Tuesday 4 May 2010

Tuesday 4 May 2010
One month until the wedding!
Bible verse of the week to memorize: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
My wonderful friend Brittany suggested having a Bible verse to memorize that relates to your week. I have been doing this for three weeks. During the course of the week when I feel stressed and overwhelmed, I repeat the Bible verse in my head. It reminds me that God is in control and not me.
Over the past month, I have realized that even though I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I have never given up my life for him. I have always lived my life for myself or someone else. I want this summer to be a life changing summer in so many aspects of my life. I have no clue were I am going to be in the fall. If be here in Pittsburgh or off to wherever Randy may be. I continuously pray that the Lord opens a door and closes a door to tell me exactly where he wants me to be. Randy still does not know where he is being stationed and yet I trust the Lord that he will put us where we will grow the most. Even when we do not follow what God has planned for us, he does turn in around into a situation that we can grow in Him. I came to Pitt with the wrong motives, but the Lord has turned it around. I have found a church that I will forever call my home church. Back home, I was never involved in a church. On Sunday, my family and I (my mom , brother, and I) would go to the service (always late..drove me nuts) and then leave. We did not talk to many people, and if I tried to get involved in the church it was quickly cut off from my mom complaining about taking me everywhere. At Northway Oakland, I am really part of a community. I have been heavy involved…taking almost every class they offer and in return volunteering at every chance I get. I have made some great friendships, which have helped me to motive my growth in my relationship with Christ. I am just not another face in the crowd. No matter where I go, Northway will always be home.
Like all things, there are positives and negatives about going back to work. One of the positives is that I have the evenings free! I am no longer studying until 1900 or 2000. The negative is trying remembering everything I learned from the summer before and failing horribly. There was no brush up course on the gadgets and terms in the lab. My colleague would ask me to get him something from the table of a million things. I do not remember what that thing is…and panic! The first day back, I prepped a rat for surgery. I was not quite sure what surgery we were doing and I kept on asking my colleague if I was doing it right. He got frustrated with me and told me to stop and just do it. That shut me up and whipped me in shape. Today was even worst.
Along with all of this, there is the wedding stuff. My first dress fitting is Friday. I am still trying to contact people about RSVPs. Some people are just hard to get a hold of. Getting the count is holding up contacting the reception hall and the baker. Other than that, I plan to take care of the rest of things the week before the wedding. I just hope everything goes a little smoothly. I know that it will not go perfectly.

Sunday 2 May 2010

Sunday 2 May 2010

Day 2 on my own has been tiring.  I woke up early to help with the Pittsburgh Marathon with my church.  Even though it was a rainy day, the runners were so inspirational.  The runners go through a lot to complete a race.  When I was just looking at the runners, they made me tired.  Yet, just saying that you completed a marathon is something.  I hope I will be able to say that someday.  Seeing the runners made me want to run more.  No, I have not started running yet. I hope that I will start this week.

After the marathon, Liana and I went grocery shopping.  I was not prepared at all.  I knew what I needed for breakfast and lunch, but I had no clue what to get for dinner.  Therefore, I got some pasta, some chicken, a frozen pizza, and some sides.  I hope all the food lasts for a week or more.

Tonight, I cooked up some whole-wheat cheese raviolis.  I did not do a bad job, I think.  I was lazy though and did not make any veggies or sides to go with it.  I have to start making a whole meal instead of just parts of a meal.  That is something else I need to work on during the summer.  In addition, I should start planning before I go to the grocery store.  I would like to start to plan what I want to eat during that week, so I will get just what I need without buying things that I might not use.

Tomorrow, I start work again at the neurobiology lab…should be a good day.

Saturday 1 May 2010

Saturday 1 May 2010

It has been a while since I wrote on this blog.  I have just completed my junior year at Pitt.  It was a very stressful time, and I hope future semesters are near as stressful as the pass one.

Today marks a new chapter in my life.  I moved into my first place.  I am completely on my own, paying rent, getting groceries, and the whole thing.  I am excited about it.  The whole semester, my plan was to live with my parents for the summer; however, the thought of living with them was not a pleasant one.  A couple of weeks before the end of the semester, my friend, Liana (who I kept on running into everywhere!) asked if I wanted to crash at her apartment for the summer.  I kindly declined, saying I was living with my parents.  Yet, later that day, I realized living with my parents would cause so much stress that I called Liana and asked if her offer was still on the table.  I crunched the numbers and found that I could comfortably afford the rent and still have money left over to save.

I truly believe that the Lord put Liana in my path so we could be roommates for the summer.  If I were not her roommate, she probably would be living on her own.  This whole situation has taught me that no matter how much planning I do, the Lord has a better plan for me.  Proverbs 16:9 says “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  This situation has allowed me to give my future to the Lord instead of planning for the next x amount of years.  For example, Randy and I are waiting to find out where our first base as a married couple will be.  Randy did not get the PRP certification needed to go the Minot AFB, North Dakota.  I am actually glad we are not going to Minot AFB because I heard that it is cold and they get a lot of snow.  So, I am hoping for somewhere in the south.  However, wherever we are stationed, I know that the Lord put us there for a reason.

So here, I am in my new place.  It is so nice.  We have a full kitchen, living room, and a spacious bedroom.  In addition, the fact that I am now independent makes it all so much better.  What adds to the charm is that my desk is right in front of the computer.  I feel like Carrie Bradshaw right now typing on my computer in front of the window. J

This whole summer is a summer of big positive changes.  By the end of the summer, I will be an Air Force wife!  There are other personal goals that I want to achieve this summer.

My summer reading list:

-God Answers Prayers: Military Edition by Allison Bottke

-The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (So we can start on the right track financially in our marriage)

-Stay regular with my daily Bible readings as I read along with What the Bible Is All About by Dr. Henrietta Mears.

-and some pleasure reading

I also want to start running.  I am not a runner at all, but I want to become one.  I would like to work towards a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and then full marathon some day.  I know I will have to start slow.  Start with a mile and gradually work my way up to more mileage.

Randy comes home in 29 days.  I daydream about the moment when we see each other for the first time at the airport.  I know I will run up, jump on him and give many kisses.

The wedding stuff is coming together.  Almost all of the RSVPs are in.  After I get a count, I have to call the Riverside and the baker.

Finally back and hopefully staying for a while

My last post was 2 months ago!
A little has happened since then.  I finished my junior year at Pitt, started a full time job for the summer, and finishing up wedding planning. I have also moved into my own place, which I am really excited about. 
At my new place I'm having trouble getting on the internet, but I have keeping a journal of sorts on a Word document.  Hopefully, in the next couple of days I will post what I have written.
It is finally nice to get back into writing.  I have surely missed it!