How To Save A Life

Go ahead and underestimate me...

I just hope you like surprises.

 

Day 12 - My whole day (Sunday) in bullets

 

• Alarm goes off at 6:45 *Hits snooze button*
• Alarm goes off again at 7:00. 
• Woke boys up, got them moving, clothes out, cartoons on. 
• Shower, make-up, warming up voice, got dressed
• Got boys things gathered, headed out the door
• Coffee and breakfast
• Church @ 9 for worship practice rehearsal
• Break @ 10 before the service
• Church @ 10:30
• Visited after church for about 30 minutes
• Grabbed the boys, and Emily and headed off
• Dropped boys off at home
• Went home, changed into sweats, grabbed math homework
• Went to Mike & Kelly's house. Finished math assignment
• Ate yummy clam chowder with the fam
• Got coffee with Kelly
• Went to my house and got hairdryer for Kelly's dog
• Watched Vegas Vacation (and napped) while Kelly read and Mike napped
• Ate pizza with the fam
• Played Yahtzee with Kelly (beat her every game.. first time for everything)
• Watched kiddos until Mike got home cause Kelly got sick.
• Taught Tanner how to play Yahtzee
• Watched "Going The Distance" with Mike
• Went home after midnight 

 

Day 13 - Somewhere I'd like to Move or Visit

Well, this one is totally obvious since I've recently expressed that I will in fact be moving to Florida this summer or next summer. So, Florida is definitely a place that I would like to move. A place I would like to visit BEFORE I move is California. Even if it's only for a weekend, it would be cool to compare the coasts. Oregon's beaches don't really count because it's way too cold to enjoy. It will definitely be weird to be able to go to the beach without a heavy jacket and boots on! I cannot wait. 

I'm really bummed that I lost my streak of blog posts in a row. I was so close to having 30 straight, but my lazy day yesterday ruined that streak and I didn't have a back-up post planned, so it's my fault. Oh well. It's off to bed I go, there is snow in Bend so that means I'm waking up even earlier tomorrow! Oh the joys of living in a place where winter exists. Have a wonderful Tuesday, dolls. God bless. <3

Breakeven

Day Eleven - Ipod Shuffle! (10 songs)

The Scientist - Coldplay

Come up to meet ya, tell you I'm sorry

You don't know how lovely you are

I had to find you, tell you I need you

Tell you I set you apart..

Nobody said it was easy

It's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy..

No one ever said it would be this hard..

Oh take me back to the start.

My Savior My God - Aaron Shust

My Savior loves, my Savior lives

My Savior's always there for me

My God He was, My God He is

My God is always gonna be! 

Movin' On - Rascal Flatts

  

 I'm movin' on, at last I can see

Life has been patiently waiting for me

And I know there's no guarantees

But I'm not alone

There comes a time in everyone's life

When all you can see are the years passing by

And I have made up my mind 

That those days are gone

 Freedom - Run Kid Run

Broken down I lay, I keep holding my chains

No longer bound, but here I stay

I scream "Father please, I need rescuing!

I need You and You alone!"

And I'm singing for freedom

I know I'm not the only one praying to the One

Who can bring me this freedom

I'm ready for... change

What if - Jason Derulo 

We can't, we can't tell the future

But that's just the beauty of

The world we know

So I'mma say do-do-do-do

do-do-do-do

Baby what if?

  Until The End Of Time - Justin Timberlake

Cause if your love was all I had in this life

That would be enough until the end of time

So rest your weary heart and relax your mind

Cause I'm gonna love you girl until the end of time

Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne

She's gonna be somebody's only light

Gonna shine tonight..

Yeah she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight

Everything I do (I do it for you) - New Found Glory

 Look into your heart and you will find

There's nothing there to hide

Take me as I am, take my life

I will give it all, I would sacrifice

Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for

I can't help it, there's nothing I want more

You know it's true..

Everything I do, I do it for you

 CrushCrushCrush - Paramore

I got a lot to say to you

Yeah, I got a lot to say

I noticed your eyes are always glued to me

Keepin' them here and it makes no sense at all

They taped over your mouth, 

scribbled out the truth with their lies

You little spies.

Where I stood - Missy Higgins

Cause I don't know who I am

Who I am without you

All I know is that I should..

And I don't know if I can stand 

Another hand upon you

All I know is that I should

Cause she will love you more than I could

She who dares to stand where I stood  

 

I Love My Ducks

Day Ten - My First Love & First Kiss

I don't really want to talk about that. 

Too painful. 

So I'm changing it.

Day Ten - Why I Love the Ducks

I went to high school in Eugene (which is where the Ducks are located, in case you didn't know). I was originally from Eastern Oregon.. which is all cowboys and rednecks. Nobody really cared about football, unless it was NFL. I barely knew about the ducks and beavers, and if I was ever asked if I was a duck or a beaver, I didn't know what the heck people were talking about. I moved to Eugene when I was fifteen. It's hard not to know about the ducks when you live IN Eugene. So I started paying attention, I always read the sports page.. because.. well I've always loved sports. I joined the Choir at my high school and we got an amazing opportunity. We were asked to go sing at Carnegie Hall in New York in the spring.  It would cost almost $2000 though, so we had some fund-raising to do. My choir teacher [somehow] got us a gig at Autzen stadium serving food and drinks to people at one of the booths. It was only for a few hours a day and all the money went towards the trip, so I signed up for every home game. The first game I went to was the Oklahoma game in 2006. This was a "revenge" game from them beating in the bowl game the year before. Everybody in Autzen stadium was pumped up, and I was just taking it all in. Oklahoma was ranked 15, and my ducks weren't ranked at all. After the 3rd quarter, we closed up the little shop, and started cleaning. The ducks were down by 13 with 3 minutes left in the game. Duck fans were leaving the stadium quickly, and they were angry. So, since I was done, I decided to check it all out. I went and stood in Autzen Stadium for the first time, and watched the ducks play for the first time. 

Okay, like I said, we were down by 13 with only 3 minutes left. The Ducks marched down the field and scored a touchdown to make the score 33-27. Then they tried for an onside kick and recovered it. It was a controversial call, because one of the ducks apparently touched the football before it went the full 10 yards, but it was reviewed and it stood. After another "controversial" pass interference call (that the Pac-10 refs are KNOWN for making) we were in good position. Dixon to Paysinger for the touchdown. Ducks lead 34-33. Autzen stadium errupted (with what fans were left) and I had strangers hugging and high fiving me. It was awesome. The sooners weren't done yet, though. After a bad kick off, they had the ball at our 27. With no timeouts and only a few seconds left in the game, they spiked the ball with a second left and set up for a 44-yard field goal. Not totally impossible, but.. not easy for sure. The ball didn't get high enough to pass our Line, and the ducks won. Autzen Stadium went crazy. And I fell in love in that moment. With the football team, with the atmosphere that is Autzen stadium, with college football. That is the day that I became a Duck. 

Free Fallin'

This week has been interesting to say the least. I had a very long day Tuesday, followed by an emotional wreck of a night. I came down with a stomach bug yesterday, and it's still lingering today, so I just went to my math class this morning, and I'm completely bypassing my other three classes. No point in making everybody else sick when I don't absolutely need to be there.  

I'm learning that I need to let some things and some people go. Mixed signals left me confused, and I ended up acting on them.. which was a huge mistake. One I wish I could take back, because it left a tainted view on a person I held close to my heart. But I'm letting go. Completely. I just need to remind myself that "He is not different, and I am not special," in that circumstance. I need to wait for the guy that is different and thinks that I am special. It's worth the wait. 


I've been listening to Pandora again lately (I forgot how awesome it is) and I added a new station! It's called "The Script" named after the band, obviously.. but it's fantastic. Pandora is how I find new awesome bands or I'm reminded of awesome bands that I haven't heard in a while. I heard John Mayer's cover of Free Fallin', and I must admit (even though I'm not a TOTAL John Mayer fan) that it was pretty awesome. I put it on my ipod before the song finished playing on pandora. That's how much I loved it! You should definitely check it out. Oh, and The Script? They're pretty much my favorite band right now. They're fantastic and I <3 them.


Oh, and awesome news.. I'm 5 weeks into the term (yes, that's halfway!!!) and I have a 100% in my math class. I'm pretty stoked about it, I'm not going to lie. I applied to a school down in Florida, and obviously I'm still going to keep my current school on the back burner in case something falls through, but I'm trusting that everything will work out okay.  


I'm trying to be positive right now, even though inside I'm hurting. A lot. I'm going to get through this storm, just like I've gotten through every storm so far. But I'm not doing it alone, I'm turning to God. I'm handing it all over to Him. :)

I can sing in the troubled times

Sing when I win

I can sing when I lose my step

and I fall down again

I can sing cause You pick me up

Sing, cause You're there

I can sing cause You hear me, Lord

When I call to You in prayer

I can sing with my last breath

Sing for I know

That I'll sing with the angels

and the saints around the throne!!

How can I keep from singing Your praise

How can I ever say enough?

How amazing is Your love!

How can I keep from shouting Your name

I know I am loved by the King 

And it makes my heart want to sing

Future

Day Nine - How I Hope My Future Will Be

I can hope and pray how I want my future to turn out all I want, but I honestly think that whatever happens, happens. God is in control of my life, and I have no grasp on what He really can do. I can want 5 kids, to be a nurse, blah blah blah.. (I really don't want 5 kids, but that's not the point) but if it's not what He wants for me, then it's really not going to happen. Sometimes (okay, almost ALL THE TIME) His plans are way better than mine are. That being said.. 

He likes to bless us with the desires of our hearts. My desire is to help people. I believe I can do that through nursing. I also would really like to meet a man that isn't perfect.. perfect is boring, but that compliments me perfectly. A best friend that I can fall in love with. I would also love to be a mommy. Whether it be through adoption, or having children of my own, it's a desire that I hold deep inside my heart. 

I just want to make a difference in the world. I want to be remembered as a person who loved God with her whole heart and lived to serve Him. Even if it wasn't in the ways that most people think of serving. Those really are my deepest desires. 

WILW

There are a lot of things that I could complain about right now..

But I'll save that for another post. 

Right now is just about taking the time to APPRECIATE life.

I'm Loving... That I got a 100% on my math exam that I took last week. It's not that I was at all worried about the grade, I knew I would get an A.. but 100% is freakin' awesome!

I'm Loving... My support system. My friends and family are the best, and they're always there for me. I don't take the time to appreciate them enough. 

I'm Loving... That after tomorrow, I will be at the halfway mark of the term. It's going by so fast!! 

I'm Loving...  That I'm actually talking to my dad more. We can go months without talking, but lately (partly because I'm moving to Florida) he has been calling more. I've talked to him 5 times in the last two weeks.

I'm Loving... The process of getting everything set for moving to Florida. All I can say is, is it August yet?!?! I'm tired of scraping my car off. 

I'm Loving... Music. It heals me. 

I'm Loving... That it's Wednesday, and I can sleep all day if I want to.

What are you loving this Wednesday?

Days Seven and Eight

Day Seven- My zodiac sign

I'm a Gemini. While I don't read the horoscopes or anything very often, there are some things that are true of me that also are "true" of Gemini's. But they're kinda set up so you could read any of them and think "That's totally me!" Here are some things that I agree are like me, but it doesn't make me want to read my horoscopes more or anything :-P

• Gemini's are very good at repressing very strong emotions and this trait may upset their loved ones. 
• Gemini's hate waiting for others. It is very difficult for them to stand and wait for someone.
• Gemini's highly dislike those who always bring a long list of complaints.
• If you want to keep a Gemini happy, never compel them to keep everything in a perfect order (AMEN!)
• They are often attracted to yellow and green colors (again, AMEN!)
• A gemini likes to hold long call on the phone and talking with like minded people.
• Gemini's like to wish that everything goes smooth and fine without investing personal efforts. 
• Most Gemini's look younger than their actual age. 

 That's really most of what goes with my personality. I don't really follow anything that has to do with it though. 

Day Eight - A time when I felt most satisfied with my life

Honestly, and I don't want to sound like a Debby Downer or anything, I don't think I've hit that point where I can just sit back and say.. wow.. I'm very content and very happy with my life right now. There are always things that can be done to improve the quality of life. I'm not saying that I'm not happy or anything, because I'm very good at being able to be happy in almost any situation.. but I haven't hit that point yet. I'll let you know when I do.

Best I Ever Had

So you sailed away

Into a grey sky morning

Now I'm here to stay

Love can be so boring

Nothing's quite the same now..

I just say your name now...

But it's not so bad

You're only the best I ever had

You don't want me back

You're just the best I ever had

So you stole my world

Now I'm just a phony

Remembering the girl

Leaves me down and lonely

Send it in a letter

Make yourself feel better

But it's not so bad

You're only the best I ever had

You don't need me back

You're just the best I ever had

And it may take some time to 

Patch me up inside

But I can't take it so I 

Run away and hide

And I may find in time that

You were always right

You're always right

So you sailed away

Into a grey sky morning

Now I'm here to stay

Love can be so boring

What was it you wanted

Could it be I'm haunted

But it's not so bad

You're only the best I ever had

I don't want you back

You're just the best I ever had

The best I ever had..

The best I ever...

It's been a long night. I just spent 4 hours on a take home psychology exam that I should have done three days ago. My brain is dead, my emotions are crazy, so it's my bed time. This song played like three times while I was working on my exam, now it's stuck in my head, so I decided to share the lyrics :) Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday.

All About Me

Day Six - 30 Interesting Things About ME! 

1. I sang at Carnegie Hall when I was only 15 years old. (With a choir, but still!)

2. When I was born up until I was about 8, I had blonde hair and blue eyes. I now have dark brown hair and green eyes.

3. I played softball for 13 years.

4. I fell in love with my Ducks when I watched them come back from a 13 point deficit with 2 minutes left, and win by 1. 

5. I've never been to California. Even though I live 9 hours from it. 

6. I am a virgin, and I am waiting until marriage. 

7. I rock at guitar hero/ rock band.

8. When listening to a song, instead of just singing along, I harmonize. I ALWAYS harmonize. 

9. I've been in a worship band since I was 16. 

10. I have 7 nieces and nephews. My first niece was born when I was 12. :)

11. My last name is a city in Ohio. 

12. I used to wish that I had been born with darker skin. I sometimes still do.. maybe that's why I love summer so much. I get brown :)


13. My best friends (M&K) are 13 years older than me. But we mesh well. 


14. I'd rather watch a sporting event than go shopping. On any given day. 


15. I like fun colored nike's. 


16. In the summer, I won't wear anything on my feet other than flip flops. 


17. I feel most comfortable in an "Oregon" hoodie. 


18. My cat eats my headphones. He's eaten 5 of them now. I'm on my 6th pair and I've only had him for 6 months. 


19. I can't have my feet not covered by a blanket at night.. I can't sleep if they're out in the open.


20. I have two tattoos, 7 piercings, and I plan on getting another tattoo on my 21st birthday weekend extravaganza! 


21. Speaking of 21, I'm turning 21 in about 4 months, but I'm only drinking a strawberry daiquiri on my actual birthday. I'm not getting drunk.


22. My biggest fear is losing my family. 


23. I'm a movie quote machine. Song lyrics too. Anything anybody says reminds me of at least ONE movie quote or song lyric.


24. I'm good at ALMOST everything I try. Not trying to brag or anything, but it is what it is. 


25. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket when it's really not... yeah


26. I want a "Notebook" kind of love. Maybe not the whole being apart for so long, but I want that kind of love. 


27. I have a disease that makes my blood clot easier than it should.


28. I have an irrational fear of birds and mascots. Don't judge me.


29. If I do something funny, and I'm told to do it again.. I usually won't. It has to be on my terms. 


30. When I was younger, my mom got me a diary for my birthday. I used to call it my "diarrhea". Sick, I know, but I was like 5.

Day Five

Day Five - A Time I Thought About Ending My Own Life

Wow. When I saw this one was on the blog challenge, I thought about not even doing the challenge. This question is a tough question to answer and it brings up a lot of bad memories. But I'm on the other side of all that, so I guess it's okay for me to talk about. 

When I was 12, and I was in 8th grade, I went through a really rough time. My cousin (who was 2 years younger than me) died in a car accident. There was a lot of drama within the family after that happened, and it messed with my emotions (obviously). Then a few months later, I had a cyber bully. For no known reason (other than my own sneaking suspicions) someone decided it would be wise to send me an anonymous e-mail telling me that I was worthless, and that I should just kill myself. My life wasn't important, and if I didn't kill myself, they would kill me. No, biggie, right? Well by that time in my life I was already in a dark depression (due to family stuff) and it wasn't a good situation. I finally told my mom about the e-mail a few days later.. and she took it to the police. They did absolutely nothing (this was 8 years ago, and obviously cyber bullying was VERY new back then, they couldn't do anything). I felt so lost, so alone, so hurt, so unwanted. I thought about ending my life when I was 12 years old. I thought about it for maybe 20 minutes, but I never even thought about going through with it. I couldn't do that to my mom.. (we had a family friend's son commit suicide just a year before, and I saw how many people it effected). 

I'm pretty sure we've all had those moments where we think "the world would be better off without me" but God put you here for a reason. He thought I was important enough to give life to, so who am I to say that my life isn't important? I'm very important, and I am very loved. 

Let The Good Times Roll (No, Really)

We had a lot of fun bowling and playing arcade games and eating at Red Robin. I'd show more pictures, but I don't have their parent's permission so this is what you get :) The kiddos hadn't been bowling in a long time, so it was fun to treat them. I was definitely their favorite for the day ;)

 This is the middle one ^ He came in with an honorable 75. 

Last place, but he had a good attitude about it.

This little guy is the most competitive kid I know.

 

 The girl thought she was going to beat me.

Obviously I wasn't letting that happen. 

She came in third with a 98.

I finished with a 106.

The little one beat us all.

He's 7. This was his first real time bowling..

And he kicked our butts.

He ended up with 111. 

I had a blast hanging out with these kids. We shared laughter, we shared tears (well.. the little one did when he slammed his finger in the car door RIGHT when we got to the fun center.. poor guy) and we shared good times. I love them so much, I'll miss them when I go.. but their mom is already planning a visit next summer :) Can't complain.

Icebox

I really wanna work this out 

Cause I'm tired of fighting

And I really hope you still want me

The way I want you

I said I really wanna work this out

Damn boy, I'm trying

It's no excuse, no excuse, but I got this

Icebox where my heart used to be

Today is going to be a fun day. My best friend Kelly has three kiddos, and they all have birthdays within a month of each other (December and January babies), so instead of getting them presents that they'll be tired of in a week, I decided to treat them all to a day of fun. So we're going to Bend to go bowling, and maybe to a movie, and then dinner. I'm pretty excited about it, especially since they know absolutely nothing about it. I'm picking them up at two. It should be fun, I'll take pictures. 

My psychology class has been canceled twice in the 3 weeks that I've been back in classes. That means I've been to that class a total of 4 times. I got to class on Thursday, and looked on the board, and saw the word "Exam." Now, call me crazy, but WHAT THE HECK?!?! I looked over all of my notes, back and forth, looked in the book, freaked out with the girl that sits next to me, and stressed the whole class. At the end of the class, he hands us a take home exam. I think I heard the whole class exhale at the same time. It was kinda funny. Side note. I'm a nice person. I talk to anybody that's around me, just making nice conversation. That's just who I am. I HATE when I'm completely ignored. Look, lady, I'm not trying to be your best friend, but you can acknowledge my existence and stop thinking you're better than me. It just drives me crazy. A courtesy chuckle or AT THE VERY LEAST a glance my way would be fine. Instead, you make me feel like a total loser. Thanks for that. Jerk face. I'm cool. You WISH you could know me. Haha okay, now I'm kidding. But seriously. It does make me feel like a loser. Maybe I just won't talk to her anymore. See how she likes it. Or I'll make Chelsea sit next to her. :)

I had someone ask me the other day if my moving to Florida had something to do with someone else. I'm just going to throw this out there. No. Not at all. Not even a little bit. Not even on a subconscious level.. not that I would know that. I don't really know what's going on in my unconscious, but that's not the point. No. He has nothing to do with my move to Florida. I don't even know where he lives in Florida. So, there. It's out there. My move to Florida ONLY has to do with me. That's it. I want a change, I want sunny weather. I want to go to a good nursing school. I want to be somewhere East of here. So that's why I picked Florida. I fell in love with it two years ago, before I even knew he existed. So Florida it is, and I can't wait.

To Know You

 Day Four- My View on Religion

To know You is to never worry for my life

To know You is to never give into compromise and

To know You is to want to tell the world about You

'Cause I can't live without You

More than my next breath

More than life or death

All I'm reaching for, I live my life

To know You more

I leave it all behind, You're all that satisfies

To know You is to want to know You more

To know You is to want to know You more

All this life could offer me

Could not compare to You, compare to You

And I count it all as loss

Compared to knowing You, knowing You

I really don't like the word "religion." It makes my faith sound like a routine, or something of habit. It's nothing like that. It's a relationship with Jesus Christ. I may not be the best at praying all the time, or always do the things that make God proud of me, but I receive grace and unending love. Who wouldn't want that? God knows me better than anyone else, including me. He wants to give me the desires of my heart. But he wants me to live for him, and I try and fail on a daily basis to try and be like Jesus. But I'm still loved. It doesn't matter how bad I mess up, I can always turn to Jesus, and He'll always have open arms for me. I love my God with all that I am. All that I'll ever be is His. He's my hero, my Savior.

Change in Plans

It looks like my brother has already changed his mind. Which, I totally don't blame him because he has a daughter here in Oregon, and it wouldn't be completely wise for him to move so far away at such a crucial time in her life. So that means I'm going by myself. That makes it a little more scary, a little harder, but also a little more exciting. I was talking to my mom about it last night, and asking her if it upset her that I would be going by myself, and she told me that she thought it would be even better for me. I'm going to have to agree. Of course she was saying she would miss me, but it'll be easier on her. She'll only have me to miss. I'll be missing everybody. Skype will become my new best friend. Skype will know me well. So, I'm doing a lot of stressing planning for this move. I'll keep you updated! Applying for school as of today. So excited!

Day Three!

Day Three- My Views on Drugs and Alcohol

This is always a controversial subject, one that everybody has an opinion about. Personally, I think that all drugs are wrong when used in the wrong way. I know that some people have diseases and that marijuana is the only thing that helps them feel better. In that case, I think it's completely acceptable to use drugs. For recreational purposes though? Not at all. I don't look down on anybody that uses drugs, but I think it's absolutely stupid. They make you stupid, and they make you lose control of your self. But if that's what you like, then hey.. maybe drugs are for you. 

My family has a history of alcoholism. I don't plan on being part of that chain. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a few drinks with friends or whatever, but drinking to get drunk? That's just plain stupid. Ask me this question again in 4 months when I'm legally allowed to drink. My answer might change ;) I've tried some alcohol (in the presence of family) and it doesn't really taste all that good. I'd rather drink something that tastes good and DOESN'T mess with my brain. That's just my opinion though :) 

10 years

I had one of the most awkward moments happen around me today. I was sitting in my math class while my instructor was going over stuff that I understood a week ago, so I was talking to my two friends in that class. On my left side is Heather. I had math with her last term so I had known her a little longer. She's a lesbian (relevant to this story), and if you look at her, or listen to what she says.. you can pretty much tell. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just.. kinda obvious. The girl on my right is Amanda. She's married and has a few kids. So, Amanda was telling me about her friend who moved to Portland to be a model. This was the following conversation...

 Amanda: I totally just found out that she's a dike.

 Heather: (Leans over me) She's a what?

 Amanda: A dike.. you know.. A lesbian. It's gross.

 Heather: Uh.. you do realize that I'm a lesbian.

 Amanda: Oh.. um.. well I didn't mean it was gross. I'm just not used to it.

I definitely did a face palm in my mind. I couldn't believe she said that. I was embarrasses for her, and hurting for Heather. Being so judgmental just isn't cool. Amanda is still my friend, but dang girl. Watch your mouth. It's kinda weird though because my human sexuality class has been going over intolerance with people and their sexual orientation a lot, especially today.. and my writing class we debated gay marriage, and my psychology class went over intolerance/racism today. It's been a very draining day, because that stuff just pisses me off. So we're off to day two of the blog challenge, and I'm going to bed!

Day Two- Where I'd Like to be in 10 Years

Ten years from now I'd like to be working at a hospital in the ER or ICU. I'd also like to be married (God willing) and have maybe one or two babies. I know my mom would like that. I don't really have any plans bigger than those. It'll be fun to see what God does in just the next 2 years. 

WILW

It's time once again for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's fun to take some time out of my day to be thankful.

This should be done everyday!

Maybe.

Or maybe a "What I'm NOT Loving Monday"

That might be a future post ;)

I'm Loving... Working out again! I worked out Monday night and I'm going again today in a couple of hours with a friend that just started working out a few weeks ago! We're totally going to kick butt. I'm hoping to spend at least 45 minutes on the Elliptical. We'll see if I can breathe good enough with my cold.

I'm Loving... The support I'm getting from the people closest to me about the move to Florida. Maybe not Mike.. He probably won't support it when I'm down there, but that's only cause he loves his hermana. If I'm not around them for a couple days I get a text from him telling I need to show my face. It's just a special bond we have. But I'm especially loving the support from Kelly. She's not upset at all! Now if they would all just follow me down there... hmm...

I'm Loving... The warmer weather! Even though it's been followed by RAIN (boo) I'm loving that I don't have to scrape my car off in the mornings this week! Woot! It's been awesome. Oh, and I don't slide around the parking lot at school anymore! Thank God!

I'm Loving... My church family. We have a very special couple at our church that are moving to Korea for 2 years and we're having a going away party tonight for them. My church family is very awesome for doing this for them. I love them all soooo much.

I'm Loving... God. Always. But I feel the need to add Him to this list. After last week (it was a bad, emotional, overwhelming, bleh kind of week) I just took some time away from people, to be with Him and I couldn't feel better right now! It's so funny, you would think that by NOW I would think to turn to Him FIRST.. not after I've tried everything in my power to fix everything. I need to try harder with that. He loves me and he's got my back, for sure. 

I'm Loving... That it's Wednesday! I only have one more day of classes this week! Then I'm done with week 3!!! That means only 7 more weeks to go! That's just crazy to me.

Blog Challenge!

It's about that time again, time for a blog challenge! Hopefully I'll be able to finish this one in a timely manner. I've been distracted from the last few days of my past two blog challenges. So this time, I'm going to do it right! Starting today :)

Day One - Relationship Status

 As of right now, I am totally and completely single. Not complaining though. I'm at a point where I'm still trying to figure my life out. I don't see getting in a relationship for the remainder of the time that I'm in Oregon, either. That would be silly. To get in a relationship and move to Florida.. or worse, get in a relationship and NOT move to Florida. I'm happy with life right now. As long as my friends stop trying to set me up with their random friends on facebook. That would be awesome. :)

It's All Out in the Open

I'm an Oregon girl, born and raised. I've lived here my whole life (aside from a 1 month stint in Alabama). I was born in a "Cowboy" town. Home of a world famous rodeo. My family and I moved to a "Mountain" town when I was eight years old. My parents got divorced when I was fourteen and after that, my mom and I moved to Eugene. A total culture shock, going from 12,000 (if that) to 138,000 people. My high school went from 700 total kids to 500 in my graduating class. It was definitely a change. When I was 18 I moved with my really good friends (Mike and Kelly) to help them plant a church in a little town in Central Oregon called Prineville. This is the smallest town I've lived in.. ever. But it's a mix of Pendleton (the "cowboy" town) and La Grande (the mountain town) so I've felt right at home ever since. 

In 2009 I felt a calling to go down to Alabama (where my dad and stepmom moved after I moved away from La Grande) to fix my relationship with my dad. It seemed like I was being called to move there, but that ended up not being the case. I was finally able to forgive my dad, and we've been able to move on since then. Our relationship is probably the strongest it's ever been, other than when I was a little girl. After I decided that I was coming back to Oregon (after about 3 weeks down there) Susan (stepmom) took me to Florida. She said I couldn't get that close without going to Florida! She talked about moving there the whole time I was with them. I fell in love with Florida, and had a blast for a weekend. I went home a few days after that. 

Fast forward a year, and I'm finally in school, and I've matured a lot. More than most people mature in a year. I've always been pretty mature for my age, but 2009-2010 kicked my butt into high gear on the maturation process. I've been doing amazing in school, and I'm happy with where I am in life. This summer, I decided to start looking for a place to live in Bend so I could be closer to school. I had many places fall through. It seemed like when I was ready for it to be the right time, it wasn't happening, and when it was going to happen, I wasn't ready. So I ended up staying here in P-ville. I've been totally cool about it. I didn't freak out, or throw a fit and ask God why he wasn't giving me what I wanted. 

In August of 2010 my brother went down to Alabama to see my dad and Susan. They ended up taking him to Florida. They traveled all over Florida, and from the pictures and stories I've heard, they had a blast. Since then my brother and I had been joking about moving to Florida. "Oh, if I had the money, I'd be down there in a second." He would say.. "Well, let's go!" I'd say back. It was all jokes, for sure. 

Then a few nights ago we had a serious heart to heart. We both decided that we needed a big change. We are both young, unattached adults (other than his precious daughter who will have to visit for weeks at a time!!) and there's not really anything (other than our amazing friends and family) holding us back. I want to get my Bachelors in nursing, so I'd have to move away for a good school in the future anyways.. so I began throwing ideas out there for places we could possibly move. "Why not Florida?" Trevor said. So I started looking up schools in Florida with good nursing programs. His only stipulation was that wherever we ended up, it had to be on the Gulf side of the state. I could deal with that. Florida State University? Nah. Florida? In Gainesville? Nah. University of Southern Florida... hmm.. where's that at? Tampa.. huh. "Let's go to Tampa." I said. 

Since then there has been a ton of research done by both me and my brother. We found out the cost of living (surprisingly) is cheaper in Florida than in Oregon. Everything (with the exception of electricity) is cheaper in Florida than in Oregon. The worst thing we've found so far is the sales tax. But in place of state income taxes? Not a problem.We looked up the price of insurance, how much it would cost to get our cars registered and get new licenses, the cost of rent, pretty much anything you can think of, we researched. That had a lot to do with the hour of sleep I got that night. That and I spent a lot of time praying about it. I basically asked God this "If it's Your will, pave a path ahead of me. Make it clear." 

The next day, I called and talked to my dad and stepmom. I told them that my brother and I wanted to move to Tampa, Florida. My dad was a little apprehensive after I had "moved" to Alabama and left in a month. I talked to my stepmom after that and she was really excited. She said the following "I was just talking to your dad two nights ago about moving to Florida! I've been wanting to move there, but nobody wants to go with me!"

The plan that Trevor and I had was to move the summer of 2012 so that we could be financially stable before jumping into a place where we know absolutely nobody but each other. It was obviously the sensible thing to do. I told Susan that we were waiting until then and she asked if it was mostly because we wanted to have a safety net money wise. I told her yes, because that was the main reason we were going to wait. She said she wanted to be our safety net. 

She continued to tell me that they would sell their house and move to the Tampa area so that my brother and I can move down there THIS summer and have a few months to get things figured out and get jobs and whatever else we needed to do. She also said they would help us with moving everything down there. That's a 46 hour drive. Who does that?

I talked to my mom about this, and while at first she wasn't very happy about it, she completely understands. I need to be able to find out who I really am as an individual. No expectations, just a girl trying to find where she belongs. Florida is a change of everything. It's a cultural change. I'm leaving behind most of my family, and all of my friends. I'm leaving the only place I've ever known as home. But I'm moving to a new opportunity. A whole new ocean of opportunities. And I'm really excited. I'm excited that I'm going with my brother, and that I get another opportunity to be close to my dad and Susan again. I haven't seen them in almost 2 years. I'll miss everybody up here, but I already promised I'd spend every Christmas (that I can) up here in Oregon, and that I would pay for my mom to come down and visit me once a year as well.

I told Kelly tonight. She's obviously sad, but she's very excited for me. I told her a few months ago that I didn't know why, but I had a feeling I was going to be moving somewhere kinda far from home.. somewhere east. I wasn't expecting Florida, and I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this fast, but it's what's happening. When Mike got home, we could tell it had been a long day, so Kelly told me to wait until another time to tell him. Until he was chatty during her show.. and she blurted out "Brittany's moving to Florida!" He kinda shut up after that, and didn't say a word about it after that. But he's my hermano (brother), so I wasn't expecting his blessing [yet]. 

So that's the big news. I'm moving to Florida with my brother. In July or August. I'm starting the application process for school. I'm very excited. 

Sorry about the long post, but I figured after being so vague, I better explain myself. 

Almost There...

I'm telling Mike and Kelly the big news tonight.

As soon as I tell them, I'll be able to tell you.

Look for that post later tonight... 

Hasta la bye-bye, lovelies.

<3

She's doing WHAT?!?

I absolutely hate it when people are vague about something, but they kind of share about it anyways. It drives me crazy! Such as on facebook when someone says something along the lines of "I can't believe that just happened! So amazing!" Uh, if you're going to share, please don't leave out the details! Otherwise, keep it to yourself! Now you've just made me curious and you won't tell me a word. It can be really annoying. That being said, take everything I just said, forget it and make an exception for me!

I've recently been thinking about a big change in my life. Something that would alter everything. I would totally share what it is right now to all of you, but only four people know about it, and I'd rather not share something on my blog until it is completely known by everybody close to me. I'm going to be making this big leap of faith either this year or next year. Either way, it's coming up fast, and I'm beyond excited. I'm a little scared too, but change can be scary, and this really wold change everything I've ever known. My reasons are pure, and researched. I'm very excited, and hopefully I'll be able to share what the exciting news is later this week! Stay tuned :)

100 pt. 1 (1-50)

100 Things That Make Me Happy pt. 1 :)

1-50

1. Ducks football. Never fails.. unless they lose ;)

2. Staying up so late I get to watch reruns of Boy Meets World.

(Kinda like tonight, I haven't been to bed yet.. Church should be fun..)

3. My kitty, Uno.

4. God. He makes me the happiest.

5. Yummy smelling perfume that just makes you go "mmm"

6. Bright colored nail polish.

7. Family. They're crazy, but they make me happy.

8. My friends!

9. Being so close with some friends that they've become family.

10. The movie- quote game I play with my brother.

He quotes it, I name movie. 

11. Music <3

12. Seeing happy older couples still in love.

13. People watching.. not in a creepy way. 

I guess you can't make that not sound creepy.

14. Baseball season <33

15. Singing on worship team.

16. The Duck Store

17. Getting pedicures (now that I'm over the fear).

18. Flip-flops all summer long!

19. Spending my summer next to the pool

20. Reading books in 4 hours

(They're the best books)

21. Coloring

22. Writing

23. Watching dumb comedies 

(The Hangover, Dinner for Shmucks, Dumb and Dumber)

24. Pantene Pro-v

25. Lotions. Lots of lotions.

26. Harmony.. it makes my soul happy

27. Positive attitudes

28. Making fun of negative attitudes

29. Putting lyrics as my status on Facebook/Myspace/Title for a blog post.

30. My mechanical pencil.

I tell ya, people.. it's the little things in life!

31. Pumpkin Spice Latte's when it's Fall

32. Black & White Peppermint Mocha's. 

AMAZING. @ Starbucks, try it!

33. A Flippin' Huge Carnivore Pizza from Outback.

It really is flippin' huge.

34. Dressing up in duck gear on gameday's!

35. Making lists.. I never used to like this!

36. The awkward moments in my Human Sexuality class.

I don't believe I've ever blushed this much.

37. My writing instructor. 

She's pretty freakin' amazing.

And she loves me.

38. Music that reminds me of middle school

39. Saying "You don't know who the BACKSTREET BOYS ARE? Well, let me just find some of their music on my ipod for you!"

To kids that were born AFTER 2000.

40. Getting roses. For any occasion.

But I LOVE getting flowers on my birthday!

41. My mommy. She's my best friend.

42. Inside jokes.

One's that make you say..

"You had to be there."

43. Snow<33 

(As long as I don't have to drive in it!)

44. Thinking about my future

45. Pulling all-nighters for no reason whatsoever.

(This is the first time I've done it in FOREVER)

As soon as it's time for me to start getting ready..

I'll be ready to fall asleep.

46. [Speaking of no sleep] Coffee!!!

47. The Sandlot. Enough said.

48. Leaving encouraging messages on my mirrors.

49. Waking up BEFORE the annoying alarm goes off

50. Pushing the snooze button 5 times for each alarm.

List of Fours

It's been a lazy kind of day, so I thought this post would be perfect for today :) Hope you're staying warm today!

 

1. Four shows that you watch:

- One Tree Hill

-Grey's Anatomy

-Jersey Shore (don't judge me)

-SportsCenter

2. Four things you are passionate about:

- My family and friends

-God

- Singing

- Becoming a nurse

3. Four phrases you say a lot:

- "You shut your mouth" (only when I'm totally kidding.. usually)

- "Like what?"

-"So's your face"

- "What the crap?"

4. Four things you've learned from the past:

- Always always always ALWAYS be honest.

- Never leave anything unsaid.

- Happiness is a mood, not a destination.

- Love, real love doesn't fade over time.

5. Four places you would like to go:

- Europe (Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, England)

- California

- Hawaii

- NYC (again, but at 21 years old)

6. Four things you did yesterday:

- Had girl talk with Kelly and Lauren.

- Set up a 7 year old's birthday party

- Attended a 7 year old's birthday party

- Watched Inception with Kewwy.

7. Four things you are looking forward to:

-SUMMER!

- My 21st birthday

- Getting my new tattoo on my 21st birthday

- Finishing this school year!

8. Four things you love about Winter:

- Wearing lots of warm clothes

- Snow!

- Hot chocolate with marshmallows :)

- Having rosy cheeks from the cold