I'm exhausted. I left Salem this morning at 6:03 AM and arrived home in Bellingham with my gas light on at 11:13. Despite it being early in the morning and me being sad about leaving, and also the fact that it's a five hour drive, there were highlights.

-I got to see the sunrise over Portland and it was gorgeous.

-I had the most wonderful-perfectly-hitting-the-spot latte from a Starbucks in Tumwater.

-I listened to the CD Dustin made me about 97 times.

-I had a great prayer time. Solitude is kind of nice sometimes because it gives me a chance to slow down and just talk to God. Thank him for the blessings, ask for grace and forgiveness, think about all the beautiful ways he shows himself to me... Peaceful, isn't it?

Okay. Apparently there were only four highlights, but that's good enough.

I had to go straight to class after a quick shower and proceeded to sit in a 6.5 hour lecture. That's right, six. and. a. half.

I haven't posted in forever, but I wanted to put up just a couple pictures from the weekend. I'll blog about the actual weekend (not just the car ride) another day this week. :)

We fed baby goats and they were the most precious little things ever!

Okay, that's all for now. It's 9:52 and I am going to bed. Tomorrow comes early.

Connecting the Dots

My mom came up to me yesterday and told me that lots of people have been asking her what I'm doing. "Is she moving to New York?" "Is she going back to live in Europe?" "Nursing? Not nursing?" Apparently my life is confusing to people. If that's the case, read on! I'm going to connect some dots, cross some t's, dot the i's. :)

New York: As most of you probably know, I nanny for a wonderful family in New York from time to time. Since I've been able to go out there so much, I've gotten to know the cities surrounding their town of Mt. Kisco and have totally fallen in love with the whole state. I am seriously considering moving to NY either next Fall or the Fall after. I want to go to Pace University, but am applying to a few other schools around their home in Mt. Kisco as well. The Kleins have graciously offered to let me live with them if need be. (They are incredible.) So, that's New York for ya. Hopefully I'll end up there for at least two years. If I go to New York, I fully and completely plan on moving back here.

Europe: I went backpacking in Europe for a month this past Spring, and discovered that I LOVE European countries and would love to live there for awhile. Right now this isn't really an option, unless I put off school for awhile. (Not going to happen though.) It's a dream. I would love to make cappuccinos, read books, speak Italian and eat fresh pasta and do nothing else for a year. Unfortunately, for many reasons this isn't a real possibility. Boo adulthood.

Why Leave Bellingham?: I'm at Western, but WWU does not have a nursing school- which is d-u-m-b dumb. I'm applying to Whatcom as well as a few other in state schools in order to complete my RN. It's possible that I might stay here, but I'm applying to lots of other places too.

So- that should probably wrap up any confusion about my life. Right now I have three more classes to take before I can enter nursing school. (Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology I and II.) If I can finish these by Summer, that would be sweet and hopefully I can apply to nursing school earlier. WWU doesn't offer A&P II in the Summer though. Whatcom maybe? Once again. We'll see.

Phew. That's a lot of me talking about what could be. For now, I'm trying to ace classes and work so I can make enough money to eventually move to Europe. ;)

For the love of Starbucks.

I visited Starbucks this morning for a hot cup o' joe. I broke away from my usual drink and decided to just go with a tall drip. (Pike Place Blend.) Yum. Look how cute this cup is? Love it.

The purpose of this post is to tell you that I spilt my coffee on my lap a record THREE times. THREE!! That is just ridiculous.

and also that:

A.) I love the red cups.

and

B.) I will finally give into being called the "Tornado" by my adoring parents. I suppose the shoe really does fit in this case.

My new MacBook

It's sleek, shiny, thin, awhh. Beautiful. I somewhat impulsively purchased a new MacBook this past week, and I love, love, love it! Reese likes it because of the Photo Booth application. Last night she and I took about 75 pictures on it. I'd like to share the highlights. There are a couple cute ones, but there are some disastrous ones too... Reese just looks so funny in them!

I have this problem. I don't have a husband or any cute kids to blog about (which really isn't a problem at all, come to think of it...). But this makes me wonder what interesting things I could possibly write about. Most of the blogs I read are either cute little families or amazing superwomen-type folk like the Pioneer Woman. And you know something? I just don't fit into either of these categories. Therefore, it's been two months since I've blogged anything which is just pathetic. So here I am. Back in action.

Today was my first day back at Western. I walked through the Arboretum to get to school, and from my house it only took 12 minutes! This is exciting news. I walked it four times today, and am thankful that I got to enjoy some peace and quiet in between classes. I used my morning walk as a prayer walk, and prayed specifically for my sister and her munchkins. (It's Reese's 3rd birthday tomorrow, so she was on my mind.) I also took time to thank my Jesus for my generous parents who are blessing me with the gift of an education at Western.

...Then I started to think about what I am thankful for. It wasn't hard to make a list...

I am thankful. I am thankful for the beautiful colors of the leaves and trees. I am thankful for the view of the Bay on my walk to class. I am thankful for my friends- faces that I haven't seen in months, lining the fountain in Red Square. I am thankful for freedom. I can make my own decisions. I am thankful for the gift of relationships. I am thankful that I get to serve at my church. And tonight, tonight I am thankful that I have a constant friend in Jesus. I may not get to see Jesus in skin form, but I see him everyday. I saw him at my worship night tonight. Friends gathered in a basement to sing praises to our God; to pray for one another and for our campus. I saw Jesus in Tino. He blesses me everyday and spreads Jesus' love. I heard Jesus in my mom's words today. She looks out for me. She cares for me. She wants me to succeed in all areas of my life. Today, I am thankful. I am thankful that the people around me spread the love of Jesus. These people really are the hands and feet of Jesus.

I just had a little baby Bible study over the phone with T. We read some of what Paul spoke to Timothy. "Flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness..." So, as I begin my Fall quarter at Western, I plan to pursue righteousness. I plan to pursue godliness, and to live a life of life. A life that is truly life.

I'm inspired by the Word of God, and I'm ready to fight the good fight of the faith on my campus.

Raspberry Picking!

Tino and I went raspberry picking a week or so ago and had so much fun- the raspberries out at Boxx Berry Farms were gigantic. Like, huge. Seriously. We made a delicious cobbler and it was so good that we decided to go out picking with some friends and make it again.

We went with our buddies Chris and Linden. The berries weren't quite as big this time around, but still delicious and the cobbler didn't fail us.

We plan to become professional bakers by the end of the summer.
Chris and Tino shared a cabin at Royal Family and have become good friends.

Linden and Chris! So cute.