Sam & Libby

until a year ago i claimed to be an animal lover/happy pet owner. however, i began to realize that i really don't like pets. being the neat freak that i am pets don't fit into my idea of clean. the fur, the smells, the bad breathe, etc. i felt good once i finally admitted it. it was as if finally was able to stop lying to people about how i felt about animals. and i'm finally not afraid to say that i'm not an animal lover. i really don't think it makes me a bad person either. i don't mistreat animals, i just don't like them. at all.

well, with god's great sense of humor i am now housing not one, but TWO cats! i still can't believe it. my parents are in the process of moving here from NY, but they are still taking lots of trips back and forth. so, my mom and dad approached me about taking care of their two cats. i want to do everything that i can to help my parents, so i said yes. it wasn't easy to do though!

so sam and libby have been living here since december 24th. they are about 7 years old and they are brother and sister. cute names right?!?! they sleep a lot and like to go outside a few times a day. libby loves to cuddle on the couch and sam likes to sleep at the foot of my bed. they eat twice a day and use the liter box very well. they actually prefer to go outside and use the bathroom so that is a plus.

so, as much as i hate to admit it, i really don't mind having them here! i can't believe i just said that. so maybe i'm not as much of non-animal person as i thought. the jury is still out on dogs though.

sadness

so its been a rough couple of weeks for me. i hesitate to even say that because none of the sadness is directly related to me...yet i'm really feeling the pain. last week baby beau passed away. i didn't know him well, but i did have the privilege of watching him a few times when he was in the step-down unit of the hospital. beau was born with congenital heart failure and has struggled throughout the 16 months of his life. however, he was able to overcome so many obstacles and survived 6 major surgeries. he recently began to show a lot of progress and was learning to sit up on his own. then he had a brain aneurysm on december 26th and was pronounced brain dead. on sunday, december 28th he passed away. it was his mom's birthday that day. i struggle to understand this tragic situation. i attended beau's memorial service this sunday and listened to my pastor talk about beau and his life. he talked about how god grieves with us when things like this happen and that it is NOT god's will when things like this happen. this really made me think because i always thought that god was able to control life and death. i was one of the people that use to say "it was god's will" or "god must need him in heaven more than he needs him on earth." but my pastor really challenged my thinking and said that because we have free will things like this happen. as i try to wrap my brain around all of this i get more sad news today. one of my best friends sister is in the final stages of cancer, she is only 28. my friend just has a baby 3 weeks ago and now she has to say goodbye to her sister. i'm not sure i can understand all of this. my heart is heavy. i know this is were my faith needs to take over...but my mind is just trying really hard to figure it all out. sigh.

old lady

word to the wise-don't schedule three doctor's appointments in one day. i did this today and it was NOT fun. i thought i'd be smart and schedule all the appointments for one day. these are appointments i've put off while busy this semester. well-i felt like an old lady all day. i even fell asleep on my couch in between two of my appointments!!! i never do that! and if today is a glimpse into my future, i don't want to get old! thankfully i got good reports so i won't be going back to any of these docs for a while. i'm gonna go eat some prunes now and put mothballs in my closets...ugh.

december, really?

well, i made it. my last paper has been edited and handed in. classes are done until january 13th. i was sooo excited for this break, but now i'm finding that i'm busier than ever! i have a ton of babysitting jobs, christmas parties, birthday parties, etc. this week was crazy! however-i'm not going to complain. its still nice to not be doing school work. hopefully things will slow down next week and i can actually relax a bit.

is it december yet????

my advise-don't get a new laptop at the end of the semester! it's too tempting to use during those boring classes! for example-i'm in class right now! ugh-i kinda feel guilty, but sometimes class is so off topic and irrelevant to my future that i just tune out. it doesn't help that i have 6 hours of straight classes either. i also can tell its the end of the semester because i seem to find almost ANYTHING to do that can distract me from my work. last night i finished up dinner and knew i had to get back to work. but instead of throwing the dishes in the sink and getting to work i cleaned the kitchen to perfection and then i refilled the salt and pepper shakers. did that need to be done? no! were they almost empty? not really. after i did it i totally realized what i was doing and had to laugh! anyways-i'm sooooo looking forward to the month of december when i have NO classes or assignments. i plan to sleep late and spend endless hours in front of the tv, while reading mindless books. aaaahhhh. i can't wait!

p.s. isn't my laptop pretty? its purple and i love it!!

my new life

sooooooooo...a few things have changed lately that prevent me from blogging the way i'd like to. grad school has taken over my life. every bit of free time/down time is now devoted to writing papers, reading thousands of articles and books, going to class...and did i mention reading and writing? wow! its crazy the amount of work i have to do-but don't get me wrong-I LOVE IT! i'm learning sooooo much and have the most fascinating professors. i actually look forward to all my classes, which is quite a difference from undergrad!

i'm also in love with not working. (maybe kelley was right all those years...working is overrated! ) here is what a typical day of mine looks like:

8:00 alarm goes off
8:30-9 i actually get up
9-9:30 coffee and the today show
9:30-10 check email and get my facebook fix
10-go for a walk (this is a recent addition to my day)
11-shower and get dressed
11:30-12:30 school work
12:30-12:45 lunch
12:45-3:00 school work with frequent breaks to get a drink, use the bathroom, check email, etc.
3:00 get ready for class
3:30-leave for class
4-10 classes (yes, three hours classes back-to-back) it hurts my butt!
10:30-get home and unwind
10:30-11:30 school work
11:30 facebook fix, check email, watch some TV
12-bedtime

okay, okay-i know all you moms hate me right about now. i'm sorry! but now do you understand why i love not working?!?! i know this one year of freedom from work is going to fly by, so i'm trying to enjoy every moment of it!

i apologize in advance for my lack of blogging. all my writing is now devoted to school work. but i will make an honest effort to keep you up to date.

(and if you're interested in boosting my self esteem-please become one of blog followers. i only have 2 right now and that makes me sad! )

beautiful child

the past few weeks have been GREAT! i've dived into this new chapter in my life and i couldn't be any happier. every night, when i lay my head on my pillow, i fall asleep thanking god for all that he has given me and for how he has provided for me to fulfill my dreams. i also thank him for my family who i've also had the awesome opportunity to spend lots of time with these past few weeks, and it has been wonderful! two weeks ago we headed to wrightsville beach for the weekend. it was ry and i, michele and dylan, and kim and howard with the "jcrew". the jcrew is their five kids, jaylyn, jessie, jovie, jax, and jaegar. despite the hour of unpacking/packing the cars every time we went to the beach-it was so much fun. all the kids are at really fun ages and we all enjoyed being with them at the beach. jaylyn is kim and howard's oldest and she turned 9 years old august 24th. jaylyn has grown up so much lately. she not only acts older, but looks a lot older too. it has been so neat to watch her grow up. jaylyn was only 2 when i moved to nc, so i've had the privilege of really watching her grow up. she has an amazing heart for god, she loves her family and is so giving. being the oldest (which i can relate to) she is often required to be the helper or the "built in babysitter". she never seems to mind though and you can see in her eyes how much she loves her little brothers and sisters. when we were at the beach we celebrated her birthday. ryan and i have jaylyn a card and some money. when she came over to say thank you to me, she gave me a big hug and whispered something into my ear that i will never forget. she said "i love you more than you will ever know." it was so precious and so sweet, and i know that it truly came from her heart. i love being a part of her life and i can't wait to watch her continue to grow up. as long as she doesn't grow up too fast!