Saturday, November 13, 2010

Ooooklahoma where the winds go sweepin down the plain! (Part 2)

So Allison and I started the second day of our road trip to Oklahoma off early in the morn. We packed up our stuff and went to Starbucks for me and Sonic for Allison. When we were leaving Sonic, a bigger vehicle started backing up. Allison didn't see them right away, and they did not make any attempt at stopping. I started to panic, so I just pointed and grunted to get Allison's attention. She screamed and then honked continuously at them. They had a huge dent near their bumper, so it was obvious that they have had issues with this "not looking where they're going" sort of thing before. Luckily there was no collision and we were able to continue on our journey. After we had been driving for a little bit, we came to the realization that we were going to run into a toll booth. Crap. Neither of us had any cash or change on us. So we pulled up to the booth and Allison politely told the lady our situation. She said we could pay in pennies or with a check. It makes no sense to me why you should be able to pay with a check but not a credit card. Anywho, a check was the only solution. So Allison had to write a check for $1.15. Sad, I know. The lady informed us that we would have to pay another toll in a few more miles. So I began the desperate search for change. We were both completely frantic. Luckily I was able to find enough change in Allison's purse. But then when we got to the toll booth, for some reason it didn't work and we just had to drive away. We didn't have any more change and there was a huge line of cars behind us.
With all that craziness behind us, we headed to Red Rock Canyon. On the country road to the canyon, we saw a sign that read a little something like this, "Don't pick up any hitchikers in this area because they could be possible escaped inmates." Praise the Lord that we didn't pick up any hitchhikers like Allison wanted. Then when we got to the canyon we were pleasantly surprised by the scenic drive through all the trees with beautiful autumn leaves. We got out and walked around the park. At one point we looked up and saw a family walking on a rock higher up. Allison wanted to go up there and started walking in that direction. I thought she was expecting me to scale that giant rock to get to the top. There was no way. So I said to Allison, "There is no way we can get up there. I mean there are kids up there. There is no way that they climbed up that. There must be another way to get up." Allison stared at me with a bewildered look and then said, "Why don't we just take the stairs?" I didn't understand, but I looked over to where she was pointing and sure enough there were some stairs. I don't know how I didn't see them, and I felt like a dummie. I tried to make an excuse about how I didn't see them because they were covered in leaves, but it was too late. I already had made an idiot of myself. So we climbed the stairs and started exploring on the rocks and through the trees. Later on, we started out on another trail. There was a sign that said stay on the trail. I started taking pictures off to the side, when all of a sudden I heard Allison yelp, "Becky!" I looked over and saw that one of her feet was completely submerged in mud. Never go off the trail: lesson learned. She was able to pull her foot out of the mud, but it made this suction-like gurgling noise. Her shoe and the bottom of her pants were completely soaked with mud. We had fun hiking and climbing trees. We came across an old man and his grandson. Allison, being the social person she is, carried on a polite conversation with the old man. Me, being the shy unsocial hermit that I am, just stood there and had a staring contest with the little boy. We then left the canyon and headed to some Indian trading posts. They were legit. They had a teepee, buffalo, totem pole, etc. It was better than my dreams. I was not happy with the shirts available for purchase, so we decided to just stop at the next one. At the second one, I found a wonderful Indian wolf shirt that I just had to buy. Then we stopped at Lucille's Roadhouse to eat. It was an adorable little diner that touched our hearts. Allison bought a tshirt from there, so that she would always remember Lucille and her wonderful food. We stopped in Shamrock real quick, but then before we knew it we were back in good old Canyon. Once we got settled back in, we watched 7  Brides for 7 Brothers, a lumberjack musical. It was a perfect finish to a monumental road trip weekend.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Ooooklahoma where the winds go sweepin down the plain! (Part 1)

So last Thursday night, my friend Allison and I decided last minute that we would take a road trip to Oklahoma that upcoming weekend. We both did some research about things we could go see. She was totally pumped about this road trip because she had never been to Oklahoma before. Many people had told her that Oklahoma was boring and that there's nothing to do there. Allison Post did not want to believe this, and she wanted to prove them wrong by having a great time in Oklahoma. While on this trip, she thought it would be fun if we slept in the car, took showers at truck stops and picked up a hitchhiker. I knew right away that this was going to be a legendary road trip.
We woke up early Friday morning to hit the road. We ate at the caf before we left. While we were there, we witnessed a guy who was still drunk from the night before. How classy. We then packed up the car and started our drive. Allison really wanted to take a picture with the "Welcome to Oklahoma!" sign. It's hard to miss this sign but somehow we did. Along the way, we saw another Oklahoma sign, but we didn't see it in time to get off the highway. So we decided it was important enough to turn around and try to get back to it. We somehow ended up right where we got off, and decided to just try and catch it on the drive back.
We stopped in a small town called Sayre. We parked and took some pictures. People driving by stared and waved at us, and truck drivers honked at us. It was awkward, for real. We had fun walking around the town and looking in a Christmas store. We got back on the road and drove all the way to Oklahoma City. We went to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. It was quite a delightful experience. It had the coolest Cowboy and Indian stuff, and there was a beautiful outdoor garden. They also had a little town in there called Prosperity Junction that was quite quaint. There was a little chapel and schoolhouse. There was a guard in there, that tipped his cowboy hat at us and said, "Evening ladies." We decided right then and there that  Prosperity Junction was the place for us.
We then went to Toby Keith's restaurant in Bricktown. Even though we were so tired and almost fell asleep at the table, we enjoyed a good hamburger and as usual ate too much. We decided to walk around Bricktown after our big lunch. Bricktown had such a great atmosphere, especially with the canals and plethora of brick buildings. We found a part of town near the train tracks where there was Indian mural and some buffalo statues. We had fun attempting to take a few jumping pictures, too. We then tried to find one of the trolleys that drive around downtown. We sat on a bench and waited for like 15 minutes. We occupied our time by talking like we were British and saying things like, "Hello trolley people!" We were acting like eager beavers and we had our quarters ready to pay. Then when the trolley finally got there, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the trolley was free. Some of the other passengers were quite interesting. One was a homeless man, who kept acting like he was shooting stuff. It was quite entertaining. We however didn't know how to alert the driver when we wanted to get off. Luckily we were watching the homeless man, who got off before us and we saw that he pulled a cord when it got to his stop. It's sad that we had to learn this from a crazy homeless man.
Then when we got back on the road, it was around 5 and the traffic was pretty bad. We both heard a noise that sounded like a flat tire. So Allison pulled over and I got out to check the tires. None of the tires were flat and everything was fine till we tried to get back on the highway. There were so many cars that it was impossible to find an opening to merge. So we sat on the shoulder of the road for 15 minutes waiting. And we waited, and waited. Finally we were able to get back on the road and then we headed to POPS on Route 66. It had a big coke bottle sculpture thing outside that was really cool. They had a ton of different flavors of sodas, and it made it very difficult to decide on just one. We took our sodas to go and headed to Stillwater where we would be staying with Allison's friend. It was pretty chill after that, but we were completely exhausted. It was quite a fun-packed day, but there was even more excitement to come the next day.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Dragons, baseball, friends and pancakes!

Like I said in my last post, I have had a very stressful week. Everything seemed to be happening all at once and I felt like I had taken up residence in the HELC. But as the week progressed, things got much better. One piece of scripture that really helped me was Psalm 51:12. "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." We used to sing this all the time at my church. I never realized where it came from though. So during the week anytime I felt overwhelmed, I would say/sing this verse to myself and I would feel calm for a little bit. I thought that I would compile a list of things that helped me survive this week.
1. How to Train Your Dragon (watched it three times since it came out on Friday)
2. Texas Rangers baseball (World Series here we come!!!)
3. Level 2 Family trip to Barnes & Noble and Starbucks
4. Psalm 51:12
5. Mod Podge program with Level 2 (accompanied by a Ranger's game)
6. Coffee date with Tiffany, and then a Midnight Ihop run with Tiffany and Morgan (also accompanied by a Ranger's game)
As you can tell from the list, the Ranger's were a big part of my week. I'm just so excited that my boys are going to the World Series! And to make things even better, I get to go to Game 3 of the World Series next weekend!
Needless to say, God got me through this week by blessing me with little things every day. 

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

So this weekend I got to go home to see the Rangers game. I was so excited! They played a great game and beat those stinkin Yankees! It was a wonderful experience! Then I came back to school to a whole lot of stress and craziness. I have a math project that I have to work on with a partner. I need a calculator to do the project. I ordered one a month ago and it still hasn't come in. Then I have two online classes that I constantly have homework for. Then I studied all last night for a test that I had today. It ended up not really being a test, and we went through the entire "test" together as a class. So I pretty much wasted all that time. Then my laptop kept messing up yesterday. It can be fickle sometimes so I just went to the HELC. When I got back it was still messing up. I had some people try to help me fix it, and I even took it to the IT guys in the HELC, but they couldn't fix it. So I'm left without my computer, which has all my work for my classes. My biggest concern though is that my online class's unit journals are on my computer. Those journals count as my midterm and I can't get to them now. Which means I have to redo all of them before Sunday. Great. That's just great. So now I'm just a big bundle of stress and nerves. I feel like everything is going crazy in my life. My response to stress is running, and then counter-acting that with tons of food. This makes me feel even worse. So I'm not really sure why I'm writing about all of this because none of you really want to hear me complain. But it makes me feel better to write out my frustrations. I know God has a plan and all this is happening for a reason. God is refining me and it is not a comfortable experience. I need to stop depending on things of this world to comfort me. I need to trust in the Lord, and let Him be the one that I turn to when my life is a mess. I should wake up and want to spend time in the Word, not check my facebook. Even though I feel unhappy and lost right now, I know that these times of trials and stress will bring me closer to God.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

So Monday night is my bible study night. I go to an upperclassmen one, and then before that one is finished I run over to one in my dorm. I love bible studies and getting to hear what is on everyone's heart and being able to set apart a time in my day to just read the word and talk about Jesus. So last night I went about my normal routine of running to and fro to bible studies. When I got to the Cross Hall Bible study, I was a little exhausted and stressed. I was worried that the cookies I had made for the two upperclassmen bible studies tasted like crap. I was worried about all the school work that I have been procrastinating on. I was worried about my future and whether I'm majoring in the right thing and also if I will be a old, single, cat-lady for the rest of my life. (You have probably realized by now that I worry over every little thing. I'm usually a stress bubble most of the time.) Needless to say, my mind was overflowing with doubt. So I sat down in the lobby ready to get Bible study over with, so that I could go back to my room and procrastinate and worry some more. Then Lindsey started talking about God's will for our lives, and what that really meant. We talked about that for awhile, and then Lindsey talked about her trip to Poland. While she was there, she visited some concentration camps and she told us how it affected her and her faith. By the time she was done talking I just wanted to cry. I'm not exactly sure what it was that she said, but something at that Bible study really spoke to my heart. So once we finished I went straight back to my room, locked the door, turned off the light and just prayed. I was in there for a good hour and half just praying, crying my eyes out, and singing praises to God. I realized how busy and selfish I had been so far this semester. I hadn't realized how far from God I had been till I had returned to Him and was sitting in perfect peace at His feet. For the first time since school had started, I didn't feel stressed or worried or consumed with anything but God. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I hadn't cried in I don't know how long. This time was a perfect gift from God, that he knew I desperately needed. As I sat in my comfy sofa chair in my completely dark room just singing and crying, I opened my eyes to see all my glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs glowing all over my room. It's sad but that was so perfect to me. I couldn't stop smiling. And to top off this perfect evening, I suddenly heard the voices of my two friends, Audrie and Allison, singing "Just Around the Riverbend" outside my door. I for sure wasn't opening that door because I looked plain old nasty with my tear-stained face. So I sat there and let them bang on my door and I laughed silently to myself. Its weird but the combination of those glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs, my friends singing Pocahontas songs, a wonderful Bible study, and a perfect time of prayer and singing to God made for one of the most precious and beautiful times I have ever had. I couldn't sleep after that, and I just wanted to tell everyone I knew about how good God has been to me. Since it was late at night, I ended up just calling my little brother and telling him how God had just swept me off my feet. I wish I could have that attitude and intensity about God all the time. So when I woke up this morning, I was pumped up and ready to go out and live life. I know there will be many, many days where I won't feel that excited about getting out of bed. But I hope that I never forget that God has placed me where I am for a reason, and that every day He gives me is a blessing. I need to live for his glory every day no matter what the circumstance. As my pastor said last Sunday, "Sometimes we don't feel like doing something, but we do it anyway because He is still worthy." And a good way to wrap this all up is this line from my devotional that I read last night. "You gave Your life for me because You loved me. Help me to do the same for You."

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Kitty Litter, Milk and Ground Squirrel!

So the other night my friends Audrie and Allison were sitting with me in our lobby. I had made some hot chocolate and Allison got a whif of it. The whif that entered her nostrils triggered a memory of one of her childhood favorite meals, Malt-O-Meal. Well you might be asking, what in the who-ha is Malt-O-Meal? Well if Allison heard you ask this question, her reply would be a little something like this, "Do you like pudding? Do you like oatmeal? Do you like milk, butter and sugar? Well then you would love Malt-O-Meal because those are its ingredients." When she realized that neither I nor Audrie had ever had Malt-O-Meal, she sought out to find other people on our floor who had eaten this supposedly delightful meal. She ended up finding two people. She decided to make Malt-O-Meal the next night for the entire 2nd floor. Audrie and I didn't think she was gonna go through with it, but never tell Allison Post that she can't or won't do something. She will prove you wrong. She wouldn't be Allison Post if she didn't take it upon herself to revolutionize everyone's world by giving them Malt-O-Meal (MOM).  So yesterday, Allison and I made a trip to Walmart to buy some MOM. Upon arriving in the hot cereal aisle, we realized that they did have MOM but not the chocolate kind in the purple box. This would not suffice. Level 2ers do not settle for just Original MOM. Allison thought that there might be some on the back of the shelf. So I prepared to give her boost so that she could look to see if there was any chocolate MOM hidden somewhere. Well I went to lift her up and then this is where it gets interesting. I'm not the strongest person, so I didn't do a great job lifting her. So as she went up in the air, her knee hit me in the chest, then I kinda made her fall into the shelf knocking over all the oatmeal. We looked like idiots. All we accomplished was making a mess of things and getting ourselves hurt. Allison was set out to find the chocolate MOM and she wasn't gonna give up till she found it. So we went to United, and they didn't have it. So she called the Walmarts in Amarillo. Two of them didn't have it either, but the last one she called did. So we decided to drive to Amarillo to get the MOM and then while we were over there we would stop by and see The Kendall Harris Experience at the Church at Quail Creek. So we arrived at the Walmart and were overjoyed to find the chocolate MOM. I have never seen Allison Post that happy ever. So we then headed to the Church at Quail Creek. We were worried about finding it, but we actually had no trouble. But once we got there, we had no idea which door to go into or where we were supposed to go. We arrived there at 7 and we walked around the church for a good 15 minutes looking for everyone. We ended up walking into orchestra practice, and old people bible study and the preschool. Finally we found the door that we were supposed to go into, but there were these stairs right inside the door that we weren't sure if we were supposed to go up. Then our friend Sam appeared and Allison yelled "SAM!" a little loudly, which caused me to laugh really loud. Little did we know that everyone was upstairs and probably could hear us making a ruckus. So we walked in 15 minutes late while the preacher was talking. We had to leave by 8:30 so that I could get back in time for night duty. So we were sitting there listening to the guy talk not sure if we were gonna get to hear any of the Kendall Harris Experience because we had to leave soon. The guy wrapped it up and KHE played one final song to end the shindig. Yeah that's right. We got to hear one song. We pretty much missed all of the "Experience" of Kendall Harris. So even though it was done, all of our friends from the BSM stayed and were gonna hear Kendall play some more. But of course we had to leave to go back for night duty. We got there late and left early. As Allison and I were driving back to Canyon, we discussed our day and we realized just how awkward we are. Everywhere we went that day, we did something completely awkward or weird that caused people to stare at us and shake their heads. But we can't help it, it comes naturally. Then when we got back to Cross Hall, Allison and I went on to make the MOM. I have to admit the powder looked like sand. I thought that the chocolate MOM was quite tasty after it had been "doctored up" as Allison would say. The Original MOM on the other hand...well lets just say that it wasn't as big of a hit. Allison then took some of the chocolate MOM to the girls on our floor. I don't know what their opinion of it was, but I must say for myself that I enjoyed the experience. Is it my favorite food? Nope. But I think that because I went on an adventure with Allison to retrieve it, it made me appreciate it so much more. So my conclusion is that Allison and I are like MOM. The three of us are misunderstood and our awkwardness is not fully appreciated by everyone. We may not be super popular, but we are rare. There are not many like us and when you do find us (on the top shelf in the hot cereal aisle in a ghetto Walmart in Amarillo) it is an awkward but crazy fun experience that you will remember forever.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Hermit Quota Filled

This morning was the first morning in a very long time for me to be completely by myself with no distractions. I am a hermit by nature, and so if I go too long without time to be alone then I go crazy. This summer I was surrounded by people all the time, and it was so much fun. But by the end of the summer, I was completely drained. My hermit heart couldn't take that much human interaction. Then once I got to school, there was once again people everywhere, all the time. I had a roommate for awhile, who was super sweet and wonderful. But at the same time, I needed my room to be my unsocial  cave where I could run to when I was stressed and needed a break. So for the last month I have felt like a big stress bubble, and I could never find anytime to be alone. Well we had space open on Level 2 yesterday, so my roommate got to move into her own room. I will miss her greatly, but at the same time I was praising the Lord because He knew I needed space and time to myself. So this morning I woke up, got a pumpkin latte, came back to my room, sat in my freakishly comfy sofa chair, and read my Bible. It was so wonderfully beautiful. Except for the stupid construction outside Cross, it was completely quiet. I was able to just sit and rest in God's presence. I can always tell when I am not spending enough time in the word and with God, because everything starts stressing me out and I get emotional. I hope that I will be able to spend time every morning reading his word and resting in his peace. Because God is the only one who can sustain me and give me strength to get up every day and serve Him.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Autumn weather stop teasing me

So when I went outside this morning, the weather was beautiful. I thought that fall had finally arrrived. It was almost a little chilly and I could have worn a sweater. I was so excited. But then as the day went on, it got hotter and hotter and hotter. Fall is my favorite season, I just want it to hurry up and get here. Fall is wonderful for so many reasons. One reason, like I already mentioned, is the marvelous weather. Its not hot, and its just cold enough that you can wear a sweater if you want to.  You can drink hot chocolate and coffee all day long. My friend, Audrie, told me about a Pumpkin Spice latte that I'm really excited to try. Another good thing is that WT football starts. I'm not so into football, but I love the atmosphere at the games. I think my favorite thing about fall though is when all the leaves change colors. The reds, oranges and yellows look so beautiful. I thank God everytime I see the trees start to change. I just don't know how much longer I can wait for fall. I'm sick of the hot weather. I'm ready to go for walks around campus, taking pictures of all the beautifully colored leaves, drinking my coffee, in my sweater and jeans(and maybe a scarf if I'm feeling adventurous) with my friends enjoying the college life.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Oh the wonders of weekend duty

So I have weekend duty this weekend. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little sad about having to stay in the dorms almost all weekend. This normally wouldn't be a problem, considering I rarely leave Cross Hall. But the minute I started weekend duty, I never wanted to just walk around campus more. I felt like a moose that had been captured from the wild and forced to live at a petting zoo. But at the time, I had no idea of the crazy plans my friends Hannah and Allison had created. They returned from a trip to Walmart with some superhero boxers, that I also already had a pair of. The decided to make a music video, and we would dress up and make complete fools of ourselves. It was a hoot and a half! We tramatized so many people with our weirdness. And if that wasn't enough, we got Chicken E sweet tea and popcorn, and Allison and I watched Dr. Quin, Medicine Woman. Go ahead. Judge us if you must. But in all honesty, it was the most fun I've had in awhile. I mean come on. The show has Native Americans. Not to mention old time charm and wonderful quotes. So what if I spent my Friday night in Cross Hall wearing Ironman boxer shorts, an eye patch, a cape (an apron turned around), and a metal elephant belt. Jealous much. So what if Allison wishes she was living in a log cabin, and I in a teepee. This was a great night full of awesome college memories. I wouldn't want to spend my Friday night any other way.

Monday, August 30, 2010

First Day of Fall Semester

So today marks the first day of the semester. Even though I did not sleep very well and I failed to get up to work out like I planned, it was a pretty good morning. I had a good breakfast in the caf, and then got a cafe latte from the JBK. Good coffee makes any morning better. And it was kinda cloudy this morning which made it even better. I felt so collegiate walking across campus in my neopolitan colored outfit, classy backpack and a coffee in hand. I only had one class today and it was biology. Boo. What a great class to start the semester off with. It wasn't too bad though and my professor was pretty funny and chill. I still have to work desk and later tonight is my first program and then mandatory meeting. I'm nervous about speaking in front of all the 2nd floor girls, but it has to be done. I'm super excited about this semester and all the fun we are gonna have. I know that God has some big plans for this year, and I hope that my life reflects God's love. Even though I'm not really sure what my talents are, I hope that I'm able to eventually find out what they are and serve and glorify God in those areas.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Who Am I? And Why Won't I Stop Talking?

So since the dorms have opened, I have been really trying to be social and strike up conversations with people on my floor and to greet people with a smile when I'm at desk. This doesn't seem like a bad thing at all. The problem is that I am normally pretty quite and don't talk to a lot of people. So all my friends that have returned to school have realized that I talk a lot more. But I'm starting to annoy myself with how much I talk. Normally I just sit there and ponder my thoughts and chuckle to myself when I think of something funny. I enjoy being by myself and not always having to talk. But now I can't shut up, and I'm sick of it. I don't have an off switch. I need to find the happy medium, where I talk and get to know my residents and new people, but also can just be at peace with my own thoughts and not bore and weird my friends out with my peculiar thoughts and ideas.
I also have a goal this semester/year to discover a quaint little coffeeshop or restaurant that can be our new place to chill. A place that is super popular, but still is really cool, chill and fun to go to. Not to mention they need to have delicious coffee/ food. I think this would be a fun little adventure, but it could also be expensive, considering I'm a poor college student. I will have to choose wisely.
I'm also really glad to be back at school because when I'm at school I spend more time reading my Bible, going to worship and just spending time with my brothers and sisters in Christ. This summer I did not take a lot of time to grow in my faith, so by the end of the summer I felt really drained. I'm ready to worship God and pray with a community of believers, be involved in a Bible study, and serve the Lord every day. I want to have God's word written on my heart (Hebrews 8:10).So even if I am talking a lot, that I would be talking about the right things and what God has done in my life.  I want it be obvious what I'm living for.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Busyness

So I have been doing RA training for the past few days. Its a lot of fun, but its also overwhelming. I'm trying to remember so much information, and I'm kinda a slow learner at stuff like this. I'm getting stressed out and the school year hasn't even begun. I know that I'm gonna have a ton of fun being an RA and getting to hang out with all the wonderful girls living in Cross Hall. But still its gonna take me a little bit to get used to all this change. I don't deal well with change...at all. I had trouble dealing with my family replacing the microwave that we have had my whole life with a new one. So being an RA with all this new responsibility will take me time to adjust to, but I know that God has placed me here, as RA in Cross Hall right now for a reason. I'm gonna do my best to serve Him every day.
Because I have been in RA training, I have kinda been slacking on my half marathon training. I also realized because of other commitments that I can't run in the half marathon I wanted to. So I'm really considering postponing a half marathon for a little bit. Especially since I have a lot going on with school starting. I will probably still run in a few 5 and 10ks. I also want to be focus on getting back where I need to be with God. I have been really lazy in my faith this summer, so I think I need to make that a priority before running. So much busyness going on, but I've kinda missed all this craziness. So I'm glad to be where I am.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Canyon, Sweet Canyon

So I have finally returned to the wonderful Cross Hall. I'm so glad to be back. Today was the first day of RA training, and it went pretty well. I'm sad that the hall is pretty empty. I can't wait to all the girls return, especially my Level 2 family. I thought it would be easier to eat healthier once I got to school, but not so much. For one, I'm getting fed free meals, so I really don't get to choose exactly what I want to eat. That shouldn't be my excuse because I could still eat smaller portions. My big problem is that when I'm at school, I eat to be social. It's just part of the college experience. I need to either be able to say no and miss out on certain eating excursions, or learn portion and self control. I think what I really need is an accountability partner that will encourage me and let me know when to drop the cookie and back away. I feel frustrated all the time by my eating habits. I feel like I'm obsessing over it, and that is not how I want it to be. I did wake up early though this morning and run for forty minutes. The weather is really nice here in the mornings so I think that will be helpful with my training. I also forgot how beautiful the sunrises and sunsets are here. They are such a perfect display of God's beauty. 

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

So its been a few days since I've posted anything. I've been busy getting ready for school, and my family and I went to go visit my brother and sister-in-law in College Station. I love having my whole family together. It was a lot of fun getting to watch some Rangers games with my brother (who loves Rangers baseball more than me), eating frozen yogurt, going on a campus tour with my younger brother (making me feel old compared to all the freshmen on the tour), and witnessing my brother's dog eating 20-30 sugar cookies. I spent a good amount of time cutting these sugar cookies into cute animal shapes, but I couldn't be mad at her because it was an impressive feat that only a Propp could accomplish.
Also packing to go back to college is one of the most stressful things ever. I own so much crap and trying to fit it all in a vehicle is so difficult. But I'm so ready to get back to school. I will be an RA in my dorm this year, and its gonna be a ton of fun. I'm really nervous though,too, because I don't know if I will be a good RA. But I know that God has given me this opportunity because it will help me grow in faith. The dorms are a great place to serve and share God's love with people. I can't wait for all the fun I'm gonna have with the girls that God places on my floor.
I'm also ready to go back to school so that I'm back on a routine. I love having a routine. I love waking up in the morning and knowing exactly what I'm supposed to do that day. It makes working out so much easier. When I'm at home, I have so much free time on my hands that I will just sit around and tell myself I will work out later, but I never do. I will have a time when I will work out every day, which I hope will help keep me motivated in my half marathon training. Also it helps having my room because I will get to stock up my room with healthy food. At home, my parents stock up our kitchen pretty good, but it isn't the healthiest foods. So I'm tempted all the time by the endless cookies, candy, and ice cream. I also have more time on my hands, so I get bored and just eat. But at the same time, college life poses its own problems. For example, it is perfectly acceptable for college students to go to Ihop in the middle of the night. Also with the wonderfully convenient Buff Stop food just down stairs, it makes it hard not to snack. But I know that if I just stay motivated, then I can eat healthy and do my half marathon training.
I need to remember that this isn't the most important thing in my life, so its ok if I mess up every once in awhile (or all the time).  Mainly this year, I want to focus on spending more time in prayer and reading my Bible. I want to work on serving God and the people around me. I want to be an RA that lives out my faith and that my love for God would be obvious to everyone I meet.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Waiting for Something Significant

So I was reading in a book this morning called The Power of a Praying Woman. There was a part that really stuck with me.  It said," ...there is never a time when nothing is happening in your life." I don't know how many times I have said to myself or to someone else, how I can't wait for something significant to happen in my life. I live for the big moments or occasions that I have marked on my calendar. Sometimes I forget that I'm living my life right now. If nothing extremely exciting is going on, then I'm looking forward to the next thing that is. This is no way to live my life because I'm gonna miss out on so many wonderful opportunities. God placed me where I am right now for a reason. He didn't just drop me off here by accident. It may feel like nothing significant is happening, but God is using this time to mold me into the person He created me to be. I'm still struggling with the idea of who God wants me to be. All I know is that wherever He takes me in life, I am going to serve and praise Him with all my heart.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Dinosaurs and Ice Cream = Happiness

So yesterday my Mom and I went to an art museum and then the science museum. I'm not really a big fan of science or art so it was not the greatest adventure ever, but there were a few awesome things that happened. One being the fact that the science museum has a dinosaur exhibit. I mean come on, you can't get much better than that. Also the museum has this huge T-Rex outside that is probably the best part about the museum. I would trade in my car for a dinosaur any day. It was funny because last night, I had a dream about a dinosaur. Everyone was trying to find places to hide because there was a pretty good chance it was gonna eat us. But you might have noticed that I didn't call it a nightmare. That is because I would be totally excited if the way I died was from a dinosaur eating me. I mean seriously that's way cool, and no one would forget it. Years later they would say, "Remember that Becky girl, who got eaten by that dinosaur. Man that was crazy cool." 
Secondly, my Mom and I decided to stop by Dairy Queen on the way home to get some blizzards. This is was a wonderful idea except that when I get anywhere near ice cream, I lose all self control. If placed near a swimming pool full of ice cream, I would probably eat it all. So my plan was to just buy a mini blizzard because I knew that if I got a bigger size, I would eat the whole thing regardless if I was hungry or not. But my dear sweet Mother, who is the very person who passed down the I-love-ice-cream gene to me, convinced me that the mini blizzard was ridiculously too small so she got me a medium instead.  Bad move. I ate the entire thing, and part of the  extra blizzard that Dairy Queen decided to give us. I'm not gonna lie, it was super delicious. The problem though is that I felt horrible after consuming that much of a dairy product. I felt sick the rest of the night, and had a continuous ice cream cough (I don't know about you but every time I eat ice cream, I always have a weird cough afterwards). I also had guilt belly (knowing that you ate way too much, and having to deal with the consequences of working it off later). 
So this morning I woke up and ran, which was a struggle to say the least. I thought I was gonna pass out and die in the ditch on the side of the road. But after I finished running, I felt very accomplished. Even though I had a horrible fatty eating day yesterday, today is a new day. I started it off with a hard run, and I'm gonna try my best to eat healthy. I'm also excited because I think I know which half marathon I want to run in. This gives me a goal to work towards and that will keep me motivated on the mornings that I don't want to get up and run. But most of all the reason I knew it was gonna be a great day was because tonight I get to go to the Rangers game. I love the Ballpark in Arlington so much! I love me some Rangers baseball!

Monday, August 9, 2010

He Knows the Secrets of My Heart

I woke up this morning feeling a tad bit angry, and I'm not really sure why. Normally I'm at my happiest in the mornings because that's why favorite time of day. It wasn't until I was alone in my room having my quiet time that I realized what was wrong. I have pushed God to the side, and have been trying to run my life without his help. I have been feeling very weary and lost and confused lately, and its because I have been trying to do everything on my own. I haven't been  happy with the way I look so I try to fix it with things like eating healthier and training for a half marathon. These have both been slightly unsuccessful because it was my way of fixing it without handing it over to God. These two things aren't bad goals, but I had the wrong motives behind them. Eating healthy and running a half marathon aren't going to fulfill me. Irv from Cool Runnings (one of the best movies ever) said it best, "Derice, a gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you're not enough without one, you'll never be enough with one." I need to find my joy and my worth in God alone. God knows the secrets of my heart (Psalm 44:21) and he knows that I'm weary and lonely and lost. He knows what I struggle with, but he also knows how to help me succeed. I need to make sure my relationship with God is my number one priority before my half marathon and healthy eating goals. Because if I trust in God and serve Him with all my heart, "he will give me the desires of my heart." (Psalm 37:4-5)


"My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word." -Psalm 119:28
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73: 26
"Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." -Psalm 45:11
"...you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." -Isaiah 46:3-4

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Little Known Facts

Fun Fact #1
-Azle and Springtown, Texas are not the best places to go garage saleing.
-You may be asking yourself how I could  make this harsh statement. Well I know from experience. This morning I woke up at 6 am to go garage saleing with my dear mother. I was wide awake, coffee in hand and ready to take on the world. Little did I know what lay ahead of me. Crap, that's what lay ahead of me. I did not find anything except a book at any of the places I went. I have never been more disappointed in my life. But I guess you live and you learn. From now on, I know that Azle is a horrendous place to rummage through other people's second hand things. I will just have to wait till I return to school, where the garage sales are heavenly.

Fun Fact #2
-I am a sugar, candy or any type of dessert addict.
- I have come to the harsh realization that I have an uncontrollable love of sweets. They are just too delicious for me to handle. This has been a summer packed full of a plethora of supper yummy food. I have a tendency to eat almost anything that is in sight. I have acquired healthier eating tastes over the past couple years, but my love of unhealthy food has not gone away completely. I always set goals to eat healthier, but they always seem to crash and burn after a few days. My eating habits have not really had a big impact on my physical appearance. But today when I was getting dressed to go somewhere, I sadly realized that my clothes, particularly my shorts, did not fit like they used to. They were a little too snug for my liking. I knew that 8 weeks at camp had been really bad for my eating and exercise habits, but I was still shocked. So I decided that I'm not going to throw a pity party for myself, I'm going to change my habits instead. So starting tomorrow I'm going to stop eating like a man, and begin eating in a way that is healthy and glorifying to God. I'm going to challenge myself to eat less sugar, sweets, candy, desserts, etc. I'm going to attempt to eat the correct amounts from each food group and correct serving sizes. These are things I have struggled with for a long time, but I know that with God's strength I can accomplish them. And this is a great time to start eating healthier because it will help with my half marathon training.  I think that the reason I have been unsuccessful is because I have been unwilling to hand this problem over to God. I also will need lots of encouragment from my family and friends.  I know barely anybody reads this, but if you do please try to encourage me and hold me accountable to my goals.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Fairy Pancakes

So I just decided yesterday that I wanted to start writing a blog. I am a very imaginative person and so I feel like a blog would be a good place to jot down all my ideas. Mainly because I think my friends and family get tired of hearing my far-fetched thoughts.  For instance I like to create little poems every now and then. Most of the time I create them in my boring classes, when writing poems is the only way I can stay awake. Here is a little poem I created right now.

Fairy Pancakes
I love flapjacks,
Covered in syrup and peanut butter,
There is nothing they lack,
They make my heart flutter.
Delicious and round,
For breakfast or dinner,
Stacked up in a mound,
They are an absolute winner.
Sent straight from heaven,
They always make me smile,
If I eat more than seven,
I won't be able to run a mile.

Yeah, I know. Impressive, right.
I have also decided recently that I want to train for a half marathon. I also think this would be a good place for me to track my training progress. I feel like I may stay motivated if I'm writing about it. So I'm excited about this blog and getting the chance to share what God is doing in my life.