Visit to Colorado Springs

My first trip to Colorado Springs of 2013 was a success! There was only two weeks in between this visit and when he left after Christmas break, but because of the crazy semester and summer we will have, we figured it was definitely worth it. My flight wasn't until Saturday morning, so I was able to spend Friday evening with my family. My parents and I went to my brother Jonathan's varsity soccer game, which was AWESOME! He scored a goal, which was his first on the varsity team (he's only a sophomore in high school).

Number 63 being a badass.

Then we ordered Chinese and had a nice relaxing night together, which of course included the famous fire night. (Which is really only famous with our family but that counts!)

So onto the trip to Colorado. My flight was at 7:30 out of the Phoenix-Mesa airport, which meant I had to be up at 5am! I am definitely not a fan of waking up that early, but I am a fan of seeing Dillon, so I won't complain too much. My flight was unfortunately delayed an hour which caused me to have to rush to my connecting flight (which I THANKFULLY made). The lady sitting next to me had the most adorable puppy with her, so I didn't mind that too much. :)

Dillon was able to pick me up from the airport, and the first hug and kiss was perfect (even though I was extremely tired). The first hug/kiss after being away, no matter how long, is always the sweetest. We then drove to my cousin's house and watched the UA vs. ASU game (GO WILDCATS!). Most of our time was just spent lounging around watching Community together. We usually watch Community together while Skyping, so it is always really nice to be able to watch it while actually physically together. We also went and saw the movie Mama. When we first started dating, watching scary movies was kind of "our thing." Since then I have become an extreme baby, but it was actually nice to watch a scary movie with him. On Sunday we randomly decided to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which was so much fun! We took my three young cousins, and we all had a blast.

Uh...YES! That is a baby giraffe being born! Check out the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo website for ADORABLE pictures of this giraffe. :D 

And the most adorable baby gorilla. Dillon says I should work at the zoo while I'm up in Colorado after I graduate. Working with all the baby animals?? YES PLEASE!

My flight didn't leave out of Colorado Springs until 5pm on Monday, so we got to have a nice lunch together before I left. We just went to Chick fil A (because I had a gift card I could use) but it was really nice to sit down and eat together and talk. Right after he was done eating, he wanted to get up and leave, but I made him sit down and just talk with me for a while. He seemed confused (he doesn't understand how I can go somewhere with my friends and end up staying there for hours just talking), but it ended up being really nice. 

Saying goodbye at the airport was awful (as it always is), especially because we are not sure when we will see each other next. There were tears, and Dillon leaving and coming back like three times, but I made it through security. I briefly met another USAFA girlfriend, whose boyfriend is also on the baseball team, which was nice. This time, instead of being worried of missing my connecting flight, I had a THREE HOUR layover in the Denver airport. I was definitely not a fan of this, especially because it was three more hours I was in Colorado but not able to see Dillon.

The goodbyes are always hard, but I am always sweetly told by my dad that it just means I'm one day closer to seeing him again. I am so excited to be in Colorado a year from now, and for our goodbyes to only be for a few days at a time. Until then, I am trying to fully appreciate and love even these short visits.

Memories

This year, after seeing a ton of posts about it on Pinterest, I decided to keep a memory jar. I find that it is only helpful to look at the past when you are looking at all the good things that have happened. I think we can all learn and grow from our past, whether it is the good or bad, but there is no need to dwell on the pain of the past. So to help me focus on the good things in life, I created a memory jar! It was super easy and really cheap, as the only thing I had to buy was the jar.

My only real criteria was to buy one that had a lid, and also had a flat outside surface that I could decorate. I went to Ross because I figured I could buy a fairly cheap jar, and I hit the jar jackpot! There were so many that it took me probably 20 minutes to finally decide on one!

I had planned on painting the letters on with stencils, but that proved to be a little more difficult than I was expecting. So I just free-handed "Memories" towards the bottom of the jar and "2013" on the lid. I kept it simple by just using black paint. I decided to use bright colored sticky notes to write my memories on, which will give the jar the pop of color that isn't directly on the jar itself.

So far I think I have five memories! I did put a few memories from 2012, like going on the cruise with Dillon and his family, in there. But it was towards the end of 2012 so I figured it was okay. :) I'm going to write down small things as well as the big important ones. For example, I wrote a "memory note" on my first day of my Senior year of college as a small one. A HUGE one was celebrating my three year anniversary with Dillon. I'm really excited to fill it up and to read about all the good memories of this year towards the end of 2013. I am hoping that no matter where I am in life at that time, I can look back on these memories and smile.

Three Years

Yesterday was Dillon and my three year anniversary, and even though we had to spend it apart, it was a wonderful day. When I look back on these past three years the most dominant thing I can think of is growth. How we have grown as individuals and as a couple. Dillon was exactly the person I needed in my life at the time we started dating, I just didn't realize it at the time. Do we ever understanding the timing as it happens, though? Definitely not. I'm just in awe of the love that has grown between us. I don't think either of us were looking for something serious at the time, but it just happened that way. After a short three months, I knew that I loved him. We were young and naive, and even a little immature, but somehow we fell in love. We had only been dating seven months before I had to move away for college. It seems crazy to me that out of the three years we have been together, only seven months of that have been spent physically together. And even though I wish things were not this way, it has made me realize what it truly means to love someone. To not be able to physically feel someone's love, in the form of kisses, hugs, and hand holding, is a hard thing. As humans, we crave physical interaction. But our love has become so much deeper than the physical. We are so emotionally connected, and it has led me to believe that we can spend the rest of our lives together.

This post has become so much more emotional and deep than I intended it to be. I'll leave it off on a lighter note. Dillon bought me these gorgeous pearl earrings to match my pearl necklace, and I can't wait to wear them out on a date next weekend (YAY I'm going to Colorado!). I bought him a really  nice something that I don't want to give away quite yet just in case he reads this. :) And as an extra surprise, he sent me Edible Arrangements yesterday. Chocolate covered strawberries, bananas, and apples, along with three balloons. And to end our night we were able to have a really nice skype date, which doesn't happen very often due to our conflicting and busy schedules. I have fallen so deeply in love with this man, and I'm excited for the many years to come. :)

*I'll update with pictures of everything later, so check back if you'd like a look-see!

Sevenly: Doin' Good

I made my first purchase of 2013 today and I could not be happier about it! Last semester all I did was save save save. I had to save up for the cruise I went on, and I hardly ever ate out, only bought a couple new outfits at the very beginning of the semester, I don't remember ever going to the movies, avoided hanging out with friends because that would mainly consist of spending money, and didn't drive home very much to avoid paying for gas. I still need to focus on saving money this semester, just because that's a good habit, but I'm not going to be as crazy about it.
So this is the shirt I bought:

Super cute, and an extremely good cause. By purchasing this shirt, I donated $14 to Together We Rise, a nonprofit organization "dedicated to transforming the way youth navigate through the Foster Care system in America." My fourteen dollars provides two foster children with "a duffel bag filled with items such as a towel, blanket, Pillow Pet, hygiene kit, Kleenex, toys, crayons and coloring book, and more." WOW! Giving is truly a blessing, and I will also receive this shirt which I can wear and possibly get questions about it so I can share this cause with others.

If you are at all interested, go to sevenly.com and look at the other items they have for purchase. Also read up on Sevenly's mission and team. This organization donates to a different cause every week by selling clothing with a design that represents the cause. I am blown away by Sevenly and what they are doing. I would be so happy to be a part of an organization such as this. So check it out and if you can't purchase a shirt, share it with your friends! If it's just the design you don't like, or if the cause doesn't speak to you, then check back next week for one that will!

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'Ello Poppet!

Welcome to my blog. And welcome to me. This will be just a quick about me. I find myself a very simple girl which can be both a blessing a curse. I am in love with my best friend who has been in my life for around three years now. We are unfortunately a long distance relationship, although I can't say it is completely unfortunate because it has strengthened our relationship greatly. I go to the University of Arizona and am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Occupational Therapy. I'm still not absolutely positive what I want to do as a career, but I know that I'll find something that I love. I'm trying to love life more and be happier. I love the quote by Jerri Spinelli in Love, Stargirl:

Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. Inhabit your moments. Don’t rent them out to tomorrow. Do you know what you’re doing when you spend a moment wondering how things are going to turn out...You’re cheating yourself out of today. Today is calling to you, trying to get your attention, but you’re stuck on tomorrow, and today trickles away like water down a drain. You wake up the next morning and that today you wasted is gone forever. It’s now yesterday. Some of those moments may have had wonderful things in store for you , but now you’ll never know.”

I'm trying to live my life like that. To enjoy the small things in life and not worry about what has happened in the past that I can't change, and to not worry about what will happen in the future, because it is always changing. Here is to the new year, and hopefully a happier life.


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