honey come home

 i spent a few days in atlanta, georgia for a good friend's graduation. it was a crazy & fun & long road trip & multiple plane trips. i did a little shopping on the way & found THE suit. miguel would look amazing in it ;)

 i need to get caught up on my kinfolk! also, the kate spade dressing room wallpaper was awesome.

 i love flying, but flying standby with buddy passes are tough! flights after flights were packed & we kept not being able to get on a flight. finally, after three flights with layovers, we were home!

also, i graduated! i know this photo is blurry, but i love it because it was caught in the moment & i feel like you can feel my excitement by just looking at it ;)

 i had a wonderful graduation party the day after my graduation. lizzie did my hair & makeup & i did miguel's bowtie ;). white round tables, a rose garden, fire pit, & fajita bar, with all my friends & family made the night spectacular!

my sister was able to come for my graduation! i've missed her! she left too soon :( look how cute she is - little world traveler ;)

 after graduating, i've been slowly looking for work clothes. finding good slacks that fit well is hard though! any suggestions? i'm on the curvy/tall side in size 10/12 ;) so if you know of any good places for slacks please let me know! the one's i am wearing below (excuse my silly face!) were express & not too bad, but a little short.

 i got some great graduation gifts. miguel made me this wooden fawn! he carpentered it from just a plain flat of wood. he is so talented! i love it.

miguel was visiting his family this week, so it was a long week without him. he came back last night & i'm taking him out for dinner tonight for his birthday, reservations & everything ;) hope he has fun. i also just booked us a campsite for upcoming camping! i'm so excited :D

feelings

photos:
1. mother's day plants.
2. coming back from my abuelita's with flowers for my mom.
3. mother's day brunch.
4. flowers from work on my loft's windowsill.

even though i've been done with my thesis, it seems that life has not slowed down for me yet. i still haven't fixed my resume so i can start applying for jobs. i'm just shaking my head reading that.

i graduate tonight with a party tomorrow night. it's crazy to think about. i am graduating with a master's degree in sociology.

i've been having a really nice time with my sister visiting. i've missed her.

i just came back from a crazy adventure of traveling to & from atlanta for my friend raymond's graduation. we used to play dress-up & video games together.

i just feel...tired. & i can't tell you how much miguel is feeling more & more like home to me.

i'm finished

 i completed my thesis! it is finished. i am so relieved. it turned out to be 95 pages & over 24,000 words. my thesis was about building relationships online that turn into a community. in a year it will be bound complete with a green cover & placed along side all of the other theses in the lower level of the university library. i'm so happy it is finished. it feels so strange too! like i never have to go to school again if i want. (may get a phd sometime, but not now)

all i have to do now is find a job. which is a scary thought. i don't want to be discouraged.

but first i have to fix up my resume. anyone know of a good website for that?

i thought i would have more time since my thesis was turned in, but it is completely opposite! there were so many things i kept putting off because i was working on my thesis & now i have to work on all of the things i kept putting off. oh well.

i hope to be blogging more often now. i'm off to pennsylvania tomorrow & then a road trip to georgia for a graduation. busy life i lead.

happy earth day

happy earth day! (photos taken on a recent early-morning walk)

just a little post to say that & give you an update on my thesis. i am revising still, but now it is more about flow & formatting. however, before you think that is not much & shouldn't take me that long - my thesis is now 77 pages & over 23,000 words. aaahhhh...

so many things!

photos:

1 & 2: my family took a very spontaneous trip to the coast. we rented this little blue cottage & enjoyed one cozy night. my sister came & visited after coming back from peru! so it was really nice to see her : ) she borrowed my copy of mindy kaling's book, is everyone hanging out without me? to read. she reads so much faster than me!

3 & 4: i rode in the bike-a-thon! i get to cross off another thing on my list! melissa rode with me & miguel came to be my cheerleader : ) i biked a total of 20 miles! i wanted to do more, but on my 10th mile, i got into a crash. i banged up my crotch area pretty bad, scraped my knee (it was ugly & bloody) & the handlebar baned into my chest. i was in pain, but i managed to get back up & bike 10 more miles! i think i was crazy haha. it took a week for my crotch & chest to heal up & lose the black & blue color. my knee is still healing! a big thank you to amy & carissa for sponsoring me!! you are awesome!!

5, 6, 7, & 8: my friend holly started up a crafting club & asked me to be a part of it! i was flattered : ) we had an outing last weekend & went on an art walk, visiting local galleries & hearing poetry from local poets. it was such a lovely day!

9: holly's cat luna. she is so sweet!

10: i finally got an iphone 5! i've never had an iphone & have been wanting one for so long. miguel works for at&t & traveled via train to his store & bought one from him. i was so excited haha.

11 & 12: later that same day, miguel took me out for a fancy date! we got to sit at the chef's table & watch the food be prepared. it was so so fun! the waitresses were so very nice. one even went to the garden outside of the restaurant to pick me some lovely flowers. it was such a great night.

13, 14, & 15: us..just being us.

so, that is a mini catch-up for the past two weeks or so! i've been so very busy & stressed with thesis work. the deadline is fast approaching & i'm feeling the time crunch! i'm at about 75 pages so far & i've never thought i would be able to write that much. but i did. & that's crazy.

spring

the first day of spring is almost here. while my favorite season is fall followed by winter, i've always loved how green & new spring is. cardigan weather is here!

i haven't blogged in over a month. mostly because my life has been one whirlwind after another.

my thesis is slowly coming along. i have one more chapter to write & then i have revisions to make to the entire thing, which could take a while. formatting appointments begin in the beginning of april & then it is due by may 11 in the afternoon. everything is just going so fast.

my mother found out she had skin cancer in late january. to be honest, i was scared. but this month, i went with her to her surgery to have it removed & they were able to get it all out! i'm so happy about it : ) remember to always use broad spectrum sunscreen!

i've been sick a lot lately & i think it's because i've been stressed :/ at least miguel comes to see me & make me feel better.

i've been such a bad pen pal! & i'm sorry to all of you that i owe letters & packages to!!

tomorrow, miguel & i are spending the day with shelby & sam in the city : )

lemon bars, packages, & jamba juice

i made lemon bars twice last week. once at miguel's house & once the next day when i went home & my sister was visiting. they both love lemons, so it was the perfect little treat for them : ) i used this recipe but changed a few things (like i didn't chill the dough or let the crust cool before adding the topping). it came out amazing. the recipe is really good, but not very healthy (just a warning!).

i came home from miguel's to two packages awaiting me at the bottom of the stairs to my loft. i was so excited. the first one i opened was from sarah. she sent my a lovely letter & a cute little penguin books notebook. thank you sarah : )

next i opened a package from pauline. it was wrapped all nice and i loved the unicorn stationary! she sent me handmade, beautiful wrist warmers. i love them. thanks so much!

yesterday i officially applied for graduation this may. it is really surreal. by may i will have my master's degree in sociology. it's really a scary thought to be done with school after being in it for so long. i was talking to miguel the other day & i am considering going back to get my doctorate at some point, but not right now. right now i need a break.
we celebrated turning in my application & his first day of school with jamba juice : ) love his face here. such a cutie.

currently i am in starbucks writing my thesis. well, right now right now i am taking a break & blogging, but still. it's been a long day. & i need a break.