HOME, SWEET HOME!!!!!!!!!!

We found it!!!!

OK, OK, I know I need to back up.

So...my latest housing update was a little less than cheery, though hopeful.

After finding out that Panda wasn't going to be able to make the great trek north, I was rather disheartened, but knew that there was something else in store for my next year here...sadly, it just wouldn't involve my little brother adventuring with me.

A couple days later I was presented with an opportunity to get a place with two of my friends: Megan and Justin.  After considering that option and weighing the pros and cons of having roommates again, I decided that the pros far outweighed the cons.

Some of the big pluses:
1) CHEAPER RENT!!
2) Option to have a nicer/more spacious place...with still cheaper rent
3) More outside space for Jakers (a huge deciding factor for me)!

Some of the bummers:
1) Sharing my living space (I have loved this year of just having to worry about me and my critters)
2) Sharing my living space
3) Sharing my living space...

Yeah...I really couldn't say no.

So!  We embarked on the adventure of finding "the perfect place" that satisfied the desires/needs of all 3 of us.  Well...after less than a week of searching, we pretty much found it!  Justin really gets the raw end of the deal - he's farther away from his campus and core group of friends he's been within walking distance of for the last 4yrs...that will be an adjustment, for him, but Meg and I are willing to cart him over to the East Bank from time to time.

We are all super stoked about making this place "home" for at least the next year.  Meg will most likely be finishing her degree in the next year and a half or so, so we aren't quite sure how long this living arrangement will last.  Either way, this next year will be a fun one.

Meg and I already have visions of dinner parties galore...  It's going to be awesome.

It's a 3 story house that has been converted into a duplex, and we get the top two floors - baller.  There are so many nooks and crannies in this place...not to mention a few Narnia closets (as I like to call them - Meg and Justin are now referring to them as such as well...it's a beautiful thing)!

Our official move-in date is September 1, but our lovely landlady said it will be no problem to start moving things in a little early.  Yay!

I can't wait to take lots of pictures of the pre-move-in unit and then show y'all what we do with it to make it "ours."  Meg and I have lots of ideas...lots  :)

SO!  The Lord is so good!  He provided above and beyond, as usual.  How fleeting faith can be in the midst of uncertainty.  This is something He's been trying to teach me about for a long time now: He is in control and He will never leave me hanging, even when a solution seems impossible...even when it seems impossible.

Praying this post finds you all well and immensely blessed.

Much love!

Shalom,
~MW

P.S. - No, it is not snowing here, but it certainly feels like summer is fleeting (high of 72F today, what is this?!)  :(  The picture of the house is the one posted in the ad...happened to have been taken during the winter.

We are called to be RESOLUTE...a twist on New Year's Resolutions

Ok..I've been promising this post for nearly a month now...and I finally got ahold of the sermon I needed to refresh my memory on to make sure I had it all right...so, here goes:


How many times have we made resolutions for the new year only to forget we even made them by the end of the first week {or sooner...}...? How many times have we said, "This will be the year that I actually do it!"? Pastor Willis brought this point up the Sunday following Dec, 31/Jan 1. He even brought up, what many of us have come to do, that there's a number of us who have resolved to not make resolutions!!! {sheepishly raising my hand right now} But then he want on to say that as Christians, we are called to be resolute and so cannot not make resolutions. I know, my face was somewhat twisted in a confused look, too. He then brought to our attention Paul and his 1st letter to the Corinthians: For I resolved to know nothing amont you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Cor 2:2 ...As Christians, we are called to be resolute.

Now everyone has wiped their faces clean of expression and all are quietly listening...where are you going with this, Pastor??

His next statement was dumbfounding: This year, I want all of you to know Christ and Him crucified by drinking, cheating, stealing, and lying more that you ever have before....

After a brief pause, to let it all sink in, he explained...and let me just tell you: it was amazing.

Drink: Drink the Water of Life.
- When we are all so busy with anything and everything else in our lives/the world how parched do our souls become?? How starved are our spirits for that nourishing elixir of life that is God and His precious Word?!
- Everything else we fill our lives with is nothing but dust in our mouths. Gross...but so true. And, what an effective analogy to demonstrate how much damage we do to ourselves when we aren't drinking from the Word...daily.
- I remember Butch talking about this one time at Living Hope: he said something along the lines of people will die from thirst in something like 4-5days...how often do we go for a whole week without drinking from God's Word??? Scary to think about.

Cheat: Cheat Satan.
- One of Satan's many names is "The Accuser." That's one of the things he will do when we stand before the gates of Heaven -- He will accuse us of all of our wrongs, before the Lord's throne.
- Satan will do anything and everything to fool us into sinning...and then rub our noses in it...awesome.
- How many of us are plagued by sins we have committed in the past...even though we have confessed and been forgiven?? That guilt is something Satan uses against us. Pastor Willis made a good point when he said that sometimes it only takes something as small as hearing a song...even just a line! Or a scent, or a place...a street name...anything can trigger our recollection of whatever happened and result in us resuming ownership of the guilt that came with that sin.
- The Devil robs us of that glorious joy found in Christ crucified...what a tragedy that we allow him to.

Steal: Steal time with God.
- Our lives are too busy...simply too busy. How can we know this? Pastor Willis used the illustration of noting the minuscule numbers of Bible study attendees on Sundays...Tuesdays...Wednesdays...Thursdays...etc. It was a pretty good reminder that we too often hear of an opportunity to grow in the Lord and spend time with Him but turn around and say, "Well, I have this or that on that day...so, I can't go..." Yeeowzas!
- Pastor Willis encouraged us to make time in our day for the Lord.
- We should want and desire to spend time with Him, to be at church/Bible study, to be fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should WANT this!!
- Another sharp point was this: What if we spent even half as much time with God as we do pointing something at a screen...even half!!! OK, Pastor...we're getting it.
- So many of us envy those who truly know the Bible and look something up or rattle off a reference with hardly a thought about it. We want to have that knowledge, but it seems we are rarely willing to make the "sacrifice" of giving up "our" time to spend time learning God's Word and putting forth the effort required to commit it to memory.

Lie: Lie back and rest in the Lord.
- He wasn't telling us to be lazy with this, but rather to find respite in the Lord.
- Time flies so very quickly in the fast-paced world of today. This is especially true when we are investing ourselves and our time in anything and everything but God and the people around us.
- Psalm 46:10 tells us to "Be still and know that [He is] God." What if we really were still and allowed ourselves to truly know that He is God.
- Slow down. Rest in the Lord.


Basically, all this combined means that our lives depend of knowing Christ and Him crucified. Don't discount His call and desire for us to be in Him. Don't be afraid to be resolute and KNOW Him.

So, there is your permission to drink, cheat, steal, and lie more than ever before. Enjoy and good luck!

It was truly an eye-opening reminder of how we, as Christians, ought to live out our lives in and for the Lord.

Shalom!
~MW

P.S. - If any of you want to listen to the sermon yourself, you can find it here, click on "January 3rd 2010 Sermon"

2010: A Brand New...Decade!

Wow, day 6 of not only the new year, but the new decade!

A new decade, all my own! I was thinking about the last two times I have entered into a new decade...The first one was in 1990, I was just about 3yrs old so, of course, I do not remember that at all. The next one was in 2000. Now, THAT I remember - but, I remember that it was a new millennium, more than anything else. It never crossed my mind that it was the start of a new decade, because I was around to witness the start of a new millennium! Who gets to see that?! What a celebration that was... But even still, at the near age of 13 it didn't really mean much other than it was going to be an even bigger New Year's celebration than ever before. I didn't really grasp the significance of it all. But this year, as we enter into the "double-digits" of the 2000's it really means something.

Why does it mean so much, though? I've been trying to figure that out. Because, when you stop and think about it, each year could, technically, be the start of another decade of your life...technically. It's so strange to think about. A decade is a long time...and yet, the last one seems to have gone by in a flash - even though the first few years of it seem like they were in a different lifetime.

Where will the Lord take my life over the next 10 years? What am I going to do? Who will I meet? What will I accomplish - for the Lord, myself, others, the World?? So many unanswered questions. And yet, having those questions unanswered is OK. I'm not really afraid of what lies ahead. Anxious to finally know what will happen, yes, but afraid, no so much. Do I experience moments of terror when I think about the possibilities and hurt the next 10 years might hold, absolutely. I'd be lying if I said I don't. But, over all, I have a peace about the next 10 years.

"God is always in control, and always prepares the way." This is something that was brought up in my Tuesday night Bible study. We are working our way through the Book of Esther, and that is the general theme of the story. No matter what happens, God is always in control, and God always prepares the way for our salvation. This notion is encouraging to me. And, notion is a poor choice of words, for it's so much more than a notion...it's a lifestyle, a promise, a true understanding of Who and What God is. He is all powerful, all knowing, and through Him we have absolutely nothing to fear! How liberating is that?! Through Him we have NOTHING to fear! Our God truly is an awesome God. He never forgets us, never forsakes us, never leaves us. Basically, He's awesome.

What a blessing and grace-FULL gift it is to be found in Him.

I sometimes find myself getting discouraged and frustrated...or, rather, impatient...with God when I don't see "results". I too often forget that my desired results do not always match up with His **known** results. He is all knowing. He knows what is best for His children, and He knows how much we can handle. And...much to our dismay, He knows how to discipline His children. He knows us. He knows me. He knows you. He quite simply...knows. Wow.

Another thing I do, far too often, is forget to listen. I get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, that I forget to listen for God's responses to me. I don't exactly mean that literally, while I don't doubt that He does indeed still literally speak to people, I know He often uses other means to speak to us...Scripture, other people, etc. But He, in my case at least, tends to do His speaking quietly and subtly. Wouldn't it just be a whole lot easier if He sent messages through fireworks in the sky or something??? Or via postcard...??? Haha. It definitely would. But, then I think maybe we wouldn't stand in so much awe of Him and the ways in which He moves and speaks to us. I dunno, maybe I'm just rambling now, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately, in response to some impatiences {is that a word?? it is now!} I've been having. I want things to happen in my time, but I can't see what He sees, and so my time may not be the best time for these things to happen in. So I will try to be still, and listen, and wait, and...be patient. Oh Patience, you and I have never been too close...wanna help me out a little bit there?? Come on, let's be friends!

Well, now that I have chased another little rabbit hole, I think I will close, but leave you with this:

A new decade holds endless opportunities...let God show them to you. Be still. Be quiet. Listen. Wait. Be patient. Cling to His providence and turn your will over to His. I know...much easier said than done, but we all have to start somewhere!

Happy New Year...Happy New Decade...Happy 2010!!

Shalom,
~MW

P.S. - Be looking for a post on new year's resolutions! Had a great sermon on them at church last week that I think will blow your minds!!

My new "routine"

Top of the morning to you, loves! And a very Happy 2010 to you all.

I've been up since 6:30! And I'm still awake!! I'm liking this new routine, I think. As of yesterday, I am getting up circa 6:30, taking the "wee ones" to school (haha, makes it sound so juvenile, when really one is a senior in high school and the other a sophomore...ah well, I enjoy it!), coming home and starting my day (well, that whole starting my day thing is new development, as of this morning...we'll see if I can keep it up...). Today, mom is off of work, but has an orientation dealy for her nursing classes, so she'll be gone all day. But, since she didn't need to leave until 8 or so, she and I were afforded the opportunity to enjoy a little early morning chat as she finished getting ready for the day.

Now that she is "off to school" {I'm so ridiculously proud of her} I have the house to myself. I have started the laundry that has been piling up at the foot of stairs, taken care of my emails, and of course facebook, and now here I sit: cup of fresh coffee, some oatmeal, and my lappytop.

Aside: Food packages are so educational now-a-days! As I was making up my oatmeal I was reading the package to pass the time...did you know that most dinosaurs lived for 50-60yrs?! Best pet ever, am I right?! They would live almost your entire lifetime! That settles it, I'm getting one :)

So, here I sit. Blank canvas that is the internet in front of me. First, though, I really enjoying taking the boys to school and picking them in the afternoons - give me some sense of purpose right now. This wouldn't be a part of my day had the J-man not gotten himself into another accident...woops! But I like it. After just one day, though, I totally get why our parents were so frustrated with us when they would ask us, "How was school today?" And we would begrudgingly reply, "Fine." "Did anything exciting happen?" "No." "Anything bad happen, then??" "I dunno..." "Well, OK then..." I mean come on!!! I'm your big sister, give me something here, kids!!! Haha, well, I've decided that I am going to try to work on this little issue of one to two worded answers. HA! Wish me luck!

Now that everyone is off for the day I'm left to my own devices...it's weird to not really have anything that I need to do...all...day...long. I was tired of the incessant lounging that occurred over Christmas (not the company, just the lack of activity) after about 4 days, so I'm sure I will soon be tired of this, too. But, having this time is such a blessing. My parents are truly spoiling me right now by allowing me to simply be. I think they, even more than I myself, really know how tired I was (am) after this last semester. I cannot thank them enough for letting me rest and recuperate - I was definitely in need. Part of me feels guilty, because everyone else is back into the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and I'm just chillin', but then I think about my 4.5yr college career - it kind of makes me want to die, but then I remember that it's over for a spell. Thank you, Lord for granting me this intermission. I have time to read again...I'd almost forgotten what a novel looked like! I think the only thing that allowed me to remember that there are beautiful works of art in the form of words on pages bound together was my amazing class on J. R. R. Tolkien {If you ever have the chance to take a class on him...at any point in time, do it! You will NOT be disappointed}...such an amazing, eye-opening, and inspiring class. That class actually made me appreciate my dendrology class even more. Tolkien's love of trees increased my joy of learning about them and helped me to recognize their beauty even more.

But, back to my free time! I started my book list!!! I can honestly say that I am currently reading 3 books! 3 WHOLE BOOKS!! I don't know that I have ever done this...but, let me just tell you: it is marvelous. I am so enjoying this. My current undertakings include: The Road - Cormac McCarthy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J. K. Rowling, and Redeeming Love - Francine Rivers. The Road I am tackling because I feel like I need to, out of service to my generation, plus it's supposed to be good, plus it was given to me by the Seaner. And, I can honestly say that I am enjoying it! It's weird, to say the least, but it has this sort of draw that keeps you wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next. I approve. Goblet is a re-read. I never finished the Harry Potter series, and so decided I would start over from the last book I read completely and go from there (I only made it about a quarter of the way through Order of the Phoenix). And, Redeeming Love is just one I've always wanted to read...just never got around to it.

Next I will be reading:
Bitterwood - James Maxey (dragons!!)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, of course
Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis.

As I mark books off and add others to the empty slots I'll let you know.

Aside from reading, I also plan to do some crafties. Before the weekend comes I will be staining my insect drawer...finally...so that I can finally place all of my little gems into their forever home, safe and sound :) I can't wait! I've never stained anything before, but the wonderfully generous Mr. Freeman has loaned me a can of his stain so I can test the waters...err, wood?? I'll take pictures and let you know how it all turns out. I think that will be on tap for tomorrow. Maybe I can get the mamma to help me out, or at least sit with me.

In other crafties, I plan to **attempt** to make a dent in the years of scrapbooking I have to catch up on...we'll see if that happens... I also want to finally tackle some of those blank canvas boards I acquired almost two years ago {Note to self: do not attempt to do a lot of projects while in college...it just won't happen. School always wins the time battle. Hmf!} I have some ideas for them, hopefully they will turn out as I envision them. I also have a long overdue baby blanket that needs knitting...I have maybe a 16th of it done.

There is one other thing I think I am going to attempt to do while I'm home. Each day I hope to tackle one portion of my mother's house and really, really, really clean it for her. She just doesn't have the time to do it anymore, what-with being a student, a working nurse, a mother, and a pastor's wife. I think I am going to do this for her. She's just as tired I was when I was in school and she has way more responsibilities than I did. I feel like this is a just a little something I can give back to her. One less thing she has to worry about getting done in the all-too-short 24hr days we live.

Well all, I have a 2010 post that I'm working on, currently, and I hope to have that up by the end of the day, but for now I'm going to go mark some things off my to-do lists. Happy day to you!!

Shalom,
~MW

Ah, Christmas and such...

Well, I know I have totally been slacking on the updating of the blog, of late, but....I've been busy...sorry!

So, should I pick up where I left off or start from today and work backwards?? Decisions, decisions. Hmm...

Let's go ahead and get ESA out of the way:
Ok, so last update was at the close of Day 2 - the U of M Mixer night. Day 3 got of to a start circa 5:50am (I should have already been awake and getting ready by then...woops!) as we were all rushed out of bed to sound of the lovely...lulling...serenade of the Marriot fire alarm system. "Woooooooop! Wooooooooop! Woooooooooop!" {15-30sec pause} **Is it over?? Can we go back to bed?? Er...finish getting ready for that Women in Entomology Breakfast that starts in 10min??** "Woooooooooop! Woooooooop! This is not a test. This is not a test....Yada, yada, you know the rest." So, naturally, being a room/hotel full of scientists we all grab our precious laptops and cell phones, because everyone knows that our research is more important than our lives themselves, and start making our way out of our rooms (wearing as many layers as we can possibly grab in a timely manner) down the hallways to the emergency stairwells. {May I just make a note here? If you are on any level above, oh, say 4 or 5, you will probably not make it out of the building without at least suffering from some severe smoke inhalation - awesome.} We actually start smelling that awful smell of smoke **You've got to be kidding me! There's really a fire?!** It gets progressively worse as we get closer to the lower levels - I was on the 11th floor. We get down to the lobby and some people are going outside, others are just kickin' it in the sitting areas... **WHAT?! What is going on?!** No hotel staff to be seen...anywhere. So, we just kinda hang and figure there's no sense in freezing our toes off unless we really need to... Turns out there was a fire in the laundry room, which was in the basement. But it was put out within 3min. **Are. You. Serious??** The stairwells were all full of smoke and the elevators were still off, though so we couldn't go up to our rooms for a good 20-30min. By this time, I'm contemplating just skipping the breakfast, even though it runs 'til 8am...But, after making the trek up the still rather smokey stairs my better judgment told me to go ahead and get ready and venture out onto the icy streets of Indy {they really were icy that day - I'm not gonna lie, I really enjoyed walking around the icy city streets in the 6am hour...I think my future is looking most enjoyable.} and find the breakfast - networking, Heather, networking!

***Pause. Nightly ritual of LOST watching with the sibs commencing now. Post to be continued tomorrow.***

***My apologies for not finishing this when I said I would...I voted that spending time with my fam was more important for now.***

Oki doki, so I left off gallivanting around Indy circa 7am to find the Women in Entomology Breakfast. I made it to the breakfast and, sadly, the people I was going to meet with were not there...they had already left. Awesome. Also, there were no empty seats at any tables, so I was told to start a new table by myself. Sweet. So, I did...and no one else came after I got there. I felt super lame. (I was also the youngest person there...no other undergrads/grad students wanted to get up that early.) After people started to filter out I was able to skooch over to another table and visit with some ladies. So, after eating my {*cough, cough* $15} oatmeal, I bundled up again and made my way across town with one of the ladies to the convention center to listen to some more talks on parasitoids and all that jazz that kind of makes my world go round. I then ventured down to the exhibit hall and presented my poster to peoples passing through who were interested - it's kind of like a grown-up version of a science fair. Then it was off to the plenary session with BM to listen to Mark Moffett - AMAZING! If you want to see some absolutely breath-taking photos I highly recommend you pick up a copy of his new book Adventures Among Ants. SO cool!! I actually got to meet him for a brief moment, shook his hand and everything. You can be jealous, I'll allow it. Then it was off to lunch with BM, KZ, R, & L. Then more talks. S and I made a run over to Johnny Rocket's for a quick snack before the Linnaean Games Finals (kind of like Jeopardy for Bug Dorks). Illinois ended up winning - they were RI-diculous!

That night was the Student Mixer. Lay-to-the-iz-ame... After being suckered into "ice breaker games" BM came and rescued me. Let me lay this scene out for you:
I'm walking across the dance floor (yes, dance floor) to ask BM if he has some matches (we needed them for the, ahem...scavenger hunt...).
To this he responds by taking hold of my arm and steering me to the other side of the room where the coat check is. "Get your coat. Put it on. We are leaving - I'm taking you out of here and we are all going to the pub."
At this point I'm in near shock out of shear gratitude, haha. I follow "big brother" BM's instructions and we all (including KZ, SR, JK, and some others) make our way out onto those still somewhat icy streets and head on over to Cladgagh Irish Pub. Is it wrong to call a pub heaven?? Well, it nearly was. The guys running the place were actually Irish {cooooool} and were so friendly and helpful. Giving suggestions on which brews were best and would fit our likes and which ones we probably wouldn't enjoy, etc. It was truly great. So, if you're ever in Indy and you have a free night make your way down to Claddagh at 234 S Meridian St. You will not be disappointed.

That pretty much closed the conference for us. BM & KZ and I went to a few talks Wed morning, grabbed some lunch with R and then parted ways. I had to hold my own and tell off this cab driver - when I say tell off, I mean I told him "no" like 30 times, no joke - on my way to the airport. I don't really like taking cabs with strangers...even if they are entomologists. I feel much better on a bus. It's probably somewhat irrational of me, since a bus is nothing but strangers, but whatever, I'm stickin' to my guns on this one. But! On the bus I did have a lovely conversation with an entomologist from NY and he was telling me about some teaching program options and stuff - it was really cool!

I hoped on the plane back to Houston and after having quite the time of trying to tell KB where I was so she could pick me up, we finally found each other and made our way to the Bunte home for some pizza and the SYTYCD finale.

Next morning I made the trek to CS to get ready for....wait for it....GRADUATION!!! After hangin' with Lu and D I tackled the disaster zone that was my room....oh, it was bad, friends. Bad. But, I got it done! Had a lovely 3 HOUR coffee date with KR - love her!
The fam, after quite the eventful morning, made it down to CS around 1. CH and I went to the Ento Graduate luncheon before heading out to my BBQ lunch with so many other wonderful friends and family. We had an absolutely lovely time at the BBQ. To those of you who were able to make it, thank you so much for sharing that day with me.

And THEN, my dear friends, and THEN it was time to....~~GRADUATE~~ Oh how marvelous that night was. According to my family, who were on one of the upper levels of Reed during the ceremony, I never stopped smiling and they could see it all the way from where they were. It was an especially exciting night because so many of my wonderful Aggies friends were graduating with me. It was really cool to get to see RA and BM get hooded for their PhDs, too - really special. After taking oodles and oodles of pictures with family and friends, Seaner & Shyla and CH and I made our way into Downtown Bryan to meet up with BM and KZ at Murphy's Law for some good pubbing time in celebration. Haha, after BM and KZ left S&S and CH and I stuck around to finish our brews and ended up doing the cupid shuffle all by ourselves on the German side of Muprhy's...it - was - awesome. A couple walking the streets stopped to watch us through the window. Can you say priceless??? Haha - it totally was.

Saturday held a full day of packing and loading...my apartment was essentially empty by 6pm. Impressive, eh?? We thought so! Mom, CH and the boys hit the road around 4pm. Once Dad, Sean & Shyla, and I decided we were done for the day we went out to grab some grub, some brew, and, of course, some Harry Potter!! We enjoyed a nice evening and hit the hay. Went to church next morning, grabbed some grub, and caravaned to Arlington with my CS home in a U-haul truck. It was really weird.

Everything happened so fast that weekend. I graduated, I left my home of 4.5 years, I left my friends, and moved back to Arlington. I moved back to Arlington. Never thought that would happen, temporary as this may be. It's still strange, this time of intermission, you could say. I know that living in my parents' study is not forever, but after being on my own for so long, it's just strange to be back. I know I'm here just for a "semester" and that this has nothing to do with failings or anything of that nature, but those thoughts do creep in, on occasion. It's dumb, I know, but it's simply my honesty here.

Anyways...CHRISTMAS!! Christmas was absolutely lovely. Having my big brother and his wifey here with us was absolutely wonderful - best Christmas present ever. We had the good fortune of getting to sit around all day and play games and watch movies and just hangout. It was awesome. I was sad to see them go yesterday, but I get to see them later in the spring for a whole month, and Sean at least will be back out the beginning on June for J-man's graduation...wow, that's weird to think about it: J-man is graduating from high school. Crazy.

Now my dear ones, I must close, especially since I have now written a novel of a post...sorry! It's time to finally get my day rolling and get ready to head on down to CS for TM's New Year's Eve Extravaganza!!! Can't wait to see everyone :)

Happy New Year! 2010 should be a fabulous one.

Blessings!
~MW

P.S. - I'm pretty sure I have found the building I want to live in when I get to MN. It - is - awesome. More on that later!
P.P.S. - Sorry for any typos...I don't feel like proofing this one today...

Whew!

My goodness what a day.

Today I woke up and studied my brains out, well almost, for my LAST FINAL EXAM OF MY UNDERGRADUATE CAREER! I also contacted my bank about a weird transaction that showed up on my statement - it should all clear up in a few weeks - I love Wellsfargo. I then proceeded to Blinn College where I took that LAST FINAL EXAM OF MY UNDERGRADUATE CAREER after standing in line at the Learning Center for almost an hour...yeah, I stood in line longer than it took me to complete the exam. I took the supposedly cumulative exam (except that it wasn't...weird.) and scurried home to pack for Indy! Lu and I then had our little roommie Christmas time and it was awesome - I love giving gifts!!

After saying our goodbyes for a week of being apart, I hit the road to good ol' Cypress to see my dear, dear Kacydilla and JJ. They are amazing and will be rising with the sun (and myself) to take me to the airport. We will be leaving their lovely home circa 6am, which means I'll be waking up around 5am...lovely :) We will be stopping to get some Shipley's or sooomething, I do believe. I always love coming to visit them - they make me feel so much like family, which is awesome, because they are family to me. Yeah, pretty much they are just awesome. We had a lovely dinner (Kacydilla made baked ziti!) and closed the evening with a movie rental - thank you AT&T Uverse - in front of a lovely crackling fire - thank you JJ :) We rented Sunshine Cleaners. It was very different, but good, overall - definitely not kid friendly, though. Kacy and I decided that it leaves you with the same sort of feeling as Little Miss Sunshine does - you're not overjoyed, but you are sort of content, while slightly saddened...you know, just one of those odd ones. We liked it, though.

Well, the two love birds hit the hay about an hour and a half ago...since I've been staying up 'til the wee hours lately, I am still awake...yay! I'm charging/syncing my ipod to help pass the time...and caught up on some email. I think I'm about ready to hit the hay myself. Eyes are finally getting a little heavy and have the beginnings of that sleep-deprived burn, yuuum.

I'm sort of lost in this weird limbo between the termination of my finals and the moment I walk that stage... Being completely done with my classes/exams and graduation being a week away makes graduation seem like just a dream that I'm not so close to attaining. It's so weird. It's like I'm about to drop out of reality for a moment by attending the ESA meeting while everyone else is still trucking along. Don't get me wrong, I put in my fair share of work by crunching to get all of my exams taken by today, but it still feels strange. I dunno...in a way, I'm kind of sad to not be around for that last week of hell. Finals are always such awful yet fun times in the insanity that ensues due to intense sleep deprivation and overdosing on caffeine. Oh, memories. I will never forget finals my first semester, freshman year: Rach and I were pulling an all-nighter while Harpi slept soundly on the bottom bunk of their bed. Rach and I were SO ridiculously hyped up on Surge (please tell me that some of you share the sick love of this bottled potion of awesome that she and I do...) that we couldn't even sit still in our chairs! We were continuously shifting and jumping up, only to force ourselves to sit back down; there was, of course, the constant occasional glance-and-giggle profusely. **sigh** Those were the days. I miss being that young and carefree, sometimes. But, only sometimes. I am truly happy with where I am today. While I am not entirely thrilled to move into my parents' study - Mom & Dad, if you read this, I love you, it's just the moving into the study part - I am quite excited to have some free time again to read and visit with people and just enjoy existing. I am rather tired of the continuous go-go-go that has been my life the last 4yrs. The change of pace is much needed and will most certainly be enjoyed. I can't wait to start my reading list...I still need to actually compile the list that has been building in my head and put it on paper, but still...I'll have time to read again!!! This will be bliss.

Ok, I now have to face the day in about 4.5hrs, so I HAVE to close for now. I'll be updating throughout the conference, so get excited.

Indy, here I come!!

Blessings and Peace to you all!
~MW

P.S. - If it's not too much to ask, my family and I would greatly appreciate it if you could keep my Grandma and Grandpa in your prayers. Grandma just got home from being hospitalized and still has a lot of swelling and seeping in her legs; Grandpa just had surgery to have a catheter placed permanently. Also, my Aunt Deb went to the hospital today because she had a seizure (that might not be entirely correct, but it was something to that effect) and after a bunch of scans, cat-scans, etc. they found a mass behind her sinuses and sent her immediately to surgery. I haven't heard anything yet on how it all went, but I'm hoping that no news is good news... Thanks all!

Bruises and Doobs??

So, the moving process is always a fun adventure, wouldn't you agree?? Well, here's my adventure thus far. North Bardell to Dominik = not so awesome...

Over the course of the last 4-5 weeks I have been in the process of moving out of my gorgeous house on North Bardell into a little apartment off Dominik...and, in the process losing my amazing roommates of two years and getting a new one. Ah, change.

Moving everything out of the house into the gracious homes of about 5 other people wasn't too bad. Everyone was super helpful and accommodating (thank you, all!!). It's the moving in part that led to all the fun and games.

I moved in two Saturdays ago, and by moved in I mean I checked in with the management office, grabbed my keys, etc. dropped BigBoy in the bathroom of the apartment, threw a few bags and boxes into my new room and hit the road to Waco for Elaine's bachelorette party. THEN I came back to Aggieland and grabbed some boxes and things from B's spare room, set up my little pallet on the floor of my room and went to sleep in my Marmot sleeping bag.




I got a few more things from B's on Sunday and finished up getting ready for my final project presentation for my GIS class on Monday, and crashed on my pallet once more. Monday consisted of presenting, finishing my extra project (since I missed a week of class for the Entomophagous conference in MN), went to work for a few hours, and met up with Kacy and Justin to move my furniture from B's place. K and J were super amazing to drive up from Houston just to help me move - love them! We got my bed (hallelujah!!!) and the bulk of my furniture, all we were missing was the dining table, the couch and a chair. Pauler assisted me with the attainment of those Tuesday night, and rounding up the last bit of boxes from Tara's. The most exciting part of that was probably the HUGE bruise I ended up with from resting my uberly heavy dining table (which was housed at Pauler's) on my thigh...yeah, I'm awesome *dustin' off my shoulders*

Ok, so once I had everything moved in I started cleaning the kitchen cabinets and such so I could start putting up dishes and things...well, let me just say this: EWWWW!!! So, the 409 turned yellow when I sprayed it in the cabinets - yeah, 409 is clear... I also found a bunch of utensils and things that had been left on the top shelves by the previous tenants and were painted over by the painting crew. Awesome


But wait, it gets better!!! After pulling up the painted-over utensils and things, I moved on to another cupboard, where I found this:

No, your eyes do not deceive you...It's someone's old doobie!!!!!!!!!!!! Fantastic. I love apartment life! Builds character, right???

Oh my, what a trip it has been and the semester hasn't even started yet. But, my mamma is coming tomorrow to help me spruce the place up a little bit and make it livable - I'm just a tintsy-wintsy bit excited :)

Maybe I'll blog about the conference tomorrow....

Cheers!
~MW

Ah, the blogger world

...how I have missed you!

It's probably been about 4yrs since I officially had a blog I kept up with (micro-blogging doesn't count). I figure now is a good time to start back up again, seeing as how I am entering a new stage in my life: my victory half-lap! Yes, yes, I am about to start my final semester at Texas A&M University, home of the Fightin' Texas Aggies. A-Whoop! This semester will be like none other, I guarantee you that much. 90% of my community base of the last 4 years has graduated and moved on...that means that 10% that is left is about to become very important and that 90% that is gone is already sorely missed. While my "family" seems to have diminished here in Aggieland over the past 2-3 months of the summer, the doors are wide open to add in new members and become even closer with the remaining original members. Those that are gone are no less important to me than they were while here, but now we must suffer the remainder of our lives with indirect communication... Has anyone noticed that it almost seems more difficult to keep in touch with people with these seemingly endless forms of communication? I mean, there is the "classic" facebook, email/gmail, facebook chat, google chat, blackberry messenger, aim is still around, skype/skype chat, twitter, various blogging communities, and of course texting, phone calls, and the beautiful yet increasingly more expensive snail-mail........and that isn't even a fully exhaustive list, it is however quite exhausting to review! It almost seems that the more methods of communication we have the longer we contemplate the HOW to communicate with one another, as opposed to contemplating the WHO to communicate with. Very odd, this plugged-in world we live in - very odd, indeed. (Don't get me wrong, I'm, sadly, completely plugged-in, but when you stop and really think about how extensively we are all hooked up to electronics, it really is exhaustingly terrifying!)

Anyways, as I was saying, this will be a semester like none-other. I've decided that this semester I am going to be much more involved with my newly found church family. After 2 1/2 years of attending a lovely church here with my lovely college roommates I made the decision to search for a smaller congregation made up of members who hold one another accountable and are not afraid to call out a fellow brother/sister out of love and concern for their spiritual health. I found that at Living Hope last semester. While I have maintained a fairly low profile for about a semester I am now convinced that this congregation is the place the Lord wants to grow me in my final semester at A&M. I have already gleaned immense knowledge and understanding over the course of the last semester and this summer, and I am excited to finish out the "Genuine" series and to see what Butch has in store for us as the year progresses. The emphasis on family and oneness at Living Hope is an absolutely beautiful image at what Christ described the Church to be. The sense of true brotherhood I see and feel at LH reminds me so much of the descriptions you see in the New Testament from Peter and Paul, etc. People taking care of people in earthly and spiritual ways. I am truly blessed to have found this home.

School will be different as well. My main classes focus on the plant kingdom, as opposed to the animal kingdom...a little bit of a change for me, but an exciting one, none-the-less. I love plants!!! I mean, I only have about 5 or 6 in my apartment right now, but I love them! And, one of them I have had for over 6years - oh how I love my little money tree. Talking about my plants reminds me of the common phrase "stop and smell the roses." When you really do stop, even just for a moment or two, and look at the greens and reds and blues and yellows and purples, etc. all around us on this marvelous planet, it truly is amazing! I'm fairly certain that the majority of us take the plant world for granted, as something that will always be there, and we never have to worry about losing...even in droughts, it seems that plants are just expected to be around. Funny how we get used to having things and forget about how important and precious they really are. But I was talking about school!! Hmmm...yeah, it's gonna be a lot of plants! I'm excited.

Welp, it is late. I am tired. Work will be here before I know it (yay...). I'm off to bed!

Cheers!
~H.