Books, Birthdays, and Bonding

Ah, winter break. Probably my favorite part about being in college and graduate school (aside from, you know, learning). Fully reminds me that I do not in fact participate in "real life" yet, since I do get three weeks off in between semesters, during which time I don't have to do anything. It's a brilliant idea, really. I've read some books (highly recommend Ellen DeGeneres' book "Seriously, I'm kidding"- it literally made me laugh out loud on almost every page). I'm currently reading "Quiet- The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking"- so good. And I've watched entirely too much [football and] Big Bang Theory. hehe.

I've been home in Framingham since mid-December, and it has been a wonderfully relaxing time, for the most part. There was one-too-many times the ambulance came to my house (because once is really too many...), and my uncle had to spend four days in the hospital (during which time things were stressful at home), and my grammy was sick on Christmas which got us all very sad and worried. But everyone is doing much better now, which is good. I have gotten very used to having a lot of people in our house since everyone is always here to see Grams, but it does make life a lot more stressful when family members get sick, and we don't know how everyone will be taken care of. Luckily, my parents are amazing and are really good at taking care of my grandmother and my uncle. It makes me wonder if I'll ever be able to do what they do if in the future I'm in a similar situation. The way my mother took care of Grams on Christmas... well let's all hope and pray I never have to do that for my mom :-) ha.

Here's a picture of my lovely house all decorated for Christmas!

Other than spending lots and lots of time with my family, I also got to spend wonderful quality time with my friends in MA! It was so nice to see Rachel, Erica, Caroline, Michelle and Hannah, going out for margaritas, or going to trivia, or getting a casual coffee. Seriously, these are the wonderful friends who will in all likelihood be friends forever, who I love seeing (even if it's only for a few weeks a year!) I was also able to see a great friend from HWS- Kazia! We just became friends last year, and what a coincidence that she lives a half hour away in Maynard! Perfect! So we went out to lunch and then created a dinosaur masterpiece.

We named it Charlie.

AND! I got to spend time with Lesley! Seriously, could this break have been any better? I went to Cambridge to her mom's house, and I was able to look through her dad's books. I came home with the entire Anchor Bible series and a few other series/books... hehe

I may have gone a little bit overboard... haha

I cleared out the shelf in my closet, and now all of these books will hang out there until I'm ready to start my real library. Wabam! But it was also so nice to catch up with Lesley. :-) Wonderful.

I also celebrated a birthday! I am now 24 years old, and proud of it! I can tell this year is going to be great. Strangely enough, my age doesn't make me feel like an adult as much as taking care of my own finances does... haha. Either way, I feel like an adult. :-) I spent my birthday with my family (more bonding). We went to go see Les Miserables, and I LOVED it. I may have actually liked it more than the stage version. I will gladly see it again if any Durham friends are reading this and want to go soon! After seeing the movie, we went out to eat at Legal Seafood- so yummy. Then, more yummy food because we had cupcakes from Crumbs. (I'll let you in on a secret, I much prefer cupcakes to an actual cake. I don't know why, but I do! haha)

Happy birthday to me!!

So all in all, it was a lovely break. Christmas was nice, my birthday was awesome, and spending time with friends filled me with joy! Tonight I am ringing in the New Year with Kazia as we have a pajama party and watch Sherlock. (low key is the way to go! haha) As far as resolutions go, I tend not to make them because I know I will break them. But I would like to try and keep in touch with my friends a little bit more, and to try and be generally more healthy. I think I can do those two things pretty well!

I'm flying back to Durham on Thursday, and I'll have a few days to myself before the roomies come back on Monday. Looking forward to being back in my own space :-)

Also, I wanted to give a shout out to people who have told me recently that they read my blog! Thanks wonderful cousin Marybeth! And Peter and Suzy- it was so nice to read your Christmas card!! Miss you terribly! There was also someone else... Well thank you Someone! (Thank you all, really)

And since Jenna doesn't read this blog, here are some videos of her singing to me on my birthday. hehehehe

Happy Birthday, and Soft Kitty. :-)

And just for fun, some epic fail pictures that we tried to take in the snow

Peace, Love, and Smiles y'all
Christa

One Down, Five to Go!

Well, I have finished my first semester of seminary school! It was a great semester, and whenever people ask me about Duke Div, I am all smiles. I learned so much, was challenged in so many ways, and I think I've finally proven to myself that I am able to be at this prestigious institution and hold my own. I'm proud of myself for what I have accomplished, and I'm very much looking forward to next semester!

While driving to campus for a friend's birthday celebration on Thursday, I reflected on the differences between this M.Div program and my MAT program. I remember my first semester of my MAT like it was yesterday (in fact I've been thinking a lot about my kiddos the past couple of days...). Student teaching was an experience like none other. My brain has never worked so hard- from 7am until 3pm my brain never rested. It was mentally exhausting because I had to constantly think about what I was going to do next. I had 7th and 8th graders for 74-minute periods. I had to keep it interesting or they may have revolted :-) Hence why there was always lots of singing (in French and Spanish you can do that!), lots of hands on activities, and lots of different shorter lessons within the bigger period. I loved student teaching, and I loved my kids. I had so much fun with all of them. 

My experiences student teaching and writing up my MAT project were incredibly challenging for me. I was stretched further than I thought was possible, and yet came out of it ok. ;-) But when I compare my studies at HWS with the ones at Duke, I find myself thinking that my MAT was easier. Then I wondered... why? Community is very important to me. I often need to be surrounded with people I love in order to feel fully comfortable in a place (or degree program). The fact that I was able to stay at HWS for my MAT made that transition so much easier. The fact that I lived with my "college mom" Lesley, made my living situation ideal. I was able to stay with my church family at St. Peter's, and my professors were all there supporting me. I didn't have to start from scratch with friends, professors, and "extended family." This, above all else, is why I think I consider my MAT to be "easier."

My M.Div so far has been a very very different graduate school experience. There was a lot more reading and writing about subjects that I had never encountered before. With my MAT, I had been preparing for it for a couple years by taking various teaching classes. I knew what I was getting myself into. Not so with the M.Div. I struggled with understanding the various theologians and biblical scholars we learned about. I struggled with finding that community that is so important to who I am. It can be hard at Duke to find this community- I've heard this from upper-class students too. If you don't want the community-feel, you can easily avoid it. I have heard people say they are not here to make friends, they are here to learn. To each his own, but I could never do that. Learning and community go hand in hand for me, especially when ultimately what we're learning about is how to be leaders in the Body of Christ; learning how to create meaningful community in our future churches. I feel like you have to participate in this type of community in order to try and foster it in the future.

By the end of the semester, I felt like I was surrounded with people with whom I felt a mutual support and love. The epitome of this feeling was right before our first (and notoriously hardest) final- Early and Medieval Church History. The first-years had just come out of the Eucharist service ("to remember why we're here"), and on our way down to our classroom, so many of our second- and third-year friends where there cheering us on. Legitimately cheering. I was toward the end of the line of first-years, and people were still clapping for us, high-fiving us, and hugging us. I was brought to tears because of the outpouring of love and support that I felt in that moment. Being able to see upper-class friends from Bridge, the Anglican/Episcopal House, and Choir right before the exam, knowing that they were praying for me, feeling that community; it was the best thing for me in that moment. It was beautiful, and I can't wait to do it next year for the newbies. (Well, I can wait, I don't want this next year to go by too fast!) It was such a great way to start off finals week.

These past few days I have been particularly grateful for my friends. Grateful for my study buddies, my prayer buddies, my party-ing buddies ;-)  Friday was a tough day for many people, myself included, and the best way to end the day was to have my close friends over and to give them gifts that I knit them with love. I was grateful to be surrounded by them and be able to begin break with their company.

Here are some pictures (because what would a blog post be without pictures??) 

The "tree" I made, with awesome home-made ornaments from Ashley and Clara!!

Tree with gifts underneath :-)

Brent enjoying his washcloth with his lovely wife Natalie

I think T.J. likes his hat!

Kat with fingerless gloves and Michelle with the washcloth!

Andrew and Rachel with their washcloths

With that, I will stop writing. I could write a lot more about my thoughts right now, but I will spare you :-) I am so happy to have one semester of Div School under my belt, but I do hope time slows down just a tad, or else I'll be done before I know it! I'm looking forward to spending the next few weeks with my family in Framingham, and I hope the time will be rejuvenating and refreshing. 

Here is a song for y'all. I got to see Pentatonix in concert a few weekends ago- they are incredible. This is a nice Advent song from their PTXmas cd. Enjoy :-)

 

Peace, Love, Smiles, and Hugs (because I want to hug y'all)
Christa

Labyrinth

In my future backyard, I would love to have a labyrinth. If you've never walked one, I would highly suggest it. Today, I went on an Advent Retreat where I walked a pretty awesome labyrinth. I will admit the driving factor in going on this retreat was the fact that my idol the Rev. Dr. Lauren Winner was leading it, :-) however it really was a great day. 

For the first half, we chose two out of three stations: Meditative Prayer (led by Lauren Winner); silent time outside reflecting on scripture and walking the labyrinth; and meditative baking. Shocking I know, but I did skip Lauren Winner's session and did labyrinth and baking. I'll tell you briefly why. Jesus and I have had sort of a love/hate relationship the past few months. Don't worry, I won't go into all of my seminarian-worries-about-what-I-actually-believe story here in this blog, but if you want to talk about it with me I'd be happy to. But let's just say it was good for me to take that intentional time with scripture and force myself to think about questions/ideas that have been intriguing/bothering me this semester. I sat outside on a dock overlooking a lake at the conference center on a warm, beautiful, sun-filled morning. After taking some reflection time I walked this labyrinth (I got the picture off the website, I didn't actually take any):

 It was in the middle of the woods and made out of broken glass and the white stones. It was beautiful and meditative. 

From the moment I entered the labyrinth, I knew where I would eventually end up. It's not a maze- it isn't intended to trick us. It winds in and out, but only goes to one place. I knew I was walking toward a goal. But the path to the goal was long and winding and it took me places I didn't expect it to. I kept following knowing that I would at some point make it to the middle. It took way longer than I expected (I was 20 minutes late for the next session... oops!). At times I got distracted, but always tried to bring myself back to the line from the liturgy I was meditating on (Into your hands O Lord, I commend my spirit). I was walking with Kat- we would pass each other, going different directions, but knowing that we were walking the same path. A silent support along the way. Other people started walking with us- people we didn't know who were in different stages of life, but who also silently walked with us. 

The meditation on scripture and this labyrinth helped me come to terms with some of my spiritual issues right now (basically, although I want everything to be figured out now, it's going to take lots of time and quite possibly a long journey before the answers to my questions make sense). 


Then, we baked pretzels. Did you know that pretzels were originally made to imitate a prayer position from medieval times? The prayer position this adorable little girl is making: 

So, we baked. It was good to work with my hands and kneed the dough. Since I've been baking all semester, I thought it would be good to think about baking as a meditative act (even though it pretty much already acts as one for me). We ate the pretzels as part of lunch (quite yummy, if I do say so myself), and during the closing Eucharist. Wabam. 

We also had a great session on Praying in Color. I love this type of prayer, so I had a lot of fun with it. It really was a great day :-)

Other fun things that happened this week:

I was a lector for Lessons and Carols, and Dr. Warren Smith (our Church History professor who I LOVE) was presiding, so I got to officially introduce myself. He knew where I sat in class and everything (which is impressive considering there are like 160 people in that class). Made me smile. :-) 

My classes are officially done! I still have finals, so I will still be quite busy the next two weeks, but it will be nice to just be able to focus on studying. This past week I had a big Hebrew exam, and I still have a translation final for that class. I have a pastoral context paper and a big ol' final exam for Church History. I have a final exam for Old Testament, and I have a 20-page final paper for Episcopal Polity (due the same day as the CH final). It's going to be a fun week. I'm happy I had today to retreat and rejuvenate. 

Last night I went to see (and hear) Handel's Messiah performed at Duke Chapel by the Duke Choir. It. Was. Amazing. I've never sat through the entirety of the Messiah, but it was just incredible. They brought in legitimate soloists- I was just expecting some seniors from Duke to be singing the solos, but nope! Real professionals who were spot on. The soprano- sigh- she had a beautiful voice, and the best part was that you could tell she believed everything she was singing. I realized I've sung a lot of music from the Messiah- I think four of the choral pieces- with various church choirs. My favorite is still the Hallelujah chorus :-)  Last night was also great because I hung out with a different group of people than I normally do. One person even said to me "Christa, I'm so happy you're here. I've wanted to be friends with you but I didn't know how!" That made my night. 

So between the Messiah and the retreat today, I think I'm ready for the wonderful season of Advent to begin tomorrow. 


And now, for your enjoyment: my polity presentation that I did with Brad a couple of weeks ago finally made it on YouTube. Yes, I still continue to make a fool of myself, even at seminary. Love life. 

Peace, peace, and more peace, 
Christa

Thanksgiving Anecdotes

Hello all. Again, apologies for not writing more regularly this month. Time is flying- anyone else know how it’s already late November? I have one week left of classes, one week of study time, and one week of finals until I’m done with my first semester in seminary. Crazy.

I thought I would indulge you all with some Thanksgiving anecdotes.

Painfully Easy Plane Trips

Growing up with Logan as my home airport, I haven’t always had the best (or fastest) travel experiences. I always give myself at least an hour and a half to check bags, get through security, find my gate, and maybe eat something. Well my wonderful friend Michelle drove me to the airport on Wednesday at 5:10am (she really is amazing). We got to the airport at 5:36, and I texted my dad at 5:45 saying that I was already through security. Nine minutes. Funny thing is, there were actually a LOT of people there, but they also had a lot of people working and every line of security open. Same thing happened on my flight back from Boston (although it took a bit longer, about 15 minutes). Still I found myself pretty lucky!

The best part of my flight to Boston was that because of my earliness, I had time to find a place to eat breakfast. I went into one restaurant then decided I wanted a cheaper place. I started walking by my gate and I saw someone waving at me. Well low and behold it was my friend’s boyfriend Hyatt, who goes to Duke Law! How exciting! We had breakfast together and the random hour passed by much faster with someone to talk to. A lovely start to the trip!

Greetings from Grammy

Having lived with my Grammy since I was in 4^th grade, I miss her when I’m not at home. So after saying hi to my doggy, I went over and spent some quality time with Grams. I walked in and she was reading the newspaper. When she put it down I saw that she had rollers in her hair sprouting out in every direction. She looked at me and before even saying hello she said that she tried to do her hair, and asked if it looked ok. I smiled a huge smile, went over and helped her take the rollers out. This is something I used to do for her pretty often in high school, so it was cute that she wanted me to do it again. I made her look as good as I could (she still had some stray hairs all over her head). But honestly, it’s hard for a 94 year old Grammy to not look adorable all the time. :-)

Grams also has a picture of me and Jenna in her bedroom, and she is convinced that it’s not actually Jenna. She asked me multiple times who my friend was in the picture, and refused to believe it was my sister! Quite funny. Also, she’s made this claim to other members of my family too. I think she thinks they were lying to her and I would tell her the truth. Hahaha.

Wednesday Night Shenanigans

The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, my high school friends and I always get together and pretend to watch a movie while we catch up on our lives. This time we “watched” Mamma Mia (which makes two times in as many days for me, ha!), and shared about what’s happening in life. It was really nice to see a few people that I haven’t seen in a year!

We also gave each other nicknames based on what we’re doing. They’re pretty funny :-)

“Yo Miss” for Caroline, the teacher. “Master Cheryl” for Cheryl who will have a CCC LSP in May (I may have gotten those letters wrong… speech pathology). “Dr. [What Went] Wong for Chris who’s getting his Ph.D. in Chemistry, “Father Christa” for me… apparently “mother” sounded too much like a nun :-P. “Randi Jazz Hands” because Randi doesn’t just have a cool job, but she’s also dancing in a company. “Amy Zack, Esq.” for the one who works for Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown. “Erica: The Man” because she works for the Man- an insurance company. (A bit of confusion with me and her! Lol) “Exhibitionist Hannah” because she works at a museum setting up exhibits. And “Rachel: The Tool [to save the world]” because she’s getting lots of tools in her toolbox to eventually save the whole world and promote peace everywhere. She rocks :-)

Worried About my Sister

Jenna dropped the bomb for what she wants for Christmas this year. A ukulele. She wants to teach herself how to play it. This combined with her fashion sense, her music choices, and her moccasins… makes me worry she’s turning into a hipster. Help! :-P

Thanksgiving Day in Pictures

Lovely table, set by yours truly.

Yes, I can make napkins into fleurs de lis. :-)

Jenna, cutting the cheese. ha.

Bailey! Good girl :-)

I had a treat in my hand, so she did tricks.

The nice table

The Levesques (Aunt Sharon, Pepere, Nana, Daddy)

Time for wine? Yes. I think so.

Facial!

Is that Ceelo or Christina? haha

Turkeys are done!

Bad picture, but you get the gist.

Uncle Gale and Grammy!

Me and Alicia!

Cheesecake!

Dessert time!!

The apple pie I made- so yummy!

Me and Jenna

Fire in the fireplace

Five-Year High School Reunion

Part of me couldn’t believe it’s been five years. Part of me feels like it’s been 15 years, I’m so far removed from most of the people in my class. Regardless, I went to my 5 year reunion, and it was both more and less awkward than I thought it was going to be. More awkward because the music was really loud, and there were a lot of drunk people- the music made it very hard to make conversation with anyone, and it was an attempt to make it like a dance. Well, it wasn’t Prom again, but that was the atmosphere. But, I did get to see the few people I went there to see, and everyone was very nice and willing to talk. Graduating with over 500 people in my class, there were plenty of people there I either didn’t know, or forgot existed- so that was weird. But it was nice to catch up with some key people who I wish I had kept in better contact with.

I think the 10 year reunion will also be a lot of fun. And now we’re entering a time in our lives where time is actually going by really fast. We are starting to recognize this, and I think want to make more moments count.

Lots of other fun things happened over break, but I think this most is long enough. I'm also thankful for all of you who read this. 

Looking forward to finishing up the semester. Hopefully I’ll be able to update again soon.

Peace, Love and Smiles, y’all.

Christa

Breaking and Baking [Bread]

Sorry for the lack of blog-posting the past two weeks. Life has been crazy! Luckily I have no plans tonight, and I couldn't be happier. 

Baking Bread

 If you've been following this blog, then you know that this semester I have been trying my hand at baking bread (and other various bread-like yummies). I don't know why I have all of a sudden begun to bake. Maybe it has something to do with wanting to feed my roommates and friends. Maybe it is because I feel the need to do something productive with my weekend that doesn't involve school work. Maybe it is because I feel more adult when I successfully follow a recipe and cook a meal (or dessert!). For whatever reason, I love it. I usually go to church on Sundays and come back and bake, however this weekend I chose to spend my Saturday evening in the kitchen, dancing and singing along to music as I cooked. It was wonderful.

Kat is not here this weekend, she is on a retreat with her church, so T.J. and I thought a good roommate bonding experience would be me cooking for him. ha. The main dish is on the right, meatballs from Lesley and David's cookbook- oh my goodness do they taste amazing! Made some pasta to go with them. Then for dessert, Lesley's delicious gingerbread. It came out really good.... a large part of it is gone already (but I told T.J. we had to save some for Kat.... haha). All in all a really yummy dinner!

Breaking... the Kitchen

In the process of all my afternoon cooking, the drain decided it didn't like all the things I was putting down it. That silly drain. Well, I thought I had clogged the drain and we'd have to call in a plumber- yuck. However, with the help of Google and the best male roommate ever who can use a plunger, we fixed it! Wahoo!

Thanks, Google. :-)

Although T.J. was looking forward to a weekend without being able to do dishes... I was not. So I am quite happy now.

Breaking... Down.

Since coming back from fall break, I have felt very run down (ironic, no?). The week after fall break I had a big paper due (that I procrastinated incredibly on...), and lots of other work that didn't get done on break. This past week was even more horrible- Church History paper due yesterday, and a Hebrew exam, on top of all the normal stuff. I started counting the hours I spent at school this week, and got depressed. However I will tell you that the only day this week that I went to bed the same day I woke up was yesterday (when I was happily in bed by 10pm!). I'm not the kind of person who ever only allows herself 5 hours of sleep a night, I just can't do it. Well, apparently I can, I'm just miserable. I drank more coffee and tea this week than I ever have. (Tuesday night coffee resulted in being very wired... who knew that I'm actually pretty good a Hebrew after midnight?? haha) And although I was up until after 2am the day a paper was due, it's not like I was wasting away my time during the week. I was pretty diligent about writing during every possible moment, short of skipping my classes and worship. Luckily I had a good writing buddy most of the week which was helpful- solidarity in misery. ha. 

As I drove home one night/morning this week I thought- I hope I don't burn out soon. I've been in school for a long time, and sometimes I wish I didn't have to worry about school work at all. I wonder if doing four years in undergrad, a one-year masters, right into a three-year masters was the best idea... Don't worry, I'm not going to stop or drop out or anything. It's probably the exhaustion speaking, but I hope I don't have to have another week like this for a while.

Breaking Bread

Even though it was a busy week, there are some things I wouldn't skip- like going to Chapel. Some of my happiest moments this week were in Chapel- there was a great music service on Tuesday, and on Thursday our Church History professor celebrated Eucharist, which was pretty awesome. Another great part of my week was the All Hallows Eve service at Duke Chapel. I didn't dress up for Halloween, I wasn't home to give out candy to trick-or-treaters (we didn't have any... haha), but I was able to go to this really neat service honoring saints. The Duke Vespers Choir sang (oh how much I would love to sing with them!!), and it was beautiful. I was able to reflect on the lives of the saints they honored, and I've been thinking a lot about the wonderful Lynn Broderick this whole week... <3

Its weird- the past two Sundays I have woken up thinking "I really don't want to go to Church..." This is not like me at all, because usually I love church. I mentioned this to Kat who said she sometimes has similar feelings when she's still new to a church. Even though I didn't want to go, I got myself out of bed and went. Well, I had to go last week- I had to sing a solo! I was actually pretty flattered that the director asked me sing a solo, since I rarely sing them and I don't really like to... haha. I sang the second verse of "One Bread One Body" and it went very well, got some compliments :-)  I think it's funny that the two weeks I really didn't want to go to church were weeks when I felt like the priest was speaking only to me during the sermon. Anne and Joe are such good preachers, I don't think there has been a week when I haven't full-heartedly meant the "Amen" at the end of the sermon.

I've also been able to break bread more informally with my friends during meal times. I think that sharing meals with people is really important. Monday lunches are wonderful- Kat and I always see Rachel, and then Jeannie comes to sit with us after work. Yes, this time could be spent studying Hebrew vocabulary, but building friendships is just as important. Last Saturday a bunch of us went over a friend's house and ate dinner with his family- eating is a special thing to do with people whose company you enjoy.

Building Up Knitting Muscles

I've been building up my knitting collection, spending time with my projects. This week I didn't have much time, but last week I finished the beret I started in Geneva. With the hurricane this week, the weather was pretty cold here, meaning I got to wear the hat. Here are some pictures :-)

Oh, I also got a haircut!

slouchy

I like the way it turned out!

Pink to orange to light orange to white

I'm currently working on matching mittens (almost done with the first one!).

Building Community through Song

Wasn't sure what to call this section exactly, but by far the BEST part of my week was when we got the cast list for Broadway Revue! This is a big show at the Divinity School (about 20 acts) that is completely student-run. I was cast in all of the all-cast numbers, and three others. Get this- without even knowing my obsession with Disney movies they cast me in "I Just Can't Wait to be King." eek! I'm also in a piece from The Addams Family musical (I didn't know this existed... haha), and a piece from The Music Man. One of the all-cast numbers is Dancing Queen. Get pumped, because I sure am. In fact, I may listen to that CD tonight and get even more excited.

Breaking Bread in Geneva!

I will be in Geneva next weekend for Diocesan Convention! I'm actually pretty excited because I am a nerd and love convention. Plus, since I'm taking Episcopal Polity this semester, I have a new knowledge of the Constitution and Canons. I'm also planning on asking people some questions that I want to use for my final paper. Wabam. :-) 

I'll also be staying for church on Sunday at St. Peter's! Can't wait to see everyone!!

Great Roommate Advice

Yesterday when I texted Kat that I had finished my paper she said, "Good job!! Now sleep forever :)" And sleep I did. ah.

Today when I wanted to watch a movie T.J. suggested my favorite "Beauty and the Beast"- what a great suggestion! I watched it in French because I have been truly missing speaking French, and it was wonderful. (And tonight I got a call from one of my Senegalese friends, so it's good that I had at least thought in French today!!)

My song today is the French version of the best Disney song ever. hehe. 
"La belle et la bete"

Peace, Love, and always lots and lots of Smiles, 
Christa

My Fall Break in Photos

I thought for this blog post I would share photos from my time in Geneva. Relaxing, peaceful, meaningful time with people (and a place) I love. 

Greetings from the Cats

George welcoming me back.

My adorable Smokums.

Dinner (and fire) with the Trowbridges!

Outdoor firepit! :-)

The wonderful Wendy!

Jim and Jeremy (Nate was inside). Lots of laughter and happiness!

Beautiful Campus 

Looking down S. Main

By the Lake

Quad & Coxe Hall

Pretty tree

Seneca Lake

St. John's Chapel

Smith Hall

Tree outside the Pub

Love this one. 

Downtown

Of course I had to stop here!

St. Peter's!

Sue working hard!

Miss Wendy!

Always a good message. :-)

Down S. Main

Looking through the trees to the lake

The row houses

Pretty flowers

Pasta Night!!

Lesley skying with Charlotte before Pasta Night. Note George.

PESTO!

Beautiful apron for the Pasta Queen!!

I love Smokums.

And Smokums loves me!

Andrew being silly with the pasta boxes. :-P

Is the bread done??

Musical accompaniment from Andrew

Ryan!!

Krissy, Christa, Kristen. Say that 5 times fast. :-)

Krissy and Ryan!

Me and Kazia!

Take Back the Night Candle-light Vigil. After Pasta Night and Choir.

Thursday

Two hour conversation with Tara? Don't mind if I do! :-)

George-y warming up in the sun

Close Knit!!

Steph!

Knitting buddies. Who happen to match? :-P

Seneca Lake (my camera doesn't do it justice)

Favorite. Down by the dock

Benches, looking out into beauty

<3

Boathouse

Miscellany

What would a visit to HWS be without going to a lecture? So nice to see Pres, Betty Bayer, and Leah Shafer there!

Oh Odell's...

Happy birthday Kazia and Haley!

Birthday Girls!

Something quite interesting happening on my computer.

Mesmerized.

No Pictures, but Noteworthy

Conversations with Dobs, Khuram, Catherine, Sherry, Mary. Lunch with Jamie and Josephine, Wendy and Sue. Dinner with Nan, David, Laurel and Rose :-) Molly convincing me to stay and sing with the choir on Wednesday night. Quality time spent reading and knitting. Very relaxing and wonderful vacation.

Last night my roommates (and honorary 4th roommate Andrew) recreated the boys vs girls games from the latest episode of Big Bang Theory. It was epic. Kat won dizzy-bat long division, and me and her won Pictionary. The boys won Bible Pictionary (don't ask...) but the girls are still considering it a victory. I think we should always be on break.  

Here is a video I captured of dizzy bat long division. Enjoy.  I love my friends.

Jukebox time

This song has been stuck in my head all day. Make of that what you will. (I love the part after 3:30)

Peace, Love and Smiles y'all
Christa