The "I LOVE Winter" Post

No, I don't really love winter. I don't even slightly like winter. Actually, I completely understand why people end up going to Florida and skipping the whole thing. I'm only 20 and I already feel like every winter just gets colder and longer and more annoying. I personally think that global warming is a great thing and don't know what all the fuss is about.:)

So...in order to combat the winter blues, I decided to post about all the happy glories of winter.

#1. CHRISTMAS! (Of course that's number one and always will be)
#2. Snow shakes (snow, milk, vanilla and syrup...maybe not sanitary but pretty good)
#3. ...ok, now I'm struggling. Umm...waking up to the first snowfall
#4. The fresh slate of a new year
#5. Snow days (Sadly, not as frequent at Purdue...)
#6. Getting to wear fun hats, scarves, boots, etc.
#7. Being warm and cozy with a fire, a book, and hot chocolate (Bryan and I started our first fire in our real wood burning fireplace the other day...but no that is not us in the picture)
#8. Spinning for fun in icy parking lots? (I don't know, I've never really done that but I guess it could be fun)
#9. It's dark longer, which means we're allowed to sleep longer, right?
#10. And best of all...the dreadfulness of winter makes spring all the more wonderful!

Miracles Do Happen

First off, I left about 15 minutes later than I had planned for class this morning then realized, once I had gotten too far to turn around, that I had forgotten to switch my C-pass over from Bryan's car to my car this morning...meaning that even if I happened to find a spot in the C-lots this late in the morning (8:15), I wouldn't be able to park in it without getting a ticket. Illegally parking in the Parkplace apartment lot is usually my next resort, but I especially wanted to avoid this because I had just mailed in the $25 check yesterday for the parking ticket I received there last week. And two-hour parking was out because I have 5 classes in a row on Wednesdays. As you can see, all odds were stacked against me finding somewhere to park and getting to class on time.

Then I saw it...an open spot...on a street without a time limit (that in itself was a miracle)...and one even closer to my class than the C-lot. It was all so perfect, except for one thing...I would have to parallel park. And this wasn't a nice and easy, wide open type of parallel park job...this was one of those spots that are only open because most cars are too big to fit.

"So what?" you might say...well if so, then you have obviously never seen me try to parallel park. I am definitely not ashamed to say that I'm a pretty bad driver and a worse parallel parker. (Even in my little Jetta)

Ready for the miracle? Drumroll please...I did it. Like a pro on the FIRST try. (and it wasn't even sticking out in the road or up on the curb) I was so proud that I just stood there and looked at it for a while afterwards. Then I decided to blog about it so you can be proud of me too.:)

And because this is a rather dull post and you're probably wondering why you're still reading...I decided to add this video to spice things up. Though this level of parking may still be a bit beyond me, I think I'm well on my way. (Except maybe for that last one...I'm not sure what's going on there, it's a little weird.)

I'm Freee...

Thank you all for your votes and comments. With your support, I have officially dropped the class. You did make a good point, Nick, but I feel I must go with the majority on this one. Especially because that's what I really wanted to do anyway.:)

Though I feel a little bit like a quitter, this being the first time I've dropped a class, I mostly feel beautiful relief...ahh the freedom!

You guys should try quitting something sometime, it's pretty great.:)

Phil 206Y...dun dun duhhhh

Horrors upon horrors. I think this may possibly be the worst professor I have ever had. The subject is Philosophy of Religion...sounds cool, right? Wrong! Not only is the professor boring, he makes no sense whatsoever...and his voice kind of creeps me out. (That doesn't sound like a big deal but since this is an online class with audio lectures, that's difficult to ignore) His powerpoint slides that go along his lectures don't even make sense. Here's an example of ONE of his slides (from his second lecture, mind you)...yes this was all on ONE powerpoint slide. (And don't say a word NICK, because I'm sure you'll think this makes perfect sense...and probably would even say that it's interesting):) Don't worry, I don't expect any of the rest of you to actually read this...

Three major types of contemporary Philosophy of Religion
•1. Analytic:it uses the mainstream contemporary methods of logical analysis to shore up the main classical arguments for God’s existence. Most analysts tend to work from the Christian-Protestant or reformed background (viz. so-called branch of “reformed epistemology”), and some have been associated in the U.S. with the “Society of Christian Philosophers,”which aspires to promote religious philosophy as a specifically Christian philosophy. There are exceptions to this observation: because of the historical context of emergence, some analytic philosophers of religion return to classical pre-modern debates about God to argue a distinctly atheistic position that emerged in the 19th century and continues in our time. So even though historical context does not play any intrinsic role in the analytical arguments about God or religion, such context is all along imported as a presupposition in that today we think beyond the classical philosophical theology. The very nature of certain analytical approaches emerges against the horizon of the prior claims about“the death of God.”Alvin Plantingaor Purdue’s William Rowe are examples of prominent scholars in this type of philosophy of religion.

I'm trying not to blame it on his being foreign because that seems rather stereotypical/prejudiced. We'll just say he's the professory-type, not the teachy-type. Jenny, may this be a lesson to you on how NOT to teach.:)

Anyway, I'm trying to decide whether or not I should keep or drop the class. Keeping it would mean that my last semester this fall will be very nice and easy, with only 4 classes. Dropping it would mean taking 5 classes in the fall but ending the misery of this class and lessening the load for this semester...which would be good because I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I have 18 credit hours and am helping with some very time-consuming research.

I'd like to be ambitious and get a class out of the way but it's not seeming worth it. I'm torn so please help me out by voting on my poll.:)

Mary Ann & Denny's!!

Oh the glories of Mary Ann and Denny's house. I'm finally posting about our visit during spring break. Being there makes any day feel like a vacation...and since we were actually on vacation, it was an even better treat. Kaitlin and I headed over together and Sadie met us there from Peoria for a couple of days. It was so wonderful to see her...I realized again how much I miss her and her family. Bryan and Kurt joined us as well after work Friday, so I didn't have to go too unbearably long without Bryan.:)

So what did we do there? Well, we never do too much while we're at the Sy Bed & Breakfast, but it's one time that you can sleep in, do nothing, and not have to feel guilty about it. Kaitlin and I did try our hand at guitar hero and were quite a duo. We also got a little crafty and made homemade beaded watches. (We'll be taking orders if you're interested):) Other than that, let's see, we helped Mary Ann redecorate her basement, went shopping, played pool, ate some of Denny's amazing meals, were of course ridiculously spoiled by them both and...got a photo taken with the local wildlife. (Don't ask, I have no idea)

It was great...

Back to School

Yesterday was my first day back to Purdue. This is the second to last semester of my undergraduate career, so one would think that I would be excited. Sadly, this has not been the case...I've been dreading this for the past three weeks.

I decided, however, that we should and can be in control of our emotions. Though it may be cold and gross and driving an hour and fifteen minutes to campus three days a week at 6:30 in the morning may sound like cruel torture, I can't use that as an excuse to be sullen and depressed. This is a great opportunity to learn and I really should be thankful for where I am right now... So I've been trying to change my attitude by force (and prayer).

I think God was rewarding my efforts by making the weather miraculously wonderful yesterday.:)

So...originally I wanted to post some kind of depressing picture to depict the dreariness of school, but thanks to my recent reform, I managed to curb the temptation and find something nice and inspirational for me and all the rest of the tired students out there.:) Enjoy...and sorry I couldn't get the Hallelujah chorus to play along with it.

Christmas with the Family

This year was definitely not the same without Jenny and Luke...not to mention that Kurt was confined to the couch. It helped that Mom and Dad gave us the most amazing gifts of all time!:) Thank you also to Jen and Luke for the gifts to Bryan and I...I am wearing my little pink bunny slippers as I type this.:) (Bryan thinks they're pretty funny by the way) Speaking of pink, Kurt finally got the pink hat he's been bugging Andria to make for years.

The cutest moment of Christmas this year was probably Luke helping Noah put his new Lego fire station together. The finished product was worth taking a picture of I think.:) Oh yeah, and the giant remote control that Clint bought for Dad was pretty funny too. Very thoughtful considering that Dad turned 50 this year.:)

My favorite memory was probably taking the moonlight walk with Mom, Dad and Bryan through the woods to the Wildcat Creek. It took a while for Mom to convince me that walking through mud by flashlight in subzero weather would be fun, but of course I'm grateful for her persistence now. I've included a picture of us all bundled up and looking great so you could imagine it.:)

Christmas with Mom's side

Mom and Dad hosted my mom's family for Christmas again this year. It was great to see everyone...Adam and Crystal came from Florida and Dave and Nancy even flew in from Alaska.

Of course the annual Monopoly game was also held. Dave, dubbed "The Godfather" by his opponents, was the reigning champion for 2007. There may have been a little bitterness at the end as Adam declared (as only Adam can), "He's gone for five years, flies in and wins the Monopoly game, and then disappears for another five years.":) The Godfather strikes again.

The rest of the day was relatively calm. Though anyone that has been to one of our family events knows that things are rarely what others would consider "calm". I particularly enjoyed playing Apples to Apples with Alex (who is like six). He kept up just fine and had no trouble reading tyrannosaurus rex...which I can't even spell without spellcheck. You can tell he's Adam's kid.

It was also good to see Grandma though it made me miss Grandpa more. She looked beautiful as always. In this picture, she's looking at an old wedding picture of her and Grandpa with Kaitlin and telling her all about the dresses and flowers.:)

Christmas with Bry's Family

Bryan and I headed to Bluffton to begin the Christmas festivities. I only have pictures of our little family Christmas but we had a couple great evenings (and great meals) with both sides of Bryan's family as well.

It was a weekend of homemade ice cream sundae's, lots of stocking stuffers and some quality hanging out. Oh, and we got a good picture of Bryan looking hot in his new suit...very dapper.:)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Don't you love the freshness of the new year? Though the whole new year's resolution thing may be a little overdone, it is a great time to look back and to look forward.

Bryan and I have been married for a year now so it's an especially interesting time to make some evaluations and some new goals. Bryan is starting his busy tax season in a couple of weeks and I have a very full semester at Purdue ahead for me too...we decided some resolutions may be needed for us to keep our devotion time and our one-on-one time up to par over the next few months. You guys can help keep us accountable. :)

So are there any exciting resolutions that you guys have made?:)

God bless your 2008!