Ahhhhh Christmas break!

Welp, it's been nice to be home for Christmas break for more than a week. Unlike past years, I don't have to work over the break but can stay at home and do typical stay-at-home things. I sleep in everyday, watch TV, see friends, etc. Let us not forget the constant eating out at restaurants and watching as many movies as possible. This year I have my fun friend Maria hanging out with the Van Dycks. She's German, so putting these things together means her having to tell my Dad the German word for everything and us having to listen to him try to insert these words into as many sentences as possible. It cracks me up. It's been really fun to have her here with us!
Anyhoo, Christmas is around the corner and this house will be full of people soon. I love the chaos when the fam gets together. I think I have one of the funnest families in the world, but I'm sure everyone thinks that about their families. Right now I'm finding chords and lyrics to Christmas songs that we play/sing on Christmas Eve.
I don't really know why I'm typing this all out. I'm sort of sitting around waiting for the UPS guys to get here with my brother's presents so I can stash them upstairs for mom/santa. I'd post pictures of everything we've done so far, but I forgot the chords for my camera. So yeah.

Anyways, in honor of the holidays, I will leave you with this. It was actually featured on YouTube for reasons I can't explain. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't make it all the way through. But it's hilarious and extremely sad at the same time, and I'm sure it was filmed somewhere in Oklahoma because of the presence of some OU shirts, making this sadder. I present to you: Christmelicious.

The most important thing about me....

Go here

9:52 a.m.

Cozy in my canopy bed, I hear my familiar "Victory!" ringtone. Puzzled, I fumble around my bed to grab it, open it up, and see that my friend Elisabeth is calling me. I didn't answer because at that moment it dawned on me the huge possibility that I had overslept and was late to Pride rehearsal. Sure enough, it was 9:52 a.m. 9:52?!?!?!?!? I fell out of bed, grabbed my Pride attire (which I thankfully set out the night before, woke up my roommates with the ruckus, and dashed next door to see if Felicia was awake. Seeing her door open, I was shocked that she hadn't performed the usual game-day ritual of whoever-is-up-first-call-the-other-person. As we saw each other, she yelled "I just woke up too!!!!"



AHHHH!
I don't think I'd ever gotten dressed that quickly. With not a look in the mirror or having brushed my teeth, I grabbed my jacket and clarinet, and Felicia and I dashed out the door, slipping on the wet floor (I'll get to that explanation later), hearing the maintenance people yelling for us to slow down, calling our section leaders to tell them what happened, hauling it down 5 flights of stairs, and breaking into a brisk run in a very freezing morning all the way to the stadium.

In a total of 8 minutes, I don't know how we made it to Pride before the whistle was blown. With cramping legs and growling stomach, I marched through my last home game day rehearsal completely in a daze. What had happened???

Well, at about 5 o'clock in the a.m. last night the residents of Couch were alerted by the calm voice of the intercom man to make it downstairs because of a fire alarm. Groggy freshmen and the few crazy upperclassmen (including myself), wrapped in blankets and with sleepy eyes, ventured across First Street to camp out in the bottom of Walker. Apparently through word of mouth we found out about someone on the 11th floor setting of the sprinkler system, which in turn flooded the elevators and stairwells all the way to our floor on 6.

About an hour and a half of sitting on pool tables and discussing whether or not we had time to make it to Crossroads and back before they allowed us in, the friendly staff allowed us to make our ways back upstairs. Herding a couple hundred of people up one stairwell was quite interesting, and we finally made it back to our flooded-elevator-lobby floors.

It took me a good hour to fall asleep because I was starving, which made rehearsal so hard because I never got to eat breakfast. And I had only been awake a good 10 minutes before rehearsal started, so I never had time to get used to the idea of it being game day and yadayada.

Anyhoo, stories like this make days like today memorable. It's also quite challenging to know that I can make it out of bed, change, and get to the stadium in a dash under 10 minutes.

What I think about......

Ever felt tired? Ever felt like your to-do list is becoming so full that you soon lose motivation to conquer it? You ever feel like you signed up for too much and wonder what state of mind you were in for thinking you could get it all done? Ever feel like you just want to give up? Yeah, I'm feeling that way too.
I have counted up the total pages I have to write for one class:28. Twenty-eight pages of papers/journals/project, in a matter of 3 weeks. But it doesn't end there. I have a speech to write and memorize. There's countless pages to read. Then there are finals. And to top it off, when will I fit that in this ridiculous schedule? Some days I go from 8 in the morning to 11 at night.
But this isn't a complaint. It's a challenge. I think in moments like this, when I'm pondering where on earth I will find the time to get things done, that I have an extreme peace from God. I honestly do not know how I could have gotten through this semester (and some really difficult past ones) without Jesus Christ. Did you know that I have the same power in me that Jesus had in Him when He rose from the dead? I have that death-conquering power in me!! Because I have trusted in Jesus to take the penalty of my sins, I have His Spirit LIVING in me! If God's power could take crucified and buried Jesus and bring Him back to life, then surely He can help me with all of this school work I have to get done. Praise Jesus for that power.
I am in awe of what He can do. I say this is a challenge because I have to trust God to get this done. I have to make a choice to harnass that power Jesus had by obeying God. And He will conquer my schedule. He will shatter my frustrations and stress. He will give me the peace that transcends all my doubts and weaknesses. God will overcome!
Thanks to God, I have the most powerful power.
Do you?

I'm bringing blogging back.

OK, I completely forgot that I had a blog. I used to post on it pretty regularly, back when my computer's internet worked. Anyhoo, I sort of discovered it today after coming across someone else's blog where my blog was tagged in it. Then it dawned on me that the last time I blogged was this summer, and that's a shame. I enjoy blogging. I enjoy commenting on blogs. I enjoy getting comments on blogs.
And you know what else? I browsed through a lot of blogs, and nobody's updated for quite some time. I know I'm not one to talk, but people, we need to start being faithful bloggers again! I am constantly encouraged by the things people blog about, and I don't do a good enough job telling them. There have been key blog entries that I remember from years ago. Let's revive the blog!!!! Who's with me????
(I realized that I said "blog" 12 times.... and I now realized that I actually went back and counted....)

Yay for videos!

Welp, I really wanted to put some more Chicago pictures up, but I'm feeling kind of lazy right now. So the next best thing is a video! And this one's great because it's the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field! You know what that means.... take me out to the baaaalllllll gaaaaammmmeeeee....

Here We Go Again

After countless hours of working out this past week I have found some new motivation to exercise. OK Go, you inspire me.

We're havin a heat wave... a tropical heat wave.

Well, most of you will have been hit by the extreme heat wave blazing across the nation. We Jimmy John's marketers felt it today as we walked around residential neighborhoods for hours in 100 degree weather. At one point we look down and Lindsay noticed that the tar in the road was melting and forming liquid bubbles in the pavement. If I had an egg, I would have cooked it.
Stay cool everyone. I'm going to go sit by the fan now.

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from Chicago this far!
Here on your left you will find some of the leaders hanging out under the St. Louis arch. They said this picture wouldn't turn out, but it did!
And on your left you can see me hanging on for dear life on the arch itself!

Yeah, we gals had a lot of stuff to move in! We were tired! Here's us with random kitchen things the first night on Lindner 5!

And down there I am standing outside Chicago- the view from the Lincoln Park Zoo!

.... a walking picture in Chicago during leaders week..... and down there are the guy leaders looking fly. That's right. I just said "fly."

Mmmmm... the first social- bags of burgers. Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!

Ummm this computer is messed up. But there will be more to come!

Chicago!!!!!

Well, here's a really ridiculously small picture of the girl leaders in front of Chicago! We made it safely and more pictures will be coming soon!

Ready to go....

Here I am, sitting in the middle of my floor in the duplexes typing my last blog of this semester. I leave for my summer in Chicago tomorrow morning. This is my last night at the Duplexes. The last night of Norman (for a while atleast). There are people talking about O-week in the other room. I just had dinner with my Project Group from 2 years ago. I am stoked about the summer. Everyone is going separate ways to the ends of the earth, but the cool thing is that we're all connected throughout the summer. So for everyone who is leaving on their amazing trips, I'll be in that suitcase with you with prayers. Love you all. Goodnight!

Sigh

The wedding was great. I just pulled 77 (yes, I counted) bobby pins out of my hair. Goodnight!

The Van Dyck's are coming!!!!!

In the midst of the chaos of finals and moving out, I have one ray of hope: my fam will be in town this week. In celebration of the Hay Wedding, the fun family will be reunited... and it feels so good.

Here's a preview:

The parentals
















Brother Matt will play!
















And Dan and Amy will be married! (random picture, I know)















Then, we party. I can't wait to have fun with everyone after this grueling week is over. Good luck on your finals!!!

I'm in love.

These pictures made my heart smile. It might just be a girl thing.... or a girl who works at a preschool thing.... but these are still cute.
And of course, this was in an email from my dad, who said, "This is what I'm doing to my grandchildren!"














The 102nd Dalmation... and the cutest




















This is the only friendly snake out there, children.




















Yes!











































I love this one... although it kind of looks like those "Those We Don't Speak Of"s from "The Village" but oh well! He won't bite.




















Hahahaha, this kid looks so confused... or like she's fake-smiling.




















Heheheheheeheheheeheheheehee
Oh-Em-Gee he looks like Jerrett! Who's with me?!?!





















AWESOME! Maaaa-su-way-nee-yaaaa... it's the circle of liiiiiiife!




















This kid reminds me of someone I know.. I just can't pinpoint it, and it's driving me nuts!




















sweet




















I could eat this kid...




















OK what is this? The closest thing I could think of was a wildebeast or however you spell it.




















It's a blast being a crocodile!




















Yes! What kid doesn't like hanging upside down?.... in a bat costume and chewing thier wings, nonetheless!




















Awww she wants a hug!




















My favorite is the lion... but that might just be because I have a crush on chubby little boys.

Forwarded emails from Dad

I usually abhor getting any email with "Fwd:" in the front, but my dad's passing-ons I tend to enjoy. Here are two that I got today. Thanks Dad!

Forward Number 1:

HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT???

This is so funny that it will boggle your mind. And you will keep trying it at least 50 more times to see if you can outsmart your foot. But you can't!!!

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction!!!

I told you so... And there is nothing you can do about it.

Make sure you pass this on to your friends... They won't be able to believe it either!!!

And sure enough, I did do it about 50 more times. Good one, Pops!

Forward Number 2:

OK listen up! As every southerner knows it's time to get ready for that all important cooking technique of the south---outdoor Grilling! I have found several stores (not just in the south) where you can get a FREE Bar-B-Q Grill! This is not a joke. You can get a free BBQ grill from any of the following stores:

A&P
Albertsons
Costco
Food Lion
Fry's
Kroger
Big Lots
Brookshire's
Safeway
Target
Wal-Mart
Winn-Dixie

I especially like the higher shelf which can be used for keeping things warm!

Just make sure to get a metal one...the Plastic one's don't do so well when smokin a pig!

Who can't appreciate that?

Short update for the limited-on-time-age

Update update update

Busy week

Update update

Spring banquet was great.
Pictures to come soon.

Update update update

Two weeks of school left

Update update

The Look Alike Theory is totally true and guys are dumb because they can't see OBVIOUS correlations between dating couples

Update update.

I have to go write a speech that was due last week now.

I have a ton of German homework and this is what I'm doing...

Welp, lunch at Tarajumara's today sparked a question in my head. The single mariachi guy played La Bamba (not to mention playing Macarena for our white table... AND making us sing "Heeeeeey Macarena!" at the end of every chorus....) and I wondered what the words really were and what they meant.

La Bamba - Valens Richie
Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
a Una poca de gracia para mi para ti
ya Arriba y arriba
ay arriba y arriba por ti sere
Por ti sere
Por ti sere
Yo no soy marinero
Yo no soy marinero
Soy capitana
Soy capitana
Soy capitana
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesito una poca de gracia
a Una poca de gracia para mi para ti
ya Arriba y arriba

Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesito una poca de gracia
a Una poca de gracia para mi para ti
ya Arriba y arriba
ay arriba y arriba por ti sere
Por ti sere
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba

But I took French and German and do not know what these mean. So what do I do? Naturally I copied and pasted it into an online translator (Warning: Never do this when you really have to write a paper for a foreign language.)

The Bamba - Valens Richie
To dance the bamba
For dance the bamba is needed a little of grace to
A little of grace for my for you already
Up and up oh up and up by you
I was For you
I was For you
I was
I am not sailor
I am not sailor
I Am captain
I Am captain
I Am captain
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba
For dance the bamba
To dance the bamba
I am needed a little of grace to
A little of grace for my for you already
Up and up

To dance the bamba
For dance the bamba
I am needed a little of grace to
A little of grace for my for you already
Up and up oh up and up by you
I was For you
I was
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba

But even after that, I had no idea what it meant! So my friend Goodle helped me out.
"The repeated lyric "Yo no soy marinero" ("I'm not a sailor") refers to Veracruz's marine locale and the male's promise that he will remain faithful to his wife."

"What exactly does "La Bamba" mean? Consider: "Bambolear" means swinging or swaying, and a "bambollero/bambollera" is a someone who likes to boast (e.g., "I'm not a sailor, I'm a captain!"). "
I hope this was as educational for you as it was for me.

Good reminders of God's goodness

Well, Spring semester is here, and with that comes the scariness for me. I've made so many hard decisions this year that I'm ready to move on... into the summer... into the fall eventually. Today I had a hard time trusting God with things.. with support raising, with the girls in my group this summer, with me this summer, and some other things. I hate this cycle I get into, where I can fully and completely trust God with some things.. then when they aren't working out exactly how I want them to, I back away and run from His promises. Tonight, though, God encouraged and challenged me with one of my favorite songs by Derek Webb:

Wedding Dress
If you could love me as a wife
And for my wedding gift, your life
Should that be all I’d ever need
or is there more I’m looking for?

And should I read between the lines
and look for blessings in disguise
To make me handsome, rich, and wise
Is that really what you want?

I am a whore I do confess
But I put you on just like a wedding dress
and I run down the aisle
and I run down the aisle
I’m a prodigal with no way home
but I put you on just like a ring of gold
and I run down the aisle to you

So could you love this bastard child
Though I don’t trust you to provide
With one hand in a pot of gold
and with the other in your side?

I am so easily satisfied
by the call of lovers so less wild
That I would take a little cash
Over your very flesh and blood

Because money cannot buy
a husband’s jealous eye
When you have knowingly deceived his wife

Derek Webb wrote this ballad about the adulteress bride in Ezekiel 16, showing how we live our lives contrary to what we claim. "So could you love this bastard child though I don't trust you to provide?" hit home with me tonight. The last verse in Ezekiel 16 is a promise, though: "I have forgiven you for all that you have done," the Lord God declares. What a great God!

I am reminded of Hosea

Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Bring her into the wilderness
And speak kindly to her.
-Hos. 2:14

I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice
In lovingkindness and in compassion,
And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord.
-Hos. 2:19

I'm such a girl

It's 1:30 in the morning. We just watched Pride and Prejudice. There is something about that movie that leaves me in awe of what it means to be ladylike and manly. Just look at how the people treated each other back then. Culture today stinks! Anyways.... we even made cookie dough. I'm not even kidding. We made the dough with no intention of baking them at all. I love that.

Anyways, here are some pictures from some recent ventures.

I was in a wedding of one of my best friends, Jayme. It was beautiful- on the beach, sunset, everything.

We even got to see some high school buddies!!! Reminiscing about band and the ridiculous things we did back then ...... ahhh that was fab!
Dad even taught me how to Foxtrot.


Tod and Tygre even did a lil interpretive dance for us to Sarah McLaughlin's "Arms of the Angels." It was magical.Yeah, these are random pictures from the wedding.

Anyways, we had a fun time sitting out in the back of the truck hanging with friends. I love things like that. You know what else I love? I love driving at night with the windows down. I love the sound of Bible pages turning. I love cancelled classes. I love surprises and the unknown. I love road trips. I love random dance parties. I love my roommates and the hilarious times we have together, especially Tuesday night dinners. I love that one chord in a song that never fails to give me goosebumps. I love it when my kids at work learn how to say my name. I love Friday nights- the night is always young. I love dollar movies. I love drive in movies. I love hearing an old song and it bringing back so many memories. I love bubble gum. Etc.

In the spirit of random, here's the first video I took on my camera. It's the 2-pointer we made at the 2004 Orange Bowl. What a horrible game.


It's late. I'm so glad work is closed tomorrow. Night.

Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married...

OK that's a total lie. First of all, we're not going to the chapel. We're going to the beach! Secondly, I'm not getting married. My best friend from back home is getting married to a fabulous guy! Jayme and Sam, congrats. I love you 2 so much.
Off to paint my nails! Tomorrow's going to be great!!!

Drain drain go away come again some other day.

Can life get more emotionally draining? Dear Lord, I sure hope not. The sad thing is that I'm drained by things that aren't even directly happening to me- I'm just associated with them. When something rocky comes my way in the future I don't think I'll have the emotional patience to deal with it. Luckily though, I'm not that sensitive or easily offended, so that day might be far off. I don't really know what this post is supposed to be about. It's not witty or funny. It just is. Because I am just this right now. And I can't explain it.
Sorry to be a bore. It's just all getting really old and really tiring and I can't wait until these things I can't control are different.

Genocide Awareness Project

It's coming to OU.
It cannot be stopped.
It will challenge college students.
It will bring truth where before there was cover-up.
It will save lives.

I don't really know what that above limerick was. I just sort of made it up trying to sound like one of those movie preview narrator guys.

No but seriously, I just got home from the GAP meeting. The Genocide Awareness Project is coming to OU on Monday and Tuesday and is ready to engage our culture, challenge students, and raise awareness of this genocide that is sweeping our nation. I really don't know what to feel about it yet... I'm nervous, scared, yet extremely excited to see God work. I know He is doing something great through this project, and I thank Him for letting me fight battles with Him. I hope people won't stop talking or thinking about it, that classes will discuss it, that the paper will approach all views of it (for once), that people will be changed by it, but most importantly, that babies will be alive where they were before destined to be killed because of unwant.

Pure awesomeness!

Mock's Keyboard Debut

I have no idea when I took this.

Messing around with YouTube

I love our MT.

The Life of a Public Speaker

Yes, I am preparing for my tribute speech to Elvis, and it's really exciting. What makes this so special too is the trip to Graceland in the upcoming weeks. It will make my crush on Elvis official.

Whatever

Don't know what to update, so here's a picture from one of the emails my dad sent me.

Sick.

Finding joy in the small things

These past weeks have been crazy, but only because I've let them be like that. There was a lot on my plate that I had to deal with/am still trying to deal with. So many "little" tasks need to be done, and the to-do list gets longer and longer each day.

Thursday at Vespers I was really encouraged by Randy Lanthripe's message about faithfulness. God challenged me with that- giving me small things now to develop faithfulness in my life so that in the future He can give me bigger things! That's exciting news, and I'm grateful He starts us out on the small things! The foundation I lay now will be with me my entire life and I want to cultivate things like faithfulness now so that I don't have to deal with/ "chip away at" later on in life. I am so encouraged in the Lord!

Randy also said that when we're under the gun and have no idea how we're going to finish all the things on our to-do lists, when we concentrate on faithfulness to Him first, we can take one step at a time and get jobs done. Hearing that reminded me of those times in life, especially throughout college where God has kept His promise in that! So though there's a lot to get done, I need to focus on my relationship with Him first, seek His Kingdom foremost, and let God guide the next steps. I love having Someone so powerful and faithful to trust my life with!

Anyway, studying at Panera with Lindsay was really encouraging. We talked through a lot of it, got so much behind reading done, and then this random guy came in with this huge harp and started playing. He had this whole posse of groupies with him and I really have no idea what they were doing there. I love things like that. Just out of the blue things that I can really appreciate. But what's more than that is that the first song he played was "Bridge over Troubled Water." Wow! That came from beyond the harpist! God used that song to encourage me, to tell me that He's thinking of me in that moment, in every moment. Thank you Jesus.

Why does "diet" have to start with the word "die?"

This is the question I ask myself on this day. What a week to decide to start a diet... or a lifestyle change.. or whatever word you want. What am I supposed to do when my roommate has a birthday and get 6 (yes, SIX!) cakes that are still lying around, Secret Saints starts and all my roommates are getting bags and bags of candy, and it's the most stressful week of my semester so far which makes me want to eat lots of Doritos while I study, and it all culminates on Friday with the Dessert Auction where mounds of not just regular desserts, but homemade delights fashioned by so and so's Grandma, are put up in front of me ready to be bought and eaten? Man this week is supposed to be encouraging but Satan is attacking this sweet-tooth! 1 Cor 10:31! A moment on the lips, forever on the hips. These two things I'll repeat to myself when I'm tempted. Sheesh.
"Diet starts Monday!"- Cindy, my favorite Gap Girl

I tried to think of something with which to update, but I really can't think of anything. I even googled the word "random" (and isn't it funny that "google" is a verb now? I mean, to google... or not to google....) but nothing was too cool. So I'll just leave you with this picture... of a random event that happened not so long ago.

Drunk dialer?

OK so somebody from my hometown of Corpus just called me and left a message that took a while to decipher. At first I thought it might be a drunk dialer.... but then I thought it might be somebody I know from home just talking funny.... After repeatedly saving the message and re-listening to it 4 times I figured out what they said. It went something like this:
"Hey Jenny. Is your refridgerator running? ..... *silence*... because... if it is youbettergocatchit *all one long slurred word* We love you Jenny!"
OK, did they know me when they called or did they know my name because of my voice mail message? It remains a mystery. If you are this mysterious dialer/dialers, call me back. (And if it's one of my youth, that's hilarious!)

First Day of School

Why school is important:















My messenger bag is packed. My schedule is printed off (or just written down for lack of printer). My pens are sharpened. I am so ready for classes to start. Have a Happy Syllabus Day!

Christmas

So, Christmas is officially over and the decorations begin to come down. So in honor of this holiday season I have prepared a blog-slideshow of the happenings that have.... uh... happened. It begins here, so just sing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" or something else to yourself while scrolling through the pictures.

Roommate time... making cookies that we delivered to the duplexes after a nice flour fight of course.

Ok so my granddad had his company Christmas party and naturally had an Elvis impersonater come on out. This guy was hilarious with his karaoke CD track and dance moves, and was a pro at wrapping one of his cologney scarves around women and serenading them. It was a hoot.




Dan and Elv made good friends! And we got a picture with him too!


















Yeah, so Amy, Dan, Buki, and I headed down to our house in the Max-mobile and with all of our presents and my family's presents and then Santa's together we had about 90 something under the tree. It was ridiculous.... what was even more crazy was the amount of spoilage Dan got. I guess he's the new favorite. (wink wink)



Awww parents! Thank you dad for passing on your model face to me. If only I could get it as intense as yours.


Stockings!!!!!!!!
So Christmas day hasn't changed since we were kids, besides the fact that we know the truth about Santa. The same thing happened this year: Amy woke everyone up at the crack of dawn, we picked a spot in the living room where our unwrapped presents ended up for atleast 2 days after Christmas (we didn't want to open all of them before packing up and going), then we ate dad's high cholesterol breakfast followed by a nap and then to the movies! This year we saw "The Producers" and I am still laughing at it. HUH-larious! It was so bad yet so stinking funny and a great touch to an already great day.
Here's a run down of the presents: new acoustic and case, mp3 player, perfume (yesssss), black Converse, CDs, a fluffy pink pillow (Matt said "I saw that and thought of you!" Thanks bro!), a blingin watch from Dan (who also said "I saw that and thought of you!"), a rad dartboard from Amers, gift certs, etc. Oh I also got some white strips to help whiten these things!

Here's the Christmas aftermath:











Then Cottle came down to hang out and do the traditional hibachi run.

Good times.















We bowled...















..... went to the beach....

















.... saw Selena... COMO LA FLEUR!














And did other Corpus-y things.
Welp, it took me about an hour to do this, so peace out! Happy Holidays!