Spring Time!

Oh yeah for Friday! First week back from Spring Break so Friday came quickly. Some higlights...it's been quite the week.

• I found out my red-headed-funny crush (kinda) has a crush on me too (kinda is a good thing). :)



• I found out I no longer have the practicum at the counseling center due to reorganizing for next year...this too is a good thing. I think it could push me in some other good directions.



• I found out my 29.30 minute run was 3.1 miles! I want to do it in 28.30 minutes next time! Sweet!



• I found the beauty of Kirk Franklin on youtube. Seriously, this is my theme song for the week!

These are off the cuff highlights. Thank you Lord for another week complete!

Thawing the Bones

Spring is springing in the suburbs of Chicago.

Today it was at least 60 degrees for a the second day in a row!

For those who have never lived North of St. Louis, in the winter one can get so cold that it is almost impossible to warm up. The phrase "chilled to the bone" comes to mind. Today I felt the winter chill begin to melt away. Similar to the snow that has melted and the grass that is turning green...so I feel like my "bones" are beginning to warm up. I sat in my warm car today for a bit and then I rested in the hammock outisde in the sun. All attempts to warm up. It's still chilly in the morning and at night, spring is not here yet...but it is on its way. And I feel it in my bones.

Spring Break Trip 2009

Spring Break is a time to get away and have fun with friends...so as a cost-effective alternative to going to a far away land my friend Adriana and I drove an hour and plus north/west to Rockford for theevening on Sunday! Once at her apartment Erin, Adriana and I drank coffee and talked. We then proceeded to eat a lot of delicious food at the restaurant Granite City and talked. And then finally came home and Erin made Banana Foster...and we talked.


We talked so much I woke up Monday morning with out voice. Seriouly. Very weird.

The other things Spring Break thus far has consisted of is...

1. A good run every day (but yesterday)
2. Working every morning @ 5:45...but not tomorrow bc- lovely Doug switched shifts w/ me so I can sleep in! Yeah for friends!
3. Extreme Makeover Home Edition! (sniff..sniff..)
4. Listening to Kirk Franklin (The Nu Nation Project)
5. And my favorite...living at a slower pace!

One step closer

So, part of the program I'm in requires us to do a practicum. A practicum is comparable to a pre-internship. It's a time to get your feet wet, observe and learn about counseling.

At the practicum meeting in October the Counseling Center here at school presented the opportunity to do practicum at their sight. I was slightly intimidated and definitely not interested. The intimidation was followed with a feeling of conviction. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to grow and challenge myself.

So I interviewed last Thursday.

And I got it.

And I called mom, and she was excited.

And I am really excited. I kinda get butterflies in my stomach when I think about it.

So next semester I will be spending 8 hours a week in a healthy, Biblicaly centered environment learning what it means for me as an individual to become a counselor...or whatever it is the Lord is preparing me to be.

I'm Growing Up, Mom.

It was one of those weeks. A growing up week.

Do you ever have those?

By Friday I had to call mom and tell her of my growings...and she agreed.

I am growing.

In her perfectly mother way she told me to "stop it".

I don't think she meant it.

Sometimes it's hard -

like when I have to face truths about myself that I'm not proud of. In counseling we call these "growth edges"...I'm definitely not finished growing.

Sometimes it's good -

like when I have a voice that a younger woman listens to about experiences and lessons God has taught me in my life. love it.

Life is messy and good. Today I'm one mark taller on the wall of life. It comes with pain I warn you, but the pain can turn into some beautiful tools useful for later.