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Monday, March 30, 2009

one step further

one step further.one step further to a different career, year at sage, and in my walk with God.

i handed in the papers for dropping chemistry, registering for the two classes i wasn't able to register for before, and changing my major TODAY!!!!!

WHEW!

thank you Jesus! so much weight is off my shoulders now. no longer do i have to put my energy and time into worrying about the small stuff, but now i can look forward to finishing up the semester with my projects that are due. :)

amanda & i also went to resident life to pick up our lottery numbers for housing next year. unfortunately we did not get the low numbers we wanted. i got 128 and amanda 130. they said it was supposed to be random... we don't think so. :( also, things are being done MUCH differently than last year. we do not have nearly that many residents that are going to be rising juniors this year---the numbers are so high because the college decided to include the communters in the lottery. WHAT?! no, i don't think that is fair. last year there was paperwork and due dates that were necessary to fill out in order to be a commuter and this year they are just going to put residents that have no choice but to live on campus with the commuters? i'm not trying to sound mean, but its not right. they should have residents pick their housing first and foremost and then allow commuters the chance to look for rooms. usually commuters stay commuters, and if they were to decide to live on campus most of the time the move during spring semesters. residents already have to fight tooth & nail for rooms and compete against eachother, and when we get really high numbers in the lottery system, thrown in with all of the commuter students, it makes it even more difficult to find adaquate rooms. it is also going to waste a lot of time when we go to pick the rooms on the designated dates because there are going to be a whole lot of empty spaces with commuters that decide to NOT live on campus? yes you should open the opportunity to live on campus to commuters. they deserve the same chances, but not in a way that would make things harder on the residents. most residents live on campus because they cannot commute back and forth to their homes. we don't have that choice, so we should be given our normal chances to get housing like previous years and still open up the field for commuters once all the residents have chosen their houses. there has been a HUGE increase in students for next year attending this "small" women's college. i really don't know how the college is going to handle it. i'm almost afraid that they are going to run out of rooms!!!! this is probably the reason as to why i'm a little upset. i don't want to end up without a room because of a commuter who decided to live on campus last minute! :( a few of our friends have high numbers as well and are equally confused and upset as to the changed system from last year. but i guess the only thing we can do {and what amanda&i have already done once} is to pray and think positively. God will make a way!! he always does!

enough of my ranting... have a great night!

God bless


Saturday, March 28, 2009

a barbecue and obnoxiously loud friends

tonight amanda, jill, & i went up to RPI {the college up the hill from us} and visited our friends. we try to see each other whenever we can, but it has been very busy and we did not have the chance since winter break. a VERY long time considering we are only 10 min away from eachother.

regardless, we decided to hang out this weekend. most of the time we don't have specific plans but to just hang out and see what happens.

so that's what we did!!

when our friend nick picked the three of us up and when we arrived to their apartment/dorm outside on the lawn were all of the inside living room furniture! everyone was lounging away in the sun, chatting, and having a good time.

so we were hanging out for a bit, decided that we wanted a barbecue {thus meaning a field trip to price chopper later}, and in the meantime before dinner threw around the football and frisbee.

my friend harsha said something that was very true! something that means a lot to me. he mentioned that what is so funny is that just by throwing a ball back and forth between a few people can be so much fun and so fulfilling! you pass it on to someone else, wait patiently for it to come back to you {not knowing exactly when}, and when it eventually makes its way back to your waiting hands, you get so excited! i love just being relaxed, knowing that you have no current worries to take care of, enjoy the sun, and throwing a football around with some great friends!

most of these "friends" are guys. its funny... sage is an all women's college, and RPI {rensselaer polytecnic institue} is co-ed but practically an all men's college {approx. a 3/7 girl to guy ratio}. therefore, whenever we need a "testosterone" fix {which happens once in a while because girls can definitely become overwhelming..... fast!} we try to get to see them. we do have a few girl friends that go there, and i personally think that we help them out by giving them an "estrogen" fix! LOL

nonetheless, as we enjoy eachother's company, the guys DO become loud, overreactive, & obnoxious... fast! and yet... i love every bit of it. <3

award: fabulous

i have been blessed and honored to be picked as one of five fabulous blogs for this award by Jen


in order to receive it i have to do two things:
1. confess five things to which I am addicted, and 2. pass the award on to five other fabulous blogs.

so first, here are my five addictions...

five addictions:
1. God
2. taking pictures---it seriously relaxes me. i love it!!!
3. people watching
4. thinking about the future
5. wearing comfy clothes & cuddle with fuzzy things & drink peppermint tea.

now here is the tough part. the following five fabulous blogs are:

Recovering the Satellites:
even though she hasn't posted in a while, she has a perfect reason and i have no doubt that she will make it up to us! ;D {nance i'm only writing this because i know you'll read it <3}>

Beautifully Broken: a beautiful blog full of dedication in everything!

Learning to be a Wife: a great blog that inspires me although i am no wheres to getting married yet! :)

A glimpse into my thoughts...: a blog that is full of love and truth. thanks for sharing everything that you do!

Life with Logan: this blog is just so cute and i fully enjoy seeing the love a mother has for her child!

now i hope you all will pass this award on to five additional fabulous blogs, and don't forget to tell us your five addictions!

<3>

award: fabulous

i have been blessed and honored to be picked as one of five fabulous blogs for this award by Jen


in order to receive it i have to do two things:
1. confess five things to which I am addicted, and 2. pass the award on to five other fabulous blogs.

so first, here are my five addictions...

five addictions:
1. God
2. taking pictures---it seriously relaxes me. i love it!!!
3. people watching
4. thinking about the future
5. wearing comfy clothes & cuddle with fuzzy things & drink peppermint tea.

now here is the tough part. the following five fabulous blogs are:

Recovering the Satellites:
even though she hasn't posted in a while, she has a perfect reason and i have no doubt that she will make it up to us! ;D {nance i'm only writing this because i know you'll read it <3}>

Beautifully Broken: a beautiful blog full of dedication in everything!

Learning to be a Wife: a great blog that inspires me although i am no wheres to getting married yet! :)

A glimpse into my thoughts...: a blog that is full of love and truth. thanks for sharing everything that you do!

Life with Logan: this blog is just so cute and i fully enjoy seeing the love a mother has for her child!

now i hope you all will pass this award on to five additional fabulous blogs, and don't forget to tell us your five addictions!

<3>

sunny days

sunny days are a comin'!!!! i'm so excited! today my roommate jill&i went out to the park on campus and did some homework, relaxed, and observed how life is when the snow is gone! <3>

may you ALL have wonderful God blessed SUNNY DAYS!

Friday, March 27, 2009

bored

per usual, i was looking out the window and thought that i'd get a few pictures of the string that is attached to my shade. :o/ eh, i like it! :)


portfolio

here are the pieces i created for my portfolio!!! enjoy <3>

{photos}
{colored pencil}

{pencil sketch}

{pencil sketch&charcoal}
{acrylic paint}
{acrylic paint}
{pencil sketch&charcoal}
{pencil sketch&charcoal}
**this one was actually created tonight. i did not include it with my profile.

thank you bl<3ggers!

thank you all for your concerns, prayers, suggestions, and advice. i am feeling a lot better, almost completely normal!! i took two naps yesterday, kept warm in socks and a sweatshirt, took only two cold tablets, drank water, ate some soup at dinner {although not much because the school likes to pour buckets of salt in it---did not end up finishing}, drank cranberry juice {Jen, I would have taken your advice on the echinacea, etc. but i had no means on getting to a store plus i was feeling a lot better as the day went on yesterday}, and most importantly i read in the word and prayed again!!!

this is the fastest a cold has ever "started to emerge" and disappear without going through it's course. that's exactly it, it is God's course, not the cold's! :D i still need to blow my nose and a tiny bit stiff, but i'm not letting it bother me one bit because i plan on playing 3 hours of the amazingly fun game of
volleyball at RPI {college up the hill} for a 24hr tournament for the illiteracy cause. amanda & i are very excited. we are being picked up @1:30pm so i'll be praying that everything will go smoothly and there would be NO injuries whatsoever!

<3

Thursday, March 26, 2009

eck

i went to bed after a few hours of feeling like the beginning of a cold is emerging. i already prayed over myself for healing and strength, went to bed when i no longer needed to stay up {i wouldn't really call it early, but i guess it was} at about 11:45pm. i've been drinking some more fluids {water, cranberry juice, orange juice}, disinfecting the room, and trying to stay optimistic. i'm going to take another quick nap before my class at 11 today {actually my English class is going to be online today not in the classroom} so that will help with the occasional blowing of the nose. :P please pray for me because i really can not afford to get sick. i am so close to the end, and need to trust in God that this thing is only temporary and believe that it won't affect my life.

<3> in Christ

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

a long day coming to an end

so today was incredibly long, fast, intense, calming, busy, relaxed, & well, interesting.

1)8AM: i took an extremely insane chem test
2) 9AM: relaxed & read in the bible
3) 10AM: today, march 25, 2009 our school's new president was announced. i got to go to the ceremony for one of my classes.
4) 11AM: stats was probably the longest 1hr 20min ever!
5) 1230PM:i didn't have time to get a real lunch because i had an appointment with my adviser to look at my portfolio----a bagel and cheetos.
6) 1245PM: i had my meeting with my adviser/will be professor and she approved my portfolio for the major----I'M IN, I'M IN!!! :D :D :D :D :D
7) 120PM: i went to the chem lab review session before lab @ 2pm and talked with the TA about me dropping out of chem.
8) 125PM: i went to student services to get the add/drop form and the change of major form
9) 130PM: went to my chem professor's office to have him sign the paper---i finally dropped chem!
10)135PM: went back to the library to let everyone know that i will not be in lab or the class anymore
11)145PM: back in the room for 2 hrs----shared the news with some friends&amanda and took a nap
12)400PM: went to work until 530pm. did some research on the computer while in the front desk office of the recreation building (where the gym is) for my english research paper
13)530PM: went back to the room instead of directly to dinner like i usually do every wednesday
14)535PM: went up to the room, dropped off my bag, went BACK to the dining hall (1min away from where i work)
15)630PM: back to the room, did some important emails.
16)700PM: went to a guest lecturer who is a photojournalist looking at the effects of immigration on the women of mexico left behind by husbands. i went to this for extra credit for one of my classes. it was really informative, i like it a lot. :)
18)820PM: it went longer than expected, and i left after the first half and questions
19)830PM: back to the room and watching students come in and out of all the dorms for tours because of the room lottery coming up---choosing housing for next year.
20)840PM: talked to mom & dad on the phone. found out that amanda&my car is fixed!! well, a big part of it is. :)
21)920PM--present: relaxing, blogging, and finishing up my interview paper for my cultural perspective class.

whew!!!

Well, that was my day in a nut shell. Thank you lord for providing strength and blessings all day! <3>

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

things temporary

a lot has happened to me since my last post. most of it has been me learning to be open to hear and listen to what others have to say, and most importantly what God is saying or wants to say. with the semester rapidly drawing near, there are soo many projects and papers that i have to accomplish in a very little time. i know that lately i have been writing about a lot of my academics, but really, right now, that is basically all that is happening in my life. besides going to church at terra nova here in ny, talking with friends about so many various topics (some academic)... i can really only focus on a few things at once.

one piece of news is that i get to see my new adviser tomorrow and show her my portfolio!!! whoo hoo! i'm so excited. once i'm there, i will talk to her about actually signing me off to the CAT Art major (Creative Arts in Therapy in Art), registering for the 2 classes i wasn't able to register for (because i had to be in the major and i wasn't yet), and.... to see if i can withdraw from chem. :( for about a week now, i have been really debating about doing this. should i stick it out (i hate not finishing something i started) or should i drop it because technically i don't need it for my new major and i already have the sciences requirements with my previous 4 other science classes from this past semester and last year. i wasn't doing as well as i wanted in that class. i would study, get some help, go to every class, but somehow the exams (we've only had 2 quizzes, 1 exam, & 1 lab exam---not many grades at all) are totally different than the notes that we take. :( granted, i could have spent 5 hours studying all the time, but i have other classes to take care of as well! if chem were my only class to take this semester, i would most likely have an A (well hopefully). however, as all students know, we have to prioritize EVERYTHING! so i decided that with the help of my parents, sister, & friends i will withdraw from chemistry. it will bring up my gpa, because i don't need it for my new major, and i will be able to have a lot less stress and can work harder on my other classes.

i talked to my mom & dad on sunday night about this whole chemistry decision, and for a little over an hour i was switching back and forth between parents. but i talked to my mom the most and she said some things that were really encouraging to me. i don't know how many of you experience this, but my mom tends to ask me questions or talk to me and figures out exactly what i'm feeling or am burdened with-----not only is it because she is a mom, but that she has the Holy Spirit in her too!

long story short (we WERE talking for more than an hour lol), she basically pin pointed the fact that i was feeling a bit like a failure--like i was letting my parents down. mind you, i didn't tell my parents that i was having trouble with the second semester of chemistry right away because i had just gotten a letter saying that i was on the dean's list for last semester and with this negative news, it would just damper everything good. so she asked me, "do you feel like a failure?" and that is when i started to cry because all the stress was building up in me and i was trying to not think about the poor grade. basically i knew what i was feeling, but didn't have a name to it. it wasn't like i felt entirely like a failure but rather i let myself and parents down because i know they want me to do so well in school. so my mom explained some things to me.
1) i'm not a failure
2) God does not think i'm a failure
3)my parents do not think i'm a failure
&
4) don't i ever think that again! LOL
at this point i know she is 100% true and that somehow i was starting to believe this lie and amidst all the studies, it was the perfect timing for these thoughts to sneak in---a time where my guard was down, and i wasn't praying a whole lot about things concerning school. she also mentioned that as a student you do everything you can to get in enough studying before a test---stay up late, wake up early, study right before the exam before class starts. if i spend SO MUCH time and effort in studying for a class or test that ultimately is so temporary and significant to the things God wants me to do, why can't i stay up late with reading the word and have it be the last thing i read for the day, wake up early to get my morning God "fix", or pray right before the class starts??
BAM!
duh!!! once again, i learn that the Holy Spirit and mom make an amazing team. haha.
so, ever since this talk with my mom, i have been determined to do things differently. i have been improving a lot, but oh boy, do i still have a long way to go! but don't we all?? like previous posts, i want Jesus to be in my every thought, all the time! i want to treat him like he is THE MOST IMPORTANT person in my life. school, work, assignments, etc... it is all temporary in the eyes of God. Yes, i should work hard in school, but it should never be something that takes time away from being with him.

i have been reading in the bible lately, and for a few days, i'm going back and forth between a few scriptures.

psalm 71: 1-3, 7-8
1 in you, o Lord, i put my trust; let me never be put to shame.
2 deliver me in your righteousness, and
cause me to escape;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
3 be my strong refuge,
to which i may resort continually;
you have given the commandment to save me,
for you
are my rock and my fortress.

7 i have become as a wonder to many,
but you
are my strong refuge.
8 let my mouth be filled
with your praise
and with your glory all the day.

psalm 55: 22
22 cast your burden on the Lord,
and He shall
sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to
be moved.

psalm 37: 3-5
3 trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land, and feed on His
faithfulness.
4 delight yourself also in the Lord,
and He shall give you the desires of your
heart.
5 commit your way to the Lord,
trust also in Him,
and he shall bring
it to pass

**new spirit filled life bible

i also wanted to share with you some songs that i have heard before, but just mean so much to me. last night, amanda& i went to val&annie's room and were talking and reading the word. towards the end, before we left to go to bed, amanda shared some youtube videos with val. these songs are EXACTLY what my feelings and stance on my relationship with God right now is. i hope that they will bless you as much as they continue to encourage and bless me. Thank You Jesus! <3>





<3>

Monday, March 16, 2009

spring*break {3.6.09 - 3.15.09}

i had a wonderful time this past week relaxing and being with friends&family. it was quiet and serene yet eventful at the same time.

i am including my picasa web album "spring break 2009" so you all can see the majority of the pictures i got this last week. but right now i am including the ones that stood out the most to me. enjoy! <3>

http://picasaweb.google.com/dancegirl098632/SpringBreak2009#

friday night:
the beginning of our spring break
amanda&i on our way to Boston for a prayer meeting {JHOP} at MIT college
at the meeting
the students here have so much zeal for God, it is so awesome!
sunday:
i HAD to go out exploring nature&take some pictures. it really allows me to practice&experiment with my photography and it is also VERY relaxing.

i tried to capture the water droplets streaming off the roof, but unfortunately it is hard to see. i still like the rest of the picture. i think if the background was more solid and not so light, the water would be easier to see.
my brother jeff
mailboxes
the bridge---this name carving must be new because i haven't seen it before.
at the old blacksmith shop. we weren't really supposed to be over here, but oh well, i got some great shots!

my family members are the best subjects!! <3>
two places at once
amanda had just hit jeff with a snowball. his face is the best
i absolutely LOVE this photo. i think it has so much going on and yet is so simple






i saw some pine cones on the side of the road and decided to go for a close up.
the bridge across the street again

our road, and BUBBLES! i was stocked on how well this came out. i saw these bubbles on the rock from afar and KNEW that i needed to get a shot of them.
our maggie dog. she's getting old, but soooo beautiful!
tuesday&wednesday:
we went to a friends' house for lunch, played volleyball with some churches & ate lunch at the olive garden with some relatives. i didn't put up any photos because although i love taking photos when i am having a good time, most of them did not come out as clear as these.

friday&saturday:
my mom&i went out to town these days to do errands {art supplies shopping for my portfolio, new glasses, new phone, etc} and we pass these horses ALL the time. for a while now i have been desiring to take a few shots, and was finally able to----two days in a row!!! the sun was a little tough to work with, but on the second day it was better especially when i was able to get the close ups. :D

they were watching me the WHOLE time!
i love the shadowing here--it is almost perfect

the youngin'
this guy wanted to nibble my jacket so bad! he was nudging me and so interested in what i was doing. he let me pet him so that was a little added bonus for me ;D


my mom took this shot. she did really well. i love it. these horses had so much personality!
a great way to end the day!

<3>