Tuesday, June 28, 2005

durango

hey ya'll! i'm reporting from CIY in the big CO. It's Tuesday but it feels like the week is already going to fly by! CIY always does that though.

Things are great so far! I'm w/ some cool people from Hope Int'l Univ., Dallas Christian College, Manhattan Christian College, and St. Louis Christian College, and also of course the CIY staff & interns. It's fun, but it's definitely not the same as the summer of the BCG's in '03. I miss that, but I have accepted that it'll never be the same to do CIY w/o them now.

I can't write much b/c I really need to go get started on the seating charts. I'm doing those this week, kind of w/ a girl from St. Louis and the Manhattan girls might help too. Anyway since I'm not teaching right now while they all are, I should get a head start. Hope all is well where you are, my friends! Talk to you soon!

And Happy Birthday to Traubs today and to Rach tomorrow!

Thursday, June 23, 2005

lots of things

-I just received some mass e-mail about a "Purpose Driven Worship Festival" or something or other. I wonder what they'll come up w/ next that's "Purpose Driven." Is anyone else sick of hearing that? Sorry Rick Warren, but I think you've maxxed out the commercialization of that phrase. Although, somehow I fear it's not the end of it...probably just the beginning. next up? maybe purpose-driven radio, purpose-driven tv, purpose-driven food, purpose-driven curling irons, purpose-driven gardening tools, who knows.

-I'm packing up my stuff for Colorado and fearing the travel by myself w/ two big suitcases.

-Preparing to teach an elective on Prayer at CIY in Georgia is going to be interesting. #1: I'm not good at teaching. In fact, I pretty much suck at it. #2: I'm definitely not a pro at prayer. Actually, is anyone? I just don't feel qualified to do it. so why did you volunteer yourself to teach the class, mandy, you ask? Maybe b/c I knew it would be stretching myself. It could be good. We'll see. Stay tuned for more thoughts from my teaching preparations.

-I'm hungry.

-It's going to be 97 degrees tomorrow. You can bet money I'll be at the pool for several hours. This time I'll wear a little SPF, b/c I sure didn't last week, and it sure showed.

-I'm very content right now. Looking forward to much, but happy where I'm at. God knows where I need to be each moment, and I'm thankful for it.

-Do you think I can talk my way out of the $25 parking ticket I got last saturday night for parking in front of my apartment between 2-5 a.m.? I'm going to do my best. Tomorrow is the day. my reasoning: someone was parked in my spot in the back, and many people have parked in front w/o ever getting a ticket. so why now? and why choose the girl who has no money? i'll update you on my victory or defeat by the Lincoln Police Dept...specifically Officer #40.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

my new favorites (for the moment)

Movie: Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights -- why had I not seen this until last weekend? i LOVE dancing and i LOVE the Latin, salsa merengue flavor of dancing.

Article of Clothing: my new black halter dress from Goody's that I'll wear to the next two weddings I have. AND the black skirt I'm wearing today that I got at Meijer for $2.12 on clearance, including the black and white polka dotted tie belt that is its partner. i'm the biggest bargain shopper ever. and the best.

Book: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. ( i know, i know. but i can't pull myself away from it! it's great mindless reading to get lost in.)

TV Channel: The Food Network.
TV Shows: 30 Minute Meals, $40 a Day, and Celebrity Charades

things about my job: the fact that 4 of us just took a field trip to the Dairy Bar to get ice cream, or the fact that I get to leave in 4 days for Colorado for a week, then go to Georgia for a week, and that after tomorrow I only work two days from now until July 18th (not counting "working" at CIY).

junk e-mail to laugh at: some junk mail about a sale at Frederick's that just appeared in my inbox. hilarious. i'm there.

foods: pita bread, the crunch-coated twist ice cream cone i just finished, homemade tortillas (all separately, of course, not combined)

creative decoration ideas: (from the TV show 100 ideas under $100) a picture frame lamp, making my own canvas with an old picture frame and a piece of material that i can just paint or dye

picture: the black and white snapshot i took of our 4 pairs of feet under the table outside @ Starbucks on Monday night.

childhood memory struck by a sound: the tinging sound of a baseball hitting the bat...i heard it yesterday when i was on a walk and it made me turn around and look. it reminded me of going to watch games @ Bodznick field or Southside or going to see my dad play softball games @ Owens field or at the big church tournament in Cincinnati every Labor Day weekend. those were the days!

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

the BCG's

I'll forewarn you...sometimes I feel like I'm in a movie. And last night I sure did.

I don't know what kind of movie, but some movie about a group of friends or something. maybe Now and Then, or Circle of Friends, or the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, or Sex & the City (without the sex part...or the city, for that matter), or something like that. It's about 6 girls with totally different personalities, but these friendships are like nothing else. It is one of the most unique groups of friends I've ever had in my entire life. 4 of us were together last night, and it was the most fun i've had in awhile.

Here's how we met (if you want the long story...if you don't, too bad!):
I traveled w/ Krista Upchurch, now Krista Weber, 2 summers ago as LCC reps, and we did 6 weeks of CIY conferences and the NACC. That was our summer job. Loved it.

Anyways, @ CIY all summer, we just so happened to be w/ 2 girls from Johnson Bible College (Faith and Laura Ashley) and 2 girls from Cincinnati Bible College (Becka and Abbra) the entire 6 weeks. After our first week in Adrian, MI we pretty much felt like we'd known each other for years. Needless to say, the end of the summer was not the end of our friendships.

Normally when you experience camp teams or CIY teams or something, there tends to be an unspoken Bible College rivalry, or at least some sense of "come to my school b/c it's better than yours" or "you know where liars go...liars go to Ozark (or, you fill in the blank w/ whichever Bible College you don't want people to go to)," etc. We pretty much broke the mold in the summer of 2003 as we donned ourselves "the BCG's" (Bible College Girls). Call us cheesy, but whatever.

It's pretty funny how things have happened in the past 2 years. Abbra got engaged during the middle of our summer, and she got married the next January. That was our next reunion. Then Krista got engaged in Feb. or March., and got married this past December. That was another reunion. Then L.A. got engaged this past year and gets married in 2.5 weeks in Knoxville. There is now still one married/engaged person on each BC team and one single girl. Not that we're identified in that sense, but nevertheless, it's a fact.

The future is quite exciting for each of us at this point:
In a year, who knows, maybe I'll live in Texas?
Faith is moving in August to NYC to teach ESL.
Becka currently lives in California and is a surfing maniac.
Krista & Josh are happily married and seeking some future opportunities in ministry.
Abbra & Mike are expecting a BABY in November!!!
L.A. and Randall get married in a couple weeks and will be interning @ Eastview in Bloomington!

Last night, as Faith, L.A., Krista, and I enjoyed dinner @ Biaggi's and a nice dessert drink @ Starbucks outside we helped plan L.A.'s wedding details, shared memories, and laughed a TON. I sometimes wanted to stand outside of the moment and see what it looks like to other people. And then I realized, it's totally like a movie. Or a black and white picture of 4 girls laughing hysterically, completely caught up in the moment. I love it. I wouldn't trade it for the world, and I can't wait to have the 6 of us (plus the 3 husbands) together again soon!

I hope someday if there's actually a movie about us that it will capture our friendships in an undramatic, simple way like this post cannot justly do.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

oh just some random decisions

Still deciding ~ if I like routine or not. Most of the time I like to have variation, but w/ some things routine would be nice...I think I'm just hard to please. I want the best of both worlds. How can I have constant variation, but in some sort of organized way?

decided ~ that I am going line dancing tonight w/ some friends, no matter what you may think.

Still deciding ~ what shoes I should wear line dancing. I gotta get me some good cowboy boots.

Still deciding ~ what kind of job I might want in a year or so.

decided ~ that I still really want to work for CIY someday. especially after visiting Anderson the other night, and I know I'll say it a million more times after I go to Colorado and Georgia for two weeks of conferences. Why do I love their ministry so much? I have no idea...probably b/c of the impact it had on my life.

decided ~ my summer is going to be wonderful. I have the company of 3 great books that finally came in yesterday (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Plan B (Anne Lamott), and Perspectives (by Colin Creel)). And, I have a roommate moving in in a month. And, I get to travel soon and very soon. And, I'll have my Fridays off. And, I can go to the pool for 50 cents on those fridays from 11-1. And, I love warm weather. And, I love the smell. And, I can wear skirts and flip flops every day if I want to.

still deciding ~ what in the world to pack for Colorado in a week and a half...

decided ~ that Launchcast is kind of ridiculous. I've overused it, apparently, b/c I now will have limited usage for the rest of this month...which means no song skipping, no rating songs, and no listening to my personalized station. hey Launchcast, way to make me feel like a 6 year old kid being punished for something stupid! I'm now punishing you back and refusing to listen to you. Like I really want to listen to crap music that I can't skip or rate or personalize. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll be back in July.

still deciding ~ whether I'm lazy or just too forgetful of what I need to be doing all the time.

decided ~ that I should probably take the last 8 minutes of work to get something important done. (hm...does this relate to my prior item in this list? yes. yes it does. )

Monday, June 13, 2005

does anyone hear a comeback album?

Alright.

So, who wants to begin the conversation about MJ's breaking news of freedom?


I still can't believe all 10 counts were found not guilty...I didn't pay much attention to the whole trial, I'll be honest, but I still don't think he should be free on all 10 counts. I'm pretty sure that either way his life will still be a living hell from now on, at least mentally. Even if he did do it, I still feel bad for him (i'm way too merciful sometimes I think) b/c of all the mental issues he'll have. Looks like he won't be leaving Neverland very often...

Comments?

Joolz--I would totally love to hear your opinion since you're a lawyer and all!

the pictures

I apologize for not clarifying the pictures posted prior to this! Those are from Friday @ Shelly Gebhardt & Tony Strand's wedding in Streator. I grew up w/ Shelly pretty much, since she and my sister were really good friends since like birth! I was always the little sister tagging along w/ Shelly & Jen & Cory & sometimes Linnea & the other girls...and then when I got older I was able to be friends w/ them too.

Anyways, wasn't she beautiful?

Thursday, June 09, 2005

strawberry pie started it all...

I was really frustrated earlier w/ some unspoken issues at work... well, unspoken on this, but definitely not unspoken to Mary Kay and Josh, the two I vented to in the office. Call me immature, but they at least were on my side and agree with me.

And then came some consolation from the unexpected:

Jeaneen Ray brought in a yummy Strawberry Pie for our office as a part of her "pie blessing ministry." I didn't know this existed, but I'm thankful for it. As soon as the pie came in, I thought "this is a great day!" It's amazing how that helped me get over my frustration.

And then I got to take a prospective student and her mom to Cracker Barrel for lunch.

And now I'm listening to my country music on Launchcast Radio.

This is a great day. Now. I realize that I'm basing my day on circumstantial things, but I don't mind.

Here are some other things that I find bring me peace or solace most of the time:
  • sitting in my windowsill in my apartment
  • dancing around my apartment or in my car
  • singing loudly in my apartment or in my car, not caring if others hear me
  • driving with the windows down and letting the wind run through my fingers when the wind doesn't blow my hair in my face
  • talking to friends that i haven't talked to in forever
  • laughing really hard
  • laying out
  • Daiquiri Ice ice cream from Baskin Robbins, breadsticks & alfredo sauce from Olive Garden, Sonic's orange CreamSlushes, fresh raspberries from grandma & grandpa's garden, mom's chicken and noodles, and lots of other yummy treats (not simultaneously of course, what do you think i am, a pig?)
  • campfires where i can just sing w/ someone playing the guitar for hours and hours
  • good song lyrics or good quotes or poems

these are just a few of my favorite things. there's plenty more where that came from.

what about you?

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

lots of music in my head

I love that I can sit and listen to Launchcast Radio on my computer while I'm here at my desk. I'm finding out all the cool things I can do with it, like choose my favorite artists (such as my flavor of the week: Dierks) and play stations of their fans' so the music is all similar. Unfortunately, it is frustrating right now b/c the player is messed up and I no longer can rate the songs or artists, but at least I can still listen!

The other night I came home from Fuel and was writing in my journal and a really old school song popped into my head: "Sweet Days of Grace" by Cindy Morgan. What? Yes, I said Cindy Morgan. Then I continued to search for my Cindy Morgan: The Best So Far CD. (i have no idea how she accumulated enough songs for a Best Of, but she did...) Upon finding it, I discovered that there are approximately 4 songs of hers that I still love, as cheesy as you may say they are:
1. Sweet Days of Grace
2. How Could I Ask For More
3. I'll Stand
4. Praise the King

And then today, over my lunch break, I heard some oldies but goodies:
  • I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
  • Quit Playin' Games With My Heart, Backstreet Boys
  • some song that involves the lyrics "something something wishing well...kiss and tell..." (let's just say there's a reason why that song was left in the '80s...i turned it quickly. yuck. i hate crappy old songs like that one.)
That's all I remember.

In other news, I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. I'm excited about that! This mane is way too long for this summer heat and humidity. Straight hair doesn't hold a chance with me these days...it's all scrunch 'n go.

Monday, June 06, 2005

my flickr site

visit the above link if you'd like to see some Dierks pictures from Friday night @ my new flickr site. ;-)

plus, i'll be constantly adding other pictures to it.




Saturday, June 04, 2005

how am i doin?

i'm doin' fine now that i got to see Dierks Bentley last night! it was a good time, except for the fact that we had to stand there for 3 hours before he even came on stage, but hey...i didn't pay a dime for the ticket, thanks to aubs' friend holly's hookup at the radio station.

as soon as i get the chance, i'll be sure to post pictures of the hottie on my blog. i think i took about 50 pictures total, but only about 5 turned out decent. i hate my slow camera and the fact that i can't take a picture that's in motion as well as in a dark place at the same time. i tried real hard to get a nice butt shot of dierks, but you have to zoom in...oh well.

;-)

that was my night last night. today? nice afternoon of laying out. it was beautiful. yet to come? hanging out w/ people from Fuel @ the "invite weekend" events.

how are you doin', now that you know how i'm doin'?

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

capture me

Summer gets boring when you live by yourself. and you're broke.

For everyone else summer is so busy and people have things to do everywhere they go...but it is not the case for me.

Or else I just get bored too easily. That is probably, most likely, the truth. Let me check...yep! it is. I get bored quite easily.

I get bored with watching TV for hours, and I get bored after a chapter or two of reading. I have to multitask, so usually I'm eating something at the same time. I think I need to simplify myself or find other ways to spend my time wisely.

Sometimes I dread the weeknights when I have nothing planned or my Fridays off work in the summer if there's nothing to do. What should I do w/ all of this time?

someone capture me...

like i did last year, i plan on making a list of things i want to do--simple or adventurous--throughout the summer. any ideas?