Aloha!

On Monday night my dad decided that we were going to the grand canyon and Arizona. And then somehow that turned into going to Oahu instead? So now it's Friday, we got here Thursday. Crazy! We've never done anything this spontaneous and this big before! I'll try to check back in later, since we're off to get "poopoo appetizer dessert thingies". Oh mom! Way to describe whatever it is you were trying to describe. LOL!

Lady decided to stand right behind me when I went to take a picture!

Watching date night

Natalie and I were watching date night. And I managed to record us watching our favorite part without Natalie knowing it. Here is a video for your enjoyment :) bahaha

Weekend in Hungary

I am so glad that we ended our 7 week trip to Romania in Budapest. I absolutely love the city and the people there. It had been two years since I had last been in Budapest, but I instantly felt right back at home. I don't know how to explain it but I just feel so right there. I really hope that I get to go back there. I miss all my friends! Good thing we can still keep in touch through Facebook and Skype.
Natalie, Jessica, and I were probably a little overly excited. But I'm glad that Becca and Whitnee got to experience the city too! It is so beautiful there. I guess I'll let the pictures show off Budapest instead of babbling on about it.

bye hungary! until we meet again :)

why blog?

nothing to do with the post. just a pretty photo of san clamente.

i've been thinking a lot about blogging and why i love it so much (even though, i don't post on here often enough). i absolutely love reading blogs and seeing little snippets of people's lives and i love reading other believer's blogs. it's always such an absolute encouragement getting to read what other women are learning from God and how He is working in their lives. it's just a cool glimpse to be able to read about God working in other people's everyday, even if i don't know them personally. which is why i want my blog to be a place of encouragement. i want it to be a place where i can be raw and real, but most importantly i want it to be a place where i am giving glory and credit to God. it's easy to get caught up in the blogging world. it's easy to get caught up in the mindset of, "well, what do people want to read?" or better yet, "what do people want to see? outfit photos? food photos? DIY photos?". and that's not what this life is about. God doesn't have me here just so i can post pictures of what i wear everyday. or what i ate for lunch. none of that really matters. none of that is what makes me me. i'm not trying to bash blogs that are like that (because i love reading them! really!). so this doesn't mean that i won't post pictures of what i did over the weekend or what i've been up to lately. i guess i'm just trying to figure out what God wants done with this blog. because i am accountable for myself and for my actions. i want to give Him full reign over every area of my life, including this space on the internet. even if no one ever really reads this, it doesn't matter. because God knows what i put on here. God knows what i share on here. i just want to live my life fully for Him and allow Him to be in charge. because honestly, it's much better when He's in control.

bye romania.

so this will be the last of my romania posts. or at least the last post that just shows what we did for our last few days there. i'm really happy that i had the opportunity to go there and serve over the summer, but i'm really glad to be home now. although, i do miss hungary a lot! but i'll share my hungary pictures another day :)

the most awesome book-store in cluj!

got to see this little boy one last time. he's the cutest.

girls + ellie

my sister

this was probably my 100th ice creem serving from this place. no joke. AMAZING.

becca and i with our matching scabs. she fell first (accidentally). i re-enacted it. the matching scab was not planned, however.

this dog looks just like our dog casey!

inside dracula's castle.

we pretended we were on the bachelor. they would go to some fancy town and walk around like this!

natalie, me, and becca

my hair is a giant fluff thing. and jeremy renner is beautiful (like always!).

becca and natty.

 we left romania at 1 a.m. and drove in a shuttle to budapest. i was sad to say goodbye to some of my friends from cluj, but i was super stoked to be going back to budapest. and i was not disappointed with my visit back there! :):) i love budapest!

bye romania, see you in heaven! you were very interesting! God did good things there this summer. and i'm happy that He used me to accomplish some of those things.

music monday: bethel music

happy monday!

currently.

Reading: since i finished clockwork angel (really good!) i have now moved on to clockwork prince. it's been very interesting so far. pretty much anything with a good love triangle in it will get my attention (yes, kind of lame? but whatever. i'll admit it. i'm a sucker for those darn love triangles). plus, it's been really fun talking to natalie about the books. i love reading books with my sister and discussing/dissecting every little part. it's one of our favorite things to do together!

Loving: having a lot of free time since i got home from romania! i have had the whole week off and it has been so nice! i'm still trying to get back on a normal sleeping schedule (waking up at 6 a.m. everyday isn't the most ideal time, but it's probably a good thing huh?). but at least i'm sleeping throughout the night!

Thinking about: well, i have been thinking about everything that happened over in romania. but, i'm trying to stop thinking about it too much and put my mind on the here and now instead. 

Working on: eating better! and i've been cooking more. since i've had more time at home during meal times, i've been making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for myself! since getting home from romania i have been so motivated to eat better and put together meals that taste good and make me feel good. we seriously ate mcdonalds everyday in romania because it was cheap and easy (and it is so much better in romania than it is at home. but still.). so now i plan on never eating mcdonalds ever again. which probably should have been a plan before i went to romania? haha!

Anticipating:  school starting at the end of september. and i'm also anticipating all the events i have to plan for the school year for the accounting club. here's hoping that i can actually plan and make happen some good community service events! in addition to school, i have to start applying for full time accounting jobs. which is scary. it makes me feel so much like a grown up. when did i become an adult like this? wasn't i just turning 21 yesterday, not 23? 

Listening to: angus & julia stone ever since we listened to them on the hill in romania when we stargazed with some of the people from the ywam kona team. made that moment on the hill that much more sweet :)

Eating: i've been eating this recipe for breakfast every single day. it's amazing! please go make it if you're reading this. i think it's pretty healthy for you? i could be wrong, but it seems healthy to me! 

Feeling thankful for: being home. i'm very glad that i was able to spend 7 weeks in romania, but i am very thankful that i am home from the trip. and i'm so thankful that i got to end my trip with a few days in budapest! it still is one of my favorite places in the world. i miss it! i hope i can take my parents there one day. they would absolutely love it there.

so what's new with you? got any delicious smoothie recipes i should add in to my breakfast rotation? let me know!

*all of my currently posts are inspired from danielle.

music monday: milosh

whitnee showed me this a while ago. enjoy!

hi.

i'm still trying to process everything that happened in romania. it was not what i expected, but i'm not entirely sure what i did expect going into this trip. it was interesting and hard and a time for real growth. but, i'm happy to be home. and i'm happy to see what God has planned for the weeks to come (and even the months to come. can you say graduation next year? ahh!). He's probably got some cool plans for me, not going to lie.

(romania) catch up.

hi there! i don't know why i haven't written anything for a few days. we haven't particularly been doing anything... so i don't have any real reasons why i didn't want to write. oh well. back to posting today i guess!

BECCA'S GETTING ARRESTED?!

so last week we went back to billa. becca played her guitar and the cops then told her to stop. darn those cops. apparently, it's not illegal to play guitar on the streets here in romania. it's only illegal if you have an amp without a permit. so not sure why they stopped her. but that's okay, because a lady i talked to right before all of this (erika) got saved. so happy day :)

that night we headed out to the square. becca played worship for a long time and it was wonderful. it's so cool sitting there in public and being able to worship God like that. i absolutely love these photos! and i love the people in them. i'm seriously so encouraged by all of the girls. they love Jesus so much. 

i love hanging out at this square. essentially it's the downtown area of cluj. so there are always a lot of people out and about (except on sundays. it's deserted on sundays!). it's going to be one of the places i miss the most when we leave. oh and did i mention we leave romania in 2 days!!! then it's on to hungary! i am so excited!