Beautiful Simplicities

Hello World! I have been absent, yet again. This week was such a stressful one since it was my first week back after Spring Break. The main source of my stress was a lab report I had due on Wednesday. I had, of course, put it off until pretty much the day before. Extremely stressful, but I was happy to have it done on time - only to find out that it isn't due until THIS Wednesday. Awesome, right? No, I was pretty upset; but at least it won't be my source of stress for this week, right?

So enough of the negative - I'm doing another Beautiful Simplicities post! With this stressful week, and honestly this not-so-amazing month (or two), I figured this is exactly what I need to lift my spirits and to remember all the amazing things that happen in my life on a daily basis.

1. Reading a Couple Good Books

I recently finished Looking For Alaska by John Green. This is the second Green book I have read, and it did not disappoint! It is such a beautiful book, and it brought me to tears a few times.

Then I went home this last weekend and my sister let me borrow Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. 

OH.MY.GOSH.

This book has easily made it to my top favorite books. Not only is the book about a dystopian future, which is one of my favorite genre's, but the author has completely blown me away with her writing. She writes with such amazing detail, but not too much detail to where it is almost boring, and you just want them to get to the point. I practically finished it in one night, putting off any homework I had because it was just THAT GOOD! If you are looking for a good book to read, then READ THIS!

Can you tell how much I love this book?!

2. Inspiring DOVE Chocolate Quote

I don't normally eat DOVE chocolate, because I don't usually like to eat plain chocolate. Also, I hardly ever crave sweets - give me something salty! But it's that time of month, and I have some leftover chocolates from Christmas (yes...it takes me that long to get through my sweets!) I do love that they have those cute quotes though. Sometimes they're cute, like "Stop and smell the chocolate aroma," and sometimes they are super inspiring, like this one:

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."

Okay...how perfect is that?? It totally goes along with my favorite quote, which is also the "theme" of this blog. And it is exactly what I needed, as I have been struggling to remember this. 

--Inhabit Your Moments--Celebrate Life--Find Beauty in Simplicity--

I don't know why I am still so amazed that God can put the exact words I need in front of me at the exact right time.

3. Only 5 More Days to Go!

It has been a long two months. I cannot wait until I can get a much needed hug from this man.

I am driving up with his mom and brother to Las Vegas on Friday! He is playing three baseball games this coming weekend, and I am so excited to see him play! I haven't seen him pitch since high school, so this will be extremely nostalgic and exciting. I am also just excited to get away for a weekend and be with the man I love. Also, because of this I will be taking a day off of work and skipping my classes on Friday. YAY for a four day week!

4. A Scary but Fun Weekend

Scary - On Friday I stayed on campus to hang out with my friend Becca at work and to watch Dillon's game on the computer. We were walking to our cars when we heard a ton of sirens. We figured it was just a bad accident, but then I received a text message from my school's alert system saying that there was a man with a rifle in the administration building on campus, and to stay away from the area. Thankfully we were not near that building, and we drove off campus immediately. After many hours of waiting for news, they sent out the all-clear, and no one was injured. Whether it was just a false alarm, or there really was a gunman, I am so thankful that no one was hurt.

Fun - I find it hard to write this after the scary part, but I don't want to leave it off on a bad note! Friday I went to my friend Becca's house and we went to the gym, got a sandwich from Whole Foods, watched New Girl, and we had our first sleepover! It sounds so silly and childish, but it was a lot of fun!

Saturday I came home and got to work - I had a quiz due by midnight that I wanted to finish so that I could have a fun night. A few hours of doing readings and taking the quiz, and I got 100%! Then Becca and her roommates picked me up and we went to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings. I was not a fan of the sauce on my wings, but the celery and french fries were good! Then we went to the mall and walked around Charming Charlie's and Forever 21. I consider it a successful shopping trip because I didn't spend any money! Yay me!

I think I am going to try to do a "beautiful simplicities" post more often. It makes me feel really happy! Feel free to copy my graphic and make your own beautiful simplicities post! It is such a good way to let go of all the negative and to focus on all the wonderful things happening in life.

Adventures Abound

I have never really been the type of person to seriously make New Year's Resolutions. However, this year I did make a sort of To Do List for 2013. So, that sounds exactly like resolutions, but I mainly made this list because this is my last full year of being an undergraduate in college! That's right - I am graduating a semester early. So by this time next year I will be a big grown-up college graduate! 

I attend the University of Arizona which is in Tucson. There are not a lot of people who think Tucson is all that exciting or attractive, and when looking at the part of Tucson the University is in, they might be right. But every day as I walk through campus, and then drive north of campus, I see a beautiful campus surrounded by gorgeous mountains.

Anyways, in trying to appreciate the town I have been living in the past two and a half years and will remain for another year, I wrote down some "Tucson Adventures" I would like to have during my last year here. This list includes going to a Wildcat football and basketball game, hiking Sabino Canyon, and going to the top of Mt. Lemmon.

Another list I am making is a list of books I want to read this year. I am in love with reading. Always have been, and hopefully always will be. I am especially into futuristic novels such as The Hunger Games series and the Uglies series. (If you haven't read either of these series, you are seriously missing out!) However, I had been hearing a lot about the author John Green and how amaaaazing his books are. Even though his writing is not in the genre I generally read, I decided to hop on board the Green Train (how terribly cheesy was that?). I started with Paper Towns and all I can say is that I was definitely NOT disappointed. It took me a while to really get into the book, but it is beautifully written and pulled me into the story in a completely different way.

I have already picked up Looking for Alaska (his first novel) at my school's library and am eager to get lost in the story. By the way, there are only two authors on my list of books, John Green (in which I want to read all of his novels), and David Levithan, in which I heard his book, The Lover's Dictionary is a unique but beautifully written story. As it turns out, Green and Levithan have actually collaborated and written a book together! Funny how things work, huh?

If you are trying to keep up with New Year's Resolutions, or just a more basic To Do List like mine, I highly suggest writing your goals down and placing them on a wall in your room! Here is my very simple but very efficient white board that is reminding myself daily that I want to do these things this year.

Nothing too fancy, but it is so far getting the job done! (Although I haven't completed any of my Tucson Adventures, I have already read a John Green book.) And that Fab Ab February calendar? I'll post about that later when the X's are a little more in numbers. ;)