Sweet.

that it will never

come again is what

makes life so 

sweet.

-Emily Dickinson

Life right now.

as i sit in my living room, trying to muster up the energy to actually start a paper and listening to my roommate play her guitar, i am realizing that life is good right now. even though i had no idea how everything was going to get accomplished these last three weeks of school, i have realized that i do not need to worry. in  the end, everything always works out, so that is not on my mind so much tonight. today was spent with some of my siblings, their families, and my parents. we enjoyed each other's company, ate great food, and had a lovely campfire complete with the first s'mores for the summer. it was a lovely prelude to this summer.


 i feel like i am in a weird stage of life where everyone is starting to move on with their lives and going after their dreams; i don't really know where i am heading right now, but that's okay. we don't always need to know where we are heading as long as we are enjoying the ride. so, that's what i am doing right now. also, most of my friends are older than me, so that makes a difference too and i need to remember that.


i actually started running again. more consistently rather than sporadically like i have been doing this spring. i don't really like running unless it is a race. i need a running partner. exciting news: i got new running shoes today. so happy. some more exciting news: my toe, that i hurt last summer, is now fixed since i went back to the doctor to have it looked at again. so happy. last exciting news: the doctor also fixed my wrist that has been hurting. what did he do, you ask? he just popped a bone back into place. all that pain, for nothing. oh well, it isn't the beginning of arthritis, which both mama and i were worried about, so that's good.


i feel like i am rambling.


music is powerful. i have always known that, but there is just something about a song that can comfort you like nothing else. i think instead of starting this paper, i should just go lie in my bed and listen to some music and maybe read a fun book. or better yet, i will write. i haven't done that for awhile. yep, i am going to. 


good night.

A Few Good Days.

These last few days have been much needed. Due to assessment day on Wednesday, I didn't have class, which left class on Monday and Friday. Pretty great, huh? Anyways, Tuesday arrived with Brookie heading over to sew, run, drink coffee, talk, and eat. Great day. Wednesday came along and I really should have done more homework, but a roommate suggested we watch a movie and walk to cub for ice cream and a movie at night. Of course, me, not being able to focus, enthusiastically complied. Probably should not have done that since I spent the morning running, working out with a roomie, and working at the library. Anyways, I did it and we watched Moneyball, which was fantastic, so it was okay that I procrastinated yet another night. Today, Jennifer picked me up and I hung out with her and her two youngest munchkins for the day. Also great. It was just so relaxing to go and just sit and play with the babies away from school. I feel like I am going on and on about school, but right now I am very conscious that I am still here and many other students are winding down with their school year. As for me, I still have a month, so that has been a little disheartening and made doing homework even harder. whew... So basically, if anyone wants to do anything fun and pick me up from school, I'd be in! ha! Just kidding, but seriously... As for right now, I better get back to finishing the assignment that is due tomorrow that my prof told us not to wait until the night before to do. I am SUCH a great student. (sarcasm)

P.S. If you don't really know me, I am really into sarcasm. Sorry if I have ever offended you. :)

checked out.

once again i have fallen way behind on writing. not only have i neglected my blog, but it seems that i cannot possibly write anything. i checked out long ago...even before spring break which exacerbated it exponentially. as of tonight, i am off on easter break. i love no class on tuesdays and thursdays. :) i'm trying to remember everything that i kept adding to my mental list of things i had to write about. let's see...

so, i keep a list of crafty things i want to do/small little goals that i want to work on. some of these crafts include skirts, my quilt, a sign that i have been sewing for quite some time but haven't finished yet, my cowl that i started a coons age ago, etc. my two main goals is to learn how to play guitar and train to do a half marathon! the only problem is i don't know when the heck i will ever have time to accomplish them. i always think, "after school gets out, i can really get busy", but then camp comes and i think "i'll do some of them at camp!", but then that doesn't happen either and i am back at school and nothing productive ever happens at school. so, ya see, i have a real dilemma.

we signed up for rooming for next year just tonight. now i really need a bike because i will be way out in the boonies, but i will have a kitchen! what i am trying to say is that if you have an extra bike just lyin' around, give me a call! while we are on this note, if you have an orange station wagon or a jeep grand wagoneer also lyin' in your pile of treasures, give me a call, for these are my two dream cars. what the heck, if you have any furniture that could be useful in a college dorm that you were hoping to get rid of, give me a call ;) i promise, i am done now!

one thing that has been on my mind a lot is a j-term trip next january that will travel across germany, france, belgium, and england. it is a world war one trip and i am thoroughly excited for the people that are planning to go, the profs that are going, and the trip itself. it sure will be swell.

i promise,

i WILL right more soon.

PARCELS.

tonight has been grand.

nothing happened; it was true bliss. after leaving my room at 7:30 this morning, i finally was able to come home by 6:30ish. this week is the week of tests; i had a ten page paper that was due this morning for my Classics in Western Political Philosophies class (it may just be the hardest paper i have ever written), a test this morning, a test wednesday morning, and one on friday. like i said, it is the week of tests, but that also means not too much homework. so many things happened today that confirmed that i am doing what i am supposed to be doing and that is always a welcome feeling. after much thought, i have decided to drop the education part of my degree; i have spent time talking to my much admired professor, diana, about it as well as one of my new favorite profs, the distinguished intellectual, gordon william carlson, who is retiring this spring after 40 years of teaching at bethel. he's quite the fellow. i decided that i am passionate about history; i have been since i was a little girl, and so i have decided to pursue only history and a political science minor since i am already half ways there...and maybe one day go to grad school. yikes. i also realized that i am not passionate about teaching per se, but i do love helping people/talking about history and hearing/telling stories. so what am i going to do, you ask? i'm going to work at a museum...my dream since i was at least an eighth grader and maybe even earlier. i have had wonderful teachers that have believed in me from the start and they have talked to me about this with complete faith in me to make something amazing.

today, as i walked into g.w.'s office, he looked up at me (let me remind you that i have only met him four weeks ago and he and i are just becoming friends)(also, we get along g.w. and i. i am an old soul and he is an old man)and said, "well, how is my brilliant scholar doing today?" i think he likes me because i'll always sit and listen to him talk after class as everyone else rushes out. this man dearly loves to hear himself speak and i dearly love to listen. :) anyways, i also met with a career counselor this afternoon. i made an appointment after one of my roommates boasted of the great staff that helped her figure out all her major stuff. i took a personality test and guess what the top two jobs were? it was too perfect, my results came back that people with my similar results were either a curator or an archivist. so, that's what i am going to do.

i have decided that one of the first big purchases that i will buy is going to be camping stuff. two of my friends and i have this plan to just jump in a car one weekend and drive north, pitch a tent somewhere, hike and explore, and just sit by a fire, drinking warm things and reading lovely scribblings. yep, we are going to do it. this weekend, for funsies, two of my roommates and i went and hung out at r.e.i. Bad decision. i left with a backpack that is also like a nice daypack for hiking and other sweet things. it's so cool, so now i want to go hiking even more than ever. oh, the reigns of college that hold me back! not really, but it would be nice to just be able to leave. not that i think that i will be able to do that when i am a "real" adult however. :) i think that's it for tonight. must.do.work.

now that i have four less credits, i will try to actually post more.

good night.

oh, also here is a picture for annie flaunting my new necklace that came in the sweetest little parcel today.

Hodge Podge.

This post will most likely be a jumble of things that have been going through my head since i last wrote. Sometimes when i take a break from posting it is hard to get back to it because i feel like i have to catch people up on why i haven't been posting, so here it goes!

i have decided i am a full blown 90's kid. That's right. i didn't want to jump on the band wagon (like usual), but there is no getting away from it. Every time i see a blog or someone posts something like "if you remember this, you were a true 90's kid..." There were many things that i had forgotten, but the minute you see them, you think, "ah, those were the good times." Movies from the 90's will always be my favorites. For real. During this past weekend i watched the beginning, and only the beginning, of Hope Floats. Made in 1998 and in my opinion, one of Sandra Bullocks best. Whenever i watch it, i think to myself what great clothes she wears in that movie. You couldn't wear them now, but boy, they were so cool then. Another thing i did this weekend was listen to Dixie Chicks. Yep, i will admit that i have a secret fondness for the Dixie Chicks. Don't laugh...they are still the only country band that this girl will endorse wholeheartedly.

What brought on this nostalgia was a movie that a couple of my roommates and i went to great strengths to find last Friday. Never have i knocked on complete strangers' doors to ask for a particular movie...and most of the time i was left looking like a complete dork while the others ran from embarrassment. After the sixth door or so, we found the movie Waitress. It was alright, but the main point of the movie was that this woman was trying to leave her abusive husband and his name was...Earl. The entire movie i was waiting for "and Earl had to die, na na na na naa naa naa..." Much to my dismay, it never did make an appearance. Oh well, we just listened to it the minute the movie ended at top volume and all was well with the world. i hope that i haven't lost all your respect in the world. :)

Classes started and the marathon of the 18 credits has begun. i think it will be okay...as long as i have spark notes. i feel like i am cheating. Even though i am using spark notes for my, ahem, Classics in Western Political Philosophy (stated in your most dignified voice, of course), it is still in the running for my favorite class. The class itself sounds sort of uppity and to be perfectly honest, there is no way to shorten the title. Real annoying. So when i am talking to my roommate about my homework, it usually comes out, "...and i have 164 pages of (insert voice here) Classics and Western Political Philosophy to read by Monday, respectably." Anyways, on to something a tad bit more interesting.

Oh, this is exciting. My sister and her family are all here for the next week and a half, which has already been lovely. Sisters are really great, ya know? i was once told that i speak a lot about my family. i pondered that. It's true, i do. That is only because my family will always be there and so i trust them more than anyone else in the world. i think i had written previously that i am not the type of person that needs a lot of friends; i just need a few really close friends. Well, for me, that is much of my family...and then friends that i consider family because i know they will be there for the rest of my life. Lifelong friends that you can count on is one of the most precious blessings in life. i am blessed.

Within the past few months i have really resonated with the Doxology. When i was growing up, we always sang that song in church before giving the offering. The words are so powerful and it is just short and sweet.

praise God from whom all blessings flow.

praise Him, all creatures here below.

praise Him above, ye heavenly host.

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Sorry this ended up so long, but i thought we needed to end on that note. :) Have a lovely Tuesday...or whatever day you read this.

Camp.

Not really sure how these two things correlated, but today at church, i was looking at the stained glass widows. It had been a gray, dreary morning (the best) and the effect it had on the windows was phenomenal. Along with the music we were singing and it was pure bliss. The strange part, i had the biggest desire to be at camp and i have been thinking about how wonderful it will be all day long. Oh, summer, go on and hurry up your arrival, please.