{surviving night class}

here's a fun fact for all you non-grads...

in grad school, they like to make you come to this thing called 'night class'

i tried to find a humorous definition on urban dictionary, but sadly, it's so lame no one has even bothered to make something funny out of it.   *side note to the CD girls... i challenge you to fix urban dictionary's lack of terms*

i sort of detest night class.  by sort of, i mean really.  mostly because my day starts at 7 am, so asking me to stay awake, stay alert, stay engaged until 9 is really testing.  add to this the class is basically a review of undergrad classes, it's rather difficult.

tonight's topic of conversation was "testing".  if you know anything about therapy, we test.  a lot.  i can make a drive-by diagnosis of a kid.  add to this i had an entire class on testing last semester, and tonight was rather disastrous.
i equated tonight with a middle school class with a substitute teacher.

it was a circus.

we had a baby in class who made sighing noises at key points when we all wanted to but would never be able to get away with it, hiccup girl was at her finest, and yes, there was a bit of chatter going around. add to that the number of people on facebook, twitter, and stumbleupon and it all equals none of us reallllly cared.

*side note #2.  please don't judge... i'm usually very studious, but tonight, none of us could do it.  we're all really good students, just very ready for spring break :) *

i'm glad i have classmates who can make things funny.  it might annoy our teachers at times (let's be honest... really it's just one.  i think the other teachers find us funny and amusing).  it takes talent to make tests that were published the year i was born funny.

just look at that beauty... (test of language competence, publishing date: 1987, be jealous)

thank you girls, for making even the dullest of dull classes amusing.

to all of you who have or will have night classes, i wish you the same!

{enjoying weekends}

i love the weekends...

this one has not failed me :)

friday night was not super exciting, but i caught up on laundry.  hallelujah!  i have this problem of getting backed up on laundry... #1. i was out of laundry detergent (major fail when you need to do laundry). #2. i have lots of roommates who all need to do laundry (shocker right?), and considering #1, i wasn't too much competition for the washer.  #3. i really hate putting away laundry.  i love DOING laundry.  it smells good and it's warm when to comes out of the dryer, i love my fabric softener and it literally calms me down, and the act of folding clothes is therapeutic (i know, i'm weird)

all that to say i finally got detergent and i finally did laundry... lots and lots of it.  i also fell asleep at 11 on friday which was fabulous as i've been SUPER sleep deprived all week.

saturday i woke up to the beautiful sun shining through my window and birds chirping.  ian and i walked to ramsey's for brunch (who wouldn't love walking to lunch!?) and then, being the amazing boyfriend he is, went to see harry potter with me!  i know i know... the movie came out months ago, but it's now at the dollar theater which = affordable date.  then a uk game with a win finally, followed by a girls' night.

when i think of a really good weekend, this was it :)  i have missed the sun, i have missed being able to be outside, i have missed going on walks with ian, i have missed being able to catch up with the girls.


*add to that i just heard thunder... i'm not the biggest rain fan, but i LOVE thunderstorms :)  hello sunday nap!

Psalm 107:1

{compassion}

i've been in a bit of a funk the past few days... i'm not sure why, and i don't like it.

i like to be fun and full of joy, and the past few days, i've just felt drained.

i needed today.  i got the opportunity to go to asbury's campus with compassion.  i wrote a post about my compassion child, esther not too long ago if you want more info on compassion!  craig gross (he's the pastor of xxxchurch... super cool guy and organization to check out!) was speaking and made a plug for compassion, so i went and worked a booth hoping to get kids sponsored.

i was blown away.  70 kids got sponsored today.  that's 70 kids who don't have to worry about going to bed hungry, or how they're going to get shoes to go to school, or what happens if they get sick.  that's not stuff kids should have to worry about, and living in america, we take that for granted so much... it was just so encouraging to see college students care so much and want to take care of kids, even on a limited budget.

after all that, i came home and had a new letter AND picture from my sweet esther.  she's moved up in school and is doing so well... she's in the top of her class and is just so precious :)  and beautiful... she keeps growing up and i can't take it!

finally, i got the opportunity to go have dinner with some of compassion's head-ups.  they're just awesome people.  they wanted input on what they're doing well, what they can help us with, what they need to work on... i like that even though i'm easily the youngest person most of the time, they genuinely desire my input.  i don't feel like a college student, i feel like a real person with real ideas who they care about and want to invest in.  it's just such a neat organization and although i'm just a volunteer, i feel like such a part of it, and i'm so blessed :)

i needed today... i needed a reminder of how big God is and how much He cares about His people.  the sun was shining, i got a letter from my little girl, and i got to have dinner with some truly inspiring people :)  it was a busy day, but one that rekindles the spirit

www.compassion.com

{adventures of a thrifty grad student]

i like to think i'm thrifty.

i like going to find things i like, then figuring out how to make them.

i try and use coupons and scan the grocery catalogs to see who's got what the cheapest, and i try to make meals that last for a while so i can just eat off them because newsflash!  grad school is super crazy, and the combination of 3 jobs, clinic, classes, and trying to have a life, sometimes there's no time to cook.

today has been an exceptionally thrifty day.

i made soup a while ago and froze some and it is amazing STILL!  i also found some veggies cheap at meijer, so for the past 3 days, i've eaten a whole lot of asparagus.  if you take it, put some olive oil, salt and lemon and put it in the oven for like 3 minutes, it is sooooo good :)

here's my favorite thrifty move of the day... i have this teacher... she likes to make us buy books we never use, so i didn't buy them this semester.  (add to that she just picks the most expensive books!) so we didn't have class tonight, but she assigned us a review.... hmmm how am i going to review a book i never bought?  enter amazon's lovely "look inside" feature.  guess who found pages 1-70 of said book.  that's right.  i wrote my 1 page reflection solely because of amazon.com.

this is only setting me up to be even thriftier later on in life, right?  let's hope so, because there's kind of a nice thrill i get from this :)

{slacker}

it's been a long time since my last post!  guess this is when the real adventures of grad school kick in and i suddenly just find myself too busy/exhausted to do anything!

here's a quick update... brownie went back to the shop AGAIN.  new wheel bearings.  ugh.  but she's running wonderfully now!  pray that the mechanic doesn't seem me again for a really nice long time...

i started my new job!  this brings me up to 3 part-time jobs: the y, teaching violin lessons, and now working as a transcriptionist for EKU (basically i type up lectures and stuff)!  this alone makes me slightly crazy, but after all lexington's lovely snow days (which i don't get paid for), i needed a little extra work

friday night, i convinced ian to come along babysitting with me.  i got to hang out with my 2 favorite munchkins and it was great :)  caleb impressed everyone with his basketball abilities- the kid's really good for being only a year and a half!  he can shoot and do a jump shot and it's super super cute.  he gets so proud of himself when he makes it too.  claire is my little goof ball... we showed ian the "imagination movers" dance (it's pretty impressive), played with the doll house, and then it was bed time... and it was an ordeal!  caleb was super easy.  he points at his crib.  kid's amazing.  claire on the other hand likes a little extra attention.  we put on pj's, brushed teeth, said our prayers, and then read the 2 longest books the kid could find.  *add to this she had the hiccups and thought every time she hiccuped it was the best thing ever and laughed hysterically*  we got up to leave and she called out "aunt kellie, rub my back" so i did "1 more minute" so i did... i did the very thing when i was little.  "i need water" (in the saddest, most pathetic voice you've ever heard out of a 3 year old).  the kid's adorable.  i love them and it was so fun to hang out with them!

friday night ended early b/c ian and i had to wake up at 3.  yes.  that's am. to go to dance blue pancakes!
i love dance blue... it's a 24 hr dance marathon uk students do each year to raise support and awareness for the children's cancer unit at uk.  cancer has developed a new soft spot in my heart bc of ry, but even before i met him, it had gotten in there.  i did dance blue for 2 years and loved it.  you get to hang out with the kids and it's just a blast.  hard, but a blast.  so at 3 am i woke up and headed to csf to get 8 jumbo bags of pancake mix ready for serving.  5 coolers of pancake batter later, we were ready to start cooking pancakes to feed 700 dancers at 7 am.  it was awesome :)  i've never cooked more pancakes in my life (i did the same thing last year, but there weren't nearly this many dancers).  then came nap time, a walking trip to kroger with the boy to make lunch, an awesome uk game, and my favorite way to spend a night- talking with the boy....

sorry it's been so long since i've updated!  i've only been slightly busy ;)

{spring}

i'm writing this with the hope spring has sprung!!!!

today is beautiful.  absolutely amazing.

if i could figure out how to add music to my blog, the song today would be "here comes the sun".

i love winter.  snow is my favorite, i turn into a 5 year old, and i love sweatshirts and sweaters and all that goodness.  with that being said, winter needs to be over!  i didn't even realize how much i have missed the sun until it came out today and i got to enjoy it :)

wednesday's are great.  i work at 7 and then i'm done.  no class, no clinic, no nothing!

i get to relax, read, and take a moment to just enjoy life.  with the craziness of my week, i like having the opportunity to rest.  it's something i've learned to treasure the older i've gotten.  i don't have to be busy at every moment of the day.

i am so thankful i got to just bask in God's goodness at the arboretum today.  it was a nice chance to just breath and soak up some rays and enjoy the peace and joy spring is bringing!

now get off the computer and enjoy the beautiful weather...

{my favorite holiday}

i am not a valentine's day person.

i don't really like the idea of needing a day to celebrate your "togetherness" or more often times, your singleness.  i think it's a fairly cheesy holiday created by card companies to make more money.

with that being said, ian and i felt like we should probably do something for valentine's day... it ended up being the best :)

nothing fancy- we made dinner, homemade valentines and just hung out all day.  it was exactly what i felt like valentine's day should be... just enjoying each other's company, laughing and joking around, and doing things we would do most other days.

i have a pretty awesome guy :)

{surprises!}

yesterday was my last day of school for a week.

that has nothing to do with my blog post today, BUT it's awesome and i'm pumped about it :)

so for the real post...

on monday, i was dumb and wore these shoes that i really like, but i'm pretty sure they soak water up through the soles.  it snowed a lot on monday, so consequently, my shoes were not just soaked, but also frozen.  if you don't know, i have this lovely syndrome called "raynaud's syndrome" which basically means my feet lose all circulation when they get cold.  cold, frozen shoes tend to make cold, frozen feet.  it was awesome *jk!*

tuesday, i get this lovely text from my dear sweet boyfriend "wear a coat and shoes that won't get wet when you come over tonight".  my thought?  jeeze, thanks dad!  i can dress myself fairly well.  then he adds "wear gloves too, we're going to be doing some walking.".  walking?  walking?  it's like -20 outside and i had big plans of relaxing after taking a big mean dysphagia exam.  so now i'm intrigued as to what in God's good name we'll be doing outside on a random tuesday night in the dead of winter.  then i get... "you might want to bring your UK id".  no way... my uk id is essentially useless beside one amazing use.  UK GAMES!

if you're not a cats fan, yesterday's game was UK vs Tennessee.  the nasty orange (i hate tennessee) team AND bruce pearl's first game back.  this is a big game to say the least.

and we had tickets :)

i'm not usually a huge fan of surprises, but this one was the best!  especially because of the aforementioned nasty dysphagia test!

oh hey john wall!  welcome back to rupp

it was such a fun surprise!  i've missed being able to go to uk games... there's nothing like being in rupp and experiencing the madness that occurs :)  oh... and we totally won.  we needed a big win, this was it, and tennessee lost!

thanks for the best surprise!!!!

wan... if you're reading this, i'm not sorry you lost :)  love you, one day we'll convert you to being a uk fan!!!!

{ryan}

today is my friend ryan's birthday.

he's 26 but instead of partying down here with us in richmond, he's partying with Jesus.

it's a happy and sad day...

ry battled cancer for  a long time, and although you would never hear him whine or complain, we all knew he was in pain.  he never let on.  he still came to class whenever he could and he wasn't getting different treatments, he drove his beloved truck until it had to be taken away, and he never lost the smile on his face.

last year, we (all the cd girls) surprised ry with a bday party at gillums.  it was great... our professors came, all the girls came out and we just had a blast...

ry with his 22 girlfriends

a short time later, right before graduation, ry left us for the beauty of heaven where he's fully healthy and happy...

at church yesterday, the sermon was on miracles and a glimpse of what heaven is like, and i couldn't help thinking that ry was experiencing that:

and i heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "look! God's dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them.  they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  'He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" then he said, "write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

 - rev 21:1-5

it's happy that ry is experiencing  that... no more death, mourning, crying or pain... it's good he's free from the cancer and the treatments and the pain, but still, how can you not miss an awesome guy like ry?  it's hard for all us down here...

we, as a class, miss ryan every day... he brought us together, made us a family, and showed us truly how to live as if each day is your last and to trust Christ to your last breath.  i am so glad we all got to spend his last earthly birthday with him, it is one of those moments you just keep in your heart.  i can't wait to see you again in heaven, friend!  

{hope}

the last few weeks i've been reading through romans.

it's easily one of my favorite books in the bible because of how much is packed into it.  it's one of the books i go to and get new things out of each time i read it, and it often is one of the ways God gives me things i need to hear.

i just finished romans 15 and read this:

may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

not only is it an encouraging verse, but it's also a challenge when you think about it.

it's encouraging that i don't have to do anything- i can't.  all i can do is accept that God loves me and wants to give me the joy and the peace that i need each and every day.  it's crazy to think that the God of the universe that made each and everything cares enough to want to give me joy and peace.

i've been studying about everything that allows you to swallow today too.  just think about it.  to swallow, you don't even think.  the only time we think about swallowing is if we swallow something too big or too hot or something like that.  other than those times, it just comes naturally.  if you look more into swallowing, it is super complex (i would know... i've spent hours looking over it and it's still confusing...) and if something's not right, it can turn into a big problem really quickly.  i know it's super dorky, but the fact that i just swallowed all of my dinner while watching tv and reading and not thinking about a thing (ie peace about swallowing i guess?) is crazy.

here's the challenging part: that i may overflow with hope.

i think i often get caught up in life and my own little problems instead of overflowing with hope and joy. it's super easy for me to get stressed about school, about my car, about money, and forget that i have hope.  i mean, when i stop and think, of course i realize i have hope, but on a minute-by-minute basis, my first thoughts don't go straight to "i have hope in Christ".

i want to change my thinking.  instead of dreading going to class, i want joy in thinking 'i get to learn today... i get the opportunity to not only get an education, but i'm getting a really really good education most people will never get'.
instead of worrying about my car, i want to have hope that Christ will protect me while i drive and joy that i actually HAVE a car!  most people in the world walk miles and miles to a very low paying job.
when i'm just in a cranky mood (sorry if i've been in one lately!) i want to refocus and realize i have hope of a new day and the joy that God's blessed me with another one.

gotta love the promises and also challenges God gives us!

who knew that a combo of a whole day alone to relax, read and study would culminate in so much?

{little things}

the past few days have been more stressful than usual.

we're coming up on the first round of tests (advanced voice and dysphagia... not the easiest of subjects!), my car went to the shop, and i now have two therapy clients: a sweet little girl who's non-verbal and we're implementing an augmentative communication device called PECS and a fluency client, so while i love doing the therapy, my plate at school is only a little full.

add to this i haven't gotten a lot of sleep the past few nights, some my fault, some thanks to the weather we've been having lately.

all of that kind of has been taking a tole on me, and that makes me frustrated with myself because i like to control things :)

i woke up this morning with just less joy than usual.  i usually wake up pretty well even though it's 5:50 in the morning and i may not the happiest, but i'm fairly excited for the day, but just not today.

it's days like today that i realize how much i appreciate little things in life.

i had one of the nicest messages in my inbox when i woke up and it just turned the feeling of tiredness to just putting a smile on my face.

then i get to richmond and find out my client cancelled.  BUT there was free starbucks on powell corner (hallelujah i get coffee!) AND i got all of my clinic paperwork done for the week.

add to the fact that last night at bible study we just had a fun time hanging out together and played just dance (my roommate took several videos, and the boys' dancing would put a smile on anyones face, so if i find it, i'll post it on here!!!)


i'm a simple girl.  it's just the little things in life that make me smile, and today, i'm thankful for that.  even on the roughest days, i have great people in my life and an amazing God who find ways to make me realize that my life is totally and completely blessed.  thank you to all of you who make me smile :)

{dreams}

what are your dreams in life?

i don't know why this is crossing my mind now, but it is, so that's what i'm writing about.

a couple years ago at church, we were talking about having one month to live (it was based off a book) and just living by faith, burying your fears, and having big dreams.

we were encouraged to work on a bucket list...
i've always loved this idea.  a list of things you want to do before you die.  some are big things, some are little things, and some things will take a full lifetime to accomplish.
here's a few:
go to africa
learn ASL
sky dive
go on a hot air balloon ride
see a volcano go off
spend a night on the streets
adopt a dog

over the summer, my daddy came to lexington and we got to mark off one of my items; go on a hot air balloon ride!

our balloon high over lexington

me and my pops

like i said... i have no idea why this is crossing my mind today.  maybe it's the fact that today's been slightly stressful with my car in the shop and trying to get school stuff together and this is my escape, or it's just something i'm supposed to think about; dreaming big.

whatever it is, i don't want to ever stop dreaming.  i want to have big dreams and work to achieve them.