And then there was one... [me]

So, in a little bit of an interesting sort of happening, I am the only co-author of this blog that is capable of posting on it until approximately August.
Now do not fear!
My two trusty sidekicks are just fine.
They are just kinda sorta not in the country for a while, or for that matter, not near any internet.
But I am.
It's like "Lone Survivor" or something. [That's a movie, right? I have no clue.]
So while my cohorts are off doing great and wonderful things, I, too, shall do great and wonderful things... Here... while working at HyVee... and hanging out with some people... and doing cool things.
I wonder if they'll notice if I change the blog background... tee hee hee!
I might also introduce a guest author here and there. Don't worry, she's related. ;)
But for now, I'll close with this...
Because no matter if you're in a far off country being a missionary, or up the road working at HyVee [that's me] this is true and applicable.

Via

My Hypothetical Summer

Here's where I am supposed to be and what I plan to do until Aug. 12.

Friday I fly DM > Dallas > Orlando and spend like a month in Merritt Island (yes, for real), Florida.
I will be an assistant leader for Teen Missions International, helping lead their Myanmar teen mission trip.

At the "boot camp" training on muggy Merritt Island, I will get leader training and then be with my team of 13 or so teens as they go through training for two weeks.


(That's me at boot camp last year as a team member wearing the starry bandanna)

Then we fly to JFK airport, then Hong Kong, then Rangoon (Myanmar's capital), and go to a children's home right on the Bay of Bengal.  For three weeks, the team members construct a shower house for the home and hang out with the children while I cook for my team and help lead daily Bible studies for them. Myanmar, more commonly called Burma, is right next to India and China and pretty huge for a country Americans aren't likely to be familiar with.


(Photo from operationworld.org)

Then we all get a day of tourism in Hong Kong and head back for several days of "debriefing" in Florida.  I get a week back at home to prep for college and then it's off to my first year of actual nursing program college life!



Hey, now you're totally filled in!
And please please write to me because it will make my day.  Really.  :)

P.S.  I miss Billie.  She's off adventuring right now as well.

Lucy! I'm Home!

(Warning: This post has no pictures and many bullet points. Consider yourself warned. :) )

Well here I sit.
On my couch
At home.
I've been here just over 2 weeks.
In that time, I have managed to

• find a job at HyVee (I can check you out! Haha!)
• clean lots of things
• hang out with some of my wonderful friends from school
• hang out with a college friend
• actually work at HyVee (the code for bananas is 4011)
• attended a bridal shower

In that time, I have also managed NOT to

• put practically anything back into my room (the logistics are hard when you are sharing the room with your sister, who is a permanent resident)
• gone to bed before 9 p.m. (but then again, that is normal)
• gotten up before 8 a.m. practically ever (except for church)

Being at home in the summer is hard. 

Maybe hard isn't the right word, because it really is just what I need. The ability to spend copious amounts of time with my closest friend/practically another sister is really just what I need. And I have missed it.

But being at home during the summer is different.
First, even though you know it isn't true, you have this nagging thought in the back of your head that ponders if anyone really cares that you are back. Not your family and close friends, of course, but those people that you used to see all the time. That you used to interact with for one reason or three. If you're like me and sometimes journey too far in to your introverted mind, you start over-analyzing things. But then you have to sort of shake yourself and remind yourself that there are people who are so glad you're back that it is not worth it worrying about it because you can just hang out with awesome people!

Also, for nine months you have been trying to get used to not having your family around. And that is hard because you miss them. But then suddenly they are all back and you are back and it is the best thing because you have missed them so much. However, you haven't had to live with them for 9 months and vice versa, and even though you feel like you have plenty of experience (you know, about 19 years....) interacting with them is hard again. And you don't want it to be. And it quickly gets easier (for example, now is better than 2 weeks ago). But you have to get over doing everything by yourself for 9 months and you get to enjoy hanging out with the people you love. You just get back into the swing of things.
For me, the swing of things has included:

• getting re-used to sharing a room with someone who does not have the same cleaning priorities as me (which is just fine.)
• not having a schedule/routine
• not seeing the same people day after day and getting to interact and laugh
• not seeing much of anyone aside from my family from day to day because school is not done yet here and colleges are just beginning to finish up. (I was done SO EARLY. I realized this very quickly.)

However, summer is just barely beginning, so I have high hopes. At least it better get better, or HyVee is going to be the most fun I have in a day. And while I do have quite the knack for memorizing things (just ask 3-year-old Kara who memorized a whole VeggieTales story) I don't want memorizing the codes for fruits and vegetables to be the highlight of my days.

And really, it won't be.

There are already some exciting plans!

• refinishing a chair
• graduation parties
• hanging out with Kelli and one of our cousins in MN with our fabulous aunt and uncle
• going to Washington, D.C. with the family
• one of our very close friends' wedding!
• Reading Pride and Prejudice and The Fault in Our Stars (I've started Pride and Prejudice. It sort of sounds like what my life would have been like if I lived back then...)

So here's to a summer full of interesting things and also making money. And also hanging out with some great people. And also making memories.

Freshman Year: A Recap (Wait, we're recapping already?!)

Now that I'm home for the summer, I've spent some time reflecting on my first year of college. Here's a little recap.

First night in the dorms. I was super lonely because I had to
be there before everyone else because of band camp

Roommate bonding time! Sonic and brick-buying!

First day of classes!

People sent me letters and I loved every one of them! <3

I did marching band!

And it was wonderful!

Pretty soon, a victorious football team meant
the marching band following them to the
national championships in Alabama....
And came back to this weather...
Luckily music students are a resourceful
bunch, so we shoveled out with music stands!

I was honored to be invited to join Kappa Kappa Psi, the
National Honorary Band fraternity! The Kappa people quickly
became like a second family!

We had a women's retreat for Navigators,
which was tons of fun!

Then there was the music fraternity formal....

Which was awesome...

And so much fun!

As the year came to a close, I officially became a member of
Kappa Kappa Psi, and gained so many wonderful, amazing,
caring Brothers!

To sum up this year, it's been one of learning and fun. There have been some downs, but mostly there have been ups. If you would have told me when I first got here that I would be sad to leave, I would have laughed (and then cried because I wanted to go home). But now I can't wait to go back and keep having fun with all of those crazy people I get to call my friends! The Fine Arts building really was full of fun people, fun memories, and fun times, and I also can't wait to move back to South Complex with the wonderful Olivia!
Here's to a fun summer (I'll check you out at HyVee... your groceries that is. :) ) and to a swift conclusion to the school year for my blog-writing pals!

Reluctant Additions (Ew. WithOUT the Math)

Kara was right, this thing's been radio silent. But then two thirds of this thing decided to add fancy things. And here I am, sitting at my desk, debating whether to add to it. Let's see what happens.

Life is going well for me here in the Number One Party School in the country. I've decided that dorm life is wonderful, but if I do more than one year of it, I'll claw my eyes out with a rusty plastic spork. So I've signed the lease on an apartment for next year, which is as swell as peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Pretty swell. My roommate now isn't going to be my roomie again next year, which is the biggest bummer since they cancelled Firefly. (Happy birthday to Jey, by the way. Congrats on living a full 19 years.) But I've got plans with a friend of a friend who is now MY friend, Elise. She's pretty awesome, likes Disney, and agreed to live with me, so I'll happily take her.

Hm. What else.

I dunno. Lemme throw up some pictures for you guys. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll be saying a lot.

Jey and I got into a marker board war. My brother drew the dog at the beginning of the year. I'm the pink marker, and Jey is the purple and blue marker. It was a group effort.

Being an English major is fun.

This should be self explanatory.

And I have about twenty.

This is so scary about how accurate it is. I have SO. MANY. BOOKS. I swear, my book buying problem is 95% of the reason I'm a poor college student.

LOOK AT THESE FLOOFS.

Evidently I did have something to say. But it's not fair that Eliza and Kara finish school before me. My last day is May 13th. I have pretty much an entire month before I can head back home. And I have finals. The dreaded finals. FINALS WEEK WILL BE PAINFUL.

In Which I Ramble

I'm home!  And doing phys.  I am eternally doing physiology.  My cells were doing just fine being mini-superheroes before I came along and drew all this stuff about their receptors and signalling cascades and so on and on.... but 2 1/2 more weeks of school!  It's all going to be okay!

I am here getting my monthly hug quota filled from Mom and enjoying the ever humorous humor of my witty brother.  So proud of both of them.  And my purr-y little fluffball (Priscilla the gray cat) is happy to see me as well.

Wondering what Billie's up to... sounds like life has gotten much better for Kara and I'm SO GLAD.

Recent media consumption of my own free will::
Reading "Anne of Ingleside", the 6th Anne book.  Also "Searching for God Knows What", a collection of funny and thought-provoking and refreshingly not stuffy essays from Donald Miller (he also wrote the delicious and much-needed "Blue Like Jazz").  Watching Awake (an older show about a guy living in two different versions of reality and he has no idea which is real and which isn't!) and The Voice (best season yet).

Pumped for Easter dinner.  Pumped to be done with this last of phys exams before finals week.

And that's a wrap!



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This meme is excellent.  ↓

Dangit! Cool things just started happening! Now school's ending!

Well, this blog has been decidedly silent for a while, so I must share with you some exciting things! There have been many! Most of them are music-related. Let's proceed. (Many pictures today!)

My Kappa family!

1. I am now a full-fledged member of Kappa Kappa Psi, the National Honorary Fraternity for College Bandmembers! (Yes, formally, bandmembers is one word in this case.) It has been so wonderful to be able to get involved with service to bands. All of my brothers from the fraternity are wonderful and I have become so close to them, which is a total answer to prayer. I'm so glad I have found friends here that share my distinct interest in band and music, and never cease to make me smile, cheer me up, and care about me!

This is my Beaver family. We are so close, and just like real siblings.

Here are all of the new members and Brittany, who was our teacher or sorts.

This is us and our Big brothers. We get along well, you might say! :)

Kappa people like to have fun! Observe:

2.We also have awesome dances! Honestly, this was the most fun I might have had at a dance ever! The company was probably the biggest reason for this!

Parker and Erin, two of my awesome Beaver family members!

Erin and me! We get along so great. We also like shenanigans.

Also, Nick asked me to go to formal with him, which might have been one of the coolest, nicest things to happen this semester! I'd never been asked to a dance ever, and it was such a fun time! I also learned how to play blackjack. And then I was informed that I should stay out of casinos.

These pictures look super awkward. They weren't. I promise.

This would also be an appropriate time to give a shout out to Nick for letting me borrow his mouse. Creating this blog post would have been impossible on this tablet sans mouse. (I forgot mine at home. Again. Oye ve!)

It would also be an appropriate time to say thank you to Eliza's mom, Lisa, for the dress and jewelry. They were perfect!

Roadtrip selfie!
(Photo cred goes to Olivia)

Another thing I am excited about is that I know who my roomie is for next year! Olivia and I got to know each other through marching band last fall and we carpool home all the time! We get along really well, so I'm glad I'll get to share a room with her! We are currently working on plans for fitting a comfy chair in our room next year.

As of today, Tuesday the 15th, I have 15 more days until I can go home for the summer. I am very much looking forward to this, mostly because it will mean that I will get to see certain friends (Eliza and Billie *coughcough*) that I haven't seen in practically forever.

I did go home last weekend, so I got to hang out with my sister and Meghan and experience prom vicariously through them! They both looked so beautiful!

 

Other great things:
-I applied to be one of the drumline section leaders in marching band next year. I'm excited about this possibility!

-Beaver family movie party plans!

-I am now the new Corresponding Secretary for Kappa Kappa Psi next year! I am really looking forward to this opportunity and I can't wait to be more involved in Kappa and the exec. board!

-Something exciting is happening on Wednesday! It's a surprise!