First of all...Summer will be here in about two weeks. Very exciting. I have one final next week and two the following week, which isn't too bad. I'm realizing how much life is going to be different after this summer. The Purdue group is going to change quite a bit. This year was really good. I've been praying that next semester will be just as awesome.

Kurt and I are home alone yet again tonight...Mom and Dad don't get back from India till Tuesday or Wednesday (not sure which). We've been trying our best to keep the house clean...you'd all be very proud. Last night was really amazing. Kurt, Janessa, and I joined a few Purdue kids for some volleyball...turns out it was way to windy. It was nearly impossible to hit the ball in any kind of straight line. It made the game pretty interesting! We all had good excuses for not hitting anything. I think everyone was a little tired, which made for a not very competitive game...I didn't mind though. So after that Janessa came home with Kurt and I. We stopped for ice-cream on the way home. The best part of the night was when Janessa and I went for a late night run. Ok so, running isn't all that great, but the weather was so amazing. It was right before a storm so there were little flashes of lightning all over the sky. I can't even describe how beautiful it was. The wind felt so fresh and it was so peaceful. It was one of those times where God's power feels so real. We ended up laying on the road after our run to enjoy it for a while. At one point our relaxation was interrupted by car lights coming in our direction. Yeah, we screamed pretty loud. They seemed much closer than they were of course! It was a good night. :)

Good day

Today has been so relaxing and fun. Daveana and I went to Panera after class, which has become quite a ritual for us. I love being able to share thoughts with friends! It's so rainy and dreary out, but I happen to love this kind of weather. It makes me feel so...pensive(that word makes me laugh)...and reflective.:)

Speaking of sharing with friends, I'm remembering how cool it was to volunteer at LUM(Lafayette Urban Ministries-homeless shelter) with Christen. We had basically all night to burrow into life's deepest issues...and by golly we did! It was great. She is great. This world is great. There really isn't anything better than late night talks.

I've really been wondering what I should do this summer. I have some pretty good ideas...don't worry I won't bore you with them! I can't describe how excited I am about South Carolina vacation. ASH!!!!-- You need to help me plan my senior trip and soon. Time is wasting away!

Last weekend was Natalie Hoerr's personal shower...how weird. I can't believe my friends are actually to the stage where marriage is happening. It's pretty scary. I had a really good talk with Polly and Kaitlyn Hoerr. Those girls are really special and I don't get much time to talk with them. What a blessing it was. :)It's so fun to be able to talk with girls...I'm afraid to lose all of the freedom I have in my friendships after I get married(If that is to happen of course). I know I'll still have friendships they just won't be like they are now. I'm definitely not ready to give that up and I shouldn't be! Spending the night with Ash and Bryan was also pretty cool. It was Liv, Sadie, Christen, and I that stayed. We had some good talks...abusing Bryan with too many questions I'm sure!

This stage of life is a good one!

Pictures

So, I haven't posted in years. I'm going to quick post some pictures from Ash and I's spring break. Some of them are pretty similar to Ash's.

Worst day of my life...

so, I ended up babysitting a little later yesterday than originally planned, which would have been completely fine if it hadn't started snowing fiercely. It was horrible...the snow and wind mixed together were beginning to look more an more like a blizzard with every passing moment. Once I finally started on my way home it was a little after 5:00, which just so happens to be rush hour. There were cars everywhere and they were all driving about twenty miles per hour because the roads were covered in ice.

The vehicle I was driving doesn't have four wheel drive and it has this automatic breaking system that can be a real problem. It's supposed to be helpful in preventing the driver from speeding up too fast on ice, but it's not real good when it stops you from moving forward at all on the ice. I can completely floor it and not go anywhere because it stops the engine from actually working (I don't know if I'm explaining this well...I'm sure you know enough about cars and I'll stop trying!). Ok. On with my story--- I drove over the bridge above the wild cat creek and continued up a VERY steep incline. I'm talking about the huge hill on Eisenhower Rd. This hill is very winding and narrow. The guard rails on the sides protect drivers from certain death down the steep drop off. The car in front of me was going really slow, so of course my little two wheel drive vehicle had no chance. My vehicle started going slower and slower until it finally stopped altogether. yeah, there I was at a dead stop in the middle of the huge hill. The cars began to pile up behind me and I was panicking. I called mom and screamed at her for help. Then, I completely lost it with many tears and repeating of "I don't know what to do!!!!" I think my mental state was more alarming to her than the actually situation I was in :).

The cars began to go around me and I was feeling really stupid. MY VEHICLE WOULDN'T MOVE!!! I tried to back up down the hill, but couldn't do a very good job with the pelting snow and my iced-over windows. Not to mention I'm probably the worst person of all time at efficiently steering myself while driving backwards. Finally some guy stopped and asked me if I was ok. My eyes were red with tears and I was all nervouse...I looked PATHETIC(Although, I was sporting my new haircut I had gotten that morning...my only saving grace)! He ended up watching for traffic and guiding me backwards down the hill in only a light sweatshirt. What a guy! It turns out that he slid into the ditch while trying to back up after me, which he probably wouldn't have done if he hadn't helped me. I felt really bad. Luckily a policeman was coming along and he helped the guy. I found out later that there were a bunch of other vehicles that had gotten stuck further up the hill also. So, I didn't feel quite as stupid.

I was finally on my way towards a new route home when I got stuck on another hill that was less than a half a mile away from the one I had previously been stuck on. I'm really not making this up either! It was HORRIBLE. This time some guy, with his cute smiling girl-friend in the passenger, seat got out and pushed me. I'm not sure how he managed to get my vehicle to move. I'm thinking it must have been an angel or something :). After that...I made it safely home.

In my defense of the complete loss of emotional control I experienced, I had just taken a mid-term exam in my speech class that morning (stressful) and still had to finish writing a 5-7 page research essay for my English class(more stressful). My teacher is really not easy to please and she was requiring a billion resources for our work cited. I ended up working on my essay till about 4:00 A.M. that night. I did run before starting it, hoping to release some of the stress from my tragic icy hill situation.

All I can say is I'm ready for spring break. I'm waiting for it with open arms!!!

Spring break is just around the corner

Another week bites the dust! I can practically smell the sweet air of Florida...see the sweet smiles of Luca...walk the sweet streets of the village Haile...etc. I'm so excited! So, Ash and I are going to road trip it out to FL, which is pretty crazy. It's going to be great. My mind is already uncontrollably switching to relaxation mode. I need to pull myself together and execute this last week!

Last weekend was really great. Mom had Amy and Jon's wedding to take and Ash assisted her. I was like the other assistant...it was pretty cool. Their wedding was very big. It was so great to get to talk to people that I hadn't seen in forever. Mark and Lori's house was great too. It was very relaxing...they are cool people. Ash, Mom, Javon, and I ate at Panera in Fort Wayne after the picture shooting. That was also a good time.

Anyways...This post is pretty uneventful. Oh yes! I'm getting my hair cut next Tuesday and then Baby-sitting at twelve thirty for Liv G. while she gets her hair cut. Kinda ironic, huh? My hair is getting to the stage where it is awkwardly short and long at the same time. Like it can't make up its mind what it wants to be. It'll look much better once It's cut I'm sure.

I have a research paper that I'm kinda dreading to write. My teacher is very particular and she's a hard grader. Wish me luck! It's due next Wednesday, which means I need to be doing a lot of it this weekend. I do have a rough draft completed, but that's only the first step.

I hope everyone had a wonderful week!

About Valentines Day

I know Valentines day was last week, but I didn't post about it and I want to now. The Purdue girls planned a valentines dinner Wednesday night. We all met and had dinner and...um...we were all matched up with a cute Purdue boy for the night. We danced and laughed and...HAHA! It was a girls only party, of course! Anyway, Janessa and I decided to share a little poem we found with the girls. I think I'm going to post it here for you.--- It's titled LOVE ME.

Love me in the Springtime, when all is green and new,
Love me in the Summer, when the sky is oh so blue,
Love me in the Autumn, when the leaves are turning brown,
Love me in the Winter, when the snow is falling down.

Love me when I'm happy, and even when I'm sad,
Love me when I'm good, or when I'm oh so bad,
Love me when I'm pretty, or if my face is plain,
Love me when I'm feeling good, or when I'm feeling pain.

Love me always darlin', in the rain or shining sun,
Love me always darlin', after all is said and done,
Love me always darlin', until all our life is through,
Love me always darlin', for I'll be lovin' you!

- Amanda Nicole Martinez -

...We had tons of fun delivering this! It's probably one of the most pathetic poems I've heard in a while. The only thing it's missing is one of those cool drawings that Napolean Dynamite is so good at. It was a really nice night. Althought there were much laughs, we had time where we all shared something spiritual that was important to us and it was really good. It's nights like those that I realize how great it is to be a girl. :)

A black car pulled up to the West Lafayette church last Sunday and for one second my mind really did think it was Jen and Luke. The guy in the front, through the tinted windows, strangely resembled Luke. It made me feel really sad. You don't always realize how much you miss people until you are reminded of how great it would be if they were there. Jenny! I miss you more than words can say. Guess what movie Ash, Mom, Kurt, Dad, Janessa, and I watched a couple of nights ago? STOMP THE YARD...That guy reminds me so much of Luca. It's crazy.

About this weekend-- Playing the new Nancy Drew computer game was, once again, quite delightful. Yeah, it sounds pretty dorky. If you've ever tried them I know you'd be hooked too. Andria, Ash, and I are pretty close to beating it...Nancy Drew is such an inspiration to us. someday I hope to have solved half as many mysteries as that sleuthing fiend!
I had fun with you both! :)

I'm trying to decide if I have enough time/mental energy to drive out to Bible study tonight. It's so cold outside and driving to Purdue campus sounds terrible!