Chance Encounters

I've never been more sure God has a plan in my life as much as I have had this weekend.

I worked two long and hard workdays, but met three people I would have never expected to meet.

 

Saturday Night I was working at Pipers when a new couple came to try Pipers. After Mr. Osgood spoke with them, he let me know they had just moved from Seattle to Indiana. So of course, I introduced myself and spoke with them about places to live, life out there, and their journey to Indiana. I was over the moon to meet people who were not born/raised in Seattle and that had great advice on my move.

 

Today, at church, the pastor advised me to speak with a woman whom he knew grew up in Seattle. I, of course, introduced myself to her and got to know her story and her love for Seattle as well.

 

God is present and is paving a way for me. I am so excited for 2013 and all it has to hold for me.

Remember to thank the Big Man upstairs for his hand in your life.

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Review of 2012

Here are my favorite moments from 2012!

 

Getting to visit this beautiful city and all of the wonderful people in it.

(November 1st-6th)

 

Welcoming this baby girl into our roommate love circle!

(June 14th)

Celebrating T-Davis' 21st birthday!

(January 8th)

Senior Homecoming-Unexpected events all weekend!

(October 5th-6th)

 

Welcoming this little guy into our family!

(July 16th)

 

And my favorite moment of all: receiving a call from The Seattle School letting me know of my acceptance!



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Boxing Day Fail

Well, my traditional day of shopping after Christmas was postponed by a Blizzard that decided to hit Indiana today. It started at 5 a.m. and is still going. I am a lover of snow, but not when it interferes with my shopping. I have to work tomorrow so it means shopping will happen (if the roads permit it) after work tomorrow which means I miss out some good deals.

 

Maybe this is God saying I need to be careful with my money. I only have a couple of things I really want on my list, but I usually can find more that I do not necessarily need.

 

Oh well, I am just going to enjoy using my new laptop, being crafty, and hopefully making some money on ebay!

 

Happy day after Christmas to all!

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Goodbye Finals Week!

Shortest finals week of my life and here are hilarious pictures to celebrate!
 

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Finals Week

During most of the school year I am great on staying on top of work and never procrastinating.

But every year finals comes and I realize how great I am at procrastinating. 

Saturday I planned to study most of the day. I rolled out of bed around 11 and decided oh well working out is good for stress so I work out for an hour. Then decide to eat lunch while watching a movie which leads to the entire movie being watched. Shower, then decide I need to straighten my hair which leads to me folding my laundry. Finally around 4, I finally made it to the lab to study and study I did for 4 hours. But wait! During those 4 hours I managed to watch 4 t.v. shows.

Sunday was the same thing and finally I have two finals down.

All my big studying is done, but I am left with a twitch in my eye which always occurs when I am stressed or annoyed.

Welcome finals. I cannot wait to say goodbye to you tomorrow at 5 p.m.

By the way it may seem like I am complaining, but this is the easiest finals week I have had in 4 years so I am actually extremely grateful!

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The Hobbit

This girl stayed up for the midnight premier of the Hobbit last night and  while I was exhausted by 3 a.m when the movie was nearing its end I would definitely say it was worth the lack of sleep and money.

A quote from the movie last night really struck me.

"The world is not in your maps and books, its out there." Gandalf the Grey.

I am constantly being reminded that I cannot always plan out my life or find the answer in a book. Sometimes you have to go and have the real life experience. Sometimes you need to discover it for yourself and not from others.

"It's out there." 

That statement holds so much wonder. What's out there? What will I find? 

The Hobbit is about an adventure and I wonder what my adventure will be in life.

Does it begin in Washington? Does it begin in Indiana? Does it begin today?

What monsters will I face? What decisions will I be faced with? What friends will I make?

The curiosity fuels me and excites/scares me for what is to come, for what may be, and for what is.

 

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New Relationship Thought

I am now beginning to see a pattern in my posts. Most of them have to deal with my future or relationships. So with that, I am sorry if you are tired of hearing the same issues present in my life, but I can't help that these are the two things I have been worried about the most lately.

I took a class this semester called Thought Life and Spiritual Growth and we had the author of one of our books come in on Monday and speak to our class. He helped us work through some of our thoughts and emotions and one of those thoughts was the "No ring by spring" ordeal. If you have never heard of this phrase let me explain: Our campus has this mantra of "Ring by Spring" meaning girls have the goal of receiving an engagement ring by the spring of their Senior year. I know you're are probably thinking "But Rachel, you do not have a ring or a boyfriend for that matter so how will you achieve ring by spring?" I won't! And I am soooo okay with that. 

Okay, back to what I was saying. We talked about the purpose of ring by spring which is to receive a piece of jewelery so we know that we are loved. This is where the revelation began. You do not enter a relationship just so you can receive and if you do, maybe you should reconsider your dating habits.

So here is the revelation:

You cannot need something from someone to love them.

Enter into a relationship because of what you can give them, not what they can give you.

Here is my ordeal:

I have been spending the majority of my college career believing I should just date for fun and see what could come of it. Who cares if we just met or if we might be completely wrong for each other? It's just for fun!

Now, I am starting to see how wrong I have been. Yes, I believe dating is okay and I actually encourage you to do it. You find out a lot about yourself when you do, but change the way you think about it. I have gone on dates thinking "what can you provide for me in a relationship?" Saying it out loud just sounds ridiculous, but the majority of people around me do this. 

"I want someone to make out so I am going to date this guy because he can give me that."

"I need someone to cuddle with so I'll hang out with you."

What if I began to pursue relationships not because of what they can do for me, but because of what I can do for them?

Not only has this dramatically changed my dating/relationship idea, but I have also been thinking along these lines as I plan for my future career. I want to be reminded that I am not pursuing the goals I have to benefit from them; I am pursuing them because I want to serve and present my gifts to someone else and say "what can I do for you?" 

I would love to hear your thoughts about this idea of entering a relationship because of what you can give them and not what they can give you. Disagree or agree or be neutral; I'll still love you through it! 

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Finals Week Playlist

Well, I am at that point in the semester where I find myself on campus a lot typing away just like I should be doing right now, but I am super distracted.

So I thought I'd give you some songs you may want to add to your play list.

Diamonds by Rihanna. 

Catchy, upbeat, and gets you started on that hard work.

Or the perfect song to take a little dance break to.

I have always been a James Morrison fan because his voice makes you fall in love.

If you need something sappy or raspy, this is your man.

Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon. This song is just too good to pass up!

I am loving the new sounds of music that are coming and this is one of those songs that is also too good to pass it up.

Who knew Ellie Goulding had better songs than just her hit "Lights?"

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Boxing Day

While some people live for Christmas Day, I live for the day after Christmas or what we like to call Boxing Day. Why you may ask?

Because this is my annual shopping to get the best deals day!

Majority of my Christmas money goes to buying some new fashion for my wardrobe, but this year I am planning on only buying a few things and going to the store with a list rather than just looking for anything.

So here are the things I have on my list so far...

Yoga pants which I am obsessed with as on October. They are so comfy and you can dress them up or down! $13

 

These target black flats. Currently $20 online.

 

This Target Coat. It is currently $47.99 and I am hoping it at least goes down to $30.

I of course want some new old navy jeans and hopefully a cute top or two.

Anything on your wish list?

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Lovely Moments

It's Sunday and I was able to tell my week was crazy when I found myself waking up at 2 p.m. Yes, I've only been up for 4 hours and I've watched a movie and three t.v. shows.

Let me just tell you about the lovely moments in my week.

On Wednesday, my beautiful mother and brother came to campus. My little bro is a Senior in high school and he and his girlfriend are considering good ole' AU as a college choice. Could I be anymore proud? Later that night my momma and I went to see Buddy Valastro, The Cake Boss downtown. Who knew making cakes look amazing was so easy! It was so fun and reminded me of our four years ago adventure to go and see Celine Dion over Christmas. Celine Dion is ten times better than Buddy Valastro, but time with my momma was the frosting on the cake. (How's that for a pun?!)

Thursday was a fun night of karaoke-ing with my friends. Lots of Britney Spears and N*Sync. And I also got a phone call from Huntington University letting me know I was accepted into their program. 2/4 down.

Friday I drove down to Pipers and got to spend the night working in the kitchen, it only took four years of working there to spend an entire night in the kitchen.

Saturday I had dinner with my Ball State friends and attended a going away party for my Jones twin. Then I drove back to AU and went to Cheap Thrills. I only have two left before my time here at AU is done. Weird to think about.

Choosing to see this week filled with lovely moments than busy events made me cherish the time so much more!

 

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They finally called....

So remember how I posted last Thursday about waiting for a call from the Seattle School and how I said they would most likely call me that day since I wrote about it.

So here's what they had to say....

I was freaking out the whole time that I did not actually hear what Nicole Greenwald had to say at first, but here are her words...

You have been accepted to the Seattle School and we would love to have you be apart of our 2013 cohort.

Did you get that? Did you?

I'm in! My number one choice accepted me! I was pretty sure she said I had not been accepted at first, but then I realized I was crazy and start acting like a little girl. My emotions were all over the place. I almost cried, but then I woo-hoo'd instead.

It was actually a really awesome call. Not only because they called to tell me I was accepted, but they also explained why they thought I was a good fit for the program. I was just really amazed and thankful, and a whole lot of other emotions.

Now I have a couple of weeks to pray and decide if this is the path for me after I graduate in May. I have a lot to figure out. Prayers are appreciated!  

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