Update on the "resolutions"

Remember this list? Well, since I posted it for accountability purposes, here's a little update:

1. Get married.
This one won't be done until June, so I'm not behind on that yet.

2. Read a book per month.
January: I, Isaac, Take You, Rebekah, February: More Letters from Pemberley. Check.

3. Write a post per month on my Ukrainian stories blog.
I sort of cheated for January and reposted a previous story... For February, do you think I should write about the side-of-the-road bathroom story or the stall-door-doesn't-cover-the-important-things story? Cast your vote.

4. Use my sewing machine more.
I haven't used my machine so far, but I've stitched up two shirts that were sporting impressive holes/tears.

5. Sort through memorabilia and scrapbook more.
I've sorted through a stack of senior year (college) stuff and scrapbooked 2.5 pages.

6. Write more cards and letters.
I wrote one to Kat. :)

7. Rent and watch the movies on my list.
Brad and I watched Red tonight. I might rent another one in the next week.

8. Order something different at Mexican restaurants.
Hm...well, we tried a new Mexican place tonight. Does that count? Last week, I ordered nachos and Mom ordered grilled vegetables, and the order got mixed up...I ended up with grilled vegetables on my nachos. They were good, too!

9. Finish a big puzzle.
Not yet...

10. Make a new friend.
I'm not sure I've made a brand new friend, but I've been getting to know acquaintances better. I think that counts.

11. Finish the project for my parents.
Slowly chipping away...

I mean, I can see progress. I'm hoping to get a jump on a couple other things. Oh! And here's a new goal: get all my ducks in a row for the trip to Ukraine! This includes finishing lesson plans, evening activity plans, gifts for friends, and training times for the team. So tired just thinking about it...sigh...just kidding! It'll be grand.

I LOVE checking things off my list! Woohoo!

It's another snow day!

Again, let me reiterate my love for snow in Tennessee: another snow day! We probably got 2-3 inches of snow last night (which promptly turned into ice), which meant that Roommate got her 3rd snow day this week (she teaches public school), and I got a full day out (Monday, we got out early and Tuesday, we started an hour later). I got to sleep late (despite the cats' best attempts at waking me up*) and take my time doing everything that needed to be done (which wasn't a lot). And, I have an opportunity to get free Chick-fil-a today. I'll be thinking about you, Peggy! I'm sorry you're not in TN to get in on that action.

*Sidenote on the cats: Roommate has two very sweet cats (excluding that time that one used my clean pants as the litter box). However, they like to frolic LOUDLY at inhospitable times, like late at night or before I'm quite ready to wake up in the mornings. Last night, they were bummed because both Roommate and I went to bed early-ish. I glanced over at my door at one point and noticed Paisley's tail sticking in under my door. I think she wanted in my room for some snuggle time. This morning, they were racing around this house as if they were at Talladega, running into our doors and meowing a lot. Roommate and I talked about it, and her theory is that both of us slept in, which seriously messed with the cats' sense of routine. It weirded them out that the sun had come up and they had yet to see one of their humans. Poor kitties...

Anyway, the snow and ice are starting to melt, but I still get to enjoy being off...and I think Zumba is still on for tonight. :)

Just a little wedding update...

Some of you may not care, but I find that people tend to like wedding planning updates. Here's one for you:

Up until about 2.5 weeks ago, I had given up on the wedding. In my head, the reception was going to be "bring your own snack" and the photography for the ceremony was going to be me handing my camera off to the first person that showed up and asking him/her to get whatever shots they could. I was super frustrated by the planning process and was having no luck securing the services of any of the vendors I had contacted. Trying to plan a wedding in a city that I don't live in was really overwhelming. And, did I tell you about the bridesmaids' dress fiasco?

I had an awesome dress picked out- right color, great shape, great price. I was REALLY excited about it and quite proud that my bridesmaids weren't going to come out of the ordeal hating me. Unfortunately, Molly alerted me to the fact that the store had run out of normal sizes (the only sizes left were 2's and 12's). I frantically contacted the store, and they said that the dress was not backordered but that they would try to contact individual stores and see what they could find. The best I got after a few days was that they'd rustled up one dress in a size 10.

Awesome. That's REALLY not going to work.

Despite my terrible attitude and inordinate frustration, I found a back-up dress, and get this: it was half the price of the first dress! In other news we've secured a caterer, a bakery, and all of the facets that Brad's family needed for the Rehearsal and Rehearsal dinner. We've also ordered the invitations, mapped out the ceremony, have reception decorating plans in the works (the colors are black, white, and red, by the way), and have chosen most of the music. Whew!

And, the caterer made us a 9-inch diameter tasting cake for FREE! Party at my house! Don't you wish you were here?

Tornado Appreciation...er...Remembrance Day

Today is the third anniversary of the tornado that tore through Jackson, TN/Union University during my senior year of college. I know this sounds dramatic, but I literally remember details about that day as if it happened yesterday. I think, in some way, it's akin to how people remember where they were when JFK was shot or when they heard about the World Trade Center in 2001. I remember things that are so insignificant- like how I had a Cranberry Slush from Sonic sitting on the coffee table that night and one of the first thoughts I had when the wall blew in was "Oh no...that slush is going to make such a mess!"

I remember what I was wearing; it looked totally ridiculous. From the waist up, I was still in my student teaching clothes, but from the waist down, I was wearing sweat pants, socks, and tennis shoes. It was so warm that day- probably 75. That night, though, the temperature dropped to 30-something. I wished I had been wearing my coat.

I remember how I kept reaching for my chapstick all night, only to realize that it was probably somewhere in Kansas...and that it was really the least of my worries.

I remember being so thirsty and knowing that I had had a water bottle with me (thanks for all of tornado prep, North Alabama), but the water never made it out of the dorm room.

I also remember really scary things like how the bathroom ceiling was starting to sink in over our heads...and how the roof of the building across from ours had blown off and was blocking our exit...and how I had glass and cement in my hair and clothes and shoes...and how there was no light and our dorm looked like a dilapidated haunted house...and how it looked like buildings where my friends lived were demolished to the point that I couldn't imagine my friends being alive...and how nobody knew where to go or what to do or what was going to happen next.

I ALSO remember really cool things like how friends of a friend couldn't get their freshman son on the phone to check on him, but right as my mom asked me if I'd happened to see him in the melee, he walked right up to me- totally unscathed (he'd just lost his phone in the storm)...and how the reason I wasn't pummeled with debris was because my roommates were in a sorority and had put a HUGE plywood sign in our window (it shielded me from the flying debris)...and how one of my roommates wasn't wearing shoes and a random guy we didn't know took off his flip flops and gave them to her so we could crawl out of the rubble...and how the lady that offered me my job this year took me in that night and took care of me...and how Kat, Brad, and I were able to find each other and wait out that horrible night together...

I have so many scary and horrifying images in my head from that night, but I also have a lot of wonderfully encouraging memories. Lots of great reminders of God faithfulness. None of my friends were seriously injured. I was able to see/check on all those closest to me so that I knew they were ok. 60% of my belongings were eventually recovered- including my great-grandmother's ring. I had use of my cell phone for about 5 hours after the tornado hit and was able to reassure my family and friends that I was ok, even though the national news services (you know, Fox, CNN...those guys) were covering the whole thing and making it look hopeless. And, when I got to Ukraine, I was able to use this story as a way to talk about how my God is so faithful. He really is. I have pictures to prove it. ;)

My job: Keeping me humble.

I hate to fail at things. It's quite possibly my arch nemesis. Failing and airports, actually. This past Monday was full of small failures, which, as I'm sure you know (and if you don't, yours is indeed a charmed life), makes the day feel like one big, fat fail.

I'd had several things go wrong on Monday. Little things. Bigger things. I also felt like I'd been run over by a Mack truck. It was a Jonah Day, to all of the Anne fans out there. So, here's the anecdote of my ineptitude for the simplest of tasks:

I was sent to mail a packet of papers to a Union employee who lives in another city. I have done this several times, and let's face it, that's just not a hard task no matter how many times you've done it. Also, it's INFINITELY easier than the dreaded post office expeditions in Ukraine (and yes, "expedition" is a very appropriate word here), so I wasn't even full of apprehension or anything. I very mindlessly gathered up the papers and the note that I'd written to go with them and headed off to the post office (not the one on campus). I was quite literally almost there when I realized that I had everything I needed- except for the address to mail the package to! Really, Erin? I imagined myself getting everything ready to mail and then standing there, looking like a fool, with no where to mail the package.

I tried to think of a way to locate the address without having to alter my travel plans (i.e. would my boss have it on her? or had I ever stored it on my phone?)...nope...the only place it was saved was in my work email. I don't have a smart phone, so I was actually going to have to be at a computer to retrieve it. I detoured to my house (it worked out- I was able to change into jeans for the evening ahead of me) and began searching through trillions of old emails. It took me a good 10 minutes to sift through all of the emails and find the address. I made a point of saving it in my phone this time.

I scurried off to the post office because a) it was going to close soon and b) I was becoming later and later for my meeting. The postal place I went to isn't really a USPS place; it's a little place owned by an older man and his wife. The wife was working with me and being very friendly. And very slow. I could count the seconds ticking by while she moved as though she (or I) had no rush or hurry (there's probably a good life lesson there, but I was way not focused on that). Then she asked me a bunch of questions that I wasn't entirely sure of the answers to: overnight? yes. Morning or afternoon? Uh...morning, I think. Required recipient's signature? Oh...hadn't thought of that...I hope she's home in the morning...um...sure.

I forgot how thoroughly specific you can be about sending mail in this country. It's amazing and intimidating at the same time. It's also pretty amazing that Julie ever received that package, given my I-can't-accomplish-basic-tasks-or-answer-basic-questions Monday mindset. Sheesh.

I'm really grateful for my parents

I called my dad last night so that I could thank him for my college education. I've always been grateful for the fact that my parents funded my education and that I didn't have to work during college or take out loans. I always knew that I was very blessed.

This week, I felt even more keenly how blessed I have been. One of my students- one who is always pleasant and grateful- had not registered for classes, and I called his family to check in/see what I could do to help them with registration. His dad was on the verge of tears as he told me of their struggle to scrape together the funds for their son to return to school. It broke my heart...students were slated to move back into the dorms the very next day, and this family had no idea if their son would be moving into his dorm or not.

I contacted Financial Aid- having NO idea of what to say (Excuse me, I was wondering if you could just erase the massively large student account hold? Like, just make it disappear?)- and just asked if they could give me any advice of what to tell this family. I must have re-written that email 3 or 4 times. I just kept thinking about that student and his family, thinking of how I would feel if I were him. It made me shudder. I so hate uncertainty.

The end of the work day came, and I hadn't heard anything from Financial Aid. I didn't really have time to think about it after work; I had a work-related errand to run (which went very awry...I might write about it soon. It's one of those stories to keep me humble.) and my 5-hour training meeting to attend. When I got home that night (and unthinkingly locked Brad's sister, who was staying with us, out of the house for the night! I'll probably write about that, too.), I checked my work mail and had an email from Fin. Aid.

Would you believe that the director had located a $1,000 scholarship and applied it to the student's account? That dropped the balance owed to only a few hundred dollars. I was thrilled! It was too late to tell anyone, but I was excited about telling the family the next morning.

I got to work at 8:00 and called the dad's cell phone at, like, 8:07. I definitely woke him up, but I figured he wouldn't care. He almost couldn't speak because of shock. He was so grateful, and I was so pleased. Then he said,

"Now we only have to scrape together a few hundred dollars. That's so much better. My wife and I just talked last night about not paying rent this month so that we can send him back to school. We can scoot by for a little while until the next paycheck."

My heart dropped again. Not pay rent? What would that mean for their family? And, if their son came back to school, how would he pay for books? Or basic supplies? Also, he couldn't register for classes until the whole balance had been taken care of. By that time, it was move-in day. He wouldn't be able to move in until he had registered. I referred the dad to Financial Aid, to talk about clearing the remainder of the balance. I just had a sinking feeling that they wouldn't be able to come, even after the scholarship. I sat and mulled over the thought of their family not being able to pay their rent, and I felt knots in my stomach.

I kept on with work that morning, frequently thinking about my student. If I hadn't been at work, I probably would have squealed like a piglet when I got an email a couple hours later saying that they had removed the student's financial hold (which would allow him to register) and would allow him to pay it late- when his father's next paycheck came in.

Y'all, I felt like I'd witnessed a small miracle. I wish I could say that it was because I had been diligent in prayer. In actuality, it was because the parents of our student had been diligent in prayer; we found out that the mom and the dad had gone into separate rooms the night before and spent the entire night praying about their finances, asking the Lord to provide what they needed. I can't tell you how humbled I felt when I realized that I had been able to be a part of the answer to their prayers. How does that even work?

I saw that student today. He was as grateful as ever. Absolutely thrilled to be at school. I already knew I was blessed, but now I have a concrete reminder of that. I'm not taking that for granted, either.

Good story.

We've had a lot of snow recently (for Tennessee...not a lot comparatively), and I've been thinking so much about one of my very favorite stories from Ukraine. This story stars my mom. For those of you who know her, this should be particularly entertaining.

Christmas 2009, my family ventured to Ukraine, braving the serious European elements in Amsterdam (I mean, dad stood in lines in the Amsterdam airport for 14 hours, and I'm not exaggerating that part) to get there. By the time they arrived, they had been traveling for almost 3 days, I'd been sitting up in the Kiev airport for, like, 18 hours (bundled in ALL of my winter gear-including my hat-because it was almost as cold inside as it was out- oh, and there are dogs that wander in and out of the aiport like they own the place), and we had to take an overnight train back to Poltava (this after I'd had to eat the cost of 2 previous sets of train tickets because of all the delays). We had about 4 suitcases, carry-ons, and 762 lbs of winter-wear because it was sub-zero temperatures. Not making that part up either. It was absolutely miserable.

Anyway, Ukraine is NOT a travel-friendly country in the sense that you can't be planning on traveling like an American- you know, with luggage. My family was very kindly and generously bringing me goodies and happies from home, as well as our Christmas presents, so I mean, we had suitcases. You REALLY should have seen us hauling those suckers over 2 inch sheets of ice in and out of a McDonald's where there was approximately one square foot of open floor space in the entire restaurant. Or, hefting them up two flights of stairs in the train station only to drag them down two more flights of stairs to get to our train. The best part might have been lifting and heaving them into the train and squeeeezing them down the walkway to THE VERY LAST CABIN (of course). Man, we were looking so cool.

Once in the cabin, we got to figure out how to get all of our stuff and ourselves into a 6ish x 7ish foot cabin. Thankfully, the bottom bunk mattresses raised up and we could put a couple of bags under there. Amiee and I were pretty much stuck, though, once we got up on the top bunks- all floor space disappeared.

Daddy fell asleep after about 3 seconds of laying down. Mom and Amiee were out within minutes. I was exhausted but couldn't fall asleep- partially because I was a little creeped out thinking about the state of cleanliness of the the mattress. I opted to keep my coat on.

We got to Poltava a little before 4 in the morning. We were functioning at top speed, of course (uh...yeah...that's not true). Nastia had called and ordered us two taxis to take us home (even though I lived less than a mile from the station. The drivers hated us, but I paid them well.), so all we had to do when we got to Poltava was get ourselves from the train to the front of the train station. It sounds so easy...

We all woke up (extremely groggily, I might add. Like, I'm not sure my sentences were coherent.) and somehow got our luggage off the train (the train workers weren't too fond of us either...enemies all around). It was then that we realized our difficulty: we had four train tracks to cross. With our bags. And 3 feet of snow.

There was nothing for it. Mom was having difficulty with her hip, so she took a couple of carry-ons and went ahead to locate the taxis. Dad, Amiee, and I each took 2-3 bags (of various sizes) a piece and proceeded to walk like zombies. I don't have any idea how long it took us, but it felt like an eternity- trudging through the snow, trying not to fall into any deep pits.

Mom was quite a bit ahead of us when she disappeared. One second she was standing, the next she was sunk waaaaay down in the snow. Dad called to see if she was ok. Amiee and I immediately died laughing, which caused us to drop our bags and lose our footing. We were so not in control of our muscles/tired/laughing/tearing up that we couldn't really get moving again. We just hung out in the snow, laughing and laughing. Dad was very valiantly trying to get to mom and dig her out, but Amiee and I didn't even attempt to help. We're such good daughters.

By the time we finally got out of the snow and got our bags to the taxi, we were pretty much useless. It was all I could do to get my address out to the taxi drivers. They were already super annoyed and my uncontrolled giggling did not help matters.

Never fear: Mom was ok. However, I love the mental image of her trying to climb out of the snow while maintaining poise. Sorry, Mom...it's just not quite possible, although you gave it a valiant effort.