The Latest News

After many tears, sweat, and pain I have finally finished my first semester of graduate school. Whew! It's good to be done! Friday morning I woke up early to complete a treatment plan project- my last assignment/final of the semester. Upon writing the last sentence, a familiar horn blasted outside my apartment. My precious parents arrived at the scene to help me pack up all of my belongings/junk and move me out of my beautiful apartment. (They had moved a portion of Grandmother's belongings/mega-junk Thursday evening and Friday morning, and they continued to move her Saturday- they're champs!) On our venture back to Abilene, my eye started hurting- I figured my contact was irritated from the intense week of little sleep. The next day, however, the pain exponentially increased (enough to convince me to go to the doctor- which is significant). Eye infection. And yet another hiccup. So, my present state: one semester down- (four more to go), homeless (living with my parents with my stuff in the garage and my car and sharing a twin bed with my little sister for a month), half blind, Queen of Catan, and ready to play racquetball.

October

October has been a month of 30-hour work weeks and midterms; thus, no blog posts until now. Sorry.

But, throughout this month I felt the desire to write blog posts concerning:

1. Saturday morning coffee. When I found myself awake studying at 6am on Saturday morning, a huge yearning was growing in my stomach and heart for our special coffee time in Happy's and Papa's dining room as we discuss the random topic for the day and drink "Taste of Abilene" coffee with the birds and squirrels seeking their breakfast through the large window behind our seats.

2. My finger (and yet another hiccup this semester!). When Dad and Kevin came over for Keith's football game in Fort Worth, we played catch and... well... I caught the football "like a girl" (according to my Dad) and it landed perpendicular to the length of my finger causing either a very serious jam or, perhaps, a fracture. It's been over three weeks since the football attacked me, and my finger remains quite tender and has not regained full range of motion. This has contributed to the neglect of my lovely piano and swing dancing this past month.

3. My home church. Through a fellow ACU alumnus and friend at UTD, I have found an amazing group of people who truly love God and are seeking to be Christ's disciples. From my very first meeting with them, they have not allowed a day to pass without sending a prayer my direction. Through the stress of this semester, these exceptional people have been a true family to me and a huge support. (Thanks, God, for giving us Church)

Hiccups and Warm Fuzzies

Breathe in.

Breath out.

(The breathing exercise is more for my benefit than for yours!)

Life isn't always smooth sailing... and my life has had a few strong winds since I started graduate school a month ago. My loans were sent to the wrong school... I was dropped from the university... my roommate is moving out... I need a roommate in two days... a friend of mine treated me poorly... my job is scheduling me too many hours... transcript issues... etc. etc. etc. A friend of mine humorously labeled events such as these as "hiccups". And with life being as busy as mine is, I just don't have time to deal with these "hiccups".

However, like in Psalm 23, God has given me some tufts of green pastures to get through each day. I have discovered an amazing church filled with people who wholeheartedly strive to be disciples of Jesus and who pray for me daily. Two old men (retired dance instructors) have been teaching me so many new dance moves- they said that I am such a "great prospect" and have so much "potential"! A grandfather of one of my clients observed my therapy session and was very complimentary! My brother came to visit me and take me to a couple of great museums in Dallas! A very dear friend of mine has honored me to be her maid of honor. These things just make me smile and make my heart happy. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside amidst the cold, harsh wind.

I am currently accepting any roommate suggestions/living options and any prayers you'd like to throw my way!

One-Tripper

There are some people in this world who have the patience and time to take several trips to-and-from their car after they go to the grocery store. I am not one of these people. I am a one-tripper. However, I have decided that this is ridiculous! Yesterday I found myself carrying my bookbag (with my laptop, two notebooks, five spirals, and a huge textbook), my purse, my waterbottle, a new houseplant, and 12 grocery bags full of food to my apartment door from my car. This was an exhausting five feet walk, and when I got to my apartment, I couldn't raise my arm high enough to unlock my door. It is so sad that I am so lazy (or so busy) that I can't allow myself to take 2, 3, or even 4 trips. And today my arms are sore... hmm. Perhaps it is time to rethink my life a little bit.

My New School

School has started! It has shocked me how much higher the professors' expectations are in graduate school than in undergrad. Looking around the classroom at my fellow speech-language pathology (SLP) graduate students has also fascinated me. I am not the only beautiful, intelligent, responsible, straight-A student in the class- I'm just one of 80. We all graduated with honors, we all would cry if we made a C, we all have our daily planners filled, and we all have our notes color-coordinated.

In order to be considered competent as an SLP, I must complete at least 400 hours of clinical practicum throughout the next two years of school. This semester I am working with one and two-year-olds who are considered "language-delayed" but who have no other developmental delays. This practicum is basically a language-rich preschool where we strive to increase the children's expressive vocabularies through different activities, fun literature, and lots of repetition. I even get to wear a cool lab coat! I feel like God has really prepared me for this experience- it's nearly exactly what I did last year with my special needs children! Wednesday was our first day, and hopefully it is not foreshadowing how the rest of the semester will be. Out of three kids, two of them wailed the entire time, and one of them vomited. Yuck. It was still enjoyable, and I think I'll really love it!

Farewell to Freedom

Reality has hit. My days of freedom and fun are ending. School starts in exactly one week! Yikes! Today I went up to Richardson to the University of Texas at Dallas campus to buy a parking permit, get a student ID, and discuss racquetball opportunities with the recreational sports office. My schedule is set: clinical practicum in the morning, classes in the afternoon, work in the evening and on the weekends, and studying and fun squeezed in there somewhere. Although this dramatic change in my lifestyle seems like it could be a bit overwhelming, I am very excited about starting classes, learning information most people don't care to know, working with preschoolers, and making new friends. In the meantime, though, I will enjoy reading for pleasure, quilting, playing piano, feeding turtles and ducks, riding bikes, dancing, and playing Settlers of Catan. Wow! Just one more week left of my amazingly fun summer!

Just in case your curiosity was peaked by my previous mention of racquetball, I am hoping to have enough time to commit to the Racquetball Club at UTD. This is a competitive club (kind of intimidating) that is funded by the university (to provide uniforms and travel expenses) that will give me the opportunity to improve my mad-racquetball skills, meet some good players, relieve stress, stay fit-and-trim, and compete with other university teams. My racquetball buddies live in Abilene and I have barely endured this summer without them and this incredibly awesome sport- these are dire times that call for desperate measures- like joining the Racquetball Club while taking 14 hours in graduate school, doing clinical practicum, and working at least 20 hours per week!

A New Job and a Road Trip

Immediately after my week full of fun and games I was offered a job at Bath & Body Works which drastically altered my lifestyle! No longer do my days consist of reading good books, playing the piano, feeding the turtles, and beating people in Catan; instead I am a grown, working woman in the "real world". *sigh* Alas, it has been a great experience thus far, and I believe it is a wonderful opportunity for me to be Jesus. This three-hour-drive east has placed me in a community that is desperate for the peace and joy that God has given me to share with whomever I encounter.

On another note... I went to see Amber Joy (and Kent Brantly, of course) in Indianapolis with my family last week! The luscious green landscape of their abode was a perfect greeting for five exhausted and squooshed people who had been on the road for 15 hours. Amber, I absolutely love your place! (How do you always get the greatest living conditions?) We enjoyed "shower-ing" with the well-respected and deeply loved Brantly clan and their church family, and seeing where Amber and Kent work and go to school. I suffered through a terrible beating in PIXAR/Disney Monopoly on account of my new brother-in-law. But, no worries, I am still the Queen of Catan! It was wonderful to see my dear sister so happy in her new home with her new family.

Just for the record, your life is not complete unless you have gone on a road trip with the Carroll family! It is always crowded, and the car just seems to shrink as the time passes. We listen to Adventures in Odyssey, Radio Theaters, Michael W. Smith's "Freedom", Latin- yes, we learned Latin on the way to Indiana (amo, amas, amat, amamos, amatis, amant), grammar (this one was rough), and other random music while we color, read, sew, sleep, and sprawl our legs in search of a more comfortable position. And when we stop, we look like a bunch of clowns filing out of the clown car. Great times! I love my family- thank You, God!

A Week of Play!

I love my life! All I do is play, play, play! This past week two of my friends who were counselors at LCCC came to visit me and our other mutual friend. The four of us ran around Six Flags and enjoyed every ride twice because there were no queues. Actually, I had not been to Six Flags since I was in the single-digit years of my life, so I was a bit nervous at first! My uneasiness quickly disappeared as I discovered that I REALLY like roller coasters! Who knew!? That evening we played Settlers of Catan (the complicated Cities and Knights expanded version) until about two in the morning!

Everyone awoke from the exhausting slumber party at 10am to enjoy breakfast over another game of Catan! They taught me how to play 42 that evening, which, by the way, is a great game! 42 was the "adult game" every year at Hunt, so I felt very grown-up to be playing this game. We, then, of course played Catan and fell asleep around 2:00am.

Waking up the next morning was a little bit more difficult, but we managed! We celebrated our friend's birthday in downtown Fort Worth, with dinner, a live band, and a wee bit of dancing. Then we returned to my lovely apartment for more Cities and Knights of Catan and a movie. The birthday celebration ended at 6:00 the next morning- yikes! Six hours later we began our final day. Within the hour, all of my friends had abandoned the Carroll Hotel and were off to get back to the real world.

How grateful I am that this "real world" has not yet become my world. I love my life!

"Look! I'm dancing!"

As quickly as my ears hear the sound of music my body longs to dance, and my heart wishes that it actually could! After years of dreaming that I could dance, I finally did! Last night a couple of friends and I enjoyed an evening of fun at a dance club. I was given a 30 minute crash course on Swing Dancing and then boldly stepped onto the dance floor! The crunching of my partners' toes, the embarrassed laughter, and the apologetic expressions made it quite evident that this was my first time swing dancing, but I anticipate mastering these dance moves through many more visits to the dance floor! The evening ended with a waltz around the room, and of course, I knew how to waltz! Barbara Streisand taught me in her movie "Hello, Dolly!" This particular movie, by the way, played a huge role in PIXAR's newest movie, Wall-E, which made me very happy!

LCCC

This past week was spent at Lake Cisco Christian Camp (the Cisco Senior session) with a hundred exciting teenagers and 40ish outstanding adults! Each day consisted of eating, singing, volleyball, softball, dirt, sun, bugs, and more eating and singing. After the campers were settled in their "cozy" cabins, some of the counselors would enjoy fellowship over chunks of brownies and glasses of milk (this time together was always a highlight of my day). I am thankful for this opportunity to serve and have fun with fellow Christians, and I am so grateful for the friends I now have because of this great week at camp!

This is my roommate Katie
This is my apartment


These are the turtles who so graciously welcomed me to my new home! This is part of the lovely 10-mile path behind my apartment
This is my Anne of Green Gables Bridge

A Week in My New Home

Nearly an entire week has passed since I moved to Irving! My time has been spent getting settled into my lovely apartment, reading, sewing, playing my piano, talking with my roommate, and playing with my few friends who live in this area! It has been relaxing and rejuvenating after four hectic years in undergrad.

My favorite feature of my new apartment is a long trail that runs along a creek. It is right behind my apartment and goes through the nice neighborhoods surrounding me. This evening after a short stroll, I stopped on the wooden bridge (which reminds me of the bridge on Anne of Green Gables) and found myself being greeted by eight turtles in the water just below me! Although it would be considered an insignificant sight to most people, it was a small gift from God that brought me pleasure!

So much evil

Hotel Rwanda was the family movie the Carroll's watched tonight. So much hatred, so much violence, so much injustice. It is such a powerful movie, but what do you do with this message? I am the American mentioned in the movie that sees the terror and cruelty on the news and continues to eat my dinner. What can be done?

There is evil, pain, and suffering in Abilene, too.

Alicia is a victim of evil. Her mother did drugs while she was pregnant with this now four-year-old child. She barely walks, her bones are as brittle as egg shells, she has very limited language, and she is exceedingly unstable emotionally. She also has a precious smile that melts my heart. She can say the word "book" and "sheep", and sometimes "cat". Alicia plays peek-a-boo and gives slobbery kisses, and when she hugs, she leaves some snot on you.

Joey is yet another human child who has seen far too much evil in his life. There is no father around, and his mother gave him and his siblings to her mom. The grandmother is exhausted and passes her babies from one person to the next. His expressive vocabulary consists mostly of curse words and "shut up". The latter I hear about 10 times each hour. This young boy attempts to steal something from the classroom each day, and he wears a smug smile when he thinks he will succeed in the theft. He bullies those who are weaker on the playground. Everywhere we go, he waves his hand to every passerby and says, "hi, Joey" as they ignore his effort to be noticed.

Adrianna's life was stolen from her when her mother beat her with the force that would injure an adult when she was only seven weeks old. She is now deaf and blind and functions at a 0-12 month level. This three-year-old baby barely walks, does not respond to touch (or visuals or sounds), does not even goo and coo, and is still bottle-fed.

These are only three of my eleven "students" whom I worked with everyday this semester. They are all so dear. They have made me cry on numerous occasions- they break my heart. Evil and hatred are so evident in the stories of my children as they were in the film we just viewed. Their lives are hopeless, and I am helpless. I can love and I can pray, but I want to do so much more.

Bitter Sweet

The End.

The undergraduate/college chapter in my life is over. No more papers, no more mandatory reading, no more projects, no more journal articles, no more clinical practicum... until August 21 when my classes begin at the University of Texas at Dallas. Finishing college is so refreshing. (sigh) Ahh!

However, this graduation reminds me of a batch of cookies Keith's friends brought over. They looked so delicious with pink icing and sprinkles- mmm sugar cookies! After we took a bite, our faces surely showed our disgust- I think the precious girls baked these cookies with more salt than sugar! It was definitely an unpleasant surprise.

One "minor" detail I failed to consider while celebrating my last few weeks of classes was the fact that my friends are all flying away to have their own adventures. My great community of friends is splitting apart, and the likelihood that we will reunite seems too slight to nurture a mere hope. My dear, good friends will remain a part of my life (that's the plan), but, our relationships will be maintained through phone calls and facebook- we won't live in a two mile radius of one another and be able to walk to the other's house for dinner or tea. Weird. And the relationships with people that I care for and run into on campus, but don't deeply know, will probably be completely dropped.

One of the main reasons I chose to attend ACU was to build a community of friends that will endure throughout my life. I knew from the beginning of my Freshman year that my friends' paths and mine would part, but this parting kind of snuck up on me. I was consumed by the "sweet" anticipation of graduation and neglected the "bitter" reality. And now, although I'm thrilled to be an ACU alumnus, the bitter part of graduation has left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Roommate

My pleasant afternoon was interrupted by a disappointing phone call yesterday. A wonderful girl, and my potential roommate in Dallas, informed me that we would not be able to room together. The news was disheartening, and the hope of finding a new roommate was dim.

Today I left our Saturday morning coffee to attend a waffle breakfast with some friends. Katie was among the 40-or-so college students there. We became acquainted with each other while we were still in high school and volunteered at Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, and she was also my neighbor in Gardner Hall. After short discussion, we realized that we were both moving to Dallas and in need of a roommate. The Callier Center, which is where my classes and clinical practicum will take place, is actually on the campus which Katie will be attending. She had just put a down payment for a one bedroom apartment, but upon finding me, she called the apartment complex and discovered that a two bedroom apartment was available.

I must admit, I had my doubts that I would be able to find a roommate in the short amount of time before I leave for the big city. God definitely helped me out with this uncomfortable matter. He provided a good, studious girl and a first-floor apartment (for my piano) within twenty-four hours! I am overwhelmed by God's goodness in this situation!

7

Is seven really a number that represents goodness or perfection? Next week I have 7 papers due. That's right. SEVEN.
You may ask: "Have you started any of them?" To which I will reply, "Of course not."
"Why haven't you started writing these papers yet?" "Because I'm an idiot."
"How long have you known about these papers, Caryn?" "I've known about six of them the entire semester."
"So, why are you wasting time writing a blog post?" "I have no idea."

Score!

Tuesday afternoon is the highlight of each week- Shannon and I play racquetball together! We talk, laugh, sweat, and hit the ball really hard in a small, closed-in, rectangular box. Yesterday two guys (who traveled in Oxford with me) saw that we were playing and asked to play doubles with us. Of course we accepted the challenge, for it is always good to have new blood on the court. After more sweat, more laughter, and more really hard hits, well, (at the risk of gloating a bit) we beat them! Shannon and I were ecstatic to be victorious over these two athletic boys! An opportunity for these guys to redeem themselves was necessary, so we played once more, and, once more, we won! Score!

*It probably should be noted that these guys aren't expert racquetball players, so it shouldn't thrill me as much as it does!

Conquered!

This weekend I stood on the highest point in all of Texas! Three friends and I traveled to Guadalupe Mountains National Park to climb Guadalupe Peak. We arrived at the park around 10:00pm Friday night, and we set up our tents in the dark.

After surviving the blustery night, we made oatmeal and started the hike UP the mountain. Unfortunately, we had to bring our own water because this mountain is in the dessert (and water weighs 8 pounds/gallon). It was perfectly exhausting- not so hard to be discouraging and hopeless, but difficult enough (with thirty pounds on our backs) to be a challenge. Hiking UP about three miles made us glad to finally find our campsite. We pitched our tents and made a delicious meal of rice, veggies, and chicken! Snuggled in our sleeping bags in our small tent, we played Go Fish (and I lost miserably) and drank hot chocolate. Saturday night was freezing- but with three girls in a cozy two-person tent, our body heat aided in our fight against the cold.

We arose Sunday morning and started our summit hike. It was exciting to reach the top and realize that we were higher than anyone else in the whole state of Texas. We could see miles and miles of land around us. The view was lovely, but not quite like the scenery in Colorado or California. The hike down flew by, and my knees were thrilled to find the pavement at the base of the mountain.

The entire hike I was fascinated at how God made our bodies! It is incredible how our eyes can take in so much information at just a glance, and how our brains can keep our feet moving quickly and prevent painful stumbles. Whew!

Caryn Carroll has a very bad temper. Caryn Carroll has a very bad temper. Caryn Ca...

Parking on-campus costs $75.00; parking is limited and rarely available for those who live off-campus. Parking off-campus (or on the street right next to campus) costs nothing, or so I thought. I chose the latter- it's cheaper! Parking on the street actually cost me several quarters to refill my tires that had been deflated by a ridiculously absurd neighbor. The next time I parked on the street a note was left on my windshield saying, "STOP parking here. Next time your tires will be slashed". Slightly intimidated by the note, I started parking in the half-empty (some might say half-full) parking lot of Smith/Adams for my 5:00am-9:00am shift working at the Smadams desk on Monday and Friday mornings. The police never, ever, ever appear at the forgotten off-campus residence hall, and I only park there illegally from 8:00-9:00am, so I figured that this was a good solution that will prevent me from having to pay for four new tires.

Well, as of this morning, my off-campus parking has cost me $15 (plus the previously mentioned quarters) because a student worker for the ACU police department (traitor) thought it was necessary to give me a parking ticket. I was walking out to my truck while she was writing it and I thought about jumping in my truck and quickly driving off. I didn't. She handed me the ticket while I asked her in a very stern and angry voice, "Is this really necessary?" I drove off ticked off and wearing a "kill everyone" expression on my face with my eyebrow cocked, lips pursed, and eyes saying "if you merely look at me, I'll punch you in the face".

So, my parking options for the rest of the semester are to
1. pay for a parking permit- absurd
2. continue to park in Smadams parking lot since it will probably be neglected by the police for the rest of the semester- possibly
3. park across the street and get my tires slashed- maybe not
4. park further down the street and walk next to the dwelling place of a sex offender at 5:00 in the morning- probably
5. walk a mile to work at 5:00 in the morning (still passing the sex offender's house)- nope

California Highlights!

Holidays are so great! Mom, Happy, Kelli, and I spent Spring Break in California to visit mi hermana Amber Joy! The scenery was lovely- bright green hills, white blossom trees, sun reflections in the blue ocean! We walked up and down and up and down and up and down the hills of San Francisco to see the Fisherman's Wharf and the sea lions basking in the sun. Sea lions sure are funny looking- God is definitely creative! We indulged in delicious chocolate sundaes from Ghirardelli Square, danced with the ballerinas and ballroom dancers in the art galleries, wandered through the gorgeous redwood forest, sailed past the sharks to Alcatraz prison, climbed and conquered Mount Diablo, strolled through the Japanese Tea Garden (four times), tasted expensive red wine in Napa Valley, and settled on the island of Catan every evening! Thanks, Amber, for all of these lovely adventures!

home again, home again, jiggidy jig!

Friday the Southern Hills Bible Bowl group and the ACU Ultimate Frisbee team left for Albuquerque, NM for a weekend in the "diamond in the dessert". Bible Bowl went well; we have some diligent students of the Bible. The Ultimate tournament went well, also, but we got "second place" several times!

I rode with the Ultimate Frisbee team (and a few stragglers) there and back again- it was exciting! Last night we drove through a snow storm, rain storm, wind storm, dust storm, hail storm, tornado watch, and grass fire until we finally arrived in Abilene at 12:30am. It's amazing that we made it home safely! (Thanks, God!)

Signing again!

For about a month, now, I have been working at Woodson Elementary with the PCDD program (I'm not sure, but I think that it stands for Preschool Children with Developmental Delays). This job plopped in my lap! I randomly ran into a man from church who invited me to a Kiwani's Club luncheon. During the meal, the man sitting next to me asked me a few questions, and then he asked me if I wanted a job. So, here I am! Working with precious preschoolers with special needs.

This job has definitely been eye-opening. Many of these children are neglected or abused. They are so desperate for attention! Behavior is a constant issue, because not only are the kids mistreated at home, but they have (practically) zero expressive language. Hearing a grunt that slightly resembles a word is a huge feat. Because most of our children are not vocal, I am able to dust-off my sign language skills to communicate with them. It is amazing how effective signing is. I'm enjoying this opportunity to use my gift of sign!

TSHA Convention

After picking Jon up from the airport with my parents on Wednesday (welcome home, Jon!), I left Thursday morning to go to San Antonio for the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association convention. Along with twenty-five other ACU students, I roamed a massive room full of booths giving away free candy, pens (and other cool toys) and attended lectures on phonological disorders, apraxia of speech, etc. This is a great opportunity for me, as a student, to see numerous possibilities for my future career as a speech-language pathologist, make connections, find scholarship programs, and get a lifetime supply of pens.Saturday, after the convention ended and after I grabbed a second or third pen from every booth, two girls and I decided to check out the Alamo. The last time I visited this historical building I thought it was massive- that's how long ago it was since I had seen the Alamo! By coincidence, we decided to go to the Alamo on February 23, which is the date that the siege started in 1836! There were people all dressed up, gun shots, and a reenactment! These two precious girls were who I stayed with, rode with, ate with, and spent the majority of my time with over this long weekend.

"We'll Be Winners Forever!"

Sing Song was fun, but I'm glad that it's done. In case you didn't go see our wonderful act, or if you just want to see the Senior Class talent once more, here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/v/9UELAOlRSic. We won!

Also, here are a couple of pictures with me and papa and my Harry Potter glasses!

California! Here we come!

Yesterday I bought tickets to San Francisco, California! Mom, Happy, Kelli, and I are traveling west to visit my dear sister for Spring Break! It's official! Yea!

A Nice Weekend

This past week was the worst that I've had this semester, but Friday morning was the beginning of a fun weekend! At 8:45am an adult lady (and new friend) came to visit me at Smith/Adams desk to deliver homemade curry (for my lunch), lemon bunt cake (for dessert), and an encouraging card. The whole ordeal lifted my spirits!

Friday night I finished the LOST marathon of season three with some friends and lasagna. yum! I wonder who's funeral it was? Why does Jack want to go back? Did our hobbit friend really drown? What has the "heavy-eyeliner hostile" been doing on the island all of this time, and why has he not grown older? Whose boat is coming in 18 hours? When will Kate simmer down with the boys? When will Juliet, Ben, and Locke die? - I don't like them. What's the deal with the feared and mysterious Jacob? How come the pirate always resurrects? How many more seasons are there? Goodness.

Saturday included an enjoyable time with the family and lots of coffee, a debriefing of the Private I's crime investigation, tea and Ultimate Frisbee with friends, Moody Weekend Sing Song practice, Guitar Hero, and Cities and Knights Catan.

Today was Mom's birthday, and in her honor, our Bible class had a pot-luck. The fam had a low-key, but love-filled, birthday party. Then we had Bible Bowl practice, during which there was an exciting distraction! The house right next to Southern Hills was burning! The kids went crazy at the sight of flames and smoke through the window at such a close distance! We ate snacks and watched a great show of firemen coming to the rescue, youth and children ministers running and moving the buses, and fire and smoke filling the sky! And now, I am reclining on a couch, playing Catan, and snuggled in a warm blanket with cozy slippers. All in all, it has been a nice weekend.

My lovely quilt, Happy, and me!

That's right- I'm in Sing Song!

So, I'm doing Sing Song this year for the first time. Our class act is funny- so you should come. Not only should you come see me perform in Sing Song, but you should come on Thursday or Friday (not Saturday) so that you can vote for the senior class!

Play, play, play!

This semester has been such fun! I have so much free time to play the piano, pleasure read, play Settlers of Catan, play Spades, journal, play racquetball! After last night's class let out early, a thought came to me while I was playing Catan (on the internet) and eating deer jerky- "Can life get any better than this? I submit that it cannot!"

My applications for graduate schools are occupying some of my time (but not too much). My application for University of Colorado at Boulder has been submitted, ACU's application will shortly follow, and then University of Texas at Dallas. It will be exciting to hear results so I can get ready for the next chapter in my life. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy playing my lovely piano, Catan, and racquetball.

should I be worried?

In class yesterday I learned a little about Aphasia... and I was shocked to be able to relate so well with the symptoms! One indicator is that you hesitate before answering a simple question.

Like the countless times that I hesitate and have to think about what my major is, or how old I am before responding to such basic questions. "What's your name?" "uh... what's my name?... oh! Caryn."

Another symptom of Aphasia is that you dramatically overreact emotionally to the stimulus through excessive laughter or tears.

Like the time when I went to get my oil changed and cried intensely because I went to the wrong building.

Or the time when my professor made a dorky comment in class and I laughed audibly for thirty minutes.

Or the time when I set off the fire alarm in Smith/Adams and started bawling at the thought of inconveniencing the firemen. Actually, the fire alarm malfunctioned- I was innocent!

hmm... should I be worried?

The holiday is over...

... so today I had to get out from under my five blankets to get ready for class in my frigid apartment. My truck is an icebox on wheels in freezing weather. Because my vehicle's defrost feature is a little lacking, I not only had to scrape the ice off of my windshield when I first left for school, but I had to pull over and scrape the newly acquired ice off after driving 1/2 a mile (which is half the distance from my apartment to campus). I offered someone a ride, and then thought, why in the world would someone want a ride when I'm driving with only a small circle (with about a 6 inch diameter) to see through, the windows are rolled down (for vision purposes), and the temperature in my truck is 10 degrees colder than the temperature outside?

Just in case you were wondering... my holiday was great! I had to work at 5:00am, but then I made cookies (which warmed up my apartment and my soul), practiced my piano, played Catan, did homework, prepared for my lesson at Kenley, watched Jonah (the Veggie Tales movie), and juggled. It was a nice, relaxing holiday, and boy, do I love holidays!

I Think I Can

A new semester is beginning... and it's my last one in undergrad! Last night I couldn't sleep; perhaps it was my nerves. Today and tomorrow I will be completely overwhelmed by the assignments in the syllabi, but I'll also be excited. I feel like the little engine that could- I think I can, I think I can, I think I can make it through this last semester. The spring semester lacks enthusiasm simply because all of the school supplies have already been purchased for the year. I love buying school supplies!

A Truly Productive Week!

This was my last week before my last semester in my ungraduate college career, and it was quite eventful! I was so busy, that I was unable to blog until now! On Sunday, Dad hired me to sell his books online and I have already sold seven books and made $100! Monday I started my biggest project... a quilt! All of my life I have had a desire to quilt, and my amazing grandmother (Happy) has helped me fulfill this goal! We worked hours upon hours this week to creat a gorgeous pink, red, lilac, and cream Valentine quilt! It's absolutely lovely! Thanks Happy for all of your work and patience in teaching me to do this fabulous hobby of yours (and mine now)! The top is completed (stay tuned for a picture), so now we need to make it fluffy and put a back on it! Thursday I got a job... a real job... as a real speech therapist!! Kenley has hired me as a substitute speech-language pathologist to work a couple of days a week with their learning disabled students. Woohoo! It will be a great opportunity for this very inexperienced senior studying Speech-language Pathology. Friday my Dad and I bought parts for my new car (Amber's wrecked one from the deer). Today, with the help of my burly father and buff brothers (Kevin and Geoff), I will become an owner of an upright piano from the turn of the century! Wowee! My apartment neighbors may not appreciate this new piece of furniture... or... maybe they'll enjoy having such an accomplished and talented (ha ha!) musician living near them. The truth is, I have short and stubby fingers that can dink out a tune as well as a duck could with its webbed feet! Perhaps all of the typing I've done in college has made my fingers stronger and more flexible! :)

My Hair is So Big

While getting ready for church this morning, I was inspired to write a song. For those of you with "Spann-hair"... this song is for you!

My Hair is So Big (to the tune of "My God is So Big")

My hair is so big,
So thick, and so wiry,
But there's nothing my Chi cannot do! (clap clap)

A Redeemed Babysitter

Last week I babysat for a precious family while the parents went to see a movie. Throughout the evening my nagging headache of two days compounded resulting in nausea. After the children went to bed, the aches in my head and stomach collaborated to make me vomit...which awoke the young ones and prompted them to call their parents. So, they left the theater before the movie ended (I caused them to miss the last ten minutes!), and came home to a house of awake children (it was far passed their bedtime- oops). Still feeling lousy and dizzy, they offered to drive me home which involved loading the sleepy children in the van which Scott drove, and Gayle driving my truck very full of random objects (from the newly cleaned garage) and very empty of gasoline. My truck chugged along and jerked... my stomach did the same... but I made it home safely. It was quite an ordeal and very embarrassing. I felt like a huge failure as a babysitter. But, this wonderful family gave me a chance to redeem myself this week with another babysitting job. This time was much better!