Life coming at me

I like him. I like him a lot.

We went out to Olive Garden tonight, exchanged Christmas presents and generally had a great time. He did a good job on the gifts (key chain, gloves, iTunes gift card, CD-ROMs - because I burn CDs so often), and I was relieved that he liked what I got him (Simpson's season 1 on DVD).

I'm leaving tomorrow (well, I guess now it would technically be today) for my parents' house. Kristy, my middle sister, came in last night from Virginia, so it should be a fun, eventful visit. Dad and I are going to the Independence Bowl the 27th-29th, then I will be back to Tuscaloosa on the 29th. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family.

Not the best picture of me, but I wanted to share with all the folks that only keep up with me through my blog that I am dating someone! He's the happy guy sitting behind me, in case you couldn't figure that out. :)

His name is Rob, and he leads worship at my church. We had been hanging out a lot for the past few weeks, but we talked about it Friday night and decided to give "real dating" a shot.

I like him a lot!

OK, for any of you that posted comments on my blog at some point and thought that I was just completely ignoring you or that I didn't want anything to do with you or that your comment offended me, whatever... I'm so sorry! I just realized that I had chosen to moderate comments before they were posted, so I hadn't seen any of the comments that have been left for me in the past six months! I will be working on getting back to all of you that need to be gotten back to about stuff... so sorry again.

In other news ... I'm happy. :) I'll let you ruminate on that one and make of it what you will.

Oh, and I decided that I'm going to do one more semester at my current job. I guess I just need more than 5 days to decide what to do with my life! I prayed about it, read some Scripture, basically realized that I was being an idiot and why I was being an idiot (that's another story) and that everything was going to be OK. So good for God! He's a pretty cool guy.

I had a root canal earlier this week. That is the single biggest piece of news in my life right now. It wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. It hurt a little while they were doing it, but the worst part after that was my face being numb all afternoon. I'm serious. Don't be a root canal wuss; if you need one, get it before your tooth starts hurting, and you will be fine!

AQA conference is this week. I worked a really long time today, and I will work a really long time tomorrow. Then it will be over, and I think this will be my last one. I'm pretty sure I will quit that job before next fall. I'm debating whether I want to go ahead and quit now or if I want to wait until after summer. I really need to make a decision this week so I can let my boss know (if I am quitting). It would definitely make my next semester a lot more pleasant, and I could actually focus on schoolwork without the added stress of a 20-hour-a-week job that really should be a 40-hour-a-week job.

For now, I am sitting at Capture, enjoying a panini and the chance to just chill out and not really do much of anything. I played guitar for a while earlier, and that was nice, too. And that's all for now.

Your Personality Is Like Alcohol

You're the life of the party, a total flirt, and probably a pretty big jokester. Sometimes your behavior gets you in trouble, but you still remain socially acceptable. You're a pretty bad driver, and you're dancing could also use a little work!

OK, not really. But he is the only person ever to get me in a car wreck, hear me scream and hear me curse all in the same 30 seconds.

We are OK (mostly), his car is a little worse for the wear, and he has to pick up the report sometime next week. We got rear-ended (rather violently) turning into Chris's driveway on our way to watch Lost. I'm going to be a bit sore in the morning, I think.

So, yeah, fall break was a very good thing.

I was supposed to work, but I ended up spending much more time taking care of a few things that had been neglected for too long. I scrubbed the nasty floor in the bathroom at home. I dusted all the nastiness off the entertainment center. I cleaned mirrors and sinks and dishes and coffee table. And I took my car in for a check-up; it was only five months overdue. I also had some fun hang-out time with Ashley and Benji, and I was able to breathe. I just kind of decided Thursday morning that I was going to do things for those two days that were not related to school or work, because school and work seem to have taken over my entire life this semester. It's interesting to see how Satan attacks; I have been really making big strides in my relationship with Christ, and I have had awesome time in the Word lately. I'm actually making Him a priority. So Satan sees that and tries to wear me down in other areas of my life. Well, it's not going to work! I actually ended up dropping one of my classes; I decided recently that I'm changing my major to marriage and family therapy, so this class wasn't going to count for anything anyway. I think that will help out tremendously. But other than that, I need to start demonstrating some discipline in other areas of my life (work, school), and that will help prevent some of the burn-out I am feeling.

Anyway, this week is going to be a good one, I think. We're having a fellowship at church tomorrow night for the worship team. I think I might be having coffee with Anneliese on Thursday? I need to check my Facebook, because I can't remember... Friday I will go to my clinical placement at CrossingPoints, and then my dad is coming into town Saturday for Homecoming!

Yep, a good week!

Not sure I can sum it up in a few words, but here is my attempt.

My life of late has been ... interesting, to say the least. I guess the biggest thing that many of you may or may not know is that I decided to leave Lighthouse, the church I have been attending for a little over a year. A lot of factors played into my decision, but the most important ones were that I was not growing spiritually there and that God told me it was time to move on. I prayed about this for several months and had actually come close to making this decision a couple of months ago but felt like it wasn't quite time yet. I started praying and thinking about it again a few weeks ago, and God just showed me scripture after scripture confirming the decision to leave. So I knew it was time. I made a choice that I was going to run after God (really, I told him that) rather than staying in a place where I was completely comfortable and completely not growing closer to him. And things have been amazing since I trusted him with that decision. These past few weeks, my quiet times have been so much more consistent and much better quality. I've been studying Isaiah, and it's soooooo good. I've been going to Vineyard with Ashley (my roommate) and Benji, and I love it. I really think that's probably where God wants me; I haven't made an absolute decision yet, but I'm definitely leaning toward Vineyard. The worship there is very sincere, and they do a lot of community outreach that actually meets the needs of people without shoving God down their throats. So, yeah, that's been a huge things in my life recently.

Other than that, I have been busy with school and work. I'm debating changing my major to marriage and family therapy, or possibly getting a dual master's. I have a meeting on Friday to find out how feasible changing would be. I've just pretty much decided that I don't really like to teach. I like the education coursework, but I don't want to have to get up in front of a bunch of students every day and know what I am talking about. I like the one on one or small group stuff a lot better. So that's another decision that I am praying about! Please be in prayer for me!

Everything else is great. The roommates are good. My cats are good. And coffee... coffee is very good. Sorry, I had Starbucks this morning, so it's fresh on the brain. Anyway... that's it. Peace out, home cheese.

Yeah, I realize that I never update this thing. I also realize that there's a good chance no one reads it anyway. Oh, well, just in case someone stumbles across it...

Today has been a great day. I got an e-mail from the LD of the November Blue Lake Chrysalis, and she asked me to be a table leader! Wow, I am old. Technically, you are supposed to be 25 to be a TL ... so I'm getting a head start, I suppose. I'm really excited about it. I spent some time reading in Isaiah this morning ... man, Isaiah is good stuff! And I got an e-mail from a friend of mine who is a professor in the education department at UA. I had mentioned that I was interested in an assistantship in education, since that's my major, and she said she would keep an eye out. She e-mailed me today to tell me that she was passing along my info to one of her colleagues who just got a grant that will allow her to pay a research assistant. So now I am just waiting for her to e-mail me! I don't know for sure if I will be changing jobs or if that's what God wants for me, but it's exciting, nonetheless!

Anyway, that's about it. I'm considering taking the afternoon off and sitting outside somewhere with a book and maybe a cup of coffee...

Things I learned from visiting the Empire State Building:

Manhattan is gorgeous at night.

Never expect to get a $10 bill in change if the person only actually owes you $7 ... even if you give him the extra money. (This did not happen to me, but to Abe.)

Don't wear a skirt on top of the Empire State Building. It's extremely windy.

Be prepared to stand in line. For hours.

ESB = Best view of NYC.

Look at that hottie with the cool shades.

I had a bit of fun with the camera this day. Lots of fun videos also came out of our visit to Liberty Island.

Add this to my list of favorites: Museum of Modern Art. It was really awesome. If you are ever in NYC, go Friday after 4, because it's free. It was a bit crowded, but we had plenty of time to see everything we wanted to see. And you get to see paintings by a lot of really famous artists (Picasso, Matisse, Warhol, Lichtenstein, et al).

This is also one of my favorite pictures I took in NYC. More pictures to come.

Just got back from NYC earlier this week and had SOOOOO much fun! The pic is me and Katrina, my friend we stayed with.

Favorite things in NYC: Statue of Liberty, amazing food (we had Thai, Chinese, Japanese, African ... ah, so good), Times Square Church

Least favorite things in NYC: Being lost so often, Newark Airport

Altogether, a good trip. I want to go back.

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip, but it was probably also the most difficult for me emotionally and spiritually. I got off the train with my group and partnered up with Heather, the summer intern who was assigned to my crew, to prayer walk through the plaza in front of the temple, the temple marketplace, and the temple itself. I felt a sense of dread and spiritual oppression as we neared the temple and as Heather talked about the large lantern that sits at the gate of the temple. It is the largest lantern in the world.

An old man in a dark robe stood near the entryway, banging a wooden staff on the ground and asking for money from "worshipers". As Heather and I walked into the gate, I glanced around at grotesque statues that looked like snake/dragon/human beings. Heather explained that they were not gods, but they are what she considers demons. They certainly looked like demons would look in my imagination: scaly, disgusting, ferocious, big teeth and horns.

As I walked into the courtyard, I was surprised to see dozens of vendors lining the streets on each side, selling everything from candy to toys to T-shirts. It was so incredibly commercialized. Later it made me think of the money changers in the temple in the Bible. It's a really smart strategy to set up shop in the temple, though, because everybody goes to temple. Mami, my Japanese friend who came with us on the trip, said that most of the people don't really even believe in Buddhism. They just continue to go through the motions because of ritual and social obligation. Not going to temple is not socially acceptable.

Heather and I continued on past the market, praying that God would open the eyes of the Japanese to see that fulfillment can't be found in things. Just before the entrance to the actual temple building was a large metal contraption with smoke coming out of it. The air around the metal thing, which looked like a big, decorative metal lantern, was hazy and reeked of incense. People were crowded around it, waving smoke all over their bodies. This is a ritual they undergo for some sort of spiritual cleansing before they enter the temple.

I could hear a sound like a half-full piggy bank being shaken, and when I looked to my right, I saw that there were Japanese people shaking little containers. The people stood next to rows and rows of little drawers with Japanese numbers on them; once the person had shaken the container, he or she would draw a number from it and then open the drawer with the corresponding number. From the drawer, the person would withdraw a small slip of paper with a fortune on it. If it was a good fortune, the person would keep it and enter the temple to pray that it would come true. If it was a bad fortune the person would tie it up on a string near the drawers and enter the temple to pray that it would not come true.

As I walked toward the steps of the temple, my dread increased. I really DID NOT want to go in, but I felt like I had to. I needed to see and better understand this part of the Japanese culture. As I walked into the large, open room, I could see and hear hundreds of Japanese people praying to Buddha. Jingling, clanging sounds filled the air as people threw money into containers to ensure their prayers would be heard by their god. To the right and left were large glass containers full of brightly glowing candles, lit in memory of lost or aborted babies. Every time someone walked up to one of these to light a candle, my heard broke a little more.

I stood there for several minutes, praying and just trying to take it all in. Eventually, our 12-person crew huddled together for a group prayer. I sobbed as my heart broke even more for the lost, blind, chained up condition of this group of people. Less than half a percent of the people of Japan know Christ.

I left the temple with a greater understanding of some of the spiritual aspects of the battle in Japan and with a realization that these people need a divine eye-openin to see that the key to their chains is right in front of them in the person of Jesus. They just need their blindfolds removed.

This will be the first of several posts about my recent trip to Tokyo. I'm going to attempt to convey the thoughts and feelings I experienced during the trip. My experience in Tokyo was a good one, but it was eye-opening and a little scary at the same time. For anyone who doesn't know, I was on a mission trip in Japan from June 22-July 1. Hope you enjoy reading about it.

Definitely gonna go with the latter. Even working 9-5 every day, I am really enjoying the fact that it is summer.

I went out to the arboretum yesterday afternoon and took a hike with Jesus. We chatted. I thought about Charlie Hall's lyrics, "And as we talked I was speechless, for my heart pounded. And as we walked a little while, I knew that I'd been found. Here I am no more disguised, no longer blinded. I see it clear: I am yours, I am yours! And YOU are breathtaking, and breath giving." It made me happy. I think I might go again this afternoon and take the camera this time. There are some amazing trees and flowers out there. And this really cool fort up in the trees. Definitely going to wear tennis shoes and bugscreen if I go again today!

Picking between two good options is hard. I'm trying to decide if I want to go to Atlanta this weekend and maybe get to hang out with Lauren a little bit or if I want to stay in T-town and hang out with Austin on Saturday. Then there's the wildcard option: going to visit my parents since this is the last chance I will get before I go to Tokyo (I would probably also head down to the beach on Saturday if I picked this option). Well, it's nice to have choices, even if it's tough to reach a decision!

On a different note: I don't know where my recent love of carrots has come from! I used to hate carrots, but lately I am eating them ALL the time! Hooray for carrots. I like the raw, organic ones.

Another thing I love: Singing!!! I'm rocking out with the Rent soundtrack once again.

Apparently all the cool kids are doing it...

Make a list of 20 people you know:

1. Becca
2. Jess
3. Robyn
4. Kat
5. Stu
6. Wabe
7. B Moss!
8. jm
9. Brittany Rhodes
10. Kyle 'Sexy Biscuit' Gunnels
11. Chris
12. Lauren D.
13. Annaliese (because she would be sad to be left off another ganked list)
14. The Converse
15. Micah
16. My fred Wolly
17. Brainwater
18. Lace Face
19. Hef
20. KT Hicks

Answer the following:

--How did you meet 13?

I think it was at the Oscar party at Kat's and Robyn's apartment? I don't know, I just remember that by the time I met her I was sick of getting asked, "You know Annaliese, right?"

--What would you do if you never met 5?

Hmm ... if I had never met Stuart, I would not have had near as many fun late night card games lately, and one less person to share ice-cream-buying adventures with!

--What do you honestly think of 10?

I like Kyle Gunnels. I think he's a pretty cool kid.

--Would or did 19 and 8 date?

Well, that would require Hef breaking up with her boy and one of them moving (to Virginia or Alabama). And I don't think they are really that compatible. Hef is a little too silly, and jm is a little too... jm. I think they would be friends, though, if they ever met.

--Have you ever liked 3?

I LOVE 3! :) She's my future roomie.

--If 1 died tomorrow, what is one thing that you would need him/her to know?

I would just want her to know that I respect and love her a lot.

--Would 2 and 11 make a good couple?

Heck naw!

--Describe 7 in 3 words:

Friendly, fun, considerate

--Do you think 12 is hot?

Incredibly hot! She's a member of the Hottie McHottHott Club.

--Would 1 and 17 make a lovely couple?

Hehe, no, I don't think so. Besides, Rebecca is pretty taken.

--What do you think when you see 8?

Josh Mallory!

--Tell me something humiliating about 11.

Oh, there are so many stories I could tell. This one time, we were at IHOP and Chris had an inner-ear reaction (he gets really loopy when this happens). He stared at his straw for a really long time before declaring, "THIS... is Christina Aguilera." Yeah, we left pretty quickly after that.

--Do you know any of 3's family members?

Yes! I know Kat and Jimmy, plus I met their parents the other day.

--What's 20's favorite color?

I'm not sure, but I'll guess blue.

--On a scale of 1-10 how cute is 14?

You must realize that I have heard this boy fart and belch countless times and that he has all but lived at our house the past year ... so I'll give him a 6. He does look like Dr. Nelson, after all. :)

--What would you do if 4 just professed his undying love for you?

I would be really glad that I was moving in with Robyn instead of her. And then I would be rather concerned. Unless she had been drinking ... ;)

--What language does 19 speak?

English

--Is 9 a boy or a girl?

Girl, all the way

--Would 18 and 4 make a good couple?

This survey is trying really hard to make Kathryn a lesbian...

--What grade is 17 in?

Brainwater is in college. I think he is now a senior.

--When was the last time you talked to 12?

Last Saturday

--What is 3's favorite band?

Hmm... I know she likes Dave Barnes a lot.

--Does 1 have any siblings?

Yep

--Would you ever date 6?

Dating Wabe would be like dating my brother. I love him to death, but it would not work.

--Would you ever date 7?

Sheesh, all these dating questions. No, I wouldn't date Brooks. As I have told him before, he has a lot of great qualities that I find attractive, but I would not actually date him.

--Is 15 single?

As far as I know

--What is 19s last name?

Turner

--What is 5's middle name?

I know, but I'm not sure if I am allowed to share it with the world. If you want to know, ask him. I think it's a cool middle name.

--What is 10's fantasy?

I dunno, but it might just involve a sexy biscuit!

--Would 14 and 19 make a good couple?

They are both taken. But if that was not the case, then I think they would have a lot of fun together.

--What school does 16 go to?

UA, for a few more months

--What school does 1 go to?

UA! (Roll Tide)

--Where does 9 live?

Enterprise, Alabama

--Would you make out with 6?

Ew! No.

--Are 2 and 5 best friends?

Friends, but not best

--Is 20 older than you?

Nope, she is a youngin!

Paint me with Your purity
That I'd attract Your majesty
When others boast in fame and gold
The purest place is where I'll go

The purest place I will draw near
Do what it takes to keep me here
In the center of Your heart
The purest place is where You are

It's not with masses, not with kings
Not in these songs, or offerings
Not in this life, or what it brings
The purest place is You my King

If there's such thing as too beautiful
If there's such things as too wonderful
If there's such thing as too marvelous
Jesus it's You, Jesus it's You

It's You my King,
It's You my King
The purest place, is You my King

-The Purest Place, Watermark

Here's my current top 10 list:

1. Summer is here, and school is OUT! I survived my first semester of grad school with a 3.5 GPA (B is for BOO as someone so eloquently put it ... sorry, can't remember whom ... doggone EN 510 class). I learned so much this semester, especially in my CSE 563 class.

2. Lost is getting really good, and the season finale is coming up in a few weeks. I'm excited...

3. I have some extraordinary friends. They have made the past few weeks immensely more enjoyable. Anybody you can play Skipbo with on a Friday night is cool in my book. And late night trips to Ruby Tuesday plus random road trips to see parents are sweet!

4. Since I actually have a little bit of free time to read, here are a few books I have enjoyed lately: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, which I have finally finished and found to be phenomenal; Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver; Me Talk Pretty One by David Sedaris. More to come later this summer...

5. Check out Annaliese's blog (www.annie-are-you-okay.blogspot.com), especially her latest post. I will be making a list soon...

6. I've just recently starting going to Pour Cafe(www.pourcafe.com), but it's awesome! Andy Zipf, who I've heard is great, is playing tonight, along with Zachary Kale, who I know is great. Check it out if you are in T-town!

7. We stopped by Cheesecake Factory on the way home from the Thomas's last night. Vanilla bean cheesecake might be the best thing ever.

8. Crystal Light On-the-Go packets are pretty awesome, especially the peach tea ones!

9. Blockbuster Video has a Rewards Card that you can purchase for $10 per year -- it is totally worth it. I went on a movie-watching frenzy last week, and it did not empty my wallet.

10. Crash. If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching. There's a reason it won Best Picture at the Oscars.

I'm pretty tired.

This week has been kind of rough, even though there were plenty of bright moments, too.

Homework just about killed me this week. I had to finish a final project, which entailed reading a LOT and writing a LOT, then making a presentation about all of it. Then I had to read some more. Then I had to write some more. But my Saturday class is finished now; I'm almost too tired to be excited!

I know I disappointed Jessica because I didn't go to the OTS thing Monday night. I don't really know what to do about that. She's had a hard week. I feel like a jerk.


Went to Pour with Stu and Robyn on Thursday. Saw a band called Starting Tuesday; check 'em out: www.myspace.com/startingtuesday .

That's about it.

OK, here's a slightly more detailed version of my weekend.

I drove to Atlanta Friday night after work. Thankfully, I managed to leave out ahead of the bad weather, and our fundraiser for the Tokyo trip was postponed, so I didn't miss that either! I had a nice drive, even managing to enjoy the 30-minute traffic jam, during which I rolled down my windows, put on my iPod and serenaded anyone else who happened to have their windows down. I think I got a few weird looks, but I had fun! I made it into ATL around 9:30 EST and stopped by Lauren's office to say hi and pick up her keys, since she didn't get off until midnight. I got to her apartment around 10 and took Puck for a walk. Then Pucky Poo peed on the floor FOUR times. No warning. And after the third time, he winked at me. I am not making this up. I was glad when Lauren finally arrived home, even though she did laugh at me when I told her about the incidents. It really was pretty funny.

Well, we ended up staying up and chatting until about 1:30/2 p.m., then getting up at 6:30 Saturday morning to go work at the soup kitchen downtown. It was so early, but I am so glad we went! We met Lauren's friend Kevin there and set to work making lots and lots of sandwiches. I got really good at putting sandwiches together extremely rapidly! Once the guests (as the staff members called them) started arriving, I served them juice. I really had a great time, and I liked being able to interact with these people. I hope that I was able to bring some happiness to their days; I just tried to treat them as if they were customers at any normal restaurant, showing them a lot of respect and offering to get them anything they needed. I really want to find something like that around here to do on a regular basis. I don't think we have a soup kitchen in Tuscaloosa, but there are lots of other things I could do, I'm sure.

We stayed at the soup kitchen until about 12:30, then Lauren, Kevin, Matt, Brandon (I think?) and I went for lunch at a place called Ria's Bluebird. It was SO good. I had strawberry pancakes, and they were phenomenal.

Saturday afternoon, Lauren and I took a nap before heading over to Melissa's for a girly sleepover. I got to meet some more of Lauren's friends (Jackie, Rebecca, So Young, Angela ... I'm forgetting someone! Sorry :(), and we had a blast cooking eggplant parmesan and cookies. We watched Emma, and Ken, one of the cool kids from NPCC, left AMAZING cookies for us on the doorstep.

Lauren and I got up early Sunday morning and fixed breakfast. I learned how to fry eggs, which was exciting. After breakfast, we went back to Lauren's to get ready for church. We went to KidStuf, which was so incredible. I was pretty much floored by how talented all the people were and how well done the whole thing was. We went to the 12:30 service, and Andy Stanley basically talked his way through the whole Gospel, which was pretty cool. Another of Lauren's friends, Joseph, was baptized at the 12:30 service, so afterwards a whole TON of people went to Ken's for his baptism party. The party involved many things: soy burgers, cookies, water balloons, frisbee. It was fun!

We took another nap on Sunday before heading out to eat Mexican. It was yum! I had a couple of enchiladas and a taco. After that, we headed over to Ken's to play cards with Ken, Phil, Josh J., and Juan Carlos. Apparently Lauren had told them I was really good at Nerts, so I felt that I must prove myself. Then I felt bad because I won by 40 points, and we only played to 100. :) We also watched some Homestar and looked at pictures from Ken's and Lauren's trip to L.A. to see Anberlin.

Lauren and I spent some more time hanging out Monday morning before she had to go to work. We ended up at the Pier 1 clearance store, where we actually said our goodbyes. It was altogether a fantastic weekend!

Some good buys from my weekend in Atlanta:
CD: Flying Into Daybreak by Charlie Hall (Highly recommended!)
CD: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy soundtrack ($.98 at the Pier 1 store! And it has some fun techno/dance music on it!)
Book: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
Random: Placemats from Pier 1 for $.98 each!

My trip to Atlanta was AWESOME! Drove into town Friday night, went to the soup kitchen Sat. morning, ate strawberry pancakes and napped Sat. afternoon, slumber party Sat. night, church and baptism party Sunday afternoon, then cards at Ken's Sunday night. I'll try to post in more detail later!

Alright, so my last week in a nutshell.

Saturday: Went to CSE 563 class all day, and my teacher played an April Fools joke on me. It was too early in the morning for that type of meanness. Nah, just kidding, it wasn't really mean, but I was super confused. Saw Matchpoint Sat. night, thought it was weird. It was a good movie, but I didn't like it. Scarlett Johannsen's character really got on my nerves. I did get to hang out with the Thomas trio, though, so that made up for the not-so-great movie. Went to bed at 10:30 and was glad that Josh Mallory did not call like he said he would.

Sunday: Forgot about the time change and was late to church Sunday morning. Had lunch with Renee at Applebee's and spent much of the afternoon wandering around the mall doing absolutely nothing. Bought a couple of shirts at the Gap because I had a 10% off coupon. They are just pocket T's, one white and one green. I'm hoping that one of them will look right with this skirt I bought that I haven't been able to match anything with. Sunday afternoon I joined a whole slew of people at the Thomas crib (aka 301 Dockside) for a yummy dinner of manicotti and salad; kudos to Robyn, Stu and anyone else who had a hand in cooking it! After that I went to Bible study, then went home and went to bed.

Monday: Ran some errands. Went to a Weight Watchers meeting and to the gym. A pretty forgetable day.

Tuesday: Ran some more errands and chilled at the hizzy. Skipped out on work in favor of being lazy. Went to the gym again and realized that I was a little sore from Monday's workout. Typed up comments on workshop pieces for my EN 510 class but then didn't go to class because I felt sick.

Wednesday: Went to work for most of the day, ate yummy leftovers for dinner, then went to church to sing. Left church early in hopes of getting some work done (yeah, that didn't happen), then went to play softball at 8:30. We lost. Boo. A high point of Wednesday night is that Robyn told me she will definitely be living with me and Jess next year. Hooray!

Thursday: Today has been pretty much filled with work. I've also finished most of my second workshop piece for EN 510, but I'm still far from finishing the entire work. I'm trying to write all about my trip to India last summer. There's so much I want to say, and I'm trying to get it down on paper in a somewhat logical format/timeline. Not sure how well I am doing with that, but I guess I will find out more on Tuesday when my classmates pick my piece apart.

I'm excited for the weekend. I have to work tomorrow and then go to a Japan fundraiser tomorrow night, then I am heading to ATL to see Lauren for the weekend. We're going to work at a soup kitchen Saturday and going to NorthPoint Sunday morning. Other than that we will just get to hang out and have fun. I'm seriously looking forward to it and can hardly wait!

If you could love me as a wife
and for my wedding gift, your life
Should that be all I’d ever need
or is there more I’m looking for

and should I read between the lines
and look for blessings in disguise
To make me handsome, rich, and wise
Is that really what you want

I am a whore I do confess
But I put you on just like a wedding dress
and I run down the aisle
and I run down the aisle
I’m a prodigal with no way home
but I put you on just like a ring of gold
and I run down the aisle to you

So could you love this bastard child
Though I don’t trust you to provide
With one hand in a pot of gold
and with the other in your side

I am so easily satisfied
by the call of lovers so less wild
That I would take a little cash
Over your very flesh and blood

Because money cannot buy
a husband’s jealous eye
When you have knowingly deceived his wife

-Derek Webb, Wedding Dress

I bought this CD today and really liked this song. I like the fact that Derek Webb doesn't beat around the bush. I know that I've felt like this about my relationship with Christ way more often than I'd like to admit.

Yeah, lots of random thoughts to come.

This week was spring break. I chilled in T-town the first part of the week, particularly because it was raining cats and dogs. I had lunch with Josh and Dianne at Mug Shots on Monday, and it was SOOOOO good. I also had weigh-in at Weight Watchers and found out that I have now lost a total of 15 pounds, so hooray for that! After this, I went shopping for some new clothes because most of what I have is too big now. I got some fun shirts at Old Navy and Gap, a pair of knit gauchos from American Eagle (INCREDIBLY comfortable pants), and a pair of shoes from Payless. Tuesday I went shopping at the outlet malls in Bessemer on my way to my parents' house. I found some really fantastic pants at the Gap outlet -- a pair of cropped jeans and a pair of khaki wide-leg trousers. I also bought some more shirts, at Gap, Rue 21 and Tommy Hilfiger.

I made it home Tuesday afternoon, saw my parents for a little while, then went to eat dinner with Brittany, my friend who lives in Enterprise. We cooked, and it was GREAT! We had a lot of fun just hanging out at her apartment and catching up on life in general.

Wednesday I went to the gym with my mom so I could work out at least once this week. It was a good thing. Then we went to Dothan, where I did still more shopping. I bought a pair of brown Nine West heels for $15 and a really cute skirt at McRae's, which is changing over to Parisian and was having a HUGE sale. I also got a dress for a wedding I'm going to in May. It's very pretty (Red, sleeveless, V-neck, calf-length, flowy). It was nice to spend time with my mom and Meemaw. We ate lunch at Picadilly Cafeteria, where I had some yummy pork loin with rosemary mushroom sauce.

I hung out with Josh Mallory and his friend Jarred last night. We sat in Books-a-Million and talked for a while, then went to Josh's house and watched Lost.

Today was the day of all the occurrences mentioned in my subject line for this post. I was supposed to have lunch with my friend Bobby at noon, so I went to Ozark a little early because I wanted to walk around and take some fun photos of things around town. So Bobby called at 11 and asked if we could meet later in the afternoon. I said OK, even though I was a little annoyed, and he said he would call me when he finished up all the errands he was running. So I decided to head on to Dothan rather than going home, figuring I could waste a few hours pretty easily. I drove around for a while, ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant (I can't remember the name ... it was on 231 going toward the beach ... El Metate or something like that), bought a book at Red House Books, took a picture of a giant peanut, and had some chai tea at Dakota while I sat and read the entire book that I bought. The chai tea and the book were both pretty good (the book was Come a Stranger by Cynthia Voigt ... like I told the lady in the book store, I love being a secondary English major because it gives me an excuse to buy and read young adult literature!). By the time I finished the book, it was about 5:30, so I called Bobby and left a message. Then I went to Old Navy and killed some more time before finally calling him again and telling him that I was going to head home. I'm not really sure what to think. I dont't really think he just stood me up for no reason, so I really hope everything is OK.

Well, after all this, I was driving on my merry little way toward home, going a pretty average 60 mph on County Road 33, which has a speed limit of 40. Nobody ever goes 40 because cops are NEVER on that road -- well, not until tonight. For some reason, a state trooper was out on the road and pulled me over. Thankfully I hit the brakes before he clocked me, and I had the presence of mind to be super polite to him. He was nice, and he only gave me a warning. I was a little worried because a ticket would have really sucked!

Oh, yes, I also bought two good CDs today ... a new-ish Watermark CD and Derek Webb's CD. I'm probably going to post some thoughts on one of his songs in a little bit.

Anyway, that was my wonderful, adventurous week so far. I'm heading back to T-town tomorrow.

Saw this tonight with Josh, Anneliese and another girl whose name I can't remember. I thought it was pretty interesting. It was based on a comic, but it was a lot darker and more violent than most comic book movies. I enjoyed the numerous literary references in the movie, particularly the parallels between V and The Count of Monte Cristo. The set, especially the Gallery of Shadows (V's home), was pretty spectacular. Special effects were good; they blew up Parliament, which was impressive. Natalie Portman was amazing, and Hugo Weaving was good, too. As for the storyline, I liked it; the part of it that interests me the most was V's character, which is, I suspect, what the writers intended. The viewer never finds out who V is, and that's because, as Natalie Portman says at the end, we are all V. V didn't represent a man, he represented an idea, and "you can't kill an idea." It's probably been done before, but it was well done in this case, I think. There were some slightly cheesy elements of the movie, but altoghether, I liked it. I recommend it, unless you have a weak stomach.

Good times tonight with Holly and Jessica.

We went to Birmingham for dinner. We ate at a place in Hoover called Taste of Thailand; we split a noodle bowl, some spring rolls and fried rice. It was very, very good! The noodle bowl had chicken with peanut sauce, fried noodles, broccoli and carrots. We planned to go to an art show after that, but when we arrived at the gallery in downtown Birmingham, it was closed, even though someone who works there told Holly they would be open tonight. So since we were already downtown, we decided to drive on down to Five Points and try to find something else to do. We ended up at Starbucks because we were freezing and coffee sounded really good at that point. We asked the girls working the counter if they knew of anything to do, and they pointed us to a free arts events listing. So we looked through that and discovered that Taylor Hicks Band was playing at a bar in the Lakeview part of Birmingham; in case you don't know, Taylor Hicks is a current contestant on American Idol. I had heard that the band was pretty good, so we got back in the car and drove toward Lakeview, with directions from one of the Starbucks workers. After a small amount of confusion, we found the bar, then walked around for a while because the show didn't start until 10. We listed to THB for a little more than an hour; they were very good, and we had a lot of fun listening and watching people in the bar. After this, Jess and I drove home, and Holly drove to her friend's house to spend the night because she's going to a wedding tomorrow in Birmingham.

This was a really fun night. Hopefully I will have pictures to share later.

After putting Brennan Manning's The Ragamuffin Gospel down for a few weeks, I decided to re-start reading it a few nights ago. Here are some quotes I liked in the first chapter and some thoughts on a few of them.

Too many Christians are living in the house of fear and not in the house of love.

I definitely think this is true. We are afraid of what we don't understand or what we are not used to. We are also afraid of not being accepted; for me, it's a problem with not being able to accept myself at times. We speak in grandiose terms of God's grace and love and acceptance, but it's a lot harder to live it.

Why am I afraid to dance, I who love music and rhythm and grace and song and laughter? Why am I afraid to live, I who love life and the beauty of flesh and the living colors of the earth and sky and sea? Why am I afraid to love, I who love love? --Eugene O'Neill, The Great God Brown

Unfortunately, I feel like this more often than I care to admit. Life becomes ordinary; I don't feel the joy that Scripture promises. I have a Scripture hanging on the door of my bedroom to remind me that I don't have to live that kind of life: "...Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

"Justification by grace through faith" is the theologian's learned phrase for what Chesterton once called "the furious love of God." He is not moody or capricious; He knows no seasons of change. He has a single, relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners.

That's about enough said. Thank God He loves me, a sinner, a silly girl who has her head screwed on straight only about 5 percent of the time, if that.

The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners. --Morton Kelsey

This is something that's way to easy to forget. Christ summed it up well when He spoke in Scripture about how the healthy aren't the ones who need a doctor.

God not only loves me as I am, but also knows me as I am. Because of this I don't need to apply spiritual cosmetics to make myself presentable to Him. I can accept ownership of my poverty and powerlessness and neediness.

Amen. Amen.

You Are 16% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

You Are 56% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself. For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself. You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you. People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

Yeah, yeah, but I haven't posted on here in a while, and I just remembered that I wanted to share a few good quotes I've come across lately:

"The opposite of war isn't peace; it's creation." --Mark Cohen, Rent

Salvation has surprised us, because we never were expecting it." --Ahmad Shawkat, Bilattijah

On a more silly note:

"Get it out of here, Wretched Simmons!" --Strongbad

"Strongbad, you are a horse's tweese!" --Marzipan

Yeah, two posts in one day. It's amazing. But I had two separate trains of thought in my head, and they are utterly unrelated, so I figured two different posts would be appropriate.

I was walking to work from the Ten Hoor Parking Deck today, listening to my iPod when I noticed something. As "La Vie Boheme" blared in my ears, I watched the people walking by and around me. And I realized that each of these people had his or her own rhythm, kind of a way of dancing through life. Some people live ballet, some people live jazz, others live modern or even free-style. But if you watch, each one has a beat, a style, a function, even. It's amazing. I want to write a poem about this.

http://tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060309/NEWS/603090363/1007

So, the folks that have been setting churches on fire around the state have been caught. Rednecks? No. Middle-aged has-beens? No. Hacked-off atheists or homosexuals or fill-in-the-blank with whatever anti-church stereotype you wish? No.

These idiots were college students from affluent areas of Birmingham. They said they started doing this "as a joke."

I don't think anyone else got the joke.

The Tuscaloosa News article I posted above chronicles the reactions of some Birmingham-Southern students that knew the two boys that were arrested from there. The article discusses how no one would have ever guessed that these kids would have done something like this; it talks about how they were talented actors and singers, probably on the road to great fame and happy, prosperous lives.

Well, unfortunately, the happy ending they were once promised doesn't look likely any more, and it's their own fault. It's really unfortunate that two college kids with so much ahead of them would do something so incredibly stupid.

Now their whole lives will be tainted by 9 (or possibly 10, pending a ruling in the 10th church fire in the area) nights of bad judgment.

So I've needed my car brakes fixed for a couple weeks and finally asked a guy at church who does car repair work if he could help. He came to my house yesterday and fixed them ... for free! I wanted to at least pay him for the parts, but he said no. It made my day happy.

Word to the wise: Don't tell people that they can ask you anything they want and have you answer honestly. Especially if you are an honest person. Because they might just ask you a question that's not particularly fair.

Not too much going on this week so far. I went to work yesterday and today, and I'm going to work tomorrow and Friday. I'm about to start reading a book called The Kiss for my EN 510 class, and the teacher says it will freak us all out, so I'm a little concerned. I finished up The Great Gatsby and liked it pretty well, although the ending was kind of blah. I need to write a summary for that and also write an essay for my English class. And my JN 536 lit mag workshop is Saturday, so I need to get some material together for that.

I'm definitely going to Tokyo this summer, and I'm super excited. Rob just got back from the logistics visit and had lots of pictures tonight at church. I turned in my registration form.

Lost was good tonight. I'll leave it at that.

This weekend was good. We ate at Applebee's on Saturday night, waited a really long time and Josh and Rebecca got their food for free. Then we watched Primer, and I didn't understand most of it. Sunday I went to Abe's for the first half of the Super Bowl and to Jonathan's, Matt's and Ryan's house for the second half. Abe made tortilla soup, and it was SO good. I also watched Grey's Anatomy for the first time, and now I think I will be buying season one on DVD.

Today I got my car serviced, joined Weight Watchers, worked out, went to a meeting for CSE 563 and cooked dinner. If you want to read more about my diet, you can check out my new blog. I'm really desiring to lose weight so that I can be healthy.

I had such a fantastic birthday! I spent most of the day shopping and treated myself to lunch. I bought a birthday outfit ($20 skirt from NY&Co - really cute; black tank and knit shawl from Old Navy) and a pair of green Saucony's that were on sale for $25 at Buckle. I had Chinese food for lunch. I also bought myself a new TV for my bedroom with the money my parents sent. Then I hung around at the house until it was time to go to my party at Cancun (local Mexican restaurant). The party was so much fun, thanks to my roommates who got it all together. We were so incredibly loud, and we all had crazy party hats and noisemakers. Josh and Rebecca gave me an iTunes gift card, which was awesome. Katie H. made me a necklace and a beanie, which I love. Jess got me some Lost memorabilia and some gourmet hot cocoa, Dianne gave me flowers, and Abe brought a yummy cake for everyone to share (chocolate frosting, chocolate cake and strawberry filling). I got to be embarassed with the birthday sombrero and loud singing in Spanish. All in all, a very fun, happy night.

The rest of the weekend was pretty mundane after that. I went to bed early Saturday night and got up for church on Sunday. I wore my new outfit and got lots of compliments. Sunday night, our college band practiced, and worship went well. Rob was complimentary.

I spent all day Monday reading Mississippi for my EN 510 class. It was a good book, but I'm glad to be finished with it. I cooked spaghetti Monday night. Yesterday I worked all day and went to class last night. We also got our plumbing fixed.

My grand discovery for today is that I will actually be able to take two weeks for spring break, as long as I work extra hours every week until then. I think it's a pretty good deal, so I'm going to try really hard. I'm not going to stress too much over it, though, because I will still get a couple extra days regardless.

OK, gonna try to get caught up now. Let's see, what came next?

Start of the semester

So when I came back to Tuscaloosa, I worked that Friday, then took a couple of days to get things in order before the start of the semester. I had to pick up some books and at least attempt to clean my room. I went to my first graduate class that Saturday, and I liked it. I didn't feel like a moron, which was what I was a little concerned about, so definitely a good first step for grad school.

Normal classes started that Wednesday, and I discovered that I had somehow gotten into a class that was designed for students writing their thesis this semester. And then I DID feel like a bit of a moron. I managed to get signed up for another EN class, thanks to a nice lady in the English department office and a nice professor who is going to let me take the class even though it overlaps times with another class.

Well, after that Wednesday, I did not have class again until the following Tuesday, so I just kind of chilled and worked for the rest of that week. I went to my other two classes Tuesday and enjoyed both. The first is my JN 536 class, The Teaching of Journalism. I think I'm one of 3 students in the whole class with a journalism background. I do know lots of people in the class, though; several people from last semester's classes are in there, as well as Justin, one of the guys in my CSE 563 class. I enjoyed talking about journalism stuff from a more educational standpoint. I have to put together a project proposal for that class this week. I'm planning to write a paper on first amendment and self-censorship issues in high school publications. I also went to my EN 510 Writing Professional Nonfiction class that night and got some reading assignments, which I read the same night because they were really interesting.

I really like only having class one night per week. It's nice.

Church

I'll keep this part kind of short. A situation that I had been really frustrated about seems to have been resolved, and I'm happy about it.

Work

We got the newsletter done, FINALLY! I got a nice pay raise this semester since I started grad school. The only bad thing is that I don't get paid until the end of the month, so I've been kind of having to scrape by this month. But it'll be nice when I get the paycheck in a few days.

Personal

Several things here.

First, I was a little sick for a couple of weeks, and Dr. McGee was afraid I had mono. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics, I slept and drank orange juice a LOT, and I'm feeling better now, so it was probably just some kind of infection.

I've been reading like crazy lately, and it's so nice. I finished a couple of Donald Miller books and started on The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I also finished up Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (for my CSE 563 class) and am reading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. I got a whole bunch more books over Christmas, so I'm looking forward to doing lots more reading this semester.

Me and Jesus have been doing much better lately than last semester, and I am so glad. I'm still not as consistent as I would like, but I feel like things are getting better. I've been studying the Beatitudes and have gotten some pretty good insight to them, I think.

Atlanta road trip

OK, almost completely caught up!

This past weekend I went to Atlanta with Abe and Josh to visit Lauren. We drove up on Friday and went and saw Michael Warren play at a place called Andrews Upstairs in Buckhead. Our friend Daniel McAlister was playing with him, which was sort of how we ended up going. Afterwards we ate at a place called Loco's and got ripped off by a parking lot attendant. We finally made it to Lauren's around 2 a.m. after getting directions from a drunk guy - he was amazingly good with directions for someone who smelled like whiskey. We sat around and talked (and played with Puck!) for a couple of hours before going to bed.

Saturday morning we all got up around 9 and putzed around trying to figure out what to do for the day. We ended up meeting up with Renee at a place called Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. The restaurant was really interesting. It was an all-you-can-eat salad and soup bar. Really, really good food. After that, we all went over to Renee's apartment for a visit and met her mice. Then we went to Atlantic Station, which is an outdoor mall, for a while. We explored West Elm, which is like a high-end Pier 1, and pondered going to a movie. Lauren's friend Vino met up with us, and we decided not to go to a movie. We also went to Pier 1, Gap (where I bought a green long-sleeved T-shirt for $4) and Express (where Lauren bought $10 jeans, and I got a $4 necklace that's really pretty). We decided to go low-key Saturday night and got some take-out to eat at Lauren's while we watch The Incredibles, which Abe had never seen. We also played Phase 10 and made a late-night run to Wal-Mart for chocolate and ice cream.

Well, we went to bed around 2:30 Sunday morning, but none of us got much sleep because Puck was up all night barking. I felt really sorry for Josh and Abe, because they were in the same room as the dog. After being woken up several times, we all finally got up around 8:30. Lauren and Josh went to Starbucks and brought back muffins and coffee, which was really nice. I had an orange-cranberry muffin and a hot vanilla creme. We went to church at North Point, which is Andy Stanley's church, and I really loved it. He talked about missions, so of course that was right up my alley. We ate lunch at a place called J. Christopher's, which had yummy breakfast food.

We said bye to Lauren and Puck Sunday afternoon, and I drove most of the way back to Tuscaloosa. Josh and Abe were both super sleepy, so I just had a sing-along time with David Crowder for a while until they woke up. We stopped at Dunkin' Donuts in Douglasville, so I was pretty happy. I have a tradition of stopping at Dunkin' Donuts every time I go to Georgia because we don't have DDs in Alabama. I LOVE the strawberry frosted donuts. We made it back into town in time for Bible study.

Now

Hooray, I have officially caught up! Yesterday I worked out and had lunch with Chris and Dianne. The work-out was the first in months. I'm hoping to get back into the habit. I really want to get back in shape. It makes me sad to go in stores where I can only purchase accessories because none of the clothes will fit me (such as Express, The Limited, American Eagle). Don't get me wrong, I'm not hung up on my looks, but I do want to be in shape and healthy. So hopefully now I'm on my way. Last night I went to Bama Bean and had coffee and studied for a while before going home to work on cleaning up my room. Oh, and I ate my first Bratwurst because Josh and Rebecca were cooking them and offered me one. It was good.

I got my room partially clean and enjoyed listening to Matt Redman's session from Passion last year. It was good times. Today is work and class for me. Maybe a trip to the gym later tonight, or maybe I'll try to finish cleaning my room.

I'm not sure that I can sum up the past month in a short post, but I will try to hit the highlights.

Christmas break

Well, I worked the first part of Christmas break and headed to the parents' house on the 23rd. I got to spend a couple of days with my sister Kristy, her friend Beth who came with her, my parents and my sister Amy and her family. Kristy, Beth, my parents and I all played Cranium the night of the 23rd, and we had so much fun. I really enjoy the fact that I can actually do fun things with my parents now. I think this certainly attests to the fact that I really am growing up. It's strange to think that I am officially a college graduate now (even though I am still in college for at least the next couple of years - I do have a degree, though). Anyway, we had a blast playing Cranium that night, and I found out that my mom does a really impressive impersonation of Tina Turner.

My immediate family got together for Christmas on the 24th. That was fun, as always. I loved the fact that everyone got something for Beth so she wouldn't feel left out. Anyway, we ate a bunch of food, opened a bunch of presents, then all kind of sat around, half asleep.

I spent another week at home after this. My dad asked me to do some work for him - he started a gutter repair business, and he needed help with some computer stuff because he is basically computer illiterate. So that took up some time. I also had some time to read, which was fantastic. I read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, which I had heard so much about. God really brought some things into perspective for me. It was a very good thing.

During this week, I also got to spend a lot of time with my mom. We went shopping several times, and she bought me some dishes for the house. I took her out to eat at O'Charley's for her birthday, and we also ate at Zaxby's in Troy one night. I talked to her into watching Finding Neverland with me, and I think she liked it.

The Campbell family also had its Christmas the day before I left town. I really enjoyed it, too. I got to hang out with my cousins, some of whom I had not seen in quite a while. It made me feel kind of old, because some of my baby cousins are starting college and other ones are getting gigantic.

No Comp Gatlinburg 2006

On January 1, I left home for Gatlinburg. I drove up to Atlanta and had lunch with Lauren Davidson, which was SO much fun! I got to see her apartment and meet her puppy Puck. We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant called What the Pho, and it was very good. The smells reminded me of India. We got ice cream afterwards at Brewster's and it was also really yummy.

I drove the rest of the way to Gatlinburg that night. I drove through the mountains and listened to David Crowder Band and marveled at how amazing God is. I had a few good stops in mountain towns and drove through a lot more really fun places. I love the mountains.

No Comp itself was fun and not too exhausting. I slept a lot and didn't get stressed out. Monk and Neagle played the first concert, and it was good, but Shawn McDonald was fantastic! He played our second show. Some of us hung out with him afterward, and I think he was the most random person I've met in a while. We all had a good conversation.



OK, I will update some more later, but now I'm kind of tired, so that's all for now.

Gummy Bears

You may be smooshie and taste unnatural, but you're so darn cute.