Saturday, December 31, 2011

don't wear it out

I'm tempted to go to bed without ringing in the new year. Honestly, I'm a bit over it. Having parties and watching a ball drop on TV is just sort of lame. Sure it's a new year, but it's not like it's going to be drastically different world when the clock hits midnight. Let's be real. It's already 2012 in half the world. It's been 2012 in Australia for like ever. [I don't know the time difference but isn't it like 10 hours? I have no clue.] Although I think it'd be neat to be in Times Square for the New Year, I can't say I see any reason to celebrate this day any different than any other. We should be thankful we've made it this far. Thank God for all the good He's brought and thank Him for bringing us through the trials. He provides and will continue to provide regardless of whether it's a new year or not. I don't know. I'm just feeling a little cynical about the whole craze about a new year. Why does the new year get celebrated but not a new month? No one posts Facebook statuses saying "Yes, April's been great, can't wait to see what May's got in store!". Maybe I should start something. ha.
Whatever. Party on, friends. I'll probably be sleeping. Might as well live up to my nickname my roommates pegged for me. Might as well ring in the new year like any other night...sleeping before midnight. I'm probably the coolest kid there is. I'm more in a chill mood, rather than a whoooohoooo mood so that's probably why at this time I could care less it's going to be 2012 in like 2 hours. I'm so exciting.

Hi and Lois Cartoon for Dec/31/2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

i'm making a list

but i'm not checking it twice...i'm not santa. sorry to disappoint. i know it appears that way in this photo..
I'm actually making a list of all the places etc I'd like to visit/see while I'm abroad. I know I won't necessarily get to see them all so I'm trying to prioritize, which will come later. Not now. this is the in the works list of places I'd like to go while I'm "across the pond".
1. Loch Ness
2. Loch Lomond
3. Isle of Skye
4. Sterling
5. London
       - this includes a lot obviously but highlights would be anything related to HP, "Great Britain Grand? Hotel?" [which is actually a pub...], Hillsong Church, London Bridge, Big Ben, and it'd be sweet to ride in a double decker bus. Are the guards with the furry hats in London too? Wow. lots in London. Whoo.
6. Norway. It's in my blood.
7. The original IKEA in Sweden
8. France..Paris?
9. Shetland Island/Isle whatever..there are ponies there.
10. The Arctic Circle? yeah that's pushing it.
11. Exploring Edinburgh is a given.
12. Ireland
13. The Alps?
To be continued...

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

all i can say right now

generic end of the year, looking back. except i don't even want to go back a whole year. that's much too long. i feel like i'm always taking time to reminisce and look back on the past. and i probably shouldn't do it so much. i'm trying to live in the present here people! looking back usually just makes me sad. so that's why i'm just going to highlight this past semester and try not to feel too sad by the end.
let's start by saying, this semester was amazing. it really was. so many awesome, life goal sorts of things. well really only like 1. haha and that was getting my picture with David Crowder. Can we just pause for a moment and honor DC*B? Because let's get real here...that was the whole reason I really was interested in Baylor. Obviously God had more up his sleeve, getting me to actually end up at Baylor and meet so many spectacular people. He's also done real well in getting my crazy fangirl dreams to come true too. =) So thanks God! haha I'm really not a crazy fangirl. You probably don't believe me. I'm actually the epitome of cool and collected and probably would not have had such experiences if I were my usual chicken self. I'm actually realllly awkward about meeting people in general so multiple that by like 12 and you've got me when I'm meeting someone I really respect and think is the coolest thing since sliced bread. But desperate times call for desperate measures so that's why I stood outside for like an hour waiting for David to come to his tour bus when I went to the 7 tour in Dallas because it was the last time I'd ever get to have that chance to get my picture with him unless I just ran into him randomly in Waco. And the only thing I could think to ask is "How tall are you?" Really Beth? There is so much more I could've said in that moment but I'm horrific at putting my thoughts into words. So if David ever reads this, please know that I really do think you're so fantastic and really, your music has changed my life and gotten me where I am today and I like to think that someday in Heaven we can be BFFs. [that no where near accurately describes how thankful I am for DC*B but we'll just leave it at that.] I actually just had a dream last night with the band in it. Seriously. It was great. If real life could be a DC*B concert all the time, I'm pretty sure I'd be set for life. Hold up. I'm not even talking about what I originally intended. Am I surprised? No. My mind moves too fast when I get one blog idea; a million more take that chance to jump on the boat too. Not okay! Ah.
whatever, talking about how fabulous DC*B is is way better than getting all sad looking back at the past. Because even if this semester really was such a blessed semester, I'd somehow end up talking about more stuff from my past that I'm sad no longer applies to my life, how losing friends sucks and blah blah blah. All that matters right now is that I know I am blessed beyond belief by a God who loves me to the ends of this earth and I will always be loved that much and if I could just get it in my head that He's ALWAYS got a good plan for my life even if I don't see it, I just have to remember to let Go[d]. Heyo. I know you see what I did there. =)  Tricky tricky.
Okay, enough of this. I'm getting all rambly.
I'll just go watch more of Modern Family. =)

Saturday, December 10, 2011

i've got neuroscience on the brain

oooh so puny. let's be real. this is just to help me study. so unless you're interested in neuroscience or just want to see how much I'm going to tell you....you really don't need to feel like you have to read this. although there's some good stuff in here.

let me tell you the parts of the nervous system. we've got the CNS and the PNS. The PNS is made up of the autonomic [internal] and somatic [external] systems, which break further into afferent [advance, arrive] and efferent [exit, escape]. Then off of the efferent part of the autonomic we have the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. the sympathetic system deals with arousal. the parasympathetic deals with relaxation.
The CNS gets crazy. Ready? It's the spinal cord and the brain. The brain has 5 divisions: telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, metencephalon, myelencephalon. All of those minus the tele one are part of the brain stem. The telencephalon is the most complex. It's made up of the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic system [Harry Can't Be Lumos]. The basal ganglia is made up of caudate, putamen, amygdala, globus pallidus [Cedric Plays A Game]. The limbic system is as follows: hippocampus, septum, fornix, amygdala, mammillary bodies, cingulate cortex.[Hagrid Sees Fluffy At My Castle].

On to other stuff. How about the 6 things that make up Neo-Darwinism? Okay! Even Lily Has Called Severus Great. 1. Environment 2. Life 3. Heredity 4. Continuity 5. Sex 6. Genetics

Now the 6 Methods of Brain Damage? 1. Tumors- can be infiltrating or encapsulating, malignant or benign, or metastatic. 2. Cardiovascular diseases- these are like strokes, ischemic thrombosis, arterosclerosis, etc.. 3. Closed Head injuries- concussions! When you get a bunch of concussions that are all fairly little over time that's called punch drunk syndrome 4. Brain Infections- bacterial or viral 5. Neurotoxins- mecury, lead 6. Genetic Factors-PKU, Downs

Then there's epilepsy and the different types of seizures. We've got 1. Generalized- gran mal vs petit mal. When you think of what a seizure is you probably think of the whole shaking and the tongue etc...that's gran mal. Petit mal is an absence seizure. 2. Partial- simple or complex. Simple have motor and sensory symptoms, complex have psychological symptoms.

Onto some more diseases! Parkinson's, Huntington's, Alzheimer's.
1. Parkinson's- movement disorder, I think this is the one that's like a lizard? Don't ask. I don't know where that came from.
2. Huntington's- this is genetic. If you've got the gene, it's unavoidable and terminal. If your mom or dad has the gene there's a 50% chance you'll get it too. This is also motor related, then intellectual as it progresses.
3. Alzheimer's- dementia is the main thing that categorizes it. only able to definitely diagnosis with an autopsy bc of the neurofibullary tangles and these other things umm amyloid plaques. Lovely.

I think that's all I've got for ya now. Do you know your memory? Betcha don't as well as I do! You've got to encode before you can consolidate and then you have to retrieve. Consolidation is how you make memory and it doesn't happen right away. It's like an ice cube tray. It takes a while for that water to turn to ice. If you shake it before it's done...oh no. Alcohol, closed head injuries and ECT can all mess up consolidation. H.M is the most famous case that has brought us so much knowledge on memory. He had a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy. meaning that that part was completely cut out of his brain. not like a lobotomy which just cut but not removed. He had really bad seizures but then after the surgery he was much better! Except his memory suffered. He had AWFUL anterograde memory. meaning forming new memory didn't really happen. explicitly at least. Based on some tests like the mirror something or other and the .....AHHHH I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE. DAVID CROWDER'S LAST ALBUM IS AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER ON AMAZON. BEST DISCOVERY TODAY. THANK GOODNESS I'M ALONE IN THIS STUDY ROOM SO I COULD FREAK OUT AND NOT EMBARRASS MYSELF!
finals...psh. i know what i'm listening to when i'm flying to scotland. it comes out the day i leave. heck yes. good thing i don't leave till the evening that day either so i'll for sure get it before i leave. or i better. that'd really suck if i didn't. which is why i might see if my awesome friend heather, who is going to PASSION 2012 will buy me a copy of the cd there because it'll be available to all attendees. jealous. David Crowder is my favorite person ever. and he doesn't even realize it. He's why I came to Baylor. What? yeah. if you didn't already know that, now you do. i don't share that because people don't understand. obviously.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

summer job summer job summer job

ahhhhhhh. spring hill wants me for their day camps this summer!!! how awesome is that?! things are definitely looking more set than they ever were last summer. haha. i'll actually have a real set, 5-6 days a week job! ptl. literally just got off the phone with the day camp guy/the guy who interviewed me who is kinda the coolest guy ever and i've never even met him. what? whoa. so many emotions right now. i'm going crazyyy.

except, i kinda would rather have a job with forest park summer camp. but i can't apply for that one until i get home. dangnabbit.
but then i kinda really love the spring hill people and everything they're about and forest park isn't on that same line. i'd be way closer to home working at forest park though and that'd be nice after being away at school in texas then abroad in scotland. soooo yeah.
this is shaping into the thoughts of me making a pros/cons list. all about lists so this could be good. or it could just make my decision harder. bahhh.
i have so much on my plate right now, i'm feeling a little overwhelmed. finals. social work app. visa app. finals. financial aid crap. ahhh

let's talk about...

how i went running this morning for the first time in over a month,
how it was like 20 degrees out [at least the 'feels like' temperature was that..it was technically 32]
either way, it wasn't actually that horrible of a run.
how now i'm just here trying to get loose ends tied and stupid financial stuff taken care of so I can have all I need for my application for the School of Social Work. That'd be kinda lame if the only reason I didn't get in is because I couldn't get my transcript because of some hold on my account.

let's talk about how I have so much to do and so little time till the end of the semester, till I'm off to Scotland, till I will have little contact with anyone I know and how I'm kinda freakin' out a little.
how I have been prayed over by so many people in preparation for me studying abroad next semester. how lovely that feels to know there are people who are here supporting me through prayer. I believe in the power of prayer. Thank you Jesus.

how I'm not really sure what I was thinking when I thought I'd go study abroad across the ocean where I know absolutely no one and I have so many unknowns related to that. Please tell me I'm not crazy. I'm just going against the grain of my life. I pretty much hate not knowing things and I'm going somewhere where I will probably feel very lonely for the first week or two and uncertain about everything. Being independent isn't something I particularly enjoy either. I like it to an extent, but in the extent that I won't really have anyone to hold on to so to speak while in Scotland, figuring out stuff on my own makes me nervous that I'm doing it wrong or when I can't figure something out I shut down. That's not really a good thing. Obviously, becoming more independent is like the biggest thing that people get out of studying abroad. It will definitely be a stretching experience and I'm probably going to be uncomfortable and unsure a lot, but hey, that's where trusting God comes in. Thank God for God. ha. is that even possible? whatever, I just know that studying abroad is going to be a time where I can't let God get away. Well I can't let myself lose sight of God and push Him to the backburner. I will need Him every day, every moment, and it's going to be a sweet time living life and trusting that God will work things out when things get tough or confusing or whatever. Can I make I sidenote and say that I'm pretty sure this whole semester has grown me like exponentially more than I did last year or at all in high school? Yeah. That's what college is. Win. I think I really like it. I haven't really figured it all out and probably never will, but I'm all about getting closer to Jesus and working at being more like Him and obeying Him and letting Him take control and whatever. It's literally the hardest thing for me, but I'm growing so much and changing into the person God desires me to be, slowly but surely. I'm so excited to look back on college and say, holy cow, I changed so much and it's AWESOME. All that to say, I still have a longgggg way to go.
I'm not sure if any of this blog makes any sense, I think I got totally off topic and rambled which isn't a surprise at all, but ya know. It's cool. more power to you if you made it this far and actually got something out of this.
now i gotta go work on my social work application.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

it's time to step it up.

it's time to whip out phrases like "it's a christmas miracle!"
it's time to start putting away the sundresses.
it's time to buckle down on school work.
it's time to let your hair down and let the wind blow.
it's time to sing really loudly.
it's time to make hot chocolate.
it's time to check my mail every day.
it's time to pretend it's colder out than it really is.
it's time to look up, look in, look out.
it's time to take a nap to power up.
it's time to start counting down the days till home.
it's time to eat to much.
it's time to be of good cheer.
it's time to listen.
it's time to share.
it's time to love.
it's time to be.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

a rather boring title for an entertaining post.

Here's to November, cooler weather [at least for now; texas is bipolar.], and chatting with friends.
This weekend is homecoming! I'm not nearly as excited for it as I was last year, mostly because the freshman are the ones who build the bonfire and there's just a lot more for them. Tomorrow is the carnival extravaganza and bonfire lighting so I guess that'll start getting me in the spirit. This year we're totally going to see all the parade since last year we missed the beginning which apparently has all the cool stuff. totally backward if you ask me. the cool bear balloon, the eternal flame, the court, all at the very beginning. that's like having santa at the beginning of the thanksgiving parade! not cool.
Last night was homecoming worship at Fountain Mall which was good. There was a lot of talk before the actual worship which was kinda boring, but i thought the last guy that spoke was really inspiring. Sidewalk Prophets and Chris August were the musical guests. I don't really know SW Prophets, but recognized some of their stuff and the main singer, Dave, is from Indiana! We chatted about Indiana after they played; he's from Terre Haute and I think he went to Anderson University. So that's neat. Chris August is bomb. Kelly and I saw him at the beginning of October as a part of the 7 Tour with DC*B, Gungor, and John Mark McMillan. We also met him then too. He's hilarious. [sidenote: I watched his "Cooking With Chris" videos today and about died. Why am I not that awesome? haha] Yesterday Kelly had him sign the picture we took with him and then I took a super awkward photo with him, pretty much the weirdest picture I've ever taken. nbd. haha I kind of hate it but love it at the same time. haha and apparently something's going down in regards to a birthday present for me and Chris August/the rest of the 7 tour guys and Kelly. She went early to talk to him and then after the show gave him an envelope with her return address etc and there was stuff inside with instructions...I'm intrigued. I already figured out part of it is pictures to have all the band people sign but Kelly said that that's not all of it and anyway, since I've already met them all, signatures are not really interesting to me. A picture is cooler. haha I'm imagining it will have something to do with maybe them writing me happy birthday messages or something like that. I really don't know. But I think it'll be legit.
Anywho, the concert last night was fabulous. good times. I about froze to death but that's besides the point. I was wearing shorts and the temperature dropped and it was REALLY windy. Yay cold fronts! for like 3 days! haha Both SW Prophets and Chris August played Michael Jackson songs which was fun and Chris played his Candy (W)rap which was the greatest thing ever. There was more worshipesque songs in there too! Chris played my 2nd favorite song by him, "Battle". I really enjoyed "Starry Night" too this time around, maybe because it was like I was in the whole outdoor mood and I really love the stars and I learned he wrote it right after he recommitted himself to Jesus, so that's really legit. He had a funny little whisper chat with someone up front about playing "Stranger" which is my favorite song, but I forgot to mention it when we talked for like .2 seconds. I think my brain was frozen along with my legs. Oh well. I'm pretty sure I love every song by him so I can't wait for his new album! To think he just got on my radar like last Spring. Is it awkward that I listen to his songs every night as I fall asleep? They just put me in the right mood to sleep well, I guess.
ridiculousness. windblown. awkward.
Goodness, I'm rambling. I have to study neuroscience since I won't really be doing that this weekend and my test is Monday. bleck. I thought I was doing well starting to study on like Tuesday but then I didn't do anymore and now it's already Thursday. AH. time flies. I'll be home for christmas before I know it!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

what happened to october?

i can't believe october is pretty much over. and how it's almost my birthday. i'm really looking forward to it. really i just want to make it through this week. and next monday. then i'll be good for a spell. whoop.
i kind of want to take a poll and see how many people legitimately read this. but now's not a good time to do it because i'm not getting on facebook till my birthday and that's how i get most of my hits for sure. and apparently from this blog i follow that i commented on like 5 times once to try to win an iTunes giftcard. so i guess people found me that way. cool.
anyways, so my life has been pretty humdrum lately. it's almost homecoming so i can write a sweet blog about that. haha. but I have done some stuff that's been fun/interesting since i last blogged. i'll make a list since i'm really good at those. =)
1. made a stop motion video [watch it on youtube]

2. participated in the Coaster Crawl, where we went to different cafes, bars, etc [all local] and talked about human trafficking and had coasters with stories of freed slaves from texas on them to give to the businesses if they wanted them. it was an interesting experience...

3. made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!
4. went to see paranormal activity 3.
5. hung out with my lifegroup and went tortilla tossing for the 2nd time ever, still suck but am oddly better with my right arm.

so delicious.

right handed?

my lifegroup is rad.


that's all folks.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

i'm gonna do exactly what i want

[that's really only my blog title because that song is stuck in my head. yay jon mclaughlin!]

it's thursday. whoop. i kinda always like my thursdays because i always feel productive. i run in the morning, go to my neuroscience lab, do homework for my classes in the afternoon, go to said classes, make dinner..etc. then the next day is friday and that's always fabulous. slash i've started saying whoop a whole lot lately and it's kind of annoying me...oh well.
so the whole point of my blog was going to be about social work and all the craziness that's up with that but i'm not really feeling like being serious and getting all bummed out sooo i'll write about that probs tomorrow.
today my friend/one of my roomies katie and i made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they are divine! greatest cookies in the world. and i don't even like pumpkin pie, which is strange because i like everything else pumpkin...bread, cookies, scones, the like. maybe i should try pumpkin pie again? perhaps. i think it's a texture thing with it though and it's much more concentrated pumpkinness sooo.
okay, umm what else...i got nothing really. i should probably not just blog when i don't really have a purpose of what i'm writing...
oh i've started a thankful thursday thing, so i'll share that here..[i tweet it so i can hashtag. hah]

1. EMP [early morning prayer] while it was still dark out
2. Acing my history midterm
3. Cajun food day at Collins
4. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
5. Listening to Jon McLaughlin's new cd "Forever If Ever"
6. this was Sweet Home Alabama but it wasn't actually on tv; it was some new show named the same thing as the movie. dumb.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

strength will rise



sorry this isn't actually written by me and is actually just a link the the blog that features it, but jon acuff writes some good stuff and today's blog was particularly good for me.so let's just pretend i wrote this okay? because it's really well done and funny and thought provoking at the same time. i feel like my blog is inadequate. ha.

http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/10/wondering-if-you-should-wait-on-god/

Saturday, October 15, 2011

fall withdrawal

I want to be in Indiana so bad right now. Fall weather, colorful trees, pumpkin patch, apple orchard, family, cross country. Seriously. It's killing me. I don't remember wanting fall this bad last year. I don't necessarily feel homesick; waco's got some semblance of home for me since I'm here for 9 months out of the year pretty much. I just hate how we don't get real seasony around here. All that signifies fall around here is football games. and I don't even really like football. But it's a habit, a way of life, an expectation here to go to all the home games, to watch the ones on tv when they aren't at home. Also, because I 1. don't really care about football and 2. am not from Texas, half the games that are really intense aren't that intense for me because I don't hate A&M or UT. Granted if I had been at the game today at A&M, that would've been a different story. I like going to games because of the atmosphere. Everyone's so crazy and cheering and it's fun. So I'm really actually excited for the Homecoming game because it's going to hopefully be fall by then [Nov 5] and it's obviously a home game so I'll be able to people watch and all that jazz.
Can I just say that right now fall break has been nothing like I was thinking it'd be and I'm kind of okay with that? I still want to make a stop motion video sooo let's wrap this up and brainstorm/take 100s of pictures. if I actually end up making something cool I'll post it on here. duh. =) or link to where you can watch it. yay! happy fall...

Thursday, October 13, 2011

it smells like pumpkin spice.

or teen spirit. your choice?
but it really does smell like pumpkin spice in our apartment because we have a candle warmer now that's currently warming a pumpkin spice candle. so fall.
so by demand of my roomie, andrea, I'm supposed to blog about last night. Not sure it's really as funny when y'all weren't there to experience it, nor do I really know how to blog about it. I mean it wasn't out of the ordinary minus me staying up past 11 on a school night. Ha. I stayed up till 1:15! Studying for midterms...bleck. But it's FALL BREAK NOW! Whoo! I don't think I've ever been as pumped for no school as I was today. It was Thursday meaning I didn't have class until 2. aka history aka midterm. Since I went to bed so late last night and didn't really sleep in, I was tired and the day took forever. But it was worth it. So yeah. Yesterday...I went to church and that was fab because it was an all worship/prayer night because our pastor, Carl, was catering to the fact that it was a week of stress and midterms etc for so many. I love worship. and prayer. So yeah. Sweet Dwelling Place [that's the official name of our college Wednesday night deal]. Then I came home and buckled down, I had to finish my Social Work take home test by midnight and that ended up taking way longer than I wanted. So yeah, let's set the scene a little.
Katie, Andrea, and I are all sitting around our kitchen table with the books out, studying and listening to music. It was lovely actually. I like just hanging out, even if it was while we were studying. We made cookies midway through our studying adventure too, the kind that are holiday themed..in this case they had ghosts on them. Yay.
Staying up past my bedtime always makes me a little crazy/I didn't really enjoy studying for history so occasionally I helped Andrea and Katie study their Human Development stuff. I said a lot of ridiculous things because I was clearly not all there, as tired as I was. My personal favorite was my comment about the pumpkin spice candle that was melted...I was going to write it, but then I realized again that pretty much the fun of the whole evening was the sort of fun that requires a person to be there to actually find it funny. So really this whole post is rather pointless. No surprise there. I'll blog something more quality tomorrow when everyone's still sleeping. haha
this blog had so much potential from the title and the opening line. sorry to fail you.
good night.

Monday, October 3, 2011

it's okay, i'm obsessed.

So as some of y'all know [or if you read my last blog..], I went to Dallas this weekend to see the David Crowder* Band on their last tour. =( BUT IT WAS SO GOOD AND SO WORTH IT. I'm pumped for their last album come out. They made a Christmas one that comes out tomorrow, but it's the ultimate one I'm really excited for. Anyways, I've pretty much been in a great mood since that day and it's been fantastic. I FINALLY got my picture with David Crowder. I'd already met him twice last year, but didn't want to be the obnoxious fan because both instances were not at concerts so it was weird to me to be like hey let's take a picture. I'm sure he wouldn't have cared, but I figured I would have more chances in the future. But this weekend was literally my last chance. I didn't want to leave without getting a picture so we waited outside his tour bus for at least an hour. Got pictures with a few other guys from the night..Chris August and Kevin, the cellist and guy on the Sing Off, who was playing with Gungor, while we waited. Then, David came out finally and I was ready. It was like midnight at that point so I was freakin' tired but my dreams came true so it's okay. =) It was one of those nights I would love to do over and over again. Here's the excellent picture and a video of them playing Trans Siberian Orchestra...not the super awesome part, but still awesome none the less. Christmas came early.


Friday, September 30, 2011

tgif. but really.

Tomorrow is going to be the greatest day of my life. but also sad. because it's the last time I'll see David Crowder in concert. but happy because i get to see him one last time and get to see Chris August, Gungor, and John Mark Mcmillan, too. and we're eating at in 'n out burger, which better live up to expectations. I seriously have been waiting for this day since i bought my ticket in april. Yeah, I hopped on that bus real quick because I knew it'd sell out.
bahhh. I can't wait. Also, i've really been stressing about study abroad stuff and school, so this is gonna be bombin' to get away for a bit and get out of waco. satisfy a little bit of my wanderlust.
Well, this was going to be a whole lot more interesting and such, but i got distracted trying to finish my application for Edinburgh and I'm getting hungry so I need to go make dinner before the Island Party tonight! Whoooo. Party weekend.

Friday, September 23, 2011

wake on up from your slumber

well let's see. this afternoon has been crazyyy. I got out of my Social Work class and came back to our apartment to get ready to go to Goodwill to try and find Baylor shirts me and my roomies could cut to tank tops and 3 Spoons for noms. So we were unsuccessful finding Baylor gear but we found loaf pans so we could make pumpkin bread!! YES. Then we went to 3 Spoons, saw Petco and decided we'd take a visit there to just look around at the cute animals. We ended up getting 2 shrimpy shrimps, 2 zebra danios[which I affectionately named Fred and George], and 3 neon tetras. Too legit to quit. & we bought a coffee maker for their fish bowl. =) yay!
However, it's now been literally two hours since we bought said fish and we're down to 1 fish[George] and the shrimp. Sad day. We're blaming Waco's water. At least that stuff doesn't kill me when I drink it. =/ Oh, and more randomness...we are cooking pizza now and the pizza pan is curling?! this is not okay.
The best parts of my day so far though have been...NEEDTOBREATHE The Reckoning cd came in the mail for me today!! YAY! and one of my classes was cancelled and the pumpkin bread deliciousness. soooo yummy.
UPDATE: All fish are dead. =( cheers to the freakin' weekend.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

story of my life.

things i should be doing:
reading english homework
starting to read novel for history
reading neuroscience
writing reaction paper for marriage&the family
application for University of Edinburgh
then filling out my course equivalency form
 emailing department heads
planning my social work essay
writing/researching sw essay
working out

things i would rather be doing:
this.
napping
reading The Help
watching my TV shows
getting a massage
eating cookies
pretending it's friday
jamming to music
mindless activities


one step at a time. i'm going to take a shower. it's the middle of the afternoon. nbd. cleanliness is important and it's something i'm not going to want to do later tonight after dwelling place. maybe it will wash away my lack of productivity so i can get things accomplished before dwelling place. holler at me. how is september almost over?!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

run to the battle.

world mandate.

i feel like i can't adequately describe how amazing it was.

how challenging, uplifting, convicting, loving, comforting, powerful, peaceful, passionate.

it was one of those weekends that when it's over, it's hard to go back to normalcy. i just want continuous Jesus time all the time. Granted, I can probably work on that so my life is more like that, so there you go. So many powerful words spoken, prayers said, and songs sung.

I feel so blessed to have been able to go [Thank you Kelly!]. Now, I'm feeling that feeling I feel like I always get after awesome events such as this. It could also be a case of the Sunday blahs. Regardless, I'm feeling like I need to do something, but I can't figure out what. I've had a desire to go adventure and travel and get out of Waco/Texas lately and this whole missions conference thing only made me want to go and be Jesus to the least of these in unreached parts of the world. Shoot, that kind of sounds like 'oh it only made me want to do this, nbd.' but really, if I could, I'd go to Ukraine; I'd go to Scotland right now and make friends with cool accents and love 'em to Jesus right now too. Good thing I get to travel there next semester. Praise Jesus. I need to get outta this world. ha.
I'm going to upload a video I took of worship last night, which really doesn't do it justice, but believe me when I say, Jesus was present and He was loving it and everyone was loving it too. The Ferrell Center was shaking. Oh yeah, which reminds me...WE GOT RAIN!!! At the start of the session, maybe midway into the first worship set..I don't really remember..but a guy came on stage and was like "I got a word from God that He's going to bring rain to fill our thirsty hearts and this thirsty ground" or something like that and then he put his raincoat on as a prophetic action. And not even kidding, like 2 minutes later there was a little thunder and it rained!! We sang "Let it Rain" by..um someone. and we sang "Our God is an Awesome God" which is so old school but fabulous and it was great. The video is of a song called..well actually I'm not sure what it's called but the worship leader for World Mandate/Antioch..John Mark Gulley is crazy awesome and writes his own songs which are some of the best worship songs ever. I didn't record my favorite part of the song but here's what I can remember of the lyrics..aka the chorus and bridgeish.

Hallelujah, our God is here and now, every nation and every knee will bow. Our king Jesus is coming in victory.
He is coming. He is coming soon. The Messiah. He is coming to rule. All peoples, every nation. He's releasing revelation, He's coming.

Friday, September 16, 2011

weaksauce.

that's kind of a pun and i just thought of that off the top of my head. shoot. i'm awesome. and home alone. and wanted to make taco shells. but i couldn't get the salsa jar open. totes lame. guess i'll save that for a later date. i made the split decision to make the italian blend pasta my mom sent me instead because the water for the jumbo shells started boiling and i didn't want to cook those since i wasn't making the shells tonight anymore. so it smells like spices and yumminess now.
world mandate starts tonight. that's this annual[sort of? they didn't have it last year...] missions conference that antioch puts on. Apparently it's like the best thing ever. I don't doubt it. I just don't feel up to it this weekend so here's to praying I won't let my attitude get in the way of experiencing Jesus. AMEN. okay. I think my pasta's done so I have to go. maybe i'll get some pushups in after dinner before I get picked up so I can open the salsa tomorrow for dinner. haha well, i might be busy world mandating tomorrow at dinner time. i honestly don't really know. ehh.
over and out girl scout.

Friday, September 9, 2011

foul ball. [aka no catch up].

ha. trying to be clever with that post title...i need to write to catch y'all up on life in the big Tex. But currently I'm feeling crappy and kind of annoyed so yeah. Sorry, the catching up will have to wait. here's a quicky letter post.

Dear Painting, You are probably one of my favorite things to do. I wish I'd paint more. So relaxing. I could paint a whole wall and love it. Seriously.

Dear Roommates, You know who you are. and you know what you need to do. or rather, not do. I know you'll laugh at this, but I'm for real. I can always not take care of crickets when they show up late at night and y'all are screaming. It's a good thing I still like y'all enough. =)

Dear Reading, I used to think I enjoyed you. I mean I still do, just not academically. If you'd lighten your load in all my classes, I'd probably enjoy them a lot more. Although, the reading for English and History hasn't been bad. It's the Neuroscience and Social Work that's getting me.

my first canvas painting!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

everyone likes tacos.

    Living in an apartment with friends really opens your eyes to how different you all are. My philosophies are so different from my friends and sometimes it's really frustrating. It's going to take some serious patience in some instances for me to handle things. I'm trying to keep an open mind that just because things aren't done how I'm used to doesn't mean they don't work and even if my way is more efficient or whatever, I can't expect my roommates to abide by what I've grown up with. Habits are hard to change...including my own. I reuse ziplock bags; my roommates throw them away. I cook things differently than they do. We all have different opinions about using our cellphones at the table while we're eating together. They like to throw cloth napkins in the wash after one use; I just fold it so the dirty part is on the inside. Y'all probably don't care what we do differently, but it's just helping me realize the differences and where I need to remember to take 2 breaths or something before reacting.     
    This probably sounds like everything that my roommates do, I don't like and that's totally not true. There are a lot of ways in which we have the same thoughts and ways, but it's obviously the ones that vary that I notice more and need to consciously make a note of to not freak out about it everytime.
It's just been on my mind lately as we've been grocery shopping and cooking and whatever together.      
   Ahh life. It's a beautiful thing. I'm excited for this semester to live life together with my roomies who are some of my favorite people here at Baylor. I'm ready to get involved in things around campus and get my life in some semblance of a working, well oiled life. But I'm open to spontaneity and fun adventures; I don't want to become a person who just stays holed up inside and by myself. I'm hoping I'll be able to branch out and make friends in my classes that I'll be friends with outside of class.
This year is going to be fabulous. Let's eat some tacos. [that's what we had for dinner tonight. noms. actually it was more like taco salad, but regardless, it was tasty.]

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

back in the wack

Welp, yesterday it was goodbye Indiana and hello Texas, where I was greeted by a beautiful expanse of dryland and excessive temperatures. Lovin' life, let me tell you. Actually, haven't been outside past walking out of the airport to my ride and out of my ride to my temporary home for yesterday and today. haha.
It's good to be back in the wack, got to see several friends last night so that was lovely, but I feel like I didn't get to properly say goodbye to Indiana. Leaving snuck up on me so quickly; I packed everything the day before I left and missed out on seeing a handful of people one last time till Christmas.
However, the point of this post is not going to be me being all sad I'm not home anymore. This is home. sort of. It'll take some getting used to again, but I'm glad I'm here and excited for things to get rolling here. It's gonna be a swell semester, I know. I am so appreciative of all the wonderful people I know down here who are there to help me and house me and feed me and love on me. It's really fabulous.
I'm excited to hopefully meet new people, people who live nearer to IN preferrably. =) Funny, on my flight from Dallas to Waco yesterday there were so many Baylor folk[yeah I just said folk..] and the guy I sat next to is a sophomore too and he was from California. We didn't exchange names..whoops. But the story is that the girl across from us was wearing a Purdue sweatshirt and I asked her if she was from Indiana or what when we got off the plane; sadly she was from Chicago, not Indy, but she was looking at Baylor for grad school and knew people at Purdue and I just thought that was so great. I love meeting people who aren't from Texas. Haha
Here's to a joyous semester of friends and fun and hot weather..hah without complaining! =)
I'm off to spend some time with Harry Potter, so if you'll excuse me. I don't wanna miss the Hogwarts Express. =) [wow. I'm so lame. haha]

Friday, July 29, 2011

gotta get down

Dear Late Night Adventures, So solid. I should embark on such adventures more often. Friends always welcome.

Dear Legs, I can't believe you've run 3 times this week. Hopefully this means I'll eventually get back into shape. Being slow is no fun when you know you can do way better.

Dear Days of the Week, Sometimes I get you confused and I sincerely hope that it doesn't get me in trouble one of these days. & by trouble I mean me missing something important like a babysitting job or haircut or whatever.

Dear Guitar, I need to get one of my own. I'm so glad we've got to spend some time together this past week. I fully plan on playing you as much as I can before you go back to your true owner. I'm getting so good with you!

Friday, July 15, 2011

mischief managed.

okay. i'm caving. and writing about harry potter. last night was seriously the best time of my summer. siriusly. =) most epic movie ever. well, inception was pretty epic, but yeah. harry's just a classic and pretty much the coolest ever, soo he wins.
I'll be honest though and say that I wasn't huge into HP my whole life. I did read them when I was young. I remember reading the 4th one in 4th grade...that massive book sat on my desk in school and I'm pretty sure people were questioning me as to how I was reading it/why I was. But it's so good. Some people don't understand. Some people aren't readers. But you can't call yourself a true HP fan [in my opinion], if you haven't read the books. I took it upon myself last summer to reread all the books/actually finish the series. I was pleased with myself and thus became a strong follower of all things Harry. Okay, that might be pushing it. But, I did renew my love for the books. Then over Thanksgiving, I corralled my friends I was staying with to watch all the movies. But we skipped the first one for some reason...rather unfortunate because that one's kind of a big deal. And they hadn't read the books. So as we went through the rest, I had to explain a lot and that kind of takes away from the experience. We didn't get to the 7th one either and didn't get around to seeing it in theaters since it was still in theaters at that time. So I didn't get to watch that one until Easter. But it was beautiful. Again, I was watching it with a friend who hadn't read the books...come on people! Needless to say, I was pumped that I'd be around to see the July 15 premiere, since I didn't get to go to the first part in November. My friends and I in preparation for the day watched every movie from 1-7 in their entirety...including 6 and 7.1 on the day of the premiere. So great. We all dressed up for the premiere as well...loads o' fun. I dressed as a house elf, a pretty awesome one if you ask me. =) My friends and sister and I all rocked our costumes and got our pictures taken with lots of random people which was entertaining. Finally it was midnight and the movie began. I didn't remember everything that happened but I knew the main stuff and the movie was done so well in accordance to the book. It was epic. Satisfying. Magnificent. I want to see it again. Also, there's something about seeing a midnight premiere of a movie...everyone in the theater is obviously really pumped to see said movie and it's always great when the audience claps at awesome moments or awws at sad ones in unision.
Now, Harry and Ron, and Hermione and Neville and everyone's story is completed on the big screen. But as J.K. Rowling said...Hogwarts will always welcome us back whether it be through the books or the movies. And Harry lives on in our hearts. Sigh. I'm on a HP high right now. haha.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

loaded quote.

From the book One.Life by Scot McKnight

"Some are afraid to ask God's spirit to come down to empower us and fill us, but Francis Chan thinks the question is actually deeper: 'The flip side of fearing God won't show up is fearing that he will."

solitude

So last night I stumbled upon [not Stumble! Upon] this blogpost about solitude and it made me realize that maybe that's my life right now too. I'm just gonna include the link here because the girl who wrote it did a wonderful job looking into solitude and all. Solitude I especially liked her first two points about how solitude is important for spiritual growth and also how solitude can be difficult, yet beneficial, and practice is necessary. Lately, I've just been feeling down and frustrated at the state of things and lonely and distant from friends and it's been hard. I don't like it, but now seeing as maybe God's got me here for a reason, I'm hoping it will make this time more bearable. I've been slacking on spending time with Jesus every day and honestly, that's probably a part of my frustrations and such. I'm feeling more encouraged and hope to get back to spending time with Jesus everyday. It's still hard for me to not think of it as something I have to check off a list, but as something I want to do and enjoy. I feel like I've gotten so much advice and stuff on spending time with God, but for some reason, I can't make it stick. I don't know. Just a thought. So yeah. That's what's up. I'm slowly working to be satisfied and content in God and to be patient because things don't happen overnight. I've got 37 days till I go back to Texas [what? that soon already? craziness.] and I want this last month or so to be marked by satisfaction and contentedness, not the opposite. I don't want to spend them wishing it were actually August 16, even though I do miss Texas; I want to spend them investing in the relationships I have here in Indiana. So let's go. No more moping around. Solitude is good and beneficial and needed. Embrace.

Monday, July 4, 2011

as of lately

I haven't been blogging well lately. Sorry about that. I do miss writing about things, just I get caught up in doing other things that I forget what I want to blog or that I was even planning to blog. haha. I'm kinda like Dory when it comes to things on the computer. I need to work on not getting sucked into nonsense.
So I just felt like sharing some random snippets of my life lately.
1. I substitute nannyed for a friend last week. Best quote of that time..."Raindrops are like basketballs that turn into little people falling all over." This is why I love little kids. They say the funniest things while being completely serious about it.
2. I learned to french braid my hair the other day. New hairstyle till I get it cut in August? Yes.
3. I spent yesterday with my family in Bloomington and it was great fun. Tonight, celebrating the 4th with a classic dinner and reminiscing about riding the bus and gym class and awesome birthday parties. I love laughing with my family.
4. This has nothing to do with me, but I just realized we sang part of a Mumford & Sons song at church last night. Excellent.
5. Tomorrow I'm nannying again and my friend Kelly from Texas is here! I've been missing my Baylor friends so I'm glad I get to see her before actually having to be back at school.

I plan on blogging more than just lists and stuff, but let's be honest...if you know me, you most likely know how much I enjoy lists. =)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

the voice

I'm watching The Voice Results show on Hulu right now. So emotional. I don't know why I'm tearing up. It's a television show. But I freakin' love Team Blake. Get it Dia! Okay. I'm good. I'm not so attached to any of the other teams; I do like Team Adam, but I knew Javier would win. And Vicci winning from Team Cee-Lo wasn't a huge surprise either...Dia and Xenia were so close in their scores that's why it was like so intense and both of them are young so it's like if I were a singer, that could've been me? Yeah, whatevs. I love all the stories behind the teams and their performers, beautiful and awesome. BAhhh.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

better days

this is just gonna be a quickie post, sorry. i want to go to bed early tonight. mostly because i feel all sick and blah. so yeah. that's what's up. i just ate a bowl of cookies and creme ice cream and loved it. so delicious. also, you know how i wrote about that missing check? well i found it! so praise the lord for that one. not so much praising the fact that my nanny job is basically nonexistent now because the mom is quitting her job so she won't need me to watch the kids much. unless she gets hired somewhere else real soon. doubtful.
i spent a good chunk of my evening sorting through every letter from friends that i've saved, sorting them by who sent them, reading some along the way. it was interesting to read some and catch new perspective on things people wrote to me once that still can apply to me now. it did make me miss some of my friends a lot and make me a little sad, but i think that's also me feeling crummy because my nose has been running ALL freakin' day and i'm all lethargic. oooh big word. =) i've decided that despite the fact that the vast majority of my life, i've always wanted better friends or well that sounds bad. more like i've just wanted to be better friends with the ones i know or whatever. despite that i get down on myself for thinking i'm not interesting or fun enough that people will initiate hanging out with me and not me initiating hanging out with them. despite the fact that i can't go back in time and fix friendships lost. despite my worldly desires, God is the ultimate friend and provider. He knows what He's doing and what He's doing for me is just right, even if I don't particularly care for how it's going.
I was listening to KLove as I was driving to and from taking care of the dog I'm dogsitting this week and the song "Blessed Be Your Name" came on and I was like, yes. No matter what, I can still continue to say blessed be Your name because God is great, God is in control, and God loves ME!
(excuse my lack of proper capitalization throughout the majority of this blog. feeling lazy. )

(so much for going to bed earlier. but it's official! I can swallow pills with just water! This is great. You don't even know.)

Friday, June 17, 2011

missed me?

Meh. I don't even know if anyone has missed my blogs. Honestly, I haven't been in the mood to write much. I mean I've actually had some things I've wanted to blog about but then I finally have significant time to write and then I just don't know how to get it all out so I don't write it. Like it sounds better in my mind than in 'print'.

Maybe I'll do a little letter writing?
Dear Nanny employer, I mean thanks for giving me a job like 4 times. Sucks that you don't really need me anymore...boo quitting your job? yeah...


Dear Missing Check, PLEASEE show up. I don't want to have to tell my nanny employer I lost you and make them write me a new one. That's awkward and embarrassing.

Dear These Blah feelings, Cut it out. I don't like you.


Dear Running, I'm glad we met finally again this early morning, but really. This soreness stuff has got to stop. Well not really, because then it makes me realize how out of shape I am and how I need to run more. But it sure isn't fun walking up and down stairs.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

introverted heaven

this post brought to you by: my favorite blog and a new obsession

So, if you haven't been reading my blog for very long, you may not have caught my inspiration for the random letter blogs I do. Well thanks, again to Today's Letters (this time via their twitter...http://twitter.com/#!/todaysletters) I felt inspired. She tweeted about being alone for the night and called it 'introverted heaven'. I feel like more and more I'm seeing how I'm totally an introvert and I think I really like it. Maybe it's because my sister and I had our house to ourselves for a week, or maybe it's because I don't feel like as many of my friends actually want to hang out, but I really like being alone and just chillin'. It gives me time where I can just sit and listen to music, watch movies, bake cookies, or actually be productive. Lately, I just feel like being around too many people just makes me antsy to leave and be alone. I'm not a loner; I do like hanging out with people. But I feel so much more at ease and energized being by myself. Funny, this is totally opposite of what ironically my older sister wrote on her blog the other day. She's energized by being with people, even if it's just going somewhere and people watching. Shoot, I like people watching, but it's not something I'd pick to do over sitting at home and reading a book. I feel like being introverted makes me lazy and maybe that's a whole other aspect of who I am, but it's just been hard for me to feel motivated to do much and I feel like I don't have any real passion that I can put a finger on. I like doing stuff like reading and watching movies and eating and napping and writing people letters, but none of that really transfers into a passion. I'm totally getting to a new topic so, I'd better stop for now and save that stuff for later.
Good night!
Oh, I didn't mention my new obsession. haha. Perhaps as a result of my introvertedness and spending time alone and lack of real desire to go do things, I've started watching The O.C. Judge all you want; I know it's totally ridiculous, but I like it, okay?

Friday, May 27, 2011

where is the sun?

Dear Clouds and rain, Enough of this. Seriously, storms are only cool when they don't happen everyday. Also, I think I've seen the sun like 5 times since I've been home and that's really not going to cut it. Not seeing the sun makes me grumpy and sad and lazy. It already sucks that I don't have a job yet, so you could at least make it nice to get out of the house more often.


Dear Westfield sweatshirt, You're my favorite. Sorry I didn't bring you to college. Pretty sure that finding you during the summer in the cafeteria while running inside because it was raining [surprise surprise?] like 3 summers ago was fate. I'm almost glad it's only like 55 degrees right now.

Dear Friday, It's been a nice week. No, I won't sing the song. I'm too busy already gettin' down and going to bake cookies.
best sweatshirt ever.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

more like Jesus

So a good friend of mine wrote me a letter and asked me "Do you ever feel you are trying to be more like other people instead of more like Jesus?" and that really got me thinking. I think that's how I've been living my life, comparing myself to others, wanting to be more like them when I should be wanting to be more like Jesus. Granted, the people I want to be like are passionate followers of Jesus, but I can't just want to be like them; I have to work at being more like Jesus and then maybe when someone sees me they'll see a passionate lover and follower of Jesus, trying to live like Him daily, not live like someone else. Often I find myself dwelling on what I think is wrong with me, my shortcomings and getting all down on myself because I'm not good at this like so-and-so or I'm not as smart as so-and-so. Ultimately, I should be taking my shortcomings and bringing them to Jesus, seeing how I need Him always and that through His grace and mercy, He can help me overcome like He already has. Seriously, I amaze myself sometimes. I know what I'm supposed to do, or well what I should do, what's better for me to do than get all bent out of shape over little things, but I think that I can do it fine on my own or that even if I do believe God can help me and that I need to be always looking towards God, I don't truly believe it. I'm working on that. I've found some devotional books in my room that I've never looked at so I'm giving them a go and so far, I like it. I'm going through this book that's 30 ways to get to know God or something like that. It's short and to the point which I like; I just wish it had more references. Nbd. That's why I can just look stuff up myself in my Bible or on Blue Letter Bible app I have on my ipod. Holler back.
Okay well I just kinda let that all spill out and I'm not sure if it makes sense or anything, but I'm not going to go back and read through it because then I'll end up not posting it. It's not like that really matters because I don't really care how many people actually read this, while it would be nice to get more 'traffic' that's not really my goal. I just want to get my thoughts out there somewhere. If someone reads it and is inspired or whatever then good for them. Yay. Happy Tuesday.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

i don't understand.

There are many things in life that I don't understand. Is it bad that often times I don't understand myself? People always say you know yourself the best or whatever. I could be wrong, but there's so much about myself I'd love to have answers to. Alas, there will most likely never be an answer and by the time I get to Heaven, it will be irrelevant because I'll just be praising Jesus and all that jazz. So why does it bother me so much now to not have answers to things I'm almost 100% sure I won't ever have answers to? God put these things in my life and I will make it through. I don't have to know why; I just have to trust that God's got it under control. Because He really does. That's one of those things that I don't get either. Like I know in my head that He's all-powerful, loves me unconditionally, is always there for me, and has a plan for my life. But my heart can't seem to always connect to that. Why? Why do I feel like no matter how hard I try I'm still going to be stuck in the same old spot I feel like I've lived my whole life? Why can't something big happen and change my life for the good forever? Why can't I be satisfied with the way I am? Why is it that I can't hold onto that spiritual high? Why can others? How do I get like them? Why is it so hard? Who can I trust? Who can't I trust? Why does that matter so much? Why does anything matter so much? Bahh. I could go on. But I'm already feeling bogged down with unansweredness and I'd rather not sit here too long or I will mull over this stuff for hours and I honestly don't want that when all that started this was one little thing that lasted like a minute. No big deal. So there's no need for me to make it into more or try to find answers when God's the only one with answers. He's got my back.
Plus the world's supposed to end in like 12 min. But it was also supposedly ending at 6 earlier this evening. Clearly, we're all still here. and that's a whole nother concept that boggles my mind. God's the only one who's going to know and it really shouldn't matter. Live each day like it's your last. Ha. Soo much easier said than done. If it truly were my last I wouldn't want to be sitting at home all day reading and watching Hulu or whatever I end up spending my days doing lately. I'd want to buy a plane ticket and travel to unsearched places. Meet more people. And not be ashamed of who I am in Christ. Sharing and praising God everywhere I go, you know. That and I'd like to climb the Appalachian Trail and buy a puppy.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

hello summer

Dear Summer, Is it bad I'm already tired of you? Plus you aren't even in the 70s/80s for me to warrant it at least feeling hot and summeresque outside. Sheesh.

Dear Nanny people, I'd like it much more if you actually seemed interested in talking to me instead of just saying you totally are and then taking forever and a day to get back to me. I can't do this. I need a job asap. So please, get back to me and accept me even if I haven't done a ton of official babysitting. I still am good with kids!! If you don't want me to nanny for you, refer me to someone who does?

Dear God, Let's try to meet more this summer, okay? I'll try to not be so out of touch. Sorry, I don't have any legitimate excuses as to why I'm not spending time with you. I just want that passion a lot of my Texan friends have.


Dear Gas prices, Thanks for going under $4. But you can do better than that. If I want to get out of my house and not go broke, you're gonna have to work with me a little more. Please? I really appreciate it. You don't want me to be stuck and bored in my house all day. One week is enough. I need to see other people other than my family. As much as I love them. =)

Monday, May 9, 2011

monday letters

Dear Sunburn, GO AWAY. You're so itchy. I guess that's what I get for not putting sunscreen on my chest. Now I get to show you off when I wear v-necks. So classy.

Dear Research paper, I can't believe I got a 95%. I'm so happy. That means I got an A in English!! Yes! Too bad I still won't make the Dean's List. Oh well, I'm over it.

Dear Dorm Room, I'm so ready to get outta here. I literally have nothing to do for 2 days. Well the rest of today and then all tomorrow. So lame. But there's nothing I can do about it. It'd be nice though if you'd warm up a little. I'm so cold at night. You'd think my fleece blanket would be fine, but nooo. I guess it's a little thin, but really, you're just freezing all the time and that's not okay.

Dear Taco place, I don't remember your actual name. I just know your food was tasty and cheap and I'd definitely like to hit you up again in the future. I'm going to miss all the yummy tacos, quesadillas, etc that are so prevalent here. No more driving down the road and seeing at least 3 taquerias on the same road.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

oh these days

Dear Country music, I can't believe I'm listening to you on my own time, not because someone is forcing to me while we're in the same car or whatever. This doesn't mean I love you, but I definitely can tolerate you a little more.

Dear Texas, I think I'm going to miss you a lot this summer. You like it when I say "y'all", but laugh at me when I still sometimes say "pop" not "soda".

Dear Acts Church, Your study night last night was great. Awesome snacks, and y'all are SO nice. Plus I got to hang out with my friends. Always a good time.


Dear Homestead Heritage, I could totally live here. So simple and sustainable. I couldn't help but think about how much my family would love a place like HH. (Reason to visit me again sometime? =)) Your breakfast was legit. All of us lifegroup girls are obsessed.
study partyyy.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Inspiration

So I follow this blog...http://www.todaysletters.com/ & absolutely love it. So I want to kind of copy the idea and do my own little letters. It totally won't be an everyday thing, maybe once or twice a week?

Dear TheEllenShow on Youtube, I'm obsessed. You're great, but such a distraction. I spend way too much time watching all the clips, but I think it's worth it in the end. You get me laughing and I get to learn cool stuff about cool people. My favorites are the ones where you give free cars to military wives. Pretty sure I've almost cried like 3 times watching those.

Dear Indiana, I'll be back in 11 days. I hope you haven't missed me too much. I know I've missed you.

Dear Joy & Lady/Baylor bears, Y'all are adorable, but why are you always sleeping?! It's much more fun to walk by when both of you are out and about..but no pacing. That makes me sad.

Dear Finals, I won't let you get me down. There's plenty of time to study these next few days.That's why I went fishing today, stuck some worms on the hook. I kind of loved it.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

sharpen that pencil, this post is pointless.

Well, it's April. My blogging has been lacking. 4 weeks left till I go home. Life is busy here. I'm trying to focus on being productive and getting homework done and actually studying and such, but I'm seriously awful at it. I holed myself up in the library yesterday to work on my research paper for English and I got stuff done. But now I don't know what else to write to cover 4 more pages and that's realllllllly not good. 
Is it too early to start trying to sell my books? Because I just posted the majority of them on half.com, which claims I didn't buy anything in January but I totally bought all my books for the semester then sooo I don't know why it's being crazy. 
I need to settle down and buckle down and do work. I just want to nap but it's like 7 and I don't take naps after 6 soo. guess I'll try to get into bed early. I register tomorrow morning! Finally. I feel like I've been waiting to do that for ages.
I wish I actually had something to legit blog about, but I'm honestly not in the mood/there really isn't anything. Okay, I bet there is, but nothing is pressing on my mind that I really want to write soooo guess this blog is really a pointless one. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive.
Can I just say I really like capris? I don't own any so I have to make my own, folding up my straight leg jeans so they have big cuffs and like 5 inches of my leg show. Looks pretty classy when it folds up all nicely. Sometimes they get too chunky and it looks bad, sometimes they turn out uneven and that's not okay. Currently, however, I am loving them. Perfection. 
I'll end this with something my awesome sister Katie did once. 
My 3 mundane wishes:
1. Homemade pizza.
2. A good night's sleep that when I wake up I can remember my dreams and I feel ready to take on the day.
3. armadillos at Diadeloso on Thursday. [ok that's a ridiculous one, but armadillos are so cool hah].

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Bearathon Shmearathon.



13.1 miles.
Toughest half in Texas.
Biggest hills I've ever run.
And back to back for that matter.
Longest distance I've ever run in my life.

2:20:03
Official time.
Solid for the training I did.
or rather, didn't.

:D
How I felt after running.
Seriously? Runner's high, you got nothing on me.
Those last 3 miles were my favorite. No lie.
I forgot how much I love racing. I actually wouldn't mind running another half marathon in the future. Shoot, if I can do a half, why not do a full?

:&
How I feel now.
Meaning, I'm so freakin' sore.
I can't walk normally.
I don't care to run for a while.
My muscles are crying.
But I rekindled my love[well...] for running. So friends, it's happening. I'm going to run another half sometime and it's going to be fabulous because this time I'll actually train for real. Not that this one wasn't fabulous, but I know I can do better. Let's do this.

13.1 is really not that bad. Take it a mile at a time and it flies by. Adrenaline carries you. People are cheering all over the place. Love. Pure love. This is rather ridiculous. But I'm pretty sure I'm in love with half marathons. No matter how sore I feel the next day. SO WORTH IT.






Friday, February 25, 2011

thank you ernest hemingway.


“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?” -Ernest Hemingway

I imagine if Ernest Hemingway were around now and I had the opportunity to be friends with him, we'd be great friends. I think he's got the kind of sarcastic persona that I'm all about. Plus I just really love this quote because I love sleeping. I would love to be able to hibernate, no joke. Naps are the bomb. Only thing is that the kind of sleep I like is normal, none of that stay up super late and sleep in super late stuff. I like my 9-10 hours go to bed by midnight if not before sort of sleep. I already have it planned out for tonight. I'm going to bed after I brush my teeth and wash my face and do two sudoku. That might turn into more sudoku just because I'm semi-obsessed with them. But I turned down monopoly with friends tonight to go to bed and do sudoku sooo..I'm getting good sleep and waking up at like a little before 10 and making myself pancakes in the kitchen down the hall. I'm apparently a pro pancake maker. I made pancakes for some friends a couple of weekends ago and they thought they were the greatest things ever. I did put bananas in them too and introduced them to that deliciousness. 
Needless to say I'm real excited to go to sleep and hopefully dream some cool dreams and then wake up and make pancakes. I feel like life is so much more sane after I sleep all night or take a nice nap. It doesn't matter if my dreams were really wacky, like a stranger sawing our mailbox off and running down the street with it, or if I don't dream at all. I'd rather sleep, than deal with the world sometimes. Do you think we'll sleep in Heaven? Or will we never need to sleep again because life is so awesome, it's like a neverending, fabulous dream state? 

 http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sC_SQSNxiKA/SqF0MXIFM7I/AAAAAAAAAY0/J7VHbLv2WI8/s400/Sleeping-Bear.jpg

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Kicks and Giggles.



I know it's been a bit..ha. Actually I'm doing quite well this semester..yay! But anyways. I don't have anything particularly interesting to write about so I'm coping out and doing #23 on that list of 30 things to blog about. In honor of the recent holiday, I suppose it's only appropriate. albeit completely cliche or lame or whatever adjective you'd care to insert in there.
#23..pictures of 5 famous guys I find attractive.

1. James Marsden
           
http://www.whatzups.com/thumb/1641.jpg
2. Jim Sturgess


3. Orlando Bloom [as Will Turner]
                                                                                          
4. Jon McLauglin
Tom_Cruise-Oprah.jpg
5. Tom Cruise
        So there you have it. That was mildly entertaining. Enjoy? 

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Not Now

Please. I'm so done with this semester. Next semester will be fabulous. But how can I live through now? Where's my positivity? Why does time move so slow through the unlikeable stuff?
I just want everyday to be mornings with banana pancakes and friends and Pandora and lovely weather.

I've never been very good about living in the present, but it was always because I was thinking about the past. I still reminisce on the past, but now I'm more into the future. Looking forward to March, get outta here February. Looking forward to landing a summer camp job and working there all summer. Looking forward to next year, new classes, finally starting Social Work stuff. Hoping I like it. Looking forward to making more friends going on this Spring Break mission trip, playing Quidditch. Yep. This could be amazing. But what's not amazing about now? Why can't I be content to be here and now? Everything outside of my Mondays and Wednesdays isn't that bad. I'm alive. That's good enough. I'm at an awesome school. I honestly shouldn't be complaining.

This too shall pass. That's gotta be my mantra or I'll shutdown. I need to get things down even if I hate them. Like this english paper I'm avoiding. ha.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Trapped in an Elevator. but not literally..yet.

"Everyone should be able to do one card trick, tell two jokes, and recite three poems, in case they are ever trapped in an elevator."-Lemony Snicket



Okay, it's semi-official. Lemony Snicket has the most ridiculous, yet fabulous quotes ever. I'm a little obsessed. I found a whole site that has pages of Lemony Snicket quotes. They are so great. I could share them all. I could! In case you're interested...http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/36746.Lemony_Snicket

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/5a/63/59/the-cool-elevator.jpg
But this quote about being trapped in an elevator...makes me want to be trapped in an elevator. or at least in some situation that needs entertainment. Then I can make friends. I really want to make more friends. Not that I don't like the friends I have, no no, they're great. I just want more people to know around campus. It's kinda lonely sometimes to never see anyone I know when I'm walking to and from classes.
Plus, I already know more than two jokes. I'll have to work on the card trick thing and three poems. I've had to memorize many a poem in my past, but I don't remember them anymore. Like the one about Paul Revere I had to learn in like 7th grade..I think 7th grade was a year of memorizing poems because I think we had to memorize some Robert Frost one or something as well. Actually Paul Revere was 8th grade. "...one if by land, two if by sea and I on the opposite shore shall be ready to ride and spread the alarm to every middle sect village and farm..." Yep. That's all I got from that one. haha.
So pretty much my new secret goal in life is to be stuck in an elevator with people so I can share my random talents with them.

Why does Snoop Dog need an umbrella?   FO DRIZZLE. [yep, my favorite joke.] =)

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Snow Day at Baylor!

So Waco, TX received a little snowfall Thursday night/Friday morning and we had a snow day! Weather.com says it was only like 1/2 an inch but it covered the grass in some parts and I measured it on a bench with my index finger and it went up to the second knuckle, if not a little over, so that was obviously more than a half inch.
Here are some pictures of the day:



Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I keep things interesting.

 This is, I think, what day 6's thing was. whoot.

1. I really love making these kind of things.
2. I literally have pasta at least once a day.
3. My current musical jam is anything by needtobreathe.
4. I'm running my first half marathon in March.
5. I recently discovered how much I like red velvet cake.
6. I've kind of always wanted to go to space camp.
7. I enjoy the smell of new shoes.
8. Dreams fascinate me.
9. So do people.
10. I like finding inspirational quotes.
11. I want to leave secret messages all over campus for people to discover.
12. I laugh easily.
13. Sometimes I miss being musically inclined.
14. I really hate hot weather.
15. I wish I could cook more.
16. I've always wanted to take a cooking class and meet cool people.
17. I'm actually really lazy.
18. If I were a guy, I'd probably be scruffy and wear plaid a lot.
19. I'd like to travel to Switzerland and eat chocolate and go snowboarding in the mountains.
20. I want a big,cozy, cable knit sweater to wear inside on frigid days.
21. I like sitting by campfires and watching them burn.
22. As of now, I'd like my wedding colors to be red, white, and black. so classy.
23. And the groomsmen will wear chucks.
24. I want to take part in a flashmob.
25. I will never go skydiving.
26. When I work out, bench press is my favorite.
27. I'd like to own a black lab and name it Diego and we'll go running together.
28. I used to imagine what it'd be like to live in the White House.
29. Secretly, I want to be a spy. [haha]
30. Angry girl music makes me happy. [aka Avril, and currently.."I Don't Want to Dance" by Hey Monday]

So there you have it. That was entertaining.

Monday, January 31, 2011

it's supposed to be Day 3

But I think I'm going to nix following this thing because not enough people read my blog to make this really worthwhile & I'm not that interested in it myself anymore. I'll just pick the ones I like. =)
But for today, I'm skipping writing about one of those 'prompts' and instead, I'd just like to say that dreams are so weird.
SO WEIRD.
Like I'm pretty sure I don't understand mine half the time. I know I don't understand them really ever and they're way more like realistic, usually about things that I want to happen or stuff like that. Like before big events in my life, I totally dream about them. Besides those, then I just have random dreams with random people in them.
I keep a dream journal, just for fun, not for analyzing dreams. It's fun to read through them and see what I dreamed about in like 6th grade when I started it. Sometimes I'll know I dreamed something and then I forget to write it in my journal in the morning and thus, the dream is forgotten, so not everything gets written down. But I try to be prompt, like first thing I do when I get up. Except today. I know I had two dreams. But I didn't write them down. So I only remember like 1 tiny part and nothing else and I've been thinking about it all day. I hate that: knowing I dreamed a crazy dream and then forgetting it.
I have always found dreams to be fascinating, maybe that's why I liked Inception so much. That movie was off the wall in the whole realm of dreaming. I want to have a dream within a dream. Shoot, I think I'd go crazy. But it'd be AWESOME! [that reminds me of one of my fave blogs 1000awesomethings.com checkitoutt.]

 

Dreams boggle my mind.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Day 2

Where I'd like to be in 10 years:
Well, I'll be 29. Cool. I'd like to maybe be living in Colorado or somewhere cool like that, married? Loving life to the fullest. I'd like to have been able to travel around Europe. I hope to have grown so much in my relationship with God that me now is unrecognizable. Umm...sure. I don't know. I'm not a big thinker on the future; I just go with the flow.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

30 Days: Day 1.

Okay so I found this thing that lists 30 things to blog about for 30 days. Here's the picture...
 
So, Day 1: Your current relationship, if single, discuss how single life is.
I am currently not in a relationship, therefore single life it is. Single life is normal for me. I've never been in a relationship, so it's just life. That's not to say I haven't wanted a relationship. I have; I do. But I'm not looking. I'd rather like the guy to find me. I guess I believe in the whole "knight in shining armor" idea. I've had a few crushes..I really don't like that word..it sounds so juvenile. But whatever, I suppose that's what they're called. So anyways, I've had my share of a handful of crushes and they all went absolutely nowhere. Not that I expected them to go anywhere. I'm kind of pessimistic when it comes to relationships, probably based on the fact that I never have had that feeling of being with someone who likes me back and I just feel like even if I were to get into a relationship, I wouldn't know how to be and I have the mindset that whoever I date I'm just going to end up breaking up with.
Not to say that being single sucks, it doesn't. I'm just used to it, but it's human nature to want to share life with someone.  Yep. That's all.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

6 Canadians Have Read My Blog

As has one Danish, one Czech, and a multitude from the US. How cool is that?
I don't really have anything else to say; I'm just trying to blog more. I need to go running too. I think I'll try a 5k today, see how much work I have to do. =)

[I can imagine this post looking way cooler on tumblr. too bad I got all confused when I tried that one. haha. Go blogspot!]

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Life is short...running makes it seem longer.

Funny, the title quote is so like me. But today, I went running and it was beautiful. I felt awesome, the weather was perfect, and I ended up running more than originally planned. I'm getting back into this whole running thing and I kind of really love it. I forgot how good it makes you feel when you finish, that you've accomplished something even if you still have a lot of homework or other things going on after it.
So I'm training to run the Bearathon, apparently Texas' hardest half marathon, in March. I am so excited now that the weather is shaping up and all that. Time is going to go by really fast and I'm afraid I won't be totally prepared. I'm hoping to run everyday and am trying to find some sort of training guide...if only I were at home and could peruse all of my old Runner's World magazines. =) We'll see how it goes. At least I have some background in running and know what I'd like to be able to do. I'm shooting for under 2:30..possibly 2 hours flat, but doubtful since I don't have a whole lot of training time and it's the hardest one in TX. Go big or go home. That's my philosophy on this. I'm going to rock this and it will be fabulous. Seriously, I'll probably want to run more halfs after this one...ha.ha.ha.
I think that's all for now. I'll update on how things are going, so look out world. =)

"Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running." -Sarah Condor
[I think that means don't be lazy! Even if you don't feel up to it, do it and it'll be lovely when you get done. =)]

SARAH CONDOR 

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Praise Habit or my inconsistent ramblings

      Let me start by saying that tonight was just the kind of night I wish I could live in forever. Shoot, I bet Heaven will be like it, so I'm down with that. Anyways. So tonight was the first Wednesday back at Dwelling Place, Antioch's college youth group. I went some last semester, but life got crazy and I only ended up going like 4 times. So I'm for sure going to try to go more this semester around. Tonight was a night of just worship and it was beautiful.
      Singing songs in church is probably one of my favorite things to do, not going to lie, so tonight was awesome. I didn't even know all the songs, but God was so there. I needed this boost to start the semester with a bang, since I've been feeling kind of down and not really looking forward to many of my classes. The funny thing about tonight was that I felt like God was reminding me that, oh yeah, I should make praise an every day, every moment kind of thing and I recently [well a while ago] started reading David Crowder's book, Praise Habit, which is, well, about making praise a habit. Like times like I had tonight don't have to stop after I leave and come back to the dorm. Praising God should be continual, on-going, always.
      Making it happen is in a whole other ballpark, though. I'm not really good at following through with things I start or I get good ideas of things I'd like to do but they never come into fruition. So I guess that's something I need to work on, practical ways to make things happen. Yeah.

     Semi-completely new thought, but still kind of on my feelings about tonight. We sang this song that had lyrics "There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain" and at one point we were encouraged to just lift our hands to God and think of those chains that need to be broken in our lives, our families' lives, our friends' lives and then we sang the chorus again with such power. It was a really cool moment. I was just reminded of a while back when I went to this thing here at Baylor called, "AfterDark" and we got these chains, well just like the link of a chain to remind us that we are bonded in Christ and all that jazz and that was a whole night of awesomeness in it self, so I won't go on.
The whole point I'm trying to get to is that God has a way of tying everything together, and tonight encompassed two aspects of my life and that was really cool and such a needed reminder and yeah.
I ramble wayyyy too much. Clearly, I just have a lot on my mind and kind of wanted to get it out there before I forgot.