• imaginations
• clouds
• job prospects
• public libraries
• Christmas lights
• beauty from ashes

today i feel like this:

there’s so much do to and think about and plan for. i want to jump up and down and yell like the avetts. i just did, in fact [minus the yelling for the benefit of my studious housemates]. somehow, i get this feeling that they looked way cooler than i did, but it sure did feel good.

and now i make a list of things i’d rather do than study. i end up making them every semester. they make me feel a bit better about doing the work and give me something to look forward to. here’s a sample:

1) for one hour, i will limit my modes of transportation to: a) the wheeled ottoman for house use or b) parkour for outside

2) watch the return of the jedi, the best of the trilogy in my opinion. the nerd within wins.

3) skip around the quad while throwing wildflower seeds on the ground

hghuogiohrwhoihhgrho;wGHAWOHhdofighhhstudyinghereicome…

Today I met the tulip twins. Barbara and Bernice, 90-year-old twin sisters, have a garden in Chapel Hill and welcome anyone to walk through. I went running on a route that I haven’t tread on in a while and slowed to a walk as soon as I saw the garden. At first, I peered in from the safety of the sidewalk, but then I saw a sign reading “Garden Open” and was encouraged to explore by a woman with a clunker camera around her neck. She informed me that the sisters have opened their garden to visitors for years and that they’re typically on the front porch, waiting to make friends. I ventured into the garden and hoped that they’d pop onto the porch so I could meet them. EVERYWHERE I looked, flowers. Flowers, flowers, flowers. Azaleas, tulips, daises, and copious amounts of flowers I couldn’t name covered the ground. The beauty, the sweet smell, the sound of birds chirping, GLORIOUS! The only thing that could make it better would be to meet one of the twins. Thankfully, just as I was ambling out, I met the famous twins. They were just as sweet as they could be. I think I’ll go back tomorrow, and the next day, and the next…

my dear devoted readers (all three of you), i blog again after a two month hiatus. i’m sorry to report that my new years resolution has not yet been realized (i dined on a quesadilla about an hour ago and am currently waiting on a sweet potato to finish cooking. terrible combination.) i have, however, been perusing foodie blogs. check this one out: http://whatkatieate.blogspot.com/. much has happened since my last update. in short:

i’m moving to Memphis in June for the next 4 plus years to be a teacher!  the idea of all this can be a bit overwhelming. thankfully, lately excitement tends to be the dominant feeling. my friend blaire asked what job we would have if it was guaranteed that we would be great at it. my immediate response? be an excellent urban educator. and i really think that the program i’m doing (http://www.memphistr.org/home) will get me there. i’m still amazed that i actually get to be a part of this.

i had Spring Break plans with the lovely rashida to go on  a food tour of north carolina. we got as far as raleigh and durham before i came down with strep. the highlight was going to The Pit BBQ, which was featured on a “throwdown” with bobby flay. needless to say, it was delicious. a bit to fancy in my personal opinion for a barbecue joint, but the food made up for the lack of down home ambiance.

i have officially become a Tarheel basketball fan! don’t get me wrong, i’ve always cheered for the heels, and even forced friends to watch the ’09 NCAA playoffs with me while at Gordon, but i’m finally getting what the hype is all about. i think it’s a result of us having a good team this year, beating Dook, and  me being a senior, which brings me to my next point…

i’m going to miss this place. one of the very first days of junior year, back when i was a disgruntled transfer student, my dear friend margaret said, “i bet you’ll not want to leave come spring semester senior year.” she was right. i’m just starting to love this place, and now it’s on to the new. i’m ok with this, excited about new adventures, but i do wish i could spend more time here. so i’m tackling my bucket list with fervor and trying to savor the time with these wonderful people.

Hello, 2011!

The Christmas gifts have been given,

the remnants of the tree are on my bedside table,

and it’s time for resolutions to be made. Every year I make the same lone resolution, and typically don’t make any more. This year, I’m spicing things up: two resolutions will be made! And just what will that second one be? Glad you asked. This year, I’m learning how to COOK!

I am in awe of people who know what spice to put in which dish or which leftovers to throw together and make a new [delicious] creation. I can bake [i.e. follow directions] with the best of ‘em, but knowing how to cook is a totally different ballgame. I figure that the best way to learn is to dive in head first–once a week or twice a month, I’ll choose a [possibly complicated and hopefully cheaply priced] recipe that I’ve never made before and go for it. “See ya later”, Everyday Seasoning from Trader Joes, and “Adios!” to my lemon pepper chicken, I’m moving on to new frontiers.

And just so you know, I love [prefer, in fact]  to with people and for people. Come on over and we’ll cook [and eat]!

Happy New Year, everyone.

it’s been a while since i’ve made one of these lists. here goes. today i am thankful for:

windows

the color blue

two year-olds

soft blankets

paperclips

electricity

family

warmth

socks

If you live in the span of earth between Charlotte and Greensboro, you probably saw a gray sky for most of today. Overcast, dreary, even downright dismal is what you could label the conditions.

Guess what.

You’ve been tricked–the sky was actually painted with the most marvelous shades of blue.

I would have claimed the sky to be gray as well had it not been for the vantage point from which I was able to observe this display of hues. At lunchtime, I was in the Charlotte airport, and the sky threatened to spit rain. Before I knew it, I was in the air on my way home. We ascended into the clouds, breaking through the first strata, and my eyes had to re-adjust. Sunlight flooded through my tiny window that revealed a view to which I had nothing to compare. It was like being in the blue icing layer of a white cake. I was sandwiched in between two fluffy layers of cotton, surrounded by innumerable hues of blue–from barely blue, to carolina to new baby boy and every blue in between.

My blue view was such a reminder that the way we see the world is entirely different than the way God sees it. It’s easy for me to walk around and see only gray, forgetting that blue exists above it. It’s easy for me to become burdened by multifaceted problems, frustrated when things don’t go the way I think they should, to feel, at times, like I’m working towards nothing.

I’ve been learning that viewing life with God’s lenses puts everything into a different perspective. When I ask to see the world the way He sees it, problems become a reason to hope, frustrations become a reason to trust, and work becomes meaningful, not because I’m the one doing it, but because through it, I get to glorify God. I guess I’m learning about faith–what it means to be assured of the things unseen, like blue skies behind the gray ones.

Welcome to first grade recess, where mounds of dirt become blueberry, chocolate, or vanilla cakes and dinosaur bones and fossils are discovered daily. It is here that I am educated. If Cassie and I do not gather acorns for squirrels and put them in a pile, they will never have enough food for the winter. Spies cannot play with ninja warriors because they are different kinds of fighters. The tie dyed silly bands are by far the coolest.

“Look at what I can do!” is often heard. I watch Carmen go across the monkey bars for the tenth time today, Missy hang upside down from the ladder, Stacey and Chris race from one side of the blacktop to the other, or Jonathan flip over the bars.

It is here that I get a peak into the lives of these great kids. Jonathan’s favorite superhero is the Hulk and has a little sister who he admits sometimes beats him in wrestling. Cassie’s grandma is visiting from the Ukraine for four months and they went all the way to D.C. to get her (it was a reaaaaally long trip). Sam loves making lines of leaves into racetracks.

A common thread I’ve observed is that all of the kids want to be noticed and affirmed. Look at what I’m doing and then tell me it’s great is what they seem to tell me in their unique ways. I am thankful that I get the opportunity to affirm them—to tell them, “Hey! That pumpkin you colored looks great! You are so good at math! You should be a gymnast—you crossed the monkey bars so fast!”

I finally admitted to myself last December that I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve loved hanging out with these kids this semester. It has been another affirmation that, in some capacity, I was made to teach. So for now, I pursue routes to becoming an elementary teacher! Hopefully by this time next year I’ll be working my way towards licensure.

To hear more about my heart for education, check out my friend Betsy’s blog. She puts it beautifully. Urban education in the U.S. gets us pretty riled up. I, for one, have literally fallen out of my chair for excitement over what is being done (specifically in Memphis) to change the status quo and redeem education. I’m sure Betsy can attest to similar experiences. I love having friends who share the same passions. [And regarding urban education, I am triply blessed: two girls I live with also have big dreams for the power of education to lift people out of poverty and bring about life changes that will effect generations].

you betta SING, nina.

there are two things you need to know before reading this blog: 1) i am almost always running late to my morning classes which leads to 2) my love for finding the quickest path to class.

in the past, this predicament has lead me to discovering the arboretum (which made me even later to class…it’s almost impossible not to meander in the arboretum), finding myself trapped in an “authorized personnel only” accessed staircase in the UNC hospital for a good ten minutes until someone with a badge finally used the stairs, and has tricked me into thinking that climbing over stone walls and fences is a good idea (note: might be a good idea at times, but not if the fence is chain linked and not if you’re wearing a skirt).

today, however, my scurried trailblazing led me to find something wonderful.

today, i stumbled upon: SCIENCELAND.

now let me set this up: there are two huge science lab buildings on south road that i pass on my way to campus. being a sociology major, i had never set foot in these buildings, and had not thought i ever would. one of these buildings looks like someone sucked the fun out of it: it’s tall and gray, no windows, with big fans at the bottom that make a terrible racket. caudill labs are right beside this building, which give the science major some redeeming value. caudill is new and built of delightful brick. it has numerous windows, etc.

intro me: i am late for class. my thought: if i can squirm around the medieval castle lab then i can get to caudill and i know there’s a staircase right outside of caudill that will lead me to a path that leads to my classroom. i make moves: walk briskly around corners of prison lab. mental note: why is there a huge fan at the bottom of this building? leaves are being sucked into a grate on the second story, creating a whirlwind on the ground. is this the wizzard of oz?

i make it out of the maze of gray and stop in my tracks. this is not the staircase i had anticipated, but a world of science greatness i had never seen. i was in the middle of a courtyard surrounded by caudill labs. i hear birds chirping and realize that there trees, plants, and flowers. and then i see the people! science majors, people in lab coats smiling, a man enjoying his cup of coffee. my eyes go up and up and i realize that i am surrounded by unexpected beauty.

reality check: i don’t know where i am and the clock is ticking. i am surrounded by beautiful brick and windows on three sides and there was no way i was going back through the ugly lab to where i had started from. i forge up a flight of stairs (all beautiful and all outside, mind you) and decide to cut through the building. the inside is almost as beautiful as the out. nice floors, smells clean, and someone held the door for me. for two seconds i think: i should have been a bio major! third second thought: that would have been a terrible choice. and then i see it–the path i had been searching for. a straight shot to class.

and there you have it, folks. thrill, adventure, beauty, and appreciation of the greater good which is a university education. my walk to class in a nutshell.

oh and p.s. i made it to class with two minutes to spare.