Summer in Pictures, Part One

These are pictures from the first portion of my Summer 2012 from May 12th - 29th. 

Remember that plant I was trying to grow last semester? My mom and I have successfully brought it back to life twice. I guess I need a bigger pot for it now.

This looks like an average morning for me about four days a week. This was Week One, Day Four of my Couch to 5k running plan.

Got a new ring that I bought on Etsy.com. God has used the butterfly to symbolize that he's got everything and that it's going to be okay for me.

Knitted a scarf for the Special Olympics! I just finished it and I started a Passport Holder.

Week Two, Day Two, I headed to the cemetery where I walked last summer to enjoy more beautiful scenery than the treadmills and sweaty old ladies the Y offers.

AND I WALKED A SUCCESSFUL 5K! 3.1 miles. Oh yes. 

Pedometer: $4.98

Walking outside under the sunshine: Priceless

I also headed to the Recreational Equipment Inc. in a nearby city to buy some things for my upcoming trip to Asia. That place was awesome. My guy friends were right!

Week three, Day One was yesterday. I completed it almost successfully. I slacked off a smidge on the last 10 minutes, because my legs and stomach were cramping. I did manage a nice 61 minutes, though, even if most of it was walking.

That little clump of fuzzy is a bird's nest with several babies in it! They're chilling out in my mom's ferns.

 

Lovely graduations of some dear friends.

Not pictured: the deer I saw in my backyard the second day of summer and the many exciting Skype adventures I've had with my best friends. Join me later in the summer for "Summer in Pictures" again.

Six Weeks!

Six Weeks! That's how long I have at home until I leave for China, and I am definitely going to make the most of those six weeks. Mom and my brother are still in school for the next two of those weeks, so I've been home alone, running errands, reading, knitting, and working out.

Speaking of which, I have good news and bad news. Bad news first: I went to give blood on April 26th, but something didn't quite work right. I ended up not be able to give an entire pint. Either my vein rolled or I was not hydrated enough. It was pretty disappointing, but I still got a T-shirt and some crackers. Hopefully I'll be able to try again, although it will have to be a while after China.

In good news, I completed another one of the goals on my semester list! Or rather, another goal was completed outside of my control. See, the last goal on my list was: "Witness and play a part in something huge that can only be attributed to God." The story behind it is phenomenal...
During the semester, my roommate's car broke down. When my roommate (affectionately nicknamed "L") and her parents realized she needed it fixed so she could come home for the semester, she called a mechanic shop. It was a Saturday and the shop was closed.
The next day (Sunday), L's mom had mentioned to people at her church about L's car and asked for prayer that her car would be fixed in time to go home and that she would have the finances to take care of it. One person she talked to has a nephew who is a mechanic in the town where L and I go to college. He called his nephew and let him know about L's situation. This is amazing because L's family lives in Ohio and we go to college in a tiny little town in Georgia!
L called the mechanic on Monday and he fixed her car by Friday, just in time for her to leave on Saturday after our friends' graduation. This fulfills my last goal because L doesn't have a working phone - she was using mine and I even talked with the mechanic. I got to see and be used in this miracle.

Finally, more good news is that I found a Couch to 5k program here that can be completed in six weeks. If I can follow this program before I leave for China, I will have walked and ran a 5k, and then I can enter an official 5k once I'm back from China or during the Fall semester, and that will have completed goal number 3! I accomplished day one today - it was harder than it looked and it took me an hour to do it all, but at least the YMCA in my hometown is remodeled and easy to use. I can do this!

Stay tuned for pictures and comments from the rest of this summer!