A Very Rare Occurrence

 That's right...it says 5:45 AM. And I took that photo. And no, it is not Photoshopped. I actually got up that early today. My husband gets up at 5:30 for work. Usually I hear his alarm, feel his "good morning" kiss and then roll over and sleep until 9:30 or 10. But today, I was just awake. Wide awake with no falling asleep again. So I did what any logical person would do and got up!

Here is the view from our living room at 5:45 in the morning. We live on a golf course (but as you can tell from the condition of our yard it's not what you normally think when someone says they live on a golf course. This is not a posh, fancy kinda golf course and neither is our yard/house). Anyways...I learned that there are people up working at this time (YUCK!). You can see in the picture that someone is out mowing the fairway and green.

Since I had SO much of my day before me and didn't already feel behind schedule (a very common occurrence when I wake up at 10) I started my morning off right with a little devotion.

I'm not making any resolutions or promises or goals to get up this time everyday...I mean let's not be ridiculous here. BUT...it certainly did surprise my husband and I got to eat breakfast with him. So maybe this very rare occurrence will become a slightly rare occurrence. :)

An achy back

The past two days, I have hardly gotten any sleep and when I wake up in the morning, my back hurts so bad. I blame the garage-sale mattress my husband has had for several years. And so, the time has come to take his grandma up on her offer. Recently, my husband's grandfather passed away and so now his grandma is moving into a retirement home so she no longer needs her King size bed and offered it to us...SCORE!

Problem--I have a very sore back and therefore cannot help move a Queen size bed out of our room and upstairs nor load a King size bed into a pickup truck and then into our house.

Solution--a wonderful friend of my husbands. We bribed him with fun on the boat before the task and a  home-cooked meal afterwards. (We didn't actually have to bribe him, he's really nice and was willing to help!) But the fun and food did happen! We went out on the lake for some tubing and wakeboarding first. Then the guys were all manly disassembling, carrying, and loading the various parts of the bed. After my supervision was no longer needed, I stopped by the grocery store and headed home to begin cooking. The guys worked on assembling the new (to us) bed while I cooked!

On the menu for tonight: BBQ Chicken Pizza....(it's okay you can say YUM out loud)

I cooked my chicken in EVOO, garlic, and pizza seasoning.

 

I prepped all my toppings: black beans, red onion, tomato, green pepper, and jalapenos.

Then I pre-baked the dough (next time I will make it from scratch but I didn't have time so this was from a Pillsbury can...which by the way, it is a bit of a chore to make a square crust into a round one) After it bakes for 8 minutes, I spread the BBQ sauce on top.

And the beautiful and tasty result!

 

 Oh, and not to forget the reason for the pizza...our new and VERY comfortable bed :)

You know you're a housewife when...

...you can make a good meatloaf!

Maybe that's not true, but I feel like meatloaf is a very old-school housewifey thing...maybe that's just me. At any rate, when I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner this week, he took less than 10 seconds to say "meatloaf!" oh dear, I've never made meatloaf before!

Thankfully I received several cookbooks for shower and wedding gifts. So I searched through them, picked the tastiest and easiest sounding recipe and went to the store. I was actually really excited to make it!

Maybe it's because cooking for someone other than me is pretty new, maybe it's because I have beautiful and colorful new things to cook with (gaze at Fiestaware canisters, salad spinner and cutting mats) or maybe it's from all the hours of Rachel Ray I have watched...but whatever it is...I am excited to cook! I want to read cookbooks. I want to try new things often. I want to take pictures and blog about it. So here's to many recipes, successes, and failures in the kitchen to come!

Some things I like about cooking meatloaf...

1. I actually enjoy squishing all the ingredients together with my hands (Rachel Ray style and rings off of course)

2. the long time in the oven allows me to set the table, clean up dishes, and prepare side dishes easily

3. my husband likes it

Something I do not like about cooking meatloaf (in the summer)...

1. it makes my already hot house EVEN hotter! :S

So after an hour in the oven....voila!

Yes, I realize meatloaf is not the prettiest meal...it's messy. But this was a sight to behold for me. I was so excited! It was a success.

I made mashed potatoes (from the box, I admit...that will be another day's challenge to make real ones) and green beans.

The meatloaf tasted SO good. We were both stuffed but went back for seconds and have leftovers for today!

Mission Meatloaf--accomplished!
(a special thanks to the Grimm Family cookbook)

Recipe for Sweet and Sour Meatloaf
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 c dry bread crumbs
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 eggs
1 t minced onion
15 oz tomato sauce divided

Topping
tomato sauce
2 T brown sugar
2 T vinegar
1/2 c sugar
2 t prepared mustard

Mix together beef, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and eggs. Add onions and half of the tomato sauce. Form into loaf and place in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

In saucepan, combine topping ingredients, bring to boil. Pour over meatloaf. Bake 10 minutes more.

It's Really Happening

I keep pinching myself. I'm just dreaming, right? Nope...it's really happening! I am really getting married! Years of daydreaming about this day as a little girl, months of planning as a fiance, and now just days left as a single woman.

I have taken pictures of different decor pieces I have made and made mental notes of things I want to blog about. But alas, the pictures remain on the card in my camera and the mental notes got quickly lost in the bajillion wedding thoughts running through my head. Good intentions...but not enough time to diligently blog about it all. However...I have not completely given up on those blog posts. I hope to post about things after the dust has settled and I'm sitting at home this summer while my husband (ahh so strange to say, in a good way) will be working and I will not.

But back to the present...4 days, 18 hours, 30 minutes from now I will be walking down the aisle!!! Some moments it really hits me and others I feel like its still so far off and just something you continuously plan for but never really comes. I am just praying that it doesn't come and go so fast that I don't remember the wedding day. So many brides say the day is a blur. I'm hoping my super Type-A planning personality will make the day relaxed and enjoyable for me...no blurring please.

Planning a wedding has been busy. Some moments have been fun, some tedious, some stressful. I've learned a lot about crafting, myself, and my fiance. We have had to talk through several things and settle disagreements. Not necessarily fun, but it's been good and we've grown through it.

While I may get nervous and have butterflies, I know without a doubt that he is the man I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with. I love him, he loves me, and with God in the middle, it will all be okay :)

I Love Laptops

Why? Because they allow me to lay in bed and be productive at the same time! That union makes me happy, just like Starbucks located inside Target (kudos to whoever thought of that genius idea!)

Anyways, it is almost 1:30 and I am still in bed. Yes I did sleep in until 10:30 (didn't fall asleep until almost 2am), but I have been productive for the last 3 hours thanks to the compact technology sitting on my lap. I have been sending emails, checking for new job postings, and starting different wedding documents.

We are under the 2 month mark and I definitely feel like it's Go time! I'm not stressed (yet), just staying busy and always having something to work on. There are times that it really hits me--I am getting married!!! It's not a panic feeling, but just so much excitement and joy and sometimes disbelief that this is reality and not just a dream. It hit me when I bought an airline ticket for August and wrote my name as Hannah Baughman. It hit me when I told my brother yesterday that his birthday was in 2 weeks, I would be officially graduated from college in 3 weeks and I would be a married woman in 8 weeks! It hit me today when I was working on the "script" for the ceremony and typed "Dave and Hannah walk down the aisle." Wow, I am so blessed that this is happening!

It also hit me when we finished the invitations and I took them to the Post Office. Invitations are a lot of work! But I am SO happy with how they turned out that it was definitely worth it.

After writing, finding the perfect font, designing, printing, punching flowers, gluing flowers, sewing flowers (my mom did that part), and then tying knots (Nate helped me!) so the thread wouldn't unravel--here is the finished product!

Close-up of the stitching and flowers.

As if sending out the invitations isn't exciting enough, getting RSVPs is even moreso! We send RSVP cards that people could mail or they had the option to respond on our website. We got 3 cards back at church yesterday and 2 responses online! So exciting!

Time to get back to my wedding tasks, but thanks to my laptop no need to get out of bed still :).

3 Movies in 1 Day

First of all, 3 movies in 1 day is not really anything too incredible if you know my family--we watch a lot of movies! We always have, and probably always will. It's something we really enjoy doing together. The guys watch chick flicks with mom and I, and us girls watch the action movies with them. My parents are continuously playing "name that actor and all the other movies they have been in" and only a few times do we have to go to IMDB to verify their answers. I have caught on and can join in the fun of saying who is who, who is or was married to who, and what other movie they were in with some other actor. And of course, we have our favorites. :)

We like to watch movies at home as well as in the theater. Growing up, we would often read the book once we heard a movie was being made and other times we didn't know there was a book until the screen said "based on the book by so and so" and mom would joke that we had to leave a go read the book. And we ALWAYS stay until the VERY end of the credits after the songs, location, the brand of film and cameras and then the speakers pop and the screen goes blue or black. We are almost always the only people left in the theater except for the employee cleaning up the popcorn. The ONE time we did not was when we saw "Pirates of the Caribbean 3". It was not a favorite of my moms and she got up as soon as the last scene ended. We all left and found out when we got home that there was a scene at the end of the credits (this was in the beginning of the "throw another scene at the end of the credits" fad that is now quite popular) and so we stay. But this extra scene is a newer reason for why we stay. The main reason we stay is because ALL those names, ALL those people who worked on that movie, they should get some credit too. And my mom always says "their moms would be so excited to see their kids' names up on that screen, and someday when my son's name is up there I am going to stand up before anyone leaves and tell them they all have to stay until they see my son's name."  Now that my brother is a film student, the chances of this happening are extremely likely. His cinematography knowledge is fun for us because it provides behind-the-scenes info and critiques on movies from a filmmaker's perspective.

So back to the title of this post...we like movies. A lot. My brother has gone to see "The Avengers" four times in theaters and I am the only one who has not seen it. Today my parents had a meeting after church so Michael and I went on a sibling date to see "The Avengers", which he was very willing to see yet again.

 

He rates it as the #1 movie he's ever seen. I liked it a lot but not my #1. I would however put it in the Top 10 for action movies. It had a good story, the acting was good, and it had some humor as well.

Then we came home and as is often the case at night, my family will watch a movie. Well we ate our dinner while we watched tonight so we started early. We have a lot from the library right now plus one from Netflix. My brother narrowed our choices down to two: "Made of Honor" and "Captain America" and then I had to decide. Normally chick flicks are the no-brainer choice for me, but after just seeing "The Avengers", I was in that kind of a mood. I was torn. So I flipped a coin--"Made of Honor" won. It was good. Funny and cute, and yes the couple that has no interest in each other whatsoever at the beginning does get married at the end. :) After that movie ended, the night was still young and so we watched "Captain America" as well. Also a good movie. I liked the story a lot--it didn't hurt that it was set in WWII time (one of my favorite time periods) and there was a love story. The only MARVEL movie I have yet to see is "The Hulk". I'm not sure it can top "Captain America." Green and angry just doesn't do it for me like an old-school gentleman and patriotism...but Mark Ruffalo is in it so I wonder if he will dance to "Thriller" like he did with Jennifer Garner in "13 Going on 30"? See...the name-that-actor-and-what-they-have-been-in game never ends. And thankfully, it doesn't have to, because movies keep on getting made, and we keep on watching!

A Weekend in the Emerald City

Last weekend, I went back to Seattle for a shower for my roommate Esther. It was nice to be back "living" with my roommates and enjoying Seattle life. The weather was SO nice while I was there and I was able to soak in the sun in many ways.

A walk to Fremont with Esther and Emily for Starbucks Frappucino Happy Hour!

So nice to be able to read what I want now--no more college required reading.

 I love being able to wear my Rainbows again!

Laying by the canal enjoying the nice weather and warmth.

Dislike Seattle gridlock traffic...but at least I could have my sunroof open and window down while I'm sitting on the city streets bumper to bumper.

Time Flies when...

...you are falling in love, at the beach, student teaching, getting engaged, graduating from college, and planning a wedding. Yep, all that has happened since my last post OVER A YEAR ago! But as you can see, slacking on my blog has been for several good reasons.

I had a very exciting, fun, and life-changing year. I met Nate (my now fiance) on March 26, 2011 at a volleyball tournament, which we returned to and won this year. We got to know each other long distance through letters, texts, phone calls, and visits every few weeks. After school ended in June, I returned to Cannon Beach for my second year. This summer I lived with my 3 great friends from the first summer: Jill, Katie, and Olivia. Being roommates with all of them was amazing and one of the best things about the summer. I was the supervisor teacher for the 4 and 5 year-olds, which came with a lot of challenges and joys. The kids were so precious and I enjoyed it a lot. In September, I got to spend 3 weeks at home before school started again. It was so nice to be close to Nate for longer than a weekend. We took a road trip to Montana to visit his parents and my brother as well as other fun hangouts in our neck of the woods such as boating and a demolition derby. Heading back to Seattle was hard to leave him but I had 3 amazing roommates awaiting me, which made it better. I was SO SO blessed to be able to live with Emily, Esther, and Janelle my last two quarters of college. Those girls are so beautiful, fun, loving, encouraging, and great to live with. We got along very well, and definitely the worst part about graduating a quarter early was cutting my time living with them short. Over Christmas break, both Esther and I got engaged. Very exciting to be sure! Winter quarter included lots of wedding plans, bridal magazines, and pinterest squeezed into my incredibly busy teaching schedule. I did my student teaching in a Kindergarten classroom with an amazing mentor teacher and 25 sweet students. I learned so much and survived the brand new Teacher's Performance Assessment (it took over 30 hours to complete!) I am going to be visiting the classroom this Friday and it will be a surprise for the students. I can't wait to see them!

So now I am living back at home. I have been exercising 6 days a week since mid-March (getting in wedding/honeymoon/bikini shape). Jillian Michaels exercises are great! She definitely kicks your butt and doesn't care one bit. I have also been working on wedding plans little by little including calling and meeting with vendors, making my invitations, and marriage counseling. I also applied to three different school districts for a teaching position for the fall. Praying that something opens up and I can find a good job.

The sun has finally come around and made it look like spring here in North Idaho. Nate and I had our engagement pictures taken on Sunday. It was so much fun. Our photographer is really great. I can't wait to see all of the pictures. Today I ate my lunch outside...so maybe 30 minutes...and I got burned! I seriously have the most pathetic skin ever.

Anyways, now that I am out of school and won't have a job until late August, I have lots of free time that I need to fill. Yes there is wedding stuff to do now, but it doesn't take all my time, and I need something for the month after our wedding when Nate is still working and I'm not. So...I want to start blogging more. I think it will be fun to write about my adventures as a new wife. I want to do a lot of cooking. I have probably over 20 Rachel Ray magazines plus dozens of pins on pinterest. I want to make an organized and categorized recipe book and then start trying out the delicious meals. I love food and would love to become more confident cooking and comfortable in the kitchen. I want to do more reading. I read the Hunger Games series recently in preparation of seeing the movie (SO GOOD) and it reminded me how much I used to love reading (before it was assigned in a syllabus and I had to write a paper on it). So I need to make a list, get some recommendations, and find them for my kindle or go to the library! I also want to try and be more crafty. I have so many cute ideas for the home and decor that are on my pinterest and I think I could do them if I just tried. I know once I start teaching I will get very busy again--I'm nervous about my first year and just getting everything established and organized--but this is a new chapter in my life, mmmm more like the next book in the series as its too many life-changing events for just a new chapter. Anyways, its a new part of my life and I want to try new things, find things I enjoy, find things that Nate and I enjoy, and figure out who I am as a wife and career woman. I can't believe I'm all grown up and done with school. Wow, time flies...

well it LOOKS like spring

I haven't written in awhile. Spring break was really good, very relaxing and low-key which is what I needed. Now I'm back at school for my last spring quarter! This quarter has a lot of new things in store for me. I started a nannying job that is two days a week picking up a 2nd grader from school and then his two older brothers come on the bus. I get them snacks, start homework with them and just hang out for a bit until their mom gets home. I really like it and it's a good break from my classes and studying. I am also taking my Methods quarter which is the first of 3 student teaching quarters here at SPU. I will be in a 3rd grade classroom every Thursday observing and helping the teacher. I'm so excited to start in a couple of days. Today I had my first day of 4 Methods classes. Being in class from 8-6 is really long but I liked all of my classes a lot and the workload doesn't seem that it's going to be too hard. Actually, today gave me a good feeling about being a teacher again, which I haven't felt in a long time.

So in regards to my title...it is almost 7:30 but still very light outside. The sun is shining, and birds are singing! I love it! Unfortunately, once you step outside to enjoy it, it's all a joke as it is windy and cold so still feels like winter. I just bought Rainbow sandals and my mom is making me a dress, so now the weather just needs to cooperate!

Artistic Updates

To follow up from my last post, I used the leftover meat, dough, and onions to make calzones! I made cole slaw again but this time had honey to add and I liked the dressing much better. One of my good friends was over for dinner and as I was cooking, I realized she's been my guinea pig all year long as I try out new recipes. She keeps coming back though :) Here's a picture of last night's dinner before and after:


Also, I've been out taking lots of pictures lately. For Christmas, I got a Cannon Rebel t2i and I have loved learning how to use it and snapping shots of everything. I had some extra time today to do some editing and uploading of a bunch of new pictures. For some odd reason, the little slideshow gadget over there ---> will only rotate through a handful of pictures from my Flikr. So here is the link for my photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/hannahjezak/

8 days until I am done with this quarter and get to go home!

Cooking Adventures

This year I live in an apartment and while the cafeteria on campus is still an option, I have not been inside it once! I have been cooking for myself and I love it! Although, shopping and cooking for one person is not easy or very fun. I do always have leftovers unless I have friends over to share the meal which I absolutely love!

I have a cookbook that I got for Christmas, a bunch of mom's recipes, and a subscription to "Every Day with Rachael Ray." I have enjoyed trying all sorts of new recipes throughout the year though sometimes I do revert back to soup in a can or frozen pizza. But cooking takes time and energy and sometimes as a college student with a job, there just isn't a whole lot of either.

Last night I made this: Polish Pigs in a Blanket from the Rachael Ray show.

you can find the recipe here

This meal is really fast and easy to make! Problems for a single college student is that then you have pizza dough and 1/2 a kielbasa left to figure out what to do with. Sausage is great with spaghetti and marinara sauce and I'm still thinking about how I will use the dough in the next couple days.

This was my second time making it and it turned out pretty good, but here are some tips based on my experience. Spray the baking sheet with non-stick spray or use parchment paper so you don't lose the bottom crust like I did. The sausage crisps much faster than the onions so start it a few minutes later. Next time I will probably use less mustard and onions just because it was kind of overkill. Also, I realized half way through making the slaw dressing that I was out of honey so I just went without. It still tasted good but lacked any sweetness. It was yummy and very filling!

Sun shines through the Rain

I'm sitting in a coffee shop on the corner of two streets. It is raining on one street, but not on the other. Clouds have come and gone all day, but now there are blue skies and warm sunshine and yet, still some rain falls. Is this weather not also apparent in life? Difficult situations come and go like the rain clouds. Or maybe one area of our life is going great yet the struggles in another aspect still discourage us. And yet, the sun will always come out again. The sun can pierce through clouds and shine through the drops of rain. This paradox even results in a beautiful rainbow. God's love never stops. Even if we feel alone and discouraged during hard times, He is still there. The clouds can cover up the sun, but they cannot keep it from existing and shining. Stressful situations might consume our thoughts and cause worry, but they cannot change the fact that God is in control and He has a plan. When we recognize this promise, we can experience joy in suffering, perhaps as sweet and beautiful as the vibrant hues of a rainbow.

So, there are some thoughts for the day, and now that it has stopped raining, I'm off to do some photography.

Maybe I should have been an English major

...or maybe an emphasis is enough. At any rate, everytime I take an English class, I love it! Partially because the professors are always my favorite. There are 4 here at SPU that I just love and wish I could take more classes from. I am currently in British Literature from the Restoration to Victorian. We discussed Arnold's "Dover Beach", and parts of Mill's "Autobiography" and E.B. Browning's "Aurora Leigh" today. The part of me that could NOT be an English major is the part that reads these pieces and has no idea what they are saying. But then I get to class and we discuss and it all becomes so clear and I think 'yeah I could do this.' What exactly is "this" though? A profession of reading? Well yes partly. Everyone we've read bases their writings off of ideas from previous authors. Arnold references Milton, Mill talks about Wordsworth and Browning hints at ideals of Wollstonecraft. So, I read, take ideas, and then write something new. Sounds easy right? I'm not convinced. I want to keep reading, and start writing. But I'm not sure what to write, who for, and to what purpose? This uncertainty often leads me to just push it aside and say 'nah, it's not for me.' But then I get so excited in class and LOVE discovering the ideas and connections between authors and even pop culture today. I'm a nerd that way (along with the fact that I could diagram sentences or factor binomials in Algebra all day long :D)

Maybe someday. At any rate, for the time being I need to read some excerpts from "David Copperfield". Oh and I have discovered the best study snack item: dark chocolate covered cranberries! They are sweet, chocolatey, but also healthy! yuuuum. Thank you Trader Joe's.

I Still Believe

It is has been far too long since I posted. Last time I just turned 21 and since then I passed the West-E, finished fall quarter, had a great and relaxing Christmas break and am now coming up to the midterms of winter quarter. Oh, winter quarter. Looooong sigh! It has been very gray and dreary literally, mentally, and emotionally. I had hoped after such an amazing summer that I would not repeat the misery of last winter and in many ways it is better and different but some aspects are still not so fun. I have really struggled with some big questions such as "what am I doing with my life????" I have had serious second thoughts of my major and career choice. But, being only 1 class away from my major completed and student teaching left for certification I realized it was impractical to make any drastic changes right now. I re-applied to work at CBCC this coming summer and after a weekend reunion with the summer staff I got very excited about it again. I currently volunteer every other Sunday helping with 3yr-old Sunday School at my church and I love it. Some frequent babysitting also helps me get my adorable little-kids fix. :)

Today was very blah until the last hour and then God shifted my teeter-totter again. In my Young Adult Lit class we have been reading books about WWII and the Holocaust and then today we watched Life is Beautiful. VERY good movie but also very sad. I was speechless after watching and couldn't participate in the discussion. Certainly not what I needed on an already blah and gray day, but I think there was a good reason. So, within the last hour, my day got considerably better because of my great Bible study. It's such a blessing to be able to open up and fellowship and pray with other Christian girls. Then I practiced guitar and have been listening to some Barlow Girl. I love music and believe it is very therapeutic. Certain songs have really impacted me and helped me through different times both good and bad. Tonight at Bible study I started thinking of one particular song that I wanted to listen to as soon as I got back. It's called "I Believe in Love" by Barlow Girl and based off an inscription found carved into a cellar wall by Jews hiding during the Holocaust.
The lyrics of the chorus are:
"I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining. I believe in love, even when I can't feel it. And I believe in God, even when He is silent." It's a really beautiful song if you want to listen to it on YouTube. I think this was such a God thing how this song tied into my class experience today and then with how I've been feeling about the weather and my life and such.

I don't know what tomorrow holds, I don't know what God's plan is for me, and sometime it's rougher than others, but, I still believe.

Crunchy Leaves

I love the sound of stepping on them! It's just magical and how can you not smile and be happy when the sky is blue, the trees are flame-colored and every step sounds like you just ate a potato chip? :D I'm not sure how much longer the nice fall weather is going to last, but I'm very thankful for all that we have had and every colorful leaf that has brightened those days with its color and crunch.

I had a wonderful pre-birthday weekend. My parents came over and we had a great time catching up. It was nice to have a break from school and be with my family and some good family friends that I have known practically my whole life. Good food, good conversation, and some wonderful presents including a new camera that has a touch screen! (which I discovered on accident lol)

After my parents left, I walked around Green Lake with my bff in the beautiful sunshine.

How can you top that weekend? Well you can't, which is why I have to go back to homework tonight, classes, and studying for my West-E this Saturday. :P BUT I do have a birthday this week and no school the following day so there will be room for some fun times.

Four months later...

It is a wonderful fall day, cold and overcast but I love it. I am wearing wool socks, a sweater, and sipping warm tea while I work on a creative essay for my writing class. Today is 10-10-10 and four months ago today I was just recently finished with Sophomore year and driving down to Cannon Beach for what I hoped would be an amazing summer. On the flipside, I can answer that yes it was an amazing summer. I often look back through my pictures from all our hangouts, beach days, and fun adventures and smile at the memories and laughter we shared. I got to know and work with some really amazing people. It was so refreshing to be in an environment with other college-age kids who were on fire for God and passionate about living for Him and serving others. God used many of them to change my life. God grew me so much over the past four months, filling me with His love and a peace for my unknown future that I have longed for. I am so grateful for that opportunity and would love to return next summer if that works out.

But here I sit, in my new apartment in Seattle, two weeks into Junior year. It's been good so far. My classes are not too demanding which is nice because it allows me time to hang out with friends and have more relaxing time to myself whether I work out, sleep, or have God time. I really appreciate living off-campus. The quieter and more private atmosphere is just what I needed. I feel less stressed, less distracted and like I have more time. I am still working at mailing services which I love. New this year is my involvement in an group for upperclassmen women called Falconettes and no we're not the cheerleaders. :) We are a group focused on leadership, fellowship, and service. We just got back a few hours ago from our retreat at Camp Casey where we bonded, got soaking wet on an adventure walk, and brainstormed about ideas for service and fun that we can do this year. I'm really excited for what we will do. This group is an answer to prayer for a way to feel useful and be serving after a summer filled with that.

The quarter/year has only begun and I am excited to see what God has in store for me.

A New Season Begins

Today is the first day of Autumn, and my last day at home. It has been so beautiful here in North Idaho lately. The leaves have begun changing to yellow and we've had a few really nice sunny days with blue skies. It's getting colder and it definitely feels like fall. Mom put out the fall decorations today. The transition is over and a new season has come; not just for the calendar but for me as well. I had two weeks of transition time at home and tomorrow morning I will be driving back to Seattle (by myself, in my brand new car!).

I didn't mean to go this long without blogging. The last few days at Cannon Beach were wonderful. I miss being there so much. It seems like just yesterday yet it also seems like ages ago. Time is such a strange thing. My parents came down for the Labor Day weekend conference. It was good to visit with them and have them meet my friends and see what I had been enjoying all summer. The last weekend was bittersweet and so much happened. One of my good friend's dad passed away unexpectedly and it was so hard because there is nothing you can say to help. It was good though to be there with her, hold her, and cry with her. We helped her pack up her room and said goodbyes, promising to keep in touch and keep her and her family in our prayers. We were all kinda numb not believing what had just happened but we had to get back to work and prepare for a new group of kids that night. That night, Bruce, Trenton, Jill and I hung out watching Psych in the Beach Front lounge---should have definitely hung out in there earlier in the summer! Saturday was my day off but I worked the carnival to help out and go to dance on stage. A trip to Seaside with my parents, watching football, session, SNL practice and girl time completed the day. Sunday I worked session, played flag football, enjoyed the concert in the park, had evening session, SNL and then laid on the beach and looked at stars. Monday we had one final session with the kids and then spend the afternoon completely cleaning all the classrooms. There were A LOT of staples in that wall! It was really weird to see our Route 66 room all bare and white. Before I locked it up, I sat there and remembered a lot of good times in the classroom: games, lessons, and crafts with the kids; prep-time with Amber, Mitch, and Bruce; prayers, laughter, and talking; the dessert night that the guys threw for us; and now the room was empty. It felt like saying goodbye to a room in a house when you move. We had a final meeting to watch a staff slideshow and Eric gave a final send-off devotion. Staff bbq and packing followed and then a whole lot of goodbyes. Tuesday was the long drive home but we stopped in Spokane so I could buy my new car! A 2009 Silver Honda CR-V Ex-L :) I love it!

I've spent the last couple weeks here at home getting things ready for school, visiting friends, hanging out with my parents, sleeping in, and shopping. One of the weird things about being home is that my brother is not here! He's all grown up and off to college now. So, I went to Bozeman with Annie last weekend to visit my brother at school. It was really fun to see his campus, catch up with him, visit family friends, and drive around Yellowstone. I absolutely LOVE Montana scenery and landscape, especially between Bozeman and Bridger Mtn. Something about rolling hills of farmland, with a few big trees, a barn and house, surrounded by mountains underneath the big Montana sky is just so gorgeous to me! The scenery on the drive was so beautiful with yellow aspen trees, crazy big rocks, rivers, creeks, mountains, valleys--love it!

I'm really grateful for the two weeks at home to transition. I was really not ready to leave Cannon Beach or ready to go to school. But, as I've skyped, texted, and FB chatted with people from SPU over the past two weeks I have become more and more excited to move back to school. I certainly loved Cannon Beach and did not want to leave, but I knew it was time to move on to something else. For every thing there is a season. However, as I head into school I am not the same as I was last year. God has worked in my life and changed me in a lot of ways. He has re-filled me with a passion for Him and a love for children. I have new friends to keep in touch with, visit, and talk to; friends that I can count on for support, prayers, good advice, love, and laughter.

Tomorrow I will be heading out by myself, and heading west to lots of new adventures: Junior year, living in apartment, cooking for myself, learning how to drive in Seattle, Falconettes, Ivy Honorary, volunteering with 3yr-olds at Bethany, and striving to live each day in love and service for Christ.

Sadly, the amazing summer is over; but, tomorrow, a new chapter begins.

An Unusual Week

This week has been quite different because it is a short week so all of our schedules are different. Also this week, we had two kids with down syndrome and autism in K2 so it required extra help and changing some things around to accommodate them. They were both really sweet though and it was fun to work one-on-one with them. I have been hanging out with friends whenever we aren't working. It seems weird and yet also time for the summer to be ending.

Monday we played beach volleyball, I had my last Bible study and then watched stuff with friends. Tuesday we had the morning off and it was really nice to be lazy and take my time getting ready. it rained really hard here all day. It was kind of cool because it hasn't rained like that all summer but you got completely soaked wherever you went. Jill, Bruce, Trenton and I went out to lunch and hung out. I had 5.5 hours of rec shift but it went really fast with running a foosball tournament, friends working with me and playing pool. Today is my day off but I chose to volunteer with 4-5s this morning and I am going to again tonight. I walked around town and the beach this afternoon and then hung out at the carnival. I was kind of lazy again today and probably should have packed or been more productive. oh well :)

Winding Down

Whoops, I let another week go by without posting. It was another good week! I finally got over my stupid cough, which lasted annoyingly long.

One week from today, I will be on my way home with my parents. So crazy to think about! Almost 3 months ago, Jill and I drove up scared and nervous and now we love it here!

Last week was a lot of fun. Had some good sunny days at the beach, a good group of kids and some fun adventures with friends. On Wednesday, I woke up at 2:45 am, on purpose! A bunch of us met up and drove to Saddle Mountain to hike up by the light of flashlights and the full moon. I think its a two mile hike. It wasn't too bad of a climb and lots of fun chatting with people. The views along the way were breathtaking and the scenery from the top was amazing even in the dark. We hung out for about 20 minutes at the top until the sun came up. It was so awesome to see the first speck of light peak over the mountains. We could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens from up there. We all just sat in awe of the landscape and the colors that the sun painted across it. After lots of pictures, time praying and watching the sun rise, we headed back down. I hiked alone for most of the way down and it was really good to pray and think while I walked or ran. I think this hike was a really good closure on the summer for me. This might sound cheesy but I came up with a metaphor for this hike. The climb up was fun because it was something new but also kinda hard--not being able to always see that great, hot, spiderwebs in the face, steep; never knowing how much farther. That represents my first two years of college I think. They were really fun but as time went on--winter quarter of sophomore year especially--it got really tough. When I got to the top I was out of breath, hungry, and couldn't see very much. By spring quarter of school I was sick of classes, frustrated with myself over a lot of things, and needing something new. The time when the sun came up and was rising over the landscape lighting it up and adding colors is my time here this summer. I sat there and prayed and praised God for his creation. I was able to see so much clearer with the light and the trail we had come up. This summer has re-connected me with God and let me see where I have come from the past two years. The hike down I was alone though I knew friends were in front of me and behind me a ways. Heading back to school I might feel alone having to say goodbye to my friends here, but I know I can keep in touch with those I say goodbye to and there are friends waiting for me. After the steep section where the footing is hard, I ran down most of the mountain. I am hoping that in the next few weeks I feel ready to go back to school and stand firm in all that I've grown this summer. I may be standing alone sometimes but I want to be okay with that. At that same time though, I don't want this summer to just be a mountain-top experience, it needs to be only a vantage point on my climb higher and higher.

After the hike I napped, layed out on the grassy lawn with friends and then went to here Luis Palau speak. For Moonshadows we went to the arcade in Seaside. It was a lot of fun to play games with friends and have a lot of laughs. Thursday was my last carnival and I got to the Obstacle Course which was a lot of fun. Friday night we hung out in Fireside with Zach since it was his last night. I had volunteered with 2's and 3's during the week and met these adorable twin girls who always ran up to give me hugs whenever they saw me. They were with their family in Fireside that night and I played with them for a bit. It made me feel so happy to make the smile and laugh so much. They were so precious and I love little kid hugs!

Saturday I went to kid breakfast, napped, cleaned, went to the beach for a bit, woo-hoo meeting and then volunteered with 4's and 5's. I always thought if I came back next summer I would want to work with older kids. But after volunteering with toddlers and 4--5s this week I think I would want to do younger kids. They are just so precious and innocent! I love being able to make them smile and be goofy with them. I think I am going to help out with 4-5s again tomorrow.

I have to go do a rec shift now, but I will finish writing tonight maybe.

Wind in my Hair

The summer is flying by like the wind in my hair today as we drove with all the windows down! I was talking to my dad the other day about it being okay to wait and get my new cell phone from him since it's only two more weeks....2 more weeks!?!?! oh man! It really is coming down to the end. Mike left today. It's so sad not to have him here.

I ended up getting more sick Thursday night near the end of session. I had chills then got really hot. Thankfully I did not have babysitting and my wonderful boss let me not have to do rec center. I came back to the room, checked my temperature--98.4--and then took some meds and chilled in bed. Friday I felt better as far as having more energy but congested and same with Saturday. Last night I took nyquil before going to bed and I think it still had an effect on me this morning because I felt SOOO tired and exhausted during session. It was a wierd kind of sleepy that I've never felt. I am feeling much better now except for a very sore throat from so much singing and loud talking over kids. Salt water is nasty but it makes the throat feel better.

Thursday night's session felt so long. We had a long story, we went to the park, we played a ton of gym games, lesson, worship, yet it still felt so long! It didn't help that I wasn't feeling so great. Friday morning was good and then Friday night they needed extra help with the babies so I pushed two little boys in a stroller all night trying to keep one entertained while the other was fast asleep. Saturday was very relaxing. I chose not to go to breakfast so I could get some good sleep. It was a very chill day of laundry and cleaning and some phone calls. I covered for Tasha so I got to do the show, eat with the guests, and work as a floater with the 2's & 3's. It was really fun doing the show again and I got to eat dinner with one of the girls in my class and her family. The toddlers were SO cute! It made me really miss the little ones at my church back home. There were these twin girls who just wanted to hold my hand and sit in my lap all night and this one little girl who was quite the talker and reminded me of myself at that age. I saw them tonight on my way to worship with my class and they remembered me and gave me hugs. :) Kids are so amazing!

We only have 11 kids this week which is rough because they get bored with games so quickly. They aren't super into the worship time and we one boy who is really stubborn. Worship time feels really crazy because Kids Klub and 4's & 5's have so many and it's just a little chaotic.

I love Sundays and Mondays because I get the entire afternoon off and it's so wonderful. Today, Jill, Bruce, Trenton and I went shopping in Warrenton and just hung out at different stores. Except for a Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks, I didn't buy anything. I love being able to enjoy the little things, such as all of us sitting on couches in Costco to see which is comfiest, trying on funky clothes in Ross, and driving with the music up, windows down and fun conversations. It was such a fun day!

Last night after session, Jill and I went to the park and sat on the swings for awhile just talking. It was so wonderful! It has been really great getting to know her so well and becoming such good friends this summer. We both had a harder time in session tonight and when we came back to the room she closed the door and screamed. Well I had no idea why she was screaming and she scared me so I screamed too! Then I realized she was just letting out her frustration and we both started laughing really hard and trying not to pee our pants! :) Then we went to touch the beach. We hugged and prayed and looked up at the stars twinkling down at us.

I think I will go to bed now. It is very early for me, but I am trying to kill this stupid bug that is making me feel gross. Think I will pass on the nyquil this time though. :S