Snow Day!

School was cancelled today! We heard that it was supposed to snow last night. I was doubtful, though, since there have been so many fake-outs before. When I woke up this morning, I didn't want to look outside because I was afraid it wouldn't have snowed at all, and my hopes would be dashed. But when I looked out the window, the ground was covered with snow, and it was still coming down!!! At first only 8:00 classes were canceled. I don't have an 8:00, so I wasn't that excited. Pretty soon we heard that AISD had closed, so we figured ACU would close, but they never did. So at 9:20, we headed to school. When we got there, no one was there. Evidently, they had sent out an e-mail at 9:30, saying school was canceled. I was mad that they waited so long. But at least we got to go home! Here's some pictures:


Don't worry. This isn't mine and Brittany's slide. It belongs to our landlords.


Me and Brittany enjoying the snow!

I bought a Christmas tree for Brittany and me. We put it up on Sunday. Here it is:



Our house looks so festive now! I took a picture of the front of our house today with all the snow on the roof. I decided not to post it, though. I didn't want random people who might stumble on this blog to know where I live. So, take my word for it, our house looked very Christmasy with snow on the roof.

I got a job!!! I will be the Administrative Coordinator for Campus Life at ACU. Woo-hoo! I am so happy that I can relax over the break knowing that I have a job. A lot of people were praying about this for me, and I appreciate that so much. I think it will be a very fun office environment, and I still get to be on campus every day! I am so excited to start!

The end is in sight!

This weekend was awesome! I did absolutely no homework. I did take the GRE on Saturday, but after that, I did not use my brain at all. On Saturday afternoon, Brittany, Darby, and I spent 4 hours watching the ACU football game on T.V. We lost in overtime : ( But it was still fun making fun of the low-budget camerawork and commentary.

Saturday night, Darby and I went on a "real" date for the first time in I don't know how long. Our definition of a real date is just the two of us going out somewhere and not working on homework. We saw The Prestige, which was really good. Afterwards, we went to Starbucks and sat and talked. Usually, we go to Starbucks to study, so it was wonderful to just get to talk to each other. I am so blessed to have him in my life, and it's wonderful to be reminded of that in little ways every day.

On Sunday, I took a three-hour nap. I probably could have slept several more hours, but I made myself get up. It felt so good. This weekend was a little taste of my post-college life, and I'm liking it a lot!

I Love Books!

I found this little blog activity on my friend Kalyn's wedding photographer's blog. Random, huh? But I love thinking about books almost as much as I love reading them, so it looked like fun.

A book that didn't change my life: Moby Dick; I know it's supposed to be some masterpiece of American literature, but I just couldn't get into it. All the technical descriptions of ships and whaling...aahhh! I guess if I liked blood and guts parts of it would have been cool. I think a whale spontaneously combusted or something...obviously I wasn't paying that much attention.

A book I’ve read more than once: I try not to re-read books because I can't feel okay about reading a book again while I still own books I haven't read once. But occasionally for school I re-read. I read The Scarlet Letter twice. I read it for the first time in high school. I definitely got more out of it in college. I really want to re-read Possession by A.S. Byatt. I hated it the first time, but everyone says it's wonderful. I think I just wasn't in the right frame of mind.

A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island: Hmmm...this is a difficult one. I'd probably take the dictionary or an encyclopedia. (Can you take more than one volume?) At least, those would keep me busy for a while.

A book that made me laugh: A Series of Unfortunate Events; they're kids' books, but they are so clever. I read a few of them over Christmas break freshman year, and I kept reading the funny parts out loud to my mom. She wasn't as amused as I was.

A book that made me cry: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This is one of my favorite books ever. It has a weird premise, but if you get past the first few chapters, it is an amazing love story. And it avoids being cheesy by its sheer weirdness. The male protagonist has a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel spontaneously, so he's always a different age when he sees the woman he knows he will eventually marry. I can't really even explain it, but it's awesome. Plus, he's a librarian, which means that he's nerdy hot :) I cried several times throughout the book. It talks very candidly about the experience of a miscarriage, which was difficult. But I also cried happy tears because of the strength of the characters' love for each other, in spite of the strange circumstances. I feel like it's kind of an intellectual response to Nicholas Sparks. It still makes you feel mushy inside, but you don't feel dumber after reading it.

A book that I wish I had written: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Although the story itself is wonderful, it is really her language I wish I could imitate. She writes from a child's perspective, without making the book childish. She also feeds you just enough hints about what is going to happen to make you keep reading. I finished the second half of the book in one sitting because I just could not stop. I knew I was being propelled towards catastrophe, but I couldn't slow myself down. When I finished, I felt like I had to lie down for a while and process everything. But I recovered quickly. It wasn't one of those books that makes you feel horrible for days; I don't like those that much.

A book that I wish had never been written: This is tough. I've never really read a book I didn't like or couldn't at least somehow appreciate the value of. Probably I wish Ann Coulter's books had never been written. I've never read them, but on talk shows she makes me so angry. She is so judgmental and divisive. I'm sure there are others like her, but she's the first one who pops into my mind.

A book I’ve been meaning to read: Oh, gosh. I could go on forever. Here's the ones that are on my shelf in Abilene that I haven't read yet: Memoirs of a Geisha, Daughter of Fortune, Everything is Illuminated, Gilead. There are about 5o more in Waco that I own but haven't read yet. I make myself limit my Amazon wish list to 20 at any one time. Otherwise it's too depressing. Hopefully, I'll knock a few out over Thanksgiving and Christmas. And now that I'm about to be a college graduate, I imagine I'll have a lot more pleasure reading time.

I’m currently reading: The Kite Runner, barely. I'm on page 5.

Lauren Winner...

is coming to ACU tomorrow! Woo-hoo! I have loved her ever since I read Girl Meets God freshman year. I threw out the idea of having her come speak to the W-Club last year, and it actually all came together! If you have not read her books, Girl Meets God and Real Sex, you should. Especially Real Sex. It sounds like some kind of sex manual, but it's really about chastity, and it's one of the most honest Christian perspectives on sex and chastity I've ever read. She addresses the lies that both our culture and the church tell us about sex, and urges Christians to view sex in a new way. It's a rare book about relationships that's actually helpful to married, single, and dating people of either gender. I would try to explain it more, but I probably wouldn't be able to do it justice. Just read it. And then come to the Chapel forum tomorrow in Moody at 7. I think it'll be really good.

Here's a belated Halloween picture. Darby and I dressed up as the King and Queen of Hearts for Westgate's Trunk or Treat on Sunday. I made the costumes for us last year; they took a lot of time, so we had to get some more use out of them. Aren't we cute?