It's funny how loans can be sooo great and yet soo horribly terrifying. Today I'm sitting with papers upon papers of loans and payments and past due notices and thinking to myself, "so this is what happens when Bethel makes you pay them...." How do people live? It's a crazy idea to know that people live like this everyday. That they can feed their kids and pay their mortgage on top of all the debt we have accumlated in our lives. Sure, mine may be from school, but people have $70,000 worth of credit card debt or whatever else. Lucky for me I'm able to go back to school to put them on hold for a while so I can breath again. How do people do it if they do not have this option? Who knows.
The great part of all this, besides everything coming to screeching halt on payments, is that instead of actually owing Bethel $7500 for school this semester, they actually owe ME $127. How did this happen? Good question. God's grace? God's will? Who knows. I'm baffled beyond belief. I must have been looking at all my forms wrong because the second they added my Stafford loans to my Bethel account, I was set. It's been a great relief to know that besides my Stafford loans, I'm set for the semester.
While I still have stresses in my life, I feel like it'll be that much easier with this new development. Everything may be in my reach! Of course I need to remember to make it God-centered. It's so easy for me to say, oh I can do this, oh I can handle this, I have to figure out how to do this, I have to take control of my life. Notice all the I's??? Oye vey! And who knows, maybe God has different plans for me that I am not aware of yet. So I need to stay positive, look to Him for help, and be thankful for the graciousness He has shown me.
Other than that, I'm fine and dandy! It's good to be home after my stint in South Dakota. The roomies and I have also discussed the possibility of getting a puppy! It'd be a really fund dynamic for all of us. And if we treat it like a house dog, then we can all partake in payments and the responsibility. I think it's a great idea. Plus with 6 of us in the house, someone is usually always home. That's good for a pet. :) So we'll see how that pans out in the next few days. Oh yah, and most importantly, ALYSSA'S HOME!!!!!!!!! I'm super excited. A month is too too too long. I get to see her on Sunday and I couldn't be more thrilled! woo!
Amy
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Adventures of South Dakota
Whew! What a crazy few couple of days. Lets just begin with, I'm okay and all is well! Now....
So here I was, in my warm cozy bed, checking Facebook, when my dear friend Seward messages me and asks for my help. She had gone with her dad to Spearfish South Dakota and he had left early. Long story short, she was stranded with no one to pick her up. It was decided that Adam and I would drive to Mitchell SD to meet her bus and bring her safely back home. Of course things never go as planned. She had called me in the morning to confirm that the trip was on so I slowly got ready. Then.... problem #1 occurred: traffic.
No problem right? I was leaving earlier than I had intended so even though it was snowy and a car that caused delays, I was okay. I met Adam at a grocery store and he hopped into the vehicle. Problem #2: Forgot directions.
Ah! Luckily Adam has an iPhone and we were able to get directions. Problem #3: I was told the trip would take four hours... not over five. Shoot!
Plans weren't going well but we knew there was nothing we could do. So we just started to drive and talk and listen to music. As we were driving, we noticed that even though the cars were thinning out, it was still slow moving. Problem #4: BLIZZARD.
What? Who knew??? Well... besides the rest of the Midwest apparently. I don't watch weather. I figure, if I can't change it, why watch it? This caused a little bit of stress, but hey, we've had blizzards before right? It shouldn't be bad. So we continued on our journey to South Dakota. I'm not sure at what point we realized there was a problem... maybe near Albert Lea? At any rate, Problem #5: White-out conditions.
Great. White out. That literally means you cannot see anything but white. Oye with the poodles already! Okay. So now we are two people, crazily driving through a white-out blizzard into unknown territory (I've never really driven through South Dakota) and Jen's on some random bus without money, a car, or a cell phone. Awesome Possum. It's okay though.... we can make do. We drove slowly, ever so slowly, making sure we didn't get caught in a snow drift or crash into a car that miraculously appeared through the snow. It was already in the ditch (so were 12 other cars) but we made our way through. With some luck, we were able to talk to jen via internet from Adam's phone and her laptop. She had arrived in Mitchell SD and we were still quite a ways out. We hadn't even reached the border yet! We told her it'd be a few hours but we'd be there soon. Then, the unthinkable... Problem #6: Road closing.
I'm too young to die!!!! That's a little dramatic. All that happened was they put these arm things down over the roads and cops forced us to exit in Luverne Minnesota. Okay. Cool. No problem. What do we tell Seward? Shoot. Told her. Now we're all nervous. Adam and I try to get a hotel but Problem #7: there are no vacancies.
We don't know what to do. She has no money. We kept in touch with her fiance and he ended up getting her a hotel room via cell phone. Then he ordered pizza. What a hero! As for us, we did the best we could and ended up deciding that we should take some back roads to this town called Brandon that was right across the border. So we slowly move on the winding county road when Problem #8: the road disappears completely from the white-out conditions.
Well... I wasn't expecting to come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. That's fine. It's gotta let up eventually right?? right!!?? Phew. Okay, we eventually make it to said town and Adam had called in advance to a hotel so we made sure we had a room. It's a nice room with two beds, a tv, and fresh cookies in the lobby! We settle in, realize that Seward and I will be apart for yet another day, and decided to eat at the restaurant right next door. The food is amazing, we are happy and healthy and in a warm room with tv.
That was the last of our adventure problems. The next day we ate breakfast, left, drove an hour west, picked up our long lost puppy aka Seward, and spent the rest of the day driving home. I am sooo happy to be home. I'm showered and in my bed with candles lit and everything is as it was. It is quite an adventure though. Nothing what I was expecting. What was supposed to be an 8 hour trip turned into a chaotic 24 saga. Such is life. Love it! Alright kids, i'm out!
Amy
So here I was, in my warm cozy bed, checking Facebook, when my dear friend Seward messages me and asks for my help. She had gone with her dad to Spearfish South Dakota and he had left early. Long story short, she was stranded with no one to pick her up. It was decided that Adam and I would drive to Mitchell SD to meet her bus and bring her safely back home. Of course things never go as planned. She had called me in the morning to confirm that the trip was on so I slowly got ready. Then.... problem #1 occurred: traffic.
No problem right? I was leaving earlier than I had intended so even though it was snowy and a car that caused delays, I was okay. I met Adam at a grocery store and he hopped into the vehicle. Problem #2: Forgot directions.
Ah! Luckily Adam has an iPhone and we were able to get directions. Problem #3: I was told the trip would take four hours... not over five. Shoot!
Plans weren't going well but we knew there was nothing we could do. So we just started to drive and talk and listen to music. As we were driving, we noticed that even though the cars were thinning out, it was still slow moving. Problem #4: BLIZZARD.
What? Who knew??? Well... besides the rest of the Midwest apparently. I don't watch weather. I figure, if I can't change it, why watch it? This caused a little bit of stress, but hey, we've had blizzards before right? It shouldn't be bad. So we continued on our journey to South Dakota. I'm not sure at what point we realized there was a problem... maybe near Albert Lea? At any rate, Problem #5: White-out conditions.
Great. White out. That literally means you cannot see anything but white. Oye with the poodles already! Okay. So now we are two people, crazily driving through a white-out blizzard into unknown territory (I've never really driven through South Dakota) and Jen's on some random bus without money, a car, or a cell phone. Awesome Possum. It's okay though.... we can make do. We drove slowly, ever so slowly, making sure we didn't get caught in a snow drift or crash into a car that miraculously appeared through the snow. It was already in the ditch (so were 12 other cars) but we made our way through. With some luck, we were able to talk to jen via internet from Adam's phone and her laptop. She had arrived in Mitchell SD and we were still quite a ways out. We hadn't even reached the border yet! We told her it'd be a few hours but we'd be there soon. Then, the unthinkable... Problem #6: Road closing.
I'm too young to die!!!! That's a little dramatic. All that happened was they put these arm things down over the roads and cops forced us to exit in Luverne Minnesota. Okay. Cool. No problem. What do we tell Seward? Shoot. Told her. Now we're all nervous. Adam and I try to get a hotel but Problem #7: there are no vacancies.
We don't know what to do. She has no money. We kept in touch with her fiance and he ended up getting her a hotel room via cell phone. Then he ordered pizza. What a hero! As for us, we did the best we could and ended up deciding that we should take some back roads to this town called Brandon that was right across the border. So we slowly move on the winding county road when Problem #8: the road disappears completely from the white-out conditions.
Well... I wasn't expecting to come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. That's fine. It's gotta let up eventually right?? right!!?? Phew. Okay, we eventually make it to said town and Adam had called in advance to a hotel so we made sure we had a room. It's a nice room with two beds, a tv, and fresh cookies in the lobby! We settle in, realize that Seward and I will be apart for yet another day, and decided to eat at the restaurant right next door. The food is amazing, we are happy and healthy and in a warm room with tv.
That was the last of our adventure problems. The next day we ate breakfast, left, drove an hour west, picked up our long lost puppy aka Seward, and spent the rest of the day driving home. I am sooo happy to be home. I'm showered and in my bed with candles lit and everything is as it was. It is quite an adventure though. Nothing what I was expecting. What was supposed to be an 8 hour trip turned into a chaotic 24 saga. Such is life. Love it! Alright kids, i'm out!
Amy
Saturday, January 23, 2010
New Design
I needed a design. Something new and exciting because it is a new and exciting year! :) So enjoy my fellow followers. It may be cold and dreary and gross, but at least I have some fun snowflakes to make it all better! Huzzah!
Happy Weekend!
<3 Me
Happy Weekend!
<3 Me
Friday, January 08, 2010
2010, 2010, welcome 2010
Alright. So new year, new start right? That's what I always believe. Time to break those habits and commit to something worth while. Will we fail? You bet. But change was never about the time or place, it is about who is changing you. And that of course is God.
I love New Years. Don't get me wrong. Even though it's a completely pointless holiday filled with pointless resolutions, I love it. I love that you get to have (finally) one holiday that is meant to be spent with friends. I love that we stay up late with one another to watch a silly ball come down a pole. I love that we drink champagne or fake sparkly stuff to ring in the new year, and I love that at the end of the night, no matter if it was good or bad, you've walked into a year that is new and bright and shiny. Anything can happen. Is this the year I finish my book? Is this the year I resolve most of my debt? Is this when I finally finish college and get that "real job" that is lurking out in the midst? It's nice to know the book is wide open.
What's also nice is that I can close the chapter that I like to call "Hello 09 style". Okay. not really. I just made that up... right now. But look what 09 had to offer: Too expensive rent, a roomie that was absent all summer, fighting at a wedding, drunk at a wedding, drunk after quitting wells fargo, wells fargo in general, no school, boys that I shouldn't have been involved with, and so forth. Of course I did get to go to Hawaii and meet some amazing people, move in with those same people, see some friends that had been gone way too long, succeed at the job that I currently love, finish my first rough draft of my novel, and who knows what else. The best part is, a year from now, i'll have a list most likely the same length for both pros and cons of the year.
At any rate, I'm excited. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me. With a year that could end my school career and start me on a new path, it's exciting. Who will I meet? Who will leave? Where will I live? What will happen? It's all new and fresh and exciting. Maybe this will be the year that I really learn what it means to put God first. Not just have Him around when I need Him, or around when it's convenient, but maybe put Him where he was always meant to be. If I could learn what it means to be married to Christ and how to know my place in the church, then maybe i'll know what it it's like to really follow. Not saying I'm not a Christian or anything like that, but sometimes I feel like I'm walking blind. I know what's out there, and yet I don't trust it. Heaven forbid I let God control my life instead of me. God can't pay the bills, God can't fix my car, God doesn't know how to get the boy of my dreams on my front door step... or does He? Hopefully I can trust this year.
With a year of possibilities and endless decisions, one will never know where they will end up. Heck, we have several friends getting married and a few having babies. What a year! I know I'm up for the challenge to see where we end in this beautiful year of 2010. Are You?
God Bless.
Amy
I love New Years. Don't get me wrong. Even though it's a completely pointless holiday filled with pointless resolutions, I love it. I love that you get to have (finally) one holiday that is meant to be spent with friends. I love that we stay up late with one another to watch a silly ball come down a pole. I love that we drink champagne or fake sparkly stuff to ring in the new year, and I love that at the end of the night, no matter if it was good or bad, you've walked into a year that is new and bright and shiny. Anything can happen. Is this the year I finish my book? Is this the year I resolve most of my debt? Is this when I finally finish college and get that "real job" that is lurking out in the midst? It's nice to know the book is wide open.
What's also nice is that I can close the chapter that I like to call "Hello 09 style". Okay. not really. I just made that up... right now. But look what 09 had to offer: Too expensive rent, a roomie that was absent all summer, fighting at a wedding, drunk at a wedding, drunk after quitting wells fargo, wells fargo in general, no school, boys that I shouldn't have been involved with, and so forth. Of course I did get to go to Hawaii and meet some amazing people, move in with those same people, see some friends that had been gone way too long, succeed at the job that I currently love, finish my first rough draft of my novel, and who knows what else. The best part is, a year from now, i'll have a list most likely the same length for both pros and cons of the year.
At any rate, I'm excited. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me. With a year that could end my school career and start me on a new path, it's exciting. Who will I meet? Who will leave? Where will I live? What will happen? It's all new and fresh and exciting. Maybe this will be the year that I really learn what it means to put God first. Not just have Him around when I need Him, or around when it's convenient, but maybe put Him where he was always meant to be. If I could learn what it means to be married to Christ and how to know my place in the church, then maybe i'll know what it it's like to really follow. Not saying I'm not a Christian or anything like that, but sometimes I feel like I'm walking blind. I know what's out there, and yet I don't trust it. Heaven forbid I let God control my life instead of me. God can't pay the bills, God can't fix my car, God doesn't know how to get the boy of my dreams on my front door step... or does He? Hopefully I can trust this year.
With a year of possibilities and endless decisions, one will never know where they will end up. Heck, we have several friends getting married and a few having babies. What a year! I know I'm up for the challenge to see where we end in this beautiful year of 2010. Are You?
God Bless.
Amy
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