My little Brother is getting Married

My younger brother Andy is getting married to Lindy on November 9, 2008 in Dallas, TX. They are also waiting to close on a house the end of October! I am so happy for you both and can't wait to see you at your wedding!

One of many pictures Andy distorted, hilarious!!

Sorry Ginger had to do it....

My sister "playing" in the waves at the beach in Carlsbad.TOO Funny not to share!

Random Thoughts about the color GREEN

SO it just occurred to me that the color green has been a huge part of my life. In high school our main school color was green and as a cheerleader we owned so many green items (I still wear my cheer shorts all the time). In undergrad at Concordia, the main school color was also green. AND now I am part of the "GREEN" Class at the University of St. Augustine. WEIRD!

I have also gone "Gorgeously Green" it's a book about how to help the environment and still have the things you love. More on that book later. Go GREEN!!!!

Ten Guidelines From God

I have to remind myself of these guidelines all the time)
Effective Immediately:
please be aware that there are changes YOU need
to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be
completed in order that I may fulfill My promises
to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in
this life. I apologize for any inconvenience,
but after all that I am doing, this seems very
little to ask of you. Please, follow
these 10 guidelines
1. QUIT WORRYING:
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you?
Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?
2. PUT IT ON THE LIST:
Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do-list is long, I am after all... God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact ,
if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.
3. TRUST ME:
Once you've given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in
Me.. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list.. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.
4. LEAVE IT ALONE:
Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think
I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It's simple. You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about
them. Just let Me do my job.
5. TALK TO ME:
I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy.
Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But there's one
thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't forget to talk to Me - OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your
dearest friend.
6. HAVE FAITH:
I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Have faith in Me! that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me; you wouldn't want the view from My eyes.
I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?
7. SHARE:
You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget?
That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those
who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.
8. BE PATIENT:
I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands
of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me
a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My
timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in
only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.
9. BE KIND:
Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress
like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical.Please, know I love each of your differences.
10. LOVE YOURSELF:
As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for
one reason only -- to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me.
Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you
so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me.
Don't ever forget that.

Summer's End

I am totally bummed that summer is coming to an end! By far my favorite time of year, I would go without any other season no problem. The only positive of the cooler weather is the fact that I will not have to have fans blowing on me at night and waking up with dry eyes, mouth and ear aches due to the intense heat in our non-air conditioned apartment! yuck!

So considering that I was taking 22 units in school, I was actually able to enjoy a good amount of summer. To Recap my summer:

In June I went to Palm Springs with Kellie to help celebrate one of her friend's birthday. We stayed at a little resort called the Oasis. Everything about the place was 70's. The architecture, the furniture and all the decor. The rooms surrounded a private pool and bar, awesome! It was only 104 degrees, not bad


For the 4th of July, I went up to Orange County to celebrate with Kellie! We went to the Huntington Beach Parade and bar hopped. We then went to the Angels Baseball game (Kel works for the Angels!) We planned on heading to the beach to watch the fireworks but ended up looking for my car in the parking lot for at least 30 minutes! I thought it was stolen, but no it was exactly where I parked it. So we ran back into the stadium to catch the firework show. Good times as always!

Also in July, we went to the Del Mar Racetrack with a few classmate of mine. We bet on horses who had cool names and you guessed it, we won nothing! I guess the statistics mean something when betting....We stayed for a concert after the races by "Super Diamond".

A classmate of mine, Jen had a bachelorette party at a place called Lips, drag queens are the servers and the entertainment. Crazy!

In August, Kellie and I went on a road trip to Laughlin, NV. We participated in the River Regatta that was going on that weekend and floated down the Colorado river. It was a 8 mile float that took 4 hours, so much fun! We want to become annual participants! It was ONLY 114 degrees outside!

Ginger and Gage came out to San Diego the end of August to visit!! Gage changes SO much everything I see him. We did the typical CA tourist things...we went to the beach (Gage was scared of the water but loved feeding the birds), Seaworld and hung out by the pool a lot. It was great to see them!

Does summer really have to be over!? Well it was a great one and only 7 months until it's here again!!

Stone Brewing Co.

I am not trying to turn my blog into a place for advertisement but I am definitely going to let people know of when I come across great places. This past weekend Kellie and I went to the Stone Brewing Co in Escondido. I was told that we must check it out. We went on a tour of the brewery and learned how the beer is made. Very interesting!! I really had no idea. The beer is stronger than normal with up to 7% + alcohol and had a very distinct taste due to the "Hops" they use to make the beer. I really liked the beer, Kellie didn't care for it as much. Besides the beer that place itself was awesome! By far the nicest place I have been to with outside seating, fire pits and gardens.

"What are you carrying with you" Week 2

There are certain things that God wants us to carry with us in lives. Exodus 25 the arch of the convent and the 10 commandments.
Romans 8:11-12 Does the spirit of the one who brought Jesus back to life live in you? Then the one who brought Christ back to life will also make your mortal bodies alive by his spirit who lives in you. So bothers and sisters, we have no obligation to live the way our corrupt nature wants us to live.
-The Paster made a good point about this. He said if everyone was to live by the rules of the 10 commandments and God's word in general, how boring would the new stations on TV be at night?! They would have nothing negative to report on. So live according to the commandments and not our own feelings and understanding.
Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
-God will never leave or abandon you even when you turn your back on him, he wants you to have more than enough. He wants to give you more than you need, so in turn you can help those in need.

"Cheetah Feet"

So being in Physical Therapy school, we learn about a lot of really cool things. Technology has come so far and even given people without part of their limbs are still participate in athletics. I think this is absolutely awesome! I was lucky enough to spend the day at a Orthotics/Prosthetic clinic on a one day shadowing and actually got to see people being fitted for their artificial limb. What made me want to even blog about this?? Well today in the water while snorkeling, Lisa and Olga swear they saw a shark...I reassured them that losing a limb wouldn't be that bad after all thanks to things like "Cheetah feet"! Of coarse we all would rather keep our own body intact, but at least there are so many options for those who have experienced an unfortunate event. I love PT school and learning about all these cool things. I can't wait to one day help people live with their disabilities/impairments/functional limitations!

Snorkeling!

Snorkeling in La Jolla Cove is absolutely beautiful! Today we saw so many amazing things. We swam over to the caves and on the way we saw a few seals laying out on the rocks. One of the seals had a large cut around the circumference of it's neck like it had been caught in a fishing net or something. It was so sad to see...I have never really been an animal advocate but that made me mad/sad!

When heading back into shore we heard a lot of screaming and yelling from the lifeguard to stay clear...A few Squid were brought in on the shore from the waves....it was a little scary not knowing what was going on while still out in the water!

I absolutely love living in San Diego!!!

September 11th

Where were you when you heard the news on Sept 11th? I was in undergrad at Concordia University walking into my 9:30am Critical Thinking class when one of my old roommates asked me "Did you see the news or hear what happened??" At that time no one really knew what was going on yet. The rest of that day was basically spent in front of the TV. I remember that day clearly and was SO worried at even the thought of war. Here we are 7 years later and the war is still going on!

Olive Garden's secret Recipe....

My mom found this awesome recipe for "Olive Garden" Alfredo sauce and I thought I would share it with you. It's just as good if not better!
Start with 2 tbs oil, 1 tbs crushed garlic and 1 red pepper sliced and cook for 1 min
Then add in a 1 tbs flour and slowly stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream (or half &half if you want to be healthy) and a handful of fresh spinach bring to a boil.
Take off heat and stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
AND that's it! ENJOY!

P.S. I Love You

What a great movie!! Hilary Swank was awesome as always. I love chick flicks and this is definitely a chick flick. A real tear jerker so get ready to cry through at least 75% of the movie. Rent it TONIGHT!

"Thou shall not wear white after Labor Day"

So as I was getting ready for school today and picking out what to wear is occurred to me that I could no longer wear my white pants or capri's. I started to wonder, were did the whole "No white after Labor Day" come from after all? SO this is what I found.....Etiquette experts admit that it's hard to pinpoint why the rule existed in the first place. Was it because a lot of white clothing is summery and light and there were women who didn't understand that you just don't wear linen spaghetti-strap sundresses in December? Who knows, but about 99% of the etiquette and fashion guides out there today agree with you that it's a silly and outdated tradition, and that white can be appropriate year-round.

Interesting factoid: the oldest versions of the "rule" only referred to white shoes, and then somehow got twisted to include white fabric. So even today you'll find more people who still follow and support the no-white-shoe rule, but see nothing wrong with white clothing.

GOOD to know! That means I might still wear my white pants and capri's, MAYBE...I know it's just a Myth but I have been faithful to the "rule" thus far....

"Why Men Marry Bitches"

I just finished the book "Why Men Marry Bitches" (the WHOLE book) by Sherry Argov. Bitch is described as: A strong woman who has her own identity and is secure with who she is. It was a very good book that gave 75 Relationship Principles. An example of these principles is "The more rational and calm you remain, the more emotional he will become" and another one of my favs is "The magic formula is to give a little...and then pull back. Give a little....and then pull back" and one more great one "He marries the woman who won't lay down like linoleum". The greatest thing about this book is it pointed out that I am in fact a BITCH! (Like we all didn't already know this). I have recently gone on a few dates with a guy and I unfortunately could not test these principles out as I was just feeling more of a friend connection than a romantic connection. Great guy, very smart and successful...but if it's not there it's not there....

But reading this book really pointed out where I go wrong, I get emotional! WHY? Because I am a woman? No, I think it's deeper than that. I have gotten emotional over men I didn't even really like(long story in itself).... I have come to realize that it is my intuition telling me to RUN! AND from now on that's exactly what I am going to do.....Anyways any single ladies out there, I HIGHLY recommend you read this book!

Things I want to experience in Life

There are SOO many things I want to do during my life time. Here are 60 things so far, I will add more as they come up....
Graduate from PT school
Travel to Europe
Get Married
Skydive
Have Kids
Go on a cruise
Buy a boat
Own a home
Run a marathon
Travel US in a Motor Home
Start a non-profit PT clinic
Work as a missionary
Learn to sow
Design an interior of a home
Win the Lotto
Learn to Ballroom Dance
Compete in Ballroom dancing
Teach at the college level
Live on the water, Lake or Ocean
Teach Sunday school
Potty Train a Dog
Learn all the ins and outs about taxes
learn a different language
Visit New York
Watch a Broadway show in NY
Ride a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge
Take naked pics and love them!
Watch live horse races DONE!
Go see Oprah
Chicago, IL
Eat Dinner on the top of the Effie Tower
Day at the Spa
Travel to Norway
Learn to Play Craps
Own a horse
Live on a Ranch
Own a cabin in the mountains
Buy investment property
Learn to Wake Board
Surf in Hawaii
Plant a Garden
Own a pair of Milano Blahnik Shoes
Take a photography class
Knit a sweater
Volunteer with Hospice
Be a CEO of a big corporation
Build furniture
Host a dinner party
Plant a cherry tree
Compete in Iron Woman competition
Visit South Africa
Lead a bible study
Go to a Vineyard for wine tasting
Be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader!
Design a dress
Read a WHOLE book DONE!
Ride a Quad through the desert DONE!
Bartend
Take golf lessons DONE! (sorta, need more)
White water rafting
Master the Art of Interviewing
Learn to cut hair
See Joel Osteen Live/Maybe work for him one day!
Snowboard in Aspen
Learn to cook like Rachel Ray

PT School

I just started my 4th semester out of 7 in PT school at the University of St. Augustine http://www.usa.edu/. The first year flew by so fast, by far the fastest year of my life! I did pretty good considering the amount of course work that we have as this past summer we were taking 22 units! I really enjoy the program and have meet a lot of new people. Being the first class at the San Diego campus we are definitely the Guinea Pigs. We have to experience the new professors teaching a new curriculum and some who have never taught before! All in all I really have nothing to complain about I am happy where I am at. The University has a very high passing rate on the licensure exam which shows a lot about a program. This semester's schedule is great, I get to sleep in most days and no school on Fridays, it's a 3 day weekend every week! We do however start our first internship in Acute care on Nov 3rd. I was placed at a hospital less than 3 miles away form my apartment and I am really looking forward to it as we will not be in the classroom for 7 weeks!

Golf

Golf has always been a big thing on my dad's side of the family and up until now I have only messed around with the sport every once in awhile. My mom started playing more and started taking my nephew Gage out on the course which sparked an interest in me. I went out on a local driving range here in SD and couldn't hit a ball to save my life, I had forgotten all tips my Grandpa Bell had given me years ago. I immediately called up my dad and asked if he could give me a few lessons when I was home in August on a break from school, I believe my dad was a little happy I was showing an interest in the sport he has played for years. So after hitting the course with my mom and getting a very good lesson from my dad I believe I am improving! I went out on the driving range yesterday and feel I did pretty well. The only downfall is I need to find a golfing partner and it can get a little expensive to go more than once or twice a week. And Thanks Dad for my new set of clubs!!

Gage is pretty good at hitting the ball for a 3 year old!

"What are you carrying"

I have been attending Christian City Church http://www.cccsandiego.com/ for the past 3 months and really like it there. I have yet to get involved besides attending as often as possible. The church is lead by pasters from Australia and preach about issues that you can apply immediately to your life. The paster just began a 10 week series about "What you are carrying with you in your daily life"
Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest."
-Carrying burdens around are what is holding you down: anger, resentment and jealousy.
Luke 7 ".....I don't deserve to have you come into my house and heal me"
-God wants to revive what is dead inside of you. He gives us hope for a better life and wants us to carry love, faith, worship and praise in our lives not guilt, anger, resentment and jealousy.
-God is bigger than what is going on in the world!!!

Snorkeling in La Jolla

I have to say that San Diego has so many awesome things to do. I am always open to trying new things and checking out what SD has to offer. I have now gone snorkeling twice with some girls from my PT class, the first time at La Jolla Shores where Leopard Sharks are right along the shores and in the water with you. I was really scared at the thought of sharks although they are harmless...but the scariest part was the Sting Rays in the water right under your feet! This past Friday I went out again to the Cove this time were we saw tons of fish, rocks and even saw a sea lion out on a near by rock. Awesome experience and a great workout! The girls and I hit up In and Out after, yum!
Dawn, Lisa and I