Picasa and Other Things Going On

Leslie told me about this awesome thing on Google called Picasa. If you haven't heard of it, I strongly suggest that you check it out. You can do all kinds of really cool stuff with your pictures and it's completely free! So, shout out to Picasa.

In other news, this semester is flying by. I mean flying!! I have four classes left and then I'm off to Birmingham. I can't even comprehend this. I get sad thinking of leaving Auburn but I get excited thinking about my new life in Birmingham.

Over all, I'm just loving life right now and enjoying all that is going on. I have been busy with different things but I am seeing ways that God is using me and I love that! God is teaching me patience, no doubt. I can see it all the time in random situations when I get so frustrated and then I pause to realize what I'm supposed to be learning. Be patient. I used to think that I was a patient person but I've realized that I need some serious work in that area. I've always been told not to pray for patience so I don't, but I guess God sees a need and He goes for it giving me all the discipline I can handle.

I went into Hastings today with some friends to just to kill time before my class today. I love the way that a bookstore can inspire me so much! Every time I am in a bookstore I realize just how much I don't know and how much I want to learn. Today I was looking at books on history. I realized that I don't remember much about history but I think that it's really cool because it shapes who we are today. This made me want to learn more about history...later. I have also recently been inspired to take more pictures and actually use the pictures that I take. I love photography but rarely make time for it (hence the picasa shout out). The fall is an awesome time for nature pictures because the leaves are all so beautiful and I'm planning to take a trip out to the park sometime soon to see if I can get some pretty shots. I'll put some up if I get any.

And last, I have been taking a ballroom dancing class every Monday night that I LOVE! One of the elders at our church is teaching it and he is such a good teacher. So far I have learned East Coast Swing, the Fox Trot, the Waltz, the Cha Cha, the Rumba, and the Mambo. Tonight I had to miss the Tango lessons and I'm very sad about that. However, it has been so much fun and given me something else to look forward to each week. Plus, my dance partners are really good so that makes it even better!

Well, I could write tons more but I guess I'll wrap it up and get some sleep for my early class tomorrow. I don't do early very well......

Sick Katie, Sick Car

I never get sick. Or I guess I should say I rarely ever get sick. Once a year at most. Well, I caught a cold out of nowhere and I really forgot how bad they suck. They just make you feel like sitting there and doing nothing, which is fine for a day or so, but 3 days is getting a little excessive. On top of that my little CR-V gave out on me Monday night and I still don't know what's wrong with her. I never realized how much I depend on her to take me places until now. Even simple tasks like going to Wal-Mart and class are now more of a challenge. Making plans for this weekend has been an enormous task for me because of this sickness, the car breaking down, and the fact that I'm going home the next weekend for the Ole Miss game. I really am frustrated that everything is so up in the air and on top of all that I can't play soccer!!!

I sound like a whiney baby don't I? In the grand scheme of things I've absolutely got it made. I've got everything I could ever ask for, even with a broken down car. For my Bible study this week we talked about the heart. We were supposed to make a list of things that we loved in random order and so I sat down and started typing away. There are so many blessings that I have and so many things in my life to love! I could go on forever typing the things that I love.

Also, something really really good happened to me this week. In case you aren't aware, I have a mild to moderate hearing loss that prevents me from hearing things like, you know, people's voices. Well, I got a call this week from the Vocational Rehab center and they told me that because my hearing loss interferes with me being able to get my degree (in that I can't hear) then they will help me pay some of my tuition!! What a blessing! They can't help pay for any of the school I've already completed, but they will help me pay for the rest of it. I just can't believe it! God is definitely blessing me with this.

Well, I'm tired now and should probably get some sleep. I hope that whoever reads this is doing well and is happy. I suggest making a list of things that you love. You can list anything and everything from people to animals to places to activities to smells to feelings to whatever else.

A Vice of Mine

Life is sort of like a book that you read. As you go on you find out more and more about the story and the characters and you get a better understanding of what's happening. I guess that's common sense though because everyone's life is a story in itself.

I just finished reading a post by a girl I used to babysit who just recently turned sixteen. She was talking about things that she's finally realized about herself and about life. As we grow older some of us realize exactly what is important and what is trivial, what we should spend our time on and what is a waste, what will last and what is temporary.

I feel that I have done a pretty good job at realizing these life truths as I've grown up, but there are some things I fear that I will never fully grasp. People, for example, will never be easy for me to understand. I have learned that I am not a very good judge of character and a few times that has come back to kick me in the butt. In my nievity I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and always take them at their word. However, people lie. Lots and lots of people lie. Who knew?

Maybe when I grow up a little more I'll have the ability to discern who is real and who isn't. Unfortunately, I think it's something you are born with and I just don't have it.

In other news, I'm thinking of being on the next season of The Bachelor.

Men

Men possess many qualities that I admire and respect. I believe that men and women were made to balance each other out which is quite a beautiful thing. The relationship between a man and a woman was supposed to work, it was supposed to flow. It was supposed to be perfect. Unfortunately, something happened along the way and now there's a curse involved.

"To the woman he said, 'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you." ~Genesis 3:16

Basically, when Adam and Eve screwed up, this whole perfect relationship between man and woman went down the drain making everything a lot more complicated.
Fabulous!

Today I have seen two different friends competely upset by the way a man has treated them. It just made me so mad to see these wonderful girls being treated the way that they were because I know that they deserve so much better!

I was thinking about these girls' situations on my way home tonight and I got really frustrated. I have heard of so many crazy stories lately about men; selfish, lying, cheating men and it makes me sick! How is it that so many girls fall victim to these men who are such smooth talkers and who are so seemingly wonderful yet competely rotten to the core? I don't understand it!!

I can say one thing for sure. When I find that man, the one that God has out there for me, the one who is pure in heart, the one that I can respect, the one that is honest, selfless and loving, I will say, "at last!" This is not to say that I don't know any men like that already. I know lots of wonderful guys that I respect very much. I will just be so happy when I know that I have found the right one for me. I will be so happy to know that I am taken care of. I know that no man is perfect, but a man who seeks God with his whole heart is as perfect as they come. For when he fails, God is there to back him up.