Not Your Typical Friday

Oh, what a past couple of days it has been. Shortly after I got home last night, I started feeling a little on the blah side. Just one of the many joys of being a girl...NOT! I couldn't take anymore medicine, so I thought I'd be fine for the rest of the night, because I started feeling a tad better. After going to bed around 3:30 or so, I woke up again close to 5 with cramps (sorry if this is TMI, normally I don't go in detail. This will probably be the only time that I do). This is not the first time, and it won't be the last, so it is something I've gotten used to. I finally took some medicine, and tried to get my mind off of things by watching whatever was on TV at 5 in the morning. I was in a lot of pain, started throwing up and was miserable for a good couple of hours. Eventually, when the sun was starting to come up, I started feeling a little better. Maybe it was a symbolism thing? I watched a couple episodes of One Tree Hill, then ended up falling asleep. I woke up close to noon, still feeling a little weak, but not wanting to stay cooped up in the house for yet another day. I got ready, then my mom and I went out to run some errands.

First, we went to our cable company to pick up an HDMI chord for our TV, then to the bank and finally to lunch at Panera, because I wanted some soup. I wasn't in the best of moods and was sort of quiet until I finished eating. I think I was just tired and worn out from the earlier festivities. However, my mom is extremely patient with me and understands, so it was still good. When we finished eating,
we walked across the street to Target to pick up a few things. You know it's a weird day when I don't even look at anything other than what we came there for. I usually have to make a trip to the entertainment section, but today, I didn't even mention it. CRAZY! I did want to look down the school aisle for some cute notebooks, but they were nuts. People were lined on both sides...Gotta love the whole back to school thing, right? After a couple minutes, I just decided I was done and we checked out. Our last stop of the day was the car wash. That didn't take too long, and finally we were home.

I was pretty wiped out when we got home, and had hoped to take a nap, but that didn't happen. The rest of the afternoon consisted of watching Growing Pains, doing a bit of writing, trying to read, and looking at a bunch of blogs with ideas for my blog and plans for my 21st birthday. Alright, so it's not until January, but I like to plan ahead. LOL. My mom made us some iced coffee, and I just tried to take it easy for a bit. 

*Iced? Oh well...

Can't wait for "The Great Gatsby" movie to come out!!! :)

I sent this to my friend who is a teacher :)

Encouraging words! 

Finally, my dad got home and we had dinner. Since my dad got the week of my birthday off, I've been brainstorming what I want to do...and we've been talking about Disneyland quite a bit, so I came up with a sort of "Bucket List" and was telling him all about it. After dinner, he told me that we're also going to LAS VEGAS to see TIM MCGRAW AND FAITH HILL... Like, WHAT?! SO EXCITED. 

When we finished dinner and had a few minutes to sit back for awhile, we decided to go for a drive. We stopped by Sonic and got some slushies, then just drove around town. We ended up out by the airport, which was cool! It was pretty packed actually. Driving around town really helps me appreciate it more. It's like you can get a new perspective on it and see things in a way you never did before, when all the chaos takes your mind away from the beauty. There were a lot of great moments on this little excursion, like:

• My dad saying, "What?!" like Taylor Swift in "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and me proceeding to play it after to make sure we were saying it exactly like it should be. 
• Listening to music
• Catching the fireworks show at the local baseball field
• Watching a big jet fly over us

Now, we're home and I'm getting tired. I just found out that a few episodes of Gossip Girl are on Style Network, so I'll probably watch a bit of that and crash. It has been a long couple of days and I need sleep if I want to be a little more charming than I have been. LOL. 

That's all for now,

Shelby :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Thursday

Today was really good! I woke up around 9:30 or so, knowing I was going to skype with my friend, Rebecca, and she's 3 hours ahead, so I was trying to plan it around that. After taking a shower and getting ready, I ended up sitting down for breakfast and coffee with my mom, which was so good.

I Skyped with Rebecca for what ended up being 3 hours! We caught up with one another, since we hadn't really seen each other since the Jimmy Kimmel taping back in May, I think it was. We talked about the entertainment industry, and aspects we'd like to get involved with. She also gave me some insight on things she learned from people at her internships in LA while she was out here, which was cool. Then, we finally decided to tackle the song we'd been planning on writing for quite some time now. We couldn't think of anything for the life of us. I've never done a "writing session" with anyone else before, so it was a bit of a different process. Finally, we both just put our pens to paper and see what we came up with, and from there we were able to get on with it. We made quite a bit of progress I think. But, we were starting to run out of ideas and figuring out chords on the guitar can be a little tricky, so we decided we'd pick up some other time, since Rebecca still has two more weeks at home.

The rest of the afternoon, I hung out for a little while, just trying to work on some stories, and getting my creative juices flowing once again. Around 4 or so, I started not feeling well. I started questioning whether or not I should go to worship practice and Bible study, but I always seem to come up with excuses for reasons why I shouldn't or don't want to. My mom made me some hot tea, and I caught a few episodes of Friends, which always does the trick at making me laugh. I started feeling better, so I decided I would just go. When I got to church, only a few people had showed up to practice. It actually made things run a little smoother. I was able to work on my part a little more than usual, and could hear it a tad better. We're only singing three songs this weekend, so that's cool and they aren't too hard. I think this was probably our shortest practice ever. We went in at 6, starting a few minutes later, and we were out a few minutes after 6:30. A friend from church gave me a ride home, which was really nice of her. Her and her husband are getting ready to move back to Wisconsin, so I'm definitely going to miss having her around, and watching out for her cats when they'd go out of town. It has been great getting to know her over the past couple years. Luckily, we'll be singing together on Sunday, so that'll be the official day to say goodbye :*( So many changes going around lately, with people moving on and it's hard. I've never been of a goodbyes.

I got home, ate dinner and watched E! News with my mom, and was still feeling pretty good, so I decided I'd go to Laurie's Bible study with her. I got ready, and her and Andrew picked me up. So, off we went. I'm always a little nervous meeting large groups of people, but I've gotten a lot better with it. I met a lot of Laurie's friends from church, then we got started almost immediately. The discussion was based on 1 John 5 dealing with sin; a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, but something that obviously needs to be dealt with. I learned a lot about this subject tonight and the way it was broken down helped me to look at it with a new perspective. We all fall short of what God has called us to be, but when we stay connected with Him, it allows us to change our ways. Because when we're continually making the same mistakes, that's when we need to take a step back and question whether we are true believers or not. After we finished looking at the notes they'd handed out, we all gathered in the kitchen for some snacks. Andrew and I talked for a few minutes, then Laurie and a couple of her friends joined a few minutes later. It was nice getting to know them. We also talked to her pastor about social networking for a few minutes, and he pulled out the logo's he's working on to promote their group. Then, Laurie, Andrew and I left. I wasn't quite ready to go home just yet, and the night was still sort of young, so we decided to go to McDonald's. We ordered some drinks, then sat in the parking lot, just talking for a little while. There were a lot of interesting people around the area; it was all a little sketchy, but entertaining at the time. LOL. We even brainstormed about the possibility of making a web series about our town...If you lived here, you'd understand the humor in it. So, we shall see if anything becomes of it.

We drove around for awhile, trying to think of something to do, but seeing as it was close to 12:30 or so, there wasn't really much to do. Laurie did show us where her church meets on Sunday's though, which was cool. Now, I can picture it when she talks about it :). We laughed a lot and rambled on about whatever else came to mind, I dramatized how pathetic my life is and how I'm pretty much always at home, and get a little too excited for Full House to come on at 2 a.m. and even called one of our friends, leaving him some crazy long message filled with absolutely nothing important, just the three of us gabbing and it was hilarious. Finally, Laurie dropped me back off at my house, and called it a night. I'm so glad I went tonight. I haven't been hanging out with friends very often lately, and I have missed it. Tonight was a great reminder of just enjoying the company of good friends, and the fact that I'm still young. I should be out  there in the world just doing simple things like driving around, doing silly things for the heck of it. I need to not take these moments for granted, but hold onto them dearly instead.
Now, its a few minutes after 3, and I'm watching...You guessed it, Full House. Sorry, I'm not sorry! I love this show. I do need to call it a night, though.

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

One Step Closer

This morning was a really big day! Today, I went down to the DMV to take my permit test. I woke up a little later than I had planned, but still had time for some coffee which was perfect. I got ready in no time and caught a few minutes of The Today Show, then headed to the DMV with my mom. I had been fine until we got there, then the nerves really started kicking in. It's so chaotic there that it's hard to think. Plus, the fact that it usually smells like a mixture old people and crap is never settling either. Actually, I can't be too sure of what it smells like and that's what worries me. Anyway, I had made an appointment almost a month ago, yet we still had to wait in line. I filled out some paperwork and about ten minutes later, they called me up to do the eye test and get my thumbprint. A few minutes later, I walked over to the counter, and off I went to my cubicle to get it out of the way. I said a silent prayer, and tried to calm down, rather than freaking myself out so I could concentrate on the test. I was surprised at how much I was remembering. There were several I was stumped on, but I still made my best attempt. I reviewed the questions, then headed up to the counter. I was feeling extremely anxious just wanting to know the verdict. Finally, she went over my test and I had missed 7. I was like crap, I'm going to have to end up coming back. But, she asked me one question over, I got it right and that was it. She printed out my permit and I was ready to go. I felt so relieved. I am so glad I waited, though. Honestly, at 16 years old I wouldn't have been ready at all. I had no confidence and felt extremely anxious all the time...I feel a lot better now and feel capable of it. I feel like this is the next big step in helping me really make something of my life. In fact, this is just the beginning. I'm still young and there's plenty of time to make it happen. I feel proud of myself for finally getting the courage to go through with it. I know a lot of people are like "You're JUST now getting your license...?" Blah, blah, blah. Everyone seems to have an opinion on it. But, you know what? It's my life. I've always sort of done things a little differently and at different timing's than everyone else. I'm okay with it. We all have different goals and paths to take anyway, so what does it matter how we get there?
My aunt ended up meeting us at the DMV, so we came back to our house for a few minutes then had lunch at Del Taco since it was close by. I was still on a high from passing, so I didn't care! We had to run a few errands, so we went back to the Marketplace and checked out a few stores. Williams and Sonoma had great stuff that was giving me ideas for the holidays, and getting me excited for fall in general. My mom and I even picked up some new apple spice pancake mix that was on sale; I can't wait to try it. We also went into the bookstore, where I ran into a couple friends, Jill and Abby, from High school. They're super sweet! We talked about what we've been up to and how we're all getting ready to start school pretty soon. When I stop to think about it, it is weird to me still that you go from seeing each other everyday and being on the same page, to hardly ever seeing/talking to anyone, and you're all doing your own things all across the country.  I've actually been seeing quite a few people around town lately, which has been nice. I forgot how many people I did really enjoy talking to from school. It's funny how if I was there now, I probably would've done a lot of things differently. Finally, we came home. I was pretty wiped out-this heat. I like heat...but this is just down right ridiculous. It's time to start cooling down again.

Table runners! 

A Snow White spatula...PERFECT!

Love these jars! 

5 facts about me! :) Alright, so they aren't exactly breaking news or anything...but it was all I could come up with.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, getting some other things done; working on my Smash book, eating a lot, etc. When my dad got home, we had dinner, then ran out to his work to drop something off. I was all for it, because I just like riding around and getting out of the house any chance I get. I blasted some classic Taylor Swift, and we ended up going to look at cars for the heck of it. We seem to do that quite frequently, though, I'm not sure why. LOL. In celebration of me getting my permit, I told my dad we should get some ice cream, so we stopped at McDonald's on the way home. I got a Rolo McFlurry, because they're basically the best thing ever on this earth. I highly recommend them, if you've never tried one. Caramel and chocolate. Is there a more perfect combination out there? I don't think so.

Now, it's time to start thinking about heading to bed. I have a busy day ahead tomorrow: songwriting with my friend, Rebecca, over Skype, worship practice for Sunday, and Bible Study with Laurie. I might need a lot of coffee to stay alert! haha.

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

The Week So Far

I feel like there have already been so many great moments to the week, that I don't want to wait until Friday to do my weekly review. So, why not do them right now?! 

Shawn Johnson's book! So good! 

Taylor Swift's live chat! She revealed and released info about the new CD and her new single. Some of my friends were at the chat (took place at her parents' home and she invited them back to her place for dinner....WHAT?! Who seriously does that besides the one and only Taylor Swift!??

AMEN! I'm so done with people who don't care anymore. 

Yay for Hilary Duff being back on TV! :D

Inspirational words-Taylor Swift

Broccoli! 

A lot of creativity happening: Reading Bethany Joy Lenz's old blogs for inspiration, working on my Smash book, and planning stuff for Wilmington :)

Sunflower in my neighbor's yard! 

Something I struggle with quite a bit and this is what I need to remind myself of. 

Studying for my driver's permit test

Ice cream! I've been eating so bad lately...ugh.

Basically, so far I've just been tapping into my creativity again and trying to get into some projects-looking at a lot of inspiration on blogs and other things like that, brainstorming for my own and hoping to change things up a bit very soon! :)

Things are looking up,
Shelby :)

Growing Up

Growing up is a hard thing to do. We tell ourselves that nothing will change, and we do our best to make sure that those things like traditions or the friends we've made along the way will remain the same. But, somewhere along that journey, we become victims to change. A lot of times, it's without us realizing it. But, all of a sudden we have different opinions, different tastes, different likes, and in the end it changes us. It's not a bad thing, it's just part of life. We're allowed to change our minds, but is it going to make us different than we were at age five? Yeah, probably.

I still think the hardest thing is watching those that you've known for years start to change, and suddenly you can start to see the distance between the two of you. Either you had tried to act as though it didn't exist or for the first time you're really seeing clearly. You start opening your eyes to the fact that no longer are you agreeing on everything, no longer are you waiting to make plans with the other person like you used to, and that it simply isn't jr. hi or high school. You can't foresee the future when you're just 13-17 years old. You don't think your life will change much after high school, but oh boy, does it ever. I've held onto too many relationships for so long, waiting and hoping for that day when things would be different...But, they never are. Time and time again, I'd let my heart get broken. I'd become bitter about it. No more of any of that, though. I've just decided to pick up the pieces and move on.

I'm sure I've said this before, and I'll say it again... Some people come into our lives for only a season, and there are others who you know will just always be there for the long haul- no matter what hardships the relationship might endure in the meantime. The line Peyton Sawyer said on One Tree Hill will always sum this up best for me, and maybe that's why I'm finding that I related to her the most (Though I don't necessarily always want to), "People always leave." As sad as it is, in my experience they usually do. I've tried so hard to keep friendships. But, it seems that I was always the one reaching out. They all seem to care, but don't do anything about it. It's like the domino effect...As soon as I start to feel secure with some friendships, I feel those start to slip away as well.  Most of the time when other friends would want to get together with me, which is rare, I would already have plans that day. It's like nothing ever seems to add up. After awhile, you get tired of trying...Maybe that's how it feels on both sides of the spectrum. I'm probably to blame too, for being a party pooper in high school and not wanting to do much. I was just more of a homebody and liked one-on-one settings, rather than a whole group...It's nicer that way to me.

Anyway, I'm moving on. I'm not going to get hung up on friends I don't talk to anymore, or the ones that just don't seem to care. This is MY year, and I'm not stopping for anyone. If you want to be in my life, then you know where to find me-I'm not that hard to locate, considering I'm on just about every social media site around, and post quite a bit. You have time for everyone else, but just not me, apparently. I get that I don't have my driver's license, but other friends have sure seemed to get in touch with me in spite of that little setback. I've always been a sensitive soul. I feel everything that goes on around me, so it's a good thing I write to express everything that goes through my mind. Which is a lot, believe me. I used to sit there and really dwell on whether I had enough friends like everyone else in high school, whether I was hanging out with them enough, etc. Now, I've learned to not want so many friends. Don't get me wrong, I do have a lot of friends from all over, but not because I've made that my goal. I appreciate and hang out with people that have the same beliefs, goals, interests, and are heading in the same direction that I am now. I'm not the same girl I was even just two years ago. I'm a lot more outspoken that I used to be, and I feel a lot more confident in the opinions that I have...Well, I guess some areas need work, but that's another story altogether. I want friends that are going to encourage me and help me grow in my walk with Christ...and simple enough, just want to be around me. Is that too much to ask for?

So, I'm going to appreciate the people I still talk to and even the ones I don't anymore. They'll always be a part of me and a big reason in the way I am right now. They were important parts of my life at one time, and that will never change. It's all just the circle of life. People come and go. You learn to get used to it.

That's all for now,
Shelby

The Weekend Review

This has been a really great weekend! Yesterday (Saturday), I slept in quite a bit, watched the Kardashian marathon on E! with my mom, got ready, and when my dad got home we had lunch at a local BBQ place. 

If you haven't noticed yet, our lives seem to revolve around food and what meals we're having. LOL. After, I wanted to check into a Bamboo Tablet for my computer at Best Buy, so we ended up in there for a bit. I picked one up and was super excited to get home to mess around with it. But, first, we stopped at a boutique, Apricot Lane, at The Marketplace that was having a sale! They have some really cute stuff. Then, we stopped at Pet Smart to get some cat food. Well, it just so happened to be adoption day, so they had the cutest kitties all set up in the middle of an aisle. Needless to say, my mom and I got a little distracted. We wanted one, and my dad thought they were cute too....But, it was a big no...Actually, it wasn't even in the question HAHA. They were still fun to play with for a few minutes though.

We came home for awhile, and I started messing with my new gadget. It's definitely going to take some time to get used to, but there's a blog I get on that has some really great tips and ideas on how to get started! I can't wait to sit down and really get into that. I watched Noteworthy at the Opry with my mom, then we met up with some family friends for dinner. Their son is visiting from out of state, so it was cool hearing stories about his job and a lot of the experiences hes had. We sat there for awhile just talking, then decided to get dessert, of course! We went to Tutti Frutti for some yogurt! It was packed when we got there...But, we ended up running into some other friends/pastors from church, so by the time we got inside, some of the rush had died down. There weren't any places to sit down inside, so we sat on the patio...It was 9 or so at night and SO HOT still. But, I'm still trying to soak up this warm weather, because as soon as it gets cold I'll be ready for the heat again. We stayed for awhile, talking and laughing, and some commenting on the people that walked in. It was such a fun night.

Joshua Ledet's mom responded back to me! :) 

Favorite blog at the moment! 

Watching the Olympics!

Sunday:
This morning, I woke up a little earlier so I would have time to get ready and watch Crosspoint Nashville's service online. It was a really great message, and relaxing to listen to as I got ready for the day. My parents and I went to church with my grandparents.

It was such a wonderful message! It was about having the faith that Abraham did when it comes to trusting God's timing and know that no matter what He knows what He's doing. That seems to be the theme of my life this year...learning to wait on God's timing and learning patience. Everything is going to work out when it's supposed to, there's no need to rush. I really felt God's presence at work in my heart this morning.
When church ended, we decided to have lunch at a country style buffet, called Hodel's. It's pretty popular on Sunday's and is a lot better than the way I described it. We got there and it was packed, so we debated on going somewhere else, but decided to just stick it out. It worked out nicely, because only about ten minutes later they were able to seat us. I was so full after we ate! But, it was a nice time getting to hang out with my grandparents.

                                       

We had to go to Sam's Club to pick up some necessities for the house and I was pretty much dying from the heat. It is SO HOT and it takes forever to cool down once you're inside. It was quite the eventful trip. Finally, we made it home and spent the afternoon hanging out. My parents usually Skype with the rest of my family in town, South Carolina and Utah, so I usually sit in sometimes or just overhear their conversations. It's always a hoot listening to them...But, it's a lot more fun when we're all in the same room together. I spent time just surfing the web, working on my new Bamboo pad, and taking pictures. Then, I saw Heejun was having a Twitter party, and he responded back, which I was really excited about! A few minutes later Heejun tweeted that it was Phillip Phillips who had hacked him...SOO... Technically I got a response from Phillip. How freaking cool is that?! For the next little while, I started flipping through the new magazine I got that has a ton of fall recipes and decorating ideas, which has me extremely excited for October/November. I am going to go all out...But, we still have plenty of time for that. 

We had dinner at Chipotle and watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics at home. It was fun! I honestly didn't get into the events much, other than a few things. Although, I did watch more than I thought I had. The entertainment and crazy stunts are always the most exciting part, especially having so many talented musicians from London. Loved seeing The Spice Girls, even though I wasn't a fan when I was younger. I was also constantly checking Twitter for updates about the Idol show in Nashville since I had friends there; I was wondering if they were able to meet the contestants and just how it went with it being Colton's hometown show, while he was sick and all. After that, I called it a night. All in all, it was a great weekend.

Here's the start to a beautiful week.

~Shelby :)