Trapped....in an elevator

Kelly: So, neither of us were really planning on blogging tonight for any reason. Until....about 20 minutes ago. Our gospel choir (Black Music Ensemble...BME for short) ended in a very powerful way and we exchanged hugs and good wishes as usual on the way out. And like normal, I, along with Holly, her roommate, my roommate and two other girls get  in the elevator. As usual, I push the "3" button, but somebody on the other side of the elevator tries to PRY THE DANG DOOR OPEN so they could get in too.

-______________________________________-

Uh....HELLO?! Fact; if you try to PRY the door open, it WILL GET STUCK. Period. Anywho, so the door was open just a smidge, then kept closing, then kept opening just that smidge. And of course, none of us in the elevator had any cell service so we could call campus security, so we had to yell at the people on the other side to get someone to call them. While we were waiting, we passed the time by singing Adele's Rolling in the Deep and making up funny stories about the fact that us being stuck would make a good zombie apocalypse movie. And now I'm going to let Holly tell the rest.

Holly: *smh* When will people LEARN??

Anywho, as we were serenading ourselves with the soulful voice of Adele (and prompting those on the outside to serenade us), the campus police showed up and tried for a few minutes to pry us out, all to no avail.  I don't know how the elevator eventually prompted itself to work again, or how the door was opened, but, nevertheless, it was, and all six girls ran out basically screaming and hugging anyone in sight.  This ordeal has now officially scared me into using the stairs for a good while.  Possibly forever.  But hey, it's better for you anyway!

Hope your week is going swimmingly.  blessings! :) <3

Pictorial evidence that we are telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

Connecting in church, Berea, food, family...everywhere!!

Holly: First off, as a sort of sad sidenote, I have come down with the ick that has afflicted the Berea campus. So if I spawn off on random tangents, you know why...

Sundays are probably my favorite days of the week, primarily because I am able to be a part of something so awesome that, most times, I can't stop thinking about it. Like today. Now, I've heard many of Pastor Kevin's sermons in my almost three years of attending Berea Baptist, but what really gets me about him and his sermons is that he's not on a pedestal preaching to people below him: he's preaching to himself too! That level of humility is something that so many people strive for, yet so few achieve (I myself still struggle with this and probably always will). The sermon today was titled "Things That Last Forever." I won't get into the nitty-gritty details, but basically, the main idea was to focus our human mindset onto the fact that here (earth) is not our permanent home, and that the vast majority of the things we accumulate will not matter once we reach eternity with Jesus! Towards the end, he asked "If you knew you only had a few hours to live, what would you do?" Really struck a cord with me today, especially since, in the college world, we still have that mindset of trying to see how much "stuff" one another has...which is stupid, because if I see a Berea student with an iPad or driving a Mustang convertible I'm forced to do a double take! So I'm going to try my best to shift my perspective (which will NOT be easy, so stay tuned).

After church Kelly and I met up with one of our dear Berea friends who graduated back in December and has since then become a mommy! Her little one is adorable! :) Our favorite married friends joined us later and it was absolutely spectacular to catch up...over yummy food, of course! Always a plus! :)

The absolute highlight of the day was a visit from our mom's cousin and her family, whom we haven't seen probably since we were about 7 or 8; they were driving back to Ohio from Asheville, North Carolina, and decided to pay Kelly and I a visit. We gave them a (very) brief tour of Berea's campus and then...ate more yummy food!! Yes, twice in one day, but...seriously, cannot pass it up! The visit was lovely and we had a great time catching up with family we hadn't seen in a while!

Going back to the sermon, there was also an emphasis on relationships. That could not have come at a more perfect day, if I say so myself. :)

 Kelly: 8% of the world's population owns a car. Over 1 billion people have no clean water. 800 million people will not eat today. 300 million of those people will be children. 1 billion people live on less than one dollar a day.

Readers, we've got a problem.

Those were just some of the statistics mentioned in church this morning. Shocking? Yes. Sad? Incredibly. But what as Christians and humans can we do? Simple; count your blessings. Granted, we may not have the "best" or the "nicest" possessions, but you know. Compared to those individuals who don't have a car, clean water or a stable income, we've simply got it MADE. Definitely going to change my thinking and definitely going to be extra thankful for what I already have....or don't have.

Anyway, onward. Holly forgot to mention an additional highlight of the day which happened while we were eating lunch this afternoon. Our pastor happened to be there with his family and was eating lunch with another couple from our church. My friends left and so Holly, me and my roomie were talking to them for a while just because it has been such a long time since we've actually....just talked. And of course, their adorable 15-month old was the spotlight of attention. She later on was serenading us in "Three Blind Mice." I don't know if we have any pictures or not....anyway, adorable. Absolutely adorable. Garsh, I am so blessed to have found this wonderful church. I talk a lot about church, in case you haven't noticed. In addition, two girls in our Sunday School class became members today!!! *big grin* At my church if you're a college student you can do what's called a "dual membership" in which if you belong to your home church then you can also become a member at BBC too! Great, huh? Yes, I am a dual member and have been since May of 2009 (read the previous blog post about how we got started and all the mayhem we've been involved in!). Good times, and I wouldn't change a thing! That's about all to report today. Hope all you fine readers have a fantabulous week. Will post more later on. Cheers!

Phony Cabbage

Kelly: Happy Friday readers!!!! It's raining here today, and I had to get a flu shot this morning! And it didn't hurt as much as the last time I got one, which is good. Now I have a cool superhero band-aid (thank you Holly's roomie!!) ^__^ Anyway, the theme of this blog is not about shots and superhero sterile strips, rather our lovely church, Berea Baptist. I started attending a little over three years ago when I was a first year student at Berea. I went with a friend of mine who's aunt went there when she was a student at Berea. So we walked into the sanctuary and I even remember the first thing I said when I walked in..."there's a lot of people here." Ok, church background; my church at home on a good day has 25, maybe 30 people. Berea Baptist on a good day has about 300 people! So yeah, I thought that was a lot of people. Anyway, the service went on and that was it. I fell in love with EVERYTHING about it; the music (very contemporary), the people, the sermon and the pastor!

Shortly after attending, I decided I wanted to contribute more to the church because it brought me such great joy every time I go (and it still does!!!!). My sister, the pastor and I had a series of talks about what it means to become a member, so we did and enjoyed those talks. Then, on May 3, 2009, we made it church official and became members. And I've never been the same ever since.

Fast forward to...today. I'm a member of the worship choir (which is super fun) and I still attend every Sunday, or at least try to. Seriously, I get sad if I don't go to church, and in 2 weeks I'll have to miss church, but that's ok because it's for a happy occasion!!!!!!!! :] In addition, this year, the church introduced a new college student ministry specifically for meeting the needs of fine individuals such as us. So last night, there was a cereal and game night. What happened was I was only planning on staying maybe an hour...needless to say I didn't get into my room until 10:15 last night! Good times though, and I love my church and church family. I'll let Holly explain more about last night. Cheers!

P.S. look out for a new blog post from MY blog...coming tonight. :]

Holly: Ohhh...the joys of Apples to Apples.  It was probably the most fun I've ever had playing that game (and I've played it more times than I can count)!  Memorable combinations included "sensitive firestorms", "magical toasters" and "phony cabbage."

But in all seriousness, being a member of Berea Baptist has completely transformed who I am as a person.  Never have I been exposed to a place so welcoming, so loving, so WILLING to hang out with stressed-out college students.  It's rare as someone my age to not only consider the pastor like a second father, but also a dear friend.  You know it's also a good church when your relatively-not-really Christian parents say that if they lived in Berea they would attend!!! And that's saying something!  It really is a unique special place that is very close to me. 

Anyway, I'm really hungry, and food circus gets insane right around 11:45, so early lunch it is for sis and I.  Oh, and on a seemingly random note, I only have one class today.  Hooray for science profs going on a retreat!!!! Which they completely deserve, by the way.  Ok, lunch!  Cheers and blessings to all! :)

P.S. 8 MORE WEEKS UNTIL COLIN AND BRAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Five big hot air balloons go by...

Holly: We'll let the pictures do the talking...

Other than the less-than-desirable time spent waiting in line/crowds/bunches, the hot air balloon experience was still pretty cool!  Probably won't do it again, but now at least we can say we have! :)

After a nap, shower, a tasty lunch from our favorite local place, and a parade that never happened, Kelly and I ventured down to the festival (for information about that, please see this post)

First off, could not have asked for a more perfect day: sunny, not too warm, nice breeze!! Usually when we go we just wander around, which we did.  But I saw a purse that I decided I could not live without (greedy, vain, I know.....), so after a hill-heavy walk to the nearest ATM, I bought the purse.  I was expecting to pay $15 but it was only $10!!!!!!!!!!!!! I left the booth feeling like I had just won the lottery! :D 

Today was an awesome day...good company, food (kettle corn...yummy!!), and a good deal! What more could a girl ask for? :)

"The purse" I decided I couldn't live without!

Kelly: A great day indeed. The only downfall is my stupid camera stopped working!!!!! ALL CAPS RAGE. grrr...will be investing in a new one before Colin and Brad show. All the better to take awesome pictures with! ^__^ Anyway, I think this day was a great beginning to almost nearing....midterms. AAAAHHHHH!!!! I know, it's so unbelievable, already this semester is off to a speeding start! I too also invested in a new purse. Before I talk about it, I must confess I am a huge sucker for handmade goods. Having recently started a handmade craft, the time and effort going into them is something you cannot put a price on. My craft of choice is bracelets, which I do take requests for at anytime. All I ask is for 4 colors and somewhere where I can send them :] Ok, enough of my shameless bracelet pitch, back to the purse. It's a quilted purse that was sewn together like a patchwork. It also came with a matching wallet, and it is just rock-on awesome. 25 bucks for the whole lot, now in my opinion I don't think that's bad at all!

I really don't know what else to talk about, except about the moth that flew and landed on my glasses! Before Holly had enough time to get her camera out, it flew away.  It was definitely one of those moments that I will think of forever because the odds are like 1 in a trillion that it will happen again. Still, definitely worthwhile and it made me happy. *big cheesy grin* Now that our fun day is over, sadly I now must depart and do some homework Groan. Well, that's what we get for being full-time students. Until next time, cheers!

Purse :D

Great picture. Great day

Spoonbread, spoonbread, we adore thee....not really

Kelly: My apologies if I go off on strange tangents, but I am sick. Have been since Wednesday. But I'm going to just take it easy and let whatever this is run its course. No, I do not need an antibiotic. Anyway, onto the purpose of this post. Tonight, here on Berea's campus kick started the annual Spoonbread Festival. It runs tonight till Sunday early evening. Now some of you are possibly wondering; well, what is spoonbread? I will tell you what it is and then I will tell you how I feel about it. Spoonbread resembles cornbread, except you...get it in a dish and eat it...with a spoon. So in layman's terms, mushy cornbread. And that's how I feel about it. Personally, I think the stuff is disgusting, and the only way I like it is if I put tons and tons of butter on it. So now not only is it disgusting but incredibly unhealthy. Bad cycle. So I just don't eat it. But here in Berea, there is an entire weekend festival all about this spoonbread. However, the festival itself is quite enjoyable; sis and I have attended at least one day out of the three years we have been here.

Tomorrow morning though, we are going on a mini adventure! During the festival, usually on the first full day, the day starts with a hot air balloon ride. Well, Holly and I have never been in a hot air balloon, so we're going to give it a try come tomorrow morning at 7:30. Stay tuned for that; we will probably post about it tomorrow! I'm actually really excited, despite my wee fear of heights/falling from up high.  Now I'm going to watch some Whose Line and laugh my butt off. Cheers!

Holly: Ah, Spoonbread.  My opinion of the liquefied cornbread is basically the same as Kelly's...well, the connotation of "liquefied cornbread" basically just explains my opinion! lol

The one thing I find amusing about the stuff is that locals absolutely despise it, but out-of-towners LOVE it.  Riddle me that.  Anywho, early morning hot air balloon ride tomorrow is sure to be an experience, but I'm actually pretty pumped about it, considering Kelly and I decided to go for it somewhat on a whim.  No, seriously, the extent of the conversation was something like "Hey, there's going to be hot air balloons, want to go?" "Sure."  End of story.

I shall now participate in some great and fantastic humor-watching laughs of Whose Line.  Never gets old.

blessings! <3

P.S. Is it possible to be overtly excited about...well, anything, really?? No.  Ok, well, here it goes:

NINE. MORE. WEEKS. Until Colin and Brad Show hits up EKU! Kelly and I are beside ourselves with excitement!

Ode to Berea

Holly:  So Kelly and I have been wanting to blog about Berea College for a while now.  But today, I was absolutely insistent upon it  because I am a senior!!!!

First off, a few tidbits about Berea: Founded in 1855 by an abolitionist Methodist minister. Has a student body of just over 1700 (that is not a lie), 18% acceptance rate, student/teacher ratio of about 11:1.  Located about 40 minutes south of Lexington, couple hours away from Cincinnati, Ohio.  For Kelly and I, it's about a 4 hour drive, so not terrible.  The main kicker: Berea charges no tuition (also not a lie).  Makes up for this by having a ginormous endowment.  That's a very basic rundown.  Now...

Up until the end of my sophomore year of high school, I had never heard of Berea.  A dear friend of mine and Kelly's, however, took a visit with some others from our school and absolutely fell in love with it!  She applied and was accepted within a few months; we were all so excited!!!!  Fall of 2007 our friend went on to Berea and I started senior year of high school.  Every time I talked to her, I was always, "tell me about Berea, what's going on at Berea? Tell me about your Berea friends."  Kelly and I had our first visit in March of 2007 (spring break of our junior year).  As predicted, we absolutely fell in love with it, and I fell in love with it fast!  I literally stepped on the grounds, proceeded through the tour, and was like, "This is it.  This is where I'm supposed to be." 

It took a while for application materials to get organized, but Kelly and I applied sometime in December of '07.  The waiting was HORRENDOUS!  I tried to get on with my life as best as I could, but I just could not get that little school in Kentucky out of my mind.  We did apply to several other schools, but Berea was unanimously our first choice.  Finally, in March of 2008 (yes, that's a four month wait), I got the letter that, literally, changed my life: I was accepted!!!!!  However, the joy was short lived, and....I'll let Kelly share that with you.

Being at Berea has been such an enormous blessing to me: I have literally had some of the best (and probably some of the worst) times of my life here.  It is a miracle that I attend a college where my professor knows me.  It's a miracle that I attend a college where my professor knows my name!!!  Some of my greatest life influences I can now, without a doubt, include some of my professors I've had here.  I don't think they'll ever know the amount of influence they've had on me.  Some of the best friends I've EVER had I met here, and I don't think they'll ever know how much of a joy it was to be a part of their lives.  Thank God we still keep in touch! :)  MANY of my greatest academic challenges have been from classes here, homework assignments, papers, presentations.  I have never laughed so hard or cried so much here.   If it weren't for Berea, I never would have found a church that I consider more of a home than I could have possibly imagined.  I never would have had the opportunity to study abroad in England!  And the list goes on and on and on and on...

The fact that I am approaching the end of my time here is exciting, heartbreaking, and terrifying all at the same time.  But I don't really want to think about that right now.......I'm still trying to have as much fun as possible! :)  Berea is an amazingly awesome place, and I really cannot imagine having gone anywhere else for my education!

Anyway, if you haven't visited Berea, I strongly recommend you do so!  If not, then...well, you know enough by now!  :)

Kelly: I am not just a number. I am not just another student. I am not in a class with 400 students. I am...me. That is how this institution recognizes me. If I had a nickel for everything that I love about Berea, I could quit nursing school and do whatever I wanted. I remember the day that Holly got accepted....but on that day I also received some news. No, it was not news of my acceptance; it was news that I was put on the waiting list. Did I think I was going to get in? Actually, for a while, I didn't think I would. But Holly and I sat down after she got her acceptance letter. It was a talk that we had never really had to worry about, or one that we never had to have before. Though I don't remember the extent of the conversation, I do remember telling Holly "look, there is a great possibility that I may not get accepted. No matter what happens though, you HAVE to go here. You cannot turn down this opportunity." And she didn't. Then, for me at least, the waiting game continued.


On top of Berea, I had one other school that practically gave me a free ride, Ohio University in Zanesville (OUZ for short). I had heard great things about their nursing program, so I applied and got accepted. The only problem was that on OUZ's campus there isn't any housing, so I'd have to find my own place to live. Also, I didn't have my driver's license at the time, so I would have had to get that, get a car and get a job. I was progressing further into OUZ's application and didn't hear anything for a while, so I just assumed I wouldn't hear anything. On May 6, 2008, I had my deposit for OUZ sealed. I was literally going to drop it in the mailbox that morning saying "yes, I am coming here. Hold a spot for me." But when I walked to the mailbox, I had a letter from Berea in the mail. That was it. It was my acceptance letter. I ran back inside, jumped up and down, ripped up my OUZ deposit and threw it away. The wait was over...and the rest is history.

As a senior now, I do not regret the decision I made to come here instead of OUZ. I have absolutely NO regrets, and I am just marveled at all the opportunities I have had to grow here. Very distinctly, I still remember moving into Elizabeth Rogers residence hall on August 21, 2008, ready to be on my own for the first time. Once all our stuff was unpacked, I remember looking at Holly and saying "well....now what?" Again, the rest is history. I've made some wonderful friends that I will cherish, unfortunately most of them have graduated and are on to bigger and better things. Then there's the friends I have made within my major. There's only 19 of us in my class right now, so we've all been forced together for the remainder of our time here, but I get along with everyone and we have such great times, even while studying. I still remember saying to my mom the first time we visited "Mom, we HAVE to come here!!!!!"

So now, here I sit...and like I have said, the rest is history. Though I have one more year left, I am very looking forward to more new and exciting opportunities to grow not only in my major, but also in my faith in Christ, my relationships with friends, and my personal skills when I begin the baby steps of the professional nursing field. I praise God for a college such as this, and like I've said countless times, I have NO REGRETS. Ok, I'm going to stop rambling about how awesome Berea is...it's the old tour guide in me and the tired me who's been up since 3:30...AM. Enjoy this post, readers! Cheers!!!!

Freshman year!!! (circa sept. 2008)

Sophomore year. Nov. 2009

May 2011.

Some of our bestest frainds!!! Dec. 2010

Team TOMS!!! Sept. 2010

Do you remember?

Kelly: I was in 6th grade, getting ready to start my social studies class. All of a sudden, another teacher comes barging into our classroom and showed us this picture. It was printed in black and white, very grainy, very small. Then, my teacher turned the TV on. Little did any of us know that we were tuning in to a very pivotal moment of our history. Little did I know even what the Twin Towers were. Little did I know, that 10 years ago, on this day, 2,996 lives were taken. Out of those 2,996, 19 of those lives were the hijackers on the planes that were responsible for the attacks. I did not know that....until today.

Today at church, my dear pastor finished the sermon as usual with the announcement of an invitation. But this time was different. We were asked to pray for the terrorists that not only caused this terrible tragedy, but the ones today that our government has labeled. As I was sitting in my seat, leaned over the pew in front of me, I started crying. And I had a hard time stopping. The sermon was about how we are all created in the image of God, no matter who we are or what we have done. And I kept thinking to myself, why would God's creations turn against and basically murder our own kind? Why would God's creations kill God's creations? It just didn't make sense to me...and it still doesn't.

I must admit, sometimes it is difficult to be a Christian. Today is definitely one of those hard moments. But during the service, Matthew 5:43-45 where the theme is "pray for those who hurt you." Some wonder how one can pray for someone who caused....this? All of this? But the answer is simple; if you claim to be a follower of Christ, then it is our rightful duty to do just this. Yes, for me, it is very hard, but friends and readers, in my opinion this is so necessary. Let's not only pray for these cruel people, but of course for those who lost family and friends 10 years ago today. May their hearts heal and their minds mend.

Holly: Ten years.

I was 11 years old, in sixth grade language arts class.  Too young to understand entirely what was going on, but old enough to realize that it was bad.  But I just didn't know "how bad". 

Today, I am 21 years old, and I have a bright future ahead of me.  I am approaching the end of an incredible four-year journey of college, and, for that, I am very thankful, because it is an opportunity, sadly, not taken by many people such as I.  And Berea has been more of a blessing than I can even describe (next blog, Kelly????)

Church today was just......wow.  I am still at a loss for putting it into words.  The fact that, today, of all days, I prayed for the salvation of an FBI-listed criminal (no, I am not making this up!) just resounded in me so strongly that by the time "Break Through" was playing, tears were just pouring from my eyes.  I wholeheartedly applaud Pastor Kevin today.  What he said, about all 2,996 people that MATTERED to God, yes, even the 17 hijackers, takes an extreme amount of courage.  And I know for some people that that is not an easy thing to accept.

Back in May, when the news of bin Laden's death swirled around everywhere, I was shocked and saddened by the way some of my peers reacted.  I have to admit, when my friend called me and told me the news, my immediate reaction was something along the lines of "yay".  But as the news grew and grew, and friends updated their Facebooks in responses of shock, joy, confusion, sadness, I noticed a trend of comments such as, "He got what he deserved" and "He deserved to die."  If you do not get anything from this blog today, then get this:

Friends, I am in no way shape, size, or form condoning ANYTHING that bin Laden and the 17 9-11 hijackers did, but NOBODY, I repeat, NOBODY, deserves to die!  Period.

So, to answer the blog's question, Do I remember? Honestly, no.  Not really.  I think mostly because I was too young to really understand what was going on.  But one thing is very clear today: My heart goes out to the friends, families, and loved ones who are still dealing with the terrible tragedy that occurred ten years ago today.  I pray that God will strengthen this nation and that we will turn to Him as our ultimate source of strength and hope.

What's your story?

Cheese Balls and Rice Krispy Treats

Holly: Before I go on with this, I would just like to state for the record that, right now, I am absolutely FUMING over technology! Facebook Mobile, to be specific.  I have tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and it is just refusing to be cooperative! To the best of my knowledge (which, in technological terms, is next to none), I have not done anything wrong.  I am following the instructions very carefully.  It is VERY frustrating because it is working just fine for Kelly.  Ok, ending rant now.

Tonight my fantabulous roommate chauffeured Kelly and I to Wal-Mart.  While perusing the aisles we came across at least a quarter of an aisle of BARRELS of cheese balls! My roommate hugged one around herself and was like, cheese balls, what are cheese balls?????? Kelly and I busted into laughter.  Of course, my roommate decided that the cheeseball haven would make a perfect YouTube video (she has recently gotten into mobile phone vlogging).  So, here we are, three stressed college girls making a video about oversized containers of cheese balls in the middle of Wal-Mart on a Friday night!  :D

No sooner than thirty-six seconds after shooting this cheese ball video, we proceed to the end of the aisle and there is a display of freaking RICE KRISPY TREAT BRICKS!!!! Holy buckets, it was a Rice Krispy treat SHEET!! Literally the largest creation of marshmallow rice goo that I have ever seen!  It was quite glorious!  And hilarious!  So, here we are again, three stressed college girls laughing at Rice Krispy bricks in the middle of Wal-Mart on a Friday night! :D

Good fun was had by all!  P.S Hummus is awwwweeeesssssssssooooommmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeee!!! :)  It has become my new addiction!

Kelly: Good times with good company. That's all I really have to say. Honestly have NEVER SEEN a container of cheese balls that big! Totally insane! Ok, off to bed now, pip pip. Busy weekend ahead of busy work; hey, that's what I signed on for for nursing school. Cheers!

P.S. 10 MORE WEEKS TILL COLIN AND BRAD SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holly and the Rice Krispy BRICK.

CHEESE BALLS!!!!

Theme of the day: "I'M NOT CRAZY!"

Kelly: It's true, readers. Contrary to what you may have seen or heard, we are not crazy! Granted, it has been a rather crazy week, but it's not true. This week was actually the first full week of what I am about to endure for the rest of this semester. Two day a week clinicals, so far, are NOT agreeing with me. Awake at 4:00 on Tuesday, and I've been up since 6 this morning. Oh well, as the old saying holds...this too shall pass. Over time my body will adjust to my erratic sleeping/waking cycles. Although thus far I have enjoyed both of my rotations. Tuesdays I am so far in Lexington at St. Joseph Main doing...whatever. I was in the OR on Tuesday (hello, robotic laparascopic assisted hysterectomy!!!!), and today I was in a psychiatric facility, observing individuals with substance abuse. I must say, I am so impressed by these individuals and their courage to realize they have a problem and are fixing it. Mental health can be a very dangerous field...but there are those who do own up to their issues and try to work them out. EVERYONE in the group meeting I observed today were admitted voluntary; in other words, it was their choice. Stay tuned, and for more accurate and detailed descriptions, please read my blog entitled "Clinical adventures: from novice to RN." Ok, enough of my shameless plug.

Funny factoid/story that happened today, I was checking my Yahoo! email as I typically do. I was deleting the usual facebook group posts or something like that and then I received this one email that for some reason I could just not ignore. The subject was "Chase bank doesn't like you." Chuckling, I opened it. Below is the first paragraph of such email, verbatim:

"Aaron Collette came off a plane from Iraq and into his "safe zone” -- his father's home in Oregon that you saved from imminent foreclosure by Chase bank while Aaron is home on leave.

Aaron and his dad Tim recorded a video to thank you and 122,000 Change.org members for saving their home while Aaron is on leave from Iraq." 

 Uh...excuse me?! Either my email has been spammed to kingdom come or someone is playing a joke on me. Though this is an incredibly awesome story, I was NO WAY involved with saving this family's home from "imminent foreclosure." And I'm still not sure why Chase bank doesn't like me....but we'll see. Suggestions on what I should do with this email would greatly be appreciated. That's all to report for now. Cheers!

Holly: Um...yeah, I think that Chase bank SHOULD like you.  But anyway...

The blog's title actually came from a previous Facebook status of mine from earlier today.  I arrived to work this morning just before 9 and my professor boss asked me where the clickers are.  (Ok, I know that y'all have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, so just bear with it).  My mind panicked because I could have absolutely sworn that I had left them out from the previous lab; in fact, I know I did!!!! All the while I swore up and down that I am NOT crazy! So my professor left to do another sweep of all the labs and prep rooms when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.  I mentioned my inquiry to my fellow TA, and to my horror/shock/hilarity, I realized that it was a clicker.  In fact, ALL of the clickers were situated perfectly in the middle of each and every table.  Needless to say, we all got a good laugh.  I think that during clean up I asked myself, Ugh, can it just be the weekend already???

This afternoon I also got to hear a talk from an MD who is chair of the...well, I don't remember what...department at UK (University of Kentucky, for our out-of-territory readers).  But this guy was freakinnnnggggg brilliant!! He has a bajillion patents on an artificial lung/other heart-lung related mechanisms and hasn't received a penny from hardly any of them! And this all started when he investigated the not-so-hidden dangers of ventilators! Ventilators!!! Who would have thunk it?  Apparently, over time, ventilators do more harm than good.  But yeah, definitely left the talk having learned something.  And not only was he freakinnnnnnnngggggg brilliant, but he could rip on the harmonica like no other!!! I was just like, play dat harmonica, genius lung man!

In other news, I got another 85 on my online high stress-inducing biochemistry quiz (sha-zam!), and I can now see clearly on my side of the dorm again.  Yes, our light has been burned out since we moved in but now all is well, bright, and clear in 202 once again! :)  And kettle corn is awwweeeessssoooommmmeeee!!!

Tomorrow is Friday (hooray!).  Hope everyone is having a wonderful week and is looking forward to the great things to come! :)

blessings!!! <3

BME meets King's Island!

Holly: Yesterday, the gospel choir that Kelly and I are a part of (BME= Black Music Ensemble.  And no, you don't have to be black! lol) went to King's Island yesterday.  For the select few of our readers, King's Island is an amusement park in Cincinnati, Ohio: 3 hours away from home home (Athens), 2 and a half hours-ish away from Berea.  Anyway, we left really super early (7) and got back super late (10)...so needless to say, I was a little tired for church this morning.  But church never fails to lift my spirits and make me feel all kinds of happy again!

Ok, waaayyyy off topic (we'll probably do another blog about our church later, so stay tuned), but, despite our choir being at the park on the hottest day on record, I think we did pretty good.  I even think we ended up on some  random people's cell phone videos! XD

After we sang, we literally had like SIX HOURS to kill at the park.  Our shenanigans included riding about 80% of the kiddie rides (that is not an exaggeration, either), riding White Water Canyon (twice!), riding an assortment of our favorite fair rides, including the Scrambler, and ending the day with the Backlot Stunt Coaster (my and Kelly's personal favorite).  It was, quite possibly, the singlehandedly most fun thing that I have done in a while! Exactly what I needed to start off my second to last semester of my undergraduate career! :]

Kelly and my wonderful roommate, Amanda! We had just gotten off WWC and we were looking like a hot mess!

I'm a bit too excited about the Stunt Coaster!

We're a pretty rad bunch! (L-R: me, Karen, Kelly, Jen, and Amanda in  the front with her Dippin' Dots)

Kelly: Shew! Incredibly thankful for Holly's overzealous roommate and her fair skinness and constant re-application of sunscreen. Man, it was incredibly brutal when we had to get up and sing. Hey, I'd like to see you all sing in front of people, in the 90-degree blazing sun, in dark shirts and dark jeans. We were singing our closing song titled "Freedom," and at the end everyone was clapping. I was clapping too because we were finished and we could get out of the sun!!! Hahaha...I tease. Our performance was very wonderful, if I do say so myself. People were stopping us throughout the day and asking what we were and what we were doing. It was also very rewarding and uplifting for me as well. Earlier this week, I mentioned a test that I needed to pass, and well, if you read "Victory!!!!" (the previous post), you'll see it. Just read it. Anyway, it was kind of a celebration of a job well done for me, just personally.

Now we're done and still reeling from the soreness and exhaustion from it all. Seriously, I LOVE going to church, but Bedside Baptist sounded like a great idea this morning. I was so sore and my voice was just about done...took a couple hacks before I could hear myself talk. And now I'm still sore. Anywhos, now the week is about to begin and it's going to be CRAZY. But we will both be totally fine, because God is good, can I get an amen? That's it for now. Cheers! 

VICTORY!!!

Old picture from last year. Love it because it fits today's theme :] 

Kelly: "But the hard times will come. And we'll keep moving on. We're moving up.
Life, hope, trust, faith, pride, love lust, Keep moving on. 
Laugh, cry, live, die. 
Make the best with what you're given. This ain't dyin; this is livin." -Good Charlotte, "Moving On."

I serve a mighty God! I really do. Everyday of my life I do not deserve His love, mercy and grace. Earlier this week, I think in the previous blog post, I mentioned a big test that I HAD to pass in order to continue on with my nursing education. I won't go into the gorry details, because you can just read the previous post in order to know what the criteria and stipulations were. Took it the first time on Monday, missed 6. Took it the second time on Wednesday, missed 4.

This brought me to last night. I went to bed at 11:30, but didn't fall asleep till about an hour later. I sat awake, thinking and praying about the future, because I honestly did not know what I was going to do. After listening to Michael W. Smiths "This is Your Time" and saying a final prayer, I finally went to sleep. The pressure was on; I even had a conversation with Holly earlier and was trying to talk myself out of everything. I had made plans and done research on other alternatives for a new major. Got up this morning and had a lonnnnnng conversation with God again. I asked Him to remove my fears, doubts, worries, insecurities and all the bad thoughts, because all that can be left are good and positive ones. I sat down with the test in front of me and just said to myself "I know what I'm doing. I am capable."

Give or take 45 minutes later, and I finished. Pacing and pacing, found a friend of mine, gave her a hug, hopped around a bit, then..."Kelly." Then, "you missed 3. Fix one, and you'll pass." CRAP!!!!!!! Sitting back down in the chair, I furiously searched for the 3 I missed. Luckily, they were the easier questions, which means i DO know what I'm doing. The question: "Toparol given 150 mg ER daily." Hmmm...I thought...ER can mean two things. Enteric Route, which was what I had, but what else could it mean? What else does it mean? Think, dummy think. Then...EXTENDED RELEASE. I wrote it in all caps and turned it back in. And that was it. I was gone, realizing after I left the building I left my cup of coffee on the table. Oops.

Ran, well, walked rapidly to the Science Building, met up with Holly and her roomie, danced in the hallway, ran outside, danced outside, turned a cartwheel on the Fairchild lawn, hopped around some more. Holly's roomie bought me a soda from Berea Coffee and Tea (BC&T for the new readers that may come along). So it's official; I am competent in Nursing math and am MOVING ON with the program! Granted I still have to turn in my extension to stay longer and finish such degree, but I can do this! I CAN DO IT.

"What a mighty God we serve.
What a mighty God we serve. 
Angels bow before Him
Heaven and Earth adore Him
What a mighty God we serve."

Holly: Don't have much to contribute to this, except I will elaborate on the celabratory happy dance that partook after my class this morning.  It definitely turned some heads!!!! XD

But, nevertheless, a major obstacle has been conquered in the Korb realm and life is resuming on a happy scale for today! God is good, better than we can comprehend!  I hope that some of you readers can get a taste of the indescribable joy that we feel! :)

blessings!