3 x 4

1. woke up this morning in a comfortable bed (not on the floor like yesterday morning) and had pancakes courtesy of my sister for breakfast. 
2. hung out, went to see eat, pray, love and got ready for to picnic/band party tonight. 
3. my uncle's band played and i got to hang out with the family. it was nice out and really fun!

the movie interpretation of eat, pray, love was pretty good. some parts i could have done without out, but they were needed for background if you'd never read the book. but come to think of it, most people in the theater would have seen the book anyway. julia roberts was great, of course, and so was richard jenkins. the man who played the medicine man ketut was so cute! i liked hearing all the advice again that he gave liz again, though. it's kind of crazy that her life was written up into an international bestseller and is now a hit movie. that must be the weirdest feeling! one of the themes of the book is balance. she spends equal time in each of the three places and learns important lessons about balance in life in each place. italy is all about savoring life and "dolce far niete"--the sweetness of nothing. india is about determination and focus and forgiveness. bali is about love and completeness and balance and fear. it all wraps up into a wonderful, balanced life for liz gilbert. the trick is taking those principles and applying them to your own life. the book has gained a sort of cult following, you know, people doing the same thing she did with one year of life. and however tempting, it's not always practical or necessary for everyone. i believe there are many ways to develop into who one wants to be while simply living one's normal life. some changes may be necessary, but embracing change is crucial to sustaining life. i know, i know. who am i?! i hate change. but maybe i just need to learn to roll with it?

friday the 13th...again

1. i'm so very tired right now. had a late night and a busy day.
2. ziplining was so much fun! i was scared at first but it got easier after the first few zips. i had great friends for my "zipping" guides. 
3. spent my afternoon and evening with my sister! had some chill time and then dinner and trivia night at the local bar. we did okay...

every now and then i view this blog as just a ritual. it becomes something that i hate to check off my list every day (night). at this point, all i can think is "the faster you finish blogging, the sooner you can get to sleep." but it's so hard to stay focused on blogging when all i can think about is falling asleep and staying that way for a long time. so on that note, i'm finished for now.

animal house? yes.

1. finished up the yaya sleepover with breakfast and relaxation. 
2. ran some errands in town and got some more apartment stuff!
3. headed out to spend the night with my friends and had a toga party and plan to zipline in the morning!

i've never been ziplining before but i'm pretty excited! i've heard it's fun but it also looks kind of scary. i'm not afraid of heights or anything but i will be attempting for my first time on friday the 13th! eeek! i'm sure (i'm hoping) that all will go well! 

yaya4eva

1. had breakfast with friends and then another appointment. 
2. headed to my aunt's to meet my sister, mom, and grandmother for a sleepover! 
3. went out to a lovely lunch, hung out, made pizzas, watched top chef, ate ice cream, all this fun and delicious stuff! 

i am so much happier around my family. the yayas are just always having fun and having good conversations and having an overall great time! i have fun but sometimes i miss being around my immediate family. my dad is still working so i don't see him as much. my mom is retired though so i get to see her. but soon, both will be retired and having a grand ole' time and i'll be able to hang out with both parents and my whole family too.

"are we breaking up? are you breaking up? is there trouble on the line?"

1. slept pretty late considering that my room gets SO light in the mornings. had a funny dream about jersey shore and a wedding, weird, but funny. 
2. had a lunch with my friend and said goodbye until november! dentist appointment went surprisingly painless and then a haircut. 
3. home for a yummy grilled fish dinner. started a new book and watched chopped! love food network in hi def. 

breakin' up is one of my favorite songs by rilo kiley. i love that it's upbeat and energizing and witty. and it's about breaking up with a guy! typically a depressing topic among music artists, but this song is light and funny, though still somewhat dark. perhaps i should say now that i am not breaking up with anyone or anything like that, i just have wanted to talk about this subject for awhile and tonight struck me as appropriate. breakups are often really difficult. sometimes, they are easier than others because it just falls into your lap that it's the right time for something to end. in my experience personally and from hearing loads of break up stories in my 20 years on this earth, break ups are rarely truly mutual. that is typically a cop out for one person to get what they want while manipulating the other person to think that they want to break up too. not very nice, but common. another common mistake in the break up world is not being honest with yourself or the other person. if you aren't clear with yourself about what you want and need, there is no way you are going to be able to adequately communicate it to another person. also, lying to yourself will ultimately just be a major pain in the ass (for you and everyone involved). another piece of advice, don't go yapping to everyone and their brother about the break up. keep it how the relationship was (or should have been)...i like to think of it as similar to a pane of foggy glass. people can still discern what is happening on the other side, but to truly know what is going on in depth, you have to be on the other side of the glass. keep others on the foggy side of your love life. unless, of course, there is some danger or chance of harm or anything serious like that present in the relationship. i also suggest taking time to be single. yeah yeah, sex and the city girls complain all the time about how being single is tiring and stressful and it's impossible to find a good man. but i think people forget to figure out who they are in between relationships and discern what they learned/how they changed/etc. post-relationship. single time is very, very important--it's like recovery after a surgery. recovery is essential in order to be 100% out in the real world after any sort of surgery. my final piece of advice is to not be afraid. don't be afraid of loneliness or emotional pain. don't be afraid of hurting someone else in your quest for happiness (within reason, of course). don't be afraid of feeling relieved or better about yourself post-breakup. don't be afraid to trust again or to like someone again (those ones are big). and don't be afraid of being yourself and being honest with and true to yourself. someone will eventually come around and appreciate you enough to spend his/her life with you (and if someone doesn't come around...would it be all that disastrous?).

shoulda coulda woulda

1. it's that time of the day again. 
2. woke up kinda early and hung out around the house finishing a book and watching television. 
3. went out to dinner and to see the other guys with my boyfriend. the movie was pretty funny (slow in some parts) and dinner was yummy but...

i should have gotten the fettuccine.

222

1. fell asleep last night to the sound of tree frogs and cicadas--i love my home! 
2. went to church today and saw everyone. and didn't stop at the grocery on the way home, wahoo!
3. had my belated birthday dinner with family and boyfriends! i had a wonderful meal, i got great presents, and i had a delicious ice cream cake.

i'm very tired and want to go to bed but i need to say thank you to everyone for my presents and such a wonderful birthday! thank you notes get written tomorrow and i hopefully make plans to see people from home during the short time that i'm here. i'm so happy to be home but also very excited to get back to school! i know, i know, another slack post. oh well...i've had a lot of food today and i'm still tired from yesterday. plus, these frogs and bugs put me to sleep quickly.

bucket list item: take a break next new year's and make a simpler resolution!