Roomie Dinner Night

We had a roomie dinner tonight in Adams 3! One of my roommates, Katie (on the left) is also from the Binghamton area, so we made chicken spieides! My roommate, Michelle, is in the blue shirt, and Sara is next to her - they are both nursing majors. We talked about this year, laid out some house rules, and divided up chores. I'm looking forward to a great year with these ladies!

Last First Day

Today was my last first day of school! I'm a senior at Roberts Wesleyan College, looking forward to graduation in May. I started my day nice and early with a 6:30AM 5 mile run. I'm doing most of my meals on my own this year, so I got ready for my day and grabbed breakfast at the townhouse. Then I met my friend, Jillian, to walk to our first class. I am taking an eletive this semester called Leadership in Ministry. The pastor from the church on campus teaches it, and I've heard a lot of good things about the class! I'm decided to just audit it to free up some of my time if I do not want to do some of the assignments. However, I will still get the valuable information from the class. After that class, Jillian and I headed to Managerial Toolbox. This is a business class where each student creates their own plan for the year. We pick something we want to learn more about or develop in our lives and decide how to best accomplish that. My thought is to learn more about grant writing this semester as I look forward to doing more of that in my internship in the Spring. Next came chapel. The first chapel is always done by President Martin. He gives a brief history of the college, showing us pictures of campus from back in the day. He talks about the many buildings on campus and shows us pictures of the people they are named after. I am living in a dorm called Adams this year, and they were a cute couple that used to be the president of the college. After chapel I had a half an hour to eat the lunch I had packed and catch up with a friend, then it was off to my last class of the day - Creativity and Problem Solving. Basically, we will learn how to think outside the box, and at the end of the semester we have to create an invention and present on it. I'm usually a pretty straight forward thinker, so this class might be a stretch for me! Now, usually I would head to work after this class, but my rule is that I always give myself one week to get used to the new semester before I start to work, so I've had a free afternoon! It hasn't been a bad first day, but I do have a 4 page paper due on Wednesday!

Camping Weekend

For the last weekend of my summer vacation I went camping with my small group from church down in Ithaca. We camped at Robert Treman State Park, and went hiking to see waterfalls, swam in 60 degree water, went star gazing, ate lots of food, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a great way to just relax before gearing up for a busy semester!

Happy Birthday, Missy!

Our dog, Missy, would have been 15 years old today! We had to put her down earlier this summer, and it was sad to see her go. Every year, we bought her Frosty Paws for her birthday - doggy ice cream! It was always fun to watch her work on getting every bit of ice cream out of that container.

I made a small photo album of pictures of Missy, from when she was first brought home as a puppy, to more recent pictures. It's a nice little way to remember our family dog and the many years she had with us.

I posted about Missy earlier this summer. Too see more pictures and find out more about her struggle at the end, check them out here and here.

Final Days of Summer

Summer is coming to and end. Today was my last day of summer work - I am glad to be done with my summer jobs, as they were quite boring. However, they were good hours, and working on campus allowed me to be in Rochester for the summer, exploring the area and making new friends!

I am taking the day off tomorrow so I have time for my 9 mile run before being gone for the weekend. Also, my roommate is coming, so I want to be around to help her move in. Lastly, I am leaving to go camping with my small group for the weekend. We are headed to Ithaca to camp at Robert Treman State Park. Growing up, my family was never a camping family, so I'm looking forward to the experience!

It's sad to see such a great summer go - it has definitely been one of the best!

Morning Rush

This usually doesn't happen, but I overslept this morning! I set my alarm last night, but forgot to turn it on. I woke up on my own at 8:35, which meant I had 15 minutes to get out the door! I quickly took a shower and got ready for my day. I even took the time to pack a lunch and grab breakfast! I was quite impressed with my 15 minute morning, but I don't plan to make a habbit of it.

Summer Lunch Buddy

This is me with my summer lunch buddy, Honna. She will also be a senior business major at Roberts in the fall, and she worked at the church by campus over the summer. We got together on our lunch breaks once a week and enjoyed getting to know each other. We went to a different place to eat every week and never got tired of each other's company.

We are sad to see our summer lunches end, but are looking forward to the possibility of dinners together during the school year!

Demolition Derby

My friend, Heather's, family goes to the Harford Fair almost every year. This is a fair about 45 minutes down into Pennsylvania that has been happening for over 150 years! I have been to it twice in the past - probably in Jr. High, but have never attended the Demolition Derby! Heather and her husband, Andrew, were up visiting for the weekend, so we went with her family for this crazy event!

Basically, about 10 junker cars at a time go into the marked off area and face outward. When the signal goes, they reverse and ram into each other as fast as they can. The cars continue to run into each other, smashing cars into the side barriers and destroying the bodies of the cars, until there are only 3 cars left moving - those 3 then moved onto the final round. There were so many rounds, lasting between 5 and 15 minutes each - some of those cars lasted a while! Smoke was flying and tires blew off. It was quite the event, and I'm glad I was able to experience my first demolition derby!

Chicken Wings

I spent the afternoon with my friend, Brittany. A while ago we made homemade chicken wings in a little deep fryer at my house, and I had been craving them recently, so we made some today! We made the classic wings and some BBQ wings - so delicious!

Brittany now works fulltime at Rock Mountain Bible Camp, where I have been both a camper and a staff member. It's fun to go down and visit her at her place, and I'm glad I had the chance to spend an afternoon with her (and eat some chicken wings!).

Captivating

My most recent book was one I had read before, but never quite finished. At the end of my sophomore year of college, a friend gave me Captivating, by John and Stasi Eldredge. Bascially, the book shares a Christian's perspective of the beauty of a woman's heart, and discovering the life women are meant to live.

The part I like best was toward the end of the book where they discussed passions. When we discover our passions and follow our dreams, great things can happen. In this section, they share a quote by Frederick Buechner, "The place that God calls us is that place where the world's deepest hunger and our deepest desire meet." God can use our passions and desires to fill a need in this world. Allow Him to use you!

Fun with Friends at Home

This clip art is supposed to be me and my friends from home having a good time while I'm here for the weekend! I took today through Monday off, and came home to Vestal. My sister, Julie, already left for school, so it's just my parents at the house. However, a handful of friends from high school are still around, and my friend, Heather, who just moved to Virginia with her husband, is coming for a weekend visit!

Here is what I have planned:

-Ice cream with friends.
-A morning bike ride.
-Shopping and a night out with Kristen, the birthday girl!
-An 8 mile run.
-A wedding celebration.
-The Harford Fair and Demolition Derby.
-Homemade chicken wings.

-Sleeping in.

Post #100

This is my 100th post, so I decided to share 100 things you may or may not know about me.

1. I am 21 years old.
2. Elephants are my favorite animal.
3. I have 2 sisters.
4. I graduated with 24 kids in my class.
5. I go to school in Rochester, NY.
6. Gerber daisies are my favorite flower.
7. I love fruit.
8. I go blueberry and strawberry picking every summer.
9. I have been to Hawaii twice.
10. My eyes are green.
11. I was the class treasurer all 4 years of high school.
12. I am a management major.
13. I like to write things down.
14. I am right handed.
15. I have 16 cousins.
16. I have only ever lit a match once in my life.
17. I have been in 2 weddings - and I've worn both dresses a second time.
18. I got my first real job in 10th grade.
19. I got my driver's permit on my 16th birthday.
20. I prefer to use blue pens.
21. I still have Ellie - my stuffed animal elephant from when I was little.
22. I played soccer for 6 years.
23. I have been outside North America once - on a missions trip to Guatemala.
24. I have never broken a bone.
25. I had braces for 6 years.
26. I collect coins.
27. My favorite dinner food is baked ziti.
28. I bought a blue 2001 Honda Accord after freshman year of college.
29. I have been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld.
30. I have been parasailing.
31. I kept score for the guy's basketball team for 3 years in high school.
32. I have both water skiied and downhill skiied.
33. I have had tubes in my ears twice.
34. I was the yearbook editor my senior year of high school.
35. My car's name is Edwin.
36. I got a cell phone when I was 17.
37. I like to rollerblade.
38. I love to play games.
39. I love watching home videos of my family.
40. I do not own an iPod/MP3 player.
41. I am still friends with girls I was in the nursery with at church.
42. Before I was born, they thought I was twins.
43. My middle name is Katherine.
44. I eat breakfast everyday.
45. I have never cried during a movie.
46. My favorite book is Mistaken Identity.

47. I like tea.

48. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school.

49. I play the flute.

50. I want to learn more about the Underground Railroad.

51. I was saluatorian of my graduating class.

52. Besides college, I've lived in the same house my whole life.
53. I am not artistic.
54. I love sending people cards.
55. Snickers are my favorite candy bar.
56. My favorite color goes between green and dark purple.
57. I didn't like rollercoasters until 7th grade.
58. I like coffee.
59. I have glasses, but wear contacts.
60. I like playing volleyball.
61. One semester I spent $621.95 on textbooks.
62. I swim laps regularly.
63. The first movie I saw in theaters was Lion King.
64. Mulan is my favorite Disney movie.
65. Peter Pan is a close second.
66. I shop at Walmart.
67. My family didn't have a gaming system until I was out of the house.
68. I sang in both the church and school choirs.
69. I sing alto.
70. I rarely use pencils.
71. I got a texting plan freshman year of college.
72. I like to make lists.
73. Turkey is my favorite lunch meat.
74. I like helping others.
75. I have won the intramural ultimate frisbee championships twice.
76. Freshman year of college, I met my roommate at 2AM.

77. I have climbed an active volcano.
78. I have gone crabbing.
79. I have had my tonsils out.
80. I have been bit by a dog.
81. I collected popsicle sticks in second grade.
82. I have gone sledding on a boogie board.
83. I like to make smoothies.
84. My favorite item at Jitter's is a Blackberry and Cream Milkshake.
85. I have successfully eaten a whole garbage plate in one sitting.
86. I have been to the top of the Washington Monument.
87. I listen to music when I can't sleep.
88. I got first place in an art show in Jr. High.
89. I like wrapping presents.
90. My parents were born 12 days apart.
91. I love wearing slippers in the winter.
92. I only rode the bus to school in Kindergarten.
93. I have made ice cream from snow.
94. I like to clean and organize.
95. I have ridden in an ambulance to the hospital.
96. I automatically hum while blowdrying my hair.
97. I did a science fair project on moldy bread in 4th grade.
98. I have been to the top of the Empire State Building.
99. I am 5 foot 8 inches tall.
100. I am starting to become a reader.

Family Mail

Back in Januray, my immediate family started something new. Besides my parents back at home, each of us are in different parts of New York State and Pennsylvania. To help keep in touch, my sister, Amy, thought it would be neat to send a different family member a letter - a real, snail mail, hand written letter - each month. She came up with a schedule, and my mom made it all fancy on Excel, and we each got our assignments. At the end of the year, we would each have 12 hand written letters from our family.

Now, I'm a letter writer myself, so I've enjoyed this monthy task, sometimes adding pictures in with the card or note. So far, I have received 7 letters, and look forward to the next 5 in the months to come!

Perhaps we started a new family tradition!

The Underground Railroad

I just finished another Trailblazer book - this one goes along with another one of my goals. I want to read atleast 5 books on the Underground Railroad. My senior year of high school, I wrote a paper on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Since then, I have been interested to learn more about this topic.

Listen for the Whippoorwill is about a made-up slave girl, Rosebud, and her family. Though the family is made up, Harriet Tubman and the route they took north to freedom was not. They hid in people's houses, rode on the bottom side of a wagon, and hide in a swamp at night, all to make it to Canada - a place of freedom.

The book did not go into too much detail about Harriet, but it did talk about the scar on her forehead and the dizzy spells she faced the rest of her life from a brick being thrown at her. She lived into her 90's, helping others even at the end of her life. She was able to see the 13th Amendment come about, ending slavery. I think Harriet Tubman's courage and tactics are to be commended. I am looking forward to reading more about this figure in history.

Lighthouse

My friend, Rachel, and I have been wanting to go to this lighthouse by her house for a while now. After church today, we headed back to her place for lunch, then went to the lighthouse. It is almost 200 years old and is right by Charlotte Beach, where we play volleyball. It was neat to go up the winding staircase to the top!

Below: Rachel and I at the bottom of the lighthouse.

Mr. and Mrs. Wegman

My friends, Rachel and Brian, got married yesterday. This is my roommate, Michelle, a bridesmaid in the wedding, with me and the bride. Brian just graduated as a management major from Roberts, and Rachel will be done with marketing in December. They are moving just down the road from the school, so I'm sure I will be seeing them!

Congratulations, Brian and Rachel!

Home Sweet Home

I have been living in my townhouse for a week now! I was able to decorate a bit this week and feel more settled in. One of my other roommates started moving some stuff in, and they will all be here by the end of the month. Here's a look at where I will be living until May:

The kitchen is to your left as you walk in the front door. Fridge, stove, sink, microwave - and yes, those are brownies on the counter! To the left of the fridge there is an opening that looks into the dining area. There is also a full bathroom opposite of the entrance to the kitchen.

This is the dinning area. It opens up into the living room. There is a closet and storage area opposite that wall. Those are my roommates and I on the wall!

This is the living room. There's my free side-of-the-road chair! We have a loveseat and couch coming, and a TV!

My bedroom is upstairs. This is my side of the room. I will share with Michelle, my roommate from last year.

And this is my closet - lots of storage space! Michelle's side of the room is just the same, and there is another bedroom just like ours upstairs. There is also another full bathroom.

I am looking forward to a year full of fun and memories in this townhouse!

Trail Running

This is Kate, a friend from church, and I just before heading out for some trail running. We went to Mendon Ponds (see my post from earlier this summer!) and ran on the trails through the woods. We thought we were running a 4.7 mile loop, but we took a wrong turn and ended up running for an hour and 20 minutes - we got quite the work out with all those hills! It was nice to run somewhere different and with a new friend! Kate is also training for the half marathon.

The Rescue

I just finished another Nicholas Sparks book! This one was The Rescue. It was about a mom, Denise, who had a little boy, Kyle, who was about 5, but still had trouble speaking. The two of them were in a car accident one night, and Taylor found Denise in her wrecked car and helped her out. When Denise understood what was going on, she looked for Kyle, but he was not around. Denise was taken to the hospital as Taylor rounded up a search party to look for Kyle in the storm.

Denise was fine, and Kyle was found unharmed. Taylor becomes a part of their lives and is so understanding with Kyle and his speech problems. Denise appreciated that about him as many do not take the time to be a friend to Kyle.

Taylor is a volunteer fireman and helps out in a few more situations after the search for Kyle. These really shake him up, and he talks to Denise about it. Eventually he shares with her how his father died - something only his mother knows. This brings Taylor and Denise closer together.

Even if you can guess it, I won't tell you the ending. Read it for yourself - I enjoyed it!

The Big Question

In my Bible Study, we are talking about success and setting and accomplishing goals. Of course, the discussion of, "What is the big goal God wants me to accomplish?" has come up. After reading the end of Mistaken Identity (Check out my past post on this great book!), I had some encouragement to bring to my group this week.

Whitney, the girl who ended up surviving the accident, is always being told she must have been the sole surviving student for a reason - God was going to to big things with her life. This caused Whitney to think she had to live up to everyone's expectations, but some words from her friends were a big help. Take the time to read Whitney's words from the end of the book:

"One day I was having coffee with a friend named Brad, and I told him a little about how I'd been feeling. In response, he read me a story from the Old Testament book of 1 Kings. In the story, a prophet named Elijah goes out into the desert to talk to God. He's waiting for God when he hears this giant windstorm that is so strong it tears the rocks apart. But God isn't in the windstorm. Then there's an earthquake, but God isn't in the earthquake. Then there's a fire, but God isn't in the fire. Finally, he hears a gentle whisper, and he realizes that it's God. Another friend had read the same story to me during my freshman year, so I knew God was telling me something through it.

I realized that instead of thinking that my life has to be some big windstorm or earthquake for God, perhaps I only have to let Him whisper gently through my life. That story made me realize I don't have to accomplish some giant thing for God. If I'm just a camp counselor who makes the difference in the life of one person, or if I'm just a mom who loves her children and tells them about Jesus, that's enough. It took a little while, but I finally figured out that God's purpose is for me to let Him do whatever He wants in my life, big or small. Being a part of writing this book may be the last "big" thing I ever do, and I'm fine with that."

I think that's just a reminder that we don't have to answer the big question of, "What does God want me to do with my life?" As long as we are serving Him in the little parts of our lives, we can be used in mighty ways for Him.

Technology

I am thankful for technology - cell phones, texting, computers, Skype, Facebook, e-mail, blogs, laptops, cameras, and other items that keeps us connected.

As my friends, family, and I settle in different areas around the country, it's nice to know that we can still be part of each others lives as we share pictures and stories with each other. It's great to be able to see my little cousins from Texas on Skype, get a tour of my friend's house in Virginia, and read about my friend from California all from my own laptop!

7 Miles

My friend, Hannah, was here visiting for the weekend, and my friend, Audrey, joined us Sunday morning for a 7 miles run! It was great to have other people to chat with for that long distance. Both of them are planning to run the half marathon in September - 5 weeks to go!

Bridal Shower Fun

My friend, Jillian, is getting married in Januray! We had a bridal shower for her today. The picture is of Rachel, Jillian, and myself. We were neighbors in the dorm this year.

We had lunch at the shower, and played a few games - toilet paper bride and bridal bingo.

This was the 6th bridal shower for me this summer! It's exciting to see many of my friends begin thinking about their new lives together with their husband-to-be as they receive kitchen utesils, pots and pans, and other household items.

Moving Day!

Today was the day I was able to move into my townhouse, where I will be staying for the next school year. I bascially just moved across the parking lot. Thankfully, a friend came to help me this afternoon, and it only took 3 loads in the cars.

My townhouse has a lot more space! There will be 4 of us living here. We have a kitchen, dining area, living room, and full bath downstairs. Upstairs are 2 bedrooms and another full bath. I have it all to myself for the next 3 weeks - let's hope I don't get too used to it!

I've already gotten pretty settled in, and I have a friend coming to spend the night tonight, so my roommate's bed is all made up!

Cheesecake Factory

My friend, Honna, works at the church on campus. We have gone out to lunch several times this summer. We usually go on Tuesdays or Thursdays when I have a longer lunch break. We have gone to Leaf 'n Bean for coffee, McDonalds for frappes, out for garbage plates, and to Tim Horton's down the road. This week, however, we decided to do dinner together instead! We went out to the Cheesecake Factory and had a great meal followed by delicious cheesecake! I've enjoyed our meals together and the chance we have had to get to know each other better this summer.

Medical Supplies

Tonight was a service night for small group. We met at a place called Intervol. It's an organization that collects medical supplies that can no longer be used in hospitals for whatever reason, sorts them, and boxes them up to ship to third world countries that can use them. They did a lot when Haiti got hit at the beginning of the year.

I was put to work assembling boxes. I taped together several boxes that were used to collect the supplies. I also helped sort the supplies, taking a guess as to what each item was used for and putting it in it's proper place. Good thing we have some people that work in health care in our group!

Overall, it was a great night of service, and it was neat to think how these medical supplies will bless someone in another country who would otherwise not have access to them.

Abbott's

I have been to Abbott's several times this summer. It is a frozen custard place, and there is one right by the beach where our group from church plays volleyball!

Tonight I went to Abbott's with a new friend, Michelle. Michelle graduated from Roberts in 2007 as a business management major. She was involved in SIFE and had gone on the missions trip to Guatemala. I figured, we had quite a few activities in common so it would be good to get together with her before my senior year to get some insight. We grabbed ice cream and walked around the beach. We chatted for 3 hours, sharing pictures and stories from Guatemala, talking about classes, and remembering SIFE experiences. It was a nice time to get to know her and hear about her time at Roberts and experiences since then.

Our Present and Future

Today's sermon had my Bible open to a section I had written near, so I read that over this morning. It was I Corinthians 3:21-22, "...For all things are yours...life or death or the present or the future - all yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." Written in the side of my Bible by these verses is, "I own my present and future, I am Christ's and He is God's. My present and future are His!

It's just neat how that works. The present and future are ours to decide what to do with, but since we are in Christ, God is ultimately in control of everything. What a comfort to know that. It's also excited that He has given us the present and the future to use as we wish - let's make the most of it!