Love Like A Sunset

This post was originally going to be a long story about my previous relationship. I feel like I am misunderstood because of it and I wanted to take the time to share, express my feelings and rant. I thought about it all day at work; coming up with the perfect quotes to use of what my life has been like these past two years. It’s frustrating how a person who I care so much about will never feel the same way about me and how much I really just want a friendship from him but am sick of feeling…well, I don’t know. Tired of it all I guess. People ask me why I still care for someone who hasn’t always been there for me. But to me that is the silliest question ever. I admire who he is, hearing his thoughts on life and hanging out with him. This has not changed since day one. I want to be the friend who will always be there for someone no matter what. As Christians I like to think that Jesus wants us to forgive and be friends towards everyone. Why all this hate and built up grudges against one another? That being said, I know I am losing him to another girl and once they are dating all chances of a friendship will disappear and I will then have not one, but two people up at camp who refuse to acknowledge my presence. I am afraid of this. Afraid of camp becoming a place where people aren’t excited to have me up there. Which leads me to another topic of discussion…camp. I was having a conversation with my good friend and we were discussing the fact that camp has become the cliqueist place ever!  Little groups have formed and no one wants to venture out of them. I brought my brother up to camp last year because I knew without him I would not be guaranteed a person to hang out with, and even then I found myself wandering around and hanging out with the kids…and was one of the few cabin leaders to do so that week. Camp is for the kids anyways. It is an opportunity to let Christ’s love shine through you and over to the campers. It is an opportunity to serve the Lord…not an opportunity to bask in your already tightly woven friendships. Not that hanging out with friends is bad, just look around and invite others to join in.

Anyways, so I was going to write the entire story of my relationship. I did so in my head the 8 hours I spent at work, but by the end of my shift I realized that writing my feelings down wouldn’t solve anything and that although a spout of jealousy may linger I really just want my ex to be happy, so yes I am happy for them. I just am angry that I feel like I am losing another camp friend because of it. My feelings lasted almost the entire day, but after thinking everything through I did decide that this is God’s doing and I was not going to fight with it anymore. I initially wanted to react with a huge blog post (not that this isn’t turning into a long one), but figured that would not resolve anything…reminding me of what Donald Miller writes in one of his books… He states that before reacting to something, take a step back and count to 5. In this case, I had to take a step back and work for 8 hours.

…maybe I am just over analyzing though. Maybe there is nothing going on at all and for friendships to happen someone just needs to throw the past behind them and pick up the phone. Initiation is something many of us lack.

Anatomy

My life in a nut shell.Anatomy terms. Memorizing. Day after Day.

 

Happy Birthday Christopher! Love you!!!

College Life

Oh, the life of a college student…after three and a half years is finally sinking in or catching up with me. Either way, I am trying to shed off that freshman fifteen and buckle down for these last three months.  Thank you mum oh so much for the five dollar surprise in the mail today!!! I seriously have lived off of Top Ramen and diet Coke for the last two weeks and can’t wait to buy a couple apples with it tomorrow! I have been craving fruit! Yum Yum!

• These next two weeks will suck (I hate using that word…but it’s the truth). I have three exams (not including the one I took today), a quiz and two papers due! These three exams are in my hardest classes…ruminant nutrition and anatomy. Though in open lab the other day I think I found myself a study partner and we are studying for the exam tomorrow evening. She is from Bothell and wants to be a nurse also!
• I took a break from eating Top Ramen this weekend and Kari and I made salmon, rice and asparagus! It was Yum-O! We also karaoked to Michael Jackson until we were laughing so hard we were crying and we watched “This Is It”.  A fun weekend indeed despite the stress of school that lingered in the back of my mind.
• Speaking of Michael Jackson…I have gotten to be such a big fan of his!!! I LOVE his music and think that he was such a talented dancer! My obsession reminds me much of what I was like with LOTR and Orlando Bloom back in the day. I DID almost buy a MJ t-shirt at Walmart…but figured I definitely did not have the extra money to buy it.
• I also was able to go to church this weekend…but it makes me realize just how much I miss Mars Hill. I can’t wait to be home this summer to go and I really want to become a Mars Hill member so that I can start getting more involved.
• In the near future I am going to apply to volunteer at Stevens Hospital over the summer and I will be registering for my CNA class soon that I will be taking in May after I graduate.
• I love my cycling/weight lifting class!!! And have Friday mornings off from work so I have been running 3.1 miles every Friday to help prepare me for the 5K runs that I want to take part in. My first 5K run will be on March 27th!!
• The search for a breeder is still going. I have e-mailed so many people but no one will have red heeler puppies available in May. There is a chance I may be getting my puppy from Oregon…but I am still waiting to hear back if this guys dog got pregnant or not.
• Tuesday’s I spend all day at the University of Idaho and have a two hour break which I get to spend with some of my best friends here; Kari and Brian. During this two hour break we have been playing frisbee golf at the U of I course right on campus! SO much fun!!!

Well, that is it for my update. I probably won’t be updating much for the next two weeks. Hope all is well with everyone! Oh and HAPPY FEBRUARY!!! (the longer days are slowly coming…)

Skype Conversation

My skype conversation of the day with my friend Brian… Just thought it was funny, so now I am posting it to share.

 Brian: http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/prisoners-dance-to-mj-s-this-is-it/6ziiqlc
 Alexandra: wow…that is soo cool!
 Brian: yeah not only does he inspire animal science students and future nurses but he also fixes the troubled souls of America’s lower class
Alexandra: haha yep!!
Alexandra: oh that Michael…he would inspire many
Brian: just not the young children Allie. Lets let them find someone else for inspiration

This Is It

Yay! I didn’t get around to buying it today, but plan on buying it soon (as an early birthday present) to watch again this weekend for a study break.

And for those of you who think “People At Walmart” is funny… you haven’t seen this site: http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

This Made Me Sad

They are closing the Puget Park Drive In!!! I am SO sad. More on the story here. But tomorrow “This Is It” comes out…so I guess that will cheer up my day! Happy Monday!!

Memories from the drive in:

Dairy Field Trip

Yesterday for my Advance Dairy Management class I went on a field trip to a dairy…

Red Heelers

Did I ever tell you why I wanted a red heeler? Raleigh will be a perfect dog for me! I can not wait!!!…hurry up May! Well anyways, I think these pictures will help explain just why a red heeler is a fit for someone like me….we both like to be outside, we enjoy running and we enjoy working with cattle.

Pictures taken from: http://www.sidekickacds.com/

On My Mind

My life hasn’t been too exciting lately, but sometimes I like it best that way. Instead of complaining about school work, ranting about problems, being depressed about not being able to cabin lead at camp this winter, or stressing about the future, it is so nice to sit back and take a look at the blessings in your life. Life itself is a blessing, just some days you never get the chance to slow down to realize this. This evening I was studying my millions of anatomy terms and I just felt the need to drop everything and pray. It was needed. Jesus is love and prayer is everything.

Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan, the author of the controversal book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” was here on campus to speak this past Wednesday. Unfortunatly I did not get to go listen to him because of my work out class, but I did listen to the pannel of speakers that spoke before him. Personally I have not read any of his books (they are on my summer reading list) but I do know what he writes about from professors and friends who have read his books. That being said I have just three points that have come up in my classes this week that are FACTS and go against what Michael Pollen himself believes.

1) In my human nutrition class my teacher took 1 minute to prove that organic IS NOT any healthier for you then other foods (plus it is 3x the cost!!). She did this by comparing two nutritional facts from and organic brand and a conventional brand of macaroni and cheese. I am not against organic food, but I am against people eating it because they believe that it is healthier for them. My nutrition teacher, Dr. McGuire, stated to BE skeptical when hearing things from Michael Pollan. He may be a good speaker, but his background is in journalism…not science. Though he does have some good points does he really know what he is talking about??? Also in my nutrition test book it states, “The USDA makes not claims that organically produced food is safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food, and the labeling of foods as “organic” is not meant to suggest enhanced nutritional quality of food safety.”

2) Is corn an unnatural diet for cattle? No. As the Washington State Beef Commission states, “Cattle can get the nutrients they need from eating a wide range of plants including a variety of grains and grasses.  Most beef raised in the US comes from grain-finished cattle which spend most of their lives on a pasture eating grass before going to a feedlot for four to six months.  While at feedlot, cattle are fed a combination of grain and hay formulated by a professional nutritionist to ensure a well-balanced and nutritious diet.”

3) Michael Pollan wants us Americans to eat less meat…he states that on average we eat 9oz of meat a day! But my meat science teacher, Dr. Doumit pointed out that we actually don’t eat 9oz at all…we eat more like 6.2oz. This is because about 18.5% of the product weight is lost when cooking meat, we trim the fat off of our meat before eating it and there is plenty of plate waste in America. The 9oz that Michael Pollan describes is what we buy packaged at the store.

  The United States does a great job at providing cheap food for its citizens and many other countries. Don’t have a meatless Monday, instead go to McDonald’s and buy a cheap, greasy cheeseburger! Because it is not the meat that is causing the obesity in America, it is simply the over eating.