the social network of absolute distraction.

It is late. It is way too late to be writing a blog post about this. I have something on my mind though that I can't help but spill it out here. Brandon decided to delete his facebook this evening and for some reason I have been compelled to do the same. The only reason why I keep a facebook is so I can obviously connect with friends, and when business is booming I advertise my photography business; however, with my current situation in college, I'm wondering if having a facebook is even really worth it anymore. I see the same, boring statuses every day. I post the same, boring statuses, and really... I only like to keep it to post my photographs. I always wanted to be the bigger person of myself though and delete my special online profile as I did several years ago with my myspace, but facebook has kept me locked in for too long and I think I actually want to wrestle that demon.

I'm taking a tour of the art department at Clemson next week, and needless to say I am both nervous and excited to learn how I can prepare for the rest of my freshman year in order to transfer. Not only to there, but some other schools as well. Granted Clemson is top on my list, I'm still considering others. The thing is though is that I can't go anywhere if I don't do good this year.

The point is. Do I want a social life, or do I want good grades? I want to challenge myself into doing something sporadic... something I've never done before or had the courage to do. I want to get rid of my facebook for at least a week and see how I can handle it before I crack. I want to detox myself of my social life and start working on the things that matter: My relationship with God, my friends, and my boyfriend.

A day of purple and orange.

Brandon and his family took me to my first college football game this past saturday in Clemson. I got the entire college football game experience too! We tailgated, walked around and checked out the homecoming floats, watched the mini parade, and got some really good seats in the stadium. I had such a blast and I can't wait to go again soon! Plus Clemson totally killed Boston College! 36-14 ;)

I'm currently relaxing on my fall break, but that doesn't mean I don't have any work to get done. I plan on cleaning my room today and finishing up the remainder of my homework from last week so that I can spend more of tomorrow studying for my Music Appreciation test. On Friday I'm going to tour Clemson with my parents and Brandon gets to come home finally. Our 8th month anniversary is also on Thursday, of which we are very excited about :) I am hoping we get to do something special for it because we haven't really gotten to celebrate any of our past monthaversaries (as he likes to call them). 

School is still kicking my butt and I'm getting extremely nervous. I want to do really good this year so that I won't have to stay at Greenville Tech. Going to that Clemson game certainly boosted my confidence though. I really needed to be reminded that if I want to go there someday, I really need to get my act together at where I go now. Watching Vampire Diaries all week certainly didn't help my attention span either... but hey, I'm already caught up in the third season and now I can start watching it with everyone else on Thursday nights at 8 D:

ELENA + DAMON PLEASE GET TOGETHER!!!!!

Oh, btw, I got my nose pierced last week. ;D

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! xoxo

Embracing Autumn and TMJ.

Hello sweet friends, I guess by the pictures you can't already guess what I'm doing this lovely, Friday evening... not. Unfortunately I'm hanging out at home playing on photobooth as I await my sweet boyfriend to call me. It's just another one of those weekends we have to spend apart due to homework and gas (even though gas prices are going down... yes!) so I'm making the best of it by preoccupying myself with a new obsession. Some of you might think I'm crazy, or even late into the obsession with The Vampire Diaries... but holy crap. I AM SO ADDICTED! I am renting the dvds from Netflix, but I've been sneakily buying some of the episodes on Amazon just because I seriously can't wait for them to come in the mail. (NETFLIX, Y U NO STREAM GOOD SHOWS?)

Yes, Damon is my favorite. I'm literally SQUEALING thinking about him xD <3 


So yes, this is how I generally spend my time when I want to avoid doing homework and such. Oh man, and after I linked to the website I watched that little clip of the new season and AHHHHHHHH MUST WATCH FASTER! Thank god I managed to find a filler until Pretty Little Liars comes back in January... and I already finished all of The Tudors ages ago. I still think they need to make a sequel to it with Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward... who knows what will happen. Showtime has some pretty amazing shows though.

Anyways, I'm so thankful Fall has started to roll in just in time for October 1st. I got a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks tonight and man it totally hit the spot. It was such a wonderful Fall treat that I now have a hankering to go on a hay ride through a corn maze!

I also wanted to mention due to the title of this blog post, that I have this really annoying joint pain in my mouth called TMJ. I can't open my mouth very wide and when I do I get a very painful feeling in my left side of my jaw. No it is not fun and yes it sucks very much. I have no idea how I accumulated it either, it just started hurting sometime in August and now it refuses to go away. I went to the oral surgeon today and the doc basically told me that there wasn't anything I could do about it but just to let it run its course. If the pain gets worse, however, then I have to go to a orthopedic doctor and get a custom splint made to sleep with at night. Seriously, how is it that every year its something new with me? Last year this very week/weekend is the anniversary from when I had my appendix out. Talk about the scariest experience of my life too. Although this isn't as severe, can't my body just cut myself a break?

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, I think I'm going to watch some more Vampire Diaries and chill for the rest of the night!

xoxox

Mutemath at the Handlebar.

If you have never heard of MUTEMATH, I strongly suggest you give these guys a chance for that you won't be disappointed. I discovered them a few years ago on Myspace around 2007, a year after their first album came out. This video was being advertised and it would come to be one of my favorite songs of all time. I soon downloaded a few more of their songs off the album, but sadly forgot about them as time passed. It wasn't until I met Brandon that I rekindled my love for them after he introduced me to their latest album titled 'Armistice.' From there on out I have never been so overwhelmed with such beautiful music. They have certainly kept me company over the months and honestly, I have yet to get sick of hearing them.

Me, Brandon, and his parents got the privilege to see them live this past Thursday at the Handlebar in Greenville and it was the most incredible show I've ever been to. We were lucky enough to be the first ones there (him getting there at five, me at five thirty, and his parents sometime after six) and be able to see the band in the cafe. We were so shy though we didn't know what to say or how to approach them because well... they were trying to eat ha. Still though! Having them literally TWO feet away from us was so intense! When the doors finally opened, there was this beautiful little spot at the very front of the stage (and right where Paul Meany was to stand) that ended up being Brandon and I's space. We had a perfect view of the singer (Paul), the guitarist (Todd) and the drummer (Darren), however where I was standing Paul's organ was right in front of my face so I couldn't see the bassist (Roy) in the back very well. The concert had so much energy though for just a little show. There were tons of people behind us, and at that moment I was extremely grateful for the spot Brandon and I were able to snag. And yes I got to touch all of them except for Roy who was mainly on the other side of the stage (it was kinda cramped...) and I even got Todd to smile at me twice! Bahah!

At the end of the concert we were kind of sad because we thought we weren't going to get to actually meet them and talk to them, but then a glory moment happened when Todd walked out to the tour bus and a bunch of people started shouting his name. Brandon and I both shot over there as fast as we could and yes we got to meet him/grab a picture with him! Brandon even got him to sign this little cd he bought at the merch stand. To make things even BETTER though, Paul walked out too! The picture above is with me, Paul, and Brandon and if you couldn't tell, we were ECSTATIC! He even gave us hugs like he's known us all his life! He was the nicest guy, and so was Todd! I wish we got to meet the other members, but I think they were inside. Still though, the show was amazing, they were amazing, and I want to relive that night for the rest of my life. I have never been so happy before!

I'm serious though you NEED to give them a listen! They are incredible musicians! :)

Pictures above:

1. Me, Paul, and Brandon after the show.
2. Some of the band in the cafe like 2 feet away from us!
3. Me and my love before the concert.
4. Front and center!
5. Paul's set list!
6. Todd!
7. Darren!
8. Paul!! :)

Family Vacation Part Two

I'm sorry for delaying part two of my family vacation, but since yesterday was Father's Day I've been pretty busy hanging out with family and just resting up from the beach. To continue, however, on Wednesday we went to a wonderful local restaurant called, "Gullah Grub," which is authentic gullah/southern type food that literally melts in your mouth. To start you off they give you a little dish of corn bread to munch on and it's so sweet it definitely tastes more like pound cake than corn bread! I ordered the crab soup with an all organic salad and a sweet tea in a cute little jelly jar. This is probably my favorite restaurant to go to while I'm on vacation with my family. It's placed in a quirky old house that has so much charm. It smells exactly like my great grandma's house :) We then wandered around for a bit until we came to this wonderful fort that was covered in huge oak trees with spanish moss hanging from them. It was right on the beach too. I think the fort was built sometime between the 1700's and the 1800's, but needless to say, some parts of it were kinda creepy. Especially with a brewing storm near by.

Next on the list of our journey was this not so wonderful 'Plantation' called the "Frampton House," in Yemassee, SC. You know... on the outside it looked beautiful, but once you went in you'll never guess what it was. Just a crappy gift store. They restored the entire house, but only made it where the bottom two floors were a gift shop and the upstairs was some sort of office. Even the grounds weren't all that exciting. But, if you like that kind of stuff or just want to get a handful of brochures and chocolate candy... then by all means. I, however, don't think I'll be stopping there again anytime soon.

The last on my list of pictures is that wonderful house at the bottom. On Thursday my family and I went out to eat at this cute restaurant called, "Plums," and then we decided to tour around the old city to look at the houses. I've been to Beaufort, SC, a million times and never once had my family and I peaked around the old houses or took a walk under the hanging branches of the large Oak trees. Granted a few years ago we took a little carriage tour once, but I barely remember what it was like other than our horse was afraid of trash bags in the road. However, during our discovery I found this... gorgeous... house. For those of you who have read Pride and Prejudice, or seen the absolutely adoring movie with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, I instantly thought of Pemberly. Or what Jane Austen imagined it to be like. The Chatsworth House is probably the closest example of what she had in mind, and so therefore I came to the same conclusion when I saw that wonderful house up above. It is nicknamed "The Castle," and it's going for about 3 million dollars. I told Brandon that he needed to rack in the cash at Hollywood 20, haha. 

Friday was sadly our last day at the beach, and we went and ate at this wonderful breakfast joint called, "Blackstone's Cafe." Then we headed out over to Charleston so I could get my fill in Urban Outfitters. I swear that place never gets old to me. I never know what I want either. Every time I walk in I get SO dizzy from trying to look at everything. I usually walk in the dressing room about 2 or 3 times as well trying to find all that I want at a reasonable deal. Which... usually comes to about impossible considering they're so expensive >_< ahh... it's my treat once a year most definitely.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and please wish me luck! Today is my orientation for Greenville Tech, ahh!