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.