Bye, winter.

Winter quarter is over. I am done with my classes. I am one single, tiny, 10 week quarter away from being done with college for a long time. I have never thought seriously about going to grad school, but now that I am so close to potentially being forever done with school that idea sounds so much more appealing. Sometimes the idea of not being in school is the scariest, other times it sounds like a dream.
Right now it sounds like a dream, which is perfect since Spring Break is finally here and in two days time, I will be on my way to San Diego and hopefully, the sun!

City Data

Life au Retro Cam

Here are some photos that I snapped in the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Stormy weather in Seattle. View from our terrace. 

Elizabeth swaddled my stuffed doggy, Baxter, with my baby blanket.
Yes,  I am a 20 year old who sleeps with a stuffed animal and baby blanket. Judge me if you will. 

Free pancakes from IHOP with Courtney and Kylee. 

Gorgeous sunset in Seattle. 

Watching TV with the little boy I babysit. Sometimes (usually) he only wears his diaper. 

One of my to-do lists. I had important things to do that night. 

Vanilla latte from Roy Street Coffee & Tea with Courtney and Natalie.
Such a great place to study and one of my new favorite coffee shops. 

Little boy Toms. So precious. I think I could almost fit in them. 

We are all sinners

JESUS RECEIVED, BLESSED, ate with, and even commended many of these sinners [tax collectors, the religiously unobservant, prostitutes, and other "obvious" sinners] against the “upstanding” of the day. He touched, healed, and raised many of the unclean. In sum, he was Light to those who dwelled in the shadows of societal isolation. He regarded those on society’s margins as persons and treated them as God’s own children. 

During Lent we may vow to identify and repent of the ways we have helped deepen the shadows — or just hidden our faces from those who dwell there. We may determine to search the dark corners of our families, workplaces, churches, and towns, in hopes of bringing light, revealing the faces of those easily ignored. We may seek ways to go to the margins to find some more of the ones he loved so much — and if we do, we may find Jesus there with them. 

If we make such courageous gestures we will be strengthened and guided by remembering the time and ways in which we ourselves, in dark and lonely times, were graciously sought and found by Jesus. His continual coming to us is our abiding invitation to be agents of his merciful seeking in the world. 

-Thomas R. Steagald
Shadows, Darkness, and Dawn

Originally posted here.

This is so true and so humbling. It's my job as a follower of Jesus to seek out and love everyone. Even the people who are scary and intimidating and seem "bad." I am no better than them and we are equals in God's eyes. 

Rearranging

Yesterday, three (Courtney, Breegan and Elizabeth) of my five roommates and I decided to rearrange our main floor as a Valentine's Day treat. The main floor of our house has the kitchen, dinning room, family room and one of the bedrooms. We only moved around the family room, but it changed the atmosphere so much. Before the TV and a large chair were pushed into one corner and we had Elizabeth's keyboard in another corner. We decided to move the keyboard downstairs and move the large chair to where the keyboard used to be. I had to leave in the middle of the project but when I came home, I didn't even know what to do because it looked so cute and cozy.

The large chair in its new spot 

Coffee table, flowers from Baron and fresh place for the TV

Dinner table and red tulips from Elizabeth's mom

Festive details 

View from the smaller sofa

Bigger couch and art 

Close up of our artsy wall 

Em's flowers from her dad and Court's cutesy picture frame

I love rearranging because it makes a room feel like new and it's so refreshing. I feel like I am in a whole new place and that is something that I love. Now I want to move around every room in our house. But for now I won't. :)

Perspective

Most of the time working in Gwinn (the cafeteria at SPU) is the worst. Especially when it means I have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning. But so far this quarter, I have been the cashier and that means, I get to swipe cards and interact with other students and my friends. That's not so bad. Today was especially fun because I have been the cashier long enough during breakfast on Mondays and Wednesdays, that people I didn't know before are starting to remember me and I am starting to remember them. 

While Gwinn isn't a perfect job, I am really thankful that I have an income and I also get to be around nice people.  

My wonderword and the 15 minute count 

Tonight

I should be studying French for my test tomorrow. But I don't feel like it. I mean, I love French in so many ways but I don't feel like memorizing vocabulary right now. I just want to watch Ellie Goulding's music videos (or Vampire Diaries) and crochet. 

Here is one of my favorites:

Secretly, I might want to be her. Oops, I said it. She is so precious and I love her style.

Oh happy Tuesday

This morning, when my alarm went off at 7:45, I wasn't in the mood to wake up and go to class. I wanted to stay warm in my cozy bed and sleep for another hour or two. Or maybe four. I pressed snooze a hundred and one times and waited until the very last minute to climb out from beneath my covers into the cold and bitter morning - the day wasn't actually bitter, I was. I got ready within 10 minutes and then left the house and began my walk to campus. 

When I reached the top of the hill, I was met by this glorious ray of sunshine and I couldn't help but smile.

  

Suddenly, waking up early didn't seem so bad and there was a skip in my step. But that could have also been because I was wearing my new floral sneakers. 

When I got to campus, I took this picture of the morning sunshine from Martin Square. 

My sunshiny walk to school this morning made my day a little brighter (oh no) and it made me a little bit glad that I wasn't sleeping.