Huge Comeback

Growing up in a family full of girls (including the dog), how do you think we would turn out? Most would say as those pretentious "daddy's girl", loving the color pink and wearing only frilly clothing, well...let's just say we were never considered "one of the guys". My dad tried to get us to be the sons he never had but we can only make trips to Bombergers for tools every so often. My sister Dani went through a tomboy phase, but that was short lived. What would you describe as a tomboy? Hanging with the guys, the occasional helping out with being a "handy-man", and of course, delving deep into the world of sports. I tried every sport that my town of Lititz offered. Soccer, field hockey, dance, cheering, basketball, gymnastics, softball, lacrosse, and horseback riding. You would think that after about my 3rd season of quitting a sport I would get the memo that maybe God didn't put me on this earth to be an athlete (and I can't tell you how thankful I am for a couch and a bag of Grandma Utz), but maybe he put me on this earth to be on the sidelines.
I work for Temple Athletic Communications and have definitely gotten sports to be a bigger part of my life. I may not know all of the abbreviations on the stat sheet or why everyone doesn't do a slam dunk every time they have the ball (because lets be honest, so much cooler than a regular basket), but I'm learning. Working the Temple basketball games and noticing how excited I get when Lee, Pepper, or Cummings makes a basket makes me realize that hey, I actually do like watching sports. The thrill you get when your team wins is a feeling like no other. Your team is the winner, #1, the big shots! Well...for now.
Today at the Wells Fargo Center Temple played Texas, and let me start off by saying...those damn longhorns! We were down in the first half by as much as 16 points bringing it back to a neck-and-neck game in the second half. Whatever Coach Dunphy said to those boys in the locker room at halftime definitely perked them up. Not only did we tie with them, we were ahead of them several times. By the end of the game, the score was 73-73, which inevitably means: OVERTIME.
The whole arena was going crazy. The energy was at an all time high as we led in OT 79-78 with 41 seconds left. Pepper was fouled with 13.6 seconds left in overtime, making only 1 FT. Eventually, we get down to the last 6 seconds of the game. Temple fans believed we had this in the bag despite Texas now having the ball. My hands were sweating and I had that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach when I thought someone was mad at me, but I thought it would wear off soon because come on, 6 seconds left, 80-78, we're gonna win right? Wrong. Javan Felix makes a 3 pointer, leading the Longhorns 81-80. Heartbreaking. Temple had an unbelievable comeback and despite the loss, I wouldn't want to be working for any other school. Let's go TU.

Landon James Nuss

Another young life taken too early. Why does this keep happening? Have fun up there Nussy with Diff, you two will never be forgotten. Mad Love, you two beautiful souls.

I Got It!

After thinking long and hard if I want to take on another responsibility..i caved. I thought to myself, "Don't go through life taking the easy way out." Also..great resume booster. So, without telling anyone, I sent in my resume to the staff of the Templar Yearbook. I got an email saying they were looking for a Director of Social Media. Umm...is that not exactly what I did at my internship this summer? It was perfect. After I sent in my resume, answered pre-interview questions, and had a meeting with someone on the staff, they picked me for the job. I am super excited to be doing what I love without feeling like I am wasting away the day.

...

Getting closer :D

Fingers Crossed

It's like that feeling when I applied to colleges, but on a lesser level. Still, here's to hoping!

A Little Re-Doing

A little re-doing never killed anybody, now did it? For my first ever big girl apartment (despite the fact that i have 3 roommates and am still in college), i decided to take the anthropolgie-esque route for my bedroom. As a very scholarly, straight-A type student (duh), a desk was one of the first things I bought. Getting it at an auction thanks to my cousin Jess made it easy to redo considering it was simple looking. Antique-y, yet simple. I used Annie Sloan chalk paint and let me tell you it is the paint of heaven. Goes on perfectly with no sanding beforehand. Here are some before and after pictures of what I have done:

One Direction I Love You Long Time

About a year and a half ago, I remember laying on an air mattress in New York in my Nan's bedroom scrolling viciously through the ticket master website on the tiny screen on my phone. As I was getting pictures sent to me and calls from my friends back home who were at a party...I...well.. I was ordering One Direction tickets almost 2 years prior to the concert in Hershey. Being obsessed with Harry Styles for the past two years (which i will deny till the day I die if I ever meet him...you know, you cant come off as a crazed fan, DUH!) has not only made me insane, but has also made me anticipate the concert of my lifetime more and more each day. So this friday, Taylor Stork and I took a mini road trip to Hershey, PA to hear the hottest Brits serenade us that we don't know we're beautiful. Even though we do know that, I mean we are well aware.. but that's besides the point. Anywho..the concert was all I expected it to be. Bright lights, screaming girls, and not being able to understand Liam, Harry, Zayn, Louis, or Niall when they spoke. We even bought tickets the next day to see them again in Hershey since they were playing both friday and saturday. Savannah Watkins and Libby Kramer went to the concert saturday as well which was awesome to get to go with them too. Zack Artz actually got to meet Harry Friday night (and you bet your bottom dollar that we insisted to touch his hand that gave Harry a high five), so we were hoping mayyyyyyybbeeee just maybe we would get to meet him Saturday since Zack was working again. Well, Zack, we all still hate you, because that didn't happen. Why One Direction didn't want to meet a couple of crazy stalking fans is beyond me. Okay now this is becoming a novel and at this point in my life I don't know why I'm not writing one about all of my celebrity obsessions, probably because my mom is the only one who would buy it. So, in the words of One Direction, you got that one thing, boys. AND ILL ALWAYS LOVE U BYE.

Beautiful Linda

Waking up Sunday morning at 7AM after going to sleep at 4AM was tough, let me tell you. Not only were my eyes so tired that they were actually hurting, I was dreading what was yet I thought would come. Red, puffy eyes, a runny nose, and an aching heart is what I was expecting.
Instead, I experienced a wonderful, joyful remembrance of my beautiful third cousin, Linda. Her unexpected death shocked our whole family when the tragedy took place a little over a year ago. To admire the person Linda was, her father and step mother set up a Butterfly Release to celebrate Linda graduating into the next afterlife. I have never experienced such a unique way to acknowledge the life Linda lived. "A butterfly release expresses by sight what the soul feels, and these unutterable emotions ride on the beating wings of an equally speechless butterfly. These soul sounds are carried through the air by the butterflies, and all who observe their flight are connected by a special understanding of the event that has taken place."(http://www.butterflyreleases.com) What made this event even more special is when a butterfly landed on her fathers chest, and just stayed there for a little. It was like Linda was hanging out with us. She knew we were all there for her and could feel how much we love her. The releasing of the butterflies show that this doesn't mean she is gone, it shows the celebration of "a most exquisite life to come", if that is even possible. We love you Linda.

Some Things Never Change

This may have been the only truly spontaneous thing I have done. While battling the ever so tough decision that I know faces me every weekend, do I have a night in? Or be young and fun and go out? Despite the fact that I got 3 hours of sleep on Friday, Saturday I finalized my plans to take a trip back to North Philly for one of my best friends' party to christen their new house. And although I had to wake up at 7AM to take a trip to NY the next day, that didn't stop me from enjoying the night. I never thought that people I knew for less than a year would seem like such old friends to me after not seeing them for awhile. That typically only happens with long time friends, I assumed. But I was wrong. Even Quabs showed up and surprised us, which definitely topped off my visit. Most of us were together again, and that visit definitely reminded me of how excited I am to have a house in Philadelphia. Here's to our college years, everybody! Our tough but exhilarating college years.

From Now...

A change of scene is always needed every once in awhile. The anticipation of knowing that something unpredictable is going to happen tonight is kind of an adrenaline rush. I've come to the conclusion that music is more meaningful if it took heartache, sleepless nights, and ambition from all band members to become the best band they could be. The Districts played an amazing (I had a smile on my face the entire time) show at the Chameleon Club on Friday night. Seeing people I know follow their dreams and have their peers along their side dancing and singing along to their original songs makes it all the better. The Districts went to my high school, by the way. I would look behind me, seeing everyone from my highschool dancing, and then look back at Rob, Mark, Connor, and Braden up onstage and I could see the happiness in their eyes, and their performance definitely showed it too. All I needed that night was old friends, good music, and food. Yes, the Neptune Diner hooked us up. So, here's to a night that I spent with people who helped me get out of my comfort zone. But in some odd way, I felt more comfortable being at that concert than usual.

Healthy Shmealthy

Would anyone like to join me in laughing in the face of all skinny people out there slash giving them insanely high credit because I have no idea how they do it. Remember when I said I am getting myself back on track and I am going to start eating healthy again? Yeah, apparently I do not remember that either considering I ate almost a WHOLE bag of Grandma Utz's BBQ potato chips in one sitting. Once I saw them on the shelf in all of their crunchy, barbequey goodness I knew I was doomed. Why me? Why must my will power be so low? Why did the food God's decide to make me their little minion and eat everything in sight?
Apart from my raid through the potato chip bag to find all of the folded chips (I'm surprised my fingers aren't stained BBQ), I attended the Fig Summer Launch Party tonight. I could not be more thrilled to work for such a unique, creative, and free magazine that portrays what Lancaster really has to offer. It's not all Amish County after all, is it folks! I met more of the staff, fellow interns, and even the owner who I have a meeting with tomorrow morning. Things seem to be looking up (and I'm not only talking about my weight!).

I also want to show what I wore to the launch party. So, it may not have been as summery as most people were dressed. But, this is me. I'm more into the dark colors. Despite the sweltering heat, this maxi skirt was very light and airy keeping me (somewhat) cool. The black fitted tee? Not so much. I'll be skipping that next time for a more loose shirt.

MOTIVATION

I've been back from the not-so-bright North Philly for about two weeks now. My days have consisted of waking up at noon (or later, but come on...I don't want to seem TOO lazy), re-watching the seasons of Gossip Girl, and playing Sims 3 (don't judge). With Fig Magazine taking me under their wing and giving me the opportunity to intern for them this summer, I am not too interested in getting a serving job considering Fig Magazine is in my field of interest. I have applied two places, but lets face it, who really wants to be dealing with cumbersome trays of food, large, grumpy groups, and work hours that are not appealing? This is my first summer since being in college and by no means am I saying I shouldn't get a job, but I want to dive right into the fast-paced world of working for a magazine. Unfortunately, money does not grow on trees, so no, that is not realistic, Taylor Lee. Feeling disgusted with myself with not doing anything productive yet this summer (except for meeting with Theresa, who I am interning for:) ), I decided it's time for a change. Time to put my Sims lives aside for now and focus on mine. That means cracking down with the chores I need to do around my house, get healthy, and get back to blogging, taking pictures, painting again, and figuring out my future. This may sound odd but as I was going through 100 pages on Perez Hilton's site, what motivated me was the heat flash I had as I was snuggled in a fleece blanket with a hot laptop on my lap. I was just so irritated and could not take it anymore. So, here is to a new me (and heat flashes apparently). Tomorrow I'll get up at 10AM, mow my Great Aunt's lawn, go to my dentist appointment, then attend my first Fig Launch Party. Who knew heat flashes were so inspiring? Time to get your energy back, Tay.

WoW

Holy moly. Been too long. 2nd semester starts on the 21st. Bye.