Indiana. Our Indiana. Indiana, we're all for you.

Dear Indiana,

Where do I begin? You've been my home for 24 years. Almost 25....

From the little neighborhood,Farley, that I was born in and don't remember to the old house on Arlington. That was the first address I memorized. 2040 North Campbell Avenue. I've done a lot of moving in my time. Too much. But I've never left my hoosier home....until now.

It's new adventures to be had and new discoveries to discover. I'll miss you Indiana. I'll miss your windy beautiful country roads and your autumn bliss. I'll miss the hospitality you bring to all of your people. There is nothing like good ol' fashioned Hoosier hospitality.

I won't forget you okay. You are my roots.

I will be back. Promise.

Love,

Courtney

Five, four, three, two, one, HOLY SHENANIGANS.

I know, I know! It's been almost a FULL WEEK since I've posted. What's going on with me?? I've had a serious case of "I have so much to say I don't even know where to begin and I don't want to just ramble, I want it to make sense" that I haven't posted anything.

We all know what I'm going to be talking about.

The MOVE.

I move on Thursday. Not next Thursday, not in two Thursdays, not next month on Thursday. The day has come. This. Thursday.

What I have realized is that a lot of my friends have had to go through this experience of moving far away from their families (all of my present roommates included and many of my friends) so it's really not THAT big of a deal. But well, I just make a big deal out of it. Because to me it's a huge deal.

I keep trying to be nervous or scared, because I think that's how I'm supposed to feel I guess? But in all honestly, I'm not. I'm just ready. Ready to drive, ready to go, ready to live. Right now I've been kind of a homebody and the past few weeks -- dare I say even the past few months, I've been somewhat of a homebody. I have enjoyed it though. Spending time with myself and really thinking, reflecting and pondering have helped me prepare for this move in a big way I think.

I just know that my life is going to change. I just have that feeling in the pit of my stomach (and it's not indigestion) that my life is going to change in a HUGE HUGE way. Everything that I know now about my life, from what I do on a day to day basis to who I see is going to be different. I'll be living in a different time zone even. Weird. I guess for this deeply rooted Indiana girl it's just time to move on to bigger and better things. I love my Indiana. I'll never stop loving you, Indiana.

There's a great quote from Sweet Home Alabama: "You can roots and wings, Melanie." Well, I feel that applies to me also. I'll always have my roots, but I have my wings too :)

Five days. So much to look forward to. My class schedule is going to be a lot easier than originally anticipated. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME TO FIND A GOOD JOB!! I still have not found a job yet and that is my biggest worry. I know the Lord will take care of me though. I have always managed to come out of all of life's obstacles a better more equipped person..and most importantly, alive. This will be no different. For once in my life, as hard as I try, I'm just not worried about it. It feels so right. It's a good feeling.

How was your Christmas? Mine was lovely as usual. I got to see my family and that make me happy. I also got to talk to a friend a lot on Christmas that I had been wanting to talk to. So my day was all in all pretty peachy. All I got was money. And really, that's all I wanted this year.

You look back and realize that you made a lot of mistakes along the way, but somehow you still did it. I always make a lot of mistakes, but somehow I still manage to get the job done. I look at life like that anyways....I might not do it perfectly, but eventually I do it.

So now that I'm ready to roll I need to get back into my routine and remember what's important. God, family, school, health, social life. In that order for the most part -- the middle ones all kind of blend together since my family will be so far away and I need to take care of myself mentally, physically and spiritually.

Happy Saturday. Carry on with your lives now.

Deiz Dias.

So. It's all starting to hit me. I'm moving in 10 days.

10.

Days.

Not months, not weeks, not years. DAYS, people.

I spent all weekend with my family at my sister's house in Ohio. It was hilarious, as always. The man who becomes a part of my family as my husband better have thick skin though...that's all I'm sayin'.

Oh, and three hour naps....sounds great?? Um, not cool.

My eyes burn from sleeping so much. Is that possible?

Did you know??

Interesting stuff.....I'm fascinated.

Something in my body hates me right now. Seriously people. What is going on!? First of all, let's give you a brief backstory of the fact that I've lost 50 lbs over the course of this year. I still have more to go -- but I've done really well on changing my eating habits and learning all I can about health and nutrition. It's an ongoing quest for knowledge, but it has had it's rewards (such as fitting into clothes that I actually LIKE again).

But lately, and I blame holidays and a very un-rigid schedule, I have been eating poorly and my body hates me for it.

My hair, dull. My skin, don't get me started.

I'm not just going to complain about it, I'm going to jump back on the bangwagon. I just wanted to complain about it for a few minutes.

I found out a Dunkin Donuts was about 5 minutes from our house. This was bad for me. I haven't eaten doughnuts in a LOOOONNNNGGG time. As in several months. But in the past month, ohhhhhh I've eaten a couple of them at least once a week. STOP IT.

What am I doing?!

They say stress can be a trigger for this nonsense. But who's stressed?? Me?? Nooooo. What do I have to be stressed about? (I mean, in two weeks I will be moving out of Indiana for the first time in my life, leaving my family and friends and everything familiar to me to go to IDAHO and start school after a five year hiatus. But why would I be stressed about that?)

Ugh. I need a tan and a good workout.

The weather outside if frightful.

Sometimes it rains, sometimes it snows. Sometimes ice falls from the sky.

Yesterday, all day, ice ice baby. I had to scrape a layer of it off my car every time I got in and out -- which was about every 2 hours or so yesterday.

I turn into my neighborhood, stop at the stop sign....and keep going....and going...and going....through the intersection, and I finally managed to stop about two houses down PAST the stop sign. Luckily no one else was on the road. They don't exactly have a "I'm trying to stop but I can't so get the heck outta my way" signal on our car to notify other drivers to watch out.

The pavement is a SOLID SHEET OF ICE. No. Seriously. I'm not exaggerating this. I could barely walk on our driveway because of the ice. I, instead, skated to the front door. I attempted a double axle on my way in...no such luck. (Okay, that part is an exaggeration. It was only a single axle.)

This morning, still, ice. Everywhere. I went outside to move my car. I'm casual skating along...and I notice our mailbox. Um. Yeah. It's flat on the ground.

That's okay. It looks better like that way anyways. I mean, who wants a mailbox that is upright and looks like everyone else's? So thanks, mailbox demolisher.


I just keep saying to myself, "Embrace the cold. Love the cold. Be okay with the cold."


Or...... "F" the cold.


Either way.

A follow up with Sleep.

Dear Sleep,

Hello. It's me again.

Thank you for listening. I had a great time last night.

Love,

Courtney

Late night blogging take two.

Dear Sleep,

You used to come to me like a thief in the night. Around 10:30 or 11:00 every evening I could count on you to take me up and whisk me away to somewhere beautiful. Where have you gone? Perhaps I have spent too much time with you during the day? Perhaps you are upset with me? Whatever I did to offend you, I would hope that you could have mercy on me so we can be better acquainted once again.

I miss you.

A lot.

You see, since you've been gone I've been feeling, well, tired. And sometimes grumpy. And prone to headaches. It's rather bothersome and I would just prefer if we could find a way to talk this out, you and me.

I have however become better friends with the kitchen since you've been coming around less often. Don't tell the kitchen I told you this, but I like you a lot more than I like her. I feel better when I spend more appropriate time with you and less inappropriate time with the kitchen.

So, if you can find it in your heart to return to me. I promise to make you a more meaningful part of my life. I appreciate you. Don't you know that?? I can't live without you. Really. I can't. If you completely went away then I would start hallucinating. It just wouldn't be good for anyone involved.

Oh and I don't mean to complain even more but when do you come around, it seems that you keep taking me to places that are kind of scary and upsetting. Is there a reason for this? I miss going to cool places and kissing boys that only you can help me get for some reason.

I think I hear a knock at the door..I'm hoping it's you and not just some random eye rester guy. The eye rester guy just annoys me now. He's a big tease. He looks so much like you that sometimes I think it's you...and then nope. The eye rester guy packs up and you're still no where to be found.

::Sigh::

Okay, I'm crawling into bed with hopes that you'll come hang out, okay?

Love,


Courtney

Late Night Blogging Madness

Thank you, Natalie, for your advice to blog when I can't sleep.

Although I'll warn you that late night blogging can lead to a few things:

1. Insomnia. Wait. Too late.
2. Rambling. Oh wait. Too late for that also.
3. Lots of blog posts about meaningless things. (Do I dare say it??)

So apparently there isn't anything different about late night blogging than my normal blogging.


Therefore, I continue.


I don't like to preach. I don't like to force someone to do something. I do like to say what I think and I do like to give advice. Tonight, I want you to know what I know. I want you to share with you my knowledge of one of the most precious gifts I could possibly ever give you.

Ahem. And so it begins....

I just want you all to know that God is real. Not only is He real, He loves you more than you can even wrap your little tiny brain around. I also know that he has a son, Jesus Christ, sent here to die so that we may have eternal life. He suffered every pain and heartache that we will ever suffer. I know it's something that we couldn't begin to imagine -- but sometimes we don't have to understand every single aspect of it to know it's true. Christ came to this earth, established his church and called apostles to teach others his everlasting Gospel. After the apostles were killed, that direct line of authority and communication was lost for a long time -- through the dark ages, etc. Many religions and creeds were formed based on the opinions of man and the interpretations thereof. These churches, although aiming in the right direction, were not being led by God or Christ. I know that a boy, young and curious, inquired of the scriptures and then of God himself as to what church holds the true and everlasting Gospel of Christ. Through this question, this boy received a vision from God the Father and Jesus Christ. They explained to him that none of these churches were complete -- that all had lost plain and precious truths of the gospel that Christ himself taught. They called him to restore the Gospel to it's fullness, and to open the dispensation of the Latter Days in order to prepare for the second coming of Christ. I know that this boy, named Joseph Smith, was called to be a prophet of God. He did, in fact, restore the Church and also was led by God to translate a set of gold plates in which he was directed to by an angel which are now known as the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This book, along with the Bible, contain holy scripture from ancient prophets and apostles in their respective nations. The Bible, Jerusalem, the Book of Mormon, the Americas. It is a history of the people and also of the powerful witness of Christ. They, each in their separate entity but one in their purpose (just as God and Jesus Christ) give us the fullness of Christ's everlasting Gospel. They bring us all what we must know to receive eternal joy and happiness and most importantly to be with God again. I know that families are eternal. I know the God still reveals things to his children and will continue to do so until the second coming of Christ. I know that we can know the truth of ALL things by the power of the Holy Ghost. I know these things to be true because I have studied, and most importantly prayed about them for myself. I have received a powerful witness from the Holy Ghost time and time again of the truthfulness of the things I have just shared with you.

The knowledge that I have of this, and other things, brings me more peace and happiness than I could ever explain to you. And I wanted to testify of these things to anyone who is reading my little blog. Most of you that read my blog are those who are already members of the church. But maybe there is someone here that isn't....so to you, I invite you to know for yourself and to always seek truth. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. That that Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's only true and living church on this earth. There is one Church, one faith and one baptism. I invite us all to expound upon what we know and increase in our knowledge and faith.

Merry Christmas.

I needed the extra blessings tonight.

(for anyone who is wondering what the heck I'm talking about -- please visit www.mormon.org for more information)

My Christmas Wish List.

Tis the season to be jolly. Oh, and you're welcome for making Mariah Carey the song you hear EVERY time you look at my blog. Since it's a seasonal favorite, I wear it out. Just turn up the volume, sing to some random object that you pretend is your boyfriend/girlfriend/crush/spouse/or something else??? (I'm kind of wondering what something else could be...but I don't want to leave anything out.) I think you'll thank me later.

So...Christmas is about much more than presents. It's actually about Jesus. And all the warm fuzzies that having Jesus in your life brings. But, for this post, I'm focusing on the presents. Why? Because this year I'm pretty sure I'm not getting boat loads of things for Christmas. My family did a "secret" drawing to do as a gift exchange -- so we're only buying for one person and then the kids. Here's what my family failed to think about when doing this.

1. They all have spouses and children. I DON'T. Therefore, they will get more than just the one gift from the family gift exchange. (and they have someone to open presents up with other than just the family on Christmas morning -- which since we are doing our gift exchange a week before Christmas, I will not. Depressing? A little.)

2. They all have kids who will still get lots of presents. I DON'T. And any parent knows that when someone buys something for your kids, it's like an indirect gift for you because it's one less thing you have buy for them.

3. Did I mention I don't have a spouse, or children???

4. I'm not bitter about that though.

Our "secret" exchange didn't stay secret for very long though. Especially because my sister Jaime wanted to draw me because she already knew what she was going to get me for Christmas -- so she switched until she found me. AND my gift was something that had to be picked out...so I know that I'm getting e.l.f. makeup. I'm excited about it for sure. And my g-ma...I do love my g-ma...gave me a little extra loot this year to buy new tires for my car. That was a serious mega help in the trip out to Idaho frenzy.

I can't complain really, and I definitely know I shouldn't complain. So let's not think of this as a complaint -- let's think of this as being mildly greedy. I will repent of it later. For now -- it's on with the list!


So.......here is the coveted list. (Then the voice in my head says: "Thou shall not covet." Ugh. I hate my conscience sometimes. It always telling me to do the right thing.)

Okay -- so let's not call it coveting. I don't know what else to call it, but let's not call it that. :)

The if-someone-else-doesn't-buy-it-i'll-probably-buy-it-for-myself-so-please-buy-it-for-me list.


1. North Face Fleece Jacket -- I have always wanted one of these. They are so comfortable and warm and...welllllll...expensive. But I'm moving to IDAHO people. It's COLD COLD COLD there. I feel it would be well worth the your investment.


2. Ugg Boots -- Okay, so you're seeing a winter weather fashion theme already aren't you??? I just want a pair of warm fuzzy boot to keep me warm whilst I walk to class. They don't even have to be REAL Uggs. I'll admit, I thought these boots were RIDIC when they first came out... but now, they have grown on me immensely. For the record, I wear a 7.5 :) ORRRR If you find youth ones, I wear a 6 in youth sizes. (I drive a hard bargain being addicted to shoes and all -- so if you can find 'em in the kid's department, I will gladly pay $30-$40 less.)

3. Dolce and Gabbana Sunglasses. I saw these beauties at the Sunglass Hut a while back and I felllll iiiinnnnn loooooovvvveeee. I love sunglasses. Especially the ones that cover half of your face (don't ask why, okay? I just do!). Target has a lovely selection, but the Sunglass Hut kind of made me go crazy. I likey these a LOT. P-p-p-pa-lllleeeeaasse?

That's really it.

Oh, and some new PUMAS.






Yes, I want all of them. Any of them. But mostly, ALL of them. :)


I could go on. But I won't. I don't want to be more than mildly greedy.


On the other hand, you could just give me cash too. I'll always GLADLY except cash gifts.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!