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lotsa stuff

well, one week ago today, my friend nancy moved to honduras. today, my dear sweet friends laurie and chris are leaving for a semester in france. two days from now is the anniversary of 9/11. (for some good thoughts on that, check out what lisa had to say) one week from today i move back to nashville officially. and, for the first time, i let september 1 pass by without really getting depressed. on september 1, 1997, i lost a good friend to a motorcycle wreck. usually, the anniversary of that day is really tough. but this year...i don't know really what made this year different. of course i still miss chris, and i wish that we hadn't lost him, but i guess this year, i have a little different perspective on things. we're all getting older...friends are getting married and having babies and such. but i don't really think that's all of why my perspective has changed. my life has changed...almost everything about me has changed since this time last year. so i guess that it's good that i was finally able to remember chris last sunday...five years after he died...but not let the sadness that has always accompanied the anniversary of his death control me. however, i will always remember chris...and always fondly.

The heart of a skeptic and the mind of a child
Put my life in a box, and let my imagination run wild
Pour the cement for my feet
The heart and the mind on a parallel course, never the two shall meet
-Emily Saliers

oh how this describes my life...

taking a break from organizing my life and trying to fit it all in boxes and bags...yikes. i have four categories of stuff going on...stuff that's going to nashville, stuff that's being stored at my parents' house, stuff that's going to goodwill, and stuff that's going in the trash.

sorry i've been so lax in reporting goings-on lately. i've been rather preoccupied with several things, including the impending move back to nashville. i'm kinda sorta maybe dating someone, but probably not for much longer. it's just kinda been one of those random things that happens so fast you don't really have time to think about it. well, i've thought about it now and realized that while i like this guy and i want to hang out with him, we really probably shouldn't be dating. more on that as it occurs.

as for other stuff, i'm just hanging out with folks and getting really excited about moving. heading to nashville tomorrow to spend the day with my friend nancy, who is about to move to honduras. oh yeah, and there's the big exciting news in bowling green...not related to me, but exciting nonetheless...valerie and matt are FINALLY engaged! yay! it's about time...they've been dating for almost 6 years! ; ) i don't know if the actual wedding date has been made public yet, but it has been set. i'm really excited for val. things have not exactly gone great in her life for the past year or so. it's good to see her happy again.

ok, all my junk is calling me to continue the organization process. hope everyone had a beautiful weekend!!

hey all, i'm back. many things to report. first off, a belated happy 1st anniversary to my blog. yep, it's been around since late july of last year.

went to san antonio to visit my wonderful friends cryste and keith and their new baby melia. she is just too precious! can't wait to finish my roll of film so i can see all the pictures i took of the little angel! cryste, chelle, and i had lots of fun just talking girl talk and playing with miss melia. it was a much needed vacation.

shortly after i got back from texas, i threw the school search into full gear. i had narrowed it down to three schools, all in middle tennessee. dad and i went to nashville one day, and after dropping him off in brentwood, i decided to check out things at trevecca. let's just say that things went REALLY well there. less than 72 hours after first heading down murfreesboro road to check things out, i was registered for classes and had a place to live! God was definitely guiding me those few days! everything was falling into place so quickly it was truly amazing. so i'm moving back to nashville pretty soon!!! my apartment isn't going to be ready until the middle of september, and classes start aug 27th, so i'll be commuting for a few weeks, but that's okay. i can handle that.

i can't express how thankful i am that God has allowed everything to work out so that i can get back to nashville. my heart is there, and i can't wait to get the rest of me back there, too!

it's very hard to pick up where i left off and still describe the past week of my life. no, i didn't get the job. but i'm totally okay with it...i was convicted this week. i hadn't given my job situation to God. i thought i had..but all that time I was trying to control what was going to happen. i have something else i'm working on, but i know that whatever God wants me to be doing, He'll work it out.

i can't explain how wonderful camp was. to boil it down to the simplest terms, God is so amazing...beyond anything i had ever imagined. camp was just incredible. the kids were great, the setting was awesome, and i renewed some old friendships while making new friendships with wonderful people. i love the Lord, and i'm feeling His joy now more than i have in a very long time.

just a little snippet of the past week before i pack for san antonio...the other counselor in my cabin was a girl named jamie. she and another lipscomb student have been working different church camps all summer long. jamie and i met once or twice when i was still in nashville, but never hung out. we made up for that this week! we had such an instant connection that the girls in our cabin thought we'd been friends for years! i don't know that i've laughed as hard as i laughed with jamie...what a funny girl. just a few of the little funny instances for ya..."poopie!" "hey hud, how about those winston cup races?" "holy! it's wicked hot out here!" "someone turn out the sun!" "if you touch my stuff, i'm gonna break your fingers off!" "is it time to say bye yet?" "who farted? i know my farts, and that was TOTALLY NOT my fart!" "it's exactly the same, but TOTALLY different!"
i know none of y'all will get that (unless jamie happens to stop by), but i'll get a good laugh out of it down the road!

heading to church camp on sunday, so this will probably be my last post for quite a while. i leave for san antonio almost immediately after getting back from camp, but i'll try to pop in for a sec and give everyone an update. as for the job interview today, it went really well. i was thinking that it would just be with the principal and maybe the assistant principal, but it was the entire site-based decision making team. it consists of two parents and three teacher reps, plus the principal. i knew all three teacher reps and one of the parents, though, so that was good. it was definitely nice to see michelle's friendly face when i walked in all nervous and on edge! anyway, the last of the interviews was right after mine, and they were supposed to make the decision tonight. i'll know sometime early next week. (they know i'll be gone...hopefully i'll get a call at camp) so anyway, don't come here if you're expecting an update. i'll probably just call jodi and let her know, and then if it's something good, i'll either get her to post a comment here or just put something on the swimteam boards.

not much else going on around here...ran into my fabulous cousin carolee this morning (sister of the infamous-butterfly-datin' dawson). she is just a scream. she was telling me about getting on dawson because he doesn't wash his hair. (he really doesn't...it's grossy gross) said dawson, "but do you realize how much money i save since i don't buy shampoo???" said carolee, "but do YOU realize how NASTY you are???" hehe...wonder what butterfly thinks...yes, his girlfriend's REAL name is butterfly. c'mon folks, you think i would make that junk up?? anyway...carolee and i had a nice little chat and are planning to get together after i finish traipsing around the country.

ok, that's it...gotta go do laundry and pack for all my crazy trips!