The other day I helped clean out one of our hall closets and found some of my old things. In honor of the New Year, I decided to post some of them as part of a Throwback Tuesday post here.
one. an old picture of my friend Felicia and I next to my Kilgore College graduation program.
two. some photos from my session with Kendra Michelle Photography. Love.
three. an old journal from my junior year of high school.
four. my senior panoramic pictures. complete with a Death Cab shirt.
Since I'm leaving for Denton tomorrow, I'm taking it easy tonight. Which means, if you need me, I'll be chillin' at home arranging my old notes from high school.
Yesterday was Christmas, and as I'm sure Facebook will tell you, it snowed in the DFW area and the East Texas area. Here are a few pictures from yesterday...
Aaaaand not to mention this gem Ethan sent me from his snow excursion in Fort Worth...
Hope you + your family had a good Christmas/Holidays.
Merry Christmas Eve, folks! As part of the holidays, I've decided to list a few non-traditional Christmas songs I like (or would definitely like to listen to!).
1.) John Lennon "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"
I love John Lennon. One of my favorites of his, although his solo career got a bit weird sometimes.
2.) Jimi Hendriz-"Little Drummer Boy"
I think I would like the song "Drummer Boy" no matter what version it was.
3.) Wham!-"Last Christmas"
We've played this non-stop at work. I absolutely love this song.
4.) Trans-Siberian Orchestra-"Wizards in Winter"
Ethan and I saw them live this past Spring Break in Oklahoma. LOVE.
5.) Mariah Carey-"All I Want for Christmas"
Everyone knows this song. Everyone. You can't have Christmas without it. Confession: Ethan once told me that he thought about me when this song played last year (back when we first started dating) and it has made me tear up hearing it ever since.
happy holdiays+merry christmas everyone! Remember, it's always better to GIVE than to RECIEVE.
Merry Christmas Eve Eve folks! Since I've been at home, I haven't had many updates to share. I'm sure I will after the upcoming holidays. I wanted to take this "down time" to reflect on the things that have happened to me this semester, and year. Today I wanted to share my semester, in music! These are the songs that helped me get through some tough times this semester, and just stood out to me. Some of these are my most-played songs on Spotify.
1.) Deftones-"Change (In the House of Flies)"
I have had a slight obsession with this song since my days at Kimball High School. I enjoy walking to it, and love the overall dark feeling of the song. It was definitely in heavy rotation this past semester.
2.) Korn-"Make Me Bad"
Everyone has a past. So do I. My high-school ex and I used to jam this on the weekends while driving around Oak Cliff in his beat up car. Good times, and this song was often played this semester on bad days. Break out the Tripp pants for this one.
3.) Crowded House-"Don't Dream It's Over"
Totally 80's. Fell in love with this song after hearing it all day at work, and hearing it in the "Perks of Being a Wallflower" soundtrack sealed the deal. I played this song on repeat some nights.
4.) Weezer-"Say it Ain't So"
This. Song. There were days when I was just fed up with life, and I just couldn't understand ANYTHING that was going on. Not only did this song effectively capture the attitude of this semester, it's just a pretty cool song.
5.) Florence + The Machine-"You've Got The Love"
I love Ethan. This song is for him.:)
6.) Metallica-"King Nothing"
Ethan and I are Metallica fans. We love this song. It got heavy play on Spotify and GH (Guitar Hero) this semester, and its' popularity with us will no doubt continue into next semester.
7.) Talking Heads-"Psycho Killer"
One girl+one book about Columbine+a few sleepless nights+this song=Beginning of this semester.
8.) Soundgarden-"Black Rain"
This song was, oddly enough, the soundtrack for mine and Ethan's one-year anniversary. The night before had been a rough one, and the day of our anniversary neither of us was in a very good mood. I played this on repeat on the way to all of my classes.
9.) Smashing Pumpkins-"Today"
We can never escape this song in Rock Band 2. I've loved it for awhile, but it fit some days of this semester.
10.) Blue Oyster Cult-"Burnin' For You"
I absolutely love this song. It's a fun song, and my semester needed that fun.
This semester has been a very rough one for me, emotionally. Now that it's over, I've had a bit of reflection time and although I technically should be packing and cleaning for my trip tomorrow (shh...don't tell Ethan!) I felt like blogging about this semester and sharing a few pictures I didn't get a chance to share these past few months.
This season was truly a test in our lives. There were points where the both of us were tired, frustrated, and hated each other. I went home this semester with one of the most severe panic attacks I have ever had. I struggled with depression, and anxiety. I didn't get out of the house, I quit hanging out with other people and I lost my sense of who I was. But recent events have made things waaay easier for the both of us. I'm working on managing my anxiety, and Ethan is currently doing stretches for his upcoming 21st birthday. I'm excited for the holidays, and looking forward to whatever 2013 has in store for me!
I want to take a minute to thank everyone who has been there for me this semester. My friends, coworkers, and people on Facebook who have given me encouragement over these last few months. To my family, who has kept me motivated and taken care of me lately, I have no words to express my gratitude. And to my boyfriend, Ethan, I love you. I cannot wait to start 2013 and my last Spring at UNT together! :)
As you can (probably) see, the holiday spirit has been running rampant around here lately. On Wednesday, Ethan got to play Santa at work (my idea!) and I got to be his "helper elf" as he put it.;) Then this weekend we went out to the Christmas tree farm with his family and they picked out a Christmas tree, something completely foreign to me because I consider going to get a tree going to Wal-Mart and grabbing a box. Sunday night he took me to Texas Motor Speedway to see the light show and I felt like I was about six.:) I loved it. I should probably be asleep now, because I have to go to the UNT Food Department Christmas party this afternoon, but I'm blogging and perming my hair.:)
footnote: My heart goes out to the families of the victims of the shooting Friday. I have been in constant prayer since the news broke and I am a bit anxious about traveling on Tuesday back to East Texas.
(Denton after Snowmeggedon 2011...this picture is stinkin' old...)
As many of you who follow me on Facebook probably know, I've had a rough couple of weeks. About two weeks ago, I had another major anxiety attack and had to head back home for a few days. As of today, I have officially been in action again for a week! I've had a long semester, emotionally. I just haven't felt right for a majority of this semester for various reasons. I've had to adjust to my apartment, my roommates, and a new schedule. Ethan and I have gone through many changes, with having to adjust to working together. I haven't gotten out of the house like I used to, and I haven't been able to do improv since last year.
This afternoon I had to go pick our anniversary photos (more on that later!) and I had the chance to walk through Downtown Denton. As I walked through the city, I felt like one of those refugees that had hid inside from the storm for so long that they'd forgotten what sunshine felt like. It was a beautiful, sunny, and cool afternoon. I walked through and noticed many places in Denton had closed--Love Shack (which sucked anyway) and another restaurant had closed signs up. I felt horribly out of the loop. There was a point when I first moved here that I knew about MOST everything about Denton. Now two major businesses had closed and I had no clue. I felt shocked. And then I realized: I had been plotting trying to leave Denton for some time. The love for the place I had left my family behind for was totally gone. The school I'd decided to call home back in 2011 was now a jail cell. But as I realized while I was walking through Denton, it wasn't the city, or my school I hated. It was the rut I was stuck in. I hated not getting out of the house, and I hated feeling distant from the people who welcomed me to Denton in the first place. I miss the weekends I took time for myself and went to shows. I miss the days when my life was more than work, school, home.
I miss taking care of myself.
This morning I woke up and the lyrics from the Incubus song "Dig" were stuck in my head.
"Remind me that we'll always have each other, when everything else is gone..."
Somehow the lyrics ring true to me. They have been especially meaningful to me today. Not necessarily because I have Ethan, or anyone or anything else in my life. But because of who it was before I had the job, the boyfriend, or the nice apartment. Back when I was happy going to Sack 'N Save across from the dollar store and buying whatever I could and going home to my matchbox dorm in Legends Hall. Just me and Jesus.
If you need me, I'll be having my "ME"-time in my bubble bath. :)
Yesterday Ethan and I had our anniversary weekend. (Our anniversary is tomorrow!) After what was probably the roughest week ever, our weekend was amazing. (Even though Ethan got the sniffles and I made him go to the store and grab some cold medication.) We went out to Putt-Putt, walked around the mall in Fort Worth, and he took me to downtown Fort Worth on Sundance Square to Ferre, a fancy Tuscan restaurant. Seriously so fancy that there were no soft drink options, so we drank water our entire meal. But it was DELISH. Our waiter was amazing.
These last few weeks have been a bit trying for me (and plenty busy!) with work, midterms, and getting ready for our anniversary!:) (Yay!) But I had waaaay too many pictures in my iPod, so I had to share these pictures from a couple weeks ago from when Ethan and I went to the fair...
