My Little Man


(I entered the above picture into the literary magazine last semester and it got put in. I’m so glad now that tribute to him will be in the Lanthorn Literary Magazine history books for the rest of time.)



My favorite cat and first love of my life, Pumpkin, had to be put to sleep this morning.

I am at peace in a way because he was 15 years old (or would have been, in April) and had been on somewhat of a downhill slope for the last few years of his life. He had trouble keeping weight on due to some irritable bowel issues but he was happy even in the last few months. My mom was having to feed him constantly (she did a fantastic job— always switching food brands, buying the most expensive, healthy, and tasty brands, making sure he got lots of fluids, etc.) just to keep anything in him but today he just couldn’t take any more of it.

I love him so much and I miss him already. Jeremy says he’s gonna miss him too. After all, he was the only kitty that would lay on Jeremy as if he’d known him forever.

He used to come find me in my room and lick my tears when I was crying (like when my grandfather died) as if he knew what was really going on. He would stick around and not even care if I cried all over him and got him wet.

I’ll miss being able to sling him over my shoulder and carry him around like a sack of potatoes. My other cats never liked to be held like that.

I’ll miss having to tell him not to lick plastic bags and having to shoo him off the table after he spots the dish of butter. I’ll miss having to guard my flowers for fear of him eating the heads and leaves for a mid-day snack.

I’ll even miss having to get out the bottle of treats every time I go into the bathroom because he would sleep behind the bathtub and come out every time he heard someone come in. (He was such a moocher.)

I guess this also means no more mouse (or mole) presents in my slippers…or on my bed…or by the front door. I’ll miss the perky, confident, and proud air that he had when he would run around the house with the little things dangling from his mouth. He was so silly.

I know sometimes people say they don’t think cats have souls but I’ve never been able to bring my self to agree. Maybe their final resting place isn’t the same place ours is but I just can’t believe that he was soul-less. He was too sweet, loveable, loving, and understanding for that.

I thank God for putting Pumpkin and my other cats into my life. They’re all such blessings. I think anyone who has animals that they love would feel the same way. I don’t regret forming a deep bond with my cat, knowing that it would have to end some day. I’ll always cherish the 15 years that we had together. The best years of my life were spent with Pumpkin following me around like a little lamb.

I’ll miss you sweet thing.


John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

(if reading this on Facebook, please direct yourself toward the actual blog at RuzenaThibault.com— pictures and formatting are different.)

I’m super excited to post my first henna blog! :O


While Caroline was in London, she and some friends found a place (some Islamic store) that sells pre-made henna. Heather bought some and drew on Caroline with it and it turned out fabulous! I had always wanted some henna to experiment with so I asked her to buy me some while she was there and offered to give her money when she got back to the states.

So she did.

For those of you that don’t know what henna is, it’s a plant that when turned into henna paste can dye your skin for a week to a few weeks (depending on type and how fresh the henna is). All of these tattoos lasted about a week or so but were pretty faded a week into it. It’s not the best henna there is but it didn’t make me break out or anything so I guess that’s a plus.

At some point I would like to buy some fresh henna supplies and attempt to make my own paste (using oils like lemon and tea tree… those are just a couple that I’ve heard of people using). I would also like to have some applicator bottles with various sized tips so that I can do some finer details than the mylar cone tip allows.

Henna freezes very well, I’ve discovered. It takes only a half-hour or so to unfreeze it and it’s best used while still partially frozen because then you don’t have all of the henna sloshing around in the top and you can grasp the frozen henna almost like a handle. I’ve also discovered that the tip of the henna cone needs to be cleaned out regularly while you’re using it. (which is another reason I’d like to try and make my own fresh paste)

So anyway, here are some of the tattoos I’ve done (and also one Lauren’s done) since receiving my two tubes at the beginning of the semester. (Thanks, Caroline! :D) I’ve included reference pictures for those requiring one.

The Orobouros from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist. (GREAT series, by the way…)





The Inuyasha bracelet (made to look like his “sit” necklace) from the anime — you guessed it— Inuyasha.





My first-ever henna tattoo creation!





The Capulet crest from the anime series Romeo x Juliet.





Since I wanted it on my right hand (My left one was already filled up!) Lauren drew it for me. She’s got major skills, I tell you! (Thanks, Lauren!) We didn’t end up drawing the swirly things because it would have been too complicated and it could have easily driven Lauren insane. xD





The “after” picture. I wrapped my hand over night so that I wouldn’t rub it off in my sleep. The henna paste had been on for 12 hours or more by the time I washed it off which is why it ended up being so dark. :3





This one was another design from Fullmetal Alchemist. I believe it’s kind of a symbol for the state alchemists in the show but I could be wrong. (I just know that Ed has it on the back of his jacket.) Instead of posting the actual picture— this is a picture of the awesome earrings that I got from Anime Castle a little over a year ago. I love them so much! They’re among my favorite earrings! (although everyone confuses the symbol for the medical symbol.)



I didn’t bother taking an “after” picture of this one because it rubbed off in my sleep and then didn’t last long. I will have to wait until the summer to try this one again cause it wouldn’t show when I have shoes on and rubbed away super fast because of that too.





Vine design of my own creation done on my left hand (after the other designs faded). This one is one of my favorites.





Before and after first wash. ^.^


I don’t pretend to be an expert at any of this but I do hope to learn more in the future! Thanks for reading! Please leave comments? ^_^

(If you read this on Facebook, please go to RuzenaThibault.com so you can see the .gif pictures move and get the full effect! Also, I will probably edit it some but facebook doesn’t let me do that so check back later too— just to make sure!)

I am aware that my blog has been sorely neglected this past year. At least my updates are rather long when I actually DO write them. There have really only been a couple of entries since my last one but I figured I’d type up a birthday entry again this year. I have a TON of other things (especially older things) to talk about but I think I’ll put those in different posts later on.

So a few days ago I turned 21.

A lot of people have asked if I’m going to go out and get a drink now that I’m legal. I just tell them that I did get a birthday drink while I was out with Caroline— I got a “London Fog.” (Earl Grey tea, vanilla flavoring, and steamed milk) I also got a lovely croissant. (I rarely ever buy those since they’re so ’spensive.)

Speaking of croissants… the morning of my birthday, Jan Buckwalter (my teacher for “language, literacy, and curriculum development” class) brought in some maple walnut scones for the class. My birthday was also her husband’s birthday so she just made a double batch and brought the extras in to celebrate my birthday and Wes’s birthday since his was the day before. They were tasty and looked something like this! (this is not a picture of hers but it’s very similar!)

I want to make these some day. They were fantastic with coffee and they’d probably be even better with tea!


Lauren and I went to see “When in Rome” on Saturday to celebrate my birthday (since it fell on a week day). It was a cute movie but not something that I’d necessarily want to own. It was a little weird for my tastes. Like…the Napoleon Dynamite dude shows up as a magic fanatic and guess who’s with him. You guessed it— Pedro. Those guys are gonna be type-cast for the rest of their lives, I’m afraid.

Before the movie, Lauren and I went and combed over the FYE superstore one final time. Thankfully the store was still having it’s closing sale so we were able to get a ton of good stuff for 40-70% off. I bought the complete series (12 episodes) of Paradise Kiss. I hadn’t seen it before and occasionally I like to buy things I haven’t seen.

It’s a fantastic show and very realistic. However, it’s definitely not for children. It deals with adult themes and even has some questionable scenes in it. (Tastefully done scenes and without straight nudity but still.)


I also managed to find a Vampire Knight shirt in the big messed-up pile of shirts right before I was going to go pay. It’s girl-cut and a size L so it’s one size too small for me. (Hey, at least I can still fit into juniors. xD) I’m going to give it to Clarice and then find another one online that will actually fit me. I was really surprised because they haven’t even come out with the Vampire Knight anime and yet they had the shirt there with the anime characters on it. o.O

The last time we went to the superstore it was even better. I bought a few things including volumes 6 and 7 of the Vampire Knight manga (two for the price of one!) and a series I had been wanting for a long time (3 or 4 years). The series box set has averaged $60 in stores but since they were having clearance I was able to get it for $38ish. It’s called Air TV. It’s 13 episodes long and if you watch it all the way through, by yourself (or with an emotional friend), and in a dark room… you WILL cry. I bawled my eyes out.

It’s totally worth it though. What a beautiful piece of artwork. This is one I will continue to pass around to people for a long long time.


Anyway, back to the birthday. So I came into my room after lunch and found a note on my door from roommate and best friend, Lauren. I would post all the pictures but that’s quite a few so I’ll just tell you what she did.

There was a sign on my door (which was decorated with streamers) that read:

“Directions for awesome 21st birthday:

Follow to the letter and READ ME FIRST!
1. Enter the room in awe.
2. Read card (step #1)
3. Pick up Reeses pillow (step #2)
4. Pick up my pillow (step #3)
5. Jump up and down and enjoy being old! ”

And now. I share with you…my card.

It was totally cute. I read the card, then lifted my pillow to find a couple Reeses cups. Then after that I lifted her pillow and found a stuffed puppy. She knows I’ve been obsessed lately with watching videos of kids (and sometimes adults) receiving surprise puppies for Christmas/birthdays/anniversaries and stuff on youtube. I’ve ALWAYS wanted a puppy so I guess I’ve been living vicariously through those people. xD I will cry when I get one for real— but since that’s not really possible right now… I’m glad I at least have my stuffed puppy. (FYI, a pancake-shaped puppy makes a very nice hat!)





I recieved multiple cards and wishes from people and I would like to thank all of you! One of the best things was seeing my Inbox ABSOLUTELY flooded (like 3 pages worth) with “Happy birthday” comments on facebook. I don’t care if half of you don’t talk to me on a regular basis (although talking more would be great too.) I just want you to know that you helped make my day. I felt totally loved!

Dramatization (of what love looks like) - from left to right - Caroline, Me, and Lauren (The Ginger! Lol!)

I’m sorry blog… you have been so neglected lately. Have a piece of cake!

So I just realized I haven’t posted a new entry since right after my visit to Arizona over the summer. How sad is that?

I’m generally an easily amused person… and as such I guess I’ve become amused with so many different things that I have a hard time sitting down and working on just one of them. I used to write a lot, but apparently this has fallen by the wayside as you can see with my severe lack of entries. My new friend Hannah Page posted an entry on facebook today that said it was national writing month or something… something she had heard from a couple friends. This inspired me to post to my rather neglected blog. D:

There is going to be a lot of subject jumping in this entry…

So I’ve made some new friends lately and I’m very happy about all of it.

If you’re an anime fan, you’ll understand this. Has being into anime ever brought you together with people you didn’t know? Anime has a weird way of helping me make friends and I love it. I figured that out 4 or 5 years ago and I once used it to my advantage so blatantly that it’s kinda sad. I went to Houghton’s Spring Fling event which is basically a lock-down in the gym where you can do fun things, eat, and meet people. Well I wanted to make some new friends with similar interests and at that point I was totally into drawing (especially drawing manga and anime). I came up with a stupid idea which was to put all of my drawings in front of me in a sort of fanned-out appearance so that you could see all of them. I had a picture that I was working on so I drew it within plain sight of anyone walking by. Before I knew it, a fish had taken the bait— a fish that was actually a girl just my age who was just as much into anime as I was. We hit it off and talked the whole rest of the night.

It’s too bad she didn’t respond to the emails I sent her later. xD Maybe some day she’ll show up.

Anyway, all this to say that anime seems to be a way that I meet a lot of my friends. After all, even my roommate and I go to be friends through common interest in anime.

My new friends, Hannah, Marilyn, and Anastasiya (her name is beautiful…and yes, she’s really from Russia!) all like anime to varying degrees. =D It’s so exciting to meet more people because up until now it’s really just been Lauren and I and our episode-a-night thing that we have going on. Hannah also introduced me to a new show called Hetalia Axis Powers which has a ton of educational value and is something that I would think about using if I ever need to explain something related to one of the world wars in one of my English classes. We watched it on United Nations day over in Gilette. That was the first time I even went into Gilette this year.

This Saturday, Cameron (and I think Josie) and a bunch of other people will be performing for the Invisible Children benefit show. I’m hoping to go to that. On Sunday I want to set up a showing of Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal for anyone who wants to watch. It’s too bad I don’t have a projector. xO That would be awesome.

I’m getting more and more involved with the actual “education” side of my education. Up until now, I’ve been doing a ton of integrative studies classes that are required for me to graduate from Houghton. There are a lot of classes that fall into the IS category since I do go to a liberal arts school. I’ve now officially completed 55 out of 53 IS credits needed so I can put all those behind me!

Along with that, my English major has a few more classes until it’s completed but it looks like I’ll be done on time which is awesome. I’m going to try and student teach in the Fall, if I can. I would love to do that so that I can start from scratch just like my cooperating teacher. I want to learn names when she does and hear her make the rules and everything. It would be so much easier to just be there from the beginning. I hope my living arrangements will work out. If I do my rural placement first then I should be able to live on campus and reserve a spot in a townhouse that won’t go away while I’m teaching up in Buffalo.

I also signed up for my classes next semester. I’ll be taking English methods, lanuage literacy and curriculum integration, literature of the enlightenment, and modern and contemporary drama. I’m so excited. I’ll finally have a semester with ZERO integrative studies requirements involved.

On a random note, today in Connie’s class (Secondary ed. curriculum and assessment), we talked about how if we’re a soft-spoken person, we should maybe practice our teacher voice and practice showing confidence.

This is what it looks like when Ruzena practices her “teacher voice.”

Halloween was two nights ago and at the end of last week, Lauren and I spent over 4 hours carving our pumpkin. I had wanted to do something asian-themed but not exclusively anime-related. Sooo…of course I thought of a geisha. I found a picture online and recreated it as a rough line drawing. Then Lauren did the real line drawing and transferred it to the pumpkin. We kept taking turns.

Me detailing the kimono

Lauren doing some of the head work.

The finished product, all lit up. ;D

I love Halloween. I can’t even express why, exactly. It’s too bad we didn’t get more trick-or-treaters in the dorm. We would have had more if they didn’t ignore the pumpkin by the door that tells them we have candy. Dx *sigh* We had so so much. D:

Thankfully though, the room got swarmed by a bunch of college students that either like candy a whole lot…or just really REALLY wanted a little container of play-doh. Yes. We gave away play-doh. We’re just that awesome. It’s all gone. Sorry.

I have a lot of reading to do this week. It’s sad that all of my professors seem to think that their class is the only class I’m taking. The amount of reading we have due each day is borderline mental and physical abuse. I’m not even in any English/literature classes right now. D:

Please keep me in your prayers the remainder of this semester. I’ve been doing “okay” but “okay” isn’t really good enough for me.

I would especially like prayer for a grade I haven’t yet gotten back for my presentational speaking class. I don’t even want to know what I got on the speech. I froze up in the middle and then just couldn’t get it together until I had the class watch the short video I had prepared. I was able to get my thoughts together and pull everything together somewhat. However, I didn’t cover everything I wanted to and I’m not sure I made the right connections. I know freezing up during a speech happens to the best of speakers, but I’m still worried since my last speech that I thought I did decently on ended up being graded an 87. I know I didn’t do so well on this one but I guess we’ll see what happens.

Jeremy caught the swine flu but he’s feeling a lot better. It sucked so much when he had it. :O Totally kicked his butt. Poor guy.

I, on the other hand, got vaccinated and will hopefully not be exhibiting pig-like qualities or experiencing any form of swine transformation in the near future.

So this whole post is MUCH overdue. I was meaning to post this right after I got back from Arizona but I lacked the ability to sit down and do it. xD

Lots of things have happened but let’s start with the trip to Arizona.

It was fantastic! Lauren and I ended up staying in Phoenix for just over a month. Originally our trip was going to be for a day or two over 3 weeks. However, Lauren got sick on her 20th birthday and we ended up taking her to Urgent Care…where she got 4 bags of IV fluid put into her because of being so dehydrated. She had puked her brains out all morning so it’s no wonder! We all felt really bad and she needed to recover anyway so her dad extended our trip a week and rescheduled our flight. She felt better just in time to go home.

I spent a lot of time with Jeremy and saw him every day after he got home from work. He picked me up and we’d go grab something to eat or go back to the apartment so I could cook us up something. We watched a lot of movies and played a LOT of video games. I love just spending time at the apartment with him and Salem (the kitty).

Salem, my second love:

We got to do lots of fun things while we were in AZ, not least of which was Jeremy taking me out to Fogo de Chao, an extremely expensive Brazillian grill restaurant. Jeremy considered it part of his birthday present to himself which is good… cause I wouldn’t be able to find another way to rationalize the price. It really was fantastic…and though I didn’t pay for my part, I would still say it was worth the money [Jeremy] spent… all $130 of it. x3 They serve you unlimited cuts of meat and you have your choice of 15 different types. Unlimited mashed potatoes, fried bananas, and Brazilian cheese bread are served and the fantastic salad/cold foods bar is always available. Fogos is definitely either a once-in-a-lifetime experience…or something you do for your anniversary every few years so you won’t break your bank account. (wow, I feel like a journalist…)

We also went with Lauren and Whitney (Lauren’s friend) to go see the midnight showing of Transformers 2. It was a good movie over all— I just think it could have done without all the sexual inuendos and inappropriate mating gestures, courtesy of the dogs and small robot. xD

I got to see the Grand Canyon up close and personal. It was amazing and so so much bigger than pictures can show. Now I really know what people mean when they say you just can’t capture the size.

In other news, Jeremy and I are engaged. We’re planning to tie the knot on July 18th, 2011, the month after I graduate from Houghton. The date is subject to change but that’s where we’re at right now. =)

My mom and I have totally jumped on the bandwagon already and have started looking at things and buying things for the wedding. One of the biggest parts has already been taken care of— my dress. While I’m not going to post pictures or anything (psht, you think you can see it before the wedding? Haha.) I am going to say that it was a brand new dress that we got for a fraction of the price from a lady that we’ve bought from in the past (got my prom dress from her— a brand new $250 dress for something like $75). We didn’t mean to find the dress but it’s just one of those things… it pretty much jumped out and attacked me. It’s perfect.

So anyway… that’s what’s going on in my life right now. I’m about to start my junior year of college and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m going to love my classes and I already know I love my teachers. Life is great. It just is.

So it’s been a ridiculously long time since I posted a new blog and I figured it was time for a little update.

First of all, I’ve officially completed my sophomore year of college! So far I’ve got 3As (in Jazz, Educating Exceptional Learners, and Educational psychology) and a complete (for a non-graded/no-credit course). I’m waiting on two more grades (for English lit II and American Short Story) and we’ll see what happens!

My grandma is so awesome… she gives me $20 for every A I earn at the end of the semester. =) Last time that money went toward buying the first half of the Ouran High School Host Club series. Now I think this time I’ll go toward buying the first half of Romeo x Juliet and (if I get enough) possibly the second half of Ouran (doesn’t make sense not to have that).

Romeo x Juliet looks like it’s going to be AMAZING in the dub. I saw the series a couple years ago I think it was, over the summer. It was fantastic and I cried. xD This time, the English dubbing company went with simplified Shakespearean language but it sounds beautiful! It’s simplified so that it’s easy to understand and accessible to everyone. I can’t wait to hear more of it!

Here’s a short clip that FUNIMATION uploaded to youtube. Thank you Funimation for giving us this beautiful little sneak peak!!!

In other news…

I AM GOING TO ARIZONA THIS SUMMER!

I’m so excited. Lauren and I talked about it. By coincidence, her family lives within 20 minutes of where Jeremy lives. He even bought a car from them. xD

It works out for me to go there and spend 3 weeks with her and her family. They want to take me all these places and show me lots of Phoenix things and the grand canyon and stuff. It’s going to be amazing. I haven’t been further west than…Kentucky. xD

Hopefully we can venture into California for a little bit too. That would be awesome… I’ve always wanted to go.

I’ll be spending plenty of time with Jeremy too when he’s not working his tail off. And I can spend time with his kitty Salem too. =) I’m planning to do some major cooking and possibly some apartment furnishing while I’m there.

My parents are so awesome for letting me go. x3 I love them… and you should too, whoever you are.

And it was a freaking awesome day. =)

So I woke up this morning and got the feeling that it would be a decent day. It was Thursday, which is my day of the week where I only have my Educating Exceptional Learners class that doesn’t even start till 1:00. I woke up, read a bunch of Frankenstein (which was supposed to be read by today) and then I did an online quiz for my EEL class and had plenty of time to spare before 1. Caroline came in and gave me my first of two presents which was a bottle of cherry blossom scented body spray. =) (She later gave me the two books from the “Bar Code” utopian/dystopian series I am so interested in reading…so that was awesome) After that, I took a shower and then Lauren and I headed over to lunch.

When I got to the campus center, I saw that they were randomly handing out decorated cupcakes in honor of Purple and Gold (school spirit) week. I didn’t eat one…but I still thought that was funny.

Then I went upstairs only to find that they actually had decent food today. =) Egg and cheese muffins… with a slice of pizza on the side cause an egg and cheese muffin so doesn’t begin to constitute a meal…

So after we finished eating, we went down to the basement to check mail on the way to the Salvation Army Thrift sale (which also took place in the basement). My mailbox was overflowing with cards and such. I had a notice that I had a box so I went over to the window and retrieved the box, which was from my family. Inside were things like a couple Shojo Beats, a box of Peeps, a bag of Reeses (=P People know I like them…), a cute little valentine’s day bug to hang up somewhere, a pair of St. Patrick’s day socks (which I will wear tomorrow because I’m out of socks, lol), a bag of flavor-blasted goldfish crackers, and volume 11 of Hana-Kimi. =D It was awesome.

At that point, I was already feeling pretty loved. I found a little magnetic kitty in my box and I wasn’t sure who it was from but I looooved (or loooove) it. I played with it all day…cause it’s so small and cute. Gah. xD I’m such a girl.

Turns out it was from my brother. I thought I recognized his handwriting on the outside of the Twilight Zone card (lol, with sound– I gave that same card to Jeremy for his birthday once). I should have guessed from the “You’re old.” written on the inside. Yesterday he was floating around behind me in the lunch room and every time he passed he would whisper/quietly say, “You’re aaaalmost old…” “You’re aaaalmost old….”

Well now I’m old. And I have to say that because I made fun of Jeremy when he turned 20…and 21… and said he was old. Well now he’s ancient. =P So we’re all good. I don’t mind being “old” as long as I don’t have to be ancient. And I will never be ancient because he will always be older than me… which in my books constitutes “ancient”.

Anyyyyway. So after I went to the mailbox and got my goodies, I went over to the Salvation Army Thrift sale…which was just like…20 feet to the left of my mailbox. There were some…special items there. I didn’t find anything that I particularly liked but I did help Lauren try on some of the most hideous outfits we could find while we took pictures of her on her cell phone. xD It was pretty priceless…and very very colorful. xD The only thing I actually bought was a size 16 (too small for me) red Cheez-it shirt… because I think it would be awesome to cut off the design and use it for some craft. =D

So then I went to EEL class. I was in a very good mood and was, therefore, very responsive in class. My teacher actually remembered it was my birthday and mentioned it when she called on me. I was very flattered and it merely added to my perpetual happy mood. =) It made me very glad that I have a unique name and a name that is very memorable. I think maybe that’s why she remembered seeing it on the daily view that was sent out to the campus.

But anyway, after class I went back to my room and found the entire ceiling above my bed decorated awesomely with streamers. On the bed my teddy bear was holding a card and sitting behind some packs of stickers and a bag of Reeses. In front of the Reeses was a rolled up poster with two miniature horses on it. =) Lauren had decorated the room while I was at class and escaped to Stacie and Andrea’s room so that she wouldn’t be there when I saw it. She thought that would be too awkward.

I was on the phone with my mom when I walked in and so I told her all about it and about the card that, once I opened it, I realized said, “You’re expecting a baby!” and on the inside said, “How very, very, happy you must be!”

I think Erik has rubbed off on Lauren, Caroline, and I. Now when I’m faced with finding a card for some occasion, I always find myself wanting to pick out one that’s very inappropriate to the situation. Like when Erik got Savvy a card for Christmas that said, “Look who’s turning 6!” I find it amazingly awesome. xD

So anyway, I have my lovely poster up now. Lauren said she’s having fun feeding my newfound horse fettish.

Speaking of that. I guess I should explain how that happened while I still remember.

So in the past, I’ve been kind of intimidated by horses. They’re big, sometimes loud, and sometimes (although more rarely than I thought) unpredictable. The other night, I had a dream and in my dream I was reaching up and petting a horses’ face. Then I hugged the horses’ head and was just very happy. When I woke up, I had this strange urge to pet a horse. I’ve pet one before but always in a very cautious manner and I never liked to be close to them for a long period of time. When I woke up, I started reading and Lauren asked me if I wanted to go to the stable with her and then to Subway (it was a Saturday). I thought this would be the perfect time to say yes because A.) I wanted Subway and B.) After that dream, I really wanted to pet a horse.

So we went up to the stable and after petting some of the horses including Lauren’s horse, Lio, I immediately fell in love with a big black a fuzzy one that I eventually learned was named Mic.

Since then, I’ve been up to the stable 2 or 3 more times and I love it up there. I knew it was only a matter of time before I started spending more time up there because I’ve always loved animals and here at school I am utterly deprived of person-animal contact of any sort. I’ve always wanted to own a miniature horse (or two) so I’m glad I finally got over that fear because, while they are much smaller, they are still horses and I still need to know how to deal with them.

Lauren said I should go up to the stable maybe during mayterm and help her with Lio’s training and such so that I can get a feel for handling a little. When I go to Arizona this summer (because I will =P) she said she will try and set me up with a woman that lives there and owns 3 or 4 minis. That way, if I have any questions I can ask her– and I definitely have questions.

So anyway, we went up to the stable today and I fed Mic a treat from the bag of treats that Lauren had brought for Lio. He ate it like a good horsey. =) I got some pictures of Mic and a lot of pictures of Lauren and Lio because Lauren said she didn’t have many of her and her baby. The pictures turned out really adorable…see?

After that, we came back and I read a little more and then we went down around 6:30 to this little fiesta thing that was being held for 2nd and 5th floor (the RAs are friends…and both have been my RAs at some point) on the old floor I used to live on. It was fun but I could only make an appearance because I still had reading to do.

After the fiesta thingy Caroline went off to work and after some more reading, Lauren and I met up with Erik (and randomly, my brother) at Big Al’s and had a transfer meal. I had a fun time. It was nice just having a break and talking to people for a little bit.

But my break didn’t last long. My day has been fun but pretty hectic and this meeting was the last of the school business for the day.

I had a meeting with my English Lit II professor (Susan Lipscomb) and the other people in my “Frankenstein” group. We talked for half an hour to 45 minutes about the book and the critical article that we were supposed to have read. It was nice just to talk some things out.

After that, I went back to the room and waited for Lauren to get back from a second trip to the stable. Some people had asked her to take their horses in so she did. When she got back, we had cake with Erik and Caroline down in the 4th floor lounge (the cake that Erik and Caroline made yesterday) and it was good. =)

I got a “lovely” hand-made card from Erik, scribbled on with markers, that said on the inside something to the effect of, “Enjoy your senility!” The card had 4 laxative pills taped to the inside. xD Boy…did I ever feel loved.

On top of all this, I got like…over 20 “Happy birthday”-type messages on facebook. =) My favorites are the personalized ones that are more than just “Happy birthday, have a good day.” They’re just so much more fun to read.

So yes. Now I’m old and there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t mind though, I like the thought of being 20. I’m not yet in my prime but it’s okay, I’m working towards it.

Today was a great day and I cannot thank God enough for the friends and family that he has given me. They truly made today a day to remember.

P.s. Jeremy got me an ipod… so he has to like…win something, right? =O He should.

Today marks the day that the 44th president of the United States— Barack Obama — took office officially. I am so glad that I was able to watch it and witness something like this.

I just wish that other people would see things the way I do. People that have problems with him shouldn’t take hits at him every chance they get. We should never “hate on” our presidents.

Maybe you don’t agree with his policies regarding abortion. Maybe you don’t agree with his policies regarding our current war affairs. Maybe you don’t agree with his policies promoting/acknowledging/accepting gay/lesbian marriage.

For today, I hoped that people would set that aside. No matter what kind of a person the president or president-elect is, I think we should have hope for them and should try and see the good in them. Looking negatively at the person running our country only creates problems. It’s okay to not agree but, honestly, this is who the country voted for and so I think we just need to accept it and move on. It’s not as if just because we have a new president, the country and its people suddenly have no say. If policies regarding abortion change, it would be mostly due to the views of the people in this country. If you have a problem with it, take part in pro-life rallys. Try and educate other people. Don’t sit at home and whine about Obama or whine to other people that you talk to about it. Do something.

All in all, I am very glad I was a part of it. I just wanted to keep a record of this day somewhere. =)

Last week I did something I never really thought I would do. I attended the Sojourner Mennonite Fellowship for the first time and I would have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

I’ve always known that music is an important part of why people pick the churches they go to. I’ve been through something like 8 different churches and every one has grappled with the issue of traditional vs. contemporary music (if it can be so easily defined and put into black and white terms).

I was pleasantly surprised to find that, even though hymns were used primarily in Menno, they tended to be very uniquely written and redone versions of hymns (or in some cases, more traditional versions).

The service was simple and consisted of a lot of singing. However, the songs weren’t ‘prescribed’ by a worship leader or already thought out. As the service progressed, anyone that was there was able to choose a song to sing that may have had to do with the verses being read. Prayer was very open and I didn’t feel obligated to pray but I felt like if I had really wanted to, I could. One of the things that bothers me most when I’m in religious places and taking part in religious activities (mostly sunday school) I often times feel like I’m being pressured to pray out loud, when I often times don’t think that’s what I’m best at. I’m plenty willing to toss out prayer requests but when I pray out loud I feel like what I’m saying is not very sincere. I know that when I pray out loud in larger groups, I tend to try and formulate my responses to fit the ways that other people pray out loud. I have a very personal way of talking to God and I don’t think it would come across the right way when speaking out loud in a group of people.

After prayer we went into more singing and eventually the service ended with the ‘congregation’ of the fellowship putting together care packages for refugees or those who have had to leave their homes for some reason. The packages consisted of just a few hygiene necessities and a few thing that are just nice to have around (ie. toothbrush, toothpaste, nail clippers, soap, towel). This was probably my favorite part of the “service”. I’ve always wanted to go somewhere where I felt like I was really helping people outside of the church. It’s one thing to donate money to the church and trust that the church will send it where they say they will. It’s a completely different thing to physically work for others. I really felt like I was doing something to help (never mind that the towels seemed damp and one of the toothpaste tubes leaked all over the place).

Over all, it gave me a very different view of what a Mennonite fellowship can actually be like. I supposed I’ve had a very different and more up-tight view of Mennonites up until now. I realize this probably isn’t a “typical” Mennonite fellowship…but then again, I’m not sure I would know a “typical” one if I saw it.

Not to sound like every other college student in the world, but I also appreciated the later starting time of the “service”. I don’t want to say that it made church easier to “fit into my schedule”…but honestly, it did make me feel more awake and alert. I felt like I was much more a part of the service than I usually am in the morning. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to fall asleep and I didn’t feel that way because I was very well woken up by then.

All in all, I really liked Menno and I see why there are so many students that go. It was a very small and intimate yet non-pressuring service. Everything was simple down to the building that we met in.

In other news, this next week is finals week. I took my first final this morning for Adolescent Psych and I think I did decently. I had a 92 in the class so hopefully even if I don’t do as well as I hoped, it won’t pull my grade down too well. I’m so glad I’ll get the extra one point added to my grade for having perfect attendance. =)

I have a 97 in adolescent literature and I’ll hopefully be able to keep that grade or something similar with this next essay. I’m so happy that I’ve been able to hold up my grade in that class the whole semester. I am sad, however, because I think if I don’t do well in my English Lit. class, I’ll end up having to have that 97 even out my grade just to keep my GPA as it is. I hope that’s not the case but this English Lit. final isn’t looking very promising. Please pray for me!!!

I can’t wait until I’m finished with this semester. I’ve really enjoyed it…but I’m exhausted.

Seizure Panda

It’s hard to believe that it was 4 years ago I wrote a journal entry (not on here) in which I kept track by the hour the Bush election.

At the risk of sounding cliche and redundant (xD) we are witnessing history in the making with our first black president.

It was bound to happen. I think it’s cool that I was alive to witness it. =) Either him or we would have had our first female vice president. I couldn’t have picked a better year to be old enough to vote. =P

So I’m not going to talk about elections too much. I find that it doesn’t really matter what I think, I’m just interested to see now what will happen. How much of what Obama says will come true? I’m just honestly curious.

In other news, I’m excited that Christmas is on its way. Operation Christmas Child has begun and I used my tithe to buy a bunch of fun things. Lauren, Caroline, and I are going to send out two boxes this time— one for a boy and one for a girl.

I got some fun things to put in them. For the boy: matchbox cars, a squishy incredible hulk ball, some bouncy balls, soap (fun fun), a blue washcloth, a toy dinosaur…among other things. For the girl: A baby doll (I always have one of those…you can’t beat them), bouncy balls, a couple different styles of girly hair ties, a pink washcloth, soap, a hairbrush/comb…and some other things. Caroline picked up some crayons and little notebooks and Lauren got some toothbrushes and toothpaste. We need some more things but I think I’ve done my part for both.

I don’t know…it’s just exciting to know that a child in a far away country will receive the things I buy for them as a Christmas present. The children are only allowed to have one box from Operation Christmas Child in their lives so it’s something that they will always remember. I wish I could be there someday to see the child’s face. I wish I could see the little girl that opens the box and finds the baby doll inside and cradles it against her. I wish I could see the little boy that will play with the matchbox cars and create something like a movie car chase with his hands.

Sunday before last, Lauren, Caroline, Erik, and I went to the Belfast Free Methodist church. There’s just something so comforting about being back in a tiny church. My home church, Vorea Community, isn’t anywhere near as small as Belfast Methodist and honestly I kind of like it that way. Belfast Methodist had about 50 people there all together that I counted. Vorea has maybe twice that much. It’s not too big. The one thing about a church as small as Belfast is that EVERYBODY wants to know you and everybody notices when you come to visit. It seems like such a big deal…and even if they don’t mean it, it always forces this expectation on you– like you’ll come back.

The people were very nice there though. I put a prayer concern into the offering plate and later got an email from someone in the church telling me that they would pray about my request at their next prayer meeting. It was very nice of them and it did make me smile and add a little bit of something to my day. It always helps to know someone is thinking about you and praying for you.

I almost feel bad though when I don’t go back to the churches I visit. They know we’re college students from Houghton and they know that there’s a chance of us coming back. So they try to make a good impression.

Maybe if I was driver I would, but at the moment it’s just easier to go to Houghton Wesleyan– despite the fact that I’m not a huge fan of the size of the church. It’s a little too big for me. I don’t get to know anybody there really because there are far too many people. I don’t understand how people attending mega churches can feel the same sense of fellowship that you get when you worship with people you actually know. I would just feel so alone always standing next to people I don’t know in church. That’s sometimes how it is at Houghton Wesleyan.

It’s times like this when I’m sitting here and thinking that I really begin to miss my church family back home.

So anyway, in other news, we were supposed to host some prospective students last night but they never showed up. Today is the biggest prospective student day of the year and both of ours just decided to opt out last minute. We were very sad because we were hoping we could have our chance as promoting the school and talking to some awesome kids in the process. =(

In OTHER other news, Jeremy is moving to Arizona sometime in the next few weeks. =)

We had been trying to find other options for him, but honestly the allure of the job ($50,000 starting point with benefits) was too much to turn down. Jeremy is really in need of a stable job, not only for his benefit but also for mine and for whatever kind of a future we would ever want to have. Yes, I’m kind of putting a lot of hope into this but I really think this time it may work out. =) Please keep Jeremy and everything in your prayers!

Yeah… I don’t know either.