Random Monday Rants

1 month and 2 daaaaays until Jeremy and I are married!!

2 weeks until I graduate!!

...so why does it feel like 2 years?

This semester has been wonderful but boy oh boy am I ready to be done!! And I will be soon... I tell myself. A LOT has to happen in these next two weeks... finals, moving out, packing for Sacramento/Arizona, finish the wedding details. But there's not too much of any one thing and I'm confident it will all happen and I'll sleep :) Plus I'm getting a lot of help, and I don't feel alone in all of this craziness!

This weekend was full of fun! Mary and I did some wedding favor shopping on Saturday and it was so nice to get those finalized! I had a Thrifty Nifty Winter Formal at my home (The Well) hosted by the 6 of us roommates and it was a blast! We all got ridiculous thrift store outfits and danced/ate food/made snowflakes and hung out with our friends. Here's the roommates and I:

Me, Corinne, Holly, Tiffany, Natalie, Bre (bottom)

My South Africa friends:

The wonderful Megan Goeman who won best dressed of the ladies:

On another note, many of you have asked how my holistic living is going. Remember that whole phase I had about 13 weeks ago?? Well, it's been... well, I mean I've... to summarize generically...

Let's be real.

WHO lives perfectly?! They aren't real. Or they have a personal chef and a lot of self-motivation.

Well, I have neither.

Let's explore this more in depth:

• Physical- How many of you run 4 times a week? Ok, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the other 98% of this world that goes in spurts of physical activity. HOLLA! There's only so much a girl can do, right? And why deny myself sweets?? My body craves sweets! It must be natural. Why deny myself something natural?? (I can hear my mother tell me this is how people end up prego... )

• Emotional- So I'm basically a roller coaster. That's ok. I was MADE to cry! I have tear ducts! Justification: upcoming transitions. I'm preparing now for them.

• Intellectual- I'm in college. This part of me must be in use... right?

• Spiritual- The Lord and I have been connecting in my dreams a lot lately. I wish he would explain the falling ones though...

• Interpersonal/Social- I am GOOD in this area! Thriving. As if I was made to talk and hang out. You should be proud of me :)

• Environmental- What was my goal in this? To recycle? Humm...

The synopsis: I've met well under 50% of my goals. Which means I get an F.

But I'm ok with that :) Although I have not achieved some sate of perfection, (guess Scientology is out of question...) I am really happy. I think sometimes when we take the rules away and just live life healthy and balanced it's so much more fulfilling then following a workout schedule or a checklist to perfection.

So join with me and throw them out. Snuggle up and drink hot chocolate late at night, knowing all of those calories are going straight to your hips. And smile :)

Well, those are my random Monday rants! Thank you for tuning in.

Until next time...

With love from chapel programs,

Paige

Oh the weather outside is... delightful!

Hello friends and family!

Jeremy and I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving break with my family in Sacramento! It was a great time to be with them all and get geared up for Christmas!! So thankful for times at home :) :) Life is going by real quick! Do you agree? I can't believe in 3 weeks I'll be a college grad, 6 weeks Jeremy and I will be getting married and transitioning to our new life in El Centro! Yey!

My prayer is that in these next three weeks I can cherish every moment. Never again will I be in classes and work at APU, surrounded by the friends I am with on a daily basis. I feel sentimental as I think about my time at APU and how I am different because of it. I have l.o.v.e.d. these last 3 1/2 years and am so, so, sooo extremely thankful.

Something I'm also so thankful for is the peace from the Lord I have about getting married/moving/getting a new job/etc. Usually I'd be stressed about something, worried about another, and preparing like a mad woman. And I'm not. At all. I have literally not one worry in my bones. I am so assured that the Lord has this under control. I'm just moving one foot in front of the other, getting ready and looking forward to what he will bring!

Already the things I have prayed for urgently have been covered. I prayed for a church and a friend. I'm not even in El Centro yet and a man from my home church has a son who lives in El Centro and invited Jeremy and I to his young marrieds group. Who knows if we'll end up attending regularly, but the things I've even been wondering about I'm not even spending time thinking about. It will be good. I'm sure of it.

Life has been hard, really hard, for so many people I'm around. Totaled cars, job losses, court dates, overdue fees, unhappiness, crappy family situations, debt, depression, anxiety, fear... just to name a few.

I pray that we can keep a kingdom perspective throughout all of this... aka remember who God is and our role in this life. The Lord recognizes or struggles, sympathizes with our weaknesses, but often does not take them away. As we try to walk through the muddy, sticky path of life, let's remind each other of our real purpose: to further the kingdom of God, all the time, in any way possible. It will take courage, trust, optimism, faith... but it's really the only way we will find fulfillment or purpose in living life in the midst of unfortunate circumstances, I think.

:)

Some upcoming, exciting events:

December 18- Graduation! Then home to Sac.

Dec 25- Duh! Christmas!

Dec 31- Kalie's wedding

January 8- Our Wedding

January 9-15- Puert0 Vallarta!

January 15- Move to El Centro

To be continued... :)

With love from "The Well" (aka my home),

Paige

Blues and Woos

The blues: goodbyes never get easier. They actually get harder the more you grow to love someone.

The woos: This weekend I had an ammmmazing bridal shower! I am so, so blessed to have gotten pampered by Melinda Delahooke, Jacquie Aufhammer and Mindy Robinson, dear friends of the Aarons. The lunch was to die for (and handmade!).


Every detail was thought of:


Grilled chicken panini with roasted red bell peppers, cheese and pesto, a butternut squash soup with hot chili oil, and delicious Gorgonzola cheese and some sort of seed salad. Delightful. :)

It was so fun to have such a variety of people I know in one place! I rarely get the Aaron family & friends and my college friends & mom in one spot. It was really nice to be able to have everyone meet an mingle! Not to mention open fabulous and thoughtful gifts!!

My momma:

Aaron women:

Gifts:

It was SO great for my mom to be able to be down here this weekend!! We both stayed at the Aaron's house and spent time with Bill, Mary, Liz & Jeremy, and others hanging out, eating great food, and finishing INVITATIONS!!! I looove them and am so happy with the way they turned out!!! My gracious friend Abby McLellan designed, printed and cut them for Jeremy and I. She has been SUCH a life saver & so generous of her precious time and resources! They will be in the mail soon. Makes the wedding a reality that it's quickly approaching!! :)

8 weeks and 4 days you were curious ;)

This week is filled with the normal work load, life, a few added tests, and wedding preparations.

Today I began getting my resume ready for El Centro! Soon starting to apply for bid kid jobs. :) Favorite part: the idea. Least favorite part: the work it takes to scrutinize a resume! Good thing I have Jeremy!

Trying to stay focused on the things that are really important in life and letting go those that are not. Focusing on advancing the Lord's kingdom in whatever that means. Learning to be faithful. Devout. Giving God my best, not my leftovers. Giving him time.

Also a HUGE wonderful and amazing thing: my Freshman roommate and wonderful friend and bridesmaid Becca got into Teach For America! It is highly competitive and she ROCKED her interviews and got placed in Mississippi Delta teaching secondary mathematics!! I'm so proud of her and can't wait to visit her in the south!!!


With love from the coffee shop at APU (where Jer and I met. Ahhh!),
Paige

Home.

Look up!

No, not there. Up on the screen! Do you see it? 2 months and 1 week? It's COMING! The wedding that is :) Yey!

Today as I was flying away from Sacramento and into Ontario, I was reminded of the many places I come home. I realized I have my primary homes: Sacramento, Azusa, Pasadena, San Dimas and El Centro. The place where close family resides. The places that hold pieces of me :)

Then I have my secondary homes: Rapid City, Spicer (MN), San Diego, Maui, Prescott, Pietermaritzburg... places when I arrive I am instantly comfortable and usually among family and close friends. Places that carry fond memories.

And all of this contemplation has made me so thankful for my many homes. And so excited for the memories future cities will hold. (Shout out to El Centro!)

On a similar note:

This weekend I went to Sacramento to visit family. It was so fun being with the kids for Halloween and starting off my Dad's birthday with him!!

For Halloween Evie was Tinkerbell and Chet was -adorable- and Peter Pan! I LOVE them and spending Halloween with them is SUCH a fun time! They loved trick or treating and showed everyone their candy after each house! For more pics check out my sister's wonderful blog.

Excited to have all of my family in one spot for the wedding! :) What a fun time that will be.

With love from Cougar Walk (APU),

Paige

Love.

In the spirit of... well, life, I'd like to list some happy things.

So often we get bogged down by life. Some days it's nice to remember the things that make it wonderful. Here is a list of some of my favorite things as of late:

1. LA Times. com headlines. Trying to get a grasp on what's going on in the world.
2. Reading Jim Gaffigan's Tweets
3. Weekends with Jeremy :)
4. Registering for our new home (Target & BBB if you're interested ;))
5. Wednesday afternoon venting & laugher session with Becca & Elli.
6. Talking to Evie on the phone. Well, listening to Evie talk on the phone.
7. Hearing Chet scream at me in his "Ba bah buh bah buh ba!" voice and wondering what he's trying to tell me.
8. Eating cereal every morning.
9. Skyping with family:
10. 
11. Planning our wedding.
12. Driving when I'm not in a hurry.
13. Buying accessories. Loving Forever 21's cheapness lately.
14. Obsessing over which comforter to choose for our new bedroom. (I've literally chosen twelve different ones as our "final decision". Here's "the one" I think I've landed on... as of last week at least)
15. Going home this weekend & remembering last Halloween:
16. 
17. Going on WebMD to see if I'm dying. (Don't worry, I'm not... yet)
18. Contemplating what I've learned in Bible classes & figuring out how to change my life accordingly.
19. Seeing Jeremy get good gas prices & being the happiest man in the world!
20. Wondering about where life will take me & what I'll do & what I'll see along the way.
21. This picture:
22. 

Have a happy Monday :)

With love from Chapel Programs at APU,

Paige

Beach. Poop. Segways.

Hello all :)

As I am trying to balance out the personal anecdotes/opinions with life updates, it is time for a life update! Although I hope to entertain you with an anecdote or two.

I'm a little obsessed about the wedding :) 11 weeks & 5 days! We picked our florist (a different one than we were originally going with. Her name is Allie from These Buds a Blooming and she does great work.

Oh yeah, and I'm graduating college. I keep forgetting that.

On another note...

Jeremy and I met half way and we to Cornonado Island in San Diego for a day getaway last weekend! We had so much fun! Even though a few misfortunate things happened, we still managed to keep a smile and had a BLAST together!! (and I got an odd sunburn on the left side of my body, armpit included. Odd!)

The misfortunes:

1. I got pooped on. By a bird. A monster bird. Jeremy thought it could be one of those birds in Avitar that they ride. I agreed. Although it wasn't blue poop... it as green.

Reenactment:

When I realized what had happened:

Jeremy also freaking out... attempting to clean it out with his towel:

2. Jeremy sliced his toe. Hospital avoided. (It actually wasn't that bad)

3. We were so excited about getting some appetizers at Chilis and watching the end of "the game"... (obviously the WE part went for the appetizers, not "the game" since I don't even know what game I watched) ... and we got routed to the San Diego airport. Thanks GPS! Not. (Another Chilis was found, be assured)

4. LONG misfortunate story short.

• I lost Jeremy's phone at Target.
• Someone then stole the lost phone.
• A Target security guy named Bob on his segway came to rescue. And was SERIOUS about this mission. And provided us with unintentional comical relief!
• After what I'd boast as a "convicting text message" to the thief had been sent, there was a reply and a half-admitting of the act.
• The thief felt guilty and returned the phone in person (we did not openly convict her. We actually paid her. But that's another long story).
• 4-5 hours at Target later, we left.

Now I try to keep mushy gushy stuff out of the blog in hope to keep things gender friendly, even though I am well aware 94.5% of my readership are women and a few exceptions (hi Michael!), but I must boast for a moment.

i. love. jeremy.

And good thing, right? I'm marrying the guy! But it's so nice to not have this looming feeling of obligation over me. I'm STOKED to marry him and continue life together. And I find such joy in our time together.

:)

Today I created a bucket list, as is the common practice of many people aware they're going to die and want to feel accomplished in doing so. Mine is LAME! I even asked people at work what theirs is to get inspiration and I realized I don't even care what I do before I die.

I mean, I kinda care. But my six things comprised of traveling with Jeremy to different locations. And I threw in scuba diving out of obligation to have something "adventurous" since Sky Diving is way too risky and tattoos are too permanent. But honestly, I don't even care if I scuba dive!

And I'm so happy I want to "kick" the bucket list. I would be happy with life pausing for a while (come 11 weeks and 5 days, of course). My whole life I've been on fast forward with all of these needs to accomplish... something. And now, and finally ready to slow down and LIVE.

Other highlights to make note of:

1. My beautiful freshman roommate Becca was on APU's Homecoming court!!! Loved seeing her out there and cheering her on! Elli is on the right.

2. I had a fun girls night out with friends this last Friday! It was much needed & much appreciated! Abby (on the left) is making our invitations and doing a FABULOUS job!!! I saw them last night, and just fell in love with them!

3. I had a birthday. And it was AWESOME!!! Some wonderful friends and I went out to dinner and celebrated :)

Beautiful Megan and Elli.

The crew: Katie, Lisa, Britainne, Courtney, Megan, Me, Lauren, Lily, Natalie, Hannah, Elli, Papa

With love from Chapel Programs at APU,

Paige

Humbled

I was really humbled by this video.

Reminds me to ask my self, "what in the world am I living for?"

I'm ashamed to say the answer.

I only have, at max, about 64 more years to live. What am I going to do with my time? Who will I affect?

What about you?