Stats: Blaming the Weather

Stats:

days with Jake: 364
thesis: 78% complete
hours writing autobiography: 7 1/2 
hours outside: 4
movies: 4
mood: excited
reading: Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith
learning: how to sew an applique, how to analyze an open-ended survey
highlights: thesis coming together, received my first raise!  


Weekly Update:

#Confession, I've been really emotional lately. Not in an angst-y way or anything, just particularly stirred up in the "feely" department. I'm not sure why I am particularly emotional all of a sudden. Last week, I blamed my thesis. But this week, I'm blaming the weather.

Yes, the weather.

Have you ever noticed that February is just sort of...magical? And I'm not saying that because it has my two favorite holidays of the whole year (Valentine's day and my birthday). No, there is a distinctly magical quality to February that just makes me feel all out of sorts. It's slightly chilly, but also sunny, but not too hot either. It can't decide whether or not to be winter or spring so it decides to be both and neither at the same time. How else could it be 80* today and raining tomorrow?

Anyways, all that to say, I've been extra emotional lately, which usually manifests itself in squeals (and sometimes crying, or other times just a tiny little throb in my chest) over silly things like the lantern scene in Tangled, 4 pounds of pink minky fabric, talking to Jake on the phone, Valentine's day merchandise on clearance, finishing my autobiography, miscellaneous displays in Hobby Lobby, making progress on my thesis, stupid memes from Facebook, and classical music. And, I really really miss Jake. I think the long-distance combined with the full schedules, infrequent communication, and our 1 year anniversary tomorrow is gettin' me down a little. (Of course, I'm excited about the anniversary part!) It's definitely weeks like this that make long-distancing it quite a challenge, but we press on.

Shine a Light on Slavery

Today is Shine a Light on Slavery Day. People all over the world are participating by drawing a red X on their hands to illuminate the fact that slavery still exists in the world today.

• 27 million people are in modern-day slavery across the world 
• 161 countries have been identified as affected by human trafficking
• The total yearly profits generated by the human trafficking industry amount to $32 billion 

The End It Movement is making its stand and raising awareness to end human slavery. Spread the word in the fight for freedom. 

Never Eat Alone

I'd been trying to get my hands on this book for awhile but then I got it for Christmas and now I've finally finished it!! It was an excellent recommendation from Joel Zaslofsky, one of the bloggers I follow and I really enjoyed it!

Keith Ferrazzi talks about networking in the business world in new terms, arguing that business is moving from a less competitive model to a collaborative one. And in a collaborative model, relationships matter.
"We can go through life...making shallow, run-of-the-mill conversation with strangers that remain strangers. Or we can put a little of ourselves, our real selves, on the line, give people a glimpse of our humanity, and create the opportunity for a deeper connection" (149). I love his emphasis on the art of relationships. Although he focuses primarily on networking in a business context, I think what he has to say, especially about helping others, can be used in any relational context. Great book with a lot of practical applications. I even got to practice while in the airport!

Survey Says!

Stats:

days until my birthday: 1
thesis: 58% complete
survey responses: 3
screen time: @_@
reading: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi 
learning: to embrace the unknown future
mood: girly
looking forward to: birthday chillin'
highlights: spring weather, finding cool stuff on the web, and conducting leadership webinar last night

Weekly Update:

Some days, I feel like that scene in Tangled where Rapunzel goes from "I'm a despicable human being" to "This is the best day of my life!!" Not that I believe I'm a despicable human being or anything, but from time to time, I experience severe mood swings in a single day--usually relating to perceived success or failure.

This week, it was my thesis project. After sending out a volley of emails Tuesday with minimal leads, I began Wednesday discouraged and a little despairing. My predicament appeared so bad that I was depending on my dad to fill out my little survey so I could at least have something.  I spent all day on an internet campaign, stalking potential participants through independent book-sellers, tracking down their contact information, and emailing them to participate in my survey. I was so desperate, I didn't expect anything to come of it. But lo and behold, by afternoon, two people had responded and a third committed to filling it out over the weekend! And because of those two people, I found the hope and the determination not to give up!! (Although, thinking of a big fat F also does the trick, but that's not quite as positive.)

I still have a little ways to go though, so if you know anyone who has written, or is writing, their autobiography (does not have to be published) could you please direct them to my questionnaire (linked below)? I would be much appreciative.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GX-yc4nVkWR5gaKQTR6f9-PnTqeFD93TT9en4gS7ujk/viewform

Modcloth Knock-Off

This dress has been hanging out on my Pinterest board for quite some time. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about the $99.00 Modcloth dress that makes me want to swoon every time I look at it. (Of course, virtually everything on my pinterest boards make me feel that way--an unfortunate side effect of the otherwise trendy website.) However, I am not about to drop a hundred bucks on a dress; I'd rather DIY it instead!

I found this frumpy "vintage" 80's dress in a thrift shop a couple years ago and I've been meaning to change it up newdressaday style, but I just haven't gotten around to it. If you can imagine, there were long billowy sleeves and an additional lace trim on the collar, making the dress a funky turtleneck kind of deal. After I cut off the sleeves, I wore the dress once or twice, but something was still off. But I thought it would make a great base for something similar to the Modcloth dress if I could get my hands on some lace.

Once I did, I got to work with mom's sewing machine. I cut off the top half of the dress, took in the sides, and folded the top edge over to make it a strapless number. Then, using the new strapless dress and another dress with a jewel neckline, I traced and cut out two pieces from the lace and sewed them together. Then I stitched the lining along the bodice and tacked the upper edges in the back and in the front to keep it up. It was still a little long, so I took about two inches off the fabric and voila!

My Modcloth knockoff!!

I had planned to dye it teal like the original picture or even pink, but I'm not sure if the dye will take to the fabric of the original dress. For now, it will remain cream, but I reserved the top portion I cut off to test the dye on. So this dress may make a comeback in a different color!

Passion 2014!

The Passion Conference was absolutely stunning.

Highlights:

• the freedom to walk around wherever we wanted in downtown Houston (as long as we arrived on time)
• the Houston Police Chaplain escorting us through an underground tunnel that shot all the way across downtown
• jumping rope with complete strangers while we waited for doors to open
• a stadium full of 17,000+ college students praising God
• the worship team(s) created new, never-heard-before songs especially for the Passion Conference
• Hillsong
• listening to Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, and Judah Smith speak
• "if you work on your character, no matter what happens [facing the unknown future and making big scary decisions about careers, opportunities, etc.], you won't waste your life"
• "where you stand has the power to determine where you walk, but where you walk will never determine where you stand"
• experiencing God's grace a whole new level
• "10,000 reasons" sung by more than 10,000 people
• praying for a homeless man on the street with my peers
• reviving the passion for Jesus Christ in my heart

The whole weekend was an incredible experience and I wish I could give more than a few fragments of it, but sometimes it feels so futile to use words. Truly, humility is being an English major without words, the very things I have staked thousands of dollars and hours of study upon and still, I am utterly speechless.

SD Day 4: Last Goodbyes

I think I've mentioned more than once that goodbyes are hard. Well, I'm here to say it again-- they don't get any easier!! After packing my last few belongings and stripping the bed, we spent a pleasant morning drinking tea out on the back porch and talking. The sunshine on my back was so lovely! Looking at him with our mugs of tea, I thought I could do this for a long time. And I am confident we will! But until next time, there are moments to be captured, adventures to be had, and yes, a few goodbyes to be said-- but it's not forever. Just for a little while.

Love you!

SD Day 3:Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Jake took me to his church this morning where he was drumming on the worship team. I had to get up at a whopping 7:00am- the earliest I've woken up all trip. But I had a wonderful experience at Summit church and everyone was very warm and friendly to me. ^-^ After service, a girl named Jasmine who was sitting next to me started asking me about me and Jake and soon I'd launched into the full-blown story of the history of our friendship and how we got together. It's one of those stories that I can really get into the telling of (naturally) and I can never contain my laughter!! As people filtered out of the auditorium, my laugh started echoing and Jake would pause from taking down equipment to smile at me and shake his head. Definitely a trip highlight.

After church, we cooked up a gourmet breakfast-lunch in the Edgar's kitchen together! (Cooking together in the kitchen?? Yes please!!) Scrambled eggs with peppers, spinach, and cheese; sliced apples; and a couple of croissants that I brought. It was a legit meal. Then the afternoon and evening was filled with Olympics-watching and piano playing and even more Olympics-watching! (My favorite!) We watched Meryl and Davis skate the free dance portion of team competition and of course they were phenomenal! They beat their personal best and received the highest score in the history of the event. Go USA!! A good way to end a good day.

SD Day 2:China to the Max

I took Jake to a legitimate Chinese restaurant here in San Diego-- our favorite, China Max. As we pulled into a jammed parking lot, I said, "Oh yeah, it's Chinese New Year, just so you know!" Haha the full disclosure would've been nice, but I spaced out about the holiday.

I took him because we raved and raved about their squid fries (pictured at center), but on this particular night, I wasn't feeling them nearly as much as the beef chow fun. I don't know what it was, but the chow fun was stellar this particular night. Service was a bit slow due to the crazy amount of Asians (myself included, I guess) but we didn't mind, since we like to sit and talk. Jake did pretty well with his chopsticks and he ate more squid than I expected him to! I think he liked it! 

SD Day 2: Olympics-Watching

Spent most of the day watching the Olympics that my hosts so graciously recorded for me overnight. The team figure skating has been phenomenal. I really enjoyed ice dancing pairs from Germany, Italy, and of course USA (Davis and White were simply stunning!)! In pairs, I'd have to say Canada was definitely my favorite, even though the Russian pair's routine was virtually flawless. Even with a few baubles, the Canadians were so elegant together. So many beautiful routines from a beautiful sport.

Jake has rehearsals today, but this evening, we're planning to go out to dinner at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants here in SD and maybe take a stroll on the beach!

SD Day 1: Ducks in the Park

In the afternoon, we grabbed some coffee and soup (white beam escarole) at a cute little local place with totally chic decorations hanging around the entrance. Jake talked linguistics with me, teaching me about the different phonetic sounds that make up language. Our attempts to pronounce certain sounds were so funny!

Right next to the coffee shop, there was a little park that we walked around in for the rest of the afternoon. We found a sweet little bridge where we watched some ducks and little blackbirds while we continued our conversations. We talked about the future, the past, life in general--all sorts of things. It was a great day for conversation.

SD Day 1:Touring the School

When Jake told me the school was "so much more professional," I didn't really know what to think. No picture came to my mind. But the campus is beautiful! We spent lunch in the cafeteria where I got to meet a lot of his friends, who entertained me with interesting anecdotes and jokes. Chris tried to convince a newcomer to the table that I was a government official evaluating the school's social atmosphere! The new kid *almost* bought it but I think my laughing was a dead giveaway!

After lunch, we got in trouble for tearing around the mud behind the school in Chris's car. Chris and a couple others were planning to shoot BB guns (which are technically not allowed) but Jake and I used the opportunity to take our leave and he gave me a personal tour of the school. The classrooms and the equipment are. All so fancy!! We stopped in to talk to Mr. Wilson and he showed me the practice rooms where we paused to play piano.

He played a few songs and we played a couple duets. He taught me the high part of a piece that he wrote. It was a very fun piece, reminicient of "the entertainer." It took a lot of patience (on his part) but I was starting to get it!! I didn't take six years of piano for nothing, I told him. But I appreciate his patience and the way he teaches.

Oh shoot-dang! :O

Welcome Winter Olympics

#confession I'm not much of a sporty/athletic girl (even though I did go through a Tomboy phase in middle school) but I LOOOOVE the Olympics. Not even kidding; I simply adore it. Needless to say, I was a little more excited about the Winter Olympics happening over the next two weeks (even more excited than I was about the Seahawks playing at the Superbowl). Superbowl was fun to watch, but once it was over, the countdown began and now it's finally here!!!!! I have a few favorite events in the Summer Olympics, but when it comes to the Winter Olympics, I pretty much love every event: snowboarding, skiing, figure skating, speed skating, luge, curling, and let us not forget hockey!! I think I will be spending the majority of my 19th birthday parked on the couch watching hockey games. It doesn't get much better than that.

You can find the official Sochi schedule here to find out when events are. I will be spending the first part of the Winter Olympics in San Diego with Jake, but we're planning to watch. (Rather, I'm planning to watch and he's going to watch with me!)

SD Stats

Stats:

excitement Level: 100

days with Jake: 5

thesis: 43% complete

reading: Never Eat Alone by Ferrazi

mood: EXCITED!!

learning: how to write a resume, how to let go of the future

listening to: Imagine Dragons' Night Visions

looking forward to: Passion Conference

Update from SD:

Well, before I get to the San Diego part, I must say there have been a LOT of highlights this week! Hearing Tangled in the bakery, Superbowl Sunday (How bout them Seahawks??), catching up with Grandma Ingrid, New Art Supplies (Thanks to Ingrid!), visiting the art museum, quality cookie-decorating time with Cam while listening to his music, applying for an internship with Walt Disney, Winter Olympics(!!!), and of course, arriving in San Diego to visit Jake! ^-^

After a two hour delay due to weather back east, my plane lifted off at 9:10pm and touched down again at 9:20 (I am a master time traveler, but this particular trip sucked an additional hour of energy from my reserves.) I sat next to a really nice man named Lee and we sat and chatted for the whole hour about all sorts of things: careers (he's a computer programmer), education, interests, traveling, the Olympics... He was really nice! And very impressed with my conversational skills, I think.

Some family friends picked me up and brought me to their house where my welcoming party (Jake) was waiting! ^-^ We spent the evening catching up and eating my croissants and valentine's cookies. The plan for today? Well after this feast:

We're planning to tour the campus and then watch the opening ceremonies later tonight!! I'm so excited! Hopefully more pictures to come!

I Just Did This:

I wanted to save this announcement for later, but I cannot contain my excitement!! And I've found that it's best to post about these kinds of things while the energy is still fresh or a lot of times, it doesn't get posted.

Anyways, here is my announcement:

In case you cannot read what the email says, it says, "Thank you for your interest in Disney Professional Internships. We appreciate you taking the time to apply for Executive Communications Internship--Fall 2014."

Yes, I just applied for an internship program with Walt Disney in their Communications department.

O_______O

I am inexpressibly excited about this position, so much so that my stomach is performing backflips and cartwheels and all sorts of weird gymnastics that it did not know it was capable of doing. As I mentioned, the internship is in their communications department and would involve various forms of written communication (speeches, correspondence, etc), brainstorming and planning with partners, and organizing and developing tools and processes. It would last for six months starting June 2014 to January 2015 in Central Florida.

Unfortunately, this makes my summer and fall plans a lot more tentative and I would have to say no to several other opportunities that lay before me. It is a somewhat difficult position to be in since some of my plans were things that I really want to do, but it is also a good place to be in because whether or not I get accepted, I am confident that God will direct my footsteps as far as which opportunities to choose. So instead of praying that I would get accepted (although I very much wish to be), I am simply praying that God would take care of my future, no matter what happens.

Today's the Day!!

As promised, now I'm telling you about my exciting trips coming up!!

This evening, I'm flying out to see this guy!!!!

And I am so so excited! Words can't even describe. I'll be staying with some family friends in San Diego and Jake's going to show me around his school! Between classes and play rehearsals, we're planning to spend lots of time hanging out, watching Olympics, going out to my favorite Chinese restaurant and maybe even visit the beach! (Walking along the beach together? How romantic!) I'm not taking my laptop with me, but I'm hoping to be able to post a few pictures or blurbs from my iPad.

Then, three days after I return from San Diego, I leave again, this time in the opposite direction! I'm going to Houston, TX for a few jam-packed days at the Passion Conference!! Some friends of min attended last year and said it was an incredible, life-changing experience! Unfortunately, this means I will be busy on my favorite holiday of the year (Valentine's Day), which means no Disney Princess marathons with my gal pals, but we'll save that for another time. Meanwhile, I shall be gallivanting across the country, but I hope to do a few updates when I can.

Quinn's Fig Babies

This week, I was housesitting for some friends of ours and one of the things they had me do was water their plants--a few indoor plants, the rosebush, the orange tree, the aloe plant, and.... Quinn's fig babies. (Pictured above) While I was sitting in his chair, getting my hair cut, he told me, "You're gonna laugh at my fig babies." "Your...fig babies?" And he told me that his fig tree has been reproducing fig plants and he uproots them, sticks them in cans, and sells them on Craigslist! Crazy, right? But last summer, he made $60 from selling them and they do well in Tucson's soil and they reproduce figs relatively quickly. So I took care of them while he was on vacation with the fam.

Magic Moments

There is something indescribably magical about finding oneself in a bakery on a rainy day, surrounded by warmth and the smell of freshly baked bread with Tangled music playing over the speakers. Such was the situation I found myself while I waited in a line that stretched out the door and spilled onto the sidewalk outside. As I edged toward the register, my turn nearing, I wished that the music would re-orchestrate itself and continue and I could linger a little longer in this moment.