Its getting cold

So I woke up about a week ago to foggy windows.. sometimes this means it's just really humid, but in late September it usually means that our short fall is coming, which then means winter.. winter means snow and crap. 
This morning?  Frost. 
You guys might go "ooo, sounds like a cute thing to wake up to!" 
Yeah. No. 
See while you're all enjoying your slow decline into winter, we are preparing for the worst.. Game of Thrones "winter is coming" kind of prep.. sans zombie ice beasts and beheadings. For instance, today I was googling how to winterize my windows, what shovel I should buy and work neighbor looked over and our conversation went like this. 
Dan: Hey, Acacia, do you live somewhere that you need to shovel snow? Me: Uh... yeah, North Dakota?  Dan: Oh no, I mean your home.. like do you need to shovel out your drive?  Me: Yeah, why? Dan: Can I get the address? I'd like to know where to setup and watch the show.  Me: Ha.. funny... you suck. 
I realize that this is my "first" winter where I'm relying 100% on myself and I will not have a garage. My workplace seems to enjoy the thought of the Arizona/Washington girl doing any of her own winter-type activities. 
But in all seriousness, I was raised as a kid to always have an "essentials" pack in my vehicle or on my person when doing anything outdoors. Water, sunscreen, mag-light and a hat were basic things my dad would tell us to keep in our car.. Now that I'm living in the frozen tundra I've found a few other things that are needed. 
First Aid Kit Bottled Water -or jugs- changed out on a 2 week basis. Blanket(s) Body Warmers (they are packets of joy)  Road Side Safety Kit i.e. flares, jumpers and such.  Ice scraper and snow shovel Tire Chains Tow rope Mag Light  - this is my dad's influence.. if you need a light, its a light. If you need a weapon.. its an awesome weapon.  Kitty Litter -just go with it, traction!-  Phone Charger - I recommend a solar one too-  Extra Clothes... no explanation needed. 
Now I also keep a pillow and a thick sleeping bag in my car during trips.. if it's going to be a longer trip I will actually pull a seat down in the back before I leave, why? Oh cause last year my trunks latch got stuck and I couldn't get to anything in my trunk for almost 2 months.. this made me worried.. I like my trunk. 
I've also learned that while I am great at driving, blizzards suck and no one is good at driving in those.. if you tell me you are, I'll call you a liar. 
Make a survival kit, be safe and enjoy the fall while it lasts! 

I got a promotion!

So as a lot of you know, I work for a pretty large company. I've worked for said company for almost a year and when I started I never really imagined myself doing it for long, let alone loving it. 
So about 2 months ago I took a course that is supposed to give you more insight for going into leadership and I had already thought that it'd be a good idea for me to do it and then my manager/lead told me to do it. 
In this course I was able to speak my mind, let my colleagues know who I am and where I plan on going.. about 2 hours in I had an amazing manager walk up to me and just blatantly ask "why are you here?" and I had no answer.. I'm a level 2 employee at this point, I'm just getting a feel.. but I feel like I have things to offer. I honestly thought he was going to tell me I was too inexperienced and to leave.  I walk away for a few minutes, come back, there's 3 more managers/leads who are running courses for this program and they are talking about me. 
I had a mini-freak out inside, but sat down with my bagel and was quiet, until said manager came back up and said something that literally changed my life.
"You should look into leadership, you've been here 8 months and you're outshining those who've been here for 5+ years. Please come to me if you need any help with interview prep." 
WHOA.. this guy, whose been with this HUGE company for 12 years said that I should look into leadership? Yeah okay, and then I'll become a rockstar. *sarcasm* But when this was brought up to my manager, coaching and then to other leadership who I didn't really know -but somehow knew me- I decided to do it. 
In August I applied to be what we call a "coaching lead" which basically means I'm a step under the manager and i work solely with the people on a team. I build them up and work with them for their success. I didn't think I'd get it, my interview got all messed up and my emotions were high due to the crap going on in my personal life... 
Then September 4th I was called into an office where I was sure they'd say "Acacia, you're a great candidate, but not experienced enough.. try again next year" instead I got:
"You're passionate, you care and we could tell in your interview that you truly will go places" 
My manager and lead were not surprised, nor was Mike, but I was.. I never think I'm good enough, and here are a bunch of people saying I am. I have a lot of work to do, I have my own team for the next 6 months I have to prove myself day in and day out in order to remain a lead. I'm confident enough to say that I think this will only be another stepping block. I honestly am setting a goal to make it as far as I can and to maybe transfer away from NoDak. 
So there you have it, a wonderful story on getting a promotion in just 10 months of work with a huge company. Now comes the fun of being in charge of people who've been there for 3-4 years and might look at me like I'm a doofus.   
PS: I should add that I totally love my job and my new position. ALSO! Mike works for said company as well and got a new promotion too, to say we're doing well is an understatement and this has been a huge blessing in our life together. 

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 26!

So I recently turned 26.. I had this list of 26 things I wanted to do before I turned 26, but not all of it got done. The past 8/9 months have taught me a lot about myself, others and my inability to stop drinking coffee.. I have a serious problem. 
So my birthday was pretty fantastic, I was surrounded by friends who are like family and my fantastic boyfriend who went above and beyond to make me feel special. He brought me flowers at work and my dearest BFF Tresa said "awwwwww" super loud, I was a little embarrassed in a cute way. Mike loved it. 

Also I got this fantastic egg filled with wonderful things from my coworker Amy, and the story behind this is.. I give eggs filled with random things I find in the office to my managers so Amy got me one and to her it was "the best 45 minutes ever!" 

After work my wonderful group of friends went to Sakura in Grand Forks and celebrated. I love that my friends all took turns to take sake to the mouth, can we say num nuns? The chef was super funny too and I got sushi which was delicious.  
Below is a bunch of pictures for you to enjoy and possibly giggle at. Yes I am wearing a dragon hat, I did want to steal it and I did walk around the restaurant with it on. 

The only "decent" picture of us, haha.. I'm a terrible person for making so many faces.

Meet my BFF Tresa, this is a totally normal face, we both make similar faces. 

Also I want to give a shout out to my friend Laura who drew me this beautiful picture of Brutus. Honestly, this is was one of the most amazing gifts I've ever received she made me tear up! 

Aside from all of the fun I had with my friends, I was also surprised with a new MacBook Air from my amazing beau Mike.. I think this is going to be a good year, a blessed year and I'm lucky that i have such an amazing group of friends and boyfriend to spend it with. 

Hello, hello!

So I haven't really written anything since May and it's been quite an eventful few months! I don't know where exactly to start, but I definitely am in a happier place than I was back at the beginning of 2014.. actually I'm happier than I've been in pretty much 5 years! 
So I moved out of A's and moved in with a completely crazy person who was a total jerk on top of their crazy.. not a fun combo. Thankfully I managed to move out and find one of the only one bedroom apartments in Grand Forks!! That's a huge deal, B-T-Dubs.  Here's a little sneak peak:

It's a small place with enough room for me and my horde of things.. which surprisingly doesn't include a couch or table/chairs. It has been brought to my attention that my life choices have been questioned and my boss said he'd like to go into those further... AKA you're 26 and you don't own normal grown up things.. THANKS! 

Moira from McDancing Through Life gave me that picture frame/motto and I love it! 

I do have a pink bathroom which is what kind of sold me on this place, well that and the price. Basically when I was a kid my Great Grandma Dee had this love affair with pink.. no joke, she had strawberry pink carpet -that my sister pooped on once- and white whicker furniture.. Also.. I had a pink bathroom at my dads. I literally typed that up as if I were telling you guys something embarrassing. My Stepmom loves pink and pretty much gave me all things pink.. I used to hate it, now I look back with fondness. Here's this lady, who I thought hated me, giving me things that her mom had given to her.. I'd not had a normal mother-daughter relationship and thought she was just trying to "buy me off".. but that's another story, for another time. 

So here I am.. 26, in my very first apartment by myself and I am happy. It's truly amazing how in a matter of months I went from being completely miserable to happier than I've been in ages. 

Here's to plenty more blog posts and loads of fantastic things happening! 

Testify .. kind of..

I promised to be a little more transparent on here, in general, and that's why I wanted to share this with you all.. When you go to a church, or a small group.. or meet a friend in Christ a lot of them want to know how you came to Christ, when did you go "AHA!" and then you were a Christian. 
I had many moments of "AHA!"  When did I really begin to believe, when did my heart truly change and my life became new... Was it when I laid in bed crying, begging and pleading that my mom be okay. Was it when she told me she didn't want me.. that I was a mistake and should've been aborted.. Was it when I felt Christ moving in my heart, making me stir and reclaim Him in my life... Or has it been my whole life?
I was 15 when mom was in the ICU. 15 when she first told me I should've been aborted.  15 when I felt like I really should be gone.. no one would miss me.  I was 18 when I was baptized. 23 when I really started reading the Bible. 24 when I clung to God after she reconfirmed my existence being a mistake. 25 when I wasn't able to ignore the Holy Spirit in my heart. 
I've been sitting here for almost an hour trying to finish this post.. my moment was when God made me. He set me apart from the beginning and it just took me forever to find Him... I doubted Him, I doubted His creation and love, thought myself a mistake.
I was 15 when I came to Christ, but 25 when I truly understood His love for me..  The biggest thing I want to share is that He never left me.. He never let go and never will. 

Oh Happy DAY!

Hello Lovelies!  So I know I took a bit of a weird break, I had a lot of plans for my 26 adventures -which I'm slowly working on- and just got so very side tracked with time and the lack of there being more than 24 hours, or my inability to wake up before 9.. which will be changing soon because I GOT CONVERTED! 
You're all like "what?"  Basically I've been working for an amazing company since November and the whole deal with this, and my other two jobs, was that I was really hanging by "if I get this permanently..." because it was seasonal. Now I've left my other two positions because I was given a full time position! I am so incredibly blessed to have been offered this position, but I will say that I worked my butt off. I gave it my all. So starting next week I am a permanent "blue badge" and that's a big deal. Other things that kind of went along with this?  Getting out of debt, moving out and getting a new computer.. I can happily say that I will be on my way to being debt free by the end of 2014 -aside from my car- and I will be working my butt off to get transfered to Seattle if possible -or GA, or KY.. anywhere warm-  I'm looking for an apartment for myself, something small enough to keep me, but big enough to get a puppy.. I'll still live in ND.. but I don't know how often I'd see my beast, you know.. the guy currently sitting on my leg, and before anyone says I can take him with, Bru is A's dog. Legally.  :( BUT its okay because we all love him, even if I say I love him more... I know A loves him a great deal, and those two are the best of buddies.. so how could I knowingly split that up?! I'm looking for a mini ausie because they are a good size and just as smart as my Mal.. but I wont lie.. my heart hurts whenever I think about leaving him behind.  Other than that? Well I've been seeing a very nice young man, I've made friends and that's really about it! Thank you guys for being around and giving me such beautiful advice and encouragement. I love ya! 

26 Adventures.. kinda

So I mentioned earlier about wanting to complete 26 adventures by the time I turn 26 -or more likely by 2015- but then as I sat and thought about the word "adventure" I thought about in a way that really is more like a random bucket list of things to do than adventures... But really, adventures to me, might not be an adventure to you. For me to sit here and think that with a full time job, bills and loads of responsibilities that I can just up and go on a crap ton of literal adventures is bull hunky! But trying to live life in a more purposeful way... and here is how I'd like to do that. 
1. Get out of bad debt. Seriously, you guys have no idea how many things can stack up..  no, wait... yes you can, you can all imagine this!  2. Read the Bible. I've never done that, that's a really big book.. single spaced!  3. Move away from A, this also means leaving Bru... guess whose heart is breaking, but I need to.  4. Go on a mission trip. Of all the things I could think of, this one has been on my heart the longest.. since high school, when mentioned to my parents they kinda just.. laughed.  5. Go back to AZ. I haven't been home since 2009, and I'm scared to.  6. Get my passport. I'm 25, I've never been to another country -Mexico doesn't count- and I need to fix that.  7. Unplug for one day out of the week every week of 2014.. excuse me while I attempt this, I'm bad at it.  8. Figure out my dang life.  9. Start everyday with a thankful heart. That's a challenge and I'm known for my sometimes -a lot of times- negative outlook. 10. Attempt to sincerely make friends, but also attempt to really talk to those who are my friends.. I like to ignore people. 11. Stop being selfish.  12. Stop buying so much freaking coffee. 13. Go to Canada. Manitoba-ins haven't left me with the best taste in my mouth, but I'll try.  14. Buy a new computer... preferably a Mac. 
So I have 14 things.. 14 adventures to me. Things that I honestly.. never really thought/think I can do, but I'd like to try and it'd be nice to figure out the rest of this out, but honestly this month I'll focus on reading the Bible and move from there. If you guys want to help, or think of things that would be worth while.. let me know. Honestly, I think a collaborative session is always a good time -brainstorm with those cool graph things from when we were kids! For now I'm out. I need to get away from the sound of wind and looking at all that snow! 

2013 ... oh 2013

You did nothing for me, you moved nothing in me and you were nothing extraordinary. 
I brought you in two stepping with another guy, not my (ex) boyfriend. I craved Christ more than ever, because He needed me to cling to him? I moved somewhere terrifying and gave up everything I've known for years.. for what? To be told I'm not enough.

Oregon won, that's the only good thing... but...  You had no promises for me, you never inspired me to do more.. but your end has. I want to do what scares me. I want Christ more. I want to move more and not just physically.  I will step into this year with an extra open heart.  I will be doing 26 things that are new, 26 adventures. I will be preparing my heart for someone who truly deserves me.  I will write more, journal and live.  I will love. I will make decisions about my future and make peace with my past. I will walk further in my forgiveness of others and myself. I will eat healthier, but I will still eat bacon.  I will take more pictures.. of myself and my life.. I will try.  2014 ... YOU WILL BE MY YEAR!!!!

 I am looking forward to this and I hope you will all join me on this adventure.

Also, a special shout out to those who have gone above and beyond in my life. YOU are the biggest reason I have been successful and will continue to be. Thank you, thank you, thank YOU!