November 2013

This month has been busy and wonderful!

I've spent more time getting back in touch with friends, settling in and enjoying time with family. I spent the first week of November travelling for work. It was not the fanciest of accommodations and the lack of healthy food made me sick, but I learned a lot and it mad me more confident in my work.

I am loving my job and am finding my groove with the workload and driving. I have met all sorts of families in my own town that I never would have had a chance to meet, and am able to make a big difference in some families' lives.

This month my fatigue level has become a concern and a new priority to figure out what's going on. I had a Thyroid ultrasound, and all came back normal. I will pursue some other avenues in December to figure out what's going on and begin to work on it.

Thanksgiving...Oh Thanksgiving! I absolutely love my family and look forward to every time I get to be with them. This year was a bit different with people coming for dessert or leaving to have dessert elsewhere...but families evolve (especially when significant others are involved). Despite the coming and going, it was still a great holiday. It also happened to be my mom's birthday, so I spent the evening at my parents' house (which is a 2 min drive away).

I spent the day after Thanksgiving with my mom too. We decorated for Christmas at my Nana's (my home too), went out to lunch with my aunt and then went to my parents' house and decorated for Christmas there too.

I am thankful for such an amazing family! Loving, close knit, silly, intelligent, and so much more! My financial situation has gotten even more tough, but I bought a car I will be able to travel safely in. Nana has been a life saver, letting me live in her basement for free. My plan is to stay here until at least April and knock out a little bit of debt.

Hopefully I will have some answers on this fatigue for my next post.

Books this month: Kitty and the Midnight Hour (good book. I spent a lot of time reading magazines and settling in...that is when I wasn't napping)

Songs this month: Safe Place by Enter the Worship Circle (Seriously an AMAZING song). I am super excited to have a CDplayer in my car again :)

September 2013

September was spent packing and saying good bye to Arizona...

I AM BACK IN CO!!! I moved in with my Nana, just about a mile away from my parents and right by a main road to the rest of my family out here. It's so SO nice!

We're all safe from the flooding and things are settling down out here.

I got a job working in the school district out here with a program where I will be doing early intervention and working with families who are pregnant or have kids up to age 3. I am doing a lot of training now, but will be in the field here pretty soon. I am really enjoying it and think I am going to keep enjoying it.

Please pray that I do, as I can't afford to switch jobs again. Also pray for provision as the move was very costly (my car needed over $1000 in repair just before the move, on top of moving costs and time off with out pay to move)...It's been rough and is going to be rough for a while.

Short update, but I'm tired and it was way over due!

I'm settling in to the routine here and am loving the family time I am getting, it's exactly what I needed. My stress level has shot way down and I am hoping to get back into a healthy lifestyle and enjoy love and support once again.

Books this month: Finished all the Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series and moved
Music this month: Still into Imagine Dragons Radioactive and Country music.

August 2013

I spent the beginning of August in Colorado visiting family and their new house. I only told family of my trip as I only had 3 days in town. It was so nice to get to see my loved ones again and I can't explain how weird it was to have to get directions to my parents' new house. Their new house is beautiful and I'm so glad they were able to get it and move in.

I returned back to AZ and went back to work. My job continues to be amazing. This month though I will dub the "Month of Scorpion". Since starting my job, I've battled 8 scorpions (most of them this month). Those things are tricky! Most of the ones I've battled were small, so the battle was really just a matter of me stepping on them and squishing...but they can get as flat as a credit card, so you really have to squish, grind and crunch. One of the scorpions I battled got away because it faked me out. It pretended to be dead and then scurried away when I wasn't looking.

One of the scorpions I battled, however, was huge! It was gross, it was big and it's tail was ready to sting. I freaked out, and tried to move around. At one point, the sucker even charged me...But it's dead! I have now reached the point where I see a scorpion and kill it without a second thought. So, I'm pretty bad ass now ;)

Just kidding :)

Other than that, I spent my time working and being sick. I've been really stressed out this month. My body has started showing all the signs of too much stress. I had several massages, and started acupuncture. It's been a bit helpful.

I also made the decision to move home regardless of having a job. So, I am in process of making plans, figuring out logistics and praying I get a job offer in the next week. You could pray with me.

This month I have also spent time feeling like I'm way behind. I am grateful for my time in AZ and the professional development it afforded me, but I am really hoping to get my own house. It's finally hit me that I'm almost 30 and still have no place of my own.

Anyway, that was my August. Tune in next month to see how things went down with the move. Please pray for a job and for provision and join me in praying for a house of my own.

Thanks!

Books this month: I have continued along with the Orson Scott Card Ender's series and Shadow series. Ender's Game is coming out in theatres in November, and the whole book series is great.

Music this month: My friend came out with an album on iTunes to help support herself through college. The artist is An Sli (Allison Chase). 

July 2013

I didn't do much out of the ordinary for the majority of July...Just work, and home (and avoiding the 100+ degree weather...yay summer in the AZ).

This was a moving month for friends and family though. My parents bought and moved into a new home near my Nana and closer to my mom's side of the family :) and two of my friends out here bought and moved into a home here in AZ. I was able to help them clean before moving in, and before their baby comes.

I started the job hunt in CO with full force and am planning on moving back as soon as I possibly can.

I also went on a camping trip with work. We took all the children from the group homes, the group home parents and several of us staff into the mountains to encourage the kids to learn and get in touch with their heritage. It was a lot of fun...but not much sleep. Did you know that cows will try to steal your trash can at night and moo and moo and moo all night long? I didn't!

I was able to go to CO the beginning of August to visit my parents home and see everyone. It was nice.

Stay tuned to stay updated on the moving to CO situation.

Books this month: The Ender's Game series (by Orson Scott Card), Half the Sky

Music this month: I'm completely hooked on the song Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. It's so catchy! I'm also into the Cups Song by Anna Kendrick that one is my morning alarm, so it gets stuck in my head all day.

June 2013

There is not a whole lot to update on June, as I did not do much.

I began my job at the reservation north of me and began learning the ropes and meeting the children. I have yet to meet them all, but will by the end of this week. I have spent a lot of time in the crisis home, and love it. This job is a lot like nannying and is also a trauma informed, skill teaching opportunity  for traumatized children. My superiors are amazing and I'm getting to know my co-workers. It's never the same thing and often my schedule isn't even close to the same week to week.

This change and the newness of the job wear me out by the end of the week, so I use my days (or sometimes just day) off to get things done and nap. I've been reading quite a bit and spent a few mornings playing games with friends at coffee shops. I really love those mornings.

I have also made the decision to move back to CO, and am looking for a job. I don't really have a timeline or know exactly what that will look like as I have rent to pay here until the end of January. So that's something to pray about.

July holds in store more work and learning more about the job, and going on a group home wide camping trip at the end of the month. I am hoping to take a trip back to CO to see my parents' new house and need 3 or more days off in a row, so prayers for that would be appreciated. If all else fails I know I have the first week in August for a really short trip.

Books this month: A Memory of Light (Book 14 in the Wheel of Time series), Ender's Game.

Music this month: really random songs, like Rubber Duckie, songs by Kermit the Frog and there's a song called Radio Active that often gets stuck in my head and I love it.

May 2013

Blog FAIL...So it's more than 1/2 way through June and I have yet to post about May...

May was good, and hard. I watched the last of my savings disappear (stupid car trouble and unemployment!). But God was merciful and gave me a brother who shares and a job to help.

I began working at a reservation near my house in group homes with children removed from their homes. It's a really REALLY great job. Challenging and exhausting, but so worth it. I work 4 ten hour shifts a week and mos of the time they're in the afternoon/evening, so I get to tuck the kiddos into bed. It's my favorite time of day, because it's so easy to show love and affection to them individually.

My work schedule is unpredictable and changes from week to week and adjusting to it and being employed again after 2 months off has been exhausting...so I haven't done much besides read, sleep and work.

Sorry about the late entry...

But at least there's not much else to report.

Books this month: Beautiful Creatures, and the Final book in the Wheel of time Series (if you haven't read them, there are 14, check them out! ...It's actually the series that Megan and Jordan's son got his middle name from)

Music this Month: Still on a country kick, and can't get the artist Pink's songs out of my head. She's got a great new one, but her older stuff is still catchy and gets stuck in my head. Also, for some random reason Rubber Ducky from Sesame Street pops in the mix too.

April 2013

April was all too quick. I spent the first weekend enjoying, celebrating and participating in the wedding of two dear friends. It was a wonderful, wonderful day. I sent a pic of it already.

I then spent the next weekend in town with family, and my favorite great aunt flew into town too. We had our annual ladies luncheon, 4 generations in one room, eating together. I love LOVE this time each year.

In order to be in the wedding, I had to quit my job, so I spent April unemployed. It was nice and scary. I was able to rest, organize, clean. I spent time at parks, the zoo, in a blanket fort of my own making, etc. I also, however, watched all of my money slipping away. There were many prayers of provision and a plan to pack and move into a family member's basement in CO if necessary.

I also turned 27 this month. I am in a bit of a "quarter life crisis" still being unmarried and childless, so I wasn't really in the mood for celebrating. Instead I had a princess party for all the young girls in the church. We all dressed in fancy gowns, danced, colored, watched Cinderella and decorated (and ate) cupcakes. For my actual birthday a group of women from my church here accompanied me to dinner.

I'll cheat a bit and let you in on a bit of May thus far. I've been offered a position at a local reservation working with youth. Still waiting on approval, so no income and no official job...but an answer to prayer.

Nothing big planned for May, other than starting work or moving into a basement in CO ;) So the next post will tell.

Thanks for checking in. And sorry for the late post. No excuse at all.

>> Books this month: I've started reading Kisses from Katie (a book about a missionary to an orphanage in Africa). Really good so far.

>> Songs this month: Nothing's really struck my fancy this month.

March 2013

March 2013 was perhaps the most stressful month I've experienced in a long time.

Work was hectic and they denied my request for time off to be in a friend's wedding. I prayed and fretted and waited. It was agonizing, stressful and hard! Finally I received the strength and answer to prayer to quit my job.

I also had some fun in March. We began our new Bible Study team, meeting at our house with about 8 of us.

My dear friends' son turned one and I attended his party and pushed their little girl on the swing. It was a great and relaxing afternoon.

Easter was a great day :) I attended church with friends, and then we had a group of friends over for dinner.

And During the last few days of March I began a 2 week housesitting gig in Fountain Hills for old family friends. I fondly call this place my "retreat". It's got a great view of mountains, palm trees and is in a quiet neighborhood. When the weather is nice I enjoy tanning by the pool during the day and star gazing at night.

The beginning of April consisted of housesitting, wedding and family. Pictures to come :)

Books this Month: Secret Garden (didn't read much, due to stress and job applications galore)
Music this Month: None sticks out at the moment.

February 2013

February was a pretty good month. Flew by with the little things of day to day life.

We moved into a new house. It's a 3 bedroom quad and I LOVE IT! It's big enough to host people and I cannot wait to get started! Our church recently reorganized our small group studies into age groups and we will be hosting here often :)   We will also be hosting women's prayer night, and I am working to get my co workers and friends to come too.

I spend my Mondays with a friend who moved out from Colorado to join the church here too. I hang out with her and her two kiddos, and found out that she and her husband will be having a third. That makes for 4 pregnant women in a church with only 11 or so young married couples. Our church is a growin' :)

Which is exciting for many reasons, but one of them is that I took over Children's Ministry at church and get to be in charge of toys, curriculum and scheduling. It's been quite a bit of work, but I'll find my groove.

I'm also still trucking along in my online class. Online classes require GOBS and gobs of reading. I didn't even read this much in my senior capstone. But it's been pretty fun things and I am learning some useful things for work, and maybe for a future career.

Work has been busy and stressful, mostly because of several emotional situations. It's hard working with so many broken people and having to maintain boundaries. Sometimes they're blurred and sometimes you just want to leap past them to help a person in need...but of course if I did that I'd wear myself out jumping for everyone, so I keep working towards finding a balance.

In other news, I am still waiting to hear back from grad school to see if I've been accepted. Hopefully I will know by the end of March.

Oh, and that picture of the flowers and chocolate..that was a gift from my boyfriend Josh. We've been in school together since the 7th grade and friends since 9th. We recently began a long distance relationship, and we will see where things go.

Any way, that's my month. I just wanted to let you readers know that I love you. I may be the worse communicator alive (which is why I started this blog in the first place). But in all honesty there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about each and every single one of you..which is probably why I don't call or email...because it would take me all day to talk to everyone I love in a day. Not very good reasoning, I know. I'm working on it...

Books this month: Case studies...and more case studies...
Songs this month: case studies and more case studies...didn't really listen to much music of note.

January 2013

January was a good month. One I desperately needed.

I left for Colorado on the 23 of December and was able to stay in Colorado until the 23rd of January. It worked out that I was able to keep my job, and I missed my girls. I had serious anxiety about how it would be when I returned to work, but so far, so good, and my girls missed me too.

I spend January staying with my Nana, in her newly finished and awesome basement. I was able to spend some more time with her than I would have otherwise. I also had an opportunity to catch up with good friends and had LOTS of time with family. Taking my daddy on dates, eating meals with my family, spending time with Katie and her family too. It was nice to have that normalcy again in my life, despite some really hard things that have happened in CO recently.

Nana is recovering fabulously from her hip replacement and is already back to walking her dog Dickens. My "nieces" and nephews are growing like weeds and, they all still know and miss me. I have to tell you it feels good to have them come running to my arms when they see me :)

I was also able to serve the Alvarado family while I was out there and help with cleaning and child care. The kids are getting so big (except for little Esther, who is doing really well). She has completed chemo and her stem cell transplant and is now onto radiation. Once that is complete, she will be able to return home. She will still have no immune system for about 6 months and they will have to keep an isolated, germ free lifestyle, but at least they will all be together.

We moved to a bigger apartment on the 24th, and I have spent the days since then unpacking, organizing, cleaning and settling in. I have also signed up for an online class and will be spending copious amounts of time reading for the assignments. I am going to really enjoy the class though :)

Not much else I can say about January, but all in all it was good to be able to be home and see to some things and feel some normalcy. I miss it a lot already.

Books this month: I started reading Beautiful Creatures (it's being made into a movie) and it's good so far.

Music this month: I am still on a country music kick, but my brother gave me some Ozzy Osbourne cds for Christmas and I am LOVING having those :)  ...just need a cd player in my car.

December 2012

This was one of the most stressful months of my life. By the end of the month it felt like a million pounds had been lifted off my shoulders.

I told my boss on November 30 that I needed to take leave starting December 22 and leave was not approved until 10:50am on December 21...then at 4pm they told me that my leave started December 23 and I had to go to work on Saturday...

After 3 weeks of unbelievable stress and anxiously wating, I was on the road on December 23 back to CO. I spent the rest of December catching up with family and being there for them and with them. It's been a relief and reprieve to be able to be home with them.

My leave is until January 26th, and while I will likely spend the rest of the year paying for this leave, I know it is the right thing to do. I have such a peace about being back here and I am able to help in situations I have been longing to help for a while.

For stress relief I have been hanging out with kiddos and catching up with friends in my spare time. I'm staying with my Nana, whom I have decided is "kick ass". She broke her hip the week before Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve morning she came downstairs to greet me like it was no big thing. She is already taking her golden retriever Dickens on short walks and I even her physical therapist has been impressed with her progress.

Needless to say, I am glad December is over.

2012 was a hard year and a good year. I am looking forward to 2013 with some trepidation and am working on setting some goals. I am applying to grad school, and am hoping to be accepted into a program at ASU called Infant-Family Practice. It's the program I was initially accepted into when I moved to AZ, and now that I have in state tuition, it seems like a great idea. I am prayerful that I will be accepted. I still need to complete a personal letter, get 3 letters of recommendation and transfer my transcripts. I recently found out that the deadline is January 15th and not February 15th, so I am in a bit more of a hurry. However, in God's goodness, this program has rolling admission.

Christmas was amazing and it was nice to be back with family, all alive and healthy, and enjoy the almost normalness of the situation. I think it will be a while before we're all at ease, but it was a good start.

Not much else to report.

Books this month: Beautiful Creatures ... it's being made into a movie, so I thought I'd check it out. It's good so far.

Music this month: whatever is on the radio at the time ... I am looking into getting a CD player in my car and working on a better playlist on my Ipod.