Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

5.29.2013

North Carolina, you better raise up!


AHH, I love North Carolina so far. We are living in a small-ish town called Goldsboro. It's the biggest town I lived in since leaving home, but it is still lacking a lot of fun. However, we are living in possibly the coolest house EVER. It was built a loooonnnggg time ago by a very eccentric man. And you can tell by the decor. (pictures to come!)

While we are here we are working for Habitat for Humanity. Building two houses, and LOVING IT. Our sponsors are absolutely amazing. I am learning so many new skills, that will help me when I become a homeowner. For instance, the other day, Matt and I built and entire deck. Anyone in need of a deck? I can build you one!

For Memorial Day weekend, my team leader, two teammates, and I took a vacation to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina to soak up some rays. Atlantic Beach is the cutest beach town I have ever seen. And they have a killer aquarium that costs only 8 dollars!!! If you are ever looking for a place to vacay, choose Atlantic Beach.








I really love working with Habitat for Humanity. Just the other day, I was working along side the future homeowner of the home we were working on. You could tell how excited he was to have such an amazing opportunity presented in his life. Habitat is not only an amazing corporation, but it is an amazing life changer. Get out in your community and find a local Habitat for Humanity to volunteer at. It is well worth it.

4.08.2013

Joe


Exactly one week ago I lost my best friend, my soul-mate, my everything; Joe. He was taken out of this world by a random act of violence in New Orleans while serving in AmeriCorps NCCC. 

Joe was everything I wanted in a man and more. He was sexy, funny, compassionate, forgiving, generous, respectful and every other good quality imaginable. 
He treated me like an absolute princess, every single day. 
He would find me in the hall after a shower and tell me how beautiful he thought I was. 
On the very last night we spent together, we were laying in bed and he was telling me all the things he liked about me. Me, being my insecure self, disagreed, and he got upset. Then he pulled me to the mirror and showed me how beautiful I am. 
Anytime I was in a bad mood, he would hold me and tell me that everything would be alright because he would take care of it, and he did. 
He constantly stood up for me when someone would say anything but nice things to me, even if they were joking. 
He was an amazing kisser. 
His personality was so huge and happy, everyone knew him and everyone loved him. 
On cold nights, he would rather wear nothing than watch me shiver. 
All if these things, AND MORE, I learned after only knowing him for a couple of days. We may have only known each other for 2 months, but it didn't matter. We cared about each other more than anyone else. Whenever I was with him, I was filled with happiness. The way he looked at me melted me. I loved him with every ounce of my being, and I just wish I could tell him that again. 


I'm so grateful to have so many beautiful memories with Joe.
He made my life a living fairy tale. A fairy tale that should have continued.

I miss him more every day. But I know that he is being taken care of wherever he is, because he deserves it more than anyone I know. Joe touched the life of everyone he met and I know he is being missed by thousands.

3.31.2013

They tell me I'm {beautiful}

Going into Americorps there was a lot I didn't know. A LOT.
But one thing I defintely did not know, was that my confidence would be sky rocketing.
Complete strangers tell me I am beautiful.
They tell me I am beautiful when I haven't even tried.
They tell me I am beautiful every day. 
And the reason they do it is not because they feel like they have to, but because they want to. 
The word beautiful has never been said to me this many times by virtual strangers.
I don't know what I did to deserve this sort of princess treatment.
The people of Americorps NCCC are special, lovely people that I wouldn't be happy without. 
The people are what makes the program so enjoyable.


Amanda and Taylor. My girls. My support.
Destine to be BFFs since we first Facebooked! <3
My main boys. George and Brendyn.
Matt. Teammate and awesome friend.

Some of my favorites before a night out in Vicksburg.
Nick. The best hugger EVER
Joe. <3 <3 <3 
Katelyn! The first person I met in the airport. Sweetest girl ever.
Class 19. The best class ever. Love them all.








2.04.2013

‎1 week. 7 days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes. 604,800 seconds. Woah.

I leave in a week.
ONE WEEK.
and I can't even explain my feelings right now.
People ask me if I am excited.
I say yes.
People ask me if I am nervous.
I say yes. 
People ask me if I am ready.
I say yes.
People tell me not to go.
I say yes.
People tell me they are excited for me.
I say yes.
People tell me it will be a great experience.
I say yes.

I say yes becuase I don't know what else to feel.
I have no emotion about this.
I am excited, scared, nervous, ready, happy, sad, mad, overwhelmed, ect.
But how many feels can one girl feel? 
Apparently, a lot.

And in a week; hello new home. 


1.21.2013

birthday weekend of extreme proportions

I can't even.
I can't even explain or start to say how awesome my weekend was.

Everything that happened, in bullet form. 

Thursday

  • drive to Boise
  • plane ride to Seattle
  • bus ride to Ellensburg
  • meet Kable's friends
  • stay up till past midnight for the first happy birthday of year 19

Friday

  • lunch with Kable and Dennis
  • exploring the Burg
  • air mattrass fun
  • group messages
  • millions of phone calls/texts
  • dinner with friends
  • amazing party
  • Happy Birthday singing by an entire party of strangers 
  • deep conversations

Saturday

  • breakfast with Kable and Dennis
  • sit in on tap/ballet class
  • bus ride to Seattle
  • crazy hobos, shuttle drivers, waitors
  • night in Seattle with Kable
  • trying to get tickets to The Book of Mormon
  • dinner
  • cheesecake

Sunday 

  • 5:30 AM alarm
  • crying at the airport
  • saying goodbye to my boo
  • crying some more
  • plane ride to Boise
  • shopping with Mom&Dad
  • drive to Twin Falls
  • birthday dinner
  • presents
But the best parts were the people, the memories, the conversations. 
I want to go backkk. 
**pictures soonnn**

1.16.2013

When you're about to leave...

you realize who really cares about you
and who doesn't
you talk to new people
you feel alone even in a crowded room
you realize how much you have yet to do
you make 500 lists
you wish it was tomorrow or a year from now
you get stressed out
you cry over everything
you hug your mom all the time
you start packing early
you scramble to get everything done
you feel like you'll never make it
you research everything
you get really excited


it all depends on the day.
but moving on, leaving, changing...
are all good things.
and i am ready.

1.15.2013

"Uhm, I think my tire just fell off..."

Monday's are never good.
We always dread them. 
Only to find out that really, they are just another day
or just how you make them.
Heck, we could start dreading Tuesday's and just because we knew it was Tuesday we would have a bad day. 
Jusss sayin.
Anyways, I am pretty sure I took the trophy for a Bad Monday yesterday.
It started out pretty normal, just working till 4.
All normal stuff at work, ya know.
Nothing bad, nothing amazingly good.
I left work at 4 to head home to grab my sister, Katie, then meet a friend, Kiefer, at coffee. 
Got home.
Left again.
As I am driving my car (sister in passenger seat) my car started making even worse noises than usaul.
{back story: my car always makes weird clunking noises}
but they were worse than ever.
Then as we continued, we hit a bump...and on as i pushed on the gas, I could feel something was up.
the noises got worse.
So, I'm driving, really slowly at this point. . . when. . . 
CRASH, BOOM, BANG, SCRAAAPPPPEEEEE.
*I stopped, thank goodness.*
"I think my tire just fell off."
*looks in side view mirror"
"Yup, it definitely did."
And so, here is my sister and I, stopped in the middle of a busy road, with 3 wheels attatched.
Luckily, my luck was in FULL SWING.
Right as this happened, a nice man stopped his truck and talked to us to make sure we were okay.
Then, literally 30 seconds after this, a cop passed by and stopped to help.
I called my dad, my sister called Kiefer to pick us up, the police man called a tow truck.
Kiefer came.
The tow truck came.
Katie and Kiefer sat in Kiefer's car.
I stood in the 12 degree weather for about an hour.
But, hey, it actually all worked out pretty well.
We had my car towed to my house. . . where it rests.
And nobody was hurt.
Quite a traumatic experience though. . . 
Good thing I took some pictures too, because these are gems. 
Feel free to laugh, I did. 
Bye bye, Priscilla (my car) you were. . . cute. 






1.10.2013

now boarding the plane to birthday fun.

I just purchased a ticket to go see Kable over my birthday!!!!!
Next Thursday I will be boarding a plane to Seattle and I couldn't be happier.
Or more excited.
Best birthday present ever. 
Thanks, self. 

1.07.2013

how to win a date 101

It was a Sunday evening just like any other.
HAHAHA
okay, no it wasn't.
I had way too much caffine yesterday and as a result, I went slightly cray cray.
And by cray cray, I mean I went to all of my clostest FB friends...
and starting liking every. single. one. of. their. profile. pictures.
I'm pretty sure I liked about 1,000 pictures, no joke.
As I was doing this, I started to get a lot of cyber attention.
and everyone loves that.

This is in chronological order of how things happened...

Wall posts... :)


My status... 
Read these in the order I numbered them... :) 
Sydney's status...

Wall posts.... :)

My sister's lovely posting of this picture...

And then, this morning.........


 And, that, my friends, is how you win a date.
check all this out for yourself on my facebookpage...




1.04.2013

the past little while.

the past two weeks have been the best time, practically, ever.
 And I want to tell you all about it, 
but I don't want to bore you. 
So, in picture form, the past couple of weeks have been like this. 
to start things off, MY BEST FRIEND CAME HOME!!!!
Christmas Eve. Sister Love.
Christmas Day we went to Les Mis with a ton of fiends.
My other best friend came home, and we played in the snow :)
I had an absolutely amazing night with best friends. Before we went to Chilies Friday, we had a mini photoshoot.
At Chilies we met up with a few other friends and my boyfriend.
Who isn't really my boyfriend.
But I pretend he is.
And that we have been dating for like 7 months.
He's okay with this.
Chase, btw. :)
After Chilies we went to my house and watched Pitch Perfect.
Always Pitch Perfect.
Next adventure was CSI basketball watching with my faves.
After the game, we got in the car and drove to Jack in the Box ( I know, ew)
But I ate my first bite of beef in 4 YEARS!
Big deal.
I felt sick.
And next came New Years Eve.
Which was possible the best night ever.
I spent it with so many people, and I just wish I had taken more pictures.
We went party hopping and saw a ton of old friends.
At midnight, I kissed Kable... because he is my best friend and there is no better person :) 



That about sums up the amazingness of my life.
At least my favorite moments.
Everyday was full, exciting, and fun. 
So blessed with amazing people. 
<3 










1.02.2013

left unsaid...



I realized that maybe, okay, definitely, I left some of 2012 out.
And although it is now the 2nd, which apparently isn't as cool as the 1st, I am still going to spill the beans.

Last year was, and will forever be, one of the hardest years of my life. Every body is saying that, I know. But I feel as though you should know why 2012 was the worst year.

It all started about this time one year ago. Things were happening with my friends that caused me many sleepless nights, tears shed, many worries, and deep sorrows. But since that is not my story to tell, I wont.
Throughout the next few months, I was hurt over and over again by friends and first loves. Hurt, but not entirely broken.

Fast forward to graduation time. I was having a really hard time with that. Because, I was afraid of change, I didn't know what I was doing with my life, I wanted to stay in high school forever. Wanted to... just for clarification. Also, one week before graduation my parents were going through a tough time with business things that our family was stressed and worried every day. Annnd, I learned a secret about my father that I will never forget, and that did, even though I deny it, hurt me a little. For him, I won't share that secret.

Summer was different, as everyone was moving, changing, blah blah blah.

Because of the business issues I mentioned earlier, my mom was forced to resign from her job, and open her new business. Which was stressful, insane, but so dang worth it.

Then. Here we go. July 23, 2012, two weeks before the prospective opening date of my mom's new office. The day I found out the most life changing, terrifying news of my life. My mother, my beautiful, healthy, strong mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She told us that nothing in 'our family was going to change', she was 'going to be alright', and 'I love you, I love you, I love you.' That day, July 23, 2012 was my worst day. One week later she was taken into surgery. As my family sat in the waiting room, we all looked like the life had been taken straight out of our eyes. After a couple of hours we were told she was out of surgery and we would be able to see her soon. The date of her surgery was August 1, 2012.

Just to start this off, you should know that my mom is the strongest person in the entire world. Four days, yes four days after her surgery, she opened her office. August 6, 2012. Which was scary, insane, exciting, and nerve racking all together.

During the time of all this was my major turning point. When something is sprung upon you that is literally life or death, you realize just how much you have. Just how many people care. And just how much you love your family.

It was at that stage in my life where I stopped to realize the greatness that surrounded my life. But also the time in my life where I got more depressed than anything.

The next and last months of 2012 came and went as I thought about life and it's values every single day. Life is the most precious gift ever given, and if you are reading this, you are so incredibly lucky. At times we all forget the big picture, focus on the bad, and sulk, but we all need to stop. Life. is. great.

2013. That's whats next. And we are all going to take it as it comes and enjoy every moment of it, because you never know what the next day holds.

1.01.2013

one million memories.

Even though 2012 was probably the most challenging and hard year yet, it made me 10X stronger. I learned so much about myself, my family, and my friends. I made new relationships, lost some old, and made some ultimately stronger. I spent 2012 with the most amazing people on this planet. I just want to thank each and every person involved for making my life the special story it is. I wouldn't trade my life for any other. 

in 2012 I...
  • GRADUATED
  • made countless friends
  • found myself
  • went to my first concert
  • started a blog
  • ate beef for the first time since 8th grade
  • enjoyed life
  • took part in 2 stage productions
  • got accepted into AmeriCorps
  • met new people
  • made 100 skype calls
  • fell in love
  • became happy
  • said goodbye
  • lost trust/gained trust
  • smiled everyday
  • had an amazing year
  • spent the night in the hospital
  • saw Les Mis on stage and in theaters
  • got addicted to Pinterest
  • took a billion pictures
  • loved every second of it



201213
let's do this.