And There Was Much Rejoicing...

I got into grad school! Hooray! It is a day of joy.

On another, completely unrelated note (or not so completely unrelated if you look at it very abstractly and from a great distance), I came across a great sermon by Rob Bell today. If you like sermons. It's the one called "The Importance of Beginning in the Beginning." I think they rotate them off after 12 weeks, so you might want to listen soon. If you're so inclined.

I just got home from a class at the gym, and it kicked my butt. But, I went with friends, and it's always better to get your butt kicked with friends rather than by yourself. And, of course, now that I've worked out I'm going to watch Top Chef.

After I study...sigh.

I can't say I have much to say today, but I want to write more for fun again. For work I'm writing about 10 hours a week, but writing about hotels in Mankato or hunting in South Dakota isn't all that fun. Well, sometimes, when I get to blog about things like the zombie prom or the roller derby girls.

But not usually.

Still waiting on the grad. school news too. I met with my advisor this week, and learned that all may not go as planned, due to scheduling conflicts. But, once there's a problem my brain kind of goes into overload trying to find a solution. So I basically don't remember anything from class on Wednesday, but have a number of options to solve the problems.

We shall see.

Does anyone else get a beet red face when you work out? My face is easily the shade of a tomato after working out, even back when I was in shape (that one time, a long time ago). I understand that it's blood vessels near the surface of your skin trying to cool you off, but why doesn't everyone turn red? Why are only some of us subject to this visual indicator of having sweat profusely?

Such is life, I guess.

Oh, whatever...

Hmm, yes, forever again. Well....well. There's not much to say about that that's interesting, is there?

And not even much for last week. Well, actually, here's a quick rundown of the last few weeks: lake weekend, car problems, sickness, more car problems. I am plagued.

Then there was Halloween weekend, and a mighty entertaining weekend it was. Halloween night started off watching the zombies walk the streets of downtown SF, and concluded with a stranger joining a friend and I, to tell us about his Lebanese girlfriend and how his Aryan friends wouldn't approve...hmm.

There was also a glorious Halloween-themed SD symphony concert, most excellent it was.

And now there is this week...a week for making up for when I was sick last week. Which means projects, work, driving, class, running running running. In a good way. It feels great to have the energy to really work at stuff and accomplish things. Though it does make it hard to slow down. I sat in one of my classes this morning thinking "um, I don't really have time for this...I have stuff to do."

It shall all be done. It will get done.

Two last thoughts--not sure why, but this weekend inspired immense gratefulness. Life is good.

and, last but not least, I should be hearing about graduate school very soon. and there shall be much rejoicing. (we hope)

that is all.

Couple-a kid stories

This weekend we went to the zoo with the kiddos, and I was sitting in the hotel hot tub with my nephew and sister in-law. I'm not sure why, but I started showing my nephew where his heart, lungs, etc. are. After I showed him where his heart is, my sis-in-law asked him who lives in his heart. He confidently said "Kitty!" Not what she was looking for, so she asked "And who else?" His answer? "No one!" He knew she wanted him to say Jesus, but he's kind of stubborn.

He also thinks his Sunday School teacher is "my friend Grandma." It's not his grandma, but he calls her that. As in "So, did your Sunday School teacher help you with that craft?" and he answers "No, my friend Grandma did."

Tiny Cat Pants

I'm tired. Mostly because I didn't sleep much last night (hello, insomnia), but also because it was the first week of school. Did you hear me, the first week of school!!! I loved it. Mostly. Except the one class I dropped. But that's neither here nor there, because I love school. My classes are really interesting. I think I can say that authoritatively, since I've studied pretty much everything at least once already.

But I'm still interested, so that's good, right? And it feels awesome for the professors to know your name, and not have to look quizzically around the room when they call roll. I even know some students this semester, and don't feel like I stand out so much. And I have new Snack Taxis to take my lunch in, and that makes me happy. Just saying snack taxi makes me happy.

One thing that doesn't make me happy is being confused on my homework. Randomly, does anyone know how many sounds are in the word "singer"? I can't tell if the "i" sound and the "ng" sound are one or two...maybe two? I'll find out next week when I turn in that homework, unless you want to comment.

I also took the kitties to the vet this week. Princess Pantaloons was none too happy about it, as evidenced by her nearly biting the hand off of the vet tech. Sorry, vet tech. This was like serious cat meanness...she gets herself so worked up I'm afraid she'll give herself a heart attack. And I found out that Cow weighs 20.2 pounds. Ugh. The vet said that although she's big boned, she must lose weight, so now she's on a prescription diet, and I have to feed them separately. (Princess Pantaloons has maintained her slender figure since I got her).

But here's the thing...the cats aren't really catching on very quickly that the food will be there for a short period of time, then gone. It used to be I'd give them 1/4 cup twice a day, but I'd leave it out, so they could eat it when they felt like it. Now, they have to eat it within the 1/2 hour or 45 minutes it's out, or go without. You'd think they'd catch on to eating it all when it's out, but not yet...

I think that's all the nerdy student and crazy cat lady news I have tonight. Enjoy.

The Weekend

We went to the lake this weekend, but it was pretty cold. The baby distracted me from writing a statement of purpose for grad. school...

...and we watched some tv...

and of course, stared at the baby.

Oh dear blog...how I have neglected thee. No longer. At least not today.

School is inching closer, but slowly. I am an uber-school-nerd, and can't wait to start. I already have the essentials (favorite pen, cute pencil case, tums) in my backpack, and an extra supply of loose leaf paper.

I had a gift card to Target and purchased a small thermos food jar for my lunch, and late last year purchased some Snack Taxis, so lunches should be good to go. And my night class just got moved a half hour earlier, so I will only be gone for 13 1/2 hours on Mondays instead of 14 hours. Life is good.

Also good, is the fact that I get to keep my kick-ass summer job through December at least, for 10 hours a week. Sweet! I love it because it's super-flexible, and the work is really fun. I should pick up something else as well, and I'm thinking subbing, since it's so flexible. The downside is that I know how kids treat subs, so eh...it would make for some good funny kid stories though, some fodder for the blog.

In topics I just can't seem to leave, I've cancelled my cable. I like it so far, though I'm only about 24 hours in. I've found pretty much everything I want to watch on the internet, and so far have only had to pay for one thing (Top Chef). So it's not like I'm tv-less, or show-less. Just cable tv payment less. For the first time ever. Well, I guess I didn't pay for it as a child, but I've always had it. Until now.

By cancelling tv, I'm hoping to make some more time (or reclaim some time, more accurately) to cook more and spend more time (willingly) at the gym. And read. I do love the reading.

I was in a video recently for my church, which turned out way better than I had thought, and which is why I'm willing to post a link to it here. The church is moving to a new space, so there's a big push to get the word out. That's why I'm in a video. Not because I'm just awesomely cool, which is why I'm sure you thought I was in it.

Ooh! How about a little reading update? I don't think I've updated on books in quite a while. Most recently I finished The Unlikely Disciple, which I LOVED. I have a strange fascination with schools like Liberty and Bob Jones, and the archane and detailed code they follow.

I'm about halfway through Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution, and can't help but think of a crazy person from college when I read it. And not in a good way. I've also just started The Brothers K, and am really enjoying it so far.

I read the whole Twilight series earlier this summer, and man are they addictive. And I totally get why my middle school girls were so into them. Totally. They're not great literature, and not as good as Harry Potter, but I think they're worth a read to know what all the hoopla is about. I also saw the first Twilight movie, which sucked. Edward looked like he was going to cry for almost half of it.

Fieldwork has also been read, on the suggestion of Ruth. I'm not usually into mysteries, but I really liked this one. Partly because it features crazy missionaries. I'm a sucker for a book with crazy missionaries in it. And Ruth reads a lot of books, so she knows her stuff.

So yeah, that's about it for now. I'm hanging out with Jas and Panda tonight on their midwestern tour 2009, so maybe some photos later.