Winding down.

I hate not blogging. I hate it. It's like neglecting a part of myself and I don't like that one bit. However, it's directly proportionate to how busy I have been this summer at my internship. I've been failing miserably at keeping in touch with people the way I want to (and NOT because I don't care or forget about you, but for reasons I can't even explain just yet. Just please know that I'll be back soon). It's been crazy, but it's almost done and I'm dreading the end now. (Remember when I was sort of dreading the beginning?)

Usually once my birthday hits I think to myself "it's all downhill from here" because the end of July goes by so fast and then school starts in August. I can't believe we're already getting close to that time again.

BUT, before that happens, I have some amazing things coming up. We're moving into our brand new house tomorrow. My best friend, Cory is coming to visit me next weekend and I could NOT be more excited. I can't even verbalize how excited I am to see her. Then, I'm headed to Milwaukee for UFC LIVE on VERSUS which will be my last official event with UFC for the summer. Then it's all about getting ready to transition back into student mode which is so difficult to process right now. I've gotten really used to this job and I love it so much. I won't get into the emotional aspect of my experience this summer just yet - I'll save that post for when I'm sitting at the airport about to head back to Boulder after the most amazing 3 months.

Anyways, it's been like a week and a half since I've touched this thing, and I had to get something down before I drove myself crazy. I hope you all are having an amazing weekend, and are enjoying the summer as it winds down.

22.

Today is my 22nd birthday!

[It's not as exciting as 21, but still a birthday nonetheless!]

My expectations for the day were super low.
Luckily, I have the best soulmate ever - DEUCES.
She surprised me this morning with cupcakes, balloons, and a tiara.
She went above and beyond to make me feel special
and I can't even tell you how much that meant to me.
I'm so lucky to have been paired with her for the summer - she's truly an amazing friend.

Then my friend Melissa brought me a mini cake
and my mom had a giant cake delivered to me.
(see above for the yummiest cake on the planet)
So basically I had cake and sugar overload all day which was fabulous.

22 feels old. I know, I know - it's not.
But it IS the oldest I've ever been ;)

This weekend it will be celebrated Vegas style!
<3

Preach it, girl.

[one of the many reasons Adele rocks my world.]

The end of an Era.

Well folks, it's officially time to grow up and be an adult. The 15 year journey with Harry Potter ended with the last movie at Thursday nights midnight premier. Although I saw it again this morning, so I guess technically my childhood doesn't have to be over until I say so. I'm turning 22 on Thursday, but that can still be considered a kid, right?!

Anyways, the movie did not disappoint. Seeing it at midnight and being exhausted beyond belief the next day at work was completely worth it because I've never missed a midnight premier of a book OR film. And if you know me, sleep is basically my number one priority in life so if I'm going out at midnight it MUST be for something awesome. And it was.

I can't explain how invested I've been in these books since I was 7 years old. I started reading them when the second book had JUST come out and no one knew who HP was. I dressed as him for Halloween that year and people looked at me like I was this crazy girl carrying a broom stick around. Little did they know....

And I'm still dressing up all these years later.

[midnight premier of the 7th book - 2007 with my best friend Cory and brother Connor.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron - sans red hair]

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Meeting Janelle Monae.

I went to the most amazing concert a few weeks ago:
Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae.

[and naturally, I've been waiting for THE picture to emerge ever since!]

It was one of those concerts that just basically tops anything you've ever seen. The talent level was so high I could not get over it. Both of them sang even better than their studio versions and were so entertaining that it was by far one of the best shows I've ever been to.

Afterwards, I was out at Tao at the Venetian celebrating Lindsey's freedom from her med school exam, when it turned into Bruno Mars' after party (or as I like to call it, destiny?) So lucky for me, I randomly turned around at one point and recognized Janelle Monae sitting at this little booth about 2 feet away from me and trying very hard to go undercover. I just couldn't NOT tell her how amazing she was that night. Thankfully, she was super nice and took a picture with me too and made me life complete.

I realize I need to tone down my ecstatic smile a bit, but I couldn't help how excited I was.
This was for sure a night to remember.

Then as we were leaving the overly crowded club, we ended up at this side entrance where Bruno Mars was entering the club with his body guards at the exact same time. He was less than a foot away from me. Destiny.

Best night ever.

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

I turn the music up, I'm on a roll this time. And heaven is in sight.

I miss you.

I miss you. I miss so many things right now. Right here, in this moment, at 8:08pm, I'm counting the things I miss and feeling very much like someone I haven't seen in about two months.

I miss my apartment and the privacy of living alone. I miss being able to go home and have Chelsea time and listen to music or watch Sex and the City and feel content with bthat weird smell it gets when it's been baking all day. I miss my internet. I miss my tiny fridge and my plates and my cups and my stupid "kitchen" with no dishwasher.

I miss the flatirons. I miss them so much. I miss looking at them while I walk to class and feeling lucky to be in such a beautiful place. I miss that happiness. I'm happy here, but I miss THAT happy.

I miss my car. I wish she was here. I miss my old house that I'll never be in again.

I miss Brianna. I miss Brianna so much it hurts. It physically hurts me to be in a place far away from where she was. She's been on my mind so much lately. I wish she was here and happy and chasing her dreams. I wish I could go back to high school for one more day and see her walking down the halls.

And even though I didn't know Alex Wesley, I wish I could walk down the halls of Ponderosa and see him again too. Because I realize that I never really knew him or saw him, and oddly enough it never bothered me until now. Now that I don't have the option of ever running into him or knowing him, I miss the opportunities I used to have to meet the people I spent 4 years with and never even really saw.

It hasn't hit me in a long time how much I miss things. I've been so happy here and learning so much and having such amazing experiences, but a part of me still misses the things I have back home. Even when I go back knowing full well how lonely I'm going to be until December, I still miss it for some reason.

I miss my blog. I miss my coffee shops and my spots on campus and my Comm friends and doing homework and having a routine and having a house and feeling comfortable. I don't know where my heads at right now but right in this moment, I miss a lot and I feel very homesick.

Sometimes I'm so out of my comfort zone that I have to remind myself that this summer is about taking risks and learning and branching out. And that's what I'm doing every single day.