Last Day of...

Today is the last day of July. How sad! August is tomorrow, which means my summer is nearly over. I can't believe it! It has gone by so quickly!

On "last days" I like to evaluate myself. So I've done that today, and I realized most of my time was spent on sports or doing something active. I suppose that is sort of a decent way to spend my summer. At least I'm not being lazy or something like that. 

So although it is the last day of July and nearly the end of summer, I've spent these past 2 months well and wouldn't change much about them.

Off Again!

Well, I like to keep busy. This morning I'm off to run in a 5k at Lambeau Field. I picked up my packet and information in the atrium last night and the run begins at 10 today! I'm super excited. Although I haven't gone running in a while, so it could be interesting. But this will be sort of a warm up 5k for when I run one on this coming Tuesday with Sydney!

Wish me luck!

Tootles!

Shopping!

Well today I went shopping with Bekah and we went to the Fox River Mall in Grand Chute(not Appleton). I ended up finding my homecoming dress at JCPenney! I love it! Oddly it is hot pink! Which is not regularly my color of choice! Yes, that's it-------------------------------------->


And I even have a terrific pair of black heels to go with it! I'm so excited for homecoming this year, even though it's super far away!


While shopping today I also bought hair dye. I'm going BLACK! SO excited about that as well!


Well, as today was quite long, I better get some sleep!

Music

I love music. If you know me, that is quite obvious. It amazes me how many times I've been asked where I got my favorite necklace. It's a simple necklace with a treble clef on it. I love it, almost as much as I love music.

Music has always been a huge part of my family. Whenever we go to Christmas at my grandma's house we sing carols why she and my mom play the piano. Whenever I was over at my grandma's and my cousins were there, my aunt would sing them to sleep. I want music to "flow through my veins" like it does through their's. I'm working on that now. God has truly blessed my family with the gift of music.

Do You Ever...

Do you ever get goosebumps because a song pops up on the radio and it makes you think of someone special?

I do.

Do you ever wish you were that person that always seems to be in the right place at the right time and everything works out perfectly for them?

I do.

Do you ever think your life is so messed up you don't know what to do?

I do.

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to get whatever you wanted, no matter the circumstance?

I do.

A lot of these have been on my mind lately. Take a minute to reevaluate what these "statements" are really made of. Think of WHY your life isn't that way. God's timing is perfect. His plan will be unfolded in His time, although it may not seem perfect now, things will work out.

Do you ever feel like you finally understood what something meant?

I do.

What Now?

Well yesterday I had my second and hopefully last therapy appointment. According to Dr. Jill I need more time for fun and friends. She said most people need to cope by doing more, to keep them distracted, I on the other hand, need to do less. Less for me requires me to still do something though, which is how I got "prescribed" more time with my friends! 

Only problem, I don't know how to make that work. Either my friends work, are out of town, or are in sports with me and are just as busy. I don't know how to schedule time with them when they are just as busy and our schedules are conflicting. What now?

Hurt

I think I tend to get hurt more easily than a lot of people. Not physically, although my knees are a reoccurring problem, but emotionally.
As I was just reading through a friend's blog post I came across a few facts that made me a bit... angered. 
How can you say you are someone's bestie, but never invite them to anything! How does that work? Honestly, am I just missing something? 
Maybe I come off differently and don't realize it. Maybe I can get a tad "clingy" but guess why. Because people keep doing this to me. I shouldn't have 5+ people saying I'm one of their besties, and then never see them outside of school. I shouldn't be put into the position to have to nag someone to hang out with me. Maybe that's part of my "mental problem". 
I wish people would realize how much these things impact me. Don't they realize that isn't helping with my "I'm not good enough" feeling. If anything it makes it flourish and continue to grow heavy on my heart. I think others need to reevaluate how they act towards others. Because guess what, it probably comes off way differently than you think or intend. I'm hurt. No one realizes it.

Thoughts From Church

I've been Lutheran my whole life. I think I usually take this for granted and my mind will drift off during church. I know that's not a good thing, as our faith is to be continually nourished and growing. Today I really paid attention. I even have notes to prove it!
The epistle lesson was from Romans 8 and has one of my favorite verses in it:
"If God is for us, who can be against us?"
This is one of my favorites because we sing a song based on the verse in chapel a lot. I love that song, and it's such a great reminder that with God on our side we have no enemies.
The Gospel lesson was from Matthew 13 and dealt with a few parables. My dad is the pastor at my church and I personally think this was one of his best sermons. He talked about how in Matthew 13 these parable are talking about specific things.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it"
This is talking about how we all search the world for something special. It varies from person to person, but a common thing that is sought is religion. Did you know that when it comes to religions, Christianity is the only religion where God does everything for us, we do nothing to earn his love. The pearl of religions is Christianity, no matter the denomination, and we are to cling to that pearl.
"Again the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
This is saying the Word is for everyone. As was Jesus' death on the cross. Jesus' love on the cross is for everyone and is to be shared with everyone. No exceptions. We are to be witnesses and show His same love. 
Our response to His love, is to live a life of joy. We are His witnesses, let your light shine in all you do.

Babysitting

Today I will be babysitting my "favorite" family. Haha, that's not really true, but since I don't have a job I need all the money I can get. So luckily, my biology teacher pays $2 a child per hour. And most of the time all three of his children are usually there. Usually when I babysit he and his wife are out with my parents and I get paid pretty decenly. So that is really the only reason I agree to babysit the kids. I guess I don't really mind as much as I used to, but his children do need a bit of an attitude adjustment occasionally. So that is always fun. Time to leave, maybe I'll write later tonight about how it went..

P.S. Happy 17th Birthday Olivia! Sorry I can't spend it with you!

Names & Family

As I have been helping with volleyball camps the past two weeks I've noticed a large range of names. There are the generic ones and the very unique ones. 
Here are some unique ones I had:

• Sage
• Veronica
• Kathleen
• Karissa 
• Karalyn

Here are some of the generic ones:

• Alexis
• Olivia
• Lindsay
• Marissa
• Rachel

I love names! Here are the names I plan on naming my children:

• Alexia Marie
• Lindsie Mae
• Jacob Andrew
• Lilly Michelle
• Nathan Thomas
• Emilee Anne
• Carley Christine

And yes, I want 7 children! I love kids, and I want to bring many into this world and raise them in a suitable household and bless them with a close family.  There are a few families at my school that have several children in them and they are best friends with their siblings. That's how I want my children to act because I'm not very close with my sister, and that has led to some problems. I love children and families. Can't wait to start my own!

A Good Life

What do you think makes life good for you? How popular at school? Grades? Sports?
For me, it's friends.
If it weren't for my friends I don't know what I'd do. Honestly, I rely on my friends for so much support that I'm surprised they are still my friends!
It's always fun looking at your friends and imagining where you will be in 5, 10, or even 30 years from now. Will you still be friends? Will you even know where they live? Personally, I hope I have kept in touch with all the girls in my class in 30 years. Maybe not see each other monthly, or even yearly, but at least email back and forth and keep each other updated on our lives.
Now that I think of it, when it comes to friends, I have a pretty good life.

The Little Things

I tend to notice little things in my life that probably don't mean much. But they always seem to stick in my head. Here are a few things that I notice:

• Opinions on Clothes: One day during basketball season, towards the end of it, it was a Wednesday night. Lent services had started and we had just finished practice. Practice had gone about half an hour late and I knew I'd be late for church, Jaci must have realized that too because she started yelling at Val because they still needed to go home and change into nice clothes. Jaci was persistent. Val was trying to convince Jaci that they were dressed fine in their long basketball shorts, tee shirts, and Nikes. But Jaci was obviously stuck and ended up making Val take her home to change, even though she'd be late to the dinner before church. This really changed my thought of Jaci. I used to think she didn't care much about anything besides sports, but she really showed that she cares about how she looks at church. So I find myself looking at clothes differently now after watching this little scene act out between Val and Jaci.
• Words Count: While helping with volleyball camps last week, I really listened to the kids. Something inside of me would just jump every time a little girl would say "thank you" and smile at me. I'm not sure why, but their politeness really reminded me that I need to still be polite in every situation I'm in.
• More on "Talking": Well I really appreciate when I get a text or IM back right away. Yes, I understand some people just don't bring their cell phones with them everywhere they go like I do. But generally when you respond to that first text, I would think you'd have your phone on you! Whatever. Well that is definitely something I notice, who I can rely on for texting me.

Just A Thought

Just some random little tid bit I'd like to share. 
When you say you are someone's best friend, what does that mean?

• To me, it means you'll tell them any and everything. Whether they want to know or not.
• You trust the with your deepest, darkest secrets.
• You can cry on their shoulder and know they don't mind at all
• You can laugh at the stupidest stuff, because it's fun to be stupid around each other.

I find it rather annoying when people say they will tell you everything, and then you find out information about them from someone else. Just a thought.

Living Life

I can't wait to grow up. I find myself daydreaming a lot about the future. You know, like where my wedding will be or how many children I will have. Honestly, this probably holds me back though. I think I probably am thinking so much about the future that I'm not enjoying the moments I'm given right now. Here are a few memories I've had over the past month that have probably gone with out much appreciation.

1. Shopping! I went shopping with Olivia on Thursday and yesterday! I had a blast! I can't believe how fast the hours went by and I probably won't remember half of the little details that have just happened!
2. Birthdays! Rae's birthday was Saturday and she had a birthday party! It was really fun! I got to meet her boyfriend, Eric, and hang out with Sarah and Sydney! It's strange to think that these little moments will just be pictures and brief conversation points in the near future.
3. Volleyball! I've had a lot of volleyball in the past month. Whether it's been contact days, tournaments, helping with camps, or open gyms I've had a great time with this sport. I find it hard to believe that before freshmen year my dad had to force me to play!

While most of these little memories don't seem like much, they have meant a lot to me! I don't want to take life for granted. That's part of the amazing part of blogging, it's a great way to keep track of my life!

Striving for Stars and Goals

Star light, star bright,

The first star I see tonight;

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have the wish I wish tonight

Most people know this nursery rhyme. I don't think my parents ever really influenced the whole wishing on a star idea, but I remember learning this. 

Lately I've found myself looking up at the stars and wishing that some of my dreams would come true. I don't know how often I want something with my whole heart and chase after it. These things often don't work out how I intend them to, but the determination really shows a lot of character, I think. Personally I think that those who chase their dreams and wishes are more likely to accomplish their goals in life. Although we may have a lot of disappointments in life we need to stay strong.

The striving for our goal may seem impossible, almost as if we are trying to fly and catch a star. But if we keep that persistence and determination, we will reach our goals. And our dreams will truly come true.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Rae & Ana! Two of my closest friends share their birthday! They both are celebrating their Sweet 16s today! Rae is having a party, which I'm very excited to go to! And Ana is doing something later this summer! Here's to their birthdays! Love you two!

Me(left) with Ana(right) trying on dresses before Prom!

Me(right) with Rae(left) before Homecoming messing around at ShopKo!

Editing

I love editing pictures! These are a few edits I did using Picnik!

Today's Tasks

I used to have a different blog, but due to a series of unfortunate things I will now be writing in this one instead. So since this is my first post I thought I'd just say it will be similar to my old blog, where I talked a lot about my friends and our fun memories we've had together recently!


So to start that off in this blog, I will tell you about today.
I'm helping out with volleyball camp at my school and coaching a court in both the morning and afternoon. It's a great way to help future Blazer volleyball players learn the skills of the game. I am really enjoying my time with the kids! Sadly, today was the last day with this week's campers. But next week, there is another camp! So I can't wait to teach those kids as well. Coaching is so fun, I could easily see myself doing it as an adult and parent, but I'm not sure which sport I'd coach! I love basketball, but I don't feel like I'd be able to handle the stress that comes with the sport. I feel the same about volleyball, but it's a different type of stress. The stress that comes with volleyball is definitely more dependent on your knowledge of the game, which I don't feel very strongly about. But who knows!
Also, today I went and visited my friend Sarah at her job! She works at Hallmark and so we talked for awhile while we read cards! It was great seeing her again, I honestly don't remember the last time I'd seen her! That's one thing I really hate about the summer, you don't get to see friends as often as during the school year. But some friends I've see every week this summer, due to their commitment to sports like mine. That's nice, but this commitment is beginning to tire me and I'm ready for summer to end soon! I miss seeing all of my friends daily at school!