Lately...

I don't even know when the last time I posted was so I am going to do a quick rundown of the things that have been going on lately. Hopefully I won't leave anything out or repeat any...but if I do...sorry! You love me anyway! :)

*Work started and I LOVE working with the blind

* Shaun quit his weekend job so we officially have weekends free!!!

* We are in the next phase of the lawsuit with Kaiser...the never ending phase is among us
* Went camping at Turlock lake with Shaun

* Went to my FIRST official concert!

* Got a rose covered bed! :)

* Drove down to surprise Shaun on his birthday--August 11th

* Got a HUGE freakn dent in my car! LOVELY

* officially planned my Idaho roadtrip with Shaun

* Celebrated Dad's birthday with the ENTIRE family

* Went to Marine World with Shaun and the Venturini clan

* Officially lost 50 pounds...

**Summer is coming to a close and I am really sad about it. My entire life I have HATED summer...and now I am loving it! This has totally been a summer to remember and I know that no matter what happens, I will always remember it! I hope you enjoy some of these pictures! Summer 2010 was an amazing experience! :) Now onto my birthday and trying to calm the boyfriend before he meets the whole Nelson clan!!!

Work...

This past Wednesday I started my first post college full time job! I guess it is about time that I make the transition to this so called "adult life". I am very happy to report the transition has been a blast and I am in LOVE with my job...except the alarm going off each morning at 6am...I still have not mastered how to not hit the snooze twice on it but hopefully with time, I will get better! The best part about my job is the amazing little children I get to work with. They are some of the most loving, funniest, happiest, and care free children I have ever had the opportunity to be around and they make waking up each morning totally worth it. I work in a SH classroom with 3rd-5th graders who make me a better person each day and who always make me forget about my trials and bad days. The one little boy I work most with is a little blind boy. I was so excited when I found out he was seeing impaired because it brought me back to my roots--my childhood of being able to be with Stephanie each day from Kindergarten forward. I love being able to rely back on my previous knowledge of things such as braille, cane mobility, and games which help them to adapt to life better. The sayings this little boy comes up with make me smile from ear to ear! He has a love for new things--especially new shoes. Each time he meets someone, he asks the name and what they have on their feet. Once they respond "shoes" he asks, "are your shoes new or old"...before I have the chance to warn them to say new, half the people say, "oh these are pretty old" and he gets so frustrated! It is the funniest thing to watch because he grunts and then goes, "well I am going to go buy you new shoes because you have BEAUTIFUL feet and they need new shoes". If you happen to say your shoes are new, he does a little happy dance! So I call him happy feet! I am his special helper and I love it because of the things he tells me. Yesterday he kept saying, "Miss Stephanie you are beautiful, you are so gorgeous and precious to me"...keep in mind, he is blind! I love getting compliments from a blind little boy! The students in the classroom are full of so much energy. Each day when I walk out to my car to go home, I have a new sense of life and enjoyment for the things I have in my life. The moral of this story is be grateful for what you have--don't make an issue out of a non issue and look on the bright side of life. Most of the students I work with will not live a full life but that does not effect them. Some of them will never be able to live on their own, but they don't mind it. If they can be so happy all day then why can't I? Why do I get frustrated with things in my life instead of looking for the better? I know working at this school is going to make me such a better person and I look forward to the days, weeks, months, and years ahead I have of working with special needs kids. They truly do bring out the best in me and I love it! I am excited for Monday to roll around as I walk into the classroom with my Starbucks to awaiting children who are so eager to learn...not to mention the hugs that await when you walk in the door are pretty amazing! :)

ton of bricks...

This past Monday I was able to go camping with Shaun up at Half Moon Bay. When we got there Shaun was in front (we took different cars because I was leaving the next morning and he was going to stay and camp in Santa Cruz) and apparently the park ranger guy told him they were booked and we couldn't stay there. However, they did have walk in campsites so he told Shaun if he parked his car outside the camp area and walked in with his tent he could give him one of those sites. So away we went to park his truck and put all the gear into my car. I ended up paying for a day use pass and Shaun walked through with just his tent and backpack. We met up inside the camp area and set up camp. We had the PERFECT spot...maybe 30 feet from the beach and just really quiet! When the sun set I started to get all nervous because I was told I had to leave then but Shaun was trying to assure me I could move my car closer to our campsite and it would be fine all night for just one night. Well, we did just that and decided while we were sleeping if we heard anything (like perhaps a tow truck haha) we would wake up and move it! Luckily nothing like that happened and we were able to pack up and leave the next morning for Santa Cruz. I ended up going with Shaun to Santa Cruz for a few hours and when we were about 10 minutes away (its about an hour drive from HMB to SC) I looked down at my hand and then it hit me...hard...like a ZILLION bricks all at once...the ring was gone!!! I started bawling...I tried to call Shaun who was getting farther and farther ahead of me but his phone was off. I tried to drive as fast and straight as I could while my eyes burned and tears flowed down--and not to mention the marine layer was horrible and you could hardly see at certain points. Keep in mind this was not ANY ring...it's my dads wedding ring. How could I have lost it? I ALWAYS feel when it falls off. I was crushed. The one thing I still had of dads was now gone. How could I ever tell my mom that it was gone...let alone go on knowing that I had been careless and lost his ring? When we arrived in Santa Cruz I got outta the car and Shaun instantly knew something was wrong. When I finally got out the words of what happened he opened my trunk and started going through my things. Bless his heart!!! :) We didn't find it in our stuff and Shaun finally looked at me and said he wanted to go back and look for it. I felt sooo guilty and didn't want to go back because I knew it would be like finding a needle in a hay stack. However, his sweet smile and generous heart won me over and before we knew it we were standing back at camp looking all around for it. I wish this story had a happy ending. I wish I could say I walked into the bathroom and there it was just sitting there waiting for me to come back. However, it wasn't there. I never did find it. I still have a horrible feeling everytime I look down at my hand and see the tan line. Something inside me says I will find it in my stuff one day but I doubt that's true. The moral of the story is--surround yourself with good people and friends so that when you go through something like this, when you feel like your world came crushing down, they are there to help you find a way out and be a shoulder to lean on. The hug I got from Shaun when we were leaving the campsite after looking for the ring was the best hug I could ever imagine. In that moment, I knew he felt my pain and understood what the ring meant to me. Perhaps I lost the ring for a reason. Maybe it was a sign that I didn't need a physical symbol to remember my dad and keep him with me. Maybe it was time for me to learn to lean on myself and my true feelings that lie within me. Whatever the reason is, I know it happened for a reason no matter how hard and how much it sucks being in this position right now. I am just glad I have a good enough friend to put his plans on hold and help me search for something that meant the world to me. If he only knew how much it meant to me--maybe he already knows it...who knows! :)