hi!

it's crazy paper-writing time, so i'm snapping pics and will add them sometime, probably after i write another 40 pages but before i take four exams, two of which are supposed to be the hardest of my life. we'll see which one makes me cry first. ;)

just wanted to say hi. i know i've left unfinished business - like an argument for the authority and inerrancy of Scripture - but i'm working like a mad woman.

i'll be back.

This is my left ear

it has hurt really bad all day. ergo, this photograph appropriately captures my day.

mascara

and people say blonde eyelashes don't make you look lashless....

See This?

this is a married man's phone number. on my hand. (it's blurry on purpose.)

i wish i could say there is a good reason for this, but i can't. we're having a women's conference at RTS this weekend (speaker: carolyn custis james, who thus far has been utterly fabulous), and there was some trouble with the sound system, so i was charged with calling a friend to get another friend's number in hopes that friend #2 would know what to do. i wrote the number on my hand - we were in a rush - only to discover that, in fact, someone else already had his number and had called repeatedly to no avail.

so i wrote it on my hand for nothing.

at least it's fading.

Multitalented, He Is

use the force, he must.

of gravity, that is:



this is my friend josh. he does magic with everyday household items!

My Roomies

watching L O S T.


sadly, just a clip episode this week.

Does It Matter If We Call God "He" or "She?

check out this great post from aron's blog, wherein he quotes CS Lewis on this issue.

guess what was in here before i ate it?

FINALLY!

there's going to be a black disney princess (must say i like including mulan and wendy and all the other heroines), tiana. it's about dang time.

RTS Is Pretty!

Sometimes I think my life might look like this

except for the book ends - i'm not really french.

Don't Waste Your Life

Today Was Excellent!

i spent relatively little time here today:



i went on a walk, i went to the pool and laid out with a friend, i did homework, i got sun, i felt great. yay!

(disclaimer: i am actually sitting there now, despite what the picture would have you think. working on a paper. :)

New Template

i'm trying it out... what do you think?

props to bloggertricks for the gorgeousness.

Photo of the Day

i love this stuff. let's face it - i am truly a texas girl. :) when i used to want to be a professor of scottish history in scotland (which is kinda a weird thing to want to do for an american, admittedly - who is going to hire an american to teach scottish history in scotland?!?), i had it all planned that i would have dr pepper shipped to me regularly. cause i was a strange child like that.

Well DUH

this story is not surprising at all, but people are acting like it's demonstrating that Gov. Perry spoke out of turn. i LOVE the USA and, like Perry, think "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that? But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."

the point is not "Peace out, America - we're ready to leave!" - it never was. the point is "If things pass the point of no return, we can secede. And we very well may."

but we aren't there yet, and hopefully we never will be. i really do love this great country of ours, and one of my favorite things about us is that we are a nation that holds the federal government at bay to some degree simply because we CAN object to the point of pulling out - hello, American Revolution! but our union is great, and while there is much that needs to be redeemed and set right and redirected, i'm proud to be an American.

Pj Pants Come in Cool Patterns

for example:

Open Line Thursday (So to Speak)

this is pretty much for anyone who wants to talk religion from the 4815162342.com forums.

let's get it on, folks!

Who Wants Some Tea???

We had a tea party here in the Queen City today.

This was my favorite sign.

Everybody loves Ben Franklin. Lots of other founding fathers made "appearances" as well.

And we had some wonderful veterans show up.

And a few cute shout-outs to Sarah Palin.

"Don't tread on me" was a common theme.

I think the best estimate we had was about 3000 people turning out. It was so peaceful and fun and happy - we sang America the Beautiful and O Say Can You See, said the pledge a couple of times, and laughed a lot.

I mean, yeah, we're clearly peeved about the stimulus package and the exponentially increasing size of the government, which is trying to do all kinds of stuff the Constitution left to the states.

And about the fact that our babies and their babies will be paying for this bailout stuff.

And about the rise of Socialist policies.

But we love this country. And we love that we can gather peacefully here and say, "Hey, Raleigh! Hey, Washington! This is not ok!"

Sorry About Yesterday...

i just completely forgot to take a picture!

this lovely group of hydrangeas came home with kristen this evening. i love flowers. :)

yay spring!

I Am His and He Is Mine, Bought with the Precious Blood of Christ

last night, sarah processed down the aisle to that verse of "In Christ Alone" (the third), and about half the bridal party lost it. it was a beautiful precursor to that amazing sermon i mentioned.

jean larroux, the minister who performed the ceremony, opened with the story of a time he was outside the sanctuary doors with a groom waiting for their turn to come in. the groom turned to jean and said, "you know why the bride wears white and the groom wears black at a wedding?" jean thought that was weird, but he said, "no, why?" and the groom responded, "because it's her wedding and his funeral."

we laughed.

jean said, "it's funny and all, but the thing is that it's true."

i panicked a little inside - what in the world???? is he going to be all down on marriage? that's SO weird!!!

jean said, "the husband is commanded to love his wife as Christ loved the church - to DIE for her."

to say the sermon only got better after that is an understatement. it acknowledged the passion and faithfulness of marriage, the beauty of a husband leading well and a wife submitting well, the importance of marriage to the kingdom of God. but most importantly, and most centrally, jean focused on the picture that marriage is for us of Christ's relationship with the church - the eagerness of the Bridegroom to receive His bride; the purity of the bride (yay for wearing white, like the robes of the saints in revelation!); the sacrifice demanded of the Groom if He is to love His bride.

let me tell you, it packed quite a whallop and said all the stuff you want said in a wedding sermon, but in less time and with more punch.

of course, the crazy thing about this is that Jesus, our Bridegroom, did die for us in a way that no normal husband ever could, but then He rose again, defeating all our enemies and claiming us for His own!

He is risen!

Spring Has Sprung!

and that's my excuse for wearing shirts with applique flowers on them.

from this moment on...

sarah denton is sarah niemitz!


it was an absolutely delightful wedding - SO much fun with so many friends! plus the best wedding sermon i have ever heard. i'll post about that tomorrow.

congratulations, mr. and mrs. ben niemitz!!!!

Who Doesn't Love an All-Girl Party?

my friend sarah is getting married tomorrow. we have been friends since we were six, when we started first grade in the same class, and in fourth grade my family started attending her church. we graduated high school together (class of 13! whoohoo!) and i am SO excited that she is getting married! i kinda thought this was it when she went on and on about how he is her best friend and she couldn't imagine life without him at christmas, and it looks like i was right. :)

tonight i went to a little "last night sarah is single" sort of party for her, and it was a blast. here is my one, admittedly unimpressive shot.

there will be TONS of pictures from the wedding tomorrow though. it's going to be hard to narrow it down to one for the day.

A Bit Otherworldly

i went to watch the double-Office episodes that aired tonight (which were hilarious) at the Cozarts' house. they also put up with me on monday nights for heroes/24 (i don't really care that much about 24, but it's fun time with friends). anyway, they have a number of LOTR items on display in their living room. including this ent:

aren't you eternally grateful that i've shared him with you?

they also have a map of narnia over their fireplace. you could say they are inklings fans.

A Few Shots with the New Camera

my new camera has this awesome setting where you can choose one color and all the others turn black and white. obviously, this picture showcases the purple in my wardrobe.

this picture shows the same setting with blue. you can see me and my friend chris, who has the same camera and was helping me figure it out, in the reflection.

and again - this is kristen and the color red in our kitchen. she made our LOST-watching regulars a fancy and delicious dinner tonight.

this is erin, without any crazy effects.

and our dining room table, 1/2 set for our amazing dinner. we had a great time hanging out and having fun, in addition to eating well. :)

and then we watched LOST. and it was gooooooooood.

IT CAME!!!!!!!!!

my new camera is here! it's super-awesome looking.


i also happen to think it can take a good picture. it will take me a while to figure it out - it's very different from my last camera.

edit: the weird stuff on the picture is from my mirror. i guess i need to clean it?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Back from Dallas...

and it really took us a while of looking on both ends to figure it out. but it's pretty certain at this point that someone stole my camera when they were doing the security search of checked baggage at the airport. i've been using my roommate's camera for pictures thus far, but my new baby should be arriving in the mail on tuesday, and until then we are going to have to put the project on hold.

in other news, high school musical 3 apparently promoted a very complementarian view of romantic relationships. i am shocked. shocked, i say.

Day 2 - Two Pics (cause i couldn't pick between them)

this is a part of one of my pillows. i think it looks cool.

not to beat a dead horse, but i am just a little excited about the whole MOVING BACK TO TEXAS thing... this old license plate is over my door here, and it makes me feel more rooted. which maybe is silly, but whatever.

Day 1 (& an Announcement)

so one of my roommates, erin, told me about this cool challenge where you take one picture every day for a year - at the end of the year, you get a collection of pics that commemorate the year PLUS you are hopefully a lot better at taking pictures. i decided to do it, and to post them all on here (let's be honest, it's gonna be way more fun this way), but thought i would wait to start till april 1. the original plan was to take a picture of my left hand with a giant fake diamond on the fourth finger and also make it a joke.... BUT i now have a way better plan. and there is no joking involved.*

i have been told where RUF is placing me for the internship. may i have a drumroll...



ladies and gentlemen, i am headed back to texas. specifically, to houston, to work for the RUF at Rice University.

i am ECSTATIC!



*that is how i'm excusing the fact that it is technically april 2....