Can't hardly contain myself.

HI HI HI HI--- Can you tell I am just a little bit beyond excited???!

Do you have any idea just why I may be a little bit excited??????!

I GET TO SEE DUSTY TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I may have just overdone it there, but what else do you expect?! This day has been a long time comin'- 30 days long. I know, that's like hardly anything. There are army wives who go MONTHS/YEARS without seeing their guys (And I am totally not a wife, I shouldn't have made that comparison!!) But still.... I love this guy, what else can I say?! I AM SO SO SO EXCITED TO SEE HIM!

Alright, I am also excited to see my cousin too. Since he is being gracious enough to offer up his place for us to stay. And is hanging out with us on his days off. Thanks Reid!

I am also excited to see Reid's roommate Trevor. Since Trevor has been around long enough to be considered a cousin of sorts and it's his place too, and he has been entertaining Dustin during the last couple of days. Thanks Trevor!

Alright, I am also excited to be in SUNNY (keep your fingers crossed, it's been rainy the past few days) Florida!!! To hopefully catch a little bit of sun and escape the MN weather for a few days! Although I can't complain, the weather here has been pretty nice the past couple of days. Why is it that right around the time I'm leaving, Minnesota decides to be all "Oh heyyyyy, Summer time is back, whaddduppppp!" That's annoying. But.... Oh well. I don't even care.

You know why?

Because I get to see Dusty tomorrow.

Music in my life... Part 2

Here is another list of amazing songs that I either forgot about on the last list or have just recently fallen in love with the past couple of days:

~"Makin' Plans" by Miranda Lambert. SUCH a great song, especially if you are a fan of female country artists.
~"Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons. This is a really catchy song. My cousin showed it to me a while back and I just recently downloaded it. They have a lot of really good music.
~"Free Life" by Dan Wilson. Dusty showed me this song right when we first started dating. It's one of those songs that [I think] he showed me in hopes that I would take the words literally as something he wanted to say to me. Does that make sense?? Haha.
~"5ves" by Hieruspecs. One of the best alternative rap songs I can think of right now.
~"Say the Words" by DC Talk. This is classic DC Talk. I don't think I will ever get sick of this song.
~"Title and Registration" by Death Cab for Cutie. When I think about actual good times that I experienced in high school, I think of this song. Don't really know why, but I do.
~"Sweet and Wild" by Dierks Bentley. The BEST DB song there is!!!! A summertime classic. Oh wait... summer is over. Sad.
~"Warwick Avenue" by Duffy. I love getting ready to this song.
~"Love Your Love the Most" by Eric Church. Another great country song.
~"I Won't Disagree" by Kate Voegele. Just because, this is the best song ever.

There they are. On another musical note... Does anyone watch Glee? I always thought it sounded like a dumb show, until I watched an episode. Guys... Glee is ADDICTING! And it is SO GOOD! Every good song you ever grew up with, it probably is done on this show. And it's awesome. Seriously, these are words I never thought I'd say... but Glee is GREAT. And I highly recommend it.

ALMOST JUST ONE DAY TIL FLORIDA........!

Weekend Recap... yep, I told ya so

So here I am on this lovely monday morning just hanging out, bored, waiting for my first class (which doesn't start for another TWO hours) and what do I do?! Bust out the weekend recap. Don't say I didn't warn you, unless you didn't read my post yesterday, which is highly likely because not many people read this blog anyway. OKAY. Enough of that! Here was my weekend:

Friday: Wonderful day. I love fridays because I only have one class, and I never work at EC in the evenings because my class goes right up until 4. I just don't wanna strain myself trying to rush to work, ya know? :) Anyway, me and three of my other roommates ended up going to a friends house to have dinner. I hadn't met a lot of the people there so it ended up being a lot of fun meeting some new friends. The dinner- AH it was so good. They were only brats but they had the perfect amount of cheese melted inside, they were grilled to perfection.... Just thinking about them makes me hungry. Delicious. We all ended up going down to the Witches Hat tower in St. Paul (**See?! Another St. Paul gem!!**) We tried to make it in time to watch the sunset, but missed it just by a couple of minutes. Darn. Still really fun though. Friday night was actually a pretty chilly evening, probably around 50 degrees. I loved being able to wear boots and a scarf. I felt fall and it felt great.


After the Witches Hat we went back to the house we had dinner at for some games (Catch phrase and Mafia). Also very fun. We ended up staying until about midnight and then went back to our house. Me and most of the roommates watched Law Abiding Citizen with Girard Butler and Jamie Foxx.... Meh. I had seen this movie in theaters about a year ago and thought it was pretty decent, but watching it a second time around made me realize that the acting in that movie is sub-par. Not the best. Oh well.

Saturday, there was no Bethel game so I was excited to get a day to just do whatever. I met my friends Jana and Betsy for lunch at Taj Indian restaurant in St. Anthony Village for a little Indian buffet cuisine. We then shopped Uptown at Urban Outfitters and Heartbreaker..... LOVE IT!! Betsy convinced me to buy this adorable coat at Urban that was on sale, and while I felt pretty guilty about it after purchasing, I have to say, it's pretty cute. I also bought a new purse for 10 dollars that I don't feel as guilty about. It was really good hanging with those girls because they are two of my favorite people from my Europe trip that I traveled on last January. I should post about that trip sometime. For now, I do want to share a pic from that trip that I just remembered that is pretty sweet if you ask me....

That is Betsy and I in front of that one tower, in that one city..... So yea, one of these days I will post about my European adventures.

After shopping, I joined the Bethel football coaching staff+families to TCF Stadium in Minneapolis to watch the Gophers take on Northern Illinois. Have I ever heard of Northern Illinois? Nope. Did they end up beating the Gophers in a brutal loss? Yep. Let's not talk about it. It was still a pretty awesome game though, just being outside on another gorgeous fall night.

That's a pic of me and the Johnson twins. Katie's the blonde and Maddie's the brunette. Yep, they are twins. Oh, and there is my dear old dad in the corner of the picture, unaware of the activity going on next to him.
I really like the following picture because my brother is a lot more excited about it than his face shows. We somehow got seats right behind the Gopher Basketball coach. I never would have known if my dad hadn't pointed it out to me, but he heckled my brother and his friend Evan about their sweatshirts, then asked them if he could take a picture with them. Too cute.

Katie and I left the game and went to a friends house and had a blast hanging out with some other girls. Then, I went to bed.

Sunday epitomized why I love fall. I started my day off at EagleCrest, had lunch with Callie and Tom (Dustin's roommate/best friend) and Callie and I spent time at the apple orchard. Eating caramel apples, buying honeycrisp apples. MMMMMM. I love it. I absolutely love fall. I didn't take any pics of Sunday, shoot. Threw off my picture montage of my recap.

Ya know what else is pretty dang awesome? I leave this Thursday for FLORIDA. To see Dusty. I just can't hardly contain my excitement!!!!!!!!

Swept away.... by the music in my life

Wow, I guess this is the longest break I have taken from blogging since I actually started blogging. And sometimes, I'll be honest, I feel like such a dweeb typing the word "blogging."

I was going to use this post as a weekend recap but I'm starting to think that 1) I always do that and 2) Nobody really cares what I do on the weekends. Lets just say, this weekend was a lot of fun, and if I am really bored tomorrow after chapel (which I almost 100% will be) then I will recap about the weekend then. Today, I want to do something different.

Lately, my friends and I have been doing a fair share of music exchanging. Some may think that this is illegal, but honestly, we all share about the same amount of music with each other so it kind of evens out in the end. You can have your own opinion, though. This activity sparks a lot of conversation about what the best songs out there are, both currently, and of all time.

Here is my top ten list of songs today, right this very second (in no particular order):

~"My Love" by Sia. This song was a favorite of mine from the Eclipse soundtrack, which is a GREAT CD if you need some alternative jams in your life.
~"Swept Away" by The Avett Brothers. Okay, so Maddie just showed me this song today, but I have been listening to it ALL afternoon. Listen to it, now, and tell me it isn't the most romantic ballad you've ever heard.

~"Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. I know that you are probably way sick of hearing it all over the radio, but it's just so catchy. Just a great excuse of a song to THROW YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR SOMETIMES.
~"Secrets" by One Republic. But this is just a plug for basically any song that One Republic sings... they are amazingly great, and I love ALL their songs.
~"Dig" by Incubus. Ya know when you are shuffling through your Ipod and a song comes on that you didn't know you even had? That happened to me with this song on a bus ride about two years ago. I have never been sick of this song, and I'm not even really a huge Incubus fan, but this song is good, and catchy.
~"Free" by Zac Brown Band. I love this guy's voice. Beautiful.
~"For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" by Sufjan Stevens. Don't let the long weird title fool you, this song is so pretty and also kinda sad, which makes a lot of music really good.
~"Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" by John Mayer. A classic that will never get old. Also a really sad song. I love sad songs!!
~"Seventeen Years" by Ratatat. Wanna know the best apart about this song? THERE ARE NO WORDS. It's just an awesome beat. Listen:

"Heaven Song" by Phil Wickham. I love this song, it's amazing. And this guys voice is also amazing. It makes me feel love for Jesus.

There they are my friends. I hope that you check out some of the songs on here that you may not have heard, because they are seriously that good! Not that I am the supreme judge on what constitutes a good song, but I think I have a fairly good idea.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

A cool story.

So, last night I just so happened to post about C.S. Lewis. Afterward, I borrowed my roommate Hannah's collection of C.S. Lewis books and skimmed a bit. Today I was reading in the market area at school and ran into my friend Laura who I hadn't seen FOREVER. She recommended a book to me last year, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It's a pretty easy read but it contains SO MUCH wisdom and truth. So yea, ever since then, Laura's book advice has been pretty reliable in my eyes. Anyway, she was holding the EXACT SAME C.S. LEWIS book as I had--- What!! Random, that's what I thought. She asked if I had started reading yet and I told her I was just starting and she said those magic words: YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT!! It made me so excited.

Well... after that I went to night class where we watched a movie (A 2 and a half hour long movie, sitting in a school desk, HORRIBLE). But there was a preview for the movie Shadowlands.... which happens to be a MOVIE BASED ON THE LIFE OF C.S. LEWIS!!! What in the world?! What is with all this C.S. Lewis stuff popping up into my head!! Our professor watched the preview and said it was one of her favorite movies, and recommended it to all of us. I love how random little connections are made in situations like that. Did you know that C.S. Lewis married his wife before he actually fell in love with her? Just a fun little fact for you to ponder.

Anyway, Amy, my other roommate and dear friend, let me borrow her copy of The Screwtape Letters. I just opened it up while writing this post and found this verse that GREATLY encouraged me.

Hebrews 12: 1-2: "...Let us lay aside every weight... and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith, who for the JOY that was set before him endured the cross... and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

I am thanking God for reminding me of the joy that comes in endurance and courage. I had a really tough night just struggling with a bunch of feelings and those words from Hebrews were exactly the words that I needed to have spoken into me tonight.

-CM

Wisdom.

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
C. S. Lewis

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.
C. S. Lewis

What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.
C. S. Lewis

One of the greatest things about C.S. Lewis isn't just his wisdom, but the fact that much of his wisdom came from his faith and relationship in the Lord.

I am going to start reading Mere Christianity tonight.

Memories.

The other day, someone asked me what my favorite movie is. I always have a hard time coming up with the true answer, but I finally think I have it figured out.

For some reason last night, I was in a reminiscent mood. And then Maddie put on her Itunes... and the theme song from the Disney version of Robin Hood came on. And oh the memories.... they flooded my brain.

A couple of years ago, Dusty and I had just started hanging out pretty often and we were trying to come up with fun ideas for dates together. I decided to surprise him one night and ended up blindfolding him and driving him to a surprise destination. I decided to take him to Mahtomedi where he grew up. Our first destination was his high school football field. Now before you go thinking that's all cliche (which it is), I brought him there because of the meaning behind the score board, where his dad's name is remembered, along with two other dads that have died. For those of you who don't know (and I really don't think he would mind me sharing, as it contributes to the story), Dusty's dad, Wade, passed away when he was 15 years old. He was an awesome guy, someone who my dad actually got to know very well during his years at Northwestern College. Anyway, we went to the field, and I gave Dust a gift of a blanket from Target that was exactly like one I had at my place, and a box of Monster cookies. I was really nervous that he was going to find it cheesy, but instead of making fun of me, he had a huge smile on his face, telling me he wanted to take me somewhere. We drove not very far to a nearby cemetery, where I "officially" met Dusty's dad. I know this probably sounds morbid and weird, but that night really meant a lot to me. His dad's grave site is marked by a stone bench, and we sat down, and he told me a few stories about growing up with Wade and how much he loved his dad. Getting to have that moment with a guy I really liked meant a lot because I finally felt like I was "in". I felt like I meant enough to him to have him take me to meet someone who was so incredibly special to him.

Now back to the scoreboard, I can't think of anything worse personally than to lose a parent, especially so young. But given the circumstances, how cool would it be to remember your dad every single football game of your high school career by looking at the scoreboard and seeing a dedication to his memory? I wish I had a picture of it, because it makes more sense. I decided to bring him there because it has personal meaning, and I knew it meant something.

We left Mahtomedi and then decided to keep making the night interesting and visited my old house in Northeast Minneapolis. I showed him where I grew up and took him around the neighborhood and we just talked and talked about childhood, friends, experiences, vacations, everything. We finally decided to end our night back at my parents place to watch a movie. We knew we wanted a Disney movie of some kind, and I suggested Robin Hood. When I was little, I absolutely LOVED this movie. It was a movie I watched every night and would even have my mom sing the songs to me before I went to bed at night. I was so pumped that Dust agreed, and I was so happy that we were able to watch together. I dunno what it is, I just remember that date as being so much fun, a special memory to me. We coined it "D-Day" because initially, it was all about surprising Dusty. It didn't really stay that way since we ended up "visiting" his dad, going back to the place I grew up, and ending the night with one of the best movies of all time. Not only did the question of my favorite movie bring up a great memory, but it made me realize that it's my favorite because of what I associate it with. That night was one of the most fun night's I can remember from the beginning stages of our relationship, and I loved it.

Why is Disney's Robin Hood a good movie? It's got everything! Soundtrack=cute and fun. There's romance, action, thrill, suspense, villainy, sadness, and comedy. Plus... Maid Marian and Robin Hood (who I believe are portrayed as foxes, haha) have to go through a trial separation from one another. Which is precisely what is going on with me and my guy right now. HELLO?! How couldn't I love this movie!!!

I decided to write out that whole story because it made me smile today, and gave me something fun to look back on. Now, the NEXT thing I'm really looking forward to is seeing Dustin Wade in just TEN DAYS!! In sunny Florida. WooooOO!!

So anyway, there is a little snapshot into my past for anyone out there bothering to read. I hope you enjoyed it. If not, I can at least look back on it with happy memories.

Watch the video to get a glimpse into my favorite movie :-)

recappin'

I had a really really great weekend, friends. It was fast and fun and full of some awesome stuff. I already mentioned this yesterday, but this fall weather is just making me so happy. I love wearing scarves and busting out some of my boots that have been collecting dust in the garage over summer.

Friday night, I spent the evening at the Twins game with my friend Kristin, as I mentioned before. We had a great time watching the game from the left field bleachers, and then moved up to sit with some other friends. I am just now realizing that I posted pretty much this exact same thing yesterday, but oh well.

Kristin works downtown, so we got free parking in the ramp she parks at during the week. It was kind of a walk to get to the stadium so we found this statue on the way. It has been pointed out to me that I did a bad job of trying to imitate the statue here... Oh well.

Saturday's day of football was equally as fun. Katie and I rode up with my mom and grandma, Bev. My gram usually spends her time in one of three places: Minnesota, Washington, or Arizona. Where she is just kinda depends on her mood, I suppose. Anyway, it was GREAT to see my grandma because she is just a hoot. She was wearing shape ups (those shoes that claim to tone your body just by wearing them) and told all my friends that all you need to do while wearing them is stand up straight, stick out your boobs and away you go. Not something you'd expect to hear from a 74 year old lady but whatever.

Bev for the life of her can not open her eyes in photos. It's a Miller thing. I didn't even have my flash on, plus, it wasn't sunny. But still, eyes shut. I struggle with the very same thing and it's annoying beyond belief. So yea, I blame Bev.

After the game on Saturday, I went out with a big group of friends to Fusion in Uptown. I know this is a bit hypocritical after my praise to St. Paul, since Fusion is located in MPLS. But if you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. It was pretty small, but they had great food and a great atmosphere. There were two big screen TV's mounted on the wall; one playing Austin Powers and the other, Popeye. Weird, right? But pretty sweet. We all had an excuse to dress up and go out on the town. It was a blast. The following is a pic of all the lovely ladies who went out for din:

We then went to a guy friends house for a little fall bonfire. I enjoyed myself mainly because I was the only one there with my Ipod, therefore, I controlled the music. And people seemed to enjoy the songs I selected to my on-the-go mix and that made me feel good about myself. Music choice, I feel, could easily be a direct reflection of one's personality. It was a good time at the bonfire. I didn't take any pictures, though.

Saturday was also the big 23 month anniversary for me and Dusty. That means that next month, October 18, will be two years! Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Today I started out the day working at EC. They served walleye for lunch and Al, who I have mentioned here before, told me not to strain myself catching the fish for his meal. Made me smile. I got a little sad today at work because some of the nicest ladies I know there are really starting to deteriorate, health-wise. Some are unable to walk anymore, others, just very confused and overall not really with it anymore. That's the sad thing about working with the elderly. It's not fun to see such fun and happy people get old, in a bad way. I'm not really sure that makes sense, but I think you know what I mean. I cranked out some of my homework assignments after work and also finished the remainder of my background checks for student teaching. They are done, PTL. I then went home to my parents to watch the Colts/Giants (or Manning/Manning) game. I was a horrible football fan today and didn't realize that the Colts were even playing, otherwise I would have whipped out my P. Manning jersey for moral support. I have to support someone, the Vikes aren't really doing it for me. Don't know if you heard, but they LOST to the Dolphins. Sigh. Oh, scratch that, they lost to the Dolphins at HOME. Before the game started on TV, my mom and I watched a little Say Yes to the Dress on OnDemand and my brother even got involved. It was a countdown of the most dramatic moments EVER on the show. SCORE! I was bummed when I got home because my dad and dog were both MIA on a run. They finally came home around halftime and we just had a blast with the dog. I don't know if I have mentioned this before or not, but I do have the world's greatest dog in the world. Hands down.
I know how much my dog adores Dusty and I also know how much Dusty adores my dog, so we decided to send Dust some love VIA video message. Tonight, my dad kept asking Mo to find Dusty, and the poor dog, he got so wound up and excited that he would run to each door of the house looking for him. Every time, he came back and cocked his head to the side, almost as if to say "Huh? Where is he?" It was semi-heartbreaking but also completely adorable.

That part at the end is Moses rushing to the garage door, where we almost always come in to visit. It's a crappy cell phone vid, but still adorable. Oh, and Mo's eyes are like that because I turned the flash on my camera for video mode. He's not actually possessed by aliens, like it looks. Now..... If Dusty WERE actually at our house, he would always scream "MO!!!!!" in a high pitched voice and pat his chest, which Moses would automatically see as an invite to give him a hug, and bite him on the wrist (playfully). Ah, man's best friend. K, I am done getting all sappy about my dog and my boyfriend.

All in all, a very packed and fun weekend for me. How about for everyone else? Hope it was great! This is going to be another busy week for me but I enjoy the busyness. Keeps me in line. I was reminiscing a bit tonight about some fun memories I have from this time of year, only a couple years ago. I decided to use that memory material for a different post, so stay tuned!!!

I got love for the STP

Hello everyone. I just returned from another glorious BU football win. I drove down to Carleton College in Northfield (which is a beautiful town by the way) with my mom, grandma, brother, and Katie. We were not anticipating the cold weather (and shaky defense) in the first half, but it got sunny in the second half of the game and with that, Bethel picked up and ended up taking the win, 55-20.

I have had a really great weekend so far. I spent last night at Target Field to watch the Twins game with my friend Kristin! Unfortunately, the Twins lost. But it was still really fun. We met up with some other friends who also happened to be at the game and it just felt SO awesome to be outside, watching a baseball game, with jeans and a sweatshirt on. Ah, I love fall. Even today as we were driving down to Northfield, I noticed all the leaves changing on trees and felt like it was a true fall day. It is my absolute most favorite time of year in MN.

I decided to do something different on here today. I also feel that I should redeem myself from that Lady Gaga rant I had yesterday. But today at the game some of my friends and I were talking about fun things to do in the Twin Cities. Now, I personally LOVE living outside of the MInneapolis/St. Paul area, there is SO much to do at all times and I feel like the busyness of the city is just a quick drive from the often quietness of Arden Hills, where I live. Minneapolis is always a fun option for places to eat and go out, but when I'm there, I just feel like there is a buzz of just crowded busyness wherever you go. I don't know if you have really ever checked out downtown St. Paul before, but I have to say, I LOVE St. Paul! I will root for it any day because it is "city" enough to go out and have a great time, but quiet enough to enjoy the night free of stressful parking situations or crowded streets.

Here are just a few of my favorite things about St. Paul:
-Grand Ave: for all things shopping, eating, and walking
-Kincaids restaurant. They are a fancy restaurant but have a 1/2 price appetizer/drinks special at night. Great atmosphere and they validate parking, so it's very very convenient.
-Music in the park Thursdays. You can find this happening pretty much at any park in downtown St. Paul.
-Mississippi River walk. I had the great thrill (sarcasm) of serving jury duty last summer for Ramsey county. I had to commute to St. Paul every day and report to the courthouse, and since it wasn't extremely busy in the court case world, I had a lot of free time on my hands during our lunch breaks. There is a great path to walk along the river along with some awesome ethnic food restaurants that I got to try out.
-Pretty sweet places to live. Dusty used to live in apartments off of Sibley and they were so cute. It was just a quick walk to pretty much any restaurant within the area and very much in the heart of the city. A little over a year ago he moved into another apartment on Grand, and same thing. Close to a lot of fun stuff, and a cute apartment to match. He probably wouldn't describe it as cute, but whatever.
-Mickey's Diner. Open 24 hours.
-Rice Park in the winter time. So pretty. There are lights strung everywhere and it's right in the middle of the Ordway, Landmark Center, and across the street from Kincaid's. Very romantic spot during the colder months of the year, if you are looking for a fun date.

I don't really know what prompted me to declare my love openly for the city of St. Paul, but I just kinda feel like it's HIGHLY underrated!! There's a ton of great places to go, see, and lots of fun things to do. I love going out to Minneapolis, but it can just get old! That's why I recommend St. Paul for a really nice change of pace.



I stole this pic from Dusty. It was taken from the balcony of his Sibley apartment. See, it's not many cities where you can get a killer view of the state capitol at sunset, am I right??! Chalk one up for St. Paul. Go there and have yourself a great time.

What the crap is wrong with Lady Gaga????????

http://style.mtv.com/2010/09/13/2010-vmas-was-lady-gagas-meat-dress-real/

Before you read this post, you need the read the ^^^^link.

I don't know what in the world is wrong with this Gaga lady. I'm sorry, I have to confess, I have listened to my fair share of LG songs in my day, because let's all admit that they are catchy. However, I dunno if I can do it anymore. I JUST THREW UP EVERYWHERE! Well, I didn't actually throw up but I want to. What would ever possess you to wear a dress composed of RAW MEAT to an event like the VMA's? An event where anyone from 5-75 years will be watching with eyes wide open?

In case you didn't catch her explanation behind the dress:

"On why Lady Gaga chose a meat dress, she told Ellen DeGeneres that it was a symbolic choice: "Well, it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth. However, it has many interpretations, but for me this evening ... If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat."

Does that even make sense? Not a piece of meat, and yet this same woman showed up to a Yankee's game wearing nothing but a jersey and a bra???

I'm sorry, normally I couldn't give a crap about pop culture getting in the way of real live issues in this world. I just have to firmly believe that there is something so incredibly loose in your brain that you would wear a meat dress (RAW RED MEAT DRESS) to an awards show. Barf.

Sorry for that, I promise I will never post another meat dress picture of a celebrity on here ever again.

It's 2008, isn't it? Oh good gosh....

That title relates to NOTHING other than sweet old Bernice, who said those exact words to me today. For some reason, I find it really cute/funny that she can't remember what year it is. At 93, what difference does it make? Really?

Here is just another thing that makes me laugh SO hard...


Other than that, there isn't much to update on this Thursday. I spent the day hanging out with Bernice, than working at the nursing home. I have had my elderly fix for the weekend. It's true.

I have also reached my limit with spending/shopping. I went to Target tonight with Maddie and this is what I bought:
-Nutella
-Baked Lays Potato Chips
-Baby Powder
-Vaseline
Were any of these items NECESSARY at all? Nope.
I can't go to Target anymore. I buy the most random, useless stuff.

I'm having coffee with my Aunt Carol tomorrow. I can't wait. I love Carol. I love all my aunties.

I can't get the fishy crackers sound out of my head. I just die everytime I watch it.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Maddie, Jack and I devoured the Nutella purchased tonight after dipping pretzels in it while watching Sixteen Candles. Which is a really good movie that none of us had ever seen before. It's rated PG, and within the first five minutes, they dropped an F-bomb??! What?! Is that allowed? I know it's from the 80's, but I was shocked. Weird.

Anyone else have fun plans for the weekend? Better yet, is anyone even out there? Can anybody hear me? Does anybody read this?

I feel like a bit of a loser. Like a small fish in a giant blogging pond.

Hopefully I will have better things to write about tomorrow. I feel like this post lacked in terms of interesting things to say.
Night!!

Hump Day

Happy Wednesday!! It's been a great past couple of days for me for a variety of reasons. I hope everyone else is also having a great week.

Reason #1 I've been loving the past couple of days is because I've been able to spend a good chunk of time with my roommates. I mentioned that we all got to go to Vespers together on Sunday night, and last night, for a little while anyway, we all got to watch Hannah play volleyball against Concordia at Bethel. We then gathered as a house to have our first "house church" of the year. Some friends of ours at school started the idea of House Church last year. Basically, your house/dorm/suite/apartment/whatever gathers once a week in fellowship to pray, study the bible, talk, dig into your faith... essentially it's another form of church. It's been pretty cool to see it grow through out our campus and our house started last night with a night of affirmations. We all had our names written on a piece of paper, and spent time writing affirmations to each other. It was so nice to be able to just give each other compliments, be sappy, and tell each one of my dear, beautiful roommates just how much I love em. They are all great, because they did the same to me and it made my night. I'm excited to see how this goes for the rest of the year!!

Reason #2 I have enjoyed the past couple of days: Monday night=watched "Madea Goes to Jail." Tuesday night=watched "Meet the Browns." Do you see the pattern? I indulged in my Tyler Perry obsession and watched two movies, two nights in a row. I also rented one last week, but it was sub-par, so I'm not even gonna put the name of it on here.

It was Why Did I Get Married Too. I can't do that to my fans. (Crickets chirping in the audience... awkward.......)

Reason #3 is that I skyped with Dust this morning and got to actually look at his face. This was our first time actually getting to skype since he has been on the road!! It was very special and fun and I was so glad I got to "see" him. It's not quite the same as real life but I take what I can get these days.

Reason #4.... Dusty is currently staying with my dear roommate Randi's parents who live in New Jersey!! They have been so hospitable. Apparently he got a steak dinner wrapped in bacon, wine, coffee and biscotti, a hottub session AND even a neon green work t-shirt from Randi's dad!! And tomorrow night they are going to dinner in Manhattan. What a great thing. So glad they are being so kind to my boyfriend. I have great friends. Well, I suppose I should say, my friend's have great parents :-)

Reason #5 is that I am loving my Wednesday night class. It's called Spirituality, Sexuality, and the Family. The prof started out a little crazy on the first night, and to be honest it freaked me out a bit, but her style of teaching is really good for the subjects that we cover in this course. I really like everything we have learned about so far. The stuff we cover is pretty deep and so I may just have to write back about it in a future post, but it's a lot of fun. I just enjoy learning about family functioning tied in with my faith. I'm looking forward to Wednesday nights from now on.

I think having five good reasons for having a good day is pretty good, wouldn't you say? And now the day is nearly over at 11:55 p.m. Oh! Which also means I'm not too late to wish my sweet little baby cousin ALYSSA JANE ENGLUND a happy 19th birthday. Boy does the time fly by.

Goodnight.

Kicking off my week

First of all, I got a great night of sleep last night. Thanks for the prayers. I went to bed around midnight which was later than I was hoping, but my entire household of roomies+myself went to Vespers together, which was a special occasion too good to pass up. Vespers was good. We got home and I had to take care of a few things before bed, and when I hit the bed, I crashed. And got a good nine hours. It felt so good to get some rest without taking a sleeping pill to help.

The weekend was good aside from the sleeplessness. I realized that I didn't really recap on it today... The Bethel game was great.. They won! Dinner for Cami Wahl's birthday was really fun, and Callie and I opted to shop instead of see the movie. Okay, actually, we opted to stay at the restaurant for the cake dessert, and by the time it was done, missed the movie, so we shopped. I bought a few things. I don't feel bad about it [not anymore. My mom made me feel plenty bad about it being unnecessary after I told her. She says I use retail therapy to help deal with my feelings. Whatevs.]

Ahhh Maddie just walked on my back and cracked it a million times. It was awesome.

So today, a few things happened that made my day:
-Wore my new legging/sweatpant combination capri's that zip down the side of my ankle. They are extremely comfortable and they were also on sale. Woohoo!
-Woke up this morning to a text from my guy in NYC! He is staying with my cousin Tyler who lives in Brooklyn and I am so so happy that he was able to have contact with a human being after days of being on the road alone :)
-Finally got a package in my PO that I have been waiting for for a few days. I bought hair detangler. I know that sounds pathetic but it's (from what I've heard) a really good detangler that smells awesome and I have been really excited to use it!
-Bought a really good song on iTunes. If you must know, it is called "My Love" by Paul McCartney and the Wings. It's an oldie but a goodie. Especially if you are a sap like me.
-Got three postcards in the mail from... you guessed it... Dustin Wade Wahl

Postcards #1 and #2 from Niagara Falls. One is from the American side, the other from the Canadian side!!

And postcard #3, from Portland, Maine. It's the lighthouse from the pic Dust sent me earlier last week. This picture taken on the postcard is dated 1900!! Wow!

It's probably extremely dorky to post pics of myself holding up the postcards but I want to display just how much I loved receiving them!! I was going to post pics of the writing because it's sweet, but Photobooth takes pictures backwards so it would be as if you held the postcards up to a mirror. So... Not really worth it. Oh well!

I had my first meeting with my senior seminar professor regarding my research topics for my paper. Her exact words were that she is not "stoked" about my topics, but is hoping that I can make something of them anyway. Bleh. I have to contact TPT Minneapolis this week and see if they have any primary sources regarding children's educational television and Sesame Street. Does that sound interesting or fun to anybody out there? If you answered yes, I will give you money to do this for me.

Kidding. That just wouldn't be right.
I'm really happy right now because, at 10:45 p.m., I am exhausted. And feel like I could just fall asleep at any second. I know this post is a bit short but I'm ready to turn in and I can't complain about that! I have no class on Tuesdays or Thursdays, so I am looking forward to not having anything to do tomorrow until work in the evening. Ahhh. I don't even think I'm gonna set an alarm for tomorrow. We'll just see where that takes me.

The last thing I will leave with is the following pic, which is: another Man vs. Food stop, hence, another challenge. That he lost.


Tyler texted me this picture from the place they stopped at. I believe the caption read "His phone is dead, like his taste buds, and his spirit."

Poor guy :-( He really doesn't look so good and I'm sure he isn't going to be too thrilled when he sees that I've posted this on the blog, either.

Welp, on that note......

Goodnight!! "I'll see you in the morning...."

Hmmm.

Well, I had another rough night last night. For some reason, I couldn't manage to fall asleep until 4 am this time, and it's messing with my brain. I'm tired! I called my mom in the wee hours of the morning because basically I just couldn't take it anymore and she listened to me vent, cry, make absolutely no sense because I was lacking sleep and so frustrated. I also called Dusty and he was nice enough to provide the same comfort that my mom did. Ah. I woke up for work today and had the biggest, puffiest dark circles under my eyes and just thought, EW.

Anyway, since my mom was obviously a bit concerned about my state of mind this morning, she texted me just to check in. When I was taking my break for lunch at work, she sent me this:

"Here's a question for you to ponder (originates from Dottie).... "Is God enough?" I've been mulling over it all week...."

Is God enough?

Dottie, for those who are not from Bethel, is a newly retired phy ed professor who has been a friend to my mom and grandma for a few years now. Her and my mom recently had a conversation surrounding this question. Dottie lost her husband a few years ago, her son just last year moved far away after living close to her home for a long time, and she is adjusting to the transition of being retired. She basically was telling my mom about how adjusting to changes in life is never easy. But when you are stuck in those times, because they are seriously unavoidable, is God enough for you? Is God simply enough?

When I think about this question in my own mind, I go a lot of different directions. The first thing that popped into my head was a passage in Romans:
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

I am sure many of you could resonate with me in what I've been transitioning with. I know that life could be a lot worse, but it has been harder than I expected to say goodbye to Dust, start senior year, and enjoy life before I graduate and enter the real world. I have been unsure as to what I want to do with my life. There are a million questions/ideas/thoughts towards the future and I hate not knowing, and I often use outlets other than God to help aid the decision making. In my own selfish world, God is often not enough. I often make it God+Dusty/God+friends/God+Me/God+Mom&Dad/God+Bethel or the worst....Just Me, no God. It's not that relying on other outlets is bad, but it isn't going to fill me the way that God always always does.

The end of the passage says it all:
As it is written:
For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I think THAT pretty much makes it clear: God is enough.
My mom told me that sometimes transitioning to changes can cause stress that often times could disrupt sleep patterns. I am adjusting to life without someone that I spent a LOT of time with, and it's hard, while also trying to balance other things. So I have had this trouble sleeping. If (whoever you are) you could just pray for me, for sleep, and for peace! That would be greatly appreciated. After my mom and I talked about this question that Dottie brought up, I remembered that I ran into Dottie the other day at school! And she, as always, brightened up my day. She smiled and told me to enjoy every minute of my last year of college. It's funny how moments in life connect to others.

Theme for the week: God is enough. I will write it as the banner on my cell phone, so that I won't forget it, either.

Like a hug and a kiss goodnight...

I'll see you in the morning, for now it's time to sleep
I will stay and watch awhile till you are counting sheep
Don't be afraid of darkness
Don't be afraid, my sweet
The night is just a blanket that helps the earth to sleep
Creatures great and creatures small will all be sleeping soon
Under the same blanket... Under the same moon



So close your eyes and go to sleep by the light of the moon above
I'll see you in the morning by the light of the sun, my love
Dream your dreams of moonbeams, let the night become your friend
The twinkling stars will keep you safe till morning comes again
I'll be here if you need me, I'm only steps away
So close your eyes and go to sleep
And dream of a brand new day.

TGIF

I'm baaaaackkkkkkk! After a FULL night of sleep (12 hours, to be exact!) I am ready to go, recharged and energized for the weekend. I slept in until ten today, took my time getting ready, got myself McDonald's for lunch, with a deliciously wonderful $1 large Diet Coke to fuel that energy that I just mentioned. Dusty told me last week that Diet Coke from McDonald's isn't nearly as good in other states. Has anyone else ever noticed how amazing DC tastes from McDonald's though?? It's my second love.

I am very very excited about this upcoming weekend. First of all, who doesn't love Fridays? I bet you would love them even more if you are like me and have just one class, which isn't until 2:50 :-) Sorry to rub it in. Today is my friend Kenzie's birthday! Some of my friends and I are going out tonight to celebrate. I'm not quite sure where but, WE'RE GOIN! Kenzie is 22 today! A little fun fact: This will be her last birthday as a single lady. Kenzie is getting married to Grant next summer, another day that I will surely look forward to also! Anyway, I'm very excited to be with some of my girlfriends tonight. Tomorrow, Bethel plays at home against Concordia-Wisconsin, which to me officially symbolizes Fall in Minnesota. Since I have been attending football games my entire life on Saturdays, they have become just one of those events that make me really feel like it is in fact my favorite time of the year :-) I love fall. I am planning on getting a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks before the game, just to celebrate the season.

After the game, Callie and I are going to celebrate Dust and Callie's cousins birthday, and then seeing Eat Pray Love. Anyone else seen it, and liked it? If you didn't like it, then keep your mouth shut and don't ruin it for me!! Bernice gave me two movie vouchers yesterday to AMC theaters. They expire in like two weeks and she assured me that she won't use them so I gladly took them off her hands! Sunday, I work at EagleCrest in the morning and then plan on spending the afternoon researching historiography topics for my Senior Seminar paper. I think out of the whole weekend, Sunday will probs end up being my least favorite day. Maybe not though.

I got a call from Dusty today. He is in Cape Cod at the moment, got lost on foot this morning a couple of times. I AM SO JEALOUS! All these places I've never been.... Why does college exist to get in the way of joining him on the journey??? We just got off the phone with each other and he was talking about how much his dad loved Cape Cod. "Wade loved Cape Cod so much, that's why he wore capes all the time." :-) Now I don't know about you, but that makes me smile. I like to think that Dusty may have gotten his sense of humor largely in part from his dad.

Well, I just unloaded another load of laundry at work in Central Issue. Some may think that it's disgusting I work in an athletic laundry room, but it got a tiny bit not-as-bad of a job to do today. For incredibly obvious reasons I always scrub the dickens out of my hands after I handle dirty laundry, and therefore, my hands get extremely dry. I also ran out of lotion the other day and so I was in a bit of a crisis. Well, the crisis is no longer because I treated myself to a nice new bottle of hand lotion from Aveda. If you have ever tried this lotion, you know that it works miracles on the hands, not to mention it smells amazing too. I was first introduced to it last year when Callie gave it to me for a Christmas gift and I have been in love with it ever since. So Cal, I know you are reading this, and I know you are proud of me and maybe even a little jealous of my lotion. And I know that the last two paragraphs of this blog post made you smile at least a little bit!

Time to go, have a FABULOUS weekend everybody!!!!
-CM

Running on empty

Ahhh today has been a tough-y. For some strange, unknown reason, I got three hours of sleep last night. Every now and then I will have a night where I just have difficulty falling asleep. I don't think there is anything more frustrating to me then just laying in the dark trying to sleep. I thought about just about everything there is to think about before I said enough of this... and went up to the living room at 4 a.m. and watched 'Family Matters' on ABC Family. Did I mention this was at 4 a.m.?

I had to get up at 9 for a meeting regarding my student teaching this spring. I'm pretty annoyed with it. I am going to have to pay close to $55 just to hand in my student teaching application, another $150-$200 to register and pay for tests needed for licensure to become a teacher. All this as the supervisor informed us that it isn't a good idea to have a job while student teaching, HOWEVER, we do have to provide our own transportation... therefore, also must provide our own gas. And not to mention I'm paying TUITION to student teach!!! Phew. That was my venting, done for the night. I think. I know I shouldn't worry about the details behind how I'm gonna pay for all this, in fact, I'm blessed to be able to live nearly debt-free after college, and it's four months of my life. But still, I just hate all the stupid fees that are needed to pay just for processing an application! WHY MEEEEEEEE!!!!! (Maddie!) After the meeting my friend Kate turned around and just mumbled "Oh, yuck." Yup, my thoughts exactly.

Anyway, after the meeting I had a random lunch at school and then jetted off to pick up Bernice for her hair appointment. For two summers I have had the privilege of taking a 93 year old woman, named Bernice, to get her hair done weekly. Occasionally we do other things, we used to go to movies, the library, the zoo, but she is sort of slowing down in life and it's become nearly impossible just to get her out of the house to get her hair done these days. I finally convinced her that she needed to go today after she INSISTED on canceling. Bernice is a brunette by choice, but truly grey by genetics, and it's been about two months since she's had a cut or color. She was starting to look a bit Cruella Devil-ish, and NEEDED to get out and go. We discussed back and forth her options and she finally gave in. Truthfully, I think it was the sad puppy eyes I flashed at her that did it, but what do I know? :-) She is so so so cute. Just a tiny, shrinking old lady with nothing but spunk and personality to keep her going. She keeps begging me to tell Karen, her stylist, to dye her hair red. And today, as I was reading People magazine at the salon, she pointed to the cover and said "How are things going with Sandra??" Me: Huh? Who is Sandra? "Sandra!" And there is Sandra Bullock on the cover holding her newly adopted child. And Bernice goes on and on about how she thinks its just wonderful that she has adopted, that she ditched that tattooed husband of hers, "I wonder if Sandra is Jewish..." (Bernice is Jewish). I just love that woman. She blesses me and probably doesn't even know it, to be honest, I don't even know if she remembers my name after all this time. Doesn't matter! She is a feisty, adorable little peach and I have so much fun taking her out each week. I fell asleep in the salon chair when she was getting her hair done because I was so tired and it was no fun. Dozing off in weird, uncomfortable positions is never a good idea. I walked to Walgreens and bought some sleeping pills (non habit forming, okay!!) to help me fall asleep tonight. I'm not taking any chances, I WILL get sufficient sleep!!

After dropping off Bernice, I went home to switch out cars with my mom because heaven forbid I make Bernice try to hoist her little body up into the Jeep. Well, mom wasn't home. She called and said to meet her at Bethel, and by this time I had already pulled her car into the garage, where my dog was kenneled up. He got all excited and giddy and happy that someone was going to let him out, and then I had to be a big fat tease and leave the house. Poor dog. I felt bad. I then made it home and watched Pet Hoarders on Animal Planet, thought about throwing up at the woman who has 65 cats, and fell asleep. For five minutes or so, til Jackie entered the living room asking me what song is it where they sing "Practice what you preach...." Hmm.. I'm sleepy, but it's gonna bug me if I don't figure it out. Aha!! It's Gavin Degraw, In love with a Girl. No No, Jackie says it's Black Eyed Peas, Where is the Love. Wait, it's both!! Score. And I'm awake. And I'm still watching Pet Hoarders. Gross.

This was my day up until about two hours ago when Jack and I started watching the Vikings game. Does anyone find it insane that Brett Favre is a GRANDFATHER playing professional football??? How has his arm not fallen off and flown through the air with the football pass? Don't get me wrong, I love Favre, I love the Vikes, but he is seriously the grandfather of the NFL. It makes me laugh.

Dustin update: He arrived today in BOSTON! Jealous? I am. I have never been and am dying to visit there someday. He did the Freedom Walk in Boston, ate at Man vs. Food stop number 10, and found a place to park his car and sleep for the night. I know, he sleeps in his car, it's okay. It's Dusty. Tomorrow I believe he is headed for Cape Cod, another dream destination of mine. I hope someday I can visit there myself, but not BY myself, I would love to travel there with my most absolute favorite person ever. I miss him so much. Gosh dangit.



I mean, just look at him! Don't know about you, but I think that there may just be the most good lookin', adorable, most lovable guy I've ever laid my eyes on. I would do anything just to squeeze him right now, in a big, bear hug sort of way.

If this post was weird, it's because I took my sleeping pills midway through it. Sorry all! And off to bed I go.

A special dedication :)

Today, September 8th, is my dear friend ELLIE CAMILLE BECKER'S birthday. She is 22 years old!!!


Ellie and I go all the way back to five years ago. We met at Timber Wolf Lake Camp in Michigan through Young Life. Ellie went to high school at Totino-Grace, and I went to Roseville, but our cabin was full of Mounds View friends, so we were the odd ones out :-) We clicked instantly and have been friends ever since. I don't get to see Ellie as often as my other friends (She goes to Creighton University in Omaha) but when we get together, I love the time spent chatting and reminiscing on old memories!

In the summer of 2008, I had a great time traveling with Ellie and her family to Vail, Colorado. Colorado is my absolute favorite state ever. It is so beautiful and amazing and there is so much to do at any time of the year. Some of my best memories with Ellie were spent on that vacation. We had a great time and took some awesome pictures!! Ellie's older sister brought a friend along and one day she asked us how we we became friends. We explained it... and I remember the friend saying "Huh?? You guys went to different high schools? And COLLEGES?" Yep! I love that we have stayed friends through a connection like Young Life. We have never gone to school together but have remained close since we met at camp. We have been through other trips, bible studies, breakups, hardships and new beginnings. I appreciate that in a friend so much!

I got a text from Ellie this morning after I sent her a little happy birthday message and she told me she has been keeping up with my blog so I only thought it would be right to dedicate a post to her! El, I know you are reading this, so I hope you know that I LOVE YOU and I am so excited that it is your birthday! I'm not there, wish I could be, but I hope its very special. You have always been an awesome friend, and I am thankful for you in my life!!

The Life of Dusty, and other random thoughts

This is a beautiful picture that Dusty took on his cell phone in Portland, Maine. I'm pretty sure it's Portland, anyway. I am loving the picture messages that I randomly get through out my days from Dust. His travels have still been going smoothly and he is enjoying all that the east coast has to offer! We talk several times through out the day and I get to hear all about life on the road. He says Maine is very beautiful (I have never been there, unfortunately) and the descriptions and pictures that he has sent to me live up to that statement. Apparently there is a 'sale' going on- Lobster for $3 a pound!!!! I am insanely jealous. I love love love Lobster. I love it THIS much....




I love pretty much any kind of seafood, but lobster is at the tip top of my list. I want lobster RIGHT NOW!!!
(Upon review of the photo above, I would like to apologize for my crazed devilish look. Not quite sure if its the red eye, or maybe I am just not very photogenic.)

Anyways, here are a few more updates from the man on the road
-Stopped in Pittsburgh and had a nice quiet dinner {I was sent a video of a quaint little nighttime spot where music was playing, looked very romantic. Too bad he was BY HIMSELF!!!! :) Kidding, kind of}
-Crossed four state lines in the span of about two hours: NY, New Hampshire, Massachusets, and Maine!
-Visited a couple more Man vs. Food locations, but I can't remember where and which ones they were at the moment.

Today was a pretty lame day for me in terms of doing stuff. I did get three postcards in the mail today from Dusty. One from Detroit, one from the Indiana dunes and one from Pittsburgh! That was a nice little surprise, even though I knew they were coming. Maddie got a package in the mail today ALL THE WAY FROM AUSTRALIA! From a special friend of hers from YWAM :) I was dying to open the package myself because we are all so pumped for her, but I waited and let her do the honors! Billy (special friend) sent Maddie these amazingly delicious cookies called 'Squiggles' that are sold in New Zealand (where Maddie spent 5 months doing YWAM). I could eat fifty more of those cookies. Wow. Amazing. Thanks Billy. I can thank him publicly because I am 100% sure he doesn't read this blog so I won't feel like a weirdo creep. Wow, just ate another squiggle. Bliss.

I'm so happy for Maddie. I like that she has such a great guy friend that likes her enough to send her packages all the way from freakin' AUSTRALIA.

Tonight at work, one of my favorite old guys ever, AL, told me that when I walk around the tables all fast, it makes him feel really old. And as he was saying that, his CELL PHONE WENT OFF IN HIS POCKET! Is it just me, or does the thought of an 85 year old man answering his cell phone in the dining room of EC make you laugh, just a little bit? Not to mention, it was his GIRLFRIEND calling :-) Ah, love. Normally I would say 'young love' but he's old, so it's just love!!

As long as I'm talking about old people...I am feeling so thankful for my grandpa today. I mentioned this yesterday, but he came over to my house and fixed my closet (which had been out of commission for a good month or two). My grandpa is 89, and wearing down just a bit, but he still has such a strong work ethic and it is so evident that his heart is happiest when he is serving others. He has been this way my whole life. Over the years he has made both mine and my sisters bed frames, fixed the roof at our house, installed many an appliance, repaired many a fuse, and now, fixed my precious closet! As I was hanging all my clothes up, I just thought to myself, I love Grandpa Rodney. He has no problem taking the time out of his day to help somebody out. I am thankful to have such a great model of what a servant's heart looks like. It's a pretty strong testament to who he is that he is so willing to help out even at such an old age!!

That's about all for today. This week is off to a great start! After a bit of a dull, sad day yesterday, it's nice to be able to look back on today with a smile because it was full of little, random enjoyable moments.

Have a great night everyone :)

-CM

Some days are diamonds, others are dirt.

^^^ The above is my motto for the day. Some days can be pure dirt, I tell ya.

The weekend, however, was great. I spent Friday and Saturday evening in Iowa, road-tripping with Katie and her brother and cousin to the first Bethel football game against Simpson College. We had a great great time there and back and I even got to meet Pookie, Katie's stuffed animal puppy that she brought nearly everywhere (JK). We (Me, Katie, Maddie, Randi, and Courtney) watched the second half of Titanic on Friday night at the hotel before bed. What a depressing way to end your day, right?? I forgot how sad that movie is, and I was really worried that I was going to have wicked nightmares but... I didn't! Instead, I laid in bed afterward trying to sleep for a good two hours or so. I don't know what it is about hotel rooms/beds/sheets/pillows, but I just can't get myself to fall asleep in them. It sucks.

We all woke up early on Saturday morning ready for the day and game... Had breakfast quick and then went back to the room where Katie and I spent the morning watching Enchanted (great movie I had forgotten about) while Maddie, Courtney and Randi got ready quick to head off to the game (They are the managers!). Katie and I drove to the game and COULD NOT find a Starbucks anywhere in little Indianola, Iowa. What the heck. What town thinks it's okay to just not have a Starbucks. I'm kidding, again. Anyway, the football team won and played great... we had a smooth drive home, and it was great to spend time with my friends down in Iowa!

When we got home from Iowa, I headed to Target just to kill time. Never do this. Not that I need to tell you because I know that half the people reading this have probably made this mistake before. I spent $40 on absolutely nothing that I needed. I did, however, get a new bath towel for $3.50 and it is fabulous. Nothing like new sheets, new socks, and new bath towels, in my opinion.

Friday and Saturday were diamond days.

Sunday I spent the day working at the nursing home. My shifts at EagleCrest are usually pretty easy, and I hadn't worked there in a few days so I was actually excited to hang out with my friends at work and to see the oldies that live there. However, one person called in sick to work and another got sick mid-shift and had to leave work early. So we had a little bit of extra work on our hands. I was a bit tired after my shift, but happy to go home to my mom and have a little afternoon with her. She had heard about this great new consignment shop near Rosedale mall, so of course we had to stop! We found a few cute items and then headed to Pier 1, where I got a cute candle holder and candle that is battery powered! So I don't have to worry about fire hazards! Later I had dinner at the Loring Pasta Bar with Randi and Nicole. I had never been there before but have always heard great things, and it was delicious. We got to hang out back at our house, and watched "The Sixth Sense" with Maddie, Amy, and Kristin. Forgot how crazy that movie is! We then explored all that there is to do on my Roku player (which streams Netflix movies instantly). We were able to look at my friends' Facebook pictures, go on Pandora, and watch pretty much any movie/tv show in the world. If you like watching movies like I do, I highly recommend getting a Netflix membership. It's so cheap! Nine bucks a month! Unlimited Rentals! We all went to bed LATE at about 1:30-2 ish. In the morning, yes. Yikes..

Sunday was a diamond day.

Today (Monday) started out a bit rough. I had weird dreams last night, I woke up at 10 after sleeping through my alarm, and I had had HAD to shower. I felt gross and greasy, and I had somewhere to be at noon, while in the meantime my grandpa (Bless his sweet 89 year old heart) was on his way over to help fix my collapsed clothing rod that hangs in my closet. I felt rushed to get ready and I looked outside to see that it was gloomy and rainy. I managed to get ready in time to get picked up by Jana, a friend of mine who I went to Europe with this past January and who shares my same major. We picked up another friend and headed to the Bethel History Department Faculty/Student Barbeque---wahhooooo! It was actually not bad. Free food, Bethel's history professors, and fellow dorky history major students. What could be better on a day off from school?? Right?
After that, I kind of found myself in a down mood. It was crappy out, and I really really missed Dusty today. We have only been apart for 8 days as of today, but it feels like it's been forever, and that means I have a long road ahead of me in being apart when he officially moves. I've had a great first week of school seeing people and hanging out with my friends, but I'm wondering when the time comes that I get to hang out with Dusty, and it makes me sad. He's far away and I'm doing life here without him actually HERE, a first for me. I went home for dinner and after having a conversation on the phone with Dust, I just broke down. Sat on the steps of my garage, and the tears just came out. I didn't realize that the door to the backyard was open, and in rushed my sweet puppy Moses. Normally he would try to bolt out the garage door, but he looks right at my face (which at this point was soaked with tears) and he started licking them all up. I love my dog. How do they know feelings like that? I especially love Moses because he is a big giant lioness of a dog and that means when I say "Hug, MO!" he jumps up and literally hugs me. Which is nice when your favorite guy isn't around to give you a hug himself.

So needless to say, Monday was kind of a dirt day.

It's tough getting used to life without my best friend. I am lucky to be able to talk and text him nearly as much as I want, but we always spent so much time together and I am in some serious withdrawal. I think I just needed a night to be sad, and get it out of my system. Oh... my mom made me puppy chow tonight, which really helped with the sadness I was talking about earlier. Love my mom.

Maddie just told me that when kangaroos are happy, they rub their chest. Think it will rub off on me as a human? I just realized that would look weird in public, I'm not going to try it. Still cute though.

Sorry, one more thing...

K, I forgot to mention in that last post one of the coolest details of Dusty's travels... Not that you couldn't have figured it out by the shoutout he made, pre-Eminem concert reflection. In every major city, he plans on visiting at least one of the restaurants that have been featured on MAN VS. FOOD!!!!!!!!

If you have never heard of this show on the Travel Channel, or have heard of it but are in the dark as to what it's about, then read about it on this website: http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_V_Food

And then, after that, if you REALLY want to know more about where my BF is stopping on the road trip, check out THIS website: http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_V_Food/Episodes_Travel_Guides

Dusty visited Al's Italian Beef in Chicago and said it was wonderful. I believe he had a kind of french dip sandwich that is doused in au jus rather than dipped in it (mmmmm). I am sure it was probably much better than the french dip sandwich and au jus that we serve at the nursing home for meals. I happen to love the nights at work when we have this meal, so I am a bit jealous.

So far in Detroit, I know that he has visited two Coney Island hotdog places listed on the show, and also tried a delicious Triple Threat Pork Sandwich at a BBQ joint that was also featured. If you are gonna do a road trip, I can only imagine that one of the most memorable ways to do it is by following your nose (or your watering mouth) to the best food places in the country!!!

I will update everybody on what the best places are as I hear from Dust. When we visit Florida together at the end of this month, I'm wondering if we could try to find a good place from the show together. In the meantime, anybody got some good recommendations for favorite restaurants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area? My fave restaurant is without a doubt Panino's in North Oaks. Go there if you have never been, and try the Panino fries. Dee-lish.

I'm off to Iowa tonight for a football game with family and friends. Have a great weekend!

Updates

So everyone should know by now that Dusty is on the road. Today he emailed me a doc of his travels, a kind of "travel journal" if you will. It's really long (initially I was going to post the whole thing on the blog, as he suggested) but yeah, we both agreed it may be a bit too long to post the whole thing. But I think his experience of last night (Thursday), is pretty wild, and totally something one of a kind/once in a lifetime, so I am going to let you all read it in his words.

One thing that I should be pretty honest about. Dusty and I, we kind of.... like.... rap music. Ah!! Okay I said it. WE LIKE RAP!!!! You have to understand that I went to a high school where you couldn't really get through a day without hearing SOMETHING about some kind of rap music, and my girlfriends, of all people, were really really into it. So naturally, I was too. Then, I started school at Bethel, where NONE of my new friends really listened to rap, at all. I held strong to my interests however. My all time favorite rapper is Lil' Wayne. I was introduced to him in 10th grade and ever since, I have been a huge fan. He is just so weird, and bizarre, but so talented with writing, in my opinion. Freshman year of college, I went to his concert at the Myth. It was quite the experience.

But anyway, two years ago when Dusty and I started hanging out, we both discovered that we share this common interest. In fact, back when we first started texting, we would go back and forth with our favorite lyrics from Lil Wayne songs. I know, I know!!! That is so goofy and weird! But that's just kind of who we are. Deal with it!!

So, now, I allow you to take a look into what happened to Dusty yesterday, and if you are a rap fan, be jealous. And if you are in no way whatsoever a fan of rap music, then become one. Just kidding.
(Dusty is a great writer. He has a way with words. I like reading anything he ever writes. He is awesome)

9/2/2010 THURSDAY
Now this was my greatest day of the trip so far, and it probably will continue to be the best day for a long time (until Sept 30th CASEY. ) Let me just phrase this and hopefully you’ll understand the insanity of my day. EMINEM AND JAY-Z CONCERT IN DETROIT, HOMETOWN OF EMINEM. OH. MY. LORD. I had a hard time debating whether or not to spend the money on the ticket but I am so so glad I did. What an amazing show. I had looked all over for a ticket and finally found one the day of, from some guy off craigslist. Oh, but before that I went to Slows Bar-B-Q, Man V. Food #3. Amazing. Triple Threat Pork Sandwich. Applewood Smoked Bacon, a slab of ham, and pulled pork. Delicious. Best thing I’ve eaten so far. You got your work cut out for you Pittsburgh. Anyway. I woke up, cleaned myself up in an Einstein Bagel bathroom, got some breakfast, and used the internet to find my ticket. After successfully exchanging dinero for a General Admission spot, I went to downtown Detroit to kill time. It poured, and I was terrified that the concert would be cancelled. But it cleared up, and I headed down there around 4:00. I waited in line til 6:00, and I was starving so luckily a group of nice girls in front of me saved my spot while I went and got food. I hung with them for a while, it was nice to have people to talk to for a little bit, but I still keep to myself a lot when I’m doing stuff on my own. Doors opened at 6, and we got in, grabbed a beer, and waited. 7:30 B.o.B. came on (the girls bailed by this point, as they were short and couldn’t see over the people in front of them) and was really good! Oh, I have to say, just for the record, that if wind had a scent, the scent was weed inside Comerica Park. So much pot being smoked. And at Eminem’s RECOVERY concert. A bit contradictive, but hey, why not get completely stoned so you pass out before Eminem even gets on? Makes perfect sense. B.o.B. rocked it, had someone else guest appear or something (don’t know who) and he performed for about a half hour. Jay-z came on at 8:40. And from that point on, the night was phenomenal. I can’t even describe to you what took place. Jay-z did a full show, literally, til 10:05. With guest appearances of Young Jeezy, Bridget Kelly and I think Memphis Bling? His show was ridiculous. The stage was encompassed by lights in the shape of an eye, and there were video screens in the whites and the pupil, covering the background. Jay-z had the coolest videos on the backdrop that I’ve ever seen. So badass actually, just hard stuff that was so cool and steezy. Jay-Z is the man. Ah. My ears are still ringing. Let me go on. His set included songs like Hard Knock Life, Big Pimpin, I’m a Hustler, 99 Problems, Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Lucifer, HOVA, Encore, New York (where the Tigers play! And people loved it!), and more of his new stuff, but I don’t know the names of them. Amazing. We had to wait another grueling 40 minutes before Eminem made his first headlining appearance since 2005. In his hometown of Detroit. With over 40,000 fans chanting “SHADY”. His set was equally incredible. Not as much style as Jay-Z, but what can you expect, he’s from 8 Mile. Uh. His set included Kill You, My Name Is, Not Afraid, The Way I Am, Stan, The Real Slim Shady, Guess Who’s Back, Love The Way You Lie, Cinderella Man, Space Bound, Renegade (with Jay-Z), No Love (with a video flashing “FREE LIL’ WAYNE”), My Band (with D-12), Purple Pills, and more. But my all-time FAVORITE part of the concert? Let me set it up for you. Shady says he’s gonna take us back, to a time we hopefully still remember. We hear that background for the song that made him famous- My Name Is. He starts out singing the words. And there’s a part in the song where Eminem says “and Dr. Dre says” and then Dr. Dre’s voice comes on and says “Slim Shady you a basehead”. But instead of Dre’s voice. The music stops. Instantly the crowd goes insanely wild, because on the big screen, behind em, flashes the name “DR. DRE”. And from the side of the stage, behind the video, THE Dr. Dre walks onto the stage! I about died right there. I LOVE Dr. Dre. He is one of my favorite rappers by far, and I have never seen him in show. He hasn’t done an album since 2001, and I think he toured after it, but it’s been literally years since he’s been on stage. His guest appearance made my night. They sang Still D.R.E. and G-Thang, maybe another I can’t remember because I was in pure shock. I felt like a 13 year old girl at a Justin Beib- wait, I can’t even reference that wiener in the same paragraph as these stars. I felt like a 13 year old girl. That’s it. Amazing. Also, 50 Cent appeared and G-Unit, a lot of shout-outs to Biggie, Tupac, and most of all Big Proof (a Detroit legend). Eminem did his whole show and then an encore of Lose Yourself. With fireworks after. Guess who’s back? Yeah, you guessed it.

Happy Happy September

How can it honestly be September?? Of 2010?? What?

Well, Happy September folks. Ready or not.

I had my first official day of classes today, and it was a sort of weird, back-to-reality day, I guess. My last first day of school, ever!!! Wahhhh!! What a bizarre thought. When you think about it, most of you that are around my age have spent the last 16+ years having continuous "first days" and now, those times are coming to an end. I actually got up earlier than I had to (my first class is at 150 everyday) to attend chapel at school..

It was great. I always struggle to focus at chapel because it's so easy to pick people out of the crowd that I know, or don't know, but I have a hard time listening. For some reason today, my mind was just on the message. One of the main points that I got out of the talk was that it is so incredibly important, and VITAL to our relationship with Jesus, to take things just ONE DAY AT A TIME. It's so simple, but for me, so difficult. Especially this week, I find myself looking in my planner at September 30th, because that is when I get to see Dust. And I think about the obstacles in my way that come before that date, and it prevents me from truly enjoying being in the now. I have to work on this so hard, I've struggled with it my whole life. Not that there is anything wrong with looking forward to things, but when it gets in the way of enjoying each minute, it almost becomes more of a burden, at least for me. The message of living one day at a time later was tied into focusing on your treasure. The speaker kept referring to our treasure as being "that ONE thing." Whatever that is. Work, school, friends, relationship, family, success, money, whatever. I thought about a number of things that often get into the way of my relationship that I have with Jesus. I have struggled hardcore with these things especially this summer when I have been so caught up in figuring out things for my last years in college... Dusty leaving and wanting adequate time with him BEFORE leaving... Working random hours at random jobs to try and make a little money... Having time with the friends that were in town. In all the time that I did have, the free time that was always there either early in the day, or at night, I often turned to God as a last resort. It's kind of embarrassing to admit that. But that's why I have my goals for this year. That's why I chose to get up at 830 when I didn't have anywhere to be until noon. I'm quite proud of myself actually. Not for being diligent about how I spent my day, but because the first thing that I did today was get up to go and learn about Jesus. Not to mention, the last thing I did before I went to bed last night was spend time worshipping God with a close circle of friends, just because!

Okay, actually the last thing I did before I went to bed was watch an episode of Family Guy. That's a little contradicting, eh?

I'm not trying to put myself on a pedestal or anything by bragging up my efforts these past couple days. I just enjoy and feel encouraged to share whatever is on my heart regarding my relationship with God and how I want it to grow and change this last year of school. When I think about all that lies ahead for me this year, I go nuts. I feel almost an adrenaline rush about all the possibilities and I just wonder to myself, "Where is God in all this?!" I am just dying to know what he has planned for me and I wanna know NOW!! But I am striving SO HARD, to just take it one day at a time. It's amazing how when you do live like that, just living for now, how you notice the beauty of God in all the little details. That's almost how my day went today.

(DUSTIN: If you are reading this, I hope you are happy with a little bit of a smirk on your face. Do you like how I did a post on taking things one day at a time??! EVERYONE ELSE: Dust happens to be quite wise and mature for a 22 year old and that has been a theme in our relationship since we first started dating. I hate to admit that he is so on the dot with advice sometimes, just because I am a stubborn little smoo sometimes. Don't worry about smoo, it's an inside joke.)

ANYWAYS..... speaking of little details, I hope you enjoy the pictures here. MJ found the tiniest, cutest little froggy last night chillin' on our front door step. We invited him into our home, made him feel comfortable, and he decided to warm up and take some pictures with us. What a simple but amazing thing, huh??!

In case you are wondering... the shirts? Yea, those are the amazing Nordic Contracting Company shirts from Randi's dad. We've worn them the past two, three nights? Well, I have anyway. Don't judge.

Wow, how was that for a brief little first day of school update? I kinda feel like I go off on major tangents when I write on here. If I do, I apologize. Only because that is like my biggest pet peeve when people get on a major tangent. Who knows why. Can't wait to keep updating this thing, I am having so much fun you guys! I hope that someone is actually reading this so that 'you guys' remark isn't pathetic!!

-CM