Springing into 2013

Happy New Year! LATE. (4 months overdue.)

Meh.

It's really about to be a new year, new season, new chapter and all that Woodstock-esque, "To every season, turn, turn..." vibe in a few more weeks.

Things have happened since I used to blog regularly.

1. I applied to about 11 million doctoral programs in psychology, but really only finished about 4 of them, because I didn't want the people writing my recommendation letters to fall off the face of the earth.
2. I still stand on the fence about entering the one school I've wanted to go to since 2007. Yeah, I was accepted, and I have been awarded a graduate assistantship. BUT. It's just a lot of time. A lot. BUT. I want it. BUT, does God want it? But, I'm grateful for my run as a teacher. BUT. BUT. BUT...this will keep happening until I attend my first class. Then, the nerd in me will LURVE it.
3. Never again, never. That's my mantra in the last month of teaching kindergarten. Yes, they are cute! So are pandas. Spending 10 hours a day (yes, ten, because we have an extended day program) in a room full of pandas, makes you a little panda saturated. I dream of large cocktails, adult conversations, and evening taking physiological psychology and statistics. STATISTICS. Yes. It will drive you there. 
4. Cute little mission church. My faith has been tested to the limits this year. Yet, I still believe in the grace and love of God, even when I cannot see, I still believe. I have started attending a cute little mission church instead of my home parish. It's a wonderful thing to be Catholic, and to get to worship at a grandiose cathedral, or a tiny, sweet mission. I love both experiences. Right now, thought, the little parish makes my life seem a little more manageable, a little less hectic. Okay, and it feels a little small-town Pollyanna.
5. I've seen many things...I've been on many day trips throughout Arizona this year, and anytime there's a break at school, I pack up and see the world.
6. Oh, yes, I have a pretty amazing boyfriend right now. WHEN ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED? Back off, Internet, (and all the old ladies at work). He's handsome, generous, Catholic, and he repairs my car brakes for free. Swoon. :)
7. Spring is pretty.
8. My nephew just turned 4. He is pretty stinking cute, and now even texts and calls by himself.
9. Halloween is my goal. It's when I'll have everything settle after the big new year, new you switch up.
10. I'm currently watching Eat, Pray, Love. There isn't a better movie to wake up to on Sunday morning.

Until next time,

Eat, pray, and love...xoxo!

Flippant

Flippant. I have been called this before. Although the name scratches like nails against a chalk board, it is superficially accurate. However, it becomes a misnomer when I justify my choices.

I stand behind my decision to go into education. I stand behind my decision to get my master's degree. Extremely expensive though it was, I maintained momentum after college and earned it two years to the day I graduated. I stand behind my tenured position within a Title 1 school district. Five year teaching in a South Central Phoenix school was a calling that I effected with great passion.

I am always surveying my options.

They say good luck is when opportunity meets preparation.

There are a lot of choices, options, paths, etc. right now. Did you ever read one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid?? I loved those. When I read one, I'd read through it multiple times to find out what would have happened to my character in each instance. One of my favorite movies? Gwenyth Paltrow's Sliding Doors.

I believe in fate. I believe in good old-fashioned hard work. I believe in providing for the ones I love. I believe in God's divine intervention.

I enjoy perusing my options. I am very committed to seeing the work of God manifest itself in this next turn of life. And I'm responsibly making choices, being picky, and upholding my standards as I move forward...if you call that flippant, why I don't think you've ever risked enough in life. 

Ph.D. Pretty Huge Deal

In this past year, It has felt like I've fallen from grace. I fell out with friends who weren’t friends anymore. I left a job that I had been married to for five years. I confronted the follower of a person I was becoming, self-ejected from my seat, and crash landed in a John Wayne movie, demanding, “I’ll-take-these-reigns.” I thought I could turn it all around and have it all in 90 seconds. I managed that as well as the Pink Panther could have. Hey, at least it’s been a comical ride. It's taken about a year.

My 29th birthday happened this past week. Yep, Saturn's return. On my big day, I received an admission’s letter to my first choice doctoral program in Educational Psychology. Academically, I’ve been driven, and I am about to full on Danica Patrick the heck towards this next degree.

I signed the acceptance letter this morning.

I'm nervous about returning to being a full time student. Jumping in this driver's seat opens many new doors, but with the longevity of the commitment it requires, it also closes other doors. I would be remiss to chase other dreams that haven't taken form right now, when this dream of earning my doctorate in Ed. Psych. is becoming so tangible and real.

So, in short...

I got in!!!!!!! It's a pretty huge deal. ;)

What Do I Know of Holy?

I drove out to Pleasantville this weekend to try a new hiking scene in the area. At the trailhead, park warning signs read, "NO HUNTING."

My hike began beautifully. On the trail, I only listen to Christian music, and walking up a steep incline, I felt the presence of prayer. It was as if the Holy Spirit breathed a peace over me, and reminded me of your prayers. Humbling to know that people you've never met have prayed for you...thank you, prayer buddies, blog friends, and sisters in Christ.

As I was about a half hour into my hike, I started to hear lawbreakers: POP. POP. POP. POP. POP....I looked to the left and right for any suspect deer, javelinas, or camo wearing criminals and saw none, and then yelled at the top of my lungs, (What? It's a mountain.) "NO HUNTING....People are trying to hike." I gave up and turned around.

I hope to not give up and turn around during Lent this year.

What are you all doing?

I saw something on Pint.erest today... People giving up negativity for Lent. Huh. Well. I could try...

I'd prefer to give up something more tangible...like a hammer. Last night, I took out my hammer, and started pounding the wall I share with my neighbors, because 1:30am is just too loud to be jamming to your tunes. I only hammered for a minute or two....and then, walaa!!! SILENCE! That showed 'em.

Truth be told, I am THAT neighbor...the Mr. Heckles. Hey, I pay rent, too.

So, I'm giving up the hammer. Probably negativity, too...(I will try). And, booze. Also, overeating. I'm totally serious about this list, too. Whatever...if you're already perfect, please leave an irate anonymous comment just letting me know. What? I have to get the negativity out in the next three days....

In all seriousness, I'd like to do some Lenten reading...Lenten Lands by Douglas Gresham is one to start. I'd also like to find more prayerful, quiet time, and commit to weekly confession, stations, and adoration. After all, what do I know of holy? All I need is You, Lord.

Happy Ash Wednesday and start to Lent, Blogland. May your journeys be fruitful and may you grow in the love and spirit of Christ. May I also, too. ;)

The Taming of the Flu

The flu hit. It hit hard. I kicked me down like a hobo trying to ask for quarters from a smug investment banker.

It hit in the midst of a New Year's Resolution to be healthier. I began 2013 with the Pa.leo diet. Avacados. Avacados everywhere. And eggs. And even bacon. Because, I was trying to be healthy.

I am bffs with my scale. I know how to lose weight; I know how to keep it off...but I don't know how to be super vegan healthy and maintain my figure, though...I was trying to figure that out, but...

I drink diet soda. I drink diet cocoa. There's aspartame in my salad dressing and my oatmeal, I'm sure. Whatevs. I'm accepting it. Just. Ok. I have a fake sugar habit. It's better than smoking. 2013 goes on now without fake pizza crust made from crushed cauliflower, avacados, and coconut milk. There's a point where it's too much. You know? I couldn't get through the flu without reasonable amounts of chicken noodle soup, diet ginger ale and coconut fruit popsicles.

I draw the line.

It's summer already. No, it isn't...but where I live, I can live in denial of ugly winter. So I'm actually spending this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday at the pool. Sigh. I don't believe there's anything healthier than a day at the pool slathered in Monoi Oil Suncreen from Bath and Bod.y Work.s.

I'm in denial of other things too, like my car's timing belt needing to be changed, and just not following through with my only day off at the auto shop. Not my idea of a day off, and I don't think Dr. Martin Luther King ever intended for his memorial day to be honored in such a way. He lead protest marches. If needed, I will march/walk/take a taxi/hop the bus if the timing belt goes, because the best thing about 2013 so far? Is this day off, with no avacados or Ta.miflu in sight.