O Praise Him!

It's been a long, busy, kinda stressful week and a half since I last blogged. I've been applying for jobs, applying for internships, going into places and talking to them, going to class, figuring out money stuff, getting settled into the apartment, and trying to have a schedule for my life haha. But praise Him cuz I have an internship!! I'm officially working for Club Wellness in Poway, CA. I'm a wellness/nutrition coach so I help people get healthier and in better shape. I'm so excited for this. The company is one that promotes Herbalife products and we sell them to our customers to help them get results. It's a part-time job with no set salary, haha, so I basically gotta work if I want money. But that's why I'm considering it my internship :) And they already filled out all the paperwork for it so I'm set! Now I'm gonna keep looking around for a job that'll actually pay me an hourly wage so I can have a paycheck coming in. Not such a terrible thing to want, right? Just some extra money coming in to help pay for gas so I can use what I already have for rent. Anyways...yup!! And I love my apartment. There are very few dull moments. There's always someone that's hyper or weird or going crazy...it's awesome.

Well, I'm off to celebrate my birthday. Hahaha...by filling out job applications until I decide to get ready for dinner. Ciao!

And that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

I FEel Good

I missed my puppy

Da-nana-nana-nana...i knew that i would!! it's been a great weekend. i've missed my family oh so much and this weekend has just reminded me of how much i love them and how loved i am. it's been an exciting and eventful weekend so far. we went down to tucson yesterday and spent the day with candace, luke, and titus who is totally adorable and entertaining! it was so much fun! he just walks around and babbles, loves to be tickled, loves to read and watch "how to train your dragon". it's fun now cuz you can have conversations with him and he'll respond either by babbling, saying "yes" or even shaking or nodding his head depending on how he's feeling at the time. such a sweetheart.

i can't believe that i'm going back to school in less than two days. summer has flown by and the time i'm spending with my family hasn't been enough. but i guess it's always better to want more time with your family than to dread any time you have to spend with them...something that makes me different from quite a few people i know. i never had a rebellious stage. the most rebellious i got was when i was about to leave for college and i mouthed off to my mom...i then proceeded to be grounded for two weeks haha. now that's embarrassing. being grounded at the age 17 hahaha. oh well...as you can see it really didn't affect my relationship with my parents haha.

ok, so there must be something about going back to san diego that my car doesn't like. this is the third time that something's been wrong with the car just a day or two before i have to drive back. the first time my battery kept dying. the second time my dad ran over a nail and i had to run around town looking for a tire that's the right size for my car for hours the day before driving back to school. and now i have a flat tire and i'm hoping that all i'll need is it to get patched. so, i have an appointment at 8 in the morning tomorrow and if it can't get fixed then i have all day to get a new tire hahaha.

i learned how to change the oil and transmission fluid in a car today!! so that's a good thing that happened today, even in spite of some of the not-so-enjoyable or fun things that happened. poor daddy...he had to do so much stuff on his day off. and all he wanted to do was relax! but instead he got to spend a few hours with me in the garage, trying to figure out how to unscrew bolts from the oil pan, or how to unscrew the oil filter in my car haha...apparently the japanese didn't think to make spaces bigger so that people of normal size could fit their hands in between and fix their own cars...so funny. so i now know how to jump start a car, how to change a tire, and how to change my own oil! and most other fluids in the car haha...i'm getting to be so handy! :) and i even have my own jumper cables and a quart of oil in my car! thanks daddy for being awesome and giving me things that you know i'll need cuz of past experiences :) he's so amazing.

Momma <3

well, i'm off...i'm gonna spend time with my familia instead of typing away on a computer. that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin! :) nighty night!!!

Dog Days Are Over

 I spent my morning listening to Florence + The Machine while getting ready for the day today...it was wonderful. I really do love her music! It's so unique and upbeat but mellow but powerful all at the same time! it really is something else...

well, my last day with the kiddos is almost over. Becca, the boys' mom, will be home in a little over an hour and then they're going to "meet the teacher" night at school. so i'll be here, waiting impatiently for the girls to get here. and then we'll have dinner, eat some birthday cake, and go for a night swim later on. i can't wait! so my day was spent building a fort with a giant parachute, playing wii mario kart and losing miserably, except for one time!!, and eating jelly beans and trail mix while watching "good luck charlie!" on the disney channel. it's been a lot of fun so far :) and just for the record, the only reason why i wasn't doing very well in mario kart was cuz i'm not used to steering with the wii-mote. if i had the little controller with the joystick then i'd do great! i'm just better with my thumb i guess haha.

now that the summer is over, i'm sad. and still stressing cuz i haven't heard back from ANYONE about internships!!! oy vey...i'm gonna call the YMCA tmw if they don't respond by then, cuz i'd love to work there. if i don't get it, then i'll just have to look elsewhere. and i know i'll find something, it's just frightening to think that i'll be in school in less than a week and i still don't have anything. geez louise!

and i FINALLY finally FINALLY got some pictures of the boys to share with you guys!! they're such hams...so ridiculous sometimes haha.

Hahaha, Tyler posing as the tough guy
 he so often tries to be

Grady being...well, Grady! hahaha

And the boys together!!! They're a fun bunch :)

Becca and Matt :)

The kiddos after a mud run a couple months ago

Well folks, that's been my life this summer with this wonderful, crazy, awesome, happy, ridiculous, memorable, fun-loving, accepting, and giving family :) And that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

This Is It

I only have 2 days with the boys and then I'm headed back to Phoenix. That's so crazy to think that the summer's gone by as fast as it did! In some ways it feels like it's been a really long time (not in a bad way), but at the same time, it doesn't feel like I've been here for 10 weeks. It's gonna be a bittersweet moment when I have to leave. I don't think about it too much cuz I know if I do then I won't enjoy the time I have with the boys. And after today, I'm looking forward to the next 2 days! These boys crack me up :) I often forget how funny and entertaining they can be when the girls are around cuz there's more drama going on, and a lot of the time I'm more concerned with Becca and whether she's doing ok. It's kinda sad now that I think about it. But today was fun cuz Becca and the boys took me to this place called Sam Moon. It's this giant warehouse that sells jewelry, luggage, wallets, purses, hats...fun stuff! So Becca told me before we got there that I'd need to pick something for my birthday. And basically implied that I have no choice in the matter. She knows me all too well :) so we walked in and I was instantly overwhelmed. The walls were filled with jewelry and bags, the floor space was taken up with more bags and jewelry...I had no idea that there could be so many types of necklaces, earrings, purses, and wallets in one place! So I wandered around a bit and started looking at the necklaces thinking that that'd be a good gift. I was actually looking for something that would resemble a locket, but when I didn't find anything, Becca asked if I needed a new bag. When I explained to her the condition mine was in, she laughed, and started looking around for something that she thought I might like. My bag, you see, is wonderful. It's green, it's comfortable to take places, it's plenty big for lots of stuff, and I've had it for quite some time so it's become a part of me. But it's ripping. Pretty much everywhere. i've tried sewing it up in some spots, but the thread has started to rip hahaha. So I decided a bag was a good idea.

But that meant that I'd have to look through all the bags that the warehouse had and pick one I liked! And if you know me, then you know that I don't want them to spend a lot of money on me. So if I saw a bag I kinda liked, I'd glance at the price and go "heck no" and walk away from it without a second thought haha. I finally narrowed it down to two bags, thanks to Becca's keen eye and having read my expressions to other ones she'd shown me earlier, but had problems decided. So i had Grady, the 8 year old boy, help me out. He gave me his opinion, and then we compared the colors of the bags, which one had more pockets, the strap comfort, the smoothness of the leather, and the price of the bag. The deciding factor in this bag for me, since they were both very similar, was definitely the strap. The one I ended up choosing feels much smoother on my shoulder than the other one did. And Grady proceeded to model the bag for me hahaha. So I'm happy with my choice :) plus, it smells really good!!

Still haven't heard back from YMCA about what I can do. I'm getting a little impatient at this point cuz I won't know what to do if it's a not. Oy vey...I should go for a run and cool off haha.

That's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Maybe This Time

No boys today. I guess their dad decided to keep them until the original date haha. They get back tomorrow, but i still won't have them to myself cuz Becca's not working. So my week is easier than I thought it would be! hahaha, awesome. So now I'm basically trying to figure out where to run in the morning...I've just started following this half marathon training schedule, and tomorrow i'm supposed to run 3 miles. Now, that's not hard for me to do, but I'm terrible at judging distances so I'm gonna have to google map everything to figure out where I should go hahaha. Oy vey...not that big of a deal though. I'll figure it out :) besides, i'm not even 100% sure if i am gonna do the half marathon. i have til october 1st to register before the price goes up, so we'll see how things are going at that point i guess.

So, exciting news!! I just got an email from the YMCA that there's a paid position available in the kid's fitness department. However, they also offer internships and they still have openings left! and Lisa, the gal who emailed me, asked which I would prefer...now that's a tough choice cuz I need both. making money is always nice, especially since i'll need to pay rent and buy food and pay for gas and stuff. but the internship is something i need for this semester so i can graduate. so i did what made sense. i asked lisa if it would be possible to have the paid position, but still have them fill out the paperwork and stuff, cuz it'd be kinda like an internship. and if that's not possible, then i guess having an internship is more important at this point. i can go a few months without a job, but not without an internship...ayayay. so, if you wouldn't mind praying for a miracle and for me to be able to have a paid internship, that'd be great! thanks a lot :) maybe this time it'll work out!!

well, not very much exciting news in my life. although, skype is becoming one of my favorite things at this point, cuz i've been able to talk to my sister and nephew, sean, and bethany all within the past couple days!! i guess it helps that i haven't had kids around too :)

and that's life through the eyes of a hopeful banana munchkin.

With a little help from my friends...

...and wonderful family members, I was able to figure out what I could do that would bring me joy in life!! I love fitness, which is why I decided to study Kinesiology and be a personal trainer. But the more time I spend at the gym, the more I realize that working with adults wouldn't be fulfilling enough. It would be fun, I'm sure, and I'm pretty certain I'd be good at it since I know how to interact with adults, but while talking to my Daddy on the phone last night, I realized that a lot of people who use a personal trainer feel like they NEED to be in good shape. They're often not motivated even, or they don't enjoy, but they do it because they know they should and cuz they're paying for it. With kids it's very different. You make it fun and different, and they'll actually WANT to be active and join sports camps or go play outside more often. And even though babysitting/nannying kids tires me out, that's mostly cuz I'm stuck in the same house as them and here in Texas they don't go outside cuz it's so hot. But if I were to be a coach or a team member at a kid's recreation center, like the YMCA or something like that, then it'd be fun! There'd be a lot of kids interacting, I'd make them run around and get all their energy out, and I wouldn't have to be with them from the tim I wake up until the time I go to bed. So, I've been looking at various kid gyms/fitness clubs/rec centers in the San Diego area to see where I can work and what my options are and what not. Any suggestions you guys might have would help a lot :) I still need to find an internship AND and job. So, yeah...

And I also was motivated yesterday. To run. A half marathon. Oh my goodness. What am I thinking? I'm actually excited about it! I've run a 10k before, and that's a little less than half of the half marathon haha. So I looked online for a half marathon training schedule, and found one that has you start 12 weeks before the race. Which is perfect cuz the race is 12 weeks from today!! And the very first run is schedule on tuesday and it's 3 miles. Which isn't bad cuz I usually run 3 miles on an every day/every other day basis. And tmw I just have a stretch+strengthen workout that I need to do. No problem!! So, yeah...I'm pretty excited about this. I think I know I can do it cuz my sister did it, and she has knee problems. Also, my nanny parents are both running a half in November, and the dad, Matt, has never run more than a mile in his life...which was on Thursday haha. So if he can do it, then I can do it! And at this point, my goal is to finish in under 3 hours. I think I can do that :)

Well folks, I need to finish getting ready for church. Matt and Becca stayed the night at a hotel last night cuz they just wanted to get out of the house and take advantage of the kids being gone...I think haha. I don't really know why exactly they decided to go to a hotel since they just went on vacation a few weeks ago. Oh well...

And that, my dear readers, is life through the eyes of a banana munchkin. Happy Sunday!! :)

Enjoy it!

That's what I tell myself on a daily basis, no matter what's going on. Sometimes it's easier said than done, but really, it's not all that hard to do either. Just fake it til it happens hahaha. Turns out that being a nanny when there are no kids around is kinda boring. It was nice cuz I was able to sleep in, and it has it's perks I'm sure. But when the past 10 weeks of my life have been revolving around 5 kids and keeping them in line and making breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner for them, having a day to myself is just weird. And boring. But it was relaxing, too. I just can't do all that much around the house and I don't know people in the area my age that I could hang out with. I do have the gym and the pool that I can go to, and there's always the library so I know I'll have plenty to read, but I'm not a fan of being an introvert. I prefer being around people. Even if I'm just in the same room or area as a few other people, I feel so much better. I don't even have to be talking to them. There's just something about being in the presence of others that I enjoy. Maybe that's why I enjoy airports so much. Hmmm...

Well, today was a good day. Very relaxing actually...who knew running 6 miles at the gym, working out hard, and laying out in the sun by the pool could make a person feel so good? Well, I guess listening to Fantasmic! for the first 25 minutes of my run helped haha. Not to mention most of the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack too. Who knew that instrumental music could actually be fun to run to??!! Not me! :) I have no clue what's in store for me tmw though...guess I'll just have to wait and find out! But I'm actually really excited cuz I get to go home in a week!! Actually, this time in one week, I'll most likely be eating dinner with my family :) that'll be a good day. Until then, I'll enjoy my time here and the fact that I'm a member at a gym and I didn't even have to pay for it hahaha.

And that, friends, is life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

To The Sea

okay, so it wasn't the sea that we went to. it was a lake. but it was still a lot of fun!! i was pleasantly surprised actually. the morning started out with me and Sarah going to the gym for a spin class which was an hour and a half long. and if you don't know, spin class can be super tough but super easy depending on how much resistance you add and stuff. but if you know me, then you know that i like to make things super hard and i like to be better than everyone, so i pushed myself to the limit! i was definitely shaking by the end hahaha. and then we went to the lake today and went jet-skiing and tubing which was soooo fun!! and that gave me an arm workout haha. i was stoked cuz they actually let me drive the jet-ski!! it was fun  :) i dragged the two girls on the tube behind me and they had fun until we hit a huge wave and they both skidded across the water. needless to say, they were pretty much done after that haha. luckily that was about 5 hours into our lake trip, so just a half hour or so before we actually skidaddled out of there. but yeah, being dragged on a tube with a 12 year old by a man who gets pure joy out of seeing people fly through the air and lose their bathing suits was quite the experience hahaha. out of the 3 times that i fell into the water, no i take that back, out of the 3 times that i FLEW INTO the water, my bathing suit bottoms almost fell off every time. one time they went all the way down to my shins and i was so thankful to God that the lake water was murky at that point hahaha. but yeah. definitely an arm workout haha. it was practically a competition between us (me and Sarah) and Matt. we tried our best to stay on and he tried his best to flip us into the water.

so, this week was amazing. like i mentioned before, i realized that i have to believe in myself and just let God do his work. and it's definitely had an influence on my life this week. i can feel it :) and it feels awesome!! and that's not a word that even comes close to describing how it feels. so, i'm just excited to see how God can keep shaping and molding my life. and i'm grateful for all the people in my life who are there to remind me of all those things all the time :)

and that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.

Don't Stop Believin'

Today was a good and busy day. I had all 5 kids all to myself cuz Matt went out of town for a meeting and Becca had work, as usual. Thankfully the kids were in good moods and I didn't have to solve any arguments or figure out why certain kids were crying or complaining or whining. It was good. Even Becca wasn't a huge pain in my neck. Of course, I had a blanket over my shoulders and was walking in small circles for about 2 hours, but it was fine. It helped that we were watching a movie so it kinda distracted me and made time go by faster.

I also had a really good conversation on the phone last night. I had somewhat of a breakdown when I went to bed and couldn't fall asleep for at least a couple of hours. I'm very grateful that Sean called me though, cuz if he hadn't then I don't know if would've gotten any sleep at all. He always gives such good advice and helps put my mind back into perspective. Basically, I need to stop doubting and being so hard on myself and I need to be content with who I am, and by doing so, I'll naturally start improving. It's like a sub-conscious thing I guess. Anyways...I think that it was mostly because of that conversation that I was able to stay patient and optimistic today and that, in turn, just made it into a good day. So, I've learned to never stop believing in myself. Cuz nobody's perfect. I should strive to be the best I can be, but not kill myself when I mess up.

And that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.



"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
              ~Romans 15:13

We Are Loved

Today was better. I woke up feeling exhausted and slept for a bit longer. I went downstairs and ate breakfast, read my Bible and dozed off for a while. Then one of the girls came downstairs and started playing on her Nook and I ended up dozing off again for a little while longer. I was just exhausted!! And as much as I originally didn't want to, I ended up going with Becca and the 5 kids to a water park, Hawaiian Falls, just 20 minutes away. After getting there I didn't do much, just sat around and waited for my sunblock to sink in before getting wet and I eventually went on some slides and after that, I ended up spending about 4 or 5 hours out in the sun, in the water. We went on huge water slides, little water slides, but I think the majority of my time was spent in the wave pool. When the waves were on I felt so relaxed and peaceful, and it made me miss the ocean...even though sometimes I get freaked out by the waves in the ocean cuz they're so freaking huge! It was nice.

And all throughout the day I was reminded of how loved I am, and how all of us are actually. I have a parents and siblings who support me in everything I do. I have a fun job with kids and parents that adore me and want me to come back every summer until the oldest goes off to college practically haha. I have friends who will answer my phone calls, answer my facebook messages and emails in which I complain or vent and just pour my heart out into, and I have a boyfriend with a family who has claimed me as one of their own. I realized today that it's so easy for me to get caught up in my sad and lonely or angry feelings, even though they don't come that often, and I tend to act out on those or make it very obvious to my loved ones how I'm feeling. But I also realized that I don't notice all the good things in my life often enough, I don't thank God for everything he has given me. I worry and stress about things that are coming my way and that I have little to no control over. I let the stress and worries of this worldly life get to me far too easily than I should, and I don't enjoy the little moments in life. And the thing that struck this realization in me was Isaiah 43:2-3. God will always be with me. He'll always provide for me. And I don't have to do anything in return except for accept His gifts to me and live the way he commands us to live.

We are loved. It's as simple as that.
And that's life through the eyes of a banana munchkin.