June Bug.

You know what?

June is over.  That's it.  Good bye, June! Helllo July!

Things I'm looking forward to in July:

-MY DADDY COMES!! Then we get to play at Disney World together! I cannot WAIT!

-I get to see Lindsey and her babies!!

-4th of July.  Yeahhhh fireworks!

-Days at the beach.  And the pool.  And then the beach.

-S'mores. Mmm...s'mores.

-MY DADDY COMES!! (I still can't get over this!! I really am just TOO excited!!)

June, you were good to us.  But July, I'm hoping for some more sun and happy days ahead.

In the meantime, highlights from June:

-I turned 28! AHH! Only two more years until 30 which totally freaks me out.

-We got to see Brian Regan.  It was hilarious.

-We went to Georgia to see some of our favorite people we met while on our cruise!

-Relaxing weekends

I love summer. Even if summers here in Florida tend to be sticky. I still love you, summer.

Goodbye May

May, you've been a good month.

Caitlin is experiencing the tastes of Italy and me and my handsome man got to relax on a giant ship with sunshine galore.

Caitlin, I'm sure, will update you all on Italy, but without further ado, I shall show you a glimpse of our wonderful cruise in pictures.  Behold! Our relaxing vacation!

By the way, I'd like to point out that the photo above marks the very first (and probably the last) time I have ever beaten Ryan at Chess. It was a proud moment.

Mixed Tape to Italy

Dearest Caitlin,

You are going to Italy soon.  What a beautiful adventure! Every adventure deserves an epic soundtrack.  If I could make a mixed tape, I would. But tapes are now, apparently, outdated.  Forget the vintage, and download these tracks (or at least check it out on Spotify!):

Lakehouse by Monsters and Men
Ghosts The National Parks
Hot Air Balloon The National Parks
As We Ran The National Parks
Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hello's
Cello Song feat. Jose Gonzalez by The Books
Don't Let it Break Your Heart by Gavin Mikhail (cover from Coldplay)
Poison & Wine by The Civil Wars
Harmony by Susie Suh

Feather in the Wind by Susie Suh

The are light, airy and the perfect music to reflect and ponder the beauty of life.  As you sail above the Atlantic towards your destination, put in your headphones, play, and sit back and start feeling nostalgic and ready for adventure. I am oh, so jealous.

Love, 

Erin

Never Trust a Bird!

Erin sent me this card the other day! I hope it is okay that I am sharing it with everyone, Erin. 

To the infamous (Gasp!) Caitlin Stay,

No, it is not your birthday. You can breathe. I am just writing to say "Bonjour!" the ol' fashioned way? Isn't it just better this way? Anyways...I've had these cards sitting in my drawer for like , ever  and decided to put them to good use. I wish I could fill it with silly stories, but alas, I have none. I'm a boring person. EXCEPT!!! I made a beautiful dessert for Relief Society the other day-It was a chocolate souffle (very fancy, I know) and everyone who laid eyes on it ooohe'd and ahhh'ed...until a bird landed on it, did its business, then flew away. It was tragic and I burst into tears. But don't worry! The story ended happily! Only tow or three others saw and they were nice enough to not say a word, so we still served it. The others just thought the "droppings" were a delicious decoration, and the LOVED it! Day saved! But let this be a lesson to you...never trust a bird! NEVER!* I hope you are doing spectacularly well and that this card finds you in happy health. My best wishes and hugs and kisses will be traveling with this card to you. Love always, Erin E. Novak

*I lied...you really CAN trust a bird! ;) (just use caution!)

(Front:)Adding to my misery: no one here thinks I'm funny
(Inside the card:) What is WRONG with these people?

Short Hair! Ahhh!

I chopped over half my hair off yesterday! I was an emotional wreck that night. John was so entirely patient with me as I cried for a half hour in his car while we drove to a concert he was playing at. He knew exactly how to lift me up in gentle sweet ways. As he drove me he said a prayer for me and then played Where Can I Turn For Peace?. I cried and cried. Not the pretty type of crying either. Nope, It was the UGLY type filled with mascara running down my face and loud gasping noises from my sobs. I don't think I was really crying about my hair. Well, maybe a little. I had a rough day working at my call center job which stressed me out a ton! Luckily, I put my two weeks in so I won't have to worry about it for much longer. I was also feeling super hormonal and I had a really bad headache at work, which I know was caused by stress. By the end of the night, I was feeling wonderful and happy again thanks to John and the prayer he offered on my behalf.  I feel incredibly blessed to have people that uplift me on days when I completely lose it. Thank you John for cheering me up and loving me even when I have days where I cry over things of no major consequence.

John looks so washed out in this photo. He is an angel! Hooray! (Also, this picture was taken today when I wasn't in such an emotional disarray.) 

Catch Up

I haven't really been good at blogging lately so I have decided to give you an update on my life. I know, I know, I always promise to be better at blogging but alas I haven't been any better.  Erin's last two posts have inspired me to post something today and hopefully more in the future? I won't make any promises on when the next post will be though.  So here are so new things that have happened since the last time I blogged:

Top 5 New Things in my Life:
1. Colored Hair: I recently did a semi-permanent dye on my hair. I LOVE the color but I have too much hair for a normal application of hair dye. Right now I have some splotchy patches of hair that are not colored. I have another box of hair dye, I just need to get around to coloring it again.

My darker hair and a fantastic orange sweater I found for less than $3.00. 

2. Glasses: Yep, I have had to get glasses. I have had the worst migraines lately and I am trying to figure out the cause of them. Excedrin does wonders for me but it only masks the symptoms so I can temporarily feel better. I had my eyes checked and sure enough I have needed glasses. I am wearing them for the first time today! Some of the other things that might be triggering my migraines are sugar, TMJ, low-pressure weather, and stress. I sure do hope the glasses will help a little with this. It is amazing how many small things I have been missing out on before wearing these glasses!

New Glasses! I bought two pairs..a brown pair and a black one. 

3. Study Abroad:  I am going on a study abroad this summer to study art history in Italy! The program is a 4 weeks and then I will be doing some independent traveling to Switzerland, Paris and London after with some of the other students for about 10 days after the program ends.  68 more days until I leave!
Not like I am counting the days till then...

Cinque Terre, Italy (I will be staying a weekend here! AHH!)

4. Working a Lot for Study Abroad: I have been working at my regular job at school and I went back to my bakery job to help fund my trip. I also work four hours at a call center on Saturday's. EEK! Luckily, I am only taking one class right now or I would probably be going insane right now.

5. Boyfriend: I don't post a lot on here about my relationship status because, well, it has been pretty complicated the last couple years. With a long term relationship tragically ending about a year and a half ago, dating has been an interesting journey that I wasn't planning on ever having to take again.  I did date a guy last summer for a couple months and I was very grateful for that relationship. He treated me really well and was intellectually stimulating. We broke up before school started. I was pretty upset for a while but I am now grateful that he broke up with me for many reasons. I have gone on dates here and there since then. About a two months ago, I went on a date with one of my friends John who works as a freelance pianist. I was excited to go to Cafe Rio with him but honestly I was thinking it was just a friend date and nothing more than that. I was wrong. He is charming, genuine, loving, funny, and also extremely handsome, bonus! We went on a second date a couple weeks later and then shortly after that we decided to date exclusively. It has been an interesting journey dating him and I would have to say I have been happier than I have been in a really long time.  I usually am pretty happy anyways but he has brought a lot more joy in my life that I never knew I was missing. 

John and I at BYU's concerto night. 

Challenge

Do you ever find that sometimes, life just seems to get stuck into a rhythm?

Go to work. Go to school. Eat. Sleep. Breathe. Repeat.

It can be oh, so tiring and just plain exhausting.  I am finding myself the need to endure the seemingly-endless schedule, just waiting for a moment beyond the horizon to arrive.  But isn't life about enjoying the moment?  Can't I choose to be happy now? Can't I make life exciting each and every day?

I've decided I need some creativity back into my life.  Something to bring in the new and exciting.  Something to look forward to in each week.  Even each day if possible.  I don't want to simply endure life, but to enjoy it.

I've decided to challenge myself for this next week and for the week of March.  Here's my list:

Have something to look forward to each day.

Do things outside of the box.

Challenge the husband to see who can create the most creative date night in the month of March.

Make personal goals every week to do something that challenges you and improves you.

That's my list for now.  I think that should help with the creative juices flowing AND help me to step outside the norm.  Life is stressful as is, so let's bring some fun back! #I'mbringingfunback?

This is Erin, signing out. Peace.

Mondays

Do you ever have those terrible, no good, very bad Mondays?

Yup. Me too. It makes Tuesdays that much more exhausting. Thank goodness for a cute husband and custard. Otherwise, I may have not survived my terrible, no good, very bad Monday. 

I'm grateful for new days. It's like a clean slate. Ready to start again and make a better day than before. I tried to set up my morning for success by listening to Elder Holland's talk "Like a Broken Vessel" and some awesome music to pump up my morning. These are my favorite songs for the moment:

"Come to Me" by the Goo Goo Dolls

"Hello My Old Heart" by The Oh Hello's

"Step Out" by José Gonzalez

"Benny" by Mideau

Here's to a brighter, happier day than before! Thank you Heavenly Father for new days!