May 5th, 2011 - Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!! =D

I walked into work today, deleriously happy after having soaked in the blistering sunshine during the 20-minute ride from college, feeling energetic and rejuvenated and on an early-summer high. Sang out hellos to the guys on The Line, dropped off my personal affects in the lockers, and then skipped across the Back of the House to take a glance at the deployment sheet (fingers crossed I'm not under Production...)

I was stopped in my tracts by the baker's table taken hostage in a Mexican party theme, complete with nacho chips, taco shells, and bowls of fillings - ground beef, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, refriend beans, cheese, etc.

I've never observed this holiday until today, but, boy, my day shot sky-high as I scooped up some DELICIOUS Mexican food and decided this was a great day to celebrate! =D

I hope everyone else is having such a good day!

On another note, today was the last chapel service for the semester! Tomorrow is my last final!! And in only 6 short days, this chapter of life will close forever into the slot called history. WOW!

Looking ahead to summer and beyond, I really want to take a hold of this blog and revolutionize it a bit =) You can perhaps feel my enthusiasm with the energetic sunshine of summer. So much to do!! But writing has always been my first passion, and I want to try to focus more here.

How about input? I'd love to meet my readers! Really. I know that I have quite a few "silent" readers out there, who follow my posts but don't comment. And I don't want anyone to feel pressured to comment, though I love hearing feedback through the comments, I do want to encourage some participation for the direction of this blog =)

So, step up and say hey! =) Drop me a line at ukrainebaptist4@yahoo.com and let me hear from you! Some questions I'd love to hear answers for are

-How did you hear about this blog?

-What do you like best in the posts?

-Anything you would like to see change?

-Longer, more detailed posts or shorter, more frequent posts?

-Anything I haven't covered that you would like to read about?

-And of course, I'd love to hear about what's going on in your lives for the summer 2011!!!!

So, looking forward to hearing from you all!!

On my front, things are looking crazy busy for this summer. In exactly a week, I'm driving up to Chicago (Pekin) Illinois for two weeks to help my best friend and her fiance get MARRIED!! Woot woot! =) Yup, I'm the maid of honor and it's crazy, but so much fun!

Next, I'm meeting up with my sister at O'Hare and flying to Helsinki, Finland! =) After a quick tour there, it's finally hope to KHARKOV!! And boy, I absolutely cannot wait! Which, actually, this is a very new feeling for me, being the little girl always ready to fly the coop =P Homesick? Haha, yes! I'm finally experiencing it, and have found myself SO GRATEFUL for my wonderful, imperfect but perfectly mine, family! Hopefully, I'll be giving a Bible study with the young ladies of the church, and helping in the deaf church, and the Sunday School, and evangelism!!!!!!

Then the beginning of July will find me hitting the road again, flying to London! =) I love, love, love that city! It's amazing, really. Go visit if you get the chance! From London, I'll return to Oklahoma City...

And the rest of the summer I'll be (Lord willing) happily back at work at Panera Bread, a certified trainer, living oncampus at Heartland. I'm looking into a second job right now to fill in the hours that currently are occupied by studies. And

Please pray with me as I consider several aspirations for the future. Lots of avenues to follow, and the decisions are all weighty. I want God's will for me, and I'm excited to see what He's going to do with my life! It's not all easy. It's not all bright and beautiful. But I'm trusting that, ultimately, it's all a pattern for an exquisite dream that God set into action when he created me. =)

Leaving you with a verse: Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."