Shingles

I have shingles.

It absolutely sucks.

Until this week, I'd only heard of shingles and I thought only old people got shingles. Apparently not. 

I went to the school nurse thinking that I had a bad head cold/hives and it turned out I had shingles.

I'm on a strong anti-viral medicine, along with vitamins, Sudaphed, and Aleve. When I take my meds 3x a day, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like a granny. Heck, people in the caf thought I was a pill popper! hahahah  

It'll take about 2-4 weeks for it to run its course, which means I'm have them over my birthday and Christmas, while I'm in Florida :(

As much as this upsets me, it could be much worse.

There is girl that goes to school with me and she had a stroke about a month ago. She is undergoing some serious health complications. Brittany is in the hospital right now. 

Visit her Facebook page here! :)

This blog post was written by one of our EU student bloggers!

This semester I've been learning alot about perspective. This is one of those times that is uncomfortable, but I'm trying to make the best of the situation and try not to complain. I've been following along Brittany's facebook page and as I read her dad's updates, I can't help but feel thankful for my health. That I can walk, talk, see, and hear without complications. For that, I am very thankful.

Midterms? Check!!

My first ever week of college midterms are OVER!

RELIEF!!

It feels so good to walk out of a midterm and know that you worked your butt off studying! The hardest part is waiting to hear my grade. 


This week I learned that:

Studying someplace new (library, coffee shop) really helps me focus better, rather than studying in my room so much.

After studying, studying, and more studying, sleep is very important. Get as much of it as you can!

Healthy meals and snacks are far better than junk food. Definitely helps keep me focused when I don't have a headache. 

Exercise is the best stress reliever, or one of them anyway.

Going off campus for a few hours and getting away is sometimes the perfect thing. This week I ran down to Branson with my roommate and saw one of my sisters volleyball games. It was so nice to see my family really quick and get my mind off things.

Everybody gets stressed. Don't take it personal when they take things out on you. 

One.more.day of classes then I'm going home!! wooo hooo!!

Happy almost weekend!!!

Emily 

Midterms

First official week of college midterms. 

Study.Class.Study.Study.Eat.Class.Class.Study.Study.Study.Dinner.Study.Study.Study.Study.

ONE.MORE.LEFT.

I'm excited to be going HOME this weekend for fall break!! 

Two WHOLE days without classes. A 4 day weekend.

Hard work will pay off. For now, I've gotta go finish stuDYING

What I've learned: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Freshmeat 

College 

One of the most incredible times. One of the most terrifying times. I've learned so much and I've only been here over a month. 

I've been meaning to do a braindump and write about all the crazy memories that I've already made, but my life has been cray. 

School: Some teachers are awesome, like total rockstars. They let us out of class early, make jokes in class, and declare Friday, Youtube Friday. Other classes having me wanting to shoot myself. Loooooong boring lectures and homework in large ungodly doses.

Workstudy: I interviewed for several workstudy jobs in August. I was hired to be the Office Assistant one of the guys' dorms. The athletic dorm. I'm not complaining. I love my job. I meet lots of super attractive athletic studs people. Need I say more? I got lucky for sure.

Sleep: Naps in the middle of the day are quite possibly the best thing about college. Ok I'm kidding, but seriously, it's awesome. I get back from class at around 11, and I don't have another class till 1. Snooze time! This just really makes up for the few hours of sleep I get every night. 

Dorm Life: It's like a giant sleepover every night. Enough said. 

My RA: Katie Baker. She's awesome! I love going into her room and having heart to heart talks with her. 

Friends: I LOVE all the people that I'm meeting! I love all the memories that I'm making. Embarrassing, funny, serious, awkward. 

Family: It's so weird calling/texting my parents during the day and not being able to talk with them in person. But I'm learning so much being away from home and I'm only an hour away. My mom bribes me with homemade food and free laundry :)

Fresh Elections!

Merry! My floor big sister :) seriously love her!

Big Sister/Little Sister Floor Dates

My life is crazy. Blogging will be at a minimum, but I'm completely ok with that. I love my life. I'm so blessed. I'll try to update every once in a while.

Oxox,

Emily 

First Few Days

where do I begin? There has been so many memories already. Good, funny, embarrassing....

Friday: Moved in, met my roommate/suitemates. First meal in the caf, met some of my professors, worship at sunset and ice cream on the lawn.

Saturday: We listened to some student panels, and then we headed out to Convoy of Hope and we bagged rice! It actually was a ton of fun!!! Our team bagged enough rice for 60,000 meals for their hunger program. 

Saturday night we had a comedian and then coffee in the Joust. I'm trying to meet new people and get connected. baby steps.

Sunday: Chapel service for all incoming freshman and my fam! BBQ lunch and then came the sad part. goodbye :( yes I know my house is only an hour away, but still. My family prayed for me and then hugged me goodbye. I did okay until my dad hugged me. He teared up. I am his little girl! We are so close.

Sunday night we watched started watching Avengers, and then ended up going to Walmart and buying snacks. Yes that happened. 

Monday we had a ton of sessions for academic prep, EU student life etc etc etc. Last night, we went downtown and ate at this cute little bistro, shopped a little. Our night ended with watching a massive fight on the square that ended up with us calling the cops, an ambulance, cussing and some blood. Cray cray. 

Today, we had our first chapel, and now we have chill time until a dorm meeting and activities on the lawn. Yes I understand these types of posts are long and boring, but I'm trying to remember all the little details.


Here are some funnies:

Tessa (suitemate) "It's OK everybody's butthole stinks" In response to me telling her we needed Febreeze in the bathroom. Classy

"I have a VI" (va jay jay itch)

Me: "Tessa look I found this earring in your cupholder" Tessa: EWWW!! It's sticky!! *proceeds to chuck the earring out her window, while driving" hahaha


Every night has ended on the couch with Jenae, watching Pretty Little Liars! I'm hooked!!

I'm off to lunch!!

oxox,

Emily 

It's OK Thursday

It's OK to be anxious about leaving for college

It's OK to hate that your best friends are going to colleges far away. Like 25+ hours away

It's OK to STILL not have all my dorm stuff

It's OK to think that a Brita water filter is a must!!

It's OK to love talking with my roommate and get excited by the fact she's bringing Zumba dvd's to school

It's OK to be ticked that I won't have a car for my freshman year

It's OK to be in love with my comforter, one of the only things I've bought so far.

It's OK to be a little bit excited that I'll be in the only co-ed dorm on campus

oxox,

Emily 

WILW

~I'm loving that I received an unexpected scholarship this week!!! I'm SO happy and thankful and blessed!!!

~I'm loving that in less than a week, I've hit triple blog followers plus some (222, not that I'm counting :)

~I'm loving that I haven't had to work a double all week

~I'm loving only working 50 hours all week and not 80. shoooot me.

~I'm loving all the rain we've had this week. Branson needed it!


~I'm loving the phone call I got from one of my guy friends this morning right before he took off for El Sal for 3 weeks.

~I'm loving Neely, for hosting such an amaze balls intro and giveaway for my blog!! She rocks!

~I'm loving that I'm starting a new link-up and y'all should be really excited!!! It'll make your Monday a whole lot better :)

~I'm loving on my Sperrys today! They are so comfy and perfect for work.

~I'm loving that I haven't used my debit card in 10 days and I'm saving up more money for college


~I'm loving that my best friend gets back from Africa 4 days sooner than planned :)


~I'm loving the lake days planned for this week with besties


~I'm loving that my roommate and I have so much in common! We talk all the time :)


~I'm loving my dark, dark hair today


~I'm loving that I was up till 2:30 talking with my mama last night. That never happens


~I'm loving oversized t-shirts to sleep in


What are you loving today?


oxox,


Emily 

Friday Letters: Dear Emily in 3 years

Dear Emily,


In three years, you will be just finishing your junior year of college. You only have one year of accounting school left; it's the final countdown. 


Are you living fully where you are at? Are you living in each and every moment? Are you learning and growing in each and every experience thrown your way?


Are you doing all the fun activities you wanted to do when you were a freshman? Football games, formals, intermurals, and dorm events? 


Are you doing fun, memorable things with friends like late nights, coffee breaks, lunch dates and an occasional shopping trip?


Am you still studying hard like you promised Pop-Pop on high school graduation day? Are you striving to get A's and a couple B's? Are you keeping your GPA up to receive the scholarships you need to graduate without tons of student loans?


Are you dating anyone? If so, are you being careful, wise, but also having fun? If not, are you remembering to keep the attitude you had in high school? You promised yourself you wouldn't settle for anyone less than what you deserved. Are you being true to yourself? 


Have you crossed anything off your bucket list? Have you taken fun roadtrips with friends yet? Have your traveled internationally again?


Did you try to get an internship or shadowing job? Are you trying to expand your boundaries? Are you beginning to think where you would apply for a job? 


Did you get plugged into a church you love? Are you still following Christ with everything you have? Are you making daily time for Him? Are you serving Him fully?


Remember the words of Addie, that she wrote in your graduation guest book! "You can never be moved if you are anchored in the Lord. And remember wherever you are at, be there fully."

Monday Randoms

~On Friday morning, I headed up to Evangel for EU-24 (a glorified campus visit). It was better than I was expecting. It was non-stop and so much fun. I sat in on 2 classes, met several professors, ate in the cafeteria (ewws), tailgate party and football game, bonfire, taco bell at midnight and met TONS of people. I'm beginning to get a little excited! 


~I need to balance my checkbook. It hasn't been done in 2 months. Fail


~I ordered my silver glitter TOMS last week. They are supposed to be here by Wednesday and I am SO excited! 

~I'm obsessed with Instagram. I love that droid users can use it now too. I'm not a professional by any means, so I enjoy putting fun filters on my pictures and sharing them. If you are on IG, look me up (emilyduncan) and I'll follow you back!


~Branson's weather has been weird here. It is colder in April than it was in March. It was 80+ degrees then and now it's in the 50's. I'm ready for warmer weather, but not too hot because my AC still isn't fixed!


~Neely is hosting another giveaway!  There are 18 ways to enter! 

 

~I'm thinking about getting a blog re-design this summer, before I go to college. Maybe something a little more modern and changing my name to The Fate from Five 8. Who knows....


~Yesterday Briggs had his birthday party. He turned 5. I've mentioned him and his older brother before. I've known them since they were babies. In fact, their mom was our babysitter when we moved to Branson 10 years ago! He had a beach themed party and it was too fun! He requested cookies and red velvet cake! He is such a hoot! 


~Graduation is in 11 days. Weeee!


I've got to go work on ACT prep, grad slideshows, party arrangements.......


If you don't hear from me in a while....send help!

It's OK Thursday

It's ok that:

~I'm nervous about my campus visit to evangel tomorrow!

~I'm stressing about taking my ACT a 4th time

~I'm ready to graduate, as I say every single week (16 days!!!!)

~I have senioritus

~I bought myself a pair of silver glitter TOMS for graduation

~I've been in a blogging funk all month week

~I think the Willy Wonka tweets are hilarious

~I love entering giveaways, like Neely's Sephora giveaway

Happy Thursday!

I have to go pack!

monday randoms

yes. i need to do a braindump. i have alot going on. expect random blog posts this month week. heck i have a graduation party to plan, invites to design, and all the little nitty details. fun. 


~The AC is still out in my car. expect to see me have wind-blown hair the rest of the summer.


~I'm heading to Evangel for a campus visit this weekend. Pray I fall-in-love with the campus because there will be serious problems if I don't. Heck I'm paying alot of money to go there and I want to love my dorm, campus, fill in the blank. 


~I nannied on saturday all day. I haven't babysat or nannied in about a year. long story. anyways we had a blast. we ziplinined (perks of being the bosses kids and working at a zipline), ate Cold Stone, and I learned how to play Halo on xbox360. I was died mutilated.


~Over the weekend, we had 15 people staying at our house. I had 7 girls in my room. It seems like we have people in my house all the time. probably because we do.


~I have 4 new blog followers this week and I'm very excited! It brings my grand total to 69 lovely loyals. 


~I have a tattoo idea up my sleeve (not literally, well yet anyways) and I am SO PUMPED!!! I'm thinking white ink but not totally sure yet. 


~I'm so in love with my senior pictures and keep looking at them over and over.


~I'm working about 20 hours a week at Cold Stone. I was trained to be a shift leader. Minor details


~Whenever a friend randomly texts me and asks how she can pray for me, well it pretty much makes my month morning! Thank-you Addie for that today :) 


~18 days till graduation!! Oh and I just ordered my grad invites yesterday. judge away.


~My little broske turned 16 last week. I can't believe it. We had a blast ziplining, eating and celebrating all day. He is one of my best friends and we are so stupid together. I'm going to miss him.


I am always random which means my random brain dump could go on. and on. and on.


Happy Monday!


E


~

It's OK Thursday

It's OK that:

*I have M-A-J-O-R- senioritus! 

*I'm obsessed with my senior pictures. I can't stop looking at them! More sneaks coming soon!

*I'm saving my pennies Cold Stone tips for an ENO hammock.

*I just colored my hair and it's only been 5 months!!

*I'm freaking out/so excited/slightly nervous because I graduate in exactly 1 MONTH!!!!!!

*I'm overly excited to be registering for classes at Evangel! 

*To be SO excited to meet Emily and love her sweet blog! She shares my name and we are the same age!! That rarely happens!

*I'm white. as in no tan at all whatsoever. I'm working on it.

*I want AC back in my car so bad!

*I'm still working on Israel recap posts! Will be up shortly as well as a slew of other blog posts!

Happy Thursday!

Emily 

Scholarship what?!

I'm just a little bit excited this morning because I got the official letter from Evangel saying I got a one time scholarship from a private donor! what?! I thought they told me just a few short weeks ago that I didn't get anything! I'm shocked!!! 

I may or may not have mumbled the words why is this so hard? I'm trying to trust God and I didn't even get into CofO and now I didn't get 2 scholarships either. How will I EVER pay for college. I found out that I got this scholarship less that 12 hours after I yelled mumbled those words. 


I'm blown away.




I also changed my major to Accounting this week.




Excuse me while I die and resurrect myself.

Happy Things

Even after a long week, I'm happy about so much today!

*I'm finally getting back on B-town time after all my jet-lag from Israel. 

*I'm at work right now. I love my jobs and I'm SO thankful for them! I'm gearing up to work doubles, which I don't mind!

*I'm at the ziplines right now, which means I'm with an all-guy crew. This means one thing. I pick the Pandora station. Winning

*Katy Perry came out with her new music video, Part of Me. I'm so obsessed. Watch it.

*Last November, I rode the motorized zipline, The Sky Surfer. Our marketing guy took some video/picture footage for the Chamber of Commerce. I didn't think anything of it, or that my pictures would get used. I came into work yesterday and saw my picture on the front of the main brochure. I felt so uhh famous. random and weird i know. whatere

i had to post. cheesy pix! 

*Tonight, there will be at LEAST 50 college kids at my house. We are having a Two for 22 birthday party for my brother and his girlfriend, who have birthdays 4 days apart. The theme is Dr. Seuss. The decor/ideas are coming along and I think it will be SO fun! pictures/blog post to follow!

*I'm in shorts right now. This makes me happy

*Spring started this week. It is my favorite season because it means summer is right around the corner. Boating, swimming, kayaking, work, ice cream, suntans/burns, shorts, flip-flops. 

*I'm just beginning to watch SMASH. What are y'all's thoughts? like, love?

*I'm obsessed with The Voice. the end

*I skyped with some of the kids from my Israel trip. I miss them so much and it's only been 5 days. I'm pathetic

*I worked at Cold Stone for the first time since September. I'd forgotten how much i LOVE their ice cream. 

*My new CHI came in the mail yesterday and I used it this morning!!! My first one melted in Israel because of a problem with the converter :(. I'll be blogging about it in my recap posts.

*I'm happy when I can defend myself, especially because I HATE being wrong. Blog story coming soon!

*I'm happy because I'm getting back into the swing of running. I took a break because I was sick. I'm excited to be training again!

*I'm scheduled a campus visit to Evangel. Let's pray and hope I fall in love with the campus.  

Happy Friday! The weekend is here!! 

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

~I finished sending in all of my paperwork to Evangel this week! My transcript is finished. I booked my graduation party at The Well too. Everything is finally coming together. Now to wait and hear....

~My friends have been in Israel all week long. They get back this afternoon. I've been reading updates and seeing some pictures. Israel looks incredible. My friend Alex got baptized in the Jordan River on Wednesday. SO cool! I don't think he will ever forget :)

~I always dislike this time of year for a couple of reasons. Both of my jobs are seasonal. If you live in Branson, the busy time is from Memorial Day to Labor Day. After that, most business happens on the weekends. It is always hard right about now because the weather turns cold, school is school, and jobs significantly slow down. Thank goodness for Pinterest and good Starbucks :)

~Not sure if any of my other Branson friends felt or heard about the Earthquake last night. Apparently it was from the 5.2 Oklahoma Earthquake, that happened yesterday. We were feeling some of the ripples I think. It was about 11pm. That is crazy to me.

~Last night we got 1 extra glorious hour of sleep!! For the first time since school started I took a Sunday nap!!

~Last night we went to the Novak's house for their annual fall party, bonfire, and hayride. SO fun! We made s'mores, roasted hotdogs, sang songs, and went on a hayride. Fall is not complete until you have partaken in these activities.

~Tonight is our fall work party/bonfire at the Ziplines. It is also a goodbye party for my manager AJ. He leaves for the army tomorrow morning. :(

~This week we had some friends over for movies, make-your-own-pizza-night, and lots of snacks :) making memories...

~On Friday I went to church to help Julie Novak cook food for our youth retreat, SHINE, this upcoming weekend! We will be fed well, that is for sure. 18 lbs of frozen chicken sliced, and 12 lbs of pasta cooked al dente for baked Ziti.

Happy Sunday!

Wordless Wednesdays: Evangel

Sunday Randoms

~Monday night, Aaron brought down a group of kids from Evangel. We had a blast! too fun! games, stories, youtube videos, laughing, and a big dinner!

~This week, the weather has been miserable! Upper 30's was the high on Tuesday/Wednesday. We finally got some pretty weather the past 3 days! 70's and sunny. More like how fall should be :)

~We had a Cold Stone crew meeting yesterday morning. I made $10 for answering Cold Stone trivia questions :) score!!

~I lost my wallet Friday night. Loooong story short, I found it Saturday afternoon, after I had canceled my cards, and check Target, Starbucks, and the parking lots for it. I will be writing about that tomorrow! Cool Story.

~I've had 3 Starbucks coffee's this week. Good therapy right? :)

~I worked at the Ziplines yesterday night. About 8pm, I got to ride with a tour for the last 5 lines. It was dark, windy, and a BLAST!!! Seriously love the people I work with. It would be safe to say they are like big brothers!

~I've sold over $100 worth of stuff on Ebay this week! I'm cleaning out my closest and making money! Win Win!!

~Because I sold so much, I treated myself to a little shopping spree yesterday :)

~Today, I'm working on cleaning and washing my car! Much needed!

I'm off to enjoy this beautiful weather with my family!

Happy Sunday!

Love,

Evangel Homecoming 2011

This past weekend Evangel had their Homecoming! It is our family tradition to go to Springfield every year for the friday night festivities, and then the big game on Saturday. Friday night, my dad took me on a private "campus tour" of the Admin buildings and the Business department. EU is his Alma Mater, and he graduated with a Business degree. It would be safe to say that he LOVES EU!! This year, my brother was on the Homecoming Court. He was so handsome :) He escorted Randal, an Evangel RA. It was gorgeous weather outside! Perfect football weather, and EU won the game :) I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Whole Fam :)Aaron and Celia :)

:)

The Boys!

Marching Band at Halftime!

Aaron and Randal

Happy Thursday Ya'll!

Love,