock climbed like a mountain goat up to the top, didn’t understand a word of what the boys said to me in Italian, and jumped! Down I went, SPLASHHH, and up went the bathing suit top…luckily I got it all under control before I came back up again. Haha. In the mean time, Lo had made it to the top and was about to go….sure enough she conquered that stinkin fear and jumped off too! Woo woo! I loved the thrill and wanted to go one more time, so I did and then we swam around a bit more and after headed back to our rocks to dry out. What a fantastic day so far! Finally around 3pm we went and had a late lunch, went to our room, and accidentally fell asleep for a while. Side note…the bell tower here rings 8 minutes fast…every time. Just sayin. Moving on…we eventually made our way back down to the town, went to the grocery store and picked up more crackers, turkey, fruit, and pesto and went back down to the rocks that had cleared out by now. We poured ourselves some wine, Lo read her book, I started writing a book (yep, I decided I’m finally gonna write a book…been wanting to for quite some time now), and then later on we ate our dinner with glee. Again, it was stunningly beautiful at sunset. We sat there for a couple hours, but some stinkin Australian boys and some other chicks came down and were obnoxious, so we left and watched the rest of the soccer game in our room. Plus, we had to pack and get ready for our day of travels the next day.

So that was our day. Not incredibly eventful, but again, one of my favorite days on this whole trip. It is so nice to just relax and not worry about a thing going on. We are off to Rome tomorrow and we are excited to see all that it has waiting for us to discover. It’s crazy to think that we will be home in 4 days. But we must conquer Rome first! Overall, Cinque Terre has been amazing. I hope you all get a chance to visit this enchanting place.

Cinque Terre = so legit

Howdy folks! This update is going to be about a day and a half of update. We actually have to go to an internet café in order to update the blog (totally worth it), but we just can’t do it as often. So here it goes in bullet list format:

- Arrived in Cinque Terre and it is, in fact, beautimous! Cinque Terre is made up of 5 separate towns all along the coast of Italy. They span about 9km total. We found our hostel and the manager showed us where we were staying. We diligently followed him up about a thousand stairs with our heavy backpacks on and finally arrived at the most precious place. It’s basically like a mini-apartment. We have a big bedroom with a window that you can see the ocean right out of, our own bathroom with the weirdest tub and no curtain, and another little twin bed by the entry way. Plus, we have a kitchen right across from our room that is fully furnished and we have access to that as well. Legit!

- After unpacking we each got a corona and pesto pizza and relaxed at an outside table. Then we changed into our bathers and headed down to the beach for some more relaxation. The beach here is all rocks, so we found a great flat rock down by the water and enjoyed the sunshine. I was antsy to get in the water, so we swam around a bit and we can officially say that we have have swam in the Mediterranean Sea, which I think is pretty cool.

- Spark notes on the rest of the evening: showers, changing, dinner looking over the ocean with the soccer game on in the background, and then just chit-chattin in bed for another 2 hours. Good first day!

- This morning we woke up around 8:15am, got ready for the day, and made a delicious breakfast consisting of toast and jam and fruit. Oh and hot tea too! It was so fun to be able to make our own breakfast for once. It was a good way to start the day.

- Next to conquer was the infamous Cinque Terre hike that spans across all 5 towns in the mountains looking over the ocean. So off we went…and my lordy it’s a tough hike! Most people just go from one town to the next via the path or something…but no, we did the entire thing. If I counted how many stairs we went up I think my head would burst. It was challenging, but absolutely beautiful along the way and each town was so unique. The hike is 9km long and is supposed to take about 5 hours. We did it in 3 and a half hours. Anyways, I really can’t explain how amazing it was. Personally, it was my favorite thing that we have done thus far on this entire trip.

- So we went from Riomaggiore to Monterosso, which is where the biggest beach is. Monterosso was hip and hoppin with tourists. It was your typical beach filled with chairs and umbrellas that you had to rent out. So we got there and ate lunch. Sidenote: I actually was able to get a turkey sandwich! I can’t tell you how much I just want some chicken or turkey. But it is very rare. Everything is seafood or ham, and if you know me you know that I don’t like either. Struggle. Ok, back to the story, after lunch we rented out some chairs on the pebbley beach and fell asleep for a bit. Lo was out cold for about an hour and while she was napping I frolicked in the super clear water. It was glorious. We did some reading, more napping, it rained a bit, and then hopped on a train back to our town.

- And that’s everything so far! Lo and I just showered (trust me, we needed it!) and we are about to head to do some laundry (also very needed). I think the rest of the night we are just going to chill and probably just bring some food and wine down to the rocks by the water and eat dinner. Sounds like a good plan right?

We miss you friends! Talk to you when we can!

Florence - Last Day

Florence – Day 2

Hello my dearest blog readers! Sorry that this post is late, but we got distracted last night by a very worthy cause (that you will find out later) and it deterred us from writing. So without further ado, let me start from the beginning of our day on the 24^th of June.

We crawled out of bed around 9:51am when I had a massive coughing attack and probably woke up the entire hostel. What a great way to rise and shine. We got ready for the day, put on some kinda grungy clothes, and walked to go see the Statue of David. All of a sudden we see this massive line of people that just looked like a bunch of miserable faces and husbands that wished they were at the bar (yes, at 11am). Obviously this line was for the one and only David in statue form. We looked at the line and reevaluated the situation….and we just passed on by and went on to whatever the day held next for us. You are probably wondering how we could do such a terrible thing and not see what the city of Florence is most famous for. Well folks, let me just enlighten you of something….The statue of David is of a man with a slingshot, has a rock in his hand, and is naked. Sooo…in my mind, it’s just like every other statue that we’ve seen and I really don’t care to see anymore fake junk in the trunk made out of stone. Just sayin. I can look it up on the internet if I want. Sad, but it’s what our world has come to. Shame on us. Clearly I feel really bad…

With no set agenda for the day we wandered about and found a little café to eat at and scarfed down some grub. Lo and I then ran back to our hostel to grab our Eurrail tickets and then went to the train station to see about getting our train tickets to Cinque Terre tomorrow. We talked to a very large, but nice man about traveling for 15 minutes and then at the counter found out that our train to Cinque Terre was free! That put us in a cheery mood and we skipped off into town not knowing what would come next. By this time it was starting to get incredibly toasty outside, which can only mean one thing…gelato. The next part of the day was absolutely hysterical. This is the part of the day where I got married and Lo became Lady Gaga. No lies, it happened and it was wonderful. Haha. We found the central market area where all the vendors collaborate and play scam the tourist. We each bought some small items and paraded through each vendor looking at the odd items they sold. Eventually we came to another leather jacket store and the man working got our attention real quick. Somehow he convinced us to go into the store and I was lucky enough to get to try on a jacket that he thought was perfect for me. He kept giving me compliments and told me I had an Italian figure….riiiiight. hahaha. And he told Lo that she was Lady Gaga, which I then proceeded to burst out laughing. So here we are, I have a leather jacket on that he won’t let me take off, his arm is around me, Lo is Lady Gaga, and then he tells me that we are getting married and are going to have a happy family and are going to have 5 children. Bahahaha. We went along with his little game for a while, but he would never tell me the price of the jacket and him and his sly self was being a sketchball, so I told him that I was divorcing him and we forced our way out. Even though you aren’t really supposed to go along with their little Italian love games, I’m really glad we spent that 15 minutes with him because it was hilarious and we sang Lady Gaga songs the rest of the day.

By the time we were done with the market we were exhausted and sweaty, so we decided to go back to the hostel to just relax for a little bit. A little bit turned into about 3 hours. Most people would say that we are lame and not experiencing the things we should, but it was a hilarious 3 hours. We watched “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” on my computer, we sang songs, we realized that all of our facebook friends either have serious boyfriends, are engaged, or are married, and that just boosted our confidence…not. And I thought Lo the infamous excited leg kick, which put us in the giggles for a good 10 minutes. You can look for videos of that when we get home. Finally, we freshened up and head back out to find some dinner. We got out into the street and realized that we were matching. Awesome. Then we stumbled upon this cool little pizzeria where we ordered our food and sangria with fruit in it. It was heaven on earth. We also sat next to a husband and wife who were chain smokers (don’t worry though, he was a dentist…), but we talked to them for a good 40 minutes and they were quite entertaining and also filthy rich. They took a limo to the airport and they are staying in a villa in Florence. No big deal. However, they did invite us to join them in their villa if we ever wanted or if our hostel was bad. Everything in me wanted to go ring their door and invite ourselves in. I mean, how cool of a story would have that been? But we resisted and just walked along the streets in Florence and then sat overlooking water for about an hour. While we sat, there was a bike parade and tons of people out and about. It was some celebration day for a Saint I guess and there were fireworks later that night. We decided to turn in at about 9pm and we head to the hostel. The rest of the night was filled with facebook, drawing pictures, playing MASH, showering, re-packing, and watching the Lizzie McGuire Movie to get us psyched up for Rome. Yes, I did just say that. We watched Lizzie McGuire and we loved every second of it and yes, that is the reason I didn’t blog last night. Worthy cause. Don’t judge.

Overall, Florence was a fun city. I still don’t get all the hype about it, but there are some cool parts of it. As I am typing this we are on a train to Cinque Terre and we can’t wait! I also ran into an old friend on the train that I knew freshmen year of college. Small world. So Cinque Terre here we come! Let the adventure begin.