its been over a month

wow how does that happen? i get in a groove and forget to write on here. things are going well around here. awaiting mom coming out here which always spices things up! :) mares and I are constantly getting used to being roommates and sisters. it works out extremely well because I never have to worry about not being friends after a fight!!! our house seems to finally be settling down and getting used to each other. we are all very busy with different things. but it somehow all has a rythmn to it. this time in my life has been a paradox to me. it is restful but full of a lot of unrest? can that be? i feel as though i need this break to be a waitress and live in a non structured environment for awhile where there is not a lot of pressure, but that is not what God has planned for me and I know it. Its hard to know that I am where I am at for now for a reason, but also realizing i have these gifts that are not being utilized to there full capacity in my current employment. BUT i am absolutely loving my work with the youth. honestly i just find them a breath of fresh air in my week. God has calmed my worries about "not being able to be a good leader" blah blah blah. its funny how i have begun to step out on obedience and doors have opened and i have found a strong fit for how I am wired to serve. I actually never thought about any of that before I sat down to write tonight. I keep missing all of these "whispers" God has put in my life. ugh. so right now I am struggling with whether or not to go to personal training school or online. I honestly feel as though it is the school or nothing because I know I cannot learn effectively online. I could barely and I mean barely handle lecture. I am a hands on learner. i think we all know that about me. I like to see and do. learn and then practice. have constructive criticism and do it again. But financially I am frustrated because I want to make the right choice on all accounts. I feel at a loss for what direction i want to go in. But when i sit there and think i get excited about helping and encouraging and maybe helping with a sports team. I don;t know. but I really need prayer with that. it sounds dumb but it has always been a passion of mine and I think it would utilize a lot of my strengths but also effectively build up some of my weaknesses. work is well...work. it has its ups and downs. and it is not what i want to do for the rest of my life. but I have made good friends and have been working my way up in the trust of my managers. :) so that makes me happy. I notice when I dont write for awhile it is always the heavy stuff. but I will tell some funny stories on here too!!! love you all and thanks for making my life so wonderful.
B

More bloggin for me

I saw this little fabric on etsy...sorry you guys now get all my blogging craziness. :) But it happens. It is by a place called boosterseat!

I thought that these were so cute! I found it on a blog and just thought they were hilarious. You can put them into an interchangable necklace! :)
B

Here we go again

today was a mixed up day. wake up. eat. clean a bit. realize I need more storage units. realize I have not worked in awhile so buying storage units seems like an expense I do not want to have. decide not to buy storage units quit yet. Mo calls. Comes over. We grocery shop. I then realize how little food I had. Big dent in food money for the month. But I have food. Home again. Help bring new soccer things over to new soccer field. I am the only girl there to help. But I am glad I could help my friend connor out. Its rediculously hot out. get burned-ish but impressively not too bad of one. get ready. woooooooork away. I was out of it tonight. just not all there. I was actually in a good mood I just think I had gotten out of the habit of having work regularly so it seemed to be extra effort to get my groove down and I did not feel very charming tonight. sometimes I just feel so amazingly flawless at things and sometimes I feel rather awkward. My tonight was an inbetweener. I had a few tables that just were rediculous and I tried to explain what they were getting and made sure they knew and they said they had had it before and then of course at the end of the meal is when all the complaints come out. that could be one of my biggest pet peeves is when I come up several times and walk through several times to make sure they have ample time for me to get them another thing or see what I can do....but at the end of the meal I am just kind of miffed. I do not have much patience for that. BUT I don't them know it! so here I am laying in bed ready to go to sleep. nothing too entertaining today. I just rammed my toe into the desk I took down to my living room....thats the thing about moving things places that are usually big object free. then when it is dark you forget they are there and then wham-o toe gets scrunchified. OH my do we have an abundance of zucchini. so many zucchini. I got some a week or more ago at the farmers market and so did alexis. then she got some from our neighbors and then I got a bunch from grandma. SO now we have so many zucchini and we need to find ways of using them so that we dont waste them. so i will keep you all updated on our zucchini adventures. love you all
peace
B

I need to change things up a bit

SO in an effort to begin all of this blogging again i am going to switch up my layout and make it more exciting again. I don't know what happened....well yes I do. Every time I get on here i just want to look at other peoples blogs and I forget that although my reader base is relatively small...i still do indeed have a reader base AND i need to continue writing about life happenings. because lets be honest I have a lot of changes going on and I am terrible about stating them when people ask how work is or how it is being out of college. I do not really like just listing off things and talking about myself. so this is a way of kind of talking about myself but in a more comfortable way for me. journaling to a live audience. oh my i was just thinking how much I missed this form of communicating. I am listening to the c.d. I got from haley(jake johnsons girlfriend) who was at the reunion and is a super good musical artist. I really like the c.d. and I am trying to see the metior shower but I can't tell if I am seeing the shower or I am telling myself I am seeing things fall. that is why i should watch those types of things with another person because then it is an experience shared together and I know for sure if I saw them fall. but it is a gorgeous night out. but I feel much better coming back from the reunion than I did when i came back from montana. but I still feel odd because i looked so forward to these 2 trips for so long that it is almost like I finally have to buckle down and realize that I am not going back to college and that one of my best friends is married and I am getting 2 new roommates and a list of other things too. but on our way home today grandma gloria and grandpa and I were talking about change and how no one is immune to it. and for some reason those kind of convos always help me take a step back and know that i will never arrive. its a journey and if I never learn to enjoy it then i will always live without really jumping in. and i feel tentative right now...like the grass is greener over there or over there. when my grass is perfectly green right here and I can't know what will happen but I can know lord willing I will be here for a year. and for now that is all I can seemingly know. but being with family this weekend was such a blessing because I just had a chance to play and be active and just be. I don't know but I came home physically tired but spiritually and emotionally so refreshed. what a great recharger and memories that will last a lifetime. games, canoeing, bananagrams, blongo, wiffleball, hiking, walking, hyme singing, no screen in our room, crazy loud, crazy fun, bochie ball, baseball card game.....I could go on for forever. I am so blessed.

Gracious Uncertainty

I seriously have not written on this blog in forever! But here I am again. Maybe it is because I do not know what to write because everything seems to be up in the air and i think the hardest part about all the change is that i realize it will never stop to a certain extent. My life will never look the same as in my years up to college and in college. there is a security there that is gone. and it is the oddest yet most freeing thing I have ever experienced. I have to avoid feeling like I am doing nothing at the moment. I just do not know where i should even be looking for a job and honestly it is hard to give myself slack because I feel like I should have more figured out then i do. I don't want to be married or anything of that nature but i have this adventure spark in me but I don't know where to place it in the scheme of things.... does it mean I need to move somewhere new or move to bozeman in a year etc etc.
my goodness sorry about that babble it just kind of came out and I am sure you will get to read more of it. But God is faithful and as so many church services ironically seem to be telling me....its small things. I keep feeling useless. But I know that is not a good attitude to have. But work is going well. It is so hard to start a new job, but I am somehow finding myself a month or more into the job and making money to live on and save. I am learning a lot about how much things cost, how many times I have to grocery shop and how much I like to get things on sale. Try saving 43% at safeway.....it is a real day booster. I am my mothers child after all! :) kales just got back from 6 weeks of adventures and is now working at tilikum with mares and her boyfriend chris. alexis is up in seattle getting her new car which needed some extra work done so she won't be back for a few more days. We all three have not all been here at the same time yet this summer! so that should be fun. pray that alexis can find a job here soon!!! she has not been able to find one. Also pray that we can find another roommate for the fall! It has been hard because about 3 or 4 women have dropped out on us! Anyways I that is some of the background from the summer thus far so that I can start writing on here more regularly! :) then everyone can know what is happening in the berg. mares is doing well too. tillikum is a lot of work, but she is learning a lot about being obedient to where God asks you to be and how that may not always look like how we initially expected. BUT we are both learning how to remember God's little blessings along the way because they can be so easily forgotten.
I love you all and I promise some stories about crazy happenings
peace
B

Summer '10

Well here it is. Summer. It has been too cold to even think it is summer here in Newberg though! It has been raining and really cloudy. This month so far has been FULL of adjustments. From moving in with 3 girls I hardly know... to starting to work with little kids everyday. It has been rough to say the least. I have been really struggling with balancing out my time between Tilikum people and Ryan and Bethany. It has been really hard on me. Tonight I am alone. Which is kind of nice. My roommates and I are doing well together. It is hard to just jump into people's lives and be forced to bond. Mainly because I have issues with opening up to people right away. Not my cup of tea. I really hope that my apartment gets close and that all of us enjoy living with each other. My roommate and I have not really clicked yet and that is rough on me. I feel like she will share her life with my other roommates but not me. I don't understand her and it frustrates me. Today was the first day of kids. It was pretty good so far! I have a group of 9 4th graders! They are so much fun! Abbie I share your love for the 4th grade! They are pretty dang cute! I went to the beach on a surprise date with Ryan this last weekend! We went to seaside! It was a lot of fun and I even got some sun! At the Oregon Coast!!! That is truly amazing! I am really exhausted tonight. I think that being around people non-stop can be draining... I miss home a lot. I miss family. I did not realize how much work it is to live on your own!!! Especially grocery shopping.... props to you mom. I love grocery shopping though! It is relaxing! Well it is until I see my bill at the end! Which people reassure me it is really not that much money... but I don't like to spend. But my little cupboard space is full of soup and cereal and bread and PB! It will last me :) I hope life is good for everyone. I miss you dearly. Please write me! Or e-mail me! Or text me! I don't have much time or spaces to talk on the phone. But I still want to hear from you!

I think this tops the charts everyone...as the weirdest week of ups and downs

I understand I have notwritten in about 3 months...i am terribly sorry. But that is what 18 credits, a social life, running and making sooo many coffee sleeves will do to a person. I literally cannot describe in words how up and down this week has been. Okay lets start with last tuesday shall we? alright. brief recap. fire alarms go off. evacuate buildings. happen to see cute, super nice canadian guy I have liked for awhile...oh wait he has his coffee mug he has asked me to make a sleeve for. boom. awesome. make said sleeve. happen to put my number in sleeve.....which I don't EVER do....so don't think this is an all the time thing. I am not going crazy at college. no worries everyone. so I sew my number on the inside. kinda clever. so I wait all day wednesday to give it to him. we have a no go on that front. then I finally get up the guts on thursday at lunch. wooot wooot. So afterwards i felt on top of the world because i had conquered a fear. then I try to put it out of my mind. But you all know me....do you think it was out of my mind? nope. never was. so I go about my business on friday. tapering. went to the empty bowls event for haiti (Awesome event idea in case anyone ever needs one....), then went to mr bruin and watched ryry do his dances and be ryry the science guy (mimicing bill nye the science guy) and jack be shaggy. hilarious. maybe there are videos I can post. enjoyable for all. so I am done with that and oh what do ya know there is a different number on my phone. except I had gotten a random call from a billings number earlier so i thought nothing of it. so I call it. turns out to be canadian bacon. woooo. yeah I was pretty excited about it. So he asked me to go swing dancing on sunday. Oh wait I forgot the part on friday where I got the offer to come in for an interview at nike for an entry level position. SOOOO swing dancing. funnsies. saturday roles around and we have our home track meet. 10k. epic fail. need I say more. BUT I will try another one in the next few weeks coming up here. saturday night....watch transformers. go to bed early. living the crazy life. sunday funday. wake up. no run. homework and applications and introductions for nike. go home. get ready for the night. kaley and I sit on the porch drinking ruby red squirt and diet root beer in goblet glasses. our neighbor lady makes convo with us about our pot. we continue waiting for canadian bacon. EXCEPT poor canadian bacon has had an extra long baseball game that last til about 5 or so. thus we left at 6:30 when lessons started at 7. and all you all know that I was sooo angry because I hate when plans are changed....thats a lie. Its all a part of the journey. so we head out and didn't get lost....which is impressive since I had the directions. went to the swing dance place, which was some freemasonry building...I don't know what that means, but they had a nice ballroom. the lessons were awesome. you travel around and it I had a ball. just meeting all sorts of people and oh my it was fun. and then the dance started and we just tried new swing moves and had people teach us things. I learned a lot actually and would totally go again! :) then came home to a house full of people because I was supposed to be helping out with the birthday sunday night that we had planned. i am a bad party planning committee member for not helping!!! But they would have been mad if i did not go on the date. so that is the way it goes I guess! so that was sunday funday for ya' all. then monday. went to the interview at nike and was riding on cloud 9 because i thought i did sooo well and i had just had a date the night before. what a great day. then tuesday. nah tuesday was just practicing for our senior business capstone presentation on wednesday and studying for a test that if I don't get a good grade on I am in the limbo of not passing.....so not stressful at all. BUT it was still a great day. very productive. still excited about the nike job. then comes along wednesday in all of its dawn until dusk working glory. so in class at 8:40 we practice presentations. then 10:30 get out. but we practice again. 11 eat lunch. final cram for 1130 finance test. 1230 go home to get super business-afied. 130 come back. more run throughs. 230 meet in the lecture hall. 3-7:45. present and listen. 8 come home and crash (yes I literally took a nap at 8 at night). 830 marketing group meeting. 830 find out nike has found a better candidate. 831 call mom and dad crying about it. 835 email the man to find out how I can do things better. 9 complete meeting. 901 try to search out jobs online. I don't really know why I had to write it all out. no one actually really cares. i think I am just sitting here flabbergasted at how many random things have happened this week. i am sure there are things that i am forgetting too. there is this car that just drove by that sounded like a UFO....just saying. it was like. weeeeeoooooooo weeeeeeooooooooo. but weirder. more like a firework mixed with an ambulance sound. aaah it keeps going up and down the street! are you serious people? ugh. sooo anyways. this is just my breakdown of the week and all of its glory. so I think today was when i hit my breaking point of not knowing where i am supposed to be or what I am even good at or capable of and how even though I may know parts of that i do not know where I should go from here. Oh but another positive.... Alan....the one I went and had the informational interview with? ring a bell? the one with the event place. he called his brother who then called ruth hargrove and apparently he found me very charming, which is ironic since I felt like I was a duddy pants that day. But he said he wishes he had a job for me. so I must have some sort of charisma. I hope those people email me back about nike. I just want to know. ya know? I get my hopes up way too high. Maybe it is being naive or maybe that is a good thing to strive for the best and expect it. because like kales said...when it does happen it will be that muchbetter. :) good thing I have such encouraging people around me. I can't imagine having no one to call. I know how much all of you are praying. I have been working on pride and realizing I have to know that not everything is going to go according to my little bethany plan. its hard. But I am growing up. which techniqueally I will be for the rest of my life. But there is a lot of changes happening as of right now and within the next two weeks and I am, to be honest, not sure how I am going to react and feel about it all. so I suppose more to come. I have once again blabbered on and on and on. meh. oh well.
OH AND LET THIS BE A WARNING TO ALL OF YOU....IF YOU KEEP ASKING ME ABOUT CANADIAN BACON OVER GRADUATION I WILL IGNORE. you can ask. just not in large groups of people when I could get easily embarrassed. please and thank you. I am entrusting you with information on my dating life and I know you will handle the information with class....because you are all classy people. :)
love you all
peace.
B

Hello there!

We both have not written in awhile! My birthday is in 2 days! I definitely keep forgetting. :) I will be 20! whoa baby. The next few weeks are pretty stressful for Bethany and I. We both have a lot to get done before I finish my Sophomore year and she graduates!!! Wooot! I'm so excited to have everyone out here!!!!!!! That will be fantastic! So I won't really get to celebrate my birthday cuz I have a sign language presentation that day that I will be nervous for ALL day. But I think Jodi and I will go out to icecream after it so that will be nice! Ryan is gone on my birthday too, which makes me sad. He is an alternate for the Conference Track Meet in Spokane so he heads there on Thursday. I can't wait until I don't wake up in the morning think about what I need to get done. THANK YOU FOR THE PERFUME GRANDMA!!!! I love it and it smells like summer! :) yum yum yum. It has been super nice outside this last week! Bethany and Kaley made iced tea yesterday and sat on their porch! Perfect thing to do in the sunshine. I am still waiting on a model job. I should be going in this Friday to get my portfolio and talk to them a little bit and see what is happening. I just want to work! Tonight Bethany and I are going on a run then I have cooking lab! My last cooking lab of the year! We went to G&G's last Thursday! It was so much fun to see them and eat Grandma's delicious food! mmm! I better go because I have class soon but I will try to write more!

Where did the time go?!

So here I am. Back at school. Why do breaks always go so fast?! I was surprised at how much I did and how little time there was to spend time with people! 5 weeks left of school. woofta. Here are some prayer requests for the next 5 weeks.. 1) to be able to focus and finish strong... especially in accounting. For some reason that class is extremely difficult for me! I am so afraid of failing it! I just really do not like it!!! I have to work so much harder than everyone else! 2) for a few model jobs before summer. I was bummed that I had two castings in Portland while I was at home and I could not go to. Those are great opportunities! But being with family was waaaaay more important!
I already miss everybody! I wish we could have seen Grandma and Grandpa more. :( We will see them in a month though! (p.s. Ryan loved the happy birthday wishes over the phone! :) ) Bethany is graduating!!!! ah!!! Last night Ryan and I went over to B's house and we had french toast and hashbrowns with Kaley, Chris, and B! It was so much fun! It is raining here today! So weird to see rain and green grass everywhere after being in Montana! Yesterday I spent some time with Ryan's family before heading back to school! That was really fun and we watched basketball and his mom made chicken enchiladas! Ryan gets to be in a thing at school called Mr. Bruin which is a pageant for guys on campus! He does a dance with all the other candidates and does a talent too! He is going to do a science experiment on stage! He will do so well! I was so excited to see Jodi last night! I missed her over break! Well I better get ready for chapel!

"Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything." Philippians 4:6

Ho Hum

So today is Wednesday! That means only 8 more days of school til the caravan of students come to Montana! Can't Wait! There is something about spring that makes people go crazy! The sun is shining today and all I can focus on is... THE SUN SHINING TODAY! But soon enough the rain will start again and I will be okay! :) I have not had too much homework lately which is nice. I didn't do as well on an accounting test as I had hoped. I am slowly getting better though. It is just not my cup of tea I guess you would say. I got asked to live in a house on campus next year with some amazing girls! I am way excited! But my roommate this year is not going to live on campus so that it is going to be strange not living with her. I'm sorry Abbie about Zoë. I have been praying for her. I have been having a hard time getting in the word lately so I am trying to just do prayer request each day and spend time with God that way. I am working on reading everyday too it just gets hard to do some days. Nothing cool going on this weekend.... just working softball games. woo. I would not mind them if we just had to work one game but they are all double headers so it equals 4 hours or more of softball. Which is fun if you are playing... but not if you wish you were playing and not just sitting there keeping track of balls and strikes. I am trying to come up with a list of things I want to cook when I get home... here is what I have so far... feel free to add in things I forget!
1. spaghetti!
2. french toast
3. chicken enchiladas
4. little pizzas
5. cookies! any kind!
6. bake bread with g-ma!
7. maybe make noodles with Abbie! if she is not too busy!
The Blazer's game was AMAZING! I think Ryan kept forgetting that I have never been to a NBA game so I was in awe of everything the whole time! I thought it was one of the coolest things I have ever done! I just love basketball!!!!!!! The Blazer's killed the Pacer's but the lights and the dancers and the HUGE players were awesome. The Blazer's hit 100 points so we should have gotten free chalupas... but Ryan took a different exit to beat traffic annnnnd so we didn't get our chalupa tickets. :( but the funny thing was we didn't realize that we didn't get the tickets til we were in his car! Our basketball team is doing amazing again! surprise surprise! Well that is about all for now! Peace and love <3

MIA

Sorry I have been so missing in action this month! I have been extremely busy this semester. Between work, school, modeling, and relationships I have been feeling very stretched to the limit. Classes have been really difficult. Well not all classes actually. just accounting. It is really hard and very time consuming. I have a test in that class tomorrow so if you could be praying for me with that that would be fantastic. I can't wait to come home for spring break. I want to show Ryan all montana things! I know I won't have time to, but I think he will love montana! Valentine's day with him was really special :) He sent me on a scavenger hunt where at the end I found blazer tickets for a game on March 3rd! YAY! my first NBA game!!!!! I am very excited!!!!!!!! I would have to say my favorite part of his gift was the poem he wrote for me... here it is :)

Like Petals on a Sunflower

There are many different things that I love about you,
Your eyes, nose and your mouth,
These things that I love are
The petals of your sunflower.
I love the times that we laugh together,
Playing games, coloring, or folfing too,
These times vastly outnumber,
The countless petals on a sunflower.
I love to hold your hand,
And walk for hours.
Every detail of my love
Is a petal on a sunflower.
You are the sunflower of my life,
A joy beyond compare,
You brighten each and every day,
Like the petals on a sunflower.
I love you Mary,
Like you love the petals on a sunflower.

It is funny how the favorite part of a person's gift is the words they choose to write!
Today I have a lot of studying to do. blech. I am going running with Bee in 45 mins. then lunch, then studying! I am going to ask bethany if she wants to go to Gma and Gpa's tonight maybe. I think we should go and visit them. I love you and will write again soooooon!

Personal Annoyances

I just need to take a second to unwind after my last class in which I saw one of my good friend, who it just so happens seems to always ask me a question and I instinctively know they are only asking it in order that they can talk about how amazing their "blankety blank" is better than yours. I call it the bragging complex. And he just seems to always do it. The problem with me, as I have told Kales recently, is I am generally a patient person in a lot of things, but once I get really really annoyed and impatient it is hard for me to fake it. Which I feel is a terrible quality, but then I don't want them to think that they can just brag about themselves all the time and that that is interesting conversation. I enjoy listening, but then it reaches a point where they are being so ridiculous it is hard for me to keep my expressive self non-expressive...... as in I am not good at hiding my feelings once pushed over my limit. So Lord give me patience because I feel like I have none with certain people. I wonder what annoys people about me....oh I am sure there are many many things. I suppose people are supposed to annoy each other...the little idiosyncrasies that make us all so unique can also be the things that drive people the most nuts. This is more of a funny one, but apparently I say "Red Robbins, Chipotles..." I can't think of any more right now, but it drives some of my friends nuts that I add an "s" to it. :) I just do. whoops. I just had to get that off my mind...at least to a certain extent. Sometimes I get in moods where a person chewing too loudly or clicking their pen obsessively just drives me up a wall and then other times i don't even notice it. Being observant is both a blessing and a curse. Right now it seems more like a curse. BUT I will be over it in a few days....maybe the chewing and the clicking, but I am not so sure about the bragging complex. That will probably take some effort to know how to handle it! Love you all
Peace and Love
B

Sunshiney Sun

For the past week it has been sunshiney. Ever so sunshiney. And it has been glorious. I fell refreshed and renewed for another 2 weeks of rain and clouds. AND p.s. everyone. Spring Break is in about 3ish or 4 ish weeks. THAT is not far off. and THAT is great...nay....EXTRORDINARILY (sp?) EXCITING!!!!!!!!! Track has been going really really well and i am not sure why everything seems to be falling into place. I have been focusing a lot on enjoying each practice for what it is. It is honestly a direct correlation to life in how each one has its own challenges, but also each workout is specifically designed to be super hard all the way to super easy. Some days are going to be like those workouts and each one still possesses an innate challenge and enjoyment. I got new running shoes the other day. The glory of new running shoes is what I kept thinking about on Sunday because I seriously love new running shoes. I think it is just knowing how much will go into the shoes. That one pair can go to so many places with you and through so many hard workouts that will help shape and define who you are as a runner and a person as a whole. I know they are only shoes, but we talked a lot in my consumer behavior class about how things become extensions of self. That has nothing to do with anything really. I just thought it was kind of an interesting correlation between how a pair of footwear can be so pivotal to runners phycologically and physically. And this is why I am a marketing major. :) I just got done having a workout session with kales. I told her from now on I could be her personal trainer! Its fun telling people what to do. I am not usually bossy, but I like to be in this settting!! We have created new cleaning rules around the house, which I think will be a help in getting everyones involovement in the everyday chores and the conscienciousness of keeping things picked up and looking like we take pride in our home! SOOOO far it has been going well. We call it a "tag" program where every time you clean something you tag the next person in another job that needs to be done and so on and so forth and then every sunday night we keep each other accountable for doing something during the week and make sure the house is spotless before monday. AND I finally cleaned my room, which to be honest (I say this every time...I am sully aware) makes everything seem SO much less daunting in life. How can that be? That just cleaning up and having everything in its place has such an impact on my outlook on life... crazy. I don't feel as bogged down and like the walls are closing in on me. and my room is really big. I mean really big. tomorrow is tuesday. I don't mind tuesdays. Because all the sudden it is wednesday and then thursday...and then friday. Yeah that was a great explanation I know..... :) I have a race on Saturday...and my stomach just turned thinking about it. And that is a good thing. I need to be nervous. It makes me run fast as lightning....and lightning is pretty dang fast if you ask me. I am running the 1500 and maybe the 800. I am praying I do not have to run the 800...that is unnecessary embarrassment. The 1500 is even pushing the fastness for me. The womens b-ball team plays here this weekend for the playoffs. I hope they can go far this year. The men had a game last friday where they won by 1 in overtime. It was insane....I just wish more people came to the mens games. Our school is so messed up. The crowd is packed out for the women and then the crowd all leaves for the mens game! :( sad, but true. what else....hmmmm da da hmmmmm......I have been looking at other blogs a lot lately and I am tellin ya...there are some really cool craft ideas! Kales and I get our creative think tanks full of possibilities every time we look! We are going to have a colorful pancake night coming up, probably on sunday! You put food coloring in the batter. Which could be nasty and was also on a blog for kids, but we will always be young at heart, so it is perfect!!!!! Chris, kaley's bf, said they looked kind of nasty, but we got him on board when Kaleys said there would be chocolate chips. And mares and fatty(ryan) have to come too. People will be forced to come and eat colorful pancakes....because it is fun. They will have fun... they have to! And we call ryan "fatty" because last year when kales and I turned around he was just shoveling jello into his mouth...thus the name fatty, which has stuck. So when he comes out to visit over spring break you all best be calling him fatty... got it? yeah you better have got it! I will tell you all again. NO WORRIES!!! I am good at keeping you all updated..... Thats a lie. I seem to have a knack for not posting these days. NOT OKAY I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to calm down the exclamation points a wee bit. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I don't know what that was, but I am leaving it. Enjoy your evenings of olympics and zoë and food and laughter and relaxation and snow and all other things that pertain to your lives as a whole. I have not gotten to watch the olympics.....which to be honest ticks me off quite a bit. I did not get to watch the summer ones either, but to be honest nothing compares to watching figure skating with carolyn and mom and abbie and the hunter girls in general and mares too. Its just not the same. And I suppose skiing really isn't my thing, but I love watching people compete on that kind of a level. Excellent. just excellent. I tried to wrap this up, but then I get caught on other things...I suppose that is what abbie meant by ramblings! :) i get it now. I just can't stop myself.
I love you all so much. so much I want to keep writing. Its like I am writing you all a letter. And how great is that...... ANSWER (as always)-----SOOOOOO GREAT!
Love and peace
B

Kaleys Blog of newness

Hey everyone!
My best friend Kales just revamped her blog and will be making it more of a picture blog! I thought I would put it on here because she has mo and joeys engagement pics that she took on it and some afi ones too! :) so i thought you would all enjoy looking at it here and there. She is also going to do a sega of pics coming up here pretty soon! So be on the lookout for that as well. I will of course tell you though. I can't help but tell you all sorts of things. And I am sure you all love it so much.

here it is. And don't you all worry i will be writing another post after this one...not that I need to write that seeing as you won't all read this 20 minutes after I write it! <3

sissybell.blogspot.com

Alrighty Spideys. Everyone check it out. It is in its beginning stages, but even in its beginning stages it looks great! Hip Hip Hurray for Kales Bo Bales.

Peace
B

February sun

Thanks to the February mid month sun we have been having the past few days people are far less dead looking and more friendly. Seriously about this time in the semester if we do not get sun of some sort people, yes including me, just seem sluggish all the time!!! SO for a few days at least we get to experience some springish weather. The only problem when the sun comes out is that girls just go crazy wearing shorts and short skirts and tank tops. Its still February people...not the end of march. I am waiting to go to lunch with mares and am soooo hungry. I hate that feeling when you think your stomach is going to just rumble away. I am not really sure what that means, but I am leaving it. I am officially the seamstress for our "Coffee Comfort" company. We are currently in the trial and error stage. I have to take a part about 10 more coffee sleeves and resew them because the cutting was a little bit different this time around, so I have to make the seam farther in. I honestly really like making our product. It takes a lot of time, but I am learning a lot about the process of managing and having a business. We can also specially make them! I know montana is not into the whole reusable products thing quite yet, but honestly they are a legit product with the george fox logo on the outside. Can you imagine Faith E logo ones in the Well? :) Just throwing out some ideas. If any of you want one they are only $5 and you know who made them and everything :) kind of cool! soooo theres that. I seem to always give an update on that for you all. What else. My knee is finally back to almost normal. I ran an entire workout the other day and it felt sore but not much else!!!! I was super excited about that! It got a little old having to ride the bike for 5 weeks straight almost. I posted some pics from christmas of Zoë from christmas and some others too, but mostly zoë. Can't help it if she is the cutest! Last weekend was Grandpa Ronnies birthday party for his 80th! M and I ended up going on Saturday night and surprising gpa with the rest of the family that could make it. They had no idea and afterwards one of the first things that grandma said was.. "You should have told me so I could have brought a camera in" oh grandma then it would not have been a surpirse. We had cake and saw baby Lillian who was 9 days old. And of course there was singing by Jake and Jerry and Cameron. It can;t be a Camp get together without some amazing singing happening! :) The next day when we went to the restaurant there were 30 of us, 24 adults and of course we sang our prayer with harmony and everything and you could just hear the entire restaurant get quiet....even though we were in the back room. How great. it was beautiful. Mary and I went to church with grandpa and then everyone came to the church and we drove to the restaurant on a school bus. And of course there as singing and lots of laughing. And little kids enjoying the bus ride! Overall it was a great day and perfect for valentines day. Because I did not have anything else to do! Anyways...got to go
Love you all
Peace
B

bach bach

Today was full of all the boring details I so often avoid. My room is a disaster again because my bed is just chillin in the middle because lo and behold I still cannot figure it out. But maybe tomorrow, which seems to be the theme of the week with this bed fiasco! I am trying to write a blurb whenever i think about it! I got to run hills today and the knee has not killed at all. it just is tender and I hate that word, but that is what it is. SO as of right now the plan for Spring Break is for Mares, RyRy, Joey and I to travel out in Ryans car and spend that week at home!!!!!! It would be a lot cheaper than some other options and since I am staying out here I would really like to come home before molly's wedding in July. and this also gives joey a chance to come out and help her, which he was not going to get to do before. It was actually a beautiful day here, but I heard the ground hog saw his shadow and so I suppose that means 5 more weeks of winter. Stupid groundhog.....shall we try it again? isn't that a movie with bill murry. anyways. we watched the bachelor tonight and their is a girl on it from newberg who went to fox, tenley. Her mom actually works in admissions here. weird. mom I wish I could watch it with you, but oooooh wait a second aren't you busy or something, like on a cruise?!? :) I am sure you are having a blast. and that is probably the biggest of understatements. Just so you know I had classes from 8:40 on and ALSO did hw in between, then practice and the bachelor...about the same right? jealous? I am missing mom to watch the bachelor with and dads pithy comments in between commercials and the show. Tomorrow i think we are doing 1 minute speeches in my senior business capstone, so hopefully all those times we were in the car and dad gave us a random subject to talk about will help me..... I never know what will happen in that class. things just happen and they are awkward, but kind of necessary. My coffee comfort business for senior capstone just sold its first 24 coffee sleeves. woot. I hope we can at least make a profit! we shall see. I best be going to bed.
peace
B

Uncertainty

Today was a wonderful day. Honestly this semester has been an amazing one so far and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Ya know I feel as though the world I am living in now, the bubble I suppose, is slowly but surely being popped. I have built my life around these past four years of experience and I have grown and changed in exponential ways. But it is coming to an end soon and I can feel myself realizing it is okay and I am ready to move on into the uncertainty that lies ahead. I love the thrill of a new challenge, but it still comes with its own set of emotions, whether they be excitements or distresses.... Tonight I was preparing for a job fair next week and I just took at step back and looked at all the things I have done and it just seems like nothing. All these things I have done and worked so hard in, when I look at them on paper it seems like nothing, but as I delved into the meaning of each and ever one of them and how they have shaped me, it took on a whole other abstract view into who I am and what I am wired to do. I do not know the specifics of jobs or money or really anything in the next few months and that gives me a tummy ache when I work on some of these things. But I suppose it is about taking off a bite at a time. I am here for now, but i can prepare. I am uncertain. Living on the edge of future and present. And not letting the future negatively dictate what is happening around me right now. I feel ready and yet ill prepared, oh the contrasts. But life is beautiful. Leave that to my over optimism. Okay let me think of some other things in life that are happening. This week is homecoming week, so a lot of activities are going on. fun fun. I broke my bed the other night. Just me this time, at 4 in the morning I was asleep and then I woke up and then the bottom of my bed collapsed. And then of course I was like... oh i bet I can still sleep on this and be fine, even if it is a little tilty. No that was terrible when I realized all forms of blood were rushing to my toes. I then thought about sleeping on the couch and then realized...you are dumb bethany. Just take your bed off of the frame and sleep on that. Done. perfect solution. NOW I am still on that same mattress, but am trying to work on the bed frame to take it all the way down. we shall see how that turns out. Things have just been one thing after the other. I don't know where the time goes, but I feel like the homework never stops and events are always there. Which is fantastic. But makes things go soooo fast. My knee is doing much better. I am slowly running on it. And trying not to get frustrated. It has made me think about how much I take running for granted because it completely shot my knee for about 2 weeks. Alrighty then. That was an odd post and I should really go to bed, but i knew if I did not write it might be awhile!!! ;)
Love you all
Peace
B

changes

changed everything....no longer christmas time! ITS SPRING TIME....well almost. i can pretend! :)

hey everyone...sorry for the delay

I have actually missed writing on here a lot. I just have to get back into the routine of writing a splurp here and there. And yes I know that I still have christmas music and a christmas background on my blog...other things had to come first! :) Like deep cleaning my room because it was a crazy mess and it started to just get old trying to scrounge up something to wear from the mounds of clothes on my floor. so alas it honestly looks beautiful and I have the best room to just sit and chat in when it is all clean....sooooo goal of the semester is to keep it clean! the past couple of weeks have been just flying by. I always wonder why i can never get used to the beginning of semesters. Every semester I feel out of whack and then you get into the swing of things and it all seems normal, but it takes awhile. this morning was the first morning I woke up and it felt like a regular day....which is odd because I set my alarm for 7:25 because I am trying to get on a regular schedule. BUT all the sudden I hear my door open and liz is standing there and she says.."you know I have an 840 class right?" and i am like...well yeah what time is it. Which lets be completely open here, when someone comes into your room and you wake up you kind of know that you slept through your alarm. Because waking up this morning by all means should have felt awful, but i felt warm and cozy and like I had slept 8 hours. Which i had. Oh its 8:15 ish and you have 15 minutes to get ready. awesome. and you did not get time to really study for your quiz like you wanted to. awesome again.So there is my morning. But I am pleased with how I turned out this morning considering the time constraints. AND it was all due to the my unnaturally clean and organized room. and to that I say a non sarcastic...awesome. i am in the library right now where the girl behind me is listening to the terrible late 90s early 2000s girl band music that I so adimently avoid. and the worst part is that....its on her headphones and I can hear it word for word. special thanks to michelle branch and that just breath song along with me forgetting my headphones...for making this an excellent library experience. what else has been going on. Oh my knee is all messed up and I don't know whats wrong with it. It will be fine and then it is like something pops out of place and it kills to go downstairs mostly and upstairs some. So I dunno but i am going crazy not being able to go running. I got assigned a special assignment for saturdays game where I am the welcoming committee. I am an overly enthusiastic person....I get excited about the dumbest things. i don't know why being there a half hour earlier and being the person who gives people keys is all that great. By all logical sense it should be another job. BUT I am excited, so whatever. Life is fun. So sue me. hmmm.....I am taking 18 credits, but so far I am not too stressed. i just have to time manage a lot better. It helps living off campus because I just stay here all day and go to the library in my free time. hurray for the library. A lot of seniors are always in here though, so it has become a hang out place. So working on homework has gone from mediocre to super fun. that's a lie. I do have way fun classes though. some marketing ones and some global and political economics and financial management. To some they may seem boring, but they are actually very educational, which I suppose they should be. Okay i better peace out. But i will be better at working diligently on giving my fans consistant feedback on the riveting life of Bethany Strutz. SOOOOO love you all lots.
peace
B

Thank Goodness it's Friday!

So first week of new semster... DONE! well almost! i have one more class but basically done! We have a 4 day weekend which will be awesome! I really like my new classes! :) so that is a BIG positive! It is really weird not running with Bethany on the track team. I miss it a lot. But I just know I am not supposed to be in it right now. Just too much going on. I found this really neat opportunity for summer work this summer! i could work at a church camp! there is a camp called Tilikum like 7 miles away from campus and they are looking for students who would work there in the day with groups of kids! Totally up my alley!!!! I would really enjoy it i think. plus i would be able to stay out here and love jesus and kids at the same time! so praying about that opportunity. another thing i am praying about it my photo shoot on january 24th! it is to get my portfolio pictures to start with the agency! really really exciting but also VERY nerve racking!!! The photographer is named Cully Wright and he does a lot of fashion photography in the pacific northwest. Wish you could come with me mom. :( tonight i work the basketball games from 4:30 til about 9. i'm really excited to watch the games! just not so excited to do the preparation for them! This weekend i am going to portland on sunday to see ryan's family again! i go to there house a lot! hopefully they are not getting sick of me!!! it is rainy today. really rainy. i ran in it this morning! it felt good actually! but not when i stepped in a mammoth puddle and soaked my shoe with mud!!! o yes and my black coat from christmas is keeping me verrrrrry warm in the rain G-pa!!!! alright i better go now! peace.