The Journey Home

Today marked the end of 5 years spent living in Austin. It is such a
bittersweet feeling. I left one family to go to another. There is so
much about Austin that I will miss! The man standing on the bridge of
congress and 290 holding the cross after every thurs fri and sat
night! The delicious food. As many of you know I am quite opposed to
chain restaurants! I guess this means I will be saving quite a bit of
money in Lincoln, but also getting the chance to explore some
local/ethnic foods there too to find new favorite eating
establishments! I will miss the hippie/granola attitude in Austin. I
think I have been semi-converted to a granola! (Granola=recycling
fanatic, vegetarian, organic lover) but this conversion is not bad, I
actually love it and will miss the no styrofoam policy, natural foods,
and free recycling!

Austin is still the home to many of my good friends and saying goodbye
to them was really hard! It is amazing how when you leave your
biological family, you form a chosen family, and leaving this family
was emotional, but I made it through and am ready for this next step
in my life.

Lincoln will be great because I will be able to see my siblings,
parents and relatives so much more often! It will be an adjustment but
I think an exciting one! Moving home will also allow me to explore
Lincoln in a new way! I hope to find really great shops and cute
restaurants! I hope I actually can find what I am looking for!

Leaving always bring up the questions of seeing friends again, staying
in touch and missing out on memories. But if I only thought of the
negatives I would never get anywhere. That is why I know that my
leaving is not goodbye...its see you later. And that leaving means
stories to tell and new friendships and memories to make!

The last 4 months have been the most exciting, adventuresome, and
blessed of my life. My travels, memories, friendships, relationships
and personal growth will never be replaceable. I full heartedly look
forward to my next 4 months and hope that they will be as awesome.

I hope that each of you who helped me along the way know that without
your support, generosity, words of encouragement and love I would not
have been able to find who I am or discover my passion! So, thank you
from the bottom of my heart and I sincerely love you. If you ever want
to take your own adventure, please let me help you in whatever way you
might need. You always have a room in good 'ole Nebraska!

Thank you for reading, happy summer, tell your friends and family you
love then and...

PEACE!

S

Posted via email from Samantha's Posterous

The Moments Of A Year

Today I watched as countless friends graduated from St. Edward's. I remember siting at the same ceremony one year ago and thinking how time flies. This nostalgic feeling of seeing so many talented individuals embark on their next steps of their lives really is powerful. Thinking back through everything that happened one year ago can be shocking! For example, I was still in college one year ago, I had no plans of moving home, I had never been to DC and going to graduate school was the only option in my mind. These thoughts really even just occured in the last few months. One year ago I believe I was a different person. The changes, growth, and possibilities that happen in one year's time simply are amazing. Think about it... how long really is one year? 365 days, 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes and 31,536,000 seconds. That is a lot of time. And so many questions come to mind with all that time! How much of it did we waste away, never to get back? How much of that time did we spend serving others, or even caring for our own needs. How much of that time are we so completely proud of? How much of that time did we spend making those that care for us proud? Time is so valuable and in one year's time what did we actually do...where did we start and where did we end?

Living through love, tears, storms, laughter, memories, break-ups, hook-ups, death, birth, jobs, opportunities...LIFE. One year is simply just one step of our lives. It is a few (or really a lot of) moment(s) in time. Sitting today in that moment and realizing that one entire year has gone by, I can honestly say that I am so happy and proud of where I am today. One year ago I never expected to be in this place of my life. But, I guess some parts of those precious moments are not controlled by our hopes, wishes or even dreams. There is a purpose in THOSE moments, and I do believe that it is God in those moments. Sheer moments make up one year, and my challenge for the next year is to work towards being very conscious of how I spend my moments. In one year I hope to look back to this particular moment, remember the feeling of accomplishment and peace and be able to say that I truly have lived my moments to the best of my abilities!

"86 400 seconds in a day to turn it all around or throw it all away, you better tell 'em that you love 'em while you got the chance to say...gotta live like you're dying"

take it to heart...even if its just for one of those 365 days!

Peace

S

Posted via web from Samantha's Posterous

Gourdough's Donuts

If you LOVE doughnuts you must read on!

So as we were sitting around this evening a brilliant idea popped into the mind of Miss Sara Hoover; Taking an adventure to Gourdough's Doughnuts! I had never personally heard of this establishment, and then Sara showed me a pic of this gourmet doughnut and immediately I decided that this idea was perfect! 

Gourdough's has a list of about 15 pre-made doughnut flavors and then there is the Create Your Own possibility which I wanted to do. So I decided I wanted a doughnut iced with creamcheese frosting and topped with grilled bananas and strawberries and dusted with cinnamon. What I received simply was one of the most deliciously sweet and gooey creations I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Seriously it was that good! 

If you live in the Austin area you must go to this place. It is on south Lamar and is in a beautiful airstream trailer. The atmosphere is awesome at night, the doughnuts are marvelous and the price is right at $3.25 for a generous sized dessert! I hope you will go and experience for yourself the wonder of these doughnuts! 

Posted via web from Samantha's Posterous

My Next Steps

So my life is pretty ok these days. I am back in Austin, babysitting, seeing friends, and enjoying the lovely heat and humidity before I move back to Lincoln. That's right, I am headed home. I truly never thought this day would come where I would willingly write about moving home. But I guess all things happen for a reason, and I cannot say that I am not slightly excited about the thought of being close to my siblings and family! Also on the plus side is that Kristie is moving home as well! She is more keen on the whole idea but I am just happy that she will be there!

So this somewhat hesitant decision was made because of a variety of factors from free rent, no job, and having to be home 6 or 7 times this summer for various activities and weddings. (seriously what is with the summer and weddings??) I am finally coming to terms with this new adventure in my life. I do know that it will be a major adjustment with much boundary setting necessary, however I also am optimistic for the new friendships and the time to focus on old ones.

While I am at home I am going to have some time to figure out my next step and that is a good thing. There are so many jobs, hobbies, hopes, and dreams that I can focus on. I want to write a book, start a company, focus on healthy living and a "green" way of life. I want to do something significant to make the world a better place, I want to leave a mark, I want to be happy doing what I love and having fun. I want to be creative, spontaneous, and unique. I have so many interests that I would love to pursue. So, that is what I hope to do in good 'old Lincoln. I want to write, think, dream, plan, and jump in...both feet first!

These next steps will be wonderful, I just need to get there first!

Peace!

S

 

Posted via web from Samantha's Posterous