Trying Something New

So to go along with my last post about change. I signed up for this Intense Discipleship Program at my church. Confession: I am a Christian. I know that this may not totally be apparent unless you read about me meeting my ex-bf on ChristianMingle. But yes I am a Christian and I am proud of it. I don't go around "shoving it down throats" or yelling it out loud, but I do my best to live the life that God and Jesus have directed me to live. I try to be non-judgmental as it is said "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" John 8:7 (NASB). This may not be the exact same version that most people learn, but it gets the point across, and it is the version of the bible I have sitting next to me.

I have just finished my first Daily Devotion of the program and the reading was Acts 18. The verse that  stood out for me today is the reason I am posting this blog. I think even though this is about my graduate life that I am going to also share my life as Christ is directing it as that is part of my graduate life. If this offends any of you I am sorry, but this is is who I am. I am sharing my faith as the verse that "spoke" to me told me to do. In Acts 18:9-10 "And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city." These verses told me that I should not be afraid to share my faith as the Lord is with me. So that is what I am doing.

So just so that those of you who read this and those I talk to (the 1 or 2 of you) I will give you a heads up of what the "requirements" are for this program. I must attend class every week (Confession: sadly I will be breaking this rule in a few weeks, resulting in my "dropping" the class. I will be on spring break and have had these plans for months, so not canceling them.). I must attend church every Sunday and sit as close to the front as I can (Confession: blech, I like my back row seat, I do not want to sit near the front, but the pastor knows I'm doing the program). Daily Devotions and 10 minutes of distraction free, outloud prayer (Confession: the only time I talk to God outloud is when I'm having very random conversations with him or sometimes just ranting. I guess prayer is just talking to God so this part shouldn't be to hard, except that 10 minutes is a long time.) I have to listen to Faithbuilders on CDs, for this first week I have to listen to 2 cds and then write about them for a quiz I will be taking each class. Memorization of verses which isn't too hard for me, especially because one of the verses I am learning this first week is one of my favorites: Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Don't know the exact version of the bible, but will figure that out before Sunday. Next I have to serve in a ministry at my church each week which. isn't too bad. I have to love people and be kind and encouraging...I do this anyways and do my best to not be "mean". I also have to be an example of God's love, again I try to do this already. If I've been mean to any of my readers, I apologize and hope you can forgive me for what I did to you. But I do not apologize for sharing my faith if that is what I have done to you. Some other random ones things that I need to do and isn't too hard for me.

Now for the kicker in which both R who lives with me and my mom asked if I had joined a cult. I know they sound crazy and I'm already going crazy from. Limit media (TV, internet, books, magazines, video games, phone apps, etc.) to 2 hours A WEEK unless it is work or school related. This is only two hours a week, I watch at least 5 hours of TV a week and spend way more of that online doing random things...:( I am going to struggle without watching all of my tv shows. I also cannot listen to secular music (which means no country for the next 4 weeks...dying), no movie theaters (dying again....so many good movies out), only appropriate movies and video games. And the last one in which any college student of any level will gasp and yell "BLASPHEMY"  at is no alcohol. No bars for me as I cannot drink or listen to the music. Might not follow this as I will be on spring break and I'm already dropping the course for spring break, so oh well.

So for those of you who think I am crazy...I am using this as a social experiment as well as a way to get closer to God. There is music other than country (gasp) and I already hardly drink...but now that bottle of wine on the counter looks really good. I can do this for hopefully three weeks is my goal, maybe 2.

Wish me good Luck....and pray for me if you believe in it.

New Changes

Asymmetrical right side

I feel like I've been in a rut lately, and so does my friend K. Usually I just dye my hair and that is enough...I did that in December and it did not help at all. I don't know why it didn't work this time, but it didn't. So I decided during the Super Bowl that I was going to cut all of my hair off, and spent the game trying on hairstyles online. I finally found one I liked and cut off about 14 inches to donate. I know have a sassy, sexy pixie cut. Woo hooo :) See the awesome pictures. Conffesion: first time putting pictures up on my blog..... Today my hair is sort of in a punky look, which is awesome.

Asymmetrical left side

I sort of feel like a new me. It isn't totally a new me, but it is enough that I had a confidence boost Thursday and Friday when my classmates and teachers saw the new cut. Lots of compliments and it seems as everyone loves it!!! Which is yet another confidence boost. Confession: I have a somewhat low self esteem, even though there is no real reason for it. So with these confidence boosts, my self-esteem seems to be growing, slowly.

Wondering what this new haircut will bring.....*pondering*

To my readers: Have you ever really needed a change from your life? What did you do to make that change?



I apologize for the short post, but currently don't have much to write about.

What do I want?

I've been thinking lately...I considered going back on Christian Mingle, but then decided not to. Most of what is next is jut one big confession.  I think that I'm not ready for it. I told my friend K that I don't know what I want. I know that I have a lot to give, but no one special to give it to. For now it is given to my friends and family, and I guess for now that is enough. I just feel lonely a lot lately. I was thinking today that I have all of the love, but I don't know if I am fully ready to give it to one guy. My mom and I have talked and I'm finding I am a lot more independent than I thought. I'm not ready to share my life with someone. It's just hard at this time of year with Valentine's Day right around the corner. I have plans with my friend H, but this is yet another year that I will be single on this "romantic" day. I even feel like I'm becoming a bitter woman on the inside, even though I have no reason to be bitter.

I am looking forward to the future. It is so bright and full and promising. I'm hoping that I'll be able to move to Tennessee like I feel drawn to. My hope is that this is where God is sending me and is part of his plan. I've considered leaving Michigan for somewhere new, but now I'm feeling the pull to Tennessee and a specific region of Tennessee. Luckily I still have over a year to figure that out, right now I'm just trying to figure out where I want to do my off campus placements for fall and spring semester.

Another thing I was thinking about today is every once in a while showcasing some of my favorite recipes that I have found and been making. There are so many and I'm not starting tonight, but I will start on my next post.

Another note to my readers, I really don't know if it is worth writing. So if you enjoy them and want me to write about something special leave me a comment.

New Years Resolutions

New year, New chances, New plans, New resolutions.

I survived Christmas and New Years with the family. We had fun with movies and drinking and  games. It was a good break. We also watched a lot of movies and I bought a lot of movies....busy busy busy. 

So school starts tomorrow at 9am....way tooo early for class. Luckily my classes are done by a little after 3 and I can get home to work on school stuff and working out. Confession 1: I gained all of my weight back over break.  I am starting a new diet and workout regime tomorrow, starting with yoga to wake up. 

New Years Resolutions:

1. Be happy
2. Enjoy life
3. Have more fun
4. Work out more
5. Lose weight
6. Continue to survive grad school.
7. Run at least one 5k this summer. 

This year I have several 5K runs I want to do. The color run, the dirty girl mud run, and the warrior dash. So we will see how many I do run. 

I don't really have too much to write about so I'm just going to end for today with a question for my readers. 

What is one of your new years resolution?

Preparing for the Holidays

In exactly one week is Christmas...Can you believe it? I'm excited. Confession: I actually have all of  my shopping done over a week before Christmas!!!!! This has not happened in forever. I just need to wrap them. I can't wait for my family to see their presents...and just in case they read this I am not saying what I am giving them. Plus I think I got some pretty good Secret Santa presents for the person I was shopping for. Who ever has me is doing a great job.

So the plan to lose over 35 lbs by July is going to be a challenge. 1) It is the holidays and I do not want to gain weight I have already lost. 2) I need to try to find time to workout. 3) I just got Coldstone and Biggby giftcards. I can use them before the new year, but I still have them in my possession. 

I can do this though. I found a diet I am going to try and if it doesn't work, I'll return to the one I used this summer to lose 15 lbs. 

We have decorated for the holidays...sort of. We didn't decorate like my house downstate, but we did do some decorating. The tree is up and decorated. As we don't know where our angel is...other than in the storage unit...we used one of my little angel decorations, tied it to the tree with fishing line, and put two little mice under it. It is adorable and fun. 

Finally, I got my grades for my first semester of grad school. I got a 3.75!!!!!! YAY!!!!! 3 As and 2 BAs!!!! 

The End for now...

Life Keeps Changing

So a lot has happened since my last post...and when I say a lot I mean A LOT!!!! Instead of giving all the details, as I've told these stories a lot, I will give you the brief short story of my life the past couple weeks.

C met my parents for the first time. He liked them and my brother and they liked him. I returned to school and a few days later C called and broke up with me. He said he couldn't connect or open up with the distance and our busy schedules. C also said that we are at different points in our lives and that he can't share in the experiences I am having. I understand the last half, but he didn't even talk to me about the way he felt so that we could find a way to work on it. That is probably the most irritating part of it.

This weekend I went to da UP to see my friends and brother. I had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it. Saw lots of friends, painted something at HotPlate, and ordered the bridesmaid dress I will be wearing in my friend's wedding.

As the school year winds down, I am getting tired of all of the work. I have one final done. I have another final I'm working on. I have a project to do. I have a final to take. And I'm done with clinic!!!! That is a lot going on I know, but I'm enjoying life. I'm enjoying school. I really don't mind being single again. I don't have to worry about finding time to spend with my boyfriend or how I look or anything like that. Plus I've been single so long, I'm no good at being in a relationship.


I also found out today that I have had over 100 pageviews. YAY!!! Just a poll to see how many people who are actually reading this, How many of you are happy with how your life is right now?

Stress and Happiness

So I've had a lot going on in my life since my last post. I know it has only been a few days, but it has been enough that I was sick for most of it. Luckily I have also been happy at other times even with the "sickness" or whatever it is.

So Tuesday morning I woke up with a bad headache. I didn't think anything of it as every once in a while I get headaches, but they go away quickly. Well this one didn't go away for days. It just kept getting worse and I was also experiencing some nausea at the same time. I managed to work through it Tuesday and most of Wednesday so that I didn't have to cancel therapy sessions or miss classes. Wednesday I tried some excedrine migraine, but the headache/migraine was so far gone that it did not help at all. The only way I was able to deal with it was by laying down in complete darkness and with limited noise. Problem was, I had a lot of homework to do and even sitting up would make me feel so sick and in so much pain that it was unbearable. So I ended up at the ER that night. Confession: I have always wanted to consider myself independent, but I was glad I had someone to be dependent on that night. If it hadn't been for B and D I don't think I would have made it through that night or the next day. B took me to the ER and stayed with me the whole time, she also drove me to the doctor the next morning and did my laundry. I feel bad that she did my laundry, but I really appreciate it. The doctor gave me meds for my nausea and headaches, so I slept most of Thursday and didn't go to the clinic as I don't think I would have been able to manage. The next day I was able to manage for a few hours before the pain came back, but couldn't take anything until I got to my parent's house because I didn't want to try to drive after taking my pain meds.

Saturday was the last major day of pain, but I was able to keep it away most of the day, by taking my pain meds early in the morning. My parents and I went up to Traverse City for the day. My dad went to the football game to cheer on my high school and watch them win the game that secured them a place at the state finals. My mom and I went shopping. We went to the little strip mall behind Gander Mountain and we then walked around the mall. I didn't buy anything at either of these places. I couldn't find what I was looking for so didn't buy anything. YAY ME!!!! lol.

After the game, we picked up my dad and then walked around downtown. We went to several stores. One I tried on the harry potter sorting hat and took pictures. The store had a lot of hats of all kinds. We went to Cherry Republic and did wine tasting. I wasn't liking any of the wine, so I switched to their pop tasting. I ended up buying a couple bottles of their pop. It was delicious. That is all I bought. We then went to dinner at Cracker Barrel because Olive Garden was packed. I was starting to get my headache back, but dinner and lots of laughs in the store portion made it go away and me feel better. I found a section in the store that was completely full of different sock monkey items. For some reason whenever I see a sock monkey I get super excited. Well this section had sock monkey slippers, robes, earmuffs, gloves, scarves, toys, candles, and much more. Being silly my mom and I took a picture together of us both in sock monkey earmuffs. It was fun and I was glad to be feeling better.

Well on the way home from Traverse City, I was texting C, my bf :). Confession: I really like being able to call C my bf. It is so easy to say and just fits. I had sent him both of the pictures of the sorting hat and the earmuffs. He laughed at me and wanted to know if I had bought the sorting hat. Lol. We were flirting back and forth and planning what time I would come over to his place the next day for our date. He told me he wanted to spend as much time with me as he could, and it made me so happy to know I felt the same way.

I got to his house at about 4. Darn gas stop made me get a late start. He showed me the main floor of his house, which has most of the work done on it. He had repainted, redone the counters in the kitchen, and he had redone all of the floors. It looked amazing. Well after that we went and walked on the boardwalk along the lake that is right in Holland and it was romantic. We held hands and walked and talked. I like holding his hand, they just fit right. When we got back to the car he opened the door for me and shut it after I got in. I've always wanted a guy to do that. We then went downtown and walked around and looked for a place to eat. They had already decorated for the holidays, which made me laugh because it was so warm out. Well most places were closed, but we found a good restaurant to eat at. While we were waiting for the waitress to come to get our orders, he held my hand on top of the table. He actually held my hand at a restaurant, this doesn't happen to me.

After dinner we went back to his place to watch a movie. It was nice, he let me pick even though he had suggested one. I picked a different one than he suggested and he didn't mind. We watched Despicable Me, it was good to laugh. We also cuddled and it was nice to feel safe and cared for by a guy. It has been a while. We talked after the movie and he is coming to meet my family later this week. He is kind of nervous, even though there is nothing to be afraid of. My dad and brother are big teddy bears, my mom can come across scary but she is just silly. I'm excited that I get to see him again so quickly. That is three times this month!!! It might seem silly to other people, but we hardly saw each other until this month.

I'm just happy right now. The stress of my headaches is gone for now. I'm home for Thanksgiving. As I probably won't post again until after Thanksgiving, I will list what I am thankful for now.

1. I am thankful for my amazing family I have. 
2. I am thankful for my amaXing sisters both from my chapter and my sister from another chapter. 
3. I am thankful for my new boyfriend who makes me feel special and who I am falling in love with.
4. I am thankful for B and D for letting me live at their place. 
5. I am thankful for my new friends at western.
6. I am thankful for the opportunity to be working on my masters degree with a great faculty of teachers.