Life in Portland

Some days I hate it.
Most days I love it.
I love: freedom, trees, Mt. Hood, being near the ocean, being at a school bigger than my high school, DOWNTOWN, meeting new people, my new friends, doing what I want, weight training and kickboxing w/Cinnamin

I hate: not being with the ones I love most, missing my church, not seeing Joshua Caleb & Noah (and their parents too!), not having a dog, walking across campus in a downpour, Biology

Places I love in Portland:
Stumptown Coffee
24 Hour Fitness
the track on top of PSU's gym
St Michael the ArchAngel church
Voodoo Donuts
Food for Thought Cafe
Pioneer Square, esp. Pioneer Place Mall
POWELLS bookstore
Buffalo Exchange
Duniway Park/the YMCA track

I love it here. I get homesick, I get frustrated (especially during the last few weeks of a hard term!), but I love the people. I love the atmosphere. This is the right school for me. And this is where I want to be.

w/my favoritest Portland person Hanna :)

Downtown Portland :)

Duniway Park area run

w/Patricia and Jeff!

Downtown Portland at night

yay ocean :D

major news...

Leanna is engaged!!!!
Babies come home soon :)

Maddie is dead :(
I loved that dog, I was thinking about it and she was one of my best friends this summer! And we also spent Thanksgiving together...

Boise has gotten a CRAPLOAD of snow in the past week-ish...
HOWEVER...not as much as Seattle and, of all places, Portland?!?!

One of my good friends' parents are seperated. Which just strengthens my hate of divorce even more...They have been married for over 20 years.

Michelle Farley, 40 year old Borah Psychology/Health teacher was arrested. She is being charged with 8 counts (so far...) of sexual battery. I'm glad she and the 17 year old basketball player-boyfriend could further ruin Borah's reputation, it's really what we needed.

I move to Portland in 9 days! OMG...
OH, and I've decided to NOT drive my car there yet...
Did I MENTION I HaTE driving in snow and or slushy in a Front Wheel Drive Car?!?!

Well...g2g get ready...so I can go to Vista to make sure Kristen's still alive after driving to Logan and back for the holidays :)

Christmas!!!!!

CHRISTMAS PICTURES!!!!!!!!!

Tons of Pictures :)

I've been just not willing to put stuff on here...since I have Facebook AND Myspace to keep up on...
And Christmas was pretty darn busy...
SO here are my favorite pictures from the past two months or so :

Dear ------

WHY...

Why should I continue to care?

It's not my responsibility or obligation.

Seriously...it's NOT MY JOB.

I can only play the whole "What Would Jesus/Grandma Do?" game for so long...

Why should I continue to sugar coat things?

What good does that do anyway, avoiding telling the freaking truth...When you need to hear it from SOMEONE.

OH it just makes it so the fam's all PEACHY
except not really...we're just pretending, if you haven't noticed.


I'm pretty sure that the best way to deal with someone who manipulates you, acts like an ungrateful 10 year old, and tells everything you say (and more) to EVERYONE...

is to STEP AWAY...

as hard as it is....

Sometimes lessons need to be learned...that's all I'll say.

This is me stepping away...

Actually driving away is more like it...
Haha.
27 DAYS WOOT!

Whatever Dudette~

I'M SO EXCITED!
NOTHING CAN BRING ME DOWN!
NOTHING...so don't even try, K?!


"Have you ever been LOW?
Have you ever had a friend that let you down so...
when the truth came out, were you the last to know?
Were you left out in the cold...
CUZ WHAT YOU DID WAS LOW.
What you did was LOW.
I walk out of this darkness with no sense of regreat
And I go with a clear conscience, we both know you can't say that
Here's to show
For all the time I loved you MORE..."~K.C. :)

Thankful

What I'm Thankful for this year:

JESUS and my relationship with him
my FAITH and the amazing gift it is in my life
Living in the U.S.A. with freedom and SO many opportunities
FAMILY
FRIENDS
knowing through everything I'll be ok if I'm with God :)
having direction in my life
JOY!

and TODAY, I am most thankful for:
being able to RACE and spend time with an amazing Family :)
Kathe, Pat, and Andrija McCurry :)
my Turner family!
my grandparents
Lorissa & Johnny
being able to LEAVE this city and state tomorrow for a BREAK from all the drama and craziness!!!!

Truly, Thank GOD!
Happy Thanksgiving

Book Part UNO (of many I hope Ha!)

OK here it goes. Just raw stuff. Kinda weird/scary but whatev...:)

Thursday, August 17, 2000:

“Today I woke up and got ready for Junior High Registration. We dropped Alex off @ Kamee’s so he wouldn’t embarrass me. At registration we bough my PE uniform, payed class fees, put money on my lunch card, had pictures taken for yearbook and my activity card, got my agenda book, and got my locker combo and schedule. We also found my locker and I finally opened it and we walked to all of my classes so I’d get somewhat of an idea of where they were. “

--Obviously starting junior high is a pretty big deal so I'm glad this was in there. Apparently I was at that embarassed by my brother stage (that was probably til around freshman year-ish).

Thursday, August 24, 2000:

“Today I woke up and watched my shows. Then we went to the dentist. Rory told us Kristy was going to South. Poor her! After that we went to the rosary in the park. Lorissa went with us to Blimpie’s for lunch. When we got home I gave Coco a bike ride and then watched a movie. After dinner I got ready for orientation. On the way we dropped Alex off at Grandma’s so he wouldn’t “embarrass” me. Orientation was very unnecessary. The principal gave a 7-minute speech and then we were supposed to walk our schedule—even thoughwe did that at registration. We did it anyway, but still were only at the school for a half an hour. We stayed at Grandma’s for a while, and then came home and watched this movie called Quints, it’s so cute!

--I think it's so funny I talked about TV in my journal. Again with the Alex thing haha...poor kid :) Also, this introuces Lorissa, my nonbiological older sister who has played an UBER important role in my life and faith. It also shows I was active and impatient at this stage, and not that excited for junior high. And most importantly, it introduces the most important human ever in my life--my grandma Betty Jane :)

Friday, August 25, 2000:

“Today mom took me to Costco! Why? So I could get contacts!!! It took about 45 minutes to take them out, clean them, and get them in. The lady who was helping me was very patient, though. When we got home I took my contacts out and swam with Alex and Leanna. Later I thought my contact was in my eye, but it had fallen out. I kept trying to find it in my eye, and then mom found it on the floor, all dry…”

--All I can think about reading this is "Oh, here's where the vanity started." I was such a tomboy until jr high when I got into dances and clothes and shopping and makeup. Funny how I'm back to the tomboy stage and wearing little or no makeup these days :)

Saturday, August 26 2000:

“Today I woke up and got ready and did my chores. Then I made Grandma Betty-Jane oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for her cookie coupon I gave her on her birthday. After that we all met Dave and Shannon and their friends (for Dave’s birthday) for a movie, and then went to Dave and Shannon’s house for pizza, cake, and ice cream for the birthday part. When we got home, I took my contacts out and watched Miss Teen USA. Miss Pennsylvania won.

--Again, Grandma is present. This also shows that at 12 I was perfectly comfortable eating junk food and then watching a beauty pageant. Too bad I chose to warp my self-esteem and view of realistic women by watching so many of those over the years...

Sunday, August 27, 2000:

“Today I woke up, was lazy for awhile (it IS the last day of summer!), then got ready for church. After church we went to grandma’s house because mom had a Life Teen meeting and dad was working on the car. We did stuff with grandma (the house was even quiet) until Tony and Kamee got home from camping. Then we helped and played with the boys. When dad picked us up, he took us with him to the grocery store. When we got home, I swam to cool off. Then I just hung around, and we had dinner. After dinner I talked with mom and dad about school. I’m sorta bummed aboutgoing back, but excited. I got ready for bed at 8:30! And as my dad says, “The party’s over now.”

--I think this part is important because it shows the importance Life Teen and church played in both my mom's and my life from a very young age. And it reaffirms the fact that family meant SO much to me at this point--whether grandma, my baby cousins, or my parents--I loved them more than anyone. And finally, it displays my FEAR of junior high, and basically the start of my teenage years...

Monday, August 28, 2000:

“My first day of school and Junior High: “6:15 came WAY too early this morning. I’ve never gotten up to get ready for school when it’s pitch black outside! I’m very nervous and excited. I got ready (got dressed, had mom curl my hair, ate breakfast, put my contacts in, and got my stuff together) and said goodbye to Mom (who was nervous and excited as much as me) and dad (who knew I would survive). On the bus I sat with Cally McGuire who I used to play with in kindergartedn and first grade. When we got to West, I waited by the back doors with the other hundreds of kids. First, I went to my assigned admission room to get my “official schedule.” Then I went to my [half L] locker and opened it, first time, piece of cake. Then I headed to Life Science. Mrs. Anderson teaches it and she’s really funny. By the time first period started, my butterflies were gone. 2^nd period is Accelerated English; about ¾ of the kids are from Amity. The teacher is Mr. Lynn (he’s about 28 or 30). We went over Rules and Regulations and that’s about all. AUsually after 2^nd period, we have a 13 minute break where we can go to our locker or the cafeteria, but since today’s a half day we didn’t. 3^rd period is Reading. The teacher is Mrs. Corn and she’s a little old and a little weird. We filled out a paper telling about ourselves in Reading. 4^th period is Accelerated Math (my favorite subject). My teacher is Mrs. Kormylo, she’s cool. All we really did was talk about rules and some of the stuff we’d be doing in math. Usually after fourth peiod we have lunch, but since today we have a ½ day, there’s no lunch. Sixth period is Computer Applications, Mr. King teaches it and he’s fun and funny. We talked about computers and what we’d be doing this semester. Seventh period is Home Ec. My teacher, Mrs. Watterlin, is sort of loud and different. We talked about what we’d be doing this year and filled out a paper about ourselves. Eighth period is World Geo., and Mr. Richardson teaches it. He’s nice, organized, young, and funny. We filled out notecards about ourself and I found out he’s a Vandal fan (too bad). And that’s the end of the day. I got home at noon (cool!) and rode the bus home. I like junior high and I’m going to have a great year! When I got home, I told my mom about my day. She told me Heather, my pen-pal, is coming down to Boise for the Fall Conference with her mom and their foreign exchange student. They’re staying with us! I get to meet Heather!!!!! I’m so excited. I’m not going to be able to wait until September 17! I had lunch and emailed Heather. Then I watched Rosie. We had dinner, and then I had to go to bed at 8.

--This just makes me laugh. I can't believe how many details I mentioned. And they all have to do with people...hmm....:) I was so optimistic about jr high, funny I don't ever remember feeling that way about it :) As you can see my mom and I had a great relationship and I always told her everything. My life was pretty boring but I thought it was cool.