Happy Things, Round 2

Listening to: Owl City's new All Things Bright & Beautiful album!
(It just came out at midnight, and yes, I bought it right away. I am not ashamed to say that I love Adam Young. The man is brilliant. Besides, his music never fails to make me happy, and I need some happy music in my life right about now!)

I could get all introspective again today, but I'll spare you guys for now. Besides, I have enough introspectiveness going on at the moment; I think switching gears for awhile might be a good thing! So, in an attempt to have a more positive perspective...

Happy Thing #1: As mentioned above, Owl City just released a new album and I am loving it. How can you not be happy after listening to this?!




Actually, my favorite song from the album is "Honey and the Bee" (probably because Breanne Düren has a significant part...), but this one has been stuck in my head all day and makes me smile.

Happy Thing #2: These DIY candle holders. Maybe I need to get back in touch with my crafty side from elementary school and make these because I kinda want some. They don't sound too difficult to make (which would only add to the happy factor).

Materials

• Candle holder with flat sides (any size)
• Craft adhesive (multi-purpose for wood and glass surfaces)
• Garden pruners
• Dry tree or shrub branches

Step 1. Wash the candle holder with dish soap and dry well. Cut the branches down to sticks close to the height of the candle holder, it is best to cut a few at a time.

Step 2. Dab the glue on a stick making sure to hit the areas that will be flush to the glass. Place on the glass. You can do a few at a time and then hold until they won’t slide off before you rotate the holder.

Step 3. Repeat until all of the glass has been covered. As always, if using a candle holder do not leave these unattended! Isn’t the end result just magnificent?(via Fossil)

Happy Thing #3: The Dear Girls Above Me Twitter/website. Stupid people are so entertaining.

Happy Thing #4: This "left brain-right brain" ad by Mercedes-Benz. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm a psych major, but I find this to be awesome.

Happy Thing #5: The Best Obnoxious Responses to Misspellings on Facebook. I know, I know--I would like something like this. Sometimes, I wish I could be enough of a jerk to say these things...

End of the semester adventures!

Sorry for my lack of updates...life kinda picked up after break, I guess. Just in time, too--I was starting to lose hope for the semester altogether! The last month of it ended up being really great though, at least for the most part. :) Get ready for a picture overload.

I've done a lot of random fun stuff, but two of the biggest: Thunder and the Owl City show!

A few weeks ago, a group of about 11 of us went to Mike's house for Thunder Over Louisville (a big fireworks/air show to kick off the Derby). That was definitely fun, even if it was a little chilly at times...

Kristi, Mike, Will, Jon, Jaynese, and I walked around downtown Louisville for most of the day, doing exciting things (or not) like visiting Fourth Street Live...

We found a bookstore somewhere along the way, so we spent awhile in there (Kristi and I found Boyfriend Training Flashcards, so we decided to test the guys' knowledge. Fortunately, they're doing well enough). We eventually made our way back to where Mike's parents were holding down the fort to watch some of the air show.

We met up with the rest of the crew (aka Christy, Courtney, Pookie, Jesse, and Emily) at Panera for dinner, after which we proceeded to take a million pictures by the fountains outside.

Girls:

Guys (this picture is proof of why I love them):

After dark (and a little bit of a delay...), we got to watch some awesome fireworks!

After church the next day, Kristi and I decided to reunite with the tire swing in the backyard.

Sooo much fun (especially when the guys helped us out by pushing us)! All in all--definitely a great weekend!

Next up was the Owl City/LIGHTS/Paper Route show in Atlanta! In a word: amazing. For real. After making it to ATL, we found a place to park and discovered the adventure that is an Atlanta parking garage:

We then found a semi-sketch-looking deli where we got some surprisingly great food that we ate while waiting in line at the Tabernacle:

First up was Paper Route. I'm not really a fan in general, but they're really good live!

Next: LIGHTS! I love her, and she is just as amazing in concert as she is on her album. Not to mention that she's one of the cutest people ever.

And finally...Owl City! Adam Young is just awesome. Even more awesome? Throwing Matt Thiessen into the mix!

And, of course, Breanne Düren (the girl whose voice makes "The Saltwater Room" one of the best songs ever), who is quite possibly the most adorable person alive:

So yeah--definitely a good time! I am so glad I decided to go. It was definitely worth the money!

The rest of the time, I've done fun stuff like hiking (twice) with some of my favorite people:

We ended up going past the marked trail to climb up to see two other waterfalls. The second time around, this involved Kristi, Will, and I climbing rocks and hacking our way through the forest. Gooooood times!

And now I'm home for the summer. Sort of. In about 4 weeks, I'm off to Europe, and after that, I'm probably going to be working something called Camp JOY. I'll definitely have to update you all on that one! It'll be a good summer, I think. It's entirely possible that I won't go crazy this year. Let's hope so, at least.

Highlights of break so far...

(Okay, so I really like making lists!)

1. Hiking...here. What?!

Apparently, some pretty great trails exist like, 20 minutes away from my house. I've lived here for 7 years and never had a clue. I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but I am sooo glad I know about them now! Darren and I went on a nice 7-mile hike on Thursday, and it was seriously one of the most beautiful trails ever. See for yourself:

Gorgeous, yes? There are, of course, more on Facebook. :) I think I've decided I'm going to forget psychology and become a nature photographer instead. I'll just spend all my time in the woods, taking pictures, and living a happy life. Okay, not really. It's a nice thought, though.

God always tends to talk to me the most when I'm in the middle of nature like that. I just get so amazed at His creativity. I mean, everything from how the light reflects off the water to the different colors of the rocks...it's incredible to think that He actually bothered to think out every single detail. I always end up discovering some new analogy between life and His creation, and that's pretty cool to me. :)

2. Listening to music in the car with friends...especially Christmas music!

Tonight, I was with Darren, Quintin, and Tahir, and we spent the first half of the trip singing along to stuff like "Down" (of course) and "Whatcha Say" (it has become mine and Quintin's song for the time being. I love that kid!). The second half? Relient K's Christmas album, "Let it Snow, Baby...Let it Reindeer." In other words, pure awesomeness. I don't know what it is, but loudly singing "The 12 Days of Christmas" and "Deck the Halls" in a car with friends tends to make me feel really happy and Christmassy like nothing else. I love it!

3. Owl City concert plans?!?!?!?!?!

Uh, yeah. Owl City, along with LIGHTS (who I started listening to about a week ago), is playing in ATL on April 20. I'm going. You should, too. (In my case, all I can say is, thank goodness for Christmas money. Heh!) I am reeeeeeally excited. In case you weren't already aware, I really like Owl City. But I'm pretty sure you knew that.

4. Family!

My 5- and 6-year-old cousins are hilarious. They can be bratty for sure, but they never fail to make me laugh. At our annual Christmas family get-together deal at my grandparents', Eli was refusing to eat his ham because he insisted that it looked like shark skin. Um, okay. He also informed me that Copper the dog from The Fox and The Hound (which I still love) has very large ears that resemble steaks. ...Yeah, I kinda love him a lot. Levi, on the other hand, has a thing for cars. Like, really. As soon as he walked in the door, he was like, "Hey, Brittany," and proceeds to give me a 10-minute breakdown on every detail of his toy car. (He's 6 and knows more about cars than I do. Great.) Fortunately, I've become a pro at pretending I know what car-loving people are talking about (I've had lots of practice), so he and I get along just fine.

5. The Polar Express!

Well, this technically hasn't happened yet, but tomorrow, I'm going to see The Polar Express in 3-D with my family...at the IMAX I didn't know existed in my city? (I'm discovering all sorts of new things around here!) I am sooo excited. That is one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies. I love it!

So yeah, I'm thoroughly enjoying my break so far. Amazingly, I'm perfectly content still being at home (usually, that only lasts about a week. I've made it two so far!). I mean, I do miss everyone from Lee, but I am totally okay with the fact that there are still 3 weeks left of break. Still not quite ready to go back. I'm still recovering from last semester! Heh! This break has been good for me, though. :) Anyway, hopefully, there will be more Christmas break adventures to tell you guys about, coming soon!

These are a few of my favorite things...

They're all links. Click for more awesomeness.

1. Owl City
Um, yes, Adam Young is amazing. I've listened to this guy for about 4 months straight and I'm still not sick of him. It has got to be the most versatile music ever made. If I'm happy, it works. If I'm sad, it works. If I'm tired, it works. If I have tons of energy, it works. Big cities, the mountains, the beach...it just works. I still get really happy every time I hear the opening notes to "Fireflies" or "The Saltwater Room" or "Hot Air Balloon" or...any of his songs, really. So good!

2. Lonely Planet
This site is my new best friend. I discovered it while I was spending the past few days planning a trip to Italy for a class project. Anywhere you want to travel (which, at least in my case, means everywhere), it has all the information you need to know. Restaurants, hotels, transportation, cool things to see, whatever--it has it. And it's not worded in a really boring way. It's actually kind of fun to read.

3. Global Perspectives
...Because it's why I get to go to Europe this coming summer. Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, here I come! I am super excited. Obviously, I can't wait to go to see the cities and stuff, but what made me most excited was when I realized that I'll be in the middle of the Alps. YESSSS!!! (I know, I would get worked up about that sort of thing. I can't help it. Mountains are my favorite.)

4. The Annie Moses Band's Version of "We Three Kings"
Please ignore the fact that this is a video clip from TBN. :) I'm a huge fan of just about any sort of stringed instrument arrangement, and this is definitely no exception. Gorgeous.

5. Making New Friends
This seems to be something that has happened quite a bit in my life here lately. I'm definitely not complaining! I love having more people in my life. It makes things so much more enjoyable! :) I'm just hoping they don't turn into the whole we-hung-out-once-and-now-I'll-pretend-you-don't-exist thing. I hate that.

6. Sporcle
Hello, addiction. What could be more entertaining than 2,319 random knowledge quizzes that occupy your life for hours at a time? Yeah, it's a good time.

The Saltwater Room

Sometimes, I get a little obsessive about a certain song (and/or band), and I'll put it on repeat for hours on end, just because I can't stop listening. It's happened with "Dark Blue" by Jack's Mannequin, "Unsaid" by The Fray, "Come On, Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson (though I can't let myself listen to that one anymore, for various reasons...which sometimes makes me sad, because I do love that song), and who knows how many others. Well, my current obsession is "The Saltwater Room" by Owl City.

Oh my gosh. So good.

Fortunately, my roommate loves it, too, so she doesn't mind my listening habits too much. But for real--that guy is awesome. I'm not usually one to listen to electronica-type stuff that much, but dang. I can't stop listening to them (or him. Whatever. It's technically a solo project, but it sounds weird to refer to it as a singular thing). The girl's voice makes the song even better, and I love guy/girl harmony in general. Also, I think the lyrics are pretty wonderful.

Owl City's Myspace: myspace.com/owlcity

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usR7mMHUhlY