A year ago today...

Today one of my very best friends left for Israel. Kerry is going with the same foundation that I traveled with last year, at this exact time. 

Chelsey, I and Kerry- Summer '12
After this week, all three of us will have
 traveled to Israel with the Ferguson Foundation! 

I am so excited for her I can barely stand it. That trip really changed my life. Speaking of which, I really need to finish blogging my stories. I mean it's only been a whole year. 

A year ago today, while I was packing for Israel, I received my rejection letter from CofO, which led to this terrible post. Looking back now, I was a wreck ha! 

It's crazy that 1- a year has already passed and so much has happened and 2- God knew where I was supposed to go to college and His ways are always better than mine. That's a whole other post tho :)

Tonight: NAIA games and my first shift back at Cold Stone since last summer!! 

It's OK Thursday

It's OK that:

*I'm still not packed for Israel. working on it as i write 

*I'm crying because I got my rejection letter from CofO today.

*I sent out texts to my closet friends letting them know. gosh dang i wanted to go to school there SO bad!

*I'm obsessed with this website!

*I'm nervous about flying 20+ hours tomorrow

*I won't be blogging for 2 weeks!

*I didn't set up any guest bloggers. oopsies!

*I'm not excited about going to Evangel for college.

*I really don't know what I'm going to do for my future

*I've emotionally drained 

Monday Randoms:

Oh hello Monday. I haven't missed you. At all actually. The weekend flew by and then blink, back to Monday again. *sigh* Have y'all entered my giveaway yet? 1 more week!! 

~I started losing my voice over the weekend at the conference. Between shouting and having fun, as well as little sleep, I think my immune system was shot. I woke up this morning with a headache, stuffy nose, cough, and no voice! I think losing my voice is the hardest thing! :( 


~A bunch of my bloggy friends are headed to Blissdom this week! I'm so excited for them and secretly wishing I was going! It looks like a blast!  


~On a happier note, I started the 78 days of thankfulness with my friend Addie, that I've mentioned before! I was really being whiny last week and kept mentioning my graduation countdown and how fast I wanted it to come. I've just hit that point of being over high school. I'm ready to be DONE! Addie came up with this idea that everyday, I text her something I'm thankful for, and she texts me back something she is thankful for. We'll do this for 78 days until graduation! I know it sounds silly, but it's been a fun way to get my mind off constantly wanting the time to pass faster! I'm learning to find little things that I'm thankful for :)


~I went into Victoria's Secret and for the first time (i know it's bad!!), I got fitted! I mean I had a general idea but I wanted to know for sure! The girls there were so sweet, even though I was completely self conscious of my flat self. I'll be rocking the 34A from here on out! 



~I'm anxiously awaiting hearing anything from CofO! The priority deadline was February 15th and I got in ALL my paperwork before then. Now I just wait and wait until I hear something. It's killing me and teaching me some patience. I know that God is in control and I'm supposed to trust that, but I would like an answer!

~My sweet grandpa, Pop-Pop, is sending me a check to help me pay for my israel expenses and buy some souvenirs while I'm there! It was totally unexpected and completely a blessing! 

~I'm beginning to look at senior picture ideas and outfits! If y'all see anything cute or something I might like, feel free to email me or comment! I'm getting excited!

~I have another 5 minute speech due this Friday in class. I'm so nervous. I've already done 2 or 3 this semester and have 2-3 left. I love talking and chatting with people, but I hate getting up in front of class. It scares me so bad!! 

~I'm hoping to run week 7 of C25K! I'm really hoping this sickness leaves and quickly! I can't afford to lose any motivation!! I did get a new pair of Nike's on Friday and I LOVE them :) I can't wait to use them! 

I might have a bit longer of a brain dump, but my head is clearly congested, and need to rest up! Oh and Happy President's Day!! 

It's OK Thursday

It's OK:

*i had to skip my 5K workout tonight because I'm sick! boo :(

*that i'm SO excited that I leave for Israel in 1 month!!!

*i only had 4 hours of sleep last night

*i LOVE being with addie

*i wear my heart on my sleeve

*to be nervous/excited about hearing from CofO this month!

*that today is my 1 year blogoversary and I'm not doing anything special

*this is my 100th blog post and still nothing special

*i want a hot shower, comfy clothes, and my bed stat!

Happy Thursday Y'all!

Monday Randoms

~I am SO excited today! I met yesterday afternoon with the founders and the leaders for my Israel trip, which by the way is in 32 days!!! I leave for Israel in 32 days! Like I fly out of the country on 3 different flights and will be in Israel 10 entire days! Yesterday we talked about everything. All of the little details like packing, food, clothes, travel/security, roommates etc! I can't believe that out of all of the Seniors that go, I'm going with 12 other people, from all over the country, one of them being my best friend! :) I'm starting to make a list of what to pack etc! I'm sure you will be hearing alot about this trip this month!

~Speaking of which, if y'all have any packing/travel suggestions for international travel please do share! The last time I was on a plane was when I was 6 and I don't remember a thing. clearly.

~My 1 year blogoversary is in 3 days! cray cray!

~My friend Molly had her bridal shower on Saturday night! It was SO fun! She is the first friend that is my age to get married. I can't believe it. March 3rd is coming up quick!

~Speaking of which, I'm taking my ACT, again, on Saturday. fail. i don't ever want to take it again. ever. but i am. so please pray for me. and send me good vibes.

~I'm on week 6 of C25K! I'm doing it! baby steps. 20 minute runs begin all this week.

~After a paperwork mess-up on my FAFSA, and some new paperwork from CofO, my paperwork is finally all turned in. Waiting really is the hardest part. I just want answers asap.

~The weather is back to typical winter weather again. 30's-40's today. We got spoiled with it being in the 60's last week. :( boo!!

~My friend Arielle from CofO took me to Cold Stone last week! we had some much needed girl time and catching up to do. annnnd we ordered the same thing: cake batter with cookie dough. boom.

~I gave my 4 minute narrative speech in class on Friday. I didn't faint but I was super nervous! 2 speeches down, 4 to go! I mean i love people and all, but standing up in front of everybody giving a speech is not my cup of tea.

~Graduation plans are getting finalized! we have a location, colors, and a speaker (i think)! yay! 88 days! whoop!! I'm trying not to be too excited but I'm ready! I'm trying to enjoy life and take in every single moment but sometimes I really do want time to fly. I have to remind my self to treasure each moment.

Monday Randoms

*big brain dump ahead*

~I'm back from Kansas City! Our varsity team from church went up to KC to complete in "olympics". We left Friday afternoon and got back late last night. My weekend was filled with lots of pictures, tons of snacks and eating out, uncontrollable gut laughter, and taking 4th place. Not too shabby :)

~Friday morning, my dad completed my FAFSA and set it off to CofO and Evangel. I didn't think all the necessary paperwork would be received/done it time, but we got all of it and it's DONE! Such a relief! Now I wait and see what happens! CofO's priority deadline is February 15th. That is where I really want to go to college. Waiting is the hardest part.

~I officially completed week 4 of C25K last week! I'm half way there. Crazy. I'm finally getting my endurance up and will begin longer runs this week. I think I can. I think I can. I'm actually starting to enjoy running, something I NEVER thought I'd say.

~The high today is 65 degrees. Branson has had one of the mildest winter's I can remember. I think this calls for a run outside this afternoon :)

~I haven't worked since Black Friday weekend at the ziplines. I miss it like terrible. I miss my 2nd family. I miss my big brothers. I miss taking pictures of crazy tourists. I miss answering the phone a thousand times a day. I miss driving the ATVs. I miss eating Jimmy Johns 6 days a week. I miss watching the sunset over the zipline towers. March come quickly!!

~I have been doing a ton of homework for my Israel trip. I've been researching major cities, religions, and other important information. It's coming up so fast. In 39 days I'll be boarding a plane and flying halfway across the world. It's still so surreal to me.

~One of my childhood friends, had a sweet baby boy last week. I've known her since I was 4 years old. I'm 18 and she's 21 now. I can't believe that she is married and starting a family. After 30+ hours of labor, Winston Daniel made his arrival. I'm so happy for her!

~Speaking of marriage and children, I've had several friends get engaged recently. I have 7 weddings on the calendar and I'm sure there will be more. I on the other hand, am happily enjoying my singleness. That will be another post soon.

~On a more serious note, I've really been realizing how fragile life is; how special and priceless it is and how much I really take it for granted. One of my friend's cousin passed away last night in NY. It happened so fast and it is heartbreaking for me to watch her grieve like this. If you think of her, please pray for K today. Then yesterday, one of my guy friends was in a car accident with his mom. They are ok, but the car is totaled. I saw both of them yesterday morning and hugged them goodbye, not having a clue what events would happen later in the day. I hugged my family a little bit tighter last night.

~I'm so excited for my new link-up tomorrow! Top 10 Tuesday! First off, will be Top 10 Foods we love. Easy and fun! Be sure to link-up!

~Saw this quote and loved it: once you realize your mess can become your ministry, you actively look for ways to provide security and protection for others with that struggle.

~Cait has an awesome giveaway this week! make sure to go check it out!

Happy Monday Lovelies!

Dare to Dream

Melissa, over at The View from Five Two , is talking about Voicing your Dreams today! This post was really perfect timing for me. I'm at some major crossroads in my life right now. I'm a senior in highschool, i'm applying for colleges etc etc etc In fact, this afternoon I had my big admissions interview at College of the Ozarks, CofO. Michael, my interviewer, asked alot about me, my character, values, family, and my dreams! I love when I have the opportunity to share my dreams with people. It's not something that I'm open about because I'm scared. I'm scared of the unknown, of failing, of people thinking less of me, and of it not happening. This part in Melissa's post really hit home.

However, sometimes I'm not completely honest with myself. I don't voice my goals and dreams. I tend to bury big dreams way down deep, so that if I never attain them, then it's no big deal. No one will ever know that I never reached my dreams, because they never knew what those dreams were. Often, I tell myself I'm not good enough for those dreams, I'm not good enough to ever reach them. I tell myself that my dreams are for people who are better, smarter, more creative, etc. etc. etc. than me.

This post literally could not have come at more perfect timing. I'm scared about voicing my dreams. I really have been. But today, I was challenged to share some of my dreams with you. I'm being very bold here :) I have two big dreams in life. They are vastly different. I'm really not sure where they came from, but just pieced together over time I guess. Here we go....

My first dream is:

I've been applying for International Business to some different colleges. I'd love to live in a big city, and work for a big business corporation. Cute clothes, car, phone, a little penthouse overlooking the city. I would love to travel the world and visit some beautiful places in Europe, while being a successful business lady! This sounds crazy but business is what I love. It's what I'm good at and what I enjoy doing!

Dream Two:

My other options I've thrown around, using a business degree would be working with a ministry, such as Convoy of Hope, YWAM, etc and do the business work. I've always wanted to go to Thailand and work with a human trafficking ministry. In fact, there is a really cool program through YWAM Thai, called Business as a Mission (BAM). It allows you to take classes in business, marketing, planning, accounting etc all with a missions focus.

I know that these two dreams are vastly different but they are two things that I've thought about. In fact, my Thailand dream will be one that I will be blogging about in the near future, a 2012 resolution :)

Thank-you for allowing me to share tonight!

Tonight, this is what

I'm going leaving you with!

Another fav :)

Happy Friday Everybody!

Love,

It's OK Thursdays

Today, I'm linking up with Cait and talking about It's OK. This is my first time participating and i'm very excited!

* That my senior year is flying by. My 1st semester of high school is almost done

* My CofO interview is tomorrow which is the final step in the admission process

* It was 55 degrees in Branson yesterday

* I'll be 18 in one week

* I leave for Israel in 85 days

* I graduate in 142 days

* I have my graduation party planned. Date, location, and invites done.

* That somedays my hair goes into a ponytail.

* I have less sleep because it means staying up late with the people I love the most

* I have over 50 Christmas movies at my house to watch

* That I've had Starbucks 6+ times in the past 10 days

What are you ok with?

Happy Thursday!

Monday Randoms

~My big news of the week: I am going to Israel!!!!!!!!!! I am SO excited! I will be going for 10 days in March of 2012. God continues to provide and open the most amazing doors for me. Simply Blessed. I'll be doing a full post soon!

~My other big news: I colored my hair! See full post here!! I LOVE it :) shout out to Addie!!

~ I got rid of all of my "bad music" this week. I'll explain in full detail soon. Addie challenged me to start praying in the car instead of listening to music. So not only did I stop listening to music, I got rid of alot too. I'm s-l-o-w-l-y starting to see some change.... Thankful for a Savior who doesn't give up on me. Relentless I'd say.

~It's been raining here. alot. Fall is leaving. Winter is coming.

~Saturday I worked at the Ziplines. We are opening our 2nd location, Moto Zip this week!!! I'm SO excited. I get to work a little on Wednesday to get the feel for the new location. Maybe I'll get to try it out :)

~Thanksgiving is coming!! Holla!! I'm also excited about this! College kids coming down, family, friends, cousins, late nights, coffee, FOOD, laughing, shopping, ooo it's going to be SO fun!!!

~I work 20 hours in a day and a half! Black Friday!! I'm showing severe self control and not shopping. Heaven help me!

~I finished sending in all of my paperwork to CofO today!! Now I wait and wait.

I'm so excited for this week! I will try and write and post pictures! One more day of school, then break!!! SO happy :) sleeping in will be oh so wonderful!

Happy Monday Ya'll!

Love,

Monday Randoms

***Remember, this is the last day to enter the Christmas Ornament Exchange! There is already over 100 participants. It is going to be so much fun! I will post partners on Wednesday

~Last Monday, we went to the EU at CofO basketball game. CofO played awesome. Evangel did not. Of course I would be wearing my EU hoodie. Walk.of.shame.

~Youth last Wednesday was incredible! Keith Chancey spoke from Kanakuk Institute and it was on trusting the Lord through our struggles. That.really.hit.home. I'll be sharing in my part 2 of to trust Him more.

~The weather here today is gorgeous. It is about 70 degrees and sunny! Feels like spring. I took a nap with the windows open yesterday. Perfection.

~This weekend we had our youth fall retreat, SHINE! Our guest speaker was Jeremy "Bub" Thomas, and we had an amazing guest band lead us in worship every session. The food was yummy, the friends and the small group talks were a blessing, paintball was slightly painful, but a blast! (I DO have some nasty welts to prove it), and our leaders/host homes were awesome!! There were many points to take home. My favorite three were: 1-Remove your old, dirty clothes. 2-Put your sin to death, once and for all and 3-Clothe yourself with righteousness, kindness, humility, and compassion. Colossians 3:12. This was probably my most memorable fall retreat, and my last :(

Here is our group!

This was for a photo content on 11/11/11 at 11:11pm

~Today is my grandpa's birthday. I sure love him :)

~I'm SO excited about Thanksgiving. Only 10 more days! I can't wait to have our house filled with college kids, family, and friends. It is one of my favorite times of year!!

~Speaking of counting down, only 40 days till Christmas, 38 days till my 18th birthday, and 173 days till graduation!!! Can u tell I'm excited?!

I'm off to enjoy this beautiful day! :)

Happy Monday,

Love,

Ten Truths for Tuesday

1-I'm hungry all the time. I mean it's bad. I eat breakfast, then I want a snack. I eat lunch. I'm hungry at 2 again. Time for another snack! Dinner time, I eat alot. I usually have a snack before dinner. If I stay up really late, I have a 4th meal. It's a vicious cycle.

2-I love rain. I hate thunder. It's raining today. It's so peaceful sitting here listening to the rain. Then all of the sudden CRACK! BOOM! SHAKE! It thunders really loudly, and I cover my ears.

3-I really dislike making my bed. I really do. I'd rather vacuum my room. But even that does not happen often enough.

4- I have a slight obsession with Ebay. I recently cleaned out my closet, and listed a bunch of stuff on Ebay. I made alot of money, which meant I spent alot of money, and time looking.

5-Remember how I said I eat a lot? Well, Saturday at work I packed my lunch. I actually packed my lunch, and remembered to take it. Score! I packed a hot pocket actually. I get to work, and I'm hungry. Surprise! I'm given a piece of pizza (meat lovers, the kind with bacon, sausage, pepperoni, ham, extra cheese), a large fry from Wendy's and a bunch of leftover Halloween candy. I ate it all. All of it.

6-Fries. I love french fries. I love dipping them in BBQ sauce or ranch. My favorite fries are from Fuddruckers or the natural cut with sea salt from Wendy's! But fries are not good for me and I shouldn't eat them.

7-Because I eat all of this wonderful err awful food, I have to go to the gym. I should go more often, but I don't. I don't like walking on the treadmill or elliptical. We have a love-hate relationship. Stronger on the hate, than the love.

8-I have a countdown to graduation. Several of them actually. 1-7-9 days! SO excited.

9- I really am craving some Cold Stone ice cream right now. Coffee with Heath Bar or Cake Batter with Cookie Dough. I miss it. I miss summer.

10-Last night I went to the Evangel at CofO basketball game. Here is my dilemma. My dad went to Evangel. My mom went to Evangel. My brother goes to Evangel. Almost my entire family goes to Evangel. I just got accepted to Evangel!! Naturally, I would be an EU fan. But, I really like CofO. I really would like to go to college there. But I have NO Bobcat/CofO clothes. So, I wore my EU hoodie. I think I was the only one there with an EU hoodie. And wouldn't you know? Evangel played awful and lost by a whole lotta points. FAIL.

What about you? Tell me your truths for Tuesday.

Sunday Randoms... on Monday

~ My friend, Emily, came from Delaware this week. We had a b-l-a-s-t- catching up, going on walks, laughing, eating, and staying up late! I love her. I'm really going to miss her!!

~When Emily was here, we watched To Save a Life! If you haven't seen it yet, you need to. It will open up your eyes.

~I had a movie night at CofO with my friend Becca! We watched chick-flicks and ate double stuff OREO's!! My kind of night!

~I worked at the ziplines for the morning shift on Saturday! It was our busiest day for reservations yet! Almost 300!! It almost feels like summer. *sigh*

~ My friends leave for a 10 day trip to Israel in 16 days! SO excited for them!!

~New LOVE = Ebay. Addicted!

~Fall Nail Polish! Love it!! Here is a fun little quiz on your polish style :)

~Yesterday, we had a Photoclub! This assignment was to take pictures of maps! (I'll try to post pictures soon). We spend half our time at the Rec-Plex, and the other time at Stockstill Park!

~Last night was an amazing concert!! Kutless, Newsong, Anthem Lights, and Dara McClean. SO, SO good! My favorite was Kutless though! They sang alot of my favorite songs too! I couldn't hear, and couldn't speak ;)

~ The weather has been beautiful. Perfect for long walks, and talks.

~ 68 days till Christmas. Justin Biebs comes out with his Christmas Album! I'm excited, not going to lie ;)

~ 207 days till graduation. Almost there, well not really!

Happy Monday,

Love,

Sunday Randoms

~ I'm SO excited that Jenn is almost done my blog design! I got a little sneak peak and i LOVE it! She does amazing work!

~ Yesterday Evangel had their homecoming. Actually it's been going on for the past 3 days. I went up with my Dad on Friday night. He gave me an excluesive tour of the Buisiness Department, and the new Academic Buildings. It is a gorgeous campus! I went to Gab-Fest with him and met alot of his alumni friends, and ate way too much good food :)

~Speaking of Evangel, my brother was on the homecoming court! He looked so handsome! I'll be doing an entire post on that this week! Evangel played a great football game. The Final Score was 23 to 17! GO EU!!

~College Football!! My Sooners beat Texas, or should i say CREAMED Texas! Great game! Boomer!!

~ I worked at Adventure Ziplines last night! It was so pretty outside. The perfect picture taking weather :) I also worked today! The guides affectionately call me picture/camera girl! Love them :)

~I sent my test scores into CofO and Evangel this week! I'm praying and crossing my fingers.

~I ate a pickle last night. A whole dill pickle, and it was wonderful! :)

~My friend Emily is coming in town this week! I'm SO excited to see her! She moved away this spring and I miss her alot!! We both started blogging at the same time. I've loved having someone to blog with and throw around ideas!

~I'm considering deactivating facebook for a little while! I'm addicted to it and spend way to much time on it. still throwing around the idea! I will miss it ;)

~ Our new youth pastors are doing great! I've said this before, but I really do love them! Our youth attendance is now 70-80+ on wednesday nights. Woo-hoo!! We broke off into 5 different teams. I'm on the Student Serve Team. We brainstormed tonight and got to know everybody!

~Today at church, we had a reception for Mark and Erin to welcome them! They had the best chocolate chip cookies. I ate w-a-y- t-o-o- many ;)