Thoughts of the morning:

• Where am I going to go to church?
• I just hit the 4 month mark in visiting churches...How long is it going to take me to find a church in Springfield that I like?
• Make a list of the things that I need to pack this week
• Make another list of the things I need to do this week before going home
• Make another list of the things I need to do today
• This coffee is REALLY good! Thanks Janet.
• Did Nordstrom really make a "New Moon" clothing line...really?!

I want to take a second to contemplate my last thought...the New Moon clothing line:

I actually saw this movie with a friend. She explained the story line to me so I felt like I had enough context to understand the film, which I did. The plot is simple and can be boiled down to teenage angst and sexual frustration between a human and a vampire...and a guy who turns into a warewolf.  The acting was not good, but I'm told that the book is a lot of the main character's thought life, and to her credit you can make acting like you are in a depressive coma the entire film only so interesting. I am also told that the books are a lot better--I really hope so. The frolicking through the field scene(s) was pretty lame. Anyway, I digress...the point I wanted to discuss was that everywhere I go there is someone selling something for New Moon--brilliant marketing, really. It's not like I'm surprised by the posters, t-shirts, or anything else--they probably sell New Moon shoe laces for all I know, because everyone wants a piece of this, and why not? It's what America's consumerism and capitalism is all about. But Nordstrom...really? I honestly am surprised by this! They have come out with an entire New Moon clothing line that they are selling to over-indulged teenage girls with too much money. The sad thing about all of this is, is that not only is Nordstrom stooping to a new level of marketing by selling clothing based on a movie, but as everything is pretty expensive at Nordstrom anyway, they are probably selling this clothing line for way too much money! Sell outs and suckers.

I'm back

So I decided to try to blog again. Actually the real reason I stopped was because my work computer put a super-retarded filter up that didn't allow me to access xanga anymore. Then I just read Jayme's blog and remembered how fun it was. So here is to a 3 month blogging hiatus!

If you don't already know, this past August I moved from Nebraska where I had been teaching, coaching, and ministering for 5 years, and took a position as a Resident Director for a Dorm at Evangel University in Springfield, MIssiouri. At first I wasn't sure how it was going to go, especially since it was in Springfield--somewhere I SWORE i would never live--but it quickly grew on me and now I love my job!

Since I am starting this blog at 12:45am I am going to make this a short update. More to come...

Happy New Year! For some reason I am really excited about this upcoming year. At the beginning of each year I try to sit down and reflect on the past year, and then set a few goals for myself for the upcoming year. I spent some time today doing that, and one of my goals this year is to live in possibility--to live more consistently by faith. I really am asking God to help me live beyond myself--to live in a place the requires me to look to God and to glorify God.

What is something that you are hoping to do this next year?

When Shannon (redcouch) and i were in college, we decided that "eye of the tiger" was going to be our psych-ourselves-up song for certain moments in life. Since then, this song (along with a little Rocky-thowing-punches-in-the-ring dance) has been a source of inspiration for me at various times in my adult life. (I'm a nerd...I know).

So, a couple of weeks ago, a girl in the speech class that I teach had been sick, and the day she came back she had to give an Entertainment speech to the class. She didn't have a lot of energy, but I thought that this was one of those times that could be a good teaching experience, especially since there are lots of times in life you have to do something hard when you aren't feeling great, and I knew she was capable of pulling it off. I encouraged her to try to psych herself up and get in a place mentally that so she could present an energetic and entertaining speech. This pep talk didn't do much good and she was still really reluctant, so I decided to go out on a limb. I was going to teach her the "eye of the tiger" dance. I knew this could either be really good or REALLY embarrassing, but I did it anyway. I pulled her out in the hall, and while I was laughing, I made her hop around on her toes like a boxer, sing da-da-da, da-da-da (in tune of course), and occasionally throw a few punches. By the end of it, we were both laughing hysterically. It was successful though, and she went back into the classroom and performed like a champ. By the end of her speech she had us rolling. At the end of the class, the rest of them wanted to know what the "Rocky dance" was, so I made them all stand up and mimic me singing and doing the Rocky dance. It was so funny, and ironically, they loved it.

Last Saturday I moved out of my parent's house and am now a proud renter of a little 3 bedroom, 1 bath house. It is an older house, but the inside has been completely redone, floors and all, and I like it a lot. Not to mention that I am getting a really good deal rent-wise.

The first night was an interesting one for my beautiful little cat, Cali, and myself. I think I woke up about 5 times during the night at every little sound I heard, some of them caused by my cat. I was so tired Sunday morning. On top of not getting much sleep, I was forced to go for a little jog at 6:15 am. Instead of being a smart pet owner and doing a little research about ways to make the move comfortable for my cat, I decided that I probably knew all there was to know, how hard can it be, right? I knew it was going to be a little rough for Cali, and it was. She is the sweetest cat ever, but this was her first big move since she moved from TX to NE when she was 4 weeks old. So by Sunday morning she was still a little freaked out and was meowing to go outside (which she did frequently at the other house). So being the kind, compassionate pet owner that I am, I decided to let her out. She sat on the porch for a bit, then proceded to check out the back yard. As soon as I saw her nearing the alley I could tell she was not just out for some fresh air...she was going to run. So I threw on my Crocs, keep in mind I am in my pajamas (sweatshirt and hospital pants), and went outside after her. As soon as I got near her she took off. I think I ended up running about a block and a half, through people's yards, and up onto someone's porch before I caught her in mid air as she was jumping from a porch railing! I was a bit mad, but more concerned, because I knew she was looking for her other house and had no idea where she was (eventhough she was only about 3 blocks away).

Since the first day she has adjusted, I am sleeping, and I cooked my first meal in my new home. God is good.