It feels wonderful to be done with school, and as I wait for a job to come through, I'm learning to cherish the little moments and enjoy these weeks as my last real summer vacation.
So, here are just a few of the many things I'm loving this week!
Quality time with friends.
Not having a schedule means getting to hang out with friends, sometimes spontaneously. Meredith, Sterling, Thomas and I regularly have Wednesday "double date" nights, but since the boys are in Uganda this week, Meredith drove down Wednesday afternoon for sushi, shopping, and the American Idol finale. Last night, Maria and I met up at an Austin 24-hour favorite, Kerby Lane, and talked for hours. Today I joined my good friend Ashley and her 16-month-old daughter Paisley at Brushy Creek for a picnic lunch and fun in the water park, and then this afternoon I went to Alex's house to bake a rainbow "cake in a jar".
Baseball season.
My uncle has had season tickets to the Round Rock Express (the minor league team in town) for the past 12 years, and he has really sparked my love of baseball. Okay okay, so maybe I first fell in love with the game as a kid because he bought me a snack at every inning... but he doesn't have to bribe me anymore! Last Friday, my family went to the Dell Diamond to see Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton (Rangers) play with the Express since they're both in rehab for injuries. I'm a huge Rangers fan, and the fun night ended with their traditional Friday night fireworks show.
Falling in love with my hobbies again.
Over the past two weeks, I've filled my free time with things I used to WISH I had time to do! I've always loved to read but never had the time to read for fun in college, so the other day I sat at Starbucks for two hours with the book Something Borrowed and my favorite drink, an iced White Chocolate Mocha. I finished the book - so now I can go see the movie! - and I'm now halfway done with Water for Elephants. Here's the rest of my summer reading list:
- The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
- Something Blue by Emily Giffin
- Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Any other book suggestions?
