She-Fit

So, after much consideration, I have decided to open up my own blog geared towards exercise, weight-loss and nutrition. In 2007 I graduated with a degree in kinesiology and decided to go into nursing. These past few years have been a struggle just knowing that my degree is going to waste. This past month I thought, how can I use my degree without working and still be in nursing school. My thought... a website. This site will give sort tips and nutrition facts for those that are watching their waistline and who just want to be healthy. So, I would greatly appreciate it if you checked it out and if you like it maybe add it to your website.

http://she-fit.com

Please let all your friends know. This is not a business, just a girl who wants to share all that she has learned throughout here college career and life.
Thanks!

New Blog

James and i decided to start our own blog together. We haven't written much but we hope that since two people are writing that we will hopefully have more postings. So, I probably won't be writing on this site... not like I wrote much anyways.
Here is the new website:
http://ruthiejames.wordpress.com

3 days to go

OMG, Im getting married in three days. This week has been all but fun and games. James and I met up with his family at disneyland yesterday. We had so much fun with his niece, Moneek. She is one of three flowergirls in the wedding. Just watching her face light up from seeing all the princesses and Arial saying her name made it worth the trip. James did so well with her that I just couldn't help but think of how great a father he is going to make one day... ONE DAY, not now! No honeymoon babies for us! Praise God for birth-control :)
Today was a packing day. Laura Paulus, my Matron of Honor came all the way out to have The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf this morning before packing. We are addicted to their Pomegranate Blueberry Tea Lattes!
I took another break to hangout with Lacey during her lunch break. I didn't think packing would take so long, but by 11pm I am officially packing and ready to start my new life with James in AZ.
My family and I had our "last supper" together. Chillies and Golden Spoon... what more could I ask for?
Everything is changing, and through much prayer and meditation on the Lord I can joyfully say that I am excited and looking forward to the move. Yes, I will miss you all very much but it will just make the visits that much more enjoyable when I come out.

Coopers Wedding

This past weekend James, Jenni, Robin, Ash and I loaded up in a rental car and headed up north to stockton for Coopers wedding... or should I say "Lulla's" wedding. Although it was quiet a long ways to spend in a car, it was fun with the group that I traveled with. It was nice to finally see James. He came around midnight the night before from AZ and the girls are always fun!
Here are some pics I took from the wedding. For some reason Ash was MIA when taking them.

James and I waiting for Cooper and Raj to arrive at the reception

I love these girls so much!

















Laura and the girls having fun at the reception

Emily and Sarah are the flower girls for our wedding. I can't wait to see how cute they are going to be in their little dresses!

Toni was so kind to allow our car to crash at her house in Stockton. Her mom made pancakes the next morning. She has a great family.

Nothing beats wedding cake!!!!!

Our New Home

So, I finally downloaded all my pictures from... well, February, and I found pictures that I took of the new apartment James and I will be living in once we get married in Arizona. They school has been so gracious to us that they have renovated almost the entire apartment and put in new cabinets, carpet, and countertops. I think a new fridge too.
Here are some pics of the place I will call "home"

The entrance to our home


The living room. Luckily James collected furniture and what not this past year that will soon go in there


Here is a view of the living room from the entrance. It connects to the kitchen


Our lovely kitchen where I will be microwaving chicken fingers and corn dogs for my amazing husband-to-be


My favorite part: James and I both get our own bathrooms and each one comes with two sinks and a walk-in closet! A girls dream


Here is the guest bedroom. Grand Canyon University took out the desks for us to make the rooms a little bigger. It will be nice thought to have this spare room for all you California people to come visit and for a study room since I will be in nursing school at GCU

6 weeks from today I will officially be Mrs. James Rogers. So, to prepare my dad for the wedding we are currently watching Father of the Bride. Best movie ever!

I love Franck. He’s so funny.
I’m definitely going to miss my dad and the good times that we shared together but the excitement of sharing the rest of my life with the man of my dreams surpasses all those feelings.

Thanks Robin

4 jobs I have had in my life:

Gymnastics Coach (Baldy View Gymnastics and Mission Hills)
Bath and Body Works
CBU Bookstore
Resident Assistant / Graduate Assistant

4 Movies I have watched more than once:

The Devil Wears Prada
Legally Blonde
Monster Inc.
Oceans Eleven

4 Places I have lived:

Chino, CA
Riverside, CA
Istanbul, Turkey (almost 2 months)
Big Bear, CA (for the summer)


4 TV Shows I watch/watched:

The Biggest Loser
American Idol
24
Survivor

4 Place I have been:

Istanbul, Turkey
The Amazon in Brazil
Rwanda, Africa
Honolulu, Hawaii

4 People who email me regularly:

Christie (Pacs)
Katrina Blank
… that’s about it for the regulars

4 of my favorite foods:

Frozen Yogurt!!!!
Broccoli
Cereal
Turkey Sandwiches

4 places I would like to visit:

Romania
Afghanistan
New York
Greece

Things I am looking forward to in the coming year:

Getting married to greatest man EVER!
Moving out to AZ and starting my new life with Big Game
Starting up the nursing program at GCU
Getting to know the GCU crew

I am tagging: My fiancé James Rogers, Pacs, Katrina, and Becca L.

They are just shoes

With Christ comes sacrifice.
There are going to be numerous times in our lives where God is going to ask us to sacrifice something for the sake of HIS glory. Today in church we reflected on the story of Abraham and Isaac.

I stand in awe at Abraham and how God called him to sacrifice his son Isaac and without question he got up the next day and built an alter before the Lord. I only pray that I would have as much faith and obedience as Abraham did.

Here we were at the end of the sermon and I’m questioning if I would truly give up everything I have in sacrifice to the Lord and the pastor asks us to start with one sacrifice, our shoes.

What do you mean, my shoes? I love these shoes!
And as the music played, a lady behind me whispered to her husband, “They are just shoes!”



It’s so true. They are just shoes. As human beings we grasp so tightly to the things of this world that mean nothing in eternity. It was so hard for me to leave behind my favorite pair of shoes… I just wonder what else am I holding onto?

So, there I was driving home barefoot, blessing the feet of an African girl that probably has never even own her own pair.

It was all worth the wait

Growing up I was always the “go-to” friend. You know, the girl that all the guys made friends with to get info on her best friend, the one whose friend never went a day without a boyfriend yet I couldn’t get one for the life of me.

It definitely played a toll on my Jr. high school through college years yet I stayed strong and never settled for less. With 22 years of never being pursued, I never dreamed about getting married.

For all the heartache of never thinking I would find “the one,” for all the frustration of being the “go-to” girl, for all the times of sitting in my room during a winter formal or prom dreaming of what it would be like, for all the hopeless nights of sulking alone in Romanic movies … I find it all worth the wait to finally be in the arms of my one and only love, James David Rogers.



I would have never thought that 23 years down the road I would be announcing that I will soon be Mrs. Ruth Rogers!

Thanksgiving

Well, I will try and fill you in on my life from the past month. November has flown by so fast. It scares me how fast life flies by the older I get. I remember when I use to make the Christmas ring chain and stare at it each day, just counting the number of rings left till Christmas day. It seemed like that chain kept growing and not shortening. Now I’m just begging for the holidays to grant me just one more day to get shopping and everything done before the big day.
Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. It was a great time of being thankful with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. My family and I flew out to Arizona, where we had a layover and picked up the greatest guy in my life, James, to then proceed to a little town called Canton, TX. The pressure was on for James to meet the family, and of course he passed with flying colors. I think it was hard for me in the since that my grandfather was not there to meet him. He would always joke with me about guys and meeting my boyfriend one day. But I know that he would have approved and loved James… not only because they have the same exact name (James Rogers).
It was nice to not only see my relatives and be in Texas, but to also spend an entire week with James without the phone being involved. Just sitting on the couch watching TV was such a blessing.
The night of Thanksgiving we made a huge bon fire out in my grandmother’s yard while it was sleeting. We also made our daily trips out to Wal-Mart to waste time away and of course to the Dairy Palace. It’s a tradition that we go out each night and get Blue Bell Ice Cream. It just sucked this time, since I can’t have ice cream anymore… yay for being lactose intolerant!
Saying good-bye at the airport wasn’t all that fun, but knowing that he would be back out the next weekend made it a bit easier. He is out for the weekend right now and I’m loving every minute of it.
With Thanksgiving over and December here, I’m diving straight into the holiday season. I love this time of year!!! The Christmas lights, the busy parking lots, the holiday music, decorating the tree, Christmas parties, and buying gifts for those I love. The song is so right… It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Katie and Megan

Right now I am sitting next to my two favorite freshmen in the whole world... Katie and Megan. We are watching the Hills cuz no one showed up for bible study. So, I stole the cake from my RA meeting and we are endulging in it while gulping milk... Mmmm!

After we went and took photos of us reenacting the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Hint the Picture below.

Katie and Megan are from Salem, Oregon.
They live on 1A with me, Ruth. We meet some time this month and have lived happily ever since.

Golden Spoon VS Pinkberry

You might say that I’m a little obsessed with the world of frozen yogurt.

Ok, “little” might be an understatement, but it’s just so good.

Frozen yogurt and I connected on a deep level when it saved my life… literally.
I became almost terminally ill during my sophomore year when I was unable to keep any liquids or food down for about a year and a half. I had a rare form of shingles of the stomach, but doctors didn’t discover this till I was on my deathbed. During this time I discovered golden spoon. One of the rare foods I could keep down on a good day.
So daily I made trips with my dad to get golden spoon. You would think that after having it on a daily basis for so long and that I can eat other foods that I would get tired of it, but now I just crave it even more. I would probably say that I use to get Golden Spoon at least 3-4 times a week, but now that I’m on a budget I’ve had to cut down to once a week. But really the health benefits are so good.

For the past couple of weeks my brother and I have been in a huge debate over Golden Spoon vs. Pinkberry. Really, nothing tops golden spoon. Well, Yogurtland is pretty good, but still. So after much debate I decided that I would give in and try it.

AMAZING! I got the plain flavor with strawberries, kiwi and bananas. The bitter taste of the frozen yogurt with the sweet taste of the fruit is a perfect mix.

It’s so good and therefore I must say that it tops Golden Spoon on the chart of Frozen Yogurt.

Thank God I can eat again!

Let the Year Begin!

It’s so weird standing on the opposite side of the fence this year when it comes to school. For the past four years I have been the student, looking up to the staff for guidance. Now I am the staff and these freshmen are probably looking at me the same way that I look at Leslie Whitehead my freshmen year. She was so much fun and a great leader. I looked up to her so much! This new position that I hold is exciting and scary at the same time. I know that God wouldn’t have put me in this position if I was not qualified for it, but I just need to keep reminding myself this. I just pray that I will be an example to these girls of a woman after God’s heart through living life with them.

Well, orientation has begun and all the freshmen have moved in. I am now at the point where I do not have to run around all day getting things done or events ready. Therefore I have more time to hangout with my RAs and the freshmen girls on their halls.
The Simmons Hall RAs this year are seriously the best group of girls I could have ever hoped for. Each year I think that my staff couldn’t get better and this year has topped it off. I’m also really excited to be working under Katrina. She has so much to offer when it comes to leadership skills. This year I really want to use her in developing me into a better leader.

I look forward to this next year and the relationships that will grow deeper in my staff.
The late night runs to In-N-Out and 7/11 slurpees have already begun. And of course one can’t forget American #2! I love the fact that I graduated last year and I get to start all over again and relive my freshmen year in the dorms.

Sorry for such the delay in my blog. I’ve had so much to write about yet so little time or energy to do it. So, I’m going to try and write more often . . . but don’t hold me to it.

People always ask me what I am doing now that I have graduated and I say, “I’m back living in the dorms.” Not the typical answer, I know. But I absolutely love it. This year I will be a grad assistant for Katrina in Simmons Hall. I’m really excited, even though nursing school was on my top list of things to do next. I can see now why God allowed me to get such a late acceptance into Western.
So I moved in about a month ago and still working on settling in and calling this home for the next 10 months. Once I finish up decorating and painting I will post pictures for everyone.
RA training is now in full swing. It’s nice to be in the background of training and helping out, rather than sitting through it all. We have a great staff or R.D.’s and G.A.’s this year and the Simmons Hall RAs are amazing. It’s been crazy busy, running around trying to get everything ready, but I look forward to September where consistency will kick into my schedule and I can hangout more with the girls and get to know them more. It’s going to be a great year here in Simmons!


James left about a little over a month ago for Arizona. I’m not very good at good-byes and this one was definitely harder than the norm. With his life packed in a truck, I cried as he drove off. Even worse was watching Sarah Paulus crying as he said Good-bye.
Selfishly I want him here with me, but on the other hand, I know that God is going to be using him in great ways at GCU. He has so much to offer and GCU is blessed to have him.
As a little going away present, I got him a web cam. He doesn’t know this, but I really got it for myself ☺
It’s amazing how advanced technology has come. Every time we login I stand in awe at how we can see each other through a computer screen and hear each others voices while states apart… well, one state to be exact. We have our little web cam dates every night, which is the one thing I look forward to everyday. With RA training underway, we won’t get to see each other till September, but September is right around the corner!

All in all, life is good and God continues to bless me with more than I could have asked for!

We see in part; God sees the whole

Proverbs 16: 9
“A mans heart plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.”

It’s so true and yet time and time again I forget how great is the God that I serve. Why is it so hard for me to trust God with my future? I’m constantly trying to map out my life and have every little stone in place and yet every time God comes along and starts shifting through the stones and throwing them out one by one and replacing them. I don’t even know why I plan my future out! It always seems to change.
God has never given me the raw end of the deal. His plans are always so much better than mine, yet in the process of figuring this out, I get frustrated and loose faith.
It’s been a struggle lately in seeing why God is doing what He is doing. I question why timing between James and I are finally on the same page and then God places him in Arizona or why nursing school never worked out this coming year. I know that God is teaching me faith at this time and trusting in Him to direct my steps.
It’s easy to put this all in perspective when I sit back and remind myself that God is the creator of this universe and yet here I am, little me, questioning God. So, I will continue to strive in trusting God for the future!

Isaiah 55: 8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

RwandAMAZING!

Sorry I haven’t updated everyone on my trip to Africa. I find it really hard to talk about my trip at times because no matter what I say or how I word it, people will never truly grasp what I experienced or the feelings I dealt with while in Rwanda. I knew coming back home that this would happen, but for some reason it seems harder than other times. But, all in all, I think now that I have been able to process a lot of what I have been internalizing these past few weeks, I am ready to share my story with the blog world.

The country itself was absolutely beautiful. The definitely don’t call it the “country of a thousand hills” for nothing. Hills surrounded us and everything was green, which hit me how brown southern California is when flying back in.



The people were friendly and so welcoming. As we walked down the dirt road, on the first day, everyone was running out of their homes to greet us and shake our hands. I felt like a celebrity! I honestly don’t know how those people do it everyday. I have more of an appreciation for what celebrities go through everyday. I was sitting in a taxi on day and a group of business men were sitting around me and I could tell they were talking about me. Later I was talking with our translator and she was telling me that they found it such an honor to be sitting next to a white person. It’s so crazy that me, a simple person like me, is viewed so highly in Africa. Americans are so blessed and I don’t think we realize how much people envy us, all over the world, for the opportunities we possess.



Living conditions were rough for some of us. I love camping, so it was pretty easy for me to adjust to no running water, no hot showers, and little food/no food at times. For three weeks, I lived off bread rolls for breakfast, and rice/veggies for lunch and dinner. If there was one thing about this trip that I appreciated the most is that we took on every aspect of their culture. We could have easily living in a hotel down the road with hot water and great food, but we choose to live lives like Africans for three weeks.



Our time there was not wasted by any means. We were business most of the time varying from working with street kids to widows. We taught in the classrooms of a primary school and played games with them at recess. The street kids and orphans were heart breaking. We were able to tend to their spiritual and physical needs. One day we set up a medical clinic and cleaned wounds and picked fungus off the tops of heads. We spend several times with prostitutes, encouraging them to seek the love of God and not humans. These women were being taught how to make crafts and sell them so that they couldn’t sell themselves off the streets, which is so common in Africa. HIV and AID home visits were tough at times. We traveled all over Rwanda, literally, to encourage these people who have lost hope in living. One woman, Diane, had AIDS and had taken in five children, off the street, into an empty home the size of my room. One kid just got there a week before and has AIDS as well. After losing his parents at AIDS, we was rejected by his relatives and thrown on the streets to fin for himself till this woman took him in. It was heartbreaking as I sat there with tears streaming down my face as she shared her story. Lastly, the widows, my favorite! There were over 100 old women who traveled for miles to see us. You could see the hurt and pain in their eyes. I just hope that we were able to encourage them. I can’t imagine witnessing the death of my husband in the genocide and more most of them were raped right after.



Cleaning wounds for kids living on the streets


One of the prostitutes


The kids stole my heart!


It definitely has not been an easy road, adjusting to the land of opportunity. We have been so blessed to live in America where we have everything… and more. I pray that I will never take the small things for granite. I don’t know why God placed me over here and those children over there. I don’t know why God blessed me with great friends and family. I don’t know why God blessed me with a house over my head and food at every meal, but I do know that there is so much that I can be doing to help tend to the needs of those less fortunate. So, with all these things that God has blessed with me, I pray that I will turn these blessings back around and tend to the needs of those that are less fortunate. I thank God each and everyday for blessing me with all that he has, which is more then I even will need!

See ya June 29th

After months of preparation, Im taking off for Africa. Tonight I will be boarding Kenya Airways and heading to Rwanda, Africa to work with kids who have lost their parents in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Definitly not looking forward to the 24 hour plane ride but I guess that will be some good resting time before we hit the ground running for the next three weeks.

I couldn't have asked for a better team! We get along great now and we are as sarcastic as you can get. I look forward to the experiences we will be sharing together and watching them as God works through and in them. Above all else, Im stoked that I have this opportunity to travel across the world to share God's love with kids that have never experienced love period. God's love exceeds more than we can ever fathom and my prayer is that these kids will be overwhelmed with the love of the Lord that will be pouring out of us. As i sit here and look at the look I get from my parents, I can't imagine growing up without the love of my parents. I am so blessed in so many different areas! It's going to be so much fun watching these kids get the love and attention they deserve these next few weeks.

As for my friends! I will miss you all so much... especially you, James! It's been a couple weeks of hellos and good-byes for us that I'm looking forward to a few weeks together!

I hope that you all have a great month. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated. I will see you all June 29th or there after!

2007 Graduation Cruise

10 girls on a cruise to Mexico. Need I say more. 9 of my friends and I went on a 4 day, 3 night cruise to Ensenada Mexico this past week. for graduation. We stopped in San Diego, Catalina, and then of course Mexico. We had so much fun just relaxing and enjoying the rays out on the top of the deck of the ship by the pool and walked around the destination sites each morning.

San Diego-


Cataline-


Mexico-


My favorite part would have to be the dinners though. Each night we all got dressed up and when to dinner where our waiter, Jose would bring us more then we really wanted and at times food that we didn't want... LoL. Im hate seafood and each time he would talk me into ordering fish or shrimp which i ended up not eating... cuz I dont like seafood. Lol, why i did that, Im a pushover. What can I say? But, Im working on that.



Im glad all in all that I had this experience w/ the girls that were apart of my college life and hopefully for the future as well. It was sad to say goodbye when getting off the ship cuz the reality is that most of us will not be able to keep in contact w/ each other as much as we want. No more running over to their apartment to just say hi at midnight or going for late night donut runs.
Like my dad always says, all good things much come to an end.
Im not saying my friendships cuz I know that I will stay in contact w/ them as much as I can, but the college life with my friends is over.
Just yesterday I took a job at CBU as the resident assistant director in the dorms. So, I definitly will be experiencing the college life, just in a different way. Im sad that this next year I will not be experiencing some of the traditions I have created w/ my friends but I am excited to introduce these traditions to the new freshmen... like tortilla runs to Albertos at midnight and introducing them to Yogurtland :) LoL
Im going to miss all the girls that I lived life w/ in such close proximities this next year but I know that these girls that you see in the pictures will be close friends of mine for a long time! I look forward to starting a new chapter of life w/ each and everyone of them!

I just got back today from an amazing week w/ 9 of my girlfriends from a cruise to Mexico. While this was a great week and tons of stories, which I will share in another blog, I must say that trips like these become so much harder to go on when there is someone of significance to leave. This meaning James Rogers, my best friend and boyfriend. He has brought a joy to me that I can’t even begin to explain. I have so much fun whenever being around him and he has been such a huge encouragement to me in so many different ways. The saying, “time flies when you are having fun” has never been so true till I met him. 10:30pm always sneaks up on us.
Well, needless to say, these past 4 days have been amazing yet so hard at the same time. I missed him like crazy! Talking on the phone is one thing, but for some odd reason there is no phone service out in the middle of the ocean :P Not being able to talk during the evenings or while in Mexico killed me. I so badly wanted him to experience the fun and excitement that I did while on the cruise. But, now I’m back and seeing him again was priceless. We have only a few more days till he leaves for a conference and will get back hours before I leave for Africa till the end of June. It’s funny how I use to love traveling and leaving to go places, but these days things are a little different now that James is in my life. He takes the joy out of leaving for my trips when he isn’t going to be there. Not that I don’t have fun, cuz I definitely had fun on the cruise and loved being w/ the girls, but I just missed him.
Reality hit hard while on the cruise that him going to Arizona is going to be so hard on me. I knew I was going to miss him, but I guess in the back of my mind I was in denial that he was leaving. I’m starting to get a small taste of what it’s going to be like when he moves to his new job in July. While I’m confident that this is where the Lord is leading us both in our relationship and jobs, its definitely going to hard saying good-bye and relying on the phone for our relationship. His face will be greatly missed!

KinsHair

Im sitting here in the bookstore bored and thought that I would blog. Last night I got to spend the night at Kins house which for most people that know me, they would know that I hate spending the night at other people's home. We were exhausted and went to straight to bed once we got to her house, but laying in bed, reflecting on my friendship with her, I appreciate her in so many ways. She has become a great friend these past few years. Her life is a reflection of Christ's and challenges me spiritually in so many different levels. I enjoy the deep conversations that leaves me questioning things and making me think, which is something I have missed for so long. I've become tired of the shallow and meaningless conversations that I can never find here at CBU. Friendships even fall into this category at times. But never the less Kins always comes through to challenge me on some area of my life, whether she realizes it or not. I love our story times, soaking up the sun, beach trips, and of course our one time Yogurtland excursion... LoL.

I look forward to this next year, Lord willing we work together, of growing closer and sharing life together.