I'm A Big Girl Now

Monday:

drove to H-burg with Gracie

-schools are dumb sometimes

-met her awesome friend.... who i swear is the black version of me

-lovely talks on the drive

supper with the fam

movie watching with J.L.

-Cary Grant is still slick at sixty

Tuesday:

slept late

-yayayay!

did some more packing

-which seems useless because i just end up wanting to wear what i've just packed

-also, dad put a t-rex in my suitcase. lol

eye doctor visit

-i'm far-sighted

-but just barely, so no worries.

stopped by my previous home which we will now call "G.C.'s place"

-chocolate cake...!

Wednesday:

rise and shine before 7am

drove to campus to get shots

-let it be known that the MSU campus is one of like 4 clinics in the whole state that carry the typhoid vaccine.

-which is weird

-got three vaccines and 90 malaria pills

went to my favorite spot in town, city bagel, to get coffee and brunch

-eating alone is fabulous sometimes

-wrote ty notes and read books

supper with the parents

prayer night at P&D's

-last one for many moons

late night grocery shopping

also late night cooking

Thursday:

packed picnic lunch

picked up Gracie's birthday present

-it was ready just in time

-also, my bargaining skills are insane

took Gracie to the refuge

-we picnicked, we trail walked, we deer and bird watched

-we also drove

-and we got lost....ending up in a town 35 minutes from original location

-positive side of getting lost = poppy seed bread from the local bakery

-WIN

library visits and chats

-they are generally fun and often amusing

Life class at P&D's

-also the last one for many moons

-*tear

Friday:

helped a friend pack up her house with mother dearest

-nice chats

spectacle shopping

-i got glasses, i got glasses, i got glasses hey hey hey hey!

-they're purple....again. don't judge me

grocery shopped with mother dearest

-felt like i was 12yro again on a saturday

cleaned house for farewell dinner tomorrow evening

-i have 6 days left

I think i'm so lost and confused as to what emotion i should be feeling that i have depleted my emotion department of reasoning skills. If that sentence made a lick of sense to you i will give you a star. God has been doing so much in me in the past three months, and even more so in the past three weeks because I know HE's preparing me for something and that it'll be grand, it's just the molding and waiting period that is so difficult. These past few weeks have been bitter-sweet as I am beginning to realize how much I love and will miss everyone. It's usually, and most recently, been the other way around where people depart from me, which is making this "move" weird and slightly hard since I'm doing the leaving. Is it this hard for extroverts?

Anyway, the weather here has been MARVELOUS the past day or so. It feels crisp and cheery, just like September should feel. Also, did you know a crisp in Scotland is a potato chip? Because chips in Scotland are actually french fries. Random fact of the day! I'm hungry now with all this talk of food. . . .eckhmm. Yea. The anemic child has got to eat!

~J.K.

Summer Plans

My so-called summer "to-do" list:

1) girl trip to Virginia to see cousins

2) D.C. visit as well

3) dye a streak of my hair hot pink

4) make a few trips down to the beach

5) my BIRTHDAY! planning and celebrating and the likes

6) be a counselor at camp of champions

7) play frisbee or softball or volleyball at least twice a week

8) picnics

9) experiment some more with tie dying

10) apply to YWAM

11) write and send out newsletter

12) hopefully visit family in Nashville again

13) be a counselor at Ikthoos Camp

14) finish at least the fourth season of Buffy

15) talk G.C. into getting me a great dane for my birthday

16) make lots of artsy crafty doodads

17) go swimming and enjoy it. . .water--yuck

18) wrap up small groups :(

19) cook in more and eat out less

20) go to the zoo

21) ride the Bruce more

22) spend more time with the fam

23) soak up every moment of the last summer i will have with all of my friends in the same town

This could possibly be the most bitter-sweet of summers i will ever experience but God is good and all He does is out of love. So, i'm hoping and looking forward to a terrific summer and i hope that you are as well because summer is AWESOME. Exactly.

~me

Coffee Fairy

Tuesday i spent the greater half of the day and on into the night writing. Monday too, but Tuesday is what drained me. My final test and 10 page paper were due on Wednesday morning and i was scrambling to get the finishing touches on my paper. Grr. I stayed up until 5 am Wednesday morning and got up at 6:20am. I dreamed of literature and woke up with Joanna Newsom's song inflammatory writ stuck in my head. i kid you not. Took the test, the essay part was brutal. I think i did terrible. One hour of sleep will do things like that to you. However, teacher gave us a grace period to turn in our papers -- 5pm Thursday. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! It made life look a little brighter. At one point while i was taking that exam and scribbling away on paper i realized that i had more or less been continuously writing for the past 12 hours. People, that is not cool. My brain has reached its limit i'm afraid. hoorah?

I have a Dr. for a sister now. She's so cool. Graduation was yesterday afternoon and it was far from boring but definitely long. 73 new Dr.'s. The storm blowing through took out the power on campus and all over S-ville. Made for a weird experience, especially the reception since it was at the V-school. c-r-e-e-p-y. Chats with Mr. G about missions and working with kids. Caught me off guard some. J.H. Ranch.

Youth Church practice at La's and Rudy's. Utilizing the daylight. Pro. Hunger pains were attacking the majority of the crew. Plan of action was put into play. Grilled the foodsen and ate by candle light. The stars....oh the stars were beautiful. Won't get that kind of a view in the middle of town ever again. G.C. goes home to where there is power. 2 papers left to finish. Sorrows. Little sis spent the night, she was sort of stranded.

And now that i have been successful at procrastinating.... i guess i'll get to work on finishing that horrid paper. yikes! wish me luck and stuff...or the abundance of creative juices.

Where is my coffee fairy when i need her?

~me

Daisies Are My Favorite

Sunday:
documenting alligator progress
meeting
church
lunch at the parent's place
*new couple too. they are kind of wonderful
*long and random chats
work was not exciting
G.C. finally arrives home from NY
*awkward comments to let her know i'm glad she's back. . .
more alligator progress

Monday:
rode "The Bruce" (ze bike) to work
*bike locks are dumb
*feeling rather extroverted and social
not sure where monday afternoon went
i'm sure it was lovely
read sci fi book for class
*getting hooked might be the only option left
G.C. rearranged bookshelf to her liking
*questioned my way of presentation in a "that's not you" way

Tuesday:
sleep always sounds nicer
much nicer than 6 am at least
managed to be on time for class
we discussed pea plants and Mendel
*my favorite lecture in bio thus far
science fiction quiz
*didn't know the last answer. i incorporated ninjas. it fit
lunch? ohhhh yea....... /sigh
psyc classmate/friend is awesome
*clone of evan
*we have the most random conversations. it makes me happy
government class was a bore
*i'm sorry! it's just not my thing, ok.
dumb. dumb. dumb. meeting at work.
*grumble
jello errands
*piggly wiggly is the answer, not kroger
*why, kroger, have you betrayed me?!
pulled alligator from the water.
*HE IS AMAZING
*can i call him sam?
birthday hooplah
*loss of filters = loads of laughs
* <3
chats with G.C. until.....uhhh 2:30 am?
*yes :)

Wednesday:
get up early to prep for bible study
*forgot to make coffee
rode the Bruce to work again
*3 foot rule, people...c'mon.
*also, why do i finish my rides wheezing? i no likey this
Wednesday regulars are my favorite
*random group of FIFTY-FIVE junior high kids not so much
*got told i look like Katie Holmes. again.
*thank you, ma'am, but i still don't see it.
elizabeth taylor died
studying + studying + frustration + studying = :-/
*true fact
snooze fest time?


~Me

"Let Me See Your Smiling Faces!"

In case you missed me....i'm back.
My computer had a tragic collision with another object last week and so i have been mooching off my roommate's laptop. She gets fixed soon, my laptop that is.

I've been sick all week. I was a good student and went to my horrid 8 o'clock class, only to regret it a few hours later. Hot soup and warm pj pants are my friends. I thought it was bronchitis, but never went to the doc to see. I'm not a fan of going to the doc or getting shots. It is all so very dreary and no fun. I would much rather be stubborn and watch my Disney movies. Wise? Maybe not. Preferred? Absolutely.

To combat the amount of ice cream i have managed to consume over the course of this last month, a friend of mine and i have started yoga. We intersperse it with some pilates too. They are both challenging but in different respects, so switching it up is fun and sometimes difficult. My arms hurt. So bad. *insert ridiculous amount of question marks* We did multiple workouts, all of which concentrated on different areas, but my arms were like "HI!! over here! we want to get toned!!" Pain = good.....right? Also, the yoga instructor is somewhat amazing...in an 'oh my goodness she's insane' kind of way. See also: post title.

One of the biggest highlights of my week was finding out for sure that my cousins are coming after Christmas. SO. RIDICULOUSLY. EXCITED. If you know me or how enthusiastic i can get over things then you may be able to picture my reaction. If not, just ask G.C. ha It's going to be the best week....ever. uh-huh.


~ME

Psalm 23

I love my family and i love God. I also love the Scots. The combination of those three wonderful things can only bring about the likes of something this awesome... Behold!

The 23rd Psalm in Scots

The Lord is my Shepherd in nocht am I wantin'
In the haugh's green girse does He mak me lie doon
While mony puir straiglers are bleatin' and pantin'
By saft-flowin' burnies He leads me at noon.

When aince I had strayed far awa in the bracken,
And daidled till gloamin' cam ower a' the hills,
Nae dribble o' water my sair drooth to slacken,
And dark grow'd the nicht wi' its haars and its chills.

Awa frae the fauld, strayin' fit-sair and weary,
I thocht I had naethin' tae dae but tae dee.
He socht me and fand me in mountain hechts dreary,
He gangs by fell paths which He kens best for me.

And noo, for His name's sake, I'm dune wi' a' fearin'
Though cloods may aft gaither and soughin' win's blaw.
"Hoo this?" or "Hoo that?" -- oh, prevent me frae spearin'
His will is aye best, and I daurna say "Na".

The valley o' death winna fleg me to thread it,
Through awfu' the darkness, I weel can foresee.
Wi' His rod and His staff He wull help me to tread it,
Then wull its shadows, sae gruesome, a' flee.

Forfochen in presence o' foes that surround me,
My Shepherd a table wi' denties has spread.
The Thyme and the Myrtle blaw fragrant aroond me,
He brims a fu' cup and poors oil on my head.

Surely guidness an' mercy, despite a' my roamin'
Wull gang wi' me doon tae the brink o' the river.
Ayont it nae mair o' the eerie an' gloamin'
I wull bide in the Hame o' my Faither for ever.

Oh how i miss Scotland; the people, the landscape and their incredible accents. <3