Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve and I've had 1 out of 4 Christmases so far! We just got back today from my grandparent's house in Minnesota. We celebrated Christmas last night (minus one of my great grandmas who's in nursing care for a broken back) - I got a digital camera and photo printer from my grandparents! Actually, my brother, sister, and I all got the same camera and printer because we all wanted the same thing! I haven't really gotten to take many pictures on it and I was hoping to use it at TCX, except I just put film in my regular camera right before I came home from school! Anyway, it was a fun time. Tonight, I'm going to the Christmas Eve service at church with my dad, then tomorrow I have Christmas with my immediate family, my stepfamily, and my dad's side of the family! Should be fun!

Since being home, I've been working a ton at Panera Bread. I've been working full nights (10 pm to 6 or 7 am) and it really takes a toll on me! Definitely not a fun job, but it pays well. And I really really need the money. I found out at my last day of work before break at the Preschool Lab that they don't have any hours for me next semester. I was definitely bummed out about that because I love working there. I also applied to the Education library because they were hiring and I thought it would be a good job to work in my spare time (plus I could do some homework). But today, I got an email saying that they don't have hours that fit my schedule either (which is weird because I didn't even put my availability down on my application because I didn't know it at the time). So, now I'm without enough money to get me through the next semester and without a job. I'm working a ton here at home over break, except that I have to pay over $600 in the next 2 or 3 weeks between rent and a security deposit for next year - so that's basically my winter break earnings right there. So, I'm not in the best mood today (which sucks because it's Christmas Eve and I don't want to be crabby for Christmas!) because I have no idea what I'm going to do next semester. I'm lucky to have parents that will help me out, but I really hate to ask them to pay for all my expenses next semester. I'm almost 22 years old - I wish I could just pay for everything on my own without having to still rely on my parents. So basically, I have a lot of praying and trusting to do. I know God will provide for my needs somehow. But it's hard for me to be optimistic and positive about it all when I have no idea how it's going to happen. Like I've said before, I hate not knowing how things are going to turn out. But I do know that following and trusting God is what I need to do despite this time of uncertainty.

Anyway, not much else is going on. TCX is in a few days and I'm really excited to see my friends, both from Madison and from SDSP! I know this weekend is really what I need right now - 4 days of continual focus on God. I'm excited to see what He will teach me and how He will revive me!

Merry Christmas everyone! Don't forget that Chistmas starts with CHRIST!

Balcony pics

Here are some pictures of our WINNING balcony!!!

DONE!

I'm practically done with my semester!!!!!!! I never thought this day would come! This was by far the hardest semester I've ever had at this university. Man, it feels good to be done!! :D

Next...WE WON THE BALCONY DECORATING CONTEST!!!!!!!!! We tied with another place for 1st....which hopefully means we still get the $150 1st prize! The prize is good for anywhere downtown (basically anywhere on state st.), so we have to spend wisely!! It's quite the decision! It would be fun to go to a nice restaurant and totally splurge! I'll update you guys on what we decide to do with the prize!

If you're looking for some good music, I found out about this guy named Jadon Lavik (don't really know how to pronounce his name...just make it up! :P). His music is mostly acoustic type music, but it's really good. He has one song on Christian radio that I had heard a few times, but never knew what it was. I tried so hard to figure out what it was, but I couldn't until yesterday (it's called "What If"). So check him out! :)

Good luck on finals everyone!! :)

I can see the light!!

I just uploaded the LAST part of my focal paper!!! It ended up being 62 pages total, 48 pages of solid writing! Yikes! It feels really good to have that mostly out of the way though! Now I can focus on the 4 other projects I have due in the next 2 weeks. I'll be able to scratch one project off after class tonight, which is nice. For the longest time, it felt like no matter how much I worked on all my papers and projects, none of them could be taken off my to-do list. Now I finally can!

We had our last day in practicum last Friday. It was so sad leaving my 3rd graders! We had kind of a party day, which was a lot of fun! We had sugary snacks, and watched a couple of videos. We also got the nicest gifts from them!! The class made Jessi and I books giving us advice on how to be a successful teacher...so cute!! We also got 4 picture books that were used in the lessons Jessi and I taught. It was a really fun day, but I'm really sad that my time with them is over! I just hope I like my practicum placement just as much next semester!

TCX time is approaching! We've started promoting and gathering data for the rides list for SPEV. Right now, we have about 21 people signed up for rides. We're praying for 80 people to go this year, so hopefully people will start signing up soon! I actually haven't signed up yet and am still waiting to see if I can even go. I applied for a scholarship and explained to Lia that I don't have any extra money to pay for TCX right now. She said she'd take care of it, so I'm just praying that she will be able to give me enough scholarship money to go! With all my schoolwork and such, I haven't been in the Word as much and haven't been spending quality time with God lately. It's really not a good excuse, but it happens. Anyway, I really think TCX would be a great source of rejuvination for me, so I really hope I can go! Plus, I want to see my SDSP friends!!!

Well, I think I'm going to take a little TV break before my class at 4:30. Hopefully I will be a little less stressed and busy the next time I post!

It's been a while!

It's almost midnight and I have to be at Van Hise Elementary tomorrow morning for my second to last day (sad!!!), but I've been meaning to update this thing for a while.

Update on the paper I mentioned in my last entry...it's currently at 47 pages and I still have one part to write yet. Yep, that's right, I said 47 pages. INSANE if you ask me. :P All I keep thinking is that there's only 2 1/2 weeks left of this crazy semester!! But then I have to start working 3rd shift at Panera again. :( Definitely NOT looking forward to that. I really should be thankful to have a job that is so flexible and that pays so well, but it really just brings me down every time. This year I'm going to have to work my butt off because I literally have no money (lots of people say that all the time, but this time I really mean it...none!!!). It'll suck for about a month, but it'll make things a ton better next semester. I also have decided that working my usual 4 or 6 hours a week at the preschool isn't going to cut it for next semester. So, I'm looking into getting another job. Part of me is considering the Gap on State St. because 1) I've worked there before and 2) I get 50% off :D That last one's probably not the best reason, but it's definitely tempting!! A more practical option is the education library a couple blocks away. They're hiring for next semester and I think I'd basically be getting paid to do my homework, like any other library job. Probably a better option than the 50% off perk. :P

Thanksgiving break was very relaxing last week. Being the lucky girl that I am and coming from a blended family, I had 3 Thanksgivings! Definitely one of the only perks of having divorced parents...multiple holidays. On Wednesday night, we went to my stepfamily's for dinner. It was the normal stepfamily get-together...my stepsister not talking to us, me playing with my adorable nephews, everyone (almost) bonding over beer and cigarettes...you get the picture. Needless to say, we didn't stay too long. Thanksgiving day, my brother, Dad, and I went down to my Dad's side of the family. I always love going down there to see my grandma, but this time was more enjoyable mostly because my annoying cousin wasn't there most of the time. I hate to say that, but she's very moody and crabby all of the time. Anyway, after we ate dinner, we sat around talking, playing Clue, and watching TV. I really think my uncle injected some kind of alcohol or something into the turkey because my whole family was so giddy!! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! My 92 year old great aunt was even being spunky and throwing out some good lines!! It was such a great time! The next day was one of my days off from eating turkey and the works. In the morning, my mom, sister, and I ventured out to the mall for the first time on the day after Thanksgiving. My mom wanted to take advantage of a sale she saw, so we fought the crowds. It actually wasn't that bad...except that the store didn't even have what my mom was looking for. Then my mom and I went to our hairstylist's to get our hair done. I always love Janet doing my hair, but man that lady can talk!! We were there for at least 2 hours! Afterwards, I went to my high school principal's wake. He died of West Nile virus (a rare death at his age!) the Friday before Thanksgiving. He was in the hospital for about a month and in a coma for a couple of weeks before the virus took his life. The wake was really sad to go to. They had bulletin boards up of things he was a part of and things he liked while we waited in line for an hour and a half. It looked like he had a really great life. Then we greeted his famliy, who all were very nice and seemed to be doing well despite the circumstances. Seeing his body was the hardest/weirdest part. It was so weird to see him in the coffin...it looked like he didn't belong in there, if that makes sense. Anyway, on Saturday, my family and I went to Minnesota to visit my mom's side of the family. I always love seeing them...they're all very fun to be with. We ate dinner on Saturday afternoon and then watched my favorite movie, The Polar Express, that night. :D We left on Sunday and I returned to all that is the madness of this semester.

The time is also closing on when I have to make a decision about where I'm living next year. I got a call from a friend that lives in the FLOCK this year wondering what I'm planning for next semester. When I told her I was actually thinking about living in the FLOCK, but wasn't sure, we started thinking about our options. She loves living there but was looking at other options and mentioned she would love to live with me, since we'll both kind of be in the same boat next year. In the fall, she'll be student teaching (music ed major) and I'll be student teaching in the spring. After some discussion, and a realization that we don't really have any other options in the amount of time we have, it looks like we'll probably live in the FLOCK together. We said to each other that it'll be fun to be some of the oldest women in the house and that we can kind of stick together. So it's nice to kind of have that decision out of the way!

Well, this entry is pretty long and it's getting late, so I should end. But before I do...
25 days til Christmas!!
16 days til I'm done with school!!