A Girls' World

A weekend with the girls....delightful. Funny thing is, they weren't really "my girls." Allison and Ab were the only two who could really count for "my girls"..."the girls." The rest of the gang was made up of delightful young women Allison and Ab had gone to school with. I am readily adopting them as "the girls." Because I can...I think.

Last weekend I headed up to Minnesota for a time of singing, dancing, eating, and just being...girls. I haven't spent real time with Allison since prolly in our room last year, so needless to say...I was excited.

Allison's house is absolutely beautiful! She lives in a woodsy area, and we got to explore by the river that pretty much goes through her backyard. We heard a beaver smack the water and watched Eddie try to be brave for us. We got to meet Patrick...Allison's mom's friend. He's sweet. He bought us wonderful chocolate eclaires for our morning "healthy" breakfast.

Saturday we met with lovely women in Minneapolis and spent our day exploring the city. We went to a Global Bazaar and enjoyed ethnic foods...I found "Shrooms" at an Asian Market!!! (Kel and Louie get this) Our fav snack from China. Then we headed to the sculpture gardens in the middle of the city. So amazing! We walked around enjoying the nature as well as the artwork. I thought of Chaz, but time spent with these girls was well worth it! Supper took us to Annie's, a delightful burger place by the U of M. Allison and I split an amaaaazing Chocolate Mint Oreo Shake. Sooooo good! I'd like to explore the U of M and Minneapolis more. There are some VERY neat sites to see. After a full day, we weren't ready to head home quite yet. We picked up another girl and headed to Mystic Lake Casino for my first experience with gambling. Fun times. Definitely an experience to be done with experienced gambling friends. I walked away having lost (and spent) $3. Hey, cheaper than a movie. Kelsey went crazy after her dollar won her $4.60. Danielle was the big winner going away plus $8. Allison, sadly, was the loser of the night. $10 out. Ab, Allison, and I finally headed back to Allison's place where our adventures continued with the power going off...which sent us to bed. I was knocked out immediately.

What I found to be the most fun of the weekend, however, was the sheer girliness with which we spent our time. We were laughing, giggling, screaming, dancing, singing at the top of our lungs, obnoxious, wonderful girls! We belted toons out of open windows in downtown Minneapolis, and squealed goodbye to girls as we dropped them off for the entire world to notice our friend's beauty. Delightful.

My reunion with Chaz on Sunday after not seeing him for four days was definitely sweet. So incredibly wonderful to see him, but I would not have traded my weekend in MN.

Biking

Wind running through my hair and tearing my eyes. Tires whirring and clicking. The sound of rubber making that distinct vibration against the pavement. Flying by all of the walkers and joggers for their evening exercise. Feeling that tightness in my chest as I breathe. Overcoming the stretch and complaining of my muscles as I force my way up a hill. These are reasons I love biking (okay, maybe not the last one...still...).

But what I miss more than anything is biking in East Asia. Definitely an experience unlike any other. I miss the crowds of people biking as a group. I miss "the flow" of the bikers. I miss the silence of electric bikes and then the sudden *whoosh* as they fly by me so close I can feel a woman's skirt graze my feet. I miss taxis coming so close to me that my handlebars almost scrape the windows. I miss the blasting horn of a bus as it almost obliterates me on my puny bike. *sigh* The danger.

Chelsi and I took our hangout time to the road tonight and just spent time leisurely biking around Ames and chatting about life, love, happiness, sorrow, worries, and the future. It was grand. She was so cute peddling on the bike she borrowed from Steve, talking to me about her excitement for her upcoming marriage. Beautiful words of God's love showing through couples and marriage filled the night air. The sky grew dark and soon we were biking in complete blackness. Then the rain came. It wasn't a hard one, just a nice, easy one. Perfectly refreshing after a long ride. Drops soaked my pants and sweater and fogged my contacts as they splashed on the lenses. Hair curled uncontrollably. We made it back to shelter with frozen fingers and damp clothes to enjoy hot chocolate coffees made by Steven.

Do you know that I miss you when you're gone?

Last night...was awesome! haha! I got home from class, and Kimberly asked me to accompany her to Olde Maine. We first had to wait up for Amy to come to my house to dry her hair (that cutie), and when she showed up...lo and behold up walks Amy with a girl who teaches at the school I'm doing practicum at! She's an aide for the teacher I'm observing in 8th period...so we hang out then and talk. It was CRAZY! SUCH a small world. Apparently her and Amy worked together and Younkers, and Amy lived with her last year. Whoa-ness.

Speaking of other craziness....we get to Olde Maine, and once we walked in the door, who should I see but DAVE OLSON! Hooray! haha. That crazy kid...then he tells me that our friend Colton, long-lost friend I met almost two years ago and haven't seen since, is coming to town! So, the girls went and hung out for a bit, and when we were leaving, I got to say hi to Colton and catch up for a bit. Delightful.

And yes, my friends, even MORE craziness happened. As we were walking to the car in the parking lot, who should I see getting into a vehicle herself? That's right, none other than the wacky, crazy, loveable KAT! That was our first reunion after spring break. She gave me a delightful, ginormous hug....good to see her.

So anyway....good times and friends brought together last night. Wonderful.

Even more wonderful....I'm going to spend the weekend with Miss Gorgeous Allison Crowley...hooray for that!

Pathetic

My baby left for Vegas tonight for four days.

oh the sadness.

Beautiful Break

...aaaaand Spring Break ends and I resign myself to the endless amount of schoolwork that has amassed over the semester. But first...a recap:

Hell was....delightful. Ironic, no? The people were friendly and fun. The landscape was beautiful (surrounded by lakes and woods of rural Michigan). We me the mayor of Hell (of course....we always meet awesome people!) who gave us advice on a quaint town by Lake Michigan to stop at before we left the state. The sunset on Lake Michigan was absolutely breathtaking! Chaz made it up a hill to watch the last rays of sunlight vanish over the horizon with me. Beautiful. The trip to Hell was, in a word, wonderful. Being with Kel and the gang from last year (plus Chaz) was delightful.

The rest of break was relaxing and fast. I didn't do too much. The weather, however, was magnificent for a couple of days. So magnificent that Chaz and I biked around town quite a bit. I love to bike! Now if only I could acquire a bicycle....

St. Patrick's Day was.....crazy. It was Kim's b-day, so we spent the entire day making it special for her. Beautiful Katie Kula came to hang out and celebrate with us as well. And Kim got a little......fun. haha! Oh 21st b-days on St. Paddy's day......

So yes, as I said, I am now working diligently (or not so much) on the massive amount of writing I have to do for tomorrow. Ridiculous. Why do I have to procrastinate...?

I'm off to Hell (and back)

So....I'm in Chicago right now at a very amazing Super 8 motel (only the best for our spring break trip to Hell). Yes, my friends, I have embarked on the first leg of my trip to Hell...Michigan, that is. Hell, Michigan. Kel and I got lost for a bit (i.e. we missed our exit to our hotel and had to find an alternate route), but our amazing navigational skills led us to our very nice, blood-stained, thin-walled Super 8. Glorious!

My trip to Hell appropriately started with a day from you-know-where. Kat and I met at SG to have coffee in the morning and have some hang-out time before break. We sat and enjoyed life....had a couple of drinks.....chatted. Then we get the check and go to pay for the bill. It is at this point that Kat looks at me and says, "Oh no! I lost my card!" My response is, "Oh no! I did too!" Yes, my friends, we had both gotten drinks and had no money, and I mean absolutely NO way to pay for them! It was rather comical. Thoughts of me having to wash dishes for the day, John banning me from SG, and Chaz getting fired because of my idiocy ran through my head. Of course, none of that happened. Kat instead ran home quickly and grabbed a check and graciously paid for me. I owe her TONS!

Anyway....it's actually quite a funny story. So now, I must get ready for bed and prepare for a fun-filled day prior to the day we go to Hell.
Goodnight!

Family Goodness...

I love my family. They simply crack me up. I mean, sometimes they say some pretty embarrassing things, but don't all families? Heck, even friends embarrass us at times. That's mostly on purpose. But then again, my family embarrasses me on purpose a lot of the time as well.

I awoke to a phone call this morning from my mother at 8:30 telling me that her and my father were coming out to visit today. Why? Well, apparently one of my youngest bro's friends decided to try to "sell" Sam's singlet and wrestling warm-ups and ended up leaving them at the hotel they were staying at for state wrestling. The problem? Sam needs that stuff to wrestle for Team State Duals...tomorrow. So, my parents (being the good parents they are) took a special trip out to Des Moines (3 hours...6 hours total trip) to get Sam's clothes which the hotel fortunately still had. Amazing, aren't they?

So we met my parents at 2:00 for lunch at Hickory Park. My mom, dad, Aunt Denise, Steve, Uncle Craig, Ben, Chaz, and I settled down for some feasting and laughter and storytelling (three things my family do best).
For example...

My dad was talking to my mom and I about movies, and he started asking me a question:
"Kate, have you seen...um (struggling to think of the title)....Good Things?"
Mom and Kate stare at Dad trying to figure out what he's saying
"No...that's not it...Good Tidings?"
Still no idea from Mom or Kate
"Oh! *slams hand on table* The Pursuit of Happyness."
Kate and Mom crack up (along with Dad who ends up crying from laughter) at Dad's thought process.

Okay, so it was definitely "more funnier" (as my dad puts it) in person, but you get the point.

It was a good time, and my parents, once again, were way too generous to me. I am so very thankful for all that they do for me. I definitely don't deserve it, but I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with such amazing parents.

Snow days, snow days.

Last night Kim, Steven, Chaz, and I braced ourselves for a blizzard. It was nice just to snuggle and eat snack foods (not to mention amaaaazing chili made by Steven!) and watch movies. Classes were cancelled after one yesterday. How often does THAT happen? Didn't like "The Departed" that much, though. I know it won an academy award, but I wasn't all that impressed.

Today was another sort of snow day. I had my class this morning, but practicum was cancelled because my school was cancelled. Yipee!! Caught up on sleep today, then went to Kim and Kenzie's for a night of tv and movie-watching. Way fun! We watched "Stranger than Fiction" which is probably one of my favorite movies. I've watched it thrice so far....many more times to come, I hope. It just leaves me with such a warm, fuzzy, good feeling afterwards. Makes me smile like crazy.

I love snow days.

She was short and pleasantly plump, wearing a puffy turquoise winter coat that came down to about her knees covering up most of her legs, making her seem shorter than she already was. It looked like a coat I would've worn in elementary school. Same style, same color scheme. Black pants tucked into tall, yellow rubber boots added to her ensamble. Her wispy, wirey black hair contained bits of beautiful gray which stuck out under her black Blossom-style hat.

I first saw her struggling with an armful of books. Her brash voice punctured the silence of the library. Asking for a couple of sacks to put her books in, she shuffled toward the exit. One of her sacks floated to the ground. I picked it up,
"Excuse me, ma'am, you dropped your bag."
"Oh, thank you!"
"Would you like some help bagging those up?"
"Yeah, I would!"
She sat on the bench and shoveled books into the plastic sacks I was holding. She controlled the conversation,
"I probably shouldn't have gotten these, but they were free books. I can't resist free books! I'll keep some of them, but I'll give some of them away too. Make sure these sacks aren't too heavy, I don't want them to break. It'd serve me right if they did break, though!"
I helped load her up with package after package and sack after sack. She probably had six bags in all to carry with her. We left the library, and she left me with a quick, "Gotta catch my bus!"

And that was it.

I smiled to myself as I watched this unique women cross the street and head to the bus stop. Shuffling in her rubber boots and Blossom hat with her packages banging together, I realized I had met someone who was completely and wonderfully herself. She was who she was made to be.

We need more of that in the world.

Nerdiness...

I'm turning into the BIGGEST teaching nerd ever to exist in the profession.

I love it.

I absolutely love what I'm doing right now. I love my methods classes. I love practicum. I love reading my teacher books for class. It's incredible! I wish for everyone to be as happy with what they're doing as I am. At practicum yesterday, I got to help a girl with her speech for District Speech Contest on Saturday. It was so incredibly amazing! I felt like an actual speech coach, and I felt like an actual teacher! I also went off on a rant about the 5 paragraph essay yesterday, which was equally as amazing. haha. wo-ow. Nerdy, I know. But I'm proud of it.

Now I know things aren't always going to seem so wonderful (after all, there are all of those students to deal with). And I know I'll get frustrated with my lack of ability to convey themes and ideas to students (lesson plans....curriculum....tough). BUT I'm resting right now in the fact that I still have another year before I actually have to start handling a class pretty much on my own.

Adventures and Weather

It is crazy outside.

And I am at work.

I can peek through the window and see the branches of trees and bushes bowing and cracking under layers of snow and ice. It truly is breathtaking. But not so fun to drive in. As Chaz was driving me to work, the whole world seemed to be transformed. We noticed trees we had never seen before. The only reason today was different from other days is because of the layers of white, heavy, wet snow coating the landscape like frosting. It almost seems as if someone took the trees and dipped them in a white chocolate fondue. How sweet would that be? How come I don't see God's beautiful creation daily? I only seem to see it when something is abstract about it (i.e. snow, blooming spring, fall, etc.)

Last night it snowed like crazy. Well, first yesterday we got a thick coating of ice which is to blame for power outages all over Eastern Iowa (including at my parents' home). This also let the snow stick better and thicker to the trees, as well as caused many limbs to snap, including the tree in front of Kim's house. Then last night it snowed like crazy. This morning before work our drive and parking lot hadn't even been cleared. Chaz came to the rescue and cleared the way for my wimpy little car to get through. What a sweetheart. And an adventurer. Which is something I like a lot about him.

Friday night Chaz and I went to the mewithoutYou show in Iowa City. Threats of bad weather didn't stop us, and we were kept safe most of the way...except for a patch outside of Des Moines. We were going 45 for a good amount of time. The drive took us 2 1/2 hours, and we arrived there only to discover that the show was sold out! What to do? We sat there as two dejected fans for a decent amount of time. We could hear the throbbing bass of the music through the floorboards. I was bummed and a bit cross and not at all optimistic about getting into the show. Chaz was patient. I waited with him because I trust him. His patience and my trust was rewarded...

(guy walks up to us sitting on a bench) "Lemme guess...you drove a long way and the show's sold out."

(us, sheepish) "yes"

"How far did you come?"

(chaz) "We're from Ames, but it took us 2 1/2 hours." (me chiming in) "We ran into ice!"

(guy thinks, nods his head toward the stairs) "Give the man ten bucks and get upstairs...As the owner of a bar, I hate to have people upset!"

(us...in shock) "Thank you!!"

We laughed and jumped for joy once we got into the show. Things like this always seem to happen to us, and it is so amazing! I was once again doubting and proven wrong, and I was also once again thankful for Chaz's patience. It was probably one of the most fun shows I've been to in a good, long while. We also gave it up for the Big Guy upstairs. How are we so deserving of what we are given in life? And while we are not deserving, why are we still given even the small things we desire in life (like seeing a show)?

I'm glad that I can see God in the small things. Like in safety in driving. And miraculously getting into a show. And snow. And beauty in creation. And work, I guess (I am getting a lot of studying done, after all).