Adios Colorado

To the few readers I have I am sorry that I have not written much lately. I just have not been in the mood and I have so much going on in my head and my heart it has been way too hard to write down. But I decided I should document what is going on in my life right now.

Tonight is my last night in Colorado. Tomorrow morning I hop in my very full car and begin the long drive back to Texas. That is, if the weather gets better. It has snowed all day but they keep saying it will clear up and be cold but dry tomorrow. Lets hope they are right. It will not be a big deal if I have to stay another day, but I dont want to unpack my car until I get to Abilene. I'm afraid it might not fit again.

It has been a long, emotional week with lots of sad goodbyes, doing things for the last time, hanging out with friends and being excited to be starting something new but nervous about the transition. Sunday was the hardest. I am not a big fan of being the center of attention and having everyone saying how great I am. I know that sounds weird because everyone likes compliments, but it is hard to take a lot of it at once. Thats what Sunday was. And Monday night at my going away dinner. It was a great night though to be with all my friends one more time. I am going to miss them so much.

So tomorrow my life changes. I am going to spend some time in Abilene with my team and then some time in Fort Worth with my BFF and then head home for a few weeks for Christmas. Once I get out of here I think I will be happy but it has been a little hard. Some days I look out and think to myself why am I leaving Colorado? Am I crazy? But I am not. Abilene may not be beautiful but it is full of beautiful people that I love and will eventually get me to where I really want to be. Chile!

One last thing. As a gift my friends gave me a journal and wrote some thoughts in it for me. They all mean a lot but I have to mention one written by Deven that made me laugh. He drew a picture of the different types of chilis and told me not to get them confused. Ha! See images below for an example.

chili

chilly

chile

Success!!

Job completed! Think this is just a picture of a silly bumper sticker? Think again because you are very wrong. This thing has been my nemesis for the past few weeks and I just conquered it. Go me!

Ok so that might be a little extreme but I really have been looking for this bumper sticker to a long time now. Let me explain. See the green mountains and white sky? That is very similar to the Colorado license plate. Lots of people around here have a bumper sticker with this same background but they say things like Native (and they say Texans are proud), runner, I Love Colorado etc. You get the idea. So the other day I was driving around town (in Golden, where I live) and I saw someone with this sticker on the car and I had to have it!

So began the search. I went to all the touristy stores in town and me and Jeremy looked online over and over again with as many combinations of words as possible. No luck! The only place we found it you had to buy 50 of them which was not going to happen. Then just when I thought all was lost, I was given a glimmer of hope from my friend Jenny. She said there was a Colorado store in the mall. So this morning I called and yup, they had them! I went and got three (one for Jeremy) today and feel very accomplished. Ha!

Now I have to decide where to put my sticker. I don't want to put it on my car so I have to find a good place for my new favorite sticker. Nalgene? Luggage? I will have to put a lot of thought into this very important, life changing decision.

Winter Wonderland

Yup! I was walkin' in a winter wonderland today. The snow started early this morning and did not stop till later this afternoon. I opened at work this morning and then just had to get out into the beautiful snow for a bit so I went for a walk along the creek. It was soooo beautiful I just had to take my camera along. I walked for over and hour and it was amazing outside. There were not many people out and I kinda went off the trail a bit and got to walk on fresh, no footprint snow. It's the best!

The whole time I walked the snow was falling and it was that beautiful soft sounds where everything is muffled and you just feel like you are in a fairy tale. And the smell of the air is so fresh and cool you take deep breaths hoping to taste it! The sky was still white from the storm and everything looked like a black and white picture. It was a perfect snowy walk.

Then like every good Texan, who still gets excited about snow and cannot resist playing like a child in it every time, I looked both ways to make sure no one saw me and I fell to the ground and made a snow angel. It is kinda hard to see in the picture but I did the best I could. Pretty soon after the snow angel I began the trek back home because one, I had to potty, Two, my face was cold, and three you should not make snow angels in non-waterproof pants. The snow soaks in pretty fast! Oops! The rest of the day I have spent inside being warm and making mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

First Down

First downs are what we cheer for at Texans games, not touchdowns because those don't happen very often (but are occurring more and more frequently). Ha! It really is funny. At the games when the Texans get a first down the announcer yells "And its another Texans..." and the crowd does the first down sign with their hand and yells "FIRST DOWN!" And this game they gave us these fun foamy sticks so we used those to help out! So fun and so funny!

As said in the last post I went home for our annual Texans NFL game with our family. While I was home we had our family pictures made, ate a lot of yummy food, did a little shopping, took some walks, saw our new church building, and just hung out with each other. It was a blast as always. I was kinda sad to leave because my brother and sister-in-law were staying for the week for Thanksgiving but I had to come back. Luckily I will be back home soon.

The Texans game was awesome. Probably one of the best we have ever been to. We were playing the New Orleans Saints and there were a lot of Saints fans there because there are a lot of people from NO who live in Houston. So we had a rowdy bunch but we sure showed them! My favorite player, Andre Johnson, was back after being injured for a while and he scored an awesome touchdown from an awesome pass by Schaub. Also, finally our first round draft pick from last year made some plays (even taking out Reggie Bush who could have been our first pick).

Our family also had an amazing time because we had amazing seats. They were lower than our usual "nose bleed, by the air conditioner, so far in the corner you have to stretch your neck to see the in zone" seats. There were waitresses to bring your food (that we did not use), carpets and couches in the hallways and bathroom monitors that handed you paper towels and offered complimentary mints, gum, perfume, and other girly stuff. Who knew! I felt very well to do which is not a normal occurrence. Although, the best part of the game was cheering for our favorite team with my family!

Here I am at the game with the foam sticks they gave out. I'm a Texan!!!!

Fun Weekend Ahead

I'm going home tomorrow! Hooray! Think I'm going home for Thanksgiving? Nope! NFL GAME!! Our family has tickets to the Houston Texans vs. New Orleans Saints game on Sunday. We go to Texans games every year and they are so much fun. I am so excited! I have not been home or seen any of my family in about 4 months so I am ready.

Another fun highlight of the weekend is....family photos!!! Ha! Silly I know right but kinda fun too. We are going all out. Dressing similar and even bringing the dog. We did this once before in Texans clothing but that was before the addition of Shannon (my sister-in-law) which means it was a few years ago and it is time for an update. Other than these two activities I have no idea what we will do but I love visiting home and hanging out with the fam so I very excited. Sadly I have to come back on Monday so I can work Thanksgiving but I get time and a half and Turkey Day in the mts. with my friends!

PS-Check out Wes and Ellen's blog and see that I am GENIUS!

Thoughts From My Bed Today

I am laying in my bed feeling tired this morning. I worked at 4am today and am getting a cold. I want to lay here all day but I cant. I am excited to go home on Friday but I do not want to be sick. Boo!

This morning at work people were grouchy. Not the baristas but the customers. We got quite a few dirty looks and some very impatient people. I just wanted to yell if you are in a hurry and the line is out the door DON'T COME IN! I usually can put up with the rude people that come in but this morning it was just one after another. When they would leave the store us baristas would look at each other in shock. Sometimes I feel like people think that because I work in a service/food industry that I am stupid. I want to let them know that I have a degree and I choose to work here because I put enjoying my job over money!

I do enjoy my job but I am glad it will be over soon. I am tired of waking up at 4am to serve grouchy customers. I am tired of smiling and pretending like everything is ok when it isn't. Not like I have that many bad days but when I do and someone asks how I am I want to say "I'm not good! How are you?" I am tired of smelling like coffee and being addicted to caffeine.

When I get back to Abilene and am back in school I have a few things about my lifestyle I would like to change that are too hard to change right now. First, I am going to get off caffeine for a while. Hopefully I can quit over Christmas when I have time to have headaches. I like coffee and cokes but I do not like that I have to have something each day.

Second, I am going to get some form of exercise 5 days a week. Whether this is walking around campus or going for a bike ride. I have gained a little weight since working at SB and I do not like that. I do not have to be a stick to be happy but I do not like tight clothes. I know, it seems like living in CO it would be easy to be fit but its not always. For one thing when I get home from work my body is tired and needs to just sit. Plus I cant just go climb a mt. by myself for fear of getting lost or mauled by a mt. lion! I do not run anymore so that limits my outdoor activity. Plus it is getting cold and that hurts my lungs and it seems like it is always dark outside with this crazy time change!!

My third change (or more of a continuation) is that wherever possible I am going to ride my bike. Whether this is to my friends house, class or the grocery store. Living in a little town it is silly to drive everywhere. Obviously sometimes it is not possible because of too much to carry or too far, but I am going to try! Colorado has turned me slightly green and I want to stay that way!

Forth, eat less crap! I love sweets and cokes and junk food. I will have none of that in my house with the exception of some ice cream. It will be easier to eat less crap when not working at SB, but after the holidays it is a little hard to stop.

If I can keep these things I will be so happy. No they are not New Years resolutions. They are my "life is changing so might as well go all out" goals!!

Check out this website if you have not already. I heard about it on the news but did not know the site until looking at Cris's blog this morning. No clue how true it is but it is worth a shot!

Snowshoeing and Devil's Causeway

I went on possibly my last Colorado adventure on Friday. Me and Jeremy and our friend Kelsie drove 3 hours north to Yampa, Co and began our hike to the Devil's Causeway. It was a 7 hour hike that about half way into it we got to put on our snowshoes rented from REI.

I LOVE SNOWSHOEING!!! This was my first time and actually I had never heard of it until moving here but it was amazing and so much fun. It is my new favorite winter sport. It has all the amazing parts of skiing like being outside in the mountains and in the snow but none of the ACL tearing possibilities. Plus you can go so many different places where skiing you are kinda limited.

So we continued our hike up the mountain which in some parts was pretty steep and I tried not to think about coming down. We made it to the top and got to see an AMAZING view of the Flat Top Range. Everything was covered in snow and we could see miles of snow covered mountains and valleys.


The Devil's Causeway is part of the ridge of the mountains that is very dangerous and we warned multiple times by the ranger not to cross it. Usually I like to make my own decisions on dangerous stuff but this time she was right. This part of the ridge is about 100 feet long and the widest part is 3 feet. On each side of the ridge is definite death. 1500 drop. Part of me really wanted to try but since there was snow on it I decided to save my stupid choice for another time. But man was it pretty up there. We hung around and took some great pictures and then headed down so we could make it out before dark.

On the way down Kelsie and I slid on our butts because it was so steep I was sure I would just tumble down the whole mountain. It was a little bit colder this way and my hands got so numb the were pounding with pain but at least I made it safe and it was even fun sometimes.


Our adventure was amazing and I hope I can snowshoe in Chile. I am very tempted to buy a pair before leaving here but I need to think about that long and hard before I drop $200 bucks!

putting the star on the tree

they do not have my favorite scene about the ginormous toilets, but this one is great too!

Santa

Get into the Christmas spirit. Favorite line: I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite!

Goodbye Buddy

So weird but so funny. I think this is Jeremy's favorite!

Did you hear that?

And while I am showing funny movie scenes here are a few favs from Elf!

HE HATES THESE CANS!

I watched The Jerk tonight and man that is a funny movie. This is my favorite scene! I laugh so hard every time! If you have not seen this movie it's a must!

So Weird

The other day I was working at Starbucks and went to the back to get some ice to bring out front. As I was scooping the ice out I had a very strange thought. See the ice machine is really deep and new ice is always falling on the top so the ice at the bottom never gets used. I kinda feel sorry for that ice. It may never get to fulfill it's little icy destiny because others are always pushing it down. I know ice does not have feelings and it is only water, and that is why this is so weird to think but I cannot help it and I always feel that way about the ice machine now.

I guess this has something to do with being too sympathetic because it plays out in other areas such as sports. When I watch a game (TV or live) I ALWAYS feel sorry for the loser, even if my team was playing and won! Of course I am happy for my team but I cannot help but thinking that the other team tried hard too. Weird, I know. Guess I am not too competitive. I just want everyone to win and all the ice to be used!!! Is that too much to ask?

Why???

WHY DO GIRLS THINK IT IS OK TO WEAR TRASHY HALLOWEEN COSTUMES?!?! I do not get it! Ok, maybe I do get it but I do not like it. I was working at Starbucks the other night and these two girls came in wearing a "sexy sailor" costume and a "sexy maid" costume. Even I stared! Who wears those things? How can they think it is ok? I guess that is our sex driven world. Those girls just got me all riled up and annoyed at this time of year and I really like Halloween!

Girls just drive me crazy sometimes. They wear trashy clothes to get guys attention. They get guys attention but then they do not like it and they feel like they are treated like an object!!!!! What do they expect?!?! I am not saying women should walk around in business suits because I will be the first to veto that, but there is a way to dress that is respectable that does not show all your goods!

What I don't get about Halloween is that girls just think it is an excuse to wear whatever they want and it is ok because they are in costume. That is not true! I do love Halloween because adults can wear costumes and it is fun but not hooker costumes. Seriously these Starbucks girl's butts were handing out. That is not ok! But I guess it got people to stare at them.

I had someone tell me once that God made girls and guys different but we are compatible in the way we are attracted to each other. Girls like guys to take care of them and make them feel beautiful. Guys like to feel needed and appreciated. This works all fine and dandy until we take advantage of each other. Girls dress trashy because they know guys like it and the girls are given confidence because of their looks. Guys make girls feel beautiful to get what they want from them and then when they are done move on. That is not how God wanted it to be. Girls and guys have power over each other and I even struggle with that sometimes but it is not ok.

All of this to say that if girls would dress modestly they would get the healthy attention they deserve from a guy who they need. Sometimes it may take a little longer to get this but then it is worth it. And after you are married if you want to buy costumes to role play then I say go for it! Sounds fun to me!! I'm thinkin'...Indiana Jones!!!

Friday's Thoughts

These are some of the things on my mind:

I hope that when I am old that I will still be young at heart and outgoing and accepting of ways that are different than mine. I know old people have trouble adjusting to the times but I was with some this week that were awesome and adjusting quite well. I hope I can be like that.

Working in different jobs gives you new appreciations. I vow to never come into any store after it is closed and demand service. I vow to try and always give my server the benefit of the doubt knowing that most mistakes are not theirs or they might actually be having a bad day. I vow to be friendly and thankful. And last, I vow to not look over my server's shoulder to make sure they are doing everything right.

I want a pet.

I think that if California was not so populated and expensive that I could live there. The weather is warm and amazing and there is still so much you can do outside. I know there are fires there now but those happen everywhere.

I cannot figure out what I want to be for Halloween. I do not really have to have a costume but I love dressing up! I need something that can be made out of what I have in my house. I was a cat last year and could do that again but I hate to be a re-costumer. Any good ideas?

Poor Rockies. I hope they win tomorrow!

I need to tell my boss that I am leaving in December. For some reason this is so hard for me. The last job I quit I cried. This is nothing like my last job. Starbucks employees come and go all the time. I just need to get some courage and tell her. If I don't someone else might let it slip!

Somewhere around 47 days until I move. Hooray! Anyone in Colorado need a bed, dresser or exercise bike?

I need to work on my joke telling skills. I have been asked multiple times recently for a joke and I do not know any or cannot remember them. Plus I am fumbly with my words so they always come out wrong. Any good jokes out there?

No wonder I have trouble sleeping. I wish I could just turn my mind off at night and sleep peacefully. I am off to give it a shot!

News Flash

This seems like the way to do blogs lately with so much going on that I don't want to write it all. So these are the summaries of my life lately.

*I traveled 12 hrs. to Abilene for a nice long visit with my Chile team. It was amazing! I miss them so much.

*While in Abilene I met a new teammate and future roomie, Lauren Sutton. Love her!

*Long time coming, I also met Jeremy Tatum. Love him too and he better join our team!

*I was accepted to ACU Graduate School of Theology and received 75% scholarship. I guess studying for the GRE paid off.

*Denver is buzzing with Rocktober (Rockies in the World Series) and it might snow on Sunday!

*My grandpa is slowly getting better and is home now. If he would only eat!

*I am dragging my feet but getting into "God books." My latest is Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren who I also heard speak.

*I am turning slightly "green" and just purchased my first reusable grocery bags. No more plastic bags, yea!

*I am giving mountain biking a try. It is scary and hard but sometimes fun.

*I have two months and counting until I leave Colorado. Some days I cannot wait and other days I am sad.

*My study abroad friend Jenee is coming into town for a week. Super fun times ahead!

*The Office is so funny!

That's all for now folks! : )

Ain't No Reason

This is an amazing song called "Aint No Reason" by Brett Dennen that was introduced to me by my new awesome friend Lauren Sutton. I have trouble listening to song lyrics but these are good. My two favorite lines are "You don't need no reason or a three-piece suit to argue the truth" and "Slavery stitched into the fabric of my clothes." Just listen and think about all of it.

The Message

awesome video made by a guy who just asked people to send in on their hand one thing they wanted to say to the world

Break It Down

I need a break. Luckily my emotional timing is perfect because in less than a week I will get one. On Thursday next week I head to Abilene for a 6 day (2 driving, 4 in Abilene) trip and I am so excited.

First I am excited because I really need a break from work. Things have been changing and I do not like them. They probably would not be a big deal except it is just all piling up at once. Also I am tired of waking up stinkin' early, tired of smelling like coffee and tired of needing caffeine. I love my job but I need a little refresh time.

Second I am excited because I get to see my teammates, meet new teammates and visit with old friends. I have not been to Abilene since I graduated over a year ago. It might be a little weird to go back there but it will be fun to see how things have changed and eat some yummy Texas food. I will be so glad to actually speak with my friends in person and not over the phone or computer anymore. I am looking forward to lots of laughing, deep talking and maybe a little planning. I cannot wait to meet the new possible teammates and new possible roommate and stay with her.

Abilene here I come!!!!

PS- GO ROCKIES!!

New Home

Its a long story that I have gotten good at giving the short version of, but I moved. I moved from one house in Golden to another that is only about 3 blocks down the street. Luckily I do not have too much stuff here so the move was not hard. I am settled in and feeling good here. I seriously is awesome looking because the owner is an architect and he re-did the whole house.

After being in the house about 4 nights my roommate left for about 10 days to take her boyfriend to London. So now this nice house is starting to creep me out. I was ok the first few nights because I was out late and crashed when I got home. But I think I have been watching too much "24" because my imagination is just going wild in the silence. I like to have silence sometimes so I don't feel like I always have to have TV or music but silence is kinda scary right now, not golden. There are also these huge windows in the front of the house that allow me to look outside into the dark a lot...and I always see something!

I hope I never have to live alone. I mean I guess if I am 40 and not married I might look into it but even then I think I will still get scared. I am pretty sure nothing will happen and I know my neighbors but you never know! Terrorists could be after me and break in and kidnap me for ransom!!!! (that's "24" talking) I just hope I sleep good tonight. I am drinking my hot tea now, watching the Rockies score on the computer and listening to soft music. I am tired from my 4:30am shift this morning so all of that combined should knock me out. I hope.

Women In Ministry

I have had a frustrating week of ministry and I still don't know what to do about it. I feel like God is teaching me how to be a Godly woman in ministry but I have not gotten it yet. I know everything has been great preparation for how it will be in Chile, but that does not make it fun.

As most of you know, I am a part time campus minister on a team with two others. A married guy (older than me) and a married girl (younger than me). We work great together and are good at protecting each other from mistakes. Within the last 3 days I have had two students in our ministry show interest in me that was more than friendship. I seriously was shocked and was caught off guard and probably did not respond in the best way. I have experienced this problem before when working with Muslim students but for some reason this feels different.

The first dude is an "interesting" guy and no one I would ever be interested in, even if it were ok. He also has girl/guy problems because he is "interesting." From what I have heard and experienced he hates girls because they never show him attention, but he still likes girls because he is a guy. So here comes this nice, Christian girl (me) who takes him to church and tells him she hopes he comes to activities and he gets the wrong idea. I did not see it coming but the other day after I talked to him he awkwardly asked me if he could have a hug. Not knowing what to do I gave him one, frontal. Now I love hugs and most are fine, but in these situations I really need to practice my side hug. Art (guy partner), saw it all and we got to talk about it some. No more of me taking this guy to church. But I do not know where the balance is because I do not want to be another girl who makes him hates girls, but I cannot keep doing what I am doing.

The second incident was last night at a service project. This other student who does not come to stuff much did come so I was really excited. We were walking up some stairs and very coolly he asked if I wanted to go to the ballet in a few weeks. Totally shocked I did not look at him and told him I had a super busy and strange schedule so I would have to check and get back to him. First, I do not like the ballet so I would not want to go anyways, but pretty sure going on a date with one of the students is a little inappropriate! No one else heard what went on until he brought it up again in front of others and Art asked what we were talking about he this guy said we were going to the ballet together. Ahh! Luckily I explained to Art later that this would not happen I just did not know what to do. Part of Art thinks this is so funny but I make sure he knows I do not.

Now I have never considered myself a flirt or the one all the guys want. I do not date much, which is not exactly because I don't want to. Just never happens. So I am totally thrown off when someone thinks that I am giving them the impression that I like them. In my mind I am their minister who is nice to them because they are weird and no one else is nice to them. I try to be Jesus to them so they can come to know Jesus. In their mind I am this older girl who is into them! How does this happen? How does Jesus' love get skewed into romantic love and how do I keep that from happening?

Do I need to only do ministry with women? But that cuts my outreach by 50%!!!! I do not want to give up ministry to guys but I guess I am not doing a good job of handling it. That makes me sad because I did not know I was doing a bad job. I don't know what to do. But I know I do not want to become a creepy minister that pursue relationships with their students because I have known too many ministers to fall into that trap and it is so sad. Do I need to get married? Will that help? I hope to get married some day but I do not want this to be the reason.

Anyone else had this problem?

Least Favs

In a previous blog I listed some of my favorite things. So here is a list of some of my least favorite things. If you do some of them I forgive you. I do some of them too.

1. Opening CD's
2. Wasting food
3. Stereotypes
4. Smelling bad
5. Hate
6. Picky eaters
7. Rustling paper/plastic during a movie
8. Slow talkers
9. Closed mindedness
10. Spiders
11. Scary movies
12. Politics
13. Most "classic" literature
14. Only drinking bottled water
15. Materialism
16. Studying
17. Hunting and guns
18. Global warming
19. Arguing
20. Back seat drivers
21. Lying
22. Driving on ice
23. Fire drills
24. Un-Adventurism
25. Hummers
26. Water park bathrooms
27. Salt water
28. Cars that don't signal
29. Vacuuming
30. The GRE
31. Super abstract art that I could do myself
32. Hurricanes
33. When the house smells after cooking
34. Degrading rap music
35. Too much PDA
36. Songs that repeat the same words over and over
37. Daily credit card apps in the mail

I keep thinking of new ones so feel free to add to the list if you have any!

My Newest Discovery

I am not a huge TV watcher but I do have my favorites. Nothing will ever top Friends or Seinfeld but I have found a few good ones since then. I have been a fan of Gilmore Girls but that ended so most currently I watch Scrubs, Lost and The Office. I cannot wait until the new season of The Office comes out but sadly Lost will not begin again until January or February.

The new TV season is beginning soon so I decided I needed something to last me until Lost begins. I checked the major TV stations to see what their new shows are and nothing really caught my eye. Carpool looks like it could be funny Samantha Who might be ok but neither look great or original. So I decided maybe it was time to catch up on some older shows that I did not watch from the beginning so was always too behind to know what was going on.

I went to Blockbuster in hopes to begin renting Alias since I have heard awesome things and Jennifer Garner is like amazing. Sadly they only started with season 2, don't ask me why, so I looked around some more. That is when I decided to start on the journey with Jack Bauer and 24. I know I am way behind the times and it has been going for like 6 years or something but I have started it and am hooked. I am half way through the first season and I cannot wait to get the next disk so I can see what happens to Bauer and his family. I always laughed when people said they would vote for Jack Bauer for prez or that he was their hero but now I know why. If ever I am in danger I know who to call!

Weekend Away

This weekend was the RMCM fall retreat and we went to a cabin in Leadville, Co deep in the Rockies. It was an awesome weekend and we did not want to come back.

The weekend did not start out as great as it ended though. I had already been battling a cold for two days and I sounded worse than ever before. I debated staying behind but I cant really say no so I went along promising to get sleep and take it easy. We made the drive up there and I gave my lesson for the night and crashed while everyone else stayed up playing games. I slept amazing which was nice. Probably helped that I took two NyQuil and two IB Prophine that totally knocked me out for the night.

Saturday we woke up and had amazing pancakes for lunch and then had another teaching time led by Bri. Out weekend theme was Dying to Live and our thoughts were centered a lot around the things we have been reading in Irresistible Revolution. I spoke on "Jesus Wrecked My Life" meaning how choosing to follow Jesus does not make our lives easier but harder sometimes and we should be prepared for that and ready to sacrifice anything for him. Easier said than done of course. Bri spoke on reaching out to the poor, living below our means, and giving up things that are hard for us.

After her lesson we got ready, piled into two cars and went off roading in the mountains. The guy whose parents own the cabin was with us and he led the was in his huge truck! We had some fun with the walkie talkies and then found an awesome place to relax, hike, throw rocks and play around that was super secluded. It was kinda chilly but a beautiful day. The leaves are starting to change and we had an awesome view of the mountains.

When we got home we crashed for a bit, had some good down time and then I made a delicious dinner of black beans and rice and sausage. Mmmm good! After dinner Art gave his talk on how it looks to live out the Gospel in every day jobs and whether we need to sell everything and follow Christ.

The night continued with the longest, funnest game of pool ever, intense games of spoons and a movie until we fell asleep. Today we woke up late but still had time to stop off at the cuttest little coffee shop in Leadville before hitting the road. We had an uneventful drive back with amazing views and we were just glad it was not blizzarding like last time. The weekend was fun, encouraging, thought provoking and just and awesome time. Here are a few pics of our small but super cool group!

Hiking fools!

Grrr! We are so strong!

Group pic!

Goofy RMCM staff with perfect names. Art, Bri and Dee!!

Whew!

I'm done with the GRE! Hooray!!! I took it at noon today and never again will I have to study for that stupid test. All I want to do now is lay in the bed until tomorrow but sadly I cannot do that. The busy life of a barista/minister continues on!

Yesterday I woke up (at 4am to open) with a sore throat and a stuff nose. Colds seriously have the worst timing! So I got up and went to work and survived it. When I got home I took too short of a nap and finished my last bit of studying. Then last night we had our laundry night with campus ministry and it went pretty good. I ordered pizza and lots of snacks and toys to play with and more quarters than you have ever seen! Slowly the students started to come in. At first I thought only 4 or 5 would show up but as the night went on more and more came. It was different than last time but served its purpose. The students were friendly and curious why we were paying for their laundry which gave me a great opportunity to tell them about our ministry and invite them back. Who knows if they will come but the purpose of the night was to serve students and get our name out there and it was done. Thanks God!

This morning I slept in and felt a little better than the day before. I took my time getting ready, had a hardy breakfast of cheese eggs and biscuits and headed downtown to take my test. I got there 30 min. early like suggested and after filling out the form I sat around for 30 min. and waited thinking about how unprepared I was. Ahhh! Then the dreaded time came. Only for a few seconds did I get butterflies but really I was just ready to get it over with. So I started the test and 3 hours, two essays, two math sections and one verbal section later I was done! They report your scores to you immediately but this does not include the essays or what percentile your scores fall under. I would rather not report my scores but I will say that I am fine with them and I did not bomb the test. I am just glad its over!!!!! Now I can start finishing up the rest of my grad application stuff and just pray that they know I am smarter than my GRE scores! Thanks to everyone for being so encouraging and having faith in me. I appreciate it so much.

To treat myself I stopped and got some lunch/dinner and a big Dr. Pepper! I got home and have been laying around for the past 2 hours watching TV and just chilling. Now it is back to work! At least this is a little more fun than GRE studying. This weekend is our campus ministry retreat and I am teaching tomorrow (Friday) night to open. So I need to be prepared. So off I go to work on my lesson!!!!

This Is A Gloomy One

I don't like being unhappy and I don't like writing gloomy blogs. Funny ones are much more entertaining to read. But right now I am feeling sad and gloomy and I need to write it out.

I said a few blogs back that my grandpa is sick and not doing good. He had surgery and has recovered fine from that but he wont eat and he wont get up. He is not right in his mind and can only think about what he wants right now. They moved him to a nursing home yesterday and he spent his first night alone in years. That makes me so sad. During the night he got out of bed to go to the bathroom and ripped out his catheter. Ouch! None of us really know how long this could go on but if he is not going to get better I hope it is not long.

We have talked about it and he is like 84 years old, has led a really good life with lots of fun and love and hardly any health problems. If it is time for him to die then it is ok, but it is just sad for the rest of us here. I know God can heal him, but I don't know if he will.

The hardest part about all of this for me is that I wish I could be with my mom as she is dealing with all of this. She is so sad and worried and doesn't know what to do. For the past few weeks she has been staying up all night with him to make sure he doesn't do anything he shouldn't. Then she sits all day with nothing to do but watch him more. She isn't hungry and cant eat around him anyways.

I just want to be able to sit with her and my grandma and listen to them and hug them when they cry and help out. I want to bring them food and let them go home and rest and me sit there with him. I want to sit with my mom in our blue chair and talk about what she should do. But I cant because I am so far away. All I can do from here is think and pray and talk to my mom on the phone. I want to go home.

Please pray for my family.

Are You Ready For Some Football!!!

It's that time of year again. The air is getting cooler, school is starting up, and NFL football season has kicked off. Hooray! Last night was the first NFL game of the seasons and it was a great one. My friend Jess came over and we watched the Colts vs. Saints and it was so nice. We had queso and laid on the floor and cheered on the very successful Colts.

I love football season. It bring such great memories from high school and watching games with my family. I still remember the first time I watched an entire football game with my brother, dad and grandpa and my grandparents house. I was so proud I sat through the whole thing and have been hooked ever since. I think part of it is because it is something that I can be into that my brother is way into also. It has become a family thing and we get to go to Houston Texans games every year together. Even though the Texans aren't great it is just super fun to go together.

I also love football season because of Sundays. It is so relaxing to come home from church on Sunday and lay on the floor and watch games, or even just have them on in the background as I do other things. I used to do all of my weekend study times during college on Sunday afternoons watching football. Ahhhh! It is also so much fun to hang out after church with friends and watch the games together. Here in Colorado I have had to be into the Broncos because they don't show many Texans games. But I can enjoy the Broncos. It is nice to go for a team that is good.

The Colts are probably my second favorite team and have been for a while. I think Peyton Manning is a great QB and I think Dungy is an awesome coach that I respect a lot. I was so happy they won the Superbowl this past season. And let me just say, the Manning commercials are some of my favorite on TV. Here are my three favorite!

Reggie Bush vs Peyton Manning commercial

The Mannings at ESPN Digital Center

Master Card - Peyton Manning Commercial

Home Sweet Home

I think I have set a record. I have lived in the same house for an entire year. This is the first time that has happened since I began college. When I started school at ACU I went from dorm, to home, to dorm, to Uruguay, to home, to apartment, to Argentina, to house, to family in Colorado (all in 4 years) and then to this amazing house and I have been here a year now. It seems really hard to believe. I got used to moving around a lot but it sure has been nice to not have to move.

Now it all has to change again. See we got a new roomie and her boyfriend is moving to London and she is going to move into his house. So instead of us finding another roommate and her having to find two roommate we are all just going to move into the boyfriend's house. It is even closer to work, is really nice, and is not on top of a hill. It wont have as good of a view but at least I wont have to drive the ice hill in the winter. I am glad to not have to find a new roommate but not too excited about moving, especially with only like 3 months to go till I move again. I like my house. Luckily I don't have that much stuff to move.

Now things are changing again I am not really sure what is going on but I hope it all works out ok. Pretty soon I need to start finding a place to live in Abilene. Not looking forward to that. Here are some pics of my lovely home.

Front View of 402!!

Back Porch and Side View of 402 !!

View from the porch!!

Dream Man

Friday night the little town I live in had movie night in the park and they showed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Tons of people came out and it was so cute and so much fun. I love my town!

Anyways, after watching the movie I decided that Indiana Jones is my dream man. By this I mean the seemingly perfect man that will never be true and would not be as perfect as I think he is but it is still fun to dream. I mean come on, what girl has not wanted an Indiana Jones for herself. He is manly, smart, sexy, a hero and is always on adventure. He is fighting bad guys (always the Nazis), helping the good guys and always has time to save his awesome hat!

He always has a beautiful girl by his side (which is my dream is obviously me). Sometimes she screams a lot and hates bugs and skeletons (who doesn't) but is usually quite adventurous herself. Once in a while Indy has to come to her rescue but she can fight for herself too. They go all over the world together (plotted by a red line on a map) and get in and out of lots of trouble. It can't get much better than that.

I walked home after the movie humming the Indiana Jones theme song in my head and dreaming about my Indiana Jones. Ha! This is what watching too many movies does to you! Think Indy wants to be a missionary?

Ponderings

I am the type of person that loves to question and wonder about things. But I also like for there to be mystery and I like that so much of the world and God I do not understand. Sometimes, I get to thinking about all of these things and I have trouble sleeping at night. These are some of the things I ponder about and some of them just blow my mind!

How do bridges stay up?

Who decided there would be 5280 feet in a mile and why?

How do mountains form so slowly? ( I want to see it happen)

How long is forever?

Why am I so blessed?

How do they get the grass lines so straight on baseball fields?

How do airplanes stay up?

How do our conversations go between phones?

Light years?

Where does wind come from?

Do we all see color the same?

How big is the universe?

What was Jesus like as a kid?

Do we like different foods because they taste different to people or we just like different tastes?

How does it feel to get tackled by an NFL player in NFL pads?

Would I be a Christian if I was born somewhere else?

And my all time favorite...where is the internet?

Now I am sure there are real explanations for some of these things but I kinda like not knowing. And also I know some of these cannot be understood by us and that is cool too. Any other good ponderings out there?

Starbucks Diaries

I have been working at Starbucks for over two months now and I have really gotten the hang of it. I like the people I work with and I love seeing and talking with all the different people that come into the store. We have our regulars that come every day and then the random people that stop by. You never really know what each day will be like and I would like to share some of the interesting experiences I have had since working there.

Most Awkward Moment:
This occurred last night. The store was pretty empty and I was in the storage closet putting things up from our order. There was a large group of older adults sitting at a table and talking pretty loudly and I could not help over hearing part of their conversation. Lets just say the major words that stuck out to me were words like vibrator, position and naked!!!!! I am glad I was in the closet so they did not see my face. I think anyone, no matter how old they are, should maybe keep their voices down on these topics in a quiet public place. I am glad that older people still enjoy themselves but i do not want to hear about it!!!

Scariest Moment:
They tell us that the most common times to get robbed are the first 30 min. of opening and the last 30 min. before closing. So to avoid this we are careful with the money and not going out into the dark by ourselves. The other morning I was opening and the store was still closed and we were getting things ready. I heard a knock on the window and looked up and a guy was trying to say something to me. I just held my hand up and said we opened at 5 but that was not what he wanted. So I went closer to the window and asked what he wanted. He seemed really worried said he had given us the wrong newspapers and he needed to get inside. I asked him to wait and told the shift that I was working with. She said he would have to wait because she had all the money out. So I told him this and went back to work. I looked up a few minuets later and he was gone and he never came back. Now maybe he just decided it did not matter but my little instinct inside said that he was lying and that is not what he would have done when he got inside. I like to trust this instinct too because usually it says everyone is nice and will not hurt you but once in a while it goes off and I like to listen to it. Thankfully he did not come back.

Oddest Moment:
This is another time that I cannot be for sure that I am right but I really think I am. This happened one morning when not much was going on. A lady came in and ordered a drink and sat down at a table. Normal right? Then some police came in just to get some coffee and she looked at them and got up and went outside leaving all her stuff at the table. Once they were gone she came back. This happened two more times when cops came inside and the last time she took her stuff and went to the bathroom and never came back (our bathroom connects to the place next door). Now maybe I am just looking for excitement but I really think she did not want to be seen by the cops! I wonder what she did!

Funniest Moment:
Last Saturday morning I was working and a girl came in and she was not very steady on her feet. Pretty much right away it was clear that she was totally drunk and she informed me that she had just drove from Gunnison which is about a 3 hour drive. Scary to think she was on the road that long since she could hardly stand. So she ordered her drink and I told her it was $2.74 and she looked up and said "No you're $2.74!" It was all I could do to keep from cracking up in her face. Then she started looking in her purse for money and looked for about 5 min. when Johnny, one of our regulars and super nice man, offered to pay for hers. She took her drink and slowly and wobbly walked outside, having trouble opening the door. She stayed around for a while coming in and out looking very confused. I am not sure where she ended up but I think a friend came and got her.

Rollercoaster

It has been an up and down kinda day. It started out great with a night of 11 hours of sleep that I needed badly after working two closings and two openings. So I woke up refreshed and did some things around the house, made some cookies, and wrote some emails. Then I talked to my mom and she was heading to my grandparents in Temple because my grandpa was in the emergency room and no one could get a hold of them. I said a prayer and gave it to God knowing I could do nothing right then.

Later, I met Art to do some videoing of students on campus but we did not have the camera so that was scratched. As usual in ministry our plan did not work out so we got some other things done. We worked on some paper work for getting a booth for the freshman day next week and then found out all the different ways that clubs are allowed to advertise on campus. I had no idea! This new information was so encouraging to me and just made me excited for the new semester. I always felt no matter how many good ideas I had for events they would be a flop if no one knew about them so I am glad to have this new resource. The lady who helped us seemed genuinely interested in us and in helping us and that is always great to have on your side. Then we spent some time on campus, observing students and talking about how we could meet their needs. I got excited.

Then I went from that encouraging time to another one. I set up myself in a private room at the Golden library and got on skype to have a conference call with my mission teammates as they are all in Abilene. It was a little strange being on the computer with all of them in another place and there were the expected awkward silences but it was good to talk with them and see how everyone was. We made the exciting decision to make Concepcion, Chile the for sure place that we will be working. It had been on all our hearts for the summer but we needed time to think but it was made official today. Woo Hoo! We talked about other things going on and there is so much more to talk about but it was good for today.

Talking with them made me want to be back in Abilene so so much. It was my decision to be here in Colorado and miss out on things in Abilene and I have loved my time here but it is time to go back. Now I am super pulled between the two places and am trying to find a healthy balance. I am totally committed to the Rocky Mountain Campus Ministry this semester and I want to be engaged and work hard a my job and be successful but I am also very dreamy and excited about being back in Abilene in school and with my teammates. I just pray that God helps me work it out between the two. Some days I am so glad to be in Colorado and cry just thinking about leaving and other days (like today) I sit in the cold night air in August and dream about Chile and I cannot wait to be back in Texas. Seriously pulled.

Anyways, so I am up and down about all that and then I got some more news about my gpa. My medical knowledge and understanding is limited but he had a hernia in his intestines and was in surgery for 3 hours to fix it. Then there was something about a cadaver and a slit in something but think he will be ok as long as there are no complications. He will just be in the hospital for a week. So I am relieved that he came out of surgery ok and I pray that he heals well. I hate stuff like this. I feel so helpless. Please pray for him!!

I'm Not Ready

I know it is still August and all my Texas readers are sweating to death right now and will think I am crazy, but I am already starting to worry about winter here in Colorado. I am just not ready yet. It still got into the 90's today but no one can deny that summer is coming to an end. The days are getting shorter and this morning as I rode my bike to work (at 4:30am) and it was a little chilly. I got goosebumps!

Luckily before winter comes fall and fall is amazing around here. Did you know leaves actually change colors? So cool! But along with fall comes the possibility of snow and as beautiful as snow is, it scares me. I hate driving in it, walking in it, tearing ACL's in it. I do love playing in it, but unless it snows like 3 feet in one night nothing gets closed and we have to go about our lives. I do thankfully have my beautiful Subaru named Kate who takes care of me, but all wheel drive or not ice is scary. Plus I am cold all the time and it stays dark so long I just want to stay inside and watch movies by the fire while drinking hot tea under 10 blankets.

I am probably making a bigger deal out of this than I should be but I am trying to find as many things as possible to make myself excited to move back to Texas. Colorado is beautiful and I LOVE it here but I am a Texas girl and I do not like cold weather. Anyways, I am going to make the most of the end of the summer and beginning of the fall and enjoy the beautiful, warm weather.

Movie Review

I think this is my first blog on a movie I have seen which is surprising because I LOVE movies and see lots of great ones. I found out about this movie from a Christian leadership conference I attended. The director, David Yates, spoke at it and even though I did not get to see him I wrote down the name of this movie to watch. The title is The Girl in the Cafe .

The movie has two main characters, Lawrence and Gina, and they are very shy and awkward. The do not fit together at all, but their love story runs throughout the entire movie. For the first half of the film it seems to just be a romantic comedy where the center of the film is the characters and not the plot. Then the two characters travel to the G8 Conference .

From this point on in the movie we begin to be told facts about poverty and AIDS and how many children die each day. And I was shocked and squirmed in my seat and the uncomfortable scene where Gena confronts the Chancellor and then his equal from Germany and even the Prime Minister of England. She has a quiet and polite manner about her but is very determined to share her opinions on the lack of work being done for the poor in our world. She challenges every powerful leader at the G8 to be remembered as the generation that began the fight on poverty instead of being ashamed for doing nothing. I won't tell you how it ended but lets just say I was crying and praying that it was true and not just a movie.

It is amazing how much God has been working on my heart these past few months and softening me to the great need in our world to serve the poor as Jesus did. He has spoken to me through books, people and now as strongly as ever through this movie. I stand firm on my belief that the middle class need Jesus too, but if Christians are not going to stand on behalf of the poor then who is? Matthew 25:31-46 talks about taking care of the hungry, and naked and those in prison and I hope the I am a sheep.

I don't want to walk the easy life and stay comfortable with my job and money and clothes. I want to be seen as a follower of Jesus and help make Christians known not for arguing and picketing, but for serving the poor. I want to use my blessing (and curse) of growing up in the US and being blessed more than I will ever know with financial security, to serve others and not just write a check every month and hope it makes a difference. I don't know how it will look but God does and I am his tool.

The "Jam" Jam

I am sitting on the floor in my house studying for the GRE eating a piece of toast with Fredricksberg Peach jam and I have been inspired to write a new silly song. (Anything to avoid studying). I love the title. Get it? Ha!

The "Jam" Jam

Sitting on the floor eating toast and jam
It is sweeter in my mouth than honey glazed ham.
I love the way it sticks in my mouth
They make it best in the Texas south.

There are tons of flavors that have become
Like peach, strawberry, grape and plum.
The weird ones could also make you merry
Try jalapeño, mint or maybe gooseberry.
The many ways to eat we must boast
Spread it on crackers, biscuits and even toast!

So this is my silly jam about jam
If you don't like it you can scram.
I hope this treat brings you delight
And does not make you run in fright!

Late Nighter

Wow! This is the second night in a row that I have been up past midnight. Go me! Seems like lately I have had to go to bed early to get up early for work but I did not work today and don't work tomorrow. I like staying up late and sleeping late so lets just hope I can sleep late tomorrow.

Last night I stayed up late because there was a meteor shower going on and I wanted to check it out. I had never seen one before and did not really know what to expect. I seriously thought there would just be tons of large shooting rocks across the sky obviously not close to hitting me but still big and on fire. I was wrong. They were pretty much just shooting stars about every 10 minuets. By about 12:15 I was starting to close my eyes and decided to go to bed because what is the point of watching a meteor shower with your eyes closed! It was still a nice night to sit out on my deck and stare at the stars and be in awe of how ginormous stars are and how they are light years away and I cannot even understand that. And what is even cooler is that God made them for us!!! Of course I like to think aliens and stuff are out there because that could be super exciting (Independence Day anyone?). But I think they are just amazingly beautiful and awesome stars for us to enjoy and see God's greatness!!

So tonight I am up late because I was watching a movie with my friend Jeremy when I got a glorious call. See I was supposed to get up at 4:30am to go on a hike with our campus ministry team and others from church but we decided that was too much. Instead we are meeting at 11am to do our own hike. Along with this call I agreed to go pick up a new Interlink student (International English student) at the airport which after working at Interlink for 9 months I never did this. So I tagged along and got to go wondering around the airport looking for this kid holding a sign and having lots of people stare at me. We did find him and got him to his hotel and now I am home and am off to bed.

It's That Time

Football season is starting! Yea! I know a lot of baseball fans will hate that I have given up on baseball and am jumping into football while it is still pre-season but I really have nothing going for me in baseball. I suck at fantasy baseball and the one team I care about, the Houston Astros, don't have much of a chance. So why not move onto something new to hope about.

I am a devoted Houston Texans fan. I know they have been pretty bad in the past and that may not change but they are my team and I am sticking with them. And no I don't like them just because David Carr is cute, because he is gone now. I do hope he does good with the Panthers because he could have been a good player if he had been with a good team.

Now we have Matt Schaub and I am hoping he can do some good for us along with Ahman Green and some of our new draft picks. From our first look at things it does not look like much of a different team but they can always surprise us. I think our goal should be to be 8 and 8 at the end of the season and not have our QB be the leader in being sacked. Is that too much to ask?

But no matter how good or awful the Texans are I am excited for football season. Today I turned on some pre-season game just to have it on in the background. Is that weird? I love coming home from church on Sundays and laying around and watching football on my little TV and then playing some catch during half time. Who could ask for a better Sunday!

Sadly my Texans are hardly ever played in Denver, but I keep up with their stats and try to enjoy watching the Broncos play who are actually pretty good. They have a beautiful stadium too and I would LOVE to go to a game!

Oh yeah, and when I was in Houston the newspaper gave instructions on how to change your Carr jersey to a Schaub jersey so you don't have to buy a new one. Here is the link . I thought it was pretty funny but useful if you are handy like that!

Texas Fun

I am back in Colorado and took no time to get back into working. My trip to Texas was super fun. I spent most of the week at a place called Waltonia which is outside of Kerrville, Tx on the Guadalupe River. It is a place along the river with cabins that I have been to every year of my life except for last summer and I have such amazing memories there. I seriously remember after one summer of going to Disney World and then Waltonia, not being able to decide which was more fun.

I wont go into detail of what happened because that would be long and boring. A few events that occurred were I had another eventful airport experience, played in the river, ate amazing food, read, studied for the GRE, visited Caverns of Sonora, hydroplaned, played games (no jail for me), drew tattoos, fed goats, pigs and donkeys, played croquet and Frisbee, and hung out with my family.

After the few days at Waltonia we went back to Houston where I got to hang with my BFF. I went to church and then had a day on the lake where I threw up twice from motion sickness. Yuck I know. I also had a full day of appointments visiting my knee Dr. (everything is fine), getting fitted for a brace for if I ever ski again, and getting my teeth cleaned. No cavities! Yea! The week was perfect and now it is back to reality of working and playing in Colorado. Rough I know!

Here We Go Again

Tomorrow morning at 8:18 I fly from Denver to San Antonio to spend the week in Texas with my family. Yea! But since it is the day before a trip my flying nerves are starting to kick in. I really try not to worry very much but when I fly out of Denver, my natural tendencies start up and I cannot help it. The only thing I can do is keep busy and not think about it.

I used to be a calm, un-worried, excited air traveler, but that was before I moved to Denver. Since I have lived here I have had quite a few airport problems that have sometimes caused me to almost miss my flight by a small amount of time. Most of these times another flight was not an option. Luckily I have gotten smart and get there way way earlier than normally necessary, but in Denver it is necessary.

If it is not a snow blizzard it is a security line that is so long I cannot find the end of it (and the website said the wait was 15 min.) or the terminal trains are not working or my car get stuck in the snow. There are also the times when I forget my cell phone in the car or traffic was awful or the parking lot is full and they lead me on a wild goose chase to find another one or they change my gate about 3 times and I never heard an announcement or all the signs and computers are down and there is no way to even know where your gate is!

My mind is whirling trying to figure out what will go wrong this time. My guess is the bus breaks down, I wake up late, or there is an earthquake and I cannot get out of the city. Lets hope for none of those. I mean since it should not snow in July that lessens my chances of problems but you never know in the wild, crazy, poorly planned airport of Denver.

I seriously hate that airport. It is pretty and artsy and Colorado looking but I think they should have spent less time on the decor and more time on the planning of how the airport would actually run.

New Discovery

Right at this moment I am sitting at a table using internet for free. At home sitting on my couch are about 8 books that I have wanted to read for a long time and I am borrowing them for free. Also on my living room floor are two classic movies that I am renting for free. How is this possible you might ask? THE PUBLIC LIBRARY!!

Why have I never done this before? Everything is free! You don't even have to pay to become a member. Seriously it seems way too good to be true. I keep expecting there to be a catch but I have not found one yet. Yes, you do have to pay a small fine if books or movies are returned late, but you can also renew them online or on the phone and keep them longer. Cool huh?

I know you are thinking, duh Dee, everyone knows about the public library but this is like a new discovery for me. As a kid we went all the time and I loved getting new books and taking them back and getting more, but it has been a long time since I have done that. I did use the Abilene public library a little but I don't think we (me and Lauren) are allowed in there anymore. Oops! So now it is all new and exciting and I feel so a part of the community, using the public library. Who would pay for internet or books or movies when you can get it for free! Yea!

This new little addition to my life has provided a lot of joy and excitement over the past week. I love it! And this place is so close I can walk or ride my bike to it. And you know, if they do not have the books or movies you want you can request to have them sent here from other Denver libraries at no extra effort from me. Wow! Just seems like in our money driven, taking advantage of country that places like this would not be around anymore. But I am so glad they are and I hope they stick around for a while because it is awesome!

The End

I finished Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows last night. All 759 pages in less than 48 hours. I know it sounds crazy but I know there are people who read it faster than me and I took this one slower than the last book. I wanted to really enjoy it and actually remember it, plus I was afraid someone might ruin it for me if I did not hurry up.

I obviously will not give anything away but I really liked it a lot! It made me laugh and cry and scream a little in shock. It is always weird reading a new Harry Potter book after reading the other ones many times. It is strange to have a new story and new words about him that I have never heard before. It was super fun to have some of the things I thought might happen come true and it was even better to have lots of surprises. I love trying to figure out things like this but am much happier when I am wrong because if I can figure it out then it was not planned out well enough.

So now the books are over and there will be no more of Harry Potter which is strange. I have been reading these books since the first movie came out and that was like six years ago. They are an awesome story and I have enjoyed joining in on the hype that comes along with them. It will probably read this book again soon but I need to let it sink in a little bit more.

Neologisms

Neologisms are now a part of my banal vocabulary since I am studying for the extremely arduous GRE. I take a small part of each day to assuage my onerous task of trying to get into grad school because it is not something that can be cursory. The math section is tortuous and it is enervating me. This is exigent that I take my nascent, egregious vocabulary and become eloquent in my speech and writing. I believe the GRE is a sordid test and I wish I had a prescience because I am slowly becoming abject. I have a lot of ennui when I study from being static and not audacious. It makes me want to abscond from sight. On the writing section I need to appear erudite instead of prattling on and on. I hope to stupefy the admissions people with my score and I will sing a paean after September 13th when it is all over.

Did you understand any of that? ME NEITHER! I was using my flash cards. Now it is off to read Harry Potter. I am so sure that will improve my vocab.

Sleepover Adventures

Tuesday night I had some of the teen girls from my church over for a sleepover. We always have a lot of fun when we do this whether we are eating M&M's and talking or going on an adventure.

The first sleepover we had we took an adventure up Lookout Mountain which is in Golden. On the side of the mountain there is a huge white "M" that is lit up at night which is for the Colorado School of Mines. So we drove up the mountain and then a few of us (the brave) hiked to the "M". We also had a scary moment with a van man but that is another story. So now going up Lookout is a tradition of our frequent sleepovers.

This time we first had another slightly wrong, but super fun adventure. Ever been stalking? I know it sounds awful but we were just having fun and actually contributing to the community. I did this once in college with my friends and it was so funny so I did it with these girls too and they had done it before. All you do is pile in a car and pick an innocent victim and follow them wherever they go. Sometimes they have no clue what is going on but others pick up on that they are being followed and are probably freaking out. I am glad to say that two of our young, female victims pulled into a drive way that was probably not theirs and waited until we left. Exactly what you are supposed to do! So good job to them. It was all in innocent fun and the girls had a blast figuring out who to follow and how far to follow them.

After this adventure we met up with some other girls and drove into the mountains a bit to look at the stars by the creek. This is where I found out my girls are not as adventurous as they think. We got to the spot and had to hike down a bit to the river but all but one of them were too scared to go. I mean I had my head lamp I don't know what was so scary. But one girl and I went down and it was BEAUTIFUL. It is my new favorite place. The creek smelled so good and the clouds cleared so we could see the stars and we just sat and chatted while the other girls stayed at the car and made sure no animals ate us. They are so funny.

After the creek we drove up Lookout to end our adventure. Along the way you must honk at cars sitting on the side of the road to disrupt their romantic evening. You see, another name for this mountain is "Make out Mountain" because people love to park (I thought they only did that in the old days but it is still alive today) and enjoy the beautiful view and make out. We just honk to disturb them and make sure they do not go "too far." : ) It is so funny! We made it to the top, saw a few animals, freaked the girls out with the van man story and drove back down, making our regular stop to view the gorgeous city of Denver at night.

By the time we got back to the house it was late and we were pretty tired. So we ate a bit more junk food, got the beds ready, turned on a movie and went to sleep. The great thing about having a sleepover at my house is I get to sleep in my own bed. Yea! So we slept in the next morning and concluded our adventure sleepover tired, yet having had a great time. I love my girls!!!!

Spider Attack Update

Ok, I know probably no one wants to hear about the spider attack on my house but I hate them and need to vent a bit more. My kill count is up to seven out of nine that I have seen in the last week. I am super proud of this count because it has taken all the bravery inside of me to kill these stupid little guys.

Three of these happened last night when I got home and you can ask Lauren, it was not a quiet event. I have to work myself up and scream a lot (my battle cry) and it makes it a little less scary. Another kill happened the other night after I went to bed with no spider sightings. I woke up about 30 min after going to sleep and looked up and there was one about a foot above my head on the wall. I JUMPED out of bed and paced around the room for about 10 min. before I gathered the courage to pound it to death. There are shoe marks on the wall for proof. Once I was sure it was dead I sat on my bed shaking and crying. It was not a restful night.

I talked to my mom and she said we should get our house sprayed but my roommate said it is normal for summer time around here and it sucks and you just have to deal with it. I am not dealing with it well. After finding the one above my head I have not slept well because I wake up a lot and scan the room for any spiders around. I even woke up and felt a tickle on my foot and I threw myself out of bed but found nothing there.

I was hoping that maybe after seeing all these spiders and successfully killing a lot of them that the Pavlovian theory of Systematic Desensitization might kick. So far, no luck. What am I supposed to do?!?! Seriously bugs love to infest where I live. In my first apartment in Abilene Lauren and I had a swarm of about 100 flies in our house at one time and we had to kill them all. So gross! Then in our second house in Abilene, about two weeks before we moved out the house exploded with termites. I am not joking. I came home one day and there were THOUSANDS of termites all over my bedroom floor and crawling out of the walls. Lets just say, I was not calm about it. Lauren thought someone had died when I called her. And now I have got spiders. My mom reminded me that she has never seen a spider jump on someone or go after them to attack (my fears) and most are not poisonous. She also reminded me that there will be bugs to deal with everywhere (even in Chile, sad), so I just need to toughen up. I'm trying!!!! : (