lazy days.

Today's one of those lazy days...just a summer Saturday with nothing pressing to do. So, I've spent it playing Monkey Snowfight and Battleship online with Stephen, watching people pull pranks in YouTube videos, playing around on my violin, looking up songs from Keith Urban's new album (and a few of his older songs that I hadn't heard), and helping Mom throw dinner together. That turned out fabulously, by the way: grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and lamb (o.m.g. - delicious), with marinated zucchini, squash, red onion, and mushrooms, and raw cauliflower with ranch dip. Mmm.

Now everyone's in the other room watching Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade. I guess I'm just not in the mood for it. The sad thing is, I don't know what I *am* in the mood for. I'm sure if I actually opened up my notebook, I'd find a huge list of things I could do...but I'm not really in the mood to get up and get it either. :P Heh, I know...I sound awfully pathetic. I figure I can afford to be every once in a while during the summer. I've been pretty productive this week, I think, though. Wednesday morning, I decided to look over the list of required books for next semester's classes, since I find that it's easier to order them early so I don't have to worry about it later in the summer. If I'd bought them all new from the campus bookstore, the total would have been somewhere around $470. (Yeah...not cool.) But, thanks to the handy shopping skills I learned from my mom, I got what I needed for $330. Heck to the yes. ;) I was excited, and a little proud of myself.

What I'd really like to do is find a new comforter for my new apartment bedroom so that I can leave the one I have in my room here, since it matches the walls and curtains. All of Ali's stuff is blue, but I'm not sure if I'm going to try to match any of it. I think I might go for a contrasting dark red, maybe a red toile print. Whatever I pick, I'll probably be hanging onto it for a while and using it as the centerpiece for my bedroom ensemble. Our suite is already starting to break up - even before we've moved in - so I don't know what my living arrangements will be next year. Danielle will be getting married in October or November, and I'll hopefully be spending the spring semester in France. Things will be drastically different by next summer, I'm sure. Maybe I'll have a steady job or an internship. ... Maybe not. I'll be many hours closer to finishing my degree, though, which is scary. I'm reaching that point of pressure where I'd really like to know what the next step is going to be. *sigh* I don't know -- too many options. I think I'm going to go play with my violin some more. Perhaps more thoughts later...

contentedness

I don't really have a lot to say except that I'm super happy right now. Well, maybe "happy" isn't the best word -- "contented" would be a better one. Life still isn't perfect (shocker), but I have so much to be thankful for. Just a few things...

I don't have a job yet, but there are a few opportunities that might work out. We'll see. I'm glad I have my Mary Kay business to fall back on; sales have been good this month, and I should be getting a commission check, too. I'd like to book some facials to refresh my memory, so if you have a few minutes and want to try a new look, let me know. :)

My best friend of 10 years and pseudo-sis, Lindsey, lives 982 miles away, but I had the chance to talk for quite a while with her on the phone yesterday, which is something that doesn't happen very often. We laughed until I was collapsed on the floor in tears. :D I can't wait to find out for sure if our plans will work out for a visit in June. Hanging out, photo shoots, a luau...just seeing her again...so excited!

I haven't been in the best spiritual shape lately, so to speak, but church this week was extremely constructive. I've been feeling that nudge to make some changes, and tonight I had the chance to start. Love and selflessness were the two major concepts that hit home. I'm going to post 1 Corinthians 13 somewhere I will see it every day, because when Aaron read it tonight, I couldn't help but cringe. I haven't been doing a fantastic job of living out that kind of love. If my brothers and sisters can't count on me to be gracious, loving, forgiving, and to put their best interests above my own -- who can they count on? We need each other.

I still have boxes and boxes of stuff from school to go through and organize, but my room looks fantastic now. I cleaned out all of the other junk, dusted, and vacuumed, and I just love the way it feels and smells. :) I don't know what it is about vacuuming that makes a room feel so good. Anyway, despite all the junk I still have to sort through, I'm happy -- and thankful just to have a room and things to put in it.

My to-do list was so long today, but I accomplished nearly everything on it. It feels great. Now I'm so ready for tomorrow... :D Speaking of which, I should probably go to bed and get some rest.

Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

summer memories. :)

Wow, it's hard to believe what an amazing week I've had. Granted, my sleep schedule is a little wacky at the moment, and my room is an absolute wreck, but I don't mind. It's been worth it. I'm just thankful that my family is understanding, because most of the boxes, baskets, mirrors, and shelving units from my dorm room are still cluttering the floor behind the couches in the living room. I did finally move all of my clothes from my suitcases into my closet this weekend, though, which (surprise, surprise) makes it easier to get dressed in the morning. :P The "other side of my bed" is my next project, although I haven't conjured up the courage to tackle it yet. There's so much junk in the floor over there that has accumulated over the course of my two years of college, and I'm pretty sure I could throw most of it away and never miss it. I think I even stepped on an old soap mold earlier... :P (Remember those crazy huge American flags, Lindsey?) At this point, I just want to get rid of the clutter so I have a place for the stuff I actually need. It's a daunting task.

Anyway, I spent the majority of my week away from home, or at least out of my room. Stephen came to Cabot Monday afternoon, and we enjoyed the gorgeous weather hanging out at the park, drinking slushes, playing old-school Super Smash Bros. on the N64 (as usual), and watching Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (finally!). Tuesday was spent playing with Justin's crossbow and hunting bow, rocking out with the top down in Justin's Jeep, and pulling off Stephen's surprise birthday party -- which we did flawlessly, I might add. He was clueless up until he walked through the door, thanks to his awesome mom and some quick thinking on the part of his best friend. Justin, Britany, and I had to concoct a plan to keep him occupied for 45 minutes after he got his work schedule from the theater. We tossed around some ideas on the way to pick him up, but we didn't know what was actually going to come out of Justin's mouth when he got in. Stephen jumped into the Jeep and Justin promptly informed him that Britany and I needed some "feminine products" at Wal-Mart. :P (great.) So, Britany and I wandered around for a while, smelling random body washes and finding the cheapest "products" we could find to keep it believable. It was all worth it for the surprise, though, and we had a great time eating, watching American Idol (and wondering how "No Boundaries" made it to the stage), and sharing funny stories and memories. Most of us crashed his house afterwards for some Rock Band (which I'm kind of addicted to now). I didn't head home 'til about 2 in the morning. Fun times! Thank goodness for being able to sleep in.

Wednesday was Stephen's actual birthday, so I hung out at his house for the afternoon and went out to dinner with his family at Bonefish Grill. We made sure we were back at his house for the end of the American Idol finale, though, and we all screamed when Ryan announced that the 2009 American Idol was Kris Allen. For a while, I couldn't think of anything to say but, "My gosh, are you kidding? I can't believe it!" and I still think it's beyond crazy. Our very own Kris Allen, the worship leader at Chi Alpha that I admired so much from my freshman year -- is *the* American Idol. I can't wait for his albums to come out. God's given him so much talent and is obviously doing something amazing with him. (I'm looking forward to Adam Lambert's music, too -- he's definitely got an awesome voice and a lot of creativity.) Anyway...now that Idol is over for the year, I guess we'll have to come up with new conversation topics. No more talk about last night's biggest argument between the judges, discussions over the best and worst song choices, or defending the favorite contestant who got slighted. *sniff* Goodbye Idol mania - at least for a few months. :'( It's back to real life.

So...Thursday afternoon, I watched Stephen for a while as he slaughtered his enemies as Wolverine, all the while lamenting the damage to Hugh Jackman's 3D body. Such a shame. ;) Anyway, Stephen took me rock climbing at the climbing center later, and then we joined the rest of his family, Cassie, Caleb, and some other friends for Liz's going-away-to-Africa dinner at the Macaroni Grill before watching 300 at his house. Kick-awesome movie!! (minus the few scenes we skipped)

Sometime during the last couple of weeks, I also discovered that my fingers still remember how to play my violin. I thought for sure that I'd lost everything I'd ever learned, having not touched it for nearly a year, but Stephen convinced me to pick it up and give it a try, and happily, I was wrong. :) Now I think I'll pick it up every now and then just for fun.

So yes...I've loved the first two weeks of summer. There's nothing like fun friends, loud music, good movies, late nights and lazy mornings, Happy Hour Sonic slushes, or starry nights and fireflies to kick off a great summer break. I'd still like to find a job, but we'll see how that turns out. It would be nice if the opportunity at Pier 1 came through. If nothing works out, though, I'll just work on Mary Kay and spend some time volunteering. That will make it easier to go out to Virginia to visit Lindsey for her graduation in June. :) :) :) I'm trying so hard not to get my hopes up too high, but I want to go so badly! I can take care of the airfare to get there -- I just have to make sure I'm not working. (It would be doubly awesome if Stephen could go with me...but that would be more difficult to work out because of his job, so I'm not counting on it.) Anyway. Next on the agenda is planning my trip to France -- which I'm also trying to be realistic about. I need to find a price tag somewhere...

I guess I've written about enough for one evening. Kudos to you if you actually read all of my ramblings! I think I'm going to either tackle some of the junk in my room or plan out my week now...

Summertime

Hello world. My name's Grace. It's a pleasure to meet you - again. Summer's here, and I have time for you now. It's a shame that papers, tests, quizzes, social drama, sleep deprivation, and stress monopolize the other nine months of my life; they're so inconsiderate. I really should find some better companions. There's something about this whole college thing that keeps me coming back for more, though, so I guess I'll just have to put up with them. It's not the dorm room, the caf food, or the rainy walks to class, that's for sure. Maybe it's the sister I have for a roommate, the friends who have become family, the crazy late nights we spend talking and praying instead of studying, the chance to earn a degree in a language I love, and the opportunity to experience God for myself. Yeah. I think that must be it.

Anyway, back to you, world. I don't know if you're ready or not, but here I am. You've been warned. ;)