Love Is In the Air

Not MY air, unfortunately! But, wow, is this the time of year for engagements and weddings or what?! No, I am not complaining about not having a guy. That's not what this is about. It just seems like every time I turn around, someone else is engaged! Or someone is getting married so soon and I didn't even realize it. It's just a crazy time. Like the other night I sat 2 seats down from a girl who got engaged over Spring Break. She had this psycho-ly big wedding planner book and she was showing it to some other girls. It was at that point that I was thankful for my singleness. Planning a wedding seems like more trouble than it's worth. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get married some day. But, I am NOT looking forward to all the stress. Maybe it's just my personality type that I don't really need things to be huge and amazingly perfect that I would go as far as to get all stressed out. But, phew...crazy! Well, I figure I may be going to 1 or 2 weddings over the next couple summers, but thankfully I don't think I will be in any. Any close friends that I have don't even have boyfriends, so we're safe there! So I guess my main point is that people are getting engaged by the thousands here! Haha!

This weekend we had our athletic recruitment days here at college. It was really neat because like 6 or 7 high school seniors came and visited and practiced with us Friday and Saturday. It was really fun to get to know them and to see the potential talent that the team could have next year. I did get really sad on Saturday when we scrimmaged almost full field 9v9. It has really set in that I am not playing soccer next year. I know I will be around and I will be helping out. I will get to spend every day out at practice with the girls and hopefully make a good contribution to the improvement of the team, which don't get me wrong...I am SO excited about. But, coaching and playing are so different. When you're coaching, you can't do a thing about it once it's game time. You have to rely on your players to perform while you want so desperately to be out there and be doing it yourself. Well, I have to be content where I am. God gave me 4 amazing years of relatively healthy college soccer. I have to be thankful to Him for that and now step back and try my best to help those that are coming after me. I know it will be fun. I know it. I am truly excited to get a new perspective on the game and team setting. It's just going to be an adjustment. It's that change thing...the thing none of us really like, but it happens anyways.

Well, I'm about to head to church. YAY! :) I am looking forward to it. I am not looking forward to cleaning and homework after church, but oh well! Here's a reminiscent soccer pic...ahhh the good old days :)

Dried Apples and Gertrude Hawk Chocolate

Days until I leave Florida: 39!

Wow, I can barely believe how fast everything is going. I can't believe it's already almost summer break again. It seems like yesterday was August and I was leaving for school. Time flies when you're...having fun? I don't totally agree with that statement. I say we change it to just "time flies". Period. No matter what you're doing.

Well Spring Break is officially over for me. I have class in about 5 hours. What a bummer! But, it was a good break. I had a great weekend with my family, which included snow, the Carnegie Science Center, and lots of laughter about people in my sister's church choir. It really was fun and I was dreading coming back here. My mom made me dried apples, which are like my absolute favorite!! And she also got me some peanut butter, raspberry, and mint teenie poppers from Gertrude Hawk, which is like the best chocolate! YUM!!! And don't get me wrong, I love the girls in my unit. But, I'm not even that excited about seeing anyone and living with 9 other girls again. I am just so ready to be done with college life. And I know I know I will probably miss it after a while, but December 12th will be the best day of my life so far I think. I will finally be done with all of this!

I have some stuff to do before my class tonight so I'd better go work on that. Back to the grind!


P.S. this is like one the only pictures I took this weekend...i totally forgot to take lots of pictures! aggghhh!! oh well...i love my dad! we are both crazy dorks!! :) This is us squished in the back seat alllllll weekend!!!

Spring Break is flying by!

Well, since the last time I wrote on here, I officially started Spring Break and now there's only like 5 days of it left! I went up to Bekah's for the weekend this past Friday. It was so much fun! I didn't get to rest much b/c we were up early and late doing all sorts of stuff, but I knew that I would be able to rest this week on campus.
Since Monday, I've been working in admissions from 3-8pm and then just chillin in the Florida sun the rest of the time. It's been a pretty amazing break. I have been kind of lonely in the unit and on campus all by myself. But, sometimes it is nice just to be by yourself and have peace and quiet for a change, ya know?!
Today I have lots to do b/c I'm flying out of the St Pete/Clearwater airport to go visit my family for Easter! My sister and Matt bought me a ticket to fly to their house (where my parents will be) for the weekend and I am so excited! That was SO NICE of them to do that for me. I was a little bummed that I was going to have to stay here alllllll of break, but I was ok with it. But then my sister called me up and asked if that would be something I would like to do and of course I said YES! So today I have to clean the unit b/c I haven't really cleaned cleaned since I've been here...I've wiped up after myself and stuff, but I haven't actually vacuumed the carpet and wiped down the sinks and stuff. I have to pack for the weekend. I have no clue what to pack b/c apparently it's like snowing in Pittsburgh and I'm pretty sure I have zero cold weather clothes here at school with me! It's been like in the 80's! Soooo this could be an interesting weekend haha! Plus I have to work from 3-5, so I have to have everything done by 3. That wouldn't normally seen too hard, but I get distracted so easily! Plus I'm trying to put music on my Zune for the plane ride. Plus I have to go get lunch somewhere and money for parking at the airport. Plus...yadda yadda yadda! :-)
Anyways, I am so excited about this weekend! I'll make sure to take lots of pictures (hopefully if I remember!!!) and maybe put some up of my oh-so-cold spring break experience! Haha! Alright, off to clean myself and then this place!!!

Countdowns Continue...

Days til Spring Break: 5!!!! Yeah baby! On Friday I will be heading north to tally-town to be with my bestest buddy Baykuh (bekah...that's just a nickname) who I haven't seen since December! I am so totally pumped about that! I know she will probably be tired from work and stuff but it's ok b/c I just want to spend some time with my wonderful friend!

Days til Summer Break: 53!! Wow, it has gone by so stinkin fast! There are 53 days TOTAL. That counts all of spring break and weekends. I can't even believe it! Praise the Lord! That means only 53 more days of living in the dorm without one of my best friends, karyn! Next semester will be peaches and cream when she is here! I am excited, can you tell?

Well, it is somewhat late and I still need to do my devos. I should take advantage of going to bed at a decent hour. But no, I goof off all night and then realize what time it is and decide to go to bed so laaaaate! Oh well. Ok, I will write more next time. It's bedtime for bonzo now!

"I hope you like dancin in the rain..."

SO TRUE....LOVE THIS!!!

Constantly Learning

I do not want to call anyone out on a public blog, but I do want to make some of my feelings known. I've been through a lot this past semester and a half. No, I have not had the heartache of someone very close to me dying (thank the Lord for sparing me of that so far in my life). And no, I have not had a break up of a relationship. But, yes I have had heartache and very down times. I have had a lot of changes take place in my life over the past 6 months. These changes are due to God working in my life to mold me into what He wants me to become.
At the beginning of last semester, everything was hunky-dorey for me. I had my 2 best friends around all the time, I was graduating in May, and life was just falling into place. Over a series of circumstances (some of which I knew of and some of which I didn't), it is second semester and I am without my 2 best friends here and I am not graduating in May. I was bitter and upset for a little bit, but God really scooped me up in His loving arms and taught me about His perfect planning for our lives and how it is not our plan that matters, but His. That was the biggest lesson I've learned this year.
Now on the subject of friends. I am a very friend-oriented person. I do not have a lot of friends. I don't even like to have a lot of friends. I'm the type of person that likes to have 2 or 3 friends that are really really close to me. That is how I've been all my life, and try as I may, I don't think that will ever change. For the past 3 and 1/2 years, I've had my core group of friends. Granted, some of them have come and gone but my 2 girls and me have been together since the beginning. It was very hard for me to come back to school this semester and not have them here. It really was of God that they are not here anymore. I had to rely on God to be my best friend. It was no longer the unit upstairs that I would run to when I had a problem, but to Him. I love my girls to death, but even good, Godly friends can get in the way of our relationship with the only friend we really need. God gives and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD! Not that I don't talk to Karyn and Bekah all the time or at least message them or something, but with them not being here, I've been able to rely on God.
With that said, I have been evaluating myself and how I choose friends and what I want in a friend. Because basically, I had no one to hang out with. So I started hanging out with new people, which I don't enjoy but I figured it necessary. I absolutely loved the way the Bekah and Karyn and I could just hang out and not be doing anything at all and still be comfortable in each others' presence and still have a blast! I definitely wanted Godly friends. I want friends that will build me up and not criticize me. I want friends that can tell me exactly what they are thinking. I want friends that I can have fun with. I want friends that are chill. I want friends that are respectful of me and I of them. I want friends that have servants hearts. I want friends that want so desperately to do God's will. I want friends that think with their own minds. I don't want my friends to be brainwashed by what's around them. I want my friends to laugh....out loud....and not care who hears. I want my friends to have spontaneous dance parties, or spontaneous anything for that matter. I want my friends to be people I can go to with my problems and know that they will rebuke me, but will do so lovingly and not rat me out. In some of the people that I hung out with, I found many opposites of these things. I did not feel like I could talk openly with people. I felt like I always had to be proper or I would get yelled at. But some other people that I hung out with had so many of these qualities, it scares me.
I know I'm rambling, but the main thing I want to say is....yes, I have changed. God is the one who changed me. I am no longer in a bubble. I am going to expand my horizons. I am going to make my own choices (not that I didn't before, but I kind of made choices for the best of "the group"). Now I'm kind of a loner. God is now my best friend. And if you don't like me, I will tell you to feel free to tell me so. I will take your criticism, evaluate my heart, and see if there is something I need to change. But, before you do so, I challenge you to evaluate your own heart, as we all should be doing constantly.
Again, I'm rambling and it's really hard for me to put my thoughts into words. SOOOOOO the end! :-)