Last Day

The breakfast of champions: Fruit punch Capri Sun and a white chocolate Lindor truffle. 

Followed by my cleaned out room and my keys prior to turning them in.

Finals are over! I crushed it (that's kid speak for did well on) my biology final and earned a 166/170. I got a 95% on my final that consisted of 12 mini essays and yes, my hand hurt really badly. No word yet on how that last exam went, but I got my research paper back for that class (Abnormal Psychology) and got a 93% Booyah. It feels good to be done.

Today was my last day as a student at IWU.

What's that you say? You're not going to IWU any more? What's going on?
Oops. That's what happens when you have made a huge life decision and forget to tell some people.
Just today as I was walking out of my last (8 AM!) final, I was talking to Stacey and I said my car was all packed, going home, transferring, blah blah blah and Stacey said "Wait, what? Transferring?"
See, I've been thinking about transferring since the second week of the semester. It's been a long time coming and a lot of that time was filled with paper work, emails, phone calls, stress, and sometimes tears. In January, I'm headed to Trinity International University.

So next time someone around you is going through a major life shift (ie moving, quitting their job, starting a new job, transferring, withdrawing, or any other kind of major thing) remember that there's probably a lot of reasons. If you don't know the person that well and you ask why, be prepared to get a fake answer. It's too tough to explain all the reasons why to every single person when they ask.

Also, you might think it's a "good" reason to transfer and not everyone else will. Sometimes people think it's a "bad" idea, but that's whatever. Get counsel from people who love you and care about you and from there, you can qualify it as good or bad. Trust your gut and listen to what the Lord is telling you. I'm sure lots of people transfer for the benefit of being near a significant other. I'm sure people told them that's lame, or a bad idea, or not a good enough reason to transfer. Whatever, lame-0s. You don't know the whole situation so think about maybe keeping the judgement to yourself.

For me, I was really missing Andrew. A lot. When I talked to my Mom about how my heart was so heavy and she said "Ok, let's talk about transferring." This conversation happened on a Sunday, September 15th and the last day to drop a class was September 13th. I took that as a sign I was meant to be at IWU for that fall semester. I'm glad I stayed because I got to experience a great semester. I learned a lot. I know that's vague, but it's one of those things that's difficult to sum up and give it enough weight to say what you mean.

There's so many things that I am looking forward to about being a Trinity student that it's hard to be super sad about leaving IWU. This is a good transition. It hasn't sunk in yet that I'm not just back in Libertyville for Christmas, but for 3 semesters. That's pretty crazy. It will get more real the more I sit and think about it. But who has time for that? Too much traveling to do over break! Maybe when I have another moment here or there I'll tell you all about the adventures.

Ah the Week Before Finals

Sometimes I do myself favors and sometimes I do not.
Things that are self favors: Putting a reminder in my phone to print out something. Studying for an exam that's not until next Monday. Having made great progress on my CPM so I don't have to write the whole thing this week.
Things that are not self favors: Not eating enough fruit and not drinking enough water. Skipping devotionals. Not studying for my exam until just a little bit before it when I have had all semester. Whoops.

All of these things are true stories. Sorry, Mom, for making you cringe.
Why do I do this; sometimes making life really easy and sometimes making life super difficult? Self defeating stuff is puzzling because suddenly everything becomes way more interesting/important than whatever you should be doing until the moment before that thing is really due or must happen and then you're like "OH no, why did I not prepare?" I don't know, but I'm the one who didn't. I put myself in that position.

Two presentations left this week. That CPM to turn in. One final is done, and I have one this week, my lab final. Remember that self defeating stuff? I am studying for a test that's Monday and not for one that's Thursday. It's madness, I tell you.
The way my classes are this semester, I have very few finals which is a blessing. I had 3 seminars, and none of those have finals and those papers are all completed, so those are crossed off of my list. Then I just had my night class final, so New Testament is done. Then Thursday is my lab exam, and that will be done. So my finals week, I have one in abnormal psych, one in biology, and one in addictions counseling.
And at that point, I will be done with that prof that I don't like AT ALL forever (hopefully). I don't want to rant about him here because I have been angry about that class all day (well, since that class at 9:25 this morning) and the Internet is a pretty dicey spot to be throwing down about people. Bottom line, I am very happy to not have classes with him in the future.

We just had Thanksgiving break, so here's some photos from that:

What a couple of goof balls

Both trying really hard to keep our eyes open for the photo

Both Andrew and I tend to squint in photos

Their third wedding shower in 2 weeks!

I'm so excited about these cats getting married

Andrew's aunt had a beautiful tree decorated with angels and red ornaments

Hey, wanna hear about how much driving happened? I've done this before about my trips home but it's been a while. 

Me driving from IWU to home: 214 miles

My driving to and from Dad's work to pick him up: 62 miles

Driving from home to La Crosse: 263 miles

Driving from La Crosse to Belvidere to go to Andrew's family Thanksgiving: 211 miles

Belvidere back to home: 50 miles

Home back to IWU: 214 miles

That's not accounting for all the driving around in each of those locations, so say lets add conservatively 30 miles for all of that. It's about 1,000 miles. I didn't drive all of that, but I did travel that far. So yeah.

In the stress of finals coming up and all that, I feel the need to indulge in a little beauty. Here are some things I have found to be beautiful:

Grab it at Starbucks

My mom said these dishes reminded her of her grandmother, which means she obviously had great taste. I think they are gorgeous!

So glad these bad boys are in my life. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! 

Barnes and Noble's classics are delightful to look at

A nativity scene from Israel, carved from olive wood, displayed at our university

These were also at Barnes and Nobles, and the packaging is cool, but the smelled delightful. 

And now for some photos I stumbled on but did not take so credit to whoever did. 

I didn't take this, but I'm pretty sure this is Muir Woods and I have been there!

Ok, enough blogging. Back to amino acids and the physiology of the ear, aka studying for biology.

That One Time I Had One Zillion Things to Do

Hey. Here's the thing. If you've never been a college student, here's a little insight.
It's this fun game called "this huge thing is due, but all this smaller, and yet somehow equally time consuming, stuff is due before that." It is a pain.

I have a BIG ol' research paper (my least favorite type) due for my abnormal psychology class that I did get to pick the topic which is nice. Unipolar massive depressive disorder in adolescents? Yes. I mean, that's a bummer and let's get real, I've been there, but yes that is my topic. There's quizzes left in that class but no more case studies. Yay!

I'm also writing a much smaller research paper for my play therapy seminar. That one is partially finished but is a bummer to write because I chose the topic of children who have been abused and how play therapy can benefit them. Every week for that class there is a chapter summary due, and then on the off week we have to post on a discussion board Can I get a hollaback that discussion board is a terrible thing. All you do is answer the same four questions the exact same way your peers did. And even if you wanted to do it all ahead of time, you couldn't because part of your grade is responding to two peers who said the Exact Same Thing that you did. 'Oh, good point Tina. You see, I made the same one.' Stupid.

I finished a book summary for my Healing for survivors of sexual abuse seminar, but was given a brand new assignment for that class that has really weird directions. Boo.

I have my portion of a group paper due this Friday for New Testament, looking at the role of women in the Bible and how we should apply those principles today. I also have 2 different worksheets to complete for that class, one on Hebrews and one on the general epistles. Party, but I have to be on my computer so I am going to do that this weekend maybe and then type it when I get back which means 2x as many steps as it should take.

Finally for ADC, we have a 20+ page case presentation method (CPM) that, thank goodness, we were encouraged to work together on. I've already met three times with some of my classmates, and I would say we are like 40% done. YEAH.

This weekend (Friday day, night, and Saturday day) I am going to Chicago with a one credit class called Urban Encounters. So not only do I need to finish the summary of the book for that class (I already read it), but I need to find time to do homework outside of the time that I will be occupied by that class. Boo. Also, I have like reflections and stuff like that due after the trip. That's wild.

And after alllllllll of that stuff is done, I have to study for finals. It's okay. You can laugh. I am. but only to keep from crying.
I know I only have to do this a few more times because my undergraduate career is more than half over (praise!) but every time it feels like my body is overheating and my head will pop off. That doesn't happen, but it feels like it will.

In good news today, Andrew Shaw, my very favorite Blackhawk player, signed a 2 year contract extension. Andrew Bruce, my boyfriend, had his first day of driving for his seasonal UPS gig. Both of those things are happy.
Also, it was just my grandparent's 52 wedding anniversary. SO great. I love them.
Ok, now I have to go DO all the things that I was talking about. Or attempt to do them. Or give them a try, and then drink tea, and then try again. Christmas break is soon right? Yes. I don't know that it's comforting really, because it makes the amount of time I have left seem even shorter.

The Box is Full

In my addictions counseling skills class, my prof had us do an activity that he has used in the past with his clients. This would be something you could assign as 'homework' for any client, but he worked with people who were recovering from a substance addiction.
You take a CD case with that little insert in the front and you draw an album cover and name the album. Then you make a list of songs that describe your life. If you wanna go the extra mile, you can put those songs on a blank disc in the case. 

Our prof had us do this experiment and I had a blast. That class is not always super fun but to be fair, two times a month I have a play therapy seminar after that class in which we make super hero capes out of plastic table cloths and make up a superhero name or cut yarn for little stress balls made from balloons filled with sand. So yeah, tough to compete. I really enjoyed that exercise. 

I titled my album "The Box is Full" and I drew a bin with a face on it with chaos coming out and stuff going in. At any one time, there's a lot going on. As soon as assignments are finished, more are assigned. As soon as I check something off, more things get added to my to do list. It some ways it's fun, like "hey how much can I be ahead of the game and get stuff done" and in some ways it's terrifying, world ending, "oh my gosh there's too many things and it's never ending and woah" and in some ways it's like "aww man, can't I just watch a movie and eat candy and not work so hard?" I try to choose that first way of thinking about it. 

This semester is weird because Thanksgiving is late or other stuff is early? I don't know. But what I do know is that Thanksgiving break starts in like 21 days and when we come back from that, there are only 8 days left and 3 of those are finals. WHAT in the world that's nuts. There really is a lot to get done, and sometimes I do want to sit around and do nothing. To prevent that, I have reminders on my phone, digital stickie notes with my whole day planned out including times that things occur and asterisked items that are 'must do' agenda items, and a crazy list of things to do in a composition notebook that I adopted as a planner. 

I know it will all get done. What I fear is how many hours it will all take versus how much time do I have to give to each assignment and how much time am I willing to give it and how much time will I give it. Those sound the same but they are very different things. Also, things like reading my Bible, sleeping, eating, showering, talking to family, talking to friends, talking to Andrew, and like, taking care of me and doing nice stuff for me (once a week hot breakfast is on the docket because yum, and a Blackhawks game if I can catch it) all has to fit in there somewhere. 

I thank God for bringing me to college, gifting me with the smarts, and keeping the sickness away from me right now because handling all that business plus a runny nose is not fun.  It is a LOT, but I'm so grateful because He is good and He cares for me and watches out for me. Our God is an awesome God! 

Andrew at IWU

This past weekend, Andrew came to IWU to visit. That's right, took the day off work to drive 8 hours to visit me on campus. Yeah.
He didn't make it to campus until like 5:30 so in the time after class and before his arrival, I did a lot of keeping myself busy, including taking a super excited selfie.

I tried to keep the weekend simple so we could just enjoy the time together. It had been a little more than a month since we had seen each other face to face. After a summer of working together everyday, that was a big shift.
We have a Chick-fil-A on campus since the CEO was one of our "world changers" a few years ago. Andrew had his very first sandwich, really enjoyed it, and dreamed about taking home packets of Chick-fil-A sauce in bulk.

After dinner, we walked around campus and Andrew got to see my dorm room. At my school, there are specific hours that boys are allowed in female dorms and vice versa. In my building, the female resident has to sign in the guy: His name, your name, your room, what time he signed in and then out. And, he has to leave his ID in a binder in a slot with my room number on it. He got his ID back when he left. Yep, it's pretty serious. 

When all the touring was over, we made our way to the Hollands, who graciously hosted us this weekend. We spent a lot of the night talking with Jaye and Jess which was a great way to end Friday.

On Saturday, we all slept in a little bit, except Joseph, Jess' littlest brother who was up at 6AM playing video games. Luckily, he muted it so Andrew could still sleep on the couch. Jaye made crepes and a breakfast hot dish- what a treat! Andrew and I left for campus. When in Rome, do as the college students do and hang at McConn and drink some coffee. We got to see the men's soccer game, and we got there a little before it started to see that one of the players was proposing to his girlfriend. A bunch of his teammates wore white t-shirts with letters on them that spelled out "MARRY ME?" and she ran across the field- it was really sweet. I don't know how he focused on the game after that! In this photo, you will see the gaggle of girls checking out the engagement ring.

Andrew and I ate at Baldwin for dinner (so romantic) to really complete the college experience. Cue more walking around, and Andrew offered to play me the song he wrote for/about me. Yeah. It was beautiful and I smiled and I cried, but hey what else is new. Then it began to rain, so we made our way to the Hollands. We watched LOTR: Two Towers with Jessica. Neither Jess nor I had seen it before, so we had to ask a lot of questions. It was a little cheesy, but generally a good film. I was glad Andrew had seen it before and doesn't mind a lot of questions. 

On Sunday, Andrew and I ate blueberry bran muffins that Jess' granny made. We planned out the return route and made our way to Andrew's truck that was on campus. It was tough to see him go, but comforting to know I will see him soon for fall break. 

We had a great weekend and I'm definitely looking forward to fall break. 

Also, Jess was kind enough to take 25 photos of us. I asked if she would take a photo, and thanks to digital film she can take a zillion and I can pick the very best one. Or, the four very best ones. It was bright and we were laughing, so our eyes are a little squinty, but que sera. 

Anticipation

When something really exciting is on the horizon, it's difficult to stay in the now.
For example, Andrew is coming to campus this weekend! I know that right this second he is in the car, driving, making the 8 hour trek.
And I'm meant to be doing homework and going to biology. I would like to just sit around and daydream until he is here, but I also would like to have a lot of homework done so that I can really focus when he is here. There's something to be said about living in the moment. If I'm always looking forward at "Up Next" then I'm not enjoying the current segment, right? Something like that.
In other news, the university got ourselves a new president today. So that's pretty neat.
AND the cafeteria had peppermint stick ice cream! Hooray for Christmas! Oops, there's that overeager anticipation not living in the moment thing again.
It is, perhaps, more appropriate and acceptable to anticipate something happening later today than something happening later this year. It's like 6 hours away. But who's counting?

What a goober. 

Trust and Obey

"Trust and obey / For there's no other way / To be happy in Jesus / But to trust and obey."
That refrain is super simple. The words are easy and the concept is difficult. When I was in middle school, I remember asking "but what does that really mean to trust the Lord?" I was afraid of testing Him. I didn't want to make Him mad. 
Now,  really get it. Trusting the Lord can look like having a plan and allowing that plan float off into space without losing your cool. Or, losing your cool then coming back and saying "Ok, God. You know and I don't. That plan was what I had in mind, not what You do. I'm ready for what You have next."
That trust is powerful. And scary. And it doesn't necessarily make sense to those who don't know the Lord- it doesn't have to.

I am a planner. Sometimes, my planning turns out a little neurotic and reminds me of Monica from "Friends." Take this interaction from season 2:

Monica: Um, you guys, you know when I said before, "thank you, but I don't really need your help"?

Rachel: Actually, what I think you said was, "don't touch that, and get the hell out of my kitchen."

Monica: Really? Weird. Anyway, see, I planned everything really well. I planned and I planned and I planned. It just turns out, I don't think I planned enough time to actually do it.

Rachel: Hey, Mon, you want some help?

Monica: If you want.

Ok, I wouldn't tell anyone to get the hell out of my kitchen, but you get the picture. Sometimes I get so jacked up about the plan and I forget to breathe and allow room for feedback. When the possibility of 'the plan' changing comes up, my natural reaction is to freak out and try to scramble and redo all the planning for all of the new possible scenarios. This is exhausting and generally silly, because only one of those possibilities would really happen. 

Now that I have a real relationship with the Lord, He is challenging me on this area of selfishness, this "I can do it for myself" factor. He continues to ask me "Are you going to let Me handle this?" and more obviously, "Do you trust Me?" Going against my natural grain of doing everything my way for myself is not easy, but it gets easier with practice. I know that whatever happens, whether I had anticipated it or not, God has known it was going to happen since a long time ago. He has the plan, not me. He is God, and I am not. He also doesn't need any help in figuring it all out. I can respect and trust Him by doing my part and then waiting to see what doors open or close. It's new and it's a different way of doing things, but it's much easier. 

God is Good. 

Last Week

Wow. Remember when I frequently updated my blog? Sorry y'all.
On the 17th I attended Tirzah and Samuel's wedding. It was at camp which was so great. I wasn't sitting very close, but I was sitting with the Bowman family, which is pretty great. Here are some photos that other people took from the wedding:

So happy! 

They had a cheese cake cake and a cheese cheese cake, both of which were designed by my gorgeous friend Maggie. I love that girl. Here's a mini photo tribute.

Summer 2012 

Summer 2012

Superhero banquet Sr High week 2012

Summer 2013

We were neighbors for a lot of the summer!

If our count was right, Maggie and I cleaned the cabins Joppa and Antioch 11 times this summer. That is to say, a solid weekend clean happened that many times. That does not include the quick clean up on Sunday, or the daily cabin clean up times. That number would be way too high!

This week I have been in La Crosse, WI. I've gotten to do some sweet stuff so far, including ladder ball, a little hiking, racing the entire fleet of Hot Wheels cars that my cousins have to determine the ultimate champion, delicious root beer floats at my grandparents, participating in my very first trivia night at the Root Note in downtown La Crosse, my first BA Burrito Co. burrito, and a viewing of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

Still to come is seeing Despicable Me 2, Old Country Buffet, a sleepover in Bangor at the Bowman household, Root Note open mic night, and some delicious onion rings from Rudy's with Michael and Emily. 

Also to come is more photos when I decide to dump photos from my phone. 

Nearly One Month Later

Hey all. I'm still alive, I just forgot about this blog. Oops.
Life has been pretty nutty and being a camp counselor, I get 45 minutes to myself each day. Usually, I spend that time showering and planning stuff for later and laying on my bunk. Not a lot of time for blogging.
I want you to know that the Lord is at work at Arrowhead Bible Camp. He is amazing.
Now, our residential campers are gone for the summer of 2013.
High school and junior high week were an absolute blur. They were beautiful and the Lord was present in mighty ways, as He usually is. I got to see a lot of fruit in my cabin which is a blessing. As the staff was reminded, we do not work for fruit but for the Father. Last week, several of my campers rededicated their lives to Christ and one camper made a first time decision to follow Jesus. Praise the Lord!
This summer is not over. We still have three rental groups coming in and a wedding at camp in the middle of August. That's pretty sweet. Last summer, the groom was on staff and this summer the bride was on staff.
I know that's not a lot to go on considering how long it's been since I last blogged and how much has happened at Arrowhead. Feel free to like camp on Facebook and check out photos, videos, etc.
Thanks for your continued prayers. Happy Saturday!

A Few Words

Here's life in a few short blurbs
-Mom, Jane, and Fay volunteered in the kitchen at camp this week. So fun.
-Had a cabin full of 9 5th and 6th grade girls this week. So great. I really enjoyed them this week.
-They asked me 1,000+ questions this week about me, about camp, about what was next on the schedule, and about the Lord. Their curiosity was astounding.
-Friday night I went sailing for the first time, which mostly consisted of me getting out of the way while Andrew sailed. Still fun.

-Went the the Brandt's house and helped clear weeds out of their corn field so that Tirzah and Samuel can serve sweet corn at their wedding in August. Can't wait.


-My hair dryer died and I'm really sad about it. It worked well for a long time and also it lit up green or blue which was sweet.

-Tonight we are going to the Rayburn's house for dinner which definitely includes homemade bread and jam. Can't wait.

-My throat is feeling so much better today than it has been feeling. Hallelujah that it was not mono or even strep throat. I was praying that it was strep so that I could take the antibiotics and be done. The doc thought it was likely the result of allergies, which my mom has been saying for a while. Thanks for not saying this, mom.

-Next week is a partial week of 1st and 2nd graders, and then the fourth of July and the staff does a murder mystery party.

Yeah yeah yeah. That's this week and a preview of next week. Back on the homestead, there are major remodeling things going on in the kitchen and extended family is headed to Disney for the first time! Big stuff!

One Week Down

Last week I was in the kitchen as a cook and I didn't burn or chop off any fingers! I am really grateful for the Lord's protection.
Wow. The first week of counseling is over which is crazy. I had 5 3rd and 4th graders this week under my care. The Lord was so good in providing a lot of nothing and let me explain that- no throwing up, no major injuries, no homesick campers, no wild fights or arguments, and no wet beds. That's amazing. Praise the Lord! I saw some spiritual progress this week in my girls which was also great.
Some days were really difficult but the staff was so supportive and God provided a lot of patience and grace for me.
I'm so grateful for all of you, thanks for reading even though I couldn't update at all this week. Hopefully more will be coming to you on the weekends.
Next week I have 9 5th and 6th graders. Wow. Keep praying for me that I would not be doing this job for my own glory but to further the Kingdom.

Staff Training

Staff training week is over. Wow. We cleaned a lot today so I'm pretty tired. I also moved for the first time this summer from Antioch to the lodge. I am in the kitchen this coming week as a cook because of numbers. I am so excited to be pushed a little bit and learn things about being a cook. Love it. I'll be counseling the following week for 3rd and 4th graders. Staff training is a lot of work, there's lots of things to get checked off and plan for. I met Elsa and Daniella this week, who are first time staffers. Nathaniel is a first time counselor, but he was on service team last summer and then Brennan is also a first time counselor but he was the SOC last summer. Basically he did a lot of maintenance and working on stuff and SOC stands for "slave of Christ."

This weekend looks like empanadas, possibly a call home if I can get a hold of my parents, thrifting, organizing my room, sleeping, possibly watching Nacho Libre, an open house for the Kargus girls, church on Saturday night or Sunday morning, and putting on my new staff shirt for campers coming in Sunday. I'm so excited to see these kiddos.

Another Ending, Another Beginning

On Friday, I'm leaving for leg 1 of my journey to camp. This involves a four hour drive and staying at my grandparents' house. Four hours is the longest I like to drive, really. It's four hours home to school and four hours home to Grandma & Grandpas. Then on Saturday morning staff training begins so I'll be departing from La Crosse bright and early. Well, dark and early. Is it light at 6:30 in the morning? I don't know. 

But all that is Friday and Saturday. 

Today and tomorrow, however, a lot of things must be done for that to happen. The number one thing on my list is packing (cue the thunder and dramatic music).

At the end of April when my 4th semester of college was finished, I moved some things back to the house and left some things in my dorm room. I was home for a week.

I moved back to campus and had to shift into a different dorm building. Already my things were pared down which seems like it would be a good thing if it wasn't what it is, which was a frantic "Where the heck is that, I used to keep that in this drawer but maybe I left it at home but maybe I didn't unpack it yet Oh no I'm late."

Ten days ago all things left college and all things came into this bedroom at home. 

Yikes. 

Talk about a disaster area. I'm too embarrassed to post photos but believe me, it's a wreck. Things are piled and stacked and I climb into bed like I'm in an episode of Hoarders. I'm here for such a short time that I didn't want to move all the way in to this room just to have to pack again for camp. 

Last week, my dad helped me make some progress in the categorizing of things into "Definitely not going to camp" and "Maybe possibly I'm considering bringing it to camp."

Friends, the moving and packing story does not end there. This summer one cabin is under construction on the ladies side of camp. My boss made it super clear that this summer will be an exercise in flexibility and moving wherever they need me to be. That says to me "don't bring so much crap because you're going to have to move it all every weekend" to which my brain responds "but WAIT you don't understand I need 3 bottles of bugspray and 39 t-shirts and a ton of other stuff! What if..."

Part of that is rational. Girls will forget stuff and, for younger campers, I do take on a mom role. 

As I've been packing (see: procrastinating) I'm thinking about the seminar I want to teach this summer. I've been gathering materials on spiritual gifts and a few different inventories list simple living as a gift. Wow. I totally think that's something we can practice and be intentional about and I believe that it comes a lot more naturally to some people. Yeah I don't have a lot about that but it's certainly something to think about. What amount of stuff makes you happy? When is enough enough and your possessions are actually dragging you down?

I usually don't get torn up about goodbyes, not lately anyway. Historically, I'm the one fighting back tears and failing to do so. But with this last couple of months, I've been ready to close the back cover on whatever story is ending and start a new one. Earlier this week I mentioned to another summer staffer about how difficult it is for me to pack because of the "you need to bring everything just in case" and the "It will be fine, dude" and they said to me "Yeah, but it's so worth it."

Oh. Right.

Even though I have that argument about almost everything that I pack or do not pack, it's all worth it. Maybe some day I can be an excellent mover [and shaker] and have presto-chango packing with no extensive conversations about how many sweatshirts are too many, but until then I've gotta keep on keeping on because it's so so worth it. God has an amazing plan for this summer. 

Done

Sometimes when I say "done" I mean "throw my hands up in the air and walk away because this is ridiculous" but today I say "done" meaning "there is nothing left to do for this school year and it's officially summer right now."

It hit me this morning when I woke up. All I have to do today is turn in that paper and take that test and then this school thing is over for a little while and I can totally focus on camp. Well, I still have to move out and clean my dorm room and return my key and all that. What I don't have to do any more is go to class. Not until August 3rd. Yeah!

Thinking back over a long period of time and generalizing about it is not a skill I possess. I can think of different classes and how requirements for those classes shaped my time. Over May term I just had one class. If we're comparing, this semester was a lot better than the fall semester. I am ready to wish it farewell and move along. Last night Erin was sad because it was our last night but I'm just not feeling sad about this season being over. Right now I have 67 of my required 124 credit hours on the books. Four semesters left! Any way you look at it, I'm making excellent progress :)

Speaking of accomplishments, today is my parents' wedding anniversary! Happy 27th, you crazy cats. I love you guys. Thanks for setting an example for me of doing life together. I hope you have another 27+ years together.
I can't wait to see you both on Sunday.

27 years ago today!

Also, the Gus Gang will be reunited very soon. It's gonna be a blast!

People I Like

Some people really like children. I've warmed up to them over time. I used to get really freaked out in nursing homes (and sometimes still do) but I've become more comfortable. I really like old people. They're funny and tell great stories. Sometimes they are cranky but sometimes kids are cranky. Kids can be funny and tell great stories. Hanging out with the elderly is way underrated.
I found this poem in one of my Shel Silverstein books and it outlines the concept really well. Also, I love that author. He's so great.

Thrifting

I've been meaning to write this post for about a week. When I was finally ready to talk about thrifitng, I got sick. I have been sicker than this before in my life. This is a relatively mild cold but it's been a long time since I've been sick so this seems like a big deal. Hopefully I stocked up on enough Gatorade and soup to keep be functioning for the last 4 days of class. There was either one time when I was really sick or a lot of times when I was kinda sick that I drank the light blue Gatorade and now I think that stuff makes me feel sicker than just whatever I had initally. Yuck. This time, I went for dark blue and clear Gatorade. Clear Gatorade is delicious, FYI.
For Mother's Day, I called my mom and my grandma while I was sniffling and had a sore throat. Sorry I made those calls about me.

 Now onto our regularly scheduled programming.

I'm not a great shopper. It comes in waves. Sometimes I get really great deals on things I will really use. Recently, there was a garage sale on campus. During move out, each dorm had a box in the lobby for things people didn't want anymore. Then after most people were moved out, the university has a yard sale in the parking lot that everyone from the community is invited to. Erin and I spotted it and headed over for a bit. I ended up with three items for $3.75 so let's go one by one.

The first is a striped sweater/sweatshirt. I have a lot of hoodies but this one is not as bulky as the other ones and will facilitate tossing at least one older one that I don't wear. It's the brand "On The Byas" which they sell at PacSun. Some stuff they make is tacky, so just because it has that brandname doesn't make the item a touch down but it's a decent bet. Anyway, here's the sweater:

Oops, messy room.

The second item is another shirt but listen. It was so comfortable I wanted to curl up in it right that very second and wear it every day forever. So I had to buy it.

 It's a waffle shirt or a thermal or whatever you care to call it. I have another shirt that is similar to this one except that 1. This new shirt is an appropriate length. 2. The new shirt has the original hems. 3. The new shirt does not have buttons. But I did get the other shirt second hand as well. So that's cool.

All of the above clothing items are originally for boys. Clothes made for boys are way more comfortable. What is that about? Get over yourselves, people who manufacture clothes for women, and make dem clothes out of softer stuff real quick before I stop buying your merchandise altogether. Jerks. Whatever. 

The last item was marked for $1 which is my kind of sale. And I put them on, looked at my feet, and then took them off and stared at them. One of the girls running the sale said "Those make your legs look really good" and I said "Oh yeah? Haha, thanks!" and then she said "I'll give them to you for $0.75" to which I said "Oh alright, you convinced me." I wasn't even playing Hard To Get: Customer Edition. Look at these beauties.

Now, they are a little banged up and they hurt the back of my heel a little. But they were seventy five cents. They are simple and elegant and will be easy to walk in once I put one of those magic sticky pads on the inside of the shoe. Also, did I mention how cheap they are. They are not something I would have purchased in another circumstance. Probably. I already tried them on with an ensemble I'm planning to wear to summer weddings and they totally work. 

I found these bowls like 5 months ago at Walmart: 

They are the pattern of dishes my parents received for their wedding, but all except one the bowls broke long ago. I didn't buy these. Maybe I should have. Shoot.

While I was at Goodwill with Jess, I remembered I am supposed to be looking for something that looks Medieval for camp. Guys have all the cool costumes in that time period because guys got to do all the cool stuff: King, knight, jester, etc. Women are like what, wenches and queens and chamber maids? LAME. All of this costuming is for a final game and it would be tough to run around in something like this:

I started looking for shiny stuff to be a knight, but there's not a lot of shiny stuff at Goodwill or anywhere. Jess and I turned back to our original task: finding her a prom dress. As a last second favor to a family friend, Jess willingly said she would go (see: was roped into going) to prom. We ended up finding a dress and shoes for a really good price.

Yowza. Looking good. 

On our way out, I spotted a gauzy looking sleeve and snagged this number.

Ok, so it's meant to be a vampire queen or something like that. Obviously, I am a campfire fairy. That's medieval, right? It will require leggings, but the sleeves are really really fun as you can tell by this photo. 

So that's my life in clothing from men's sweaters to $0.75 wedges to fairy costumes. 

Yikes.