March of Things: laughter with Rach!

Sunday's are great chill days.  It is so wonderful to get up in the morning, go to church, fellowship with believers, be challenged with the word and plan for a relaxing afternoon.  Today was particularly restful, in that it was a gray/rainy/cloudy/cold day!  All the better reason to stay inside!

Here is Rachel and I.  Last night/early this morning, we were manning the desk shifts in the dorm.  Let's just say that it got a little crazy between the iced coffee and Tim Hawkins you-tube videos!  Oh, so much fun!!!

Rach and I with Bob and Percival 

This is one of the videos that we watched last night!  We were laughing so hard...  This a country song written for people who are technically challenged.  I don't know what it was (it might have been the caffeine, or the combination of over 30 minutes of Tim Hawkins videos), but we were crying by the end of this song!

March of Things: spring break #1

So, I had great intentions of blogging everyday for the month of March.  However, the first of March came, went; I blinked and it was the 15th!  As a consolation, I am going to "try" to chronicle my adventures over spring break (which consequently, started today...) :) 
I don't know how interesting this will be (though I have high aspirations of doing fun and random things over break), I hope it's at least slightly entertaining! 

All of the important people say that a good day starts off with a good breakfast.  Well, mine did.  All of the Calvary dorm students (and even the president and first lady) were welcomed into the lobby with the wonderful aroma of freshly made waffles!  It's a Waffle-palooza!!!  There was quite the group of people lined up in the lobby for a chance at the fluffy waffles.  Even after the syrup ran out, the loyal breakfast fans stayed around.  It might have had something to do with it being the first day of Spring Break!

Stephen (the waffle maker), Jess, Fluffy Waffle, and me!  

It was a beautiful day!  The sun was super warm and there was a cool breeze!  It was a perfect day.  Some folks took advantage to do a little sun-tanning.  Later on in the afternoon, a group of us played a little softball.  Oh, the joys of having no school and a great day to be outside!  

All right, enough about waffles and sunny days...:)  

March 15 is also known as "True Confessions Day".  

So, here's Bekah's true confession...:)  

I can be very paranoid.  Or rather, I like to say that I am very observant of my surroundings, all the time, especially at night!  Don't get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with being observant, but like everything else it should be kept in balance with reality!  No, I don't think that scary monsters will be jumping out of the bushes.  Oh, and one more thing...always keep your blinds closed at night...:)  

What is your "true confession"?  

(thus ends the super random first installment of my spring break blogging efforts...)  

Of dictionaries...and prolific hugs

You know those times when you say a certain word in a sentence that you believe is grammatically correct, and then the person you are talking to gives you a really odd look?  Then, you start thinking, "Wait, was that the right word?"  "What did I just say?"  "What does she think I mean?"  With these questions in mind, your face becomes a mask of quizzical-ness as you evaluate what it was that you just said. 
Now, I know that I am not the only one that has experiences like this!  (I think :)

My story has to do with the word "prolific".  I used it in the context of a friend of mine giving another friend a hug.  "You hugged her prolifically."  To this comment, we both started laughing.  Then the questions ensued. 

"What?" 

According to the dictionary, prolific has several different definitions, including: producing offspring, young, fruit, etc., abundantly; highly fruitful: a prolific pear tree. (2) producing in large quantities or with great frequency; highly productive: a prolific writer. (3.) profusely productive or fruitful (often followed by in or of ): a bequest prolific of litigations. (4.) characterized by abundant production: a prolific year for tomatoes.

Therefore, in the sentence that I used, giving hugs prolifically just means that they are given in abundance.    But does this really work? 

With this thought in mind, I realized how many "creative" words I think I know and yet may not.  There is definitely something to be said of expanding your vocabulary! 

Word of the Day: appertain; to belong as a part, right, possession, or attribute. 
Synonyms: apply, be characteristic of, be part of, be pertinent, be proper, be relevant, bear, have to do with, pertain, refer, relate, touch upon, vest

Try to use this word today.  It appertains to the development of your vocabulary! 
And tell me what you think of prolific hugs!!

February 27th: a letter from home

Last year, my little sister and I began to write letters to one another.  She was learning how to write letters in school and we thought that it would be fun to write back and forth.  Our pen-pal-ship is a little sporadic.  It often takes me longer to reply, but she is very understanding!  But I finally sent my family a package for Valentines day, complete with letters, chocolate, and the long-promised "Chronicles of Narnia" books for my sister. 
And today, I received their reply!  May I just elaborate on how much I love a hand-written letter!!!  Don't get me wrong, though, because I am all about texting, face-booking (funny how that is now considered a noun!), tweeting, and other forms of social media!  But really, there is nothing quite like seeing some one's handwriting on a piece of paper addressed specifically to you!  (I know, just call me "old-fashion"!) 

What made me happy about the letters?
Simply: the fact that each letter presented the personality of the one writing it! 

Letter #1 - from my sweet sporty little sister.  She told me all about the volleyball team that she is going to play for.  Her excitement screamed from the page!  Then she asked if my dorm room had purple walls, because if they were purple then she was going to move in with me.  (maybe I should re-paint my walls!)

Letter #2 - from my ridiculously imaginative little brother.  He told me very plainly that I shouldn't worry about coming to any of his basketball games, because the gym had been bombed and half of Nebraska had fallen into the ocean.  :)  At the end of the letter, he thanked me for sending him some candy because it had helped him survive the apocalypse! 

Letter #3 - from the very dramatic littlest sister.  She started out by thanking me At Least 6 times for sending her some candy!  She was also very excited about the books that I sent her, and was going to start reading them right away.  She wasn't too keen on sharing them, but she told me that she would do it anyway!  Then, to top it all off, she ended the letter with the sweetest little poem that she wrote herself. 

I love my little brothers and sisters!!!
They make me happy!

February 25th: Starbucks with Mrs. A

 So, couple of weeks ago, the freshmen put on a Winter Social.  This event entailed a lovely picture scavenger hunt.  For the prizes, each of the teams would win an opportunity to spend some time withe professor of their choice going doing things like...going out for coffee, eating BBQ, put-put golfing, going shooting, going bowling, etc.
My team, made up of Alisha, Sarah, Beth, and Jesica chose to go with Mrs. A to Starbucks for COFFEE and GAMES!

Bethie and I

 Besides drinking yummy coffee, we got to play some fun "learning" games like In a Pickle (this is the game where you choose things that can fit inside of other things...the more creative you are the funnier it ends up) and You've been sentenced (this game involves combining random grammatical cards to make grammatically correct sentences that do not necessarily make any sense.)

Jesi and I

This is a sentence that Alisha made up.  She said that it was about my mom.

"What if chickening out Mom Parker is traveling about the crusher monkey milk."

What a happy part of the day!!! 

February 23rd: Korean lunch and other random happenings...

Well, Thursday came fast.  I haven't been looking forward to the exam in my Intro to Philosophy class, but the prospect of going out to Korean for lunch made the day seem more bearable.  A Korean friend of mine was inviting a group of people and she asked if I wanted to come too.  I was excited to try some new cuisine!  Last semester I tried Indian (as in the country of India), and really enjoyed it!  So, in my eagerness to expand my taste pallet, I accepted the invitation! :)  I must say that I was very pleased with the food!
And had a great time with the people.  There was a good amount of laughter that proceeded from the car that I was riding in.  This was mainly due to one of our professors singing along to Johnny Cash!  That was an experience!  (Something about eating and fellowshipping with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!  It makes us look like we only like to eat together...:)

Another thing about eating Oriental food is the opportunity to use chopsticks!!!  For those who remember, I gave a speech a couple of months ago about the benefits of eating with chopsticks when you eat Oriental food.  (1-the food tastes better, 2-you aren't as likely to over-eat, because you eat slower with chopsticks, 3-it is respectful of that culture)  I think I experience all of those benefits today!  :)

What were some other fun and random happenings of the day?
At my Thursday night church group, I got to watch the little kiddos!  What fun!  I think that it is funny how the adults almost have as much or MORE fun than the kids...but that must mean that we are just all "kids at heart".  Between the mushroom game (hopping on pillows or mushrooms), playing "Simon Says", but forgetting to say "Simon says, 'Stop'", so that Bekah keeps jumping up and down, and playing dress-up with time with the kids was anything but boring!

Then, to end the day, I was privileged to spend time with my Dorm Sisters.

Thank the Lord for a happy day...:)

February 19th: Sunday night supper and IHOP

Sunday night's are always an adventure.  This is the only night that the dining hall isn't open, and students are free to prepare their own food.  Those who have "stock-piled" are usually safe from starving.  I would also argue that no one ever starves; we are happy, fatty college students who are very blessed.   But there are also those that are willing to invite students over for supper. 
Tonight, some girls and I were invited to eat tacos at Lelia's house.  We had so much fun and the food was really yummy.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Sarah's first time in Philly Hall (campus married housing).  She cried and cried and cried.  Of course, the large bowl of onions that she was cutting didn't help her out at all. 
• At some point in the conversation, someone was talking about eating bugs.  And so it was decided by proxy that if you have to eat a worm, leave it in a bowl of applesauce (changing the applesauce regularly).  Then, because worms eat what is around them, they will eat the applesauce and then taste like applesauce when you have to eat them.  
• To change the conversation (I don't like talking about eating anything slimy or wormy...:), I suggested that on a "higher note" we move on.  Celeste then proceeded to hum a "higher note".  Catching the tune, I immediately started thinking of the Christmas story, where the angel appears to the shepherds.  So Celeste and I started quoting from Luke 2.  Crazy...:)  Yes, I suppose we were a little. 
• From there the "higher note" became a competition to see who could talk in a monotone, sing-songy tone. 
• As the conversation began to come around to more spiritual things, we all shared how God brought us to school and what all took place in our lives to come.  It was encouraging to hear of God's faithfulness in the lives of fellow sisters in Christ.  God is good! 
• Finally, the evening began to wane and we all had to get going (i.e. homework, homework, and more homework).  But as we were leaving, Lelia asked us to sign her guestbook.  Now, you would think that when she wanted us to sign something, she would have a book, or picture, or wall...but NO, she wanted us to sign her shower-curtain!

With all the fun that we had at Lelia's, I didn't think that the night could get better...but then Beth, Alisha, and I decided that it was time for another date with "the Colonel" (a.k.a Bethie's monstrous car illustriously named Colonel Stanley Mustard) to I.H.O.P. (the house of pancakes)

Last semester, the three of us went on an late-night "date".  We all enjoyed the time so much that we decided to make it a regular thing.  So, we made a decision, hopped into the Colonel, and drove to IHOP!  
It was a grand adventure!  We laughed a lot, and ate some yummy desserts, and drank some yummy coffee.  We had a good time of just talking about things.  Not necessarily "life-changing" issues, but just stuff that was on our minds.  It was a blessing to enjoy and be comfortable with friends.  
All in all, the day was FABULOUS!  Not only did I get to go to church in the morning for fellowship and instruction in the Word, but then I got to hang out with a lot of really neat girls!  
Thank you, Lord, for good friends.  And days to enjoy with them...
It was Happy!  

February 15th: tea with friends...

What is a welcome break to homework?

How about a nice cup of tea with some homemade biscotti and some friends to enjoy it with!?!

My room-mate, Valerie is very sweet and loves tea. I enjoy most all hot beverages. She likes to share her tea-stash, and today Arely and I got to enjoy her treasures!

There is nothing quite like a hot cup of tea steaming in your hand on a grayish/cloudy/misty day. And then combine the Orange Vanilla Biscotti....mmmmm! :)

So in the middle of my Philosophy homework, from which I was looking forward to a little distraction, we had an impromptu "tea-party" in our room.

No, it didn't really help with my concentration--which was already lacking--but it did brighten the afternoon!

Basically, it was happy...:)

February 13th: early Valentines and snow

We have all been waiting for the infamous day when we would wake up to the illustrious white stuff all over the ground. Well, today was that day!

You see, I have been waiting for snow for quite some time. Mostly because I am very used to A Lot of Snow in the Winter Time. So when we have had 50s, 60s, and 70s the last couple of months (and don't get me wrong...I love nice weather too!), it just doesn't feel like it is winter.

The snow was happy!

Then, I got a package in the mail. I think that I have written about the joys of receiving packages. You get that little green slip in your mailbox that says, "You have a Package". With child-like-Christmas-day-joy you rush to the office to pick up the prize! It is almost always well-worth the anticipation. Except the time that I got the same little slip and it turned out to be some homework that couldn't fit in my box. Talk about major bummer! :)

Anyway, the package was from my lovely family. I got some heart-shaped cookies (the Valentine staple in our house) and a Chadron State College football team shirt (which I had received from donating some money for my brother who plays football there).

The package was such a wonderful surprise! It made my day...

It was happy...

Celebrate Everyday pt. 28

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! IT'S THE DAY THAT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! OVER THE PAST MONTH, WE HAVE CELEBRATED SO MANY THINGS, BUT NOTHING COMPARES TO WHAT WE ARE CELEBRATING TODAY! IT'S THE WONDERFUL...THE IRRESISTIBLE...THE DELECTABLE...

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE DAY!

Imagine with me for a moment. You have just come home from a long day. It is kind of chilly outside and there is a soft fall breeze. You enter the house, dragging your tired feet behind you. All you want is to sit down for a quiet moment and let your mind rest! You drop your bag on the floor by the door and head for the table. You plop down in the chair and lower your head into your arms. As you are resting there, a curious smell hits your nostrils. Something about it is familiar and good. Curiosity gets the better of you and you decided to look up to see where the fragrance is originating from. Then you see it! Right in front of you on the table. You wonder why you didn't notice it before. With an unusual feeling of energy you reach out and grab on of the delightful morsels. Slowly, you unwrap the shiny foil wrapping, that wonderful fragrance coming on stronger and stronger. Without hesitation, you put it into your mouth and let the rich dark chocolate slowly melt in your mouth. All of a sudden instead of feeling tired and discouraged, you are filled with senses of pleasure, joy, and exhilaration. Oh, what wonderful chocolate!

Now, if you are anything like me--a true chocolate lover--this description probably made your mouth water or you are looking in every nook and cranny for a piece of chocolate! :)

Recently, I gave an informative speech on some of the physical and emotional benefits of chocolate. Did you know that dark chocolate is good for you heart. Some research has shown that is regular dose of dark chocolate has the same blood thinning and anti-clotting activity as aspirin! Dark chocolate is also full of heart healthy antioxidants and also many different vitamins and minerals. Emotionally, chocolate is good for releasing pleasurable endorphins into our bodies, leaving us feeling delighted and satisfied. Chocolate can also work as an anti-depressant or a stimulant!

So as you can see, today is really worth celebrating! With all the physical and emotional benefits, why wouldn't you want to indulge a little today?