Given me more than I could EVER have wanted

So today is my 28th birthday and so far, no complaints. :) I was in San Diego to visit my grandfather who has the same birthday and on my drive home I was thinking about my life. I guess with it being my birthday it hit me that the last 28 years have been pretty darn good to me. I don't really have a whole lot of complaints, and I started thinking about life and how people are born and that God plans it all.
He plans to whom and where we are born, what life we have. I thought about how He had everyday of the last 28 years planned for me, and how I'm not worthy of that. He gave me an awesome life and how lucky I am that I know it was a gift from Him. I, for I think one of the first times in my life, realized how lucky I was to worship Him. I know my creator, and my Savior and I know and trust that the rest of my life will be blessed, and He will take care of me, come what may. I get to thank Him, because I know it's all because of Him.
I feel sorry for those who don't know God, and can't celebrate their life as a life with Him. I was listening to the David Crowder Band as I was driving, and the song You Alone came on, and it seemed really appropriate for my thoughts today.

You Alone

You are the only one I need
I bow all of me at your feet
I worship You alone

You have given me more than
I could ever have wanted
And I want to give you my heart and my soul

You alone are Father
You alone are Good
You alone are Savior
You alone are God

I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive!




Beautiful! Thanks!

What do you want?

Hello!
So I'm in between finals right now, and honestly my last one isn't really a final, it's a short answer question which I already know the answers to, so I'm not worried. That last one though...ugh! This teacher doesn't even ask the question right--so how could I be expected to learn if I don't even know what she's asking. For example (this is a real question on our final):
You work at McDonalds (or another fast food restaurant) and your boss has asked you to write a response to Schlosser's Fast Food Nation. What do you say?

I say..no thanks! I'm glad I have a job and I'm not about to respond to that piece of crap book.

Calm down, I didn't write that. But seriously...that's how you worded that question? And that's one of the 17 you chose? (She had 17 questions that were on the study guide and 5 were on the final of which we had to choose two...) Ok, enough ranting. That class is now over and so I shall not rant about it again.

So if you're keeping count at home that means that I just have this one class in an hour and then finish my paper..ugh! It feels like this semester will never end!!!! Whether I like it or not, it's ending on Monday, so I better get used to that idea.

Confession: I have not purchased ONE Christmas present yet. OMG I don't even have time to think of that. I think I will begin on Saturday when we will be at Target all day. That's right! The Target Christmas Gift Wrap is SATURDAY!!! I'm so excited! One of the best events all year. We go to Target (at the Crossroads shopping center) and we set up outside and we wrap gifts for anyone that wants to for FREE!!! We don't accept donations or tips and we just take the gifts, smile and wrap them. It is so much fun! So if you are in the neighborhood and have some time, you should stop by and get your presents wrapped for free!!!!

I'm not really sure what I'm going to get people for Christmas..what do you want?

Ok well I think that's enough stalling...I'm going to go over my notes for my next class now...

Laters!

It Gives Me ENERGY!!!!

(To the tune of Mr. Grinch)

You're a mean one, Mr. Finals...
You really are a pain!
You're a vicious little test
Of what we should know best
Mr. Finals...

You're a bad one, Mr. Finals.
You keep us up all night
We are trying to remember
All the stuff from last September
Mr. Finals.

You're a vile one, Mr. Finals.
You treat us really bad!
It's bad enough to have one,
But then you pile it on, and on and on....
Mr. Finals...

You are beautiful, Mr. Red Bull
You give me ENERGY!!!
For studying all the facts
So I won't live in a Shack
Mr. Red Bull..

THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!!!!!!!! (And to you're cousin Espresso TOO!!!)

Ok.. Back to the books.

Classic-shmlastc!!!

So I’m in class today and we’re watching Rebel without a cause and as we were watching it I noticed that Judy’s (Natalie Wood) brother was playing with a gun stat shot actual sparks out of the end of it. ACTUAL SPARKS!!! Last week at Starbucks there was a reacall on a product because if it fell and broke there would be possible sharp edges that a child could cut themselves on.

Seriously, if a cup happened to break and a child happened to be holding the broken cup, it could possibly have sharp edges after breaking and it had to be recalled, but in the 50’s it was ok for a child to have a TOY GUN THAT SHOT SPARKS OUT THE END OF IT!!!!

What has this world come to?

PS—This movie is really stupid. Classic-shmlastc!!! LAME!!! For the soundtrack of way over dramatic music alone, or the close up of Plato crossing his fingiers before they play chicken….LAME!!!!

Reflection

I should be writing a paper right now but I just wanted to take a break to just relfect. Sometimes I feel like I pour my heart into my students and they know that I'm there for them, but last night I got to see that they pour their hearts into us as well. There are sometimes whe I think I'm just making a little bit of difference, but nothing really life altering, and then God reminds me, that He is using me for something greater than I imagined. He has something so much better than I could've hoped and He is using me greater than what I even realize.

So use me, God. Fill me with Your spirit and guide me in the way that You would have me go. Help me to remember that it's not my plan, but Yours for me. Give me ears to hear Your voice and Your calling in my life.

Amen.

I know it's a few days too late, but here is a Thanksgiving Poem:

If Turkey's thought
They'd run away
A week before
Thanksgiving Day

But Turkey's can't anticipate
And so there's Turkey
On my plate!

:)

Oh Happy Day!!!

So I am pretty stressed. I have a BUNCH of homework--2 papers (one that is 20 pages), one project about web pages, 2 different presentations, not to mention 3 finals--obviously all by the end of the semester. Well one paper and the web project were all due this week--until I just checked my school email!!!!

The one paper is now not due until the 29th and the web project (which is mostly done) is to be turned in via email because class is canceled (my teach can't be there)!

So yes, the homework will still be there, but in the mean time, Janel gets sleep!

Oh Happy DAY!!!

So I'm off to bed!!!

Psalm 56

So today's been tough for me, so I turned to the word. God is awesome!

"Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me;
all day long they press their attack.
My slanderers persue me all day long;
many are attacking me in their pride.

When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?"
--PSALM 56:1-4

Praise God!! What can man do to me when the Lord is my refuge!!!

Amen.



Picture taken at Calvin Crest

Just wanted to say HAY!!!!

I started writing this a couple weeks ago, but have been really busy, so here's the story:

So last night I did something new and absolutely fun! Kathy and I noticed that there were some barrels of hay that had not been discarded from Pastor Mark's going away party and so we thought it would be funny to take them to people. :)

So last night, Fred, Kathy and I went to the church and loaded up the hay into a truck. We first went to Ryan's house and since it was our first house, we weren't very experienced. We took one barrel of hey, cut the ties and spread it all over his front porch...

On to the next house on our list! So we went to Pastor Tim's house. We got there, had a game plan and then went to it! We unloaded one barrel, and then another. As I was spreading out the hay on the drive way guess who drives up, but PASTOR TIM!!! We ran! We then heard Tim calling to us and told us to finish what we were doing and then he'd go into his house and get the kids... so we spread it out everywhere! (see above picture)


Then onto Pastor Kirk's house. We parked along the side of his house and decided that we should use 3 barrels of hey. Now we're getting good and so we spent time thereWe got the hedges around his house, COVERED the lawn, driveway the side lawn and the porch. Oh Man! It was intense!!!! Here is a picture of Kirk's house.


Well then we had to go back and get more hay.. you heard me.. MORE HAY!!! We then went to the Drever's house and knowing that some students hang out there on Fridays we did this one very well. We got all over the driveway and front lawn, we even through some up into the tree. As we were leaving, we decided to "Ding-Dong Ditch" them and then we drove away...well Garret got in his car and caught up with us. We went back to hang out and all the kids cleaned up the hay!





This was so much fun and I don't regret any of it. Ok well looking back I kinda regret doing certain people's houses (one of them not being mentioned) but it was one of the highlights of having this job!

God wanted me at IPC

So I skipped a month! Sorry! I've been so busy with two jobs and school, I hardly have time to just relax anymore. I've recently discovered that I'm working 7 days a week. I was too busy to notice that!!!

So what have I been up to? Well, actually, a lot. September 2007 was extremely packed full of things to do. USC football has started and so far, so good. Last week was just agony to watch, but we made it through OK! (yes I use the words "we" and "us" when referring to 'SC football, because, well, I'm a fan and I am part of the sport as a fan)

Last week is what really sticks out to me right now about last month. The pastor at my church resigned and Sunday was his last day. He and his family have moved to Texas. I am very VERY sad. Mark did so much for me in my life. I started going to IPC as a Jr. Higher. When I was in college, my parents stopped going to church and I stayed. I had found a place that had accepted me for who I was and allowed me to be that person. I went through some pretty awful stuff in college and I know that if it weren't for a place like IPC, I probably wouldn't be a Christian anymore. It was Mark's sermons and the staff there that kept me coming and gave me a place to just be angst-y, cynical me during those times (some of that cynicism is still there though :) I knew that I could turn to Mark or Kirk and they would answer my questions, pray with me and for me and allow me to have doubts. I never had to act like anyone I wasn't. It was through their determination that I went to Urbana in 2003 and where I, for the first time, realized that I could be used in God's Kingdom. I didn't have to go to Uganda or Russia or Mexico. God wanted me in the Jr. High ministry at IPC.

So I went, reluctantly. I had left that ministry on bad terms, but again, the staff was forgiving and welcomed me back. I was a volunteer for two years and then the opportunity to become the "intern of Jr. High Ministries" opened up. I asked if I could take it and now, a year later, as the ASSOCIATE, I am looking at careers in Jr. High Ministry. I would not be here if it weren't for Mark. I know that... well I don't KNOW it but I can say with much certainty that he helped me and made a huge impact on my life that I will eternally be grateful for.

What I find so amazing about this story is that it's not over yet. When I came back to the Jr. High ministry I had the opportunity to be a leader to the Jr. High class of 2007. These students have always been so special to me. I was a summer Sunday school teacher to them when they were 3. I was a VBS teacher and helper to them all throughout their elementary school lives, not to mention being a camp Councelor too! And then I got to be their Jr. High leader. Needless to say they were always more than just kids at my church. They were my kids. I was friends with some of them before they came to Jr. High, and then in Jr. High I became VERY good friends with them. And you guessed it, one of them is Mark's son. There are a good 10 that I feel completely close to and would do anything for (see the post titled: Life is a Football Game--that was to them).

So this last week was Mark's last week with us. I am so fortunate to have been able to spend so much time with Mark and Linda and Nathan and Kara last week. We went to a High School football game, Wicked, Disneyland, countless hours sharing meals, painting my office, and laughing and enjoying each other's company. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends.

Well I have to read some more of Huck Finn right now and I'll tell you all about school and stuff later, but I just wanted to write a bit and tell you all that I haven't forgotten about you.... :)

Grace and Peace to you!!!!!

Well.. he was already going to miss a game...

I'm just saying....

Friday, August 31, 2007
Longhorns WR Pittman gets 3-game suspension for borrowing car
Associated Press

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns suspended wide receiver Billy Pittman for three games Friday after learning he broke NCAA amateurism rules by borrowing a friend's car this summer.
In a statement, the No. 4 Longhorns did not identify the friend but said the person had no connections to the school.
Pittman, a senior, was already going to miss Saturday's game against Arkansas State with a shoulder injury. He will be eligible to return Sept. 22 against Rice.
"I want everyone to know I'm really sorry," Pittman said. "It was an honest mistake and I'll do everything I can to make up for it."
Pittman has 69 catches for 1,206 yards and nine touchdowns over the last two seasons.
Pittman is the latest Texas player suspended for off-the-field issues this summer. Linebacker Sergio Kindle and defensive end Henry Melton are also suspended three games after both were charged with DWI.
A third player, freshman linebacker Dre Jones, was suspended indefinitely after being charged with aggravated robbery. A fourth player, former safety Robert Joseph, was charged in the same incident. Joseph had already left the team after being arrested in a separate incident over the summer.


Maybe that's a little harsh?!?!?!?

I swear I'm not making this stuff up! I wasn't having a good night, so I started looking up stuff on the internet. It's funny what you'll find huh?

Not Well Designed

So yesterday I was at Disneyland and spent the day with some of my Best Friends. We did a lot for a summer day too! We even spent some time with Mary Poppins and Bert. :) When we first got there we headed into Adventure Land, and we saw Remy and Emile coming out of Frontierland. Let me tell you. These are not well designed characters. My frist impression was that they recycled OLD Mickey costumes, and then either Syd or Nate said that they looked like Chuck E. Cheese! THEY REALLY DID!!! And let's think about that! Do you think that Remy would want to be compaired to Chuck? Yeah, I don't think so... they don't exactly serve Ratatouille there do they? So good job everybody for the great design in costumes!!!!

The best part of yesterday wasn't that we did a lot or that we were even at Disneyland, it was that we were together and having a LOT of FUN!!!! We went on most of the attractions, and we even talked to Stitch. We told him that our friend was moving to Texas and asked if he had any advice for us, he said no but then he sang us a song. We met up with Lou and had a FANTASTIC time! We stayed until the parked closed, and I've never seen Nate get soooo LOOOOOPY!!!! It was awesome.

Well I want to end this with well wishes for the Roberts Family. They are moving today and I will miss them terribly! Thank you for all you've done for me! For Mark always teaching me something new in service and for being a pastor that I could always come to no matter my age. For Linda, thank you for always making me feel like I was a part of the church family. Kara, you have always greeted me with warmth and you have an abundance of joy in you. I know that you will blossom in Texas.
And Nathan, I will miss you and your humor so much. You will do great and know that we will always be here for you.

Thank you all for the diffrence you have made in my life!

New podcast to listen to!

So first off, I just want to say that I am pretty excited because I found out that Kevin and Bean have a podcast of their show everyday! Yea!!! Now I can listen!!! STHUPER!!!!

I went to California Adventure with Nathan, Josh and Ben on Thursday and we had a great time!

Tonight I'm headed over to Aarons house to watch HSM2 (that's High School Musical 2) the sing along version with all the ninth graders! I LOVE that they invite me and love to hang out with me. :) It makes me feel so loved and I think that they are so fun! Well I've gotta go get some dinner before I go. Talk to you later!

Being Understood is knowing you are loved

Sthuper Duper Exthited!

I am so excited. Our plans for Disneyworld are coming together. We're actually going! I'm so excited! I'm glad that Ray and Syd and I are going together. It'll be super fun!

Sthuper Duper!

PS have y'all seen She's the man, because you should. It's really good!

K--see you later!

Yeah, I know I'm behind

Yeah, so... I got sick when I went up to camp on the last couple of days.
AND I'M STILL SICK!!!! Ugh! This sucks! I want my nose to stop running and my cough to just quit! YUCK!

Last night we had Poolside and it went really well. It was good to see some of the students that we hadn't seen in a long time. We had a lot of left over soda and chips so I brought them back to the church this morning. We can definately use them in the future. This friday we have movie night again, and I can't decide what movie to show. Do you have any suggestions? Let me know if you do, just keep in mind it has to be G or PG.

My brother is having his Eagle Scout Court of Honor this Sunday and so that's super exciting! I've been trying to make a video for it, but I'm having a little bit of trouble. Hopefully N.R. can help me out later today or tomorrow.

So, I think I'm going to go now and read some more of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yeah, I know I'm behind, but I'm catching up!

Well Have a good day and I'll write again if anything exciting happens!

Calvin Crest

So I've been at Calvin Crest all week and I've had an amazing time! Check out the Calvin Crest Blog at:
http://ipccalvincrest2007.blogspot.com

The weirdest part about being back...I didn't have to empty my dinner plate into the trash and then stack it in a huge pile of plates.

It's good to be home!

Today is...

Ratatouille day! I'm so excited. I'm taking my dad and my grandmother to go see it. We're going to the new theatre that opened in Tustin at the District (where Lucille's is). I'm not sure if we're eating before or after the movie... but food is a must! Once you watch the movie you will get so hungry!

Well I'm going to clean my room now and then off to the movies!!!!! YEA!!!!

Not that I even like hot wings, but we got them anyway!

Well this weekend was pretty crazy! On Saturday I went to the magic castle and had a BLAST! It's a really great place and the food was pretty good. I'm curious to see what it's like in the evening.

My dad and Gwen and I went to the Angel game on Saturday. We had a lot of fun and the angels scored 10 runs so we got free wings at Hooters. Not that we went to go get them or that I even like wings, but we could've gotten them because the Angels are the best! I am so glad taht they are doing so well!!!

Yesterday we had our small group end of the year party and we went to the beach and it was a lot of fun!

So overall a pretty fun and great weekend!

:)

Better than Finding Nemo

So this weekend has been pretty tough. We had our 8th Grade graduation at church on Saturday and today was our last day with the 8th grade students. I will miss them soo much (see life is a football game). So needless to say, I've been pretty "tear-y" all weekend. I'm genuinely excited for them though. I loved high school and I had so much fun, and I know they will too.

My dad went to Florida this weekend to visit my sister for father's day and he's coming home soon! I missed him but I know they had an AWESOME time. I'm glad. They are pretty special to me so I'm glad they had fun. They went to the Adventurer's Club yesterday and so now my sister is a member... super cool. KONGALOOSH!


OH! I totally forgot! I saw Ratatouille yesterday in a sneek preview. Oh my! It is really good. It's funny and very entertaining and very sweet. I think I like it better than Finding Nemo... and that's saying A LOT!! I give two very enthusiastic thumbs up, fine holiday fun. Just know that the beginning is a little slow, but not too bad and the way they animate these days... it looked so real at times. See:



Ok well I'm off now.

See you later!

He's pretty

So I don't know if you saw the score of the Angel game yesterday... they won. 16 to 3!!! Seriously, how crazy is that?!?! I went to the game on Sunday with my brothers. We had a good time but now I'm sunburned. It's ok though because it's not that bad and it was totally worth it! :) I bought some Aloe lotion that smells like a Pina Coloda.. I smell pretty.

So...I'm watching Micheal Buble' on "Great Performaces." He's so funny. He's so talented. I like him. He just said Jazz doesn't make sense... "ooh let's see how many funky notes we can fit into a little few bars!" He's funny... "Jazz is like a great blues band that fell down the stairs." He he. I like jazz, but he's got a point. Some people just go crazy in their improvising! :) I like it because his main genre is Jazz. Now he's singing "This Love" by Maroon 5...he's so talented. He cracks me up. He'll be at the Greek in August. We should all go! Plus he's pretty!

Life is a football game

Well so. Tonight my family and I went to a restaurant that I love, Lucille's, and I ate TOO much! It's easy to do there. They have portions the size of Montana. HOLY COW. I'm also typing from a new computer too, so that's nice. But I will tell you it took a while for me to figure out my username and password because my other computer had it autosaved, thus I wasn't able to log on for a while.. :)

This week at Jr. High group I was crying a lot. Now I've been a Jr. High leader for 6 years and I have not felt this sadness like I do this year with the end coming up fast. I'm going to miss these 8th graders SO much. They are the best kids I know and they brighten my day just talking to them. I love hanging out with them and going to the movies and listening to them talk and interact with one another, and in just a few weeks they'll be gone into the craziness of High School. Now don't get me wrong, I love the 7th graders too, but these 8th graders I've known since they were 3 years old and I feel like they will be gone and I hate this feeling. Some of them are like my best friends and know me better than some of my friends my age. So here's to you guys!

I love you so much. I will always be here NO MATTER WHAT! I mean that, You get into major trouble, I will always love you like I do right now and do whatever I can to get you out of trouble. Here are some words of advice from someone who's been there and has made mistakes in the past. I hope that your High School experience is better than mine, and mine was AWESOME.
1. Listen to your mother and father. They also have been there and no matter how long ago, we all deal with the same issues, some a little different, but the general issues are the same. They are only looking out for you and have your best intrests in mind. They live for you and they always want the best for you, so listen to their imput, it's most likely the best. And THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT kind of friends are best for you. (You may think they don't but that's why you're a teenager and they aren't--TRUST ME).
2. Do your homework. Don't fall behind because you will never catch up. If you know the answers and feel like "working out the problem" is cutting into your time of watching TV, then suck it up. TV will ALWAYS be there and chances are you've already seen the episode you're "dying" to watch at that time. (And you're very lucky because you can catch up online these days or Tivo it and watch it later). Strive to go to the best college you can think of. You all can do it. Work hard and don't EVER let your studies fall behind, you WILL REGRET IT IF YOU DO.
3. Be involved in school or an extra curicular activity. This is where you'll make your lifelong friends. Your friends right now might not last and don't be surprised if y'all change over the next couple of years and you don't know why you were ever friends with them...someday you'll understand. For the meantime, make friends with people you have things in common with because when all else fails, you'll have some kind of basis for the friendship. Keep the friends you have at church because you will ALL go through rough stuff and it's good to have Christian friends in times of need. Other people don't understand how to hug like Christians do (true story).
4. Don't lie to parents or teachers. No matter how well you back up your lie, they will always find out. Let me repeat that: THEY WILL ALWAYS FIND OUT!!!!! And then you're worse off than if you told the truth. The more truthful you are now, the more trust you will earn and you'll be better prepared for college.
5. Don't ever settle for anything. You are worth more than anything and if you are not being treated right or if someone is hurting you then speak up! Keep pushing for the best and never give up. You will have a successful life if you keep pushing forward than if you stumble backwards. Life's a football game, you have to keep pushing toward the endzone to earn points, and the more people you have that are stronger, faster, healthier around you as your O-line or recievers--they will be able to assist through all the blitzes that come toward you.
6. Go to the football games! They are fun. Even if you hate football (which is just silly) GO!! You will have so much fun.
7. Take pictures. You can never take enough, even if you are L.R. :) In 10 years you'll be glad you did.
8. In all you do, love God with your whole heart. More than friends, more than family, more than youth group, more than me, He is always there for you to lean on. During a tough test, during a football game, during a yearbook meeting, during choir rehursal, during lunch breaks, during AP Euro, during STAR testing, he is there. He will always give you the strength that you need to get through anything. He Loves you and you are his children. He too, wants what's best for you so show him what your best is and do it for Him whole heartedly.

I can't wait to see where God takes you in life. Please keep in touch with me and I will pray for you everyday. I mean it too, if you need anything, I have a fast get-a-way car and a trunk full of disguises. I will do my best to get you out of whatever trouble, or problem or situation you may find yourself in. I'm here for you to cry to on those rough days and I'm here to pray for you no matter what. You could not do anything that would make me not love you. (read that sentance again). I will always love you, who you are, who you become and who you have the potential to be. Please don't ever forget that.

We have a graduation party in a few weeks so I hope you will all hear this message from me before then! XO


Other tid bits to say about the world before I sign off: Go DUCKS!--Yea, HIMYM is coming back for a third season, so y'all better watch!!!!!!!--I love you SYD, you've been the bestest friend lately and I will never be able to show how much you mean to me because there isn't enough love in the world.--Nicky, you are awesome I'm so proud of you and I Love you more than I could ever say--Jen, where the ____ have you been all my life, I miss you to pieces.--Memorial day was awesome, must do again soon.--All-nighter killed me, but Chip and Kim RULE.

I think that's all for now. Goodnight and Goodluck! :)

Funny people

SO I overheard the following comment the other day and I wanted you all to know it. So here it is:
Girl talking to a friend trying to make a call: "I can't get a hold of my brother and I'm really worried he might've been shot or something. He's spending the day in Buena Park."

REALLY. True Story.

K... I'm just saying

Only 53 days until I get to see Jersey Boys...

I have so much to say, but it's bed time and there's still lots of studying to do.

Will post later with pictures...

Somewhere in a meadow

So taking a short break from studying I wanted to share something with you. Now first a disclaimer: If you like Thomas Kinkade's works and think that he is an "artist" please stop reading.

In the attempt to look up if the rumor that there was a "Thomas Kinkade community" that you could live in I came across this disturbing news...

There is a film being made about Thomas Kinkade's life!! I swear! True STORY!! Don't believe me? Here's the link to their website:
http://www.thomaskinkadecompany.com/general_pages.asp?id=30001&NewsId=227&hideC=yes

Seriously?!?!?! What does Hollywood not have any better ideas?!?!?! This is just sad.

But I guess I could make it all better if I go to live in my own cottage by a brook somewhere in a meadow...

TV Shows

So I don't know what's come over me lately but there are some TV shows that I can't seem to get enough of. The first one is How I met Your Mother. It's funny and amazing and you should all be watching it. I'm going to go ahead and say it's the funniest show on TV! And of course you've got Neil Patrick Harris.. so it's gotta be good! Check it out. CBS on Monday's at 8pm.
And then there are the shows that prove that I'm 14 inside. I absolutely love watching the Hills and My Super Sweet 16. Have you seen these shows? Wow people really live like this! My super sweet 16 is crazy. One girl had a wait-for-it-$300,000 budget!!! What?!?!? How do parents think that this is ok to spend on their children's birthday party. What are their weddings going to look like? Yikes! Anyway.. I just can't stop watching. And the Hills...why their drama makes me want to watch, I will never know...but again.. can't stop watching. I was confessing this crazy obsession with these crazy shows to my sister and she confessed that she owns the Hills on DVD! Sweet! I'm not so crazy.

Jersey Boys

I have been so tired lately. I don't know why. I think last week killed me, so I'm recovering.

And I'm hungry. I think I'm going downstairs to go get food.

K, much better! So not much going on here right now, just watching an old Gene Kelly movie that I haven't seen before. It's Gene Kelly month on TCM! So that rules! Right now the Pirate is on. So far so good.

Ok I'll talk to you later. Oh wait! I'm so excited. I get to see Jersey Boys in 2 months!! I am so excited!
It's probably one of the best musicals ever! YEA!!!

Ok Bye!

Soy milk in my hair!

I love coffee....coffee coffee coffee. Coffee has a great taste and it keeps you up so you can study...I've only had seven shots of espresso today.. LA LA LA LA.

PS--Pollyanna is one of the best movies of all time. It's up there with Mary Poppins, if you know what I mean!!!!! There really is nothing like good ol' Disney movies.

So today I opened at Starbucks, and it was ok. I have a lead that likes to tell me what to do A LOT. Can we say "power trip?" It's all good because it's part of the job and I just smile and move on...that is until someone spills soy milk in my hair... not cool! Oh well, I guess that's why God invented Shampoo.

Speaking of hair. I got the best haircut EVER!!! I GOT BANGS! So cute!

Tonight there is a Not Quite Midnight at church. It's a fun event with the Jr. Highers and we call it Not Quite Midnight because they go until 11:30pm :) Anyways, all the leaders are dressing up in disguise and the kids have to find us at Fashion Island. It's going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!! I'm about ready to leave so I will talk to you all later.. and yes if you're counting that means that I opened at Starbucks at 4:15am and will be working until 11:30pm tonight. Did I mention I've had seven shots of espresso so far? I love coffee...coffee coffee coffee!

Like Christmas Morning Excited

K so I am so excited right now. Not just any kind of excited but like Christmas Morning excited. I have been studying for a week now for this midterm tomorrow (today) and 30% of the midterm is a take home essay... anyway it's done. YEAH! I finished. In the words of Marshall from How I met your Mother, "Makin' a responsible choice for my futcha!" I know it's 2:22 AM and I should be so exhausted and sleep but I'm just to darn thrilled for myself. 14 hours away from the hardest midterm ever!!!! Who could sleep at a time like this?!?! I can tell you that I'm not and Sydney's not. (just got off the phone with him :)

So I'm going to tell you a secret, and I figure that on a public website is the best place to tell secrets... anyway... The best way for me to fall asleep is to put on a movie and crawl into bed. So I netflixed Pollyanna and I thought I'd put it on to sleep to, well let me tell you! Before the movie begins on the DVD, they show a short, not just any short, "Nifty Nineties." I love this one. Almost worth buying the DVD for! It's the one where Mickey and Minnie are in the 1890's.. you know the picture:
Yeah, that's awesome.

Wow 7 minutes into the movie and I'm already laughing out loud.

Ok well now I shall attempt to get to sleep so that I can be well rested for my test tomorrow, but if all else fails and I get totally engulfed in the movie, there is always coffee....mmmmm.

Goodnight.

Stupid Haircuts

K so after only 3 and a half hours of sleep, I've been working all day at Starbucks (thank the LORD in Heaven for coffee) and before I go back to studying for the midterm of death, I just gotta get this off my chest.

Brit and Kfed, please do us all a favor and go live in a cave in Antartica so for crying out loud we don't have to hear about you, your kids, and your stupid haircuts... and please, for both your sakes...move on! DO NOT GET BACK TOGETHER!!!!

K... much better now.

On to the studying... and coffee.

Even He asked for something to drink

So First of all, big shout out to the two best guys in a girls life....Nick! I love you and thank you for allowing me to wake you up tonight when I was sad and being willing to stay up with me during my craziness(see story below). And to Sydney for always being the friend I can call at 12midnight with my major dilemas :) You're de Best!

Ok so y'all want to know why I'm up at 2:28am on Monday morning?!?!?! OK I'll tell you... I should be going to bed, but this is just too good and I hope you can all learn from this tragic mistake.

I have a midterm on Tuesday... not just any mid-term, no the hardest one of my life thus far (and this is 27 years of experience). This midterm is worth 45% of my grade! (yeah, you read that right). 45% !!!!!! The good news is that it only covers American History from Jamestown to the Civil war... just a tidbit of info!

I have 21 terms that I need to know their definition, AND what decade or decades they cover AND the cultural signifigance that they played in those decades.. will I be tested on all 21, you ask? Oh no, just 5. But I don't know which 5 so I have to know all of them.

I'm not going to bore you with the other details of this test, because for this story you don't need to know them.

I had started working on them earlier this week and had emailed my progress to myself so that I wouldn't have to start over. I then opened the file (first mistake) and started typing away, periodically saving (second mistake) as I was working. When shutting down the document so that I could email it back to myself after 3 hours of work on it, I realized that I hadn't specified where it was saved on my computer (3rd mistake). So I did a search...nothing. Searched for key words... nothing. Started to worry so I called Sydney. After about 20 minutes of searching we came to the conclusion that since I opened the document instead of saving it, I was working in a temp file, and since I was working in a temp file, I was saving to a temp file and when I closed the file, the computer thought I was done, so it deleted the temp file. (I'm starting to cry just remembering the feeling).

I hung up with Syd, thanking him through the tears for his effort and rushed upstairs to Nick and started crying on his shoulder about what happened. He tried to convince me to go to sleep, but I couldn't waste such valuable hours on something so unimportant as sleep. I cried my way back downstairs and decided that this was an emergency and went to the fridge and grabbed...wait for it... a Diet Coke! (For those of you who don't know the severity of that statement, it's because I gave up soda for lent! I think I'm ok though because in Jesus' agony on the Cross, even he asked for something to drink) I then stumbled back to the computer tried one more search, downloaded the document from my email and SAVED it this time and started again.

So here I am at 2:40AM and just now re-finishing my study guides and ready to crash on the couch.

Thank you for reading and I will try to post more often for you, my two devoted readers....

All I have to say is, FREAKEN TIME CHANGE!!!!