Deep Breath, let it out slowly.
That's how I feel right now. I've just completed the last big project of the semester! Or at least the last stressful project. I still have a group presentation and a paper, but the paper is pretty much done and the presentation is pretty easy. I had to do a mock class in Teaching the Bible. I did it on Abram and his faith. I was teaching a group of high school students. We'll see how I did when I get my grade and evaluations back. I'm just glad that it's over!
My friends and I have our coffee date today. Although I have a little reading for a couple of classes, I plan to take Les Miserables just in case I have some extra time in which to splurge my time!

Pictures of Katie's Visit

Katie and I made a couple of Starbucks runs (it was so difficult. *sigh). Here she is with a venti.

We were stuffing envelopes one afternoon. 525. We raced and I won.

At Katie's shower.

Everything we did was completely wholesome...

...I promise.

We went to sushi one night. Our tradition is sushi and cold stone.

Katie and I are planning a trip to Europe next summer.The Tea Council's Guide to the Best Tea Places in England. We figured we won't be able to come home without having tea in England, so this will be a good resource.

Here we are making our plans.

Summary of This Week

My Dear Readers,
I'm very sorry for the laxness of my posts. I've been terribly busy with having fun with my sister and a lack of internet. My computer wouldn't stay on the internet at Black Lake, so I just didn't even bother trying to post anything since the last one.
Katie arrived last Wednesday, really late. She flew into Seattle. Thursday and Friday we just watched movies. Saturday we went to Katie Miller's bridal shower in Bothell. It was so nice to see Katie. After the shower we drove back to Salem and went to see "Duplicity." It was an intriguing movie.
Sunday I wanted to take Katie to my church. Sadly, nothing about the service was normal. I was disappointed but she said that she still liked it. After church we went to McMinnville and spent the rest of the day with Grandma Bonnie.
After classes on Monday (Katie didn't want to come to any of them...imagine that) we went downtown to the beauty school where they cut hair for $4.95. I've been wanting to get my hair cut, and it sounded like fun to go in there and have them experiment. After all, it will grow back. I told the "student" what I wanted and his eyes went wide with terror. "Bad idea," I said to myself. He left for a couple of minutes and returned with his instructor. "You want to cut all of this off!" she exclaimed. "The thing is, he hasn't been on the floor for that long and he doesn't know how to do what you want. I don't want him to make a mistake."
I backtracked really fast. "Could he just trim it and relayer it?"
"I don't even know how to do layers," he said.
'Please don't let him touch my hair!' my mind screamed.
"I'm going to have someone else cut your hair," she said. Then she told him to watch. I sighed with relief but was still a little terrified. In the end I just got the trim with layers and some side bangs which she cut too short right at the last minute. I wish I were a little braver with my hair because it would've been fun to see if she could do what I wanted. Still, it takes time for hair to grow and that's time that I would have had to look ridiculous.
Yesterday Katie and I went back to McMInnville for lunch with Grandma Bonnie, Andrea, Alysun, and the kids. It was fun to see them. I'm certain that they've all grown in the week or so since I've seen them. Especially Nat and Mandy.
Today Katie and Grandma and I are headed up to Lincoln City!
We are taking a lot of pictures and I will post them as soon as I load them onto my computer.

Basking in Relaxation

I'm basking in relaxation. Spring break is an amazing institution that I feel is meant especially for me. Last week was riddled with stress and anticipation as a week free of classes was just out of reach. At last it arrived! I've done hardly anything but relax! I've read (for fun), taken a couple of walks, taken some photos, watched a little t.v.; I've even written some of one of my books for almost an hour today! Do you know how long it has been since I sat down and actually wrote for the fun of it? It was delightful. Even helping my Aunt LaNea with the banquet here at Black Lake last night was relaxing - for me anyways, 'cause I hadn't been up and working for several hours already.
I also realized that music sung in a foreign language is excellent background music for getting the creative juices flowing. In particular Andrea Bocelli. When you don't understand what they're saying, you don't have to think about what they're singing and you can concentrate on the activity at hand.

Clocks, Fire Alarms, and Winnie-the-Pooh

I've had many alarm clocks in my lifetime. Most of them were the cheapest digital clock on the shelf that makes the most annoying beep at the appointed time every morning.
My most memorable alarm clock was the Winnie-the-Pooh alarm clock I bought at Disneyland one year. It was a new version of an old fashion alarm clock with be bells on top and the hammer in the middle. The words "eat", "nap", and "honey" replaced the numbers and Pooh sat at the exalted position of the Number 12. I was so excited! I couldn't wait to wake up the next morning to my "old fashion" alarm clock.
I grew to hate that alarm clock. The sound of the hammer against the bells sent me flying out of bed in fear every morning. I'd scramble, disillusioned, to flip the "off" switch so that the rest of the house didn't hear it (they usually did anyways) and end up dropping or throwing the thing on the floor beside my bed. At last, in one fatal effort to turn off the alarm I dropped the Pooh clock on the floor. Not even replacing the batteries (which had been spit out on impact) could revive my treasured clock.
This morning, the alarm clock at Grandma Bonnie's house frightened me from a comfortable sleep and I was certain that the fire alarm was going off. When I realized my mistake, I turned off the alarm and lay back down, laughing at the racing of my heart. When at last my heart returned to a normal pace, I tried for a few minutes to go back to sleep, but by that time I was already wide awake.
I'm not a fan of alarm clocks...at all.
How do you feel about alarm clocks?

Awesome God

I'm often in awe by the little things that God does for me. For instance: I'm not a night person...not in the way that college students are supposed to be night people. Part of that could be due to my inability to take naps, so I need my sleep at night (what a novell idea) instead of spastically throughout the day.
This week I had an unbelievably, tortuous work load. I had five tests (three on Wednesday before lunch), as well as a research paper and an annotated bibliography due. One test (the hardest one of the week), the paper, and the bibliography were all due Friday. Thursday afternoon I worked on everything that was due Friday. That night I went to the play at school and then it was back to the drawing board. I will admit that my research was very tardy, for I hadn't begun it yet. I had all my sources, but hadn't looked at them until 10:30 Thursday night. As I mentioned before, I am not a night person and I had not had a whole lot of sleep this week anyways. Somehow, I managed to finish my study guide, write the annotated bibliography, complete my research, and spin together a research paper on the effect of international trade to the environment - with footnotes. I was up until 3:30. The remarkable thing is that I was coherent until 3:30. Just as I finished proof-reading the last paragraph of my paper, my eyes suddenly felt much too heavy. It was time for bed. Four hours later, I was up and getting ready for class.
Last night, after seeing Little Women again, I drove from Salem to McMinnville, leaving school at 11:30. Even when I've had a night's rest, I usually get tired driving after the sun goes down. However, I was wide awake on this trip. Both evenings I had had no coffee. Knowing myself as well as I do, you can't tell me that it wasn't God looking out for me. Even those little needs I forget to ask Him for, He gives to me. What an awesome God.
What are some ways that God puts awe into your heart?

Steamed Heat-Coffee Shop #3

Yesterday's Coffee shop was Steamed Heat in Keizer. It was very good with adorable decorations and a stone fireplace in the corner. The fireplace would've been ideal if it had been a cold, rainy day like today, but it was warm and sunny. I even had a blended drink: the Irish white mocha special. I'm not sure about the rating yet because we haven't filled out the survey yet. The location and price was not quite to my liking. It's a little further than I like to drive on a regular basis for coffee, and it was more than $4 for my blended drink. But, it was a nice atmosphere and the drinks came in fancy cups. I do wish that I had pictures of the drinks and the coffee shop, but I'm still without a battery for my camera. I'm terribly sorry. Pictures will be returning soon, though, as I get payed tomorrow.

Because of my recent stomach illnesses I've decided to cut back on several things: chocolate, all types of sugar, acidy fruits, dairy, and coffee. Sometimes coffee gives me a stomach ache, but I do enjoy it so! I've decided that once a week - Wednesdays with my friends - I can regularly have coffee. If an emergency or special occasion presents itself, I'll indulge myself in a delightful cup'o'joe another time during the week. Hopefully this will help me not to get sick so often. I'm so thankful that I love tea! I've been experimenting with different kinds of tea. I still like black tea the best. It still offers a little caffeine, too, for those days I can't get through class without some sort of pick-me-up. I really like blackberry tea. I also had some chocolate hazelnut tea the other day and practically fell in love!