2009 in Photos

Yet another fun facebook application... And everyone knows that I love pictures!

2009 According to Facebook

So there is this awesome application on Facebook that makes these "year according to your status" collages. Obviously my time tonight was better spent doing this instead of other things such as writing thank-you notes or cleaning my apartment or doing laundry. Enjoy!

accomplishment!

Tonight I handed in a 32 page group paper and then a 19 page paper I wrote. OH MY GOSH that is a lot of pages!

I have 5 quarters down, 6 more to go. So almost halfway done with my MSW.

YAY!

Lately

I have been completely lacking in the "blog update" department lately. Sorry... Life is crazy, and yes, that seems to always be my excuse but it is true. Even though I am not doing nearly as much as I was doing when I was at Whitworth, for some reason now things are just more overwhelming and take more energy.

Here are some updates on recent things:

Practicum-... is going well. It is kind of hard to sum up into a nice little box. Each day is emotional and overwhelming and intense. It is difficult to see so much hurt and pain and poverty, and yet be charged with attempting to building relationships with people who are hurting. Exposing myself to their pain, and recognizing my own privilege is a daily struggle for me. Knowing I am going to be done there in a mere 3 1/2 months is starting to get more apparent. There are people I have really grown to like and care for, in a "helping professional" way of course but also in a very genuine personal way. Homelessness is such a pervasive, toxic cycle, that seems a bit hopeless. I keep realizing how BIG it is. It's bigger than Nativity House. There are homeless families, homeless babies, homeless youth... Homeless women with family that lives 10 minutes from where she is staying in the shelter, who refuse to offer any assistance. Homeless veterans, homeless felons. Yet they are all still people, still human, and have the same hopes and fears as me. I have come to have a respect for many of the people I am serving, for their strength and perseverence. Even though I do not agree with many of their choices, it amazes me how I am learning that they are no different than you or I. We are all a few paychecks away from being homeless. When I drive down the streets of Tacoma I often see people who come in to Nativity House. It's hard for me to drive past a certain parking lot at night, because I know there are people I know living in their cars, huddled under blankets I gave them for warmth. After I leave Nativity House I get to go home to my warm apartment, where I have heat and TV and my own bathroom. Each day I realize this privilege, and sometimes feel slightly ashamed for being dissatisfied with the "stuff" I don't have. I could go on and on and on about my experiences there, and what I am learning...

Work- is good. Muddy, cold, windy. I got some winter breeches (yay!), so that helped. I also am a master at layering, and do lunges when I am teaching at night to try and stay warm. But I love the horses and love (*most*) of my students. I am excited for this week because we have a week off of lessons for Thanksgiving. It will be a nice break from the intensity of lesson days, and get to be more relaxed and spend time riding some project horses.

School- oh what to say, what to say... I am enjoying my class this quarter, and feel like it is a bit more stimulating than past quarters. We have a fun group project (develop an agency through a grant proposal), and a good large paper (organizational analysis of our practicum agency). I like my professor, who is the director of the Social Work program. I am excited for Winter Quarter because we are starting our Research sequence, so I am really hoping for some challenge. I realized last week, that even though I have not been entirely thrilled with the program this far, I have learned a lot. I think like a social worker in many different situations, I know the theory and how to apply it. I am using techniques I have learned in classes at Nativity House in REAL situations. So those are all good things.

Other-
-- My mom got her first "call" as a pastor! She will be moving to Hoquiam, WA (about 1.5 hours away from Tacoma), to be a temporary 6-month stated supply at First Presbyterian Church of Hoquiam. I am so thrilled for her! What a huge journey for her, and our family. I will miss her, but luckily it is just a short drive away, and it's on the way to the ocean, and I DO LOVE the ocean!
-- Thanksgiving is this week! YAAY! Which means the holidays are here, and I love this season!
-- Kelsey is coming home on Tuesday and we are hanging out Wednesday. And the new hot tub is in. So exciting!
-- Lexi and I have started doing a Zumba class at the YMCA. Tomorrow we are trying Aerobic Dance! Stay tuned to see how that goes. It is great to have a friend to work out with, makes it so much easier to get up early on a Monday morning!


Okay, off to work on a paper that's due Tuesday and potentially go to bed early!

saturday night

leftover thai food. freshly made apple cobbler. large glass of wine. the office and 30 rock re-runs.

yep... i have no life!

Nativity House

So most of you know I am doing my practicum at Nativity House, a day-time drop in center for the homeless/low-income in Tacoma. After a rough start this summer, I am really really enjoying it! I go three days a week, for a total of about 15 hours a week. (I still am making up hours I missed over the summer). I have made a lot of connections with our guests (our word for clients), and have really fallen in love with a lot of the people, place, and our mission. Anyway, I found this video online that was done last spring and was played at our auction-- it talks about our art room/art therapy program.

Enjoy!

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/photo/2009/02/20/video_player_test

random musings

I probably should write a real blog, updating you all on my life the last month or so. I am pretty tired, so instead this is just going to be a random collection of thoughts and things.

• "The Office" is on right now, and it's the Pam/Jim wedding episode! YAAAAY! This is going to be the best 30 minutes of my week, for sure!
• I am going through a potato phase. That's right. My stomach has been extra awful lately, so I have started eating lots of soft foods. And right now I am loving potatoes. Hash browns, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes... i love them all! Today I had scalloped potatoes with ham! YUM! (also, applesauce is good, too!)
• OH MY GOSH this episode of The Office is 1 hour! Life just got better
• I had my first class of the quarter last Tuesday. I have hope its going to be a good class!
• Practicum is still going well, pretty intense, but good. More about that later.
• "Gigi" has turned into "Myrtle" and "Max". If you are confused read the previous blog.

The end!

the story of "GiGi"

There is a house across the street from my apartment, which I can see from my living room window, that over the last few months I have decided must be some kind of adult family home. There are always lots of interesting looking people coming in and out, and sitting on the porch, etc... So the last 4 mornings, about 8:30, this woman has emerged from the house wearing a white fluffy bathrobe and a towel on her head, always calling out for a dog (i'm assuming) named "gigi". It goes on for maybe 10-15 minutes. The first day it happened I looked outside my window and it was so cute and it made me laugh. The second time it happened I was like, "ok, wow she is not good at keeping track of her dog", and the third time it happened I was just confused.

This morning I was laying in bed asleep and I wake up to the sound of "GiGi!!!".... "GiGi"... "Come here, i'm going to ring your neck." So I sit up in my bed and look outside, and there she is, fully dressed sitting on a chair in front of the house smoking a cigarette. A few minutes later I hear her calling out, "Adam".... "Mark..." "Come here." And the next 20 minutes are filled with this lady sitting in a chair smoking calling out random names.

My conclusion: GiGi is not real! Maybe she was real at some point, but there is definitely no GiGi for real right now. This lady cracks me up! I love her random names that she calls out, and how nonchalantly she was sitting in this lawn chair smoking a cigarette.

Sigh. I love the little things in life that make us laugh!

favorite dances

My two favorite dances from this season of SYTYCD:

#1- Jeanine and Jason, Contemporary, Travis Wall (choreographer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnfAx_Yn-HY&feature=related

#2- Kayla and Kupono, Contemporary, Mia Michaels (choreographer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3ucBkE85ec

I like these dances because unlike many others from SYTYCD they are mainly focused on the movement, rather than the crazy lighting or costumes or the obscure concepts behind the dances. And they are two of the best choreographers on the show!

driving

Due to the fact that my job is 23.7 miles away from my apartment, I spend a lot of time in my car. For my birthday my wonderful mother got me an adapter for my iPod, so I can play it through my CD player, which has proven to be the most AMAZING thing ever! This has made my driving much more enjoyable.

However I have recently come to the conclusion that some people just shouldn't be driving on the road.

Example #1: early 90s model Buick, the driver was a middle-ish age lady... Smoking a cigarette. Going 35 in a 40mph zone, where most people (i.e. me and everyone else) usually go 45 ot 50... ANNOYING!

Example #2: same early 90s model Buick, merging on to the freeway. Merges at a speed of 40mph, because she was distracted by her cigarette. When a truck hauling a trailer honks at her because she almost hit him, then she steps on the gas.

Example #3: woman in a nissan, swerving around the freeway in the far left lane going 50mpg TEXTING ON HER PHONE!!!!


Conclusion: Okay... Maybe this post makes me sound very impatient and road rage-esque. But coming from a person who spends lots and lots of time in her car, I have a plea for everyone... Pay attention, at least go the speed limit, and if you text and drive at least be good at it. Also, stop smoking. It gives you lung cancer.

That is all.

The End.

a summary of summer...

Since I (obviously) seriously neglected my blog this summer, I decided I should write up a short summary of the craziness that was my summer. It was fun, insane, and at some points super stressful, but now it's winding down, which is both kind of sad and also good.

• Summer camp was good this summer, each week was different and brought its own challenges. One week it was 105 degrees all week, one week we had some unexpected special needs campers, last week I had a camper who didn't speak English... All in all it was a pretty decent summer. I had 8 of the best horses who really help make camp fun.
• I was a bridesmaid in my friend Taylor's wedding in mid-July. The wedding was up in Darrington, WA, and was beautiful and wonderful! I have been friends with Taylor since we were both 1, and it's hard to believe that she is married now!
• I had to take a summer quarter class for school (YUCK!), and learned that going to school in the summer after working 8-10 hours in doing physical labor outside just really sucks. Also, summer school in general just sucks. I also started my Practicum (basically my internship), that spans 3 quarters. I am doing mine at Nativity House (www.nativityhouse.org), which is a daytime drop in center for Tacoma's homeless. We serve about 150-250 people a day, on average, which includes 2 meals a day, long-term and day storage, mail service, basic hygiene needs, clothing bank, art therapy, and lots more... Check it out!
• Lots and lots of time was spent riding horses, which was wonderful. I started jumping in my lessons this summer, which has been so much fun and so so challenging. I have LOTS to work on, and hope to keep getting better this year
• Lots and lots and LOTS of time was also spent at a variety of horse shows... We went to watch our friend Heidi at a show in Monroe (PNW Hunter Jumper), and Carnation (Evergreen Classic). My friend Katie also showed at the Emerald Classic, and then I showed in 2 shows (Brookwood Schooling Show...lol... and the Boeing Employees Saddle Club schooling show)... All in all we went to lots of shows. It's always fun to watch others ride, especially when they are jumping 4+ feet and are WAY better than you!
• At the end of July, Rachel and Kara came home from New Zealand and I was lucky to have them stay with me for 5 days. Shanon and Cheryl also came to visit, which put 5 people in my not-so-big apartment for a few days. It was totally crazy, but wonderful! Kelsey came up that weekend too, which just happened to be my birthday weekend, so we did lots of celebrating! We spent a day lounging at the beach, ate dinner at Katie Downs, and went and got lots of birthday drinks (luckily when it's your birthday people want to buy you drinks!). It was such a fun time, and it was amazing to have a reunion after almost a year. Amazing how time flies...
• The second week in August my church did a week-long Arts Camp for the kids of the community. I was in charge of the "dance" section, and at the end of the week the kids performed in an arts show at church. I had SO MUCH FUN choreographing for about 35 K-6th graders! My piece was to a really fun African version of the hymn "By and By". It was fun to see the kids learn more about dance, but also to see them have fun and praise God through the dance. I had fun teaching ballet to the little girls, and seeing a group of crazy boys having fun with movement. It definitely made me realize how much I miss dancing in a more formal setting... (dancing in my living room isn't quite cutting it...)

I am sure there are many things I am leaving out that I will think of later... Next post I will post some recent pictures. Of course, those of you who know me know that I have tons and tons of pics, but I will try and pick the 5 or 10 that summarize summer the best! Love to all... :-)

hello there!

so it's been awhile since i updated my blog! and i am hoping to have time this weekend... i just wanted to post a little blog that says that I haven't completely forgotten about my blog and will update it soon! so much has happened in the last month or so and there are many exciting things and pictures to post!

love love!

a pet peeve

Okay, i haven't posted a *real blog* in awhile, and this one is going to be quick. I just wanted to share with you one of my pet peeves, which I just witnessed outside my apartment building about 5 minutes ago...

Parking in front of my apartment is all parallel parking. My apartment takes up about 1 city block, which doesn't leave a lot of space for everyone to park. Most reasonable people would try and park kind of close together to get as many cars in there as possible... Today when I got home there was a large gap that could fit at least 2 cars. So I parked there, and backed up closely to the car behind me to leave as much room as possible. Then I decided to run to the store to get some groceries. When I got back, someone had not ONLY parked in my spot, but in the MIDDLE of the gap, leaving room for NO ONE else to park! What a jerk! Seriously, who does that?! Come on people... I am tempted to leave a little note. AGH! How annoying.

Lesson to learn: when parallel parking, park as close as you reasonably can to the car in front of or behind you... This makes room for more cars, and makes me happy!

The end.

YAY!!!/nay

My fabulous friend Jeannie is always coming up with wonderful titles for her blogs. I am not as ingenius, so I am stealing one of her ideas (yikes/yippee), and changing it to YAY!/nay. Here is a little bullet list of recent things, categorized by YAY! and nay.

• YAY!, it has been sunny for more than 7 days in a row! Sun makes me happy, makes me more motivated to go to work, and means I get to drink iced coffees!
• nay, the water in my apartment has been a little spotty this week. On Wednesday I came home from work after 9 hours covered in dirt, and we had no water (like you turned the dial and nothing came out.) Then Thursday morning, I turned on the hot water and it came out brown. As of now, sometimes it is a little brown, sometimes it is fine. I took a shower and was afraid the whole time that the water was going to turn brown.
• YAY!, one more week of this quarter! Just 2 papers to turn in next week, and then a 2 week break!
• YAY!, I am going to Oregon next week to pick up my Grandma, AND I get to have lunch with my dear friend Mallorie! I am excited to go on a mini road trip and clear my head, and to see my lovely lovely Mallorie (and of course Grandma as well!)
• YAY!, yesterday I survived the near death experience of climbing down the cliff by Kelsey's house to the beach. Many many total vertical ladders and rapelling down a rope later, and we survived. I even have some sweet bruises on my legs. Look for pictures soon.
• nay, my apartment is a mess and I am a little overwhelmed and don't want to clean it. Anyone want to magically clean my apartment for me, and organize it just as I would like it done?! :-)
• Finally, YAY!, it's Friday, which means the weekend (full of sun, studying, writing papers, hopefully relaxing a bit and hanging out with the sister!)

The End!

Reflecting on a Year.

Last weekend marked the one-year anniversary of college graduation. Woah. I, for one, cannot believe how this year has flown by. Last thing I remember it was graduation, and me, Rachel, Shanon, Meara, Kevin, Kyle, Albert, and a few others went on that ill-fated trip to Big Al's the night after graduation. hahahaha!!! This year has been challenging, for so many reasons, however I have learned a lot about myself and resiliency. And just a shout-out to Kelsey: I don't quite know what I would have done without you this year. Seriously. Would probably be much less emotionally stable if you were not here!

So, obviously this year after graduation did not go quite as planned with my job. Although my AmeriCorps experience was filled with ups and downs, I can truly say I am glad I gave it a shot. I wish I had been able to do the program and serve the kids I was hired to work with, but it didn't work out that way. In the mean time, I got to reconnect with old friends (Jackie), and stay in touch with others (Nissana), and make new ones. I also got to learn about NLF, and structures of social services, power, and social justice in Tacoma. I got to meet new people who are important in the city, learn how choices are made, and also see bureaucracy at work in many ways. When all you want to do is serve people, seeing the barriers that various social structures put in place for you to do that work makes it quite frustrating. However, I am also quite glad I made the choice to leave when I did. I am so lucky to have my job at Camp Berachah, and get to work with horses and get paid to do what I love! Sometimes I feel so lucky, and almost like I am cheating them, because I love it so much! Although I love it a lot, I am quite ready for this session of lessons to be over (1.5 more weeks) and have a break before the craziness of summer camp starts!

What else... Well, I guess no one really prepared me for the feelings of social isolation I would feel. No one really sat me down and said, "Okay, Jessica, congrats on graduating from college, but now all of your friends are going to be scattered all over the country/world, and you basically have to start over from scratch. Good luck with that one..." If I didn't have Kelsey, I would go crazy. Not even kidding. Also, it has been great to get to see Taylor more often, and of course my family. It's definitely been trying at times, but also good for me to spend more time studying and such!

Grad school: So, I am about to finish up my third quarter of grad school. It has been quite the experience so far, although I am enjoying this quarter. One of my classes right now is "Adult Mental Health Diagnosis", and we spend hours upon hours reading the DSM. Although it's a lot of reading, I feel like I have actually learned a lot about mental disorders, more than I have learned in any other class. Also, this class is the first in this program where I am acquiring new information, which is kind of suprising since it's grad school! I am starting my practicum at the end of June, which I will be doing at Nativity House, a daytime drop in center for the homeless in Tacoma (check them out at www.nativityhouse.org). This summer will be super busy, working at camp 8-5 on the weekdays, then class on Tuesday nights, and practicum all day (10 hours) every Saturday...

Well, that's a summary of the last years. Lots of lows, lots of highs... I am looking forward to the next one.

Thanks for reading!

Is my car crooked?

...I actually asked this very question about an hour ago. The story is quite amusing-- after class I went to Stadium Thriftway to get some bananas and a few other groceries. I walked out of the store with my bag, got in my car, and as I was backing up I looked in the rearview mirror and I saw out the right side of my car. The first thing that crossed my mind was "oh my gosh, something is wrong with my car-- is my car crooked?" Obviously the real reason was that I had most likely bumped the rearview mirror with my bag as I got in the car. But OH MY GOSH! I cannot believe what goes through my head sometimes. HAHA!

Sometimes I think we need these little ridiculous moments in life just to keep things interesting!

Registration

Yesterday was registration for summer quarter. I can't believe I am getting ready for my 4th quarter of grad school! Well, since last quarter's registration brought dramatic results (i.e. being forced to be with a professor I don't really like for the third quarter in a row), I set my alarm for 5:45am to make sure not to miss out. Registration opened at 6:00am, and I was READY! It was total deja-vu to my days at Whitworth, when Meara and I would plan out potential schedules A/B/C, etc.... just in case we didn't get in to our first choices. Then we would wake up at the crack of dawn and wait for good old WhitNet to load. Gosh, I miss those days!

Anyway, I got the classes and professors I wanted, and summer quarter is looking good. I will have class on Tuesday nights, and then just four or five Thursday nights. Also, I will be starting practicum, which I think I am doing at Nativity House in Tacoma, which makes me excited.

Also, the last few days have been sunny and beautiful, and have lifted my spirits tremendously. I love going to work in a t-shirt, and not needing a fleece jacket to walk outside. I went for a run yesterday that was marvelous, and am loving not having to wear gloves and a headband at work. Yay, summer is on its way!

Spring Fun

The last few weeks have been full of fun and adventure. Life surely has kept me busy, and on my toes. We are in Week 6 of our 12 week lesson session at camp, last week we had Spring Break Horse Camp. Mom is also settled in her new house. Yesterday was Easter, and after church Tracy and I spent a lovely 90 minutes in the rain jump starting her car with mine, driving a mile, jumping it again, and finally pushing it in to a Target parking lot thanks to the help of some god-sent men in a white Ford Focus. Yay for adventures with cars. We had a wonderful Easter dinner at home, our first holiday meal in our new house. Spring is here, although I will be excited when the sun sticks around for more than 3 days at a time. God is good, and life is good. We are blessed. I think sometimes amidst the business and excitement of life, we sometimes forget the fact that God is in control! I surely need to remember that everyday, to surrender it all to Him, because without I am nothing. I wish all of you a wonderful week!

Here are some pictures of recent fun things, so enjoy!

Mom, Tracy and I celebrated Easter in our new house

Tracy and I on Easter Sunday

Riding Rosie for a camp open house a few weeks ago


With Katie and Keebler at a horse show last weekend. I was the faithful groom.

Welcome to Spring Quarter

This week was the start of Spring Quarter, a new set of classes. I still have class Tuesday and Thursday nights-- the nice thing about this program is that all of my classes will ALWAYS be on T/Th at the same times. Which is quite convenient for scheduling!

Tuesday nights I have Social Work Practice Skills, which is basically just motivational interviewing. It is with a professor that is for sure not my favorite... this is my third quarter of having her, and it wasn't by choice that I registered for her section of this class (I registered too late and had no choice!). It is mostly material I have covered before at Whitworth, so it won't be that great.

My Thursday class is Adult Mental Health diagnosis, which I wasn't really excited about, but after going tonight I think it will be a really good class. It's going to be challenging, and there is lots of reading, research papers, and real critical thinking! How exciting! I am so thrilled to potentially be challenged again. The professor lectures just a notch above the class, so you actually have to think during lectures and rise up to her level. This is the kind of teaching I got at Whitworth, and what I miss. I am hoping that this class will help me to be more excited about this program.

Let's see.... what else is new since I last blogged?.... The job is still going well. It is SO MUDDY out there, so I will be thrilled when spring actually hits and it starts to dry out. I am still enjoying teaching and working at the barn, although today wasn't too great. But some days are better than others, and hopefully tomorrow is better...

I am also pretty excited that Kelsey is back in town! It is sad that the Wisconsin internship didn't work out, but I am (very selfishly) glad that she is back! yay for friends and fun! We had yummy breakfast at the HobNob yesterday, and if you haven't been to this amazing place you definitely should go. It's on 6th and Yakima(ish) in Tacoma... SO GOOD!

That's all for now, I think. I hope you (my few loyal readers/friends) are having a wonderful beginning of spring!

Rainbow Chip Frosting

Tonight after work I went to Thriftway to get some groceries, and made the unfortunate mistake of turning down the baking aisle. I went in search of raw sugar, for this tea that I like. I didn't find any raw sugar, but I did find Rainbow Chip frosting! And of course, what goes better with it than Rainbow Chip cake mix? So now, about 2 hours later, I am sitting here in my apartment surrounded by the smell of freshly baked cupcakes! Of course, most of you who know me know that I rarely eat baked goods, so after my 1/2 of a cupcake I won't be having any more. But wow, was that frosting good!

So, there's a lighthearted anecdote as introduction to my first blog in awhile. A lot has happened in the last 3 weeks or so. My new job is going well, I am getting in to the swing of things and adjusting. Trying to do everything right, and do the best I can. I am definitely ready for spring to be here. Teaching for 5 hours in an arena with an aluminum cover is VERY difficult when it's raining. I am getting good at shouting loudly at my students! We've had some crazy weather-- snow, rain, hail, sleet, etc, and I am for sure ready for spring!

Last weekend my mom moved from our wonderful house on K Street to our temporary home in University Place. It has been an emotional week or so. Although I haven't been too upset throughout this process, it was definitely stressful and emotional. It didn't make it any easier that we had to fight snow, rain, hail, thunder, and other eventful weather throughout our weekend of moving. I feel blessed that the move was relatively painless- we survived generally injury free, and most of the major things are unpacked. We are so blessed to have this great house to live in in the interim... But it was hard moving out of the house that we all loved so much. Yesterday I went back to check the mail, and went inside, and walked through each room, remembering all of the fun, and good and bad that happened in each place. Although I didn't spend a ton of time at that house, because during the time we lived there I was in college, it was always a wonderful place of respite that I enjoyed coming home to.

However, one big lesson I have learned in my life is that "home" is not one specific place. Home is where you make memories with people you love (i.e. family or college friends), it is a place of warmth, quiet, LOTS of laughter!, and sanctuary from the outside world. In my life, my home has been in many places, and each place I have lived has truly felt like home. Walking through the empty shell of our house yesterday reminded me of this. The young couple who bought our house must be thrilled to begin the journey of their first house, which will take care of them as it did us.

Okay, that's about as much nostalgia/tears as I can handle for tonight! Thanks for reading. I promise I won't go so long in between blogs next time. And Rachel/Kara, Shanon, you need to update your blogs as well! :-) love love!

A Little Fun

So a few of my friends have done this, and I thought it was fun! Also, I needed a distraction from doing my homework.... haha!

DIRECTIONS:
- Go to Google image search.
- Type in your answer to each question.
- Choose a picture from the first 3 images.
- Use this website (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) to make your collage.
- Save the image for use in this note.
- Post and tag your friends.

QUESTIONS:
1. What is your name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your hometown?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. What is your favorite movie?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What is one word to describe yourself?
10. How are you feeling right now?
11. What do you love most in the world?
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Recent Pictures

This blog is going to be just pictures I think. Here are some fun shots from recent events. Mom's birthday, CHA Conference/Clinic, etc....

Me, Katie, and Keebler at the Feb. Donida show

Me, Mom, and Tracy during Mom's birthday celebration

Me riding in the "getting your horse soft in the bridle" class at the CHA Conference

Attempting to help Embry patiently stand still... It was harder than it sounds! :-)

some changes

So most of you know that I was doing AmeriCorps through the Northwest Leadership Foundation (NLF), and I started in Septembe. I had signed up to be a part of the ProTeen team, working with a program called Street Behaviors. Unfortunately, the school district has not funded the program for the current school year, so I have kind of been in limbo for the past 5 months. It has been a frustrating and emotional experience, and hadn't been doing anything really that I could call "service". It was so awesome to get to be around NLF and get to know so many awesome people that are committed to making a real difference in Tacoma. It took me awhile, but about a month ago I made the difficult decision to leave AmeriCorps/NLF. My last day was a few weeks ago, and although I am no longer there, I still treasure the friendships and connections I made there.



After I decided to leave, I felt a real peace with my decision. However, my second thought was, "okay, I have to get a job!" I emailed my old boss at Camp Berachah, where I worked for a few summers, and asked her if they were hiring. She told me that they had a hiring freeze until March because of finances. Then about a week later, I got an email from her and she said that YES, they are hiring for a part-time instructor. My good friend Dawn is leaving her instructor position at the end of February, so they needed someone to take her lessons. So, as of March 1st I am going to be teaching riding lessons! I am SOO excited! This is what I love to do! Although it has nothing to do really with my grad school program (yes, I am staying in school), it is where God has called me at the moment. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity.

Thanks for being so supportive in this journey. And happy Friday the 13th! :-)

let's get physical!

I have been avoiding writing this post for a few months now. I’ve sat down and started typing several times, but for some reason or another I’ve always deleted what I’ve written and ran away from it. I think I thought that writing it would be too personal, too much information. But, this is my blog, and most of you know all about it anyway, so I decided that now was as good of time as any to write this post. So here goes.

Most of you know that I have lost a significant amount of weight in the last year or so. 53 pounds, to be exact! It is something I am working really hard for, that I really wanted, and I wish I had done sooner. However, it took me awhile to get to a point in my life where I was unsatisfied. Not only was I unsatisfied with my body, but I was unsatisfied with how it made me feel. I have always been very active, with dance and riding, and always loved eating my fruits and veggies, but I never really took working out seriously, and I never understood how or why people would willingly go to a gym and sweat for an extended period of time! In middle school and high school PE, I was always the one who would give lame excuses to get out of running, such as “I have cramps” (a classic), “my ankle hurts” (could have been legitimate, after my ankle surgery), “my knees hurt” (LIE!).

Fall of 2007, with the help and encouragement of my wonderful roommate, Jacqueline, I committed to eating healthier. Jacqueline and I started Weight Watchers (we counted points, but didn’t attend meetings). Following Weight Watchers helped me learn about portion size—how much should I really be eating? It also helped acclimate my body to eating less, but eating foods that made me feel very full so I wasn’t craving food. Like I said, the food I was eating before wasn’t bad for me, it was just that I ate too much. Snacking was my downfall, and unnecessary eating in front of the TV contributed to it! Jacqueline and I would watch the Biggest Loser, and do our ab workout while watching people sweat off the pounds! We walked/jogged Bloomsday (12K, about 7.5 miles), in May of 2008. Before graduation I had lost my first 20 pounds!

Also in the fall of 07, I decided I wanted to try running. I remember the first time I went running in my neighborhood in Spokane, my only thought being, “gosh, I hope that no one I know drives by and sees me…” I laced up my tennis shoes and set out in an unknown direction. I jogged a couple of blocks and had to stop, I was so out of breath! I kept persevering, and soon was jogging the loop of my neighborhood several times a week. One day, curious as to how far it was, I drove it with my car, and much to my surprise it was about a mile. During the winter I didn’t run, but as soon as spring set in, I laced up my shoes and went back outside. Running made me feel free. One day I had an epiphany while I was running—this was fun! Although I was sweating and working hard, I could still breathe. My body was doing something that I never believed I could do. I had built up so many excuses over the years that I had created a mental block. At the end of spring I was jogging 2 or 3 laps at a time, and was working on increasing my pace.

Over the summer, I became really committed to the gym. It was way too hot to go running outside, so I stuck to the temperature controlled gym! I worked from 8-5, and every day after work I went straight to the gym. My friends can attest to this. I was at the gym everyday from right after work until about 2 hours later. I ate a healthy diet, low-fat, low-ish carb, high protein, etc… I lost about 25 more pounds over the summer, in about 3 months. I have learned to LOVE the gym.

After moving back to Tacoma, I joined the YMCA, where I have lost about 8 more pounds since September. Although it’s taking awhile for the weight to come off now, this time has given me a chance to reflect on what I’ve learned through this process:

- I have learned that it IS a process. Change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes commitment, hard work, and perseverance.
- I have learned that I am still the same person, just closer to who I am trying to be—someone who lives a healthy life and has a healthy attitude towards food and exercise.
- I have learned that having that extra weight was keeping me hidden, which was a place of comfort for me. Losing weight has made me feel more vulnerable and exposed, which is kind of scary sometimes.
- I have learned that I am capable of pushing myself to my physical limits. I can run a 5K, I can do pull-ups… It has given me more stamina, confidence, and overall health.

Finally, I have learned that this is a journey I will be on my entire life. Once I reach my goal weight, I still won’t be done. It takes commitment to a lifestyle change. And I appreciate all of you who have supported me along the way, who have talked with me and walked with me throughout this process (both theoretically and literally! Rachel and Shanon, I miss walking with you!). Your friendship means a lot to me.

Congrats if you made it to the end of this post! Thanks for reading, and being a part of this process in my life. Whether you know it or not, YOU are amazing!

Welcome to 2009

So I guess I am long overdue for an update. I don't know if anyone ever reads this (Allie, I know you do!), but it's probably time to update my *avid* readers on the last 3 weeks or so. :-)

Christmas was a wonderful time of SNOW, relaxation, and family. It was fun to spend Christmas day with mom and Tracy and some friends of ours. There was so much snow for the two weeks surrounding Christmas! I'm sure most of you experienced it too. One day I took Faulkner on a walk to the coffee shop down the street, only to find after trekking through a foot of snow that it was CLOSED... Tragedy! Needless to say, Faulkner and I enjoyed many walks/runs through the snow during those two weeks. I also got very good at digging my car out, and shoveling the walkway with a garden shovel. My cute little car is such a trooper in the snow, both in Spokane and over here on the west-side.

My winter quarter classes started last week. My Tuesday class is a Diversity class (if only it were more like The Office episode "diversity day"), and my Thursday class is a continuation of a class from last quarter, and we're focusing on Human Behavior and the Social Environment of Families (rather than individuals), this quarter. Should be interesting, and not too difficult. I realized I have made some friends in my cohort, so it's getting fun to get to know people better. I think in 2 more years we will all be good friends! I find that people who go through a common suffering tend to bond rather quickly! :-)

I would ask for your prayers for the next few weeks-- I am going to be undergoing a transition with my job. I will give more details in a future post, but please pray for peace and calm in my heart during this time.

I am taking riding lessons out at camp for this session. I had my first official lesson in over a year on Friday, and it felt so GREAT to be back riding. (Although I was quite sore the next day...) I am excited and feel blessed that I have this opportunity. I am also keeping busy with lots of running and time at the gym, and will be excited when the weather gets better and I can run outside again. (I guess I could run outside now, but I would rather not get soaking wet!). Creepy gym guy is nowhere to be seen the last few weeks. :-)

Happy start of 2009 to you all, and I hope the New Year brings you the start of something amazing.