Long Time Coming

I've been meaning to write about this for a few weeks now, but keep getting side tracked.....SHOCKER!  A lot of things have changed or have been new this semester.  Yes, I am still an RD, but I am no longer an official student (which I am LOVING).  Over the past couple years many of my close friends in the area have moved, I've changed churches, and well, life overall has changed.  This fall I decided to become more involved with my church here, this is a big step for me because I've always been pretty non-committed to church extra curricula's.  This may be because I'm pretty independent or it could also be because I was raised in a church without them and just have no experience with that type of involvement. I don't know for sure which...maybe both?

Back in October, I signed up to join a Growth Group and was hoping for one with younger people who I could connect with and be fed and encouraged...my spiritual mentors and people who kinda kept me going had pretty much moved and I was only involved in groups at the time where I was the leader, feeder, etc.  It was draining.  Well, God is funny (I'd say sometimes, but it seems to be more of an always) and my group is all people who have children my age :)  HA.  However, it has been fantastic so far and I am learning a lot and I love the people.

Still looking for peers/friends who share my faith I also jumped at the opportunity to join a college-30's group who would be discussing the book Radical by David Platt.  So far the discussion has been great, but the before hand interaction is less than great.  UGH.  These are days when I really hate being my awkward introvert self. :(  The hard part has been that the majority of group (about 18-20 men and women) have all grown up in this church and all know each other very well and while they are all more than happy to introduce themselves, but they then all head off to their corners of the room to talk amongst their best friends.  The handful of us who aren't from here, didn't grow up in this church, and who don't know anyone else are then left very awkwardly standing.  I've tried to join conversations or to initiate them, but so far it is just awkward awkward awkward.

My introvert self struggles sooooo much in these situations.  Here at the college, I am fine, most people never know I would rather DIE in social situations, but I think that is because I feel like I have something to offer students, I can help them, I have something to do.  At this group, I'm just one more person who struggles to make small talk, and when people answer open ended questions with yes/no and just move off to be with their friends, it is gross.  I've been reflecting a little in the past few days, for me, this group is almost like being right back in junior high and high school again.  I had pretty much no friends at that point in my life (which many of my friends now find hard to believe), everything was awful and those who I did consider my close friends were a guy 3 years younger than myself, one in my grade, and a lady who was old enough to be my grandmother.  I really abhor dead end small talk conversations and when I am asking someone what is happening in their lives or how they are I don't think people get that I really do want to know, that I really want to know who they are, what makes them tick and what makes them laugh.  I think it is a societal thing where society as a whole is so obsessed with go-go-go and the extroverts who dominate the societal norms that these short answers revealing nothing are okay, safe, and expected.

Lest this post sound depressed and complaining, I want to assure you that is not my intention!  I fully understand there is place for both extroverted and introverted personalities in the world.  I also am positive that I am supposed to be a part of both of these groups, no matter the comfort level for myself.  I am learning, I am growing, and I want to will to continue :)

I WON!!!!!

I am never lucky when it comes to winning stuff (or at least I have a pretty solid non-winning track record for most of my life).  BUT!!  I won the random drawing for a $100 gift certificate for a tattoo! SWEET!!  I know I am FAR more excited about it than my mom......but I did promise her no sleeves :)

DNA Inksgiving Contest

Soooooooo, maybe I've been contemplating a tattoo for a few years now....yes, I have.  Right now there is a contest going on at a local (reputable) business where I COULD win a gift certificate to have $100 off  :)  I entered with this photo: 

Yesssss, those are approximately 80 temporary tattoos making up my "sleeve", it was quite a process of getting them all on...and then all off, but I was amused and had fun for the whole process.  I call it my $6 KMart Blue Light Special sleeve :)   Kinda felt like I had dipped my arm in Elmer's glue by the time I was finished and the nail polish remover to get it all off was a little much.....LOL  (Have no fear, I will never, NEVER, have a permanent tattoo sleeve! LOL)

C is for Cookie

O!  I forgot to add this to my last post!  I apologize in advance for the poor video quality....it was taken with my cell phone.....but this is my little cousin James singing "C is for Cookie" (the cookie monster song from back when Cookie Monster actually ate cookies instead of veggies) while we ate breakfast. I can't even listen to this without DYING laughing....I was having a really hard time keeping a straight face through this....he'd only been singing for about 10 minutes before I started to record it :)

Rammin' the Roads

A conversation with my little cousin, Noah, at the Fryeburg Fair at the beginning of the month went a little like this: "Elizabeth, how come...you never come visit me at MY house?  How come I always come visit you at YOUR house?"  Oops.  Truth from the mouth of a 4 year old....LOL  I knew I was long overdue for a visit down to my cousins and I had a weekend off coming up so I decided to combine a bunch of appointments and visits into one week-long road trip around Maine and Massachusetts. 

The 966 miles looked a little like this: :)

First off, the visit at the Civiello's was lovely :)  I had a great time with the Noah, James and little Ben (who really isn't so little for only being 2 months old!!) We got to play hide and seek, duck-duck-goose, dinosaurs, puzzles, and read lots of books......not to mention lots of piggy back rides!  Jen, you're amazing....I have no clue how you can do it....I know I definitely didn't have enough arms to take care of 3 little boys by myself!!  O, and it was nice to get to visit with Jen and Gabe, too ;)  And to find someone else to watch the Big Bang Theory with and laugh with :):)  BAZINGA!

Next stop was Boston for an appointment to figure out WHY I was feeling so yucky over the past few months.  Turns out I had a decent case of Mono sometime between last April and now.  My immune system is still recovering and I still have a lot of antibodies left in my system.  YAY for figuring out was wrong!  RIDICULOUS I had to go clear to Boston and have ~15 vials of blood drawn over the past few weeks just to figure it out.....sigh.  PATHETIC that I was so sick at whatever point and didn't even realize it because I'm so used to my body being "off".  O well!

On my way back home to my family I stopped in Skowhegan to visit my friend Matt at his business The Bankery.  GAH!  Pastries to die for!  While I would love to be able to see Matt and enjoy his stuff more often...I'm afraid I'd weigh 500 lbs!  I only ever hear fantastic things about his shop from my students who hail from the Skowhegan area and I will testify myself, if you are headed through there OR don't mind a minor detour on your way south down I-95.....STOP!!!   Your taste buds will love you :)

I got to catch up with so many more friends on this trip too....and got to play Heroscape with my brother a couple times :)  However, as much fun as it was, I was really excited to climb into my own bed on Tuesday night!

My "Pad"

Soooooo, I FINALLY got my "pad" all picked up and habitable! :)  YAY!  I don't work well in messy spaces, I get distracted and well, it just doesn't work.  I've come to realize that my "space" and "brain" are pretty well linked and the condition of my apartment is a pretty good reflection of my state of mind.  I don't think one causes the other, they just reflect each other.

Clean and picked up apartment = orderly, non-stressed, productive state of mind. 

Messy apartment = stressed, scattered, nonproductive state of mind.

Weird but very true.

Anyways!  Since I'm usually the one to come visit all of YOU.....here is a little peek of my home sweet home :)

This is the "newest" addition :)  My kitchen is kind of dark during the day so this is to help brighten it up....not so I can stare at myself washing dishes =P

 My bedroom from the doorway

 View from the closet....yes, the desk looks messy, but those are "to-do" piles!

 Einstein....my fave :)  O, and my vinyl. :)

 

 My solution for organizing some of my earrings.....because they were always getting tangled!!!  Total cost: ~$.75

 My very WHITE living room (view from bedroom door).......I need to borrow a level to get stuff on the walls :)

 More living room and kitchen

 View from window looking toward my front door.  (Doesn't everyone have a yellow "Caffeine" monkey hanging off their wall?)

 Bathroom :):)

So yeah, I'm not the best decorator.....but I like my space :0)  ....and color.....and texture...and old stuff :)

Columbus Day Weekend, the Last HURRAH!

Mmmmm I love long weekends, they leave time to recuperate from the day to day, enough minutes to be able to catch up with good friends and to enjoy time with family :)

Fryeburg Fair has always been on of my most favorite parts of Fall and I've been looking forward to going since fair time last year.  I almost skipped out on it this year from being so wiped out with the Katahdin trip (and the idea of two nights in a tent sleeping on the ground REALLY wasn't all that appealing), but at the last minute decided to go.  I mean, who could pass up a day at the fair with the Glidden family (extended version)? 

Saturday was SO hot and SO crowded at the fair....and trying to maneuver the crowds with 2 strollers (4 kiddos 4 and under), and 8 adults is a little tricky.  However!  We had lots of fun, ate lots of fair food and overall had a great time.  :)   My cousin Jen's husband Gabe convinced Jacob they could "team juggle" with the wreath wires Jacob had just purchased in the middle of this HUGE crowd of people everywhere.....well, Jacob miss threw and one of the wires ended up draped over Gabe's head and ear!   At least it wasn't someone else's head!

Sadly there is a distinct lack of pictures of this weekend because I realized around Waterville that I had forgotten my camera and we were far too far from home to turn around to get it.  That means the only pic I had of the weekend is this one I took with my phone:

Tom's Donuts line.....roughly 100 people ahead of me and a ~20 minute wait. COMPLETELY worth it (especially considering I waited closer to 40 minutes last year!)

 

 

 YES, it was soooooooooooooooooo good :)  We had to buy 6 so we had enough for everyone, even little Trey (he's 1) had his first ever donut :)

Tenting wasn't too bad, but because of the insane crowds at the fair we opted to head north on Sunday...unfortunately I was with the two hard core shoppers in my family so it took us a LONG time to get home.  LOL

Monday I got to catch up with my summer bible study ladies!!!!!!  It was SOOOO awesome, I've missed them a LOT!   We started the book of Esther, pretty cool stuff about standing up for what you believe in, even when the world thinks you're crazy.  Like how Queen Vashti refused to be paraded in front of all her husbands drunk friends for them to admire her beauty......hmmm sounds pretty familiar to our society today!!??

Mom and I also picked her grapes on Monday, they tasted soooooo good!   She made jam, was going to try some juice, too.   Megi, Ina, Tayla, and Kassie helped mom, Jacob and I with the pinching of them to get them ready to cook! 

This is the whole crop

Don't these look awesome!?!

Tuesday I got to go spend a FABULOUS afternoon playing scrabble with my favorite Weatherbee family!!   Mary, MamaBea, and Little Gramma were GREAT company and we ate my FAVORITE food (popcorn), hot spiced cider and enjoyed some friendly competition.....MamaBea showed Mary and I up though and took the win!

On my way back up Noh'th Wednesday afternoon the weather was BEAUTIFUL but the trees were prettier.....I treated myself to a ride up the Rt. 11 Scenic Byway and stopped a couple times for some photos....one near a particularly smelly cow field....LOL  *Open door*HOLD BREATH*RuN*snap photos*GAsP*RUN*jumpbackincar!*  :)   God's creation just blows me away....plus I'm so blessed to live in such a GORGEOUS section of the world.

I still have lots of recovery to do....all these piles of stuff to take care of here in regards to my weekend gallivant, but it was worth it, every bit.

ICanHasCheezBurger?

Recently, I have realized there is an abundance of people in my life who have NO CLUE of the wonders of ICanHasCheezBurger and the smiles and happiness it can bring to every day :)   Yes, it has a weird name, and yes, it is a slightly odd website, however, one should not be deterred because of this.  Before beginning an exploration of ICanHasCheezBurger, you should be forewarned: all basic grammar goes out the window on this site and almost everything is misspelled.  If this is going to drive you up a wall, you should probably avoid it at all costs.  Below is just a little sampling of what you may find here----proceed with caution if you are particularly susceptible to cuteness!

Tiramisu and a Couple Friends, Too!

Tonight was a much needed evening of laughing and off-campus-ness. :)  It has seemed recently that I've spent a lot of days/hours cooped up here on campus working on the nitty-gritty and tonight was a welcome change.  Dinner with an old friend and I got to meet a couple new ones, too!  There was lotttttttts of good food, laughing, teasing, under the table kicking (only because the cross table punching was too far to reach), and overall just a wicked evening. :)  O yeah, and there was tiramisu =P

Savior, Please

Honestly, tired was an understatement in the previous post.  I'm exhausted.  There is little of me left.  This song just popped up in my Pandora and seems so fitting :)

Lyrics are as follows:

Savior, Please - Josh Wilson
Savior, please take my hand
I work so hard, I live so fast
This life begins, and then it ends
And I do the best that I can, but I don't know how long I'll last

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me

Savior, please help me stand
I fall so hard, I fade so fast
Will You begin right where I end
And be the God of all I am because You're all I have

Hallelujah
Everything You are to me
Is everything I'll ever need
And I am learning to believe
That I don't have to prove a thing
'Cause You're the one who's saving me

Walking the Quasimodo Walk, Talking the, uh, something something Talk

Well, That was QUITE a weekend.  I'm so tired and sore, yet it was completely worth it. 

**Disclaimer** I am still wicked tired, I've been having a hard time typing all day, so please be forgiving on any typos :)

Friday came and we were all on the road by 3:30PM headed for Twin Pines at the New England Outdoor Center.  WOOHOO for leaving on time, I was SOOO pumped for this!!   The van ran like a champ and we didn't break down (possibly my MOST exciting part of the trip).  The students who attended were able to hang out, get to know each other better, enjoy a weekend at a beautiful lakeside cabin, hike Mt. Katahdin in some of the wort possible weather and really just have a blast!

I guess a quick recap would be:
* Slept about 7 hours total all weekend
* Drove over 6 hours
* Went to bed at 4AM after doing laundry for 6 hours.....but had to investigate why our room was about 100 degrees......someone had turned the radiant heat up to 85.....plus our room had had a dryer running for the past 7 hours.....yeah.
* A bunch of the students jumped into Millinocket Lake at 10 PM on Sept. 30
* I got to see a couple of my friends from high school :)
* Hiked into Chimney Pond with 2 other girls while the rest went all the way to the top.....we hiked in clouds all day
* Auntie made us cookies for the ride back :):):):):):)   <--------BIG HIGHLIGHT!!!
* Tons of laughing and smiles and fun all around


This was one of the only views of the mountain we had all day....it was kind of eerie to hike in the mist all day

This was our whole group at the Roaring Brook ranger station :) 

This was at the Chimney Pond ranger station and made us laugh :)   "RANGER OUTPOST NOT Gift Shop/Snack Bar"

All in all it was a good trip and even though 7 people who hiked to the top had to hike the last 3-4 miles in the dark and with flashlights (and in the pouring rain) they all said it was awesome and they want to do it again :)

I just want to sleep.

Just a quickie! :)

Well, it has yet again been a while since the last "real" post....sorry 'bout that.  Life in PI is as busy as usual, for example, last night while on duty I got to deal with a possible case of appendicitis (this was okay) and not even 4 hours later I was given the incredible opportunity to clean condoms off door handles(this was NOT okay)......that was not a night I love my job........GROOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Honestly, I think when the number of men in a group increases, the brain cell function exponentially drops. 

I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon to take a bunch of students to hike Katahdin :)  Can't wait!  It will be fun, I'm praying for at least decent weather for the students, but it will be fun no matter what :)

A couple nights ago we had had some beautiful days and the sunsets were GORGEOUS :)  for example, Sunday night I got to watch this out my apartment window:

The following evening I was about going nuts from being stuck in my apartment for the past 72+ hours so I jumped into the Black Widow and went for a scenic sunset drive :)

Just as the sun dropped behind the hills out in Castle Hill

 As I was driving around to Mapleton there was a GINORMOUS flock of Canada Geese flying....this is only 1/4 of the flock.

 The purple ones are purple from the "dusk" setting on my camera, this is looking out over Haystack "Mountain" from the Mapleton end :)

I'm so excited for fall :)   It is my favorite season, a season of death, but of so much more :)

Changes, yet the same

This is a continuation of my "From the Moon" blog that was no longer compatible with multiple emails. I did move those posts here because I like to be able to look back and see where I've been, but this is also appropriate because from Autumn 2011 on is kind of a new chapter anyways. So yes, this is "new", but is sprouting from the "old"......just like seeds.

FABULOUS deals of the week!

It's Thursday once again and that means: YARD SALE DAY!  

This morning started a little shaky as mom's alarm didn't go off and as we were about 15 minutes late leaving.  Since this is homecoming week we expected GREAT deals and my aunt even drove down to go with us and our friend Annie.  We all piled into the Prius (best vehicle for all those starts and stops :)  ) and we were off!  The first couple yard sales only yielded a couple "finds" but the third one was a HIT!   Very cool stuff and very cheap prices......mom, Annie and I had the back of the Prius full and spent the next hour driving around with a kayak paddle in the back seat.   After a quick stop for some breakfast sandwiches from High St. Market we were quickly on our way to the next one; embarrassingly, I still had my mouth full and was chewing as we ran up the driveway to check for some more bargains. LOL

Overall it was a great day, but the heat and humidity definitely could both be better and I returned home exhausted and ready for a nap.

Today was one of those yardsale days I was glad I had grabbed a little extra money on my way running out the door.   My "Treasure" list this week consisted of:

• 3 Pictures (for the apartment)
• 1 Really cool tea canister
• 1 Set measuring cups
• 1 Like new tupperware container (in the shape I like)
• 1 Handmade napkin/muffin basket
• 18 Books
• 2 High quality pottery mugs
• 3 Joan Baez LPs
• 1 Grease Soundtrack LP
• 1 Mary Poppins Soundtrack LP
• 1 Bert and I LP
• 1 Yellow sundress
• 2 Vintage "Lady and the Tramp" figurines (wicked cool!)

All for a grand total of $30.......but spending 4 hours crammed in a car with 3 of my favorite ladies was priceless LOL

HAHA, LOL, and ROFL

O dear.  God has quite a sense of humor, and thankfully my friends do, too!

I packed up my stuff on Friday and headed north to my apartment for the weekend.  I had a wedding to attend on Saturday afternoon and a couple of movie dates with friends to catch.  Yes, one of them was the new Harry Potter :)  (But, I will certainly admit, while the movies are pretty good in their own right, the books are FAR better.)

I had a very long, hot ride up with no air conditioning and was VERY much looking forward to a nice, cool shower to clean up.  I had my arms full of stuff to lug into my apartment and when I opened my back door to drop it off I was dumbfounded.  My apartment was a DISASTER.  Ceiling tiles out, disposable drop cloths covering everything and all my cupboards, the floors had protective stuff on them, too.  AHHH!! I was entirely confused.

I had been told at the beginning of the summer there would be no work done in my apartment this summer (a welcome change from last summer when I had to move 5 times around campus as they were remodeling.....) so to find my apartment in this kind of shape when I'd been planning on staying for 3 days was a bit frustrating.  No one had even called to say they were going to be working on it!

Thankfully, I have a fabulous friend who, even though we had just been planning a movie night, let me sleep in her extra bed all weekend.....even though we ended up with a seven-girl girls night last night and it was a little cramped in the 2 bedroom apartment!

We had a blast, watched the last HP, ate ice cream (Jess and I reminisced about how we ate half of a 3 gallon tub of black raspberry ice cream all by ourselves in the cafeteria last spring....over 2 days :)  (She's not supposed to eat sugar and I'm lactose intolerant LOL)

Overall, it was a great break and mini vacation......now it is back to cleaning and weeding the garden.  Woohoo summer!

e.

Yard Sales! :)

A bargain hunter's dream! :)  This summer the yard sales in have been pretty "blah" overall but I've managed to scoop up some spectacular finds this week! For example, I spent $11 today and brought home:

• 2 shirts 
• 4 DVDs 
• DVD player
• Necklace
• Votive holder    

What a steal!  Yesterday's deals included:

• 5 CD's
• SWEET homemade potholder
• DVD
• Blueberry cookbook
• Dress 

All for a $7.50 total.  Seriously, I can't go wrong here! LOL

A man in the community recently started a pretty nifty website called "Exploring Lincoln" where he highlights business, people, and things to do.  One of the newest features of the site is a "Yard Sale" section where you can see all the local yardsales, post your own and even map out your route!   Yard-Saling is meeting technological advances here! =D

6 Months!?!?! Really?!?!

Wow.  Every time I think I'm getting better at this "blog" thing.....poof!  Out the window goes my consistency!  Maybe someday I'll be fully seated and on the blog bandwagon, but for now I'm just aiming to keep up! LOL

Hopefully I'll have a full post soon....in between all these weddings and other summer excitements!

e.

A New Journey Into My Thesaurus

Nice.

This word has been slowly becoming more and more irritating to my subconscious self, making itself more and more consciously annoying.  Is that possible?  I don't know if this is an accurate description of what is actually happening but it makes sense in my mind.  :)  (isn't THAT a scary thought!)

I think it may have started in the fall of 2008 when I attended a church service at a local congregation and was startled and worried when I found the topic of the sermon to be something along the lines of: "Being a Christian is Being NICE".   Essentially what they were saying was we were to be sappy nice, not step on anyone's toes, never disagree, serve our hearts out and be NICE people.   I could not disagree more.   (More on that in a later post....possibly)  I did not return to church there.

In the past 3 years "nice" seems to become an increasingly cop out type description.  The point now is where it practically screams in my head, "LAZY!"  Do I really put such little thought into my words and interactions that I could use such empty phrases as "nice guy", "nice day", "nice time", and "you look nice"?  There are SO many more descriptive words that could convey what I really think but I am too busy or indifferent to put the effort in to use them.

I want to ban the word "nice" from my vocabulary.  From today on I will try to delve into my thesaurus and brain to think of more meaningful words to describe what I actually think.  I don't want to be detached from the world and people around me.  To be more engaged and genuine in the life I live.  Yes, that would be my ultimate goal I suppose. No, banning "nice" will not be a magic *POOF* that makes me a better person, only God can do that, and I will still fail according to his standards, but it may be a small step for me to be able to reflect his love and caring for the people around me.  I don't want my life to be devoid of emotion and filled with cop-outs.

I'm praying for a beautiful snowy wonderland tomorrow morning.  That would be spectacular to wake up to.

Good-bye, Nice!   Hello, Genuine!

PASSION 2011

Hey all!!! I just got back this afternoon from Passion 2011 in Atlanta, GA!!!!!   It was a LONG drive back (about 31 hours total) and I'm still unpacking and getting repacked to go back to school but I'll have details and news of it all and PHOTOS to share :)