superbowl food!

now anyone who knows me knows i'm not exactly a sports girl. i mean i can appreciate a big game as much as the next person. but knowing names and stats and who's good and all that, i just have no idea. and i'm okay with that. "athletic" and "sporty" are not titles i feel inclined to own.

but where i do get excited is the food! over the last couple years i have really started to enjoy cooking for people, so having an event to choose food for, that's something to get excited about.

this year i'm not having people over. but i am going to a party. so i've been scouring pinterest trying to decide what to bring.

i'm thinking white chocolate dipped pretzels. sweet and salty. yum.

and then also some pepperoni roll ups.

gosh i love food! :)

the looove month.

i love february!
there’s something so fun about a month focused on LOVE.
i am also single.
“what?” you say. a single person loving february. impossible.
but it’s true!
do i get sad on the big 14 when i’m not out on a perfectly planned, over hyped, sappy romantic date?
absolutely.

confession.
i have never had a great date on valentines day.
oh sure there’s been those “i guess we’ll go out because we don’t have anything better to do but nothing too romantic because ‘this’ is not a serious relationship” dates.
or there was “we’re in a long distance relationship and it’s not worth the ticket so please accept these flowers and a phone call.”
and there’s definitely been a lot of “i’ll just stay home and watch the notebook and eat half baked ice cream and take a bubble bath and pretend i’m better off.”
but a good old fashioned romantic valentines date?
never.

so why would i love february/valentines day?
because love is something to be celebrated!
and appreciated.
and hoped for.

and even without prince charming, i have a LOT of love in my life!

and i know that one day,
i’ll never have another lonely valentines day again.
and that’s worth waiting for.

goodbye 2011. hello 2012.

well it’s a new year.
2011 was full of changes for me.
big changes.

i quit my job as a flight attendant.
i went back to school to get a teaching credential.
i moved out of a beautiful apartment with my best friend and into my parents house, in a town where i knew no one.
i got a job as a long term sub teaching kindergarten.
i made new friends.
i consistently miss my old friends…

my world has kinda been turned upside down. and as crazy and lonely and hard as it’s been at times, it’s also been fun and exciting and pushed me in ways i wouldn’t trade for anything.

and when i really think about it, my life has kinda always been full of big changes. being still and content has never been my strong suit. there’s always been something in me that wants to keep moving, keep trying new things, find the next adventure… and i don't think that's a bad thing!

i could list a million things that i’ve been learning the last year and i’m still learning now. but mostly, i’m learning to embrace my restless spirit and use it to grow as a person and to serve God more. to take that “what’s next” feeling in me and channel it into ways that matter… because it’s okay to want more (this side of heaven we always will), but it’s not okay to waste today on trivial things or worldly things or stupid things because of it (and i am definitely guilty of doing this!). i want to spend my time doing things that matter, even when i’m not “content” with everything in my life. it’s been fun discovering ways to do this!

i am looking forward to soooo many things in 2012. to list a few:

finishing school, again!
getting a job (hopefully).
moving out of my parents house (no offense mom and dad).
traveling europe with one of my dearest friends!
figuring out where i’m going to live.

and maybe, if the mayans are correct, we’ll all even get to go to heaven this year!

so hello 2012, nice to meet you. i can’t wait to see what adventures you have in store for me this year.

i'm back!!!

i haven't updated my blog in a loooooong time. i know, and i'm sorry. i have no good excuses. but i'm going to try to get back into updating this! so we'll see how that goes ;)

now that i'm looking at the last time i posted i realize a lot has happened.

for starters i am no longer a flight attendant. this was a big change for me, and not an easy one actually. i loved my job. it could be long hours, and stressful, and sometimes people drove you CRAZY, but i really did love it. i count it such a blessing that i got the spend a couple years working as a flight attendant. and i'll never forget it. but ultimately, the lifestyle wasn't what i wanted. and i felt convicted that i could do more and be more and push myself further than i was in that job. (which is definitely not to say anything negative about people who have that job, it's a LOT of work). but the more i thought about it i just knew i needed a change. i actually applied to my two "dream airlines" while i was considering what change i was going to make. one offered me a job and one didn't. ultimately, i said no to it all and walked away from the aviation industry. there are definitely days that i miss it. and of course i miss the flight benefits! but i am confident it was the right decision for me, and i'm excited about where i'm at now.

so where is that?! well, i'm still working on getting my teaching credential. school starts later this month and i'll get right back into student teaching (i'll do another post with more about that later)! so most of my time is spend around lesson planning and schoolwork.

also, i moved. yes, again. i'm actually living in northern california in the south bay area now. it's great! my parents are up here and one of my brothers and his wife and two kids are only 2 hrs away. so i'm loving being near family!

anyways, that's a short version update of a long break from blogging!

 
and just for fun, here's a picture of my siblings and i on vacation in june up at the lake house in montana! :)

miss gudgel

pretty soon that will be me!

in january i will be starting the process of getting my teaching credential and i can't wait! i've wanted to be an elementary teacher for quite a while, but the timing was just never right. but i really feel like it is now and i'm so excited to get started

it will be about a year and a half process, and most likely i will be student teaching all of next school year. then will hopefully have my own classroom the following year! that feels like a long way away right now, but i'm sure it will all go fast.

but for the time being, i'll be working full time still and going to school full time as well. a little intimidating but i can do it!! i have a goal and i'm excited to work towards it! :)

and soon enough i'll have my own one of these!