just a bit of fun :)

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
-been in both the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas
-traveled wherever my little heart desired
-seen God in different ways

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? ...no I did not and yes I most certainly made some for this year :)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
yes yes yes!! The Bishop family welcomed Hudson Nolan into this world just a couple of days after I got back from school..thanks for waiting, buddy!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
in 2010-2011..Guatemala, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, England, US

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Spiritual maturity

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
September 19, 2010-April 11, 2011..ahh Germany how I do miss you

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting a grown up job and surviving a long distance relationship :(

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not taking advantage of the moment I was in

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
ah yes..my poor little immune system..and my car accident..

11. What was the best thing you bought?
plane tickets all over the world!

12. Where did most of your money go?
traveling

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
living in Europe

15. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift..shout out!! Brandi..Jenni..you two..will always be in my heart :)

16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I'm feeling a little of both
b) thinner or fatter? fatter..seriously
c) richer or poorer? eh..that is debateable

17. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Living in the present

18. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Looking forward to the future

19. How did you spend Christmas?
with my family :) no better way..

20. What was your favorite TV program?
The Middle! Modern Family, The Hills and of course..GG [xoxo]

21. Do you dislike anyone now whom you didn't dislike this time last year?
nope

22. What was the best book you read?
My dating devotional..or Twilight..it's a toss up

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
City & Colour and Taylor Swift's newest album

24. What did you want and actually got?
To kiss underneath the Eiffel Tower..and to see Big Ben and shop in London

25. What did you want and not get?
why focus on the negative? :)

26. What was your favourite film of this year?
Courageous

27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 19 years old, spent it with my family and packed to head out to Germany on a plane the next day :)

28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
yoga pants and a hoodie..how stylish but i must say..i did get my first pair of boots which made me feel fashionable

29. What kept you sane?
emails, letters and phone conversations with my mama

30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Blaire Waldorf [Leighton Meester]..so beautiful!

31. Who was the best new person you met?
I wouldn't even know where to start..new school, new job[s]..God has really blessed me :)

32. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Don't take anything or anyone for granted. Live in the present and God will take care of the future.

33. Were you in school (anytime this year)?
bah! yes!!

34. Did you encounter the police?
yes..how unfortunate.

35. Did you have to go to the hospital?
gosh yes..thank you car accident. and to visit mister hudson :)

the best thing i could ever ask for..

is my boyfriend Tyler Shaum. No matter what, he has loved me and will continue to love me. He is an excellent example of the love, forgivness and graciousness that Jesus instructs us to show to each other. Thank you Tyler for sticking by my side and being the best valentine I could ever ask for :) I love you.

the 'L' word

In honour of Valentine's Day coming up, I give you this post about love :) I have come to two different conclusions about saying 'I love you'. No 1. People throw it around too losely.. No 2. People don't say it often enough. Here is how I feel about it. When I say I love you, I mean it. It means I have let you into my life and my heart and I trust you. That is not something to use so flippantly. When you say you love someone..think about it..what is love? Love is taking a bullet for a person, putting that person before yourself, treating that person with respect, going out of your way to make them feel special, giving them all of your time and energy. When someone just spits 'I love you' out over a text message, do they really mean it? This is something that I am bothered with I suppose..when did the word love become so cheap? On the other hand, don't hesitate to say it if you mean it. About a month and a half ago, I was in a serious car accident..thank God I was not harmed, but if I was, I wouldn't regret the last thing I said to those I care about. I had said 'I love you' to my parents and sister the night before, I had given Saige, Melanie and Hudson big hugs, kisses and 'I love yous' right after I left their house that morning, I was in the car with Tyler, and most of all, my heart was right with God. I was trying my best to show Him with my life that I love Him. Think about the words you say to people..is that the last thing you want them to remember you saying? In conclusion I give you this, value the word 'Love' yet don't hesitate to remind those closest to you that you do love them.

in the words of grandma..

'Good times will always end but memories stay in your heart forever.'

moving in :)

finallyyyyyyyyy!! We are getting things up on the walls and decorating our new house :)  It is so satisfying to spend a long day of cleaning and hammering and drilling and seeing how beautiful it looks in the end.  Thank You Jesus for a gorgeous, warm, cozy home :)

cosmetology school..

I have not blogged in quite some time! Nor will I blog much right now either..I'm tired and exhausted from my first real day of cutting someone's hair!! (It was such an exciting experience and again I would like to thank the 2 people that trusted me with their hair..you know who you are! But I am so blessed..God put me in the exact right school, with the exact right people, at the exact right time.  I am so thankful for the friends I've made and the influence I am able to be to them.  Thank you, Jesus for blessing me with this opportunity. 

And in the meantime...if anyone wants color, highlights, hair cuts, waxing, facials etc..I am officially 'on the floor' as of December 7th! So please call The Salon Professional Academy and request me to do your services :)

good ol deutschland.

I miss living in Europe.  I miss walking down the cobblestone streets to the 'backerei', or riding my bike for 20 minutes and ending up in a completely different village or walking to Lake Bodensee and just sitting and talking to God.  There were days I wanted to come home so badly, in fact I remember a few days in particular, I got on cheaptickets.com and was THISCLOSE to buying my one way plane ticket home from Frankfurt to New York to Denver.  I wanted to leave so bad because 1. I missed my family 2. I was at Bible School, however I was being treated by some people as though they were still the mean girls stuck in high school..what's up with that and 3. I was not focusing on WHY God had me there.  Now, more than anything, I want to go back.  I would give anything to wake up in my shaky bunkbed in my dorm room with green carpet.  I want to spend more time with just me and God in the forest or on the lake or in the orchard.  I want to bike to Friedrichshafen and go the back way past the castle and the Bodensee Centre and past the harbour just to have a picnic on the beach followed by ice cream on the boardwalk.  I want to go to Kaufland so badly and buy bread, meat, cheese and yogurt and put it all in a backpack and bike for miles till I get hungry, and then make myself a tasty little lunch.  I want to just up and go to Paris or Barcelona for the weekend. I want to visit the home of the family Kintzel and eat 'fruhstuck' with them and fix little Alexandra's hair.  These are the things my heart longs for.  I belong back in Europe someday.  The people there are so lost and confused.  Less than 2% of the population in Europe are Evangelical Christians.  Why did I not take more advantage of the time I had over there?? That's what I'm kicking myself for now.  I guess my little nugget of wisdom to other people would be: embrace life where you're at, you may not want to be where you are or may not understand why you're there, but God has a purpose for you being exactly where you are and one day you will look back and see the reasons God had you there.  Don't live life always wishing you were somewhere else.  Grow where God has planted you right now. 

Memories of Germany are the sweetest memories I will ever have.  Thank you, Jesus, for giving me that opportunity.