Let’s Friday Listday Like It’s 1982!

It’s Friday, y’all. The Friday before my 30th birthday. Because apparently, I’m that old. I think to celebrate the awesomeness that has been bestowed upon the world since September 2, 1982, we should party with a little list.

1. Will Ferrell was on Conan this week, and he was pretty upset about Kristen Stewart (K-Stew) cheating on Robert Pattinson (R-Patt). You don’t even know!!

2. Because I am overwhelmed by school and freelancing, I felt the need for something fun in the month of September. So, a few friends and I are going to do Kendi Everyday’s 30-for-30 challenge. You may remember it from when Kristy and I did it last year. Basically, you choose 30 items of clothing (pants, shirts, skirts, dresses and shoes). You can only wear those 30 items for the month of September, and you can’t wear the same outfit twice! Accessories don’t count, so feel free to load up on those. During the challenge, no shopping. The goal is to be creative with your clothes so that you realize how many fun outfits you already have in your closet. Anyhoo, we’ll start September 1. I’m not going to be as strict with posting pictures on the bloggy this time, but I’ll try to put a few up every once in awhile. Also, we’d love it if you did the challenge with us — it’s fun!

3. Michael Scott is not a huge fan of Toby.

4. I’ve started working on my thesis. And by “working,” I mostly mean “fretting” and creating multiple Word documents so that I can feel like I’ve done something. It’s going to be a long semester.

5. This video makes me happy every single time I see it. Like, I literally smile. Come dance with me.

6. This week I started going to kickboxing at the gym again. It gives me a good reason to complain about being sore. It also reminds me that my 30-year-old body is not made for roundhouse kicks to the face.

7. Who’s excited for fall TV to start up?! Tom Haverford probably is. Chicky-chicky parm-parm.

Have an excellent weekend, friends!

What the What?! I’m Blogging!

Oh. My. Goodness.

I don’t even know how to start. It has been exactly 651 years, 47 months, 582 days since my last blog post. Or it’s been about one summer. I’m not exactly sure. But you guys, what a summer. Four countries, 13 plane rides, two severed bat pieces, one new boyfriend, zero money, 15 million pictures, one family wedding. It’s been a lot.

It’s not Friday, but I think to catch you up on all the haps (because I know it’s been tough to even survive without the daily report of my laziness/eating/school whining/Little House on the Prairie reading) we’re going to have to do this like Brutus — list style.

* Israel. Been there, done that. And it was amazing. I did manage to blog a little bit this summer about my amazing trip to the Holy Land (for you, Jilly Bean), and you can check out those posts here, here and here.

* After my trip to Israel, I figured that Central America was feeling left out. So, I did a two-week class with my seminary down in Guatemala City. It was an interesting class — there were six of us from Denver, and the rest of the class was Latin students who attend seminary in Guatemala. We learned a lot about their ministry and how they share the gospel and minister to those in need in the context that they’re in. There is extreme wealth and crippling poverty in Guatemala, and we saw all of it. I blogged about it a bit over on Boundless, if you want to read something more serious.

I would show you lots of Guatemala pictures, but I think the most important thing you need to see from my trip is this.

Now, if you look closely at the napkin, you’ll notice what looks like a severed bat wing. That’s because it is A SEVERED BAT WING. After our class was over, a few of us traveled to northern Guatemala to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal and then head over to Belize. We were eating a lovely outdoor dinner at our hotel one night, and we literally heard something hit the fan, you guys. Whatever it was landed right in front of my plate. I took a look, pushed my chair back from the table, stood up, and said in a loud voice: “There’s a bat wing on the table.”

You guys, I handled this very well. Bats are my biggest fear so everyone is quite lucky that I didn’t scream or pass out or start throwing things. That nearly did happen when I noticed the rest of the SEVERED BAT lying on the ground twitching, due to the missing wing. The wing that was in front of my plate. At my dinner. One foot from my head. Let’s move on.

* Does anyone remember Sean? Please say that you do. He will be devastated if you say no. His feeling are easily hurt. Anyway, Sean is a plastic, turquoise hippo. He is used for storing Skittles. I got him back in April when I went to Target with a new Canadian acquaintance named Andrew. The Canadian acquaintance named Andrew turned out to be very friendly. We started texting and talking and video chatting. And when I got back from Guatemala, he and Sean were waiting at the airport for me as a best surprise! Andrew and I got to spend three weeks together this summer — two in Denver and one in Canada/Wyoming/Montana — which we proved by an annoying amount of pictures on Facebook.

See? Here we are at a Rockies game.

This is us in front of a wall.

This is at Banff National Park in Canada. It’s beautiful. Go there. Now.

Annoyed yet?

So now Andrew is back in Canada and I am back in Denver (Sean is here with me — I have custody). I miss him a lot, but don’t tell him or it will get to his head.

* After I got back from Canada, Diana decided to have a birthday. Now, Diana is very passionate about the idea of sailing. She has sailing songs and sailing pictures and a sailing board on Pinterest. The one problem is that she’d never been sailing. So we solved that by surprising her with a sailboat ride on Lake Dillon for her birthday! It was so gorgeous and made all of Diana’s dreams come true!

Look at this lovely, sailing birthday girl.

* THEN, my brother decided to get married, so I headed to Minnesota last weekend for his wedding. It was great to see my family and to see my brother happy and committed to such a sweet girl.

The fam: Charles in Charge, Denise, Jilly Bean and Wayne

Wayne and Sando

Mr. Wayne and Nisers

So, now I am finally back in Denver and done leaving the country for at least a month or so. School started this week and I’d rather not talk about it. I have a thesis to write and Greek to fail. Also, if you hear of any awesome freelance jobs that pay $6,000 per word, please let me know.

I want to be a blogger again, you guys. I will be. Keep me accountable to posting daily whinings. OK, now what did you do this summer? (Besides miss me.) Let me know — see you soon!

Cat-tastic!

I have 20 days left of this semester. Oh, gosh. That sounds like way too many. Let’s say three weeks instead. Still too many.

This weekend was pretty great. I got a minimal amount of work done, but I spent time with friendsies.

Some friends came over on Friday and we made pasta and watched a movie. 500 Days of Summer. Zooey and JGL. Get on it.

Then Diana fell asleep on the couch and decided it was way too hard to drive the five minutes back to her apartment. So we had a sleepover! In the morning we watched Friends and drank coffee. And I watched videos on my iPhone. Clearly Saturday was off to a good start. Then I was supposed to do all kinds of work and homework, but it was nice out and sunshine is distracting, you guys. So I went to dinner with my friends Micah and Jarred from the Springs, and then went over to spend some time with friends around a campfire. Campfires are distracting too.

Also, Micah and I have been kindreds for many years now, and there are just some things we know to point out to one another. Whilst we were at the restaurant on Saturday, we noticed a grandma-type person showing her granddaughter to the table. The little girl was cute, so we smiled at her. Then my eyes moved up and I noticed the grandma’s shirt. I immediately grunted oddly, cleared my throat, and kicked at Micah underneath the table. Because Grandma was wearing a shirt that looked something like this:

Except that it was actually about 80 times better/worse than that picture because it was a normal t-shirt that had been tie-dyed green. And then the cat picture was there, taking up that whole shirt. It was the best. I wish we could’ve gotten a picture for you. We tried. So hard. But then the restaurant staff asked us to leave because they thought it was rude for us to be pointing and laughing and trying to take pictures. (Also, I just spent a lot of time on Google image search trying to find a cat shirt for you guys. You should appreciate my commitment to excellence.)

On Sunday it was so beautimous, so we went to Wash Park and had a picnic and played volleyball.

Since we’re super brilliant, we set up our net right next to a creek that runs through the park. So there was a lot of going into the creek to get the ball because I am bad at serving.

So, it was a good weekend. But unfortunately, I still have three more overwhelming weeks of school. So much to get done.

Question for LOST fans: Jack or Sawyer? I think you know the correct answer.

Remember that song “Hallelujah” which was made popular by Jeff Buckley? It goes like this. It’s pretty. Song of the day — you’re welcome.

OK, I am on it at school this week, you guys. I’m on a rampage. Have a good Monday!

Batty

Oh, hi!

Wednesday, you guys. Am. I. Right?

I still haven’t really gone to the grocery store, although I did get some popcorn and apples and cheese. And I got some Skittles because people came over for Lost last night and I figured they at least deserved a Skittle since I didn’t have anything else to serve them.

The other night I cleaned my apartment because I was tired of living in filth. I found no less than 9,000 bobby pins on my bedroom carpet.

I remembered the pipe arm yesterday. Good times.

Aren’t you glad I’m blogging today?

So yesterday’s picture of the day was supposed to be “something you don’t like.” How do I choose?! Just kidding. I chose “bats” because I am so scared of them. I’m apparently going spelunking in Guatemala this summer and my throat is already closing off at the thought of possibly being in a cave full of bats. Anyhoo, I searched bats on Pinterest and this came up. I gasped and died.

I can’t even take it. Look at those nasty claw feet things! I’m gagging. Bats are rodents that fly at your head and try to kill you. Why would you hold one in your hand and allow its devil eyes to be captured on film? ALSO, if you are afraid of bats, I do not recommend the bat section of the Omaha Zoo. You walk through a display that feels like you are in a literal cave and the bats are behind glass, but you can barely tell. And they had a bat there that was at least the size of an eagle. Let’s move on.

I do love Batman, though. I’m excited for the third movie to come out. Bruce Wayne is scared of bats too.

Ok, let’s actually move on.

Yesterday I had to write a little devotional for Hebrew, and I wrote it based on a verse in the book of Habakkuk. I blogged about it before, but I was just reminded of how Habakkuk was frightened about the judgment that was coming to Judah. Although he had been complaining about how evil the Israelites were, he was upset that God would send the Babylonians (who were way more evil) to bring judgment. But God said it would happen, and Habakkuk knew it was true. So in chapter 3, he starts listing all the things he remembers about God’s awesomeness. He remembers God’s fame, the great things he’s done, and finally he says, “I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk chose to trust God. He chose to praise the Lord, even though he was unsure of the future. So hard to do. But so good.

OK. As usual, I have an Aramaic quiz to bomb today. Be good. I’ll see you tomorrow!

Reconciling With the End of the Semester

This is what was happening at my house last night. I have a feeling we’re all ready to be done with the semester.

Supposedly we just had a weekend. I feel like I spent most of it driving around Colorado. But I got to hang out with cool people because of all the driving, so it was worth it. Just like smiling.

Sometimes you’re supposed to get a lot done on the weekends like all kinds of blog posts and Hebrew and Aramaic and revisions for work. But other times you take naps and hang out with friends and watch Lost. All accidentally, of course.

Remember this picture of this goose who loves to wear sporty sandals? They protect his feet whilst he traipses about.

I will be living at school today, so come visit. I’m bringing an air mattress and pajamas and a tooth brush because I am not allowed to leave until I actually get some work done. It’s going to be a long road.

Also, I am apparently going to Israel in less than a month. What?! Do I need to buy a backpack or a head covering or a camera or something? Have any of you ever been? What should I bring?

Yesterday at church our pastor reminded us of the unity we can have with one another because of Jesus. On the cross, Christ reconciled us to God, and it is only because of this that we can truly be reconciled with one another. At our church we “pass the peace” which is a time you usually just use to say hi to your friends. But we purposely do it right before we take communion so that if there’s someone around who we need to reconcile with, we can do it before we take the bread and the cup, so that we do not eat it in an unworthy manner. I love that. I love that because we’ve been reconciled with Jesus, we can be reconciled to one another. It’s a beautiful thing.

OK, you guys. Stop bothering me. Have a good Monday!

Friday Listday Spectacular

It’s Friday. Which also means that it is Listday. Let’s do it.

1. Thesis proposal: submitted. I’m sure I’ll get it back with a big frowny face on it. But it’s done and in, so I don’t care.

2. My brother got married yesterday! The actual wedding and ceremony and reception and party times will not be until August, so I’ll be going home for that. But yesterday they made it official at the courthouse in Detroit Lakes. My grandpa and grandma were the best man and maid of honor. So awesome.

3. Did you know that Will Ferrell trains dogs? He’s super good at it.

4. This is a baby hippo taking a bath. He just likes to stay squeaky clean, you guys. Don’t you love him? Me too.

5. You guys. My taxes. They still aren’t done. I’m literally going to be sent to jail. This has to happen today. Help.

6. This elephant is just having the very best of all times. I hope your weekend is just as good.

7. Finally, Andrew introduced me to this video this week, and it makes my heart happy every single day. If you want your life changed, you must watch this video. It’s of Mr. G. He’s a drama teacher. He’s doing an interpretive performance. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! Loves!

 

Happy Everything

Have I ever told you that Wednesdays are my longest day? Oh, wait. I tell you that every single week. It’s still true. So, let’s rejoice that the long day is over, as old Norah Jones would croon.

So, my friends and I are rewatching Lost. It is just the best. Also, I had forgotten that Clair from Modern Family is Jack’s ex-wife. And that Jack is so perfect that he operated on Boone while giving him a blood transfusion. From his own body. Oh, Jack. Even though you’re perfect, I still like Sawyer better.

I got a card from my Grandpa Dale yesterday. It was a cute vintage one and it said “A cute card for a cute girl. Happy Everything. Love, Grandpa.” He is the very bestest.

As was expected, I forgot to do the photo challenge yesterday. But apparently I was supposed to take a picture of “where I ate breakfast.” So, here’s the logo of Lucile’s, which is a Creole restaurant where I had poached eggs and eggplant and grits yesterday. I ate Louisiana cuisine with a Canadian. It was super great.

Yesterday in Aramaic we translated part of the passage where King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and Daniel tells him that he’s going to live like a wild animal for seven years. That would just be some bad news to receive, don’t you think? But it happened so that Nebuchadnezzar would know that God had dominion over everything — even though old Nezzi was a powerful king, Yahweh God was the one in control. At the end of those seven years, Daniel 4 says that Nebuchadnezzar raised his eyes to heaven and blessed the Most High. He recognized God’s dominion, and he was restored.

He is in control, you guys. And he loves us. And has plans for us. He is good and he heals and he restores.

Have the best Thursday, OK?

Sean’s Big Day

You guys. I’m just ready for the semester to be done, OK? I am tired of homework. And papers. And translations. And not having enough time for Netflix. It is a tough life.

Luckily, I had a break yesterday which means it is pictorial essay time! This week’s essay is titled “Sean’s Big Day: The Musings of a Turquoise Hippo.”

This is my new friend Sean. He is a hippo. His intestines are made of Skittles. Sometimes he likes to go on car rides.

Sean asked if he could spend the day with me and my new Canadian friend Andrew. We said it was fine as long as Sean behaved himself and didn’t make a fuss. Andrew and I hate fusses.

Sean asked if we could watch Friday Night Lights. It is his favorite show. I knew Sean and I could be friends.

Since it was such a beautiful day, Sean asked if we could go to the park. We complied because who doesn’t love a little time in nature?

Sean brought a kite, but because he is so tiny and plastic and not living, he quickly got it stuck in a tree.

This is Sean’s favorite book. It is about making decisions. I think it’s kind of a boring book, but Sean swears by it. He would not stop reading it all day long.

Sean is helping Andrew and me write that devotional I told you about the other day. It’s going to be a bestseller, you guys. So many deep thoughts, so many profound revelations. So many guilt trips.

Sean felt kind of like an attention hog because we were taking pictures of him all day. He asked if he could take a picture of his co-authors. Unfortunately, he’s really bad with the camera.

I’m sure you’ll be seeing lots more of Sean around the bloggy. He’s kind of an attention hog hippo. I may even bring him to school, you guys, so get excited for that. I’m really hoping he’ll finish out this semester for me because as previously mentioned, I am over it. As in, I missed Aramaic last week because I was sick, and I have not studied for today’s quiz at all. I will be flunking out of seminary within moments.

OK, I’m off to fail some quizzes. Have a sunny Wednesday!

Alleluia!

The bloggy is late today, you guys. Forgive me already.

Did everyone have a good Easter? Mine was so good — I just love my church. We observe Lent, so during those forty days, our liturgy changes and we don’t say any “Alleluias.” It is not as joyful as it usually is. But yesterday — yesterday — there was joy. Christ has risen and we were celebrating! Alleluia! Sweet goodness. I helped serve coffee for the services because, as we all know, coffee is the most important part of church. Here is our little coffee team.

I forgot to do the pictures of the day this weekend. I am not very good at the sticking with things. But here’s something. My “friend” Brad got me this magnet solely for the purpose of reminding me that some people want to turn teacup piglets into bacon.

If you ever see Brad, you should probably put on a white glove, slap him, and challenge him to a duel.

If I’ve nagged you once, I’ve nagged you a thousand times. Start watching Happy Endings. Your life will be so much more Ah-MAH-Zing. Also, I watched the first episode of a new drama called Scandal. Have you heard of it? It was kind of good and our sweet brotha Desmond from Lost is in it.

If I co-wrote a devotional in which I make you feel guilty about not being a good enough humanitarian and ended every chapter with the phrase, “I thought so,” would you read it? I think it would be lovely.  Think Despair.com meets Stuff Christians Like.

Finally, I think I’ve posted this video before, but I was reminded of it yesterday. It is sweet and tells the story of Jesus’ love. How marvelous. How boundless.

Have a good Monday, friendsies!

Fiesta!

Sometimes when the temperature changes 40 degrees in one day, my allergies act up. Miserable.

That was a boring NCAA championship basketball game. Dummy Kentucky looked so good the entire tournament that I figured they would pretty much kill it. And our very own Diana “she knows how to pick ‘em” Jones moved from last place into first place in our bracket because she picked Kentucky to win it all. Congrats, Diana! Your gift basket of tomatoes and Eminem CDs and a gift card to go dancing is in the mail!

So the second picture in the April photo challenge is “color.” Which is perfect because yesterday I received brand new Fiestaware dishes from my mom! She sent them to me as a Passover/Resurrection Day present because she’s the bestest mommykins. Aren’t they pretty and colorful? I am most excited about those beautiful latte mugs.

I met with my adviser about changes to my thesis proposal yesterday, and it went really well. I’m hoping to have the proposal done by the end of the week — woo hoo!

Here’s something my friend Andy and I were discussing yesterday — in Acts 15, there is something called the Jerusalem Council in which the apostles decided if the Gentiles needed to adhere to the Jewish law through circumcision and stuff. They decide that no the Gentiles did not need to get circumcised or follow the law. However, the Gentiles did need to do four things: abstain from sexual immorality, abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, abstain from meat that was strangled, and abstain from blood.

So, if those four things are the only things Gentiles believers needed to follow, then Andy and I were just wondering why we don’t worry about that stuff (except sexual immorality) anymore. I haven’t studied it, so I don’t know why we quit caring if we were eating meat that had been strangled, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be a spiritual concern of ours anymore. Has anyone heard or read anything about this topic? If I find some time (in the midst of my whining and procrastinating) I’m going to try to look into it.

OK, I’m going to be done blogging now. Tomorrow I think we’ll chat a little bit about Passover!