MEOW.

I love being able to see my cats every day now that I’m home. :) I wuv them! I’m not a crazy cat lady or anything…yet. But who knows? If I end up an old spinster teacher, I may become just that. Oh boy.

But in all seriousness, I really do love my cats. All four of them live outside (my dad is pretty strict about having animals inside- it was a miracle that we convinced him to get our dog, Gabby). My cats are Thomas, Mosa, Girly, and Dani. They all have distinct personalities and you would NOT believe how much drama goes down between them! Oh my, some days it’s just incredible. If you’d care to get to know each of them a little better, keep reading.

First there’s Thomas. He’s old, like 12 or something. He came to our house one day about 10 years ago, and stayed ever since. He’s got a pretty sweet lightning bolt patch of white on his back, but that doesn’t say much for his personality. He’s pretty mellow. He lays around all day, and won’t move unless you’ve got cat treats. He goes bonkers for those.

 

Then we’ve got Mosa. She’s quite the character. She also wandered to our house when she was only a kitten, a very feisty one at that. I thought she was a boy, so I named her Amos. Well it turns out she was a female- of course- so I added an ‘a’ to the end of her name to make ‘Amosa’, or ‘Mosa’ for short. She’s moody and could bite your head off, but definitely my favorite cat because of her sassiness. She is also cross-eyed, adding flair to her overall likableness. (This picture makes her look so evil…yikes!)

 

 

Mosa had one litter of kittens, and begat Girly and Daniela Sofia. We thought Dani was a boy (I guess we didn’t learn after the first incident), so I named her Danny. After finding out she was a girl, I fancied up her name a bit. She’s kind of an outcast. The other cats practically hate her and always chase her off. Not sure why…but she is kind of a hog when it comes to eating!

 

Girly is the runt of the litter and thus has the least brains. She’s the prettiest cat, but also the dumbest. Sometimes I call her Stupid, which isn’t really very nice, but kind of funny! I think she never figured out how to purr. She sits in the pouring rain even when she could take shelter in our shed…how dumb can you get?! We still love her, though. Here she is getting a bath.

 

Basically these four little critters are great. Every time I step outside they make my day more interesting, even if they are just sitting in the sun, looking content with their eyes shut tight and a slight- could it be a smirk?- on their faces. They are just the best!

Settled in…for a bit.

I’m back at home.

*sigh*

You can easily tell by the ridiculous amount of stuff piled in the living room. I’m glad for such frequent moving, because it provides an opportunity for me to downsize…but it also reveals how much of a princess I tend to be! It doesn’t seem like I have this much stuff when it’s all packed away and organized so nicely. :)

I love being home because cupboards are full. I can search the kitchen for something to eat and always find something healthy (thank goodness!). And so far, I’ve used a different kind of lotion every night after my shower. I love opening up our bathroom cabinet to find about 50 half-used bottles of lotion. I like variety and this is it!

There are about 3 weeks left until I leave yet again. I think all this moving around like a nomad is good for my soul. It doesn’t allow me to get too attached to my living situations, and it leaves me with a renewed sense of adventure. I guess I’m always ready to move on to something new. I suppose eventually I’ll settle down, but not until I’ve seen as much as necessary for knowing where I want to be for a long time.

Well. I’d better get to bed soon, for I have much un-packing (and re-packing) to do tomorrow! Goodnight, internet. I’ll talk at ya later.

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!