"time wasted is existence; used is life." -Edward Young

Four more incredible days have passed. How the heck is it even remotely possible that I leave to go back home in three days? I feel like these past three months have been a complete and total whirlwind of activity, and I am so sad to see them pass by so quickly. More than being sad, though, I am so thankful for every single second spent out here in this beautiful city. Fifty years from now when I look back on my life, I can promise you that the summer of 2010 will be at the top of the list of my favorite memories. I have legitimately conquered every square mile of southern California—I’m even impressed with the amount of things I accomplished out here!

So now that my usual tangent is over (for the moment), I’ll get back to telling about my life since Saturday. On Saturday morning, my roomies and I went to back to Long Beach for a day on the water. We tried to rent some paddle boards but quickly found out that we could only rent them at Sunset Beach…and off to Sunset we went! None of us fell off of our boards (we were certain that we would), but we did almost DIE coming back towards the outfitter. Why? Well, you can thank the wind for that. We were grunting and straining and all that good stuff as we made our way back to our starting point. I only have four words for that experience: Sun’s out. Guns out.  And boy, were they out! And SORE the next day for that matter. It was so much fun to hang out with my roooooooomies, though, so I didn’t mind it all that much. :) After our paddle around Huntington Harbor, we ate lunch at Taco Surf. Mmmmmm, mmmmm, GOOD! That was exactly what we needed after burning all those calories, HA!

roomie day at Sunset Beach!

On Saturday night, I made my way back to LA…only this time it was to see CAIT CAIT! We went to Drais on the rooftop at the W for a few drinks with Sarah and Elaine, and it was super fun! Sarah let Cait Cait and I sleep in her bed when we got back and I only have one thing to say about that: her bed is like heaven. In fact, it may be the closest thing to heaven that I’ve ever experienced. I slept like a BABY all night long! And it’s a good thing I did, because we got up bright and early the next morning to go to Hurricane Harbor with Daaaaave! A day at the water park? Ummm, YES PLEASE! We rode most of the slides, of course, and even got separated for about an hour. That’s what you call an intense day at the water park. Even though Cait and I missed getting free massages by about two minutes (no, I’m not bitter at all), it was one HECK of a day.

pretty ladies to my left and to my right. :)

 Monday morning, I felt like I was back in South Carolina. Let me break it down for you: fried okra, fried squash, country fried steak, sweet potato pie, and sweeeeeeeeet tea. All homemade. So good it was sinful. That was the lunch I spent all morning preparing for Anne, Jen, Will, Dearle, and Bruce. It was probably more of a treat for me than it was for them! I couldn’t have lived with myself if I hadn’t given them a little piece of fried goodness before I parted ways, and I am pretty sure that all of their lives are changed for the better now. :o) I had to tell Bruce and Darrell (or as I like to say, Dearle) bye, which was terrible, but I am going back to the office on Thursday to say my last goodbyes to Anne, Jen, and Will. I am already prepared to cry for hours. Sheeeesh, I just teared up thinking about it! These past two days have been so weird not being in the office—I can’t even imagine not ever going back. One thing’s for sure: I will make an appoint to attend every Land Meets Sea Camp from here on out. An annual Outdoor Adventures fix is exactly what I need for the rest of my life!

Things took a change for the worst as Monday progressed. I met up with Cait and Sarah in Hollywood and things were going fantastic until I met my psycho-stalker friend who gave me quite a scare. I won’t go into details, but I will say one thing about it…thank you, LORD, for protecting me. And for giving me confidence and assertion at the exact moment I needed it. I love it when I am reminded of God’s grace in my life, especially when there’s no way I can attribute my safety to anything else. It even gave me a good excuse to call and bug daddy a lot yesterday. A girl always needs her daddy, even when she’s across the country and there’s no possible way he can help—other than threaten to leave bullet holes in his head if he made his way to our neck of the woods. FYI, he was serious. ;)

Today’s activities did an excellent job of taking my mind off of yesterday’s activities. I took Cait Cait to Santa Monica, she rode the Pacific Wheel (YAY!), and she touched the Pacific Ocean for the first time. EPIC! She got to the airport with five minutes to spare, which we see as perfect timing. Professional travelers, at your service! :o) After I dropped her off, I went back to Santa Monica to give Dave his sunglasses back and even got to see some of the Yahoo Center, where he’s interning this summer! He’s a big-time journalist for Yahoo Sports that still makes time for the little people, such as myself. Lucky me!

I played with our tortoise friends for about an hour this afternoon, watched Ellen and the Disney channel for a while, and I am currently putting off packing up all my stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to be home and be reunited with most of my favorite people in the whole world…but I am absolutely dreading leaving Cali for good. Part of my heart will definitely be left out here, and I am certain that I’ll never get that part back again. There’s no place like home and I’ll be the first to admit that, but there is just something about this temporary home of mine that keeps pulling me back. I’m going to miss all the wonderful, one-of-a-kind people I’ve met since I’ve been here…which only means that annual visits are even more necessary!

Since we’re on the subject of one-of-a-kind people, I would just like to express my OUT OF CONTROL EXCITEMENT to see the following people tomorrow: Tomahawk, Kyle, and Marisa! YAY!!!!!!! I am dreading the goodbyes that will follow our time together, but I am freaking out with ecstatisism (totally not a word) about spending some quality time with each of them! I even get to eat lunch at The Ivy tomorrow—somewhere that I have wanted to go all summer long! Check another AWESOME EXPERIENCE off my list? Don’t mind if I do! I’m also going to the W one last time…tear, tear! Steven, will you be working? If not, can you make a surprise visit to bid me adieu? Please and thank you!

Okay, it is almost 10 o’clock and I still haven’t started packing. Instead, I’ve been skyping with Teeeesh and Justin Bieber, playing with Frankie and Speedy (our super cool desert tortoise friends), hanging out with my roomies, and fixing one of our toilets. Plumber Anna at your service. Daddy will be so proud when I tell him!

I can’t wait to tell ya’ll all of the rest of the incredible things that will happen to me over the next couple of days! Expecting greatness, as always!

Sweet dreams, world. :)

"Make each day useful and cheerful and prove that you know the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be happy, old age without regret and life a beautiful success." -Louisa May Alcott

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory." -Betty Smith

believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

How do I put everything that has happened in the past five days into words? Neither words nor pictures will do one single moment justice. That’s how you know which memories are the best. The ones that touch you so deep inside that there’s no way you can ever shake the feelings they gave you. Years and years from now, I will look back on August 9-13, 2010 and I can promise you that joy will immediately fill my heart. I love it when lives are shaped by different experiences, and mine was definitely changed by this week. Elaboration? Well, I’d be happy to! :)

I woke up at 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning, got to the office at 4:45 a.m., and we headed to Long Beach, CA for the long-awaited 16^th annual Land Meets Sea Sports Camp. YAY! I spent most of my time working on things for camp, so this was a HUGE part of my duties! I had water training all day long (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) with the folks from USARC, which basically turned me into a special ops office. I learned how to stabilize a sit-down ski from behind (which I referred to as wrestling a shark) and even got to ride in one for the first time. I did way better than I thought I would…I even jumped the wake a couple of times. So much fun! After training, we had our very first staff meeting of the week at the Sailing Center. I roomed with Kim, Anne’s older sister, and she was an absolute HOOT all week!

Thennnnnnnnnn Tuesday finally came and…THE CAMPERS ARRIVED! YAY! We had 75 registered participants for the week, but had two extra add-ons as the week progressed. I was stationed at water sports the first day, and the included being shore help and going kayaking. I was originally signed up to be a starter (aka wrestle a shark), but I switched with Mike Moniak because kayaking is my favorite and I wasn’t going to have another chance to do it anymore for the rest of the week (I call everyone by their first and last name because I knew every single person’s entire name there…that’s what making a hundred phone calls a day does to ya!). On Tuesday night, we had our debrief in Anne and Jen’s room. Lucky for us, the marvelous Melroys cooked us tri-tip, one of southern California’s best menu items! YUM!

Wednesday was an EPIC day for me. I got up at 4:30 a.m., met Jen downstairs at 5:15 a.m., and we made our way back to the beach…only this time, it was for something super spectacular. HOT. AIR. BALLOONING. AHHH! Not only did I get to go up in the balloon for the first time EVER (which has ALWAYS been one of my MOST desired activities!), but I got to shoot the propane up into it to make it rise. I can promise you that I didn’t stop smiling ALL DAY after that. I was in hog heaven, FO SHO! After ballooning wrapped up, I spent the rest of the day with Anne and Ewick (Scented Air Fweshenuh) at Kid’s Kamp! We had six kids (Brandon, Roxie, Manuel, Steven, Angelo, and Andre) signed up, and we did an obstacle course/maze with them, made plaster figures, and went sailing. Can I just say that I seriously thought about stealing Steven and never giving him back. It only took him about 14 seconds to completely steal my heart—and he’s still got it! Kamp ended around 4:30 p.m., we packed up all our stuff back into the Uhaul, and made our way back to the hotel.

I got to fly the hot air balloon! and I was freaking out with excitement!

sweet Steven. this little guy stole my heart way to easily!

So you know how I said that Wednesday was epic? Well, I left out one part of the day. Jen, Anne, and Kim wrestled at palm-sized knot/growth/brillo pad out of my hair. Yes, I said wrestled. And yes, I meant it. Two hours, an inch of hair spontaneously trimmed from my head, and ultimate bonding time with three out-of-this-world ladies. The good news is the knot is gone. Note to self: never use hotel shampoo and conditioner ever again. EVER. Two and a half years of growing my hair out almost went right down the drain, and it totally would have happened if my boss ladies weren’t so AWESOME. Trying to get the knot out by myself: fail. Big fail. Thank you, Jesus, for blessing me with a tough head. And that’s the abbreviated story of the time I forgot my shampoo and conditioner when I went to Long Beach for a week.

Nowwwww onto Thursday! I was outrigger canoeing all day, and I would like to start out by saying this: canoeing is hardcore business and I thought I was going to die. I went out four different times, all of which added up to being about 10 miles. I thought for sure I wouldn’t be able to move today (Friday) after all that strenuous activity, but my body surprised me yet again. Who needs steroids? I even paddle boarded for the first time. AND I didn’t even fall into the water. Daddy will be proud to hear that my balance and clumsiness has improved over the past few months. He’ll be even prouder when he sees how graceful I have become. Okay, maybe not exactly graceful…but better, nonetheless! After spending the day on the water, it was time for the famous LMSSC luau. Everyone dressed up in their best Hawaiian attire, and we even had entertainment by a band and legit hula dancers. SO COOL! How they make their hips move like that is beyond me. I got called up to the front as a “volunteer” (also known as “you’re the intern, so get your booty up there!”) to dance with them. I almost died when they tried to get me to shake it like a Polaroid picture in front of everyone! Two left feet and no beat doesn’t work too well, especially when all eyes are on you. Haha, CLASSIC! I had to start my goodbyes Thursday night, too. Awful. You never know how much someone means to you until you’re telling them bye for what may be the last time.

paddle boarding for the very first time!

Jen, Anne, and me at the luau. lucky me, I was wedged between two of the most incredible ladies!

And then there was Friday (the 13^th, might I add). The last day of camp and also my last day as the summer 2010 intern for Outdoor Adventures. It was a perfect day all around, but I had to keep reminding myself (all flippin’ day) not to cry and to smile harder than ever. Otherwise, all professionalism would fly right out the door. I was sailing/harbor cruising all day, and one of the boats I rode on even saw a seal in the canal. Saweeeet! It was just like being at Sea World…only FREE! Haha, those are the best shows! Come 5 o’clock, we were all packed up and headed back to Casa. Jen and I had some extremely awesome conversations (as we always do) while we sat through rush hour traffic. Once we got back to the hospital, it only took us a little over an hour to unpack all of our gear. Unfortunately, it looks like a bomb exploded in the office even with us organizing as we went along. I didn’t have to say any goodbyes yet (thank goodness) because I’m going to cook up a good ole’ southern home-cooked meal for them on Monday. I hope they’re ready for some good FRIED food. That’s my specialty. You’d think I was from the south or something, huh? :o)

we named our little friend "Wally" and boy was he CUTE!

I stopped by In-N-Out on the way back to the apartment (gotta get all I can these last couple of days!) and then planned my day with my roomies tomorrow. We’re going to go back to Long Beach and do a little kayaking and paddle boarding all afternoon. Side note: I wish I lived at the beach. The day I become a millionaire is the day I pick up my life and move it to Naples Island, CA. That place is spectacular and I am obsessed! I wish Teeesh was still out here so he could fall in love with it like I have. There’s just something about this place that keeps drawing me further and further in. One of those feelings you just can’t put into words, kind of like all of my experiences for the past three months. I love it.

Speaking of people I wish were here with me, I think now is an appropriate time to acknowledge another epic component of this week: Cait Cait is in LA! Finally! I won’t see her until Sunday because of conflicting plans (booo!) but you can bet your hard-earned dollar that we are going to have two incredible days together out here. She and her friend Sarah are going to Hurricane Harbor with Dave and I on Sunday, which will be SO much FUN! I can’t waitttttt! That will complete my California bucket list. Yepp, that’s right…southern California was OWNED by this girl all summer long. I am proud of all the traveling and tourist-ing I’ve done while I’ve been here. Makes me want to just be a gypsy and hop from place to place, never settling down. Except then I think about how miserable I would be without sharing it with all the people I love and it doesn’t seem so appealing. Anyone interested in exploring the globe with me? Hey Teeesh, I’ve got an idea—let’s be a gypsy COUPLE! Go where the wind takes us. Fly by the seat of our pants. Whatcha say? Oh wait, I already know: “Anna, you are crazy.” I’m still going to keep trying though. Maybe one day you’ll come around, snookums! I’ll keep prayin’ until ya do! Dreamers never stop dreaming. At least this one doesn’t. :)

This week was filled with ups and downs, but most of all, it was filled with the Holy Spirit. Completely anointed. I have to share one last story: one of the new participants named Klaus acquired a spinal cord injury about six months ago. He came to camp, met all of these ridiculously joyful people, and asked questions about it. What happened next? Well this is how the conversation went between him and a couple of the other participants: the guys told him that they had found hope beyond their physical and cognitive limitations. They said they knew that they would never be whole on earth again, but that they wouldn’t be like this forever. Jesus was the focal point of the entire conversation, and Klaus ended up giving his life to Christ that same day. Incredible. Tear-jerking. Heart-wrenching. Good news. That’s what it’s all about. Giving people life beyond their limitations. Showing people what they’re capable of when they feel worthless. Encouraging people to look at all they’ve got rather than all they’ve lost. People’s lives have the potential to radically change, and in Klaus’ case, he got a brand new life in a split second. Tell me something that even comes close to comparing to that.

I am a recent graduate of Clemson University. I am the former therapeutic recreation intern at Outdoor Adventures. I am just one person. I make mistakes and I rarely do things exactly the way they’re supposed to be done. But I will make a difference in this world. Not by my own strength, but by the power of Jesus working in me. Every day is a gift, and I want the whole world to believe in that simple truth. Life is too sweet to just let it slip through your fingers. Make a change. Be the change. There is no power in being good, only in doing good. Help. Encourage. Support. Love. Laugh until you cry. Smile. See the glass as half full. Live your life.

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” -Mother Teresa

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” –Albert Einstein

here's to the con-artists of 2010.

Welp, it’s official. I am a CLEMSON ALUM! I can really say that I am a member of the Clemson University Class of 2010. WOWZERS! Okay, so I’ll start from the veeeeery beginning of this incredible incredible INCREDIBLE IIIIIIIINNNNCCRRREEEDDDDIIIIIBBBBLLLLEEEEE weekend. Did I mention incredible?

On Friday I left out from the Ontario airport at 6:40 a.m., had an hour layover in Houston, and arrived in Greenville, SOUTH CAROLINA (the best state in the world, just so you know) around 4:30 p.m. Loooooong day of traveling. But seeing the smiling faces of my daddy, mommy, Shannon, Melly, Dustin, Will, Michal, and Teeeesh waiting for me with a big, bright yellow sign that read “WELCOME HOME ANNA! WE MISSED YOU!” that also had the best sketch of a Tiger that I’ve ever seen. Good thing my little brother is an artist. Quite impressive, I must say. Melly had a large SWEET TEA from Chick-fil-a waiting for me, too. BLISS! It only took me about a minute and thirty seconds to kill the whole thing…holy smokes, that was a little piece of heaven! Wanna know what else? So remember that time I prayed for it to be pouring down raining when I got home? Well, GOD IS GOOD! It was definitely raining. And I definitely just stood in it for a few minutes. Once again, it was bliss! Even more so when we all took a mini road trip to Anderson to pick up Melly’s new JEEP WRANGLER! Wahoooooo!

sister's got a brand new ride!

Emilie Carol got to the house a couple hours after we did, and then the three of us (Michal, EC, and me) made our way to CLEMSON so I could go out downtown one last time as a student. We made a pit stop to pick up Teeesh and Justin (Bieber) and continued on our way. We also met someone in the parking garage…are you ready for this? Okay, here it goes…MY P. SAWYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my GOODNESS, I missed that girl SO terribly much! It was also super exciting seeing my roomies, Courtney, Craig, and Christine for the first time in three months! The entire night was just perfect and exactly what I needed. Boy, am I thankful for great friendships!

oh, how I love my girls!

aaaaand my handsome boyfriend. :)

roomies for LIFE!

On Saturday morning, my best friend not bestie met us at my house and then three of the best friends a girl could ever ask for headed back to Clemson. I ran into Courtney, we picked up our name cards, and then got in line. Nana, Papa, Grandpa, and Sandra all walked in the door near me, and it was SUCH a breath of fresh air to see them. The rest of my family found me before the ceremony too, and I got to see Uncle for the first time since being back! And thennnnnnn, it was time. Time to walk in front of hundreds of people, shake hands with President Barker, and receive my college diploma. What. A. Day. And that’s not even the BEST part of the day, believe it or not. Are you ready for what comes next? It was the single most thoughtful and exciting thing that I ever remember happening to me. After a million pictures were taken right after the ceremony ended, we proceeded to go to P. Sawyer’s apartment to pick up my “graduation gift.” She had told me earlier that morning that she woke up feeling sick and wouldn’t be able to make it graduation. As bummed as I was, I was more sad that she was sick. Nevertheless, we made our way to the club house in Harts Cove to meet her and collect my goodies. When we pulled up, the first thing I saw was TJ’s truck. Hmmmm. And then as I looked around, I noticed a few more cars that looked familiar. I looked and Melly and said “Something’s fishy…” and her reply was “Shut up and go inside.” Haha, awesome. I went inside and whatta ya know…ALL of my family and friends were waiting inside for me! They threw me a SURPRISE GRADUATION PARTY! Oh my goodness, I am STILL beaming thinking about it right now!

it's official. I'm an ALUM!

I could never in a million years ask for better people in my life and that is no exaggeration. I. Love. My. Life. And that’s an understatement! P. Sawyer, Emilie Carol, Whitney, Michal, B. Davis, Mommy, Daddy, Shannon, Dustin, Freeman, Will, Nana, Papa, Grandpa, Sandra, Uncle, Angie, Troy, Sav, Candie, Justin, Kerri, Sydney, Kerri, Christine, and then three VERY special surprises…Bill, Court Bourt, and Whitney Black! I was on cloud nine ALL DAY LONG! P. Sawyer and Emilie Carol were the master-minds behind the whole operation…they had been planning it since APRIL and everyone was able to keep the secret from me the whole time. Even my mommy, who is the world’s WORST secret keeper. I was VERY impressed with everyone’s scheming abilities!

I don't know what I did to deserve a friend like P. Sawyer, but boy am I glad I have her!

I got lots of goodies, but more importantly, I got to spend time with most of the people I love most in my life at the same time. Rare and definitely not taken for granted. Cait Cait joined in on the slumber party later that night (after she moved her baby sister into college!) and that made me SO happy! Everything was as it should have been in the world on Saturday. My perfect day. Totally undeserved but unbelievably full of thankfulness. Blessings are my favorite, and I can’t even begin to count all the ones I got just in those few hours. I’ll never ever forget August 7, 2010 as long as I live. Not much else could have been added to that day to make it any more perfect that it already was. And even though I didn’t see them, I know Ma and Grandma were there with me, too. : )

Thennnnn Sunday (today) rolled around. Emilie Carol left around 8 o’clock (booo!), Whitney left about an hour after that (another booooo!), and then daddy cooked the rest of us breakfast. Eggs, grits, sausage, and biscuits. There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, better than a home cooked meal prepared by my daddy. Teeesh and Justin (finally) came to the house about an hour before we left for the airport, we hung out for a little while longer, and then it was time. Time to say my goodbyes all over again. Only this time I didn’t cry…I know, it’s shocking. Two weeks in comparison to three months is a piece of cake, so it wasn’t as hard to give my goodbye hugs out (thankfully). I flew from GSP to Houston to Ontario, and finally arrived back at my cute little apartment in Chino Hills about nine hours after the beginning of my journey back to the golden coast. And I just have to throw this out there…how is a $45 cab ride even legal? I mean seriously, I could have filled up my car TWICE on that amount of money and he only drove me 13.2 miles. Absolutely ridic!

It’s currently 10:30 p.m., and I have to be up in roughly five hours to get ready for the busiest week of my life (aka my last week of my internship aka Land Meets Sea Sports Camp). I am SO pumped for the camp to finally be here because I’ve been working on it since my second week of work, but I am also dreading it because come Friday at 6 p.m., I’ll be the former intern at Outdoor Adventures. And I’ll definitely be bawling my eyes out. Buttttt I refuse to think about that right now. I am just going to go to bed, wake up eeeeearly in the morning (wide eyed and bushy tailed, of course) ready to give our participants the best week of their lives!

The main theme of this blog? That’s easy: My name is Anna Michelle Henderson, and my entire life is just one blessing after another. :)

there's no love like a family's love. <3

“Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone. And do not be troubled about the future, for it has yet to come. Live in the present and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.”

–Ida Scott Taylor

p.s. GO TIGERS!

I'm goin' home, to the place where I belong.

I finished up my 14^th week at Outdoor Adventures today, meaning that next week is my 15^th and final one. Umm, excuse me. Could someone please tell me where the time has gone? These three months have flown by quicker than any other time in my whole life. Everyone said it would, but everyone has also agreed that this has been the fastest three months ever too. And out of these three months, today ranks as one of the best days. Not only was it Anne’s birthday (she looks INCREDIBLE for her age, seriously), but it was also my last day in the office. BOY, was it a busy one! Don’t you just love it when everyone waits until the LAST SECOND to register for something, leaving you stuck with all the chaos of it? Well, I sure do. (Just so you know, that was a LOT of sarcasm). Patience is one of my strongest assets, and that did me a whole lot of good today. Thank you, Jesus!

the surprise waiting for me on my desk this morning. :)

 A whole bunch of neat things happened today. Walking into the office with beautiful pink Gerber daisies sitting on my desk. Anne’s birthday extravaganza. Lunch at a super yummy Japanese steakhouse. Darrell surprising me with peach cobbler and his famous salsa. Praying with Anne and Jen. Will giving me a pink Life is Good t-shirt and a card that brought me to tears for graduation. Being reminded of how blessed I am. Perfecting my use of the word “No.” Anticipating how much sweet tea I’m going to drink this weekend. Wishing I was in Wilmington with P. Sawyer and B. Davis, yet super excited that two of the world’s greatest friends had the best week ever. Spending most of my time today thinking about how absolutely STOKED I am to see everyone back home over the next few days and how crazy it is that I am about to graduate from Clemson University.

my "mommies" for the summer. I love me some Anne and Jen!

 The list goes on and on and on. You know, it really is amazing how the world looks when you believe that it is good. When you have faith that things will always work out, even when they don’t necessarily go your way. When you hope for the best, even though most people tell you that it’s never going to happen. And when you love, despite all the hundreds reasons not to. Life is good. But only if you want it to be.

It’s 11 o’clock on the west coast, and I have to be up in six hours to get ready for my flight back to the good ol’ south. I need to go to bed, but there’s just one problem…I am too excited to even THINK about sleeping! I feel like I’m a little kid on Christmas Eve all over again, and it is AWESOME. A weekend filled to the brim with all my favorite people. Ummmmmm, HECK YES! Daddy, Shannon, Melly, Dustin, Freeman, Will, and Michal are picking me up from the airport, Teeesh and Emilie Carol are meeting us at the house to hang out for a while, and then we’re heading to Clemson to celebrate with some fellow graduates. YAY! I can’t wait to see P. Sawyer, B. Davis, Kerbear, Mal-o, Squid, Emily, Courtney, Craig, and SO many more tomorrow night. The last time we’re all together again as Clemson students. Weird and sad and kind of depressing, yet so exciting at the same time. A whole new chapter for all of us to pursue. I’m too excited to be fearful of the future. “Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done.” That’s definitely my motto. And I can’t wait to see how it all unravels!

After graduation, I am going to spend the day with my family (ALL of them—Mommy, Daddy, Shannon, Melanie, Dustin, Freeman, Will, Nana, Papa, Grandpa, Sandra, Uncle, Bubba, Troy, Angie, Savannah, Andy, Candie, Trent…and probably more that I can’t even think of. I LOVE having such a big family!). Whitney, Caitlin, Emilie Carol, Michal and Teeeesh will also be among my graduation crew, which definitely guarantees a day of greatness. Best friend not bestie, Cait Cait, Mellywhack, and I are going to have a sleepover on Saturday night, too. Two sleepovers in one weekend? I wish I graduated at least twice a month…then I would be the slumber party queen! I don’t think there’s anything else in the whole world that compares to a bunch of giggly girls staying up all night in their pjs and eating all the junk food their bodies can hold. That’s what my kind of sleepovers look like, at least. And I love them! I still remember having slumber parties in elementary school and daddy having to tell us to be quiet every five minutes. Hey girls, whatcha say we make him shush us a few times this weekend? I’m in! In fact, it just became an official slumber party rule. YAY!

So I really need to go to bed. Heck, I haven’t even folded my laundry...whoooops! I’ll be up and at ‘em by 4 a.m., out the door with Catherine (my woooooonderful roomie who graciously offered to take me to the airport at the crack of dawn because she’s the best) by 5:15 a.m., hanging out at the airport until my flight takes off, leave from Ontario at 6:40 a.m., switch planes in Houston, and then arrive (hopefully safe and sound) in Greenville at 4 p.m. YIPPEEEEEEEE!

See you VERY soon, South Carolina! I only have one request for you, Mother Nature: please POUR DOWN RAIN tomorrow. I’m deprived. And I’m also interested to see my reaction to humidity. That oughta’ be fun! :o)

trying to hold on to every passing moment.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, I’ll be home in less than 40 hours. South Carolina. Home sweet home. I seriously cannot wait. This was my prayer earlier today: “God, please don’t let me hurt anyone when I give out my tackle hugs. Because we both know how out-of-control my adrenaline is going to be.” Seriously. And I’m not even being dramatic. WAHOOOOOO! See, I’m just thinking about it and I’m freaking out. Ya’ll better watch out, over there! You have been warned. :o)

my sweet Anna :) happy to be in the company of a fellow TIGER!

Last night I had the pleasure of sipping a cup of coffee in the cutest coffee shop in the whole world. Before we left the café to go see her apartment and introduce me to her hubby (who was amazing, by the way!), we were serenaded by a man playing the saxophone outside (who we referred to as Kenny G all night) and even planned our next date: comin’ back to Zephyr. Only this time, we’re going to try out their other specialty…HOOKAH. I better get some Advil in my system before that though, since I’m a pansy smoker who always gets a headache after two puffs. And proud of it. Right, P. Sawyer?

SPEAKING of P. Sawyer…HOLY COW BATMAN. Not only did she, B. Davis, and Adrienne casually run into James, but they also ran into Rob and Shantel like twenty minutes later. And today, they simply hung out inside of TRIC for nearly an hour. I WOULD miss a trip of such epic proportions. Tomorrow they are going to filming at the Dixie Grill AND Clothes Over Bros, both of which I have never been able to witness filming at. Please please PUHHHHLEEEEASE let us have such good fortune when I get to go later this month. If not, I will surely die. Okay, that was a tad bit dramatic. But I can promise you that I will  want to for a few seconds! At least two of my best friends are having a great time—that’s all you can really ask for, right? For me, yep!

So before I head home (YIPPEEEEEEE!) on Friday morning at 6:40 a.m., I have to say goodbye to the Outdoor Adventures office…tomorrow. Sheeeeesh. I’ll miss all the paperwork, my ancient computer, randomly stopping in the middle of nearly every workday just to sit and chat with Anne, Jen, and Will, seeing Darrell walk in the office with a bag full of fresh fruits and veggies (that always become my dinner that day), making phone calls until I’m blue in the face, and so much more. The past few days, I’ve been done with all my work by like 2 o’clock every day, but I stayed in the office anyways…just to take it all in and savor my last few hours there. Lame or not, I will definitely miss it a whoooooole lot. I hope I get a job that is half as incredible as the one I’ve been doing for the past three months. They even treated me to lunch today at an adorable little Italian bistro in La Verne (and Shirley…okay not really, but I always think of that when I hear it). I had fried salmon drizzled in cream sauce, sautéed spinach, and white rice with thin caramelized carrot strips in it. To. Die. For. SO YUMMY! I wanted to watch Letters to Juliet (aka my 6^th favorite movie) all day after that. Too bad it doesn’t come out until September 14^th, making that date even MORE spectacular. Who knows why? Anyone? If you don’t, then you should…it’s going to be one HECK of a day!

Welp, now that I have successfully redesigned my blog (which I have to do every few months because I love changing things up), I’m going to go pack my bag for home. 

YYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY! And then I’m going to bed early, since I’ve been going to bed so late recently (FYI, a “late night” for me is 11 o’clock). Awesome, I know.

The next time we're all together again will be at MY graduation. YAY!

"Where we love is home; home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

just a day, just an ordinary day.

Today was incredible for many, many reasons. Not only did I have a wonderful weekend spent with the beautiful Marisa (I just love that sweet thing!), but I also had an incredible night of sleep that followed some intense roommate bonding over The Bachelorette season finale. And since we’re on the subject, how PRECIOUS are Ali and Roberto? I have to admit, I was Team Chris all the way…mostly because his sweet, genuine, gentle, boy-next-door persona reminded me of my Teeesh. :o) But last night, I seriously teared up like twenty times while watching them. This was definitely my favorite season, hands down. Wahoooo for Alberto!

Today at work, I got to facilitate my very first assessment. YAY! The best part? It went SUPER well. Double YAY! I have felt like a real Recreation Specialist a lot during my internship, but today was definitely the most tangible experience. I have learned SO much over these past 14 weeks; things that I had never even heard of before starting my internship were rolling off my lips like I was a pro, which I am still FAR from. But it does feel so wonderful knowing I have progressed and become stronger in so many areas. I can’t wait to start my profession and the next chapter of my life. I guess it’s a good thing since I GRADUATE from COLLEGE in FOUR days. Umm, is this real life? Am I really about to be a Clemson University Alumni? Someone pinch me! I remember dressing up in my little Clemson cheerleader outfit and dreaming that I was a Tiger. The cheerleader thing didn’t work out (at all), but the being a Tiger part definitely did. Holy moses, I can’t believe it!

Okay, back to my day (since we all know how good I am at going off on wild tangents)…I got off work 30 minutes early, talked to my seeeester on the phone during the ride back to my apartment, and found out some phenomenal news: Clarkin and Katie are doing the SAME half-marathon and me and Mellywhack are doing in February! YIPPEEEEEE! Now we get to CARPOOL to Orlando together, be ROOMIES for a whole weekend, and (the grand finale)…wear TIARAS in the Disney Princess Half-Marathan! BEST. DAY. EVER. I can’t wait! I absolutely loooooooove loooooooove L-O-V-E it when God surprises me with things like that…which, by the way, happen all the time. When I told Melly, the first thing she said was, “Dang, I need to follow you around more. God blesses you too much for me not to!” Haha, that’s my sister. And I love her!

I also talked to my P. Sawyer on the phone today. YAY! Well, kind of. I loooooved hearing from her, but her news sent me into a temporary state of deep depression. Who can guess what it is? Who knows me well enough? Emilie Carol knew EXACTLY what it was, as did Melly and Teeesh. Here it goes…she, B. Davis, and their friend Adrienne ran into James in downtown Wilmington. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. James Lafferty. Aka my husband, the one I dream of growing old with, the one who makes me have asthma attacks just by hearing his name. I screamed bloody murder when she told me, out of excitement…and then realized that I wasn’t there. I felt MUCH better when she told me that both her AND B. Davis were making my excited face (it’s famous) in their pictures. It’s just like I was there…living vicariously through my soul mate! I can’t even think of anything else except for this right now: “3 WEEKS! 3 WEEKS! 3 WEEKS! And then it will be my turn!” August 24^th, I can’t wait til you’re here! Oh, and how out-of-this-world my P. Sawyer and B. Davis are. I honestly could not be more thankful for them. They just met James, and they have both been sending me messages saying how weird it is that I’m not there with them. How in the WORLD did I get such INCREDIBLE friends? It isn’t possible for me to love them anymore than I already do.

Pretty amazing day so far, huh? Well, it gets better. In just a few minutes, I am heading to Pasadena, CA to meet my precious friend Anna Jackson ROGERS (because she is a WIFE now!) for a coffee date. I seriously CANNOT WAIT to see her! How CRAZY is it that two Clemson girls are living 20 minutes away from each other…across the country? Wowzers! I have a feeling that we’ll be talking for quite a while, so I am anticipating another late night tonight. And I couldn’t be more excited about that! Not only does she have the best name in the world, but she’s also got one of the sweetest spirits of anyone I’ve ever met. Just seeing her face tonight is going to be enough to make my whole week. What gets better than a great conversation, a hot cup of coffee, and a wonderful friend?

I love days like today. The ones where everything just seems to fit right into place. Most of my days are like that, which I totally don’t deserve but am always so thankful for. This day also has added significance…ready for this? I will be back in South Carolina in THREE DAYS! There are SO many people getting break-neck hugs and they ALL better be ready for when I come charging out of the terminal. I love California with every beat of my heart, but you know what they say…there’s no place like home. Before these three months, I never knew how true those words were. I also never realized how much my body depends on sweet tea. Sheeesh!

Until next time, aloha. :o)

San Diego, that's where I'll go.

Adventure. That’s what I live for. And this summer has been composed of a BUNCH of adventures, both big and little ones. Yesterday afternoon, I went to San Diego with Candice to hang out with her and her family until today. I’ll come back to this next statement later, but I’m going to go ahead and say it…I want to live in San Diego. Like forreal. Mission Beach, Old Town, La Jolla. I’m in love! Well, not so much with Gaslamp. Whew, now THAT was a doozy. I honestly can’t tell you how many people we passed (out of the BAJILLION people down there) were completely drunk out of their minds. It was actually quite humorous, you know, seeing hundreds of people tripping over their own feet. I am willing to bet a lot of money that Candice and I were one of the few people down there who were not obliterated, and even MORE money that we were the only ones down there without a sip of alcohol in our bodies. Designated driver + designated co-pilot = you get to laugh at everyone acting a fool. It’s a good thing that people-watching is one of my best talents. I got a LOT of practice in last night.

We stayed at the Double Tree Hotel and I only have one thing to say about that place: wow. My favorite part? I slept on a cloud last night. Okay, not really…but holy smokes. I literally melted into the mattress. The pillows even had “Sweet Dreams” monogrammed on them, which only foreshadowed the night of sleep to come. My dreams were definitely sweet!

This morning, the first thing we did was go to La Jolla and walk on the beach. We saw like 50 sea lions. And I almost died of excitement. I love the east coast; after all, it’s home. But I will say this: I have never seen so much wildlife in my whole life than I have in these past three months. Every time I’ve gone to the beach, I’ve seen dolphins or sea lions or crabs. And California’s sea gulls are like South Carolina seagulls…except these over here on the west coast are on steroids. They could kill our sea gulls. Like swallow them whole. Not even being dramatic.

After La Jolla, we went to Mission Beach. I felt like I was in Myrtle Beach for the first time because there were a TON of people on this beach. All the other beaches I’ve been since being out here have like 7 people on them. Having to weave in and out of people makes me feel right at home, which is exactly what happened today. Thennnn we rode the Mission Beach roller coaster and another ride called "Chaos," which would have eeeeeasily made Mr. TJ Bargeron sicker than he's ever been. So. Much. Fun. Theme park junkie, at your service! Candice and I also kayaked to part of Sea World in Mission Bay. In our regular clothes. And we were soaked. But it was so worth it! Afterwards, however, I noticed that people were looking at us funny. It had been about 45 minutes since we returned the kayaks, and I had pretty much forgotten about my shorts being wet. At least that was the case until I looked down and noticed that my shorts were drying from the outside and working their way, making it look like I was a tinkle queen. HA! Whooooopsy daisy. God must have thought we needed a good laugh, because we sure got one!

We left the beach, went back to the hotel to rinse all the sand off of us and picked up our bags, and headed north. While we were on our way, seeester called me to tell me her good news…(drum roll please)…she finally got a CAR! YAY! Melanie Henderson is going to be the flyest chick in town with her 1997 black Jeep Wranger! I am so excited for her. Let’s hope that some crazy driver doesn’t total this car. Sheesh! I was also informed that the Hendersons have a new ride, as well. A brand-spankin’ new 2010 Chevrolet Suburban. YIPPEE! I can’t wait to see the new wheels when I get home on Friday. Like the Friday that is quickly approaching. In SIX DAYS! Holy smokes, I am so excited that I seriously can barely stand it! Actually, I’m kind of sad right now…my family is going to the beach tomorrow for family vacation. Without me. And P. Sawyer and B. Davis are going to Wilmington tomorrow for the same amount of time. Without me. But no worries, I’m sitting in my apartment. By myself. Thinking about how I wish I was home to go with them.

Okay, that was my momentary lapse of optimism. I promise it won’t happen again for a while. I’m hanging out with Marisa tomorrow, which actually makes me super excited! She’s been in Minnesota for a few weeks, and it will be so great to catch up with her! I’m also going to try my best to see the beautiful Hannah Kreiner tomorrow since she’s in LA with her fam for a week. It would be a TRAGEDY if we didn’t get to see each other while she’s here, so we are definitely going to make it happen!

I already have Monday mapped out, too: sleeping in, being lazy, eating lots of ice cream, watching Disney Channel, and then there’s the grand finale…a matinee movie by myself. My FAVORITE! I am actually SUPER EXCITED about this date with myself, because I’m going to see Charlie St. Cloud. YAYAYAYAYAYAY! I have been counting down the days to see it and I am SO pumped it’s finally here! The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is one of my absolute favorites, so Zac Efron better not let me down…not that he’s even capable of doing such a thing.

To end this post, I would like to point out a particular fact. Seven days from right now, I will be a GRADUATE of CLEMSON UNIVERSITY. Ummmm, WOW! I seriously cannot believe that this is real life. On Friday, I fly into GSP at 4 o’clock, get greeted and picked up by my family, Michal, and Teesh, hang out with them for a while, make my way to Clemson with Michal, Emilie Carol, and Teesh to celebrate the upcoming graduation with some of the best people on the face of the planet (who I will be tackle-hugging…so ya’ll get ready!), and then return to Greenville to have a slumber party at the Henderson household. And then there’s Saturday, which will be starting out with a swim in the Reflection Pond with P. Sawyer (so freaking pumped about this!), graduation, hanging out with all of the most important people in my life all at the SAME time (this is going to absolutely blow my mind, by the way!), and then have another sleepover with Whitney, Caitlin, and seeeester this time (oh yes!). Leaving out for Cali at 2 o’clock on Sunday afternoon is going to be super hard, but I know leaving Cali for good is going to be 23957890273756582892813947238957 times harder. I refuse to even think about that yet.

Welp, my eyes are closing…and I am SO ready to go to bed and sleep past 7 o’clock in the morning. YAY! Have a woooooonderful rest of the weekend, everyone!

P.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY A-DUB!

P.p.s. Andddddd happy last day of JULY! How in the WORLD is it already August?! Man oh man, the Steve Miller Band definitely had it right...time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future. Which is even more reason to live each day to the fullest. Go out. Explore. Dream big. Have an adventure. :o)