Changes

It is amazing (and terrifying, exciting, etc.) that the summer is actually ending and I am leaving in only two days (!!).  I have decided to take a break from this blog and start one that is completely about my time in Ireland.  It is www.120daysofgalway.blogspot.com  , so check in there to hear of all of my Irish adventures.

Curry Adventure

Yesterday Caitlin and I embarked on an epic culinary adventure.  We made the bold decision to try our hand at fish curry.  Although this may not sound very impressive to some, when your usual menu consists of tacos, burritos, pasta, and chicken, making curry can be classified as a high risk activity.  Aside from forgetting to buy rice and being a little too enthusiastic with the pepper (Caitlin) the meal was quite a success.  Even sceptical Dad was satisfied!

San Fransisco

Yesterday was such a fun getaway.  Caitlin, Sarah, and I made a day trip to San Fransisco and had such a great time.  We started the day with a healthy dose of shopping.  This consisted of visiting the usuals (aka Gap), branching out at Forever 21 (you're welcome Laura), and drooling over clothes at Anthropologie.  Once we had spent too much money, we ventured off the beaten path and tried to take the bus to Ghiradelli Square.  That lasted about 5 minutes until we gave up and hailed a cab, but it's the thought that counts, right?  Once we arrived we putted around the square, resisting the chocolate shop only to cave into tea and crumpets at "Crown and Crumpet." Not only was the food delicious, but the shop was absolutely darling.  After that delicious detour we wandered down to Pier 39, took some pictures, and shopped some more.  It was so pretty and foggy -- it felt more like November than July, which was a nice change.  We ended our day at a cute Irish Pub, which I thought was especially appropriate, as I only have 3 weeks until I will leave for Ireland.  Ahhh!!  Even though the cute Irish guys sitting next to us moved away, the meal almost made up for it (which says a lot about the meal, I think) and we left for home very pleased with ourselves and our day.  All in all, I think it was a very successful trip.

Catch Up

I feel like my blogging has been a little pathetic lately, so I will try to get this up to date.  First, here is a picture from our trip to Yosemite.  We went up two weeks ago and stayed at 

Tenaya Lodge for a night.  It was gorgeous!  I haven't been to Yosemite sinc I was eight, and I had completely forgotten how beautiful (and big!) it is.  The whole way up Caitlin and I were oohing and aahing, kind of like a National Park commercial.  The pictures are a little foggy because of the smoke from the

 fires, but you can still get the idea.

Secondly, I thought I should include a picture of the bassets on the Fourth of July.  Muddy had a hat on as well, but I couldn't update her pictures.   Not only is it a tradition at our home to have fireworks and home made ice cream on the fourth, we also make a point of forcing the dogs to wear their little hats.  We have matching shirts for them, but it was a little hot this year.

They dealt with it pretty well for an hour or so, but eventually it gets a little depressing watching them walk around with a sagging uncle sam hat hanging from their ears.

My last update is more recent.  Tomorrow I am leaving with mi familia (that's for Sarah) to go to Florida for a week.  We are spending a few days in Orlando and then going down to Key West.  I'm excited about the nice hotel, beaches, and Minnesotan friends, but dreading the humidity.  It is hard to imagine it being much hotter than it is here!

Finale

Today was the last day of swim lessons, and it was fantastic.  Although there are a few things I will miss, knock knock jokes included, there are things that I definitely will not (tears, puking in the pool, sun burns).  I'm not quite sure what I will do with myself during all my extra time, but I am sure I will come up with something.  One thing already on my list: become better acquainted with Dagger, Sarah's new dog.  He is an adorable chocolate lab about the size of a pony, who I am very close to falling in love with.

Pool Stories

In the past two days I have had several laughable pool stories.  As always, my little students can be very amusing (the ones who aren't crying or pouting).  I had one little boy today who created an elaborate game consisting of rubber ducks and a search party. Although I caught several exclamations of "Where is he?!" coming from the ducks, I wasn't able to grasp the entirety of the story.  Another more annoying, but still laughable, incident was when one of my little girls looked at me, rolled her eyes, and said "Whatever" when I told her to listen.  For the next five minutes she tried to stick her tongue out at me without me noticing.  The last incident had nothing to do with my swim kids though.  Instead, I blame it entirely on Sarah.  She invited Caitlin and I over to go swimming at her dad's friend's house, since he was out of town.  Unfortunately, she had the dates off and they were home.  So we show up there with our towels and swim suits only to find them at home and sitting in their living room.  Talk about an awkward moment.  So after about 20 minutes of awkwardly swimming around we made our excuses and escaped to our own pool.  

Today started off with another interesting round of swim lessons.  My favorite moments were:

1.  A six year old student telling me to "feel his muscles."

2. A little girl exclaiming "Holy Crud!" when entering the pool.

3. Another little girl bravely scooping a grasshopper out of the pool as I timidly looked on.  As she placed it on the side she said "Poor grasshopper!" just as I said "That's disgusting."  Needless to say, I felt slightly ridiculous.

After lessons Caitlin and I rushed over to see Sarah, who just got back from Spain.  It was so good to see her again!  I now feel like my summer has begun.

Quote of the Day:

Me: "Noah, it's your turn to swim."

Noah (my six year old swim student): "You've got to be kidding me!"

I often forget that the kids I am teaching are precious and funny and smart.  Then I get a Noah and I remember that I am blessed to spend time with them, even if it doesn't always feel like it!

Let the games begin...

Or should I say the tears.? Today was the first day of swim lessons, and suprisingly we only had 3 1/2 criers (one little boy managed to keep it back for quite awhile). To add to the excitement, our scheduling was slightly off, so some lessons only had 4 or 5 kids in the pool and some got up to 7 or 8. Of course, these were the lessons with the criers. Even though I am exhausted and completely water-logged, the hot shower afterward almost completely made up for it. It was fabulous.

Overwhelmed

I started packing tonight and, as the title says, I am a little overwhelmed.  Packing everything up wasn't the issue, it's more along the lines of fitting it all in the car.  That could be problematic.  It will definitely be a tight fit!

Turning 20!

Thank you everyone for a perfect birthday!  Everything was wonderful.  Stephanie, Laura, Caitlin and I went out for "Royal Tea" in Cambria, which was so much fun.  We went to a British tea house called the Tea Cozy, and it was adorable.  They served us scones, little cakes and pastries, and tea sandwiches...and tea.  Which we actually like, much to our surprise.  We managed to go through about 4 cups each before deciding to invest in some tea of our own.  I now feel ready to set off for Ireland!  After tea we walked (or should I say rolled?) around Cambria and looked in antique shops.  That is where we all met, and fell in love with, Miss Holly Wood.  She was the cutest, sweetest, softest little dog, and I seriously considered stuffing her in my purse for a quick getaway.  Luckily, I was able to refrain.  We then drove back (well, Steph did.  I forgot to mention the detail that I let my license expire...), stopped along the way for a walk on the beach, and came back for a movie night and some Australian birthday cake.  It was perfect.  So thanks everyone, whether you called, texted, or were part of the Cambria adventure!

I'm so torn about leaving for summer!  I can't wait to go home, and I don't think I could survive anymore school, but I love SLO and my wonderful friends here.  It's even harder to leave since I won't be coming back until January....plus, swim lessons are waiting for me at home!!

Memorial Day

This weekend has been such a wonderful time to relax and catch up on life.  Just about everyone went home, so Caitlin and I have had some quality sister time, which is always fun.  A couple highlights have been becoming thoroughly addicted to Band of Brothers (and falling head over heals in love with Capt. Winters while doing it), finishing off a chunk of my research paper, visiting Avila Valley Barn and meeting Ham, the puppy, and sleeping in until 11 consistently.

So, I feel like I should make an apology for neglecting my blog lately.  It's not that I have forgotten about it or don't feel like writing, I just don't feel like I have much to write about (which is a little depressing!!).  I feel like my life consists of 3 things right now.

1. My two massive research papers.

2. Worrying about these papers.

3. Writing to do lists to make myself feel better about the papers.

I am going to try to become more efficient with my time so that I can actually make some progress on them and spend time doing other things (like blogging!).  The good news is that I just got a 3 day extension on one of them, so I think that will help. I'll keep you posted!

Adventures

I realized again why I love my friends.  The four of us (Laura, Stephanie, Caitlin, and I) went to our surprise birthday at Klondike's pizza tonight, which was a lot of fun.  Since Tara's birthday isn't until August, it was a pretty successful surprise.  After some delicious pizza, Tara wanted to go to laser tag, so we all piled in our cars to meet up in Santa Maria.  Unfortunately, trusty Mapquest was not very trusty, and instead of looking for exit 173 we were looking for 166.  About the time that we realized we were closer to Solvang than to SLO I also saw that the gas light was on...of course.  So we found a place to turn around and started the long trek home.  Luckily, I have some amazing friends and we managed to entertain ourselves pretty well.  By the time we got back to Santa Maria we were running on fumes and too late for laser tag.  So we decided to make it a girls night (as most of our nights are :) ), get some ice cream, and rent a movie.  The ice cream was delicious and the movie (Martian Child) turned out to be one of the few that all four of us enjoyed.  Overall, the night was a success.

Forgiveness

I think that God's forgiveness is so amazing.  Lately I have not given him much time or thought, but somehow he loves me just as much as when I do.  Isn't that wonderful?  It is so encouraging to know that he is always pursuing us and is always ready to forgive us.  I just need to ask for it more!!

Birthdays and Bonfires

If you ever want to extend your birthday celebration, talk to Stephanie Johnson.  Somehow she managed to extend the celebrations for three weeks.  Last night we had her birthday bonfire, which was a lot of fun, even if it was a little late.  It was such a beautiful night and so fun to be able to see everyone.  The highlights were delicious, sticky s'mores, almost getting washed away in the rising tide, and getting some quality conversation time in with wonderful friends.  

Lazy Day

It's been great to just slow down today and do nothing.  It feels like I haven't had a good day to just relax for awhile.  I had the chance to talk to Sarah, who is studying abroad in Spain, which was great.  Besides that, the only other remarkable thing about this afternoon was finally watching the new Grey's Anatomy (with which I have a slightly unhealthy relationship...).  It looks like the rest of the weekend is going to be crazy though, so  I have to enjoy being lazy while I can!

Today was quite a day, which is funny because it started out as pretty ordinary.  First of all, it was extremely hot.  Even my 10:00 class was unbearable, and by the afternoon it was up to 100.  Secondly, Laura, Caitlin, and I went grocery shopping, which is always interesting.  We always save it until we have absolutely no food, which means it takes forever and is nearly impossible to get all the bags up to our room in one trip (but we made it!!!).  The girl in the elevator told us that a duck and her chicks were stuck in the parking garage, so we then joined her and helped them save the ducks.  They were so cute!  Finally, tonight Caitlin and I went to listen to a Holocaust survivor speak on campus.  That deserves a blog in itself, so I will write more about him later, but he was so interesting and his story was fascinating. In short, it was quite day with the combination of heat, shopping, duck rescue, and this speaker.

Weekends

I love the feeling of the beginning of the weekend, very few things rival it.  Suddenly, everything is a little bit better.  Even though I have a ridiculously long to do list, I feel like I have all the time in the world to do it.  This weekend Caitlin and I are driving down to Santa Barbara to see Erika, which should be good.  Last time I was there we only had a few hours together, so hopefully this will be a little more relaxed.  Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures so I can have some to post; it's been awhile!

Catch Up

It has been way too long since I've written.  I will try to give you some highlights of the last week or two.

1. Easter with my parents and the Boeses.  They came down Thursday and left today, and we had such a great time.  It was nice to pretend that I was on vacation with them, instead of just in between school weeks.

2. Great Bible studies.  Even though it is difficult to put aside those couple hours every Monday, it's such a great time and always worth it.

3.  A great reread.  I just finished rereading Water for Elephants, which is a fabulous book and not so addicting that I couldn't keep up with school while reading it.

4.  Getting ready for summer.  I've been taking a CPR class for swim lessons and preparing for my mission trip to London.  I can't wait for June!

Unlike most quarters, this one is starting off really slow.  I feel like I've been here for months, not just three weeks.  But my classes are good and my friends are great (as usual!), so i've been enjoying it.

Confessions of a History Major

I'm starting to realize even more that I made a good decision when I decided to be a history major.  Yes, it may be difficult to find a job teaching.  But it's so much fun! When I was home for spring break last week my sister, my mom, and I went to the Civil War reenactment in Knights Ferry.  I have to confess that I enjoy it much more than is normal.  Not only is it tradition, but I just love looking at all the little details in the camps and the uniforms and dresses.  

I have two history classes this quarter, and it looks like they will be really interesting, but (as usual) a lot of work.  One is on the Holocaust, and is going to be really good.  Today was the first day of class and we all just sat mesmerized as the professor talked about.  The second one is a seminar on historiography.  Although it's not as interesting, I'm excited to be in such a small class (only 16) with a great professor.

So even though I am feeling a little apprehensive about the quarter after seeing the syllabuses (or is it syllabi??) for these classes, I am also kind of excited.  That's my little history rant!

I'm back!

I'm back from break, and it was wonderful.  I think the best way to describe it is to say that Caitlin and I watched an entire season of Grey's Anatomy.  We were that active.  But it was a much needed break, and I can now face the quarter with some enthusiasm.  My classes are looking pretty good, but then again, I've only had one day of them.  For some reason, Cal Poly gives us Caesar Chavez day off, which meant I had one day of school until I went on my mini vacation.  It's been great though.  I met a friend in Atascadero for lunch, watched the last hour of Lord of the Rings (I can't decide...Aragorn vs. Legolas...tough call) and then practiced my frisbee skills.  By the end of the day I had improved my aim, if not my catch, considerably.  Overall, a great way to ease into the quarter :)

So Close

This is how I feel about Spring Break.  Personally, I think it says it all :)

Amy Wyosnick: A Tribute

Today Amy (the lovely lady pictured above) moved out to study abroad in Thailand.  Although we are all very excited for her, we are very sad that she's gone.  Not only is she a great friend and absolutely hilarious, but she also is a great cook :)  As Caitlin would say, "I don't waaant you to go!"  Last night we had a great "last supper" for her going away party and Laura's birthday.  It was fun to spend some time with all five of us.  And fortunately, we live pretty close, so we will be able to see her over the summer before Caitlin, Laura, and I go to Europe to study abroad (we're getting quite cultural in 506). We'll miss you Amy!!

Changes

Do you guys like the changes?  I can't decide, so I could use some input.

Linnaea's

Today Caitlin, Laura, and I went to Linnea's to study.  It's a great little cafe that is everything Starbucks tries to be.  People are always in there reading and studying, so we went out on their adorable patio to soak up some sun while we studied.  It was so much better than studying in my room :)  We all took our cameras and tried to be artistic, so here's the result!

Finals and Funfetti

The very best and the very worst, all in one day :)  Actually, studying hasn't been too bad. I've actually been able to get a lot done, and I got a total of 4 1/2 hours of studying in this afternoon.  While it was horrible in one sense, it feels great to have it done.  And what better way to take a study break than baking a funfetti bundt (because Caitlin loves her bundt cakes) and catching up on my blog?  

I am soooo excited to go home for break.  It feels like I haven't been there forever, and I miss my dogs (and my parents, of course!).  Nine days at home without homework sounds fantastic!

Another post on love...

I am so thankful for God's love, and even if this sounds cliche, it's so true!  When you think about it, it's such a gift and a wonder that the God of the universe delights in us.  So often I get caught up in ordinary things and forget that God has made my life extraordinary.  Last night I went to a missions conference at my church, and the speaker was talking about letting God interrupt our lives.  It gave me a lot to think about, and not just in terms of missions.  Am I letting God interrupt my life?  Or am I just doing what I want?  And how can I be content with following my own will when I know that God has something amazing in store for me when I follow him?

Feeling loved

As you can tell by the title, I am currently feeling very loved.  I got a package today from a woman in my church, Ellie, who makes care packages every year for the college students in our church.  It was full of candy, little gifts, and (best of all) her fabulous baked goods.  My roommates and I are beside ourselves!  So thank you so much Ellie, and the rest of my home church as well, for being so loving!

Refreshed

Wow, it feels like forever since I've done a new post, especially one longer than two lines.  Today was so refreshing.  After my 6 am meeting I took a three hour nap, which was fantastic.  Such a great way to start the day :)  In addition to the nap, I had my piano lesson today, which is always relaxing (in comparison to my high school days when I would try to hide the fact that I hadn't touched the piano in the last week), and then had a great quiet time.  I drove out to Montana de Oro, a great state park only 30 minutes away from campus.  It was so beautiful!  I sat on the beach and just soaked in God's grace.  My mom sent me an email today about Rick Warren, and I thought of something he said while I was sitting there.  This is part of the interview: "When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do."  I have been so focused on fulfilling my to do lists lately, whether they are spiritual or material, that I was exhausted and frustrated.  Having some time just to spend alone with God and relax was such a gift.  It is such a wonderful thing that we don't have to work for salvation, he did the work for us.  So yeah, that was my wonderful, refreshing afternoon.

By the way, I don't take credit for the picture.  I forgot my camera today, but I needed to put one on, so I found one on the internet.  I think I've been doing too many research papers lately...I feel like I need a works cited :)

Experiments

This was absolutely delicious!  Although I omitted the eggplant (a very suspicious looking vegetable to begin with) everyone loved it.  And it was a great way to get out of an hour of studying. Yes, an hour.  Despite Rachel Ray's promise of 30 minute meals, I have yet to complete one in such a short amount of time.  Still, it was well worth it :)  Here's the link!

By the way, can you tell I just discovered links?

Harry Potter

A wonderful combination of two of my favorite things: movie previews and Harry Potter.  I went to the movies this afternoon, and this preview was officially the highlight of my day :)  I highly suggest you click on the link below.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wclDW5nAaBc

Love is in the air

Okay, so not romantic love, but love nonetheless.  I had such a wonderful weekend.  Sarah came down from Davis for a visit, and we had a great time.  On Saturday we took her out with some friends for dinner and a movie (sadly, we didn't get to see a chick flick).  The next day we drove up to Cambria and shopped around.  We had lunch at a great little Italian spot, which is definitely a new favorite, Caitlin bought a hat (which was quite a momentous event) and a retired magician tried to persuade Caitlin and I to appear in his friend's next magic show. It was quite an afternoon. On the way back to SLO Caitlin made us pull over on the side of the road to get some pictures of the coast, for which I am very grateful :)  It was gorgeous!

Two Words:

Sarah's Coming!!!!  In less than two hours she will be at Cal Poly :) Yay!  I will keep you posted on her visit.

Retreat Time!

This weekend was my church's college group retreat.  It was so much fun, and so great to get away!  We looked at having a Godly character, and how to pursue this.  We broke into small groups and discussed how God was growing us, and on the other hand, what was keeping us from growing closer to him.  It was so encouraging to have a weekend of fellowship and to get to know these people better.  Plus, what's better than a three days away from school and stress, full of worship, friends, and games?

Randomness

If any of my wonderful readers (because I'm sure there are so many of you! ) have been on facebook in the last week, you have seen this 25 Things post.  For those of you who haven't, it is just a thing going around where you post 25 random things about yourself, and then send it to 25 different people, who in turn send their own back to you.  I thought that I would put mine on my blog as well, and I would love if you would leave comments of your own random things.  If I know you really well, try to put something that will surprise me :)

1.  I just made oatmeal carmelitas.  They are the world's best dessert.

2.  I have been playing piano for twelve years and am still only moderately good.

3.  I am a hard core Grey's Anatomy fan.

4.  Over several months of guitar lessons I only learned four or five chords...which I now forget.

5.  I once had a turtle that walked away.

6. When I was 13 I was absolutely in love with Orlando Bloom.

7.  I love scarves.

8.  I am studying abroad in Ireland next year.

9.  I decided to do this after watching P.S. I Love You.

10. I am going to a super bowl party tomorrow but I don't know who's playing.

11. I absolutely love good historical fiction.

12.I never shopped at Trader Joe's before this fall.

13. I am now a huge fan.

14. Going out to the movies is one of my favorite things to do.  It's worth the ten bucks.

15.  There's nothing like having painted toe nails.

16. I am incapable of line dancing.

17. I could spend all my time in Barnes and Noble.

18. I don't like coffee, unless it is an ice cream flavor.

19. I have a stalker-ish picture in front of Darla's house (from Little Rascals).

20. I love getting dressed up.

21. I get homesick for my dogs.

22. I am trying to grow a plant in my room and it's hanging on by a thread.

23. I love musicals.  And I was blown away by Les Miserables.

24. I used to site Wikipedia.

25. I have amazing friends.

Breathe

After two midterms, two church meetings, and a completely intimidating to do list, I am realizing that I need to take a breath. Hopefully I can relax a little tonight and tomorrow and get reorganized and refreshed.  I'll let you know how it goes :)

A Baking Extravaganza

This afternoon my roommates and I went over to bake cookies with a woman from my church, Donna.  It was so much fun!  She invited us over after I asked her for the recipe, so we were able to bake them at her house and get to know her better.  This is just a wonderful example of the hospitality and fellowship that I am experiencing at Grace church.  And in addition to that, we now have more cookies than we could (or should I say should??) ever eat.  I hope you are all having a wonderful and cozy Saturday as well!

Camping

I officially love long weekends.  After two quiet (meaning homework-filled) days, some friends and I took advantage of the long weekend and went camping Sunday night.  It was so much fun!  After a rough start with stinging nettles, we took a wonderful walk by the lake, watched the sunset, struggled with tents, and roasted hot dogs.  We washed these down with (what else?) s'mores.  Unfortunately, around 11 we realized that despite the freakishly warm day it was still January and FREEZING!! So after a very long night in very inadequate sleeping bags we headed off to the beach to end the adventure with some sun.  Despite the fact that we were all very tired and still a little cold, it was the perfect way to end our long weekend.

Big Plans

I am finally starting to settle into this quarter and things are starting to slow down (thankfully).  Study abroad stuff is starting to come together, despite the ridiculous amount of paper work, I had my first piano lesson yesterday, which was so much fun (!!!), and if I can muster up some self control this weekend I just might be caught up on reading by Tuesday.  Speaking of this weekend, I am so excited for four days off.  I don't really have any big plans, but on Sunday night I am going camping with a group of friends, which will be great.  Most of the campgrounds on the beach are already pretty full, but I think we found something that will work.  I'm so excited!

Ireland??

Hopefully, this will be where I am studying next fall.  In addition to the craziness of the first week of the quarter, I have been rushing around trying to get my application in to study abroad.  Unfortunately, before I do this I have to get a lot of potential courses approved so that the classes I take there count towards my degree.  This is (naturally) fairly complicated and is quickly becoming my newest anxiety.  How did I go from completely care free to this in only 4 days? Despite all of the work though, getting started on this is making me really excited for next fall!

And it begins

Today was the first day of Winter Quarter, and I think it is off to a really good start.  I've only gone to my first two classes so far, but both went pretty well.  My mood has been boosted by my certainty that I am enrolled in the easiest math class offered at Cal Poly (theory of math) and that in eleven weeks I will be done with math forever.  For all those who hate math, you can imagine how wonderful that feels.

Another mood-booster this afternoon was Psalm 130.  I try to make a point to do a "quiet time", time with just me and God, once a day.  Because of vacation, and because I am just very lazy, this hasn't happened in quite awhile.  So I made a point to sit down this afternoon when all my wonderful (but noisy) roommates were in class and do a quiet time.  I read this psalm, and it was so reflective of what I'm feeling.  I love when God gives you just what you need!  Here it is for anyone who is interested.

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness, 

so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love 

and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.