April Favorites

1. Shania Twain// After seeing her in Vegas, I went a little crazy with her merchandise at the store. I had to get the program since you can't take pictures inside, loved her Shania Kids Can t-shirt (the sweatshirt was too much), and her perfume, which has become my "go-to" fragrance.

2. Bare Essentials makeup kit//My parents surprised me with this kit one afternoon, and I was so excited. It came with foundation, primer, powder compact, a brush, lipgloss, and mascara, all in a spiffy little pouch. Great products at a great price!

3. Notebooks// you all know how much I love notebooks, and Target has some incredible ones as of lately. I'm really loving the patterned ones from Chronicle books. I love the texture, and they're great for writing ideas down that I want to save and keep nice and neat. I also love the really tiny notebooks with the words "dream, imagine, wish" on them. They're super handy to organize thoughts and I carry them with me all the time.

4. Polaroid picture effects// I love polaroid cameras and pictures; always have from the time that I was young. Of course, this day in age, with so many apps, you can actually do that to any picture and you don't need a polaroid camera to do it. I use Lo-Mob and there are a ton of different Polaroid filters to choose from; sizes, colors, etc. They make anything look fun!

5. The Band Perry's new CD, "Pioneer"// I LOVE The Band Perry, and I think I have become even more of a fan with this album. Most of their songs are edgy and fun to rock out to, but I have to say that my absolute favorite is the sweet and sentimental ballad, "I Saw The Light." It's about finding the one, and I really hope that someday I find the right guy to play it at my wedding. It's also a plus that you can get the exclusive version at Target, which has four bonus songs and is autographed :)

6. Keith Urban's Light The Fuse Tour// I haven't actually seen the show yet, but I already know that it will be a favorite, because we are seeing it at The Hollywood Bowl. FREAKING OUT! I've always wanted to see a show there, and now I get to see one of my favorite artists.

7. Dodgers// Baseball season is back, which means so are the Dodgers. It's going to be one heck of a year for them; switching owners, doing some renovations, and a lot of other exciting things. They're off to a pretty good start, and I am SO excited about all of the games coming up with friends and family. Those are some of my favorite memories.

8. Quote// If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. Rachel of Gloriana posted this on Instagram, when I happened to see it, it just really hit home. I've been struggling with that, so it just helped me see things a bit clearer at the moment.

10. Lauren Conrad Fringe Boots// I got these on sale at Kohl's, because they went great with the outfit I was wearing to the Shania Twain concert. Well, I absolutely love them! Now, I wear them any chance I get, and they actually go with a lot more than I realized; you can dress them up or wear them with something casual, and they're great in all weather.

Lately

So, like I said, I haven't really updated much as of lately. I've been busy with school, church, a little bit of "work", and hanging out with friends. I've still managed to get on the computer, but talking about everything that has been going on hasn't exactly been at the top of my list, so here it goes.

• I have decided that I am going to commit 100% to the Youth worship team. The reason I have felt like "quitting" or just really unsure of the whole thing is because it's new. It's a challenge; something I'm not used to, and that doesn't mean it's a bad fit. I prayed about it, because I knew I had to make a decision about it, instead of feeling so wishy washy, and that night I got it in clear words. It was the best practice we've ever had, too! It's going to be a bit of a journey, but I know I'll come out on the other side much stronger.
• I've been writing for one of my city's magazines, and I am officially published now, which I am incredibly excited about. It makes me realize that I am one step closer to the goal...AH!
• I've been keeping up with my driving...Yay and nay! It's going pretty well, I'm just getting bored with the same routine every week. 
• I've been doing a lot of dealings with school; getting transcripts switched over, getting my stuff for graduation, etc. Finishing up my one class, and hoping for the best on next semester, if I'm able to switch to the university in town. It's kinda stressful not knowing the outcome, but I have to trust God and know that He knows and that's enough.
• American Idol has also been keeping me busy, for obvious reasons...
• I made a One Tree Hill blog. 
• Just trying to take everything one day at a time...Be Present...You know?
• Loving this weather, too! Spring is finally here...And I need to start carving out more time to spend it outdoors, instead of staring at a screen.

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

L.A. Baby

Last weekend, my parents and I went to LA for the day. We had a Dodger game that night, but we tend to go down earlier to do a bit of exploring.

We stopped at one of our favorite restaurants, Lucille's, in Valencia and one of my absolute favorite stores, which is just around the corner. Good time as always! After that usually comes the million dollar of where to go next. We decided to head into LA, and there were a couple places I've been wanting to check out, so we just did that.

• Brentwood Country Mart- I've seen so many things about this place, and on occasion you can see people like Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. It's a really cute little place. There's not as much to do around there as I thought, but they have little market, some places to eat, a book store and a few other clothing/jewelry shops! We did see Darryl Hannah in Free People, which was really cool. I only cared because she was Landon's mom in A Walk To Remember. I didn't talk to her or anything, but she did almost run into my mom as we were leaving, so there's that...
• LACMA- The L.A Museum is a pretty popular place! Someone is always there, as well, but I've seen some of the crazy sculptures and exhibits, so I wanted to check it out. We didn't actually have time to go through the museum, but I saw the street lamps outside, which was awesome. 
• E! News-If you know anything about me, you know that my dream job is to work at E! News. I'm a communications major wanting to be an entertainment journalist, and I have always loved E! I really admire Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest, and I would love to work with them someday. So, we walked around the studio (didn't actually go inside, just peeked through the windows), and in that moment, it felt more achievable. It had me doing a lot of thinking...Maybe I'm not as far off as it feels like it is at times. 

From the time I was about 4 or 5, I was always really fascinated with Hollywood; TV, music, movie stars, etc. I'm not really sure exactly why, but I just love the process behind all of it; how every production comes together and tells a bigger story. But, I feel like there is also a greater plan in it than even I realize. God's doing a little work behind the scenes himself. I have always wanted to be a reporter of sorts, and by the time I was in 7th grade, I knew I wanted to major in Journalism, and that's exactly what I'm studying today. I have my AA in liberal arts/communications and am one step closer towards the goal. I know that I have my plans and God has his, but right now the plan is to be an anchor at E! News someday! I don't know when it'll all happen, but I have to keep believing and trusting that it WILL someday. So, you can call me crazy for having a "different" kind of dream or that I'm not "realistic" enough....I'll take that as a compliment. Because I was born to DREAM BIG! And you should, too! Follow your heart and trust God that He knows the bigger picture, and you'll end up exactly where you're supposed to when you're supposed to. It only takes one door to lead to several other thousand opportunities...and it only takes one day, one decision to change your life. 

After that, it was time to head to the game, because we had quite a drive from the area we were in. We made it in plenty of time, and I was pumped for the game. There were no celebs to report on, unfortunately, but it was a great game, and the best part...THE DODGERS WON! You know, every time our family goes, they win...I'm just saying. Maybe there's something to that ;).

We drove home after the game, stopped at In-N-Out and came home. It was a good day! :) Can't wait for more like this during the season.

That's all for now,

Shelby

It's Time For Dodger Baseball!

I can't believe it has been almost two weeks now since opening day and that I haven't talked about it yet, and just the fact that I haven't been on to update in quite awhile is surprising me.

Well, it was a little bittersweet, because for the past five or so years, my mom, dad, and I have gone together. It's something that my dad really got me into doing (even though I was a fan of baseball before that), and it has become a tradition and something that I look forward to every year. But, this was the first year that my dad wasn't able to get off work to come to. He hardly ever does anything for himself and works so many hours, and this is the one thing that he truly wanted, so for him not to be there with us broke my heart.

Anyway, my friend, Viviyan, was able to come with us, and she is a HUGE Dodger fan, so I knew we were in for a good time. I woke up early that morning, got ready, and she met up with us at our house. We stopped at Jack in the Box for breakfast, then headed to LA. I supplied the music, of course with a little bit of everything from Colton Dixon to the Jonas Brothers and Justin Timberlake...Interesting mix, I realize. Opening day is always nuts, so it's important to get their ahead of time, and luckily, we did. We also have new seats this year, so that was an interesting little twist to add. It was only around 10:30 or so, and the game wouldn't be starting for another few hours, so we had plenty of time to walk around and see some of the new additions to the stadium, as well as finding our seats and checking out the level we'll be on for the rest of the season.

We went down to the loge level to see if any celebs were around, but all we could find was Larry King, who was nothing new, because he's been to a lot of games that we have over the years. We took a few pictures, then decided to head to the reserve level where our old seats used to be, because Viviyan wanted a picture with an Ethier graphic that has been on the wall. Well, we got up there, only to find out that it had been removed, which was a total disappointment, and at that point, we didn't have much time to do any more exploring, so we headed back to the elevator to go down. Scariest elevator experience I've probably ever had. For one thing, it was pretty packed (close quarters), and at first it wasn't moving, and then it took forever...and long story short, I was just glad I could breathe again when the doors finally opened to the level we needed to get out on. I thought with our luck at times, we would've been stuck in there and missed the game..HA! Crazy imagination, right?

We made it to our seats and had a little time, when the pre-game festivities started up. I was a little disappointed with some of the entertainment, especially since it was opening day and all, but it's all good. The Blue Man Group was cool since I've heard nothing but good things from their Vegas show! The audience was a little dead when it came to "crowd participation", but still cool. I have no idea who sang The National Anthem, and then it was game time. There's such a rush on opening day that I can't explain. I mean, just thinking about all of the BIG moments and opportunities that will occur during the season gives me chills just thinking about. Everyone has a little bit of greatness in them to make it happen, too.

We were able to snack on Dodger Dogs and nachos, watched the game, and even saw Chris Mann from last season's The Voice, sing God Bless America, which he did a pretty good job at. Yet, no one had scored in the game! Because my mom had driven down there that day, she didn't want to have to fight all of the crazy traffic after it was over, so we decided to leave early. Well, as we're walking out of the stadium, we see that someone hit a home run. It isn't until we get into the car and are getting on the freeway that we find out it was Kershaw...Like, what!? He never hits those...And come to find out, it was the first ever in his career and since high school, period. And we missed it...LOL. What are the chances?!

We finished listening to the game on the way home, then listened to whatever other random stations were playing good music. I jump around way too much, but what can you do? We also stopped at Wal-Mart, because I had been wanting to look for a Kershaw shirt, but they ended up not having any. We made it home in pretty good timing; Viviyan went home and my mom and I went to our Wal-Mart to look for my shirt and to pick up a few other items. 

It was a really good day, and I'm so glad we were still able to go! It's going to be an amazing season, and you can definitely tell that there are some major changes going on, in the best ways possible. So, hopefully, it will start to reflect in their playing again. We can only hope :)

That's all for now,

Shelby

Easter Weekend Part Two

Saturday wasn't anything too exciting! I slept in, as usual, ran errands with my parents, came home, then got ready for church. I didn't have much down time in between, but that was good.

I got to the church at the same time, changed, and waited just like the night before. For some reason, things seemed a bit crazier in the "dressing room" on Saturday; the little kids were also in there getting ready, which made for a lot of noise and laughter, in a good way. I was talking to one little girl, who was very impressed with the fact that I was 21, and kept asking me all sorts of questions about it. In my own way, I felt like a superhero. I'm finding that I'm also not as bad with kids as I thought...It seemed like they were actually sort of gravitating towards me, and I didn't mind at all. I was enjoying their enthusiasm and conversation.

When the kids left, it was a bit quiet, so me, "Joseph" and "12 year old Jesus" were talking about who knows what! All I really remember is that I couldn't stop laughing and sometimes at times when things should have been a bit more serious, and I couldn't help it! *oops!*. And then it was our turn to go onstage. This time, the projector screen wasn't working for the video that was played right before we'd walk on, so we had to wait on stage a bit longer, to make sure that we made it on time. I don't know that the lights shined on us that time either, but we did our thing and it seemed to work out.

This time, I left pretty quickly after my scene in the service was over. My mom picked me up and we ran to the store to get eggs, so we wouldn't have to brave it on Sunday (ain't nobody got time for that), then went home to see what my dad wanted to do for dinner. On the way home, we saw another sunset, and it just blew me away at how BIG God really is and how He's everywhere. It gave me peace in the midst of over-thinking and over-analyzing my life and what's to come in the future. I've been worrying so much about the most pointless things and anxious about who knows what? Even if just for those few minutes, I knew that God was going to work it all out.

We ended up ordering a pizza, so I went with my dad to pick it up, then we ran to Walgreens to pick up a few things. We came home to eat, then ran back out to the store, and came home. I cleaned my room because it was way too messy and watched Felicity...Until around 2 or so a.m.

Sunday:

My alarm went off to Shania Twain's "Up" at 6:45 a.m, and I was SO not ready to get up after going to bed much too late the night before, because I was busy watching Felicity. But, I knew I needed to do it then or I never would. I put on my makeup, curled my hair, and changed into my "Easter outfit" which was nothing new or fancy this year, since I was going to be helping out for most of it.

I got there at 8, and it was the same routine, which I liked knowing exactly what I needed to do at that point. I got into costume, then headed out to the waiting room where everyone else. One of the little girls I had been talking to the night before was asking me more questions about being 21...And said, "Do you have your own house?" I said, "No, I still live with my parents." A few minutes later she responded with, "You're 21, you should have your own house!" and was telling the other lady standing right by us. The other lady came to my defense and said that I was just starting out and saving for that...It was cute, but it had me thinking more into it, naturally. I'm 21. I should be at a very different place in my life, and I feel like I'm years behind everyone else. But, I suppose there's a reason everything happens the way it does. And it's time that I start doing something to change the things that I can at this point in time.

The service started a few minutes later than the two previous nights, so I was feeling a bit anxious, and needed to just remind myself that it was okay...Instead of being impatient for no reason at all. I needed to remember to take a few breaths and know that everything was going to be okay.
This time, all of the lights and effects were working for the skit, which was exciting! And the kids were extremely responsive with everything that was going on, which was so cute to hear.

After the first service, I met up with my friend, Viviyan and we walked over to the Starbucks across the street. Those are some of my favorite moments for us; We always have some of the best heart to hearts over coffee and breakfast! This time was no exception! Life talks and realizations are always going on, which is really liberating.

It's the little things...

We walked back over to church, where the first service was starting to get out, and others were coming in for the next one. I ended up running into my aunt in the restroom, and not too long after, saw my parents coming into the family room. Viv and I talked with them for a few minutes, making plans for the dodger game the next day, etc.
Pretty soon, it was time to head to where we all needed to be, so we all split up and said I'd catch up with them later. I went back to the children's church, and got ready for the next service. Everything went great once again, and I had the rest of the service to hang out. Usually, I would go into the main sanctuary with my parents to listen to the sermon, but felt like it was too far into it, so I didn't want to disrupt anything and feel awkward. I went to the coffee shop and hung out with Viviyan and a few other friends from around the church, which was fun.
In between the second and third services, I always have quite a bit of time to kill, so I did a lot of talking and catching up with whoever I found. I was especially glad I got to talk with our friend, Makenzie, who was just in a really bad car accident, but is a walking miracle. Looking at her car, it's amazing to me that she didn't have very many injuries and is doing so well right now. We talked about how she was doing and feeling, and it's incredible to me that she was even at church. God has big plans for that girl!
I talked with a couple other friends, and it had me asking myself a lot of questions about what ministry I want to be part of, because I feel like I'm in limbo with what I really want to do right now. But, maybe that's a good thing...It's a time to experiment and see what fits best. I guess I have a lot of thinking and praying to do after that.

At 12:00, the next and last service started. I was pretty sad to see it all coming to an end. Although, I was starting to feel a bit tired, I was SO glad to be part of such a big weekend in a way that I haven't in quite some time. I guess that's part of stretching my faith and trust in God...Going wherever He calls me. It's scary and exciting!

I talked a little more with everyone before the service, we did our thing, and that was it. I headed out early to have lunch with my family, after saying goodbye to the new friends I'd made, and faces I might not come into contact with again...Which is always bittersweet. 

I rode with my aunt to meet up with the rest of our family at Hungry Hunter for lunch. My other aunt and uncle were already there, and my grandpa pulled up not too long after us. We went inside and snacked on bread and just waited for my cousin and her friend to get there. We all ordered, caught up with each other, and of course, talked about American Idol. Though, my cousin and I don't agree about most of the same people! 

The rest of the afternoon consisted of coloring easter eggs and an easter egg hunt with my parents. It's sort of our tradition. Some may say we're "too old" for it, but I couldn't care less. I know plenty of people who still do Easter baskets and all that jazz...I say if you're into it, go for it. And I have to say that these were probably some of the prettiest eggs we've ever done! Also, I found the money eggs in our hunt and got some money, which was quite nice ;)

It was one of the best Easter's I've ever had! Christ is risen and He gives me the hope that I don't have to be perfect or carry the weight of the world on my shoulder! All I have to do is give it to Him, and it'll all happen the way it's supposed to. I find my confidence and purpose in Him. In this ever changing world, His love is the only thing I can be certain of ALL the time.

That's all for now,
Shelby