Random comment....

My Best Birthday Ever......

2009-05-29T12:57:00.003-04:00

made me feel like crap.

If you would ask me which of my 27 birthdays has been my favorite, it would probably have been my 24th, in May of 2006.

It was my first year in Italy on STINT, and after a year of emotional ups and downs, traveling all over Europe, learning a bunch about myself, my teammates, my relationship with God, and the people and culture of Italy, the Summer Project came to help us out and give us a morale boost on campus. Since we were only a team of 4 at the time, and we were so far away from national leadership, it was suggested that we soak up all the leadership and help that we could from the CCC staff that had come with the Summer Project.

Setting the stage:

The girls' apartment that year was 120 steps up the hill (it seemed like a mountain when we came home tired) from the guys' apartment, but usually it was very worth it for our amazing view of the beginning of the Costiera Amalfitana.
Many mornings were spent with me in front of one of those windows overlooking the Golfo di Salerno reading my bible seeking out what God had to teach me in those days. Even when I wasn't reading anything, there were times I would just stare out the window at the amazing view God had blessed us with. Many days I would become fascinated with the goings on at the port or the regattas that seemed to happen every weekend in the spring and summer.

When it came to my birthday, my teammates knew what I wanted to do.....rent a boat and go out on the water for the day. Katy, Nathan, Tim, Drew (Tim's cool rockstar friend), and I went to the port that morning and got ourselves a boat and headed out to sea.....or gulf.....whatever.....

We went along the coast, past Amalfi and Positano, and could even see a bit of Capri when we found the coolest group of baby islands (just looked them up, they're called Il Gallo Lungo, La Castellucia, and La Rotonda off of the peninsula, a bit west of Postiano) with some really cool house on top (we decided its a mob house). We "parked" our boat, went swimming, and then had some lunch that Katy, in all her awesomness, had the idea to pack. I even got a great rendition of Happy Birthday from Drew the rockstar! We toodled around a bit, swam some more, and then headed back. We even stopped in Amalfi to get more refreshments and to add on to the awesomeness of the outing.

Since it was a Monday, it was guys and girls leaders' night where the guys and girls leaders of the summer project went out to their respective restaurants for some leader time, and they had invited us. That meant that my team was gonna go our separate ways and I wasn't gonna get a birthday dinner with all of us together. That news came out on our way back to Salerno, and it seemed like everybody was ok with it....except for me.

That's when my selfishness came out in full force. Even though my teammates had spent money to spend the ENTIRE day with me out on the water, I wanted the WHOLE DAY to be focused on me. I tried to hide it on the way back to our apartments, but I'm never that successful at hiding when I am upset. I ended up telling Tim a little bit about how I felt, and we all parted ways.

We got back and were getting ready to go out with the SP girl leaders and Katy suggested that she make a cake so that we could take it to the SP hotel to have all together after dinner. That made me feel a little better, but not much. I called Tim and told him that I needed to talk to him at Umberto's, our favorite bar in Centro Storico. I went down there and I explained all of my feelings and he explained where him and Nathan were coming from, needing guy time. It was a major cry fest for me, I apologized for trying to make them feel bad (because that's what I do when I pout, don't we all?) and we left saying that we would see everybody back at the 14 Leoni (the SP hotel) after dinner.

I went back home, got ready for dinner, went to Spunzillo, had great food and a great time with the staff girls. As we were wrapping up dinner, Katy said that it would be easier for her to take the cake to the hotel on the bus, so she left us to walk back. When we got back to the hotel, I walked into the courtyard to the SPers, Katy, and even some of our Italian friends yelling "Surprise!!!!!!!" (the guys were late coming back from dinner haha)

I started crying again. I didn't deserve this.

I'm not sure how it all happened, and I'm not sure I want to know, but that night, even after all of the time they spent with me on the water, all the money they spent, the HUGE fit I put up in ALL of my selfishness, they still threw me a surprise party.

I felt like SUCH a terrible person for the selfish way I had been acting that afternoon, but I was overwhelmed with love. My team showed me love that God had already showed them through Jesus. When we were sinners, throwing fits, pouting when we didn't get our way, only looking out for ourselves, God sought after us. God sacrificed his son to bring us to him, ESPECIALLY when we didn't deserve it. My team was the greatest witness to God's love that I had seen directed towards me EVER on that day......the things that I learned that year in Salerno with them were all wrapped together as an AMAZING gift from God with my birthday as the bow on top.

So yes, my BEST BIRTHDAY EVER made me feel like crap......but in the end, it helped me to understand just even a LITTLE more about God and his love for us through the grace that my team showed me. And that made me feel amazingly loved....

This blog is dedicated to my Salerno STINT team 05-06, I hope it finds you well. Thank you for all of the great times we had that year serving God together.

To everybody else, I hope that this reminds you of how AMAZING God is and helps you to share God's love just that much more today :)

I'm scared....

2009-05-06T22:34:00.003-04:00

Yeah, its been a while since I have blogged anything, but I didn't have too much to say before....

but I am scared....

Its sorta been my life recently, mirrored in some STRANGE (terribly strange) way by Jackson Stewart on Hannah Montana's situation on this past week's episode....(yeah, don't ask)

But....

I'm scared.

I am scared of how diabetes will affect my life.....aka ruin it.
I am scared that I am the dumping ground for whatever wacked out disease that is in my family tree.
I am scared that I will never get out of Fernandina.
I am scared that I will never get to go back to Italy to do ministry.
I am scared that I will never get a job that will lead me to somewhere good.
I am scared that my parents will never be ok with my life choices.
I am scared of never having any good friends in whatever city I end up in.
I am scared that I will never be able to support myself.
I am scared of asking people anything important.
I am scared of never being good enough.
I am scared of being rejected.
I am scared that I'll never get a job that pays better than $10 an hour.
I am scared of not being ok with God's will for my life.
I am scared of talking to my parents about my life decisions.
I am scared that I will fail.
I am scared that I won't have the courage to take advantage of an opportunity that I have because I will be TOO SCARED TO.

So, that's my life right now......

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
-2 Timothy 1:7

That's what I am working on......

Ok, so I am a slacker....

2009-03-08T15:46:00.001-04:00

I need to blog more.....maybe I shall be inspired this week.....I have so many random comments!!

Expectations....

2008-07-26T15:51:00.002-04:00

So, I intended this to be a post about how my expectations have shaped my life since they have been on my mind a lot recently....

And I realized, I hadn't blogged since February!!! Part of the reason is definitely the expectations I had to write a blog of the same awesomeness.....how fitting for the subject!

There are so many different types of expectations.......

It started out as me coming to grips with the fact that I love Christmas Eve even more than Christmas, just because of the excitement of what's to COME.....I sort of get a little let down on Christmas morning, cuz I have to wait a whole 364 more days for that excitement of the unknown again.

Another one I got to thinking about is my movie expectations.......I actually was excited to realize that the most hyped movie of my life (or at least from what I can remember), The Dark Knight, actually lived up to my expectations! It was amazing......

Probably the most meaningful, or important expectations that have shaped my life are expectations about my future.....

The strangest phenomena I have seen in my life is my expectations I had moving across the world on STINT.......I found it strikingly odd that when I decided to move across the ocean to Italy I had no clue what I thought was going to happen. I figured I should have at least SOME expectations, what I was going to do, what it would feel like, what I would learn, but nothing.....

When I got there, everything was a blank slate....I didn't know where I was, I didn't know how to communicate, and I for sure didn't know how it was going to be living and working with only 5 other people that knew my world. I learned a lot of stuff, about me, God, and other people.....My whole grownup life up to that point had been in another country.

I'm not gonna lie, we went through a lot of crazy stuff, and I am not even totally sure it all has been dealt with yet.........but I said "what the hey" and signed up for another year. Life there was all I knew, I knew that God could use me there, and I was excited to see how much more I would grow in the 2nd year...

That's when my expectations came into play....

I had a meltdown at briefing 2nd year because my expectations were THROUGH THE ROOF.....I was afraid about what might and might not happen......I held on to anything familiar that I could find to keep me in the past.....(even literally....there was a point in time I grabbed onto Nate and wouldn't let go)

My 2nd year was drastically different than my first. I know we're all different people (along with different expectations), so 10 different people going through the same things would produce MANY different emotions and VERY different experiences. I bet that if I went through 2nd year w/o the first to ramp up to it, I would have a COMPLETELY different experience.....

I really think that I put too much weight on my previously existing expectations and grabbed onto them for dear life and didn't let the slate be as clean as it should have been for a new experience......By doing that, I latched my feelings onto my expectations and let them take me for a wild ride.....

I'm not even sure any of that made sense....

But as of right now, that's where I am......it took me almost 2 years to get to a good place to heal some of my first year scars, and almost a week after my 1 year anniversary of my 2nd year return I am starting to head down that road to find out what really happened.....and to find out what God has in store for me from my 2nd year of STINT.....

please pray that I can figure this out....

I mean.....what if I die?

2008-02-19T22:51:00.004-05:00

One of my fav pics I ever took in Italy, Wade (Rome), Audra (Salerno), and Marissa (Rome)

So, as many of you know, our dear friend and an awesome gal who loved Jesus died this past weekend........Marissa Ahamad

She was an amazing woman of God, and even though I could count the occasions that we saw each other on my fingers and toes, she was such a huge part of my life (as all staff in Italy during the time I was there) that I feel a loss.....even if we hadn't seen each other in over a year.

Now I don't mean to make this a recap of how amazing she is, because for one thing, I'm not good with words, and another thing, I can think of at lot more people better fit to do that than I.....but I do want to share my thoughts and feelings from the time I found out she was sick till today.

In the big scheme of my spiritual life, there was nothing better than Italy for me and God. The crazy situations, the intense emotions, and the times of realizing our depravity that STINT takes people through is an experience like no other.......and anybody who goes through it knows that only the people in that club will ever fully understand what went on while you were gone.

I have never been in such a large group of people who I felt so close to by barely even trying. We all loved God, we all wanted to share that love for God with others, and we knew how important it was to support each other while we tried to change the world. You get 40 people together like that and see how dear to each other you become. Even if I never see any of them again, all of the people who shared Italy with me in my 2 years are SUCH a big part of my life, they don't even know......

On that note, there's a big emptiness in the Marissa space of my Italy puzzle......

When I found out on Sunday night, I tried to not let it get to me, after all, I wasn't her teammate for 2 years, I wasn't in her family, I wasn't even one of her friends from back home.....did I have a right to? I knew other people were way more affected by her absence than I was, but the Marissa space of my Italy puzzle was now missing daggummit!

But then I started to think.....since she was a part of my "Sharing God with others" life, I have never been so sure of where she was going than anybody else I have known to die.....then I started smiling. I got even more conflicted, with the sadness of her being here, in the KNOWN, and the joy of her being in my UNKNOWN.......where she is no longer in pain, and she is the perfect being that God made her to be.

That got me SO EXCITED. Like she's the first piece of my Italy puzzle in the eternal glory that is HEAVEN. She is WITH God, our CREATOR, the one who cares for EVERY hair on our HEADS, who went through the torment of being CRUCIFIED.....I could go on for a while.....but I wont ;)

She put a face on being with God.....She put a face on following him through trials here on earth to get to eternity........She put a face on knowing that the hereafter is a million times better than what I can ever imagine at this moment........She put a face on looking past earthly dreams to grasp God's dream for us........

Tonight was 7|22 at Buckhead......I hadn't talked about this with anybody who didn't know her, ya know, because of that club thing.......I had tried to keep it all in most of the time, but I just think it all piled up and fell on me tonight. Jeannie Stevens talked about waiting on God and how we hold on so tightly to things that God wants us to loosen our grip on so he can do amazing things. And how that matched up to my mind partially was if I was Marissa......what would I had wanted to do with my life....cling to things I wanted, or let God have everything and let him bring me his joy and love......who WOULDN'T want the 2nd option? I feel strange for letting one of my friend's deaths be an inspiration for me, but make something REAL to me, and it rocks my world......

Then they played this song (which will forever remind me of KEB)
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
is to bring you praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

So I let this dig deeper into me some more and what I think I hold onto the most is what plans I have NEXT.....after this job, or this project......I want to make sure I will be ok after this stage is over. My job at the Braves has JUST started, and what, I'm already thinking of what I can do to make sure I have SOMETHING after that? No, God knows.......he will take me where he wants me to go.........even if I don't have a clue,

"Delight in the Lord, and he will give you your hearts desires" Psalm 37:4

and my motto of first year;

"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act" Psalm 37:7

I would rather spend the rest of my life seeking God and his heart rather than worrying about my next step, preparing for MY plans......because....

I mean.....what if I die?
Marissa in Positano

So why am I blogging about my shopping trip?

2008-01-03T22:44:00.000-05:00

no clue....

BUT

I am excited.

Yesterday, I went to Phil's Shoes for their discount buy one get 2nd for a penny sale.....and now I own all 3 olympic medal color shoes......bronze from Italy, and then 2 pair I bought yesterday silver flats and gold heels from BCBG.....

The only reason I mention the shoe brand is that today, as we were shopping at St. Johns, we passed the BCBG Max Azria store and I mentioned to my mom that it was the same shoe brand that I bought yesterday. They were having a sale, so we popped in. I found a pair of wool khaki/brown pants with a sticker of $208........with a 70% discount, I bought them for $62!!!!! I was planning on buying some editor pants from Express, and they would have been MORE than that! So I needed some black pants too and proceeded to Express....but I was detoured by a Banana Republic sale.....and I bought black pants for $38!!! Wow.....yeah....I know that some people won't be impressed by this news, but I was excited. So we finally made it to Express where I bought 2 button downs.....

So.....here's the rundown of all of my new work wardrobe/really fun clothing as of late

Target:
4 pairs of shoes

Phil's Shoes:
2 pairs of METALLIC shoes

Steve & Barry's:
Sarah Jessica Parker clothes and 2 jackets

St. Johns:
2 Pants and 2 shirts

YAY ME! Yeah, I sound like London Tipton :)

I promise.....you will totally be more proud of my next blog.....

Try this....

2008-01-01T21:02:00.001-05:00

I dare ya :)

www.gizoogle.com

All you Office fans!

2007-12-22T17:56:00.001-05:00

WATCH THIS.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJQA_vjkSb0

This just in....

2007-12-19T19:49:00.000-05:00

I have a new job as of Jan 7th....

I will be working for the Braves....

this (not) just in.....I am a diabetic :)

that is all....

So many blogs, so little time.....

2007-11-09T22:48:00.000-05:00

So, I always go check peoples' blogs........I get impatient when they haven't updated me on their glamorous life in the past 24 hours......yet I sit here and haven't shared anything about anything in ages! But as my title suggests, that doesn't seem to be happening recently.....BUT.....I will surely update ya'll on my "proposed" blog topics for sure.....ya'll can comment/elaborate, and one day we might all be happier if I just wrote the dang things......

point 1:
Americans sue people at the drop of a hat....I just alluded to this in a comment on Francine's blog, but it bugs me......just one thing about America that isn't what Jesus would have wanted.....and I want to change it

option b:
We're studying Jonathan in sunday school.......and I'm serious, like verse by verse.......each one has a different topic! Its a lot about grabbing life by the horns and doing something with what God's given you.......very inspiring....

thought III:
This writers strike......there HAS to be one side of this argument that is being more stubborn and not wanting to meet with the other side. I have decided that I will go punch them in the face. I mean come on......this tv addict is very upset.......especially when there's only one new episode of the Office left!

On the other hand:
Is it possible to have more than one dream? Maybe its God's attempt to help me to learn to accept the fact that all my dreams won't come true....

Lastly:
I am still learning about how strange and different my 2 STINT years were.....

that is all!

:)

In Honor of Becca Knight.....

2007-09-05T00:04:00.000-04:00

She has this list of things she wants to do in her life...and I felt the need to do one too!

Places I want to go and things I want to do: these are all I can think of at the moment, hopefully I can add onto it in the future....

Go to Disneyland in California
Visit Stratford upon Avon
Go to Israel
Live outside of Florida
Work in the NFL
Go to the summer Olympic games, preferably to see Gymnastics and Swimming
Go see Letterman and Conan
Go to Scotland
Learn more Spanish
Go to Australia, dive the Great Barrier Reef
Randomly run into a celebrity
See somebody I know in a far off place
Go skiing in the Rockies (and snowboarding)
Go to Vegas with lottery winnings to be able to see all the awesome shows and do awesome things.
See Brian Regan live
Have friends again like I did in college
Go to Scotland
Be ok with who I am
Go to a Red Sox game
Go to the Super Bowl and/or World Series
Not be scared to grow up, but still be true to who I am
Ride a jetski
Go sailing in open water
Take as many vacations with a bunch of my friends all together, like the Keys or Boston a couple years ago
Teach somebody something
Not be afraid to say what I am thinking or feeling when necessary
See the Royal Ballet, NYC Ballet, ABC, or any other large ballet company
A la TLC: Decorate my own house and be able to dress to make Stacey and Clinton proud
See the Tour de France
Understand who I am in Christ
Dance at Disney
Fly First Class (for longer than an hour flight like I did before)
Go on a Disney Cruise
Go on as many youth trips as possible
Visit the Disney parks in Hong Kong and Japan
Rise to a challenge that I didn't know I could
Ride a bike race on one of my awesome Trek bikes (that I will be buying in the future)
Go to Prague and Budapest
Be a tour guide and/or travel agent

that's all I got! I will think of more later.....

8 Random Facts.....at the request of KEB

2007-08-20T15:28:00.000-04:00

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog

My 8 Facts...dang these were hard....

1. I have a fear of losing my shoe......like if I am jumping from rock to rock, getting into a canoe, going up a chairlift, or on a rollercoaster......I am terrified of losing my shoes. Even if I can get them back in like 2 seconds...

2. I want to go to Iraq.....not sure how. Crusade, military, state department, I dunno........but it seems so cool! I think my desire comes from my need to "see it to believe it" thing......if I've never been to the Middle east, so its not totally real to me.

3. Not only am I obsessed with Boy Meets World, I want to be Topanga. Even one of my friends in hs and I talked about how we wanted her clothes from their eloping episode, we called them "Topanga pants"

4. I am big on tradition. I learned this while on STINT.....I got upset at the weirdest things....like not going to sunrise service for easter at Ft. Clinch, or going to Deland for Thanksgiving........but strangely enough, being away for Christmas didn't bother me at all......I really liked the skiing!

5. I get more excited about things when other people are, like tv shows and movies. If somebody wants me to watch a show with them, I get more excited about it. (aka, LOST, 24, Braveheart, and anything else I watched on STINT)

6. Taking last point into account, I can't stand when things are made into big deals. Because Titanic was such a big deal, I revolted and I haven't seen it. I don't like bandwagons......

7. I try my hardest to suppress my girliness. There are many times when I am successful, like not worrying too much about my makeup and hair, or not reading sappy girl books........but I have to admit, I like Pride and Prejudice. But I still am in love with Tom Jones.....the ultimately non-girly romance novel.

8. My dream has been and probably will always be to dance at Disney.....

Now, I send this on to be completed by Jess, Chiharu, Morgan, Katherine, and Franci!

I figured I'd describe the most annoying 39 hours of my life.....

2007-08-02T23:45:00.000-04:00

So, I know all you wanna know, so I'll let you hear about my 39+ hours to get home from Italy 2 weeks ago.....I think I might have been traumatized up until now......

Ok.....

Hour 1/4:30-5:30am Italy time July 20th

I went to the bus stop with Morgan, Carlo, and Gianluca......the bus came, I cried.....rode to Naples Airport....

Hours 2-4/5:30-9:30am Italy time
Went to the desk to change my ticket (it was changed over the phone, so I had to exchange my paper ticket) and they wouldn't do it because the money I had to pay they couldn't see how much........so I was on the phone with my travel agency, trying to get the info transferred.....the people at the counter wouldn't accept the info that United said was enough.....got on the phone with Lufthansa and United Italy and they weren't helping me either........at 7:30, Morgan had to leave me to get on the plane that she actually HAD a ticket for.......I cried at approx 9:15 on the phone with my p's and a slight bit before going BACK to the counter at 9:35 when they FINALLY found me a flight I didn't have to PAY for to change.....it was a flight at noon, 4 hours after my original flight, getting me into Jax at 11:48, 4 hours after my original flight.......through Washington D.C. instead of Chicago, with was better, shorter flights transatlantic as well as down to Florida.......

Fly time.......hours 7.5-9.5/12-2pm

Hours 9.5-12.5/2-5pm Munich time......wait time
We were supposed to leave at 3, but due to a missing part that was in Frankfurt AND thunderstorms, we left 2 hours late....

Hours 12.5-21.5/5pm Munich Time-7pm Washington time
boring flight, one movie, and trying to sleep through 4 hours of classical music

Hours 21.5-23/7-9:45pm Washington time
Passport control, getting my bags with plenty of time to spare, then a security line that lasted 40 minutes.......then running down the concourse, to a tram, to another concourse, to find out that the gate agents were calling last call for the flight AFTER MINE...

Hours 23-24.5/9:45-11pm Washington time
Stood in line for guest services, they told me that the earliest flight they had for me was 9:45 the next evening.........they also said they wouldn't pay for a hotel and gave me a number for a discount hotel room service, but I should file a complaint with Lufthansa (because their plane was the one that was late)......cried on the phone with my parents again, got back on the tram to the main building, and tried to search for the lufthansa counter.....finally found somebody to help me, they got me on a better flight 8am the next morning to get home at 1:30......AND they got me a hotel room at the Hyatt AND 25 dollars of food money! I love Lufthansa!

Hours 24.5-25.5/11pm-12am Washington time
Got off to the hotel, found a great bed, gorgeous bathroom, and a sitting area in my room at the hotel! Had dinner at the bar made up of an angus beef burger with rosemary fries......SO GOOD.....some disney channel and a shower, cuz I sure was feeling gross! My suitcases had made it on the plane that I hadn't........so I had 2 pieces of luggage, including ceramic masks and my computer.......so I picked up some toothpaste and deodorant at the front desk and went to bed!

Sleep time.....Hours 25.5-31/12am-6:30am

Hours 31-32.5/6:30-8am Washington time July 21st
woke up, got to the airport and on the plane!

Hours 32.5-37/8am-1:30pm Florida time
fly time!

Hour 37/1:30pm, got toJax, got my luggage that had arrived before me, went to longhorn steakhouse!!

Hour 39.....HOME!!!!!! yay!

that is all....

:)

Me? Well, here you go.....

2007-06-11T18:12:00.000-04:00

One of my blog friends introduced me to this fun way of getting to dig deeper into who each of us are. It is called an interview meme. She asked me five questions to get me started, so enjoy.

1. You have lived in Italy for two years now. What do you love the most about the Italian culture?
I think after 2 years of living in Italy, I have seen more than just the tourist side, I have seen the heart of Italy. As SKetrow says, the Italian slogan is "Italy, exporting culture for thousands of years" or something like that. I really enjoy their passion....period. I mean if you ask me more, I would probably say their passion for relationships. They are the most important thing to them. I mean, we all complain about how people are late, nothing is ever open when we want it to be, or how somebody can't come to see us because they are at home with their family, but we all understand how Italians would rather be late than to leave a conversation early and miss out on the other person's life, they take their time to eat their lunch in the middle of the day with their family or friends, and they cherish the time they have together as a family (usually weekends) and wouldn't trade it for the world.........and we all secretly adore that, whether we would admit it or not.

2. What is your funniest blooper moment in the Italian culture?
Ok, this is lame, but all my bloopers come from boring language mistakes, like asking a lady if "ya'll" have some napkins or whatever.....I will think long and hard about it and get back to you........wait.....I thought of something.....its not too terrible, but the fact that it happened 2 weeks ago is TERRIBLE......when introducing Jim Davis to our italian friend, Francesca, I was trying to explain that he isn't the one married to a girl on our team, but another one.....and I accidentally said that he was on his second wife! agh....it was funny :)

3. Here is a fun question that someone asked me, what is something that you really miss in America (not friends or family)? Well, at first I couldn't think of anything......maybe that means I would make a good ICS person! hahahahah But fer real, I have 3 things.......
food (the variety that America has)
pop culture (turning on CMT or a radio to listen to whatever's new)
and MOVIES......or maybe just the ease of a trip to the movies and understanding them, blah blah blah.....you get it....I am a movie fiend! haha

4. What is something that the Lord has taught you this past year while living in Italy? Strange enough, it has probably been about his plan and its sovereignty. Like I was put on this team for a reason, not sure what that is yet, but I am waiting it out. Also, even though I am scared about my future, its more like me searching out God's already plan for me instead of having my whole life hinge on a plan I come up with.....I know its strange.....

5. A phrase I like a lot lately is "the beauty of the Lord." What does that mean to you?
Well, hmm.....me, not being a deep person such as you, I shall attempt this with gusto.
I just think the beauty of the Lord shines through in his perfection. He is perfect, somebody we can lean on that will never let us down, awe-inspiringly powerful, wisest that ever has been, our shelter, and the representative of everlasting, unfailing, unconditional love......
so how's that for an answer? :) haha

Would you like me to interview you? Here are the rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me” and also leave me your e-mail address if I don’t already have it. (I’ll be sure to delete it from my comments, so that it won’t sit out in the ethersphere endlessly.)
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

So you think you can dance?

2007-06-06T17:28:00.000-04:00

yeah.....here we are again......love this show......but to get into the groove for this year, I have compiled a list of amazing links on youtube for my fav dances last year:

Alison and Ivan: "Sexy Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgHSlbcYtOw

Alison and Ivan: "Why"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=384dPz-sji0

Tranji: "Gyrate"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1oKyEzu6p0

Travis and Heidi: "Plaza of Execution"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysMGAtiProI

Travis and Heidi: "Calling You"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5w4ciigd94

Benji and Donyelle: "You Can't Stop the Beat"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOfV_sQ87Ss

Heidi and Ryan: "Rhumba del Solar"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOfV_sQ87Ss

Heidi and Ryan: "Sex Bomb"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv8tz5TW9vw

Oh, and does anybody know what dance Benji planted a wet one on Donyelle?!?!?

Something random!

2007-05-23T15:38:00.000-04:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

From this moment.....

2007-05-07T13:43:00.000-04:00

I can think of one word to describe the next step in my life........fear

I was thinking the other day about my whole "adult" life up till now. I mean, I moved to college and finished that and all, but after I became a holder of a bachelor degree and almost started to be responsible and stuff.....and now I am looking forward. And I'm scared.

Yeah, this is pretty weird......is scared a feeling? yeah, I finally have a feeling.

My whole "responsible" life has been Crusade. A group that I was involved in for one year in college, and 2 years nowadays. I am looking at a future outside of that.....literally, my whole world is being taken away from me and I can't do a thing about it.

I don't like change. For the past 2 years, I have gotten to know people from all over America who live all over the world. They follow Jesus and have a passion for sharing it with others. We have had the same experiences, yet so different, but we understand each other. I have had the same Godly people surrounding me to help me through things, have even had the same friends. I have heard countless talks from Sketrow and Haswell, heard Matt Mikalotos' potato story, jeremy's support story, and have caught the vision for worldwide evangelism. My co-workers have been foreced to be my roomates as well as my friends. I have been in a spiritual pressure cooker for the past 2 years. Next year......nothing.

When I leave this crusade world, I won't have the support system that I have known for "so long". Its like taking me, a little person in a snowglobe, out of there and putting me on the countertop with a loaf of bread and soap. Its so foreign! (I know that didn't make sense at all, but I am insane at the moment)

My closest friends who I have gone through these times with will be SO FAR away from me next year. Part of me wants to go to National Staff Conference this summer at CSU JUST because I can't leave this world. One last hurrah......or maybe one last ditch effort to not leave my world.

I said today that I am glad that I don't have any hopes and dreams to be quashed or taken away......but that scares the heck outta me, mainly because it seems like hopes and dreams seem to define people. I love talking about Jesus (even though sometimes I don't believe his love) but that's all I know. I loved some parts of my Disney job, but they're not my passions in life. I don't know what my passions are! That's probably what my biggest fear. The unknown.

I might come back and have a better way of writing this, but these are my thoughts at the moment......and I am pooped.

:)

I'm so excited!

2007-04-29T13:51:00.000-04:00

*be prepared for weirdness*

Ok, I realize that I really love Jaguars football when I come across times like this....

I just found out that the Jags got Mike Walker, a UCF GRAD in the draft!!!! I am so excited!!! He's the only one to go so far, looks like it might stay that way, but I can't tell enough people!

Here's who else we got

Jacksonville
Rd	Sel#	Player	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	School
1	21	Nelson, Reggie	FS	6-0	193	Florida
2	48	Durant, Justin	ILB	6-1	235	Hampton
3	79	Walker, Mike	WR	6-2	209	Central Florida
4	101	Podlesh, Adam	P	5-11	202	Maryland
4	113	Smith, Brian	DE	6-3	239	Missouri
5	149	Nwaneri, Uche	G	6-3	325	Purdue
5	150	Gattis, Josh	FS	6-1	213	Wake Forest

we have a couple more picks, but these are looking GREAT :)

*weirdness over*

Munchen!

2007-04-10T18:10:00.000-04:00

We just got done with our Spring Break!

We basically had from last thursday to tomorrow to do WHATEVER we want!

We chose Munich, Germany, because it was the cheapest flight.....

So, we had from thursday night-tuesday afternoon to paint the town!

Let's go day by day....

Thursday:
Got into Munich, found our AMAZING hotel, then went out to talk to Mike from his bike tours, ate some wiener schnitzel! Great first meal! We went back to the hotel and crashed....

an aside: our hotel "apartments"
AMAZING! We had 2 apartments between the 5 of us, the boys had a better apartment than us 3 girls, who decided that?!?! But oh well.....full kitchen, bedroom, living room, and an AMAZING bathroom with a BATHTUB! And a great breakast every morning. It was a great place to live for the 6 days we were in Munchen!

aside #2: From Good Friday till Easter Monday, stores are closed in Germany.....booooo!

Friday:
Breakfast, then off to wander to catch Mike's Bike Tour at 12:30.....walked into Marienplatz to be greeted by thousands of Munchen-ites doing their stations of the cross for Good Friday. A little overwhelming......found no stores open, yet we ate lunch (subway italian BMT count:1), then went on one of the most fun bike rides EVER with our fiery irishman Steve, whom we called "Stadam" half the day because of a previous misunderstanding......he took us through such places as "the Glockenspiel: Europe's 2nd most pointless and lame tourist attraction", "Gene Hackman Platz", "the english garden's nudie meadow", and many churches and bridges. It was so great! Besides the injuries I got (a sore bum as well as hitting my legs with pedals making bruises), it was a great way to see the WHOLE city! Halfway through, we stopped in one of the largest biergartens ever, and eating some brats and having a Radler (1/2 beer and 1/2 lemonade-still gross), we finished our bike tour, hung out at the bike tour shop, forgot what we did for a few hours, and then hit up a movie theater to see the 300!

To tell you the truth, it wasn't high on my list of movies I was dying to see, but it was the only movie playing at that time, and Adam was DYING to see it. I just went along for the ride, because, well....it was a MOVIEHOUSE! How can I refuse going to a moviehouse?!? I can't....So....onto the movie (which will recieve a full writeup on my MOVIE BLOG)..... couple things.....haven't laughed that much in a war movie ever, and the whole theater clapped at a certain time.....a great time was had by all :) All the popcorn and the late lunch satisfied my hunger for the night, so we headed home afterwards......(after looking for a place open for dinner for the other non-popcorn eaters unsuccesfully)

Saturday:
Early morning.....we had to be to the station by 9:30 with enough time to pick up a starbucks (starbucks caramel macchiato count:1) before our train left. Got on the AMAZING German trains that put Italian trains to SHAME, changed trains and ended up in Fussen (the city at the bottom of the hill where the castles are) at about 12 and met our guide for the day, Brad......

ok...he was attractive.....from South Africa......had an accent.....let me just make a disclaimer: Tour guides are my friends! They know the most stuff! I need to learn what they know!.......some of the group may have a different story, but he was really fun :)

Went through Hohenschangau with a tourguide that must have been unbelievably bored because he tried to amuse himeself and possibly us by putting dramatic pauses and emphasis on certain things into his speech......and therefore, from now on, he will ever be made fun of by us because it cracks us up every time we talk about the Kingdom of Bavaria, King Ludwig, or his FATHER, Maximilian......

Then we went over to Neuschwanstein castle, the castle that Ludwig set out to build (only 17 rooms were finished, he lived there for only 173 days). We climbed STRAIGHT up a mountain, then walked onto the suspension bridge with a GORGEOUS view of the castle, and then went in. We had a softspoken guide that we could barely hear, but she did all she could in a castle that wasn't completed and a tour that could only possibly last 25 minutes. The peculiar thing was, since Walt Disney used Neuschwanstein for the inspirations of Cinderella Castle (or Sleeping Beauty also, or not....or something to that effect, don't ask me! hahaha), I walked in and started laughing at the similarities......it was like I was back at work! Even though I have bad memories of that place, some are good :)

Then back to Munich, and Thai food! We made fools out of ourselves at the self-service restaurant that we just sat down at, had to have a German set us straight, and then had a great first Thai meal! Back to the hotel, and slept? took a bath? No clue....

Sunday:
Even though stores are closed on Easter, random things like the Deutches Museum are open! We slept in on Sunday morning, and set out at maybe noon or so. Nate was in heaven because it was mainly about science, but we all had fun playing with the kids games and reading random plaques about the chunnel and the first roman bridge ever, in Salerno. Had some weiner schnitzel, and left for church!

Ok, so church.....slightly strange. Not the church itself, but how we found it. While we were walking into the SOLD OUT showing of the 300, Katherine and I heard 3 guys about college age talking, and the middle of the convo was something like, "I finally found a church I LIKE going to here!" we did a double take, and then proceeded to ask them about it. They gave us directions, told us what time it was, and we actually found it! It was great to be in a seemingly normal church (normal meaning english speaking), so great that we felt like we were back in America! On an even stranger note, Tim (from last year's team) has a friend who is doing YoungLife in Munich. We looked in the bulletin, and his friend had just left with some of the youth from the church to go on a mission trip in Bulgaria! That would have been so strange if we would have actually ran into him....

After church, we had nothing to do, so we hit up the Starbucks and chilled.......(caramel macchiato count:2) then being more bored (that's what happens when everything is closed) we decided to go to Olympic Park......I mean, the Olympics were in Munich in 72, why not go check it out? Being the Olympic fiend I am, I slyly suggested that we go, and off we went! It was so fun! We walked around (because it was still light outside and nowadays its impossible for me to get hungry while its still light outside) and soaked in the atmosphere. We saw the wall of gold medalsists, I freaked out because Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals at the swimming hall, we pretended to be olympic sport icons and took pics, and we frolicked in the meadows and grassy knolls that were abounding. Adam and Nate tried to chase bunnies and ducks and we decided I hate them for that......

Later that night, we decided to go eat at the Hofbrauhaus, the oldest and most likely largest beer hall in Munich. It was an old haunt of the Nazi party (Munich was their headquarters), and you can still see some of the marks from back then, even though they have disguised it to the naked eye. I had some pork which was probably some of the best pork I have had....ever. It was so packed and rowdy, but it was a great experience....even though we came out of it smelling like cigarettes and beer, but still fun.

Monday:
So, one of my life dreams has been quasi-achieved. We went to Dachau, the concentration camp right outside of Munich. I REALLY want to go to Auschwitz-Birkenau, but since Poland isn't such a tourist attraction, I had to settle. As I was telling somebody recently, being IN a place where something happened means so much more to me. Just like my desire to go to Normandy....it always seems more real. So we got there, saw a 23 minute film about what happened at the camp, and by about minute 18, I was shaking. We had a mini-tour, and Morgan and I got those audio guides that you push numbers according to where you are. I was glad I got those....I barely looked in the museum, but I think I got the whole experience. I walked through the gas chamber (which wasn't used for mass killing like at the death camps) and I almost tossed some cookies.....its just so disgusting! But I really am glad that I went.....

We took a train back to Munich and had subway for lunch (italian bmt count:2). After some wandering to inquire about a mexican restaurant, buying a Hofbrauhaus mini-stein, and
more wandering, we proceeded to starbucks, because it was the only thing open (caramel macchiato count:3). At dinnertime, we set foot in the best mexican restaurant in Munich, as well as the HOTTEST. We started sweating as soon as we set foot in the door! Great meal, but the a/c didn't come on until about 3 min before we left. On our way home, we decided to find a Magner's cider, because there are ads ALL OVER MUNICH. Nobody knew what it was, and nobody had any, obviously. Sadness......another bath I think, and sleep!

Tuesday:
Woke up at the butt crack....because we wanted to get to downtown for all the shops to FINALLY OPEN! So we spent all morning spread out on the main shopping street....I spent way too much time in H&M, went to get a currywurst for lunch, and then decided to do speed shopping for souveniers and the like in the 20 minutes before we had to meet to leave for the airport. 20 minutes, 6 stores, 4 things.....it was great......one thing in particular was an Italian BMT to take back to italy with me (Italian BMT count:3). I also got a pin from one of the soccer teams in Munich and a flag from another, and a bavarian flag.

We met up, and set off for the airport to come back to italy.....*tear*

I love Germany! YAY! I wanna go back!

Ok....so a food rundown if you will.....

Weiner scnitzel:2
Bratwurst:1
Currywurst:2
Pretzel:1
Thai-red curry chicken:1
Steak Burrito:1
Awesome pork steak:1
Large popcorn/coke (movie snacks):1
Starbucks caramel macchiato:3
Italian BMT:3

That's all I got for now....that took me FOREVER!

:)

I'm off!

2007-04-05T06:22:00.000-04:00

Wow, I suck at keeping up with this blog.....but at least I am trying!

So, we had vision trip in March.....53 americans....PLUS US......all over the campus......it was insane, plus 7 people became Christians! YAY!

So after the craziness that was vision trip and follow up with that, plus a day of outreaches Haswell style, we have spring break!

I am heading out in 15 min to go to Munich for our spring break! YAY! I am excited, I haven't heard much about Munich, EVER, so I have no preconcieved notions, and we have an easy schedule planned......one thing a day, the rest being spontaneous! A bike tour, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Dachau Concentration Camp......with one free day (Easter Sunday) and a lot of time to do nothing! YAY! Hope we get some rest....

I'll let you know how it goes when I get back!

:)

Ok....so the office comes back April 5th!

2007-03-30T18:21:00.000-04:00

This video gets me SO EXCITED for it......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-5sB6WtFe4

there are like 2 almost spoilers in it, but it doesn't ruin anything......

go watch it!

SO EXCITED!

:)

Attention all....

2007-03-19T16:42:00.001-04:00

Brian Regan.....my favoritest comedian ever.....

June 23rd Orlando Florida
June 24th Jacksonville Florida

you have to go....

Hey!

2007-03-03T03:59:00.000-05:00

I have a new movie blog up! Count em....4 movies so far! haha

I have been mia recently.....

2007-03-02T12:55:00.000-05:00

So, at the beckoning of at least.......2 people, I must update my blog....

What have we been doing lately since we got back to Italy from break?

Campus.....that's all....

really, I think I was sick some days, had some bad thoughts other days, and then did english club mostly........

I have like 3 minutes to update this, but I will ponder the rest of the weekend what I shall write.....I feel a need to blog about honor, respect, and freedom......dunno why.....hopefully I will follow through on that.....

oh! vision trip is coming on the 11th! We are going to Ischia for tomorrow, and we need to rent scooters.....

:)

Ok, gosh...

2007-02-02T15:43:00.000-05:00

Yes, they have cider in America...BUT....they don't have it NORMAL places...I'm serious!! Specialty places, but not like normal pubs!

Ok, my finishing touch....

2007-02-02T10:41:00.000-05:00

So we left Malaga to go to London after Mid-year......I think that's where I left off....

Well, we got there on saturday after many hours of traveling.....and then we decided to pub it up and I got my token engligh meal of the trip, a steak and ale pie and a Strongbow cider.....people....America needs ciders! Beer is gross! Strongbow is where its at! haha

Oh, and then we saw Babel....wow....hmmmm yeah......that's my next movie blog :)

Next day, we went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace......one of the most boring things ever....the band started their performance out with the song "Oklahoma!".....does that seem strange to anybody else? Then they rounded out their performance with some of that good ol' Austrian muscial, Sound of Music.....

moving on....

We broke off into groups around the city, and Adam and I ended up at Harrods for 3 hours.....it was GREAT haha I bought books in english! Not sure about how good they will be, but yeah they're in ENGLISH....

So, we...umm....went to bed early? yeah....and got ready for one of the most magical days ever.....

So...

Monday morning....

Went to buy tickets for a show at the half price line.....nothing was looking awesome.....but Gayle and Sarah Love wanted to see Les Miserables, and I am anti-big deal, and so I made my own.....the guys were going to see Monty Python's Spamalot....and I decided to see...

YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! I love it so much.....I was so happy......I mean, its like my fav ever....so magical!

So after I bought my tickets, I was walking with Adam to meet the Gallos and I saw this guy on the street....

So, to all who aren't privvy to this awesomeness, this guy is Oliver James, the adorable guitar player/valet/motorbike rider/love interest in the awesome Amanda Bynes movie, "What a Girl Wants"......that is one of my guilty pleasure movies, and I love it....

So, moving on....we walked around a bunch and then went to eat lunch at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen.....I had a SPECTACULAR cajun burger....wow.....that was to add to the magicalness of the day.....

Following that, umm...not sure what happened....we got DEAD TIRED after the milennium bridge and the British Museum, we sat in Starbucks for an hour......went to eat Mexican, and then to the show!!!

It was amazing....I gotta say....I grew up on Mary Poppins, so I was crying by the "Perfect Nanny" song....

Then Bert started looking familiar to me.......and as I was watching one of the best and most magical things ever, I looked at the program, and he played Bill in the Eloise movies!

love him....

and that is all I got.....

:)

Back from my whirlwind trip!

2007-01-31T18:46:00.000-05:00

So, I have been absent from internet land as of late......I mean, I had to travel to Rome, to Dublin, to Malaga, to Nerja, back to Malaga, to London, to Naples, and then back here.....from Jan 20th-Jan 30th :) crazy stuff I tell ya....

We had some great times, but not so sure I will be able to remember the high points.....but I shall try....

Dublin:
after having to get up at 2am to take a train to catch the flight to Dublin, we got there, ate, and then attempted to see the town......a Book of Kells and a Christ Church later, we ended up at one of the most awesomest restaurants in Dublin, Gallagher's Boxty House.....then proceeded to sleep in the airport....

Malaga:
for a week of conferencing......so awesome, got to have some great musical worship time, hang out with great people who know what we're going through, and sit in the warm sun while everybody else in Europe was freezing!

London:
this part of the blog needs special attention......so it will be coming soon......along with a movie blog.....so much pressure!!!

:)

I'm still alive....I swear...

2007-01-19T06:14:00.000-05:00

almost too tired to post on here....

I know for sure it will be short.

I got into Italy last week with my visa (yay!)

Have been dead tired since.....not fun.....and tonight is the only bed we will have, if only for 3 or so hours, until Sunday night. Our train leaves for Rome at 3:25 tomorrow morning, taking a flight at 9 or so to Dublin, then spending the day in Dublin and night in the airport, then a flight to Malaga, Spain...to take a bus to Nerja, Spain for our Mid-Year with like half the STINT world! YAY! It was only 2 regions last year, but 3 this year....not sure how that will be different.....but after that week, we are flying to London for 3 nights/4 days....yay! Then back here......

that is all....we are having a 24 party today.....watching on Justin's projector, the 4 starting episodes....YAY!

that is all....really....

I got a movie blog!

2007-01-05T23:09:00.000-05:00

I was persuaded to start a movie blog, because of my critic rant a couple posts back.....

so here it is guys....

http://kathscofmoviemusings.blogspot.com/

I only have a first post now, but soon to come will be all my awesomness of movie reviews

Oh, and btw....you can always find it on my directory over there

------------->

:)

I have a qualm with movie critics...

2006-12-25T23:14:00.001-05:00

They're all DUMB....

I mean, the first problem I have is they expect a movie to be an amazing intellectual experience. Its a MOVIE. Its supposed to be something to ENTERTAIN you, no matter if it is unbelievably cheesy or awe-inspiring.

People make fun of me for how I watch a movie.....I went with people from my team when we were in Miami, and they were amazed at my involvement in what was going on in the movie.

I take a movie-going experience as a chance to get lost in the world that is in front of me. Not something to go to to look to not have fun. I mean I know their job title is Movie CRITIC, but only about half of the movies they like are actually good! I have about 70 movies in my dvd cases with me in Italy, and I bet they would hate about 75% of them......and if that's true, then WHO is benefiting from their critique?!?!?! Maybe the 10% of the world who is just like them? That's my only guess....

We need to find a way for NORMAL people who like to be entertained to review movies.....

I might just start on here.....look for my review for We Are Marshall...coming soon!

:)

So You Think You Can Dance?

2006-12-20T23:32:00.000-05:00

I don't know about me, but I have been thinking a lot about it lately....

All these dancing shows and movies all around nowadays......it kinda makes me really nostalgic...or maybe not that, but I wish I could dance like I used to....

So for those of you who don't know, I danced from age 3-18...it was pretty much my life....participated in dance competitions since I was 8, and it pretty much ruled my life.....

I love when I dance, its like there's nothing else in the world, just me.....no worries, just my dancing to think of....even if I'm not perfect, I enjoy trying to fix my mistakes!

I haven't gotten to do that recently, and it upsets me......I want to change that.....we'll see how it works when I get back to Italy.

I hate exercising, but I know I should....I have been in shape my entire life (not sure when/if I lost it) but it was because it was FUN to dance.....nothing else compares to it.....I gotta get on that...

:)

I thought I'd show you a bit about where I live....

2006-12-20T22:57:00.000-05:00

Since I am home and all, I figured I should show and tell ya'll what my life is like, what I love about where I live, and what I hate....

First of all, I live on Amelia Island, FL....home to the city of Fernandina Beach....so no, there is no Amelia Island High School as rich people wish, its good ol' FBHS, home of the fighting pirates :)

So, my island is almost in Georgia, and the way of life is more like Georgia than Florida.....hicks with big trucks and gun clubs and umm.....not sure what else, but somehow, it mixes with the resort-ish amenities of this quaint little island that only has 2 bridges to leave it (one to the mainland, and oddly enough, one more to MORE islands)

Our mighty fightin' pirates are named after the pirates that used to rule the waters around my island.....ever heard of Blackbeard? yup, he had a place.....

Seen the Pippi Longstocking movie? yup....filmed here....know people in it....

Ok, enough about all of the weird facts I know about my hometown (oh wait....one more, we have had 8 flag changes over this island, including pirates and mexico)......

Yes, it is a small town......

weird things that make me happy:
-When I can plow full-speed through the intersections of 14th/Sadler and 14th/Center.....you can fly over those bumps and it makes a ride home worthwhile....
-going to the beach to see a storm ride in
-mostly independent restaurants and stores, all with charm
-pretending to be a tourist and walking in historic downtown with overpriced antiques, tshirts, and home decor
-blowing all of my cash in the candy store
-beautiful sunrises AND sunsets over the water
-the fact that the farthest I will have to drive would be 10 minutes to get ANYTHING
-actually being able to see the night sky
-knowing people who can take me flying
-seeing people around town I actually KNOW
-Moon River Pizza pepperoni pizza slice and gorganzola salad
-coming up with random stuff to do
-knowing most of the people in my church
-I know the inventor of the Pound Puppies
-living where people vacation

lame things that make me unhappy:
-not being able to leave the house looking less than presentable because you WILL see people you know
-nothing to do entertaining because I have exhausted all possibilities for the 18 years I have lived here, having to make up stuff to do
-having annoying things be good things too...

So I guess there's not a TON of stuff bad about this place, but a TON of good stuff...I really do love living here...

so, that's all I got for now.....I am here in America till Jan 10th, then back to Italy....oh yeah, and Atlanta Christmas Conference in Atlanta next week! YAY!

Peace!

:)

Long time no post!

2006-11-10T17:31:00.000-05:00

So many things have been going on though!

Visa situation:
We are going home Nov 28th to get visas...and coming back here on Jan 10th. Its so weird, but we gotta go to Miami to get our visas.....a whole month at home! SO WEIRD!! We're def going to Christmas Conference though!

My Dad...a timeline:
1 month ago-found a tumor near his hip
3 weeks ago-went into the hospital because of the pain
2 weeks ago-found out it was cancerous and started chemotherapy
and now, he's home and will be till April....

The Office:
I am obsessed.....I bought the season from itunes....we just watched the last episode and WOW! Crazy stuff!

Campus:
Well, I have been having waves of good campus days and bad......many times I am very awkward and lose all my ability to speak Italian, but then other times I am very encouraged and speak better than I ever remember! This week has been a mix, but mostly a lot of italian and mostly encouraging convos.....

Weather:
DUDE.....last week it was FREEZING....it SNOWED on campus! And this week I have had to have short sleeves and wear a jacket over it that usually is off by noon.....its november already! It needs to make up its mind!

ok, so this has been a really weird blog, cuz I am SOOO tired my eyes cannot stay open, but we are supposed to go out with Luca tonight.....gotta wait around for about an hour (till maybe 12:30)....so I am off to lay down....

:)

So, here I am again....

2006-10-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a conference in Firenze...many meetings with many cool people....

like Amanda! who is sitting right beside me :) (she's on ICS in Pisa at the moment)

We went all around Florence this weekend after the meetings were over and did NOTHING. It was so fun to spendsome time at the Florence girls' apartment doing NOTHING.

I did buy some scarves though! (wow this is a random journal entry) I now have 11 scarves! This Florida girl doesn't need 11 scarves! Well, see, the great thing is that I have some pretty cool scarves...1 from Florida, 1 from Ireland, and 9 from Italy!

And....I'm talking about scarves.....apparently I have no life....

I DO want to share a pic with you guys! But....I don't have it.....its a model shot of the guys with a ferrari car at the museum....fun times fun times....

Last week we had all the Italy teams in Florence! (if I didn't already say that) It was so fun to bond with the teams! I got to know all the other newbies, and now we're a big family!

Ok, so yeah....I have become best friends with all the teams in Italy....well, I was already bff with team flo, but roma is quickly approaching!

wow....and well, our apartment has a killer draft and I am slightly shivering.....and then I just had some bananacello to top off my mythos night....so I am at a loss for what else to say...

oh! Amanda is here for Elia's wedding! Tomorrow! On Halloween! WEIRD...but its my first Italian wedding! YAY!

ok....that is all I have.....

:)

Since I am in so high demand....

2006-10-20T12:32:00.001-04:00

I must blog again....*note to self* peer pressure gets to me

Another guy (Francesco) accepted Christ the day after Paola and Nunzia accepted Christ! YAY! I wasn't there, but Gayle was, so go to the Roosters' blog (linked over there ---->) to check it out....

So, what to blog about....no clue!

Well, we got divided up into ministry teams....and I got put on the "Go Team!" Team....I get to arrange travel, plan team nights, and my newly assigned role to myself is making cheers! I am getting pretty good at it.....if you're feeling down, just call me and I can brighten your day!

Hmm...lets see, what else....I have nothing to amuse myself with! Or you guys!

I HAVE bought the season pass for the Office.....so I am living week to week for new episodes to come out....

oh! I have something to comment about! So, something happened in blog-world....or maybe something was in the water...AROUND THE WORLD....because people who haven't updated their blogs in like EVER went on rampages! *ahem*cough*Andy*cough*Katie*ahem* Well, maybe just those 2....

So we have had a couple attempts to get the new believers from the summer project together with dinners and barbecues.....and guess what? they won't show up! Its so weird....we made chili and taco salad last night and none of the new believers came, just our old friends.....at least we got to pig out on good ol' american food!

Unlike our northern friends, we're not privvy to the opportunity to go to a CHOCOLATE festival, but having that much chocolate might be bad for us....

Next week, we ARE going to Florence! I am so excited to see all my peeps! Its for a national campus ministry meeting, so we actually have to WORK, but its still GREAT :-D

So on a more serious note, (I might as well go deep on this thing once in a while) I am having a hard time here.....I was so used to things last year, so when its a 180* change from what I knew before, it is expected to be a shock....but I think it might be even worse. I find myself living in the past, wishing things were like they were last year, just because they are easier to go back to instead of learning new things....there are a lot of issues that I am unhappy with for a second and then I get unbelievably down on myself for being unhappy in the situation....its a viscious cycle. On top of the fact that I am trying to keep a lockdown on my finances, and the team eats out all the time, so I feel like I am being anti-social. Then another issue I just discovered this week is the fact that I have no life here. I had all these friends last year, all these places to go and people to see, but now, since all my team has done so far is be busy beyond belief and hang out with each other, I haven't seen ANY of my Italian friends since I have been back except for on campus. I mean its not their fault, maybe even mine, but still, its frustrating. So if you think about it, pray for me!

that may be all.....everybody keep updating your blogs!

:)

GOD IS SO AWESOME

2006-10-09T15:51:00.000-04:00

Somebody accepted Christ today!

here's the story:
Sarah Love, Gayle, and I were trying to find somebody to talk to before we met for prayer, we walked up to 2 girls near the laguage building and ended up talking to them for about an hour! We asked them about what they believed, and we showed them scripture to explain what we believed. We shared the gospel with them through that and they got really excited and interested in the message we were delivering. We asked them then if they wanted to make sure they would be with Jesus when they died and they sais yes! We went through the 4 Spiritual Laws booklet with them, made sure they understood, and then asked them if they wanted to pray to recieve Christ into their life and they said YES! We have 2 new sisters in Christ! Their names are Paola and Nunzia, if you would like to pray for them.

Yeah, so it was SOOOOO exciting to share the most important thing in our lives with them, we all started crying. The love of Jesus compelled us to come over here and reach the unreached students of Italy and he rewards us with getting to see his kingdom expanded! We have 2 new sisters in Christ!

Praise the Lord!

:)

Sorry Folks....

2006-09-25T06:21:00.000-04:00

I have no goings on to update you about, nor to I have pictures to bestow upon you....but I do have some amusing thoughts...

What do you think of when you hear the word Italy?

When people think about Italy, there usually is some thought of random people on the street playing accordions thrown in there somewhere.....I mean its not the first thing, but if you tried to capture the atmosphere of a stereotypical Italian city, I bet you would think of an accordion....well, I'm abandoning that line of thinking because apparently I can't get through to you ;)

moving on...

An accordion seems like a harmless instrument, maybe even slightly enjoyable when you are taking a walk down a random italian street....but here's where the excitement of living in a new country wears off....

imagine if you will....

8am saturday morning....
sounds of a city waking up, birds chirping, people chatting, the occasional car going by.....and us TRYING to sleep....
enter: an accordion player....
who decided to walk UP AND DOWN our alleyway for an unspecified (nor remembered) amount of time, playing all the songs he could think of....
us=not happy

and thus starts the cultural adjustment cycle :)

:)

Wow, I was seriously devoid of all interest last post......

2006-09-16T14:11:00.000-04:00

So sorry about that.....

but I can update you on a couple things that have been amusing lately....

Thing one......the first night that one of my team members was in Italy, who from now on we will call him "Bob" for all constructive purposes of this story, he had to sleep outside......the door of the apartment locked as well as the porch door and he had no way of getting into the apartment ALL NIGHT......it gets cold at night! Many objects on the porch were used for not their intended purpose, but all definitely to the bemusement of all of us after the fact.......so go bob for braving the elements and having the GREATEST first night in italy story EVER!

And in the "team adventure" category....

We were trying to find things to "buy" for our apartment......I put quotations around it because, at the present moment, we have nowhere to put said things.......so it was suggested that we go outside Salerno to the big "Wal-Mart" type place, called Carrefour......well, we get on a number 8, and get off when we see a Carrefour sign and think we know where it is......after an hour and 15 minutes of walking THROUGH the town of Pontecagnano at 3pm on a HOT Italy day.....we finally get there (of course, after seeing a number 8 pass us, thus frustrating us more)......and needless to say, I bought 3 drink-like substances to quench my hugemongous thirst after all that walking.......and now we know that we don't "Carrefour" for the Carrefour :)

And on a side note, we all went out for lunch on thursday and we got so confused when we paid.......which produced this quote....

"He stole our money!........wait....we didn't pay for lunch!"

now that's what I call an entertaining post....

:)

Back in Salerno....

2006-09-16T13:40:00.000-04:00

So, I dunno what to do about this, but gotta inform the masses that I'm here in Salerno!

Oh, so we've been here since last thursday.......and on tuesday, we went to my favorite places in Italy, Amalfi.....and we hiked up the mountain to see my fav waterfall :)

and Nate gave me an awesome pic of us on the way back from Paolo's house.....so I must post it.....

ok! ciao tutti!

:)

2006-09-05T22:30:00.000-04:00

So long 05-06 Salerno STINT Team (pictured here with Melissa Wright from HQ in Germany!)

I am off to Salerno for the beginnings of the 06-07 Salerno STINT Team tomorrow at noon!

:)

Update on the rest of my August...

2006-08-29T23:07:00.000-04:00

I forgot to update on the rest of my August!

Well, after the AMAZING road trip (of which I will update on the rest of it later)....came home, tried to do more support raising......then flew to Dallas to go to briefing!

Yeah, "briefing wasn't in Texas" you're saying to yourself....well, I couldn't get a cheap flight out of Jax, so I decided to fly out there and drive with Team Flo......mighty fun!

We drove through the night and well, we stopped in the plains of New Mexico to take a 2 hour nap at 4am.....interesting story....

Finally got to briefing and umm....we all took major naps...

I got to meet my team as well as hang out with the rest of the world! It was so fun, I made so many friends! And Sketrow thinks I am popular :) haha

I am totally going to visit the LP and Sweden teams!

So now I am freaking out about support.....I am at 75%.....I jumped 25% since saturday, so that's awesome! But its flattening out now....so if you know anybody that can help me, lemme know!

on a side note, kids are way too spoiled with cell phones and electronics.....they need to live life and be kids.....

:)

Only because Andy asked....

2006-08-11T18:48:00.000-04:00

....I am posting this early about our road trip!

So, here we go.....last sunday, started out driving from Amelia Island to Pensacola to see our friend Matt.....

we went a little crazy....

and thought we were gangstas.....

got there, and went to the beach....on a CLOUDY day....it was so much fun though.....and we were rebels.....none of that staying back 10 feet stuff....

Drove all 11.5 hours to Texas to see Tim! We went to the Hyatt and they have this 50 story tower with a rotating cocktail lounge...

And since we were in Texas, we went to shoot stuff! Now I can say I know how to shoot skeet!

So then we went to a baseball game....and come on ....how are we supposed to look awesome when we have a millisecond to prepare?!?!

Wow its been a while....

2006-07-16T22:27:00.000-04:00

So yeah.....I have so many random things to say, so lets see what comes out.....

Support:
I have slacked in these past days.....we had the church garage sale this past week, so it was mostly focused on that....I had a party last week and another one this week....if nothing else, I got more awareness....I know I'm not doing it how I am supposed to...I mean in thw way of relying on God.....I'm totally relying on myself and its terrible.........and now I have a week until Great Escape (the middle schoolers' youth conference) and then after that is my "vacation" in the beginning of August with Katie....

Speaking of....

Our plans look like
July30/1-Aug 1~Matt in pensacola
Aug 1-4/5~Tim, Katie, and whoever else in Dallas
5~somewhere between Dallas and Atlanta
6-7~Atlanta
home!

yeppo, it sounds like fun :)

Prayer:
So yeah, I have not been in line with God....and I know that's why I am stressing about support...but I heard some amazing things about prayer, so as of tomorrow, I will be recommitting myself to that....

Ok, and here's the thing that I have been thinking about the most......prolly for girls only....

but...

Why does being a princess look so appealing to us?

To be doted upon, to be held in high esteem, to be pursued, to have an amazing inheritance in the future, to know you are loved, to be seen as beautiful, to be cherished, to have all the best, to have somebody powerful looking out for you......wow so yeah.....

I am a child of the King, so I AM A PRINCESS! SO COOL!

oh yeah.....

:)

Reentry...

2006-06-27T15:16:00.000-04:00

So here's not much of an entertaining entry.....but alas, here I am...

I got back in town a 3:30 am on friday morning after 29 hours of travelling (including 8 hours in O'Hare in Chicago)....and with perfect timing, I got SICK...

So yes, I have been sick since then. I can only stay in bed for so long though, so the daily routine is like wake up feeling awful, getting up, drinking tea, staying in the house most of the day, blah, blah, blah...

I was supposed to "start" work today...or yesterday...I can't really tell....but I think this "sickness" is giving me a reason to not do what I'm supposed to...putting off what I have been dreading ever since I signed up again...

And another thing.....I mean, I was totally focused on the Lord and all things relational with him in Italy....and I KNOW its going to be hard to be like that here...

I guess the thing is that half of me feels like my life got put on hold for a year and I just came back and picked up where I left off....but then the other half of me feels like everybody had their own lives continue just fine without me.....so I am conflicted :(

So if ya'll could please pray about me pursuing my relationship with the Lord just as I had been in Italy, that would be great...

:)

A new discovery....

2006-06-25T09:03:00.000-04:00

have any of ya'll heard about www.woot.com? Its so cool!

It is a website that has one random item for sale a day, for a REALLY CHEAP price....

Its really fun......the other day they had a bunch of random stuff to get rid of, so they sold bags of random crap for a dollar.....

it was amusing...

:)

So Satellite Radio is cool.....

2006-06-23T18:36:00.000-04:00

So yeah.....this whole Sirius Radio thing....I have news!

So Jimmy Buffet has a radio station on there called Radio Margaritaville....

well, on there, they have these people on there that are travelling around the world on their sailboat, and they interview them each week on the radio....

Their names are Lili and Steve, and well......they're my Aunt and Uncle! They know Jimmy and hie fleet crew and apparently the radio producer. so that's how it happened......but yeah, now they get 20,000 hits on their site a month! haha

its so interesante....

http://radiomargaritaville.com

their link is on the bottom

:)

I gotta deliver......

2006-06-08T14:14:00.001-04:00

I promised many stories of Spring Break, and I just realized, I never did it!

So here are some recaps....

First of all, we drove upwards of 1200 km in 1 week in a lime green smart car fourfour.....the ones with the 4 doors....it was so great to have someplace to keep your stuff when you went somewhere! I missed it so much!

We drove ALL around the island......like really...

We drove up a mountain into FOG.....like really we couldn't see 20 feet in front of the car....it was CRAZY

Then in STINTino, I momentarily went psycho and convinced Katy to swim to an island about 300 yards away....holy crap the water was cold, and when we got about 50 yards away, we ran into a HERD of jellyfish! I mean seriously......it was then I realized my deathly fear of them......and then I rested for 15 min, and I had to swim BACK through them! Yep, I had like tentacle marks all over me for weeks.....

ok, so yeah.....I gotta get off here, I wil regale you with more stories soon....

:)

So, I have been MIA...

2006-05-23T18:29:00.000-04:00

But tons of things have been happenning!

Audra and Courtney left =(

Then Summer Project came! We have been really preoccupato with them lately, showing them around the city, campus, and pretty much doing a lot of name learning and bonding.....

In other news, I am still crazy....

Wade gave us some pics! Here are a great selection....mostly from when we hung out over Christmas in France :)

and finally the long awaited Jonny Moseley picture! WOO HOO!

So cool!

Umm...do I have anything else? nope...

:)

Pictures....

2006-04-23T09:19:00.000-04:00

So this week, Katy and I went to Sardinia/Sardegna (the Italian spelling) for our spring break trip....it was really fun, but I will regale you with the stories of our odyssey later.....after these messages from our sponsors....

So....

As Katy and I were walking down a dirt road in search of things for Katy to take pictures of, she says "Kat, you and I have very different tastes...." and at the time, I really couldn't think of anything that stood out except for the fact that I'm not a big fan of pictures.....earlier that day she said "I love pictures, I am sad for people who lived before cameras" and I thought to myself, "umm....they're not always that awesome" haha

I can't stand trying to make something boring or ugly look good in a picture....if its not at least HALF cool, I don't want to bother......I think I'm half decent in making something cool look cooler, but its not something I seek out all the time......

and on that note, I will share some of my amusing pictures I took this week....

this is the most amusing one I have...its like a half-tunnel in a mountain :)

and of the sun after trying to capture many different angles, finally got this slightly interesting one....

I realized I like taking pictures of where we are going in a car :)

And every STINTer should be required to visit..

And then the compulsory pictures of the beach that are hard to screw up....

that's all I got for now.......hope you enjoyed!

:)

So, spring is here....

2006-04-16T17:57:00.000-04:00

And I have come to find out that we are actually popular and well liked! All last semester, we were all alone and only had Shannon (from the Pisa team) come to visit us in October....we were getting to feel lonely! We had to convince ourselves that we had friends by going other places to visit them.....thanks to the wonderful LP team for boosting our confidence a little bit in December!

So yeah....apparently we are popular! Katie and Regina from Florence came a couple weeks ago, and viola! Then everybody came to visit! This week we have 3 of the Pisa team and 3 of the Sweden girls! It involved some logistical maneuvers, but we are all chillin in the 2 Salerno apartments having a blast.....we finally get to show off our town! We went to Amalfi on Saturday with the Sweden girls and I bought a leather wallet from the leather guy for 14 euro! Wow I have a lot of exclamation points in here......

Well, I'm not sure if ya'll know, but our spring break is...well, now.....and our team is dispersing....Katy and I are headed to Sardinia! For those of you not in the know, its some really spiffy Italian island between Italy and africa.....and its supposed to be gorgeous! There's a lot of water activities of course, and I am determined to do at least ONE of them......I had my sights set on kite surfing, but that's a ton of money, so if that is ruled out, I am aiming for a sailing excursion (I have been longing for a sailboat ride ever since I saw our view of the Mediterranean Sea from our apartment window), some jetski action, or convincing the diving people to let me go dive without my certification card (who would think of bringing a diving card on STINT?!?!?!).

I will fill ya'll in later....when I get back on saturday!

:)

A taste of home....

2006-04-04T12:24:00.000-04:00

.....is sort of sad when it doesn't come from home, it comes from London :-D

Last week we went to London with Luca to see his sister, Enza......it was so fun! Well, besides the getting up at "o' dark thirty" the mornings of our departure, it was pretty cool! We walked around a LOT, saw most of the British Museum (including statues of Ramses and important Roman folks and the famous Rosetta Stone), visited the Globe Theater, "had a curry" made by Enza's Indian friend, ummm......and lots of Starbucks :) We defintely hit up some Subway sandwiches too.....not to mention the kids smoking pot behind us in the restaurant......

We did all the typical things like riding the underground (dude, that's a big deal when the metro you most frequent is the sketchy Rome metro), trafgalgar square, picadilly, saw buckingham palace and the weird walking guards, and of course the obligatory picture with all of the group in a phone box :) You will probably be seeing those pics in my comrade Tim's blog pretty soon, so don't get too worked up because you're not seeing them now :)

But, yeah...the taste of home.....we popped in a Tesco our last night after dinner and STOCKED UP......I mean, Dr. Pepper to the max :) as well as some Cadbury chocolates, twinings tea, SQUASH (2 flavours-I keep having this tendency to spell the british way in this post....hmmm), and some favourite spices such as cajun seasoning and chili powder.....Yes, I do realize that most of the items on that list are solely British, and that is the part that I find odd....even though the UK has never been my home (and probably never will be), I definitely took part of it home with me to Italy to make me feel better for living in the backwards country that is socialist Italy....

:)

Ocean's Eleven

2006-03-21T15:44:00.000-05:00

so yeah.....instead of posting anything life changing or even just slightly profound, I decided to regale a story of last night's dinner and a movie featurette....

well, its not really a story......BUT.....more of a question for all of ya'll who have seen this movie.....

So I used to think they were pretty amazing in the continuity of this movie until I took a closer look last night.......SO.....you know when they have to put the bags with the Xs on them in the elevator to send them up to the cages with the hooker flyers to put in the van? Remember, that is BEFORE the "SWAT Team" comes in.....WHERE did they get those bags? The only 3 people that were in there were Linus, Danny, and Yen! They didn't have anything extra with them when they came in except for Linus' briefcase! Yeah.....can comebody please explain it to me? Because I am pretty much lost....

:)

Dangit, why do I have to speak english?!?!

2006-03-12T07:04:00.000-05:00

HA yeah.....you bet you never thought I would say that, eh? Well, here's the reason.....hearing about the Jack Johnson deal recently got me wishin for a chance to attend a pretty spiffy concert myself......so then I end up on Jason Mraz's website today....

and well, as some of you might not know, my thing for Jason Mraz is up there with most of ya'll's enjoyment of Jack Johnson....(I mean, I haven't had time to fully appreciate Jack cuz I actually only heard him for the first time this year)....

So, continuing on with the story......

I check his tour dates and he's goin on a pretty impressive half-world-tour.....and where might he be playing around my birthday???? Yup, you guessed it, a really cool english speaking country that some of ya'll reside in......I mean, why would he have the need to come to italy? He wouldn't....he doesn't speak italian (well, except for that song on his last cd titled Bella Luna)....so I am left to sit here and dream about how I could give myself a birthday party up in the UK with Jason and his awesomeness.....

*side note* why do all these really cool musicians with guitars have names that start with J's? Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Jack Johnson.....hmmmmm I think its a conspiracy.....

:)

Ladies' Day!!!

2006-03-08T17:31:00.000-05:00

aka...Giorno della Donna in Italia.....

So yeah......you know all those random days we have in America, like Grandparents' Day, Secretaries' Day, Friendship Day, and all the other random weird days nobody cares about? Well, in Italy, they actually have a purpose!

Long, long, time ago (...I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.....*American Pie flashback*) there were a buncha ladies working in a factory. There was some sort of calamity, I'm guessing a fire or something, but they all ended up dead. And from then on, March 8th has been ladies' day, when all the ladies get yellow puffy flowers (I think called mimosas....weird) from all the men in their lives, and then umm....they go to eat and then dancing! No clue how that has anything to do with factory women dying, but yeah.....

Because we are sooooo Italian, we slightly incorporated that into our team night......we went to a chinese restaurant, and then Audra suggested that the guys toast us cuz we are supposed to be appreciated, and they failed miserably! Yeah.....us girls had to toast ourselves......it was depressing.....hopefully by next March 8th, they can think of good ways to toast the women they know!

After pondering this whole Ladies' day subject, I found out that Korea (I think?) has a Girls day and a Boys day in the beginning of march too....I wonder what they are for? Hopefully they have a purpose....seems like all the other cultures in the world have purposes for doing stuff, America likes to do stuff just cuz....

And on another note, I would like to let the world know that I am so highly amused by SNL Celebrity Jeopardy....Katy has like 5 clips of them on her computer and I partake of them every time I am on it......its pretty great :)

that's all I got for now.....I have some more Kat's out stories coming soon

:)

"Kat's out....."

2006-03-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so apparently there is a new game in Salerno.....it has been in the formation stages over the past couple months, but it has finally made it out of the test phase and ready for the market.....

It is called "Kat's out..."

It involves me going over to the guys' house and SUCKING at whatever game might happen to be going on.

Usually, it involves a small, soccer ball looking, olympic, plastic bouncy ball........somehow bouncing off of something in the apartment, and usually using ones hands.....

Tonight, the final and most successful and divertente edition (wow I just put an italian word in here before I could think of the english word....go me) had us sitting on couches, hitting the ball in the air and off whatever it happened to strike in the vicinity.......and then it would eventually lose control, movement would stop, and I would be "out" because somehow it was my fault.......but it did start to be enjoyable when we upped the volleyball-like qualities and started spiking it at a billion miles an hour at each other's heads......

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it does sound painful and at times it was, but getting to release some of my apparent "anger issues" and fight for control of a little plastic ball was well worth it.....

Over the next few months, keep a look out for the home edition at a store near you.......

*Home Edition includes: plastic "Kat's out" ball, instructions for variety of divertente games with said ball, and a disclaimer form for any future injuries due to participation in this dangerous activity. Price: $19.95*

but seriously......I needed that...thanks guys :)

My apologies...

2006-02-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

to all those who have been subject to the competitive spirit between me and Tim as of late...

I would like to inform you that I am not an idiot........for further details, I shall refer you to

Http://ilostmywildboar.blogspot.com

:)

My awesome shoes....

2006-02-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

So I was inspired by Brit's collar-popping post......and I must make a quick announcement.....

I don't like shoes

My whole team knows this, and I thought I would impart this knowledge on the rest of the world for the purpose of this blog post.....

But because of the frigid qualities of Italy (who'd of thunk it?), I can't wear my flip flops year round ......that's what us floridians try ya know ;)

I hate shoes so much that whenever I get inside, I take off my shoes AND socks even if it isn't my house!

But I have discovered a solution to the evilness that is shoes! Well, its not TOTALLY resolved, but slightly cooler.........

I am attempting to bring back the style of not tied shoes.....mine are totally loosened, no strings lagging behind, just pure comfort! I love it....

:)

Saved the best for last...

2006-02-21T11:27:00.000-05:00

or is it first because this one is going to be listed first on my blog page? hmm...oh well...

And last, but not least.......my all time, utmost, awesomest, and unbelievable Olympic moment......I got to go see Freestyle Moguls!!!!! It was great........Nate came with, and we got to sit next to Toby Dawson's (the bronze medalist) girlfriend and her family, so they gave us signs to hold up.......and if anybody saw a sign like this on tv, that was us holding it!

Ok, so my other obsession......

2006-02-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

Might definitely be the Olympics.....

and here is my first foray into posting awesome pics on here, so bear with me folks....

We got to the go to the Olympics on Feb 8th, and we got back umm.....the morning of the 16th? Yeah.....Nate and I were the stragglers that got back the latest.....

We got to do SO MUCH cool stuff, meet so many cool people, and here is my photo recap:

This is when we ate our bag lunches at the ski jumping mountain in a half finished log cabin :)

Its not really monumental, but there's me and Katie Elizabeth Bearden....

I did get to meet Jonny Moseley, but that picture hasn't arrived yet, and well, I just had to get him in here.......I will note that when THEY met him the day before, I freaked, and then when I met him the next day, I FREAKED even more.....

This is me and Katie Elizabeth Bearden on the train on valentines' day.......it was the last totally clean outfit that I had! Just happened to be pink....but Katie's was too, so we took a picture!

grrr.....gotta make another post.....

Back from Mid-Year!

2006-02-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

I guess I wasn't successful with making either of my 2 matches happen.......sadness.....

but I had a lot of fun! I successfully played in AND WON 2 football games! (wow....I just rediscovered the country radio switch on itunes...this is awesome!) I got to hang out with the Liverpool, Paris, Sweden, and Grenada teams, as well as all my Italian peeps!

So some random comments from this past week or so:

I got to wear my flip flops for the first time since November! YAY!
We had an interesting array of food, but good!
I have this syndrome called ATMS.....Afraid To Miss Something.....and it was in full swing this week! I would stay up till all hours just because other people were!
I have really missed the sound of the ocean (don't lie, Salerno doesn't have a beach with sounds.....the waves just lap up on the dirty sand), especially when we left our windows open all night and we woke up to the sound of the waves......

There was one momentous occasion where I was talking and I genuinely did an Italian hand gesture.....I have been around it so much that I have made it a part of my communication!

Another thing I noticed when I was in Liverpool........I ALWAYS look "left, right, left" when I cross the street......its always been a part of my life......and when I went there, I had to TRAIN my mind to look "right, left, right".....and it was hard! It seems like such an easy thing to do!

On the way back yesterday we stopped off in Rome for lunch with our friends and a cappuccino.....yeah.......lets revisit that statement......we stopped off in Rome (we live somewhere near Rome where we would travel through there to go HOME) for lunch with our friends and a cappuccino (we KNOW people who live in Rome and we can just hang out with them for lunch and a cappuccino)....I think that is CRAZY that we can just stop off in Rome for a couple hours! We didn't really do anything touristy! We killed some time before we met the Rome team by looking at a couple street artists' work, but that was the MOST touristy thing we did! I am so amused.....

Yes, we did go back to Liverpool......and we had a great time! KC made some awesome taco/chili dish, and we had Kentucky Derby Pie and Cheesecake for dessert.....I got to go to the top of the anglican cathedral, see MUNICH (awesome movie), and then get a curry! YAY Rich gave us his own tour of the LP on the way to the movie theater to see the movie times, and it was fun! Thanks dude!

AHHHH!! There was much tv watching there, I got to watch some One tree Hil, Scrubs, Futurama, 8 Simple Rules, and Sportnight......AND I got to see an episode of Family Guy!!!!!! I was SO HAPPY to do that....it was amazing :)

Wow this a bunch of random things.....but oh well!

The infamous mid-year....

2006-01-22T08:57:00.000-05:00

Yes ladies and gentlemen, we find ourselves upon the ever-so-exciting time of mid-year....the time where all of the most isolated americans in Europe (and other various places)get together and be....un-isolated? haha

Mid-year is probably the place where people see very foggily through their STINT goggles that they have been fabricating over the past couple months and start to get interested in random guys or girls from other STINT teams just because you are sick of the guys or girls on your team or because of your isolated-ness, you see something you like and it gets magnified and develops into a week-long romance......but then you have the adorably sweet story of Mike and Sara (agh I really don't know how she spells her name...wait I am not even sure what she looks like!) from last year's Salerno and Liverpool STINT teams, respectively, who are getting married in June because of a joke that started last year in the magical place that is Narja, Spain. *pause to recover from that humongous possibly run-on sentence that just ended*

So as funny as we all are, Salerno has been joking about who we can set up this year at mid-year (don't deny it LP, ya'll have done it too). So we have 2 options at the moment...

First option:
Nathan, our fearless leader has been nominated by our Salerno team to find a woman.....we can't really give him too many limitations because he is a pretty particular fella, but we have charged him with the mission of finding his future wife at mid-year....so watch out ladies, he's gonna have his a-game on....

2nd option (and the more amusing one):
Well, since Salerno and LP are one for one with the mid-year "romance" and marriage to follow, we gotta keep up the tradition......and when Steph, Ryan, and I were talking at the Richmond when we were up there, we came up with a plan......since the future couple can't be coming back next year cuz that is when they are supposed to be getting married, they have to be 2nd years....(as pointed out by Ryan).....so for that comment, we (or maybe I....not really sure if Steph was in d'accord) decided that it would have to be Ryan Hawkins and Katy Myers.......get ready to lay down your a-game Ryan!

And so folks, keep your eyes out for happennings at mid-year......becasue we have to fulfill the 4 goals of Crusade, Build, Win, Send, and Get Married....

HA

wow that was fun.....

Public privacy?

2006-01-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

One of the great things that Italy can give STINTers like us is "public privacy".....you may be asking yourself "self, she is sounding like a crazy person! what might this mean??".....well, I'm gonna help you understand the joys of "public privacy" in Italy....

When you are in a place such as Salerno, where about 3.5% of the population (its true, I have done studies!) speaks english.......you can be so private in public places! Sometimes its better to be surrounded by 100 italians than it is to be in a room with 10 english speakers trying to have a conversation.....its like a special freedom you have, because on that 3.5% chance that a person around you can understand you, there is NO WAY they can FULLY understand what you're up to.....

Case in point: (or point in case, to those select few that choose to express it like so)
Our 30-45 minute bus ride to and from the university has been an awesome time to get our convo flowin.....no matter if we have our faces in an italian's armpit or have 2 seats to yourself, you have all this time to do nothing but talk......

In my experience, when I have nothing else to do except talk, that is when it all comes out.....I mean, besides turning anti-social and putting my ipod in my ears and jammin out to the latest songs from Mr. A-Z (shout out to whoever can understand that), there's nothing else to do! Maybe because I know the other person can't leave, they're stuck there to listen to anything I have to say and vice versa......some interesting things come out in those situations! If you wanna get me talking, get me on a bus and ask away.....

Oh for the sake of fashion......

2006-01-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

So you know, coming overseas into a whole new culture, you should expect some changes......but really, fashion never crossed my mind to be THAT high on the list....but here I go on a rant....

Well, for one, the LP team has a TON of problems to deal with in the so-called "scouse" fashion.....when we were up there, we partook in the "dress up like a scouser" activity that was a part of their fun-filled and action-packed team night.....that style they got up there pains my EYES to have it come across my line of vision....

But Italy here is a different story....

For one thing, as was observed at our in country mid-year, all Italians have like 4 outfits and they just rotate them all around......on top of that the non-existence of the antiperspirant/deodorant combo in the country of italy, just doesn't fly with me.

Secondly, as in ANY europeean country (and coincidentally in ANY nightclub area anywhere in the world), girls go to great lengths to freeze themselves to death in 40 * F weather in skirts that are 2 inches long!!!

Here's the kicker....in the land of leather, and subsequently shoes, people spend an OUTRAGEOUS amount of money on their footwear....not just footwear, but the most dangerous footwear known to man! I mean, there's not really any genuinely FLAT sidewalks/streets in Salerno, but EVERYBODY has a pair of stilettos! Us, apparently "uncoordinated", Americans can barely walk down a cobblestone hill in much more complicated footwear than sneakers, and they insist on boots with a spike of death on the back! I tried to join in the masses of Italian residents and get my hands on a pair of boots, but I knew better than to go all out and break my ankle with 5-inch heels, so I got some VERY NICE brown boots with a heel on them the shape of a small block of wood.....and they serve me just fine. =) But if you don't end up breaking your ankle or careening down a cobblestone hill (as us girls have almost done quite a few times), your feet are tired anyways because you have been trapesing all over creation with all of your weight on the balls of your feet!

So yeah, girls go through that pain with the vast array of heeled footwear, but do guys go through excrutiating pain to look good in Italy? I really haven't seen anything too terrible, but then again our guys aren't fully embarking on all that is fashion for the uomini over here......

...there probably is something painful about that italian mullet, and I don't wish that fate on anybody....

Woo Hoo!

2006-01-16T04:33:00.000-05:00

This is so not an interesting post, but its all I got....

I got mail today! Its so exciting! There is just something unbelievably fun about getting something in the mail.....Granted, I knew what it was, but when a small taste of home arrives on your doorstep, you rejoice, no?

So on the flip side, I gotta start mailing stuff back home.....specially for my best friend Katie....I didn't send her a Christmas OR Birthday present (dude, it was October 8th...I didn't know how to say "Good day sir, I would like a box to mail this unbelievably large box across that big pond to America, can you help me?" yet!) so I have been ammassing the most amazing collection of Italian goodies to deliver soon....

I cannot divulge the contents of this box because she might catch wind of it, and that would ruin all the fun.....but ask me and I will let ya know.....

But my question is, what would you send back as an array of goodies from your STINTING country?

TV shows on dvd...

2006-01-09T17:01:00.000-05:00

are probably the best invention ever.

Today, we wrapped up the final episodes of Lost, Season 1.....apparently, we are getting a hold of Season 2 soon :) YAY

But yeah, tv shows on dvd are awesome cuz they don't have to take up as much time as watching a movie if you don't want them to.......sitcoms are usually 23 min, and hour long ones are 43....so you could have a bit of time to do nothing, you could pop a Boy Meets World in and watch one, or 5....depending on the amount of time you have.....you can have breaks in between, and customize your viewing experience!

So yeah....these past eps were VERY intense....I was pretty much bawling for a stretch there, and most of the time I was talking to the people on the show....it was so good!

anybody with me here??

Slightly obsessed?

2006-01-09T10:54:00.000-05:00

Yes.......2 blogs in one afternoon! As well as with this......

so, last night Nate and I were eating pizza and I saw a grease stain and said,
"hey, that looks like a paw print"
and Nate said "a JAGUAR paw print"
and as soon as the word jaguar came out of his mouth, I BOLTED out of my seat and ran past katy and tim, that were coming in the door at the moment, to the computer.....to check the outcome of the Jags playoff game.......we lost to the Pats 28-3....I mean, they've beat us 2 other times in the playoffs IN Foxboro, so why should this time be any different? Ok, I'm over it.....but since I am still obsessed with the NFL, I still gotta pay attention to the goings on.....so next weekend's playoff schedule:

Redskins at Seahawks, Sat. 4:30pm
Pats at Broncos, Sat. 8pm
Steelers at Colts, Sun. 1pm
Panthers at Bears (!?!?!??!!?!), Sun. 4:30

So onto my amusement.....I am on the superbowl website and it shows photos from all 4 victorious teams in the playoffs last weekend.....I look at the first one, and this one guy looks familiar (I mean they all look familiar, cuz they're famous, but this guy is EXTRA familiar).....I keep looking at it, and I almost yelp from excitement (yep, you didn't know that one, such as I, could yelp).........its MARK BRUNELL! My BOY! *pause for backstory* backstory commences: He was the Jags' QB for 8 YEARS! 31 mil for 6 years! He was well worth it, I believe....backstory finishes*pause over* I was SOOO excited for him! He is an awesome QB and I am now rooting for the 'skins in these here playoffs....as well as the Steelers AND Colts....no clue how that's gonna work out, but I want Peyton to get to a Superbowl!

So here I am......halfway across the world, a little too obsessed for my own good....

stay tuned :)

My Top 10?

2006-01-09T09:41:00.000-05:00

So I have been pondering what to put in this blog, and I have concluded that all who read this and AREN'T on my team haven't fully experienced Italy as I have.......so I will attempt to give ya'll a snapshot of this little boot-like country I have been calling home:

Top 10 things I like about where I live (Italy/Salerno/my apartment) being totally superficial here....
10) warm-ish weather
9) awesome students we hang out with
8) our vonage phone
7) the fact that we can walk to whatever we need usually, and even take a commonly travelled bus or train!
6) napolitano pizza!
5) the fact that I get to make a fool out of myself while learning a different language
4) the history that is surrounding me (be it close with paestum and pompeii, or even things a little farther away like Normandy and Auschwitz)
3) that I can keep in slight contact with america by watching american media (tv shows and movies) even when they're in Italian!
2) gelato
*drumroll please*
1) The awesome view out the windows of my apartment of the mediterranean sea! (complete with sailboats!)

Top 10 things I DON'T LIKE about where I live...
10) I don't have my own (functioning) computer
9) I can't keep track of (ALL of) my tv shows and new movies coming out
8) Mail takes forever to get here
7) We have to take a bus 45 min to campus every day sometimes with our faces in Italians' armpits
6) That campus is a good 15*F colder than Salerno
5) Our apartment has tile EVERYWHERE....I want some wall to wall carpeting!
4) The hill I have to trek up every day
3) Dog poop I have to dodge in the street
2) I am missing out on my friends' lives back home
*drumroll please*
1) WE DON'T HAVE HEAT IN OUR APARTMENT!

stay tuned :)

This is pitiful....

2006-01-08T07:17:00.000-05:00

Especially because this isn't even interesting and I feel the need to put it up here....

We got back on friday night and I hung out at the guys' place and watched some Lost.....and at about 1am, I decided that going back to an empty house up that monstrous hill wasn't very desirable.....so I stayed in their extra bed......

Saturday, I woke up at 2:15, had a conference or 2 with God, talked to Tim some, did some blogging, and then watched Lost and ate dinner.....and at 1 am, that hike looked nowhere near desirable......

This morning, well.....afternoon, since I woke up at 12:30, the girls came over to go to lunch about 5 min after I woke up......needless to say, I'm NOT going out looking like I just woke up.....so, all of them left, and I am sitting here all by my lonesome....blogging.....pondering when I should take my shower.....

BUT

The biggest reason I think I didn't go home yesterday or out with them today.......*drumroll please* is I think my mind doesn't want to go back to it.....I mean, I had a break of 3 weeks! If I go back to the apartment, that means that I go back to working on relationships, stressing about work, sharing a room with 3 other people, and appearing to be somebody that I'm not (I'm definitely working on that one).......and here I go again making it seem like its such a bad situation, but its really not......my mind is playing tricks on me.....

I think my mind just wants to watch Lost... :D

Oh you guys didn't know what you were getting into when you enticed me to sign up for this thing ;)

So I might be slacking in the blogging ALREADY......

2006-01-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

But.....I do have some random comments!

These are some observations about my past couple weeks:

1)I like lines.....I experienced many of them this trip, and I realized how much I like them and how non-stressful they are! On our way back from LP yesterday we stopped to "hang out" in Rome (I'll get to that later) and we went to eat at Burger King cuz everything else was closed for Epiphany/Mini Christmas (where the Christmas Witch comes) and it took us an HOUR to buy food cuz of the non-existence of a line....not fun....

2)It is so cool to live in Italy! I mean, who just goes and "hangs out" in ROME for a couple hours?!?! We went to check out Sant Eustachios for some of the awesomest coffee in the world, but the line was about 50 people long! So all we REALLY did was walk from Termini to the Pantheon/Sant Eustachios and back to the guys' place and then left on a Eurostar.....

3)All of STINT in Western Europe might be addicted to watching LOST...I will get back to you with final stats after mid-year, but yeah....I am convinced.....we came home yesterday and watched 2 episodes :)

4)Being on STINT automatically makes you friends......I mean seriously......this trip, I stayed with 2 different teams that I didn't really know until December, but they were awesome and let me stay with them, now I can't wait to see them at Mid-Year!

5)When I have nothing to do and I feel slightly sick, let me sleep and I will waste the day.....on tuesday in LP I slept till 1:15.......today, I slept till 2:30!

and my final comment.....as I ponder how I am going to drag my suitcase up that massive Salerno hill.....
6)I am way lazy and even though I have been getting tired of living out of a suitcase........I don't feel like lugging that thing home!

*signing off*

Well, here's my first post....

2006-01-04T15:50:00.000-05:00

And I mean, my first post for this random comment blog......my other one is www.livejournal.com/users/kathscof ........that recaps vital information for my everyday life......but in line with the LP team's randomosity I will be bestowing upon the masses my random comments and musings from my world.....

stay tuned :)