A Picture A Day - AGAIN!

Hello to my 3 followers - you know who you are! 

So, I haven't really been consistent with my blogging over the last two years (ah, heck! I've not ever been really consistent). But I was recently thinking about the times that I was most consistent, and it was the picture a day that I did for about 3 months (and about 3 years ago!). But I really enjoyed it because I felt like I was encouraged to really pick out the good in my day. Or the silly. Or the out of the ordinary. Also, the recent return of my friend Kodi to the blog world at Swandertopia, also whet my appetite to blog again!

So, I decided to bring that back for the month of September, and we'll see where we go from there! 

Well, here we go. Day one: September 1st.

I've been in Wisconsin for the last several days visiting my cousin and her hubs. They live just outside of Milwaukee in a city called Waukesha. They live only about 2 hours away from Chicago, and seeing as I'd never been to Chicago before, I decided to seize the opportunity and suggested it to my family. They agreed with much enthusiasm. 

It was a long day filled with lots of walking, and lots of aches for this old body (cue Garth Brooks' 'Much too young to feel so d*mn old'). But the pain was worth it for chance to mill around the city. We decided to park and ride the train into the city, about an hour and a half ride. None of us had ridden any public transportation in any city without the aid of a local before, so it was pretty exciting to actually end up where we wanted to go! :) The train stopped at a couple of military bases along the way where we picked up a LOT of sailors. We found out from the guy sitting next to us that his son was one of the newest graduates of basic, as were the other hoards of sailors aboard. That would definitely explain why their uniforms looked straight out of the packaging! It was fun though to see all of the newbies out celebrating.

So... about the pictures. Though this is called 'picture a day' I can't always promise that it will be a picture that I have taken, or that there will only be one. But there will be some kind of picture!

Let's get on with it!

Me, excited to have arrived!

View from the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

Navy Pier from afar

We walked through were they were filming 'Transformers 4'!

Friends! On the Ferris Wheel

Other things we did: Walk. A lot. But I think I already mentioned that. We ate some tasty Chicago style deep dish pizza... for free even! They made us wait almost two hours and then it came out cold... but that's a story for another day. Regardless, it got warmed up and filled our [very] empty stomachs! We also walked around Millenium park and saw the famed 'Bean'. We rode on a trolley and saw some pretty cool architecture. 

All in all, a really good day! It wasn't too hot in the morning and even in the afternoon was comfortable in the shade of such tall buildings! I do hope to go back and see lots more of Chicago!!

Until next time...

The Unlikely Hipster

First post of the year!! Wait, it's May! Ohh... Obviously my life has been much less blog-worthy in recent months. It's mostly just a bunch of homework these days. And driving. I feel like I live in my car some days. 

Anywhoo,

Today, I'd like to inform you of a disturbing revelation. I'm a hipster. Now, I know you're thinking... 'Oh, Andrea, you are so not a hipster!' But, oh, I am.

My cousin showed me this video a few weeks back, take a sec and watch this:

Funny, huh?! You're probably still wondering where I'm going with this. 

I was driving one day (remember, I do a lot of that these days!) and thinking about how funny this video was. As I began to think about what makes a hipster a hipster, I realized that I have some of the same qualifications!!

1. I have skinny jeans, not because I purchase them specifically, but I'm just too chubby to fit into my jeans without them looking a little 'skinny'. 

2. V-necks. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've got one in nearly every color. Darn you Old Navy, they're just so cozy!

3. I love Bon Iver! I'm even listening to him right this moment! This is maybe my favorite:

If you liked that one (or if you didn't), here's another fav:

4. Mustaches - I have one. Okay, I'm a girl so it's technically called 'upper lip hair'. Come on ladies, let's be real. It's a mustache. Stand up proud and admit you wax it off too!!

Mustache AND V-neck?! Whoa!

5. #Facebook #Instagram - Okay, social media in general - I perhaps am a little too involved here sometimes. Chill out with the Facebook already, Andrea!!

Okay, but seriously, so I'm not your typical hipster.

"It controls your need to look, act, think like everyone else, ultimately resulting in you looking, acting, and thinking like everyone else."

But here's the thing, I'm not trying to be like anyone else! I'm just being me. So maybe that makes me the best kind of hipster! =P

Until next time...

The days of thanksgiving

I know that a lot of people on Facebook like to list one thing a day that they are thankful for through the month of November, and I think it's a great idea. I thought about doing that but I'm positive I would forget and get really behind. So, I decided to challenge myself to come up with 30 things in a blog post! So, here they are in absolutely no particular order:

1. I'm thankful for a car that works and a father that helps keep it that way.
2. I'm so thankful for my family in general. In a world so full of dysfunction, I have a solid family to come home to. They're maybe a little on the odd side, but I love them all the same!
3. Friends. Man, I'm so blessed with the friends God has given me. I can't even describe the love, encouragement, joy, laughter, and acceptance they shower on me. 
4. My job. I work for a great family who trusts me and have been so awesome and willing to work around my schedule. And baby hugs. They're the best!
5. My dog. It's silly, but I sure love that chubby, lazy, ol' dog! Every time I leave home to go back to school I always wish I could bring him along.
6. Sleep. I do enjoy it.
7. My brother's fiancee. It's so nice to see him happy and I'm so thankful to be getting another sister. 
8. Sweatpants. I just love wearing sweatpants.
9. Calvary Bible College. I've only been there a short time, but I've already learned so much. I'm looking forward to getting to know people there more and develop some relationships!
10. I know I mentioned family, but this is a specific shout out to my parents. I heart them. They have blessed me so much and care so much about me. They've always been supportive of me. It's easy to be thankful in those times when they do something really great (like changing my oil for me) but it's usually in the normal days that I just get a huge urge to hug them. I really have been blessed.
11. I'm thankful for my church. It's been a safe haven for me, a place where everybody knows my name. Oh, maybe I'm confusing my church with a bar... When I was in high school, I was so shy and awkward. I didn't have many friends at school so it was wonderful to feel like I had a place in the youth group. So thankful for the people of Community Bible Church. There's some really big hearts there.
12. Coffee. Yum!
13. Thanksmas. Oh, you don't know what that is? It's that time of the year between Thanksgiving and Christmas that you miss if you blink. This year however I get to see Luke and Nina Olson. Oh. My. Word. I'm excited! I haven't seen them in toooo long.
14. My own bathroom in my dorm room. Oh, it's wonderful to poo in private. Is that TMI? Too bad, it's my blog.
15. A shower at home. While I love having my own bathroom at school, the water pressure in the shower sucks and it's rather small. It's good to have room and some water pressure!
16. New friends at Calvary. The people who have taken the time to invest in the quiet girl that's 'never around'. I'm eternally grateful for the hugs.
17. I'm sooooo thankful that I was able to have my gallbladder removed last year because I feel sooooooo much better now, but so happy that this Thanksgiving I'll actually get to eat some food!!
18. Warm days in late fall. It means I get to wear flip flops, seriously, these feet need to breathe!
19. Flip flops. See #18
20. That I'm able to list all of this... so much to be thankful for.
21. Music. Mmm... so good. 
22. My nieces and nephews. I love watching them grow and learn and they're so gosh darn funny! Remember - Baby hugs! They're the best!
23. The holiday season. I love this time of year. Thanksgiving - Christmas - New Years. I love getting into the spirit of the holidays. Watching movies, decorating, the music, the food, the family time, wrapping gifts.. so much!
24. I'm thankful that I decided to hold off on college until now. I wasn't ready straight out of high school. I really feel I'm right where I need to be now. 
25. I'm thankful for a break from classes.
26. I'm thankful that I live in a country where I have freedom.
27. I lack nothing. I don't have to worry where the next meal will come from. I know some who don't have that luxury. 
28. Carpet. Weird, I know. But I'm thankful for it!
29. Food. Man, I really like to eat! I plan to get some solid eating in this weekend!
30. Salvation. This is the best of all. God is good, all the time. I'm nothing without Christ. Thank you Jesus for taking my sins upon yourself and bringing me new life!!

And that is that. Happy Thanksgiving y'all! 

Until next time...

I disappoint.

Well, hello!

I was looking through some old journals in search of a particular entry when it dawned on me that it was a blog post and not a journal entry. That is when I realized that I had only one post for the whole year so far and it was from January 1st! And that, friends, is disappointing! 

Well, this one is for Lawrence and Ellen Friesen! :) Probably my only 2 readers left!

Here's a little update to what's happened since January 1st in no particular order of date or importance:

I started back to college. In my first semester I did something I've never done before (besides rapping in front of my health class about gonorrhea). I got really good grades! In fact, I had a 100% or higher in 4 out of 5 classes!

Well thank you Mr. Dean!

I made stuff! Including:

 

A bag from a tshirt that I also designed using bleach and scotch tape.

Not too shabby for an amateur decorator!

Took these pictures and created this for my momma for mother's day.

Spent time with friends:

Love these ladies.

Caught a T-bones game and plan to see a few more!

Hosted a clothing swap. Hence the varieties of clothing represented. Don't worry, she doesn't wear this in public!

I've been babysitting, pet sitting, house sitting, plant sitting pretty much non stop this year and I plan to continue that as the fall semester starts up! 

Speaking of fall semester... It's quickly approaching. I will be moving on campus next month and have mixed feelings about it. The idea has led me from feeling excitement, to nervousness, to loathing, and back again. CBC has pretty strict lifestyle rules which will be a change (no movie theaters, no hand holding with boys, no drinking, no dancing, no secular music, no smoking! Okay, I admit a couple of those won't really be a problem for me!). I think it's just going from being an adult who makes her own decisions to being under the restrictions of someone else' guidelines, it's... well, restricting! A talk that we had in TREK about 'relinquishing our rights' keeps coming into mind. It's just for a time. It's not like their asking for my first-born child. But let's be honest, how am I ever supposed to have children if they won't even let me hold hands with peoples of the opposite sex. ;)

Also, pride. Ugh. I know that I'm not old by any means... but I kind of am... for a college campus. I think I'm just prideful in thinking that I'm somehow beyond the other students there because I have a few years on them. But, man, pride is ugly. And sinful. And it sure won't help me make any new friends at school. Still learning to work through that. This is a lesson that God has been teaching me for quite some time now. Some lessons just take longer! 

So... do you feel like you have more insight into my average life? I do! Blogging is therapeutic... Thank you for reading and allowing me this outlet for some meditation. I do hope to be better in the future. I don't want it to be another nearly 8 months before I blog again. As it was I was sweating bullets that I'd even be able to remember my password to access the blog! :) I'm babbling. It's because I'm tired. On that note...

Until next time!

Reflecting

Do you know what you were doing on the evening of June 8, 2008? I wouldn't if it weren't for a very important journal entry that has stuck in my brain. It was storming out, and I was incredibly lost, even though I was sitting at my kitchen table. Confused, lonely, dissatisfied, bored, desperate. Just lost. I felt like I was a failure and that I'd been left behind by the world. I began a new journal that evening. This is an excerpt from that entry:

"Where was I a year or two ago?... Is this what I wanted to be doing in a year or two a year or two ago? Nope. I'm not content, not fulfilled. Where will I be in another year or two? I have no more excuses, it's time to jump."

And by jump, I didn't mean off a building. I wasn't that kind of depressed! I just knew that there was more out there for me... I wasn't living life to the max! 

A year ago, I was preparing to leave the country and join TREK. I had no idea what to expect and to which country I'd be sent to. I was excited and scared stupid but had a peace that passed understanding. Sitting here a year later, I can honestly say that this has probably been the best year of my life. And not because it was all rainbows and sunshine and laughing babies (although I've had a good dose of all of that!). This year has been tough! This year I really felt like I was walking with God and really following his leading.

So... what about this year? I'm starting school in a week and again... feeling scared stupid, but I have that peace! I've never been excited for school before and I actually am a little excited for the classes I'm taking and for what the future holds! (Check back in a month!) I desire to spend another year (and all the ones following) to continue walking in step with the Lord. 

So... what will you be doing in a year? Working in a job that you hate? Traveling the globe? Starting something new? Perhaps you will become a professional underwater basket weaver. Okay, the last one's not likely, but if you can dream it, you can do it! 

Until next time...

Back to normal

This week I caught myself thinking 'Hmm, guess life is back to normal.' I mean, after all, my car is beginning to have that lived in feel, I'm back to living at home with my parents, I'm working in some cubicle in an office, and once again I'm wondering what my next steps are. 

But, man, I don't want normal. I don't want the old normal back and I certainly don't want to settle into another routine of comfort. 

So what will be different this time? A renewed sense of purpose?  New goals? I don't want to be bored with life and I certainly don't want to waste it!

So I'm not entirely sure yet. 

What about you? Are you settled into a routine of comfort?

Until next time...

What comes from boredom.

I don't pretend to be a poet. But then again, I wrote a poem, so by definition I am a poet. So let me rephrase, I don't pretend to be a talented poet. Alas, I'm willing to embarrass myself. I'm not really sure it makes sense or flows. Oh well. Regardless, enjoy.

Untitled

Here I am a-gain

Feeling that same old pain

When will it go away, when will it go away

What is all of this for

This constant knocking at the door

When will it go away, when will it go away

A feeling of needing more

'Cause this life is such a bore

When will it go away, when will it go away

Now you've shown me what I'm worth

What a treasure to unearth

It doesn't go away, it doesn't go away

This bewildering love I must share

Give others a new breath of air

It doesn't go away, it doesn't go away

Lord, thank you for this passion

May it always be my mission

Don't let it slip away, don't let it slip away

~Andrea Haley

Until next time...