it's happening to you, too.

today i was alone in the house washing dishes and i realized that i was singing to myself- "that thing you do." i smiled because sara's voice- "you are just like your mom," ran through my head. she says that to me a lot. she's probably the person down here that knows my mom and me the best. as the thought went through my head that i am becoming my mother, my smile grew. i like my mom. she has her flaws, but she's really pretty great. she tells me not to stress about school, she's proud of everything i do, she puts anyone at ease. she carries grace in an amazing way. she has the best laugh in the whole world. she gives killer back rubs and scratches. she took raising us seriously, but not in a way that kept her from enjoying us and goofing off with us. she always laughs at my stupid stories. every time i babysit i think about her. i want to be a mom like her. she and my dad are a great team- ive never once had to worry about their marriage. they complement each other in every way. he's practical, she's daydreamy. hes good at math, shes good at english. she can sing, he can keep a beat. she does small things to let you know her love, he does big things. she's too trusting, he's too skeptical. they work. 

when i picture my mom, she's usually singing. she loves music. james taylor, paul simon, the beatles. squirrel nut zippers, steve tyrell, diana krall. "her" music. when we used to go to the grocery store she would sing as she pushed the cart down the aisle, bobbing her head and dancing around. she has no rhythm. it used to embarass me; now i do the exact same thing. (these are the times where i get the comment from sara) she loves birds. she used to pull out her "North American Bird Anthology" to look up the birds that landed on our porch all the time. she doesn't do that so much any more, but only because she knows all their names now. 

i often wish she was here. she would tell me to take a break from studying, i think. so i did. thanks mom :)

3

three things...

1. david platt's sermons on podcast

2. grace: daily. freely. abundantly.

3. rides to school from gabrielle

feeling content :)

i went to the beach this weekend. best weekend so far this semester, no doubt. i went down with sara and sarah, but erica, amy, and wendy were surprising stevie with a trip down, so we got to meet up with them some, too. we had dinner with them friday night, but then went back to our house and watched a movie, after which we all took baths and went to bed early. we got up saturday and sara and i studied. sarah teague didnt feel well, but started feeling better as the day went on. the two of us sat on the back porch for a long time, talking and drinking peppermint hot tea. later, we went shopping im pretty sure at sarah teague's request, and she was the only one to not buy anything (surprising... or not at all). then the three of us went to dinner at this place called mitchell's where we sat in the pretty bar and ordered the cheapest things on the menu :) there was a table of 40-something-year-old couples next to us that were obnoxious and loud. we thought they were amusing- though more than slightly annoying- with their middle school antics. we laughed a lot ourselves... i like my roomies a lot. after dinner we bought cookie dough and icing from publix and made double doozies at the house. erica and stevie came over and we talked late into the night, laughing until we cried more than a couple times. today we went to the beach for the first time all weekend. it was really pretty and we hated to leave (i mostly just didnt want to come face school and another investments test), but we finally got on the road around 3. i like home...tuscaloosa....whatever this place is to me, but a weekend away was awesome. made me excited for spring break :) it also reminded me of a beach trip i took with sandra last year where we did absolutely nothing the entire time and it was awesome. i really like sandra... i miss her. i miss all my friends that arent here any more. reunion?

3 things:

1. heating pads

2. my funny big sister that turned 23 this weekend :)

3. sara(h)

I know I already posted today. But I want to again. And that's the good thing about blogs. You can talk as much as you want about whatever you want, because you aren't actually forcing anyone to listen. They can choose to or not, and it doesn't hurt your feelings. People like writing blogs because let's face it: who doesn't like to talk about themself? I like to listen, but I also like to talk. 

So here's what I'm mulling over: I went to this meeting earlier and was asked, "If we were tailoring a conference specific to YOU, what would happen at said conference?" And all I could think of was just really good teaching. Sure, there'd be worship. I love worship. (It would be lots of hymns, probably, and I'd definitely make Gabrielle sing!) But I connect with the Lord when I read or when I'm taught His Word. And for awhile I was in this group where that almost wasn't ok. I was told it was "feeding my head, but was it affecting my heart? Probably not." But it does! I don't know how. But in the same way some people are affected by music and prayer and song, teaching moves me. It makes me want to know Jesus. Because the more I find out about Him, the more I want to know. And as I get to know Him through the attributes He tells about Himself in His Word... it makes me grin when I think about it. Let's face it, I'm Presbyterian at heart. I like the Word because it's sure. And you can NOT separate God and His Word. It's where He expresses himself. 

and Pet Peeve: When teachers say "Here's what the Word says, and here's how you can apply it to your everyday life." and then give some rant about what this "means for today." The Word is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword. Teach the Word, let the Spirit do the rest. Ok, rant over :)

three things:

1. my investments teacher. he's not good at teaching, but he's really nice and eager to help. he met with me for an hour yesterday even though i didnt have an appointment. 

2. my purple blanket. it's pretty much the best ever- real soft and REAL warm.

3. my mom. i like her a lot. and she's not hard on me... probably cause she knows im already real hard on myself.

last blog was a little dramatic. but it was how i felt :) i did, in fact, do horribly on that finance test; erica praised me for my 66. she's kinda the best. the other two didnt go nearly as badly. and now ive hit that lull in schoolwork that makes me nervous... when's it going to get crazy again? however, it's good that i've hit that lull. i have the flu, which definitely stinks. i dont think ive ever had it before... i might have had the stomach flu when i was a kid. however, i do have the best roommates and friends in the world. everybody and their mom has asked me if i need anything- what can they bring me? it's definitely nice to be loved. i got some meds at the health center that are supposed to speed me through it- thank goodness. i feel ok at the moment, but earlier i wanted to cry and ask my mom to come down. ibupruofen has always been my favorite drug for a reason :) im worried about missing class- i might try to go tomorrow. they're too hard to skip. i'll see how i feel. right now im sitting in bed, eating saltines and drinking ginger ale- the perfect "im sick" combo. and to copy erica, three things im thankful for:

1. wonderful friends that take care of me

2. house episodes online

3. drugs!

because i have so much time on my hands...

im sincerely starting to doubt my decision to major in finance. i love numbers, i hate investments. i have no desire to work the stock market. or the bond market for that matter. shouldve just done math. however, my reasoning goes something like this. i hate economics in a way that no one can possibly understand. its a deep, deep hatred. ive taken 9 hours of econ to get to where i am. therefore im not changing my major to something where those hours are useless. (i did, however, change my concentration to avoid another econ class.) last book ive read? its called essentials of investments. ive been reading it every day, for hours a day, for 2 weeks. besides the bible, its all ive read. and ive definitely spent more time in the word of bodie, kane, and marcus than in the Word of God. sorry, but put options are not exactly the desire of my heart. neither is scoring it big in the stock market. i dont care a lot about money.  i would like to not be destitute. thats about it.  

so here's the rub. i just took my finance test- the one ive been reading, highlighting, summarizing, and working problems for. and despite the hours upon hours that i put into it, im pretty darn sure i bombed it. it makes me consider taking up cussing. instead, ill probably go study for accounting.