work, camp, and working at camp

Yesterday was my last day at work, and I can't help but smile about it! I was thankful to have a job, don't get me wrong. But these smelly piles are not what I want to spend the rest of my life with. lol

There are some parts of the job I will miss though!! Like talking to my friends that I made there. Here is my bud, Ed, and me :)

...on my way home... last time to wear the scrubs :)

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Packing today for my trip to New Mexico! I think I am almost done with everything. Blogging was on my list of things to do today. I am sad that Keep Youth Camp and Mode Camp overlap each other. I've been to Mode every single year of my life but one :-/ I'm hoping to make it back in time for at least the last service.

Last night we were up at camp working and cleaning. Since I will miss camp I wore my (very dirty from working) Mode shirt last night to show 'team spirit' :)

I love these girls!!

the adults weren't the only ones working ;)

oh the the guys were working too :P

well, I should get back to packing... actually I should probably stop soon or I won't be able to fit things in my bag! :-/ I am leaving tomorrow afternoon and will be out in the boondocks with no blogger, facebook, email, texting, etc. (oh and I will be totally fine btw.. for those of you who worry about my well being lol) So long for now. Please pray for me as you think of it.

feelings

so happy i finally finished my independent study homework last week and put it in the mail this morning :)
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ecstatic that i turned in my two weeks notice at work... which means i will soon be on my way to NM for two weeks!!
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bittersweet that when i get back from my trip that my lil sis is getting married.
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and i don't want to think about life after that....

scary student teaching and the end of life as i know it.

kinda excited that i will be finally finished with college... but not knowing the next step... yeah i need to think about something else for awhile. lol
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overwhelmed because between now and July 18 i have 6 bolero jackets to sew, t-shirts to alter, and skirts to make/fix
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glad i have the day off today and i'm gonna go start on all this :D

summer life

I have had many different things happen recently that I thought... "I should blog that." But days later, I cannot remember what it is that I should have blogged. Here are a few that stand out fresher in my memory.
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I have been reading Oswald Chambers. Last week this particular quote stood out to me and the idea has been fresh on my mind every day since.

"The routine of life is actually God's way of saving us between our times of great inspiration which come from Him. Don't always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God."

This goes along with my next ramble... Twice yesterday I was told to "make it a great day". And I actually had a really good day. My job has been a rough adjustment for me. The work is overwhelming and I feel pressured to constantly rush. This tends to make me grumpy and I get a bad attitude.

Throughout the day, when something would go wrong, "make it a great day" would come to mind; it was helpful to me :)

Slowly but surely I am becoming faster (almost sounds like an oxy-moron) with my work. I can now fold a 40lb. load of sheets in 15 minutes, and a 45lb. load of bed pads in about 8 minutes. And today I managed to do one more load than I had the day before... 15!

Needless to say, when I come home the LAST thing I want to do is laundry!! :P

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I got a summons for jury duty the other day. I always thought that would be a cool experience, but was never summoned before. Well, I got it in the mail. They want me to serve on jury duty for a year! .... in Montana!! What in the world?! I have not lived there in 4 years!! LOL It made me laugh, now I have to still fill out the paper work and send it in with my new address and information, thus proving I have a reasonable excuse for requesting exemption.

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I just got off of the phone a few minutes ago with the library. I just renewed a book for the second time. I don't know when it has taken me this long to read a novel! I am the type of reader who picks up a book and 4-5 hours later it is complete. Well, this one is a little longer... but still!!

I have stepped out of my box of familiar genre so to speak. A friend encouraged me to read one of her favorite books, Eragon. I did, and really enjoyed it. I am now reading the sequel, Eldest. It is the first time I have read any fantasy type books. I think these would be comparable in style to the Lord of the Rings or Chronicles. Hopefully, I will find the time to complete it soon. I think a third is now being written and will soon be printed, maybe I will finish it by then lol.

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My brother, Ben, who is in the Air Force, surprised everyone and came home for a visit. He will be here for a week :D It is such a happy thing!! I am glad I have at least 2 days off work while he is home.

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I am surprised (probably shouldn't be lol) this post has ended up being this long. I must stop now and get ready for church, among other things.

Happy Fathers' Day!

I have been very privileged to have such an awesome Dad. My Dad has always been there for me! And I have so many great memories!

Thank you, Dad, for being the best possible father to me!! I love you so soo much!
~punkin

I am sad that I do not have my own computer with all my pictures, but I did find this one to post.

work

I got a job. Whoohoo! Well, before you get too excited for me... it is one of those bearable ones that bring in some money :) definitely not my first pick. I survived two days of training and will be on my own starting Monday. I think once I get used to the smell and build some muscles in my arms I might possibly actually maybe enjoy it ;) we'll see. Here are a few pictures I took on my cell phone.

The worst part is sorting the dirty laundry


and loading it into the washers


after it is clean, it is just a lot of physical labor

Wet clothes can be very heavy!!! And hot sheets really burn your hands!

All of this takes place at Doctor's Nursing Home :D (My sis, Rhoda, is a CNA here and was able to let me know about the opening and put in a good word for me.) Aside from sorting, washing, drying, and folding I also get to pick up dirty laundry from each of four halls 4+ times a day and then deliver each of the loads to their clean linen closets. Hopefully I will be able to complete the expected 17 or 18 loads. It was easy to do that many with two of us working together... but we'll see :)

Well, I must share the computer, I have been informed that I have been online a LONG time, and I have a sibling waiting for a turn ;)

tons of pix!!

Hello! Since it has been so long, I thought I had better remind you of who I am and what I look like. Do you like the nice bright white forehead? yeah, me too! Well, I am still alive and am enjoying my summer.

My sis, Anna, let me use her camera... so here are a ton of scary, odd, fun, and whatever adjective you want to insert here... pictures. I did not feel like dragging them around and yelling at the computer and messing stuff up, so they are in very scattered order. Yes, I am relaxing from my ocdness that I often get tagged with, it must come with the summer thing. :)

Tab just had surgery on her foot, and is incapacitated for the next several weeks :( poor thing. She is definitely getting a lot of attention! Although I am sure the pain overrides that feeling of joy.

my mom also had to go for surgery this week... our living room is a hospital with beds, pillows, meds, and anything imaginable, laying everywhere!! my dad is giving meds to mom before leaving for work

Rhoda working on wedding invitations (you rarely see her without her scrubs... she works constantly!)

one of those lighter non-working moments with Josh umm... not sure if it's a race or what?!!

Wallace and Winona... they only look cute.. well maybe they are okay, but are sometimes annoying!


Anna and me... here we are with our beautiful white foreheads. What's with the goofy flash?!

and with Tim... notice how he towers over me. i am sadly the shortest in the family. even Josh is taller now and he is only 11 years old! *sigh

my dear friend, amanda, it is so great having her near all summer!

we had a fun volleyball night ... here Dorinda and I are cheesing it and enjoying life

and with Carma... k definitely laughing about something!


Amanda and Kim discussing the answers to all of life's problems... 'hey just relax and play ball!' lol they did lots of that :)

here is my little corner for the summer. i like having my friends near sight and mind. :) i love, miss, and pray for ya all!! the sticky tack is working so far to hold you up LOL

my bed not too exciting but fairly comfy

poor Teddy spends all day up there alone

Anna took this one of me while i was blogging all the others... so i decided to tag it to the end.

I hope everybody is having a great summer! Leave me comments :) I am around here somewhere until the next time. :D oh and btw... yes, i am wearing the same outfit in all the pix... that is because most of them were taken today. but if you choose not to believe that and think i have not changed or showered since i have been home... well believe what you want lol :P

well it is bedtime... but you probably already had that figured out judging by my writing style. yes, i am tired but a lil wound up. :) laterz

dumb

You don't even have to read this unless you are extremely bored; I wanted to update but was too tired to write, so here are some....

Completely Random Questions:

What's your favorite sports drink? Don't really like gatorade type drinks... so I guess water

Do you wear sunglasses while driving? yes

Look to your left. Name the first thing you see. freezer (boring)

What ink cartridge does your printer take? i don't have a printer

Last magazine you read. Can't remember

Last phone call: mom... 15 seconds... got bacon out of freezer for her :)

Favorite kind of potato chips? Sun Chips

At around 3:00 PM yesterday you were doing what: sewing :)

How many burned CDs do you have? not many... a couple that someone gave me

Cereal you couldn't live without? cinnamon life, lucky charms

What's the one thing you couldn't afford to leave behind? cell phone

Ever gone bungee jumping? nope

How about jumping on a trampoline? of course

Do you still live with your parents? when i'm not in college

Temperature outside? 59 degrees

Ever read a motivational book? yes

What kind of toothpaste do you use? aquafresh or anything good i can get my hands on

Best pizza place in town? hmmm dominoes is okay

How many friends on your Facebook list? too many lol 254

How many of those do you know personally? hmm... idk probably 200+

Ever stomped on an ant and felt like godzilla? not really

Best computer game is? solitaire

If you had 24 hours to live, what would you do? spend time with my favorite friends and family.

Last book you read? Eragon

Was it any good or was it terrible? stepping out of my box... but i liked it

Coke or Pepsi? neither... Dr. Pepper

How bad are your allergies? not too bad

How many pairs of socks do you own? umm no idea... maybe 23?

How does this survey compare to others that you've taken? haven't taken many cuz they are all goofy... this one is no exception

I am going to bed now.

home sweet home

I made it home last night, and have had a relaxing day so far today. I wanted to just get on here real quickly and say hello. The family computer is a busy one... so we'll see how often I will get a chance to blog.

It is hard to concentrate and collect my thoughts when the house is full of chatter boxes... still getting used to having more than one roommate again ;) But in the mean time, hope this is at least somewhat 'legible' lol and not too insane!
(Laura, I know for sure that no matter what time of day, how many people are around, or where I am blogging, my posts will never be as English correct as yours. lol I know what the rules are... but my blog is one place I do not follow them!) :)

Well, much excitement to my friends who I am looking forward to seeing... and many wonderful memories of my friends that I already miss from school. Have a great summer!

Happy Mothers Day!!

To the greatest Mom in the world!!

here she is with her favorite dog, Sir Wallace


musical memories :)


yes, she had us all!


and still does :)


this is my favorite pic of me and my mom
(i debated not posting it... but hey, I was just a lil kid, right?! lol)


Thank you, Mom, for everything! You are the best! I am sorry I could not be there to celebrate with you! I will be home soon! I hope today was very special!
I LOVE YOU!!!
~Esther Faye

my day as of 3:30pm

I'm sitting at work and it is really quiet... nothing to do right now. Then the moment I open this page to blog, the phone rings, someone pops up on the instant messenger and another person walks up to desk talking to me. Isn't life just insanely odd sometimes?! lol

Anyhow, I am going to attempt a post, and hopefully the flow and readability will not be too greatly hindered :)

I am in a very cheery mood today. I am actually wearing orange, which is a color I do not wear often at all (I am not even certain I own any orange clothes). I borrowed my roommates shirt this morning. So there is an odd piece of news for you. I am not certain if it has subconsciously lent itself to my perky outlook or if this would have been a happy day all on its own, orange or not.

I started the day with Starbucks at 6am and studied for my Math final. I headed back to school then and was prepared to go to my class at 8am. The crazy exam schedule still has not seared itself in my brain very well, even after 5 years of GBS! I soon realized that indeed my test was not until 9:35. So I got another hour and half of studying and a bagel w/ cream cheese.

Both final exams, Math Concepts & Applications and Principles of the Christian Life II, went smoothly, and were even a little easier than I expected. I got my good passing grade already for Principles and am fairly confident about Math as well.

Even happier than that is the fact that these two finals were/are my ONLY final tests!! I have to finish my Independent Study for OT and finish some other projects for another class, but my tests are done for this semester. It is such a relief!

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one more random fact then I am wrapping this up :)

Some day when I am married and have kids (yeah, I say it like I assume it will be in the future somewhere) I have decided that I will do all my grocery shopping at 5am. The kids will still be sleeping, the roads are mostly empty, and the grocery store is mostly empty, except for the shelf-stockers. Which only means that you will be purchasing fresh, or at least fresher food.

Well, it is a good thought anyhow, we'll see if it takes form millions of years down the road ;)