Registering for classes!

Well, I registered for classes this week. It's feeling more and more real that I am actually going to go to grad school. I'm totally excited and totally freaked out about it! I am eager to start learning and to meet my new classmates. I am terrified that I will not be able to handle the work load or that I'm just not smart enough to do it. The eagerness and excitement are much more prevalent in my emotions, but the others creep in on a somewhat regular basis. This is what I'll be taking this fall....

Hermeneutics - 3 credit hours
Student's ability to use scripture in personal spiritual formation and in ministry is improved by focusing attention on the several critical tasks involved in biblical interpretation. The course will emphasize inductive interpretation of scripture in a variety of contexts. Students will increase their hermeneutical skills by doing interpretive work on passages important to their ministry.

Theories and Principles of Counseling - 3 credit hours
This course provides an examination of several of the major counseling theories with an emphasis on techniques and principles common to each theory. Theories will be evaluated against biblical and theological truth to determine which theories are compatible and which theories are at tension with a Christian view of humanity.

I'll let you know when my list of books to read comes in July - maybe you'll want to read along with me...HA!

What a great weekend!

This weekend was so wonderful! I was going to take some photos and post them for you all to see. So, I checked out a camera from ITS Media (where I work this summer). When I went to take a photo at one point, the camera wouldn't turn on....I was like what's wrong with thing?! So, I opened up the bottom of it and saw that I forgot to put a battery in the thing! Argh! Not my brightest moment! :( So, here's my weekend without photos!

Friday night I went shopping and out to eat with Denise. She had a meeting to go to on the west side of town, so she dropped me off at Kohl's to look for a wedding gift while she went to the meeting. I pulled up the registry and found of the dozen or so items left on the list, most were either too expensive or not in stock. So, I walked down to Target to check out that registry. There were a few more items on that list, but again, most were either too expensive or didn't really go together to make a nice gift....like a lawn chair, a silverware tray, and a candle....it'd be too much of a hodge podge. They did have several DVDs on the list, so I ended up getting all of them (Hitch, King Kong, and Shrek). I also then added a box of microwave popcorn to complete the gift. I was pleased with the final gift (I think Deanna was too - she entrusted me to pick up the gift for us since she's been out of town the past week or so.) I guess that's what I get for waiting until the day before the wedding to buy the gift!

Denise and I went to Panera for dinner. I LOVE that place! I had the cheesy broccoli soup...my fav...and tried the new "Chicken Pomodoro" panini. The soup was delicious, as always. The sandwich was a big disappointment. It is described like this, "Smoked, pulled white-meat chicken, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil & vine-ripened Pomodoro sauce grilled hot on our Sesame Semolina." The mozzarella and fresh basil were clear flavors that I enjoyed, the chicken was ok - nothing special, but the sesame semolina bread was flavorless and the pomodoro sauce was too much like spaghetti sauce. I was bummed, but at least I tried it and will know not to get it again.

Saturday was spent almost exclusively on Jason and Melanie's wedding...getting ready, traveling to, attending, and driving home from it. It was so worth it though! Jason and Melanie are two of my former students - Mel was on my staff during the 2003-2004 school year. We have remained close since then. The got married at Jason's home church in Toledo, Ohio. It was a beautiful and fun event. Her dress was so adorable - it was strapless and a little shorter than tea length. It was white with little sparkles in it. Her hair was done in a fancy updo with a little veil in the back. Her bridesmaids dresses were a limey green. The flowers were in shades of orange and yellow - roses, lilys and gerber daisy's. The reception was outside under a big white tent. I sat with a group of other faculty/staff from the college. I think there were probably about 30 other former students there. It was really good to catch up with them. It was a lovely day from start to finish!

And today was church! I went early (as usual) to do the Living Room. Someone else baked this week, so I appreciated not having that responsibility, especially in light of being gone all day on Saturday. I was walking up to the sanctuary, when I passed the Toddler Room and saw Kassidy in there. I stopped to chat with her a bit and ended up spending the entire service in there chatting with the ladies working in there and playing with the kids. After church we had a baptism party. Some neighbors of the Buller's have a pool, so we used their backyard for our party! They had a graduation party the night before and had left the tent up for us...it's a good thing they did because it rained most of the afternoon! It stopped raining a bit - just long enough for us to do that baptisms- and then it poured the rest of the time. It wasn't lightening, just rain, so the kids played in the pool in the rain. I stayed under the tent and organized the food (as usual :))

Four people got baptized. Two college students that have grown up at our church. They've been away from home and have realized their faith is their own and not just what their parent's fed them They are now ready to boldly declare before others that this is what they want their life to be about! The other two were a mother daughter pair who have come from a really hard place - lots of poor life choices and pain in their lives - they've come to know the Lord and are living for him and wanted to take this next step in living for him. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of! I love baptism days - such joy and hope permeates these events!

I came home after the church thing and took a 3 1/2 hour nap! The rain was pattering on my roof, so it was easy to just keep sleeping! Tonight is the season premiere of "The Next Food Network Star" I'm looking forward to watching it. My students and some of my friends say that I should try to be on it, but I don't think I'd like the pressure of cooking/creating on tv. I'm just happy to watch others do it. btw...I saw the winner of last season when he was in town filming a segment on a local diner this spring. I think that's a plenty long enough entry for today! :)

RDs at Carrabba's

Chad, me, Launa, and Alex

Tonight Launa (my supervisor) took the Res Life team out for dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill in Mishawaka. The food was tasty, the conversation was entertaining, and the people were the best! I really enjoy working with this group of people. I feel that each one brings great gifts to our team and the supportive atmosphere that exists between us is unparalleled. It was wonderful to celebrate another year of hard work, fun times, greater learning, and good memories.

I had the Chicken and Spinach Cannelloni...hand rolled cannelloni stuffed with chicken, spinach, garlic, fresh herbs, fontina and romano cheese, topped with pomodoro an cream sauce. It was delicate and light, yet rich and mouth watering. We also shared an appetizer of the Grilled Bruschette. To steal a word from my favorite tv cooking personality Rachael Ray....it was yumm-o!

A new job, a new schedule, it's all good

The grounds crew planted pretty flowers in front of my apartment today!

I am so glad it is summer! It's only been a few days, but I really am having a wonderful time. It seems like forever ago that the students were here. And I don't really miss them yet - well, maybe a few special ones, but in general I don't. I love coming and going as I please, not having to worry about if anyone is causing trouble in the dorms is a relief, and working in ITS Media is great - I love the people there and the work is so very different from what my job normally entails. I really feel much more at peace and rested after just these past few days. I am still working on getting on a "normal" sleep schedule - I went to bed at 11:45 lat night, so I think that's progress. I'd love to get to the point where I am in bed by 11:00, but we'll see if I can do that...it's somewhat doubtful!

Memorial Day

Back in the day, Memorial Day was a day without work and with a whole lot of fun. I remember many bbqs, trips to Chicago, pool parties - just being with the singles! Today was not quite like that. I slept in until about 10:00, which was pretty much wonderful. I got up and made myself a yummy omelet for breakfast and watched a little morning tv to wake up. Then I got busy...

I am ashamed to say that I haven't done laundry (other than a few loads of undies and towels) for over a month! With the change of season from cold to hot I have been able to just keep getting new clean clothes out of my storage tubs and haven't done any laundry. The laundry has really piled up! So I spent the day sorting, washing, drying, and folding clothes. Sadly, I am still not done!

I did take several hours off to go over to the Housholders for a wonderful dinner - we had bread, cheese, fruit, and a little wine. It was a relaxing way to spend the evening. After supper we went for a walk around the neighborhood - the boys rode their bikes while I pushed Leah in the stroller. I always enjoy spending time with this family. I enjoy our discussions, adore their children, and appreciate the friendship that they offer so willingly. They are some of my favorite people!

Well, I need to go finish that laundry before I try to go to bed early...early for me that is! I start working in ITS Media tomorrow and have to be there by 8:30!

a couple photos of Lily

Here is my great niece Lily playing on the slide at the park when we were hanging out together on Friday afternoon. I love that curly mess of hair!

Not quite like I had planned.

Well, today was not quite like I had planned. I figured I'd do church, maybe grab a bite of lunch with friends, and then head over to Mom's for the birthday party where most of the family would be. This was not the case...

I did go to church as planned, but after that my plans went awry. My brother Jack called from Ellettsville (where he lives) to say that he needed me to meet him down near Remington, Indiana - about a 3 hour drive from here. Jack had a work conflict and needed to get Jake back here to his Mom's before evening. I agreed to go get Jake and thus missed the birthday party.

The trip there was rainy, uneventful, and a little boring. The trip home was just the opposite - sunny, entertaining and a lot of fun! Jake is 17 (turns 18 on June 9) and we talked most of the way home - about school, college options, dealing with teachers, and much more. We laughed, sang along to my Jimmy Buffet CD, and he made faces at the cars we passed! He's young, so he's a major speedy at text messaging, so I had him send a few texts to one of my friends that I was trying to work out some social details for next week with. She never knew the difference....until she reads this blog at least! :)

When we got back to Goshen I went over to Mom's place to visit a bit and see my brother - Johnny - who was celebrating his birthday. We had cake and watched some tv together.

Tomorrow is the holiday. I don't have any plans yet...and I hate that! I've put out a feeler to some friends that I am interested in doing something. Hopefully they'll call me in the morning (not too early!), but if not I think I'll keep working away on cleaning out the guest room!

Highs and lows...

What a week! I can't believe it's over already! Here are some of the highs & lows...

high- my last Sunday lunch with the college students that come to church with me.
high - the cool gift of a microwave from my students...plus the awesome new skillet I bought with the gift certificate they gave me!
high - going to the Brew with Andrea and Amanda just to hang out one last time before they graduate.
high- going to the Brew with Haly to hang out one last time before she left for the summer.
low - road kill in the bathroom on Wednesday morning....not amusing at all!
low - being on my feet for over 12 hours while checking out the dorms on Thursday.
high - picnic in the car with my mama on Thursday night when I was too tired to move.
high - eating the potato salad from DanaJay's - a new deli in town. The potato salad is the same recipe that used to be at Everett's....the only potato salad that I enjoy - it was delicious!
high - spending time with my great niece, Lily, on Friday afternoon.
low - the crabby emails from students complaining about their room charges.
high/low - two catering gigs this week.
high/low - the end of another year at GC.

Well, that's all for now. We are having a family get together tomorrow for two birthdays - my brother Johnny and my great nephew Gavin. I'll try to post some photos of the day...or at least of Lily and Gavin!

A special surprise from my students!

A month or so ago my microwave began to hum and glow when I used it...not such a good thing! I had put replacing it on the back burner until this summer when I had a little extra cash and time to go garage saling for a good bargain. Some of my RAs knew about this little problem of mine - as they witnessed the glow/hum action for themselves one night!

Tonight after our staff meal and meeting I asked if there was any other agenda that they wanted to cover. Two of them said that there was and that we had to leave my apartment and I had to take my keys along. I was somewhat suspicious of them and imagined all sorts of pranks they might have planned for me. We went to a storage closet and they told me that I had to unlock the door. I opened it with a great deal of fear and trepidation - fearing that an animal or something was going to jump out and scare me. Instead there was a large box wrapped in brightly colored wrapping paper. We proceeded to take the box out of the closet and return to my apartment.

When I sat down to open the gift they gave me a card that read...

- a little poem of gratitude-
thanks a million
thanks a lot
what you did
won't be forgot

it made my day
it made me smile
it made me giddy
for a while

you're really swell
you're really great
and that's what I
appreciate

I'm tickled pink
by all you do
that's why I wrote
this poem for you!

Inside the card were written notes from each of my staff members thanking me, on behalf of their floors, for all I do - the meals, the caring, the leadership, the meals, the friendship, the hard work, and oh - did I mention the meals?! :)

When I unwrapped the gift I found that they had purchased a new microwave oven for me. It's a 1.6 cubic feet GE model with stainless steel exterior and a turntable inside. It's very nice...much nicer than I would have bought probably. They collected more money than they needed to purchase it, so they also gave me a gift card to Target. I think I'm going to buy a large frying pan. That's something that will end up benefiting them next year!

A gift like this is extremely generous, and obviously not expected in any way, shape or form. I would be thankful in any case, but I think it's cool how God worked it out that I received it the same day that I received my annual review. My annual reviews are never "bad" per say, but I always take every criticism too much to heart, so this was a nice reminder that students do appreciate all I do and that I'm doing a good job.

Indian meal and movie

Tonight I hosted a group of students for an Indian meal and movie. I made three kinds of curry - my famous "Curry in a Hurry", the classic chicken/potato curry, and a cilantro/poached egg curry. We had the normal curry toppings of peanuts, coconut & golden raisins, and my favorite pita bread wedges. Yumm-o! Everything turned out delicious! And now my apartment has that wonderful spicy smell! :)

A group of 16 came. While we ate we watched an Indian movie "Hollywood/Bollywood" It was funny. We laughed a lot - sometimes with the movie and sometimes at it. The students who came seemed to enjoy themselves.

I've almost fed my goal for the year! I told Launa (my boss) that I wanted to have 2/3 of my residents in for a meal during this school year. That would translate into 137 people. I've had 132 so far. (That doesn't even include the 47 students that don't live in my buildings that have been here this year!) So, I need to find 5 more students to feed before they leave on Thursday morning! I'll let you know if I achieve my goal!

Well, there are a bunch of dirty pots and pans in the kitchen that unfortunately aren't going to wash themselves!