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Friday, 20 November 2009

Henna-ed!

After some terrific greek food, I went to class then to Elsie's for Henna and Star Trek watching. It was a good time, and I sat still for a long time. I was proud of myself. The end result was this on both feet:

Today I went to cheeseball Friday (each Friday people volunteer to bring something cheesy and we all gather in the middle of the seminary to eat it around 11:20-Noon.

After our friends got out of Greek, we went to see Twilight New Moon and met up with some other friends. It was a good time in the car (as most trip are) and good to spend time with M as we haven't really chatted in a while. Even though we watched a movie, it was still good time together. The movie was interesting as I hadn't seen the first movie or read the books before going...but it was a fun time because it was with friends and none of us took it too seriously. After dinner, a few of us went to Paint-A-Pot and made some dishes. (Yay Christmas presents!) It was a good outlet and a good beginning to the break.

However, I am VERY ready to be leaving

...with the exception of packing...

Monday, 16 November 2009

Prayer Request

A friend of mine has asked me to hang on to his cigarettes for him as he tries to quit smoking. Please be in prayer for him as he really wants to quit but also has a lot of stress in his life. He uses smoking to de-stress mostly, so pray for his stress levels and that he finds a healthier stress reliever. He also sings opera and hates what smoking does to his voice.

Pray also for me that I will know when to give and when to withhold. I do not wish to be an enabler nor to be misunderstanding.

Thursday, 12 November 2009

Happy (Belated) Birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday to my brother! It was Tuesday the 10th, but the world has been in utter chaos and I did not get time to get online. Anyway, dearest brother, I hope you had a fantastic day!

I love the way you like to goof around and play. It keeps you young I'm glad you'll always be my little older, nerdy brother who loves me for who I am at my worst. I love how similar we are and how we approach life differently but with similarly resulting behaviors and stories.

I love that even though we are in different places in life right now and even though we rarely get to see each other, the times we are together we can talk. Even though we argue often and don't always agree on things, I appreciate that we can still support each other and we both know that the other will always be there for us.

I love that every time we go home we still fight over who gets to sit in front of the fireplace even though we don't have the footed pajamas anymore. I love the energetic eagerness yet careful delicacy with which you open your presents and the thing you do with your hands after you open it and look at it deeply, appreciating the gift while a slow grin comes across your face.

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Friday, 06 November 2009

Hibachi

Tonight J, B, and I met up with Drew and Kristine for some Japanese food. I didn't know what I was in for! Such a fun time! For those of you who do not know what Hibachi is (nor did I before tonight), it is a terryaki flavored Japanese food. The fun part is that these are those chefs you see in movies (or at HuHot) making the meal in front of you. Here's an example:

It was really fun and he got to play with fire too. We sat around his grill and he would put the food on our plates as it was read. The photo shows the "volcano" made out of onion slices and then filled with grease of some sort inside. Then he takes a lighter and lights it. So cool! Other fun things like this also happened. He concluded with flipping pieces of fish into our mouths and catching them (like popcorn). And the food was excellent also. A+ for the place. And, if you ever get the chance to go, do it! Its pretty sweet!

Monday, 02 November 2009

Halloween Weekend:

Friday was J's birthday. For his birthday, he had a halloween/birthday party. It was a good time.

Here's a big group of us...there were a lot of other people there, but...happy birthday friend!!!

A got off work late, so she didn't dress up :( But we still love her. And, ironically, S and I both dressed as pirates without ever consulting the other. Can you tell we're friends?

N came back for a visit! He was at the seminary with us last year, but went home for personal reasons and is doing very well. So much healthier and happier. It was wonderful to have him with us for lunch and the party.

Another favorite person of mine whom I haven't seen in far too long even though we live in the same town. She was dressed as a 4 year old. In her other hand, there is a magic princess wand that lights up and on her feet are silver heels. She's wearing a disney princess (snow white i think?) pajama dress with teal tights on and big gaudy jewelery.
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Saturday was actually halloween, and Wayne & Erin had a Halloween party. Their daughter (almost 2) was a bumblebee (adorable) and their son (4 months old) was a dinosaur (even more precious!). This party was smaller, but a lot of fun!

We brought Amanda with us since she had forgotten to make plans to go trick or treating and halloween is her favorite holiday. She enjoyed herself greatly and thought it was fun to have another bumblebee at the party (Wayne&Erin's daughter Rena).

My roommate, Jill dressed as a pumpkin. I may have forced her to choose between dressing as a pumpkin or dressing as a prof here. But, at least this way she dressed up :) My costume changed slightly as I dressed as a female pirate rather than non-gendered as I had on Friday. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to wear that white corset I haven't worn in forever. :)

Thursday, 29 October 2009

Fall into my world...

I know that y'all back home don't get much of a fall this year due to the rain and cold and snow you've had, so I decided to invite you into my world. Enjoy the tour!

Squirrel friend!

K. So cute!

K again. A photo shoot of sorts...

I love this building in the background and the fall colors surrounding it make it even more beautiful!

Last fall I shoved a friend into these leaves...They get piled up from the streets around town before finally being removed. But I love it!
A day with da boyz...

Saturday I chilled with Marla's boys while she worked on her papers that she had to write. She was behind due to illness and life stresses so I volunteered to watch the boys even though Tim & Marla would be home all day. Anyway, we had a fun time together.

We started at Paint-A-Pot where the boys made plates and I made a mug. About half way through, Sawyer began to have a bit of a break down...his eyes welled up as he said "mine isn't cool like theirs, I want a new one". Explaining to a 5 year old why he can't get a new plate is difficult...just so you know. Finally, with the help of all of us girls (Chelsea, BAS--K wasn't able to come) we finally convinced him it was good and he decided to copy Chelsea's design of mixing colors and he decided to cover it all up. Most likely, he will have the coolest plate. haha
Then we headed to Pizza Hut and then off to the Crazy Bounce House! I am so thankful their little bellies didn't throw up!

And this wore them out...until they got their snack at least...but then it was time to take them home.

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Camping!

We went camping this past weekend. A good time was had by all...though it was a bit chilly at times (for some more than others).

We made hobo pies with lots of vegetables. Potatoes, onions, peppers, parsnips, tomatoes, dried onion soup mix, garlic, and hamburger made this a delicious dinner filled with lots of surprise flavors since it was dark when we ate them. Some bites were better than others... We also had s'mores later made with cinnamon crackers and cookies & cream Hershey's. It was real yummy!
We crammed all 9 of us into 1 huge tent that A had from home. We were thankful for the warmth of friends though those on the ends of the piles were a bit chilly. Most of us were fine though no one slept well, sadly.
In the morning, we got up and after a delicious breakfast of bacon and egg McMuffins (made by us, not McDonalds), we played some Ultimate Frisbee in the trees. Trees add a fun obstacle to the game and no one got hurt. Hooray! Its also an interesting dynamic to play on the sandy soil. Did I mention we were the only ones in the camp ground? We decided we should get a picture or two together, but ended up with about 10 as we tried to do jumping shots...

this is a fun one, but you can't see everyone in it, so we had to keep retaking them. Finally, we got one!

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Tatoo!

Last night we had a chickflick night and watched The Proposal and one of our friends did Henna Tatoos! It was a good low key night and we all got great tatoos! Sorry...its hard to take pics of them though. The black and white one is an attempt to capture my wrist where it says my hebrew name on one side then made into like a braclet on the other. On my leg are the turtles. Don't worry dad, these only last for a little while... And Bill won't let me get a real one anyway.

Oh...and I got my haircut. The end.

Saturday, 17 October 2009

Intense Cleaning results:

I realized the other day that I had not given you any clue as to what my new place looked like. (New as in July when I moved...) Finally, I have finished unpacking (3 months later) and have it clean enough to take photos! Its a small room though, so its hard to get good shots...

My bed is up high so I can have these drawers underneath for clothes and shoes. The bookshelf on the right has photos and academic books. You can also see my fish tank in this shot, but not well.

This shot is behind the door (closed for pic) and shows just how small the room is. My backpack is hanging off the corner of the bed...so, definite downsize from the last place.

P.S. Mom, if you're reading this, that brown bag on the desk is going back home to you :)