What a Beautiful Weekend

This weekend has been so nice! It is January and the temperature today and yesterday was in the 50's. It felt so good, it was a perfect break from the cold. Yesterday I went to the park with some friends. We had a great time playing football and Frisbee. It was good to get outside for once and enjoy it! Today I walked to Spencer's Coffee. It was a beautiful day once again to get outside, get some fresh air, and take a homework break. I'm hoping we have some more of these days this winter, preferably on the weekends so I can fully enjoy it. Thank you God for giving Bowling Green some sun and warm weather!

Wow, It's Been Awhile

I haven't blogged in over a week! I've been really busy since my last post. Here is what has been going on...

I was supposed to leave Friday to come back to Kentucky, but we got more snow! So I left for Kentucky on Saturday. Scott picked me up from the airport. We spent the rest of the weekend having a fun time with his family.

On Sunday I arrived back at WKU after 6 weeks! It felt good to be back on campus. This whole week has been my first week of classes for second semester. I'm glad it's over because it has been a long week! I have been busy doing homework and attending all of my classes. I like all my classes for the most part. The only thing that I don't like are some of the times. I have a night class every Monday that is almost 3 hours long! I had a hard time not staring at the clock, hopefully the class will be interesting so I won't have to count down the minutes. And then on MWF I don't have class until 11:30. That is so late for me because I like starting earlier and getting done earlier. But I guess it will take time to get used to my schedule.

Some highlights of my week were: Getting to see my friends after a month, working out at Preston, spending time at church going to mass, dinner, and RCIA, learning new things from my classes already, Spanish club meeting at Taqueria, and others I can't think of right now.

I hope my semester is going to be great and successful!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I finished reading HP 4 today! It was REALLY GOOD, hard to put down...now on to the next one. The End.

I'm 20!

I can't believe that I'm 20! I sure don't feel it or look like it! Yesterday to celebrate my birthday, my mom and I went to NYC. We went to see a Broadway play called American Idiot. It is a play with ALL Green Day songs. The play is about a guy named Johnny who is a starving musician. He leaves his home and gets into drugs. He also meets the girl of his dreams. Johnny also has two good friends. One stayed home and did nothing but drink and do drugs after he found out that his girlfriend was pregnant. His other friend went off to the war and ended up getting hurt and had one of his legs amputated. At the end, Johnny comes back to all his friends, gets a job, and realizes that he has messed up and he's an idiot. It was an AMAZING play! The plot may sound a little iffy, but all the performers had very talented voices and the acting was incredible. The best part was I was in the 5th row! We could see the sweat and see the actors spitting when they sang. I would highly recommend this show!

After the play we ate at Junior's which is known for their desserts. Although we didn't get dessert our dinner was delicious. Overall I had a great birthday weekend! :)

http://www.americanidiotonbroadway.com/

Penny Collection

Beginning in 8th grade when I was on my class trip to Chicago I started my penny collection. Have you ever seen those machines at tourist places where you pay 50 cents plus a penny to squish a penny for a cool design? Well, I collect those! I was looking at my pennies the other day and thought, "Wow I have quite a few now!" The majority of them are from places in Chicago because I went crazy when I first started collecting them. But below is what I have so far:

Museum of Science and Industry (in Chicago)

Sears Towers (in Chicago) x2

The Field Museum (in Chicago) x2

Rainforest Cafe (in Chicago) x2

Navy Pier (in Chicago)

Shedd Aquarium (in Chicago)

Alder Planetarium (in Chicago)

Louisville Zoo x2

Schimpff's Confectionery (in New Albany, IN)

Lady and the Tramp (from Disney World)

Harbour Town (from Hilton Head)

My Lucky Mojo Charm (from New Orleans)

The Preservation Society of Newport County "The Breakers" (from Newport, RI)

Pilgrim Monument (from Provincetown, MA)

Cape Cod

Central Park Zoo (from NYC)

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park (from Florida)

Massachusetts the Bay State (from Boston, MA)

American Museum of Natural History (from NYC)

A Slice of Heaven (from Mystic Pizza in Mystic, CT)

Total: 24

And I'm hoping to double that number in the future!

SNOW!!

Last night we got 28 inches of snow on top of the foot we already had. I think it is the most snow I have ever seen in my life! Schools were cancelled. The snow is so deep that it is hard to walk in so I stayed inside pretty much all day.

Here is Chris in the snow:

Captivating

I read "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. Some girls on the retreat in November recommended it and so I decided to read it. It has a lot of good insight for Christian women.

Here is the description of the book:

Every little girl has dreams of being swept up into a great adventure, of being the beautiful princess. Sadly, when women grow up, they are often swept up into a life filled merely with duty and demands. Many Christian women are tired, struggling under the weight of the pressure to be a "good servant," a nurturing caregiver, or a capable home manager.

What Wild at Heart did for men, Captivating is doing for women. Setting their hearts free. This groundbreaking book shows readers the glorious design of women before the fall, describes how the feminine heart can be restored, and casts a vision for the power, freedom, and beauty of a woman released to be all she was meant to be. By revealing the core desires every woman shares-to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty-John and Stasi Eldredge invite women to recover their feminine hearts, created in the image of an intimate and passionate God. Further, they encourage men to discover the secret of a woman's soul and to delight in the beauty and strength women were created to offer.

Below are some phrases from the book that caught my interest:

God has sent me on a mission.

I have some great news for you.

God has sent me to restore and release something.

And that something is you.

I am here to give you back your heart and set you free.

I am furious at the Enemy who did this to you, and I will fight

against him.

Let me comfort you.

For, dear one, I will bestow beauty upon you

where you have known only devastation.

Joy, in the places of your deep sorrow.

And I will robe your heart in thankful praise

in exchange for your resignation and despair.

Jesus is extending his hand to you. He is inviting you to dance with him. He asks, "May I have this dance...every day of your life?" His gaze is fixed on you. He is captivated by your beauty. He is smiling. He cares nothing of the opinion of others. He is standing. He will lead. He waits for your response.

Overall this book was easy to read and gave me a lot of things to think about. I would rate it a 4 out of 5. Throughout the book the authors tended to repeat themselves, but they definitely got the point across: God wants US and He is waiting for us. We are beautiful to Him.

Happy New Year!

Outside American Museum of Natural History

Fenway Park

Scott and I in Central Park

It is 2011! Happy New Year to all. I have had a GREAT and busy first week of 2011 so I haven't had much time to update my blog. I got back home from Florida/Louisville late New Year's Eve. Scott came back with my family so he got to stay here with us for a week!

Here are some of the highlights of what Scott and I did while he was here:

New York City:

We went to NYC on Monday. We went to the American Museum of Natural History (where "Night at the Museum" was filmed). After we walked through Central Park. It was very icy and the lake was completely frozen! Then we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral which was beautiful with all the Christmas decorations. For dinner we ate at Olive Garden for dinner right in the middle of Times Square. It was pretty cool! We also saw the HUGE Christmas tree in Rockefellar Plaza. All the decorations were so pretty! It was an awesome day and Scott got to spend his birthday there!

Mystic, CT:

We ate dinner at Mystic Pizza which is famous because the movie "Mystic Pizza" was filmed there (Julia Roberts was in it).

Boston:

Yesterday we went to Boston and met up with Aaron and Jordan. It was a lot of fun to be reunited with some Western friends. We first went to Fenway Park where the Red Sox play. We went on a tour and it was cool to see the inside and learn about the history because I didn't know much about them. Then we went on the Freedom Trail and saw some historical landmarks. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and then got some yummy cupcakes! Although it was cold outside it was so much FUN!

Overall, it has been a great week with Scott! I'm ready to spend some more time with my family during my last two weeks of break. I'm sure it's going to fly by.

Switching subjects.....WE HAVE A FOOT OF SNOW OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW! Two weeks ago I missed the big snow here because I was in Florida, but now I get to experience my first big snow in Connecticut. I'm ready to go sledding!!!