Bell Ringers

Rev. David Heyser is an inspiration. He is still giving his time to the Salvation Army even though he is sick. Rev. Heyser has been an important part of our family for a very long time. Aside from knowing my grandparents, he married my parents and my sister and her husband. We were so lucky to enjoy dinners with his wife and him growing up. Click his full name to see the Northland News Center cover his story. 

He is a commendable man. He served in the Marine Core, and has been a revered of the Presbyterian Church. He and his wife are among the kindest people I have ever met. His dedication and the dedication of thousands of other bell ringers around the country makes me so happy during the Christmas Season. The red bucket and the bells are a part of the season you just can't go with out. 

Hello Finals

Let the Finals COMMENCE!!! 

(So I'm a few hours late.. but.... GOOD LUCK!!)

My first day of finals went well! 

I took my Maps and my Cognitive Development finals. They went well! 

Wednesday is my writing final, and then Thursday my paper and my Lit final will close out my semester!

Be Merry: Happy Holidays

A Christmas Card from my loving friends Courtney and Karl, who call me "Mama Oakes" 

An Intercession..

Friday was marked with a terrible tragedy, a terrible tragedy that ended in the loss of 20 young children and 6 adults in the school, the shooter's mother in her own home, and the shooter. My heart and all my prayers go to the community that now lies shaken by the events.

As social media sites do in the wake of something terrible, Facebook exploded with prayers, comments on gun safety and control, comments of thanks for their safety and their own families, condolences and apologies for the sadness. There was one comment that made me sad, it made me so sad that I felt anger. A friend quoted someone who was questioning God and his existence, he said, ""Either God can do nothing to stop catastrophes, or he doesn't care, or he doesn't exist. God is either impotent, evil, or imaginary. Take your pick, and choose wisely." -Sam Harris""

Father Mike has given several homilies that have had the same message weaved in, the message that it's easy to believe, it's easy to have faith when everything is good, when life is happy and everyone is safe. It's hard to have faith when something horrible happens, when we're in a time of crisis, when our lives are stressful and we feel most alone and vulnerable.
God cares, he cares so much about us. He created us for love. He created us to love Him, and so He could love us. He loves us so much that He gave us free will. He gave us the power to choose. He gave us life, without free will and the power to choose we would all be puppets. We are not puppets. We make decisions to sin every day, whether it be something small, like a little white lie or gossip, or maybe something big, like adultery or murder, it isn't because God tells us to, it isn't something God wants. The power to choose doesn't mean He doesn't care.
God is all powerful, He is the definition of love and good, and He is real.
I have taken my pick. I pick God. I pick the good, and the love, and the hope. I pick Jesus Christ, and I pick the Heavenly Father.

Viva Christo Rey.

God Bless all the children who are now in Heaven, in His kingdom. God Bless the families marked by this tragedy and the community that is left to deal with the horrible choices of an angry and sick man. God Bless all the children and families, and I pray that we are all just a little more thankful for the great families and friends we have in our lives, and that we realize how fragile life is.

During this Christmas Season, I hope you remember the reason we are all here. I hope you remember that you are loved, and you have the choice to love or not to love, but either way, you will be loved.

-- Merry Christmas. God Bless.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Happy Holidays from all of Us to You

Happy Holidays!

My parents don't do Christmas letters like many people do, mostly because I think they just don't have the time. So, in honor of the tradition most families have of writing out a letter and sending it with family photos for all their friends and families to read, I'm gonna write one here.

Dear Friends of the O Clan,

Steve and Diane are doing well. Both are working hard and playing too. Steve is in a pool league (and his team is actually pretty good). Diane is a pro with knitting needles and has been knitting up a storm since Vi was born.

Let's see... Daughters from the oldest to youngest:

Jen: is still teaching preschool, constantly on the run, just got a new house, happily married, happy mom, happy auntie, loves Iced Caramel Macchiatos.
Kate: has a new job, constantly on the run, happy mom, happy auntie, still cutting hair on the side, loves chai teas (with no water and extra chai)
Hannah: sophomore at UMD, majoring in English Lit and Geography, transferring to the U, happy auntie, works at the preschool on breaks from school, loves gingerbread lattes

Grandbabies:
 Vi: getting big, can sing her ABCs, counts to 10 in English and French, so adorable, makes her auntie smile every time they skype
Kenzie: started at daycare, is getting big, can sit up by herself, had her first Thanksgiving this year, looks just like her mama!

Merry Christmas!
Happy New Years!

-- The O's

Desiderata by Mark Ehrmann

http://www.spirasolaris.ca/desiderata.gif


Silent Night (Click Here)

Letters to Santa

Dear Santa,

This year, I'd like to ask for things that I truly believe are more important than any toys or gifts or material objects. Santa, I ask that this Christmas you remind people of the reason we're here and the reason we celebrate. Remind our families that Christmas isn't about the presents under the tree or who got more than who. Remind our families that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Remind our families that Christmas wouldn't exist without Christ being born.

http://cbsphilly.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/santa-claus.jpg?w=420

Santa, I also ask that on Christmas, you bring families together. There are so many men and women fighting overseas or who are unable to make it home for the holiday season. Bring them home. I want everyone to be as lucky as I am to spend my holidays with my parents, my sisters, my nieces, my grandparents and my uncle. I am so lucky, and I want you to spread that luck to others.

Santa, finally I ask for love. I ask for you to let love blossom in this cold and wintry season. Let love's light shine down so that everyone can feel it's warmth and happiness. Let love embrace the lonely, the sad, the scared, and the content. Let love embrace everyone.

I realize that there are other things, peace, end to hunger, stop to violence that I could ask for too.. but I believe those things are going to take much more than one letter (blogpost) to Santa.

Merry Christmas,
H.Eilene

Playing in the Snow

I want to just say something about Yesterday's Theme... Jingle Bells. I love the sound of bells. Church bells, jingle bells, the bells that the Salvation Army collectors use at their red buckets. I love them. My favorite part of The Polar Express is the part where Santa gives the boy the bells off the reindeer's harnesses. Then, he loses it and then on Christmas morning it's on the tree. Gosh, I love it. It only rings when you believe. See-- I like it not just because I like shiny things, but also because I like the message it teaches us. To believe. Even if it specifically shows in the movie to Believe in Santa. What is so wrong with that? Santa was derived from Saint Nicholas. The Saint who was giving and selfless. I believe in Saint Nicholas. I believe in the beauty of his kindness; I believe that while we are so thankful for what we have, we also need to be selfless and give to others in need.


Soooo today's theme is Playing in the Snow. And I am a little bummed. My plan was to go play in the snow with my roommates and then post pictures and talk about it... buuut the snow storm hasn't hit yet. So.. instead I'm giving you pictures of our trip to Bentleyville last night. And by pictures, I mean 2.

Always,
H.Eilene

Jingle All The Way

http://www.musicteachershelper.com/blog/wp-content/images/jingleBells1.jpg

Christmas Classics

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http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/3371_5.jpg

These are from my 2 favorite classic CARTOON Christmas movies. Can you guess which they're from? The first one is easy...

;) 

-H.Eilene

A Random Interjection from Jane Goodall

This woman is my hero. I love her. I love her work. I love her research.




It's a tad long, but I love it. She brings a voice to the animal kingdom. It amazes me.

Peace... and Gratitude

Holidays are a time to be ever so grateful for all the wonderful things you have in life. This holiday season I am especially thankful for my family-- my parents, my grandparents, my two beautiful sisters, my brother in law, and my two healthy and adorable nieces. I am so lucky to be blessed with such a loving family, and I can't wait to get home to spend the holidays with them.

Holidays are also a time for memories. Sharing those memories with the people you love and care about, and making new memories to last  a lifetime. My fondest memories are from winter and the Christmas season with my family and friends. A few days ago I shared the memory (and tradition) of driving around to look at the lights with my uncle and sisters, and today I'll share one more.

Christmas Eve was always a busy night at our house. For dinner, we usually have my Uncle Tom's amazing homemade pizza, and then we just have family time until midnight mass. For the last two years however, I've spent Christmas Eve with Jordan's family at his Granny's house. His whole family is there, and it's a really fun night. The first year that I was lucky enough to join them we walked in the door and his uncle (who I've learned has QUITE the sense of humor) looked at us and asked Jordan who the ugly girl was that he brought along. If you know me well, you know that I turn a nice bright shade of red when I'm embarrassed or surprised or happy.. or really anytime my emotions shift dramatically. I was redder than Rudolph's noes or Santa's suit. Luckily, Jordan and his mom both warned me that he was quite the sarcastic one and I should ignore it.. otherwise, I probably would have started crying... and been far more embarrassed.

I'm thankful for every holiday memory and tradition I'm fortunate make with my family. I love spending the holidays at home, surrounded by everyone I love, and I look forward to watching Kenzie enjoy her very first Christmas in this world

Let Your Heart Be Light (And Loosen Your Belt)

 My favorite Christmas Cookies are Spritz, but because I don't have a cookie press up at school to make the shapes that are so pretty, I'm going to share this delicious cake recipe instead. The picture is from an awesome blog that posted a version of the recipe-- also, I'm not as artistic of a photographer, and I thought it was just really cool!  This cake is a Peppermint Fudge Poke Cake (but her blog calls it Better than...Christmas Cake which I thought was cute).

   
Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake
(take your pick.. I chose Triple Chocolate Fudge)
1 1/2 cups crushed oreos
1 1/8 cups Coffeemate Peppermint Mocha Creamer
1 jar of sundae fudge 
(I used a normal size jar of Smuckers fudge)
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 container of Cool Whip

*Also, make sure you have the ingredients on the back of the cake box-- eggs, vegetable oil, water

Let's get Baking!

To start, bake your cake according to the directions. I would have made a homemade chocolate cake, but Betty Crocker was much more in my price range! 

Once your cake is baked let it cool (in the pan). 

Take a wooden spoon and poke holes (using the non-spoon end) in the cooled cake. I would poke 20-25 holes (depending on the size of your spoon).

In a bowl mix together the sweetened condensed milk and 1 cup of the peppermint creamer. Pour the mixture over the cake filling each of the holes. 

Next, in the same bowl (so don't rinse it out!) mix together the jar of fudge, the remainder of the peppermint creamer (1/8 cup) and 1/2 cup of your crushed oreos. Spread it as evenly as possible over the top of the cake. 

Spread your container of CoolWhip over the top of the cake like frosting and then sprinkle the remainder of your oreos over the top. Some recipes say to also crush some peppermints and put them on top... I didn't have any peppermints. 

Let your cake set in the fridge for 4-6 hours and then serve! 

As you can see, my pictures aren't nearly as awesome as Something Swanky's. If you'd like to check out her blog, click HERE. She's got all kinds of great recipes, and check out the awesome pictures she has of her version of the cake!

Happy 3rd Day of Advent. 

Twinkle Twinkle Part 2

To go along with today's theme.. click the link below for some adorable puppies lit up!
They're adorable, and it will make you smile!

Click HERE to see 30 Dogs who think they're Christmas Trees

via flickrr.com

Twinkle Twinkle

One of my all time favorite traditions of Christmas is piling into my Uncle Tom's rental car and going out driving to see the lights in the neighborhoods, the lights the town puts out, and listening to Christmas music on the radio. It used to be that he had to bribe us with Dairy Queen, or sometimes Starbucks works (though that is more something J&J and I have done the last two years). Now, as I think of what a gift that time alone with him and my sisters was and how I never truly appreciated it as I should have, I will be so excited to look for lights and go driving this December on the hunt for the beautiful lights. 

I just love these photos (credit to the photographers who provided them). The first is of the lit tree. I absolutely love trees. I love when people decorate their outdoor pines and evergreens. The second photo is of lights on trees that were put up by a city/business. I love walking downtown with lights above my head. It makes me feel so happy and light on the inside. The last photo is of a home decorated for the season. My favorite lights are the small yellowish clear lights. I don't like the LED blue that burns your eyes. I know they're Energy Efficient, but I don't like the headache they give me. I'm also a huge fan of the huge bulbs in multi-color. They remind me of living in Arizona because they were our neighbor's lights. If a flipped one of my blinds up I could stare at the lights all night long. It was the best. 

What do you love about Christmas lights?  What are your favorites?

http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/Kl/outdoor-christmas-tree-lg.jpg

http://sammydvintage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/christmas_lights_outside.jpg

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Tis the Season

Tis the Season for mittens and scarves,
for buttoned up coats and long sweaters,for peppermint mochas and cookies,
for rosy cheeks and pink and frosty noses,
for catching snowflakes on tongues,
for snowmen and snowangels,
for trees decorated with tinsel and lights,
for eager children waiting for Santa,
for holiday music and cheer,
for friends and families to reunite,
for hot cocoa and blankets by the fire,
for classics like It's a Wonderful Life,
for remembering Christ and why we celebrate,
for being thankful and remembering how blessed we are,
for kisses in the snow,
for blooming love and cuddles to keep warm,
for memories to be made,
for ice skating on the pond and falling down,
for jingle bells and Christmas carols,
for love.

My Reason Why Is....

My reason why is the snow. 

My reason why is my beautiful family and friends. 

My reason why is watching the twinkling lights on the tree.

My reason why is the celebration of the birth of Christ. 

My reason why is the smell of peppermint in my hot cocoa.

My reason why is the mound of Christmas cookies on the counter.

My reason why is the laughter and joy and excitement of Christmas morning. 

My reason why is the gathering of the whole family to celebrate the holidays. 

What are your reasons why? What do you love about December and the Holiday season? 

25 Days

Today begins my favorite season. The Holiday Season. Christmas Season.
In honor of my favorite season I'm beginning a blog-countdown. Each day I will post something I found on an awesome scrap booking website. They provided 25 prompts for scrap booking. It's not the same, because I'm on a blog-- but, it's equally as exciting because I get to share it with you!!

Here begins the 25 day blog holiday!!

Merry Christmas!!

Would You Stand?

Father Mike gave kind of a depressing homily last night.. and on Tuesday-- about the end of the world and the end of the Catholic faith as we know it. It's all dark and gloomy when you think that the church will no longer be able to openly profess their faith. It's all dark and gloomy to think of millions of Catholics being forced to hide their love for God and hide their beliefs. Just as I believe in religious freedom for everyone, I do not believe we should have to fear the loss of our rights to express our faith. I have never once looked down on any person of another faith for professing their beliefs, I do not feel it's fair that someday we will be forced to hide.

Last night, he told us a story of a man in Mexico who gave his life to profess his faith. He hung a sign in his shop on which he hand wrote Viva Christo Rey, Long Live Christ the King. When the police cut out his tongue for speaking those words in public Viva Christo Rey, he pointed up to God. When the police cut off his hands for pointing to God saying Viva Christo Rey and public announcing his faith, he spread his arms and physically turned his body into the cross. They shot him. They killed a man for being strong enough in his faith to profess it out loud and to the world.

Viva Christo Rey. Long Live Christ the King.

That story strikes me. First, because it happened. It happened in Mexico, where a large percentage of the population is Catholic. Yet a man died because he was Catholic. Second, I am left to wonder.. would I be brave enough to do it? Would I be brave enough to stand up and die for my faith? Would you? Even if you're not a Catholic or Christian.. would you stand up for your faith? Would you die for it?

Viva Christo Rey. Long Live Christ the King.
Long live my king.
-H.Eilene

I've Made a Decision

Hello Friends!

I've been sitting on this decision for awhile, going back and forth, but I've officially decided to transfer down to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. I am extremely excited and happy with this decision. I have very solid reasons to transfer mostly focused around living expenses and opportunities for internships and learning experiences. I did not come to this decision lightly, but my reasons are for myself and what is best for me, and I'm very excited.
I'm also very sad. I have made a ton of new friends while in Duluth and have grown very close with my friends at the Newman Center. But, I'm not leaving for another semester, so there are still great memories to be made. I'm so excited to share these next few months with the friends I've made and will use this time with them to build up strong and lasting bonds.

Have a fabulous Wednesday!
Hannah

Christmas is Coming Part 2

Christmas is Coming

Hello Again!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, and I hope you were able to share how thankful you are for you family and friends and all the beautiful things in your lives. I know I was. More than anything, this weekend gave me the opportunity to realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing and healthy family. I spent much of my weekend with my sister and her husband (and little Violet too!!). I always enjoy my time with them, but it just seemed even more special this weekend!

The background image on my phone is of Jordan and I from Halloween when he came up to my school to visit, and every time Violet saw the phone she kept saying "Jojan!!!" (Jordan) It was absolutely the most adorable thing in the world. Beyond that, she kept trying to talk to him on my phone, and my heart melted every time. We spent a lot of our time making cute videos this weekend of Miss Violet singing, counting to ten (in French!) and practicing her ABCs. She is just too precious!!

Alas, the weekend is over and it's back to school for me! It's a snowy wonderland here in Duluth and the wind has started to nip at your fingers and nose. Its officially become sweater season! (Which, I'm pretty thrilled about).

This week's game plan:
Catch up on all my reading-- because finals are only 3 weeks away!!!!
Finish my Christmas countdown!!!
Bake more Christmas cookies!!

Sneak peak on next post: An inside look at Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer

I hope you have a marvelous Tuesday-- more to come soon!

10 K

Hello!              

As some of you, or all of you, or maybe none of you might know, in two days I will be running a 10k. Pretty ridiculous if you know me... because I'm not a big runner. But, I'm doing it nonetheless. I'm not ready for it, my training is almost nonexistent aside from a few short runs and lots of long walks, but you know.. I'm okay with that. I'm not running to win or make a record time for myself... considering it's my first race, I'm just going to be happy with however I do. I'm going to try my best, but I know I'm going to end up walking a lot of it. Let's be honest...

I will ALWAYS be thankful for my sisters

I've been mulling over a homily from Father Mike... the words he said, that are stuck in my head are:
Your body is worth love, but not worth worship, your body is worth Sacrifice. He ended his homily by asking us to sacrifice time out of our weekend for Jesus and for others.

A big selling point of this 10k that I'm running is that each runner is to bring canned goods to donate for those who are in need. I'm going to sacrifice a few hours on Wednesday evening to collect canned goods for the run. I'm going to sacrifice some time out of the busy weekend of friends and family and go to Church and pray. I'm going to take this holiday about giving and gratitude and do what I can to give to those in need and be grateful to the Lord for the wonderful things he's given me-- food, shelter, a family and many friends.

I hope you'll take this holiday to be thankful for everything you have, and make a point to give to others who are less fortunate.

Always,
H.Eilene

Family

In honor of Thanksgiving (which is in 6 days!!), I'm doing a post about family. Father Mike gave a pretty good homily last night about how family is messy and crazy and we fight, but yet we're family... that's what family is. It's a beautiful mess, but it is our beautiful mess. Well, no. That's not what his homily was really about.. it was about treating our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, as family-- making their mess ours, giving them time and attention, and loving them... and so on. 


But I want to focus on the family part. The fellow Oakes-Youngs-Benson family. They are my family. I sit here, at college, and I miss them. I miss them like crazy, all I want is to go home, see them. Have my dad tell me to do the dishes or complain about the recycling, have my mom wondering how the kitchen gets so dirty after only a few hours, and my sisters, my amazing and wonderful sisters... one fighting over clothing and the other cutting coupons in the most inconvenient places.. my nieces, in all their glory being noisy. I love them. I love the crazy, the mess, the annoying comments about cleaning or the inability to fit everyone in the living room. I love it. 

I get home, and I get annoyed. I get mad because we can't get through dinner without someone saying something that makes someone else mad. It makes me angry when my parents expect me to clean up messes I didn't make because I want to relax and enjoy my time home... but that's what family does. We make sacrifices for each other. I look back at all the times I rolled my eyes and complained about doing someone else's dishes, and I'm ashamed. I should have been happy to do them. I should have been proud to stand up and help out where I was needed. 

Family is messy. Family is annoying. Family can be infuriating. But, Family is beautiful. Family is love. My family is MINE. No one can take that from me. They're my beautiful mess. I am so proud, and so lucky to be part of my family. 

Exhaustion

College is tiring. In fact, I would argue that college is exhausting. So much so, that today, when I went to rest my eyes for a few minutes.. I slept for a few HOURS. Not minutes, not one or two hours.. I slept for almost 4 hours. That is the longest and ONLY nap I have taken in over a year. Holy cats.

For this reason (exhaustion), I have not been posting. But-- I PROMISE. This weekend, I will have time to come back to this and add much more about the crazy week it's been.. also, this weekend is going to be EPIC. Also, I'm gonna tell ya about my weekend home (this past weekend) :) Stick around-- keep coming back!!

Always (and yawning)
H.Eilene

It's Beautiful

Today is a gorgeous (and cold) day in Duluth!
Today, my hair is curled, I'm wrapped up in the amazing (and LONG) scarf my mom made me,
and it's just a happy day. I had a busy morning, and now, my afternoon is full of homework and
I have to fit in a run... but I think I can do it! :)
Have a fabulous Tuesday (I'll be back with more tomorrow!!!)

Adios!!
~H.Eilene

Vote

My clock says 12:02 AM. That means the day has come for Americans to voice their opinions, and exercise their right to elect the leader of our country. I feel like it is our duty as citizens, no.. I KNOW it is our duty as citizens to go out and vote. But don't just go voting for whoever's name sounds the best, or the candidate whose skin tone matches yours. Vote for the candidate's platform matches your own.

http://www.calyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/vote.jpg

My friends are all across the board, voting Romney for religious reasons or voting Obama strictly for his openness to certain topics like abortion, birth control and gay marriage. You can vote for whomever you want. If you believe that same sex marriage isn't okay, then vote Yes. If you believe that marriage shouldn't have to be between a man and a woman, vote No. I won't tell which side you should be on, because for me, that was a hard decision.

I wish I could say it were easy, because so many of my friends were firm in their belief that marriage is for everyone. I have friends, who I consider family, who I want to be able to marry moving forward in life. But, I had to look at my faith too. Not because I think the Bible says they can't, or because I think God doesn't love people who are attracted to people of their same sex (because that's not true). It was hard for me because I was shown how the amendment could impact Catholic Churches and Catholic schools in the future. I shown that the amendment will lead to a change in what we teach our children, that parents who are uncomfortable with the change in teaching can't withdraw their children, and that schools, such as Catholic schools can't refuse to teach it--- which would essentially lead to their shutting down. I love my friends, but I also love the idea of children going to Catholic school and being taught the love and mercy of Jesus.

In the end, I know the decision I made makes me feel okay. I know that I voted for what I felt in my heart was right. I voted keeping both sides of the issue in mind. For some, the decision to vote yes or no was easy. There was no thought... but I'm glad I had to think. I'm glad it made me question my stance as Catholic and as someone who believes in equal rights for everyone. I'm glad it made me think, because it made me feel all the better as I sent in my absentee ballot.


Take each of the issues in your heart, and truly think about the impacts your vote could have. Every single one of us has a voice, and every single one of us will be heard today. On this day, we stand as a nation and vote together for the future of our country.

I pray for everyone who is going out to the polls, who know in their hearts what they want to vote, even if their faith or other social pressures are telling them otherwise. I pray that they have the strength to do what is in their hearts, and that God will grant them peace in their decisions, and that He forgives them if it isn't what the Church is calling them to do. I pray for everyone today who casts their vote for the future of our nation, and I pray for our nation as a whole, that today and the next four years brings about positive change and policies that protect and serve all people, and not the selected few.

Always,
H.Eilene.

Coffee Date

My favorite time of year has come... Starbucks winter drinks have arrived

Beautiful Things

I've learned in the past few months that there is so much beauty in the world around us. It's everywhere. Everywhere you look there is something precious, something so beautiful. I see beauty in life, in children with their parents, in my friends, in music, in the bible, in my faith as a whole, it's all so beautiful to me.

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Tonight, tonight was a night where I saw beauty in the faith of many many people. Today for the Catholic faith was All Saints and All Souls Day, a day of Holy obligation. Today was also a mass and meal day, which usually has around 40-60 people in attendance. Tonight, as we walked into Father Mike's house, shoes were sprawled a good ten feet up to the door, and the living room outside of the chapel was packed. We got in and realized that not only was the room outside the chapel full, but the chapel was full. By the time mass started there people standing shoulder to shoulder in the living room and extended down the stairs into the basement and through the entry way and up the stairs to the house.
The whole collection of people celebrating their faith and celebrating All Saints Day was overwhelmingly beautiful. The homily tonight also got me.

You know how sometimes people say things that just... kinda hit you in the gut and really make you think? Well. Fr. Mike succeeded tonight in knocking the wind outta me with his message. In essence, he explained the purpose behind celebrating All Saints Day-- because it's not just the Saints like St. Mary, St. Joseph, St. Benedict etc. Everyone who has been baptized and died are considered saints too. He more or less told us that we are always surrounded by people who have already ran our race, who have already gone through what we are going through, and that they're cheering us on in our lives every day. It was amazing.

I'm constantly being reminded of His grace and His goodness.
I find it truly beautiful.

Tonight, as I celebrated All Saints Day, I especially prayed for my Grandma Violet. I never had the chance to meet her, but I've heard the most amazing stories about her, and if there's anyone I want standing by my side as I struggle and triumph, it's her.

Always,
H.Eilene

Something Fabulous

Hello All!
I took a couple days off to let the whole "getting hit by a car" thing pass. You know, no big deal now. Moving on!! Next big thing is... as big as the President. Partially because it was yesterday that President Bill Clinton was on campus (UMD)!!! He came to campaign for Obama. It was all very thrilling to see the campus abuzz with people either enthralled by his message, or for the Romney supporters, maybe more so a roll of the eyes at the message... but perhaps still excited by his presence? I don't know. I'm not in their heads.

I unfortunately had a class that I couldn't miss, but I did watch the live stream of his speech. It was pretty great, but for those who were there, it was probably an amazing experience to be in his presence! I'm pretty envious.

For the rest of this week it's crack down time. I have to write two papers for next week and they're both 6-10 page length requirements. Soooooo it's time I get to work!

Happy Halloween!

On a Crisp Fall Day

Tonight, it's rather cold in Duluth, so I'm drinking some
amazing Chai Tea while writing this for you!

I have nothing too crazy to report.

Well, that's a lie. Today, I was walking to work down St. Marie Street, crossing at the Woodland street light and a guy who was chatting on his cell phone and looking the opposite direction started creeping forward and hit me as I was walking out into the crosswalk. Mind you, he wasn't flying or going too fast, but I still fell to the ground. It hurt, but I was okay. My knee is a little sore, but other than that I'm perfectly okay.
He jumped out of his car and helped me up like a gentleman, apologizing profusely. When he was done babbling out how sorry he was and how awful he felt and making sure I was okay (WHICH I AM), I continued on my way walking the rest of the way to work. It's was a gorgeous morning/afternoon, but it cooled down a lot as the sun was setting so the walk home was a little frigid.

Life lesson of the day: Forgiveness.
I forgave the kid who was too busy talking on the phone to check the crosswalk before turning.
Second one: Luck.
That guy was lucky I was too shocked to really flip on him and start screaming.

KE$HA

What you got boy is hard to find.

I think about it all the time. 

I haven't posted in like a week... but I haven't had much to say. I had a long week. I was counting down the hours/minutes/seconds until I had my boy in my arms. We celebrated our three year anniversary with a nice home cooked meal of garlic shrimp pasta, and then he went to his buddy's house while I went to the Catholic Halloween party. He came back and we stayed up late talking. This morning we woke up and got ready for the day, took a nice trip to target to buy milk, butter and eggs, and stuff for his apple crisp :) We came back, made the apple crisp, watched some RENT and played Gin Rummy. Then we went to dinner and now he's gone. The time went too fast. I wish so badly that he could come back and be with me. I miss him. It never stops hurting when I have to say goodbye. 

Our First Date: Halloween 2009

Our 3 Year Anniversary: Halloween 2012

He's such a great guy. He really is. We don't always agree on everything, but if we did, it'd be boring. He reminds me what it means to have fun and he breaks me out of my tiny shell. He is supportive and caring and he has this incredible brain. He's smart. So smart. Sometimes I feel like such an idiot when he goes talking about stuff, but it doesn't scare me. It doesn't annoy me. He's usually always right, except apparently about wine. I somehow knew more about what types of wine are sold under the Barefoot brand (no, I haven't drank any of them, but my mom has). Other than that, he's usually always right-- just don't tell him that. 

He's got something in a guy that isn't easy to find. He has compassion. He cares. He really cares, about feelings, about what goes on inside this crazy head of mine. I love it. I'm so incredibly grateful for him and his amazing kindness and love. 

So, here's to Ke$ha and the truth she speaks. :) 

Always,

H.Eilene

I ate this

It looks pretty gross... But it was homemade applesauce :)

Doorway

This picture was taken in a doorway.. the doorway of my room right after we arranged it

Family weekend

Mom + dad + Hannah time is very rare..  it was great

Day 18

Tonight's challenge was stars... and my camera is not good enough to get a picture of the stars out tonight. This is a piece of art my sister and I found this summer that I've been working to recreate for Violet's bedroom someday :) 

We Fall Down

This is one of my favorite songs from mass. I feel like this song brings me closer to God. I feel like this song is one that really feels like I'm calling out to Him. This song makes me feel closer when I feel far away. It makes me feel stronger when I am weak. This song is close to my heart when I am not feeling strong, when I'm feeling anxious, and when I am not sure how I should feel. 

Funny Story

About Day 17's Photo Challenge... so I was in the bus hub waiting for my bus... which was late >.<
and I was like.. RIGHT photo challenge for today is to take a picture of a stranger.. I felt way too awkward asking someone if I could take their picture.. and then I felt weird trying to get someone looking at me.. so I took the one of they guy walking away. So, two minutes later (because he paused to talk to someone) he walked face first into the door. Everyone around (which were mostly people sitting in the actual bus hub area with the benches) started laughing. I felt bad for the poor guy, so I wasn't gonna write this.. but then it was too good to pass up.

Always,
H.Eilene

Day 17

A stranger

Screwing It Up

Sometimes I get mad. I get really mad, because I'm good at one thing. That one thing is screwing up. I'm really good at it. Things are great with a friend? I say something stupid and screw it up. Things are really great with my classes? I miss an assignment and screw it up. Things are going great in my life, and again, I manage to screw it up. 

Screwing up is a part of life. My job is to learn from it. But, that's not always easy. Sometimes... it takes a long time to do it. Today, I'm mad. I'm mad for screwing up on several things. I know I gotta learn, but I don't know what I'm supposed to learn from it. 

So today I'm just mad. 

-H.Eilene

Day 14

Hallway

Day 12

Candy. Love it. Don't have any right now :( So here's a picture of my favorite

PEZ!!! 

Day 13

http://c.tadst.com/gfx/600x400/friday-13th.jpg?1

This one was hard...

Day 15

Pumpkins

Day 16

Something black... Kinda

Different Walks of Faith

There's one part of religion that gets me really excited... no, there are a lot of things that get me excited, but there's one in particular. Check it out, the font got bigger, that means this is HUGE. :) Okay, it might not be that huge. 

I love that religion is different for everybody. I love that I met with a friend who can say, that he keeps his Bible on his bed stand and he knows what God means for him; he knows where he is in his faith. I love that I can say that I go to prayer some mornings, that I go to mass as often as I can because to me, receiving Jesus in communion is the most beautiful way to remember what he did for us. I have friends who are Jewish, Mormon, Christian, Atheist and Agnostic. We are all our own judge, and we all find our faith somewhere. We believe in something different, but we all believe something. 

Atheists might not believe in God, but not believing is still believing something. We don't have to agree in everything, but we can still just get along. That's what excites me. I love all of God's children, even if they don't know Him, or if they love Him differently than I do.  

Meeting with my friend tonight, was great. It had been a long time since we had just sat down and talked. We talked about everything, from school to church, from relationships to broken friendships, we talked about politics and religion. We talked. I missed having him around, and I'm so very happy that we had this opportunity to sit and talk. 

Always,
H.Eilene 

Day 11

Day 11's Photo Challenge was Laughter.

I chose this photo from my trip to NDSU with my friend Kayla, because it is her laughing with her boyfriend Mitch. More than anything in the world, I love when she is happy and when she smiles, and in this picture she is doing both. :) And then below is a picture of Jordan and I laughing the summer before last. Looking at this photo reminds me of how blessed I am to have such and amazing boyfriend, and such an amazing best friend in him. 

Day 10

Day 10: A Light in the Dark

Isaiah 41:10

‘Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,

Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

(Isaiah 41:10)

Today I really struggled with my anxiety leading up to my contemporary literature exam. Lately, exams and papers and classes in general have been making me apprehensive and nervous. I have been feeling like no matter how hard I study and how hard I work, it's going to end in failure. I feel like I am going to waste all my time trying to succeed when all I deserve and all I'll achieve is failure. 

On my to class, to which I was running late because my previous class had run over, I could feel my chest tightening and the fear started to come over me. I paused for a minute, and just offered my anxiety, my fear of failure, my weaknesses up to the Lord. I offered them up and asked from him courage and strength to get through the exam. I asked for him to give me the confidence in myself to believe I could pass, that I could get through the exam with out failing. 

I challenge you, next time you feel afraid, weak, or when you feel like your only option is giving up, take a second and offer it up to the Lord. Offer up your anxiety, your fears, and your weakness. Remember that he is always there, and he gives us the strength and confidence to be the best person we can be. 

******************************************************************************************

Tonight's song is my favorite Jason Mraz song, I know I posted a video of it awhile back, but this version is done by a fantastic artist: Tyler Ward. 

Something Purple

Day Nine: Something Purple

I would have been more creative, but this was the only purple thing near by.. and technically I'm late. WOOPS. This is my folder for College Writing and Economic Geography: my two most painful classes.

He Had a Dream.... What is Yours?

I start with this clip of the famous speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because lately, my dreams have been forming and molding themselves into bigger dreams. I'm coming to the realization that my dream doesn't really have much to do with what I'm studying in school, but I've also come to the realization that it doesn't have to. All these years I have been stressing over and panicking about what I want to do with my life, what I want to do after college... I've always felt like everyone else has their whole lives figured out. I've always felt behind. 

And, I mean, I kinda guess that I still do. I feel like what I'm doing won't really help me with what I want to end up doing, but I'm not going to change my plan. I like my plan for school. I love the subjects I'm studying. If I'm creative enough I'll be able to come up with a justification as to how they'll get me where I want to end up. We'll see. 

My dream isn't as big or as meaningful as Dr. MLK Jr's.  I'm not a civil rights activist. I love everyone and accept all walks of life, but my dreams aren't that big. My dreams are for my future. My dream is to be a person I can be proud of. My dream is to be strong, respectable, kind. My dream is to be a wife, loving and loyal to her husband. My dream is to be a Catholic, firm in her faith and devoted to God. My dream is to be a mother, always and forever a mother my child(ren) can look up to. My dream is to be the best me I can be. 

My dream is to own a small coffee shop in a city or small town (yeah, I realize that means anywhere). I want to own a coffee shop and sell baked goods. I don't want to be Starbucks or Dunn Bros. I want it to feel like home to readers, musicians and neighbors. I want one wall to be a bookshelf, filled with literature of all types. Biographies, romances, comedies, tragedies, children's stories, mysteries, everything. I want my guests to feel free to browse the shelves and take and leave books to share with the community. I want that entire side of my shop to have comfy warm chairs and art to make it feel like home. I want the other side to have a small piano and tables and chairs and space for a musician to take a seat and play their acoustic music as they please. I want the atmosphere to be warm. I want my guests to lose their time in my shop and be drawn to the smell of warm food and coffee. 

I don't know how I'll get there. I don't know what English Lit and Geography will do to get me there.. but I don't care. I just want to get there. I want that to be my end all goal. 

Those are my dreams. What are yours? 

Peek-A-Boo

Remember that challenge? 

Day 8: Peek-a-Boo!!!

Re-Exploring What This Means

"The truth is, this blog is going to be about my experience as I explore college and as I slowly try to map out the story of Earth. (Map.. it's a pun.. get it?) Anyways, I hope you'll follow as I learn the new and interesting technologies associated with GIS especially. The hope is to be able to post at least three times a week either interesting photos I find pertaining to the things I'm learning, or to just lay out the things I'm learning here.. because experts say you learn better when you're explaining concepts to someone else... "
I was afraid for the past few weeks that this blog is no longer living up to it's purpose.. but then I realized.. No. Even as I explore on here the ideas I've been pulling from my study of Catholicism, the experiences I've had as a student.. I'm still learning. I'm learning more about the Bible and God and my religion. I'm learning more and more about myself. These important lessons that I've been learning are essential to the creation of the person I want to be when I'm older. These important lessons are creating the adult I want to become. 
So.. yeah. The world is my oyster. I'm learning. I'm using my daily experiences with the world to change who I am. Most people, use the world to change the world... they take knowledge of systems and economics and politics and whatever else it is... to change the world.. we all change the world.. some of us are positive. We take the world; we want to change it to make it more sustainable.. we want it to be around for the rest of our lives and our children's children's lives. Some people take the world and change it by planning to cut down forests of trees or planning to build a dam. 
I'm taking the world and still trying my best to learn from the environmental processes and still taking everything I'm learning in my classes, and I love it.  The big change since when this blog started is that I now am also taking what I learn from my experience with the Church and applying the lessons to my life. I need these experiences. I need these experiences because I need Jesus in my life. I love that there is a Father up in Heaven who loves me no matter what I do. I love that there is this beautiful story that we read every day in mass and that these stories... these lessons that are thousands of years old STILL apply to my life. I can still learn from them and take meaning from verses and chapters and books of the Bible. 
I am still learning. I am still working on becoming the person I want to be. I am still growing. 

I'm reminded of this every time I look down at my acorn. I am still growing. I've got a long ways to go before I become the strong, confident, resilient woman that I want to be, that I can be, that someday I will be. I will always have room to grow.. but right now... today, tomorrow, the next few years, are the years that I have time to focus on things that will help me grow. 

Isaiah 55: 12-13

¹² For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Let's just take a look at some of the images in verse 13 here.. 

 instead of the thorn
  shall come up the fir tree,
and instead of the brier
 shall come up the myrtle tree


Wow. I just can't get over how great that is. Even if you don't really care about Christ, you can appreciate the images in this passage from Isaiah 55. It's pretty amazing.