Starting the cycle all over again

So here I am...i think i have started a few posts like this lately...anyway, here i am sitting in the good old mail room with my good friends amber and lauren. I just finished registering, and my bank account is empty. Ugh!! Well, at least God has provided so far. Last night we hit the aquarium...now i love watching fish swim around as much as the next person, but after seeing it so many times, it isn't that exciting. I am lucky to have such awesome friends that i got to hang out with...and thankfully i didn't misplace my wallet this year with loads of cash...then again my wallet doesn't have loads of cash in it. I am trying to get used to living in a dorm full of girls again...fortunately with one roommate, it isn't as hard as it has been...then again it is a little intimidating since i am used to having 4 or 5 roommates, so if i don't get along with one i can go talk to another one...so if i don't get along with one this year i guess i have to talk to the wall...or my stuffed turtle that has found a home on my bed this year.

Anyhoo...Crown decided to welcome me back in a classic way this year...yesterday, which is the first time i ate lunch on campus, they decided to have my favorite meal...yep...a heaping helping of country fried steak...aka lard on a plate. Any one who knows me at all knows that i would eat pretty much anything on this planet before i forced my taste buds or my stomach to endure that torture of monumental proportions...so of course i ate salad.

Tonight there is a "split activity" the girls are having a dorm volleyball tournament and the guys are playing paintball and going rock climbing...i am not going to express my disgust with this "split activity" at this time. But while the other girls are stuffing their faces with ice cream tonight, i am going to be taking a nice walk around the campus. Lets hope Melvin doesn't come stalking...

I'm really too tired to think up a title

So i have been here for two days and so far the year seems like it will be pretty good. I got into my dorm and found out that i only have one roommate. That makes me pretty happy since i have been in a six man every other year. Of course, i haven't actually stayed in the dorm yet since my parents are still here. I'm so glad to see everyone again. I missed them so bad. We had a meeting last night, and we had one this morning, but i "accidentally" slept in too late and missed it, but i think i pretty much understand how to give someone a tract, so i think it will be ok. Today there was the "lets force everyone to get together and meet people" picnic. Its not so bad when you know people, but i remember as a freshman the day was total torture. Today i roamed between some different groups. I was hanging out with amber and lauren, but i lost them when they went on the hay ride and didn't find them again until it was almost time to eat. I got to spend some time with amber (different amber for those of you who are getting confused) and heather. After lunch, amber and lauren took off to the hotel...i don't blame them i would have done the same thing...it was HOT, but my dad was playing horse shoes and leaving seemed to be out of the question. So with amber and lauren gone and (other) amber and heather missing in action, i attached myself to yet another group of my friends. So as pictured, Joy, Renee, myself, trisha, leah, and casey took a hay ride. I know i look pretty dorky in the picture, but hey whats new?? I said it was hot...it was so hot, my long, thick, curly hair was smothering me...i thought i was going die of heat exhaustion. Amber's mom was awesome, she came through and french braided my hair...i haven't french braided my hair since i was 15, but it definitely did the trick. Well, after i got back from the hay ride, i found heather and amber and we decided to head back to the dorms on one of the shuttles. We got to the dorms and decided we should go do something, so we headed to one of my favorite places in all of knoxville...McKay's. It is a used bookstore with pretty much a book on any subject you're looking for.

Now you may have noticed that i have written this whole thing without mentioning Charles once (ok, so you prolly didn't, just humor me here). Well, to be honest i haven't really seen him much. We got here and got in line for dorm registration, and i left him...i know that sounds pretty harsh, but i am forcing him to make some friends on his own, and i think its working pretty well.

So tomorrow is the day i lose my flip flops. I will be in mourning for a little while. I have been living in them for the summer and i wish i could be living in them for the school year, but oh well...rules are rules for a reason, even when they don't make much sense to us. We are holding auditions for the cast of season 3...but so far i haven't seen anyone who fits quite right...

I have arrived!

So, i am now writing you guys(y'all for you southerners) from the great state of TN. We got here after a pretty eternal car ride. Kudos to Charles who drove the whole 10 hours in a standard without cruise control without complaining...even when the batteries died in his mp3 player about 5 hours into the trip. God provided great safety along the way and we arrived in TN without incident...although i have to admit when leaving PA i was a little nervous about my younger brother driving me all the way there in his 14 year old truck, but he did awesome. We did stop at a pretty shady Wendy's in Ohio...to be honest i was little worried about coming out and finding a window busted out of the truck and all our belongings gone. Our entire lives are currently packing in that truck, and them going missing wouldn't exactly be the highlight of my year. I am, however, waiting for something to go horribly, terribly wrong before this week is over...i know a little pessemistic, but it has become almost a tradition for me.

We arrived in TN about an hour before my parents...they were delayed in leaving because they had to visit the pharmacy and it didn't open till 9, so since we had to wait for them, we had to hit the favorite Crownie hangout and the most exciting place in all of Powell...WALMART!!! I felt strangely liberated while walking through walmart in flip flops...normally a dress code faux pas (that means a "no-no" for you southerners). When my parents finally arrived, we went to mcalisters and i got my fix for real southern sweet tea (i may be picking on you southerners, but you can make some awesome tea). Anyway, we get into our dorms tomorrow, and then i register on Tuesday...I also know that i have updated twice in 2 days and now you probably have to read another post after this...sorry about that.

***I have been informed that my last post was inaccurate when i stated that dairy queen employees in Ohio are unable to make a decent blizzard. Let me rephrase...Most (and by most, i mean all but the two that i was assured can make an awesome blizzard) dairy queen employees in Ohio cannot make a decent blizzard to save their lives... I don't know if this correction is exactly accurate...i guess i will have to find out on my next vacation...

And summer is over!

So it is hard to believe in less than 10 hours i will be on my way to TN. Yes, this is my last post in freedom. I can't believe how fast this summer has just flown by. And another thing that has been hard to believe is that this week i have actually felt like i have a social life...On Monday night i went out with my good friends tom and krissy. They live in Ohio so we drove over to meet them. We were just gonna get ice cream, but we decided that since none of us had eaten dinner...something real food sounded a little better. So Tom decided to take us to Covered Bridge Pizza. When he first told us where we were going, i had no idea what to expect...i didn't even know it was a pizza place. I loved it...the pizza was pretty good, but the atmosphere was incredible! I have eaten in some pretty interesting places...like old train cars, planes, but never in a bridge. We had a blast!! We sat there forever and talked, then jumped in their van and went to DQ for ice cream...and sat there and talked. I am really glad i have gotten to know them. They came to my church after i left for college, and to be honest, when i saw them last october at a basketball tournament, i couldn't even remember their names. Anyway, at dairy queen, i got a reese's cup blizzard (which has now become one of my favorites). I have come to the conclusion that dairy queen employees in Ohio have absolutely no clue how to make a good blizzard. This was the second blizzard in about a week (i know i have no idea why i had 2 in one week either...i can't eat ice cream for the rest of the year) that i found less than desirable. Now the dairy queen that my church goes to is awesome! And of course its in PA!!! I am really going to miss going to DQ with my church...i am really going to miss my church in general. I have gotten so close to some of them this summer. Well, its time for me to get some sleep...got a long trip ahea of me tomorrow.

Its ok if He says no

OK, so I am warning you now…this is one of my serious…God showed me something that I need to verbalize blogs. Today I was praying about some stuff I am going through. I prayed, “God please make everything work out exactly how you want…and if its not how I want it to work out, that’s ok…” I prayed a blanket prayer so that how ever this all works out, I can say…look God answered my prayer exactly how I prayed it!! Then I was like what in the world am I doing. I never told God what I really wanted. Why am I so afraid to pray for what I really want? Why am I so afraid of God saying “no”? My parents used to say no to me all the time, and despite what you all may think…I’m pretty well adjusted. God wants us to pray for what we want. God tells us, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Why not ask for what we want…God promises that if we delight ourselves in Him; He will give us the things we desire. If I desire something that is against God’s will, but I am delighting in Him, I believe He will remove that desire from my heart, so I am done praying blanket prayers that protect me from having God say “no”. I still want to pray for God’s will, and I still want Him to do His will in my life, but I don’t want to be constantly praying for nothing. My pastor has always said, “Nothing’s dynamic unless it’s specific.” I think this is the first time that actually clicked in my head.

God is supposed to be my best friend…I guess I’ve been missing that. Well, what I am going through right now, I really need to cling to that, and I tell everyone else what I want…I tell them how I want everything to turn out, but I don’t tell God. The one thing about God that I seem to have the most trouble grasping is that no matter what I say to Him or what I ask Him…He is always going to love me and be there for me. It amazes me that even when I don’t talk to Him and I ignore Him, He loves me. I wish I could be just as good of a friend.

I guess i needed a laugh...

So i guess i have returned to my addiction to blogging, even though no one ever reads this anymore...i just got back from a college and career fellowship with my sunday school class. The real reason for this fellowship was that no one had money to go to cedar point with the rest of the church...i did, but since i just went less than two weeks ago, i didn't really see the point. Anyway, i got there at the same time Trisha and Dave pulled up...dave is here till wednesday to visit and see Trisha since he is going to be going to Missouri. That makes me kinda sad since this will be my first year at school without the whole crew from my church...even though i don't really hang out with them much. We do have 2 more people from my church joining us, but enough rambling about that. We sat around and talked for about 4 hours before we decided to pull out pit...now i love the game pit, but it was nothing like the time i played the pit version of spoons at sara's house...nothing beats the conspiring that occured that night, however tonight, no one tried to break my fingers. It was fun though since i won 2 out of 3 games!

Poor dave was the only guy there until ryan showed up after he got out of work and then the laughter really started. Ryan and dave have only known each other for a short time but they make a great comedy team. I don't think i have laughed so hard in a while (well, except for some at cedar point). The other guys from our class couldn't make it since one is a newlywed, one went to cedar point, and one was showing his mom around the wonderful city of Erie...although i still don't see why he didn't come since that should have taken all of 2 seconds.

The night started with everyone sitting around and talking about their weddings...it wasn't until later that i realized i was the only single person there...kinda depressing, but i'm used to it. I sat and listened..got bored and went to talk to my sunday school teacher. I went to her house last night to a "home spa party." The girl that threw the party wasn't saved, and we were sharing the gospel with her when i had to leave, so i wanted to know how everything turned out after i left. She didn't get saved, but she seems really open...pray for her...her name is stacie.

Anyway, i had a great time, and it was good to get out and socialize a little. Please pray for me...i am dealing with some family stuff right now and it is kinda hard. Have you ever felt like your whole world is pretty much spinning the wrong way...not spinning out of control, but everything is going the absolute opposite of what you want. I just wish someone could tell me how to fix everything...how to get my world spinning the right way again.

Nun or a preacher??

I have a pretty funny story from work...oh! today was my last day and i am so excited about that. So yesterday, i told one of the guys at work that today was my last day, and he asked why...i responded with the typical, "i'm going back school" response. That was followed by the typical "where do you go to school" question. Now, i have been asked that question enough times that i have formulated a little explanation..."I go to a small, Christian college in TN with about 900 students." The guy couldn't fathom the idea of a Christian college. He asked me if i had ever done anything "bad" (and we all know what he meant). He then began to elaborate by asking if i drank or smoked or "partied." He was once again shocked by my answers. The conversation was over and i got back to work, but about 2 min. later he was back. He just looked at me for a minute and then blurted out the question, "Are you gonna be a nun?" I busted out laughing...i imagine that many people have wondered this when i told them i go to Christian college, but he is the first one that ever asked. He didn't really understand why i was laughing, and thinking he had missed the boat, quickly asked if i was going to be a preacher. This made me break out in even harder laughter. He didn't quite understand why i was laughing like someone had just told the funniest joke in the world. I explained that i was going to school to become a teacher. He then asked me several other questions including "do you go to an all girls school" to which i replied, "what do you think i am, nuts?" Well today, he decided to make fun of me a little...although he repeatedly assured me that there was nothing wrong with the way i live (like i needed the reassurance). I was called "Bible girl" and asked questions like "do you cuss." When i answered no to that i was challenged to cuss one time, and i once again answered no. One of my other co-workers smacked this guy and told him if they hadn't done all the things he was asking me if i had done they prolly wouldn't be where they are in life...they are in the same work release program.
Anyway, you prolly don't find this as funny as i did but i thought i would share that story with you...i found it hilarious, but maybe you had to be there. See most of you very soon...in a week!!!!!!!!

Learning to trust

Why can't i just trust people?? Why can't i believe that someone wants to be my friend?? I messed up tonight. I, once again, using my tiny little brain, decided that one of my friends is just tolerating me, and doesn't really want to talk to me. In reality, he is just busy, and doing other things. Why did i think this??? Its simple really...i read way too far into everything. When someone does something that they think nothing about, i analyze it from every angle and try to figure out what it means except it means nothing. Why do i do this?? I don't know...maybe it's cause i don't know if i would be my friend. Maybe its cause i have had "friends" that really weren't friends. I had to deal with that this year, and it makes me examine all my other friendships. Sometimes i am so worried about bothering a friend that i can't enjoy myself. I just don't want to annoy them and lose a friend.

Anyway, i just wanted to tell all of you that i am sorry. Most, if not all of you have experienced this at one time or another. I am so worried about chasing my friends off that i end up doing just that. I guess i am just trying to learn to trust.

Mark, I'm sorry i doubted your friendship. I'm sorry that i doubt our friendship all the time. I am going to try really hard to stop. I just don't get why someone like you is friends with someone like me. You can sing, you can make people laugh, and you make friends so easily. Please forgive me...again. I will prolly delete this blog sometime tomorrow, when i realize it is way too emotional for people to read, but this is how i feel, maybe too much of it, but if i can't share my heart with my friends, who can i share it with?

I enjoyed my day at America's Roller Coast

Yesterday, i was able to go to cedar point with some friends. It was great. We got to ride pretty much every big ride. Of course, we waited in lines forever, and i got a pretty harsh case of sunburn, but those are the memories that make it all more fun. Now every time someone taps my arm, the extreme pain reminds me of the great fun i had. I don't think i have ever gone to cedar point with a better group although i'm not so sure they can say that about me...i wasn't in the best mood for the first part of the day. I had a headache and just couldn't shake it. Sorry guys!

They whole trip was made possible by our great friend amber supplying the free tickets. Now i am sure that we still could have gone and had a great time, but i'm not so sure it would have been as fun with that price tag, so Amber, we are VERY grateful. We spent the whole day waiting in line for hours to ride rides that last about 25 seconds, but strangely enough, that 25 sec. is worth the wait.

For those of you that are going to the point this year, make sure you ride the new ride the skyhawk...i got some pics off the cedar point site. It was a pretty awesome ride. We rode at night, and it was awesome...you go flying up and all you see is stars. You are held on the ride by a lap bar. I am still convinced that my lap bar was not nearly tight enough, but i guess i made it off alive. The ride is like a giant swing that takes you as high as a 12 story building. For a short second, you free fall...its awesome, but i definitely recommend that you ride it at night.

But of all the rides, the one that terrifies me the most is Power Tower. Now, i get nervous on other rides, like any coaster with a hill that you go up slowly with that clicking sound, but once i get to the top of the hill i'm fine. On power tower, i am pretty much scared senseless until the initial drop is over...getting to the top doesn't stop the fear. But then again, i guess that is why its called a thrill ride. We are still looking for Justin's penny...the one that defied the laws of amusement park physics.

I also want to thank ambers mom for the awesome lunch she packed us. It was really good, and i am so glad it was healthy food, since i have been trying to watch what i eat. The turkey wraps were awesome...and you might tell from a previous blog that turkey is my favorite.

Anyway, i have so many super awesome, super funny stories, but i am super tired, and i have to go shut my sun burnt eyes and try to get some sleep...so i'll just send out some last thanks...mark, thanks for breakfast and for picking me up and taking me to laurens...lauren, thanks for driving and letting me crash at your house for a few nights...amber, thanks for the tickets and bringing the lunch...brandi, thanks for riding all those coasters with me (i know i'm a pretty lame partner, but i had fun, i hope you did too)...justin, thanks for keeping mark under control-wait, you were the one encouraging him most of the time...jk. Ambers mom...thanks for making a great lunch. Everyone thanks for the laughs and the memories. i'm glad we all got to go. I got my pics back today, so i'll show 'em to all of you next time i see you. Some of them are pretty interesting...

Funny or just plain wierd?

Well, i just got back from a wedding. It was beautiful!! Ann was a gorgeous bride, and everything went off without a hitch...well except for someone's cell phone going off. I would have felt so bad if it was my phone. It was really wierd though cause Ann and Nathan are the first people from my youth group that are getting married...i mean other people in my church have gotten married, but they were always older by at least a few years.


Anyway, that's not why i'm blogging right now...I wanted to share with you the most random thing i have ever seen in my entire life. I can honestly say that i can't think of something i have seen that is more out of place. Anyway, my dad and i were driving home from the wedding, and we were driving by the interstate, and there standing on the side of the road under the overpass is a guy in a kilt playing the bag pipes. He was behind his car just playing away. There was no one else around...no reason i could see for him to be playing his bagpipes. Maybe it was a dare or something, but i just can't figure it out. I thought it was pretty funny and just wanted to share it with you...Does anyone else think it is a little strange to see some standing on the side of the road in ethnic garb playing their hearts out on a musical instrument?

My life in a sweat shop

So i looked up the definition of a sweatshop in good old Merriam webster and found this defintion, "a shop or factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions." Ok so maybe i am making a little more than the 50 cents a day that some kids in tajkistan are getting...but trust me the above definition applies. I do have an alternate definition for "sweatshop" from, "The definitions of Mary." A sweatshop should be defined as a building with few or no windows and huge, noisy, hot machines in which the workers are forced to listen to hours of horrendous noise (sometimes called "music"), and every laborer must lose about 10.3lbs a day due to sweating. On a more serious note...please pray that i make it through this week without getting sick. There is an extreme heat wave...i'm sure most of you are experiencing it too. Anyway the factory i work in is generally 20-25 degrees hotter than outside and i started feeling funny yesterday, and today is supposed to be hotter! Gotta go to work...i'll post again soon