Thursday, November 30, 2006

Is it possible to be happy and sad about the same thing at the same time?

So today is a day of mixed emotions. Last night i found out that my youth director, (The best youth director in the WHOLE world) is leaving to be the camp director at Southland Christian camp in Louisana. It is really sad because he is a part of my life, and he helped guide me to where i am today. But it is EXCITING because this is so perfect for him, and now instead of impacting a handful of teens, he can help hundreds every year. I am going to miss him and his family (especially his family) so much, but God knows exactly where he is going to go. And now the search for a youth director begins so pray for my church that we find just the right person.

Now for those of you at southland that may have stumbled across my site. You are getting the greatest person in the WHOLE WORLD!!! So take care of him and his family. I hope you love his wife and his girls half as much as we do. Let him be crazy...it makes life fun...i don't know how many times i laughed every time we had an activity. Don't make fun of him for ironing everything. If he wants to take you to visit, Al Crestle the car salesman, make sure there is a "lie detector." don't let him make the teens play in the gym in the middle of winter with no heat(but i guess this won't be a problem in LA). Let him lead the way he feels he should; he is one of the most godly men i know. And most of all, LET HIM COME VISIT US occasionally.

Friday, November 24, 2006

My answer to the question: How was your thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving...a time to sit back and relax while everyone does the work and the day comes together seamlessly right? Not this year...this year holds a special place in my heart for being the most hilarious, most fun, most absolutely ghetto thanksgiving ever. My good friend Lauren and i decided since we were both stuck here working for thanksgiving, we would join her sister and niece for a nice thanksgiving. Well, on Wednesday, Lauren informed me that her sister was going to VA, and we would have the apartment to ourselves for Thanksgiving. She also had to work on Thanksgiving until 2. At 2 o'clock she called me and told me she was on her way to get her stuff and pick me up. We piled into the car with all of the stuff we had bought the night before to make all of our yummy thanksgiving traditions.

We got to the apartment and started the turkey. Her sister had bought the turkey for us and got a turkey bag to keep that fine fowl nice and juicy. Well, the box said not to use the bag for anything under 8lbs and our turkey was 5.63lbs, we thought...eh, close enough! Then we couldn't find the little tie that was supposed to come with the bags, so since we had extra room in the bag...cause our turkey was small, i came up with the idea to tie a knot in it. Then with the turkey in, we decided to start a movie and start everything else a little later. We set the laptop on the coffee table and popped Cars in. It is one of the funniest movies in the world. So we watched the movie for a while and paused it to make our side dishes...this process lasted all night and the movie we started at 3:30 was finally finished at 7:00.

We made the traditional dishes turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean caserole, rolls... It was interesting. First of all we are two girls who haven't seen an oven in months let alone used one...it took awhile to get back in the groove (i miss cooking, and now that i did one night i want to do it again!!). Then we went to get a pot to make our mashed potatoes in...except there wasn't one...so we used a little pan and kept an eye on it so it didn't boil over. Then i had the job of mashing them...except there was no potato masher...so i used a big metal spoon and a fork...they were pretty lumpy. Since we didn't have another pan, Lauren's mom told us we could make the sweet potatoes in the microwave, we did. My hand was killing me from trying to shove a fork in the rock hard sweet potatoes, so they wouldn't explode in the microwave (which they didn't). Since dinner was taking just about an eternity to make, we decided to eat a piece of the cheesecake i had made before i left the dorm. I was a little nervous about how it would taste since i had to make it with a disposable spoon and a bowl that was not nearly big enough (trying to beat cream cheese with a disposable spoon was not easy), but it was AWESOME...if i may say so myself. After the turkey came out of the oven an hour after the time said it would (it just wouldn't cook all the way and we didn't feel like dying from undercooked turkey), i started to put the rolls in...except there was no cookie sheet to put them on...once again the art of improvisation triumphed and i used a muffin tin. After I put them in, as i was closing the oven, i looked down to find the elusive bag ties for the turkey oven bag. O well, the turkey was already done.

While we cooked everything, we decided to make use of the washer which did not require the use of quarters. While i was in the kitchen doing something productive (i don't exactly remember what) i heard Lauren scream. Well, the washer had eaten her brand new pajama pants. What else could we do except take the washer apart...which we did surprisely easily.

Our Thanksgiving dinner turned out surprisingly good, and we settled down to watch some well-earned television. At about 10:30 we decided we wanted the cookies that we had bought to bake..except as i have already said, there was no cookie sheet, so we left in search of a walmart...after driving around for about 20 minutes we found one, bought our cookie sheets and some containers to take our food back to the dorms in and headed back to the apartment where i did dishes while we waited for the cookies to bake. By the time they were done, neither of us really wanted them, but we both ate one before we headed to the couch to watch tv into the wee hours of the morning. America's funniest videos is way funnier at 1am than any other time i have ever watched it. Well, since this post is pretty much the longest thing ever...i am going to end it. I have a thousand more stories that will just have to wait for another time.

Friday, November 17, 2006

I wanna go home

I want to go home so bad. Maybe its cause i haven't been home since august or maybe because i don't get to go home till Christmas, or maybe because everyone else is getting ready to go home for Thanksgiving and i am staying here. Maybe cause my church website is back up and full of pictures from home. Maybe cause i talked to my youth director yesterday, and i miss everyone at home. I don't know, but i am more homesick now than i have been ever before in my college career. When my parents dropped me off i was ready, i have never waited with anticipation for the end of the semester, and i love coming back every year, but right now i don't want to be here, and i don't want to be anywhere but home. I want to see my dog and my parents (maybe even in that order) and my church and my friends, and snow, and my grandparents, and my room, and my neighborhood, and everything else in PA!! Ok, so i know this is totally lame....i wanna go home!

Friday, November 10, 2006

What's going around

So what is it that's going around Crown. What is it that even the most selfish people seem to be sharing? Not the latest gossip about which faculty member is going bald, not the secret to passing a Dalton quiz, and it's not even a new way to cook chicken. Nope, the lastest thing at Crown, getting mono. Yep, that's right...get so sick that you want to stay in bed forever. Two girls in my dorm have it, and i am not excited about that at all. I am super exhausted and i know i need to get some sleep to make my immune system semi-normal, but as one of my friends said, "College is made up of studying, sleeping, and having fun. Unfortunately, you can only pick two." Normally i don't pick sleep.

O here is a shocker, Crown won the basketball game last night. Maybe this season will be better than the other 2 seasons i have witnessed. Yesterday was preregistration. That normally means sleep and general slacking, but not for me, not yesterday. I got up pretty much at dawn to go to the teacher's center (a paradise for education majors) and worked on projects all day, and i haven't even started my 6 notebooks.

Wow i feel really negative and sarcastic in this blog. I am going to blame that on my lack of sleep. I'm off to daycare! And it's not raining!!

Monday, November 06, 2006

My little vacation

So this weekend a few of my friends and i took a trip to Rock City. Rock city is a big park thing in chattanooga, and it was awesome. We had so much fun!! It was a perfect day. Heather and i had to go to visitation before we left, and we met some pretty interesting characters. Like a guy who was joking around about sacrificing animals in the back room of his neighbor's house.

When we got back we jumped in the car and began our 2 hour drive. I love road trips with friends, and this one was no exception. We had a blast going down the road flipping through radio stations and making fun of sappy country songs. One bathroom/gas stop later we were there. We pretty much almost died driving up the mountain...there were several close calls involving cars coming from the other way that were too busy looking out the window.

We walked around the park and saw all the beauty...it really was beautiful. The day went by fast with laughs and fun stuff...like jumping up and down on the swinging bridge and freaking everyone out.

After we left we went to chattanooga choo choo, and ate pizza in an old train car. It looked a little shady at first, but the pizza was really good. Then just wandered around in candy stores and little shops. Before too long we were on our way back to campus...after another gas stop...lauren playing with the speakers while i was trying to sleep...and another 2 hours in the car we were back on campus and i was ready to rejoin the ranks as inmate 9170/4.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Evil veggies and lessons learned

So this might be a long one...as i said Tuesday was Reformation day (many ppl refer to this day as Halloween). Some of my friends and i went about a week ago and carved pumpkins. Now i know that some of the people that read this may be gasping that i carved an evil vegetable (charles), but i think it was pretty cool. I was pretty excited with how it turned out...yeah i know small things ammuse small minds. You know it's funny how when you turn a certain age you get "too cool" to do certain things, and then you get to college, and you want to do them all over again.

Yesterday was an interesting day. I had developmental psychology. Normally i really enjoy that class cause it is more discussion, and i love having an opinion on certain subjects...imagine that me opinionated. Well yesterday, the lecture was on character. Pretty much everything he said about people with low character referred to me. I never thought i was lacking character before, but my lack of discipline to get up in the morning, finish homework assignments, and complete other things makes me a character lacking oaf. I guess some of you knew that and now you are breathing a sigh of relief that i have been brought to that realization.

O!! I might be going to Chattanooga tomorrow!!! We are thinking about touring an underground cave. I haven't done that since i was 8 or 9, and i loved it then. Lauren has off work on a Saturday...gasp. I think this is the first time since....ummmm....well i can't remember a time when she didn't have to. And i am VERY excited because if everything works out heather and (the other) amber might get to go too. This is really what college is all about, making friends, making memories, and wasting money!! I really do think it's true that the most important lessons you learn have nothing to do with the classes you take. Just think of all the things you've learned...time management...money management...trust...friendship...sometimes forgiveness...love...loss...dealing with a week or so of pretty much no sleep...how to live semi-healthy on fast food and walmart...dealing with people you don't really like...dealing with people who don't like you...freezing in a dorm where the heat on your side of your hall is messed up. Well i think that's enough for now...just learn the lessons that come your way, don't let them pass you by. I'm off to chapel...i'm staying awake without candy...yea!