sledding and other random things

I've been sledding twice in the last week.  And it has been so much fun! I guess I had sort of forgotten how much fun it was.  The first time we hiked up to the top of Moscow Mountain and after taking some pictures and generally enjoying the beautiful view, we sledded back down.  I ended up on a sled with three other girls- crazy by itself.  But then it didn't really want to slide, (I'm not sure if it was just being a pain or if it was too old or what) so Stephen Doud kindly put a string through the holes and pulled us as he skied.  It was very kind of him and we were all very thankful, because it was fun and SO fast.  :)

Today we didn't have disputatio, so instead of that a bunch of us (including 'Ria) went sledding.  We went on the hill behind Rosaurs and it was AMAZING! That hill is such a good place to sled! I wouldn't mind going back again, actually.  :)  There were about 15-20 of us and we even had some races, which was fun.  I was third place in the race I joined.  Of course I have some good excuses, though.  The guys who beat  me were on better sleds/ they weighed more so they went faster and other reasons.  But I mostly didn't care.  :D 

Tomorrow I go home for the weekend! YAY! Also, I am bringing Kristina and Claire home, which will be fun, I'm sure.  :) 

And also tomorrow, I get to order my dress for Heather's wedding!!!!!!!!!!! I am excited about that as well.  I haven't really gotten to see what it looks like.  I ordered my shoes this last week and they should come into the local Payless Shoe Source soon.  But other than that, I haven't gotten anything ordered for the wedding yet, so ordering the dress will be nice.

It is really cold here- around 15 early this afternoon.  I love it.  Sometimes I dislike the snow and cold, but mostly I love it.  :) And today is a love day.  :)

I have to go to work soon.  And this is the first time a while that I haven't been dreading it.  I love my job- when I'm there working.  And I love being able to make a bit of money.  But I hate the fact that my Friday nights are always full of work.  Oh well.  At least I don't have something better to do with them right now.  And I usually just hate the thought of going.

I should go find something to eat for dinner.  I am actually quite hungry.  :)

Raking Gravel

At Disputatio today Mr. N.D. Wilson spoke.  He encouraged us to keep working at school- even when it was hard.  Or- especially when it's hard? Anyways, he likened it to his childhood and how he and his father would rake gravel when they had nothing to do on the house they were building.  It was SO good and so encouraging! I hadn't realized until today that I had kind of forgotten some of the reasons I am here at NSA.  I am here to make a difference in the world.
That's right.  I am here to be a world-changer.  I'm not a girl going to college to 'find a guy' or a girl who is at college just until that guy comes along, wanting and waiting to be 'just a mom.'
 It could be that I will be a mom.  It could be that ten years from now I'll be toting kids in both arms and struggling to keep the sand off the floor and the laundry folded.  But I won't be 'just a mom'.  I'll be a sword sharpener.  An arrow-crafter.
It could be that I'll be a great- well, something great.  Maybe I'll write novels and articles about random little things like leaves and piles of dirt or drifted black snow.  Maybe I'll magically overcome my nervousness of speaking in front of people and give long beautiful speeches about smart things.
I don't know what I'll do with my life.  Except that I will be living it out, endeavoring to glorify the Glorified in everything that I do.
And that is why I'm at NSA.  To rake gravel, to grow strong in what I'm doing here, in order to be the kind of person who will continue to rake gravel.

Valentine's Day

"In 270 A.D., marriage had been outlawed by the emperor of Rome, Claudius II. Claudius issued this decree because he thought that married men made bad soldiers since they were reluctant to be torn away from their families in the case of a war. Claudius had also outlawed Christianity in this time period because he wished to be praised as the one supreme god, the Emperor of Rome. Valentine was the bishop of Interamna during this period of oppression. Valentine thought that the decrees of Rome were wrong. He believed that people should be free to love God and to marry. Valentine invited the young couples of the area to come to him. When they came, Valentine secretly performed services of matrimony and united the couples.

Valentine was eventually caught and was brought before the emperor. The emperor saw that Valentine had conviction and drive that was unsurpassed among his men. Claudius tried and tried to persuade Valentine to leave Christianity, serve the Roman empire and the Roman gods. In exchange, Claudius would pardon him and make him one of his allies. St. Valentine held to his faith and did not renounce Christ. Because of this, the emperor sentenced him to a three-part execution. First, Valentine would be beaten, then stoned, and then finally, decapitated. Valentine died on February 14th, 270 A.D.

While in prison, waiting for his sentence to be carried out, Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter, the blind Asterius. During the course of Valentine's prison stay, a miracle occurred and Asterius regained her sight. Valentine sent her a final farewell note. He signed his last note, "From Your Valentine." Even today, this message remains as the motto for our Valentine's Day celebrations."

From: http://www.lhmint.org/valentines/story.htm

Okay.  So I'm sure y'all have read this already, but it's a good story.  And besides- I like it.  :)  Happy (late) Valentines day to whoever reads this. <3

sunsets

We've been having some pretty epic sunsets these last few weeks here in Moscow.  I love coming out of school or choir-practice while the sun is still doing his duty.  During the winter months, darkness is all that greets us any time after about 4 o'clock.  Here is a picture of a sunset.  I shot this earlier in the week (Monday, maybe?) and while it's not the prettiest nor the orangest we've had, it'll serve as proof that Moscow has nice sunsets sometimes.  :)

time

Yes, time.  Or rather, the lack thereof.  That is what is keeping me from writing.  It's not that I've forgotten about this little blog (well, not really, anyway) or that I've nothing super exciting to write about (though that is also sort of true) but I've just been too busy.  That's right.  But then my sister pointed out that I hadn't posted in a while, so I decided to let those few readers know WHY there have been no posts.
The first for reasons four my lack of time are:
School, (i.e. Latin)
School, (i.e. history)
School, & (i.e. natural history)
I like hanging out with my friends better than a computer.  :)
So, there it is.
One last note to end on: tonight and 80-something lady at Good Sam told me I had nice teeth.  And then proceeded to tell me that she advises her grandchildren that if they don't have much money, they should buy toothpaste over food.
But, I really need to go.