Day 24: Getting places...literally

Day 24: Today I am thankful for making it to places safe and sound!

Spring Break started for me on Friday which meant that I couldn't wait to peace out for a few days and get to SoCal for a few days to see a couple of my people! But in typical Steph fashion it had to be slightly more complicated than just driving for hours on end in an incredibly boring part of California. I started by stopping at a Starbucks for a coffee. I took a few sips, started to feel funny, drank some water, read the computer label and found out that they put SOY in my coffee. Well uhm, I'm kinda allergic to soy as in throat gets scratchy and kinda closed.....

AHH! Are you kidding me?! All I want to do is get to So Cal and get some greasy food and they are putting soy in my coffee! NO FREAKIN WAY! I found some benadryl, took one, sat at a McDonalds and let it do its magic and finally felt okay enough to start driving!

Lots of bathroom stops later, some gas station coffee which might have had like triple the amount of caffeine by body is used to, and some random CDs later, I finally got to LA! Tomorrow is Disneyland!!!!!!!!!

Day 5: Looking forward while loving the present

Day 5: Looking forward while enjoying the present


It is far too late to be worrying about blogging, but I'm extra gracious for all that's coming up in the next few months! Today, and this weekend really, I spent lots of time with loved ones on in person, on walks, at the movies, on the phone, over skype, grubbing down, exercising, all sorts of fun! It seems that every time I was with someone, we were planning something SO FUN! Not just throwing out fun ideas, but actually, officially (it's on Facebook soooo.....) planning fun things to look forward to. It made me realize that I have been incredibly blessed to not only have people that keep me sane and grounded and calm in the present, but have also been blessed to have a number of opportunities and events to look forward to! I mean, I don't wanna brag or anything but.... birthday shenanigans, followed by a day at the beach with my family the following weekend, then Disneyland the weekend after, then a brew tour with the amigos, then pretty much after that D-O-N-E and can say I'm a teacher, and then not to far from that.... BEACH HOUSE!!!!! Let me tell you, have something glorious to motivate me to the weekends is surprisingly grounding in the midst of the chaos. For those of you that are extra observant, yes, it is 12:30 California time, and yes, I'm thinking about missing sleep, but I feel jazzed up on the fun times coming soon!

This morning at church we were singing an awesome song called "Your grace is enough." And one particular line especially struck me: "You lead us by still waters" I sorta realized that in these first few days of my 40 Days of Gratitude, all the things that I've "chosen" have all been parts of my day that bring me by still water, or bring me a sense of calming peace and enjoyment. I guess what started as a post about being happy while looking forward to the present, is also a post in which I feel especially gracious and appreciative for the fact that God can bring me still water in a variety of environments and circumstances and still bring a sense of peace to my insides. For that, I have eternal gratitude....

Here, there and everywhere

Time for an update! I've had a few realizations these past few weeks. I'm in week 5 of the Sac State Semester, but week 7 of the program as a whole. Here are my realizations, thus far:

1. The semester is WAY longer than the quarter system. Yes, it seems so obvious. But the pacing of projects, classwork, midterms, regular homework is SO different than the quarter system. If I were in week 5 of a quarter system, I would likely be enjoying a down week between midterms, and with finals looming in the near future, I would be gearing up for that. The semester system is physically a longer length of time, thus bringing a new reality to the phrase "sprint to the finish." If I started sprinting now....I think I might die.... I'm learning how to have more endurance, if you will, when it comes to semesters and making it to the end. 


2. Commuting isn't my favorite thing, but its not my least favorite either. Coming into this year, my dad reminded me of the reality that not everyone has a 5 minute commute all their life, like he has had. I took it as a lesson to be learned. I spend a lot of time in my car. Four days a week, I start my morning half-human driving 45 minutes out to Folsom. Then, I hop in the car and drive 25 minutes to Rancho Cordova where I have some of my classes, and some days I add a trip to Sac State, another 15 minutes. And then at some point, I get to drive home, most days after the sun has gone down. Like I said, I really don't mind it for the most part. There are some days that a commute like this is an okay thing, there are other days (mostly when I'm stuck in traffic) where I go "REALLYYY?!?!?!?"


3. With said commute, I've had a lot to learn about how to make community when a common location isn't one of the elements. As I've raved before, last year was blissful (and especially summer) from the standpoint that everything (other than family, besides brother) was in Davis. I worked here, I had friends here, my church was here, everything was local and so much more easily accessible than I even realized. This year, if I'm not here, I'm there. And new friends might not be from here, but they are from there. It is so weird to not have a hub of people tied to a place. I never really thought that would matter, or be a big deal. 


4. And tied to not having a place to hold our friendship forts down, I think I've realized that I'm still figuring out this whole community at a distance thing. Its hard, because I physically live in the same town, but spreading myself out for the sake of school stretches that idea. I still miss people that are no longer around everyday, miss being able to hang out with family, miss being able to even spend time with my friends that do still live in Davis.... All part of an adjustment! 

You gotta love life. I love how it is constantly changing no matter where we are at on the life timeline. Whether we transplant our selves to an entirely different environment, or choose to invest our time and efforts in new places in the same area... it is all part of an ever changing growth in community. So far, the only way I've figured out to manage this growth is through constant and regular thoughts and prayers for each other, headset phone calls during painfully long commutes, and cherishing the time that we do get to share with each other, whether it be on the phone, in a coffee shop, on skype, at youth group or even just sitting on a couch together!

Calm in the commotion

Cliche or not, life has been a roller coaster lately. In this case, I think it is relevant to think about my own experiences with real-life, loopty-loop, goes-upside-down roller coasters in my life. When I was younger, I HATED roller coasters. Every summer, I would go to summer day camps and going to the local amusement park was always a regular field trip fixture. We always had to sign up for a group of thrill-level so that we were with other kids that wanted to go on similar rides. I ALWAYS signed up for the weak and wimpy group.... we went on the merry-go-round a couple spinny rides and that was it. 

In 8th grade I went on a trip to Disneyland/California Adventure with my mom and brother. It was big news that California Adventure had a roller coaster with an upside down part.... I kept staring at the ride, trying to imagine myself on it, picturing what it might feel like to go upside down... I kept talking to my thrill-seeking brother, and my go-with-the-flow mom. They were going to go on the ride regardless of if I went on or not. They kept trying to pressure me to go.... My mom made me a deal and said that she would give me $20 if I went on it.... (DISCLAIMER: my mom didn't not often use bribery as a form to push my limits! We were in Disneyland, afterall!) 

Well.... next thing I knew I was on the roller coaster, and it was true, I didn't feel the upside down part at all! I felt the thrill and the rush of the loopty-loops, stomach-dropping dips, and fast turns! I learned to love roller coasters, and I made 20 bucks! Not a bad afternoon at all! 

Basically, all you brave blog-readers just got a glimpse into the history of this metaphor of life right now. I'm on the roller coaster of a 1 year teaching preparation program. It really is similar to that initial fear of roller coasters; I stood on the outside and tried to imagine what it felt like. I had the great blessing of having a summer that was completely mellow, as I've so eagerly told Blog world about! Starting this program is just like getting on California Screamin' at California Adventure! All of a sudden, your secured into your train, and BAM! you hit high speeds and the first hill before you know it! 

That is exactly how the program has started. We had our anxious meet and greet among cohort members, and then BAM! we hit full speed, and FAST! I've been feeling the thrills and chills that come with a program built on quickness. So much of that is just adjusting my own personal capacities. I know I'm facing a weekend full of readings, postings, lesson plannings, kids interviewing, movie watching, and much MUCH more in between. However, in the same way that the first "big" roller coaster I went on  was only a quick ride, this program will be over before I know it too. I don't want it to go by so fast that I don't feel the thrills, but at the same time, I know this is just a temporary ride, and if it gets so crazy I want to get off.... the safety harness will keep me in, and it has an end in sight! 

Summer Fun

This summer has happily become known as the "Bum Life" among my friends and I. No one really planned it, but somehow about 75% of us are all without a job or any regular and ongoing commitments to keep our time occupied. It's a good thing that we are all professionals in the filling-unscheduled-time department. So, then, the question begs, what have we done with our time? Lots.

At first I saw this summer as overwhelming without anything going on. I'm very much a person who likes routine and is productive when I have stuff going on regularly. However, slowly but surely, one person at a time, the Bum Life grew.

The Bum Life essentials are: friends with no jobs/time consuming commitments, a minimal budget to be used sparingly on adventures and day trips, a lot of sunscreen, and no agenda for the day.

Here are some picture highlights of this fun summer:

Spent many a beautiful day at the pool soaking up some of God's good rays! (with sunscreen of course!) 

Even tho Dad isn't in it.... celebrated Father's Day with some minor league baseball  and pizza! 

Scootered around Davis to get some french fries from our robot friends at Carl's Jr. 

Played many a game of Phase 10 with some awesome junior highers! Hayley, we miss you!!

Mama Tits came to town so we enjoyed our traditional pepperoni pizza from Cafe Italia! 

The pic is blurry (obviously) but we had fun waiting 14 innings to see the Giant's win! 

And now we make it to the beach house.... 11 friends, 1 bathroom and a ton of good memories! 

This little treasure of a beach was fantastic! Thanks Northern California! 

Best part of vacationing with friends...sharing beds! 

Las Chicas during our last little bit at the beach! 

Went to the drive in! We brought couches and enjoyed ourselves some Cars 2! 

We helped out at the week long day camp at Church! These 2 were fun to lead with! 

And fun to make fun faces with! 

I'm gonna miss this Ice Princess when she leaves for Chicago! 

We had a character night. This pic reminds me that my friends and weird! 

All these fun adventures have reminded me how it isn't necessarily about what you do with those around you (although, I have had some fun, clearly!) but it is about who you get to spend time with. I'm amazed at how God has strengthened this group of friends to the point where it feels like we are all on dysfunctional family and the only thing that makes us function is the love we have for each other. I'm appreciative of all the memories that I've gotten to make this summer during the Bum Life and with all the people that have shared in it with me. To all those that take the time read all the way through, I hope you've been reminded of the good one's in your life during the summer moments! That warm fuzzy feeling great friends give you is really priceless!