Best friend Julie

My very best friend is Julie. Her nickname is Jewels - or also Hoolietta. I love her to pieces. She is so good. She's a great mom. She's a college grad. I really love her a lot. I miss her now that she moved to back to Fresno. I'm also really sad because Julie lost her mom last week, it all happened so fast. I love Julie and her family, and I've spent a lot of time thinking, praying, and crying for them. I hate being far away. I wish I could be there with Julie to help her and give her a hug.
Shelly Catton was my favorite mom. She was always happy, she was always so nice, and I remember her voice - she was always happy to see me "Hey Brittney!"Julie's mom always let us make anything we wanted in the kitchen - especially CCC's! (Chocolate Chip Cookies) The Cattons were the first family to introduce me to the wonderful world of Nutella. She put up with us doing weird Brittney/Julie stuff like making up dancing into wee hours of the morning. I always felt at home with them.

I enjoyed being around her. She was definitely a great example of Christ. She raised 3 awesome kids, and she won't be forgotten. I'm sad that she left, but I'm happy that she lived a great life and that she is in a better place free from pain.

Fall is here

A pretty view out my front door - but soooo cold.

A new study

Today I discovered that "studying" in the library can be just as unproductive as "studying" at home.

I think I killed somebody

Today at work a patient was on her way out...like about to pass away. Her daughter asked us to give her a bath and wash her hair, and so we did. But right before we were almost done, she stopped breathing. And then she started gurgling yellow goo out of her mouth. Her husband was right outside the room. I kinda freaked out - I just wanted to get out of there. I just looked at her and I felt it - the death vibe. Have you ever felt it? It's cold, and unfamiliar. I tried to close her eyes, since they were wide open - staring into space. But then her eyes popped back open and she started breathing - just shallow death breaths. She passed away a few minutes later.

A few hours later, I'm sitting in my nutrition class, taking notes and listening about the use of Vitamin K - and I think "I saw someone die today." And all of a sudden everything seemed so insignificant and weird.

This wasn't the first person I've seen die. But it was so sudden, it just caught me off guard. I've always heard stories of things like that happening (death by bed bath), but it's never happened to me!

Anyways, I'm glad that she's home in a better place, free from pain and illness. Her family is sad, but they'll see her again. And I'm glad I got to wash her hair for her before she left. Maybe someday she'll thank me?

Trouble Sleeping?

Are you having trouble sleeping? Just come to class with me some day....

Sewage

Kate Blocher (one of my dearest old roommates) inspired me this week. Thanks Kate.

I just bought a new laptop, and I love taking it on campus, but it gets scratched in my backpack, and ya know - I paid a lotta money for it, so I started looking around for a case. The bookstore had some manly ones for like 40 bucks, and Etsy had some really really cute ones. But every time I see something on Etsy I just think...why am I buying something that I really could just make myself? Laziness, really. So I was about to buy one until I read Kate's blog (she is a master seamstress lady), and she sewed her own baby holder thingy - for goodness sakes!! So I thought, if she could do that, then I can definitely sew a dumb little case. Turns out I didn't even really need too many supplies, and voila! A laptop case :)

Behold:



I made two. But there are more to come. Want one?? :D

Margaret Sanger

Have you ever heard of Margaret Sanger? Me neither until a few weeks ago. She is one crazy lady. She basically is responsible for the discovery and legalization of contraceptives and birth control. Her first endeavor was just basic contraceptives like the female condom/diaphragm. She went to jail over 8 times for distributing contraceptives and even just talking about them in public. My favorite quote from her is(talking about the laws prohibiting birth controls):

"I bumped up against this very, very arrogant, old fashioned, stupid law,

which had to be changed, but it was going to take a long

time to change it. And I decided the best way to

change it was to break it."

Aw yeah! You go girl! Haha...but really - she is one of my heros. Not just for what she did - which was to make birth control possible and bring forth the single most important factor for women's liberation and equality in the world - but for her attitude and her determination to do what she believed. Even when it seemed like the whole world was against her, and especially when her church was saying that she was going to burn in hell for her actions, she didn't give up. She's an inspiration to me, and I love her feisty attitude.

Here's a video I found of an awesome interview with her. It's 30 minutes long, but it's worth watching:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1118049676798642567#

P.S. The ridiculous Phillip Morris ads in this interview could be a whole other blog post, thanks to my excellent substance abuse class