glingdidit August 26th, 2007
We had our second preview service for the new church today…and it went really well. We had about 160 people there…which was great! Jared and I were both part of the praise/vocal team. I had another solo…which went a lot better than I was expecting. It’s just so exciting to see it all come together…and to see the people that are getting involved week after week. It’s been such a great process to be a part of!Â
New Student Orientation is also over now. All of my students showed up…which is always a huge relief. This is the time of the year when my job really pays off…and I get so smiley seeing all of my students on campus. Alas, tomorrow morning when I get to work…I start recruiting for next school year again. Such is my life!Â
glingdidit August 22nd, 2007
So we took our car in yesterday to get the brake pads routinely replaced…as you should do every once in awhile. As they were checking out the brakes…the tech noticed that our left wheel baring (if that’s how you spell it) was completely shot…which is bad news. So our good friend Melissa, who works at the shop, called me to let me know the damage….close to $600 because of the new discovery. (Take one moment for heart attack…and saying goodbye to new paint for the basement for awhile.) So we suck it up and realize that it needs to be done. 15 minutes later Melissa calls back with some good news and bad news. Bad news…the part costs more than they thought…could be over $600 now…blech. Good news…that crazy extended warranty we bought a few years ago will cover ALL of the costs!!! (Take a moment for one more heart attack…and then silly dancing around my office.) Seroiusly though…what a blessing. We celebrated with yummy food from Sonic…and then curled up for the rest of the night because of eating too many tater tots from Sonic. It was worth it. Anyway…new student orientation is almost here…bring it on!
glingdidit August 20th, 2007
So the weekend’s over…and that makes me sad…because it really was a great weekend.  Friday night we spent time on campus with our fellow employees at Greenville College. We had a faculty/staff dinner and entertainment. It’s always a great event and a good time to remember all of the reasons that we love being here. Saturday morning we slept in a little and then packed our things to head up to Danvers for a weekend with Jared’s sister and our nieces. We stopped at a running shop along the way to pick up some running shorts. (Our reward for working so hard for this weekend’s 5k.) We made it to Danver’s just in time for the festivities (it was Danvers Days…a fun small town celebration). We ate yummy food and had fun catching up and relaxing with family. Sunday morning we were up at the crack of dawn to run the Danvers Days 5k. It was rainy and yucky….but it cleared up just as the race started. It was my 2nd 5k….and this time I ran on my own and let Jared run ahead of me. I super nervous…but it went really well! I shaved off nearly 5 minutes from my time last year! I didn’t have to stop…and my side didn’t cramp up either. I dare say that I’m starting to really enjoy this whole running thing. I feel good when I’m done…and it’s such a nice way to release stress at the end of the day. We also stopped through Bloomington to eat at Avanti’s on the way back…yummmmo! There are so many great restaurants in Bloomington/Normal that we miss…so we try to make it to one place each time we’re back to visit. So we’re home now…and work is happening. Students move in on Friday…this week is going to be crazy awesome!
glingdidit August 17th, 2007
In one week New Student Orientation starts…woah! In one week I meet my students on campus…and start recruiting for next school year…all in the same week. In one week I need to have everything ready for my students workers…and for travel season. Life is a little crazy-go-nuts right now…but I still love my job.Â
 We have Fall Faculty Fellowship tonight on campus…which is usually a pretty good time. It’s always nice to see what all of the faculty and staff around campus have been up to over the summer. There’s usually really good food too! Tomorrow morning we’re heading out for Danvers to spend a couple of days with Kristina and the girls. We’re running a 5k on Sunday there as well. I actually think I’m ready for it this time! (We ran it last year as well.) Either way….it’ll be nice to have a weekend away from Greenville before things get too busy around campus. Also…they serve the best pancakes ever after the 5k…which is totally worth running the 3.15 miles!
 Gotta get back to work…only 2 hours to go!
glingdidit August 11th, 2007
So American Idols Live was really fun. Cheesy as all get out…but fun. We had the pleasure of several 10 year olds sitting behind…screaming at everything…just because they thought it was funny. Their mom was doing the same thing…so it never really stopped. Aside from that…our nosebleed seats proved to be pretty good…and the music was great. Even poor little Sanjaya did a pretty good job. Blake Lewis was by far the best performer of the night…followed up closely (at least in my opinion) by Phil Stacey…and then Jordin Sparks. I got some Dippin’ Dots ice cream during the intermission…which made the night even better. Which..by the way…they have moose tracks Dippin’ Dots now…delicious!Â
Last night we headed out to the city with Jen and Mac and ate an ENORMOUS feast of BBQ at 17th Street Grill. Woah…I was stuffed. I had one of my favorite BBQ finds…a BBQ baked potato. (Huge potatoe…sour cream…butter…pulled pork…bacon….LOTS of cheese…and some BBQ sauce.) It may sound like a little too much…but it’s seriously amazing. We followed dinner up with a trip to Sam’s Club…and then Jen and I took on Jared and Mac in mini golf. We lost…but only by 2. I got a hole in one…which was nice…but I guess I could have used a few more of those! Maybe next time. We hung out at their house until almost 2 a.m. I realized at that point that I’m getting old…and I can’t handle staying up past like 11. Sad day.Â
Either way…it was a great night…and lots of fun with friends. Today I’m cleaning like a crazy woman. It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to really clean everything around the house. So I’m hoping that by tomorrow evening…I’ll be done. And my closets and the garage will be clean!  So I’m gonna go eat some waffles…and then get started. Adios!
glingdidit August 8th, 2007
…is the best movie ever…go see it…now! Ok…maybe not the best movie ever…but I sure did love it! Though there’s something absolutely fantastic about the 1980’s version as well. In other exciting news…I found a great curb treasure yesterday…a lovely retro white and red metal table. (Curb treaures may be trash to some…but treasures to others!) I have no shame in fixing up a lovely curb treasure once in awhile. I’m going to scrub it up and use it as a fun plant stand on my back patio…or maybe the front porch with some mums and pumpkins this fall.  We’re starting practice for our second preview service for the new church tonight. I’ve got another solo to sing…so I’m trying to psych myself up for that! Also…in even more exciting news…tomorrow night is American Idol Live with Lindsay and Melissa! Yay! I can’t wait to see it…I’m such a reality tv nerd…but who cares?! Anyway…I need to get home…make some supper…and head off to practice.Â
 Adios!
glingdidit August 6th, 2007
So it’s Monday…and I’m at work…trying desparately to keep my eyes open. (This is what I get for staying up too late watching “Flight of the Concords” re-runs.) Anywho…a great weekend was had in the Smith household. On Saturday Jared and I headed out for a day in St. Louis…something we haven’t done in a month or so. I had a haircut that morning…so that got me out of bed at a decent time. We drove into St. Louis, and ate brunch at Cracker Barrell…which is always delicious…but I’m pretty sure my hashbrown casserole is better than theirs. Anywho…after that we headed over to Grant’s Farm because Jared’s never been there before. One of the best things about St. Louis is that most attractions are free…and Grant’s Farm is one such free attraction. It’s actually a pretty cool place. You park your car and then a tram ride takes you around the park…where animals pretty much roam free. Once the tram stops…there’s more animals to look at…an animal show to watch…and lots of memorabilia to check out. We got to pet goats and llama’s (Jared’s favorite…in fact he wants to buy 2 of them…but I’m not so sure about having 2 llama’s in our backyard!). The Budweiser Cleidsdales are out there as well…so we saw all of them as well…and my goodness they’re ginormous! Anyway…after our Grant’s Farm extravaganza…we drove downtown and parked the car…and headed over to the landing. We ate a yummy meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory and enjoyed strolling around landing for a bit. Then we wandered over to the arch and saw that there was a free concert going on…and that night happened to be “country night”. So we sat and watched John Michael Montgomery play…which Jared was surprisingly ok with.  It was actually a really good show…I don’t listen to country music as much as I used to…but it was a lot of fun. After the concert they shoot off fireworks over the river…and who doesn’t love fireworks?! It was a nice ending to a day away from Greenville. Yesterday we had church…and I got my phone fixed…and then headed out for a Pampered Chef party. I ordered some fun new things for my kitchen…which I’ll be excited to get. That brings us to now…Monday morning…and me trying to stay awake. At least lunch is in an hour!
 Oh…I’m running a 5k in 2 weeks….and I think I’ll actually feel good about running it this year!Â
glingdidit August 2nd, 2007
I know it’s not quite Friday yet…but this week has seriously gone by super fast. We haven’t really done anything super exciting…so I’m really suprised that Friday’s just around the corner. Work’s been really busy lately…and we’ve only got 22 days until New Student Orientation starts…which is hard to believe. I’m excited though…because orientation is one of my favorite days of the year. I absolutely love seeing all of my new students together on one day…it’s pretty rewarding. The most exciting part of this week was a new Cub’s jacket for myself from the beloved Value City…for only $15….and getting a new curling iron…because mine finally busted. Oh…I’ve been working on getting some running in again as well. That kind of went to a stand-still when we left for Cornerstone and Vegas. I realized that I needed to get some miles in again…because we’re running a 5k in less than a month…and I’d like to do a decent job this time. That means no walking…and finishing in under 30 minutes. So we’ll see! Anyway…I’m off to finish up the laundry…and then we’re getting some DQ…yummmm.