My First Week Of... School

• The first week of school has come and gone and I'll never get back those 14 hours again it wasn't so bad. 
• I think my classes this semester will be the most homework-laden ever! challenging yet.
• My teachers seem determined to drive me to an early death to be passionate about what they're teaching, which always makes class not quite so boring a bit more fun.

• I was able to get my books quickly but they cost me an arm and a leg plus my firstborn so I can start on my homework now but I still have to get the rest out of my car.
• My classes are getting more ridiculously impossible advanced now, like the continuation of anatomy and physiology also known as death by memorization and sign language 2 which I know is going to be the only class I really prepare for my favorite class.

• I have so much dang homework already enough assignments due Monday that I thought a two-sided checklist might remind me why I want to finish as quickly as possible be helpful each week.
• The only thing carrying me through most exciting thing about this semester is I get to finally apply for PTA (Physical Therapist Assistant) programs and I killed myself finished my PreReq's and GenEd faster than the applicants who still have a life most other applicants!

~The end of my life for another semester End!

To My Wonderful Mother!

There's this woman I've known all my life and today is her birthday!  Happy Birthday, Mommy!  I want to share a little about my wonderful mother with you all:

She has taken on fears and challenges and come out on top!

She cherishes her family and her sisters are her best friends.

She gave up everything that got in the way of raising four children from young...

To grown ups (mostly...). Even to this day, we know she'd give us everything she is able to and work to get us more.

She's a wonderful grandma, not just once...

But twice!

She's encouraged our dreams from day one, never saying it's impossible or we couldn't do it.

She rests only after she knows everyone else is resting too.

To my wonderful mother, a beautiful woman full of love, encouragement and one of the most selfless persons I know: Happy Birthday! I love you!

A Quarter of a Century...

My birthday is officially over! I know, I sound like I'm rejoicing... Turning a quarter of a century is draining (just on the pride tho), particularly when I think back on where "teenager" Nicole thought "current" Nicole would be in life. Funny how it's NEVER the way we plan, huh? (I do believe there's a Bible verse about that...)

My day was very relaxed and I appreciate that particular aspect of it. I stayed up to greet my birthday the night before, so I slept in till noon (with the exception of my mom, aunt, and grandma calling to serenade me in the morning). My roommate had to wake me up (cause she was feeling guilty for sleeping so late as well) and we lazily got dressed as I went back and forth in my decision for which restaurant I wanted lunch at. I had a marvelous vegetarian sushi roll (I don't care that there was no fish- it was at least sushi-"styled") that I had been waiting almost a whole year to taste again. That alone made me very happy! Just when I thought we were done ans waiting on the check, two spoons and a dessert were brought out with birthday wishes. I honestly had not expected The Ginger (as she shall be fondly known) to tell on me, so I was mildly shocked until the deliciousness of the dessert made it all ok. There was many vintage shops in mid-town that we would've loved to explore, but The Ginger only had five quarters for the parking meter, so we had an hour total to get back to the car or else... We did have time to go to the vintage store right next door where I scored an amazingly awesome teal-ish waist belt for about $8. The Ginger has already informed me she's stealing it... Another friend dropped by after we got home and watched as The Ginger (I'm really enjoying calling her that...) and I cleaned some more of our room (still a work in progress, but oh-so-close!).

My other roommate (I shall call her Ramen Girl since she just might be obsessed with... ramen) arrived home after The Ginger and my other friend left. I was back to relaxing on the couch trying to figure out how to change the look of this blog (do you like the new look?) when she announced we had to go somewhere for my birthday. I was starting to thing people were conspiring against me staying home for my birthday like I actually wanted (The Ginger had originally planned to take me to San Fransisco, fun but I wanted to stay home), but they must've known better than me because I had more fun than I thought I'd have today. We ended up going to Color Me Mine.  I had never been before, but Ramen Girl had (I'm already plotting to go again, it's that awesome... for me...). It's a place where you can pick out a ceramic and paint it, they glaze it and fire it, then it's yours to keep, give away, lose, destroy, etc... I picked out a little plate that has a cupcake in the center, it's super cute and I think I did a marvelous job making it cuter (but you have to wait till I get it back to see the truth of my words since I didn't take any pictures at all today). Ramen Girl chose a mug that she painted these cute little characters on (from TokiDoki if anyone else besides her knows what that is). I finally figured out as we were driving home that she might be sneakier than I give her credit for since I concentrate more than I talk when I'm painting... Lucky her! We got home and had strawberry shortcake (delicious!) and watched totally ridiculous (but hilarious) videos on YouTube.

Such a silly, abnormal day for me, but I have to give a big thank you to both Ramen Girl and The Ginger for making this "turning a quarter of a century" thing not as bad as I had envisioned it'd be. Seriously, I just have amazing friends, what can I say? So, what are my plans for year 25? Besides more work and school and homework? I have grand plans!!! I just can't get enough of my friends and family, so seeing them and laughing with them and cherishing them more is so on my To-Do list, and growing closer to the One who cherishes me the most!

P.S-Just want you all to know I'm going to be tired tomorrow, especially since I have to get up in five hours...  That's what happens when you sleep till noon, even on your birthday!

P.P.S.- Although the room's not done yet, seriously MUCH better tho, I'll get pics up when we get everything rearranged (which is taking some serious math skills!). My mom is a true mother and wants to make sure I actually cleaned my room :-P I love you Mommy! :-D -THE END-

If Only You Had Children Like ME!

As I'm very good at procrastinating once I'm given the opportunity, I thought I'd share my plans for this week! The plans I'm currently not doing since I'm procrastinating... Thursday is my birthday and I wanted to give myself a nice gift since I'll only turn 25 once. I really thought long and hard about what I could use or what I needed. No matter how I looked at it, I really needed this one thing... Those who know me well might laugh since I'm sure they've heard this before, but I NEED and WANT: a clean room. Yep, one organized and one I can walk in and one that I want to be in instead of just sleep in! I was planning on taking pictures when I got home from work this morning, but one of my wonderful roommates actually de-messed the room... a little. She put together my new craft table as a much appreciated surprise and in doing so, the room already looks a little better since there's no 5-foot-long garish and huge table taking up a whole wall and floor space.

Do you want to see the pictures I DO have? They might be a little scary, please shield young or impressionable (or parental) eyes!


Yep... That's my room... See the huge table leaning against the wall, in between the closet and sewing machine? I'm starting to think that taking an axe to it might be fun... Anyone have an axe I can borrow?


These are some of the craft supplies I'm in the process of organizing... Remember the tornado known as "Nicole's craft mess"? Yeah, these are part of the culprits. They're actually pretty compressed into those bins right now...


My bathroom's not terrible, but could use some picking up, particularly my jewelry, which happens to currently be in a bowl... in my school bags... in my luggage... in my car... NOT in the jewelry box... Oops... Oh, I also have new pictures I need to find room for on that sink!


Ignoring the mess this time, I'm planning to not only clean but rearrange. I need a bigger bookcase as my bookcase is two books deep on each shelf and I currently use my car, closet and living room for extra shelves... Although you might not be able to see it, there are two beds there, the oak day bed and another bed on the floor with all the... junk... on it. I want to move each bed to it's own wall so there's walking space on the floor. That would be amazing!


Still ignoring the mess and also ignoring the bright light, I want to move the dressers, the (hopefully new) bookshelf and the craft table (seen in the very first pic and in this one from a side view) to one wall. The beauty of the craft table is it's on wheels and the part holding my sewing machine folds down so it becomes just a set of drawers! Genius, right? I'm also looking at new storage for the closet, which is where most of my craft stuff is kept. I currently have a dresser in there which is bulky and hard to access and not very space efficient, so Ikea and I just might be good friends this week. :-P

I know, I know, you're not thinking "how are you going to accomplish such a huge feat?" or "you've got a big job ahead of you!"... I know you're really thinking (especially my mom) "WHAT ABOUT ALL THAT LAUNDRY?!?!?!?" Yeah, I might get to that too...

So, now that you all know I am not embarrassed to put my messy room on the Internet, I'm going to stop my procrastination and get back to cleaning. My objectives for tonight is to finish getting the craft stuff sorted and tackle the monster...err..mess under my bed! Hopefully reason will return to me in the morning and I'll have to finish my room just to put up pictures of a clean and orderly room, like any 25 year old should responsibly have... (I'm trying not to laugh right now...) Have wonderful dreams tonight about your children growing up to own messy rooms! :-D

My Christmas Lists...

Happy Second Day of the New Year! :-D I had a wonderful Christmas (three of them actually!) and slept thru the "New Year" or the clock turning midnight... It's a tradition of mine to sleep thru it each year, I've only missed one or two years my whole life. Want to know what I got for Christmas? I know you do! Here's some of my favorite things:

-A Cake Pops mold and sticks (the good kind you actually use cake for!)
-A Shoe Cookie Cutter (Fashionable AND Edible, can it get any better?)
-The cutest apron (with shoes on it!)
-A Party Planning book (haven't had time to crack it open yet, but it's so on my calendar!)
-A small creative Cupcake book and a 30-minute Vegetarian book (both have GREAT ideas!)
-A marvelous and wonderful Craft Table (to save my room from the tornado known as "Nicole's craft mess")

And HERE'S my absolute favoritest presents of them all!

-Seeing my family and spending time with them!
-Hugging my nieces over and over and seeing their smiles meant just for me
-Seeing my brother in his Navy blue dress uniform walk down the stairs at the airport and feeling so proud of him
-Getting to tell everyone I hold dear that I love them at least one more time

I truly appreciate the money spent on presents for me, the fun stuff, the stuff I need, the stuff I want... The older I get, the more I realize the value of those tangible gifts are nothing compared to being hugged by my dad, laughing with my sisters, talking with my mom in the same room, having a conversation that no one else can follow with my brother or chasing my nieces and hearing their squeals of happiness.

As another year is heading my way (I'm turning 25 this week!!!!) I'm reminded more and more of my blessings and I hope to cherish them a lot more than I have been. I don't do "New Year Resolutions", and I don't plan to start. What I like to do is look back over the past year and take the time to thank Christ for my blessings. Here's some of my favorite's and biggest (or just the ones I remember...):

-My salvation thru Jesus Christ and His constant work in my life
-Another year of health insurance
-Making it thru my first whole year back at school
-The opportunity to see my family more often than in past years
-My job that allows me to go to school full time and work full time and have time for homework
-My co-workers who keep me sane during some days at my job
-Having my older niece for two weeks during the summer and being able to spend that time with her without other obligations
-Meeting new people and forming new friendships
-Having a car that is 10 years old, over 140,000 miles and still working
-The chance to see relatives I hadn't seen in years (anywhere from 2 years to over a decade!)
-Being able to attend my younger nieces first birthday
-Traveling to new places and out of state
-Keeping and deepening the friendships I have with my oldest and dearest friends (and now their husbands and some of them their children)
-My family
-My Mom
-My Dad
-My older Sister
-My younger Brother
-My younger Sister
-My older Niece
-My younger Niece
-My Grandma Penny and Donny
-My Grandma J and Papa
-My Aunts and Uncles and Cousins
-My best friend and my two closest friends in Sac-Town
-SO MUCH MORE!

I have so many blessings in my life! I'm slowly learning to take the time to enjoy them and rejoice in them as they are gifts from my Savior, but I still have a long way to go! :-P How was your Christmas/New Years?

P.S.- Believe it or not, this was not the blog I was intending to write! I was going to post pictures of my adorable nieces and tell about my holiday adventures... Maybe next time LOL

The Outdated Update About... Pretty Much Nothing!

My Goodness!!! Time most definitely does fly! It's been well over a year since I last bored anyone to death on here, how tragic. What have you been up too? What have I been up to? Currently, I'm sitting on a train that is jostling back and forth so much that I'm having to delete or backspace just about every other word. But the jostling is for a good cause; each shudder of the train car and thought of death at squealing wheels feeling as if they are about to lift off the track is bringing me closer to my mom. I'll be very happy to be able to hug her again, and then cry with her when we pick up my brother at the airport tomorrow night. I'm actually quite bored on this particular trip. The train is running behind schedule and is probably going faster than normal in attempt to make up some time, but I feel as if it's taking twice as long as normal! That's what happens when you're used to driving everywhere- when I just sit, I've no idea what to do with myself!

I've gone back to boredom, I mean school... Again... For like the millionth time... I've actually had friends and family members comment that they believe I will be in school for the rest of my life and that I actually enjoy it... What a horrible thing to say! I'd cry so bad if I let myself consciously believe that, so I keep that truth buried very deeply. I'm heading into my third semester back with 274 more to go, or so it feels.

I'm still with the same job, the same client/patient, the same, the same, the same. Yep, I'm almost about to break the record for how long I've worked for any one company. Usually I move on between a year and a year and a half... I'm almost exactly at a year and a half now, this will be a bit odd to have to put at least three different years on my resume: 2010, 2011, 2012... Scary!

I might have touched on my family in past posts, but since my youngest niece was born (I only have two) I'm officially obsessed with them! My roommate is thoroughly disgusted with this doting aunt! I go into toy stores to see what would make the biggest mess in my sister's home, I mean see what Lizzie and Kenna would enjoy right now... I look at all the little girl clothes and wonder how much threatening it would take to get my sister to send me a picture of them in the cute clothes I buy them... I spend my spare time thinking of where to take them next summer when I get to kidnap them (with permission of course!) for two weeks... I look at pictures I have of them and as soon as I'm done I call or Facebook my sister to whine until she promises me new pictures... I meet someone new and within minutes they know who Lizzie and Kenna are and have seen at least three pictures... I buy a lot of useless things intending to make it into something awesome for them so they'll think I'm the best auntie ever! Yeah, like I said, I'm just a little obsessed. But you would be too if they were your cute, adorable, big-blue-eyed and blonde haired little nieces with smiles that melt your heart and voices that hurt your ear until Lizzie says "Hug, Coley?" or "I love you, Coley" and then you turn into syrup! Yep, you would be too...

Umm, what else... I'm quite excited to go see my eye doctor on Thursday! Is that a little weird? My eyes see double often, like the two eyes that I have do not want to cooperate and let my brain combine the two pictures or is it my brain punishing me for having to use it in school that's keeping the images my eyes send it separate...? Good question! Anyway, this trip is going to go by very fast, I'm only in my hometown for a little over 48 hours this time... Tomorrow morning my mom and I are going to breakfast with a couple that come into her restaurant a lot. The husband is Deaf and the wife signs and ASL (American Sign Language) was my absolutely favorite class this past semester and I just kept going on and on and on about how much I liked it and signing to anyone and everyone who wouldn't get mad at me. You like how many "ands" I managed to get in there? So yes, breakfast in the morning, tears in the evening, and better sight the next morning (I hope)!

Everything is still as boring as ever here in my life, but for some reason, there's a lot of laughter and fun... I think I might have to look up the definition of boring because I could have sworn that work, school, homework, and sleep would count towards that style of a mundane life... Guess just not if I'm in the picture! :-D

Instructions for making milk go UP your nose, as opposed to OUT of it!

I was estatic today when my roommate arrived home. She was... blessed... to be the first person to have to deal with me after getting off my four-day shift. I suppose she didn't HAVE to deal with me, she probably could've found a way to escape, but I have a sneaking suspicion she actually enjoyed laughing at my derlious state.

You see, having only been in contact with people on the job these last 96 hours, I think I went a little... crazy...? Added to that is the fact that I have not actually been home since Thursday, July 22nd, I hope you can now see why I might've lost a bit more than usual of my mind. It's been a crazy (almost) two weeks and as much as I'd like to say I can't wait for it to finally slow down, it will only get even more insane when I start school in three weeks! Aish (my favorite sound of frustration :-D ).

So the first thing Melissa receives upon entering our apartment is a demand to take me to go pick up the pizza! After picking up the pizza and grabbing a couple slices (why wait till you get home?) we decided to nix the planned movie at the theater and spend a night vegging at home. She had this anime she wanted to pick up from FRY's electronics, so off we go again, still munching pizza. Before we even got to the freeway, I exclaimed with such fervent passion, "I need milk!!!!" (Odd as you may think it, I love milk with my pizza.) She immediately bursts into laughter then explains that it's too late. Being in the wonderful, acquiescing mood I was in, I continue with, "No, turn here, there's a Save-Mart on the corner of Auburn, I can get milk there!" She laughs, again, and follows my directions (still eating, you guessed it, pizza).

Having left the pizza box in the car (shock!) and acquiring my milk and a soda for Melissa, I decide we should completely gorge during our vegging night. My weapon of choice? Melon... LOL, three melons- a watermelon, a cantaloupe and an orange-fleshed honey dew, and I had full intentions to eat (almost) all of it. I don't remember when fruit was considered pigging out, but I think the amount of which I chose had something to do with my justification that my melons could hold up in a gorge-fest just as well as candy or ice cream or cookies! Satisfied that I didn't want anything else from the store (at the moment) I paid for our stuff and back to our pizza box, I mean car we went. I opened my (half-gallon) of milk and proceed to drink it straight from the jug. *Now for those looking at my bad manners, I had full intentions of doing this when I bought it, and I refuse to pay $1.89 for a pint of milk when I can get a half-gallon for the same price! So there! :-P *

Melissa pulls out of our parking space, I'm still chugging. "Brake check!" Sudden stop. Milk UP my nose, on my shirt and on the pizza box (holding fort on my lap), courtesy of Melissa Diane Munoz... Now the whole world knows, it's her fault! LOL Man, she was laughing so hard! I looked in her visor mirror and had to laugh myself. The bottom half of my face had a 2% milk facial, and there was nothing in her car to clean it up with... I pondered aloud why my friends thought that I was a good specimen for their practical jokes... The reason we concluded is that I'll still be friends with the pranksters even after they completely ruin whatever moment I'm in... Oh well, it was seriously funny. I should've taken a picture, but I'm not that desperate for embarrassing proof of my end of the jokes.



We walk around FRY's with the computer geeks and get home just so I could flop on my couch (she has her couches, and I have mine... Meaning we have three couches in our apartment!). I'm sure we were home to accomplish the whole vegging thing, but I didn't want to put the effort into putting in a movie or getting more food, so the couch it was! I realize that to eat my melons I needed tools! So my good serv..err..sport of a friend followed my instructions to, "Get me a knife, melon baller and a cutting board!" Melissa, "That didn't sound like a command at all." Me, "Oh! Please! There. Thank you!" Yeah... Looking back I think I can see why she wants to "milk" me sometimes... Sigh, alas, I couldn't finish my melons... Not even one actually, but I impressed myself with eating a whole half of one by myself! :-)



So after vegging for a bit more I realize it's not dark yet and we have time to go for a walk! Poor Melissa is again told to get ready, and even tho there's a bit more complaining she's still a good sport! I grab my camera thinking I'd snap a few pics along the way as I'm always admiring how pretty God's creation is. I thought I'd be able to do this because in our past walks I've always out walked Melissa by quite a bit... Come to find it must've been because of her bad shoes (she borrowed my running shoes tonight)... I have rather short legs, especially in comparison to her (5'5" vs 5'9" here) She kept going and going and going (I didn't even see a pink bunny...?) I was trying to get pics while also trying to keep up with her long stride... Rather amusing outcomes if you ask me! I eventually ended up running ahead to take a pic or taking one and then running to catch up... Well, I did say I wanted to start running... LOL Some of the pics I took while running are quite... interesting. It made me think of "Yes Man" when Zoey Deschanel leads that group that runs and takes pictures... It's EXACTLY what I did! :-P


Walking and taking a picture...

Same...

And dido again... (I really like this!)

Melissa liked this rose, I stopped for this pic (No Way!!! :-P)

Another pretty flower!

Yay!

I think I like roses...

LOL, I WAS running while this was taken

The sunset from our apartments...

All in all, a very good evening, and for as demanding as I was, Melissa said she thinks she was able to laugh at my antics more than I was able to boss her around. Sometimes my mouth just won't stop... I babbled WAY more than once tonight... So I 'll stop here before YOU have to put up with it. :-D