Top Ten 2013 Memories

Hey, hi, hello!

Since 2013 ended 7 days ago, I've been thinking back over the year remembering all of my favorite things about it and decided to share them!

10) Seeing my big sister graduate from college in May! It was definitely a bit emotional and super special!! I was so proud of her and may or may not have teared up watching her walk across the stage to get her diploma. 

9) Seeing Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson at the beginning of August! I saw Ms. Clarkson in 2012 when she toured with The Fray (which was just an unforgettable show...) and she was even better this year. Seeing Maroon 5 was a dream come true! They a phenominal live performers and really know how to put on a great show. I went with 3 of my best friends from high school and we had the best time all back together again!

8) Seeing Michael Buble for the second time in September!! I saw him perform 3 years ago with my mom, sister, best friend and her mom and grandmother and have wished to see him again since we walked out of the venue. When I heard he was coming back in September of this year, I knew we had to go again! This time I went with my best friend, mom, and one of her friends. It. Was. Amazing. We had closer seats and the atmosphere was unbelievable. 

Heart confetti fell as he covered All You Need is Love and it was beautiful.

One day I'll have a picture next to human Michael Buble instead of poster Michael Buble.

7) Spending 11 days away from home in June. I went to my old college town to visit a few friends who stayed for the summer break. It was nice to get away from my city and see friends I hadn't seen in a while. Also, I had my first college bar experiences and for the most part they all ended well with only a couple cringe worthy memories. 

Taken during or after (??) we watched the first Lord of the Rings movie while playing a LOTR drinking game I found online...bad choice.

6) Getting a full time job in September! This fall I had the opportunity to take a break from school and refocus my life on something a bit different. I almost passed it up, but my parents were actually the ones who suggested the time off and I figured that if they supported it, I might as well give it a try. So far, I enjoy it most days and enjoy the paycheck every two weeks even more!

5) Seeing and meeting Lawson at the beginning of September!! For those that don't know (which will probably be most of you...), Lawson is a UK based, four piece band doing their best to break America. I fell in love with their music and then with them at the beginning of 2012, and when I heard that they were touring North America I knew I had to get tickets to the Chicago show. Along with one of my best friends, I experienced an AMAZING show and had the opportunity to meet with them after. It was actually really cool because they made everyone under 21 leave the venue (it had a bar in the back) fairly soon after the band came out to greet everyone, so the overage fans got a bit more time with them. Olivia and I each had a beer while we waited our turns and it was so much fun seeing them interact with their fans. I'm not usually the person that gets the opportunity to meet the actors or singer she admires, so to have that chance was so surreal. All four of them were so sweet,  fun to talk to, and they all kindly autographed the liner notes of my cd of their's. And I still have a hard time believing it happened! I'll stop raving about them now, otherwise my fangirling self will never shut up. But seriously, they are great, and you should check out their music. (Don't let their boyband good looks discourage you....think more The Script and less One Direction.)

Waiting in line like crazy fangirls paid off...we were basically front row for the show!

Adam, the drummer. He looked so tired, bless him.

Joel, the lead guitarist. He spent the whole show raving about how much he loved Chicago.

Ryan, the bassist. He was stood on the opposite side of the stage we were next to, so we didn't get to see much of him :(

Last but not least, Andy the lead singer. Olivia spent all night swooning over his Liverpool accent ;)

4) Grandpa's passing at the end of October. It seems strange to have a family death in a top ten list of memories, but here you go. It was hard to say goodbye, but I knew it was his time, and I'm thankful that he is no longer in any pain. Most people don't know that I'm actually named after him; his name was Emory, so my mother made it more feminine and named me Emma, although she'll now tell you she wishes that she had just named me Emory haha. Either way, I'm lucky to be named after such a great guy.

3) Big brother's wedding at the end of September! Okay...big half-brother. Whatever. My dad, sister, brother-in-law, and I ventured up to Baldwin, WI, to see him marry his beautiful fiance. It was so much fun being there and meeting his old college friends and aunts and uncles from his mother's side of the family. Not to mention the fact that I caught the bouquet! (Well, I actually was the only one to reach for it when it fell on the ground...there weren't many single girls at the wedding apparently.) I think my favorite parts were seeing their first dance, drinking whiskey with my dad, taking sibling pictures, and sharing a dance with each of my brothers at the end. It was a special day, I was happy to welcome a new sister-in-law to the family, and I'll remember it for a long time!

Brother-in-law, big sister, biggest brother, newly married sister-in-law, newly married big brother, me!

Third, second, fourth, first

2) Beester's wedding in August! After getting engaged in 2011, she finally got married!! I was so thankful that everything went smoothly and it couldn't have been a more perfect day. I was proud to be her maid of honor and had a fun time seeing both families come together to celebrate such a happy occasion. All day I was wanting to pinch myself because the whole thing was so surreal! She looked beautiful and so overjoyed about starting a new chapter of her life. And my ballroom dancing new brother-in-law finally got me to dance with him, so there were smiles all around. 

At dinner a couple nights before the wedding.

Getting ready...strapless dresses make for naked looking pictures.

Siblings!

All three older than me.

1) Turning 21 in April! I'm not one that thinks going out every weekend to get drunk is a fun past time to take part in, and I was never interested in drinking before I turned 21, but I was pretty excited when April 3rd rolled around and I was finally considered a, as I like to call it, real adult. I had a nice dinner with my family at a neighborhood bar and grill, my first drink was an amaretto sour, I went out with my sister and her then-fiance to Applebee's (of all places), had two drinks there, went home to bed, and woke up with no hangover remembering every minute of the night. Not everyone's idea of how a 21st birthday should go, but to me it was perfect :)

Birthday's were made for free desserts.

So that's it!! My top ten memories of 2013 all in one neat package. I hope I didn't ramble on too much!

What were your favorite times of the last year? Let me know!

Until next time neighbors :)

PS. One special bonus memory because I can never stick to a normal number. Plus, I couldn't not mention this! At the beginning of December, I went to Purdue to see some of my friends in the Purdue Christmas Show, and afterward my best friend surprised me with news of her engagement!!! Even though I had kind of already figured it out (darn facebook), I was still so happy to have confirmed news. She made everyone (her family and friends and her fiances family and friends) keep the news quiet until she had the chance to tell me in person, which just blows my mind. Everyone had to keep it a secret for two whole days!! Amazing. I'm so happy for her and can not wait to be a bridesmaid in her fall 2014 wedding :)

They're in love.

2014

Hey hi hello!

Happy new year!!!

I'm not usually one to set a lit of resolutions for myself as I have absolutely zero willpower and can hardly commit to anything (I mean....just look at the last time I posted anything on here!) However, I feel since I am an adult now, maybe setting a few resolutions and goals for myself this year might not be such a bad idea. In an effort to keep things simple, I've decided to set five challenges to work on in 2014.

Saving - Back at the end of September, I began my first full time job, which was quite a scary, but rewarding, step in my life. Due to the kindness and love of my parents, I still live at home, so I don't have to worry about most "real life" expenses (ie rent, bills, car payment, you get the idea). I know how lucky I am and decided that, in addition to paying off some school tuition and saving some of the money, I was going to go a bit crazy with my first few months of paychecks. I was reckless and selfish, but I knew that I could allow myself to be as long as I set myself a time limit. However! All of that is ending now. With the new year comes a new sense of responsibility with my money (which was the plan all along), and I have a few key savings plans to focus on:

1) An all-around saving account: Obviously, saving up money so that I can one day move out and start my own, independent life is my number on priority. Now a big chunk of my monthly earnings will be going towards my "Don't Touch This Money Or Else You Will Never Get To Move Out" piggy bank :)

2) Paying off school loans: Even though I haven't graduated (and won't be for the foreseeable future), I will have to begin paying back loans. I'm not even sure how much per month I will be paying, but it is something that has to be done, so I won't be complaining about it one bit.

3) A big, fancy present for me: Last Christmas my uncle very kindly gifted my family with a Nikon D3100, and I have loved learning about it over the last 12 months. I've decided that I want a DLSR that's all my own, and realize that it will be a quite expensive investment. I've worked out the numbers in my brain box (okay, okay...with the help of a calculator...) and figured out that I can be the proud owner of a Nikon D5300 by September! I make about $40 a week babysitting for a family here in town, and I've decided to set the $160 that I make each month aside and save it up until I have enough to buy the camera.

Organization - I'm not on to keep on top of keeping my room clean and organized (it looks absolutely terrifying right now), and that is something that needs to change this year. In addition to keeping up with the laundry each week, I want to sort through the clothes, books, and random other things around my room to see what can be gotten rid of. Another aspect of organization I'd like to tackle is blogging. I think of new post ideas everyday, but never take the time to type them. I'd like that to turn that around this year.

Driving - Okay, my deep, dark secret had to come out sooner or later, so here it is: I don't have a drivers license. I know, I know, it's crazy. You can stop giving me that look now. I am 21 years old and can't drive. Insane. Maybe one day I'll explain, but for now all you need to know is that I hope this changes in 2014.

Living - That may sound like a silly resolution, but between work, my laziness, and a slight touch of social anxiety, I don't get out much. (Although my not being able to drive also has something to do with it.) I just happen to be a naturally homey person and usually "going out" is the last thing I ever want to do with my time. However, I know that I can't say no to my friends all the time, so this year I am going to start saying yes to more invitations to hang out, go to movies, and be all around more sociable. 

Love - Not romantic, find a life partner, fall in love love (although, I'm not going to lie, that would be nice haha), but love for myself. The past couple years have been hard on my self confidence and self worth, and it's time to change that. I need to work on overcoming the challenges I've experienced since the beginning of 2012, and gaining a more positive outlook on my life and start loving who I've grown to become. 

So, those are my 2014 goals and resolutions!! I'm excited to look back in a year to see how many of them I stuck with :) What did you resolve to change this year?

Have a happy week!