Lost Medal Found (!), Religious Studies Semester Abroad, and Ways to Cure Boredom.

I finally found my once lost Miraculous Medal... on the living room couch. Now, I was positive I lost it at church when I went to confessions but I found it. I looked for it and couldn't find it. It's that funny? You always find things when you least expect it. I was on my way to do the dishes when I just kinda glanced in the direction and there it was. I cannot explain how HAPPY I was to see it. I was all bummed out because I thought I'd lost it but I didn't. :D I would do a cartwheel if I wasn't (still) lightheaded. :D

Since I was bored most of the day (except for a little while when I watched the first part of the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice), I decided to really buckle down and narrow the list of schools to consider for my semester abroad (which will be in a few months). Since I am majoring in Religious Studies (and before you ask, I still don't know what I'm doing with that, I just know I want to major in it), it's hard to find schools that offer courses that will transfer and also be related to the major. Luckily, though, I've been able to find almost a dozen schools all over the world. My top choices are in Europe (of course) and one is in South America. I've never been down to Argentina (where one of the schools is located) so that's something that's appealing to me. I LOVE traveling so any chance I have to do it, especially if it's to some place I've never been to before, I take it! There is a lot to consider: language requirements, the courses offered at each university, etc. but I'm willing to make some sacrifices for certain schools. I will have to brush up on my French or Italian or learn Czech or Russian if I am to decide on one of those unis. I'm good with English and Spanish (I grew up speaking both) so no worries with schools being taught in those languages. I am leaning towards one particular school but who knows. I like to do pros and cons list (yeah, I really do) and really research things before I decide. If that fails, I'll just flip a coin. lol. Either way, I'm very excited about being able to live and learn outside the U.S. :D

So, like I've mentioned, I have been battling boredom (and anxiety, as well) throughout the day today. (Hey, it's still Monday in California). I've found very little ways to entertain myself. Oddly enough, washing dishes was therapeutic for a while. I'm weird, I know. I didn't get a chance to clean the entire house, though, because I would take breaks to talk to my sis and to watch certain shows that would come on (a show on Vatican City, anyone?). Sadly, I am running out of ideas on how to combat boredom so if anyone has any suggestions, please, send them my way! I should probably list the things that don't keep boredom at bay for long:

- playing guitar
- watching DVDs
- listening to the same songs over and over
- reading (seriously! I am in need of new titles to read)
- writing (temporary writer's block)
- painting, sketching
- texting random things like "Boobah" to my friends (haha, don't ask)
- etc.

*sighs* I really can't wait until everyone graduates / is off for the summer because I'm super bored and the creativity is stumped right now. le sigh. And if any of my friends in this city are reading this: I am open to being thrown over your shoulders, carried into your cars, and having mini-road trips around the city... or to the beach! Ooh, surfing's a good idea...

Alright, well, I need to eat something before I drift off to dreamland so... I should end the blog sometime in the near future. Like now. :D As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Scary Dream, Catholic Podcasts, and Let the Planning Begin!

Honestly, not much went on today. I had a finance meeting (oh yeah, I'm getting into taking care of business) which went alright. I'm a bit worried about money issues because my family's been living paycheck-to-paycheck lately and I have to take care of some big expenses. Chaotic but it's good for me to start dealing with these things again because it makes me feel like I did before I got sick. YAY!

One not so good thing -- I had one of the scariest dreams this morning. I woke up saying "Ave Maria Purisima" which roughly means to "Hail Mary, the Purest" in Spanish. It's something one says, in Mexican culture at least, when you get a sense of something evil. My dream was pretty intense, I was actually fighting with the devil (which isn't the first time I've dreamt it) because he was tempting to into doing something completely immoral but my will was too strong for him. Then I felt this strong wind trying to pull me into darkest. As soon as that happened, I started naming saints to help me. I started calling "St. Teresa of Avila... St. Jude Thaddeus... St. Michael Archangel... St. Raphael Archangel..." as soon as I remembered to call on Our Blessed Mother, I woke up... and said Ave Maria Purisima. It's completely scary. Every time I've had dreams that I'm fighting against evil, I've always won... like that time my house was surrounded by darkness and I took a white stone/light in my hands and make the darkness disappear. I believe I wrote an entry about that a few months back. Still, it's scary to dream and I will definitely talk to a priest about this.

Moving onto something nicer... I've been catching up on this awesome Catholic podcast called The Hands and Feet Show. I love that the show is VERY relatable to young people -- especially us in our late teens and 20s. They aren't afraid to tackle any issues, no matter how taboo or controversial, while keeping everything faith related. I definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't shy away from any topic. You can check them out here (http://sqpn.com/category/talkshows/hands-and-feet/) They're part of SQPN which has a slew of awesome Catholic Podcasts. Definitely recommend all of 'em -- all of Fr. Roderick's podcasts, Rosary Army, the Saint Cast, etc. And, speaking of Fr. Roderick, he's in Rome this week and he's already done a podcast there. It sounds like Rome would be my kind of place... as soon as I get over my anxiety.

We've got it all planned -- as soon as my therapist gives me the thumbs up for traveling to big, crowded cities (that I haven't been to before), I'm visiting them. :D I already have my list of cities (mostly in Europe)... and, to be honest, it's more of me checking them out because I fully intend on living out there in about a year or so. Well, in France or another country in Europe. The idea of living in France popped into my head a few weeks ago. I already understand and speak a tiny bit of French so I need to really learn the basics but otherwise, I'm intrigued. I also heard that someone that doesn't completely repulse me (which is my way of saying "you rock, you big nerd!" hahahaha!) wanted to go and live there I thought "Dude, then let's go!" We always seem to want to end up in the same place at the same time without telling each other. I'm always surprised and think he's reading my mind. If it's not being in New York at the same time (we're both kinda tired and done with NYC now), it's being somewhere else. So, now I'm going to plan -- for myself -- to move out to one of the cities on my list and I won't tell anyone until I'm there... and we'll see what happens. I'm excited though. The planning aspect is awesome. It does mean I will have to learn about 4 different languages ('cause I haven't decided where I want to go) but I'm excited! The travel bug has bitten me again. YES! lol.

Alright, well, I have pretty exhausted -- don't know why -- so it's about time I call it a day. As usual, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Mass, A Walk to Remember, The List, and Boxes Galore.

Okay, first with awesome news. I made it through the ENTIRE Mass without leaving. Not even for a split second! YEAH!!!!! Even better... I sat closer to the altar and I sat in the middle of couples so that it would be tricker to leave. OH YEAH!! Thank you, God! I was so happy and the priest who usually hears my confessions (and knows about my anxiety) saw me and he said he was glad to have seen me. :D I am so proud of myself. Per usual, I went by myself (still working on getting my parents back). I didn't take Eucharist, though I really wanted to :(, because I didn't feel right. Though I was told what I'd done (saying the Lord's name in vain) wasn't mortal because I didn't intentionally do it, I still didn't feel right. But I did pray and ask His forgiveness for what I'd done. Either way, it was awesome and the Mass was lovely. :D

I didn't do much today because of the ridiculous weather. It was hotter than yesterday so I didn't bother going out. I did, however, watch a movie that I've loved since I first saw it. "A Walk to Remember" is awesome and I don't know why it took me years to re-watch it! Yes, it's a chick flick but it's a good one. It definitely helped me clean my tear ducts, that's for sure. Haha. This is one of those movies that never fails to make me cry -- but they're mainly happy tears. It definitely brought back some memories and I just felt completely different (in a good way) afterwards. :) It definitely inspired me to be more like the main character, Jamie Sullivan, in not caring what others think and really giving myself fully to the Lord without excuses for doing so. If you've seen the movie, you know that Jamie (who is played by Mandy Moore) has a list with everything she wants to do. She has things like being in 2 places at once, getting a tattoo, and getting married at the church where her mother grew up in and where her parents married. That got me thinking that I wanted to make a list because, really, I want some new goals to work towards. So, without further ado... THE LIST.

The LIST (In no particular order):
- Attend Mass at the Vatican.
- Make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
- Move to a certain Northern European country.
- Visit the places that are connected to my favorite saints.
- Be in 4 places at once (which is very possible).
- Get at least 5 books published -- in different genres.
- Learn at least 2 more languages, and speak them fluently.
- Learn how to drive -- on both the right and left sides of the road.
- Backpack through Europe before I have children.
- Buy my parents a big house in a certain city.

There's more but those are the only ones I can share that aren't too detailed. I won't say what my top 3 are (hint: they're not written on this blog. :D) so don't even try to get them out of me.

So, while I had fun making my list (and plotting how to get future husband to go along with my plans... that Nerd... lol), my dad had the task of going through all the boxes that were packed up during the move. Since we're FINALLY all settled in now, it's time to go through the boxes. Well, dad and mom do 'cause I'm solid. I didn't really pack 'cause I didn't have much stuff to put into boxes. :D Since we're starting new, they (moreso my dad than mom) have to go through everything and say what they do and don't want in the house. It'll probably take them a while but it'll be nice to have things that aren't needed out of the house. :D The only reason I can't help is because I'd tell them to throw everything out (I'm a minimalist) and that wouldn't sit well with dad. lol. Oh well. :D

Alright, so... I'm so sorry to make this entry short but I've got a busy day tomorrow and it started very early. I'm not complaining though, I'm going to enjoy what it planned (I hope ;D). 'Til next time... thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Big Brother, Post Office Mayhem, and Semester Abroad.

Today was a very happy day because my big brother came to pay a surprise visit. It was funny; just as my dad was leaving and walking out the door, my bro just popped up and said hi. Heehee. He also came bearing gifts from his holiday vacation in Mexico. He spent a few weeks visiting family out there. It's always nice to hear how everyone's doing 'cause I haven't been out there since I was about 12 years old. He says that, unfortunately, it's getting worse in terms of crime and police violence. It's so sad to hear that because (where my dad's from) it's such a quaint little town with the most beautiful church and town square. Sounds like we should avoid visiting, though, because it's not safe. Hopefully things will get better when/if I decide to go visit my dad's side of the family. It's incredibly sad that we don't just hear about what's going from family; we hear it on the news all the time. :( Let's just hope the little town doesn't super crowded with people (at least, not bad people) like a certain post office I know.

I don't know what's going on with the post office. Last October, I had an invite (from the U.K.) to an event but it arrived a month after the event. I should probably mention that it was sent in advance, too. One of my best friends, who's also in the U.K., sent me a Christmas card and it's been 3 weeks and I haven't gotten anything. That's not all. Last month (and the month before) we didn't get our mail delivered for weeks and I'd have to call and complain. I hate being a hassle but I had important things like bills that needed to be paid. The person in charge of mail distribution got to know me very well from all the calling I did. lol. They were never mad at me for doing it, which is good. If you want to go to the post office near my home it's better to do it mid-morning when there's no people because it gets PACKED very early and in the afternoon. I had to send some packages today and the line was to the door and then it looped around a bit. It was insane. It didn't help that it was freezing outside. Luckily I was dressed warm enough not to stand there shaking but, oy! It's always a nightmare going there because of the long lines. I have to go back tomorrow (oh yes, more packages to send) and I am not exactly looking forward to it. Hopefully I can go earlier... and this time I won't wear my stiletto boots. I only had them on for about 30 minutes but my feet aren't too happy with me. lol. I'm not used to heels (haven't worn any since New Year 2007) but those boots are so warm... I made the sacrifice. lol.

Another sacrifice I will be making in a couple of months... leaving my beloved Queen sized bed for a semester abroad. Oh, dear comfy bed, I shall miss you. lol. It's going to be completely worth it, though. I am mostly likely going to head out to Europe (I still have to choose a school and let them know a.s.a.p.) It looks like I'm mostly likely going to head out to Rome because of my major (Religious Studies with an emphasis on Catholicism). I am going to have to brush up on my Italian -- and learn some self defense, lol -- but being that close to the Vatican is going to be worth it. I was actually planning on going out there once I graduated but now I have the perfect opportunity/excuse to go beforehand so... Score! lol. I also want to take a trip up to Assisi while I'm out there. I'm now a little too excited now. lol. I think I'm going to go do a happy dance so I'm going to end this blog now.

Hope everyone's keeping warm. Thanks for reading and God Bless.