Quote of the Day XVI

"The cheerfulness of a man of God, of a woman of God, has to overflow: it has to be calm, contagious, attractive...; in a few words, it has to be so supernatural, and natural, so infectious that it may bring others to follow Christian ways."--St. Josemaria Escriva

Classes and Domesticity

I am now a CNA in 2 states. That's my "boast" of the day. SO excited. I can now *hopefully* get on soon with the Little Sisters. Oh. man. It took a lot of sanity to make it through the past 24 hours to get to this point, but the test is done, it's mostly official...huzzah!

Classes are off and running. Still waiting for a piano sign-up so I can pick a good time slot, and labs haven't started yet, but I have had French; John: Gospel and Epistles; Religion, Ethnicity and Race; and Anatomy and Physiology II. It's been good for the most part...trying to figure out the French alphabet compared to how they pronounce words is a trip, but I'm already seeing similarities in how they structure phrases and sentences compared to German, so hopefully my leftover German knowledge will continue to be an aid. John was just a fun class. My academic advisor is the professor for it, and he'd get off on a tangent...come back...go on another tangent...but all very interesting information. For example: Matthew uses 606 out of 661 verses from Mark...woah! Religion, Ethnicity and Race (I've been calling it RER for short...it's amazing at how quick you start to shorten class titles after a while) was interesting. I hadn't met the professor before, but he's definitely one of the more charismatic and young professors I met, and those types are so skilled at adding pizazz to any subject, so I think I'll enjoy it. A&P is with my FAVORITE professor on campus, so you know already that I'm going to love it. Overall it should be a good semester.

So, here's a random question to you, readers: of any of you who are accustomed by now to buying groceries, how do you keep track of your perishable food items? Any systems or suggestions out there? Not that I'm buying a lot that will go old quickly, only really bread and milk and eggs and maybe fruit are what I'm really concerned with. I'm toying with the idea of keeping a list of my items and their expiration/sell-by dates, but if you have any thoughts, please share! I was so excited to buy my own chicken breast meat the other day. Seriously, I felt so grown up. Is that weird??

Well, back to the homework...still planning on working ahead and getting some readings out of the way. Till next time!

Daily Gospel IV: Luke 1: 26-38

Ahhhhh. How can I add anything to this wonderful passage? I just feel like both the angel and Mary are so well-spoken here. I love how...forward-thinking...Mary is here. She's not worried about her announced pregnancy, because she knows it's in God's hands, but she is forward-thinking about how it could come to be...how others and her own family will think about her...what Joseph will decide to do. Forward-thinking versus worrying is a topic on my mind these days. There is some balance of which I must be unaware. How to think about life after school and how to pay for my education without worrying that it will burden me forever. How to be "care-free" without being careless..."For with God nothing will be impossible."--Luke 1:37 You know what I think? I don't think it's a matter of the cup being "half-full" or "half-empty"...I think it's a matter of something is there. Period. Whether it be little or much, there is something there with which to work. Mary's situation probably appeared to most "half-empty"...the facts were that she was going to bear the Son of God, possibly without any support. But it was enough. She was thinking ahead, but she trusted. May it be so for all of us!

Adventures of the Nest

Hey everybody...back on board, running at full speed! One can't help but disappear online for a few days when attempting to move half of what one owns to a city 3 hours away from home...no big deal. It actually makes me feel kind of accomplished that I'm able to pick up and be so mobile at this point in my life. Give me about 5 years and I'll be singing a different tune.

I really like our new house. Like Emily said, it's perfect for us. Simple, and yet still really quite luxurious compared to the dorms. And, because I can't rest until my room had some order, I spent my first night last night organizing. I love to think of how much preparation I'm going to get in whatever is my future vocation. Budgeting for groceries, chore lists, bathroom schedules...yes, I'm excited by all the above because it means that I'm going to be able to use it as learning a bit more about this adulthood business and see where God leads me through it.

Well, I'm going to go read and such, just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and breathing ;-). Blessings to you!

Musings

Well, summer is wrapping up...1 week and counting till going back up to school! It's crazy to think about. There's a lot that I accomplished, and a lot I wish I could have done better, but overall it was definitely a summer of growth and learning more about myself, in regards to how I react to situations. My big summer project, my recipes, is coming to a close. I'm currently working on an index of ingredients for my mom, and I only have a few recipes from a few cookbooks to enter in and it will be done! I didn't quite get around to finishing up Lord of the Rings like I hoped I would, but I really want to finish this project before going up to school. I'm already thinking of some big project that can occupy my time next summer (hopefully work will be in the mix by then!).

Speaking of work, I'm inching closer and closer to working when I get back to school. I have my CNA card, and should be hearing back any day now from Missouri as to a testing date for them. I'm a little nervous, because if it's in Jefferson City like I think it might be, and before school starts, it could make the moving process interesting...then again, if school starts already by the time I'm taking the test, I'll probably be missing some school...either way, should be interesting, and I'm excited to be so close to working for the Little Sisters!

Tomorrow my family celebrates the 50 years of my grandparents' marriage :-). Dated for 2 weeks, engaged, and married for that long...does that happen anymore??!

Thanks for checking in!

Reflections on the past week/end

1. Small town mentality. Something that can be looked on in several different lights. Going down to see a friend in Missouri also from a small town opened my eyes to small towns in a beautiful light. Lots of people from small towns will complain that everyone knows everything about everybody...that there's nothing kept private for long. That certainly is true, but...isn't that how it's supposed to be anyways? I mean, in Heaven, we'll know everybody perfectly, we'd all always be together adoring God. What is it about privacy that we value so much? Certainly we're not to Heaven, so privacy will remain as long as we are on earth. Privacy...being guarded...will remain. I can't wait for the day when we won't be guarded...we'll want everyone to know everything about us, because we'll be praising God anyways! Another small town beautiful reflection: the community/support system one suddenly finds when one is in distress. If someone passes away, suddenly the whole entire town knows and is on your front door step asking what they can do for you. I can't imagine not being in a town where that doesn't happen. Another of many reasons I prefer my small town...

2. Missouri is gorgeous. Kansas is blessed with flat, fertile land and the Flint Hills...but Missouri, with its rolling hills, gorgeous trees and wonderful rivers is a gem. I'll always love my flat land and spacious skies, but I certainly don't mind my get-aways to the beauty of Missouri.

3. Lack of communication with no service in S-E MO was a true blessing. Being on God's time, for once, wasn't hard this weekend. I was actually excited to not have texting abilities. Mom will survive if she can't get a hold of me...she has my other friends' numbers! Such-and-such can wait...it won't kill them to not hear from me. This weekend, it was me, God, and a couple of friends, and a wonderful river to laze around by. I really do like completely being out of contact sometimes...

4. How often do I take my weaknesses and turn them into crosses when they needn't be? So what if I'm *insert weakness*? That shouldn't keep me from *some activity/goal that I've been staying away from because I keep reminding myself of that weakness*. Life has enough crosses without me adding to them...simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!

Quote of the Day XV

"Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism; nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots in an awareness of our freedom, and in the sure knowledge of the power of grace."--St. Josemaria Escriva