A wonderful day!

First off, the weather today is so nice. It has been in the low 80's all day! :) and very windy of course. It is Oklahoma after all. It has just been so nice today! It feels so much like summer. It was nice not having to wear a sweater today and getting to wear my chacos without my feet freezing. I also am really excited about sitting outside and doing my homework today! It is going to be grand. 

Now, for the best thing of the day...

My mystery package has arrived...

I got A NEW DIGITAL CAMERA! :) :)

This is seriously a huge surprise. Me and my dad talked about it over Christmas break, but he said that he couldn't really afford to buy me a new camera and such since our house was still in the process of selling, and the moving expenses were much more than anticipated. Well, our house did sell and my dad decided to put some of the money to a new camera for me! I am so ridiculously excited. Seriously. I thought I would have to wait at least until my birthday and have my grandparents buy me one, but my dad had other plans apparently! :) My old camera was not cutting it. It was ridiculously slow and had awful color. It was getting on my nerves, but nothing I couldn't live with. I was not expecting to get a new camera at all. It took me off guard and I am so excited! And, as my dad pointed out, I will have the camera just in time for Rochelle's wedding! Even better! Man, this was such a wonderful surprise. I still can't believe it! And I really can't wait to put it to use! Woop!! :) :)

PS: If you care to know, it's a Fujifilm FINEPIX 12 Mega pixells! I really like it. It has a lot more pictures and awesome color! It is so cool.

The Pink Slip

My mailbox had a pink slip in it today. Oh how glorious! Care Packages have to be the greatest thing ever! I got one today in the mail from dad. I was so excited. It made me feel really good. Other than a Valentine's card from my grandmother :) this was the first mail I have received all semester. I LOVE mail... and I love packages! This package contained a random assortment of items. There were two freaking tight water bottles from REI! My dad couldn't decide on one, so he sent me both! There was a card that said "Happy Easter my SON!" Initially I was offended, then I laughed a lot. My dad would do something like that. Ha. It was great. There was some money (which is always appreciated) and some stamps so I can continue sending things to my dear friends! It was so cool. However, there were some down sides. This particular care package was filled with candy! Mike and Ike's (my absolute favorite), dark chocolate (also a favorite), some M&Ms and a snickers. If I had received this last week I would have been over joyed, however, I started my diet this week! :( It is completely awful staring at these temptations. My dad feels kinda bad considering he sent this before I decided on my diet. It is ok though... I will allow myself small tastes everyday just to get my fix, and not put all this candy to waste :)! I can only have very small amounts, so this candy should last a long time! Ha.

My dad also sent me another package. I will be getting it on Thursday. Apparently it is pretty awesome, but I have no idea what to expect. My dad is really excited for me to get it... and is loving how much this is driving me crazy! Ha. I'll post about the mystery package on Thursday.

Coffee and Soap Operas

First off, I went to Starbucks today to put my gift card to good use. Oh, and it was good! I just love everything that is Starbucks. I don't like anything coffee... but I absolutely love the smell. My nostrils rejoice as I walk in to this lovely establishment. I love the feel of being in Starbucks. I know it is cliche, and it is one of the biggest chains out there, but I can't help it. I feel so 'cool' when I am there. There is something sophisticated about being in any coffee house. Plus, it lends itself to some rather relaxing studying (even though that is not what I did today). I could spend so much money in there. It is ridiculous. I just love Starbucks! :)

Second, I decided my future today. I am dropping out of school and moving to L.A. to become a soap opera actress. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier!! Today was watching GH online (ya know, catching up from the past week) and it hit me... I love soap operas, and I am known for being a tad dramatic... PERFECT! So, I texted my bffae to inform her of my new dream. She supported me all the way and wondered why I haven't already done this. In discussing our future she decided to drop out and join me to be my manager/agent. I don't think it gets better than that! Plus, she really does have my best interests at heart. We have a rather elaborate plan for this... and many of the details cannot be told to the world, but trust me... this whole thing is brilliant! If I am going to do this I need a good stage name. My trusted agent helped with this one... and we decided on Autumn Jefferies. It has a nice ring to it. I am going to have to get some hair extensions and pick up some new behaviors and mannerisms to go along with this new persona, but I can handle it! Ha! We have decided to catch a red eye to L.A. tonight and leave all this school madness behind us! What a brilliant plan. I know what you are thinking... "but Danielle is supposed to be going into ministry." Don't worry, we have that covered. She will witness to my cast and we will hold bible studies in the morning before we start shooting for the day. Ya know, of all our crazy plans for our future, this has got to be the best one by far! 

Oh, and two of my favorites got something in the mail from me today... and it made me very, very happy! :) Yay. I love you two very much! 

Fireproof

I watched the movie Fireproof for the first time Saturday night. My roommate had bought it when she was home last weekend and since she actually spent Saturday night in Shawnee, we watched it. Now, I hadn't really heard of this movie before, and apparently I am the only one. Oh well, I went with it anyway and was all for watching it. And boy am I glad I did!

Basically, the movie is about a married couple on the brink of divorce and all the struggles they go through during this tough time in their marriage as well as the process to finding their way back to each other. I don't want to say anymore more than that, just in case there is still someone out there who doesn't know how the movie plays out. 

Now, I know A LOT of hardcore movie critics (which is actually rather frustrating, but that's another subject entirely). If you are one of these who only watches great movies and scoff at anything not oscar worthy (or whatever standard you use) then I wouldn't really recommend this movie. The acting is certainly on the cheesy side at times, and there are a few 'catchphrases' that might bring about the slight chuckle in what would otherwise be a serious moment. However, to everyone else who is capable of enjoying movies despite these factors, please go watch it!

In my opinion, this was an awesome movie. I seriously loved it. I love Kirk Cameron (and I have loved him since Growing Pains!) and I really liked the premiss of the movie. I loved the concept of the "love dare" even though I am not married, and won't be for a very long time. I am not going to lie, I even got a little chocked up during the movie. This is not to say I cried, because I hardly ever do that anymore, but it genuinely touched me, and I don't care who knows it! Side note: my roommate cried like a baby! haha. It kinda amused me :). Anyway, I got a lot out of this movie. I felt like it was just bursting with lessons and things that everyone should apply to their lives, or at least try to remember and work at harder. To quote danielle this is "the most redemptive movie ever." Oh how true that is. I spent much of this movie enraged at these characters, but by the end I was filled with joy. It was so cool, and so worth sticking out. I can't wait to watch this movie again soon! Man. It was just so good!

This movie also left me with a challenge: I need to learn to love better. 

I have been afraid of loving lately. I have been very hesitant toward showing my love for others and investing into others anymore because I have been so afraid of getting hurt. But, it really shouldn't matter. Christ called us to love because He first loved us. And when we don't know how to love, or we don't want to love, Christ is our example. He instills in us an ability to love one another in a way that we could never do on our own. I am so grateful for that. I need to look at Christ's life and learn how to love better. He got hurt. Peter denied Him three times. He understand the pain that can result from loving people and not having them return it, or having them turn around and throw it in your face, but He loved anyway. So, that is my challenge, to learn to love better!

"Fanny Fatigue"

My anatomy professor can be pretty dang funny. He catches you off guard with some of his awkward jokes. It is pretty entertaining at times. For instance, today he coined the phrase "fanny fatigue" in discussing the importance of moving patients who are bed ridden. I don't know, maybe it's one of those 'you had to be there' moments, but I thought it was funny. He talked about 'Jon and Kate then 8 of isn't life great.' I don't remember what context that was used in, but funny nonetheless. 

Anatomy is stressing me out like crazy, but I still enjoy it. I am really nervous for my test Tuesday. I have started studying but part of me feels like I will never learn all that I need to. And I am worried about the lab quiz on Wednesday. Blah. Next week is going to be extra stressful! :)

However, studying anatomy has put me in such awe of God's creation. It is so amazing to me how God knew everything we would physically need. He knew what to make our bodies out of. He knew how things needed to work together with one another. He knew how many cells we would require to perform certain tasks, and so on. It is simply awesome to think about all the little details of our body, and how God knows them so intimately because He created us. I don't know, I am probably not making any sense, but I am simply amazed at His craftsmanship! :)

Oh and another awesome thing about God/today...

I was working out at 6:30 this morning (as is per usual now!) and was able to watch the sunrise! It was SO beautiful! It took my breathe away. Plus, I was listening to David Crowder (even though it is not typical 'workout music') and I realized just how beautiful life can be sometimes. It was wonderful. I can't explain it, but the mixture of wonderful music, a great workout and a beautiful sunrise just started my day off right! I left the gym so joyful! Man. I loved it. Plus I found out that my 9:30 was cancelled today! Awesome! I have been feeling so good lately. I have been seeing God in so many more things than I used to. I am not nearly so focused on the darkness. I feel like I am finally claiming that victory I have had in Christ all along. He has been so good to me, and working in ways I could have never expected. It's truly wonderful!

Cadavers and Zambian Vocal Groups

Today was a rather interesting day...

Zambian Vocal Group:

I went to chapel today and we had this Zambian Vocal Group perform. It was amazing!! Seriously. It was so cool. I was on the edge of my seat and giddy with excitement. James was sitting next to me and was thoroughly mesmerized as well! They all had on these matching African shirt things. They sang in 3 different African languages as well as in English. They also had no instruments, but they made the sounds of various instruments vocally. It was so cool. Man, I am so glad I went to chapel today! :)

Cadavers:

Yep, today was my first cadaver lab for anatomy! It was quite the experience I must say! We had about 30 minutes or so of introduction/basic lab rules and then we were lead into the other room where the bodies were awaiting us. It was pretty surreal at first I must say. We have 2 cadavers. The male died at age 84 from prostate cancer. The female died at age 63 from lung cancer. I think this is going to be really cool to see once we get into that region of dissection. I am looking forward to seeing the visual affect cancer had on each of these organs. Today we dissected the arm (above the elbow, or olecranon) and the leg (above the knee or patella). It was tight. Like I said, at first it was certainly surreal. However, that is all in your head. Once you stop focusing on the fact that you are cutting into a dead person you will quickly be able to detach yourself and focus on the task at hand. I know this sounds a little odd, but it is true. We were all assured countless times that we would quickly forget that we were working on a person, and sure enough we did. I found it rather easy to detach. Today was neat in that it was an exploratory mission. We were just cutting through the skin and the fat and the tissue. We were discovering muscles and nerves and tendons and arteries! It was so insane. The human body is so complex. In the leg we found the femoral artery! That might have been the highlight. It was so big and so thick. It looked like a very large straw. No wonder people can die pretty quickly if that is severed. The muscles in the thigh also looked very much like beef jerky! Good thing I never ate beef jerky in the first place... ha. There were some not so thrilling parts to this lab. Cutting through so much fat was disgusting! The cadavers we have are not heavy by any means, but they both had so much fat on their bodies. I couldn't believe it. It was not the most pleasant task. Oh, and worst of all... THE SMELL! Oh it was awful. Being trapped in a room for 3 hours with the overwhelming smell of fermaldahide (sp?) is awful. Blah. And, it was leaking everywhere. The body would ooze this stuff and it would get all over the floor, and occasionally your clothes. I think the odor is trapped in my nose hairs permanently! Ew. But, all in all it was a very positive experience. I am completely overwhelmed with the amount of information I need to learn, and so I am stressed, but I liked lab. It was a very neat experience. Plus, I think it is cool that not every school gets a cadaver lab, yet OBU has one! Ha. Go figure! 

Mornings

...Are my absolute least favorite thing about life. I hate waking up. I hate seeing the sunrise. I hate the idea of starting a new day. I hate the idea that regardless of how much sleep I get the night before, I still wake up exhausted. I hate climbing out of my bed. I hate the sound of my alarm. I hate knowing that I have to get dressed and go to class. Mornings are simply awful to me. However, I made a little resolution this semester. I decided to wake up 50 minutes to an hour before I need to leave for class each morning. It is ridiculous and most the time I hate myself for this decision. However, it has had some great benefits! I wake up as miserable as ever, but I find myself a much more pleasant person by the time I leave my room. I am able to get ready at a nice pass. I really am enjoying not having to rush in the morning. I have also discovered that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is on every morning, so I get my fill! I also find myself a tad more awake for my first class than I did when I had rolled out of bed 20 minutes before class started. 

I will always hate mornings, but I am rather proud of myself for this new discipline. Let's hope I keep it up! :)

Weekend of Solitude

Being back at school means A LOT of alone time for me, especially on the weekends. My roomie goes home every weekend, and this one was no exception. So, I knew I had the whole weekend to myself. I knew I had the room to myself (which can be pretty nice at times), but I also knew that I was stuck here with no one to talk to, no one to see, no where to go. Yeah. It is nice at times, but it gets old too. I was so used to being around people the past 6 weeks. Even if it was just my dad or my grandparents, someone was always around. I always had someone to talk to or to entertain me or the ability to go somewhere. I do not have that here. It is definitely an adjustment. The good news (if you can call it good) is that I have tons and tons of homework. So, my lonliness is not too overwhelming. I have plenty of 'distractions.' It is a little sad that I have been spending Friday and Saturday nights in my room making anatomy flash cards, doing spanish homework, doing algebra problems and reading for history and english. Man, I lead such an exciting life. I did go out for a nice walk today. I enjoyed the fresh air. Which made me think about my feelings towards the different seasons. I have always loved winter. I get so excited once it starts getting cold. The main reason for this... I really, really like to wear sweatshirts and be all bundled up! I don't know why, but I do. However, this past week it has been 75 and sunny everyday! It has been beautiful and when I finally made myself get out in the fresh air, I was pleasently surprised. I am so excited for spring and summer! I missed my flip-flops, shorts and tshirts so much! Man, I can't wait! :)

In my breaks from studying I have been watching season one of friends. Regardless of my mood, I always laugh at this show. I'll never get sick of it! I have also been playing the new Fray cd quite a bit. I like it. Good stuff. 

My first cadaver lab is wednesday. I am really excited. The fact that I will be cutting into what was once a living, breathing, feeling human being is a bit strange, but I am assured that it isn't as weird once you start. Either way, I am really looking forward to it. I am sure there will be a post about it Wednesday night!

On a less positive note, my migraines and back problems are back in full force! I attribute this to a lot of stress and very little sleep. I really hate it. Blah. If you knew me senior year you probably witnessed just how bad my back can get. I am at the point where I can't move. I am stiff and I look retarded... good thing I don't leave my room! ha. I just want to stop hurting. Ugh. ha. We will see. 

Spring break is rapidly approaching. I booked my flight today! Woop! I can't wait! Rochelle's wedding and my baptism! It is going to be a wonderful break!! :) Plus, I can't wait to get home!! 

Oh, I almost forgot! Taylor is coming to OBU to stay with me Friday night! YAY!!! I am so excited to see her, even if only for one night! I am looking forward to it so much. :)

That is also valentine's weekend. I usually don't get sad/depressed/angry/emotional/stressed/annoyed on this day, but my roommate does. She will come back to OBU sometime saturday and I promised to spend the day with her watching chick-flicks and eating junk food and complaining about how dumb guys are. I think it will be fun. Ha. It will be weird considering I am pretty unaffected by this day, and I really don't have any complaints against the male gender, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun. My roommate will probably cry a lot, but I can handle it I think. We are pretty good friends and I am actually looking forward to spending a Saturday with her! Ha. Should be interesting. 

Oh yes, and I really wish I was artsy/creative. I mean really. Whether this was dance, music, painting/drawing, I don't care. I just wish I had these kind of skills. :/ Oh well... it's cool I suppose. 

There is nothing better in this world

than having a BFFAE. Seriously. I am so lucky. I don't think I tell my bffae enough how great I think she is... so I dedicate this post to her!

Tonight I needed a listening ear and was quick to find it. I was reminded out how awesome danielle is. She wants to fix everything for me, and although tonight was a night in which I didn't want to have things fixed, I realized how lucky I am to have someone so willing to do whatever they can for me. You don't find that just anywhere. It is a privalege, not a right. Ha. In fact, our whole friendship is such a privalege. I feel like I could talk about the wonders of this friendship for hours upon hours and still only cover a small fraction of it, but I will attempt to explain its awesomeness tonight. 

Me and danielle grew up together. We met in 2nd grade. She was the first person to talk to me after I was fresh out of Ohio. Instant friendship. Of course, friendships at that age can be fickle, so I had no idea what was awaiting me with this one. We survived elementary school, junior high and high school together. We only had one class together in all those years, and lunch together only a few of the years, but we made it! When we were kids we fought ALL the time. I take most of the blame because I was a ridiculous brat. I don't know how or why she put up with me, but I am glad she did. For years we had a pretty strict weekend routine planned out. She spent the night at my house on Fridays and then on Saturdays I stayed at her house and went to church with her family on Sundays. I quickly became one of them. Such a blessing! At some point we limited ourselves to Saturdays and Sundays. We had many adventures in our day. We got grounded (together) once. I broke her bunk beds. I did chores. I even was forced to eat beans once. We were sisters, no longer just friends. We even used to wear matching outfits! Yes, it is true. 

Our friendship continued to grow and mature as we got older. We got along much better as we grew up and it was awesome. We went through everything imaginable together. I couldn't have picked a better person to spend my awkward junior high years, and my challenging high school years with. When I say that we have been through EVERYTHING together, I mean it. If you know us and anything about our lives, we have faced it all. We are stronger for it. Our bond is even tighter. I wouldn't be who I am without danielle in my life. Here are a few things I love about her//our friendship:

1. Danielle is incredibly optimistic about all things. I am not. I love her for this.

2. Danielle is joyful. I can't help but be the same when I am with her.

3. Danielle is one of, if not the most hilarious people I know. I am guaranteed a lot of laughter every time I am with her.

4. We can spend every single moment of everyday together for a week and never run out of things to talk about.

5. We can sit in silence for hours and never face an awkward moment.

6. There are no filters on our private conversations. Absolutely none. It is truly awesome and has lent itself to some pretty memorable moments ;)

7. We don't really have secrets. There is simply no need

8. We have seen eachother at our absolute worst, and we love eachother nonetheless. 

9. Danielle is better than me at everything she tries. School, sports, communication, leadership, organization (except in her room ;)) and being a friendly person. Therefore, she makes me look good. 

10. She knows me so well. We grew up together and there is no use in trying to hide anything. 

11. We have FUN! all the time, it's a party

12. We have elaborate plans for our future. It looks pretty good.

13. Danielle is so passionate about the things she loves. It is inspiring

14. She is a great accountability partner

15. She is focused and determined, but never ever too serious about anything.

16. We watched now and then every weekend for a good 2 or 3 years straight, and we still are not sick of it.

17. In everything we watch we pick characters. Ours always end up being the best friends.

18. Danielle will defend me. She has my back all the time. When someone hurts me, she is there for me. I can count on her, no matter what.

19. Blasting music together... awesome! Singing together... INCREDIBLE! (you should hear us sing some pring of egypt ;))

20. We are family. I don't care how cheesy it sounds... our relationship is greater than friendship.

Danielle is the best bffae I could have asked for. I realize that not everyone has a friendship like this. I am so dang blessed. Danielle has been a true friend. Through thick and thin she has not waivered. When others have deserted me, she has stuck with me. Not a day goes by that I am not 100% confident in the strength of this friendship. No one else encourages me like danielle does, especially lately. She is always there to tell me what she knows I need to hear. This is one friendship I know deep down will last until we die. We are going to be old ladies still hanging out together. It is awesome. I am so lucky. God knew I would need someone like danielle in my life, and boy did he provide!

So, here's to you bffae. I know I don't tell you enough, but I love you very much. You have been there for me since the 2nd grade, and I know that will never change. Thank you. This past month has been exceptionally difficult on me. You have been there to listen to me cry and pour out the hurt I have. You have been there to lift me up again and assure me of our friendship. When other friendships have failed, you have remained. Our friendship is far from perfect... but I like it that way. We don't need perfection. I miss you more than you know and I can't wait until I see you again. You are a beautiful person inside and out. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for all of your love. Thank your for all of your encouragement. Thank you for all of your guidance. Thank you for all of your joy. Thank you for all of your hope. Thank you for all of your faith. Thank you for your consistancy. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for letting me trust you. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for living this life with me. Thank you for always making time for me. Thank your for you humor. Thank your for all our random (potentially inapproiate ;)) conversations. I love you.