February 14, 2014

{Valentine's Day Playlist}


It is officially Valentine's Day!!!!! I went through my iTunes library and picked some (or a TON) of my favorite love songs. If you know me, you know I love a good ballad, whether it's heartbreaking or all lovey and dove and such. What better way to celebrate all of those emotions than on Valentine's Day?? 
So, here you go.

~Shelby :)



[Shania Twain}
Any man of mine
Forever and for Always
You're still the one
You win my love
Love gets me every time


[Dixie Chicks]
Cowboy take me away
Ready to run
There's your trouble
You can't hurry love 


[Britney Spears]
You drive me crazy
Born to make you happy
Don't let me be the last to know
One kiss from you
I will still love you 


[*Nsync]
The Two of Us
Selfish
Something Like you
For the girl who has everything
Tearin my up my heart
I just wanna be with you
god must have spent a little more time on you
I drive myself crazy
Sailing 


[LeAnn Rimes]
Commitment
This Woman
Some people
Written in the Stars 


[Tim McGraw and Faith Hill]
The way you love me
If my heart had wings
Wild one
She never let's it go to her heart
Just to see you smile
Let's Make Love 


[Train]
Drops of Jupiter 

Marry Me

[Vince Gill]
Don't let our love start slipping
Feels like love
Look at us
When Love finds you 


[Whitney Houston]
I wanna dance somebody
How will I know 


[The Beatles]
I Will (Janelle Arthur-American Idol version)


[U2]
I still haven't found what I'm looking for 

[Taylor Swift]
Love story
You Belong with me
The way I loved you
Jump Then Fall
Mine
Treacherous
Starlight
Begin Again
Come back.. Be here
Sparks fly
Enchanted
Ours
Superman
Sweeter Than Fiction
Today was a fairytale
Fearless
Crazier


[Selena Gomez]
Naturally


[Sara Evans]
A real fine place to start 
I could not ask for more


[Sara Bareilles]
I choose you 


[S Club 7]
Never had a dream come true


[Robyn]
Dancing on my own -- had to throw this in there for all the single girls. It's just very anthem(y)


[Richard Marx]
Right here waiting 


[Reba]
When love gets a hold of you


[Rascal Flatts]
Bless the Broken Road
Why Wait
This Everyday Love
Take Me There


[One Direction]
Diana
You and I
Last First Kiss


[Jonas Brothers]
Who I am
When you look me in the eyes
Love bug


[Celine Dion]
Right in front of you
Have you ever been in love
When the wrong one loves you right
Sorry for love
Taking Chances

Love Is All We Need
Inevitable
One Heart
My Heart Will Go On
It's All Coming Back To Me Now
A New Day Has Come

[Kelly Clarkson]
My Life Would Suck Without You
I Do Not Hook Up (Haha)
You Found Me
Miss Independent (YESSSS!)
The Trouble With Love Is
What's Up Lonely (Well, you know..It happens)
Before Your Love

[Carrie Underwood]
Do You Think About Me
Cupid's Got A Shotgun
Ever Ever After
Quitter
Someday When I Stop Loving You
This Time
Look At Me
Leave Love Alone
Good In Goodbye
Wine After Whiskey

[Martina McBride]
Valentine
I Love You
My Baby Loves Me
Safe In The Arms of Love
Love's The Only House
Summer of Love

[Chris Young]
Lonely Eyes
Who I Am With You
Center of my World
Gettin' You Home
I Can Take It From There
Old Love Feels New
You
When She's On
She's Got This Thing About Her
I'm Gonna Change That

[Keith Urban]
Kiss A Girl
If Ever I Could Love
Sweet Thing
My Heart Is Open
Only You Can Love Me This Way
I'm In
Without You
Somebody Like You
Making Memories of Us
Even the Stars Fall 4 U
She's My 11
Once In A Lifetime

[Brad Paisley]
Wrapped Around
Two People Fell In Love
We Danced
Tin Can On A String
I Can't Change The World
Oh, Love
Remind Me

[Hunter Hayes]
Storm Warning
Somebody's Heartbreak
Cry With You
Everybody's Got Somebody But Me (Basically……But, that's okay)
Love Makes Me
I Want Crazy
Wanted 


February 13, 2014

{February 13}


First off, a very Happy Galentine's Day to all the ladies out there!

To all of my besties out there, who might be reading this :)

My day started off like all of the others, other than the fact that on Thursdays, I get to sleep in until however late I choose. After having a busy day yesterday and not having much to do today, I was taking advantage of it.

I went out to the living room, taking my time to wake up. My mom made us coffee and I watched White Collar while surfing the web and taking it easy, then had Spaghetti O's for lunch. My mom bought them for me this week, so I could be living on dreams and spaghetti O's, like the line from Martina McBride's "This One's For The Girls." So sweet!
   

I finally decided to start working on my homework assignment for Features Writing, which is to write a query letter to pitch an idea to a magazine publication. I picked the magazine, Nashville Lifestyles, because that's where I hope to end up writing someday. It was actually a really fun thing to do and I just might end up sending it out if it's good enough. 

The rest of the afternoon was just spent being lazy; watching White Collar and Parks & Rec marathons on TV. Yeah, Thursdays are good days. 

I took the quiz: How emotionally unavailable are you?

Got this in the mail! TN guide and a T. Swift card from my cousin. SO MUCH LOVE!!!!!

Nail polish..Pretty! 
I took a shower, surfed the web, worked on my assignment a little more, then watched Pretty Little Liars and painted my nails all festive for Valentine's Day. I'm not so sure why, but I'm just really excited about the holiday. I know a lot of people, especially single girls (which I am), hate it but I still love it. I think it's cheesy and sweet. I really love hearts and love…Also, red and pink. So, a day where I get to have all of those things combined?? It's perfect. Plus, it gives me (even more) of a reason to watch cheesy chick flicks and romantic comedies?? oh, I am totally there.

Pink and silver! :)

When Pretty Little Liars was over, I decided to give Lucy Hale's "Valentine" playlist a listen, then made one of my own, listening to some Celine Dion, because she has an amazing selection of love songs.

By that time, my dad was home and we ate dinner, while watching American Idol. I finished my assignment for feature writing, while talking to some friends, looking things up on the web, and now I am watching YouTube videos.

Nothing too crazy and wild.

Have I mentioned I'm really excited about tomorrow??

:)

That's all for now,
Shelby





{February 12}


Sometimes you have to get the crappiness out of the way in the morning, so you can get to the better moments throughout the rest of the day.

That was definitely the case today. I had set my alarm for 8:30 (to Katy Perry's "Roar"), but I don't believe it went off at all. It was around 9 a.m. when my mom came in to get me. UGH. That usual morning groan came out, with a weird pain feeling in my chest (probably just nerves about the day) and I got out of bed, attending to my usual routine. Then, I remembered that I could officially enroll in my classes for next quarter, so I got online and tried to sign up, when I realized I hadn't made an appointment with my counselor, so I had a "hold" on my account. Just one more thing I would have to deal with, but didn't have time to take care of.

I finished getting my things together, then got in the car. Only to realize I had forgotten my binder for feature writing. A few minutes later, after returning to the car and making our way down the street, I realized I had forgotten my breakfast bar. So, I had to settle for some vanilla bean almonds, even though I was very hungry at the time. My mind was all over the place and I thought I might be a few minutes late to class. It was strange!

I made it to school and once again was dreading it all. Thankfully, I didn't have too much time to kill and went straight to Feature Writing. Today, we discussed our partner presentations, where we will have to present a feature article of our choice to the class and point out the techniques and writing styles used. After the professor told us what we needed to do, she gave us plenty of time to research and get started. Danielle and I decided to do a story that Taylor Swift did with Rolling Stone in 2009, which I'm really excited about. We made a plan of when we can meet up and glanced over the article, then we were free to go. On the way out, Nathan (the sports editor of the paper) asked me what he should Photoshop next. The editor (of the paper) joked and said, "Don't you want him to Photoshop your face in Carrie Underwood's body?" I laughed and agreed that I did. He was like, "You expect me to do that?" I gave him a hard time and said, "Uh, yeah..." and then said I just simply wanted a picture with Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley should be in the picture. I walked out with Danielle, as we talked for a few minutes, then went our separate ways.

We got out of class early enough, so I decided to stop by my adviser/counselor's office to talk about my schedule. I ran into my friend Brittany, so we had a chat for a few minutes, but then I needed to make sure I saw my adviser, before she took off. I walked inside and she told me to have a seat, and I explained my situation. She took the hold off of my account and helped me map out my classes for the next couple quarters. I was right on track. I could then breathe a sigh of relief. I was really starting to sweat it out that I might have to skip the next quarter if I didn't have my classes in time, but it all worked out..Just need to have a little faith and get things done sometimes.

Lunch :) My favorite time of day (at school anyway)
When I was finished in the office, I met up with my friend, Sarah, for lunch again. We sat in our usual spot at one of the tables by the coffee shop. It's shady and there are only a couple of other tables around, so it's quiet enough to have some heart to hearts. I told her all about my plans for next quarter with the classes I'm taking, my doubts that I have with journalism right now, more life plans, guys...The typical stuff that every girl at this age vents about. What I've realized is how good it is to dream together and vent together. It has become an outlet for both of us to just be real with each other, and in this crazy "20-something" world, you need that, let me tell you. We also shared a few secrets about our high school lives that neither one of us ever knew. So weird how that happens,right?

After we finished lunch, I had newspaper production. I love Wednesdays in that class, because things are more laid back. We read the paper and critique it, have a pitch session for the next issue and just talk about what we can do to make the paper better. We spent the first little while talking and messing around, then the managing editor told the section editors to copy and paste our articles into the website folder, so the staff writers would be able to post them to the paper's blog later on. The managing editor also has an idea for a story he wants me to cover for features next week, which will probably be the the guitar concert series, which could be fun. I also talked to two of the editors about how to keep pressing an issue when people tell you "No" about a story idea....Basically, you bug them and do whatever you have to until they say "Yes"…Well, within reason of course. I might need some work in this department! GULP. When we were finished with planning, we looked the paper over and everyone gathered around to point out some of the things we liked and things that we didn't catch on the first go-around with copy editing. I was very excited when one of the staff writers said she "really, really liked" my review on Jennifer Nettles' "That Girl." Writing reviews and checking out live shows is absolutely something I want to do when I get out of college, so I'm always extremely proud of my reviews and feel so good when someone else likes it or makes them curious of who or what I wrote about. That's the whole point, isn't it?
Courtesy of Nathan! HA! Pretty awesome! 

After our critique, we threw around a few ideas of the events that are coming up or stories that others might want to be covered. The editors are planning on going to Homecoming, but I'm not totally sure that I'm up for that. After high school, I was sort of over the whole getting dressed up/going to a dance thing, but we'll see. It could be fun. We'd had a few other things planned to do, but by that time we were all tired, so our professor said we could wrap it up for the day. Class was officially over, but I still had an hour or so before my next class, so I stayed with a few of the other editors, talking over some of my story ideas that are coming up and other non-sense. I laugh SO hard with everyone in the newsroom. We're all a little crazy and always joking around, so it's not as stuffy as one might think. Robin, the editor-in-chief, asked me if I knew what I was getting myself into with the journalism program. I can honestly say I didn't really know what to expect, but it was very different from this. Our professor/adviser of the paper said that newspapers all over are all really like that, with people talking and joking around. It's great to know that you can still have fun and mess around, as long as you get the work done. It's definitely something to look forward to after I graduate.

Closer to 3, I left the room and walked to my next class. To my surprise, the back row where I usually sit was almost full, except for one seat, so I grabbed it. It's always funny how on midterm days, those who haven't been showing up are suddenly there to take the test...And take the seats of those who are there daily. RUDE! HA! I had tried to look over my notes on the way to the classroom, as well as studying in my seat when I arrived. I felt pretty confident, and then it was time to take the test. Our professor had originally said that we wouldn't be able to leave and would have a few more presentations, but luckily, he was nice enough to let us leave after the test. There were six essay type questions, which wasn't too bad. I felt pretty good, except for one answer, after I left. I have to say, it was also very nice to be leaving school when the sun was still shining. It has definitely been awhile since that happened! I walked around, taking the nice weather in, while I waited for my mom to pick me up. I also got on Twitter, to see whether Lucy Hale had said anything about being in town, since she was here.

My mom picked me up, we came home and I took a shower to start getting ready for the night. We still had a few minutes, so I watched the rest of Hart of Dixie with my mom, and then put on my makeup. I had been crossing my fingers to meet Lucy Hale and hoping that I would be able to ask her a few questions about her new CD/Pretty Little Liars for the school paper, since I wanted to write an article about her show for my college newspaper. I had been brainstorming possible questions or things I wanted to talk to her about...After all, a journalist always has to be prepared, and that I was. I listened to "You Sound Good To Me" to get ready, as I surfed the web, then put on my makeup.

Around 5:15, my mom and I were ready to go. Our reservation wasn't until 6:30 at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace, but we thought we might run into Lucy in the parking lot, like we did with Chuck Wicks at one of the last shows we went to. But, we ended up getting there a lot earlier and there wasn't much going on. I saw one of my friends I went to high school with working at the souvenir counter, which was cool! The hostess led us to our seat, which was upstairs on the second balcony, where we were supposed to be at a table, but six other people were already sitting there. Apparently, there was a lot of confusion going on, because they were placing people in different spots than originally planned and not by who called in first. So, the hostess went back downstairs to check on it. It was very weird and chaotic! We waited around for a few minutes, when our hostess came back up and explained that the people sitting our tables reservations had been lost and they had to move us somewhere else. Everything happens for a reason, believe me.


They moved us up to another raised level on the same floor, where a bar was wrapped all around the railing. We sat near the end and started looking at our menus. We had narrowed it down to what we were going to share, when I saw a small group of people walk by us. I started telling my mom, "That's Lucy!" in a really hushed tone and she told me I should go ask for a picture, but she was obviously in a hurry and wasn't stopping. But, no one else had even recognized her...Not even sure if the group of teeny boppers on the end saw her!  Lucy and Steph (the friend she is always referring to on Twitter and Instagram) went into a back room, which turned out to be the restroom...I obviously hadn't been up there in awhile (HA!) and the bodyguard was standing outside. I was freaking out, wondering if she would come back our way, but figured since there was a set of stairs closer to her on the other side, she might just walk down that way. In the meantime, our salads came and my friend, Amanda, who I had creative writing with at the community college a couple quarters ago ended up sitting right next to us, which was awesome! I tried eating my salad, but was telling Amanda that we had just seen Lucy walk by! AH! We caught up for a few minutes about school and how it's...Well, school, so it's just going alright.

Me and Lucy! 
A few minutes later, I see Lucy walking out and was afraid she was going to walk downstairs. But, no, she kept walking towards us. It was close quarters, but I stood up and stood on the opposite side of the bar and chairs. Lucy seemed to see us, but it seemed that she was trying not to make eye contact...But, I knew it would really be our only shot to meet her, since she wasn't doing a meet and greet, unless you had won the contest through KUZZ. I wasn't necessarily a fan of hers when she was on American Juniors, but she started growing on me when she started doing some of the Disney spots, like "Wizards." I also gave Pretty Little Liars a chance because of her storyline on the show after my friend encouraged me to watch…And the rest is history. So, there was no way I was going to miss out on this opportunity. I said, "Hi Lucy!" and asked if we could get a picture. She quietly said, "Uh, yeah, sure..." and it seemed like she paused a bit, not really wanting to, but not wanting to say 'no' either. I'm sure it's really annoying getting asked for pictures all the time, so I tried to be as polite. It was incredibly dark in there and everything happened so fast, that I was acting incredibly awkward, I'm sure. Amanda was standing off to the side, then handed off the camera to my mom to take a picture with her in a bit, but Lucy took that as the signal for now, so she put her arm around her, too. My mom took the picture, but I didn't know I was already in the picture. My mom asked me if I had gotten one and I wasn't sure if I was in the other, so I said "No." I was going to try to take a selfie to make it easy, but her friend Steph jumped in with, "It's probably a little dark to take a selfie," and I could tell they were in a hurry, so there was no time for that. It seems like when I'm trying to go fast in a process like this, it never works out. Alrighty, then....Think fast, Shelby...Now is not the time to freeze and act like you don't know what is going on. I tried to figure out what I was doing, then handed the camera off to my mom to take one of us, which wasn't going well, so Amanda said she could take one for me. Steph thanked us really quick and then they were off. I think she might have gotten stopped by the people sitting next to us, but I'm not sure. It all happened so fast, I didn't know what the heck was going on! Haha!
Amanda, Lucy and I :)

After she left, we sat back down and went back to eating, while recalling what had just happened and Amanda sent me the pictures. Everyone has talked about how nice she was, so we probably just caught her off guard or she must have just gotten there. I guess I was just hoping to get a chance to talk to her more.

 Our dinner came pretty soon, which was barbecue chicken pizza! I thought it was very good, but my mom didn't like the sauce as much. The show was supposed to start at 7, but Lucy didn't come on until after 7:30 and only played for about 25 minutes. She kicked things off with "Goodbye Gone," then "From the Backseat," "Kiss You," "Road Between" and "You Sound Good To Me." And that was it. It was pretty obvious that everyone (or most of everyone) was there because they're fans of Pretty Little Liars, especially when the high pitched squeals erupted through the room at the mention of the show's name. Also, when she mentioned one of the songs being about a relationship and bringing up Valentine's Day, someone yelled " Is it about Ezra?"...HAHA! She obviously responded with, "No, not Ezra!" People sure are funny.

I really enjoyed her songs; they're catchy and have some great messages, and I'm definitely interested to hear the rest of the album when it comes out. My personal favorite would have to be "Road Between" right now. It seriously made me tear up the first time I heard it. This whole college thing is tough right now, I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I just want to give it all up and start something else, because it just feels too hard to finish or not worth it at all. I'm still trying to figure out where I want to end up and it's okay to make mistakes, because I'm not at the finish line yet. I have plenty of time to get there. The road between/the journey is where all of the really good and important stuff is.

And I'm still getting to the good part,
The breaking down
Learning how to write my story
And I'm in the middle of the madness
The living loose
Finding who I'm gonna be
From the start til the end
I'm still learning the road between...
*chills*

Courtesy of KUZZ
Courtesy of KUZZ
Lucy walked off stage and so many people on the bottom fled, hoping to meet her by the side stage door or to catch her outside or just left, since she was finished. We waited around for a few minutes and payed our bill, then decided to head out, since nothing else would be happening. As we tried to make our way through the hallway of the palace, there were a lot of girls waiting around the door she had walked through, hoping to meet her, so we had to squeeze past everyone! My mom, Amanda and I walked outside and waited by the side door, where we met Eden's Edge last time and where most of the artists leave from, but after awhile of chatting and "casually" watching the door, nothing happened, so we decided to leave.

My mom and I :)


We said goodbye to Amanda and came home, after a stop at McDonald's for dessert. I had a Shamrock Shake and it was so good! It was minty with a hint of lime. Refreshing! Go figure, a St. Patty's Day treat before Valentine's Day!

In the meantime, while the show had been going on, my Facebook chat had been blowing up about what I missed in Theories of Communication. WOW! It was pretty bad and I am SO glad I skipped for the concert. I also have no idea how I'm going to pass that class. But, I'm crossing my fingers and praying for good things. So far, we've all done pretty badly on the midterm and I've been getting B's and C's on all of my papers, so I'm not too sure what that will get me.

After I got home, I just kept talking with the editors in our group chat, watched American Idol, then somewhat (but not really) watched the Olympics and ate chips. I'm not used to eating earlier, so we were hungry around midnight...What can I say? Oh, and let's not forget the millions of Buzzfeed quizzes that keep circulating around and I always have to take. Yeah, that's very popular with the newspaper group.

I finally decided to get comfy and got in bed, after watching an episode of White Collar. I was seriously wiped out after the long, but wonderful day. I feel like things are changing. Each day just keeps getting better. I'm excited about wherever this road is leading. So far, so good! Change is scary, but I'm finally starting to accept it.

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

  

February 12, 2014

{February 11}


Tuesdays are basically the only days I look forward to. It's early enough in the week that I don't always have too much to do, or I just procrastinate and try not to think about it until later on in the week. And I always take advantage of that whole 'sleeping in' thing.

This morning, I woke up earlier around 8:30, but we all know I would not get up that soon. So, I rolled over and went back to sleep. The next thing I knew, it was almost noon. WHAT?! I almost flew out of bed seeing that on the clock next to me in big green letters. I did have stuff to do today, whether I wanted to get it done or not.

I went to the living room and just spent a few minutes waking up and planning out the rest of my day. I decided I wasn't going to do any homework until I was truly ready to sit down and get it done. I read my tweets and Facebook, then got an email saying I won't be able to get a press pass for the Jennifer Nettles concert that I was hoping to cover for the newspaper, which I was a little bummed about…But, maybe next time? I watched TV for a bit, got online…The usual, all while staying in my pj's, which is AWESOME! Although, I have to say…The more I do, the more "blah" I feel with it. I do still love these days, I just wish I was more productive with the time I have or could just completely call them free days. It just feels like there's never a break.

My mom made us homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch, which was perfect, because my throat has been bothering me big time! It was SO good; a lot of flavor, too. Shortly after, I decided to go on a bike ride to clear my mind and to get out of the house. I feel like the past two quarters, I've really just let myself go and have been so focused on school that I don't really do anything else. I don't even know how focused on school I am anymore, though, to be honest. So, I listened to Martina McBride's greatest hits and enjoyed the fresh air outside. 

MMMM…TASTAY!!!
I came back to my house when I was finished, immediately dreading all of the homework that was still waiting for me. I decided to work on my paper for theories, tried to win a meet and greet with Lucy Hale, wasted time with Facebook, and finally finished my essay after three or so hours of writing here and there. I have GOT to stop just dilly dallying and get stuff done. UGH!

When my dad came home, we ate dinner, I turned my paper in, and tried to study for my midterm in Mass Media and Society that will be happening tomorrow. Oy vey! And that's what I've been doing, when I haven't been blogging. Crossing my fingers that the test isn't too hard. Also, my wrist/hand is KILLING me from being on the computer so much. *ouch*

I also noticed that I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately...About high school accomplishments, about the community college I went to, and even just last quarter at the university. It's like I'm trying to piece together just who I am. I've been looking through old journals, some of my old writings for english classes and even old flyers from past events. I've been thinking a lot of my grades, the perfomances I've done, what people thought of me. That has brought back so many memories and just makes me appreciate where I am right now, as tough as it might be with the classes I'm taking or feeling thrown into new experiences. I can look back at the past events in my life and smile, and I'm trying to learn to do that right now, instead of waiting until later. The sucky situations I went through don't seem so bad now, and I'm trying to remember that while I'm in this dark place, so I can save myself some of the pain. I'm so in love with my life and who I am turning out to be. It has taken a LONG time for me to get to this place, but I really am excited, whether I show it 24/7 or not. Even when I'm in a bad mood, I still do love my life and where God is taking me...Whether it's Nashville or LA or New York or Guatemala, for all I know.

But, as I've been reflecting, I've also been preparing for the rest of my college career. Today, I put the classes I'm going to take next quarter in my "shopping cart" and tomorrow I will be able to enroll. I have classes every single day, which I am not looking forward to at all. In fact, it kind of led to a bit of a breakdown of intimidation, fear, comparison, doubt, and whether I have the guts to keep going with school and the wonderful world of journalism. No wonder people say you have to have tough skin. I sat in my room crying, made a venting video and decided to move on. What else can I do? I've made it this far, which is way past the limit of quitting. That is NOT an option. So, for now, I just have to do what I have to do be D-O-N-E! SO CLOSE.

On the plus side…Tomorrow, I'm only going to three of my classes! And I get to go to the Buck Owen's Crystal Palace tomorrow night for Lucy Hale's free show! AH! So excited :)


It's almost 2 a.m. and I need to finish studying and then I need to get some SLEEP!

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

{February 10}


Last night, I went to bed pretty late from laughing, eating popcorn and watching the Olympics with my parents. Yeah, they're party animals! HA! But, it was one of those 'I just feel really good about life' kind of moments and I'm not going to ruin it by thinking about the future and all of the things that I don't know right now.

This morning, I woke up dreading school, which is nothing out of the ordinary. I am just not a fan of school, and that's no secret, but I'm praying that all of this will be worth it someday. That is how much I believe in the dream I have in my heart. If it wasn't for that, I probably would have given up awhile ago.

Anyway, my morning went the same as it always goes. Brush my teeth. Turn my heater on. Do my makeup. Pick out clothes. Get last minute stuff together. Grab breakfast/lunch for the day. Off I go. I was a little later than usual, but still made it to school in plenty of time. 

I made my way to feature writing, which is my first class of the day. I'm usually still trying to wake up, but once we get started, I'm okay. We talked about writing query letters to magazines; pitching our ideas for possible stories, which is what I want to do potentially, when I get out of school, so I'm very into this assignment. Our professor showed us a powerpoint of what we needed to do, where to look and some samples of her writing that was published in Sunset magazine. I was pretty fascinated, and I ended up participating, when she asked if anyone has ever done "Freelance" writing. I told her about my experience of writing for one of our magazines in town and she asked me a few questions about that. I was surprised that no one else had done anything like that. Maybe I'm not as behind as I think I am. We got our assignment, and I believe this was the first time I've walked out of class not feeling completely overwhelmed and stressed out with the rest of the day, knowing it's just going to get worse from here. Instead, I was positive and to my surprise, it only got better. 

I met up with my friend, Sarah at the library and we walked to the tables by a small coffee shop on campus to eat lunch. The sky was overcast and looked like it was going to rain. Normally, it would be the perfect day to stay in and write or watch movies, but not today. We ate and talked about classes, reminisced our high school days of being class president, former teachers and how we were the "underdogs" and some of the crap we had to put up with back then. And of course, being two 20-something girls in college, we talked about our lives, our struggles, our stories, and all of the good stuff in between. These vent sessions have been giving me so much clarity about my life and purpose. I also told Sarah about a project of mine that has been on my heart forever, and she gave me some ideas that might help me move forward a bit. It's exciting stuff, folks! It was pretty close to class time, so Sarah walked with me, then we parted ways as she went to the Student Union and I went to the classroom.

Isn't it beautiful?…HAHA! Not really.
Next up is newspaper production. Normally, Mondays are absolutely crazy with last minute edits, handing out stories, people talking and getting page layouts ready. But, again…I was so surprised at how smooth it all went. I chilled with some of the other editors as the staff writers finished the edits for their stories. I continued to work on story ideas, then our managing editor asked if I could start working on page layout. I've never had a chance to do it myself, since I have a class Monday nights and can't stay with the rest of the staff. I messed around with text boxes and pictures, inputting stories and headlines. It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. It's a little time consuming, but I'm sure once I start doing it more, it'll come naturally. As the staff writers finished, I gave out stories and helped assign photographers for the week. The other editor isn't always there, so when she isn't, I'm in charge. I didn't like that idea at the beginning, as I'm just learning how it all works from another perspective, but it was FUN! I'm glad this is giving me practice, so next quarter when I take over, it won't be so intimidating. 

I left class a little early, and the sun was shining; crisp and clear, as the trees are starting to bloom. It might still be winter technically, but California has never been one to follow the rules. So, you can definitely tell that spring is in the air. It was almost hot. I could feel the heat beating down on me through my sweatshirt, and it was rather toasty. I was able to grab an iced tea at the coffee shop, then walked to my next class. I still had a little time, but I just wanted to get a seat and to cool off for a few minutes.

So pretty! 
My third class of the day is mass media and society, which is probably my easiest class, but the most draining. It's a two hour lecture that feels more like seven. He's one of the nicest professors, but he definitely uses up all of his time. We talked about mens roles in the media, advertisements and what to expect on the midterm. 

I was so wiped out by the time I got out of that class and walked into Theories in communication, where I had a midterm. I talked to a couple of guys from the other class about it and it didn't feel like it would be too bad! HAHA! Boy, was I wrong. I went through the test and was completely confused on most of the questions. I didn't remember learning any of it and started feeling that pain in my chest, like I do when I'm stressing big time, by the time I was done. I talked to the professor about my grades (which I am so not happy with) and that I won't be in class on Wednesday, so I just wanted to be prepared with what to do. 

I waited around a few minutes, because I was going to try to talk with my group members about our presentation coming up in a few weeks, but only one of the girls was still there. I walked outside, where I saw several other of my classmates talking about the midterm…Let's just say, I was definitely not alone in feeling like I knew absolutely nothing on that exam. We talked about how worried we are for our grades and it's a lot more intense this quarter. *sigh* I was really not feeling too confident after that.   We decided to call it a night, and I walked back over to the newspaper office, since I had gotten out of class early (HALLELUJAH!) 

YUMMY!
A few of the editors were still there, working on layout, so we chatted for a few minutes about…Uh, people I knew in high school and some interesting drama that has been going on in the newsroom/on campus. Then, my dad picked me up, since I don't have a car at the moment. Yeah, that's just another thing that's a "work in progress." The team asked me if I needed someone to walk out with me, but I was good. I do appreciate and love the bonding that has been happening lately. This is the closest thing I've ever had to a real job, so I'm guessing this is what it's like…a little family. Dysfunctional a good portion of the time, but still a family. There is never a dull moment with those guys!


I came home vented to my parents about the day, as I do every night, and then we had dinner. My mom made pasta (with the recipe from Buca Di Beppo), salad and bread. It was so delish! Mondays, I'm usually starving by the time I get home, so it was the perfect meal. 

After dinner, I relaxed for a little while, then started working on an essay for Theories. Or mainly just complaining. Since the Olympics are on, I'm bummed that some of my favorite shows aren't, like Hollywood Game Night. That helps me get through my Mondays, so I'm extremely saddened by this. But, oh well…It will be back soon enough. The rest of the night was pretty boring…Just me on the computer, on Twitter, Instagram and texting. 

It was a very good day. Now, if the rest of the week can live up to Monday, we will be just fine.

That's all for now,
Shelby :)


February 11, 2014

A Week In My Life

I thought it would be fun to keep track of a week in my life, to document all of the fun things I get to do and others that are not so fun, but necessary to getting the job done. It's going to be a different kind of week, as there are a couple "out of the norm" events, but just enough to keep it fresh and exciting.

Hope you enjoy! :)


This is where the cowboy rides away

Yes, this is a line from the George Strait song. And yes, this is about his "Cowboy Rides Away" Tour, but, more on that later. There are so many other adventures that I want to fill you in on in the meantime.

The day started off much earlier than I like for a Saturday to start, but it was for something good. In which case, I can handle that. I woke up to my alarm clock playing the Growing Pains theme song. Yes, I am that girl. So, I got up, put my makeup on and got ready for the rest of the day's events. My dad hadn't gotten home yet, so I had a little while to kill, which just consisted of going through Twitter and Facebook, as if anything else was new.

My dad came home around 10:30 or so, bringing breakfast from Jack-In-The-Box with him. We all finished getting ready, then it was time to go. FINALLY!

I, obviously, had my playlist ready as well as we hit the freeway. It was complete with George Strait and Martina McBride tunes. The first half of the car ride was devoted to Martina, then we switched it up with George. My dad also liked adding, "In Marina Del Ray" to everything, which somehow was quite hilarious. But, it was one of those 'you had to be there' kind of moments.

Soon, we made it into Pasadena, which was our first stop of the day. I wanted to see the City Hall building from Parks and Recreation, because it is my favorite comedy on TV right now, and quite possibly my favorite ever (or at least tied with The Office and Friends..It's so hard to say). We parked; my mom and I got out to explore, while my dad finished talking to my cousin in the car. I was taking it all in. The architecture of the building was absolutely stunning with large pillars and tall ceilings, complete with intricate lamps hanging above. Mom and I walked through the garden, which was shaded with trees, benches were scattered around and there was a giant fountain in the center. It was so beautiful. We explored the area for a few minutes, taking plenty of snapshots, then went back out to the car.
Gorgeous, right?!
Be the Leslie Knope of whatever you do :) It's kind of my motto!


Dad was off the phone by that time, so we put some change in the meter and decided to go back to spend a little more time. We walked back through the same way, making our way to the garden and through side hallways. There were winding staircases that, in theory, looked like they would be great for artsy pictures, but it didn't quite come out the same way. My dad and I walked up the stairs to see the view from the top, where the sun was shining down perfectly on the backside of the building, overlooking the garden. We walked around for a few minutes while I took selfies and videos, then we met mom back down at the bottom.

We took a few more pictures, and then it was time to leave. I took it all in one last time, feeling inspired. Even if Leslie Knope is fictional, she's one of my heroes. She represents what so many people believe in- Hard work and getting everything that you've asked for.

We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and fortunately, the wait wasn't quite as long as we thought it would be. I had wanted to try something new, but of course, when push comes to shove...I got one of the same things I always do, the "Skinnylicious burger," and a salad, which is quite tasty. It took a little while to get our food, and by that time I was so hungry. We ate, then just drove around Pasadena for awhile, admiring its beauty. It's just a really pretty, clean town. For having so many old buildings, everything is kept up so well. The trees hang just so over the street and the houses are so detailed and charming.

Selfie with the space shuttle! 
We drove by one of my dad's old houses when he used to live in L.A., then ended up near the Staples Center pretty soon before the concert. We didn't have anywhere else to go, so we ended up at the California Science Museum. I wasn't too thrilled with the idea at the time, because it just seemed like we had all this time to kill, but once I got over my attitude, it was a really fun time. We mainly went to see the Endeavor Space Shuttle, which was extremely interesting. There were posters all over the walls of the different journeys to space, and the giant space shuttle itself. We walked around a few minutes, checking it all out and reading the information about the flights to space.
My dad and I :)

My mom and I! :)
We headed back into the museum, but only had a few minutes, because the museum was officially closed. Looking at all of the exhibits and interactive things to do made me want to come back to spend an entire day there.

When we finished at the museum, we drove back towards Staples Center and found a parking lot, and walked up a couple blocks to the arena. There was already a giant crowd waiting, so we just got in line. We talked, trying to pass the time, and around 6:30, they opened the doors. We grabbed a snack from the concession stand and it wouldn't have been complete without a souvenir from the "final tour," or so he says it is.

We found our seats and they were actually much closer than I had pictured! When we bought the tickets, we were just trying to get whatever came up, and from the seating chart it sounded a little strange, but it all worked out. I love the stage set up that George does, and that's placing a square stage in the center of the arena, that way he can equally visit each side of the stage. Great idea! We started talking to a guy sitting next to us, who had just moved to L.A, about a year ago and apparently travels between here and New York for business. He goes to a lot of concerts and basketball games at Staples Center, too, because he just lives down the street. Sounded like he has a pretty exciting life!




I like making dumb faces when I'm just really excited… :)
It didn't feel like we had much time to wait before the show started and Martina McBride walked on stage. Because of the format of the stage, it's nice to be able to see the artist walk right down the aisle, making their way to the stage. Martina never ceases to blow me away. She effortlessly hits those notes, like just about no one else in music can. The control she has on her voice, while still pouring so much emotion into a song is incredible. She started off with "Wild Angels," sang all of her hits, like "My Baby Loves Me,"  "I Love You"(also from Runaway Bride), "Independence Day," and "Broken Wing." Along with those, she sang one of my favorites, "Whatcha Gonna Do" and a couple covers of "First Cut is the Deepest/Free Fallin.'" That girl can pretty much sing anything.



There was a short intermission as they set up the instruments for George, and the lights went out. Everyone was up on their feet, waiting for the arrival of the "King of Country." He walked out, took the stage and just started playing right away. And he played for the next two and a half hours. CRAZY! Willie (from Duck Dynasty) and his wife were sitting not too far from us in the "VIP" area and Martina McBride, her daughter and husband came out to watch most of the show! George sang SO many songs, obviously many of the hits, but a few obscure ones that they "haven't done in awhile," said Strait. It's still so crazy to me, that he has never played Staples Center before.

Towards the end of the concert, Mae Whitman from Parenthood, walked by us and I pointed that out to my mom who was going to take a picture of her, which led…To a discussion, I guess you could say. Mae joined Martina a few minutes later in the "special" section, and I noticed Miles Heizer from Parenthood was with them also, since him and Mae are pretty much besties on and off screen. Mae is like Martina's adopted daughter, so I don't know why I didn't think she would be there before. She was dancing with Martina's youngest daughter, which was adorable and was pretty cozy with her boyfriend for the other portion of the time.

George walked off, then came back on for his encore and sang for about 30 more minutes. For being a little older, he sure knows how to get the party going. I love that there are so many different types of fans sitting in the audience, as well. You have people who are in their teens, mid-20s, my parents' ages, and so on. That to me, is the effect of a true legend in music history; never going out of style. George also hinted that this might not be his last time playing here, or he hopes it won't take him so long next time. Hmmm…Farewell tour? Maybe not so much.

When the concert ended, we headed out, since we still had quite a drive home. It's actually not too bad, but when it's already around 12:30 a.m, anything feels bad and I wasn't even the one driving. We stopped by In-N-Out, which is typically our "after concert" stop and came home. We talked about the show and tried to stay awake. We didn't get home until 2:15. It was a long day, but absolutely worth it all.

I wish more days could be like that. But, if nothing else, it's those moments get me through the week when I'm dreading school and not wanting to wake up early or to write a paper. It reminds me of why I even want to do it in the first place.

That's all for now,
Shelby :)