How CVS Became My New Best Friend

I graduated from college! My four year adventure came to a close in May and it was a bitter sweet ending. Since then I’ve been to Nashville for CMA fest, moved into my very own apartment, and accepted a job with my local church here in Branson. I work as an assistant to the director of the preschool that First Baptist Branson runs and I love it! I get to do administrative tasks and I get to be in classrooms as well. Everyday is completely different than the last but at least in this new job I get sweet snuggles from our sweet kids!

Living by myself has been something that I have really enjoyed. My mom always asks if I get lonely living by myself but I tell her that after 8 hours of children clamoring for your undying attention and listening to 10 minute stories about what’s going on with Marshall in Paw Patrol, you welcome the silence for a couple of hours before it all starts again. But I have loved every minute of it!

Money has been something that I have started to get used to, that is budget planning by myself. Graduating debt free has been something I have been so thankful for and I know I never ever want to get into debt. Budget planning has been something that I haven’t been afraid of because I have amazing parents who taught me the value of money and how to work a budget, and with my previous job I actually find it relaxing to categorize purchases and put it all on a beautiful spreadsheet. (Yes, I do it during the weekends, and the satisfaction I get seeing it all beautiful and neat makes me feel accomplished) So here are a few things I have learned:

• Local grocers are you friend! I live close to a couple of local grocery stores and sometimes they can be significantly cheaper than Wal-Mart prices especially when it comes to meat and produce.
• Coupons, coupons, coupons! I have saved over 73 dollars in the last 3 months at CVS because they have great coupons and I take advantage of them. Throughout the month they will send me 5 dollars in extracare bucks and 40% of coupons in emails. The great thing is that you can stack them. Their 40% off coupon works on anything and has up to $99 in value so it can also give you huge savings! Basically CVS has become my new best friend and I go there on a weekly basis because they have treated me very well and I love a great deal.
• Clearance Aisles are my fav. My absolute fav. Recently a lot of stores have been doing their end of season clearance and I have gotten a ton of great things for 50%-75% off! Target has been really good to me and so has Wal-Mart but you have to put your back into it and really dig for the good stuff. I love a bargain though!
• Rewards cards have also been my friend. They let you know what sales are going on or what promotions you may qualify for. TJ Maax recently held a morning event for all their rewards members and they served a light breakfast that you could munch on while you shopped and I received a free cacti covered tote bag. It’s the little things in the life ya know?

Anyways those are just a few of my ramblings right now and I hope to get back into blogging as things have settled down a little bit.

Thanks for listening to the ramblings of a recent college grad. 🙂

 

Week Five

This semester has been crazy crazy busy. It is bittersweet to think that this is my last Fall semester! My college career is almost over! But I am determined to make the most of it! I was incredibly blessed to be an Alumni Scholarship recipient this year. Over 300 students applied and only 30 were chosen. I am a room and board scholarship recipient which means that they covered one of my semesters of room and board while I was interning in South Carolina. It was a huge blessing to not have to worry about coming up with 3200 dollars in six weeks! The Alumni center took this super cute picture of some of the recipients and I thought I would share that with you!

My last Fall semester also meant my last GATE party at the Keeter Center. Every Fall we host a huge party for the students. It is to thank returning students for their hard work and to encourage our new staff as we start our busy season! It is always a lot of fun and each year is a different theme. This year we had a luau party! Chef and I just had to take a picture to commemorate my last GATE party.

And then of course I had to drag Maalek for one picture as well. He was thrilled, trust me. 🙂

The last weekend Maalek, Maalek’s mom, and I made a day trip to Kansas City. It was so much fun walking around the plaza and the best part was honestly our time in IKEA. IKEA is what dreams are made of. There is something incredibly inspiring  yet extremely chaotic about IKEA. Anyways that was the first time I had been to Kansas City and I definitely want to go back!

This next bit is going to greatly surprise you. I WALKED AWAY FROM A MUG. It was this cute elephant mug at Urban Outfitters.

That gap at the top of his head is where you put your teabag when you are done with it. It was a whopping 16 dollars but part me of didn’t care, and obviously a bigger part of me did care because I didn’t get it, but it was a serious battle. I still think about it. Maybe next time elephant mug, maybe next time.

 

 

 

Fall 2k16

My last Fall semester and I have hit the ground running. Something that I have done countless of times now seems so different as it is my last Fall semester of my college career. To think that this time, next year, I will be on a completely new adventure is terrifying and exciting all at the same time.

But in the meanwhile, I can be content in knowing what the next 8 months hold for me.

Or do I? I’ll get to that in a little bit.

I would have never thought in a million years that I would ever associate the word Branson with the word home. Being in South Carolina for those six weeks made me realize how much Branson has become home to me. It’s funny how it takes leaving, to make you realize what things can actually mean to you.

It was sad to leave South Carolina because I really started to love it! I learned so much from the participants and loved being a part of such an important program. South Carolina was a huge learning experience, and as cliche as it sounds, I learned a lot about me! It was so bittersweet when my internship came to a close because I knew I was really going to miss the program and the people! But it was sweet because I got to see all my friends again! 🙂

So below are a few pictures of my first couple weeks back! It was so good for my little heart to see so many of my favorite people and reminded me the importance of surrounding yourself with good people.

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Work has been crazy busy, much busier than I ever thought it could be. BSU has been busier than ever for me too. My women’s ministry team is larger this semester and we have a lot more planned than we ever have planned before. And the biggest surprise for me is that I have signed up to lead a small group… of seventh-grade girls! I have always had deep respect for middle school teachers and those who do middle school ministry. Middle-school in my mind is the worst time in everyone’s lives so to want to dedicate your life to dealing with that on a daily basis is definitely a calling in my book! 😉 My local church had an open spot for a small group leader, and I took it! I had my first session last week and it went pretty good, I was very nervous but I am sp excited for this new adventure!

I also treated myself to retail therapy this afternoon. I bought some sugar scrub, mac and cheese (so crucial during the week), and a new mug. I freely admit that I have a problem. I also realize that when I move I will have to take them all with me. I’ll work on that later 😉

 

South Carolina Bound

So I finally made it! Made it to Lexington, South Carolina! I had been complaining about the heat in Missouri but after arriving here, I realize I didn’t have much to complain about! As we were landing, the pilot told us that it was 104 degrees. When the sun goes down, it is still in the 90’s!

Working at Hope Bridge has been a huge learning experience for me. It is something that is a little out of my comfort zone but I have continued to learn so many things. I think I wrote a little bit about it before, but Hope Bridge is an Adult Day Care Center for Adults with special needs. They have a full program and different themes for each month. This month is Camp Month and they are divided into two tribes, Tribe Cherokee and Tribe Loud Mouth. The participants play games and do camp themed crafts and it is always one big party.

Last weekend I went to the beach, which is where the picture from above came from. Nothing like a beach trip to make it really feel like summer!

Everywhere we went had an  unbelievable view. I did get burned pretty bad, but it was all worth it!

This trip has been a nice little preview of what life after school will be like and it has been a huge adjustment, even if this is just for six weeks!

The Lord has definitely been working on my heart and I am excited to share that with you, but I’m still processing it!

Just wanted to leave you all with a  little update and also thank so many of you for the kind birthday wishes! I had a great birthday! 22 feels pretty good! 🙂

A Wedding and a Burger

Ben and Laura got married a couple of weeks ago and it was the kind of wedding that made you believe in love again. 😉

Trey, Brennan, and I drove up to Kansas City to see them get married and it was a little on the warm side but it was such a beautiful wedding.

It was really special seeing the two of them get married and I know their marriage will be one where God is truly reflected in it.

While we are up there, I got to see my pal Amanda who used to be my RA and is also a dear friend of mine. I had to miss her wedding because my dad was here and preaching in Seymore so I really enjoyed getting to see her!

The restaurant I work at is in a national burger competition and if you could vote for us we would really appreciate it!

If you’re in the area we would love for you to try the burger. It is a French Onion Grilled Cheeseburger and it is delicious! I was there when Chef was creating the concept of the burger and to see it come to life has been so much fun!  I’ve had the burger several times and trust me, it is as good as it sounds.

Here is the link to vote: bit.ly/22wYkNn

I am finishing up my last two weeks at school before I head off to South Carolina to a completely new and different adventure. Work has been tougher than usual and I am feeling a little separation anxiety at the thought of being away for so long. I have lots of things to do before I leave,  so that is keeping me pretty busy. 🙂

 

Week 2/6

My summer has officially begun!

It was a sweet start because as you know, my dad was here for three weeks and it was a super packed three weeks!

I had to get in all the Branson tourist stops before he left!

We spent two days at Silver Dollar City, my dad loved it so much we had to go back. It was the Bluegrass and BBQ festival so it was a good time to go!

It was also kind of bittersweet  time because so many of my best pals graduated this year!

They have all worked so hard to get here and I am so proud to call them friend. I love them enough to have sat through the whole commencement ceremony.  At least two of them are close by and Priscilla gives me a reason to go visit Cali.

We also took my dad to the Track and he went go carting with Vickie  and the girls and then we hit the arcade.

While in Branson, you have to go Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede! It is always a really good show and the food isn’t so bad. My dad really loved it! I like the show too, they do a good job with the horses and all the animals.

For my dad’s last meal we went to Lamberts and it was so yummy! We all definitely ate too much, but I don’t think any of us regretted it!

A super bonus for the last couple of weeks is that Vickie and I got to see these boys! Our family is very close with their grandparents and their grandparents do amazing ministry with the Massai tribe in Kenya. The boys would come and visit their grandparents over the summer and while their grandparents were prepping to go to the bush they would drop the boys off and we would play all day. This happened almost every summer and we always had such a blast. Fast forward 13 years later and we are still having so much fun! My dad might have been a little overwhelmed with all four of us in the house! 😉

I am in week two out of the six weeks I will be spending here in Branson! The second six I will be spending in South Carolina but more about that later. We got all our new freshmen in for the summer and they are FANTASTIC. I have seen many groups of freshmen come through the kitchen but this group might end up being my favorite. They are such hard workers and have great attitudes. It has been a great start to my last six weeks at Keeter! I know the next four are just going to fly right by!

P.S If you are suffering from like dry feet like I was, YOU NEED THIS! I’ve used it for like three days and it is AMAAAZZZINNG. You’ll thank me for it later. 😉

Summer Is Here

Summer is here!

I am finally done with school for this semester and can look forward to a break from all academic pursuits.

More importantly, My dad made it to Branson!

He did have quite the ordeal getting here though!

Instead of a direct flight from Hong Kong, he was re-routed to London and then Chicago. An extra 18 hours and his total trip was close to 48 hours!

But he made here safe and sound!

We had a great day at Silver Dollar City with Vickie and her boyfriend, Jourdain.

Vickie had never been either and she was ecstatic over their funnel cakes.

Silver Dollar City does not mess around when it comes to their food!

Super delicious.

Vickie and I are both very happy that he is here.

Summer is here and I am excited!

But this weekend will be a little bittersweet for me because so many of my friends are graduating!

Life is moving fast and I am excited to enter into this last season of college!

Tomorrow we will be going to Sight and Sound and I think my dad will love it!

Thanks for staying faithful to this blog!

It means the a lot!

🙂

M A J O R Lifeupdate

My life has been in a temporary state of limbo lately. My summer plans were not yet set in stone and I couldn’t plan on anything because I didn’t know if I had gotten different scholarships. But everything has come through and now I can share with you what my summer will look like! For the first six weeks I will work at the Keeter Center in exchange for one semester of my room and board paid off, and for the second six weeks I will be working as an intern for Hope Bridge in South Carolina! I am so excited for this internship as it will be a huge opportunity for me to grow and learn so many new things! I was a little apprehensive because taking the second six weeks would mean that I would have to come up with $3,400 which is a lot! I was really counting on another scholarship to come through for me and it did! The Alumni scholarship will be covering my room and board for my second semester last semester of school, so I am looking at a worry free year! I am so thankful and beyond blessed that these things worked together! Lots of praying and pleading with the Lord but I know he already had a plan its just nice to see played out.

Anways a few quick pictures of my last couple of weeks!

I had the best time visiting Fayetteville! It is a super cute college town and I loved all the little stores that lined the streets. There was what seemed to be a small little second-hand bookstore but as we stepped in and started to explore it just seemed to go on and on and on! I loved it and I will definitely be back!

After all the exploring we were so hungry and we stopped a burger joint called Deluxe Burgers and it was DELISH. You can’t really tell but there were so many french fries on the plate which I deeply appreciated. I went with a black bean and rice burger topped wth avocado and it was soooo good. All I needed was a fried egg on it and I would have been in burger bliss. Later we went to Onyx Coffe Lab and I ordered their cold brew and it was DIVINE! Just a solid day of food and drink in Fayetteville.

This month is my last month of Kindergarten! 😦 I am so sad to be leaving but I have learned so much and have loved every minute. Even if there are some days where it feels like they’re going to kill me or I’m going to kill them. I talked to the boys about it the other day at lunch and one of them said “You can live with me, Miss. Kathryn!”. Ugh. My heart. Anyways I wanted to show you a picture of their grassheads because they are so cute! We are studying plants for the next couple of weeks.

Finals week is creeping up so if you would cover us students in your prayer I know we would all appreciate it! 🙂

 

Kindergarten Lessons

Who would have thought that in a room full of little five-year-old boys that there would be behavior issues?

The boys can go from fighting to playing in .5 seconds.

A lot can happen in .5 seconds.

Some days are better than others.

The last couple of days have been the not so great days.

I find myself constantly telling the boys “Make good choices!”

It’s my attempt to have the boys stop and think about what they are doing and make a better decision than the one they are making or they’re about to make.

Plot twist: They don’t always listen.

When they don’t listen we have to discipline them.

This is when I say “You didn’t make a good decision by doing ________ and so now you have to sit here and do a worksheet instead of going to recess. That makes me sad. What are we going to next time to help us make a better decision?”

The boys normally get the idea and will talk about what they can do better next time.

They know what they did wrong and sometimes there are a lot of tears but it always ends in a hug and a promise to do better.

It reminded me of how as adults we sometimes forget to make good choices.

I am constantly whispering to the boys “Make good choices, make good decisions, you have the power to choose what you do…….”

Sometimes as adults I think we forget that we have the power to choose.

Somewhere in growing up we forgot how to take responsibility for our actions.

We blame friends, family, school, work, church and other things for why we do what we do.

But the truth is no one forces us to do anything.

I guess the lesson is that we need to be aware of what choices we are making and that they are our choice to make.

And that no matter how many bad choices we have made, we have the power to make the right choice in the future.

There might be consequences to the bad choices (like missing recess) but hopefully, we learn from it and it keeps us from making the same mistake again.

Sometimes I think the boys teach me more than I teach them.

Life Update

Shrek is one of my favorite movies. I think the humor in it is pure gold. BUT I am thankful to go to a college where many of my professors genuinely want me to succeed and invest time into making me a better human overall.

I normally take 18-20 credit hours. Well, at least, that is what I’ve done for the last couple of years but this semester seems so much busier! I work a couple night shifts and I have a night lab so maybe that’s why it seems busier because my nights are so free.  But I can’t believe that February is almost over and that we are entering into March.

I have said recently that I am putting in clinical hours at a local school and I love it! If you know me and are reading this blog you will know this personal fact about me: I do not desire sons. I didn’t have a brother and I have been perfectly happy with a little sister. Little girls are adorable, and quite frankly I would have no idea what to do with a little boy. This will all make sense, I promise!

Anyways I walk into this kindergarten and look into a room that is filled with little BOYS. Not one little girl to be seen. If I didn’t think God had a sense of humor then, I sure think that now. The last 5 weeks have been quite the adventure and by the end of all these clinical hours,I know I’ll either want a little boy or it will confirm my desire of not wanting little boys. But here are a couple of pictures of what we do!

We were doing lots of penguin activities so the boys were tasked with picking out a penguin and then cutting it out to be how big that penguin would actually be. They all turned out very different and they are adorable. It was a little hard for the boys but it cutting is a super important skill for kindergartners.

Valentine boxes just aren’t the same with little boys. The boys found the googley eyes and wanted them all over their boxes, said they were valentine monsters….boys will be boys.

Hurt’s Donuts in Springfield is known for its donuts. But have you head of their cinnamon rolls? They’re the size of your hand stretched out. They’re delicious. They’re 100000 calories but they are 1000000000 times worth it!

A couple weekends ago a couple of us decided to grill out because we had 70 degree weather IN JANUARY. It was a much needed night of fire, food, and friendship. After that some of us grabbed a movie. It’s the kind of nights where you are thankful you all get to live in a close vicinity and decide on a whim to do these things with little to no planning.

One of the biggest highlights of the last weeks was Night to Shine. Night to Shine is an event sponsored by the Tim Tebow foundation and they provide the funding for different organizations to provide a prom-like experience for adults with special needs. CofO was one of the schools chosen to do it and I was so excited to be picked to participate in it. I was a buddy volunteer so I got buddied up with one of the guests and we had a blast. Her name was Kaylin and we had a great time! We ate, we danced, we laughed…….. it was a night for the books!

Me and my buddy Kaylin! 🙂

Maalek was the DJ for the night so we had to grab a family photo since we were all dressed up!

The whole event was from 5pm – 9pm. Kaylin loves to dance so we were out on the dance floor for a solid 3 1/2 hours. Towards the end we snapped a picture on the dance floor1

Midterms are coming up and Vickie and I have barely seen each other! So today we went and did a little shopping and errands run. Our mom sent us matching bags this week so we took them out for a little spin. It was our seestur Friday!

Well, that’s my little life update for now……. we’re enjoying our 75 degree weather in February! Crossing my fingers that Spring is quickly on its way.