Valentine's Ten!

1. I suppose that one of the biggest highlights of this week as of yet was the snow that we received on Tuesday. I loved sitting and watching it fall through the windows in the tutoring room that afternoon. I even enjoyed walking through the snow as it fell on me, which sounds odd, but really, I did! I was really pulling for a snow day yesterday, but, in a good news/bad news scenario, nothing stuck to the roads, and it was 50 degrees yesterday, so you can guess how well that worked out for me. Such is life; I'll get a snow day eventually!

2. Tomorrow, I will be done with my first round of tests in all of my classes! Hallelujah! I have already taken tests in Diff Eq, Statistics, and Psychology, so all that's left is my Humanities class. I am super happy to report that I aced the Psych & Stats tests, and I eked out an A on my Diff Eq test, all thanks to a bonus question, and my teacher's gentle grading! Here's hoping that I'll have similar results on my Humanities test!

3. It is February, which, among LOTS of other things, comes an annual event that is becoming a big deal for my nephews...Pinewood Derby! This will be Wyatt's first year to compete, and Cody's second. Both boys seemed fairly excited about the construction process with their dads. I think that Cody is hoping for a repeat of last year's win, but has been repeatedly reminded to not get his heart set on that. On the other hand, my mom and I jokingly (I emphasize that part) asked him if he thought about using his winning car from last year again this year, and he indignantly told us that that would be cheating, and that he wanted a new car. This brought a smile to my face, to know that he is already aware of the virtues of honesty and integrity. Good luck to both boys! (I think Kyle is getting even more antsy to join in the fun next year...just in case you were wondering!)

4. So, I am still on the workout-wagon, although I took a minor detour the past two days. Tuesday, I inadvertantly overslept, because I apparently muted my alarm instead of snoozing it. Why do they even put mute buttons on alarms anyway? The lesson I learned from that incident is that it is much easier to simply wake up the first time, and not bother hitting the snooze in the first place. Yesterday, I got up just fine, but decided to stay in due to the snow, and my uncertainty about road conditions. For whatever reason, I had a gut feeling that I shouldn't go out, so I decided to heed my own warning and get some much-needed rest. I felt bad skipping out on Liz, but, as she and I have discussed multiple times, sometimes those things that happen are merely signs from God that you would benefit more from the rest than the exercise, and it's perfectly okay.

5. Speaking of Liz, we are going on our "Valentine's" lunch date tomorrow after class! Today, we decided that we needed a special Valentine's event of our own since we are both rocking the single lady status...also, it is a reward, of sorts, for sticking to our workout plan! Win-win, in my books...I can't wait! :)

6. Guess whose birthday is on Sunday?! None other than my awesome mom! I'm not really sure what we're doing, or when anything will happen, but those are minor details! I love celebrating things, especially birthdays, as does the rest of my family, so I'm sure whatever we do will be a blast for us all! Speaking of birthdays, my Aunt Pat celebrated a birthday yesterday, and Carissa's was back on the 2nd. Funny story about her birhtday, I randomly remembered it last Monday after waking up from an afternoon nap, which was two days late as it was, but still! I had to laugh at how my brain works sometimes! Needless to say, I sent her a belated birthday text wishing her well.

7. All of this talk about birthdays reminds me of something huge that is happening in a little over a month from now: my Mimi will be turning 95!!! My mom and her siblings are in the planning stages of a party for her in the near future. A quick update about her, for anyone who is interested, she is doing well, and is still blessed with relatively good health, and a mind as sharp as a tack. She still drives just as well as anyone else, and is still loving her new car immensely! I think that she is just as excited about her party as we are, and for good reasons. I'll have to keep you posted on this event!!!

8. I mentioned this shortly a couple of weeks ago, but it is worth mentioning again: The final season of "The Office" is crazy!!! I have not been a big fan of the Jim/Pam/Brian debacle, but last week's episode resolved things a little bit, I hope. Oddly enough, I am loving the development between Pete and Erin, and I am glad that she finally dumped Andy, who went off the deep end. I see some parallels between their story and Jim & Pam's story. I think the biggest reason that I like the Pete/Erin/Andy story is that it is vaguely reminiscent of events that led up to my recent break-up...except for the fact that I didn't dump Tevis for another man...and he didn't sail off to who-knows-where for three months...still, I'm excited to see where that goes! I still can't believe that the finale will be here in May, and I'm interested/scared/excited/sad to see what they have in store for the rest of the season/series!

9. Last week, I talked about the fact that it was CHD Awareness Week, and today is CHD Awareness Day. All of that discussion has sparked some deep thinking for me, and I feel like it was a bit of divine intervention for me. The biggest thing that I have thought about is how I can help those who still stand to face this struggle every day, and has made me consider different ways that I can serve as an advocate. Right now, there is one idea that stands out in my head above others, but it would be a relatively large undertaking for me at the present time. It would require a lot of work on my part, but could have an awesome effect if it was done right. For the time being, I will hold onto my dream, do my homework, and see what I can do. I'll divulge more details eventually, but right now, I need to zero in on my goal, to see how attainable it is. The biggest take-away from this is that I firmly believe that this is something that I have been called to do to help keep Michelle's memory alive and give hope to those who battle, and I will do everything in my power to see this dream through!!!

10. Last, but not least, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! In case you were wondering, my big plan for the evening is a hot date with my Humanities book/study materials...the procrastination bug may or may not have bit me, and I'm paying for it now...live and learn! It always amazes me how hot and cold people can be about Valentine's Day. There are so many people who insist that it is a trite holiday that is only for those in a relationship or who have a "special someone" in their life, and loathe everything having to do with it. Then, there are the people who insist that it is the only way to show your love for someone else, and it isn't complete without roses, chocolate, jewelry, or other things of the sort. I like to think that I fall somewhere between the two extremes, and regard it as I do most other holidays. While I do feel that there are lots of commercialization/marketing ploys at work, and I often think that some people can take it to an unhealthy extreme, I appreciate the thought behind it. We have holidays to celebrate our thankfulness, the new year, national independence, the coming of Jesus, national icons/religious figures, etc., why not have a holiday dedicated to those we love? Yes, you should always make an effort to make your loved ones feel loved, thus negating the purpose of Valentine's Day, but you could say the same about any other holiday! Like I said above, I love celebrating anything worth celebrating, and, by golly, we have a day to celebrate love, so go celebrate love however you feel appropriate!!! Even if it's just your friends and family that you have, do something special for them! They're worth it!!! :) (I'll step off my soapbox now...)

Have a great day!!!!