Home, Sweet Home

Well...it's true. I'm finally home. Actually, I've been here since Wednesday...I've just been busy doing lots of fun things like cleaning my room, hanging out with my family, and helping my 8-year-old sister clean HER room. Which was a disaster...the room, not the cleaning. The cleaning was a success! Hopefully she'll start to learn how to keep it that way, lest it devolve into the wreck it was before Saturday.

I'm home tomorrow still, and then on Tuesday I'm driving down to Galena, MD to hang out with Mr. & Mrs. Thayer (love them!!) for the night. Then Wendesday morning...I fly! And around noon California time, I'll be hanging out with Lisa!

I also heard from a friend of mine from high school who's been living in LA since we graduated. I haven't seen him since high school, but we might try to catch up while I'm out there. It's strange how someone can go from being in your life every day to...well, not at all.

I've been thinking about that a little with Kutztown lately...next semester isn't going to look like this one at all. I'll be living with CB (yesss) which will be a lot of fun...and if I weren't living with her, I'd probably be dreding next semester entirely. But there will be a lot of my friends from this year whom I will pretty much never see. And that's a little bit of a bummer.

And speaking of school - I had a nightmare last night where I failed one of my classes and was trying to beg my painting professor to change my grade. Ugh, I work up anxious about it. And while I know I don't have anything to worry about...well, it made me worry. Not that I usually need much encouragement in that department...

Anyway, I'm going to bed! And tomorrow I'm packing and probably running a few errands. I have a car full of stuff to take to Goodwill, and a few things I need to buy for my trip. WOO California!

The Count...Censored.

I just got back from a nice lunch with my step-mom after packing up the family van with half of the stuff from my dorm. I no longer have a minifridge, a tv, a rug, or most of my clothing. This is a terribly exciting thing for me, because it makes the end of the year that much more tangible.

Tomorrow morning is the Praxis II. Which means I should think about studying for it right now...but...um, well I'm not. And I probably won't. 'Cause I'm really mature and stuff, you know?

Today I took my last undergrad test! LOVE IT. That felt good, too.

I don't think anything else profound has happened lately...OH. Wait.

Okay, listen, I saw this video and it's incredibly inappropriate, but incredibly funny. I mean, it's actually "censored" so it's not traditionally inappropriate, but it's funny because of the implications behind the censoring. Um, so don't judge me, but I laughed for about 24856 years after I saw this video.

Also, it's nothing new or anything. I'm not claiming to be on the cusp of internet hilarity. I just know it when I see it, that's all...and you will too, I promise.



HAHAHA

Thank You Day

Today was Thank You Day at Kutztown. I have no idea what that means, except that I got a free t-shirt out of the deal. Which is pretty sweet, if you ask me. Maybe they're thanking me for getting all of my money? I'm not really sure.

Anyway, speaking of school - my time living here (since I'll be in Lancaster for next semester) is drawing to a close.

I'm going to pause and think about that for one moment...

....yessssssssssssss.

Today was my last day in painting and watercolor. It was my next to last art history class. Tomorrow will be my last early field class. On Friday I take a test, and then...

...then it is finished.

Well, except for the Praxis II at 7am the next morning. But that hardly counts! And then the end-of-the-year fun begins: Dana visits, Wing Night with CB and Marilyn on Monday, and then a Dip Party (I might be making the famous buffalo spinach artichoke dip) and the Swain Art show on Tuesday. And then HOME!

Also, it's worth noting that I'll be in California in two weeks.

Do you know what California looks like? It looks like this:



And this:



Oh, and a little of this:



I WANT TO BE THERE.

Two Stamp Tuesday!

Yesterday was Two Stamp Tuesday at Rita's, so CB and I made the trek out to the closest one (about 15 mins away) and braved the rain for some deliciousness.

Once we were back in the warm car and out of the blustery rain, I realized that I couldn't feel my fingers. Those cups get cold! After complaining to CB about this, she excitedly jumped out of the car.



Moments later, after she dove into her trunk, CB resurfaced with a proper cup holder: one of those foam soda can holder things. It was excellent, as was my mango gelati.

In other news...tomorrow is my last day of teaching at Swain. Sad day! I've really grown to love those kids. It'll be hard to say goodbye to them. After school tomorrow, I'll be driving out to Ligonier for the night. I'm staying in Leeanne's house (even though she won't be there because she's on vacation) and then at 7AM on Friday I'm driving out to Antiochian Village to go to a CCO interview. It's something I've been praying about and thinking about a lot lately. I finished my application yesterday, and I'm going to have first interview over breakfast. I'm not really nervous right now, mostly because I've realized that if the Lord is calling me to work for the CCO, then I will. If not...I'll go where he leads me.

Then Friday night when I get back to school...well, I'll be "hitting the books" as they say. I have LESS THAN TWO WEEKS (HALLELUJAH) before the summer!! So I just have to pump out some finals and take the Praxis II and pack up all my junk.

And THEN on May 5th I'm driving down to visit Mrs. Thayer (love her!) and on May 6th I fly out of Baltimore to visit the one and only Lisa Lockwood.

So basically, I'm ready to be in California. Like...now.

Oh, and then CAMP. LOVE IT.

Candy Sushi!!

Here are pictures of the AWARD WINNING masterpieces I made with College Beth on Thursday.



We wanted to use green Fruit by the Foot, but I don't even know if they make that stuff anymore. So we had to use some ridiculous "Berry Blast!!!!" flavor - aka neon blue. But it worked out anyway!



As you can see, we were pretty tenacious in our pursuit of detail - bamboo mat, little grassy things, chopsticks, etc.

The most amusing part is that neither College Beth nor I eat sushi. I mean, I've had it, but not any particularly good experiences. Not that I haven't enjoyed what I've had, but I've never gone out just to eat sushi. And CB is pretty much against it, due to its raw properties. So a lot of what we made came from very careful research (...Google).

And, for the record? These were not particularly tasty. I love all of the components because, well, they're candy! But the overall "flavor profile" is weird. CB and I balked when we tried them, but some people insisted they were really good. These are probably the same people who insist that regular sushi is really good. So try at your own risk! They are, however, reaaaally easy to make.

Today was AWESOME. Because I did NOTHING. I finished a book, I watched some basketball, and I started knitting some socks. Which is tough, because I'm using double pointed needles for the first time...I just started them, so we'll see how it goes!

April Showers and All of that Stuff

There's a lot going on in my life right now. I'm busy at school, because it's the last couple of weeks of class. I have projects, lesson plans, papers, paintings and tests coming up. I have two more weeks of teaching at my Early Field school, which is unbelievable. I only have 27 days left to the semester! How is that possible?

But enough of that. Here are some good and exciting things in my life:

- Yesterday I went on a field trip with my co-op and 7th grade students to Longwood Gardens! I'd never been there, but it is huge and beautiful! All of my watercolor lessons for the students culminated in spending the day wandering around and painting. They all did pretty well, if I do say so myself.



The boys in my group got tired of painting flowers, so we went outside to the Topiary garden for a while. It was a beautiful day! On the way home, we got caught in traffic because of a bad accident on the turnpike, so we ended up sitting without moving for about 40 minutes. And here's the thing about 7th graders: they think that "bus" means "big yellow drama-box." I can understand some of the confusion, but it was a little crazy. They were singing and yelling and whatnot (typical) and everyone seemed happy. And THEN, when we finally got home...half of the girls were crying!!! What?!?! I think it was over a boy, which is pretty funny because all of the boys are pretty nerdy. Ahh, to be 12 again...

- College Beth and I entered an "Edible Art Contest" yesterday with our NAEA (National Art Educators Association) club/chapter thing here. We made candy sushi, using rice crispy treats, fruit by the foot, mike and ikes, and sweedish fish. And we had green icing as wasabi and chocolate syrup for soy sauce. We bought like a bamboo matt for it and everything, so we went all out. They were pretty incredible if you ask me...and if you ask the judges, since we TOTALLY WON. We got a $20 gift certificate to a place in town called Spuds where they make crazy french fries. And...well it was exciting. Hopefully I'll get pictures (I forgot to take my camera because I'm dumb) and post them soon!

- I got new books in the mail to read!!!



The Relevant Bookstore had a sale last week where all of their books were $4. They do a series of books called "Foundations of Faith" that are small collections of cornerstone works. I bought GK Chesterton's Orthodoxy from them a while ago and I loved it. So when I saw that their books were mega-cheap, I shelled out and picked up The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis and Foundations of the Christian Religion by Blaise Pascal. I'm in the middle of two other books (sometimes I have poor self-control when it comes to finishing books before starting another), so it might be a little while before I get down to work on these, but I'm excited to read them.

- I got my LCCC Contract in the mail yesterday! So once I fill that out and send it in, it will be official. I'll be CIT directing, apparently. How is that possible?! I'm still a baby. I feel like I was just a CIT last summer. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration...but still. This is weird. In a good way.

So...that's that! And now I'm going to enjoy my friday. I'm supposed to meet with my CCO leader on campus this afternoon to discuss things, and I have a few phone calls to make. It should be a nice day, despite the constant rain.

A New Week

Ughhh my brain feels like mush and I can't stop sneezing. And it's Monday morning. I got a cold this weekend that's taking it's toll mostly by making me feel totally exhausted. It's not the worst cold I've ever had, but it's pretty inconvenient, I'll tell ya that much!

But other than feeling sick, things are going well. My weekend was very nice; I went home to celebrate my sister's 8th birthday and my grandfather's 80th birthday. We had a big party with all of our family, and there was delicious food and poems and crying and a lot of love. It's unusual for that side of my family to be so...open about how much they care for one another, so it was great to hear people saying it.

I had an art history test this morning. It probably went well...right now I'm just glad it's over. Remember the brain-mush thing? Yeah. Me too.

So, I should be showering, getting stuff ready for painting, or doing my homework. But I think I'll opt for a brief nap before going off to painting for the rest of the day. I have a watercolor painting due today too. What's that? You want to see it?! Ohh, okay! Here it is:



It's of my grandparent's farm. And it's due today...soooo thankfully it turned out pretty a-okay.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm exhausted. I'm ready for the weekend. This week should be pretty painless; I don't have to teach on Thursday and I'm driving to Dana's on Friday night! We're going out to GCC this weekend to see our friends and to catch Jinks' senior recital. So that'll be nice. And hopefully by then this cold will be loooooong gone!

Oh, and HAPPY SPRING :)

Excerpt No 2

Aaahh, the weekend at last! It felt so good to sleep in today, even though the fire alarm for my dorm awoke me at 4:45 this morning. I live in such a large dorm that when we have fire alarms, they only evacuate three floors: the one where the alarm was set off, and the two above and below it. When you're not among those floors, you get to listen to a terribly repetitive announcement that goes something like this: "Attention. Attention. An incident has been reported in the building, but does not affect your floor. Do not use the elevators or leave your floor until you have heard from the automated emergency message." And that repeats over. And over. Very loudly. At least I didn't have to leave my bed, however!

I taught two 7th grade lessons yesterday, one of which was observed by my supervisor. The lessons went well, and my supervisor gave me great feedback. She's wonderful! And I've found that the Lord really provides me with enouragement when I need it most. Over the last 3 years, as I've begun to wonder if I made the right decision about Kutztown and Art Education, He's put professors or situations that remind me that I'm where I need to be. It's good to be reminded of that once again.

So today I finally get to relax and let go of worries! Spring break was full of homework, but this weekend isn't, which is great. Leeanne might be stopping by on Sunday as she travels about this side of the state doing promotions; it'll be nice to see her and get even more excited about this summer (if that's possible).

To conclude, I'll throw in the next chunk of my reflection I started to share last time.

"In high school I poured out so much ridiculous, manufactured pain on a close friend of mine. I expected so much from her, knowing that what I asked was out of a vain desire to feel assurance or pity or love. Had I just been a friend, I could’ve had something much more meaningful. Sure, it was a time of growth and pain…but much of it was selfish and demanding.

And another case – oh man. Talk about self-destructive. There are so many examples within that relationship where I let go of sensibility and dove headfirst into this hedonistic attitude that enveloped me. From the fall of senior year (How was that awful time in my life ever defined as “good” by me? How could I not see what I was doing?), to the winter when I let my heart be abused and mistreated, to the spring when, in an unbelievably pathetic turn of events, I gratefully – gratefully! - welcomed this person’s friendship with no questions asked. Gracious? I wish it were rooted in that. But it was rooted in feeling loved again, no matter the cost. And that I held on to that for another three years of aching self-doubt and insecurity…what a sad story.

I guess the good news is this: I can look back on that and see how broken those relationships were. Had I some self-control or a bit more wisdom, I could’ve salvaged a friendship, or saved myself a lot of heartache. I’m amazed at how easily I gave myself over to someone who was so thoughtless with my heart. And I’m amazed at how selfishly I demanded the attention and energy of someone that I said I cared about. And I did care! Oh, I did. And with great devotion, and great, exacting care I would tell and re-tell the people in my life how fabulous I thought they were.

Why do I do that? I mean, I still do. Does it stem from wanting that same assurance? Probably…well, at least partially. It’s equally unhealthy to criticize something about me that’s valuable. I think nurturing is a gift of mine, particularly through words of encouragement and gifts. So while I was blinded by my willingness to feel loved to the point that I would let myself be hurt (or would even hurt others) I think I equally feel the desire to pour out that love on the people from whom I demand it."

Busy, busy, busy

I'm back at school, and the week has been really, REALLY busy. I taught all day today and will do the same tomorrow, but this weekend I should have time for some serious blogging....riiiiight.

To tide you over, here is this:



What were people thinking in the early 90's????

(From Best Week Ever)

Spring Breaaaak!!!

Woah, I'm home! It's spring break! But it's very cold. Luckily, my home did not get hit with the massive snowstorm that wrecked the other half of the state this week. Had I been at school, however, I would be wading through a lot of snow...I can live without any of that right now.

Break so far has been pretty enjoyable. I had a doctor's appointment, I got new glasses, I've been working on a painting, I took my sister to Brownies and Dance lessons today, my brother and I cooked dinner, I've made hummus and guacamole - both of which were delicious, and I spent some quality time with my dad.

I still have a ton of work to do on my painting. It's due on Monday and I'm pretty unexcited about it...but we'll see.

Anyway, plans for the rest of break? Wrapping up the painting, taking pictures for watercolor, planning some lessons, going to Soup Night at my church, making cookies for my brother, and finally (here's the good stuff) going to Culpeper on Friday to visit Lindsay! And Dana is coming! I love them. It'll be great to see them and spend some time together. And on Sunday it's back to school...and back into the fray.

There's a lot to do, but it'll all get done. It always does, somehow.