Refocusing. New Opportunities.

Hey There,

We are several days into the new year, but I am will writing 2016 on papers, and I probably will be until March because habit. This year I am not only focusing on a few small things that I know I can focus on, but I also asked my boyfriend for a few things that we as a couple could work on. I hope to write about the progress of them through out the year as a way to further hold myself accountable.

RESOLUTIONS FOR MYSELF:

• Live a smaller environmental impact lifestyle.
  • What I mean by this is, I want to recycle more and I also want to eat more natural foods, which leads into my next goal for this year.
• Live a healthier life style.
  • I want to consume more whole foods (similar to a paleo diet), and less food in general. My freshman year, I was definitely a “fittie” but as I got busier my meal prep got less and less, which has lead me to eating out more because it is easier. So this year, I want to go back to preparing more meals on the weekend so I have them during the week. In addition to eating healthy, I would like to get back in shape. I hope to work out 3 times a week starting and go from there. I used to work out at least once a day, but that was too consuming for my life and I missed out on enjoying the beginning of college. With it being my last semester, I certainly want to enjoy it as much as possible.
• Do one thing a day that will help my future
  • This can be save money by not buying coffee that day, updating my LinkedIn, applying for a job, anything that can be beneficial.
• Be frugal
  • I want to really focus on saving more money, and not relying on my parents as much this semester, as I will be taking on “the real world” come May. My parents are wonderful people, and have helped me out a lot. I know I can come to them when I really need them, and I will still be able to do that after college, but I don’t want to rely on that.

RESOLUTIONS FOR MY BOYFRIEND AND I

• Pray every night
  • We often spend our evenings together as we both have hectic days between class, homework, and practice {him}. As a way to decompress, and to grow closer to God we want to pray before we end the night.
• Go to church together
  • We currently are different denominations of Christianity, so we have not settled on a church that we both feel at home. So our mission the first few weeks back to school is to settle on a church to attend regularly.

We as a couple don’t really consider these resolutions, but we want to continue to support each other when it comes to our dreams and aspirations, as well as, on a daily basis. We want to be aware of each other’s feelings and comfort one another when we have a rough day. This semester is going to be really busy for both of us, but we are excited to tackle our last semester of college together.

Slipping and Sliding

Hey There,

Christmas break has officially began for me, and I could not be any happier. I will mostly be working and studying for the NCLEX,  but it will be a nice break from what I have been doing this semester. I will also be taking a trip to meet my boyfriend’s family. I should probably be really nervous, but I am actually really excited! I am excited to meet the parents of such a wonderful man, and to see where he is from. I also won’t mind the drive too much because I can just listen to music and such.

Anyways, last night it started getting pretty chilly and things started icing over, and the roads were getting pretty slick. I was glad that Matt got on the road before it got too bad. My parents were on the way to pick up my sister from college and they ended up turning around because they were in stand-still traffic and they had shut down the college town due to all of the ice. There were multiple wrecks and many semi’s were flipped. I am just glad that they were able to turn around and make it home safe.

This morning I was supposed to go to work at the hospital, but the weather had other plans. Both of my parents were scheduled to go to work, as well, but they tried and the roads were too bad. They were going to try again when I went to work and make sure I made it okay. My Dad drives an Expedition and I drive an Explorer so I thought, as long as we went slowly it would not be an issue. Well, our street was a sheet of ice. We made it around the turn out of the subdivision, and my dad made it around the turn towards the light, but I went to make it and fish tailed. I corrected, and then went to continue, but I kept fish tailing and could not get traction. My car began to slide, and I started freaking out and crying because my dad was at the light, and I thought he was going to go leaving me to figure out what to do. He happened to notice I was having a hard time and he back to down to  me. I said I am not driving 20 miles to work. My dad ended up getting in my car and taking it back. He was struggling to get it turned around and to make it up the hill back into our subdivision. We were able to skate around with our shoes on so we all decided it was not worth the risk to go to work.

So today has been a great day spent in doors making cookies, spending time together, watching tv, listening to Christmas music, and napping.

The snow is coming down and there is talk that we will get 3-5 inches. Hopefully the roads get taken care of tonight and many people do not have to go out tomorrow.

Stay warm and merry,

Aud

Team Then Boyfriend

Yes, I am dating someone who slid into my DMs, but I am also dating a college athlete. I am dating a senior college athlete. I am dating a man that has the most respect on the team, the one who is always encouraging the guys, and has been around the longest. This man has dedicated his college years to this sport and the team. He has spent many hours outside of practice and weights meticulously taking care of the field and continuing to improve himself. He is not the only one who lives this life of morning weights, followed by class all day, afternoon practice, and then homework…there are 40 other men who lead the same life. When you spend mornings together, classes together, breaks together, and endure practices together, you will without a doubt be extremely close with each other. These guys have quite a remarkable bond. 

Before I started dating Matthew, I was always intimidated by the “baseball corner” in our school’s PLC. It is a just a corner with some couches and chairs that is home to the baseball guys in between classes. However, they are rather loud, and their bond is always what intimidated me. So when I started talking to him, I still wouldn’t go to the corner because I was still so nervous, so he would venture over to me. Even after we started dating I was really scared. One day Matthew “made” me sit with him on couch one day. I was terrified, but I slowly relaxed and got to experience this bond amongst these guys from a different perspective. They worked on homework together, talked about weights, asked about plans, and SO.MANY. INSIDE JOKES.  These guys are interesting individuals because well…they are college guys. I am sure they can be mature when they need to be, but a majority of the time it is playing poker and jokes. 

One thing that definitely surprised me was, the guys talked to me…not immediately…and not in depth conversations, but they made and effort. They learned my name. Now a little over a month since we started dating I have no problem with venturing into corner without Matthew and I greet the guys on my way to and from class. Something that I once found very intimidating is now a source of happiness and comfort. I like being able to watch these guys interact and I laugh when they tell their inside joke, not because I understand them, but because I am laughing at their interactions and comfort level with one another. I also care about these guys because they love and support each other and they take care of the guy I deeply care about. 

When I became Matthew’s girlfriend I wanted him to know that I do not expect him to put me before the team. He has been a part of this program for 5 years, and he has made a tremendous impact on the program and the program on him. It would not be right of me to be selfish or reasonable for me to ask him to put me before the team. I want him to enjoy his last year as a Cardinal because again, he is part of something special. I am honored to be the girlfriend of a senior college baseball player. I am honored to be able to watch these guys interact and work towards the conference championship every day. I am honored to give guys rides home. I am honored to play them in Mario kart and almost beat them. Lastly, I am excited to be in the stands this spring and watch these guys show how hard they have worked in the off season and how much they want to win. 

I am dating someone who slid into my DMs

Hey There,

Happy day after Thanksgiving! I am sure everyone is now officially in full holiday mode and maybe a little tired if they were out braving the crazy crowds. I have gone Black Friday shopping several times, but the past two years I have chosen to do my shopping online from the comfort of my home.  However, I hope everyone got the deals they were hoping for.

Anyways, I thought I would delve a little more into my personal life and talk about my current relationship and how it has taken me  by surprise and the reason I have been MIA.

On March 13th, 4 days before my 21st birthday I got a DM from someone who attends the same college as I do, but we had never really talked. This person was pretty well known at my school, and I had liked a lot of his tweets, but a lot of people did so it was not anything weird. When he DM’d me I immediately screenshotted it and sent to my friends, like any reasonable person because I didn’t know what to do and I honestly thought it was a mistake. I was told to respond and so I did…with “Hey” in response to his “Hey”. (I sort of expected something a little funnier and more creative coming from this person, but clearly his simplicity worked).

He asked what I was doing and so I gave him the honest answer, “Staring at the wall and thinking about making a grilled cheese.” I sort of thought maybe he wouldn’t reply, but he did. So we ended up messaging back and forth for the next couple days faithfully, and then we decided to exchange numbers. From then on, we would text everyday, all day saying both good night and good morning. We learned a lot about each other, of course only from the aspect of friends.

School was coming to an end, but there was still a few weeks left, and me being my awkward self I just avoided him. I was also scared for a while for a couple reasons that don’t need to be mentioned. We continued to text and summer came. He stayed in the area for summer baseball and to work, but we never really hung out except for one time. (Through out the summer I would go to the same building he was living on campus to visit other friends and they would give me a hard time because they thought we had a thing. I honestly just thought he was a really good friend and I didn’t want him to get freaked out if he heard my friends, so I always told them to shut up…even though I did have a slight amount of feelings for him). Fall came and school started again. We finally hung out and it was a little bit awkward because the person I had been talking to for so long, and knew a lot about was in front of me.

During this time, it was a bit weird and there were some mixed emotions, but after some serious conversations and prayers said, we decided to hang out more and see how things went. After about a week or so I got inpatient and asked him what his intentions were. (Patience has never been my strong suit) He said he sort of thought we were already dating. I told him that it did feel like that, but I would like to be official at some point as I have struggled with “basically dating” someone for two years prior. In that moment he asked if I would like to be his girlfriend. Of course me being me I thought about saying no, but I resisted and said yes.

We went a day or two before telling anyone and then we talked about going Facebook official together. In my 21 years of existence, this was my first time being Facebook official. Granted I know being Facebook official is not the biggest deal, but to me it means that we are serious because I don’t want to do that and then 5 seconds later not being dating and have to have those awkard conversations. I knew that this relationship was and is very different than anything I have every had before. This man is the most caring guy I know, who is very serious about our relationship, who cares about my well being, and is a man of God. It doesn’t matter what he is doing, he amazes me. Even if I tell him not to worry about me or to do anything for me, he does it anyways. For instance, I forgot about an assignment the other week and I was going to have to miss lunch to get it done, so he offered to bring me something and i told him not to worry about it. Well, I looked up and a baseball player was handing me a box and said it was from Matt. He had put together something that he though I would like. While this is such a simple little gesture, I was really grateful and I couldn’t believe it…and  he does things like this all of the time.

Some people have made the comment that this is something that has happened really quickly, but the fact of the matter is it is something that had developed over 7ish months. Some other people may say that I talk about him too much or that we are moving really quickly, but that is all relative. This is a guy that I really do care about and I know for a fact that God has put us in each other’s lives for a reason. I am excited to spend the up coming holiday’s and New Year with him, get to know and grow closer with his family, conquer our last semester together, go to his baseball games, and to see where we end up going!

I could have gone on for so much longer about everything that we have talked about, and the memories that we have already shared, but some of those things I think are meant to be kept between the two of us because that is what makes it special. Also, I don’t think that they are something that can be fully expressed via the internet.

Anyways, that is all for now and I will hopefully be posting some thing else rather soon.

Aud

Update

Hey There,

Wow…it has been a really long time since I have last made a post, and I could say I was just really busy, but that is a terrible excuse. To be honest, I have been busy and in my free time I chose either sleep or hanging out with people who mean the world to me.

Since August, life has been kind of busy, weird, and scary. The reality of graduation has really set in after taking my senior nursing pictures for our composite and sending my requests to do my capstone. I am excited for graduation because I want to have more freedom in my schedule, finally start the next chapter of my life, and travel some more. Before I can do that though, I have to survive the rest of this semester and next, but with the support of my family, friends and boyfriend it should be bearable.

Anyways, in case you are living under a rock,  today is Thanksgiving! I am blessed to be able to spend today off with my family just goofing around, watching football, and eating good food. I know it is important to be thankful every day, but it is nice to just have a day dedicated to spending time with family and for our society to take a bit of a breath from everyday life!

To conclude, I hope to be blogging a bit more now that I am back in the grove and will have quite a bit to share with everyone!

Let the holiday season begin!

Audrey Jane

Fall Hall

So…I am just like many other girls {and there is no shame in that} who buy everything she doesn’t need from Bath and Body Works. It may be a sweltering hundred degrees out, but I am wishing for sweater weather, dark lipsticks, fall flavors and pumpkin anything. I stopped by Bath and Body works to check out the new scents and stock up on a few things before heading back to school. If it was up to me, these bad boys and girls would be put to use immediately, but I still have some of my summer stock left to use up.

Last year my roommate and I burned through multiple Flannel candles so I picked up a few of the air fresheners {also really good for making your boyfriend’s room better}. I think my top two of this fall may be Sweater Weather and Carmel Pumpkin Swirl so I definitely suggest picking them up!!

 

 

Seeking Adventure

Today is August 1st, which means that I will be moving into college in 12 days for the last time. When I was a freshman I didn’t think this time would come fast enough, but now I am not ready for it. I have developed a wonderful support system, made numerous late night QT runs, cried over stupid boys and assignments (mostly assignments…God bless Jewell), but most importantly I have made memories and I am comfortable here. The thought of graduating and being thrown into a new environment is terrifying. I know I will find my way, but there is a small part of me that wonders what will really happen after I graduate.

College has allowed me to have grow tremendously as a person and I am now comfortable with who I am. I have this sense of adventure that keeps nagging me whenever I look at jobs and apartments in the Kansas City area. I do love where I currently live, but it will always be here. I would be perfectly content with getting a job right after college and settling down with the hopes of finding someone to share that adventure with, but I don’t know if I just want to be content.  I have no commitments to anyone right now, and relatively few responsibilities so now is the ideal time to get lost in the streets of Paris, play soccer with the kids of Tonga, eat foods I can’t pronounce, and meet people who see the world in a different way and learn from them.  Some might say that is what college was for, but for me college was a time to learn and find myself so I could be non-judgmental and have something to come back to when I get home.

Right now I don’t know a lot, but I do know somethings…I want to see God’s creations whether that be the views from atop a mountain or having a conversation with someone in a far away country. I also know that everything works out with God and my family behind me.

Calling All Fall Lovers

Hey peeps, If anyone follows me on Twitter (I tweet A LOT) then you may’ve noticed my excitement for Fall. Admittedly, Im writing this in August as I was convinced that August marked the start of Autumn (maybe I got confused by the similar names idk). But people associate August with Autumn right?! Imma go […]

via 30 Reasons Why Autumn Is The BEST Season! — LexiLife

Few of My June Favorites

Hey There!

I know quite a few YouTubers who share their favorites each month and I find those to be really enjoyable so I thought I would do the same! So here we go:)

Favorite Song: Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott.  

Click Here!

One of my friends suggested this song to me and while it definitely something that won’t get you pumped; it is something you can sing your heart out to. My dad is not a fan because my sister and I sing at the top of our lungs {No regrets. He will get over it}

Favorite Snack: Smart Pop White Cheddar Popcorn  

If you have never tried this I highly suggest it because it’s delicious and you can eat a ton of it without feeling guilty!!

Go To Drink: Caribou’s Cold Press with no milk or flavoring 

(Adult Beverage: Long Island Iced Tea…refreshing on the hot days of summer, but not fitness friendly)

Favorite Make-Up Product: Nyx Suede Sandstorm.

Definitely a different color for me, but after it dried I absolutely loved it! I highly suggest picking it up from your local Target.

Favorite Piece of Clothing/Accessory: Still obsessed with my nickel and Suede Earrings! I picked up the Caribbean Blue pair for the Fourth of July!

Favorite TV Show: New Season of OITNB (Orange Is The New Black) 

Ugh…so good, but over so fast. I don’t know what to do with my life.

High Necks & High Temps.

Hey There,

I hope your week is off to a good start! I had class today and then was off to my internship and now I am about to watch some good ol’ baseball.

Anyways, I was needed a couple more dresses to wear to my internship and I wanted to be able to dress them up and dress them down, so I went with a simple grey high- neck, swing dress. I paired it with my silver bling sandals from Target, some earrings from Nickel and Suede and my favorite black Ray-Bans from Ditto.[see side note]

My make-up consisted of a smoky eye done with the Naked pallet that was primed with Urban Decay’s eyeshadow primer, my mascara was Too Faced Better Than Sex, and my foundation was Covergirl (see previous blog for review). Pretty simple, which is it what I need for my busy days.

[side note]: Nickel and Suede is an awesome company who have been online, but just opened up their first store in my town. The earrings they have to offer are light-weight and extremely trendy. In addition to earrings they have some great leather bracelets that would go great in a stack with a boyfriend style watch. I can’t wait to see what earring is selected as July’s earring of the month.