Weekly Review

It was nice having a shorter week, with the holiday on Monday, but it didn't really get me out of classes or homework, seeing as I have class on Tuesday and Thursday. Anyway, here's what my week was like:

• Tuesday: Went to class; came home, worked on my room the rest of the afternoon

• Wednesday: Went to the funeral of a church friend; such a sad situation. Please pray for the family she left behind :*(. It really sucks that funeral's are one of the main times that you get a chance to visit with people you haven't seen in awhile. But, it was really good being able to catch up with people who don't live in town anymore, go to different services or just don't go to the church anymore. When the funeral ended, my mom and I went to lunch with one of our close family friends at Chipotle, then ran some errands to look at wood flooring. 

• Thursday: We got to Taft a little early, so we ended up driving around town and finding an antique store my friend had told me about. They had some of the neatest things EVER! There were a bunch of old cameras, radios, pianos, and other cool knick knacks. The owner was friendly too, and told us to come back in late September or October, when they start setting up for Christmas. Apparently it's going to look "magical." I CANNOT WAIT.  I went to class, and the rest of the afternoon was spent trying to finish up homework and start planning ahead for what I need to finish before South Carolina. Last night, when my dad got home, we had dinner at Outback. I'm finally a "regular" somewhere, where one of the waiters remembers us, and I believe is starting to remember what we get. I feel pretty proud about that. I can cross that off of my bucket list (yes, it was really on there). 

• Friday (Today): For the first time in quite awhile, I actually sat down and did my quiet time with God. I've been slacking off, and it was time I get back into it. I ran several errands with my mom, and we decided to have lunch....just didn't know where to go. After driving all around town, we ended up at a fast food restaurant just down the street from us. Go figure! The rest of the afternoon has been vegging out on the couch, hanging pictures in my room, and now trying to get some homework out of the way. Later tonight, I'm going out with the girls for dinner and hanging out. It has been way too long since we've done this, so I'm EXCITED. Actually, that's an understatement. That'll deserve its own post. 

Check out the Sophia Bush interview on Refinery29! Fantastic article :)

 Some pictures I took around town where I go to school:

How I'm thinking of getting my hair cut. 

I think my room is finally complete now :)

Here's to a great weekend! I hope all of you beautiful people have a fabulous time :)

That's all for now,
Shelby

"Wake Me Up When September Ends..." Part Two

Ah, part two of the three day weekend=Sunday! I woke up pretty groggily, and immediately got ready for church. The service was really good, kicking off a new series called, "One Month To Live." Obviously, it's focusing on what we would do and how we would live if we only had about 30 days left here on earth. I think this is going to change my perspective on a lot of things. I'd also like to get involved with the small groups they're getting ready to start as well.

We met up with some family friends at Olive Garden for lunch, which was really nice. We were able to catch up with them and told them about church, since they had missed it that morning. Wow! I always forget how filling Italian food is...but, oh so good! 

That afternoon, my parents and I watched some One Tree Hill in order to get us ready for Wilmington. I've been sharing some of my favorite episodes, or some of the episodes I think really showcase what the show is all about. We watched the "Pilot" and "With Tired Eyes." Shortly after, we went to Radio Shack to pick up a chord for our TV to get our speakers to work, then had dinner at Chuy's and drove around for a bit downtown. There's something really enchanting about downtown now. They've fixed it up, and it's starting to look really nice. The rest of the night was spent relaxing, and hanging out.

We were at an intersection with a green light, when another car ran the red light, cutting right in front of us. Had my dad not waited a few seconds....It might not have had a very good outcome.  

Monday:

Happy Labor Day! :)

I was able to sleep in quite a bit...Story of my life. My dad and I watched a couple more episodes of One Tree Hill. I got ready, then my parents and I went out for lunch. We ran a couple of errands, llike looking at tile and carpeting at Lowe's. I stocked up on those little cards of paint colors. I've seen blogs that have done creative things with them, so I thought I'd try it out. We even went out near the car dealerships, just looking around a bit. I was so proud of my dad when he referenced the episode of One Tree Hill that we'd watched earlier when Haley gets hit by the car. He's also getting really good with the character names and story lines for only having seen a few episodes out of sequence. We came home for awhile, trying to figure out what to do or where to go, but I couldn't think of anything. I had been joking with my dad that I should move into the media room, so I'd have more room. My mom and him discussed it (I watched 7th Heaven), and a little while later, we were moving everything. We got quite a bit accomplished; even the cats were involved. It was quite an exciting night! 

Taking a bit of a break from working ;)

Needless to say, I had quite an amazing weekend. Then, it was back to school and online classes.

That's all for now,

Shelby

"Wake Me Up When September Ends..." Part One

I can't believe we're already in September! Finally getting into the fall months, and this weekend was practically the last hurrah of Summer with Labor day. I had a wonderful time with family and just kicking back, with a few little surprises along the way.

Saturday:

I didn't get to sleep in as much as I normally do on the weekend, since we had a full day in LA planned out. I got up around 7 or so, got ready, then my aunt met us at our house. Off we went, with a stop at Jack in the Box first. We made our way into Calabasas, which was a first. It's Kardashian town, which is the reason I wanted to go, and it did not disappoint. It's just as charming as it appears on the show-very clean and ritzy. I think just about every car we passed was a Range Rover and as soon as you pull into town, there's a Maserati dealership right off the freeway. That's when you know it's a pretty fancy area. We saw the gated community where Kourtney and Scott live, where Dash used to be, and just drove through town. The biggest shock was seeing the Calabasas sign they use on the show, and how small it really is.

There's a really nice shopping center, The Commons, where a lot of the Kardashians and, I believe even Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, have been seen there. It kind of resembles an outdoor Caesar's Palace to me, complete with Turtle and fish filled ponds (We spent a lot of time admiring those things-we don't get out much), flowers, and plenty of shops to go around. We looked in a couple boutiques, The Loft, and Barnes and Noble. Realizing it was already noon, we knew we had to head over toward Hollywood.

Where Brad Pitt got his start as the chicken! 

We made it to the Hollywood and Highland parking structure, then headed down Hollywood Boulevard through the Dolby (formerly Kodak) Theater, and made our way to Madame Tusseaud's Wax Museum. It's a good thing we had bought our tickets online, because thanks to the three day weekend...It was PACKED! My aunt had never been there before, and it had been a couple years since my parents and I had gone, so we thought we'd check it out. It's such a blast. For some reason when I'm there, I don't care if I make myself look like an idiot. I love tapping into my acting skills and getting into character with each wax figure. It also helps that they have some fun props to mess with.

After we were done at the museum, we went over to The Grove for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory! By that time I had really started feeling feisty and was entertaining my parents and aunt with whatever thoughts happened to come out at the moment. We looked around at some of the shops like Coach and J. Crew. It was such a beautiful day out; incredibly hot...But, a perfect way to go for the holiday weekend. Finally, it was time for the Dodger game.

Had to get a picture with this for Sophia!! :)

We got to Dodger Stadium, and couldn't believe just how clear it was! You could see a lot of LA, including the main buildings downtown (which is rare). We took a few minutes to take some pictures, then went inside. There were no celebrity sightings or anything out of the ordinary that happened, but the Dodgers won!!! WOO!

By the time the game ended, we were kinda hungry, so we stopped at our usual In-N-Out and Krispy Kreme. That did just the trick. We came home, which is always the fun and interesting part. I usually know how to keep everyone entertained with music or my constant yapping. Either way, there's never a dull moment.

It was such a fun day, but I was totally wiped out by the end of it. I checked a few things on Twitter, watched some TV, and fell asleep pretty soon after.

That's all for now,
Shelby