Life with Gling

So yesterday was Preview Day on campus…which means lots and lots of students on campus. Needless to say, it was a long day. I got home around 4:00…and scurried about trying to get my house ready for a Halloween Party. (I had my student workers over for a cook-out and costume party.) It was a really good night. Jared dressed up as Steve Irwin…and I dressed up as a stingray. I know….I know….it’s too soon…but it was great! I was really happy to finally get my house cleaned up too. Travel season for work really takes a toll on my house. Oh…a quick update on our car. I turned it into insurance…and our rates won’t be affected…and it’s going on the crazy woman’s record. (Woo-hoo!) It’s over $1,000 to fix…but hey…we don’t have to pay anything. So much money for one little crack. Anywho….that’s life…and I need to get back to work…adios!

So yesterday…I woke up and was ready to take on the world. I had on my cute new skirt…my spikey red heels…I got to sleep in a bit….the day was good. Well…it was good until some crazy woman backed into my precious car! I turned on to the road where the parking lot is for the college. There was a car turning in ahead of me…so I waited and then turned in behind her. Only as soon as she got into the parking lot..she threw her car into reverse and proceded to ram my car. I honked and honked and honked…and she finally stopped. I jumped out of my car to see the damage (only a small crack on the front bumper…and some scratches). She got out of her car too and proceded to say “did I do that?” (Images of Steve Urkel came flooding back.) Anyway…she was pretty ditsy…and proceded to say…and I quote “Oh…your car’s grey…just like the sky today….I guess you just blended in with the sky. I should probably start listening to the voices in my head that encouraged me to keep driving through parking lot instead of backing out of the lot all the time.” What the heck!? I immediately demanded her insurance information and insisted upon calling the cops for a police report. (We she thought was just silly.) She then proceded to stay…and I quote once more….”Oh the cops are going to roll their eyes when they see it’s me again!” (People like this should have their cars taken away.) She then showed me the enormous hole in her back bumper that her husband caused…and let me know how they don’t even worry about calling things like that into insurance…it’s just silly. Well it wasn’t silly for me….and I called it in…booya! We’re just waiting to hear back from the claims office….which takes way too long and is a terrible process. Anyway…other than that life is good. I’m finally back to being at home more than a few nights a week….and travel season is quickly coming to an end.

I’ll be sure to update more….when more happens….adios!

So I’m writing from the Hyatt in downtown Indianapolis…where I’m attending my very first NACADA National Conference. (That stands for National Academic Advising Association…which I’m a member of.) I’ve never been to a conference by myself….so I’m feeling very grown-up at the moment. I checked in tonight…and the conference starts completely tomorrow morning. I’m really excited to learn more about the exciting world of Higher Education and Academic Advising (yes…I think this type of thing is cool!). Anyway…I’m here for the rest of the week…and downtown Indianapolis seems pretty cool. Hopefully I’ll have some time to check out the city a bit more tomorrow during one of my breaks.

More to come later….

Adios!

So I just finished reading “Reedeming Love” by Francine Rivers. (Yes…I was reading at work…but I only had 2 chapers left…and was way too consumed by the book to stop reading!) Anyway….it was amazing. I haven’t read anything for the past several months…mainly because I finished every book written by my previous favorite author (Nicholas Sparks). A friend gave me this book for Christmas, so I figured I should give it a try. Never in my life has 480 pages gone by so quickly! It was a such a great reminder of God’s redeeming, unconditional, all-consuming love for us. It’s a retelling of Hosea and Gomer’s story…in Gold Rush California. Anyway…I highly recommend it.

I’ve been on the road for work this past week…and am just now getting a chance to update. I spent most of the week on the road, which included a day in Decatur working transfer students at their community college…and then an overnight at the rent’s house. I got home in time to see my niece and my nephews…and even got a chance to go out to eat with them. (I wish I got to see them more often!) I went to a high school volleyball game at my old high school too. I haven’t been back in quite a while, so it was a little odd, but fun at the same time. It’s always interesting to see my old teachers…and to see if they still recognize me or not. Apparently getting your hair hacked off and tanning a bit makes people not recognize you right away…or maybe it’s just the fact that I haven’t been in high school for over 6 years now. (I’m all grown up!) Anyway…I headed up to Iowa (Quad Cities area) for the rest of the week. I decided to stay at a Bed and Breakfast this time around….since I get so sick of staying in hotels. The Bed and Breakfast I stayed at was in Bishop Hill…an old Swedish Community…outside of Cambridge, Illinois. It was such a fun place to stay…and the owners were amazing. (www.Bishophill.com if you’re interested. It’s a fun weekend away!) Anyway…the college fairs I attended were great too…but it was so nice to get home on Friday. I miss home so much when I’m away, but I still love my job. Friday night we just relaxed and hung out. Saturday I had a haircut and it was “Little Pig and Apple Days” in Greenville. It’s basically a craft/farmers market sort of day with lots of music and food. We bought a few things and had pork burgers for lunch (which were amazing!) That night we had a random trip to Troy for Cracker Barrell and then we got groceries. I’m home for a whole week….so we could actually get groceries! Anyway….I need to wrap this up and get to bed. I have a full day of work ahead of me! Adios!

What a great weekend! Though Friday night was spent in a frantic spin of trying to get the house cleaned, it was well worth it when all of our family was able to come and visit us on Saturday. Our parents, my grandma, all of our brothers and sisters, their spouses and all of our nieces and nephews were able to make the trek to Greenville for a cookout at our place. I hate that we live so far from our family (yeah…2 hours can seem like an eternity sometimes), so it meant a lot that EVERYONE would come down to visit and see where we live.

Some highlights of the day include (but are not limited to)….
-Croquet in the backyard
-Mom, Dad and Greg “raking” my new found butternut trees. (Apparently it’s in the pecan family…and they’re yummy.)
-Soccer with my nephews
-Actually getting to use our front porch and the furniture that sits on it!
-Thinking that Eleanor (our cat) got out of the house…searching all over town for her…and then realizing that she was hiding in a corner in the basement.
-Yummy brats, dogs and burgers
-Yummy food made by family
-Cider
-Bonfire with S’mores
-Listeing to my nieces and nephews “play” Jared’s drums (it was loud….but still really cute)
-Watching Maxwell (my other cat) snuggle up with my allergic brother

My family headed home on Saturday night, but Jared’s family stuck around and spent the night. We discovered that we can comfortably fit 9 people (including ourselves) overnight. We used the futon, the basement couch, the pull-out couch, the guest room bed, the inflatable queen bed and our bed (of course). Everyone slept well…and everyone got showered in the morning. I was pretty impressed! We all went to church together (which was awesome) and ate lunch at Lottawotta Creek (local place…and it’s amazing!)

After a quick trip to the mall and then to Guitar Center…Jared and I finally headed home. I cleaned up around the house a bit and washed all of the sheets and towels from our house full of guests. My friend Jen, from work, came over for a bit and we watched some tv together. I’m not sure how, but Jared and I even had enough energy left to go for a run last night as well.

It was…simply put…a good time.