Kiss My Grass

Well, hello there my spring time love cakes! I finished out my first semester in grad school with a 3.8 GPA, which I will happily take any day, and with more miles on my car than I've racked up in a whole year (probably... I have no real proof of this.)

However, I've been home twice, flown twice, driven in snow and ice enough to make me never want to live in the Midwest, been to a baby shower, celebrated my anniversary ((rawr)), grilled out, visited a botanical garden, got my feet wet at the beach, and eaten at a local seafood place that I and Lover Man put off going into for a year... This semester hasn't been all too bad.

With the warm weather comes warm weather outfits, which also means I revert back to being a southern hippie and not liking to wear shoes. I absolutely love the way it feels to have fresh, soft grass crush beneath my feet and in between my toes. I don't even mind the asphalt walks I endure when I take off my shoes and socks immediately after a run or in the car when I've worn uncomfortable shoes all day (or just for an hour or so) and can't stand to wear them any longer, even from the car to my front door. Nature's floor always welcomes me even though she has a humor streak. When we were at the beach I got two natural little thorny knick knacks stuck in my feet, on separate occasions, back to back, one in each foot. I pulled them out pretty easily and they didn't really hurt or leave splinters, so it was okay.

at the botanical garden

 

 

at the beach

 

Lover Man bought me a new camera (Nikon s3500) for the anniversary and I captured some phenomenal pictures during my last visit and voyage. I'll throw them in here and hope you like them. I was so excited that I was able to get so many beautiful shots. I secretly wanna be a photographer but I don't have the dedication you need to master it. Kudos to the photogs! Enjoy the pics and I'll harass yall again soon!

 

 

 

 

I love that you can see his footprints

 



LM finally found his perfect cup of she-crab soup!

 

 

 

 

 



Nature Photo Bomb.
The one flower bulb was directly over my face.



Crabby Patty



This burger,
especially crafted for me by Lover Man,
was delicious.
p.s. - burgers are one of my absolute favorite foods (or meal...?)

take in everyday beauty love cakes!
haLf.baKed or die!

♥x0x0
seria.

Solo 25

Well, hello there my love cakes! It has definitely been a while. School has ruined me and stolen me away from the blog for some time now! I hope to do better in the coming weeks. Not too much has happened, other than the fact that I’ve survived a winter in the Midwest!! ::cue dramatic organ music:: I am most definitely a creature from the South and 5 degree weather just isn’t my idea of winter. Well, it wasn’t until a few months ago. Now Spring is finally poking its face around the corner and I’m gladly welcoming it, literally flagging it in, showing it where to run to. One thing the Spring weather usually ushers in? It has something to do with the number 25… “What’s up with 25?” you may ask. I’m glad you are pondering it (and if you aren’t just humor me.)

25 (twEntY.fiVe)

-          The number of years of marriage that denotes a silver wedding anniversary.

-          The number of cents in a quarter.

-          The name of the national board game of India (Pachisi — Hindi for 25)

-          The total number of playable characters in Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Melee.

-          The percentage that is equal to 1/4.

-          The sum of the first five odd numbers (1+3+5+7+9)

-          The age you have to be to rent a car (with no under 25 fee!)

-          The age you have to be to get elected to  the United States House of Representatives

-          The natural number following 24 and preceding 26.

-          And the age I became just a lot more awesome!

 

Did you like my exhaustive exciting list? My birthday was almost two weeks ago and it was the first birthday that I spent without any family or friends*. At first I was determined to avoid my birthday – I wasn’t gonna talk about it, acknowledge, tell anyone – I just wanted it to slip by because I wasn’t gonna be able to celebrate it like I wanted.

 

[(If I can’t have it the way I want it, I don’t want it at all! That’s just me.)]

 

Surprisingly enough, it ended up being one of the best birthdays I’ve had in a very long time. I got to talk to each of my nieces and nephews, 2 of which sang me happy birthday. My DAD sang me happy birthday, which was AWESOME. Lover Man sent me flowers, which was amazing. ::If you don’t know anything about this man, here’s one fun fact about him – he hates flowers. He does not like to buy them because they die. . . Well, I’m not sure if that's his actual reasoning, but it’s my assumption of his reasoning.:: They were beautiful roses with chocolates and a Garfield Happy Birthday balloon.

 

He had them sent to my class! They were waiting at my seat
when I walked in (partly because my friend put them there
when he saw them sitting in the office! Thanks Derrick!) ;)

 

I got text messages, voicemails, calls. The love was unbelievable! AND THEN I even got to go to lunch with a girl crush of mine, which completely put the icing on the cake for me. She’s pretty damn awesome. The number one thing that I was most excited about was that I was essentially by myself* on my birthday… And loved it. Of course I still wish I could have spent time with family and Lover Man, but the day ended up being great despite their absence.

I love the feeling of being happy with myself. Just me, myself, and my thoughts. I appreciate how I can be alone and not be lonely. I appreciate  how I enjoy my own company. Many people can’t say that. So, I spent much of that day giving thanks as well. Like I always say, I’m always thankful. That’s a year-round event for me. My 25^th came in, kissed me on the forehead, and presented me with a sense of graciousness, thankfulness, and pure happiness. And with that pure happiness and sense of self, I took myself to get take-out dinner from Applebee's. I sat at the bar, had a Woodchuck, and waited for my food to come out... It. Was. Awesome. I'm not so sure that anyone should enjoy being alone so much! ;D

Life is so good to me right now and the big 25 was greeted and welcomed with open arms, much like this elusive Spring we keep hearing about. Unlike Spring though, 25 is here to stay... At least until 26 pushes its way through.

 

THANKS TO ALL THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO WISHED ME HAPPY BIRTHDAY! YALL MADE IT AWESOME. Love is spewing out of me and towards you! ::great visual, I'm sure::  ;)

 *I have wonderful friends here at school who are great, but I was referring to and would have liked to see college and childhood friends who I've spent countless birthdays with...just for clarity :D

Be thankful love cakes and enjoy the weekend!

haLf.baKed or die! ;)

 

♥x0x0

seria.

Paper

how cute is this ad by the Australian Post!

 

When I thumb through old notebooks from undergrad, high school, and even middle school, it's never a surprise to find characters scribbled in the margins, telling of stories, ideas, dreams that only existed in my head.

I would find the class lesson too hard to understand or too boring to follow and my mind would slip away from reality and into a world much better. All of my stories and poems weren't of rainbows and sunshines, but more like sentences of clouds. Clouds aren't always grey, but they always seem to cast an overcast or know how to perfectly exist, phasing themselves in and out, without getting [completely] in the way of Sun's rays. Like clouds, my sentences were always in the way, stifled inside of me, free to spill out onto paper but never in the form of air. Like clouds, my words tripped over themselves to form clumsy sentences that never got in the way of my translucent smiles. Wood, trees, paper became my best friend. I was free to write on it, to it, whatever I wanted, whatever I felt. If I was feeling sure of myself, I could use pen. Unsure, pencil. I could scribble, scratch out, doodle, rip, tear, piece back together, tape back into existence, or let the water droplets from my eyes crash all over it.

It wasn't judgmental and was always there. . . to be there.

 

It doesn't hold grudges when I feel a piece of myself missing, then vow to revisit the cooler, high school version of myself who would quickly put pen to paper to pull my growing up soul out of the grips of this horrific thing they call adulthood... but don't follow through. It doesn't hold grudges when I make promises to myself on it, to it, to be better, to stop or start, to do more or less and fail to follow through. It does not hold grudges when I take to the keys of a black technologically-infused piece of plastic and type away to millions of potential eyes. Instead, it waits patiently knowing that I will return.

 

Because I always do.

 

There's something about a piece of paper that has this substantial quality that no white screen will ever be able to give me. Pieces of paper with words and life left on it are left behind from centuries ago for us wandering souls to find today. So delicate, but so sturdy, stable, and stubborn. So steadfast. Paper can hold secrets better than any person or white digitized bundle of zeros and ones can. It holds dreams and fears and passions and hatreds, phobias and fetishes, judgments, futures and pasts. It holds whatever you give to it. Particularly when your cloudy sentences aren't yet ready to be air.

 

 

stay haLk.baKed cupcakes :)

I had to get that one out ;)

haPpy weEk.enD

 

♥x0x0

seria.

Transition Is A Mother

Well, hello there my love muffins! Happy 2013! I hope it has been treating yall well thus far. It has been bittersweet for me. The bitterness comes from moving away from Lover Man and all my friends and family, but the sweet part comes from knowing that I'm finally pursuing something that I want to do, that I need to do! So, to that I say...

Welcome 2013! Bring it on!

 

I made the exhausting move with my parents and Lover Man a few days after New Years Day. It was exciting, exhausting, scary, fun, and all the other adjectives that you can think of that contradict each other. It has definitely been an adjustment - a completely new boring town, new people, different weather, school work has been reintroduced to me, I don't get to see Lover Man everyday like I am used to - it's all just very different! Though it is definitely taxing at times, if not at least every other day, I welcome this new journey of mine. I'm a single mom now ((to my fur kids, yall - I'm a pet mom!)), I have to make my own dinner ((Lover Man was the chef)), I have to make new friends ((I'm somewhat of an introvert nowadays)), I have to keep my own budget, and the list goes on! I'm a grown up! I'm a college student again! :)

 

My dad and Lover Man helped with the move and headed back home, but my mother?. . . My mother. She decided to stay until I was fully settled and she didn't leave until about two weeks later! ((insert audience laughter here)) It was some good, quality time that we were able to spend together and she helped me out A LOT while she was here. It was good bonding time. She definitely helped the initial shock of transition to be a little more subtle. Thanks Ma!

 

With that being said, the town isn't horrible, it's just not home.... of course. The people are absolutely wonderful though. I'm so thankful for that. They have made the transition smoother, thank God! The weather has been awful! It's been as cold as 5 degrees and everyone knows I'm practically afraid of the cold weather. -_- I have a really good winter coat now. This has become the highlight of my days - not freezing in freezing weather.... Great.

 

Anyways, I'll leave on that note and hope that yall are making progress to your goals of the year. If you don't have any, I urge you to make some! There's always something to try, get better at, or master. Remember, the journey is the fun part.

 

I'll try to have better chat topics next time but until then....

half.baKed or die love cakes!

 

 

♥x0x0

seria.

Merr Christmas Shawty!

Well, hello there my Little Debbie Christmas Cakes (I LOVE those things!) Merry Happy Feliz Holidays! I hope it has been and will continue to be a great time spent with those who you love - and those who love you back!

There was so much traveling and packing and toting that happened in the last three days! Y'all know I HATE moving! 0_0 Hate it! I'm half way done though. I officially make the move after New Year's. The time with Lover Man is still being VERY cherished and I keep having holy shit moments where I literally stop and think, "What the hell are you doing?!" I mean, if common law marriage was such a thing in every state, we would be common law married! Pretty big deal if you ask me. He's my man and it's gonna be something terrible getting accustomed to not seeing each other every day! Merrh :(

So, last week we had two forced dates to continue our hoiday merrymaking. The first one was more of an activity than a date - we docorated mugs for each other.. I know, cheesy, but very fun and cute. There's a popular pin circulating around on Pinterest of how to decorate your own mugs, plates, etc. You take a sharpie, write whatever message you want on your mug, and then bake it in the oven for a certain amount of time at a certain temperature... Yea, I'm not one for details. Here's a few photos!

The Man

Yours truly

"You'd better be missing me"

Done!

I bought special Sharpie pens for certain surfaces hoping that this would minimize the risk of it washing off, but more importantly they were oil-based versus the water-based pens they also had available. I have yet to wash the mugs though. Other people have complained about the pen coming off after washes. The longer it sits, the more likely it is that it won't rub off, right? After typing that all out, I'm hoping my logic made sense and that the oil-based pens were a better choice.... Anyway!

Our other forced date, and best date yet, was going to the Andy Grammer concert!! Made. My. Life. I love him! AND I'm 100% POSITIVE that he smiled at me when he saw me rocking out to his music. Swear! Lover Man even saw it. When I tell you that I look like I'm in a room by myself singing aloud.... I'm sure I look absolutely crazy but clearly, I don't mind or care. I love my music. Here's my Singer Man.

Andy Grammer (Love, Love, Love)

He did covers of Maroon 5's Sunday Morning,
Cold Play's Fix You,
and Rihanna's We Found Love.

Nothing short of awesome. Christmas day was also Lover Man's brother's birthday. We got to spend time with him and the rest of his family, of course, and I just felt so loved at the end of the day! Spending time with his family and getting so much love, support, and encouragement from them and then being able to have him experience the same thing from my family reassures me that I have TRULY found my man. No matter my views on marriage or how long it takes us to walk down an aisle or how long it takes to exchange rings, I know I have found my man. End of story. No paper or ring or wedding party required. Sorry for the tangent :) He just makes me happy....when he's not busy making me mad. Hahaha, those in LT relationships definitely understand.

Merry Christmas from us!
((And my ugly Christmas/winter sweater
that he hates!))
:D

 

With that I say Merr Christmas Shawties! ;) Please take comfort in the company of your loved ones. With how crazy the world seems to be getting literally day-by-day, we can never afford to take anything for granted. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays to those who don't. I'm sure I've forgotten something but it'll come to me soon.

stay haLf.baKed love cakes :)

♥x0x0
seria.

San Juan, anyone?

Well, hello there lovelies. Happy Monday! I arrived back in the states exactly a week ago today. One of my sisters was celebrating a birthday (some of you may know her as Shmubb) and had a few friends parlay with her to San Juan. It was beautiful!

View of water from hotel

View from hotel balcony

As much as I enjoyed it, I also missed Lover Man. It was such a beautiful place and every couple I saw made me think of him. I know, beyond sappy. BUT I would love to return. The weather was perfect! And though I'm not too adventurous with my food, they had a few American bars and restaurants to keep me happy. I literally made everyone go to Chili's one night because my craving for a burger was too ridiculous! It was well worth it though. Chili's has pretty good burgers.

It's almost that time....Okay, it's way past the time for me to begin packing. I absolutely dread it! I will start this week - I have to! I have no other choice! Packing thrown in with Christmas shopping thrown in with making sure I spend as much quality time with Lover Man as possible has got me procrastinating on the first two!! :) We have a few crafts planned for this week. Don't worry, I won't forget to update you. ;)

For now, I'll leave it at that and save my other ramblings for the next post. Look at a few of the beautiful shots I got while in San Juan!

This is Old San Juan, a historical site.

There was a wall built to keep invaders out of the city.
There are posts and divets built into the safety wall.
This is the view from one of the divets.



This is the divet-hiding space-nook.

 

This is the view from the bottom of the nook.
(and these are the lovely women I visited with)

The wind was unruly...hence the hair

All hail the Birthday Girl! She's responsible for some of my growth.
She's always exploring and bettering herself...
As Little Sister, I have to catch up! ;)

haLf.baKed or die sweet cakes ;)

♥x0x0

seria.

Forced Dates & Rule #2

Well, hello there my lovelies! Happy Wednesday! I don't like saying Hump Day because I'm immature and my mind instantly wanders...sue me. Anyway, as promised, I have a picture to share of an outing I had with the Man.



first forced date of the holidays ;)


It was fun, but the team lost. Merh :( BUT there were co-workers there and friends, so it was still worth it. I also shared $4 fries with a co-worker lover of mine. There is nothing better than greasy, soggy goodness at sporting events. FYI, I like my fries soggy. :D

One other thing I have to ask before I depart. I just thought about this a few moments ago when I went to the bathroom and immediately was met by an unkind smell. My next immediate thought was that I didn't want the next person coming in to think that I was responsible for the..unpleasant air. God forbid anyone knows that I have a functioning colon and such. With that I ask why are Americans so weird about the unspoken, but heavily-enforced Rule of public bathrooms? Why are we not able to poop in public bathrooms without ridicule? Are you one of those people who walks into a bathroom and upon smelling the byproduct stench of bowel movement, scrunches up your nose and complains how people should NOT do that in public? How dare they use a bathroom for what it is intended for!... I find it funny that so many people refuse (and think others should as well) to go #2 anywhere other than their homes. I, too, am guilty. I mean, I get it, but it's funny. At your house, at a restaurant, or at a public facility, poop is poop. Remember that! :P


Well, love cakes, this is my cue. Smile at people and continue to make the most of your...HUMP Day ::insert Stewie's laugh here::

haLf.baKed or poop in public restrooms! ;)

♥x0x0
seria.