Of Chaos and Ants

Some days are more chaotic than others, you can have a day which is relaxing, happy and carefree and then 24 hours later you're sitting at your kitchen table, surrounded by bills, taxes and a not so potty trained puppy while eating ants. Today was an ant eating day.

A few weeks ago we began renting a house, we moved in and discovered that there were some ants, the landlord sent out an exterminator and they began to die. All was well. More on the ants to come.

The week after we moved in, my sister rescued a puppy, he was only 9 weeks old, adorable and the scraggliest little thing I ever saw. He had been relocated from a high kill shelter here in Virginia up to New Jersey, so it was quite the little trip to bring him home. On the trip to pick him up, we learned that there are tolls that cost $8 on 95 and there are tolls that don't accept money but instead give you a ticket to take to the next toll. Also, it's illegal to pump your own gas in some states, I'm pretty sure Steph and I looked like owls when a random man came up to the window when we pulled up. In addition to the odd gas station situation, New Jersey is home to the "Blueberry Capitol of the World" and it's not a joke. Blueberry bushes or trees or whatever it is blueberries grow on, everywhere. And zero road maintenance. So there we were, lost in a world of blueberry bushes, with no cell service, massive holes in the road and roads named things like "Grape Lane." If you're ever bored, I highly recommend a trip to New Jersey.

Potty training a puppy, not so bad in theory, 12 accidents later reality hits. 25 accidents, the urge to throttle said puppy becomes stronger. It's a really good thing that he's cute.

Today I settled in to get organized, paperwork from the move, finishing up the apartment stuff, job hunting, drowning in misery over taxes, paying bills and other fun chores. About halfway through I got caught up and forgot to take Xander out, two accidents later I remembered that he needed to go out regularly. My bad, poor little guy. Then I realized that I had forgotten to eat all day, so I wandered into the kitchen to find food. I popped something into the microwave because, let's be fully honest here, that's about the extent of my cooking skills, and grabbed a bowl of cereal to eat while waiting. Halfway through the bowl I realized that the little black pieces were not actually part of the cereal but were, in fact, dead ants. Apparently when they invaded a few weeks ago they had made their way into the box of cereal and then had passed on after eating their fill of sugary goodness. In my distracted state I had consumed a decent amount of the deceased insects.

Moral of this story: Bills and taxes are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

If I die from eating poisoned ants, I'd like that left off of my tombstone.

Baby Xander's first day

The newest addition to our family

Combining college and life after

You'd think that after so many moves I'd come to terms with the fact that everything will either be packed or unfindable. Yet here I sit, determined to reduce the chaos caused by random house showings.

There are at least 5 storage bins under my bed, none of my drawers open because of the massive amount of clothes thrown in, my trash can holds a portion of my CD collection and is shoved in the back of my closet, you don't even want to know what the tv cabinet contains. Definitely not a tv. 

As I was sitting here, trying to determine when I began to accumulate so much stuff, it hit me. College. I've been graduated for nine months now and I still have not fully unpacked. The fact that I came down with mono the week I graduated can partially be blamed, but mostly I just don't want to deal with the headache of sorting through the stuff from my other home. 

Seriously, who wants to deal with the thousands of nail polish bottles that were bought during times of stress, the raingear that was used on a weekly basis in Drenchburg but hasn't been used since and the stack of falling apart textbooks that may never be used again but have earned a place of respect? 

Plus, you can't just pack away something that changed your life so much. If I'm going to spend the next 85 years paying back my student loans, I want to remember all the interesting things that happened over those years. 

The racing from class to class, helping freshmen get settled and find their way, and the people that you smile at in recognition as you pass them every day even though you don't know their names. The massive quantities of coffee that were consumed, the nights studying and the inevitable laptop crash that occurred nearly every single finals week.

I have coffee, Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi and several others are keeping me company and it's 23 degrees outside so I won't be tempted to go anywhere anytime soon. 

I will organize this stuff or die in the process, it could go either way at this point :) 

Amid the chaos of Christmas shopping and the world ending....

Christmas isn't the panicked shoppers racing around the mall, trying to find the perfect gift for a random friend they don't even really talk to. It's not the people diving into coffee shops for what they consider a much needed Quad Venti Gingerbread Latte, regardless of the fact that their eyes are already spinning in their heads from their last caffeine boost. Nor is it the massive tree hurdling down the highway, barely strapped onto the roof of tiny car. It's not the heated debate over whether employees should say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" to customers.

Christmas is the boy standing with his trumpet in front of the grocery store, playing carols as he stands by a Salvation Army tin. It's the older man singing along with the trumpet as he loads groceries into his car, his deep voice never faltering, even when the trumpet player misses an occasional note. It's his wife, standing nearby and smiling softly and humming along in harmony as she watches him help her with the bags she can no longer lift. 

How many things do people miss as they barrel down the aisles at the store, trying to find the one ingredient they need that is no where to be found? 

Next time you're out, panicked and irritable because some moron almost ran you over while trying to race another driver for the last parking spot, take a second and look at everyone around you. Aside from the drivers who probably should never have been given a license in the first place. 

You might see twin five year old girls in matching pink fuzzy coats trying to decide what to get their older brother for Christmas. The frazzled woman who is running the check out counter at the store might be counting down the minutes until her son comes home from his deployment in Afghanistan, just in time to celebrate the holiday with the family. The couple waiting in line behind you for a table at the restaurant might be there to celebrate 61 years of marriage before their children and grandchildren come into town. 

Christmas only comes once a year, don't miss this one because you are too distracted by the lack of essential ingredients in your pantry or by the fact that your in-laws are coming into town for the first time in 12 years. Smile at the UPS guy as he drops your package off, ask the girl who is ringing up your 15 boxes of unsweeted baking chocolate how she's doing, drop a dollar in the tin at the door of the grocery store. 

My favorite part of Christmas is going with my family to take cookies to the firemen on Christmas Eve. Their looks of surprise and then the grins that appear when they realize it's for them is beyond priceless. Don't forget the people who work non-stop through the holidays to take care of the world around them.

Merry Christmas :) 

Things that make me happy

-Having my family all in one place at one time
-The Band Perry's new song "Better Dig Two"
-Traveling
-Red wine
-The dollar book shelf in the library
-The movies She's The Man and Van Helsing
-Trucks and Jeeps
-Newspapers
-My jeans with holes and paint all over them
-Huge sweatshirts
-Listening to someone play the guitar
-My old teddy bear
-The moment of panic and laughter when I almost run into someone coming around the corner in the restaurant kitchen
-My XI family
-My snuggly cat
-Grande Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with an extra shot
-Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Eric Church
-Road trips
-My calendar
-Summer
-My baby pillow pet penguin Scoobie
-Huge pink fluffy blankets
-Job interviews
-Backpacking
-Driving in the country
-Just Dance 3 with my family
-Walking into the restaurant at 10:45 every morning and seeing familiar faces
-My suitcase named Quinn who is currently in Barbados without me, along with my sister
-March Madness with KU
-Baking cookies
-Shirley Temple movies
-The Lord of the Rings
-Ballroom dancing
-Mint chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone
-The beach and the mountains
-Country boys and guys in the military
-Music people don't know about but should :Brothers by Dean Brody
-My candle that smells like strawberry shortcake that I've had for seven years
-Cindy Lou Who who was no more than two

A post of mono, discouragement and not burning the house down

Life after graduation....is not nearly as grand as I had hoped it would be. After submitting over 30 applications, I am no closer to finding a job than I was the day I graduated. But it's okay, I will continue to wipe tables at a restaurant with my diploma until I convince someone to give me an interview.

A lot has happened since I last posted, my desire to write decreased significantly after the first few rejections I got during my job hunt. Stupid Decision #2, the first one will be addressed later. After wallowing in discouragement for a good 5 weeks, I have decided to pick myself back up again and carry on :)

Finals week was exhausting, though the thought of being finished with exams pushed me to finish as best I could. Unfortunately, in the stress of finishing the semester, I decided to ignore the sore throat that I came down with about halfway through the last week of classes. This would be Stupid Decision Numero Uno.  The sore throat persisted for a week and continued to get worse so I dragged myself to the on campus doctors office. Those of you who know me well will understand what a drastic move this was on my part. Visiting a doctors office is about the equivalent of walking up to the gates of Mordor with a pocket knife on the courage scale for me. I was told that I had strep, given some sort of medication and told to come back in 3 days if I did not get better.

Three unfortunate days later, the over cheerful doctor announced that not only did I have a bad case of strep, but I had mono on top of it.

"Mononucleosis: an abnormal increase of mononuclear white blood cells in the blood." Merriam-Webster Dictionary

I'd prefer to describe it as the "can't walk up a flight of stairs without having to take a four hour nap when you reach the top" sickness.

Graduation dawned bright and early, dragging the exhausted participants out of bed at the unearthly hour of 4:30 a.m. Mr. Romney's presence at the ceremony required us to waltz our black robed selves through metal detectors and into the soccer field behind the new Welcome Center. I am convinced that we were put in that field for the sole purpose of saving the groundskeepers from having to aerate it. It was a very good plan as the high heels worn by the female graduates were probably more effective than the actual tools used for aeration.

Because I was feeling the effects of the sleepy medicine that the doctor put me on for mono, I do not remember much of the ceremony. I do, however, remember that the best part was when the founder of Chick-fil-a spoke. He is my hero and I am convinced that he is the sweetest person on the planet. Sadly for Mr. Romney, the only thing that I remember from his speech is that I won a bet with a friend regarding whether he would make a political statement during his speech or remain on topic. I am now $10 richer than I was on May 11th :)

I spent the rest of May and June sleeping. When people tell you that mono makes you tired, they aren't joking or exaggerating. I honestly slept about 20 hours in a row every couple days. I broke all of my previous "sleeping in" records.

July was spent on a three week missions trip to the Bahamas with the most incredible team I could ever ask for. The experiences ranged from roofing to washing hundreds of dishes. Our team became a close knit family and is a group of people that I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life :) I was able to set up a blog for the trip, it was really fun to be able keep the parents updated on what we were doing. Plus it was encouraging to hear parents asking which one was "the writer" when they picked their kids up. Apparently one doesn't need a job to be a writer :)

August was spent recovering from the missions trip, I wound up in the emergency room the day I came home. Let me tell you, there is nothing more interesting than sleeping three hours a night for three weeks in a row and then coming home to sleep, only to spend the time you were meaning to sleep hanging out in the ER. I have a new understanding of the words "mood swings." My poor family watched, with some amusement, me float around between struggling not to bawl my eyes out and roaring with laughter at something that really wasn't all that funny. There really is nothing more entertaining than absolutely nothing when you're over exhausted :)

Now I find myself in September already, still with no job but fully determined to enjoy where I am in life. Beck is at school in Lynchburg, Steph is at school in Barbados and Noah and I will be selling Boy Scout popcorn for the next few weeks. Nothing makes you feel like more of a creeper than sitting in your car and slowly following a 13 year old boy scout walking around a neighborhood. But the caramel popcorn makes it worth it :)

I'm reminded once again how wonderful life is, even when you're a college graduate who can't get an interview. Life is short and I really shouldn't be wasting the chance that I have to experience all that I can right now.

My goal for the next few months is to find a full time job, to learn how to cook without needing a fire extinguisher close by and to complete my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. If you hear a loud explosion and see a mushroom cloud in the distance, please alert every cute fireman in the county and bring some marshmallows for s'mores. If I am unable to cook dinner, I can at least roast marshmallows over the ashes of my failure :)

Life is good :)

College....check!

My countdown has ended, I have officially graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a specialization in Journalism.

It's hard to believe that my time at Liberty is over. I've raced to my last bus stop, taken my last spill down the DeMoss stairs and sat in my last class with Deborah Huff.

I always assumed that when I finished college I would know exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life. Now, I feel like I know even less than I thought I knew when I originally left for school. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but it's what I'm thinking right now.

As I sit here thinking about what an amazing experience I had at Liberty, another thought hits me. What on earth am I going to do with everything that came back from school with me? The unpacking process has begun, my room looks great! However, the hallway leading to my door has disappeared in a mound of crates, rugs, curtains, textbooks and portfolios.

What comes next? Well, as of right now, I'm focusing on recovering from the mono and strep that I came down with during finals week. I will be traveling to Mexico with my family after my little sister graduates from high school in a few weeks. Also in the plans is a mission trip with Xtreme Impact to an island in the Bahamas. I am looking forward to working with my small group of girls on this trip and interacting with the other Liberty student leaders and high school students that will be going on the trip as well.

After that, who knows what I will be doing! I am thoroughly excited about the fact that I have no serious commitments after August, no school to race off to and nothing I have to be. Except for the student loans that will be floating along in November, but that will come in its own time.

I am hoping to write for some sort of magazine or newspaper in the fall, if everything goes according to plan. But those of you who know me well are fully aware of how my plans usually work out. If you see someone living under a bridge, it might be me :)

But as of right now, I am a very content, very sleepy college graduate. I suppose this was a good time to come down with mono, rather than dealing with it during last semester. I don't think I have ever slept this much in my life. Apparently it is time for me to learn to slow down and relax some, at least that's what my boyfriend and family are telling me. We shall see how that goes :)

The CLAB

As I was sitting in the clab this evening, I realized that I don't have very many more nights that I'll be studying in a place like that.

I know I posted a list in my last post, but here's another one :)

Why I love the clab....
1. The wide diversity of the people in the clab. In less than a minute, I spotted people from India, Asia, Puerto Rico, Africa, Canada, Mexico and, of course, the States.
2. The shark-like movements of students as they circle the computers, looking for an open one.
3. The rush for an open couch when someone leaves.
4. The random guy wandering around, clicking off the number of students in the clab. I've always wondered what they do with those numbers...
5. The 3339 Coms Family, y'all know who you are :)
6. The one awkward couple that is clearly beyond twitterpated and well on their way to a ring by spring type of relationship.
7. The fact that there is a social and a study atmosphere at the same time.
8. Swiping your card at midnight, sounds nerdy but it's a fun to see everyone wandering in the direction of the front desk.
9. The vending machine that's never run out for as long as I've been here.
10. That moment when the lights go out as they start to close down for the night.
11. Seeing random friends throughout the night.
12. The random kid that's unconscious on the floor, papers floating all over the place.

I will definitely be missing the clab, nerdy as that may be :)

Things I have never understood about Liberty

I really do love this school....though some things about it never fail to floor me :)

1. The concept behind putting three girls in one small room
2. Does Roccotown still exist now that he's moved on?
3. The copper dome that was put on the Welcome Center even though it turned dull before it was finished being built. Why it has taken so long to build it anyways??
4. My email's inability to remain any less than 90 percent full
5. The lights on the intramural field being turned off at 11 p.m.
6. The term "Worship Major" ....what does one do with this major after leaving Liberty? And why do they all look alike?
7. The placement of the electrical outlets in the dorm rooms, all on one side of the room, the side without the sink and mirror
8. How high up the paper towel dispensers are in the girls bathroom, it's impossible to reach the lever without water running down your arm and into your sleeve
9. People who socialize in the stairways going up from the Vines as soon as convo ends rather than staying in their seats
10. Why isn't there ever an 11 in Christmas Convo's 12 Days of Christmas?
11. The ballroom/grand lobby...that place gets weirder the longer you look at it. Ever looked closely at the chandelier?
12. Leggings being worn instead of pants
13. Cardigans
14. FACS majors
15. Phone calls from Liberty departments in the middle of convo *cough*Student Advocate Office*cough*
16. Longboarders
17. DeMoss classroom numbers
18. Parents who attend freshman orientation
19. Proposals at the monogram
20. LU's attempt to not be known as LU after the creation of the "theme song"
21. The thousands of red towels that are now floating around with no real purpose
22. Hall meeting and then sending all the information out in an email
23. How CFAW always manages to land on the week before major exams
24. The massively huge glasses everyone deems "cool" despite the fact that they were considered horrifically nerdy 10 years ago
25. The water temperature in Dorm 33
26. Towns Auditorium is not the same as the Religion Hall
27. The fourth floor of DeMoss....it will always remain a mystery, a confusing place even with it open
28. The constant heat on the third floor
29. Campus North/Green Hall/ Huge building that keeps growing
30. The bus system, clockwise and counterclockwise, I mean really...who's going to remember that?

Backpacking Trails in Heaven

Seven years ago this afternoon I was in my parents room, bouncing around to music and dusting the furniture so that when they came home it would be clean. I knew that my dad probably wouldn't ever come home but it was nice to pretend for a few minutes that he would. A family from church had just taken the kids for the afternoon and I was determined to make the most out of the quiet house.

I was listening to a Christian song that was fairly popular at that time and trying not to think too hard about what was going on at the hospital. I heard a car pull up in front of the house and glanced out the window. One glance was all it took to realize that something was wrong. I wasn't sure if something had gone wrong with dad at the hospital or if something was wrong with one of my siblings. I dropped everything, ran down the stairs, yanked open the front door only to see the face of my dad's good friend, the pastor of our church at the time. One look at his face and I knew my dad wasn't going to come back.

It felt like the floor fell out from under my family.

I don't remember much of anything from the days that followed, just snapshots really. My mom coming home and telling us. Going through pictures of dad for the funeral. Watching someone typing up the obituary. Holding my five-year-old brother while he cried. Bits and pieces of the funeral. Lori Metzger hugging me at the cemetery.

The one thing that I remember thinking over and over again was that God had made a mistake, that he took the wrong person by accident. I had seen how God had done so many great things through my dad before and then throughout his sickness. Why would God mess all of that up now?

Time has passed, many things have changed in life. Our family has expanded and we gained a new sister and a step-dad. I wasn't very keen on the idea of new family members at first. But I can honestly say, the past four years have taught me so much and I have had a lot of fun with them. Other things have changed too, Noah's almost a teenager (holy crap,) Becka's graduating from high school, Steph's in her junior year of college and mom's still managing to keep up with all of us even though we're all going separate directions (she's my hero)

The only way I can describe what I'm feeling today is that it feels like it was yesterday and forever ago at the same time. Looking back now, I can't say that I like what God chose to do with our family, but I can say that He is good and He has stayed with us the entire time. Our family is strong, we're closer than I ever imagined that we could be. And most importantly....we're okay :)

Every year my family puts up roses in our profile pictures on Facebook in Dad's memory. In my newsfeed a few days ago there was a list of the people who have changed their pictures recently. Roses everywhere. It made me smile and tear up at the same time.

I went to the cemetery a few weeks ago, just to visit. I walked up to where we buried my dad and looked down. There was a little American flag laying on the marker bearing my dad's name, a gift from a veteran he helped years ago.

It's nice to know that people remember. It's nice to know that he hasn't been forgotten.

I never realized how many lives my dad touched throughout his life and even more surprisingly, through his death. We have been able to relate with people in a whole different way as a result of what happened seven years ago.

Sometimes God says yes to prayers, sometimes He says wait, other times He says no. He told us no seven years ago. As much as I hate to say it, God knew what He was doing when He said no. And even though it's hard and we hate it, we're okay :)

It's days like today that make me think that God must have backpacking trails up in heaven

142 days till everything changes

Graduation. The one word strong enough to give nearly any senior a rush of stress and panic.

I was just sitting here, trying to figure out what in the world I'm going to do with myself in five months. In that short amount of time I will be a 22 year old graduate holding a degree in journalism with, as of right now, zero clue what to do with my life.

And then it hit me, all those times when I was a kid, sitting in my room and wishing that I could go anywhere and do anything...I have almost reached that point. Granted I will have a ton of loans to pay off and need to figure out some way to support myself. But in five months I will be handed the opportunity to do anything, go anywhere and try whatever I want to try.

I can apply for any job I want to apply for, within reason of course. While I may not get the job I want, there are a million other opportunities out there, even though the economy is bad. Wherever I end up will be an adventure and a chance to learn more about something I may not have understood before. (Note: please remind me of this if I wind up cleaning tables in a restaurant with my diploma)

For the first time, I can truly say that I am excited to graduate :)

"But I don't want to trust God..."

“You just need to trust God!” How easily people throw that phrase out there….I used to be one of those people. From when I first accepted the Lord at age 4 until I was 13 when my dad was diagnosed with cancer I never paid a whole lot of attention to these words. They were just words people at church said when something went wrong.

For the 15 months that my dad was sick those words meant everything to me; trusting the Lord to heal my dad was what got me through the stress and worry. Then, continuing with His perfect holy plan, the Lord took my dad to be with Him…and those words lost their meaning for me.

Oh, I still heard them on a regular basis from well-meaning church members and friends, but they didn’t mean anything anymore. “Brittany, you just need to be strong and trust God.” And it would take everything in me not to shout back at them “I DID! And look at my life now!” Though on several occasions I wasn’t quite able to hold it back….my bad :)

Now, almost 7 years later I’m still feeling the same doubts, they’re less prominent and only surface occasionally, but they’re still there.

Earlier this year my dear friend and adopted grandfather Wayne was in and out of the hospital; again I prayed for someone I loved to live. And again God chose to bring that person home with Him.

Then, exactly a week ago I came face to face with another "mountain." Thinking back to when I heard that my sisters were in a serious car accident I realize now that as soon as I heard, my first reaction was to pray. My second reaction half a second later brought the first reaction to a screeching halt.

The last two times I prayed for someone to live God chose not to….maybe it’s me.

I decided I didn’t want to test that theory out at that particular moment. Thoughts of being the only sister left flooded into my mind, it was terrifying. I called a good friend and he said that he would pray; I wouldn't at the time because I was afraid of the results that might come if I did. Half an hour and many tears later I was finally able to get to the point where I could pray for my sisters.

Now, a week later after many serious monologues directed at God, some sitting silently and listening to Him and couple more tears, I have a new perspective. Nothing new, just more thought through and concrete in my mind.

Trusting God takes work, it’s not as easy as some people make it out to be. It’s easy until He says no and you find yourself in a downward spiral toward rock bottom. But trusting God isn't something you can just toss out the window, it's an everyday thing. 

I once heard someone mention that we trust God for the little things that we don't think about like keeping the earth in the correct place in the universe and filling our lungs with air every few seconds. Why is it that we really struggle with trust when it comes to the things that are "more of a big deal to us?" I'm still not sure of the answer for this, though it's definitely true.

Sometimes it takes a long time before you can accept a “no” from God; sometimes you might never be okay with it. But that’s alright. We serve an understanding God and that’s part of what makes Him so incredible :) Granted He’s not thrilled with the fact that I have trouble fully trusting Him, but He understands.

And, for the record, there aren’t any lightning bolts from heaven if you struggle with trust, no matter what some people may say :)

To my friends who have gone through or are going through some of the toughest moments in their life, it’s okay to struggle with trusting God. He understands and He will meet you wherever you are, He is patient and will never give you more than you can handle, though it may not seem like it at the time. 

To my friends who are watching someone go through a difficult time and don’t know what to do to help, don’t push, just be there for them. A few of my good friends did this for me; standing by me, listening to me question and argue, but never pushing me. And the Lord has used them in so many ways. Be that kind of friend :)

This is what I’ve learned recently. And if I'm being honest, I’ll probably be working for the rest of my life on getting back to the level of trust I used to be at. But that's okay :)

God is still trustworthy, even though it’s taken me 7 years to be able to say it

In one moment it can all disappear

Never let a day go by that you don't tell your family that you love them, you never know when it might be your last chance.

This past Sunday evening both of my sisters were in a serious car accident. Based on the condition of the car, it's a miracle that they survived.

Stephanie has a severe concussion and multiple fractures in various different bones. Beck has a concussion as well and will be in a neck brace for a few weeks. But both are alive :) Steph's memory has much improved though both girls are still a little out of it. Beck has told me 15 times in the past 24 hours that someone has brought them  flowers. She gets a disgruntled expression whenever I laugh and thank her for that new piece of information.

I'm sitting here watching them both color pictures of Disney princesses because that is all they can do. Because of the severity of their concussions neither are allowed to watch movies, read or do anything that requires any concentration.

As I'm watching them poke each other with their crutches I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have them in the first place. Their senses of humor despite their circumstances are so much fun. Steph's been laughing at Beck as she attempts to navigate stairs while wearing a neck brace while Beck is laughing at Steph as she wobbles around on crutches.

I love these girls so much! I have no idea what I would do without them. The scariest moment was when I realized that they both could have died. The realization that I could have been the only sister left is enough to make me tear up despite where I am and what I'm in the middle of doing.

My sisters are my partners in crime, my support system and my best friends. They always have my back and are always there when I need them.

Today when I was crawling through the totaled car, getting the last of their things, I was reminded of how close I was to losing them. The crumpled car, the piles of shattered glass and the tire marks in the grass where the car landed are enough to make anyone cringe. As a direct result, I have renewed my desire to kill them for nearly giving me a heart attack once they have fully recovered :)

I love my sisters :)

A good book and a cup of tea

Tonight I decided to take someone’s advice and put away my phone and laptop and do something for myself.

I made a cup of tea, curled up in the huge chair in our living room and I read a book.  A whole book. It was amazing! I used to do that at least every other week, I don’t think I’ve sat down and just read a  book in over three years. Everyone is asleep so the house is completely silent; a rare thing for this household :)

I would highly recommend trying this to anyone feeling stressed, I’m thrilled to pieces right now :) Though I have to say, it’s very strange not to have my phone going off constantly and millions of emails coming in. I think I like it….

The joys of boys who try to cook

Yesterday I took on an extra article when the boys in the dorm across the parking lot decided to attempt to deep fry Kit-Kat bars and Oreos. Flaming cabinets, massive clouds of smoke, two fire extinguishers and 11 emergency vehicles later, I had a brand new article to write :) Thankfully this particular article was massively entertaining. After spotting the smoke and flashing lights from my dorm room, I shoved a camera in my roommate's hands and dragged out into the night to help me cover the story. I may have run into our dorm room door somewhere in that process, but we'll not go into that :) There's nothing quite like interviewing a dorm of coughing guys who are torn between roaring with laughter and wanting to murder the culprit.

The beginning....

I have always meant to write a blog, it's always been on my bucket list. Where did that term start? Anyhow, I've just never actually gotten around to it. As I was going about my everyday life this week I realized just how much I have to write about.


As a journalist, I am asked to cover a wide variety of topics. My most recent article has been one on Spirit Week, Liberty's newest tradition. The day I chose to conduct interviews for this article happened to be the "student's choice" day for the week, the students voted and chose Superhero Day. So, I spent this particular day running, in heels, after students dressed like superheroes.


The exact moment that I decided to start a blog I was running full speed down a hall after a student who was dressed in a full Batman costume. At the same time I was talking on the phone with a dear friend who was trying to get directions to my school. As I slowly began to gain on Batman I hung up on my friend after saying "I'll call you back, I've almost caught Batman." As soon as I clicked my phone shut I realized how utterly ridiculous that must have sounded to him. When I called him back a few minutes later to resume giving directions he never once asked me what I had meant. This lead me to the amusing realization that my friends just expect me to say things that they would probably never hear from anyone else.


This is mainly for my own entertainment, though if it entertains others I won't complain :)


And maybe someday I'll figure out how to make this look cute, rather than just having a boring background :)