Dear Monday, Thank you for starting off so early and without much problem. Seriously, I keep waking up at 6:30am without even being tired. I'm pretty sure that means I'm officially an oldlady. Doesn't mean you can't start your week with some coffee!
Dear baseball season, I'm so glad you're back! It's not the same without Jordan or Rae at the game, but it's still pretty awesome that we can see quality baseball (sic 'em, Bears!) for free.
Dear Jess, I know I'm not supposed to be happy about this, but I'm kind of glad Barry is out of town because that means I get a ton of time with you and I love it. Thank you for inviting me to the game, and partaking in plenty of happy dances we did for all the Baylor runs. You're my favorite.
Dear guys at the Dwyer Group in the marketing department, Thank you for this sign. (As the Paul Hagan said, "April's almost gone?! That's tearing up my heart!") Y'all are awesome.
(If you didn't get the sign, just listen to the last line of this tune.)
Dear Hillary, I just watched that video and I keep saying "I miss Hillary!" because nobody else will bust out 'N SYNC dances with me. Sure you don't want to move back to Waco, TX for a year?!
Happy Monday friends! Hope today is full of love, celebration, and plenty of 'N SYNC. ;) Hope you had a good weekend!
Today, some pretty awesome people made my day better:
First, Katie, Christopher's sister, who frequently sends me things she finds of mine and Chris's love. I'm so grateful for you, Katie! Love this photo:
Christopher's brother Jon, who also is one of my saving graces (hello, Mr. Muscles!) sent me this photo reppin' Baylor in the Pacific Northwest. Love it!
To M'Lynn, one of my most hilarious students this semester, thank you for the sweet gifts! You did not need to give me anything, as the only requirement for you to receive good teaching is the want to learn. Your grades are already in, but if they weren't, you'd totally get an A for this. Just kidding. ;)
Speaking of M'Lynn, remember how Jasmyn said M'Lynn would tattoo my name on her forehead if she passed the class? They stopped by my office earlier today to give me these photos, which will now go on my whiteboard as a reminder that I am so grateful for awesome students.
And lastly, to Reido Burrito, aka my favorite high school Spanish partner, who amazingly sends me science article links, cool news, or other psychology-related goodness. I love that my friends know that I'm always appreciative of a good EEG pic or two! (Also hilarious: when I asked him if he feels like he's a little less smart now that his brian waves have been sucked out [scientific note: not actually what happens during an EEG], he responded "I stopped feeling smart when I let you proofread my research paper in Mr. Rosenthal's class.")
Happy Thursday friends! You know the deal: write down a few things you're thinking today and then link up below so we can all read what's on your mind! Right click and copy the photo above, or use your own.
[1]
I know I keep talking about this, but it's probably because it's on Wednesday evening and I usually don't get to see it until Thursday...but have y'all been keeping up with Revenge?! Oh my gosh, I am in love with Emily Thorne. Girl can kick some major ass.
[2]
Nick leaves for Kenya for two months next week and moves away for medical school in Nashville two weeks after he gets back. We talked earlier this week to say goodbye and it was wonderful. Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes; it went exactly how I could have hoped. Thanks guys.
[3]
I just made the cutest invitations for my bestie Liz's lingerie shower! Totally psyched about them, although they printed out kind of funny because of the printer we used. Regardless, how cute are these?
[4]
Moving out of state at 22 was probably the hardest decision I've ever made, especially when I'm often reminded of friends who have family close to them in graduate school where they can just drive home for a weekend. Luckily, May is one of the two times I get to fly home yearly to see my fam, and I am counting down the days! A little over two weeks, mom!
[5]
Ever have one of those days where you dress up just because you want to look extra cute? That's today. My dress and heels say hi!
Happy Thursday friends! What are you thinking today? Link up and tell us!
Dear Monday, Today, you started out absolutely beautiful. Thank you.
i thank You God for this most amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
e.e. cummings
Dear Random Sunday afternoon road trip, Sometimes I forget that Texas drives can be beautiful in their own way. I loved the rock bottom river, historic chapel, and huge swimming hole at Tonkawa Falls.
Dear weekend lab work, I'm always delightfully surprised at how much of you I get done when I come into the lab. You're peaceful and how graduate school should always be!
Dear Wedding Shower gift craft project, You turned out great! Thank you for giving me less of a hassle than I originally anticipated!
Dear Daniel and Lyndsey, Happy almost-marriage! I'm glad I could celebrate your love with you, and I had a blast at your couple's shower! Hope you liked your gift!
Dear crazy, unpredictable, beautiful life, Thanks for constantly surprising me with goodness, love, and endless hugs from friends.
I told you guys yesterday about Baylor's Diadeloso tradition (lovingly referred to as Dia), where the university gives students a Thursday off in April to "enjoy the outdoors" and give a "break from classes." It started out as a May Day celebration in 1934 and became Diadeloso 1966, where it has been a day of drunken debauchery ever since.
Generally, the on-campus stuff is awesome. Baylor focuses on family friendly events such as tug-of-war contests, 5x5 basketball, campus golf, dog shows, a really poorly named "Throw the snitch in Quiddich" game (dude, everybody knows you catch the snitch, not throw it), etc.
This year, there were camel rides too!
I met up with Tamara, my favorite Zumba/dance partner (and one of the most hilarious people/bloggers I know), to meet up with her and her 18mo. old daughter Lillie. Lillie clearly gets her dance skills from her mom; she was shakin' it with the best of 'em the whole morning! Lillie also got to ride a horse, which she held onto all by herself. Tamara says it's all that practice riding four wheelers.
It was a gorgeous Texas day (don't worry, I wore sunscreen).
Off-campus, however, was a little different. I accidentally drove by last year and it was so heavily congested with intoxicated pedestrians that I made sure to walk this year. I wish I would have brought my big camera (I just had my iPhone) so that you could see the sheer number of people that were there. This is just a photo of one house on this block, but imagine this number of people times 10 (and I think that's an underestimation). Last year, they were in the streets as well, but the police presence was more noticeable this year and they made sure students stayed out of the middle of the street.
This photo also doesn't accurately represent how loud it is, as each house usually has a band or DJ with speakers blaring music and poor banter to anybody within a half-mile radius.
Notice all the ridiculous neon tank tops? Nothing says college like matching t-shirts.
There was one larger party that was completely crazy, complete with beer throwing, nakedness, and a lot of drunk people. We went long enough to document with our iPhones, but didn't stay much longer because nothing makes you feel old like counting how many people will regret their decisions the day after.
And again, these are just small portions of the parties. According to police reports (there's a video too), five people were taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning, and those are just the people who the police were called for (my guess is the number is at least twice that). I understand that people party in college (I went to college too, friends, I've seen it first hand), but what I don't get is why the police wait until 4:30PM to "break up" the parties when there's clearly underage drinking, public intoxication, and open containers everywhere. I did see at least four people within a 10-minute period get an MIP or open container ticket, so I'm sure they were out, but considering Baylor hired 25+ off-duty police officers to patrol, I'm surprised the party lasted for as long as it did.
Clearly, I've become old.
You can check out more Dia party pics by clicking here, here, and here, or more on-campus Dia pics here.
So that's Dia, for all that didn't know. Did your university have anything like Dia where people made poor decisions in large groups?!
You know the drill: write down a few of the things you've been thinking this week, then link up below so that others can read what you've shared! Right click and save the photo above if you want to use it for the Thursday Thoughts link-up, or use your own!
[one]
OHMYGOSH. Are y'all as excited as me that Revenge is back?! I loved this week's episodes, but as one of my good friends tweeted, couldn't Emily Thorne afford better wigs? +100 awesome cool points for kicking a guy's butt in heels, though.
[two]
Speaking of television, remember how I told you that my favorite guilty TV pleasure is Dance Moms? They just came out with a Dance Moms: Miamiand it sucks. Lifetime letdown.
[three]
Today is a Baylor tradition called Diadeloso (Day of the Bear, clearly) which although is Baylor sanctioned, kind of turns into a frat-tastic day of binge drinking and bad decisions. I'm going to the sanctioned events (and don't worry, I'll take photos) in a few, and then headed over to the unsanctioned events to document with my camera. It's like mardi gras for 19 year olds, so clearly it will be hilarious.
[four]
I lost motivation for my dissertation writing last week, but picked it up this week. Here's hoping to a productive weekend with plenty of words written!
[five]
I'm not a huge music person––I mean, I like it, but in general, I don't know many bands that aren't mainstream, I don't go to a lot of live shows, and I don't buy albums the day they come out. Unless, that is, the artist is Jason Mraz. I can't pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with Mr. A-Z, but I'm pretty sure Jeff and Nick covered "I'll Do Anything" at one of their shows sophomore year and I had to listen to the rest of his collection. Anyway, Jason just came out with a new album (Love is a Four Letter Word) and it's fabulous. Hilariously, my two favorite songs are only on the deluxe version, so buy that. (Clare, thank you for the sweet email where you said "You Fckn Did It" reminded me of you. I can't tell if that's a compliment, but I love it!)
Time for Dia, which means I'm headed out! What are you thinking today? Link up and tell us here:
Dear Monday, You've been productive so far and it's not even 2PM. Let's hope you continue to be awesome.
Dear Pottermore, So glad you're finally open to the public! And also pretty awesome that I got sorted into Gryffindor. I would have been happy with that or Ravenclaw!
Dear Trey-ent, First the Heart O' Texas Motor Speedway and then letting me play with 8 puppies? Your life rocks. Thank you for not strangling me each time I mentioned how fluffy they are (which, to my defense, only happened 30 times). And I want this one, but only if it stays this small.
Dear Dad, Thank you for being the subject of this video. You're the best dad in the entire world and I don't think people realize how awesome you are until I show them evidence. So there. (Narrated by my brother Scotty and sister-in-love Sandra.)
Dear Liz, Thank you for the punniest birthday gift I've ever received. I'm currently wearing my Freudian slippers in my office, which means life is grand.
Dear Brian (office mate), The Stanford lab has gotten infinitely cooler since you joined. Thanks for the elevator dance parties, Starbucks runs, rocking out to George Michael, and endless supply of Nerds.
Happy Monday friends! Hope your day is as fantastic as ever.
This morning, I had plans to meet up with my friend Katie to go running around Baylor's campus, so we decided to meet up around 10am. We barely finished our run before it started pouring, so excuse the picture!
This weekend has been a blur! Friday, a friend and I went to the Heart O' Texas Motor Speedway (I kid you not) and had a blast people-watching.
Yeah, totally did that.
Then yesterday, I went over to my bestie Liz's house and helped her, her mother, and her fiance (he was the bedazzler) make wedding invitations. It ended up being a little bit of a hassle because their printer broke (uhhh...), but turned out fantastically in the end.
We spent all day making invitations and then went out for pina coladas afterward (yup!), then I tried to do work and didn't actually get anything accomplished last night.
So of course, how did I celebrate my lack of getting any work done this weekend?
You know the drill: write down a few of the things you're thinking this week, then link up below so others can read what you've shared! Right click and save the photo above, or use your own!
To Cathy, Liz, and Casey: I feel like we've been spending a crazy amount of time together, but in a good way. I have more fun with you guys every time I'm with you, and I love feeling like I'm part of your fams. Thanks for sharing my birthday with me!
{two}
To the two Megans (Haggard and Johnshen): thank you for celebrating my birthday with Haggard's amaaaazing macaroons, pub trivia, and Sam Adam's Chocolate Bock. You two are quite possibly the funniest people I know, plus you tell the best stories. I'm grateful for you!
{three}
To my office mate Brian: thank you for your endless supply of Nerds and the sweet Starbucks gift card. Our Monday Starbucks trip before the lab meeting is one of my favorite weekly traditions, plus you have the most hilarious random tangents (this week, we talked about the sexually dimorphic pattern of hair growth in humans). Thank you for being wonderful.
{four}
To M'Lynn and Jasmyn: I rarely have "favorite" students ('cuz that's not fair!), but you two come close. Thank you for the chocolate with almonds (so good!), Starbucks gift card (y'all know me too well), and hilarious card complete with stats jokes ("Did you hear about the statistician who got thrown in jail? He now has zero degrees of freedom."). I'm so lucky to get to know you (even though it has to be via statistics class).
{five}
To dad: You always make me smile with your text messages, but this one was hands down my favorite Dad text ever. 26 years ago, you wouldn't put me down 'cuz mom was in shock and you loved your baby girl. I love you forever too.
{six}
To my blogger friends: Holy comments, Batman! You all seemed to love my birthday post from yesterday, and I loved reading all your thoughts on the day. I keep hearing about random connections that my friends have with the "strangers" I chose (for instance, Court worked with Colin, my student Jasmyn is roomies with the last gift receiver Madison, my colleague Matt teaches both Alyssa and Caroline, etc.). Life is awesome. A few people asked permission to use this idea of their birthdays, and all I have to say is of course it's okay! Spreading love? You never have to ask to do that. You guys are great.
Seriously, it's been such an awesome week. What are you thinking today? Link up and let us know!
Remember how I was asking you guys how I should celebrate my birthday?
I decided that since my 25th birthday was full of a little bit of reflection (my favorite blog post ever) and two days of crazy Sar-attention (Day 1 and Day 2), this year I wanted something lower key, toned down, and more focused on spreading love ('cuz duh, who doesn't need more love?).
So I decided to give 26 gifts to 26 strangers.
Since I don't have family in the state (or in a day's driving distance), holidays and celebrations are always a little less fulfilling than how they'd be if I could hug my mom or laugh with my dad. Thus, why not celebrate with 26 people I didn't know?
First, I went to Target and bought 22 gifts and gift bags (plus 4 $5 Starbucks gift cards). I'm pretty sure I bought out their dollar section!
Then, I wrapped them up (some creatively; pens are hard to wrap!) and attached my favorite Mary Oliver poem to the outside as inspiration.
At the bottom, I included a thanks and my blog URL (since I knew I wanted to take photos of all the recipients and thought they should be able to come check them out if they liked).
Then, I patiently waited for my birthday to celebrate the love!
The day started out a little awkwardly because I didn't know how to ask people if I could give them presents ("HimynameisSarahanditsmybirthdaycanIgiveyouapresent?" didn't seem to work), but it got better throughout the day. In general, I told people that it was my birthday so I was hoping they would celebrate with me by accepting a small gift, and in return smile for a photograph. Everybody was accommodating (even though a few people were taken aback or skeptical that I was going to sell them something), and it turned out to be one of the best birthdays to date. Check out my new friends:
Sasha was given a Starbucks gift card. I stood behind her in line, gave her the gift, and she ended up paying for my drink––so sweet, right?! Kind of defeats the purpose, but she was paying it forward by paying for my drink! A great way to start the day, even though she thought there was a catch when I first asked her to accept the gift. ;)
This is Belinda, my favorite Baylor Starbucks barista. She received thank you cards and a matching pen. Giving Belinda a gift was kind of cheating because I see her multiple times per week (her and her coworkers make the best iced tall Americano with two pumps of white mocha), but besides her name and her daughter, I know little about her so I thought that counted as a "stranger."
Jacob received a Starbucks gift card as well, which I gave him after he paid for the food he was eating!
Colin received one of my favorite gifts, a small but nice notebook with an inspirational quote and a pen to go with it. I know, it's kind of a girly gift for a man, but Colin took it in stride ("My 10-year old daughter would love this!"). Also a cool story, almost immediately after I gave it to him, he found my email address and sent me a thank you email. Makes sense considering he works in the Electronic Communications department at Baylor!
After Colin, I sat down and started to do some work ('cuz that's what the cool kids do, work on their birthdays) when I looked up and made eye contact with this nice man. He kept smiling at me, so I figured I'd go give him a gift (Starbucks gift card). He thought I was a student and apologized for being late to our nonexistant meeting, so I surprised him by giving him a gift. This is Dr. Corey Carbonara, who is probably one of the nicest men in the world. He works in Film and Digital Media, and apparently was 2000's one of the "Most Powerful Texans in High Tech." Um, awesome.
Andrew made me want to give him a gift when he wore a Wenatchee Junior Golf shirt. Nobody ever wears Washington state shirts here, so I excitedly asked him about it and he sadly informed me that he bought it in a thrift store in Alabama. Damn. Regardless, he was very thankful for the notebook and pen I gave him, then we had a 5-minute conversation about our favorite types of pens. Thanks for being a nerd with me, Andrew!
I caught Kristina going to class and snapped a picture quickly so she wasn't late (so sorry it's blurry!). She received thank you cards and a matching pen.
After my regular Tuesday morning meeting, I noticed Alyssa nicely sitting outside of the office working by herself, so I asked her if I could give her a gift! She's adorable, right? She received one of the quote notebooks with a pen.
I'm pretty sure I caught Caroline right before she went to class as well, but she was a trooper and posed for a picture before hurrying off. Caroline received some blank cards and a pen.
Taylor was one of my favorite gift-giving experiences of the day because she seemed so geniunely touched that someone would give her a gift on their birthday. She was interested and engaged, and I love that in an undergraduate! Taylor received cards and a matching pen.
I saw Michael coming out of the Moody library Starbucks with a venti blended drink, so I knew he'd appreciate the Starbucks gift card (it's on the ground for this picture, but trust me, it was huge). He joked with me for a few minutes and chatted about photography, then smiled for this photo with his gift card.
I saw Michaela and Kayla (their actual names, cute right?) walking together as I was headed back to the parking garage to pick up more gifts. They both received a card set with a matching pen.
Right outside the parking garage, I ran into Carleen who was incredibly polite even though I probably looked terrifying as I walked straight up to her making a ton of eye contact. She was delightful, however, receiving her quote notebook with a pen.
Then, Meg (who also got a notebook with a pen) walked up behind me unknowingly about to receive a gift. Meg noted that she loved the idea of sharing her birthday with strangers and we chatted for a few minutes while walking towards the parking garage together.
I reloaded my gifts (I couldn't start out by carrying all 26 at once) and then headed outside of the parking garage when I ran into Katie. A sweet woman who was very thankful, Katie received a mug and notepad combo.
I was about to leave the parking garage area when I ran into my good friend Victoria (or Vicky, the one in the sunglasses) and her friend Angie. I didn't know Angie, but since Vicky vouched for me, I bombarded her with a gift! She also received a coffee mug and some post-it notes with cupcakes on them.
Later on that morning by the library, I ran into Jiawen and Mackenzie walking together. Jaiwen was adorable and asked me why on earth I was celebrating my birthday backwards ("I think we should be giving you gifts!"), but they both received their gifts with smiles! Both Mackenzie and Jiawen received a set of two nail polish bottles and a cute Sally Hansen nail file.
Right behind them stood Emily, a sweet girl who received a quote notebook with a pen. Emily was very accommodating considering she seemed more introverted and I walked straight up to her walking past the library. Thanks for letting me give you a gift, Emily!
I had a meeting in the library (yay for writing groups!) so I walked through to find some people to gift. I noticed a smiley man in a nice suit, so I thought what better than to give him the gift of a water gun?! This is Matt, a student at Baylor Law, proudly accepting his gift. You're never too old for a water gun, especially during a hot muggy day like yesterday!
Sitting next to Law Student Matt was Hannah Beth, who was working on a paper for class. I'm pretty sure that if I got to redo my freshman year of college, I'd totally pick Hannah Beth as my roommie. She received two bottles of nail polish and a nail file.
Coming out of the library, I ran into Katy studying. She also received two bottles of nail polish and a nail file. +10 cool points for Katy, as she has a sister who spells her name like I do. Winning!
I had one more water gun and needed a guy (since most were girly gifts) who looked like he'd use it. Enter Cody, who mid-bite told me he'd love to accept a gift. He made a joke about food in his teeth, but I'm sure y'all don't notice 'cuz he's such an adorable man.
I saw Holly turn her stroller in front of me in Fountain Mall and I hadn't given a gift to a mom yet (that I knew of), so I thought she'd be perfect. I walked quickly to try to catch up with her, but she was bookin' it fast so I ended up saying "Excuse me!" and hoping she turned around. She did, and introduced me to Jacob. Although Jacob seemed more interested in the bag and tissue paper, Holly received a candle and a votive holder. Holly's from Pennsylvania so she identified with only seeing family 3x a year, so it was nice to bond over our common denominator.
Lastly, my 26th gift was given to Madison in front of the Student Union Building (accurately but unoriginally called the SUB). Madison sweetly complimented my tote (thanks!) and then accepted her gift of two bottles of nail polish and a nail file.
So that was it! 26 gifts to 26 strangers and my day was made. Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me, new friends!
To celebrate (besides gifts to strangers) I went to dinner with some friends and then to the last round of pub trivia like a normal Tuesday, but I'll blog about that tomorrow.
[Shout-out to Miss Sandra SandyPants, my sister-in-love whose birthday is today! Happy birthday to the best mom under 50 I know!]
![[life of love]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tona_I7yzy8/UVB1YnyAXjI/AAAAAAAAI0E/Md7JgYegy5k/s924/newheader.jpg)
