joyful girl

let’s just say it’s been an incredibly long 24 hours, involving getting locked out of the house, trying to sleep on our back porch, getting about 1 1/2 hours of sleep last night, having a full day of work plus a 5 hour class tonight, and getting ready for an 8 hour class tomorrow.  tragically, though, i can’t seem to get my body to want to sleep NOW.  is it possible that i’m too tired to sleep?

i’ll give it a try.  g’night.

my phone is having some problems.  i can receive calls, but can’t make them or check my messages.  so if you need to reach me and i don’t answer, call my work cell phone.  if you need that number, leave a comment or email me.  thanks!

tasty mexican food at nuestra cocina

Originally uploaded by amy joy

on friday night, we went to deb and nate’s favorite local restaurant, nuestra cocina, and you can see that we were happy to be there. i had pumpkin-filled enchiladas. yum!
i’ve gotten started on posting my pictures at my flickr site, but there are still more to go.

in the meantime, i’m taking a little break from studying for my final in psychological assessment. it’s tomorrow, and i can only miss three points and maintain my stellar GPA. really. i’ve always been good at school, but lazy, and i’m finally living up to my “academic potential,” so i’m trying to finish what i’ve started well.

i’ve also returned to “what is the what” after a little break. i feel like i’m learning about what is actually happening in the sudan, when it was all so vague before. next, i’ll have to learn about somalia – especially since i learned this week that columbus has over 45,000 somalis in residence. that’s bigger than my hometown.

time to study again. sweet dreams!

angie kiss

Originally uploaded by amy joy

here are angie and i in the world-famous rose garden. (really, there were international tourists everywhere – just like niagara falls!) the lovely husband took the photo, and he’s much better at that than i am. angie just moved to columbus, and you can see that i’m super-excited to have her here! (special note to my mother – i included this one specifically so you could see how long my hair has gotten. i could almost pass for a good mennonite girl again!)
now i have to sift through all of the zillions of pictures i took (not as well as the lovely husband) so that y’all can see everyone else.

waterfall

Originally uploaded by amy joy

this is actually a very tall waterfall, but i’m not that tall. at least the sheer green(!)ness of oregon comes through…

portland was wonderful, and there are plenty of pictures to upload onto flickr tonight.  we traipsed all over the city, hiked the columbia river gorge (or at least a very small part of it), ate lengthy meals full of good conversation, and saw deb and nate’s lovely home and world.  if you ever go to portland, they are the people you want to be your always-gracious hosts. 

portland as a city is also lovely.  there’s a lot more to say, but it will have to wait until i’m done working.

less than two days until we’re on our way to the northwest!  i could not be more ready for this trip, regardless of how short it will be.

exactly one week until the first summer session of school is over.  i really couldn’t be more ready for that.  life really is good these days, but aargh!  i can’t wait until the only daily responsibilities i have are my family and one job – no school, no internship, actual evenings in which to do fun things.  even some time to really clean the house would be nice.

really, i’m not complaining.  i’m just a bit stressed this summer.  i did get to read “life of pi” for book club, which was amazing.  it also had a huge taste of india in it, which served to make me homesick for mumbai and rickshaws, and tea time in the middle of the afternoon.  now i have to return to “what is the what,” which i picked for book club this month so that i have to make reading it a priority.

sigh.  i think i need to go to bed.  sweet dreams, dear ones!

good morning! 

the question of the day is:  what are you looking forward to this week?

i’m excited about reading a couple of good books i have lined up. what is the what is starting out well, and i need to get into life of pi for book club on sunday. also, the good reads phenomenon is taking my social circle by storm, and i’m loving it. it’s kind of a myspace for geeks.

ok. time to work now. happy monday!

we just got back from a church workshop on spiritual gifts. tonight was the third week of ten, and this mennonite girl who heard little mention of the holy spirit over the years is thoroughly enjoying it – almost as enjoyable has been our weekend, full of hanging out with new friends and old ones, relaxing, studying, painting, and watching a delightful hollywood/bollywood adaptation of “pride and predjudice” called “bride and predjudice.” rent it, or check it out from the library. even if you’re afraid of bollywood and spontaneous musical numbers, i’m willing to bet that you’ll like it. that one guy from “lost” (naveen andrews) is an important character, and rory from “gilmore girls” makes a couple of appearances.
in two weeks, we’ll be in portland. this is one of the primary things getting me through the craziness of summer term and psychological assessment. wonderful old friends, great hiking, a progressive city, mountains, forests, good coffee and a long plane ride. also, i’m sure there will be late nights with wine and tea and good conversations, and maybe even a few rounds of dutch blitz. i assure you, it’s very hard to beat that combination of lovely things.
today we went to a bowling birthday party for daniel’s little sister, megan. that girl is super-cool. how many 12 year olds do you know who get excited about a 21-tool survival knife? i love my sister-in-law!
i need to do my homework now.
sweet dreams!