South Carolina

And so I've returned from the road once again. South Carolina was my last and final trip of the Fall Winter season, I'm both thrilled with that notion and a little sad about it too. Thrilled with no more school visits, no more speaking for groups of students, no more google maps scattered throughout my car and purse, no more itineraries to print-highlight-and double check, no more getting lost on the road, and most importantly, no more being away from home and my sweet sweet bed. :o) But the sad part is that I was sad to leave South Carolina, I wish I could've stayed longer but I was also ready to come home. Bittersweet in all senses I suppose.

So I'm back in the office doing the day to day work that I've neglected while being on the road. Like cleaning, today I plan to do a clean sweep of my office, organize my desk, maybe do a little color coordinating and figure out a new system to organize the hundreds of files, forms, post-it-notes and random stuff that pile up on my desk. Change. I'm definitely a person that needs change in her life I've realized. From this job, from growing up in general, just realized that I need to continually be changing, achieving, growing, searching, finding and doing. I do enjoy sitting on my butt and watching a season of Friends straight through (which to me also shows dedication and the will power to not move, really great attributes if you ask me), but I also like to be doing something. Painting, writing, reading, working out, playing with my pet spider Harry, editing photos, taking photos, researching, playing some athletic game, just doing something.

So Thanksgiving was fantastic! We fried a turkey and if you've never done that before or are like me and shake your head in disappointment at the human race for even considering frying one more thing.......try it before you diss it. It was so good! And not even a little greasy, and that's not sarcasm. I had such a great time with Nicholas and Dana and got to stay with them for something like nine days. It was a nice break from work and life in Oregon and a great opportunity to spend time with family (and do a little Corban recruiting as I spoke at two schools while there). I was able to play with Koda, Drover and Harley (their pets) all the live long day...and apparently I'm an animal person.

I also got to see different sites for a show that I like to watch. It's filmed in the town I flew into, so some of the random local pre-existing sites that are part of the show we went and saw. If you're wondering why I haven't actually put the name of the show....that's for a reason. Ha! This is a badly acted show that I'm not even proud to be a fan of....lets just say I started watching it when I was in high school and it stuck. But I was embarrassingly excited about it.

I'll put some photos up of the lovely South Carolina and my lovely family there. And I'll attempt to keep this up and running while in the office too. Any exciting things that happen. Updates on the house- which hasn't changed, they stopped rebuilding so we have an unfinished house I fear permanently. Until then. Happy Holidays.

Love. Joy. Peace. ......that's the traditional Holiday slogan, yeah?
And yes, Nicholas, that "yeah" was just for you.

Home Sweet Home

I'm home for awhile, well, until Nov. 17th! So happy to be here too. Just thought I'd check in and let you all know I am going to be on the road again, South Carolina soon. Building on my house has haulted as they are letting something dry? Since I'm unaware and have to eager knowledge to understand construction much more than I do now, I'm not sure whats drying but I do know it'll be done around the beginning of next week. And then they'll continue building and hopefully by the end of next week we'll have our full livingroom again!
Good news, last night I only woke up one time and it felt soooooo nice! It was a really solid sleep and here's what I think had to do with it. I was reading Psalm 24:4 before bed and it was very calming. What a relief to not have to carry around fear, so I'll continue working on that.
Going to a Blazers game tonight! Excited, my second one ever. It's going to be a super busy week but I cleaned up everything today- dusted, vaccuumed, swept, rearranged, cleared garbage, emptied garbages, did the dishes, wiped counters, finished laundry, oh yeah.....good day. Me, cleaning supplies and Friends on in the background, whats better.

Monday = Good Day

So, today is Monday and I had four school visits, insurance phone calls to make and landlord phone calls to make. With the combination of all of that I felt as though it might not be a good day, but alas, it was a GREAT day! An absolutely wonderful day actually.
As I woke up in a bad mood the other day I woke up in a good mood today, ready to go and excited to see what the day holds. Also, as a very random side note, I love the 7-up commercial with Brad someone from Everybody Loves Raymond- the one when he takes a sip and then sings and dances down the street.....gets me everytime! Anyway..... got my usual coffee this morning (the place across from my hotel remembers my drink already, sad right, no, so great!), and then hit four back to back high schools. Each one held an unexpected amount of students, two of the schools I hadn't been to before too. It was great though, road trips being planned by eager students, information being passed back and forth, really great conversations and students who seem like they would be such a great fit for Corban. Things that make me happy. The counselors today that I dealt with were all equally nice to top it off, I love when I enjoy talking with them versus groucher-mcgees who are not as lovely to chat with.
Ate some lunch at the Cheesecake factory, mm... I've discovered that I can go in at lunch and get a lunch sized pizza and salad and diet coke for 15 dollars, after tax is added- I hate tax! But the free bread they send to each table and the salad are enough to fill me up completely, add in a pizza to take home and I've got dinner or a snack for later. Perfect and delicious.
I tried calling the car insurance for the car in livingroom incident and our landlords. Not wanting to sit around on my bum waiting for returned calls I went and worked out, it felt so great! Working out increases ones endorphins, and I can attest that I feel great. Hence the incomparably large amount of times I've used the term "great" in this blog post, an embarrassing amount it is.
A think on my lap top just popped up called "sticky keys" asking if I wanted to turn this feature on because I hit the shift button 5 times....I've never heard of this feature- Decline.
Back to my great endorphins, so I got a call back from the insurance people and talked with them about loss of personal property through the incident, as well as how to go about claiming the loss of use of the home for three days and the loss of the square footage of the home in turn reducing our overall rent for the month, or the hope of getting a reduced rate. Figured out everything on our end, as well as our landlords end, so that I could come to them fully informed, able to present concise details and able to come to an appropriate conclusions that will equally please renters, owners and insurance. After this great phone call I called our landlords and chatted with them for awhile. We've come to a reasonable agreement and I feel good about where things are now headed. The insurance was also really nice, and I hope that this is a continued feature, as I know when money actually comes around it can turn peoples emotion into a very different kind.
So with all that said, we are making a subrogation loss for our personal property loss (my nice BBQ, an espresso colored bookcase that was newer, etc), and the landlords can make the subrogation for loss of rent. So we are determining the square footage of the home not in use, figuring out how much we pay per square foot (with a basement that stinks but is fair enough), and then multiplying this by the days not used. Also deducting the full days rent for the days the home was not usable at all. So there we have it, its on its way, which is all I can ask for right now.
So there is my update for the day! I'm going to go eat some of that mini pizza I brought home from lunch. Have a great day!

I like It....I Like It Not...I like it...I like it not...

So I've been sitting here in my room for awhile watching NCIS, mostly because its Halloween and walking around outside alone is a creepy factor of 10. I did what I said I was going to do today though- went downtown and hit up Urban Outfitters which was having a great sale, and then got lettuce wraps at PF Changs, also yummy. Came back after some other places, got in the pool for a bit, ate left overs for dinner and watched tv, exciting day. So since I've had soooo much time alone today I have had all these likes and dislikes I've realized. Here are a few-
LIKE- mystery shows
DISlike-when people don't return text messages or emails in a timely manner.
DISlike-a lot of commercials on tv, they are lame, disgusting or irritating.
LIKE- the sunset, its beautiful here, lots of colors.
LIKE-knowing I get to watch One Tree Hill when I get home
DISlike- my house
DISlike- the smell of airports and planes
LIKE- new clothes
LIKE- breakfast foods
LIKE-embarrassingly enough, the Nancy Drew movie I watched the other night
DISlike- being stuck in a rut
LIKE- the outdoors, I love being outside
DISlike- that nothing in on tv right now, not even good reruns or halloween themed shows.
DISlike- Tullys brewed coffee....vomit!
LIKE- chicken casear salad and club sandwiches
LIKE- the show "I Was Pregnant and Didn't Know It", so crazy
DISlike-men who are boys, this guy on this show so chickened out when his gf gave birth

Okay, thats enough for now, of me rambling on about things that annoy me and some things I enjoy. Today was one of those wake up in a not great mood days. What are you going to do though, its happens. At least my lettuce wraps were good and I bought a cute dress and t shirt. There's good news. If or when I ever get married and start having children, if I get pregnant and go full term with no clue of it, I allow my family and friends to not only submit my story to this show but also to mock me for at least a month. Also, the lady who is playing the real pregnant lady is suppose to be a size 12 and she is most definitely at least a size 20, come on people, come on.
Until later. :o)

An End of A Great Week

It has been a great week but I am still so relieved to be finished with it. Tonight and tomorrow I have no set plans, and it feels so great. A break. Just finished eating lunch- raspberries, apple slices, sweet peas and cheese kettle chips, lunch of champions. I've also just decided that the newest JC Penny commercial is so annoying that every time it comes on the tv it makes the fuzzy tv noise. Every and all axe commercial is up there in the same annoying commercial bracket, although it also reaches into the disgusting vomit in my mouth bracket as well.
Its warmed up a bit and stopped snowing and raining, so the weekend is looking pleasant. Is it sad that I've already thought of a few things I want to eat while I'm here? I was also thinking pf changs as I mentioned yesterday, and then I remembered a little greek restaurant I saw the other day, and the melting pot which I've always heard is delicious. Hmm...not sure of thats a sit by yourself kind of place though. We'll see.
Is it sad that I'd be satisfied with this day if all I did was work out and go to sleep now? Until later!

Nampa- Boise- Meridian

I had two fairs to do today. One at Nampa Christian where I spoke in three classrooms full students for 30 minute sessions, and then the National Christian Boise fair tonight. Both successful, although I'm happy to be finished with night time events. Last night I spent with a youth group in Meridian, pizza party, Corban chat and then worship together, it was a blast! I love going to youth groups, I get some of my favorite things at those- jean wearing (so amazing), Corban chatting, hanging out with youth kids and getting to worship a great God....yes please. :o) Last night there were two girls that specifically caught my interest, not because they were really intrigued by Corban or because they were super sweet because they both had a hard edge to them and seemed lost. So I sat with them all night and got some great chats, it was really great. Thus reinforcing my want of someday having a women's Bible study group meet at my house when I'm older. I'd really like to facilitate that unity between women seeking answers, and what better answers to seek than in the Bible. And of course I would make some kick butt food for each session, goodies galore.
It has been snowing consistly all day today. And I've got to say, I haven't been a fan of it. Its the snow that doesn't stick except to your clothes and hair. I heard on the latest weather report that the temperature was suppose to get a little higher though and the weather was suppose to calm down a bit, thus making my experience here in Boise much better. As I hate getting wet when I walk outside and I plan to shop in downtown Boise this weekend, thus walking around outside. I've actually already planned this out- Saturday I'm going to sleep in (until like 9am!), work out, go downtown and hit up the cute boutiques because, well they're cute, Urban Outfitters, and eat lunch at P.F. Changs. Then, closer to my hotel is Old Navy, Ross and some discount designer shoe stores that I'd like to browse through. I'm looking for some cute flat brown boots.
So this update has successfully consisted of rambling and basically nothing of any importance. :o) Sorry about that. I was sad I missed the Office tonight, the timing for shows and what channel everything is on is so confusing! I miss every show I want to watch, oh well.
Our house is still in total disaster. My roommates spoke with our landlords today and they are now waiting for insurance information before fixing anything but the permits have been received. So good on that end, but we are left hanging until they decide on insurance stuff. My two roommates talked with the landlords like I said, and brought up rent and the heating bill. We've been told by everyone and agree that we need to be discounted the days we weren't able to stay in our own home, we want a percentage of the heating bill paid for because its on high consistently since our livingroom is open to the freezing outside air and our house is still so cold, and we want some of rent knocked off for the month because our house is in disarray, scary and uncomfortably squished. They should be compensated for loss of rent through home owners insurance or the car insurance from the car that caused this in the first place. Needless to say, landlords were not agreeing to any of those ideas and don't understand why we feel unsafe there, and said that. I'm unsure of where to go from here. All I know is, I have a cold house that I don't want to live in because I can't sleep. Be proud, last night I slept with all my lights off, that's a first since the incident, and I only woke up like 4 times, which is a major improvement since its been more like 8 times. Probably explaining why I've been feeling exhausted everyday. But God is good, its getting easier to sleep through the night and I know things will get taken care of. Its interesting to see how things turn out, definitely almost never how I planned or predicted.
That's all for now. Good night!

Boise, ID

So today was my huge national fair, 8000+ students, busy day. It started at 8:30am and ended today at 8:30pm. Looooooong day, but now over and I'm comfortably in my hotel room. My lovely lovely hotel room. With my lovely lovely comfortable bed. Aahh...to sleep sounds as good as chocolate meets coffee meets insanely intelligent attrative doctor meets good book. Better than that even. I was so tired that at the fair today, and after our break in which I walked around with some very funny guys who are reps at Northwest Christian and two from Concordia (which they decided that we were like the Wizard of Oz), I came back to my booth and immediately fell asleep on the floor of my little area. Flat on the floor, completely out of it, emerging just in time to have five minutes of wake up thinking before students and parents came through the front doors. Fantastic. Nap = Good. So so tired.

Downtown Boise is so adorable though. During our break we went and played a couple games of pool, I do say I got better as the afternoon continued, and then walked around and finally found a place for dinner. I don't know why it happens, but every year on the road I end up being in groups of guys, perhaps I should not vocalize my love of bugs? Haha. I'm looking forward to going to Urban Outfitters on Saturday though (my day of nothing) and saw some spas close to the shopping area downtown. I'm going to relax, work out and have some fun at shops I don't normally get to see.

Great after work adventure- The Office was on and I greatly enjoyed that while eating a late night dinner snack. And now, Seinfield is on and just flashed an enormous old school cell phone. It's a work out just to carry those old cell phones. I remember going to baseball games in elementary and middle school, such the thing to do. We'd go to these games though, eat snowcones, watch our guy friends and hang out on the old rickety bleachers and the park next to the ball park....well everytime while being there I would have my parents cell phone with me. I was not the large purse girl I am today, bigger really is better (to an extent of course, I'm not a Texan, although close to) but that cell phone would be so large that I could barely zip up my little purses. A tight fit indeed.

Oh! The fair started off like this- the doors open and students literally come running through the doors in all directions, masses of heads bobbing towards our awaiting booths. One girl in particular comes running up to the Corban booth with a friend and yells "This is where I'm going!" The lady in the booth next door to me was a wee bit jealous I think, she commented how I must feel pretty good having that start of the day. I did feel pretty good. Then as the day progressed a bunch of Camp Pinewood campers (I was a counselor at that camp for a summer in McCall in 2006), but a bunch of those campers now older were stopping by the booth and remembering me! Some I didn't really remember, some I recognized their faces, but it was so much fun to have these campers being like "you're Casey, your were a counselor at my camp." :o) It was just so cool, and a reminder of how much seeds can be planted way earlier and can grow over the years. That we as counselors at camps aren't always just passing people in these students lives, but we are "their" counselor, directly connected to their memories that were made that summer at camp. It's a pretty cool thing when you sit to really think about it. Also odd to think that I was just 20 years old, not that I'm much wiser or older now, but how much have a changed and grown since that day! And how much I will change and grow in the next three years after this year, amazing.

Update on our house- we now have a temporary wall up, flesh with your fireplace, therefore cutting our livingroom into a very tiny space. The temp wall creates a safer environment but at the same time the cold air still comes in so our house is freezing and every noise from outside is in our remaining livingroom. The temp wall does nothing to sound proof. So we're still having a little bit of trouble wanting to be there. The emotions we felt in the, what, 15 minutes of unknown danger, has definitely left its damaged mark on our minds. The loud noise doesn't

Idaho- Here I Am!

So travel picks right back up. I'm here in Idaho, just flew in tonight. Apparently I have a gift with bringing storms with me where ever I go. My plane ride this afternoon had the most turbulence I've ever experienced before, I'll admit, I sent up a few prayers in that last 30 minutes. It was enough to actually make me sick to my stomach, as in, hold your vomit in, close your eyes, and pretend your stomach isn't topsy turning and being ick. So needless to say, I'm here, in my hotel, didn't vomit. As to the storm, after getting my rental car and driving to my hotel a storm hit so suddenly on the drive here! It was sudden and violent enough for me to wonder if a tornado hit or something. It was sudden darkness, mostly from immense fog, and debris flying like crazy through the air. Literally, actual gusts of stuff just flying in the air, it was insane, and huge tumble week looking things flying everywhere too. I had to swerve to miss one hitting my windshield that was also quite literally probably three feet wide around. But it calmed down after 1 or 2 hours of being here and now its just pouring and mildly windy. Great way to start my Boise trip huh. Oh! And the hotel lost brief power before I got here the front desk told me, assuring me that it would be good the rest of the night.
Again, I love my hotel here! It's awesome, the nicest one I think I stay in all season. Just comfortable and safe feeling. Did I mention that I also have an adorable rental car! When I was walking to the car kiosk I thought to myself...." I really hope its that cute car..." and you know what, it was! An adorable burnt orange Dodge Caliber. I'm a happy camper.
So it should be an incredibly busy week. I'll keep you all posted as to what goes down! And I'll try to take some photos and post those as well. I also thought that I should include this- of all the things I could be watching right now I got distracted with the Nancy Drew movie! Hahaha! I must admit, childish as it may be, I loved Nancy Drew when I was younger and I've never seen this movie although a part of me has always wanted to. So there you have it, the first day in Boise, ID.

Scary Day

Okay....so today was an interesting start to the week. One I for sure never expected and will definitely never ever forget. So this is how it went down.

At 4am this morning I hear a very loud crashing sound and shattering glass. I immediately think, "ohmygosh, someone is breaking into the house." Which of course terrified me, one of my worst nightmares come true. So I grab my phone and my pepper spray and ran to my bedroom door, fumbling in the dark for my sweatpants to cover up and dropping my pepper spray and then having to get on my hands and knees to find that. So I think, well, maybe its Andrea (my roommate) and maybe she is up for some reason and dropped something (something apparently really big and breakable, which would be nothing that we own). So I stand by door and listen, I hear crunching glass and a few things falling, which very much sounds like someone walking through my livingroom. So I think, I have to know, so I open my door and crack and call for Andrea in what I thought was a very strong voice but what was actually a very shaky voice. So I call for her twice, still hear weird stuff in the living room and hear her answer from her bedroom. Her bedroom is right next to mine and we can hear everything between our rooms so it pretty much sounds like she is literally in my room with me. So good news- Andrea and our friends Kate who spent the night were safe in Andrea's unlockable door, bad news- someone else was in our house crunching through broken glass. So this terrifying both of us even more, I slam my door shut and throw my body against it because like Andrea's door, mine doesn't lock either. So I'm wedged against my door, pepper spray still in hand and 911 on the phone.

Call to 911-

me- someone is breaking into my house right now, I heard a bang, glass shattering and I hear crunching glass.

operator- okay, what's your address. what's your name. two policemen are on their way. just stay where you are.

me- okay. please hurry.

operator- (asks questions about who is there with me, if I have any weapons, what I hear, etc).

operator- okay, the policemen are there, they are going to circle the house and check everything out and then they are going to knock on your front door to come in. You will have to let them in when they knock.

me- But what if someone is in the livingroom? I don't want to go in there.

operator- It'll be okay. Just run for the door. There are two policemen there and two more on the way.

me- (thinking....holy crap, its true. someone is here. more cops are coming. back up is coming! Someone is definitely here. ohmygosh, I'm for sure about to be murdered.)

operator- okay, they're going to knock, you need to go answer the door.

me- but what if someone is there....

operator- its okay, just run for the door. just run.

me- okay.

So I ran for the door. I didn't even realize I was running on broken glass barefoot until a bit later. So it's pitch black, all I'm thinking is I have to open that door. Safety is at that door. So I run, and get to the door (still thinking someone is lurking in my house) and start tugging on the door but it won't open. I look through the window of the door at the cops and seriously was about to freak out. I'm still not aware of what is happening and I'm not able to open the door to our safety. So the policemen basically kick the front door open after I happily unlock it. They explain what's happening.

A car ran into our house. No murderer or thief. Thank the Lord. Just a car in our living room. So much better, and I am so serious. So someone tried to break into a car, an large SUV, up the road which is also up a hill and they got spooked or something mid break in and left the car but somehow switched the gears at the same time and the car with no driver came down the hill straight into our house!

So no one was hurt, but we were really freaked out. I can't explain how seriously we thought someone had broken in and was in our home. Our home, just waiting to pounce. It's a scary feeling. So the policemen, all 6, we're pretty nice and got things figured out. But it was overall, a very eventful morning, one that I probably will never forget, along with Andrea and Katelyn.

So here are some photos of the damage. It really doesn't even show the full damage, its hard to see in the photos. The whole front wall is so pushed inward that it dwarfs in the part you can actually see pushed in ( because the wall as a whole is in a different place). The front door doesn't close. There is no "window" anymore. Cracks on the sidewalls, the roof is looking a little funny. Not good at all. So, I hope this story was shocking and slightly amusing, because now that we know its not someone out to harm us there is some amusement to it. A car....in our home.....wait....that like never happens! We are just so thankful it was what it was and not something else. We feel pretty lucky. But prayers for our home, and belongings, and the security of our home would definitely be appreciated. I'm betting we'll be a bit jumpy for awhile. It still feels like our space was violated, or safety zone was broken, and that will probably take some time to get over, however, with that said, I know we were being looked after. I don't think I even cut my feet on all those shards of glass, a small thing it seems but I am thank ful. And no one was hurt! So there you have it. Any other questions about it just let me know. I don't always explain myself well. :o)

The photos I couldn't load earlier. The one of Andrea and me is at the Lava Park and the others are from Tumalo Falls. It was very beautiful and very cold!

Redmond, OR

This is a completely random side note but the dad in Numb3rs reminds me of my Grandpa Joe in looks. Something there just has such a familiar resemblence, I like it.

I got to see Tumalo Falls today and walk up to the beautiful view point, which was in fact a very beautiful view point! Mm...had some good thai food after church today, more stumptown coffee and checked into my relatively skeezy hotel but its safe warm and dry so I can't complain. Two nights here and then home I go! So excited! the Safe Light Repair commercial really impresses me. How do they fix a broken window like that, its amazing! I think I've been on the road so long that otherwise annoying commercials are actually creating amusement in me.

Other than an unbelieveable cold that feels like it is in my bones I'm doing really well. Incredibly tired for some reason, I did wake up to a man yelling at exactly 3:33am this morning and couldn't sleep for sometime after that but still no reason, I slept in until 8:30am after that. Feels nice to sleep in! Short post, but here are some photos from this weekend.
Photos to come, they're not posting.

Day,....? in Central OR

You can do the math, I don't remember how long I've been in this area now, not over a week, I do know this. Am I loving Trader Joe's being so close though? Yes....yes I very much am. And have I gone back to Thump twice since my first visit this week, oh yes! I had to take Andrea to get a good cup of joe, and also see the adorable downtown. We had a good time, both of us apparently being 99 year old woman that can't stay up past 7pm but we did alright, we held our own. We were able to explore the city yesterday, boutique shop browse, coffee drink, get some good food, and watch The Proposal via paperview. So high class, I know! :o) Such a great movie, we both loved it. And then today I really wanted to find the Lava Caves and do some stuff outside, but instead we wandered into the Something Lava Park (I forget the full name), which consisted of us driving forever up a rocky road, through snow and into a path around lava rock. It was cool to see, and it smelt amazing up there, wanted to bottle that sensory delight up but overall no caves. So we went to Sunriver for some cheap sweat pants and maybe some people watching amusement to find no people, although cheap sweats still available. Phew. Food, more walking around downtown, cave searching and coffee drinking ensued. It was a pleasant weekend.
Church tomorrow! I'm excited. Pray I do well at all my Redmond school visits and the central OR fair on tuesday. And then I come home, which I'm soooooooo excited for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prineville, OR

So my work week is done for awhile now! I want to attempt to still find some churches to visit Sunday, although I do have a church to attend a service at which is great. Getting to actually go to a church service while on the road is seriously like getting a cold cup of water on a hot hot day, refreshing and needed.

I got to see a whole bunch of extended family last night which was a ton of fun as well! We had a great dinner and then played games and talked until I think all of us were quite tired and ready for bed. Glad I'm not the only one who starts to get tired around 8pm...haha, guess it runs in the family!

Andrea is coming to town today to spend the night so I'm really excited about that. I'm hoping to get outdoors and do something active! Running around that mining place was the most fun I've had all week, it felt good to jump and climb things, although perhaps a little unsafe since it was condemned...but don't fear, I wasn't alone, they could've called 911 if needed. :o) Something I did decide that I would like to do today is fly in a hot air balloon, I saw one up in the sky on my drive to Prineville this morning and now have added it to my goals in life to accomplish. Hey, maybe I can even do it tomorrow, that's it! I'm going to google it after this blog.

Actually, I'm going to put some photos up, not much to report yet today. :o)

Bend, Day 3

Okay, so first and foremost I am wearing a super cute dress and I'm just really happy about that. Secondly, I'm talking to Hannah on Skype right now and this also pleases me. And to make things even better, I'm at Thump and having probably one of the best cups of coffee I've had in quite awhile. Soy Sugarfree Hazelnut Latte! Mmmm...mmm....
I just came from such a fantastically awesome school visit on Bend High School. Last year it was quite the dud, except for the awesome counselor they have so I was expecting that again. I was so wrong! Were there students there you ask, a whole lot, like an army's worth? No. Not even one student there. What was there were three dads were volunteer in the career college office and the awesome counselor from last year. I went through all the information with them, answered all their questions and sat and chatted and joked around with them. It was so great, a real conversation with people that were so interested! In the end, all three dads requested extra information and one of them is highly involved in his church and told me he was going over after this to speak with the pastor and give him the info because this pastor speaks with all the youth leaders in town. He wants ALL of the youth leaders in town to know more about Corban! So I gave him my card and told him to tell the youth pastor to contact me anytime and I'd come over to speak for any and all youth groups. All I can say is when I left, all four people left in that room were in love with Corban and wanted to share it with all their students, friends and churches. GREAT VISIT!
So I'm off to La Pine for another school visit here in a bit. Should be good, the counselor was super nice if I remember correctly. Apparently, however, I was informed today that 25% of the elementary and middle schools have swine flu.....so I'm going to be super germ freak while there.
Here are some wood tablets I can read from where I"m sitting, they are hanging from the ceiling in Thump.

I Wish I was a King
I wish for green and clean energy.
I wish I was more decisive...... (me too!)
I like this one- 1. Smart 2. Funny 3. kind hearted 4. Really into me (a wish for a good man, haha)
I wish to be everything I've always wanted to be.
I wish I knew what to wish for.
I wish the war would stop.
I wish for prosperity...... (don't we all, actually I just wish to be comfortable but to live humbly and below what I make, to be prosperous in the things that truly count for something- like love, family, friends, God, pretty dresses for Black and White....)
I wish it was okay for me not to pay taxes.

There are some very interesting ones up their hanging! My favorite it still the man one, so funny. There are hundreds hanging, but from my back corner, at a table I share with a man that has a tweed hat on and red bandana around his neck...I can not see that many and actually read them. Tired eyes. As a side note before I log off, a girl stopped by to talk with this guy, and told him she was going around town posting fliers to start a "Bend Currency." Haha, a currency that can only be used in Bend, can't be taken out, so that they can have their own trade and separate themselves from society basically. To start a commune. It made me laugh. Oh skinny hippie girl....who is probably loaded because she IS living in Bend......you make me laugh. Go drink a vegan cup of fair trade coffee, wear a skirt made of hemp and sweater of alpaca, and spend $200 a month to change your glass water containers to "go green."
In all reality though, most of you know I would love to have the bohemian look. Long curly flowing hair.....have my nose ring again.... live in skirts and cute dresses. eat only organic and local grown things for the most part....use great smelling green cleaning products.... Ahh..what a great life. :o)

The Photos From Today

Here are the photos it wouldn't let me blog in the post below this. I also just want to say that I was cruising through the channels on tv just now and landed on "ultimate bug wars!" Are you serious, what luck, its comparing bugs from all over the rule that rule the lands, and who would win in a fight between different species. If the king grasshopper was human sized its mandible could tear easily through concrete! Are you serious...wow.

Central Oregon

Elk. Condemned mining buildings. Mexican food. Bugles.
What do these all have common? My day here in Bend, its been absolutely fantastic. Today I had three school visits, Madras and two Bend high schools. Two went really well, the middle one forgot I was coming and went home sick...therefore leaving me in a dark room alone for like 20 minutes in high hopes that a student might still show up. Which none did. It was a beautiful day over here though so I was really looking forward to going and finding an abandoned mill and water tower I saw a couple days ago to take some photos and explore it. But first, a nap and working out. Which actually means that I got back to my hotel, set an alarm clock for a 30 minute nap and then proceeded to sleep for an hour and 30 min, all the while hitting the alarm clock off every ten minutes. I truly though that every new set of ten minutes I'd be ready to get up, but it never failed that I was so exhausted I hit snooze "just one more time."
So I ended up finding this old mill, which was actually an old mining place with its own water tower. I went with some cousins I have that live here, Connie and Henry, and we had a great time exploring the grounds. I even climbed to the second story of the mill after some work and had such an awesome view. I must say, not only did I get some great photos, I also very proudly saw some small holes in the roofing and siding of the ruined building. Seeing these I also thought, hmm....they look like holes from a rifle, yes they are holes from a rifle! I then proceeded to find shell casings all around the building and thought, how its rifle casings! Why did I know this? From talking with my Grandpa in CA and learning all about guns, I was quite proud I remembered and was able to identify the holes and the casings, however easy they may or may not be to identify. It was quite the triumph for me.
After we had a good time exploring we also went and drove around these backroads for a little longer and found an elk farm. I pet an elk tonight! So they were bugling the whole time and all I kept thinking about was...mmm....bugles kind of sound good. You know, those crunchy ones, made of corn I think, a little salty. Needless to say, the bugling made me want bugles the food. We all see where my priority is.
So I'm pretty tired and more than ready for bed so I'm getting to go get some shut eye. But first I'll post some photos from today. I took 92, but I promise it will not be that thorough in the postings. :o)
Hope all is well with everyone!
Oh, also, I found the cutest dress at the white and black store, I think I might buy it for the wedding but its a little pricey......okay, a lot pricey. Do I do it still? Any suggestions for a good dress? Why do I even ask, we all know when I get my mind set on something specific its pretty hard to tear me away from it because everything less will pale in comparison.

Bend

The place a lounged to read in Reno, overlooked the city A random orchard, CA

I don't remember what casino these two were considered. Cool music coming from inside though.

Yay! I finally get to blog from an Oregon city, this is such a great feeling! It's beautiful here right now- very cold and very sunny. Such a great combination! What....I get layers upon layers of clothing and get to enjoy the sunshine, really, does it get better than that. Throw a cup of hot coffee in my hand and call me the happiest girl in the land. Did that rhyme...yes it did, that was not your imagination, although I have no doubt you are all in fact that full of imagination. The more I write that word, the weirder it looks so it will not be said for the rest of this blog.

Because I never got a chance to post any photos from Reno I have some to put up, as well as some random others, I'll try to title them so its easy to figure out what they're from.

Mmm....so I had an organic rice bowl from Cafe Yumm, and it was yum. Dinner.....where to go...where to go....

This place I'm at is awesome, they gave me a free upgrade for no reason at all other than being nice and I have a kitchen, patio, fireplace, livingroom, bar with stools....so fantastic! On another note, I feel like I'm getting arthritis in my hands, perhaps I've been typing too much.

Bones is like the tv show of the road. It's on again, TNT its quickly becoming my best friend.

Work related stuff- went well today. Got up early and drove to Sisters for my first Oregon visit of the year, and from there drove to Culver for my second Oregon visit of the year. I can not explain to you the difference between Oregon and California schools, its unexplainable unless you have experienced it yourself (much like life on the road) but it is so much better here! Perhaps its my mind set, or my love of Oregon country, but its simply beautiful in an astounding way. It was also great to be in the office Friday and Monday before hitting the road again. Catching up on emails, voicemails, scheduling school visits, turning in receipts, basically just getting everything done that I can't do while I'm on the road- which is quite a bit. We have over 500 applications already this year.....that's about 450 more than this time last year, just to give you an idea of the increase. Amazing! I truly can see the Lord blessing our school and blessing my visits. I pray before every visit that I have the right words to say and that the right person hears them, I also just pray that I am used somehow to do God's will, whether that brings a student to Corban or not.

NANA DON"T READ THIS BECAUSE IT WILL GROSS YOU OUT- Bones just showed a guy that had been killed but cats got to him before Bones and Booth did! It's so catwoman.

OKAY NANA- YOU CAN CONTINUE READING NOW.

If any of you know fun things to do in Bend or the surrounding area give me a call or text and let me know what that just might be! I have many evenings to fill. I drove past an abandoned barn and water tower today, definitely going back this week to take some photos as my camera was zipped in my suitcase in the rear of the van.

Okay, I'm off to pick a place for dinner off my fantastic list of excellent placed to dine. :o)

Show of the day- Bones

Book of the day- Obsessed

Group of the day- Lady Antebelum

Talk to you soon!

Bakersfield, CA

Bakersfield is where I arrived last night and have once again set up camp in. I had a fair tonight, it was incredibly slow but I had some great conversations with the counselor next to me. The revelations I came to today are the following-

1. I have no desire to ever live in Bakersfield, or really anywhere in this area.

2. Bookstores are one of my favorite places to go, any bookstore, new and used, there are so many unspoken words just waiting to be read.

3. I love bugs. The best part of my day was when the counselor from Patten University and I started talking about her hotel room last night and how she found a very large wolf spider on her bathroom towel. She told me she's not normally scared of spiders but this was so huge and fast that she ended up calling the hotel help and had a guy come kill it for her. Upon spraying the spider with raid apparently tons of baby spiders jumped off its back and started running away! They switched her room.... But this so hit my interest, so we talked about spiders and bugs for a good 20 minutes after that. That intrigue in me, that most people probably find amusing and incredibly odd has been so peaked recently, this being a prime example of such cases. THIS IS WHAT THAT COUNSELOR SAW LAST NIGHT! ON HER BATH TOWEL! YUCK!

4. I have an 8 hour drive tomorrow, longest I've ever driven by myself, it should be quite the experience. :o)

For some reason I couldn't post these photos in my other post so here they are. Random ones.

Ventura, CA

I spent the weekend in Ventura and had such a great time there. I was able to stay with my grandparents, see my great aunt and uncle, an aunt and a few cousins. It was also nice to get a break from the 100 degree weather and feel some ocean breeze on my face. And by nice break, I mean fantastically wonderful.
I've got some photos hear of family and various things around Ventura, so enjoy. :o)
This is incredibly random and sporadic I realize, I feel the last couple weeks travel catching up with me and today I was absolutely exhausted all day. I slept so well the last two days though, I think being in a house and feeling safe makes such a difference. I can only stay asleep for a couple hours at a time in the hotel rooms and then I wake up, fall back asleep and wake up again, every little noise brings to a complete alert no matter how deep into sleep I am. But this weekend, I slept solid and comfortably, so I couldn't figure out why I feel like a truck backed over me today. Driving to Bakersfield was literally putting me to sleep, luckily I was able to chat on the phone for quite awhile with friends and my mom, kept me awake, which in turn kept me from crashing. Sorry, this is all over the place and has run on sentences left and right I'm sure.
I learned so much about my family heritage which was so interesting to me. I would love to do a genealogy of some form and really know what made my family who they are, what made me who I am.

Fresno, CA

The beautiful church across from my hotel in Fresno. It is 100 degrees here!

Ahh...reminded me of the elevator you can take in the reed opera house in Salem. I miss home!

I found lunch in this fabulous little civic square that had trees, rose bushes and little cute places to eat.

I just felt everyone should feel the pain I have when I wear these high heels. Although this makes me look cheap and possibly redneck, I love the twead. Yeah, the silver area on the tip of the heel, that's metal, makes a nice clink clink noise when I walk on anything but carpet. Very enticing.

I had some great visits this week. I feel like they've been so blessed and I have had some great conversations with students and counselors. Although I haven't gotten as many high school visits scheduled as I would've prefered I feel as though the quality of these visits far surpass any quantity I could've reached. I also feel more than 5 voicemails and 2 emails begins to warrant a restraining order :o), so I'm trying to find the positive in what I am able to do and not the negative in what I am not able to do.

Students recently have been asking about the weather in Salem right now. I start out telling them about all the tree's being different colors and how its cool weather. You can comfortably wear a peacoat, scarf, fingerless gloves and walk around out in the cool air with a hot coffee and have the best time. It makes me miss this part of home so much. I think I can officially say Fall is my favorite time of the year. The colors. The feel. The excitment of knowing Holidays are near. Wearing at least 3 layers....oh boy, that is a good time to me! And a great book. Speaking of books, I bought an anatomy book from Borders last week, it was on sale and I'm a sucker for science, books and Borders.

Bests of the day/last night-

Best show- Headline Animal Attacks/ Friends.

Best Book- yeah, I'm still on Pigs in Heaven

Best station- country baby! Pleased as ever that I found a country station.

Until tomorrow.

At the botanical garden in San Fran at Golden Gate Park. It was very beautiful and there was a turtle pond! A turtle pond....wow... I stayed with Kristy (a friend from High school) and her 92 year old grandma who lives in the Sunset distract downtown. We could step outside of their front door and walk to any number of food places, coffee places and random places. We had some great donuts and coffee from some little place that only takes cash and is open 24 hrs...it was so tastey! Followed by multiple episodes of Flight of The Concords, it was a great night.

We went to Pier 39 one of the days and walked around all the crazy little shops, stinky piers and dodged all of the non English speaking people, which was everyone. After going going going, it was great to see Kristy and just talk and catch up. She's so much fun! She wanted to hear my Casey Corban story again...the one from when Kacie was my assistant and a guy named Corban called to talk to me and repeatedly kept saying "Hi, it's Corban." to Kacie and she kept saying "yes it is." her not realizing Corban was his name and him not realizing he had the wrong Kacie! Overall, so funny.

This was at the botanical gardens again. America's Next Top Model actually hunted as down on that walk, I can see why.

I took time while Kristy was at a church meeting to walk through the memorial site for soliders lost at war, it was really nice actually. It was peaceful and quiet and a great time for reflection and gratitude. There were thousands upon thousands of grave markers, somehow each one of them managed to stand heroic, it was amazing.

We had to mark my ride in the popular mode of transportation down here. Bus....shuttle...I have no idea what to call it but it was pretty fun and so convienent. We went shopping in Union Square and ate at the Cheesecake Factory at the top story of a like 9 story Macy's. It was so much fun and I bought way too much. Who am I kidding, never too much.

On another note, I bought these incredibly yummy Choxie chocolate bars for counselors of schools I visit and had to leave them in my car between my last visit today and my hotel. Let's just say that Modesto is in the 80's and 90's and the chocolates were in my back seat. I put them in the fridge once I got in the hotel but they didn't take quite the same mold as before. Darn! There is no way I can give them to counselors now...all deformed. Guess I'll find something else. I'm off to another college fair so I best be going. Seeing my grandparents, Jaimie and Abbey this weekend though, should be fun!