Today I am thankful for....

...the mess to clean up after a party
because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

...the taxes I pay
because it means that I'm employed.

...the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means I have enough to eat.

...my shadow who watches me work
because it means I am out in the sunshine.

...the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
because it means I am capable of walking.

...all the complaining I hear about our government
because it means we have freedom of speech.

...that lady behind me in church who sings off key
because it means that I can hear.

...lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing
because it means I have a home.

...my huge heating bill
because it means that I am warm.

...weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
because it means that I have been productive.

...the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours
because it means that I am alive.

All things are made new

This break has given me a chance to relax and recharge before school starts again. I've got some rough classes coming up and I can honestly say that this semester looks like it will be the hardest yet.
-Electrical Engineering Principles (why do I have to take this???)
-Mechanics of Solids (what does this even mean?)
-Irrigation and Drainage (ehh boring)
-Structures and Environment (sounds like civil engineering to me....)
-Properties of Biological Engineering Materials (seems a little vague)

My textbooks have started to arrive and I have yet to find a picture in any of them. They look like tech manuals for a super complicated computer...oh well, say a prayer for me :-)

During break I had a chance to ride Gambit, a friend of a friends daughters horse. The girl who owns him rode him through high school but went to undergrad at Ohio and is now going to vet school there so I've been lucky enough to be able to ride him. Unfortunately he's in Cedar Grove, which is near Efland...not exactly close by and convenient to ride frequently.

There's a water crossing here...he wanted to go through so badly! But, there was still ice on the marsh and he's an old man at 27 y/o so we avoided the water.

School starts on Monday so now I'm just moving back into my apartment and getting ready for a new school year!

May this semester be happier and healthier than the last :-)

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas at the Long house in Cary, Brittney was off work Friday and Monday, and is now returning home to Winston on Tuesday morning. Dad had off work the same days and is also taking off Tuesday and Wednesday to get some work done around the house.

I decided that this year we should try a new church for Christmas Eve. We're Catholic and so we usually attend Christmas Eve Mass. Usually is a bit of an overstatement as Mass has become so dry and boring (the Catholic religion as a whole, in my opinion, has become out of touch) that we rarely attend, and can't really even call ourselves "Christmas and Easter Catholics" anymore. I looked up non-denominational churches in Cary and we went to Triangle Community Church and had a lovely service. The Children's groups sang a few songs at the beginning, then the band took over and we sang Christmas Carols for about 20 minutes, had about 25 minutes of a sermon, and then ended with more Christmas Carols. It was fun! It's still new to me that church can be fun and something to look forward to rather than dread.

It renewed my need to find a "church home", I've heard good things about Summit as well as Hope but haven't made the commitment yet, so if you have a preference, let me know and I'll check it out!

Anyway, hopefully this week will conclude with a little more work getting done by me, and a little less sleeping than before Christmas.

It's been a while

As usual, life got the best of me and blogging fell by the way side.

I finally finished my exams, Hallelujah! Exam week is the worst, I decided that I'd be happier staying in school longer and not taking exams, rather than the current situation.

The past few weeks have been crazy with finals and Christmas coming up and lots of doctors appointments, but now things have calmed down and I'm at home (all of twelve minutes from my apartment at State) for the break. It's really weird sitting down in the evening and not having a list of assignments I need to get done, it's a good feeling, but I can't help but think I'm forgetting something.

I (finally!) met Grace in person yesterday (Grace's Blog) at her MILA party. I won't do it justice by trying to explain it, but look up MILA and see if you think some of the health benefits could go to work in your life. I'm hoping it will help with my fibro and energy levels, others have reported that it does, so fingers crossed! I had a lovely afternoon spent learning about MILA and getting to know Grace better, I also got to meet her baby boy, Jansci, and her parents who were in town visiting. Grace and her husband have a communal living situation with another couple (http://longmirenews.blogspot.com/) who have a baby girl, so I LOVED getting to spend a little bit of time with the little ones. I love babies! They're my absolute favorite at that age, before the real talking and attitude begins :-).

Tonight, I'm going to Lights on the Neuse with my parents, we're hoping it can replace Tanglewood (http://www.forsyth.cc/parks/tanglewood/) for us here in the Triangle now.

 Anyway...here are some pics from Thanksgiving weekend with the fam :-)

The last one is of my sister and her bf, Brittney and Bryan. Sounds good together, no?
:-)