fun in the sun...

For most people in high school and maybe even some colleges, this past week has been their spring break. However, for us NCSU students, our spring break was way back at the beginning of March when it was still the middle of winter in NC. When I arrived home from school there was snow on the ground, and the weather outlook did not look promising for the rest of the week. So what is a girl to do? Go to the beach of course!!!! A bunch of us loaded up in a little car with swim suits, sunscreen, board games, magazines, and fishing gear and went to Cocoa Beach Florida for a few days of fun in the sun. The weather was still a little bit chilly, but compared to home, it was sunny and perfect for some lazy days on the beach.

While at the beach there was plenty of catching rays on the sea shore, long walks on the beach, great dinners, ice cream adventures, board game competitions, putt-putt games, shopping, and long life chats. I am very thankful to have a good friends and guy by my side that I can just pack up and go have fun with and that help me grow not only in life, but also in my faith in the Lord.

Sometimes the best therapy is a little beach therapy. Relaxation from school at its fineist.

So glad C could join in the fun. Love this kid.

I loved spending a week with this girl. She is such an amazing person and I am so lucky to know her. Life chats and funny stories with her make my day!

The boys doing what they do best...fishing!! I don't think they could get enough of it. 

One of the many plates of yummy food we ate on the trip at local eateries. Homemade Italian was one of the best.

More fishing. This fish was particularly cute. 

A cold night of putt-putt with the boyfriend. It was a lot of fun though and I actually did not play as horrible as I normally do. Those golf lessons must be paying off!

The week that was spent in Cocoa Beach was one of the best weeks so far this year. School is absolutely crazy as graduation ticks closer and closer and so having time just to get away and have some fun was essential. I hope that one day soon, we can make trips like this together with friends a tradition! However, for now it is back to reality and preparing myself for graduation in a about a month, program directors meeting this upcoming weekend for Passport camp this summer, and preparing everything for Divinity School this fall. I hope that everybody's spring break, whenever it may have been was relaxing and rejuvenating. And I also pray that your journey is blessed!

-Sara

run run as fast as you can...

I am still alive! Just in case you were wondering. Blog had to take a backseat for a little while so my focus could be on a couple of things that were a little bit more important. But anyways, I am back and will be doing my best to catch everybody up on the happenings on what has been going on in the world of Sara. 

This past February, Chase and I ran in the Krispy Kreme Challenge. For those of you that are not local or that have never heard of the KKC, let me explain. This is a race that has been occurring at NCSU for a while now to benefit the NC Children's Hospital. The basis of the race is the run 2.5 miles from the bell tower to the local Krispy Kreme, eat a dozen doughnuts, and then run 2.5 miles back to the bell tower. They have modified the race over the years and have recently added the "casual runner" category for the wimps like me who do not want to eat 12 doughnuts before running back. Something about that just does not seem appealing to me. I have participated in this race for the past 2 years, so of course I was all in again this year, and Chase decided to join me! 

The weather for the race was super cold, and by the time we had finished I could barely feel my fingers and toes. However, we both survived and had a blast once again helping out a good cause and getting in a good workout at the same time. I am looking forward to coming back to Raleigh next year as an alumni and rocking the KKC once again. Maybe even and S&C tradition in the works? Who knows. Only time will tell!!! Below are some pictures for everyone to enjoy. 

I ran the race as a casual runner. That meant that I ran the 5 miles, but instead of having to eat the doughnuts, I could bring them home with me and enjoy them on my own time. 

Chase and I the morning of the race. Did I mention that it was cold? Look like a swimmer with my running cap on, but it was totally worth it to keep my ears warm.

Good tunes are a must while running 5 miles. My old-school ipod and I are starting to become good buddies :)

The golden reward!!! It was totally worth the run to get these little gems. The sweet taste of victory.

We ended up running the entire race from start to finish in 57 minutes. That included waiting in line to get our doughnuts. For not that much training I felt pretty accomplished.

In other news, I am still working hard to finish out this last semester of undergrad and preparing myself for the next three years at WFU Divinity School. I have a busy summer of camp planned again, so that will be good to keep me busy, but also to prepare my heart for ministry. I would ask for some prayer requests though. Not for me but for a close friend. Everybody goes through crazy times in their lives when it seems as if you are being pelted with nothing but bad news, and a good prayer community is always helpful. So a prayer for peace, courage, and wisdom would be most appreciated! As always I hope that this day finds you well and that your journey is blessed.

-Sara 

five weeks in...

Now that I am starting my fifth week of the semester, I have nearly finished my first round of tests, and have pretty much gotten aquatinted with how my schedule is going to go this semester with school and work, I can take a step back and breathe. In case you were wondering, this is my last semester of undergrad!!! I am sad that my journey here at school will soon be over; but I am more than excited to know that I will be spending my next three years in a place where I can grow and learn not only academically but spiritually as well.
So what does a girl do her last semester of undergrad? Well for this kid I have been soaking up the athletic events, spending quality time with friends and loved ones, and taking all the random classes that I have been wanting to take for a while, but just did not have time in my schedule for. This semester I am taking 2 science classes and a lab to finish up my degree. They are Cellular Biology, Developmental Anatomy of the Vertebrates, and Biochemistry Lab. They are not the most amazing classes I have ever taken but they are interesting and they were a must have this semester if I wanted to graduate in May! I am also taking 2 random classes and a PE. Those random classes are Introduction to the Study of Religion and Women's Health Issues. The Religion class is work, but fun work. A nice change of pace from cellular mechanisms and pathways if you ask me. I really enjoy Women's Health Issues. It is an online class so I can kind of learn it at my own pace, which is super fun. I really am learning a ton of facts in that class. My PE is golf class. I am taking it with Chase. I originally wanted to take Social Dance class, but somehow over the course of class planning, I ended up taking golf instead.  Clearly he now owes me dance lessons since I am learning the pastime of golf (which after playing softball all my life isn't going super great).  However it is a challenge that I am tackling head on and I am determined to walk away from it with a few new skills learned!
Speaking of tackling! (like how I did that there?) tonight is the Super Bowl!!!!! Us girls and guys here don't have anything really planned for the big event. Probably just gather around the tv with chips and desserts and settle in for the night. There also will probably be some homework involved. We all have tests coming up this week. I know we are such nerds sometimes. I do not really have a favorite to win. Probably going to go with the 49ers just because I like their jerseys better (yes that is how I pick football players and teams for fantasy too, and it works most of the time). To be quite honest, the SuperBowl is my favorite football game because it means that the season is over and it is time for Baseball season to start soon!!!!! Ah I cannot wait for opening day!! Well enough my my rambling and confessions for the time being. I will leave everybody with a couple of pictures of what has been going on this semester. Everybody be safe and warm! And of course I pray that your journey is blessed!

-Sara

 At college gameday!!! It was long, but worth it.

All of us trying to get to college gameday. It had iced and snowed the day before so the parking lots were still frozen solid. I can now say that I have "slid" into the basketball arena.

Date night with my handsome fella. Chase received a bow-tie for Christmas so we used it as an excuse to dress up and go out on the town. It is so nice to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of life for a few hours and hang out with him. 

silence...

They say that silence is golden. I don't always agree with that statement, however over the past week or so I have come to realize that a little bit of silence can actually be a good thing. Well, Internet silence that is. For you see, because of a few certain events I have been without a computer, and therefore without all of the comforts that I have become used to. No Facebook, twitter, blog reading, or picture uploading. Tough right? Actually not really. I really enjoyed not being tied to the piece of metal that was always at my side during the semester at school. Instead I had time to focus and be with my family and recharge before the new semester kicks into gear in the next little bit. I have to keep telling myself in the future when things start to get hectic, "silence is golden, silence is golden, silence is golden." 

So what has been going on since the semester has ended. Well let me play a little bit of catch up and tell a little story...

My break started off with the meeting of this little girl. Meet the new addition to our family. Her name is Sadie and mom and dad adopted her from the local humane society. She is all puppy at the moment and she sure has brought a new level of energy into the house. She does something new and funny every single day. One of those new things happened to be that she realized that she liked to chew on power cords. My computer power cord to be exact. It was totally my fault for leaving it in a place where she could reach it, but it was still a little horrifying to realize that your cord is now in two pieces instead of one. Thank goodness for Amazon. 

The next big thing that occurred was that I decided that Wake Forest Divinity School was the school that was the best fit for me. I cannot put into words the excitement that I am feeling in my heart right now. These next three years are going to be a new adventure in my life, but I have a feeling that they are going to hold some of the best memories of my life so far.

I also was able to spend some quality aunt time with these two special kiddos. They bring such joy to all of our lives. They can be crazy at times, but I would not trade a minute of them for the whole entire world. Getting to spend a few days with them was certainly a highlight of my break. I look forward to getting to spend some more time with them this semester. i have a more flexible class schedule so I fortunately will get to watch some of their basketball games and dance recitals. Did I mention that I was one proud aunt?

 Christmas time came and went so fast in the Bumgarner household. Seriously, it flew by. By the time everything settled down it was the 29th and everything was a blur. I received some special and sweet gifts this year from family and friends. I am such a blessed woman. I cannot begin to thank and express the love i have towards all of the people in my life.

Finally, the family was able to kick back and relax a little bit after the swirl of the holidays came and went. Some long time family friends came up from the east coast and we all went to their cabin. Us kids enjoyed the winter weather activities while the moms went shopping and the dads cheered on some of their favorite football teams. It has been a while since I had been tubing and ice skating. I am not the biggest fan of cold weather. However I had a blast out there in the pouring snow and enjoyed the quality time I was able to spend with everybody. I hope that we can make this a yearly tradition.

As the new year begins I am looking forward to all that is to come. This year holds a lot of unknowns, but I know that I will be on the path that is right for me in the moment b following the faith that I have deep in my heart. New chapters and adventures await me. Bring it on 2013. I am ready for you. I hope that everybody has had a great holiday season, and as always I pray that your journey is ever blessed.

-Sara

a little yummy in your tummy...

What?!?! Two blog posts in three days? Yeah I know, crazy right? I just decided that sometimes you have to choose yourself and your sanity over school, life, and all the craziness that comes with it. Hence, I blog. Blogging makes me happy, and happy girls don't lose their minds and go loopy (if you got that reference then good for you :) ). 

If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen this picture, but I wanted to share it with a broader audience. I love to cook and I feel at home in the kitchen. So when I find a recipe that is yummy in my tummy, and semi-good for me (yes just semi good) I tend to make it a lot and take pictures of it. So I shall share this little bit of love with everybody and the recipe for if you want to try it out yourself. It is called Poppy Seed Chicken and it is a recipe that was given to our apartment by my roommate Michele's mother. It is quite simple to make and your taste buds will enjoy every bite of it. If you try it out and like it feel free to share the love with your other friends, and also be sure to tell me how it turned out for you. Like I said I love my food!

Poppy Seed Chicken Recipe 

- 2 cups sour cream

- 1 can cream of chicken soup

- 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds

- 3 cups of cooked and chopped chicken

- 2 cups crushed Ritz crackers

- 1/2 cup butter

Mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and poppy seeds. 

Add chicken and place in greased 9x11 dish.

Combine crushed crackers and butter in small bowl.

Sprinkle over the chicken mixture.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy and Love!!!!

Praying for everybody to have a wonderful week. It is going to be a crazy one for us here at State. Get out and enjoy this rare warm weather that is going on in NC. And as always I hope that your journeys are ever blessed!

-Sara 

choosing joy...

Before I go on with what I wanted to talk about today I will give everybody a quick update with what has been going on in the world of SB (that would be Sara Bumgarner).

• I finished my applications to divinity school. The waiting game has officially begun. Hopefully I will hear back from them within the next 6 weeks. Fingers crossed and prayers going up everybody!
• I found that even though biochemistry is going to be the death of me and my brain this semester, I actually really enjoy the material. My inner nerd comes out to play on MWF. 
• I spent Halloween night lying on the floor surrounded by papers finishing my lab report, which I passed with flying colors :)
• I am counting down the days until i get to go home and eat good yummy food cooked by my parents. It always tastes better when they make it instead of me. 

Well now that you are all caught up on me, I wanted to tell you of a little choice I decided to take part in this month, hoping that it will carry over into my life in general. I am choosing joy. That is it. I am choosing joy. I am currently in a bible study at school and we are studying the book of Daniel. Wow, is Daniel so much more than just a guy being thrown into the lion's den. Over these past 11 weeks I have learned so much about how to live in this world that puts so much focus on the material things, how to *really* talk to God, and how to prepare my heart for the future. I am sad to see this series winding down, but oh so blessed to have been able to soak in all of this wonderful knowledge. 

In reading Daniel, I discovered that he chose joy over a whole range of other emotions all the time. He was a captive in Babylon, and yet by choosing joy and trusting in God, he also became a very powerful and influential person. So this month I am choosing joy. Or at least trying my very best to. Don't get me wrong. Choosing joy is difficult sometimes. But by making that choice, I have notice that I have had a smile on my face more often and that I am being more positive about the things going on in my life. I have begun to take notice of all of the little things that make my life that much more awesome. Bring it on world, I am choosing joy over you. You cannot bring me down...at least not very much :) I am still human ya know! Below are just a few pictures of the little things in the past few weeks that have made me smile. Enjoy and smile along!

When my car battery died, my computer system in my car reset. So to calibrate the compass this is what it told me. You know how hard it is to do this in the middle of Raleigh? Yeah it was interesting.

My roommate Nicole turned 21! In celebration she found this yummy ice cream cookie concoction on Pillsbury's website. It was sooo tasty! But it was very difficult to get out since it had ice cream and had to be kept frozen. 

My parents and sister and her children came down to the state fair. The little ones decided to jump on the trampoline. I caught this little munchkin in mid air and just realized how much fun she was having. Now that is pure joy. If only we could be like this as adults. Children can teach us so much.

I will try my very best to keep the blog more updated. As always, no promises, but I will try my best. Until next time I will be praying for everybody to choose joy over other emotions. And of course I pray that your journeys will all be blessed.

-Sara

life and everything with it...

Chronicling your life in web based form seems so easy from the outside looking in. I sometimes get envious of the other blogs that I read as I see them updating their sites weekly, or even daily. Why can I not be like that? Then is dawns on me that I am a senior in college, majoring in Molecular Biology, applying to and visiting grad schools, volunteering on the weekends, staying involved in bible study, being an active member of our student wolf pack club, keeping up with school work, somehow finding time to watch my favorite TV shows, and still being able to have a social life. I am a busy lady. But I am a busy lady with purpose. My OCD tends to kick in when things get crazy in my life, and the blog just tends to take a back seat to everything else. I miss blogging and sharing my adventures, so it is always wonderful when I get a couple of hours to sit down and let my fingers fly on the keyboard. So while I have the time I wanted to update everybody with what's been going on in my crazy life. 

Mainly, I have been consumed with school work. I am taking a class called biochemistry this semester and it will kick your butt if you don't stay on top of it. I like it, but I do wish sometimes it was a little less time consuming. I rejoice in the fact that I have some lovely ladies in that class who hate studying as much as I do, but who are committed to their work like I am as well. We sure do have some fun study sessions. 

Along with school assignments I am also squeezing in time to complete grad school applications. I feel like a high schooler all over again filling out the same questions on all of the applications and trying to pick out the best formed sentences for my essays to submit. It is stressful but I am praying that my hard work will pay off in the long run. Normally if you walk into with the girl's apartment, or the guy's apartment across the way (the boyfriends are living in the same apartment complex as us ladies this year!) you will usually see this sight below. Oh boy senior year, what are you doing to us?

I am loving my second year of apartment life with these two wonderful ladies. Getting to spend this chapter of my life with them had been heaven sent. I really don't know what I would do without them. They make laugh, keep me grounded, and are there for me no matter what. I sure am going to miss them deeply next year. Even though I am busy I try to find moments to soak up some precious moments with them. Roommates for life!!!!

I also have been doing a little bit of cooking and baking. Well, scratch that. I have been doing A LOT of cooking and baking recently. When I get stressed I clean and cook. So you could guess pretty correctly and say that the apartment is clean and there is always some sort of sweet treat on the kitchen counter. These are the gifts that I have been blessed with. I have accepted that I have no musical or super athletic abilities so I just run with what I have. I think these gifts will pay of and multiply in the long run.

As a senior this year, it is a little bittersweet to realize that these are my last season in the student sections. With that in mind, I was super excited to find out that for the first home football game, our group of friends scored front row seats!!!! Ive never been able to sit that close to the field before, so it was a real treat. Everything looks so different that much closer. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and will continue to bask in the glory of senior life as my student section days start to wind down.

Then there is this guy! A few weeks back we celebrated our 4 year anniversary of dating. Its funny to think that we have been in a 4 year long relationship. In this day in time it is hard to find marriages that last four years. To be able to have a man by your side that respects you and treats you well is such a blessing and I pray a prayer of thanks every day for what we have. This season of life of being in college and progressing in a relationship is so sweet and I absolutely love it. I have learned so much and grown so much in four years. I don't know what the future holds, but if it does contain this kid, I won't have very much of anything to complain about. He is simply put...spectacular.

Even though I have been busy, I have tried to find the time to take a break from the hustle and bustle and try some new things. This school year I have visited a beach that I have never been to before, finally gone to the NC Zoo (yeah I know I am 21 years old and have lived in NC all my life and never been to the NC Zoo), and the biggy... learned how to cut hair!!! For four years I have asked to cut Chase's hair. He gets his hair cut at home with clippers since he tends to keep it super short. There is no reason to go to a salon and waste money when people at home can do it for you. Anyways, last week was the first time in four years that when I asked, he said yes. It was much to my surprise, but needless to say I was excited to learn. I feel like this is a skill that I need to have in my back pocket. No worries, I did fine and Chase's hair turned out good. I think it took three times as longer as it normally does, but hey I am learning. Look out world, Sara the barber is on the loose. 

Finally, in this crazy season of life I am cherishing the fact that I have been given the great opportunity to be a part of the Wolfpack. These years of college have been amazing and so much fun. They have shaped and molded me into the woman I am today. I will always look back on these years with great pride. Nobody can beat the sense of spirit that NC State gives. Go Pack!!!

That has been my life these past few weeks. I told you it was crazy right!?! Thanks for sticking with me reading the blog. I am hoping to write more regularly, but I cannot give any promises. I also want to thank everybody who has given me the love and support with my life choices this past month. The cards and messages and words of encouragement have been overwhelmingly wonderful. I know this is the right thing for me and I am so thankful for the support and guidance from those around me. I will be sure to keep everybody posted and updated with school choices. Right now I am in the process of filling out applications, taking the GRE, and visiting some of the schools I am applying to. Hopefully I will hear back from some of the schools after the start of the year. Prayers are much appreciated during this time of applying and choosing. More importantly though I pray that everybody is having a great weekend and that this upcoming week will fill you with encouragement. And as always, I pray that your journey is ever blessed. 

-Sara