Realise

I became aware of something over this past Memorial Day weekend. Its okay to shut down, turn off and just be for a weekend. I gathered up some friends, packed the car and just drove. The cabin awaited for me with its pristine waters, every changing weather and the feeling of pure contentedness waiting for us. The cabin is true in every nature to its name. It is a cabin. The tv doesn't work except for VHS and recently DVD's due to the player we bought for it. The fireplace is wood, the size is perfect and when you visit, you are home. No worries, no cares, just fun, relaxation and the occasional dance party or epic bags tournament. No matter the weather, it is truly a great place to just get away. I shut my phone off and just enjoyed the company I was in. The real world was waiting for me when I got home, but I didn't mind playing catch up. Because the memories I made this weekend will stay with me forever.

To not so much make up for my recent absence, I'm just going to start from today. Today is Must Do Wednesday. And I think you can gather what my must do is going to be. Turn it off. Turn off the tv, the cellphone, the computer, the ipod, ipad, nook, kindle, anything else electronic and just sit there. Listen to the sounds of the silence. Go for a walk without your music and listen to the children laughing, the birds singing, the dogs barking, the lawn mowers running, the people talking. Take it all in. We are so quick to make everything faster, more efficient, quieter, that we forget to enjoy what we've already created. I tend to look at the future while my present is happening. I just got a great job, I'm working at an internship I love, I have the most amazing family and friends anyone could ask for and yet I still forget to enjoy it sometimes. Even if only for an hour, it is okay to shut down. To just be with doing. Your To Do list will still be one when you get back, you computer will still work, you music will still play, but you don't ever get the moment you're in back. So mental image it, really image it (I'll allow cameras), do whatever you need to do to remember that moment. Because when you do plug back in, that memory will be a save haven and a promise to what lies ahead.

Here and Gone

Well, the weekend comes and goes again. But the joy of summer is that Monday's all of a sudden take on a whole new meaning. Sure, I'm still working and doing a little bit of school work, but the weather is beautiful and the birds are chirping and its summer. So start enjoying them a little bit, you might just find a new found fondness for them. Cheers to a great week and fun and happy life!

Happy Birthday

That lovely lady on the right there turned 25 yesterday! She's the greatest sister anyone could ask for and certainly the best one that I have. Cheers to another healthy and fun 25 years!

Shoes, Friends, Basilica Rd 2

The creative juices just haven't been flowing for me lately, but then I had a little get together with some friends on Tuesday and just haven't had time to channel them. So Music Thursday has turned into the greatest shoes, the best friends and the Basilica Rd 2 with a few extras thrown in.

Shoes

How. Amazing. Are. These? They are from Target and they are 29.00$. Check them out here. Now, I usually don't have anywhere to where something like these, but it doesn't mean I can't look! If you are someone who has an excuse to wear amazing shoes like these every day, then there is simply no excuse not to get them.

Now fellas, I did not forget you this week. I don't know what your personal style is obviously, but these are great. They are 70$ from Zappos, and they have free shipping BOTH WAYS! So if you get them and don't like them, you can send em back for a full refund, for FREE! Who doesn't like free? If you don't, go to a doctor immediately and get a brain scan.


Must Do
 


 These are just some of my friends from high school. Believe it or not, this was three going on four years ago. And we are all still friends. On Tuesday, we had a very tiny get together at a friends house with just some of these people. And it was like we had been hanging out everyday when in reality, we have seen each other in months. There is something about friendships that keep you going. Things change. People you didn't think you would ever be friends with come out of the wood work and people you thought would be your friend forever just fade away. And that's okay.

 People change. Every single person in each one of these pictures has changed. We aren't the same people we were in high school and that is what's so cool about when we get together. Even though we are different people, we are better friends because of it. I am so proud of what everyone has done with their lives. I have had friends in Africa, France, Peru, Guatemala, New York, Colorado, California, Wisconsin, North Dakota and many more states and countries that I just don't even know. But some how, everyone comes back.

 Your must do of the day is reconnect with someone. Maybe the effort just hasn't been there, or something happened to cause a rift. In the grand scheme of things, that fight you had three years ago doesn't matter much to either of you. But you are both so stubborn that neither one wants to make the first move. Nothing that happened in high school matters anymore. You are who you are now and odds are, you both are better now. I love these people with all my heart and I know that I am lucky to still have all of them in my life. Effort is needed, but its worth it.

Basilica Round 2-July 7, 2012

 Sun Country Stage

The Avett Brothers

Fitz and the Tantrums

The Lumineers

Walser Stage

OAR

Graffiti6

Stuart D-Rozario

      I can't find a video for him, so he must be new!

Vita.mn Stage

 Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles

Farewell Milwaukee

The Boy N' The Barrels

Don't forget to check out  Skinny Girl Thoughts, brought to you by yours truly! There is a great drink, recipe and workout on there to keep you going towards your goals.

Just a little something extra for you....

Shout Out!

Tehee. Gotta love Mondays. A shout out to the graduation classes of 2012 from university's, colleges and high schools all around the country! You did it! Now go do some stuff! Another shout out to all the great, fabulous, wonderful mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, mothers to be and people who want to be mothers. You are great. Its Monday, as I'm sure all of you know. A day after Sunday and the day before Tuesday. Lets make it great.

Glances

What a first week of summer! I slept till noon, worked out, basked in the afternoon sun, played catch left handed with my nanny kid and just relaxed. This is pretty much my only week of summer, then its internship and hopefully, fingers crossed, a paying job. But I'm okay with that. This is the time when everyone is getting done with finals, starting to study for finals, already on summer or just working. Make sure that you take some time to just be for a little bit, no matter what you may be doing. The sun is shining, the temperatures are rising, and friends you haven't seen in months are coming home. That project doesn't have to get done today. You room can stay messy for one more week. Enjoy the things around you while you can. Smile at someone today.

Happy summer, or near summer, everyone! Don't forget to check out Skinny Girl Thoughts for a little weekend thinspiration! What are you going to do to change your life today?

Basilica Rd 1

Personally, I am a huge fan of the Basilica Block Party, so I thought "why not do a piece on the bands that are going to be featured at this years block party?" So here it is! For music Thursday, I present to you the first part of the line up for an amazing weekend of music! Take it in. Love it. Buy tickets for it. Just do it. Tune in next Thursday for the second half of the line up!

Friday, July 6


Sun Country Stage
Train

The Head and the Heart

Mat Kearney

Walser Stage
Tyrone Wells

Cake

Imagine Dragons

Vita.mn Stage
Prissy Clerks

A. Wolf & Her Claws

Phantom Tails

Don't forget to check out Skinny Girl Thoughts this week brought to you by me! What are you going to do to change your life today? I'm going to listen to this amazing music and long for money to buy tickets for the wholeeeeee weekend. 

Life

Well that's it. My first semester at Metro is done. And as I look back and compare a semester at Marquette versus Metro, I realize that I finally found somewhere I'm comfortable, where I fit. I was a fish out of water at Marquette. And its something you don't really realize until you leave. I was trying so hard to please and fit in there that I was exhausted and tired all the time. I went and visited on my birthday weekend and it was a lot of fun, but I also realized a lot of things while there. Marquette is a bubble. I had no idea what the real world had in store for me until I left. And as hard I tried to keep the friendships I made there intact, the distance does its damage. People changed. I changed. People you thought would be there forever suddenly aren't. Best friends become once in awhile friends and friends become acquaintances. Its sad, but you really find out who your real friends are when you leave. No one likes change, and this change was especially hard for me. The fall was a lot of forced smiles and pretending to be happy about the situation. Then school started and I was succeeding and meeting people and it all started to turn around. The smiles aren't forced anymore. I get excited when I get to go to school. I don't "have" to go to class anymore. I "get" to go to class. And what made it truly special was being able to pay for it all on my own. Sure I'm getting free rent and food, but paying that last tuition bill was so satisfying. Marquette has become a period of my life that I'll look back on and smile when I think about the good times. But I'm not longing for it anymore. I want to see more in my college years than Marquette could have offered me. I get to learn how to shoot a gun in 6 months, and taser someone and offensive driving and all these cool things that Marquette couldn't offer me. I'm going to go into future interviews with more than just a fancy name behind me, I'm going in with skills. And what's even better is that I'm going to graduate with less debt than 99% of the people at Marquette. I'm happy, and I couldn't say that five months ago. I got straight A's this semester. The first 4.0 of my entire schooling career. That has to say something. I don't know exactly what, but I'm pretty darn proud of it.

Wednesday's are going to bring a little something extra to you from Life At Its Finest. I want you to get something from this blog. To read and say, "Wow" just ever once in awhile. Wednesday's are going to be "Must Do" days. I am going to suggest something, whether it be a concert, an event, a hike, a choice, whatever, its something I want you to do. It just depends on what mood I'm in on that specific day. Today, I want you to make a decision. It doesn't have to be big or grandiose like changing your entire life in a week and moving home and changing schools. But what I do want you to do is look at your life up until this exact moment in time. What stands out? What would you rather forget? Are you happy? If not, why? Because you should be. Your "Must Do" of the day is just to reflect. Write it all down, share it with someone, keep it to yourself, I don't care. Just do. Maybe you'll realize something that you didn't before and you want to do something about it. Who knows, you may just make the best decision of your life because of it.

You Need These

On Tuesday's, I'm going to tell you what you need. Or at least what you should want haha. These sunglasses are sooo cool and what a way to bring in summer but with a fabulous pair of sunglasses. ENJOY!

They can be found at Urban Outfitters for 16 bucks! Urban is great and super cheap. There are other selections for guys and gals on here too. Check it out!