Thursday, March 31, 2011

blue skies!

Blue skies lookin at me.
Nothin but blue skies blue skies what I see.

Its a beautiful sunny 65 here in Corvallis. I'm on my way home real quick to change into a fun sundress and grab some food. Hello spring term.

Yesterday Mom drove up to hangout for the night in Corv. It was so fun to finally show her the house and let her meet some of my Jstop buddies. We drove over to Newport for dinner and went down to the beach for about 7 minutes. It was absolutely freezing but we were laughing the whole time. After that, we found a little hole-in-the-wall chowder restaurant, where I learned to love clam chowder. Oops :)

I'm a happy girl right now.

<3 S

Oh jeez.

Its thursday morning.
I got up at 6:30.
I'm in class.
I'm tired.
Its only week one.
Oh jeez.





I'll write more about life after my classes.

<3 S

Monday, March 28, 2011

In the good ol' Corv.

Well, folks, I'm back in Corvallis.
Boos are allowed at this time.

It was so nice to not be stressed for 12 days straight, but guess what? I've been in Corvallis for less than 6 hours and I can already feel it in my back, which is apparently where I hold it all.

Yesterday was so great despite the 6+ hours in the car. We got to stop and have a bit of individual time with each of my mom's brothers, and also one of my cousins and his family (wife and 2 kids). After seeing all of them, we finally made it into Oregon with 4/5ths of the Buell fam, plus Molli.
We dropped Hannah in Talent with Molli where her other 2 best friends were waiting for her arrival. The 4 of them hugged and giggled like 15 year old girls do :]
After that stop, Andy, Mom and I made our way into Medford, arriving at the house of the Owen family. Andy's best friends Albert, Hilary, Adrienne, and many more participants met us at their house and many tears fell from pure happiness.

It was really weird having family in Medford and not being able to go back to the house at the end of the night. The good thing is that the old house looks better than it had in any of my previous trips over the last 9 months. I was so glad that Mom didn't have to see it in the worst of it's condition. Hannah had a rough time seeing the house though. I totally understand why it was so hard for her; until June, that was the only house she had ever called home. She and I parked in front of the driveway and cried a little bit. It was kind of a special moment because we prayed together, thanking the Lord for all of the memories that happened in those walls, and also thanking Him for the new memories that have been created in Ohio.

I'm excited because Mom and possibly Andy will be coming to Corvallis on Wednesday. It will be nice to finally be able to share this part of my life with them.

In present-day time, classes and work started back up today. It will be nice to get back into a routine but it sure was difficult to be in a classroom again after two weeks. It should be a good term, despite the fact that it's super busy. Oh well. It's nap time for Sarah.

<3 S

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Gotta work on that love stuff...

Well, the wedding was fantastic.

The Bride and Groom looked incredible and I had a bunch of fun. I was a proud cousin, Jake looked so handsome. I think I can speak for all of our family in saying that we are so happy to add Chelsea into our family.
I loved my dress, thanks Stanford ;] My shoes didn't last too long but it worked out perfectly because all of the bridesmaids were wearing cowgirl boots and I had mine in the car. I put on my boots and let them take me where they pleased throughout the night. It was nice to see all of my uncles and almost all of my aunts and cousins (Beth and Katie didn't make it down due to Beth's recent fall).

Weddings are totally my thing. I love every bit of them from the initial seating all the way to the last dance. They are so much fun...
Unless you're single. Then they're a bit awkward. Still super fun, still exciting, still my favorite. It makes me feel even more single when I see all the cute couples and romantic stuff. Oh well...

Once again I had a great time with Hayden. I am in love with that little four year old. He was the ring bearer in the wedding and the front line entertainment during the reception. His little cowboy boots didn't stop dancing until 10pm when he and I had the last dance. I picked him up to dance and he had already started melting into me, falling asleep. I asked him if he wanted to sit down with me and he said yes. Within fifteen minutes, he was passed out on my chest. That little boy has so much love in his heart which he gives away so freely. It breaks my heart that I can't see him more often. As he was falling asleep, he looks at his dad and says, "I want to spend more time with Sarah." My heart puddled at my feet. I am so excited to be a mom(in the future, don't worry readers). There's just something about the feeling of a little body cuddling up to you because they feel so safe, so calm and so loved. I love that feeling. It will be a fun period of my life.
But as they say in the grade school rhyme, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage.
Gotta work on that falling in love junk...

Friday, March 25, 2011

Oh yeah, now I remember why we fight...

Because my family is psychotic.

My mom flipped out and wasted us a good hour and a half.
Andy changed his story three times in an hour and Hannah started crying because we have to pick up her friend an hour later than planned.

The four of us in a car is the makings of a suicide mission.
Kill me now.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

It's Official...

It's official...
I got to hug 3/4 of my family today.
These hugs are fantastic!
Daddy, I miss you terribly but thank you for getting these guys out here.

It has been a great day. Despite our monsoon-like weather today, with 50 mph winds and sideways rain, I had a fantastic day with my Aunt and Uncle. We just hung around the house, baked cookies, got coffee, fixed my car, and picked up the fam from the airport.

My Aunt (by marriage, with no biological children) called me her rent-a-daughter because I got to do all of the fun daughter-ish things like bake cookies and such. We had a nice time.

Quick update: Yesterday I went to coffee with a friend from high school, John Gladman. We had a great visit for about an hour and a half and it was great to see a familiar face.

Tomorrow, I'll be driving with my aunt down to Roseville for mani/pedis with my cousin-to-be and her sisters, mom and my cousin Jake's biological mother. It will be fun, I love my cousin-to-be, Chelsea. I spent the last two days hanging out with her, finalizing the seating charts and other little things. She is so sweet and such a perfect match for my crazy cousin Jake. God Bless their marriage.

I am so happy riht now. I literally don't stop smiling. It's nice to be surrounded by so much love and it makes me realize how blessed I am.

<3 S

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Dontcha Know?!













I decided to post some pictures of the TX portion of Spring Break.

Enjoy :]

I'm not ready, but I'm excited.

Today, I get to hangout with my cousin's son Hayden for the day. The little 4 year old ball of energy is like the energizer bunny, he never stops going. I started off tired and as I was trying to get him to take a nap (so I could nap), he looked at me, gave me a hug, and said, "I'm having such a good time." He's melting my hearts faster than I realized.

I do NOT want to start a family right now but I sure am excited for when that time of my life comes. I'm not expecting it to be sunshine and rainbows but kids will be so worth the hard times.

Thank you Branch for letting me play with Hayden all day.

Monday, March 21, 2011

To sum it all up.

What a week.
I'm sitting here on the couch at Lynzies house looking at all the pictures that we're taken in the last five days.
What a week.

The stories from this trip are ones that I will hopefully never forget, filled with people I hope to never forget. We had such an incredible time, always doing something, even if it's just sitting around laughing. There is never a shortage of laughter when you have the Sanders clan around. Thank God for this week, thank God for these people, and thank God for these memories.

<3 S

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Only a best friend would do that...

Waiting in line to use the bathroom, Lynzie was doing the peepee dance. She turns to me and says "Oh my gosh, that guy is watching me dance around cuz I have to pee."

I turn towards her, start doing the same thing and say, "now you're not the only idiot dancing."

A smile broke out on her face. She says, "only a best friend would do that..."



That's the relationship we have. I love that girl as if she was my sister. I consider her whole family an extended branch of my own family. God has blessed me with some incredible people in my life and thankfully he allowed the three Sanders' to be part of that group.

I think I have a bit of an advantage in saying goodbye to Lynz. I never know the next time I'll see her so this is similar to that scenario. Just because we're used to saying goodbye for long periods of time does not mean that it gets easier.

In case you're reading this Lynz, I am so proud of you. Proud Air Force Sister right here.

<3 S

Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Kindness of Strangers.

It would be so easy for me to complain about a few things about this trip (but I won't talk about her). It would also be really easy to talk about all of the funny amazing things that have happened or were said. But one thing has stuck in my mind and it reminds me that there are some amazing people in this world.

At dinner last night, I went into the bathroom to take Lynz a stick of deodorant. While in the bathroom, Lynzie struck up a conversation with a woman washing her hands (Shocking, I know. Especially for Lynzie ;] ) The woman said that her nephew was stationed in Korea with the air force and Lynzie told her that she had just graduated from boot camp earlier in the day. We parted ways with the sweet woman and went back to our dinner.

As the woman and her husband got up to leave the restaurant, they took the long way to the door, stopping at our table in order to talk to Lynzie. The woman pulled out a twenty dollar bill and said that she wanted Lynzie to have the money and to thank her for serving our country. Lynzie was just as shocked as the rest of our table. We all started crying. Of course.

It's experiences like these that remind us that people DO care. The small sacrifices we make in life (or big ones like my best friend is doing right now) affect others and they appreciate what we do. In a world that focuses on negative media, the problems with society, and celebrity gossip, there are people out there who are making a difference.


My heart was touched.

<3 S

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Ay Yay Yay.

I feel like I'm going to be sick.
It has been a long day of traveling today but all is ending well. The big scare of the night is that I left my pass onto the AF base in Corvallis. Thank God for my beautiful and amazing roommates who literally saved me. They pulled a miracle maker and faxed me the papers that I needed. I cried. Hard.

I'm surprised I didn't really have a breakdown before or even during finals, but then today, after I had only gotten two hours of sleep the night before, had no dinner, and panicked hardcore, I finally let the floodgates open.

There were many good things about today though and I can't go into too much detail but here they are.

I absolutely love Lynzie's friends Jessica and Ricardo. I've known them since 3am this morning and I have already had such a blast with them. We chatted for the whole 3 hour plane ride, then we all hung out at the pool, and had a blast. And it's only day one.

We got to Texas! That's the biggest piece of excitement so far. That and the complimenting fact that I get to see Lynz tomorrow. I am SO incredibly proud of her and cannot wait to hug her. I'll have to wait my turn though, she has a fan club of 13 people. That's saying something about this girl. Love her.

Finished my paper so I am ALMOST done with Winter term. I'm just waiting for a few suggestions from my editor (Mom ;])

Okay. I can't stay up any longer.
Thanks for reading!

<3 S

We're off!

And we're off! I'm in the car on the way to the airport with Ken and Lori (Lynzie's parents), Aunt Karen (no real relation), Ricardo (Lynzies boyfriend), and Jessica (still not sure of the relationship but she's really nice). We head out of Sac at 6:15, have a short layover in LA and then we're TX bound! I'm so excited even though I only slept for about 2 1/2 hours.

Update later.
<3 S

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A long day of nothing.

573.

That's how many miles I drove today, all by myself. Other than the fact that I'm super tired of traveling, I feel very accomplished.

Highlighs of today:

See above statement.

I consumed more caffeine in one day than ever before; 2 lattes totalling 6 espresso shots, 2 energy drinks and a diet pepsi. The sad thing is I still needed a nap.

My new battery that I ordered arrived after I left Corvallis, BUT the Sanders' had an extra blackberry battery aka NEW BATTERY!

I drove by Santa and Mrs. Clause. Like for real.
His giant white cadillac's license plate was Santa, and it was the most Santa-looking man I've ever seen. Tiny spectacles, cherry nose, rosy cheeks and all. I waved to him :)

I made it to Lynzie's house which means I'm going to Texas and complications have yet to stop me (knock on wood).

Well I am heading to the airport in 3 hours. Goodnight fearless readers!

<3 S

it all comes down to this...

Tonight the roomies + kristin put on a midnight breakfast for ourselves, complete with eggs, bacon, potatoes and banana pancakes. I'm so full...

On that note, I go to bed with a full stomach, a packed car and a happy head, knowing that tomorrow winter term will be over and spring break will begin.

P.s. Shout out to kourtney scoggins who set up my playlist of three solid cds for the drive. Love ya girly.

<3 S

Monday, March 14, 2011

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

MY MOM BROTHER AND SISTER ARE COMING OUT TO THE WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Classy in Corvallis.




I've got a glass of wine, the smell of garlicky goodness filling up my lungs and my Snuggie slippers on my feet. I'm taking a break from my pre-finals freak out. I love this kind of moment in life where you just feel at peace and just plain classy.

Becky's mom came down to Corvallis for the day and is cooking us all dinner, but there's a catch; she made way too much food so we have to invite a bunch of friends over for dinner. Drats. Becky and I have been dialing up our tellies to get some extra mouths over here for a dinner night. It's super nice having a mom around the house but I really had an I miss my Mommy moment when they went on a walk. It's kind of weird that my mom hasn't even seen my house. Actually it's really weird. But I'll see them soon enough...

So my day has consisted of laundry, writing my Cinderella paper, attempting to begin packing and all that good stuff. It's still weird because I can't believe finals week starts tomorrow. I have quite a bit of studying left to do, especially for my Animal Science final but I've been working mostly on my paper. I think it's time to switch gears and get my hick on.

Since my last post I watched the Phoenix Pirates win the state championship 4A basketball game which was quite a moment on its own. After that, my roommates and I joined up with a handful of friends from college. We had a blast to say the least. Saturday brought more homework and a great Coffee date with my best friend Tessa and her sister Laci, Kylah and John. I love those guys. Saturday night we went to the OSU vs. Utah gymnastics meet. I always love watching the expressions of people who have never seen a live meet. I get a little teary eyed at gym meets though because I miss my little Hanny Bananny. She had a great meet today and I'm so proud of her.

It's been a solid last weekend of winter term and I'm sure Spring term will bring just as much fun.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Are the Pirates in the House?!?!?!?!

Wow... way to go Pirates. Shout out to Justin Bohn for the game winning three pointer at the Semi-final Boys basketball game tonight in the last 2.8 seconds. I am so excited to watch these guys fight for their title as State Champs. I am so proud of them!

I almost cried, it was so great. I even called my mom and brother at midnight their time to wake them up and tell them about the epic-ness of the Pirate Nation.


GOOOOO PIRATES!
Uh oh. I'm freaking out again.
A) I've gotten a lot of work done so far this week but my motivation is starting to struggle.
B) So much to do in the next week. AKA Finals freak out is starting to hit.
C) Just realized that all of the classes I want to take over the summer are not possible due to OSU getting out too late in the summer.
D) One of the colleges in Canton has the perfect major for what I want to do.
E) I want to know about the internship.
F) I hate money. More like I hate the lack of money due to bills, school and life.


I'll write something more positive later today.

P.S. Here's my painting.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Bippidy Boppidy Boo.

It's Wednesday of dead week and I haven't had a total break down due to stress. I feel like I should make a toast to that fact alone. So now I raise my pink dollar tree water bottle and take a swig.
Cheers.

I feel like I have accomplished quite a bit this week but I have a long ways to go. Tomorrow includes a one page Animal Science reproduction paper (easy), a four page Women's Studies paper and watching my high school team play a basketball game. Then later on in the week/weekend, I'll be starting on my 8 page Women's Studies paper, packing, studying for two finals and getting my car all packed up for my trip to California. I'm starting to get pretty darn excited. As long as I stay focused for the next few assignments, I should make it through this week and it will be on to Spring Break. Not quite sure what I'm going to do when I get back from Texas (into California) but it will be fun no matter what I do. But until then it's crackdown time.

A few noteworthy things that happened today.

It was the first day of giving up facebook. Ouch. Definitely more difficult then anticipated. (I'm giving it up for Lent, even though I am not Catholic. I feel like it's still a good practice. To show my self and the world that I am willing and able to give something up for the Lord.)

I applied for a summer internship at a huge company in Canton. I applied within 10 minutes of receiving the email notifying me that it was available so hopefully that looks good on my part. I would love to get an internship over the summer. Not only would I get experience in Public Relations/Communications, but it would also give me something to do and a way to meet new people. Cha-Ching. If you're reading this and you're the praying type, please pray that I get it. I sure will be.

I talked to my fam bam on skype. I miss them so much. I'm really homesick right now and it totally sucks knowing that I probably won't get to see them until June. It will have been 6 and a half months since I've seen them. Barf. One thing that will help is seeing all of my extended family at Jake's wedding but that will make me miss them more. Technically, everything makes me miss them more. But I'm a big girl. I can be strong...

I watched Cinderella today. I get to write an eight page paper on the movie. Could be worse right?! I just love everything about that movie.
I finished my self Portrait Painting today. So happy with how it turned out. Hope I get a good grade on it!

Well, it's midnight and I have to be up in 5 hours. So I'm outie.

<3 S