things that suck (in no particular order)

**if you're involved in one of these...please understand I'm not attacking you, but the situation**

- knowing that you're the world's worst roommate
- knowing the above and seeing how well the room gets along without you
- not knowing what's wrong with your knee
- having everyone but you forget about how much your knee hurts
- stairs
- feeling like bawling because life is no fun
- telling someone you're worried and having them reply "i'm worried, too, I don't know how to comfort you."
- feeling like an event you plan is more of a pain than a joy
- wanting to tell someone how you really feel, but afraid you'll sound selfish and bitter and weak and insecure
- being absolutely scared to receive no answers whatsoever on Thursday about my knee
- knowing that Jesus will take care of things, but being completely unable to just let it go
- feeling like everyone's nice and no one's "close" at this time of year

Life is funny, life's a mess
Sometimes a curse sometimes a blessing
Don't worry about a thing
Life is sticky, life can bruise
Sometimes you win sometimes you're losing
No matter what it brings
Don't worry about a thing

whiner

my knee hurts. and i'm a whiner. and it hurts, and i'm making sure that's clear to all of you.

on another note, i think leann rimes must know me personally. her newest song, something's gotta give, must actually be about me. she just doesn't know it yet. "jennie's got a job, a cat named jake, 31 candles on her birthday cake next year. she thought by now she'd have a man, two car seats and a mini-van, but she's still layin' here."

Okay, so I know I'm not 31, I'll have dog...but I swear, 10 years from now, this will be me.

okay, enough whining, back to talking about other religions.

Putting it all into numbers...

28 days until I leave for camp
16 days until I leave for LA
6 average hours of sleep each night (until vacation!!)
5 days of classes
4 exams
4 new pairs of jeans!
3 m/w/f classes left
2 days of exams
2 conversation classes left
2 t/th classes left
1 take-home exam

victory is mine!

Done, done, done. Cross the 2nd big end-of-the-semester paper. 10 pages on Jainism. Everything you wanted to know about the obscure religion and some you didn't want to know.

Next on the list: transcribe 2 spanish interviews phonetically. Research a Latin American poet. Write 2 5-page papers in Spanish. Learn some Greek real quick-like.

Sleep.

i know i just posted...but this is worth it, i promise

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

an ode to billie joe.

oh, summer, how you are approaching near. you tempt us with your warm weather, the wind, the desires for air conditioning (yet you know you shouldn't). Then you flee away, leaving the cold and bitter remains of 45 degree weather with slowly falling rain.

I'm so excited for summer, you probably don't even realize. I'm excited for what promises to be a wonderful combination of activities over the summer:
1. Go to LA and visit brother and sister-in-law
2. Start working at camp
3. Spend a few weekends back home, hanging out with "The Core"/"The Corps" (whenever they decide on spelling)
4. Have a great birthday/fathers' day weekend
5. Go to Briana/Kyle's wedding July
6. Spend my August hanging out, catching up, and packing
7. Spend precious days with friends
8. Leave for Costa Rica!

Every summer, I think it can't be like it was last summer. Last summer was wonderful. Can it really be like that again? But then I had two wonderful "summer-at-dordt" experiences in a row. Now I'm overly hopeful that something good will come out of this summer, just like it always has.

The thoughts of summer have been filled with promises to come back and visit a few wonderful people. Excited to hear who's sticking around (yeah for you, if that's you!)

I've also been reminiscing about summers past. Summers full of nintendo playing, Spanglish, 4-square, 9-square, visits to the park and swimming pool, cell phone calls, and singing crazy songs down the highway, having all the "cruise night" kiddies look at us like crazy. Yeah, that's right.

So, if you're around this summer, watch out, it's gonna be a good one!

You Are Scary

You even scare scary people sometimes!

How Scary Are You?

(translation)
Today is monday and I'm thinking that it's going to be a really long week. I have orchestra today, something I don't normally have on Mondays, but we have a concert next Tuesday, so we have practice tonight.

Something good and bad happened today. My professor delayed a paper that we have to write. We were going to have to turn it in this Friday, but he delayed it to next Friday. This is good because I have a lot to do and it will be a little easier to write it...but, it's also hard because I have two other papers that i have to write next week. So, I"m thinking that I want to write the paper this week anyway. But if this actually happens...probably not, becaus I'm horrible at doing my homework early.

I found out today that the other girl that had applied to the Costa Rica program is going to go! She was waiting because they said they wanted to wait until all the applications had come in and then they were going to decide. Well, they decided and accepted her. I'm going to have anothe rperson that I know in Costa Rica next semester! Yay!

Well, I think I"m done for today. I have to study my Greek tonight because I have a huge test tomorrow and it will be hard even if I study, so I should study a lot!

how I miss them..

did you ever watch Carmen Sandiego on the PBS channels? Or Ghostwriter? Saved by the Bell, when it was good? Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Picture Perfect.

Sometimes I think they don't make awesome shows like they used to. Even some awesome ones before I was born. M*A*S*H, Petticoat Junction, Family Affair, Welcome Back Kotter...they used to show these on TVLand all the time, before they decided it wasn't cool to show them. I love them. There were so cool. M*A*S*H is the only one that I see on air anymore, so sad.

What shows did you grow up with, that you miss? What shows have you seen that you think should still be showing? Any show that was short-lived that you thought should have made it? I have my list of modern shows that should have made it, too:

Dark Angel
John Doe
Now & Again
JAG
...so many more

Maybe I'm a TV addict. It's been said before. But there's something about a well-made show with an amazing knack for humor that really lifts your spirits at time. MASH is like that, good humor, basically clean, actually sends a message/opinion, and seemingly timeless. Can't go wrong with that.

Mm. Hook me up with some more of that good, classic tv.

song re-write!

if your allergies make you sneeze, clap your hands
clap, clap
if your allergies make you sneeze, clap your hands
clap, clap
if your allergies make you sneeze, then your nose will surely feel it, if your allergies make you sneeze, clap your hands
clap, clap

if you love the springy weather, stomp your feet
stomp, stomp
if you love the springy weather, stomp your feet
stomp, stomp
if you love the springy weather, then your clothes will surely show it, if you love the springy weather, stomp your feet
stomp, stomp

if you have a lot to do, shout amen!
Amen!
if you have a lot to do, shout amen!
Amen!
if you have a lot to do, then i doubt you want to do it, if you have a lot to do, shout amen!
Amen!

(thanks to Shannon for the idea!)

letting go...

It's done. Our massive fundraiser for the public library is officially done. We had massive amounts of people, more than we expected, even after raising our numbers. Our estimates are somewhere around 250-300 people. We used almost 72 pounds of meat. More tomatoes than I can count on my ten fingers. I cut two fingers and burned my thumb. Thought my legs would fall out when I finally went home. We made more than we expected and are excited to give the library a lovely donation.

In other news, when I came home from the church, my body decided that now it was okay to get sick. Luckily, it wasn't this bad during the meal. But, my sore throat from that morning came back in full swing, along with a stuff nose and a bit of the chills.

So, hello vitamin c, echinacea, and dimetapp. I slept good, I tell you. I should sleep for 9 hours more often. Don't tell my prof I didn't get my homework done. I'm planning on explaining everything to him and I think he'll understand...he was there last night.

So, for those of you who came to the dinner, thanks, I love you! Things went so well...although I don't think I want to do a massive fundraiser for a few years....:)

if you see me...

If you see me between now and Thursday night after 8pm...
1. it's only because I'm looking for my head that must be cut off and rolling around somewhere...
2. it's only because i'm avoiding my real responsibilities
3. you are a part of my real responsibilities
4. give me a hug, i'm going to need it

You Are Diet Coke

You are energy in its purest form. No need to complicate things with sweetness. And while people may hate your aftertaste, you are seen as a necessary evil. Your best soda match: 7 Up Stay away from: Coke

What Kind of Soda Are You?

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need to do that in real life.

I have a mid-term due tomorrow by the "end of the day." I have spent the last two hours working on it and have 4 of 6 pages "done." I put that in quotatio marks because I don't know if I'm happy with it, but it is done.

In happy news, I ate supper at my old apartment today. I told them, effectively, that I haven't laughed and had company at the dinner table like that in a long time. The conversation included things I don't remember anymore, but I do remember smiling and laughing and thinking I would like it to last.

Tomorrow is Friday. Dinner party #3 of the semester. At 8pm, come watch Spanglish in S101 with Club Hispano. Chips and Salsa and Apple pop :)

Okay, back to write about one more page of info and conclude my midterm. Tomorrow I'll decide I don't like it and change half of it.

anything as a distraction....

both my foot and knee hurt today, so here's a re-do of the band game in order to distract me.

1. Choose an artist/band.
Chris Rice

2. Are you male or female?
Questions for heaven

3. Describe yourself.
Smile

4. What do some people think you are like?
Smellin' Coffee

5. How do you feel about yourself?
Naive

6. Desribe where you want to be.
O Little Town of Bethlehem

7. Describe how you live.
Everything's OK

8. Describe how you love.
Wonder

9. What would you ask for if you had one wish?
Hallelujahs

10. Share a few words of wisdom.
Smell the Color 9

11. Where do you live?
Welcome to our World

12. Say goodbye.
The Final Move

Assess This!

Assessment day was today. Sophomores rejoiced because they had basically nothing they had to do. I, on the other hand, got the short end of the stick.

Dordt chose half of the juniors to participate in assessment. This is the 4th time in my college career I've had to do the general assessment (math that one out!)

Let me line out my assessed day for you:
9:00 Am - go to Spanish department, participate in 10-minute oral proficiency interview with Spanish professor, attempting to convince her that higher education is good, especially at my college. Then trying to convince her to take back the shoes I just bought and give me a refund.
9:30 am - proceed to the massive classrom, C255. Squeeze into tiny desk, be surrounded by Calvin, Beth, Ninny, Jon, Julia, Becca, and more. Be handed a very Iowa Test of Basic Skills-like test. Take 2 60-minute tests, full of rudimentary algebra, annoying reading comprehension questions, and horribly written sentences. Between tests, try to complete crossword puzzles (4, to be exact) between Nate, Calvin, Jon, and me. Switch them up. Feel smarter by doing crossword than the actual test.
11:30 am Finish testing for the morning. Do Greek homework, eat lunch.
1:00pm - Proceed to the Spanish classroom. Take an listening comprehension test, identical to the one I took the year before. After which, take a 75 question, multiple choice test in Spanish covering grammar and reading comprehension. Use only 20 minutes of the allotted 60 to take the test.

2:30 pm Finish being assessed.

Prior to assessment day: The Spanish department politely demanding that all of its majors do the following: 1. Write one (1) 1-2 page essay in Spanish on why you're studying Spanish and if you think you chose the right language (why didn't you tell me you'd assess me like this?) 2. In addition to the standardized test on the actual assessment day, take an online proficiency test that you have taken at least four times before.

So, I had a lot to do today. More so than a normal Tuesday. I am officially assesesed. Let me just say to Dordt:

Assess This!

today

I did something that I have never done before. Something that I never understood until now. Something that most people had done by their Junior year in college.


I overslept and missed 2 classes.

...from Andrea

1. Choose an artist/band.
Rascal Flatts

2. Are you male or female?
Dry County Girl

3. Describe yourself.
Like I Am

4. What do some people think you are like?
Falling Upside Down

5. How do you feel about yourself?
Fast Cars and Freedom

6. Desribe where you want to be.
Mayberry

7. Describe how you live.
Feels like Today

8. Describe how you love.
My Worst Fear

9. What would you ask for if you had one wish?
Prayin' for Daylight

10. Share a few words of wisdom.
Some Say

11. Where do you live?
It's not just me

12. Say goodbye.
I'm movin' on

For Justine

Justine asked today if anyone ever just felt like venting, even if there was nothing in particular to vent about. So, Justine, the answer is yes, and this one's for you:

While I love being back at Dordt, I can't seem to get myself to study. Maybe because it feels like I've been doing ridiculously annoying homework. For one class, we had a test on material we never covered in class (eek). And in another, we're starting a secion on gender issues. A topic I hate to talk/debate (whatever it turns into). And I'm feeling like my Greek skills are going all down hill and it really is "all Greek to me" lately.

Could we just slow down the good parts of the day? I love the times I've been spending with my dear, dear friends as of late. There's an excitement in the air that seems to be a combination of old and new: reminiscence and a high from spring break and also an air of excitement that the end now seems in sight and just possible achievable (after all of the mass projects).

And, to end with another vent/rant. I'm sick of the Dordt/CRC mentality that you must be married. No matter where I go, there's always the feel of marriage in the air. People are getting married left and right. Getting engaged. "hookin up" over spring break (that happens a lot!). So, I've decided to give in. I'm marrying Trevor, dating Jon, and dating Mason. I'm marrying Trevor so he can win a bet (with me!) and I can satisfy onlookers. I'm takin Jon and Mason to all important events from now on. They're going to alternate events and play mock boyfriends from now on.

I guess I can say that I'm really thankful for the friends that I have that I can laugh with and joke with and also know will really be there for me when I need it (like a fake date!). In about two weeks, it will be a year since I dislocated my knee. I think back and see so many people that helped me out in that crazy month at the end of the year, packed with projects and the Jubilee tour. So, no, I won't be dislocating any time soon if I can help it. But there is talk about a modified version of Red Rover with crutches, if we can pull it off. If not, I'm just going to have a lot of people over for the fun of it.

____________ of Spring Break

Nate, if you read this, sorry, I stole this general idea from you.

Spring Break in generalizations:

Best moment of Spring Break: Spending hours at a wedding dance, feeling like my legs would fall off, and not wanting to stop.

Lowest moment of Spring Break: Having some plans for the wedding reception falling apart and hitting a card and feeling exhausted all at the same time.

Biggest Spring Break accomplishment: Finishing all of my financial aid stuff in under two hours.

Biggest downfall of Spring Break: Not starting on some projects like I said I would.

Song of the break: Dancing with Dreams by Phil Vassar (props to Debby for introducing it to me)

Latest sleep-in time: 11am (completely unintentional, might I add)

Overall feel of the break: Productive, got me ready to finish out the semester, I'm glad to see people again!!

Baseball's a comin'

Oh, wait, it's actually here. We're sitting and watching the World Baseball Classic - Mexico vs. Team USA. A deciding game toward the semi-finals.

Ah, yes, the smell, cough, the sound of baseball. The sound of angry fans, arguing a call. Announcers talking about inadequate umpires. Controversy. How I love it.

In just a few short weeks, Major League Baseball will begin its regular season games. I'm planning on enjoying every game I can. I know that once my Camp and then Costa Rican stint begin, baseball will be far off my radar. So, I'm going to enjoy it. The runs, the hits, the strikes, the balls, the umpires, the mis-calls, and everything else that comes along with it.

Take that as exciting news or as a warning, whatever you will. Crazy baseball girl has returned!

esposo/a:spanish - wife or husband.

Esposo y Esposa!

That's my brother and my brand new sister-in-law. On Saturday, Jack and Jazz got themselves married to each other at a rockin' ceremony. (Especially once the door was opened for ventillation).

It was an awesome ceremony, excellent food, wonderful emcees, an awesome program, including a song about eelye, the vw bus, as well as a kickin dance that was a great time (even if there was no country music!)

So, it was a wonderfully event-filled weekend of rehearsals and flower arranging and hair-doing and pictures and weddingness.

Pictures to come I'm sure.

I have a sister! Woot.

What a Nerd!

drumroll please....

I've been officially accepted into the Latin American Studies Program in Costa Rica, which will run from August 29th to December 17th.

why am I here?

No, not on this earth. No, not even sitting here in the library.

Why am I posting on this, when I should be doing everything but this? I don't know. Honestly, I should be studying for a test, writing a take-home test, studying for 2 quizzes, and ready a 30-page chapter. But here I am, writing on the good 'ol blog instead. It's been a good amount of days and it was about time for another post.

Besides, I'm in a really good mood, so I thought I'd post a happy post. So, I really don't have much to say. Jack comes home in 2 days and my grandparents come in 4. I have a lot to do before then, but I'm at least not as busy as I thought I would be.

I was sick last night - not nice. But I feel better - lots better - so I'm glad that it wasn't the nasty flu or something like that.

I'll leave you with some words of comparison, courtesy of a fun e-mail from a friend:

"From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30."

Inspired...

I'm inspired to post, thanks to some great posts from others, but I don't have anything inspiring to say.

But...I have been wondering, who reads this, anyway? Seems few and far between...so if you're a reader, faithful, new, or delinquent, tell me! I'd love to know who actually reads!!

time for a real post

Today, is the list of things that I miss:

1. Sleeping in a hammock
2. Having random people say random things constantly
3. Having Jack around (that will be remedied soon!)
4. Getting enough sleep
5. having free time to do the things I'd like to do
6. Rachel, who's in Costa Rica (who I won't see until December...??!!)
7. 65 degree weather

Here's the list of things I am so thankful for:

1. An awesome bed to sleep in (when I get there)
2. A fun, funky, random apartment
3. Friends who sit down and talk with me
4. Time to complete my homework (even if I don't have free time...)
5. Haircuts to make me feel better
6. Time for devotions
7. My lovely kids at work

The dark side

So, here's the other side of Johari...try this one, too...

GO here. I blame too many people to count for this one.

don't want to do, would like to do instead

Ever find yourself doing all the things you don't want to do?

Here's what I don't want to do:

1. Read about some crazy religion
2. Record myself in Spanish
3. Deal with 8th graders with attitude
4. Find myself frustrated [with myself]
5. Wait another week and a half until fun people come to Iowa
6. Be jealous of people who have good rooming situations


Here's what I'd like to do:

1. Make wedding gift (sorry, can't be any more specific...)
2. Read books
3. Write
4. Travel
5. Be able to get along with people
6. Be on top of things in terms of school
7. Enjoy my classes more than I do.


That's my story and I'm

mush mush mushity mush

somewhere between 1:00 this morning and 6:00 this morning, I slept. After taking the test, my first thought, was "Crap! I should have slept less and studied more." That's never a good sign.

Also not a good sign: When one classmate says "3 hours? You only studied three hours? I studied 12."

That's right. And she wasn't kidding. That's 2 days in a row that I've studied like crazy for a test and only felt so-so about the test. What have I gotten myself into this semester?

The good news is, this week is on a downhill roll now. The rest of my day is consumed with high school string festival events. I had hoped it would get cancelled due to snow, but, alas, it was not.

Tomorrow, I only have a one class's worth of homework due...it's a beautiful things when profs feel sympathetic.

I'm thinking about changing my blog title. Anyone got anything good? I want something intelligent, lasting, profound, and "me-like".

mush

my head has turned into mush. 3 hours of studying for a Greek test. Still some things I didn't know. That's what happens when you're effectively tested of 20 chapters worth of material.

now to focus on another mammoth test: hispanic literature. I have no idea how I'm even going to start to study, much less study enough to get to where I feel ready for the test. study enough? if only I had the time.

I am spending my time right now doing nothing useful. You may frown upon it if you so desire, but the main reason is in order not to feel like a crazy person. i've done it every day this week, and so far I feel successful. I don't feel as stressed today as I did a week ago at this point in the week.

My World Religions class is possible cancelled today. That would provide effective study time...maybe.

that's my week. one test to another.

news in brief

It's official: I will be a camp counselor at Inspiration Hills this summer. I was offered the job on Friday and accepted yesterday.

In other news, selling the candy went bastante bien - pretty well. We sold all of our suckers plus some that we discovered in the SAC closet (that we didn't know about!!). We also sold most of our chocolate bars - especially helpful that we marked the bars down last night.

I have a Greek test tomorrow. I had better study - there's a lot of Greek grammar terms that I don't know. Also have to read 30 pages in a grad-school level book, do a phonology assignment, and read and write some more about Buddhism. Eek!!

10-4 good buddy.

How much have you lived?

(ripped from Dave's Xanga)

How much have you LIVED?

[x] I have eaten more than 5 meals in a day.
[x] I have read a lot of books.
[ ] I have been on some sort of varsity team.
[ ] I have run 2 miles without stopping.

[x] I have been to Canada.
[x] I have been to Europe.
[x] I have watched cartoons for hours.
[x] I have tripped UP the stairs.
[ ] I have fallen down an entire flight of stairs.
[x] I have been snowboarding/skiing.

[x] I have played ping pong.
[x] I have swam in the ocean.
[ ] I have been on a whale-watch.
[x] I have seen fireworks.
[x] I have seen a shooting star.

[x] I have seen a meteor shower.
[ ] I have almost drowned.
[x]I have peed my bed/pants when I was younger.
[x] I have been so embarrassed I wanted to disappear.
[x] I have listened to one CD over & over & over again.

[ ] I have had stitches.
[x] I have been on the honor roll.
[ ] I have had frostbite.
[ ] I have licked a frozen pole and got stuck there.
[x] I have stayed up til 2 doing homework/projects.

[x] I have had a job before/currently have a job.
[x] I have been ice skating.
[x] I have been rollerblading.
[x] I have fall en flat on my face.
[x] I have tripped over my own two feet.

[ ] I have been in a fist fight.
[x] I have played videogames for more than 3 hours straight.
[ ] I have passed out from being drunk.
[ ] I have watched the power rangers.
[x] I have/I do attend Church regularly.

[x] I have played truth or dare.
[x] I have already had my 16th birthday.
[x] I have already had my 17th birthday.
[ ] I have gained weight since one year ago.
[x] I have lost weight since one year ago.

[x] I have called someone stupid, and meant it.
[x] I have been in a verbal argument.
[x] I have cried in school.
[ ] I have played basketball on a team.
[ ] I have played baseball on a team.

[ ] I have played football on a team.
[ ] I have played soccer on a team.
[ ] I have been on a cheerleading/dance team.
[ ] I have played softball on a team.
[ ] I have played tennis on a team.

[ ] I have been on a swim team.
[ ] I have been on a track team.
[x] I have been swimming more than 20 times in my life.
[ ] I have bungee jumped/been sky diving.

[ ] I have climbed a rock wall.
[ ] I have lost more than $20.

[x] I have called myself an idiot.
[x] I have called someone else an idiot.
[x] I have cried myself to sleep.
[x] I have had pets.

[ ] I have owned a Spice Girls CD.
[ ] I have owned a Britney Spears CD.
[ ] I have owned an N*Sync CD.
[ ] I have owned a Backstreet Boys CD.
[ ] I have mooned someone.

[x] I have been in the newspaper.
[x] I have been on TV.
[ ] I have been to Hawaii.
[ ] I have eaten sushi.
[x] I have been on the other side of a waterfall.

[ ] I have watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies.
[ ] I have watched all of the Harry Potter movies.
[ ] I have watched all of the Rocky movie(s).

[x] I have watched the 3 stooges.
[x] I have watched "Newly Weds" Nick & Jessica.

[x] I have watched Looney Tunes.
[ ] I've been stuffed into a locker.

[x] I have been called a geek.
[x] I have studied hard for a test and got a bad grade.
[x] I have not studied at all for a test and aced it.

[x] I have hugged my mom within in the past 24 hours.
[x] I have hugged my dad within the past 24 hours.
[ ] I have met a celebrity/music artist.
[x] I have written poetry.
[ ] I have been arrested.

[x] I have been attracted to someone older than me.
[x] I have been tickled till I've cried.
[ ] I have tickled someone else until they cried.
[x] I have had/have siblings.
[ ] I have been to a rock concert.

[x] I have listened to classical music and enjoyed it.
[ ] I have been in a play.
[x] I have been picked last in gym class.
[ ] I have been picked first in gym class.
[x] I have been picked in that middle-range in gym class.

[x] I have cried in front of my friends.
[ ] I have read a book longer than 1,000 pages.
[ ] I have played Halo 2.
[x] I have freaked out over a sports game.
[ ] I have been to Alaska.

[ ] I have been to China.
[ ] I have been to Spain.
[ ] I have been to Japan.
[ ] I have had a fight with someone on AIM.
[x] I have had a fight with someone face-to-face.

[x] I have forgiven someone who has done something wrong to me.
[x] I have been forgiven.
[x] I have screamed at a scary movie.
[x] I have cried/teared up at a chick flick.
[x] I have watched a lot of action movies.

[ ] I have cried at a commercial.
[ ] I have told someone to fuck off.

[x] I have screamed at the top of my lungs.
[ ] I have been to a rap concert.
[ ] I have been to a hip hop concert.

[ ] I have lived in more than 2 houses.
[x] I have driven on the highway.
[x] I have driven more than 40 miles in a day.
[x] I have been in a car accident.
[ ] I have done drugs.

[x] I have been homesick.
[x] I have thrown up
[x] I have puked all over someone.
[x] I have been horseback riding.
[ ] I have filled out more than 10 myspace surveys.

[x] I have spoken my mind in public.
[x] I have proved someone wrong.
[x] I have been proved wrong by someone.
[ ] I have broken a leg.
[ ] I have broken an arm.

[x] I have fallen off a swing.
[x] I have swung on a swing for more than 30 mins straight.
[x] I have watched Winnie the Pooh movies.
[x] I have forgotten my backpack when I've gone to school.
[x] I have lost my backpack.

[ ] I have come close to dying.
[ ] I have seen someone die.
[x] I have known someone who has died.
[ ] I have wanted to be an actor/actress at some point. (yes)
[ ] I have done modeling.

[x] I have forgotten to brush my teeth some mornings.
[x] I have taken something/someone for granted.
[x] I have realized how good my life is.
[x] I have counted my blessings.
[x] I have been made fun of by classmates.
[x] I have made fun of a classmate.
[x] I have been on a date.

[ ] I have been asked on a date and said no.
[ ] I have asked someone on a date and been turned down.
[x] I have slapped someone in the face.

[ ] I have been skateboarding.
[x] I have been backstabbed by someone I thought was a friend.

[x] I have lied to someone to their face.

[x] I have told a little white lie.
[ ] I have taken a day off from school just so I don't go insane.

[ ] I have blacked out.
[x] I have had an argument with someone about whether cheerleading is a sport or not.
[x] I have pushed someone into a pool.
[x] I have been pushed into a pool.

[ ] I have had/have a broken nose.

[x] I have had a black eye.
[ ] I have lost a tooth.
[ ] I have chipped a tooth.
[ ] I have been called an under achiever.
[x] I have been called an over achiever

so...

Driving home from Sioux Falls today was not fun. Low visibility and blowing snow is no fun. But it means Suz stayed the night, which is good :)

I blame Wes (the man of multiple posts all in one day)

Four jobs I've had:
1. janitor
2. respite provider
3. tutor
4. slave to Duitman

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Return to Me
2. Zoolander
3. Napoleon Dynamite
4. Sneakers

Four places I've lived:
1. Sioux Center, IA
2. sioux center, ia
3. see above
4. see above above

Four TV shows I love:
1. gilmore girls
2. alias
3. survivor
4. Las Vegas

Four places I've vacationed:
1. terra ceia, north carolina
2. philadelphia, pa
3. san diego, ca
4. australia

Four sites I visit daily:
1. blogs
2. weather.com
3. DENIS
4. the TODAY

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. merida
2. costa rica
3. los angeles
4. maybe hawaii?? (i'm with you wes...a good possibility.)

Shame on me

I was about to complain that other people hadn't posted in a while when I realized that it's been a while for me, also. So here I am, posting.

Would you like to buy some Valentine's day candy? Club Hispano is selling chocolate bars for $1 and suckers for $.50. I'm the president, so I'm obligated to sell away like a good saleswoman. Okay, task done.

In other news, I can hardly believe it's already February 6th! Spring break is a mere 31 days away. That's quite the scary news, if you ask me, since I'm sure I have a lot to do before then.

Tonight was my first night being out of NISO. THey had practice and I didn't have to go. It was a wonderful opportunity for meeting, homework, and catching up with people.

K, that's all I gots. Your turn.

Opinion

I faced a large frustration today:

People with no respect. I drive my car to and from Dordt. On T/Th, I drive from the Classroom building over to the Beej in order to go to chapel. On my way from CB to the BJH, there was, as always, a mass migration of people going from class over to East Campus/Covenant/Southview. These people decided to walk across the whole expanse of the road I drive on to get to the beej. And then looked at me, saw I was waiting to turn to go that way, and kept walking the way they were. Excuse me? I believe your mama taught you a bit more respect thant that.

Then, to top it all of, I was leaving the beej after chapel to come home for laundry/lunch. There, people were migrating from east campus/covenant/southview in order to go to class. 2 people walking right down the middle of that "road," saw me coming, could have moved over, looked right at me with a lovely little smirk, and kept right on walking so I couldn't get by. Excuse me?

I'm disappointed by the way people act. Sure, it's on campus and it's not down the middle of the highway or anything. But a little respect would mean you would scoot yourselves over so I can keep on driving by. But no, wait, I'm sorry, I forgot. You're better than me because you're living on campus and you have the right to do whatever you want.

Cancelled Class...

What a beautiful thing, when class is cancelled. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't want my prof to be sick. Sick is no fun. But it's a bittersweet thing for me, because I don't mind at all if we don't have class. More time to do other things for me. Makes my crazy Wednesday a little bit less crazy.

In other news, I'm sore from my HPER fitness test. Walking is painful, sometimes... Ah, well, at least now it's over and I don't have to do it again.

The biggest excitement right now is that Chris Rice is giving a concert at Dordt in just over 2 weeks. Yay! I'm super excited for this, excited to see him perform, excited that Mason might get me backstage, excited for everything. Rock on! I might have to on an all Chris Rice diet when the concert nears...I do have 3.6 hours worth of Chris Rice on my computer.

Okay, well, I'd better get going...

NEWS FLASH!

I am not physically fit, according to my HPER class. 20 situps in 1 minute, 44 cm on the sit/stretch, 0 chin-ups, and 13:49 on the mile. Oh well.

Howdy

Hello all. Today is TX Ticket sale day. Hence, a short post. Crazy. Have a good Monday.

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment. They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

How Do People See You?

I hope that's not completely true!!

God is good.

There's a song in my newest piano book: God is good, all the time. He put this song of praise in this heart of mine. God is good. God is good, all the time.

I don't know if I have the words to express how amazingly God has worked in my life. First, the opportunities for camp have abounded. I'm in the process of appyling at my 4th camp, and all references have agreed to refer multiple times over.

Everytime I feel overloaded and busy, God provides a way out. Today, a dear friend and I were to meet. She has the flu. Although I sincerely wish she didn't have the flu, it gave me time in my day to do a phone interview. Last week, work got canceled because they had to go to a funeral. Same story, wish it didn't have to be that reason, but it was a much needed time off.

So, this afternoon I'm awed by how good God is to me. Here's a few more things that really made my day today:

1. Waking up and exercising and feeling so AWAKE and ALIVE!
2. Hearing Sherri Lantinga say some awesome things in my HPER class.
3. Feeling the work load taken off in a class
4. Actually seeing and talking to a friend that I barely see anymore
5. Seeing a woman take care of her disabled brother and doing it without question.

And just as I began, I'll end with another song: Count your blessings, count them every day. Count your blessings count them one by one.

Pictures

So, here are some of the pictures from the conference over a week ago in Connecticut. They are (in order) 1) The shore of the Long Island sound behind the convent where we stayed. 2) After swimming in the sound. 3) The three of us girls doing our "sinatra hands" 4) The convent where we stayed in Madison, CT. 5) The little bit of New York we saw, where Men in Black was filmed.

Good Morning

Camp. Camp?? Camp!!

Let me begin this saga at the very beginning. No, not at birth. Try about a week ago.

About a week ago, I realized that I would like to do something "worthwhile" with my summer - something that may be misssions related. This can be quite a dilemma, since many of these things do not pay or actually require me to pay them money. Problem. Nikki needs money for that Dordt place.

So, thinking it through, thinking about experiences friends have had, I start to think about camp. Camp, I think would work. Camp.

Then, yesterday, I see an announcement in the TODAY. All of the big RCA camps will be on campus interviewing "tomorrow" (now today). I freak out. Like I have time at all to interview. I'm not prepared for interviews! The thought has barely entered my head, much less become what I want to do. Camp?? No, I think. God is telling me no, obviously, since I wouldn't have any sort of time to interview.

Today, I share my feelings with my dad. Say, I'd love to interview, but it's just not possible. I have no time in my schedule. Busy from 8:00am to 5:15pm. He replies: If it's something you need to do, then you need to interview, you need to make it happen, and you have to make choices. So, then, he says, what can you cancel?

Nothing, I reply, dejected. I think I want to do it, but I can't cancel anything to squeeze in interviews.

Next thing I know, I'm filling out an application, thinking about who to give references to, and begging for the interviewers to squeeze me in for an interview. Sure, the first says, I'll take you right now. I pray Sarah will forgive me for pushing our meeting back and say "okay." Next thing I know, I'm promising to call him to finish the interview and he's setting me up with two other interviews. Instead of sitting in the library for ASK Center work, I find myself interviewing for camps.

So, Camp!! I'm warming up to the idea. A lot. I interviewed for 3 camps (Iowa, Michigan, Illinois) and I can't wait to hear back, even if I have to wait until mid February.

So, the saga of the question of Camp. To do or not? Interviews over, we'll see if I actually get any offers.

Sunday night

Sunday night. I'm sitting at my desk trying to determine if my sore knee is from residue pain from the dislocation or if it's from when I hit my knee on the steering wheel today or if it's a combination of the two. Either way, it makes for a sore knee, which is not the nicest thing in the world.

Semester started. But you know that already. It amazes me how easily I can grow so full of things to do. 2 weekly meetings, 6 hours of ASK Center work, 4 hours of Hope Haven work, 18.5 hours of class, GEMS every other week...It gets to be some pretty busy days in there, especially with plenty of homework thrown in there.

But I'm still excited for my classes. I'm interested to see what they hold. My missions class is focusing on issues that we specifically chose, so I think that will be good. I'm still unsure about my world religions class - I'm not sure that I agree with the way that the professor proposed that we learn about world religions, but that doesn't mean that it will be a horrible class. I tend to think that I'll learn that I agree with him, he just didn't use the right method of explaining. We shall see.

I'm rejoicing, realizing that I've finished my homework, which means that I can work on finishing my "Street Children" book before I start another book. And get enough sleep for another long day.

Hooray.

I win!

Ever set deadlines for yourself to get things done? I do. Lots. And I don't get them done, a lot of the time.

So, today, a tired me said to myself, "okay, I'm going home, then I give myself 45 minutes to finish this reading and do my assignment so I can hit the bed by midnight."

I did it in 35 minutes. So I'm now rejoicing. And I'll get to bed by midnight.

Tomorrow's Friday!!

This is bad...

Ahh! Lacking motivation and it's only the 2nd day of classes. Got a few pages to read for my Spanish lit classes. Granted, I'm excited for the class, just not for the intro to literature. Wondering is I can get away with not reading it...realizing that I can't...moving on to the realization that I will have about half an hour between Hper 10 and the class to do the reading. Good. I feel better now.

In other news. I've been reading an amazingly powerful book about street children. It is aptly titled Street Children. I forgive the author for the non-creative title, because it really is opening my eyes to what happens out there.

Saw a picture of a young, poor, foreign child when I went to the bathroom today. It was just sitting there, on the diaper changing thing. That was after singing The Potter's Hand in Praise and Worship. God's not being quiet about this with me. So, I may not to get to stay close to home like I would like to. It's not going to be the easiest thing in the world, but I'm letting God teach me to take care of others before myself as well as teaching me to expand my borders and listen to what he would want me to do.

Like the cliche, not so politically correct phrase, goes: If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.

So, those are my thoughts.

Start of the Semester and other comments...

So, the semester officially started today. That included a visit to the rec center to surrender my money in order to attend the beautiful college. I've had two classes so far, so I'm still pretty jazzed up for the semester - Hper 10 (laugh all you want - we've all had to take it...), and then Hispanic Literature, which I'm excited for because I love literature and I love the Spanish language. What a combination...

Tomorrow I have Issues in Missions and Evangelism, Greek 102, Major World Religions, Spanish Phonology, and Spanish Conversation. In that order, with a 2 hour break in there. During that break I plan to eat and get groceries for baking with the GEMS.

Now, I'm killing time until I work. As of right now, I have a break from 11:30-3:15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don't plan on that lasting - I imagine that it will be taken up by other things once my ASK Schedule gets set.

Moving on to other non-school comments:

I drove to Sioux Falls twics in three days, first two times I'd ever driven to Sioux Falls. Picked people up from the aeropuerto, good to see people, people I love, people I've missed. They were good excursions.

I feel the need to retract my prior comment on the fact that I don't want to get involved in foreign missions and that I only want to do local missions, if that's what I do. The more I think about it and talk with people, I understand that I may not want to do it, but that doesn't mean I won't eventually do it. We'll see where the Lord leads me in my journey, but I'm lately feeling like he's smiling, saying, you may not want to go abroad in order to stay close to your family, but I've got different plans for you. Like he says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

So if that prospering hope and future means spending significant time away from my family, hanging out with people of different cultures and showing God through every way possible, then that's what I'll do.

So, if you ask me in the near future what I'm planning on doing after college, I still won't know. But here are some things that will be included in my list of possibilities: overseas missionary, local missionary, work with Wycliffe Bible translators, translation, work with a missions org. by way of organization, work in a church...and the list goes on. I imagine I'll be involved in more than one of these things over the course of my life.

So there you have it. What I'm really thinking.

Back to the Midwest...

Well, I'm finally back home in the good 'ol Midwest and no longer on the East Coast. Sigh. I'm actually quite glad to be home.

It was quite a stretching type week for me. I learned the I do not want to go overseas to be a missionary. I might be an at-home missionary, local missionary...that's still an option...but I don't want to go overseas. I learned that there are such a diverse amount of views in the Christian faith...I met people of the Mennonite, Anabaptist, Moravian, and Pentecostal faiths. I was surprised to learn that we reformed believers were in the minority.

But, a learning week. Met a bunch of people from all over - Redeemer (Canada), Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Myanmar...

And, I went swimming in the Long Island Sound. In probably 35 degree weather. The water was cold. Quite cold. And we ran in twice. It was a great time. Pictures may be forthcoming, but I don't have many yet, since I let Anna take most of them, so I'll be getting them from her.

I should tell you a little story, though, about the worst travel day ever. After a New Year's Eve party, Sarah and I stayed up and left the house at 2:30, armed with coffee and prayers we would stay awake. We did and arrived in the Omaha airport at about 5am. We checked in and hopped a 6:30 am flight to Detroit. When we arrived in Detroit, Anna met us and informed us that our flight from Detroit to New York/La Guardia had been canceled.

So, we made our phone calls, told the necessary parents and professors, and we went and haggled with Northwest. We ended up being rerouted to Indianapolis and then to LaGuardia. Instead of landing in LGA around noon, we didn't arrive until 6pm. So, you say, not the end of the world. Numerous people have experienced flight days like that. Insert 2 college girls on no sleep except for naps on a plane, weird eating schedule, sick feelings for 2 of the three girls, and the 3rd girl running on 1 1/2 hours of sleep. We were dead on our feet. Barely dragged ourselves into the McDonald's in Detroit so we weren't so sick feeling.

So, crazy travel day. Yesterday was much better, pretty much went the way it was supposed to.

That's all I've got for today.

Kids, Planes, and Spanish Movies

Yay. What a great day. Started the day with coffee with a wonderful friend. An hour and 15 minutes later, we were caught up on life. She loves me and understands me, and I love having her in my life.

Then pursued making Chex Mix and Lemon pie. For the record, I messed up on the pie. Attempt #2 will be tomorrow. I wasn't quite logical in my baking thinking, so the pie ended up a little screwy. But it looked beautiful, so I know it will work out next time.

Afterwards, and outing with my dad around town. And then came home. My Mp3 player arrived via UPS today. I was uber excited - it wasn't supposed to come until next week some time, and now it's here. Yay! Some issues with my computer, but it for sure works on Dad's, so I know I'll get some music on it before I leave.

Then I watched "Abre Los Ojos" (Open your eyes), the movie which inspired Vanilla Sky, with my aunt. It's a crazy movie that messes with your mind, but I really liked it. Definitely need to watch it a few more times, but it was still great. And, it's in Spanish with English subtitles. From a language lover, that it the ideal movie to watch.

Afterwards, I helped my mom get ready for our final Christmas party. Then the party ensued. Corn chowder was my soup of choice for the meal (yum!), and there was great bread as well. Afterwards, tiramisu for dessert (mmm...chocolate and alcohol...). Then cards galore - lots of Rook playing. Actually went well for me this time around - took some bids and didn't get set!

Also spent a lot of time running around with the kids. One of the boys is a kid I work with at work but he's also a great family friend - he and I get along so well :) So, we played with my camera phone and laughed and tickled and ran around and did all sorts of fun stuff. And he "helped me play Rack-o". Yippy what fun.

So, another late party, another long day, and I find myself tired, once again, ready to sleep a little before another long day and late party. Tomorrow promises taking down Christmas decorations, trial #2 of lemon pies, packing, shopping (?), and a kickin' New Year's Eve party. If you're in town and want to come, you're welcome to join - the house is going to be crazy, for sure, but it will be a good time.

Then, at 2:45 in the morning, we leave for Omaha. To fly to Connecticut! Yay!! Connecticut! I am so excited to finally be going - something that's been in the works for a month now, and it's finally near - and - I may have actually succeeded in packing light for once. We'll see how I fare once I get there, though :)

To bed, to bed, to bed I said.

Fun-filled

It's been a full day, that's for sure. Went to Sioux Falls with my mom and aunt. We went to Savers, Target, out to HuHot to eat, and we went to go see The Family Stone. Not super awesome, but it was alright.

Then, we came home and went straight to the Van Wyk's. There, we had pizza, coffee, dessert, hung out awhile, and then we played Court Whist. What a great time that was. It's a great game, full of changing rules, changing partners, and lots of laughter. There's even a round where you lose points if you talk during the round. Difficult, but I made it through. I ended up with 2 candle holders with votives - very nice decoration for the basement table, if I do say so myself.

Tomorrow is sure to satisfy as well. I start out with coffee with a dear friend - I'm looking forward to plenty of time to talk and catch up. It's been August since we actually saw each other. Then it's spending time making chex mix and the like - probably cleaning, packing, and all sorts of stuff. Then I might go see Chronicles of Narnia with my aunt. I haven't decided if I want to see it or not. All I've heard is good, but I'm not sure if I'm wanting to see it or not. We'll see what I decide. Then another Christmas party at night. That's sure to be good as well, with good soups and breads and time to enjoy each other. Lots of card playing is guaranteed - better hone up on my Rook skills.

Now I'm just waiting for a cell phone call to assure the family that Michael and Heidi made it back to Sioux City safely after a somewhat disgusting drive back. So, it's randomness and mindlessness until they call.

Hope you're safe and warm and happy. I am.

Snippets from the weekend...

- "But the bumblebee did not read the report."
Heard as we were scanning for KDCR on the radio...the only part we heard on the station.

- "They're full of it!"
Also heard on the radio station. A vehement man speaking of weathermen.

- When we were in Vegas... Mom: "Speaking of 16 people in one bed..."
No explanation needed here.

- "I got a wedgie and it felt good!"
Trivial pursuit. Said by a dear friend of the family, Lyle. He surprises me every time words come out of his mouth.

- "Merry Christmas!"
Yup.

- Walking a frozen lake...walking on water?
Lake Okoboji. Completely frozen. We pretended we were walking on water.

- Becoming a thief...(for one hour)
Here's the long story. On Christmas day, we had my grandparents over for Christams dinner. Then, my mom and I drove down to Sioux City to pick up my Aunt Becky. When we got there, we went to get gas before we drove up to Okoboji. Jack called right before we pulled up to the gast station, so my mom stayed in the car to talk to him. I pumped the gas and my aunt went in for some food, since she'd had none on the plane. I assumed she was paying for the gas and she assumed I was paying for the gas. We drove off. An hour later, my mom asked who had paid for the gas. We discover no one had paid for the gas! Appalled, my mom called 411, got connected to te Kum & Go, and paid for the gas. But not before we felt like thieves and wondered what would happen...

an additional note...rumor has it it's not the easiest thing to just post on the blog. I've explored, and here's what you can do. When you click on comments, you have the option on the right hand side to post. Go ahead and post. Underneath, choose the button "other" as how you're posting - you can just stick your name in (no need to put in your website unless you want to) and it should work. Let me know if it does/doesn't work.

Hope your Christmas was exciting and blessed, all at the same time. :)

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas all! May you be blessed by the Savior's birth. Comments on my life to come at a later date and time. Enjoy the holiday, enjoy the family, enjoy the mirth - enjoy Jesus!

Which of Santa's Reindeer are You?

You Are Comet

A total daredevil, you're the reindeer with an edge! Why You're Naughty: You almost gave Santa a heart attack when you took him sky diving Why You're Nice: You always make sure the sleigh is going warp speed

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Battery Acid

So, I've been doing some interesting research work. And when you're done, you'll likely say, "Wow, this is all she does with her time during break? Sad."

So, anyway, a few weeks ago, I attempted to take my laptop to Minneapolis to get some much needed work done on a paper. Sadly, riding in the car, I pushed the power button and it proceeded to turn on and then back off again. Ticked, I put it away and charged it up when we got to the house we were staying at. Then, on the way home, it lasted a whole 20 minutes before crapping out again. Later that week (during dead week, of course), it lasted a victorious 30 minutes before dying on me.

So, despising the battery, I discover from my dad that it will cost over $100 to replace the battery. Eww, I sigh, and decided to just deal with the power supply and not get a new battery. I'm cheap.

But then, this week, he informs me that they just replaced about 4 batteries on laptops at work and the laptops happen to be the same kind as the one I have. Victorious, I think. He brings the 4 "dead" batteries home, saying he's suspicious one may actually be good, but they replaced all 4 anyway. So, I go to work. I make a database, charge up the first battery, stick it in, and go without the power supply. The results?

Battery #1: Lasts 1hr, 5 min. Better, but not great.
Battery #2: Lasts 2 hr, 34 min. Amazing.
Battery #3: Lasts 2 hr, 27 min. Still quite amazing.
Battery #4: Lasts 1 hr, 55 min. What?!
**edit**
Battery #5 (mine): Lasts 3 minutes

Okay, so, turns out that 3 out of the 4 batteries that I was given to test were actually quite good. Yup. But 2 days worth of testing reveals this: I might get a battery that's in almost perfect condition out of the deal for way less than I would pay for an actual new one.

So, that's my sad life and where I have fun...conducting tests on battery life. This may explain why I enjoy doing things like watching MythBusters.

Happy Birthday!!

It's my Mom's birthday today. Happy Birthday, Mom!!

In other news, it's still a great time to be on break...getting lots done - I now officially live downstairs with none of my stuff up in the old bedroom. Hoping to "sleep in" tomorrow - although, that probably means about 10:00ish for me. That's a late morning.

Christmas is almost here. There are 2 packages under the tree that came in the mail for me - one from FedEx and one from Amazon.com. They're from Jack. I'm dying to know what he got me - I love presents from my brother - they're always something original and well thought-out - usually not something on my list but something I wholly appreciate. We'll see what he came up with this year :)

And I'm done.

Good things every day...

No, not at the Pizza Ranch. Here.

First, I was sorting through my room upstairs...I was in a disposable mood, so it was going pretty fast. I was uber excited because I came across a CD that I had just mentioned I wish it wasn't lost somewhere...and then I found it! It's the Point of Grace Christmas CD. Now, I'm not so fond of Point of Grace anymore, but I'm still a huge fan of their Christmas CD - it's maybe the only Christmas CD that I choose to listen to. So, now I am listening to it for the second time and thoroughly enjoying it.

Second, I'm drinking hot chocolate. What lovely, simple pleasures. Me like hot chocolate.

Third, I am so uberly happy with where I am living now. Here come the pictures...

First, the "dining room," so to speak...



Then, we have the "living room"...



Finally, we have my favorite beaded curtain, which hangs between the two...



So, there you have my newest humble abode. I like it. I like it a lot. (Even if I can't take clear pictures...)

Random...

my eyes are tired, my glasses are broken, and the rest of me isn't tired...

All sorts of exciting news...

Here's some exciting facts, in no particular order:

1. I have a floor in my room! (a new revelation...)
2. I have a little house all to myself (basically...)
3. I'm done with exams
4. I'm working roughly 30 hours this week for Hope Haven. Money for conference...
5. Christmas is only 10 days away
6. Exactly 6 months from now, I will be of legal age
7. Jasmine found a wedding dress
8. I'm officially, in all respects, moved out of my apartment
9. I like Jack Johnson
10. I'm going to New York/Connecticut in January
11. I'm burning candles right now
12. I'm reading an awesome book, "Caramelo," by Sandra Cisneros

Hope you have exciting things in your life...I feel like so much has been accomplished this week!!

Allow me to express my frustration. My source for the big paper that I was writing that never wrote back to me...Just e-mailed me today. Over 2 weeks after e-mailing him these questions, he finally replied. A week and a half after the paper itself was due. Nice answers, does me no good.

Floral Decorations for Bananas

- Wallace Stevens (a crazy man)

Well, nuncle, this plainly won't do.
These insolent, linear peels
And sullen, hurricane shapes
Won't do with your eglantine.
They require something serpentine.
Blunt yellow in such a room!

You should have had plums tonight,
In an eighteenth-century dish,
And pettifogging buds,
For the women of primrose and purl,
Each one in her decent curl.
Good God! What a precious light!

But bananas hacked and hunched . . .
The table was set by an ogre,
His eye on an outdoor gloom
And a stiff and noxious place.
Pile the bananas on planks.
The women will all be shanks
And bangles and slatted eyes.

And deck the bananas in leaves
Pluck from the Carib trees,
Fibrous and dangling down,
Oozing cantankerous gum
Out of their purple maws,
Darting out of their purple craws
Their musky and tingling tongues.

Candles.

I like candles. I can burn them now. One of my GEMs girls gifted me with a black raspberry vanilla candle from the white barn candle company. I felt honored. I should tell her mother that that's pretty much my favorite smell ever. Because it is.

2 exams tomorrow. After that, I am officially done! Yay!

Headaches. Trying to figure out how to get from one place to another when I'm in Connecticut in January is messing with my brain - but, I can see why my mom was a good travel agent. And for those of you who don't know, I'm going to CT for a week with two other girls and my favoritest Theology prof ever. I get to see New York, take trains, and do all sorts of great stuff.

Okay, that's it for today.

Mahna Mahna

We Live, We Love

Saturday night. I'm all "Christmas Partied" out. Three Christmas parties already, one more on Tuesday. And it's only December 10th!!

That's okay. This coming week holds present wrapping, Christmas decorating, exam taking, and a bunch of runs to the airport. I'm all for it. If anyone wants to ride to Sioux Falls on Wednesday afternoon or to Omaha on Friday morning, let me know - I'd love to have company on the way back after dropping people at the airport.

I have a research paper officially done, I'm almost done with my take-home exam, and I have 2 exams left to study for: one that's in an entirely different language and one in the CRC language. Good luck, me.

Okay, well, I hope you're all doing well. Really, I do. Because I think about all of you a lot. Today was a happy day because Jazz has a job. So Jack and Jazz both have jobs. Yippy!!

Good luck, if you're into exam week. If you're not, enjoy normality.

Song of the Day

Because I like music so much and I listen to it all the time, check out www.songsofnikki.blogspot.com - It's my new blog with the song of the day.

Cold Feet

My feet are cold. I suppose that's because I'm in the basement wearing no socks. Ah, well, I'll have to remedy that problem in a few moments.

It's the last day of classes. Philosophy and Spanish, then I'm done, save exams and papers. I have 4 pages written for Theo and 7 written for Linguistics. About three pages for each to be added and they'll be done. Then massive amounts of studying for my Spanish exam and a bit of studying for Philosophy, and I should be good to go.

Christmas Banquet is tonight! It's never anything spectacular, I guess, but it's so fun to dress up and hang out with friends, eat food you haven't made (even if it is Commons food), take pictures, and maybe dance a bit. I like.

Okay, now my hands are cold as well. I need to go check the laundry. Maybe the dryer will warm me up.

A Bitter Post

A bitter post, not because I'm bitter, but because it's so bitterly cold outside. It's -5F outside, I'm sure the wind chill is worse. It's supposed to flurry today. It's only supposed to get to 5F, if that. Wow, it's chilly. We haven't had a winter like this in quite a few years.

I moved a bunch of stuff out of my apartment last night. It was so cold - 0 degrees outside and I was making trips to and from the apartment and to and from the car. I had 6 trips, times 3 - once from the apartment to the car, once from the car to the house, and once from upstairs to downstairs. My goodness, I never realized that I have so much stuff. But I should be able to do the rest of it today and then next week get the stuff my roomies requested I leave until the end of the semester.

Left on the to-do list before the end of the semester: 1 Linguistics test, 1 Greek quiz, 1 Linguistics paper, 1 Missions and Evangelism take-home test, 1 Spanish exam, 1 Philosophy exam, move home. I'm actually feeling good about everything except for the actual exams (philo and Spanish).

Tonight: Club Hispano Cookie Night. Don't go to the SCA Christmas event - come to the cookie night ! We're more fun!! Okay, so maybe you should just go to both - we have this amazing knack of scheduling our events when other events are scheduled, because we do our scheduling early. Dangit all.

Okay. Stay warm. Don't get frostbite. Don't get chilled to the bone. Come to the cookie night.

~Godbless

The Evils of Shopping instead of Going to Church on Sunday

That's what a family friend told us the "sermon" was this morning. He was kidding. We all went shopping instead of going to church. He's got a good sense of humor - a lot like mine, which meant he favored my choices for Apples to Apples :)

So, I went shopping to Minneapolis. Hooray for tradition. My mom and I both make a huge 'ol list for Christmas - people we need to get gifts for, what we're thinking, etc. And then we go at it. And there are things we need too. And I try things on, then my mom says, "Okay, I'm going to buy this, and then you have to forget about it until Christmas and be surprised when you open it." And I beg and plead to have it before Christmas, she doesn't plead, and I give in, but not acquiescently, dangit.

Successful shopping trip. I am now officially poor, but I have presents for *almost* everyone on my list - one person left, but I have a pretty good idea what to do. And I found some good deals - some scarves (accessories, not winter) for $4 each at Marshall Field's - that's pretty amazing. And some shoes (finally!!). Ooh, ooh, and a shirt (nice one) for $6, originally $25.

So, it was a successful, enjoyable weekend. My knee hates me for all the shopping I did - we started at about 10 on Saturday and went until about 6:30. And then we went from about 10-3:30 and then an hour on the way home. So that's a rough 15 hours of shopping, times 6 of us - 90 hours of shopping this weekend. And the back of the car was full, I tell you. Good times, good memories, except for the horrendously drunk man who tried to hit on all of us. Thank goodness they didn't tell him I was the only single person at the table.

Other than that, I have my theo paper done - finally! It's officially dead week. I'm not happy with my paper - I would have loved to spend more time on it, add more, read a few more sources, and fix some of my bad sentence structure. But time did not permit as such and my silly source never e-mailed me back, so what I have is what it is. It's still good, just not as good as I'd like. So, now, I have 4 days of classes, 1 paper, 2 exams, 2 quizzes, 1 take-home exam, and 1 test left. And moving the rest of my stuff out of the apartment.

Okay, wow, I'm wordy today. I better go put my words somewhere useful instead of in your head.

~Godbless

Snow, Snow, and...(wait for it...)... More Snow!!!

That's right kids, adults, crazy ones: Lots of snow. I've had to dig my car out of the snow a total of 5 times already this week. I think I picked the worst time to move back home - everytime I go between home and Dordt, I find myself having to brush off or scrape my car of the snow. Yay, me, and good timing.

But it's really quite a beautiful snow out there, if you don't have to step through it or brush off your car. It's fluffy and white and quite lovely. So for that, I fogive the snow for falling and making the roads annoying. I'm an understanding person that way.

So I find myself sitting the the Grille, working on my homework and actually enjoying myself quite a bit. I'm loving this aspect of doing my homework in places where I'm also guaranteed to see people. Yesterday it was a time in the jam-packed library, sitting by Goober and Andrea.

So, besides having to drive on snowy/disgusting roads to get here, I love it!!

And, I'm making considerable progress on my paper. The most annoying part is that I'm waiting for an e-mail response from the President of IDEA Ministries to help me out with my paper. So, I'm having to defer writing that part of the paper until he replies. If I don't get a reply before I levae for Minneapolis tomorrow morning, I'm giving up on it and writing the paper without his responses. It's frustrating to me, because it will really make the paper credible instead of just using my own experiences, but I guess that's what I get for procrastinating. But, the paper is already about 5-5 1/2 pages long, which is longer than I thought I could get written this morning, so that's pretty encouraging.

In other news, there are 3 M/W/F classes left and 3 T/Th classes left. As of right now, I have 3 exams, 2 vocab quizzes, and a 10 page paper due by the end of the semester. I think it's manageable. I hope so!

Okay, and, enough of my rambling. It's time I got back to studying for things I really need to get done.

~Godbless

The Big News...

Okay, so, I am officially "allowed" (per my own orders) to tell the world, i.e. whoever reads my blog, about my "big news" that I needed prayers about.

I have moved out of my apartment. I am living at home in our basement, where my brother used to live. I love my roommates dearly (and to all my roommates reading this I love you!), but we don't live well together. Add the stress of the end of the semester on top of that, and it was a recipe for no good. So, for the rest of this semester as well as next semester for sure, I'll be living at home. It's kind of cozy down here - I definitely have more space :)

In other news, I have a major big-old paper due on Friday and I'm hoping I can pull it off - I just sent questions to my primary source and I'm waiting for responses. Now all I have to do is decide how much more I need for sources and whether I can really write 8-10 pages on this topic.

Add to that a 10-page minimum paper due in the near future (he never really set a due date...), numerous exams, and some big written assignments in Spanish, and you've got my life for the next 3 weeks.

So, it's back to the sawmill. I've got 45 minutes before I have to work and I should probably get something productive done!

Typicality

To follow the trend...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today was a good day in my life. Played violin in church, spent a good part of the day at my grandma's for the big dinner and such, and also went to see "Yours, Mine, & Ours." Not so bad. Didn't stray too far from the movie, so that was encouraging to me.

Other than that, no big news over here. Actually there is, but it's not public yet, so just pray for me as I notify certain people about the news and you'll hear about it sometime next week!

Oh, and pray I live through the next 3 weeks of semester craziness. I really need to get some papers done!

K, that's it. Hope your Thanksgiving was good.

Godbless

Suckerpunched...

By my professors. That's right. Because I have 3 tests on the last day of class. Which are all scary tests. I'm not sure if I'll sleep Monday night...

In other news...went to the One Acts last night - they were splendid and amazing. Granted, they were long, but they didn't feel that way. They ended up being about 3 hours and 15 minutes, including intermission, and it really didn't feel that long at all. There was a great one by Marcus about monkeys and typewriters. I've never seen Kara Kuipery jump around like that. Awesome. Also a great one called "The Ugly Duckling." I don't know, they were all good. If you want more, I can tell you more, but I have a feeling that a lot of people who read this saw the One Acts, so they don't need me to tell them about them.

Okay, so, moving on...we're moving, we're moving, we're moving, and on the left you will see my lovely non-functioning car, Harriet Augustus. The battery fried. It won't start. I can't drive it places. It's not the end of the world, that's guaranteed - especially since I know it's just the battery and that it will jump start, but it just won't start on its own once you turn it off. That was frustrating I'll tell you, being in Orange City and realizing the car wouldn't start.

We're moving, we're moving, we're moving, and on your right you will see a 7-page linguistics paper, a philosophy take-home test, a Greek book, a Spanish book, library books, and my brain, all begging to be put to use.

We're moving, we're moving, we're moving, and on your left you will see the exit. Watch out for the low ceiling, be careful not to trip on the step, and don't burn your forehead on the exit sign. Thank you for coming, please do drop by again.

A Heart

For my mom. I love her. She reads my blog and sympathizes with bad days and gives me rides from the Taj Mahan to my apartment and calls to share news and asks my opinion on clothes. Thanks for being a fun, good, and amazing Mom.

Ahh! Bad timing!

Let me just begin by saying this: Sometimes the timing of songs that you listen to is stellar - you're in a good mood, you hear a good song, "woot." And then, there are days like today - I'm trying to be in a good mood, and the song that plays is just what I don't need to here. Argh.

So, it snows. Lots. And it's supposed to blow today as well. Let me define my feelings on snow: It's pretty when you're sitting inside, warm, watching it fall and land on trees. It's ugly when you're walking/biking through it, accumulating 2" worth on your person, you're freezing, and it's all slushy on the cement.

And on a day like today, when we have 2 NISO concerts, that's just one more thing that I don't want to deal with. I already have a whole 25 minutes to eat lunch and change into concert clothes and get over to BJH (Taj Mahan), and now I have to deal with snow!

Okay, I'm done with my feelings on snow. Today is Tuesday, the 15th of November. I could barely drink 1 cup of coffee today. Don't ask why. Must be something wrong with me ;)

In other news: Let me just leave you with this thought: People are complex, complicated, and difficult to understand.

For Mom

So, my mom wanted to know if there was a new post on my blog. So, in response, I will post. Here you go, Mom :)

I'm hanging out at home, getting my laundry done, and laughing at the company that is here. I love my house :)

Anyway, so much and so little has happened in the last few days since I've posted, especially if you don't count my "survey" as a real post. Jack and Jasmine are officially in Los Angeles, which is a wonderful thing. I called him this morning and woke him up in the process (Sorry, Jack).

I had the most amazing and exciting philosophy class this week. I never expected things to be this exciting or go this well, but they did. We had a written conversation with a partner about some of the topics we've been talking about. Karen and I had some really great conversations and it was really quite exciting. We walked out of the class on a high for having such a good time.

NISO craziness is this weekend. Dress rehearsal Monday night, Children's concert on Tuesday afternoon (yay, no Spanish class!), and then the "real" concert on Tuesday night. It's going to be a busy beginning of the week. And it's looking like lots of Hope Haven work in the second half.

Ah, well, that's about all I have to say. Questions, concerns, or comments?

Paint me red and call me a thief...

Name: Nicole
What you wish your name was: Aurelia or Calla or Kalila
Greatest irrational fear: That everyone will suddenly decide they don't like me and I'll be friendless.
Your best friend's name in 3rd grade:let me think here a moment...I think Mel Eekhoff
Do you like to type in italics: no
What's your school mascot: The Knights!! Just like almost every other Christian HS. Now it's the Defenders.
Who sat next to you in math: Amber (Steggerda) Huizenga
Have you seen "Chasing Liberty": Yes
Have you ever been to Maryland: Yes...to fly out of it.
Your thoughts on water: I like it.
Do you like Zebra Cakes: Yum.
Are you blonde at heart: No only at heart, I am a blonde.
NUMBERS. . .
Number of times you go to the bathroom each day: I don't count that sort of thing!!
Number of medications you're on:I can't tell you that.
Number of times in the emergency room: Once. For my knee.
FAVORITES. . .
Tree: Birch
Shampoo: Cheap and smells good.
Translation of the Bible: NIV
Country (not the U.S.): Mexico
Crayon color: Red
News reporter: I'm not picky.
Office supply store: I don't care.
THIS OR THAT. . .
Boxers or briefs: I'm a girl.
Agassi or Roddick: Ahh! I don't care.
Xanga or MySpace: Blogger
Cha-Cha Slide or Electric Slide: Cha-Cha Slide?
Kronk or Kuzco: ummm...i'm confused
HAVE YOU EVER. . .
Sat on a tack: Not in my recollection.
Used "Xanga" as a verb: Doubtful, yet possible.
Smoked a bubble pipe: Yes
Played "Ride the Pony": I'm gonna go ahead and skip this question
Thought about the significance of loving your liver:umm...no. but I do love it.
Thrown a dollar in the trash: I am Dutch and that is sacrilege.
Gotten a passport: Yes. I like it.
Made your own survey: Yes. In response to the sucky ones that circulated.

Time is winding down...

I want to be found enjoying the next life...I see leaves and they are starting to turn brown...but they'll be green and growing when the second season comes around.

"Second Season" by Five Iron Frenzy. Ah, what a great song. What a great band. I love the randomness that plays when I sit at my computer.

Thanksgiving is nearing. Which means Christmas is nearing. Which means the semester is nearing. Ahh! Preregistration began this week....I'm going to have the weirdest semester ever. Luckily, I don't have any class conflicts, but I have 7 credits worth of Woodbury classes and then I have 7 credits worth of Kobes classes. Throw in a Shim and a Hper and a Duitman and there's my craziness.

At work yesterday, I was asked to work on December 4. I freaked out, said, "That's so far away," and was promptly reminded that it's less than 4 weeks away. Enter running around with head cut off Nikki. In exactly 2 weeks, it will be Thanksgiving week. In exactly 5 weeks, I will be done with exams. This is scary. My planner tells me (courtesy of my boredom) that there are 17 days of classes left!

Okay, enough with the numbers and counting down - no one have a heart attack. You will get everything done, you will be okay. Okay, that was as much for me as it was for you.

Anyway, I'm having a good, basically non-eventful week. I'm enjoying these days with time to do more than just being consumed with homework. And I'm enjoying looking forward to my spring classes :)

Latte

I'm alive!! (and somewhat upbeat)

Well, it was a crazy weekend...I'll tell you that now. Friday included work on my linguistics and theology as well as supper at home.

Saturday included work on my linguistics and theology as well as time at home.

Sunday included church, work on Theology, and time at home.

This morning, I had the pleasure (?) of waking up at 6:45 to be at home by 7:30 to see off Jack and Jazz. I just heard from them - they're past Lincoln. Not bad.

I would like to sleep, have a back massage to get the kink out of my shoulder, and I would like to sleep.

But, today is also a good day. Our Club Hispano shirts came in today - they look awesome, if I do say so myself. They're brown this time, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Anyone else have iTunes 6? I'm not noticing any major differences, besides some stylistic choices. Did they do something else that I've missed?

Okay, that's it for now. It's a busy day and I'm tired, so I'd better head out.

latte (yes, I've resurrected it. Because I love coffee.)

you may need to click to see it better...

All Consuming

So, the study of God is consuming my life for the next few days. I should be okay with that. Truth be told, I'm downright frustrated. Kobes gave us a take home test that needs to be done by Monday. It's basically like the study guide he usually gives, and instead of taking 4 out of the 20 questions, we have to answer all of the questions. So, I'm expecting to devote my life to this class and to my linguistics project all weekend.

That means that I actually have to stick it to myself and be studious and that I can't procrastinate and goof off like I'm so good at doing. That also means that I can't derive very far from the schedule that I've set for myself...

In other news. I met with my difficult tutoring person tonight and we had a great time. We spent some time coming up with some zany ways to remember some of her difficult vocab words. She seemed to have a good time and the methods actually seemed to work out. I'm also starting to enjoy her, because I know that she's trying her hardest.

Tomorrow: 1 class at 10am. Other than that, coffee with my Sarah and lots of homework all day long!

Sick and Procrastinatory

Ta-da!! A very sick, coughing, sniffly me attempts to avoid reading the 60 more pages she has left for Theology.

That's right, I'm sick. Again. Seems to be a recurring theme this semester. I got a big 'ol nasty cold - it threatened to come twice already this semester, and it finally hit. At the worst week. Cursed hug-a-linguist days. I'd actually curse, but I won't.

In other news...I'm really beginning to appreciate Spanish music. We've been listening to some of the songs in my conversation class, and I enjoy it. So much so, I bought a CD.

As I type this, I realize my spelling and comprehension today are severely sub-par. So I better just go back to reading before I start spelling even worse...

Introducing...

Happy November! I pray you are not sick, tired, stressed, busy, or sad.

Other Side of the Radio

So, I'm sitting here on Monday morning - it's just after 7am. I'm leaving for work in about ten minutes, so I figured I'd post before I go do that.

It's been a crazy weekend. Yesterday included dinner with the family and pictures and lots of talk about wedding. I tried to get some of my homework done while I was there, but that didn't work very well. Then was the Jars of Clay/Chris Rice/Sara Groves concert. All in all, it was a pretty good concert. I was bummed because the crowd really sucked for Sara Groves and Chris Rice - you could tell that most people were there for Jars of Clay and acted like they just wanted them off the stage to that Jars of Clay could come on. It was somewhat sad. But Jars of Clay was really awesome - they played new songs and old songs. I was expecting a lot from their Redemption Songs album, and they did play a majority from there, but also played songs like Flood and Love Song for a Savior and other old favorites.

And then, there's the never ending bane of my existence: homework. I'm really kind of crabby about that lately. Last night, I was supposed to study for 3 quizzes, read 85 pages in a book, answer 14 questions to an article, and type up what a research paper topic is going to be. It didn't all get done, I'll tell you. Don't ask me when it will. I'm not happy about the way that this is all happening -mostly because of way too much theology homework that I can't keep up with.

But, I feel as if I should end on a happy note...so.... here's Trevor, sleeping and covered with stuffed animals, completely unawares.

It's about time for a party at my house....

And it wouldn't be the same without you....

Okay, don't worry, I'm not having a party at my house. But it is time for a party today - Jars of Clay/Chris Rice concert tonight!!

So, I saw the musical yesterday afternoon. For the most part, I really liked it. I don't think it's something that I feel like I missed out for not going 2-3 times. And I didn't leave it thinking it was the most amazing musical I've ever seen. But I still liked it.

I'm sitting here wondering what else I can tell you about my weekend so far. Nothing amazing or earth-shattering happened. Ushered Friday night and then ended the night with a crazy game of Taboo. Last night I played Simpsons Life. It was pretty fun. I adopted a foreign exchange student.

Well, I think that's I have to say to you people. Enjoy your Sunday.

gb/bg

New Diet

In honor of the Jars of Clay/Chris Rice/Sara Groves concert, I am starting a new diet. No, not so that I can be lighter in order to body surf. A diet of music: Jars of Clay and Chris Rice only. I have 3 Chris Rice CDs and 5 Jars of Clay CDs. I don't think I'll run dry before Sunday night.

Switch to the Light (Dark) Side!

Okay, I think I've decided to switch back to blogger after all these months. Being here reminds me how much I like blogger in the first place -Xanga is nice and all, but I kind of feel like Blogger's more sophisticated. Maybe not, but that's my take.

So, starting soon, I'm switching over (not today, I already posted on Xanga).

Additional random quote: "Even if you haven't found your prince yet that doesn't mean you're not a princess." ~ "Princes and Frogs," by Superchic[k]

Tuesday

Well, it's Tuesday morning. Convcation today. Skipping out. I was hoping to look through my sources for a paper I'm writing and get some good info and get writing. So far, I've looked through about 18 books, dozens of articles, and I've found one possible articls and possiblt five or six books that have little snippets of information. I'm frustrated. I didn't realize it would be so hard to find information on a topic that seems so current. And it makes me mad, because I said I would have this paper done before Spring Break, and now it's looking like there's no way that will happen.

Speaking of Spring Break. I'm counting down. In less than 48 hours, I'll be done with classes and doing all the last minute stuff before we leave. It's going to be a long drive, but I'm super excited to hang out and have fun, watch movies, do a little bit of homework, go to Mexico, and go to the beach!

I'm super tired today. I slept about 7 1/2 hours last night, which isn't too bad. I'd like 8, but I'm usually fine with 7 1/2. I feel like I have way more to do this week than I had planned on, and I have no clue how I'm going to get it all done. I'm thankful I'm done with my ed assignments so I can focus on quizzes, tests, papers (with no sources...) and everything else.

I had to cancel work so I could work somewhere else today - I have to have a tour meeting before we leave for break, and the only time that worked was today when I'm supposed to be working for HH. Oh well, I'm sure it will end up okay. I'm hoping we can get a lot of things talked about/assigned so that when we come back from break it's not too much of a hustle to get things done in the 4 or so weeks left before we leave.

That's about it. I"m hungry. I had a green apple for breakfast, but I could use about three times as much to eat today. I can't eat until 1:35 or so because the schedule is pushed back because of convocation. Oh well :)

Happy Tuesday

latte

Monday Monday

Well, it's Monday morning. I wish it was Thursday already. Looks like the weather's going to be off and on for the rest of the week - with that thought, I can't wait to get out of here and into California. I'm excited to be so close to Spring Break, finally, after we talked about it so much. At first, I didn't think this trip would actually happen. But it is!

Four days of classes left. I teach for real on Thursday, the day we leave. Hopefully I can keep my mind focused and all that good stuff.

I missed my Sunday School class yesterday - completely slept through until sometime after 10:00, so I missed church, too. I wasn't too happy with myself, but it looks like everything turned out okay anyway - we'll just have to talk about Rahab and Jericho some other time.

That's about it. My room smells like salsa and popcorn. I'm hungry, and going to go to breakfast so I'm not so hungry anymore.

Monday Night

So, it's Monday night and I'm not tired, so I thought I'd recap my life as I know it the past six weeks. It won't be long, I promise. I'm halfway throught the semester now and there are roughly 40 school days until graduation day. Then the old brother graduates. I can hardly believe it.

Spring break is a mere ten days away, and I think the natives are beginning to get restless. I know that I am. I get to find substitute teachers, praise-teamers, get to get out of work, and all that good stuff. California, baby. Not just California, but So-Cal. I'm pretty excited. Some good hang out time with some good people.

I'm working on a year plan right now that's due in a week - I have to broadly plan a whole year of a specific class - what text we'll be using, what units we'll have, how we made those decisions, etc. - I'm doing an Advanced Spanish: Lit and Conversation class. I'm pretty excited, but not quite sure how it will work out - might end up kind of scatter brained.

Anyway, I keep telling myself to go to bed, because I have mini-teaching tomorrow morning, which means waking up sometime around 6:30, but that seems so far yet so close.

latte.