Birthday Weekend Recap

My birthday was a weekend ago, but I've been terribly busy to even share with you all what I did for my birthday so here we go...

Friday: I had the day off. I hung out with a friend of mine in the morning. I did some shopping. I laid out in the sunshine and drank a pina colada. My roommate and I and a few friends of mine met up at World of Beer and tasted some delicious beers. I highly recommend this place if you are a beer drinker. The night was filled with lots of laughter and great memories. After, we headed downtown Tosa and went to Left's Lucky which was insanely busy, but we had fun none the less.

Saturday: My friend Becky's son had his first birthday party celebration so we went to that. Afterwards, I met up with my dad and we went down to the zoo for their annual a la carte. Which if you haven't been to, you should. You get to stuff your face full of great food, walk around and see animals and dance to great music.

Sunday: I met up with my dad, grandparents, sister and bro-in-law for brunch at Cafe Hollander. Another wonderful spot in Tosa. I also received free birthday beer instead of cake/ice cream/dessert. I was pretty thrilled about that. After brunch, we went down to the lakefront and walked around and hit up some shops in the third ward (my favorite district).

Monday: I had another day off of work, unfortunately it was rather chilly and I wasn't feeling too hot. I spent most of the day laying on the couch watching seasons of Breaking Bad. And as discovered later in the week, with a visit to the doctor I did not have strep, but mono. :/ So here I sit on and off with fatigue and a sore throat, but I can't let that slow me down.

Peace&Love
~l

Growing Up by Macklemore

This song has been on repeat for the past week. I can't say more than that the lyrics are AMAZING!

Here are some fav lines of the song:

'Don't try to change the world, find something that you love. And do it every day for the rest of your life and eventually the world will change.'

'I recommend that you read the Alchemist. Listen to your teachers, but cheat in calculus. Tell the truth regardless of the consequence. And every day give your mom a compliment.'

'The quickest way to happiness? Learning to be selfless. Ask more questions talk about yourself less.'

'You're only young once, my loved one, this is your chance. Take risks, because life moves so fast.'


Check it out sometime, because the whole song is great!

Peace&Love
~l

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

As I look ahead to my birthday in a few short days, I always like to reflect back on my past year. What it means to be another year older. Take stock in everything I've done and where I have yet to go.

26 has been a year of growth. Change. Understanding. Learning. Overcoming. Risk.

27 I hope to be a year of steadiness. I welcome change and growth. I will continue to take risks. I want more adventure.

This past year of my life has had its fair share of ups and downs. However, I'm beginning to see the world, my life, in a more positive way. I feel that in 1 year I have managed to learn a lot about myself. As a result of many things that have occurred in the past year I'm stronger than I ever was. I'm more confident. I'm more fearless. I'm learning to move on and let go of things I simply can't have. I'm taking more risks. I'm as brutally honest as they come now. I feel more like a little badass with my new found self. I tore off this flesh that wasn't me. I was almost pretending to be something else to prove myself for someone else. That is the last way you should ever live life. People will always try to change you into something you are not, but you can't let them. Ever. If there is one thing I have learned over the year is that I'm mad at myself for letting people walk over me and take advantage of me. That stopped. The moment that it did, something crazy happened, I stopped caring what people thought of me. I stopped letting people treat me in this manner. It's not that I have this attitude now that I'm better or being snotty than people, but if you talk to me a certain way, treat me a certain way, it will come back. I'm proud of myself and where I've come. I also realize I have so much more growing up to do and so much more I want to do with this life of mine. With this freedom of mine and this person that I lost and that is finally back I plan on doing great things in the next year!

Peace&Love
~L

What I Want

I'm not complicated and I don't ask for too much. I'm very simple and like simplicity. I'm more of a free spirit. I don't like being told what to do, where to go, how to live my life, etc. I don't stay in one place for too long before picking up and moving to another destination. What I want is someone to complement my lifestyle. I want someone who has a great personality. Who can make me laugh and smile. Who will be there to lift me up when I'm down. Who understands what I'm going through. Who remains positive through most things. Someone who is a little rough around the edges. I'm not looking for a cookie cutter version of a man. I want him to be able to tolerate my quirks and flaws, but even more than that, love those things about me. I want someone to come home to every night and I know when I walk through that door we are both happy to see each other. I want someone who makes leaving for work difficult. I want someone who will cuddle with me all day. I want someone who understands me and what makes me tick. I am who I am. I don't need someone to change me. I don't need someone to make me feel different or the lesser sex. I want someone who will make me a better person by being with them. I want someone who I'm physically, emotionally, intellectually attracted to. I want someone who will stand up for me. Who will fight for me. Who will make me a priority. I want honesty. I want open communication. No lies. No cheating. No deceit. I want this person to realize I have a past and I'm not perfect. I want them to realize that I've been hurt in prior relationships and that I'm not going to be treated that way ever again. I will not be walked on. Manipulated. Lied to. My guard is up and I will be the most cautious person ever when the time comes to fall in love all over again. For the right person that wall will come down. And so this is me. This is what I want. Did I just make this post seem like I'm on a dating site?! Haha

Peace&Love
~l

A Whole Bunch of Randomness

As I lay here, just waking up from a semi-peaceful sleep, listening to the subtle sounds of birds and other wildlife create noise outside my window, I feel its time to just write something. Anything.

Last week was a rough and rowdy week. Being sick all week and working nearly 10 hrs everyday will do that. Also trying to maintain a social life through that, does not allow the body ample time for healing. Therefore this weekend, much of my time has been spent laying around/sleeping. I won't complain. As this work week shows no signs of slowing down and the weekend is filled again.

I long for a mini vacation just for me. To relax and start all over again. I'm planning a mini road trip around Lake Michigan over Labor Day weekend. I want to hit up some parks I haven't been to yet and some small town loving. I've been to Michigan plenty of times and up the Lake on this side in Sconnie over and over. I have a few items on my list, but this trip is more about being spontaneous. I have a destination in mind, with only a handful of days to explore. I intend to just set out and see where I end up.

These days of summer are starting to wind down and pretty soon fall will be upon us. Every weekend from here til the end of September, seem to be filled once again with weddings, birthdays, mini trips, football games, etc. I may be absent for more than a few days as I enjoy these times to the fullest!


Peace&Love
~l

Sick

Somewhere between the heat of the weekend and not doing a damn thing I find myself feeling like absolute shit today. It's that stomach hurting, head spinning, whole body ache type illness. The kind that just wipes you out. I was at work for almost 2 hours before I just couldn't do it. I couldn't hold myself up, couldn't look straight if I tried. I came home and my head hit the pillow and I was out for the next 2.5 hours. As much as my body probably needed that rest, I still feel about the same as prior to napping. I can tell I am hungry, however, which means we are making strides in the right direction. I just don't know what to eat quite yet as I don't have crackers or bread...

So here I write to you fine folk about my current situation. Trying to pass the time, as if I needed more time added to what was a rather slow and unproductive weekend. But hey take what you can get right?


Peace&Love
~l

My Defense Mechanism

It's what I'm good at. Building up walls. Hiding what actually is wrong. I don't cry often. (But that could be because I don't have lots to cry about.) I don't share my past with others, unless I completely trust you. I don't air my personal problems to just anyone. I'd rather not burden people with my problems. I don't think its that big of a deal. But everyone else is good at sharing. I'm better at listening than speaking.

My biggest defense mechanism is being way too sarcastic. People actually think I'm just mean all the time and hate my life, but honestly, that couldn't be further from the truth. I do enjoy my life and I'm naturally sarcastic. My sarcasm stems from stupid people, but people are right, maybe I do carry that too far. But its my natural defense mechanism. Someone tells me something I don't want to hear, I shoot back with that. It's not meant to be mean, I just don't like being attacked. I feel like I was pushed so hard as a kid to be this certain way and to achieve greatness. I always failed. My parents wanted me to reach this almost unrealistic height. I know my parents simply wanted to see me succeed. So now I use that and my resentment of my own failures towards other people. The pain and hurt that I never fully faced for not becoming what others wanted me to I throw at others indirectly. I'm not proud of this. I realized this as I feel like I'm beginning to push people away and I need to confront this head on. To anyone I've ever hurt or used my sarcasm too much on, I am sorry!


Peace&Love
~l

Taking Stock

A little something I plan on doing the first day of every month: Taking Stock on my current moods.

Making: plans for the future
Cooking: nothing
Drinking: 7&7's and water
Reading: Travel blogs
Wanting: An ocean breeze and salty hair
Looking: for jobs
Playing: White Buffalo on Pandora
Remembering: Childhood summer days
Trying: to stay awake
Watching: Orange is the New Black
Deciding: on what to have for dinner
Wishing: to be completely and utterly happy
Enjoying: much needed alone time
Planning: my Labor Day weekend Vacay
Waiting: for weddings and birthday celebrations this month
Liking: Lady Vengence Perfume
Needing: a new job and vacation from current job
Wearing: Tank top and shorts
Noticing: my birthday is in 22 days
Smelling: Suntan lotion
Buying: faux leather leggings
Craving: a tropical drink


Peace&Love
~L