Ten Things That Make Me Happy

Why hello there my wonderful readers! So I have not been a good blogger lately. And I feel like I say that in almost every post. But really...I was so excited for May blogging. I made a list of a bunch of different topics I could write about and was determined to write more often. And yet here I am, at the very end of May, and only writing my eleventh post of the month. But that makes it one more post than I did in April so...I'm getting better at least!

Now that I'm finally writing a post I feel like I have so much to say, but I'll stick to what I already decided to write about - 10 things that make me really happy!

1. Dillon

This picture is from the summer of 2011, right before Dillon left for basic training. It is also the first picture I sent to him while he was there, and he still has it hanging up on his desk. :) He is my best friend and I have been so lucky to be with him these past three years. Right now we're preparing for him to travel to Germany for three weeks, and he will be nine hours ahead of me. I'm really excited for him, but it will be hard to not be able to talk to him very much.

2. Family

I used to think it was cool when I wouldn't go home for a few weekends in college because hey, I'm in college now and I'm too cool to see my family. But honestly, the weekends I go home are my absolute favorite. My siblings are amazing - this is a picture we took when we were all playing Slender together. I don't think my parents appreciated the screams so late at night, but I know they love it when we're all hanging out together!

3. Reading

I am always happy when I have a good book to read. Currently I am reading TFIOS by John Green, and it is actually my goal to read all of his books by the end of this year! My favorite genre however, is dystopian future type books such as The Hunger Games. My favorites series in this genre is the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield. If you have not read these books, you are seriously missing out!

4. My New Job

I seriously can't get enough of how much I love my new job. I have already told you a little bit about it in this post but now that I have actually started, I am loving it even more. It never feels like work and I am doing something that is truly rewarding. I could honestly see myself making a career out of this. Not necessarily being an advocate at camp, but working with children with special needs in general. 

5. Best Friends

I think that true best friends are hard to come by. Even when you are surrounded by friends, there is always that one person who you trust more and relate to more. I have already talked about my best friend Jamie (left) in this post but it never hurts to say again how much I love this girl. And that girl on the right is the lovely Becca. I have talked about her a few times before as well, but I can't emphasize enough how much she means to me. We have been best friends since Freshman year of college and I don't know how I would have gotten through it without her. And now we are soon to be roomies! I can't wait. :)

6. Scrapbooking

I wish I had the time and money to scrapbook more often. I feel like it is such a mom thing, but I absolutely love it. I love printing out pictures and designing each new page. My senior project in high school was actually to make a scrapbook, and it was the best assignment! Mostly it was a lot of essays and poems, but it was still a lot of fun to put it all together. Maybe I'll even share some of the poems sometime!

7. Food

Did she really spend the time to make a collage of her favorite foods? Why yes, yes I did. I feel like a lot of girls say this because we think that guys like girls who aren't afraid to eat a lot. Or am I the only one who feels this way? Possibly. But this is what I do know; when I was having a rough day at school, I would go and get myself some Chick-fil-A fries to make myself feel better. And Papa Johns pizza? Yes, I will say that it's a vegetable if it means I can eat it all the time without feeling guilty. And oh my goodness, these sweet potato chips are my new favorite. They are so incredibly delicious and the great part is that they are in the healthy section at my local grocery store. So no, I don't feel bad about eating a whole bag in one day.

8. The University of Arizona

I am so proud to call myself a Wildcat. School will always be school, filled with homework you don't want to do, tests you don't want to study for, and classes you don't want to take. Sometimes though, I look up as I walk around campus and I feel a sense of calm wash over me. That sounds totally lame, but really, look at that campus. It is so gorgeous and it makes me happy that I have the opportunity to go to college and study something I love.

9. A Good TV Show

This is the lazy part of me coming out, but I love being able to sit in bed and watch TV. And yes, sometimes it is the only thing I do all day, and I almost never regret it. Right now White Collar has me hooked, but some of my favorites are Doctor Who (hello nerd), New Girl, Pretty Little Liars, Arrested Development (the newest season was too short!), How I Met Your Mother, and One Tree Hill. Don't be fooled, that is a very very very very small list of TV shows I love. 

10. The Fact That My Birthday is on Sunday

And do you know what that means?? It means I turn 21!!! Yes, that was necessary, thank you very much. I know that when Sunday comes and goes, I really won't feel any older. But at least I can drink away my problems! Joking, joking. Sort of. But really, I think everyone can understand that turning 21 is a big deal, and extremely exciting! Don't feel obligated to tell me happy birthday or anything, but just so you know, it's SUNDAY! And you know, just in case, here are my Instagram and Twitter, just for no reason. ;)

I hope you have all had a lovely week! I apologize for missing my weekly That Time I post, but you can still check out Alex's post about her adorable puppy, and Hayley's post about her engagement story!

Summer Favorites - A Job!

Today I am linking up with Chelsea over at The Girl Who Loved to Write!

Her link-up is summer favorites, which she gave the idea of recipes, party ideas, DIYs, etc.

So I know what you're thinking, Why the heck would she put a job as a summer favorite??

I'll keep this short because I don't have pictures and I know some people just click away when it's all a bunch of words.

(No hard feelings, I do it too when I'm not in the mood to read a lot.)

Although summer is usually thought of as a time to relax, take vacations, and even sit on the couch all day, that is not what my summer is looking like.

This summer I got hired to work at the Jewish Community Center in my college town.

They hold summer camps for pretty much all ages and they do everything from a regular day camp, to sports camp, to leadership camps.

I will be working in the day camp with ages Kindergarten through 2nd grade, but specifically I will be an advocate to a participant with special needs.

I cannot tell you how excited I am. I'm pretty much getting paid to go to camp myself, although I obviously have a lot more responsibility than just having fun.

I am really excited to be an advocate because I have taken a few special education courses and they have been some of my favorite. So much so that I am thinking of having my career be something along the lines of working with children with special needs - although I really don't know what yet.

I'm hoping that this summer job can give me some insight into what I really want to do with myself after I graduate. 

So far I have only been through Orientation. The actual camp starts on Tuesday!

And the whole point of this post is to really say that having a summer job doesn't have to be terrible! If you are doing something you love, you can definitely still have an amazing summer, even if it is filled with work. And it can possibly even turn into your summer favorite!

So go to Chelsea's blog and link up your summer favorite!

I would love to see some favorite recipes or DIY projects because my weekends are still wide open to do fun stuff like that. :)

And before I go, I'm just curious if any of you have a summer job that you genuinely enjoy? Or if you possibly had a part-time job that turned into an awesome career! Let me know, I would love to hear from you!

That Time I (Didn't Root For The Home Team)

I have been seriously slacking in the blogging department.

So I sincerely apologize.

However, if you read my last blog post, then you'll know it's because I just spent the last four days in Colorado with Dillon! That's a pretty darn good reason.

So in order to combine telling you a little bit about what we did and my That Time I weekly post, I'm going to tell you about the time I didn't root for the home team.

Clever? I don't know - I'm really tired. Our flight was at 6:15 this morning and I only got like four hours of sleep. Plus we almost missed our flight. Too much stress for that early in the morning. 

Anyways.

We did some fun stuff the last four days! One of the best was going to the Diamondbacks vs. Rockies game Monday night.

I was not incredibly excited because as we were driving up to Denver it was raining and freezing. And the stadium is not a closed one. And I do not do well with cold. At all.

But we got there and it had stopped raining, and even though it was still pretty cold, being this close to the field was just really exciting.

Dillon has brought me to a couple Diamondbacks games before but now that I understand baseball a lot more I was definitely more into it.

Once the people around us realized we were Diamondbacks fans and not Rockies fans, the shit talk started. Okay, not really, but this girl behind us realized it and said jokingly that she would give us crap.

And then Dillon said "All I'll say is look at the score."

We were winning. And stayed winning. The entire game.

Our pitcher was amazing.

It was a sweet, sweet win.

And it was just a lot of fun talking with my sister and Dillon.

We had an amazing time!

Oh, and at the beginning of the game I asked only one thing of Dillon.

Catch me a ball.

And then he did. 

Am I using too many italics? Probably.

So he didn't technically catch it. It hit the area between the two levels, bounced off and hit the guy's head who was sitting next to us, and then Dillon got it. Still counts, right?

I jokingly said to Dillon, should we give that guy the ball since it hit his head? And the guy heard me and was like no, gosh no. And then when I was taking this picture, the guy was like hey I can sign it for you! Hahaha, it was great.

But you know, what would I actually do with the baseball? So Dillon gave it to the three little boys who were sitting in front of us. They were so happy! It was adorable.

So there you have it! That Time I Didn't Root for the Home Team and totally kicked butt.

Don't forget to check out the lovely Alex's That Time I post, along with Hayley's!

Also, today Heavens to Meighan is hosting a "That One Time" link up!

My Best Friend

Is it really Sunday already?

I have not been able to keep track of the days lately, but with good reason!

I have been in Colorado with Dillon since Friday!

It has been so amazing, but I'll write more about that at a different time.

This post is dedicated to my best friend.

Jamie Melissa.

We have been friends since 7th grade when we were forced to sit next to each other during a movie for a mutual friend's birthday party. It was The Day After Tomorrow, and the whole entire movie we laughed together over a shoe print on the screen.

We were 12 - no judging.

Ever since then The Day After Tomorrow has been my favorite movie,

and Jamie has been my best friend.

We have had some seriously fun times together.

Like the time we thought we were cool and made a sex education video - fully equipped with a song and everything.

What I love most about our friendship is that we don't have to talk every day, or even see each other a certain amount to still consider each other best friends.

My 17th birthday. Such a fun night - this was before I was dating Dillon and I was actually trying to hook them up. HA!

The last two pictures are from Jamie's 21st birthday dinner! It is seriously so weird that we have been friends since we were 12, and now we are both turning 21. I was so happy I could celebrate with her...well, by buying her a margarita!

I love you best friend!

That Time I (Had My First Successful Date)

Not only is this my weekly That Time I post, but it is also a continuation from yesterday's link up with Halie.

Yesterday I wrote about my first major. The second prompt was First Successful Date Story, and I liked it so much I decided to extend it into its own full post!

I consider Dillon my first successful date seeing as how our relationship lasted more than a month and one week (my record, twice, before D).

Just a little background, Dillon and I had known each other for over a year before we ever started talking in "that way." We had a couple classes together and were stand partners in orchestra.

The first time we hung out outside of school was nothing too exciting.

He asked if he could come over so we could watch The Strangers together. I guess I said yes, because come over he did. To make it a little less awkward, I had my sister come and watch the movie with us (maybe that made it more awkward??).

Well that was just a stupid movie. I don't know why I ever agree to watch scary movies, but he still ropes me into it to this day. But you know, it was cute because he held me as I jumped in fear and mainly watched the movie through my hands.

After the movie was over, we decided to watch a happy movie (doesn't everyone do this after watching a scary movie??). I chose Across the Universe on a whim, just because it was one of my recent favorite movies and I really didn't know what else to watch. Little did I know, Dillon is obsessed with The Beatles and that time period. Score for me because I swear it's the reason he fell in love with me (joking...kind of).

So that was the first time we hung out, but since my sister was there for all of it, and we just stayed at my house, I guess it may not be considered a "real date."

A few weeks later (he went on a cruise with his family, otherwise I'm sure we would have hung out sooner ;) he asked if we could hang out New Year's Eve. Again, I guess I said yes!

He came over and we played a little Wii Sports with my family. That was a lot of fun, and especially cute to see him play with my younger cousins.

A few of our mutual friends were in a band and were playing that night, so off we drove to the church they were playing at. Were they good? Well, we did hear the last 30 seconds of their song from the parking lot! Whoops. We left shortly after but almost couldn't leave because apparently it was a "lock in" and we were supposed to stay there all night - it was only slightly embarrassing that I had to call my mom to convince the people we did have "permission" to leave.

After that we went to a house party where his band was playing. That's right...Dillon was in a band in which he played the drums, in which his skills came straight from playing Rock Band...swoon!

However, since he was on said cruise, he wasn't playing because he wasn't around to practice with the band.

After that we drove back to my house to ring in the New Year with my family. He was too nervous to kiss me right at midnight - it would have been our first kiss and he didn't want to do it front of my whole family. But don't worry, I got my kiss shortly after. :)

New Year's Eve (one year after our first date).

My favorite part of the night, however, was driving in his truck and just being able to talk. He asked me a lot of questions, like what my favorite color was, etc. And we named his truck because we're cool like that.

Alejandro the Red Flying Machine Johnson.

I seriously LOVED that truck. It held special meaning to Dillon, and it now holds special meaning to me because there are so many memories surrounding that truck. Unfortunately the truck has now been sold. I seriously had tears in my eyes the day we drove up to his house and his truck was no longer in the drive way. Sentimental much?

We did take a picture together in front of the truck before he left us, but his mom has the picture and I haven't gotten it yet. But here is one of my favorite pictures of us driving around in his truck.

So there you go, that time I had my first successful date.

Not the most exciting or romantic story but hey, it lead to an amazing relationship that is three years and counting. So it's special to me. :)

Don't forget to check Alex's "That Time I" post over at Let Life Be Like Music!

She's pretty darn awesome, I promise!

And a big thank you to Hayley over at A Beautiful Exchange joining us as she writes about that time she saw $500 get run over. The story makes me cry a little, not going to lie.

My First Major

Here I am, back with the From Firsts to Lasts link up!

I did this once before where I talked about the first random song that pops up on my iTunes and fun stuff like that. It was a little embarrassing, but hey, have to share that stuff too, right?

First Major in College

Early Childhood Education. And no, it is no longer my current major.

In high school I volunteered with the two and three-year-old's at my church every Sunday. I enjoyed it so much that I actually ended up being one of the teachers every other Sunday. After doing this for a year or so, I came to the incredible conclusion that I really wanted to work with kids when I "grew up." This was a huge step for me since I was still just going with my first grade dream job of being a maid.

Yes, I am being serious. I thought it would be awesome to have a belt

around my waist with all the cleaning supplies in it...

Anyways, the obvious career choice seemed to be a preschool/kindergarten teacher, and I signed right up. During my first semester of college, however, my dad talked me into becoming an Occupational Therapist. I could still work with kids, but it would be better money (really not something I care about, just for the record). So I switched my major to Psychology after looking at the pre-requisites to get into OT school, and noticed that there were a lot of overlapping classes, and I could just have a thematic minor in OT to take the rest of the classes I needed. So I should feel pretty good, right? Eh. Now I mainly just feel like this:

I really don't think I do this though...I don't want to be a therapist. But some people assume I do because of my major. I usually just smile and wave because they probably have a better idea of what they're talking about than I do.

But I'm definitely feeling like this. Even though going to OT school is still an option, I'm not ready to commit to two and a half years of expensive graduate school.

Currently I'm leaning towards working with children with special needs. If I enjoy my summer job as much as I think I will, then we'll see where this amazing Psychology degree takes me next.

As much as people make fun of psychology degrees, I do like the fact that I'm not "tied down" to one specific career path. It is keeping my options open which I think is really great. Then again I am a little defensive about it, especially since my boyfriend's family once told me that the most pointless degree to get is a psychology degree. To be fair, I was not yet a psychology major...and it's now funny because his major is Behavioral Science, which is really just a fancy way to say psychology. Yes, we are that cute couple that have the same majors. ;)

So I actually really don't feel like writing about the second question, which is First Date Success Story. It's not at all that I don't want to write about it, it's just that I feel far too lazy to do it right now. Oh my gosh, I'm so pathetic. I am literally just sitting on my couch doing nothing, and yet I'm too lazy to sit on my couch and write??

*Hangs head in shame*

If you would like to read about it, I'll turn it into my That Time I post tomorrow!

San Diego - Road Trip!

What a week/end!

My last final was Wednesday. Thank goodness school is over!

Thursday was my last day of work (my desk assistant job, but it will resume in the Fall).

After work I drove the hour and a half home, and then Friday ROAD TRIP!

The destination was San Diego to see Dillon since his baseball team was there playing for the weekend.

Now, I've never actually had a road trip before, besides with my family.

I definitely expected it to be a little bit like a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie.

But it really just looked like this:

A six hour car ride = hair up, comfy clothes, and a lot of snacks. 

And then the rest of the weekend went like this:

This is my favorite picture of us from the weekend. But oh my goodness look at my legs. It seriously looks like they are ombre.

It was so amazing to see the boy, and I was so grateful that my sister came along.

I had training this morning for my new summer job (yay!) and now I'm back home with the family (double yay!). Except this time is short lived because on Thursday me and my sister embark on another road trip, this time to Colorado to bring Dillon's truck to him!

I have not really felt like it is summer break. Summer breaks for me usually consist of sleeping in late and then lounging around the house all day. Exciting, I know. But there seems to be something going on every day! As soon as I get back from Colorado I start more training for my job, and then the following week the job actually starts! So much, but so far I'm liking it. :)

Do you have any exciting summer plans?

Linking Up: Mingle Monday, Weekend Shenanigans, This Weekend I, Monday Morning Gossip

That Time I (Became A Turtle Mommy)

Welcome back friends for my third That Time I post!

This week I'm talking about that time I became a mom...a turtle mom that is.

It was Christmas break, 2011.
I honestly don't remember quite why we did it, but Dillon and I decided we were ready to be pet parents. However, since Dillon is away at the academy, I would be the one to keep said pet.
Even though I would love to have a puppy or kitten, we decided it wasn't the right time. I was not ready to throw down all my money on a pet deposit at my house, and with school and work, I'm away from home most of the day, so I would have felt so bad leaving new pet baby at home by itself all the time.

And then we decided to get a turtle! Turtles are my favorite animal. I honestly think they are the coolest. So we went to PetSmart (or is it PetsMart??) and Petco, but they only had big turtles. There is actually a law, and it's illegal to sell them in big chain stores like that until they are a certain size.
But I was determined to get a little baby turtle. So we looked online...and after researching all the different kinds of turtles, we finally decided to get a yellow bellied slider turtle baby.

And then we "ordered" him...and he came to us all the way from Florida.
After we already hit submit on our new turtle baby, we found bad reviews of the place, saying that when the turtle arrived at their door, it was dead.
This TERRIFIED me.
The next day I was pacing around Dillon's house so much, I was so scared the box would come and my turtle would be dead.
So when the UPS guy FINALLY came I was so nervous...the stupid guy was juggling the box around. Like HELLO! I'm pretty sure it said live animal or handle with care or something...jerk.

But when we opened the container, there was my new turtle baby MOVING around! I was so happy, I'm pretty sure I had tears in my eyes.

And that was the day I became a turtle mommy to the most adorable turtle baby, and we named him Tuck. Tuck the Turtle...that's original, right?? Look how teeny tiny he was! Melts my heart.

The "family picture" I sent Dillon for his recognition (an academy thing that I may or may not talk about at a future time).

He LOVED to climb up on his leaves, it was so darn cute. In fact, he still does it...

I don't think he realizes he's just a little too big to do that now.

I sent this to Dillon on his birthday. Tuck misses him because his turtle daddy is the one who actually buys him yummy things like fish and crickets (I refuse...the one time I bought him a couple fish, I saw him eat one, which was horrifying, and then he decided to make friends with the other one and I ended up having to flush it down the toilet).

I need to sign him up for turtle modeling.

So while everyone else in blog land is loving up on their dogs, here I am loving up on my turtle baby who isn't a baby anymore and who likes to try to bite me when I take him out of his tank, and also likes to jump off my bed and either land upside down or crawl into my closet.

Don't forget to check out Alex's That Time I post! We have had some people express interest in making this a link-up. Let us know what you think, and if you would join in!
Hayley already has, so go check out her post, too!

Happy Hump Day!