april showers

(for your reading pleasure, i will copy and paste my a's into this blog).

the past few nights i haven't been able to sleep very well. i've tossed and turned all night, i've been waking up at odd hours. i've been having the strangest dreams... one dream my friend's apartment caves in, the next dream my co-worker is standing in my mom's front lawn mooing, and then later still some of my friends are trying to exorcise a giant bloody eyeball that is resting in a wheelbarrow. honestly, i couldn't make this stuff up (well, i couldn't make it up outside of my subconcious).

as i sit here with my morning cup of coffee (which i desperately need today, as i've already been awake for an hour, and i'm usually just now rolling out of bed), i'm listening to the storm roll through (for the second or third morning in a row now) and i am reminded that when the storms come, they also go. they sometimes leave behind damage, but that damage only creates character.

i wouldn't neccessarily say i'm going through any sort of major life-storm right now, but it has been a stressful month (starting in the beginning of march) that is rolling into a new stressful month at work.

i know it's nothing i can't handle, but it has been daunting at times.

but in a week, i'll be free (if only for a little while). my body, mind, and soul are desperately craving the week of freedom. the week of friends, live music, and the open road. (and even less sleep than i've been getting this week)

perhps the reson i m so esily tired by the fickleness of the wether is becuse it is reflection of my hert.

The Birthday Post

Well, I thought I'd go ahead and write my entry about turning 25 while I had access to a computer with which I could type all the letters.

I know everyone (or so it seems to me) goes through a little bit of a "quarter-life crisis" when they turn 25. I went through that a little bit this past week leading up to my birthday. A lot of people I've talked to seem to think that they didn't accomplish everything they wanted to accomplish by the time they turned 25. I don't think I had this problem. I think for me, it was just that I felt like I wasn't making the most of my 20's, or making the most of my time being young and single and not "tied down". But I just got back from Fido (great local coffee shop) where I did some birthday journaling, and I realized that I am living the 20's pretty well.

Here's a list of good 20's memories:

-The day Ryan and Lisa and I randomly drove from Anderson, IN to Lousiville, KY for no reason at all. When we left Anderson we were planning on just going shopping in Indianpolis, but the trip took on a life of it's own. We spent the night in a sleezy Motel 6 and went back to Anderson the next day. We didn't even do anything in Kentucky while we were there.
-Similar to the above, when Lisa and I went down to Tulsa for spring break to visit Ryan, and we drove to Arkansas and back in one day, then to Texas and back the next, and finally to Kansas and back, just to visit some different states. Again, we didn't really do much once we got to those states.
-Sophomore and Junior year of college, joining AUCME - a worship team where we traveled to churches in the Michigan/Indiana/Ohio/Kentucky/Pennsylvania area and stayed at church members' homes. So much fun.
-Going to Jamaica, London, Italy, and Japan
-Joining L'amifidel - it was so outside of my comfort zone and I made some great friends
-The Mercy House internship, summer '05 - probably the most life-changing 2 months of my life. I really don't think I could find the words to explain how important that summer was to me.
-Moving to Nashville, TN, where I only knew one person in the city, and did not have a place to live or work until after I got here, and I only had $500 to my name when I made the move.
-Traveling five hours one way and not getting any sleep, and "camping out" in 30-degree weather, just to see my favorite band. For the second time on the same tour.

I could probably go on, but who wants to spend their whole birthday on a computer? Not me!

it's time...

i need new computer. this one hs officilly bit the dust.

besides the fct tht the bttery holds no chrge, the power cord is broken nd thus continues to fll out every ten minutes, i hve now come cross nother problem.

you've probbly been noticing tht something is missing from this entry. something tht looks little like the first letter of the lphbet.

well, it's not just the first letter either. it's lso the lst letter of the lphbet nd the letter tht comes between p & r.

nd the number tht is less thn 2 but greter thn 0.

nd the tb button. you know, the one tht indents things. nd the delete key. nd the down key.

they re ll there, they ren't missing from my keybord, it's just tht nothing hppens when i press them.

except i don't hve money for new computer. such is life.

Well, Another Year Is (almost) Over

Highlights from 2007:

-It started with a visit from Stacy
-Going to North Carolina w/ the family
-Randomly driving the 5 hours to Stacy's just to go see Pirates 3, meeting her boyfriend Travis
-Not working at the day care anymore
-Jonah & Sara's wedding/seeing people from H.S. and A.U./getting some time at the beach/road trip
-James & Krista's wedding/being a bridesmaid
-A visit from Leslie
-A visit from Puff & Deanna
-Several visits from Stacy
-Seeing Hanson in concert for the first time in three years, getting to walk a mile with them for a good cause
-Homecoming/road trip/seeing people/Jon McLaughlin concert
-Getting to walk another mile with Hanson for a good cause
-Having a white Thanksgiving
-Stacy getting ENGAGED
-Getting promoted
-Driving 5 hours one way just to see Hanson for a second time in concert this year, getting to walk a third mile with them for a good cause, asking Taylor Hanson what is favorite cuss word is, spending all day in the cold with no sleep to get a good spot at the show, meeting all the other fans, spending the day with Mel Fronck
-Ending the year with a visit from Jen and a visit from Holly P.


Things I Never Thought I'd Do, That I Did In 2007
-Get my nose pierced
-Smoke a cigar
-See Hanson twice in one year
-Driving 5 hours one way just to see Hanson, getting to walk a mile with them for a good cause (three times), asking Taylor Hanson what is favorite cuss word is, spending all day in the cold with no sleep to get a good spot at the show.
-Becoming an Accounting Clerk

2008 New Year's Resolutions
-Put at least $50 a month into my savings account
-Try a new recipe at least once a month

just another quote

"We have to be leaders, all of us. We need to require ourselves to be the greatest generation yet. It is not about guilt, it is about empowerment! We have more tools at our fingertips than any one other group of people has ever had, and we need to use them." - Hanson

christmas time

It doesn't feel like Christmas time to me yet. I think it's the lack of snow. It just feels weird to not have it.

I've figured out what I'm getting everyone on my list, with the exception of my brother - I just don't have a clue. And two of the gifts (and half of three other gifts) have been purchased. And today I wrote all of my Christmas cards out, I just need to wait until I get paid to go buy all the stamps I'll need.

We had a desk decorating contest at work. I put up a few pictures of myself with a sign that said "Holly Jolly Christmas" and then some icicle lights and a small Christmas tree. I won 6th place and got an extra vacation day! Woohoo!!!

Krista and James visited for a few days this week. I hadn't seen them since their wedding. It was really good to spend time with someone I've known for as long as I have known Krista (It's been over ten years!) and also to get to know James better.

Tomorrow will be my first day working in the nursery at church. It should be fun to be around babies again, especially now that it won't be 40 hours a week.