The Town Scribe

With the move and work keeping me super busy, I haven't really been feeling that good ole' Christmas spirit and have tried so hard to instill it with Christmas music, cozy clothes and shopping. I just realized today that everything I was trying to do was just a huge distraction from the real reason I celebrate Christmas. I felt ashamed that I didn't realize how little it all mattered when I thought about the real reason for Christmas: JESUS! Thinking about Jesus being born has given me the greatest peace because there is no greater joy than knowing that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son! I leave you with one of my new favorite Christmas songs sung by the lovely Lauren Daigle and wish you guys many blessings as you prepare to celebrate the birth of the One True King. 

This week I have been reflecting on where I am in my life and my level of contentment and confidence in what I am doing. I am in a CS Lewis book club where we are reading Screwtape Letters and it has caused me to be more aware of which thoughts the devil puts into my head and how hard he works to tear me down. I have exactly the life that I pictured I would and the life that I wanted and planned for. Along the way I had a lot of hardships, but ultimately God still gave me what I wanted. What is baffling for me is that the devil can give me so much doubt and discontentment even in situations that I know are right for my life. I realized that there won't be a moment in my life where I will be perfectly content and be absolutely happy about every aspect in my life- not without a fight at least. Reading this book has showed me how actively I have to fight every day to stay alert and listen to the voice of God and tell myself truth instead of listening to the lies that the devil tries

Sabir and I finally moved out! It's such an exciting time for us and we are feeling very adulty with all of the decisions we have to make haha. We aren't done putting everything it's place, but we are getting there. We got our table up and are slightly ready for Christmas! 

Last week was a roller coaster for me- with having to adjust to a new job setting and role, planning the move and preparing for the holidays, I was honestly just mentally and emotionally drained by the time Friday rolled around. I finished off my work week well and spent Friday night relaxing at home and baking. On Saturday we headed to the mountain with our youth for sledding and a snowball fight. I made a resolution to get myself out there more often just because of the freedom and freshness that the air has. I took quite the beating when it came to the snowballs and got quite a rough facial exfoliation- I will admit that that one was my fault and I asked for it. After the mountain I was exhausted and contemplated skipping the book club meeting I was planning on going to, but after taking a nap on the way home, I decided that my commitment was more important. I cannot even begin to explain how encouraging it was to go there that night- I was exhausted but sat with eyes wide open and

So crazy how often we plan our happiness for the future. The future is bound to have the same kinds of troubles as the present; learn to be happy now. 

Its such a strange feeling to feel "settled"- its weird because its supposedly what I always wanted but now that I have it, I'm not sure its so great anymore. When I was in school, there would be so much change going on- different classes, classmates, internships, settings- there was always something to look forward to, always anticipating change. Now I have a job that I see as permanent, I am moving out at the end of this month and then that's it. Is that it? I cannot imagine what the next change I can look forward to is and that slightly frightens me. Welcome to adult life Vee. It's almost sad to feel settled and strange to have to think of ways of creating and planning change for myself. Maybe in like half a years time or so I will figure out this new lifestyle and find ways of not getting bored. On the other hand, I'm excited to finally have opportunities to start crossing things off of my bucket list.  

YAY for me accepting the Care Coordinator II position at Sea Mar Battle Ground Clinic! I am so excited to start working as something that I went to school for and knowing that the time I spent getting my degree wasn't a waste. It is going to be hard to adapt to a new environment and team but I am so grateful and excited about the opportunity. This is very bittersweet for me because I love the people I work with and have the best boss in the world. November 6th is my last day at America's Best, making me only 2 months shy of being there for three years. My first day at Sea Mar is going to be on November 9th, and I will be spending that week in Seattle completing training. I'm am so excited for this new change. Next on the agenda: apartment shopping because it is time to move out! 

Marianna and I were supposed to be roommates but thanks to Andrew that won't be happening! ;( I guess when people get married all bets are off. On the bright side my good friend found the love of her life and they get to be happy together! I am honored to have been a bridesmaid once more and wish them a lifetime of bliss. Oh by the way, this was the most beautiful wedding ever! 

I know, it has been a while. So many things have happened since I last blogged but life has been just pretty okay lately. I am sitting at Thatchers and for the life of me cannot figure out what to write about- so many ideas and lessons run through my head and I cannot seem to organize my thoughts. If I can pick one word to describe life right now, it would be the word "uncertainty." I've got no idea what my life will be like in one month, one year, five years, etc. and it requires a lot of work in my heart to remain content and trusting that everything works out for good. Here's a poem that's touched my heart lately.  I was thinking of giving a description of what I have been up to lately, but figured that those who are important in my life, already know. Life is difficult, but it's worth the extra work to not be miserable. Hope you guys have a great October. 

I promise I'm alive, will post something relevant to life soon. 

I have been super busy the last few weeks and am doing my best to not get burnt out.  First of all... my baby got married!!! It's bittersweet to have such a good friend get married- I am of course stoked that Mariya and Yura found each other and created a family, but I am definitely gonna miss girl nights and cuddling. Mariya's wedding was so great and it was such an honor to be part of it. Mariya was the most beautiful bride I ever did see. It was super hot that day but we got through it and headed to the beach the next day. We got to Cannon Beach at around 5pm and then went to Ecola State Park to explore. We got down to the beach and played in the tide pools and stuck our fingers into strange sea creatures. After which we decided to climb up a huge, slippery hill and hike our way back. We got lost because someone said "this way seams reasonable!" haha. After making it out, we found a quaint little cafe for dinner, and finished the night off with bonfire on the be

I cannot stop listening to Lauren Daigle's new album- the lyrics are gold and this is one of my favorites. 

Are very rare! My job normally doesn't give me Saturdays off for no reason but I guess today is an exception: and I am loving every bit of it. I started my day with making myself french toast, then went to the market where I got cherries for mom and helped myself to some beautiful peonies and now I am sitting inside of Thatchers and sipping on some amazing iced coffee and reading and now blogging. It took me a while to get into the mood of blogging because I refuse to do it out of obligation or forcing myself- that's why this blog post is so boring thus far: I'm not even trying, I'm just lazily typing.. hahahahaha. and now Sabir came and I'm sure I won't get anything done from this point on.  Ok anyway, lets tell you about Canada. We got there on Thursday afternoon and were met with some rain but went kayaking anyway and absolutely loved it. We kayaked around the harbor where we saw seals and ate kelp and I got to hold a jellyfish. The next day we went ziplin

It still doesn't feel real that I am done with school and commencement is over. Nonetheless I am so happy and so excited about whats to come. A big thank you goes out to my family and friends who encouraged and supported me during this time and came to my graduation! 

Going into the quarter I had thought that taking only one class would allow me to relax and finish off my degree stress free... I was wrong- I hadn't expected that the last class I would take at PSU would be the hardest one yet! I am so thankful for getting the opportunity to study and earn the career of my choice and for the people that helped me along the way. Yay for graduating on Sunday! Meanwhile, I am still interning at NWHF and getting to do awesome site visits and do a lot of networking in the process. Also, I am super excited about my trip to Victoria, BC! So far we have planned to go kayaking, ziplining, sunset sailing, visiting castles, markets and Butchard Gardens. Can't wait!

This Sunday the friends and I took our mothers to the tulip field. I picked tulips until I couldn't hold any more and now have a great colorful view at my table. Oh happy day!

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Today was my last first day of class at PSU. It's a bittersweet feeling knowing that I will be done with my degree in June; I enjoy learning and school has changed me completely, but I am sure I will enjoy the freedom of not having homework and hopefully getting to work in the field. 

Spring break was great- it was relaxing to not think about school for one whole week! haha I really took advantage of spending time with people and would say that I did so very successfully. I hung out with my cousins almost every evening and spent Sunday night walking the Columbia Renaissance trail with friends. Monday evening was phenomenal, my friends (with whom I share the blog Four Fair Maidens ) spent it picnicking in our favorite spot on the Portland side of the Columbia while airplane gazing. Our friendship seems so natural and its so comfortable to share our lives with one another. I am so blessed that sometimes I cannot believe the life that I have. head over to Four Fair Maidens to read Kat's post about our evening

Obviously, my nephew is just a grumpy old man XD

A leader's liberty is a followers license

Sunday was a great day. After church we went to a french cafe called Brasserie Montmarte for brunch where I tried eggs benedict for the first time: I was very impressed. After getting very full we walked over to the Portland Art Museum where we saw the Holy Family with Saint Mary Magdalene painted by El Greco in the 1590's (amongst other beautiful and captivating pieces). By the end of out trek through the museum we were worn out and in deep need of coffee so we finished off our lovely Sunday afternoon with lattes from Torque. More Sundays like this are in order.  Gonna leave you with a great museum song by Regina Spektor

A few weeks ago I applied for an internship and had completely forgotten about it because I figured that I didn't stand a chance in getting it. It is incredibly difficult to find a decent internship these days, especially in community health. It is even more difficult to find a paid internship in community health because most community health organizations are non-profit and aren't usually dishing out well paying internships. I received an email earlier this week being invited for an interview and was shocked since I had completely forgot about it. I accepted the invitation knowing that there would be no way that I would get it but figured it would be good practice to interview with community health related settings. I had my interview yesterday morning and would say it went fairly well- I was told that a decision would be made by Tuesday because there were other people to interview since the pool of applicants was very extensive. As I was driving home from class, I received a

"We must reconcile ourselves with the reality that we will leave a piece of ourselves in every place we go and love; and must forever bear the heartache of not being able to enjoy two worlds at once"

The friends and I headed to the beach this Monday for a nice and relaxing day off. It was awesome to hang out with some of my favorite people and the scenery at the coast is never disappointing.