"You give & take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord, Blessed be Your Name."

These past couple of days have been pretty rough. My friend, Stephanie, had a miscarriage and had to have a D & C this morning. Everything happened so fast. This was definitely not expected and is really heart breaking. I feel so much for her, Robin and Gabby, but I have never been in their situation and, honestly, hope to never be. Even after praying and thinking a lot about it, I still have no words that would make them feel better. I think I am asking the same questions they are... Why them? Why now? How can this be a part of God's plan? I know that God has a plan for everyone and I also know that good will come from this. But it doesn't always help the pain.

Just Monday Steph and I were talking about the size of the baby and 3 days later there's no more baby. I've known people and even family members who have gone through miscarriages, but I've never experienced it in this way. Needless to say, it's very sad. I pray throughout the day and at night that Robin and Steph can get pregnant again soon. But they are troopers and are handling this better than I ever could. They have so much faith in God it's incredible! I look up to them so much spiritually and as a couple. These situations can tear relationships apart, but this has definitely made theirs stronger. So, if you could, please say a prayer for my friends.

Unsafe Feeling

Have you ever felt totally unsafe driving your car. That's how I feel right now. Now I am going to vent:

I hate my car! I hate that every time things are going somewhat smoothly, something else goes wrong. I've had my car towed twice in less than a year, 3 or 4 dead batteries, my muffler is broken, the passenger door leaks water when it rains, and the tire just came off the rim, along with other instances I can't remember. Today felt like the icing on the cake. As I was driving I literally felt like I was in one of those cartoons where, if I stopped the car, all 4 sides would just fall down around me. The car was shaking so bad I could feel it in the dashboard and in the back of the car. I am terrified to know what would've happened if I had taken it on the main road going 45 mph. I'm thanking God right now that I didn't go out on the main road!

I've been praying a lot over the last several months that there will be a way we can afford to get me a dependable car. Unfortunately it hasn't happened yet. I know my parents work as hard as they can to keep me and my brother in schools we want to go to, so I feel awful when I go off on them, but I don't know who else to go off on. Right now I feel like I should cut down on my driving by walking to classes and going with friends to the grocery store when I need to. So for now I will continue to pray.

"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord."

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Yes, my parents' birthdays are only 5 days apart. Today is my mom, Leslie's, 43rd birthday. There are too many words to describe my mom. She is my best friend! As I've gotten older and moved away from home we've grown closer as mother and daughter and as friends. I can talk to her about anything. We talk on the phone almost everyday. She even sometimes gives my a wake up call if I ask her too! Who can say that about their mom?!

Her favorite hobby is photography. She loves to go on walks with my dad and the dogs and take pictures of nature. Some of my favorite times with my mom is when I am home on vacation, after dinner we sometimes go out for dessert and shopping just the 2 of us. She is always there for me, my brother, and my dad. She does things for me that I know I need help with at times, but don't ask for her help. She can somehow sense it. My biggest dream in life is to make her and my dad proud and and to be a fraction of the mother she has been to me, to my kids one day! Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you tons!!! :)

The Schmalon Talon

Dear Schmalon,

I don't like you very much. You dis the Talon and think it is okay. It's not. The writers and editors work really hard to make a good paper every week. I know that sometimes the stories are boring, but we cannot help that nothing exciting is going on on campus. Please do not make inappropriate "That's What He Said" jokes about the space chapel. They didn't even make sense which means they weren't funny. Most of us Talon writers are waiting for a decent issue of the Schmalon that will actually make us laugh. My point is, either write something half way decent and funny or stop writing. Thanks.

Yours Truly,

A Talon Writer

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Today is my dad, Steve's, 45th birthday, so I figured today would be a good day to tell everyone a little bit about him. As you can see in this picture, he loves cashews!!! He is an avid coffee drinker and, like me, he loves iced tea no matter what season it is. He has always been the jokester of the family and loves to make people laugh, even strangers. He is a big time family man. Growing up and even now, when he is home for dinner, we eat around the table as a family, no questions asked. He likes roller coasters, scary movies, history and video games. He and my brother, Sean, love to play video games for hours on end!

He and my mom, Leslie, have been married for 23 years and still love each other the same, if not more, as the day they got married. Whenever I go home for Christmas I have to go shopping with him for my mom so he can pick out the perfect gifts. Sometimes we will actually go around the mall 4 or 5 times because he can't decide! It may end up being a long day, but its still a lot of fun!

One of our favorite things to do as father and daughter is go out to breakfast about once or twice a week to the Coney Island right by our house. He orders 2 eggs sunnyside up, white toast, and sausage links...no hashbrowns with coffee refilled about 3 or 4 times. We sit and talk about school, work and the future. He is constantly encouraging me to follow my dreams, get married and have a family. It is our special time together. We also like to rent movies and watch them when I'm home.

I would not be the person I am today without my dad. Even though he is now half way to 90, I can still say I have a young dad compared to a lot of my friends especially since he still runs 10 miles at least once or twice a week. So Dad, thank you for being a great dad! Here's to another 45+ years!!! :)

I know it's been a while...

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I have been pulling out my hair this week trying to get everything done. I had a TON of homework due this week and we also had our first "OC 4 TOMS" meeting last night, so I was trying to get stuff ready for that. Let's start with the homework:

Since I had so much due, I basically had to take it one day at a time or I would've had a mental breakdown! I knew that I had a big report due for my Advertising Copywriting class due on Thursday, but there was no way I could even start it before Wednesday. Before then I had at least 2 or 3 assignments due Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Needless to say, I pulled an all nighter on Wednesday. I was awake from 7:15 Wednesday morning until I could take a nap at 2:30 Thursday afternoon. I was dead. Actually, I am still pretty tired and trying to catch up on needed rest.

OC 4 TOMS:

Aside from the craziness of the week, I am really excited about getting our "OC 4 TOMS" club going. Last night we had a pretty good first informational meeting, but I was nervous as could be! I do not like it when 7 pairs of eyes are just staring at me! I feel like they're waiting for me to screw up or something. But we talked about some things that we want to do this semester to raise awareness for TOMS Shoes. We're going to have a screening on the "One Millionth Drop" documentary hopefully in early December. We also want to have a shoe painting event. This is where students can buy a pair of TOMS and we'll have a night where everyone can paint their own design on their shoes. My friend Kim did this a couple years ago when I didn't know anything about TOMS and it went really well. I still see people walking around campus with their painted shoes! So, even through a hectic, no-sleep week, God can still get you excited about helping others. I am really hoping and praying that this club will last way past when I am gone!!!