one week of complete wow

it all started last saturday when i bought a car... crazy, i know! i love my beautiful white 2004 hyundai accent... it's already proved to be just what i was looking for. the trip to and from pullman all the time next year will be so much better than last year now that i'll be driving it instead of my old crappy car. ha ha! that silly thing didn't even last me the whole year, and took plenty of our money. oh well... i was car-less about 3 months and now can be very thankful to have my new ride! (thank you God, for providing for me!) let's just hope i find a school year job so i won't have any problem making my payments! ha ha.

what else have i been up to? i worked a full week (it'd been awhile because of memorial day and taking a day off for doctor appointments), so that kept me plenty busy. and eric and i actually got in 5 dates this week which was so, so much fun!! he and i have both had a lot going on lately and have had a bit of trouble finding the time to see each other, so this was a very special week for us.

after purchasing the car last saturday (which took all day it seemed), eric came along on our family dinner out, and then he and i spent the evening driving around testing out the car in the rain. actually, i think he did all the driving that night, which is fine. i wanted him to try it out, which he was opposed to at first - jokingly claiming he wasn't going to drive my girly car - however, he finally gave in to my pleading and drove. i was quite pleased as the night went on and he kept making positive comments about its power and various features and such. "it actually has pretty good pick up... wow," "the speakers are better than i expected," "this is the perfect car for road trips," "oh man, great brakes," "the steering is really tight," and "very good shocks - it rides so smooth" just to name a few. i think i sold him on it... ha ha.

oh, let's see... monday night we went to southcenter to get coldstone, but unfortunately it had already closed (apparently it closes at 9 on weeknights). but we settled for milkshakes at red robin (in our respective favorite flavors of course - vanilla for me, strawberry for him - always, no exceptions) and then headed back to his house to hang out. i think i got home that night around 12:30ish. wednesday night we took in the opening night 10:00 showing of "batman begins." this was actually a really great movie - and i don't particularly love comic book based movies, or at least don't have any strong tendency to be drawn to them. yet i was very much entertained and enjoyed myself quite thoroughly. i suppose that was due slightly to the fact that eric was so fun to watch, since he was extremely excited about the movie and his face showed he was downright happy as a clam as he watched the clever story unfold of how batman "began." anyway, it was a good time... and i highly recommend the movie. time home: 1:15ish. thursday i went down to meet eric for his dinner break and we got teriyaki at the cute little place right there by staples (which i also recommend - it's especially yummy). the people are very friendly and i just love it when we eat there. i didn't get home late that night, but ended up not going to bed until around 2:30 because i had a little project i needed to finish. point being, there were several late nights this week, and when i get up at 5:45, that doesn't allow for much sleep. which makes it extremely difficult to stay awake at work when i'm just sitting at my computer doing data entry. yeah, definitely fell asleep several times... and made it through thursday and friday only because i drank like 4 caffeinated beverages throughout the course of each day! i'm lame, i know... but hey, it's worth it to have quality time with my man!! again, i know... i'm a big nerd... i love him though... what can i say?

perhaps the most fun of all, though, was last night. after i got home from work eric headed over here with his dogs so that johannah could "meet" them. she's been asking for months now, and was so happy to spend some time with chinook and cedar - his beautiful huskies. so the 5 of us (han, eric, me & the dogs) went for a little walk around the neighborhood just for fun. after that, eric and i drove back to seattle (i had just been there at work) to go to the mariners game! we joined his friend justin and justin's mom and had such a good time. we ended up sitting down really close right on the left field foul line (not our seats), which was awesome. i've never sat that close in safeco, and the view was really good. the mariners actually won and the weather was so nice, it made for a perfect evening. after the game we went back to his place, so that he could kinda pack some stuff up and have heidi (his sis-in-law) cut his hair. his dad flew in this morning from pennsylvania and the two of them headed off to wyoming today for a week to build a new roof on the rental house his parents own there. but yeah, heidi cut off all his hair... it was getting longer which i liked, but i understand him wanting it super short since he'll be working in the heat. oh well, it'll grow back... and it actually looks kinda cute too, i suppose. : )

so yes, that was my lovely week... hated to see it come to an end today, but that's okay. eric will be back in a week and while i'll miss him, it gives me the grand opportunity to really focus on work, get some much needed work done in my room - like sorting through old boxes and organizing apartment stuff, and spend time with friends and people i haven't seen in awhile so i will not be too sad, and just have fun doing all that! alright folks, that's all for now... wow, that really got long! see ya...

first birthday parties, trips to western, mariners games... and how much i love my boyfriend

yesterday was eric's nephew tobie's first birthday party. i honestly had been excited all week long for his party, as he is truly one of the most adorable kids i've ever known. he has blonde curly hair, bright blue eyes, and the greatest facial expressions. he always smiles this coy little grin and is beginning to walk on his own, which is so fun to watch. anyway, his party was wonderful... tobie seemed to thoroughly enjoy all his presents, including the wrapping, and definitely got the best of his birthday cake, although he may have gotten more on himself than he actually ate. it made for a very fun evening. i love spending time over at eric's with his family - they're such great people.

saturday was a lovely day as well... mandy and i took a little road trip up to bellingham to visit sarah at western. the three of us took in the little farmer's market downtown, sat by the water at boulevard park, drank tea and painted our nails, and wrapped up the day with dinner with jesse and josh. it was so nice to get away for the day, and fun to visit sarah in her bellingham apartment one last time, since in a week she'll be home - a graduated woman, that is!

on friday, after quite a busy day at work, i crossed the street to meet up with ryan for dinner at the spaghetti factory, where i found not only ryan, but brandon and another fellow wsu goer, shannon! i was very pleasantly surprised, and the four of us enjoyed our italian meal together. we laughed and laughed, and i remember one certain conclusion i came to: brandon needs to find himself a good girlfriend! (put one way or another.) ha ha. afterwards, ryan and i attended the mariners game. where we spent most of the game catching up on each other's lives, since the game itself was rather uneventful and somewhat depressing. despite this, we were perfectly happy and managed to entertain one another quite well with the most interesting of stories from our respective school years. ah, it was a grand time... that's for sure!

and as i close... let me just say how very much i love eric. i was reminded many times during this weekend (in strange ways) of what an amazing guy he is, and how thankful i should be to be a part of his life. i love him dearly and want to always be aware of how special it is to be his girlfriend.

oh, why not?

Have you ever…
( ) snuck out of the house
(x) gotten lost in your city
(x) seen a shooting star
(x) been to any other countries besides the United States
( ) had a serious surgery
(x) gone out in public in your pajamas
( ) kissed a stranger
(x) hugged a stranger
( ) been in a fist fight
(x) been arrested
( ) done drugs
(x) had alcohol
( ) pushed all the buttons on an elevator
( ) made out in an elevator
(x) swore at your parents
( ) been to a casino
( ) been skydiving
(x) broken a bone
( ) been high
( ) skinny-dipped
(x) skipped school
(x) saw a therapist
( ) played spin the bottle
( ) gotten stitches
( ) drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour
(x) bitten someone
( ) been to Niagara Falls
(x) gotten the chicken pox
(x) kissed a member of the opposite sex
( ) kissed a member of the same sex
( ) crashed into a friend’s car
( ) been dumped
( ) shoplifted
( ) been fired
(x) had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
( ) stole something from your job
(x) lied to a friend
(x) had a crush on a teacher
( ) been to Europe
( ) saved somebody’s life
(x) had your life saved by someone
( ) married
( ) gotten divorced
( ) had children
( ) saw someone die
( ) been to Africa
(x) driven over 400 miles in one day
(x) been to Canada
( ) been to Mexico
( ) flown a plane
( ) purposely set a part of myself on fire
(x) eaten sushi
( ) been skiing
( ) been front row at a concert
(x) gone backpacking in the mountains
( ) been on a blind date
(x) ridden in a taxi
(x) been in love

officially halfway done with undergraduate study!

what a relief! and such an odd, funny feeling all the same. i can't believe two whole years have come and gone... that's crazy. i just finished my last of three finals this week, and now am anxiously awaiting eric's arrival. (sweet boy he is, coming all this way to get me!) i sure made out well finishing up on tuesday. he and i will head back to my beloved hometown of kent tomorrow, where i will be greeted with warm welcomes from the family as well as all the realities of summer. i'll have a few days to get organized, then work will begin, and before i know it i'll be starting summer classes too! but my goal is to not look ahead, but rather enjoy each day to its fullest. i'm so thankful i get to be back home and my desire is to make use of the time given to me. God has been so faithful in the last few weeks, reminding me in amazing ways of how He is watching over me and providing for my family. i can be nothing but grateful!

well, that's it for now... more to come in the near future! : )

struggling

"sometimes at night,
when i am afraid,
i cover my eyes,
to cover my shame.

so here in the dark,
broken apart,
come with Your light,
and fill up my heart..."

these words of bebo norman's "great light of the world" hit me hard tonight. with only 10 days now until i'll be back home, i am afraid. just ten days away from the goal i've been seeking all year... and what emotion overwhelms me? fear. of all the available emotions, fear wasn't what i was expecting to feel. i'm half way done with my undergraduate degree, but don't really know what i've accomplished. i'm scared about how fast it's gone, yet always want time to go faster. worry envelopes and controls me. i guess it's just that there are so many unknowns in my future...

what exactly will i be doing this summer? will i have a job for the whole time? will i have enough time and money to take summer classes? will i be able to find a car? and what about next year? where exactly will i be living? did i register for the right classes? will i find a good job here at wsu? will i find a professor to do research for? am i going to be as unhappy as i was this year? do i even have the right to be unhappy? can i handle being away from eric again? will i actually graduate in four years? will i be able to get into grad school? what will i do after that? will i still be with eric? will i be getting married? will i find a job in the schools? will i find the right church? and once all that has come and gone, will i be happy?

these are just a few of the questions that seem to constantly race through my mind. reading over them, i feel so foolish. why is it that i cannot simply trust in the promise that i will be taken care of? and why is it that i cannot enjoy each day for its own beauty and just be content with the present for once?

i'm not so much liking the person i've become of late. this realization is a painful one, for sure. perhaps i should begin to make some serious changes. one last question seems appropriate...

will i humble myself and let God shape me anew?

the finish line is now within sight!

hey ya'll!

oh boy, that makes me sound like jessica simpson in that dumb pizza hut commercial. oh well...

wow - the last couple of weeks have really been a whirlwind! i seriously had several meltdowns in the process of making it to this point. thankfully, on tuesday i finished pretty much the last of the academic work required of me - until it's time to begin preparing for finals, that is. but that's a couple weeks away, so now i've got a while to just kinda chill and finish up some other end of the year tasks.

end of the year!! that certainly is a lovely sounding sentence. i am oh so ready to be heading home and to not focus on school or pullman anymore. i just got a job confirmation, so i will be starting full time work at pinnacle real estate management in downtown seattle just a couple days after i return home. it is such a relief to know i will have a source of income at least for awhile (it's not certain how long they'll have work for me). still, i'm so thankful! we'll just have to see all that the summer brings... i may be taking classes at bcc, could possibly also be working at hallmark, and who knows what else. in between of all of of that though, i know i'll be spending lots of time with my family, friends who i don't get to see often enough, and my wonderful boyfriend eric, of course! ; )

speaking of eric... i can't wait to see him... in just one day! tomorrow i'm being quite the rebel and skipping all my classes to head home early for my last weekend visit before i'm back for the summer. it's kind of fun because i really have no set plans for the weekend (other than seeing eric and the fam), which is really odd for me - i typically have a whole agenda. it'll be nice to just kick back, relax, and see what happens! hopefully we'll get sunny, cheerful weather!

well, i guess i should move along and accomplish something productive... take care, folks!

life is just so darn interesting

lately it's been downright impossible for me to be bored! i haven't had the time, really. nor have my emotions... this has been one heck of a week - that is for certain. but i can be so thankful that starting tomorrow around 2 pm, i am officially on spring break!! *much praise and rejoicing* as cliche as this might sound, i feel this a perfect example of God's faithfulness and grace... for Him to allow a rough week to happen, so that i'd learn many things, but all the while cushion that week of stressors with a much more pleasant and restful week to follow. He is so good.

(sidenote: i realize i always end up putting some little comment about God's mercy or grace each blog entry, which probably sounds lame, or like i'm just mentioning it because i feel i should. in reality though, i am being completely honest. it's simply the fact that my blog posts are much too infrequent, and i'm constantly overwhelmed by God's goodness, so each time i do write, it comes naturally to mention how He's been working.)

anyway, yes, next week will be full of many exciting and interesting events... hanging out with the fam, seeing jordan and his gf tori all dressed up for their tolo at kw, working with mom at her work's big charity auction at emerald downs, attending church at fepc, spending lots of time with eric since we haven't seen each other in a month, doctor's appointments, getting my hair cut finally, shopping at ikea, buying new jeans, and working at an office in downtown seattle for a few days... just to name a few! yep, it'll be a good one... i can't wait!