Find your escape

This weekend was the best of everything. I got to spend time with friends, escape to the park and "check out" for a while, experience something completely new to me and run like crazy.

Friday night, a friend and I went bowling. It's been a long time since I last went bowling, and it definitely showed, but it was still really fun. Then, a few people came over to the house for a few games and a lot of laugh. I didn't get any sleep, but it was a great night. 

Saturday, I woke up at 6 a.m. for an Advocate story. I bundled up and drove down to the Regional Science Center. It was still dark when I got there and the wind was chilly blowing across the prairie as I walked to the  site. I was there to observe the bird banding, interview the students and professor and get photos and video. There were twenty or more students signed up to come, but only four showed up, so I ended up helping with the bird banding as well. It was an entirely new experience for me. Seeing these little tiny birds tangled up in this big net and trying to disentangle their little bodies and keep them warm. Holding the robins in my hand and throwing them up in the air, so they could fly away. It was an amazing experience. 

Later, I grabbed my camera and my iPod and went to Lindenwood Park. I wandered around the park taking everything in: the calmness, the beautiful fall colors, the chirping of birds, the peacefulness... I took pictures of everything. It was my time to escape and "check out" of the world for a while. I cleared my head and let my mind wander as I enjoyed the quietness of the park and the liveliness of the playground.

Some days you just have to check out for a while. Turn off your phone and computer and just get away. It be cruising around in your car, taking a walk, or just sitting at a park. Take time to enjoy the beauty of life and think about all the wonderful things in your life or maybe the not so wonderful things in your life that you want to change. Take the time to reexamine your life.

Music makes me smile

Today it was Music.

It's amazing how it affects us. It can make us smile, make us cry or make us laugh.

My favorite songs are the ones that can make me smile no matter what mood I'm in.

My dad's music always makes me smile.

A Hopeless Wind - Clint Maki

"Some people live on the sidewalk, some people live in the park. Some people never sleep 'cause they got nothing to eat so they wander around in the dark. Some people live on the riverbank in corrugated cardboard shacks."

It's funny how a song about something so depressing can make me so happy. I think it's just that I love my dad's singing and all the good memories I have of sitting around campfires listening to him play.

"A hopeless wind keeps a blowing in these times, the whole damn country feels the breeze"

Music isn't always just about the lyrics. It's about the tone and the memories that come with that song. Some songs remind me of breakups, some songs remind me of home, some songs remind me of vacation, and some songs remind me of being alone.

'You make me smile'

Today was a great day. I don't even know why, but I couldn't stop smiling. It might have been the fact that I talked my family into coming to visit me. Or, maybe it was finally registering for my first 10k. It could have even been talking to that old friend for a few short minutes after a month of not speaking to each other.

I know the weather was definitely a part of it; sunny days always make me happy. 

I'm not saying today was perfect because it wasn't. But, I was happy, and at the end of the day that's all that really matters. Take time to enjoy all the silly things like blasting your stereo and dancing in your car, laughing at your ridiculous sub-heads about aliens or wasting time playing bits over and over again just to hear the funny quotes.


I had this song stuck in my head all day, so I had to share the video. :)

Oh how I've missed you

Sometimes life gets a little too busy and all the silly little things that I love to do get thrown to the side and almost forgotten. Sometimes I wish I had a few extra hours in the day, so I could do all those silly little things like writing this blog, going for a walk with my roomies, taking photos or just listening to music and dancing.

Yesterday, I had the chance to go to the Johnny Holm Band show on campus with a few of my friends. It was so much fun to just be able to de-stress for a few hours singing and dancing to the music. I loved it! I was also able to take some great photos, which is always a plus!

No matter how stressful and busy life gets, don't forget to set aside a little time for all the silly little things that make you smile. :)

Make it right by the end of the night.

Somedays my mood is up and down and I'm a bit hormonal. I'm human. It's alright to be crabby every once in awhile. It's okay to freak out a bit, as long as you make it right at the end of the day. Obviously, today was one of these days for me. I had some really great moments and some not so great moments. I don't know what it was that made me crabby, but I don't think it really matters. Sometimes I just have emotional days and I just have to get through them the best I can.

You might be on a one way, but you can always turn down a different road.

At the end of the night, I think I made everything alright. I know I can't take back what I did and I can't go back and redo the day without the crabbiness, but I can look to tomorrow (well, today...since it is already 4 a.m.) and make it better.

Time means nothing, but timing is everything.

But! Just because I had an up and down day doesn't mean I forgot about the little things that made me smile. Today it was interviewing Professor Oscar Flores about the honors program and his new role as Interim Director. He was so passionate about the program - making it better and getting more students involved. It's always fun to interview people that are passionate about what they do.

Walk while you still have time or risk getting hurt.

It was skipping through every song on my iPod to get to one of my dad's songs (my iPod is old and broken and the menu button doesn't work so I can't actually choose a song from the list).

It was getting a simple 'thank you' text from my boss for cleaning the house.

Look at things from a different perspective...you never know what you might discover.

It was finally figuring out a time to meet with the publisher for my internship.

It was going to Walmart and Cashwise by myself at 2:30 a.m. because I really want to have pancakes for breakfast in the morning and wouldn't have had any to make.

Capture the glow of the night.

It was seeing my story come together. :)

[The photographs are from this Sunday night when a friend and I went downtown to take some photographs]

Let all the little things lift you up when you're down

Monday...

Some days life gets a bit crazy and stressful. Someone will say something that hits you hard and knocks you off your feet for awhile, but if you wait long enough the littlest thing will make you smile and help you get back up on your feet.

Today, it was running around the track listening to my iPod and suddenly hearing the familiar, comforting voice of my dad. Although we have a strange almost non-existent relationship, whenever I hear his music I feel this very deep connection with him that always warms my heart and makes me smile.

Tuesday...

Today, it was finding out my best friend is possibly going to be visiting me for Labor Day weekend. It was having a private concert performance of Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis by two beautiful, talented and creative girls. It was sitting on my bed with two old friends just talking about anything. My wonderful attempt to paint an abstract master-piece on a small canvas for my bedroom wall.

Wednesday...

It's great to have a day when everything goes just wonderfully. On days like today, I just can't stop smiling.

Today was filled with silly little things that made me smile. Laughing on the floor in the wellness center with my roomie when she got a crazy cramp in her leg. Meeting new people while visiting my friend in her new dorm room. Talking with my boss. It was losing an intense hula hoop competition with a six year old. It was finally being able to share my new happiness with my best friend.