Life Goal #26. Not Kidding.

Mailed in my check for my ticket today! I am SO excited.

Just Call Me McCreepster.

As you may or may not know, many moons ago (I really need to get over this many moons phrase) Hope read Blue Like Jazz, made me read Blue Like Jazz, fell in love with Donald Miller via his mind, and then convinced me (and some friends) to go see him speak at Cedarville. While there we realized that he really was as awesome as we thought he was, and also we became convinced that one day Hope would marry him. You think I’m kidding. I am not. Hope is going to marry Don. They are perfect for each other. This is not some silly junior high crush, it’s destiny. God’s will, if you will.

Well. The plan at that time was to write him an endearing love letter from Hope, with her number, slip it to him while he was signing books and hope he called her and fell madly in love with her and begged her to be his forever. No such luck. 

 

(Hope with future husband)
(Look how happy they are together) 

       ————> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who in their right mind would turn down a note like this from a girl like Hope is BEYOND ME. But you know what Don, that’s okay. We forgive you. We can look past that. You can not deter FATE.

It turns out, years later, that Hope has some strange connections to Don. As in, her friend is totally HIS FRIEND and biked across America with him. And now, as we speak, Hope is at his house. HANGING OUT WITH HIM. Meanwhile, I took action:

 

 

 

I said it before and I’ll say it again. THEY’RE GONNA GET MARRIED… SOMEDAY.

Everything’s Gonna Get Lighter, Even if it Doesn’t Get Better.

I received TWO mixes this weekend. Sean made me the most bangin’ hip hop mix I’ve ever laid my ears on, including Wu Tang, Public Enemy, Notorious BIG, Mase, The Cool Kids, BT&H, and many more. We’re such a thug couple. Adrianne made me a very pretty indie mix full of Mates of State, Coldplay, Matt Costa, and many other goodies. My ears are excited.

I am not looking forward to school at all. The only things that are making me excited are seeing people I haven’t seen in many moons and wearing the new dress clothes I bought for being in the (high school) classroom. Other than that, all my troubled heart foresees is busy, busy, BUSY schedules, classes I don’t want to take, being in a classroom and learning how to be a new teacher (stomach ache just saying those words? why am I such a pansy?) working, and being overbooked with CRU events. I am already scheduling out when I am going to have quiet time every week with myself and with Jesus and also exercise time so I don’t go insane. Two more 18 credit hour semesters and I am no longer enslaved! I will actually get PAID to work my butt off!

Sean is coming AGAIN next weekend. It is my lucky day in life. 
The 16th was our anniversary. Next month equals 2 years. 

23 months of happiness, hardship, and real live love. 23 and counting.

I Love Montages.

I love making picture posts and videos of Chelsea and Hope, lol. Last night Chels and I were reunited after many moons of being apart. It was the first time I saw her since our flight home from Costa Rica. It made me miss our tropical times. If I had more time, I would’ve made an awesome iMovie about our friendship, but as it is I only have a few minutes before work.

Don’t Move Over, Cindy.

Haha, get it?

Natalie and I did the modeling thing! For our relatives who will remain locationless, faceless and nameless, so their careers are not in jeopardy. Let me just say that makeup is CRAZY. And so is HAIRSPRAY. I think I had more makeup and hairspray on my body today than I have collectively had in my entire life. And past lives. And all my relatives’ past lives. Makeup is so weird and I don’t think I will ever like it; still, it’s fun to see what I would look like if I was a makeup/fake eyelash/hairspray person. We felt like celebrities. I don’t have a ton of great pictures from the ordeal because no cameras were allowed, but I…. did… take a few. In the bathroom. Don’t tell on me.

Exhibit A: Whoa. Fake lashes. Up do.  PAINTED EYEBROWS. I liked the flowers. 

 

Exhibit B: After I took down my hair and took of the lashes and eyebrow paint. I could deal with this look.

Wisdom by Coincidence.

I went on a run at Wildwood today, which is of course my most favorite place to run. No, my most favorite place to be, to do anything, because it’s beautiful. Am I the only one obsessed with the wooded trails? I must have been on them thousands of times in my life by now. And they still amaze me and make me so happy.

 After my run I ran into my high school track and cross country coach, who was (should’ve seen this coming, we’re talking about PANUELA HARPST) there to run TWENTY MILES in preparation for the Ultra Marathon she is participating in. I love this woman. I decided to hop onto her run for a few miles and we talked about everything under the sun. She told me more about this ULTRA marathon (read: insanity) and how she is going about training for it, how she is into health food cooking with her son, how much she loves her grandson, and imparted some well-heeded relationship advice upon hearing that I’m still dating that one guy =) Hearing her life experiences and her perspectives on marriage and relationships and the Lord was so much of a blessing. The lady’s a gem, I’m telling you.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything.
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.

I Corinthians 13:4-9, The Message

Wedding Bells Chimin’

Becca and Mat tied the knot yesterday and it was a lovely event. 
I’ve never seen my grandma move like she did on the dance floor last night.

  

Chinese Opening Ceremony: Blowing My Mind.

So, as usual, I’m never one to really be that up to date on media life in America. I haven’t seen American Pie or Wedding Crashers, apparently two college age must-sees of our society. I just heard the Applebottom Jeans song like 2 weeks ago for the first time, and I’ve never watched an episode of Sex in the City (or is it Sex and the City. No, seriously.) One Tree Hill, or Gossip Girls. My first experience of The OC was watching Spanish subtitled reruns at Chelsea’s house in Costa Rica a few months ago.

Needless to say, I was not excited or aware of when exactly the opening ceremonies of the Olympics were happening. Olympics are cool, or whatever, but I just… don’t care. Well, Sean called me today to chat, and mentioned the opening ceremony. “Did you see it?” He asked. “It was OUT OF CONTROL.” He then went on to explain some intricate drumming and dancing and lighting that I was intrigued enough to go search for it on the internet. After a lot of work I finally found a (Dutch) leaked video of the ceremonies. Apparently they aren’t allowed to be out yet? I don’t get it? Anyhow. Watch and be amazed. I can’t embed the video, but click on this link and scroll down.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/08/oiympic-opening-ceremony_n_117710.html

You have to watch all the way through, because towards the middle and end, it started completely blowing my mind how many people were out there and how unified they were. It looked like computer animation, it was so timely and organized. It got a little disturbing to me after awhile when the lights went out and the red sticks were just dancing in the dark. Sort of Hellish, but entrancing. I thought it interesting that their opening ceremony sort of seemed symbolic of Communism: all the dancers looked alike, there were thousands of them lined up dressed the same, with the same drum, dancing and moving in sync. No one in particular stuck out. If it were America, we probably would’ve had some awful, self-absorbed performance by like, the Jonas Brothers or something. Interesting. Anyhow, hand clap for you, China. (Although, points off for being sexist and not having even one female included in the big shebang of the opening dances- at least what I watched of it.)

Exhaustion and Money Lending.

I have been strangely exhausted lately. I have been doing a lot of exercising, granted: trying to either run outside, work out at the Y, or play basketball every day. Nonetheless I have been making sure to get 8 hours of sleep, drink lots of water, take my vitamins and eat healthy. As of late it hasn’t seemed to help- all my muscles are sore and tight and I constantly feel like napping. Today I have decided to give myself a day off from exercise and lie in my bed. And… eat a frosty. I think it’s some well needed rest.

While I’m sitting here doing nothing, why don’t I tell you about something I think I might get involved in (uh, after I pay my speeding ticket and other financial responsibilities in my life). It’s called Kiva. Know ye of this? Let me tell you.

Kiva is a person-to-person micro lending website, whose purpose is to connect wealthy people with poor entrepreneurs worldwide for the sake of alleviating poverty. They work through existing micro-financing institutions in the area of the entrepreneurs who are requesting money, so there is a strong likelihood that the person being chosen for the loan is legit and will use the money wisely for their business and prove successful with someone’s help. What Kiva does is unique, and refreshingly compassionate for an organization which I think has no religious affiliation.

How it works is like this: A person running, or attempting to run a business in a very poor environment, say, somewhere in Africa, South America, Thailand, etc. puts a profile on Kiva explaining their business and business goals and how much money they need lent. Someone (you or me) who has the money to lend them lends the money or a small portion of the money at a relatively low interest rate (Much lower than they would be able to find in their town or from local money lenders). They get the money and pay it back to you as their business gets on its feet. It makes a personal, meaningful connection between lender and receiver as you contact them personally about their lives and business via the Kiva website.

An example from PBS:

check it out for yourself at www.kiva.org

Real Life Sucks Sometimes.

Hey. First of all, I just have to show this to the world. Don’t hurt me, Sean. 

African culture just intrigues me. The colors, how they sing so amazingly without even trying. I wish people sang like this in their daily lives here. Like, you go to Kroger’s to buy some strawberries and people just bust out in the aisles with a unified, beautifully harmonized chorus and dance.

(Sean bought me a shirt like the one all the ladies are wearing. SCORE.)
(Also, note how much better Sean is doing than other white dude on the left.)

So, hi. This weekend wasn’t anything like I envisioned it. I had been so excited for weeks to pick Sean up from the airport on Saturday, and then got those hopes dashed. Then I recovered, and then had them dashed again on Sunday. Boo to airlines, especially those of the third world kind, because things sort of get sketchy when no one at your airport speaks English, computers are non-existent, and nobody cares about orderliness or whether or not you make your flight back to the US. 

I spent the waiting period with Sean’s family, which was great. Who can’t love spending time with the Ankroms? They treat me like I am their own, and they love me even when I pick out a movie for movie night that is about druglords and has lots of f words and naked people and people getting shot in the face. Whoops. But seriously, I am blessed by them.

Monday was hard. It was hard to pick him up, eat lunch with the parents, drive back to Dayton, and then realize it was already 4pm, that he had homework to do from the first day he had missed, school the next day, and that I had to leave the next morning. I felt bad watching him unpack his stuff, considering that everything just sort of flew into his face the moment he stepped foot in the U.S.- his parents, me, school- everybody and everything wanted a piece of him without even giving the poor guy a minute to breath. But we made the best of it, got some ice cream and some Arbor Mist (we stay classy) and spent the few hours we had just laying around his house. I had a really hard time holding myself together. Maybe I was just drained, maybe I am just a big fat baby, or maybe it really does suck as much as I feel like it does to have to deal with what we have to deal with. 

Everything being said, I still have a great boyfriend. Best on the market. (Except, he’s not on the market.) And by golly, we are going to have an awesome life together someday after we don’t live in different cities and have such frustrating complications in our lives. SO TAKE THAT, LIFE.

(Oh. And on the way home, yours truly got a speeding ticket. Sean called it, “the icing on the icing on the cake.” More on this later, maybe.)