Memorial Day!

So, I ended up having a 5 day weekend this past weekend and well...it was all really grand!!! I got to spend some time with MANY of the people I love and just relax. 


First off, WELCOME TO SUMMER!!! This was the weekend when it all really sunk in that everything is going to be changing BUT that this is the time of my life.


Friday I was off to the beach with Jessica. She is one of my fellow RA's (and my current RA on the 3rd floor) and such a sweetheart! We wanted to get some beach time in and Friday ended up being the best day. After getting up, we were off to Walmart to cash my check (as Friday was also payday) and grab some refreshments for the beach. We loaded up the cooler and headed to Holly. We hit a momentary snag when we found out they don't do day passes but the seasonal passes are only $10. We ended up meeting at Kevin's house and heading there with him. We enjoyed the lovely beach at the Holly State Recreation Area, which is about 3 miles from Kevin's house. We were there for like 4/5 hours and enjoyed the water, sun, and spending some time together. It was rather nice. 


Then Jessica and I were headed back where we stopped at Walmart again to pick up some food for dinner (I made steaks w/ sauteed mushrooms and onions and green beans for the both of us) and some Aloe as some major sunburn was showing up (but only on the places that I PUT sunscreen, odd).

The next morning I was up for work then I was off to Lapeer with Kevin. We grabbed some subway and hung out at Zac's house for a bit with Luna and Dave (it was the day after Luna's birthday). We all split ways a little while later so Luna could finish her preparing for her birthday party a few hours later. I decided I was done with my long hair and got a haircut (it doesn't look drastic but I cut about 4 inches off...). Then we went to Walmart to spare some time (I went to Walmart a lot lol). Then when Kevin and I were leaving to take the 5 minute drive to Luna's I didn't see any reason not to put my windows down (who needs AC). But his wouldn't go down with my switch, so he put it down on his side. Getting to Luna's the window was stuck down. 

Boys taking apart my door lolz

So while I was chilling with Luna, Dave and Kevin had my door apart in the road in front of Luna's house trying to get the window to go up. No use at that time. But there were more important worries, like having an AMAZING time at Luna's birthday party. 

One dangerous trio on the couch!

Birthday girl in a classy top hat! :)

And we did. SOOOO much fun. The group of us chilled (literally it was kinda cold down there) in the basement. We played Sour Apples to Apples, talked, laughed and just had our normal shenanigans. I really love my friends, we could be doing totally nothing but have an amazing time doing it! I was sad when I had to take the cold drive (because the window was stuck down) to work until 5 am later in the evening.

My car got to look like it was broken into by someone for about 2 nights. I'm glad that no one broke into it while it was parked in Flint like this!

And I was up Sunday afternoon (after pulling an all-nighter, I needed some major sleep) to head to Kevin's for his family's Memorial Day BBQ. They had some family friends over that I got to know and a couple of his aunts. Zac also joined us for a bit. We ate good food and just chilled for awhile. I spent that night over there that night (as I had had a few drinks).


Monday was a chill day (though is felt like an oven). We just all hung around Kevin's house. At one point, Kevin decided to go try to get my window up and success. It's mostly up (enough to not really leak and there is no wind coming in) which means that the real repair can wait until the fall when I have money to pay someone to do it. That night we ate like kings...Kevin's dad made ribs on the grill all afternoon...SOOOOO GOOOD!!!


Tuesday was another Lapeer day. And nothing beats those days really! I met up with Zac, Guida and the Graebert sisters at Trina's house. We played some Euchre and Boesler came by with Baby Ben (who is probably the cutest baby I have EVER seen in my life!) We played some Volleyball, more cards and then went to hang out at Boesler's to watch a movie. After Baby Ben was in bed and Boesler had to head that way himself, we left and ended up grabbing some Tim Horton's and hanging in Zac's basement watching Vampire Diaries for awhile. Then we made a late night Fast food run and ended up curling up in a million blankets on Zac's trampoline. There we were; Trina, Erin, Hoffa, Zac and I, all on the trampoline talking about just about everything (including naming 49 of the US states and their capitols) as we looked up at the stars and in the end watched the sun rise before heading our separate directions around 7:30 AM.

Baby Ben (on Uncle Guida's lap) is gonna be a future card shark :)

Let's just say, much sleep was needed after all of that. But I can't wait for more to happen. Summer 2012, welcome!

I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU!!!

So, the last real "update" I've had on my life happened over 20 days ago. I know, crazy huh? But it has been quite a May that I haven't really taken the time to sit down and breathe.


So I'll start at the beginning. On the 5th, I was off to Grand Rapids with my best friend's mother and my friend Guida to see Katrina graduate. I know, I had a whole post I was going to give to telling everyone all about this. But...well I kept forgetting to do it while I was at work. So, I guess I get to now. :)


We left Flint nice and early and in our 2 hour drive, I spent countless of minutes keeping Katrina's mom from going insane at times and keeping the peace. BUT, I was so happy to get there and have a wonderful day. We had lunch at The Hop Cat which, as I mentioned before, has these things called crack fries. They were better this time, it was nice. Then we were off to her graduation. I am so proud of Katrina and well the day was wonderful. The ceremony wasn't too atrociously long and I got to see my best friend received her Bachelor of Arts in History in front a ton of people.

SHE GRADUATED!!! Katrina, Guida and I after the ceremony!

Afterwards we went back to her apartment to chill and then went to this wonderful Italian restaurant that she had wanted to try in all her 4 years in Grand Rapids. And it was wonderful! Her Aunt Patty paid all us college kids (Katrina, Erin, Guida and I) $5 each to stop her from eating dessert as she was on a diet. We were of course, happy to oblige. (oh and I tried Canoli for the first time, sooooo good!)

My best friend...the crazy? college grad!

Between then and now, I've been working up a storm. I took every shift I possibly could so that I could make as much money as I could. Early in May, I was told by a friend who is an RA that Sara, the RD was looking for more RA's and that she was curious if I was still interested in the position (I had applied before but didn't get it). So I gave it some major thought, scheduled an interview and waited. Well, as of this morning I GOT THE JOB! In the fall, I'll be joining some of the people I love as a fellow coworker while working the desk. It's gonna be an interesting journey, but it will be grand experience and I can't wait to start.




The week after Katrina's graduation started what made me feel like "summer" had arrived. It's weird how that happens, you've been on summer vacation for a couple weeks but you don't think it's really there until a moment. That moment hit in the middle of the week as I was driving home from Kevin's (I always go over there on Wednesdays for dinner and such). The windows were down, the sun was setting and I was driving down a back road and I smiled. And was so happy in that moment.


And movies, oh have I seen some movies this May. I went to see "The Lucky One" at the beginning of the month with Tanisha and Stephanie (she owns Jilly's pizza). Then the next week, Kevin, Tanisha and I went to see "The Avengers" (SO GOOD!). Not much later, Kevin and I went to see "Dark Shadows." 


Mothers Day came and well, I celebrated it in a way that most really can't. While others are celebrating their mothers, I was celebrating everyone's mother. I went over to Kevin's that night for dinner, brought a cake and we ate the whole thing (it must've been good) between the 5 of us. 

One of the funniest and one of my favorite pictures from the bonfire :)

The next weekend, aka last weekend, was another fun one. Zac had a bonfire at his house, and in tradition (since I've been to only 1 before) we stayed up all night having many laughs and so much fun. Like St. Patty's day, we were sitting next to the fire and we noticed the sky lightening in the east and laughed. Trina, Jessica and I retired to the trampoline where we laughed, talked and ended up singing "I Like Big Butts" really loudly. But soon the sun was up and being on the trampoline, it got hot real fast so we went inside.  It's crazy that putting together so many of my closest friends and a couple cousins (My cousin Nate Kinch has been a friend of the Sanborn's for years and Molly came too!) it can just be a fun and safe night. Let's just say when I got home at 10 am Sunday morning, I went to bed and slept until 8 pm!

Us crazy girls on the trampoline at sunrise!

That brings us to pretty much now. This week I found out about the RA position and hung out with Kevin a bit. It's always nice seeing him as I enjoy his company. This weekend should be another fun one. It looks something like this:

Friday:
2-5 am: Work
12:30pm: headed to the beach for the afternoon
10pm-2am: work
Saturday:
9am-2pm: work
After 2: off to Lapeer for lunch with Luna and her birthday party
Sunday:
2am-5am: work
afternoon: headed to kevin's to chill


So who needs sleep? It's going to be such a fun weekend though and I can sleep when I'm dead (or next week, whichever comes first...just kidding!)


Hope everything is wonderful with you all! <3

Thoughts on Mother's Day

I'm not going to lie to you, mother's day has been a hard holiday for me to celebrate for the past 7 years for the plain fact that my mother is no longer on this Earth for me to celebrate it with her. And it hurts, a lot more on some days than others. My mother was a strong, amazing woman, who was taken due to a disease that is unrelenting at times. My mother was a fighter that just couldn't fight anymore and earned her wings.


Every time this day comes around, I get a little pang in my heart because I miss those Mother's Day that I spent with her. The years that in school we made those little "coupon" books. When I was about 13 years old, I noticed my mother still had the ones that my brother and I had made her, on her headboard of her bed. I remember asking her why she never used them. "Because I've never needed to," she had said with a smile.


My mother was an amazing person who raised me for the first 14 years of my life. I remember good times singing in the car with her as we drove down the back country roads in Metamora. I remember hanging around the barns with her and later coming to know all the lovely ladies at Lesley Elizabeth Inc, the company that gave my mother so much help when she needed it mostly. I remember nights of lying in her waterbed with her watching the Game Show Network and playing along with all the games. My mother was smart. And she was such a smart woman. 


I know that over the years I have made mistakes. I have said things I didn't mean. I have said things I did mean in a harsh manner. I've made her ashamed of me. I've made her angry with hurting all her brothers and sisters. But, I'd also like to think that I've made her proud as well. I've made it to 21. I am living by myself and am barely getting by...but I AM getting by. I am able to live by myself without having to fall back on others. And I've fought for all of this. One thing I know I got from my mother was her stubbornness. And at times it has been a burden, but mostly, I like to believe I used it to my advantage.


Yesterday, I took a nap after work and had some rather vivid dreams. For those who don't know, I am a vivid dreamer, and I get a lot of understanding of my life by what my subconscious is trying to tell me. Studying dreams is a fascinating thing, many people don't believe in their power, but once you unlock it you won't be sorry. Anyway, I had some vivid dreams about the past and the future and woke up in a rather thoughtful state. So I went for a drive. I didn't know where I was really going at the time, I just drove. In normal Michigan fashion, it was raining. So, I listened to the sound of the raindrops on the windshield and thought. And cried a ton. When I stopped, I found myself at Mount Loretto Cemetery. For those who know, that is where my mother is buried. Its weird how sometimes you just gotta go and your mind gets you there without you even knowing. This was one of those moments. Yesterday afternoon, I spent some quality time with my mother, as I stood at her grave and admired the headstone that was put in, this being the second time I had actually seen it. 


And I talked to her. I know this seems "odd" and "weird" to some, but I talked to her. And I cried a lot more. I stood there in the rain and cried. But it was a beautiful thing. Then I got back in my car and went on with my life. I went to Meijers and bought a dinner worth my mother and made her her mother's day dinner a day early. And I moved on.


Something that I have learned about death and grieving is that the world doesn't stop for anyone. Though your whole world may come crashing down with the death of someone important to you, the sun still rises and the world still turns. You either let it pass you by, or you come to terms and keep moving forward. Though for a time, it is okay to forget the world and just let yourself feel what you are feeling, there will come a time when you realize what you have done without that person and be proud of yourself. You move on.


On my way home from Lapeer last night, I realized that everything is going to be okay with everyone. I don't know how I felt this, I just knew. I knew that life was going in a upswing for many people I love for a very long time. And it gave me a peace that I hadn't felt in a long time. It's all going to be okay.


Within in the next year, I am going to fulfill one of the last promises I hold with my mother. When I was little, I promised her that I would graduate college. At the time I wanted to be a vet. Things change of course, but in the end, I am going to graduate college less than a year from now. I will be a college graduate. Where that takes me, well that is still a little mysterious to me, a new journey, and I'm excited.


Every year it gets a little easier to go through this day without my mother. I have had some amazing people who had stepped in to take her place over the year. They will never be my mother, BUT they have been there for band concerts, dances, graduation, to help me through some tough times and have helped me get to where I am today. Without those "mothers," I don't know if I would even be alive. Today, I celebrate those mothers. 


And celebrate with Kevin's family. I'm glad that I have a great relationship with his parents, it'll make for a much more fulfilling relationship with him. Today I'm taking the cake and celebrating with his mother. It's going to be a good day. And to the beautiful guardian angel I have up in Heaven today, Happy Mother's Day Mom. I miss you.

May The Fourth Be With You!

It's May already? Where in the heck did April go? It was full of crazy celebrations, finishing the semester strongly and moving to my new apartment.

This semester was a long one, but interesting. I finished my French education with a party of amazing food and a hilarious movie.

This is Charlmagne with French coffee and what I got to eat on the last day of classes. I ended the semester with 3 A's in Band, Chronic Illness and Aging, and Women's Health and 2 B's in Statistics and French. All-in-all, I'm very proud with how I did.

The end of April came the end of another year in our apartment at Riverfront. This summer, I decided to stay and move down to a cheaper apartment for the summertime. So, we had one last shindig of 512 until the fall before Tanisha moved back home for 4 months. It was dubbed the Pink Party.

How to Throw a Pink Party on a College Budget.

1. Buy pink colored food and supplies

I got the pink plates, cups and napkins at Party City, that place has things in ALL colors (it's really hard to get me out of there). I found the cake and cupcakes at Meijers.

2. Have pink cocktails of course

This lovely pink alcohol is called X Rated Fusion. I first found out about it at Tonic nightclub in October. It is a citrus flavored French vodka. Pretty Yummy!

3. Have everyone wear pink!

Molly and I sporting the color. 

Abijah and I!!! :)

4. Have FUN!!

The Kevin and I.

Having fun! L to R: Matt, Tanisha, Cass and Abijah.

It really was a fun night full of many laughs and memories made (as well as learning some things about each other through never have I ever.)

Other things...

I'm officially moved down 2 floors which was literally a pain in the ass. I moved down to the 3rd floor for the summer because I can't afford my 5th floor room until the fall. But I have a really cool Chinese roommate. Her name is Yaling. Her mother is pretty cool too. The one thing, we both cook things from scratch which means we need lots of fridge room. Well, we were given one mini fridge. She brought another one today and we STILL don't have enough room. This is going to be an interesting summer.

Though I have tried some homemade Chinese food. One thing I will say that I tried and liked was seasoned seaweed. It was rather good. Salty. But that makes sense hah!

Oh here's April's Board:

This month:

-Hoffa came over the the first time :)

-I had my last band concert of the school year

-I realized my friends are quite wonderful

-we had a fight about fake/non-fake boobs

- Zac came over here one night when his power was out and was a watcher :)

-THE PINK PARTY, such fun!

Music:
1. Cosmic Love- Florence + The Machine
2, Drive- Incubus
3. Raining on Sunday- Keith Urban
4. Heartbeat- The Fray
5. Shake it Out- Florence + The Machine
6. When They Come For Me- Linkin Park