Colorful Surprises

 Out the blue a friend of a friend asked me to watch his puppy for the weekend and being the puppy lover I happily agreed. I'd never met the dog nor did I know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised by an adorable puppy and a little kitten AND they were well behaved. I only had to take go over to his house and let the dog out of the kennel twice a day for two days to feed it and let it go to the bathroom but I thought that many hours in a kennel was pretty cruel. So I brought the puppy over to my house as I had just planned on hanging out all day and he seemed to enjoy it even though he napped most of the time (it's gotta beat a 2X3X2 kennel). Well I got a few pictures of the little guy and thought I'd share but his fascination with the flash meant I could only get close ups.

I was in an artsy kind of mood this afternoon but didn't have the motivation to do anything that took a lot of clean up (like painting) and didn't want to face the weather for photography either. I remembered this art project I saw someone on another blog and thought I'd give it a shot. I bought some canvas, a hot glue gun, and  lots of crayons (144 to be exact) at Walmart and got to work. Surprisingly it took forever to organize the crayons so that they transitioned from color to color smoothly but after that it was super easy and fast. I glued them to the canvas, propped it up at a slight angle and then aimed the my hair dryer at the middle of the crayons and within 30 seconds they were melting (I had read online that it could take 10-20 min and wasn't sure I'd have the patience). And after only 3 minutes or so, I had a wonderful collage of dripping colors. If you're looking for a quick and easy project it takes less than 30 min all together and there isn't any clean up (unless you melt them too much and the drips run off the canvas... I put some newspaper down just in case).

                                                

What an End to a Semester

Though I wish I could say I finished this semester strong, I can at least say I finished it (which was definitely questionable for a while). I wrote my last paper on Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and though it was not as enjoyable as watching the movie, I still found some joy in writing it.

It reminded of the times my dad would take my brother and I to work with him and set us up in the HUGE conference room. We would pick a movie and then he'd press a bunch of meaningless buttons and it would magically project on the wall. Often times we were treated with free candy from the concessions room and cuddle time with dad if he finished work early... I miss a lot of things about home when I'm away at college but I miss my dad more than anything else. I can't wait until I can see him even if it's only for a few days.

The original movie is a million times better than the new one. (and the book is great too)

                                                                                                                                                           
*the next paragraph may gross some people out... proceed with caution*
                                                                                                                                                           
So everyone's heard of the 24 hour flu (or some other kind of sickness) right? Well I got to experience all 24 hours of it on the day my last final was due UGH! Around 9:00pm my stomach started to feel odd but I chalked it up to the finals week diet that mostly included junk food and soda (two things that I try to avoid and usually do). But around 11:00pm I knew something other than cheetohs, pizza, and soda were upsetting my stomach. From 11:00pm until noon the following day I had to drag myself to the bathroom every 30min to throw up. The vomiting finally ended around 12:30pm but then came the "everything hurts,  I don't have enough energy to open my eyes, nothing sounds good, and I just want my daddy" feeling. My roommates brought me saltine crackers and ginger ale before heading home for the holidays (I'm staying in Wyoming for most of my break). I didn't leave my room, eat (except 5 saltine crackers), or do anything that required movement (even sleeping hurt at times) all day. Then, EXACTLY 24 hours later at 9:00pm, I felt 90% better (clear headed but a bit weak and tired). I felt even better this morning and was able to write two papers to finish off my semester. I slept for nearly 19 hours of the last 24 but I definitely don't feel like I did considering I'm still tired. Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow so hopefully I'm all better by then and can love on some old people in a way that shows them God's beautiful love.

Almost Done

Finals week has officially begun and mother nature decided to kick it off with some extreme weather. It went from being in mid 40s F yesterday to −30 F today. Can you say COLD! Well I haven't actually been outside yet but I'm not looking forward to it. But I'm just going to be thankful that my house has heat, I have warm clothes for when I do have to face the weather, and I have hot chocolate when I need it.

I worked most of the weekend and I think my feet are getting used to being on tile for 8+ hours at a time too. I felt like when I wasn't working I was sleeping or eating which (in all seriousness) makes me feel FAT. I'm not fat and I've never really struggled with my weight but occasionally I have weeks where I'm more self conscious about it than others and this is definitely one of those weeks. Oh well, I will do my best to rest in truth and not get too wrapped up in self image.

As I mentioned before it's finals week and I have mixed feelings about how this semester went. I definitely did poorly in one class (as in I'll probably have to retake it if I want to get into nursing school) and didn't do great in the others but I have this odd peace about my grades. Someone jokingly told me "Grades don't determine salvation... and don't forget that Jesus still loves you even if you fail." I guess God works in mysterious ways because just hearing that made me feel a million times better. I don't really get to go home much this Christmas but now that I only have one test and one paper left, it seems like next week is going to be here sooner than I know it (even if I'll only be home a few days).

I have a bunch of errands to run when I get home and one of which is getting glasses :( I'm not thrilled about it but I'm kind of excited that reading and looking at my computer will no longer lead to headaches.

Hope everyone is getting excited about the holiday season and (if you're not in Wyoming) is enjoying the weather :)