Long time,,,

Wow, was it really August when I last wrote here? We're just finishing finals now! I've been so incredibly busy that I've kind of forgotten this little place. I am sort of sad that I didn't write here this semester...it's been such a time of changing and learning and living. It's been great. After getting over my initial shock of being here (which took a couple of weeks) I started to find that I was enjoying myself. This place is not bad at all. In fact, I kind of love it here. I've had so many opportunities to meet people and make new friends, learn new things, and discover new places. I've learned some stuff about myself too. It hasn't all been peachy, but all-in-all I'm so grateful to be here.

I switched my major. I'm no longer a Human Nutrition and Foods major. Instead I am a ceramics major. That non-major ceramics class = the most wonderful class I've ever taken! I love it so much that I switched my whole major to it. I'm so excited! I am also excited because it's the most spontaneous thing I've done, and it was one of my goals this year to do something spontaneous (I know that's lame, but I'm making strides here. ;). It's funny, even from the first time we got to work with the clay I was hooked! All we did was try to center it, and most of us couldn't do it. I think one guy in our class was able to do it. I remember getting completely filthy, scraping up my hands on the wheel and being unable to get my clay centered and it was still the most fun thing I felt like I'd ever done. I had been calling home and saying how I didn't like it here and was going to transfer home (being a big baby, really) and that night I called home and told my mom how excited I was about this class. Then I got off the phone with her and called my co-worker and told her how awesome it was and that I wished I could switch my major, because if trying to center clay was that much fun then I couldn't even imagine how much fun I'd have if I was actually making good stuff! But then I said I'd never switch my major...that would be impractical.

Well, I guess I'm impractical now. :) I just can't stay away from the studio! And now that the semester is coming to a close (my last final is tomorrow) I am very sad that my first semester is over and I have to go three weeks without being in the studio. Our class party was on Monday and I almost cried when I got home. I'm obsessed.

But that little nagging feeling of being ready to cry hasn't quite left yet. I get so sentimental and I'm sad to leave this semester behind. Firsts are special. First job, first love, first car, first semesters (I realize that may sound kind of strange)...it's always going to have a special place because it was so new and exciting. I haven't cried though. There is really nothing to cry for. I've had a blessed time here and it will be wonderful to go home and see family and friends and catch up on my sleep and hopefully work a little bit. I'm trying really hard to go to RADIATE09 this semester! We'll see what happens!

I've pretty much finalized my schedule for next semester. I'm taking a bunch of art classes and BOWLING! :) Should be lots of fun. Hopefully I'll be back in this space more often. I have lots of sewing to do this break since I won't be in the studio! I am hoping to work on a lot of stuff! :)

Catching up...again!

So it's been a little while since I last wrote about what I'm up to. I finished working last week. Whew! After a busy summer it's nice to get a little break. Though to be honest I haven't exactly been spending my "break" resting a lot. I've been up early a lot and going to bed late and staying busy during the day. It's good though.

Today I finally got a chance to visit with Elizabeth before we go back to school. She and I got breakfast and then went bowling. It was a lot of fun. I've decided that I really like bowling! I bowled a 63 and she bowled a 64. Sweet! What's even sweeter is spending time with a christian friend. She's a special girl.

Ick...bowling shoes! We brought socks so we wouldn't have to put our bare feet in those. lol.

I used the pink bowling ball!

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done by next Thursday afternoon. Mom suggested that I write up a To-Do list. I'm not sure if it will help very much but here it is.
Here is the "finish packing" part. I've thrown out a bunch of stuff, given away quite a bit of stuff and still I have all kinds of junk floating around my room. Why? I realize that I'm a bit of a bargain shopping addict and I seem to think that if it's a really good sale I shouldn't pass it up. I plan to break myself of that addiction. All the money I could have saved if I hadn't bought this thing or that thing...even if it was 75% off or whatever. Oh well. What's done is done. No use worrying about it now.

Here's the quilt I've been working on. I had to rip out a bunch of the stitches I did when I was machine quilting it because I messed up the back. I've learned my lesson: Pin, pin, pin, pin, pin. And then pin some more! I'm pleased with the way it's turning out though. It's lined with a really big piece of fleece so it's heavy. It should be nice during the winter.

A little something I put together on Sunday. A fun, quick, easy project. All I'm going to say is I love Michael's craft store! They have the most awesome pendants there.

Various "thank-you" cards for my co-workers. They threw a goodbye party for me and gave me some very sweet gifts.

Okay, so Dr. Hartman started taking pottery lessons awhile ago and I've been asking her about it a lot since then. I wanted to see her work and she said it wasn't very good. Well, last week as part of my going away gift she gave me these 2 pieces of pottery that she made. I love them! I think they're beautiful and I'm so glad that she decided to give me some of her work.

I mean isn't that color beautiful? I've been loving this color lately and now I have handmade pottery in that color! Awesome!

A week before I leave! I'm getting a bit nervous! So much to do, so little time. What if I hate it there? What if I love it there? What if I do badly in my classes? What if I miss all kinds of great things that are going on at home? What if Olive doesn't know who I am when I come home?

There are lots of little things that are stressing me out. At my mom's advice I'm trying not to focus on them. I'm trying to give those worries to God and trust that He will provide for me. I must admit that I am going through a bit of a tough time with trusting God. Just because He loves me doesn't mean that things will be smooth. In fact, it could mean that I'll face lots of obstacles. We've been talking about rejoicing while suffering at Bible study and it makes me realize that I don't want to suffer. That sounds so obvious, but part of being a Christian entails some suffering. Being lonely, being looked down upon. Well, those aren't the most severe forms of suffering. Not like the people in the New Testament and today in other countries who were/are dying for their faith. Sometimes I wonder if I could do that. I want to trust God completely and live my life ready to give it up for Christ because he gave up his life for me. It's interesting though because everything in me balks at the idea of rejoicing through suffering. Everything our society teaches goes against the idea, yet I know that I need to not be afraid to face difficult things for Jesus' sake.

I guess it's something I'm working through.

I'll write again sometime later. It may be after I've settled into school. Oh my gosh, next week at this time will be my last night at home!

Life in general

So this week was crazier than most. Holly was in Ohio visiting Jacqueline and Matt and Olive (they're planning to come home next week!), the patients at work were insane...insane as in 'I-think-they-escaped-from-the-mental-hospital-today-to-come-make-our-lives-that-much-more-difficult...I mean interesting-insane. And Mom, Dad and Adam (and me too this weekend) have been working on this blasted fence ALL week long. And I blew my diet. Grr! But this is a new week! A chance to get back on track!

Diet-blowing aside, the weekend was still fun. I had Friday off because Dr. H is in Arizona for the week being a bum and lounging by a pool (her words, not mine). Lucky! So I went with Mom, Sharon, Katie, and the Curtis kids to an agility dog show. It was really interesting! The dogs looked like they were having so much fun. I don't think our dogs would make very good agility dogs. I was surprised at how fast (and how slow!) some of the dogs were. One dog completed the course in 36 or 37 seconds!

Here are a few pics we got of the agility show:This is a Bernese Mountain Dog. There were two, one of them fell and hurt its leg. :(I don't know if you can tell but it's jumping over a hurdle. I was trying to get an action shot but my camera is very slow.

Saturday Holly came home and it was the 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! We spent the afternoon and evening with the Freys and Curtises which was a lot of fun. Andy brought some fireworks which the guys set off and then we enjoyed the neighbors pretty spectacular fireworks show. They were really good! It is always so fun to spend time with those families. The kids grow so much every time I see them but the girls still either sat on my lap or right next to me for the whole fireworks display. I felt so loved. :D We just really missed Matt and Jacqueline and Olive.

Today was not so fun. We were stretching chain link fence all afternoon. And then I came in and cooked dinner (curry) for the family while they finished most of the stretching. We had an actual family sit-down dinner. It's been a looong time since we've all sat together for dinner. It was nice.

Speaking of food, I got this magazine at Martins called Clean Eating. It is a cool magazine. There are a few recipes in there I'd like to try out (like stuffed peppers and bean salad). I'd recommend it. The magazine that is.

I have a busy week planned! Sort of! Nothing set in stone but I intend to be busy! Holly and I want to go to either Harpers Ferry or Antietam. I'll be glad to make it to either one but we'll try to do both!

Very busy

It's been pretty crazy here lately. Since coming back from orientation I've been working full-time for the past 2 weeks and I'll work full time again this week. Work is going alright but it's been kind of tense and stressful too. Same old same old...

We took a little day trip to Gettysburg last Sunday. It was so pretty outside...gorgeous weather. The battlefield park was pretty too. I like Antietam better. Dad can't believe I would like Antietam better. But there it is.
First family photo (of course we're missing 3 important family members and I'm not talking about the newfs!) in years!

It was a nice way to end the week. Unfortunately I was an emotional grump and had a few ''rough'' moments along the way. I've been so emotional lately. I've cried more this week than I have since the year began if that gives you any insight into my roller coaster emotions. So I decided that during my week off this July I am going to do an Atkins/Zone/South Beach/Grace's own diet to try and drop a few lbs and straighten out my crazy hormones. Then last night I decided, "what the heck? What's stopping me?" and today I am starting my diet instead of putting it off another 2 weeks. I am going to tell the ladies on Monday that I'm an emotional wreck and I'm on a diet so please be patient and supportive and I will be as stable and kind as I can. And also to please not offer me junk food! Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be a few lbs lighter and feeling a little less emotional and a little more optimistic. I am forseeing lots of salads and coleslaw and lettuce wraps and veggies, veggies, veggies in my future! And hopefully the clothes I ordered from Old Navy will be looser than I expect them to be. :)

So a little bit of crafting has been done. I decorated these bobby pins this week. It was a fun little project that wasn't too overwhelming while I'm working full-time. I don't know how people manage 5 days a week. I was so used to 4 days a week and then 2 and then 3...5 is tough! I'm a weakling. :P
One of the things that has been making me very stressed and emotional is the fact that I have been dealing with sore, achy muscles and joints since the middle of the semester. This week has been the worst yet and I have a suspicion that it has to do with all the stress I am under. This really upsets me because I think it's another lyme symptom. At 20 years old your hips and knees and shoulders should not be so achy. And I haven't been working out so that is not why they're sore. Actually, I'm not working out because I'm already sore and it hurts to work out! But regardless of whether it hurts or not I plan to be working out this summer along with this diet. The idea that I could have a potentially debilitating disease just makes me depressed and scared. So I'm hoping that my diet will help me to have a little more energy and a more positive attitude and I'll feel better enough to try to find natural or less expensive ways to treat myself for symptoms. Cause right now I just feel like sleeping all the time. I'm thinking about ordering some samento and chlorella and buffered vitamin c. And if I notice anything then I'll probably definitely bring them with me to school to try and keep from getting sick.

That's been this week. Yesterday I worked from 9-1:30 then I went to the library. I picked up a bunch of books. I didn't get to read very many of the other ones I borrowed but that's okay. I read The Penderwicks and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (this is the 3rd or 4th time I've read it and it's just as good as the first time) and I've been reading a book I bought from Borders for 99 cents called The Callahan Cousins. It's a kid's book and it's kinda fun but kinda annoying too. I have another book I bought for 99 cents that looks a little more promising. I'll let you know after I finish it. The first chapter was interesting. I'm really enjoying this opportunity to read ''fun'' books. After 2 semesters of textbooks and papers I realized that I haven't read a book I enjoy in a really long time. Probably not since last summer or even before that. I used to love reading and I still do so I'm going to be visiting the library and just reading fun stuff before I leave in August.

I'm planning to do a post on all the books I have read this summer (once I read a few more) and put it on my other blog so others can draw some ideas for books. That's how I got the recommendations for most of the books I checked out.

After my trip to the library I came home and ran out the door to go to Target and Walmart with Mom, Adam and Holly. Dad is in NC visiting his Aunt Joyce and cousins because his cousin Albert died last weekend. So did Bea Schaeffer. It makes me so sad. She was a very sweet woman and I can't imagine what her family is dealing with. She had cancer for a long time and people say that it is almost a relief when a person dies then because they aren't in pain anymore and you've been slowly letting go of them so it hurts less. I don't know if that's true or not. I think it must still hurt a lot.

Last night after we got home Holly and I went to Blockbuster to rent a few movies. We picked everything out and got up to the checkout and I realized I didn't have my wallet with me! I left it at home by the computer so I called Mom and she actually met me half way when to drop it off so Adam decided he wanted to come too and in the end Holly, Adam and I went up there and didn't get home till 10:00 pm. It's hard for me to find a good movie. I wanted Penelope but couldn't find it. In the end we got Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (per Holly's request), Spiderwick (oh my love for children's fantasy/adventure stories...they're so fun and colorful), and The Pink Panther. Oh my goodness it was hilarious! There were a few scenes that were inappropriate but if you were little you wouldn't catch onto them. I felt like talking in a fake french accent afterward because Steve Martin's accent was so funny. But don't worry. I didn't.

This past week a man who lives near the Hunters held his ex-girlfriend or ex-wife hostage in his house over night and then he killed her. On Monday I passed a car/bicycle accident on my way to work. I know life isn't guaranteed. I know people can be evil. I know we should enjoy our time while we are here and I know we should cherish the people around us. It's just so easy to forget to do that during the hum-drum of each day. I want to make it a point to love the people I'm with and make the most of my time.

And last but not least. I miss my sister so much. She and Matt and Olive are in Ohio for this month and I can't wait till they get home. They were supposed to be home before July 4th because Cheryl was coming but now she can't either because her home was broken into while she was away and now she has to have repairs done and such. I can't imagine what that would be like. Luckily she was safe and her kitties were safe and for that we are thankful. We are hoping to get to see her sometime in August. I hope I get to see her before I leave. Classes start August 24th so I have an extra week!

Alright, time to put an end to this insanely long catch-up post! I'm going to go take a shower and read a book. Or watch one of the movies. I have the house to myself for awhile so I can do whatever I want! :)
Ta ta!

Where I'd like to be.

This is my summer dream come true. A hammock. Unfortunately it isn't mine. But it is my sister's (she own's two) and I got to spend a lovely hour and a half or so there today. I sat out there with my niece in my arms and Jacqueline sat in the swing across from me and we swung and chatted until Olive fell asleep. I think God decided to give us a few extra springlike days since I was so allergic to the outdoors the past few weeks and couldn't go out and enjoy it. It is very gracious of Him.Jacqueline and Matt have a lovely yard. It's full of different kinds of trees and there are forsythia bushes and a rose plant out there too. Their next-door neighbor has a beautiful rose garden which is nice to look at too. I think that in their situation it's better than having their own rose garden because they can enjoy the beauty of it without having to care for it. Having an infant and keeping up with a garden sounds like a pill to me.

I think there must be honeysuckle near the yard because it smelled so good out there too. It was just a perfect way to spend an afternoon. Under a shady tree with a slight breeze, chatting with my sister (before they leave for 3 weeks!), snuggling Olive, inhaling the wonderful smelling air...I could easily spend every day this summer doing nothing but swinging outdoors. I could read out there, eat out there, knit or sew, nap in my hammock swing...

Someday I will have my own home and I will have a garden and in that garden I will hang hammocks and I will spend all summer outdoors in my garden planting things and when I'm not planting I'll be in my hammock. And I'll hang an extra one for visitors. Because the only thing that could make spending a summer outdoors in a garden with a hammock more pleasant is to have a friend out there with you.

The past few days recap:

Well...it's been a long week for sure. Last Saturday Jacqueline and I went up to Hagerstown to do some shopping. Jacqueline wanted to go to Old Navy, Target and Khols before she leaves next week for their month long trip to Ohio. Let me tell you, we chose quite a day to go to Old Navy. It just so happens that we went during their flip flop sale: 5 for $5. I know I'm probably in the minority but I don't particularly like their flip flops. They aren't very comfortable. Anyway the place was literally mobbed. We waited in one of the checkout lines for at least 40 minutes (and they had 6 lines open). Not our idea of fun. The cashier said it was worse than Black Friday...for FLIP FLOPS!? Afterwards we were starving so we stopped in the food court and got lunch and complained about the mall. It occured to me that I'm only 20 and Jacqueline is almost 23 and we have turned into our parents. A few weeks ago I was visiting with Becca and Jacqueline and we were talking about lyme disease and other health problems and we talked about it for a long time and it also occured to me that we have all turned into our moms. I mean when I was younger (like a couple years ago) I thought the mall was a great place to be and it annoyed me when my dad said he hated the malls. I also thought it was way uncool to talk to your friends about your health. For goodness sake...talk about clothes or music or movies or something but not your health! And now I think malls are annoying and enjoy talking about things like lyme disease and what not. So I really think we've turned into our parents. Oh well. It was bound to happen. At least we have great parents. :)
So yeah we ended up being out for most of the afternoon. Jacqueline went to her stores and I went into The Christmas Tree Shops (think Big Lots with a beautiful exterior) to check something out for my dad and I went to Michaels (because I go there every time I have a chance to). While there I scored 2 rolls of cashmere blend yarn for 99 cents each(!), a new candy mold for Sharon since I broke hers, and this book:

(picture from AMAZON)

It's got a lot of very cute aprons. I know I shouldn't have done it. I swore to myself that I wouldn't buy anymore craft books. I don't really NEED aprons or craft books. But I got it anyway. I had green converse sneakers like the girl has too but I gave them to Holly. I hardly ever wore them.
Did I ever mention that I found my Sew U Built by Wendy book? Turns out it was right under my nose. Things like that always are, right?

Mom and Dad took all of us out for dinner and it was fun to have Olive there. That kid...she makes me want to quit school and get married and have a baby. Only that isn't going to happen on such short notice so I'll still go to school this fall.

Speaking of school this fall, I got my letter for orientation on Saturday saying that Transfer Student Orientation is next Friday. So I'm planning to go. Courteney said Mom and I could stay with her at her apartment which is exciting! Honestly, I'm nervous that I'll have a really bad opinion of Morgantown and that I won't want to live in the city after seeing it. Lately I've been feeling a bit negative and it's awful. I'm trying to just stay positive but lately I've been feeling really emotional. And I'm taking Evening Primrose Oil so I don't understand it. It needs to go away!

Memorial Day was fun. We spent it with the Freys. I forgot to give Sharon her candy mold but we will see them on Sunday because Olive is being dedicated. I can give it to her then.

On Tuesday I took the afternoon off to call my advisor and set up a schedule for my fall classes and I wasn't able to get in touch with her. I was mad because she had told me to call her on Tuesday and I missed an afternoon of work for nothing.

Then on Wednesday my parent's lost their job with Ask. I think I'm more upset than they are. Isn't that weird? Dad still has his job with Voortman so that is good. I'm not sure what they're going to do now though. Really, they are fine and I shouldn't get stressed out. I think that with me not knowing what I'm doing I just like to know that my parents have everything under control. Somehow I am still under the dillusion that we humans have control when really only God has control. And I know that God must have other plans for my parents. We know that God provided the Ask job for them, and when they thought they were going to be laid off last October he provided Dad with the Voortman job. I know that he will provide for them. I try to remember that verse (from Job?) "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Today I had OSHA training at work. It was okay. We had a few laughs talking about violence and harassment in the workplace. I know it's not funny but people usually find something to laugh about. Maria claimed that all the patients harass her since the definition of harassment is continuous annoying behaviour. When the trainer talked about sexual harassment Dr. Hartman jokingly said something silly about Pam always telling people to pull up their pants (this is a reference to a situation where a teenage guy wore his pants really low and Pam told him to pull them up because she didn't want to see his belly while they were doing his filling). The trainer looked confused and I said, "she tells that to patients, not to us." I just wanted him to know that Pam doesn't have to tell us to keep our pants up. Just teenage guys. Maybe we should have just kept our mouths shut. We also got to put out a fire with fire extinguishers (outside of course) which was a first for me. I hope I never have to do it again. :)

I finally stopped by the library and picked up a few books. The nice thing about summer is you feel like it's okay to read silly or mindless books and you also have time to get into really good books. I want to read To Kill a Mockingbird again this summer and I also got a bunch of 'light reading' books. My ideal summer would consist of lying in a hammock reading books and drinking tea. Very idyllic, isn't it? I didn't end up getting To Kill a Mockingbird because it wasn't there. There were also a lot of other books I wanted to get that weren't there. I am thinking about taking out another 3 month membership to the Winchester library for the summer. Their library is so much bigger. I did end up taking out quite a few books though and I'll write what I think about them up here.

I cleaned my bathroom up and organized it. It looks really good (for a not quite finished bathroom). I got sick of things being such a mess so I bought some containers, Windex, paper towels and a Swiffer WetJet and went to work. It is so much better! I should post a picture of it on here. Now my goal is to get a lot of my laundry done and to throw away a lot of stuff in my room. I need to pack up winter sweaters and things like that since it's too warm for them now. Maybe I can post before/after photos of that. We'll see.

Okay, this post is huge. I'll stop now.

currently...

Making me happy:
-lovely weather
-school is out!!! Hurray! Whoopee!
-visits with friends
-hammock swings
-highspeed internet (even though I have to leave the house to use it...the fact that it exists makes me glad)
-Biggest Loser finale! Even though my girl Tara didn't win I was so glad the the final 3 were Helen. Tara and Mikey. The transformations they made were incredible. That show is SO inspiring!
-WVU offers ballroom/folk/and square dancing classes. Unfortunately this semester the class is already full. But I'll keep my eye out for next semester. They also offer clogging...can you hear the wheels in my head spinning? Maybe I'll take tae kwon do this semester. Those classes are still open...

Making me less than happy:
-allergies. Blah! It's been about a month since my allergies kicked in...no end in sight.
-dial up internet.
-Lost finale...I think it is rude to leave us with MORE questions and NO answers.
-No more Biggest Loser for awhile. That show saw me through many a Tuesday night. No more Biggest Loser to look forward to every Tuesday at 8 pm. I guess I'll live.
-WVU is not communicating with me. I have no idea which classes to take and I can't get in touch with my advisor. So I'm calling them this afternoon and asking for information.
-no pell grant for me...just loans. Debt. Ick!
-I found out where I'm living and who my roommate will be. She seems nice enough (okay, I spied on her on Myspace...what else is it there for?). But it stresses me out and stress makes me less than happy.
-The tags on my car have expired so now I am driving the toyota which makes Adam unhappy which makes me unhappy.
-I think I herxed last Friday. Boo. :(

But, enough for now. Right now I am rather content and I am about to head off to my sister's house to use her high speed internet and call WVU and figure out what my life is going to be like this fall.

Ciao~

My destiny?

This crazy looking contraption is a rife machine. It looks hokey. In fact it looks like someone threw it together in their basement. But it is a lyme killer! It actually kills lots of stuff, but the ladies I know are using it primarily to kill off lyme bacteria. On Thursday Becca let me sit in front of it for 30 seconds. The idea is that I think I may have lyme disease and this is an easy, cheap, non-invasive way to see if I may have it without taking an expensive test that may show negative test results (which can be false...you can still have lyme disease if you get a negative test result...sometimes lyme is weird like that).Becca said I probably wouldn't feel anything for a couple of days, but the very next day I woke up feeling very still and very tired. As the day progressed I got more tired, sore and achey. My hips and knees and neck and back and wrists...everything was sore. Then I started feeling really ADD. I must have checked the office several times before I left and I still felt like I was going to forget to turn something off or something. I woke up that morning at 7:15 and was in bed at 9:30 and I was sound asleep for about 11 hours. So I think I herxed. Becca and Natalie and Susan said that a herx is an intesifying of symptoms and I definitely think I had that. I'd like to try again on another day for a longer time to see if I have a worse reaction. I'm kind of in denial that I might have lyme. Mostly because I don't want to jump the gun and say I definitely have a disease, and also because if I admit to myself that I do have a disease that can be potentially life-threatening then I will get extremely depressed. Especially since I am leaving for college this fall and don't want to deal with being sick. But what can you do? Facts are facts and they need to be faced and accepted. So while I'm not going to say that I have lyme, I will continue to test myself and try different treatments and see how I react until I am convinced that I do or don't have this sickness. And I'm going to try to stay positive.

The end.

Spring-y

I took this photo on my drive home. This is the road to our house. If you stay on it and go past the turn we are the first house on the left. It is looking kind of pretty here lately. You can see the purple trees lining the road. What you can't see so clearly is all the honeysuckle on those bushes that are also lining the road. This street has honeysuckle growing all along it and during the summer it smells so nice down here.

It is spring again. We had a mini-August earlier this week with weather in the 90s(!) but thankfully it is back to the 60s and 70s this weekend. As you can see there is a lot of color outside. Nice greens and pinks and purples and whites (I know white is not technically a color, or is that black?) all over the place. Some of the trees that I pass on my way to work and school look like they are bursting with color!

I was talking to Becca a few weeks ago about the weeping cherry tree at our school and how beautiful it is and how out of place it is because it is in front of an old mill and parking lot. It is huge and it should be someplace that will showcase how gorgeous it is. She told me that weeping cherry trees are grafted trees. That they are weeping willow bases with cherry tree tops and they fuse together and you end up with a weeping cherry tree. Isn't that amazing? You know, it made me think about the verse that says that Jesus has grafted us into the family of God. Grafting is beautiful! And those weeping cherry trees are my favorite tree during the spring-time. They just look like they are dripping flowers everywhere.

But enough about trees. They are beautiful, but boy they are part of a big problem for me! I tell you these allergies are making me crazy! I had a rough time with my eyes today. I have been using drops constantly, but it isn't helping very much. It feels like the skin around it is burned. I'm not sure if that is because the eye drop solution is bothering it or if it is something else.

I found out that I am not eligible for any pell grants this year. I only qualify for a loan that will pay for part of my yearly bill. I am frustrated! I'm going to fill out some scholarship applications and look into finding loans from other places, but it is making me very stressed out! Mom is telling me not to worry so much and to take things one day at a time. I know I am lucky to have been able to get through school so far without accumulating any debt. College is just very expensive. Even though the financial aspect of college has be frustrated and a little bit worried I am excited about going and studying nutrition. I'll be relieved when I have all my ducks in a row and I have some idea of what I'm doing.

I had my doctor appointment on Thursday. Aside from getting all of my allergy prescriptions refilled it was not a very helpful visit. My thyroid is fine and she wants me to go see a new chiropractor who does not accept my insurance, or any insurance for that matter. I probably won't go see her. But I am thinking of visiting a physical therapist to see if that will help my back and neck. So I am still tired and foggy and all that stuff. I think one very important thing to learn in life is you have to take care of yourself and look for your own answers to questions about things like health, etc. You can't rely on a doctor to do it for you. Even the best of doctors cannot know everything about you so you just have to try to be in tune with your body and research for yourself. Basically we are each responsible for our own well-being. You know, I am the reason I want to study nutrition and fitness. I am determined to find a way to become really healthy and hopefully I can help others do the same thing. It's the whole 'physician heal thyself' thing. Only I am not going to become a physician. Not on your life!

These past couple of days have been pretty nice. Laid back and chill...yesterday I worked from 9:30 to 5:30. I rented Bedtime Stories and we watched that. I didn't wake up till about 10:30 this morning. I went out and returned a purchase to Target and I got my hair cut. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, but it feels really nice. I had them do a reviving treatment to restore the proper pH balance in my hair (that's what the hairdresser said). I'll give it a couple of days and then I'll probably like it. It has been almost a year since I had my hair cut! I think since last June? I have a phobia of hairdressers. :)

It's late and even though I slept in I am already tired. I think there will be a little crafting going on soon...especially once finals are over! Freedom is so close...it is in sight. Just a week and a half away. :)

What's in a name?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

Or at least that is what someone once said. Anne of Green Gables disagreed, not that she's real or anything.

I have the worst time coming up with names for things. I mean, "Life According to Me" isn't exactly original. We have had several dogs and we have all been allowed to contribute ideas for names for the dogs and mine are NEVER picked. And when I tell people I like the name Jemima people seriously groan and say, "but...all the kids at school will call her AUNT Jemima! You can't name a white baby that!" I mean, for real people! Haven't you seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? The little girl on that show was named Jemima and she was pale as could be and blonde. How did the name become associated with one race or another? Besides, I plan to homeschool my kids so that takes care of the whole "kids at school will make fun" arguement. I also like the name Penelope since watching that movie at the Wiberts and when I said so the person I told groaned at me too. Tsk tsk tsk...

Well, this post isn't supposed to be about names. I only wrote what I wrote above because I can't think of a name for this post. Just skip it all.

Ahem...this post is really about period dramas. Masterpiece Theater is playing Little Dorrit and I saw the end of the fourth installment last Sunday. I watched the first three yesterday when I visited Jacqueline and Olive for the afternoon. Jacqueline has highspeed (lucky!) and we watched it on the computer. Now I can't wait for Sunday so we can watch the final installment and see if Amy gets her man!

The other night Pride and Prejudice was on. The new one. Starring Kiera Knightley and Matthew McFayden. I hate that one! If you have seen the version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle I just don't think you could prefer the new version. I thought that Kiera Knightley and Matthew McFayden and all the other actors and actresses were very dull, didn't have very much enthusiasm or expression and talked too fast. The one with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle is so much like the book, the movie script is practically a word for word match to the book. And in the new movie they speak so fast it's hard to really understand and appreciate the way they speak their lines...

One of my favorite things about these movies is how they talk. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed North and South, Wives and Daughters, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House and now Little Dorrit is because they usually speak so well. After watching them I think I speak better. I really do! And their vocabularies are so much larger than ours. I think they are able to express themselves more intelligently and keenly than we do now.

I am not saying we should speak just like the people in those stories do, but wouldn't it be kind of neat if we did speak well like that? I wish I spoke better. For goodness sake, 'like' seems to be almost every other word I say. I don't remember when I started doing that or how it crept into my language, but now I say it without thinking about it and I don't like it. I think I need shock therapy, and not the kind used by chiropractors and dentists for muscle pain either. I mean the kind where you get zapped when you do or say something you should not. I wonder how effective that is?

I daresay we would all benefit quite a bit from reading those books and even watching those movies. Yes indeed! If I do say so myself. ;)

Catching up

I finally got a chance to catch up on my blogging! I miss the good old days of blogging when we had high-speed internet...let us take a moment to mourn the passing of those days...okay, that's long enough!

So spring break is over. Boy it was nice to have a whole week off school! I only had to work 2 days too so I had a nice long break. On Monday I spent pretty much the whole day with Becca. We had a great time. We had tea and cinnamon rolls and Becca made a skirt using the directions for drafting a pattern in Sew What! Skirts. Her skirt was great! It was "eco-chic." We also watched a movie and had dinner and did some grocery shopping. All in all a fun day. I brought stuff to sew and I cut out a lot of stuff but in the end I didn't do any sewing. I brought my Janome that used to be my Grandma's and I couldn't figure out how to use it so I will either wait to sew the pieces I cut out until I learn how to use the machine or I'll just use my old machine that is falling apart. I'm sad that my old machine is slowly dying. I have fond memories of that thing! Another reason I didn't/haven't done any sewing is because I've been feeling so foggy. I'm having such a hard time concentrating these days. I have a follow up appointment with my doctor at the end of the month and I'm really hoping for some answers!

This week was crazy! Not only did I have to go back to school but there was something of an explosion at work on Tuesday. I went in to help out since it looked like a busy day and I got to witness my boss have a meltdown on my co-worker about the way the office was so disorganized and things weren't getting done and a whole bunch of other stuff. It was one of those situations where throughout the whole day you could cut the air in the office with a knife it was SO tense! I was ready to look for a new job. I've written here before that I have been kind of frustrated with work and when all of that happened I felt like it was the last straw. Wednesday wasn't that much better until the afternoon and then things started to calm down and go back to normal. I worked with my boss alone on Friday and we had a good day. I was able to talk to her about what had happened on Tuesday and I am hoping that it was a productive conversation. Basically we both agreed that since there are 3 part-time assistants and no one is there full time that no one is really on the same page and no one is really communicating with each other we are going to have to find a way to come up with some solutions to those problems so that things are run more efficiently. Since all of this took place though Pam is now looking for a new job and Dorothy said that if Pam leaves then she is leaving too. Dr. Hartman doesn't know any of this. So it is looking like there is a good possibility that she will be losing 2 assistants rather soon and she knows I am leaving in the fall to go to WVU. I have decided that I'm not going to quit working for her this summer. Hopefully since Tuesday things will have gotten better and since I talked to her maybe we can find a way to work out a system that will make the whole office run more smoothly. Besides, knowing that she might be losing 2 assistants soon I just can't quit on her too. I mean, I know I can, but I want to give it another chance and see if things get better now that everything is out in the open. Sometimes working in an office full of women can be really difficult. I feel kind of torn sometimes because she has been really good to me in that she has given me a job and been very supportive of me going to school and working around my schedule. When I asked for more hours she gave me more and things like that. Yes, she drives me out of my mind sometimes, but hey, it's a job and probably one of the best ones I will be able to get around here.

Speaking of school, I think I'm getting a little nervous about it. I sent in my deposit to reserve my spot in the Nutrition program and next week after I get my paycheck I will send in my housing deposit. Not know exactly where I will be living and who I will me living with makes me very anxious since I've heard horror stories about awful roommates. WVU is known for being a party school and it stresses me out to think that I might get a roommate who is into drugs or brings strange guys back to the room and might cause a big problem for me. I guess I will just have to trust God to take care of all of those things.

I've been thinking about that Keith Green song, Jesus Takes Care of the Rest. It is very applicable to where I am now. I know that Jesus loves me and I know that He is always with me. So why do I worry so much about things I can't control? I want to be able to live life without worrying what is going to happen. Jesus promises to provide for me. I should be able to live without a care in the world with that knowledge. That's my goal.

Well, only 3 (or 4) more weeks until the end of semester. I can't belive how close we are to summer vacation, AKA freedom! I am so excited for summer vacation. It's going to be lovely! I think I'm going to get a few extra hours at work too (definitely so if both Pam and Dorothy quit) which means I can finally pay off this semester and save up for this fall. Plus I think I will have a lot of preparations to see to for this fall. I'm trying to be excited...I hope I like living in Morgantown.

Well, I may not be posting again until after finals so if I am absent you will know that I am busy trying to keep up with everything in my life right now.

Hopefully I will be back soon!

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Henry David Thoreau

Isn't that a nice quote? When I think of the life I imagined for myself as a younger girl it doens't quite match up with my life now. But isn't it better that way? Isn't it better not to have as much control as we want to have? Isn't is good to know our Creator is all-powerful and all-knowing and that He LOVES us and has a plan for us? I'm glad that I don't have to totally rely on myself to make my future. Sure I have an idea of the life I would like to have, but one thing I'm learning is not to make definite plans. Things generally don't go according to plan and the detours we take are usually for our own good, right?

But I suppose I can still go in the direction of my dreams, pursuing the desires that God has put in my heart and hoping that He will fulfill them. I'm just trying not to be too attached to my dreams/plans so that I will be open to what God wants for me.

Speaking of good quotes Corrie Ten Boom said once "I have learned to hold things loosely so that it doesn't hurt when God pries my hand open and takes them away." Well, if that wasn't an exact quotation it was pretty close.

Well, I am off to the shower and my bed. I'm really tired and tomorrow Mom and Dad are getting their new puppy! Yes, they're getting another one! A Havanese this time. I'm way behind on blogging and pictures.

G'nite~

New Baby, Thoughts on my Job, and Acceptance.

1. The new baby is PERFECT! We love her. And once I get home from work I will try to upload a picture or two of her. But no promises because our internet is SO SLOW right now. I hate dial up.
2. My job is driving me crazy. Cray-zay! I was so frustrated on Wednesday that I felt like...well, not quite crying, but I was pretty bummed. I don't know. Our new hygienist Missy was here and so was Pam and Maria and when there are other people here my doctor hardly ever talks to me. I think I just figured out that she doesn't need to talk to me when there are other people here. And that's fine. It's just that for the longest time I thought she wasn't talking to me cause she was, I don't know, mad at me? I was at the hospital with Jacqueline on Wednesday morning till 2 AM. I didn't get home till 2:30 AM and I called my doc around 6:45 and left a message on her phone saying I'd be in late. In time for our N2O patient (my co-worker doesn't assist on N2O patients), but not by 8 AM. Honestly, I just couldn't survive off 3 hours of sleep. I ended up calling Pam too since I couldn't speak directly to Dr. H. and I let her know what was going on. When I got to work I found out that Missy was working. I didn't think she was coming in till Thursday so I wasn't there to help her out on her first day (I could get her x-rays, instruments, etc if I had been there, but instead Pam had to double between Doc and Missy). I thought Dr. H was mad at me for not coming in on time. It made me really upset. And then I shook myself and told myself, "I only had 5 hours of sleep (which was interrupted because I woke up to call in and say I'd be late), I just witnessed an intense and emotional situation while helping Jacqueline deliver Olive. I have 2 classes today besides work and I think that what I'm feeling is just exhaustion." And yes, I was exhausted. Knowing what I'm feeling definitely helps me get through a tiring situation, but it doesn't change the fact that since I took this job here with Dr. H I have felt so inept and insecure at my job. I've never felt this way. At all my other jobs I was one of the best employees, I gave 110% effort, I enjoyed myself (except for my brief time at Country Hell. I mean Country Treasures.) and was pretty satisfied with the work I did. I know that all jobs have their ups and downs, but this one has had a lot of downs. I feel like I've tried really hard to be a team player. I've been really flexible with my hours (I took a cut in hours and pay to come work for her and I've covered lots of shifts for my co-workers when they were sick, on vacation, or just needed time off for personal things like out-of-town company/ dr. appts), I don't even really assist that much, I spend time assisting, working the front office and then on Fridays that we aren't seeing patients I clean the office. I've worked hard, but I've had a hard time adjusting to being 1 of 3 assistants and sharing rooms and adapting to different systems than what I was used to when I was Dr. H's only assistant and I had my own system and knew what was in my room(s) at all times. It's a big change. I feel like those things aren't noticed and the only things that are really noticed are when I get something wrong. Like times when I don't know where to place the suction, or what to put into each room for a procedure, etc things that slow us down. I'm not the kind of person who needs to be praised every time I do something right. It's just that I feel like I'm not doing anything right and my Dr isn't really communicating whether or not I am really irritating her or whether she is just stressed out about beginning her own practice and it is making me so frustrated. It's just so different from the other office and from what I thought it would be. I can't wait to go to school this fall so I can leave. I hate feeling that way.
I stopped by Dr. Bonner's office yesterday to show them pictures of the baby (I was showing her picture to anyone who would look at it...she is such a beauty!) and it was so good to see everyone. They seemed happy to see me. Even Dr. Bonner. He gave me a hug and told me not to be a stranger. And to bring more cookies next time (I stopped in during Christmas to drop off some cookies I had made). I missed them. It is nice to know that someone is glad to see you. Throughout the years I've struggled with self-esteem and have had a hard time believing people like me or enjoy my company. Another reason why I'm having a hard time with all that is going on at work.

3. So yeah, I guess now would be a good time to mention that I was accepted to WVU's Nutrition Program! This August I should be moving to Morgantown and working towards becoming a Registered Dietician. I'm really excited about it. Scared, but excited. :)

I hope it will be a good situation. I hope I will learn a lot and enjoy what I'm learning. I hope that what I'm learning will help me be healthier. I just hope I make the most of each opportunity that presents itself and that I will grow closer to God and meet new friends and enjoy being more independent. And I hope that I will find a job that I enjoy! I hope that regardless of my situation I will find time to give thanks for all the blessings I have and that I will see beauty in every day. And I hope I will still be able to be a big part of my niece's life. It makes me sad to think that I'll miss out on a lot of her baby-hood. I just really hope that one day I'll grow up and stop caring about what others think and that I'll be sure of myself and not easily intimidated by others. I hope that the only thing that will matter is what God thinks of me and that I won't feel like I need other people to respect me.
Being young/growing up is not a picnic. Life in general is not a picnic, but if I had to say one thing right now to younger girls it would be: Don't be fooled by what you see on TV, watch on movies, read in books about what youth and childhood and teenage years are supposed to be like. In a lot of ways life is what you make it. You have some decision in how you want to view things. You can see the glass as half-empty or half-full. And trust God and believe that He loves you.

On another note, Becca and I are moving out west to find ourselves husbands. I'll let you know how that goes. It can't be until I finish school so we have 2 years to plan it out and decide if we really want to go. Hopefully there will still be some good guys left when we get there. *cheesy grin* :)

Okay, I'm officially done complaining. I didn't want to use this blog for a dumping ground, but I had to get some of this stuff out of my mind and out where I could see it and analyze it and eventually come back to and say, "that was silly and didn't even matter in the long run."

Now I'm going to go enjoy my weekend and cuddle my niece. She is just SO beautiful. And sweet. And she smells good. And her skin is so soft. So so soft. And her little fingers and toes are so itty bitty. You should see how small her fingernails are. And did I mention that she's beautiful?

breaks

It's Friday. I'm at work on my break. And it's a lovely day. Today I have the office basically to myself. It is rainy outside. Normally I don't enjoy rainy days like this. I'm a sunshine-loving girl. But every once in awhile I enjoy a rainy day. I also (surprisingly?) enjoy working on Fridays. And I enjoy the opportunity to be alone for a little while with no sounds except my own breathing and the 'drip drip' of the rain outside and the 'tick tock' of the clock on the wall and the clicking of my keys on the keyboard as I wait for 3 oclock to roll around so I can head home and enjoy the rest of my day. I have to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the baby shower tomorrow and then I think I will wrap my shower gifts. Oh, and Matt and Tasha are coming down from Ohio and I'm looking forward to seeing them. :)

Inhale, exhale; drip, drop; click, clack; tick tock...two and a half more hours until my lovely weekend begins!

Happy weekend. I hope it's lovely for everyone!

oodelally hoodelally, golly what a week!

It's been one of those weeks. Stress levels are running high. Our hygienist put in her notice at work. My boss is really stressed out and I feel like it's affecting the office. I found out my plans for school have been changed. 10 more people are coming to the baby shower this weekend so Becca and I met up last minute to change our plans for games, which was nice and I am pleased with the alternative games we chose.

Sigh. I am so ready for this week...no...more than that...this time to be over. I can't stand not knowing what is going to happen to me. I can't stand waiting and waiting to find out what my future is tentatively going to look like. I'm so frustrated and I feel so alone. And I feel scared too. I hate feeling this way.

This past year has had its share of highs and lows. I've struggled with a lot of things this past year that have caused me to be kind of down. But when I am very stressed out or struggling with something, somehow God provides encouragement for me. Sometimes it is through a conversation with my mom or sister or a friend. Other times it is in unexpected places. I was browsing through blogs (so what else is new?) and on one of the blogs I was looking at the author posted part of Psalm 37. And it was exactly what I needed to hear (or read). I'm going to post pieces of the Psalm here, but you can view the whole Psalm by clicking on this link.

Psalm 37:3-8, 18-19, 23-24

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act. (so hard to do!)
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸ Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.

¹⁸ Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.

²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Oh my, those last verses are the part that I really NEEDED to hear! I get so anxious about making decisions and facing unknown situations. Knowing God is holding my hand and directing my steps and delighting in every detail of me life is such a comfort. And even if I stumble, Jesus won't let me fall. What a beautiful promise!

just stuff:

That's what this post is about: stuff. Things that are on my mind lately.

1. This past Friday the ladies at Cornerstone threw a *surprise* baby shower for Jacqueline. It was very nice and Jacqueline got tons of stuff for the new baby (due in just 4 weeks!).
2. We are throwing a shower for Jacqueline this Saturday at our house and it seems like we have about 33 people coming (including us). Quite a few people. I am doing a lot of baking for the shower. I think it should be fun. Hopefully not overwhelming since I have to work on Friday and pick up some last minute things. Becca and I are doing the games for the shower and I've found quite a few fun ideas online.
3. This baby (my niece) has my sewing mojo going like crazy! I've got so many ideas for projects I want to work on. It's nice. :) I'll have to post pictures of the items I've made. I'm pretty pleased actually. I make this stuff and I stop and think to myself, I just can't wait to get married and have kids. I have tons of things I'd like to make for my home and family someday. But then, what if I never get married? I sure don't have any prospects right now, and there isn't any point in making baby stuff for myself until I'm at least married. Or engaged. So I'll just make everything I can think of for my niece. I can't wait to meet her in a few short weeks!
4. Speaking of babies, Brandy's puppies are HUGE! We only have the three (we lost 2) but those three are enormous. At three weeks I would say the largest male measures about 12 inches from head to tail. They are walking around and barking and playing with each other. We've started to supplement their diets with goat milk. Pictures should be coming soon, but my camera battery died and I didn't really have any good pictures of them (they're so dark it's hard to see them) so when I get my battery charged and find the time to get some good pictures I'll be posting them.
5. I went to yoga tonight. I really enjoy yoga. There are aspects to it that I don't agree with, the whole yoga lifestyle and all. Parts of it are fine like the emphasis on well-being and healthiness. I don't like how some of the philosophy seems to be a bit...well...apathetic. They say you should try to be the best you can be, but at the same time you are supposed to be very accepting of yourself, flaws and all. Like, whatever you are feeling is alright, but what if you are thinking something really bad? I mean, what if you are thinking really bad thoughts about someone, or plotting revenge for something, or just feeling sorry for yourself? Also, it seems like you look to yourself to be 'good' and basically, in so many ways, it's all about you. I'm not saying you shouldn't care about yourself at all, but the whole philosophy neglects Jesus and his grace and his commands to strive to be holy like he is. And I guess that is my problem with yoga. It is religious to an extent but does not acknowledge Jesus Christ and is therefore empty. I still think it would be cool to become an instructor and just leave out most of the philosophy stuff. The workouts are really good. You can get a wonderful workout and you don't need any tools or machines. Just a yoga mat.
6. My yoga class is held in the dance room in one of the local high schools. The dance room is located under the gym, so whenever there is a basketball game it sounds like the ceiling is going to cave in. Not cool. You want to know something else that isn't cool? One of the girls in my class found a plastic bag with weed in it near one of the bars. We don't know if a student from the previous class accidentally lost it or if it was from one of the high school students. Awkward, huh? I kind of wanted to see it since I've never seen weed (sheltered homeschool grad and all). I probably wouldn't know how to identify it if I saw it, although I guess I would know pretty much to be suspicious of anything that looked 'weedy' contained in a plastic bag.
7. I got my hours cut at work...again. :( Boo! I spoke to my doctor and told her I would appreciate having 12-15 hours per week (I got cut to about 8. That's not going to work). She didn't say, "absolutely, you've got it." She said she needed to draw up a schedule with everyone's hours so we would all know our hours. If she doesn't give me the hours I need then I'm going to have to talk to her again and probably look for a new job. Blah! I hate that!
8. That same day that I talked to my boss we only worked half a day because she had a dr's appointment to go to. I stayed to clean up and do some extra work and she called me and told me she had been in a car accident and totaled her car, could I please come pick her up? Of course I could! Poor thing was pretty shaken up. But on the bright side, she gets to pick out a new car! When we worked together at the other office a patient (who really annoyed her because he whined and complained about EVERYTHING and also had a pretty bad gag reflex which made him hard to work on) came in for his fillings and he asked my doctor, "so how long have you had that pink Mercedes that's parked out front?" My boss answered that she didn't have a pink Mercedes she drove a Honda Civic and it definitely wasn't pink. He kept on going on about how he knew that was her car and she could definitely afford it since she was a doctor and blah blah blah...so I want to tell her that now is her chance to get a pink Mercedes and watch to see if she cringes. ha ha!
9. I had chemistry lecture and lab today. I am fairly enjoying that class. It's not too bad. Surprisingly, I like science classes. They are interesting and I find that the teachers are pretty good. My teacher is a hoot. He jokes all the time, which can get annoying actually, but he is obnoxious in a slightly Groucho Marx kind of way and it cracks me up so much. Today in lab we had to split into groups of three and each team picked a test tube with an unknown substance and then we ran tests on our unknown substance to figure out what it was. As he was letting teams pick their test tube he got to one table and the girl there said, "they picked the test tube I wanted!" But she said it with a slight whine. My teacher looked at her and said in a really high pitched whine, "they picked the one I wanted." The whole class, including the girl, laughed. It's just so not what you would expect your teacher to say. Our group's unknown substance was table salt, which was pretty much nonreactive with everything we tested it with. Pretty boring. But I stayed after to clean up my work table while my classmate was figuring out her lab homework and our professor ended up giving us a demonstration on precipitates with some different chemicals which was very pretty! The base he added to the mixture of chemicals (which was clear, it looked like water) turned the fluid in the test tube a fuschia color, and then when he added an acid it became clear again. So cool!
Like I said, the science teachers are good. This isn't the first time I've had a professor stay after class to explain a concept that I'm not really understanding. When I was taking dental assisting at school my biology professor gave me a mini lecture on the 12 cranial nerves, which I couldn't keep straight to save my life. In case you need a good memory device to remember them by, this is the one she gave me to remember their order:
O n
O ccasion
O ur
T rusty
T ruck (this was the one I really needed to remember, #5: the trigeminal nerve)
A cts
F unny
V ery
G ood
V ehicle
A ny
H ow.
Then she told me one of the other professors taught the 12 cranial nerves to his class with this memory device:
Oh Oh Oh, To Touch And Feel Very Good Very AH.
Crazy science professors!
10. I want to make yo-yos. Not the kind you play with, the kind you sew. I think they would be cute on some onsies that I was going to refashion for my niece. I'm also working on some flannel spit-up rags for my sister. These are cute. They are printed flannel, which I understand is supposed to be easier to keep unstained than cloth diapers.
11. Winter is back. It was only about 27 degrees today. I miss that 75 degree weather we had a couple of weeks ago.
12. I think, nay, know I eat too much sugar. This madness must cease, or at least decrease.
13. On the subject of school, I bumped into Susan at Walmart today and she was telling me about the Trinity College of Natural Health. It seems like an interesting school. I have pretty much given up on my Global College course, unfortunately. I was not pleased with it and when I bought it I wasn't expecting to go back to school. So time got away from me and the mediocrity of the course got to me and long story short, it was a waste of money. So I'm not eager to try another distance learning course in the near future. I'm a letter away from being accepted at WVU (hopefully) and I'm going to major in Nutrition there. Maybe afterwards I will consider getting additional training from a more holistic viewpoint from someplace like Trinity. I think the coolest thing about Trinity College is that they are a Christian school. Most natural health schools are secular and border on being new age-y. It's refreshing to know there is an alternative. Susan was telling me her Naturopath is a graduate of Trinity college and is recommending it to Susan's daughter, my dear friend and sewing buddy, Becca cause Becca wants to be a Naturopath. I'm curious and excited to see if Becca chooses Trinity and if she likes it.
14. It is just past midnight and I am tired. I need to go shower and go to sleep.

I'm glad I got this off my chest and out of my head. Now I can think of something different. :)

Good night~

Fear of the Unknown

The past couple of days I've been really stressed out over work and school situations. I hate not knowing what my future hold. For the past couple of days I've been especially anxious concerning my job. I wonder if I should just try to find a new job altogether as my current one doesn't seem very stable and it also causes me considerable stress. Now more than ever I feel motivated to get a job in something I am really interested in and want to do. But the idea of looking for a new job and possibly moving out this fall to go to college worries me too and I find myself thinking endless 'what if' questions and it's not like I have any answers to my questions. My eye is twitching again...it hasn't done that in a long time and it only happens when I'm really stressed. I think I need to take a breath and just chill. Unfortunately this isn't something I am really good at.

This verse is comforting though.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

In these uncertain times this verse is certainly encouraging. I hope it encourages you too.

Snow days...

I haven't had one in a really long time. Over a year at least, but I don't remember school actually being canceled due to bad weather when I was in school before. I just wouldn't go when the weather was bad.

So today was very relaxing. I worked out, took a shower, browsed a few blogs, worked on my scarf (knitting) and drank tea (green chai...I love green tea blends) while watching the Dog Whisperer. Cesar Milan is one cool guy. He is amazing with dogs.

The new season of Lost is on. I saw the premiere last week. It's been a long time since I watched those shows. I think they're kind of annoying. I kinda miss not having satellite TV. It seems like the TV is on all day now between the news and people's favorite shows. I have to say, National Geographic, Discovery Health and TLC seem to be the favorites. At least they're pretty educational. It's funny, but last semester I would come home from Bible study on Tuesday nights and my parents would be watching the Biggest Loser and they have since gotten me hooked. I love that show. Every time I watch it I want to go run 5 miles. So I get on the treadmill and after 5 minutes I've got a stitch in my side and my shins hurt. But I've been trying to increase my time. My best is 10 minutes. I just walk the rest of the time.

I think I'm going to go back to the living room and knit some more and watch Lost with the family. Then I think I'll go to bed. I am working tomorrow and possibly going to a store called Good Natured which is a very *green* and natural store. I'm excited about it!

Inclement Weather policy: stay indoors!

It's snowing. It's supposed to snow all day and night and we're supposed to get freezing rain too. For some people this is cause for rejoicing. I don't like this weather though. I am looking forward to spring so much, even though I get really bad springtime allergies.

I think I've gotten a little bit better about coping with winter. I used to get really mad every time it snowed (like getting mad is going to change anything) and I'd mope and pout until the weather cleared up. This was partly because it seemed to always snow on ballet days or youth group days and we wouldn't be able to go. Now that I'm in school and I work I don't mind a day off as long as work and/or school is closed. If they're open though and I just can't get there because our roads haven't been salted or plowed or something then I get really upset. I worry that I'm going to get behind on my homework or something and it stresses me out. But these past couple of winters have gone by quickly for me. The years have been going by quickly actually. It seems like I blink and they're gone. It's a little scary.

So it's 11:45 and I'm still in my pajamas. I left all my textbooks and yoga stuff in the car last night since I got home at 10 pm. I think I'm going to go bring them in and finish up some homework. Then I am thinking about making a yoga mat bag. I don't even have a strap to carry mine with and it's always coming unrolled. I got rid of a lot of fabric and now I have some extra storage so I might try to do some organizing too. I was talking to my friend Diana yesterday and I was saying how messy my room is and she said she thought I was the kind of person to have everything organized and labeled. I wish! I can be kind of a perfectionist at work (this doesn't mean I don't forget things at work, just that I take it to heart and panic and feel bad about it all day and it makes me miserable) but it sure doesn't overflow to my homelife. Or even school. I make good grades and all, but my homework goes in at the last minute and I never keep track of my work very well. I should do better. I think that was one of my New Years resolutions...I think? It's been a long time since New Years. 27 whole days!

<> I'll figure it out. :)

Yoga: Ohm Ohm Good!

Forgive my spin on the Campbell's Soup commercial...I couldn't help myself. You know, I am a self proclaimed lame-joke-teller. But I've come to terms with it, even embraced it, and I'm able to cope.

Hey, by the way, the 9th Annual Weblog Awards are going on and you can vote by going here. PW is in a few of the categories so go vote for her!

So this post is actually about yoga. Sort of. At least thats what the title implies. I started my yoga class tonight. It was great. I've missed it a lot. There are lots of reasons why I enjoy yoga. One of them is it's a low impact exercise that can be really challenging. It promotes spinal health. It's not a competitive exercise. You aren't trying to keep up with anyone or be better than everyone, you just do the best you can. You get a lot of stretching in and you build a lot of muscle. You feel really good once it's over and you sleep like a rock. Plus sometimes you lose 5 lbs. Which I really hope happens to me. Again. I lost 5 lbs the first time I took yoga and I'll be honest and say that one of the reasons I'm so enthusiastic about yoga is because I'm hoping I'll drop another 5 lbs. I figure between yoga and the treadmill my prospects are bright!

School is in full swing now. We had our first chemistry lab today. My professor tried to instill a healthy fear in us about working with dangerous chemicals. He succeeded a little bit but I'm probably more afraid of working with fire than I am about working with caustic chemicals. I'm really excited about lab. It's my favorite part of classes. I'm a hands-on type of learner so I get more out of actually doing work than listening to a lecture. I turned in my first assignment in my Human Growth and Development class and I've started my homework for Algebra. This is the first semester I've actually read any of my textbooks for classes other than English. Usually I fall asleep if I try to read a book on sociology or psychology or something like that. I feel like I'm off to a pretty good start. Let's hope it stays that way.

Pam called me tonight while I was between classes and told me that the 9 year old we took a tooth out on this past Friday wasn't the kid we thought she was. Basically, the kid's mom used some other kid's medical card and pretended it was her daughter's. The kid responded to the name on the medical card and everything so she must have been seriously coached so it's sad that a 9 year old had to be involved in that. We found out because I wrote her a doctor's note for school and apparently this morning the school called and said that when they got the note the name we had written was crossed out and the child's real name was written on top of it. After some phone calls and investigation and a police visit it turned out that the Mom was committing insurance fraud. The thing is it's really hard to know when stuff like that is happening. A lot of the medical card kids we see have different last names than the parent who brings them in. We don't usually think twice about seeing a different last name when we get their health histories and things like that so I guess we're going to have to be really strict from now on.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow. Ick! Holly told me she is dying to go out, so if the weather is alright I might swing her down to Target or something. I used to get cabin fever like that too. Now that I work and go to school though I don't mind hanging out at home. When the weather gets nicer though I start to get antsy. I can't wait for warmer weather...hurry up spring!