YAY!

It's official, sophomore year of college is over. I have grown so much as a singer, musician, student, and friend. I have discovered who I really am and who I want to become. Meeting so many interesting, funny, and caring people along the way, I made so many lovely friends. It has been a great learning experience yet the most pressure filled and hectic school year till this day, but I have a feeling this is just the beginning. Oh how I love being a vocal music education major.

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

"There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who you are and what you can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential."

-Rusty Berkus-

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

Heath.

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time for a prayer and reflection.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.

Personality.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day and while you walk, smile.
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't over do; keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community.
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. So stay in touch.

Life.
32. Do the right things.
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
34. Forgiveness heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, don't take it for granted... embrace life.
39. you inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
40. Enjoy life!

(via)

ABC's

A: Age- Twenty.

B: Bed Size-tall twin. ah, the dorm life.

C: Chore you hate- vaccuming.

D: Dog's Name- Rambo. I miss the little bugger. 

E: Essential to start your day off- bushing my teeth.

F: Favorite color- blue.

G: Gold or Silver- tastful gold. 

H: Height- 5'5"

I: Instrument you play- my vocal chords, flute, and a touch of guitar and piano. 

J: Job title- student in the school year and camp counslor in the summer.

K: Kid(s)- only the future can tell.

L: Living arrangments- a dorm room. not my style. 

M: Mom's name- Judy.

N: Nickname(s)- Dane.

O: Overnight hospital stay- when I was born.

P: Pet Peeve- chewing with your mouth open, 

Q: Quote from a movie- "If you could hear me, I would say that our finger prints don't fade from the lives we've touched." Remember Me

R: Right or left handed- right.

S: Siblings- 2 younger sisters, but not so young anymore.

T: Time to wake up- 7:45

U: Underwear- yes.

V: Vegetale you dislike- zukini.

W: What's your favovirte t.v. show-Glee! & Everwood.

X: X-rays you've had- my teeth.

Y: Yummy food you make- Maccaroni and cheese. not the stuff from a box.

Z: Zoo animals you like-naked mole rats. 

(Via Apartment 513)

ARRIVALS.

It has started

Can't be stopped, call the fairy mantle, cast me up

Send me, send me, over the ocean I'll find you

Not the radio, not today, there is nothing left

You can say, just get me, get me, over the ocean

I'll find you

Close your eyes baby, close your eyes sunshine

Wait for one more sunrise, then I'm on, I'm on

Feel the rumbling through the chair

Fell the future in, in the end

Fly me, fly me, over the ocean I'll see you

And we're hurrying, and we wait, now we're tumbling

To the gate, send me clearly, over the ocean to find you

Just this one last sunrise and 

I'm home.

-Aqualung "Arrivals"-

YUM.

I can't help but post this recipe. It looks so tasty! Grilled Cheese always makes for a better day. It looks like a good midnight snack for a late night of studying. The picture even makes me hungry. I found the recipe at Life's Ambrosia. Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

Ingredients (serves 2): 

4 slices of sour dough bread

2 tablespoons of butter, divided

4 slices of cheddar cheese

1 tomato cut into 4 slices

4 slices of colby cheese

1. Use 1 tablespoon of butter to butter each slice of bread.

2. Layer 2 slices of cheddar cheese, 2 tomato slices and two slices of colby cheese between 2 slices of sour dough bread.

3. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place sandwich in the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown.

4. Serve.

Enjoy!

REMEMBER ME.

I can finally say without a doubt, that Remember Me is by far my favorite movie of all time. This film was quite frankly love at first sight. It was real, it was unique and it was beautifully tragic. 

As an individual, I have grown so much from this movie. The concept of living in the moment is utterly imperative. Tyler and Ally are two characters you cannot help but fall in love with. I believe that you can find a little part of them in all of us.

 

So follow your heart and live everyday like it's your last. 

No Regrets.

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

"The greatness of art is not to find what is common, but what is unique."


-Isaac Bashevis Singer-

SWIM.

You've gotta swim, swim for your life

Swim for the music that saves you

When you're not so sure you'll survive

You gotta swim and swim when it hurts

Then whole world is watching

You haven't come this far to fall off the earth

The currents will pull you away from your love

Just keep your bead above

I found a tidal wave begging to tear down the daen

Memories like bullets, they fired at me from a gun

Crack in the armor, yeah

I swim for brighter days despite the absence of sun

Choking on salt water

I'm not giving in, I swim

You gotta swim for nights that won't end

Swim for your family as your lovers, your sisters

And brothers, and friends

Yeah, you gotta swim through wars without cause 

Swim for the lost politicians

Who don't see their greed as a flaw

The currents will pull us away from our love

Just keep your head above 

I found a tidal wave begging to tear down the dawn

Memories like bullets, they fired at me from a gun

A crack in the armor

I swim for brighter days despite the absence of sun

Choking on salt water

I'm not giving in, well, I'm not giving in, I swim

You gotta swim, swim in the dark

There's no shame in drifting

Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark

Yeah, you gotta swim, don't let yourself sink

Just find the horizon

I promise you, it's not as far as you think

The currents will drag us away from our love

Just keep your head above, swim

Just keep your head above, swim, swim

Just keep your head above, swim.

-Jack's Mannequin "Swim"

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

 

Things I ♥

♥ My Macbook Pro- it is barely a year old, but this little computer is just too darn pretty, durable, and perfect to pass up. This computer deserves to get a little shout out. It has been with me through many late night paper writing marathons. I love you mac! 

♥ Soy Lattes- Because without you, I know I wouldn't be awake in music theory class at 8:00 AM every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

♥ Glee!- This T.V. show sheds a light on the ever dwindling fine art programs in pubic schools. It makes me want to be a high school choir director/music teacher even more! Finally a series that shows how much music is needed in student's lives. It's a talent not given to most and when you have it, you eat, breathe, and sleep music.

♥ Potato Pancakes- I miss these half hash-brown half pancake hybrids so much! Dinning Hall food is just not the same compared to my mom's cooking.

♥ Opera- Many don't appreciate it, but it is the most passionate and painstakingly beautiful form of music mankind has ever developed. So much depth is lingering in these three to one hundred year old pieces music. I love it! Opera is my forte!

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

(via)

CHEESECAKE + OREOS = AMAZING.

What do you get when you mix the best cookies on Earth with cheesecake? Well, you get something that resembles these delicious morsels. Adopted from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book, Handle the Heat discovered the perfect mixture between Cookies and Cream and Cheesecake Cupcakes. These bite size cupcakes are perfect servings and I am sure I am going to give this recipe a shot.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients:

42 creem-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos 

(30 whole and 12 coarsely chopped)

2 pounds of cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract

4 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup of sour cream

A pinch of salt

Directions:

 1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie at the bottom of each lined cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake roatating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Tranfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at leas 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tines just before serving.

Enjoy!

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

Ever thine.

Ever Mine.

Ever Ours.

Ludwig van Beethoven

(Love Letters of Great Men)

ONLY ONE CHANCE.

Love it or hate it; it's your choice, but this is the world your living in. So enjoy it while it lasts, do something to protect it, and live it up! You are the soul keeper of your joy and misery, sorrow and happiness.

If you don't like the road your traveling down, then do a U-turn before it's too late. Take hold of the steering wheel and stop being a passenger in your own life. Navigate through the life you want to live. You make your own decisions and you choose what person you want to be remembered for being when the adventure ends.

(via)

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

"A dreamer is one whi can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."


-Oscar Wilde-

MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE, EVEN THE ONES THEY LAUGH AT.

Don't Let anyone say you CAN'T, because you can!

Nelson Mandela

spent 27 years in a prison for opposing apartheid in South Africa. After his release, he received the Nobel Peace Price and was elected president.

Babe Ruth

"the Bambino" held the record for the most home-runs in baseball for decades, but still holds the record for the most strikeouts.

Beethoven

 practically lost his hearing and became deaf, but it was then when he wrote some of his most praised and cherished pieces of music.

Abraham Lincoln

completely failed at business, had a nervous breakdown, and lost numerous elections for state and federal positions, yet he went on to become one of America's greatest presidents.

Barbara Streisand

could not read music and also expressed severe stage fright, but yet she still managed to have extraordinary success as a singer and also actor.

Winston Churchill

had a speech impediment and a stuttering problem, but he became one of the most greatest public speakers of his time.

Elton John 

could not write lyrics no matter how hard he tried, but with Bernie Taupin providing the words he composed some of the best selling hits of the era. 

Michael Jordan 

didn't make his high school basketball team, but he still continued to become the number one basketball player in the world. 

Clark Gable's 

studio boss told him that he would never become a leading man in a movie, but he went on to do just the opposite of that. He was the leading man in many movies including the well known, "Gone with the Wind."

Paul McCartney 

was completely unable to read or write a note on a piece of manuscript paper, but he composed countless rock classics and even a symphony. 

Harrison Ford, Jim Carrey, Mike Wallace, J.K. Rowling, Sheryl Crow, and Terry Bradshaw 

all had a certian battle with depression and every single one of them have won. 

Dr. Wayne Dyer 

spent his childhood in foster homes, but he went on to earn a PhD, write books, and also produce seminars that helped millions. 

Oscar Del La Hoya 

was completely afraid of fighting as a child to the point in which he would run away from bullies at school. He eventually faced his fears and went on to become the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

Yanni 

had no formal training and could not read or write traditional notation of music, but he developed a unique form of his own musical shorthand as a child and he managed to compose some of the best selling instrumental music of all time. 

So what's your dream?

(via)

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY.

(via)

FALLING.

I've fallen out of favor and I've fallen from grace

Fallen out of trees and I've fallen on my face

Fallen out of taxis, out of windows too

Fell in your opinion when I fell in love with you

Sometimes I wish for falling, wish for the release

Wish for falling through the air to give me some relief

Because falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace

It's only when I hit the ground that causes so much grief

This is a song for a scribbled-down name

And my love keeps writing again and a gain

This is a song for a scribbled-down name 

And my love keeps writing again and again

And again and again and again and againg

I dance with myself, I drunk myself down

Found people to love, left people to drown

I'm not scared to jump, I am not scared to fall

If there was nowhere to land I wouln't be scared at all

At all

At all

Fall

Fall

Sometimes I wish for falling, wish for the release

Wish for falling through the air to give me some relief

Because falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace

It's only when I hit the ground that causes all the grief.

-Florence & the Machine "Falling"

HERE'S TO THE NEXT DECADE.

2010 has arrived and I have a feeling it's going to be an adventurous, life changing, and blossoming year.