Thoughst of College, Smells and Sounds of Home

Down to the last few days before leaving the Great Plains back for the ol' South and my last semester. Did I mention yet it was my final semester before I have a Bachelor's in Science? No? Its my last semester. I only have ONE left.
One
Last
Semester!!!!
To be honest, I can't wait. I haven't a clue what I will do once I'm done. Revel in the glory of no more assigned reading, no more writing assignments where I have to b.s. my way through the required page amounts when I feel I can succinctly say the same thing in five (or one) sentances.
Yes, I AM considering further education. However, the dynamics of that degree and school will be completely different.
This season of life has been, in a word, hard. I've been sick with some very serious illnesses, discovered I have genetic complications that run in my family, watched people I deeply care about suffer - either through no fault of their own, or completely because of their own stupidity, but either way, still hard - been constantly told that I must revise this ro change that or mold myself to fill someone else's definition of 'correct.'
Has there been good in it? Of COURSE. I've met amazing people, made amazing friends, seen God work in amazing ways in my life and in others. I've seen Him redeem time, mistakes, people, choices.
But I'm ready to be done. I'm ready to stop living in a bubble of correct doctrine and conformity. I'm ready to see what God has next.
Do I sound cynical? Maybe. Mom and the littles started homeschooling last week, and today was full of trying to stay out of the way, watch them fight old battles that Mom and I used to butt heads against when I was under her skilled tutleage, and trying to decide if I NEEDED to overcome my deep desire to continue procrastinating reading Theology or just continue giving my brain a rest from acadamia before re-engaging it on the 24th.
Anyhoo. Mom wants to go watch Stargate Atlantis with me. :-) I made Souffle for dinner and decafe black tea is simmering on the stove. The littles are bouncing around, finishing final school assignments and asking to play computer games or watch with us, and Kendra is in the kitchen sweeping and muttering how she will NOT stoop to the level of SGA with us but not sure what else to do :-)
Ahh... sweet sounds and smells of home :-)
~Princess Ouch~

Procrastinating

I somehow clicked something and my words began appearing in Hindi instead of English. Wierd.
I have made noble strides towards effectively procrastinating today. I have downloaded new Christmas music from old CD's onto Itunes on my computer, cleaned Mom's kitchen, cleaned out my text inbox on my out-of-date phone, continued making preliminary plans for seeing more family during the middle of the month. Etc.
All good things.
Still procrastinating.
See, I'm taking Theology 1 this semester, and
I
don't
want
to.
I don't mind sitting in class, its just the textbook is a bear. Its very interesting for about three pages and then it becomes an excellent cure for insomnia.
I don't want to read.
I don't want to read.
I don't want to read.
I actually don't have to read, however it would be smart to begin reading it now so that I'm ahead of schoolwork. And, as my boyfriend says, 'we like being smart!'
We do?! I'm perfectly fine with dumb right now, thank you!
*sigh*
I'm sure in five months once I've graduated I'll look back fondly with remembering the good ol' days of college. At least, thats what my middle-aged friends tell me. My friend who graduated last May says that she is still of the opinion that it is all lies, and she is GLAD she has no more homework! She is GLAD she gets to read for pleasure!
Oh well. This is my final semester as an Undergrad. My final semester of trying to balance cramming classes in so that I can get al my requirements complete before the scholarship runs out, as well as trying to balance my inner need for socializing with learning which socializing persons and events need to be 'culled from my schedule' as well as making sure I"m working enough hours to cover living expenses and have a little wiggle room for inevitable unexpected medical or travel expenses (of which I've had many! yeesh!)
I'm excited to be finishing this season and anxious to learn what God has for the next season. However, He's never let me know ahead of time what is to come, very last minute. So I'll continue Serving Him Blind and praying that I'm doing so faithfully.
It struck me the other night as I was brushing my teeth just how blessed I was. I have access to clean water, surrounded by people who, however irritating they get, love me and I love them, am safe from invasion or kidnapping, have acccess to good Churches and faithful Christians. Transportation isn't always dependable for me personally but there are multiple people willing to give me free rides to wherever I need to go. I'm educated, intelligent, happy, and Saved. Life is good.
Happy New Year!

Christmas break sum up so far

I've been really bad this year. Last year, I was blogging regularly during the break, had even changed the music on my blog to fit the season. This is... what, the first time I've updated my blog in over a month? And how many posts this year?
Oh well. I'm sure my faithful few followers will survive. :-)

To sum up my break: Moved out of my apartment on campus and put all my stuff in storage. Am staying at a friend's house until February, and then I will move into a house with five other girls. *eek!* I'll admit I have a little apprehension about my new living situations, but the old place simply wasn't working any more for several reasons. So I moved out. I had packed up a bookshelf's worth, but my boyfriend and his dad came up one saturday and we blitzed the apartment and got the whole thing packed, loaded, moved, and unloaded. God bless men!
Visited Ohio for Thanksgiving, finished situating things around Louisville and beyond as far as storage, and somehow didn't drive Amber (my friend I'm staying with) Kyle or his parents crazy. Or if I did, they graciously kept it to themselves. Kyle took Amber and I to Nashville to meet his grandparents, (Pap worked building Ford car's engines for several decades, and likes to play with whoever's car is acting funny. Mine was IT, so he got it for the break) for lunch, see the new Muppet Movie (which was SOOOO good! And funny!) and then go to the Opryland Hotel Christmas Light display. Fun. Fun. Fun.


Then I flew to South Dakota to visit family. The weather was mercifully, gloriously, and amazingly not the frigid arctic blast that I've come to expect, but rather quite mild! Its been in the high 30's to 50's the entire time I've been here. The wind has blasted on occasion, but not as often as usual. Everyone is surprised and I am not complaining one whit. :-) Kendra and Derek are working at a farm close by where the farmer raises 200 culled bull calves to sell for meat once they've grown. So I've been getting up with them to help so they can get done faster. They do get paid by the hour, but they had to work Christmas day and on the day we thought Ethan had a birthday party, so I went to help them get done earlier.

Apart from working and getting sore and too tired, Christmas was really fun. It was one of our more frugal Christmases (as in there weren't piles and piles of packages under the tree this year) but it was still really nice. Mom cooked an AMAZING meal (again) and she and Dad bought me the "John Adams" mini-series and we started watching that together. Well acted, well written, amazing soundtrack, etc. Happy happy happy.

My dear boyfriend was supposed to arrive on the 28th but he got a nassssty 24-hour flu that kept him from flying out that day. Thanks to heroic effort to his dad and no thanks to the airlines or travelocity who charged them another arm and a leg, he was able to fly out the next day. He was smiling but a little drained. Despite all setbacks, we had a nice visit. I've never 'brought a boy home' before, so there was absolutely NO precedent for anyone to follow. Add to that he had been sick and in a part of the country that was as foreign to him as another country, I'd say he did pretty well. He even let Hannah decorate him, as you can see ;-)

He and Ethan bonded over lego's, history, and similar personalities. So the little's vote is very favorable towards him, and Ethan keeps telling me how much he misses Kyle and how fun he was. He DID however inform me that I was 'sappy' with my boyfriend. He determined this to be neither good nor bad, but familiar. I think that's okay... seeing as we've been dating for eight months now!
Many a comment and hopeful question was voiced by friends back at school as to whether or not I would return to school with an engagement ring. I knew I wasn't, but nobody believed me. I turned out to be right and am fine with that. I've enough stuff to figure out this final semester without having to plan a wedding and remain sane and pleasurable company to anyone within a ten-mile radius or phone-conversation with me :-)

Mom and Dad have done an amazing job in rebuilding the house. The contractor is no longer in the picture and they are doing all of the second floor, basement, (attic?) and final touches of the first floor by themselves. The house looks amazing but very very different from when I lived there. Its still the same house, just completely different while still similar.
In the same way, the family has changed. Still the same people and same family, but different. Figuring out how dynamics are supposed to work now that I'm an adult but still their child has been challenging. I don't live at home yet while I'm at home I ought to contribute to the family but at the same time things are completely different. Its been an internal war with myself of not knowing how to jump in or not thinking of ways to jump in soon enough or simply not wanting to jump in as once I go back to Louisville I'll have to hit the ground running again.
Oh well. Sanctification is never a bad thing. I will confess, however, that once I graduate my goal is to be able to get my own place with absolutely. no. room -mates. Selfish? Maybe. Ambitious? Probably, as I just haven't been able to work enough hours to afford it while still taking five classes. But we'll see what God does and where He takes me. I'll also confess I really need to work on some New Year's resolutions: like praying and seeking God more, getting much more disciplined about managing things better, scheduling my time more wisely, etc.
Alright I'm lapsing into musing and therefore rambling. Sorry :-)
I'm flying into Chicago on the 12th and staying with my dear Great-Grandma for a few days before Kyle drives up and gets me. We're still trying to decide how visited-out we will be, and if we want to try and bum around Chicago for a while and then stop in Ohio to see relatives there, or simply zip back to Kentucky. My preference would be to bum and visitate a little more, but will see. :-) Logistics aren't always conducive to idealism. ;-)


~Princess Ouch~