go find you some big red gum.  take the wrapper and lick the white part of it and stick it to your forhead.  let me know how long you can leave it there.  (and take a pic of your forhead when you take it off.)

my youth will be amazed if you can last longer than 5 minutes :)

my reasons/motivations for doing things lately have been so selfish.  God kicked me in the butt this week and put me back where i belong.  i suppose it was needed.  i'm excited to see what's gonna be happening in the days, weeks, and months to come.  i want to experience the change in my heart make it's way to my mind.  i serve a great God :) 

don't be discouraged, God isn't finished yet!

i had my first overnight guests at my new house :)

today = national compliment day
you know what to do...

1-i think maria has gone off the deep end.
2-i refuse to walk around brooklyn late at night with no cell phone.
3-the house i now have keys to in staten island freakin rocks.
4-passion was fun.
5-the midget bed at lauren's apt, isn't as comfortable as it may look.
6-it feels good to be back into the full swing of things in the big city.
7-my namb report was only a week and a day late.
8-i've decided i'm leaving the city at the end of july instead of august.
9-i got an email yesterday saying that my apartment in alabama is $30 cheaper than the price i was told it would be to begin with.
10-the only borough i didn't go to yestereday was queens...that's right-manhattan, brooklyn, staten island, and the bronx-in one day.

the end :)

found an apt today............in alabama, not nyc

so i have a place to live at the end of aug, now i need to work on having a place to live until then :)

how the crap does this happen (specifically the high/low)???

one day you're out

enjoying nature

and just having fun with life

and then the nex day

you are preparing to be

homeless

what can i say, that's just how life goes sometimes :)

*i place my left hand on a bible and raise my right hand*  i swear to tell the truth, the whole truth...oh wait, i swear to take more pictures than i have in the past 6 months!

so here a few of the pics from the past month and a half...

iris and niki on the way to the college retreat (the first of 9 days of rain)

7 of 11 youth ladies that i enjoy being with during the after school program

clothing sale on the street corner of 7th st & ave B

adele (tim's favorite smelling person at graffiti-and she gives lotsa kisses too!)

just tryin to find a scarf for the harsh winter ahead

jill and i after the clothing sale

lorie, niki, me, and maria...at the church retreat (which was the first day of sunshine after the flood)

miss maggy...big enough to be a two year old, but not quite one yet

silly mal...as usual

the three babies of the family...maggy, mal, and me

and i promise not to post all the pics at the same time either :)

it's gonna be a long night.  i just found all of my cds and now i'm puttin all the music on my laptop.  *yawn* 

tonight i went shopping and found some shoes...two pairs actually.  some tennis shoes, much like the ones i have now, but new and not so worn out and some rain boots.  i went a coulple of weeks ago to get rain boots from target in brooklyn but only found snow boots.  but since i'm in the south right now, i found the rain boots!  i'm not sure how i'm gonna get this stuff back up to nyc with me.  i might just have to wear most of my clothes :)

i've been teaching my oldest neice my phone number.  she's almost got it memorized.  so she'll be callin me from now on. 

scattered words and empty thoughts
seem to pour from my heart
i've never felt so torn before
seems i don't know where to start

but it's now that i feel
your grace fall like rain
from your fingertip
washing away my pain

i still believe
in your faithfulness
i still believe
in your truth
i still believe
in your holy word
even when i don't see
i still believe

though the questions still fog up my mind
with promises i still seem to bear
even when answers slowly unwind
it's my heart i see you prepare

the only place i can go is into your arms
where i throw to you my feeble prayers
in brokeness i can see this was your will for me
so help me to know that you are near

gosh, what an incredible song!  three years ago this was the song that kept me breathing.  and even though circumstances have changed, i can still relate to it.  it makes me thankful for all that God has done for me and in me. 

Thank You God

it rained and was kind of an ugly day, but that didn't keep it from being a wonderful day.  i was at samford all day and got to see a lot of people.  had an excellent meeting with one of my professors!  and got to hang out with old friends all evening. 

and here i lay at 3AM, wide awake and thinking.  gosh, this hasn't happened since...i can't even remember the last time.  i'm pretty sure it was the coffee at 8PM that is still having it's effect on me now. 

nonetheless, i'm kinda excited about being back in school for my final year next august.  i'm looking forward to what all i can learn.  i'm such a nerd :)

i'm back in alabama for the first time in 6 months, as of about 28 hours ago.  and yes, i feel for nathan on his dial-up...i'm there right now too :(  it's not a pretty sight!  anyway, i can't complain cuz i've just spent the past forever with my neices. 

the flights weren't too bad yesterday, considering it was my first time to fly in a year and a half.  met some cool people on the planes and in the airports, as well as did a bit of fundraising.  went today and saw emily, the girl i babysat all last semester, and her parents helped out with the fundraising too. 

last night mal, my oldest neice-4 years old, wouldn't stop crying when she had to leave to go home.  so i ended up having to go to her house to pick her up and bring her back here to spend the night.  she then woke up at 4AM and woke me up to ask me if it was time to wake up.  after telling her no several different times, she finally went back to sleep.  then she woke me up at 7AM to ask again...of course then it was actually time to wake up.  so we went to chickfila for breakfast this moring...that's right-CHICK-FIL-A!  and i had sonic for lunch...mmm.  then tonight my mom made me baked beans with meat in it and potato salad and grilled hotdogs.  all that weight i've lost in nyc over the past 6 months, i will gain back during my week here in alabama. 

i miss nyc and my friends there.  oh, my neice keeps saying, "i missed you at new york. i don't want you to go back. when i get bigger like you i'm gonna go on a plane to new york."

AUBURN/alabama game tomorrow...WAR EAGLE!!!

official countdown: 3 days!

that's right, i'm gonna be back in alabama in 3 days.  kinda hard to believe, it's been over 6 months since i left. 

the rumor is that the kids only have half a day tomorrow at school, that would mean no after school program tomorrow...right? 

...not my real life!  yeah, that's exactly what i was thinkin last night as the events unfolded.

so last night was interesting...but really fun.  took jessica and jasmin to a christian hip hop concert in the bronx.  got there mad early and ended up helping set up.  which the girls absolutely loved wearing the backstage passes and getting to talk with cross movement (that's one of the groups from the night.)  and that's really all that needs to be said about the evening for now :)