Taking Back Sunday

Sunday morning, I woke up and got ready for church, per usual. I was so glad that Pastor Wendy spoke. Whenever she delivers the message, I always find myself relating so much and realizing I am not the only one who has ever gone through a certain season or wondered what I have. It was about getting your spiritual edge back: ridiculous recovery.

• 2 Kings 1:1-6
• God knows how to help you find what you didn't mean to lose

How do you get your edge back?

• Be honest about where you lost it
• 2 Kings 6:6
• With God's help, take back what you lost
• 2 Kings 6:6-7
• Revelation 2:4-5
• Deauteronomy 2:4-5

I've let so many things go lately, as school has been the only thing my life revolves around. It's like if I stop focusing on school for a bit, I feel like everything else will fall apart and really, it's just the opposite. I need to take care of myself again- bike rides, eating healthy, spending time with friends and having quality conversations, and of course, spending time with God. 

My outfit for the day! 

After the service was over, we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. My mom and I tried a different pizza with artichoke and spinach, but I don't think I would get it again. Just not my thing! I thought I had to go in for editing, so I tried to hurry home, change and get ready to go...But, we ended up just deciding to do it the next day in class.

Pizza!

I spent the afternoon hanging out, working on homework and writing. That night, I went to a Condor's game with the other editor's from the newspaper. We've been talking about it for the past couple quarters and we FINALLY made it during playoffs, which is an exciting time for them and our town. Athena picked me up and we headed downtown, as she filled me in on her life, then we met up with the others. We claimed our free hats and noise sticks, then found our seats. We were SO close to the ice, which was a lot more terrifying than I realized it would be. 

We were about three rows up from the ice, right behind the glass, with the safety net ending right in front of me. We laughed so much, poked each other with our noise sticks, took gangsta pictures with our hats, cheered on the team, Athena and I shared the most delicious Carne Asada nachos, danced and sang along to the music, cheered when we saw ourselves on the jumbo screen, and freaked out when a puck almost flew at us (which got stuck in the net, dangling at the very edge) or when hockey players would push each other up against the glass. I don't know how Carrie Underwood deals with having a hockey player husband. Going to the games, not knowing if your husband is going to make it out okay has to be terrifying...Which gave me an idea for a story. It was a wonderful time.

Our group left a few minutes earlier, then went to BJ's for dinner. We have some crazy conversations and we were laughing so much, and I was having a blast. Like I said, I don't get out too much, so being out and doing "20-something" things was just what I needed. When we finished eating, mingling and brainstorming ideas for the newspaper, we headed out. Robin, our editor-in-chief, gave me a ride home. We ended up staying in her car, talking in front of my house for about an hour about a variety of topics from life, emotions, the paper, etc. It was good!

It was midnight or so when I came in, then spent the next couple hours working on an article for the paper, before my eyelids were so heavy I could barely stand it. Then, I heard a loud noise and was incredibly paranoid (but apparently it was just the air condition vent). It was around 3 a.m. when I finally got to sleep. But, I got to thinking, 'If only ever Sunday was like this,' things might be a lot more peaceful. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, I had to wake up earlier and go to the newspaper, even though it was Memorial Day. The news doesn't stop for a holiday. As I drove to my school, I heard Toby Keith's "American Soldier." There's a line that says, "I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been to rough," and it opened my eyes to the fact that I shouldn't be complaining that I have to go to school for a few more hours than I would've liked, because our servicemen and women have to give up SO much. They go months at a time, sometimes a year or so without seeing their families. At least I get to see mine at the end of the day. That song put it all in perspective for me.

We had a potluck for breakfast; all of us brought in goodies, like a breakfast casserole, donuts, orange juice, Debbie Cakes, homemade cheese chips and more. It was a fun time to socialize, edit our stories and do things at a much more relaxed pacing than usual. Everyone got in and got out fairly quickly when it came to the edits, and all we had left to do was do the page layout, which is extremely time consuming. It's always fun hanging out with everyone, though, and I feel like week after week, I learn so much about the process of designing a page and what it takes to make a paper great.

I finally finished around seven, then headed home. It was pretty exciting that I also got to drive, too, because I don't usually get to during the week. It was nice having the freedom and not having to rely on someone else to get home. Once I got home, my parents and I went out for dinner at Chuy's, and the weather was gorgeous. Normally, I would've still been working at the newspaper, so it was nice to watch the sunset with the warm air against my skin. Summer is coming. After dinner, we went to Best Buy to look for a bit, then came home.

I took the rest of the evening off and just enjoyed it. 

It was a great weekend. And the week is going alright. I'm just so ready to be out of school. My energy is starting to wear off. *Sigh* But, it's all good. I'm getting 'er done. Only a few more assignments and then I will be free! WOO!

That's all for now,

Shelby

Baby, let's just get out of this town

Yesterday, my parents and I, along with my uncle, went to Oceanside for the day. I woke up around 8:45 or 9 a.m., put my makeup on, got dressed and I was ready to go.

My uncle came to our house around 10 and we were off. We stopped at Jack-in-the-Box for breakfast, then got on the freeway, heading to the LA area. We should have known from the way the day started out that it was going to be a strange one. We started out with traffic right off, and we NEVER run into any there. It broke up and we made it past LA and Anaheim, and came to a stop again…. Plus, since we had forgotten the fruit dip we were going to bring, we had to stop at Walmart to get something else. My mom had also spilled on her shirt, so she had to find another one.

After we took care of that, we got back on the road…And then ran into more traffic. I was getting so antsy and annoyed, and usually I LOVE road trips like this. But, I also like being in control of the radio and unfortunately, the app I was using kept cutting out, so we just had to leave the radio on one station That means if a sucky song comes on, then you still have to leave it there. Meh. It's the music that defines a road trip for me, so if that isn't working…You've got problems.

Eventually we made it to the beach. Some family friends that my dad and uncle grew up with were renting a beach house, and they wanted to have a little reunion. The sky was overcast and gray, but the ocean was still sparkling as the waves crashed against the rocks. We were all just happy to be out of the car, and that salty sea air made my heart race a little faster. The air was incredibly cool, but considering it was 90 degrees or so at home, we weren't complaining.

I was SO happy to be out of town :)

We made our way into the house, which was incredible by the way, and mingled with everyone. I knew most of the couples who were there, but we introduced ourselves to those we didn't know as well.

We had lunch, a sandwich bar with all different meats and cheeses to choose from, along with chips and a couple different salads. It was all so good and we were stuffed. Then, we talked with everyone ; catching up, taking pictures…You know, the usual things when you get together with those you haven't seen in awhile. Then, we also spent some time on the deck, looking out at the ocean and taking advantage of the fact that the beach was RIGHTTHERE.

My new goal in life is to have a window like this at my house that overlooks the ocean. 

The spacious living quarters. 

After lunch and visiting, we went downstairs to look at old pictures of everyone from back in the day. It was fun watching everyone relive past memories when certain members were still alive or just happier times of being young in general. When we finished looking at old pictures, we all visited more with people we hadn't necessarily had a chance to talk with earlier, which was fun. There were so many stories to be shared, whether it was about the war, relationships, Disneyland (because our friend works there and always had a lot to tell us) or life in general. I was fascinated by everyone in the room and their wisdom.

I was glad we were able to get one last look at the beach before the night grew dark as well.

Finally, around 8:30 or so, we decided to head home. None of us wanted to, but with a 3 hour drive, we'd be looking at midnight with getting home. It didn't take us long to get to Anaheim, especially without the traffic involved like earlier. We even happened to make it near Disneyland, so we could see the fireworks, one of the very best parts about the amusement park. It's all so magical. I was snap chatting my best friend almost the entire time, telling her it's time for us to go back again. As soon as they were over, we went to the gas station, then continued our trek home. That little bit near Disney did me some good.

(I was trying to make these blurred on purpose…For some reason, I think it looks cooler. I could be wrong, though).

The ride home was very entertaining - We played 20 questions, listened to music and stopped at Krispy Kreme, of course. And then we stopped at Jack in the Box. Yes, we do eat extremely healthy. Not. Definitely something I need to work on this summer. It's just so hard sometimes.

We made it home close to 12:30, and I had been asleep, so I was in a very groggy mood. I took a shower, curled up in bed, read a chapter of Lea Michele's book and went to sleep.

It was a wonderful day! I'm so glad we were able to go.

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

Friday, Friday - Gotta get down on Friday

Friday morning, I had to wake up a little earlier than I usually do for class. This time we weren't meeting in our typical place on campus. Instead, we had a field trip to our local newspaper, which I was excited about. I've driven by it a million times, but have never actually been inside - of any real newspaper office for that matter.

My alarm went off and I was so tired from the events of the previous day, but I turned on the light and rolled out of bed. I'm pretty quick to get ready, so that always saves me a bit of time. I out on my makeup, dressed in my best "professional" attire and was ready to go.

I planned to wear this first, but the jacket was bothering me. 

So I changed…..

I grabbed Starbucks, then my dad dropped me off at the newspaper office. There was already a group from my class waiting in front, so I joined them. A few minutes later, my friends showed up. We all started talking about some of our plans for the future as we waited for everyone to show, then headed inside.

Josh totally got in my picture at the last minute and didn't have time to take another. 

Not gonna lie, I felt pretty important walking in like I was heading to work for the day. There wasn't much going on, just people in their cubicles or at their desk, working on who knows what? We walked upstairs and saw the sports section, then walked around the corner where all of the other action takes place. I feel like I could fit in at a place like that. Not necessarily in town, but somewhere and that excites me. I want to have a place to go every day that I look forward to showing up and wondering what the rest of the day holds.

They were filming the morning show that our paper has been producing, "First Look with Scott Cox," so we were able to see what the technical part of that looked like. We were able to talk with a few of the reporters on staff, as well. They told us about that process, some of the guests they've had on the show, and how they hope to incorporate more video as journalism continues to shift that way.  We were able to add whatever comments or questions we had to make it more interactive.

We also talked to our professor's husband, who is one of the reporters on the paper. He told us a few stories he had and walked us through his process, then we had to leave. We were only there for a little over an hour, but we were able to see a lot. After, I rode with Josh back to school for our Public Affairs class.

We watched Frost Nixon, then our prof handed back the corrected papers from our last stories. Apparently, I had missed the memo about the revisions from our last stories being due, so I had nothing to turn in. That meant, I had to run home, make whatever corrections I could to it and rush back to school to turn it in before my prof left. I was stressing major, but I was able to do a bit here and there, so I'm crossing my fingers that it turns out okay.

I changed my clothes, grabbed my stuff and my mom and I ran errands. We dropped my paper off at school, had lunch, went to the bank, went to Target and got an oil change on our car. It was very different from last Friday, and I am SO thankful for that. It felt like things were back to normal. I had fun.

We came home, and I took care of a few things that I needed to do -homework, e-mails, etc. Then, I ended up laying down on the couch and falling asleep. I don't know what is wrong with me, but I can't stop taking naps. It's like I don't even know who I am anymore. It didn't matter how tired I was, I would NEVER take a nap. I guess this really is what adulthood feels like.

When I woke up, I read a little, and later on my dad came home. We had dinner, watched a couple specials on TV…Just a slow Friday night, with nothing to do. Not that I would want to go anywhere if I did. Some family friends of ours stopped by, and that was about it. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on the couch again…And then I decided to call it a night.

That's all for now,
Shelby

Don't Rain On My Parade

It's always funny to me that on days when I have to wake up early and I'm not going to school, I somehow feel like I've gotten an adequate amount of sleep and am ready to take on the world. That's exactly how I felt Thursday morning. As my second alarm sang "Gone Like That" by Josh Kelley, I took a few minutes to wake up and soon I was putting on my makeup and getting ready.

I watched Glee as I got ready, preparing myself for the very Lea Michele filled day I was about to have. I put my makeup on, said a prayer to bless the day, got dressed and rounded up everything I needed to bring with me, like my camera.

At 8:45, we left the house and hit the freeway. Normally we'd grab breakfast before we go, but today we just had small packages of donuts from home--Saving time and money, which is much more efficient in the end. On the car ride down, of course I played Lea's new CD and some Glee hits including "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Don't Rain On My Parade." My mom and I were gabbing about whatever and discussing possible plans once we made it to The Grove, trying to think of what else we could do before the book signing.

I'm constantly checking my e-mail and text messages on my phone, when I got an e-mail that had me so giddy inside. The Andrew Lloyd Webber play, "Jesus Christ Superstar" is coming to town and I wanted to get a press pass to possibly interview the cast or to at least review the show. Well, it looks like I might get my wish, as one of the "powers that be" said he has added me to the list for press credentials and I will be able to fill out a form to request an interview. So, now we just wait and see. JC Chasez, from Nsync, will be in the play, as well as Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child. Needless to say, my 10-year-old self is freaking out inside at the possible opportunity. The show isn't until July, but it's always great to get a head start and to get things rolling as soon as possible.

My mom and I made it to The Grove around 10 or a little after and met up with my friend, Amber. We actually met at the Lauren Graham book signing and have only been able to hang out one other time since then, so I was excited to be able to spend the day with her. Thankfully, she was able to pick up a book and a wristband for me, because the line was NUTS! We were letter F, and she got there as soon as Barnes and Noble opened. We couldn't believe how far back it was.

For a few minutes, we stood around trying to figure out what to do next, then decided to walk around. We were dragging there for awhile, dreading the amount of time that we had in front of us with absolutely nothing to do. We've been to The Grove so many times that, as fun and pretty as it is, there's only so much to do and only so many stores you can go to. We wandered through Forever 21, Sur La Table, Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie and a few others. I'm obsessed with interior decorating and (the idea) of cooking utensils and being able to host dinner parties. I was having fun imagining how I would decorate my future home or the kinds of things I would make, but didn't actually buy anything. Unfortunately, they don't film Extra! at the shopping center anymore, so things were pretty quiet around there after that.

After a couple hours had passed, we took a short break at one of the small tables with chairs near the Farmer's Market section. If you ever want to just people watch and check out the interesting styles and people of LA, The Grove is one of the best places. We talked and caught up for a few minutes, then decided to have lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

We were actually able to get right in, with a table on the balcony. Even though it was overcast and a bit chilly, the patio was fairly warm. The three of us were a tad quiet, trying to connect to the wifi on our phones, talking about Lea and deciding what to order. It was quite the dilemma, since there are SO many choices to choose from. Once we were refueled with food in our systems, we were good to go again. And then we went back to our countdown, realizing we still had a good 3-4 hours. It doesn't seem like much time, but when you've already done everything, it's a bit more intimidating.

When we finished lunch, we took a couple pictures in front of the fountain, then decided to hang out in the lounge area by the restrooms. It sounds weird, but trust me, it's one of the swankiest areas. It's right near the parking garage and concierge. There are a couple of large lounges with couches, chairs, mirrors, decorative chandeliers and feel more like a living room than a waiting room. The last time we were there for the Lauren Graham book signing, we ended up in there to charge our phones and kill time, so that's exactly what we did again, and surprisingly, it turned out to actually be the highlight of my day. The three of us shared a couch, charging our phones and checking Facebook and it sounds incredibly boring. But, you add in people watching, laughing hysterically at the most nonsensical things and random selfies...and you have yourself the recipe for one fantastic afternoon. So many people were walking in, that it was hard to keep track or remember whether we had even seen them. It's like more were walking out than had originally walked in, and they always seemed to come out with a stroller or a guy from the back room! HAHAH. We also saw the dad from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." My mom spotted him walking into the restrooms and I thought she was crazy. But, she looked him up on IMDB and sure enough, it was him. We started quoting dialogue from the movie and he walked out soon after. We think he might have heard us saying "Opa!" and "Give me a word, any word, and I give you the root of that word..." So, there was that.

LOL…I don't even know. We were just having too much fun here. 

It's honestly a prime location to just scope everything out. I mean, everyone has to use the restroom, so you never know what you're going to see. We also started looking through Lea's book, which has a lot of fantastic and yummy looking recipes in it, good style tips and other nifty goodies in it. I have a thing for "Lifestyle" books, so I was SO excited when I heard that hers was going to be part how-to and part memoir. We all have our favorite things and stories to share, so it's interesting to read about others and the way they live.

Sitting for a couple hours and laughing about everything was making us even loopier than we already were, so we decided to go exploring. 

We love selfiesssss!

We really just ended up back at Barnes and Noble to take our picture in front of the big poster and to look for Monica Potter's issue of Good Housekeeping, because Amber was going to text a picture to her. We didn't find the magazine, but we did see the dad (Michael Constantine) from "Greek Wedding" again. We were kind of silly and followed him up the escalator just trying to get a picture of him. It was probably the most awkward and obvious thing in the world. But, I'm sure he got a kick out of it. My mom looked up his age and we realized today was his birthday, too, but we didn't see that until he was walking out of the store.

Where the signing would take place in just a couple hours!

Super excited with our books in hand. 

We scoped out the area for awhile, sat in the cafe - devising a plan of how to get a picture with her and the CD booklet signed (since they told us we could have it signed and then took it back today), and also how I was going to get the interviews I needed for the video project I'm working on in my convergence journalism class. Like I said, you can see a lot of interesting people around The Grove, and you can also overhear a lot of interesting things, much like the middle-aged guy asking whether the "girl signing tonight" is hot and single. So, um, yeah...That was kind of creepy. Then, we finally found where our letter was meeting on the second floor and waited. We were the first ones there and figured we would be waiting for hours, so we started getting cozy on a bench by the window.

But, we were not there for awhile. And for the first time, I'm actually kind of sad about that. I'll explain in just a bit.

We sat on a bench to kill time before it started, and we were in the section of pet books, so we were looking at some of the strange breeds of dogs and cats, mom and Amber were busy getting stuck on the sticky seat and again, we took selfies. 'Cause why the heck not?! As time passed, a few more people lined up behind us, but it wasn't anything crazy. We started getting ready...I was preparing a few questions, getting my camera ready and turning my book to the appropriate page that she would be signing later on.

Apparently the time was passing off quickly, because we hadn't even realized (or I hadn't) that it was seven and Lea was already there. It was only 10 minutes after seven, and they were motioning us up to the next level where the event was taking place. We hadn't seen her come in anywhere and didn't hear the cheers and hollers of the crowds when she walked in, like we usually do for the other celebrity signings. As we were waiting in line, I decided to talk to the girls behind me for my interview clips that I needed. I didn't ask anything too crazy...Just "Why did you come tonight?" and "Why is Lea an inspiration to you?" Pretty simple, and they helped me out a lot. Plus, it broke the ice for us and gave me a chance to get to know them a little better.

When we arrived at the next level, they took us straight to the line and it didn't stop moving. That's rare. As we made our way closer, one of the coordinator's started explaining that when we reached the certain point, we were going to have to put phones and cameras away, because there was a "security breach," implying that it was a safety related issue, I guess. Amber and I set a plan with my mom that she would stay back a little and take snapshots of us from afar. No biggie. As we started making our way through the line, we could see how fast it was moving, there were several security members on each side of her and the square area was kind of a madhouse. She was saying 'hi,' signing the book and people were walking off. Some were bawling because they'd just met their idols, but I'm pretty sure a few were left feeling like the experience was incomplete due to the fact that there was no time spent with her. We were almost to the giant table Lea was signing at, when one of the security guards said, "We're already at letter F?" I think someone commented on how fast it was moving or the security lady said, "Oh, that's all her." Hmm…

Meeting Lea. 

Finally, it was Amber's turn to meet Lea. And then, if you blinked, you missed everything. Suddenly, it was my turn. The .5 seconds I got with her was such a blur. I said 'hi' when I approached her and she said hi back (making eye contact with a smile spread across her face), signed the book, said "thank you so much," I basically just copied her response because the energy around her was intense and before I knew it, the book was back in my hand again. Like, how did that even happen? You didn't have time to actually take in the moment; see her face, ask a question, wrap your mind around the fact that it was even happening or to get sentimental that I was meeting THE Rachel Berry, you know?? The one that I loved rooting for or getting annoyed with every week since my junior or senior year of high school. And I'm sorry...Does it really take, like, five people to pass the book? One lady passed it to another lady, who passed it to Lea, where a guy grabs it and hands it back to the fan. I stood there for a second or possibly a millisecond, thinking surely she's going to ask something else, or I'll be able to ask about the CD cover, but they were already ushering us out. I thought the Chris Colfer signing was fast, but that felt like an eternity compared to this.

My autograph. 

Lea leaving! 

Amber and I walked away, got our wristbands cut...and then looked at each other, like what the heck?! We met up with my mom and griped for a few minutes. And some of the reactions were the same...Or they were just in awe that they had shared the same air as Miss Michele herself.

I love Lea. I'm a big fan of hers and I've supported her from the beginning of Glee. But, at the end of the day, she is an actress and it just makes you wonder at times. Obviously Rachel Berry was based around her and her life...So, where's the separation between the two? Meeting about 200 or so people (at least) in about 20 minutes is just a little too fast, in my opinion. Especially for all of the previous book signings I've attended. I do have to say, she seemed really nice, but I just feel like it comes down to timing. Maybe that's just me being too picky, I'm not sure.

I think she's an incredibly talented girl and she's a hard-worker, but it also comes down to the fans. People who appreciate your hard-work and talent, and continue to support your art, whether it's the music, TV shows or movies. They're the ones who ultimately keep you around, and if you don't really care, that's going to show. I understand when people have off days or you're out in town with family or friends, and celebrities are human too, so they can't always sign or take pictures with everyone. I can overlook some of those things, because as fans, we can be a bit demanding at times. However, scheduled times that have been planned for awhile are technically part of the job description. You're on a TV show, you travel to talk about it, you meet the fans. You make an album, you go on tour and talk to radio stations. You write a book…you meet the fans to talk to them about it. You can tell when it seems fake and phony and you're just doing it to make money, it's all about that publicity; making sure your name is out there to promote the latest product. A lot of people can. This is one of those cases, and it reminds me way too much of the night I met the Jonas Brothers. It comes down to money and we're too good to spend a lot of time with you, because we're too busy being rich and fabulous over here.

We talked with the same girls who were behind us in line and we all sort of had the same feeling. Like, what else was so important that you couldn't spend AT LEAST an hour in the bookstore or just take a little more time with each person? A few minutes passed, then we decided to hang out by the walkway where she passed to get to the table. Pretty soon, security was making us back up and we knew she'd be walking out. Sure enough, she walked past speedily, waved, said, "thank you so much for coming! I hope you enjoy my book," then walked to the back room, where I'm sure she was whisked away in her fancy black car just seconds later.

Mom, Amber and I left the store after that, reliving it all over again. It's like I wanted to keep waiting around, because there's no way that was all. We drove about two hours, spent money for parking and lunch, stayed there an entire day all for a lousy (not even) five seconds with her???? Ridiculous. I'm sorry.

Our upset faces…But, I really don't know what I was going for here...

I don't generally complain about things like this. I've been to enough events over the years and have met many different celebrities from scattered areas, and I try to always give them the benefit of the doubt. But, I have to say, I'm upset about this. I'm glad I went, as it was still a fun opportunity to meet new people and to meet one of my favorite Glee stars, but had I known what I know now, I wouldn't have gone. I would have rather gone to the American Idol finale on Tuesday night, since we had tickets for that and it came down to one or the other. But, you live and learn. 

Soon after the signing ended, Amber's mom picked her up and we headed home. I was keeping us entertained with the iTunes radio stations, switching between stations until I found the right songs. It was a good thing, too, because we ran into heavy traffic. We were waiting FOREVER on the freeway. We got home around midnight, and we were wiped out. We filled my dad in on our adventurous day, then headed to bed. I started reading Lea's book, and I have to say, I was hooked from the start.  

When my eyelids started growing heavier, I decided to call it a night. All in all, it was a good day and I'm glad I went. I just wish things would have turned out a bit differently. 

Quote of the Day:
"Do not impede the flow" - a line on the info about the signing. 

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

You can plan your life, make goals and hope for the best, but you never really can know the outcome until it happens.

My life has been crazy and exhausting lately. Although, come to think of it, that seems to be the theme of my entire college career. The quarter has really been wearing me out with constantly contacting sources, staying for the journalism club, working on the newspaper, and communicating with people what seems like 24/7. I've been hanging out with the newspaper staff a lot and dedicating everything else to school. It's like I've been stuck in this little bubble. There have been a lot of ups, but also many downs in the past couple of weeks…And most of the time, I'm just trying to keep my head above water.

Here's a quick recap: 

The dressing room at Kohl's …I don't know! 

I joined the Journalism Club, which is something I've been more involved with. We've had weekly meetings and had our first event at a celebration for our school. Athena and I went with our newspaper advisor to pick out decorations for the booth and decided to decorate a poster board to display some of our work for others to see what we do. There were booths with all different clubs throughout the school, and it gave us a chance to connect and network with one another. There was a talent show, food, and games. It was surprisingly a lot of fun! Plus, it gave us all a chance to get together and do something as a team outside of the classroom.

Our board!

All of that morning, I had felt kind of "ick," but just figured it was nerves or feeling anxious. I often feel like that when I wake up, so I didn't think much of it. After the school celebration, I was still feeling achy and sick, and thought I'd feel better after I ate lunch, but didn't. I gradually started feeling a little worse. I didn't want to go home, so my parents and I decided to take a little drive out to the canyon/lake. It's a gorgeous view and just enough to feel like you're getting out of town. We listened to the top hits on the radio, talking, laughing and stopping along the way to snap pictures or take in the scenery. It was incredible. 

Shortly after we got home, I was feeling awful. I decided to lay down on the couch for awhile and pretty soon was throwing up. I think I ended up catching a 24-hr flu bug and was so afraid that I would have to miss the Gavin DeGraw concert the next day. My parents got me some chicken noodle soup and Sprite, and I watched Modern Family, just hoping to feel better. Luckily, the next day I was able to go to church, editing at school and the concert I'd been counting down the days for. 

It was one of the greatest shows I've been to! Gavin sure knows how to work the crowd and all so effortlessly too, which you can read about here. He sang all of my favorite songs; Athena and I were up on our feet the entire time, rocking out and singing at the top of our lungs. I don't know if I've ever felt so carefree, just letting the music speak for itself. DeGraw also brought along Parachute and Rozzi Crane, who we got to meet in between sets, and they were both incredibly nice! After the show, we rushed up to the stage and were able to meet Gavin himself, give him a copy of our paper and I was able to thank him for doing the interview with me. He shook my hand and introduced himself and signed a copy for me, and thanked me several times with such a genuine spirit. 

Since then, the quarter has been busy with writing papers, talking to people, working with staff writers on the paper, and staying up way too late (because that's what college students are supposed to do).

Last weekend was Mother's Day, so my parents and I went with some family friends to Valencia.
Here's that entry:
 I had to wake up earlier for church this morning, as we went to the 8:30 a.m. service, but it was so worth it. I got up a few minutes later and had to hurry, but still made it in plenty of time, because I’m a PRO at that. Then, my mom opened her presents (a new set of dishes and trays that she wanted and a GIANT Taylor Swift card from me).

Giant card!

The service was about how to experience satisfaction in life, which is a lesson I can always be reminded of.

The keys are to:

• Recognize my real hunger (spiritual hunger for God), not whatever my flesh might be desiring at the moment.
• Stop eating spiritual junk food; Things that don’t satisfy me (Those certain thrills wear off)
• Start looking to Christ.

We don’t get satisfaction from pleasure, and I have learned that firsthand. I used to feel so miserable about my body image and so many other things. But, most of the time, it was because I was constantly ignoring the real reasons that were making me feel that way about myself. I was ignoring the guilt and shame; covering it with trips to LA, buying the latest trendy things, hanging out with people, and so on. Sure, I felt great for awhile, but it always came back. Those things that I had to deal with were always hanging over me.

When we aren’t stopping to look around at what we have, we miss out on the fact that we probably already have what we’re looking for. Our contentment comes from Christ, no matter what the situation is. It’s much deeper than just superficial items and the possessions that we own.

After service, we stayed around for awhile to talk with some of our friends at church, along with our family friends that we do just about everything with.

---

Paul and Tammy, our family friends, came back to our house. We waited for their daughter, Mandy, to meet us and then we split into two cars and headed to Valencia. In the meantime, my mom and I were able to take pictures, which was fun!

This will be the bragging on my mom portion of the post:

Happy Mother’s Day to my mama! She has put up with a lot from me over the years, and continues to today. I’m constantly dragging her to concerts and other events that she might not be too fond of, but she goes because she knows how much it means to me ( i.e – The Jonas Brothers, Parks and Rec Paley Fest or book signings), she has helped me with projects and homework more times than I can count, has listened to my rants and frustrations after school, was forced to watch “stupid” shows with me ( but she knows they always end up growing on her, because I have great taste lol), has dropped me off and picked me up when she would much rather be sleeping in or had other things to do, and has loved me unconditionally even when I’m hard to love. We argue like sisters, but I know that at the end of the day, no one else (along with my dad) is going to love me more. I thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful woman to help me grow into the person I am today… You’re my concert buddy and the Lorelai to my Rory; I don’t know what I’d do without you.

“And I didn’t know if you knew, so I’m taking this chance to say, that I had the best day with you today.” ~T. Swift

          

For those not familiar with the area, Valencia is home to Magic Mountain and isn’t too far away from LA. In fact, some celebs when they’re first starting out live in the area, because it’s probably much cheaper and is close enough to drive into town every day. Ashley Tisdale even went to high school there, if I’m not mistaken. It’s a beautiful area, with many shopping centers and restaurants, and isn’t as busy as Los Angeles.

Our trip started out very interesting, since we started our conversation about funeral arrangements and whether we’d like to be buried or cremated, and that led to talking about my grandparents’ funerals. It felt a little morbid to be talking about that on such an uplifting holiday! LOL. Then, we eased into dating and feeling butterflies when you start seeing someone and finally, my mom’s birthday party that we’re planning. We were all over the place today!

Denim shirt, black jeans and boots. You can’t go wrong.

We had lunch at one of our favorite places, Rattler’s Bar B Que. It was supposed to be a long wait, but we hadn’t even been there but 15 minutes when they called our name.

We sat down and everyone was acting silly and enjoying themselves. Mandy ordered an appetizer tray with a TON of food on it, and you would have thought we hadn’t eaten in weeks. There were potatoes, onion rings, buffalo wings and more. It was so good!

My mom and I shared tri-tip, which also came with two sides. We had mashed potatoes and the peanut coleslaw! YUM! And we all had multiple garlic rolls. Seriously, though, you can’t have just one. It’s impossible. We were all so full when we finished.

 

Woo!

After lunch, we went out in the parking lot and there was a Red Bull car driving around. Paul waved to it and they ended up stopping right in front of us, giving us all a free drink. I’ve like never had a full energy drink in my life, so I had one. It was blueberry flavored and pretty tasty, but I don’t know that it actually did anything to give me energy. It was only 1 p.m. or so when we finished up and weren’t in a rush to get back, so we decided to hit the mall.

It’s a beautiful outdoor shopping center with a variety of stores from Macy’s and Charming Charlies to Free People and Sephora. There’s even an outdoor pond with Koi fish and turtles that kept everyone entertained. We were there for about an hour or so, wandering around; going in if something caught our eye. It was cool when we got into town and by the time we left, it was pretty warm. Can’t get over how perfect the weather was.

Isn’t it perfect??

I ended up getting a T-shirt from Buckle that said, “Just a small town girl…” on it.

1) “Don’t Stop Believin’” has always been one of my very favorite songs.

2) Because Glee. Duh.

3) It is THE perfect thing to wear to the Lea Michele signing in just a couple weeks, which is looking more like a possibility. AHHHHHHH!

Sidenote: I was digging through my purse, trying to put something away and I found 5 dollars!!!! One of the greatest moments ever.

My dad and I :)

So totally random! But, I didn’t mind at all.

A little after three, we decided to head back home. Mandy and I watched some video of a guy proposing to his girlfriend going to EXTENSIVE lengths and made it feel like a movie. He started out in a radio station, sang along with Boyz II Men and *NSYNC, then had a flashmob which turned into another story. Finally, it ended with the actual proposal, where he brought the family in. Mandy was hoping it would make me cry, but it didn’t. HA! I try not to cry in front of people if I can control it.

Mandy and I on our way back to the car!

By the time we got home, I was starting to lose energy. We said goodbye to our friends and just hung out at home for the remainder of the afternoon. I started working on a story I’ve been brainstorming over the weekend and glanced over the stories for the newspaper that were turned in.

For funsies later on, my parents and I took a drive out to the airport to check into something, but didn’t really find any answers. We weren’t there very long, in a nutshell. After that, we had dinner at Fabulous Burger, which pretty much lived up to its title. I had a cheeseburger and a milkshake. SO GOOD! And I felt so sick and full after, so you know it was worth every bite. I also couldn’t help but think that I need to cut back on the junk food this week or go bike riding more.

Then, I needed lunch for tomorrow, so we stopped at WinCo and ended up doing the grocery shopping. It actually wasn’t bad and I don’t think I complained once! WOO! I completed the evening by watching the “Once Upon A Time” finale. HOLY CRAP! HOW AM I GOING TO WAIT UNTIL THE FALL NOW?! Summer hiatus is the absolute worst.

Now, I’m sitting on my bed, watching Glee with wet hair (still needing to brush my teeth and get ready for bed) and dreading school tomorrow. Also, I feel so very unprepared and feel like I have been slacking on so many things that I need to be doing. I needed to print out my stories to edit for the paper and needed to come up with a better outline for my pitch in public affairs reporting and I need to read the Catcher in the Rye. UGH! How many weeks until summer break again?? TOO MANY.

Our school newspaper set up a table during lunch the other day to pass out papers and take story ideas. It was SO hot out, but we all had a great time. We've been doing much better with our team bonding and getting the word out around campus about what we do. It was a great way to break out of my shell and to meet new people and hear what they have to say. 

My mom and I have also been planning her 50th birthday party! Ah! It's so exciting being able to pick out decorations, the food, what we're going to do, who's going to come and all of the other aspects of throwing a get together. We decided to go to Party City to check out a few things, just to get some ideas and I think it's all really starting to come together. 

When we let go of what we want, God always shows up with something better
than we could  have ever imagined.

Aside from that, the last week was nothing like I expected. So many upcoming projects and making sure I meet deadlines that had me stressed out, then an unforeseen event that really shook my family up. It has had me a little paranoid and more fearful over the past few days (especially with sharing so much information or how much is too much online) but I'm working through it. The Lord never gives us anything we can't handle, and I truly believe it's the same with this. He has a plan in everything we experience, and I know He does now. I don't necessarily understand WHY it happened or how it happened the way it did, but the what-ifs and analyzing can kill a person and I just don't know if it's worth it anymore. Sometimes you really do just have to let things go.

Saturday, I spent almost the entire day with my best friend, Marissa. She came over to my house and we caught up for awhile, then had lunch at Wingstop and browsed the aisles at Book Hounds for a couple hours. We both found a stack of books and freaked out when we'd find something really cool. I seriously wanted to squeal or cry when I found the Rob Lowe autobiography, because I have been looking for that every time I go out there. AH! SO EXCITED!
We came back to my house, watched the Dodger game and whatever else was on TV after that, ate pizza and geeked out over our books some more.

Can't wait to read this! 

Sunday, I went to church with my parents and had lunch with them. A little later on, they dropped me off at school so I could edit at the newspaper, I came home to work on an assignment, then we went over to some family friends' house. We ate dinner, talked about my mom's birthday, and watched the Billboard Awards. It was such a great time to get my mind off of everything going on. Being in the company of people I love is the most important thing to me right now. 

Right now, there are two full weeks left of school and finals week, so I'm just trying to keep going. I just have to get everything turned in and finish strong, which shouldn't be too bad. In the meantime, there will be a lot of socializing and a few fun things in between. I'm learning to balance school and having a life much better. I guess it just takes some time to get to that point. You can't rush a good thing.

I guess the hardest part is that not only am I going to school, but it's time to get really serious about things for the future. I mean, sure, that's what I thought I'd been doing this entire time. But, I often look around at everyone else and think 'Do I really have the experience that they do?' So, right now, I'm just trying to build my resume as much as possible and to gain experience. Journalism is all about DOING. If you don't actually DO anything, how are future bosses going to know what you're capable of? Just a thought.

I better get to bed. SUPER FUN day planned for tomorrow. I CAN'T WAIT!

Book signing for "Brunette Ambition!" EEEEK!

That's all for now,
Shelby :)