Saturday, January 31, 2009

Random Things

So...I filled out this thing for facebook and I figured I'd publish it here for those of you who don't have facebook. Enjoyyy.

25 Random Things:
1. I hate hooded sweatshirts. They look so weird on me.
2. When I was little I would stiff arm my brothers and sisters to be center stage in home videos.
3. I only have two good girl friends at college. The rest are my amazing high school girl friends.
4. I love using the word "bittersweet" to describe semi-emotional times in my life.
5. I went to boarding school my senior year of high school and lived with Spammy, madbah, and chocolie.
5 1/2. Some of my best friends go to WVU.
6. I want to work in the non profit sector somewhere in north or south carolina.
7. I love to listen to other people with good voices sing without music.
8. I want my first dance at my wedding to be Dave Barnes "Nothing Fancy," and I already have a word document with my future children's potential names.
9. I am the only person in my family who does not have a frequently used nickname.
10. I care way too much about doing things that will make my parents proud.
11. I love not having a boyfriend because I like having close guy friends.
12. My longest relationship was 3 months?
13. I LOVE any situation that will give me a chance to meet new people.
14. I get to take high school students to my favorite place in the whole world this summer. Saranac.
14 1/2. I think that my wedding party will be 85% family and 15% friends. Yay for sisters and great cousins.
15. I LOVE to blog.
16. I get nervous around any person who has any sort of star cred.
17. My brother is one of my most favorite people. I wish he liked me more.
18. I have horrible self control when it comes to eating.
19. I always prefer a low key night to anything outrageous.
20. I am really bossy and don't take compliments well, and love it when people are truly honest and vulnerable.
21. I am not emotional when it comes to real life, but cry at almost every movie...including Spy Kids 3-D
21 1/2. I love friendship bracelets.
22. I hate grocery shopping, especially because my roomate won't eat most things that I make. She prefers Totino's pizzas.
23. My friends Allison and Charles make me laugh more than anyone I know.
24. I love a GOOd Sunday small group.
25. When I do cry it is usually because I miss my family.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

picture malfunction

Yesterday ended up being an action packed snow day. To begin, Allison and I set out in her CR-V to make the trek to the house where she babysits. They have three girls under the age of 6 and again I was reminded why I definitely want girls, rather than just boys. We did beading and string for about an hour, then ventured out in the snow. Building an "EGG-loo" as Katharine called it, was our big project. Allison and I dug out three tunnels for the kids to navigate through and ended up fitting ourselves.

I was exhausted when we got home, but headed to the gym and tackled the elliptical for the first time since surgery. This felt awesome and I hit the stationary bike as well before doing my PT exercises since PT was canceled yesterday because of the ice. I got to go to the Xavier v. UNC Charlotte game last night with Kelsey, one of my Mariemont HS friends, and then hung with Allison and her dad afterwards. There are many funny stories from yesterday, but I want to eat a piece of my quiche and take a nap before babysitting.

I will share pics once I figure out why it isn't working

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

Ticka Ticka TWO snow days in a row. This means:
A) I have not moved my car in about 36 hours
B) For the second day in a row I have NOTHING to do for the WHOLE day.
C) I am making no money today because work (CPS) is closed too.
D) I have to hike like Sir Francis Bacon to get anywhere.
E) I was woken up by the sound of rust shovel scraping on asphalt because for some reason my landlord who lives below me HAD to get out. This made his dongs even more maniacal and in turn made me get less sleep.
F) I am rejoicing in the rest and relaxation that the Lord is providing:)

I think I am going to go babysitting with Allison today, seeing as how they are going sledding and it's been like 4 years since I did that.



My evil landlord scraping FEVERISHLY.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Snow day





Turns out the News 5 Anchorwoman might not have been so off key at all.

SNOW DAY TODAY! Woo. and possibly tomorrow because we are expected to have freezing rain/wintry mix for the rest of the day AND night, into the morning. Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) were also off today so I did not have to go in to work. Tomorrow I don't have any class, but a possible two days of work off in a row...How bout them apples?

Monday, January 26, 2009

domestication

I had an AWESOME weekend, but I think it will take me a little bit longer to process all of it so that it is ready for cyberspace. It was Young Life leader weekend for the Buckeye Region at Great Wolf Lodge. Someone on the East Side mentioned the number 700 when talking about people in attendance. I don't believe it...but really? WOW. We pray and worry so much about the harvest being plentiful and the workers being few (there is always a need for more workers in high school harvests), but WHAT A TESTAMENT to God's glory. Last thing Jesus says to his disciples after returning to earth resurrected is this: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Man...the ends of the earth. It is crazy to think what God could do with 700 willing disciples. And that is just the Buckeye Region. It was a bittersweet weekend because it might be the last time that I see all those great people, worshipping for the same purpose, understanding the same mission. They are people that I love and it just reminds me of the many lasts that are to come as the semester dwindles on. My senior year roomies (Sam and MAddie) at Culver would slap me for saying bittersweet, but, dare I?

On a completely different note, today was a BIG day for me. I cooked today. for a good 2 hours. Anytime I cook, it is: A) a potential miracle, B) a potential disaster, C) a potential meltdown, or D) all of the above - a disaster that causes a meltdown (either emotional or physical) in which a miracle must occur to save my mental state or my kitchen from going down in flames.

Today was a miracle, for the most part. Mom mentioned yesterday that she was making quiche and I am on a new health kick as I get back into shape because I can now involve myself in some physical action as my ankle begins to heal. So I though, why not make some healthy quiche, as well as homemade chicken salad and homemade tuna salad. I ventured to the grocery after phys. therapy and the gym only to be stopped by the local newswoman wanting to interview me about stocking up on groceries for the impending "white death." I laughed as if she was kidding, until I realized she wasn't, at which point she realized that a college student with peppers, spinach and too many eggs is probably not worried about the snow, but rather, PSYCHED.

Anyway, while cooking, I was able to multitask three different projects at the same time that included tons of chopped vegetables and meat and making something I had never made before. The chicken salad had a bit too much dillweed, the tuna salad was...eh, but the quiche was SUPERB. I did a little flubbing with mom's recipe and subbed monterey jack cheese for swiss because it was cheaper, and I added some green peppers instead of mushrooms because fungi is sick. Needless to say, I got great feedback from Molly, the roomie, who swears by totinos pizzas and late night mcdonalds. I am getting more excited about having my own place with a CLEAN kitchen that has ample counter space (I had to take the microwave off the counter and put it on the floor so that I could chop and prep) and a dishwasher. I hate cooking because I hate washing dishes. Lean Cuisines come in plastic, totally disposable.

If you are in the neighborhood, and hungry, come by because I have stocked up for the white death folks.

Friday, January 23, 2009

While I have your attention...

I would like to put out a plug for a wonderful new blog that I happened upon via my friend Chad's blog. If you have been attempting to FEVERISHLY find something to like about OSU Men's Basketball, I am here to solve all of your problems. Mark Titus is a walk on for OSU, and the self proclaimed "last man off the bench." After reading his blog you will probably share my same sentiments that his talents may not lie on the basketball court, but rather, in the public writing forum world of internet blogging.

http://clubtrillion.blogspot.com/

Guest Blogger: Charles

As many of you faithful reader's know, Charles is a good friend and fellow English major. He has a knack for story-telling and remembering details (he can recite to me any quotes from The Office after only viewing once when I don't get to tune in live), and he and I share a love for going to bars sober. We have both mastered the art of "fake-drinking." If you have ever been to a bar in college, something you hear about every 5 minutes is, "Hey, you want a drink?" At which point any answer but "HECK (insert expletive here) YEA" is met with excessive amounts of peer pressuring, nagging, and downright bullying until you give in.

In order to curb this inevitable scene, Charles and I have come up with a fool-proof plan: Always drink bottles. The dark amber colored bottles that most beer is served in are great for masking the true amount of alcohol you consume. No one knows how much you have had, and as long as you have something in your hand you have a good enough reason to say no thanks to the harassment. A pitcher might seem like a better deal economy-wise, but if you are trying to hide your alcohol intake (I realize this is not a common practice in most college scenes) a clear glass doesn't do the trick. All of that being said, Charles wrote up a guest blog about the new hot night spot for Xavier students here in Cincinnati.

Greetings rejoicers and happy New Year, Charles here with a guest blog. The spring semester is in full swing at Xavier, with classes starting last Monday. The return of the student body means the return of the All-Card special and other promotional events at Lodge bar, a venue that has quickly become the new Soupie’s of underclass Musketeers.


I am somehow two-for-two in Thursday night trips down to 7th street. There is a striking resemblance between the paths that Lodge bar and Facebook are taking with regards to their exclusivity. As many (or few?) of you know, Facebook gained notoriety for being an online social network accessible only to college students and nobody else. Sometime during the spring of my freshman year, that all changed when they started accepting high school kids, and the flood gates were opened. Now everybody and their sister (or mother) has a Facebook account, and the good old days of being able to naively post anything and everything that happened over the weekend on a public forum without fear of consequence have gone out the window. But I digress.


Sometime during the fall semester, Lodge started letting “18 and older” clientele into its establishment, making sure to strictly enforce state and federal drinking laws by using black magic markers on all minors’ hands, creating “X”s that would require the use of both warm water AND soap before coming off in the bathroom. Despite this seemingly fail-proof method, kids are somehow figuring out ways to still get all of the $2 “You-call-its” and $3 Miller “pitchers” their hearts desire. It is a travesty, a sham, and a mockery really… a traveshamockery.

Nevertheless, the loss of Lodge bar’s integrity as a law-abiding watering hole is my gain when it comes to people-watching. Naturally, the increase in the population’s blood-alcohol levels on a Thursday nights has correlated to an increase in other things as well, some better than others:


-Single-ladies putting their hands up

-Bromances between myself and other heterosexual guy friends

-Public make-outs by well-known faces around campus

-Collegiate athletes interacting with common students

-Tips/Donations for Rodney, the bathroom attendant

-Breaches of Hamilton County’s fire code

-Facebook photo albums with wood-paneled walls and animal heads in the background

-Friends for Ashwin Ganesh, Xavier Grad-Student and Gallagher front desk worker

Of course, all this added popularity only fuels the fire felt by the one and only (or many?) “Lodge Bar DJ” who gets the crowd going to say the least… going to the bathroom, going to the bar next door, going home for the night. Nobody can accuse this guy of being too shy to use expletives or holding back from gratuitous sexual references and innuendos throughout the night. While I have yet to witness a Bucky Bowl Drinking Contest yet in 2009, I’m sure the time will come soon enough. And when it does, there will be no shortage of soapy-handed, inebriated single “ladies” putting their hands up to participate, making sure their friends take pictures to post on Facebook later.



Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Outrage

Well well well. Just noticed that the Hibbard HomePage is no longer a public blog site. I seem to have been blocked out of it. Excommunication comes to mind? I bet I know who was behind this. ;)

seasons

I think I have started to realize some sad things about growing up. As much as I am ready to leave Cincinnati - this cold weather and horrible insulating and windows in my house keep reminding me why - I am not totally ready to be done with college. Although I realize that I still have 4 months, and my feelings could chance, for now I don't feel ready.

When I used to go to summer camp in middle school and high school the return home would devastate me. I would spend a week with people I barely knew, but by the end of the week you would find me acting as if my child had died. Crying profusely and miserable for about the next 5 days. I typically referred to this as severe cases of separation anxiety.

Although I like to think that I really embrace change, when it comes to people, I am a creature of habit. I am possessive of my friends and like to have friendships always within my grasp. It is so hard for me to get comfortable with the idea that people come and go in our lives. They are placed there for certain seasons, and then the tide changes. I try so hard to grasp at attached strings and am devastated when I come up empty handed.

Over the years the crying has pretty much ceased, but the googly feeling in the pit of my stomach still lingers. I will be doing my best over the next 4 months to REJOICE in the time that I have left here in Cincinnati with the people that I love. I gotta be reminded not to blow off new friendships just because time is dwindling. How's that for getting inside my head?

Friday, January 16, 2009

The Oscar's

Tonight should be a pretty fun evening. It is leader placement for East side of Cincinnati Young Life and the theme is the Oscars. We got an email from Gordon, our area director, urging us to dress up for the theme and I, of course, scoffed at the idea. Assuming that other people would get into it so that I wouldn't have to. Talk about Karma.

I get a call from Gordon yesterday while babysitting. He informs me that he urges me personally to dress up since I will be a "presenter." Typical. So, after about 15 minutes of pouting and foreseen embarrassment and discomfort in front of a room of other leaders, I realize that I have the perfect thing to wear.

One of the things that I inherited from my Grandmommy, via my roomate's choosing, was a black faux fur coat lined with hot pink polyester. Molly chose this item because....well, I dont know why, but neither of us have ever even considered wearing it in public. It is totally something that only my Grandmommy could pull off. So, after contemplating putting it in our storage closet on Wednesday night, I will now be the proud wearer of the coat. Since I am also in an air cast that will only fit inside of tennis shoes, I will be wearing a gold tea length dress covered in black silk, THE coat, tall hot pink argile socks, new balance tennis shoes and an air cast. How's that for Oscar's style?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

My Provider

I have been dealing with some stuff lately with YoungLife and in our family in which God has totally proven his role as a provider. We were given our camp forms and camp costs and they are EQUAL to our costs last year. Mind you, last year we drove a bus across the country 36 hours and we will only being going about 14 hours to New York this summer. Needless to say, hard sell for kids and parents who aren't swimming in money. So, I have been trying not to focus on the provision, but rather, the Provider.

In Malachi 3:10-12, God asks the people to bring their whole tithe into the storehouse. He urges them to test Him, to see if He will not "throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing" that they "will not have room enough for it." I just pray that I will take Him at his word. That I will test His generosity by generously giving to others. When I shift my prayer focus to my needs, the provision, I become anxious about trying to solve everything myself. In The Tender Wrods of God by Ann Spangler, she says this:

"Instead of thinking about all the things I couldn't do, I had to think about all the things He could do. Instead of thinking about my guilt, I had to think about His forgiveness. Instead of thinking of 1001 ways to solve my problems, I had to think about the countless ways that God has already helped me in the past. And I had to keep reading the Scriptures, ones that spoke of God's intention to bless and provide.

God has already proven to me COUNTLESS times that He will provide, no matter what. How in the world can I horde my blessings, that could be bestowed on others, when I know that my Provider will never forget me. She goes on to say:

"I am expecting Him to take care of me even when I stumble, even when I don't fully understand or want to face the nature of my needs [...]. I realize that God's promised provision is conditional upon my obedience. "

I have got to be obedient. I feel like I am really hearing the Lord loud and clear, so much more so than I ever have. I think he is asking of me something BIG and something specific that makes me nervous, but that He has assured me will allow Him to be a much bigger Provider in my life, something I need to experience and understand. WOW.

God, give me the faith to follow regardless of what you ask. You have already performed wonders for me for which I praise you. In this I seek full faith, not halting obedience.

Partial satisfaction

Here I sit, with my lunch of cheese and crackers (because I haven't been to the grocery store yet), knuckles cracked, and ready to type. I will give you what has been promised, although I recognize that I am a day late.

Viewer discretion is advised for some of the photos. Not for weak stomachs. :)

1. I am back to work as of yesterday afternoon. For those of you who don't know, I work at a Cincinnati Public Elem. school at their after school program. Over the break my boss asked me if I would be willing to take on some extra responsibilities. These new responsibilities require me to run two different classes rather than just focus on kid behavior and participation while a vendor runs the class. Thinking that I may be helping run an after school program next year, I accepted out of duty and for the sake of experience. Yesterday was my first day, and I had not had class curriculum in hand yet, so we did some improv and situational skits about how we should behave at school. This was hilarious with the Kindergartener's, who ended up being much better at it than the 3-5 grade boys. May have the next Kate Winslet in my class.

2. So, I had my first real life job interview on Monday in Charlotte, NC. Mom and I drove down together Monday morning, hit up a public library (location courtesy of the TomTom GPS) to print off the mandatory documents that I of course forgot, and then she dropped me off at the middle school at 2. The school was pretty nice. Predominantly African-American, staff and students both, same goes for the after school staff. There was a small population of latinos at the school, although in the area there seemed to be a LARGE population. I have loved the diversity that comes with Cinci these past 4 years, so I am looking forward to exposing myself to a greater diversity in NC. Middle school students were surprisingly WAY better behaved than the elementary school students at our school. The staff there relies on mutual respect and students know what is expected of them. I have learned that this is KEY. The interview portion actually only lasted about an hour, from 5-6 pm, and it went well. I presented my curriculum, which my interviewer told me I should guard with my life, and at the end of the interview he assured me that he would recommend me as a great candidate for Citizen Schools. Good feedback after my first real interview. I am not sure about the next steps, but I have already sent a follow-up email. What next? I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

3. Ah, yes. The cast came off on Tuesday. I had to hang around Charleston and miss my first 2 classes on Monday and Tuesday because of interview and cast-removal. This time I have documented it well. WARNING: do not view on if you are grossed out by dead skin cells, incisions or REALLY hairy legs. The nurse sawed off my cast, again telling me to warn her if i feel the blade get too close to my skin. (I feel like it might be too late if I have already felt it. But, maybe not?) Jackson Mayo, mom's best friend's son, way there to observe. He got to wear some great headphones to block out the sound of the saw.

Post-saw.

This is where she uses the vice grips to pry apart my cast.

Jackson and Mom. Having wayyyy less fun than me.
Just the dead skin cell residue.


You can see that my leg hair is equivalent to that of a grizzly. Neanderthal, if you will. Later Tuesday night, when I was back to Cincinnati, I let my friend Greg witness the madness. Let's just say he had tears rolling down his face from laughter and disbelief. That is only a month folks. Imagine the possibilities.

So, now, I have to find a physical therapy place here in Cincinnati to get this baby on the mend.

I am going to skip the promised number 4 for now because I am not sure yet what my thoughts are about things here in Cincinnati. Pretty bittersweet and nostalgic knowing this is my last semester here. For a rainy day.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Attractions to come...

TONIGHT I will blog about:

1. My new work responsibilities here in Cincinnati at my Elem. after school job.
2. My interview in Charlotte that was on Monday.
3. The wonderful experience that was getting my cast off (pictures included).
4. How much I miss and loved being home and seeing family, as well as my feelings about being back.
5. Most importantly, some REALLY neat stuff that God is teaching me about His role as a Provider.

Gotta go to work. Look forward to sharing later!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Music at a small price

Just a few things...

In case you haven't noticed, I have some new tunes playing on the side of my page. This is one of my favorite parts of blogging, being able to change up the music to fit my mood. And I like to think that you will enjoy the variety as well. I have a new passion for the Jonas Brothers and bluegrass.

Speaking of music, yesterday was a pretty hilarious day. I got Sirius satellite radio for my car as a Christmas present from my grandaddy. I went back and forth between having dad install it or going to Circuit City for a while. I was telling Laura about it one day and she mentioned that Ben, her husband, did his own more than 2 times and then helped a few friends install theirs as well. So, we made a deal: I did some babysitting one morning so that she could work in exchange for Ben's installation services. He came over Saturday afternoon and spent about 3 hours in my car in our garage. I had no idea how passionate he was about this process.

Ben does everything 100%. Whether it is a SIIIICK YoungLife club or a Sirius radio installation, he wants to do the best he can do. So, he was determined to make sure the smallest amount of antenna was visible after installation. He and my dad worked their butts off brainstorming and positioning wires inside and outside my car so that it would be all internal. This required the removal of several plastic trim pieces as well as the careful dissection of my dashboard. Determined to find a way to feed wires behind my glove box and through the back of my stereo, he and my dad found out how to remove my whole middle dashboard on the internet. I came down mid-dissection only to find everything in pieces. If I trust anyone to do that in my car it is those two.

In the end my car is all in one pice and you can only see about 2 inches of antenna externally. No small feat if you consider the process to get there. I missed having Laura and the kids come over, but it was funny to see Ben and my dad work so diligently. Entertainment enough. I LOOOVE listening to music in my car now. I cannot wait until the 4 hour drive to Charlotte just to experience it all, though I have way more sports channels than I would ever need. It is a gadget that I am going to enjoy playing around with. But not while I am driving. Since most of you know I can't afford any more driving violations. Plus I realized I might have to unwillingly start carrying a purse with me, in order to insure that the new gadgets in my car (Sirius radio, GPS, and ipod) don't get stolen. Can't leave all that stuff in there back in Cincinnati. That's askin' for it.

Interview tomorrow that I am pretty excited about. It'll be a long one, but necessary. I am interested to see if I feel like it is a good fit for me. I will keep you updated.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Saberton, Smith, Straddler, Tallon, Teller...

Pretty big day for me today. Lots of anxiety and relief, triumph and learning.

This morning I started out waking up at 645 am only to find lots of snow on the ground. This was wonderful after 6 straight days of rain and no snow so far the whole break. Mom and Robert had school cancelled, so mom joined me at the eye doctor this morning. Turns out I have the same thing I always have and the tissue inside my eyelids is inflammed, making it unable to produce enough lubrication to wet the inside of my eyes. This creates a problem when I am wearing contacts so I am now using two different kinds of eye drops to get my eyes better. One of them is steroids. Hopefully I won't be subjected to any sports drug tests anytime soon.

After taking a little nap and reading some Francine Rivers I got to work on my curriculum for my interview that has to be done by Saturday afternoon. I got the bulk of this work done, amidst the anxiety of 3:30 pm looming over my head. Some of you may or may not know that I have a teeny weeny speeding problem when driving. I have gotten just a few little tickets that have accumulated into a big problem over the years. All of this culminated the day after my birthday when I got a speeding ticket that put me over the limit and threatened to cause the suspension of my license...again. So, I stressed for about 3 weeks and then had my court date pushed back so that some of my points that were two years old would drop off first. I thought I would just have to be banking on the best case scenario in court - the cop doesn't show up - until a little good luck FINALLY came my way.

I won't go in to detail about this good luck, but a REALLY great cop who has a good bit of power became a vital connection for me. He did a little talking and got the cop who pulled me over to dismiss my ticket. This means...not only did I not get my license suspended, I had few enough points to sign up for the defensive driving course that deducts 3 MORe points from my driving record. So...I was ecstatic when this happened and will NOT be taking this good luck and good faith for granted. Unfortunately, I still had to go to court, just to make sure that the ticket was actually dismissed.

I have spent the past 3 months imagining what this experience would be like. Would it be like TV shows like Judge Judy? Would I be there alone with a lawyer and a judge in a black robe? Would there be cameras and reporters? Would I be expected to defend myself and present a case, complete with powerpoint slides and exhibit A's, B's, and C's? All of these things were going through my mind today as I got dressed up and drove down to the Municipal Court with mom. When I entered, I had to go througha medal detector, complete with body beeping paddle once through. There were four cops guarding the doorway and I began to think this might not be as glorified as I had imagined. The fingy and beat up tiles on the floor, the rusty door hinges and cracked wood paneling made way for the "court room" of sorts. Mom was parking the car and I began to think that she might not be joining me for this experience. When I walked into the room, there were excess of 20 other people sitting in pews awaiting their fate. I chose the closest seat to the door, thinking no one else would sit with me. This is typically deemed the goody goody seat, front row center, and I imagined that not many people appearing in court today would consider themselves goody-goody's.

There was a pretty diverse dempgraphic from what I saw. I avoided making much eye contact from the time I walked into the door until the time I sat down, I did not want to get into any more trouble than I was potentially in. As people flowed into the doors, I texted mom telling her she probably wouldn't want to wait since it seemed like a pretty busy court day. She came in anyway after being told that we could be there until 7 pm, but reassured she could come and go as she pleased. Shortly after mom, a woman in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs walked in and sat next to a lawyer in the defense seat. I was wondering how come she got to go first, but I decided against asking her. I didn't want to get up you know, lose my seat and all. So I let it go. One of the lawyers stood up and started calling names. I kinda hoped he'd call mine so that I couldn't have to plead anything, but instead could have someone else speak on my behalf. But he didn't and I ended up being relieved

At about 3:33 pm some woman who could or could not have been Judge Shawn Johnson (not to be confused with the American Olympic gymnast), based on the wooden nameplate, began reading names. As usual, alphabetical order forced me to sit in my pew and cringe at each name closer to T. Atwood, Arickson, Ambergy...Miller, Maxwell, Smith, Saddle...The closer they got to the T's, the harder my heart was beating, my face got hot and my palms sweaty. If you have seen the movie Wanted with Angelina Jolie I felt kind of like that guy, who can slow things down with his mind. I began to hear my heart beat slow down in my ears, the pounding getting louder and louder.

When the woman started calling T's, I knew I was in for it. I was calling on God for a miracle. Tallywhacker, Teller..."I will be next, I know I'm next, God I can't be next, please don't let me be next"...Thacker, Turnbull, Valkyrie...etc. "What?" She finishes reading the names and I glance over at mom, my heart finally slowing down. "Can we leave?" I ask her, and we slowly get up and exit the courtroom. It is all I can do to force a serious frown and walk in a straight line as we leave. We stop to talk to a policeman briefly just to make sure all my bases are covered and as soon as I get outside I can tell that it already smells different out there. More free. I broke out in son, in my head, and skipped to mom's car, ecstatic!

Needless to say, I have learned my lesson. My GPS has a little notification "moo" sound whenever I go more than 5 mph. over the speed limit. Cruise control may be a good investment when I make money...sometime in the next 10 years.

Good day? I think yes.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Little bit of everything

Okay folks - I've got a little bit of everything for you today. So we are going with list format for easier reading.

1. Friends: I have spent a lot of time this break blogging about family and what a blessing it is to be home with the whole clan at once. I still totally think this to be true and I know it will be hard for everyone to split up this coming week, but I have neglected to talk about what a JOY it has been to catch up with the few close friends that I have here in Charleston. Laura, Shawna and Kaitlyn are my three closest friends at home. Laura was my YoungLife leader in high school and Shawna and Kait are both a year younger than me, attending college at WVU. I realize when I come home and spend time with this three women that I truly miss the fellowship that they offer. Laura was such a blessing to the three of us in high school and it has been so great to become peers with her over the past few years. She has so much wisdom to offer and it is so neat for me to be able to serve her by watching her two awesome kiddos. She is super patient and understanding, and has a great sense of humor. Typically the perfect equation for me when I need someone to listen, be honest, and bring me back to earth. Check out their blog at http://thetuelfamily.blogspot.com/. Any time I get the chance to spend time and talk with these three I feel so encouraged. I am able to be so honest about both things that are dragging me down and the things that i am joyful about. Shawna and I have such a similar sense of humor that I am constantly laughing when I am with her, and Kaitlyn is so wise that I am often wondering how she could possibly be younger than me. This is not to say that the one does not possess the traits of the other, but I am blessed by each of them in their own unique ways. I LOVE these three among others that I have gotten to know since graduating from high school (Adrienne), and coming home reminds me that their fellowship has been instrumental in making me who I am today. I get to be so real with these ladies that I always leave feeling so refreshed.

Along with seeing these women...I have had so much free time for great phone conversations catching up with friends and ample time to facebook chat any- and everyone who is connected. Spcifically, I have gotten to chat with my good friend Chad from OSU who is a fellow blogger (http://saki-crash.blogspot.com/). He is a wise guy whose friendship I am thankful for. (Excuse the sentence ended with a preposition). He and I have been talking about our individual futures a lot lately and he said something the other day that made me excited and encouraged. I am not totally sure where it fits or why it stuck out, because its something we have all heard, but I feel inclined to share (And it's my blog so I can write what I want, right?): "Sometimes you gotta take a risk to get something great." Anyway, in light of my slowly growing excitement/nervousness about graduating and relocating, this speaks volumes. Good friends = good advice.

2. The Tuel Kids: I just thought it might be funny to share what a fun morning I had with Laura and Ben's kids, Ted and Sophie. Ted is such a funny kid. He was asking me for his "booger wiper" today and I would have had no clue what he was referring to unless I had read Laura's blog describing her plan to liberate him by giving him his own rag to wipe his nose; rather than have mom always doing it. The funniest little things make him laugh and while playing CandyLand he sounded just like his dad: "Dangit!" every time he only got one color square on his card. Sophie is too happy and this morning Ted and I were teaching her how to drum. All this while Ted donned his dowwboy hat on his back, his WVU football helmet on his head, his hillbilly teeth in his mouth, and his guitar in hand.

3. My Interview: I am headed to Charlotte, NC with my Dad this Sunday to spend the night in anticipation of my interview on Monday. The job I am applying for was talked about when I first started blogging so I will give you a brief overview. It is a 2-year teaching fellowship through Citizen Schools. I will b ein charge of running an after school program for middle schoolers, as well as working at a local non-profit org. in the mornings. Their model is so neat because it consciously addresses the lack of motivation and direction that many middle-schoolers have before entering high school. They bring people from the community into the school to teach "apprenticeships," culminating in a WOW! where the students present what they have laerned back to their community. There are LOTS of perks involved with this job, so while the pay is not GREAT, it is something I think I wouild love. I am not putting all my eggs in that basket because I have made that mistake before. I am confident that the Lord will really open up opportunities and reveal to me where I am called. Though my fingers are crossed that it is South (specifically NC or SC). Is that too much to ask? The Lord gives us the desires of our heart, tight? :) We will see.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Apologies necessary

You know taht old saying, "No apologies necessary?" Well, it doesn't apply here. I am falling over myself, specifically to my Grandpa, to apologize for my blog negligence. I have finally had some stuff going on in the past week, and even though I have a new cast on I have some of my freedom back. I can drive.

This week will be busy because I have to work on my curriculum to present it at my interview. Dad and I leave on Sunday for Charlotte and will stay the night. The interview is on Monday, Jan 12 from 2-5 and then probably back home that same day. Cast off on Tuesday the 13th. I am also pretty excited to hang out at mom's school this week, helping with the after school program. I am getting more and more nervous as this interview approaches, because I am realizing how much I would love a job like this. I am truly passionate about seeing young people succeed, but even more so of their own volition. After school programs have enough freedom to be able to do this, while helping students explore on their own.

So, tired for today. Will hopefully have something juicy tomorrow.