i like to ride my bicycle, i like to ride my bike

I have had my bike this week and I have LOVED it! I think it is so much fun to ride a bike around. It will be even better when it isn't as hot outside. I especially like riding with my twin Ashleigh. We have volleyball together and then go to the FCS building together so we are bike buddies.

This week has been busy, but I think it went by pretty fast. I had 2 tests, so that wasn't fun. I got 2 of my finals moved though, so that was very exciting. I am now leaving for NY on the 8th. I found out Monday that I had a final on the very last day of finals which is the 12, which is a Wednesday, so I wouldn't get to be at a chapel service. I talked to my professor and he is letting me take it early. Then I decided that I might as well ask my English professor if I could take her final early. That one was what I thought was my last final and it was on Monday afternoon. She said I could reschedule it also, so I booked my flight on the 8th and I will be there until the 19th. I am so excited and can't wait for it to be December!!!

Last night I went to a birthday party and they had pancakes. It was almost like a pancake bar. You poured batter into a small dixie cup and added your mix-ins and then poured it on the griddle and made it yourself. They were good and it was fun. I thought it was such a great idea! Today I went to Andrew's (one of the kids I babysit for) football game. He had asked me to come to one last week but I was going out of town and he asked again this week. I felt like he really wanted me to go, so I surprised him and showed up at his game. It was fun to hang out with Cheryl, his mom, and Hannah, his little sister. At halftime he came over and said hi to me and didn't say anything to his mom, aunt, or uncle. I thought it was funny and I didn't expect it to be such a big deal. I definitely earned some brownie points, not that I was intending to. Now I should probably go see one of Jacob's games too.

Those kids are funny. Friday Andrew asked me if I had a boyfriend. Then Jacob preceded to ask if I was married. Andrew told me that I need a boyfriend so I "have someone to talk to other than my tri delta girls." I laughed and then told him I have other people to talk to and he still thought I needed a boyfriend. Then he said he should sign me up for eharmony. I laughed some more and told him no, I don't think so. A 10 year old is trying to set me up. This is getting a little ridiculous.

Today after Andrew's game was the big Baylor-A&M game. Well, it was supposed to be the BIG game. It was disappointing. I should probably get used to that feeling now that we are playing Big 12 games. Oh, Baylor...
Tonight Brittany, Michelle and I made breakfast for dinner. So I had pancakes for the 2nd night in a row. They were good though.

I am excited about church tomorrow. Then I have to set up a booth at this festival thing for the Olive Branch. The good news is that I don't have to stay and work it. :) I'm glad because I would like to get stuff done for this week and not procrastinate...we will see.

restless

Last night I couldn't sleep. It was driving me crazy. I listened to about an hour or so of calming/chill music and when that was over I turned the tv on which eventually worked. I didn't have music on for awhile and my mind was racing. I was thinking about all I ever think about (NYC for anyone who hasn't picked up on that yet), and I couldn't calm down. I was so excited and anxious. I was sitting there wondering why I couldn't sleep and then I remembered that I had 2 glasses of Dr. Pepper at dinner. I don't drink much caffeine and it apparently messes with my system and gets me all wired up. I thought about getting out of bed and being productive, but I didn't want any lights on. I finally went to sleep around 2:30, which is very late for me.

Last night I had dinner with the new pastor's daughters who all go to Baylor, as well as some other Georgetown kids. It was a lot of fun and I am excited to meet the rest of the family tomorrow. I am headed to G-town for the reception to meet the new pastor and then I will hang out tomorrow night with the girls again. I am really bummed that I have to work at 8 on Sunday morning, so I will be driving back to Waco tomorrow night.

I am also getting a bike tomorrow! I am so excited about it and I don't really know why. I have wanted one to ride to school for awhile but wasn't ever going to buy one. My grandparents had one in their garage that they didn't use, so they brought it to G-town and I'm going to pick it up and use it. I have a friend who rides her bike to class and we have a class together so we will ride to school together. It's going to be cute.

I am so glad it is Friday. This week has been crazy with school. I had something due/test/presentation every day except for today. My big financial presentation went well, I think, so that is good. I had my first test Wednesday in Political Science which went better than expected, but I don't know the result of that yet. Next week will be another busy week. I've got a couple of tests and a little paper to write.

Well I think that covers any update for now, I am about to go pick up the kids from school. Today we get Bahama Bucks so that is exciting! (It's a snow cone/icee thing for a fundraiser)

oh, memories...

I got an email last night saying that my mailbox was over its limit (actually I had gotten a few), so I started going through my mail and deleting old emails that I didn't need anymore. I get towards the end and I find emails from this time last year when I was emailing Lorie and Andrew in the beginning stages of becoming a summer missionary. I didn't read through them last night, but I did decide that I want to print them off, as well as my blogs and create a scrapbook eventually. I don't plan on doing this anytime soon, but I hope I will follow through eventually. I think it is really need to see the long term progression that takes place. I also think it is funny how I am in a similar place again this year. I was so excited about getting through my junior year and experience my summer and now I am even more excited to get through my senior year to get back there. I read through the emails today and it is funny reading them now because I know those people a lot better. I also have emails from while I was there from people in Texas that I want to go back and look at. They will also be included in the scrapbook when it is made.

Yesterday I wanted to get a lot of homework done and be caught up a little bit with school. A funny thing happened though...there was a marathon of America's Next Top Model on VH1. For some unknown reason I get so addicted to this show. I never watch it during its season though. I get sucked into these marathons and I cannot pull myself away from the tv. So it started at 11 yesterday morning and I watched it until 5:30 or so when Brittany and I left for the football game. I got back home after the game and the finale was on. Deidre and Jessica were watching it so I watched it with them. I did not get a single thing done yesterday. It was ridiculous. With some things I can multitask, but I couldn't yesterday. The good news is today after church I was all alone in the apartment and there wasn't anything to distract me, so I made up for yesterday. If I had done this both days, that would have been awesome. but oh well. This week I have something due or a test on Monday through Thursday. I have a lot done already, but I still think it will be a stressful couple of days.

Tomorrow the after school program starts at G2. Pray for all the kids and families that will be involved in the after school program this year. Pray they will have an impact on those around them and build a stronger community of believers. Tuesday is my big presentation. Pray that I will be prepared and stay calm and not nervous!

Side note: so many people are getting engaged. It's getting ridiculous.

a little relief

Today I had my second meeting with my professor for my finance project. I was supposed to have an almost final copy and I did. Well, I felt like it was almost final, but after my meeting, I felt like it was less final than I had thought. It's not a big deal, it's kind of a good thing because she marked what I need to fix, so hopefully I will make a better grade because of all the critique. So this afternoon I fixed some of my project, but it is not finished yet. I still feel very relieved. I think this is sort of a bad thing because it is a false sense of relief. The project isn't finished yet, so I still need some sense of urgency.

Tonight I went to a membership class for Highland. I have been going there for 3 years now and am just now taking this class to become a temporary member while I am in Waco. I have considered it my church home, but am just making it official now because we are supposed to go through the class to be in a community group. I signed up to be in a community group this year, which I am very excited about. Sunday was the launch, and I met my group. We met last night and it was alright. The other girls didn't talk very much at all. Hopefully they are just shy and are still getting to feel comfortable. It will be good for me.

I found out Monday that I am getting a plane ticket to New York for Christmas from Charlotte. I was so shocked and surprised. Oh yea, and freakin' EXCITED! I was planning on going anyway, and now I can save the money I was saving and put it towards something else. I also got an update on Sunday from Andrew on all the G2 happenings. It was a reminder of how different my life is here than it was this summer. I almost forget the difficult situations that surround that community. Keep Graffiti 2 in your prayers as the after school program is gearing up and starting next week. Pray for Ashley and her baby. She should be having him any time now, I think. Pray that I would be able to get a US-C2 position for when I graduate and that the whole process will already be working itself out. This position would supply most if not all funding I need and I would get to do G2 full time. :)

Last night Deidre and I had a short conversation about love languages and I made a comment on my 2nd love language, which is almost tied for 1st, is words of affirmation. This morning I had a card in my bathroom from Deidre with some words of affirmation. It was so nice and it made me happy. So if anyone wants to send me some love, feel free. :) I will treasure it.

My body is sore. In my volleyball class yesterday we were "learning" hitting. We did a lot of aproaches and jumping and swinging. My legs are sore from jumping, and my abs and shoulders are sore from swinging. I think we get a play day tomorrow. I really hope so. I just want to play a real game and not do all these little things like middle school.

busy already

Even though I haven't been back in school for long, I already feel so busy. I don't have as much going on right now, but I feel busier with school than usual. I know part of it is this big financial project, but I guess the difference is that this semester I am actually reading most of what I am supposed to. I hope I can keep it up, but we will see. Today I had a meeting with my professor for this project. I think it went well and I am off to a good start. I am supposed to have the final draft ready by next Wednesday, and then I will have a week to practice it. I am not quite as scared as I was, but I am definitely still intimidated. Other school stuff has consisted of reading for English, and working on various other things for my Children's Literature class. I hope that I can manage my time tomorrow really well before I go pick the kids up so I won't feel so behind. ps, I love my job. It is so fun and doesn't stress me out or anything.

I have been thinking about New York constantly the past few days. Ok, actually I probably have been thinking about it since I left, but even more so recently. This weekend I felt like it was all I talked about. I told the grandparents that I was planning on moving there when I graduate. They think I am crazy and that I should get a job in the corporate world where I can move up. But really, what kind of job can I get in Child and Family Studies where I can move up in corporate? My grandpa even called me "dumb as a pole" whatever that means. He asked why I would want to move there and I simply told him that I loved it there. I didn't go into the fact that I have a passion for the ministry there and I feel called to serve there. That would have probably sent him overboard. It was nice talking to the other side of the family that comes from a ministry persective. They know what it is like in the ministry, so they understand why I want to go to New York. I talked to people at church also and some other family friends. I enjoy talking about it since it is the closest I can get to it right now. School started on Tuesday for the G2 kids so I called a few to see how their first day was. I was so happy to talk to them and I got to talk to some adults as well. Brian and I have been sending facebook messages back and forth too, so that is fun to get to talk about things that only the two of us can relate to. I think I have had New York/G2 dreams for the past 3-4 nights too. One dream had the subway in it and I was headed towards the 6 to get to the Bronx. Others have been random with people from Graffiti in Manhattan and people in the Bronx too. They always put me in a good mood first thing in the morning. Now I am off to bed, hoping to have more fabulous dreams about G2. :)