Snow

I had my car packed and was ready to go. The only thing that stood in my way was finishing my last final before heading out. No such luck. I went in and studied early this morning before the snow started falling. 2 hours and 3 inches of snow later, JMU refused to close school so I took my final (which I think I did really well on). Went back to my apartment, where I'm stuck. Heading out hopefully tomorrow.

Finals week...

Finals is the absolute worst week of the year. No matter how much you've studied, no matter how well you've done, finals are always lurking around the corner.

I hate finals week. Pure hatred. I've studied non-stop for the past couple of weeks for these and no matter how long I work, I still feel unsettled when I come out of the exam room.

My apartment has been a total mess. I don't have time to clean or really to cook. Just study study study. And after this semester I am so ready for it to be over.

I ended up taking an extended study break this afternoon and cleaned the kitchen, my bathroom, and my bedroom. There's something about cleaning that's very therapeutic. I feel less stressed out and ready to go again.

I've got dinner plans and then I'm heading out to a study group. Yay grad school.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

We got the first real snow of the season last night. We got a couple of inches and of course the University is only opening 2 hours late since it's exam week. We're actually supposed to be getting more this afternoon. I'd like enough to cancel my neuro exams, but not to make them up. I'm ready to go home. Anyways it looks so gorgeous and calm outside.

Catching Up

Lately there's been a lot of catching up going on in my life. Over Thanksgiving break, I caught up with some of my best friends. I caught up with my family (and sisters!!!). I got back from break and I caught up on tons of homework. I'm waiting for Christmas break and so I can catch up with more friends. Especially my bffl. But this week, I've been catching up with God. I know it sounds kind of lame, but I didn't realize just how much I've let school and friends get in the way. I finally made it to church today -I hadn't been in such a long time. I finally found a really great church in Harrisonburg thanks to Joanna and Brittany. They go to this church called Valley church. It's definitely more contemporary and the pastor is amazing. I wish I had found this church at the beginning of the semester! Anyways, now I'm just trying to catch up on my studies. And I think on Wednesday I get to catch up with some of favorites. :)

Cold weather

I love the winter. I love curling up in my bed under the covers watching movies and sleeping in. I love sitting at the fireplace and reading books. There's just something so peaceful and relaxing about cold weather, especially if there's snow on the ground.

And I cannot wait for break.

Just a lot on my mind

I've had a lot on my mind lately with classes, Christmas, and just random things going on. Life is so busy and sometimes I get so caught up in the mess of things going on that I forget to remember what's truly important. This time last year my best childhood friend was serving as a missionary in Yap where her life was taken from her. She would have been 22 tomorrow. When I was growing up and going to private school, Kirsten and I were best friends. We had sleepovers, spent our days outside at the beach (she lived on the water), camped in forts, raced down old dirt roads on bikes, went to junkyards -all kinds of crazy things. We had all kinds of fun.

Then in 6th grade I transferred to public school. We still hung out, but not as often since we lived 30 minutes away from each other. By the time I hit high school we only saw each other two or three times a year. By the time I started college we didn't even talk anymore. Then my sophomore year somehow we got reconnected. I can't remember if she contacted me or if I contacted her, but we started talking again. She went to school in Tennessee and I stayed in Virginia. We chatted a few times but we were both busy with our own lives. Then the August before my senior year of college, we chatted. I remember it in particular because it was the time she told me she was going to Yap. A few other things were thrown in, but I can't remember what.

That Thanksgiving break I heard about what happened. Believe it or not, I found out through facebook. The following week she was sent back and her funeral was shortly after. And even though we hadn't been close friends -or even good friends since we were younger, I cried. For days. And even now when I think about her, tears run down my face. I will never doubt the impact one person can have on so many people.

Food for thought: Life is too precious and unfairly too short to worry about the "should haves" of yesterday and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Rest peacefully Kirsten.

In preparation for Maine...

I generally keep my thermostat below 70 degrees in the winter just because I hate paying a high electricity bill. And since I'm going to spend a few days in Maine over break (brrrr) I decided I should start to prepare myself for the ridiculous weather there. I looked on weather.com and even though I'm sure it will change, the high for Bridgton, ME on the 30th is 30 degrees, with a low of 7. Yikes! Anyways, I'm taking it day by day but this past week I've kept my thermostat on 60 degrees. It's pretty cold. I wonder how my roommate is coping....

Anyways, I've decided I'm officially going to freeze in Maine. Hope I get those Ugg boots for Christmas after all. :)