Haaaa!!! I made it so that my Google webpage's icons are written in Pig Latin! It's the funniest flippin' thing in the world, I tell you!

It says, and I quote, "Earchedsay ethay ebway orfay..."

This, for some reason, just makes my day. I'm thankful that Mr. (or Ms.) Google has a sense of humor.

Top Five Breakfast Foods

1. Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit from McDonald's
2. Sausage gravy and biscuits
3. Blueberry waffles
4. Country scramble
5. Buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon

Mmmm! Isn't breakfast food yummmmmmy!?

Top Five Jobs I'd Like to Have

1. World Wide Restaurant Critic
2. World Wide Hotel Critic
3. Writer or Editor for World Wide Travel Guides, Magazines, etc.
or writer for Family Fun Magazine, the person who writes where you should take your family, or just you and your spouse, on vacation
4. Wife of a writer or editor or restaurant critic or hotel critic or missionary or youth leader or...anyone who travels a lot (then he could do the work and I could sit back and enjoy myself).
5. Student teacher evaluator that evaluates students who decide to do global student teaching

Anyway, you get the idea!

"Don't wanna be a working stiff
Lose my identity
'Cause when it comes
To working 9 to 5
There ain't no place for me
Ain't my reality to me."

-The Ramones

See,the thing about these online diaries is that they're really not online diaries because if they were, I would be the only one to read mine and I'd write whatever I wanted to inside. And I certainly can't write what I want, now can I? Not always.

So, I'll write about New Zealand then I guess.

I received more information the other day. I'll be at the Apanui school in Whakatane, New Zealand, which is in the Bay of Plenty. It is one of the three sunniest places in New Zealand. It looks pretty homey and settled. My mother will also be ecstatic to hear that it has New Zealand's only active volcano, which I will be able to visit. I've never seen a volcano. I saw a few churches are there that I think I'll like, one is even Baptist and another non-denominational, which both sound rather promising...not that denominations matter so much, but my other choices are Latter-Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses and such...I could visit the Catholic church, too, I suppose, a time or two...then maybe I can write to Dr. Nutt about the cultural experience. I wonder if mass is the same as it is every Sunday at St. Agnes in Orrville. I've never been to a Catholic church without Father Wysocki. Hmm. Maybe they'll let me burn the incense...I'll make hearts with the smoke...and sing, "Light the Fire." Or not. There's a pretty nice skate park there. I'll have to have Drew come over for a visit. :)

Anyway, if you want to visit a website of Whakatane, here is a link:

"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." -Colossians 3:14

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart..." -Colossians 3:23

I've come to a conclusion. I'm not crazy, but most everyone else is. I concluded this after reading everyone else's online diaries. Thank you friends, for the insights. You're all a bunch of nutcases.

:)

Anywhere, anywhere, anywhere, but here, but here, but here.

Identity versus Identity Confusion

I think I may have cheated myself out of never having a certain phase...

You see, we're reading the book High Fidelity by Nick Hornby in my Contemporary Brit. Lit. class. Two of the girls in there, and two of the (well, the only) guys are just really sort of...cool. They don't care what people think of them...they wear funny clothes (old corduroys, thermal shirts under silky tops, etc.), they read novels no one has heard of and listen to music no one knows. There are posters on their walls of bands that are only for those who are faithfully hardcore, they have CD's like nothing else, records too, even. They wear Pumas and sometimes even velcro(tm) shoes.

I'll have you know...I don't own a single CD here at school. Not one, and I don't intend to because I like to save my money for things like clothes and highlighting my hair. I hate corduroys and always have, always will. I hate thermal anything, too. I don't seem to have the time or energy to search for lesser-known bands and I certainly don't have the time to sit and force myself to like them. I don't have a CD player or anything of that sort, so when I want to listen to music, I listen to VH1, MTV, or CMT. Therefore, the songs I am most familiar with are by Matchbox 20, Christina Aguilera, and Martina McBride, and whatever else is popular. So, I am just this normal, people-pleasing, education major with no real hobby...I don't have a clue what music I even really, really like. When with John, I listen to Dave Matthews because he listens to it, and it's so-so. When with Lindsay, I listen to country and of course her Tim-influenced music (Weezer, for example) and I like that, but I listen to it because she does. I really don't have a favorite radio station (I actually sort of hate them all) and I really don't have a favorite music artist or band. Heck, I don't even like The Matrix. I don't even like ER!

So basically, I'm a loser, and I think those people in my lit. class make my fun of me every day. I know that I'm the kind of person people like that find annoying and unoriginal. But, I guess it's okay. My number one passion is God and he's so high above everything else...I like that, and it works for me.

But I wish that when I was around 16/17 or so that I would have went through that "cool" phase. I should have gotten tips from Winey and Jeff or something. I would have made an adorable little punk girl. ;-)

Top Fifteen Favorite Books/Stories of All Time

1. Turn of the Screw by Henry James
2. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
3. Possession by A.S. Byatt
4. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
8. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
10. Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves
11. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
12. Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree
13. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
15. Amelia’s Nine Lives by Lorna Balian

Well, John broke out the big guns lastnight and totally surprised me (!!!) by driving the hour and a half that it takes to get here, took me out to eat, to the mall, and even brought roses. What a sweetie :) I'm thinking I'll keep him around a while. So here I was, talking to him on the phone lastnight at 5:30 and then he comes right through the door. Whatta shocker. I figured there was no way he would be able surprise me without me catching on, but I was wrong. Sorry I underestimated ya, pal :) I'll have to keep a closer eye on him from now on...

So my birthday ended up being a great one, and it won't end until our lovely trip to Chicago in December. I'm just a little bit excited :-D

Meanwhile, I've been reading Joshua because it's such a great "coming of age" book, really...be strong, be courageous, remember what God has done for you, meditate on his word, act on his promises, receive and baske in his blessings. Mmmmh. Doesn't that sound wonderful? It sounds more wonderful than the brownie sundae I couldn't eat for free at Garfield's lastnight. ::sigh:: I'm dealing with some chocolate cravings lately...sorry :)

Have a great day!!!

Well, it's that time of year again...the time where I get to thank my mother...

...for bringing me into the world
...for being my very best friend
...for always understanding
...for being so dedicated
...for being so devoted
...for being so unselfish and giving
...for being my protector
...for being my comforter
...for being so huggable
...for being so beautiful
...for being so forgiving of all the pain I put her through 22 years ago today at Dunlap Memorial Hospital in Orrville, Ohio.

This day isn't just mine, it's also yours. 22 years ago today you gave up yourself and ever since, you've been giving and giving and giving. So today I celebrate not just me, but the woman who made me possible.

Thanks, Mom. I love you.

Squares

Separate,
Breaking apart but not
Tearing.
Overlapping, sometimes
Colliding.
Obvious differences
Spoken, revealed.
Shifting, shoving, and
Pushing away.
Hiding, shrinking, hoping
Not to be seen. Not to speak.
Dramatizing, living in
Lights.
Watch me.
Watch me.
Watch me.
Learning to fade,
Beginning to whither.
Shining on, lackluster.

Well, it was a great day, although my walk was unsuccessful due to pesky little beetles crawling on me. But...I visited Chrystal, I got some work done, I got a headache and took a nap because of it, I spent tremendous amounts of time online looking at Chicago stuff to do with John, I ate, I watched some marathon with Lindsay and Kari on weddings gone bad, and now I'm going to Total Praise. I also went a new church this morning. It was great. The pastor talked about Haiti :) Well, if I've said it once, I've said it a million times...I miss it there. Every time people talk about it I think about the money I have in my pocket, purse, whatever, and what it could buy there...it reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for...it keeps me in check, too. But the people in Haiti are lucky not to have all the distractions we have. But we're lucky to have food. And power. And things like ice cream, ice, cold apple juice, and fresh meat. They do have sugar cane...mmmh The kids' teeth are white because they've never eaten candy (unless it was given to them by "blancs") but their hair is orange and their eyes are yellow from malnutrition, and their bodies tend to be bitten all over by...I don't know what. Sad. But...most of them are happy. But...some are so sick they can hardly move.

Okay, sorry...I just have to reminisce once in a while :)

God's way of humbling me this time:

Realizing I'm not "the princess."
Realizing the world doesn't revolve around me.

People who think like that are jerks!

This is a long one. Read what you will, the choice is yours...


The School-Agers

For those of you who do not know, I work in a day-care center, most specifically the after-school program for two hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The children, as many of you know, were absolutely impossible to control at the beginning of the semester. They have calmed down since then. However, the past two days have been abnormally awful. Perhaps a storm or earthquake is coming. I did not get the F word thrown at me, or a desk, however, which are all positive signs and better than the first weeks of school. This one particular child had a fit of rage today and started injuring other kids...so I actually did grab him (what else was I supposed to do, let him kill someone?) and started talking to him about snakes (John, you're little snake is a LIFE SAVER, for real). When I want to get this kid under control, there are two secrets: talk about snakes or bring out the Legos. Works like a charm.

Part two of this topic: About four of the kids discovered it would be "fun" to throw each other, their bookbags, themselves, down the hill walking back to the college, hurting an innocent bystander (a sweet little kindergarten girl). This of course caused...great anxiety and frustration on my part. I do not plan on spanking my children, but if my children act the way these kids acted today, I just may rethink that idea.

Part three of this topic: The kids also discovered it would be "fun" to tackle each other in the gym. This of course caused several, nearly fatal, injuries. Okay, maybe not, but perhaps... It was mostly girls, would you believe? This one five year old overestimates her own strength and tries to clobber third grade girls and boys, who obviously have no mercy on the poor wild thing.

Please note: I normally do have better control over the class. For some reason, all these things just happened today out of the blue.

Possession, by A.S. Byatt

This is the book I have been reading for "Readings in the Contemporary British Novel." I am growing to love the book, now that I have been reading it for quite some time (it's long and very, very dense). Well, I was just tired of not knowing the end, so tonight I read the last chapter. And now, I am really happy because the end is SO wonderful and I can't wait to read what happens in between... :)

Please note: This is totally out-of-character for me to read the last chapter of a book before I've reached the end a novel.

Free Time

I have more free time lately than usual, probably because I am done with field experience and tennis class...I also have no papers or tests this week. This has allowed time for me to go to lectures voluntarily. Yes, I attended a lecture by Dr. Gosnell lastnight about the Apostle Paul. This was a privilege, Dr. Gosnell being an expert on Paul. I learned a lot, I think, and I've been researching what he talked about.

My Birthday

My family might be coming this weekend for my birthday, but my birthday really isn't until Tuesday. I'm really excited they are coming, but I'm sad that my birthday isn't until Tuesday. I am usually excited for my birthday but this year I'm not...All my other birthdays have been so extremely wonderful. Last year the Lighthouse girls threw this huge surprise party for me! I've never felt so loved! And Susan and Sharon made these amazing presents for me and sent me on this crazy scavenger hunt. It was so wonderful. And you know, I don't think I want any of that. Maybe this birthday is sad because I know now that no birthday will be quite as great...that none of my birthdays after this one will be celebrated with my friends here at school. Since my birthday falls on a Tuesday this year...how inconceivably boring. Tuesdays are the worst. I don't think I want anything to happen on Tuesday. I think I just want to lay in my bed and cry as I turn 22, crying because I am so happy and pleased with my life, but also because after this year, nothing will be the same. Things will be great, I'm sure, but not the same.

Halloween Poem

The windows are shut and the doors are locked,
Sidewalks are empty where children once walked.
While stores prepare for a holiday that's cheery,
Sounds at night are still so eery.
Everything startles, black cats stare.
Of old women and bones, beware!
The ghouls are on release,
And the frights increase
Beneath an October moon,
Worse now that it's over soon...
Things that rock and things that whine,
Things that whistle, poems that rhyme,
Bumps and bruises, nightmares, too,
Things that cackle, that shout a, "BOO!"
Leaves that crunch beneath goblin boots
A wide-eyed owl’s accusing hoots,
Trick-or-treats and several liars,
But no one scary as Michael Myers!
He keeps coming again and again
Jamie got him, I had thought in sequel ten!
The boogie man never dies, they say,
Oh Christmas, come soon, before I decay!
Bring me presents and that jolly old elf,
I’ll regret I said it when its here,
But maybe Santa won’t be so horrific this year!
All right, all is calm and this shall pass
Excuse me now, I must go to class.

It was a great weekend! I got to see my best grade school friend all pregnant and stuff...which was weird...we laughed about how we used to pretend we had babies in our bellies with her big "real" cheerleader pom-poms. And then we laughed some more about how she and I (when we were about eight) explained to her younger cousin (who was about six) how babies were made. Her cousin, who was there as well, used to think it happened by the daddy peeing in the mommy's mouth. But Staci and I explained that all it really involved was that h-word (we were too embarrassed to say it), that we referred to as "camel-ing." But we're all grown up now (14 years later) and it's not about pom-poms and camels anymore. We were so anxious to grow up. Staci said she remembers me entering the house, excited and (referring to sex) saying, "Guess what I found out!!"

I ate SO MUCH JUNK this weekend. I had two brownies, two frosted cookies, two push-ups, a few candy bars, a P'zone and some cheesesticks, some chicken lo-mein...I haven't eaten that stuff in ages. And you bet I felt sick all weekend. But it was good, and it was worth it. Now it's back to healthy eating (soup, bagels, crackers, eggs and...soup).

New favorite restaurant: Chi-Chi's...who would have thought? I studied the couple across from us while we ate. Two sixteen year olds (?) on their very first date, on their way to some sort of dance. Very cute and pathetic at the same time. Kids ;-)

GHOSTS! Continued...

Oooooooooooooh!

I DO believe in ghosts...but I don't really think they're ghosts, I think they're demons, so I guess I don't believe in ghosts because I don't believe that people die and then hang around haunting people. But anyway, I don't want to talk about that and I don't want to get into a theological discussion. But what I DO want to talk about is how I think I can sense their presence, and I think others can, too. It's like, the gift of discerning spirits. I can sense evil...many people can. For instance, people say that in Haiti, they "sense evil." This may be because of Voodooism and whatnot. So, I don't think people are crazy when they say stuff like that, that they can sense evil because I know the feeling, most definitely. And I don't think it's superstition...I think it's real...and it's really scary!!! And it's really bad too, but I must admit, I kind of enjoy it (I'm sure that it's really sinful to enjoy evil) but no, I would never in a million gazillion years play with Ouija board and stuff...ewww I would never call on spirits (other than God's) to talk to me. Yikes!

What do YOU guys think? Do YOU believe in ghosts? Have you had any supernatural experiences? You should share them! If you send me creepy, real, non-fiction stories of your own creepy experiences in my email (amandah@muskingum.edu), I just might post them! Consider it! Especially you, Aunt Cathy! I know you have good ones :)


I LOVE Halloween! This is it, my favorite 2-3 weeks of the year. Apple cider, pumpkins, dressing up, crunching leaves, concord grapes, long sleeves, football games, and cuddly blankets! It's wonderful.

Ghosts!!!

There are STRANGE things happening on campus! Ghosts are appearing and freaking people out everywhere, especially in Veronica's little world :) Her story is just too exciting not to post for those of you who haven't visited her diary (it is the best, most entertaining diary I know of) which you should visit if you get the chance...www.v-ron.blogspot.com. Anyway, here's what she had to say about our Patton Hall ghost and her adventure the other night...

"The girl who lives in the room where the ghost appeared was also outside, so Claire and Lauren went up to her room with her to see the damage caused by the ghost while Kalyn and I ran back home. Apparently, the blinds were covered with this red stuff that doesn't come off. Additionally, the blinds were warped in this weird way that makes them look like they were somehow melted by a wave of heat. After Lauren and Claire came back with the news, Kalyn and I had to head out there again to see the right thing. Sure enough, you can clearly see red marks on the blinds and the way they are warped out of shape even from outside."

Ah! Is that freakish or WHAT? But I must remind you that ghosts can't touch us as long as we have Jesus Christ in our hearts...and to get rid of ghosts all you have to do is say what those priests and stuff say, but I forget the words, so I use a little paraphrase that goes,

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, GET THE HELL OUT!"

And they'll leave. Promise :)

Well, it was an exciting weekend...

Jason got crowned Homecoming King.

I had a good chat with the Imhoffs.

John came to visit me to celebrate our six month anniversary :) Yay!

We (John and I) went to Polaris and Vineyard.

John and I got to chat with my Aunt Vicky, Uncle Dan, and my cousin, Autumn.

I got a new pair of jeans and a belt.

I bought Staci's baby an adorable outfit!!!

Autumn has a book of poetry being published. Yay for you, Autumn!!!


I just got out of this English class, and every time the prof. tells us how we need to get through a novel pretty fast or whatever (which really isn't very fast at all), this girl complains about how she has to read some other novel too and how she has eight classes... It's kind of strange, since being an English major, one should expect to read a lot. And it's her own fault she has "8" classes. But it amazes me how NICE our professor is to her. He just acts all concerned and stuff, you know, and says, "Well, do your best..." and smiles. I'd be like, "SUCK IT UP, MISSY! THIS IS COLLEGE! Reading a novel in TWO WEEKS?! That is plenty of time!" And I know this may not be true for some people, but criminy, if it takes you a year to read a book then why would you be an English major? Complain, complain, that's all people do :) Hahaha.

All in favor of flying the Yankees to Timbuktu in wooden crates say, "I."

Honestly, I am very disappointed with baseball these days. First the Cubs lose, then the Red Sox. Wouldn't it have been awesome to see the Cubs and the Red Sox in the World Series? But no, we're stuck with evil teams like Florida and the Yankees. They do look like villains in their dark, scary uniforms. Someday when I'm a billionare I'm going to manipulate the whole baseball gig and make the Indians win the World Series... However, I've considered switching my favorite baseball team to the Red Sox or the Cubs. Not very faithful, am I? Ah well, I like the colors and the mascots better...

I'm just kidding. Once a Cleveland fan, always a Cleveland fan. It's kind of like being stuck in a rut--willingly, patiently--stuck in a rut. Sigh.

Anyway, besides the World Series just being...crappy...it's a fabulous day. I feel...fabulous. It's amazing. I love it! Varsity Revue tonight, date with Sharon and Susan, Otterbein game tomorrow...Go Muskies! And John visiting :) What could be better (besides the Yankees losing the World Series)?

Well, I did an interesting study on humility once along with some others, and I have the notes...since we're on the topic, I'll share them with you.

Humility means to be overcome by the Father.

-a humble person can rely on things outside of themselves
-a humble person relies on God
-a humble person is thankful for what they've received
-a humble person praises others and receives praise graciously
-a humble person does not worry about his/her own reputation, but God's reputation

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
-James 4:6


News of the Day: I received an e-mail from Jennifer Riley today, which means...I've been officially accepted into the GST program...which means...I'm going to New Zealand for sure! They even sent me my own little website with a video recording from some New Zealand guy. I'm practicing the accent. hahaha. Anyway, the website has really helpful information, which makes me not so scared because I feel more informed, but a little overwhelmed...lots of stuff to remember, lots of stuff NOT TO LOSE! Like my passport, for example.

Yikes!

I'm glad my diary is getting some attention...Kudos to Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Kent for commenting. I enjoy that. It's good to know the fam is reading up on me :)

Anyway, today was a wonderful day, and I'm having the kind of week that makes me think, "Man, I've really got my crap together." And here everyone thought I was irresponsible...psshhh.

And, after talking to the kindergartner's (the kid I'm tutoring) dad and grandma, it made me realize, "Holy cow, I really have learned a lot in college." They listened to me like I was an angel, bringing them some awesome revelation. Wow. I must be smart. Maybe, you know.

So I'm thinking, I feel pretty confident...not cocky or anything, but confident...and you know what that means. God's going to humble me really soon. This means that within the next four days, I will somehow manage to make a complete idiot of myself in one of three ways:
1. Lose something very important
2. Forget something very important
3. Make a horrible mistake, try to cover it up, make it worse by trying to cover it up, and get caught trying to cover it up, which will lead to humiliation and obviously, humility.

But since I'm expecting it to happen that way, that means God will think of some new, exciting way to humble me. Wow, I'm SO excited about that (kidding!). I've almost got Him figured out :)

Peace ya'll, and remember to give Newlyweds a try...I guarantee ya Jessica will remind you of one of your friends. Or maybe even yourself. Eeeks!

On Jessica Simpson

Okay, so it's common knowledge these days that Jessica Simpson is a complete airhead. I don't think little girls should idolize her or anything, and feminists could say she just blows the female image "we've striven for" into the ground, but you know what? I like her. I think I would be her friend. I'd make fun of her a lot, but she would laugh and it would be all right. I don't like it that some people constantly make fun of her. So she doesn't clean. I wouldn't either if I were her. She knows she's not the most intelligent person in the world and she of course never claimed to be (she says, "I always thought it was 'plati-mu-pus'"). Yeah, she says some dumb things on national television. But heck, I say dumb things all the time, you know? Most people do. What if Lindsay had said, "Every year I feel older," on national television? Leno would have a field day with stuff like that. Though it might be sad, it is true, Jessica Simpson is an accurate representation of our generation, at least a part of it, and good heavens, she's beautiful, she's talented, so if she were a genius, she'd be flippin' perfect. And no one is perfect, afterall. Is it that only smart people should be rich? Heck, what would the world be like with a million Bill Gates' walking around? Think about all the 4.0 students here at Muskingum College...what if ALL the rich people in the world were just like them? The only ones on Tv, the only ones to write music, the only ones running the country, the only ones to look up to... Ew. That'd be scary. I'd rather have a mixture, a variety, you know...that's what America is about, eh? While I certainly wouldn't want to BE Jessica Simpson or DO what she does, and I wouldn't trade a single part of me for hers, but I am secure enough to say that I respect her talent and her beauty. The Newlyweds Show is fun to watch, and though it is sort of...aggravating at times...it's obvious that she is a real person, with real faults, and heck, it's better than watching some reality TV show with a bunch of geniuses discussing genetic engineering (I know some of you would rather enjoy that :) and living out their lives sitting at their computers and such...

Back at school, college, where people talk, talk, talk, talk, talk because they like to hear what they have to say even when no one else wants to hear it. It's a thing with college students I guess, thinking they're all smart or something. You just never know when something you say is going to cause a lecture.

Well, anyway, no more negativity :) I got a new job tutoring a little kindergartner. I'm pretty excited about that. Tutoring brings in beaucoup bucks...and I love it!

Why is my font so large??

Gosh, I've been so negative lately! You know why, don't you? It's because I didn't take any of that tryptophan lately and my seratonin levels have been down. Doggone it. I took it today, though!!!

AND I'm going home in less than 20 MINUTES!!! Yahoo! I'm booked the entire weekend, though...but with FUN stuff. Yay :) Kitty is going home with me too...we'll see if I can pawn her off on someone... :-(

It's like losing Toulouse all over again. Sadness!

I liked the results of this one...



-Perfect- You're the perfect girlfriend. Which
means you're rare or that you cheated :P You're
the kind of chick that can hang out with your
boyfriend's friends and be silly. You don't
care about presents or about going to fancy
placed. Hell, just hang out. You're just happy
being around your boyfriend.


What Kind of Girlfriend Are You?

An interesting thing...You know, whatever :) I guess what it says about me is true though...you all should know, eh?


You are Romans.


Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

And another one...I don't know about this one... :-

You are Marlin! You're timid, paranoid, and
stereotyped often as funny. But you will go to
any lengths to find that someone you love the
most. You're life hasn't always been easy, but
you're used to it.


Which Finding Nemo Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hatefulness

I have been trying really hard not to be hateful, mean, or even to think hateful and mean things. I started focusing on this yesterday, based on some Ephesians and stuff, and what do you know, I was faced with like, nearly impossible situations all day yesterday and today.

The biggest (and most entertaining) situation has to do with this girl in my Arts class. It's the one who is "the most creative person she knows." Yeah, that girl that I talked about in a previous entry. Anyway, it's war between us. Not really, because I'm going to be nice. However, if I were one of those vicious girls who are rather slap-happy, I'd be laying the smack down Vannessa Brown/Shagala Simpson (girls I went to school with) style. This involves pulling out chunks of hair and such. Anyway, I am working on controlling my anger...

Tim and I sang the "De Moose" song which nearly all kids love, even those reluctant 3rd grade boys who won't sing. I've sang this song with literally at least a thousand kids and it's never been a problem. But what do you know, someone (she) had to make a big deal out of it that the moose dies at the end (he decomposes). It's not mean, it's not graphic, it's nature, you know? So I can see that someone might want to point out that it MIGHT not be a good idea in some cases, but Little Miss Thinks-She's-the-Best was totally rude and mean and inconsiderate about it... And you know, it was a lesson that we had to do for a grade and she made us look like idiots. I suppose she IS so much more intelligent because she's 27 and has her own kids.

Her argument was that her son would not have enjoyed the song because his dog just died. Yeah, that really is sad and I'm sorry. I'm still mourning the loss of Toulouse from like three years ago, so I feel your pain. But you don't have to all smart about it and for the love of Pete, the world does move on. You can't avoid the issue of death when a kid has just lost someone or something...it'll come up in so many things....reading a book about a dog, for instance, could have made her "poor little boy" cry too, I'm sure, more than the fun and exciting "De Moose" song. So eat it, sista.

Once again, I am working on my anger. Pray for me in this process. It isn't going well, as you can see.

Okay, so it isn't a big deal that I still feel like crap...but it does bother me that I'm just getting worse! I'm taking vitamins, I'm drinking juice, I'm eating healthy. Hello God! Don't you know that stuff is supposed to make me better? Yeah. Well I'm telling You, in case you forgot. I thought lastnight that perhaps I have pneumonia. I only thought it for a couple seconds. My friend Staci and I when we were little had a fight about how to spell pneumonia. That was in first grade, when we got to go to McDonald's with our first grade teacher. She got to go because she read the most books. I got to go because I never missed a spelling word. So, Staci, here's to you...stick to your books and let me be the speller! (Now you can see why we fought, because I always thought I was right). It's kind of like the time she wanted to play nursing home and I didn't want to, so I ran home crying. Hahahaha...

Yeah, I know. Things haven't changed much :)

Hello, hello, hello! Times are good here and I'm living life to its very fullest because of a precious little kitty cat...

But anyway, I was sick all weekend. Awful feeling sick, like not sick enough to get attention, but sick enough to feel awful. You know, at least when you're REALLY sick people do super nice things for you and send flowers and balloons and make you soup. Not that I wanted anyone to do that stuff for me cuz then I would have been annoyed, but it would have been nice if I was REALLY sick, but since I wasn't, no one cared. I don't feel too terribly bad for people when they're sick, either, so it's okay. Mostly it was just my incessant (when sick) need to just be held by my mommy...or maybe if John had been here...but I don't know if he would sympathize with me. We haven't been sick around each other yet so I haven't gotten to see really how "maternal" he is....I guess that's a "to be continued."

But...I did have a cat to comfort me, and that really just solved all my problems (note: Charlie certainly didn't make me feel better when I had the flu last Spring. Another reason why cats are better than dogs).

Thanks for the wonderful comments on the last entry! Let's keep that up, I like that.

To continue on the same subject...

Alison, this textbook must be by the same guy cuz there are NO pictures and the paragraphs and different sections don't even have headings! So, I have begun to make my own headings. It's kind of like an inductive Bible study...but harder.

AND lastnight, I had a dream about Constantine. Who has dreams about Constantine? In our Shakespeare class, oh my goodness, our professor is such a quack...but anyway, he said one of the goals and an actual assignment of the class is to have a dream about Shakespeare. Is that normal? Can you assign that? I don't know...but I know I had crazy dreams while reading A Midsummer Night's Dream. Although I guess it's not that unlikely to dream about certain guys' heads turning into ass heads.

Three cheers for Kendra taking me out to dinner tonight!!! It pays to write about living in squander. I have ONE more woe to add to my list now, though.....

I have a horrible sore throat. It hurrrrrts. :-(

Top 10 Ways I was All Grown Up Today

10. I wore my grown up brown pants and...

9. my water bra.

8. I watched Dr. Phil for a full five minutes.

7. I'm writing a math lesson on nickels and pennies. I've mastered counting by fives! I'm a big kid now :)

6. I was the big dog group leader in my Arts class.
(Which is funny because in that class whenever I'm in a group, everyone assumes I'm going to be the leader and I tried to avoid it today but everyone else's ideas were dumb, so I took over and ended up....singing "We're Going on a Muskie Hunt" in front of 30 people. But I got to shake a maraca.

5. Kendra and I had a great discussion over dinner about birth order and the effects it has on our lives.

4. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...and the jelly was Smucker's Boysenberry Preserves, my favorite. Which is very grown-up, I'd say.

3. I read my History of Christianity book for an hour and a half.*

2. I wore dressy clothes all day long.

1. I drank a nice big mug of cafe latte this morning before I went over to the elementary school (thanks Johnnie :)).


*This means there's a footnote about my History of Christianity book...
So the writer of this book is...not a good textbook writer (Autumn, where are you when I need ya?).
Anyway, he talks and talks about the most boring things and he'll talk about one whole country for two sentences and then skip to some completely different country...but in today's reading he talked about some interesting things just splat in the middle of Portugese exploration and smallpox killing half of the "Amerindians" and some here-and-theres about John Calvin burning people at the stake...

It turns out that Martin Luther tried being a celibate monk, but he changed his mind and married Katy, who was a nun. "They continued habits of the monastic life...but they increasingly valued married life...because of the strength for living that it gave marriage partners."

Anyway, the really funny part is that this author writes about A WHOLE COUNTRY for two sentences, but he went on and on about how Mrs. Katy Luther...

wrapped her sick husband (Martin) in a sheet filled with heated horse manure and got him really super drunk in order to help him pass his kidney stones so that he could make it to an important conference...so he was wrapped in poop and drunk in a wagon all the way to this conference...and sure enough, he passed those daggone kidney stones and went to that conference.

Swimming Woes...

I thought swimming was supposed to be the sport that didn't cause pain? Okay. I know that's naive...but cripes, I only swam for like fifteen minutes and my whole body hurts...including my eyeballs. At least it's a more healthy kind of pain...at least my knees don't feel so bad.

Tennis Woes...

I think I failed our skills test today. Good heavens. I don't know why I suck so much. Actually, I do know why, but I wish I didn't. I want to tell everyone in my class that I'm not a loser. But I know they think that. There's one girl in the class who isn't that good, either...and I laugh inside at her. You'd think I'd be more understanding, being so awful myself. But no. It's kind along the lines of Jerry Springer...people laugh at that show because they think, "At least my life isn't THAT bad." I laugh at this girl and think, "At least I'm not THAT bad." But really, I am. I just can't see how stupid I look. In my head I look cute playing tennis. Some girls manage to pull that off. In my head, I am graceful. In reality, I am a clumsy sloth-like creature.

Food Woes...

Most days, I just don't have time to go to the dining hall. It turns out that I'm just about all out of food. Therefore, I have decided to live on soup, graham crackers, peanut butter, and fruit juice. All four food groups, at least. And I do really love soup, graham crackers, peanut butter, and fruit juice.

Vitamin Woes...

My vitamins turn me into a goofball. I can't sit still and I'm all happy and energetic but worn-out and tired at the same time and I talk a lot. It's very strange. I know Kendra wonders why I'm so friendly lately. It's that seratonin...it's like taking Prozac. I'm not sure why they make me feel that way. No caffeine in them. But...I kind of like it :)

Bed Woes...

To add to my back and arm pain, my bed is actually a torture chamber. I think it hates me. It's impossible to lay in one spot for more than fifteen minutes because within that time, a spring will jump out and stab me so hard and for so long that I have to find a different position, only for the whole incident to repeat itself.

Cosmetic Woes...

My face looks like crap right now. And my eyeshadow is so old (think Junior year of high school) that it makes my eyelids burn and itch. Sarah yelled at me about that (Miss Estee Lauder). Sigh. AND there's some kind of mountain forming on my bicep...I can't decide if it's a pimple or if some spider has laid eggs in my freakin' arm (remember those R.L. Stine books? Yeah. That's me.). I haven't been getting bitten by spiders lately since I've been wearing socks to bed. However, one did bite me on my face the other night, just to add to my beautiful pizza looking visage. I had senior pictures yesterday, too.

And...the swimming is making my scalp all dry and flaky.



So basically...I hurt, I'm living in squander, and I am an ugly, pathetic loser.


:) And really, this whole entry is just a joke...life is super wonderful right now! But these things were funny so I thought I'd let you know. Thanks for listening to me whine. :-D

Sag: a word that is less than admirable (i.e.; "My butt sags more and more as I get older"). A sign of aging, something that is "out of style." When something "sags" it probably means that it's getting old and tired.

Reg.: Shorthand for "regular" or even "Reggie." Many people hope to be regular in some things (like passing bowel movements) but being "regular" is also less than admirable (i.e.; He was just a regular guy, following the crowd, doing the same things everyday, never stepping out of his tiny little box).

Gay: Also a term that is, these days, less than admirable, at least for most people. Can be a slang term for "stupid."

Shun: When someone is cut off or excommunicated. "She was shunned by her family and friends because of the way she looked."


Sag + Reg + Gay + Shun =

The West Hill at Muskingum College!

Let's cut it out, for real...it's not the 60's anymore, folks.

One Week Ago Conversation:

Amanda, commenting on the play Twelfth Night in Shakespeare class to her neighbor and best friend, Susan:

"Susan, this play is so funny. It'd be great to see live, or as a movie or something."

"Yes, it would," Susan replies, nodding her head like she always does.

Friday Happenings:

Amanda finds out that her birthday present from the amazing most fabulous John is a trip to Chicago over Christmas break and staying in the beautiful Hilton, a most remarkable hotel in the very best part of Chicago. Yay!

Monday Happenings:

Amanda figures she might as well check out what's playing in the theaters in Chicago. And WHO is visiting the Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier?

The Globe Theatre from London.

And WHAT play are they performing?

Twelfth Night!

And WHO is so amazing and taking his girlfriend to see it?

The incredible and fabulous Johnnie!

And WHO is his ever-so-fortunate and extremely blessed girlfriend?

ME!



Yeah, I cried. :)

Misleading fairy tales?

I read this in a friend's profile:

...wait for the guy who will make an ordinary moment seem magical,who brings out the best in u & makes u want to be a better person,the guy who will be your best friend,who will drop everything to be with u,wait for the guy who makes u smile like no other guy, wait for the guy who wants to show u off to the whole world

But I believe in something different.

Wait for the guy who doesn't make everything seem surreal. Wait for the guy that makes everything real.

Don't wait for the guy who brings out the best in you. Wait until you've established some of the greatest gifts God has given you and wait until God gives you the guy who appreciates it.

Don't wait for the guy who makes you want to be a better person. Be the person God wants you to be. Human standards? How insignificant.

Don't wait for the guy who will drop everything to be with you. Wait for the guy who wants you to be a part of his life, who wants to be a part of your life...why would you want a guy to give up things just for you?

Don't wait for the guy who wants to show you off to the whole world. Wait for the guy who realizes that the world doesn't matter.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Now THAT'S my kind of fairy tale.

I have ten things I want to say.

1. I am the worst, no really, the worst tennis player on the planet.
2. I really hate feeling like a loser. Takes me back to grade school and Jr. High, I tell ya.
3. I totally love first graders.
4. I finished the paper I have been putting off and freaking out about and rolling around in my head for the past week in less than two hours. It practically wrote itself. Praise God!
5. I finished my Shakespeare paper and I think it sucks and there's really nothing I can do about it.
6. I really hope that Jason gets homecoming king because he is, by far, the nicest guy in the top ten and definitely one of the few great guys here at Muskingum (at least as far as I know, you never know these days who could be fake...but, I don't think he's fake :) ).
7. The yearbook is awesome because Chrystal did take, like, all the pictures, and everyone is asking me, "Dude, why are YOU all over the yearbook?" to which I reply, "Because I'm so flippin' popular, duh!"
8. I most certainly did send my application for Global Student Teaching today. If that's not cool, I don't know what is. All I gotta say is...300 dollars could have bought me a lot of new clothes, daggone it.
9. I'm going to find out what my birthday present is TOMORROW! Yay!!!
10. And...I have nothing else on my post-it note assignment list! It feels so good to throw those lists away...check...check...check...

How about we NOT vote for cheating liars to be Homecoming "Royalty?" Just a thought.

Blahhhh I'm so tiiiired. I couldn't fall asleeeeep lastnight because I wasn't tired then but I am now. Waaah.

Anyway, I have an incredible amount of work to do and so far I've done a fabulous job of putting it off. So I think I'm going to go write two papers and study for a test...after I paint my nails and do my hair...and maybe take a nap, or two...

Okay, ta-ta for now then.

John and I had good times online lastnight with his mom, his stepdad, and his sisters as they all teased me and had a good ol' time laughing at my attempts to figure out my birthday present. They say I'll never guess so I suppose I'll just stop trying. I had a dream lastnight that my present was going skiing. Eeeeks!

We had a retreat yesterday! Here's the cool stuff we did:

1. Jumped off a huge freakin' rock in some really deep, FREEZING cold water in our clothes.
2. Went canoeing. Actually, Susan and Kendra just took the canoe (with me in the middle) to the middle of the lake and we sat out there and talked for a looong time.
3. Susan and I laid in the hammock and laughed A LOT.
4. Made hot dogs on the fire. Mmmmh.
5. Made foil dinners. Mmmmh!
6. Made s'mores. Super mmmh!
7. Made banana boats. Mmmh!
8. I forgot my sweatshirt and I was rather cold all day. Kinda like how I forgot to bring shorts to Florida.
9. Kendra made me tell her my IQ score and now I feel embarassed.
10. We went on this fun hike and saw some more big huge freaking rocks that I think we should go rock climbing on. It'd at least be good practice.
11. We had a lot of fun in God's awesome creation and some lovely "sisters" and it was....awesome!

First graders are so refreshing! So cute, so respectful, so silly, so fun :)

Well hello there! Nice of you to stop by and visit. How was your weekend? Mine was excellent. I watched the most awful football game yesterday between Tampa Bay and the Panthers. They all just kept getting penalties and 15 minutes of overtime took like 9 hours. How annoying is that?

But on Saturday I met the cuuuuuuuuuuuuuutest puppy at the pet store! He is an English springer spaniel and if I had 500 dollars, lived in my own house, and had time to spend with a puppy, I would have bought him. He had poop on his ear. :) But besides that, he was a pretty cool kid. I mean, dog.

Speaking of kids, I start my field experience on Thursday with FIRST GRADERS! Yay! My favorite :) At least it is right now...we'll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I absolutely hate my job because those kids are freakin' psychos. I really want to quit, but what's the chance of finding a work study job right now? Slim to none. Looks like I'll be sticking with it. I dread it every day, I tell ya. I thought they were going to be changing things but um...they're not. So the kids are still little hellians...and I don't blame them because there's really nothing for them to do but pick on each other. If I were rich, I'd build them a new classroom and playground and the whole bit. Actually, if I were rich, I probably wouldn't be here...

It also turns out that my mysterious birthday present is not a surfboard, a blanket, a rug, or skis, and it can't be bought in the state of Ohio. Ponder that one.

Four months until I go to New Zealand. I'm getting excited! I hope I don't hate it. I think I will actually hope for the worst and not set my expectations too high (a la Camp Wanake), so then when it's awesome, I'll be like, "Wow, this is way better than I even expected." But you know, I will miss it here a lot. I hadn't seen Susan since Wednesday and I thought I'd almost die, and I hate the thought of not seeing John for at least another two weeks, and most of all, I miss my mommy. But the good thing about all my friends and family here at home is that I know they'll all still be here when I get back :) They're pretty trustworthy that way.

Life is funny. My moods alter with the books I read and right now I feel sad. I think it's because for some odd reason, I identified with the guy in the book I just finished ten minutes ago and he was sad, so now I'm sad because I can't just be all happy when someone else is sad, you know? That would be insensitive.

Older people are always saying how bad things are now. The truth is, they aren't oblivious, young idiots anymore, so they see things as being "bad" and remember the "good ol' days," But, back in the "good ol' days," they were young and oblivious... There's always been war, terrorism, adultery, murder... I won't be able to tell my kids that "Back in the good ol' days I used to walk to school with my lunch in a metal basket and it was 3 miles uphill both ways and Emmilou Nelson was my bestest friend in the world and we'd always chase little Bobby Tucker around and try to kiss him..."

But you know, instead I'll be able to say, "Back in the good ol' days, I used to walk to school in my little dresses and white tights with my Teddy Ruxpin lunch box and I'd meet my bestest friend in the world, Staci, at the mail box at the end of Fair Street and little Ben Gadfield and Jordan Fausel would chase us around during indoor recess...we weren't allowed to run, so we just slid around on the floor on our hands and knees and I'd tear holes in those white tights, but my mom never got mad."

And then I'll continue, I'm sure, because I'll be a very dorky, out of touch grandma, and I'll say, "And now there's murderers and child molestors livin' next door and all these kids are on drugs and having sex in the streets..." The same things people say this very day. Humankind. How silly we are.

I am really enjoying reading Shakespeare and the other weird books I have to read for my other class. I do not enjoy the classes so much--I could do without those. Now seriously, I want to say this without sounding cocky...but I think I'm pretty "good" at this sort of thing, reading and analyzing and stuff. I'm not sure what that means, but I think that I could, if I wanted to, go to grad school and get my Phd and all that and be an English professor. I think the main reason I think this is possible is because I like the books everyone else hates. You know those books English professors just love and all the students are like, "What planet is SHE from?" Yeah, I like those books. James Joyce, Henry James...NO ONE likes those guys (well someone must because they're famous and all) but I just love them. I do. And I love Shakespeare and I think the reason I understand it is because I've been reading it since the 7th grade when my Dad passed my grandpa's "Shakespeare: Five Plays" book down to me, H J HARRINGTON stamped right in the front (I write my name in all my books, I don't like to stamp it). But for the same reason I think I could have a career in the English field is the same reason I don't want a career in the English field...because people hate the books I love and that sort of irritates me, and when people can't write a proper sentence, that sort of irritates me as well. Not in everyday jargon you know, but in papers people should take the time to proofread and spell check. I don't believe in perfect grammar...it can be rather stifling. I like to use elipses whenever I want...and dashes here and there--you know. I've found that ending sentences with prepositions is a new pet peeve. I don't know how I acquired that. It's not acceptable to be proper, you know. It's weird if someone ask you how you're doing and you say, "Well." No, you would say, "I'm doing good," but that's really not proper. It should be, "I'm doing well." Everytime I hear it, it sticks out to me and everytime someone asks me, "How's it going?" I have to force myself to reply, "Good!" when in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "No, it's going well!" But if I knew someone that were this weird about proper English, I'd think, "What a freakin' self-righteous..." So, I understand if you're thinking that. I assure you, I'm not that way, it's just that these English classes get to a person after a while. Isn't that crazy? I know it is! It's like seeing every word seen forwards AND backwards all the time. Oh, wait...

Have you ever been standing in front of a window and someone else is facing this same casement as well, and because they're either beautiful, strange looking, or just out of your plain curiousity and fascination with the contours of a person's visage, the shape of their body, or their disposition, you know you can stare at them because your own image is not reflected well enough to allow them to see your eyes clearly, and so you study them, wondering where they have been, where they are going, what they are thinking?

I was driving once through Canton a few years ago, I'll never forget this, and I saw a woman driving next to me, sobbing. This blonde, 30-something woman, wearing a red striped collared shirt and dress pants, no doubt, looked as though she was horribly sad. I could not tell if she was grief-stricken, mad, disappointed, or any more than the fact that she just seemed very upset. She was wiping away her tears, gasping for air, and she had the window completely down, perhaps to help dry her face and help her catch her breath. To this day I still wonder why she was crying. Did someone die? Was she angry? Did she just break an engagement? Was she in an argument with her mother? Did she just get fired? Did she not get the promotion she thought she would?

There are people I have seen and for no particular reason at all, I remember them for years, maybe forever. The little girl who tried to put ice in her pop can when I was about four years old, the man who gave me a Coke when I was at the bar with my dad when I was little, the girl at church camp with the strange eyes and mousy gray/brown hair, the teenager on the bus in Washington D.C. who looked depressed, and the lady who cried in the car next to me. All these people I never spoke to, but their faces, their expressions, something about them made them different to me, and for some reason I imprinted them in my mind, these nameless, mysterious people.

I went to church today, and there was an empty spot, because this man died... He was a pretty important man. In fact, half of the church was related to him somehow, whether his granchild, son, or daughter-in-law. Anyway, he sat in the same seat every day with his wife next to him. He'd invite everyone to Sunday school over and over again and he'd always invite his little granddaughter up to the microphone to recite the memory verse. She always knew it--she's probably one of the few who take the time to remember it :) He'd always say the verse in church when we prayed about "Lifting your hands in the sanctuary." And he would. And he'd put his arm around his wife, still, even though you know, they were both pretty old. She was always happy. He was always happy. They loved God and each other and their family SO much. And you know, she was still happy today, and she still "lifted her hands in the sanctuary." And she sat in his old sat and a friend sat beside her...

It's sort of uplifting in an odd way, but sad because you know, you begin to lose faith in love after a while, but couples like that help to restore it--and now, he's gone. Life is so fleeting, and love is so important, but everything here is just temporary (even marriage), and God is most important. We live for God, not to find the perfect mate or try to be the perfect person, or to make a million gazillion friends. We just live for God, and if we're really blessed, we'll find really special people, like Jim and Iris Henderson, to share it with.

I hope that I can be that blessed, and I wish everyone could be that blessed, but it's even better that I have something that's completely everlasting and trustworthy...and His moods never change even when I'm being crazy or stupid, and His love never wavers and He never changes at all and there's absolutely nothing I could do to make Him love me more or less, a perfect Friend...I'm really thankful for that. I can look more forward to Heaven than anything else because it's going to be so very awesome.

College is so different this year. There are positives and negatives...

A positive is that,
-because I live off-campus I can do whatever I want on my own time without anyone bothering me.
A negative is that,
-there's no one to bother me.
A positive is that,
-most of my friends have boyfriends and I'm really happy for them (including myself, of course)
A negative is that,
-I'm bored and second-best.
Another negative is that,
-those who don't have boyfriends have it even worse than I do and I am not sure whether to sympathize or tell them to enjoy it while it lasts (singleness certainly does have its ups, you know).
A positive is that,
-Living off-campus will make the transition to "the real world" a little easier.
A negative is that,
-That really scares me.
A positive is that,
-I am so totally excited.

So I've applied to graduate, I've made my resume, I've looked at places I want to live and work and you know what? If everything works out just the way it's supposed to, my life will be absolutely amazing. Teaching is the job of my dreams (believe it or not), I get to student teach in the most beautiful country in the world, I might be living with the most fabulous friend in the world (I hope we can have Polly and a cat)...what more could I ever want? It's more than I ever hoped for, and now it's so close, it's terrifying because...

What if I fail? What if I can't pay rent? What if I get in big trouble with the IRS? And worst of all, what if I buy the wrong furniture and it won’t match the house I want or the design I want and I end up decorating my whole life with paisley because it was the cheapest thing to buy when I was 22?

Do you ever feel like you don't know what you're doing and you know you want to do something but you're not sure what it is you want to do but you kind of don't want to do anything at all? So, I'm trying to think of what it is I really do want to do and I think I'd just like to curl up with...a pillow, maybe? And watch a movie. Or read a book. Or something. No, I'm a little sick of reading. I feel guilty if I read anything other than Shakespeare or A.S. Byatt or Julian Barnes... I'd like to eat a big heaping mound of chocolate pudding and Hershey Kisses and chocolate covered pretzels and peanut M&M's. Yes boys, it's so fun...so fun...to be a woman. I am enjoying my pre-menstrual symptoms so much. I feel like a helium balloon and a 900 pound barbell all at once and I swear there has to be a bulldozer in my uterus because it hurts and my back is trying to get out of my body, I'm serious, it's trying to escape and everything makes me want to cry and laugh and yell and...it's so weird because I have NO reason at all to experience such moodswings... I thought PMS this bad wasn't supposed to happen until I'm in my 30's? Well, I'm sure some chocolate will make me feel better. Ha! I'm happier already! :)

Life is good, is it not?

peace out, word, check ya, i'm out, bouncin, etcetera...

I just got a prayer letter from a Pastor who left our church in order to plant another Grace Brethren Church in Marysville, Ohio (the one that's in Union County) and things seem to be going SO well! It's amazing how well they are doing, especially since they have five (?) kids. Pastor Clancy is the greatest Pastor I've ever met, and the people in Marysville are SO blessed to have him. Reading the letter made me miss him so much. Sometimes it's just not fun to share! But anyway, keep Pastor Clancy and his wife, Sandy in your prayers.

Welcome back, Jeff B., to the comments section! I think we all missed you quite a bit. :-)

My Shakespeare and the Renaissance class is both boring and kind of interesting at the same time. For some reason I always feel sick in that class though and yawn constantly. Between yawns I manage to get some words in. We talked about Sonnet 29 for 40 minutes today. I don't really like to analyze poetry much. I don't even really like reading it, either. Today I get to start reading "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" or maybe it's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I really don't know. I guess I'll find out. I don't know if it really matters. Reading is what it makes of you, not what you make of it. I think I just made that up but don't quote me on it because I'm not sure if I stole it :)

Do you think the line, "From fairest creatures we desire increase" means that in general, we wish for beautiful people to have children? Because I think that's what it means, and no one else does.

Oh, not much time to write. I'm here in the computer lab with Kendra, Lindsay, and Tim. It's hot in here. It feels pretty nice in our room at the apartment, but rather humid. I'm not too fond of humidity. Hmm...my classes are pretty fun on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thanks to Tim and Sharon. Pretty entertaining kids, they are. I wrote about Sharon today in an in-class writing assignment. I am the most creative person I know. Sharon is second. I can't think of any other creative people. :) hehehehe

Apologies for the delay. I have been back at school since Wednesday and it seems (no, it's obvious) that Muskingum has a bit of computer trouble. This has been good for me, however, in many ways of course, reminding me that there are more important things than AOL Instant Messenger. I've instead been forced to read a pornographic novel for my Reading in Contemporary British Literature class. I didn't realize the class was British. It's fun reading with my British accent that only exists in my own head.

All my classes are in Montgomery--the burning hot, hellish building on campus at all times of the year that constantly smells like sweat and makes sweaters, even on days falling below zero degrees, impossible to ever wear. I don't really like sweaters anyway.

I've already written one paper, analyzed one sonnet, read a couple chapters on Global Christianity and read 75 pages of the pornographic novel. When I want to go to sleep, I read the Global Christianity book and when I want to stay awake, I read the pornographic novel--each reading leads to very strange dreams (they aren't sex dreams either, so stop thinking that). The girls and I are having a good laugh at it.

Well now, don't go thinking I've become a maniac of sorts. I've also already committed to co-leading a bible study and co-coordinating a retreat. If you're a Muskie, ask for more information about those ;-)
It's good to back. I'm surrounded by amazingly uplifting people. It's all very good. Most of the people here I really missed, and some I'd rather not see...You know, people are very fake in the way they interact sometimes. The every day falsities of life, I suppose. I however, am a very horrible liar and I hate lying, actually, so I've managed to completely ignore those I wish not to see. It's not because I dread the confrontation, but because I refuse to embarass myself by making a scene. Afterall, I am the stupid one, and when one feels the way I do about such things, it's probably his or her own fault. The tangled webs I get caught in sometimes! Everything is going very well, though, and everything is great with my girl friends, and that of course, is the most important thing.

John is visiting this weekend, hopefully, an event for which I am very excited, although I am trying really hard to be cool and nonchalant about it. It's kind of exciting this way, anticipating our next meeting...it certainly adds to life. But of course, today is a beautiful day, and I am off to enjoy it in the way we do here in Muskieland, with a lunch on the quad, little subs and little mini bottles of Evian or Aquafina or whatever. Pray that something doesn't make me vomit :)


Fact of the Day: There are more Christians in Africa than people in the United States of America.

Okay, so when checks and credit cards don't go through at work we have to call China. Okay, so maybe it's not really China, but we have to call this place and answer all these stupid questions about the check and for some reason, it's always foreigners that work there. I think it's totally intelligent to hire foreigners to work in telephone operations with check certifications and such, especially really hot tempered ones who yell and hang up on innocent MC Sports employees. I spelled K-A-U-F-F-M-A-N-N at least six times because Min Woo couldn't understand the sound of the letter "F". This was of course frustrating for her and me, and I really do like foreign people you know, but goodness gracious, choose another line of work, people! I tried to be nice and just asked her to repeat herself and she got all snippy and yelled at me, "What? You cannot hear me?!" To which I replied, "No, can you please repeat the question?" Ah, it was just an awkward situation and the lady thought that I was being mean because I finally said, "F as in FUDGE. F as in FROG. K-A-U-F-F-M-A-N-N. TWO F's! F as in FROG!" And then I could have sworn she said "F as in F---?" And no, that word is not frog.

I'm ready to go back to school.

Well, we spent five hours in Charleston, WV and three hours in Columbia, SC on the way home (side note: People in SC are REALLY nice and EVERYONE in WV has a pick-up truck). We had some serious car troubles. But anyway, as we were driving home and I feared a little bit for my life because the transfer case below my seat was put back together with a combination of wire hanger, duct tape, and mysterious concoctions of stuff, I thought, these guys wouldn't be so bad to die with. But then I rethought that thought and began thinking of who I'd really choose to die with and I think I would choose Kari. Not that I want her to die, or that I'd really want her to die if I did, but I just think that--well, I really don't know why I think that. Maybe death would just be a little more interesting with Kari. I guess you get that bond with people after certain trials in life. So Kari, I thought of you! Don't you feel special?!

Quote of the Day:

(commenting on the book of Job)

"Human beings are sure to wander in ignorance and fall into error, and it is better--more righteous in the eyes of God--for them to react by questioning rather than accepting. Confronted with inexplicable injustice, it is better to be irate than resigned."

Thank you, Veronica, for reminding me that it's okay to think...well, to think of things like that. Just the other day I was saying/thinking out loud (now remember, I was talking to three guys) about how I wonder how sand dollars reproduce and how strange it is that they really are living creatures. This baffles me because they really don't seem to have animal qualities. Starfish and clams have more personality than sand dollars. Did you ever notice that a sand dollar has never been recreated in a cartoon or animated movie to have human-like qualities? Has anyone ever seen a talking sand dollar on a cartoon? Well, we do have Spongebob, a talking sponge, Patrick, a talking starfish, Sebastian, a talking crab, and even a fish that suffers from short-term memory loss in "Finding Nemo." What about the sand dollars?

Well, those guys thought I was crazy and John's brother thinks I'm stupid. Well exCUSE me for having an imagination, for being curious... I bet my IQ is at least 30 points higher than his anyway. SO THERE!

Wish you had been there, V. :-

Advice for the Day: Think abstractly. You may cut off your ear in a few years, but at least you'll have fun doing it.

Hello all :) Greetings once again from Florida. We went to the beach twice today and ate at a little bar on the beach...way cool! Today was John's mom's birthday so we had a little celebration and ate at this other restaurant on a dock. It was kinda like the other one because it was like, all open and stuff. You know, it's like you're on a big ol' covered patio. I like the palm trees a lot. The grass here is weird. I don't really like the grass. But other than that it's just fine. :) We saw a lot of beautiful houses today. They were like castles. Oh, and I tasted shrimp for the first time. It wasn't bad at all...I kinda liked it, but the texture is freaky. Maybe I can force myself to like seafood before I go to New Zealand for three months. It'd probably be a good idea. Oooh and we went to the driving range yesterday and they had two cats! They looked like Toulouse! I love cats. There's a pool and a hottub and a cat that I really like here at the house. And John's here, too. So basically, I am in Heaven. All I need is my mom, the rest of my family, and my Muskie girls. And Toulouse (he'd be in Heaven :). I miss you all extremely and totally wish you were here!

Guess what? I drove for ten hours! Me! Can you believe it? That's pretty good for someone whose only driven two hours at the most. Florida is beautiful. The ocean was 86 degrees today and there was a nice breeze...not too hot, not too cold. It's rather humid, but I'm doing just fine. There's SO many shells! I've never seen so many shells in my life. We're staying with John's mom, her two kids, and her husband. They are great! The houses here are wonderful! Gotta go eat! See ya when I return maybe!!!!

Alison! Did you know that I worked at Das Dutch Kitchen for three years, from the time I was fourteen until I was seventeen? I never would have guessed you were familiar with it. We should go there sometime. It's ten minutes from my house!

I'm reading a delightful mystery by Lilian Jackson Braun, famous for her "Cat Who..." books. I don't know what it is about them, but they just, well, the only way to describe them is as "delightful."

There are few things I love more than cats. I just love them. I don't love all of them, and some of them I do strongly dislike, but Mozie and Toulouse are definitely the best cats ever. However, Mozie (Mozart), being part Himalayan, has a little bit of trouble sometimes due to his long hair. He had a piece of poop caught on his butt today and my sister and I had to do a little outpatient surgery that involved her sedating him (he is in total submission when you scratch beneath his chin) and some clever work with a pair of scissors. Don't worry, I washed my hands...with bleach!

Tip of the Day: Don't eat push-ups and drive.

Quote of the Day: "Cats are cats...the world over..." -James Mackintosh Qwilleran

I am a truly All-American, lower middle-class kid. This means that I really do enjoy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Velveeta Shells and Cheese, and I prefer Jell-o Cheesecake to any other type of cheesecake. So, when John and I go to trendy places like Panera, I'm really not all that impressed. Now I know everyone in the freaking world is in love with that place, and I am not exactly the coolest and definitely not the trendiest of people, but I really do not want red wine vinaigrette on my sandwich and I DON'T like bagels and I DON'T like hard bread that makes my jaw crack every time I bite into it. I DO think that 5 bucks is way too much to pay for vegetable soup and I DO think I'd rather eat at McDonald's, where I can get a yummy chicken sandwich for 2 dollars and a nice little salad for another 2. I will not pretend to be cool just for the sake of being cool and I will not force or lie to myself that I LOVE Asiago cheese bagels with stuff that looks like cow dung on it. That's sick. I don't care how "healthy" it is. You want me to eat healthy? I'll eat some bananas. With some peanut butter. And for dessert I'll eat animal crackers. Now THAT'S good stuff! You cool people stick to your fococcia and lattes. I think you're weird.

You know what I go out of my way to find? Restaurants that serve grilled cheese. I can tell you that Mickey's has the best grilled cheese in the Zanesville area and Das Dutch Kitchen has the best in the Orrville area. Both places also have excellent iced tea and salad.

Amen!

Well, I've been a little busy lately. Doing what, you ask? I really don't know, but I've been online like never. I just never think about it anymore. Guess what? I'm going to Florida on Friday! Yay! I've never really been to Florida. I was only there for a little bit, just passing through... I have no idea what we're going to do, really, but even if it's a whole lotta nothin, that would be quite all right...I'm so sick of work anything will do. My job isn't bad, but we have a little "Battle of the Bosses" going on. I guess that's what happens when you have four bosses. I like all my bosses equally, but they are all also about equally stupid, and they're jerks to each other, and they gossip a lot to us associates, which really isn't a very professional thing to do because then the associates start taking sides and if you're like me, you don't want to take sides and just want to be friends with everyone, and therefore just get stuck in the middle and end up making excuses for other people's stupidity. Huh...does that sound like Muskingum College or what? I should start counting how many times I say things like, "It's nothing personal, I'm sure, it's just the way he/she is. Don't be so offended...." I don't understand why people can't just get along. Humans never grow out of that stage do they? I hate that.

Well, I went to Lindsay's July Party this past weekend. What fun! We had excellent food, good conversation, and saw a great movie. It was Kari, Tony, Veronica, Tim, Lindsay, and me. We saw Pirates of the Caribbean. I guess it wasn't really a GREAT movie, but I was rather impressed. Lots of un-famous actors that did a fairly decent job. I slept in Todd's bed and then met him for the first time the next day. He's very talkative (sarcasm). Well, his bed was awesome and I actually wasn't sore in the morning. Way to go, Toddy!

Polly was there as well, my good friend. I've decided that if Lindsay and I ever lived together after we graduate, that I'd love to have Polly as our third roommate.

Well, I'm going to go think about going to the Y...

ATTENTION WORLD TRAVELERS:

Can anyone tell me the luggage regulations (in general) for most airlines? I'm going to buy some luggage next week, and I don't want to get anything that won't be allowed on the flight. Mostly, I just want to know how big our bags are allowed to be. Thanks!

YES, Veronica, we did get Dippin' Dots. Well, everyone else did. You know I can't eat those sort of things :) But I DID taste the banana and the cookies and cream. The cookies and cream was delicious. I think I'd rather have regular ice cream, but there's just something special about Dippin' Dots. You know what I like? I like frozen bananas. They always have them at amusement parks. My dad used to make them when I was little. They're covered in chocolate and sprinkled with nuts. Mmmh. So it looks kinda weird, and you have to be pretty confident in yourself to eat one in public, but they are yummy.

The best trip to an amusement park was King's Island with Veronica. To all of you who don't know, King's Island sucks. Lame-o rollercoasters, I tell ya. But we had fun anyway... Hey Veronica, did you play the Name Game in France? You could be like, "HEY JEAN-LUC!" or "HEY PIERRE!" or "HEY YVES!" or in Italy... "HEY MRS. RINALDI!"

Hello friends, I'm glad you came to play! Our fun and learning never ends! Here's what we did today...! (5 points for the person who can tell me who says that in their television show)

Yeah, well you wanna know what? Today sucked! I canceled plans to go visit Kari because stupid boss man called a stupid 8:30 meeting this morning, and sure enough I DID show up at 8:30, like any good employee would, and who else showed up? ONE other person. Were any of our four bosses there? NO. Okay, that is about the stupidest thing ever. I was about ready to quit. But in an hour or so...maybe fifteen minutes, my heart softened and I realized it wasn't such a big deal. So I just went shopping instead and spent about 300 dollars. Never shop when you're trying to relieve stress!

We just got back from the batting cages. One of the scariest experiences in my life. There I was, standing there screaming as the 40 mph softball came flying at me. "Whirling would be a more descriptive verb," John says. Well, you're not even allowed to DRIVE that fast on most streets so I think that's pretty fast. It was scary. It felt good though to hit....I mean, aimlessly swing....at a few. :)
What do you think, V? Think I got a shot in the minors???

Well, I'm out. It's movie time. Check ya later folks. Kari...if you read this, I am horribly sorry. I was so mad I missed our date for nothing that I was nearly in tears. Bosses....

Goodnight!!!!


Quote of the Day: "Balls are always faster than they look." -Amanda L. Harrington

Hola chicos!

Three cheers for John being the awesomest! The baseball game was great...we saw more fireworks! I had a sangria at the restaurant and wasn't carded! Shame on you, miss waitress. Sarah and I got to hang out again tonight, which was way cool. I think our puppy, Charlie, may be getting the boot...praise the Lord! Awww...just kidding. I'll miss the little guy :) (But if you wanna know the truth, I bet we won't get rid of him). He IS really cute, afterall. Sigh.

Well, gotta get up early again...lotsa love!

Hello, All! Tonight I get to go to the Spaghetti Warehouse and an Akron Aeros game! Yay for Italian food and baseball!!! Two of America's best things.... Hmmm, that's awkward, but true, eh? Things are going well...I've had to work everynight this week from three until 9, but of course that means until about ten. Not that I'm complaining, but it sure does take up a better part of the day. I rarely see the sun. And of course on the day I have off, it's all cloudy. Boo.

I'm watching "I Dream of Jeannie." What a great show. They need to make more shows like this. Have any of you ever seen that show about the flying nun? Very interesting. Based on a true story, I hear. I think Sally Field or someone really famous like that played in it and I think it only lasted a season. But anyway, it's about a nun who can fly because her nun hat thing is all floppy like. Now that's bizarre.

So, on this TV show, which is now "Bewitched," they're saying on the TV they are watching that man might actually land on the moon! I love the beginning of this show and "I Dream of Jeannie." Every show should have cheap animation like this, I tell ya. It's like the starting credits of "Grease." What a great movie. They just don't make 'em like that anymore. I'm sure glad guys don't wear pants that tight anymore! That stuff makes men sterile, you know.

Quote of the Day: "I've been to the moon!" -Sam from "Bewitched"

Well, it seems that I have injured myself rather severely. Severely meaning that it hurts enough to prevent me from sleeping as much as I would like. Hopefully, with a little time, it'll go away. So pray for my back :)

My visit with Susan and Sharon was a w e s o m e ! They are so encouraging. We just talked and talked and talked. That's all we did! And it was great!

I hope I can figure out what Kari is talking about soon...

sadness

So, tonight I helped deliver thank you cards with Sarah and Kathy. It was very sad at moments. It's giving me nightmares, some of this stuff. I keep having weird dreams, like about my mom getting eaten by a cheetah. Yeah, it's bazaar, but when I was dreaming it seemed so real. I've never really seen anyone go through this sort of thing, and I've never had to really personally deal with the idea that someone I know has five months to live. I've seen it second handedly, and I dealt with a lot of deaths as a child, but this is a little more personal, and I'm supposed to be a good friend, a supporter...and I just never know what to say, and I'm too afraid to ask questions because...it seems like they already have too many questions to answer, and to ask...none of it seems real and I feel like I'm watching a movie, the way they go about things...150 bottles of meds, speaking nonchalantly about how much time is left...doing what they have to do, being all strong and even funny at times, because that's what they have to do. None of it seems fair at all...even though I know perfectly well that bad things must happen and why, I know God can heal her but He doesn't, and I know there is a reason, and I know God can bring good out of bad and I know God knows a lot more than I do, that He sees the big picture, and that the big picture is good, and all that really matters is that Jesus loves us, He died for us, we can be with him forever, she will be with Him forever, I know all those things because I've read the Bible cover to cover and over and over and I've even read ALL the sympathy cards at Hallmark and I know all the sad country songs and I know the feeling of being comforted by God and filled and uplifted and I know their whole family knows this and I know God NEVER said life was fair and/or easy...

but it's still not fair, is it?

And then we visited my ex-boyfriend's grandparents and that just really sucks in a lot of ways because I just love those people and I could never be close to them because, well, I'm not really anyone to them now, nor do I think I'd want to be because that would be weird, you know? I wish I could adopt them as MY grandparents or that they could adopt a different grandson! Why don't I have grandparents? Why don't I have someone to make cookies for me or someone to tell MY mom what's up (like grandmas tend to do) or someone to visit and look at old black and white pictures with?

What goes through a mother's head when she knows she has five months to live? Does she think about missing her children get married? Having children? Does she wonder what the house will look like without her? Will her husband still sleep on his own side of the bed? Will her toothbrush be thrown away? Will they still go to her favorite restaurant? Will they be able to attend church without feeling like everyone is looking at them with pity? What goes through a person's mind when they're going to die? God, I hope it's peace.

Well, well, well, Sarah spent the night lastnight and it was like a sleepover...or maybe like being roommates again. Speaking of roommates, I miss mine! AND I wish that she would write to me!

Anyway, I got some new pictures for my room. They're way cute. Very vintage and Lautrec-ish. I wonder if Veronica and Alison saw any Toulouse-Lautrec art in France. I saw some Picasso in Cleveland....that was cool. :)


Quote of the Day: "Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself."
-William Shakespeare

Ditto from yesterday, I just couldn't have said it better.

I live in a hole.
I feel lazy.
I wanna be running,
Hiking, climbing, picnicking,
Swimming, biking, boating,
Camping and back-packing.
I wish I could play tennis,
I wish I could golf, but mostly
I just want to stinkin' run.
Why didn't anyone tell me
To try another sport
When I was young?
I can't stand the dog.
I want to eat watermelon
In the park.
I want to jump off a boat
And swim with the fish
And eat ham and cheese sandwiches
Out of a cooler.
I want to sit in my bathing suit
And not worry about my thighs.
I want to come out of the house
With a big plate of fried chicken
And we'll eat it with
Cherry cheesecake and rice pudding.
That's what I want to be doing.
I want to have crazy fun
And all I get is boring.

Helo tis is Amada Haritin! (That's the way Sara spells my name).
My hair has been rather frizzy lately.
The Subway guy gave me THREE stickers for ONE six-inch sub!!!
I tried my FOURTH sub at subway: The cold-cut trio, and I had a bite of a meatball sub. Mediocre, if I do say so myself, compared to Spicy Italian.
I got sunburnt at the country club.
I have next Friday and Saturday night and all Sunday off so if anyone (Muskies, I'm talking to you!) wants to get together, let know!
Okay! BYE!

Hello! This thing is not working!!!!

I just want you all to know that I typed the longest entry yesterday and it got erased! And now I am boycotting! Things are going wonderfully, the fireworks were awesome, as well as the fries, and I got to chill with Kathy and Sarah. Yay for them!

Meanwhile, Muskies, I miss you!

Heidi Ho There! It is the Fourth of July and I have the day off! Isn't that wonderful? I'm at John's house right now, just me, Rusty (the dog) and the cats. It's good times. Soon I'll go to the country club where John is and lay out and read or something... I just got done making cookies. Isn't that fun? They're really good. At least I think so. Chris just left (John's housemate). We were watching Lethal Weapon. I don't know which Lethal Weapon it was, but I think they're all pretty good. It is way stinkin hot in this house. My cookies were melting. It was crazy.

I never thought I'd have the motivation to do it, but I finally did, and I started studying the book of Revelation and the other books that talk about the End Times. I feel like after I do a big study on it, I should be some sort of professional, but I'm pretty sure that I won't have too much more understanding than I did in the beginning. People are always asking questions about it so I thought you know, it'd be nice if I could answer some. No, I don't think I'll ever be able to answer any of those questions. Can I just say, "Read it yourself?"

TIP OF THE DAY: I AM NOT YOUR PERSONAL ANSWERING SERVICE!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: CUSTOMERS COME WAY BEFORE EVIL CORPORATE FAT LADIES WHO TAKE ALL THEIR EMOTIONAL STRAIN AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OUT ON POOR, INNOCENT SALES ASSOCIATES.

ANOTHER QUOTE OF THE DAY: YOU DON'T SCARE ME!!!!

Sorry, just venting a bit. :)

Oh, I made up some cheers for the Lady Muskies Basketball Season! After watching "Bring it On" for an hour, I just got into that cheerleader spirit! I can't wait :) :) :)

Okay that's all for today. I'll talk to ya'll later.

grace n peace n lotsa love!

Well, I hope that you all got a glimpse of how things are going from my poem I wrote the other day :) I was waiting to post again until someone commented. I need some reinforcement, people!

Susan and I went to the mall on Sunday which was AWESOME! I love that girl beyond measure. The sad thing is that I think she made me think a lot about school and all the stupid, stupid crap that I'm going to have to deal with when I get back. And it's really not that horrible because I know it'll all be okay but it just seems so...stupid. You know?

I got new fingernail polish today! It is ever so pretty. I also go a postcard from Veronica from Amsterdam! Thanks V!

The road kill mutates daily
From swollen,furry balls
To flattened intestines
To black, empty skulls
Every day on my way
to MC Sports.
Yay.

The summer is passing slowly.
Parts of me wish I were at school.
Parts of me wish I could stay home.
It sucks and I think it's bull.

I got some new clothes,
The most amazing dress,
And a purse! Yes!

I danced with my father
And although he was intoxicated,
It was still nice, on his deck
That is not gated.

Sarah is doing fine, we're going on a trip.
Susan and I are going shopping tomorrow--
I'm so excited I could flip!

John's doing quite well
And I'm getting better at putt-putt.
We both thought "What the jell?"
And we both got our hair cut-cut.

Yeah, and I finished Harry Potter.
I'm a little angry with Beatrix.
Blimey, I am so excited I could pee
For book number six!

Veronica is in Austria,
Kendra in Japan,
Kari, I miss her
And even Sharon's brother Dan!
(Just kidding,that just rhymed
With Japan!)
I miss Sharon more than Dan!

I miss Veronica's stars
And Chrystal's Velcro signs
The dilemma with driveway cars
And mail room lines.

I miss Sharon's hugs and flip flops
And Susan's great big smiles.
I miss talking to Kari
During our work out miles!

I miss Lindsay, her sniffles beneath me,
I miss Studly, he's such a cutie :)
I miss her voice, her perfume drowning out mine,
I miss her "GO LINDSAY #21!" sign.

I miss lots of things, I do.
And there's a good chance,
I miss you, too!

I listened to country music today
And liked it.
I keep eating late and regretting it.
I wish I had more time, more time, more time.
Do you ever just want to leave?

And it is June 16th! And today yet another car broke down on me! And what do you know? It's the THIRD car, the FOURTH time that a car has broken down on me since May 26th! Yes folks, that would be three weeks! I think that psychic guy put a curse on me!

All is good, though, all is good. God has a plan. A reason for everything. I'm learning lessons in patience, humility, peace, faithfulness, self-control, generosity, etc. etc. Lessons, lessons, lessons.

Thank you God, for answering that prayer, "Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." -Psalm 139:23-24

Praise God! He is awesome!

This summer is going rather slowly. I think that's because I'm living paycheck to paycheck...oh wait, I haven't gotten a paycheck yet! Oh wait, how did I buy a 900 dollar car, then? And how did I already get it fixed for 350 dollars? Oh yeah, I just added to my credit card debt, that's right. Ha! My bad. I guess I should stop praying that God will keep me un-materialistic. Next time I pray about my finances, it's going to be "Bless me, bless me, bless me!!! With money, please!" Hmmm. God and I have a really hilarious relationship, let me tell ya. He always gets the last word, though. Man oh man.

Some people are so ungrateful it makes me sick.

TIP OF THE DAY: THANK SOMEONE--SINCERELY. It really isn't that difficult.

Let's add to 2 Timothy! "Women must not be pastors for they have far too many other things to worry about, such as menstruation, fingernail polish, dirty diapers, and making sure the men are doing their jobs. Also, their voices tend to be quite annoying, no matter how low or how high they may be. Women have too many emotional breakdowns and when they have power, they almost always abuse it and become dictator-Nazi-like. Most women, indeed, can be quite annoying when they speak too much. But the main reason is menstruation."

Well, you know Paul thought it, he just didn't say it! (Maybe not the Nazi part since Nazis didn't exist yet, but the rest, yeah, I think that is true).


:-)

Thought of the day: Old people wear shoes that are too small.
Exercise tip of the day: If you're old and can't do anything and have hardly any time for physical fitness, just walk around with your stomach really, really tight all day and every now and then shout, "EXCUSE ME WHILE I DO A SET OF PUSH UPS!" no matter where you are, and simply perform 5-10 pushups right there after moving everyone around you to the side. Do this on odd days. On even days, you should, every now and then shout, "EXCUSE ME WHILE I DO A TRIPLE LUTZ!" and whip out a batch of that Oksana Baiul I know ya got in ya. Don't worry about bystanders with this one. If you want the full affect, bring along your baseball bat and Tanya Harding someone.

Ahhh! My legs hurt! I hate that feeling of work in my legs. First it was Das Dutch, then Hallmark, and now this! I'd rather be at camp with ants crawling up my shorts! Not lice, though...no lice.

Johnnie totally made me dinner lastnight with champagne and everything. Way to go, kid! It was awesome.

So, I've been going to church and Sunday school and Thursday night Bible Study things...and well, let me just say that worship is not the same without Kari and Kendra and all my other girls. Sigh. I miss screaming at each other, "YES LORD, YES LORD, YES, YES, LORD!" And all of us, including Susan, creating those really odd hand motions to all the words of "These are the Days of Elijah." I thought my church wouldn't like the "horse" movements and they didn't clap to the song, either, so I was kind of at a loss. I just stood there, smiling, thinking of all of you :)

I miss you, Muskies!

I'm having dreams about sale prices and purchasing a $130 dollar baseballbat, suffering from some serious financial problems, coordinating a junior high camp, working of course, and chillin with John...unfortunately, all this has caused me to somewhat neglect my workout schedule, and my family and friends...however, I assure you, I am working on that :) I apologize to all of you who are feeling neglected. I love you!