What An Opportunity!

School has resumed and so far..well...it's been a tad stressful. I wasn't too concerned beforehand because usually the first week is pretty light. Generally they go over the syllabus, get to know everyone, etc. Not with these classes. Nope! Full blown in the first week. This has made it pretty tricky in trying to juggle "motherhood" with school. LOL! But it's working out. Anyway, speech class started yesterday. I was a little nervous but excited at the same time. I don't have a problem playing the piano or singing in front of people, but I am apprehensive to speak in front of people. I'm looking forward to gain the necessary skills in this area. My first speech for the class is next Wednesday. It has to be 1-3 minutes long and it has to be about an artifact that means something to me. I have to explain what it is (by showing it) and tell why it's important to me. My first thought was "My Bible!" What an opportunity! I can totally give my testimony in speech class! At first I thought, " Well.....hmm. It's a secular college and I don't know how that will blow over." Then Romans 1:16 came to my mind. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;..." There is NO way I am going to pass up this awesome opportunity that the Lord has just plopped in my lap! I am super stoked about it. :-D Please pray that the Lord will give me the exact words to say. I've already had a couple of opportunities to speak with people in the class which didn't happen in my previous classes. I am praying that I'll have opportunities to have spiritual conversations with these people. After all, the quarter has only just begun so who knows what the Lord will open up.

Warning

Every once in a while I hop over to www.wayoflife.org, a website by David Cloud. He thoroughly researches topics and has a lot of really good information. Warnings, exhortations, etc. Today I stopped by his site and saw his most recent article. It was of particular interest to me because I have greatly enjoyed the music from West Coast in the past. While I still enjoy the good music they've produced in the past, I think it is important that we be aware of the direction they are heading. I hope you'll take the time to read this article. I personally find it very disappointing. http://www.wayoflife.org/adaptingccm/index.html

Life Resumes...

This morning greeted me with sunshine and an only slightly swollen jaw. I felt WAY better than I have every morning since my surgery! I can't say that I am fully recovered, but I am probably...hm.......90%? I was very grateful for this feeling because today demanded that I be on my feet, no matter how I was feeling. Today was pretty much the "do all those things you need to do before school starts" day. Accomplishments: Clean house, clean ROOM, organized desk (YES! I love it.), mostly filled out visa application, almost halfway finished with a printing job, an awesome time chatting with Kali and Maggie (although I don't consider that a task. Except when they are laughing at me trying to eat cake!!) and other various things. Oh and did I mention I'm "Mom" for the week? Another reason I'm glad to be up and about. Praise the Lord for His strength during this past week! Onto a new week as school, and life in general, resumes.

Two weeks?

I have been "down and out" sitting on this couch for almost two weeks. Granted, I had a little in between time during which I went skiing. For almost an entire week I was sick with whatever bug was spreading around the island. And I do mean the whole island! I went into Walmart to get some Dayquil and the shelf was almost empty! That's pretty sad. Once this flu that turned into a cold went away I was all excited. Well enough to go skiing! YAY!

Then what did I get myself into the DAY AFTER I went skiing? Yup....wisdom teeth removal. All four. Brilliant huh? My inability to move had nothing to do with the surgery. Oh no. It came from numerous times of falling off that snowboard. *sigh* I think that soreness has finally ebbed. First day after surgery was a-ok. A little achy, but I was quite pleased with the result. Then came day two. Dundundun. The worst day so far. (That was yesterday). My brother didn't have issues with nausea so I was surprised to have that come upon me. After a whole day and a half of that, I am feeling on the mend. Now the goal is to get off that prescription pain medication. Mom leaves late tonight then I'll be left to fend for myself for the rest of my recovery. Becca has been a great little nurse too but it's just not quite the same as Mom you know? Alrighty, well I thank everyone who has been praying for me. It has helped immensely! Hopefully next time I write I will be all chipper but less "Chipmunk like". LOL

Ouch. Can't.....move....

Today was a great experience in my life. I went skiing/snowboarding for the first time. Hence, the title. I am so sore I can barely walk. Should make tomorrow fun! (Wisdom teeth).

I didn't take any pictures. It was kind of hard in the moment to pull out a camera. Many memories were recorded, but only I can recall them as they are stuck in my head and not in print. I started out snowboarding. I had to give it a try, especially since everyone said it was much harder. I didn't want to avoid it just because it sounded hard. After some attempts on the bunny slope I finally ventured onto the "easy" normal slope. Getting on and off the lift was hard enough with a snowboard, but after immediately getting off and seeing this enormous drop I thought "I'm toast!" I couldn't help but wonder why it was the "easy" path. I would hate to go down the hard one! After three runs on the snowboard with gliding a few feet, fall, glide, fall, glide, fall, etc. you get the idea, I decided to switch to skis. I wasn't having a very good time with that snowboard but was still glad that I had tried it.

Onto skis I went! Anna helped me up to the bunny slope, upon which I was terrible! She believed in me and encouraged me to go up the lift and try the slope. Even though I was scared out of my wits, I am glad I did. That first time is always the hardest. My first run down was.....amusing. Anna had a good time at least. :-) I fell frequently and often looked like a helicopter. But I was determined to at least get the hang of skiing if I couldn't get snowboarding. Each run got a little better, and I even did a few runs with no falling at all! That was a huge deal for me. :-D All in all, I had a blast! Lesson for today: Never avoid trying something because it sounds hard and keep an open mind, but be aware of when it's just not working for ya. :-) Yay for skiing!

Victor Borge, The History Of Piano

If any of you have not seen anything by Victor Borge, you are truly missing something in your life. :-) He is great!! I laugh every single time I watch something of his. I hope you enjoy this clip. It's one of my favorites.

Finished!

This is out I feel right now....
My first quarter of school is OVER! :-D It went by oh so fast. Onto the next! Next quarter's classes include Speech, Intro to Humanities, Western Civ, and piano lessons. It's more credits than I took this quarter but hopefully the load will be a little lighter since I won't be commuting three days a week.

Spring break should be exciting. It holds for me a snowboarding trip (I've never gone before!) and having my wisdom teeth removed. Before I know it, school will be back in session. As much work as it is, I have thoroughly enjoyed being back in school. I am a very goal-oriented person so I love having something to work toward each quarter. It's very rewarding. Not to mention the long-term benefits!

Well, I'm off to enjoy the evening with NO school to think about! *insert HUGE grin here*