Oy, With The Poodles Already...

Been aWHILE since an update.....

2009-10-22T15:02:00.002-05:00

I'm now in my junior year, still in nursing school and its quite a challenge (go figure). I'm actually avoiding studying for my cardio exam to type this post..hehe

I have realized this semester which depts. i DO NOT want to work in when i graduate and they include med surg, diabetic unit, transitional care, and oncology....ALL of which we are working on right now...yay...I've had patients ranging from boring (only in for knee surgery) to psychotic (today). But the class is still the hardest thing...I've never had such a hard time with any class before but im really learning what nursing is all about and the more i get used to the tests the better ill do i think. We'll see monday!

I'm still in physical therapy...my ankle is 99% to normal according to my therapist but my knee is still far from where it needs to be so we are trying some different treatments/exercises mostly to help the pain so that i can exercise with less and less pain and get my strength back in my right leg.

Chris and I have almost made it to 2 wonderful years as a couple (as of next month) and I can't wait to see what the next 2, 3, 4......years will bring us! He has been an incredible encouragement to me over the last 10 months and I've been truly blessed for that....and for his effortless ability to make me laugh and relax when I'm stressed out with school.

I feel like I've been spending more time with my mom lately too (maybe i havent but it feels like it)...we have had some really good conversation and I'm learning many things about life from a very wise woman :) I can't wait for our next coffee date!

I Made It!

2009-07-27T11:46:00.003-05:00

10 looooong weeks but I did it! I couldn't have done it without several things though..
1) everyone's prayers
2) my encouraging parents and boyfriend
3) the incredible group of girls i was placed with

I have made so many friends this summer and had such a blast even while working very hard. The girls are closet nerds just like me that love to slip nursing/medical terms into everyday conversation...we have a blast just talking to each other!

I was very encouraged by my instructors' comments to me during my final evaluations...they had both talked about me during a meeting together and told me that they knew i was going to be a great nurse and would not be a floor nurse for very long (meaning that they think i will excel quickly to a more specialized area). It almost brought me to tears because there were several times during this summer that i just wasnt sure if nursing was for me...between the paperwork (which i know every job has) and the new ways i had to learn to apply information and the emotional pull that i felt to each of my patients when i had to leave them last week...i just wasn't sure. But hearing those things from my instructors made me realize that i can not only do it, but i can be great at what i do if i keep working hard.

i ended the semester with two B's, an A and an A- (believe it or not the A's were in my nursing classes!) I don't mean to brag but i AM proud of myself :) My goal was just to pass with C's but all it took was a little time management and a significant slice out of my social life! haha

Wednesday I will be moving home for awhile until fall semester starts. I have another surgery on August 3rd. Please pray for a quick recovery as I am a bit nervous about this one. Once they remove the 11cm plate from my ankle i will have 6 holes in my very small fibula all very close together...i guess my biggest fear is that all the recovery i have had over the last 3 months will feel wasted and that ill need to be back on my crutches for a bit...my ankle has felt so good the past few months and im just not looking forward to the pain returning.

Well today is my first monday without class in awhile so OF COURSE im going to the mall with one of my friends :)

5 Minute Update

2009-06-09T13:51:00.002-05:00

Decided I was bored with writing my ed. psych. paper ...

The last month has whizzed by so quickly! I've been in classes for 4 weeks and let me tell you, it is so much harder and more time consuming than I thought it would be! I'm taking an educational psychology course that is 5 weeks long (usually 16, so we cram in all the info in 5!), a nutrition course (10 weeks long through USI), and two nursing courses that are normally 16 weeks crammed into 10 and include two 9-hour lab days each week and two 4-hour lectures each week. Not how I hoped my summer would be, but at least I have the chance to catch up...this IS after all what I had been working towards!

My ankle and knee are doing better every week...I'm a little sore today because i played volleyball for an hour last night (felt so good to play though!). My final surgery is going to be sometime in August, once I finally get around to calling my surgeon.

aaaaaand....now I should get back to doing homework so there is at least a possibility for some exercise and relaxation a little later!

My New Hizzity-Hang

2009-05-14T10:34:00.009-05:00

As most of you know, I recently moved back to muncie and am living with 3 of my friends in a little house close to campus. We are all finally completely moved in so I took some pictures to share with you all!

Coming Soon...

2009-05-08T10:20:00.002-05:00

Once we get our internet set up at the house, i'll be posting some picture of it now that we are all settled in...right now we are mooching off our neighbor's internet and it cuts out every 1 to 2 minutes...not much time to get a whole blog post in! So I promise soon I will have them up..as long as my roommate remembers to call about it today!

Thoughts before leaving home...

2009-04-30T11:58:00.002-05:00

The last few days have been pretty emotional for me...though ive tried not to show it. I've just been thinking about leaving home and all the things that I will be "leaving." It just that over the last 4 months, I've relied on a lot of things and people to get me through the hard times. Not that I haven't relied on God because there is no way I could have made it through all this without Him, but I DO get to "take" Him with me anywhere I go, but other things I cannot.

First are my parents. They sacrificed so much for me and served me in so many ways when I felt helpless. My mom sat with me while I cried many times and always brought home little surprises to help cheer me up.. and my dad did everything he could to make things easier on me...from making my lunch everyday for weeks to building me a lap desk to do my homework in bed.

Next came Chris, the one who slept on the floor of my hospital room and only went home so he could take a nap and come back as soon as he could. He came to see me almost everyday since i've been home and all it took was a hug from him to make all the bad parts of my day go away. He has shown his love for me in so many ways and I hate the thought of being even just 50 miles away from him.

Then there's suki...I haven't been so attached to a pet since my cat, Sassy, that we got when I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. Suki would nap all day with me, amuse me when i was bored, cock her little head when i talked to her as if she were really listening, and just sit on my lap and watch a movie with me so i didnt feel so alone. I actually get very sad when i think about not having that adorable little puppy around all the time.

And every sunday, I loved going to church. Seeing everyone so excited to see me and every step of my progress and hearing how many people had been praying for me..and still are...was such an encouragement. I will definitely miss going to Grace every sunday.

But on the other hand...im so excited to be living with three wonderful ladies in our newly painted, beautiful little house, right across from two other friends whom i have known for years. I'm also excited to continue with school and feel like I'm actually getting somewhere!

As if this wasn't hard already...

2009-04-23T09:56:00.002-05:00

Ball State seems to enjoy making it as hard as possible for me to start their nursing program...thoughts of transferring...again...have definitely crossed my mind but right now I'm too far into the process to go back. The first big obstacle was convincing the director that I could handle clinicals....she tried putting me in the fall nursing class several times and each time I firmly said NO...I could do it this summer. Then I find out that I need two classes as prerequisites for the fall that I have not taken...they waited until NOW to tell me this? So I frantically went looking for online programs at BSU so I could get them done (way more expensive, but at least they'd be done). BSU doesn't even offer one of the classes that I need during the summer...not online...not on campus. SO...with my FRESHMAN advisor (because my nursing advisor is never of any help) I searched schools all over Indiana and Ohio for an online nutrition course that would satisfy the requirements for the course at Ball State. I found one. Phoenix University. $1600 for one class. So I signed up..it was my last option. Now I can't get my nursing advisor to approve the class in a decent frame of time and I am now falling behind in the class at Phoenix because of it, and my chances to get my money back if it will not transfer are slowly drifting away with each passing day.

Physically, the worst is over....but all this is actually proving to be more of a challenge than dealing with the pain in my leg ever was.

From 0 to 60

2009-04-09T13:45:00.003-05:00

Wow my life has sped up the last week!

I received my nursing information in the mail last week and saw that i had A LOT to do...background checks, CPR re-certification, health clearance physicals, shots, etc. Then tuesday night I went to Ball State and stayed with my roommates before my nursing meeting on wednesday where i found out all the ridiculous restrictions that they put on nursing students! NO jewelry whatsoever except for the watch (not digital, with 60 second markers and a second hand), NO colored clothing underneath the uniforms - must be white crew neck or turtleneck (even though our uniform is V-neck...go figure), NO fingernails longer than the nail bed and no nail polish at all, WHITE LEATHER shoes with closed heel and toe only, hair pulled back with PLAIN hair accessories, WHITE socks that cover the ankles, and if you have tattoos, they must be covered with bandaids and you must explain to every patient why you have bandaids on. Then the endless list of supplies that i have to purchase....a full page long....i cant wait to see the final total of everything i have to get...its going to be well over $1500 especially with the smart phone we HAVE to buy. Needless to say, im stressing a LITTLE.

BUUUUUT....today i went back to see my surgeon, and he okayed me to drive, walk w/o my boot if i wanted, and he cleared me for clinicals! So everything i have done already for nursing will hopefully not be in vain...the only thing holding me back is ONE class

The letter i received in the mail also informed me of 2 classes i needed to take this summer that i was not aware of....NOTHING on our schedule planner says that these two courses are prerequisites for NUR 330 Junior year. And only one of the classes is even offered at Ball State this summer....and i can't seem to get anyone over there to help me find a school that i can take it from....the nursing faculty are very "your problems are your problems" about things...

BUUUUUT....i drove my car today...and it felt great

now off to physical therapy!

ps: i could really use your prayers about this class that i need....its the only thing holding me back right now and making me stress the most :(

MY NEW CAR!!!

2009-03-30T22:06:00.005-05:00

This is my new baby...i get her this thursday!

No longer a TEENager....'bout time!

2009-03-30T14:19:00.003-05:00

Well my birthday wish came true. Saturday was my 20th birthday and the first day that I went ALL DAY without my crutches! Now I am completely off crutches!

Saturday chris drove me all the way up to Marion to see my friends from IWU and take me out to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and to my favorite coffee shop, Paynes :) My roommate, christina also drove from Munice to spend the evening with us. It was a great day except for the morning, when I received disappointing news that the car I really wanted would not be mine :( BUT, overall, a really great birthday! I actually feel older, its great...20 really isn't all that special except you get to leave the "teen" off of your age when you say it...that is my favorite part! So i really only feel older when i get to TELL people that I'm 20, but still...

Ummm I walked WITHOUT my crutches today :)

2009-03-18T17:30:00.001-05:00

....nuff said

Post - Surgery #3

2009-03-16T19:16:00.002-05:00

Well 11 hours ago I went into my 3rd surgery...woke up around 1:30...and left the hospital feeling great! My mom and I went immediately to McDonald's where I got a double cheesburger, fries, and a choc. milkshake (and ate it in about 5 minutes!) Then came home and had about a 3 hour nap!

I have been walking a bit with the crutches and my boot...the pain is very minimal and it is so much fun to "pretend" walk! My goal is to be off the crutches by my birthday, March 28th. I want to go out on a birthday date with chris with no crutches so I can actually hold his hand while we walk and people don't look at us like my big brother is taking his handicap sister out..haha

I'm looking forward to trying a little more everyday and uncovering my ankle tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me the last few months!

This and That

2009-03-05T16:34:00.005-05:00

I have discovered that I have a talent for knitting simple things. Hats are my specialty and I have had so much fun thinking of new ways to make them...I have never used a pattern...I'm not very confident in my ability to follow one, so I just make them up in my head and see if they work. Right now I'm trying to make fingerless gloves...saw them in a knitting booklet but the pattern they have is waaaaay to complicated even for my grandmother who has been knitting since she was in high school. I'm about halfway done...we'll see how long it takes me to get the thumb hole correct!

I also might have a car by this time tomorrow! I have been looking

alot the past 2 weeks and my dad and I went to test drive a car awhile ago and it seemed very good. Its a 1999 red Honda Civic EX coup....MANUAL, just like I wanted, and if I can talk the dealer down on the price, I'm going to get it!

Not Feeling So Strong

2009-02-25T22:34:00.003-05:00

Over the last two months I have blogged about my progress - mostly the good things that have happened since the accident and the good things that have come of it. So many people have told me how proud they are of my attitude and the strength I have shown through this long process so far...

but there are really only about 3 people who have seen the bad times I occasionally go through...the times when I was angry at the girl who caused the wreck...the times when I was so sick of the constant pain...the times when I cried and yelled because I just wanted to get a few hours of sleep and couldn't...the times when I was literally bored TO TEARS...the times I would cry because my friends were going out without me...the times when I just wanted to be able to walk to the kitchen w/o my crutches...and so many other "times." Tonight I am having one of those times....just sitting here in bed wishing I was back at school with my friends, not falling behind in my classes...but mostly...just wanting to walk on two feet. My poor boyfriend sat at home tonight on the phone with me listening to me come up with some stupid reason to be upset with him when I was really upset because every time I went to get up the last few days, I wanted to throw my crutches about 100 yards and just WALK.

Everyone has been so encouraging to me throughout this entire process. Jodi telling me the other day how whenever she feels sick from pregnancy, she thinks of me and stops feeling sorry for herself...charity telling me that she has me to thank for realizing how blessed she is to use two legs and shower in less than an hour... I think maybe I try to keep in so many of my emotions lately because I feel so guilty for having them. I KNOW that I am blessed to have gotten the halo off more quickly than the doctor originally expected. I KNOW that I am blessed to have my family to take care of me. I KNOW that I am blessed to have a boyfriend like chris who comes to visit me almost every day and a friend like chelsea who comes to see me almost every other weekend. There are more blessings than just those...but sometimes just knowing that they are there doesn't cure the boredom, or the awful feeling of waking up after the most amazing dream of walking to class at ball state, or the anger that sometimes overcomes me when I think of how my life has been put on hold. I really hate having these feelings, but I thought maybe I should let you all know...that I'm not always happy and smiling like I am at church...I don't feel like I deserve the attention and compliments on my attitude all the time. However, I still DO need the encouragement of my brothers and sisters in Christ to get through nights like these. So thank you

Brief Update

2009-02-22T22:45:00.002-05:00

Even though I have talked to most of you who read my blog, I'll give a quick update on my progress, since I have nothing else to blog about!

Not having the halo the last 10 days has been FABULOUS...friday night and most of the day saturday I was starting to regret the decision to get the halo off early and have 2 surgeries instead of one to remove all the hardware inside and out of my foot/ankle. However, I am now SO glad I did it. Reason number 1 being that I don't even have to wear the boot most of the time because most of the time I am just at home sitting or laying in bed...only when I am leaving the house do I really need to wear the boot. My knee is getting much stronger as well. I used to have to pick up my leg with my hands and place it on the bed, but now it is strong enough that I can get my leg into bed using my actually leg muscles...what is left of them anyway! I am also sleeping so much better now because the pain of moving around at night is so much less than it used to be.

One concern my parents and I have though, is that I have lost about 7 lbs. since the accident, which puts me at a too-thin 100 lbs. My pants don't fit and I'm starting to look like an anorexic. We don't understand this because I eat the same amount if not more than I used to, and I do almost no activity during the day to burn the calories I take in. We are hoping to get some answers from the doctor this week to see if this is normal after surgeries or if I need to get in to get some tests done....again.

Well I actually had more to say than I thought!

I probably won't have anything exciting to blog about until I start walking so we'll see how much blogging I do before my next appt. in mid-March

Bye Bye Bye!

2009-02-15T13:01:00.004-05:00

The halo is gone now as most of you already know...and since my mom already blogged on some of my progress since being home, I'll fill you all in on my time in the hospital on friday...

I got to the hospital, answered some questions and then was called back to get prepped for surgery. I took a pregnancy test (standard procedure), and got hooked up to an IV, which the nurse missed my vein the first time :( ouch. Then my parents were called back and as my dad walked into the room he jokingly asked, "So they already took it off huh?" Then the conversation went like this

me: "yeah i was really surprise at how fast they did everything"

dad: "oh wow you are serious? It's off already? Wow!"

me: "yep they got my boot on and everything"

dad: "wow, thats great!"

me: "dad....."

mom: "(laughs) Todd...."

dad: "What?"

me: "I still have the halo on dad...did you really think they got me prepped and out of the O.R. in 20 minutes?"

mom and i have had several good laughs over that since friday :)

After my surgery was over and i woke up in the recovery room, they moved me into another room that was tiny and could barely fit my bed in it....the nurse then told me i

was to get out of the bed and sit in a large leather chair in the room....(by the way i'm still only half-conscious at this point)....so the nurse not-so-carefully moves me to the chair which does not recline and hands me some orange juice to sip on while i wait for my parents to come back. I got dressed and was on my way out in the wheelchair...still in tears from the movement that occurred between going from the chair to the wheelchair. But hey, I survived and the halo is off and right now i'm sitting here looking mostly normal because i'm not even wearing the boot! I have on a NORMAL pair of sweat pants and a sock on both feet! Just one foot is a lot larger than the other..haha

The pain has subsided considerably since friday, but unfortunately yesterday i was feeling a bit nauseous and very tired

so chris and i didnt get to do what we had planned for valentine's day...but it was still a go

od valentines day :) He brought me some pretty roses in a cute vase, some dark chocolate lindor truffles, and a card that still makes me smile even when i've already read it a half-dozen times since last night :) He also made notecards of how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds it has been since certain big events in our relationship and quizzed me on them over dinner at El Camino...i'm terrible at math and i only got close on one of them! I also made him a chocolate truffle pie, which was DELICIOUS...my mouth is watering just thinking about it...mmmmm yummy!

Frankenfoot dies on Friday the 13th!!

2009-02-05T13:14:00.002-05:00

Welllllllll......

i got the news today! I can now start bending my knee and wearing the immobilizer less and less as my knee gains strength....aaaaaaand the big news........(drumroll please)

THE HALO COMES OFF NEXT FRIDAY!

words cannot describe how excited i am to have this giant piece of metal removed from my foot! After the surgery i will be wearing a knee brace and a boot on my foot....and i'll have 11 holes in my foot and shin where the pins and screws were, but thats ok!

Miss Independant

2009-01-30T12:50:00.005-05:00

I took a shower completely by myself...twice now!

thanks to my wonderful parents getting a shower curtain for me (which i also get to take to my new house when i return to school if mom doesnt get too attached to it) i can finally take on the entire process of showering by myself!

1. sit on toilet

2. remove clothing (hoping that only women still read my blog)

3. remove leg immobilizer

4. unwrap leg/ankle and remove gauze pads

5. put leg immobilizer back on

6. move my caboose over to the shower chair

7. put left leg in tub and lift right leg up and into tub

8. remove leg immobilizer...again

9. bathe

10. take towel #1 and dry off self, then place underneath me on the shower chair (for traction...trust me it is important)

11. put leg immobilizer BACK on

12. lift right leg up and out of tub while carefully scooting to the edge of the shower chair until i can place my foot on the floor

13. (hold your breath it gets complicated)...remove left leg from tub while left hand holds onto shower chair and right hand grabs windowsill and both arms push until i am in an upright position

14. put on robe

15. crutch it back to my room to get dressed and slather antibiotic on my foot (which the parents still get to do)

wow, it sounds more complicated when i type it all out...but thats the gist! And it takes about 30-35 minutes to complete (not including the dressing of the foot)

hopefully my next post will be full of good news from the doctor, who i will be seeing again on thursday!

The Post That Came From Having Too Much Time To Think

2009-01-21T14:40:00.002-05:00

Someone asked me the other day after seeing pictures of my foot if it still shocks me every time we unwrap it to clean it, etc. I told them it had become so normal to me over the last few weeks that no, it wasn't weird at all to see pins and screws sticking out of my foot and leg with a giant metal structure surrounding it all. I actually began to think...how weird it is going to be when it actually comes OFF. I feel like it is going to be comparable to braces. They are super annoying at first and they hurt and you can't wait for them to be off from the moment you get them put on...and then when they are finally gone...its strange and unnatural not having them there...your teeth feel bare and there is almost just as much adjusting to getting them off as when you first had them put on. When I finally get this halo and leg immobilizer off, i think its going to feel awkward...first of all my leg is going to be pounds lighter...my balance may even be thrown off for awhile...I'm going to have to get used to seeing the holes in my foot and shin where metal rods used to be..not to mention the strange sensations (and painful ones) than bending my knee again will bring. I can actually now move my knee cap by flexing my muscles...and watch it move...despite the fact that I still have no feeling in the lower part of my knee...and may never again. I can also flex my gastrocnemius muscle and watch it move too...its weird, I know, just to sit here and think about all this...but really...what else do I have to do...

Thoughts on day 16

2009-01-14T11:14:00.002-05:00

Well I have finally started my online classes so I have something to do other than watch Gilmore Girls all day. Still a pretty boring life, but hopefully soon I will be learning how to knit. I asked Chris the other day if his mom knew how to knit and his reply was, "what is knit?" Mom and I got a kick out of that one. But Kris Osterbur is hopefully coming over this week to teach me! Yesterday Patti Jetter came to keep me company while everyone was at school and she brought me a disney princess coloring book :) Mom thinks I should color some pictures for Rachel Wright...I say Rach should come color with me sometime!

My mobility and independence are increasing everyday...it is wonderful! The hardest part is trying to carry things while using my crutches. But yesterday I did manage to use my "grabber" to reach the guitar, take it into the living room, hook up the PS2 to the TV and play some guitar hero! I was very proud of this. Now the thing that probably still bugs me the most is not being able to shower in the shower everyday. I hate sponge bathing and not being able to wash my hair as often as I like...I also get annoyed with waking up to awful back pain during the night and every morning...I was always a side sleeper so sleeping on my back is doing quite a number on my lower muscles.

My greatest fears right now are that I will have some kind of permanent deformity of my foot that will affect my walk, and the thought of getting behind the wheel again...I burst into tears last night talking to my mom about those things and I'm trying so hard to give up those worries to the Lord...its just more difficult than I thought it would be. Our discussion about those things was interestingly interrupted since while i was crying, instead of normal body fluids coming out of my nose, it erupted into a fountain of blood literally pouring from my nose into the trash can...not pretty...hopefully that wasn't too much info for ya'll :)

On a positive note, this accident is saving me about $14000 on school since all I have to pay for are my online classes this semester!

I also have to mention that I probably have the best boyfriend I could hope for. Not only did he sleep on the floor of my hospital room for three nights in a row...he learned to know exactly what I needed/wanted him to do by me simply looking at him and then looking at what I wanted him to get/do. He also very carefully helped me out of bed every time I needed to use the bathroom (which was about every 2 hours since I was drinking about 4 liters of water a day) by putting one hand under my ankle, which was gross from all the fluids draining from it, and the other hand to support my knee. He has only NOT visited 2 nights since I have been home and he brings me whatever I am craving that day. Yesterday was mint choc. chip ice cream. Sometimes I fall asleep while he is here, sometimes I cry, and he sits there through it all...comforting me when I need comforted, rubbing my head until I fall asleep...I really can't imagine going through all of this without him. I'm such a lucky girl!

Progress!

2009-01-11T13:03:00.002-05:00

I found a way to get out of bed by myself! I was so excited when I did it for the first time yesterday. Now I just need to figure out how to get back IN bed. I also washed my hands in the sink in the bathroom STANDING UP rather than reaching over while sitting on the toilet lid. I did hit my big giant foot on the cabinet though :( The dumb thing is so hard to maneuver. Basically I'm just really happy to have SOME small sliver of independence back...and someday soon i WILL figure out how to get back in bed on my own...thats the next step...

Settling In

2009-01-08T14:53:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to get used to my new routine. Get up around 6, drink my breakfast, go back to sleep till my next pain pill at 9, wake up, take all my medicine, give myself a shot, and wait for dad to come home and clean my foot at 9:45. Then after he is done, i eat lunch and usually get on the computer for a bit and then take a nap for an hour or so. Now, i'm back on the computer/watching Gilmore Girls (which i watch all the time now), waiting for everyone to get home from school. I'll probably take another nap around 3:30 or 4 so i can eat dinner and prepare for visitors.

Yesterday, however, i DID take a shower all by myself! Well, after my mom helped me undress and get in the tub...but other than that i was on my own and i didn't pass out, AND i got all the way back to my room without being carried! It felt very good...but i was COMPLETELY exhausted afterwards and i still had to sit through my foot cleaning and two sets of visitors...needless to say, i slept very well last night.

It seems like everyday someone does something to make me feel so much better about my situation. The other day, charity brought her kids over and rachel gave me a necklace she had just make...it didn't quite fit over my head but i have it hung on the lamp next to my bed to remind me of the sweet gesture. I just want to again thank everyone who has made time to visit or send a card or email...they mean so much to me...and thanks also to all those who have been praying for me...each day is a little better than the last.

Home Again

2009-01-04T07:50:00.002-05:00

Well i am finally home after 6 days in the hospital. Walking on my crutches is still a challenge and i only made it from the van to the porch on my first attempt at home. Then ryan and my parents had to carry me into the house from there. It feels like i have taken a few steps back since being home, but hopefully as i continue to recover, i will be able to overcome the obstacles that come from living in my own house, like pushing myself into a sitting position rather than pushing a button that does that for me. However, home food is sooooo much better than hospital food! That will help me regain some strength too. Today will be a busy and exhausting day for me. I have to learn how to shower, then do my first cleaning of my foot/knee, then i have visitors for the rest of the day and into the night. Hopefully all the activity will allow me to get another good nights rest tonight though.

Right now I've just been praying that God will help me see His purpose in all of this. I know He has one. Unfortunately, since iv'e been away at school, my relationship with Him hasn't been as strong. I am looking forward to using my recovery time to grow my relationship with Christ and make it strong again.

Thanks again everyone who visited, sent words of encouragement, etc. since the accident. They have helped tremendously!

My First Broken Bone(s)

2008-12-31T16:39:00.002-05:00

Well as most of you already know, i was in a car accident monday night at 8pm. My car is totaled and i suffered multiple fractures of the knee and ankle on my right leg. Thankfully, that was the only part of my body that was seriously injured, which is truly a miracle if you had seen the condition of my car after the accident. My full recovery should take about a year. Some ways that you can be praying for me are:

-speedy recovery

-trying to get through next semester at school

-learning how to be mobile

-and most definitely thanking the Lord for preserving my life during what could have been a fatal accident

thanks to all who have called, visited, sent flowers/cookies/etc...they are very much appreciated and have been very helpful in boosting my morale...especially the cards from your kids charity!

Another Semester Draws to a Close

2008-12-12T10:36:00.003-05:00

Finals start today for me. COMM 210 tonight, ANTH 111 monday, and MATHS 125 on tuesday. Not too worried about any of them as you can see because I would not be blogging if that were the case. In fact, I'm bored! I'm loving that I took 17 credit hours this semester and things have been so easy! Next semester will be harder classes, but I still only have to go to class two days a week!

I do however, have to move out of my room next week. My roommate was supposed to transfer and then this tuesday decided she wanted to stay. Paperwork had already been filled out for my new roommate, who i was so psyched to live with because she is als

o my house mate for next year! BUT current roomie went to the RD and demanded she get to stay in our room, after she told me she was trying to just get a room somewhere on campus and it didnt matter where it was. Well, this was false, so i graciously, without arguing, accepted a new room and will move in next friday evening. Current roomie has been driving me crazy for the last month and I'm just glad I get to live with someone I WANT to live with (the picture is of me, christina, my new roomie, and her boyfriend shea)

Now, I'm getting a big sloppy cold that gets stronger everyday and there is nothing that the benedryl, nyquil, and vitamin C that I have been choking down, can do about it!

but the best boredom pass-time i have discovered has been www.elfyourself.com where you upload pictures and make these little elves with people's faces on them do dances to christmas music! Charity, I hope Danny showed you the one I made of your kids!

MY NEW HOUSE!

2008-11-04T18:51:00.007-05:00

Today Chelsea, Brooke, Christina and I signed the lease for our new house that we will move into this May! To the left is the view from the street. Our house is actually right across the street from some good friends of ours from Greenville, lacie list and lyndsay sharp, which have worked at the pool with chels, brooke and i for the last 4 years. The kitchen is being COMPLETELY remodeled and we've seen the floor plan and it looks fantastic!! We also get to choose paint for the house and our landlord, Stan-the-man, is going to paint it for us before we move in! Stan-the-man is pretty great. Our rent is so great, we got very lucky, AND he caps off our utilities so we pay a set price and we will never pay any extra even in the winter for heating...which is wonderful!! Our porch on the left is probably one of our favorite parts of the house. We got the house just in time too because he was getting ready to show it to 4 other groups in the next two days until i called to tell him we wanted it. Its a good thing i took my mom's advice and prayed about and waited on this other house we thought we wanted. We waited a week and went back to look at it and realized it was a disaster waiting to happen...and we asked around about the landlord and found out that he is very slow at getting repairs done. We have a cute little picnic area in the backyard with a grill and benches (its kind of like a little shelter that is open on one side). BASICALLY, the four of us are in love with this house!

Fall Break Fun

2008-10-21T09:17:00.011-05:00

Well this past weekend (Fri-Sun) was my big fall break. Turns out fall break was no different than any other weekend for me because i dont have classes on fridays anyway. But i came home after spending about 20 minutes just trying to get out of the parking lot where i have to park my car during the week (which is about 2 miles off campus...convenient eh?). So after about two hours from the time i got to my car..i was home...well, ok, i was at chris's house. I can't help it, its right on my way home! So i spent a couple hours with him and headed home to do some laundry, of course :)
Friday was an early day (early for a college student, that is). Woke up at 8am for a doctor's appointment, ran some errands, and took my baby sis and her friend out for smoothies at broadway joe's after school. As usual, the family got pizza that night and chris came over to enjoy it with us before the two of us headed off to find ourselves the perfect pumpkin. Chris had never before carved a pumpkin!Carving a pumpkin in the fall is just part of being a human for me, so after 23 years, chris is finally a complete being! haha....well he is also not very artistic so he spent more time cleaning out the inside of his pumpkin than actually cutting out the face of it. But, it turned out that while mine may have looked better alone, with the candle inside, chris's did. Then we had some fun taking pictures on the porch

A First For Me...

2008-09-18T01:52:00.003-05:00

Sure, there have been times when i couldn't seem to fall asleep if my life depended on it...but typically, there was no real reason behind the insomnia...

Tonight is one of those nights when i cannot sleep...but tonight, unlike other nights...there is a cause

I absolutely cannot wait to see chris tomorrow. Mom, you can call me crazy because its only been two weeks since i saw him last as you know...but i can't help it...i am so excited. I can't explain the feelings i have for chris because they are so new to me. I've never felt this way before, even years ago when i thought i was so in love with lucas osterbur while i was a junior in high school and he was far away at school in michigan. Chris makes me feel as though being exactly who i am... a clumsy, silly, nerdy girl who occasionally suffers from blonde moments... is more than he could ever dream of having in his life. And chris... a dorky, corny, goofy, gym-obsessed, state auditor... is exactly the type of man that i want in my life.

sorry for the sappy post... its just me being that silly girl that chris fell in love with

Little Update

2008-09-11T15:41:00.002-05:00

Well I have been at Ball State for a few weeks now and I'm loving it. My roommate and I are getting along GREAT and I now have a little group of friends that I go out with on Wednesday nights to baskin robbins. My classes aren't too bad, just not terribly interesting...but thats gen ed's for you. At least I'll be almost done with ALL my gen ed's after this semester!

I went to a football game during the first week of classes and it was great. Tons of people everywhere dressed in red and white and the whole student section "chirp chirp" ing...it was soooo much better than any football game ive ever been to...other than the patriots game, obviously. I can't wait for homecoming weekend!

I probably won't be blogging terribly often this semester because i have to do a blog for my english class so by the time im done blogging on that all week, im not really in the mood to post again. But ill try my hardest to update everyone periodically...well everyone who actually reads my blog. haha

hope everything is well back home! It was wonderful seeing everyone at church last sunday!

Changes...

2008-08-23T07:39:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting here right now at 8:30am sipping a cup of coffee from my new coffee maker here in my new dorm room at my new school. After being here for almost 24 hours now I have already seen many ways that this year will be different from last.

1. There are boys in my hall
--im not a fan of this change...i liked living with girls last year

2. "gay is ok"
--two guys across the hall are gay and like to spend time in my room b/c they are good friends of my roommate. fine. they sit and talk about how amazing this new church that they are going to is and they just love the worship that goes on....and its odd to me because first of all IWU does not condone homosexuality, but I have never gone to a church that did either. and these boys are very open about it....

3. my room is tiny
--despite having a "skinny room" last year, it was much more spacious than my room this year...

4. I MIGHT ACTUALLY GET ALONG WITH MY ROOMMATE THIS YEAR!
--she is a cute, short little blondie...very bubbly personality...different from me, but something that wont drive me nuts like my loud, obnoxious, inconsiderate roommate last year...and i will leave her description at that...

5. I dont get to take any nursing classes this semester :(
--i have to take all gen eds first semester and apply to nursing for the spring....this means i will have no motivation to study because the subject matter will bore me....hopefully i can still build a solid GPA to start off here at BSU though...

6. there are so many choices when it comes to food!
--at IWU you had three choices....nasty, microbe-infested buffet, pizza place, and the "wildcat"....here there is a food court in my very own residence complex AND about 4 other food courts in other residence complexes that i can eat at

well thats all i can think of from the past 24 hours...but i have a whole two more days before i even start classes! For now though, i just want my sleeping schedule to return to "college life mode" meaning i dont get tired at 10pm and then wake up at 8am and not be able to get back to sleep!

It's Official

2008-04-22T21:12:00.002-05:00

I have officially completed my first year of college :)
I took my last final at 6pm today (organic/biochemistry..ugh) BUT...i got a pretty good grade on it :)
and i am finally coming home....mixed feelings about it though...

im going to miss my friends here, but i'm very excited to spend more time with chris and see my friends from home again.

next year...Ball State!

Decisions decisions...

2008-04-07T11:06:00.004-05:00

well, i finally visited ball state...the last of three schools i have considered transfering to

and........i really really like it :)

i love the big-ness of the buildings..and the old brick they are made of just makes it a beautiful campus...it really just felt good to be on campus. i was able to go to a men's volleyball game on friday night with ellen (who really expects men's volleyball to be exciting?) but it was! the crowd was really fun and the "game rituals" were exciting too...i just felt like i was a part of something...IWU games are boring...all of them...i cant wait to go to a BSU football game!

after the game, we hung out with the team (ellen's cousin, ben, is the middle hitter). that was really fun. several of them are involved in crew, which is the campus crusade at bsu...ellen says the crew is really good at bsu...i wish i could have gone to a meeting

i got to see the dorm i will probably live in next year..woodworth..nicknamed "the nunnery" because its the only single-sex dorm on campus.. Its made up of mostly nursing students...so it will be a good place for me to meet girls i might want to get an appt. with next year.

i guess the thing that just got me is how much i felt at home there...just felt good! There is much more that played into my decision but ill spare you the boring details (mom you can call me later)

SB 2008

2008-03-15T17:29:00.003-05:00

Spring break started out just like winter break...stuck inside...except this time with no power

Friday morning i was sure that jennifer and i would not be going to New York, but we went ahead to the airport and flew out 2 hours later than expected after an hour of de-icing the plane. Once we arrived in La Guardia about 3 hours later than expected, we were bombarded by men in suits trying to give us "shuttle" rides to the city. Then we decided to read a sign.... it read "anyone who offers you a ride should not be giving you one..." After turning in circles for a bit looking for what to do..we found the taxi line and got ourselves a taxi. When we arrived at the hotel (right around the corner from the most amazing view of times square) at 1:30 in the morning, we were told that our room was not ready. At 2am we decided to to scope out the room we had been assigned to see if anyone was actually cleaning it...we came back downstairs after seeing that there was no one working on our room and the desk worker looked at us and uttered an "uuhhh...oh ladies your room is ready.." We decided that a half hour wait at 1:30 in the morning was ridiculous and told him we would need to speak with a manager the next day.

saturday we got up at 9 and hit the rainy city. We shopped around until about 2:30 and went back to the hotel to dry off and speak to the manager of the hotel. After talking our way into a discount on our room we went back out to get coffee...aaaaand the rain was gone! we were very happy :)

Around 6pm it was time to hail our first cab..i took on the responsibility...it went well. Apparently it really does ONLY require the lift of an arm in the air to get one of hundreds of yellow taxis to pull to the side of the road. i have pictures of this cab hailing event, but again...i cant upload pictures....

after taxi ride number two we were at astor place theater to see the Blue Man Group!! It was amazing. Afterwards we went back to walk around times square at night.....gorgeous

sunday morning we waited for HOURS AND HOURS in line at La Guardia while every single one of their computers was down....after about 3 hours of waiting (and missing our connecting flight while we were waiting on flight #1 to take off) we got our boarding passes that were WRITTEN out of a piece of paper with our names and flight number...long story short we got to atlanta, re-booked our flight to dayton and waited and waited and finally got home.

wow i feel like ive told everyone this story so many times and it now sounds so boring..haha..oh well...CAMI...you got your new post! haha

ill be back on thursday for easter break!

Spring Break....I can almost feel it

2008-02-22T12:07:00.003-05:00

One more week of classes...two more exams, one lab practical, one more quiz, and two more papers and im free for a week (minus the part where i have to study for the physiology exam i have to take when i get back from break and the organic/biochem project i have due!).

plans: working at bjoes all week because my tiny paycheck from working 4 hours a week just isnt cutting it...then (mom dont read this part...i dont need you entering ventricular tachardia when im not there).....jennifer and i are going to NEW YORK! We will arrive friday night and check into our hotel where we will get some sleep! Saturday we plan on shopping and we have tickets to see the Blue Man Group! Sunday is our EARLY morning flight back to dayton after which i will proceed to pack up all my stuff and go back to school! busy busy busy

I have officially made it through the two hardest physiology tests of the semester! and i was very happy with my grades on them....i have never studied as hard as i did for the cardiology exam in A&P II....13 hours.....yikes!

Please pray for me this next week!
charity and jodi....offer still stands! (jodi, see my reply to charity's post if you have no clue what im talking about!)

Marfin Posts Again...

2008-02-11T17:47:00.000-05:00

TIme for a real post:

Despite the difficulty level of my classes, I am having a pretty good semester. Over Christmas break I started dating someone I had been talking to for a couple of months by phone and internet and things are going very well there. We don't often get to see each other, but that has been almost good in a way. We are really getting to know one another just by talking as much as we do (we usually talk every night for awhile and then email a couple times during the day). Over break we went ice skaing and he attempted to play guitar hero...he wasn't very good at either..but it was fun to see him try!

Last weekend, a group of girls from my unit went up to Findlay, Ohio for the weekend and stayed with a couple of girl's families that live up there. It was a great time. I feel like I really got to know some of the girls in my unit better. Friday night we got a great home-cooked meal by sarah's mom and just relaxed all evening in their very nice, very large house. Saturday we had breakfast waiting on us and then we all got dressed up and went to a cute little tea room that Sarah's mom owns called "Swan House." We drank lots of tea and ate scones...it was so fun! The Swan house is in an old victorian style building...beautiful....we all loved it so much we wanted to quit school and buy the place from Mrs. Robb to run ourselves since she is selling it soon. After that we changed clothes at sarah's and drove off to allie's house....but the two girls had a surprise for us...a giant statue of a bull....so of course we all had to get pictures with it....it took about an hour to get 3 girls on top of it, so the rest of us stayed on the ground...and we all were freezing! After that, we were all ready for some coffee, so off we went to "common grounds," a small coffee shop in bluffton where allie works. There, we met her cousin, Luke and we spent the rest of the evening at his apartment playing "rock band" (another one of those musical video games that i am actually good at!). Sunday was church at a place that reminded me of the setting of "To Kill A Mockingbird." The service was very good, though the speaker shocked the congregation once or twice with his vivid verbal imagery when talking about "how" a married couple becomes "one" according to how God intended it to happen. We'll leave it at that.

I wish i could post pictures, but for some reason i cant.....apparently blogger hasnt joined forces with mac yet :(

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-01-29T09:48:00.000-05:00

Today is my wonderful mother's birthday:)
Not sure what I would do without such an intelligent and insightful woman as my mother. I so admire her ability to make decisions...something I am horrible at doing...and she always has a piece of advice to give me in any situation that I come to her with (whether I want it or not, mom, I always remember it and use it) If she has one downfall it has to be her encouragement for me to spend money shopping with her whenever I am home:) But I love her anyway. Have a great birthday Mom! I miss you!

Back in the Swing of Things

2008-01-10T14:45:00.000-05:00

Well...where to start

Christmas break was good...got pretty bored the last week when I stopped working so I am very glad to be back at school with my college friends even though i do miss my home friends. I also was able to spend more time with christopher and get to know him some more. He came to our new years get-together as a surprise to me because he lives down in gallapolis, ohio...about 3 hours away from greenville. Things are going very well with him and he plans on moving back to the dayton area sometime this spring (which i like!)

classes this semester are killing me already...my MWF schedule is one class right after the other...organic/biochem then chapel then anatomy & phsyiology II then foundations of nursing then spanish. Tuesdays and Thursdays i just have a 3 hour lab until volleyball starts in february, so i have taken up swimming again just so i can get some exercise in on a regular basis.

and just now as i paused to check on my coffee i realized that i didnt set my coffee maker to fill two mugs..only one..but i put in water for two b/c my suitmate alyssa wanted some too and i didnt change the setting...yes...you guessed it...coffee everywhere..hot hot coffee all over the countertop...luckily not much of it made it to the floor...good job marissa

FINALLY!

2007-12-06T01:29:00.000-05:00

on wednesday, december 5, marissa danielle finch earned her first "A" (100 percent!) on an Anatomy & Physiology exam

and she is all smiles

Losing My Mind

2007-12-04T10:40:00.000-05:00

Maybe I feel this way because I am not a professor, but why would a prof give a very very large test two days before the final? Or even 4 days before? Do they expect us to be prepared for the final after only a weekend of studying? Here is a look at my schedule:

Tuesday: Anatomy & Physiology Lab Final
Wednesday: Anatomy & Physiology exam over Endocrine System
UNV 180 Final
Friday: Microbiology exam over Immunology
____________________________________________

Monday: English Portfolio Due
Anatomy & Physiology Final
Tuesday: Microbiology Final
Wednesday: English research presentation speech

Lucky for me I already wrote the 4 papers that are due in my UNV 180 class this week over my oh so relaxing Thanksgiving break (sarcasm on the "oh so relaxing" in case you did not catch on to it)

I am getting stress/caffeine headaches every single day like clockwork and they last ALL DAY.
Luckily i was the target of someone's "Act of Kindness" paper (we had to write a paper about an annonymous act of kindness we did for someone) and i came back to my dorm to find a "finals care package" that included oreos, munchos, and two double-shot starbucks espresso's!!!

other than that this week sucks

My First All-Nighter

2007-11-20T05:27:00.001-05:00

I have just successfully completed my first all-nighter! Ironically it was spent writing a research paper about sleep deprivation in college students...hmmm

oh well, i think i have officially completed this rite of passage and i never have the desire to do it again!

I am never having children, or getting married for that matter!

2007-11-10T22:50:00.000-05:00

I have decided that i would make a horrible mother unless i decide to make a conscious effort to forget everything i have learned in microbiology this semester. My kids would not touch anything or anyone..they would live in a bubble (a bubble that i would spray hourly with lysol). I cant tell you how many times i wash my hands per day (its almost to the point of OCD!) i also clean the toilet about every day in my dorm room. I really really dont want leptospirosis or pinworm. I really really dont want to get a UTI after my honeymoon. I really really cant step into a hot tub ever again or sleep in a hotel or eat from a buffet. Thank you Prof. McNeely...for making me a paranoid freak!

I think i will choose to make a conscious effort to forget all the gory details of microbiology after this semester is over...

The "Almost" A

2007-11-09T15:42:00.000-05:00

no, i am not talking about the tween bra size...but its a similar situation

all i want this semester is an A on one of my tests (in either microbiology or anatomy&physiology)
my last three tests grades have gone like this: 83% 87% 89%
all i want is an A! just one! one point away..its like freshman year of high school when i was just one size away from being that A....no laughs please

Responsibility stinks

2007-11-05T16:37:00.000-05:00

This weekend i was basically punished for being responsible with my money. Here is the scenario..

Myself and two of my friends went to Tennessee this past weekend so one of my friends could see her boyfriend and i could see my cousin darah who both went to the same school. The plan was to get there and back on 3 tanks of gas..3.5 at most, which would cost each of us $30-35...a chunk of money but not too bad

i ended up spending over $70 on gas alone--not including meals
alyssa's boyfriend also gave us $55 to help us out b/c my two friends came with very little money in their bank accounts. I also had to pay for one of the girl's meals because she didnt bring enough for food. Thank goodness i actually had money in my bank account or else we would be stuck in kentucky right now. The two girls i went with insisted that they had enough money to pay for gas...one girl overdrew her account for the 20 something time so her parents refused to put any more money into it. The other girl claimed to have enought to cover every bit of gas we could possibly need-plus some...she didnt have that..not even close. So her poor boyfriend ended up spending almost as much as i did.

Now, there were other factors that played into the gas consumption of the trip.
A) we were set up on a blind double date that was supposed to be paid for..or so we were told by the boys...Nope...they first of all made US drive for almost an HOUR through knoxville where we used over half a tank of gas and then they picked an expensive resaurant where we got very little to eat..my friend and i split a side and both got drinks b/c we were afraid that these boys (noting how rude they were to us from the drive there) were not going to pay. They didnt. AND i had to cover my friend
B) we got lost on the way back to indiana but the driver would not stop and ask for directions anywhere so we drove around aimlessly for 45 min until she was too sick of me complaining that she was wasting the gas the I paid for b/c THEY didnt have enough money. we finally got back on track and then we needed to eat. My friend was set on taco bell and would not consider anything else as an option so she got off every food exit to try and find a taco bell (more gas wasted)...we couldnt find one after an hour and a half so we went to mcdonalds (note that she had told us she would pay for our meals with the little she had left).....we get to this mcdonals and she sees a starbucks across the street. She then very casually mentions that she cant get coffee like she wants really bad if she pays for the three of us to eat off the dollar menu....i end up paying again for myself so she can get her coffee.

the moral of this story is that marissa is practically broke and has no idea when she will get paid back for all the money she spent on this trip which ended up to be a complete bust and not fun. It sure "pays" to be responsible doesnt it?

So, its been awhile!

2007-11-05T01:04:00.000-05:00

well i realized that the last time i posted was when i was still in high school. Not that long ago, but it sure does feel like it to me. I am almost done with my first semester of college! It didn't take me long to realize that all the studying i did in high school was nothing compared to what i have to do now. Back in mr. rismiller's anatomy class we had a month to learn all the bones and another month to learn all the bone markings--fast forward to college anatomy--one WEEK to learn all that information...luckily for me it was not as stressful as those who had never taken anatomy...i was able to recall quite a bit!

I guess i decided to start blogging again just so i can have a place to write my thoughts and give the occasional update on those who still want to know what goes on here at school with me! (mostly you mom!)

The Number 23

2007-04-25T08:15:00.000-05:00

the number 23 is not only a movie...it is how many days of high school i have left!
TWENTY-THREE DAYS!
Graduation finally feels close

Prom is only 3 days away...which is also very exciting
I'll be spending the first part of the evening at FM's Prom, then heading over to the Elks for Greenville's after-prom. The best of both worlds, i'm hoping.

That's all for now, i guess...
I'll post more (with pics) after prom!

Thinking...(warning: can be dangerous)

2007-03-30T21:48:00.000-05:00

I have had some time lately where i have been able to spend time with just myself and my thoughts. I have discovered a few things:

1) I will miss my family next year. Ty absolutely cracks me up. I love his odd sense of humor and how he cant help but laugh at himself when he does something funny. Cami....i just love to embarrass her, especially when i'm driving her somewhere and i dance around in the car to the music. Ryan and i have finally started to be brother and sister rather than enemies. We talked for half and hour alone, over beef jerky, when i went to visit him in january. Dad, he doesn't mean to do it most of the time, but he is hilarious as well (and when he tries to be, its usually pretty corny)...but we all love him for it. Mom...she listens to me no matter how boring my story is....no matter how bad her day has been....no matter how late at night it is. She cries with me and she laughs both with me and at me. (i cant believe i'm tearing up typing this)
so yes, as much as i'd love to deny it...i will miss them all

2) My best friend is amazing, and it blows my mind how God put us together at the perfect time in both our lives. Jen and I either show how much we are alike (i.e. army crawling anywhere, or "james bond-ing" it down the church hallway) or how much we are different (i.e. she yells at people when she's mad and i just cry like a wimp...then she yells at me for being a wimp!). We can have deep meaningful conversations, venting sessions, completely meaningless conversations, or just sit there silently and that be ok. When one of us is emotional, the other one is there to say "snap out of it and move on" or lend a shoulder if needed. I cant even begin to say how much i'll miss seeing her next year.

3) Old friends are great too. I have noticed that lately some of the most fun conversations i have had, have been with people that i used to hang out with all the time, and don't anymore. Just reminiscing on the "old times" has been so fun. Also, i have had fun getting back in contact with a friend that i hadn't talked to in almost a year. He is one of those people that i wish i had had more time to get to know because i feel like we could have been such close friends given time.

4) high school is so dumb. Without drama, what would high school be? Oooo ooo pick me! Pick me! I know! High school would actually be about preparing for college, not who hung out with who last weekend, not where prom is going to be this year, not who is on your data match list, not giving up and dropping out 9 weeks before you could graduate. The class of 2007 is setting the record for most students in one class to NOT graduate. My class could probably set the record for most kids born from unwed pregnancies too. Can you believe that there are over 40 girls in the Greenville school system that are pregnant? And almost that many already have one or two kids. That blows my mind.

5) I am 18...if i mess up...i will have a record...

As my senior year comes to a close, I keep thinking about all the things I am glad i did, all the things i wish i hadn't, and all the things i wish i had done. But mostly, i realize that God has had His hand in my life and He has a purpose for me and that the things i have or haven't done are all part of growing up and becoming who He wants me to be.

The only good mice are the Cinderella ones....

2007-03-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

It all started about a week ago...

I was laying in bed and i heard scratching/chewing/running noises. I think to myself, "just another mouse....set a trap and go back to bed"....so....I do just that. Two nights later, i realize...there is no more noise....i check the trap...empty

So, now I'm thinking, "sweet...no more mouse." HA

Of course not!

Two days ago, i began to smell a faint smell of something dead...now...i have smelled this same smell before...dead mouse

no big deal right....find it, throw it out, and spray some air freshener.

no, no, no, no, no

The stupid mouse has died, yes....but INSIDE the wall behind my door

Fabulous, eh?

Road Trip!

2007-03-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

This past weekend zach, jen, logan, jansen and i drove to Goshen to see Katie in a musical called "Seussical." It was very entertaining (logan especially loved the kid who played Dr. Seuss). We stayed over night and left sunday morning after way too little sleep. Jansen, in case you were wondering, snores like a FREIGHT TRAIN which was the cause for my lack of sleep. On the way home we made a few stops for some fresh air considering there were 5 people packed in an Ion and the boys hogged shotgun both directions. But we still had a lot of fun.

Many things stressing me out lately:

a) scholarhips (i hate writing essays!)

b) prom (i haven't even started looking for a dress!)

c) spanish (placement tests that i am sooo unprepared for)

Good things happening:

a) I'm pretty much sure that i wont be taking any final exams

b) I was able to meet up with a friend from lifeguarding whom i haven't been in contact with for a long time. I emailed zach to see if he was re-certifying the same weekend as me and he emailed back and we started to catch up with each other. So, he decided to come home from school this weekend and we met up for coffee. It was really nice to see him again and we had fun talking just like we used to.

Twisted Fun

2007-03-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

My friends and I have come to love a very simple...very old...and very easily overlooked game

TWISTER

SENIORITIS - - at its worst

2007-03-04T15:35:00.000-05:00

90 days till graduation!

thats all i cant think about!
i have a stack of homework that i SHOULD be doing and haven't touched...but im catching on to the whole "i don't even care anymore" attitude...people have been trying to get me hooked for awhile now.

Sorry this post is so boring...jen made me do it

Where to Start....

2007-02-13T14:28:00.000-05:00

Lets start with swimming (or should i end with it because....) IT'S OVER!!!
The joy I am feeling is overwhelming:)
The season ended well though....we had fun at sectionals and some girls made it to districts. After sectionals the concessions ladies let us eat everything that was left and drink all the two liters (so of course we had to have a chugging contest in which i came in second with Meghan as the champ). So after pigging out, we went to Don Pablo's as is tradition. We ordered HUGE strawberry daiquiris and got way too much food.

FM HOMECOMING: the day began with me getting up to eat with my mom and then going home to finish doing my nails. While i was making small corrections to my nails i looked at the clock and realized that i was going to be late to swimming. On my way to the YMCA i had the air on full blast trying to dry my nails as quickly as possible. When i got to the YMCA ben helped me get all my senior night stuff in while i daintily picked up one of my bags. After tons of pictures i swam my one event (50 free) and set my personal record. Senior night came next. They announced all our names, clubs, etc. and the same with Arcanum. After that was over, i rushed into the locker room, took a shower and headed over to zach's house to get ready for the dance. Zach and i met up with the 20+ group at Tumbleweed where we ate. We got to the dance a bit late, but just in time for them to announce the homecoming court and all that jazz (pretty much our entire group made up the court). The dance was fun even though the DJ wasnt all that great. Afterwards we all went out to Zane's house for some games and movies. The night/morning ended around 3:30am as i headed home dreading the fact that i had to wake up for church in a few hours.

DARE TO SHARE: was the best it has been since my freshman year. The speakers were great as usual, but the skit and the setup of the program was just really good. The outdoor outreach was not quite as fun, but still a good experience. It was super cold and windy, so after 4 or 5 houses, we'd all pile into a van and warm up....that is, until one of our vans broke down and had to get fixed. Despite the cold, we collected probably 5 times more cans than we usually have in past years, and part of our group had a chance to share the gospel with someone. Unfortunately, because of the cold (and that fact that everyone had a dog or two), most could not bear to open up their doors long enough to have a meaningful conversation with us. Overall, a good weekend though.

SNOW DAYS: we've had so many lately! My anatomy muscle test has been postponed like 3 times! One day we decided to go ice skating on Liz's creek. It ended up being a game of vicious ice hockey in which people and sticks and pucks were thrown and or lost. Most of us took off the skates after about half and hour and just ran around with boots on. Well some of us could only try to run...logan fell flat every time he even thought about moving.

Whirlwind

2007-01-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

Staying home on a Friday night never felt so good.

I have been running around like crazy lately...getting about 6 or less hours of sleep per night, waking up early, going to swim practice, working right after school until closing time, and all my home time is spent studying for anatomy. So tonight i decided to stay home. It feels wonderful...AND i get to sleep in for the first time in soooooo long!

Tomorrow should be a great day. Get up around noon, make clothing for my spanish project, make senior night posters for swimming, go ice skating, come back home.

DANCE OFF --> 2006

2006-12-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

THE RESULTS ARE IN:

Marissa & Logan: are amazing.... struck everyone speechless
Jennifer & Bret: hmmm....I don't think you could PAY Lance to give them private lessons

notice how poised and confident logan and marissa look
notice how inexperienced and frightened jennifer and bret look

( now if you want to see how bad the boys were before jennifer and i took over...see me for videos)

see ---> so sad

Time flies when you're having fun...

2006-11-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

My saturday was crazy!
The morning started off with teaching swim lessons at Versailles from 9-11:15 then going home and rushing to get ready to go to work at Broadway Joe's. When i got to work, nate, baker, and zach were sitting there waiting on me to say hi (i had said they should come and do so friday night, but didnt think they actually would!)...so then i worked for 4 hours and couldn't wait to get out of there and get to zach's house to see the second half of the game. Little did i know i was going to have to road-trip it home to clean the bathrooms (thanks mom). So i finally got to zach's quite a bit later than expected but we still had fun after i was through ranting to jen.
After the game, we all headed to the Night Sky to see nate, kelsey, brittany, and alison play for a half hour while we drank coffee and saw how many seconds we could slurp smoothies until we got the worst brain freeze of our lives. Gotta love jack and his bright ideas:)
THEN we all went back to nick's, grabbed our cars (there were almost casualties during an airsoft shooting) and began our long trek to alex's house for a bonfire/hayride. That was a lot of fun because i got to catch up with all the people i had met this past summer with alex. After last night, i pretty much never want to see a kernel of corn again! long story....
Next week jen, me, jansen, and logan are going to test our tennis skills (we are making jansen play right-handed so logan and i won't get crushed quite as hard). Until then!....

I lied...shame on me

2006-11-10T09:27:00.000-05:00

i was looking at my posts from last year and i notice one in particular where i had decided that i would not swim this year. Oopsy...i lied. Swim season officially started a week ago and yes, i am swimming again.
Once again i will wake up at 5:00 am every morning, once again i will share 4 shower heads with 18 girls, once again i will smell like chlorine for 4 months, once again i will have icky hair, once again i will go without oxygen for extended periods of time, once again i will inhale large quantities of the most disgusting water each morning, once again i will go without shaving my legs for as long as i can stand, once again i will rely on coffee to keep me functional, once again i will have dry skin, once again i will wake up at 2 am with calf-muscle spasms (because i hate bananas), and once again i will probably complain all about swimming in my blog.

why do i swim, you ask?

i dont know either.

Sadie Hawkins Dance (in my hole-y jeans)

2006-11-05T17:55:00.000-05:00

Friday night was my first (but not my last) Sadie Hawkins Dance. This one was at Franklin-Monroe but hopefully we will have one at greenville in january as planned. The night started out in Jennifer's (freezing because she forgot to pre-heat it) barn, taking pictures of everyone in their "country hick" outfits. My date definitely had the hick thing down. He's the one in the suspenders on the left with his jeans rolled up. Zach fisher is the party-pooper on the right who didnt dress the part. I was very impressed with George's ability to dress like an american country boy considering he's from Slavakia (middle, green shirt). Now, as good as these boys look, you've got to admit....us girls looked mighty fine as well! I suppose you can't really judge our outfits because we pretty much all looked the same.....super cute:) Finally after making sure everyone got a picture with everyone, we headed to the dance. Now, for me, walking into the cafeteria where the dance was held was like walking into a dance held in my anatomy & physiology classroom. It was tiny! AND, no one was dancing. I quickly learned that FM dances are as fun as you make them, like most school dances. So, we decided to make it a blast....and it was! We all started dancing and pretty soon almost everyone in the cafeteria was dancing too. After 2.5 hours of solid boogie-ing, we all headed to applebee's in troy for some half-priced appetizers. Mmmm........... The rest of the night simply consisted of lots of chatting and driving my date home (hello is was a sadie hawkins dance....girls take on the guy duties). Everyone had lots of fun and now i can't wait to have a sadie hawkins dance at greenville!

Yes, It's True...I'm Out Of My Mind

2006-10-31T22:28:00.000-05:00

I have four jobs.
and anatomy & physiology.
bah.

Heroic Homecoming 2006

2006-10-01T19:30:00.000-05:00

Homecoming week was so much fun this year. Since it was my senior homecoming i decided to get involved in everything, which made it a lot of fun. This picture is of me and my favorite Chief Greenwave candidates (javi, dave, and rudy). Congrats to Brandon and Amber by the way who won chief greenwave and homecoming queen. Although the weather was AWFUL for the parade, it was still tons of fun, especially with the whole "bringing-back-of-the-spirit-barrel-thing." Seniors, of course won the award for most spirited float in the parade. We also won fall festival and touchdown showdown! And on thursday we plan on winning the powderpuff game as well:) Watch out Juniors! To the left you will notice our senior float. Ooooh baby we look tough huh? Our spelling skills however need some work...its supposed to read "Super Seniors" instead it says Spr Senors....some of the guys started a "gimme a _____ (letter) cheer" and tried to spell seniors, seiors or seors. I blame the english teachers at our school that dont give spelling tests anymore:) below is our group for the homecoming dance last night. It consisted of Krysten & Dan, Allison & Jordan, and Me & Kyle. We ate at Jordans (his mom cooked for us and it was delish!) and then watched some OSU football until we realized that it was already 9:00 so we scurried off to the dance just in time for door prizes which none of us recieved. The music was pretty bad this year i must confess, but we all still had a fun time. Jen came by to take some pictures with Kyle and me and then took off to have some of her own fun.

Dont' MESS with the Stripes

2006-09-16T20:13:00.000-05:00

Don't I look tough (check out the muscles!)? Probably tougher than our team has been looking lately...7-48 last night...ouch. Well boys, you have next friday to prove yourselves...we still believe in you! So this is a picture of my first time EVER painting-up for a football game! It was quite exciting i must say. However, about 30 min. into the game, Lindsey and I were freezing so at half time we decided to de-paint ourselves and put a sweatshirt on. This picture isn't the finished product though because LJ and I spray-painted our shirts and put "wave" on them with sponge letters. It was soooo fun! After the game we got our groove on at the dance which was not the best one we've had, i'm sorry to say. But i suppose these after-game dances are as fun as you make them.

huzzah for my first non-dominican post in forever! (hey jen: the huzzah was for you :) hehe)

DR (days 7-12) readers digest version

2006-09-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

Sunday was our day to sleep in, take a walk, do whatever until church at 3:30. We had team time plus elyse and jamie while on our 3 mile walk. Church was really neat. On some of the songs we all sang in spanish, but only if we could remember the words because there wasnt a hymnal, overhead, or anything to help us out. One other songs, the dominicans would sing in spanish and we would sing in english at the same time. The message was really good too...it was about "feeding" our spiritual lives so that worldly activities become less of a desire in our lives.

Day 8: today we set up at Juanchy's church which was an hour uphill on a rocky road, way into the mountains, but at least it was cooler up there. Another doctor from Puerto Rico came to help out today and bring us some new medicine. The bathroom consisted of 4 pieces of metal sheeting and a rock with a hole in it...i was brave enough to try; Jen however...

Day 9: Today we folded gauze for 10 dominican minutes...A.K.A. 2 hours!!! Then we went into Jarabacoa to eat lunch where we met a man that Alba usually gives her leftovers to after lunch at the clinic. I felt so bad for him. The rest of the day we helped Alba organize her messy office and package up some supplies to leave at Casa Tranquila. We also had a really fun team time tonight just playing games and lauging our heads of. Jen, welcome to the "spuh" club.

Day 10: Jen and Jamie were sick today, so it was me and alison doing the work. We had to take blood pressure the old fashion way b/c the electronic cuff was too
slow:( That night we had the children's outreach which was a lot of fun. A little girl named Angeli clung to me all night like a leech...I wish i could have taken her back to the U.S. with me! Isaac was our clown and he was hilarious...see jen for the video! Kaitlyn and i did a Gospel skit and we ended with some more games. A pretty fun night minus the awful mosquitos.

Day 11: today at the site was a day of many new culture experiences...thats all i will say about that...today's Bible study was about humility and i was trying to think of a way to show humility at the Medical site today...God sure answered that prayer. First you need to understand something about me....I DETEST feet...ugh, hate them...and guess what my job was today. I had the priviledge of washing all the people's feet as they came to the site. Not only washing though, cleaning dirt (among other things) out of the toenails, clipping the toenails and scrubbing away anything else on the feet. These people walk around without shoes most of the time in this community and many of the people have toe fungus and toenail fungus. Pretty picture eh? Yes, and i washed them...quite a stretching experience, but i was glad i got to apply the lesson of the day to my work site. Tonight we all shared our tesimonies in our room. I felt so close to all the girls/women in our room after we all shared...we just had this deep spiritual bond between all of us and i began to realize how much i would miss elyse and jamie and the closeness the ladies in our room shared.

Day 12: We had a late start getting to the site today because we had to stop at the hospital for 1/2 an hour only to figure out that we had to go down to the pharmacy to get medicine later in the day. We got to Rescate and there weren't too many people there, but soon enough they piled in. I handed out soap to the people there, but we didnt have enough. There were at least 30 people on the front porch of the house and anytime they saw one of us Americans, we were hounded with questions on how to cure this and when can we see the doctor...it was madness...Alba and i saw a record 40 people in only two hours WITHOUT cammy who was busy taking care of a girl who had been sick from JMU for over a week. Unfortunately we had to leave before we could see everyone...at least 10 people waited over an hour and never got to see Alba. We had to rush to the pharmacy to get medicine for Amanda (then we played a very funny joke on Alba) and then we headed back to the base. Tonight after the banquet i kept tearing up on the way back to the base. I did NOT want to leave the DR...Comming on this trip made me sure that God has a plan for me that includes missions...whether or not it will be full-time i don't know yet...The idea scares me and excites me at the same time...right now i am just waiting patiently for a definite answer.

DR (days 4-6)

2006-07-11T19:00:00.000-05:00

day four: this day was quite rough. We set up the clinic at a woman's house named Nancy. She asked if a couple of us girls could go over to her father's house to help bathe him. Her father was very old and close to the end of his life. He was completely skin and bones with no use of his limbs and could not speak because of his disease. He also had sores all over his body from laying in the same position day after day. It was very overwhealming at first, so much so that alison had to leave the room and ask someone else to come help. However, the hardest part was understanding Nancy and her mother as i tried to help them. They talked on and on and knew no english at all. Alba had told them that i spoke good spanish so they just kept on going. At first i was lost, but then words and phrases began to come back to me and i could understand almost all of what they were saying to me. That was such a relief. God once again showed me that He can use me just the way i am. Jen had a hard time with other things that day:) That night we ate dinner in the community with a family that Alba knew. Mayra cooked mangu (mashed plantain) and chicken in this amazing sauce that we mixed with the mangu. After dinner we played spoons to see who had to wash dishes. Mayra's sister lost. As we were waiting on our ride back to the base a car drove by that was blasting music and we all started dancing in the street. That night i also learned that if a kid wants your attention they always tap your butt. That happened a lot during the two weeks.

day five: On this day i realized that the crowing rooster here is like God...no beginning and no end! Throughout the day one of the songs in morning worship stayed with me. It went..."may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be pleasing to you, pleasing to you, my God. I desire to be your servant, i desire to be a blessing, in your eyes." At the site today i really got to talk a lot with the kids which was fun. I had a misunderstanding with a woman though. I thought she was asking me to take her daughter's blood pressure so i told her that i was not allowed to take the pressure of anyone under the age of 18. She started to get very upset with me and i kept saying "im sorry im sorry, talk to the doctor." Finally she reaches over me and grabs a number to see the doctor, puts it in front of my face and says "teeket" (ticket). I pretty much felt really stupid. That night Jen was all about getting in the shower FIRST. Ha. To her surprise, about 2 min. into her shower she was greeted by a little friend, who she claims was a big friend, but come on jen we all saw it:) So she starts screaming "ahhh thaaahht soo grohhhoos! ahhhhh ah ah!" basically a scream/cry/laugh... quite hilarious if ask me. At random moments the rest of the night someone would start laughing we all knew what it was about. Jen would just say "shut up you guys it was not funny!" Boy was she wrong:)

day six: white water rafting day! Well as ellen told everyone in church on sunday, our trip was quite the adventure. Our guide was very onery and would try to get us thrown out of the raft. During the first 2 min. of the trip, my mom and i went out at the same time--feet over our heads right into the water. Later on mom fell out in the middle of a rapid and hit a big rock. At one point we stopped and there was a big rock about 30 feet high with another ledge about 20 feet high. Most of us jumped off and it was a lot of fun! That night we went shopping in Jarabacoa and ate dinner. That was the first time i had seen little boys begging on the street before and it was so sad. I gave one of them part of my coke and some other boys about half of my waffle
cone. I wish i could have given them so much more because it made me really sad knowing that i never go hungry and our group may have given those boys the only meal they had that day.

days 7-9 to come!

Dominican Republic (days 1-3)

2006-06-26T13:42:00.000-05:00

When we first arrived on Monday, June 12 around 7 pm we got a short orientation and then went to our room to await the rest of the group that was coming from James Madison University. Eveyone else in my room woke up when the two other girls that joined our room came in. But i was sound asleep!

the next day consisted of sitting in plastic chairs listening to Nate and Kevin talk about what we'd be doing, what to expect each day, and the dominican culture. The major differences in culture are the ways they express themselves. If they dont understand something, they scrunch their nose at you; if you walk into or out of a room you greet each person by touching cheeks and kissing the air; and they dont point with their fingers, they use their lips to point. The most surprising part was when they said that dominican men see american women as easy and to expect them to whistle, make comments, and look at us in that manner. That definitely happened too, and sometimes it was a little scary.

Around 2 o'clock that day, we had orientation with our ministry sites. We went to the clinic to meet Alba and she told us what to expect each day, taught us how to take blood pressure, and then we talked and prayed the rest of the time.

That night two of the dominican women from the education site taught everyone how to merengue. My partner could use some practice:)

The third day was our first day actually in the ministry site doing missions work. I was really excited and and little scared about my responsibilities. Alba chose me to help her with the patients first (she thought i knew a lot of spanish..ha!) I actually understood a lot more than i thought i would. It was a little overwhelming at first, but after only 2 hours i could figure out what disease the patient had just by the combination of medicines that Alba gave them. It was really fun feeling like a doctor. All the patients saw us as doctors so they would talk to us instead of Alba because there, if they get an american doctor, they think they will get better treatment. So it felt cool when adults would come up to me as i was playing with the kids and start talking to me about their symptoms and where they had pain and ask me what to do and all this stuff...then i felt really stupid when all i could say was "Uhhh, no sé. Necesitas esperar por la doctora." (Uhhh i dont know. You need to wait for the doctor). After my first day, i couldnt wait to go back!

days 4&5 next!

If You Give A Marissa Enough Credits, She's Going to Want to Graduate Early

2006-06-04T19:00:00.000-05:00

Well, as you might all guess, graduation was yesterday for greenville and instead of studying for my two hardest exams tomorrow, i am updating my blog. I have realized that my GPA will still be over a 4.0 even if i get D's on all my exams. Sweeeet! Not that i still wont try...anyone who knows me knows that i am definitely type A perfectionist.

Back to graduation...(by the way, that will be me next year!)
HOWEVER, i want to graduate now. High school is just not my thing. Some people love it and good for them but i cannot wait to leave. I can already hear the advice coming from those of you who are out of college....."enjoy high school while you can because you cant go back"...... (this is the part where i put my fingers in my ears and sing "la dee da dee da.") I'm sure if i was a drama queen then i would just LOVE my high school....but indeed that is just not me. I get sad when i think about leaving all my friends, but then, i'll just make new ones in college and hopefully still keep the ones i have now! If it wasnt such a chore to graduate early, i'd probably do it. Thats enough complaining out of you, marissa.

Today was mi primo's graduation party and i got to see my favorite cousin....darah! (ps: She is like #1 hilarious...ha). That darn girl just cracks me up... and i got to catch up with julie who i havent talked to since...probably 6th grade basketball summer camp with uncle gary (alright?..OK!!...OK?.. alright!!). ahhh the good ol times.

Choir-o-rama was an overall sucess even though i got soooo nervous (as im sure everyone could tell) up on stage. I seriously, no joke, drank an entire 24 oz. bottle of water every night before going on stage for "I Will Survive." Then, once i stepped on stage, my mouth went dry. Don't you just hate that...sheesh.

Since im being so positive (as always) can i just ask a question? Is everyone else changing except me? Am i so old fashion to think that certain things are still so very wrong and yet it seems i am one of the only ones willing to stand up for my beliefs on this issue? Should i feel so alone? I thank God for the girl that has gotten me through with many long phone venting sessions, but why is she the only one my age who understands? It must just be one of those things that i cant shelter my friends from, they can learn from their mistakes and then I'll just be there waiting to support them when they need it. Its hard being the one who has to sit back and watch people mess up knowing that the minute you say something, you could damage a friendship. Its hard being the one who isnt having all the "fun" because you are so worried about your friends and what they are doing to themselves. Dont get me wrong, I am in no way better than anyone and i am prone to mistakes as well, but i only hope that my friends will confront me when they are concerned about me and that i will be able to respond in a way that shows i value them. I think that that is one great reason to stay in touch with God. He may want to speak through someone else to get to you, so we cant be quick to say "oh you're judging me." Maybe He wants to see if you'll listen to Him. I dont know, these have just been my thoughts the last few weeks. I dont have it all figured out, nor will i ever be able to discern the workings of God, or the minds of people. Heck, i dont even understand myself.

Boys....need i say more?

2006-05-19T22:48:00.000-05:00

Why cant they just act mature? Why is it so cool to make fun of girls and put them down? Why do they think that they are so smooth when all they can ever say to a girl is "...so what's up?" Why is it cool to joke about getting trashed after we have just had a very serious assembly where college aged guys talked about their best friends who were killed from drinking accidents right before graduation? Why is it so funny to put down immigrants in our school, or people from different ethnic backrounds? Today, these things just made me so angry i could have cried (or punched the guys saying this stuff). Can someone explain to me why some guys are so stupid?

Bad Week

2006-05-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

I have had a cruddy week and i hate to be negative but im afraid that choir-o-rama week of "you know what" isnt going to be much better.

It all started with my big brother coming home. Don't get me wrong its not like i hate him or anything, its just that ryan being home means the sharing of the car has begun. Ryan also got a job. This means that every day i have to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual so i can ride in to school with my dad. I cant drive to lunch, i cant go home right after school, i have to wait for someone to pick me up now like a little freshman and i am just not very happy about it. I feel sort of selfish for expecting to have a car all to myself, but its just hard because every single one of my friends has a car at their disposal and its not like they want to drive 7 miles out to my house to pick me up so we can hang out. So that part stinks.

Then there is some stuff going on with many of my friends that i just dont understand. I feel like i dont even know half of them anymore. They have become totally different people recently and its like im the only one who isnt changing. Ps: thanks jen for being there.

Then there's choir-o-rama coming up...call me a choir nerd or whatever but i obsess over making choir-o-rama perfect and people in choir have just really been getting on my last nerve. First there's the people who goof off all the time and never learn choreography or vocals. Then there's the people who get really upset with those people and all you hear from them all period and during rehearsal is "shhhhhhhhhhh" and "can everyone just shut up?" One particular girl happens to stand right next to me or behind me in every segment that i am in for the show, she's loud and off key and she is a senior and it makes her mad that i am in front for all the songs and she is stuck behind me and cant be seen from the audience. Most of the drama at greenville starts in the choir...pathetic i know.

Then we have teachers. Thats all im going to say.....that and one other word.
Yearbook.

And on top of all that...every night this week i have been losing about 3 hours of sleep and i cant figure out the problem. I just wake up around 2 am and cant get back to sleep. So that doesnt exactly help the fact that im not a morning person in the first place.

I'm done ranting.
this just makes me mad all over again.
shoot...im so good at that

PROM...PROm...PRom...Prom...prom

2006-04-29T16:55:00.000-05:00

yes it's true...im not going!
afterprom, yes, but not prom prom
instead i get to hang out with jeni! and the rest of the people from FM who still actually like me. I have my reasons for not going to prom so dont anyone ask me anymore...no more nagging and no more telling me that i just HAVE to go, cuz that makes me not want to go even more! (now chelsea and susie are wishing they hadnt nagged me so much...ha). I'm still making my contribution as a junior and working hard on decorations blah blah blah...i just didnt feel like going anymore

so i hope everyone who IS going has a good time even though ill be having a better one!

I love Jen(i)!!

2006-04-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

this girl is CRAZY!

For the sake of Updating...

2006-04-11T18:47:00.000-05:00

Spring break has been pretty sweet i guess...

Friday: bonfire and playing who-knows-what-game-we-were-playing in the woods with half of greenville + jeni and logan from FM. Definitely a good time until i had to leave at 10:30 (!!!!) so i could rest up for the ACT (grrr).

Saturday: TONS of fun with some of the FM'ers (zach, jeni, logan). We went to starbucks for some free coffee! Yay for coffee! Then back to jeni's for an entertaining game of trampoline football and hiding of a certain person's wallet (but neither jeni or i did it!...wink wink). The picture to the left is sorta what zach and logan looked like after they had been defeated by jeni and me (well, mostly me) Then we did probably the most corny thing in the universe....looked at the stars! Haha...im guessing thats how the date rumor started. hmm

Sunday: Church and an impulsive decision to go see "Take the Lead" with my mom (good movie!)

Monday: Work work, blah blah blah

Tonight: Another bonfire at Susie's (yippie!) which = more sweet times to come!

I'm Convinced...God Did Not Create the ACT

2006-04-07T17:36:00.000-05:00

The ACT should die....
along with all other standardized tests....but mostly the ACT
This statement totally contradicts what i put in the writing section of the ACT last time i took it.

Reasons why i hate tests:
1. I am NOT a good test taker
3. They make me nervous
4. You have to wake up way to early to take them (my brain doesnt function that early)
5. Afterwards you are completely brain dead b/c you have sucked out all the information stored in there and thrust it into your answer booklet so you basically have to regain your IQ over the next several days.

GRRRRRRR.....

Living for the Weekends!

2006-03-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

Well, no pictures to post here b/c my big brother had to take the digital camera away from me and he is @ Miami at the moment....darn

But, last night was pretty sweet anyway...
Basically it was me, emily, kip, matt, chelsea, erin, austin, zach and others that went bowling at McBo's in Versailles. Then we went to China Garden where i had chinese for the first time! (i even got a cool box to put my food in! but i left it in emily's car!). Then we all headed to Roger's for some good ol ice cream. Then it was back into town for a movie. I never knew i could have fun with a bunch of freshmen and only two people my age! Ha! Whadda ya know.

Friday's dance was awesome as usual! I did so well at the limbo! I was mighty proud of myself until the next morning when the pain hit me square in the back, abs, calves, you name it....everywhere (a combination of volleyball the night before and dancing my legs off). The only bad thing was the couple of guys who felt the need to strip their shirts off on a particular song (i think you all know the one). That just doesnt need to happen! But it was still a blast just so lindsey and dani know:)

Let the good times roll...

2006-03-18T16:44:00.000-05:00

Well this post is long overdue. This picture was from a few weekends
ago when chelsea, susie, alison and i got bored and decided to go to the Goodwill in Troy and have some fun. As you can tell, we definitely had some:) Then after we had had our good times we went to La Fiesta. I have decided i like it there quite a bit. I didn't have to pay the time i went with the girls because the waiter paid for me! Needless to say I'll be eating there again;) ha

This was last weekend when i went bowling with emily, chelsea, david,
jansen, todd and luke. It was tons of fun especially when we went to pay for our games because they look at the scoreboard names so they know how to charge. Well, see we had all put our nicknames and stupid stuff on the scoreboards so it was funny when we had to indroduce ourselves with those names so we could pay.

This is the scoreboard. The first was Todd (FEF..felipe el formidable), then came david (dafe...pronounced dayfffff), then jansen (jew fish... don't ask), then emily (i won't put her name down), then chelsea (chelsers...boring), then me (pluto...yes there is a story behind it), then luke (lukers...again, boring).

All in all some good times with the friends lately.

Looking into the Future

2006-02-19T18:22:00.000-05:00

Here's what I'm thinking...
I've pretty much decided against swimming next year. So, I want to try something new again. Dance. Yep, marissa is going to get her coordination and balance under control and try dancing. That's me over there, wearing my dad's dorky glasses and testing out my dance moves. I'm not sure as to what type of dance I want to try, but I do have some choices. I could do jazz, tap, or ballet. They all sound fun to me. I've always loved dancing so I guess here is my chance to see if I could actually be good at it.

I have the urge to swim right now...hmmm

So, I just spent the past two days lifeguarding for a total of 4 kids birthday parties. At one point two parties overlapped. 40 kids in the pool at one time for 3 straight hours = not fun at all & a HUGE headache. If anyone wants to give me a job...you know where to call because I'd love a new one.

Renewing Relationships...

2006-02-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

No, I am not talking about boys or friends...I am talking about my bed, my bathroom, my shower, and basically my life. No longer must i lift my head from my comfy feather pillow at 5:00 am each morning, no longer must I get ready to start my day in a smelly locker room at the YMCA, no longer must I smell like chlorine, no longer must I have dry, itchy skin, no longer must I shower with 16 other girls using only 4 shower heads in which I must bend half way over just to get my head underneath, no longer must I go for insane amounts of time without breathing, no longer must I pack my whole life into a duffel bag, no longer!!!!

and I am quite happy about it :)

Swimming...almost done!

2006-02-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

Last day of practice was this morning! Yeah!
Tomorrow is sectionals and i am pretty excited! I really want to break all my personal records tomorrow in the 50 freestyle and the 100 breastroke. That may be hard to do b/c i broke my pr last weekend in breastroke by 2 seconds in the Miami pool (which is a fast pool). That's me on the right...ok kidding...but i wish i was that good. Oh well I will try my best! Let's see, not much going on right now...hence why i have not updated lately.

I've got a confusing situation on my hands and I'm not quite sure what to think of it all. Hmmm....but, however it turns out will be for the best i know.

Well, dont hold your breath, but hopefully once I get my life back since swim season is over for me after tomorrow there will be some more interresting and thought provoking posts. To be quite honest, I don't think I would even read my posts if i were all of you! Ok, later everyone.