Headaches..and Good Food!

I drink Mountain Dew WAY too much. Today I tried to not have any pop and I had a terrible headache. I did not want to become grumpy so I went and opened up a can. During the spring I got myself off of caffeine for awhile. However, now I am back on it due to early mornings at work and long days. I know I could be addicted to way worse things, but I want to not be so reliant on it. It also is hard to stop drinking it when I get free pop at work. By the end of the summer I hope to not rely on it so much for energy. I am going to look up foods that will provide that energy, but not the caffeine headache.

I went shopping the other day with some friends (basically to every grocery store!). We went to Aldis and that was actually my first time that I had ever been there! It was amazing! The food there (although mainly all off brands) was so cheap! I was able to buy a lot and I went to pay for it and my total only came to about $9.00! I was so impressed. I now have a new favorite grocery store. With everything being so cheap I can be able to learn how to cook healthy meals. To say the least... I'm pumped!

Our home

Here are some pictures of our new home! Enjoy!

Downstairs living room

Front of our house

Our HUGE backyard

Kitchen

Kitchen

The living room

The living room (again)

My room

My room (different angle)

Summer Goals

So lately I have found that I have had a lot of down time (minus when I am working). Instead of sitting around and just watching TV or being on the internet I have decided to create a list of things I would like to accomplish this summer. So here it is!

1. Relearn the guitar and continue to get better (this also means I need to fix it)
2. Take 20 minute walks every day
3. Run- By the end of the summer be able to run at least 5 miles feeling good
4. Paint a picture/canvas
5. Make green smoothies (I have been hearing a lot about these lately!)
6. Buy a cook book and learn how to cook well-balanced meals
7. ***Study for the GRE- Take the GRE
8. Make a summer dress
9. Dejunk my room- get rid of old clothes as well
10. Start and FINISH a book
11. Have more one on one time with people- be more intentional
12. Become more domesticated- this includes being more lady like and professional

GRE Time

I have officially started studying for the GRE. That is the test to get into grad school. I have a book to study from that a friend generously gave to me. I have found that it is hard to get myself to actually study for it when the sun is shining or I'm tired from a busy day. I plan on taking it mid-July. Grad school is getting closer and closer and I keep getting more nervous. I have only one more year left of undergrad and then I have two really hard years of grad school still left. It makes me sad that a lot of my friends will be done with school next May and I still have to keep going. Sometimes I wish I would have stayed in the education program just to be done next year, but I believe in the long run everything that I am doing right now will be worth it.

Distance sucks... That is all I can say. It sucks being so far away from Jacob all the time. Right now we are on opposite schedules and sometimes it is hard to talk during the day. I cannot wait until the day that we do not have to rely on the phone to be able to talk to each other. I would love to see him more on a day to day basis and not just on the weekends. However, all this depends on him getting a job (and location of the job) and where I will go for grad school. I wish we could fast forward our lives three years from now just to be able to get past all this distance and actually be together in person. I am really excited to spend the Fourth of July with him in Minneapolis. We are doing to do some shopping and go to a Twins game. I cannot wait to spend some good quality time with him.

Phew!

I officially just have two jobs and I can breathe finally! I am already a lot less stressed which is very relieving. Our house is all moved into. We can finally sit and relax and enjoy our new home. It is such a blessing to live with my amazing roomies. Tomorrow I am meeting Jacob's family in Waterloo. The girls are going shopping while the guys enjoy some golf. Jacob is really looking forward to golfing at the course because he has not golfed there since high school so that will be really fun for him. Rain is in the forecast, but hopefully it holds out until after they are done!

That's all I have to say for right now...short and sweet :)

Officially Summer!

So many wonderful things have happened since I last posted! One of my best friends Amy Stellmaker turned into Amy Farley! She is married!! Their wedding was so beautiful! I got the honor of being one of her bridesmaids. They are currently on their honeymoon in North Carolina. Another piece of exciting news is Bailey is ENGAGED to Michael!! They plan on getting married next summer! So exciting!

I finally moved into my new house in Cedar Falls. I live with the best roommates EVER! I get the privilege to live with Becca, Kate and Jill! Jill is gone for the summer, but will move in in August. Currently, Kate, Becca and I are working on decorating our new little home. I will put pictures up when everything is done!

Currently, I have three jobs. Which is very stressful. I am planning on quitting one of them so I do not go crazy this summer. I start the pool job tomorrow which is very exciting! I am learning that I do not need to make a lot of Walmart trips to buy useless things that I do not need. I am definitely learning the value of a dollar. It is a struggle, but it keeps me focused and aware of my spending.

All in all my life is wonderful right now! I love my amazing boyfriend, living with these amazing beautiful girls is so fun, and I am blessed to be able to have at least two jobs to support myself.

Homestretch to Summer

These past couple weeks have seemed to go by really fast! Spring break was so relaxing. I got to spend time with one of my best friends, Kate, and the love of my life, Jacob. Kate and I were really crafty. We made mustache coffee mugs, painted wine glasses, and made flower headbands! It was a blast! Jacob and I continued to learn how to make "grown-up" meals and we were able to just spend quality time with each other. The end of the week was spent with my family which was really fun! We went to the King's Speech and Applebees. The King's Speech was such a great movie and I recommend it to anyone!

Lately, life has been crazy to say the least. God has broken me down. I have learned that without Him I am nothing. I have been carrying around my pride thinking basically the world revolved around me. I have realized that I have not been as loving as I could to people. I regret this. I have had thick skin for the past couple semesters without ever letting my guard down. I am finally ready to let it down and let people in. This will take time, but I want to get to know people and not just on a surface level. I don't want to just vent to them and have them help me, but rather I want to listen to them and help and encourage them.

This weekend I am going home and I could not have chosen a better weekend to get out of Cedar Falls. I just need some time away. I get to see Jacob and hopefully (fingers crossed) see my brother's track meet on Friday. I still need to get work off.

Highlights from the past couple weeks:

• Quality time with Jacob
• Quality time with Kate
• Quality time with family
• Being an assistant clinician is going great!
• Caught up on sleep
• Finally on the homestretch to summer
• Proactive on finding a second job
• Dance party
• Apartment is clean
• Good grades
• City and Colour is currently on One Tree Hill (Two of my all time favorites) :)