Day 5

I need a break from homework. FYI- a note to the professor, when posting the scanned materials on the website for the students to read, please make sure that it's scanned in such a way that the words are actually legible. My eyes hurt from trying to piece together barely visible words. 

Anyway...

So today was the first day of Old Settlers! Woohoo! As a kid, it was almost as exciting as Christmas morning. We live only a couple of blocks away from the action. I have a specific memory of sitting at the table eating dinner with my family - totally able to hear the noise from the fair - and being super antsy. I think my parents said that we couldn't go until after dinner... I don't think I cared about dinner that night, I just wanted to go!!

*Not my photo, but neat, huh?

Today was also the kick off for the new year of Trek (the high school youth group). We all met at my house, walked down to old settlers to watch several of the students perform with the Olathe North Band and then do scavenger hunt of sorts. It was a great start to a new year. We had lots of laughs and some ice cream sundaes. 

Back to homework, thank you for the brief reprieve. 

Until next time...

Day 4 - Woo hoo!

Are you enjoying the picture a day? I am! I hope that at least someone out there is! :) 

Today I got back to the grind. Started off bright and early with classes. Church History and Systematic Theology I. This is going to be an interesting and stretching semester, I believe!

After classes I headed off to work. I would just like to say that I have the best job ever. For those that don't know, I'm a nanny for 2 precious little girls. They are adorable and make me laugh lots. It seems like cheating to get paid to hang out with them. Most days that is! :) We all have our bad days. I was kind of missing L and D after being gone for more than a week. I pulled up and could see L standing at the screen door waiting for me and could hear her shouting, "RA-RA, RA-RA"! Side note, this is what has become a nickname of mine, it seems pretty easy for little kids to remember and say. And I always wanted a nickname, so I'll take it. Actually, for a really long time I wanted people to call me Andie (after being nicknamed that in elementary school - all of the cool kids had nicknames!). Well it took me several years before it occurred to me that I actually would have to introduce myself as Andie instead of Andrea in order for them to call me that. Oh well. Ra-Ra is cool too. That was a bunny trail! Anyway, I felt very loved to see her so excited to see me. She was full of kisses and hugs and "I wuv you wa-wa"'s all day. It makes me think I must not be as mean as I think I am. ;)

So... for today's picture:

I started tracking calorie intake and exercise about 2 weeks ago, and I don't want to brag or anything... but I'm down 3 pounds! Okay, maybe there was a little bragging there. Actually, more just excitement really. Myfitnesspal is a wonderful app that is so easy to use and convenient. It sounds like they paid me to say that, but I promise they did not. I really just like it that much. I also have several friends who are using it too, so it's fun to know that I'm not doing it alone! All of that to say. I wanted to go for a walk today, but it was pretty roasty this afternoon and I'm not a huge fan of walking around my campus and surrounding areas. Apparently there were 3 rapes at the park down the street over this summer. Oops... hope my mom doesn't read this, now she'll be super worried about me. Don't worry. I have a rape whistle! :) 

So, rather than risk the streets of KCMO, I opted to 'walk' in my room. Que Leslie Sansone:

It looks cheesy and kind of is, but my glutes are actually kind of sore! I like this because... well, it's all walking. I can walk. Jillian Michael's 30 day shred on the other hand... I don't like. It hurts, and I'm a weenie. But both are great workouts depending on what your goal is!

So, went to Target (I said that in my mind like 'Tar-shey'... like I'm French or something. FYI- I'm not.) for a few things today and happened across these:

PUMPKIN SPICE!!

Okay, I love fall, and I love me some pumpkin spice this and that. But M&M's? This is madness! Don't be confused... I may sound against this, but I totally wanted to try it. But seriously? Pumpkin spice M&M's? Yeah, I'd totally try that. Except, remember how I'm counting calories. A big ol' bag of chocolate just wouldn't fly. And, no, I shouldn't even just get a bag and ration it out over a couple of weeks... actually, yes. That's exactly what I should do, but I know I wouldn't. I have no self control when it comes to chocolate. Or any sweets. Or salty. Food, just food in general - I have no self control. 

So... if anyone out there decides to get a bag to try, let me know how they are. Maybe save me a few. :) 

Until next time...

Day 3

Tuesday the 3rd

Today I came back home from Wisconsin, but not before enjoying one last morning with Nina. We walked around downtown Waukesha and visited some cute little shops. We found one little store called 'Bags and Bangles' that was so cute. Seriously, if I ever come into a large sum of money, I'm blowing it there! Everything was adorable and very reasonably priced!

So, I'm betting you didn't know that Waukesha is the home town of Les Paul. Well, it is! There are fun 'Les Paul' guitars around the downtown area, and I just had to get a picture with one!

Nina & the ginormo guitar

Yours truly

 

Dave's restaurant. So cute, I took the pic for my dad

So, Luke and Nina had this HUGE zucchini in their kitchen the whole that I was there. I think they said they got it from his parents garden. I don't think I've ever seen one so big!

That's a lot of zucchini bread!

 Also, just for fun. I found this at an airport gift shop and thought it was kind of funny.

I had the pleasure of meeting up with one of my bffs, Sarah, at the KC airport as I was coming and she was going. I just love her and was grateful for the hour that I got to spend with her. I have just been so blessed by the friends I have in my life. So, even though I had to say goodbye to Nina, it was nice to get a hello at the other end of the flight from another friendly face. 

Well, I'm back home now, and back at school even. Vacation can't last forever. If it did, we wouldn't understand how wonderful it was without experiencing the slower, no fun kind of days.

Until next time...

Picture a day - day 2

Monday, September 2nd!

Man, was I sore today. I think Luke, Nina, and I all agreed to just lay low today after two busy days of go go go, and walking around Chicago the day before.

So, we did some light shopping. Goodwill had a 50% off of all clothing (and really, most everthing in the store!) for Labor Day. Nina and I perused the clothing and found some gems. I bought 2 shirts for just $2! Yey for bargains! We wandered through some other stores before grabbing some sub sandwiches from Jersey Mike's and taking it to the park. It was a beautiful day in Waukesha, only getting up to the upper 60's. I actually had a jacket on as we sat at a very shaded picnic table. 

Such a lazy day - it seemed only right that we get some ice cream! We stopped at Woodman's, the hugest grocery store you'll ever find and each picked out our own ice cream treats. This was mine:

Excellent choice, Andrea. Worth every calorie!

We also watched two movies:

The Bourne Legacy

 Sadly, a little disappointing. I wasn't sure what to expect since Jason Bourne's character wasn't really involved. The plot was thin and the action was not near as good as the original trilogy.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

 I had seen this one before, and liked it. When Nina and I saw it at the library, I suggested that they might like it and add it to the pile of rentals! It was good the second time around too! I think that Luke and Nina liked it as well. My favorite quote from the movie is 'Everything will be alright in the end, so if everything is not alright, it is not yet the end.' 

So, sorry, I don't have any personal photos of the day... it was just that lazy! But it was the best kind of lazy - enjoying the companionship of good friends!

Until next time...

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...