Oh man, life is just so exciting!  *insert happy grin/jumping up and down/gigling*  The past week has been just. plain. fun!!!  My first day at work last Thursday was totally awesome.  My boss is awesome, the other coworker is awesome, the customers are awesome, and the coffee is awesome. 'Nuff said?  Yup, I'm gonna love it.  So blessed. <3

Then, I officially started my college classes (through CollegePlus) yesterday!!  I spent the day at Dunn Bros studying/getting organized, and may or may not have consumed three large coffees. :P  Exploring CollegePlus has been so exciting, and I've already "met" a bunch of awesome people!  I can't wait to have my first call with my coach, I already know I'm gonna love her.

So, that's a min-update for you.  I worked 8 hours today and I now have studying to do, so this barista is checking out!  Talk later!

Awesome + Awkward II

DISCLAIMER: This was written in a coffee-less state, and also in a hurry, so it probably contains lots of gramatic-al and sentence-al and sense-ical errors.  But I really do not care, because I only have so much time for blogging, so this is just whatcha get.  My non-perfect writing.  You have been warned.

Awesome:

~Friends who know exactly the right time to send a text and let you know they are praying for you and hope you are having a great day.  And it cheers you up so much.
~ Having a family who is so supportive and encouraging to you in your new ventures.
~Working your first day, and your dad stops in in the morning to drop off your lunch, which you forgot, and he takes out his phone and takes a picture.  His little girl all grown up!  ;-)
~Also on your first day at work, later in the day, your Mom and brothers stopping by! You're  washing dishes in the kitchen, look up, and there they are peeking around the corner, taking pictures. =)
~Your boss starting out your first day at work by making you a mocha.  Yes, please, and thank you very much.  You may have found your calling in life {drinking mochas}.
~How understanding and helpful your boss/coworkers are to the newbie!
~Tear-jerking testimonies at church.  Testimonies of God's love and grace, it's so awesome.
~Knowing that God has a plan for your life, so you don't need to stress about things, just enjoy the ride.
~Friends who bring you chocolate and coffee.  Those are the best kind of friends.  Ever.
~Going skiing for the first time!
~Riding up the chairlift with an 8 year old boy....  you strike up a conversation with him, asking him how long he has been snowboarding, etc., etc.  As you near the end, he looks at you and says, "You know, I'm really glad I came on this chairlift with you, I think I had a lot more fun than I would have on a different one!"  Melt your heart.  It was so cute!
~Snuggling babies. <3
~The beautiful weather!  Wearing capris, t-shirts, and flip flops!  It's like 40 degrees, people! :P
~Your sweet little brother who always asks you how your day went.  He's so thoughtful.
~Your coworker telling you she really enjoys working with you.  Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.The feeling is mutual!  She's so sweet.
~Opportunities to share Jesus with the lost!
~Friends who you can be your weird self around.
~Getting to spend an afternoon with your bestie, who lives in Colorado right now.
~Skiing with five guys and pretty much feeling like a doted-over little sister the whole day.  Every time you crashed, one or two of them was there to help you get back on your feet and on your skis and going...you feel totally spoiled...it is kinda awesome though. =)
~The lyrics of this song: "I wanna live like there's no tomorrow, love like I'm on borrowed time, it's good to be alive."  So inspiring, and so true!
~Getting to spend the weekend with your wonderful Grandma for her birthday.  She is the sweetest person in the world, and you love her so much.
~Having a productive day...getting up early, having devos, getting your chores done, going to work and working for 8 hours, coming home and jogging a mile, then getting a lesson done for your class, and...writing a blog post or two.  ;)

Awkward:

~The things auto correct does to your texts.  And then you correct auto correct, and auto correct corrects you, and you correct auto correct, and auto correct corrects you.  Repeat three times.  Pull hair out.

~Pulling up to a red light, rolling down window to wipe off rear view mirror. Try to close window. Window won't close. This is normal in your car. Light turns green. You pull on window, push button, and creep through the intersection, making faces as everyone watches.
~The big post-it-note on your car window that says "LIGHTS OFF".  After leaving them on for the 50th time, it was time for drastic measures.

~Sitting at the gas station in Dassel with your hood popped (left your lights on again), realizing what a reputation you and your car are making in your small town.  *disappears*

~Running into the bank three minutes before it closes. You fill out your deposit slip for $70, and then count out $90 to the bank lady.  She looks at you.  "Did you want to deposit $70 or $90"?  You feel  ridiculous and begin babbling about it being a long week and no sleep and you don't have coffee and nonesense while you fix your slip.  I think the people in the bank are getting used to me though, I do something to embarrass myself every time I set foot in there.  

~Seeing a mouse and screaming so loud. So. Loud.

~Texting people in the middle of the night. It gets interesting. And awkward when you are so tired that you can't think straight and say stupid things.  Then going back and reading it in the morning.  *facepalm*
~When the shower malfunctions and gets stuck on, blasting COLD water.  At your Grandma's house. 

~Getting up from your chair in a restaurant and trying to push it in, only to realize it's bolted to the floor.  *Did anyone see that? See what?  Was that me?!*
~Shopping in Walmart, going to check out, and a helpful worker tells you to go to aisle 8.  You smile, say thanks, and walk over to line 7.  Then you look up, see what line you're in, and just kind of crawl over to line 8.  Yes, I feel retarded, why did you ask?
~Writing out a check at the grocery store while a friend you're hanging out with for the day is watching.  The total is fifteen something.  You write it out carefully.  "F-i-f-e-t-e-en."  You look at it.  It just doesn't look right.  You look at your friend and he's just silently laughing.  Did I really just do that?  I know how to spell, I really do.  And I've never spelled fifteen "fifeteen" before.  Of course, said friend will never let you forget it.  '_'
~The fact that while writing the above sentence, you wrote "It just doesn't look write."  Oh my word.  I need more coffee.  It all boils down to coffee, people.  Pretty much 99% of these awkwards happened when I didn't have coffee.
~Sending kissy faces to guy friends.  Those emojis, they just always get in the way of each other.  And make life very awkward for me.
~Stopping to give a tract and some money to a homeless man.   You pull up next to the curb, hand it to him, he says thank you, and you're all like "Yep, thank you!" And he's like "you're welcome!"  And you drive away and look at your brother and am like, "Did I really just thank a homeless man for me giving him money....?" :P  Feeling very blonde.  You don't always think on your feet very well.  Or off them, for that matter.  Anyways.
~Sneaking coffee into the library.  Your mom, skilled coffee smuggler, says, "Just don't make eye contact with the librarian!"  Your mom does it very gracefully.  You, on the other hand, am just the picture of awkward.  *Walks into library.*  *Holds purse in front of coffee*  *Thinks it looks a bit suspicious* (IT DOES).  *Holds it normally* *Face burns* *Stares anywhere but at the librarian* *Tries to act normal* *Fails* *Studies the ceiling* *Tries not to walk into anything* *Sneaks a guilty look at the librarian* *Pretends you didn't see her* *Wonders why this is so difficult*
~Sitting in said library, head phones on, studying and listening to KLove.  A favorite song comes on and you are unconsciously movin' to the music....only to look up and see an old lady walking slowly past, just looking at you. *shrinks away*
~Leaving your piano student's house.  Student: "Have a good drive!"  You: "Thanks!  You too!"  You: walks out front door, realizes what just came out of your mouth (other than the foot you just spit up), and *facepalms*.  "You too."  Gets me every time. WELL WHENEVER YOU DRIVE SOMEWHERE, I HOPE IT'S GOOD.  '_'
~Working in the coffee shop and asking a customer, "Would you like some soup with your crackers?"  Pauses and thinks.  Then, "What I'm trying to say is, would you like any crackers with your soup?"
~Making some shots of espresso, and you kind of forget to hold the little espresso cups underneath.  Oh yeah, forgot that...running espresso down the drain really isn't gonna help anyone is it?  Grateful for a very understanding customer who made me feel so much better when she said "We're all new at something every day!" Thank you, because I feel very new right now!
~Eating crunchy food while you're on the phone.  "Sorry CRUNCH if CRUNCH I'm CRUNCHING in your earCRUNCH."
~A sweet lady coming into the coffee shop and telling you, "You look just like your mom!"  You: "Aww, thank you!" You, to yourself: "I don't even know who you are...?!?!"  But it was still sweet. :)
~Going out to dinner at Olive Garden after skiing with five guys all day, and not realizing that was a HOT pepper that you just ate WHOLE until after the fact. You sit there and guzzle water and stuff bread in your mouth while the guys laugh at you, feel bad for you, and make suggestions to you.  "Really *SNIFF* I'm fine, you guys *WIPES EYES* just give me a minute *SNIFFFFF* I'll be ok *STIFLES A HOWL* that's just really hot.... *AND I FEEL LIKE I'M DYING*"

~The fact that I have so many more awkwards.  But, I gotta go be productive, so, later ya'll!

College, Coffee, and Crazy

Well hello there!  It's me again, I'm back!  And I don't even know where to start, cuz it's been a while since we've talked, huh?!  Yeah just like, umm, over a month.  I *facecpalm* whenever I think about saying I'd try and post every week.  Haha...haha...haha.  

Wellp, I'll just sum up a few of the important events in my life lately: I got a job, I'm starting college, and I quit coffee.

Did you pass out?  

OK, if y'all are revived now, I'll elaborate!  

So yeah, lots of busy-ness and changes lately!  I've been praying about what's next in life for me.  I've dabbled in a few different ideas but wasn't really excited about anything.  Mom was asking me "what is it you love to do?"  Since I was little, I've always wanted to be a midwife.  I looked into doula training, but it just didn't seem the right fit for this time in my life.  Mom asked me if I wanted to pursue music more, and suggested talking to my piano teacher.  I sent her a text, and when she texted back and said she'd highly recommend getting a degree in music, I just knew it was what I was supposed to do!  I got excited and had a peace about it right away, and started looking at different college options.  I'm determined to pay my way through or bust, so saving money was definitely high priority!  So anyways, after a lot of help from people, phone calls, and research....I'm starting online classes through CollegePlus this next Monday!  I'll be taking 29 credits of generals through them, and they estimated it to take 6 months.  I'm gonna try and get it done sooner than that, but I don't know how possible that is!  But I should get them all finished up by September, Lord willing, and then I'll be going to Crown College to pursue my music degree!  I'll be commuting every day, because staying on campus is expennnnnsive.  So yes, it's nose to the grindstone, I've got five hours of studying to do every day.  And I'm excited!  Ask me again when I'm doing algebra and chemistry.  '_'

And a job.  Obviously a big part of starting college was making more money, and I was blessed with getting more piano students.  Then, while I was hanging out working on college stuff at a coffee shop, the owner came up and asked me if I needed any part time work!  He gave me a job application, and I filled it out and brought it in the next day.  To make the story short, I'm starting my job as a barista tomorrow morning at Papa D's in Dassel!  I'm super, super excited!  I mean, coffee lover's dream job, right?!  Which reminds me...

I quite coffee.  Yup, I really did.  I decided one day that I really need to learn to survive without it, so I quit, cold turkey.  In fact, I actually drank water instead.  The self control, I'm tellin' you!  Pretty amazing, if I don't say so myself!  So yeah, it lasted for 11 hours.  I quit coffee for 11 hours.  And then decided that life is too short to be tired, crabby, and coffee deprived, and I welcomed coffee back into my life with open arms.  <3  Haha!  That's the slightly dramatized version... :P

For other news?  Ummm life is kinda pretty much crazy.  But I've realized lately, I thrive on crazy.  I love being busy, always having places to go and people to see.  There is still those times of quiet though, reading scriptures, writing in my journal, and realizing how incredibly blessed I am.  I wouldn't trade anything in my life for anything else.  Even the tough stuff, it's all blessings in disguise.  God is so abundantly good to me.  

I have an Awkward + Awesome post coming up.  The amount of awkwards in my life lately....it's awkward. =P  Meanwhile, here's some pictures from the last month!

Me and my besties at Rachel's (far left) bridal shower!  

This is my mom's "we have coffee and chocolate in the library and we shouldn't!" face.  :P

This is me drinking coffee after my 11-hour fast.  #pureblissandhappiness

The sunrise was coming through the foggy window.  <3

Oh, y'know, just out for a jog in the freezing weather.  =]

Got to spend an afternoon with my big bro, Brandon.  He took me to the Porsche dealership where he works - it was so awesome!!!

Hanging out with Bran, his girlfriend Sam, and a friend of theirs.  The guys were not being photogenic.  

He took me for a ride in his new wheels!

A friend sent this to me.  I have a feeling this will be me in a few days.  :P

This is my awkward happy face after being hired at Papa D's!

Hanging out with my bestie friend forever!  So good to see you again, Serena!!  I miss her like crazy!

We are weird sometimes.

Solving the world's problems over Caribou coffee.

Leave me in a house with paint for the afternoon, and there may be more paint on me than the walls by sundown.  Yes, somehow I dumped paint down my leg.  I even had white freckles!  

Beautiful scriptures.  <3

The sister-of-the-bride and I at the groom's dinner.

Beautiful sunrise, dirty car window.  

I clearly have my priorities straight here.  I buckled in my thermos of coffee, because it is oh-so-precious.  This is on the way to the wedding.  After playing hockey for a few hours the night before (the most painful and injury-ful game of the season) and going to bed at 1am, I showed up at the church with a thermos in one arm and a large mocha (with an extra shot) in the other. Everyone started laughing when I walked in.  I kind of looked down and was like oh, yeah, this is a lot of coffee, isn't it?!  WELL I'M READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD!

I went skiing for the first time ever!  All day!  And I went over big jumps!  And box rails!  And I was so proud of myself!  And I feel like a 90 year old lady who got hit by a train now!  I can hardly walk! Yay!  And I'd do it all over again!  Because it was that fun!

This is Me, Joe, and Tim, heading up the lift.

Left to Right: Tim, Jason, Me, Joe, and David.  Jason is a friend of Joe's and David is a friend of Jason's.... this was supposed to be a class reunion for my graduation class, but the only people that made it were Joe, Tim, and I.  Party poopers!  And that's how I ended up to be the only girl, too.  Slightly awkward, but then I kind of felt right at home being I'm an only girl anyways!  We had a blast.  Oh, and this picture?  Umm yeah, they are totally holding me from going down the hill backwards there.  :P

The only picture I have of me skiing.  Don't I look like a pro?  :P  Trust me, I couldn't even get up the bunny hill at the beginning of the day.  Like I crashed when I tried to go up the tow rope.  And my friends died laughing at me.  Thanks, guys.  =}  And I crashed coming down the bunny hill.  And then after three or four times of that, the guys are like "Ok!  Now we go to the big hill!" And I was sure they were trying to murder me.  But by the end of the day, I was getting air on the jumps, and landing them too.  Ok, most of them.  Others, my skis were flying far away, and I was head over heels rolling down the hill.  I even got awarded the best crash of the day by the guy running the ski lift.  :P  Eventually, though, I mastered the big jump!  #feelingaccomplished

Hanging out with my bestie before the wedding!  I'll post more pictures of the wedding later!  

  

And now, friends, it's time for me to hit the hay!  Tomorrow I start my barista journey!  Wish me luck!  Over and out.