Time sure flies…

Get ready for an explosion of pictures.

This school year’s almost done, and I’ve been thinking back at all I’ve done and all that’s transpired. I’ve been so blessed in so many ways, it’s incredible! People say college is the best time of your life, and I think they’re on to something. :)

Let’s start back at the beginning- in August. I moved in with my dear friend Caitlin and our room has been a source of fun and crazy antics since!

Then there was Homecoming, and we ROCKED it! 1st place- Men’s Hall!

 

We never ceased to enjoy nature, taking full advantage of the many parks around town.

 

We live in the Honors dorm, after all…of course we’re nerds!

I turned 21. :)

We raved as much as possible.

I got to meet Patricia Polacco! If you don’t know who she is, go find out right now. She is wonderful and very inspirational.

I got to see the beautiful Bryce Avary live, in person. The concert was 3 hours away, and I had a math test the next morning at 8:00, but I still got an A!

My friends and I had so many fun outings…here we are with hats.

I can’t forget our tea party!

And our day-trip to the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra Christmas concert- we finished the day with Spaghetti Works, too!

Broomball. Those were some pretty late nights, followed by 8 o’clock class, but worth every second of it.

My little friend, Tessa. She is so fun and sassy and I just love her!

Our Wind Ensemble toured over part of spring break, and it was such fun. So many great memories there!

And then there’s finals week. Something crazy always goes down. This year it was…pie in the face! My friend’s bucket list includes getting a pie in the face, and so I was happy to fulfill her dream for her. :)

‘Tis been a wonderful year. I like closure, so here’s a quote that fits quite nicely with my thoughts about this year.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…it has no survival value; rather, it is one of those things that gives value to survival.” – C.S. Lewis

Kiddos!

Today was my very last day with the first graders.

My cooperating teacher brought popsicles and we had a party! Which was a huge deal. :) We got to go outside and eat them- the kiddos then following their snack with a rousing game of Duck-Duck-Goose. It was so fun!

I got countless hugs from them, and one girl even kissed her fingers and quickly put them to my lips before I could even realize what she was doing! Too funny. I had made cards for each of them and the teacher, and I was surprised to get 24 cards of my own! They are all so precious. Here are some especially cute ones:

 

(This is me holding the interactive/matching game vocabulary board I made for my lesson on plants. What  good details this artist added!)

 

They were a great bunch. Certainly the most trying group of kids I’ve worked with so far, but that’s what I need as a pre-service teacher- some challenges that will stretch me and ultimately leave me a better educator and all-around person. Can’t wait for the next bunch of kids I get to work with in the fall!

Hodge-podge

I’ve been waiting for something big to write about…something that would evoke strong emotions or opinions or something. But I don’t really have much. All I have are some random…well…thoughts and moments. :) Isn’t that what my blog is all about anyway?

Easter: Easter has come and gone. I felt terrible about Holy week, actually, because it wasn’t until the week was halfway through that I realized what it was. Someone made a comment like “You know what week it is, right?” And all I could think of was “Umm…Earth day week?” Horrible! I guess Easter just snuck up so fast. Which doesn’t really make sense because it was a very late Easter this year. Anyway, it was wonderful. Dying eggs, eating potato salad, 7-layer salad, cheesy potatoes, ham, peaches & strawberries, coconut custard pie, cherry crisp, playing games, singing hymns while grandma plays piano, celebrating a Risen Savior…that was Easter for me.

First Grade: This semester I’ve spent about 50 hours with first graders! It has been so fun, and they definitely wear me out! Going to the school today I thought it was my last, but it was a false alarm. The teacher forgot the popsicles she was going to bring, so I’ll be coming back one last time next week so we can celebrate with those. I also made cards for each of the kiddos, and I am excited to give them those, too.

School: Other than that, the school year is almost done. Ca-RAZY! One semester left, people. Then I become a pseudo-teacher…I mean…student teacher. :)

Skating: One more thing. I just found out today that the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating championships will be held in…Omaha! (Article) This is just so exciting! Poor Omaha gets overlooked for most everything skating-related. The tours never stop here anymore, so this is quite a big deal. And I know by that time I’ll have a real job (well…we hope so) so maybe I’ll have real money. Ha. There is no way I’m letting this fabulous opportunity go by!

Welp. I don’t know what else there is to say…maybe I’ll have a lot to say about just ONE topic next time. Or maybe not. Buh bye for now!

A different world...

I just love blogs.


I really do have an addiction, to reading daily blog posts from all my favorite bloggers. It's a rare occasion when I watch TV, but every day I must catch up on what is happening in the world of blogging. It's just so great! There are blogs about everything, for everyone.


My most recent discovery is a blog dedicated entirely to Johnny Weir. Ummm...can you say yes, please? Ohhh it's good. :) Here it is in case you love him, too: Johnny Blog (not sure what the title means, but whatever).


I just love that you can get entirely caught up in another person's story. And it's more than just a book- it's ongoing, a glimpse into their life, struggles, glories. You get to see cute kids as they grow and learn. Amateur photographers as they improve and capture picture-perfect moments. Families as they talk through affairs, and how God has restored their marriages. All of these wonderful, beautiful (and sometimes random) non-stop stories. I absolutely love it.


I blog, too, but I don't know if what I post is very captivating. I hope that it will sincerely encourage somebody out there in cyberspace, even if they never comment or let me know this little site is being read. I don't mind creepers...as long as they're not genuinely...well...creepy. =] Just getting the chance to experience a bit of someone else's world is refreshing, and maybe even inspiring. I know I've run across some great outlooks on life, and I can only hope to share the same with others.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Or at least just finishes it!

My dear friend Kady (the very same Kady who wrote this post) and I ran the Fun 5K today. We’re not really runners. It’s not really our cup of tea. But we still do this race every year, probably because it really IS fun!

Last year we ran it in 30 minutes. Not too bad…nearly a 4 minute improvement from the previous year. But last year we started off really strong, too fast really, and we ended up having to walk much of the second mile. I had a side cramp most of the way and I remember just wanting it to be over. Near the end, I was feeling pretty good so I breathlessly asked Kady “Do….you…*pause for breathing*…do you mind…if I run ahead? I think I can go faster now.” She said sure, I don’t care. So I started sprinting…there was seriously only about 75 feet to the finish line. But me trying to be a hero…it didn’t work out so well. As they say, “Pride cometh before a fall”…well, I almost fell. My vision started to black out, and I felt dizzy. Definitely not a good sign! So I had to stop and take a breather. Kady ran past with a quizzical look, beating me. Me, the hero! I learned a lesson last year, did not make the same mistake this time around!

So yeah. We paced ourselves well this year. It was kind of tough not running fast and catching up with others ahead of us, but we totally made it the whole way without stopping. All 3.1 miles. I’m not sure of our time, but they’ll be posted soon. Beating our old time would be a nice touch to our accomplishment of running the whole way! We’ll see. :)

Here’s our picture after running the race last year. 

 

And here’s the after shot of today’s race:

Quite a difference! Go us!

Change

I've been thinking a lot about change lately, specifically how it's handled. I think this was brought on by winter giving way to spring...a very lovely change, in my opinion. But I find it so strange how we humans so quickly forget what our situation/circumstance was like before the change. I know for me, when winter is here it seems like it's been winter forever and that warm weather will never come again. Summer is but just a memory. But as soon as the weather shifts and summer is in full force, it seems to me that winter never was. The idea of  icy cold air and gray skies seem so strange, because I only feel the sun and a warm breeze. Isn't it odd how this works?

The same applies to our circumstances and moods in life. I know when I'm having a bad day, it seems hopeless. I cannot remember not feeling crabby or irritable, and it seems that my mood will never change. And likewise, when I'm happy I cannot remember what it feels like when everything is going wrong. It is such an interesting phenomenon!

I find the same to be true with the Israelites, wandering the desert. God would provide mightily for them, and their hearts would be full of gratitude. But soon that would wear off, and it seems they could not remember the blessings God poured on them so freely. They became unhappy and demanded that God do something. During the bad times, they could not remember His provision. And during the good times, they could not remember their need and praise Him for His lavished love.

So basically I see similarities between these two stories. And also a call to change, when life...errr...changes. :)

1) Practice remembering. In good times, remember the bad so you are able to thank God for His love and provision. In the not-so-good times, remember the good and realize there is hope. (But our true hope is in Jesus, not our circumstances or emotions).

2) Toughen your faith. Like I said, not faith that things will turn out "right" or the way you imagine they should, but faith in God and His faithfulness. Trusting Him to provide and knowing He is full of grace.

Just a couple of things I need to teach/remind myself. I'm happy if it helps you out, too!

Just for fun…

Ever since I was little I have loved dressing up my pets. Most of these were cats, and most times I had little themes going on- a baseball theme (the cat would wear a baseball cap and be sitting next to a bat, ball, and gl0ve), a bedtime theme (the cat would wear a nightgown of sorts, and be sitting next to a story book and pillow). It’s kind of weird, I know…maybe it makes me a crazy cat lady. What I’m sure of, though, is that it’s fun…at least for me. Probably not for my pets so much. :)

I found some of these great pictures from years back…please enjoy.

This is my cat, Mosa, dressed up in a dress and apron. Not sure if she had the bloomers on, but there were definitely bloomers that went with this dress! (It was originally for a stuffed rabbit of mine).

 

One time when I was in 4th grade, we found three baby bunnies at the state fair. They had been left in the rodeo arena by a classmate of mine on our field trip, which was very stupid…I have no idea why he moved them from where he found them in the first place, but they were most likely going to get trampled by livestock if my mom didn’t allow my sister and I to rescue them. So we brought them home and tried to feed them and let them grow up. Unfortunately, they didn’t live, but the short time we did have them we loved to put them in little “scenes” around the house. Here is an old kleenex box cover (not sure why we had this in the first place!), with our little bunnies all cozy around it. Note the use of a green t-shirt for grass. :)

Here are the bunnies taking a ride in Barbie and Ken’s hot pink convertible. They (their names were Hopalong Cassidy, Summer, and Clover) look so snuggly!

Here we have 2 kittens of ours- I believe these were Stormy and Misty. They were the perfect size for doll clothes…so…why not? :)

Over spring break, with a need to do something fun and creative indoors (since it was snowing), I got my dog Gabby to dress up for me! She was very patient. I could tell she didn’t really like this, but her loving self put up with me anyway. This is Gabby’s Slavic gypsy look.

 

Here’s another style. I think it looks like a boy scout.

We tried to get her to wear aviators, but she wasn’t too keen on doing that. Her patience ran out had run out by this time!

 

The final pose. Fed up with our nonsense. But still lookin’ cute anyway.

I love it.