20 days later

Apparently I only post when I'm at Lucas's apartment waiting for him to get out of class. But that's okay.

I successfully completed the first round of my student teaching. With flying colors might I add. I was told by several teachers and even the vice principal how happy they were to have me there. I really enjoyed my time there and I really really really hope that someday I am able to go back and work with those people for real. So, with that being said, one of those teachers that I loved working with so much needs to quit so I can replace them. =) Okay, I'm just kidding...but really. I miss those seventh graders so much. The fifth graders that I am with now are a huge change. And I don't deal with change very well.

The first day at my new school I left in tears. I didn't think that I was ever going to be able to survive 7 weeks there. I spent way to much time comparing it to how awesome Owasso was which made me incredibly unhappy with how it was. But, after only three days there, my attitude about it is so much better. I actually enjoyed my second and third day and have already started getting to know my kids so much. I know that at the end of this seven weeks I will be missing them just as much as I miss my seventh graders now.

On another note, I'm getting married in one month from today! One month! That's just 31 days! I'm so incredibly excited. People keep asking me if I'm nervous and I'm really not. Am I supposed to be? haha. I'm just really ready for all the planning to come together and have a wonderful wedding with all my friends and family and then be able to call Lucas my husband! Soooo much excitement haha.

Currently I'm in the process of writing my senior paper. Less than 2 months to graduation and I am 5/7 of the way done. I have been moving through it so quickly and it's a really good feeling every time I get another section complete. I'd like to have it all done before my wedding so I can not be stressed about it right before or after. I'm well on my way to meeting that goal.

One more thing: I passed my teachers tests! That means that I am not required to take any more tests to become a teacher. Woohoo! Okay, that is all.

-Kristina

September, What a Great Month!

Today is the last day of September. That means I only have two weeks left at the Seventh Grade Center before moving on to fifth grade math and science at Lanier Elementary in Tulsa. I can't even believe it. I have seriously enjoyed every second that I have spent with my classes. The students are absolutely wonderful and they make me laugh or teach me something new on a daily basis. Normally what they are teaching me has to do with technology. I can't believe how good these twelve and thirteen year old children are with SMART Boards!

Tomorrow is October 1st, this means that tomorrow I will officially be able to say "I get married next month!" That is more exciting to me than I know how to explain. I can't wait to be with the love of my life on a daily basis instead of just on the weekends. It's killing me that we can't already do that. But that's okay. 51 Days!!!

I got my graduation information in the mail on Wednesday. That's pretty crazy. I never thought that I would make it to my college graduation and now I'm almost there. Only 2.5 months! There are so many crazy things that will happen over the next 3 months and I can't wait for them to start happening.

I don't really have a lot to talk about and I'm supposed to be writing my Teacher Work Sample. So I'm gonna get back to that now.

-Kristina

Student Teaching!

Oh my! I have already been student teaching for about 3 weeks now. I can't believe how fast it is going! I only have about 6 more weeks left at this placement before I move on to the next one so I need to get blogging.

I'm currently placed at the 7th grade center in Owasso teaching on level math. This means we have no honors classes. Let me just say right of the bat that this is a weird thing for me. Throughout all of my secondary schooling I was in all honors classes. It's just a completely different group of people. I don't know how else to put it. They are just different. And perfect. I love my students so much.

Out of the six classes that I teach, two of them are inclusion classes. That means that in one of them, a large chunk of the students are learning disabled, and in another one of them, a large chunk of the students are English Language Learners. It has been such a blessing I think for me to see how classes like that work. More and more these days classes are becoming inclusion classes and up until now I have had no experience with it. I really am enjoying seeing the differences between those two classes and the other classes.

It's amazing to me how many of these students have already impacted me and my life. There is one young girl whose mom passes away within the past year. When I found this out I was blown away. She is one of the happiest, cheeriest seventh graders I know. Their resiliency is incredible. I also have so many students who are living with grandparents or other family members besides their parents. It makes me so sad to see this. Children need their parents. Especially in junior high when they think that they don't. One of the saddest stories that I have come across so far is a little girl who has been removed from her home by dhs. She came from an abusive household and she has scars all of her face, arms, and legs. It breaks my heart that someone could do that to their own kids.

There are also happy stories. There are so many students who just love school. They have a passion for learning already and they are willing and ready to do whatever task you put before them. There are students who are running for student council after failing for the past two years because they have such determination. There are students who I see walking up to kids sitting by themselves and they talk to them. It's just a really nice thing to see.

While I know you aren't supposed to have favorites, I do. There is one kid in probably ever hour that I am drawn to. First hour it's Abby. Granted, her dad is my boss at Cracker Barrel so I already have a slight connection with her, but I mostly like that she is so quiet but the second you ask her a question she shoots right up to the board to do the answer. Second hour her name is Bailee. She sits right by my desk and is just such a sweet student. I have never seen her be anything but nice to anyone, and that's a hard thing for seventh graders to do. Fourth hour is Wyatt. I have no reason other than his middle name is Wildcat. Yes, that's what his parents call him. Fifth hour is hard. I think every student in that hour is my favorite. I can probably narrow it down to Marco. He just says the funniest things. I asked him to come up to the board to do a problem and he did the problem but he got it wrong. I asked someone else to come up and help him to get it right. Marco immediately said, "I just wanted someone else to get a chance to come up here." And that is a pretty regular phrase from him. He also solved 6 cubed in about ten seconds. Sixth hour would definitely go to Thatcher. Very preppy but extremely well mannered and smart. And finally seventh  hour. Delsy. She reminds me so much of a tv character on one of the shows I watch, but I am praying that she won't take that same path haha. She is never afraid to ask questions, which is perfect for my hesitant teaching. It really helps me to know where the rest of the class is.

I have spoken way too much about so many things that no one who reads this will care about. But I really am enjoying this time with these students so I don't want to forget any of it. =)

On a different note. 74 days till my wedding!!

-Kristina

A trip, a triathlon, and an engagement photo

Again I have managed to let a whole month go by without posting. But that's okay, school has started again and I am much more on top of my blogging during the year. I actually have a lot to post about this time though.

About a month ago I went on a trip with my family. We road tripped across to North Carolina. We camped and stayed in hotels all the way there, on the beach, and on the way back. We visited lots of places that I have been including the Great Smoky Mountains, 3 different lighthouses, and the Coyote Ugly Bar in Nashville.

Tennessee/North Carolina state line inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Some Mountains

Bodie Island Lighthouse

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Ocracoke Lighthouse

The next thing that I have done this year is my second triathlon. I was so thrilled with it because I felt so unprepared but my time was in fact 11 minutes faster than the last one. It was a great feeling to have done better.

Waiting to swim

Coming out of the water heading to my bike

Going to the finish line, my sister Sierra ran the last 20 yards or so with me

About a week ago, Lucas and I took engagement pictures. I absolutely love them and how they turned in. Everything seems to be coming together really well with out wedding plans and everything and I am so excited. It's less than 3 months away now which is wonderful. I can't wait! This is one of my favorites that I have gotten to see so far.

I have also started student teaching! I'm currently at the 7th grade center in Owasso teaching math with Mrs. Peterson. I'm already learning so much from this experience and I'm so glad that I get this opportunity. I will soon have a post dedicated mostly to my student teaching experience.

-Kristina

Holy moly it's almost been a month!

How I've gone almost a month without blogging is beyond me. For some reason it's harder to stay on top of it during the summer because I don't feel as though there is as much going on to update about. This blog will be strictly for my Michigan trip.

First let me say that weather in Michigan is so incredible. The high the whole week we were there was 80, but it never felt over 75. It was always very comfortable.

My 22nd birthday was spend in Michigan. It was kind of a weird experience being away from my family for my birthday but I survived. And there will most likely be several more in the future.

Lucas' family also through Lucas and I a wedding shower. We were both so appreciative of that and it was really not something that we ever would have expected.

Our gifts.

It was kinda funny because we had to drive back to Oklahoma with our gifts so they kept saying things like you guys are going to need a uhaul to get all these big boxes home. However, when we opened them all they were mostly filled with newspaper with an envelope that had a gift card, making our packing to come home very easy. I feel very blessed to be joining a family as sweet as theirs.

I'm standing on a step to make me tall =)

We even got some cake cutting practice. =)

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to take this trip with them. I really enjoyed every minute of it.

-Kristina

10 Things You Should Know About Cracker Barrel

Most of these things probably apply to all restaurants but I wouldn't know cause I just work at Cracker Barrel. Just some food for thought. It also is coming from frustration from people being so rude. And it's also from a server's point of view. 

1. Probably 75% of people know exactly what they want to eat the second they walk in the door. So when your server asks you if you are ready to order, and you rudely reply with I just sat down, then you are actually in the minority. So you're rudeness is not appropriate. We're just doing our job. 

2. We pretty much have to lie to you. If you ask us if something is good, we're not going to say no. Try asking us  which we like better between two dishes. That would definitely get you a more honest answer. 

3. I realize that this is really annoying because I hate it when people do this to me at restaurants, but we have to tell you about our promotional meals. We actually are expected to sell a certain amount. In fact, right now, I didn't sell my expected amount so my name, along with all the other failures, is displayed on a wall in the back of Cracker Barrel.

4. Servers make 2.15 an hour. Now, since I've worked at Cracker Barrel so long, I have received a significant raise. Four years of Cracker Barrel and I'm up to 2.33. 2.33 is where it will stay for the rest of my time at Cracker Barrel. They don't pay servers more than that, ever. Since all of that 2.33 ends up paying taxes, my check from Cracker Barrel is rarely more than 10 dollars. That means tips are my paycheck. 

5. During a shift, each server is assigned to a certain number of tables. It's typically 3 or 4 tables. During a lunch or dinner rush, we can typically turn those tables every 45 minutes. Sometimes quicker than that. When someone decides to sit at one table reading, or having a business meeting for 3 hours, that one table is taking up what could potentially be 4 different tables. So, doing this and then tipping a dollar really really really sucks. 

6. When you ask your server for a new fork for the fourth time since you've been eating, they are going to look at you funny. Where can the forks possibly be going?

7. If a server that isn't your server brings your food to your table, that doesn't mean your server isn't doing their job. They are probably currently taking someone else's food. We have to stop what we're doing and run food when food becomes ready, regardless of whose food it is. 

8. Shaking your glass at your server will NEVER get you a refill any faster. 

9. When you say half and half, I always assume that means half sweetened tea and half unsweetened tea. The name of the drink that you are actually requesting is called an Arnold Palmer. Half tea, half lemonade. 

10. Servers truly don't mind you telling them if something is wrong with your food. We would much rather correct it for you and you be a little more happy then you thinking that we suck for the rest of the night. And if you need something, we truly don't care if you ask. That's our job. Just be nice about it. =)

-Kristina

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

This past weekend I went on a camping trip with my family. Three things happened that I would like to share.

1. I hurt myself. Not that this is a surprise. I pretty deeply bruised my shin on my left leg and on my right leg splattered hot grease. It was a good reminder that I am not a camper. =)

2. I watched my family have a sentimental moment. If someone would have told me 5 years ago that my entire family would be sitting around the table and almost all of us start crying for a good reason rather than a bad, I never would have believed it. It's such an amazing thing to me to see how much my family has come back together. It's truly a beautiful thing.

3. I played guitar for our two song worship service on Sunday morning. Now, this isn't a huge deal, it was only two songs, but it was really encouraging to me that I was able to play guitar well enough that someone could recognize the song and sing along with me. I hope to continue playing so I can play more than two songs next time.

Now, on a completely unrelated note. Lucas and I have our save the dates. YAY. We're getting married in less than six months and that's kinda hard to believe. We're trying to get as much wedding stuff done as we can while he's here for the summer so we're really trying to push through things. We've also finalized our wedding party and our guest list. Oh, and we have a pretty good idea of what our centerpieces are going to look like. Things really aren't nearly as stressful now that we're just having fun with it instead of arguing about everything. We also picked our colors. I hope to get bridesmaids dresses picked in the next few weeks. We're really just moving right along.

I've started my summer tutoring job. Currently I have one student named Brooke who I absolutely love. We have a lot of fun and today after we finished our session she went up to her mom and was telling her how much fun we had. I just hope she's learning, too. She really is just struggling with spelling so we're going to spend most of our time working on spelling. Tomorrow I start with my second student who I believe is named Julie. I haven't met her yet so I'm not positive if that is right. Her mom said that she's not really struggling with math too much but she wants me to just work with her over the summer so she doesn't forget everything. It's nice having a cash only $10 an hour job.

-Kristina

"A Place Called Morning"

Recently I've been reading a book called "A Place Called Morning," by Ann Tatlock. It's a Christian book and I very rarely read Christian book for pleasure. It's actually been perfect considering everything that's going on right now. The main character in the book is named Mae.

At the beginning of the book, Mae talks about how growing up she felt like she lived in a bubble. She felt like tragedy could not get in this bubble and that her and her family were safe from any and all danger. I feel like I relate to this so much. I have been so blessed. I had a safe childhood. I was happy. I mean, yes, I came from a family that could be considered broken, but I don't ever remember that truly affecting my happiness. I'm 21 years old and I have never been close to death. No relatives and no friends. Of course, I've seen death. There have been distant friends, people I went to school with or people that I knew of.

I feel like the past few weeks have really opened my eyes to the fact that I'm not in a bubble. I'm not necessarily safe from tragedy and I should not be living so carelessly as if I am. This recent devastating tornado in Joplin really has affected me more than I ever though it could. Normally when big tornadoes happen, they are in far off towns that I've never heard of. This was in Joplin. Joplin, MO. The town that I have had so memories and I'm not even one of the thousands of people living there. I know people there. A lot of people. I know places there. It's just such a bizarre feeling.

In my book when Mae realizes that she is not in a bubble she is hit hard. Her brother dies, at a young age, soon followed by her mother a few years later, then her father, then her husband a few years later. All of these people were young at the time of their deaths. After these four deaths she became very beaten down, and then after an accident that took place in her house, she feels responsible for the death of her grandson. Not even 5 years later, while she is still mourning this loss, her house catches on fire and she loses everything. Two weeks after that, at the age of 52 she finds out that she was adopted as a baby.

Throughout the story she turns further and further away from God. While I have not finished the book, I know that she is about to have a major turning back to God.

The main thing that I am getting out of this story, combined with all the craziness of this past week, is to not pull away from God. I can't start blaming him and I can't turn my back on Him. Times of tragedy are the times that we should find comfort in the relationship that we have already built with God. It should make our relationship stronger, not weaker.

I just needed to share.

-Kristina

How I Met Your Father, Part 3

The Engagement

Lucas and I decided to get away for a few days over Spring break. So we decided that we would go to OKC and do some fun things there. A few weeks before we left I was so convinced that he was going to propose while we were there...however, about a week before we went I had lost all hope haha. I even told a few people that I was a little sad cause I had originally thought he was going to propose and it turns out he wasn't going to.

It started like most Sundays, I got up early to play my trumpet at church. I joined Lucas for second service. After church we left for OKC. At one point when we went to eat he paid for something and I noticed his wallet was in his side pocket of his shorts rather than h is back pocket. Little did I know it was because my ring was also there so he put his wallet there so I wouldn't be able to tell. He probably was a little nervous when I mentioned that I noticed haha.

Later that day we went to the OKC National Memorial. I had never been before and I was blown away by how emotional it was. Both Lucas and I left pretty upset about the whole thing. I even said, "We should get engaged to cheer ourselves up." It's funny now looking back at that. Sunday evening we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I was kinda surprised we were going somewhere so nice but didn't even think anything of it.

Eventually we made it back to our hotel for the evening. We were just hanging out watching tv when a David's Bridal commercial came on. I said something about how I hate those commercials and he said something like just be patient. I'm not exactly sure what was said. Then, he told me he was going to love me forever. And I was like oh is this the lead in to your proposal...(I sure was pushy haha.) Again he said something to the effect of just be patient.

After watching tv for a bit I got up to use the restroom. At this point it was getting later in the evening so in no way was I expecting what happened when I came out of the bathroom. Lucas was immediately outside the door, down on one knee, holding the ring that I had hoped for for so long. I couldn't even believe it. My first words were "are you serious?" He then asked me to marry him to which I replied yes! I don't really remember another time in my life where I have felt so overwhelming happy and at peace. It was so obvious to me that we were making the right decision in moving forward with our relationship. I love him. Tremendously.

Right After

My beautiful ring!

-Kristina

The last few weeks.

Don't worry, I'll get to part three, but first I'd like to update on a few things that I've done in the past month.

The first thing was I bought a wedding dress. I cannot tell you how exciting that was to me. I haven't really been able to do too much wedding planning because I've been so busy with school so this was really the first big thing that I got to do. I can't wait until Lucas moves home soon so we can really jump into planning.

I accomplished something else on my bucket list. I did a sprint triathlon. I didn't do very well time wise but I finished and that was my biggest goal. I cannot wait for my next triathlon so I can improve my time. It was so much fun!

Yesterday I took 9 third through fifth graders on a camp out. This was a big deal for so many reasons. I had to drive a 15 passenger van, which wasn't so bad once I got used to it but it was very stressful at first. I was the only adult in charge of my kids, yes there were other adults there, but they were all worried about their kids. I had to have a cook out with all those kids. It was really important to the camp directors that we let the kids do as much as they could. So, it was a bit stressful stepping back and letting the kids try to start a fire and cook their own food. But, I did it, and we really only had two minor incidents. Kelcie rubbed her arms raw on a tire swing, and Kelcie got punched in the chest by another girl. Notice a trend here...Kelcie =) Overall, it was pretty fun. All of my kids were sad to go home and had a lot of fun. I also learned a lot more about these students. They are some really great kids.

And finally, I finished my fourth year of college. I'm fairly certain that I'll have another 4.0 this semester but it's possible that I will get one B. Still, it's been good. I'm thoroughly excited that I'll be graduating in 8 months with a GPA well over 3.5. It's been a lot of work, that's for sure.

I'll try to do part 3 this week.

-Kristina

How I Met Your Father, Part 2

The Relationship

Lucas and I didn't start our relationship in a typical "will you go out with me" sorta way. It started at YouthQuake. It was Amazing Race day and each of our family groups set out on a race around the town of Como, Colorado. To be honest, I don't really remember the details of this race. I do however remember that it was 1.) really hot, 2.) really humid, and 3.) at an elevation with little oxygen. We were all running around on the side of this mountain trying to win a race. It was long. I was tired. I hadn't drunk nearly enough water to keep my blood pressure in check. So, needless to say. I got sick.

I remember running through the finish line and then collapsing onto the ground next to one of my youth ministers. I instantly was shaking. As is typical when my blood pressure gets unhappy. I wasn't really too worried cause it had happened before. But apparently people were worried haha. I laid on a makeshift bed, a hard table. And covered up with a makeshift blanket, a pillow out of a van. I don't really remember the next hour or so except for the fact that Lucas was there. I was shaking and it hurt and Lucas was holding my legs to keep them from hurting. I remember being incredibly paranoid because I was on a camping trip and hadn't been shaving my legs haha. Poor Lucas.

I think it became obvious to both Lucas and I at that moment that we were both important to each other. I wanted him there with me, and he didn't want to leave me. I survived and eventually, later that week, decided to talk to Lucas. Even before I had gotten sick Lucas and I had been spending a lot of time with each other. I couldn't tell you how many people asked me if I liked him. I was sick of the questions so I went right up to Lucas and said, "What's going on with us?" After we talked for a few minutes, I walked off disheartened. He had told me that he liked me and was attracted to me but didn't want to date me. I was upset, but also saw where he was coming from. At that point it was 2.5 weeks until we both went our separate ways for college. We definitely didn't need to be complicating things with starting a relationship.

After getting home from YouthQuake I just assumed things were not going to go anywhere. He didn't want to be with me so why attempt anything. But then, it happened. I was online talking to him and he asked me if I wanted to go hang out. I was confused. But excited. I decided to do it. Over the next few days we went and hung out at the park a few times. One of our first conversations about marriage happened in those days. At the time, he was going to go to school to be a youth minister. He wanted to make sure that I was okay with someday being a ministers wife. We both knew then how serious our relationship would become. After I told him that I would be okay with it, he grabbed my hand to hold. That was when we began our relationship haha. July 29th, 2007. Over the next month I gave him a lot of crap about never asking me out, so he did eventually, but we'd already been together a month.

2 weeks after beginning our relationship, Lucas moved to Joplin. It was rough. Really rough. We both struggled a lot. One thing we did at the time was read our bible together every night. During the first year of our relationship we read through the bible once together. I really liked that we did that and we have plans to do that during our first year of marriage also.

Anyways. As if starting off in a long distance relationship wasn't enough, Lucas had a family member who was very close to him pass away. Our relationship was challenged so much in that first year and I couldn't tell you how many times we fought. We struggled to stay together through a lot, really in the first two years. Neither one of us were truly happy and we couldn't figure out what was going on.

Then, in the summer of '09 I went to France. I was there for six weeks and I think both of us learned a lot about ourselves in that time apart. When I got back we broke up.

After a month of being apart, we knew that this wasn't what we needed either. We spent a lot of time discussing how to improve our relationship and how we could make things better to where we could both be happy. Neither Lucas, nor I, were anywhere near the people that we were when we first go together.

Lucas and I got back together eventually and I can't even begin to describe how much better our relationship was. We fought less. We were both happy. We smiled more. We dated more. Everything was better. Again I can say with completely confidence that our breakup was needed. It helped us both step back and realize what we needed to do for the other person to make everything work.

Now, I'll be honest, our relationship can still use some work, just like every relationship in the world. But the good news is, I have the rest of my life to work on my relationship with Lucas. =)

Part Three to Come

-Kristina

How I Met Your Father, Part 1

The Introduction

One summer, long ago, I was at an event held by my church called YAC. This stands for Youth After Church. Every Sunday night, our youth group would meet at our church building for small groups, and then travel to someone's house to hang out, eat food, and sometimes swim. Since it was summer and I was only 14, still unable to drive, I loved these Sunday night events. It was the only time that I would get to see a lot of my friends. I remember this night more clearly than a lot of those YAC events.

It started out just like any other. We were all just hanging out and talking. Eventually, one of our youth interns, James, shows up with a boy my age. Being a teenage girl, my interest was instantly spiked. James brings the boy over to our group and introduces him to us as his cousin, Lucas. He said that Lucas was going to be going with us to Youthquake. I honestly don't remember saying much to him at that time. Maybe a "Hi, I'm Kristina." Idk.

Here is where me and Lucas disagree on how the rest of the evening went. But this is how I remember it. A few of us girls decided to go swimming. So we went to the pool and jumped in. However, there was one girl who decided she wanted to be obnoxious and stand on the edge of the pool saying things like it's cold and I don't want to do this. At this time in my life, this particular girl drove me insane. It was so obvious to me that she was just wanting attention and I just wanted her to get in and shut up. It was then that my night in shining armor showed up. Lucas was standing on the pool deck and reached over and pushed her in. I was in love. This boy that I had just met had just shoved someone in the pool that I didn't like. Today he says that he didn't do that. But I know he did haha. That's what first attracted me to him. =)

Fast forward about 8 months. I'm gonna say February 25th, 2004. I had recently told one of my friends that I liked Lucas. And of course, in high school, the only reason you do that is so the person will find out haha. So, he found out. I was carrying my trumpet, walking down the hallway of the church, and here comes Lucas. Because I heard it through the grapevine, I knew that he was about to ask me out. I wasn't quite ready for that so I was a bit nervous. My friend Chelci was walking by me and when he walked up I dropped my trumpet on her foot. That's how nervous I was. Eventually, he asked me out, and I told him no. Lucky for me, he was persistent.

February 29th, 2004. Round two. While hanging out at YAC, I spread the word that I want Lucas to ask me out again. Whether he gets that word or not, I don't know. I do know that I was talking about lip gloss right before he asked me out. Why I remember that I don't know. But I was. This time, I say yes.

May 6th, 2004. It's funny how these dates are still so clear to me. My relationship with Lucas was not quite the relationship I had been hoping for. He didn't go to my school, and I couldn't drive. I hated talking on the phone. So, two days a week we got to see each other and talk. I hated that. And while I really liked Lucas, I hated how the relationship was. I broke up with him, telling him that maybe we could try again when we could drive. Little did I know he had already told his mother that he was going to marry me if he had anything to say about it. And one of his classes at school.

Throughout the next 3 years, Lucas and I's relationship was very rocky. We sorta tried the whole relationship thing again but ended, yet again, with me backing out before it could really get going. I would go to him for advice about other boyfriends that were giving me trouble, he would tell me to break up with them, I'd get mad and be upset at him for awhile. We both dated other people. We both still talked to each other fairly regularly. I truly believe that during this time, God was shaping us into the people that we needed to be for each other. Because of this belief, I don't regret a single one of my mistakes. I needed them to become the person I was when Lucas and I got together again.

Part 2 to come.

-Kristina

An update

It has been incredibly too long. And so much has happened.

I finally submitted my application for student teaching. It was a huge relief to get everything done. I'll find out in about a month where my placements are. I can't wait. This is the first big step to becoming a teacher. Yay!

I got an A on an art project. Not just an A, a 97. This class has been one of the most stressful because I was failing from the very beginning. It's getting easier and I'm doing much better now. I'm pretty sure my overall grade is a 89 now. I'll take that.

I've continued my triathlon training. I still have a long way to go, and not a whole lot of time. I'm definitely going to have to kick my training into overtime now. I really should be swimming more often than once a week. Especially considering the fact that I can only swim about half the required distance in about twice the recommended time. That's okay though. I'll get it.

I took my Campfire kids on their first field trip. They had a blast and so did I. I took Lucas and Sierra with me to help chaperon a bit and it went very smoothly.

I got to go to Beauty and the Beast with Lucas. This was wonderful. I had been looking forward to it for a long time and it was a really fun night out with Lucas.

I've played my trumpet at church for 3 Sundays in a row. I love playing. I realize how nerdy that is, but that's okay. I really have a passion for creating music so when I'm able to do it, I'm going to enjoy every second.

And finally, the most amazing news ever, LUCAS ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!!! I, of course, said yes. I'll blog soon with details of the proposal and such. My ring is beautiful and I can't wait to begin this exciting wedding planning journey with him.

I think that's about it. I've had a really good Spring Break. I really wish that it could be longer. But that's okay. Only 7 more weeks of this semester. I can do it!

-Kristina

A quick update on a few things

I have about 1,000 things to do over this next week, most of which I should be doing now, but I'm way too tired to concentrate on homework, so here's a blog post instead.

The first update I have is that I switched my goal for this semester. It was to do a 10k. Now, a sprint triathlon. I really am not a huge fan of running and I just wasn't motivated enough to train towards that at this time. What does a sprint triathlon consist of you ask? Well, it's a 400 meter swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run. I firmly believe the hardest part will be that swim. I haven't swam in a very long time so it'll be interesting to see where I am in that. I'm going on my first swim tomorrow!

Update number two. I graduate exactly 300 days from today. This is pretty much the best thing ever. I truly cannot wait to see what my life has in store 301 days from now. It's exciting!

The graduation update brings me to my third update. This past week I had a meeting with my advisor to get her approval to student teach next semester. I definitely thought that I was done with my application and that I had everything in order. Turns out I was wrong. I was thoroughly disappointed when she informed me that she couldn't approve me. I had an entire other part of the application that I somehow missed. I had to find about 10 papers that I wrote when I was a freshman and sophomore and upload them onto my e-portfolio. This was very disheartening. I didn't know if I'd be able to find the papers and I really didn't want to take the time to convert them all to pdf's and upload them. Well, my meeting was Thursday and I submitted my completed portfolio today. I guess I had nothing to stress about. =)

Update number 4. Recently, like February 1st, I started a new diet. I decided to do the 5 a day the color way challenge. In this challenge, you eat 5 fruits and vegetables every day, one from each of the five color groups. The color groups are red, yellow/orange, green, blue/purple, and white. I've really been surprised with how well I've done. I've only not got everything in twice so far. The first was due to being snowed in and not being able to buy the right colors. The second was because I had a huge migraine and didn't want to eat anything.

I think that might be the only updates that I have. We are already done with 6 weeks of this semester. Only 10 more to go. Woohoo!

-Kristina

Snow snow snow

Before I get into the snow I'd like to first mention that me and Lucas celebrated our 3.5 year anniversary. That's a long time! I love him so much and I'm grateful that I've been blessed with him in my life.

What a crazy month it has been, and it's only the 5th. The 1st brought lots of snow. More snow than Oklahoma has ever received. The weatherman said that we've already received more snow than the record for the entire month of February. It's been really crazy. Here are some pictures.

This is the major highway that goes through Owasso. All those cars are stuck.

Here's me trying to walk across the street to get to my dads truck. I got stuck a couple times.

My sister standing in the snow. There was so much.

This is the elementary school by my house. It was 3 days after the snow and no one had even started digging it out. You can't really tell from this picture but the drifts had completely covered the front door.

Here's a snow drift in front of my house. The snow hadn't stopped yet but the drift was already taller than the yard stick.

It has been a nice break from school, since we had 4 snow days, but I'm definitely ready to get back into the routine of school and work and such. I don't handle change very well so when I'm not able to follow a schedule I kinda freak out. I'm just hoping we don't actually get the 5-10 inches predicted for this next week. Gross. It already stopped me from getting to see Lucas this weekend. It better not happen again.

I think that's all. Just wanted to mention the crazy amounts of snow.

-Kristina

10 Facts You May Not Know About Me

1. My right foot is bigger than my left. Like a whole shoe size. Almost a shoe size and a half. When I played soccer I almost always wore two socks on my left foot to prevent blisters since my shoe was so big.

2. There aren't a whole lot of things that I feel truly passionate about. But there are a few: my faith in Jesus, my relationship with Lucas, playing my trumpet, and education.

3. There are like 6 TV shows that I watch regularly. I used to not watch TV at all so this is kind of a big deal that I spend that much time watching it. I just know that I don't have much longer of this semi-free life. I'll get married and have a family and never get to really watch TV again haha. So I'll continue to watch.

4. I'm addicted to NFL football. It's ridiculous. I watch it very regularly and always look forward to football season. My favorite team? Go Colts!

5. The Food Network and TLC are two of my favorite cable networks. They are great.

6. Je parle Francais. Un été, je suis allé à l'école dans les sud de la France. Specifiquement, Arles.

7. When someone makes a significant impact on my life, I tend to look up to them for a long time.

8. I have a bucket list that I'm trying to finish. Currently I'm working on running a 10k. I have a bit of training still to do. I have no idea how I used to make it through an entire soccer game.

9. I started playing competitive soccer when I was 9. And played on the same team until I was 17, except for two years in there when I decided recreational soccer would be more fun. It was fun. But I loved the coach and players on my other team much more. Now anytime I see little girls wearing ExtremeFC jerseys I tell them that I was on the first ever Extreme team. So apparently I feel a bit of pride for that soccer team. We were good and won some tournaments.

10. I have problems talking a lot. I get incredibly uncomfortable in front of people I don't know. I stutter often. I mix my words up. I say sentences that don't make any sense. I just have problems talking. It sucks. But it happens.

That's all. I just wanted to share some facts. The end.

-Kristina

10 Exciting Things

This is a list of 10 exciting things that have happened to me since the last time I posted.

1. I started my last real semester of school. Next semester I'll just be student teaching so everything will be different. Not so much class and such. Woohoo!

2. I got a new job working for Campfire USA. I haven't gotten thrown in to it all yet so I'm still just working on getting trained and such. I'm really gonna enjoy this opportunity so I'm pretty excited about it. Plus I'll get to use my wonderful teaching skills I've been learning.

3. A couple of my friends and I recieve free tickets to see Burn the Floor. That was a really cool thing and I'm glad we were all able to go do that together.

4. I've started eating fruit with every meal. I seriously feel healthier so I'm pretty excited about that. It's a good start to my new plan to eat healthy.

5. I started running again. I was pretty sure I'd be very out of shape but it's actually not too bad. I should be ready for a 10k by the end of the semester. Yay!

6. I've kinda rearranged my daily schedule a bit. I actually get up with plenty of time to go running/workout, shower, eat breakfast, and do my devo. At first I worried that getting up early would suck but it actually is working really well. I just have to continue going to bed a little early.

7. I have gotten closer to my graduation. It's like 340 days away now. That's really exciting to me. I believe I'll be the first in my family to graduate with a Batchelor's.

8. Lucas an I's realtionship has grown even stronger I think. I look foward to seeing what 2011 holds for the two of us.

9. All of my classes seem to be okay. I was a little worried that this year was going to be a lot more difficult but I think I'm going to be okay. I just need to relax and get through this last semester.

10. I really thought I could surely come up with 10 exciting things but I think I'll just have to stick with 9. Sorry. =/

New Year's Resolutions

This year I actually really thought about my resolutions/goals. I wanted them to really be attainable so I wouldn't give up. I want to succeed with these things that I've decided on. So, hold me accountable haha.

1. I want to run a 10k. I succeeded in my mission to run a 5k this year and I really think I can do it. It would also be another thing I could mark off my bucket list.

2. I want to handle my finances better. This has three parts really. I want to save some money, I will be completely on my own soon and I want to have some money put back for that. I want to practice my tithing and offerings more consistently. I kinda gave up on that when I got to college. I really need to handle that better. I also want to pay off all my debt. It's about $2,000 I think with my student loans and credit card debt combined. It's really not all that big so I want to be sure and get rid of it before the end of the year.

3. I want to graduate from college. This is pretty much a given at this point but still, I can't give up yet and expect it to come anyways. I can do it! Just two more semesters!

4. I think that patience is something that I try to work on almost constantly, and I always fail. This year I am going to become more patient. My patience with children has dramatically gotten better, but I need to work on my patience with people my own age.

I think that is all. I will keep you updated throughout the year.

-Kristina