Instagram Hiatus

I'm not sure what came over me, but last week I decided to take a 5-day hiatus from Instagram. I realized I am way too plugged in to social media and it's getting ridiculous. Instagram is my favorite platform, so I figured I'd start there. Next week I'm going without Facebook for 5 days. There's absolutely no way I can go cold turkey with no social media, so I'm trying one platform at a time. My journey is outlined below.

Day1
This first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check Facebook, Instagram, and emails. Not an ideal way to start my day. I cut about 5 minutes off my "laying in bed" time in the morning without Instagram.

I didn't miss Instagram until I was in bed for the night. I realized that the last thing I do before falling asleep and the first thing I do after waking up is check social media. This needs to stop!

Day 2
Day 2 was a little easier. I still found myself grabbing my phone and trying to open Instagram, but the app wasn't there!

It was hard when I would see posts from Instagram on Facebook or Twitter. It made me want to see more.

Day 3
Day 3 was harder than Day 2. I wouldn't say I had FOMO {Fear Of Missing Out}, but the fear of missing something going on in other friends' lives. It's so sad that the way we communicate has come down to what's posted on social media, and if you don't check social media, you don't know about their life.

I have spent way more time on Facebook the past 3 days than I have in a long time!

Day 4
The end is in sight! Just one more day!

Day 5
I was tempted a few different times throughout the day to just give up and call it close enough. I didn't! I struggled, but made it the full 5 days!



My grand plan in life was to take some time and get caught up on what I missed the past 5 days. Well...that plan was thwarted when Instagram apparently only goes back 24 hours. I didn't realize that until this morning. So, I really did miss out! I thought I would just be behind. I un-followed a few people/accounts that I really don't care to see anymore. Like everything in life, it's so hard to get sucked in and not see all the negativity and meaningless posts until I took a step back.

Next week is Facebook. I anticipate this being harder, just because I have so many things linked to Facebook, and there is a website AND app, not just an app. Stay tuned for how that goes!

Weekend Recap

I had a busy weekend, and the heat didn't help things at all! It's been over 100 the past several days and is getting real old. It was too hot to even go to the pool this weekend!

Friday, a group of us went to the Brass Monkey for karaoke. We got there too late so none of us {them} got to sing anything, but it was still really fun and entertaining!

Saturday I went to Barney's to watch the Iowa/Iowa State game. Go Hawks! After, we moved the group to a friend's house and hung out for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was a lot of fun to be around 90% Iowa people! The rest were great by association :-)

Sunday I got up at the crack of dawn and went to the Rosebowl Flea Market with a friend. Even at 7am it was still suuuuuper hot! Afterwards we had brunch and shopped Old Pasadena. I'd never shopped there--it's such a cute area with a ton of stores!

Here's to hoping for a fast week. It's already shaping up to be busy!

May to the Bay

{Bear with me as I get caught up on my blog}

Over Memorial Day, two girlfriends and I took a road trip up north to the Bay Area. I love it there! It's so beautiful! We spent some time in San Francisco and San Jose doing touristy things and hanging out with some college friends of my girlfriend. I learned that I am an excellent backseat passenger....and we didn't get robbed. San Francisco redeemed itself.

Denver For the Weekend!

This past weekend I met my parents in Denver. My Dad was left unsupervised on a Saturday morning a few weeks ago, and all the sudden at 8am I get a call and we're suddenly planning this trip. Hey, every chance I get to get out of LA, I take!

I couldn't find any great flight times on Saturday, so I flew in Friday night. I specifically chose a hotel close to the airport and with free shuttle service. I called TWICE on Friday to confirm the shuttle schedule and was assured it ran every hour on the hour. I rushed off my plane and rushed through baggage claim to make sure I was outside waiting before the top of the hour. I got outside at 10:44. 11:15 rolled around and most hotel busses had come and gone by this time, so I called my hotel. They assured me a shuttle was coming. I waited 20 more minutes and kept calling and calling and each time I was assured the shuttle was 5-8 minutes away. Finally, 12:30 rolls around {yes, I waited for TWO HOURS} and a neighboring hotel shuttle offered to drop me off. When I FINALLY got to the hotel, the front desk gentleman {weirdly, I only spoke to women when dealing with the shuttle} said the shuttle drivers got rude, so they stopped calling them. Pretty cool, especially since they were fully aware I had been waiting for TWO HOURS! Needless to say, I was nowhere near being a happy camper by the time I finally got to my room.

On Saturday, we toured the Coors Brewery on the way up to Dillon. It was so cool!! Best part, we got three free samples of beer, and by samples I mean glasses. The beer was amazingly fresh and cold!

Some of the many different beers MillerCoors brews. I had no idea it was so many!

Part of the brewing process. Yes, those big copper things are full of beer!

My future job!

Sunday we went to the Rockies game. Obviously, my Mom and I were in it for the food and beer! We need to keep Dad entertained, though ;-) We got a free ride in a golf cart from where we parked to the stadium. The driver also gave us free margarita tickets to a bar across the street from the stadium. We definitely started the game off right!

This quick weekend away reminded how much I absolutely love Colorado. It was so peaceful and beautiful staying in the mountains. Love, love, love. I will be back there soon!

The view from my Uncle's deck. I could get used to this!!

Fantasy Football

I got conned into participating in a girls-only Fantasy Football League. It's mainly for fun, and thank good it's all girls, but I am SO lost! I had some help from a friend with the draft, but am so confused from here!

Mother's Day

{Bear with me as I get caught up on my blog}

Happy Mother's Day to the best mom I could ever ask for! Mom, you've always been supportive and have encouraged me to follow my dreams, from day 1. You've always helped me figure out a way to make things happen and don't sugar coat anything. You'll never know how appreciative and thankful I am for you!!

My Happy Place

This is my true happy place. No matter what kind of day I had, playing my piano always turns it around, even if can only sit down and play for 30 minutes. I think it's important to find something in life that provides true joy and happiness, and I've found mine!

Move Number...???

A year ago, I swore I wasn't moving again for a VERY long time. Well, my mind quickly changed when the apartment complex I was living at decided to raise my {already ridiculously expensive} rent by 10%! I can't say I love apartment hunting by any means! Everything I liked was way out of my price range! After searching and searching I found my new place by fluke! It's a junior one-bedroom, which means a studio was converted into a one-bedroom. I say this was fluke because it's the only one of its kind and was just converted. It must have been a HUGE studio, because there's plenty of room for me and all of my stuff--piano included! {Pics to come.}

My Dad flew out for the weekend to help me move, and we {he} recruited some Iowa friends to help. Loading my apartment into the U-Haul wasn't bad at all...I say that because I didn't have to do any heavy lifting! By the time we got to my new apartment and started unloading, the guys were losing muscles so we called a random guy {pretty sure he wasn't legal} we met at the U-Haul store that morning, and his friend, to help. We ended up with SEVEN of us unloading and moving my piano. I'm sure it was quite the site and I really wish someone had recorded it!

I'm finally most of the way settled in! I have one box of random odds and ends left that I need to decide what to do with. Otherwise, home sweet home {for a year at least}!

Napa

A few weeks ago I spent the weekend with Lindsay and her family in Napa. I absolutely love it up there! We spent all day Saturday wine tasting at different wineries. We we to a winery where we did a food pairing with different wines. It was really interesting and amazing how much differently wines taste when paired with different foods. The guy gave us histories and explanations as to why. It was very interesting!

Perfect way to spend my Saturday!

Learning about wine and food pairings

Even Ted gets thirsty!

I was really impressed he can hold that many wine glasses in one hand!

Lindsay and me

I love Napa!

Cinco De Mayo at APAC!

Woo! APAC celebrates Cinco de Mayo! We took a half day and had a taco truck come to work as well as margaritas and Mexican beer provided. Some days I just love my job!

Cinco De Mayo 5K

Last weekend I got conned into doing a 5K. At the time we signed up, it didn't sound like such a bad deal. The weather was beautiful for outside training runs, we found a Groupon and got a really great deal, and 2 beer tickets were included with the fee. As it got nearer to the run, the weather got hotter and hotter and hotter. We then find out the race starts at noon. Needless to say, it was a very hot run...95 degrees! We were all in it for fun and had a good time, but it was almost unbearably hot! It felt good to run again--brought me back to high school track and cross country days! I can't say any marathons are in my near future, though!

Pre-run

We may or may not have stopped to take this picture during the run...

Post-run. We survived!

I made it! Beer in my hand...I'm happy

Happy Easter!

I spent the long Easter weekend relaxing, lunching, shopping, and laying by the pool. It was a weekend well spent! :-)

On Sunday, I went with Lindsay to her aunt's house and spent the day with them. I am SO appreciative of my "holiday family." They always make me feel like I'm right at home! Some say that holidays are "just another day." In all reality, they're not. I grew up celebrating Easter and it would be a really tough day if I were home by myself knowing the rest of my family is celebrating together. I just hope someday I can adopt someone with no place to go for holidays and be their "holiday family."      

Relaxing Weekend

I finally got a chance to relax a little this weekend! I feel like these past two months have been a whirlwind! It's been fun, but I needed a break.

Friday night I went to Rock of Ages with Lindsay, her sister, and brother-in-law. The show as good, but I absolutely love the movie. It was really hard for me to separate the two.

Saturday I went to a BBQ with a friend and ended up meeting a bunch of people that grew up in Iowa. It was really random and a lot of fun!

Brittany and me

Laura Came To Visit!

Last weekend a friend from Wartburg came to stay with me! It was great to see Laura and catch up with her!

Saturday we went to the beer festival in downtown LA. There were over 95 breweries there with live music. We got a mini beer mug when we got there and had 3 hours to sample as many beers as we wanted. It was a lot of fun!

Laura and me

Lindsay and me

Sunday we went to San Diego. I had never been, so it was cool to see what it was all about.

The beach. My favorite place!

2 German girls

Vegas...Again!

Last weekend I headed back to Vegas for a weekend away with my parents. I got a voucher for two nights free at the hotel I stayed at with my girlfriends a couple months ago. It pays to be a big gambler ;-)

We stayed at the Downtown Grand hotel in downtown Las Vegas. Totally different vibe than the strip. I really like it!

We shopped (dad allowed an hour...), rode the rides at the Stratosphere, walked The Strip, and gambled. We even got a free craps lesson waiting for breakfast one morning. It was a lot a fun! I lost $3 on the penny machines, though :-(

We got my mom a player's card at Downtown Grand, so we're hoping she gets a voucher!

Cancun 2014!

The Zylstra family headed south for a long weekend of fun, sun, and plenty of drinks! Although I can't complain about the LA winter, it was so nice to be somewhere hot and humid for a few days. I had such a great (and much-needed) time relaxing by the pool soaking up the sun! It was also nice to spend a few days with my family. The highlight of the trip is definitely my dad sitting on top of a cabinet with a glass top and braking the glass in half...right after he told my mom to stop touching everything because she was going to break something!

The broken glass. I'm still laughing!

The Zylstras

My brothers and sister-in-law

My favorite place! 

APAC St. Patty's Day!

Last Monday, we got to leave work early (woohooo) and head to a company-sponsored St. Patty's Day Party! Once in a while the super long hours pay off ;-) It was a lot of fun! We had the outside patio of a bar reserved just for us. It's always fun to hang out with co-workers outside of the work setting. Plus I always love any excuse to bust out my green jeans!

Spring Training

Last weekend, I went to an Angels spring training game in Scottsdale with Lindsay and her family. We left Saturday morning and came back Sunday, so it was a quick trip. We spent the day Saturday hanging out in Scottsdale and shopping. The game was Sunday and it was SO HOT! There was no breeze and sun beating down on us. But it was a lot of fun and really cool to see the game in a different, more intimate setting.

Barefoot Bar is EVERYWHERE!

9,000 people at a sold-out game

Girls Weekend Away

This past weekend, 3 girlfriends and I had a quick getaway to Santa Barbara. The weekend consisted of quality time spent together, bottomless mimosas for breakfast, bloody mary bars, wine tasting, shopping, nights out, and lots of laughs. I love taking advantage of every chance I get to get out of LA for a weekend!

Build-your-own-Bloody-Mary bar

So much fun wine tasting!

Back To Vegas I Go

A few weeks ago, back to Vegas I went. This time was for work, though. A lot less fun than girls weekend!

The purpose of the trip was to go to the MAGIC and Project tradeshows to recruit new brands to work with us. We were there for 3 days with 2 very intense days of walking the tradeshows. I was still trying to recover from a terrible cold, so I went in already exhausted. It was a few days filled with exhaustion, hard work, and a lot of fun. I learned a lot and can't wait to go back in 6 months!

My New Baby!

When I graduated high school, my dad made a deal with me: if I took 4 years of college piano lessons, he would buy me a piano. Now that I finally feel somewhat settled with my life, he bought me a piano!! I absolutely love it! I've been playing in my leisure time and am looking forward to teaching lessons again!

Happy {Late} Birthday, Little Brother!

Happy 21st Birthday to this kid!

The Parents Came!

The wonderful Keith and Vicki came to LA last weekend! My dad just randomly called me one night asking if I was free that weekend and that they were going to come out. Works for me!

Amazingly enough, both my mom and I were super sick...with the same terrible, miserable cold. My poor Dad didn't stand a chance with us coughing all over him. Because of that, Saturday we had a very relaxing catch-up day. Lunch, piano shopping, drinks by my pool, and dinner out. Sunday we tackled Universal Studios. None of us had been there and it's one of those things you have to do. We had a lot of fun!

Even though it was a short weekend, it was so great to spend time with my parents!

Vegas!!

A couple weekends ago, a group of girls and myself headed to Vegas!! It was  a friend's birthday weekend and we had two comped rooms at Downtown Grand on Freemont Street.

Friday night we spent the night barhopping and gambling on Freemont Street. It was way chill and lots of fun!

We were expecting vouchers...not 5 pounds of coins!

Of course we made new friends!

Day 2 was spent gambling and walking around during the day. We headed over to the Strip for dinner at Dick's {so much fun and great food} and spent the night out on the Strip. Of course a stop to Toby Keith's was included!  

All of us with our Dick's hats!

Mistake #1 of the night...taking out cash!

Trying not to loose money!

My dinner date!

We all had such a fun weekend and I didn't even loose any money gambling! I turn $20 into $30. Yay penny slots!!