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!

End of April Update

Remember those not-so-green thumbs I told you about earlier? Well, I looked at my calendar today and remembered that beside the highlighted note "Paper Due!" and the reading required in my Shakespeare class, I had written "Plant Grows!" Hopefully, of course.

So, I bounded over to the window and  found this! Wow! Took it two weeks and a couple failed attempts at remembering to water it, but here's one little sprout. Turns out, if it lives, it will become a marigold.

In other news, this Thursday, there is a blood drive on campus. We have them about 4 times a semester and, while this is my fourth semester, I still have not given blood. Donating blood is number 25 on my list, so I'm planning to go donate this Thursday! Wish me luck - I have a hard time with my veins.

There are only three weeks left in the semester, so I have been checking things off my semester goals and year goals lists recently. Here are some things I've completed or done well on maintaining....

• Watch Amazing Grace
• Keep fruit in my room (Blueberries a couple weeks ago, bananas this week!)
• Compile resources about Teacher Education (my major - had to do this for class)
• Visit my Dad and Stepmom with my friend Anna
• Visit mutual friends with my friend Sarah
• Attend four concerts
• Take my roommate Lula to a nearby town called "Lula"
• Maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher
• Plan and prepare a meal for my church
• Wear skirts everyday for seven days
• Have coffee or lunch dates with a list of friends

The things I don't complete I will be eighty-sixing or modifying to try to accomplish next year. I hope this inspires you to set a few goals for yourself!

Green Thumbs and a Box of Dirt

While I'm here at college in Northeast Georgia, my mom in Upstate South Carolina mailed me a package. I opened it to find several plastic bags from Lowe's with what appeared to be dirt inside. Yes, my mail mailed me a box of dirt.

Okay, not really! In fact, she mailed me these cute little ceramic eggs that are full of dirt and seeds. One ruptured during the shipping process, which is why I thought I had received a bunch of dirt.

When I got back to my dorm room after lunch, I cracked one of the eggs, watered it, and set it on my windowsill. Hopefully it will turn into a beautiful flower! If it sprouts, I will have completed another one of my goals for this semester.