Pings poke, you owe me a coke...

I think I'm going to stop jinxing myself and telling all of you blog-readers when I have a job interview.... yesterday when I was dropping Russell off in Georgetown on my way to San Antonio, the recruiter for that technical writing position called to tell me that he didn't think my resume was the right fit for the company after he got more info. on the job... but it's okay. I really, really, really want a job. But for right now, I'm just going to remember that God has a plan and I cannot speed it up. I've recently applied to many positions in the area, bought an interview suit, and made two different types of resumes. I am prepared! So until I receive an interview offer, I will wait. I mean, come on now, free house, free food, free internet.... I can get used to this! Haha... just kidding. I'm going to find a job as soon as possible because I am very excited about getting my own place. :) I talked to my dad about how I feel like such a loser for moving back home. For four years, I've had this vision ofme graduating college, landing a great job, and moving into my own place. It's shame I had to graduate during the worst economical times of my generation. Sheesh! But it's okay- I know something will work out, and I am very thankful that I have parents to stay with!

Tomorrow I'm headed back to Georgetown, and then Belton. Russell and I are celebrating Christmas early with his sister's family and then we're headed back to Belton so I can prepare for graduation. I'm pretty excited! Then, on Saturday, I'll receive my diploma, eat lunch with friends and family, and then come back to San Antonio. It'll be fun- I think Russell and I are planning on doing the river walk thing for one day, head out to the malls, and all that jazz. After spending Christmas with my family, we're driving to Tennessee! That will be so much fun. I will definitely have to take pictures for that one :)

Louisiana, Grad School, and Friends :)

So I'm back! Actually, I've been back for a few days... I've just been lazy with my blogging lately. :) Due to uploading time... I think I will only upload a couple pictures of my trip. But, if you want to see more, just go to: http://umhb.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017895&l=af10b&id=183000054 :)

We went to an alligator ranch!! We touched alligators, and even fed them MARSHAMLLOWS!! It was pretty neat! The kids seemed to enjoy it, too :)

We also did other fun things, like bowling :) I love these kids! Now, aren't they just the cutest? :)
I had a great time in Louisiana. I learned that states are different in very funny ways- Lousisiana has a lot of TREES and WATER. I saw my first Pine Tree (I know, I know) and about a million others!! It was neat :)

During my trip, I talked to my friend Rachel (the mom in the family) about my future plans. We talked about how time flies (I'm graduating in a year!), about guys, and about careers. I told her that I had become interested in Speech Pathology for the past semester, and wouldn't you know- her best friend is a Speech Pathologist. Isn't that wild? I got to meet her (Amy) and she was so encouraging. So, now that I'm home, I've been doing my research, and I am seriously thinking of moving on towards gradaute school. As of right now, I'm looking at Texas State, Abilene Christian University, and Our Lady of the Lake University. They all require a few prerequisites that I don't have.. but I'm not going to let small obstacles stand in my way. I've already had 2 of those schools call and e-mail me to help me out! So I guess I'll keep you posted on that ;) The reason I'm even interested in Speech Pathology is because I really have a heart for children that have a hard time speaking for various reasons. My two younger cousins have difficulties with this- and I would love to be able to help in some sort of way. Anyways, in all, I would be in school for 3 more years, but that's just one year longer than most students who go to grad school. So if you can, just keep me in your prayers as I seek the Lord's will for this.

Anyhoo... I feel like my time in SA has been short, probably because it has. I haven't had much time to do anything because the few days that I've been here, I've been working! But I did have time to hang out with my friend from school, Analy. We did the typical San Antonio things: browsed the mall, walked the river walk, and ate Taco Cabana! :) Now that's a fun day :)

I head back to Belton on Sunday, and I'm sure that there will be many fun times (and picture posts!) :)

Vacation!

I think that time is so weird sometimes... Somehow it makes sense when I think about it, but when I say it... "This break feels like it's going by so fast, but it's taking forever!!" I mean, come on, how weird is that?? How can a period of time be slow and fast??

I have no idea. :)

Since finals, I have worked at my new job in Temple at a place called "Paperdoodles". This place is exciting- I get to sell paper (and other knick-knacks, too)! I get to look at pretty invitations and help brides pick out the best ones... (By the way, did you know how expensive invitations are? It's absolutely crazy!) After a couple weeks at Paperdoodles, and enjoyable, peaceful days in Belton, I drove back to San Antonio. The very next day, my family and I drove to Fredericksburg to seem my mom's side to celebrate Christmas. We had a wonderful time, and it's always fun to see family and catch up. Since Christmas I've been working at the retirement home serving food too all of the residents. It's fun to see them again- their smiles make me happy :) Tomorrow I fly out to Louisiana! I'm visiting the family I used to babysit for. I can't wait to see Nathan and Anna!! They are the cutest kids ever... I have some proof:

I wish I had a recent picture of her big brother, but I will after I get back from my trip! I'll be there until New Years day, when I fly back. I'm very excited! I'll be taking a ton of pictures because I got a camera for Christmas, which is very exciting!! So, I guess all I can tell you is, "Stay tuned!!" :)

Home! :) and a little randomness!

So I'm home now. I can smell the lovely scent of my mom's Apple Cake. How will I survive until tomorrow without biting into it?! :)

It's nice to be home. I'm just sitting in "my" room and relaxing. I'm acknowledging this because I do not want to take for granted the time I have now to rest... next semester won't be too bad... I don't think. I'm taking Advanced Grammar, which is supposedly the hardest class for English majors. I am still excited about it because I know there is so much about grammar that I don't know, but I've always wanted to. I'm also taking Advanced Rhetoric, Curriculum Methods, Classroom Management, and an easy one- General Psychology. I also find out where I will be student teaching. I'm not sure if I want Salado or Belton yet... so I will probably be observing in both districts to get a better idea. I think next semester's going to be fun, also! :)

Guatemala notes: I start fundraising next semester!! My Guatemala trip will be set for sometime June or July this summer... I get to choose the dates. It will be a prayer/relational ministry and I am very excited!! More updates to come... I will probably make a Guatemala blog, too. My adopted mom, Shanon, will be teaching Spanish classes at church for the Mexico mission trip, and I'm going to go to learn more for Guatemala :) It's very exciting!

Well, I guess I'll leave you with a quote that I read a couple days back:
"May your presence fill the nonanswers, empty glances, and lonely times of my life. Amen." - Robert Wood

All Good Things

With my dad being gone in Kuwait/Iraq, life is always different when I come back to SA. These past couple weeks have been weeks of transition. I moved out of my apartment in Belton and came back to San Antonio. I've been back for breaks, but I haven't lived here in 3 years. So it's definitely a change for me.

I started my job at the retirement home. The average age of the people dining is 82. It's very fun to see them every day and get to know them some more. They are extremely nice and understanding, and even tell me that I am beautiful. I love that, because who gets to go to work to be told they're beautiful? My biggest task to overcome was lifting and balancing trays of food on my shoulder. It's definitely an art I am still trying to master, but I have become more confident that I won't drop anyone's meal... that's actually my biggest fear. ;) This job has proven to me that I can do anything I set my mind to, because I was not expecting to be waitressing this summer! God provided a wonderful working environment and I am so thankful.

Life at home has been interesting. My pugs have been a little high maintenance lately. We still give Edith daily eye-drops, and both her and Khaki have recently been attacked by fleas. I bathed them twice, but we eneded up taking them to the vet. My pugs are seriously like my children, because I worry about them when they stay at the vet all day, and I get so excited to pick them up. I have always been very protective of them, so it should be interesting to see how I am when I have kids one day!

Summer school starts in about a week 1/2. I'm a little nervous. Nothing is like UMHB, but it should be fun to meet some fellow San Antonio students. Although I must say that I really hope I have a good teacher... I'm taking a History class, and I NEED a good teacher to stay awake!

My dad comes back to the states in 91 days, as of right now. He is definitely retiring once he gets back, and I am so excited that my family can be "civilian normal" for the first time in my life!

Guatemala plans are happening! My adopted mom, Shanon, and I are looking at different venues and talking to our missions team at our church. I am so excited about this. We have a chance of leaving in December, but we are leaning towards next summer. Yay!

Oh, and if you read all of this, good job! ;)

Yay!!!

I have an interview at the nursing home tomorrow!! I'm very excited about it because it seems like such a great environment and an opportunity to make some friends. Not only will I get to listen to the wisdom that so often pours out of senior adults, but the staff they hire is all college age. Wouldn't that just be neat? It sounds like a fun job opportunity and I hope it all works out! My interview is tomorrow, so please pray for me around 2:30!

Other than that, everything has been going good. Except I accidentally tore a page in my Bible. I don't know why I feel like sharing that but it really upset me when it happened. *sigh* But it's okay.

I was looking around our local Family Christian Store yesterday, and it brought back my memory of when I was in the store with my mom because she was about to buy me my first Bible. Aside from my children's bible growing up, I had never owned one before then. I was about 14, and I can still remember how excited I was, and how I was so particular when choosing it. I ended up getting a black, thinline NIV Bible. I used it all throughout High School and my Freshman year of college. I love those memories. :)

I hope you're having a fantabulous day! :)

Crazy Weeks

Wow! It's so hard to believe that it's already Mar, and that tomorrow I take my last final of the semester. I'm excited about this because I'm able to take a break! :)

So much ahs happened since I last wrote... Many areas of life changed that I didn't think would. I was going to work an after school program next year, but now I will be babysitting for the people that live next door to the people I babysit for now. They have one little boy, and I'll be doing that on the weekends. This is because I'm going to be in the MHB Pageant....

I know. IT'S CRAZY. It's a long story on how this happened. I'm sure it will be something that will hold a very special place in my college experience. I'm excited about meeting the other girls and getting to know them more. I'm excited about God stretching me, especially since I've never performed solo on a stage before! I'm looking forward to it. You can ask me more about it in person or on the phone if you want to. :) So this summer I will be working, taking online classes, and preparing for that. It should definitely prove to be an eventful summer! :)

Classes have been okay this semester... I'm pretty sure I've made all B's, but I am totally okay with that because the classes were tough. Especially my upper level English courses... ask me a question to do with Linguistics, and I should be able to answer! :)

I go home on Saturday. I'm excited about the vacation. I never thought I'd say it... but I'm looking forward to getting away from school life for a while. I need a change of pace, and I'm excited to see what it brings.

Oh, and about that weather... it's crazy!

Oh, and I also cut my hair! I gave in to my hair temptations and cut it shorter than usual- right above the shoulders. I like it! :)

Ooooh, isn't it so loverly???

So, do you like it? I'm so pleased with the design that Susie put together for me :) It makes my blog a lot more cozy and I'm even more excited about blogging than I was before. ;) So, I hope you like it!!

I chose this verse because it is true for every Christian. He put a new song in our mouth, and so we have every reason to sing praises to Him. How amazing it is that He is our amazing Father, and through Him, we have complete joy. :)

I'm back at school now, and some of you have been asking how my presentation went last night. Well, I am your typical procrastinator, but that doesn't stop me from doing my best! Dr. Stafford was very pleased with my work, and I got many compliments from my peers after class. I was very surprised, because while I thought I did decent work, it turned out to be great. So, yay for presentations (that are over)!

Right now I'm at work. The volunteers at Children's Ministry, Luke (co-leader), and I have all been thinking of ways to raise money for the playground out at the apartments where our ministry is held. This playground is in horrible shape, and if nothing is done soon, one of the kids is going to get hurt. So, I had an appointment with a guy on campus that is in charge of all of the fundraisers, and it went very well! I'm excited to see where our fundraising takes us, and what our end result will be for our playground project. So, if you have any ideas on building playgrounds, please let me know! :)

I guess I also failed to mention that I got a new car. I didn't know if I wanted to blog about it or not, but here I am. I ended up getting a 2007 Nissan Sentra. Long story short, the old car pretty much died over Spring Break, and so my mom and dad figured it was time for me to invest in a new car. I was very pleased when we went test driving. What's even more awesome is that I am now investing in something that is worth it in the long run that will also help my credit. So, yay for new cars! (I knew Spring Break was unpredictable! ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Spring Break is SO Unpredictable..

I almost bought a car today! That's so crazy and spontaneous of me. I guess it would've been even more spontatneous if I did buy it...

My parents have been very worried about my car because of the trouble it has been giving me lately.. It has about 133,000 miles on it.. it's getting up there. So, we went to the dealership and found this awesome Ford Fusion. Yeah- me, a Ford Fusion? Who knew I would like it so much? But, we ended up not going with it. I figured $328 a month was quite a lot on my college job pay. We ended up deciding that I should save until the end of the year, when I am only a year away from graduation to purchase a car. Oh, and if you are interested in a nice, affordable car.. I'd say look at the Fusion. They drive wonderfully!! :)

Other than that randomness, my parents and I have just been enjoying the time together. My dad got home last night, and so we have a little bit of time before he goes back. Tomorrow, my dad and I are going to all the missions around SA and flying kites. I'm excited!! :) Pictures for sure.

I haven't done any school work. Maybe I should do that so I don't make a fool of myself on Monday night... I give my presentation over Flannery O'Connor that night!! Crazy. This semester is flying by...

Airports

Oh man, today was quite the eventful day.
To spare you the lengthliness of my story, I'll give you the summarized version:
- Wake up
-Doctor's office w/ Aunt and Cousins
-Drive to Airport
-Dad calls, flight delayed for an hour due to storms all over TX.
-Go home
-Go to Airport
-Stand in long lines to receive our military pass
-Mean people work at the airport
-Dad calls- flight cancelled
-WHAT??!
-Dad calls again, rents a car with another soldier
-After waiting for about 5 hours, I was finally able to pick up my dad!!

Today seemed like it would never end. I think it was definitely a lesson on patience. But he's here, and he's asleep! Our family feels complete with him.

Tomorrow will bring many joyful moments and I am so excited!!! :)

:) Spring Break

Sometimes I forget why I have this blog at all- to keep in touch with friends, to remember random events in my life, and of course, for fun.

I always associate my Spring Break with my first steps of becoming a Christian. This week, 6 years ago, I was seeking anything I could find that would tell me more about God. It's pretty cool. :) I finally became a Christian a few weeks after that. It's always fun to think about.

Aside from that Spring Break, I think that this Spring Break is probably going to be one of the best for me. My dad is coming home for his 2 week leave, and I plan on enjoying every second of my time with home. We only have 1 more day!

He says he already has a list of meals he wants us to make, and that includes some that I have learned after having my own oven! :) I'm pretty excited about that.

Other than that, my mom and I have just been busy preparing the little things for him. We're making sure that his plants look good, and of course, his truck.

I'm also trying to get some homework done. I have a presentation to give on Flannery O'Connor the Monday night I get back. I'm not excited about that at all! :( It's okay though, I'm pretty good at working under pressure.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Spring Break!!

2 days- Spring Break! Dad's Leave-5 days!

I am so excited about this break. I don't think it has really hit me yet that I'm going to see my dad soon! :) I think it's just been different because I'm not living in SA, and so I feel like I'm the one gone sometimes. I'm just excited about seeing him though. I can't wait until the day he finally returns and we can all be a family together (well, in Texas atleast) amd life will go back to somewhat normal. That will be nice.

So, yeah. School has been going good. I'm regularly busy, that sometimes when I find myself actually sitting down and doing something that wasn't planned, I freak out a little. I am learning to cherish my sleep.

I took a test this morning that was pretty easy, and now I'm going to transcribe a poem into the phonetic alphabet. Plus babysitting, plus reading for Linguistics...

Overwhelmed? I hope not. Maybe I'm becoming numb to it all.

Oh Spring Break :)

Wow!

I have only been to class ONCE this week!! They cancelled school all day today, which is so exciting because I was supposed to have my night class tonight.

It has been NICE! :)

I can say that I am excited for warmer weather today... While I've enjoyed the no class part, I've missed the option of getting in my car to go somewhere with friends! :)

I'll be staying warm. Are you?

Fun with Mom!

Well, today was a great day! :) I woke up around 9 (which is actually becoming late for me!) and gave Edith all of her eye drops. Then, I did a load of laundry. My mom got ready and we headed to her physical therapy appointment where I read and looked out the window. :) We ate some Panda Express and then had some Starbucks, since we both received Starbucks gift cards for Christmas! Then we did one of my favorite things- we went to a bunch of model homes! (Do you think I'm weird?) I really enjoy doing this, especially right now, because I am hoping that during my twenties, I will buy a house. Now, I can't believe how expensive some things are, but I'm sure it's worth the investment if you plan to live in the house for a long time. Now I'm not rushing into anything, don't worry... When I get out of college I will probably find an apartment or a small condo to live in for a few years. This is all according to me, but who knows what God has planned. I could always become a nun. ;) (That was a joke...)

I know this is random, but what is your favorite Starbucks drink?? I'm trying to venture out of my comfort zone of Zevra Mochas and Vanilla Lattes.

I hope everyone is enjoying these lat few days of 2006! :)

God offers hope through everything :)

Isn't that just the most wonderful thing ever? I am so thankful that our God can be seen through everything. He is my strength.

Here are some updates:

After many prayers and wondering. my dog Edith is recovering. For those who missed the story, she only has one eye, and got a corneal ulcer in her remaining eye, meaning there was a scratch on the cornea. She started looking really bad a couple of days after her surgery, and so we had to take her to the vet. He said he was "cautiously optimisitc", which left us a tad bit worried. But with a TON of eye drops and pills every day, she is recovering. God is taking care of us, because if this would've happened any earlier before I came home, it would be so hard for my mom to do. She needs 2-3 people to give her those eye drops.

Christmas- We are expecting a good Christmas despite my dad being gone. Our family is very suppostive, and we're going to have a huge meal and lots of time together. I have a very interesting family, which always makes it fun!

Reading-
Psalms and Romans :)
Disciplines of a Godly Woman (God is teaching me a lot about areas of my life that need changing)

I am enjoying the break so far! :)

On the road again....

That's right! Only one more meeting and two more classes a way until I'm on the road again!

San Antonio, here I come!!

Fall Break

If you don't mind reading about my wonderful fall break...

I have a retreat tomorrow for revival steering committee... in case you haven't heard, I'm extremely excited. I find out which team I am on, as well as who my team partner is! Get excited! It's going to be near Lake Travis, which is beeeautiful! I'm excited. I went there this past summer for camp with my girls, and it was amazing. :)

Then, on Saturday afternoon, I will come back here and head out to San Antonio to see my beautiful mom- and on that note, I'd like to ask for some major prayer. My mom's bone problems have hit what seems to be the peak of all problems. She has now been diagnosed with Osteoporosis, and it's not exactly the best news in the world. PLEASE PRAY. This is so stressful on her (and for anyone) especially since my dad's deployment, and her daughter away from home. Please pray that my time with her would be glorifying to the Lord and that I would be a daughter that serves, not one that gets upset. It's hard to be away and not be there, so this time is cherished.

I love you mom!!