Two Funnies

While I'm busy avoiding a paper for school,* I thought I'd share two funny exchanges from today.


Intentional Bad Joke #1: On the way home from out-of-town, we passed a sign that said something to the effect of:

"Welcome to Superior, CO" (to which I chuckled and said, "Just know we're better than you...")


Unintentional Bad Joke #2: I've been sneezing all day. I managed to live 27 years of my life with no particularly pesky allergies. Then we moved to Denver. While gearing up for a particularly annoying sneeze, I proceeded to make a series of funny faces...

Jeromie: "Wow, you're making some rather Calvin-esque faces there..."
Me: "What do you mean, Calvinist faces?!"
Jeromie: "Calvin-esque. Like Calvin & Hobbes."
Me: "Oh."

Also... we got some fun toys yesterday. :-)

Kahtoola Micro-spikes

We took them for a short spin on the Gregory Canyon & Saddle Rock Trails in Boulder. Now I'd much rather be back out & hiking, but alas... papers call. I should get back to them.

* Hey, now... it's spring break AND a Saturday AND I'm in the library.

Breathe out...

Nestled among the periodicals, warmed by the sun-
a favorite niche that I have (and have not) missed...

A November Morning in Grad School

Riiiiiiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiiiing...

Snooze.

Riiiiiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiiiiiiing...

Snooze.

Riiiiiiiiiiing... Riiiiiiiiiiiing...

Snooze.

Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.

Shower. Pack. Leave. Go downstairs. GO UPSTAIRS.

Grumble. Go downstairs.

Drive. Drive. Drive. Nearly get pulled over. Grumble. Drive.

Prayer. Coffee. Sigh. Breathe.

All to work on statistics on a Saturday morning... but the semester is nearly over and I am counting the days!!!

Creating again...

So, I'm thinkin' the key to being creative is to quit grad school... just kidding. This past week has been host to a new adventure in painting, some handmade baby gifts, and a handmade wedding present. I'm still working on something with the paint-project, so a post about that will have to wait, but in the meantime...

The Date Jar...

Sometime last year (before we moved), Jeromie & I decided to make a date jar. I found a cool, old beat-up container at a local antique store & we filled it with fun ideas for dates. Why? Because we have a slight tendency to take life and ourselves too seriously sometimes. :-) In fact, the date jar has been in hibernation since last spring because we let that happen. And we moved (three times! once half-way across the country...). And we both started grad school. Yeah. We're reviving it. Point taken.

Soooooo... when it came time to make a present for my friend who got married this afternoon, I decided to make another date jar. She and her husband are both in grad school at the same time too, so it just seemed appropriate.

I apologize for the poor picture quality, but I didn't have time to wait for daylight & Jer's off-camera flash thingy is out of battery. :-\

Ingredients:
- one sweet container, preferably old or with a story behind it
- three colors of scrapbooking paper
- one lighter, contrasting color of scrapbooking paper
- some scissors
- some glue
- a pen
- a few fun ideas!!!!

Outcome:

Some ideas to start on...


Some blanks for creating their own ideas

Photo-op with the original date jar :-)

Finished product!

Oh, sweet mercy.

This...



...is approximately what the past 6 months of grad school have made me feel like, more often than not. Note the hair-on-end and buggy eyes.


Now, that's not completely a bad thing. I've been learning A LOT, and (as usual) the brain-frying level of stress has a lot to do with me taking things a little bit *too* seriously at times, not getting any real time for rest, & the rigor of grad school reading requirements. You know there's a lot of reading when someone who LOVES to read is sick of it.

But... my first year of grad school is now officially OVER. :-)

Still to come:
- a year of internship
- another 30-something credit hours
- a lot of prayer & listening
- much, much hope

But first, 37 days of mostly non-academic awesomeness! I discovered yesterday that I have more summer left than I thought, and I'm going to savor it. :-D Hopefully these 37 lovely days will entail a some creativity, cool water, mountain roads & trails, time with friends, and a trip back East amidst the work & site visits I still have left to do.

Just wanted to celebrate. :-) And now... popsicles!

Don't worry...

... I'm still alive, though that status felt debatable just two or three weeks ago (finals!). :-)

I feel like I've learned a lot this past semester, though the bulk of it had little to do with the classes I took. Not saying that I didn't learn anything from classes, but... there is more to grad school (& seminary in particular) than academics.

Possibly coming soon:
- the story of a little ragtag band of travellers...
- miles & miles of percolation (thoughts, not coffee)
- two wheels & grades (the steep kind & the school kind)
- introductions, such as my amusing twice-a-week companion
- who knows what else??!?!?

Learning...

"It has been said that listening is far more challenging than talking. Listening with genuine, heartfelt interest opens the door to sharing at the depths of who we are."

- Jack & Judith Balswick

Thoughts?

Warmth, or lack thereof...

There are a few blatantly obvious things that have been driven home for me this Christmas...

- it's cold outside. yes, even in SC. and people sleep in it.
- i've been taking a lot of things in life for granted.
- story is a beautiful, God-given gift.
- i love and appreciate my family, and I don't tell them that enough.
- i'm pretty sure that the last realization goes for my friends too...

The past few months have been full of newness and busy-ness and more reading crammed into the smallest time frame than any other time in my life, but I feel like they've also been full of a sort of inaction. I suppose it's the learning-first-then-doing sort, but it's a little hard to stomach and I find myself wondering if I could've been a better steward of these few short months. Continued food for thought, not reason for despair. :-)

But story, oh story! I have been devouring stories, enthralled by them. (Reminds me of a post I made sometime earlier in the year about wanting to read Scripture that way... I think I got more than I bargained for in that department. :-D Open-mouth-in-front-of-gushing-fire-hydrant-style. No complaints, though... I just know a few things I need to change as I move into this next semester...) My picks for holiday reading so far have ranged from Jean Duprau's City of Ember to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to some thought-provoking non-fiction... I don't know what else will enter the list at this point. I'm just hungry for good story and I can't quite put words to it right now.

A Christmas Eve playlist, (courtesy of Jeromie, crafted for Ewan):
- "Trumpet Child" by Over the Rhine
- "Hymn 101" by Joe Pug
- "Take Me Home" by Genesis as covered by Dave Smith
- "John Saw That Number" by Neko Case
- "Sometimes" by Punch Brothers
- "Rains in Asia" by Jump
- "Quiet" by This Will Destroy You

Hop on over to Jeromie's blog sometime tomorrow for some thoughts on these... in the meanwhile, I'm diggin'em.

Up Next: Pirate Hats & Duct Tape

Much-needed laughs!

So... the past few weeks have been CRAZY. I only pulled one all-nighter in my whole career as an undergrad, and now I've pulled three... and I haven't really been procrastinating or wasting time either. Well... sometimes I do, but not enough to cause a problem with completing my work. :-) A week & a half left... that's all I have to say. Well... not really. I have more.

Lack of sleep makes me loopy. Most of you know that. I've been loopy half the day, aided by a pretty hilarious email from my dear friend Joel in SC.

Insert your name for mine, your significant other, best friend or favorite stuffed animal for Jeromie's, and take heart, ye overwork-ed students! :-D

* * * * * * *

What's up Liz?
I figure you are keeping busy. Because, like, school does that to people. But, when you graduate, you can get PAID!!!! And once you get paid in full, you and Jeromie can get the tricked out ride. I'm talking rims, hydraulics, chrome and leather! Fo' real! Ya'll could get phat bling and pit bulls and bling for them too. B/c dogs need gold. I mean, you could live your own rap video (profanity optional - gotta keep it Christian). You could get medallions so big and wide that they are no longer medallions, but gongs. Only you can answer the question, when does a medallion become a gong? You could like straight wear one, and Jeromie could bang it with the gong stick and everybody would know when you guys are near.


I hope the above picture gives you hope and determination to carry on :)

* * * * * * *

Joel is pretty awesome.

Inside-Out

Long time, no post... I know, and I am rather sorry!

It's not that I have nothing to write about... it's more that I have too much to write about for things other than blogs! To give you an idea of this past month, the last two weeks (combined with this one that i'm just beginning) have contained:
- 6 papers (4 of them major & lengthy)
- 2 group projects
- a moderately ridiculous & late midterm
- 2 legitimate all-nighters
- at least 4 routine quizzes
- all the normal reading, and...
- life, with all its curveballs.

Today, I'm camped out in the library yet again with what will likely be an 18-page paper, due tonight at midnight. I'm about half done with the writing and 2/3's done with the research, so there's still a good bit left to do.

I just wanted to share a picture that illustrates my day:

Mis-labeled Dr. Pepper
- caffeinated
- computerized
- library-based, and
- inside out!

Hah! who needs sleep??!?!?

(Not so) desperate times...

Several of my East Coast buddies have asked if it's cold here yet. The answer is emphatically, yes... for now. It's not as cold as it's going to get, but it's starting to move more consistently in that direction. My housemate, Cori, told me there's a saying for the Denver climate: "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." So... who knows? It could be 70 out tomorrow. But for the past few days, the lows have been in the 30's, which makes for a chilly ride to class!

However, it's not consistently cold enough yet to turn the heat on...

And I'm conflicted about using the natural-gas fireplace... (expensive to run, but oh-so cozy!)

So I've gotten marginally creative:

international (midterm study) space station:
- coffee (mexican)
- candles
- computer
- quizzes for review
- lotsa notes

As I set up my little study space (complete with a little fire), I jokingly told Jeromie that "desperate times call for desperate measures," but realistically these are nowhere near desperate times or desperate measures. I was just being the dork that I am.

Hopefully sometime soon I will find the time to post about some of the incredibly thought-provoking aspects of my classes & experience here so far... but for now, I must study.

Easily amused...

I can't believe it, but we're already half-done with the fall semester here at Denver Seminary! Argh! Midterms are upon us!!

This can mean a number of things in my personal world, some of which are:
- greater evidence that i can be easily amused in general
- more time-sensitive tasks to complete
- less sleep in order to complete said tasks
- more instances of giddy-tiredness
- lower threshold for easy amusement at minor things

What amused me today?

The fact that the brand of toilet paper used by the seminary is "Heavenly Soft."

My nose has been running incessantly all day... and of course I forgot my handkerchief-thingy... so that means using TP for kleenex. I sure hope heaven's softer than that toilet paper! :-)

Just thought I'd share that for the benefit of those of you who are also easily amused (or mush-brained from mid-terms)!

* * * * * * *

In other news, Jeromie's brother, Jonathan, came out to visit this weekend, which was awesome! (Thanks, brother!) And I finally blocked the Shalom sweater! And I made it through last week without any embarrassing outbursts! And God is, as always, reminding me of how good He is!

And... I should probably get back to work... Whatever happened to "everything in moderation?!??" :-)

Procrastination Station

The other name for... facebook. and gmail. and... my blog. Sorta.

Actually, I've been fairly responsible in moderating my web-related distractions so far this semester, as evidenced by the dearth of interesting blog posts. Heh... that might be going to far to assume that any of them are interesting in the first place. ;-) Anyhow, I've decided to take advantage of this particular procrastination station for a few moments to tell the world (or at least by east-coast homeys) that autumn has finally come to Colorado. The past few weeks have included highs in the 80's, which is in no way autumnal... but this week has become crisper and more colorful by far, and I'm giddy about it!

So far, I've celebrated autumn with:
- a run in which i wished for warmer clothing,
- a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins,
- some yellow garden vegetable curry,
- an Irish Cream mocha from Blueberry's,

AND

- a hike in Deer Creek Canyon, which is practically in our backyard.

This week is cram-packed with projects and assignments to finish, but I've got a a faithful Father, an amazing husband, good friends, a project on my knitting needles, and a plan of action... so I think I'll make it.

That is, if I survive Jon Buck's dead-fly-carrying paper airplane...

Mortified.

I may have committed, today, the most embarrassing act in my entire life thus far... I'm still evaluating it. But since I have grown enough in the past year or so to be able to laugh at myself... and since it apparently amused my professor, I'll share it here.

To set the scene: This week has been rough from the start. I was exhausted-sick all weekend and Monday, a little better but loopy Tuesday, a little worse but moderately okay Wednesday, and a little better again but REALLY LOOPY today. On top of this roller-coaster of wellness, I also have quite a number of things due in the next week that have me rather stressed out. And midterms are approaching. And, oh yeah... did I mention that I'm loopy today??????

Location: OT 511 with Dr. Hess - the most intense class I've ever had the privilege to take. It's just a lot of information, and Dr. Hess is pretty brilliant... and my head usually feels like it's going to explode before we get to the first break.

It's a three-hour/once-a-week class. And did I mention it's intense??

So, picture me sitting with a few friends about two-thirds of the way back in a classroom that can probably seat near 100 students. We've already exchanged a few glances (and messages on facebook - I promise I don't normally do that in class, but today's been crazy) to the effect of "break. soon. please." Just when I thought I couldn't handle any more, Dr. Hess goes, "Okay, so... let's take a break now."

Before I knew what was happening, my hands SHOT up in the air and I shouted "YES!!!"

And then I hid under the table and turned about 10 shades of red.

Thankfully, Dr. Hess seemed pretty amused.

I spoke with him after class and sincerely apologized for my outburst, and he seemed to understand. I love the class... it's *really* interesting, but today... well... today it was just too much for my enfeebled brain to handle.

out and back again

I knew I shouldn't've pressed the buttons of dooooooom.



* * * * * * *

Jeromie and I have just recently returned from a bit of a journey out west. The original plan was to take a trip to Montana with Jeromie's family, but we ended up stopping over in Denver for several days first (for cheaper than a direct flight to Montana would've been!). While in Denver, we made a visit to Denver Seminary, the Denver Art Museum (best DAM museum anywhurs!), and the mountains! We had a fantastic time with our hosts, the Pesces, and are looking forward to the possibility of making our home in Denver, at least for a while.

But I mentioned buttons, didn't I? Of the doom variety? Ah, yes...

Messing with the buttons of doom means:
- rain
- rain
- rain
- more rain
- AVALAAAAAANCHE!

and

- more rain. :-)
- oh yes, and the condo breaking off the face of the planet and floating through space, Sawyer style.

Apparently, some of the areas around Red Lodge (where we stayed) received half of their average annual rainfall during the week we were there. Mmmmm. Slow, soaking rain. Despite the rain, we had an awesome time in Montana.

During this next week, I think I'll try and make a few posts about our time there. One gigantic post just doesn't sit well with me or do the trip justice!

Craaaaaaaazybusy.

I can't believe it's April. Contributing to the disbelief is the fact that no one pranked me on April Fools (phew.), which is a new concept for me. :-D Normally someone pulls at least *one* over on me. April looks like it will be quite a trip though... and May.

Potential Spring Shenanigans
- Cooper River 10k in Charleston (this Saturday!)
- Taxes. Taxes taxes taxes. (by April 15)
- Projects for DCF Film Festival & Gallery (now til then)
- DCF Film Festival & Gallery weekend (April 15?)
- Bookfair numero A (3rd week in April)
- Bookfair numero B (4th week in April)
- DCF Yard Sale & Silent Auction (May 3! Come out!!!)
- Bookfair numero C (in-store May 10 & probably HUGE)
- Sneaky-plan thing that might be unveiled in mid-may...
- Finishing & submitting Mars Hill application; going out for interview (May)
- Registering for classes (?!??!)
- Family trip to Montana (!!!!!)

I feel like I'm coming out of hibernation or something! :-) Hopefully I'll be able to carve out a little more time for sewing & knitting. Both have been neglected these past few weeks. :-\

Even in the face of a busy spring, these past few weeks have been good. Not a crazy woo-hoo(!) good, but good in a God-is-moving-and-i'm-not-being-blind kind of way. As always, He is faithful; He's been digging around in my heart and bringing me to a place where I can see and embrace Him & Life (with all its many facets) instead of retreating or hiding. Most of my life, I've been prone to that... to retreating & hiding.

So in response to Michael's request for a one-word update: WOO-HOO!!!! :-D

And that's because God is faithful.

I did it.

I've felt for a long time that God was leading me in the direction of counseling. I've been beating around the bush for a looooooong time about sending off my applications for grad school, and today I submitted one.

Some may say whoop-dee-doo, but for me this feels a lot like getting on a rollercoaster. I've been standing in line biting my fingernails for months: afraid of rejection, afraid I wasn't hearing God right, just plain afraid... and now I'm on the ride. I still have a few things to do to complete the process for this particular school (Denver Seminary), but I should have those done by the middle of the week.

Here we go...