Skip-Bo

Well, Christmas was wonderful. The Christmas Eve service was beautiful. Kati, Lee, and I took Christmas pictures in front of the tree. They all turned out well. I will share them with you when I reach my dorm. I got my drum for Christmas, and I also got the Chronicles of Narnia as a complete volume. Those are my favorite things of this year. I can’t wait to get back to school and play with Becky. (Oh yah, I found out that my interterm class meets from 1:30-4:30 in McPherson. That stinks!)
I had a great time with friends so far this break. I hope you are all well. I am currently playing skip-bo with my family. My sister is currently picking on me, and repetitively calling me Loser. (Her favorite pet name for the people she loves.) She also has been criticizing my relationships, game-playing style, clothing style, life as a student, and taste in food. (She loves me, a lot.)
My dad has been talking for most of the evening with an oriental accent. It has been priceless.
I JUST WON!!!!
And with that, I will end
P.S. Pray for my sister's Boyfriend's dad. He is in the Hospital and is not doing well. They are considering transfering him to Wichita. Lee's parents have 7 kids from 1 to 22. The family is stressed and exhausted. Pray for his faith and strength for their family.

I am home

I am currently talking to MB or (Mike, Michel, Brenda, The Mule, Character Mike….and the list goes on) while waiting for Sabrah to call and tell me to come over so that we can bore each other to tears with the pictures of all that has happened to each other for the past 4 months. (Actually I love every minute of it, because I get caught up on every juicy detail of her life while trying to keep all of the names straight)
My mom just walked down the stairs with a music box playing O Christmas Tree, and it made me happy.
My dad is sitting watching TV. My sister was just over for a few hours. She played around on the Internet and we talked about stuff. (Including having competition on who was the better daughter, which happens to be her favorite games…ahem…) Anyways, she just left, and I just asked Mike what his favorite Christmas Tradition is, so I am going to go check out the answer. If you read this and feel like letting me know what your favorite Christmas tradition is, feel free. If you don’t have one, make one up. If you are beyond the creativity of making one up because your brain has been fried with finals, then go read a book that you liked in your childhood to recapture the wonder and romance of life.
Love all around, and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

distracting myself

So, I want to take my mind off of the math test that I have to take in an hour and a half. I decided to do as the Jill does and take a quiz or two. Yah, I know they are sappy...but I think I am allowed a little mush to go along with all of this hard fast math stuff.

You are Milk Chocolate

A total dreamer, you spend most of your time with your head in the clouds. You often think of the future, and you are always working toward your ideal life. Also nostelgic, you rarely forget a meaningful moment... even those from long ago.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

You Are a Light Pink Rose

You represent sweetness and grace. Your vibe: Kind and gentle Falling in love with you: is like falling in love with a best friend

What Color Rose Are You?

I want to be a Nymph

Yesterday I went to see the Chronicles of Narnia with a group of about 20 people from Tabor. It was a great movie. There were some things from the book that I wish that they would have included more of, but on the whole I liked it a lot. The actress who played the white witch was absolutely amazing. She was so fierce and had so much talent: I am going to be watching for her in other films. One of my favorite parts of the movie (also one of my favorite parts of the book) was when Mr. Tumnus played the Narnian Lullaby. I loved the fire, the music, and Tumnus’ personality. And may I just say that the scene when the cloth first falls off of the wardrobe was amazing. I also think I liked it because it reminded me of how much I loved reading the books and of how much I love the characterization of Asland. He is not a tame lion, but he is good.

You and me and the monkey makes three, don't need nobody but the elephant. (Swak!)

Procrastinate early, procrastinate often.
The early bird gets the worm, but what does the early worm get?
It’s the tallest blade of grass that gets cut first.
Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow.
And after all that…I am going to work on a project.
Hee hee

Christmas Banquet

Over my years at Tabor College I have attended four Christmas Banquets. There is a special memory that I have attached to each of them.
My freshman year:
1 I went with a group of girls.
2. Hollie wrote Travis (now married to Hollie’s best friend) a song to say yes to his unique proposal to go to the Christmas banquet.
3. The dance was in the scout house in the park and it was so crowded that everyone danced because there was no room to stand around and watch.
Sophomore year:
1. I went with a group of girls that I didn’t know very well, and we had an awesome time.
2. The dance was somewhat ok, but they played a large amount of slow songs and I was a wall flower. (p.s. being a wall flower STINKS)
Junior year:
1. I went with a group of girls and Curra and Big Guns McDaniel were my dates. (Hot dates, let me tell you!)
2. We didn’t go to the dance. Instead we went to the movies, and I got pulled over for the first time. (65 in a 45 and I didn’t get a ticket) Moral of the story, wear flowers in your elegantly upswept hair in order to avoid legal repercussions.
Senior year: Hurray for going with a wonderful guy! I went with Chris, Justin and Elise, and Rachel and Lucas.
1. I had a great time at dinner. The food was impressive, and the cheese cake was good as well.
2. The dance was priceless. When Matt climbed up on the wall and started dancing, I knew I would remember the night forever. I also learned that there are some Mennonite Guys that can dance. (Although none of them admit to it)
All in all it was a wonderful night. (I even made it to Newton without getting pulled over!)

hi

Hi, I am going to math class. I am trying not to be the first one there. (no matter how late I go, I am always first. Grump
I love Jesus and I want to live for Him!
bye

My thumb healed

Here is a picture of the mutt that I spent Thanksgiving with.

Yah, my stress level has not gone down, but at least it is leaving my thumb alone. Instead of my thumb skin pealing my depth perception decided to go out of whack. Yesterday I hit myself in the face with our storm door twice upon entering the house. It is a good thing I was wearing my glasses because they served as protective eye wear.
I began directing the First Mennonite Church Choir. They haven’t had a church choir in about two years, and it was somewhat of a challenge for me to choose music when I didn’t know at all what they could do. It was fun though. The people were so sweet. I think that some of them were skeptical of what I expected them to do, but it turned out well. I wish we had more rehearsal time before performances.
Last night I got to talk to a long lost friend. It was good to just talk with someone without making myself try to accomplish something while I talked.
After I got off of the phone I was editing my paper. It was around 1:30 and I started to talk to my room mate, and all of the sudden I sounded exactly like Doc O. My sentence structure, my vocal intonation, my word timing it all sounded like him. It was only one sentence which I tried to reproduce right after it happened, and I couldn’t do it again. Wow, my friends are rubbing off on me in more ways than just some.

123456 switch

I am slowly going crazy. 123456 switch
Crazy going slowly am I. 654321 switch
I am slowly going crazy. 123456 switch
Crazy going slowly am I. 654321 switch
So this weekend I started loosing skin out from under my right hand thumb nail because of stress. Yah…Homework is not my favorite guy in the world. Hopefully it will heal soon, because I feel like a 4 year old with a band-aid on my thumb.
P.S. I hate my body’s natural responses. Why can’t something cool happen like the inability to sneeze, or the inability to eat, or the inability to see in color, or the inability to….

honestly

So this has been one of those weeks. The kind that sometimes I am having the time of my life, and other times I am beating my head against a wall. The kind of week that contains someone who says something perfectly wonderful to me and someone else who trounces all over my feelings of worth. The kind of week that when it is over and I face a weekend full of hoops to jump through, I simply want to go home and pop in a movie have my dog at my feet and lay around with my sister. I want her to tell me a story, a shockingly ridiculous hilarious one that makes me laugh so hard that she laughs harder, and then we shush each other for the next half hour.

Here is another thought. It is a thought that has been inspired by some of the most comforting times that I have had both recently and in the past. If the whole personal space thing bothers you I half-way apologize for what I am about to say…but not really… I have realized something, or maybe not realized it, but am sort of coming to a greater awareness of it. Sometimes it is comforting to hang out with a bunch of girls and jump into a pile of my friends in which my entire body; every imperfect inch, limb or stomach, breast or bum, becomes the support of one of my best friends. It is the kind of meaningful touch that says that “closeness is the way I am expressing my gratitude that you are my friend, and that I can keep you up till all hours of the night with my stupid idiosyncrasies, and that you like it when I do. And closeness is my way of saying that no matter what anyone else says or thinks that I think you are magnanimous and that you are stunningly beautiful to me and more importantly to God. And closeness is Our way of saying that we are blessed by God above with these friendships that we should never take for granted and that we will never forget.”

I need a brain massage

I am still alive! So here will be a random post of the things I have been doing.
1. Reading an Abigail Adams book for history. (good book)
2. Justifying things by the day of the week. Such as: I want to wear a skirt. Why? Because it is Thursday.
3. Being mad at my math professor for assigning us a stupid research paper. Grrrr.
4. Going to Nebraska for NATS and competing against some amazing sopranos.
5. Seeing Lisa Lowen who I love. And talking to her about her boyfriend Kevin whose real name is Jeff.
6. Buying an outrageously cute jacket.
7. Baking cookies for my friend Roman and dressing up like a Granny to take them to him. (longish short story)
8. Watching my Voice teacher in a new relationship, and listening to cute conversations about what the other one likes on top of pizza.
9. Set up a facebook for panda.
10. Learned how to make Zweiback from John
11. Started working on one of my 3 Bradley Dean projects. Grrrrr
12. Having “Honest Hour” with Elise
13. Talking with my Amy
14. Conducting the Halleluiah chorus (Ahem, or at least trying)
15. Reading some good Psalms, check out Psalm 6.
16. Realizing that it is Wednesday afternoon, and I am brain dead.
Konk! (The sound my head is about to make when it hits my desk)
Smoosh! (The sound my head will make after I pick it off of my desk and lay it on my pillow for a nap
Ahhhh! (The sound of the bliss of the next 45 min.)

Purple wall fixture

So…we had our pirate party last night. It was partly in celebration of my dear roommate’s birthday, but it wasn’t at the same time. (The previous statement is not relevant to much except for now I have more company of 22 year olds.) The party was great. We all looked pretty good. We had trivia and then watched pirates of the Caribbean. (Can I just say that normally Johnny Depp is not so good looking, but in that movie he sure is.) Here are some pictures!!!
Also, tomorrow I am leaving for NATS in Lincoln NE. I am somewhat excited about hanging out with my music major and vocal people, but some of me just wants to stay here and get stuff done. Also the whole competition thing doesn’t thrill me. I will make the best of it. I will report on the characters that attend these things. My freshmen year everyone in the auditorium had to stand and sing Ol’langsian (Should old acquaintance be forgot…) I have no idea how to spell that. But anyway, we had to sing that song and hold hands at the end of the evening. It was CHEEZE!!!!
Today my voice teacher made a stunning observation about my life. DRAT! DRAT! And DOUBLE DRAT! (No, you aren’t supposed to figure out what it means….don’t ask either.)
On the up side I am going to S P and D for the first time in a while, which means I should go.

Aaaarrrrrrrrggggggg!

Tonight we had a pirate party. I will tell you all about it when I get a chance. I will have some sweet pictures to accompany this telling.
I am in a whirlwind of projects and getting ready for NATS (vocal competition) so if I seem scattered and inattentive I apologize. I have a lot LOT on my mind lately. Sometime, when it is not bed time, I will expand.
In Christ,
Storm’s Eye Sarah (AKA: me)

I WANT TO POST

I WANT TO POST, BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME!!!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!
Take care, Lots of Love, RANDOM THOUGHTS INSERTED HERE_________!
Jen

So my Top Secret Trip was to VIRGINIABEACHVIRGINIA to see MIKEWOODS!!!!! It was amazing.
We left on Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm and didn’t get to Virginia till 5:30 pm the next day. The drive was fun though. The only fun part was when all of us were too tired to drive and we were a little grouchy. Other than that it was smooth sailing. Doc had some amazing comments, including “Hey Baby, I’m Bionic.”
Saturday we arrived at Beth’s house (see photo) and all stood outside on the lawn calling our families to let them know that we were safe. Then the guys went to Ben and Mikes while we all showered and got pretty to see Mike. The guys came back and we all sat around for a while. Rachel and I made a Roman sandwich and it was quite comfortable. We went to Regent and played around in the lobby. We took pictures on the fabulous staircase (see photo), waltzed, Aaron Modeled, and Rachel Swooned. Then we all went back stage and waited for Mike to come around the corner. I will never forget the look on his face and his reaction for the rest of my life. Mike gave us a tour of some of Regent (see photo) and then we went out to eat at the restaurant that Mike goes with his friends. After eating and talking we went back to Beth’s and sat and tried to talk till 3:00 am and then we all went to bed.
Sunday is a day that I will want to freeze and revisit it whenever I get the chance. We woke up at 8:30 and went to get the guys. We ate breakfast at Ben’s house while watching the guys play x-men. (see photo) After that we left for the beach. (see photo) It was a beautiful day (see photo). The wind was cold but the water was warmer than the wind. There were seven of us that swam. (John, Roman, Aaron, Sharon, Becca, Rachel, and Me) I didn’t see them, but someone said that there were dolphins swimming just a little farther out than we were swimming. After we got out and tried to get warm and dry, we had devotionals on the beach. Landon brought his guitar and we sang, read scripture, and prayed. It was wonderful. I am so blessed to have friends such as these. After Devos we ran around on the beach for a while longer and then went to IHOP for breakfast/lunch. Mike left early for call, and we all left later to get ready. We went as fast as we could and we were still almost late. I drove to the show and I sure did break some traffic laws. (I don’t ever do that either, but I am pretty sure that the 3 point turn I took in the middle of a 4 lane road with a green SUV coming was a law breaking experience. I wasn’t about to drive 25 hours to see a show and miss it by being late by 2 min.) The show was so powerful. The acting was incredible. After the show we went out to look at the fountain and wait for Mike to get done with stuff. Then we went out for Chinese take out. It was SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!! We watched Batman Begins and I fell asleep after the first 45 min or so. I woke up and we all talked till 2:00ish and then I went to bed.
Monday morning came too early. We all got to sleep in a bit. Then we cleaned up, and I packed up my stuff. We all sat around and watched a discovery nature show about Cuba and how everything on Cuba is small. The guys provided some great commentary while watching the species. Amy and I went for a walk in the hurricane and got about ½ a block when our umbrellas blew inside-out, and we decided to go back then it was time for us to leave. It took a while…first we all said good bye. Then we couldn’t leave because we plugged the toilet and someone had to go buy a plunger. Then we found a plunger and they had to come back to un-clog it. Then we all said good bye again, and we finally left. I almost cried watching Mike and Angie; I had to swallow a lot.
The ride home was eventful and hilarious. I want to write about it sometime, but this post is already the LONGESTEVER!!!. So I will leave you here. Perhaps I will finish my thoughts later because I have already worked on this one over the course of a week.
Sorry the pics are out of order. You can figure them out. The one of Angie, Brian, and I is a representation of Illinois. I am ill, Angie is annoyed and Brian is an Indian.

TOPSECRETLOCATION!!!!!!!!!

I am bound for a top secret location. I will not be around for a while. I will tell you all about it when I get back. FALLBREAKROCKSANDILOVENUMBLIMS!!!!!!!!!EVERYBODYDRIVESAFE!

For Ginger

Yesterday was a sad day for my family. My family’s dog Ginger died in her sleep. It is probably harder for my family to deal with the loss of a pet more than other families. You see, when we get a dog, it becomes a member of a family. It gets multiple nick names. It gets dressed in any manner of people clothing. It gets half of my mom’s peanut butter sandwich every morning, and it gets half of my dad’s popcorn at night.
So this post will be a tribute to Ginger the sweet little sausage that she was.
My mom, sister, and I went to the humane society when I was 11 years old to look at the puppies. We found Ginger. She was the smallest of the litter, and she was shaking. We took her home and when dad came home we made him close his eyes, sit down on the couch, and hold out his hands. We dropped her into his hands and looked at him with the biggest, sweetest, can we keep her eyes. He couldn’t say no. Ginger had a interesting start to life with us. She was a sickly little thing and wouldn’t eat anything but bread soaked in milk. We were excited when she moved onto rice and then puppy food.
Soon she gained some spunk and grew a little. The funniest thing about her was her tail. It moved like a cat’s tail. It didn’t wag, it wiggled. We thought that from her short hair that she would have a thin silky coat. Ha, were we surprised; soon she grew a huge thick sheltie coat. It was beautiful even though she shed like a fiend.
One of my favorite memories with her was at McPherson College Track. We were all walking or running as a family. I think I was training for Volleyball. She got loose on the track and proceeded to herd us like sheep. If one of us strayed from the group she would walk along the outside of us and slowly walk us back into the group.
She also liked music a lot. She used to lay under mom’s stereo and listen to the music. Mom insisted that she liked soothing music best. Ginger would also play hide and seek with a bone. I could give her a nyla-bone and she would take it hide it and come back to let me know that it was hidden. Then she would help me find it. That dog could seriously talk to you with her eyes. If you asked her a question she would snort a response. I believe that she knew in her head exactly what you had said.
I will miss her. She was a great friend and a good playmate.

Memories of Big River

There is no way that I can coherently write about all the fun that I had, and all that I learned through Big River. It was an experience that changed me. I think that all shows change actors, it just depends on the show and the situations surrounding it that determine how much it changes you. So I have decided to list some of the wonderful things that I will remember about this particular show and the awesome people I got to work with.

So here are my memories
1. The first rehearsal having to say if I prefer spaghetti with or without meat sauce. Within this, learning about the new people in the cast
2. Learning the music knowing full well that these songs would be stuck in my head for the next month or more.
3. Finding out that I, yet again, got the “mom” role in the show and that I, yet again, (for the second tabor play in a row) would make my first entrance yelling the name of a mischievous youth
4. Having Becky frequently ask me “when is practice?” and walking together like old times.
5. Getting to know my soul sisters Elise and Bri
6. Absolutely wanting to disappear during multiple moments of embarrassment in rehearsal
7. The terrible night of the lip licking mix up
8. Watching James eat grapes and mouth the lines off stage, and listening to him every time he said, “you ruined the show”
9. Talking with Elise, Bri, and Aaron back stage about everything. Seriously, I mean everything.
10. The first time I heard Jarrod sing the government song
11. Praying with many different people during hard times in their lives
12. Getting to be joyful with John and Elise when their families got to come from so far away
13. Doing Man makeup
14. Wearing and tripping over 20 yards of fabric each night
15. Cast bonding on our first Friday night performance.
16. Listening to Daniel progress as the Young Fool
17. Dancing back stage before Free at Last
18. When Aaron modeled for us right before intermission
19. Singing in chipmunk voices with Ashley
20. Working with the brilliant but unpredictable Alberto (the set guy)
21. Getting a rose from Chris and finding out that I am now the proud owner of a nasty cupcake in a baggie…until I find it Moooowwwahahahahaha
22. Having my sister come to my show!
23. Singing the Crossing on Saturday night when it was perfect and getting huge goose bumps
24. Singing Stand by Me with Landon, John, Jarrod, Rachel, Elise, and others after practice.
25. Going to Luke’s room after practice and singing with Rachel and Elise
26. Walking out on stage on Thursday night and realizing that this was it. It was time to go.
27. Walking out on stage on Sunday afternoon and knowing that it was time to bring us home.
28. Loving all of my friends in the cast, and recognizing all that John, Landon, Rachel, Becky, Roman, Brett, Jarrod, James, and I have gotten to do together over our past 3 years and how much of a great opportunity this show was.
29. Knowing that I would never get to do this show again and being satisfied that we had fought hard and that it was good.
30. Talking with Angie on Sunday night, processing all that we had learned and the fun that we had, and thanking God for the blessing that Big River gave us.

There are so many memories and wonderful things that I will never forget. (like Landon, Shane, and the Toe Fish) I was lucky to get to know new people and to also get to know people better. If you have a memory of your own, feel free to share.

To bed I said

I want to post, but I am so tired and I have a large head ache. The play was amazing. My sister and her boyfriend both came and I was so glad to have them there. I want to say more about it, but I don’t think I have the ability right now. I am still processing. I will fill you all in later. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps a lot later considering that I have everything and a bag of potatoes to get done between now and fall break. Count it all joy. To Bed I Said, and Went to Bed.

TWO WORDS

OPENING NIGHT!!!!!!!!