The Classical Mystery Tour

On Saturday night, Matt and I went to a really fun concert put on by the Ft Worth Symphony Orchestra as part of their Concerts in the Garden series. I'm sad we didn't know about this sooner because it is so fun and relaxing, but we did catch it for what was probably my favorite concert they were playing-- the Classical Mystery Tour! 


It was a full orchestra playing 30 of the best Beatles tunes, along with a fairly decent Beatles cover band (though come to find out the 4 guys are all from the states... psh, posers). It was a blast! After the hard week we just finished, it was so great to relax, listen to some good music, and just have quality time with my husband. Oh, and thousands of others.

So. Many. People.

Being summer time in Texas, we were concerned it was going to be very hot. Fortunately, the high that day was only 99 and there was a decent wind. The piece of lawn we picked for ourselves was in the shade, and with the gentle breeze blowing through it actually felt good. The fact that the concert didn't start until 8:15 definitely helped, but we definitely felt blessed to have such great weather!


The performers were great. The composer took great care to get every single note of those songs and transpose them to sound amazing with a full orchestra. Even though we were outside sitting hundreds of feet away from the stage, with the help of the speakers, the sound was amazing and really put me in the mood to go see Beatles LOVE again! Matt enjoyed himself too, and wasn't in the least bit embarrassed when I sang every word of every song. Mom & Paula- you would be so proud, I was the only one under the age of 40 to do so, I believe. 

The Beatles in the early years' black suits

And the Sergeant Pepper costumes! They changed into others, but there was no way of getting a good picture post-sundown!

Probably the best part was the encore-- playing Twist and Shout to a fireworks display! So fun! And yes, I did dance, just a little. How can you resist this song?

Anyway, this concert was so much fun and we will definitely have to remember the Concert in the Garden series next year! If you're in the DFW area, be sure to check it out in the future!
  
Did you do anything fun this weekend? Can you believe it's already July?? What?

Five Things on Friday

This is an extra great Friday. Why? Well, read on to find out!


1) School is officially done for the semester. Woohoo! Only had to drive to campus once this week, so that's also a huge blessing!


2) Matt & I will be going with some grad school friends to a local minor league baseball game. Should be fun and my ticket is free, so I'll take it!


3) A dear friend's wedding is on Sunday and I absolutely cannot wait to go celebrate with her. I have known Erin since I was 4 or 5 and I am so happy for her and her future husband! Basically, it will be a blast!


4) I really enjoyed recapping my first year graduate school experiences & thoughts. Catch up on that here and here. That is, if you want a long read. I type a lot apparently.


5) Also, please go here. It explains 39 different ways men use Pinterest, and I think it will make you smile. 


And extra bonus, 6) We will be going here shortly and I am getting so excited... cannot wait to go hiking, sleep in, eat delicious food, enjoy the gorgeous views, and just relax with my husband with no distractions!

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Five Things on Friday

I'm stealing this from some other bloggers, but I don't think they'll mind.


Here are a collection of miscellaneous things that on their own don't deserve their own blog post but I still want to share with you.


1) I'm so close to being done with this semester. Just 36 more hours to go and then that's that. I could tell you all about sampling and survey methods if you're interested ;)


2) I cannot wait to walk out of my final tomorrow evening. Matt and I have some fun things planned and I am very excited about it!


3) I can now run 2 miles without stopping AND I don't feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. It's not that big a deal, but I never thought I could run even 1 mile. Yay!


4) I'm excited to reflect back on all of the changes in my life over the past year, and then be able to relax a little bit this summer.


5) Only a few more weeks until we leave for our vacation to the Smoky Mountains-- cannot wait! Sleeping in, hiking, eating great food, and relaxing with my husband, can't ask for more really.

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Hope you have a great Friday! :)

Friday Smiles

It has been another crazy week, but I figured I would share the things that are making me happy today.

• So Matt was in a minor car accident Wednesday (someone ran into his bumper at a stoplight) but I'm so happy no one was hurt and the only injury to his car was some cosmetic damage. Definitely thankful for that!
• I had my last class of the semester yesterday!
• I don't have to drive to campus today and instead get to work from home!
• It's May, which means our 1 year anniversary is coming up. Time really goes by fast, y'all!
• It's date night tonight and Matt has promised me a relaxing evening. Sounds about perfect.
• I'm finally getting time to clean the apartment this weekend and I'm honestly looking forward to it. It needs it...
• I will be done with my first year of graduate school in about a week. I cannot believe it's already been a year. 1 year done, 4 years or so to go between me and my Ph.D.!

What about you? Anything on your mind today making you happy?

Friday Smiles

Without further ado, here are the things I am excited about this week!

• We'll be meeting some friends today to hang out at IKEA and grab lunch! Sounds like a great way not to do homework :)
• I am done with all my mid-terms! 
• Matt is planning date night this weekend, which means happy surprises for me.
• I did NOT have to wake up at 5:30 this morning. That deserves a huge smile.
• My Ph.D. program was recently ranked 2nd in the world in terms of scholarly impact. I am so glad I get to learn from some of the best people in the field and will be writing nerdy, academic papers with them!
• The weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous and I hope it stays that way for the weekend so we can get out a little and enjoy it!
• Finally, it's Friday. Matt is off of work. We have a 3 day weekend ahead of us. Yup, life is good.

What about you? What is making you smile today? I hope this helps at least!

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Friday Smiles

First on this week's edition of things that make me smile, I want you to watch this:

[Removed due to being a lie... click here if you want to know what I'm referring to]

Other things that make me smile:

• Two tests done, one to go!
• I am figuring out my thesis analytical paper committee and it is coming along nicely 
• My parents are in town which means a lot of family time. So excited to spend time with them!
• This is pretty cool- go check it out! Your finger will get some good stretching exercises, promise
• Um, it's Friday. Isn't that happy enough?
• And Disney always makes me happy, so here you go:

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Weekly Smiles

Happy Friday everyone! 


This week has definitely been full of happy things, and more happy things to come! Here are some things that just make me happy:

• Matt and I had a GREAT day yesterday! He took the day off and we:
• Went shooting with a good Groupon deal
• Accidentally found the seemingly only Dairy Queen in DFW and had mint oreo blizzards!
• Visited a military museum
• Walked around the Ft Worth Botanical Gardens
• Joined Matt's co-workers for a happy hour
• Walked around downtown Ft Worth
• Today involves relaxing and cooking, again with my husband. 
• I get to see one of my dear friends tomorrow and I'm SO excited
• I have over 50 followers! What?!? Thanks everyone!

Hope you have a great weekend! Do you have any plans? Let me know!

Weekly Smiles

And for our second edition of things that made/make me smile this week...


First, for a joke. Because I love cheesy jokes.

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• I am almost done with my mega-theory take-home exam. I will be reviewing it this morning and then emailing it back to the professor. Exam 1 of three done!
• I am finally on the recovering end of Death Cold 2012 part 2. Long story, but it makes me happy!
• Spring break starts as soon as I get home tonight! It's not so much a break from school as it is from driving, but I'll take it! Life of a grad student and such.
• I get to see some good friends over the next few Saturdays and I'm SO excited!
• I will be helping with a mock career fair for some high school students, so that will be fun and different
• And it is Friday! :)

What about you? What makes you smile today?

Weekly Smiles

First- I noticed I have some new followers! Howdy! Thank for dropping by and I would love for you to leave a comment and tell me about yourself or where you blog at so I can come visit!


Second- in a goal to keep my blog an upbeat, complaint-free place, well, as much as possible, I decided to start a new weekly posting for myself. Once a week I am going to write a list of things that post a smile on my face! I think this will help not only my blog have less grad school-related complaints, but also help me be more optimistic. Feel free to join!


So, here is my inaugural post of my Weekly Smiles (ps, if you have a better name, let me know!)!

• Spring break is a little over a week away. SO excited about a week without driving to campus and always being home when Matt gets home from work.
• My husband just makes me happy. Getting some Slurpees and watching Toy Story was a particularly delightful highlight of last weekend.

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• A sermon a few weeks back challenged me to start memorizing relevant Bible verses and I have loved being able to meditate on some verses when I'm stressed. So God's Word makes me happy.
• I'll be going to Chicago next fall to present at a conference, so that's fun! Plus, we're staying here. How swank is this place?

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• It's Friday, which is happy on its own, plus it's Matt's off-Friday and it's date night! :)!

So what are you particularly happy about for today? Anything special? Any plans for the weekend? PS- it's March. I just don't understand how the year is going by so quickly!