Fall Break

Fall break has been everything I had hoped it would be.  I've spent most days watching tv, sleeping in, hanging with Robert, and running errands at my leisure.  A few of the highlights included:

• Lunch at The Flying Tomato (I got sausage pizza) and dessert at AmyCakes (I got a chocolate caramel pretzel cupake!!!) with Dad
• Shopping with my bridesmaids: They all picked out dresses, and it only took 1 hour and 15 minutes.  It was even more fun and easier than I ever could have hoped.
• A trip to the zoo today with Robert and my parents.  There were Halloween decorations everywhere, and it was pumpkin day - we got to see elephants, deer, wolves, and a hippo eat pumpkins.  It was so cool!
• Dad and Pepaw have been building a kitchen table for Robert and me.  It's going to be amazing.  I'll post pictures of the final project.  It's a 42"x42" square table that seats 4, but then when you put in the two leaves and make it rectangular it can seat 8 people.  It's made of white pine.  The surface of the table is made of 8 slats.  The legs are rectangular.  It's going to look great!  And it'll be cool to be able to tell people that my dad and grandpa made the table for us.

On to my list:

1.  August 22 - Drury starts, 4 days til... DONE
2. August 26 - Mom's birthday, 8 days til...DONE
3. September 3 - Bethany gets married, 2 days til...  JUST 4 MORE DAYS
4. September 5 - Dad's birthday AND Labor Day, 3 days til...
5. September 8 - My birthday, 34 days til...
6. October 12 - Organizational Communication ends, 2 days til...
7. October 14-23 - Fall break, 1 day til...
8. October 24 - Organizational Change starts, 6 days til...
9. October 30 - Saints game in St. Louis, 1 day til...
10. October 31 - Halloween, 22 days til...
11. November 22-26 - Alabama for Thanksgiving break, 18 days til...
12. December 14 - Organizational Change ends, 1 day til...
13. December 15 - Public Relations ends...3 days til
14. December 18-December 23 - Pennsylvania trip...2 days til
15. December 25 - Christmas...8 days til
    
16. January 2- Winter project begins...15 days til
17. January 17 - Spring semester starts...10 days til
18. January 27- Winter project ends... 49 days til
19. May 16-26 - Spring break...11 days til...
20. April 6 - Good Friday off...1 day til
21. April 7 - Jim's birthday...1 day til
22. April 8 - Easter...29 days til
23. May 7-12 - Finals...3 days til
24. May 10 - Graduation rehearsal...1 day til
25. May 11 - School ends...1 day til
26. May 12 - My graduation...7 days til
27. May 19 - Robert's graduation...1 day til
28. May 20 - Our wedding!

As you can tell, not only is fall break nearly over, but I also completed Seminar in Organizational Communication.  That means I'm 50% finished with my coursework.  Unfortunately, I'm not 50% finished as far as actual time goes.  Right now it's 4.5 months down, 6.5 months to go.  As far as time goes, I'll be 50% of the way finished around Thanksgiving.  Now I'm trying to get pumped up to go back to school.  I'll start a new class Monday - Organizational Change.  Hopefully it will be good!

The List Continues

1. August 22 - Drury starts, 4 days til... DONE
2. August 26 - Mom's birthday, 8 days til...DONE
3. September 3 - Bethany gets married, 2 days til...  JUST 4 MORE DAYS
4. September 5 - Dad's birthday AND Labor Day, 3 days til...
5. September 8 - My birthday, 34 days til...
6. October 12 - Organizational Communication ends, 2 days til...
7. October 14-23 - Fall break, 1 day til...
8. October 24 - Organizational Change starts, 6 days til...
9. October 30 - Saints game in St. Louis, 1 day til...
10. October 31 - Halloween, 22 days til...
11. November 22-26 - Alabama for Thanksgiving break, 18 days til...
12. December 14 - Organizational Change ends, 1 day til...
13. December 15 - Public Relations ends...18 days til
14. December 19  January 2- Winter project begins...15 days til
15. January 17 - Spring semester starts...10 days til
16. January 13 January 27- Winter project ends... 49 days til
17. Mary 16-26 - Pennsylvania for spring break...11 days til...
18. April 6 - Good Friday off...1 day til
19. April 7 - Jim's birthday...1 day til
20. April 8 - Easter...29 days til
21. May 7-12 - Finals...3 days til
22. May 10 - Graduation rehearsal...1 day til
23. May 11 - School ends...1 day til
24. May 12 - My graduation...7 days til
25. May 19 - Robert's graduation...1 day til
26. May 20 - Our wedding!

Since the last time I posted this list my birthday came and went.  Org comm is coming to an end - only 16 days to go.  It's honestly gone by rather quickly.  I know, it's crazy.  Once org comm ends I'll have fall break and start a new class: organizational change.  Should be a party. ;)

I stayed pretty busy with school, babysitting, and socializing last week.  It's been really hard to balance my social life the past four months.  I crave interaction with humans, but it's something that makes my schedule even more jam-packed.  This weekend I did A LOT of socializing.  I went to Springfield early before class on Thursday and went to the mall and Starbucks with my dear friend Kelsey.  On Friday I drove to AR to visit my friend Elise.  We got pizza, watched a movie ("Something Borrowed" - much better than I had expected), and caught up.  The next morning we ate breakfast at Rick's Bakery (I got a sausage roll, cheese danish, and fresh-squeezed orange juice) and perused the farmers' market.  Robert and I enjoyed watching two Cardinal wins on tv this weekend as well. 

Highlights for this week will be: Picking apples at Plaster's Orchard and class today - My group is leading class facilitation.  Eating dinner at Windermere with the Durbins tomorrow.  Meeting with my dear friend Carey and class on Wednesday.  Babysitting and class on Thursday.  Babysitting and my high school homecoming parade and football game Friday.  Gilmore Girls alum Melissa McCarthy hosting Saturday Night Live on Saturday.  And finally, church and a Sunday school picnic at the lake on Sunday.  Whew!  No wonder I'm tired.

I'm Melting

Today it's supposed to be 108 with a heat index of 115.  Can you say "sweltering?"  I cannot remember another summer in my life where it has been this hot for this long.  Can you?
This is the last week of summer school.  I'm getting so antsy for it to be over.  Only 53 hours to go to be precise.  I have to go to Drury for actual in-person class Today, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5:20-8:00.  Not too bad.  I've turned in everything for entrepreneurial communication, and now I'm just waiting for things to get graded.  I'm nearly finished with communication consulting.  I just have an oral presentation on Thursday and a paper to turn in with it.  Thankfully, all the work is done.
To celebrate the end of summer school Robert and I will be spending the weekend with his family.  The weekend will consist of going to a water park, sleeping, relaxing, watching movies, eating good food, and NOT thinking/talking about school.  It is greatly needed.
When we get back I'll still have about a week and a half sans class.  Next Wednesday Robert and I are taking the day off and escaping to St. Louis.  We plan to go to the zoo, have a picnic lunch in Forest Park, go back to the zoo, and eat dinner on The Hill.  It'll be the first real date we've had since before summer school started.  Sure, we've had meals together and wandered around Wal-Mart for cheap and easy dates, but it'll be nice to get away without feeling guilty or like I should be studying.  It'll also be nice for Robert because two days after our trip he starts RA training.  I guess it's our end of the summer last hurrah.
Yet another change: Jim (my brother) found a place to live.  This is a big deal and very exciting for everybody.  Things seem to be falling into place.  The satellite guy came today and got everything set up.  Water and electricity were set up yesterday.  Tomorrow the Internet/phone guy is coming.  We've gotten quite a bit of stuff moved over there.  It makes me feel old to know I have a brother who has a rental house.  Crazy!

I've Seen Better Days

Oh man.  It's been a whirlwind of a week.  Recap:

- Went to KC with Robert on Monday.  Crazy trip.  Didn't get back home til 2am.  Plus side: Got to see my dear friend Jen for a bit.

- My car broke down.  Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong happened.  I put it in reverse and it went kaplunk, put it in drive and it revved up a bunch, the check oil light came on, the check battery light came on, and the power steering went out.  Of course when my dad came to look at it it worked fine for him.  Does that sort of thing ever happen to anybody else?  We had a friend look at it.  Apparently the carborator (spelling?) was totally clogged.  Scary!  He fixed it. :)

- I had mono last spring.  With that it's totally normal to have low white blood cell counts, low platelet counts, high monocytes, and high lymphocytes for about six months.  So every few months I've gone in to have my blood re-tested.  It's been nearly a year now.  I got the results to my most recent test two days ago.  Everything is still out of whack.  Very discouraging.  My doctor is finally being proactive and has referred me to an oncologist and hematologist (cancer and blood doctor), but it's really scary.  If something is wrong I want to nip it in the bud.  So I guess the oncologist (Dr. Leo) is going to look over my records and then set up an appointment with me.  It could be something like: "No worries.  You're white blood cell counts are always low.  Happens to the best of us."  Or, as my primary care physician mentioned, it could be something like: "You have leukemia or lymphoma.  Wish we would have done something about it when we realized your counts were off 12 months ago!"

- I skipped all my classes on Tuesday.  I like to think of it as a mental health day.  Think my absences will be excused?

- I work in the church nursery on Wednesday mornings during a Mom's Bible study.  I have older 2's and younger 3's in my room.  Quote of the day: While playing with Play-Dough one of the kids stuck a blob on his finger and shouted, "Finger puppets!!!" Presh.

- I helped buy a new microwave for the dorm.  One of the fun parts of being an RA. ;)  In case you were wondering, it's not a good idea to microwave a cookie with a sheet of computer paper and a metal fork in there in as well.  Shocking.

- I sponsor a girl named Happiness through World Vision.  She lives in Zimbabwe, and I've been sponsoring her for a year and a half.  I wrote her the other day.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to bless and be blessed by her.

- Sad story: On December 15 I ordered two tickets to a Yellowcard concert in KC on April 5.  Robert's favorite band of all time is Yellowcard.  When we first started dating he mentioned he wished he could have gone to one of their concerts before they broke up.  Well, this month they're releasing a new CD and going on tour.  March 13 is our 1 year anniversary.  So I got us tickets 3 months ago (4 months before the concert) to celebrate.  Guess what.  Robert has a choir concert the same night and will fail choir if he skips us.  What else? There are no refunds.  See ya later, 70 bucks!