merry happy

i am currently in kaldi's, my favorite coffee place in columbia, mo. just having a soy vanilla spiced chai latte in a mug. it's the perfect weather out. a little misty, cloudy white, calm. i have been trying to work on some homework(lesson plans) today. i will have to work on homework some other days of this break. not too thrilled about that, but i need to get caught up and work ahead.

christmas wish list: (i know i won't be receiving all of these--just ideas)

a plane ticket to seattle, washington

moleskin calendar book for 2011

raybans (i don't need these, just think they are sweet)--and my mom gets a discount.

backpack ( like this one, but a bargain price of course.)

french press

coffee grinder

cowboy boots

i need to be doing homework right now but i am distracted by this here blog. we are heading home now. i hope everyone is having a lovely thanksgiving time with family and friends. have a great day!

love

maresalee

comps

today has been such a great day. i was planning on waking up at 8 to start some homework. we didn't have any classes today because it was had to take junior comps--which i took at 1 and only took 30 minutes. the education students had already taken part of the test to get into the education program so they are just using that test score. it was a nice surprise. anyways, woke up this morning to a nice cloudy sky, a little chilly out. perfect autumn weather. it started to sprinkle and lightly rain around 2. it seems to be slowing down now. but boy, have i bet waiting for a day like this. i ended up sleeping in because my body/brain needed it. went to lunch, junior comp, target, starbucks for a eggnog chai latte, then to my teaching practicum to look at the lessons i will be teaching next week. that went well. i feel like i have a better hold on how to do a lesson plan. then i went to our coffee shop in the library and talked to a friend for a little bit. came back to my room to unload my groceries. started this little post because i wanted to tell you all about how much i have loved this day. about to go to dinner which is the thanksgiving meal. should be good. they will have the white table clothes out for tonight. feel like i should dress up. then i'll come back to write a lesson plan and perhaps make it to some of a basketball game. we shall see.

i've been thinking lately about what kind of church i want to be involved in. so many times church can just be a self help place and we aren't going out and serving and loving our community. if we are at least going to have church i think it is meant to be a place for studying the word and then spreading it in our daily lives. am i wrong? just juggling some thoughts. let me know what your thoughts are.

hope you having a great day!

love

maresalee

priorities

i'm finding that in life i can't always do the things i love. i really enjoy singing for chapel and for anything, but i don't think i'll be able to do that anymore (this year). i have too many other responsibilities.

in many of my classes we start things and don't finish them, we work on them slowly. i'm the type of person who likes to finish one thing before moving on to the next. so, it's driving me crazy! same thing with practicums. i have two this semester and three next semester. i wish we could do them one at a time. they would each only have to be 2-3 weeks long. it just makes mores sense. i think i would get more out of it. well, i don't have any control over that so i just need to get over it. i also can have a bad attitude towards these things that i have to do and that bothers me. i need to realize these are blessings and the Lord is molding me.

i love being relational with people so it is killing me being so busy. i have to run from one thing to the next and i don't know why, but i never expected it.

just learning a lot, as always. not necessarily in classes. haha. just kidding, i am, but i feel like it is just a lot of life lessons. i feel like i have gotten sloppy with my responsibilities and i need to work on that. i also need to find a consistent work schedule. i need to make money, but i honestly don't have a lot of time to work when it isn't a definite schedule. if that makes sense. something will have to change next semester.

i fear getting burned out this year and i can't let that happen.

as i was making coffee about an hour ago i was reminded that i sometimes think coffee smells like a skunk. one time we were driving down town KC and past the coffee plant and i thought it smelled horrible because of a skunk but it was really the coffee plant. it's funny how we associate skunks as smelling bad and then love the smell of coffee. i have a friend who loves the skunk smell and it makes sense to me. but to this day when i know it is a skunk i think gross and coffee=the best. just thought i would share this with you. :)

on monday i was at my exceptional learner practicum school (special ed. resource room). it was only my third time going and i worked with this little girl meg. she is very smart but has behavioral issues, like throwing chairs and such. discipline sounds like a good option but they are trying to write an IEP up for her. yes, she may have some behavioral issues, but perhaps she just needs some love and to be shown that is not how we are to act. my heart goes out to this girl and the other children that visit this room. as i was just sitting/observing at this table she was at she had a little free time to draw. i saw her look up at me and then draw a circle and to curved lines on her paper. i had an idea she might be drawing me. she indeed was. then she drew herself right next to me. we were holding hands and had raincoats on out in the pouring rain. let me tell you, i teared up. i think the lord may be directing me to this type of teaching at some point in my life. i will have to have the classroom experience to pay off some forgivable loans, but i can see myself possibly getting my masters in the sped (special education) area.

i've been wanting to blog for a while now. i can't wait for thanksgiving break and definitely christmas break. if you could pray for me that would be wonderful. greatly appreciated.

love to all,

maresa lee

reflecting

sometimes is wonderful--only until i start thinking too much. and thinking too much happens quite a lot. i'm trying to find a balance of many things. it's very difficult. still doing all of the things i was doing in my last post. really trying to keep a good attitude about it all. i'm not used to being so busy. i enjoy it, but there are times i don't want to do anything. thus, why i am sitting in a coffee shop just blogging and chatting with friends online. i came with the intention of doing homework. i would like to go to the gathering tonight at 7. haven't made my final decision.

this week is homecoming week. friday night is a banquet and i got my outfit this weekend while at home for a couple days. home was wonderful. wish i could have spent one more day at home though--not doing anything. sitting out on the porch having some coffee and doing some reading really sounds wonderful right now.

on friday afternoon one of the MNU admissions counselors called markli and i to see if we would like to help rep. MNU at a switchfoot concert last night. hello! yes. it was incredible. loved it. it's good when you are pretty much smiling the whole time.

one thing i'm struggling with is not getting to hang out with ALL of my friends. like the ones that don't go to MNU. i can't seem to find the time to hang out with them. that is why i had been thinking about going to the gathering tonight. decided i am going to now. i miss them greatly.

also, i am listening to music right now on my comp. and for the longest time sound would only come out of one of my headphone bud things. and i finally fixed it just now. i was thinking it was going to be more complex. it took me 2 secs. and the music sounds so good coming out of these skullcandy's--thankin' my brother, beau for them.

since i am talking about so many things in this blog i might as well bring this up. for the past month or so i feel like the lord has been encouraging me find beauty in the things i wouldn't normally find it in by taking away some of my great listening experiences from some music. i still love it, but it hasn't been as awesome lately. i think it is slowing coming back now, but it's just interesting. little fact: i rarely listen to lyrics. i listen to the instrumental parts. maybe i can update you more on this later when i think i know more about what i have learned from this. ha.

this was a funny post. scatterbrained.

hope you are having a great!

lovelovelove

maresalee

resident

assistant. i would like to think RA life is the only thing making my life so busy. it's really quite the combination of things. class, work, relational/social events, RA, teaching practicum(s), homework, sleep, baby-sitting that comes up, intramural games (i'm playing a little softball), friends, ah so much. i really am loving it. it's becoming a little overwhelming though. when i start to get overwhelmed i just have to remember i CAN have peace about it.

today i went with a friend to a church to babysit--i made 50 bucks for 2 1/2 hrs. holla.

bethany and i have hung out a lot this year. it's great and wonderful. we go walking because we love it. we update each other daily on our lives.

days are moving so fast. already the month of october. i love autumn. beau and suzie and madelyn and mom and dad are coming for homecoming. that will be a lot of fun. i love going to football games. MNU is 5-0.

i have done a lot of reflecting lately and it is crazy seeing how much i have grown up and changed since freshman year. it is encouraging. patience is always something i have to work on. just the waiting type of patience.

today i decided i was going to get caught up on personal things. like responding to emails from dear friends, updating my blog, calling loved ones, not doing any homework today and going to bed early after my intramural softball game. right now i am sitting in starbucks, with my friend andria, drinking a soy pumpkin spice chai latte, listening to some jimmy eat world. it is delish.

hopefully i can keep my blog updated now. i hope everyone is having a lovely day or night.

love love love,

maresa