color swap

I tend to want to change things with the change of seasons. I had become bored of the green..and realized on some PCs, the color was really not very appealing. So I swapped some colors on my template and...Voila! This is what occurred. Hope you like it!

I'm working on a permanent header, but until school slows down..I'm not sure when that will happen. :)

Tag..You're it!

I was tagged by a new friend, Deb.
The rules of this tag are easy. If I tagged you, answer the questions on your blog and tag five more people. :)

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Well, I was 12 on the verge of 7th grade and most likely learning about being a girl, dressing up as the spice girls with my friends and selling girl scout cookies. I believe I wanted to be an architect or a painter at that time of my life. I loved crafts! And still do!

Things on my to do list:
Get my sailing license. Live in another state or country for at least half a year. Learn to sew. Continue to grow closer to God. Learn to speak french fluently.

Bad habits:
Hm...does being stubborn count as a bad habit? Haha. Eating too much..really..I do!Sleeping through my alarm. Constantly being five minutes late to everything.

Places I have lived:Irvine, CA. Orange County, CA. Biola/La Mirada, CA

Things most people don't know about me:
I took 6 years of French. I spent at least a week every summer growing up sailing to and staying on a boat in Catalina. I am lactose intolerant. I am part Lithuanian. I have never finished a Jane Austen novel...but I am determined to soon.

Tag!
Ronalynn
Manda
Cristina
Alyssa
Michelle

Providence

God is always faithful.

If anyone listened to me the past two years discussing the crossroads I was at then (ResLife vs. Editor in Chief of The Chimes or ResLife vs. SOS) they would know I am terrible at making decisions - at least when it involves my heart and my future. Most people think they have a hard time going through these things - until they meet me. I become extremely emotionally attached to people and jobs and have trouble discerning what my next step should be. This usually involves long drawn out conversations over week periods, hours of meditation and prayer, crying, making a decision and then deciding it's the wrong one and going through the motions all over again. Simply ridiculous really.

After experiencing these heart wrenching decisions the past two years, I decided to make this one simple for myself. (If you are confused, read my last post :) ) if there is anything I realized the past few years in making decisions, often there is no wrong decision, it is simply deciding what path to take. God will use my skills anywhere.

Yesterday, I spoke with a few friends, reviewed my options financially and spent time with God. Before I went to sleep last night, I prayed for God to specifically speak to me in my meeting with the ISF department today and instill a fire in me if ISF is where I should be next year.

This morning I got an email that said the person I was supposed to meet with was sick and would not be able to meet with me. If God could get any clearer, I don't know what it would look like. I thought I could be reading into things, but I also think we are taught to not ignore things like this. I also became extremely excited about applying for the magazine position and the more I thought about waiting a year to apply for ResLife and Grad school, I felt more peace.

So this afternoon, I told Rachel and Beth, who were both extremely gracious, that I was going to wait a year before I applied. I left their office a little sad, but extremely peaceful.

I think this was the fastest decision I have made and actually felt extreme peace about immediately. God is always faithful.

Possibilities

I have been extremely open to what I will be doing next year except for the idea that I will do journalism for a year and then apply for Grad school at Biola and apply for a Resident Coordinator position in ResLife. So basically, I had one year to have fun and fulfill my dreams of being a journalist and then I had a plan.

Well..this past week, I feel like my world has been turned upside down. Over the course of the past few weeks, I have had many people and or events that have further confirmed my desire to be in ResLife. However, I pushed these out of sight figuring they were solely for next year.

Then, my good friend Mel encouraged me to go and talk to Rachel Clark, one of the assistant directors in ResLife. I did and it turns out - even though applications were due a week ago - they would be able to interview me this next week and still accept my application for an RC position for this next year. I would need to be a grad student if so though, so I would need to apply for grad school. I have an appointment on Monday with Nicole in the Institute of Spiritual Formation department at Biola to discuss the program.

Then, today I got an email from a friend with a link to a job opening for managing editor of the Biola magazine.

I feel as though I am once again at a crossroads between ResLife and journalism. Why do these two things continue to conflict?

Although, every part of me wants to sit and dwell on this, I am not. After learning through last year's many discussions with Ryan and Alyssa and other good friends, I know God will use my strengths wherever I am. Now I just need to make a decision and stick with it.

Hopefully, I will have more clarity after my meeting on Monday.

Please pray for me as I seek peace through these thoughts on my future! :)

burned out

So this may be the result of a late Wednesday night at The Chimes, but I am exhausted. Burned out is a more appropriate word. And unfortunately, I still have papers, midterms, a final and reading to finish before next Friday. My only strength comes from God and the thought of spring break.

I can't wait to read (leisurely).

a break from my second home

The library has become my second home. With three midterms within one week of another and multiple papers due, I have dug myself a hole in the library and do not come out unless I need to eat or have some other obligation such as class or that small thing called being a journalist.

Today, two of my housemates convinced me to take a break and see Enchanted with them at the dollar theatre. (Which is no longer a dollar, but a dollar fifty). It didn't take too much convincing to be honest, considering I had been dying to see it. Now I can't wait until it comes out on video.



I absolutely loved it. It was incredibly cheesy, cute, fun and entirely disneyesque - which I love. I definitely left enchanted myself along with my two girlfriends. We sang all the way home and currently are trying to find an event in which we can wear our old prom dresses to.

Okay. So maybe I'm just looking for an event to where my princess prom dress to, but it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

They do come true! Along with true love.

Now I just need to find my Prince Charming. The real one.

smitten kitchen

Smitten Kitchen is a seriously delicious site. I came upon it a few months ago and finally added it to my links. I highly suggest checking it out and trying some of the recipes. I can't wait until spring break so I have more time to cook and be crafty. I am feeling significant withdrawals from the two.

morning glory

I absolutely love mornings. They are wonderful. This morning I was able to take in the morning glory of the sun - even though I was on my way to the library to study. However, upon this delightful adventure, I also had a horrible realization. I think I am addicted to coffee or at least have fallen in love with it. I guess being a journalist and student does that to you.

Photo: Taken in London at dawn by my beautiful friend Ronalynn when we were there in October.