yep, i'm starting a blog!

yep, that's right, i'm starting a blog. i am terrible at updating family and friends on all the events of my life, so why not start a blog to keep everyone updated and happy? where to start?! i will start with winter term.. the term of hell! boy was i busy! i took 19 credits and happy to say i managed a 3.84 gpa, not too shabby, right? i do have to give a shout out to andrew who taught me just about my entire statistics class and is the only reason i pulled out an a in that course. holy stressful though, happy my last winter of my undergrad is officially over! the other part of winter hell is soccer season. we spend the entire term basically getting our booty's kicked by our coaches and strength trainers and beef up like no other. i was actually really enjoying this winter and looking forward to practices, but then i got injured. i tore my meniscus in a weird tackle at training one day. had my mri the next day and results the day after that (i have to say quick and free treatment is definitely the luxury of being an athlete here).  i tried a few different things, but nothing was able to make my knee feel "right", so i decided surgery was going to be my best option. so i had surgery the week before finals, which made my hell term of finals soooo much harder. not to mention i couldn't keep medicine or food down so i was constantly in pain or feeling like i was going to vomit. after about a week of that i did start to feel great! i am already feeling a lot better and i am able to run without fear. i am definitely happy with my decision but i seriously hate being out of shape and pretty much get super mad and frustrated about it everyday during my rehab. here is a pic of me and dempsey cuddling after surgery:

this really only lasted about a minute, he wanted nothing to do with me, crutches, or the big wrap on my leg...

i was also super lucky to have my mom come down and take care of me for 4 days, it was soo helpful and im really sad i couldn't eat or barfed up most of my homemade dinners :( andrew was really helpful too and helped me after my mom had to leave.

so more winter term hell.. i have been working like CRAZY! i am working just about full time which has not been easy. i work as a CNA for an in-home care agency and go to people's homes to care for them. a lot of people i work with have now died or are currently dying which is really hard to deal with sometimes. i have been working with this lady and her family 4 nights a week, it is going to really get me when she passes. i have bonded with her and her family and they are all just so sweet and kind and fun.. not to mention they have two cats who keep me entertained. during the winter i would work over night (10 or 11pm to 6 or 7am), then go to 8:15 practice or weight lifting, then to class and lab, then finally to sleep! it was so exhausting.. i have to give another shout out to andrew who put up with me when i would literally be delusional from lack of sleep, or start crying, and for taking care of dempsey, AND for letting me sleep in his bed during the day when i was too tired to go home to my own bed. he's the best, right? i think so! definitely could not have survived this winter term without his help and support.

so the fun stuff: our intramural basketball team (soccer junies) won the championship again. it was fun to be a part of the team again and was happy to get to help coach in the finals but sad i couldn't play in the last games because of my knee. i did score 3 baskets this season though! i am a baller, what can i say? basically we are super athletic and just go out there and have fun but don't let anyone beat us.. because that would be embarrassing! here is an article about our team before the finals, it is seriously really funny and worth a read:

http://www.dailybarometer.com/oregon-state-has-a-dynasty-in-intramural-basketball-powerhouse-soccer-junies-1.3009645 

andrew and i spent a day in newport with dempsey. we took him along the boardwalk, ate seafood lunch, and then played on the beach. dempsey had SO much fun running around chasing birds and chasing (actually running away from) waves. we got to watch someone make saltwater taffy which was also really cool and got travis that poncho he has been begging for. 

dempsey also took obedience class which was a learning experience for us. luckily andrew came to the classes too and it was nice to have the support. he learned a few new tricks and we learned a lot about how to teach him behaviors and make them stick. he still has a ton to learn but it has been really fun to do and helpful when we need the commands to work. 

my family visited this weekend! my mom, dad, cc, and the dogs (buddy and shawnee) came to visit for a few days. we dyed my hair and easter eggs (different dye though!), ate homemade lasagna, took the dogs to the dog park a few times, and relaxed. it was nice! 

so although it was a "hell term", i survived! and it wasn't as awful as it sounds, just busy! i am so blessed to have andrew, dempsey, my team, a job, a house, everything i could need here in corvallis. i know my family would help me out all the time too if they weren't in washington! 

this was probably the longest blog post ever, but i had to do one big update on this past term. my other updates will be much smaller (i hope!)