Oh, the Wonderful World of Blogging

I woke up this morning and was going through my twitter newsfeed when I noticed that I was featured on Sometimes Sweet Blog! Guys, I can't even explain how excited I was when I saw this! Call me a little giddy girl, I'll take it, but it was just such an honor! If you aren't following Danielle's Blog, you need to! She is a huge reason why I have a love for the blogging world. She rocks, and has lots of great things to say, so go check her out!

Every Tuesday she does a post called "Tattoo Tuesday", where she will feature an individual who has tattoos and asks them a series of questions about what they mean, when they got them, what they are, etc. I always look forward to seeing who she will feature, so it was awesome to see myself up on the 'big screen' this week!

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Onto other news! My month long sabbatical came to an end Sunday night and I returned back to work on Monday. It's been great being back at the office, but it's definitely taking some adjusting. It's going to be a great, crazy, stretching next 6 months until my contract with LiNK ends. I can't even believe it! To think, this December, it's all over. No more LiNK. No more Nomads. No more tours. What will I do next? That is the big question. Now if only I can find the answer...

This last weekend was a great way to end my vacation. It was my 24th Birthday! I had an amazing day. I was able to celebrate with so many great people. During the day, we all met up at Heritage Park in Cerritos. Great park, definitely go if you haven't! We had a potluck/picnic style lunch and the weather was beautiful. I LOVE themed parties, so I ended up going with something basic, yet fun: "Plaid Theme". It was so great to see everyone come in their sweet plaid attire! I loved it! We also played a couple games of kickball, which was SO much fun!! It definitely gave me the hunger to get out more and be active. Anyone want to start a kickball league?! :) I love my friends, I really have the best ones, just saying. Then that night a smaller group of us went out to happy hour and had a lot of fun. Just all around good times, good faces. So, I can genuinely say turning 24 was not the worst thing in the world, in fact, I've grown to love it!

A special thanks to all who played a special part in making my birthday such a great one. Whether you just showed up, you made me a gift, you bought me a drink, sent me a text, whatever you did, thank you. I will never take those things for granted, and I feel so very special. Thank you, I love you all!

Here are some pictures from that special day -













That is all for now, I hope you are all having a fabulous week! It's still summer, go get out there and have yourself an adventure :)

Update on my Sabbatical Goals

In my last post, I wrote out 30 things I wanted to accomplish while on my 30 day Sabbatical from work. This post is an update on my progress so far! I go back to work this Monday, so I hope I can accomplish a few more things off of this list!

1. Finish reading Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist
2. Go on a vacation
3. Swim in the ocean (it's been FOUR years since I have been in the ocean. Time to face my fears!)
4. Go surfing for the first time
5. Go on several bike rides
6. Make a day trip (by train) to LA
7. Learn to celebrate turning 24, rather than dreading it. I want to do something different this year, so let's see how it goes!
8. Write more music
9. Paint. Paint. Paint!
10. Spend time with my niece
11. Perform with Pilgrims [my band] :) open mics, or shows, doesn't matter to me
12. Blog/write more
13. Try a new food/restaurant
14. Read & Study scripture more
15. Find a bathing suit that I love and that 'loves me' - comfortable, and I feel comfortable in
16. Start a new hobby
17. Cook at least one 'good' meal for my friends
18. Take lots of photos
19. Properly take care of my skin. I've definitely slacked on this, time to break that habit!
20. Go on at least a few solo trips/adventures
21. Have a picnic
22. Start (and finish) a DIY project
23. Do something I've never done before (surfing doesn't count)
24. Go on a hike
25. Get a massage
26. Start meeting with new small group (this is finally starting!!)
27. Discover something new about my city [Long Beach, CA]
28. Attend some sort of festival (music, art, etc.)
29. Go to a museum that I've never been to before
30. Go on a brewery tour

This was helpful to do just now, because I totally thought I had accomplished a lot more than I really have! Today I will plan out a few of these items to do over the next few days. I've accepted the fact that I probably won't be able to get through all of them, but the remaining items I can accomplish over the summer!

What are your goals for this summer? Big or small, I'd love to hear them!

So far, this has been such a beautiful summer. I've really grown to love becoming older, even though it was something I was dreading. Now, I've changed my perspective on growing old; instead of complaining about the grey hairs that have been popping up, or how my skin just 'isn't like it used to be', I am more motivated to truly love life and treat it as a God-given gift. So, here's to turning 24 in four days. Bring it on, I'm ready for you.

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I leave you with this music video by Mike Mains & The Bracnches. I was recently introduced to them by a friend of mine, and I just fell in love immediately. For all you pop, dance and rock lovers, I think you'll find this band to be a great addition to your itunes. Enjoy!

Mike Mains & The Branches - "Stereo"