tiiired.

so today was a blast! but im EXHAUSTED. ill post pictures from our trip. we went to the mountains and went hiking! up to the top of a cliff and then to some waterfalls. soooo beautiful! we went to hanging rock state park- about 2 hours from durham. ry made a great picnic lunch and then after hiking we went out to a killer restaurant and had a fabulous time. it was so fun! he had such an awesome day planned! ill post pics tomorrow of everything. for now im going to bed.

love and peace.

saturday surprise.

well first let me tell you about my sickness. because i know you ALL want to know about it
i worked 12 hours yesterday and felt fine! picked up some chinese for ry and i (at a KILLER awesome place... mychinapalace.com ...yeah they have a website. haha) and then put in a movie (pineapple express... maybe ill tell you about it later) once the movie started going the nausea kicked back in. it wasn't the food bc ry and i shared... and he was fine. so i went home early well 11. and got in bed. this morning im only partly nauseous so thats good.

today ry is taking me on a saturday surprise adventure. (i took him on one a couple weeks ago) its def a fun thing to do with someone. just wake up and take them somewhere fun and just hang out. im looking forward to whatever he has in store. there is no telling! oh saturday surprises... always take me back to my 4 years at camp. where every week we would have a saturday surprise.

...anyway. im off for a fun photo taking day. and it looks like its going to be gorgeous! 40-50* and bright blue sky. yeahhH!

beat.

.... is me.

so apparently the side effects of the antibiotic i am taking include:
- headache (check)
- fatigue (check)
- dizziness (check)
- nausea (check)

add all of that up and it equals a sicker person that i started out... well sorta.
i mean im sure my antibiotic is clearing up the infection; but the side effects are making me feel rotten.

luckily the charge nurse let me leave early from work... since i feel like crap... and here i am laying in bed (since 6.30). just laying here. about to fall asleep. but trying not to yet... its a bit too early.

anyway. 12 hours of work tomorrow... well thats the plan. we shall see.

ryan is still bumming around one handed... poor guy.
we are just a mess.

im looking forward to a good weekend of no work and no school.
mmmmmm.

peace and love this evening...

a mess.

me and ryan that is.

last night ry fell on his arm during an intense indoor soccer game. after a rough day of pain and swelling we went to a lil urgent care place. and unfortunately it appears ry has a broken boke (the scaphoid) in his hand. poor guy. he has a temporary cast until he goes to an orthopedic later this week. so for now we are laying around reading and watching duke basketball. lovely lovely.
sadly ill be back at work tomorrow, but should be an ok day. i hope. and yes- ill be taking plenty of water to drink.




peace and love from two beat up kids...

man down.

or nurse.

and that nurse was me.
so today i passed out at work. apparently i was a bit dehydrated. ...to say the least.
i was at my computer receiving report about my patients... next thing i know i start getting realllly hot and dizzy and then i was on the floor. so crazy. and random!
after a visit to the ER- some antibiotics (for a lil infection) and a bag of fluids- ry took me home where i have laid in bed all day. other than feeling tired and beat up- i am a-ok.
it was just a strange strange day.
so after much thought its been realized that i dont drink enough. no where close to enough. most nurses dont. but now i am going to start drinking much more.
ive tried to fill up today- had tons of water and cranberry juice.

luckily im not going in tomorrow. just going to rest up and drink.

so yeah., there is my exciting day.

and really. no worries. i am fine.

3 mins of glory.... sorta.

last march. ryan, ice and i went to see my favorite band. the working title.
love them. well for their encore they played one of their most popular songs... and was like fans out there... come on up. i jumped at this chance. jumped on stage. and danced with the band. i was really into it. singing. dancing. clapping (with my two coke bottles?!). anyway... here we are almost a year later. i get a text from ry- you are in the working title video on their website.

excuse me.

intially i was fearful of what i could have been doing. i had NO idea it was being recorded by anyone. oh but it was.

and it is now on the band's website.

for your viewing pleasure i have included it here... bc guess what. its on youtube. purevolume. facebook. myspace. yeahhhh. everywhere. luckily im not that goofy. just really into the song. haha... so despite the slight embarrassment i have found 3 mins of glory. and i feel that if twt made a live dvd... they would prob include this. so then i would be on a dvd. which is cool.

ok. im lame.

enjoy....

saturday.

a saturday without work is always a good thing. always.
i had a lovely day bumming around.
working on a project.
talking to sara!
reading.
watching duke DESTROY maryland. (biggest win over md in history)
programming my new AC/HEATING system to fluctuate during the day and night.
writing.
and lastly starting my new "one liner" journal.

i got a bright idea from my friend margaret who read about starting a one liner/ clothes hanger journal. basically write a line or two about the day in a journal. easy enough i thought since i blog all the time. why not actually write it all down too! so i am. writing a little line here and there to remember big things like SNOW and the BILTMORE and the sunny fun days ry and i have together.

plus i love writing (although im not so good at it)

work tomorrow. should be a good day. sunday's normally are. ill cross my fingers.

love and peace.

ddd.

thats 3d's folks. and thats what kind of movie i saw tonight. in theaters.
let me just say... the new 3d that is out now... is incredible. really. its sooooo cool.
dont judge me. but ry and i saw my bloody valentine 3d tonight.
mostly to see the 3d. but heck a good slasher movie is always fun.
and it was. fun. and pretty good. not my fav movie, but def not the worst movie ive ever seen.
and i actually couldn't predict the end. so that was good too.
but really. back to the 3D. i can't describe how cool it was. so realistic. and the glasses are like real glasses. they look like sunglasses. super cool. so yeah. im excited to see what hollywood will do with this awesome 3d. there was a preview for a kids movie in 3d. its animated, but the preview was ridiculous! im excited to see it!!

anyway. sara is back in the country and im sooooo excited and happY! i can talk to her and text her and ill get a response!! haha! :)

work was good today (for those of you keeeping tabs) it was really good.

tomorrow: day off. ill be relaxin. sleeping. reading. cleaning. mmmm. good saturday.

well love and peace.

rundown.

1. pray for paula and chad and co. their families need love and comfort.
2. im tired, but had a great day. lovely day off. still so weird to drive around and see snow- but i love it. im enjoying it. ry and i even had a lil mini snowball fight today. cute. huh.
3. God is so good and provides. ALWAYS. i sent in my check to living water for my trip to Guatemala. God just handed me the money through so many of YOU generously supporting me, and he used my dad's church in an amazing way. its really exciting to see what God has in store.
4. i work tomorrow. i just hope and pray its better than yesterday. i dont know if i can take many more days like that. really.
5. i miss my friends from lagrange a lot these days... well last night LOST premiered. OMG. it was wonderful and exciting... but it was SO DIFFERENT just watching it with ry! we are used to all of our best friends piled up on couches eating lots of food and just staring in silence at the show. man oh man i miss you guys...

thats the rundown for today.
off to bed.
love and peace.

kiddies + snow = fun

sorry. the pics are HUGE! i have no idea why. but if you click on them they will be much better to view. enjoy the kiddies in the snow! :) looks like they had a blast!! in the SEVEN INCHES!!

ps. its sooooo weird to drive around/ drive home/ drive to work and there is still SNOW and ice but mostly SNOW everywhere. still. so strange. my neighborhood especially bc its so wooded... parts of the road still only have tire tracks on either side. i just gotta line up my tires and go!

wow. unbeliveable. anyway. work sucked. i was there almost 14 hours. but im goign to bed and forgetting all about it... sit back and enjoy the SNOW!! :)

love and peace.

ps the lingenfelters should be back in action soon! hope you enjoyed the pics

magic.

before i tell you about the magical part to my day. let me tell you about the horrible part.
i got stuck.
i was trying to make it up a hill in the xterra, but it was so icy the "off road machine" couldnt get up a hill. im not kidding. mom told me "well you need to think of a solution to the problem. and make it happen." so i thought. ok. what the heck am i supposed to do. i start looking around. i can go downhill but not up. i cant go all the way down because there are other cars at the bottom of the hill stranded just like me. i see a driveway. its my only option. i back down the hill and back into this driveway. i ring the doorbell. sweet great lady answers. probably thinks im crazy, but i ask if i can leave my car here. im stuck. so i did. and then the big question, well what are you going to do dear? my response. "walk?!"
so i walk. 2.2 miles back to ryans house. in the snow.
but it was beautiful. quiet. peaceful. lovely. (but yes. cold)

anyway. after the ice melted i was able to go back and get my car and get it to ry's. we then took ry's car (because its wayyy better in these conditions. go figure.) and ventured to duke gardens ... excuse me. narnia. because really. it was magical.

here are pictures from my trip to narnia today. enjoy...

my house.

the gardens:

"the walk"

these shoes were NOT made for walking.
especially 2 miles in the snow...
its ok. at least i had some!

"THE hill"more gardens:

what a killer awesome sunset. and yes. that circle IS the sun.

cotton! ...or snow.

and ps. for those of you wondering about the kiddies... i was unable to see them (due to the fact i couldnt even get home) BUT got a quick chat. they loved the snow. made snow ice cream. tried to make a snowman (didn't work too well) but still tried. and i will have pictures for you all once i get them from their super awesome friend elizabeth!


peace and love- from a cooold lil girl!

(and yes. i do work tomorrow. no worries. if i can't get to work they will come GET ME. wow.)

good news. bad news.

the good news is: its snowing!
the bad news is: its snowing!

we (north carolinians) woke up to a very very white morning.
tons of snow. (well for me it is)
i woke up around 8 and it was pouring snow. here it is 10 and its STILL pouring snow outside!
its so so beautiful. i LOVE it. reallly. well except for the fact i have some errands to run (like going by my house and seeing how the heat is doing) but all are within 5 miles of my current locale)

the bad news is really that i most likely wont be able to go see the kiddies today!
seeing that yesterday (on a normal day) it took me about 25-30mins to get to them.
today with the pouring snow and icy cold roads it would take much longer... and driving on an interstate in this would not be too fun.

so sadly i wont be able to post any pics of the kids playing in snow. :(
but trust me. i have a feeeling they are just DYING to get out in it! i mean I AM!! well not yet. its still pouring from the sky and looks awfully cold out there.

ill be taking LOTS of pics today... and will post them throughout the day.
im going to attempt to make a homemade hearty chicken and rice soup.
we shall see how it goes!
enjoy the pics!
for now im off to galavant in the snow!

peace and love.

the big 5!

today i had the pleasure of celebrating a birthday of a dear old pal... who happened to be turning the big FIVE! ...although if you ask him- he wont be turning 5 until this weekend when he has his party. ha.... we had a miniature party today for him which included super hero popsickles and a trip to jumping beans.

these crazy kids are in town while their awesome parents are off to the inauguration. i was asked to so kindly photograph the adventures of the little ones and blog about them. unfortunately the place we went had poor lighting so my pictures are not that great, but enjoy them anyway! it was a blast hanging out with them and im so excited about tomorrow! the forecast is calling for 2-4 inches of snow... maybe MORE! so there is NO telling what the day will hold for us!

the whole gang:

action shot...

the little things in life that make kids so happy.

buddies.

so happy.

the faces of the birthday boy:

exhaustion.

beach. snow. yes.

yesterday i went to the beach.
ry and i got up and went to the beach- went to an awesome battleship. headed to downtown wilmington. went to a fantastic (but dead) arboretum. it was cool. we will go back there. then headed to the beach and had a marvelous dinner at a restaurant on the water. it was wonderful. did i mention it rained? oh yeah. the whole day. didn't stop until we got back to durham last night. but thats ok. it was still fun. we still got sandy at the beach. still walked around with an umbrella at the garden. we didnt let a lil rain dampen our day! so yeah. it was fantastic.

so after leaving the beach we get back to durham and see the weather forecast: snow. tonight and tomorrow. 2-4 inches. yeahhhhh. talk about excitement. holy cow. i hope it snows!

anyway. let me do a quick update on my house. we have no heat and no hot water. yes. you read correctly. AND sat the wind chill was single digits!! so needless to say my roomies and i are staying all over the place bc its RIDICULOUS HERE!! we are in and out along with the landlord and other folks trying to get it fixed. i think its like a leak in the hot water heater. ugh. terrible!!

so yeah. its cold. reallll cold.

today im off to play with my favorite kids in the whole world!! the little lingenfelters are in town and im pumped!

so off to be a kid.

love and peace.

wishing i were flying...

.... to the galapagos.

sara is there.
i wish i were too.
with her. and ryan.
it would be so fun to
be on a boat for 8 days
although it might make me
sick. seasick that is. but i still
want to go. i got an update from
sara. she is doing great. having fun
and wearing lots of sunscreen. which
is essential for her. she is white. reallllllll
white. and has red hair and freckles. its ok
to be white though sara. dont worry. i am too!
so yeah. im here. wishing i were on an airplane flying
to the galapagos. maye one day ill go see the animals. and
play. i think it would be cool. ok. thats all for now. must get
back to doing something important. haha.... or maybe ill google
pics of the galapagos islands. yeah. ill do that. well, peace and love.

pics...

... not really.
sorry. but if you go here: http://joy-in-me.blogspot.com/
you will see pics from my weekend adventure!

yeah... thats sara's site. and i bet the 4 people that DO read this... read her's also. so youve prob already seen the pics. haha.... anyway. she is in SOUTH AMERICA right now! keep her in your prayers!

ive already had like 4 instances where i would have normally texted her... but i can't. i mean i could. and i know im going to... but im trying to hold back. i dont want her to come back in the country and have like 14 million texts from me!!



anyway... on a different note... i love me some ryan.
first off each day that i work he cooks me dinner and waits to eat with me when i get off. normally around 730. well tonight i didn't even leave work until 7.50. (long day) which puts me to his house close to 8.15. anyway. i kept texting him telling him to not worry about dinner/go ahead and eat. BUT sweet boy made me dinner anyway AND waited for me to get home to eat with me so we could sit at the table and discuss and chat about our day. i mean come on... he is such a fabulous man!! i sure am lucky to have him in my life! and im sooo greatful for the joy he brings!

hope you are all well. posts and pictures and smiles to come.

love and peace.

weekend collage.. .

1. i apologize... these are not my pictures. (well the first one is) the others are off google. my camera is at ry's house... but i didn't want to leave you empty handed until wednesday (my next day off) SO here is a collage from our weekend in asheville! we had a BLAST! being best friends, staying up late laughing and talking and figuring out life. it was so wonderful to be together!

me. and her. bff. sisters separated at birth...
but with the same upbringing...

red wine and chocolate seminar. mmm

wine tasting @ the winery @ the biltmore

the parkway... that we ventured on.


black mountain.


the palace. and the great hall inside...




so as soon as i get my pics ill put them up.
but it was a super fun weekend at the biltmore and on the parkway.
tomorrow say-ra is off to the galapagos... so keep her in your prayers! she is going to be on a boat for 8 days!!

im off to bed. work tomorrow. yipee.

love and peace.

3 month reunion.

is that all? seems like its been a year!

This weekend ill be
HERE!

with HER!

and its going to be AWESOME! :)

peace and love!

stolen...

from my friend nathan.... but he borrowed it from “through painted deserts" by donald miller. let me admit, i have not read that book, but i read this from the author's note... and loved it. realllly. loved it.

Everybody has to change, or they will expire. Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons. I want to keep my soul fertile for changes, so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it is time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person i was a moment ago, because my mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently. It frightened me to think of it, that I passed up and early marriage or children to write these silly books, that I bought the lie that the academic life had to be separate from relational experience, as though God only wanted us to learn cognitive ideas, as if the heart of a man were only created to resonate with movies. No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath…. And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beaultiful born inside of you, about learning to love… It might be a time for you to go. It might be a time for you to change, to shine out. I want to repeat one word for you: Leave. It is a beautiful word; so strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have to change.

especially the part about moving away from home- so i can come back and love it for so many more reasons. change is good. change is important. im not to worry. its time to grow and learn and become me. and im doing just that... and its good. so good.

love and peace.

excited about...

1. ryan is coming back to me tomorrow! :) yeah... he is coming to see ME... it doesn't really matter that there just happens to be a duke basketbally game tomorrow night that he has a ticket to....

2. next weekend ill see my bestest friend SARA! first time since october. we are meeting in asheville and going to the biltmore, and staying at a cheap hotel, and just going to be with each other! and catch up! and laugh! and watch movies! and shoP! and have FUNNN!!!!

3. the cutest kids in the WORLD are coming to durham with their awesome mom and dad... they aren't just driving through... but stopping! and I GET TO SEE THEM!!!!! check them (my mystery guests) out HERE!

4. its 2009... and there are lots of exciting things that are bound to happen this year! jobs, new apts, hopefully new friends, new movies, and so much more!

5. im in a one year bible study via e-mail. im doing my max lucado- bible in a year daily devo- thing... hopefully ill stay a lil more on track than previous attempts. its a struggle... but hopefully i can learn and grow and stick with it. im excited about it!

6. going to bed.... im pooped. 12 1/2 hours exhausts you ! anyway. off to bed.

love and peace.
d

my getaway

that is what this is.
when work is stressful.
or i am needed just a second to myself...
i sign on to blog. just to see what the world is up to.
i love reading people's and looking at pictures.
even if i have seen them all before.
its nice to get on and remember there is a whole world outside this hospital.

anyway. i just got on. looked around. smiled. and got reenergized for 8 more hours of work...

"home"

not so much.
but i am back in north carolina.

after being at my real home and then the snider's home... this place just seems like a place i happen to be living right now. but thats ok. one day ill make my own home- that really is home- but until then... columbus and richmond hill will be home.

i do feel like a grown up.
when i got home from my long trip- i
-unloaded
-caught up on all the bills
- cleaned my stuff
- packed my christmas things away
- wrote a few cards/letters
- ate a bagel for dinner while watching jeopardy and wheel of fortune
- got ready for work
-now am in bed... a warm bed may i add thanks to paula's sweet homemade bed warmer

i work 5 out of the next 6 days... but after that ill be heading over to asheville to see the bestest friend sara... :) whom i have not seen since OCTOBER! i am quite excited.

anyway. im off to watch tristan (brad pitt)... mmm... legends of the fall. on oxygen. perfect thing to fall asleep to if you ask me!


love and peace. d

seven.

so ive been tagged a few times in people's lists of "seven things people dont know about me"... i didn't want to just make one quickly. ive thought about it. some. and here it is

SEVEN random things about me.

1. i am notorious for taking pictures WHILE driving down the interstate. of things like trees, sunsets, sunrises, the sky, or anything i see that deserves a picture.

2. i am learning how to crochet. im not good. but im having fun.

3. i love the ocean. LOVE it. sitting and looking at it- how big it is and how small i am. and gosh its beautiful! same goes for mountains. LOVE THEM. so so so gorgeous, and strong, and huge.

4. i kinda want to be a high school biology/anatomy teacher and coach hs basketball. ...i know. its random. i had a dream about it a few months ago... and was like. hm. sounds good.

5. if i could have any super hero power... i would fly. i love flying. love it... i love stepping on an airplane and stepping off somewhere half way around the world. ive thought about being a flight attendent.... but unless ry was with me on those trips i dont think so.

6. i want to (once again) be fluent in spanish. i was back a few years ago... after a summer in mexico working at a mission base and translating... that'll do it. but 5 years back in the states without using it constantly... its floating away. i still know a lot... but i need to step up my game.

7. traveling is my favorite thing to do. whether its a weekend trip or 2 weeks somewhere- i LOVE it. i kinda made a pack with myself to travel outside of the country once a year... and then to always be open to spontaneous trips. never say no to traveling. go places. see the world. id go anywhere. yes. anywhere. hopefully ry will be able to always be with me. but even if not its still a love of mine!


so there is my seven things.
perhaps ill have FIVE things to say about 2008 coming up...
and then perhaps ill tell you about my new years resolution.


im enjoying the last few days of vacation before work comes...
peace and love and happy new year