Crocheting...

I like the word saga and perhaps I overuse it. I like to say, "saga", whenever I'm talking on a topic for which I have a lot of words (even if it's not dramatic). So, here's the scoop (saga) on my crocheting life as of late:

I am in the middle of a few projects:
-an aqua scarf
-a yellow and white hat with flower
-a warm-toned head band
-an autumn-colored blanket

It really doesn't bother me to be in the middle of a few projects at the same time... now of course if I had ten projects laying around that never got finished, I may get frustrated. But here's the deal: I crochet when I need something to keep my hands busy. In chapel (my favorite place to crochet!), on the plane, at work in the summer when the office is slow. The aqua scarf and yellow and white hat are for kids in Kenya. My sister is traveling there this summer (to the same slum I visited a few years ago!) to do a number of things with the schools there, including delivering sweaters, scarves, and hats to the kids. Yes, it actually does get cold in Africa! I'm working on the head band for my friends Brit and Nan; they share. And the blanket is on hold until I have some money to buy more yarn for it (my biggest project yet!).

Are you in the midst of any projects? I would love to hear what you're working on, crochet-related or not!

How to make a killer weekly sched.

Organizing my week into manageable chunks is important for me, and if you've struggled with staying organized...or with to-do lists that are too long, I would love to share my method!
Every Thursday afternoon, I look at each syllabus to find out what reading, papers, tests, etc. are coming up the following week. At the bottom of each day on my calendar, I write in RED what is due/needs to be done by that particular date. Then, I work backward (starting from the next Thursday) to figure out when I will do each assignment. I wish I could explain this better, but hey, maybe you understand.
As far as meetings and get-togethers, I try to write tentative things in pencil, so as to eliminate crossings out. When I'm scheduling meetings with people, I will usually send them an email or note with a list of times I'm available throughout the week (for example: Monday early lunch, Tuesday morning coffee, etc.)
My favorite day to look at on my calendar is Sunday... it reads: rest (in cursive). Actually, this week it reads about four things, but the ideal Sunday is rather blank.

How do you make a weekly sched.?

Would you just look at him?!

Oh blog, how I've missed you! It's been quite a busy time. I spent last week out of town with my brother, sister-in-law, and 3 month-old nephew, Levi. It was such a sweet time of holding the baby and doing low-key stuff around town with the new family of three! As you can imagine, coming home after that fabulous trip was pretty hard; I did not want to say goodbye to the little guy.
With that said, I usually need grace when coming back to school from a nice, relaxing break. I have not been able to kick it into gear this week, and though I'm frustrated, I shall press on. I praise the Lord for caring about things in my life that consume me (though they shouldn't)... like my summer plans. I have a unique opportunity to travel to Turkey this summer and am in the process of deciding whether or not I will take it! Readers, if you could please pray for me to make a wise decision, I would greatly appreciate it.
That's all for now; no insightful thoughts, just a simple update.

The Value of a Good Conversation

I'm practicing my stenographer skills this morning (sitting around the breakfast table with my sister, cousins, Nana, and mom).

"We took (I think) a taxi to the tube, it goes underground... and then you get there and you're in Paris. We first went to the Eiffel Tower... so between not enough sleep, getting there at 4 in the morning and walking tons and tons of stairs, I was sooo exhausted!...We couldn't afford anything extra."
"How much is the cheapest hotel?"
"I don't remember"
"You could probably get something really cheap"
"There's like hostiles and stuff"
"I would never go to a hostile 'cause of..."
"The Sane River"
"like, 'you're insane'"
"I wanted to get Paris perfume and Italian shoes, but the Paris perfume you could get cheaper here and same with the shoes"
"And we wanted to get stuff too, but we didn't have much money and then to transfer everything into euros, it's... but we ate in a little cafe on the street."
"I want to go to Europe SO bad"
"I think you would really enjoy Florence. Rome is junkier to me."
"Well Rome, they didn't high-scale it after... Florence's buildings were prettier to begin with"
"They're both very good"
"I wonder if I can bust this banana like Dad, let's see"
('Pop!')
"Woah I did it! I usually smoosh the banana all over my fingers"
"Yeah if it's overripe, it will splash you in the face"
"We went to H&M"
"Is this before H&M was in America?"
"There were some here"
"I think it's so awesome that in other countries, MacDonalds has different foods"

Oh my goodness, my typing muscles are actually sore! Well I do quite value conversations around the table.

Confessions of a growing woman

It's true that everyone is in process...whenever someone asks me the question, "Do you feel whole?", I naturally want to respond, "well, no." As in, "Of course not! Nobody is completely whole!" But then they say that before you start dating someone, you need to be a whole person. Bologna! Unless I need to redefine to concept of a "whole person" in my mind.

I feel like we're all hurting or have hurt on some level. In fact, I know this to be true. So where do I draw the line between broken and whole? Am I done being broken once I can handle something stressful without breaking down? No, that's perfection. But I know God has called me toward healing and I've made lots of progress! I know I am complete in Christ, so am I a whole person? Maybe...

Whatever the end result, I will not deny hat I am forever in process. Praise to the God who lets us be where we need to be.

Style... and the occasional comfort day.

I would describe my style as urban chic (sometimes I try to be rebel chic, but I'm not very successful). Some of my favorite clothing items are: my dark wash jeans, long dresses, flowing tops, sweaters and cardigans, bohemian sandals... I try to be big on accessories. (I say I try because accessorizing doesn't come naturally for me, but I like the way I feel when I'm accessorized). I wear long necklaces, bangley bracelets, dangly or hoop earrings, scarves, and sometimes a sharpie tattoo on my left ankle!

And every once in a while, I have a comfort day. A couple of days ago, I wore jeans (yes, jeans are comfortable for me), running shoes, my favorite sweatshirt, no makeup, and no accessories. It was lovely.

Today I'm wearing my roommate's bathing suit and tank top, paired with cutoff shorts, pearl brecelettes and earrings. It's a beach day!

Tell me, what's your style?

No Spending: an Update

To recap: I began a "no spending campaign" at the beginning of lent (it's hard to say I gave up spending money for lent because this is more of a personal challenge, not necessarily a sacrifice the Lord was calling me to... and I'm using the time frame of lent for my challenge). I've got a little over two weeks left and I have (brrrrrrrrm!) $1 left from my $25 budget. Yikes! This is hard.

Here's where I spent the money:
$5 on a train ticket to LA
about $6 on donations
$2 for tip at a restaurant (contributing to a group)
Hmm... $13 somewhere else. Seriously, I don't remember!

Another mini failure: I committed to not manipulating others into buying me stuff during this time, but I must confess, I did it. Sorry, Brittany. She was happy to buy me a smoothie and a doughnut, but I should have had some backbone! (Sigh) Grace covers that.

So what have I learned? I've learned that if God is not calling me to something, he won't necessarily give me the means to fulfill my own personal goal when there are other, more pressing needs around me (though I have felt his grace and his caring heart in this). I am going to finish. Not out of a stubborn place, but because in the end, I did commit this to the Lord. I have learned that not spending money makes your bank account go up. Wonderful! I actually did not think of that factor very seriously at the beginning of this endeavor, but my bank account thanks me. I have learned that when spending isn't an option, choices are much simpler. Lastly, I have learned that the desires of man will never be satisfied! I've already got a mental list of things I want to buy (present for baby Levi, paint for my room, Starbucks on Easter...). I guess I'm ever in the process of learning contentment.
I think the next item I need to delve into is coffee... when I look into my heart, I think the Lord was gently encouraging me to give up coffee for lent, but I just did not want to! So, I need to do it for a season, even if it's not lent. Giving up this little luxury could help me look toward the cross, which is what sacrificing is all about.

I feel a bit ashamed at the end of this post. Usually, I blog about a fun experience or idea, but not usually a failure. Now, I wouldn't call my fast from spending a complete failure, but I can declare that there were better things I could have given up. Nonetheless, this has been a learning experience and I intend to finish strong. I've got $1 left, no manipulation in sight, and about 90 miles of gas to go! Thank you for reading along in my self-imposed, God-assisted journey.