life...

I've been engaged for a month, as of yesterday. It's fantastic. I've been coughing for a week straight as of today. It sucks. I think I'm finally coming out of it, as I haven't coughed nearly as much this afternoon, which is nice. Last night we had a banquet for Fusion leadership, and I came home immediately afterward and got in bed. I was in bed by 9pm! How crazy is that? And then, I slept straight through the night soundly (which I believe was direct answer to prayer), woke up to my alarm this morning, turned it off, crawled back in bed after switching the light on with the intention of only staying there a few more minutes, and then woke up at 7:30 and realized I was going to be late for work. So I slept for 10 1/2 hours straight. It was nice, although I could have done about three more. So I figured since I was going to be late for work anyway, and I had already called in to inform them of this, I might as well pick up Chick-fil-A for breakfast. It was tasty. Since then, the day has dragged by, but it's been bearable. I have just under two hours to go, at which time I intend to go home and get about two more hours of sleep before Rob is done at the church. Over the weekend while we were visiting Rob's family, Mrs.Barbi loaded us up on groceries because they are moving soon and she wanted to clean out her pantry. So that means Rob is cooking dinner tonight, which is great. There are few things in life better than someone else doing the cooking on a day that you really don't feel like it!

Speaking of last weekend, we were in Ft.Lauderdale for the first of our wedding showers (engagement party actually... same thing). Mrs.Barbara loves planning parties. She was most excited about the cake that she ordered. It was from a Cuban bakery, and it was beautiful. It was round and had hand-done lace icing on the top, with a fondant bow that made it look like an actual tied-up gift, complete with hang tag that read "Congratulations Rob and Megan."

She also ordered floral centerpieces and put together photos of Rob and myself to display. She's really great at thinking of little details like that. Anyway, it was all just really sweet. In attendance were Rob's grandparents and other members of their church who are practically family. Also, the Kirstens were able to come down from Orlando, which was really nice. All of them are such great people. I'm glad to be inheriting such a wonderful family.

That's really all the interesting news I have for now, aside from telling you that my doodles on the top of my notepad interestingly developed into a smiling caterpillar. Wish I could show you. Okay, that's all. Later.

consumeristic...

I'm feeling consumeristic today, as Marilyn would say. (That's the more appropriate term to what we generally call "materialistic.") My new want is a Nikon D50 digital SLR camera. I love my film SLR, but I've conceeded to the idea that I currently don't (and won't for a while) have the means or opportunity to do my own processing and developing, so I've started to cross over to the digital world. The hands-on aspect of film processing will always hold a special place in my heart, but without the opportunity to do that, film photography is less enticing because it would leave the final results of the photos up to the CVS developing. At least with digital, I have the opportunity to view and edit my photos before I print them. I have a digital camera now, and I have had a lot of fun using it, but there's so much more you can control with an SLR. Anyway, those are my random thoughts on photography and consumerism this morning. If you feel like donating to the "Meg wants an expensive new toy" fund, let me know! Just kidding. Later.

pass the tea please...

I feel like crap today. I've been coughing for the past few days, and today it has finally escalated into this old-man-with-emphazema-about-to-hack-up-a-lung thing. I think it's just my allergies that are causing it, but regardless, I'd really like for it to go away! Rob and I are headed to Ft. Lauderdale as soon as we get off work today for a weekend with his family, so I'm really hoping not to be miserable.

In other, more pertanent news, yesterday was a really good day for me, spiritually speaking. Lately I've been feeling like I haven't been getting quite as much out of my quiet times as I probably should. I've been reading, but it's like it just hasn't been connecting all the way. Then yesterday, I read, and it's not so much that I "got" any extra out of the actual passage, but rather that the passage reminded me of something that sent me off on a tangent of thought that I felt was quite beneficial. I got off on the idea of how our faith is supposed to be relational, not formulaic--an idea I had the opportunity to think a lot about while reading Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What a while back. This all started when I was remembering an incedent from high school where one of my teachers at my Independent-Baptist-run private school was insisting on the validity of a particular belief of hers, when in reality it was an issue that not only cannot be completely proven one way or the other, but also is an issue that doesn't really matter that much in the grand scheme of things. It just really got under my skin that she was so insistent upon something like this, rather than using that time more beneficially to express to her students the more significant issues. You know, like showing them the love of God, and all. But what do I know. Anyway, my point in saying all this is simply to tell you God used that tangent thought in a big way yesterday to speak to me about living my life in a way that exemplifies who He really is so that the people around me can see that, rather than getting wrapped up in our haughty Christian arguments about completely unconsequential details. And if I am to exemplify who He is through my life, that means I have to be getting to know more and more about Him through my personal relationship with Him. Last night at Fusion, pastor Walter spoke to us about sharing/living out our faith for those closest to us. His message seemed to tie in really closely with many of the things I had already been thinking about. And then, after he finished speaking, we were singing a song that really just completely grabbed me. It says "How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You? Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?" Relatively simple words, but they hit me in the face last night. It's not often that I cry during times of worship, but I definately did last night. I was at the sound booth, keeping track of the words on the projector screen, and I was just broken. (Luckily I managed to keep the words going though!) God was saying to me, "You have complete access to Me all the time. How can you experience My presence daily and not be changed by that? Do you think there's anything in life that could possibly be better than what I have already given you? You have to be moved before you can move others for Me." So those are my thoughts for now. Yesterday was good, and I'm looking forward to everything else God is getting ready to do. "He who began a good work in You will be faithful to complete it." I'm claiming that today.

hey! you're part of it...

Hello all! ("All" of course meaning the handfull of you who actually read this.) So life is totally and completely average these days. Aside from being engaged (which is awesome) and being busy with a bunch of little things, there's really nothing to speak of. Well, I guess that's actually pretty contradictory. I'm busy, so I guess that means there's lots to speak of. Rob and I are headed to Ft.Lauderdale this weekend for an engagement party with his family, which is exciting. We will, of course, sing in their church service on Sunday, as well. Ryan might even make the quick trip down from West Palm to sing with us, which would be cool. Easter is coming up, in connection with wich, we are planning a special Stations of the Cross evening for Fusion, which I think will be really good. Easter weekend itself will probably be spent with my family. Also that weekend, Rob and I will for the first time be able to see our furniture we ordered! (It was delivered to the parents' house for storage purposes.) And I'll get to stain the bedframe we bought, which I'm really excited about doing! (We might be able to get into the condo we want as early as May or June, which would mean I would move in, and we would be able to get everything settled there in plenty of time before the wedding.) The girls are throwing me a party at my house in a few weeks, so as to be able to have it before Erica moves. And then there's all the weddings! Holly and Kyle got married last Saturday; Rob's coworker gets married on May 13; the next day Rob's good friend Nate gets married and Rob's in the wedding; in June Rob is the best man in Damon's wedding; and then we get married in July. How crazy! I guess the summer is just a good time for weddings! I don't think I've ever been to so many weddings in one year, much less one season! That's all the big stuff that's coming up, I guess. Other than that, I'll just be working all summer and waiting for a teaching position. I'm satisfied doing what I'm doing for as long as I need to until the right job for me comes along; I just really hope that right job comes sooner rather than later. But God has totally blessed me with my current situation in so many ways, so I can't complain.

Anyway, just counting down the minutes left in the work day. Hope everyone is doing well. Grace and peace!

tourmented...

I am sick of hearing the sound of phones ringing. It's crazy today. (There's really no point to this post... it's just that I've started to write a post every day this week but haven't actually done it yet, so I felt I should.) What is funny about answering phones all day at work is that I find myself answering the phone at my house in my "work voice." For example: "I'm sorry, Krissy's not available at the moment. Would you like to leave a message for her?" Only after the words have left my mouth do I realize that that's probably a bit too formal for the occasion. Anyway, as I said, no real point here today. Hope everyone is doing well.

114 days till my wedding!

surprise...

So Jill Robshaw, friend from church who is currently in Austrailia, has recorded some music, and I had a link to her site on my list of music links. Today I was going through all the sites on my music list, because I honestly haven't looked at any of them (other than David Crowder) in a really long time, and when I got to the end of the list and clicked on Jill's, I was quite surprised to find a completely different "Jill Robshaw" website... not that she has updated it, it is a different Jill Robshaw. Some girl who gives health and beauty tips or something. So anyway, I'm taking that link off. Makes me wonder how common any given name is. There's some website where you can find that out, but I don't remember what it is. I know on mine and Rob's registry for Bed, Bath, and Beyond there are 5 of me but like 2 pages full of his name! It's kinda weird. Anyway, that's my random news of the day. Later.

dull...

It's a relatively average day here at the office, for me anyway... everyone else is busy. I'm used to having lots of down time, but today I have no wedding planning or furniture shopping to do online, so I'm growing bored quickly. I've been reading today to try to finish this book that has already taken much longer than expected, but after lunch my body hit "hibernation time." I can usually get over it if I keep myself occupied, but reading is one of those things that if you try to do it when you're already tired, it just makes you more tired. My blinks kept getting longer and my head was doing that sudden nod thing that happens when you are involuntarily falling asleep. I wish I could lay my head on folded arms on my desk like a kid playing "heads-up 7-up" and doze off for a few minutes, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Neither the clients nor the employers would probably be very fond of finding me in that state. I might search for a crossword puzzle or something to keep me occupied. (Clearly I have a very demanding job.) Writing this post is keeping me alert. I wish I had something pertanent to say so that I could keep writing. But this is about it. Nothing new. Nothing exciting. Just me fighting off the urdge for a post-lunch siesta.

authority...

I love in the gospels when it says that Jesus spoke "as one having authority." It's as if everyone knew just by the way He spoke the words that He really did have control over everything.

It's interesting to me how the demons knew before the disciples that Jesus was the Son of God. I mean, I guess they'd been around longer and all that, so they should know, but it's interesting that they are quicker to say "We know who You are" than the disciples are. And the demons just recognized Jesus for who He was, without having to have any proof or anything. They just knew it was Him. The disciples waited for evidence, even after the whole "He speaks as one having authority" thing. They doubted continuously. And they were the ones on His side! The demons --His enemies-- never doubted His identity.

Just something to think about. Read Luke 4:31-5:11 to see where I got these thoughts.

sparks fly...

I made sparks in the microwave at work this morning. It was exciting. Accidental, obviously, but exciting.

our wedding site...

I made a wedding site for me and Rob today! It was pretty fun! Here's a link to it. It's not totally complete yet, but you can check back later for updates. Peace!

surrender...

A huge theme recently, especially at College Weekend at church, has been the idea of surrender. I was just reading in Luke where Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days fasting, and He was being tempted by Satan. First of all, the idea that Satan would try to tempt the Son of God Himself is such a strange concept to me. I mean, he knows Who He is and how powerful He is and that he is ultimately at His mercy. But regardless, the truth is that Jesus was tempted. And the way He withstood temptation was that He was completely surrendered to the will of His Father. We, being much, much smaller than Jesus, must follow His example of resisting temptation. The only way to do it is to surrender to the will of God. Our will, when left to ourselves, is evil. God's will is pure and holy and righteous. In order to be pleasing to God, in order to resist temptation of any kind, we MUST surrender to His good, pleasing, and perfect will. That's the only way.

it's official...



We're engaged! Yay!

random thought...

Things that annoy me: people who bathe in their perfume; people who assume the receptionist can solve (or help at all with) their legal problems.

half missing...

distance does not make the heart grow fonder... distance makes me feel like crap... makes me sick... makes me cry... lets the lies get into my head... lies that i recognize as lies... yet lies that are very convincing, all the same. distance makes me be with myself... think about myself... criticize myself... my faults... my lackings... my shortcomings. no one else criticizing... just me... just the lies... others telling me truth... proclaiming truth... speaking truth over me. cling on to the truth. forget the lies. banish the lies. claim the truth. make it real. make it tangible. make it a part of me. make it my identity. cling to Jesus. know His Truth. make that my identity. make that my source of strength. make that my strong tower. He is my Strong Tower. He is my Comfort. don't just be with myself... be with Him... sit with Him... talk to Him... know Him... get to know Him more. use this time... this free time... this unobligated time... this unscheduled time... this one week of time... this time that is almost over. quit being so selfish... so self-centered... so self-concerned. minister. love. listen. give. help. share. laugh. sing. dance. enjoy.

in honor of friday...

Because it's Friday, and it feels like the appropriate thing to do, here's another survey. Back in the day I would do the "Friday Five" but they stopped doing those, so this will do. Besides, this will keep me occupied much, much longer.

Have you ever....

Played Spin the Bottle? Not really
Toilet Paper someone's house? Also not really
Played Poker with money? No
Gone swimming in a white T-shirt? Not since I was a kid
been tickled so hard you couldn't talk? Yes.
like someone but never told them? Of course
went camping? Yes
had a crush on your brother's friend? No
walk in the rain without an umbrella? Yes
told a joke that Nobody thought was funny? I’m sure
been in a talent show? Yes
started laughing at someone's bedtime? What? That’s a dumb question.
worn something your mom didn't approve of? It wouldn’t be a mother-daughter relationship otherwise!
been to a nude beach? No
drank jack daniels? No
cursed in a church? No
been called a slut for kissing someone? No
burnt yourself with a curling iron/straightener? Yes
wanted to be a police officer? No
dumped someone? Um… no, not really
been hit on by someone too old? Yeah, old guys are creepy
wanted to be a model? No
bought lottery tickets? No
made out in a car? Yes
cried during a movie? Yes
wanted something you couldn't have? Of course
had sex on the beach? Definitely not
had the drink sex on the beach? No
seen someone shoplift? Not that I recall
hung up on someone? Only telemarketers
yelled at you pet? Probably
bought a thong when the cashier was a guy? No
tried to strip when drunk? Haha… no, but that sounds funny
gotten seasick? Not really
had a stalker? I don’t think so
played a prank on someone that had them really scared? No
been embarrassed by one of your family? For sure
felt bad about eating meat? No. at least not in the “I feel bad for the animals” sort of way. Maybe if I was feeling fat or something.
Protested? No
been to an island? Any island? Yes: Anastasia, Jekel, St. Simons, Amelia
been in love? ABSOLUTELY!
ate just because you were bored? More often than I want to admit.
looked at something everybody thought was ugly and said "aww"? I don’t know
Screamed in a library? No
Made out with a stranger? No
Been Dumped? Um… I guess
Wished a part of you was different? Of course… who doesn’t?
asked a guy to dance? Not really
laughed so hard you cried? Yes
went up to a complete stranger and started talking? Probably not
been sunburned? Yes
kicked a guy in the nuts for being a pervert? Hahaha! No, but I wish I could say yes!
threw up in school? Only once
received an anonymous love letter? Not that I recall
had to wear something you hated? Of course
been to a luau? A semi-luau. No roast pig or anything.
cursed in front of your parents? No
been in a commercial on tv? No, but I’ve been on tv.
watched a movie that made you miss your ex? Maybe shortly after a break-up or something. Definitely not any time recently.
been out of the country? Yes
been honked at by some guy when you were walking down the sidewalk? Of course… I live in St. Augustine.
won at pool? Heck no.
went to a party where you were the ony sober one? No (meaning I didn’t go to those parties… not that I wasn’t sober!)
went on a diet? Eh, not really.
been lost out to sea? No
tanned topless? No. I’m not a fan of those areas of my body getting sunburned, which they surely would.
been attacked by seagulls? No
been searched in an airport? No
been on a plane? Yes
been pants-ed? No, but I do always recommend that someone pants Mikie P.
thown a shoe at someone? Possibly
broke someone's heart? I don’t know. I turned down this guy I knew who was sort of fixated on me. I doubt he was really “heartbroken.”
sung in the shower? Yes
bought something way too expensive? I’m sure
done something really stupid that you still laugh about? Sure
been walked in on when you were dressing? Probably
ran out of a movie theatre because you were too scared of the movie? No
been kicked out of the mall? No
been mean to someone then instantly wanted to take it back? Definitely
fell off your roof? No. have I been on my roof? No.
pretended you were scared so you could cuddle up with someone? No, that’s far too girlie for me.
had a deer jump in front of your car? YES! It’s scary!
threatened someone with a water gun? Threatened? no

Can you....

Unwrap a starburst with your tongue? I’m not a starburst fan, so I’ve never tried, but I tied a cherry stem once.
Sing? Yes, or at least I like to think so.
open your eyes underwater? Yes
eat whatever you want and not have to worry? No
ice skate? No… I’m really terrible at it. And don’t try to tell me it’s just like rollerblading… definitely is not.
sing in front of a crowd? Yes
Whistle? A little… not very well
be a bitch at times? Yes. (I didn’t make up the questions, but if it’s going to ask, I’ll be honest.)
do thirty pull ups? Heck no.
walkin in really high heals? Yes… well, I don’t know that you’d call them “really” high, but they’re high heels, none the less.
eat super spicy foods? No
Skateboard? No
sleep with the lights on? Only if I am completely and utterly exhausted, or napping. Not on an average night.
Mulititask? Yes, usually
touch your nose with your tongue? no
fall asleep easily in the car? Only if I’m by myself in the back seat
Surf? No
fit in your locker? I’m not in high school, but I’m going to say no
do a split? No
taste the difference between pepsi and coke? Yes (but both being diet)

familiar

I'm reading You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers, (written in first person by Dave) and the friend in the book reminds me of Rob so much. (I've told him this. This won't be a surprise to him.) For those of you who know him, let me know if this doesn't capture Rob's personality!

Hand knew things like this, and knew how many guerrilla-killed gorillas there were each year in the Congo, and how many tons of cocaine were imported weekly from Colombia, how they did it and how pure it was, and how powerful, and who ran which cartel with the help of which U.S. agencies and for how long. And how Spinoza was actually autistic -- he'd read this recently but couldn't remember where -- but it was true! They'd studied DNA! -- and that Herbert Hoover liked little boys (this he was sure about, though it might have been McKinley, or J. Edgar), and that you could grow the bones of dwarfs by attaching external bone-growing devices that looked like Medieval torture instruments -- it worked! he would yell, he'd seen a documentary and one guy had grown almost a foot, though some dwarves objected, calling him some sort of Uncle Tom. . . . On and on, for twenty years I'd heard this shit, from first grade, when he claimed you'd get worms if you touched your penis (I used plastic baggies, to pee, till I was eight)--and always this mixture of the true, the almost-true and the apocryphal--he'd veer within this emporium of anecdote like an angry drunk, but all of his stories he stood steadfastly behind, never with a twinge of doubt or even allowances for your own. If you didn't kow these things, you were willfully ignorant but not without hope. He prefaced his fact spewals with "Well, you probably already know this, but the thing about zinc mining is..."

Whereas Dave in this circumstance seems annoyed by his friend's vast random knowledge, my feelings are usually closer to amazement than annoyance of Rob's random factoids, and his brain's iPod-like storage and retrieval abilities!

Just thought I'd share. Peace!

yes, it's me again...

As if anyone is going to read this, here's a survey.

This is The Guilty Game. Next to the questions, put your answers as either guilty or innocent. Guilty if you have, innocent if you haven't. Re-post and see what others have or have not done!

Given a hickey?: innocent i think

Singing in the shower?: guilty

Gotten a hickey?: innocent

Spit in someone's Drink?: innocent

Played with Barbie?:guilty!

Made someone cry?: guilty

Opened your Christmas presents early?: guilty... mostly i found them before they were wrapped though!

Lied to a friend?: guilty at some point, i'm sure

Broken a bone?: innocent

Seen "The Goonies" more than 10 times?: oh probably guilty, although i never kept count

Played a Computer game for more than 5 hours?: innocent

Ran through the sprinklers naked?: innocent

Went outside naked?: innocent (again, guys seem to enjoy these things more than girls, save maybe marilyn and niki)

Flashed somebody?: innocent

Mooned somebody?: innocent

Been on stage?: guilty

Been on stage naked or close to it?: definitely innocent

Fallen in love?: guilty :)

Been in a parade?: guilty... more times than I care to mention

Been in a school play?: guilty

Drank beer?: guilty

Gotten detention?: innocent

Been on a plane: guilty

Been on a cruise?: innocent sadly

Cheated on a test?: innocent

Broken into a house?: innocent

Gotten a tattoo?: innocent

Gotten piercings?: guilty. ears only. contemplated a tiny nose stud for like a year.

Gotten into a fist fight?: innocent, although i hit krissy regularly

Laughed so hard it hurt?: guilty (ask rob about his hypothetical gay hispanic housekeeper!)

Cried yourself to sleep?: guilty guilty

Cried in public?: guilty, although not often or recently

Lied to your parents?: i'm sure i'm guilty of that at some point

Skipped class?: guilty... don't have to worry about that any more!

Skydived: innocent

Gotten jealous: more guilty than i'm proud of

good things...

Yes, yes. This is, in fact, the third post in a single day. I know. Completely amazing. Anyway.

Nena is an aunt! Her sister-in-law gave birth this morning. Kenzie has entered the world, strong and healthy.

I set up AIM on my work computer today. (I use the term "work" loosely.) I can't even tell you the last time I used my screen name. Seconds after logging on, I got an IM from a name I didn't recognize. I ignored it at first, but when I got kicked off and logged back on and got a second message, I decided to figure out who it was. It was, in fact, my friend Florian from Germany who spent one year at my high school my senior year as a foreign exchange student! I was very surprised to hear from him, not knowing how he found my screen name or anything. Apparently, he and Quinn have kept in touch off and on, he found the link to my blog from Quinn's, and I guess got my screen name from my blog profile. I was really excited to hear from him! Not that we were terribly close when he was here -- we only had one class together -- it's just that he's one of those friends who I really never expected to hear from ever again. Anyway, it was just cool to talk to him.

I had leftover chicken strips and a biscuit from KFC for lunch. Wonderfully satisfying. And Diet Coke is such a wonderful invention. I'm not as addicted as Rob, but I'm definitely more accustom to drinking it on a daily basis than I used to be. I usually limit it to one or two a day. I definitely have the hook-up here at the office... while I sit here, getting paid to spend 9 hours a day on the internet, I also get to listen to Sirius radio. It's pretty cool. I love that it doesn't have commercials, like regular radio. My only complaint, like Lisa's next door to me, is that they seem to have a limited selection of songs they play on each station. Even when you switch frequently between the indie rock station and the two alternative rock stations, you still wind up hearing the same songs repeatedly. There are a bunch more stations, but those are the ones I prefer. I tend to leave mine on indie and Lisa leaves hers on alternative, so eventually, if you wander the offices enough, you hear it all. Luckily no one here listens to country. I might have to shoot them if they did. While I'm a fan of some bluegrass stuff, the general country music hurts my head to even think about for very long. I was disappointed with Sirius' Christian stations. Even the "Christian Rock" one doesn't really play the new, popular stuff. (okay, so this paragraph was long and completely random.)

When I started this post, I'm pretty sure I had one more thing to say, which had I remembered, would have replaced the above paragraph, but alas, I have forgotten. Se la vi. (I don't know if I spelled that right. That's my American phonics version of it anyway.) Later.

kindred spirits...

(Clearly I don't actually work very much at my job.) I just started reading You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers. Most writers that I enjoy all seem to be, to some degree, introverts. I guess they write to get out the dialogue in their heads -- like me. I stopped when I came to this line in the book today: "There are people who meet strangers and people, like me, who know only those they've known from birth." Read my previous post for the obvious connection.

working on it...

So here's the thing. I don't make friends well. I don't mean that in the "nobody likes me... guess I'll go eat worms" sort of way. I mean that I don't know how to build new close relationships that aren't already established. This comes easier for social people, or so it seems. I'm not social. I really have to work at being so at times. And when being social isn't the convenient thing to do, it's even harder. I'm in a position where my room mates and I get along, but I'm realistically in such a "different place" in my life than they are that it makes spending quality time with them difficult. When I'm able to be home, they're busy cramming for tests and finishing projects, which means we might be able to "spend time together" (be in the same room) but we're not really hanging out. When that's the case, I'd usually rather go hang out with Rob and the guys who have nothing else to do but hang out when there's not something on the schedule. This makes me seem distant from my room mates, which I realize and they resent at times. So then I think to myself that I need to find people (namely girls) who are in roughly the "same place" in life as I am who I can build closer relationships with. But the problem then becomes that those people are so dang busy that there isn't much time in their schedules where we can build those relationships. Nena and Holly, for example. Love, love, love both of them, but they are two of the most thinly stretched people I know already. Nena and I, luckily, seem to have a cool connection, despite the fact that we don't have much hang-out time. And Holly and I have really gotten closer since we became each other's prayer partners. I really enjoy the times she and have spent talking and praying together. Although there is a great deal of truth to my feelings of lacking close friends right now, I think part of it is also me being jealous of what the guys are able to have. Not a bad, viscious kind of jealous; just that I see what they have and realize how good it is and wish that I could have the same. They all are able to take lunch-time off on any given day of the week and eat together and have great conversations. None of us girls have that luxury. Holly's in Jacksonville for work, and she and Nena are teachers anyway, which means no off-site lunch ever. And I don't leave the office for lunch. And my girls at the house have school. So basically, that'll never happen. And then there's the fact that the guys seem to be able to spend all this time together in the evenings just hanging out. The guys who are still students I think just don't care about studying as much as my girls do, so that frees up some of their time! But other than that, Rob has the opportunity to live with Mike, who also isn't a student, so they don't have homework, so they get to sit around and play x-box. Now don't get me wrong, I have no interest whatsoever in playing x-box. That's not the point. I don't know what my point is anymore. I'm just rambling. I guess I'm just asking that God would ordain the appropriate friendships for me, and reveal to me what those friendships are. I know that developing close friendships is necessary for my mental and emotional health, and I know that if I don't work on that now, it will be much easier to neglect once I'm married. Marriage is something I am desperately looking forward to, but I also know that I need to keep the rest of my life in balance, as well. This seems to be harder for me than some people, so I'm doing my best to cover it in prayer and seek God's will in it. I covet your prayers, as well. Lift me up as you think of it. Thanks.

grace and peace