In which various adventurous things happen and also I post too many pictures.

As you may remember, I live in Connecticut. And if you know your United States geography well enough, you would know that CT happens to be on the East Coast (New England, to be exact,) and directly in the path of Hurricane/Big Bad Storm Sandy. So, obviously, we got hit. Thankfully, we don't live too close to the coast, so we didn't have to worry about the surges and flooding. We did, however, have to go through trees falling down everywhere. One tree (the one in the background of the picture further down, in fact,) came apart and a large size chunk of it fell on the girls' room and scraped the garage/clubhouse. Right now we have a tarp covered a largeish-but-not-too-too notch on that part of the house and we've got guys painting their room. I think the girls managed to agree on what colors to do. :) Anyway, so that was fun. I got to drive in the aftermath, with all kinds of power lines and trees and debris out on the roads. Yaay. And at night. Double-Yaay. But we were safe, and that's what's important.

My family came to visit me the week before Sandy, so they got to see Greenwich as it normally is. And they got to see all the wonderful fall colors before they all blew off! I was able to give them a driving tour and spend a lot of time with them. They stayed at the house with us and I think both families quite like each other. :) The visit was short, but very good.

After Sandy, I surprised my friends with a visit to Bob Jones. I was so afraid the power outages would do something horrible to the airports, but I was able to fly out just fine with no delays. I even had a long enough layover in Philadelphia to see Josh, one of my good friends from school. That was also a short visit (too short!) but good. I kept my visit to South Carolina a mostly-secret, mainly because I love surprises and because I wanted to avoid disappointment due to lack of excitement. Because I'm a pessimist in that regard. Yay, me. I got to see my former roommate's senior speech recital and spend time with some good friends. That visit was ALSO too short. I'll be back again! Just not as soon as I would like...

After I returned to Greenwich (and walked home from the airport in the dark because) we had another storm. A nor'easter named Athena. It snowed a lot and then melted within a few days. The traffic was horrible.

I trick-or-treated for the first time this past Sunday (because Halloween was moved because Sandy.) I was the most awesome vampire ever. I didn't get a lot of candy. This is a GOOD thing.

Milestone: I'll have been here for 6 months come Sunday.

I'm not sure how obvious it is, but I managed to lose about 20 pounds this summer/fall. I have 5 pounds to go before I'm not longer overweight and 10-15 pounds to reach a comfortable spot to maintain. Yay. ^_^

Also, glasses. I wear glasses now. Glasses are cool.

Wherein I hike in the rain and hide from severe weather.

Yesterday began with rain, which carried on to the late evening. And since yesterday was Saturday, I had the six year old all day (the middle children were at football/cheer leading practice and the oldest slept in). We had fun in the rain, certainly, jumping on the trampoline and hopping in puddles, but I managed to get him to go hiking in the rain with me, which I assured him would be funner. (I had help from Mother. Otherwise he would never have gone.) And I think we had fun! I know I had fun. We saw three bullfrogs and one turtle. Hiking trails are amazing when the world is wet. The smells are enhanced. It's cooler. You actually get to see frogs. Every day should be rainy. Rainy and thundery. Yes.

On the way home, though, it was super windy. And later that afternoon we got a tornado warning. Then it switched to a watch. But still.... >_< The Family went to see a movie, so I was alone. With strong winds and greenish-grey skies. For a brief moment I freaked out. (For those who don't know, I am, in general, both terrified of tornados and fascinated by them.) Then, I moved my important stuff to the basement and carted Lucy down to the living room to watch the weather channel with me. And I basically remained glued to the TV till everyone got home and I could go to bed.

The End.

Supercal...supercal...

Greetings! I haven't posted since February. My Valentine's Day post. I am a total loser. Aaiish!

Anywhoo, I managed to graduate from college on time with no outstanding credits. I do have some debt. Don't we just love debt? Thankfully, I didn't have to pull loans till my senior year, so I think I'll survive. Maybe.

To help pay for said loan debts, I have a job. A fun job. A hard job. A job that I occasionally fantasize running away from. I am a nanny. Not the Super Nanny, not Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee. Just me. With four kids, ages 6-13. Oh, boy. As I said, it's a fun job. I get to hang out with kids all day and just Saturday night the youngest fell asleep on my lap while I was watching The Nerdiest Tribute to Time Travel on BBCA.

This job also happens to be in the near proximity of NYC. The Big Apple. Or, as the locals call it, The City. I have gone twice. By myself. Once on my birthday. I took my first train to Grand Central, walked to Times Square, took my first cab to Central Park, then walked all the way back to Grand Central to take a train back to Greenwich. Sound fun? The second time was more eventful. Train, then walked to the New York Public Library, where I timidly crept through quiet, echoey halls and rooms. I sat down at a table and planned out the rest of my day. From there, I took the subway all the way to way-Upper Manhattan and walked to the Cloisters, which is a castle/cathedralish looking building housing a medieval art museum and a medieval garden. Which I didn't see because I didn't feel like paying $25. Even though that would also let me into the Met. BUT I did walk in. Then out. And around. Then back to the subway. (By the way, this was the most beautiful area in The City that I saw while there.) I took the subway a bit south to Cathedral Parkway to see the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It took me forEVER to find it because I wasn't sure of its exact location. Yay. But it was worth the time and energy spent. It was my first huge cathedral experience, and it was beautiful.

After I was done with Upper Manhattan, I took the subway all the way down to take the Staten Island Ferry. I didn't get off on Staten Island. I just rode the ferry. Because it goes past the Statue of Liberty, so I could see her without having to pay admission. And also because FERRY. Then, it was off to Coney Island, home of the Boardwalk. I rode three rides and watched the sun set from the Wonder Wheel. I ate boardwalk food. I took the subway back to around Times Square. I took the Roosevelt Island Tram. Because Spiderman. Then I went home. Late. I was in bed around 2. (I could've stayed out all night, but my body was too tired for my brain.)

So that was fun. Definitely doing another one sometime soon.

I got to see my family again near the end of June for my oldest brother's graduation from boot camp (Doug, 18, USMC.) It was so much fun to be with my family again and also watch my brother be awesome. One week was not enough, but it WAS enough to make me extremely homesick for the first couple weeks back. Oh, hi, Waterworks. You are not welcome in my life. But anyway, we went to the beach and drove around Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC. Super beautiful cities. :) And we walked next to the beach in Charleston after Doug was all graduated and had his liberty.

And then I came back.

Not a whole lot going on other than those things listed, besides I watch movies in theatres and critique them in my head whilst completely enjoying the crud out of them and also I bought a rat. Her name is Lucy. She's way to adventurous for her own good and a troublemaker. And she runs away. And hides. And she recently bit my nose so now people look at me kinda funny. I ignore them. Mostly.

And that is my choppy, slightly poorly written, spur of the moment update. Cheers. :)

Eat ALL the Chocolates!

Valentine's Day wasn't too awful this year. I decided to not be all bah-humbuggy about the whole thing and rather enjoyed myself most of the day, besides being completely alone for the majority of it. :)

I don't usually like posting much about this sort of thing, but in a belated attempt at some sort of Valentine-y celebration or summat, here are some lists I compiled, in no particular order:

Reasons I don't mind not having a boyfriend:

1. I can be independent.

2. I don't have to settle down just yet. (I have a serious case of wanderlust.)

3. I would prefer my first boyfriend to be my one-and-only, so not having one yet makes that more likely.

4. It gives me more time to mature.

Reasons I'd rather not be single:

1. To keep me from wandering forever.

2. To keep my feet more-or-less on the ground. (This probably means no dreamy dreamer for me...*le sigh*)

3. So I can get married (obviously.)

4. I want a family.

5. I really don't want to be alone for the rest of my life.

Reasons I don't have a boyfriend:

1. I AM a little bit picky sometimes. Being single for 20.5 years and becoming more-or-less content with being so will do that to you.

2. I'm not as outgoing as would probably be preferable. (At least not with people I don't know well.)

3. I hate asking guys out and I refuse to do so. (Except for dating outings, but even there I'm still very much a bit of a chicken.)

4. I have this feeling that most of the guys at my school aren't my type... (Not that there couldn't be one out there, though.)

5. Also, Bob Jones probably isn't the best place to find a guy. (Probably.)

6. I'm kinda strong willed sometimes and rather stubborn, so I need someone who is stronger and stubborner than me. That's gonna take a while to find, prolly.

7. No one really seems interested, anyway. (Seems.)

Take from it what you will. I just like making lists. They help me keep my thoughts in order...otherwise they'd all be a completely jumbled mess tangled up in my brain!

Prayers Without Words

Recently I came across this song by Craig Courtney. It's absolutely beautiful.

My words lie still and lifeless as dust upon the sand,

I can no longer voice one request or demand,

My cup of tears is empty, I can no longer cry,

My lips have fallen silent, my prayer is but a sigh.

Spirit come and rest Your ear upon my heart,

O come and hear my wordless prayer,

My silent plea and take them far away from me.

Take them from this heart of mine to the Father’s heart divine,

Speak in tones unknown to man that God may hear and understand.

My voice is weak from calling to You both night and day.

How long will You be silent? Why do You turn away?

Spirit, come and rest Your ear upon my heart;

Come and hear my wordless prayer,

my silent plea and take them far away from me.

Take them from this heart of mine to the Father’s heart divine.

Speak in tones unknown to man that God may hear and understand.

My middle brother, Mike, has a cognitive disorder and verbal apraxia. Because of that he didn't talk till he was three. Oh, he could understand what we were saying and could communicate to us through some sign language and gestures, but he couldn't form coherent words for a long time. Because of this, my parents worried that he would think that because we couldn't understand him God wouldn't be able to, either. So my mom would tell him (and us) this verse:

"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."(Romans 8:26, KJV)

For those that find it difficult to understand KJV, here's how The Message puts it:

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."

This became one of my favorite verses. Sometimes when I'm really distressed and all I can do is just mentally scream it's a HUGE comfort to remember that God still understands exactly what I mean. There are other times when I just have no idea what to say...I pray in emotions and pictures. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this!) It's the same. God understands.

Wherein I long for crunchy leaves and fall winds...

This past week I discovered what my favorite kind of music is. To my surprise (kinda), it wasn't rock, pop, new age, dance, or even classical (which I love.) It's Josh Groban. Now, I know he's not necessarily a type of music, but I'm not quite sure exactly what genre he's under.

Have you ever listened to a piece of music and felt a longing for something you couldn't place? And then after a while of thinking it over you realized that it wasn't even something incredibly significant, but it said a lot about you? I have. Whenever I listened to Josh Groban I would have this almost sad feeling. And then I placed it. It's a longing for autumn in the city. For knit cut-off gloves, for long knit scarves, brown hoodies. For leaves that crunch. For the color orange. For sitting in a park and sipping tea or coffee and reading a book or sketching or writing. For falling in love right then and there (with who-knows-who, but still...)

Kinda dumb? Probably. Goes to show how too-romantic I am.

Maybe someday.

My Summer (As a list!)

Things I Did This Summer:

1. Worked two jobs. (Library and Dining Common)
2. Payed for my own tickets to go home.
3. Payed for my own books.
4. Switched my major to Humanities so I can graduate on time.

Things I Learned This Summer:

Job-wise:

1. How to work the Circulation Desk at the library.
2. How to inventory books.
3. Shortcuts around the library.
4. How to wipe tables the DC way.
5. How to clean the DC lobby.
6. How to stock the bathroom cart.
7. Sinks.
8. Traycheck!!
9. That working in the Dining Common can actually be a LOT of fun.

10. How to be in charge (for almost two hours).
11. Slimy, moldy flowers smell much, much worse than whatever else is in that garbage can...
12. It is quite possible to develop a relationship with a vacuum cleaner. I <3 Boba Fett...

Relationship-wise:

1. Hanging out with a bunch of girls is more fun than I ever thought it would be.
2. It's actually possible for me to miss people reallyreally bad! (This honestly surprises me. I didn't think it was possible. Now I feel at least a little human.) :P
3. It's also possible for me to talk to someone ALMOST every day (not quite) without getting completely sick of them. (This also somewhat surprises me, but not as much.)

Other:

1. God provides.
2. Apparently this one guy (who shall remain unnamed to spare him any embarrassment) and I would be cute together.

3. I can cry reallyreally hard without knowing why. (Yeah, I'm weird.)
4. If you on-the-whim decide to go home, make sure than your whiming takes place earlier on in the summer so getting subs for your jobs is easier and less stressful...
5. Also, if you are thinking about taking a class over the summer, do it right away instead of the month before school starts. You'll never finish if you wait till then.
6. Having texting is definitely an asset.
7. Doctor Who is AMAZING and David Tennant is the BEST.

And there is soooo much more that I just can't think of right now! So I'll probably add a few as I remember. ^_^