This just in..

I haven't posted in quite a while... mainly because my life has been totally crazy! Seriously!
Where to start?

Moving
    I moved out of my old place. Erinn got married, Jenni bought a home and Brooke moved in with her. I was living in that empty apartment for a while and I finally found a new place with my new roommates! It's on 33rd E and 33rd S. which is a FABULOUS location by the mountains and the freeway.  Sara, Laura and I have had so much fun already! If any of you have visited... you know we are crazy!

Job

   Im beginning to prepare myself for my new teaching job in August. I have lesson plans to do. Luckily, Sara is teaching the exact same class as me so we can plan together. But I'm also nervous and excited for the Youth in Custody program I am teaching. My mind won't stop turning with ideas!

 I am still working at YCI and I enjoy it... usually. The kid that I have bonded with the most left recently, it was actually pretty sad for me. She made me a bracelet and wrote me a letter and I'll include an excerpt from it.. 

"Some things I learned from you are that caring can do a lot for someone and it's possible for me to have positive relationships with people. I also learned from you that people can go through a lot of crap when they are little an end up being great, possibly even a better person. [...] You have always been there, and for that I thank you. You helped me but you also helped me help myself" 

 A letter like this makes every effort, stress and worry worth every second at work.

Traveling

    I went to Oregon recently to meet up with my dad and all of my step-family. We have a beach house on the coast in Lincoln City. It's GORGEOUS. Something about that area makes you want to wake up early every day and go for a new hike. I couldn't get enough of the scenery! We played tennis, hiked, fished, golfed, shopped and played games. Not to mention, I got to see one of my best friends, Brittney, in Portland on the last day! SOOO much fun! It was awesome to be like "Britt.... do you realize we are hanging out.... in Freaking Oregon??" (See Britt & Jared's blog for details & pictures)

    I am off to Baja, Mexico on Thursday for a service trip! The organization is called Kaiizen. It's only 4 days long but it's spending time with kids at an orphanage. We will leave Thursday, sleep on the beach in Meixco that night. Friday: play with the kids and prepare and perform a luau Saturday: pair up with 1 kid and spend the day with them & visit the pools Sunday: drive home. I'll add more details later after I have gone. I'm excited! I've been building my tan to help me too!  www.kaiizen.org

Life

    I can't complain about life. I'm really happy and enjoying my summer! There has been a lot going on! Also, there has been a lot of guessing I've had to do about peoples' intentions towards me. It's hard to manage situations without knowing. So, I've just been minimizing all experiences I've been having in order to protect myself or from going too far out on a limb. It's been working but at the same time I'm not being honest with people.

   I still have my list of things to do this summer. I've completed a few more but I have a lot to go! I think in the next month I will be able to finish a lot more of them. I'm excited!