The Weekly Review

Wow! What a week it has been. It has been filled with a lot of homework, getting things ready for South Carolina, hanging out with one of my best friends, errands, still trying to survive this California heat and just taking it all day by day. This was my week:

Monday:
I tried to get things together, in order to get some school assignments out of the way. I was pretty lazy and didn't do much other than that...But, I was really excited for the new fall season of The Ellen Show and Dr. Phil. Yup, that's what I'm doing with my life. Nothing else to report.

Tuesday:
I had my very first critique for the creative writing class I'm taking, and I was extremely nervous, not gonna lie! But, it ended up going really smoothly. We didn't have to go up to the front of the classroom, we just stayed at the desks, behind the computers and talked about it from there. Apparently my poem was the only one without errors, and we're talking out of several people that have been in our professor's class and have had other writing gigs before. I was really happy about that! Plus, a lot of people really liked my poem...so it's making me not feel quite as nervous about the next one, or putting my work out there in general. Not everyone is always going to love everything you do...And it's a tough thing to wrap your mind around, but once you accept it, you can just be yourself and do what makes you happy.

I got my Keith Scott Auto Body shop sweatshirt in the mail, directly from Tree Hill (Wilmington)...SO EXCITED TO WEAR IT IN A WEEK!

It's true! 

That afternoon, one of my best friends came over and we took crazy pictures of ourselves. It was one of the best days I've had in awhile of just being at home. We caught each other up on all the drama and juicy details of things in our lives, continued to laugh at the pictures we took later on, watched Friends, ate dinner with my parents, and ate some ice cream while watching more Friends. Life really doesn't get much better than those simple moments like that! Marissa and I also agreed to start getting together at least once a week, since her schedule isn't quite as hectic as last semester, so we're both free to do it. October 2nd looks like it will be our first official date.

Wednesday: The day was spent doing homework, basically all day. Then, I helped out with getting some details together for the women's conference at church. From the sounds of it...It's going to be amazing!! I need to get my ticket this weekend. I helped out with some craft decorations for a little while, then headed home. It was great being part of the team if only for a little while. There are so many wonderful ladies at our church, and I love getting to know them. They are all such incredible women of God, and are so creative. I'm inspired just being around them.

Watching the Ustream with Colton Dixon and his friends-premiering his very first single, "YOU ARE"

Thursday: I went to school in the morning (only having one class isn't bad), and the rest of the afternoon was spent brainstorming and finishing up homework. I ran a couple errands with my mom to pick up a new skirt, exchange something at Radio Shack, and we had lunch at Panda Express. I didn't feel too great when we got home, so I tried to relax. We made marshmallow rice krispy treats, then watched Nights in Rodanthe. I put in A Walk To Remember after that, but the disc kept skipping and wouldn't play. I guess I've watched it too many times. :/ SAD! A little while later, I skyped with my friend Rebecca, where we bounced ideas off of one another about our rotating novel concept, and she was trying to come up with ideas for a project at school. It was a lot of fun! I felt more creative just by talking it out.

Maybe I really will meet the love of my life in South Carolina?? 

Carrie's tour! It's going to be EPIC! Hope you've got your tickets :)

Friday: I got to sleep in today which was great! My haircut appointment was canceled, so I really felt like being lazy, but there were some errands to be run. We went to the bank, ran to Target (where I looked at the Halloween section and had a little too much fun. In a bit I'll explain why), and went downtown to have lunch. We had planned on trying out this new noodle restaurant, but we found out it was more Chinese food, so we ended up going to a sandwich place, Sub Station, because we were familiar with it. It was alright, but a little expensive. Downtown is so cool to me! I can't wait until the cooler months to go exploring down there in the antique shops and all those things. So many neat places to check out. We got the car washed, then headed home! I spent the afternoon working on a little project in hopes of seeing Taylor Swift at The Ellen Degeneres show in October, when she releases her next album! If any of you can help me out by spreading the word to Ellen on Twitter or through her website, I would love you FOREVER! :D

Here's the link to my video! PLEASE check it out. It's embarrassing, I know. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wy10D-X5iU&feature=plcp

That's all for now,

Shelby

Hope you had a great week and that you have an even more fabulous weekend. 

The Weekend Review

This was a really great weekend. It was nice to be home once again, just doing things around town, because it seems like we're never here anymore (though, I'm not complaining). I slept in a bit, and we just sort of hung around the house for awhile. My parents had to take care of some things, so I chilled and decided to get ready. We had lunch together at a BBQ restaurant we like to go to! It's always so good! Then, we ran a few errands to look for a TV stand at a furniture store, Wal-Mart, and Sam's Club. We found a really good deal on one at Sam's Club that we ended up getting.

Earlier, my friend, Mandy had called to tell me that she had something she wanted to give me! She ended up meeting me out in the front of Sam's Club. I pulled it out of the little bag, as she explained more of what it was. It was a key necklace that had the word "Fearless" engraved with a 13 below. It's mainly a Taylor Swift thing, but fearless is the way I want to live my life, so it means a lot more to me than that...and 13 is Taylor's "lucky" number, but it's also my birthdate, so it's perfect. She told me about the organization, and what they're all about. This is what the card says, "When you get this one of a kind key, you must give it away at some point to a person you feel needs the word on there. Then, blog/write us the story of why you gave it away...We employ those who are looking to transition out of homelessness, to get them off the streets and give them a chance at a better life." I later found out more about the girl that was the brain behind this incredible operation, Caitlyn Crosby. She's very much an activist and has another website promoting positive body image and self worth, called Love Your Flawz (http://www.loveyourflawz.com). That's something that has always been close to my heart, and I would love to start an organization like that of my own someday to reach out to girls that might not have struggled with eating disorders, but were picked on for their weight or hairstyles or just little things that can be scarring. It really ignited something in my heart that I want to start working or getting involved with things like this, and doing whatever I can to let my voice be heard.

Sophia Bush has been a big inspiration to me in speaking up for what I believe in. I might not agree with everything she does, but I love that she promotes fighting for what you believe in. If we were all a little more like that, the world would be much more of an honest place, and things would actually get done. I want to start getting more involved with my community and doing something...anything to make a difference.

That night, we just sort of kicked back, then we went to Chili's for dinner, since we hadn't been there in awhile. I even saw a couple girls from my college there! I ranted about American Idol and how stupid the judges are (other than Keith Urban; He's one of my favorite people), and all that jazz...But, how I still want to get tickets for a show and the finale next season.
We came home; Dad and I flopped down on the couch, while mom tried to finish putting some of the finishing touches on the TV stand together. All of a sudden, the phone started ringing around 10:30, which I thought was a little later, especially when no one really calls us. It ended up being Mandy, telling me that JC from Nsync was in town, at The Padre Hotel. It's a really old building downtown that has gotten pretty popular again, since they remodeled. A lot of people go there for dinner or just to listen to music. Her and a friend were heading down there, but apparently it was 21 and older, so I couldn't get in (JUST 4 MONTHS). I guess him and his girlfriend were there with an older couple (maybe a set of parents?) for VillageFest, which had a lot of music and food. Seemed kind of random, but really awesome. I can only imagine what we would've done had it been 10 years ago. When we saw them in Vegas for Mandy's 15th birthday, we practically went into every hotel on The Strip trying to find them, and JUST missed JC at a restaurant we almost had lunch in. *Sigh* One of these days...I didn't go downtown to "stalk" or anything, but I did get a Banana Chocolate Chip milkshake from Carl's Jr, which is almost just as good...HAHA.

Sunday:

I got up at a decent hour, and didn't have to rush to get ready, which was nice. Church was amazing as always-continuing the series on "One Month To Live" and how if we look at our lives like that from now on, it'll really change our perspectives on a lot of things. This weekend, it was focusing on passion, and how we just go through the motions a lot, but God wants to be full of energy and passion in everything that we do. I definitely needed that, because I have been feeling a bit dry again lately. I haven't been excited about much in the day to day things, and I've been negative. After yesterday's message, it really sparked up some ideas in me. To go for those things I've been putting off or to just feel inspired again, rather than waiting for that perfect moment. It doesn't exist. I choose to be happy, and I want to be full of passion in the way I sing, the way I love, the way I create, and just the way I do even the tiniest things. I got to see a couple of friends as we were walking out, so I talked to them for a few minutes, then off to lunch we went.

We went to Sizzler, which was another entertaining time. This time I was going off about my creative writing class, then we came home. I devoted the rest of the afternoon to putting together a game plan for the homework I need to tackle in the next couple weeks. But, then I got distracted with One Tree Hill, and pretty much gave up on that. Then, we went up to my grandparents' house to hang out for a bit. We picked up some pizza's and watched the football game. It was fun getting to spend time with them, and just relax :) We came home, and I ended up talking to my friend in Australia, thanks to the new WhatsApp I downloaded. It's fantastic-No additional International charges. Gotta love technology for things like that, right?

My grandma's candy dish was already full of Halloween candy :)

I finally got to sleep around 2 or a little after, and I was exhausted. Great weekend, and now here's to a good week, no matter what life may throw my way. Deep breath and...GO!

That's all for now,
Shelby

"Cause it's a girls night, it's alright...Without you..."

Friday night, the girls (Hillary, Ceci, Febe and Viviyan) and I reunited at "our place" which is Olive Garden. That was the first thing we ever did together as a group, and we hadn't been there in awhile, so we thought we'd revisit that little memory. It was so good getting to see them again! You don't realize how much you miss something, when you've done without it. But, when you're reacquainted with it in your life, you realize how much you need it. That's what it felt like.

We all had different colored pants on! 

We had quite awhile to wait, so we went outside to wait for the buzzer to go off. It took quite awhile, but obviously we filled the time with catching up with one another. I couldn't believe how hot and muggy it was outside...Isn't September supposed to be the start of cooler weather? Everyone is putting out fall decor, and it feels like mid July still. Crazy California weather! Finally, they seated us, and the air conditioned room felt so good. Ceci arrived, and the group was complete! We filled her in on some of the stuff she had missed, and she updated us on her life. We dished about boys, school, jobs, trips, and even advance planning to go to Disneyland for Ceci's birthday in November. Hopefully it all works out, because I've always wanted to go with just a group of friends! That would seriously be a blast! Then, we mentioned how insane life is. Who would've thought when we met just in November, that our lives had taken completely different turns? God is good, and is He is still working with me. I didn't have quite as much to add as them, other than my trip to South Carolina. But, I feel like He's been working more internally with me than my surroundings. That's the most important thing right now.

After we payed for our dinner, we went outside to talk a little while longer, because it was way too cold inside. Then, we all parted our separate ways. Hillary dropped me off, and since I was having issues with getting my front door opened, she helped me with that too! I don't know what was going on HAHA.

My heart felt really happy as I went to sleep that night. I always feel so inspired around them; they're go getters and have such big hearts; they're there for me anytime. Even if we can't physically be around one another, we're just a text away to say hi or that we need prayer, and those are the little things that matter most. They're the people that I want to be around, because just spending a little time with them, makes me want to be a better person, and that's what friendship should be-you challenge one another in a good way. And the best thing is...I don't feel left out with them. God knew we needed each other, and I now I don't know what my life was like before them, other than extremely lonely.

That's all for now,
Shelby