Home-coming and Blessed and Grateful #3!

I... I can see it coming... I'm actually going to come home at some point. I'm not going to be in Florida forever... This idea is nuts to me. I thought I was destined to be perpetually enslaved in this sparkling dungeon where my handcuffs were shaped like mickey-heads. But, lo! The sun is rising! By the sun is rising, I mean to say that the next schedule that drops will be the schedule of my last week. My brother gets here on the 11th and we'll be spending that day and the 12th at the parks before we leave on the 13th. Scheduling is complicated, but I will hopefully be able to get those two days off. I'm really excited about seeing Dan. Even when I was home, we didn't get to see each other too much, and we're in need of a big catching up. He's been a teachers assistant for a good while now, and that just seems like such a fit. Having Dan for a teacher in high school would have been hilarious! My dad just sent me his flight itinerary, and that's the first concrete document I have that leads directly to my vindication. Naturally, I'm beyond ecstatic! I got "The Hobbit", and I'm hoping to finish that by the time I leave. So far, books I've read while I've been down here include: "Common Sense 101" and "Manalive" by G.K. Chesterton, "Looking for Alaska" and "Paper Towns" by John Green, "The Silver Chair," "The Last Battle," and "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis, "Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love," by Edward Sri, "The Princess and the Goblin," by George MacDonald, and a good chunk of "An Anthology of Christian Mysticism," which I've kind of been jumping around in. I didn't even know I packed it, and I will be returning that to the Bellarmine Library once I get home... *guilty look*. I'm really bummed because I wanted to read "Wuthering Heights" while I was down here but I seem to have left it back home... Anyways! Reading has definitely been amazing. I don't get to do enough of it at home, so it has been a really edifying aspect of my program. 8 p.m. will be my new "workout hour" until I get home- I'm rarely still working by then- and I'm trying to eat super healthy so I'll have tons of energy when I get back! It's very curious to think about what I'm returning to. My brother, Will, is now confirmed, braced, and at least two inches taller, Greg is going to be in 6th grade next year, and Andrew just sounds so grown up on the phone. Emily is turning 16, Lauren is graduating, my parents have been to Italy. So much has happened! I wonder if going home is going to feel incredibly different because of these changes. There's so much to do this summer! Jobs to work, events to plan, babies to sit (babysitting, get it?), songs to write, books to read, trails to hike, prayers to pray, friends to see, jokes to be laughed at, bonfires to ignite, relationships to grow in... and yet all of this doesn't make me anxious. It makes me so excited!
I'm trying to follow the advice of C.S. Lewis:
                       "Obey the present voice of conscience; bearing the present cross, receiving the present                         grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure,"
but it's definitely a challenge when I am getting so pumped for all of the graces and pleasures that are so close I can almost touch them! Granted they will be 900 miles away, but you get the picture. To help me with this challenge, here comes my next blessed and grateful list :)
30. Plane tickets
31. Rum cup-cakes (thanks, michelle!)
32. Themed cupcakes on google :D
33. Birthday party planning
34. My fluorescent-green water-bottle
35. Blogging. It's fun.
36. That everyone is safe in Virginia, even with all of the crazy crazy weather.
37. The Chronicles of Narnia, especially "The Last Battle". Even without any other reason, you need to read all of the chronicles just so you can read the last book. It's just so beautiful and encouraging. C.S. Lewis=the man.
38. Laura, who is the best friend someone could ask for.
39. Fresh laundry.
40. Reconciliation ohhhh man. So good. Also, I like "reconciliation" more than "confession", because reconciling yourself with God is the purpose to confess in the first place.
41. Mumford & Sons and Alive in Wild Paint
42. This moment I had yesterday:
I called home to talk about plane-tickets and such with my family, and my little brother, Drew, answered the phone. I got excited and had a moment where I'm sure at the other end, air flew out of the ear piece and knocked over Drew like in a cartoon. "HI, DREW!!" "Hi, Annie!" "OH MY GOSH HOW ARE YOU??!" "I'm fine! How about you?" I was stunned. He sounded grown up. It was weird. The best part is coming. I then asked (still more excited than the 8-year-old boy), "Andrew! Guess how long until I'm back?!!" "Umm... 16 days, right?"
He swore he wasn't looking at a calendar, yet he was right. It was the sweetest thing ever.


That's it for now, hope all are having blessed weeks!

WOOOO

I love Easter. SO MUCH. My love of Easter was probably sparked by the reason of my existence previously stated: free/abundant food. Just kidding! Actually, it probably helped. Definitely mainly for the happy Jesus rising from the dead reason, though :)
Back home, we have many Easter traditions. These include:
-Easter vigil mass at night
-Baskets in the morning
-Brunch with the Berneros and Whiteheads
-Older-kid-inclusive Easter-egg hunt at my house
-Pretty dressing up-ness
-Easter-egg hunt at my grandparents where I get to hide eggs
-Easter dinner at my grandparents
-Night prayer with my family

So, I missed a lot being down here, but I had some lovely Easter experiences of my own. In Easter mass, I sat down to a really lovely couple about my parents' age, and the wife was just especially sweet. We both were excitedly wishing others a happy Easter along with our "Peace be with you"s, and it made us laugh. On the way home, there was a kind of sketchy-lookin dude walking towards me and I wished him a happy Easter and he lit up and laughed and wished me one. Then I did the same for my security guard, who responded similarly. After I got home, Mallory and I went to Publix to do some grocery shopping. I told Mallory about the guy on the way home, and once we were inside security on the way back, she yelled "HAPPY EASTER!!" to this random guy walking by, with no response. So she did the only reasonable thing. She yelled it again louder. "HAPPY!! EASTERRR!!!". This time he heard her, looked up, and shouted back "Oh! Happy Easter!" She was quite happy, and repeated this act with everyone else we passed until we parked. Then Mallory invented the "magic meter", which measures how much Disney magic someone possesses. People, she says, that didn't excitedly return her "Happy Easter"s obviously did not have a very high reading on the magic meter. She thought herself very clever, and neither of us could stop laughing about the magic meter and it's cleverness until we finally got into the apartment. Then I made sloppy joes, which are obviously paschal cuisine. I also got an apple pie with ice-cream for the girls for breakfast tomorrow, and made hard-boiled eggs for the first time. Woohoo! Now I'm off to bed and a little bit of "Screwtape Letters" reading before my 12 hour shift tomorrow. Also, if you are a person who will see my little brother, Will, in the near future, wish him a happy confirmation! If you are, in fact, Will, however, here's a little shout out for you :)

I am so tremendously proud of you. I am proud of your kindness, I am proud of your wisdom, and I am proud of your diligence of faith. You are such an amazing example of Christ-like love to your little brothers and everyone else you come in contact with. You have a beautiful soul, Will, and I am so looking forward to watching you grow more and more in your relationship with Jesus. He has a wonderful witness, soldier, and friend in you. I love you!

What can I say? My little brothers are totally my weakness!
Happy Easter and God bless.

Night of Stars update!

Hey guys! Can't upload video, although I'll get the DVD later if anyone wants to see it, but here's some pictures from the night!

 my roommate, Shannon, took this one of  me when my face was up on the big screen :) thought it looked cool!

here's the two girls I became closest with that night- Gabbie in the middle, and Ashton on the right. They're awesome!

Blessed and Grateful #2 (10-29)

Blessed and grateful for...
10. The Whitehead family
11. Claire's first two goals of the season! Huzzah!
12. Big, soft, salted pretzels
13. Roller coasters
14. The Andray family, plus Kim, Makennah, and Rylah (who are totally part of that family, anyway)
15. Those families that you aren't connected to in blood, but unquestionably in everything else
16. Books that use the word "bosom" like "Princess and the Goblin". It's uncomfortable and hilarious.
17. Books, period.
18. Funny ring tones- heard kim possible and "it's so fluffy!!" this week
19. Little girls in princess tiaras with sparkly eyes. It also helps when they open their autographs books for me :)
20. The prospect of Owl City's album that comes out in June!! If you don't read this blog, and feel the need to read some seriously profound, clever, inspiring, and wholesome thoughts of an artist, this is where it's at: http://owlcityblog.com/
21. Sunshine
22. Cloud cover
23. Kids that write me cards and draw me pictures
24. Twitter and it's ability to distract me from minor facebook withdrawal
25. Peach yogurt
26. Yogayogayogayogayoga
27. Ricola cough drops
28. Water
29. Holy Thursday mass! Basilica choir at Mary, Queen of the Universe= Love

Whewwww that was surprisingly easy, actually.
Happy Holy Thursday!

Family fun times

Although immediate family has yet to visit me here in the happiest place on earth, I have gotten the closest I  possibly could this week. My best friend's family, that is, her brother and dad, along with his girlfriend and her two daughters, came down this past week and I got to spend a day with them at Magic Kingdom. It was so fun! I love nannying, and Kim always shares her daughters with me when we're all together. Although I missed Lyndsey terribly, it was wonderful to see all of them. The only place I spend more time in than my own house is their house, and they bring the feeling of welcome wherever they go. It's a wonderful thing when you realize that home is in people, not in latitudes and longitudes. Then, today, I was fortunate enough to go to a Woodson lax game that was being played at the ESPN wide world of sports, where my good friend, Claire, melted some faces. By that, I mean she scored a goal WOOHOO! I have known Claire since she was about four, I think, and it sounds inaccurate to call her anything but my sister. Our parents just got back from Italy together for their 25th anniversary trip, and we've all been talking about story-swapping when we finally are reunited in three weeks. I didn't spend all night with Claire, because Disney World is definitely at team-bonding opportunity, but it was wonderful to get to see her for at least a couple hours. I can't believe I only have three weeks left! My brother and I have just started talking about our plans for him flying down and us driving back. It's crazy. Now I'm starting to make plans for work and such when I get home. This "adult" thing is a busy business. I'm excited to start working... while out of a fur coat and the sun haha. Something I'm looking forward to more is coming home from work to my family. To my mom who I can share anything with, to my sister who can make any situation hilarious and talk sense into any of my melodramatics, and my brothers who consistently turn my world, and more often than not, my frowns, upside down. I'm also looking forward to ultimate. I love me some ultimate. My first week will probably be spent actually seeing Kevin with my own eyes, catching up with people, hanging out with Christophe as much as I possibly can before he leaves for Seattle for the summer, and trying to get readjusted to Fairfax life. This week I've chewed through three books. Two of them were set in high-school, and written by the wonderful John Green, who is both witty and insightful. I was kind of hesitant to read a high-school set book, because I took to thinking that it would revolve around the basic high-school social environment: drama, politics, and immature romance. It's basically real life that just admits to being what it is. Green definitely wove some relevant and thought-provoking themes into these books though. If you want to check them out, they are called "Looking for Alaska" and "Paper Towns". The other is a book written in the 1800s called "The Princess and the Goblin". Just a fun story from childhood that is 300 pages long- it was a fun thing to go back to. The first two books, however, really reminded me of things that I should have taken away from similar experiences I had in high school. I started writing down memories I had forgotten, and I had a chance to talk to some of my closer high school friends and talked to them about these memories and just about friendship in general. It was very cool. Okay, Mallory just woke up for work so I'm going to go to sleep. I hope this post was coherent? Maybe? I'll check it tomorrow...

New Idea! Blessed and Grateful #1

Reading my the blog of one of the most inspiring, hysterical, and all around wonderful women I know, Mary Lenaburg, I came across a terrific idea! She lists things she is blessed and grateful for, and will expand on that list more and more occasionally as the blogs go on. I really like this idea, and I think it might make the giving up complaining for Lent issue a little easier. So here's my first part of the list! In hers, it looks as if they are usually pretty timely and specific, so I'm going to try to follow suit.

Grateful and Blessed list (1-9)
1. Making a new friend at work today and getting to see a new character, Angelica, in the park.
2. The light rain walking to the bus. It was so refreshing!
3. My two roommates who came to night of stars
4. All of the new friends I met at night of stars
5. Going on the carousel at Magic Kingdom for the first time
6. The awesome bus system at Disney
7. The free food we got at work. Woohoo!
8. One particularly lovely family I got to play with at work today- the grandma totally made my day when she gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me I reminded her of her puppy.
9. My sister finding her prom dress! I showed her the website she found it on, and it made me feel like I was actually involved in the process. I was afraid, coming here, that I wouldn't.

I'm sure I'll pick up with this soon :)

Night of Stars

Monday was definitely the most fun I've had during my whole college program here at Disney. It was so refreshing being around musicians, being around people that have a passion for something. I woke up at 6, packed up my guitar, dress, lunch, and everything else, and headed to Magic Kingdom first to get a new ID (no luck on finding my lanyard... reported it stolen, sadly), and then I went to Hollywood Studios where we checked in, had vocal warm-ups, were fed breakfast, and started tech rehearsal. I was just blown away. The sound system was flawless, the venue was huge, the lighting was blinding, but still awesome, and the technicians were so cool! I had so much fun. The sound techies mixed my voice live so there were some cool echos and other effects, and I got to joke around with them about meat-dresses and such and it was just a blast. After tech rehearsal, we ate some lunch, practiced some more, and started getting ready for dress rehearsal. Dress rehearsal was madness. I've never had four different girls giving me hair and make-up advice at once, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated. In the end, wearing my chucks with my shimmery dress, lipstick, and curled hair was my favorite wardrobe choice :) After dress rehearsal, we had interviews to be put on the Night of Stars DVD. We had some time to relax and eat dinner after that, and it was really nice bonding time. At this point, we had all been together for 12 hours, and friendships had definitely formed. I especially got to kno a girl named Gabbie, who was a vocalist, and a German international student named Jason, a DJ, who ended up winning the best "Specialty Act" with his partner, who is a Yo-yo national champion. I already knew three of the girls there through work, so it was nice to see a couple familiar faces. Waiting to perform was crazy. Thankfully, Gabbie was right in front of me, and I simply adore her voice. It was very calming to hear a friend perform right before you, and she did so well! The performance itself was terrifying. Singing in front of people is a fear that I've been trying diligently to get over for a while now, but it still petrifies me. Also, a venue that seats 900 was packed to standing room only. That didn't help. After being psychologically pushed around about what jewelry I should wear on stage, I ended up ditching everything but my favorite wooden cross, and that helped me initially walk out. Also, the stage manager told me that I was the production team's favorite, which made me feel special, especially being a techie myself. Anyways, I performed. I forgot lyrics at one point, I definitely went to fast in the beginning, and I was totally fine with it. It was scary, but it was amazing. I made some wonderful friends, I had a great day surrounded by exceedingly talented people, and it was an unforgettable experience. My rooommates, Mallory and Shannon, came, along with Natasha and Kelsen, and we all went to steak and shake. Jason, and the "All-Around Best" winner, Ninam, a beat boxer came with us. I almost fell on my plate, but it was a wonderful way to end the day. So that's about it as far as night of stars goes. I get my paycheck card in a week and a half, so surviving till then will be an adventure no doubt haha. I did just turn in a big wedding planning project this morning, and I did really well. I'm so excited to find out what my grade is! I'm reaching the last few pages of "Man Alive," which has been such a great book, of course, and my John Green books, "Paper Towns," and "Looking for Alaska," just came in the mail today!! Perfect timing. DFTBA people. For non-nerdfighters and people that don't follow the vlogbrothers on youtube, that means don't forget to be awesome :)

Peace.

Deep Breaths.

I gave up complaining for lent. Therefor, you can try to extricate how my day was by the list of things I told myself I should thank God for all day:
-Thank you, God, for my car.
-Thank you, God, that I have a job.
-Thank you, God, that I have roommates that won't kill me in my sleep.
-Thank you, God, that I have a house with air-conditioning that at least works some of the time.
-Thank you, God, that I have a home to go to after the program.
-Thank you, God, for my opportunity to go to school.
-Thank you, God, for my credit card that also works occasionally.
-Thank you, God, for my boyfriend who exists and is awesome even when he's 900 miles away.
-Thank you, God, for my family who I talk to.
-Thank you, God, that my best friend is my best friend and also still talks to me.
-Thank you, God, for my awesome community that will still be existent when I come home.

Whew. Night of stars is on monday, huge project due thursday, really excited for both! Also, for night of stars, they feed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Free food=reason for my existence. Ok, granted, when it comes to food I am prone to exaggeration. Must skype/sleep now. By the way, yoga is awesome! Go do it!

37 days!!

I feel like I can almost taste the Fairfax air! My roommate, Mallory, and I realized just how close the end is and we've compiled a to-do list before we leave. It's nice to be on the same page as someone. Tonight, we're going to eat at house of blues and see a movie at the theatre in downtown disney. We're going to look cute, which is always fun :) I haven't worn eye-liner in so long! I also finally finished another book called Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love, which is a wonderful book written by Edward Sri, whose talk I went to last FOCUS conference. The book is a commentary on JPII's Love and Responsibility, and serves as a guide of application. It was so good! There are so many thing out there to learn and think about, and I've never been as desperate to read everything and anything good I can as I have been down here. I'm already on chapter 4 of my next book, called Man Alive by G.K. Chesterton. The main character, Innocent Smith, is a man who is so full of simple, pure, and wise joy and passion. The way he interacts with other characters and life in general is so inspiring. It definitely helps me notice moments where I could choose to be more joyful in life. One of these instances was this morning. Disney can change my schedule as long as it's 24 hours or more before the shift, and they warned us about this early on. This, however, has never happened to me, so I simply woke up at 4:45 this morning and showered before heading to work my 6:15 shift. I said a decade on the way to work and just listened to some of my favorite worship songs (Always Have, Always Will by Avalon, Sea of Faces by Kutless, and Owl City's cover of In Christ Alone), and it just felt like such a grace-filled morning, especially considering I woke up before five with four hours of sleep. When I got on the bus that takes me from the parking lot to the park, a man announced "It's the driver's birthday, so everyone make sure to wish her a good one!". Everyone did as we got off the bus, and she had one of the biggest smiles on her face I've ever seen. After I found out I wasn't working, I headed back to the same bus, and had a lovely conversation with that same bus driver. The drive home was much like the drive to work, and because I had coffee, I decided not to go home and sleep again. I grabbed my guitar and went to our volley-ball court near the water to just play around. I started writing a song, and enjoyed the quiet, cool morning. After that I went home and worked on homework, took a nap, and got together with my group to finish our project that's due tomorrow. This day has just been a really good day off, and it's the first day I haven't struggled with gossip or complaining since lent began. Those two, to my surprise, have been the hardest parts of lent. Making time for prayer in the morning is easier because I either drive or take the bus in the morning, and facebook is much easier this year than it was for me last year. I think the environment here is just very conducive to both gossip and complaining; performers are around people lacking common sense all day, and it's so easy to make passing comments about them or other performers, or to complain about the very small, inconsequential inconveniences they present. I think today has been a good encouragement for going into the rest of my week. Also, the character in Man Alive  that I mentioned earlier has a wonderful knack for noticing and mentioning the positive in any and every aspect of creation he comes across, whether it be a person or a leaf. I tried this tactic yesterday, and it led to a great little chat with a foreign lady in line for groceries. I told her that her earrings were pretty, and we talked about how we both really enjoy thrift stores and flea markets. I then mentioned that I loved one of the cashiers long, silver hair to the lady with the earrings. She commented that she liked how I was so easily made happy by everything. What a wonderful thing to aspire to! I told her that I was trying my best, which is very genuinely true. Anyways, so excited about coming up on this home stretch for coming home!