Isn't it funny how as a child when you're forced to take a nap you never want to take advantage of the opportunity? As a child I would run away, hide, or do anything I could to avoid having to take naps. There were always more exciting things to do! I wanted to ride my bike, play basketball in the driveway, run so fast that I wouldn't be able to catch my breath, or go into the woods with my brother and all the other neighborhood boys. I was the only girl, so I had to be able to keep up and napping just would not do!
In high school I would have liked to take naps. However, I was always so busy with school, sports, friends, etc. that there never seemed to be enough hours in the day. In fact, I was thrilled when I got to sleep at least 7 hours at night.
Now as a college senior I find myself taking naps every chance I can get. This is most likely because there is so much more to do at night (during the designated sleeping hours) that I tend to make up for my lack of nighttime sleep during the daylight hours. Naps are my favorite down time activity. I bury myself in pillows and blankets and find myself asleep in mere moments. There is also something fantastic about sleeping longer than you know you should. I know there are those who say sleep is a waste of time and that's what death is for--or something morbid like that. Don't get me wrong they have a point, but sleep is still one of my all time favorite pastimes---that is all. :)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Quiet
I started to lose my voice about three days ago. I went through the different phases of minor cracks, I sound like a frog, I can barely get a sentence out without sounding like Peter Brady in that special voice changing episode of the Brady Bunch, to this morning when I woke up and can barely say three words without getting stuck. It's kind of strange because I have no idea how it happened. I haven't really done any streneous voice activities lately, and I don't feel any pain from illness. I write this in order to tell you what I've been for forced to learn... how to play it easy, stop talking so much, and listen.
I do not claim to be an expert in any of these areas yet, but I am trying! I think it was almost a gift that I have been forced to take it easy in my room. I've had so much homework this week it's been ridiculous! Maybe that's good for me though...haha--that is all.
I do not claim to be an expert in any of these areas yet, but I am trying! I think it was almost a gift that I have been forced to take it easy in my room. I've had so much homework this week it's been ridiculous! Maybe that's good for me though...haha--that is all.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
battle of the sexes?
It is interesting that the generalization is often made that women are confusing. I am not denying that there is often truth to this; however, in my opinion men aren't that easy to understand either.
Today, Lindsay was reading a magazine that had an article about former tips for women from the 1960's. One of these tips was "Stay quiet when you disagree with your husband because a man rarely will divorce his wife for not speaking." I'm shocked at this statement, yet I decided to take it with a grain of salt. How often do men want to know what we're thinking until we try to tell them and they wish they'd never asked? Also, how many times do we wonder what guys are thinking when the truth is simply... nothing. Sometimes, we need to know when to shut up and hold our thoughts at bay until our emotions calm down and we can be sensible. However, there are also times when we must be respectful and listen to the person we cares about no matter how crazy they might sound. I mean the bible tells us to respect one another and be considerate of our needs as followers of Christ.
I know this is kind of one sided because I can really only speak for half of the population. Also noting I can't really speak for every female because we all are different. The only thing I hope to accomplish from this posting is that a little patience goes a long way. Admitting and accepting that we are different, but perhaps not from different planets (As the famous book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus suggests) but rather we just live in neighborhoods down the street from each other... things might get interesting. We must also remember to be men and women of God. Respect is key in this. When we respect each other things are so much better. It might just be a beginning, but we have to start somewhere... that is all.
Today, Lindsay was reading a magazine that had an article about former tips for women from the 1960's. One of these tips was "Stay quiet when you disagree with your husband because a man rarely will divorce his wife for not speaking." I'm shocked at this statement, yet I decided to take it with a grain of salt. How often do men want to know what we're thinking until we try to tell them and they wish they'd never asked? Also, how many times do we wonder what guys are thinking when the truth is simply... nothing. Sometimes, we need to know when to shut up and hold our thoughts at bay until our emotions calm down and we can be sensible. However, there are also times when we must be respectful and listen to the person we cares about no matter how crazy they might sound. I mean the bible tells us to respect one another and be considerate of our needs as followers of Christ.
I know this is kind of one sided because I can really only speak for half of the population. Also noting I can't really speak for every female because we all are different. The only thing I hope to accomplish from this posting is that a little patience goes a long way. Admitting and accepting that we are different, but perhaps not from different planets (As the famous book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus suggests) but rather we just live in neighborhoods down the street from each other... things might get interesting. We must also remember to be men and women of God. Respect is key in this. When we respect each other things are so much better. It might just be a beginning, but we have to start somewhere... that is all.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
happy valentine's day
I have to give a special shout out to all those lovers out there on this hallmark holiday. I think that the idea of Valentine's Day is actually very sweet, but I'm actually a big fan for the spontaneous romance of some kind just because it's a Tuesday. Love is something so rare and special that when you find it you need to hold on to it. It's not often that you find a person who knows you inside and out and can cheer you up even when you are at your worst. I hope that everyone is lucky enough to find someone who fits that description. Sometimes it's a best friend, a spouse, or maybe a relative. However, the most important love for me has and will always be that which I have with God.
However, today is Valentine's Day and more focused on the "mushy stuff" of romance. So, I am going to go ahead and make my list of things that guys do that make me weak in the knees...
1) When a guy can make me laugh. Laughter is the best medicine by far, and I plan to spend my life doing just that.
2) When a guy can hold his own next to me and still treat me with kindness and respect at the same time.
3) When he has proper grammar, (I'm not asking for perfection, but it should be pretty close) for I am an English major.
4) When he's willing to hold my hand in front of anyone, even his guy friends.
5) When he can sense I'm having a bad day and just holds me, no questions asked, and lets me cry it out. Then wipes away my tears and tells me I'm beautiful even with red, puffy eyes.
6) When he challenges me to be a better person, especially spiritually.
7) When he shares my passions and can appreciate the things I hold close to my heart even if he doesn't really understand why.
8) When he loves and respects his family.
9) When he loves my family... even in spite of all our crazy antics.
10) When he digs country music as much as I do... even if it's just Rascal Flatts :)
11) When a guy looks at me with a strange expression and a twinkle in his eyes, which I know is a look reserved just for me.
12) When he is as addicted to coffee as I am. :)
13) When he loves the Lord and has a real relationship with God.
14) When he can tell what I'm thinking without my having to say a word.
15) When I can spend a whole day or night with him doing nothing and still have the best time.
16) When he smiles at me, pushes my hair out of my eyes and tucks it behind my ear then tells me he likes it better when he can look into my eyes.
17) When he tells me, and more importantly shows me, every day just how much I mean to him...
I say all these things with the understanding that I have the same standards for myself. So, this might seem like some random girl power trip, but I like to think of it as setting standards for yourself and following through on them because we too often settle when we should not---that is all. :)
However, today is Valentine's Day and more focused on the "mushy stuff" of romance. So, I am going to go ahead and make my list of things that guys do that make me weak in the knees...
1) When a guy can make me laugh. Laughter is the best medicine by far, and I plan to spend my life doing just that.
2) When a guy can hold his own next to me and still treat me with kindness and respect at the same time.
3) When he has proper grammar, (I'm not asking for perfection, but it should be pretty close) for I am an English major.
4) When he's willing to hold my hand in front of anyone, even his guy friends.
5) When he can sense I'm having a bad day and just holds me, no questions asked, and lets me cry it out. Then wipes away my tears and tells me I'm beautiful even with red, puffy eyes.
6) When he challenges me to be a better person, especially spiritually.
7) When he shares my passions and can appreciate the things I hold close to my heart even if he doesn't really understand why.
8) When he loves and respects his family.
9) When he loves my family... even in spite of all our crazy antics.
10) When he digs country music as much as I do... even if it's just Rascal Flatts :)
11) When a guy looks at me with a strange expression and a twinkle in his eyes, which I know is a look reserved just for me.
12) When he is as addicted to coffee as I am. :)
13) When he loves the Lord and has a real relationship with God.
14) When he can tell what I'm thinking without my having to say a word.
15) When I can spend a whole day or night with him doing nothing and still have the best time.
16) When he smiles at me, pushes my hair out of my eyes and tucks it behind my ear then tells me he likes it better when he can look into my eyes.
17) When he tells me, and more importantly shows me, every day just how much I mean to him...
I say all these things with the understanding that I have the same standards for myself. So, this might seem like some random girl power trip, but I like to think of it as setting standards for yourself and following through on them because we too often settle when we should not---that is all. :)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Stress!!!
There's always that week in my semester that I get hit in the face with a 2 by 4 and realize, "Wow, I have so much to do this week! Am I going to have time to sleep?!" It's usually about a week before midterms when the first few "real" papers are due. (I use the term "real" because I'm an English major and don't count anything as a paper unless it is at least 4 pages in length. Otherwise, I'd have about 3 papers due every week; which sounds overwhelming...) This is my week, or I should say next week is going to be that week.
I was playing the "question game" with a friend last night, and he asked me what is the one characteristic (non-physical) that I would like to change the most about myself. After about 20 to 40 seconds of deep thought I drew the conclusion that I let myself become stressed more than I would like. I used to be much worse as a sophomore in college--when the classes began to challenge me for the first time and my schedule was crammed with a part-time job, tutoring, club stuff, etc. Now, after 4 years of living with Lindsay, I'm gotten worn down some. However, I will always be a perfectionist when it comes to my writing and to be honest that will take a toll on me.
The problem with writing is that it is a neverending process. There are always ways to revise and improve it seems. I am not sure I have one paper I'm completely satisfied with that has value. I am impressed bu those who can write short stories and novels... how can you be published? I can't even handle an essay most days!
I say all this to challenge myself... This week my goal is to get everything done, and not only done, but done well...and here's the catch...while remaining calm and at a minimal stress level. So, pray for me that I won't pull out all my hair this weekend while I'm writing my papers, studying for my tests, and making my lesson plans...that is all.
I was playing the "question game" with a friend last night, and he asked me what is the one characteristic (non-physical) that I would like to change the most about myself. After about 20 to 40 seconds of deep thought I drew the conclusion that I let myself become stressed more than I would like. I used to be much worse as a sophomore in college--when the classes began to challenge me for the first time and my schedule was crammed with a part-time job, tutoring, club stuff, etc. Now, after 4 years of living with Lindsay, I'm gotten worn down some. However, I will always be a perfectionist when it comes to my writing and to be honest that will take a toll on me.
The problem with writing is that it is a neverending process. There are always ways to revise and improve it seems. I am not sure I have one paper I'm completely satisfied with that has value. I am impressed bu those who can write short stories and novels... how can you be published? I can't even handle an essay most days!
I say all this to challenge myself... This week my goal is to get everything done, and not only done, but done well...and here's the catch...while remaining calm and at a minimal stress level. So, pray for me that I won't pull out all my hair this weekend while I'm writing my papers, studying for my tests, and making my lesson plans...that is all.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Underneath The Snow
One of the things I love most about Michigan is its ability to make me forget things. Every year I forget about the bitter cold until that first icy wind rips through my thick coat and sends chills through my entire body which cannot be shaken until a hot shower or warm nap. Today is one of those such days. The temperature remains in the negatives and I have remained in my room all day in my comfy clothing with a blanket wrapped around my body while sipping coffee. I spent the whole day writing too.
There is something about this kind of weather that makes me fingers itch to write something. It doesn't really have to be something brilliant, but I will admit I am content to write like I did in junior high. Every young writer knows what I'm talking about--when you wrote all these lofty statement pieces or poetry that was probably very bad because your thoughts weren't really developed yet.
However now when I write I see a blank canvas. I see a place to share my ideas with the world, or sometimes just a blank word document. It's a place to begin though. So, that's all I did today... write. I wrote a few short essays for my senior writing project (this took a long time being that I had to erase and rewrite almost everything at least once...) this was scary and revealed the perfectionist in me.
I'm looking at this weather as the inspiration for my writing. I'm looking forward to letting my ideas thaw and seeing what lies underneath all the ice and snow....that is all.
There is something about this kind of weather that makes me fingers itch to write something. It doesn't really have to be something brilliant, but I will admit I am content to write like I did in junior high. Every young writer knows what I'm talking about--when you wrote all these lofty statement pieces or poetry that was probably very bad because your thoughts weren't really developed yet.
However now when I write I see a blank canvas. I see a place to share my ideas with the world, or sometimes just a blank word document. It's a place to begin though. So, that's all I did today... write. I wrote a few short essays for my senior writing project (this took a long time being that I had to erase and rewrite almost everything at least once...) this was scary and revealed the perfectionist in me.
I'm looking at this weather as the inspiration for my writing. I'm looking forward to letting my ideas thaw and seeing what lies underneath all the ice and snow....that is all.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Rough Week
I've neglected to write this week just because I was busy the first half (which I really don't mind) and the past two days have just been rough! So, I'll go ahead and do the typical this is what's been going on in my life sort of blogs...
Monday: classes all morning, jump start meeting all afternoon, coffee outing, worked all night, and then came back to ferndale and tried to crash, but I just couldn't fall asleep. I actually am enjoying my classes for the most part this semester. Sometimes they might seem pointless, but what semester isn't filled with its share of "busy work"? Jump Start is actually fun. I find myself enjoying the meetings because I like to think of creative things and planning something like this is challenging, but I also find it to be rewarding. Also, Ashley, Shane, and Terrill are great to work with which makes the job even more enjoyable. Coffee was good; I mean it was Starbucks... no brainer though. I needed a good laugh too and Nick is always good for that. Work was fine. It was kind of slow being a Monday night when the weather was kinda nasty and I do work at an outdoor mall.... I love the people I work with though! It's one of the best jobs I've had because everyone (for the most part) is so laid back.
Tuesday: I woke up early to go "teach" at Stoney. I use the quotes because I'm more of a glorified observer who steps in to give tutoring-like help sometimes. However, soon I will be taking over and teaching lessons all by myself... in about 2 weeks I think, scary thought! Then I came back here and was on a huge caffeine high which started to wear off about halfway through my own history class. 6:08a.m. to 4:17p.m. is a looooong day. After that I relaxed until the sfdn meeting at 7 which was at bdubs and not really a meeting. I would classify it as a social outing.
Wednesday: I will classify this as black Wednesday. The day started off as mildly annoying then got worse and worse until it reached horrible, it did peak right at the end though. :) First the sidewalks were covered in what can only be classified as slush which was annoying to walk through to my 3 classes all day. However, all of my classes ended early which was nice. Then as I was on my way to work my car just kind of died. I barely got off the road and into a parking lot. So, I had to get a ride to work and then after work when it still would not start (and it was not the battery I tried to jump it myself, yes I know how to jump a car... shocking I know). It just revs and the engine won't turn over, sad. The best part was having a good friend cheer me up though. It's great to have someone care about you like that. It really shows you who's important in your life.
Thursday: Well that would be today, so I'm pretty sure I still recall what happened. First my 8a.m. class got canceled and I had found out just before bed, so that made it even nicer with the sleeping in. Next I went to class and assembly followed by lunch. Here's where my day gets interesting. You see I am the type of preson who lives to be independent. However, I have so many people in my life who are so eager to help me that I find myself utilizing them. But this time I called roadside assistance and took care of everything all by myself. There are something so fulfilling about taking care of my own problems. I'm still slightly concerned about being responsible for all my own stuff in a year, but this was a nice to have this preview and realize I might be able to take care of myself more than I thought....that is all.
Monday: classes all morning, jump start meeting all afternoon, coffee outing, worked all night, and then came back to ferndale and tried to crash, but I just couldn't fall asleep. I actually am enjoying my classes for the most part this semester. Sometimes they might seem pointless, but what semester isn't filled with its share of "busy work"? Jump Start is actually fun. I find myself enjoying the meetings because I like to think of creative things and planning something like this is challenging, but I also find it to be rewarding. Also, Ashley, Shane, and Terrill are great to work with which makes the job even more enjoyable. Coffee was good; I mean it was Starbucks... no brainer though. I needed a good laugh too and Nick is always good for that. Work was fine. It was kind of slow being a Monday night when the weather was kinda nasty and I do work at an outdoor mall.... I love the people I work with though! It's one of the best jobs I've had because everyone (for the most part) is so laid back.
Tuesday: I woke up early to go "teach" at Stoney. I use the quotes because I'm more of a glorified observer who steps in to give tutoring-like help sometimes. However, soon I will be taking over and teaching lessons all by myself... in about 2 weeks I think, scary thought! Then I came back here and was on a huge caffeine high which started to wear off about halfway through my own history class. 6:08a.m. to 4:17p.m. is a looooong day. After that I relaxed until the sfdn meeting at 7 which was at bdubs and not really a meeting. I would classify it as a social outing.
Wednesday: I will classify this as black Wednesday. The day started off as mildly annoying then got worse and worse until it reached horrible, it did peak right at the end though. :) First the sidewalks were covered in what can only be classified as slush which was annoying to walk through to my 3 classes all day. However, all of my classes ended early which was nice. Then as I was on my way to work my car just kind of died. I barely got off the road and into a parking lot. So, I had to get a ride to work and then after work when it still would not start (and it was not the battery I tried to jump it myself, yes I know how to jump a car... shocking I know). It just revs and the engine won't turn over, sad. The best part was having a good friend cheer me up though. It's great to have someone care about you like that. It really shows you who's important in your life.
Thursday: Well that would be today, so I'm pretty sure I still recall what happened. First my 8a.m. class got canceled and I had found out just before bed, so that made it even nicer with the sleeping in. Next I went to class and assembly followed by lunch. Here's where my day gets interesting. You see I am the type of preson who lives to be independent. However, I have so many people in my life who are so eager to help me that I find myself utilizing them. But this time I called roadside assistance and took care of everything all by myself. There are something so fulfilling about taking care of my own problems. I'm still slightly concerned about being responsible for all my own stuff in a year, but this was a nice to have this preview and realize I might be able to take care of myself more than I thought....that is all.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
People Watcher
Did you ever find yourself staring at someone without realizing it? Or maybe you just did it on purpose and you don't even mind getting caught. Today I found myself looking around during the announcement's portion of church. My eyes drifted to the families with all the young children coloring and scrambling around in the pews playing with their sibling or friend. Then the cute older couple who still hold hands and share a songbook. Next, the newlyweds who stare so lovingly at each other and you can still see the newness of their bond. I know going to church has different meanings for different people, but for me there is something special about taking note in the people who surround us rather than just worrying about my own spiritual journey.
I find myself getting so caught up in work and school that often I forget to notice what else is going on around me. It's the beginning of another month and the goal I've decided to set for myself to be be a better observer. This might go rather badly, but I'm going to at least give it a shot and be more open to others' needs. That is all.
I find myself getting so caught up in work and school that often I forget to notice what else is going on around me. It's the beginning of another month and the goal I've decided to set for myself to be be a better observer. This might go rather badly, but I'm going to at least give it a shot and be more open to others' needs. That is all.
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