Monday, December 14, 2009



I should take guitar/ukulele lessons from this kid.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

New Dream.

I have a new dream. I want to star in a movie (or t.v. show) about myself. I know this sounds selfish, and it is. But, after the finale of Glee, I feel as though fictionalizing my life and then playing the part of myself is the only way that my life will seem super romanticized/cute/whathaveyou.

I'm not going to say that I wish that real life were just exactly like a romatic comedy or anything like that. I'm also not going to say that I hate romantic comedies or the super-cutsy love-interest storylines in most t.v. shows/movies because they aren't just like real life. Because I don't. In fact my girly side really enjoys those storylines.

I'm just saying that it would be interesting and fun to see my life portrayed in that kind of light. But I wouldn't want to give the leading lady part up to anyone.

Just thought you all should know.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Once Upon a Time....

...... and that's all I've got so far.


I'll let you know when the fairy tale happens.



promise.

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Stubborn Little Tree

If you haven't met my mom, or don't know my mom very well you may not know that she's a storyteller. And a very good one I might add. This is nothing new for me, however, who has had the opportunity to listen to and learn from and be entertained by her stories for many years.

When I was younger I can remember on long car rides (which probably weren't really all that long, but felt long to me) sitting in the backseat and saying "Mom, tell me a story!" and she would. Right there in the car. And not just any stories, but ones that she would make up on the spot. Even today it strikes me as rather impressive. I'm not sure I could be that creative on the spot.

Well, recently one of the stories I remember her telling me has been brought back to the forefront of my mind and been retelling itself in my head for the past few weeks. This weekend I asked her to remind me exactly how the story went and will now do my best to relate it to whoever is reading this, because I for one think it's pretty relevant.

So here it goes: The Stubborn Little Tree

There once was a stubborn little tree who stood in the middle of a great wood. He was much more than a sappling, but much smaller than a Great Oak. He was surrounded by much older and much wiser trees, and would converse with them throughout the his days in the wood.

As the weather got colder, and the days became shorter the stubborn little tree began to notice all of the older and wiser trees beginning to let go of their leaves. He, however, loved his leaves. Their color had turned golden and they were extremely beautiful. There would be no way he would be letting them go.

"You must let go your leaves!" Said one of the older trees one afternoon. But still the stubborn little tree did not listen. Whose right was it to tell him what to do anyway?

For days the stubborn little tree clung to all of his leaves with all of the surrounding older and wiser trees advising him to "Let go your leaves!" claiming that it was "all for the best."

Then, one day, a stiff wind came. It beat against the stubborn little tree, bending it back and forth and side to side. All the while it just blew past all of the other trees without difficulty for there were no leaves on their branches. "You must let go your leaves!" cautioned one of the older and wiser trees once the wind had gone.

And so with a great amount of effort, for he really did love his leaves, the stubborn little tree gave a great shake and many of his leaves fell to the woodland floor. Yet he clung stubbornly to a majority of his leaves. "Really, you must let go your leaves!" said all of the wiser trees, but still the stubborn little tree did not listen.

Again a stiff wind came, this time giving the stubborn little tree no choice but to let go of a few more of his leaves. And although all of the other trees advised him to drop the rest, he refused.

Finally, one morning after a long, cold night, the stubborn little tree awoke to a blanket of snow. The whole wood looked as though someone had come along and covered it in powdered sugar. The other trees, however, awoke to a terrible noise and a loud long cry. For one of the top most branches of the stubborn little tree had snapped under the extra weight of the snow on top of all of the leaves it was still clinging too and the stubborn little tree had let out a long cry of pain.

As the stubborn little tree stood there the oldest and wisest tree whispered "Let go your leaves" and finally, the stubborn little tree listened, and let go all of it's leaves. Then he, along with all of the other trees in the wood, went to sleep for the winter.

In the spring the stubborn little tree awoke, and felt a very strange sensation toward the top of his branches. He looked up to see new shoots growing up out of the place where his branch had broken in the winter, and was also delighted to see that he was beginning to be covered in a whole new set of green leaves.

"You see," said one of the older and wiser trees, smiling down upon the stubborn littel tree, "in order to have new growth, ,you must be willing to part with the old."

The stubborn little tree was not so stubborn any more.



Ok, so I probably just butchered that story for you all, but you get the point, right? You should probably just come to my house and ask my mom to tell it to you in person. But there was a stubborn little tree who refused to let go of his leaves and paid the consequences for it, but then got wiser.

I love this story. And the fact that my mom made up such a great story with a really great lesson in it on a moments notice just because I was bored way back when.

This story really resonates with me. Mainly because I'm more or less that stubborn little tree. I really dread change, and it takes me a while to just go ahead and take the advice of those older and wiser than myself. I always seem to need a stiff wind or two to nudge me in the right direction. And I've even had my share of broken branches when I've proved to be too stubborn for my own good.

Yet at the moment I'm looking forward to all of the changes I see coming or already in place in my life. A new apartment, a new roommate, a new job. New friends and aquaintences and new opportunities for growth. I guess there's just been a lot of change going on in my life at the moment and the most relateable way to share it was through the story of the stubborn little tree.

So, there you go, a new story to tell next time you have a whiney kid in your backseat who needs to be distracted :)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Thank you for echos.

I took a walk on Monday.

The trail I walked is a little over a mile long. If I had been walking for exercise I would have completed the loop in about 20-30 minutes. Instead it took an hour.

I was walking around a lake in a wooded area (Winton Woods for those of you around here) and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was an unusally warm day - I didn't even take a jacket, and the colors on the trees were phenomenal.

At first I had planned on it being an exercise walk. But after about half a second it turned into a prayer walk. I just couldn't stop thanking God for how beautiful it was. Or how warm it was. Eventually I just decided to stop whenever I felt like I should to thank God for something else. So I went through things like thanking Him for my family, my friends, the outdoors, education, etc. But then I started getting really creative with some of the stops and started thanking Him for things like reflections, echos and bubbles.

It was just really nice and really refreshing. And I was very excited to be able to do a whole prayer walk centered all around thanks and not once start asking or complaining or whining to God about anything. It was purely Adorations that were sent up.

I think I might finally be getting back into being myself. And that's a really great feeling.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Jesus Loves the Little Children.

Probably because they make Him laugh.

I sat with the Pre-K and K kids tonight during dinner at church and now have a new favorite verse to the song "Down by the Bay." (You know, the bay.... where the watermelons grow, back to home I dare not go, for if I do my mother will say: have you ever seen a whale with a polka dotted tail/fly wearing a tie/llama eating pajamas.... yeah, that song.) Well the girls I was sitting with graced me with their rendition. During which my new favorite verse was created.

Here it is:
"Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow..... ..... ..... have you ever seen a pig..... ...... driving a JEEP?!"


hahahahahahahaha. it was too cute. This was also after 5 or 5 "correct" verses were sung and after I even suggested that the pig be wearing a wig. But no, that pig was driving a jeep. And then we had the sheep who ate a salad.

What a good night. I love my job :)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Hiatus

Sorry for such a long absence. I've been spending the last few weeks pondering on something that I ponder on quite often, which is: why did I attempt to re-start a blog? I'll be the first to admit that my blog posts never really seem to make sense, and also that my blog as a whole (at least at this time) doesn't seem to have much of a point. Then I read my friend Joanna's blog entry entitled why? in which she linked to this article which was very thought provoking indeed.

Now, of course my response to this article is no where near as wonderful as Jo's (girl, you're awesome!). In fact after reading that I almost came right back here to shut my blog down at once. However, I feel as though this blog is going to go somewhere. I don't know when or how, but it will.... eventually.

I just need to figure out a way for it to have a point, a way for it to direct glory upward and not me-ward, and to spread light and truth in a way that is fun and not too preachy. I'll probably ponder on it lots more and then be back.

As a closing thought, though, I really like what the article's author's daughter had to say about spending time - if you've got some spare time for crying out loud do NOT come here to read my blog - go do lots of wonderful, more productive things and then come by for a visit. I promise, it'll be here waiting for you whenever you come around.

Monday, September 14, 2009

I remembered!

As promised, here is the thought that I knew I had a great post for last night but forgot.

Yesterday morning I was introduced at my new church. I have been hired part time as their Christian Education Director and will be planning/helping with programs for all children and youth (4yrs-senior high). I'm quite excited albiet nervous about the whole thing. It was nice because after the service there was a carry-in (potluck) after the service and I was finally able to start meeting some of the kids and youth. I think overall it will be great fun.

Because yesterday was kind of the kick off day for everything (Sunday School started, LOGOS starts Wednesday, choir is back, etc.) we had communion. This church does communion a bit differently than I'm used to. This church is Presbyterian and I have almost always attended a United Methodist church. The differences are fairly miniscule.

Anyway, the communion that I have experienced the most has been that of intinction (spelling?) where everyone walks to the front of the sanctuary and rips off a piece of a real loaf of bread and dips their piece in the cup. My new church, however, serves it in the pews where you pass the bread and the cup and everyone stays seated. Usually when this is done churches use wafers or crackers or some other unpleasent bread option. Yesterday, however, there was real bread and you still had to tear a piece off, it was just done in your seat. That makes me hopeful that that is how this church does it, because I honestly do not enjoy the little cracker things.

The bread you ate when you recieved it and then the members of session who were serving came back around and passed around the little cups of juice. The cup we took all together.

What was most striking to me, though, is what was going on throughout the congregation as communion was being served. Whenever I've seen this done in the past whatever congregation I've been in has sat there almost silently, listening to the music, waiting for everything to get passed and it almost always seems like an eternity. Yesterday was not like that at all. When the bread and cup were being passed there was definitely a twitter around the sanctuary. Heads turned, conversations were whispered, and the pastor even went around and talked to a few people. There was music playing that we all enjoyed, and people were quiet and respectful when the pastor was speaking and when we took the cup in unison.

At first I didn't know how to react. It was completely different from any communion I had taken. I wasn't sure whether to be upset that people didn't appear to be giving it the reverence it deserved or to start a conversation with the people around me too. It was strange. But once I thought about it for more than a milisecond I realized that I really enjoyed it this way. I liked watching and listening to the fellowship that was going on around me. I like that it seemed as though everyone knew how important communion was, but that they weren't going to be awkardly silent during it.

Besides, isn't communion from the last supper, the sharing of a meal. I'm sure that if I were having dinner with Jesus we wouldn't be sitting in silence, awkardly waiting for everything to get passed and consumed before we talked. In fact I'm pretty sure that we would have a lot to talk about and that it would feel rather comfortable. Just like communion did yesterday.

I really am looking forward to serving this church and having fun with their kids and youth. I'm still nervous, and I definitely have my doubts and struggle more often than I'd like to admit with my own faith, but yesterday reminded me that it's ok. We all struggle, but that's why we have each other. And besides if God is for us, who can be against us. He'll definitely be with me as I walk into this new chapter of my life and my faith and I'm pretty exited about that.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

This was going to be deep....

But honestly, I forgot what I was going to say today. There was a moment earlier today where I remember thinking "that would make the best blog post ever!" since then, however, too much has happened and I've forgotten what it was going to be about. Perhaps after a good night's rest I will remember and have something amazing to write tomorrow or in a few days.

Other than forgetting my surely awesome blog post I went to ikea today, met my roommates two very good friends from Wooster, was introduced (officially) at my new church/place of employment and attended my welcome potluck after the service. All in all it was a fantastic day with perfect weather - so perfect that I know exactly what kind of weather I want this coming Saturday for when I (hopefully) go to the Renaissance festival with my good friend Tony.

Speaking of Tony, although I have forgotten what my orginal post was going to be I've created an entirely different one including some pictures and blurbs about some of my favorite gentlemen. So enjoy.



This is Dave and Tony. (Well, Tony and Dave actually.) This pic is a few years old, but I don't think they've really changed much nor has our friendship. They both came to visit me a few weeks ago and Tony and I are planning to go to RenFest this weekend. I really don't know where I'd be without these guys, they are great.



Here's Mike and Zach. They aren't twins, so don't let the picture confuse you. They are, however, in the fam, as are Dave and Tony above. These two, however, I see less often and that greatly saddens me. Although one of them may be moving closer here in the next few months so hopefully that will more or less solve that issue ;) Altogether these 4 guys some of my favorite people of all time. I am blessed indeed to have the friends that I do.


This is Nathan. Or more rather, G.B. He was my co-counselor over the summer. He was great to work with and I miss him. Especially his ridiculous over-sensoring. He was even more intense than I was! But seriously he is fantastic and I hope he's doing well in Texas.


SCOTT SEESE!! I recieved a surprise phone call from this guy today and it made me super happy. Not just because I got to talk to one of my all-time favorite co-camp-staffers, but because it means he survived his treak along the Appalachian Trail. I missed working with him this summer an incredible amount and do sincerely hope that we can get together soon so I can here all his adventure-filled stories.


And last (for tonight at least) but certainly not least is perhaps my FAVORITE gentleman of the times - my lil bro. I love this kid. He just got a part in the Fall Play and is already rockin' his Junior year of high school. Expect amazing things from this guy.... amazing.

I think that's it for now. I'll work on remembering the other stuff. But for now, goodnight!!







Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Creative People

I really enjoy being around creative people. Being friends with them, working with them, observing them, learning from them.

I love when I can call a friend and say one idea and she'll run with it, planning a whole week long event in 30 seconds. I love meeting with good friends to brainstorm ideas and coming up with one of the best events/fundraisers I could have asked for. I love hearing about my friend who's travelling the country teaching theatre to kids who wouldn't have that opportunity otherwise. I just love creativity and people who are creative and liking to think I myself can be creative.

Imagination is such a wonderful thing. I hope it's not something being lost in this digital age. And if so, I hope that I can some how help kids find theirs again, even if for only a moment.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

1913

I got my diploma in the mail today :) I'm still undecided as to whether I want to frame it and hang it or keep it safely tucked away somewhere, but it's nice to finally have either way. It's also good to know that I actually DID graduate with honors, so my graduation announcements and fake business cards aren't telling a falsehood. I never thought that not going back to school would feel so.... normal. We'll see how I feel halfway through Septemeber though, I suppose.

Anyway, I went to visit my grandpa in the hospital the other day. He fell out of his wheelchair last week and ended up with a hairline fracture in his pelvis. The resaon he fell: he was leaning over in order to try and clean up a "spill" in the bathroom so housekeeping at his nursing home wouldn't have to do it.

While I was at the hospital with my dad the nurse came in to give my grandpa his medicine. Before she did though she had him tell her his name and birthdate. His name is John and his birthdate was 23 October 1913. 1913. My grandpa is very close to being 100 years old. And that's pretty sweet if you ask me.

During the visit and after the visit I thought a lot. I thought about my grandpa being thoughful enough to try and clean up after himself and how he's just always been that thoughtful. I thought about how it must be hard to have to give up the ability to truly care for yourself after a certain point. I tried to imagine the bruised pride many elderly people must have. There were many thoughts I had about how much my grandpa has experienced after being alive for 95 years. Then I of course wondered how much I will get to experience and see change if I am lucky enough to live that long. It was a good day for contemplation.

One thing is true though, I love my grandpa and really do hope he makes it to 100, because I know that's a goal he has for himself. And more power to him, really. I guess the visit just also made me really glad that he's my grandpa. He really is a pretty neat person and I'm glad I get to be related to him.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

As promised....

An update! I'm not sure how exciting that really is because I have no idea who might actually try and keep up with me and who doesn't. (That's a hint to start leaving comments ;)

Anyway! Camp. That's where I've been. The LIT group was large and crazy and hormone-riddled but over all a great group of kids. Then we had Teen Extreme which was a week long camp in West Virginia. It was pretty sweet. A little sad that the mountain biking people didn't know we were coming but hey, it all worked itself out. Or maybe I worked it out, I am the coordinator after all. Plus the climbing/rappelling and rafting were all stellar so no complaints. Right before getting on the highway to head back to Ohio the bus did start to freak out, but not for long and we all got back safe and sound so it's all good.

Then this week's trip to WV got cancelled because there were only 3 kids signed up for the trip, which a super big bummer because it was easily the sweetest trip we had scheduled - Rock and Raft - a whole week of rock climbing and rafting. I know I was looking forward to it, but alas. It's actually a good thing though because it gives me time to continue the job hunt and attempt to get things in order for a supposed move next month.

Next week is Saddle Paddle (Rafting and horseback riding) which has potential, although I think Rock and Raft would have been sweeter. The good thing is going to be that I'm not going to have to buy and cook all the food all week, the ranch is feeding us. Although that is kind of sad because I like cooking and I like being in charge of food so that I'll know it'll be good, but it was a drag to be the only counselor who knew how to cook. It's been interesting. But after Saddle Paddle I'm done because I won't be staying for the ADA camp. Although I'll probably need the money I feel as though the time to get things even more squared away will be more valuable, especially since my family is headed out on it's first FAMILY VACATION in a very long time shortly after camp wraps up. And I'm uber excited about that - my family is pretty cool and I like hanging out with them.

Other than camp life has been pretty decent. I'm keeping in touch with people fairly well, although that's not too huge a change. I feel as though it would be harder if I hadn't transferred a few years ago. As in if I had spent the full 4 years of my college experience in one place I would probably be freaking out right now because I would know that I wouldn't be rejoining all my friends next month or the month after at school. However I've done that and I've been talking to people constantly. And in doing that have already become super excited for the next few months ahead. I'm really going to try and make it out to Seattle to hang out with my very best two man friends - Mike and Dave - since Mike lives there and Dave will be there on tour in October, so that could be a lot of fun if I can scrape enough money together to actually go. Then there's a student show at IWU also in October that I'm going to try and hit up. Finally I have a few more friends planning on moving to Chicago to join the friends and family I already have up there, so I'll probably try and go up eventually, again all of it depending on how my bank account is looking.

And that, my friends, is going to depend on me finding a job. Fortunately I apparently look really good on paper because I've heard back from every place I've applied and the only "no" answers have been because they've filled the position and forgotten to take the posting off line. Everyone else has asked for more information/references and/or invited me for an interview. I had an interview yesterday actually and it was my second one for that position and it's now between me and one other person. So although the hunt continues it's looking rather promising and I'm so grateful for that.

I think that's about it from this corner of the universe....

Until next time: stay in school, do your homework, paddle more whitewater and whatever you do, don't feed the small children copious amounts of sugar!!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Update coming....

Just not tonight because I'm sleepy. But fear not, one is coming.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Vampire Mosquito

I think I got bitten by a vampire mosquito. No joke. The right side of my neck has a small, extremely itchy bump and it's been there for over a week. I might just turn into a mosquito tonight myself and go and find someone to bite. That's how the whole vampire thing works, right? I get bitten and then am eternally doomed to do the same to others. Maybe that's werewolves. Either way my neck itches and it's annoying.

I've had the entire week off and I'm currently having incredibly mixed feelings about going back to work come tomorrow afternoon. This week has been pretty good. I went and volunteered at the camp I worked at for the past three summers and got to hang out and be a fairly helpful extra set of hands for the first half of the week. It was great getting to see everyone, and I was there when quite a few campers I knew were around too so that was especially nice. Then some of that camp staff came to Cincy and we went to the rainy Red's game this afternoon.

Other than that the week has been spent chillin', sleepin', and getting schedules ready for the next group of kids that come my way. I also got to hang out with some friends from high school, ended up having a DTR conversation with a friend and spent entirely too much time on the internets.

The kids I get Sunday will be staying for two weeks and we're going whitewater rafting over the weekend. It should be a good time. Kind of bummed about the working weekend, but since I'm getting paid to whitewater raft I think I'll take it. I have plenty of weekends ahead of me. The other change is that I'm going to have two co-counselors instead of just one with me which should be interesting but a nice change of pace.

OH, and I had an incredibly promising interview on Wednesday evening and got told on Thursday morning by my eye doctor that my vision has actually IMPROVED over the past year. The past week has been full of things and I'm pretty excited to see where the next few weeks takes me (besides whitewater rafting that is).

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Staff training 7.0

Halfway through staff training for the summer and where am I?

At home!!

Oh the joys of being only a half hour away and having such a chill training schedule.

I think it's shaping up to be a pretty great summer.

I'll keep you all as posted as I can.

But that's it for now.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Still Alive!

Hey there! Didn't realize I'd been gone so long. Hopw you all didn't miss me too much ;)

I've been busy the last week and a half or so job hunting/applying. I'm trying to find something for when camp ends. it's been going fairly well actually, I've already heard back from a bunch of people and have a phone interview this afternoon.

Of course everything I'm applying for is entry-level so I'm going to have to get really good at keeping an incredibly close eye on my finances for the next few years, but that shouldn't be too huge an issue. It's not like I'm a shop-a-holic or anything.

The search also could become much more narrow by the beginning of next week. I went apartment hunting yesterday with my best friend and we put a hold on a place until next Tuesday. So I have less than a week to decide if I want to commit to staying in this general area for at least a year or if I want to set off on my own right away. Or if I want to stay in my parents house.

So it's been going well, but there have been more important things vying for my attention than blogging. But that, anyway, is what's up with me!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Monday, May 4, 2009

And God said let there be...

... understanding.

I had a GREAT weekend both visiting with people and being tapped on the shoulder by God. Many things were crammed into three days including, rummage sales, dinner dates, concerts, CPR training, church going and movie watching. I saw people from New Lex, Athens, Logan and even IWU (go figure). So I'm feeling both incredibly blessed in that I have that many people to visit as well as excited that God not only spoke but that I heard it as well.

In an attempt to not sound too preach-y or whatever I'm going to just say again that it was great. If you want details just get in touch.

Also thanks to Joel for being willing to talk Friday and to Mary Jo for a wonderful church service on Sunday.

:)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Will Starve for Food.

That was the slogan for the 2009 30 Hour Famine.

I was excited to be able to be a chaperone this year for my home church's youth group. I was especially impressed today with the number of donations that they got during our door-to-door canned food drive.

It's always sort of a bittersweet event though in the fact that I'm reminded of how huge the issue of world hunger really is, but great to see that people are taking a stand.

Now to figure out how to be more involved.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Things I've Learned from Middle Schoolers*

Here is a list of things that I have learned from middle schoolers in the past few weeks:

- It's still cool to dress like twins or triplets, even if you're a dude.
- Insanely bright, day-glow nail polish is still the best option.
- Who cares if they're an adult, go a head and ignore them.
- Saying "no offense" before a potentially offenisve statement makes it all ok.
- Even if you can't do something it's alright to tease others until they do the thing that you can't.
- Looking cool always comes before being safe.


Actually I really like middle schoolers, we've just had some interesting ones come through camp in the past few weeks. These were the funniest observations I made.


*Learned as in observed. Please don't miss the sarcasm!!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Rainbow!!

Today was wet and gross and cold. Until of course all our campers were one their bus home after one whirlwind day of ropes course activities. I hate Ohio weather.

Then it started to rain again after dinner. My mom and I had some shopping to do so we braved the icky-ness and went any way.

As soon as we stepped out of the car I looked up and noticed that half the sky was cloudy and the other was really sunny. I immediately yelled "Where's the rainbow?!" because I knew that there were perfect conditions for one.

Both my mom and I did a quick scan of the sky and almost simeltaenously exlaimed "THERE IT IS!!" and both pointed to the sky. When I went to look where she was pointing she was pointing in the complete opposite direction of where I was.

We had found both ends.

I went into the store where we were and there were 2-3 workers and 2 customers in there. I made an announcement to all to immediately stop what they were all doing and go out and look at the rainbow. One of the customers was especially excited, rather quickly got up from where she was seated waiting for her friend and went outside.

Rainbow are not only pretty, but a great reminder that rain isn't all that bad. Even if it makes for an icky day on the ropes course. Not to mention a great reminder of God's promise to us and all that jazz.

Good day overall.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel, swish your bushy tail!

Ok, so I don't usually post twice in one day let alone in one week. However today was quite an exciting day.... sort of. Right after I finished my previous post and turned off my laptop I accompanied my dad on his daily walk around the neighborhood. Right around the corner from our street we came upon a baby squirrel in the middle of the road. We figured that we could probably shoo him back onto the grass by the road and hoped that he would find his way back to the tree where his home and perhaps his mom were waiting for him. Yet when we walked over to him he didn't move at all. Thinking that perhaps he was just too young to be afraid my dad picked him up and carried him back over to the closest yard.

We began to continue our walk. For about two steps when....

Baby squirrel followed us. We stopped and tried to shoo him away again but instead he got onto my left shoe.

And then proceeded to climb up my left leg.

No joke.

Realizing that he was not at all afraid of us, that he was shivering like crazy and that he would be far safer with us than left to fend for himself we took him on our walk with us. Upon returning home we did a bit of research and called a few rehabilitation places and figured out what we needed to provide to get the little guy through the night. We should be able to take him some place tomorrow but for now he's in a tub asleep on our kitchen table.

It's not everyday a baby squirrel climbs up your leg.

Fresh cut grass

I love the smell of fresh cut grass. It has to be in the top 10 of amazing smells. I'm excited that it's finally getting warm enough to where this might be a much more common sent in my life. I'm also excited to be working at a camp for my internship with lots of grass. That might make it even more likely that I will get to smell the fresh-cut smell even more often than I might otherwise. :)

Friday, April 3, 2009

Spring Quarter

G-O-O-D-M-O-R-N-I-N-G
Good Morning, HEY HEY, Good Morning!!

Almost time to head out for day 3 of my internship. I feel like I've been there a week already and it's only been 2 days. That's just usually they way camp works though. If you only have campers for 3 or less days you gotta cram as much into that time span as possible. In the short time I've been there I've already learned just about everything that makes up the Challenge/Adventure program. I think that learning the OE (Outdoor Education) half of it might take just a bit longer. I'm especially excited to learn more about the Living History/Underground Railroad program and start working/acting for that.

It's fun and a little strange to be back in the Cincinnati camping scene. I'm working with two people that I've worked with before and getting all the updates on people I used to work with but am also meeting a ton of new people. I already have a great feeling about how the next two months are going to go and then I'm sure I'll be totally ready to tackle the summer. There's a good mix of familiarity and new stuff to keep me interested in what's going on at all times.

And with that I should probably finish my breakfast and get moving since I'm not yet living at camp and have to commute. Lata!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Spring Break

Wow what a spring break. I love having time off to be able to travel and visit with people. This year's spring break started in New Lexington, OH then took me to Cincy for a day then I was off to Marion, IN and a whirlwind tour of Illinois.

The majority of my time was spent in Illinois where I got to do a bunch of sweet stuff. I spent the first few days hanging out at the ACA Midstates Conference taking in some awesome keynote speakers and tons of educational sessions all on one of my favoritest topics - CAMP! Yeah, I chose to spend my spring break in a bunch of lectures and presentations, but it was fun to be surrounded by so many camp people from so many different places and I definitely got some good networking in. The keynote speakers were great, especially Scott Arizala. I also went to one of his smaller sessions as well as a session with Michael Brandwein and one with Jim Cain all of which were incredibly valuable learning opportunities. It was also really good to see ACA from a different perspective than being at camp when it just seems like ACA is a lot of rules. Now I definitely see it more as people and as a growing organization with lots of room to grow and expand the ministry of camp. Which is especially exciting for me, someone who is just getting started in the field. I like that it seems like there are places to go :)

During my time at the conference I stayed with my Uncle Joe, Aunt Judy and cousins Jon, Matt and Zach. I haven't seen them since I was in 6th grade. I was worried at first that that might make it awkward, but it was totally great. I felt right at home and have discovered that my dad and my Uncle Joe are practically the same person. It was a fantastic visit and I'm so glad that they offered to let me stay with them. Hopefully we won't wait another 6 years before hanging out again.

After the ACA conference I headed into actual Chicago (all of the above was in the western 'burbs) to visit my friend Emily who just moved there. It was a super short visit but it was well worth having to drive through Chicago traffic to get there. We didn't really do much of anything, but it was good.

Then finally on my way home to Cincinnati yesterday I went to Champaign for about 2 hours to take a walk and visit with my friend Amy. She's from the youth group I was in way back in the day and she and her husband have been living in Champaign for about 5 years. This was the first I've made it out there. Amy was an integral part of my spiritual formation growing up (she's got about 5 years on me) and being able to talk and relate as adults was fun. Plus I love the fact that she understands the importance of talking or having a meal or taking a walk when you get together instead of just going out to a movie or watching t.v. We had some good chats and then I was off again.

All in all I would say it was an incredibly successful spring break and I feel refreshed and relaxed and ready to take on my next challenge: my internship - starting tomorrow!! :)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

At least I didn't burn down the house....

So the other night when I was working on my laptop when all of a sudden it went to battery power. This was strange because I knew for a fact that my computer was plugged in. I went to double check all the connections and everything was indeed plugged in. Then I started hearing a static-y noise coming from behind my computer. I tipped my laptop forward to find that my computer cord had torn (?) and there were blue sparks coming out of it. I quickly unplugged everything and was very grateful to not have burned down the house in which I've been residing a week before I leave.

In any event I have been trying to use my laptop as little as possible so if you don't hear from me or I don't respond to things such as myspace, facebook or other such messages in a timely manner I apologize. You are more than welcome to call me or talk to me in person though. Which, in all honesty, I prefer better anyway. Just thought I should let you all know what's up.

And throw out the praise that my house is still standing :)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

What a weekend

What a good weekend.

Thursday: Applebee's with Cassie, Heather and Jaime.
Friends make college what it is. I'm love these three girls. They're fun. We spent most of the evening trying to figure out where we knew our waiter from but never really figured it out. We also tried to figure out what this decade will be called once it's over. The '80s and '90s were easy but the '00s? Nothing sounds right. We also stayed up and watched Good Luck Chuck at my place. It was good times.

Friday: TNFN show, running ing to chrysalis girls, sleepover at Faith's in Pickerington, good car and falling asleep conversations with Molly.
I was sorry for Jami that not more people showed up to the Charity Gig she set up. I think most of it was probably due to timing, but she did a phenomenal job putting it together. And the bands were fun, although I will probably never be a big fan of loud concerts. I was excited to see some of the girls from the Chrysalis Flight I helped with back in January there. I love Chrysalis, but it's true that you don't really see the people from the weekend again very often, so it was fun to see them and catch up.
Of course spending time at Faith's was fun. How could it not be? We watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and I don't care what the other two tell you, it's still funny to me. There's just something inherently fun about staying up way past your bedtime with close friends, eating junk food and watching movies. Sharing secrets or whispered conversations in the dark while drifting off to sleep will always be one of my favorite things to do. It's comforting to know that no matter what ups and downs my friendships go through there's always going to be times when you can just talk, chill, do whatever and have fun.

Correction from above: Friends don't just make college what it is, they make life what it is. Or at least for me they do.

Saturday: more good car conversations with Molly, African Children's Choir concert in A-town with Joel and Wendy, impromptu overnight at my other home.
I love good conversations :)
The African Children's Choir was fun. Their faith and their joy astound me, especially after hearing some of their stories. I'm a so incredibly blessed to live the life I do. Yet I feel as though they feel the same way.... sort of. I really want to strive to know joy and hope like that. What a show it was.
Since I was feeling too tired to drive I ended up car pooling with my fellow show-goers as well as spending the night at their place. I love having a home away from home, and it being an actual home, not just a house with other college students but a home with a family. It's nice. I like it.

Sunday: still goin'!
So we'll see where it goes. Then it's paper writing and take-home-final-finishing so I can really be officially done with this quarter and get on to chillin', relaxin' and hangin' out before leaving town next weekend.

If you wanna hang before the end, hit me up!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Winton (ah ah) Woods!!

So if you've been here a time or two before you may notice that I've changed the heading of my blog. I tried the "Please Explain" thing which was fun for a while but sometimes there were days where I just wanted to write something and didn't feel that anything needed explaining. I'll try this new theme, of "Today's Praise...... or Concern" and see how it works for a while. Who knows, I'm bad at coming up with these kinds of things. I'm just trying to be clever.

Anyway, today's post is really both a praise and a concern and perhaps the reason I chose the new title. Yesterday I drove home to Cincinnati both to pick up my new license plates from mi padre and to hear my lil bro's "Tune Up" choir concert. All of the choirs at my high school are headed for contest this coming weekend and they always hold a concert right before in order to prepare.

Now, let me brag for just a second.... my brother is in Varsity Ensemble at Winton Woods. In case you don't know our V.E. is kind of a big deal. They went and sang in China for the Olympics last summer. They sing with the Cincinnati Pops almost every year. They've recieved compliments from some of the best choir directors in the country. Last night they performed a rather difficult a cappella piece that they learned just last week. (Link to Video Below) Oh, and my brother's a sophomore.... there are something like 4 sophomores in that entire 40+ person choir. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czQTvKTTMmo

Last night was FUN. The choirs were great, as usual and both Counterpoint and Harmony sang. Counterpoint is the new a cappella women's small ensemble and Harmony is a long standing student run men's a cappella group. When Harmony sang I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard, they sang 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' and had so much fun with it. One of my brother's friends was the "lion" and.... maybe you just had to be there, but it was a good time. Finally Gospel Keys (another long standing student run group) finished out the night with high energy and enthusiasm.

It was great to see that the spirit is still there at Winton Woods. It's just as much fun to be a part of the choral program as it was when I was there. The student groups that either my friends or my friends' older sibilings started are still alive and kickin'. I went over and thanked Mr. Bell and Mr. Spaulding the directors after the performance and told them that it was well worth the 3 hour drive to get there for it and told them to wish all the groups good luck for me for this weekend.

I love my high school. I know I didn't always realize or admit that when I was there, but Winton Woods is truly a unique place with an incredible amount of spirit and..... I don't know.... dedication? determination? Diversity for sure. I'm not sure what other word I'm looking for, but it's a special place and I'm so greatful to have been able to spend 4 years of my life there.

The concern, however, is that there's another levy coming up in May. The last levy for the district failed back in November. I know that times are hard, but education is something that MUST be invested in. I can't wait until Ohio comes up with a new way to fund its public schools. Until then I guess I just have to pray and help in the fight to get the next levy passed. I'm glad I'll be home in April.... you'll definitely be seeing me going door to door or volunteering in any way I can in order to assure the levy passes. It needs to. "There's too much at stake if it doesn't."

Monday, March 9, 2009

Today Was a Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day. I spent a majority of today on my back porch and outside in general. I actually got too hot at one point and had to come in because it was so warm out. Therefore I had the audacity to hope that for once I wouldn't seen any Uggs. Alas, I attend Ohio University and without fail, I saw a pair.




I hate Uggs.












Chacos, on the other hand = LOVE

And it makes me happy that I can wear mine again.

Friday, March 6, 2009

NOLS moment

Tonight as I was walking home I looked up at the sky and was amazed. I love the sky. I love cloud gazing, star gazing, and even just looking up into the giant expanse of blue. The sky is awesome.

Anyway, when I looked up there were clouds, but the moon was shining through them and it was just pretty neat. Of course I was walking so I couldn't look up for more than a few seconds at a time, but I loved it anyhow. Because I always do.

What I didn't expect, however, was to be hit with what I shall now call a "NOLS moment." You know, a brief second when you just wish you were back somewhere where you had been before. And you know that the only people who will understand are those who were with you there in the first place. Yeah, one of those. I definitely had a NOLS moment when I looked into the sky. Because no matter how cool the sky is to look at nothing, nothing, NOTHING will ever beat star-gazing from inside a sleeping bag while lying on a slab of slick rock in Grand Gulch. And if something ever does beat that, I will be amazed.

So of course I sent a quick text to my friend Felicia who was there with me, knowing she would understand and then went on enjoying the sky here and now. It did make me happy, however, to realize that there are definitely some great memories from the three months I spent at NOLS, and now that my knee is feeling better and that the experience is a bit further out I'm really beginning to remember the great parts. Of all the places I went and saw Grand Gulch was most assuredly my favorite and I kind of can't wait to go back sometime. Really. And realizing that is the best part of all.



Wednesday, March 4, 2009

No More PT!!

I just got done with my very last Physical Therapy session for my knee. This is fairly exciting seeing as how it means that my knee has regained almost all of it's strength back. The therapist I've been working with encouraged me to continue doing my home exercises but said that I won't have to go back in. I suppose that's both great and kind of sad because I really enjoyed talking to the people who work there. But now I feel as though one big hurdle has been surpassed and that makes me even more ready to tackle the next.

Monday, March 2, 2009

The common cold

Why does the common cold always decide to hit at the most opportune time? Like during the last two weeks of the quarter when everything is due. It's really not enjoyable :( Someone please explain this to me.

Besides waking up with a cold this morning I also found out that my email is on the fritz and I can't open up any new messages. So if you email me and don't hear back soon that's probably why. Feel free to give me a call or hit me up on Facebook.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Singing Men

I went to the Singing Men of Ohio concert on Friday night and it was fantastic. I don't know what it is but there is just something inherently amazing about the male singing voice, and even more so about an entire choir full of them. The only thing to beat those two things out are men's a cappella groups and fortunately there was one of those there too. It was quite an enjoyable two hours of my Friday night and I have decided that wherever I end up after graduation I need to look into the area's performing arts groups. I love concerts and shows and live performances and am glad I was reminded of that this weekend.

On a completely unrealted note the wind outside my house is ridiculous.

Have a good night!!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Reiteration

I would just like to take this moment to reiterate what I said yesterday.... if you haven't seen Gran Torino yet please go out and do so. You can thank me later.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Gran Torino

If you haven't already go out and watch Gran Torino. I wish I were smart enough or deep enough to write more about it, but I feel as though anything I would say just would not measure up to everything I'm feeling due to this movie, nor would I do it justice.

I will say this, however, not many movies make me tear up in the way this one did tonight.

Go see it, it will be well worth your $6.50 or however much you pay and the 2 or so hours of your time. Really, go. Then come back and tell me what you thought.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Ash Wednesday

I just got home not too long ago from my church's Ash Wednesday service. Well, one of my churches.... this one being First UMC in Athens where I go to school.

It was good. I'll admit that usually every year I go to an Ash Wednesday service but it never really clicks with me what I'm doing or what I'm preparing for. It's just something that I've always done since I was little and went to church whenever my parents said we were going, you know? But tonight was different. Not in a huge, life changing, blinding light sort of way. But in a quiet, small, heart-changing kind of way. I have a serious feeling that this Lenten season will be one like no other for me, and I'm excited. A bit scared, but very excited.

My favorite part was when we were saying the Lord's prayer. There was an elderly gentleman sitting behind me and he had a very low, grandpa-like voice. Next to me were my friends Jess and Cat who both have rather sweet sounding higher-pitched voices. All around me were different people in different stages of life with different voices all repeating the same prayer. It reminded me that no matter who we are or what walk of life we are in or what kind of voice we have we all essentially believe in the same thing. There was no doubt about it - God was there tonight.

It was good.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I applied for graduation today.



Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!

Monday, February 23, 2009

This kid....

And why is he so amazing?


Meet my little brother: Kevin.

I love this kid. A lot.

And I'm really proud of him, and really impressed with the way he's growing up. When we were younger we fought a lot and he was little more to me than the annoying younger sibling. We definitely had our rough patches and some days I swore that as soon as I moved out I'd never look back.

Today, however I am happy to say that Kevin is probably not only one of the best brothers I think I could have asked for but one of the greatest friends I think I have. I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with him this weekend, just some brother-sister time even since the reason I was home was that my dad was off working and my mom was at a retreat. We spent a great deal of time just chillin' on the couch bed and watching hours of Arrested Development together. I love that we can hang out like that now. It doesn't hurt that he cracks me up like no one else can and is also already scheming ways to "check out" any future boyfriends that might come my way too. Oh Kevin.

I kind of forget when he turned into a human ;) but I'm so glad he did. I'm so excited to see where he goes in life and am super excited to get to be a part of it.


Please explain to me siblings.... and how they can go from annoying alien turd one second to actual human being and formidable scrabble opponent the next.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

"But I want to be real
I want to find out who I am
And I will find my way to heal
And I will find my voice my stand"

- From the song Real by Superchic[k]


I love when I listen to a CD that I haven't listened to for a really long time and then it speaks to me in new ways. I had a really kind of blah week last week but after a meeting Thursday, an amazing conversation with a friend from home on Friday night, hanging out with my lil bro (more on that tomorrow hopefully :), an overnight at home and listening to this CD I feel like I've moved to an entirely new place.

The chorus above pretty much sums up my life at this moment. I long to be real and I defintely want to find out who I am. Over the past year I feel like I have a lot of healing to do, but am currently still struggling to find the way to do that but I know that it will all lead to me finding my voice and where I stand. That's a lot for four little lines to be saying, but I feel like it's all so true for me in this moment.

I'm not sure if it's my upcoming birthday or being on the brink of graduation, but I do indeed believe that I'm comming up on a huge new and exciting phase of life but am totally aware it's gonna be tough. Who knows maybe it'll be great too.

In other news I got a free t-shirt and a sweet new book for $4 on clearance this weekend. What couldn't be great about that, right?

Monday, February 16, 2009

Relationships

Please explain to me relationships and how these people:













Have come to mean so much to me in such a relatively short amount of time.
Friends truly are the family you choose for yourself. I think I've picked pretty well.












Thursday, February 12, 2009

The weather

Someone please explain to me the weather. Especially the weather in Ohio. And how it can go from ice storms and school closings to 65 and gorgeous and back to snow/rain showers and grossness so quickly.

I got to play in the park with my favorite 2 year old, her 4 month old baby sister and their mom yesterday. What a wonderful taste of spring that was, and it was oh-so-good for my soul. I hope that just as yesterday was a small taste of spring that this world is just a small taste of something better yet to come. Wouldn't that be nice.

Monday, February 9, 2009

The 2nd time 'round.

Please explain.... throwing up and why can't food taste as good coming back up as it did going down the first time. I guess it's because if it did there would be people throwing up everywhere all the time and that would just be gross.

Today was a good day... and then I got to taste my breakfast again. I'll kill my brother for leaving germs around our house and making me sick. Actually I won't, but being sick is no fun. None at all.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Used Car Salesmen

Please Explain.... Used Car Salesmen. Why do so many of them have to actually live up to the stereotype? Greasy hair, stupid ties, fake smiles. People who don't listen to the customer and are more interested in selling anything than making sure you get what you really want/need.

I met Flint this weekend. I never want to be like Flint. Nor do I ever want to shop at Kerry Ford again.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Surprises

My dad certainly knows the way to my heart. I knew I was to be expecting a package from home with a picture printer ink cartridge and a pair of pants, but the extra goodies were great surprises. My dad (who works at the post office) likes to find creative packaging material. This time he used a bag of marshmellows, some chocolate and an early Valentine's Day card. Perfect surprises for a girl with camp in her blood and a s'more addiction. It was quite the nice surprise.

I hope that all those that I know have people who are thoughtful enough to surprise them. It certainly is nice every once in a while.

I love my daddy.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Builder/Negotiator

"You are a wonderful friend and colleague. You are generally calm and entertaining, and always dedicated and reliable. Just about everybody likes you. You have a traditional streak. Home, family, job and community are all central to you. You like being firmly embedded in your social groups and you feel deeply responsible for just about everyone around you. You can be fiercely protective of those you love. You are skilled at managing people. You are sympathetic and cooperative; you are also hard working and display a good deal of common sense. And you can be very patient. So you can complete detailed, painstaking jobs more easily than most people. You enjoy building social relationships. And you are skilled at achieving solutions to sticky problems so that all involved feel fulfilled. You tend to be cautious but not fearful. You have a genuine sense of community. So you seek projects that enable you to contribute to a more stable world."


Nothing like a personality test to make your day.

Friday, January 30, 2009

I'm a snob

Today (well yesterday) I heard 3 people talk about "camping." I put camping in " " because each of them talked about it in the sense that they do so in campers or trailers. I can't help but think, after years of vacationing with my family staying in nothing but our two room tent and years staying in platform tents and brushshelters with my girl scout troop or as camp staff, that trailer "camping" can't possibly be real camping at all.

Tents. Fires. Non-running water. No electricity. That's camping.

Ground pads. Sleeping bags. Camp stoves. Camping.

There are art snobs, theatre snobs, music snobs. I think I'm a camp snob. How oxymoronic.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Winter Doldrums

The past few days have been bittersweet. On the sweet side my friends Cassie and Heather came over for dinner on Tuesday and we spent 5 hours hanging out, I had my first PT appointment for my knee, OU closed for a snow day on my busiest day of the week and I have been in touch with more friends than usual thanks to Facebook. On the bitter side there have been 5 missed or cancelled lunch/hangout dates, a ridiculous amount of ice and a settling in of what I like to call the Winter Doldrums into my system.

On a completely unrelated note it's hard for me to watch ER and see John Stamos on it. For me he will always, always be "Uncle Jessie."

I'm still not enitrely sure what this weekend has in store, but I'm hopeful that I will be able to go to Columbus for the Superbowl and hang out with some awesome camp friends, especially my dearest Taboo who I have not seen in close to 5 months now.

Watch out Doldrums.... you can't stay for long. There's fun to be had!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

"Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules."

This, found on the first page of the blogger.com tour in combination with a slight nudge by a friend have convinced me that I should once again venture into cyberspace with my own personal blog. I was leary at first, especially in thinking about all the people I know who are actually good at writing who might happen across this, but I'm sure they'll bear with me. Plus I'd like a place to chronicle all of the exciting events coming up (such as graduation!). So we'll see where it goes. Perhaps some places exciting, and perhaps some not. Either way, feel free to join me on the ride :)