Weekend Rewind

Friday:

• Went to classes and worked
• After work hung out in my room with Nikki, Nikki, Erin and then a little later Marc and Tom
• We then went downstairs and watched some Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta and then Made of Honor
• Made of Honor is not as good of a movie as I remembered, but it was still ok

Saturday:

• Nikki L and I went to Panera around 10:30 and stayed until 5- we were both very productive in doing our homework so that was really good
• Around 6 pm a bunch of us went downtown to celebrate Nikki M's birthday (which was Sunday)
• We ate a Legend's and it was really good. I had a chicken quesadilla which was one of the best quesadillas I've had.

• Then Nikki L and I went to Hy-Vee to pick up food for Sunday night dinner
• Then we met back up with people at Emily, Michelle, and Carley's apartment before we went to some campus bars for the rest of the evening

Sunday:

• Woke up and went to church. It was a really good message about facing your fears and how God is always with you and will do the unexpected if you allow him to. 
• Then I went back home and took a nap
• Nikki and I made dinner which was pizza and cupcakes
• I also did a little homework (but wasn't as productive as I should have been)
• Went to chapter
• Had Bible Study and talked about courage, which was really good

Intervarsity

Having some fun after Current on Wednesday:

Courtney told me I looked like a cancer patient, which wasn't very nice

Please look at Courtney's face in the doorway

I feel like I mention a lot about intervarsity in my posts, but have never really explained what it is or what it really means to me. I was thinking about this on Wednesday as I was sitting in Current (the weekly meeting) and thought I'd write a blog post on it.

I started going to intervarsity spring semester of my freshman year. Amanda, Courtney, and I had done a little "church shopping" and then Amanda someone looked up Christian organizations on campus and found IV. She asked us to go with her and we said yes and have been going every week since.

It started where we would sit in the back and watch what was going on and maybe talk to a couple other people that we had met and eventually we all got really involved in it. It's crazy to think that this was 4 years ago and that it's almost over now.

As we continued to go to events and meet more people we really started connected to people. I feel like Courtney really connected first and found a small group of friends within IV that became her family. She started going to church with them and really discovered her faith and who God is. It was awesome to be a witness to this during our sophomore year. I was able to really watch her faith grow, especially during this time in her life. Courtney then began leading small groups and doing other activities within IV and has really made an impact on a lot of lives.

Amanda eventually got more involved with IV, I can't exactly remember when, but I think it was more of our junior year after she went to China. (It may have been a little before that too, I can't really remember) and she's done amazing things by helping lead small groups, organizing tons of events, and helping shape the vision of intervarsity at Drake. She also does a great job with getting to know the new people that come and really making everyone feel welcome and like they are wanted at Current.

Through all of this I watched and also made some connections through IV. I knew a lot of the people my sophomore year since I was rooming with Courtney and hanging out with her most of the time. When I went to Ethiopia before my junior year I also got to know the people from IV that went on the trip a lot better and I felt really connected to those people.

My junior year I started living in the DG house and really started to feel connections there. I still went to IV weekly, but started to not know as many people and really felt torn between the IV world and the DG world. Beth Ann started a Bible study in the house at the end of my sophomore year and myself and Anna continued it my junior year. This is where I formed some great friendships with Michelle and Sarah along with many others. By the end of junior year there was some overlap between my DG and IV worlds, but still not a ton. Events still seemed to happen on the same days and I was forced to chose one group over the other.

Then this year things have started to change. The seeds that were planted earlier in my college career through Beth Ann and I'm sure many others have started to grow. The DG Bible study has expanded and now more DGs are coming with me to Current on Wednesdays. There have been a couple weeks where there have been 2 rows full of DGs. It has been amazing for me to see how God has connected two of the biggest parts of my college career and drawn people closer to him.

I think that one of the greatest things about IV is the emphasis on showing who Jesus is to those around you. To meeting where they are. There are tons of different people in IV who are in tons of other organizations and sports, etc. IV encourages those people to go to the places where they have influence and show people who God is. I feel very blessed that God has used me in some small way to further his kingdom and bring my sorority sisters closer to Him. My hope as my last semester as a collegiate member of DG is that more lives will be transformed and more of my sisters will begin to understand who God is and why he is so important in their lives. Even if nothing changes while they are in college they will at least know that there is a group of their sisters who will always be there for them.

Drake Basketball

On Wednesday Drake played Creighton at home. I hadn't been to any Drake basketball games (I had actually been to a Creighton game when I visited Carina.) Creighton is currently rated #15 in the country so I wanted to go watch the game plus it was a white out so I thought a look of people would be there. There was a ton of people and it was a lot better game that I had expected. Drake stayed with Creighton pretty much the entire time and even though they weren't able to win they still played hard. It was also really fun to go to the game with some of my DG sisters. Even if we weren't in the student section because we didn't get there early enough we still enjoyed the game.

It was also a lot of fun to see Doug McDermott play. Since he is from Iowa and played with Harrison Barnes, I had heard a lot about him. So it was a lot of fun to see him in action. He's a very good player especially for only being a sophomore. I think it will be really fun to watch the rest of Creighton's season and to see how far they go in the tournaments. I also think Doug will have a great career so it will be fun to watch these next couple of years.

30 things about me

#30thingsaboutme was trending on twitter on Sunday so I decided that I thought it would make a good blog post. Here are 30 things about me, which you probably know most of it.

1. I have a brother and a sister
2. I'm a pharmacy major
3. I work for the department of public health and interview people with foodborne illnesses
4. I'm very awkward when meeting new people
5. I love wearing sweats and would always wear them if it was socially appropriate
6. I love Jesus
7. Harry Potter books are my favorite
8. I like reading in general
9. I'm easily distracted on the internet
10. I didn't drink until I was 21
11. I love Africa and would love to live there some day (I'm not sure for how long)
12. I don't like coffee
13. I'm a rule follower
14. I love being in a sorority
15. I enjoy all things Iowa State
16. Greys Anatomy is one of my favorite shows and I've seen every episode
17. I've been a lifeguard since I was 15
18. My thumbs are two different sizes/shapes
19. I'm not a very emotional person
20. I really value friendship
21. I'm very sarcastic
22. I'm super shy at first, but once I'm comfortable around you my true personality comes out
23. I'm a picky eater but about very strange things for instance I only like kraft macaroni and cheese
24. I'm not doing very well at reading my Bible daily
25. Swimming is my favorite sport
26. I hate having long nails...I always cut them so there is no white part showing
27. I love Disney movies
28. I'm going to Honduras over spring break for a medical mission trip
29. I enjoy watching college basketball and football and wish I had time to watch more games
30. I don't like the way my blog formats my posts without pictures

The Millenium Series

 

The Millennium Series were the last 3 books that I read over break. They include: the girl with the dragon tattoo, the girl who played with fire, and the girl who kicked the hornets nest. They were all really good books. I would say that they are all a mystery. The first book I thought was really hard to get into, but once you did it was a really quick read. All of them were really hard for me to put down. I would recommend you to read them all they are hard to explain and some of it gets really graphic, but they are SOOOO good.

On Saturday morning I asked/forced Courtney to go to the girl with the dragon tattoo movie with me. I had heard good things about it from most people. Some people felt it was too graphic or whatever. But most of my friends had either seen it or didn't want to see it. Courtney agreed to go with me and I was very glad that she did. It was really good and I enjoyed it a lot. It was really close to the book, which I always appreciate. Courtney also ended up liking it so it wasn't so bad that I made her go see it with me.

Now I'll be done with my book reviews until this summer so I'm sure most of you will appreciate it, but I really read some great books over break so you should read them too :)

Worship Wednesday "Lead Me"

In honor of winter jam I thought I would post a song from the concert by Sanctus Real. I really like this song and have heard it many times before so it was very cool to see it live.

Winter Jam

On Friday Michelle, Sarah, and I went to the Christian Concert Winter Jam. There were a lot of different Christian bands there some I had heard of and some that I hadn't. They included: Toby Mac, Kari Jobe, Building 149, Sanctus Real, Peter Furler, Group 1 Crew, Newsong, and a few more. It was a pretty good concert, but was a little long as I got really tired towards the end. Here are some of the highlights for me:

• Crazy mom in front of us who was standing up dancing all around and embarrassing her children (that part I felt bad for the kids about)
• Dad in front (same family) whipping out a lighter when one of the bands asked for people to take their phones out
• Hearing some of the Newsboys songs sung by Peter Fuler
• Trying to make Carina feel jealous by texting her that I was seeing Toby Mac and then her responding by saying that she's already met him and sat front row and realizing that I should have remembered these things before bragging
• Realizing that Toby Mac is 47

I'm sure there were more but that is all I can think of right now

One for the Money

  

As many of you have now realized I read a lot of books over break. Since I didn't actually do much else then read at watch some Gilmore Girls I actually really enjoyed this. There have been a few books that I haven't written about yet, which I will do this week. 

One of these books is One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. I've heard of the Stephanie Plum series for awhile as my mom, aunt, and cousin all love them and think they are hilarious. I never really got into reading them. I'm not exactly sure why, but I didn't. Then I saw that they were coming out with a movie so I thought that I really needed to read the book first. 

It's about a girl who becomes a bounty hunter and the crazy things that she does to try and catch the guy with the very little experience that she has. I really liked the book and can't wait to see the movie very soon. I will probably read the rest of the series this summer. The library didn't have the second book checked in when I was home and since I don't have time to read during school this will then have to be put off until this summer. This book was a really easy and quick read and was very entertaining so if you haven't

What I learned in the first week of winter semester

• I like living in small dorm (besides my squeaky bed)
• I may actually enjoy team based learning (that is still TBD)
• I need to stay on top of my homework so I don't get behind
• I'm enjoying not having a position in DG anymore and having more free time
• It was great to be back at Intervarsity and have a lot of DGs there with me
• Being back at Hope for church today was really nice
• Headbands/hats are very important for you walk in the early mornings to class so your ears don't freeze off
• You can actually shower/get ready for class if you don't hit the snooze button
• Laying out your clothes/getting your bag packed also helps with the above
• I now know the beginnings of how to treat a cold, cough, and allergies
• The sampler at BWW is actually very big and is made for 2 people
• Re-heated said sampler is hard when the breaker keeps getting tripped on the toaster oven
• 8 am class everyday is that bad (we'll see how I feel about this in a couple weeks)
• I'm Sexy and I Know It is on the radio a lot even though I didn't notice this until very recently thanks to Traci
• My sister is now in a sorority (Pi Phi) and Erin's sister prefed her!

Worship Wednesday- "Where You Go I Go"

Weekend Watching Sports (and other things)

On Friday I went to visit Traci for the weekend. It started out by me walking in her apartment and he telling me that she had a plan for us. She said it in a very strange way though so I knew it wouldn't be something that I really wanted to do. Kelly had invited her to go watch a high school basketball game. I said that was fine so we went. It was a little awkward for me since I didn't know anyone there. Kelly's boyfriend was the coach for the one team and Traci student taught at the other school. They were actually more excited about the game then they look in the picture. They just really didn't want their picture taken.

After the game Traci and I went back to her apartment and watched the end of 17 Again with Caitlin and Macala.

Saturday Traci had her big track meet. Anna and I went and watched the whole thing. Caitlin and Macala also came for her first event. Traci ended up having a PR in both events and winning the weight throw and getting second in the shot. So overall she did a great job. Anna and I had a good time taking random pictures of Traci (they're all on my facebook page if you want to see them all). There wasn't as many people there this year so we didn't have as much fun making fun of people, but it was still pretty good and wasn't a super long meet.

After the meet Traci and I went with her parents out to eat. They were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. After the meal and after Traci's dad made fun of me we went back to Traci's. Deb and Anna came over. We then all went to get frozen yogurt. I got peanut butter, but it wasn't very good. I decided it would be best to try the yogurt now before I get it at a new place. (I'm not sure why the pics are so grainy)

Then we went back to Traci's and Macala joined us and we watch Friends with Benefits before going to bed.

Today we got up went to church, then watched some Friends before going to Pita Pit. While eating we watched some Clueless and then I left.

Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips

My grandma wrote on my facebook wall and told me to go to pinterest and make chocolate dipped potato chips. I thought they looked rather strange, but they seemed easy enough to make so I thought I'd give it a shot. Plus I usually really like the sweet and salty combo so I thought I'd like it.

They were really easy to make. All you do is gather 2 ingredients: potato chips and chocolate chips.

Next you take the chocolate chips and melt them in a bowl (I used a pan) over simmering water. You melt them until smooth, which doesn't take very long at all.

Then you dip the chips into the melted chocolate. I ended more using the spatula to spread the chocolate onto the chip, which seemed to work pretty well. When I tried to dip them I got too much globs of chocolate. Here's the finished product:

 

Here's the link to the website with the actual recipe. There's looked my nicer than mine turned out.

Worship Wednesday- "Lift Me Up"

Last Christmas

My almost month long Christmas celebrations came to an end this weekend. We went back to my grandparents house and had Christmas on Saturday. It was great to see my grandparents again and also see my cousins that I didn't see on actual Christmas. We got gifts from my grandparents and then the adults did a gift exchange of kitchen supplies. This year it was pretty intense with all of the stealing. It was quite a bit of fun even though I didn't really need anything for a kitchen as I don't have a house. We ended up teaming up as a family and getting the things my parents wanted (or what us kids thought our parents wanted).  We also ate a lot of good food, played some games, and just talked. Then on Sunday my family went with my grandparents to church and then stayed for the church pot luck before we headed home.  Here are some great pictures of the weekend (there are some especially good ones of Isaac).

Worship Wednesday "Desert Song"

Ed Thomas

The next book that I finished was "The Sacred Acre." It's the story of Ed Thomas and his legacy. It's a really good book (if you haven't noticed I like most of the books I read). Anyway, they did a great job of telling his story and showing how much he meant to his town and also how he used his platform of being a football coach and teacher to impact tons of people and show them God through his actions.

When I checked the book out from the library the librarian made a comment about how it was a really good book and how everyone probably remembers where they were when they heard that Ed Thomas was shot. When she said this I realized that I did know exactly where I was and as I read it I thought about where I was for a lot of the different events relating to Parkersburg.

Before the tornado hit Parkersburg I participated in track meets there every year. I had seen Ed around the track and at other sporting events through high school. I also saw how much they really cared about their field because it was one of the only football fields that was roped off during meets so people couldn't warm up on it.

I was also reminded how the tornado hit Parkerburg the day I graduated from high school. We had just graduated and were going around to different graduation parties when we saw all sorts of police, firetrucks, ambulances, etc. driving towards Parkersburg. We didn't really think anything of it, just that it was strange to see that many cars driving with their lights on. Then we got to a party and found out that Parkersburg had been hit by a tornado. I also went with some people in my church to Applington to sort out donations.

As for where I was the day he was shot I remembered that I was at the medical center pharmacy. It was the summer after my freshman year and so I was working there and someone came in and asked if we heard that Ed Thomas was shot. We were a little confused and in shock. Who would want to shoot him? As the coming days continued we got little bits of information about what happened.

I really enjoyed reading the book and finding more about exactly what happened. I liked learning more about the Thomas family and how much they showed God's grace after the events that happened to them.

More Reading

I've been reading a lot over break (if you haven't noticed already) so I thought I'd update you on a couple of the books that I've read recently.

I heard about "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer at the suggestion of my friend Michelle. I really liked the Twilight books so I thought that I would also like this book. It's kind of a strange book, but I really liked it. It's really hard to explain what it's about and if I tried I would make it sound really stupid. Here's the description from amazon and if you like books like are more sci-fi, etc. then I think you would also like this book.

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human. (2008)

"Bossypants" by Tina Fey was another book that I recently read. It's an autobiography of her life and told in a very humorous way. If you like Tina Fey or her sense of humor then I would really recommend this book. It's a really quick and easy read and is also very funny.

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone! I hope that you have a great start to 2012. I also hope that if you made any new years resolution that you are able to keep them. I've never made a new years resolution before, but this year I'm going to try. I want to read through the Bible in a year. I tried at the start of the school year and haven't done a very good job. I do it for a couple of days then I stop. So in 2012 I will read the entire Bible.

I spent New Years Eve this year in a small town in Iowa-Raymond at The Bar (a very creative name). It was fun I got to hang out with a few of my friends from high school: Anna, Kelly, and Traci. I also got to meet Anna and Kelly's boyfriends and some of their friends. It was a fun night and a great way to ring in the new year!