everybody was kung fu fighting

g'day, mates.  welcome to the 'i committed to blog once a week for a year and this is the first week of that' blog.  i'm sure it will be a post full of wonder and adventure, so get your backpack and compass, and we'll be on our way.

yo, did you see this cuteness from my birthday?  please.

with regard to the list, i don't have a lot of updates.  i'm plugging away on my weekly items, although it was more of a challenge this week than it will be most weeks, i think.  i put a good little dent in my running miles, and twice this week, i ran much faster than usual.  so that's weird.  (yesterday, i ran 3.64 miles at 8:06 pace...bizarre.)

i also went through heather's list to try and identify 31 items with which i might want to help.  if you're not familiar with heather (she's my older sister) or her list, go HERE.  you should probably just follow her and make snarky comments.  she'd like that.

for the bulk of this week's post, though, i thought i should probably fill you in on what the heck is going on in my life.

at the moment, i am in my parents' house.  i'm hanging out with b & d for the weekend.  the past three weeks, i have been housesitting for my favorite grownup.  but on monday, i will be back at travis & kelli's.  which should be fun, since my room is currently being painted for baby squishy.  and in two weeks, i am moving.

yay!

well, not yay to the moving part.  but yay to everything it implies:

1) i will have a permanent residence for the first time since jennifer and i lived together.  yeah, that was in 2010.  remember my BLOG from back then?  haha.  :)  (in the past three years, i have lived out of suitcases and boxes (and occasionally dressers) in the following places: mom & dad's, aunt betty & uncle jon's, adam & alicia's, aunt betty & uncle jon's, wigger, mom & dad's, asian holly's, mom & dad's, travis & kelli's, rich & heather's, and travis & kelli's.)  ready. for. a. home.

2) i get to live with liz.  nonstop shenanigans, most likely.  and we will be neighbors with allyse and cam, which will be so fun.

3) i get to unpack all my books!!!!!!!!!!!

4) i get to organize an entire apartment.  my heart is metaphorically exploding with joy about this!

5) we will live in pendleton, which is such a cute little town.  you are all invited to come hang out.  in fact, i'll probably invite you for a meal or a tea party or something else on my list.  :)

five is enough, i think.

i am extremely grateful for the people who have housed me.  but i am so excited for this next chapter.  i would appreciate a lot of prayer in the next couple of weeks.  if you know me at all, you are aware that my mind has gone into insane list-making mode (and not the fun kind of list).  so i am trying to create lots of pauses and space in my days to remind myself to breathe and that the details will come together.

whew.  i'll see you in a week or so.  :)

oh yeah...so here's some stuff.

i wanted to try and explain what i am doing this summer. this is not necessarily in order of priority or time spent.

a) i am taking two classes. (shout out to those jokers reading this!) they are online. lots of the same people i've been 'in class' with for the past two semesters.

b) i am playing frisbee. 4 nights a week. and almost every weekend. booyah.

c) i am working for my friend, dan. i will eventually post some pictures (that would require me taking my camera to work) that will better illustrate the things i am doing. the short version is that i am sorting and merging magic cards. and picking and shipping them. and other random stuff. the key is that i am getting really good at 'colors' (colorless, white, blue, black, red, green, gold, hybrid, artifacts, lands) and alphabetizing. and i am working on memorizing the sets. dan has informed me i will make a nerd husband very happy someday.

d) i am [theoretically] working on my book. but i haven't actually done that at all yet. too much homework...too many magic cards.

e) other random things. like brewers games (this sunday!!), going to all the cool places in madison that i love, playing excessive amounts of settlers with josh and jennifer, eating and cooking (but mostly eating), and mowing the penning's yard.

it's good times. i am busier than i expected. i think the summer will be over in the blink of an eye.

heads up for the summer

i am taking two classes this summer...they go from tomorrow until the middle of july. they're online, which means i get to hang out in madison for a few months. shaboom. for our online classes, we always have to write an autobiography...not all of us actually know or have seen one another, so it's an effort to get to know the class. this time, i threw in a link to my good old blog...since i tend to process and write about school stuff on occasion. so we'll see if we get a little traffic from my pals up in this neighborhood.

the two classes i am taking this summer are special topics in higher education: mental health issues facing the college campus and administration and finance in higher education. so those should be...interesting. maybe. i'll keep you posted.

i'll move up to madison next friday. i'll be living with jennifer (read: eating awesome food), working, and playing crap tons of frisbee. i'm going to work on my 30 by 30 list, commit serious time to my book, and soak up the awesomeness that is madison.

yeah, it's gonna be a good summer.

1) what are your summer plans?

2) do you have any goals for me this summer?

(yeah, i DID take this picture...it's the terrace. almost two years ago. haha.)

brain vomit

i'm in vacation mode, so you aren't going to get a pre-planned blog post today. you're just going to get a random smattering of thoughts about my time in wisconsin thus far. feel free to stop reading now if that concerns you.

it's 9:45 in the morning here in wisco. and i am exhausted. so while these are fairly unstructured thoughts, you're getting them even more filter-free than usual.

*because i love wisconsin and its beautiful people, i planned a week full of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and coffee dates. literally at least 3 scheduled events with people every day. as i may have mentioned anywhere from one to a thousand times, i am an introvert and get tired out by people. so this might have been a disastrous plan...as evidenced by the exhaustion i am currently experiencing. when jennifer heard my schedule for the week, she looked at me like i was a crazy person. she might be right.

*it's a little strange how people keep telling me nothing has changed here...my world is completely different than it was 7 months ago.

*many people in madison do not understand how my faith--my love affair with Jesus--shapes my decisions and life choices. the concept of not drinking for a season of life because that is part of the culture of the community in which i am now invested is too foreign for them to wrap their brains around. part of that is because alcohol is such a big part of the culture here (and not always in negative ways). but i think it's more because their view of life is so different from mine. and always has been, honestly...it's just more apparent now because of where i am and what i am doing vocationally.

*i am thankful that there are people who know and love me. like...really know me. and really love me in spite of...and in the midst of...really knowing me.