a little Christmas cheer.

Quote Love: There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. 
-Ernest Hemingway 

This past week has been quite crazy. From the Christmas pick-a-date to Christmas Open Houses to Silent Night (with a flash mob by MY residence hall... that Justin Bieber tweeted about!) to a night of caroling, ice skating (well, attempting to) and Ihop, it has been a crazy week. And now I have finals week!


One take-home final, 2 in-class finals (tomorrow), and 2 final projects in 2.5 days. I can do this, right?


Here's a little video (the one mentioned above. the one that J Biebs retweeted!) for a finals study break. Enjoy!

begging for a break.

Lyrical Love: "If you're partial to the night sky / If you're vaguely attracted to rooftops..." from "Hannah" by Freelance Whales

Today is the first day all semester that I get to go home. Thanksgiving break, you are much needed. I am ready to get out of Upland for a little while and be with my family (and go Black Friday shopping at my favorite mall).


I have been running on empty for a few days now so it is nice to finally have a break, even if it is just for a few days. 


So, Michigan, I'm coming! :]

and then there are rainy days.

Quote Love: "May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

-St. Thérèse de Lisieux

(This quote has been a great encouragement for me as I recently changed my major)


Since I am still playing catching up and trying to get all of my work done from when I was out of class with vertigo this fall, I do not have time for a full post. But I do have time to share a few videos from rainy days this fall and for you to watch on a rainy day while snuggled up in blankets, drinking hot tea, coffee, or cocoa. 


My new favorite music video, including one of my favorite redheads (Rupert Grint):

And then a few from Airband this year:

(The winners: 1WW with Revolution of Dance)

(3WO, 3WW, and Penthouse with Gold Dust)

(2nd East with Seize the Day... blast from the past: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFfOfM9Ht2c&feature=related)

(and my wing, 3EO, and 1EW - bro/sis love with Grace Kelly)

And a few Airband commercials from this year as well:

("Normal Activity")

And then there was the one I was almost a victim of...

(The Old Lick-The-Elbow Game) :]

well... that's all I have time for right now. Hopefully an actual post will be written soon...

a new beginning.

Quote Love: "You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present."

-Jan Glidewell

http://thenotebookdoodles.tumblr.com/post/2840048957

This semester has already been super crazy. I have not had time to reflect on my life too much this year because of crazy circumstances and a ton of work I've needed to get done...


And all I want to do is anything but the work I need to do now. 


I have two papers to write, 2 tests to study for, a few other random assignments to catch up on, reading for classes... It's not fun, and I need to be sleeping more. 


The only reason I am behind on my work is because a little "friend" came to visit last week. A dizzy friend... one named Vertigo. 


I am glad I can stand up and walk on my own again without any fear of losing my balance.

Lately I have been a little caught up in the past. I've just been quite nostalgic. Being nostalgic is not all bad. I mean, it reminds me of where I have come from. It helps me not to be afraid of change. But when it starts to take over my life, I know I need to move on. 

I guess I just miss the way some things were last year. Some things have changed for the better this year, and some things I am not too sure about just yet. I know I am not supposed to dwell on the past, and the good times in life when I have a whole life ahead of me to live, but that is way easier said than done in many cases...

I am working on creating a list of goals for the semester/sophomore year. Some are quite trivial, but some are very important to me. Like: wanting to invest in others on my wing more, making time for my family and God, etc. This is going to be a crazy year (especially this semester), so I want to make sure I am making the most of my time. 


Some goals are going to be easier to complete than others. I have almost completed one goal many times this year (which is one of the more trivial... and girly ones). Almost. At this point, I think I have completed it, which is definitely going to help me move forward on in my life and not dwell on the past as much. I thank God for His help in completing this goal (finally?). I want to move forward and say:


Happy Sophomore Year! Gonna live it up! Moving on from the memories of last year that are holding me back and looking to what is ahead! 

living as a woman who puts God first.

Below is something a little different than I normally do. I have started blogging for WaterBrook Multnomah a little while ago, and here is the review for Every Single Woman's Battle by Shannon Ethridge.

___________________________________________________________

Shannon Ethridge does a fantastic job at combining excerpts from *Every Woman's Battle* and *Every Man's Battle* to create a new book for single women searching for the knowledge to be completely filled by the Spirit and not compromising emotional and sexual purity. She sets up this book in a workbook form in order to help the reader interact better with the book and to help the reader process what she is reading and learning throughout the course of this book. Ethridge uses stories from the other two books mentioned above to set the stage for what she wants her readers to get out of each chapter. Following each set of stories and analogies, there are questions to help process the previous information. 

Each chapter focuses on a new topic regarding intimacy and giving your heart fully to God in the process of being single. Some topics include taking thoughts captive, guarding your heart, being aware of yourself and emotional integrity, and surrendering yourself to God. 

Each chapter has a few different sections: planting good seeds (personally seeking God's truth), weeding out deception (recognizing the truth), harvesting fulfillment (applying the truth), and growing together (questions and answers you can share with a small group). This layout of the book helps the reader to take the time she needs to fully process what she is learning. This book is definitely worth the read if you want to focus on having healthy relationships and guarding your heart.

the city without any good postcards.

Listening to: "Therapy" by Relient K

Quote love: "It just happened... I just woke up one day and I knew... I was sitting in a deli reading Dorian Gray and a guy comes up to me and asks me about it and now he's my husband..." -Zooey Deschanel as Summer in (500) Days of Summer

One week from today I will be moved back into the 347. My home away from home seems so far away, and yet in a week I will be living there for the school year.

For my wing this year, I need to bring a postcard of my hometown. And guess what? The only postcard my city has is of the city hall. BORING!!!

I am excited to see a ton of people when I get back to school. Especially my roommate.

I expect a running and tackling hug from her. :]

I am spending one last night in Caribou tonight. I am going to miss the fantastic atmosphere here and the wonderful people who work here. I wish Indiana had more Caribou Coffee locations around me at school. That would make me a very happy girl.

So, I guess I will have to deal with Payne's and Starbucks coffee dates. And even a few in the Union with some drinks from the Jumping Bean (Frozen Chai with peanut butter anyone?) :]

As I pack up my room into bins, I am excited for the new year that is to come, I am also nervous. I want to see everyone. I am looking forward to many of my classes. Especially my History and Geography of Africa class... Even though it is an 8 am class... and 4 credit hours.

So... Here's to a new school year. May the memories fill the pages of my blog this coming year. :]

Stay tuned for some news from the wing. 3EO love. :]

the final rose.

Listening to: "Cosmic Love" by Florence and the Machine

Quote love: “When we are at our wits’ end for an answer, then the Holy Spirit can give us an answer. But how can He give us an answer when we are still well supplied with all sorts of answers of our own?” –Karl Barth

Before I dive into my main topic for this post, I wanted to spend a few seconds on the quote above.

I have been reading Francis Chan’s Forgotten God this summer for a book study with other college students, including some of my best friends. The book is about the nature of the Holy Spirit, the part of the trinity many people seem to overlook. Overlooking the Holy Spirit is a huge problem. The Spirit does many things for Christians that are often looked over and not made a big deal of in daily life, which is definitely a problem.

This quote is the opening to chapter 5. It is extremely relevant to me. I know I struggle with completely giving every situation in my life to God. I should let the Holy Spirit give me the answers I need from God instead of trying to find things out on my own and then running to God and then realizing in the end that He was there all along and I just never opened up to let Him and His spirit into my life for the better.

I would love it if you would dwell on this quote and its truth in your own life today before moving on to the rest of this post.

___________________________

Okay. So I promised in an earlier blog this summer that I would write about a certain rose I received this year at school.

May 6^th, 2011.

I went to the Health Center in the afternoon that day. I still was struggling with vertigo.

When I got back on campus from the ER (long story... look at this blog post for explanation...) I found a red rose lying in front of my dorm room door.

I asked everyone on my wing where it came from, but no one confessed to knowing anything. It couldn't have been put there by a boy because it was not open house night.

The original owner of the rose still remains a mystery to this very day. I wish I knew who gave it to me, or at least who the messenger was. But I guess some mysteries are meant to be left unsolved.

I wish I knew why someone left it there.

I wish I knew why no one knows who left it there...

Oh well... The world may never know.

Final rose tonight... who will win Ashley's heart on the Bachelorette??? I'm saying JP...