everything's going my way!

Just 2 days ago I didn't have a roommate for the coming year or a place to live. All that has changed! Yesterday a friend emailed asking if I knew of anyone needing a roommate. I quickly replied, "ME!" She is a sweetheart and I'm excited to be living with her. Then, I got on the DTS student website to look at houses for rent to see if there were any cool sounding ones. The very top one is a 2 bedroom/2 bath duplex in a very cool area of Dallas for a great price. I called the landlord and he gave me the number of the current tennant. I called her today to get the scoop and she said it's an amazing place, that the landlord is awesome and you couldn't ask for a better deal, especially in that area. So, my new roomie and I are going to check it out on Saturday but I'm pretty excited about it and hope she likes it. It's only 2 miles from campus which rocks!

I'm continually amazed at my lack of faith. I was starting to worry if God was going to provide and He ends up blowing me away, yet again, with an awesome opportunity. Will I ever learn???

larger than life

This is my friend Milan's dog Samson. He is the biggest golden retriever I have ever seen! This picture does not show you the massivness of this dog! And the funny thing is that he thinks he's a lap dog, all 200 pounds of him! I'm not sure he weighs that much, but he's huge! He's a really sweet dog but because of his size, he can squash you like a little bug.

We were trying to get a good picture of me with him but he wouldn't sit still! Here he's trying to attack me with kisses. Bleck!

bad to the bone

Meet Snickers. This is the procoscious dog I'm sitting for this week. The family warned me about him but I thought, "How bad can this little dog be?" At first he seems friendly and lovable. But then you let him out of the house and he turns into a wild animal running free. The first time I let him out, he ran around the back yard for a few minutes. I thought to myself, "He's not that bad..." but then he went to the fence and jumped through the bars and starting running around the wooded area behind the family's house. He heard another dog and ran in that general direction. I called his name several times and he didn't come back. Finally, I decided to go in and figured he would come back when he got thirsty because it's so hot outside; and he did, but when I opened the door, he ran away again, thinking it was a game. Frustrating!

Yesterday I let him out and tried to keep an eye on him from the window. He heard something in the front of the house and ran for it. I walked to the front of the house and saw him chasing a van down the middle of the street, barking like crazy. I grabbed the leash and walked outside, muttering under my breath. I saw him near some trees a few houses down and he started walking towards me. Just as I was about to grab him, he ran toward a house where the kids were playing outside. I yelled, "Grab him, please!" and one of the girls picked him up. I apologized but they said it was okay because they knew him. I told them I was housesitting and haven't figured out how to keep him from running away.

I'm thinking about nominating him for "The Dog Whisperer"...

sweet dreams are made of this

I love my dreams! They are usually so crazy yet so vivid that I remember them clearly the next day, so vivid that sometimes I have to ask myself if it actually happened!. My most recent dream is no exception.

I go to a loading dock, the kind you would see when docking a cruise ship. There are a lot of people gathered with trunks and suitcases. I find the leader to let her know that I am there and she checks my name off. I look around and see a guy standing alone with his things. I decide to go and talk to him. I introduce myself and he says, "I'm Orlando." Yes, folks, it is none other than Orlando Bloom, except that his hair is chopped very short and he is wearing glasses. I ask if he had been to Spain before and he says no. I guess I was going to Spain for another semester abroad...

Jump to next scene: I am a character from 90210 except it is real life. I think I may have been Andrea but I'm not sure because I looked like myself. I am an undercover CIA agent trying to nab some big time mobster. Another agent and I are faking that we are in a relationship and about to get married. I had to break up with my real boyfriend, who is having a really hard time accepting it, so that the agent and I can pretend we're together. At one point I'm talking to Kelly and she can't believe that I broke up with my real boyfriend but I can't tell anyone the real reason. I even try consoling my boyfriend but he's upset and can't understand why I would just up and leave him for some guy I don't even know. We fake the whole wedding, even the reception where I'm wearing this beautiful strapless white dress with a black polka dot sash around the waist. After the wedding, we leave for our "honeymoon" which is really some sort of stakeout I think and it's then that I realize that I really do love the other agent and do want to be with him. The next day I'm in the grocery store with my sister buying fruit and I see a student from Venezuela that I used to work with. He looks so different, a lot older but still the same. We say hello and I tell him I just got married and he's shocked. Later, I am walking on the sidewalk and I see my best friend (who is not from the show, some random girl...) and I run up to her to tell her that the agent and I are really getting married because we are in love. I guess she knew about the whole sham.

Wow, what a crazy dream! I wonder what Dr. Freud would have to say about it...

photograph

I have not seen many of you recently so here's a shot in case you've forgotten what I look like! Actually, this was taken several months ago, maybe in January. My hair is still long but looks way better than this and I have long bangs. I will upload more recent pics soon so you can see how I look now.

joy, joy, joy!

I created a "Joy Jar" about a year ago. It's just a clear mason jar with little strips of paper that I've written things down upon to remember events or things that have brought me joy. I started it when I really needed a reminder of God's goodness and all that He provides and gives out of His abundant grace and mercy. Today, I decided that I'm going to pull out 5, at random, and write about them here. So, here goes:

1) "Receiving fun, encouraging, thoughtful and sweet text msgs"--I think I wrote this one on New Year's Day after getting some great text messages from friends who said they were thankful that they got to know me better over the year. I, too, am so thankful for them!

2) "Learning about quinceaneras"--During Hispanice Awareness Month (October), I went to hear the author Julia Alvarez speak about her latest book which talks about the quinceanera tradition in this country. For those of you that may not know what this is, it's kind of like the sweet 16 birthday but in Latin America they celebrate it on the 15th birthday. It's a HUGE deal in Latino culture and the families spend pretty much the same amount on this party as they would for a wedding. It was so cool to hear this Latina author speak and learn more about the tradition.

3) "Going to the Kimball Art Museum"--This was a fabulous day! There was an exhibit of portraits by various artists and I got to see the works of people like Picasso and Frida Khalo. Also, it was a gorgeous day and I went outside to this park beside the museum and sat and prayed and reflected for a while.

4) "Going to the library to check out books and dvds"--Okay, so I'm a huge nerd! But I love the library! It is only a mile away from my apartment and I go there about once a week. They have a pretty good dvd collection and I can usually find something I haven't seen before. And since I don't have cable, it helps keep me entertained.

5) And lastly..."Hearing Ann Patchett"--Again, another author. I took a creative writing class last fall and for one of the class meetings, we went to hear her speak about her latest book. She was so well spoken and witty, I loved it!

I picked these out at random but they bring back good memories. I think I will do this about once a week to remind myself of how rich and full my life really is:)

school's out for summer!

School ended a week and a half ago. What have I been doing? Here are some highlights:

*On the day after school got out, a friend and I went to this amazing restaurant called Cafe Izmir. It is now my favorite! The wait staff was amazing and the food was divine! It's a Middle Eastern tapas place. We had a tasty pitcher of sangria which we weren't sure we would be able to finish and I was treated to delicious cake and a bottle of wine, compliments of the house for my b-day!

*I celebrated my birthday with some friends. We went to a yummy Venezuelan restaurant and then to a Cuban music concert in a sculpture garden in downtown Dallas. The food was delicious, the music was very good, and I had a wonderful evening in spite of sweating profusely (I felt like I was back in Maracaibo...).

*I'm trying to get back into my gym routine. I'm still going but haven't been doing much strength training. Plus, my eating habits have been deplorable over the last several weeks so I need to start making wiser choices in that department.

*My cat Ginger is sick. She has lot about 5 pounds of the last couple of months and has been throwing up a lot more frequently (she has hairballs about once a month but she started throwing up about once a day, gross!). I took her to the vet on Monday worried that it was diabetes. They ran several tests and found that she has hyperthyroidism. Out of all the common illnesses older cats can have, this is the most managable. She will just need a pill every day for the rest of her life but no shots which is good. She hid under my bed for about a day and a half after coming back from the vet, pouting. She also does NOT like getting her medicine; I have to wrap her up in a towel like a kitty burrito so she doesn't claw me to death. Once I hold her mouth open, shove the meds in, close her mouth and hold it shut until she swalls, I let her go and she promptly runs and hids under some furniture. But I redeem myself by giving her a couple of treats each time so I think she's learning to accept it.

*I've been reading, one of my favorite pastimes. My current books are Little Women, The Book Thief, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and someone let me borrow Twilight. I've never read Little Women before and I'm loving it! Such a sweet story. The Book Thief is very good, set in Germany during World War II.

*I'm trying to get more prepared for seminary. I'm supposed to read about 20 different books before I start taking classes but I doubt that will happen. Plus, some of the books are for classes I'm not taking until spring semester or next year. I'm going to focus on one book, Living By the Book by Howard and William Hendricks. I'm trying to figure out financial aid stuff and looking for a roommate. Lots of unknowns right now but I know it will all come together.

I start work in another week so I'm trying to enjoy these last moments of true freedom. I'm going to be a companion for a 10, 12, 14 and 16 year old; basically, I'm carting them around to various activities, making sure they don't burn down the house, stuff like that. The kids are great and I'm looking forward to working with them.

Some things I'm looking forward to for the summer:

*I'm dog and house sitting for a family this coming week and they have a pool in their backyard. Score!

*Hopefully, I'm going to Mexico in August for a wedding. The wedding is in Playa del Carmen, just south of Cancun. Haven't been to Mexico yet, can't wait!

*Reading! I want to do as much of it as I can before classes start because I won't have time to do any fun reading after that. I hope to finish the Harry Potter series and maybe the Twilight one if the first one is any good.