Fruit Nut Medley Mix

Currently I am sitting at my dinning room table eating my fruit nut medley trail mix from Costco. Most of you probably know already, but besides being addicted to cereal, I am addicted to the fruit nut medley mix. It has dried apples, kiwi, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, strawberries, bananas, cherries, raisins, and then peanuts, almonds, and walnuts. Can you get any more delicious and healthier than that? The dried apples are my favorite and usually the first to disappear from the bag. Usually I scavenger around everything in the bag in hopes of finding the apple chunks. It's tricky though because the apples and the pineapples look very similar. I'm a pro at distinguishing between them now, but it was difficult at first. Last year in Hob 3, all of the girls on the floor loved the mix too, especially Miss Amy Jackson. We would both sit in the hallway, and eat all of the apples in my trail mix instead of doing our homework. Every time I would come back to school from being home for the weekend, one of the first questions that was asked of me was, "did you get more fruit nut medley mix?" The answer was always yes. The bag that my mom has recently purchased is probably the best bag I have ever had. There are apple chunks up the wazoo! Amy Jackson is missing out! If you haven't had the opportunity to experience this delicious medley, you need to go to Costco and get a bag right now! You won't be disappointed. I hope :)

It's been awhile since I've written a new post, so I have a lot to catch you all up on. We'll start with last Friday.

At around 2 o'clock, Zoe and I headed over to Springfield to pick up Laura. Our first destination was the dog park. This was my first time taking Zoe to the park without my sister so I was a little nervous, but I had faith that Zoe would be safe. I always get nervous at dog parks. You never know what dogs will be nice, and what dogs will be dangerous. Zoe loves everyone, so you have to watch her and make sure that other dogs aren't getting angry. When we arrived, there were probably about 7 or so dogs in the park with their owners. Zoe ran around and said hello to probably every dog in the park, and they all were having fun playing. While Zoe was off running around, Laura and I just sat at a picnic table and talked while we watched Zoe. It had been awhile since Laura and I have gotten to talk in person. I love being able to sit and talk with her, but it also makes me sad because I've come to realize how different we both are now. I used to think that there was change in her personality and behavior, but lately I have been thinking that there has been more of a change in me rather than her. I think that quite possibly the reason why we have grown so far apart is that I have grown up while she has stayed the same.

Laura is getting married in less than a month, which worries me, and blows my mind. I don't think that her and Ryan are ready to get married, and I am not the only one who thinks this way. She knows that I don't think that this wedding is a good idea, so there's nothing more that I can say or do except to pray and be there for her. I feel like you should be excited when one of your best friends is getting married, but I can't be excited with her, which is hard. I put on a smile for her though, because she means a lot to me. June 12th is going to be a tough day. I have to walk down that isle, hold my flowers, smile, and watch her make this life changing decision that I wish she wasn't making.

After we had been talking for a while, we noticed this big German Sheppard getting kind of aggressive with another dog, so I grabbed Zoe and we headed to Skinners Butte Park. Skinners Butte Park is one of my favorite parks to visit. It has a concrete whale structure and another structure that we have no clue what it is. We think it is a turtle, but it would have to be an extremely abstract turtle. Usually the whale and turtle are either gray or blue, but recently it has been painted several different colors. So we hung out there for a little bit, and then we went to the post office so that she could mail off her wedding invitations. After we finished there, I took her back to her house and headed home.







That evening, my parents and I went on an art walk in downtown Eugene. Every first Thursday of the month all of the art gallery's downtown stay open late and have community art displayed. Every gallery has a live band playing inside, lots of snacks, and LOTS of wine. There were many tipsy grown ups! It was pretty fun for a while, but soon everything started looking the same and I was ready to go. My parent's still wanted to look though, so we didn't leave for a while. One thing I did not enjoy about the night was that in one of the gallery's I was hit on by this gross man. Of course that would happen to me! I got rid of him fast though thank goodness! After we were done downtown, my parents and I met up with my sister Shelley and her friend Pariz at Chapala’s Mexican restaurant at the Oakway mall for dinner. It was soooo good! I hadn't had Mexican food in a long time. It was nice to get to go out and spend time with my family, but I wish that Jen and Jake could have been there too!

The next day was Saturday market! My mom had to be there by 8 am, but I didn't end up going until around 1 pm. Finding a place to park was a nightmare! I have never driven around in circles in Eugene so much in my life. Finally I found a spot, but it wasn't very close to the market unfortunately. There were so many people there that day, and the weather was beautiful! I hadn't had lunch yet, so I got some phad thai, which was AMAZING, and I got a fruit salad. There were not as many hippies at the market as there usually are, but I did get to see some hippie dancers! There was a marimba band that played called Kudana, and they were super good. There were about 12 musicians in the band all ranging in different ages. They were super entertaining to watch. While I was watching the band, someone tapped on my shoulder and asked me if the band had just started. I recognized the voice and turned around and realized that it was Diana Koekkoek my friend and old small group leader. She was surprised to see me too! Out of all the people she could have asked, she tapped on my shoulder. What a coincidence. We talked for a while, and then she invited me to go with her and her family to see the Springfield High School play Cinderella. I hadn't been to a high school play in ages, so I was super excited to go. It was really good, I was pleasantly surprised! It was great getting to hang out with the Koekkoeks again. In high school, Laura and I used to go over to their house every Tuesday night to hang out with them. I miss those days.

After the play, Diana and I went and got a chocolate crème pie from Marie Calanders and then we headed over to our friend Claire's house. It was so great to get to visit with Claire. She graduated from nursing school a year ago, and understands the stress and frustrations that I am dealing with. She tried getting into nursing schools for five years, and it's taken her a long time to get to where she is. She was telling me about the program that she did in Colorado, and I am seriously considering it. She absolutely loved her education there and highly recommended it to me. She only ended up paying about $2,000 for each year that she was in school. It is only a two-year degree, but you are able to get your RN and she has a friend who was in the same program as her who is now getting her bachelors degree online, and the hospital she works for is paying for it! Sounds pretty fabulous to me! She gave me the number of a lady that would help me with any questions that I have, so I'm going to call her tomorrow. The application isn't due until March, and the program doesn't start until next fall. Colorado seems so far away, but if it gets me to my goal of becoming a nurse, then I'm willing to go anywhere that will get me to that goal. Plus it's only for two years. We'll see what path God leads me on!

Mother’s day was very low key, which was nice! My sisters and I got my mother a beautiful Orchid, and she was very excited about it. We had lasagna for lunch, and then we all took our Sunday afternoon naps :) Then at 4 o'clock, my mom, sister Shelley, and I went to the movies and saw the movie Valentines Day. It was really entertaining! I don't know if I would buy it, but I would definitely see it again. Then at 8 o'clock pm my mom and I watched the finale of the Amazing Race. The cowboys didn't end up winning like I had hoped, but at least the models didn't win. I didn't like them very much. The rest of the evening consisted of watching some episodes of the Office, and then looking at failblog online. Pretty low key. Today I didn't wake up until 11 am. I had plans of going running this morning, but at 7am I looked outside and saw that it was raining, and that finalized that decision. It's supposed to clear up tomorrow, so my plan is to go tomorrow morning. We'll see if that ends up happening.

Once I got up, I organized and cleaned the bathroom. That was quite the job. I threw away a lot of things, but I still have so much. With my sister and I combined that bathroom is completely full. I can't even imagine how everything fit when all three of us girls were living at home. I finally got things cleaned up though. Next I am going to take a shower and pick up my room a bit. My friend Karly is coming over tonight to hang out. I'm super excited because I haven't seen her since Christmas break. We've both been super busy, so it will be nice to get to sit and chat. I'm so glad that I have her here in Eugene. Even though we both have grown up so much, we still get along so well and it feels like nothing has changed. That is what I love about hanging out with her. It reminds me that even in the midst of our ever-changing lives, some things do remain the same.

Currently is it pouring outside, but I love it. I love the sound of the rain trickling down the drainpipe. Although I do wish it were sunny out, I'm kind of enjoying this typical Oregon weather :)

Well I'm going to go watch my dad on TV. The TV station is revealing a new set that they have been remodeling for quite some time now. My dad says that it looks really nice, so I'm excited to see it!