Same Me, New URL

I'm making a change. Same me, but a new blog: http://sarahmwaller.tumblr.com.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Today, I learned how to fly

Since I have come home from college, I really have not had a lazy moment. Yesterday, I spent the day with old friends, and today, the family celebrated my Dad's 50th birthday with the best idea my mom has ever had - North Georgia Canopy Tours. Basically, we went zip lining for 3 hours this afternoon! It was the 6 of us, plus these 2 hilarious ladies.

Having never gone zip lining before, I was hopeful that my fear wouldn't get the best of me. When we got there, we did a practice run on a run that was 6 feet off the group. Easy. No sweat. They promised the tour started off "low and slow" and built up to "high and fast." Looking at the first one made me nervous about my future, but I quickly learned that there was nothing to it. The guides securely clip you in, you put your weight in the harness, lean back, and fly.

We were told there would be one point where we would have to repel - again, something I have never done before. And yes, when we reached that point of the tour, fear almost over took me. It's simply not rational. You want me to step off the edge and trust this rope can hold me. But, I swallowed that fear, and surprising, it was as easy as the zip lining.

I loved today because for the first time in years, I experienced a family outing that was pure fun. There was no fighting, no awkward exchanges, and no sadness. Dad, Mom, Kyle, Liz, Todd, and I - we talked, we laughed, and we simply had fun. It's a memory I will be able to look back on and not remember one negative thing, which seems to be rare lately. We even came home and had a wonderful dinner with Grandma and Bill (her new boyfriend, of sorts). Today was a day full of so much love.

It was the best gift we gave Dad. He didn't want a party. He didn't want to make it a big deal. He told us he wanted to spend his birthday with his family - I think we were able to provide a pretty good birthday gift.

Hey Dad - Happy 50th Birthday!

Finals Week: Day 3

Basically, I feel like I am experiencing a information overload. Since my class did not have a CP midterm, the amount of texts that could possibly appear on this final is quite large. It is 11:50 and I still have 11 more text to look over. I would like to go to bed early since the exam starts and 8 freaking AM. (insert large, deep sign).

I know it could be worse, but I'm stressing. CP, I will not miss you.

Finals Week: Birthday

I woke up this morning to 29 facebook notifications. 29! I took a screen shot since I knew this would probably never occur again. Throughout the day, the number steadily increased. Today is my 19th birthday, and I have a discovered a renewed love for facebook. I read through every single comment, and though some are from people I don't know very well, I was still overwhelmed by all the love.

Every year, I tend to set low expectations for my birthday. It probably alines with some underlying issue of rejection, but with my birthday falling on finals week, I really did set my expectations low. I would probably study for most of the day (which I did) and so would other people. But my friends surprised me with how wonderful they were. Christin, my roommate, started the celebration at midnight. I heard her watch alarm go off and the next thing I knew she was busting into the room with balloons. (A birthday is never complete without them). We were already a little hyper (result of too much studying) so the celebration was very successful. Meghan, my neighbor, happens to be my twin, so we took our celebration into her room. It took me a hour to finally settle down, and by that time I was exhausted.

I did end up studying most of the day, but it really wasn't that bad. Maybe because it was my birthday, everything just seemed to go right today. My French exam wasn't too difficult. Family friends had flowers delivered to my house (my parents sent me pictures - these people know me so well). And I even received a medal in my mailbox today for having good grades. Tonight my friends and I went to Qdoba like every Tuesday and afterwards I went to my friend's room down the hall to watch Lost. When I walked in, they had surprised me with a mini birthday cake. It was the only thing my day was missing. And Rachael had even gone to Publix and picked out my favorite kind (yellow cake with strawberry filling!) Lost was amazing, and surprising full of answers.

Now I am in my room studying for my CP exam on Thursday. I was able to Skype with Liz, which simply brightened my day. Last week, it seemed weird that I was going to turn 19. Now that the day has come (and is almost over), I happily embraced my new age. I'm almost done with my first year of college. 19 seems to be the perfect number. And just how I enjoyed every moment being 18, I'm excited about what this 19th year is going to bring me.

If you are reading this, thank you for all the birthday love. You have made it one of the best birthdays I have ever had.

Finals Week: Day 1

For the amount of free time I have to study, it is surprising to me how much of it I use to mess around. I discovered stumbleupon.com last night. Mistake. And then this morning, I received a birthday package from Mom and Dad containing an new iPod. I was so pleasantly surprised! And basically I played with it for most of the morning. I mean, the controls are on the headphones. Who wouldn't get distracted.

I am getting some studying done. I did not have a test today. So I've been trying to stayed focused this afternoon. French is tomorrow at 3:30 then CP on Thursday. (JMC is a presentation so there is nothing to study).

My biggest weekend this week is all the food. My gosh, I feel like everyone keeps offering me sweets. Yesterday, my friend offered my caramel cake right when I was walking to the bathroom after a major power nap. I felt like I was sleep walking and it took me a minute to two (after I had taken a few bits) to realize that I really should not be eating this. Though on the up side, ResLife has put out theses awesome coffee/tea makers in the lobby that make individuals cup. Christin and I just got back from there. I probably will be making multiple trips throughout the week. Of course, when we get back Christin brought out a chocolate pie her mother brought last week. We both had a slice. I am so weak. When this week is over, it's back to fruits and vegetables for me.

It has begun to rain hard outside. I want to go to the gym today, to use my new iPod and maybe burn off the chocolate pie. But with our window slightly opening, the gentle sound of the falling rain is telling me to stay inside. Maybe take a nap.

Or maybe just some more studying. Back to the grind

With Summer in Sight

I am in the final stretch. My classes for the semester are finally over and now two exams and one presentation stand in between me and summer. But Samford sure does make it difficult to leave. Our final SAC event was on Thursday with the last Harry's Coffeehouse. I have grown to love Harry's this semester. I never went until I joined SAC. I went to help out, but I stayed for the great atmosphere.

Anyways, so Harry's finale was on Thursday and the headliner was The Civil Wars. When the Harry co-chairs announced they were going to come, I found a free CD download online and quickly became obsessed. Though, when this last week came around, I was not aware that everyone else here was obsessed too. We expected a huge crowd. Over 300 people RSVP on the facebook event we created. So on Thursday, we arranged the room to hold the most people as possible. Throughout sound check, people started to line up at the doors. Of course, we on SAC claimed the prime seats early on. (Just a perk of the job). When we finally opened up the doors, people rushed in and within seconds, 100 people plus were in the room. By the time the openers took the stage, there had to be 250 people plus, and when The Civil Wars took the

stage, there had to be 300 or more. The crowd was insane and so was the heat. Harry's AC was not meant to accommodate that many people.

The Civil Wars put on an amazing show, probably the best I have ever experienced. The chemistry was there. When they talked in between songs, it was tit-for-tat. They fed off each others' energy and it was never awkward (which I just hate). They played for the full hour, though the intense heat. And afterwards, the hung out to talk to everyone who came. They were so humble and kind. Some people, they just stood there and talked with for like 20 minutes. The concert ended at 9, and they didn't even start packing up until 11:30.

For me, I didn't leave until 11:45. Hanging out after Harry's is one of my favorite things about SAC. Sure, I built up a sweat putting the room back together (being so hot already), but it feels worth it.

I find that Harry's is a part of Samford the most people discredit. I know I did last semester. It occurred to me that I could spend my evenings there, but I made excuses. Now, I find a sense of peace when I go to Harry's. It's layback; it's friendly. Most nights, I bring homework and work while I sit in those comfy leather seats and listen to the band. It's a time where I can simply forget about the worries of the moment. I can just relax.

A Good Apple

Last night Kaleigh and I went to whole foods to wonder around. She bought some ice cream, and I purchased one apple. It was $1.50, so basically the most expensive apple I've ever bought - but hey, it was organic!

Today is the first Saturday since Step Sing that I haven't had to go into work. Yet I still woken up by a phone call. A girl I worked with called me and think she wanted me to come and unlock the store because she left her key, but the call cut off before she could ask. So I texted her some numbers I knew and rolled over and went back to sleep. What? I can't be responsible all the ti

me.

So I have a free slate for the day. Woke about twenty minutes ago. Probably will take a shower soon and get some lunch. And though I would love to walk around and explore Birmingham, the fact is I'll probably be the mac lab working on my efolio. It needs a lot of work. I badly need a hair cut. It has gotten so long, but I just don't see that happening today.

Here is a picture Liz took from the Mat Kearney concert.

It just warms my heart!