On The Road Day 2

9:30 a.m. Last night in Idaho was H-O-T-T Hot! I have a new appreciation for how the little gingerbread man must feel as he is placed in the oven. That’s what it felt like in our tent. Our campsite is located in a quiet area, and by quiet I mean there’s a main highway on the left, a busy train track on the right, a cement trucking site in front, and a redneck trailer park behind. The one neat thing about this place is that it has free internet so I was able to get a snort of my drug of choice, facebook.

My parents are looking intensely at a map trying to figure out how on earth Mapquest was telling us to take these no-name roads. Now they have figured out the CORRECT route and we are hitting the road….only 3 hours behind schedule, yay!

10:25 a.m. Back at the campsite, the camp host was telling my step dad that the clouds we saw in the sky were not rain clouds, but smoke from wildfires about an hour down the road. We are now driving and seeing the fires she was talking about. A giant cloud of brown smoke lingers on our left with noticeable flames every few hundred feet. Being I have no sense of smell (congenital anosmia) I asked my mom if it stinks. She just nodded her head rapidly and then said, “Oh yeah.” It’s kinda weird to see bright green corn fields on my right, and nothing but thick brown haze on my left.
9:30p.m. We stopped in Moab, Utah for the night. The campground is much nicer, the view is awesome, and the temperature is perfect. I finally got a nice long warm shower. The best part of all, I'm at the half way mark to Tulsa. 1,000 miles down, 1,000 miles to go! Tomorrow we'll cross through two more states, Colorado and New Mexico.
I snapped this picture just about 20 miles from our campgrounds,

On the road Day 1

So here I am, on the road. The journey has begun. We left early this morning, and will be traveling through the several states today through Friday. Saturday is new student orientation.
Our first stop was in Hood River.

Twenty minutes later we were on the road again. It was cloudy and cold when I woke up, and the clouds were worsening as we packed. By Hood River there were only patches of clouds, now I am looking at a blue sky with only a couple dots of white in between. It seems the skies ahead get brighter with each passing mile. And so is the horizon of my future. Each mile is a step closer to college, to a career, to friendships, to marriage, to the rest of my life. Each mile closer, is a mile closer to accomplishing my goals and dreams; travel, adventure, career, and changing lives. There are many unknowns, but I know from my experiences the past two years, it will all be fine and God will continue to show how amazing he is.

My funny bone was tickled when 5 miles past the Idaho border, I saw a truck carrying potatoes. We have stopped for the night in a little town called Mountain Home, ID. We went to a little "Ma and Pop" Diner. I had a delectable root beer float with cherry on top before dinner, and a 1/2 lb beef cheeseburger with mashed potato and gravy on top for my meal. I don't know which I loved more, the good food or the total old fashioned small town diner environment. While we travel the road, my brother has been busy working on moving into my old bedroom. He informed me, "This is the way to clean out a room" .....

Good luck to Nick at home, and onward to Utah we go!

In 24 hours....

In 24 hours I will be walking out the front door, and not coming back for a long time, the longest I have ever been gone. I don't know when I will be back, I don't know the circumstances that will have me there. Will I move back, or just visit? Right now I do not even have a guy I am interested in; could I be wearing a shiny ring next time I step through that door?
I got a hair cut today, cleared out my room, and am just waiting for my mom to get home to pack all my stuff in her car. My brother set up Pandora for me in the house, so I have had nostalgic, going away, type corny music going all day. I thought at this point in the game I would be a bawling wreck, but all I feel is excitement and joy. I've had some very bad memories in this house, and some really great ones too. Over all I feel joy and I am grateful for this house that built me, and I am ready to move on.
Right now I am not sure what life has in store for me; but tomorrow I get to start finding out. I'm becoming Anna.

Final Farewells

Sunday was a day of well wishes and goodbyes. The morning started very early with a 3 a.m. drive home from the ER. I was diagnosed with asthma, and given an inhaler. It's quite frightening having your first asthma attack. Felt like my entire chest was sinking in. I started getting very dizzy, and struggled to remember how to do simple things like stand up. They had me take two puffs from an inhaler and my throat opened up in about two minutes. They sent me home with the inhaler; I've had to use it twice since Sunday morning. They said it might have been anxiety and stress related due to my upcoming move but to follow up with my regular doctor to be sure. I thought that was weird because I haven't felt stressed, only excitement. It doesn't make sense to me that it was a stress related asthma attack, but I am really hoping that's all it is and it will go away once I am settled in Oklahoma.
Seven hours after we got home, we headed to church. The pastors called me up and announced to the congregation that I am leaving the church. They prayed for me and said good luck. It was a weird thought, that soon I will be calling somewhere else, "my church". I have found two churches in the area that I am excited to try out, after watching some of their sermons online.

Right after church we headed home and prepped for a "Going away party". My friend Paul beat us there. He drove from S.E. Portland to hang out, only to have to turn around and leave an hour later for work. I was touched that he came such a long way for such a short time. My aunt and cousin also came from about two hours away.

My favorite family, the Nutters, all made a joint effort to make sure I am good on coffee while at college. One got me an electric water kettle, another got me coffee beans and the other got me a french press. I sent my future roomate a message on facebook about it cause I was so happy.

About 60-70 people showed up to say so long. My uncle and I were chatting for a bit, and he bet me that I would be back in Oregon within 5 years. I told him I'll place that bet on the lint in my pocket.
I put a blank book on a table and asked every one to write some well wishes and their best piece of advice. I laughed when I saw what my uncle had wrote.

!!Everything's about to change!!

It's been so hard to juggle sorting, packing, planning, and working all in my schedule. Reality is starting to sink in. I have 19 days left in Oregon. 19 DAYS!! This time next month I will have already been in school for a full week. This time next month orientations will be done, syllabus's will have been read, homework will have been assigned, my parents will have returned home from dropping me off. It's no longer "in a few months" it's in a few days!
I am hanging out with friends, walking my favorite walking trails, doing my least favorite chores, all with the knowledge that these are my final days for a long time, that I will be doing all of this. I am no longer talking about my going away party, I am actually planning. Requested the day off from work two days ago.
My tv shows will be different. My food, my friends, my bed, my schedule, my climate will all be different in just 19 days! I have the next two days off and want to do nothing but sit and relax. It's something I haven't done in a long time, spend the entire day doing....nothing!

I went to sit outside this afternoon for some fresh air, and had to bring a blanket with me. In 19 days I will be in 100 degree weather. The weather was in the late 70's for three days this past week, before that was cold, then yesterday was rain, and today is cold. I am so looking forward to getting into warmer weather, but still can't wrap my mind around the fact that I will be in that warmer weather in 19 days! In 10 days I have my farewell party, 17 days I quit my job, and in 19 days I am Oklahoma bound! It's so exciting! Oh! I am starting to get rained on(lousy rain! . I better end this and find shelter inside :)

32 Days: Pranks Galore

Being only a month away from leaving this town, a new sense of bravery has welled up inside of me. I am willing to do things that I normally would be WAY to embarrassed to try in public. But at this time when I see the strangers of this town I know, "I won't be embarrassed of what you'll think of me, cause in a month, I'll most likely never see you again."
There are some jokes that are just really not funny when the people know you. They are hilarious on unsuspecting strangers though. Recently I have seen a few lists of pranks that I told myself I wanted to do some day. I picked the ones that I was actually brave enough to do, and made my own list and told myself I wanted to accomplish them sometime in my next 70 years of life. With only a month left until I move 2,000 miles away, I decided now was the perfect time!

1. Follow joggers around in a car blasting "Eye of the Tiger" for encouragement. This was my first joke, and got the most responses. I went to the street behind the high school track. This street is a popular starting point for people's jogging courses. Ten times I came down the road blaring the song from Rocky, and ten times every all the people on the street turned their heads to look at me, and laughed. I gotta say, even though it wasn't my favorite joke, it was so much fun making at least 20 strangers laugh.

2. Run into a store, ask what year it is. When someone answers, yell, "It worked!" and run out cheering.
One of the jokes, I had to go to the store to buy supplies for. While down the isle I needed, I accidentally bumped into a lady. We both giggled and I said, "Oops, sorry."
I paid for my supplies, then stuck them in my purse. Walking out of the store, I saw that lady, I had bumped into, and decided she was the perfect victim for this joke. The joke I wasn't totally confident I could pull off. But sure enough, I gave it a try!
I ruffled my hair a bit, and calmly walked up to her as she loaded her groceries into her car. I asked her with a concerned tone, "I'm sorry, ma'am, can you please tell me what year it is?" At first she just laughed. But then she got a little uneasy when I kept looking at her waiting for an answer. Then she scrunched her face with confusion and answered, "2012" I hooted as I waved my hands in the air, "It worked! I'm back!" Then I ran away hysterically laughing.

3. Walk up to complete strangers and say, “Hi! I haven’t seen you in so long!” etc. See if they play along to avoid embarrassment.
I did this one twice inside of Walmart, before it got boring. But! Both times the people id play along. Ha! Ha! The second person went so far as to say "Awe, give me a hug!"
As she gave me a hug, I have to wonder if she'd heard of that joke before and was turning it around on me, because right in the middle of the hug I was sent into panic mode thinking, "Oh crap, have I really met this person before?!"

4. Make vanilla pudding. Put it in a mayo jar. Eat in public.
This is the one I was most excited to do. 4th of July parade, I knew was the perfect setting to try it out, when there were copious amounts of people present. I was really hoping for a reaction like I got with the joggers, but people were mostly silently gawking. As we walked back to our car, I passed one man who gawked, shortly laughed out loud, then turned around to watch me as we kept walking opposite directions.
On our way home my parents and brother stopped and went into the store. I decided to sit in the parking lot trying for more reactions. There I got my favorite reaction. A man in his late 60's to early 70's was dressed with cowboy boots and hat, got out of his car and said to me with a cute southern drawl, "May-yo-naay-zzz?!"
I smiled and answered with one word, "Pudding."
He grabbed his belly with one hand and bent over laughing. He swatted the air in front of him, and then slapped his knee, cackling the whole time. It was so fun hearing him walking away filling the air, "Hee, hee, hoo, hoo!"

July 4, 33 days

Today was the 4th of July parade, celebrating Independence Day.

I was trying out my hand at taking pictures with my wonderful camera. I was trying to get a picture of a cute yellow house out in the distance. But right as I did, my camera focused in on something else instead. I was squealing with excitement when I got on my computer, and discovered instead of a yellow house, my camera captured this:

During the parade, the group of kids were sitting in front of us, were about evenly numbered boys vs. girls. The girls were getting frustrated that the boys were getting so much more candy. One piece of candy fell at my foot. I laughed as I told my mom that I bet it wasn't because the boys were more aggressive, that they got the candy, it was because they are natural hunters and noticed the candy sooner.
We both laughed hard as I proved my point by throwing the candy right in front of the girls side. 4 boys rushed in front of the girls and raced to grab the lone piece of caramel. One arose as victor and picked himself up off the street, before the girls even bothered to look down at what was happening right in front of them. I had a lot of fun taking pictures. Here are some of my favorite from the parade

After the parade ended at 11, we went home for a bit. We had a party to go to at 2. Mom, my brother, and I all got ready, while my step dad decided it was a good time to work in his garden. 1:45 rolled around and my mom called out and told my step dad it was almost time to be there. Then we all sat around waiting for him until 2:30. Made me laugh!
On the drive to the party, my brother and I got to talking about the song we used to love, "The Devil Is Bad" by The W's Nick then got the cd on his phone, and blared it through his sound system. We both giggled with our memories of dancing around to it, thinking it was so cool. Then the next song came on that we had never heard, and was so bizarre, that we were both laughing out tears. Frank
When we pulled into the driveway, Nick blared The Devil Is Bad, again, as we hoped other would hear it and remember it. Sadly no one seemed to react.
At the party, I got some nice pictures, and a nice red hot SUNBURN! I know, isn't it terrible that I am so happy it's sunny enough to burn?!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the party:

Finally....I finished the last of my planned jokes in and throughout our little town. Will have the full blog tomorrow!

35 Days

These days have just been flying by, and it's hard to remember to journal them all, but important to. I know I am going to love reading this blog down the road. Financial Aid was totally finished this past week with me sending in $142 that I currently owed. I've known for many months that I am for sure going, but the financial aid being complete this week makes it 100% certain.
It's a weird feeling, knowing that next month I will be living in another state. It keeps coming to mind and making me stop to say, "Woah."
Knowing that time is going fast, I am trying extra hard to make every day memorable. On Wednesday and Friday I went around town doing some practical jokes on the good people of Molalla. Thanks to my big brother, Nick, wanting to copy cat my greatest one, he left my supplies at his work. There fore I am waiting to blog about those hilarious days, for after I am able to pull off the best one.
On Thursday I called up two of my dearest friends, and we planned to get all fancy looking, and go around taking pictures. My friend's sister in-law gave two of us eyebrow jobs, and did our make up all amazing, making us look like true models. We had so much fun and so many laughs.

Sunday I was able to go to church for the first time in a long time. It's always such a nice feeling, being around other Christians(of course I'll get a lot of that with where I'm going in a month), hearing a good word, an seeing old friends. I think I have a new appreciation for church, since going 3 years working at a job where boss kept telling me I had to work every Sunday. I guess you don't realize how good something is, until it's unavailable.
I went to work at 2:30 and they sent me grocery shopping. I thought it was hard getting everything into one shopping cart, but then it cracked me up seeing my car packed with $200 worth of groceries.

One of the guys who lives where I work, I have mentioned in the past has violent tendencies. Sunday night he got aggravated because his allergies. One point during my shift he went into his restroom, ripped off the zip ties that were very tightly fastened, and a hard plastic toilet lid was sent flying in my direction, but thankfully missed me. Again I was left thinking, "That's something I never would have imagined happening in my life. Getting a toilet thrown at me." On Sunday at church, my buddy Clayton talked to me about this blog, which reminded me that I need to keep it updated. In the past I have tried my hand at blogging to gather a crowd of followers like my cousin's wife Jod a la mode but was unsuccessful. However, this time around, my goal is to write things down for myself to read in the future. So... Dear Older Anna, today is July 2, and you are shivering in a sweater!! You made the right choice in moving to a warmer climate!

41 Days

I think that Oregon is screaming at me, "Go! Go! Go!" with it's weather. Yes, that's right, it's now 26 days through June, and it is STILL nothing but rain and cold. I am sitting here bundled up in a blanket, as if it were November, looking at a thermometer that reads 53 degrees.

I think my recent trip to sunny California, has my mind craving more melanin and vitamin D, which is a rarity in Oregon. I looked up the weather in Tulsa, and tomorrow's forecast is a scorching 102!! Yum and Yikes! That's part of the reason why I want to leave Oregon though. I want to live somewhere that has actual seasons. Warm Fall, Cold Winter, Wet Spring, and Hot Summer. Here in Oregon it's A Lot Of Rain and A Little Less Rain; cold, not so cold.
Now that, that little rant is over... I have a little story to share of my thoughts today on just how glad I am for my new boss and job. I once left the gallon of skim milk out on the counter, at my old job, while I went to grab a banana out of the back. When I came back, my boss was shouting out, "Who left the milk here?!" I think had to apologize profusely and explain my reasoning. After a long and dramatic moment of apology, my boss snarled, "Just don't do it again!" At my new job, there is a guy who lives there, who has a tendency to get violent at times, and throws things at people if objects are available. Because of this, we have to keep everything locked up and have nothing sitting out that he could turn into a weapon. Today wiener wraps was cooked on a pan for one of the guy's lunch, and my new boss asked me to put the left overs away, and clean up the mess. I put the food away, and wiped up the counters and swept the floor, then got distracted by something with one of the guys in the other room. A few seconds later I heard my boss call out from a few feet away, "Anna, you can't leave this pan out." My mind instantly went to my memory of my old job, and I started apologizing as I hurried back to take care of it. My boss interrupted my apology and said, "Correction, you can leave the pan out, as long as you don't mind one of the guys throwing it at your head in a few minutes, ha, ha, ha." I greatly appreciated the way she gave me correction, while we both had a giggle. I love how there's no gossip, no backstabbing, no power trips. I love how everyone is there to work...not there to be some else's superior. A few minutes after that, I was lost in thought of my gratefulness to God for this final days blessing. I am making more money, in a much better environment, with people who make me smile, a place I am encouraged to learn, at a place that will help resume professionally down the road. I really feel God is looking out for me. Ever since I re-applied to ORU I have felt such a pleasant peace that whatever happens, God will take care of me, but today was a special little reminder of that. :)

On my way home from work, I stopped at a local little fruit stand that is quite popular in the area. It was surprisingly my first time being a customer there. I bought a mango and some oranges(one of which I am currently snacking on). All the fruit I have eaten so far has been heavenly yummy so far. I highly recommend if you live near by, you stop in this week! Everything is perfectly ripe right now.
Once I arrived home it was wet and cold, so I snuggled up in a blanket and have been working on writing in a book I have been forming for a little over a year now. As I sat typing away, I decided to make it my goal to submit it to at least 2 literacy agents before I leave. Who knows, maybe this story could end up paying off my school loans???? =D
Tomorrow I have some delectable funny pranks up my sleeve. Stay tuned to hear how they go!

Documenting the final days

Whether anyone reads this or not, I have learned from old blogs that what I love the most about blogging, is going back and reading it later on. So here I write to update family and friends, but also to remember these days later on.
Today was my fourth day working at my new job. They still don't have me doing a whole lot, aside from house chores and watching the other staff, but it's an exciting learning experience. One of the guys who live there, takes a car ride every Monday to have fun going around corners. I got to ride along today for the loop which was a VERY windy 1 mile. I had eaten a small breakfast, and forgot a lunch, and was starving hungry. It was a blessing in disguise because if I had eaten properly, the car sickness would have caused it to go all over the van.
When we got back to the house, my boss had me washing and putting clothes away. I found out she is very picky about the way things are folded. She went so far as to warn me that she has had people quit due to her pickyness. Here comes the nerd in me......she taught me how to fold a fitted sheet! I was so excited by how easy it was and how neat it looked, that when I got home I had to show my mom. Once I got home I wanted to go and fold all the fitted sheets because I was so excited about the new technique.
One of the guys who lives there, is very violent at times, and the whole house has to work around it. His laundry cannot be put away, his room cannot be cleaned, and the dishes cannot go into the dishwasher, until he is out of the house. The last hour of my shift he left the house for a while, and I went put the laundry away in his room. Once in his room, I discovered he had smeared his poo all over the wall. I was then assigned the task of cleaning the mess off the wall.
The weird side of my humor shined then, and I laughed at the thought of, "How many times will I do this in my life?" I've dealt with dirty diapers before, and wiped up animal messes on the floor, but this is the first time I have ever cleaned up a manly mess off the wall. (Okay, alright, that was lame...but I warned you I was weird).
I got home and was exhausted. I sat on the couch and zoned out. I sat there for about an hour before Mom came home and I realized I had just wasted my day away sitting and staring. I couldn't understand why I was so tired. My job is not a highly physically demanding job, and the three other days I worked I felt good enough to go jogging after my shift. Then it clicked and I realized I am just THAT addicted to coffee, that when I skipped this morning, I was dead by 4pm.
I drank a cup of coffee and that's when I got the energy to share my exciting news with Mom, that I had learned how to nicely fold a fitted sheet.
After sharing my fun lesson with my mom, I went for a half hour walk up my road. On the walk I was surprised to see a slug being carried to an ant hill by ants. It's June 25 and it's a cold, cloudy day in Oregon. I think all this cold and darkness is what's chased me out of Oregon. It was a delightful 75 when I visited Oklahoma in March. I just got home from sunny California last night, so it's aggravating to go back to winter. Do you know the four seasons in Oregon? Almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction. That's one sight I never thought I'd see on my my middle of no where gravel road...yes, a road work sign!

Eventful week

My bedroom now has half the amount of stuff it did a month ago. I am downsizing slowly. Eventually I will need to cut the size in half again, but I have let myself numb to that thought lol.
I started my new job and then quit my old job this past week. I now work at a group home for three mentally disabled men, helping live in day to day activities. This last week I worked a total of three days, a total of 21 hours, a total twice what I was making at my old job.
My first week I mostly read all the rules and regulations, and shadowed the other staff. It is quite the different experience, where you have to use your brain a whole lot more than your back(yay me!). I have to convince one guy to come out of his bed, talk another guy out of beating himself when he's frustrated, and be on alert for the third guy who likes to punch at random times.
The job is 6 miles from home, unlike the twenty five at my old job, and pays very well. So far it's been very interesting and I am excited to start doing more. I told them I'll be leaving August 5th for more schooling, and they were fine with that, saying it would work out well with another staff who is on maternity.
I now have 43 days until I leave!!!! We mailed out invitations, and made a facebook announcement, for a going away party on July 29.
This weekend Steve, Nick, Mom, and I drove down to San Jose, California for a family reunion at my uncle and aunts house. After a 12 hour drive, I got home, just now in fact. I'll end with some pictures, then off to sleep I go! :)