It's Been Awhile.....

Here's what I have accomplished since my last post....

• Went to Vegas with Joe and his family...awesome and definitely worth visiting again
• Saw the Grand Canyon for the 2nd time, but the first time at sunset...pretty breathtaking
• Turned 25 and refused to believe I am 5 years away from being 30, eww...
• Sponsored teen summer Camp at Camp Bond with EFC and had to leave early because of grad school
• Had many sushi rendezvous with friends Bethany and Betsy, thus becoming addicted to sushi, particularly
• Became infuriated at SNU and the lack of ethical standards, that's such a long story...... I considered a lawsuit at one point.....
• Visited my fabulous family in TX only twice the whole summer
• Found an internship to begin practicing the art of counseling
• Canceled cable TV and became addicted to Hulu and Netflix
• Saw my first clients as an intern counselor, crazy awesome
• Finished about 12 papers the night before or day of class and aced them all
• Decided that I am indeed an advocate for social equality and decided that I should have been born in an different era
• Reached the halfway mark of my grad school career!

My Weekend

So, good news first. Leela is home and doing great! I am so glad that she pulled through and is back to her overexcited self. She is such a sweet and lovey dog, I just wish she would calm down a bit.

Due to this fabulous recovery, my weekend was great. I drove to Dallas on Friday to pick up my older sis Tiffany and saw my niece and nephew who are so adorable! Then I drove with my sister to Kilgore, TX to watch my little sister, Whitney, perform in her last big dance show (otherwise known as Revels) and she was amazing. She is so talented I want to puke....but don't worry I didn't.

Anyway, after that I drove to Wills Points, TX to meet up with my hubby and college friends for the one and only Crawfish Boil. Seriously, you haven't lived unless you have done this at least once! It's always a blast, sunshine or snow, or in our case rain. I love seeing all of our friends since we are all spread out geographically and our annual reunions are always noteworthy. Good times!

Joe and I got in late last night and then well, Sundays are always the usual Sundays. We get up early and go to church, eat lunch, take a nap, and back to church again. I did catch up with Bethany at Starbucks after church tonight, love the smell of coffee but can't stand the taste (at least the conversation was good!).

I am having trouble getting to sleep tonight, which I shouldn't because I didn't get that much sleep this weekend. But here I am, the night owl that I am, watching TV and blogging. That's all for now I suppose, not really anything left to say. Tomorrow will be just another manic Monday.

Not one of my best days....

First off, Happy Easter, I have to say that of course. It's been an interesting weekend. I am so exhausted! Seriously, and I never feel tired on the weekends because usually I sleep through it, ha.
Well, Leela started getting sick on Friday and at first it just seemed like she ate something bad and had a stomach ache.
Then she started throwing up, stopped eating, and was extremely lethargic (and this pup doesn't know how to chill out on a regular day).
After 2 days of cleaning up her vomit and not sleeping because you are paranoid about your dog all night, well, Joe and I decided we better take her in.

Parvo....seriously Parvo? My 1.5 year old dog has Parvo? That's ridiculous....and also our fault because she was behind on her vaccinations. (Parvo is an intestinal illness that usually only puppies get when their immune systems are weak and at risk for infections). Apparently there is a new strand that can affect older dogs and it appears that a lot of dogs are getting sick according to our vet.

So now, many many dollars later, she is lying in a kennel in a Banfield Pet Hospital on IV fluids and pain medications. My dog is in the hospital, that's so sad. The worst part is...there is no guarantee that she will even be okay after all of this because the IV fluids and pain meds are only to treat her symptoms, not the actual virus. Awesome....

Well, I hope you had a much better Easter than we did!

Here's to better tomorrows.....

Day 4: No Chocolate

Yes, today is day four! I have not even wanted to cheat yet, which is great because now I know I have more tolerance for a life without chocolate than I ever thought. I did eat some on Sunday, but it made me feel sick to my stomach....awesome.

So, this whole hot and cold weather is killing me! I can't seem to stop getting colds or having allergy attacks....I sneezed for like 12 hours straight yesterday...... it is exhausting to sneeze that much!

Hmmm....well I'm really not that exciting today, since I don't really feel well and nothing worthy of noting has happened to me so far. I did find some of my old journals from high school and college that I was looking through. SO AMAZING. HA! I love how obtuse I can be at times. But it is fun to look back and see how much things have changed and some of the things that I have forgotten over the years. I especially am interested in people's names that I wrote down, but I cannot for the life of me remember who they are! So horrible how quickly some memories do fade away.

Authenticity

It's Friday. I should be extremely excited that it's my last day to work, but unfortunately I'm not because I have to work tomorrow. That part is actually not that bad because I'm attending an adoption party for DHS kids who need a home. I've never been to one and it seems interesting.
The real reason I'm not excited is due to feeling like crap all last night and today. I believe I either have a cold or the beginnings of the flu. I really need a new immune system... this one is breaking down too fast.

Lent....how bout that? I decided, with much deep thought and meditation, to give up chocolate. "What?" you say, "chocolate? Meg? never!" I know right? But I really pondered my reasoning for giving up soda or procrastination, but I'm not addicted to those...well maybe procrastination but I'm getting better.

Chocolate, you see, is such a glorious wonderful gift that I give myself at least twice a day. I just love love love love love it. But, not more than I love God (cheesy? yes). Anyway, I know that sacrificing something that I feel I must have every day is what I really wanted to accomplish this time around. I've been participating in Lent since I joined the Nazarene church in highschool, which oddly enough my church thinks is weird and "catholic". I tried to give up chocolate once but I cheated. Like 3 days in. This time I really couldn't have imagined anything worth giving up more than chocolate. I'm on day 2 and just trying to figure out how not to replace it with something else, but instead reflect on why I'm fasting in the first place. But already I am constantly reminded of why and how I can use that time to focus on better things, like meditation or conversing with God (yes I do it often in my car).

I'm not really a big talker when it comes to faith. After all I did marry a theology major, so I have no room to talk....seriously...haha. Really, I just have my own deep sense of who God is to me and how my experience has led me to the here and now. I try not to influence others in swaying to be just like me or whatever because then, to me, it is not an authentic faith. I did too much of that when I was younger and I refuse to be that person now. Of course I will happily discuss with someone their views on God and experiences that have led them to discover faith in all its mystery. But until people find God for themselves, I don't know that they are truly experiencing Him and how am I supposed to help by forcing my values onto them? I don't do it, but I will converse and I do try my best to display love, hope, kindness, forgiveness, and all that is good about this life with others. I want to be real and honest and open with people about who I am. I will be who I am knowing that God has helped shape me and continues to love me no matter how much of a pain I can be sometimes. God is everywhere....all we have to do is look.

That is my idea of authentic faith.

Psychopathology Equals Torture

So, I'm sitting in my class. The only class that I have once a week, for four hours. I am paying a lot for this Masters program and this is the first (and probably only) module where I feel like I should get a refund. I wish I could explain this inescapable torture to you, but I would never purposefully wish that upon anyone....except this professor. It's only halfway over right now and I can't wait to leave. Only one more class left, and a crapload of assignments to get done by next week including a 15-25 page paper I have to do on Bulimia Nervosa Disorder. That should at least be interesting. I can only hope that one day I will look back on this and not remember it. Seriously.

On a random note...I have been discovering how much I dislike being ignored by others. I have recognized how much I (and my fellow classmates) ignore this professor in class and it somehow triggered my newly found pet peeve. You know, like when you try to talk to someone and you are obviously making an effort, but they just don't say more than one word back. Or when you push paperwork everyday and people ask what you do like you don't do anything at all. That's annoying and I do not appreciate it. Unfortunately, I am passive aggressive and can't stand confrontation so I suppose I can just blog about it instead. Good job Meg.

On another note, I have been feeling pretty pessimistic (can you tell?), but as I continue on with my support system in place, I feel that I can be more optimistic... obviously not during this blog, but it seems more plausible now. It is like finally getting a breathe of fresh air when I assumed that no air was left. There is so much of me that lives in the past or numbly reacts to the present, but as I have always been a hopeful person I believe that life can always be (and get) better.

We shall see......

Random

I sometimes wish that life was a musical and I was able to sing and dance spontaneously without people looking at me like I've lost my mind. I'm just saying, how many problems could we solve just by duking it out song & dance style? I would so win! Hahaha.
I was watching "Flight of the Conchords" last night and they pulled a West Side Story.... it was truly an amazing sight. If you don't know who they are, Google it right now! It will change your life, or at least make you laugh!
Anyway, I've decided that I should probably start working now instead of blogging. I have decided that at least 30 percent of my time is spent not focusing on anything at all when I'm working because it's a desk job and all I do is copy files and print stuff off the computer.
But at least I do have one and that I should be grateful for because of the present state of our 'beloved' economy. Look at me trying to be more positive, yay ( I never know how to spell that and that means something coming from me)!
I need to be careful or I might try to start liking Mondays......
Nope, never gonna happen.

The Little Things I Miss.....

Mom’s cooking/Family dinner every night

Summer time free from school/work (should have been a teacher…)

Recess

Good cartoons like the Smurfs & TV shows like Fraggle Rock (!) and the TGIF line-up

Wanting to grow up

Swinging on the monkey bars without being able to touch the ground

Playing outside ‘til dark with my best friend down the street

Sneaking out

Pool Parties (no one has them anymore!)

Show Choir and School Musicals (I know I’m a nerd!)

Feeling invincible because I could ride my bike without needing the handlebars

Church van road trips!

The glorious imaginary games I used to come up with & could never think of now

Lipsmacker’s Strawberry Lipgloss (it really was the best!)

Real toys in the cereal box

Friday night football games with my AHS friends

Spontaneous movie marathons

Dance class (all that jazz!)

Church plays and Sunday morning skits

Staying up ‘til 4 a.m. and waking up at 8 a.m. feeling well-rested

First crush and first kisses and those things that always made me so nervous because I didn't know anything about how to act...awkward but awesome at the same time....

Spaghetti Sundays with the entire Cook family

Weekday afternoon naps

The hardest decision to make was what flavor Popsicle I would eat after dinner

I think most of all I miss not comprehending responsibility and it being okay...now it's all about responsibilities.

Oh to be young....good times....good times......

Fashionably Late

So, I don't really follow blogging closely, but it looked like fun so why not join in? Although, I'm a little late boarding the blogging train, so I hope it's not too late.
Here I am, supposed to be diligently working on my Psychopathology presentation and instead I am starting a blog...oh how I love procrastination!
It's snowing/sleeting outside. Nice! Of course, it's supposed to be like 60 on Saturday so high five to my sinuses on that one.
I didn't have to work today and I went home at 1 yesterday. So far, it's been a nice week, minus the preparation for my presentation in class.
This class is going to be the end of my perfect "A" status so far in Grad School...super. Just as I thought I might make it through without a hitch, I get stuck with a professor who can't possibly speak the same language I do because I sure don't understand a word that comes out of her mouth. You want me to do what? by when?! where do I find it? huh? Umm....okay sure whatever you say, maybe I'll get lucky and find a translation for crazy. And why make a syllabus if you don't even want me to follow it? Yeesh, this professor could claim her own disorder in the DSM-IV-TR (that's the Psych Bible in case you didn't know).
I'm being pessimistic, let's go ahead and blame that on the stress. Of course, it might help if I didn't procrastinate, but I'll have to give that up later.
I made some delicious Scotcharoos today! Oh my goodness, they are the best batch I've made so far! If you don't know what a Scotcharoo is....don't worry it's alcohol free (for now anyway, haha). It's peanut butter Rice Krispy's with a chocolate/butterscotch topping. If you are real nice to me, I'll make you some! They are the best! I didn't know what else to do today, so I made these and they make the world a better place (or at least my world).
Okay, well, enough for today, I better get back to preparing my 7 minute presentation on whether Debriefing Trauma Survivors is Helpful or Harmful.......
I am officially locking myself in the guest room in my house and not coming out until I have my presentation done...or when Scrubs comes on...whichever comes first.