My Perfect Man...maybe

Hey everybody! Hope your week was great! My week was very productive, for once.  I got all of my homework done during my breaks between classes. It was such a nice feeling having everything finished before the evening. You're probably wondering about the title of this post. Well a couple weeks ago at CRU, the pastor/leader said we should think about the qualities we're looking for in our husband/wife--not so much in the sense of physical appearance, but personality and character qualities instead.  I've never really thought through what I'm looking for in a person. So, I've started honestly thinking about the person with whom I'm going to spend the rest of my life.  I've come up with a few traits so far that I think are fundamental:

1. Believes that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior and is passionately pursuing Him.
2. Has a passion, drive, and motivation towards a career/life goal(s).
3. Is assertive. Tells me I'm being stupid when I need to hear it most.
4. Understands how to show me love. Accepts that I'm not very physically affectionate.
5. Has a great sense of humor.
6. Treats women with respect, no matter who they are.
7. Is patient. It will take an EXTREMELY patient man to be with me.
8. Is romantic. I try, but I'm not very romantic.

Those are just a few traits I've thought of so far.  This may turn into a multi-post series.  Being single is great because I have time to think about what God wants for me in all areas of my life.  I'm loving how He's showing me new things about myself every day.  He's molding me and shaping me into something beautiful.

As I'm closing this post, I'm reminded of something my mom told me after my last break-up.  She said, "You may not like being touched or holding hands or hugging; but when you find the right guy, you won't mind if they do (those things)."  My parents are such a great example of what a godly marriage should be. I thank the Lord every day for giving me great parents who live out Christ in all areas of their lives.  They're the greatest role models.

At their wedding and last year. Still so in love.

Have you guys ever considered what you're looking for in your husband/wife? What is your number 1 trait? 

Have a great week!
Love you guys,

Anna

So much for consistent

Okay, so I'm not very consistent with blogging. What else is new?  I've been so busy these past few weeks with tests, meeting new people, work, and spending time with my friends.  But, it's the good kind of busy where I don't feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I have to do (at least, not yet). 

Anyways, I want to tell you guys about all the things God has been doing in my life. It's been so exciting! Recently, I've come to realize that I need some Christian friends to hold me accountable for my actions and point me in the right direction. So, two weeks ago I went to CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) with a new friend.  I've really been interested in getting involved in a college-aged ministry and this was an awesome opportunity.  Since going to CRU that night, I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and friendliness from so many girls.  Just this week, I met with four different girls and we shared our stories.  It's been so nice to open up about my faith. It feels like a rekindling of my fire for Christ and I'm so excited for it! 

In my friend group, I feel like my faith is stifled.  Maybe it's me, maybe it's the devil.  I feel like my friends might not be my friends anymore if I was on fire for Christ.  I'm afraid of sharing my faith because of what they'll think of me. I wish that the concern would go away, but it won't.  The sad truth is that my reliance on Christ is not stronger than my reliance on other people's opinions of me.  This is a weakness that I pray about constantly.  I want Christ's strength so that I can stand up to my friends and assert myself for once.  I tend to let myself not show "hurt feelings."  A little teasing jab here and there? Some vulgarity used as a joke or to tease? I just blow it off and pretend that it doesn't bother me.  I am not strong enough to stand up for myself and I want that to change. 

This week I'm praying for Christ's strength and love for me to be more than enough.  I'm praying that He'll fill me with a confidence in Him so strong that I have the strength to finally assert myself.  Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." How simple, yet so comforting.

I hope that you guys have a great week and that the Lord works through you every day!

Love,
Anna

Another Week Down!

Hey everybody!

Thought I'd get this post in before I get back to my busy school life during the week. This past week was full of exercise, hanging out with friends, homework, and work. I don't want to go into a lot of detail, but I've been having a rough time lately.  I've been feeling lonely--like I'm the only Christian in my group of friends. I'm trying to keep my conversations less crude and more edifying, but it's really difficult for me. I struggle with my desire to be funny and well-liked while maintaining decorum (not the exact word I'm looking for, but close enough). So, I'm going to write a list of goals for this week. I know, me and my lists again. They help me and maybe you guys will hold me accountable...
So here it is:

1. Keep conversations appropriate. Minimize the use of crude humor
2. Go to CRU on Tuesday night (it's okay to go to things alone, Anna)
3. Maintain a positive outlook.
4. Exercise and make healthy food choices when possible.

I'll let you know how this goes.  If praying is something you do, I'd really appreciate your prayers.
And for your viewing pleasure, I close with a picture of me and my friends, Jacob and Flannery, crammed in the back seat of our friend's car.

Our cute faces...?

Thanks for reading!
Love always,

Anna

First Week of Classes...Check!

Hey guys!

I've missed blogging this week, but I've been busy with classes and my social life (I know, can you believe it?).  Classes started on Tuesday.  So far, so good.  I'm taking 18 credit hours and working only weekends.  It seems like a nice setup so far.  I'm enrolled in 18th Century Counterpoint, French I, Criminology, Wind Symphony, Aural Perceptions III, Piano IV, Music Technology I and II,  Woodwind Quintet, and Applied Instruction.  It's going to be one busy semester!! This week, I've spent a lot of time chillin with my best pals Shannon, Beau, Emily, Flannery, and Jacob.  On Wednesday, I made my very best friend, Emily, a decoupage collage of pictures from throughout our friendship.  We've been friends since junior year of high school.  I took some pictures during the process. Here they are:

Before assembly

During assembly

Complete!

Hope you guys had a great week!! I'll keep you updated on all the super cool (right...) things that happen in my life. 

Love so very much,

Anna

Friends just make life better

This past week has been awesome!  I've gotten to hang out with my friends so much! I'm really going to miss this crazy social life by Tuesday (classes start on Tuesday).  Here's how this past week went down:

Monday--shop in Tulsa with Mom
Tuesday--get hair fixed
Wednesday--Calzone Night
Thursday--Kosmos/Orange Leaf/Puppy for Flann's birthday
Friday--Scary movie night with Em and Mary
Saturday--work and Taco Bell with Jacob

This break has been so great! It's exactly what I needed to recuperate from a rough semester and refuel for a new one.  I'm so excited for this semester!  I just need to move back into my dorm room tomorrow and buy my French I textbook and I'll be good to go! 

Here's some pics from this week's activities:

Tastefully decorated cupcakes for Flannery's birthday

Beau's MEGA calzone

Birthday girl and Dustin

Oops! Forgot to take pictures at Kosmos and for scary movie night!  We watched Insidious--fyi: scary stuff.  Demon possession creeps. me. out. 

Anything fun going on with you guys? Hope you guys had a great week too! 

Love,

Anna

New 'Do

It's finally finished!!!! I can now say that I have dyed my hair at least once!  I'm going to go step-by-step with pictures through this experience with you.  I know, thank me later. 

Step 1.  Have mom assist squeezing foul-smelling dye all over head and wrap head in saran wrap

Step 2.  Make silly faces while waiting 20 minutes for dye to do its magic

Step 3.  Rinse dye out for, like, 20 minutes and use amazing shine-creating conditioner

Step 4.  Wake up the next morning after sleeping on wet hair, screech, and then straighten hair

Step 5.  Realize you missed a million spots and frantically text stylist for appointment next day

Step 6.  Spend 2 hours in salon getting your hair re-dyed and cut

Step 7.  See what hair looks like when up in a ponytail

Step 8.  Voila! A new hairstyle!

My stylist is Kara Cornett at Freshair Salon if anyone is interested.  She's awesome! Can't wait for all my friends to see my new cut tonight!! It's calzone night at my house!  We're having a bunch of my friends over, making personalized calzones, and celebrating Flannery's 20th birthday!! I promise to take lots of pictures (like I even have to promise) and post them sometime soon. 

Anyone else have a new hairstyle?

Have a lovely day and lots of love,

Anna

One Week Later...

Okay, so maybe I won't write, "I'll tell you about it tomorrow." ever again.  Instead, I'll just say, "Update on *activity mentioned* coming soon!" Anyways, last week a lot of fun stuff happened.  On Monday, my dad, sister, foreign exchange student, and I went ice skating and to Crystal Bridges and the Walmart museum.  The ice skating in Bentonville is NOT fun.  The rink is tiny and there are too many people there.  Plus, it was frigid.  We ended the ice skating early and headed around the corner to the Walmart museum. It's at the site of the original Walton's Five & Dime.  They've done a really nice renovation and now it's super fun to walk through. If you're ever nearby, go visit! Lots of fun facts about Sam Walton and his amazing visions!  Then we went to Crystal Bridges. Words cannot describe how awesome seeing all of that American art is! I took SO many pictures!  The architecture is INCREDIBLE! The art is PHENOMENAL!! Aghhhhh!!!! So much culture! 

Crystal Bridges from the outside

A Mary Cassat original

Ana, me, and Claudia at Crystal Bridges

On Wednesday, I left at 8AM for the Cotton Bowl!  Armed with coffee and enough cookies to feed a small army (four different kinds of cookies, one batch of each kind), we headed on our 6+ hour ride to Dallas, TX.  I know I'm weird for this, but I love band bus rides!  All of my friends and I are super goofy.  One of my friends, Jacob, colored pictures while my best friend, Emily, and I wrote a diary entry channeling his thoughts.  Needless to say, Jacob almost wet himself when he read "his" diary entry.  I won't embarrass him by publishing it on the World Wide Web.  We also played a few games of MASH.  Man, that game will NEVER get old! 

Cookies for Cotton Bowl trip

The picture Jacob colored (mad skillz)

The Cotton Bowl was a BLAST! We ate at P.F. Chang's the first night. Delicious stuff!! The next day we went to the Galleria Mall and I bought a bunch of new tops, camis, a new necklace, new bras, and a new dress.  I am such a bargain hunter!! That evening we went to the Main Event, an arcade/laser tag/bowling/billiards place.  Our chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota met with some of the members of the K-state chapter.  It was nice meeting some fellow sisters!  On Friday, the Hogs became 2012 Cotton Bowl Champions!! Also, it was quite possibly my last time performing with the RMB. Sad day :(

Tuba dinner group at P.F. Chang's (from left: Dustin, Bekah, me, Emily, and Austin)

Sigma Omicron (our chapter of SAI) with some of K-State's chapter

Me, post-Cotton Bowl, with Dustin and Jacob

This past weekend I mostly caught up on my beauty sleep because we didn't get back from Dallas until 7:30AM on Saturday. However, I did do one exciting thing yesterday--dyed my hair for the very first time!!! I bought a semi-permanent dye in "Darkest Brown: Espresso." Man, do they ever mean "DARKEST."  It's almost black, guys!!  I missed a bunch of spots, but luckily my stylist is available tomorrow to do some touch up and give me a much-needed cut.  I'll post pictures of the new 'do soon! (see, I can follow my own advice)  Also, I bought two new pairs of shoes today (so I have a shopping problem this break...we'll get to that some other time).  A cobalt blue suede flat with rosette embellishments on the toe and a pair of satin leopard print flats with a zipper on the toe.  Something different and fun! And on SALE!!! 

Anything fun happen this past week for you guys?  Hope you guys watched the Cotton Bowl! 

Much love,

Anna