I just have to laugh.

So, the past few days have been rather odd, but slightly humorous. I thought I would share a few stories with you all.

Story 1:

Setting: Lobby of my dorm room, talking to my old RA. In walks this guy (his name starts with a J, past that, I don't remember). He sits down on the couch between Kaitlyn and I and starts talking with her (they are friends, don't worry). Eventually I become part of the conversation. Ten minutes later the realization hits that guy and I have not ever met. We exchange pleasantries. Here is what unfolds:

Guy: Where are you from? oh wait, don't tell me, let me guess.

Me: Oh, ok. Go for it.

Guy: Give me the state

Me: Texas

Guy: (looks at me intently for a few minutes... sufficiently awkward) When people as you where you are from, you answer Houston, right?

Me: (thoroughly surprised) Well yeah!

Guy: But you aren't technically from Houston, right? You are from a suburb of Houston, right?

Me: (kind of freaked out, yet impressed) Yeah, you are right.

Guy: Is it an area similar to Katy?

Me: Yeah, it is similar, but no it's not Katy.

Guy: Ok, past that I don't know any other areas other than Magnolia, and that's not it.

I told him where I was from and both my RA and I were in shock as to how he guessed. Apparently, DFW girls have a certain "look," which I was lacking. I am not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. He said he was between either Houston or Tyler. Very weird, but pretty funny. Today, I saw this guy again as I was walking to the ARA (our cafeteria) and he waved enthusiastically and said "Hey new friend!" Ha. So apparently, I got a new friend out of the deal. Cool.

In other news:

1. Our Civ professor brought her dog again today.

2. We got out of Civ an hour early.

3. I found out today, our physiology professor will be placing a curve at the end of the semester that could very possibly bring my B to and A! It is not set in stone, of course, but for the first time all semester and A is a realistic possibility. I am trying not to get my hopes up and just keep working hard, but this is rather encouraging news.

4. I am ready for break! That also means lots and lots of fun reading! :) I have a list going and I am pumped to get started.

5. It is snowing in Texas. Remind me why I left the state?! ;)

6. I have a super creepy stalker. He sits next to me in Civ. Awesome. He is a 5th year senior, ex baseball player and loves to get wasted on the weekends. A real winner.

Thanksgiving Reflections

So, a few of you know the horrors I suffered today at the airport in my journey back to Oklahoma. To be honest, it took all I had to not break down and cry in the airport. This was an emotional week for in general, but today seemed even more so. I was not ready to say goodbye to my dear friends or my precious grandparents... then all the stress of my day at the airport and my utter exhaustion made it all the worse. While on one of my 3 flights today, I just started praying and asking God for peace. I was so upset and so negative about my situation, which frankly, I had a right to be... it was a pretty lame one. BUT I didn't want to let it get me down, and I knew I didn't have it in me to find any good in this situation, so, while on my final flight I pulled out my bible and journal. I read through various things, then I started journaling. I decided to make a list (of course) of the things that stood out to this break (spiritually speaking). I wanted to put my focus on all the amazing work God has done in my life this past week, rather than the not so good stuff that happened today, so I made a list. This may not make any sense to anyone else other than me, but I just wanted to share where my thoughts are and what God has been doing in my heart. This week truly was incredible. Much of this list stems from Tuesday night, but God totally took it from there. So, I wanted to share, even though there is no flow to this. I literally wrote things as they came to my mind in terms of what God has been doing in my heart and revealing to me over the past week! And I must say, turning my attention to the Work of the Lord really did brighten my day and change my mood. :) Here we go (this is how it is written out in my journal- the raw goods! ;)

[Psalm 119: 36-37]

"Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways."

1. Your word gives me hope.

2. I delight in Your law.

3. Steadfast love.

4. Teach me Your statutes, that I may abide in Your word.

5. The world is temporary- it does NOT satisfy.

6. Turn my heart toward Holy things.

7. Protect my eyes that I may guard my heart.

8. Take captive my thoughts.

9. Your word is ALIVE!

10. The power of the Holy Spirit is real- and very powerful.

11. Prayer, prayer, prayer.

12. Include other believers in my spiritual journey.

13. Allow Christ to love through me.

14. No more white washed tomb.

15. Never stop repenting.

16. Forgiven and loved.

17. Pray through scripture- meditate on the word- hide it in my heart.

18. Do not love the world.

19. Conviction --> brokenness --> godly sorrow and repentance --> FREEDOM!

20. Christ conquered the grave- HALLELUJAH!

21. Bended knee.

22. Discuss, seek truth, strive to know more- never stop learning.

23. Faith in God, not circumstances.

24. What is my main pursuit?

25. Righteousness, peace, faith not marriage, education, career.

26. Be vulnerable, be real.

27. Sin has lost its power, death has lost its sting!

28. Provider and Sustainer.

29. Joy, not happiness (Christ, not circumstance).

30. I can face tomorrow!

So there ya have it. No organization or method, just thoughts and things God has put on my heart, either about who He is or who I need to be/what I need to change.

God is good.... all the time.

Thankful.

I feel like it is only right to make a list of what I am thankful for on such a holiday as this.

1. Christ died for me.

2. Conviction and the subsequent brokenness.

3. Joy.

4. My health. (for the most part ;))

5. My grandmother for teaching me how to make thanksgiving dinner.

6. My aunt for being so loud and full of life.

7. My grandpa for always telling me I am his favorite.

8. My uncle for his sarcasm.

9. My cousin for being so young and joyful.

10. Skype so I could see my dad today.

11. Campfires on the back porch.

12. Smores.

13. Learning to cook a thanksgiving feast.

14. Pictures.

15. Football.

16. Napping in my grandma's bed.

17. Yahtzee.

18. Hot chocolate.

19. Bottled rootbeer, dr pepper and ginger ale.

20. Cypress, Texas.

21. Wonderful friends.

22. Great conversation.

23. Life lessons.

24. Incredible encouragement.

25. Mexican food.

26. Hope.

27. BFFAE.

28. Gift giving.

29. Desserts. Lots of desserts.

30. Beautiful friendship.

31. Houston Northwest.

32. A comfortable and peaceful home.

33. Peace.

34. Faith.

35. Excitement.

There is so much more I am thankful for... but these just came to my mind in thinking about the events of the day. God is good... so very good!

Call me a nerd

I LOVE making to-do lists. Seriously. I made one the other night when I should have been studying for civ and physiology ;). This list entailed all the homework and other various tasks I wanted to complete before I left for thanksgiving break, so that I could have the maximum time possible to have fun/relax while at home. Initially, I was completely overwhelmed by all the stuff I had to do and seriously considered crying right then and there. But, I decided to just focus on one thing at a time until I got it all done. I think one of my favorite feelings in the world is being able to cross things off of a list. I feel so completely accomplished, and with each slash I feel a weight being lifted. Man... what a great feeling! :)

As soon as I finished my civ test Friday, I went to the library and checked out 9 different books about Martin Luther and his life for my research paper. I came back to my room and got to work looking through them all. It took about 4 hours... but I made my way through them and typed up all the possible quotes I could use in my paper and such. I don't plan on looking at the paper again until after break, but it is nice to know that I got most of the hard part done. Then I did my civ homework for Mondays class. Victory. Another item crossed off the list. After my workout (yep... that means yet another slash!) I did some laundry. Oh what a great feeling that was. I woke up this morning and did my civ homework that is due the Monday we get back from break (yeah... I am that much ahead... be proud). All that is left on my list today is: meeting with my group about our nutrition presentation, writing a fake sociology paper*, Thanksgiving dinner with the same group as last year, physiology reading and a workout. I am making some serious progress...and man am I glad I made a list to keep track of it all! :)

*In regards to this "fake" sociology paper: you see, we write 3 papers during the semester. If we complete all 3 we qualify to do the extra credit paper at the end of the semester... which entails watching a movie from a list she gave us and relating it to sociology. Our professor drops our lowest paper grade of the 3. Whether we make a 100 (which no one does) on all three... only 2 get counted. So, she suggested to us (since paper number 3, the fake one I will write today, is due the Monday we get back from thanksgiving) that we simply turn a piece of paper in with our names on it and a few sentences and let that be the dropped grade. Considering I made A's on my other 2 papers... I am totally doing this. Basically, I am just going to pick one of the prompts and write an opinion paper... no research or anything... just so I can have something to turn in and qualify for extra credit. This is kind of stressing me out, because I can't imagine not trying on something... but then again, our professor did encourage that! Ha.

Strange Days.

This week has been pretty chill... for once. I only had one test, so it felt like I had nothing but free time. Ha. I got to catch up/store up on some sleep... which is always wonderful. Friday, however, was a rather strange day, but in a good way. Here is what took place:

1. My evil physiology professor baked us cookies and brought them to class! This really threw us all off because, well, this guy is a total jerk. Come to find out though, we had a lady sitting in our class observing/evaluating him and the next class had to fill out evaluations for him. Apparently he is up for a promotion. I feel like the cookies were a total manipulation... but good nonetheless! ha.

2. No chapel! So I went back to my room to hang out a bit before my next class. While walking past the GC (our student union thing) I realized that there was a limo parked in front of it. I have never seen a limo at OBU before... it really threw me off, but was kind of cool!

3. In sociology I drew my friend Amy this awesome hand turkey. She loved it.

4. In Civ, my history professor brought her long haired doxin (sp?) to class. She said that we could all use the stress reliever. So, when we all got into class, she took her leash off and let her wander around the room and we played with her if she came near our desk. It was so random... but pretty awesome!

5. It's our homecoming weekend... meaning OBU is infested with old people.

I guess that really isn't a lot of strange things... but it felt like a lot more while I was experiencing the day. Ha.

Sorry my life is so boring these days. I am so ready for thanksgiving break.

Spring 2010

I registered for classes today. Here is what next semester holds for me:

Monday: 9:00-9:50 Microbiology

10:00-10:50 Chapel

11:00-11:50 Wellness lifestyles

1:00-1:50 Lit of the Western World

2:00-5:00 Microbiology Lab

Tuesday: 8:00-9:15 Arts and Ideas

1:00-2:50 Intro to Nursing Lab

6:30-8:00 Jazz and Hip-Hop

Wednesday: 9:00-9:50 Microbiology

10:00-10:50 Chapel

11:00-11:50 Wellness lifestyles

1:00-1:50 Lit of the Western World

2:00-4:50 Intro to Nursing (this is a 4 hour class... its not as easy as the title makes it sound. just saying)

Thursday: 8:00-9:15 Arts and Ideas

Friday: 9:00-9:50 Microbiology

10:00-10:50 Chapel

1:00-1:50 Lit of the Western World

I don't know what I got myself into... but it should be an interesting semester!

Weekend Wrap-up

This has been a rather uneventful weekend, but I can't complain. Ha.

Friday I was so mentally drained from completely my civ test (I wrote 9 pages this time... I think I am actually learning how to write faster now). I cam back to my room, watched some general hospital and just chilled. It was needed. Then I went to the girls house... and that's when my weekend went downhill. We built this incredibly insane fort in their living room. In fact, we turned their entire living room into a fort. It was pretty epic. However, I really hurt my back. It has been bothering me for a couple of weeks now, but Friday night it got to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore. I called my dad bawling like a baby because I just didn't know how to make it stop. I was sick to my stomach from the pain and just couldn't find any relief. When Saturday came, I couldn't even move. It was horrid. So, I have been laying down, or sitting propped up by pillows, all weekend. I had to miss out on a lot, but I really needed the chance to rest my back while I could. Plus, I definitely value my alone time more than most people here... so I am actually rather grateful for that! I was able to lay in bed all day. I skipped church... which ended up being a good call, but more on that later. I woke up and listened to a Matt Chandler podcast. It was very good... I certainly got a lot out of it. Then I just laid in bed, with my heating pad, and did homework/watched tv all day. It was so nice. I finally watched Glee online, and it was wonderful, as usual. I even got to see the last 10 minutes of the Saints game. They definitely came back with a big win today! I was thoroughly impressed. They always win when they wear their black jerseys. I got a lot of civ reading done, and some physio. Boring, sure, but it needed to happen.

The reason skipping church was a good idea is because I was in too much pain to handle it. Also, the medicine I took last night made me so tired I wouldn't have been able stay awake anyway. I ditched my diet tonight and went and got food with my roommate, and after being in the car and sitting up for 5 minutes my back starting killing me. There is no way I would have been able to last the 40 minute car ride to church, the hour long service, and the 40 minute ride back. I hate missing church, but I think I made the right call for the day.

I am about to head to bed (yes... this early) because I think my medicine is kicking in. Looooooong day tomorrow.

ps: did I mention that the Saints won?! mhmm. 6-0! and they play next Monday night. I love football so much.