Friday, July 20, 2012

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

I know...I'm a terrible person. Honestly, I didn't intend to leave a cliff-hanger on my blog for this long. It just sort of happened that way. 

Besides, you guys know me by now...no apologies needed, right? ;)

This post isn't going to be anything too spectacular. It's just a little summertime update, letting you know what's been going on. And pictures...I have lots of those.

My summer hasn't been crazy like last summer...I'm not hopping back and forth between two jobs while trying to get ready to move on campus for the first time.

In fact, this summer's different from last in quite a few ways...

Last summer, I had just gotten home from spending four months in Mexico. This summer, I've just gotten back from an intense but amazing nine months in Purcellville, VA, at PHC where I went from rising junior to rising senior and from single to very much unsingle. ;) (But more on that later!)



Last summer, I worked two minimum wage type jobs with a tight schedule and a lot of driving. This summer, I'm working only one job, but the pay is more than decent, I set my own hours (salaried position), I'm getting school credit (it's an internship), and I haven't done much driving (right now I work mostly from my room, actually).


Last summer, I would come home from one job late at night (around 11) and crash. This summer, I spend my evenings on google video with a certain somebody...I consider this an improvement!


Last summer flew by. This summer is draaaagging on. *cough* 25 days until I head to Maryland *cough*

Last summer, I went to go visit the Goldfusses in Ohio. This summer, they came to see me!


Last summer, I was both excited and terrified at the idea of moving on campus. This summer, I'm actually looking forward to school starting again...thaaat's never happened before. ;)

So yeah...this summer has been a little bit different than last summer. But in a good way!

Before I dive into all the summertime pictures here, I'm guessing at least a few of you are interested in the explanation I promised in the last post. Wouldn't want to leave you hanging, right? ;)


The scoop: Kevin and I met last fall at PHC. He and I are both rising seniors, majoring in American Politics & Policy. He lives in Maryland, he loves the Lord, he was homeschooled ("from diapers to diploma"), and has six siblings. He's very sweet, hardworking, mature, fun-loving, considerate, friendly...and um, the list goes on but I don't want anyone to gag. I've been incredibly blessed...he's a catch. ;)



We didn't really notice each other until this spring, though, when I unsuspectingly asked him to go with me to the Sadie Hawkins dance in March. We started hanging out more and became good friends. We watched movies and had fun in groups of friends, but neither of us was sure what the other was thinking. (Honestly, I was pretty clueless and confused.) After going to his house for Easter (with another college friend), I started realizing what a great guy he was, but I still didn't know what he was thinking.

...and then he asked me out a couple days later (April 13th) so that we could talk. After a mildly awkward but incredibly informative conversation over turtle cheesecake, he called my dad and got permission to date me. And we've been dating ever since! It's been almost four months...and they've been wonderful. :)


When the semester ended, he and his family drove up to NY with me and our families were able to meet. After that, Kevin headed back to Maryland to spend the summer interning for a commissioner and I started my internship. Hence the loooong summer apart, but we've definitely kept in touch.


Sorry, that's the very abbreviated, non-gushy version. But don't worry, when the time is right, I'll post a long "story of us" that will satisfy even the most romantic among you. :)

So what have I done this summer? 

-planted flowers on Memorial Day


-went to the beach


-talked to somebody...



-celebrated a graduation :)


-spent time with friends



-*tried* to take a normal picture...hahaha!






 -we had fun, anyhow...




-went to a Memorial Day parade


-talked to somebody ;) 




-planted a garden



-my raspberry patch...which has kind of died since then. but oh well. :P


-talked to somebody... (sensing a theme yet?)


 -ate ice cream


-aww


-talked to somebody...


-made pies (with lots of help ;))


-more pies...


-and more pies


 -and more pies. Yikes, I think I have a problem...I'm obsessed with pie.


-and went strawberry picking.


 I think that's about it for now! Thanks for bearing with me. :)

Friday, May 18, 2012

Pretty sure I have a good excuse for not blogging...


;)

[click here for more pictures. and yes, I promise to  blog later with an explanation for anyone who feels out of the loop...]

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Backstage blogging...

So, (and I start this post with so only because it will bug a certain dear reader) I'm currently sitting backstage at Patrick Henry College's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

*mutes laptop sound...oops*

Apparently I'm a stage hand. Or something. But this 3-hour play only has two scene changes, so for the majority of the time I just sit back here in the dark and text people and read and stuff. It's an amazing play and the actors are so talented. Listening to it and watching the shadows against the back of the stage is almost as good as watching it (but I get to take a turn watching it from the audience tomorrow night). Tomorrow will be the fifth time I've sat through it, but it doesn't get old.

Being back here, we're supposed to wear all black so that we're inconspicuous when we go on stage to change scenes. Which means I look like I'm dressed for a funeral...

"My mistress...with a MONSTER is in love!" One of the best lines in the play...sorry, getting distracted.

I'm not really sure what to talk about. Um, this week was kind of intense. Yesterday was the physics midterm, which I was sure I'd bomb. (It goes without saying, but God was faithful and Courtney's last minute tutoring saved my grade...she's incredible. And not just because she's helped me survive biology AND physics, although that helps. ;))

Then last night, after the play was over, I had a paper to write. Which means I may or may not be operating on four hours of sleep right now. But the paper's done and submitted and it's the weekend!

Easter break is next week, which is my goal right now. I will survive!

All I can think about is sleeeep. Which is not helping this blog post. Wait, pretty sure that's what I said last time. Apparently sleep deprivation is a theme of my life. Oh well, at least college life is interesting...which is more than I can say for this blog post.

Aaand that is where I stopped typing and helped with the scene change. This is a lame post, but I'm publishing it anyhow. (what are you gonna do about it? ;))


Wednesday, March 7, 2012

In the car.

Apparently that last post was a cop-out, so this is take two. I was informed last night that I should have a post that's basically a wall of text. No promises, but I'll try...

Right now, I'm in the backseat of a car, heading back to Virginia and Patrick Henry College at about 65 miles per hour. Obviously I can't post this without internet (unless I steal someone's wifi as we fly by...that's not likely :P), but I have about 6 hours to think of brilliant thoughts and type them. Oooor until my laptop battery dies...which will be in about 3 hours. Actually, I might fall asleep before then.

I'm getting distracted by passing wifi networks.

I'm sitting between Danielle and Chelsea. It's cozy. :) Chelsea told me to title this post "In the car." So I did. She's a writer, so she must know best. (Actually, she's an amazing writer. If I had internet I would link to her articles.)

Danielle plays the marimba and she's going to the Olympics with her marching band from college. I'm mildly jealous. Ok, more than mildly.

Chelsea's mom is driving, and she is not speeding. Yet. In the passenger seat is a guy named Rick. I don't know much about him, so I'm going to make it up. He's probably in his late forties. He has cool sunglasses. He knows where I live, but only because I told him. In his spare time, he probably plays the ukelele and...I don't know...it's hard to base everything off the shape of his left ear.

I'm honestly not sure what's happened since I wrote last. Classes are...the same. You know. Tests, papers, grades, the usual. I haven't failed out of physics yet, mercifully. I have wonderful friends who help me, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have thrown my physics textbook into Lake Bob before now.

Speaking of throwing things into Lake Bob, I went to my first Bobtism this semester. Bobtisms are a PHC tradition where a recently-engaged guy is captured, prayed over, and then thrown into the lake (the girls have an adorable candlelight ceremony instead...it's much cleaner and warmer).

Lydia says I always make lists of things in my blog posts, but I don't know how else to summarize large chunks of time without writing for hours. So,

This semester I've...

-collected earthworms off the sidewalk with Courtney and Esther to put in someone's bed...poor Blake.
-went to Virginia Beach for the Reagan Symposium.
-proposed to someone on Leap Day (and got soundly rejected, though I wouldn't have it any other way...).
- finished a physics test (it was a big deal).
- wrote a nine-page paper in a much shorter time than I thought possible.
- made about 3 gallons of atole (basically hot chocolate...I've mentioned it here before) with Esther and had like 30 people come down with their mugs to drink it with us.
-went through the terrifying ordeal which is asking someone to the Sadie Hawkins dance. A GUY. (But he said yes and I didn't die asking).
- A beautiful valentine's dinner put on by the faculty.
- A fondue party at our wing parents' house. So much chocolate!
- Home for spring break, with so much crammed into four days (I saved the sleeping part of break for later).

Ok, we're stopping at a gas station. Back later...

Aaand back! Only this time with FIG NEWTONS. Chelsea's a dear. (I was reaaally craving fig newtons on the way back home but we stopped at a gas station that didn't carry them. Tragedy.)

Now Rick's driving so I could base my critique on his right ear. Also, he's obviously a huge fan of pretzels.

I forgot about the rear view mirror. He can see me laughing at him now.

He says, "I hope this is a blog. I want to be famous for being stupid. And I want more than fifteen minutes. Who are you writing to or is this like a term paper? Is it due when you get in?"

Hmm. What else has transpired...

I went dress shopping with Courtney and Emmery and discovered Ross. Good thing we don't have those in New York...or at least not in my part of the state. (I would probably go broke...or at least, more broke than I am now. :P) It was a successful trip, though. I now own a dress for the upcoming dance. (Which is considerably better than NOT owning a dress for the upcoming dance, I might add).

Speaking of the dance, there's a grocery bag in the back of this car filled with nutmeg, flour, sugar, yeast, and other such baking things. I stole them from our kitchen back home so that Courtney and Emmery and I can make dinner next Saturday for the guys before the dance. It's kind of exciting.

I've managed to lose my room key. The replacement fee is something like $150, so I'll be turning my room upside down to find it once I get back. Fortunately my roommate hid her key somewhere so that I can get into my room today (I'll be the first of us four roommates to get back to school). It will be weirdly quiet in the room until they get back later in the week.

Ok, I'm seriously sleepy now. And I can't think of anything else to write about. Except, now I have gum. I don't know what kind it is, but there was a picture of a kiwi on the outside of the package. That bodes well, I think. Oh, and pineapple and orange.

We're still heading south. Pennsylvania is inordinately large.

I should write about my break now, I guess. Those four days packed in so much. Like...
...going to bed at 1 AM on Saturday, getting up at 4 and packing, and driving home almost without stopping from 5 AM until 12:30 PM. It was so worth it...I wanted to see if I could drive the whole way by myself on three hours of sleep. (And for those praying for safe travels, thank you!)
...watching my little brother lose his first tooth while doing math on my bed.
...listening to Katrina read about Sam and Pam and the bass, pronouncing each letter separately and then blending them together.
...finding a huge bag of chocolate in my room when I got back and learning that it was a Valentine's Day gift that my dad bought but hadn't been able to mail. (aww!)
...making three kinds of homemade ice cream in one afternoon with sisters and a friend, and then eating it and watching LOTR with more friends.
...cleaning the upstairs at my grandpa's house and watching it become safe for democracy (or something like that). He's in the hospital right now and we think he might need someone to stay with him when he comes back, hence the cleaning. (See Erika' blog for details about why he's in the hospital).
...going to church with Jenn, Reuben, and Elizabeth and eating South Dayton donuts.
...going for a freezing cold walk with Joanna, Josh, and Katrina, during which we walked backwards because of the wind. I feel like a wimp...Mexico and Virginia have spoiled me and I'm no longer used to the cold.
...driving friends home and then just sitting in their driveway talking forever because it's better than saying goodbye.
...taking three of the kids to their piano lesson and nearly falling asleep on the floor in the music studio.
...going to Awana and being surprised that some of the Sparkies remembered me. aww!
...doing laundry twice just because I could...without using quarters!
...eating Elizabeth's cappuccino muffins with Erika and Annetta and talking for hours.
...cleaning the bathtub with Josh and Katrina and realizing that when I tell them to "dump a little dishsoap in," I'll be rinsing suds out of the tub for a half an hour...

We're crossing the Susquehanna now. In case you were wondering. I was about to start writing about the fig newtons that just landed on my shoulder because of a sudden turn, but then I realized that I should sleep instead.

So, the end.

And now I am back in my room, sitting on the floor next to my completely unpacked bags. I just re-read this post. It's ridiculous, but I'm posting it anyways. Consider it the thoughts of a sleepy backseat rider. Also, to those without facebook, here are some recent pictures.

Thanks for putting up with me. :)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

I'm a jerk.

"Me: ok, well, just so you know
I was planning to blog tonight
BUT
I just realized I have a twelve page paper due Tues
that I haven't started
Erika: hahaha
Me: so I'm kinda freaking out
plus I have an exam Wed
Erika: haha
Me: and a book chapter summary
and AHHHH
Erika: hahaha
Clay will be happy, though
Me: why?
23:09 Erika: he's off the hook
Me: oh
dang it
well, was there a time limit on that deal?
Erika: yep
51 minutes from now
Me: like if I blog next week, will that not count?
Erika: you could just copy paste this chat and post it as an explanation...
23:10 I mean, the part of the chat that applies...
Me: YES!
wait, will that mean he has to blog?
Erika: technically
Yo: because we didn't say WHAT I'd blog...
Erika: Exactly
Yo: hahaha
I like how you think"
Hunter, it's on....muahahaha.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Update

Edit: haha, just to eliminate any confusion, I didn't actually write this post (apparently Erika and Hosanna did) and a good portion of it is hilariously untrue. I really hope that's evident though.... :P I'll hopefully post something from the real me eventually, with *pictures*!

Hey guys!! Whoa, it's been a looong time since I've posted! Christmas break was great, and I'm back at college for the second semester of my junior year.

Break flew by way too fast. I missed my family SOOO much (especially Erika and Hosanna...they're my favorites. I mean, I missed everyone, sorta, I guess, but especially them), so it was great to see them all again. Our hamster Pip died while I was at college, and I missed her so much...she was so sweet and cuddly. So I was absolutely thrilled when Leo joined our family at Christmas! He's a dwarf hamster who reminded me so much of a special friend that I was missing from college (you know who you are, dear <3). I loved cuddling with Leo, and I even took him to Awana to help with the Sparks counsel time...he did an admirable job, as I knew he would.

My friend Arielle got married, and it was exciting being in her wedding as the maid of honor. I mentioned the bridal shower last post...that was sweet, and the wedding was also very sweet. I only made it through the ceremony by looking at Hosanna's grinning and angelic face in the audience, sending me support and encouragement as I tried not to a) breathe, or b) fall over.

This picture is from the reception, when Aaron and I were giving the toast. You can hardly tell how late we were up the night before sitting in that bar...heh.

My 21st birthday also fell during Christmas break. I can't really remember much after that.

The first week or so of college was kinda intense...splitting headache the whole time, but I'm doing better now. So yeah...college is going fine. Oh, gotta run...dining hall is closing soon, and I promised I would sit next to-- never mind. See ya!