s.c. wedding

Probably one of the best parts about the whole trip had to have been a leisurely walk on the beach after the wedding. Although not much really beats having shrimp and grits at a wedding. From left to right: Emily, Lee (her husband), Andrea and Brooke look like they're in a rock band. I'll call them "Rhymes with Noodle."
Andrea wanted the pink pool noodle to be part of the band. Brooke considers it.
Eventually, however, the band members move towards the beach, and Andrea is left to make a decision. I'm glad she got back in the car with us later because we never would have made it to South of the Border for lunch the next day. I was able to comfort a distraught gorilla, Brooke and Andrea fearlessly climbed a cactus, and we got the heck out of there when we realized that they were going to charge 25 cents to go to the bathroom.

In other news, this Wednesday, open mic night at Broad St. Cafe in Durham at 8 p.m. I've never really decided to publically read my poetry before! No sneak peeks ;).

netflix

Anyone want to be my friend on Netflix? I have 29 movies in my queue right now! Certainly a record :).

I've had so much fun being good to friends recently, and I have some AMAZING ones!

Test tomorrow! Look at this cool poem I found today while studying:

Resume

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

- Dorothy Parker

Humor is definitely an effective tool to get a major message across. And no, I've never even remotely considered suicide. I'm a wimp who can't even stand too much sun in my eyes.

studying

Rest = divine activity. I spent at least some of the weekend resting. Got some revelations, went to an African-American church, communed with nature and the durham community (quilted on the community quilt friday), and got a precious book My Utmost for His Highest. Makes me want to write a devotional.

This helps so much:
"God always ignores the present perfection for the ultimate perfection." He ultimately knows what will make us most fulfilled and holds out in the present struggle to ultimately satisfy.

Everyone PLEASE come to storytelling for adults the last Sunday in May at 7 p.m. Broad Street Cafe. It's the last one before they break for the summer! I'll send an email as it gets closer. The ladies who told stories last night were so awesome.

Please pray for the National Boards test on Friday: it's a behemoth! Can you imagine answering 6 essays prompts in 3 hours? At least after, I'm going to a concert to see Arcade Fire and potentially Barack Obama.

shout outs

It's been a little over a week since my last post. . .

I wanted you all to meet Hera, my new orchid. I had been scoping for months and finally alighted on this one at Trader Joe's for a really good price!

Enjoyed so much hosting Lindsay's international party this past Sunday night. Everyone really came through with some awesome food and costumes! I especially enjoyed the fact that we broke a pinata outside of my house, and I've still been allowed to live in the neighborhood.

So, I have a GREAT movie recommendation (going to finish it tonight). It's called The Inn of Sixth Happiness. It's about a woman who ups and goes to China, feeling called by God. She doesn't even consider what she might lose in this venture. She was even denied by the mission board before she went. Whoa.

Reading The Sacred Romance (John Elderedge coauthors). I've read Captivating, Wild at Heart, The Journey of Desire (actually comes after Sacred Romance), and I'm still trying to figure out what living from the heart really means. Maybe the orchid knows. . . .

Okay, too mystical here. I'm about to post something really flakey (I'll make you go to the link):

http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season7/jason_castro/

My coworker thinks she's found my soulmate. . . .

spring break reflections part 2

The day after my party, there was an artwalk in downtown Durham (the best place to live in the Triangle). We saw Barbara at the bull (soon, I'll post our made-up legend about the Bull statue) and watched an incredible brass band. When they play, smoke comes out of their instruments. I mean, just look at the one guys' cheeks on the left! Probably at the exact moment we were watching them play, Arlissa and Allan got engaged! If you were at my party, you met them. They are some awesome people.
Zoe and I met a TON of artists and got to fingerpaint. Her tree is now hanging in my kitchen.
One of my favorite things about Durham is the serendipity that exists there. Last night, on an after-dinner walk, I encountered Will (of Joyce and Will) and Jamie Lathan. I had a few other car horns honk at me, so I kept walking until they eventually screamed my name from the car. I encounter so many people just walking around my house: it's great to live in a COMMUNITY.
Speaking of community, the womens' retreat was PHENOMENAL. I really wish I was still there. Oh well, back to work. . . .

spring break reflections

I slept for about the first four days of spring break. On Friday, I finally got off the couch, and Amy (friend of 10 years) and I went to the beach. We saw two jellyfish, I got stuck in quicksand, we created a large sand drawing and almost got knocked off the shore twice by killer tides. We even got a slight sunburn because it was overcast. (okay, I'm a little dramatic)
Many of you who came to my party may wonder where the inspiration for the game came from. I had a pre-party dinner for the out-of-towners, and we thought, "Let's come up with an awesome icebreaker." It was great seeing all my friends get to know each other, deciphering whether they were "google" (poor Kevin), "clock," "mirror," "me," or any famous person.
And, it was Zoe's birthday! She turned 23!


Kevin won the point-spread bet. We were all depressed the Tar Heels lost, but we had champagne anyway. Thanks to all who came!

spring break!

see you all April 5th! call me if you need anything party related! (no internet for a week) I'll be hangin' in downtown for the most part. Lots of cool concerts (free one in the park this Sunday at 3!!), an art walk, and a film festival for which I might volunteer.

The best lesson plan on a day before spring break is to have kids present projects which involve food to celebrate To Kill a Mockingbird. Haha, one group made a video where they tried to get Boo Radley to come out of his house. One of the methods was a note on a fishing pole. This note, which the camera got twice, said, "Ms. Strachan is the most AWESOME teacher ever. Give us 100%!" And discreetly on the side, "Come out Boo!" So hilarious! We had a kid play a song, some skits on Southern etiquette, and biscuits. YUM. These are the days I love being a teacher.

Except, we had a bomb threat today at school. GeEeEeeez. Wasn't comforted to find index cards that said "Bomb 11:30" all over the teacher parking lot when we walked into school today.