Happy in Love!

I am so high on life right now! Just had a wonderful weekend. Michael came to town, and we had a GREAT birthday date last night! He took me to Tokyo Pot first thing (my favorite restaurant in Stillwater by FAR) and we got to cookin'.



What a great little chef he is!



Yum!

While at dinner, Michael told me his birthday present to me is a trip to CALIFORNIA to see my former roommate, Emily!! He is so generous and I'm so blessed to have such a great guy in my life!! I just can't wait to see her! Hopefully we can arrange that trip soon, I'm anxious to get going! Later that night we went to the wine bar to have dessert and a glass of wine, and then to the movie theatre to see Dispicable Me. It just doesn't get better than that!

In other news, I'm totally hooked on this series called "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." They're like, 7th grade reading level or something, but you'd never know it! They are so entertaining! Kind of remind me of Harry Potter, but they're just so great. AND you learn a lot about greek mythology while you read them! I would recommend them to anyone, they're so great. Out of 5 books, I'm already on the 5th one. Also while at Hastings, I bought a book called "The Hunger Games." Anyone heard of it? I've heard only good things about it, so I'm excited to get started. I'm such a bookworm in the summertime :)

Michael is back home in Texas and I already miss him. Long distance is really hard! Hopefully we won't have to do it much longer. He's coming on my family's vacation to Colorado in a couple weeks, so that will be a blast! Have a great week!

Birthday Maddness!

So yesterday was my 22nd birthday! It was a blast. I woke up a little bit depressed because to me, a birthday isn't really about presents. It's about all the people you love getting together to just show their love for each other. That's right, I'm saying birthdays are not about presents, they're about the PARTY! But the people I really wanted to see most (like Rosie and Michael) are spread all over tarnation. Then I found out my Aunt Jean is in the hospital (again) and my mom wouldn't be able to have a fun girl day of shopping and getting our nails done like we planned because she needed to go see her. So I was a little bummed out. Also, I was scheduled to work. But things quickly started to look up! My parents gave me a giftcard to Best Buy, which I quickly spent on a new camera. I got myself a little Cannon Powershot-- it's AWESOME! And when I got home from Best Buy, guess what was waiting for me? A bouquet of flowers sent by my wonderful boyfriend all the way from Texas.



And this is how excited I was!



He is just too good to me. So then I went into work and a girl who was scheduled as an extra offered to take my shift!! So instead of a yes or no I said, "It's my birthday!!!" And she said, "...Ok?" And in the end I was able to go home :) So I dropped by Maggi's house for a bit and she gave me MORE presents. Maggi is all about hand-made gifts, which I love because she didn't have to spend any money and the presents were still SO amazing. She made me a purse! It has lining and a pocket inside and everything! She is so talented, I didn't want to keep it. I wanted her to sell it and make some money off of it! But she insisted, so of course I accepted. She also made me a CD of this artist named Madi Diaz. She is seriously good, if you haven't heard of her, I will loan you my CD.

So then I decided I wasn't going to sit home alone all night, I did have the night off work after all. So I headed to the city to see Rosie. She was thrilled about the idea of getting our nails done, so we did that first. She gave me some GREAT ankle boots that I had my eye on a month ago but was too shy to buy them. Rosie of course knows me inside and out and could tell I really wanted them, so went back to get them for me. She's so awesome. Ok, remember that thing I said about birhtdays not being about gifts? I still really love the gifts. I absolutely love all my presents!



On a different note, my brother and his wife are out of town, so we are babysitting his dog, Sissy. She is so adorable.



You just wait until she releases the full power of those eyes while you're trying to eat your dinner. You can't help but give her a bite :)

Michael is coming to town tomorrow!! I seriously can't wait to see him. It's been a couple of weeks since we were able to spend the weekend together. I'm so glad he's driving all this way just for my birthday. Get ready for LOTS more pictures since I have my new camera! Hope you had as great of a day yesterday as I did!

Reconnecting with Friends!

Hey all! This has been a great week already, and it's only Tuesday! I spent time with Rosie, Brian, Maggi, and her boyfriend Gabe all weekend! We had a blast and soaked up some rays. I love any chance I get to see Rosie since she moved to the city!

Last night I worked at Roadhouse and guess who came to eat? GT and Jeff, both pastors from LifeChurch. You know, I really resent it when people say that LifeChurch is weird because it's just like watching TV. People who say that have obviously never been there! Y'all, I absolutely love it. GT married two of my best friends last September, and Jeff comes into Aspen all the time. There are pastors that are available to talk anytime you need to. Yes, the sermon is on a screen, but that's because Craig's messages are so great that they need to be spread across the web and different campuses!

I joined a LifeGroup the first time I attended a service. It's so easy to make friends and meet people who can keep you accountable. (Because let's face it, it's hard to get out of bed and go to church sometimes!) I haven't been as good about going as I should, mostly because I work on Sundays, but that's why the online sermons are so great! It's the same message you would get at church, just on your computer. I also love that even though LifeChurch is HUGE, the pastors will always stop to say hi to you, ask what's new in your life, and have a cheerful conversation. The people in that place are just so stinkin' great. So if you don't already have a church that you love, I strongly suggest a stop at LifeChurch this weekend. You won't regret it!

On a different note, I met up with some fantastic friends last night! My friend Brandon has been off in Connecticut being hugely successful in theatre. He did a show called "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and then went to NYC to do some auditions. He finally came back in town last night, and people I graduated with who are normally spread all over came to celebrate his return! People I haven't seen in months. It was so great, just like old times. But boy, theatre people can drink. Don't get me wrong, I love Stonewall's rum and cokes, but those people tried to kill me last night! I also found out that the show we were supposed to be doing this summer is cancelled. I can't lie, I'm pretty disappointed. I was looking forward to singing with Brandon, Megan, and Thom again. But people just have too much stuff going on in their lives. I'm thrilled for them, just yet again ready to move off to Dallas to have my own crazy things going on!

Time to get caught up on what's really important in life- The Bachelorette! Have a great day!

Still on the hunt!

Every time I start a new entry, I think of the time Michael took me to see The Second City perform at OSU, and one of the songs they did was called, "No One Reads Your Blog, Steve." Hahaha, I can't help it.

Well, we had a blast at Rosie's engagement party! Look how cute she is in her WHITE dress!! I already can't wait for the big day. I went to the city a couple of weeks ago to be with her while she tried on dresses. I thought I'd cry when I saw her in wedding dresses, but I just got really excited!! I can't wait to stand up there next to her while she gets married! Woooo!! But maybe the crying will come when she finds the perfect dress. I met her fiance's family, and they are all super cool. They're exactly like Brian- goofy, smart and good-looking! They will be a blast to plan a wedding with! (Well, his parents will be. I doubt his brothers will want much to do with it. Haha)

Today is 11 months for Michael and I! Normally we're prety big in celebrating our little monthly milestones, but the past couple of months we've been celebrating with a text. Blech, long distance. But that's okay because 2 months ago we celebrated 9 months in Ireland! So I guess that makes up for the ones when we can't be together.

I haven't heard from the theatre, which I assume means I didn't get a callback. I guess not being Mexican didn't fall in my favor this time. But there will be many more chances down the road. Is it weird that I miss school?? I hated it when I knew my degree depended on it, but if I could just take a theatre class for fun now, I think I'd really enjoy it. In fact, I probably SHOULD be taking theatre classes so I don't get rusty. I miss acting already. At OSU it's pretty easy to get cast, as long as you're a hard worker in your classes and you take direction well. In the real world, not so. Plus, Michael has started his career and I'm still here, working at a restaurant. In Ireland people would ask, "Oh, what do you do?" And Michael would say, "Well, I just graduated with mechanical and aerospace engineering, and I'm starting my job in Texas in a couple weeks." And they'd say, "Oh great, what about you?" I mean, how do you follow that? "Oh, yep I graduated too and I work at Texas Roadhouse." Don't get me wrong, it's a great job... when you don't have a degree. But now that I have one I'm antsy to get out there and DO IT! So here's hoping I'll find something soon. Have a great weekend!

Cosmic Love

Just got home from Dallas! The audition went great! I left yesterday for Rockwall, where Michael lives, and I stayed at his apartment so I wouldn't have to drive ten hours in one day! I got up this morning and got ready (side note- any time I have an instance where I have to wear pantyhose, I am SO thankful I have chosen a career that doesn't require me to wear them every day. Just for special occasions! No offense to those who have... I just really hate pantyhose). Then I drove to Water Tower Theatre, which is about 30 minutes from Rockwall. It stinks that I didn't get to see Michael much on this trip, especially since he leaves for work at 7:30am every day. ANYWAY, so Water Tower Theatre is beautiful. It is literally right underneath the Addison water tower, and right next to a park and a lot of really cool-looking buildings. The staff was so great and really friendly, but I found out they're looking for a very diverse cast. They want the family to be all Hispanic people if they can find them. So a 22 year-old white girl might not fit into this cast very well, but it was definitely worth the trip! When I auditioned for Shakespeare Dallas a couple months ago, I had this same feeling. You drive 5 hours and you rehearse for weeks and you get about 2 minutes with the people who could hire you. Then five hours back. Between that and missing Michael, I'm definitely ready to live in Dallas! I was hoping to have a job before I move down there, but I may just have to take the plunge and move. It will be much easier to make it to auditions that way!

I'm completely addicted to this band called Florence + The Machine. Michael got me hooked on them. I'm listening to them now, and it's hard to focus because I'm listening to the words! They're so good. My favorite is called Cosmic Love.

Looking forward to this weekend, I'm working a couple of shifts at Texas Roadhouse and tomorrow night is Rosie's engagement party!

What a week already!

Hello all,

This is my first blog on this website! Last time I blogged I believe was on Xanga in high school, and Lord knows no one read that. I've been inspired by a few of my friends' blogs, and I hope to do the same with this. It's also a good way to keep people posted on my doings post-college. We've all kind of spread out since May 8th, so hello to everyone who's moved off :) hope you're doing well.

Exciting news this week, I found an audition in Dallas at the Water Tower Theatre, and I'm headed there this Friday to audition. Prayers and good thoughts are appreciated! The play is Our Town, we did it last fall at OSU, and it's a great play about love, life, and death. I'm definitely excited, but trying not to get my hopes up. The old saying is that an actor will hear 100 "no's" for every one "yes," but hopefully I'll get a job a little quicker than that!

My wonderful boyfriend Michael and I are doing great, we got back from our graduation trip to Ireland about a month ago. We had such a wonderful time, and I miss it a lot! I'm trying to pinch my pennies to go on another trip, hopefully to see Emily in California, but between all my trips back and forth to Texas to see Michael and the city to see Rosie and her ROCK, I'm not saving as fast as I'd like to. But those trips are well worth it!!

My 22nd birthday is coming up, and people keep asking me what I want. Is it depressing that I really don't want anything? Honestly, as cheesy as it sounds, I just want to be with my friends and family. Gifts are overrated after your 21st I think. Time for bed now, I need to get up and work out! I've been a lazy bum the past couple of days.