The Weekend Review

What a fabulous weekend it was! Saturday morning, I slept in a bit as usual, but not quite as late. I started watching Saved By The Bell, then my dad got home. We visited for awhile, then all started getting ready for whatever errands we'd need to run that day. We actually didn't have much planned, which is a first, but it was nice. While I was still waiting on my parents to leave, I watched an episode of Boy Meets World, which really just makes my Saturday mornings feel complete.

Disney bounding as Flynn Rider for the day! 

We had debated on trying out this restaurant we'd just heard about in the town where my dad works, but ended up just going to PF Changs for their lunch special, which was just fine by me. I was not feeling very good at all. I had a horrible headache, wasn't feeling very talkative, and could barely see out of my eyes, the pain was so bad. I took some medicine, we ate lunch, and by the end, I was starting to feel a little bit better. 

Afterwards, we didn't really have anywhere to go, I just wanted to stay out a little longer, after being cooped up inside all week. My mom wanted to go to Home Goods, which I wasn't really all that thrilled about, but it ended up paying off...For me, anyway. As soon as we walked in, it was like I had this epiphany of how I wanted to redecorate my room; moroccan themed, much like Taylor Swift's t-party room. I ended up finding a bedspread and some other pillows, etc. I was SO excited! We stopped by Wal-Mart and Sam's Club to pick up a few other things, then headed home. I even ran into a couple of friends from high school at Sam's Club, so it was good talking to them. 

We came home; I straightened up my room, then my mom and I put together the new stuff I'd just gotten. It took a lot of my energy, because I still wasn't feeling 100%, but it sure looked GREAT afterwards. A little later, we had dinner at Chipotle, then went for a drive around town. Those are seriously some of my favorite moments, just listening to the radio and talking with my parents. It doesn't get old. 

Clint Black was in town!!! :)

We came home, and watched Cars! We hadn't seen it since it came out in theaters, and we wanted to look for all the little details after visiting Carsland at California Adventures. It really feels like you've stepped right into the movie. After the movie was over, I watched an episode of The Vampire Diaries and hit the hay.

Sunday:

I was having a really hard time getting out of bed, after taking Nyquil so late the night before, but I got ready and on our way to church we went. I was pretty excited about my attire supporting the Superbowl, even though I'm not a football fan.

#ItsanOTHthing

Love this! 

Church was really inspiring and great as always. We're into a new series about dreaming again, which is something I need to hear. I feel like this should be one of the best years of my life, but I'm just totally zoned out on what's going on around me. I need to get focused and be refueled on what I want to do again. I have so many dreams, but getting started and going after them seems to be a hard problem to accomplish. This opened my eyes again to some things I've been missing.

When church ended, we had lunch at Chili's, stopped by Marie Callendar's for pies, and came home to chill for the afternoon. I had decided it was time to start getting back into the whole "driving" thing, so that's exactly what my dad and I did. We went down to this high school parking lot, not too far away from our house and practiced for a little while. I just needed to get used to being behind the wheel, and get comfortable with the way the car does things, since I haven't practiced in MONTHS. After awhile, I felt a lot more confident, so I took it out one of the side streets of the high school, having to use a blinker, watch for cars and everything! It really wasn't too bad, so a little later on, I DROVE HOME! It's about five minutes or so of a drive, but I felt really good about it. I felt confident; cars were all around me, and I wasn't freaking out a bit. Turning the corner was a bit of a freak out, but I did just fine, and I was SO EXCITED. So, yes, that deserves all caps. We made it home in one piece, and it calmed so many nerves that I've been having about driving on the road...One fear conquered, and I'm ready to take on the world. I even did a pretty nice parking job, if I do say so myself.

The rest of the afternoon was spent kicking back and watching the football game. I was pretty bummed that we didn't get together with anyone or throw a party or anything! I love playing "host", but maybe next year. I watched Beyonce's documentary, a little of the game, and mostly read everyone's tweets about what was going on in the game...That's terrible, I know. Beyonce KILLED that halftime show, as always! I am so inspired by her work ethics and what a serious businesswoman she is. A lot of people don't know about her other than just her shaking what her mama gave her on stage, but she's so much more than that. The second half of the game really got interesting after the lights went out and the 49ers actually started playing! Good stuff.

Here's the link to her documentary! Watch it! It's only about 20 minutes! 

When the game was over, we grabbed something to eat, then came home again. It was a really good day, and I'm starting to feel like things are about to move forward once again. I guess it just takes a little initiative, rather than just sitting there dwelling on everything. Imagine that, right?

It was a really great weekend, and I'm finally getting things in order. Life is good, and God is good always! I just have to remember to tell myself that, no matter what I may be feeling on any given day :)

That's all for now,
Shelby

Thank God For Hometowns

"Hey, you don't me, but you don't like me

Say you care less how I feel

'cause how many of you who sit and judge me

Ever walk the streets of Bakersfield?"

~Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam~

(Streets Of Bakersfield)

Friday afternoon, my mom and I were running errands around town, and one of our stops required driving past the good ole Bakersfield sign stretched across the street. I've never really been able to get a good picture of it, so I tried and thought it came out great. It also had me thinking about the city itself. I was born and raised here, like most have been, and I started thinking about what it means to me. For many years, I didn't care for the fact that I was from Bakersfield...I thought it was boring, dull, and a waste of time. I just wanted to be in LA, where all of the action and excitement in California seemed to be, if you're going to live in an exciting state like this one.
As I've gotten older, have wised up a bit and have seen more of the world than just where I'm from, I realize that there really is no place like home. My family and I traveled a bit more last year and weren't home quite as often. I think that really gave me a chance to see just how much I miss this place and how much it is a part of me, whether I've wanted it to be or not. It made me see that no matter where I've been or may travel to in the future, it'll never be "home", like Bakersfield is.

When I visited Nashville this past June and saw what a big part Bakersfield's sound played in Country music, I couldn't have been more proud to say that I was from here. I almost wanted to walk up to strangers and tell them I was from Bakersfield, and how the exhibit is a great depiction of what the city is like. I didn't...But, I was tempted to. Our community has reached so many other places, and opened my eyes to the fact that just because you leave, doesn't mean you'll never come back. And even if you don't, your hometown is always a part of you; it made you who you are and that reflects the road that leads you in the future. The second we leave those city lines, there's a world waiting for us. It can bring us a lot of incredible memories, new friendships, and open a door of new opportunities. But, there are some things that world will never be able to give us- a hug from an old friend, a wise word from dad that everything's going to be okay, or a hug and homecooked meal from mama.
I was raised on country music! Pretty much everyone in my family has listened to it, whether it was the true country that my grandpa listened to on WSM or George Strait, like my mom listened to when I was born. It has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I would put on concerts to Leann Rimes' music for hours and make my family listen to me. That's when I knew I wanted to be a singer. 

The more I leave now, the more I also look forward to coming back. I always think that everything will be different, but it never is, and to tell you the truth, I love that. I love that it's a place I can always count on to be here, to stay true to its roots, and to always remember where it came from. It has made me who I am. I am a country girl at heart; we have a lot of agriculture out this way, and we also have a lot of hard working people who love going to church, football games on Friday nights, fried chicken, and their country music blasting in a pickup truck. In fact, Country music pretty much dominated at our high school functions and on quite a few occasions, I'll hear students cranking up their radios to KUZZ in the parking lot of my community college. Country is a way of life, and if that's the case, then I think you could put us up against Nashville or any other southern state for that matter. It's in our blood and it's who we are. In fact, I'm related somewhere down the line to Uncle Dave Macon whose name is mentioned quite a bit in the Country Music Hall of Fame and The Ryman. Right now it's all I have as my "claim to fame", so I'm pretty proud of that fact. And my grandma, who was always such a huge country music and Buck Owens fan (she was his keyboard player's next door neighbor for the longest time), ended up being buried right in front of Buck's memorial, which actually looks like a mini house. We thought that was pretty cool...Well, you know, as cool as it can be for something like that.

I don't know that I want to live here the rest of my life. I'd like to branch out and see where the road takes me, and live life like it was meant to be another country song on the radio, but God has His plans, and I don't know that I'll end up out there. Maybe I'll live here the rest of my life, and that'd be okay too if it's what God wants. Either way, I know that this place and the people in it, made me who I am today, and I'll take a little bit of it with me wherever I end up. And that'll make for a pretty cool story someday. I'll never forget where I came from, and I know no matter what, it'll always be here, welcoming me back with open arms, and that's all that I can ask for. 

Reunited

Over the past few months, one of my best friends, Marissa and I had decided that Thursdays would be our day! So, that's exactly what we've done for several months; she'd come to my house, we'd talk for hours, watch TV, do nothing, eat dinner, and it was really awesome! After Christmas, things got a little hectic, then came my birthday, and I've been sick for the past couple weeks, so we haven't had time to get together. This week, we finally reunited and it was a blast! It's amazing that we can do nothing exciting at all, yet they're some of the best times that I've ever had. 

We opened our Christmas/birthday presents from each other, which is the first official time we've exchanged like that, so it was a lot of fun! She got me the Jim and Pam bobbleheads from The Office, and I got her Taylor Swift's Wonderstruck perfume and a Sheldon (The Big Bang Theory) figurine. I was SO excited about mine! I had really wanted the Jim and Pam, but just didn't really have the money! She knows me well! 

                       

When we were over the excitement of our gifts, we talked...and talked...and talked some more! We had a lot of catching up to do, even though we text every day. There are plenty of stories that just don't translate well through text, or that you have to go over again because it's just that good...or that bad. I wanted Marissa to watch last week's episode of The Office because she hadn't seen it and it was SO GOOD. While we were doing that, I was also tweeting John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer about my present, hoping to get their attention, when I got a notice that Jenna had RT'd me and I was FREAKING OUT. I told Marissa and we started freaking out together. Seriously, I was almost tearing up. It was a really amazing moment. I'm not even going to pretend with that one. 

Jenna Fischer RT'd me!!!!!!!!!! AHHH! :D

My dad got home a bit later that night, so we didn't eat dinner until nine; when The Office was on. We stayed in my room, almost in complete silence, unless laughing in between bites because we were so enthralled with the new episodes...and talking about our dislike for Brian's character. He just needs to go away! The show ended, we finished dinner, and decided to just chill a bit; took some polaroid pictures and watched the end of Letters To Juliet, then Marissa had to leave. 

Frame I put together of some of our old notes from high school and the pictures we took!  :) Too many Pinterest/Instagram artsy ideas...LOL. 

It was a seriously awesome time! It just reminds me that good company is all that matters. It doesn't matter what you're doing or where you are, as long as you have good friends, you're set! We made plans that we'll have to do a baking day/sleepover/John Krasinski movie marathon SOON, so I'm looking forward to that :)

That's all for now,
Shelby

This Week In Review

It has been quite another interesting week; I've been cooped up inside, still trying to kick this cold/flu bug I've had. Some days I feel okay, and others I've just had no energy at all/feeling miserable. I did manage to go to the grocery store, hang out with one of my best friends and run some errands with my mom...So, I'd say, I'm starting to get a little bit better, and things are starting to look up. 

There's not much to report on, so everything has been best said in pictures...LOTS of them. Enjoy! 

Then/Now-The day and I was born/21st birthday! 

I seriously wanted to go to this!!!!! But I have worship team practice that night... #priorities

From one of my friends back when we were in Jr. Hi. I was looking through some old stuff!

That's all for now,

Shelby