::Commitment::

I can't even begin to explain to you how sore and exhausted I am. No, I haven't just fought forty ninjas for seven hours, but I have moved more mattresses than I ever care to see again in my life. Then today I began the final room change of the summer. I knew when I interviewed for the position of Resident Assistant (RA) that summer would entail a lot of cleaning and moving large pieces of furniture, but I didn't realize the degree of this momentous task or the commitment it would take. I enjoy serving other people, but it is difficult when one cannot see the joy of a freshman's face while seeing their dorm room for the first time. I know move-in day is fastly approaching, but I don't necessarily want it to come any faster.

Then again, soon all the halls will be set up appropriately and my room will be ready for my roommate to move in.

....Do I smell the seasons of change?....

::Birthday's Bring Families Together::

My family is a little non-traditional. I have a dad, who lives in Virginia (whom I dearly miss). I have a beautiful sister who is just a tad younger than me. I also have a mom who is remarried to a man named Luther and he has two daughters. Holidays are very different as we often do not celebrate them on the designated days with the traditional food and fixings. But what we do well is Birthdays with extravagant and eclectic (as we often choose different ethnic cuisine) dining.

So, my mom, stepdad, sister and I went out recently to celebrate Fathers day and my stepdad's birthday. Usually I love and hate celebrating birthdays because the food is usually so good but the conversations can make a turn for the worse. But this time we went to Picassos formally known as Nino's (although we didn't know of the name change which made finding the restaurant a bit of a problem). Lets just say the food was not up to par. But I did get to try escargot for the first time. I was so excited, as I love trying new things.

The thing that really surprised me though was the conversation. It seems that as my sister and I get older, we are able to hold great conversations with our parents. Perhaps I am speaking for myself only when I say this but I truly enjoy talking with my parents (as long as they avoid the topic of money of course :-) )

All in all the evening ended wonderfully with a kid scoop of Ben and Jerry's!

::Get Smart::

As mentioned before, I saw this movie on Saturday morning. I wanted to see it because I like Steve Carell in The Office and so I thought he would also be great in this movie, especially with his co-star Anne Hathaway. They were a dynamic duo and the only thing that could stop them was the repulsion Agent 99 has for Max. This movie is filled with humor, both dry and slapstick, which filled the theater with laughter. It seemed the movie catered to male humor as the two guys I went with raved about the movie even hours after it was over. This movie is pretty clean and has a little romance.

If I were Roeper or Ebert I would give it a 1 1/2 thumbs up.....

::Blessed Sunday::

Oh Wow, yesterday was such a blessing. It started out with attending The Journey in west county. I enjoy the worship so much, as it is a mix of old hymns with a up-to-date beat. Then Darrin Patrick, the lead pastor, continued his message of Finding Jesus in the Old Testament. I appreciate the historical context that he began his message with, as often times this is left out of a sermon.

After Church, A couple of friends and I went to Red Robin for lunch. At lunch, we discussed so many things including the sermon and the impact it had on each of us. I thank God daily for the friends he has put into my life.

That evening I went with my boss and her children to Fee Fee Baptist Church to see a concert, which they have every Sunday night. Brittany Howard did such a great job with the talents and gifts God has given to her. She has such a beautiful voice and she uses it to praise the Lord. After the concert the church served the congregation dinner. I personally appreciated their servant hearts.

Overall it was a great Sunday and am thankful that my heart is renewed for another week!

::The Girl is back in town::

That's right, a college friend of mine (T) spent the weekend with me as we painted the town red. Okay we really didn't paint the town red, and it wasn't just me and her, as she often has ulterior motives for coming to see "me". But I still had a great time. My best friend and roommate was out of town so T was a nice distraction. It started out with a easy lunch on Friday afternoon followed by watching a movie until T and her "ulterior motive" left for dinner. Then I took a nap and got a call later to meet up with them and other friends to play a rowdy game of phase 10. We finished up really late and made plans to see the movie Get Smart (Review of that to come later). So the next morning T and I got up to see the movie then went to the wonderful Chick-fil-A for lunch. All in all it was a good day. Then this morning T left for her home, I hope there will be many more great weekends with T.

::Go Crazy for Crazy Bowls and Wraps::

I must confess I did not want to leave my comfy bed this morning and get myself ready for a busy day of work, especially since I was sore from moving furniture that I conquered last night. And so when I entered my beloved office I was less then happy. But through the actions and love from my fellow coworkers, my mood brightened. But what really made my day was my lunch with Marie and Jacob. After I dumped far too much money into my gas tank we went to Crazy Bowls and Wraps. I love CBW and usually get a pesto chicken wrap but got a vegetarian wrap with feta cheese. Both are great choices. After a great lunch with awesome friends, I was ready to face the rest of my day.....

::Jumper::

The original plan for last night was to go see (drum roll please) Indiana Jones in the theaters, but due to many reasons a friend and I had to change plans. So, Kyle, a coworker of mine, rented Jumper and we watched it in the dorms.

Now I was excited to see this movie despite my slight disappointment due to Indi, but by the end of the movie I was frustrated at it. The plot of the movie was fine enough until it touched the family side of his life. They are, most likely, attempting to set up for a sequel but I know I wouldn't see it because the first could not keep my attention. I think that the best part in the movie was the scene in the roman Colosseum. The movie also didn't explain the concept of the jumpers very well.

If I were Roeper or Ebert I would give this a 1/2 thumbs up....

::Lights, Camera, Action::

We just finished filming for our promotional SAC video. I wanted to thank everyone who put on their MBU apparel and drank perk coffee for our AMAZING video. Even though it was a hot day and it took tons of shots I know it will be great. Today we finished the voice overs and the dialogue shots and we wanted to thank our wonderful filmer and "producer". They were so patient and encouraging. But now we are on to another momentous task......New SAC slogans.....

Please tell me what you think:

::What can SAC do for you::

::Is SAC in you?::
::SAC. It's everywhere you wanna be.::

::Foreign Films::

I love learning about different cultures and yearn to one day travel about the world. This ambition will most likely happen a little at a time and I will do most of it through mission trips. As of lately though I have been accidentally seeing a few foreign films and so far they have been incredible. I am loving the "Bollywood" types of films with tons of beautiful songs and lively colors, like Saawariya. But I also watched Pans Labyrinth, I appreciated the language of the film but it was a little dark and scifi for me, and there was a lot more blood than I expected. If you have any other suggestions on great foreign films please send them my way!

::The Office: Season 2::

For those who don't know me, last summer I created a list of about 100 things I want to do before I die. Well, I completed one of them yesterday, #13 Watch a whole season of a TV series. Ben, a friend of mine, let me borrow his season and I got the privilege of seeing all of the awkward moments and the intense cliff hanger at the end. Now I can't wait to watch the next season. Okay I am hooked. My list also has some other crazy things that I want to accomplish before my demise, like, #6 Stick my tounge to a pole during winter, #17 Be part of a jury, #28 Go see the Northern Lights, #47 Work with underprivileged Children in another country, #69 Learn to love the unlovely, and #87 See a Sumo Wrestling match.

This shows you just a little how truly zany I can be.

::Odds and ends::

::Koffee with Kelly at Kaldi's::

Today being Friday, my job celebrates the wonderful thing called half day Fridays, which allows me to use half of my Friday any way I please. I had originally planned to go swimming or lay out but mother nature had her own plans as it is raining. So Kelly and I went to Kaldis for lunch, Koffee and relaxation. There are many things that I'm contemplating for the future and I'm not sure of the path that God is directing me to go. So I shall wait until I am directed further....

On to more wonderful things....

Right now I am saving up for my wonderful Macbook that I am wanting to buy at the end of summer and when I get it I will get Photoshop. But until then I have all of these photos that are screaming to be worked on. Now I am a firm believer that a photo should speak for itself without being "worked on". But after Kelly introduced me to the wonders of Picasa, which is a free photo editor (kudos to you, Google), I am now a believer. I will never be a pro but now at least my photos can have a little pizazz too.

::Before::

::After::

::$8.98 jeans:Steve and Barry's::

What....that's right recently I paid $8.98 for a pair of jeans. Were they on sale? nope, this is the normal price. What is better than that? They are some good jeans. While on vacation we went to the Mecca of college priced apparel, Steve and Barry's. This line is Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker and has some great pieces. These jeans fit all sized women from size 0-22, and the top sizes have the same horizon.

So if you have $10 in your pocket and need a new pair of pants or a sassy shirt Steve and Barry's is the place to go!

::Rush of fools: Undo::

Recently a friend of mine has encouraged me to try to look into getting Rush of fools for a concert. I knew the type of band they were and some of there songs but today when listening to them, one of their hit songs really blessed me. There are so many times when I feel like this song. These are the times when I am humbled and fall on my knees in forgiveness, the times when God encourages me to be refreshed in Him and His love. Thank you to the artists out there who God has blessed to encourage His followers.

Rush of Fools : Undo

Turn me around pick me up

Undo what I've become

Bring me back to the place

Of forgiveness and grace

I need You, need Your help

I can't do this myself

You’re the only one who can undo

What I've become

I focused on the score, but I could never win

Trying to ignore, a life of hiding my sin

To label me a hypocrite would be

Only scratching the surface of who I've been known to be

Turn me around pick me up

Undo what I've become

Bring me back to the place

Of forgiveness and grace

I need you, need Your help

I can't do this myself

You're the only One who can undo

What I've become

Make every step lead me back to

The sovereign way that You

Turn me around pick me up

Undo what I've become

Bring me back to the place Of forgiveness and grace

I need you, need your help

I can't do this myself, Jesus

You are the only One who can undo

You are the only One who can undo

You are the only One who can undo

What I've become

You are the only One

::Star City of the South::

Yes that is right, Roanoke, V.A. is the "Star City of the South". Now one may ask, "How does a city get a name like that?" Well I'm about to tell and show you. First of all I will begin with the start of my evening. We went out to the New York Pizzeria to devour some real Italian pizza. The Pizzeria is one of the best places to get pizza that I have EVER been to. Then we went up to mill mountain and saw the Roanoke star and the Roanoke city lit up at late sunset. Friends and strangers, It was beautiful. After that we went to see the other neon lights in Roanoke.

Now on to the story of the star::

this star of Roanoke was constructed in 1949, is the largest freestanding illuminated Man made star, and shines brightly over the Roanoke city.

The other wonderful lights of Roanoke include the H & C coffee sign and the Dr. Pepper sign. (for the history of the signs click on them)

::Thanks goes out to my wonderful daddyeo for the outstanding photos::

::It's Gone to the Dogs::

While in Virginia, Kelly and I got the privilege to see a dog show. My dad has a couple of dogs and one of them was being shown today. Little did we know that she would do so well. Let me introduce you to Minni...She is a 9 month tan and white whippet (yes pronounced like the song "Whip it" by Devo)

We watched her win her class and go on and win the next competition. Kelly and I also got to see many other types of dogs. Some were pretty and graceful and others were...well...some dogs should not have dred locks for fur.

All in all we saw "our" dog get two ribbons and a point to become a champion, got very burnt as we spent two hours in the sun, and had some really great laughs at the expense of some odd looking breeds.

Take a look at our little soon to be champion:

The judge, Stanley (my "third father" and co-owner/handler of Minni) and Minni