These are my dear,

dear friends Shayla & Kristin. We all came back to the Island this weekend and hung out last night.
Shayla & I were born ten minutes apart in the same hospital. We then met again in first grade and she has been one of my dearest friends ever since. I wish I could upload pictures from when we were kids. There are countless memories we have shared through recess, first boyfriends, now college. You can always count on Shayla to be honest with you and tell it like it is. She is one of the sweetest girls I know and is a person you can always count on. Love you, Shay :) Kristin and I became friends in high school through dance team. We were inseparable. Her family is like my own. When I walk in the door, her dad always says "Look it's our other daughter!" I have shared more laughs with Kristin than I can count. We always find a way to have fun together. Although she'll never realize it, she's so much stronger than she'll ever know. Love her to death.
I am blessed to have these girls in my life.
Love them so, SO much. I love seeing old friends, no matter how much time you've been apart, it's always like things have never changed. I know that these girls will be dear friends for life, through weddings, babies, & nursing homes.
Thank you for being you :)

Procrastination at its finest.

Right now I'm sitting at Wilderness Perk. I came to finish my Spanish homework and start my comm paper. I have been here for over an hour and have been very unsuccessful. I started looking at my degree audit and options for classes for next semester. (yuck)
Then, Sharon noticed that The Office was playing on the tv behind us. Productivity was negative during those 30 minutes. I have a major crush on John Krasinski and every episode I watch increases my jealously towards Pam. (But I still think they are the best couple on tv and can't wait for the little Halpert to be born!) I am very tired of the Olympics basically because I can't watch The Office and get my "Jim" fix for the week.
In other news..
So far, Lent is going well for me. I have to admit, I cheated once and looked at facebook, but only because I needed an email address for an application. My roommates try to tempt me all the time, but it's not working, you two! I am loving it just like I knew I would. Free time is amazing, and can you imagine how many calories I am saving by not eating ice cream?

Other tidbits while I procrastinate just a bit longer...
*I can't wait to go home this weekend.
*I am excited to cross off an item on my "to-do-before-I-die" list--I just found out that Mark Schultz is playing in my hometown next month...ahhhhhh.
*I am a bit excited for Monday night tv...yay for The Bachelor, The Buried Life & Kell on Earth! Yay for Chinese food and quality time with the roomies.
*I love my Spanish class..today we watched an 80's movie with Antonio Banderas with English subtitles. My professor rocks. You should see Antonio Banderas rocking one of those 80's hair cuts.

Snuggies, tupperware, and Candyland

Right about now, I'm really wishing I had a snuggie. I never thought I'd say that but my arms are cold and they have to be exposed to the freezing air in my room to type. Anyway...

This morning at church, the message was explained through a demonstration using tupperware. This is about to get confusing, bear with me..
Matt used a medium container that was labeled "you", he put a smaller container labeled "sin" inside of "you", then "you" & "sin" were placed into a larger container labeled "sin", as well. After this, Jesus entered the scene. He took "sin" out of "you" and "you" out of "sin". "You" was placed inside of "Christ" and a smaller "Christ" was placed inside of you. Finally, "Christ","you", and "Christ" were placed inside of "God".
I realize these little visuals may be silly, but sometimes it helps people to understand things better or have a clearer view on what our Savior has done for us.
Sin is a somewhat confusing topic for me. I know that I am a sinner by birth, we all are. We all sin every day, most of us probably do it without even realizing. The hard thing for me to understand is that God sees us as perfect and loves us the same.
Oddly enough, I always think of Candy Land when I think of my mistakes. If I catch myself making a mistake, I feel like God is going to pluck me off of my spot near Queen Frostine and take me back to the candy canes or "lose a turn". Not true. While my mistakes certainly aren't pleasing to God, He isn't knocking me off the board saying "haha, sucks to be you" and putting good things further from my reach.

I'll close with Colossians 1:27:
"God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

3 things from yesterday

My dear fellow bloggers,
Today, all I have for you is a tidbit which I can guarantee will help you have a better mindset and overall, better days. A few weeks ago, I was at a conference and met a pastor who I will hopefully (fingers crossed)
be working for this summer. He gave us a bit of advice. He leaves a journal on his nightstand, and the first thing he does every morning is write down three things he is thankful for from the previous day.
By doing this you are able to set the tone for a good start to the day.

This has taught me to be more thankful for all the little things.
Even if you had what seemed like a bad day, I'm sure many things still went right, for example, your car made the drive to work, it was above 10 degrees, or you escaped getting called on in class.
It really allows you to look on the bright side and helps
you realize that things are always better than they seem.

Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday and find things to be thankful for.

Facebook and Ice Cream

Hello everyone.
It has been a while,
Partly because my computer had a virus, and also for the lack of things to say.

Lent starts tomorrow.
I am excited to go to the Ash Wednesday service at the Lutheran Center with my friend Allison.
I also have a few other acquaintances there that I am looking forward to seeing.

For me, Lent is about giving up something that you enjoy and also adding something that will be beneficial to you.
This year, I am giving up two things.
The first is ice cream.
I love ice cream.
I could live off of ice cream.
Ice cream is my #1 comfort food, so let's hope nothing goes wrong before Easter.

The second one is going to be a bit rougher at first.
Facebook.
I did it last year and it was hard for a few days, but after I got used to it, it was so nice not having to waste my time.

It is such a distraction for me when I am supposed to be using my computer for school related things, and even during class I find myself checking for updates on my phone just because I am bored out of my mind with the lectures.

I am giving up facebook and adding free time.
Last year, I had so much time to read and I always got my homework done at a decent hour because I didn't have facebook to distract me.
I had my roommate change my password last year so I couldn't get on even if I wanted to,
but this year I am going to leave my password unchanged.
The temptation will be good for me.
Every time I am tempted to log in, I will remember the reason I am doing this in the first place.

But for tonight, I am treating myself to a rather large bowl of java chip frappuccino ice cream and stalking innocent lives on facebook.

Anyone else giving up anything for Lent?

Mother Nature strikes again

Mother Nature has struck again. Just when I thought it was getting warmer.
Oh well, I can't complain, it is pretty gorgeous out.

This weekend I traveled back to the glorious Island I call home.
My computer decided to kick the bucket, so I came home to (hopefully) get it fixed and write a paper that's due Monday. It has been great to see the fam. Also, my cat decided to gain a few pounds since I have seen him, poor baby is huge. I felt trapped when he slept on my chest last night. Poor, poor Sassy.

I am contemplating going to the library or Starbucks, but I always seem to find creepers in both locations in this town. What is it with libraries and creepers??
After getting a solid start on this paper, I am going to see my dear friend Lea and hopefully eat some good food, courtesy of my father.
I love coming home because I get to forget about reality for a few days, even though I came home to do things for school. Bleh.

Time for me to stop writing blogs and start writing a paper.
Back to reality tomorrow morning.
Hope you all are having a splendid weekend!