So...Ed left this morning. He's currently in Atlanta waiting for his next plane to take off. I miss him so much, and it's only been a couple of hours since our last kiss!! Sigh. These past two weeks went by way too fast. We visited OCSA, which was okay. It was great for him, he really seemed to enjoy visiting everyone back there. I don't know, I liked seeing everyone again, but Ms. Cajigas. She kinda spoiled the entire thing for me, making me feel stupid. God, and she wonders why I never talked to her about the problems I was having senior year?? I'm sorry, but I still cannot stand to be in a room with her and it's been almost two years since I graduated! Ugh!

Anyway, Ed and I went to the mall one day and I applied at Billabong. Haven't heard anything from them, but I have to go back and turn in two other applications for Claire's and Starbuck's, so I'm gonna go back and ask for a status report. Ed seems to love the idea of me working at Starbuck's, so I'm going to try and really get that one if Billabong turns out to be a no-go. Also going to visit a couple of other stores and ask if they're hiring should I not get the others. I really like the idea of working in a mall. I could go shopping during my breaks!! LOL. Probably not the best way to save money though..eh, well. There is a food court so I'll be able to choose from a great variety of menus during lunch and dinner breaks. There's a Nature's Table for healthier options, right?

I'm gonna need a day to ride the bus and figure out approximately how long that would take. And to figure out which buses to take and where to switch off. I'm thinking the 26 from Poinciana to the Osceola Sq. Mall, and then the number 4, but I don't know if the number 4 goes all the way to the Florida mall. My change box is definitely going to come in handy for this!!

Let's see, what else did Ed and I do while he was here? Spent a lot of time with his family. They are so cool, I love all of them! I think they might be getting a dog too, Eddie wants one and all the girls want one. Eddie said he was going to the place where they have the dogs today to play with them, and I hope he had fun! Dogs are cool, but I've become more of a cat person having had cats my entire life. All my neighborhood friend's dogs all bit me too..not a great first impression of dogs, huh?

We took some portraits at Wal-Mart, those should be developed and ready for pick up at the end of February. We also went to Walden's and I got a couple of health/fitness magazines along with Seventeen. Also tried Red Lobster for the first time-it was good. I like the place; I think it's too bad I'll probably get to eat there only once every couple of months or so since my mom can't stand the place. We went out to a sushi bar last night, they had some awesome cheesecake for desert. Me and Sarah didn't really eat anything, though she probably at a little bit more than I did. I haven't seen Sarah since I quit Publix, so it was kinda cool to see her again. Found out we've got a few things in common-love of mountains, dislike sushi, don't eat a lot, etc. It's interesting how our lives are kind of becoming intertwined I guess. I don't really hang out with Ed's friends that much though, like Mike and Joel and such, but I do think they are pretty cool guys.

I think that's the end of today's blog..I have a couple of other things I wanted to share, but I think they can wait until tomorrow. God bless!

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I didn't grow up going to church, though I was jealous of those I knew who did. My mother took us to a few churches growing up, but we never went on a regular basis, but I wish we would have. I loved every second of Sunday School that I attended as a child, even if it was far and few between. In high school, I began attending a bible study held by my friend, Esther. After a few months, Esther invited me to attend church with her. I did--a year or two later. I wish I'd have accepted the invitation earlier, but what's done is done. I accepted Jesus in April/May of 2006, though I do not remember the exact date. Since accepting Jesus, I have stopped wearing more revealing fashions, such as low-cut tops and short skirts. I have also started attending bible study at church, along with many various church activities like SuperWow 2006.

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So...apparently my parents have talked about fixing my dad's car (the one that sits in the driveway 24/7), and letting a certain individual drive it. Hm..that's exciting. Now where to get the money to fix it? I'm jobless at the moment and that's going to cost about $400-$500. At least, I think that's what it was last time I asked my dad in July/August. I'm going to ask my mom tonight if she knows an estimate when she comes home from her errands, too. If I had a stupid job, that'd be easy to save up in just a few short weeks. (I could just save up the money and fix the car, but I also need insurance!!) Man, I need a job. I haven't heard anything back from the 6-7 stores I applied at, and I am going crazy here without a darn job.

On the plus side, my legs are starting to look a little toned since I've been walking for about the past month and a half. That's very cool. My stomach is also looking a little more toned too..definitely cool with that. I think I may start working on my arms sometime in the next few weeks. I'm gonna look awesome by the time Ed comes home!! So...I think I've got out everything I wanted to say. Well, almost. But the other stuff is just for Ed, and I want to talk to him about it either online or on the phone cause it's mostly questions.

Pray for the car and that I find a job soon!!!

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So this weekend started out great. Esther came home and we got to hang out on Saturday. We also discussed some of our plans for the next few months-none of them are one hundred percent yet. She gave the idea of me staying with her in the dorms and going to classes with her at Trinity College for a week or two in April. That would be fun-I'd get to see what it's like to be away at college before I'm actually away at college come August/September. She might stay here in St. Cloud over the summer and intern at Cornerstone which would definitely give us a lot of hang out time together-I hope she does that. Her original plan was to spend the summer in California with her grandma and her cousin, but it doesn't really look like that's going to work out. She's still trying to make up her mind though. There's so many things she wants to do. I'm definitely still trying to go to Ecuador; I've got a meeting tonight with the missions group. Yeah, I finally found who I needed to find for that, yay!! Hopefully that works out so I can have something confirmed for the summer.

Sunday was okay-that's when I found who I needed to find, and I got the house to myself that afternoon which was way cool. I love having the house to myself. I did miss bible study though; my parents actually wanted it to be family movie night, but I wasn't interested in any movies that are out right now. Next weekend, I want to see..um, something that I can't remember the title of right now..

Anyways, just when we reached the halfway mark in our first deployment-there's bad news. Ed starts hearing that they may have to stay overseas another 4 or 5 months beyond their originally anticipated return date. . I immediately see the downside to this, but Ed, optimist he is, sees the good to an extended tour in Iraq. He'll have less time left in the Army when he does return, and less chance of redeployment. I'll also get to stay at school with Esther for a couple more months. I still don't want his tour extended though--I miss him so much; I want him home NOW.

Oh, and to top off this weekend, my cat has gone missing. We're not sure if she's run away or she's just hiding, but someone left the backdoor open long enough for either cat to escape. We got Scrappy back indoors, but Addie is still missing.

[Thanx for the prayers ikamashokie, hikarixgaki, and Nuttz.]
{Edit: We found Addie; she was hiding.}

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So, I got to visit Esther at college last week..so much fun!! I got there around 5 on Weds. afternoon and we had dinner together Chick-Fil-A. You ever tried dipping those waffle fries in the ranch dip?? It's GOOD. After dinner, we went and put my things in the dorm room we were saying in and went off to church. It was awesome! The youth group is a bit smaller than Cornerstone, and runs a little differently, but it was still really cool. They had music--my favorite part of worship and one of the few things I couldn't live without, nice people, and a good message that reminded me of the one Pastor Karl gave the Sunday prior..hm. Maybe God is trying to tell me something? I got free stuff too, and candy, although it wasn't really necessary. I enjoyed my time there, I had a lot of fun.

On Thursday, we went to two classes in the morning, and one in the afternoon. I don't remember what the classes were exactly, but some of the students shared their experiences of witnessing to others. Mike told a story about him and his partner were witnessing to an old man, who was friendly at first, but got angry at them when he learned one of them was sometimes hard of hearing. Later, when they caught up with some of their other Christian friends, they found out another pair had come across the same old mine--they just didn't see his angry side! The second class of the day was...well I don't remember. I started doodling...I think it may have been something to do with poetry or whatnot.

Before lunch, and after the second class of the day, Esther and I walked around the campus. At least..we're pretty sure we were still on Trinity Property. We sat with Charlie and some of his friends at lunch before going to a dorm meeting that was being held that day. After lunch we attended another class, and I doodled again. I was starting to fall asleep at the point, and indeed took a nap after the class ended and Esther went to work. After napping, I hung out for about an hour, sent a few messages on MySpace, and then went to dinner. (Would you believe I got quite a few messages and comments while I was gone? I never get any when I'm at home!)

Ed called after dinner and I got to talk to him for a little bit while I waited for Esther to return from work. I also watched some Tv and Pirates of the Caribbean. We went out to Starbucks once she got back with Charlie, who is a really cool dude who shared 'the mormon bathroom' story during the drive. I don't think there is any way I could retell it the way he told it, but it is hysterical! He's a bit of a comedian, that Charlie is. He told a couple of jokes while we walked around outside of Starbucks, next to Publix and Target, before we headed back to Trinity.

Friday, I attended two more classes with Esther: Interpersonal Communications and Intro to Psychology. Those two were probably my favorites. They both kept my interest long enough to keep me from doodling too. IC was probably my absolute favorite. I don't quite remember what was being taught, but something about relationships with friends and how the professor is friends with some people who are now in jail..Yeah. In Psychology we learned some of the different symptoms and behavioral patterns of people with schizophrenia which was very cool to learn about. (I'm planning on majoring in psychology/counselling, so it's no surprise I found that course interesting.) We had chapel after Psych. and I don't remember the message exactly as my mind kind of drifted elsewhere, but I got to learn a few new worship songs, which was way cool! The speaker did a really good job, and there were a few announcements made concerning the graduating seniors and whatnot.

After lunch on Friday, Esther and I both finished packing our things for the weekend and headed back home. All in all, my trip to Trinity was AWESOME. I totally loved it and I cannot wait to go there full time in the fall. Great classes, nice people, and someplace where I finally feel I belong. That's where I'm meant to be, I can feel it. I just have to wait a few more months..now to get that $200 I need to reserve my space in the dorms and in the classes...hm. Any ideas? I'm job hunting, but it's not going very well, so any ideas would be welcome!!

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Note for future reference: DO NOT DRINK CAFFEINE BEFORE BED THE NIGHT BEFORE CHURCH.

Yeah, I did that last night. And now I have more energy than I need at 2:30 AM. I have to get up and get ready for church in 5 hours. And you know what? That's when I'm finally going to be tired and craving sleep!! Ugh.

Anyways, that's not what I want to blog about right now. Went over to Ed's house on Friday to hang out with his mom and sisters. Originally the plan was to go over after her doctors appointment, and hang out, but I ended up going to appointment with her and waited in the waiting room with Elisa, who stayed home from school that day. I totally kicked her butt at Tic-Tac-Toe. She kicked mine at hangman and rock, paper, scissors. We then went to Ihop for lunch, which is someplace I'd never been. I liked it, but it seems more like a breakfast restaurant, you know? Someplace you go for breakfast more so than lunch or dinner. I'd love to go there for breakfast some time to try their breakfasts, too.

After lunch, we went back to their house and just hang out. I took a nap for a little bit in Elexis' room, and woke up to find myself alone in the house with Ginger. Yeah, they got a new puppy. She's so tiny, and so cute!! I wish I had pics to share, but there aren't any of her [yet]. Mom says she got a new camera to take pictures of her, but she hasn't done so yet. [Note a change in that sentence, babe. You catch it?]

That's all. Esther's suppose to be home next weekend!!! For the summer!! Yay!! I cannot wait; we're definitely going to hang out. Oh, and I have to tell her my good news: My dad is finally going to start letting my sister and I start driving. It's about dang time, if you ask me. I only had to wait five and a half years!!!

Love Ya!!

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