goodbye, $95

its hard not to be tied to earth sometimes...financial pressures, crammed schedules, and all the other stresses. certain days just seem to sweep in and remind that i'm not tied here (or shouldn't be).
here's the story...

as you know, i'm spending the summer in colorado, working at Eagle Lake camp. well, i have to get certified in CPR and FirstAid before I go. I registered over a week ago for today and had it worked out so that, 7 hrs later from 9am this morning it would be over. but i got lost getting there. i was SO close but the directions were bad and i asked a few CTA workers--each with a different answer. I called the Red Cross headquarters and they gave me "new" directions which still weren't super helpful and i was far enough out of the way by then that i didn't make it in time. so...i took the El and the bus back to school trying not to think too hard (or stress too much) about the $95 down the drain. i called them and they said they can't refund the money. mom wants me to call back and beg them--claiming my "poor college student" status.

that was very discouraging. there have been so many little expenses like that lately--and several more (deposits, etc) due on May 1st. It never ends, huh? sigh... Sometimes i hate money. yeah, that sounds childish. whatever, its true.

but on the up side, its 70 degrees today. i would have been stuck in a classroom all day. instead, i decided to walk around the city. i sat in the garden/patio at rush and bellevue for a long time and drank chai. i journaled and just sat people watching, enjoying the fountain, the birds, and the sun. i went into anthropologie and admired their really cute cloths--flinching even to touch them. oh to have that kind of money...not actually. i don't think i could ever wear a $68 thin cotton blouse. i do, however, wish i had a sewing machine here and could experiment a bit. i think i would make some of those designs pretty easy--they're simple.

i went into barnes and noble and breathed in books for a long time. i looked at the biographies, admired shelves of fiction, tried to get ideas in the ESL section...and, yes, i visited the journals :) I came out with a cute bday card for a friend.

i had packed a picnic lunch for my class so instead i enjoyed it on the grass in the sun: peanut butter and honey sandwich with an apple. it was lovely.

i prayed. i journaled. i walked. i watched. i listened. i admired. i breathed deep. i enjoyed.
i think it was a much-needed break from busy school days and homework filled afternoons. i'm grateful.

i've been challenged to pray some exciting and daring prayers about my future. no, i won't share :) but i'll just say that i'm excited. i am content to sit with the Lord in this unknown--even with life changing EVERYDAY as he teaches me so many new things and reveals more wonders of his truth (they really are never-ending, aren't they?).

i enjoyed a nice walk with good conversation yesterday--Charity and i hung out for a few hours. it was wonderful. we ended up at the @spot cafe since the power was out at mercury. it was really wonderful to hear her and share thoughts--as always.

tonight is JSB (Junior Senior banquet). hmm. i'm sure you'll see pictures up sometime soon. Sarah. Mariah, Lacy, and I are going. together. It will be a fun night--a good finish to a busy week.

in closing, i have a new music interest. josh garrels. yep.

alrighty. i hope YOU can breathe deep today--go out and soak up some sun or sit inside and enjoy a nice cold glass of water :)
i think i'm going to get some updates out, emails written, the room cleaned, and books put away and organized. whew. this week was a bit of a whirl-wind.

hasta!