he is risen.

Easter. What a day to celebrate!

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(I Cor. 15:55-56)


Today dawned with my dad waking up with a severe sore throat and cold.  Mom, Lindsay and I went to church, which was a good service.  We came back home, finished preparations for lunch, and then I sat around for awhile. Literally just sat.

Lunch was...how should I put it? Awkward.  My dad stayed upstairs, so it was Mom, Lindsay, and I, as well as my grandma, great aunt, great uncle, and Lindsay's boyfriend Liam.  The "old folks" basically ate silently for the meal, not contributing to the conversation.  Occasionally my grandma would ask my great aunt a question (loudly), to which she couldn't hear, grandma repeated, and so it went on. 

I couldn't finish eating fast enough and start cleaning up.  Dishes done.  Dyed some eggs (mine were ugly, as usual).  Sat around and did nothing for awhile.  Grandma left.  Lindsay and Liam left.  Aunt and uncle went out to their trailer.  I went upstairs.  Did a little online browsing/shopping.  Sat around for awhile.  Had some dinner.  Decided that doing some work would be more entertaining than nothing, so I went back upstairs.  Went downstairs and crocheted while the family talked at the table.  Watched Amazing Race.  And, now this. 

Not the most exciting of days, that's for sure.  But what a day to celebrate!

(32 days)

the countdown is on.

I try not to spend my life counting down the days so as to wish my life away.  However, there are some major events that I can't help but countdown to.  Graduation is one of them.  Right now I am 36 Days, 3 Hours, 25 Minutes, and 50 Seconds away from getting my diploma.  Yes, I do have a countdown on my computer.  No, I won't admit how long it's been there.

All of this is to say, of course, that "Senioritis," or whatever you call it when you are a graduate student, is setting in.  And it's coming on strongly! 

I still have 5 papers to write.  I should probably work on them rather than just talk about them, but...well, then it wouldn't be senioritis!

I have my cap and gown, my announcements are ordered, and all I have left to do is actually finish my courses.  I guess I'll get on that...

the past week.

I was doing so well staying up to date.  And then I had a few crazy days.  So, here goes.

Wednesday dawned bright and early as I left the house at 7:00 and started my three-day sub job in a 2nd grade class.  When I got the call the week before, it said 7:20-11:00am for Wed, Thu, Fri.  It's a little odd that there were three half day jobs, but I figured maybe meetings or something.  Anyway, I get to the office and the lady there was filling out my paperwork and wrote down "full day."  So I asked her about it, she checked the sub system, and said I was write, but she thought the teacher was having surgery.  I went on to the classroom and noticed that there were plans there for the whole day.  I went back to the office at recess, not feeling very confident that someone else was coming to take over the class at 11:00.  So she calls the teacher and it turns out that she meant to put the job in as all day Wed, all day Thursday, and then until 11 on Friday.  Yeah, probably should have checked on that one.  Anyway, I was able to stay Wednesday for the whole day, but I already have an afternoon job on Thursday, so they had to call in another sub for the afternoon. 

Wednesday evening I was sitting at the dinner table and heard my phone ring upstairs.  I had left it since I already had jobs for the week and the next week was Spring Break.  Well, I learned my lesson.  I raced upstairs, but missed the call.  As it turns out, it was the call I was waiting for to tell me that I have an interview for a teaching job next year.  I am extremely excited to have been one of 10 people chosen out of 200ish applications.  There are three positions open, so I have a shot, but the odds are still against me.  Please, please keep praying!  Of course, I want the job, but more than that I want to be ok with the outcome if it is a no.  But, maybe just keep praying it's a yes :)

Thursday I was back in second grade in the morning.  It was a great class, by the way.  Lots of sweet kids and really no problems beyond talking.  After that, I ran by my mom's office and changed clothes (I was wearing a white shirt and khaki pants,,,and those don't mix well with preschool) and went to sub in pre-K for the afternoon, 12-5:30.  Funniest overheard conversation from that day:
Boy 1: On Friday I get to go to Sea World.
Boy 2: What's Sea World?
Boy 1: It's a whole world about seas and stuff.  You know, sea lions...
[It was fantastic...]

Friday was like a rerun of Thursday, with one little perk.  Friday was a 2 hour early out, which meant that lunch had to start early to get all the grades through.  Second grade's lunch started at 10:30, so as soon as the kids got through the lunch line, I got to leave.  Sweet!

That evening I was going to help a friend with a school project at 7, so my mom decided we should go to dinner.  We met at BJ's as soon as I was done with preschool.  By the time I arrived, she had already ordered for me.  My baked potato (yum!) arrived a few minutes later, only it wasn't right.  I was going to eat it, but the waitress came by and my mom told her.  She took it back and then came back to tell us that she put the order in right and doesn't know why the kitchen got it wrong.  While I'm waiting for my new food, my mom's burger came, also wrong.  She ordered a classic cheeseburget and got a bacon burger with no cheese.  Hmm, close.  The waitress came by again, still no potato, and tells us that a manager will be bringing my food out soon.  It had been expedited, but took about 15 minutes.  Anyway, the kitchen manager did finally bring the food and apologized to us, but told us that the waitress put the order in wrong.  After the drama with my food, my mom didn't want to say anything about her's, but did tell the manager about it.  He apologized again and offered to make her another one to take with her, but leftover burgers aren't very fantastic, so she said no.  He offered a pizookie, so we said yes to that.  The waitress again comes over to say she was sorry and that the manager had told her all about it.  She brings us the bill, telling us she took care of our drinks.  We look at it and she charged us for the on-the-house pizookie!  The restaurant manager comes over now and we tell him that now there is a problem with the bill.  He goes away, gets the whole story, and finally tells us that he took care of the whole bill.  It was so unbelievable at the time.  Well, still is, really.  We just couldn't believe it! 

Saturday was a nothing day.  I was extremely tired and felt like I was trying to fight off a cold. 

Sunday my aunt, uncle, and grandma came over for lunch.  And I did some homework.  It was a very exciting weekend.

Monday started Spring Break for elementary schools, but I still had my class to go to.  So off to Biola I went.  I got to visit with wonderful friends that afternoon before I went to class.  The sad part of the day was when I realized that I had four papers to write for that class instead of just one big one.  He hadn't made it very clear until then.  And then, as I sat in class, I started to feel like I had a fever, my body was aching, and my face was hurting (as in my sinuses).  On the up side, we got out of class 20 minutes early (that never happens!) so I stopped by Target and got some meds to manage the trip home. 

Tuesday I finally decided that I probably had a sinus infection and got a prescription to help.  I didn't get a ton done because I wasn't feeling fantastic.  I did finish my Bible study and then went last night.  It was our first real night of a new study, so I hated to miss. 

So far today I dropped my car off to get the oil changed and then went to lunch with my mom and a friend.  We ran to Target afterward, then I picked up my car and came home. 

I need to get to work now...

random ads.

I can appreciate the ads on Facebook and how they try to target their audience.  Their a lot less creepy than the ones on gmail, that's for sure.  But this might be one of the most random Facebook ads I've seen:

"My mother told me I could become a doctor. Now I'm an ophthalmologist and a mother. My name is Helen Newton and I'm a Mormon."

I'm missing the connection...

yesterdays and tomorrows (and some of today).

I'll try not to bore you with details, so here's a few snapshots of my thoughts:

1. Last week was not beneficial financially since I worked all of one 1/2 day sub job.  OK, I did about 10 hours for my mom, too.  Still, about 13 hours of work in a week is not so much. But, I digress.  (This was supposed to be short...I'll get to the point!)  While it wasn't a big working week, I got a lot accomplished in the way of school.  To the tune of finishing one whole class.  I had an assignment due on Friday for this online class and just had 2 other fairly easy assignments, so I just whipped them out Friday.  I also finished the weekly assignments I have for my Monday night class for the remainder of the semester.  Now I basically have to just show up to class (plus a short assignment I might get in class) and write one final paper that's due the last week of school.

2. Now that all of that work is out of the way, I have to focus hard on my research project.  Next week, anyway.  This week is much too busy for that!

3. Yesterday while I was at Biola, I purchased my cap and gown.  What?! I can't believe it's only about 6 weeks until graduation (44 days, but who's counting?). 

4. As soon as I finish school, my goal is to clean my room.  Hmm...wasn't that my goal about a year ago?  In a rare moment of inspiration to clean, I took stuff off my bookshelves to dust.  And it is all still sitting where I put it, undusted.  How lame.  I know...

5. If you think about it, decisions are being made tomorrow (Wednesday) about interviews for a job I applied for.  I'm supposed to find out Thursday if I got one.  I would appreciate continued prayers.  Of course, my hope is that I'll not only get an interview, but the job.  But the biggest prayer request is that I would be content with whatever the outcome.  I mean, it's not like I have a choice, but that doesn't make it any easier. 

6. I signed up to work at VBS this summer at my church.  I didn't do it last year because I had to work and I really missed it.  I got the OK from my boss (my mom) to volunteer this summer.  I have no idea what I'll be doing, but it will be good :)

7. Tonight marked the start of a new Bible study for our group.  I'm anticipating good things and am excited.  I'm also so thankful for these friends!

8. I got my hair done today.  It's been 9.5 weeks since the last time...probably the longest I've gone between weaves.  It's lovely not to have those roots...at least for a few days weeks.

9. I should get headed toward getting ready for bed now.  I have to be at work at 7:20 tomorrow morning.  Only slightly better than having to be there at 7:00 like yesterday morning.

Goodnight!

almost a mistake.

This story starts on this past Monday.  I was just pulling in to Berry Cool to get a small fix before class when my phone rang.  It was a number with no name, which is fairly common with my subbing and whatnot.  Turns out it was a call to sub for next Thursday in preschool (12:00-5:30pm).  I said yes, put it on my calendar, and continued on with life.

Nothing more really happens until last night.  I'm sitting at the dinner table when my phone rings.  I was hoping for a job for today.  (Yeah, that didn't happen)  It was for next week, Wednesday through Friday.  Of course I wanted to say yes.  I mean, 3 days!  I was so busy contemplating the job and whether I should cancel the other one, I didn't listen to it thoroughly.  I said yes and determined I would call and cancel the preschool job.  I signed into the sub system online, though, and was surprised to see that the three day job was really three half days...7:20-11am all three days.  Well, I was slightly less excited that it was half days, but on the bright side, I could still keep my preschool job.  Needless to say, Thursday is going to be one really long day. (7:20-5:30, with an hour in between to have lunch and get to the other school). 

I also just got a call today to sub in preschool Monday morning (7:00-12:30) before I have to go to LA for class...I usually get home around 9:30pm, so that will also be a very long day! 

I'm not complaining, though. It's work, and it's appreciated.

On another note, I'm convinced that teachers only miss school on days that they have some sort of duty to do.  How is it possible that I always have bus duty, yard duty, lunch line duty, recess duty, or even multiple duties in the same day?  It's a conspiracy, I'm sure... :)

days nine, ten, and eleven: debrief and a journey home.

Finally, the long awaited conclusion to my trip to Slovenia!  That is, if anyone even is reading...

As was mentioned before, Thursday was our last day with the kids, so Friday morning we were all packed up and leaving the hotel at 9am.  A bus was picking us (and all of our luggage!) up and taking us to our next destination.  It was a tour bus that normally makes a loop from Portoroz (where we were) to Ljubljana (the capital...and no, I didn't have to look that up!) to Lake Bled and then back to Portoroz.  Here's a map if you want to have an idea of where we went.  However, Bled was our final destination, so they dropped us off there.  Since it was a tour, the guide talked as we made the two-hour (by bus) drive to Ljubljana.  It was interesting, informative, and her voice lulled pretty much everyone on the bus to sleep, at least for a short time.  Well, it was interesting, except for the beginning, when she talked about the weather for a good 5-10 minutes.  When she finished with that, she moved on to the climate.  Ok, lady, let's get to something a little more interesting!  After that she told us all kinds of facts about the country, talked about them gaining their independence, etc.  What I found to be interesting was the distinct types of architecture as we moved throughout the country.  Near the coast, the buildings/homes looked pretty typical of what you would think of Italy's coast.  Very Mediterranean looking.  As we moved north and inland, the style was much more what you would think of as Austrian, living in the Alps, type of look.  Contrasted with those both were the many apartment buildings in the northern part of Ljubljana that were built during the Communist era.  Bland and square.  It is a gorgeous country, though, and I enjoyed getting to see much of it!

Once we got to the city, we got off the bus, made a bathroom break (think: 23 people, 1 bathroom...it took awhile).  Then we began a walking tour around the city.  Here's some of what we saw:

Standing in the city center.  The circle on the ground shows the city center and the rest of the city is built circularly around it. 

This part of the city has no cars in it, so we were standing in the middle of the street, city center.

We walked a little way until we came to this cathedral dedicated to St. Nicholas (or Santa Claus).  Apparently this door was put in a few years ago when the Pope visited the city and the carvings in it depict the history of the country. 

It was beautiful inside.

This is the outdoor market just down the road.  This was Friday late morning, so it would be much busier on Saturdays.

Loved this old street.  Plus you can really see the curved street in this picture.

Loved this green door in the middle of this street.

Straight ahead you can see a hill.  We took a tram/cable car up the hill to visit the castle overlooking the city.

Going up! It had glass walls.

Courtney and I in the courtyard area.

Looking down to the city center.  That open area in the middle is where we were all standing before.

The view to the north.  The mountains you see in the distance are the Alps.

The stairs inside the castle.  It was actually two staircases that spiraled around each other, one for going up and the other for down.

Just an old street.  Love it!

Along one of the rivers. 

Beautiful river.  Don't remember the name, though...

Me, Kristen, Courtney, Erin: The young ladies on the team!

You can see how parts of the city are inspired by Italian architecture.  This was inspired by Venice.

At the end of our waling tour, we ate lunch at this restaurant.  It was a 4-course meal.  We were told that this was one of the first restaurants in the city.  When it was opened, they didn't realize they needed to name it so it became 6 - the street number of the building!

On to Lake Bled! This was the villa that we stayed at.  It was tall and narrow, quite modern inside, and we had the whole place to ourselves.

My room for the last couple of nights.  Rille and Jeannette's bed.

My bed in the corner.  (I was thrilled to have my own!)

It was getting to be evening by this point, but we wanted to take a walk to the lake before it was completely dark.  Here's one shot from the northern end of the lake.  You can see the castle overlooking the lake.  Lake Bled is quite famous for the island in the middle with a church on it.  By the time we walked close enough to see it, it was too dark for pictures.

This is what Lake Bled looks like not at night. A gorgeous place!  (This shot was taken from the southern part of the lake.) 
A couple more views: one and two!

We had a lovely dinner Friday night...another four-course meal!  And not too many hours after lunch, too...we were stuffed.

The view from the second floor balcony where we were staying.  Nothing like a gorgeous view of the Alps in your backyard on a Saturday morning...

Saturday morning we had our team debrief.  Then we had the rest of the day to do what we wanted before meeting up our big, final dinner that night.  A group of us opted to go back into Ljubljana and do a little shopping and sightseeing.  I didn't really take any pictures since we visited most of the same places as the day before.  Before our taxi picked us up, we had a little time to kill, so we visited this wonderful coffee and dessert shop.

Enjoying a little gelato!

That's pretty much the end of my pictures, but there's still a little bit more story to tell.  That evening we went to our team dinner (yes, another four-course meal!) and had a great time together.  We went back to the hotel and packed our things in preparation for an early departure the next morning.

Sunday morning came quite early.  Most people rolled out of bed and got ready.  Me, being who I am, I guess, wanted to take a shower.  Mostly because my hair needed to get the day before's gel out and to be rescrunched.  For some reason, though, that morning there was no hot water.  I mean none.  Thankfully the shower head came down so I could just get my hair wet.  Plus the frigid water running down my back.  Think the coldest, iciest water you've ever felt showering over your head.  I got an instant brain freeze.  It was delightful, really.  (If that part of the story sounds bad, just wait...)

I get ready and finished packing, as does the rest of the crew.  We had a bus that was supposed to be picking us up, I think it was around 5am or so, maybe earlier.  I don't really remember now.  Anyhow, the bus arrives and they start loading and quickly determine that there is no way all of us and all of our luggage are going to fit on this small  bus they sent.  So the bus company calls someone and they send another van.  We put four bags in the back, as well as six people.  We loaded up and I got in the van.  It was only about a 30 minute or less drive to the airport.  And, even though it's the capital city, their airport is very small.  Like Bakersfield, if you've been here.  Anyway, we're driving along and suddenly our driver tells us something is wrong with the van and he has to pull over.  In the process of figuring out what was wrong with the van, the driver basically opens up all of the doors and we are freezing inside.  It was freezing outside, plus I didn't have my warm coat (packed it) and just had on flats with no socks (I didn't want to wear my boots because I didn't need them on the plane...I made that mistake on the way there!).  So, he calls the bus driver who drops his load of people off at the airport and came back to get us.  It only took us another couple of minutes to get to the airport, as the van had broken down literally yards before the exit to the airport.  We arrived, quickly unloaded most of the bags (only a few had been unloaded when they dropped everyone off originally), and we were able to start checking-in.  Unfortunately only a couple of people could get checked in before we got there because the bags weren't there.  It's a long process to get 23 people checked in individually, get the bags checked, wait for a group of 5 or 6 people, then move through security.  We all got through security (the gate was just on the other side) and had enough time to run to the bathroom before it was time to board the plane.  We were so thankful we had made it, especially since there was only one more flight out of there to Zurich that day.  And I'm assuming reaccommodating 23 people would have been nothing short of a nightmare.  But, praise God we made it, made our connection with no problems, and made the 12 hour flight home.  I was able to sleep a little bit on the plane this time, but mostly just a series of short naps, so I didn't feel very rested. 

We made it to LAX, got all of our bags, and made it through customs with only one person being stopped.  My parents, as well as a couple of other vehicles were there to take us home (yay, another 2 hour drive plus a looong stop for dinner).  We finally made it home and I was in bed shortly thereafter.  I didn't suffer from the normal jet lag experience of waking up in the middle of the night.  I had the opposite problem, actually, and slept between 10-12 hours every night for a week.  I think I was exhausted.

And this concludes the Slovenia saga.

(Thanks for being patient!!)