At least It's Not Drugs

Heather and I feel well prepared for the coming Finals. We both have wrestled with the unhealthyness of our decision but when it comes down to being awake till 3 in the morning (as we were last night) doing homework or finishing online tests, it doesn't become a matter of being unhealthy, it's merely a survival tactic. Oh and mom don't worry it could be worse, it could be drugs.

Finally A Peace

For many years my passions have been spit between doing something that I love and pursuing something that I think I will love. I have performed since I was a tot and theater has always been apart of me, I am a bit theatrical in everyday speech. However I have known that I have always wanted to get into the medical field as well. This has been a huge struggle for me in the last three years especially. Not knowing which to pursue. I have always thought that if I went into acting I would be a struggling waitress and never get that big break, and reality thats probably really very true. However I have also thought that if I go into the health field I could be giving up on something really good, something that I love, a dream of mine. I don't like to quit and either way felt like quiting to me. I have wrestled and prayed and have never really felt a peace one way or another, untill now. In the last week I have had such an amazing overwhelming feeling of relief and peace about pursuing one dream, and that is nursing. I am ok with not being on stage or being in shows. I don't doubt that it will be hard to sit in my seat and not wish that it was me on stage, but I am ok with that thought right now, something that I have never felt before. I am not going to say that I will never come back to acting or theater, however I am putting it on hold for now, and to be perfectly h0nest it would be ok if I didn't come back to it. I know I never thought I would be saying this, and that excites me because I know that it is God that is giving me this peace about the whole decision. I have also been thinking about all kinds of nursing, I have always liked the idea of working in the ER but I have been thinking a lot about being a Flight Nurse, or a Neonatal Nursing, and Labor and Delivery Nursing, I think all of those would be amazing. As I look at my career path I am getting really excited. I am volunteering at a World Aids dinner and Luncheon, I just applied to volunteer for monthly blood drives, I am applying to volunteer at Children's Hospital here in Seattle, and I am also in the process of becoming a nanny for a family over by UW. They have a 4, and 2 and a new born as of January, so I know that if it works out it will be a challenge, but I love working with kids, and I loved my summer job working as a nanny for wonderful children of almost the same age and I feel well prepared and up for the challenge. I am getting excited about the future and to see what else God has in store for me. For now I will just trust that He knows what He is doing and will enjoy everystep, no matter how steep.

A New Day

So this weekend has had its ups and downs. With the opening of the show things have been rocky and it just seems that satan has been attacking this show. We have had so many things happen, first one of the girls broke her leg, so we had to re-cast. Then our whole light system failed three days before opening, then on opening night the sound system went out completely, and we had to do the whole show without sound. Then the following night, the girl that replaced the girl that broke her ankle tripped on a stair and slightly sprained her ankle...awesome! There has also been some personally challenging things that have been thrown my way this weekend. However my family came up which was wonderful. I got to see my parents and Lo and Kiki. Today we walked around Greenlake, it was beautiful and I felt so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving and supportive family. Also tonight was also Worship night, it was amazing. Singing is definately my form of worship and it was two hours of singing and praying...I loved it. It was charismatic and free. It reminded me that God is in control and this is still his Kingdom, not the worlds or mans. Tomorrow is a new day and I am looking forward to catching up with my creator!

And the Curtain Goes Up

So about a month and a half ago I auditioned to be in the play here at Seattle Pacific. It was called the Alto Part, I had never heard of it and was a little anxious to tryout. I was so comfortable in high school auditioning, I actaully looked forward to the audition process. But this was different, I didnt know anyone and no one knew me and worst of all...I had to sing. Let me give you a recap, back my freshmen year I was in the Barlow choir. I got a solo in the first concert of the year, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." I was so excited, so it came time for my part and I emerged out of the choir and walked up to the mike, the words just flowed from my mouth (of course it was magical) until I realized that I was singing the verse that the girl was singing right before me. I stopped singing and started humming, I looked at my director for help, nothing. So I hummed and smiled. Later sohphmore I was in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" when it came to the night for my solo, I faked sickness so I didnt have to sing (this is a bit of a confession, because up until now I think everyone thought I really was sick...well now you know!) All this to say, I dont like to sing in public anymore. So I find out that this play is not a musical, but that there is singing. So I have to prepare a 1 minute monologue and a song of my choice, of course I chose a classic, "Amazing Grace." I also decided to write my own monologue. I guess it was alright because I got the part. And after rehearsal and rehearsal of messing up the song, I have finally learned my part correctly and am not completely hopeless (don't get excited, it's not a solo.) The play is set in 1956, Texas. I play Ethyl Roberts a 57 year old who is very...friendly but sort of naive rash and socially ignorant. I love it though. She is a blast to play. I have also never had to wear a wig or old lady makeup before and its fun, sort of a hassle but I love it. And the girls in my cast are amazing! Love them. Anyway if you still want to come it runs November 20-22. Come come!

MakeUp Master Don Yanik

Getting Ready

We have to do this to our hair everynight so we can put our wigs over...Thank you Chelsea!

Before...

After...

MMmmm yes

Our Wonderful Stage Managers, Ali and Elizabeth

The Whole Cast

Oh OlaBelle

We give it two thumbs up!

Lets Catch Up

I have been here for about seven weeks and there has been so much going on in my life. However when sitting down with my roomate Heather to think about all the big things that have happened so far we were at a loss for words. It seems that its all the small things that have made up our experience in college so far. I have compiled a list of the little things that I have loved in college, things that have scared me and things I fear and look forward too. Lets Catch Up:


1. Raids: We have this thing called raids when a girl floor will raid her brother floor. Which is when at ten minutes before curfew we run up to the guys floor and run up and down the halls banging on all the doors screaming and yelling RAID! then the boys come down and we take them somewhere, usually for an activity or game. We did one a couple weeks ago and we took the boys to the center of campus and told them that we were going to be playing capture the flag. But when we yelled go we pelted them with water balloons...and then we played, unfortunately they killed. Being tired and lazy I mostly sat in the jail with the boys and conversed about life. Afterwards we gave them pop and cookies, it was a blast. We are waiting for them to raid us back, however we have a huge girl floor. We have around 5o girls on my floor, our brother floor has 17...awesome.


2. Roomies: All of the girl floors do a traditional roomies, which is when your roomate finds a secret date for you, and you for her. Then you meet the night of the date and go do something fun. We decided to go to a haunted house ( I say we as in my floor, because you know I would not be Choosing to go to a haunted house...hell no!) but since I didnt want to be lame I went along with it. So my dates name was Shane, super cool guy, he accidently slash I sort of already sqeezed it out of Heather (she's not a very good liar, and I'm a poopy roomate) that he was my date. We immediately got along really great. One night we both couldn't sleep so we ended up staying up till 5:30 in the morning together, just talking about life. Come the night of the haunted house I was a little anxious. I dont do well with scary things, Im sort of an anxious person around that sort of stuff, so I told him that and being a perfect gentlman he offered to stay out with me, but I didnt want to be lame. So for the first 10 seconds I was holding the back of his jacket waiting for my death, by the end of the maze I found myself completely wrapped around him with my face burried in the back of his jacket. After those first 10 seconds I never opened my eyes once the rest of the haunted house...awesome. I must have been a super fun date. After that though we ended up going to Dicks! Love It! and Shane and I have become super good friends!


3. Dicks: Dicks is our local hangout if you will. Its over on Queen Anne, which I live on. Its got super cheep, decent food. Hamburgers and fries and milkshakes, only the classics, and it's open till 2 in the morning, there have definately been some late night food runs..Love It!!







4. Laziness: So it is really easy to be super lazy in college, you live in your school. So showering has definately not been a priority. Sleep definately wins. So Heather is constantly waking me up in the morning to help me shower, or else I just keep sleeping. Dont worry I do shower I never go more than a day without, I have friends that go about four, Im telling you college, makes you lazy! Hats definately come in handy!



5. LOST: So at college you find yourself with sometimes a lot of free time. I I found a TV show that I could watch online, all four seasons for free. My friend Bethany and Hannah love it and talk about it all the time so I thought I would try it out, I ended up watching the complete first season in less than a week. Thats 18 hours in six days. I have just recently finished the second season which took me a bit longer, but I am proud to say that I am onto the third season now...K what the crap Michael!! And what the crap is going on!?





6. Music Video: So smart me I found a casting call for a music video on craiglist, I know I know it already sounds sketch. So I started emailing this guy, he is local, he is a composer but he wants to start getting into directing. We eventually met for coffee and had an interview and he told me that I had the job. Dont worry I didnt go alone, please I maybe a suburban girl but I have my street sense. I brought my guy friend Omid, he goes to UW. There were multiple days that we shot scenes and stills and Omid actually ended up being in it too. Its not finished being edited yet but I will keep you posted! (Don't get too excited I this was his first directing gig and I was sort of the guinea pig.)


7. The Alto Part: I got into the play here at Seattle Pacific. Its called the Alto Part, its set in Texas in 1956. Its an all girl cast of 6 people. I play Ethyl Roberts, she is 57 or so years old and is a bit social...not there. She is pretty goofy but I love it, she is a blast to play. I get to wear a wig! Its a super short bob and its grey and I get to wear old lady makeup. The cast of girls I work with are amazing! I love them dearly and I have enjoyed getting to know each and everyone of them! (pics to come)




8. Chemistry: Ugh school. My work load hasnt been too challenging here ao far, but chemistry is getting there. I doubt myself sometimes when it comes to school and when I get intimidated by other smart people. Oh I especially love when you walk out of a test and your like "wow wasnt that test..." and they yell "Easy!" and your like "...yah...uh easy...right" ....jerk But its getting there. I hope to be at a A or high B. I guess its just one step at a time though.




9.Pikes: We finally got to go to Pikes. I had been there before but I hadnt been since we moved here, neither had heather. So we had a day off and we went. It was so much fun, we went with our friends Chelsea and Mary. Mary is hilarious she loves to buy local, she is all about that, so she probably bought produce from 3 or 4 different vendors, and she was quizing all of them about where they buy their produce and if its organic enough. We love her! Such a fun time, then we went to this really pretty mall in the middle of seattle. Fun Day!






10. The Little Things.: So it has been so much fun having Heather for my roomate we are both really chill and go with the flow, so there hasnt been any conflict and just losts of goofy sometimes awkward and fun moments. Like for Halloween, while everyone was out at partys or in Seattle or going to the dance, we went for a jog, then came back and watched some greys anatomy, and gossip girl. (even though we both recognize the show to be no good, its so hard to say no...crap) Then we played a little scrabble and called it a night. We find that we are amazingly dull and we love it! We can find entertainment in the little things. The other day we got an actaul cable cord from the store and now we have cable!! We were stoked. so to celebrate we watched Center Stage...the sequel! We felt like tinyboppers. But it was so fun. Durign the commercial breaks we sprinted to the university store to get popcorn only to find that it was closed so we sprinted back, heaven forbid we should miss any of this extroadinary movie. There are also multiple times where Heath and I have been super hungry at like 10 at night, so we make up some mac and cheese in a pan (with water because we cant afford milk) (oh and we cant afford bowls either, or spoons for that matter) so we eat it right out of the pan (dad you would be so proud!) and we eat it with spoons that we stole from the cafeteria (dont worry dad we will return them, a couple of them really were by accident) One night we got a little crazy, sometimes homework will do that to you. So we climbed over the register counter and stole this monkey dog thing. We took it back to our room and dressed it up and then took picutres with it. We called her Dory...the Dorilla. So that is a lot of what happens on a day to day scene. I know we're pretty bomb!

Its been awhile

My life has been crazy busy. I live in Seattle now!! and I love it. I think even though I have grown up in the suburbs I am a true city girl at heart. It has been really nice being so close to the city. The first week of school I wanted to go for a walk and it was beautiful outside. So where my school is is right by the water, or the canal, and there is a awesome path right along the water. So I started off, the leaves were beautiful and there were tons of runners and bikers it was beautiful and about a mile down the path I turn a corner and there it was "the emerald city!" It was massive and all spreadout in front of me, gorgeous! I didnt want to stop so I kept on going. Pretty soon I noticed that it was getting dark and I still needed to head back to campus. So I started jogging back. It had been awhile since the sun had set now and slowy all the runners and bikers started to dissapear, I got a little nervous, so I turned down my Ipod and started looking over my shoulder. I had to go back through this little alley along the path that was super sketch so (because I have been trained so well by my mother) I picked up a huge rock and started running with it. If anyone was going to attack me at least I would give him a good knock. All to say that maybe I should check what time it is before I start going on 4 mile pleasure walks at night.

Mom and Me Day

So even though I live with my parents still, the quality time that we get to spend together is usually cut short by, well, life. So my mom and I decided that on Monday we would spend the day together just the two of us. We didn't know what we were going to do, we just knew it was together. So our day started by waking up at 5 in the morning to go to a workout class at 5:45. Then we came home and showered. She took a nap while I worked on my student loans and then we were off again. We started driving up to the mountain. We stopped at a camping site and parked in a lot and walked by a river, it was so peaceful and serene, we probably could have stayed there all day. The landscape on the way up is absolutely incredible, she kept pointing to the trees telling me to watch and I kept pointing to the road telling her to watch. As we drove up we started to pass Alpine slides, we both sort of looked at each other and said why not? So we bought two rides on the slides. We were both a little nervous, not having been on the slides for quite some time so we resorted to the slow lane. After that though we were geared up for the fast lane. The second time down we both got super fast sleds (its all about the sleds, if you get an old one your pretty much screwed.) So on our way down we started a 5 man pile up behind a sweet little blond girl that was inching along. When we got to the bottom of the hill, mom was very upset. She was so disappointed "Ah that little girl! I had such a good sled, I just wanted to really ride that thing! Man!" But to the fault of the line worker we were able to go up one more time. This time we waited for all the kids to go past us. I went in front of mom this time too. Man I flew! I get to the bottom and look back, no mom, i get out and start dragging my sled to the end, no mom, I continue to wait there until finally she starts scooting into the finish. What can I say, its a skill to fly, a skill that not all of us have.

The rest of the ride up the mountain she talked about how fast I went and how she just couldn't get it going, very frustrated. Our next stop was up at Timberline. We got out and there were hoards of snowboarders just finishing their runs. My mom turned and said "Probably not the place that you want your mom with you." I leaned in and grabbed her arm and said with a smile, "I dont mind." We had lunch up at the lodge. It was beautiful, our soup tasted like crap, that was not beautiful but the scenery was. We were going to ride the lift to the top but it stopped running at 1:30, so we couldn't go up. After walking around for a bit we decided to go downtown and go shopping, something we hadn't done since probably Christmas. I slept the whole way down, 5:45 workout classes can do that to ya. Shopping was awesome. My mom is the most gracious shopper. She gets so happy when she shops with any of us girls. I am very blessed to have a mom that gets delighted when I am happy. At the end of our shopping we got a bite at Chipotle...Amazing! What a fun day, I love spending time with my mom, I am a very blessed young woman to have such an amazing mother and friend, I am going to miss her very much next year!

Im going to say its been over seven years

In my guestimations I would have to say that it has been seven years since I have been to the Oregon Zoo. (I gather this guess from the last time that I remember the zoo, I must have been about ten or eleven and I was holding my adorable cousin Shane, we were walking past the monkey exibit when I think he caught a bit of jungle fever and decided to take a bite out of me. He bit through my sweatshirt and actually broke skin. Oh sweet memories, only at the zoo!) Lets just say I have totally been missing out on what this place has to offer! It was fantastic! I went with my older sister Tiffany and my nephew Curtis. While Curtis was busy checking out all the girl zoo workers, I was watching the tigers, bears and zebras. It was amazing, I felt like a child again, with wonder and glee in my eyes. These creatures are amazing! I could have just sat and contemplated what God was thinking with each individual stripe of the zebras' hairs. I am so thankful for a wonderful older sister that includes me in such festivities.Tiffany having to force Curt to watch the penguins, he was more interested in the fine lookin ladies It was a bit past Curts nap and he was starting to get a little cranky

On the car ride home however Curtis started to crash, which was bad news. By the time we got home his cat nap in the car turned out to be the only nap he wanted to take, so instead of his regular three hour nap, he decided that wide awake and cranky was the way to go. So Kiki and I watched Curt while Tiffany got to catch up on a little shut eye for herself. By watching Curtis I mean that Kiki and I were laying on the ground doing crunches watching "You are what you eat" on BBC while Curtis was smearing goldfish into the carpet. After Tiffs nap the two of us and Curt decided to head over to the Nike Factory Store and hit up some deals. These are some pics of Curtis totally approving of Dad's new job, (My brother in law Tony now works for Nike, a sweet job that he loves! The family does too, as long as the discounts keep rolling in...kidding, but no seriously.) Today was full and wonderful. I love the bonding time I get with my family and finally growing up and getting to that age where I can finally "hang" with my sisters and be there friend and not just the little sister! Some of my friends have been asking where have I been, what have I been doing and I get to say that I have been hangingout with my best friends, my sisters. I love spending time with them and getting to know them better as family but as people as well. I am very blessed.

Stuck at home with Kleenex up my nose

So thursday night I started to feel like I was coming down with something. I had a runny nose and a scratchy throat. At 2am I woke not being able to swallow and in pain when trying to breathe. I walked upstairs to take some airborne, knowing however that it is a preventitive not a fixer. To my surprise though I was able to breathe smoother. I went back to bed and continued to wake up every hour on the hour. At 7 in the morning though it was time to get up and embrace the day. I was set to babysit the Clauds at 8:30 and did not want to be late. During the morning I was probably the most lackadaisical sitter. We threw around the ball with the dogs for a bit in the back. Then after picking rasberries for about 15 minutes we encountered a cute little black and orange snake. Me being totally brave and secure decided it was time for us to hustle out of the garden and sit in front of the television. The remainder of the morning would usually be spent with me planning some dancing lessons or games of tag and run, however on this particular morning I was very creative and decided that multiple episodes of Spongebob was just the trick. After arriving home I decided it would be best if I didn't sleep because I knew I would be up all night. So I decided that I would indulge in about 12 episodes of the O.C., the high class, totally educational show of drama and scandal in the lives of the rich and beautiful. After getting a headache that seemed to travel outside of my body with a pulsing between my eyes I took some musinex and tylenol. Then I sat down with my father and together we watched Rendition, rating it at an ok, but not a must see. This morning I find that the throat feels a ton better and breathing has become bearable again. I guess a perk to this situation though is that I woke up this morning with that ever sexy Peobe from Friends sick voice. Side note: it is Kiki's Birthday today, Happy 24th! I love her and could not be happier that she is at home with her family again. It is also almost Tony's Birthday, Happy 29th, so we are celebrating his as well, I love you and what an amazing addition to our family you have been.So I look forward to celebrating this day with them, with kleenex up my nose.

Life Happens... anxiously

I am anxious about life. So many big decisions are being made and I am afraid to make the wrong one. I know at a certain point you just need to close your eyes and take the leap and trust that God has whats best in mind. I was really anxious about what school to go to and what city...or lack there of, to live in. I have decided that I will be attending Seattle Pacific University in the fall (go falcons!) and I am extremely excited. At the same time though I face huge financial barriers. I wonder if I am making a risky decision when I should make the smart decision and go to a community college, save the money and transfer my junior year. I have decided I am a risk taker and I would love to experience the whole dorm freshmen year life style. I will be rooming with one of my best friends Heather Canby, she is a rock and super supportive of me. I feel like I have been waiting so long to grow up and be on my own, completely independent, except for finances...cars...insurance, well somewhat independent. At least living out of my parents house. I am excited to see what the city of Seattle has in store for me and equally excited as to what I can give to it. I am going into pre-nursing and will be focussing most of my time and efforts into that field, however I will also be apart of the SPU theater program. My passion is theater and acting and I would love to pursue something, however I know how hard it is to make it in that field, which is why I am going into nursing. I am anxious to see how my 18 credits of pre-nursing classes collide with my everyday theater class from 3-5, plus the two plays that I have to try out for during the school year. So here it goes...not knowing whats to come I am ready to take that leap and head anxiously into the unknown.