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. ^_^

Your Long Awaited Update

Man, has this summer flown by! It's already halfway over and it feels like it's barely begun. It probably feels this way because I work a lot. I'm working at both the Dining Common and the library and I'm getting 40 hours a week between them. Not bad, but I'm always doing something. Which really isn't so bad.

That being said, I really haven't done much else besides work this summer, so the interesting things I do stick out. On my birthday a couple weeks ago I went blueberry picking with some friends and then went to my boss's house and hung out there for a while. I still have three cool-whip containers of fresh blueberries in my fridge! This past Saturday I went hiking with Derek and Dezi up at Paris Mountain. That was a lot of fun! I haven't been hiking in a while and I missed it a ton. Yesterday (Sunday), there was no church in the evening so Derek, Dezi and I went to Dezi's aunt's house, ate dinner and watched Tangled,which I had never seen before. That was a fun movie! And then we went to Rita's afterwards.

Today I went to my friend Travis' grandparents' house and hung out with him, his girlfriend Camilla, and Travis' various family members. His grandparents live out at a lake, so it was really pretty. We went out and sat on the dock for a really long time. It was very relaxing. At sunset we went out on the lake in a boat and then after it got dark Travis set off fireworks.

And that's my update for now. ^_^

What-Ifs: A Glimpse Into My Brain

This evening I went out to the daycare’s playground. I like to go there to swing and contemplate life. After a while I decided to try and get into the tunnel. You know those little plastic tubes on most playgrounds? The ones with a few window holes cut out so you could see out? I wanted to see if I still fit. No amount of squeezing, bending or contorting could get me to sit upright, even uncomfortable upright. If you look at me, you would probably describe me as tiny. Overweight, yeah, but tiny. But I’m not tiny enough. So I kinda lay sideways in the tunnel so I could look out the window. The world looks different sideways. The ground is parallel to the lines of your face instead of perpendicular like it should be. It’s really weird. And then I got to thinking…what if that’s how the world was? If gravity suddenly changed and we walked on the walls of this world instead of the ground? What kind of world would this have to be for that to happen? Would it be natural? Unnatural? What would be the cause?

Then, as I walked back to my dorm, I discovered Bob Jones’s nightlife. Cockroaches. As I barely avoided a cluster of the little buggers, I actually glanced back to see if they were following me. And then came another thought. What if someone discovered that they could control cockroaches? Why? How? What for? What kind of world would they be living in for that to happen? For it to be helpful? And then I thought of other what-ifs I’ve thought recently. Like…what if someone somehow found out that they didn’t remember a portion of their life and didn’t even know it?

I think I need to get back to writing…

Welcome To Summer

Aaah, summer! No school, no rules. I'm currently sitting on a beach, completely enjoying my bikini and ability to tan in the beautiful 85 degree weather. My boyfriend is sitting next to me, and we're holding hands. And yes, I did kiss him when I got back home.

And....yes. That was all completely imaginary. (If you fell for that I laugh at you...I wrote it around midnight. =P ) Not only do I not have this hypothetical boyfriend, he would also most likely not be my type. I do not own a bikini and probably never will. And I wouldn't be able to wear one right now even if I wanted to. Cause guess where I am? Haha.

Bob Jones is almost a ghost town during the summer. There are a few summer school students and probably even less summer staff students. Though I could be wrong on that. I'm here for work, of course. I'm on the exclusively female tablewipe crew at the Dining Common (I work the lunch shift from 1-4.30) and I'm also working at the library shelving books, doing inventory (scanning books to make sure they're all there), working in the periodical room, and I'm going to start working at the circulation desk tomorrow morning, bright and early. Thank goodness I have some friends with me...

For those of you who are still desperately looking for me on Twitter, I was horrible and changed my name on you. Again. Sorry.

Anyways, my life is pretty uneventful at the moment. Besides finding this kid I used to know when I was 7. (He doesn't remember me...go figure. lol) And also being locked off campus at almost 11 at night. (Thank God I was with people! Other wise I would've been scared out. of. my. mind.) And being scared by a couple burly hispanic dudes at Starbucks around 9 or 10 another night. And stuff. Hopefully I'll actually post more than once this summer. We'll see. =P

Pour Manger la Pâté

I guess today has just been one of those eat-duck-liver-paste days. And not necessarily in a bad way.

The first eventful thing that happened today was that we tried pâté de foie de canard, which is basically a meat spread. Foie de canard literally means "liver of duck," so it was pretty much a spreadable duck sausage. It wasn't too bad. A little weird, but in an okay way. What was really funny, though, was our teacher didn't even like the stuff! And I think most of my classmates didn't really like it either. Me, I had two saltine crackers of the goop.

Next, I found out that I'm actually doing a lot better in Contemporary Philosophy than I thought I was. Which really isn't saying much, since I thought I either had a D or was failing. Turns out I have a C+ overall, and got a B on my first test. At least I think that's what I got. Our teacher handed out number grades, and I stink at translation. But the guy who sits next to me (his name is Ben) told me that it's a 10-point scale. So I'm pretty sure I did an accurate job. =)

Lastly...I got tagged! =( Here at Bob Jones University, we're having a campus-wide game of Tag. The rules are a little bit different than your normal playground version, but it's much, much cooler. There is no IT, and everybody's after everybody. It's totally awesome. And I got tagged out on my second day. Without tagging my partner. I still haven't even seen him. On the bright side, though, now I can walk around outside without my heart stopping every time someone walks up behind me. I can study in the Gazebo. I can eat lunch in the Snack Shop if I want to. I can swim. I can work out. I could rejoin the game for $5, but I think I'm just going to enjoy this freedom.

So yeah. Like duck liver paste on saltine crackers. Different, but good.

On n'arrête pas d'horloge!

Hey, everybody! Sorry I haven't updated for a while. A lot has happened since I last posted!

1. My family just moved again! We're now living in Ankeny, Iowa. Well, in a couple weeks. All our stuff is up there, but we haven't moved into the house yet. My family came and visited me last week, so that was pretty exciting! I stayed at someone's house over the weekend and visited my cousin Sarah at her school in Boiling Springs, NC.

2. I no longer have any pets. =(

3. Along with my job at the Junior High, I now also work at the library. I shelve books for an hour on Thursdays and I work in the periodical room for two hours on Monday and one hour-an hour and 45 minutes on Friday. And I love it! And also the people I work with. ^_^

4. I have become a recluse. Mostly of my own making. This, however, helps me to focus on school. Which is good. I think.

Anyways, hopefully I'll be able to update a little bit more often. At least I'll try. =)

Intellectualness

I didn't plan on having dinner with Phil, Colin, and Phil's cousin Alex this evening. It just happened. And I'm glad it happened, 'cause I don't see Phil around very much, and I never see Alex. Then they talked my into going to the operetta instead of going to the game. It was pretty good, but I don't think my ears can take much high volume opera. =(

Phil sketched this picture of me during dinner. ^_^

J'aime...

I don't have a lot a lot of friends, but the ones that I do have are some of the best in the world.

This evening I hung out with three of my Cinema peeps, Jonny Burkholder (freshman) Josh French (sophomore), and Jason Daniel (sophomore). Well, Jason isn't cinema anymore, and neither am I, but we don't talk about that. Much. But they are pretty awesome indeed. J'aime beaucoup mes amis!

Speaking of French...I'm actually taking a language class this semester. And next semester. And next year. And guess what language it is. French. (Well, what else could it have been? Really.) I'm learning a lot, and it's actually sticking pretty well. My best grade this semester is in that class. ^_^

Well, I was going to wax eloquent in this post, but I can't really think of much to say. Except this: "I miss Jonny!!" Haha. (Josh'll get that one...)

It was a dark and stormy night...

So today didn't really start out well. I mean, the rain was awesome, but my Doctrines test didn't go so great. At least, I'm pretty sure it didn't. I guess I'll find out. Also, I was very tired. So....my morning stank.

I think someone noticed, though, because this afternoon I got an encouraging card in the mail. After that, my day went much better! Then, I went to Cinema dinner like I do every Monday, met someone new, and had a lot of fun. I got to spend time with various cool friends throughout the remainder of the evening.

By dinner the rain had cleared up, which was very sad. I had been craving a London Fog (with Earl Grey) since Sunday, and rain is the perfect weather for one. So I went to Cuppa Jones and got my drink (which was amazing, by the way), and played ImagineIf and Apples to Apples with some friends. I had to leave at 9:20 so I could go get my dress checked for Artist Series tomorrow (read my last post), and by that time it was totally pouring outside! Unfortunately, I was carrying my French textbook and workbook, so I couldn't walk in the rain. I dorm-hopped. Lame.

I made up for it though! After I got my dress checked, I went outside and danced in the rain. I also jumped in puddles. I felt like I was 6 all over again. It was awesome. ^_^

Me in the rain:

This post is all over the place...I know. Sorry.

That is all.

A few words of encouragement...

I hate to have to admit this, but I have an inferiority complex. I developed it when I was around 15 or 16, and then started to dissolve it around age 17...probably part way through my freshman year. It had almost completely disappeared by summer '09, and then I didn't have too much of a problem with it. But then it decided to rear it's ugly head tonight for reasons I had no control over, and I was forced to face it yet again. I don't really want to get into it too much, but I figured this would give me a chance to share some verses that really help me when I'm feeling ever-so-slightly self-loathing.

This is from Psalm 139:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

I have to remind myself that God made me the way I am. He chose to make me certain ways, and in His sight I am perfect and beautiful.

Also, I need to remember that He knows who likes me, who will ask me out, and who I will eventually marry. I gave all that up to Him last year, and have been working on contentment in my singleness. I still have issues with contentment every once in a while, but then I pray for help and by God's grace I have been able to deal with it thus far.

I hope this blog post has been an encouragement to anyone who is struggling like I am. Let me know if it's helped you in any way. =)

Aaaand...I'm back!

So guess what? I can get to my blog on campus! So...hopefully now I can keep up on here. I hope.

Anyways, I just started my junior year at Bob Jones. For those of you who have been wondering what I decided to do about my major (my last post), I changed to Creative Writing! It's a lot of fun, and totally me. Not that Cinema wasn't totally me, but yeah. I'm still (kind of) honorary Cinema. That makes me very happy. =)

Speaking of Cinema, Unusual Films is in production! They started pre-production last summer, which I helped with. They've got a lot of the film shot, and I managed to be an extra in one of the baseball games.

Also, for those who have been looking desperately for my Twitter but can't find it, I changed my name. Currently, it's innocent_eyes23. I will warn you, though, that I don't get on there often. It's blocked at Bob Jones, and I tend to forget about it when I'm off campus. But I still try to get on sometimes. =)

In other news, the 5 Browns are going to be at Bob Jones next week! I'm really looking forward to that. I don't have a date, and probably won't get one, but that's okay. There are other Artist Series. ^_^

Anyways, this is just a catch up post. There'll be more later! Leave a comment so I know people are keeping up with me! ^_^

So It Begins...

So I'm back in college. It's been about 3 and a half weeks, maybe? And it feels like forever, like it should be mid-terms. Or the end of the semester. Well, at least I'm doing okay in my classes so far, right?

Part of the reason for this feeling of infiniteness with the semester is my plans for after graduation. I want to move to New York City, and I've been looking at apartments. That's where my mistake lies, as I want to move there now instead of in three years. I want to teach art. Somewhere. Preferably NYC. And preferably soon. But I have to change my major first. We'll see about that. I have some people to talk to, some praying to do, some thinking to do. I just need to make my decision by Thanksgiving so I'll have an advisor. Art Ed, I just might be on my way...

Artist Series is coming up and it's looking great! There's an opera next semester, and the Dallas Brass is next Thursday! No one's asked me yet, but we'll see. They have till tomorrow afternoon! (I'll probably just go with my roommate!)

I just found a way to keep up with the news. Things are looking...interesting. And slightly scary. And some of the news is just creepy. But hey, it's news. And I'm keeping up with it. So we're good. Sorta.

Yeah, this is a short blog post, but I'm just writing this quick so I can get back on campus. Laters, peeps! :)

Hold on tight -- Crazy days ahead!

The "Verse of the Week" is a passage of scripture that has spoken to me or given me comfort at some point during the past week. This week's verse is from my dad's message this morning. It's in reference to the church of Ephesus.

Verse of the Week: "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou has tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left they first love." Revelation 2:2-4 (KJV...the only version I could find lying around...)

The "Testimony of the Week" is something that I have learned during the past week.

Testimony of the Week: "People can change quickly. I realize that now. But God will never change. I can trust Him and rely on Him because when He says something or makes a promise, He won't change His mind. He will be my Rock in these, my unstable hours."

This past week has been crazy hectic. We had VBS at our church, and it had the coolest theme...Operation Space. Now, with my interstellar obsession, that's just awesome. We had a really good turnout, and the kids had a lot of fun. I had about 3 jobs I was doing. I did a little bit of drama during the opening, a bit of drama in two of the bible "briefings", and a lot of photography. At the end of the week (this means "all Friday afternoon") I put together a slideshow presentation of some of the pictures and video I got all throughout the week. That turned out really well.

This coming week will be pretty crazy as well. I have some doctors appointments to go to that we weren't planning on when I came home. I had some blood work done, and the doctors found something that they're kinda worried about, so I have an ultrasound tomorrow. No worries...I'm not pregnant! I'm really nervous about it. I'm pretty sure they'll find something, cause I did have some severe abdominal pains a couple months ago. Anyways, we'll see! Hopefully it'll just be something where I'll just get a bunch of pills to take or something, not something really serious. Anyways, pray for me about that!!

Another thing that's going to make next week crazy is the fact that I'm flying back to college on Friday. It's gonna be bittersweet. I miss college (silly me...), but I'm gonna miss home. And I'm gonna miss my brothers. But I'm looking forward to yet another year!

I just discovered Deviant Art (thanks, Fred!). A link to my profile is here and to my gallery is here. Also, I do have a Twitter. Follow me @sugars_shadow.

Toodles!

Introducing one of the most boring people in the Whole Wide World (I think)

I am me. Sometimes I pretend I'm not. But I still am. I like to act, write, and sing. I love to climb on things, especially rocks and trees. I love the outdoors, and could hike for hours (and actually, I have). Biking is another one of my things, as well as roller blading. I don't like the cold. I love to explore, and pretending to be on an adventure is a favorite pastime. Yet, I love to dress up, try to look pretty, and I love to dance. I like to paint my nails, shop for clothes, and sometimes I get google-eyed over some of the handsome actors on TV (lol...silly me. I don't crush on them anymore, though.) So, I'm a nice mix of tomboy and girly-girl.

I am Rose. 18-year-old college sophomore, hailing from cold Wisconsin, studying Cinema and Video Production in warm, humid South Carolina.

I have three younger brothers. The oldest (Doug, 15) is taller than me by a foot. My middle brother (Mike, 13) is taller than me by a few inches. My youngest brother (Steve, 11) loves to tease me about being short and he still has a good two inches to go.

I was homeschooled all my life (till I graduated, 'course). My mom's a pretty good teacher. :) My dad is a pastor of a small-ish baptist church in a very small town. We live right next door to our church building.

I have a dog, Max. He's a schnoodle. I also have a cat named Bella.

I have a lot of friends, but most of them are at college. I have just a few really good ones.

I'm sorry, I know this first post probably sounds really stiff. I've never done a blog or anything before. But hey. This is what I'm like when I first meet someone. I'm quiet when you first meet me, and then later on you wonder why you ever thought I was quiet. Something like that.

Laters, Alligators.