Well, I thought it was funny...

There is nothing more awkward than laughing really loudly at something the pastor said in his sermon...and then realizing that no one else found it funny.

I did that three times today.

Week Two

I feel like I've been here forever. Am I really just on Week Two?

Tomorrow is a relatively not-busy day. Goals: Get up. Read City of God. Finish Confessions. Sing in English. Sing in Latin. Speak in Latin. Speak in English. Remember to wash clothes before I run out of...never mind. Think about stuff. Study. Eat three meals. Call my favorite sister. Bond with roommates. Clean room. Swing dance?

The question mark will remain a question mark until I see how much of the preceding items I accomplish.

Yawn. Bedtime.

So.

My dad told me, "I haven't seen a blog post from you in awhile...but no pressure."

Haha, thanks for the gentle reminder, Dad. :)

Sundays are the best days to blog, because they are the only days I don't actually feel guilty for doing something besides school. ;) The reading assignments out here are very...large. I am tempted to complain, but I've learned that a lot of complaining is actually boasting in disguise. "Oh my goodness, I have to read all this stuff. Look at me, being so smart and studious..."

If I had a magical sin-zapper that I could use on myself, I think I would zap away pride. Could someone invent that, please? It would make sanctification so much easier.

(And sadly, I'm oftentimes not being smart or studious. Sure, I'm reading...but am I comprehending? Therein lies the rub.)

I need to get up early to finish some reading tomorrow, so I'd best go to bed. Just wanted to let you know that I'm alive. :)

I hate thinking of titles.

Classes have started. I feel overwhelmed, but in a good way. I'm not panicking yet. For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. :)

I think as this academic term goes on, the quality of writing on my blog will deteriorate. It already has, I'm sure. I don't even proof-read this thing. ;) I need to conserve my mental energy for that which really matters...and this blog is not one of those things. ;)

The school work here is tough. It's incredibly difficult, but so rewarding. And I actually care about my assignments for once, so that makes it easier to have a good attitude.

I have had to read faster than I ever have before. The teachers give us massive reading assignments, and expect them completed next class period. I spend a lot of time on my bed in the basement with my pink fuzzy blanket wrapped around me. My basic day is to get up sometime between 6:00 and 7:00. Study. Dress. Breakfast. Study. Class. Lunch. Study. Maybe more classes. Study. Bed at 11:00.

With lots of random roommate conversation in between to keep us all sane.

So yes, a lot of studying. But don't feel sorry for me. I love it. :)

Picking up where I left off...

Church on Sunday was great. My boarder family sits in the second row, so I felt right at home. (I'm like a little kid--if I sit in the back, I spend the whole sermon looking at people.) The sermon was on Romans 8, which is one of my favorite Bible passages. It was a really encouraging message.

We had a psalm sing that night in a local park. There was a great turnout, and it was a lot of fun, even though my voice needs major work. Our music professor led the psalm sing. He is very passionate about music. It's almost intimidating. He said that if you're the type to cry during a hard final, you will cry in his final. I guess I'll pack the Kleenex when the time comes!

Immediately after that, we had a freshman/sophomore party called Freshmeet. Or FreshMeat, depending on the person you asked. Haha. We played "I Have Never" and I met a TON of people. Occasionally, I met them twice, because I'd forgotten that I met them the first time. So embarrassing, but everyone understood. The guys played this ridiculous game called Buck Buck. It's a bizarre combination of leap frog and dogpile...I was very glad that I was exempt from participation. ;) At the end, all the sophomores gave us advice and a bunch of the guys prayed over us. The advice I took to heart the most was "Call home often!" which I know I will forget to do. It's hard enough to find time to talk during the day, but then there's a three hour time difference to deal with. The other advice that was the most important was to not neglect your quiet time. We got that speech from both faculty and students. Definitely good advice, because when you're in an environment where you're studying your Bible all the time academically with your professors and classmates, it can be so tempting to just skip having personal devotions.

Today, we had orientation all day long. All-freshman orientation, freshmen women orientation, and all-student orientation. I feel pretty oriented! ;) Mrs. Wilson's talk to the freshmen women was the best. She is so gracious in her speech...you feel loved, even though you're being rebuked and convicted by her words of wisdom. We got a bunch of great advice from the school faculty members, too. I think a lot of people have preconceived notions about the school, so it might come as a surprise to you that very little of the advice had to do with academics. Sure, we were told to stay on top of our school assignments and to attend class, but we were told over and over that being an academic nerd isn't the point. Man's chief end is not to be a geek. We are called to live as mature Christians and to be involved in other people's lives--not to stay holed up in a room reading and studying so that we can get the best grades. The president himself told us that he'd rather us get low grades because we were involved in our community or helping others than for us to get good grades by being an unsociable nerd. All my life, I've tended toward the unsociable nerd side...school came first, always. But I'm learning that academics is not the end all and be all. Funny that I had to go to school to learn that, isn't it? ;) As the school president said, we are called to hide God's word in our hearts, not just our heads.

In short, I love it here. Yes, I miss a lot of people in FL...and in GA...but I have never once regretted coming here. I feel so at home at this school. It's not perfect, and I'm not trying to idealize it. And yes, I'm probably still high on excitement and anticipation. But I just got our first week's homework assignments, and I still love the school! So there. ;)

Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I can't wait!

I'll try to post pictures later...

Catching up...

I'm trying to get caught up on this blog, because I know that when school starts, I will have WAY less time.

I started moving into my new home on Thursday, but tonight will be the first time I actually spend the night here. God has been so good to me--I LOVE my housing situation. The family I'm with is too amazing for words. I feel so at home here--it's just spectacularly wonderful. I've had so much fun unpacking my stuff and rearranging my room. I actually have more bathroom space here than I did at home! :)

I've spent most of my time running errands (yay Wal*Mart!). I also had to set up a bank account, and learn how to do grown-up things like deposit checks. ;) It's rather embarrassing, but every time I say the name of my bank, I feel the urge to break out into song just like in a certain musical. Coolness points if you know which one. ;)

I picked up my books from the school the other day. I'll take a picture of them later. I also had to sing for the music teacher. Choir is required, but you still have to "try out." It was painful. I'm glad it was private. "Joy to the World" has never had such a rough start...

I had lunch a few days ago with two sophomores and one freshman. They were super sweet, and the sophomores gave us some great tips and encouragement. The people at this school are so friendly. I love it.

We had a freshman BBQ today at our Rhetoric teacher's house. I enjoyed meeting the other freshman girls, but I didn't meet any of the freshman guys. We just naturally segregated ourselves, and no one was brave enough to cross the gender line. I really wanted to shake things up and go introduce myself, but I conformed. Shame on me! Next time, I will be brave.

Tomorrow is church! :)

The Trip...

All summer, I have been telling Tomas that we'd go to a local coffee shop once before I left, so we went 10 minutes before closing time the night before I left. Nothing like cutting it close. Jason and Laura came with us, so we enjoyed some final cousin time in the parking lot...

My grandparents called one last time to say "goodbye" to me...I miss you, Grandma and Grandpa! You watch Jeopardy! for me while I'm gone, ok?

We decided to go to the best grocery store in the world (bye Publix...shopping has been a pleasure!) because I had forgotten two of the most important travel needs: gum and lemon drops.

Am I the only one who thinks this gum looks like men's deodorant? Ew.

After that, I went home and packed some more. I was definitely in freak-out mode, trying to fit everything inside of my luggage. I must have weighed and measured my luggage dozens of times. I was so worried that I'd go over the weight limit.

Around midnight, Tomas and I headed back to Jason and Laura's to watch the meteor shower. My heart was already beating fast because I was stressed...and the latte at the coffeeshop didn't help. Then, as I was walking up to their door, Jason and Laura leaped out from behind their car and screamed "BOO!" as I was walking up to their door. I'm so glad my heart held up. ;)

So, yes. I was definitely on edge. I kept asking myself, "Tara, why are you going to watch shooting stars when there are a bazillion things you could be doing at home?"

And then, I lay on the ground.

Wow. I need to watch stars more often. It was so peaceful. I can't even describe what I felt. After hours of fretting and stressing out, I felt calm and reassured. You know how you're supposed to think of a quiet place to help yourself calm down? That is my new quiet place.

I was the last one to see a shooting star. It was rather funny...you get all settled out there, and when you don't see a star right away, you begin to get impatient and say things like...

"Alright, God. This was supposed to start at midnight. Let's get this show on the road..."

But it's not like that. You have to wait and be patient. You have to be still. I missed a ton of stars because I took my eyes off the sky. There are a lot of life lessons in stargazing. I highly recommend it. ;)

When I finally did see a shooting star, I got SO excited. It made my whole night. We saw about a dozen in the two hours we were out. All of my wishes had to do with packing and getting through security at the airport. :)

Ok, funny story. It had been awhile since we saw a shooting star when, suddenly, I saw a beam of light shooting exactly parallel to the ground. I sat up and shrieked, "WOW, LOOK AT THAT ONE!"

It was the lights of a car reflecting off the telephone wires. FAIL.

Around 2AM, Tomas and I drove home. By the time I finished packing, it was suddenly time to get ready. I changed clothes, and tried to get it into my head that just because I hadn't slept didn't mean that a day hadn't passed. Boy, does skipping sleep mess with your mind.

We made it to the airport on time. My poor dad was still very sick. One of the worst parts was getting our bags to the check-in counter. Imagine a man with the flu and a petite girl with no muscles trying to lug seven pieces of heavy luggage around. (And you better believe I got my money's worth--I went right up to the weight limit, but not an ounce over!) My back ached after just a few steps.

My dad had gone ahead at one point, and I was struggling juggling my backpack and suitcases. Some man appeared out of nowhere and helped my hoist my backpack up. Let me describe him. He looked a bit like this guy, and he was wearing sunglasses (indoors), a ski cap, a graphic zip-up hoody, and the craziest pair of patchwork corduroy pants you can imagine. Oh, and he had sparkly pink fingernails. It was surreal, people. I'm still not sure that he wasn't a hallucination from lack of sleep. My dad wasn't there to see him, and the next time I saw Mr. Sparkly Nails, my dad was in the bathroom. My dad came out, Mr. Nails disappeared. Spoooky.

We boarded our plane on time. Is it just me, or do those seats get smaller and closer together every time? I was in a middle seat. I hate middle seats. I couldn't lean on my dad, and though the lady to the other side of me looked super cuddly, I didn't know her, and personal boundaries exist even on planes. So after staying awake for twenty-four hours, I was stuck in an upright position for another four. Good times.

I was tired, so I didn't talk to the lady next to me, even though she gave me plenty of openings. I could tell she was watching me laugh and cry my way through my aunt's letter. (I love it when people give me stuff to read en route. It makes me happy. Thanks again, Auntie K.) It was abnormal for me not to talk to the lady...I always feel like a flight is not a flight unless you're BFFs with the person you were sitting next to by the time you arrive. I was just too tired to care at this point. I'm sure I made a terrible impression, slumped in my seat and actually doing the whole, "Are we there yet?" routine with my dad. I figured I'd never see her again...

Pictures from the air...

I love the pretty colors!

If I didn't know that this was an aerial view of Utah, I'd be convinced that my camera somehow took a close-up picture of Mr. Sparkly Nail's corduroy pants.

Back to the flight. Finally, the movie started. I had looked it up online beforehand: Star Trek. I was so confused when they started The Soloist, but I got all excited, because I wanted to see that one more anyway. About five minutes into the movie, they turned it off and started Star Trek. Whatever.

I actually liked Star Trek. It was fun. But can I just say that having the end narration say, "To boldly go where no one has gone before" just ruined it all for me? People should just put on their big kid underwear and deal with the fact that famous quotes are famous quotes, and they should not be tampered with just to make them gender-neutral. What's next: "One small step for a man; one giant leap for humankind?" Or are we even allowed to use "man" to refer to Neil Armstrong nowadays?

But getting back to the actual movie...it was funny, because we always seemed to go through rough air at the most intense parts of the movie. I had to keep reminding myself that I was flying on Delta, not The Enterprise.

The movie kept being interrupted by announcements from the pilot. At one point, he said, "Has anyone lost a dog? There is a small dog roaming around the cabin that looks a little bit like Toto." I'm just hoping the owner didn't let it out for a potty break...

As our plane landed, I found out that the lady I'd been ignoring for the past four hours was heading on the same connecting flight I was. She lives about 40 minutes from the college. What are the odds? After that, I wished I'd talked to her! She gave me her card anyway and told me to call her if I needed anything. She tells Tupperware, so I know who to call if I need kitchen containers.

We arrived in Lewiston...the best airport in the whole world. It has two gates, one baggage claim area, and a snack bar. The end. Finding my luggage was a piece of cake.

I had been without sleep for 31 hours. This is what I looked like:

Scary stuff.

Here are some pictures of the ride from the airport...

We ate at Applebee's, and then drove to our hotel. I was exhausted. Our room wasn't ready, so we parked in front of the hotel and slept. I fell asleep in ten minutes or so. I woke up when my dad told me our room was ready. I don't know why, but I started insisting that I shouldn't go to sleep. My dad thought I was serious, and started telling me that I needed to sleep. I have no idea what I was saying. I was half-asleep.

We crashed. It was 2:30PM. We didn't wake up until 7:00AM the next morning.

We ran errands the next day, making the obligatory Wal*Mart run. After that, we went to Staples and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Can I just say that I LOVE Bed, Bath, and Beyond's Pack 'n Go program? A few days before I left home, Laura and I went to the local Bed, Bath, and Beyond and scanned a bunch of stuff.

I felt like I was getting married, registering for stuff like that. :)

"Oh, it's a magnifying mirror? I thought it was a relief map of the moon! These things should be sold with a pre-printed suicide note!" ~Rhoda Morganstern.

Yesterday, I went to the Bed, Bath, and Beyond here in Idaho. I told them my name and all the stuff I scanned in FL was brought up to the front counter. I paid for it, and they helped me out to my car. I am now in love with their store. Everyone, go shop there.

After that, we went to my new home! More on that later... :)

I'm here!

I'm writing this from my iPod Touch using the free version of some blogging app. Because it is the free version, I can't upload pictures, which is a shame because I have some to post. I'll have to wait until I get back to my laptop. Oh. Come to think of it, that's where all the pictures are in the first place, so the fact that this app won't let me upload them is a moot point. Duh, Tara.

I'm at my new home right now. I just finished unpacking a few suitcases and making my bed. It still hasn't hit me that I am LIVING here for the next nine months.

My dad is still very sick, so he is back at the hotel. I'll have to give a proper update once I get back there and can type on my laptop instead of this virtual keypad. I have a lot of stories about our trip out here. What a trip! Love you all...

Eek.

What is wrong with me?! I was just spreading mayonnaise on two pieces of bread for a sandwich, and I actually considered going heavy on the mayo and just calling it a day. A mayonnaise sandwich. Happy Tara would think that's vile. Stressed Tara wants five of them, cut on the diagonal please.

Apparently, I crave high-fat foods when I'm stressed. Yesterday, I was filled with the insane urge to squirt the rest of the Reddi-Whip into my mouth. I tried, got it all over my face, and was reprimanded harshly by my little brother for being gross. Um, yeah. When your little brother tells you that you're the gross one, you should probably stop.

If I don't calm down, I won't fit into any of the clothes I packed.

I always freak out right before I go on a trip. The night before I went on my first mission trip, I was literally curled up in a ball sobbing. My coping skills gave gotten a bit better, but I am still incredibly pathetic the night before I go somewhere. I'll probably be fine on the plane. It's just the getting there.

Oh, wow. Praise the Lord. In the middle of writing this post, "Aunt" Cheryl stopped by and brought me my favorite sort of present--the kind you can eat! And guess what?

It's high in fat. YAY! I love you, Aunt Cheryl!! :)

Chocolate-covered potato chips help. A lot.

But my dad still has the flu, and my room is still messy, my bags are bursting at the seams, and there is still a drawer I haven't even looked at. Oh, and library books. Phooey, the library has already closed. I think I had fines there, too. And I was supposed to tell my librarian BFFs goodbye. Bother.

I think I'm going to go stuff my face with more chocolate-covered potato chips.

Pray for my dad, please. This illness must have hit him all of the sudden, because just last night we were joking around and having fun. I was trying to convince him that I absolutely positively NEEDED to pack my pair of two-toned green and brown 4-inch heels, and the argument "But they're sooooo cute!" wasn't working. I even made my lower lip quiver. That bought me my red patent leather flats, but the green shoes are going to just hang out in my closet for a few months. ;) (My dad also tried to test my theory that leaving some things behind was more painful than having my toenails pulled out by a pair of rusty pliers. My quick reflexes saved my big toe.)

Anyway. I just found out about the meteor shower tonight, and with the prime time being between midnight and 4AM, I'm seriously considering not going to bed tonight. I can sleep on the plane, right? :)

Swagbucks...

Alright, class. Today we are going to talk about search engines. Raise your hand if you use Google. Ok, ok, that's most of you. You in the back, wake up!

How many of you would be willing to switch search engines if it meant you got rewards in return? Most of you?

How many of you think I should stop pretending to be a teacher and just get on with the blog post? All of you? Well, ok . . . enough with the classroom thing, then.

Seriously, people. If you haven't heard of Swagbucks, prepare to be excited. Here's how it works.

You search for things on the internet, and in return you get free stuff. The end.

Okay, if you're like me...you're probably about to rush off and Google this thing and make sure it's not a scam. Go ahead and do that.

You back already? Can't find anything about it being a scam? That's because it's not.

Oh, and one more thing. That Google search you just did? If you had searched with Swagbucks, you could have earned something for that. Oh well. ;)

Swagbucks NEVER asks you for your credit card information or anything like that. The only information you have to give them is your e-mail address and a mailing address so that they can ship all your prizes to you.

I know, I know--it can't be that simple, right? Wrong.

I just redeemed a $5 Amazon e-gift card that I earned sitting on my rear doing my normal internet-searching activities. I spent it all on music:

"Laughing With" by Regina Spektor (iTunes price: $1.29)

"Eet" by Regina Spektor (iTunes price: $1.29)

"Folding Chair" by Regina Spektor (iTunes price: $1.29)

"Going to the Ceili" by Celtic Woman (iTunes price: $1.29)

"Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (iTunes price: $1.29)

Yes, I am on a Regina Spektor kick. Anyway.

How much would all of that have cost me on iTunes?

$6.45.

How much did it cost me using the Amazon gift card I earned for free using the Swagbucks search engine?

Nothing.

I'm really making two points with this example. First, use Swagbucks. That's the most important thing. Secondly, try buying your music from Amazon instead of iTunes. All those $1.29 songs on iTunes were only $0.99 on Amazon, which is why I was able to get all five of them with a $5 gift card. But if you feel loyal to iTunes, just use your Swagbucks to "buy" an iTunes gift card. Amazon gift cards are FAR from the only prize you can get in the Swag Store. They have all sorts of prizes, but the gift cards are my favorite.

It's impossible to give you the exchange rate of dollars to Swagbucks. It varies from prize to prize. The $5 Amazon e-gift card was 45 SB. A $10 Barnes and Noble gift card is 125 SB. A $15 iTunes gift card is 185 SB.

And how do you GET these Swagbucks again? Like I said, by doing something that you probably already do EVERY day: searching the internet. All you have to do is search with Swagbucks' search engine. You will earn the bucks at random, so don't get disappointed when they don't pop up every time. I tell you--it will make it THAT much more special when you see a gleaming image of a Swagbuck shimmering at the top of your search results. I generally jump up, squeal and clap like a little kid. Yay for cheap thrills! :)

There are other ways to earn Swagbucks. You should explore the Swagbucks website. You can follow them on Twitter and find special "Swagcodes" which automatically give you more Swagbucks.

I don't really get into the Swagcodes, so I earn my Swagbucks at a slower rate than hard-core Swaggers. I still try to get a few each day, though.

Swagbuck's results come from Google and Ask.com, so it's not too shabby of a search engine. I'll be honest though. I still find myself coming back to Google. I'm not trying to convince you that Swagbucks is better than Google. It's not, as far as searching goes. But Google doesn't give me free things, so... :)

Go sign up at Swagbucks! You have nothing to lose . . . except awesome prizes. ;)

Oh, one more thing...

Another way you can earn Swagbucks is by referring others. If you click that box on the right side of the screen that says Swagbucks, it will take you to my referral page. If you sign up through that page and start to use Swagbucks.com yourself, I earn extra Swagbucks.

If you're anything like me, you might be thinking, "So, THAT'S why she's been raving about this thing--because she GETS something out of it. I bet Swagbucks isn't really all that great."

This isn't like one of those awkward Tupperware parties where you feel obligated to buy burpy kitchen containers just because the host is your best friend's cousin's hairdresser. Sign up through my referral link or not...I don't care. Just sign up.

Oh, and you won't have to convince others to join either. This blog post is my only attempt at referring others. Prior to this, I have earned my bucks totally on my own. I promised myself that I wouldn't try to convince anyone of the magic of Swagbucks until I actually had received a prize...and thanks to Swagbucks, my iPod just got five songs fuller.

Let me know if you have any questions. :)

Yes, another post about decluttering...

Part of the pre-packing process included getting my "Special Box" down from the attic. Each of my siblings has one. Leah went through hers when she got married, but it has been years since I opened mine.

It was a hilarious experience. On the very bottom was a book I wrote for my brother when I was in first grade called "Tara's Book of Buttons and of Belly Buttons." Now there's a catchy title! I kept that, of course, but I chucked--among other things--all the silly VBS crafts that were falling apart and a few pillows I sewed as a kid.

Most of the items were clothes. I kept all the ones that my mom had kept for me--her trench coat from the '70's...the homemade stuff my grandma made. I loved wearing those outfits as a kid, and it'll make a nice addition to my future daughters' dress-up box if nothing else.

But then there were the things like...

These shorts.

They are just a pair of cotton shorts, and an ugly pair at that. But--for some reason--I wanted to keep them. When I took them out the other day, I stretched the waist and heard the sound of crumbling. Elastic is not forever. Bye-bye, ugly cotton shorts.

I at least understood why this outfit was in there. It was my absolute favorite when I was around the age of six--I wore it all the time.

Sadly, however--I was a messy eater, and the proof is all over the shirt.

This outfit came with a red belt.

A belt, I might add, which still fits. ;) Haha.

How can you resist that flower buckle? ;) Yep, I kept the belt, but threw the outfit into the Goodwill pile.

Alright, people. Are you ready for this next picture? I just want to warn you. What you are about to see may disturb you. One of my first sewing projects...

That's an angel. A really creepy angel. I'm pretty sure that it used to have hair, but I probably pulled it off during a sermon one Sunday. (Yes, I actually took this thing to church. It held my Bible and pens, and I was so proud of the fact that I made it.) I bet everyone else was jealous of my alien bag. I mean angel bag. Yeah, that's what I meant.

I'm not going to lie. I couldn't give this away. It makes me laugh, and for that reason alone, it's sticking around.

I'm half-tempted to start carrying it again. ;)