what I am lovin in august

These past few months have flown by and with them, have my time to fit in one of my favorite parts of the blogging month. I truly enjoy sharing some of my most frequent items of the month, so here I am again to share a little more about my life.

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder
I discovered this through a friend and have used nothing else since. I have tried out quite a few different powders, but if you also suffer from oily skin with that hot summer weather you might what to give this a try.

Stethoscope
I am at the end of my internship {only 4 more days, but who's counting} and I have used this each and every day. It has become second nature to me and even feels strange when it is not around my neck.

Popsicles
If you know me at all, you know that I am totally obsessed with popsicle. Just about any popsicle will do {except grape} but my favorite are the real fruit ones with the real chunks of juicy fruit inside. It will be sad to see the cold weather come because I normally loose the desire for this particular summer treat.

Febreze
I like things to smell fresh and clean, and febreze is something that I am never without. I use it all over the house love nothing more than finishing a clean room with a few sprays of freshening febreze.

LOVE
Love has been in the air this month, in more then one way. This month alone I have gone to 4 weddings and know of quite a few other couples who will be tying the knot soon.

Fans
At this moment I have 4 fans, one in each of the rooms that I commonly use. I have to say that my favorite is my new little mini fan, on my desk, that keeps me cool in my new craft room.

Ice Cream
I sometimes feel that I consume more ice cream then anyone around me {well except for my dad and friend Katie}. I ate my share over the summer and I always am craving it, even in the bitterly cold winter months.

Maybelline EyeStudio Gel Eyeliner
Don't worry I am not getting paid my maybelline or anything, I just like many of their products this one in particular. I have been really into the gel eyeliners and this is my favorite one with a respectable price. Glides on like a dream and stays all day.

Iced Coffee
I have been drinking coffee like it's going out of style. I mean it, I can't remember the last time I relied this heavily on caffeine. It probably doesn't help that there is a Coffee Ground in my clinic, feeding my addiction but I don't care. It's only for 1 more week, then the job hunting really kicks into action. With the changing of the seasons, my new addiction pretty soon will be pumpkin spice lattes. Have you ever tried one? If not you must, they are heaven in a cup!

celebrate

A few busy days ago was the celebration of me turning 21 years of age. This year has been filled with more than I could have even imagined. It seems impossible that so much was packed in, in so little time but here I am 1 year later, with practically a whole different life.

Just a few things that the past year has had in store for me:
- learned so much about who I am in this world
- took more then half a dozen trips, whether it was a fun road trip or a plane flight to another country
- finished up my med schooling to become a Medical Assistant
- been blessed enough to meet an amazing guy who has forever changed my life
- grown closer to my Lord and leaning on him for my ultimate strength

I have loved the past year, but I have a little feeling that this next year will be filled with even more surprises and amazing experiences. Just a prediction....

fill in the blank friday

Thanks to Lauren over at The Little Things We Do, I'm back with another fill in the blank on this beautiful friday.

1. One of life's most simple pleasures is sleeping in on my day off. I got to experience that this morning for the 1st time in months and it was amazing.

2. To drive near people who don't signal, weave in and out of other cars, and cut other drivers off makes me want to punch someone.

3. I like to see the changing of seasons because, we get to experience the atmosphere completely change in a matter of weeks.

4. Keister is such a funny word.

5. If I had to choose one beauty product to use for the rest of eternity it would be mascara. I love finishing off my make-up with some mascara, it makes such a difference.

6. I'm happy that it's the weekend. They are my favorite days of the week!

7. I would never say never. I love trying new things, taking risks and going on new adventures.

moments to remember

 It's weekends like this, where words simply don't do it justice.

very own crafting room

It's always been a dream of mine to have my very own room entirely devoted to my left brain. A room that is filled with my raw materials that could be transformed into something amazing. A few weeks ago this dream began to take form and I was well on my way to my very own crafting room.The past few evenings after work have been spent doing hours of cleaning, vacuuming, and moving around furniture. The other night I made more than a dozen trips up and down 2 flights of stairs carrying many heavy armfuls of scrap booking/crafting supplies up to my new room. This room used to be my sister's room, but she moved out a few months ago and I have been blessed enough to turn it into my very own crafting room.

There isn't really time at the present to start any projects, but soon I will be hard at work with: scrap booking, card making, a few sewing projects, and some other ideas I have been anxiously awaiting to try.

new role

Intern, girl with the stickers and treats, medical assistant, errand runner, mean person with the shots, nurse, new blood in the clinic, the vital taker. These are all names that have been describing me for the last 3 weeks as a Medical Assistant intern.

I can't even describe how different it is to be on the other side of the books and out in the real world interacting with patients. You never really know how you will do with tasks like injections, till you are holding a little girl down {who is screaming bloody murder} with everything you have to keep her safe and still, from movement that could hurt her.

I never thought I'd be able to handle a few things that I've already witnessed but I am enjoying it more every day, with the new responsibilities that are being given to me. I have been in family practice, and now am moving on to urgent care next week. I sort of know what to expect from shadowing a few days in a different urgent care unit, but I'm sure it will have it's own set of surprises.

It has been such an amazing opportunity for me and I would encourage anyone to seek out an internship. It is so worth your time and it really gets you into your field without the added pressure of a real job. I am still surprised some days that I landed myself in the medical field, because 5 years ago I would have just laughed at you if you told me were I would be now. It's moments like these were we have to remember: the planes we have for our own lives really never measure up to what God has in store for us.

trip to Cali

I am back from my 3 weeks of vacationing....to jump right into my internship 2 days later. I have already completed my third day and my head is spinning. I have a feeling it will continue to keep on spinning till I am done in 9 weeks time and graduate in September. There will be much more on that later, but now for a little catch-up. Last week was spent in the sunshine, in my home state California and lets just say I went picture crazy. I had my camera out at every possible moment and it is now resting in my camera bag from its week of being very over worked.
We spent the week as tourists, visiting some of our favorite cities like Sunnyvale to San Francisco, from San Jose to Monterey. While we did get to see many of our friends, there simply wasn't time to do 1/2 of what I had on my imaginary list. I'm sure there will be a trip coming up soon where will be able to enjoy much more of our favorite places.One thing I miss tremendously about California is the people. Both sets of Grandparents live there along with dozens of friends!It's been years since I visited the Monterey Bay {not Bat Aquarium Brian} Aquarium and I must say, it has changed since I was there last. Even though there are new exhibits or expanded walls, this place is full of memories from my childhood that will never change.How often can we say "Lets go have a picnic on the ocean beach!" It's been way too long!It was an action filled vacation and one that I will never forget. Visiting all my friends and family makes me want to visit even more. There is only one other state where I can say words like these when I get off the plane "It feels good to be home!"

am I dreaming?

In some of my posts for the last month or so I have been making a few hints about the new guy in my life. I also made a few promises to tell you some details about who has been making me over the moon happy, so here I go.

Over a month ago I went to Arise and Shine, the 20s and 30s retreat in northern MN. I went into the weekend excited to see many of my friends and ready to dig into my bible and be strengthened by my Savior. What I was not expecting was for someone to catch my eye and instantly have my curiosity.

I was certainly not expecting to meet someone who would forever change my life, and I know this because I didn't bring the type attire that I would normally bring if I wanted to look my best. He was seeing me in my sweats and sport t-shirts and still decided to stick around. He's brave.

From the first night we seemed to have a connection and I felt at ease around him. The next day was a whirlwind of so many people, lots of coffee, so many encouraging words from our Lord, some water fun, and many games. The games lasted into the late hours of the night {well technically the early morning} and we ended the night with a trip out on to the glassy lake for a few hours of uninterrupted talking. We talked about anything and everything from jobs to grade school to how many things we really have in common.

By this point it was evident that this was more than just a little crush. The next day was filled with even more caffeine and so many more moments that turned into amazing memories. We listened to some amazing speeches that were given by amazing Christians, sharing their intimate details about fears in our lives. It was then that I realized one of my fears. I was fearful that this was all a dream and that this new found bliss would be ripped from me. All I had to do is look into those blue eyes and any fear that was swirling around in my head, disappeared.

Since then we have had some amazing dates and met each other's families and friends, which couldn't have gone better. After getting back from a weekend over in his neck of the woods, every time it gets more and more challenging to say good-bye.

I have never dated someone so similar to me....he makes me feel complete. He makes me so unbelievably ecstatic and I can only hope to make him as happy as he has made me.

It takes a life altering weekend like this, to completely humble you and to know that our planned out paths are laughed at by the Lord. He has so many better unexpected joys ahead of us, we can't even begin to imagine.

I still wake up and think that I am dreaming most days.

Someone pinch me.

fill in the blank friday #8

1. My plans this summer include for those details, see this post.

2. The best summer I ever had was the one that I am presently having. It's been the best summer I've ever had and it's not even half over yet. I can't wait to see what else is in store!

3. Summer is a time for swimming and barbecues, tank-tops and sunscreen, popsicle and spending time at the pool, flower dresses and boating across the lake.

4. My favorite summer food is popsicles and ice cream, hands down!

5. The best way to quench a summer thirst is with a tall glass of lemonade or lemonade.

6. My summer uniform consists of tank-tops, summer dresses & skirts, swimsuits, a nice tan.

7. The best things about summer are spending as much time outside as possible, relaxing in the sun with a good book, and enjoying all the joys that this particular season brings!

summer vaca

My life has been a little to busy as of late to devote time to my blog. This is a sad reality, but the truth. For the last month or so {ever since the summer season started} I have been pulled in so many directions, from school and friends, to family and vacations, to road trips and so many other activities. And this is not that post to say that it is all calming down. This is the updating post, which is a bridge between the kayos. Bright and early tomorrow I will be boarding a plane....destination sunny California. It has been way too long since I visited my home state and I can't wait. Before I get too ahead of myself, here is a little update of where I've been this past couple of weeks.

Last week was spent on a family vacation in northern MN. We rented a cabin and had the ideal vacation: minimal activity and maximum amounts of relaxing, just what we all needed to recharge our batteries and refresh our worn out bodies. Here are just a few of the over 300 pictures that I captured.