And thus begins my return

Today is Friday. The last time I blogged was a Thursday, so think of it like a continuation. (just tons of months later)

I returned once again to Iowa State!
I came back from Africa! God is doing crazy powerful things there. Can't wait to go back and see the fruit He produces!

Sights I love:

*image taken from http://about.eserver.org/IowaStateUniversity

1. Campus. I love being here and seeing people I know!

2. This book I borrowed from my grandparents! (Thank you!!) So much truth in a short read. I recommend it with a cup of tea or coffee. :)

3. My church filled with college students. They said it well last night. It feels like coming home. :)

*image taken from @ISUSalt twitter page

*image taken from
 http://shadowlilies.wordpress.com

Happy Friday everyone!

Back in the swing of things

School is starting! School is starting!! :) One of the main reasons I love school:

School supplies!! (Yeah, I'm a teacher's kid) :) New binders and pencils and pretty pens that write beautifully. Fresh notebooks ready for print and cursive writing notating all sorts of topics like Spanish and journalism.

What did I do BEFORE school started? (Other than not blog)

Well, I did farm-y things like freeze corn:

 And I had the blessing of babysitting my favorite kids the day before I left! :)






I even got to play hair dresser and give us our perfect "First Day of School" hair do!

I think I have a real future, don't you think?!?

Yeah, we're cute. :)  Every year I miss these girls! They are such wonderful ladies doing such fabulous things! 

Are you ready?

For......

because here we go!!

Might I just add that this is
what my bed looked like before I left!

Homemade goodies: Grandma's buns and Chocolate chip cookies!

Pre

Post

Omnomnomnom... get in mah belly!

Broken cookies don't get to be shared!
;)

Just look at these cookies!

gettin' artsy with the
cookie sheet pic! 

All gone! :S (good and bad face)

Now, I'm very sorry it took so long to post all these, but if you take a peek at how beautiful spring makes Iowa State, I think you'll understand. :) My green thumb has absolutely gone crazy with all this beauty!

These are seriously ALL over campus!!

Do you see both of the swans?
Their names: Sir Lancelot and Lady Elaine.
One is on the left right behind the fence post
and the other one is easier to spot on the right.
ISU Secret: They're both male!

Campanile and Central Campus.
So gorgeous!

Daffodils. Daffodils everywhere!

TULIPS!!!!! The Dutch girl in me is going crazy!!

Check out how cool this is!

This is Sloss House.
It has women-oriented things in it
and a fantastic tree in front of it!

I don't know exactly what this is, but I love it!!

Double tulips in cardinal and gold!

Erica's so pretty!

It was so perfect for a dress!

Nobody knows what kind of tree this is,
but it's the most beautiful of them all!

This is a sculpture in the Lagomarcino Courtyard.
How quaint!

Getting artsy! I love the pure flower against the muck in the birdbath.

Mia! Steampunk worthy??
Cool gate also in Lagomarcino.

This sidewalk leads literally from the very north of campus to
the Memorial Union. The endlessness of this path is so fantastic.

Now that you've seen how marvelous campus is, you'll understand why I love college in general.

I've made some of the best friends. Truly. God has blessed me so much!

Last night, I saw that Zondervan (Karen Kingsbury's publisher) would allow me to read the first five chapters to Loving. I told my friends they better not bother me while I read. 

When I heard my door rocking back and forth, I figured they were just writing something weird on my board. I should have known better. 

When I got a picture message on my phone, I had to check it out. They had post-it noted my door!!!

Then I heard duct tape, so I told them they couldn't ruin my pictures (especially of Sleeping Beauty, my fave princess). 

This is what happened.

(yep, keep going. it's worth it.)

You can see the video of me escaping on my Facebook page!

(almost there)

They not only put post its on my door, but literally wrapped
my door with wrapping paper! 

My friends Jimmy and Ryan with their creation.
Jimmy is proud; Ryan hates pictures.

How Time Flies

Well, today is my last Friday of classes. One week from today, I will be home and my friends will be home. We'll be missing each other and posting on each others' Facebook walls. I have three weeks at home. I might just burst. Just last week, I tried learning everybody's name, and yesterday we became best friends. I have learned so much from my classes and from the people in my life. Broadening my horizons, friends and acquaintances showed me different things. I have had to remember my upbringing and given thanks to God so many times for the parents He gave me. I have friends with all sorts of walks of life and backgrounds, and each one has lessons to share, ways to give of themselves. People I thought I would never speak to have become favorites. Friends I thought would be there forever have fallen to the wayside, unfortunately. Still there, just not as prevalent. I've found that through the semester, I'm the same, but different. 

As we start thinking about the beginning of next semester, we also have to think about the end. (Heck, I've  already applied for housing next fall!) People start planning for the summer and next fall and even 2013's summer. As a college student, my life and future are coming toward me like a race car. I sometimes hope to never grow up, but I also want the adult life of making my own way. I only hope I can take each day and relish in its greatness while secretly preparing for the future. 

Enjoy your day, and make it a joy for others. 

WOW!!

So things that are WOW in my life right now:
Les Mis! So totally awesome!! Go see it if you ever get the chance! :)
AP tests- my brain will be fried!
My graduation party for "youth-related people" and a few others is this weekend with a family and church family one in June. I'm so excited! Come to one, come to both! It bakes no difference to me! I just hope to see you there!!
The days left!!! Today is a half-day, tomorrow seniors don't go to school, next Wednesday is a half-day, and next Thursday is my LAST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!! Praise the Lord I survived! :) (this means, since I made it, you can too!) Yay me! ;)

What are some WOW things in your life??? I wanna know! Leave a comment in the comment box! Cool!

Another WOW thing, I have (I think) decided to grow my hair out until December. Right now, it's about mid-back. I'll get the necessary trims every once in a while, but no chopping until December. That'll be some crazy long hair!!

I would just like to inform you that this blog post was saved at 7:08 and my iPod says 7:06! WOW!! Spooky!

Wish me luck on the AP test! Love!

Here I Am!

Sorry if you thought I deserted you. Not really the case. Life caught up with me, and, well, you know how it goes.

The play went really well. I've had a second "last". First, last mock trial competition and now my last high school show. It kinda made me tear up! :( I will miss being a part of the drama department and the family we have made. I still have a community theatre show coming up this summer, but then that may be a final last. Sadness!! :( But I also now have my life back and can do the procrastination that needs to be done. I wish I had the motivation to become self-motivated outside of school. That's one of my worst flaws, but of course, there are many.

Prom is this weekend. Graduation is next month. My life is falling down around me. My world is falling apart. Okay, okay, it's a little dramatic. (and by a little, I mean a LOT) The first two are true. And I can't quite keep up. I have a project due this Friday, and I haven't done much on it. I told myself I would do two chapters on the thing, but I have to muster up some mighty motivation. And my graduation party is a week earlier than my commencement, so the cleaning has to be done a week sooner as well. There's a chance I could die. Typically, I can find much better things to do than a project or cleaning. This could be my best attribute or terrible flaw, but I accept myself and love me for me! So there! (I'm losing maturity points, I can tell; I'm practically to 6! haha)

But April 30 I get to go to Omaha and see Les Miserables!!!!!!!! I'm sooooooooooooooo grateful I have the awesomest dad EVER!!! It's okay to be jealous of how cool my father is, I would be too. ;) (don't worry, the room I'm sitting in is fairly large, my head can't expand beyond the walls) I will say I love you all and will blog about how amazing it is and how you all need to put it on your bucket list.

Ciao!

Stress

Finally, I turned in my paper sent from the devil. Actually, my teacher has a name, but this paper gave detrimental habits into my life. But now it is over, I finally got some sleep, and I dressed pretty for school! Today was a good day! :) AND we played pep band tonight!!! I love pep band!! For those who don't know what pep band is, it's basically the band playing pop songs (from the late 90's, but they're still pretty awesome)! YAY! The school year is coming to a resting stop soon, and semester tests are next week! AHH! I don't think they'll be too hard, but I hope to do the best I can. Many presentations are due soon, and I think I'm ready! (Yes, I know, I use tons of exclamation points!) I can't wait for the semester to be done! If I thought this semester was easy, I can't wait for the next one! Creative foods, band, choir, government (difficult, but not impossible), Spanish, and two other classes that I'm dropping to fill with slacker classes! :) Maybe I'm naughty, but I do alot of extra-curriculars in the next few months! I've applied to my first college, and as long as my school sends the correct stuff in and pay for my app to be looked at, I am looking forward to hearing from UNL in about 3-4 weeks! (that long mainly so I don't get my hopes up too high)

Christmas is closing in upon us, and I can't wait!!!!!!!!!! My brother is coming home, and a close friend, even mentor in a way, is coming home on the same day!!! It's going to be great!!

And finally, an adventure I had this past Saturday! So over the past weekend, my town encountered a blizzard! I had to work that morning, so being the trusty and reliable employee I am, I made myself go in. My mother warned me not to, but I told her that I didn't have a choice, it was my job, and I had to be there. Along the way I came upon spots where I couldn't see anything, but I simply slowed down and kept going. I made it there, and my co-workers were glad, but my boss said that I should be on my way ASAP. Then my mom called, saying not to send me home at all; the weather was too bad, and my small car would not make it back. I would stay with a close family friend who lived in town. I made it there by lunchtime, and then, (long story short) we went to work on a house they were fixing up. Technically, we were demolishing everything so they could begin to fix up. I spent about five hours weilding a hammer as a torturous weapon. Some parts were tedious while others, I could just pound on the walls without a second thought. I enjoyed myself! Finally, we arrived back at the warm house and ate supper and played Scrabble. I lost terribly, but it was fun to play, nevertheless. The next morning my home church was cancelled, but a friend's church was putting on a drama, so my mom and sister came in, allowing me to have fresh clothes and get home!! It was an exciting weekend!! Next time, I think I'll call in to work saying that I don't want to get stuck! ;)

Oh, poop. Try, try again, right?

So it's been a month. Okay, a little over. My bad! (see title) Well, first quarter is over, and so is All State. I didn't make it, but I'm okay! I was bummed, but I'm okay now! Yesterday, in fact, I sang the national anthem at the regional volleyball game!

Now I can focus on the musical The Secret Garden. I am the Ayah, Mary's Indian nanny. Technically, I'm dead, but I come back as a ghost and creep on Mary with my cohort, Fakir. It's a little weird, but cool at the same time. I recommend it and not just because I'm in it. I also recommend the book by Frances Hodges Burnett and movie!

School is going well! Composition is gonna kick my butt, though, if I don't get mine into gear! (That class is ironically the class I'm procrastinating right now.) If you would like to buy traditional, turtle, or pumpkin cheesecake, please let me know! (please insert nice wish here for 11:11!) Tomorrow is a 12:30 out for teacher inservice and next week Friday is no school!! Thank goodness! It's about time!! :)

The college search is still on! I have it limited to ISU and UNL. Maybe this is mean, but whatev, I'm going to say it: although I don't really want to see a bunch of kids from my school at my college, either one is a great school! I do need to finish my applications and send them in soon, though!

Thanks for reading through my random, kinda lame life! Until I remember (procrastinate) again!

Craziness!

Within a week, my life has disappeared. School has started, and it begins with a bang. The gunshot doesn't do too much damage at first, but then you realize that it will kill your social life, activities, and anything important to you after so many months.

Yesterday, I was able to go to Des Moines for the Iowa State Fair. My sister went for 4-H. She performed a song and did a working exhibit. It was a looong day, but I was able to talk to the ISU people about "why Iowa State is the right college for me". Yippee!! (Oh, I better mop up that sarcasm, it'll flood the room!) I really like ISU, but I'm looking into other schools as well. Hopefully, my family will be able to make a trip down to Waco, TX for a visit to Baylor University. It's a private Baptist school, but it still competes in the Big 12. And I do love my sports! ;) I've already started filling out applications to ISU, Baylor, and University of Iowa. September 1st, I will begin my application to University of Nebraska- Lincoln. I should probably start looking at smaller schools to see if I like that better, but the big-ness really appeals to me! Hopefully, I'll be able to find my way through the maze soon! I'm not sure exactly where I'll be, but the ride there is sure to be exciting!