Spring Sprint

Each year, in the spring as the name suggests, Bethel sponsors a 5k from Fountain Terrace to North Village. The means of travel may be somewhat unconventional - students can walk, bike, rollerblade, jog, skateboard, etc. My good old excersizing buddy Camilli and I did a combination I like to call Jogking (walk, jog, and run). We were perfect "partners" as we both are about equally fit - too out of shape to run the whole thing. But we wanted to try to jog as much as possible. It was really cold this morning and slightly rainy which motivated us in an attempt to keep from freezing to death. I guess there was a little bit of snow last night, I didn't see any. The race started at 10:30 so we caught the 10:00 shuttle from Bethel to Fountain Terrace. With all the racers the 15 passenger van was packed - at least 24 people. We left at 10:30 and I think it took up about 45 minutes to get back. Half way along the trail there was a "pit stop" of oranges and water. I foud this quite silly, but a fun break. We made it up to North Village where they have a big BBQ afterward (well they call them BBQ's here in MN, but in Wisconsin terms it's a grill out. No sloppy joes, pulled beef or BBQ sauce to be found, just hot dogs and burgers). Camille and I were anxious for a cheeseburger, and the smell of charcoal is synonymous with springtime. I can still here the music quite loudly outside my window as I write this.

Avalon Floral

With this weekend being Mother's Day I decided to call my old place of employment to send her some flowers. The lady answering the phone was not someone I had met...and I know most everyone since I used to work there. She took my order and we were able to talk a little bit. She's just started working at Avalon, and she recently graduated from UW-EC. Come to find out I was actually the first phone order she's taken. Completely made my day!

The Irony

When I created this blog several months ago I was very intentional about it's name. "Sweet Simplicity: celebrating the simple joys in faith, life, and love" How far from the truth that currently is. I wanted to cut back, life simply, love wholy, and NOT get stressed out. I tried to make that a pattern. Whoops what happened. My life is anything but. I've decided not to withdraw from Bethel, but I am going to drop a class. Maybe that will simplify things. I re-read my post "When Life Kicks You in the Face" and it could have been written just two short days ago. Man it stinks to be in that place. However, today I am optimistic, and once again determined to stick it out and persevere. The weather is beautiful, and spring is here. I can't say that I've been able to enjoy it. It's too hard to try to be happy and enjoy something when the world is crashing, but today in a small way I was. On my way back from church three deer were walking on the road between Lissner and Arden Village East as I arrived on campus. I was able to enjoy them, and have the windows down pumping a few tunes on my way. I'm also getting excited about being an RA next year. I can't wait to find out who the rest of my team is, and what room I'm living in. Well, I really need to get back to the books.

Blind Date

Yesterday around noon I walked through the revolving door of the California Pizza Kitchen. I was supposed to meet my mentor who had just texted to inform me she'd be about 10 minutes late.
The hostest asked me "how many?"
I responded with "two".
"A gentelman?" the hostest questioned with a slight intrique in her voice.
I kindly told her no, and she proceeded to make a comment about a gentleman who was waiting for someone. Jokingly she said she'd "hook us up" if I was up for a blind date.
"You know that's not such a bad idea" I thought to myself half heartedly. We then chatted about speed dating and blind dates as she led me to my table. When Maybe arrived I told her the story and directed her attention to the man in a white and red stripped dress shirt on the opposite side of the restaurant. He was now sitting with an older man (probably his father).
"You should have gone for it" she joked.
It could have been fun, maybe next time I will. I'm up for a random blind date. :)

Looking Back

I just looked at my post from Feb 5th and it's interesting to me how life has changed since then. One thing I know is that God is still with me, and all I want is to be close to him. I just want to read my Bible, I guess it's because He has to get me through. I read Psalm 17 this morning and it was really relavant. I went to chapel today, with the intent not to "go to chapel" but just to "be at chapel" to be in God's presence and rest and abide. Today is the first day of Lent and the chapel message was deeply rooted in what I've needed to hear. Everything has been. Church on Sunday was about how we spend God's time and also how Jesus is the perfect Valentine. Monday my professor's opening prayer for our class was 100% about my life. He's here. He's faithful. I know most of what I"m experiencing is strong spiritual attack and I pray everyday for Satan not to have a foothold in my life. After chapel today, God sent this girl name Lauren who has been such a secret encouragement to me. She's such a good and true friend and when I saw her walk by I knew it was because God had directed her directly to me at that exact momment.

PS in the last few hours (since my last post) I quit my TA job...one less thing. Ahhhhh....

Something's Going On

I don't know what it is, but something must be up. Within the past 12 hours I have had three friends contact me to see how I'm doing. None of them really had anything to talk about, they all live in a different state, and I haven't seen any of them in over a month. One called me, which is weird because we just talked on the phone 2 days ago, one facebook messaged me, and I haven't talked to him in probably a year, and the third texted me at 3 am. Why is this strange. Well, one was filled with encouraging verses and words, another just said it was on his mind for the whole evening that he should see how I was doing. I think God is trying to tell me something, but I'm not sure what. Maybe just that he loves me, or maybe something bad is about to happen. I hope this is not the case, but there's a possiblity I guess. This week has been one of the best weeks of the year and I don't feel in need of love and encouragement like I have in weeks past. Not that I don't appreciate it, or "need" it all the time, but it's just an interesting phenomenon.

Does Packaging Really Matter?

This past week I put myself to shame. My "T" on the Myers Briggs personality test failed me, and was trumped by my cultural up bringing. I was in need of a product, something that is consumed, but that I only need to buy about once a year. As I strolled down the cosmetic isles at my local Target in search of my newest buy a million questions started buzzing through my head. What is the best brand? What color should I get? Which one is the best 'bang for my buck'? I have known that, as with most products, it is important to purchase products that will be used together by the same company. This could be shampoo/conditioner, face washes and moisturizer, etc. The companies design their products to work together so their chemical compounds do not have cross effects when combined. In the past I had mostly purchased Cover Girl, but I had a foundation I really liked from Maybeline and mascara from Neutrogena. See all over the board. I have decided to go for a mineral powder this time, and was considering going for something a little higher quality. So in my search I wasn't just looking for a new foundation, but rather the brand I would dedicate my shopping to for the indefinite future. The best thing they carry that I know of is Physicians Formula. I've heard good things about this company, and was pleased to find out they carry organic make-up. I'm and environmental science major, which DOES NOT mean I'm an organic freak, but the prospect that they were attempting to make a healthful, quality product was encouraging to me. I guess they are the first to have organic mascara, and the packaging is recyclable. I proceeded to look at the product and decided I didn't like the design of the container in which it was packaged (What??). So proceeded to buy a mineral powder foundation from an equally expensive (The physicians formula had a coupon bringing it down $2 from the $11 it normally was), lower quality company which had "cuter" packaging more like what I wanted. After getting to the car I realized my complete stupidity. Not only did I fall victim to the world of marketing and advertising (something I fight against succumbing to) I had also purchased a products of lesser quantity. Yep that’s right. Shameful isn't it. If you know me at all I'm a picky shopper to the max. I look at the nutrition facts to weight health benefits between two comparable products, then I look at the price....not overall, but per oz, per lb, whatever it may be. I don't always go with the 'cheapest' because I believe in quality over quantity, but I still take everything into account. So for me this was a terribly off character decision, so off that I traveled to a different Target (one closer to my school) and returned the stupid thing less than 30 minutes later, and bought the better quality, more for your money product. It turned out that the coupon at the second Target was better than the first and I got an $11 product for only $6. In make-up world that is a good deal!