[Literally] Old School: Mission 3rd Krauss

First and foremost: a huge thanks for offered words of advise and encouragement lately. This girl's heart needed it. We all need that extra bit of love sometimes. And I'm grateful for those who have been willing to give it.

Day 5: A Picture Of Your Favorite Memory

I'm not a fan of having to pick one favorite anything. Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will tell you that 1) I am indecisive and 2) any question of a favorite will end in a list (oh, how I love lists) of subcategories of favorites because my favorite one day will not be my favorite the next; it changes with my mood.

To that end, then, I present you with one of my favorite memories, sub-categorized under "CUC Days". Ladies and gents, I give you a scene from one of the first few weeks of freshman year while living on ye ol' 3rd Krauss, the Mouse House. We called this the evening of Mission 3rd Krauss. I now give you the 10 steps necessary for said Mission:

Step 1: Get bored on a weekend.

Step 2: Decide to decorate the hall.

Step 3: Realize need for big sheets of paper.

Step 4: Plan how to get big sheets of paper from the community center across campus.

Step 5: Make a detailed plan on how to sneak from Point A (3rd Krauss) to Point B ( the KCC). Include strict instructions to make James Bond-esque rolls along the way.

Step 6: Dress accordingly with the "mission" mindset. (I don't think this is what Concordia had in mind when they encouraged "missions".)

Step 7: Dart across campus, roll a few times for good measure here and there, duck behind bushes, and do this all with minimal talking and giggling. Ignore any and all people who look and/or ask, "What's going on?" Just run and secure the goods.

Step 8: When goods are secured, repeat process of getting to KCC, but in reverse. And, for the sake of the preservation of the paper, with less James Bond-style rolling.

Step 9: Return to 3rd Krauss with the sweet, sweet taste of victory...and a lot of paper.

Step 10: Proceed in hanging up paper to decorate the hall. Make masking tape outlines of friends on the floor in the hallway.

Oh, that and so many other memories make that my favorite floor to have lived on in college. Remind me to tell you sometime about the time our floor was quarantined. Future post?

~"A college education should equip one to entertain three things: a friend, an idea, and oneself." [-Thomas Ehrlich]~

Another Blow to the Moses Mindset

God continues to squash my Moses mentality every day that I'm here. You know, those doubts that try to talk me out of feeling okay here, that try to make me feel like I should just pack up, move home, and stay inside my comfort zone.

Today the Moses mindset started with being nervous about going to a new church by myself. This is actually the first time I've had to do that. But I got there and saw the teacher I'm replacing along with her granddaughter, who will be in my class this year. I was greeted by two big hugs and smiles, and there went a little bit more of that Moses mindset.

Up went my excitement factor for meeting my students.

Tomorrow's another first: a meeting with a student's parent. I'm fervently praying for wisdom, words, and peace. First impressions are intimidating. And then it's onward with the classroom prep...yikes. One step at a time.

Okay, time to switch gears to that photo challenge again.

Day 4: A Picture of Your Night

~"Don't be afraid to expand yourself, to step out of your comfort zone. That's where the joy and the adventure lie." [-Herbie Hancock]~

A Slow Saturday

Homework aside for a little while, it's time for the today's challenge theme.

Day 3: The Cast of Your Favorite Show

I'm not a big TV watcher, but it's nice to have an hour or so each week to just get lost in somebody else's world for a while.

My mom and I used to watch Gilmore Girls [ Still a favorite!] and then call each other afterwards to talk about it and everything else. It was like our set date each week. After the show ended, it was a bummer not to have that special thing every week that made me feel linked to home a little.

Parenthood previews came out with Lauren Graham in them (she was in GG, too, and a tremendous actress), so we had to check it out. Turned out to be a fantastic show -- a mix of drama, comedy, and how family can drive us crazy just as well as they can hold us together. The family lives in one town and is always involved in one another's business, trying to solve problems and dealing with the fights that come with sharing blood.

First of all, how can you go wrong having a Bob Dylan song for a theme song? Aside from that, I love it because it has real struggles, from a single mom raising teenage kids who had to move back home after leaving her druggie/alcoholic husband to a family dealing with the process and aftermath of having a son diagnosed with Asperger's to parents who want what's best for their kids yet not being ready for them to grow up.

The Bravermans are just like my family: close-knit, always at each other's houses, trying to do what they can to help even when sometimes everyone would like to pretend they can do it alone, but always loving each other at the end of the day regardless of what comes their way. And the show makes me laugh and cry every single time. If my family were to star in a show, this would be it.

When I was in a poetry writing class in college, a wise professor said that when we write a love poem, the reader should fall in love with that person, too. I think of Lisa's words every time I see a movie or show or read something that truly draws me in and makes me feel what the characters are feeling. It takes a lot of talent to be able to bring feelings alive for the audience to experience with the characters. Well done, Parenthood.

Consider the video of the intro the quote for today:

True Friendship Ignores Time and Distance

I'm grateful for the photo challenge today. This week kicked my butt a little.

Day 2: You and the Person You've Been Closest to the Longest

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this probably means beyond the family because they are kind of a given. Otherwise they'd win this, hands down: 1) Parents 2) My Pops 3) My Cousins and 4) Auntie Cindy. :)

So, branching out beyond the fam, it'd easily be these two tied for that spot.

I've known Matt (left) and Andrew (right) since I was in 8th grade. [ That picture's from Matt's wedding day. I have zero of the three of us...ever. Fail. We have to fix that at Andrew's wedding.] We've had some ups and downs along the way -- from break ups and fights to cross-country moves -- but on the rare occasions when the 3 of us can get together, it's like nothing has changed about our friendship.

Except that we're older, Matt's an old married guy now, and Andrew is soon to be an even OLDER married guy. And they have wonderful, beautiful (inside and out) women in their lives now that I also have the blessing of having in mine. [Hahaha, the amount of estrogen is now higher than testosterone. A nice change, if you ask me! :P]

But we're still silly one minute and contemplating the mysteries of life the next, and then we bounce right back to picking on one another. I know I can still call them any day and talk though anything and everything with them -- or nothing that makes any sense at all. I absolutely love 'em to death and look up to them a lot. It's a downright honor to have gotten to watch them grow up into two pretty classy guys. [Yes, even you, Andrew. :P]

I'm so thankful to have them in my life for 10 years and counting. ♥

~"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." [-Elisabeth Foley]~

A Mini-Challenge

A while ago people were doing a 30 day photo challenge on Facebook. It was cool to get to know people a little bit better and see their creativity coming out, so I decided to give it a shot.

Day 1: A Picture of Yourself with 10 Facts

1) Those glasses were actually my cousin Matt's. And they were once sunglasses. And this is on his graduation day. He's one of the people I look up to most in my life.

2) Next to pierogis, my all-time favorite food is cheese. Oh, how I miss Wisconsin cheese curds and their delightful squeaking.

3) I absolutely cannot eat catfish. The way they look just freaks me out. Something that ugly cannot go in my mouth. Plus they eat mud, don't they? Ew.

4) I'd love to learn how to play guitar and piano someday...not necessarily in that order.

5) I have terrible storm anxiety, and night storms are when I hate being alone the most. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty cool that God's so powerful like that, but it literally makes me sick to my stomach when the thunder is rattling the windows. I have no idea why a sound scares me so much, but it's called brontophobia. I usually get out my iPod, put on my headphones, and crank the music to drown it out. And feel like a 3 year old the whole time.

6) If I had to choose between a night in with my family or a night out with my friends, most of the time I'd pick my family. They just get me. Most of the time. We go beyond bloodship, though -- we are also friends, and I treasure that. A lot.

7) I have a knack for being able to tie movie quotes or scenes into every day situations. It's a gift. I think it's genetic.

8) I don't regret many things, but many of the things I do revolve around not speaking my mind when I should have. I'm still working on standing up for what I believe in or for myself.

9) Someday I'd like to try Zumba. Who's with me?

10) I had a quote wall in every single dorm room I lived in, and I loved it. So many things would have been forgotten without those -- they were almost like a timeline that I could use to trace the great things that happened each year. I still love collecting quotes, but now I have a quote journal.

And there you have it, 10 things about me that you didn't know 10 minutes ago but you know now.

~"Someone to tell it to is one of the fundamental needs of human beings." [-Miles Franklin]~