guatey

guatemala here i come

since i most likely wont be blogging while i am away here is my tentative schedule!
i am asking for loads of your prayers during my trip.
for safety! & for a good trip!

On Friday, Mar. 27:

Fly to Houston then from there the flight to Guatemala City is about 2 ½ hours. Then we have another hour + to get to Antigua to the base in Guatemala.

On Saturday, Mar. 28:

You will be going to a Jade factory tour and probably up on the mountain of the

cross. 2 markets to buy breakfast goods for the coast and snacks for the

way there. basically a nice chill day to get used to guatemala. :)

On Sunday, Mar. 29: Guatemalan I-HOP! for breakfast then

head to church. From there head to the town we will be in during the week. It takes about 4 hours to get to the hotel down in Champerico. We will be working in a village called El Rosario outside this town. We are staying in a nice hotel in Champerico during the week!

On Monday, Mar. 30: Head to the village and go to the drill site.

Day one we will drill a pilot hole. Each day I will be working with the women and children with the hygiene teaching while part of the group works on the well.

On Tuesday, Mar. 31: We will ream a larger hole, set casing, flush the well, gravel

pack the borehole, and maybe start developing the well.

On Wednesday, Apr. 1: This is development day and playing with the kids day.

On Thursday, Apr. 2: You will be setting the pump and then having a dedication service. By noon, you will be heading back to Antigua.

On Friday, Apr. 3: You will go to a coffee plantation and then be set loose to finish up your shopping. That evening, you will eat at a very nice restaurant for a celebration dinner.

On Saturday, Apr. 4: You will head back home very early! My flight gets back into Durham at 10:30pm! so it will be a very long day indeed!!

if i can post- i will but probably not. so keep us all in your prayers. ill be with a big church group out of 1st baptist of houston! :)

love & peace!

d

amazing friend: P

i have an amazing friend. P. she has a blog. its called stinky sweet. you can read it over there: ----> anyway. i came home today and found a package from HER. granted she told me i was getting one... i just completely forgot about it- until i saw it. :) it made me smile and get so excited on the inside! P- im writing a blog just for you since i didnt' want to call you at 1045pm. anyway. there was good news & bad news. she sent me some AWESOME coffee mugs. 4. 2 were painted by the expert craft woman herself! they are suppper cute. bad news is: the one that says: Mr S. (my new name) is broken. BUT THE ONE THAT SAYS MRS S IS PERFECT!!! haha... so yay me!! sadly another one was broken, but one other lived. so 2/4 isn't too bad?!?! sad but true. and im pretty sure Mr. S's cup is salvagable! anyway- they are awesome!! and now i have a cup with MY NEW NAME!! ahhH! still seems so weird! anyway. i got some cute luggage tags & a passport holder & great cards too!!

so moving on to the luggage tags- they will get some good use as I pack up TOMORROW for the big trip. i am so thrilled. really i can't wait!! tomorrow is going to be a bit crazy, but i know it will be fine!

off to bed so i can read some espanol and get some sleep.

love & peace
d

promise kept.

pictures from our hoppin engagement party!

watching basketball:

:)

ryan stated after this pic was taken "story of my life"

my roommates! (& a boyfriend!!)

the hostest with the mostest! the amazing M

soon to be sister & adopted sister

the happy family

basketball was INTENSE

it was an AWESOME party.
a blast.
laughed HARD.
so hard i cried.
smiled a lot.
ate a lot.
it was fantastic.

:) love & peace

blog checker.

so today... its been the slowest day at work... EVER.
and its 100% due to the fact i was "floated" to another floor that was down a nurse.
just a regular old gen/med floor with some oncology patients. and by some i mean like 1. anyway. its a new experience, and while there are many times i dont enjoy my job- its days like this i realize there are much worse places to be. its not really "worse" just different. reallllly slow paced. not much going on. kinda chill. thats not really my style. im a quicker person... which is one reason i do enjoy my floor. its a faster paced always moving place. now some days are terribly overwhelming and crazy- but a lot of times the day flies by at a great pace. keeps me busy and def not bored.

anyway. back to me being a blog checker. ive logged onto my blog a million times today- just to hope and see if someone has maybe posted a story or a picture or something. so far- ive got nothing. but dont worry... ill keep checking & ill prob be the first to read your post for the day...

anyway. only 2 more days of work before 2 weeks off for guatemala! i looked at the city im going to- on the coast! its like a coastal vacation spot for guatemalans! im so excited!! sounds amazing- thats the city we are in- the village we are working in is about an hour away- i think up on a mountain. and ill be with the kids- teaching about hygiene and washing their hands. wow. im SO excited... like bursting at the seems. ry & i bought some fun toys at the dollar store and walmart yesterday- bubbles, frisbee, ball, jump rope!

should be amazing... other than being away from ryan... like no internet, or phone, or anything... ekkK! but i know it will fly by and be so good. anyway- ill try to update this thing all week with stuff we are doing on the trip- and im hoping to schedule some posts so that they will come up during my trip of what im "supposed" to be doing that day!! haha... at least what the itinerary tells me im doing. anyway.

back to work.

peace & love.
d

guatemala...

im going there.
in like five days.
HOLY COW!!

please pray for me, for safety, support, good health, and a good (successful) time.

pray for ryan and the fams too.

i can't believe its so soon!!

i did find some AWESOME "missionary" skirts at goodwill today. no really they are awesome. i didn't plan on this happening, but i bought 2 banana republic skirts, BR pants, a ralph lauren skirt and a lands end skirt... all for 18 bucks... and all for my trip. who knew a missionary could be so stylish... hahah.

anyway.

i need to get to bed, ill try and post pics from the party tomorrow.
as long as work doesn't wear me out.

off to bed. i work mon, tues, wed, then off TWO weeks for the big trip!!

peace & love.

d

a fav

i love this picture.
for so many reasons.
we are at the beach.
i am with ryan.
i am reading a book.
we look so relaxed.

mmmmm. a good beach day. id love another one.

peace & love. d

par-tay

who knew i had so many friends!?!?
...ok well they may not actually be friends... but they came to my engagement party.
last night was a blast. so so so much fun.
brother in law to be & his girlfriend planned the most awesome party for us.

we had tons of asian food (that they found at an asian market!)
awesome drinks.
tons of fun people came.
basketball was AWESOME last night.
and it was a super last night (for us at least!)
party wasn't over til 2! haha...

gosh it was so fun.
so so so so so so fun.
i wish alll of my friends from home couldve been there. it was great!

ill post pictures as soon as i get them!!

love & peace!

sisterrrss

my soon to be sister in law is in town with her best friend... who is basically the other sister i will be officially getting! (really. they are connected at the hip since they were tiny). anyway. last night we stayed up WAY to late. had a blast. today we are going shopping. to davids bridal. hanging out. and tonight is the engagement party. :) if you are in durham tonight COME BY!! its at ryan & colin's!! :)

i got contacts today... YAY!
can't say how awesome it is. except my pupils are ENORMOUS.

anyway. off to eat homemade pizza. :)

love & peace.

hello world.

i have come out of hiding... to say hello!

so i wasn't actually hiding, just worked 3 days in a row... 3 12 1/2 hour days that is. mon,tues,wed leave the house at 630am get home roughly around 8pm. its a long exhausting day, but they progressively got better and better. mon- awful. im not talking about that one. tues & wed- much better days. all in all i got some great experience on the floor- and still learning SO darn much.

tonight i had mexican with my sweet man- and then watched LOST. (which is my favorite show- but tonight... i got a little lost. im persevering though. and i still LOVE it. ) anyway. i made my tournament bracket... bc heck yes i can't wait for some basketball to start! im a true duke fan... and have them winning the whole thing. hah. unlikely, but i mean gotta stay positive and believe in my team!! and if they do win... ill prob be the winner on facebook, which would be pretty darn sweet.

im suuppper excited because A (my soon to be sister) is coming to town tomorrow and staying for the weekend! wow... i can't WAIT!! really im super stoked.

in other news- im finally going to the eye doctor to get some contacts!! i am SO EXCITED. like i feel dorky because i am so excited. i have been wearing glasses since last summer. if you know me (for more than the last 6 months) you know this is rare and strange... i had to wait until my insurance kicked in, and covered me and finally. i can see the eye doc.

oh yes. in case you forgot... bc i CERTAINLY did... (ok not really, but feels that way) IM GOING TO GUATEMALA NEXT FRIDAY!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD??!?!?! totally has snuck up on me. im realllly excited, nervous, anxious, happy, scared, pumped to be with the guatemalans, and well every other emotion. woooow. pray 4 ME! plllleeasssee!! :)

and finally. ryan & i have a house. ok not actually... but a house we are renting!! its AWESOME! in a great neighborhood. close to duke, and my work. im so happy we found it and so relieved! such a blessing from the Lord that it has all worked out! i mean its awesome and PERFECT for us!! join me in may & june for the move-in party! no really!! ill buy you food and beverage if you come and help!! anytime!!! anyway. i LOVE it. its our first home!! :) in the woods, a lil creek out front, on a cul-de-sac... yay!



well i think that fully exhausts EVERYTHING.

hope you are well.
peace & love.

rainy saturday.

i love the rain. its so soothing and calming and peaceful.
today was all rain- all day.
and i loved it.

duke won their game today so are in the final for the acc tournament. wahO!

i have begun the hunt for a place to live next year, its still a little early, but i reallllly want to live in a house (or duplex or townhouse) so i know ill have to find it early! there is a HUGE possibility, but we will have to see what will work out. Im just trustin we will find what we need & hopefully what we want.

i got the first season of 'gossip girl' for my birthday. and since then i have watched FIVE episodes. im reallllly addicted. its NOT quality tv by any means, but goodness it is entertaining and captivating! and its NOT a "reality" show... its just a good old high school soap opera (basically). but set in new york city so its pretty fun since ry and i have been places on the show... and well who doesn't love watching high school drama.

hm. what else. i dunno. thats about it. ive enjoyed my 3 days off! tomorrow is one more day off before i work 3 in a row. BUT THEN 4 more days off... and A will be here! (my soon to be sister) im prettty excited about that one!

anyway. love and peace.
xoxo
d

laying it out there...

i have come to find this place... the blogging world... a place that i like. a place i can just sit and write my thoughts and ideas and accomplishments and not so accomplishing things and feelings and dreams and ambitions and the things that make me cry and the things that make me sad.
i can write and people "listen".
sometimes i get a response.
sometimes not.

but its nice to just lay things out there.



::staying here for the weekend. sad mom couldn't come. then was even sadder when i couldn't make it home. so i will be here. wishing i were at home. but trying to enjoy the peace and quiet, a good book, and a very clean room::

"great" grandmother- ness

ive been very blessed in my short life to have known 5 of my great grandparents & all 4 of my grandparents. and i actually have fond memories with them all. tonight my last living great grandmother died. she was 91ish. maybe 92. she has lived through so so so many things. wars, love, the beatles (and other amazing music), the great depression, civil rights, many many presidents, had 2 sons (one was my grandpa) 4 grandkids, and a whole bunch great grandkids (well maybe like 8 or so). anyway. she lived on a farm (where my uncle & cousin live now) on tons of land. i actually learne how to drive in her cow pasture with the same green truck my mom learned how to drive in. here is what i think of when i think of 'mawmaw'
(oh yes. what a good southern grandma name!)

-pecan trees (she had this one HUGE pecan tree & she and i and my grandma would go out there and pick up pecans and eat them)
- fishing. (she had a pond on her property. it had fish in it. so we went and fished)
- a green truck (the same one i mentioned earlier. that im pretty sure is still around... but i could be wrong. all i know is that darn truck has been around since my mom was a young-un... & seems like was driven a lot
- pound cake. simply put she made the best in the world.
- pick up sticks & lincoln logs. i just remember playing them all the time at her house when we were little
-not driving after it was dark... uncle b & mom would always drive her home from gmas after holiday meals bc it was always dark and she wouldnt drive
and most vividly:
- circus peanuts. (not literal ones) the candy orange ones. she had them in glass jars for us to eat that sat on the table by her door.

::its sooo funny the random things i remember from my childhood!::

i also think about love and compassion and strong willed. granted, i didn't know her like my mom & dad did, but from what ive heard, remember, and can figure out. she was all of those things. loved her husband a whole heck of a lot and cared for him so dearly. and man was she strong- i mean she worked on a farm-raised 2 boys-- she was strong all the way up to today. she was a real fighter....


anyway. its hard to say goodbye, but it is so good at the same time. she is with her hubby now, and with her son. and im positive they are a whole lot happier & doing a whole lot better than we are!

its been a long and hard night... obviously mom is now staying at home for the weekend, and im trying to get home. in times like these its so hard to be away. i am a family girl oh so much, and just want to be at home this weekend, and im hoping and praying something works out to get me there. ive searched all night for plane tickets, seems impossible (unless i have a spare 400bucks)... but tomorrow im going to wake up and start looking again- and look at all my options. maybe a quick road trip is in store.

anway. i need to get to bed. its been a long day.

**i will say on a much brighter & completely different note: ryan and i did our first bit of registereing today! went to a movie! had a great dinner! and watched some episodes of gossip girl! all that was before the news of mawmaw made it up to me... but anywho. im off to bed.

much love & peace
d.

twenty three

...is my age. as of today.
sounds strange and old and YIKES!
but then again... here at work. i am the youngest. and they all tell me how far along i am and accomplished i am for 23. so that makes me feel much better. i am quite young. i have SO much life ahead of me. its pretty darn exciting.

and im thinking this year is going to be a pretty crazy one! i mean for one... im getting MARRIED!! for another im moving (which is always fun to start over) this time the whole entire place is mine to decorate!! (well with ry's help). im also probably going to start some type of schooling the next year. i am going to start studying spanish much more. and i plan to take the GRE. hmm... i think this just turned into a "new years resolution" thing. but thats not a bad thing. oh. i do plan on going to the gym more. haha... thought id throw that in there.


anyway. much love & peace from a young 23 year old.

burnt.

so by red and crispy- i meant burnt to a crisp. and feeling quite miserable. no one has to tell me. i know i should have put on sunscreen on my entire body, but i didn't and am now feeling the consequences. but good grief. i am miserable! can't sleep (which makes me exhausted at work). the creases in my knees are burnt so every step i take hurts. and am kinda nauseous due to smoething. i will say im drinking lots of water and gatorade to help fight the dehydration and last night i took a bath in tea bags. actually quite soothing. realllly soothing to my legs. for a little. also taking ibuprophen around the clock. to help with pain and swelling. blah blah. i want to get in bed!! or in a nice big indoor pool. to soak.

love & peace.
d

ps. i still LOVE the beach.

sunscreen.

it really works.
too bad i didn't use any on my upper back or legs. any of my legs.
so basically i have the worst redness ever... splotchy and crazy lines. all over the place from where i had sunscreen and where i didnt. luckily i have aloe... and hopefully it will not be too bad by morning.

speaking of morning i work tomorrow...

but today at the beach was wonderful. ill probably just think of that if i get stressed out tomorrow. ill just pause and remeber the sun. and the waves. i love the beach. a wholeeee lot.

and yes i know. next time i will apply sunscreen much better. i know i know. skin is sensitive. sun is dangerous. im killing myself everytime i get a little toasty.

ill do better next time. promise.

i will say at the time it was perfect. felt sooo good outside. bright sky. lovely day.

anyway. im gonna get things together and get ready for bed.

peace & love.
d

lovely day.

sunny with a high of 78. that was my delightful day!
tomorrow is promising more of the same!
and since i have nothing to do tomorrow...
i am off to the beach for the day!

luckily its a 2 hour jump over from here- which is not to bad!
considering i grew up 4-5 hours from the ocean- 2 hours is nothin!
a friend is going with me so i am looking forward to the day away!!
at my favorite place in the world... the ocean.

today was a great day in and of itself though!
i got loads of things done, such as laundry, an art project, baked brownies, watched my FAVORITE MOVIE IN THE WHOLE WORLD: ten things i hate about you.
i am now watching harry potter 4...
before i head to bed and read harry potter 5. :)

anyway. set your clocks forward!! its springtime! yay!!

off to the beach!

peace & love.
d

friday night... flying solo

so today marked ryan's beginning to "sb09"... aka spring break.
he and some fella's hit the road to a friends beach trailer. yes. trailer. not house. hahaahhaha... apparently its reallly nice though. its just fun saying it like its redneck trash. haha. anyway. he headed to the beach with the fellas for a few days of manland fun.
so since he is gone- i am flying solo this evening. luckily i had dinner after work with a friend from work- and now am home and relaxin! i plan to read some harry potter tonight and just enjoy this comfy bed of mine.

work was good today... i was in the emergency room!! so fun. definitely my style. i love it in there. the pace. the atmosphere. it was a really good experience. and really what i needed. God always provided exactly what you need doesn't he. anyway... it was a good change of scenery and made for a good fun day.

this weekend i dont plan on doing much of anything!! going into work to do a lil class thing, reading some harry, cleaning a little, and just relaxing. i am quite excited!

thats all for now.
peace & love.
d

**the following are pictures from sb08! last year we roadtrip'd it... all over ga and fl- it was FANTASTIC. one of the best trips ive ever been on. here are some snapshots... oh how i wish i were going to west palm beach this year! enjoy!!

they are "so cool"

BFF's:

splurge.

today i splurged. on myself.
well sorta.
the only reason i say i splurged was because technically the item i bought was not on sale. and thats a big no-no for me. really. i NEVER buy things unless they are on sale.... im quite the thrifty one. but today when i saw this purse i was sold. now granted, i did purchase this item at TJMAXX where it was already 50% off of the retail price... which is why i did purchase it. and in reality- for a nice purse it was not much. but here she is. the straps are a nice "salmon" color leathery stuff, the very bottom is the same. its lined on the inside. (first purse that has such a thing... no really) and while its still a "nice grown up purse" it has a TOTALLy fun awesome design. i LOVE it. really. very springy/summery. this is probably the "nicest" purse i own. (and yes i know its not super nice, but its a few- ok a lot of steps above the typical kavu that i carry) i dont really do the whole "nice purse" thing... but this one... its a real winner. and well if you hate it, just keep it to yourself because i am wearing this guy proudly!

::the pictures dont do it justice::
you can google it if you really want... bc i know you want to... its "the sak- special design by Gilles Jourdan"

i love these birds!! and peace! happy & free!

in other news today:

- i cooked a killer awesome dinner! wahoO! chicken & rice casserole (thanks to p
- made the first draft (and 2nd) of my SAVE THE DATE cards!! :)
- got a package from mom and dad which had my veil in it! which happens to be my MOM's VEIL!! yeahhH! im going to be wearing her veil!! sooo cool!! :)
- obviously went to tj maxx.
- read some harry potter
- went to Dr. Richard Heizenrater's retirement speech. *for those of you who dont know- he is like MR. Methodist... google him if you want. and of course Ryan being the lover of all things wesley wanted to go. i went along and it was so good. really good. i got so much out of it! his lecture was very interesting. and i was in the room as all these other "great" people in the methodist world. it was fun to be there and to see ryan so excited about it. def a cool night.
- topped it all off with LOST. which was HOLY COW SOOOO GOOD. wow. i love that show... maybe too much.

ok. i think thats PLENTY.
hope you are all well.

much love & peace.

goood sleep.

last night i went to bed at 9:30.
i woke up this morning (without my alarm) at 6:10!
and felt rested!
it was quite nice i must say.

i have the next 2 days off which i am looking forward to!
only working 1 more day this week... and then mon, tues, wed.

it will be a killer 3 days BUT wed is my bday.
im throwing myself a party at work. haha.
the next day ryan i are going to spend the day together and watch movies and REGISTER and have fun.
and then the NEXT DAY (next friday if you lost track) my MOM is coming!! yay!!! im super excited. she is flying in for the weekend and im so happy! it will be awesome to see her. and im sure we will have a blast...

anyway. random update from my life.

ps. duke basketball tonight.
not going- but shoudl be fun to watch!

peace & love

snow... round 2.

after much consideration i figured i should blog about the snow... since everyone else is.
sadly i cant enjoy the snow this time. im stuck at work...
i had the pleasure of leaving for work an hour EARLIER than normal- so i could scrape my car and drive @ a roaring 30mph to work. why did i drive so slow you ask. many reasons.
1. it was snowing.
2. there was snow all over the road.
3. there was ice all over the road.
4. and since i left home at 6am i was like the 2nd person out driving in the mess.

luckily i ended up being behind a snow plow on the only small road i had to go on- so that was good.
anyway- i will say the drive in was BEAUTIFUL. the sun was rising. it was snowing. everything was white- with a hint of blue- bc the sky was GORGEOUS. it was really neat.

sadly. the rest of the day i have spent inside looking out at it wishing i could go build a snowman or something. im not too bitter though- considering this is our second "big snow" of the year. and this one is not nearly as good as the first.

anyway. i love snow. its beautiful.

and to think... i was just about to change my big main picture (the one above) to ::spring edition:: its a good thing the snow is still there.

ok. im done.

peace & love.