Sunday, November 7, 2010

'Cause maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me...

For some reason last night, no matter what I did, I kept finding myself totally, absolutely, completely...wide awake. I'd say I tried to fall asleep for a good 2 1/2-3 hrs. but instead I stared at my ceiling/closet/Kenny Chesney poster (not a joke). This wouldn't be much of an issue except for the fact that I have been sleeping like crap lately due to the fact that I've been obnoxiously addicted to Veronica Mars and it's been effing with my dreams, therefore, keeping me awake at night. I don't know if it's the fact that my head currently feels as if it weighs 19867 lbs. (not a joke) or maybe it's the whole terrible roommate situation I currently am trying to deal with...but whatever it is, it needs to get over itself and let me do one of my favorite things, sleep. A few months ago, I had a conversation with Josh about random things that I really like. So while I was laying there last night, I started making a list of my favorite/not so favorite things at the moment. I am the queen of lists.

Favorites::
--Pandora
--Warm sheets
--This blogger
--Beards
--My Boys (tv show)
--Vitamin String Quartet...especially their version of "Smells like Teen Spirit" here or "Wonderwall" found here
--Apples (all crunchy foods for that matter)
--Wearing new socks
--Netflix

Not my favorites:
--Not being able to sleep
--Dreaming that I'm falling
--Disrespectful people
--Dirty fingernails
--Going to put Burts Bees on and the chapstick part falls out and on to the floor..ruining it
--Dry hands
--Alarm clock noises
--Walking in the rain/snow and the bottoms of my pants getting wet and then when my wet pants stick to my legs...


I'm sure there's probably a million more, and I have no idea why I decided to make these in a list form..buuut I'm bored. And freezing. And annoyed.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Say it ain't so.

I have Weezer and a million thoughts flying through my head right now...making it impossible for me to fall asleep. This is driving me insane because I have to be to work at 10:30 tomorrow and I'm going to be there all day.





Ugh.

Friday, September 17, 2010

We're just like you, only prettier.

How come every time I decide to take a nap, the apartment complex people decide to mow the lawn? I think I have a Batman radar that goes off every time I lay my head down during the middle of the day. I need to figure out how to break the shit out of that light...

Friday, August 13, 2010

There are things in my life I can't control.



This is my soundtrack to my life right now.
Seriously.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

They'll name a city after us, and later say it's all our fault.

I finally watched 500 Days of Summer today, and was reminded of why I love Zooey Deschanel so much. I'll have to watch the movie over again to get a feel for whether I like the movie or not because I had several distractions..but from the second the names started rolling (what's that called..not credits...but..) and "Us" by Regina Spektor came on, I instantly knew I'd probably like it. Oh, but there's one thing I have decided...Summer wears some pretty terrible pants..like, very unflattering. Ugh.

Monday, June 7, 2010

I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take.

It's official:

I will be moving to East Lansing August 15th.
**Edit--August 16th or 17th...**

And I'm nervous//excited all at the same time.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Out in the backwoods, workin' hard for a dollar.

While I was driving home from Holland this morning..I passed this (or close to) gem. At what point do you decide that regular window tint just won't cut it. You need to make sure that your love of wolves, or dolphins, or maybe even the New York Jets is displayed for the entire highway to see. Also, is there a reason that these are always proudly displayed by those who drive trucks? I don't have any answers to this, but I'm just saying...

Finally, I love America as much as the next guy, but seriously...

Sunday, May 23, 2010

When you ain't got nothin', you've got nothin' to lose.

Today started out awesome. Lindsey, Ryan, Evan, Brooke and Nick were all up at my parents house. It was a beautiful day, and I even got to watch most of the Grey's season finale. Then I overheated myself and almost puked. I showered and went to work.

That's when my day turned from pretty awesome, to horrible. For some reason, they will not turn on the air there. Ugh. Seriously. Every single table was complaining about how hot it was..like I wanted to be working in the heat..also, I have no voice. Zero. I try and talk and all that comes out is 13 yr. old pubescent boy sounds. Seriously.

But then, I came home, and this was on.

I am now going to bed happy, although roasting hot because my parents refuse to turn the air on because they believe we "get a good breeze off the lake." I am not talking tomorrow...until I go back to work tomorrow night.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Your best intentions may not be enough.

I think Wednesday is my favorite day of the week. Because of this, I'm going to try and post a favorite song of mine every Wednesday. Today= When It Don't Come Easy by Patty Griffin.


Monday, April 26, 2010

No pain is forever..yup, you know this.

It's been a pretty regular thing lately for me to have pseudo arguments with myself over how bad it would hurt to cut my right ovary out so that I wouldn't be in constant pain for...oh...4 hours now. If I was dead set on not having kids I'd go to the hospital and have them fix me. I'm still at a toss up over that whole thing so I can't make such a rash decision right now (I'm only 23). I can pretend all night long that I'm gutsy enough to hold a knife to my belly and cut it, when in all actuality, I can't even dig into my skin with a needle to get a sliver out. This girl = huge wimp.

My old doctor (who basically did nothing but perform 2 surgeries and prescribe me 7 different meds that didn't work) just moved so I'm in the market for a new one. Let's hope that the next one can pinpoint what's wrong a little faster/easier than she could. One person can only pee in a cup so many times and still keep their dignity.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Welcome home Evan. We're so excited to see you!

Here's my final version of this...I need like a whole box of Kleenex every time I watch it!! Tomorrow's the big day..one we've been waiting for technically since we found out Lindsey was pregnant for 9 months..however, since we first saw Evan for 117 days. 117 days. Wow.



As if I didn't think Evan was the cutest thing ever..Owen and Aubrey try and steal the show. I am so blessed.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Life is good today.

I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow and I won't be back until at least the 30th...yessssss.


Monday, February 15, 2010

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

I'm stuck in a strange spot between undergrad and grad school. I'm hopefully going to start working at the BB again soon, but in my downtime I've been watching a whole lot of Bravo and searching the Internet for some new found loves.

1) http://www.supercook.com/
This website has introduced me to some of my new favorite meals. Instead of a typical recipe website where you find the perfect recipe and go to the grocery store and buy the ingredients that you need. However, on this website, you type in the ingredients that you already have in your kitchen, and it brings up recipes with only those ingredients in them. Seriously, genius.

2) http://www.organicgurus.net/catalog/traditional-medicinals-peppermint.jpg
My stomach has decided to hate me lately and I've been taking entirely too much pain medicine. I can't exactly afford to drive down to Grand Rapids for acupuncture, so I've been trying to deal with the pain on my own. Enter: Traditional Medicinals Peppermint Tea. While I've never been a huge tea drinker, for some reason this is my nightly bff lately.
(This has nothing to do with Bravo or the Internet, obv.)

3) http://www.flickr.com/photos/9610377@N04/
I finally got a chance to upload more photos from the best vacation of my life. I'd pretty much give anything to be back there right about now. I'm hopefully meeting up with Alyssa soon to get her photos from the trip.

4) http://gethighnow.com/troxlers-fading/
If you spend too much time on this site, you'll get a headache. But seriously...this is crazy. The sound clips mess with your mind...it hurts.

5) http://www.textsfromlastnight.com
The only problem that I have with this site is that I can't decide if the best or worst texts are my favorite.

Let's hope I get a job soon so that I don't spend all my free time online anymore..ugh.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnn...

Why couldn't the GRE have been over 90's Nickelodeon shows, or names of Rihanna songs, or even types of dogs. No, the GRE is much harder than any of those. Much, much harder. If I were given an analogy such as :Ren::Stimpy, I would've obviously known :Keenan::Kel, or the antonym of Whomps is nothing because it's made up. No, I was given stupid words. Stupid words and long passages. Ugh...but one good thing...it's over.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I wanna be sedated..for real.

Dear GRE,

I hate your stinking guts. You make me vomit. You're scum between my toes!

Love,
Whitney

(Looking forward to having my life back after the GRE on Monday...assuming I survive.)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

I'm entirely too tired to come up with a song.

Brooke and I went out to Mojo's last night to celebrate me graduating. Anyway, we came back to Renucci around 2..talked to Lindsey for like 45 minutes and then passed out. Well at about 6:00 a.m. the fire alarm started blarin'. Lindsey and I both woke up and discussed if we should get up or not, and then decided that we probably should. Brooke, oblivious to the world, kept sleeping. She then started telling us, "Lindsey, get back in bed, it's just the air bag going off." After laughing for a bit Lindsey put on her coat and headed downstairs, saying she'd come back if it was real. During all this I was trying to grab a sweatshirt in the dark and wake Brooke up at the same time. She finally rolled out of bed, grabbed a towel and started wafting (?) it at the fire alarm to try and get it to stop. I was telling her to hurry up, when her response to me only having a sweatshirt on was "Whitney, grab a coat, this is the Jersey Shore."

Honestly.

I didn't think twice and put my coat on and then was like..wait a second... Once I woke up a little bit, I about peed my pants because I was laughing so hard. Turns out it was a false alarm. Now it's almost 7:00 a.m. and we're all still up laughing. I love this.

Monday, January 25, 2010

When push comes to shove you taste what you're made of...

Something hit me while I was sitting in class today...I'm done with undergrad TOMORROW!!! I've obviously known this day was coming and I've been looking forward to it for a long time..like 4 1/2 years long time. 4 1/2 years. Holy crap that's a long time.

In the past 4 1/2 years I've:

  • Lived in 4 different houses, 4 different apartments, and 5 different cities.
  • Visited 2 different countries and entirely too many states to count.
  • Lost an aunt, cousin, and 2 friends. However, I've been blessed with 2 handsome nephews and 1 beautiful niece.
  • Have worked at: Cenzo's Grocery Store, Colby's Designer Outlet, American Eagle, Brown Bear, Comfort Inn, The Muskegon Y, and the Brown Bear again. Talk about sticking to one place...
  • Have had 3 different cameras, 3 different ipods, 5 different phones, and only one computer that is hanging on by a thread (and has been for almost 4 1/2 years now..haha).
  • Gotten into a car accident and paid entirely too much money to have my car fixed..only for my brother in law to smash it with a plow truck 2 years later..it's fixed again..for now.
So what lies ahead of me in the next 4 1/2 years...grad school for 2 of those years, and who knows for the other 2 1/2. I'd like to say I'm excited. I guess I am..but I am so nervous. So so nervous. I never thought I'd be nervous about the future..but here I am..not sleeping..just sitting here..thinking about what I'm going to do after tomorrow.

Friday, January 22, 2010

A letter to Evan.

This is going to be one of the very few posts that I've done that doesn't have song lyrics as the title. That's because this is a letter that I've been writing to Evan. My computer skills aren't the greatest, but I've tried to make this pretty private. It's pretty long, just a warning.

Oh little Evan...
You are so precious to me, and to all of us. From your little toes to your pointy chin and nose (just like your Dad). Every part of you was perfectly formed.
Although you came so much earlier than we all expected, I can't imagine a day without you in it. Just over a month ago your Mom's water broke, and I catch myself quite often thinking about that night.

Your Grandma and I were sitting at our house watching Top Chef (a show I know you will love!!) when the phone rang. We knew because it was almost 12:30 in the morning that something was wrong. Your Grandma jumped up to get the phone, and the first thing I heard was "You're kidding. Oh my gosh. No. You're kidding. We're on our way." She then dropped the phone and ran upstairs and woke your Grandpa up. I yelled up to her to ask her what was wrong. She, between quiet sobs, told me that your Mom's water broke and to change my clothes because we were headed to the hospital. I couldn't move. I just sat on the couch completely shocked. I started crying and told your Grandpa and Grandma that I couldn't go with them because I was too sick and I didn't want to get your Mom sick. They told me I had to go, and within probably five minutes of getting the phone call from your Dad, all three of us were headed (more like flying..although it felt like it took forever) to Muskegon. I couldn't do anything on the way down except for cry and pray. I sat in your Grandma's car while they went inside to be with your Mom. I called my roommate Ashley who prayed with me on the phone. It wasn't until Aunt Shayna called me almost an hour later that I knew that both you and your Mom were all right.

I stayed with Diesel for the first few days because I was still too sick to go and see your Mom. I actually didn't even talk to your Mom until about her second or third day in the hospital. When I could finally visit her, she seemed just like normal Lindsey. We laughed, watched youtube videos, ate Bosco sticks, and mostly just tried to keep her calm and content while she was on bed rest. Everything seemed normal on Christmas Eve when we left to go stay at Aunt Shayna and Uncle Mike's. We had plans to Skype with your Mom and Dad in the morning when Owen and Aubrey were openning up their Christmas presents so that we could have a "normal" Christmas with everyone there. You had different plans though.

Your Grandma came in Owen's room (where I was sleeping) at about 5:00 Christmas morning to take a shower and woke me up. I was very confused as to why she was up this early, but just assumed it was because Owen was so excited and woke up early. It wasn't until Aunt Shayna came in at about 7:30 to wake me up that I found out that your Mom was having a lot of contractions. Your Grandma called us at about 10:00 and told us to get ready and head to the hospital because your Mom was going to have a C-Section. I didn't cry on my way to the hospital this time, but I just sat silent and prayed the whole time. Your Grandma called us just as we were taking the College exit and told us that your Mom had just delivered you, and that you were a big guy at 1 lb. 6 oz. When we got to the hospital, everyone was sitting in the waiting room, and it was really quiet. Your Dad came in about 15 minutes after we got there. He looked like he was still in shock, but was excited to show us your first few pictures. About 3 hours later we got to go see your Mom, and then about an hour or so after that, I got to go with your Aunt Shayna, your Uncle Mike, and your Dad to meet you for the first time.

When your Dad lifted the blanket off your isolette and I got to see you for the first time, it brought tears to my eyes. You were so tiny, but so absolutely perfect. So many of my friends talked to me that day about you, and that was my response every single time. Your little chest was going up and down so fast I couldn't believe it. You looked so peaceful just laying in there. We could only see you for a few minutes, but it's something I will never forget.

All anyone could talk about the day you were born and the days that followed was how you were such a little "Christmas miracle." I think it is absolutely perfect that you share the same birthday as Jesus. His birth brough us hope -- the very thing we cling to when our lives seem confusing or disappointing. Where would we be without hope? I am so thankful for the hope that Jesus has given me. I have been so thankful for all of your Mom and Dad's friends and family that have come around them. I am grateful to be your Aunt. I never would have though that such a tiny little person could steal my heart like you have. In your short four weeks of life you have already taught me so much and I'm sure you will continue to in the years ahead.

The nurses here at Spectrum take such good care of you. Many of them have requested to be your nurse for many weekends to come. The charge nurse the other night told your Mom and I that she was going to get you a very good nurse for the next morning because she loved you. This means so much to your Mom. She can't take care of you yet, but just knowing that she has all these wonderful nurses and doctors who can is very reassuring for her. Your Dad has nicknames for almost every nurse who's taken care of you. They absolutely adore him. He sure is a charmer!

You have had so many milestones these past four weeks. You have been on a Jet Vent, Conventional Vent, and are now on CPAP and breathing on your own. That is sooo huge for a baby who's technically only at a gestational age of 27.3 weeks (I've learned so much medical lingo these past four weeks..haha). You have had your first surgery to close the PDA (hole) in your heart. Your Mom has been able to hold you and feed you (your Dad will soon), and you've opened your eyes to see the beauty of this world and those who love you. We're anxiously awaiting the many milestones that you have ahead of you, especially when we can hear your voice for the first time. We know that you have a long road ahead of you and that you will be in the NICU or NIM until your due date (April 20th), but we can't wait to celebrate when your Mom and Dad will be able to bring you home. I know your Mom is looking forward to you meeting your "brother" Diesel. You have so much to look forward to and you don't even know it!

This may sound stupid, but I want to just let you know, Evan, that you have restored the faith in our family. Through you we have become so much closer to God and are so excited to learn His plans for you. You have no idea how many people are praying for you. We've heard of churches as far away as Holland (in the Netherlands, not MI) who have you and your Mom and Dad in their prayers. Prayer is a very powerful thing, and I can attest to this first hand because of you.

I found a bible verse that I've had in my purse since Christmas morning when we were heading to the hospital.

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make [Evan] dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8 "...He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed He who watches over [Evan] will neither slumber nor sleep." Psalm 121:3-4.

I love you so much and I am so inspired by you each and every day.
--Aunt Whitney

Sunday, January 17, 2010

I've had my share of ups and downs...times when there was no one around.

I attended Lighthouse Full Life Center Church this morning for the worship service performed by Dr. Marvin L. Sapp. Lindsey and I were 2 of the 4 Caucasian people at the service. Although the Pentecostal service was a lot different than what I'm used to, I'm kind of considering going again next week. I would've killed to hear him perform this song.