Day Three-Hundred and Sixty-Five

Day Two at James and Cecilia's: I was greeted this morning by a muddy puppy. Oh puppy kisses. Morning breath is hopefully not as bad as poopy-puppy-breath. I don't think I could ever get used to that! But Ameila is sweet, so it was all good. It was time for breakfast, so we went to IHOP. The weirdest thing happened there. I always overhear things in loud places because I don't talk (add to the noise) and I sometimes give the people my two-cents. The lady at the table next to me did that today! I was complaining about an awkward situation and when I stopped talking she said, "He's keeping his options open." At first I thought she just said something at exactly the right moment that their conversation matched up with ours. That happens all the time. People say things that fit in and it can be comical. But I looked over at her and she was looking back at me. She meant to say it. She was listening in on my conversation! We ended up talking for a while, it was weird because I had four adults telling me I should stop doing a thing that they all deemed "too nice." I don't think it's that bad, but I may be having an awkward conversation with a friend soon. I don't see what the problem is with being cordial. We are still friends, do I have to tell him to get lost? After that, we checked to see if the gun range was open. It was in fact, but the place was super crowded. Since its right after Christmas, I'm sure lots of people were trying out their new "arms." You see, when kids get shot in a school and the news starts talking about gun legislation, everyone starts buying guns. This proved to be true when we went to Cabela's. I saw a woman who had to be at least 65 holding a gun. It was a bummer that we didn't go shooting, but on the bright side, Cabela's had an aquarium which was fun to look at!

The weather wasn't great today and you can only play so much pool before you start to go stir crazy. But there really wasn't anything to do. Cecilia and I went out to get an afternoon snack from Lee's Grilled Cheese, but when we walked inside, they told us it was a private party and they wouldn't be open until tomorrow. What kind of business has a "Now Open" sign outside, unlocked front doors, food ready to be served and doesn't serve willing to pay customers standing inside the shop?!

Upset by their false advertisement and poor business practices, we went to Panera Bread. I've never been there until today, but I've heard lots of good things. I still wanted a grilled cheese with tomato soup because cold weather does that to me, so that's what I ordered - with a cinnamon roll for dessert!

Can you guess what we did next? Played pool! I had a great weekend with you guys! I love you and I'll see ya next year!

Day Three-Hundred and Sixty-Four

Before the epic pool tournament could begin, it was obvious that James, Cecilia and I all needed some coffee. We ran some errands and then went back to the house. It always shows the first few games that James and I haven't played pool in a while. I usually take 2-4 games to find my angle and then I only win maybe 3 of the rest of the games we play. Usually, I give up after losing 3 consecutive games, and this time I did again. It was lunch time anyways. Mr. Chopsticks in Denton may be the best Chinese food in North Texas.  While in Denton, James moved up in the world; he got his first ever I-phone. Cecilia has had one for a few years, so it wasn't difficult for her to learn the newer model. But this was James' first time using one. We taught him a few things and helped him set things up. I think he's gonna like it!

Cecilia made plans before she knew I was coming over, so she went out with a friend around 6pm. James and I swung by my house because I forgot Cecilia's Corgi Calendar (which she loved!) and I needed more clothes since I was staying over again. In under 5 minutes James and I agreed on Jimmy John's for dinner. I don't know how they do it, but a simple sandwich never tasted so good! Since Rosa's was close by, we picked up sopapillas...mmmmhmmm. More pool and UFC. When we play 9 Ball, I win more often. I hit the 9-ball in on the break and won immediately! I doubt I'll do that again, but it was super awesome!

This has been a really good day I must say!

The song, "Midnight City" by M83 came on at least 3 times in the truck today and once while we were in JJ's. I am starting to dislike that song! More than 4 times in one day is a little excessive!

Day Three-Hundred and Sixty-Three

I have been getting behind on HIMYM the last few days, but it's okay. Today we drove down to see my grandma and my sister gave me her Netflix password. On the drive there and back I was able to finish the rest of season 6. Now I have one more season to go before the current season. (I am not sure how I will watch those episodes.)

My granny is such an awesome person! It blows my mind that she went back to school when she was 70 and got her LVN! She works in a nursing home taking care of people who are younger than her! Life has thrown her some rough stuff, but she just keeps moving forward! I was happy that I got a chance to see her today.

Bob (I don't know how to explain who he is, so I just call him Bob) has a full blood blue heeler that had puppies with a half chow-half blue/red heeler male and man are those some friggin cute puppies! They have sharp claws and all four dogs were desperate for my attention, so how could I resist!? Aww, I love puppies!

The real question is: "Would you rather have puppies for hands or puppies for feet?" Please state your answer and give a brief explanation as to why you chose that option.

Day Three-Hundred and Sixty-Two

When I was home last time (for Thanksgiving), my friend, Lesley, jokingly suggested that we make cupcakes together. I took her seriously though and was very disappointed when we didn't make any baked goods. So, today we made cupcakes! We put the batter in a bowl for the mixer but I forgot and ended up mixing it at medium for two minutes by hands. My arm was super tired after that. While the cupcakes baked, we made homemade frosting. What's the difference between icing and frosting? I had a debate with someone once about that. Don't really remember what we decided. I think what we made was frosting. There was a whole stick of butter, 2-3 cups of powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla, a little milk, and some cocoa powder. Sooo unhealthy! But sooo good! I'm really glad that Lesley came over and spent the day with me!

Day Three-Hundred and Sixty-One

Almost everything these days has multiple options or sizes. Except for that one size fits all stuff. Anyways, Keurig coffee makers come in many sizes. My mom bought me the Mini, which I would like, but my coffee cup doesn't fit under it. So today, I found myself in a return line trying to exchange it for a B40 which would be big enough to fit my coffee cup.

Afterwards, I came back to the house to get my mom for dinner because today is April's birthday and she wanted Cheddar's. Dad and April went to see The Hobbit before we met them for dinner. April wanted a special cake. So mom made her an 18-layer cake! I hope she had a good birthday! Just one month and three days until my birthday!

Day Three-Hundred and Sixty

I started listening to Christmas a while back. I thought it would help me get in the mood as Christmas was approaching. I thought as soon as I came home from school that I would really start to feel the "Christmas spirit." Sadly, that was not the case. I postponed my Christmas shopping and I didn't even wear red on Christmas day. This is the first year I remember not enjoying Christmas like I know I should.

I slept in which is always a plus (unless you just slept through a class) and I had waffles for breakfast. We read all of the Christmas cards that had been piling up and we also read Luke 2. Then we opened presents. I got the two things I wanted, boots and a keurig. Everything beyond that just felt like a bonus. My mom really liked the bowls I got her, so I was happy to see her smile.

I spent a lot of time outside trying to keep ice from forming on the car windows. The rain had turned to snow and without a 4 car garage we were bound to see some accumulation. I enjoyed the cold, until the phone went out  and I had to take off my gloves and loosen my hood so I could check the phone lines. After that, I came inside because it was too doggone cold to be outside. Thank you Lord for heating in our house.

Merry Christmas Everybody! I hope you enjoy time with your family this holiday season!

Random fact: This guy Caleb and I always 'run into each other' about every 3-6 months, today was another one of those instances. He is a pretty cool guy!


(I really wanted to write some super awesome blog, but I just don't have it in me. This semester sucked)

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Nine

Remember the big (18"x18") heart I did? Well I got the wood cut into 2- 18" squares, 2- 12" squares, and 2- 6"x18" boards. I used a 12" square today to make a smaller heart. It's pretty sweet! I am flying through HIMYM. I am probably gonna be pretty upset when I catch up and have to wait a whole week for a new episode! Netflix only has seasons 1-7, so I will need to find the early episodes of season 8. I should be able to get through season 7 before I go back to school. Kinda sickening to think about it.

I started wrapping presents tonight. My mom's was awesome! I used paper sacks turned inside out and then spray painted "Fragile" and wrote "I think it's Italian!" on the top. When I started wrapping my dad's, I flipped out because I found something in the bag that I hadn't bought. I freaked out thinking I had stolen it. My mom informed me that she bought it and I was not a thief! I felt much better. April's was pretty easy. I think my family will appreciate my lack of tape this year. I may have been a little crazy in years past when it came to tape usage. There were definitely several times that it took about 5 minutes with scissors to open their packages! I have been super lazy in buying, wrapping, and caring this year. Something is wrong with me. I'm totally not in the mood for Christmas! I know it's tomorrow, but seriously, I could care less. I think this semester killed my spirit.

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Eight

I don't know the last time I went to the FBC college Sunday School class. Rebecca convinced me to go so I could see her. I am glad I went because she sang the Audrey Assad song, ""Winter Snow." I love that song and even more, I love listening to Rebecca sing!

Christmas is a time for family. So what better way to spend it than eating dinner at Olive Garden with your aunt, uncle, and cousin?! It's always funny. Both dad and his brother are going deaf. Mom and my aunt both have poor eyesight. My cousin (3 months older) and I just make jokes about how we don't want to get old. He is an only child and I can't tell if he fit's the stereotype. I know several people who don't have siblings, but they all have different personalities so I am not sure if there even is a good stereotype. He is pretty quiet. But maybe it's just cause we have nothing in common and nothing to talk about. I did manage to keep up with him on the breadstick race this year! Both of us ate 5! I definitely had leftovers after that.

We went by Lowe's afterwards because the windstorm blew over the grill and broke the leg off! I went to get more wood for string art. I have a problem....I blame Kate! She got me addicted. Of course, I needed more mod podge and string too, so we went by Wal-Mart. I guess we all know what I will be doing for the next few days!

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Seven

Being away at school, I miss out a lot of things. Kids growing up for instance! Katie is super awesome and sends me pictures of Kevin while I am at school. Every time I am home I try to see her and today was the day! I stayed up late last night creating art for her scrapbook room.

I thought it was pretty creative and she liked it. It was a good visit! But I had to leave to go to Decatur, it is a gathering night!
I love seeing my family there! Good food, good friends, good music, good time! Abbs is a real drummer, so I don't think I will ever try to drum in front of her. I get self-conscious any time I find myself tapping out a diddy around her. But at gatherings I play a drum. I am not very creative or anything. I just keep the beat and it makes me feel cool. I really zone out in those moments and it's awesome. I came home early though because I am super tired and I think I am going to church tomorrow.

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Six

There comes a point every Christmas season when I realize I should probably do my Christmas shopping. I haven't fully come to that point, but it is starting to hit me. While my dad's present was bought Monday, I still need to get some other presents. I went out today to get my mother's present. She is easy to shop for because she gives a good list that I can just pick something off of and go get it. No trying to pry information out of her and work really hard to think of something. That's why it doesn't make sense that I took so long to do this. I was out shopping when I got a facebook update on my phone. Elise didn't want to shop alone. I needed to shop and I was alone too. I texted her and we decided to meet up. It was a pretty awesome day! I don't like shopping very much, but spending time with Elise makes up for it! When I got to her house we looked like twinkies. She changed her shirt so we wouldn't match.

We found super awesome glasses at Claire's! (I couldn't find a good pair of hoop earrings though... Sad day)

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Five

I had wood left from the purchase I made when I began Elise's project.

I watched How I Met Your Mother while I tore up construction paper.

I watched How I Met Your Mother while I mod podged the paper on the wood.

It took a long time and I watched a ton of How I Met Your Mother.

Even though nailing was loud, I still watched How I Met Your Mother.

While the spray paint dried I watched How I Met Your Mother.

I tied on the string while I watched How I Met Your Mother.

I used instagram to enhance the photo while watching How I Met Your Mother.

After another episode of How I Met Your Mother, I tagged the back.

I watched over an entire season of How I Met Your Mother today! That's about it....

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Four

When my boss mentioned the book “The Uglies” by Scott Westerfield last week, it got me thinking. I decided to check it out today. I don’t like to read, like ever! Revelation was difficult because I had tons of reading to do throughout the semester. I think I hate reading because Sonlight homeschool curriculum had lots of reading and it was a chore. I also got headaches while reading and I wasn’t very fast. Being discouraged and forced to do something might make it easy to resent. Maybe I’m just making stuff up. I don’t know why I don’t like to read, but I sure do get a lot of crap about it! Two of my good friends are librarians, I’ve worked in two libraries, my roommate was an English major, and many of my friends love to read. It may take me the whole break to read it, but I want to read it, so I can talk to my boss about it when I get back.

Today was the day many students have been waiting for!
Final Grades are Posted:

• Revelation - A
• Cost Accounting - A
• Organizational Behavior - A
• Business Law - A
• Macroeconomics - B
• Intermediate Accounting - C

Semester GPA: 3.50

Cumulative GPA: 3.44

Maybe my semester wasn't a total fail. It sure felt like it most days though!

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Three

I have been working on this project for a very long time! There are 441 (+/- 5) nails on this thing! Elise and I counted them all today while I was at her office having lunch with her. She was the only one there, so she couldn't leave. But I was happy to pick up Subway. It is always exciting to see her. I have to say, my favorite part was giving her the string art! It gave me a real feeling of completion. I had been working on that for so long that I just wanted it gone. It helped that she really liked it! I left there to go see another friend. My mentor was baking cookies for the youth and I ended up eating like 10! Don’t freak out, I didn’t steal from the poor little kids. She was going to throw them out because she thought they were too crunchy. I just saved them from being wasted! I am really blessed to have so many awesome people in my life! Elise and Laurie are just two of the many caring people I can count on when I am having a hard time with anything.

Remember how I slept yesterday? I made it up to my mom today by driving her to Denton to pick up the boy. Today was a great day!

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-Two

I don’t know why I let it go for so long, but I haven’t given Steven a bath in a very long time. After a near wreck last Sunday, I knew I should get the tires looked at. James and I both knew there was plenty of tread, but the cut concerned me and I had been slipping a lot. My mom told me to get an inspection too. So bright and early I took Steven to get some breakfast. Then he got a bath. We had his feet checked and Keith said he was good for another 10,000 miles. With confidence I took my baby to get his inspection. He passed and I was proud! He’ll be 200,000 soon and he is a fine young man! Before I go back to school, we’ll probably need to change his oil. I felt bad for not bathing him myself, but it was super cold and I figured they could do a better job just this one time.

I took Christopher and my mom to Denton this morning and I had intentions of taking her this afternoon too, but a nap interfered. Hmm, I need to get control of this sleep thing!

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty-One

Today was about nothing more than catching up on sleep. I did nothing productive today. Sleep, sleep, eat, TV, sleep. I think this is basically how my break is going to go. I need to catch up on all the sleep I missed out on during the semester. There really isn’t anything I have to do over break besides ordering next semester’s books. I think I’ll just relax. Good plan! (Am I allowed to approve my own plans?)

Day Three-Hundred and Fifty

My first roommate ran off with a guy and my second roommate is fleeing the country. I knew I was hard to live with, but seriously?! Abbs and I talked about the rooming situation for next semester and it was confirmed that I would move to the other side. Since Jenneth moved out yesterday, I was free to move all of my stuff to that side. I have so much stuff! It is all moved now and my room is clean, but man! I don’t want to do that again for another 5 months!

Graduation is always a rough thing to deal with. While I am super excited for my friends who get to move on with their lives and I am proud of them, I can’t help but feel like they are leaving me. I watched so many of my friends receive a “diploma” today but didn’t cry. (Diploma is in quotes because we all know that their diplomas will be mailed to them later.)

Of course the reason I stayed this long was for Tim and Chrissy’s graduation party! I met Tim’s family and they were very nice. Tim promised his brothers that if they came, he would teach them to ride his motorcycle. Well, I got another go round! It was awesome because I finally had a long enough stretch to get up to third gear and go pretty fast! Tim thinks he is gonna get me hooked enough to buy my own. I doubt it though, too risky.

Remember how my boss caught me when no one was supposed to see me sitting on the floor in Walmart? Well Ms. Teerink saw me at the party and then I told her the whole back story and she knows Abbs. The saga continues! I was fading fast, so I bid them farewell and drove home.

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Nine

Sleep deprivation never goes well for me. There is no way to really explain this without drawing a diagram. People get lost every time I tell the story. But the picture will let you see how it all relates. Feel free to ask questions…

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Eight

Who in their right mind agrees to be up and working at 5am?! Not me, usually. I had a seven hour shift during which I planned to study for my Revelation final. With several drinks and snacks in my bag, I felt like I could do it! Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I went to bed early, but a phone call woke me up and then I checked my grades to find out that I got a 105 on my cost accounting final! That of course got me super excited and the adrenaline didn’t wear off for over an hour. Needless to say, I was super tired while I was trying to fill out the study guide this morning. A quick lunch and then I took my last final. I didn’t feel too great about it, but within an hour he posted my grade. The 77 was enough for me to get an A in the class!

I was supposed to sleep after my test until dinner so I would be awake for the midnight premiere of The Hobbit. But that didn’t happen. Why? I mean I was super tired and thought about it many times, but I found Age of Empires II on a lost flash drive. Needless to say, my whole afternoon/evening was filled with that game! I met Tim and Chrissy at Hollywood Theaters with a monster at 10:20 and we were among the first people to witness an incredibly long but excellent movie! I probably would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so tired, but then again, I hate sitting in a theater for over 4 hours! Oh college life.

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Seven

So that Intermediate Accounting test? Yeah… It was much harder than I was prepared for. When I finished, I did the math and realized there was no way I could have passed that test. That would mean that I failed the class. That meant I had to retake it. That meant I wouldn’t have 150 hours when I graduate. I felt like a failure. I did my best not to cry….my best wasn’t good enough. I cried, I got angry, I was frustrated, I felt stupid, I yelled at a friend (which I very quickly regretted.) I went through several stages and cried a lot. This went on for a while; until she posted the grades at 4:30pm. A 75? How did that happen? I did the math. There was no possible way I could make that score! I asked her and she said she threw out 4 multiple choice questions because too many people got them wrong. She gave me partial credit on the long problems and somehow I passed the class! I’m not proud of the C, but at least I passed!

My business law paper was due tonight by 6:00pm, but what? I turned it in on Monday?! Jamee didn’t procrastinate?! Whaaaaa?! Yuh buddy! I only have one final left! Woohoo! Almost done!

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Six

I needed a ninety on my macroeconomics final today to get an A in the class… I’m pretty sure that didn’t happen. I did the best I could, so I guess that’s all that matters. I was excited about it, but it wasn’t like the previous tests. At least it’s over now! I had a paper due at noon….yeah no. I emailed the professor last night asking for an extension (no time mentioned) and he gave me until tomorrow midnight! Thank you Mr. Baker! I turned it in at 11:20pm tonight! Cost- Check! Macro- Check! Org- Check! Half way done!

I’m so not ready for tomorrow’s Intermediate test. That class has totally kicked my butt! I don’t want to retake it, but if I don’t make a 70, I’m going to fail that class! One good thing, it will be shorter than previous tests, only 2 hours instead of 3. The worst part of finals week is not the tests, it’s all the people that have already finished all of their finals and are just hanging out, yet I still have to study. This stinks…Hmph!

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Five

ES(F/T)J that's what I am. That SJ combo means that I like to have structure and plans. I planned today that I was going to spend my 6 hour shift at the library studying for my Cost Accounting final at 6:30pm. They say that the easiest way to make God laugh is to show Him your plans. Of course this isn't quite the same, but my plan definitely did not work out the way that I wanted it to.

Walking into the final I was so scared that I hadn't studied enough to do well. After the test though, I felt like I may have aced it. I would still need the extra question to be worth 16 points in order to make an A in the class. It's over now and I can't do anything, but I feel good about it.

I studied for Macroeconomics for several hours and ran out of Beef Jerky! It's 2am and I should probably sleep because my level of productivity is rapidly declining and I need sleep before the 9:45am exam. Wish me (not luck) total recall!

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Four

What's the best way to start off your day? You can try spinning out in your truck and stopping backed off the road.That will definitely get your heart racing and adrenaline pumping.  Lightning McQueen tried to teach me how to not fishtail, but in the moment I guess it is hard to remember his wisdom. After calming down at church, you probably will need to get some lunch. I recommend cheese fries with your philly-cheese steak. 

If you have a Business Law paper due, it would be a good idea to start working on that. Especially if you are going to leave for your floor parents' house before 5pm. When you get a phone call at 4:30pm and you are asked to make a powerpoint for Prayer 'n' Praise, don't agree to it, you won't have time. Don't forget to wrap your white elephant gift as you run out the door. Enjoy yourself at the Christmas party because you never know if you'll go to another. Leave at a modest time because, remember that powerpoint? You didn't say no. Now you have an hour and a half to finish it.

The best advice I can give you is to make sure that your computer is well ventilated. When it overheats and turns off, you will lose the progress you made on the powerpoint and will be very disheartened. At 8:55, walk in to Prayer 'n' Praise with a flash drive that has your powerpoint. Once the tech guy realizes that 2007 doesn't work, sprint to your room, grab your computer, and jog back huffing and puffing. Don't let it get you down that you left out 3 songs and the ones you did manage to get were unreadable due to the text/background color disagreement. Everyone will laugh it off and won't remember next semester. Things will be okay.

It's now time to build a gingerbread house at the Final's Eve party in MSC. Grab Jenni and Erin to help you. When you realize there are no walls included and that it's actually a chocolate house that requires melting, harass Mac and Steve until they give you necessary supplies. Then begin the process of creating your Graham Cracker Candy House. Don't get frustrated with the insane number of loud and obnoxious people at the table behind you. Yours will look a million times better! In fact, you may even win second place!

Since it is now after midnight, you should go upstairs and get some pizza! In fact, if you really want it, you can probably get a whole box to take back to your room to eat over the next week! If your roommate is asleep, be sure to be quite when you put your foil wrapped pizza in the fridge. You should probably go to bed after you write your blog post because you have a meeting at 10am and you still need to finish that Business Law Essay before you go to your meeting.

This advice is all from my personal experience and since they say hindsight is twenty-20, I'd say it is pretty good advice!

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Three

It's so hard to get out of bed before noon on Saturdays. When I was little, I got up early (8am) to watch Recess. But that was back in the day.... I knew I should probably do some homework before lunch so I made myself get up at 10am. I wrote my discussion post and titled it "Resistance is Futile" because it was about resistance to organization change. Sadly none of the 7 people who posted before me were so clever in their titles. Guess there aren't as many nerds/trekkies as I though. When I looked at the other posts so that I could post a response to someone I realized that everyone had picked the same two out of six factors and that we all had the same scripture references. I felt like a copycat and the worst part is that he won't know that I did it before looking! Ugh!

I finished and went upstairs to meet Erin and go to Stud Life for our first Themelios meeting! It was good. I think this is gonna be a great year! Business Law was on my agenda for this afternoon. I watched Grey's Anatomy and took a nap instead.... Then I woke up to Abbs in my lounge. A 20 minute paper toss ensued. Basketball is not her strong suit... After dinner I did manage to start the biz law essays. In the spirit of procrastination, I did some room rearranging! My bed is now at a tolerable level!

Since I thought I was going to be up late working on the paper, I wanted food. Facebook status!!! A friend said he wanted to go, so we rode his motorcycle to Whataburger. My Chicken Honey Butter Biscuit was super yummy! I never did finish my paper though. Instead I watched Tim Hawkins, Anjelah Johnson, and Jim Gaffigan videos on YouTube with Amanda and then wrote blogs. Now that it's almost 3am, I think I will shower and go to bed!

Day Assessment: Moderately Productive

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-Two

That awkward moment when you ask "Who died?" after seeing the flag at half mast and only one person knows that it is December 7th... I knew that today is Pearl Harbor Day because I told several people that their books would be due back today but I totally spaced this morning. I felt really disrespectful in that moment.

My paper complete and printed, I turned it in at 2:45pm. Over an hour before it was due?! WHAT!? I know, crazy! It is such a relief to be done with this paper! As long as I make at least an 80% I have a chance to make an A in this class!

Enough with school though... Tonight we had a girls night out! It was AWESOME!!! First Erica, Suzanne, Abbey (henceforth to be known as "Abbs"), and I went to Papacita's where we enjoyed yummy Mexican  food and the best sopapillas in the world! Okay, you're right... Outside of Mexico, they might be the best sopapillas ever. When we finished eating, Abbs asked, "What's next?" We decided that since no one but Suzanne had been to Lunar Golf at the mall, that would be our next activity. Two hours later, we had play 56 holes of putt-putt golf! It was quite an adventure. The little kids that came in got mad at us, but I didn't really care. We had such a great time! We didn't break anything which was good. I have such awesome friends!

When Erica brought us back to campus, Abbs came to my room so we could discuss furniture arrangements and whatnot for next semester. About 2 hours later, we realized that it wasn't too bad that we hadn't discussed everything before deciding to room together because we have a lot in common. From calling our grandmothers "Granny" to having the same policy with borrowing, it seems like it will be a good fit. Unfortunately, our schedules are completely opposite so I probably will never see her! We laid a couple ground rules and I am looking forward to it. I am sad to see Jenneth leave. Every time I think about it, it makes me sad, so I try not to dwell on it too much.

Random fact: I use the phrase "Ground Rules" all the time in conversation but never in writing and had to look the term up before using it because I didn't know if it was a "Jameeism" or if it was even applicable. I think that from the context you can tell what I mean by it even though I am not using the word properly. Whatevs.

Day Three-Hundred and Forty-One

I have spent a vast majority of my day writing (I have about 2 pages left) and I refuse to write a blog posting about today.

Day Three-Hundred and Forty

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate reading? I know I work in a library (my second library in fact) and that it doesn't make sense, but there is something about reading that I just don't enjoy. What's worse is when it is for school. I did manage to finish the second and third commentaries for my exegesis paper. I tried to do accounting homework, but only half of it is getting turned in. I have to make at least a 70 on the final to pass the class. This is just getting more overwhelming every time I think about it!

I took a break from reading tonight to have the annual G1 Christmas party. It was really fun! We had a lot of good laughs. But then I had to come back and do more homework. Blah.

Why am I complaining about schooling? I am paying for it. If I don't want to do it, I don't have to be here. It is a privilege to learn! It's not easy to think of it like that though. School is always a source of many complaints. Maybe if I wasn't taking 18 hours it would be easier....Seriously though, there are real issues out there.

I have a prayer request: a friend of mine's baby has Trisomy 18 and even though they got to take her home a few days ago, there have been some complications. Pray for mommy who is watching her baby go through this. Pray for daddy and husband who see his daughter and wife going through this. Pray for big sister who is too young to understand. Pray for baby whose body needs healing. Pray for friends and family as they support the family. Pray for finances as medical costs continue to accumulate. Pray as God leads you.

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Nine

Sometimes you can be at the wrong place at the wrong time and see something you shouldn't see or hear something you didn't want to know or be involved in an accident, maybe even accused of something you didn't do. Other times you are just in the right place at the right time and you get to see a friend you haven't seen in a while or you avoid a long line or maybe you get to take home a box full of donut holes!

It's Day 4 of Christmas here at LeTourneau and we were provided with a yummy breakfast this morning! In various places around campus, donuts, juice, breakfast bars and more were served to us from 9-11:30am. What a treat that was after taking a quiz at 8am! After counseling, I walked into the Student Life office where I became the happy owner of the prized donut holes! If you want to know the quickest way to make friends, offer them food! (Disclaimer: This may not work outside of college.)

The day had so many bright moments:

• When we got out of Macro early and I learned I don't need to go to class on Thursday
• When I saw Audrey at lunch and we ate grilled cheeses together
• When I learned I could skip Intermediate on Thursday
• When Joy gave me candy in OB
• When I didn't have Business Law tonight
• When Elizabeth came to my room to cheer me up
• When G1 had Puppy-chow and Woofship

All these happy things were dimmed by that looming Exegesis though. I did calculations to see what grade I need to pass Revelation with an A. Assuming I do my average or better on the final test, I only need an 80 on this paper! With a tiny amount of motivation, I went to the computer lab to print out the commentaries and articles he provided us with....(I wanted to save my paper and ink)....Good thing I did! It was 96 pages! I finished reading one of the commentaries and highlighting it. Now it's time to sleep so I don't go insane again. Did I mention I have no more class periods?! WOOHOO!!

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Eight

My day started off pretty normal. I went to work, made coffee, spaced out some, drank a Dr. Pepper, talked to Abbey, chapel, more wasting of time, lunch, then an hour of super productiveness at work. I took a nap from 2:30-4:30 which gave me a boost to make it through the rest of the day. I still have that exegesis paper to write....Why is it so easy to procrastinate and so hard to be motivated? I know I've asked you several times, but I really struggle with procrastination.

Cost accounting was made better with A&W Cream Soda. The machine had been out for a while, so I was happy when I finally had some cash to buy one. That, paired with doodling like Vihart made class bearable.

I still have my "Geo Set" from when I was an engineering student...

The highlight of the day was probably when I checked my mail to find a postcard from Lesley and a Christmas card from Matt, Katie, and Kevin. Included was a picture of Kevin! He is such a cutie pie! Not all babies are photogenic, probably because Kevin stole all of their portion of photogenic-ness!

I took some melotonin because four people told me today that it would help me sleep better. Guess I'll find out in the morning. Goodnight!

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Seven

It's been a few weeks since we've been to church, so Mac suggested we go today. Honestly, at the end of the day, I can't tell you what it was about. I know the theme was Spiritual DNA, but as to the specifics of today's message, I would have to look it up to tell you. I have been spacing out a lot recently, in class, chapel, church, dinner, work. I know it's not good, but how do you get over it? I'm paying attention when all of a sudden ..... then she asked me a question ......  I laughed when the cat fell off ...... that accident was horrible ....... the amount of avoidable interest is .......  sloppy joes were greasy  .....   Was I telling you something?

This afternoon was filled with homework and distractions. I managed to get Monday and Tuesday's homework done which is pretty good. On Tuesday, I will be able to take a quiz and write a discussion board. After that, all I'll have left is the Exegesis on Friday. So much for a "hell week."

Dinner was provided by Carl again. The first Sunday of the month was tonight and we had BBQ Chicken with Green Bean Casserole and taters.

"Taters? What's Taters?"
"Po-tat-oes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew!"

Every time I say taters or potatoes I think of Lord of the Rings and repeat this quote, if not aloud in my head.
Another phrase from LotR is, "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard"

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Six

LeTourneau is celebrating the 9 Days of Christmas! First Day: Deck the Mall! Students were encouraged to come out and help YAC and Senate decorate the Mall and MSC. I contributed to the holiday decorating efforts by wrapping probably 100ft of garland up the staircase railing. There wasn't any good way to do it, but I figured out a method that worked. I didn't stay for long because I was supposed to meet a friend for a walk. We had a good time.

The rest of the day consisted of eating like 3 different times, un-lofting my bed, a little homework, and playing online dominion. Rather uneventful. There probably was more worth telling, but I'm kinda at that point in the semester where so much is due so soon that I am completely overwhelmed and on the verge of shutting down. Next week, hell week, shockingly isn't too bad except for the Exegesis paper due Friday. Pray for encouragement, motivation, endurance, perseverance, and anything else you think I might need!

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Five

Fridays are my favorite! No class is the best! I slept in and had coffee with Elizabeth, who I feel like I haven't seen in ages! Then I went to chapel and learned that the founder of our school was 28 when he eloped in Mexico with a 16 year old girl! Wow! The library fed the student workers pizza for lunch and the I sat with Audrey while she ate at the corner cafe. Even though I didn't do much, I still felt like a nap was in order before dinner.

I continued work on my art project while watching Grey's and I took a couple girls to Wal-Mart where I bought something super exciting. Are you ready for this?! I don't think you are! BATMAN BOXERS!!!! Boo-yah! I am stoked! My super awesome roommate helped me out by sewing the front closed. I like them so much that I went upstairs to show Erin despite the fact that there were like a hundred people on the floor, boys and girls alike. I did wear spandex underneath, but I still don't think I should have to. They are just cotton shorts! Girls wear shorter shorts on campus, why can't these be acceptable?

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Four

I was homeschooled from 2nd grade all the way through high school. We never had "school pictures." SO the last time that my mom ordered professional pictures of me was quite a long time ago! I didn't like my freshman picture enough to get it, and my sophomore year picture was intentionally horrible. This year I took a nice photo and my mother decided she wanted to order them. I think they look alright. It'll be a few weeks before they come in though. I just turned in the order to Sarah today.

I know that I used to have a "No Faces" policy, obviously I don't care anymore.

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Three

Oh the irony! Today 333. Three 3s. Divine-Divine-Divine. The last chapel credit I need! Well wasn't that a cool coincidence! On Monday, the exchange students from Handong Global University presented chapel. It was really good! Today, the Jazz Band and Chorus had music for us. It was a good end to my chapel attendances. I may go Friday to see the "Mom LeTourneau" drama...we'll see.


Having room inspections the day before you leave and only three days after you return feels strange. Like, "I thought I just cleaned?" Well, at least cleaning the sinks and mirrors isn't hard. The worst part is making my bed, it's like washing windows on a sky scraper!

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Two

Even though I had a test right before I left in every class, we had another test in Business Law tonight. I was so happy that the study guide was only 6 pages long. Two pages about Wills, two pages about partnerships, and two pages about Limited Liability Corporations. I think I did pretty well all things considered.

He sent an email out to the class after last week because he gave a pop quiz in class... He wasn't very happy.

"I gave the Pop Quiz because it became obvious to me that very few, if any, of you are preparing for class. That was proved by the grades from the Pop Quiz. There was one 10 and one 80. All the other grades fell inbetween those two points - mostly on the lower end of the scale. In fact, the average grade on the Pop Quiz was a 45. That is ridiculous."

I am glad I wasn't there; I wouldn't have done well on that quiz. I have to say though, if you prove to your students that they can get good grades without reading because you provide them with fully comprehensive study guides and the tests are easy, you can't get mad at them. Most of us are taking several other classes. We have a limited number of hours in our day and can't always read the whole chapter. Of course we don't read in this class, you give us the answers in class or on the study guide. I guess it doesn't matter at this point. If he changes the class next semester like said he plans to, then I feel sorry for the people that waited to take it. This course has the potential to be very difficult. I'm happy with my 88. That means that I got a 91.5% on my final! Woohoo! (98+94+86+88)/4=91.5 We could elect to have our tests averaged for our final grade or take the exam. I will not be taking the final! 

Now all I need to do is write the essays for this class. Then business law will be behind me!

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-One

So remember all of those test I took before I left for break? I've got all the results in...

• Revelation: 95
• Cost Accounting: 94
• Business Law: 88
• Macroeconomics: 85
• Intermediate Accounting: 62
• Organization Behavior Quiz: 96

My first test of the week was Revelation and I studied for it pretty well. I felt good about it and it turned out well.
That night I took the Cost Accounting test and even though I studied pretty well for it, I was fearful I would not do well. It was really hard and I thought I did bad. I got the highest grade in our class and then professor was even shocked!
Business Law is a dry class but isn't that hard. Sadly while studying, I forgot to print out the 'pop quiz' section of the study guide and missed several of those questions. I felt okay about the test, so I wasn't surprised by my score.
Macroeconomics came on Thursday, the last day of testing. I felt great about it! I had studied, I knew as much as I was going to know, and I was ready to get it over with. I started with the essay questions and thought I did really well. It wasn't as high of a grade as I thought, but I am satisfied.
Organization Behavior Quizzes are super easy because it is open book. I knew it would be a high A, it almost always is.

So, about Intermediate Accounting... We take the test in two parts. First (Tuesday) - the theory based section which is all multiple choice questions. I didn't feel too great about it. Second (Thursday) - the problems. I thought I had these figured out! I was feeling great when I walked out of that class. I was devastated when she posted the grades that afternoon. I was in Terrell getting coffee when I asked myself if I should just go back to school to be there for the make up test. I decided against it because I was on the verge of a mental breakdown, but a 62 on my gradebook hurts....badly!

This is why you shouldn't give a student 6 tests in one week!

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty

Holidays are great because you get to spend time with your family and usually you can get a break from things that have been stressing you out for a while. Unfortunately, you have to drive a long way to see those you care about. Whether you leave the day before a holiday, the day after or the Sunday after, you will likely face lots of traffic.

After having lunch with James, Cecilia, and Dedrie, at Cristina's Mexican Restaurant, I began the long journey back to LeTourneau. It's hard to decide too far in advance which way you want to go back. There are about 10 ways to navigate back. I usually just follow the GPS. There was really only one bad area and it was on I-35W between 287 and 820. After I got through that, it was clear sailing! I drove straight through without stopping for coffee.

Papa John's is doing a "Two-Million Pizza Giveaway" and they gave me one of those pizzas, so Abbey and I made plans to have dinner together tonight. Erica was on campus, so she joined us too. I was able to unpack and I'm going to bed early tonight! Start this last haul right! Just 18 days left! 11 if you only count days I have to be in class. But really it is only 35.25 hours! I can make it!

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Nine

I can't remember the last time "I had a friend over". At what point does that change? As a child I would go to my neighbors house or my neighbors would come over and play. Sometimes, my friends would come over for the night and we called it a sleepover. When we were in middle school we begged our parents to have friends come over. Once we had our driver's licenses, we just got permission before leaving. Now, we ask, "what do you want to do" and usually meet somewhere.

Tonight, my friend Lesley came over and we went for a walk. Then we ate dinner, sang some songs, played games, and had dessert. Since we live so far apart, I have't seen her in a while and we had lots to talk about. I think it was Mom's idea to play Farkle and Lesley wanted to play Spoons. Let me just say, Spoons can be a very dangerous game! Farkle was a lot of fun even though Mom creamed us! Even though we didn't have a gathering at Mike's house, our impromptu gathering was good!

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Eight

"Silver Bells, Silver Bells, It's Christmastime in the city!"
I love that song so much! It is my default whistling song around Christmas. Ever since I can remember, my family and I have gotten up super early the day after Thanksgiving to go to Wal-Mart and ring the Salvation Army bell. It is just one of those things we do. We usually see several people we know and tons of people that are coming to get a good deal on some item they don't really need, but since the price is so cheap, they get it anyways. Some years it is super cold, other years it has been mild. This year wasn't too cold, but it sure was windy!

The second event of the day is almost as taxing because we send out like a gazillion Christmas cards every year! Everyone signs their own name and it can be entertaining. I started a new game this year while we sign... I turn on Pandora to Christmas music, instead of Very Veggie Christmas which we listen to EVERY year, and then we have to guess who is singing the song. Martina McBride and Josh Groban were the answer most of the time.

Traditions can be fun and some can be bad, I like these two family traditions, even if my ears ring and my hand cramps for days!

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Seven

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving. I could go on a huge rant about this day or I could list everything that I am thankful for. I think I will be very brief though.

I am thankful for my parents because they love each other and have stayed together all these years and they love me and have sacrificed much for me. Since coming to college, I have been reminded time and again how much of a blessing it is to have both of your parents alive, still married after almost 30 years, and that take care of you!


Also, I LOVE Green Bean Casserole!!!

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Six

Remember how I disabled my Netflix account earlier this year? I wanted to be able to focus on school this 

semester without having that distraction. My sister signed up for an account very shortly after that. So when I 

came home, there it was, calling my name, begging me to watch! I gave in and started watching "How I Met 

Your Mother." Tonight, we started a rotation, I get to watch an episode, then Dad watches "Star Trek: 

Voyager", next April turns on "Once Upon a Time" and then the cycle repeats. I am quickly becoming 

addicted to "Once Upon a Time," and I'll probably start watching it with the group of people on my floor that 

like it so much. Voyager isn't bad, but I definitely slept through an episode. How I Met Your Mother is short 

enough and pretty light, so it's easy to watch. I can't figure out how to feel about Barney though.

This break has been good to forget about problems and relax. They haven't really gone away, but not having to deal with them has really taken a load off of my back. Tomorrow is another low-stress day and that is something to be thankful for!

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Five

I have this memory of one time when a friend and I were fighting over who was going to pay for our meal. They tricked me and the waiter took the receipt back from me and handed it to her. I am not sure who it was, but I wasn't going to let that happen today.

In Argyle, there is this cute little bistro, Cachette. That is where Elise wanted to have lunch today. So naturally, I went online and found their menu. I wanted to know what to order so I wouldn't take 20 minutes just looking at the menu. Not wanting to look like an idiot trying to drive there, I left my house early and drove there. After navigating through the complex town of Argyle, I went to pick up Elise. She was definitely surprised when I walked into the office. Phase one complete.

Once she was able to leave, we got in my truck and I drove confidently the one mile to our destination. She was confused by how I knew where I was going. I confessed to her that I had driven there before picking her up so I wouldn't look dumb. Somehow I feel like that defeated the purpose, but if you know me, I end up telling people my tricks. We went inside and had a seat. Without opening a menu, I order the Cali Chicken Sandwich. Confused again, "You went online and found their menu didn't you?! You are ridiculous!" Phase two complete.

We ate our lunch, which was delicious! Afterwards, the waitress brought me my receipt to be signed. Elise asked, "HoW dId YoU dO tHaT?!"

Remember when I drove over to find the place? I went inside and told them that I wanted to pay for my friend's meal when we came in for lunch. The owner took my debit card, locked it in the cash register, and assured me she would take care of it. 

I just took this game to a whole new level!  

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Four

Kevin is getting so big! Last year his mommy made me a cute hat for Christmas. She made him one too. Today when I went to see Katie and Kevin, of course I had to take a picture with him!

Katie and I used to walk around the parking lot on her lunch break when she worked in Decatur, so we took a walk around the neighborhood to get out of the house after  Kevin got up from his nap. It's starting to look like winter in North Texas, everything is dead. Haha.
Instead of napping, Katie and I played Backgammon. It's a fairly simple game if you can remember the setup. And I messed that up at least once. I think it ruins your credibility when you can't even set up the game board! She learned quickly despite my poor teaching skills, and she beat me at least once. We mostly play card games, so this was a good change of pace. I really enjoy hanging out with Katie, so I was happy to know she had time to see me this week before family showed up.



Ps. I made dinner. Chicken enchiladas, hominy, beans, and taquitos! It was quite an experience and super yummy!

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Three

A history of guns shot by Jamee:

• Some random nieghbor kid's bb gun - used to shoot coke cans
• .22 rifle at Rockin' C Ranch (RCR) - won several free cokes for hitting the bullseye
• 410 and 20 gauge shotguns at RCR - shot a whole 6 clay pigeons
• Dad and his friend took me "hunting" and I shot a limb off a dead tree with a 410
• I don't think air soft counts, so I won't include that or laser tag.

As you can see, I have had fairly limited experience with guns. But that doesn't mean that I don't like guns. Yesterday was Cecilia's day, today is James' day. He taught me what I needed to know about this gun. Loading, unloading, safety, etc.

We drove north and stopped at Braum's in Decatur. Then we proceeded to Fossil Pointe. For November, it was a beautiful to be out shooting. No one was right behind or in front of us, so we took our time. Some of the targets were impossible to hit, but others were much easier. We went through the "Green Course" which was supposed to be easy. It wasn't really that easy  though. A bunch of the clays were flat and very hard to hit. Despite having a gun that was too big (stock needs to be shorter) and this being my first time to do something like this, I shot 30%. James got 45%. It was a lot of fun and it wore me out. I don't have a bruise from being hit in the shoulder 100 times oddly enough. I think we may do this again, hopefully I will do better next time.

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-Two

Time to fall off the face of the Earth and escape reality! Cecilia planned a great day for the two of us! Yay for adventures!!!

• See "Looper" at 10:20am (It was showing at 10:20PM)
• Dallas Arboretum to see the Chihuly Glass exhibit
• Lunch at Spaghetti Warehouse in the Trolley Car
• Dallas World Aquarium
• ICE at The Gaylord Texan
• Pizza and Zombieland at home

Do summaries annoy you because they leave out details or do the expansive stories annoy you because they are so exhaustive?

  The Chihuly glass was mind blowing! So many creations that took so long to put together!

 Spaghetti warehouse had a crane machine filled with rubber ducks!
"The Claw chooses who will stay and who will go!" We didn't get one.

James loves frogs. I love cats!  

  I was overwhelmed by how amazing the Ice sculptures were! You can't not appreciate how much work went into them! It was really cool to see the nativity scene at the end of the exhibit.

Playing with Siri on the drive home was pretty funny! 

 

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty-One

                                                                                                                                                         
Some things never change.

• When I am in Decatur, I typically don't tell anyone for one thing.
• I usually end up driving to Denton with my mom.
• Lunch may be picked up in Denton or I pick something up with my mom's money in Decatur.
• The couch has always been a friend when I needed a nap.
• Additionally, my mom usually needs some form of technological help.
• Any extra time that I have is spent at the library. 

So can you guess how I spent my first day home? 

                                                                                                                                                          

On the other hand, somethings always change.

For instance, roommates. My sister and I shared a room as children, but when we moved to Decatur, we each had our own rooms. So for almost 8 years I had my own space. Then I spent two years with the amazing Alex. This semester I found Jenneth and we have been good. She has the opportunity of a lifetime to study in Costa Rica next semester. Where does that leave me? Without a roommate. So I have had this notion in my head since she told me she was leaving. But today I got a text from a friend. My friend is looking for a roommate. So, like I said, some things always change.

                                                                                                                                                          

Day Three-Hundred and Twenty

"I just wanna run..." "Run just as fast as you can...." Okay, that's all I got. I wanted to list a bunch of songs that talk about running away since that is today's theme. I am leaving behind my problems so maybe I can relax.

Macro wasn't too bad, Intermediate was rough (again), and Org was boring. After I packed my stuff and ate dinner I left campus.

"Why would you go home the weekend before Thanksgiving if you have class next week?" you may ask.

My response, "because I am not going back until the 25th!"

Day Three-Hundred and Nineteen

It was a good end to a great season tonight! We played well against an undefeated team and had multiple interceptions. But in the end, the ball was too wet, our throws were too long, our line was too short and G3 became the flag football champions. I am so proud of our girls for giving it their all and making it as far as we did! Ahhhhh Ooh Ooh Ooh Gee One!!!!

Of course, running around made me hungry, so I went to RG's and they had pancakes!!! Awesomesauce! I am dreading tests tomorrow, but looking forward to being done with this week! I looked up my finals schedule and it is like 3 times easier than this week has been!
Instead of:

• 2 Tests on Monday
• 2 tests on Tuesday
• 2 tests on Thursday and 
• A Quiz 

Finals week is:

• Monday:
• Organization Behavior (Final Paper)
• Cost Accounting (Non-Cumulative Final Exam)
• Tuesday:
• Marcoeconomics ([possibly non-cumulative] Final Exam)
• Wednesday: 
• Intermediate Accounting (Non-cumulative Final Exam)
• Business Law (Essay Questions, may elect to take Final or average of previous exams)
• Thursday:
• Revelation (Non-cumulative Final)

Can you tell that I have been avoiding homework? I felt productive making my excel sheet to check grades and see how hard I have to work to get the grades I want. (Also checked to see how much my grade would drop if I got C's in all of my classes)

Thought for the day: If the tough getting going when the going gets tough, what do the weak do when the week has been doodoo?

Day Three-Hundred and Eighteen

I gave a speech about organ donation last year and I signed up for the National Bone Marrow Program. However, I haven't had the opportunity to donate bone marrow or organs (thankfully), but I have donated blood on several occasions. Eight to be exact! Do you know what 8 donations is equal to?

8 Donations = 8 Pints

8 Pints = 4 Quarts

4 Quarts = 1 Gallon

1 Gallon = 1/10 of My Lifetime Goal!

I didn't realize that Carter BloodCare would be on campus today; I thought they were coming Thursday. Between Macro, Counseling, Lunch, Intermediate Accounting Test, Organizational Behavior, Dinner, and Business Law test, I found some time to go over and donate blood. The only real problem is that I have been drowsy all day.

Despite that, I have been really motivated to get things done and have be super productive tonight!

OB Quiz - Check!
     Rev SQ 20 - Check!
          Blog - Almost Check!

With 4 out of 6 tests out of the way, I'm starting to see that light at the end of the tunnel.

"It's gonna be alright. It's Gonna Be Alright. IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT!"

**Correction: I checked my stats before this donation posted... It was my 9th donation....Oops. Not rewriting this post.**

Day Three-Hundred and Seventeen

Notable Weeks of the Fall Semester (with Explanations) :

• First Week (Syllabus Days)
• Mid Term Week (Lots of Tests)
• Fall Break Week (Break after midterms)
• Thanksgiving Break Week (Holiday)
• Hell Week (Final Tests/Projects)
• Finals Week (It's Over!)
• The week before Thanksgiving week (Jamee has 6 tests!)

Why is this happening to me?! (scroll to 1:30) 

Today I had a test in Book of Revelation which went pretty well. Then I had a test in cost Accounting that was horrible! Tomorrow I have Macroeconomics, the first part of the Intermediate Accounting test which will be multiple choice, theory-based questions, then Organizational Behavior, and ending the day with a Business Law test that has a 14 pg. study guide! Speaking of Business Law, I think my professors have committed a tort against me, negligence specifically. I feel like it is their duty to respect my sanity and they have breached that duty by scheduling tests on the same week. There is factual causation that my sanity is a consequence of their action. Nevermind....

Wednesday should be a nice break before my Macro test on Thursday and the OB quiz I need to take. Not to mention the second part (problems) of my Int. Acct. test. I am so happy that I get to go home on Thursday!

The Edible Book Contest was tonight! There were 9 entries, 3 of which were "The Very Hungry Caterpillar!" 

Day Three-Hundred and Sixteen

LeTourneau Women: The odds are good, but the goods are odd.

LeTourneau Men: Girls are like parking spots: All the good ones are taken and the rest are either handicapped or way out there.

The Student Foundation had a fundraiser tonight. DATER DASH! Speed dating has come to LeTourneau! Oh goodness. I think that most people were too scared or embarrassed to buy a ticket. I wasn't though. $5 for dinner on a Sunday and a fun experience?! Sign me up! About 30 students or so showed up for the event. Shockingly, it was almost an even amount of girls to guys. We socialized for a bit and then spoke with each guy for 3 minutes. It was entertaining to say the least. Then we had yummy home-cooked food. We finished out the night with games and a door-prize drawing. I hope that more people will go next year! It was really fun and only moderately awkward. It helps that I am an outgoing person though!

And in response to the question I am sure you are all wondering, "No. I did not get any numbers or find a guy I really liked."

Day Three-Hundred and Fifteen

Every semester it seems like something happens that shifts the intramural season back. The 3 way tie with ELH and South Hall was to be broken on Thursday. Unfortunately, neither South Hall nor G1 could play. I found out at 3:30pm about our 4:00 game today .... I was off campus. I rushed back to campus and changed into more appropriate clothing. They had 6 players and we had 7. It was a very intense game. They got a 7th player and our 8th arrived. In the end, people were limping. It's no contact, but when your own lineman backs into the quarterback, how do you even resolve that kind of contact? Or when your own team member and you both collide randomly at high speeds? The only injury on our team was a pained pinky when I tried to catch the ball on a bounce. We won 22-6 and now we get to play G3 in the Championship game on Monday.

Where was I off campus? I was with a friend taking a walk through Paul G. Boorman Trail. I have only ever been to Cargill Long Park, so I was excited for new scenery. The more I explore Longview, the more I realize that it isn't that bad of a city! It's just where we live on the south side that seems so bad. When I parked at the H.G. Mosely and Bill Owens entrance, I walked to the gas station and bought a gatorade. The scenery reminded me more of Keller or some nicer part of the metroplex than it did of Longview. Speaking of DFW, I get to go home soon!

Day Three-Hundred and Fourteen

Number one rule of doing stupid things: Don't tell mum until after!

I had an awesome day! My friend, Tim, taught me how to ride his wife, Chrissy's, motorcycle! I stalled a bunch because me and clutches don't get along. I try to let go faster than they want to and then the bike just dies... I did manage to recover very nicely when I hit a section of loose dirt. I didn't wreck a single time! Yay for grassy fields to practice in! Then I drove around the loop 3 times. I feel about as accomplished as I did when I learned to drive stick shift.

Dinner was incredible! El Sombrero has the best white cheese dip and tortillas known to me! Tim and Chrissy took my roommate and me out to eat. Then we had some time to spare, so where did we go? Academy! Chrissy bought a knife and I bought a baseball bat. Why? For anger management! I also bought a  couple softballs.

After a while, we went to Hollywood Theaters and watched "Wreck-It Ralph." It was a good movie! There were like 20 LeTourneau peeps there. Guess not much was going on on a Friday night.

I had a fantastic time! But I am definitely exhausted! Goodnight world.

Day Three-Hundred and Thirteen

Bodacious is only open Thursday-Saturday and if they run out of meat they close. The last two times that I have walked over, they ran out of beef within 3 people in front of me. Today, no such thing was going to happen! I left right after class and got over there at 4:45pm. I was determined to get my Mel-Man sandwich! A Mel-Man sandwich has beef and a hot link chopped up. I ordered my Mel-Man, got regular BBQ sauce, picked some chips, grabbed an apple pie, asked for two sweet teas and bagged up some pickles. Napkins, forks, straws? Check! Now to locate Abbey!

I found Abbey in the computer lab and we ate the yummy meal! She always tells me, "You know you don't have to do this, right?" And I always tell her, "Yes, but I want to!" I have been fed many times and I like to feed people. I like to receive physical touch and quality time as far as my love languages, but showing love includes not only those but also acts of service and giving gifts. The whole words of affirmation thing doesn't work well either way. In theory it's fine, but that's just too complicated for me to get into right now. Ask me about it sometime!

Day Three-Hundred and Twelve

In Chapel today, Alan Barnhart, President of Barnhart Crane & Rigging, spoke to us about giving. He set a standard early on that he would not exceed a certain lifestyle. That was years ago when business was no where near as big as it is now. Every year, the company gives away millions of dollars! A man who could easily be a millionaire lives at such a meager level that his definition of "splurging" is going to Happy Hour at Sonic!

I feel so incredibly greedy after listening to him speak. My dorm room has more furnishings than a large percentage of the world. I have a microwave, a fridge, a printer, a laptop, clothes enough for a month, food, a bed; all these things that I take for granted.

Mr. Barnhart understands one very important fact - none of this stuff is his, it all belongs to Him. God has entrusted Alan, and all of us, as stewards of His possessions. From accounting, I came up with an analogy. (Me and my analogies!) It's like a consignment store, you can't list inventory on your books if it isn't yours. So, we shouldn't count what He has 'given' us as ours, but rather we should be good stewards of what He has entrusted us with and use it as He would want.

Day Three-Hundred and Eleven

So random story: I was typing Eleven and typed elevene and that made me think about "elevenses" which I believe Pippin mentions in the first LoTR movie. SQUIRREL!

So, back to what I was going to blog about....
Since when is it okay to randomly change the seating arrangements in the middle of the semester?! I would understand if you ordered people at the beginning of the semester to sit in alphabetical order and they sat like that all semester. But why would you think that it was okay to make everyone stand up and rearrange in the middle of class near the latter end of the semester!? It was odd. There was supposed to be a quiz, but we didn't make it through all of the material. Guess we are having a macroeconomics quiz on Thursday.....

Despite having a "6-9" class tonight, I was able to make it to our 8:30 flag football game! We were playing South Hall again. It was a good game! I had a lot more fun than I expected to. I guess it helps that we won! I'm not sure what is going to happen now. Out of 5 teams, 3 are tied for 2nd place. We have to have some sort of tie breaker to decide who will play G3 in the championship game. Did I mention that G3 is undefeated? I don't really wanna play them....

Day Three-Hundred and Ten

That moment when you realize you have wasted the entire weekend and not done any homework. That feeling sucks! Thankfully, the homework for Revelation was to be done in class today. That meant I didn't have to rush to do it this morning or anything. Whew!

My evening class made it impossible for me to play in the flag football game tonight. Not that I would have wanted to play anyways. That whole no-contact thing really has me bummed. I heard that we beat South Hall though. I was proud of our girls for that! South Hall is usually a pretty beast team. I think we play them tomorrow too. This season is pretty out of whack....

Day Three-Hundred and Nine

It's the first Sunday of the month! Guess what that means! Free Food!!!

I did not drive my truck into a ditch this time! I drove through the yard and parked a safe distance from the cliff. That's the beauty of having a truck. All the cars were parked on the loop driveway, and I took a detour off-road around them.

I am a picky eater and tend to be a snob about food that isn't my parents'. Carl makes really good food though! I decided to start with the regular chili and it was wonderful! Sadly, I was full after just one (huge) bowl. I should have saved room for the cheese chili because I tried a spoon of that and it was incredible!

It is such a blessing that Carl and Joan open their house to all of us college students who are hungry! Thank you!

Day Three-Hundred and Eight

After a week full of work and classes, I always feel exhausted. When I should be relaxing on the weekends I am stressing about homework that I need to do. It seems like there is never a break. I get overwhelmed with homework and don't want to do it, which is kind of a major problem because I tend to procrastinate at this point. So it's nice to get off campus sometimes and just not think about it!

Jenni, Dani, Karen, and Christy all used to live on G2. I previewed with Dani and have become friends with all of these girls. Tonight, they had a chai party at their apartment. It was mostly G2/41 people, but I took my roommate with me. Chai, hot coco, snacks, Catchphrase!, Telephone-Pictionary, and friends made for a wonderful evening!

Day Three-Hundred and Seven

One of the most important parts of travelling abroad is making sure that you can get back into your home country. My passport expired this summer unfortunately. Because I was under the age of 16 when I got it, I couldn't apply for a renewal. I had to go through the "First-Time Application" process. Blargh! I still had my old passport in my possession, so I took that and my application along with $150 to the nearby post office. They took my picture, asked a couple questions, made me sign some stuff and then told me I was finished. I walked in with my hands full and left almost completely empty handed. A receipt  doesn't feel like much though! In approximately 4 to 6 weeks I should have a nice new passport with a much more attractive picture. Seeing as my last one was taken when I was 15, I had braces, and my hair was a mess, anything would probably look better!

I also got a new LETU ID card today! The other one wouldn't scan in for chapel easily, it quit working in the swiper for dinner, and the picture was gross. So, now I have a pretty one!

My chapel announcement went much better today! I think I am getting better at this standing up in front of hundreds of people thing...maybe...