i'm graduating

so i graduate tomorrow. weird! i'm really looking forward to it though. i'm happy to be done with school and moving on to the next area of my life. i told my family and friends that they have to be the loudest and craziest ones there when they call my name. also, natalie told me that instead of having the people announce "chanel paulk" i should have them announce "tobias funke". haha! we'll see. life has been so good lately. minus my dog not doing so well, i've been having really good days. hopefully i'll be posting on here more to help document my days :) and to give myself a break from studying. my first test is so soon!! anyways, yay for tomorrow! hopefully it's not 90 degrees because then i'll just want to kill myself.

toning it up and feeling good

my sister and i decided to really start eating better and working out on a consistent basis about two weeks ago. i know that doesn't seem like that long ago (it really isn't) but it's definitely made a huge difference in our lives. nat has already lost a good amount of weight since starting to work out a month ago, and i've already seen changes in myself too. it's fantastic. and i'm so proud and happy that my sister decided to do this on her own. i didn't have to force her or ask her. she just did it. which is so rad! if you're interested, we follow Karena & Katrina and try to live the Tone It Up lifestyle. i've had their nutrition plan for a few years now, but am just not really giving it my all. and i can already tell that it is so worth it.

quiet days

i had never been on this road at my school before. weird, huh? since i've gone there for six years. i still go to school most days just to study for my CPA exam in the library. it's quieter than my house and i don't have to share the computer with my mom whenever she has to work. and i get to spend time with my sister and my boyfriend when they both aren't in their classes. i'm trying my hardest to really enjoy this free time that i have right now. because i know that in just a few short months i'll be working full time. i'm thankful for my days now where i can decide whatever i want to do for the day (which mostly consists of studying, but still). and i'm trying to remember to enjoy this moment and these days while i still have them. because life moves by so fast. i mean, aren't i still 17? oh wait, i'm 23... that's so weird.

last final. ever. happened yesterday.

as of yesterday, i am officially done with college. i took my last final, went to target with nat to buy cheez-its, came home, asked nat to take a few pictures of me, and hopped in the planter... tried not to fall over but did and then celebrated the day by not studying for the cpa exam! it's nice to take a day off from studying (for that exam because believe me i was studying all morning for my final). the night also consisted of me making shrimp and chicken tacos, going on a jog, reading requiem, and a taking a long nap. pretty good day in my book. 

last day of school. ever.

today is my last day of school. ever. (besides my one final next week). it's so strange to think that after so many years, this part of my life is coming to an end and pretty soon i'll be a full-time, business professional (hopefully have my CPA!) adult. i couldn't find any school pictures of me from when i was little, but those would have only been from pre-k because i was homeschooled from kindergarten through sixth grade. i'm really proud of myself and i'm happy that i stuck through school and completed my degree. i took my time in college (i went to school for 6 years), but i honestly had a hard time picking what i wanted to major in. it's such a hard decision and i envy those people who just know what they want a degree in or what they're good at and just go for it. but that wasn't me. i was okay at a lot more things than being amazing in one particular subject. i did always like math though, so after majoring in stats for a while i stuck with accounting instead. 

anyways, i'm really excited with where i'm at in life. i'm so thankful that i had the opportunity to go to school and now have the opportunity to work for a wonderful firm starting in july. i'm not sure what God will do with my degree in accounting, but i know that i just need to continue to be open to whatever it is that He has for me and for my life (professionally and personally). i'm so glad i did it! yay for college degrees!

mouse rat

best present i've bought myself in a long time. and i bought natalie one too, of course. because if we're being honest, she's the bigger chris pratt fan. our friend, siaira, even gave natalie a photo of chris pratt in a frame for christmas. i think she might have cried when she received it. maybe. anyways, mouse rat is andy's (chris pratt on parks and rec) band. the back of the shirt even says what mouse rat was formerly known as. definitely always gets a good chuckle out of us.

you dont say no to a slurpee

i'm not saying it was the best idea to consume taco bell for dinner + a giant slurpee for dessert before playing bond/007 (basically a giant game of hide and seek against people in cars) a few hours later, but it was worth it. 

studying

studying for the CPA sucks. and i'm literally only four days in. and i hate it so much. so little breaks with casey in the front yard are definitely going to be needed throughout the days ahead. plus, i can feel it getting warmer and that makes me happy. but also, it's going to suck that my spring and summer will consist of studying all the time. ugh. oh well, it will be worth it, right? right.

Sometimes, you just have to be silly

Sometimes, you just need to get a little weird and laugh at yourself and have some fun. Like, maybe you just need to find an empty classroom at your school (like I did) and take funny self-portraits that are completely ridiculous but make you laugh. It's good for the soul and I promise it will make you smile.


*it was pointed out to me that even though I couldn't see out through the curtains in the classroom, apparently everyone outside could. Haha!! I'm definitely laughing at myself now.

submission.

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happy new year! i am so happy it is 2013. 2012 was not a fun year for me. don't get me wrong, there were some very fun times with friends and i did get to go back to Hungary (my favorite place!), but more than anything it was an extremely trying year. i'm not sure how much i shared on here on how my trip to romania actually went, but it left me feeling very bitter and angry. and that bitterness and resentment rolled over into my walk with God. and there is no excuse to blame God or be disappointed in Him for what people do. but i let it go there. so as i was driving home the other day and reflecting back on 2012, i was so disappointed in myself. 2012 was all about me, and not about God. it was about what i wanted to do, not what God wanted me to do. and as i kept driving and had the radio on, a message on kwave mentioned the word "submission". and i knew it was my word. and that's scary, coming from someone who struggles with allowing God to rule over my whole life. it's going to be a challenge, but my main goal or resolution for 2013 is to daily submit to God. i don't want to waste anymore time being consumed with myself and not with God. i know i'll fail at this, because hello i'm a sinner (the worst) and there will be those times where i don't want to submit. but i'm praying that my heart will be changed and i'll allow God to go there and to really have His will be done in my life. i'm glad that once the new year rolls around it feels like it's a fresh start. and 2013 really will be a year of starts for me. i'll be done with college in march, starting my career in july, and hopefully moving out on my own for the first time in the fall. i'm pretty sure this new year will be a lot better than 2012, and i am excited to see what God has in store.

i got a job

so back in october i started the job search, because in accounting at least they start looking for candidates really early on. so i went to my schools meet the firms event (it was actually kind of fun!) and i met and talked to a few recruiters then. then i started applying for positions (well, i had only applied for one so far. i was going to do the others later). and then i got selected for an on-campus interview. SCORE! and then they called me (while i was in the shower i might add) and they invited me for an in-house interview (cue me running around naked and pretending i wasn't just in the shower when they called. bahahaha good thing no one was home but me!). in-house interview went really well. everyone was really friendly and really nice. then about a week later.... they called me while i was taking an exam. and they asked me to call them back. and i was like IS THIS A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING I DONT KNOW!!! because it's an official grown-up job, so i didn't know if they would hire me over the phone or just tell me no over the phone. anyways, we played phone tag. then they got a hold of me finally. and i was in the library at school so i had to run out in order to talk at a decent level. and they were like blah blah blah..... you got the job! eeeeeee! then i peed my pants and everyone stared at me on the floor. okay that part didn't happen but still. i was close to peeing. so starting in july i'll be a full time "associate" aka auditor! i'm really happy and very excited. i'm also extremely nervous because like i said, it's a grown-up job. but i know i'm a hard worker and that i'll be able to pick up on everything i need to know. the company is Mayer Hoffman McCann. it's a firm in irvine. so now i just need to buy business clothes! this is crazy!

it's been a while

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life has been a whirlwind as of late. my lack of blogging is due to pure laziness i would say. i admire and love reading other people's blogs, but when it comes to mine i often feel like it's nothing special. but, that's not true. and my blog is a place for me to document what has been going on in my life. and that is special. anyways, some very exciting things and very sad things have been happening recently. and i will post about those soon.

it was my birthday!

so it was my birthday almost two weeks ago now, and i am officially 23. like my grandma reminded me, "you're inching closer to 30!". haha! she knows that i think i'm getting old or that i feel old now, so she likes to make fun of me. it's funny! but for my birthday i went to a women's breakfast at my new church (regenerate church) which was awesome! exactly how i needed to start my day. after that, i went to tranquil tea lounge with coni and natalie. i cannot get enough of their pumpkin iced tea and pumpkin scone! so good! after tea we went back to my house to get ready for my birthday dinner at javiers at the irvine spectrum. i was not expecting it to be that expensive. but thankfully, everyone still ate and had fun. it was a great night spent with girlfirends! thank you everyone who spent it with me if you ever read this! i love you guys!

i cut my hair.

so a few days after i got home from romania i chopped all my hair off. i had been wanting to do it for months but decided i'd wait till after the summer.

right after the cut!

short hair!

and i've cut it again since then! so it's even shorter now. it feels so nice! i think i'll keep it this way for a while. natalie even cut off her hair too on her birthday! we're both donating it to locks of love. which i probably should do soon so i don't have to keep finding my braid in a bag in my top drawer. oh, you didn't want to know that? sorry... just forget i mentioned the braid ;)

strong-willed.

roland and i are actually play fighting in this photo :)

strong-willed. the term isn't necessarily bad. or negative. but, it's always hard when one of the first things someone identifies about you is that you have a very strong will and a very strong personality. i've been finding this term (or others like it) being used to describe me more and more often lately. and i'm not quite sure what to make of it.
if i'm being honest, i feel attacked and misunderstood. i feel like my thoughts of not wanting to be "fake" or putting on a front, are being disregarded or looked down on. and i feel very discouraged. as a christian woman, i struggle with this part of my personality almost daily. i struggle with the thought that, even though i may feel that this characteristic is uniquely a part of me, it might not be okay or right with God to be that way. or let me put it better, me wanting to not be "fake" and wanting to be real all the time sometimes does not bring God glory because of the actions that those qualities insinuate. 
something tells me that me feeling discouraged and incorrectly perceived is not right. something tells me that God is using these other people to try to break me down. something tells me that God wants to finally put to an end my flesh. 
of course with any comment like this, i have to take it to the Lord. because i can't take what everyone says to me as complete truth. that's where God's word comes in and His discernment and wisdom comes into play. however, since these qualities and traits have been identified in me from several different people, i'm thinking it's probably the truth (for the most part).
it's hard to admit that you need to change. it's hard to see that your own actions and way of doing things has hurt other people. it's hard to let a lot of people and God all point out one of your biggest flaws. it's just plain hard.
but here i am. i want to be able to admit that there is something that needs to change about me. the process is difficult and challenging, but God will be faithful to see me through it. just like He is always faithful to see me through any circumstance or situation. 
before my trip to romania, God put this verse on my heart: Luke 9:23: "Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me'". so am i surprised that God has answered my prayer to grow me? no. did i realize that Him answering my prayer would be this hard and kind of hurt this much? no, not at all.
if anything, i hope that this encourages you. because i'm glad that God brought this to my attention. i know that if i allow Him to change me and to mold me to be more like Him, then it will only be good for me. and really, that's what i wanted all along.

philippians 1:6: "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"

The A-Z of Chanel

A. Age: 21 (almost 22...sad!)
B. Bed size: twin? it's tiny.
C. Chore that you hate: washing dishes. i miss our dishwasher!
D. Dogs: casey and sandy. but sandy is an alien.
E. Essential start to your day: reading "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers
F. Favorite color: it's always been blue but i really love greens and browns right now
G. Gold or Silver: it depends!
H. Height: 5'4"
I. Instruments you play: my stomach (only Mel would get this! and i doubt she'll ever read this hah)
J. Job title: student, cashier at chipotle
K. Kids: maybe someday, if it's God's plan
L. Live: California
M. Mother’s name: Annette
N. Nicknames: bellie, giggles, chan, or natalie might refer to me as, "you dumb" (in a loving sister way ;) )
O. Overnight hospital stays: 3 days when i had pneumonia in high school
P. Pet peeves: rude customers at chipotle. especially when they demean the crew members
Q. Quote from a movie: my favorite quote that i can think of should not be shared. but it's in the opening credits of 500 days of summer. and natalie and i laugh so hard at it every time. actually there are lot's of quotes from that movie that we love. but again... inapprope!
R. Right or left handed: Right handed
S. Siblings: my best friend, Natalie aka NATAKIE
U. University: Cal Poly Pomona
V. Vegetable you hate: onion. that's a vegetable right? euw sick
W. What makes you run late: everything. procrastination and waiting to get ready at the last minute are very typical of me (ahem, maybe you should fix that CHANEL)
X. X-Rays you’ve had: lots and lots. i had three surgeries on my right elbow, so i don't know how many x-rays i had just for that alone
Y. Yummy food that you make: when i bake cakes, they are very yummy. or spaghetti squash with tomato sauce. maybe i should make food more!! because i do love food :)
Z. Zoo animal: well, i love sea world animals. so they aren't really zoo animals, huh? but i love being able to pet the manta rays at sea world!