Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you crazy moms out there! Where would we be without you? (Literally)

For Mother's Day, I wrote my mom a song. It pretty much kicks ass. I played it for her this morning on my guitar while we enjoyed breakfast together on the porch. Here are the sensational lyrics...

Friends can give advice. It usually isn't very smart.
But when mom says something, You know it's coming from her heart.

Her wisdom has opened my eyes to a world where I will never be a sucker.
She told me to have sex before marriage to avoid a lifetime with a bad... YEAH!

Mom likes renovation; New hardwood floors and gutted bathrooms.
She threatened to kill me, If I sing "O Come Emmanuel" at her tomb.

She taught me how to broil food and how to play my cards right.
She picks me up when I am sad to help me sleep all through the night... NIIIGHTT!

She gives me hugs and kisses, And makes me want to forever stay.
That's why I wrote this song, To wish her a wonderful Happy Mother's Day!


Basically... she loved it! (Sure, she winced and snickered a bit, but...) She gave me a big hug and kiss afterward. Happy Mother's Day Momma Leister!

Working Hard or Hardly Working

Summer vacation is confusing me... I woke up this morning thinking I had to study all day... But really, I had endless hours of freetime to kill :)

I read a 40-page booklet about housing regulations for the school I'll be staying at in Rome, (they don't have microwaves or clothes dryers... that may be a problem for me)... I also ate my weight in PB&J sandwiches and wrote a song for my mom that I'll be playing for her on Mother's Day.... (shhhh... it's a secret!)

OH... I also went searching through Craigslist, Etsy & Amazon.com for random trinkets, jobs, books, apartments, etc. Browsing the web can be so much fun :)

And now, my friends, I believe I will start scrapbooking to commemorate my spring break trip, (as you all remember... I spent a lovely week in Nicaragua)... Happy Thursday!

S-S-S-S-Summer!!

I can't believe that I haven't posted in a week! Well, actually... yes I can. I've been WICKED busy friends!

I had 2 killer finals to study for, 2 1/2 lovely dates with Brian, a housing dilemma, several PostSecret events and WAY too much Red Bull. Here are the details of this past week's highlights...

1) I almost secured a room in a house near campus with a bunch of awesome girls for the 2009-2010 school year, (SENIOR year!)... Unfortunately, I got booted because I'm not a sorority girl, FML... Ergo: I've been searching Craigslist and my school's roomie-search portal like a mad woman. I actually found some pretty good-looking prospects that I'll be checking out on Saturday. Although I love the parentals, I think it's time for me to give them back their love nest. Coming home drunk at 3AM on weekends, (or not coming home at all), is getting a LITTLE bit awkward...

2) Brian and I had a little sushi date on Friday afternoon and met up Friday night to bar-hop in Adams Morgan. We also went to a show together on Monday down the street from his apartment. We're making plans to go skydiving in the near future. The dude in a nutshell: Musician, Intelligent Engineer, Attractive, Strong/Silent, Funny... Winner? I think YES...

3) I'm officially a SENIOR! I finished two ridiculously hard finals, (I probably spent about 30 hours studying this past week), and suffered a few sleepless nights but am ready to embrace the wonderful blessing that is SUMMER. I leave for Rome in countdown 13 DAYS! (I picked up my Visa this morning)... I guess it's time to learn some Italian... "Pasta, Pesto, Prego, Primavera!"

Super Sexy Slim-Down 2009

I got on the scale at my doctors appointment the other day... AHHHHH! (Let's just say, I was not elated).

Numbers have reached an all-time high, friends. Numbers that I plan on shrinking in the upcoming months. ERGO: I'd like to introduce to you the Ultimate "Super Sexy Slim-Down 2009" Challenge!

I've done it before, and I can do it again! Toning the curves and eliminating the oh-so-hated "problem areas" through healthier eating, an exercise regimen and a heaping dollop of will power :)

I'm a determined young lady and I KNOW that I can get myself back to a satisfying weight. My goal: fit into the jeans hanging in my closet by the end of the year. Those incredible, dark-wash denim beauties that I purchased full-price at Lucky Brand this fall. Oh how exciting that would be :)

If any of you readers would like to join me in the "Super Sexy Slim-Down 2009" Challenge, please let me know! It's always easier and a lot more fun to have a buddy by your side.... Ready, Set, RUN!

The Ultimate FML

During my internship Saturday afternoon at the glorious PostSecret headquarters, all of the interns gathered around Frank's dining-room table and voted on secrets for his next best-selling book, (to be released this fall).

One of the secrets we voted on was... "Art is my religion." It was written on a cute little postcard that featured a picture of a cross made with newspaper clippings and watercolor paints. It was definitely touching, but wasn't, (in my opinion), worthy of PostSecret publication.

One of the rules that Frank laid out during the 1st intern meeting was that we had to be completely honest about our opinion of each secret. Even if everyone in the group disagreed with our judgment, we were REQUIRED to verbalize our true feelings about each postcard.

Being the rule-follower that I am, (and being the most opinionated loud-mouth ever), I was more than happy to share my feelings about the "Art is my religion" postcard...

"If this person thinks art is their religion, don't you think they'd be a little better at it?" I snidely remarked. "It looks like a 5 year-old made this."

WELL... Frank started cracking up. I thought it was because he liked my sense of humor. WRONG!

"Thanks, Hilary. That was my secret. I threw it into the pile this morning. Way to destroy my self-confidence."

Basically... I unknowingly dissed my boss, (the coolest boss ever), and made him question his ability to pursue his life passion. (oops!) I think you'll all agree with me when I say... FML!

"Is this a date!?"

I had a hot date last night. The funny thing is, neither one of us really knew it was a date.

Let’s call this charming man “Brian,” (he totally resembles Brian Littrell from The Back Street Boys… HOT!)… Another funny thing: he’s a musician… YES, another one, AHH!

I reviewed his band for my school paper and wanted to give him some copies after it was printed. I texted him Monday…

Me: “The article printed today! I’ll save you a bunch of copies.”
Brian: “Beautiful. It’s going on my wall. You gonna be around this weekend to meet up?”
Me: “Absolutely!”

THEN…. Thursday morning rolled around…

Brian: “Hilary! How does this weekend look?
Me: “My life will revolve around a 1500 word paper due Monday. Please feel free to distract me lol.”
Brian: “Oh, you will be distracted. Don’t plan to get much done Saturday evening…”
Me: “hahahaha… sounds good! I’ve penciled you in (wink)”

(OK, this last little texting session was my first indication that our meeting up MIGHT be a date-like event. A very, very, small little hint. But still… a slight indication.)

THEN… Saturday rolled around. I still had no idea what was happening. Was it just me and him that evening? Were other people going to be with us? What were we doing that night? What the hell should I wear?

WELL… It was just the two of us. (The second “this might be a date” indication). We walked to a nearly club to hear some English alt rock/folk dude perform. Brian paid my entry fee and refused my money when I tried to pay him back. He also bought my drinks. (The third “this might be a date” indication).

We sat at a table and chatted for about an hour until the English musician got on stage. The dude had awesome stage presence and his music was really relaxing. I definitely enjoyed it. Brian started putting his arms around me and holding my hands during the performance. (The fourth “this might be a date” indication).

As we walked home from the show, I somehow ended up holding Brian’s hand. (Indication #5). I’m not sure who grabbed whose hand first, (he claims I grabbed his), but either way… it was pretty cute.

We got back to the apartment and sat in his living room watching TV with some of his roommates and friends. While flipping through the channels, he had his arm around me and was holding my hand… (OK… indication #6… we’re getting somewhere here).

His roommates and friends left to go run an errand and left the two of us alone in the apartment. Within a few minutes, our lips were locked. I finally concluded: Yes, this definitely counts as a date!

I heard from him this afternoon. We’re meeting up again next Friday. It should be fun :)

Unsung Treasures: Little Drops of Joy

Here is another unsung treasure... the tiny pink flowers that blossom every year on one of the trees in my frontyard. The tree only blossoms for 2 weeks each year, usually the last 2 weeks of April. Major plus: they're PINK!... what a gift :)