Exciting announcement!!

I'm sure all of you already know this because I've been bursting at the seems with excitement this whole week!! But I have some very exciting news...

Drumroll please.....

I'm going back to India!!!! (I know, not exactly a shocker)

I'm so very excited, this summer, I get to go back to India and spend a month serving the family that runs the orphanage. While I'm there, a large team will be coming, so my duties will be a lot of behind the scenes, support work. I will be doing everything from laundry to cooking in order for R to be able to devote her attention and time to the ministry and the team. I will also be doing some things directly for the ministry as they need. Mainly, I will just be available and willing to do anything and everything that they could possibly ask.


But that's not all!!!

Before traveling to India, I will be making a stop in Central Asia to see my K!!!! Again, so excited!! I've been wanting to go see her life and work in CA for so long now! Every time I've gone to India, she's told me to come see her and I think that if I went to India one more time without visiting her, she would stop being my sister. It will be so good to see where she lives, what she does, and meet some of the people that I've heard so many stories and seen so many pictures of.

I'm going to have the most exciting summer!! I can't wait! I'm so thankful that everything is working out so far. I've been praying since pretty much the fall that I would be able to go spend a longer period of time in India. My time there may not be as busy and action packed as when I've gone on teams, but that is what I'm most excited about. I will be there just living life with the family. I am getting the opportunity to experience for one month, what my life will one day be like.

I would ask that all of you be praying for me as I prepare for all of this excitement! Be praying that details will work out, there will be a lot of flights to figure out and more logistics than I can think about!! Also, just be praying for me. This will be a long time away from home and I'm so excited about it, but I know that 6 weeks overseas is going to feel like a very long time. And finally, please be praying that I will be able to get the funds together.

Speaking of funds...

I've decided that from now until I leave, pretty much all of my money made from babysitting will be going towards my trip. So, I need a lot of babysitting jobs. I feel strongly that I want to make a personal sacrifice in order to go on this trip. So I will be tightening my budget, saving and working extra hard to earn money in order to go.

That said, if you or anyone you know, or whoever, ever needs a babysitter, please give them my name!! They can reach me best by e-mail, so feel free to hand it out!! My e-mail is lsdroege@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers!! I can't wait to share with all of you about my time both there and preparing. It's going to be amazing!!

India just keeps getting better and better

And my sister is so jealous!! Here's why. 

Personally, I prefer CoffeeDay

Geology...

Monday 1-24-11

I was so sure that I would never have to take a science here, and yet, here I am, doing a geology lab...

Love it!

Sunday 1-23-11

I was talking awhile back with a woman at Summit about how great it is that in college you can once again eat all of you favorite elementary school snacks- goldfish, graham crackers, pop tarts, and...

Gushers!!!

And its perfectly acceptable!! Got to love college!

How to Murder Your Wife

Saturday 1-22-11

Don't worry I'm not giving out pointers or anything!!

I've been really blessed this year to get to really know one of the family's that I babysit for, particularly the mom, outside of just babysitting. The Rudolph family is awesome and kindly opens up their home and kitchen to college students to come hang out. Our Friday dinners frequently end in a game of Nerts. This time Chris Rudolph and I ended up on a team together and lets just say, they won't let that happen again.

But, since Chris went out of town on Saturday, Michal invited some of us over again to hang out and watch a movie. We ended up watching How to Murder Your Wife, an movie from the 60s that was really adorable and funny. I would recommend it. 

Here's Michal and Natalie, the other girl who was hanging out with us. 

Love you both!!

New journal

Friday 1-21-11

I love starting a new journal. I don't know what it is about a whole, blank journal just waiting to be filled up, but I love it. And by journal I mean a quiet time journal not a diary haha. I made myself finish off my old journal before starting this new one, because I would be somewhat ADD and jump to new ones all the time if I could. I love writing what God is teaching me, songs that I love, and my prayers. I journal my prayers for 2 reasons. 1: it keeps me focused. Anytime I just try to pray in my head I get all sidetracked and before I know it, its 10 minutes later and I have made a grocery list and freaked out about my work, but have not prayed at all. So I write instead. 2: I get to keep them and look back and see how God has answered my prayers. It was really cool last year to read back through my journal and see where I had prayed that I would have a good roommate and that Brynne and I would get along and be good friends, and guess what? We are!

But anyway, here is my new journal and the 50 pound ESV study Bible that Brent gave me for Christmas. 

Like my shirt, K?

Thursday 1-20-11

Materialism

This is a post that I've been thinking about writing for a while now, but I would always find something else to take a picture of haha.

Wednesday 1-19-11

I don't have the best fashion sense. Just a fact, I will not be one of those adorable, always put-together elementary school teachers when I start school of ed next year. I like to look nice sometimes, but I also really love jeans and a t-shirt sometimes. 

One thing that I'm somewhat struggling with right now/I think its just something we in America are going to struggle with no matter what- materialism. I walk around campus and see all these adorable girls in really cute clothes and ADORABLE shoes, and I think "I really want something like that" or, worse "I need something like that." Really? I NEED it?? When I have all of these clothes?

Not to mention all the shirts and jeans/ shorts in my dresser and the stuff that is still at home that I just didn't bring with me. And that's just my winter clothes. And I "need" more clothes?

I have a whole drawer full of shoes, but I "need" more shoes?

I don't think that there is anything wrong with wanting to look nice or anything like that, but I hate hearing myself think "need." Because I don't "need" anything. God has blessed me and my family with so much, I am completely provided for. I don't "need" a new shirt or new shoes.

Quick Note

I just wanted to make a quick point, that you may have picked up on.

While I know that all of you find my pictures of Davis library and whatever random piece of furniture in my room that I haven't taken a picture of yet, SO very fascinating, I'm going to try to also start including things that I'm learning, things that I'm thinking about, etc. Just to make this blog a little more interesting haha. For my sake.

I am still going to complete my picture project, this is not a cop-out, I just want to get some deeper thoughts out into the blogosphere besides what I had for dinner.

I also want to hear your thoughts on things that I bring up. A lot of this stuff will be my opinions and thoughts as I try to work through things that I'm learning and I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Let's grow together!!

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I meant to write this a long time ago, like before winter break ago haha. So, if you forgot what part I'm talking about, go read it here.


I love the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, its definitely one of my favorites from the Chronicles of Narnia, tied with the Horse and his Boy. I love the story, the characters, Lucy and Edmund are definitely my favorite of the children, so I like that its mainly them.  I could read this book over and over I think. I could read them all over and over.


But the main reason that I love it is because of the part that I posted forever ago, where Eustace talks about how Aslan turned him back into a boy.


I love this scene because this is my story. If you know Jesus, than this is all of our story. Jesus did what we couldn't. We were covered in the dead scales of our sin, and no matter how hard we try to scratch and pull them off, we just can't. It doesn't matter how many new year's resolutions we make, how hard we try to be different, to be nice, to be generous, etc, it doesn't make any difference because the scales are not just covering what we are, they are who we are. It takes Jesus coming and pulling them off of us, cutting us deep in order to make us new. No matter how much Eustace tried, he could not get the scales off on his own, they kept growing back. The problem was not the outward appearance of scales, the problem was that he was still a dragon. Aslan had to make him not a dragon in order for the scales to be gone.


And it hurts. Eustace says, "it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt." Jesus wants to break us of all the sinful things that are keeping us from Him and make us like Himself, but that is not going to be a pleasant experience. It means giving up the things that we hold dearly to: our lives, our possessions, our pride, etc. and letting Him replace those things in our hearts. And it hurts, but with our eyes on Jesus, its a good kind of hurt, because we can know that it is all for the sake of being like the one who loves us enough to die a brutal death. If we love Jesus and want to be like Him, yes it will hurt as our sinfulness is pulled out of us, but it will be oh so wonderful as we watch ourselves becoming more and more like our God.

I also love what CS Lewis says at the end of this chapter, I didn't post it. Basically, because of meeting Aslan, Eustace became a completely different person. He was kind, brave, and he thought about others before himself. But at the end of this chapter, Lewis writes that although he was different, he did occasionally slip back into his old ways. I love this, because the change that comes through Christ is a process. I am more like Christ now than I was 3 years ago, but I still sin, I still mess up. I'm still bratty and selfish and so prideful. Life with Christ is a process, where He gradually makes us more like Him, until finally, when we get to heaven, the work is complete and we are a new person.



I think that it is important to remember that the change in Eustace came not from his own willpower and not because he spent time as a dragon, he changed because he met Aslan. He changed because Aslan changed him. I think this is something that if you have seen the movie, they got really wrong. They made it come across like as a dragon, Eustace learned to be brave and then as a reward for his bravery, Aslan turned him back into a boy. It is the exact opposite. Eustace met Aslan and so everything changed for him. It was nothing that he did for himself. He tried, but he couldn't do it on his own.


Finally, on a not serious note- I love that Eustace and Edmund have a nice teenage boy moment, talking about picking off scabs. That's what I love about Lewis's writing- it feels so real and those characters seem like real teenage boys. Because in my head, they are real teenage boys.


Thank-you for reading all of my ramblings recently. I will probably have more to come. I feel like this semester is going to be a time where God teaches me a whole lot and I can't wait to share these things with you.

Pray please!!

Tuesday 1-18-11

My roomie has been having a migraine for about 7 months now. Today, she is getting a procedure done that will hopefully fix the problem that has been causing the migraines. Please pray that it will go well and that it will work.

Hindi numbers

Monday 1-17-11

For the most part, Hindi as a language is not that difficult. The grammar is fairly straight-forward and once you get the script down, its really fun to write. Vocab is, of course, the hardest part and makes it very difficult sometimes. Another thing that is not very nice about the language is-- the numbers. 

There is very little pattern and they are very difficult to remember. So I made some little notecards and stuck them up on my dresser. It worked when I was learning the letters, so maybe it will work this time.

The first 50 numbers.

And a close-up, you can somewhat see the words. But that means very little to most of you haha.

When God Writes Your Love Story

I want to begin sharing some thoughts with you guys about the books that I'm reading as I finish them (of course I'm still working on my thoughts about the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but that is coming).

Today, I finished reading the book, When God Writes Your Love Story, by Eric and Leslie Ludy.  I'm thinking that I have already lost some of you, just with the title. A little cheesy, right? Normally, I would agree, I hate cheesy. I'm sure you all are thinking that this is another I Kissed Dating Good-bye talking about how guys and girls should never talk to each other before getting married. I promise you, it is not that kind of book.

Here's what I absolutely love about this book that I think sets it apart from some of the others that I have heard about (I haven't read to many) or at least from what I hear a lot of people talking about. Most people take the issue of relationships and start with setting guidelines and rules for how to behave. Boundaries are good, but they are not where to begin. The Ludy's start their book with several chapters talking, not about relationships with each other, but with their relationship with God. In telling their story, they make it very clear that when their relationship with God is right and the forefront of their lives, everything else falls into place.

Instead of setting rules for dating, they focus on following God. Instead saying that this specifically defines purity, they somewhat leave it up to you and God, asking instead- Are your actions glorifying God? And they don't just apply this to relationships with your significant other, but with all relationships. Because how we love others will be how we love our future spouses.

Second thing that I love, they put everything in perspective. Again, they don't set specific boundaries for dating relationships, but simply ask- If your future spouse walked in right now, how would they feel? Would they know that you are keeping you heart pure for them, or would they be hurt and angry watching your interactions with other people/ especially in your relationships? It may sound really stupid to say this, but until reading this book, I never really thought about the fact that, if God does plan for me to be married, that man is alive today, somewhere. I don't know who he is, but he's there. What would he think if he saw my life right now?

Third, although this book focuses on relationships, the chapter that Leslie writes about singleness is absolutely fabulous! She talks about using singleness as a time to truly devote yourself to God and His work and allow him to mold you into He wants you to be. She tells the story of her sister-in-law, Krissy, who followed God with extreme faithfulness, only caring about serving God, not trying to attract every man on earth because she was lonely. Here is a paragraph that Leslie wrote about her, it was very convicting and encouraging to me.

"When Krissy was in her late twenties and still with no prospects for marriage, her younger brother Mark asked her one day if she was "called to singleness." She pondered the question for a minute, then replied, "Today I am." What an incredible response! She knew that no matter what God had planned for her future, He would give her the grace she needed to live as a radiant, fulfilled, Christ-honoring single woman today. She didn't worry about being single for the next twenty years; she simply trusted God for the grace to be single one day at a time."

I love that response, but I never would have said it myself. I freak out about whether or not I'll get married in 5 or 10 years and worry about what he'll be like, where we'll live, etc... but forget about the fact that no matter if I'm supposed to be married in 10 years, I'm supposed to be single right now. And so I need to take advantage of where I am right now and serve God the best that I can with my singleness right now. Who cares if I'm going to get married in 10 years, does that change what I'm able to do now? No.

Of course, being single right now inevitably leads to feeling lonely and Leslie acknowledges that. Here's what she says about loneliness, I love it, "Don't despise loneliness. Instead, allow it to chase you into the ready arms of your King. If you turn to Him instead of trying to fill the void with other things, you will find that He is ready to meet your every need." A lonely single person becomes a lonely married person. But if I learn to turn to God in my loneliness now, then I will continue to do that when I'm married. And then, when my husband inevitably lets me down, instead of feeling like my world is ending, I will know to turn to my loving Father God and lean on him, not a man.

Finally, Leslie tells a story that has been passed through the church about the apostle Peter. The story says that whenever a rooster would crow, Peter would weep. People finally asked Peter why he wept so much and he responded with, "I dearly long to be with my Lord." He would weep out of longing to be reunited with Jesus, to see His face, and touch His scars once more. I have never once wept out of a longing to see Jesus. I think about Him and get excited about the idea of seeing Him, but honestly, I would say I'm not in that big of a hurry to see Him. I want to live a good life here first, and then meet my Jesus. I have cried out of loneliness, out of a fear of never being loved. Why do I care so much more about meeting a man than meeting my Savior? That just doesn't seem right. I want to desire Jesus that much, because otherwise, my entire life will always be off balance. Jesus has to be right smack in the middle, no one else can be, because my life is not designed to revolve around anything else. Think if the solar system suddenly began to revolve around the moon, not even the earth, the moon. That would not work. Christ has to be the center, or everything will fall apart.

Clearly, I have a lot to digest and sort through after reading this. I would suggest that everyone of you read it, especially us crazy single girls with overactive imaginations and dreams because of too much Twilight and Nicholas Sparks. What the Ludy's repeated over and over again is that God is the creator of romance and if we let him take control, he will write us a better story than we, or Nicholas Sparks, could ever dream of.

Pride and Prejudice

Sunday 1-13-11

I spent Friday and Sunday night watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice with some friends, yes, it did take 2 nights- the things is 6 hours long!! But oh so good!!! Colin Firth!! I love him!!!! And what could we do on Sunday after we finished the BBC, but immediately watch the new version , the one with Kiera Knightley, and compare. 

So, basically, Sunday night, I watched 5 hours worth of Pride and Prejudice. What a way to spend a night haha.

This made me so happy!!!

Saturday 1-15-11

Since going to India about this time last year, I have been searching for food as good as what we ate there. There are plenty of restaurants in Chapel Hill (three within the same block, two right next door of each other) but as I'm sure you know with any type of food- there is a big difference between homemade food and restaurant food. So even though these restaurants are good, they do not come close to the food that we were fed in India. BUT, Saturday night, some friends and I went to this new restaurant called, Curryblossom, on Franklin St. It was fantastic!! Everything that I had been craving!! 

Basically, you should go! And I will go with you!!

Shopping...

Friday 1-14-11

There is currently a crazy J Crew warehouse sale at University Mall in Chapel Hill. This picture doesn't even begin to describe the chaos of this place. Tables and tables, covered in boxes of clothes that people have been digging through for ages. Needless to say, it was a mess and I cannot shop in an unorganized environment. I got burned out super fast, but I did find a cute dress for $15.

Another song that I love

So many songs today! Here's another one that I absolutely love!

Desert Song

This is my prayer in the desert

And all that's within me feels dry

This is my prayer in the hunger in me

My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire

In weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved of more worth than gold

So refine me Lord through the flames.

I will bring praise

I will bring praise

No weapon formed against me shall remain

I will rejoice 

I will declare

God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer is the battle

And triumph is still on its way

I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ

So firm on his promise I'll stand

All of my life

In every season
You are still God

I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest

When favor and providence flow

I know I'm filled to be emptied again
This seed I've recieved I will sow

It's a really beautiful song, with a great story behind it. Watch it here. What a great reminder that sometimes we have to worship our way into worship, even when we don't feel like it.

Love this song!

We sang this hymn at church today, love it!! Here's my favorite voice.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

Satisfies my heart.

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its every need,

Surroundeth me with blessings,

Thine is love indeed.

Can you be his sponsor?

This is Rani, on the right.

You're about to judge me a little bit- She's my favorite. 

I warned you, right? You think I'm a terrible person, playing favorites. Let me explain. 

When I went to India for the first time and met the kids, Rani was the first one to come up and hold my hand. She drug me around the fair that we were at and made me ride a camel with her. 

I couldn't talk to her, but that didn't matter. I had a new best friend. 

The orphans at LCH have stateside sponsors that make it possible for them to live at the home, go to school, everything that they need is provided for by their sponsors. 

On our last morning there, R showed us a list of all the children still in need of sponsors. 

Rani's name was on that list.

No one was praying for her, loving her, making sure that she would be taken care of. But what could I do? I'm in college, I don't have a real job and it costs $50 a month to be a sponsor. Could I make that work?

I came back to school, but couldn't get these children out of my mind. I thought about them all the time, I though about Rani all the time, missing her smile and her hugs. 

So I stepped out on a limb and took on her sponsorship.

And I found that $50 a month is not nearly as much as it sounds at first. I take an extra babysitting job if I need to or when I go to Target, I only go get the groceries that I need and don't even go near the clothes section. 

And I love it. I love knowing that I get to care for a precious girl that I love very much. I loved the excitement on her face when I came back to the orphanage last May.

There is a boy at the orphanage named Jameson. 

He doesn't have a sponsor. He needs someone to love him, someone that may never meet him until Heaven. He needs someone who is going to care about him even when his own father wouldn't. His mother died and his father abandoned him so that he could marry another woman. 

Will you be that person?

Will you make a sacrifice so that this little boy can be taken care of?

Maybe your small group could take on his sponsorship. $50 divided between a group is even less.

I want this little boy to have a sponsor. 

Will one of you do that? Will you step out and care for a boy on the other side of the world that you have never met?

If you are willing, let me know and I can get you in touch with R to get more information. You can also go to their website here to get more information and see other ways that you can give. 

Comment or e-mail me if you have any questions or want to be this precious boy's sponsor- lsdroege@gmail.com.

I absolutely love this!!!

You all know of my blog stalking tendencies- I love it! Well, my friend, Bemi (a fellow blog stalker, I should point out), gave me a new one that I absolutely love and you should go check out!!

It's sort of an adoption blog, but it's so much more than that. This woman adopted two little boys from Ethiopia, who are way to precious, but the purpose of the blog is to raise awareness and support for two care-points in Ethiopia where children are able to come and eat good food, go to school, be taken care of, and learn about the gospel. Through her blog, she finds sponsors for all of these children so that they can be taken care of at the care-points.

I love it a lot and you should check it out- http://family-from-afar.blogspot.com/

I miss the dishwasher!

Thursday 1-13-11

Of all the things that I'm looking forward to about having an apartment next year (the fridge, the stove, my own room, etc, etc) the thing I think I am most looking forward to is no longer washing our dishes by hand in the bathroom sink.

  Also, washing ice trays by hand is not very fun haha.

I just remind myself that this is practice for when I live in India- no dishwashers there. But then at least I'll be washing dishes in a kitchen sink- I would hope at least haha.

Bundled up and ready to brave the cold

Wednesday 1-12-11

Aren't they cute? I have no idea what Hannah is doing though...

Why I love my rainboots

Tuesday 1-11-11

1. They are super cute.

2. They keep my feet dry.

3. Walking through puddles is super fun. (Yes, I am still a 5 year old at heart)

I feel like I'm in Narnia...

Monday 1-10-11

I swear I'm not crazy, ok maybe a little. So we got a little bit of snow and ice on the first day of class, which led to my first class on Tuesday being canceled, which was lovely, because after just one day, I was tired of my 9 am haha.

Not what is needed on move-in day

Sunday 1-9-11

Fire drill on move-in day. Bad combination. So I left and went to Panera, much better option. And I got to see Whitney and get a new CS Lewis book.

Last dinner at home for a while

Saturday 1-8-11

I love green beans. 

Finally fixed my jacket

Friday 1-7-11

I've been missing 4 out of 6 buttons for like a year and I finally put them back on!! I know this seems silly, but it was a very exciting moment!

New Semester Goals

I don't like doing New Year's resolutions, because there is no real way of keeping them. But I do want to set some goals for school this semester. I feel like that's a more reasonable time frame and easier goals to obtain.

So here we go!


1. Complain less.
             My friends and I say that we are going to do this all the time, but hopefully I'll actually be able to do it. This includes what I say and think to even what as I post as my facebook status. I don't want as many, if any, statuses complaining about going to the library or studying. If any of you have any scripture in particular that you like to encourage you when you feel like griping and complaining, I'd love to hear them.

2. Prioritize and be more efficient
             I'm going to be really busy this semester, so I'm really going to need to be on my game to be able to get everything done. This means studying better, working harder, and cutting out things that I don't necessarily need to be doing (watching TV haha). Not cutting out all relaxation time, but will try to replace completely fruitless activities with something better, like reading.

3. No studying on Sundays
             This is something that I have felt convicted about doing for a while now, but always tried to start too late in the semester and just never had the follow through. This will be hard for me to do. I like to leave everything until the last minute and start all my work Sunday afternoon. I don't want to do that. I want to save Sunday for resting and spending time growing with God and fellow believers. Anyone want to take this on with me? Everything is easier with accountability.


So there we go! I'll let you know how it is going. Feel free to call me out if I get whiny.

Chai makes the morning better

Thursday 1-6-11

I decided to make some chai tea this morning, but as I did not have any 2% or whole milk, it didn't turn out as well as I would have hoped. Nevertheless, I am getting better at making it. 

Here are some pictures of the process.

The Lion King is more fun with a 7 yr old!

Wednesday 1-5-11

My parents get season tickets to the shows at the DPAC, but since they have already seen the Lion King, they gave their tickets to me and I took KG. It was really fun to see her enjoying it, especially the Circle of Life, when all the animals come through the audience. 

This is her lion roar face.

Reunion!!

Tuesday 1-4-11

I went down to Charlotte to hang out with some of my friends from India. These two lovely ladies were on the team that I went with last Christmas. It was so great to hang out with them and to talk to Jessica about her recent trip to India and to hear about what God has been doing. He is going to do some great things this year!

Bye Whiskers

Monday 1-3-11

Our cat has had a lot of issues for a while and so we've decided to put him to sleep. The vet said that he's been in a lot of pain and there isn't anything to do about it.

Bye, Whisk!

The problem with hanging out with the Smith girls

Sunday 1-2-11

Every time I go hang out with the Smith girls, I get inspired to start a new project. I'm really great at starting projects, really bad at finishing them. On New Year's Eve, I finished a blanket that I started 2 years ago. Despite that, I have started a new blanket. 

Hopefully, I'll finish it within this year.

New Year's Day

Saturday 1-1-11

I got a little behind, I didn't have my computer for a couple of days. 

I noticed that the way the light from a candle hit this snowglobe was really cool while making breakfast New Year's morning. 

New Year's Eve

Friday 12-31-10

I had a low-key New Year's Eve hanging out with our family friends, the Smith's. I spent the night at their house in East Durham, which was a new experience for me haha. The Latinos across the street were having quite the party, their music was still going when we went to bed. 

Hanging out with the Smiths was fabulous. I don't get to see them much once school gets going. 

Our evening involved Indian and Chinese take-out, a movie, Beatles Rock band (for 4 HOURS), and knitting like old ladies haha. Just like our sleepover weekends when they were living in Fayettville. I even finished a blanket that I started 2 years ago.

We also made chai and I made them rice flakes (poha) (be jealous Emily) and bought some yummy Indian biscuits from the Indian story in Durham. I also bought Frooti for the night. Seriously, my life was so complete!!

 Our Indian snack feast, chai, poha, and biscuits.

I don't think I took this one haha. All the bowls of poha.

Cooking the poha- frying up the onions, chilis, and spices. Smells so good!!

Isn't she lovely?! Erika, my new photography teacher haha, we spent all night taking pictures and playing with our cameras. The others got a little annoyed haha.

She even taught me how to do this cool thing with the Christmas tree lights.

And as we are good, under-aged young people, we brought in the New Year with sparkling cider. 

Happy New Year everybody!! 2011 is going to be awesome!!

Sorry.

Thursday 12-30-10

Nothing exciting happened except I ate a lot of Wheat Thins...

Bear with me

Wednesday 12-29-10

I was coming home late from a friends house and still hadn't taken a picture yet. Whoops... So I was going to find something to take a picture of in my room, another super boring one of my laundry or something haha. 

But when I pulled up to my house, what did I find but three deer eating from our front bushes. Like literally feet in front of my house. So, of course, I had to take a picture! But, I didn't have my nice camera, it was pitch dark, and I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous to get to close, was not trying to get attacked by some crazy deer. 

So, here is the best picture that I was able to snap as I was somewhat chasing the deer away through our front lawn. 

All you can really see are the creepy eyes, but trust me they were there.