Wishes

Brooke over at Bright Wishes inspired me to join her "Wednesday Wishes," enjoy!

W1: More Books!

I can't wait for my class to be over and Summer to start so I can do all the pleasure reading I want!

Thank goodness I found my Amazon gift card this week!

W2:  Big Girl Clothes

I need to stop dressing like a Hollister model and start dressing like an adult!

W3:  Homecoming..

(Not gonna happen for awhile, but it said wishes!)

W4:  This necklace!

Present? Anyone?

I'm a born and raised Cali girl, but my heart is in North Carolina.

What are you wishing for??

Remembering

Above: My dad's dad, Homer Mann

Below: My mom's dad, Wade Hahn.

 

On this Memorial Day, I'm a granddaughter and a girlfriend of three soldiers,

who I've thought about constantly today.

I miss all three of them like you wouldn't believe.

My grandpas both passed away a few months apart from each other when I was 10.

I wish they were still alive so I could ask them what the ARMY was like for them.

James is currently serving in the army and I'm patiently waiting for him to come home.

I was with him through every step of the signing up process and have come to really know and respect our military today (well most things anyways).

I'm super proud of him and all of the men and women in my life who have served or who are still serving in our U.S. Military.

I hope everyone had a good long weekend with their family and loved ones!

Four Years

Four years ago today, I started dating my sweetheart.
Happy Anniversary love!

How?

I've been staring at this screen for a few minutes now trying to figure out what to write.

How can I write a blog that follows OPSEC?

Or honestly, how can I write a blog that I know he'll approve of (ha!).

Can't post, put up, or profile picture the pictures of him in uniform because he's asked his loved ones not to multiple times.

Can't say where or when.

Can't do anything that would bring anyone any sort of harm.

How can I convey how much I miss him already?

Especially this weekend.

Especially because not only is tomorrow Memorial Day, but our anniversary.

Especially because even though I've prayed for strength and toughness, it feels wrong to be doing this OK.

Guess it just comes down to those three words.
I love you.
I miss you.
Come home safe.

Thank You Letters

I graduated from California State University Long Beach!

 Hurray!



Dear CSULB,
Thank you for all you've taught me over the last two years. I'm sad to see our time together end.

Dear Journalism faculty,
Thank you for preparing me for the long road ahead.
I admire you more than you know and am so grateful that I got to sit underneath you for the last few years.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Dear Mass Media Law,
You are the most repeated/deleted class in our department...take that!

Dear Creative Writing instructors,
Before I started learning from you I couldn't write a poem to save my life...
now I'm a published poet.
I couldn't write a story for anything and now I've written three.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Dear Mom and Dad,
You two are the most amazing people I know.
Thank you for your love and support through the last five years of my life.
Today was just as much your day as it was mine.

Dear POSC 100,
You will be over on the 10th...I will pass you with an A.

Dear CSULB Friends,
Thank you for making long days at school and last minute cramming sessions so fun.

Dear Roommates (and Karen),
Thank you for coming today!
And for making our home so much fun.
I love living with you guys and I'm really going to miss you.

Dear Love of My Life,
Even though you couldn't be here today, thank you so much for your support and love.
There were times where you talked me out of giving up and I can't thank you enough for that.
I missed you more than you'll ever know today.

Dear Candace,
I will try and get that job.

Dear Rebecca,
You're next!

Dear Corinne Elizabeth,
Thank you for being down here these last two years!
Don't know what I would have done without you!

Dear Grandparents,
You are wonderful.
Thank you for coming down here to celebrate with me today.



Dear Friends and Other Family,
There are way too many of you to name and thank, so this blanket thank you will have to do.
I'm incredibly grateful for all your love and support over the years.
My life has been shaped and changed by so many of you and I'll never forget it.
Thank you so much for all that you've done!

Hard to care

I would not say that I'm a political person.

I can't stand political ads,

I'm not well versed on political measures,

I don't really know anything about the people that are in office

and,

at certain times over the last three years, I've felt super disappointed in the way people have responded to Obama's presidency, especially people who are Christ followers.

I firmly believe in Romans 13:1, which says:

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. (NLT)

That does not mean I believe that this guy is doing a good job at running our country or that I believe in what he says or does, I just think that instead of trying to nail this guy as a fake or trying to hang him and his politics, we should be trusting in a much higher figure and know that He's got this in His hands and one day we'll all have to account for what we've done...including the President of the United States.

That being said, for the next three weeks and 9 sessions of my intersession class, 

I'm going to have to care about politics and politicians.

My first exam is tomorrow...kill me now.

My first assignment is due Thursday...kill me now.

Summer is so close I can taste it.

I better be a lot more knowledgeable when this is all said and done.

It's no secret

That I'm in love with North Carolina.

Have been for years and the fact that some of my absolute favorite people live there is just an added bonus!

I'm super bummed out because this week it just so happens that three of my favorite North Carolina relatives were in California...and I didn't get to see them!

I shouldn't be that sad because we're going there in about two months, but still it would have been fun to show them around my hood.

Right now my aunt and uncle are in Salinas with the rest of my family 

and from the sound of it on the phone they're having a great time.

Those two, besides my parents, are such a huge inspiration to me.

I can't wait to go back!

come home soon

I'm surviving and not crying a lot! Hurray! This is a big step because I'm one of the most emotional girls I know.  Over the last several days, I found a few things that keep me sane and comforted when it gets tough...

Staying busy...busy, busy, busy...

My phone is never out of sight/hearing range.

Dual time clock and countdown on my screen.

I pray a lot.

Did I mention I'm staying busy?

I really miss him way too much already.

Now what??

I am done, done, done...with Spring 2011 semester anyways!

I will be walking in my college graduation ceremony on Thursday

and finishing my last class/taking my last final ever on June 10th.

What the heck comes next?

I've been in school my whole life.

I've honestly never known a life without learning and being in a classroom several times a week.

Another thing I've been thinking about is how this blog is going to change too.

I started it when I moved away to go to Long Beach and now that it's over, it's kind of like it's an end of an era for this too.

There's probably gonna be a lot of, "What am I doing with my life?" posts in the next year,

be patient with me while I figure it out.

Thursday Photoday

 

Taking a break for lunch from studying for Law.

Thought I share some awesome photos.

from stumbleupon.com and pinterst.com

 I'd love to have a barn like this in my backyard.

Can I please paint a heart on my floor?

Turquoise!

Santa Cruz...love.

 

Love these types of photographs

I miss being young with my sisters.

Such a cool picture.