Quick recap

So. What have I been doing the past month?

Going to street fairs in downtown Grove City and watching Mark and Justin trying to win goldfish...they didn't.


Um. Then we went up to the mountains and hung out together. Best.Time.Ever.


Then, the RAs came back and in the middle of training, we got to take a group of them to PNC Park for a Pirates game. It was a perfect night!


And finally, we got to my favorite part of training...alcohol & drug awareness. That is our dear RA, Jason Kish wearing the Beer Goggles and trying to walk the line.
Priceless, people, priceless.

After all that, we went on our RA Retreat--and it blew my mind. We have such an amazing group this year, I'm not sure where to begin. They're all so anxious and ready to serve --they're astounding.

AND. I had my first grad class last night. Yeah. Justin (see above) and I started the program together this year. We'll be getting our Masters of Arts in Higher Education. I can declare a concentration if I want--but I'm not sure about that just yet. If I do, I'm fairly certain it will be in Student Affairs, but oddly enough, the Campus Ministry one sounds oddly appealing. We'll see. So, yeah, I'm a grad student. I was holding the syllabus for my first class and just about tripped out. It's been a long time since I was a student. But the rest of the night I was completely enthralled by everything Don (Opitz) said. He was speaking my language--passion and giftedness and vocation--unbelievable. I'm really excited.

That's it for now...move-in for freshmen is tomorrow and my upperclassmen all roll in on Saturday (which will be cuh-razy)--yay for the beginning of the school year!!!!

Cuuuuuuuute....

Jess took this picture while I was busy trying to kiss her baby to death.

Me and Talia are pretty much BFF.

Blast from the past...

So, I went looking through some old journals tonight. I don't know why. I honestly don't. It makes me crazy.

But I stumbled across these gems, scrawled on notebook paper, that fell out from between the pages of one of the journals....

Truth is not beauty. Beauty is beauty. Without beauty, you have no voice.

(Yikes.)

I make him feel good about himself. He makes me feel like I think I know how to feel.

(Okay. Whoa. Double yikes.)

I wish I could have saved you without drowning myself.
I wish what I offered could have been enough.
But I'm too weak and you're too wicked,
so I sink, my heart forgotten.

(And there you have it...)

There they are...

We went bowling the other night as a staff. I was cranky. I don't typically care for bowling...but Gabe, Renee, Gretchen and I kicked ass and took names. So I got over it.

At the end of the night, Jamie had us get the obligatory staff photo--so, I thought I'd share. We're a motley crew (although it just might be because it was almost a hundred degrees in the bowling alley), but they're some of my favorite people...

Why boys are lucky.

Well, I guess if you're asking me I'd say boys are lucky for a couple of reasons. The most important one being that they get to stand up when they pee (we've been over this, I know). Whatever.

Today I realized another reason. They never have to tape down their clothing.

Yeah. You heard me. I'm going to Stacy & Bart's wedding today. I have a super cute dress to wear. Unfortunately, there are parts of said dress, as well as parts of ME, that need a little help staying under lockdown.

So I bought this:


Yay for body adhesive and being a girl!!!

Happy New (school)Year!

Hi.

So, I just spent the past few days on a retreat with my coworkers. We went up to the mountains and stayed in a cabin for a couple nights--it was cuh-razy fun.

The thing is this--I had a great year last year. And I suppose I talked a lot about my RA staff being wonderful, but my RD staff was amazing as well. But there's something about this year that's blowing my mind a little bit. Since I got back to campus and have been with them all day for the past week and a half--it's been AWESOME. What's super crazy is that we have 3 newbies, too--and they just...belong. I've been having the best time with all of them and I suppose I'm realizing how blessed I am to be part of something like that. A common purpose. A shared vision. A genuine love for one another. I'm fairly certain that doesn't happen where most people work. And sure, maybe it's because we're res life geeks, and since we work, play, eat, live together--it bonds us in a way that is unusual to say the least--but I still don't think that what we've got going happens all the time--even in a res life capacity.

I'm super lucky to know these people.

As for the retreat, it was unreal--we had so much fun. The glory of being a bunch of self-proclaimed res life geeks is that you're totally on board for playing silly games until 2am. Or pass hours playing euchre and/or spades. You kill the TV and stay up til 4 talking about everything from calling and vocation--to body odor. I never thought I'd be such a fan of forced togetherness. Turns out that if it's this bunch, I am.

Hello, Cupcake!

Remember how I was doing those cupcakes/cake for that wedding?

Here's a pic my friend Carrie took for me!