one day is worth a thousand tomorrows.

Helloooooooo again! It always amazes me how excited I get to write down my days on here. I wish I could do it every single day, but with my crazy random schedule of work and being a full-time tourist, that’s never going to happen. All the more reason to use twitter like it’s going out of style, if ya ask me!

Okay, here are the past five days of my life in a nut-shell: I was able to sleep in on Monday (YAY!) and be lazy all afternoon (double YAY!) On Monday evening, I worked with a few clients in TLC for a couple of hours. I worked in the office all day Tuesday, with the exception of ASAP in the afternoon. I was going to go Santa Monica for my weekly Bible study/hang-out time with Kyle, Tomahawk, and Micki untillllllllllll I received an email saying that my ePortfolio for graduation was due by June 30^th. Yikes. Thank goodness they changed the requirements for it and it only took me 2ish hours to get it done instead of 3ish weeks like students in the past. By 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, I was DONEZO with it, and I’m tellin’ you what—that felt uh-may-zing! Wednesday at work was filled with meetings and more camp preparation. We met with the Director of Research at Casa to discuss our attempts at measuring client outcomes when they come on trips. Also on Tuesday, I met with the Director of Speech Therapy and Children’s Services Center. This was my favorite interview so far, because Ms. Sendor was extremely knowledgeable about everything that was going on in both of her departments. It made me want to work with kids even more than I previously did! They were all so presh!

After work, I got to hang out with Candice and two of her sorority sisters at……..the ANGELS vs. DODGERS game!!!! So. Much. FUN. Seriously! I bought a t-shirt to get in the spirit and since I didn’t know any of the players for the Angels, I went with a familiar name. WEAVER! All for my favorite Weaver in the whole world—Timothy Justin!!! YIPPEE! Sidenote: the Angels stadium is WAYYYYY nicer than the Dodgers stadium. Just had to throw that out there. Another sidenote: I am so unbelievably BLESSED to have met Candice. I’m not even joking…she has absolutely spoiled me ever since the first day I met her! As if everything else she’s done for me the past month hasn’t been more than enough, she got us SECOND ROW TICKETS to the game! YESSS!!!! In. Cred. Uh. Bull.

On Thursday, we took a group of participants to Santa Catalina Island, right off the coast of Long Beach, CA. It was a SUPER fun day, and the participants really seemed to enjoy themselves. It also helped that Catalina is absolutely beautiful. I mean B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! I seriously felt like I was somewhere in the Mediterranean…more specifically, on the set of Mamma Mia! in Greece. I don’t just want to travel anymore…I NEED to. Every time I go somewhere else, it becomes more and more difficult to ever want to settle down in one place. I shoulda been born a gypsy. Forrealzzzz.

Catalina used to be completely owned by the Wrigley family…yes, as in Wrigley gum. Saweeeeeeet! The Chicago Cubs also used to have spring training on the island, which made it even COOLER! Steven Thornton would have been in heaven. That’s a fact. The Wrigleys still own 9 ½ square miles of the island, but they donated 87% of it to the island conservancy many years ago. We took a tour of the mainland, and even got to see some wild bison! YAY! And the view from on top of the mountain? Wow. That’s really all I can say. I was gasping for air at times. Hey God, you continue to blow my mind with your creation. Please don’t stop. Love, Anna : )

Just when I thought ripping my pants as soon as we got onto the island and having to wear my jacket around my waist all day like I was in 7^th grade again was the worst part of the day, I received some pretty terrible news from Teesh. Good day gone bad? That’s a severe understatement. I hid out in the handicap restroom on the ship bawling my eyes out the entire trip back to Long Beach. My heart is still absolutely crushed, and I think it will be for a while, but it is also overwhelmed with how graceful and merciful the Lord is. When I got back to my apartment, I meditated on Psalm 91, Psalm 34:18, and Philippians 4:7 for hours. And even after I closed my Bible for the night, my mind was still wide awake, allowing me to only get about 30 minutes of sleep last night. It’s times like these that make me sick with sorrow because I can’t be there for the people who need someone to be there for them. I missed home a lot today. If it wasn’t for the bear hugs from Jen and Anne last night and today, I’m pretty positive that I would have gone crazy by now. Michal coming to visit tomorrow was so perfectly orchestrated by God that I can’t help but smile SO BIG even through my tears, because he ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS know EXACTLY what we need and EXACTLY when we need it. Thank. You. Jesus.

Speaking of Michal coming tomorrow…HOLY MOLY! I can’t believe our countdown since FEBRUARY is finally ending. WOW!!! I pick her up at 12:10 p.m. tomorrow and I seriously COULD NOT be more excited than I am to see her!!! Tackle hug? Yep, she’ll pretty much be calling me Da’Quan Bowers after this one! I am so incredible blessed by her friendship. Real talk. She is a PHENOMENAL best friend, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her! I can’t wait to show her LA…and maybe a few other places! Someone once said “"Friendship lightens every burden and makes the sun shine brighter,” and that is exactly what she does for me! I. Love. Her. : )

I am currently lying on the couch watching the Disney Channel. I love it when this is all I have to do all day. Lazy days are a gift from God, no doubt. Anne let me off work at noon today, so I was able to run all my pre-Michal errands early this afternoon. Getting off work early=a little piece of heaven on earth! Especially when it’s unexpected.

I’ve also got all my ORANGE on, and I’m ready for some TIGER BASEBALL! I’m actually pretty pumped that we get to play Carolina tonight…a little Palmetto State rivalry all the way in Nebraska. YAY! Goooooooo Clemson!

Okee dokee, well, I think that just about covers it for now! Expect another update following Michal’s visit…I’m confident that I will have MANY stories to tell!

See ya later, alligator! : )

p.s. Hey Teeesh! You can stop complaining about how I didn’t write about you, because TADA! Here it is. I MISS YOU BOYFRIEND! Andddd I lub joo!

Anddddd a little food for thought: “The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” -Charles Dubois