a photo post.

so, it is christmas eve eve, and it's strange. it doesn't feel much like christmas, but I am still excited to spend the next week with my family and friends. But here is what has been going on in my life the past couple of weeks, brought to you by my iphone.

The sprint center game with my dad!, pullen-less. but still fun.

flowers at work! aren't they so pretty? so great, my friends are the best. i really am incredibly blessed.

stuff i made for a convention at work. success!

this is cale, he is holding boxers that say "Butt Quack". we picked them out for Ryan at the gift exchange at work. ryan had to leave early, so we were in charge of getting his present-he was a little dissapointed. most everyone else got beer.

cookie decorating in lawrence with katie and whit- it was so fun!

so that is what i have been up to, keeping pretty busy! i love my job, my roommate, and my life right now. I am focusing on the good in it, and know that when the time is right, God will send me on the next journey- to who knows where!

enjoy your holiday!

life lessons?

to sum up my thanksgiving break, please refer to the october 19th post.

and also to say that "it is better to have 3 good friends, who know you, understand you, and get you, rather then a bunch of friends who don't know everything going on in your life."

the end.

this one's for the boys.

so this was quite the week for me. and i have been thinking about writing this blog post for a while, and i am just getting around to it.

and to my girl friends- i love you and you are great but this post is not about you.

I guess I will start off this post with a glimpse into the life of tricia as a middle schooler. I longed for guy friends- i wanted to be friends with guys, not so i could date them but so i could just get to be around them. coming from a family with all girls, i never got to experience guys, and i wanted to in the worst way. You can ask my friends in high school- i always talked about having guys to hang out with, and they just called me boy crazy.

i love my guy friends. and i have realized this past couple of weeks how blessed i am to have them in my life. reasons why being friends with guys is so great.

• they listen (well i think they only actually listen half the time, but you can ramble on for a while i still feel like they care)

• they don't pick sides- if you are being crazy, they tell you. and they also tell you that you are not being crazy and are totally justified in what you are thinking.

• they convince you to do crazy things like drive to manhattan on a week night to see a football game.

• they look after you when you go out and will protect you from drunk sketch guys

• they let you cry* and don't ask question and just hug you when that is just what you need.

• they are so encouraging when you are being a girl and doubting that you are pretty/smart/ ever going to find someone to marry.

• they will sit and watch football all day. and the last saturday i was in manhattan, i realized how much i miss that.

• they also can provide you with hilarious views on things.

i guess, in summary i just want to say that i have had some of the best times when it is just me and the boys. so thank you for always treating me like a princess, always listening to my ridiculous life, and encouraging me when i need it the most. and i can't imagine my life without you- so future husband, you better be okay with hanging out with me and a bunch of other great guys.

fo real.

*not all boys have this capability...so if you find a guy friend that lets you cry. keep him around.

its like, you can never plan your life.

ok,

i have learned my lesson. i'll stop.

i had plans last year, graduate, get a job in this fun, new, exciting place, and start this new life, and be so not the person anyone expected me to be. take a leap of faith and just go somewhere not knowing anyone and go on this adventure. and those plans, nope. that did not happen.

i got a job in the one place i wasn't looking, i moved in with someone i knew, and in a city i grew up in. and i had all these new plans, to have a new sort of adventure... and then, just as i was starting to adjust its like,

woah, don't even think about it. ya know?

i know that life is always changing, and you are always going through times, good/bad/rough/exciting/new/same/etc... but sometimes, don't you ever think--life isn't fair. just flat out, isn't fair, not what you deserve, not what you expected, etc etc etc. but i am certain God put me right where i NEED to be, surrounded by the people who I need to be surrounded by. i have always felt so so so blessed by the friendships i have, and i am continued to be amazed by the support, love and loyalty of my friends. and I know that in these times when my plans are like way off then God's, he is just saying, dude(ette), let it go, i know what is best for you, and even if it hurts or is hard or is challenging or is not what you expected, I'm here, watching over you. Find peace, find assurance in that.

and this time, I am, and I hope that next time you are faced with some silly situation, or things don't work out perfectly, you just stop and think, maybe the plans i was making, wouldn't have worked out. and i still plan on having that new adventure, it will just happen, without my plans.

and the bible verse my dad made me memorize a couple years ago to get my christmas presents tells me just that, looks like it got me more then just christmas presents. it gives me hope and a future.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

adventure.

so this whole year, i have been saying that i want an adventure for when i graduate. go somewhere, somewhere fun, exciting, full of unknowns and new people. but what i am slowly learning is that God has had me on an adventure this whole year.

i have lived with incredible girls, and gone through crazy times. fun times, where we laugh and dance, and horrible times where we cry and are mad. i have been on an emotional roller coaster the past couple of weeks because i don't know how to deal with all this chance, especially because i don't have change yet. i don't have a job, i don't have school, i just have me. and that is an adventure. I need to slow down, listen to God and figure out what he is telling me. and my idea of going somewhere new and crazy is looking more and more like it won't happen. but i'm okay with that.

i wanted so bad to do something that no one expected, move somewhere where i had this awesome job and start this new life. but do i want a new life? new friends? if there has been one thing God has consistently given me throughout my life, its good friends. Why would I run from that? Why would I just say, Oh thanks God, but i can find good friends in another city....no. i love my friends, i would be SO sad without them. and they are mostly living in Kansas City. so its looking more and more like that could be an adventure.

living in KC, not in southern joco. because i would rather live in a box then move back to southern joco...thats been my whole life. give me a cute little old apartment with character in downtown KC. give me my own space there. let me have an adventure. that way i can experience this adventure with my friends. people i love. people i am comfortable with. we can have an adventure together.

and maybe God has something great planned for me in KC. i'll just have to wait and see i guess. In his time he will tell me. i just hope it is soon. because it has been summer officially for like one day. and i got bored...maybe someone* is rubbing off on me.

*this someone gets restless and bored very easily, which is one of the things i like most about him.

there went college.

so its my last friday of my college career. and i have not had class on fridays all year. yet i am sitting in the library, surrounded by finance notes and getting more and more upset at them. because i don't like them, i don't think like them, and its making me mad.

i am about to have a break down in the middle of hale for the following reasons.

• i don't get finance, and if i don't get it, i will have to retake it and prolong graduation.

• people are leaving me. going to bigger and better things, kamp, africa, life etc.

• the thing i have been talking about all year, graduation, is next week. WHAT? its finally here and I am still lost.

• not only am i lost, but i am just now realizing i am also out of money.

its just a weird time. i don't know how to explain my feelings. i am so happy for my friend and their summer plans, but im still sad that i won't see them for months. maybe i will just live in my car and go visit them.

i guess i am going out in style here in Hale.

but i have loved college, and i don't think it has fully hit me how much i am going to miss it.

cheers to good friends.

things i am learning.

• its getting closer and closer to may, which means graduation, and i still am not sure what i want to do with my life...which is going to kick me in the butt.

• its getting closer and closer to may yet it is still SO COLD outside. and i am sick of it. and it puts me in a bad mood.

• i have had a mild case of senioritis for about 3 years and now it is getting bad. i don't know if i will try to cure it...nope i won't. which will probably contribute to me being kicked in the butt like number 1.

• senior year is all about memories. I don't care if i spend all my money or spend all my time on facebook- it is all about the people you spend your time with..right? when else can you just drive to oklahoma to see kstate play on a saturday, and spend the whole day in a car with three of your favorite guys in the world. when you work, you just can't do that.

• it really is all about the people in your life. and i have great people in my life. i love my friends, i really do. If God has blessed me in one part of my life consistently, it is with great friends. high school friends, super. and college friends, great. they are there for you when you want to cry, or have a dance party, or a venting session.

• sororities are good things. if you ever want a group of girls on your side of an issue, they will be. you don't even have to ask. they will just be on your side and make you feel like you are the best person in the world.

• the only thing i know about where i want to be after i graduate is not in kansas. so come visit where ever i end up.

ok bloggers. thanks for reading and learning.

where i have been.

break is almost over. and i have been so many places.

like to memphis, miami, nassau and back to kc with my lovely kappas. it was so fun, i would recommend everyone go on a trip to some place with a big group of your friends. girls, i would say do it with only girls. leave those stinky boys behind.

then i was in kc for christmas and got to hang out with my great family. and that was superb.

then i came to manhattan for new years and enjoyed bringing in the new year with my friends.

then i went on a road trip. which was a blast. on this road trip to colorado, we had many new experiences and adventures. which included:

• driving through the snow for brian to get to manhattan

• traveling through kansas in 0 degree weather with a car packed full of blankets and a shovel* incase we got trapped

• staying in st. francis with mckenzie.

• traveling through three states to get to dinner with mckenzie.

• riding in a plane with mckenzie as our pilot

• traveling to colorado to get to see lebron.

• going on an adventure to find a candy shop. which we succeeded at..thanks to me

• driving back to kansas while listening to the kstate game on the radio. like old times.

• eating at a great restaurant to end the trip.

going on road trips is one of the best things i think. you get to know people so well and come up with so many great memories.

*the shovel was in my car, and i had no clue it was there ..until i was unpacking it and saw it. and asked brian...why did you bring a shovel?? in case we got stuck? hahaha. always be prepared.

and on saturday i will be going down to oklahoma city with a whole new group of people to watch beasley.

i love my life.

but not school

enjoy the last days of break.

eleven.

i had a great weekend. i have great friends. this is why.

1. many of them stayed in town on friday night and went out to dinner for my birthday, i really appreciated this.

2. they supplied me with lots of water/bread during the night and made sure i didn't make a fool of myself. which (i don't think) i did. so thank you greatly.

3. they made me a way cool shot book that is so fun and i will love it forever. and they put quotes in it.

4. they came to the royals game with me. and it was cold. but so fun.

5. they are just so great.

i had a great birthday, and Easter weekend. I have great friends and family, and love them all. so thank you so much-and see you at the bars.

haha just kidding-really.

i just had to put it cause its legal now.