its such a perfect day...

I am awfully sorry for my lack of blogging lately, but the truth is--I've just been so busy this last week! And it feels like today is my first day to just totally relax (and not even completely--I have a big exam to study for! ahhh!! procrastination!!!) But I figured that I should update this before even more big things happen in my life! So here it goes: the rundown of my life, as of late:

We held Open Meeting for our Service Fraternity last Wednesday, and after hanging up hundreds of flyers, tabling all week long, and passing the word on to friends, I'd say that our fraternity did a pretty damn good job at recruiting people! We had about 80 students show up who are interested in joining! It was really exciting to see so many people become interested in something that has really changed my experience here at Pitt, in the best possible way.

Thursday I went to an "Ice Breaker" game-night event to meet a lot of the new pledges and it was a blast! Everyone was so excited to be there and so sooo friendly--we have a really good group of people coming in. Afterwards, a group of my friends and I headed down to Nordy's Place at the bottom of the Union. They were hosting an Open Mic Night of singers, guitar players, and comedians. And we had a BLAST! The opening band was actually a local Pittsburgh Band, and afterwards they came over to meet us and thank us for their support! We must have been there for a good three hours, but it was just a really really good time. And it made me realize that, somehow, Thursday nights always turn out to be one of my favorite nights of the week...

Friday, I spent most of the daytime doing homework (lots of reading this semester!) in preparation for a busy night! APO met in the Union to make blankets for underprivileged children. Luckily for me, I just happened to be a certified pro at it thanks to my mom who taught me that skill waaayyyy back in the day at one of my birthday parties ;) THANKS MOM--the kids appreciate your talents!! hahaha

Afterwards--David, Daniela, and I took an adventure downtown to the Cultural District for a play at the Byham Theater. We saw Spring Awakening. It's a musical set to rock-themed songs and it's about a bunch of teenagers in the Victorian Era...it was pretty entertaining! And I had a great time enjoying the night with D and David.

I spent the rest of the night just hanging out with my wonderful and crazy friends, and I have to admit, I think this turned out to be one of the funniest nights ever--everyone was definitely on their A-game ;)

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning to take part in "Adopt-A-Block." We went out and picked up trash along the streets of South Oakland. There was a big group of us, and we ended up having a really great time. Afterwards we went out for coffee and bagels and talked to our new friend, Wiki, an exchange student from China. He taught us some Chinese and told us tons of crazy stories about his world travels--the best part about him though is definitely his British accent! He had us alllll cracking up!!

And THEN the beautiful Ashley arrived!!!! Steph and I picked her up from the Megabus station and spent the whole day together. She's just wonderful, and I was super happy about her arrival/spontaneous visit! It's always great to have visitors and something like that to look forward to. We spent the night with our friend Pags, making lots of yummy food and laughing the whole night through!!

On SUNDAY, I ventured out to the Pittsburgh Zoo with three other girls from one of my classes. We're in a sort of Nature/Global Politics class together and we have to give a presentation soon, so we chose the zoo! We lucked out with a somewhat warm day, and the animals were all really active! I just love going to the zoo. Unfortunately, the polar bears weren't out :( But we had a great time! I haven't had time to load the pictures from my camera onto my computer yet, so here are a few from my phone...and I promise, more to come! Cus who doesn't like to look at pictures of cute animals??

We dropped Ash back off at the Megabus stations and headed to an E-Board Meeting and finished the night with some homework. I'd also like to mention how much I've enjoyed skype dates with my amazing friends Rach and Colleen this past week! You guys are da bomb! And all of the delicious meals I've enjoyed with my friends here at Pitt. I'm so thankful for everyone in my life :)

Oh, and before I forget, last night we made Valentines Cards for The Children's Institute! It was really fun to get to be creative! Here's the card that I made, and here's David! He's going to be my travel partner in March! Yay!!

I'm heading back to Harrisburg this weekend, and I honestly cannot wait! I can't wait to see my puppy! And Rach! And my parents and cousin! And to drive! And to see movies! And all that good stuff--hopefully I have lots to blog about!

Take care everyone!--time to go finally study for this exam! :P

  

big belly laughs

today, i am simply thankful for my friends.

old and new.

near and far.

those who make me laugh

those big belly laughs.

and those who lend a listening ear

when things just don't seem to be

going all that great.

for the little messages i receive

throughout the day from each and

every one of them.

thank you for making me smile.

round tables.

This past weekend I got to experience the pleasure of being surrounded by family. The art of getting away without really going away. And I guess that’s one of the many many perks of having relatives so near.

This past weekend we celebrated my Grandma’s 80^th Birthday. She’s an amazing lady, to say the very least. And probably the thing that I admire most about her is her ability to find the best in everyone.

And while I sat at one of the round tables at her party and listened to each of her children talk about what she has taught them over the years, it made me realize how very lucky I am to have my mother. And not just my mom, but my entire family. Because they all teach me about different aspects of life. Whether it’s how to “work in a circle” or play a game of gin rummy. Or maybe how to shoot a basketball. Or even just how to look at things in a more artistic way in order to appreciate them on a whole new level. I am so very blessed. And no matter how small these things may seem, they’re really big to me. Because they have helped make me exactly who I have become. I am so very lucky to have a family that enjoys every moment we get together—a family that laughs more than any other that I’ve been around. Thank you.

And so I think it’s obvious to say that I really enjoyed my little weekend “away.” I got to spend the night at my Mimi’s house and watch as she went to town with her new laptop (that’s pretty damn impressive in my book!) I got to sit around the breakfast table with my aunt and uncle, eating scrambled eggs and buttered toast (and a really delicious coffee blend might I add!) I got to eat some of the best seafood ravioli I’ve ever had and talk about what I want to do with my life and about bus routes and what I’m learning in class. I got to laugh endlessly with my older cousin who’s always felt more like a sister to me. And I got to listen to my crazy parents talk endlessly about their “moves like jagger” too! It was a pretty awesome weekend in my book…

And this week is full of loose papers. Stains in the bottoms of my coffee cups. An assortment of teas. Little post-it notes all over the place. Scarves and rain boots and a couple layers of socks. Rain outside the window and slush on the ground. Music playing in the background. It’s full of flyers and fraternity recruiting. Meetings and projects and essays to write. And that feeling you get when you have two wonderful weekends to look forward to…

Happy Monday everybody!

a little bit of thanks for the little things.

the little things make all the difference:
a long (almost) 6 day martin luther king weekend. breakfast at eat'n park. seeing a movie in the theatre. caramel flavored coffee. laughing with friends (old & new). peanut butter & nutella sandwiches. lifetime movie marathons. homemade cinnamon sugar soft pretzels. late night card games around the kitchen table. silver christmas trees. burritos. being elected as PR chair for APO. foreign kids in class. IM-ing with alex. phone calls & skype dates with my brothers. the feeling of giving a good presentation. getting to say goodbye to kaylie and becca. knowing that theres only 42 days until im sitting on the beautiful beaches of california. getting out of (night)class early. new restaurants. the golden globes & fashion police. buffalo chicken dip for dinner. 500 days of summer on television. midday 90s dance marathons. knowing that i get to see my wonderful mom & dad in just two days.

mmmm. don't they look good??

also: i read this post on another blog yesterday, and since then i've already seen it reposted a couple of times over the internet. i thought it was a pretty cool concept. so, if you have some time, read: this awesome piece of writing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

a dreamer.

a writer.

a student.

a future lawyer. 

a future roommate.

someone with one of the biggest hearts i have ever met.

someone who is never afraid of a spontaneous adventure.

someone who speaks her mind.

someone who always has something positive and nice to say.

someone who possesses drive,

who has incredible talent,

& who laughs at all my stupid jokes just as much as i do.

someone who can go with the flow,

and who doesn't care what others think about her.

someone who appreciates the little things; the things 

that most people never notice.

someone who looks at the world differently.

someone who gives great advice.

a listener.

a music lover.

an awesome dancer ;)

a beautiful soul.

Happy Birthday Kaylie--

20 years old today!

Looking back on this last semester, I can't

even believe that we've only become friends.

You've helped make this the best semester yet!

I hope you have a great semester in Italy, and I'm

looking forward to all of the WONDERFUL memories

that we have yet to come! Thank you for being just

the way you are--don't ever change; because I know

how much all of us here at Pitt appreciate having

you as a friend. 

LIVE IT UP GIRL

because...

LIFE IS YOUR JAM!  ;)

I LOVE YOUUUU :)

one week down.

my first full week of semester 2

of my sophomore year is complete!

and i think it's pretty safe to say that

it's going to be a busy, but splendid, semester.

i've already turned in one paper and completed a

20 minute presentation! (and they both went well might

i add). and now i am welcoming in this wonderful

five-day-weekend i've got going on here...

thanks MLKJR; you da man! ;)

i hope everyone has a nice 

little holiday weekend! i'm

planning on spending it with 

some of my very best friends :)

  

starting 2012 off the right way!

hey all! what do you think about my new blog header?? the lovely rachael designed it for me! she's going to be a wonderful graphic designer, isn't she?? thanks rach; you rock ;)

so this past weekend marked the first official weekend of the second semester, and my friends and i decided to take COMPLETE advantage of that fact! i haven't even slept in my own bed since wednesday night! but you know what? busy weekends are always always always the best weekends.

future roommates!

since the beautiful miss kaylie springer is leaving us to go study abroad this semester in italy (i'm going to miss her so much!!!), she decided to come visit us this weekend! or rather...come to pitt to pick us up and take us back to her house in mt. pleasant! what a pleasant little town :) see what i did there?? sooo...since everyone has decided to take my lead this semester and NOT schedule any friday classes (woohoo!), she picked us up on thursday and we made our way to seven springs for some snow tubing! it was a blast!! i had never been snow tubing before! and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves! we also made friends with the one other family that was there through their extremely-energized little boy, michael. it was awesome...we raced! we went down in groups! we crashed against the wall! we laughed! we screamed! we tumbled! and the weather was just grand! i loved it. and i hope that we can somehow turn this into a tradition maybe!? 

rebecca.lauren.steph.kaylie.daniela.maggie.myself.

we also got to experience the famous pizza of mt. pleasant: jioio's! it was the biggest pizza that i have ever seen! and it was delicious! it had a sort of sweeter sauce to it...yummm. and of course we chowed down on some yummy cookies too. it was really fun having a slumber party with some of my very best friends :) oh, and i'm pretty sure that she has the most adorable dog i have ever seen! and we were even treated to a yummy breakfast in the morning! french toast and sausage and bacon...thank you mrs. springer!!! 

we couldn't even get past the fact that it was only friday! we decided to spend the night at the dawson residence and have some friends over to celebrate being reunited again! and the start to a new year and a new semester of course! it was even more awesome because two of my friends from home--suds and brian--were here to visit too!!! it was one big reunion! i have a feeling that this weekend is going to be hard to top....

 kaylie. myself. maggie.

 lauren x2

 DAVID!!!

 kimmy. kim. ruben. marissa. myself. 

me and rube!

yayayay!!! brian and suds came to visit!! :)

we all awoke bright and early on saturday morning craving a hearty breakfast...so we decided to venture on over to the strip district for delucas' famous breakfast! i just love this place--i want to take anyone and everyone who comes to visit me there!! i got an apple cinnamon crepe and it was amazing. it definitely paid to call ahead and reserve a table, there being 11 of us! but i just love when friends from home and friends from school hit it off so well :) laughs all around!!

apple cinnamon crepe 

after our stomachs were completelyyyy stuffed, we took advantage of the (once again) beautiful weather by walking around to see all of the cool things that the strip district had to offer. (i would be extremely happy if the winter season stayed like this!) all of you steelers and pens fans would go CRAZY there...just about every vendor has soooome sort of pittsburgh apparel...and it's all pretty much one-of-a-kind or just plain hilarious. i love it!

we had dinner in the good ole cafeteria that night and made our way down to dawson for slumber #3! we concluded our busy weekend with a movie night and card games until 4 in the morning! (well--the three of us who managed to stay awake that is!) we just were having way too much fun to even THINK about sleeping. and it seems as if nights like those are really easy to come by lately, and i'm so grateful for that.

blessed to have all these people in my life :)

sundays, of course mean homework. but you won't find me complaining, because i've had too good of a weekend to be unhappy about ANYTHING. i know it's sappy, but i'm so so so thankful for the people that have been put in my life. they all make me laugh in different ways and they keep me going each and every day. it's weekends like this one that make me want to work harder during the week.

thank you to all of my beautiful beautiful friends--you teach me something new about myself every single day, and you've made me certain that pittsburgh is exactly where i belong :)