It's been a rough few months, but I'm making it through. This year has been very much realizing how I need to be in control of things in my life, and it's turning out to be extremely successful in that way.

Things continue to only get busier, especially on the work front. I'm definitely not complaining. It's nice to not have to worry so much about things.

I "recovered" from the shingles. I still get pain from it every now and again, luckily it's not debilitating. It seems to only pop up when I start getting over stressed, so while it's difficult right now to combat that, I am trying to take breaks when my body tells me I need to.

In April..went to Bamboozle with Jerry, it was good times, he rules.



I visited Massachusetts at the beginning of June and was able to see a lot of my family and my best friend. Spent a lot of time with my sister and nephew for his first birthday (who is AMAZING).

My nephew, Logan:



Me, Chloe and Christine:



"Celebrated" my birthday with a dodgers/yankee's game (how funny is that, that my official first baseball game involved the Yankees. ha!) and a show at Club Nokia where All Shall Perish played:



I spent my actual 27th birthday working (which was pretty fun, actually, one of my 3 year old students painted me a really cute picture for my bday). At night, my friend Janette came over and sang Happy birthday to me over ice cream, haha!



Around my birthday, I bought myself a brand new car and I LOVE it. It was time, and while it's pretty much doubled my car expenses each month, I'm glad I made the decision when I did. More Camping is going to be in order pretty soon, and I've been seeing a lot more of my friends now.

Fourth of July weekend was spent rather unconventionally, at a pretty neat art gallery opening in Santa ana, for the "artists see satan" exhibit with a bunch of my awesome college friends, which was pretty cool experience. It was followed by scrabble & drinking at my house, which was very nice.

Had our first Spring Recital over the weekend (well, technically, two!)

It went great and I love my job :)

when you don't have a lot of big things to help destress going on in life, little things start to become really important...like frozen thin mint cookies....and excellent literature:

"How can one thing be more real than any other? Especially when it is inscrutable and mysterious? Maybe when a thing is perceived as being absolutely direct yet absolutely unecessary it becomes absolutely genuine. It is real unto itself and does not depend on outside attachments or associations for its reality....."-Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker

Ghosts of you, and me - and us - have been in my dreams so much lately. I wish you would leave me, I have so much more to be thinking about right now. It's still too real.

Been hanging with my friend Janette a lot. She rocks.



We made irish car bomb cupcakes. They were amazing.



I got a haircut. It's sexy.



I'm getting good at this whole sushi making thing...and getting a little more adventurous (salmon & mango below):



Went to an 80's party last weekend @ Lilia's with Rayanna and danced up a storm!