The Galapagos Trip

Today I am venturing to Dulles airport where I will be resting until my plan takes off to Panama at 530am tomorrow. From Panama we will be going to Quito, Ecuador, then Sunday morning we will be going to the Galapagos Islands. I am pretty excited to go somewhere I have never been nor will probably ever go again.

I dont speak Spanish, I know HOLA and me llamo Haley and como estas and thats pretty much it so basically I will just be telling people "Hello, I am Haley, how are you?" over and over with no idea what they say back, but it will work out.

Anyways. I probably will only be able to communicate to my peep through email and my blog. So keep checking to see if I post an undate.

I am sooooo excited about warm weather! Hopefully I will come back with a little tan. Its kinda funny because it is suppose to snow tomorrow when we depart and in just a few hours I will be feeling the warmth of the sun.

Well please be praying for a safe flight and that the Lord will use me to be a witness to the others on the trip. And that I will be able to experience the beauty of this amazing place and the people I come into contact with.

Adios.

More Randomness

I always feel like when I blog it should be something spectacular and profound. But obviously if you know me I am not the most profound rather I am full of randomness. Examples below.

I like flowers. Wildflowers are my favorite. I like white, blue, purple and green flowers all thrown together. I am not a huge rose fan, but some roses are okay. I don't like the idea of getting flowers on holidays such as Valentines day, rather I believe it should be on a random day. Random acts of kindness and love are my favorite. They are important and cherished especially when they reflect thoughtfulness. Not something that was thrown together at the last minute, but something simple and sweet.

I will be traveling more in the next three months than I probably will in the next three years. In less than a week I leave for the Galapagos Islands, I am looking forward to the sun and warm temperatures. In April I am going to Nashville for a week which I am super excited about. I love it there. It is totally me...country music with coffee shops and cute funky boutiques. I am going there for business and pleasure, but probably more pleasure. Then in May I am going on a cruise with my roommates to the Bahamas. We are going to have a blast celebrating all of our accomplishments and preparing for graduation while soaking up the sun. Four days after we get back I will be leaving for Mexico with the familia. Typically I am not a jet setter, but this spring will sure make me one.

Someone once told me that procrastination sometimes occurs because you want to do everything perfect and you are so worried about it not being perfect that you put it off until its almost to late. This probably doesnt make much sense to anyone, but it does to me and my perfectionistic self. It could just be an excuse, but nonetheless I am procrastinating from studying for my final psychiatric nursing exam. It is not too rewarding learning about intimate partner violence, eating disorders, substance abuse and mental illness in the elderly. Fortunately, Weds it will all be over!
Well now that I am typing about it I am feeling convicted that I should start studying, but if you have any suggestions about what I should blog about let me know because I am at a loss most of the time.

The Future

My oasis gives me hope of a brighter day and a better way. I am looking forward to whatever God has in store. Maybe it is my oasis or most likely something I would never expect but it will be perfect because He is perfect.
It is interesting how people say when you are in college that these are the best days of your life so enjoy it...well all I gotta say is I hope not because this is rough and I know these are not the best days of my life and there is more out there. I am interested to see how God works in the next year and all that he has in store...I am thinking he has some big plans, but guess I will just have to be patient, which is definitely not one of my strongest suits, and wait to find out.
This semester is definitely starting to fly by, for starters it is February. I just finished one midterm and have two next week. In about three weeks I leave for the Galapagos Islands which I am starting to get excited about, it will be somewhere very different and beautiful I am sure. I get back, have finals, then start practicum. A month and a half of that and I will be done! Finally!! I truly cannot wait to be out of Charlottesville and on to somewhere that feels like home and with the ones I love.

My Oasis

I feel lost sometimes in such a big world, but then I meet people who know other people I know and it becomes smaller. But most of the time I feel like I am lost in this place. Charlottesville is small to those who come from big cities, but to me it is just a big place with too many people. I am ready to get out of the bright lights and loud, drunk college students and venture to a place of tranquility. A place of peace, friendly and caring people, somewhere that has independent coffee shops, cute inexpensive boutiques of clothes and home decor, where all of the houses are different and not cookie cutter shaped. There would be grocery stores with organic foods that aren't expensive. This oasis would be located far from a big city.

My house would be an adorable old well-built country cottage with stone incorporated some how. The walls would be lathered in calming blues, greens, yellows, tans, and whites. Some of the furniture will be built by my husband and I for which we got the ideas from magazines. It will most definitely have an espresso maker built in. It would have a porch with rockers and the yard would be filled with beautiful wildflowers and a dog running around. My best friend, who would know everything about me, would live down the street with whom I would talk with daily on the phone or over coffee. My neighbors wouldn't live too close, but there would be a wonderful sense of community among this town, my euphoria. God would be ever present in conversations and in the day to day life of those in the town. There would a powerful church like one I have experienced before.

This life will not be stressful rather be a pleasant environment that everyone can be themselves rather than feeling they must fit in and be someone they are not.

I long for this place of harmony and relaxation. One day.

Snow Days

The past few days have been wondeful as far as not having class. Yesterday, clinical got cancelled because of the weather, this allowed me to get some well-needed rest. I was also able to run errands and workout and catch up on the bachelor and Grey's.
Today, two out of three of my classes got cancelled because of the weather, which was great because I was able to get more rest and get a little bit of work done.

Sometimes it is nice when the weather is like this especially if you don't have to travel and you can just relax.

Unfortunately I wont be at Campus Church tonight :( The first time in a few weeks. I will surely miss it. It is so refreshing after a hard week.

HER Bags

Here is a sample of some of the handbags I have made over the years.

Random trains of thought

Well... I haven't been feeling too great the past few days..mostly due to the lack of sleep and sinuses. I would like to go a day without a headache. Fortunately, medicine exists..I cannot imagine living way back when and having to be in pain all of the time...much less...I cannot imagine being a nurse back in the day...yikes.

I had a nice time spending the week/weekend in Lburg. Campus Church was wonderful with Clayton King. It was a very celebratory time in the burg...Chris and Dustin's birthdays...fun times. Also, I found a wonderful coffee shop in Wyndhurst, The Muse Coffee Co.

Wintergreen Winery: I highly recommend the Rasberry Wine..especially with chocolate.

I cannot wait to be done with school..I am not motivated to do work. I realize God placed me in this situation for reason. And I should be thankful for this amazing opportunity and thankful for almost being done, but sometimes I am just so over it. I am looking forward to the future and all that He has in store and I just want to experience it all now.
Patience has never been one of my strengths.

Tonight... the bachelor comes on tonight!