Two Things

I just got back from watching "No Reservations" with Carolyn and Anna. Two things:

1. Go see it.

I was pleasantly surprised! It was a very good movie. Very clean, very cute, but a tear-jerker quite a few times. I would definitely watch it again.

2. I really want to go to New York.

I have always wanted to go to New York. It just looks so magical! Especially in the wintertime (when the movie was set). I would love to go stand and look at that big Christmas tree with the snow falling down around me and Michael Buble playing in my head (haha). I want to see stores and streets lit up at night time. I want to sit on a bench by the water. I want to go to the "Shop Around the Corner" (it exists in my mind, and if it doesn't, I'm sure there are stores like it) and look at all the children's books. I want to buy fresh flowers from a market. I want to sit in a coffee shop and just watch people rushing past. I want to read a book in the park. I want to see a Broadway musical. It all looks terribly romantic.

I just really want to go to New York.

Ask my parents: I have always loved cities. It's not that I don't love the country - I really do. I love the quiet peacefulness and the untouched beauty of mountains and lakes and fields. I love the country. I grew up in the country pretty much. It's gorgeous.

But I love cities too. There is so much architecture and history. The people are intreaguing. There is always something to do and something to see. There is a certain energy about the city. It gets me excited!

Well, I should be getting to bed. I have to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow. Just like every other morning!

Goodnight. :)

Second Post Today

Ohhhhh, two posts in one day! Can you believe it? (Probably.)

I am very tired and I feel really weak and worn out right now. I probably just need a hug. Instead, I turn to blogging, since everyone around me has gone to sleep. Yes, it's 10:20 and almost everyone in my apartment is either in their room going to sleep, or in their pajamas and getting ready for sleep. We're like old people.

I realized today that I need to become a better communicator. I always thought that I was quite good at communicating, since I love talking to people and engaging in conversation. I can carry on a conversation with someone for a long time.

But communication is much more than that.

My problem comes with listening. For the most part, I think I am a pretty good listener because I don't get distracted by things around me easily when talking to someone, and I try my best not to interrupt them or change the subject. I understand how frustrating it is when the person you're talking to does that, so I try to stay quiet when someone is talking to me.

I just tend to forget things people have told me.

Important things.

Things I should remember so as not to hurt people in the future.

And yet, I don't make an effort to remember these things and put them into practice.

I'm sorry I'm being vague.

I need to learn to be a better communicator from now on. I think communication is key, especially if you have hurt someone or if there is a dispute/argument over something. You must learn to listen to what the person has to say. You must not argue with them if they say that something you did hurt them. You must apologize sincerely, asking for forgiveness, and asking how to avoid hurting them in the future. You must not try to justify your actions. You must speak with a calm and gentle tone of voice. (And you must learn this stuff before you get married! Haha.)

I have had to learn all of this from experience. It is a humbling thing to come to someone, throw away your pride and admit that you are messed up and that you were wrong. I used to be awful at this, but I am becoming much, much better. I hope my sister would agree. Carolyn sees me apologize to her more than anyone else. Because she's the one I hurt more than anyone else. (Agreed, Carolyn?)

It is also very difficult to forgive others for hurting us. Yet because Christ forgave our sins, we must forgive others for wronging us.

Read Matthew 18:21-35.

It's a good picture of forgiveness.

As for me, right now, I am going to bed.

At 10:37. :)

-Katie

So Long, Milky

Yesterday was a very sad day for me.

I got rid of Milky, my hamster.

There is a hole in my closet where his cage used to be, and it makes me sad every time I see it.

I have been meaning to get rid of my hamster for some time now, but I had no idea how to do that. My friends and I came up with a few different plans:

1. Let him go in the wild.
The problem with this plan was that I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. There was no way that I could take my precious pet and put him in a field where birds could pick him up, carry him away and eat him. I couldn't live with myself knowing that would be the end of him.

2. Find someone with a snake, and feed him to it.
The problem with this plan was that I would, again, feel guilty for the rest of my life. What a way for a hamster to die. Mice are one thing, but a pet, a named pet, is another.

3. Carry him into a pet store in my pocket, then pull him out and walk up to a store employee, claiming we found him running around the store, and that he needed to be put back in a cage. (My personal favorite because it was the least cruel.)
The problem with this plan was that the employees would probably notice his patchy fur, due to the summer hair cut Carolyn gave him a few weeks ago. Another problem is that he was a lot bigger than the other hamsters in the store, and they would know something was up.

4. Put him in his ball, and let him loose on a busy street.

The problem with this plan was... well I won't even go into how wrong this is on so many levels.

Since none of these plans seemed like they would work, I decided to call Petsmart and Petco to see if they would accept hamsters that had been previously owned. Petsmart told me that if I had bought him there less than two days ago, there would be no problems. Milky is about a year and a half old, so this definitely wasn't an option. Petco, on the other hand, said that I could take him, his cage and all his accessories up to the store and sign a "transfer of custody" form. They would then put him up for adoption and find a good home for him.

Perfect!

So yesterday afternoon, I cleaned Milky's cage for the last time ever, put him in the car, and drove to Petco. After signing the transfer of custody form (I felt like I had gone through a divorce or something), the super nice and friendly employees took Milky in. They thought he was adorable, and welcomed him into their lovely family. I waved goodbye and walked out the door, feeling a little sad that I will no longer have a small rodent living in my closet. I no longer smell hamster pee when I walk into my room, which should make me extremely happy, but instead makes me a little sad.

Give me a few days and I'll be over it, I'm sure. Milky will forever live on as my phone's background picture.

I can't wait for Kellie to be back in Texas. I really miss her, even if she doesn't miss us very much. Texas loves her more than she knows. :)

There are 10 more days until the end of this Summer School session. I honestly can't believe this summer is nearly over. It really really makes me sad, because I have enjoyed it so much! I have had so many adventures, met so many people, learned so many new things... I couldn't have asked for a better summer this year.

I move into my new duplex in 12 days. It is going to be a huge change for me, since I am so used to living with the same three amazing girls. My new roommate is amazing, too, but it will definitely be different than it is now. I think the main difference is that I'll only be living with one other person. I am excited and sad at this new chapter of my life. But God is still good. :)

I think I have run out of things to say. I keep looking out my window at the beautiful sky. I want to get out there. I think I will go somewhere and just lay outside. It looks absolutely gorgeous!!!

-Katie

It's Not a Very Interesting One Today

This morning felt a lot like a dream.

I got to the bus stop at the usual time, but the bus didn't come for another 15 minutes. Very strange. Normally, it is perfectly on schedule. When it did arrive at 7:18, however, I noticed that it said "N35 Hullabaloo" instead of "N36 Cotton Bowl". This is strange because the N35 hasn't been running for over a year.

The next weird thing that happened was that my bus turned on Holleman instead of George Bush. The route was kind of different. People were confused because it wasn't stopping at the usual stops. At least I still had the same bus driver. If it had been someone different, I might have freaked out. We still arrived at the Trigon at the right time, however. It was so strange. I tried looking it up on the A&M Transport website, but there was nothing written about these changes. Hmm.

Then, when I was walking to my pilates class, there were all these people sitting everywhere in Rudder Plaza and around the MSC breezeway. I figured out they were firefighters. It was really weird. They were all just hanging out and sitting around. Actually, when I was riding the bus to campus, I saw a sign above Mi Cocina that said "Welcome, Firemen" or soemthing like that.

Is there a convention going on in town?

It has been a pretty strange morning. I think things are back to normal, now.

I really don't have anything interesting to write about. There is a girl three computers down from me who is sleeping. It looks like fun. I think if I did that at my computer, it might not work too well. She is in a corner where no one can really see her. I need a nap.

I haven't spoken to my mom in a while. I think I'm going to go call her.

Peace out, homies.

Car Washes are Awkward

I almost didn't want to post this morning because I love going to my blog and seeing that beautiful painting of the heart right there. Does anyone else really like that picture? I wish I could have a print of that to hang somewhere. It looks like what my heart feels like. That painting makes me smile! I think all I did was search google images (although now I have no idea what I typed in to find it).

Anyways, good morning!

I saw Hairspray last night with some friends, and it was simply amazing. I was smiling, dancing, and laughing the whole way through. Seeing John Travolta as a woman was hilarious. Go see it. I think it got an A- by the yahoo movie reviews thing... and as far as I can tell, that's rare.

Do you ever look up when you're walking around? I have been doing it a lot recently. There's a lot to look at up there! I like looking at the top of buildings, the birds in the sky, the branches of the trees, the clouds... I must look like a complete dork with my neck bent back and eyes upward, but it's worth it. Just look up sometime when you are walking across campus. I'm not sure if I would advise this in a busy city (although a split second wouldn't hurt anyone), but definitely try this on campus. The sky is beautiful.

Yesterday, Carolyn and I went to give Dwight a bath. Dwight, for those of you who don't know this, is what we call our car. If you saw the license plate, you would understand. He is rightfully a "Dwight." Anyways, he tends to get dirty pretty quickly, so we knew that he would need a wash soon. We got him in February (thanks, Dad!!!), and he has had maybe... 3... carwashes since. Four could be stretching it. But it has been raining so much here that we weren't in any rush to pay $5 and then have it go to waste.

But yesterday was the day.

After dinner, Carolyn and I drove around to find the closest carwash (for future reference, it's at Holleman and Wellborn). We drove up to the little money thing, and started putting our quarters in to pay the $4 for the "Premium Wash." I don't know why they call it that, because it's the least expensive and fancy wash. I guess they want us to know that even their Econo-wash (what it should be called) is of good quality. Anyways, we're putting our quarters in, and after every quarter gets put through the slot, there's a little voice that talks to us.

"Quarter - accepted."

It did the same thing when we put the dollar bills in.

"Bill - accepted."

There seemed to be a live human inside the box. I had never seen anything like it. (On a side note, why are they always female voices? I have always wondered that.)

After we paid the $4, a choice came up on the screen: TouchFreeWash or FoamBrite Wash?

How were we supposed to know what that meant?

We went for the TouchFreeWash because we thought that maybe you had to do something yourself on the FoamBrite one.

We decided this was a bad decision because we figured out that "TouchFreeWash" meant that the spinning brushes don't hit your car, which is what Dwight really needed. Instead of the spinning brushes (which are apparently made out of foam), we got the most powerful spray of water I've ever experienced. It was like a jet sprayer times a thousand. It wasn't just a little spray, either - it was like the heavens opened and were shooting water at us. Carolyn and I sat there, screaming, grabbing each other's arms.

It was one of the scariest experiences I've ever had. Well, maybe not, but it was still scary.

We thought for sure that the windscreen was going to break, our car was going to fill up with water, and we were going to drown. Thank goodness that didn't happen, though. We got out just fine, and Dwight looks sparkly and shiny.

Our last carwash experience was just as bad. We went to one in Rock Prairie, and pulled up to the money thingy. As we were trying to figure out how to pay for the wash, this random guy walks up to our car and starts blasting it with a jet sprayer. We thought he was one of those guys who just does something to try to get money, and it isn't really his job. We certainly didn't want to pay for this extra service, so we rolled our window down and yelled at him. No kidding, our conversation went a lot like this:

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Huh?"
"What's going on?"
[Jet sprayer turned off] "Um... what?"
[Awkward silence]
"What... are you doing? What's happening?"
"I... don't understand."
"Um... neither do we."
"What?"
"Where do we pay? We want a carwash."
"Um.. what? I'm not sure."
"Do we just drive through?"
"I'm getting the bugs off your car first."

[Moment of revelation] "OH!!!! Okay!! Got it. We thought..."
[Awkward silence]

"...What?"

It was the most awkward conversation we had had in a long time. Poor guy. The carwash ended up being fine, however, and we were thankful for the pre-wash-bug-removal.

This is why we don't get our car washed very often.

Every morning, I come to the Blocker computer lab at the same time. My pilates class gets out about an hour before my statistics class, so I have time to kill. That's why I blog every morning. What else am I going to do? I come here. Every morning, I log in to a computer, and I see this picture as my background:

That's the village I lived in when I lived in England. Well, it's one of them, because I lived in three. That was the one my family lived in until this past December. I look at that picture, and it looks like a dream. I seriously can't believe that place still exists, somewhere across the ocean. I miss it a lot, and I hope to go back someday soon. Isn't it beautiful?

Anyways, I should get ready for my class. I hope you all enjoy your Tuesday. I know I will.

-Katherine

I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Down in my Heart!

Goooood Monday Morning! It is gorgeous today, in case you haven't been outside. Well, College Station is beautiful; I'm not sure about the rest of the world. If you want good weather, come to Aggieland. Ha.

I'm trying to think of something amazing and interesting to share with you guys. I have no words of wisdom and I haven't had any moments of revelation. All I know is that I am joyful.

Joy.

People don't seem to use that word very much anymore. Normally people are "happy" but not "joyful." That's because joy comes from the Lord.

I went to biblegateway.com (one of my favorite websites ever) and searched for the words "joy" and "joyful." I got a total of 242 results. Then I searched for the words "happy" and "happiness." 27 results.

Don't you find that interesting? The word joy is used almost 9 times more than the word happy! Of course I am using the NIV version, and I'm searching in English, so it's probably not 100% accurate, but I think it still shows us something.

God wants to fill our hearts with joy. Which is a lot different from happiness. True joy runs so much deeper and purer than happiness. "Happy" is defined as delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing and Joy is defined as intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness. I think that says something.

I think of being happy as being in a good mood, or maybe, not being in a bad mood. A time of life where good things are happening, so you have no reason to be upset. Something like that.
When I think of joy, however, I don't always think of everything going your way. You can have joy in the midst of sorrow, hardship and struggles. You can be joyful in persecution. James says so:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
James 1:2-3

Paul praised God in prison. He had joy.

As Christians, we can always be joyful because Christ has forgiven us. He has redeemed us and given us eternal life, and a personal relationship with Him. We are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness! Whoop! Now that is something to be joyful about!

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says this:
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

This is God's will for us! To be joyful always! He wants to fill our hearts with joy. He wouldn't tell us to do something that was completely impossible. He's not saying to be in a good mood always. Jesus wasn't even in a good mood all the time! He got angry. He cried. It's right there in the Bible.

Being joyful is different. It feels different. It feels amazing! What a blessing to praise our Savior in the midst of our struggles!!

Be joyful today.
Christ died for you.
He loves you no matter what.

- Katie

My Summer in a Verse

Carolyn is in the living room, watching some TV show about a guy who won $18 million, and then 5 years later filed for bankruptcy.

It's the saddest story ever.

The love of money can make people do crazy things. This guy was spending more than he was earning, and of course money is finite. Our greed and desire for better and better things can overcome us if we let it, and we end up worse off than we were. With $18 million, he could have lived a comfortable life for the rest of his life. He could have invested that money, saved the money, and spent it wisely.

But he didn't.

He was foolish.

I have been reading Proverbs recently, and it is really convicting me of my foolishness. One of my deepest desires is to be a wise woman, and I am realizing areas of my life that need change. I could start listing them here but I won't.

I want to be wise with my words.
I want to be wise with my relationships.
I want to be wise with my money.
I want to be wise with my time.
I want to be wise with the way I dress.
I want to be wise with my work/studying.
I want to be wise in every aspect of my life.

Proverbs 31:30 says
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

I may be the most charming, beautiful woman in the world (which is really not true haha), but if I am not fearing the Lord, then everything is in vain. I am not to be praised! Everything on the outside fades away, but it's where my heart is that remains.

If I could pick a theme for this summer, it would be wisdom, fear of the Lord, knowledge of the Holy One and understanding.

I love this verse:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10

There you go. My summer in a verse.

Sunrises, Relationships and Hugs

I slept until 9:10 today, which is very rare for me these days. Normally I get up at 6:30, so sleeping for an extra (almost) 3 hours was amazing. I feel so refreshed and... lazy. I am not a morning person, but I really like getting up early.

I love seeing the world before everything is busy and bustling.
I love watching the sun rise high in the sky.
I love being able to hear the sound of the birds before the sound of the cars.
I love feeling like I have more hours in my day.

It's too bad that I'm normally exhausted when I wake up early. Although, I am getting better at it.

I found this picture (above) by searching "sunrise" on google images. I don't know where that is, but I want to go there. I want to sit on the edge of the lake and watch that gorgeous sunrise. I imagine myself sitting in one of those camping chairs, drinking some hot coffee or maybe even hot chocolate. Despite the buildings that I can see across the lake, it reminds me of somewhere I would go camping. So maybe hot chocolate would be a more realistic thing to be drinking, since you can buy those packets and add hot water. I don't touch instant coffee. That's disgusting.

I'm so glad that Anna is back from Brazil, because this means that I can sit with her and Carolyn and we can talk about relationships again for hours. I just read that sentance again, and it sounds like something from Laguna Beach. I promise, when we talk about relationships, it doesn't go like this:

"So are you with Spencer?"
"Yeah... I dunno though. He's just been acting really weird. I just... I dunno."
"He's so cute though."
"Yeah, he's hot."
"What's up with him and Lauren?"
"They went to that party together."
"Yeah, I dunno."

My brain turned to slush just writing that.

Women seem to talk about relationships a great deal when they are together. Woman are very relational creatures, and companionship seems to be at our core. Which makes a whole lot of sense, because God made us that way. He is relational!

The conversations I tend to have aren't conversations about who likes whom, who is cute, and what my wedding will look like. Gosh, I haven't even thought about that. I don't think its healthy to plan your wedding before you have even met the guy! I knew a girl in high school who had everything planned down to the smallest details. At that time, she was dating someone, but she had planned her wedding before she started dating him. Then she went off to college, they broke up, and she could be dating someone else now. I don't know. It's very sad.

Maybe it's just the people that I talk to, but our conversations go much deeper, and I am so thankful for that. We talk about submission, and what that is supposed to look like in marriage. We talk about being examples to other believers and non-believers in dating relationships. We talk about fears and insecurities we have. We talk about being wise women of the Lord. We talk about patience, and how to deal with these desires for relationships and marriages that are placed deep within us. We talk about guarding our hearts and being prayerful.

God has blessed me with amazing friends to be able to talk about this stuff with. Amazing, wise, wonderful women. :)

I busted out my iRiver last night. That's the mp3 player I had before I got an actual iPod. My iRiver is old, chunky, and makes this high pitched noise when it is turned on. It loses its battery charge like nothing else. But it has a bunch of music on it that is not on my iPod. So I hooked it up to my laptop to see what was on it. The answer: some amazing old music! I listened to a Snow Patrol cover of "Crazy in Love" which they probably shouldn't have made. Most of the music reminds me of summertime in England. Which makes me miss England even more.

I told one of my friends that I was going to go back to England one of these days. I probably shouldn't have said that, because I have no idea what is in store for me. I would love to go back, but who knows. I just looked at my roommate's pictures of Paris that she put on Facebook. I have been to Paris many, many times, but it all seemed so distant, like it happened in another life. It's funny that I am saying that, because while I was living in England, I used to say that living in Texas before I moved to England felt like a different life.

My life has been so weird!

I get weirded out just thinking about it. Suddenly, this world seems so big and different. The world is a very strange place. It is beautiful and different and diverse, full of people. Lots of people. Broken people who are craving love. Lost people who don't know who their Savior is. Wealthy people whose treasure will burn away like straw in a fire. I want to meet these people. All of these people.

I bet there are people out there who have never had a hug.

Can you believe that?

Hugs are awesome, and I love them. There are children out there who have never been touched in a loving way. All of the sudden I want to find these children and just hold them. And hug them. And kiss them. And snuggle with them. Maybe I will meet children like this if I become a teacher. I hope I do.

Wow, this post was so random. It had no flow or direction... which is a lot like my brain. These are just thoughts I have been thinking lately.

I should probably go get ready for my day now. I want to go out of town, away from buildings, and just walk around. I hear there are some great parks off Rock Prairie, on the other side of the highway. I think I will venture out there.

Have a nice day.

It's funny I say that, because I'm listening to that song right now (by Stereophonics). It reminds me of England. Especially because they are British musicians and they're singing about a visit to the United States, and how they look different and sound different.

We dress the same way, only our accents change.

-Katie

Violators Will Be Prosecuted

I'm convinced that Satan's greatest accomplishment was making humans believe that our lives are private.

If you look around, it's everywhere. You can go to the library and get a private study room or booth.

You can work in an office in a cubicle.

You can live in an apartment and have your own bathroom.

You can put a gazillion passwords on your computer.

Everyone has their own car.

Everything is private. We have this right to keep things to ourselves and not let anyone in. We have been conditioned to think that no one wants to hear our problems, and that it's not right to ask anyone about theirs.

What is craziest to me is that all of these private things are considered luxuries. To go from sharing something to having your own is supposed to be a wonderful, good thing. You get promoted in your job, so you get your own office.

Congratulations! We're going to separate you from everyone else.

What on earth...

Reading about the early church in Acts 2:42-47 must sound like torture:

...All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praises God and enjoying the favor of all the people...

They liked this. They loved being around each other. They were all up in each other's business. They met together every day. They ate together. They shared their things. They were glad.

Yeah, this definitely doesn't happen much anymore. Satan got into the heads of us humans (especially us Americans) and gave us the grand idea that we should separate ourselves from everyone else as much as possible. Everything seems to be getting more impersonal.

AIM

Facebook
email

Text messaging
Drive thrus

We will do anything to keep from talking to people face to face. It's really quite sad.

And we're supposed to carry each other's burdens? (Galatians 6:2)
Restore each other if someone is caught in sin? (Galatians 6:1)
Confess our sins to each other? (James 5:16)
Provide for our relatives? (1 Timothy 5:8)
Live in harmony with each other? (Romans 12:16)
Consider each other's needs above our own? (Philippians 2:3)
Build each other up? (Ephesians 4:29)

Are you crazy?

If I am struggling with someone, the last thing I want to do is go to someone and tell them about. No, no, that will make them think less of me. That will make me seem like a weak Christian. They will judge me. They will look down on me.

And that's exactly where Satan wants us.

Seemingly put-together, I've-figured-everything-out, strong and happy Christians. But slowly breaking and dying inside. Wrestling, struggling, painfully bearing our own burdens all by ourselves.

The Church has become a bunch of private people meeting publicly.

Satan laughs at this.

God cries.

For this is not the way we were made. We were made to do that list of things I wrote above. Yet we don't, and we're really suffering for it now. Community is no longer community. We don't meet to share our lives, we meet to play Guitar Hero and watch movies. Things we can do by ourselves, with other people present.

I'm sure you've all experienced this conversation:

"Hey! How are you?"

"Good, how are you?"
"Good!"

Ohhhh poop. That is my most hated conversation. And yet I have it at least once a week. I am trying to avoid it, though, and I think I'm getting better. Sometimes I say "great" instead of "good". Or if I'm really feeling down, I might say "tired". It changes.

And I'm suffering for it.

The Body is suffering for it.

I'm trying to think of how to end this on a good note, because this isn't exactly a happy post. It's a frustrated post about how we have let ourselves believe that privacy is the way to go. And yet real growth and change happens when we are real, genuine, vulnerable, open and honest with each other.

I want real growth. I want real change.

I will pray that God convicts me more of this. I should stop keeping things to myself and sharing my life openly with those around me. That is my prayer today.

-Katherine Louise

Tomorrow's Friday, What What?!

Who invented licorice? I want to know who is responsible for that black nastiness. That stuff is so disgusting. Bleck.

I am continually in awe of the way that God provides and ordains certain relationships in my life. Yesterday I had lunch with a friend that I have known since the beginning of freshman year. I hadn't hung out with her in a very long time, so a catch-up was certainly overdue. We talked for 3 hours. I heard her relationship/engagement story and almost cried - it was so beautiful! I can't believe that I've missed so much. I found out that her fiance is moving to Denton to go to grad school at UNT, so next semester she will be all alone here. Her roommates have already graduated, so it seemed like she was in desperate need of some friends to hang out with, go to the football games with etc. Plus, she will only be taking 12 hours (as opposed to the 16-17 she's been taking each semester since freshman year) so she'll have a lot more time on her hands.

I got so excited.

I love this girl, so any opportunities to hang out with her make me excited!!!!! Plus, I will be able to go to Denton with her (roadtrips are so fun) and show her around. She will be teaching high school there after she graduates in December, and she doesn't know much about the Dallas area. Perfect. I don't really have any friends in the Denton area, so I will finally have someone to visit and hang out with when I go home to visit! Also, if I end up teaching there once I graduate (provided I'm not married or whatever... or even if I am... who knows), I will have wonderful friends to fellowship with.

God is good.

I am ecstatic.

He provides!

I can't wait to see Back to the Future III. I watched the second one yesterday, and it left me hanging. I think they go to the Wild West and do some fun things there. How awesome! Haha.

I haven't taken a shower in two days. It's getting gross. Personally, I like this whole sloppy thing. People don't recognize me and I bet I look like a downright mess. Who cares. I am pretty much wearing pajamas and it is awesome.

One of my favorite things ever is talking one on one with someone. You know you have found a good talking partner if you can talk for hours on end and still have more to say (these people are hard to find). If I could have any job I wanted, I would be a professional One-On-One Talker. Although I would do it even if I wasn't paid, I love it that much. People's lives are fascinating!

Ok, I have class now.
Au revoir.
-Katie

The Sixth Love Language

Gary Chapman is a genius, but I think he made a little mistake when he wrote this book:

Now, don't get me wrong. I agree with everything that is in this book. I grew up with my mom telling me about the five different love languages, as described by Gary Chapman. They are:

1. Quality Time
2. Acts of Service
3. Words of Affirmation
4. Gift Giving
5. Physical Touch

I grew up knowing that it was important to pay attention to someone else's love language, because that is how they feel cared for. I would try to figure out my friends' love languages, so I would know how to treat them so they felt special. My love languages are the first two on that list - quality time and acts of service. If you want to hang out with me and spend time with me, I feel special and valued. Likewise, if you do something nice for me (even if it's like... organizing something for me or filling up the gas tank, unloading the dishwasher etc.) I will feel special. I guess you could say that quality time is my #1 love language, and acts of service is #2. I love them both. The reverse is also true: if I want to hang out with you and spend a lot of time with you, it means that I like you a lot, or if I want to do things for you, it means I like you a lot.

I think love languages are just as important as knowing someone's personality. They help explain how that person works. I also think that love languages are the reason behind so many failed relationships and marriages. If you have a woman whose love language is acts of service, and a husband who never helps her around the house or with the kids, the woman may turn to nagging him about it. The man just thinks she is cranky and annoying, but really, she just wants to feel loved. And the best way for her to feel loved is for her husband to give her a hand with things.

So I really do agree with Gary Chapman. I think this book is excellent. But I still think he made one tiny mistake.

There is a sixth love language.

I know this because I am convinced that I have it. I have been trying to put this one thing into one of the other five categories, but I'm not sure that it really fits.

That one thing is the love language of letters.

Letters. Notes. Messages. Emails. Wall postings. Post-its. Blog comments. Cards.

It doesn't matter what it is, I love it.

I get absolutely ecstatic if I get a letter from someone, emails included. When I sign onto Facebook and see "Inbox (1)" I start dancing around the room and making up songs. A big smile breaks out on my face, and sometimes I start to giggle. I love letters. I don't know why, but when someone takes the time to send me something, it makes my day! It could be as simple as a "hi" (seriously, that's all it would need to say), but it will still make my day. So, if you send me letters/messages/whatever, I probably love you by now. And if you don't... don't feel bad. I still love you! And just to clear something up: I would much rather have someone spend time with me or do something nice for me than write me a letter. Heck yes.

I think I will have to write a letter to Gary Chapman and inform him of his slight error. I'm convinced that it's an actual love language. I have it.

Every morning on my walk between Pilates and Statistics classes, I pass this wonderful tree in Academic Plaza. Every time I see it, I think about how great it would be to climb it and sit on this one particular branch, overlooking the plaza. Maybe I will one day. But someone would need to come with me, because climbing a tree by myself may be difficult, and it could also make me look ridiculous.

I am starting to believe that John Mayer might just be my favorite musician ever. He is melodic, edgy, contempative and pensive. I never get tired of his music. I pretend that they don't play him on Candy 95. Because I consider almost everything they play on there trash. And John Mayer is way above trash. Now, to see him live...

I have a full hour before my next class. I wish there were comfy couches in Blocker!

Do you know what I think is ridiculous? When students have crushes on their teachers. And by students, I mean college students. And by teachers, I mean youngish professors or grad students. It makes me feel awkward.

My statistics teacher is a grad student, and so he's pretty close to our age. He's also really buff and has ginormous muscles, and is pretty good looking and funny. And you can tell that some of the girls really like him. One or two in particular. They will try to tease him or be sarcastic with him, joking around and... basically flirting with him. It makes me absolutely sick. Seriously, girls.

I found out the other day that my mom reads my blog. So, I have two things to say:
1. Hi, mom!
2. You should start blogging again, for real.

Maybe I will go find a couch somewhere. I am incredibly tired, still.

Peace out.

-klh

Monday Morning Thoughts

That Satan is a clever guy.

This morning I found out something pretty worrying, and I almost got sick to my stomach worrying about it so much. I mean, this thing is pretty important, but worrying about it isn't going to help a thing.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6:27 and Luke 12:25, (NIV)
(It was so important, this question was in the Bible twice!)

Once I realized this, I turned my attitude around and started praising God instead of getting upset at Him (even though this thing is not something He is responsible for).

James 4:7 says, Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I started to resist the devil. There was no way he was going to rule over my thoughts! Once I started praising God for His blessings, the devil left. He fled. He couldn't bother me anymore because I wasn't giving him that foothold (see Ephesians 4:27).

It's so easy to see why Paul and Silas praised God by singing in prison! (Acts 16:25.) Satan was not able to bother them when their focus was on Christ.

Amazing!

God has been teaching me a lot lately, mostly about worrying and words.

I sin so much in my speech, and it's something I've become immune and almost oblivious to. I am sarcastic and critical. I don't build others up. I tear them down! Sometimes I can say something that isn't necessarily critical or rude, but my tone of voice is not kind and loving. God has been convicting me of this a lot recently.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) --

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Oh dear. Is my speech benefiting those who are hearing it? Not always. Something needs to change.

This is my argument for cussing. I can't stand cussing.

Some people call it a "gray area" but it seems like the Bible is pretty clear on this.

Is it benefiting those who listen? No.

Is it helpful for building them up? No. A lot of people are actually offended by cussing.

Read this:

Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).

Ephesians 4:31 (AMP)

I think we could all agree that cussing is "abusive" and can be put in the "malice" category.

Plus, if we are living our lives to glorify Christ, and we come across a controversial "gray area", don't you think we would want to stay as far away from it as possible? If we don't know whether or not cussing is a sin, and we want to honor God, shouldn't we just stay away from cussing altogether instead of doing something that we're not really sure God approves of?

Just a thought.

And I'm still learning. I need to practice what I preach!

Do you ever get excited about new weeks? I think a lot of people tend to dislike Mondays, because it means another 5 days before the weekends. But I like Mondays. It's a new start, a new 7 days, a new chance for God to teach me something. The weekends are fun and all, but sometimes I feel like I'm wishing my life away by always looking forward to them.

I realized today how close graduation is (less than 16 months) and I got sad again. I tend to get sad when I think about graduation, because I love college so much. I realized that I need to savor every moment that I have here, and look for opportunities to share Christ's love with others while I'm here. Time is precious!

I have never walked under the Century Tree, but I have always wanted to. I think it's such a beautiful tree.

I don't want to be proposed to under it, though. Come on, guys, think of something a little more creative! :) I can understand that it's special because of the tradition the corps has, but still... think of something different.

Class starts pretty soon, so I should probably go collect my printouts and be on my way.

Have a beautiful Monday. Enjoy the day that God has blessed you with!

- Katie

Theme of the Month: Quirks

Every time I come home, I lose my shoes. I practically wear them all around the house, but whenever I sit down, I take them off. After a little while, I will get up again and not be able to find my shoes. I will search the whole house: under the couch, under the table, in the bathroom (I tend to wash my feet a lot), in Tawny's mouth...

Then I will spot them.

On my mom's feet.

For some strange reason, my mom loves to wear my shoes. I don't understand it, but she will always put my shoes on when I see her. If I buy a new pair of shoes, she will want to try them on. And I'm pretty sure her shoe size is 1.5 sizes bigger than mine! I guess it's just one of her quirks.

I love quirks.

They make people so interesting.

I wash my feet every night before going to sleep. I love the feeling of going to sleep with clean feet. I don't think it's something I will ever stop doing. I also tend to stand on one leg (like a flamingo) while I brush my teeth.

Carolyn will make cups of tea, leave them sitting on the table to cool, and never drink them.

Christina plays with the salt shaker at the dinner table. She will take it apart and put it back together. Over and over again.

Claire has worn the same belt every day for years. She loves that belt.

Kellie bites her nails like it's nobody's business. It's worse than a normal nail biter.

My dad crosses his legs all the time. It's kinda girly, but it's him. He also loves romance novels and movies (he is a Nicholas Sparks fan).

Everyone has quirks, and it makes them unique!

My sisters and I are watching "Facing the Giants" right now, and so I'm a little distracted. I'm gonna go watch it.

After I clean my feet. :)

Bet You Can't Guess Where I Am Right Now!

I'll give you a clue: it's flat, boring, and 4 hours north of College Station.

DING!!!

You are correct!

Little Elm, Texas!

I got home from class today and Carolyn and I got hungry, so I suggested going to get lunch. While we were getting ready to leave, Carolyn said, "I wish I could go home right now."

So we did. We packed our bags and 20 mintues later were out the door, headed towards Dallas. We ate lunch at the new Blue Baker (recommended - it's excellent!) and spent the next 4 hours on the road. We didn't even tell my mom we were coming! Actually, Carolyn called Christina and I called Sarah Green (we were supposed to meet her in Houston tomorrow, but it turned out that she wasn't going. Perfect!). We agreed to meet at someone's house for game night, where my mom and younger sisters would be arriving later.

So my mom arrived at the house, and didn't even see us sitting at the table. Sarah introduced her to a bunch of other people at the table (I thought my mom would see my hair, seeing as she was standing RIGHT behind me), and once Sarah realized she wasn't catching on, she said, "And have you met...."

We turned around and my mom screamed.

There's nothing as fun as surprising someone. :) Or being surprised. It really is one of my most favorite things ever.

I'm so glad we came. It's gonna be a fun weekend.

So.

The Hall.

I went last night, for the first time ever. I can't tell you how scared I was. Who knows why I get worked up over weird things. I just do. Maybe I was scarred in my past, or something. I spent 15 minutes laying on the couch, practicing my pilates breathing exercises to calm me down. Finally Austin knocked on the door and I almost threw up.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I am pathetic!!!!!!!!! I had the best time of my life, almost.

It was definitely up there.

I got to go out to eat with Austin and his sister Kristin, and it was a blast. Kristin is hilarious! Those two are so funny together. We talked about pot roast, fish and chips with malt vinegar, gangs and jokes written in bathroom stalls. I was laughing my head off all night.

After dinner we went back to Austin's house and he taught me how to dance. It wasn't half as difficult to pick up as I thought. I learnt some spins and twirly things, which were a lot of fun but tended to make me dizzy if I did too many.

We sang musical songs the whole way there. Well, Austin and Kristin did -- I didn't know the musical -- but maybe one day I will learn them. Those two are funny.

When we got to the Hall, I learnt to play pool because we got there pretty early. It was hard at first, but I did manage to do okay. It was a lot of fun. I have been missing out, for sure!

Once the gang got there, we danced. I got to use everything I had just been taught, and it was SO much fun! I even did a flip. Well, two actually. But not in the middle of dancing, because I probably would have killed someone. Maybe with a little practice I will master it.

We left at about 1 am, and that was probably a good idea because I was getting pretty tired and shaky. I smelled like B.O., sweat, smoke and bad breath when I got home. Mmmm mmmm. Haha!!

I have never felt more Texan in my life. The past few weeks have opened up a million new doors for me: fishing, shooting, two-stepping, pool... and who knows what I'll get to add next!

Now, I just need some boots. I will begin the search for some!

I seriously can't believe I'm home right now. It feels funny. Hopefully I can get a haircut tomorrow... I know that sounds random but I really need one! My hair is getting out of control!

The picture at the top is called "Twostep" or something like that. I thought it was very artistic. I like art. :)

Ok so I am amazingly pooped. I need to get something to eat and then sleep. I hope you all enjoy the weekend.

-Katie Lou (ha)

Baby, It's Hot Outside

I got the short desk today. And you know when I'm saying that, it means that it's really short. I got this desk in the Blocker lab that is kind of cut in half horizontally, and the half that has the keyboard on it is lower than the part with the monitor. So my knees are hitting the keyboard part and my neck is strained from looking up to see the monitor. I can't figure out how to change it. Hmm, oh well.

We got out of pilates really early today (at least 20 minutes early), so I have lots of extra blogging time. But I can't think of what I want to say. I'm mostly very tired, and I need a nap today for sure. Tonight, I am doing something very exciting.

I'm going dancing.

For me, this is big.

It's not "normal" dancing, though, but it's two-stepping. My friend Austin has been trying to convince me to go to the Hall for weeks now, and I was very nervous about it. I mentioned this on the phone when I was talking to my mom yesterday, and she said

"You need to just suck it up and go, Katie."

Okay, mom. I'm going.

Apparently, by the end of the night, I'll be doing flips and stuff.

I think I just peed in my pants.

That scares me so much! I am very much a comfort zone person, and dancing is out of my comfort zone. Well, serious dancing, I mean. I can do crazy dancing when I'm in the apartment with my roommates and we're listening to something cheesy and funny. But serious dancing is beyond me. I've never learnt how, and I honestly think that is part of the problem. I guess tonight will be my night to learn!

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

For the past week or so, I have been getting out of bed and then leaving for class 30 minutes later. I look like I'm wearing pajamas (pilates attire), and my hair is messy (I don't do anything to it once I get out of bed) and I have no makeup on. It's awesome. Especially the no makeup thing. I probably look drugged or scary or something, but whatever. I can go home, take a nap, then wake up and take a shower and get to looking normal. It works for me.

I hope that once I become a mom, I don't let myself go. Carolyn, Kellie, Anna and I made a promise to each other years ago -- if one of us started letting ourselves go, we would give them a good talking to. It's all about accountability. But I'm all about comfort. I could just see myself getting into that baggy t-shirt and sweats thing. But for my husband's sake, I won't. :)

I listened to Christmas music yesterday. For some people, that's considered a sin. But for me... it's not. I love Christmas, and I love Christmas music! I listened to "Baby, It's Cold Outside" from the Elf Soundtrack as I walked to the bus stop yesterday. It was about 95 degrees outside, but it made me think of the cold weather that we'll get... eventually.

I want to go here.

Yeah I'm fresh out of stuff to say. I'm a little distracted because my sister Claire is talking to me online. I think I shouldn't try to multitask right now.

Peace.
-K

All Hail Twenty-Eleven

This has to be a fairly quick post. I need to leave in about 40 minutes to go cook dinner for my wonderful comgroup. Mmmm pasta bake!

Don't tell anyone, but I am listening to the Backstreet Boys. It makes me laugh.

So, the class of 2011 is here. Almost. I see them walking around on campus every morning with their parents, doing new student conferencing things. They are normally looking for the Pavillion.

The girls have all got tans (probably leftover from prom), and are all dressed up.

That'll change once they realize they would rather sleep than dress up cute for class.

The guys are all cool and hip and all, with their blonde highlights, surfer haircuts and Abercrombie clothes.

That'll change once they realize they're in college now, and no one cares.

They are all carrying maroon and white MSC Bookstore bags containing registration details, information on the leaving times of the campus tours, and about 17 campus maps.

Their parents normally walk beside them, and they are easy to spot from a mile away because they are either a maroon speck or are decked out in Aggie Mom stuff. I think I can count the number of parents on one hand I've seen who were not wearing some sort of Aggie item of clothing (my mom was one of those moms). I actually don't think that either of my parents owns anything that says "Texas A&M" on it. And both of my parents were Aggies.

I don't care who you are

Where you're from

What you did

As long as you love me

Great lyrics. Musical genius.

*barfs*

And yet, I just want to dance.

Back to the freshmen thing. Is anyone else excited? I am. I love freshmen. They stick out like sore thumbs on the first day of school, because they are the only ones who thought about what they were going to wear that day (it probably took them an hour to pick out an outfit), and they carry a map to class. They ask where the MSC is, and how you get to northside.

I say all of this jokingly, because I used to be one of those freshmen. I hope you know that I really do love freshmen. They are at a wonderful point in their lives, and it's exciting to see a lot of them grow and change, learning more about Christ and His love. I love talking to freshmen and listening to what God has laid on their hearts. They are brilliant. They are impressionable. A lot of times, they are alone and afraid.

I was.

I flew to College Station all by myself from England, crying the whole way. Leaving my family was so difficult for me. I remember the conversation I had with the U.S. customs officer guy once I arrived in Dallas.

"Why are you flying back to the States?"

"For college."
"Why were you in England?"
"My family lives there."

"Oh my goodness! Well, welcome home."

I think I burst into tears. I was home, but it was hard for it to feel that way.

I want to find the freshmen who had experiences like me. They are everywhere. I just have to find them. I know how they feel. It's so scary. It's too bad that I will have all my core classes out of the way once the fall comes. I will find a way, though. I will meet freshmen!

I honestly can't believe that I am a senior. What the heck!? Where did the time go? I remember my new student conference like it was yesterday. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I didn't know what a credit hour was. I had never heard the word "kinesiology" in my life. I hadn't even used American money in a while.

I was so lost.

I went to Fish Camp and Impact by myself. My best friend Anna was there, but we weren't in the same camp for either one. When I got back from Impact, my mom was in College Station, which made things better. But she didn't know anything about college either, so we were these two clueless Americans who didn't know anything about... America.

People got a kick out of the fact that I lived in England. I told people that I had dated Prince Harry, and for the longest time, everyone believed me. One person was so gullable that they stood up and yelled that to the entire 12th Man cafeteria. Oh. Dear. That's when I realized I should stop telling Americans things that were incredibly stupid and yet they still believed them.

My best friends lived in the same dorm as me (and are now my roommates). We were so immature. We would do the stupidest stuff because we didn't know any better. We would run on that drill field by the SSG and then get yelled at. We would sneak into Dunn and blow an air horn in front of doors, then run out before the RA could catch us. We would jump out at people from behind walls at night. We thought that a trip to Sbisa was an exciting adventure. We hung out in the TV lounge because we didn't have TVs. We would eat at Rumours because they had the best food on campus. Our entertainment was daring each other to drink Tabasco sauce. We never got off campus because we didn't have cars, and so going grocery shopping was like heaven. I really miss freshman year.

Yet I am so glad that I finally grew up. :)

I am afraid that my reminiscing will have to come to an end now, since I need to go cook for comgroup.

Ahhh, memories.

-Katie

Ode to Blocker

Ohhh, the Blocker building. What semester would be complete without a class there?

I think I can honestly say that I have had a class in Blocker every single semester during my time at A&M. Actually, I just looked it up.

I have. At least one class each semester.

It's probably the building on campus I like the least, apart from Zachry. That building makes me depressed.

This summer session, I have statistics in Blocker. Like almost every other math class I've taken here. At least I feel home!

With the exception of a couple classrooms, none of the rooms in Blocker share an outside wall. Some bright soul decided to make hallways around almost all of the classrooms, inside the building. There are no windows. At least I don't think I've been in a classroom here with windows. And all the hallways look the same. It normally takes me about ten minutes to find my classroom at the beginning of each new semester.

Yet in a strange, sad, way, I have come to love this building. There is a computer lab there (where I am sitting right now), and there's even a little bistro-type deal at the front if you get hungry.

However, there never seem to be any Battalions left.

I think that's all I'm going to write about Blocker. That's really all I can say.

Since my Pilates class seems to get out at 9, and I don't have my next class until 10, I have decided that this is my new blogging time. I come to Blocker computer lab. find a computer and type my little heart out. So I guess that means you get at least 4 new posts per week. Probably more, since I enjoy writing so much.

How cool would it be to write a book? I think that would be awesome. Although I'm not the book-writing type. I barely even read books, let alone write them. I think I would be bad at it. I would suffer from really awful writer's block (it even happens during my blogging time) and I think I would eventually give up. And it definitely wouldn't hit a best seller's list. I'm sure my mom might order a couple copies, and maybe my sisters, but apart from that, I doubt anyone would read it. I don't even know what I would write about. Living in England? I talk about that too much anyways, so making someone read a book about it might make them throw up. I guess that for now I'll just stick to blogging.

That reminds me. Do I talk about England too much? I knew someone from another country in high school, and she would constantly talk about it, comparing everything to her homeland. People got really annoyed. Personally, I understood where she was coming from, but no one else did. As far as they were concerned, England was where you live now, so you should forget about any previous countries you lived in.

I tried not to talk about Texas too much.

But that's really hard when something is such an integral part of your life.

I can't talk about me without mentioning England. That's who I am. I am this strangely British-American person. I am only British in descent, really, and yet living in England has made me British. I understand life there almost as much as I understand life here. If my parents had thought about it, I could have had dual citizenship. That's really weird to me, honestly. I think it's odd how you can become a citizen of a certain country. I mean, it makes sense, but thinking of myself officially recognized as a British citizen weirds me out. I still think it would be pretty cool. Can you imagine having two passports? How awesome.

I'm sorry if me talking about life in England annoys you, but I'm not going to stop. God allowed me to have that experience for a reason, and so I won't stop talking about my experiences there. :)

On a completely unrelated note, I made a B in my Texas History class (smile with me, here-- that's a good thing). I couldn't freakin believe it. I'm pretty sure that I didn't deserve a B. I knew that I did well on my last test, but I didn't think that it was enough to give me a B. I thought that I calculated that I would need to make a 100 on the exam to make a 80.6 in the class overall. So maybe I made a 100. Who knows. I don't care. Just getting a B makes me really happy!

Ok peeps, I need to go to class now. I'm one of those weird people who gets there 15 minutes early on purpose.

Oh. One more thing. I am having an absolutely amazing summer. I can't believe that I have been blessed this much. :)

-Katherine

One of Those Days

I am having "one of those days."

I don't know how a day gets to be "one of those days", but today just is. Well, this morning has been, at least. Hopefully from here on out it'll be normal.

Nothing bad happened yesterday. It was actually a really really good day. I had a wonderful afternoon and a great night. So I didn't go to bed upset or anything.

But I forgot to turn the snooze button on my alarm on, and I didn't really hear my alarm when it went off. That's why I use the snooze - it takes a couple alarms to go off for me to actually hear it sometimes. Thank goodness I woke up at 6:03 and wondered, "Did I just hear my alarm?" and so I checked my phone to make sure. Sure enough, the snooze symbol wasn't there, and so I knew it was time to wake up. At least I didn't wake up an hour late or anything (which could easily have happened since I only got about 6 hours of sleep).

I got ready for school. No problems there. I was out the door at 7:10, which I thought would leave me plenty of time to catch the bus (I thought it was supposed to come at 7:15). As I get to the halfway point between my apartment and the bus stop, I see the bus pull up next to the stop. It was way too far away for me to run and catch it, so I simply turned around and headed back into the apartment. Buses only run every 30 minutes, so I knew that I would probably be late for my 8 o' clock class if I took the one at 7:45.

Hmm. I couldn't take the car, because Carolyn needed it. I could walk. But I thought about passing through Scary Neighborhood and that seemed like a bad idea. I then remembered that my bike was on the back porch. Perfect.

I rode down Dexter Street and got very close to George Bush before my stomach started hurting. Actually, it had kind of been hurting all morning, and I shoved some cereal down my throat to try and make it feel better.

Bad idea. The bike thing just made it all worse.

I pulled over behind some trees and thought I was going to barf.

Nope.

Nothing.

I walked my bike to George Bush and had to sit on the sidewalk before I crossed the street. I honestly thought that I might black out. I think people were looking at me weird. Finally I crossed the street, heading behind the Alumni Center and down Houston Street. By this time, I was really starting to feel nauseous. But I could see G. Rollie in the distance and knew that if I could just make it to the bathroom, I would be okay.

Half way down Houston street, right across from the parking lot next to Kyle Field, I started feeling really awful. There was no possible way that I could make it to the bathroom. I walked as fast as I could towards the next bench. If I was going to throw up, I would at least do it sitting on the bench with my back facing the millions of college students.

I couldn't get there fast enough.

I got sick.

In public.

In front of everyone.

It was so embarassing.

I hung my head on the handlebars of my bike for a few minutes, and then I sat down on the bench.

It wasn't over.

I threw up again,
all over my feet.

I was wearing flip-flops.

Then I had to walk my bike to the bike rack, lock it up, and go to the bathroom to clean myself up. The whole time I was walking in my own vomit.

I washed my feet, and this time I had a legitimate reason to. (Haha.)

I'm pretty sure I smelled awful all the way through my pilates class.

I don't think I've ever thrown up in public before. I can't believe my first time came when I was 21.

Remind me not to ride my bike to school if I am feeling even the slightest bit nauseous. :)

Anyways, I am feeling much better now (read that in a Sixth Sense voice). I haven't been sick since and my pilates class went fine, except for the part where my teacher pushed down on my ribcage really hard. I thought I might throw up on her hands, but it didn't happen, thank goodness.

I think the day will be beautiful from now on. I can feel it. :)

-Katherine

Thinking Makes Me Restless

I know I will either need a lot of kids or a really hard job when I'm older, because I don't know what to do with myself if I don't have anything to do. Take right now, for example. I just got back from church, and I'm eating lunch. After lunch, however, I have no idea what I'm going to do today. Carolyn needs her alone time and so I think she's going to go to a park by herself. That leaves me without a car, which is fine, because I understand when you just need to get away. But I don't really have any homework to do, and so I'm trying to decide how to use my time today. Maybe I'll just read. Reading is always good. Plus I really need to finish the book that I started a few weeks ago and haven't been reading recently.

Maybe I'll just go to Coffee Station and work on stuff. Hmm.

Something happened today. Something clicked with my spirit. Or heart. Or something. Something inside of me felt right. I won't go into details because I need a lot of prayer over this one issue. It's something I never expected God to lay on my heart right now, but it's happened. Please pray for me about this! God knows what it is, so even if you don't know what you're praying for, He does and will take care of it. I'm just not really sure what to do about it. I think I need to talk to someone about this... Sorry this sounds so vague and mysterious. I'll probably talk about it soon, and I have no problem sharing about this with anyone who wants to sit down and talk to me face to face. I know that doesn't help.

It's funny how God prepares us for what will happen later in our lives. This is what I mean: My mom got an education degree, and then had two children who were severely dyslexic, and was able to use what she learnt to help them learn to read and do math problems. One of our family friends was a nutrition major and then had a daughter who was epileptic. She was able to use her knowledge to completely get rid of the epilepsy! I recently heard of someone who got a degree in education for children with hearing impairments, and then had a child who was deaf and could use sign language with them. God is so amazing! Sometimes we don't know why God leads us in certain directions, but it becomes clear later in life.

I am a math and science education major. I have four younger sisters. I lived in England for almost 9 years.

I have no doubt that God will use all of that (and more) later in life. Maybe I will have a child who has great difficulty with math. They could be dyslexic (I think it's hereditary or something, because it really runs in our family). Maybe I will have to move to another country when I'm older. Or maybe I will meet someone from England who lives here and be able to relate to them because of my life experiences. I can't think of anything for the four sisters thing, though. Maybe I'll have a lot of children?? Haha. Who knows. That's up to God. ;) I could keep guessing at this all day, though, but I'll never know what He has in store for me. I am just thankful that He is preparing me today for things that will happen in the future.

Blahhhh I need to talk to someone right now. It's driving me crazy. I just want to sit and have a 5 hour long conversation with someone about life.

Actually, I need to pray.

-K

Wise

-adj.
having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion.

I want to be wise.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10

This is where I'm starting.

Yo Shorty, it's Independence Day

I just need to be about an inch taller. Maybe two.

That way, my jeans wouldn't drag on the ground and get torn up when I wear flat shoes. I always buy jeans "to wear with heels", but of course I never wear heels. I'm a flip-flop girl. So my jeans get ruined.

I'll never forget the time the school nurse threatened to stretch me.

I went up the stairs near the library and waited for her to call my name outside of her office. When my turn came, she proceeded to weigh me (in kilograms) and measure me. I think I had grown about 1/4 of an inch since my last visit.

"We'll just have to put you on a table and pull your arms and legs so you get taller!" she said.

I was scared for my life.

I never thought that being short was a bad thing.

People always made fun of me.
I learnt to walk really fast to keep up with my friends.

Now, three of my four sisters are taller than me.
My 12 year old sister calls me "Shrimp."
My 14 year old sister calls me "her little sister."
I wear a size 0 or XS (sometimes I can fit into a size 1 or S). It's not hard to find that size at the store because most people are a M.

And all the guys are taller than me. :)

I like being short.
I can wear heels and still be shorter than most guys.

I almost always pass as being younger than I am. Everyone thinks Carolyn is older.
It's fun.

I just wish I could reach that top shelf...

On a different note, it's the 4th of July. As if you didn't know.

Carolyn and I plan on going to watch fireworks at the George Bush Presidential Library tonight. I think this year has sentimental value because it's the first year I've spent the 4th of July in the United States since 1997. Yes. It's been a whole decade.

I have good memories of the 4th of July. I can remember my dad opening the trunk of our station wagon (he had a bad wreck and totaled it when I was 6, so I must have been younger than that) and letting us sit in the back, dangling our feet off the edge. My dad had bought some firecrackers and fireworks, and he lit them in our front yard. I particularly remember the rocket he lit. I thought that was the best thing I had ever seen. I remember seeing it shoot into the air and explode. I also remember him setting black cat firecrackers on our backyard fence and then lighting them. I would stand on the back porch, covering my ears in fear and yet smiling in excitement.

But my favorite were the poppers and the sparklers. I'm not sure if they're actually called "poppers", but that's what we called them. The little things you throw on the ground and then they make a little "bang". We would pour them on the ground and dance around on them, listening to the melodious popping noises they made.

Once it got dark, we would light sparklers and write our names in the air. It was artistic and magical at the same time. I still remember the disappointment that would come once the sparkler ran out.

Sometimes, my parents would take us somewhere to watch fireworks. I remember two times in particular. One time, we went out into the country and watched them in a field. I think it had been a pretty dry summer because the grass caught on fire and the fire department had to come. The other time, we went to a hotel (Ramada, perhaps?) next to I-35 and watched a laser show followed by spectacular fireworks on the golf course. I never understood the point of the laser show. I think I got bored.

I miss getting a big blanket, laying down in the warm summer air, and watching beautiful explosions high above me. I'm sad that my whole family can't be together this year for Independence Day. I'm sad that my sisters and I have all outgrown our flag dresses. (Ok, I'm not really that sad. But everyone thought we were cute.)

Perhaps tonight will be exciting in its own special way.

Happy Freedom Day.

P.S. If I had kids, I would make them wear these today. I think they are way cute.

i love the miles between me and the city

Haha... I walked into my room and that's the first thing I heard... therefore, I put it as my title. Gorgeous song. I am kind of in love with Jon McLaughlin's music... especially his piano playing. Absolutely beautiful!!

So apparently my clothes have no personality. Carolyn told me that today when we were shopping at Old Navy. I do kind of wear the same things all the time -- I tend to buy multiple colors of the same shirt. And I buy solids, mostly. They go with more things. So, while I was at Old Navy, I bought a shirt with a big bird on it (it was on sale), a shirt with some random hearts all over it, and a not-so-normal shirt (still a solid color, though). Perhaps my wardrobe will perk up a little bit.

I also bought some curly hair gel stuff when we were shopping. I took a shower and put it in my hair, and it smells like a fish. No joke. I even got Carolyn to smell my hair, and she agreed. Seriously, why would the hair gel company decide to sell stuff that smells fishy? I really don't get it.

Today was the last day of my Summer Session I class, and I took a final. I actually could answer almost every single question. I didn't have to read every choice for the multiple choices thing. I knew before I even looked at the answers!! That is very rare for me. I used a new study tactic though, and I guess it worked really well for me. I am a very visual learner (and I think I might be kind of kinesthetic, too), so it helped me to type out a review sheet of all the important stuff, then highlight the extra important stuff. I could remember where something was on the page when a question came up. Craziness. I am going to be a teacher and I am only just now realizing how I learn.

I am eating a sandwich right now that makes me want to barf. I will remember this combination before I make a sandwich again. Nuh-uh.

I'm done.
Peace out.

He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing

Can you think of a time where you went somewhere or did something, and you came back really refreshed, like you were full of life again? Can you think of a time where you left a place or a group of people and your heart felt sad because it was over? That's really how I felt today, as we left Austin's farm in Leona. I can't put into words how much fun I had this weekend!

Carolyn and I drove for an hour and ended up in this beautiful little town, if that's even what you would call it. 7 other people came too (4 boys, 3 other girls) and we stayed in this little red house for the weekend.

We all got there on Friday night, and we hung out for a while before Erin and Ryan made dinner. Amazing! The guys even did the dishes afterwards, which I thought was wonderful. There's just something about a guy doing dishes that makes every girl's heart melt!
(This is everyone except for Carolyn)
After dinner, we went fishing. I had never been fishing, so it was quite an experience! I had a lot of fun catching grasshoppers.

Here's the fish that I caught! I was so excited!

Later that night, we went out and made a bonfire, then proceeded to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. Austin brought his guitar and played and sang (we sang too, sometimes), and we just enjoyed each other's company.

The next day, Austin gave us a "Gun 101" lesson. He explained things very simply, including gun safety and such. Then we headed to the field where we had had the bonfire the night before. The boys set up some cans as targets, and we practiced shooting. I was SO SCARED! I had this strange fear of guns (probably because I never was around them, growing up in England). After I shot the pistol, I got more relaxed and started to enjoy shooting.

Here, Austin is teaching me how to shoot. I stood really far away because I was so scared...
Here I am shooting the pistol!
Then we took a little walk to another target practice area. That's where I learnt how to shoot a shotgun! It was actually pretty fun, once I got past the freaked out stage.

We ended up taking a "boys with guns" picture and a "girls with guns" picture:


Austin ended up shooting a bunny, and then someone shot a caterpillar in half. It was pretty neat!

After shooting, we found a spot where we could swing on some vines that hung from trees. It was so fun! I thought this was the coolest picture that resulted from all the pics taken of the vine swinging:

That afternoon, we watched a movie and then most people left. Carolyn and I cooked dinner for Austin and Kyle, and we ended up talking for hours. And when I say hours, I mean over seven. I had so much fun talking to everyone! We talked about quirks, passions, ideal careers and dental hygiene. I probably could have talked for a few more hours, but I got really tired and had to go to bed. We left this morning after breakfast, and I got really sad. That's the bad thing about being an extrovert -- you have a lot of fun with some people, and the moment you have to leave them, it gets really depressing. I didn't say anything in the car for a little while, because I was so sad. It's kind of pathetic. And I only spent two days at the farm... When we went to Juarez, I was depressed for about a month afterwards because I missed everyone so much. But that's kind of going off track. I guess I just like people a lot!

Last night when we were talking about what we were passionate about, it really got me thinking. I know that I am passionate about serving other people... but what other deep desires has God placed in my heart? I felt a little weird answering that question because it made me want more passions. I am a very happy person who gets excited about a lot of things, but I wanted to know what really made me joyful and enthusiastic. What were those deep desires? I know that I desire to grow and learn about Christ. I want to fall more in love with Him every day. I want my life to be reflective of God and His glory. I strongly desire to do God's will and go where He calls me. I really really want to be obedient to Him (it's very difficult sometimes!). I guess that maybe this is something that God will develop in my life... I've definitely been thinking a lot about it, though.

I guess I should go study now. I hope you all enjoyed the pictures!

-K