A Weekend at the Lake

What a fun week! After arriving home from a long but delightful weekend doing the graduation circuit thing, I rested for an evening (5/11) and then set off for Lebanon, MO en route to Table Rock Lake. My friend Leanna, who lives near Lebanon, has a lakehouse near Branson and Kate, Sarah, and I all went down there with her. We first spend the night at her house, watching movies, talking, laughing, and "helping" with the farm chores. I actually did not help at all, but more likely only got in the way. Still, I appreciate her family's obliging me and making me feel like I got the full farm experience. The four of us dressed for the occasion, complete with farm hats, pitch forks, and rubber boots. I had one particular goat friend who thought it her duty to make me feel welcome, rubbing her nubby horns against my jeans and tugging at my jean buttons. I was taken. I wanted to pack her up for home.

The following morning we had a hearty farm breakfast (yes, I really milked the farm experience) of fresh, scrambled chicken eggs, homemade hashbrowns, and homemade toast. Boy, we were ready for the day. We set off for the lake and made a significant stop in Springfield on the way down. We found two used book stores and spent about two hours pouring through classics. I had forgotten how much fun it can be perusing books with fellow book lovers. I bought 8 or 9 books for about $20 including Ethan Frome, The Time Machine, Poems of George Herbert, Middlemarch, a few others, and best of all Go, Dog! Go! Yes, I like your hat. We stopped at a Thai restaurant for lunch, delicious! They even let me call ahead and request cymbolic Thai songs for Kate and Sarah. ;)

At the lakehouse, we crashed for a little bit, watching Hogan's Heroes and playing Farkle. We made dinner, alfredo bacon pizza and homemade humus with rosemary oiled pita. Yum! We then pulled out the aged sparkling grape juice and toasted each other. Apparently, there was a little something in it because they said I was acting drunk afterwards. I know I wasn't, however, and I would prove it, but I can't remember much, so... :) After dinner we watched Gaslight, an old Ingrid Bergman movie. Great movie, but I fell asleep for the climatic last hour. But, I do know that the good guy won!

The next morning, after a sound sleep in the two sets of bunkbeds (there were two other bedrooms available, but we of course all wanted to sleep together), we played tennis. That was great fun and we all learned something new! Posted is a picture of our amazing prowess.

After tennis we took a dip in the lake until we were chased by snake heads headed our way and then raced back to the house and sat in the hot tub till we were all pruney. :) Then, we showered up, ate leftover pizza, smoked up the house with the oven again, haha, and then cleaned up and left for the outlets.

At the outlets, we shopped till we dropped and were mostly successful, though Kate never found a suit. I found a $3 Ann Taylor wool skirt that makes me look about as teacherish as I can get. I hope it'll make me look like more of a prude in Germany and less kiddish. :)

After a delightful ride back to the Baumer's house we shared our goodies with Leanna's parents and had more homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream. yum! Though we were planning on watching another movie, we were too tired and lounged on Kate and my bed. The next morning I left for Stl while the girl's stayed to do some archery/shooting. I wish I had been able to as well, but I didn't have the time.

Needless to say, it was a great weekend with great friends. Praise God!

A New Season

Wow! Graduation Day was hectic, fun, exciting, exhausting day. I'm pretty sure I've never had a fuller day. However, I am so blessed for the days events which included graduating, seeing family, packing, saying goodbye to friends, and becoming a girlfriend. I am continually amazed by God's providential hand in my life, planning events in ways far beyond my ability. For one, my family forgot their graduation tickets at home, leaving me wondering how they were going to get in. As I was waiting in the crowded AC lobby for them, I overheard a woman talking to one of the staff members, handing him five tickets, explaining that they were extras. I went up to him and asked if I could use them for my family. He not only gave them to my family, who was walking in at that exact moment, but also kindly helped us find a few more. Who would have known? I admit my own lack of faith in the process and looking back regret that instead of praying for God to provide a way, I schemed and fretted about how to get the tickets. God is faithful to us even in our unbelief. In my class, Romans and Galatians, we have learned how one of God's main points in Romans is that He is faithful to His unconditional promises, and that this is what really saves us, not our faith in Him. Praise God, for I am daily reminded of my own depravity. He is good all the time.

So here I am now, unpacking a never-ending supply of worthless possessions and thinking of what I've left behind. I am in STL for a reason this summer, and want to live intentionally while here. I am excited about some opportunities I have and the time I have to do them. Yet, they are quieter things, not the busy and social bustle I am used to. This'll definitely be an adjustment. I've really come to enjoy being an RA, being around tons of people, running from group to group, and sharing my life with a wonderful group of meaningful friends. Here, in the "real world," there are not crowds of Christian peers at your finger's reach wherever I turn. I wonder how my adjustment will be to this? Moving from one phase to another, very different, phase. I am again thankful for the consistency of God's faithfulness and the wisdom of His provision. I am excited for this season, but bittersweetly reflective of the last. Is life always this way?

In the midst, breathing

It's been a while. Life has been rather crazy. I've always felt that the two month stint from January - March (spring break) felt the longest and most depressing. For one, it's the longest time at CU without a holiday. Two, the weather is oh-so-cold-and-dreary. Three, you don't have the summer vigor to run off of.

Yet, despite the spring semester's cons, and my busyness, I've really enjoyed myself. Little thoughts keep popping into the back of my head saying, "This is it. This is the last semester. Don't waste your time. Invest wisely." And it's true. I'll never be at college or experience this phase of my life again. The last thing I want is to look back at this semester and kick myself for wasting it.

I think, first, about my many close acquaintances here at school - those people I don't necessarily hang out with regularly, but see often and attend classes with. These are the people, after this May, I will probably never see again. Thank the Lord for facebook. In all honesty, it's the only reason I have one - connection.

I think, secondly, about my closest friends. The girls I have lived with for all three years, and a few along the way; the guys I've known, eaten meals with or played sports with. Yes, these, I'll probably see again. But oh-so-infrequently compared to the daily, no, hourly, interactions I have with them now. I ask myself, "Do I treasure them? Do I value them? Do they know that I love them?" I know this might sound a little like someone is going to die, lol, but truthfully, the "college split" is very unnatural, and not something, I think, God at all intended for relationships. At what other time in life does one break from their entire social, spiritual, environmental and "work" life and have to completely recreate and start afresh. Granted, some things are consistent, thank you Father for that, but many things aren't. I know I'm not the only one going through this and feeling this way, and yes, we will all make it through, but I think it'll be hard for everyone. Not that this fact is depressing. We should always live fully in the moment; we are called to. I look forward to enjoying every day left at college, and then, when it is time, letting go and seeing the places God will lead me next - places I both know and don't know.

As for now, however, I am enjoying my spring break - reading, napping, exercising, seeing friends, loving on my family, thinking, enjoying life and breathing. :)

New Year Ponderings

Happy New Year! Like everyone else, I can't believe 2008 is going. What will 2009 hold? Well, right now I'm focusing on a few days, weeks, months at a time. Foremost on my mind is my last semester of school.

I am really looking forward to spending this time with my friends and hallmates. I'm also really looking forward to the academics. I love to learn and can't wait for my History of Literary Criticism class. First, the class uses an anthology, which is awesome, and second, I get to read philosophy and become better aquainted with the famed writers of the centuries. Could I ask for better? For most of my studies, I have read the fictional works of authors, not I get to read the philosophy and understand the dynamics behind their works. The class has its downsides as well, considering how many papers I'll have to write.

I'm taking 17 credits, and I recently discovered that 6 of those credits end in mid-march to make room for a teaching field experience that I took last semester. So, for the last 6 weeks of school, I'll be ending with 11 credits. :) I'm lovin' it. As some know, I was originally intending on completing 5 hours of 3-week classes from August to mid-September before I go to Germany, but I've recently decided to fit those in over this semester and the summer so that now I won't be returning to school at all. My reasons for this are that I don't want to move everything back to school and find housing and food for only 3 weeks. Also, those three weeks at home working will provide me with a lot of extra money to be used in Europe or after. And thirdly, I won't have to cram getting ready for Germany in one week, but can work into it over the summer. I'm really glad I've made this decision and can truly say that this semester and May-walking will end my time at CU. Cedarville, I will miss, but I eagerly anticipate what is ahead.

What is ahead? Right now, it's all about Germany. I cannot wait for that experience! I have so many thoughts and ideas, but those I'll share another time. Enjoy your New Year, and God bless!

New Camera

Yes, I am getting very excited about this Christmas for most of the regular reasons plus one or two. First, I love being home. I love my room, I love my bed, I love Missouri water (esp. compared to Ohio), I love my dogs, I love my city, I love my life. In many ways, I'll never be able to revert to the high school ways, but also, I would not want to. No, St. Louis has changed in my eyes as I've changed, but I still love it's new way just as much as the old. This Christmas, I'll be working at Red Robin, and spending time with my family. I got most all of my shopping done and I've really enjoyed recooperating. Every morning I've been getting up at 7 (which means being able to go to bed WHEN I WANT. yay!), doing my devotions for as long as I want, drinking my tea, made on a stove not a microwave, reading my books (currently A Severe Mercy and soon Wuthering Heights.), making quite a bit of money at work, and then baking and doing little odds and ends with my sisters and parents. Ah, home is bliss too often forgotten and too often gone.

But traveling away from my reminiscence, my latest excitement has been the camera I want to get. After some apprehensive searching (apprehensive because of the overwhelmingness of the task), I've decided to purchase the Canon G10 powershot. This seems to be the best of the happy mediums between your compact point-and-shoot and your SLRs. I'm really excited for this! I've often wished to take the aesthetic, creative photographs that I've so often seen online or done by my amateur, friend photographers, but never had a camera that could do it. With this purchase, I will have to really educate myself on how to use the camera and to take such pictures, but I believe my incentive and interest will carry me through the process. Attached are a few pictures of the camera. Later, I will load pictures that I've taken with it, once I get it. :) Until then...

Busyness

My 7th grader's last spelling list contained the word "business." On Friday, I gave them the test, and as I was dictating the words, I realized that I didn't know whether I should pronounce it as in the state of being busy or as in the corporation. I also couldn't remember how I had been saying it all week. Upon talking to my brother, I happened to find out that there was a difference in the spelling and was quite tickled by the fact that I, an English teacher, did not know the difference when my brother, a Chemistry major, did. We all need a little humbling experience, right? :)

Right now I would have to say that "busyness" best describes me. I have an intensive paper due in Multi-Ethnic American Literature; one which I should be much farther on than I am. Hopefully God will be graceful to me, and help me to quickly find an outstanding these to write about. The book I'm writing on is My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. It's quite good! I've always really enjoyed reading Jewish books and learning about Jewish history. The book is actually about an "extremist" group of Jews that are a part of the Hassidic movement. They would even consider themselves apart from Judaism as they dress and lives strictly to the Jewish laws. They abstain from most everything secular and can be found in large numbers in the New York/Brooklyn, etc., area. The novel is about an art prodigy named Asher Lev who struggles his whole life between dabbling in secular art and aestheticism and following the strictly aesthetic, abstinent Hassidic lifestyle. I really like the book because of its conversation on art and religion. I highly recommend it!

While I am reading all of these multi-ethnic novels for the class, and am at the same time reading Dracula. Do not ask me why I started that book except that I learned of the original story behind Count Dracula from my Romanian friend from school (Asheritah, I love you :) and was quite intrigued by it. The story is rather sensational (something for which its received some criticism), and as a result, I can hardly put the book down. Ann Marie had to take it from me and keep it in her room until I would get my work done. That was the day after I read several chapters of it in the local graveyard and was too scared to sleep that night. :)

Some other time I will explain my fascination with grave yards.

Post-election Thoughts

Well, it's all over. The election that is.

I don't think it is yet real in my mind that Obama is to be our next President. The pressing issue that comes to mind as I think about this is how many more innocent lives of the unborn will be slaughtered under his policies. Some of my initial thoughts were to question what I could do about this. I may not be able to change government policy, but I can change the individual lives of those I am in daily contact with. I can educate myself on the emotional and physical struggles of unsure mothers, and be able to sympathetically reach them. I can volunteer at the PRC clinic and work with young women to show them a better route. I can make my friends, church, and students more aware of the impending crisis and specific needs I come across. All this I can do. God does not call me to change the world, He calls me to be obedient in my every day life. If that means changing the world, then I will be very happy. :)

On a lighter note, one of my last hall meetings (I'm an RA and schedule hall activities) was a pilates night. We played classical music accompanied with waterfall and bird noises (rather unique) and were instructed in some basic stretches and moves of pilate. I did not realize how weak my core muscles were, nor how difficult pilates can really be. (Wikipedia defines it as follows: Pilates called his method Contrology, because he believed his method uses the mind to control the muscles. The program focuses on the core postural muscles which help keep the body balanced and which are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and aim to strengthen the deep torso muscles.) I really enjoyed it, and since, my roomie, Sharon and I have been doing what we can remember of them in our room. I've always had a lot of muscle pain in college, and this is clearing it right up. It feels so great to find a simple solution to an irritating problem. Next on my agenda is to get a pilates tape and mat to help me be disciplined with these exercises. My PT once said that 90% of arms/legs/joints pain and problems are a result of or part of the lack of muscle strength in one's core muscles (abs, back, etc.)

Now, to read My Invented Country, A Chilean novel which I am not enjoying. :(