Starting New. This is a Really Jumbled Catch-Up Post...

The Dental Class a little over a week ago!

I don't even remember my last blog post. It has honestly been so long since I have posted a blog and honestly I have had internet for a while now. I live in Colorado. I have been here since the 27th of December 2011. I Go to Pima Medical Institute for Dental assisting. I only have 5 more weeks of school and externship left before I am done then I hope to buy a house. I am thinking I will eventually want to receive my schooling for dental hygiene. I am getting a bit too old for dental school... Or I guess not TECHNICALLY but yeah... I want to start my life and explore and have more adventures. It has been a while since I was truly able to have FUN in life but thats not to say that my life has not significantly improved here in Denver. I am still trying to make friends which I have not really done, but hopefully after spending a while here I will. I am a 4.0 student in school, I found a job after living here only for 4 days. My car died for good but my father flew out here to get me a new one... I think my new car could really use a new paint job! And I could really use some new clothes. Especially dresses. I don't have any to wear to Temple Sinai (a reform Jewish Temple I have been going to every week for about a month and a half now).  I hope to really strengthen that and make that part of my life for when I have children someday. I want my kids to grow up with that as part of their life and know who they are. But I also want a church to be part of their life cos all of that makes us who we are. I saw my friend Lydia like a week ago after having not seen her for like 4 years! That was awesome. Easter weekend I took Chad to Garden of the Gods. We didn't get out of the car but he finally got to see it. We should go back sometime I hope... After Chad is working a good job especially. I really want to travel BAD. Right now I'm mostly working on school though and learning Hebrew more and going to temple. After all, this is all a part of me and I enjoy it. I lost one of my best friends of 8 1/2 years about a month and a half ago as well and at first I was really upset at her about it but over time realised she had changed so much that she is just a bitch now and I honestly could care less if she is out of my life now. She isn't that girl who I was once friends with... She's just a bitch and nothing more. I hope to make more friends...
Honestly I considered starting a new blog all together but why not try to just start new on this blog? So thats what I'm doing. Oh and my joints have been in remission now since early/mid February.  My digestive track is back and forth between working and not and I have mild heart problems that I have been able to monitor... at least for the most part... The tonsilitis I had while still in Kansas and the HUGEEEE List of health problems that almost killed me (not sure if I was able to write about that or not) has finally settled down and I am doing much better. I really have a lot more on this blog to update other than a post so I reckon thats what I should do now. Oh I also read "Old Before My Time" by Hayley Okines which all of you should read cos its really good and inspiring. And I've been knitting... A LOT! So yeah. I'm gonna go update my page (maybe my photo at a later date?) and we will see... Cos yea... that picture on here is like... 3 years old and I don't look like that anymore. But Yeah... Its been ages... So hope you all haven't forgotten me! Catch ya'll later :)

-Raye

The Last Few Months

Chad's Mum dyed my hair dark & I LOVEEE IT! :)

I would like to give a major apology to everyone for having not updated my blog since January!! Seeing as it is near the end of May this is quite crazy for even me!! And of all nights I am choosing to update, it is after working two double shifts the last two days in a row and getting our asses kicked ALL DAY! Hahaha... to make this easy I am going to break this blog down into sections to describe lots of different things and hopefully it will also make my blog much easier to read! And with any luck I will figure out how to manage keeping it slightly more up to date than I have (maybe one or two posts a month at least) from now on... So where shall we begin??
COMPUTER AND TECHNOLOGY- Shortly after my last blog, my PC kicked the bucket... AGAIN! So I was out without a computer AGAIN! In April I bought my MAC after quite a few months of being without a computer so I would have a reliable one for school and so far the computer has worked brilliant! I paid for most of it outright but put about $750 on a payment plan (which I have already paid off about $80). The computer in total cost about $1,600! I have not gotten much chance to begin to use it to record my music yet though with all the working I have been doing! When my father came to visit me in the beginning of May he fixed my PC so that is working again now too... of course working for how long is questionable but yeah... I guess it technically works for now...
MY JOB- I am still working at the same place... WOO HOO!! haha just kidding, but really since Ben is managing the store now, most weeks I get hours out the ASS!! Loads of overtime... in the first few months of the year I had already made half of what I did all last year... this is GOOD NEWS!! :) My finances are not GREAT but overall I've been doing much better... making all my bills... having a little left over to spend, AND money left to save! :) But I am still paying off my computer and my credit card...
SCHOOL, COLORADO, AND THE LIKE- Well Chad had the idea that I go to school in Colorado anyway so I was going to try to... I found out I could go to University of Northern Colorado for pretty much for free (there was an issue with AIMS college getting enough in loans that I was going to)... I had the money saved up for the move etc but then the apartment I was going to rent fell through and I had trouble finding another place, so ultimately I postponed the move until December and I will be attending Butler College here instead until then... I was going to start in summer term but there was an issue with my financial aid going through in time, so instead I will just begin in August. I will be getting a degree in secondary education science (and will likely take up a specific focus in physics when in Colorado). I have given a MAJOR summary of these events as if i went into detail it would take up a LOT of time to write it all).
MY FATHERS VISIT- Well I have health coverage now... and a real mattress on my bed! That was my birthday gift from them... Aside from him fixing my computer we spent time shopping, and went to Chuckie Cheese to play games :)
CHURCH- As many have known over the last year I have had many issues with the church and have been restless with them ever since... I for a while considered becoming Catholic but have ultimately decided not to as there were many key things I was not okay with. I have recently stumbled upon the Unitarian church and have loved what I have seen so far... I feel thus far it has really helped me make my peace with God. I bought a book on the Unitarian church to read to find out more and ultimately will help me make that decision for certain!
WHAT IS TO COME- My birthday is coming up soon so I just bought myself a lot of stuff on my amazon wish-list that all went on sale! :) Exciting... Other than that I have mostly been working on long term plans... I have been trying to figure out how to save up for a down payment on a house and where I want to live... Chad has expressed interest in moving out of the USA for more freedoms etc since poker is no longer allowed online and the country is just falling apart more & more... I could make a good life back in England when I'm done so that is also a possibility... You never know... I really like the city of Leeds :) Who knows though... that's not needed to be decided for a while... Other than that just working on my life now... learning to get better at cleaning my apartment and maintaining all of that before I would ever get married, have kids, or even get another pet... But we'll see... There is a lot to come so I hope to keep you posted soon... Sorry it has been so long! Please keep reading...

RAYE

This WOULD Be My Luck!!

A lot has happened since my last post and I have not enjoyed practically any of it. So far 2011 has not been a good year for me and there is not a whole lot to look forward to anymore either. You know how I was going to move to Colorado this year? Yeah, well that fell through. Turns out they have an open admission policy but you have to apply for spots in the MLT programme and take an Accuplacer test to get in. They judge you by points and those with the highest points get in! Well I am missing two Anatomy & Physiology classes, a Chemistry class, and a Medical Terminology class in order to have the most points to make me compeditive AND I have yet to take that test & it all would have been needed to be done by 31 March to be compeditive to start in late August. Impossible for me!! So it looks like I'm stuck here for another year. I can attend Wichita State University for a year to get those classes done as well as more to transfer towards my Biochemistry degree at Colorado University. After the year here going to school FOR FREE and recieving housing money I can properly go to Arapahoe College in Littleton for the MLT and after I'm done as I work I can attend Colorado University all on loans. I may even enroll in a graduate school right after that on a loan & then just pay off all the loans once I'm done! I figured people will also be more interested in hiring an MLY without a 4 year degree who is currently seeking a 4 year degree!! I can't wait though to move to Colorado. Chad and I have talked about buying a house in Loveland and the future things... all hypothetical of course... :)
On other notice... I have been sick with insane asthma attacks pretty much all day. I went to the doctor and recieved a breathing treatment etc but turns out I'm not sick... my asthma has just gotten very bad. So I'm on a secondary inhaler at least temporarily (we hope), as well as a pill medication AND a refill of my old type of inhaller all crazy expensive! So now money is insanely tight again... At least I am getting more hours at work with Amanda on Maturnity leave... I neede MORE MONEY... I can't wait to be in a better financial position.
I guess I have to make the most of being stuck here. It snowed a bit today but not enough... When I'm in Colorado I wanna ski, snow shoe, snowboard, snowmobile, and have a grand old time... I may never want to leave!! At least I get my new laptop this year though to start my writing and music to hopefully make some money :) I can't start RCIA to become Catholic til Autumn around here though... So I guess we will see where this year takes me...

RAYE

New Year, New Hopes, Fresh Start

I didn't get to see Chad over new years at all which was pretty sad. Not until about 10AM when I went over his place to nap after already having some sleep at my own place. I had a dream that I went on a holiday to Tahiti and it was the best holiday of my life. I did not want to leave!! I learned after I got up that the Japanese believe the first dream you have in the new year is supposed to reflect the sort of luck and fortune you have in the coming year. I hope that means good things for me! I hope in the years to come I can get financially stable, see the world, find myself and my faith, and establish a strong foundation. I hope I can make a place home! Have a family and have the exciting adventures I have wanted all along. Going to the beach, mountains for a ski trip, tour Europe or Australia, go through school, publish a book or CD after I have my MAC... Learn new things, meet ne people, speak new languages (especially Italian), learn new cultures... And find beauty in all things... Kind of like in this picture of Tahiti I found that reminds me of part of my dream... It really is a new year and a time to start over. Not every part of it may go as hoped, but I hope I above all find peace this year, and an adventure I can look back on years later saying what a ride... It was awesome... :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

RAYE

2010 Accomplishments and 2011 Goals

I have not accomplished nearly as much in 2010 as I had hoped, but I did accomplish a number of things from my bucket list. I decided to take this blog to write down each of the things off of my bucket list that I compleated & the date I compleated the goal on (I date everything I tick off of my list). I do need to update my list though and remove a few things that simply are not possible (or at least in my control to add), and add a few new goals I have. After I share the things I accomplished this year, I will discribe a few things I hope to accomplish in 2011 (not list off different things I want to do, but I may list a little). So here is what I accomplished in 2010:

Buy and Read All of Rob Bell's Books 27-6-10
Read Drops Like Stars A Few Thoughts On Creativity and Suffering 14-3-10
Read Sex God 27-4-10
Read Jesus Wants To Save Christians 15-2-10
Read Velvet Elvis 23-1-10
Read The Poor Will Be Glad 27-6-10
Buy & Read The Darkest England & The Way Back In 21-5-10
Buy & Read The Entire Emily Series By Katie Maxwell 9-12-10
The Year My Life Went Down The Loo 6-8-10
They Wear What Under Their Kilts 5-9-10
Whats French For Ew 6-10-10
Taming of The Dru 28-11-10
Life Love & The Persuit of Hotties 9-12-10
Beth Moore: Stepping Up: A Journey Through The Psalms of Ascent 13-2-10
Beth More: Living Free 27-5-10
Buy & Read The God Who Is There By Francis Schaeffer  29-7-10
Read at least one book a month for a year 9-12-10
Buy a Tamagatchi 26-3-10
Buy a Black Denali North Face Fleece Jacket 5-10-10
Buy a Paramore Tee 3-5-10
Keep a Blog (at least 5 months) 31-12-10
Have pet guinea pigs 24-4-10
Participate in a March for Charity (Crop Walk For Hunger) 3-10-10
Watch the USA & England World Cup Game on Telle 12-6-10
Decourate my own apartment 20-6-10

That is all I did in 2010. In 2010 my main goals are to move to Colorado, work on my tech degree for a better job, seek out a stronger faith and hopefully work through at least one of the Beth Moor Bible Studies each month of the year. I have a few other goals on my list I have began in 2010 and will hopefully continue or finish in 2011. I would also like to keep getting in better shape and keep growing my hair longer. I also want to buy my new MAC I have been waiting forever for. 2010 has not been the best year. It has actually been quite depressing reading through many of my blogs over the 2010 year... I will not set my expectation incredibly high because it never seams to happen & I don't want to let myself down, but 2010... I'm ready to end. Ready for a new beginning. Happy 2011 Everyone!! My next update will be next year!!!! :) See you on the other side...

RAYE

Seeking Faith

I am not really religious... No matter how much I may want to be, my faith is very screwed up. Sometimes I have no idea what I believe, and after a hard year I have the desire in my heart, but very little knowledge of what is real and what is only a feeling. What directions are right to take and what is wrong. And where I can find peace and contentment in practise. I was looking at churches in Littleton Colorado online so I could get an idea of where I wanted to go before I moved there (I usually do this, and usually the church my gut tells me to go to is usually the right choice... actually it has always been the right choice). This time the church I was most drawn to and expirenced peace when looking at the page was Pax Christi Catholic Church. I am personally not Catholic, but my background has been close to this. At least 500 times in the last five years I have at one point or another considered converting to Roman Catholic, but I have always dismissed the idea. But I find myself considering it again. If I do convert I have a feeling a lot of my prodastant friends will be very angry, as some have already expressed in their critisism at my mere consideration of it! I have been to Catholic mass before though and have always found it meaningful and deep. Also quite complex. I do not understand all of the sacrements etc and would still find a lot to learn. From what I have learned however is that much of what people think of the Catholic church is not true, and that many of the issues Prodastants have with the Catholic church are either due to misunderstanding of purpose of an act, or it was a practise that has been done away with centuries ago. Even things like "Catholics do not believe in birth control" I have found are not 100% do not do this type of rules. The main purpose of that "rule" if you will was implimented in 1968 at a time of the hippy movement with casual sex running wild. It was implemented to discourage improper use of birth control. There are many who still recognise hormonal birth control as medical treatments, and condoms used responsibly (say a couple already has 2 kids and can not afford anymore, there is no problem using one because ultimatly God has final control over it, and sex is for pro-creating AND pleasure). Those involved in sexual acts just have to be open to the fact it involves all of this and is not mutually exclusive when using Birth Control (who knew that looking into the context of what the pope says would be just as important). And the Catholic church is changing in many ways within itself, yet remains strong after close to 2,000 years while all the prodastant denominations seam to split every-which-way. Not to mention it is the largest religious group on earth, and soley funds over 3 BILLION charities worldwide, not to mention over 200,000 hospitals in the United States alone!
Well anyways the process of becoming Catholic involves a lot of study, faith discovery, and seeking while growing in the Catholic community. This can take from 9 months to 18 months depending on the person, on averege. Either way, seeking out a faith I feel sure and strong of, and can practice and enjoy is what I would really like. I would really like to be able to proudly claim a faith and practice with all my heart finding meaning in it. Pax Christi offers the becoming Catholic faith discovery class for free and I hope to begin it when I get to Littleton. It feels like a good thing to do. The right thing at this time. At least seek it out. That has to be a goal for 2011... Seek faith and meaning, learn more, do more Bible studies, and put my whole heart into it! That is what I want :)

RAYE

Nasty NASTY COLD :(



The BEST COLD MEDICINE EVER!

 I didn't update Christmas, or since I got back from holiday, but now that my computer is "fixed" I guess I can write a little. I have gone back to work, and not much has been exciting or interesting yet other than I have come down with a nasty nasty NASTY cold! I caught it from Chad, the one he had while I was away! It is terrible and doesn't really want to go away. I slept in until 4:30PM on Christmas just about. Chad's mum was sick on Christmas as well so we did not go to visit her until the day after! Chad and I did Christmas gifts at about 10:30 PM again this year (its becoming a tradition I think haha). I did not account for all the 24/7 stores closing Christmas Eve & Christmas though... Whatever! Chad and I watched Harry Potter 6 so now we can see the new one as soon as the Palace Thearter has it! I also got the DVD The Blind Side to Watch With Chad as soon as I am no longer sick, as of now I am sleeping a LOT! I don't really know what else to say... My cold is kind of distracting me... UGG!! Well I will say more later folks, Have a good one... I need more sleep,

RAYE