I saw Liz Wilbur!

Liz Wilber came to visit! It was super to see her...we had a really good conversation. Neither of us could believe that we had only been talking for an hour; definitely felt like an hour and a half long conversation. We picked right back up like it had just been yesterday we'd last chatted. I love you Liz!

So, I am super tired right now. Explain THAT to my body...seriously, I got like seven hours of sleep last night, that should be good enough. There is something more or less unpleasant about midterms. Honestly, explain to me the academic benefit of giving students papers and cumulative tests in all their classes....AT THE SAME TIME.

On the upside, I really like Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal bars. They are really cinnamony and crunchy. I like things that crunch. But not chips.

Pax, everyone. Jesus Christ has won the victory.

Mi vida no es nada sin Ti

On this chilly, silver fall morning, I am revisiting some sultry spanish music that I haven't really endulged in since freshman year, I think......mmmmmmm. Combined with the bowl of shredded wheat and perfect banana I had, and the fresh, kind of salty feeling of just having cried a great deal over beautiful letters from some dear friends..........encapsulates this a.m. for me.

Two days ago when I was in the library, I was unfortunate enough to spill three quarters of the contents of my water bottle (..which was water..) all over my section of the research station in the library. Within thirty seconds there were three guys with stacks of paper towels helping to clean it up. Thank you, men of Franciscan. 

Mondays don't have to be bad

Right now it is so beautiful outside. It is so beautiful. It mystifies me why I am sitting here writing this blog entry, and not being outside. I'm going running with Grace in like 40 minutes though, so that will be glorious. Thank the Lord. It is fall.

I spent this past weekend at home with my family. My first birthday present was a rather large lesson in humility, in the form of an equally large speeding ticket......swell....there goes my perfect record. This in all seriousness was the very first time I'd ever been pulled over since getting my license almost five years ago. ANYWAY. I'm so over that! It was bad luck...the guy in front of me was going at least that fast.

Anyhow despite that opening, and the fact that it rained most of the weekend, I had a good time. I always love seeing my little brothers, who are up to their usual...tearing around the house and taking up the whole futon room with their legos. It was great to see mom and dad as well. Also saw my cousin and aunt, who came up on Saturday. Mycousin got me a cute little bag of gifts, amonst which was a 3 disc set of the first Die Hard movies!

And when I got back to school the surprises didn't stop. Seriously...

So thanks everybody, it was really wonderful. Now I've got to organize my life and start getting some stuff done. It's an academic jungle safari coming up this week!

Lillywhite

This post is titled in honor of Cat Stevens. 

Sometimes, life comes at you fast. You are forced into sitting up straight and asking yourself honestly, just what am I doing with my life...why am I wasting my time selfishly, idly...why aren't I  really, really listening for the voice of God, and why am I hesitant to hand over my plans, my dreams, in exchange for His? And why does it take something beyond my control, like physical suffering, to bring me back to the ultimate question (that I should already be answering, every day)..."What is my place in your plan, Lord?" 

My joy is in pursuit of this. 

Pray for me!

Today, I am not a fan of refrigerators so cold that they freeze your salad. Many things are delicious frozen.....ice cream, granita, freezie-pops... mushrooms and spinach are not.

Yesterday, our flag football team, the Super Sweet Show Ponies, won our season opener against The Abusement Park. It was my first game ever, and I did enjoy it, even though my position (O-line) entails mostly running into people and getting a lot of bruises... I have a riDIculously nasty shin bruise, but as long as it's not like a fracture or anything I don't care that much.

Right now, I'm watching my fish Marvin and Merlin swim little circles in their fishbowl and studying a little Med/Surg nursing...ah, I love my life.

Didn't think I'd be doing this...

So since getting back to school and moving into my house, i'm realizing more and more how difficult it is to buy food and cook for just one person...I have eaten out more in the past week than I have for the past three months all together. I've known some people who lived on their own, and I would give them a hard time about not cooking for themselves more...well, never again. I have seen the error of my ways! Now, this doesn't mean that I'm NOT going to cook for myself. Because I will not be daunted...

Also, I've watched in these past few days the first 17 or so episodes of a japanese cartoon series called Death Note....I'm hooked. Didn' see THAT coming.

Goodbye, July

I'm not so much happy to see July gone as I am glad to see August come. August means three things:

1) I get to participate in the wedding of a very dear friend, my household sister Mary Droz (soon to be Mary George!). This entails carpooling across several states with a few other household sisters, going to a bachelorette party, sleeping over at Mary's house for several nights, rehearsing with the organist, and singing for the wedding! So much excitement. I simply can't wait.

2) I get to pack up and go back to Steubenville. My second home. My home away from home. A place that sometimes feels more like a home than my own home does. A place that I'd better be ready to get the hell out of by May when I graduate - because otherwise, I'm going to be heartbroken. I get to move into the house that I'm renting, and make it a cozy little home for a year...houseplants included.

3) I start my final year of nursing school. That's right. The externship I worked all summer has excited and energized me, and I'm looking forward to being a student extraordinaire...growing in wisdom, grace and knowledge. I can hardly wait to whip out the crisp new sheets of paper and hit them with my felt fine-tipped pens. And to my infinite joy, we have a class with Harris again. Praise God.

So, August offers me the promise of many good and pleasant things to come. July was great, but by no fault of it's own, it just wasn't August. And August will be great.