its washington weather

I really do love rain. I love cool weather and rain. sO I am pretty happy today...other than the fact that I am sitting in the library until I get all my work done....summer session one is HALF WAY OVER ALREADY! i cannot believe it.

later i shall update on my thoughts on india. but until then I think you should go here and listen to Jared's sermon from this past sunday...it was incredible. God was really speaking through him and moving my spirit.

he is my idol

all by myself

well i have the house all to myself for the weekend...
andrea is on the womens retreat, jo went on her epic road trip to vegas for 11 DAYS!, and Katie is in New Jersey.

weird. what shall i do with myself....

hey look! sammons made the news!

the fog

everyday I get these devotionals from Park Community Church. My friend Molly goes there, and she sent me an "8 minutes with God" once and so I signed up, because I figured yea, I can do 8 minutes. It has turned into a huge blessing for me the mornings I actually sit down to read. Here is a quote from today's devo...

"As I came home from church one evening, I was struggling to recognize God's guidance for my life. Suddenly, I drove into dense fog and could see nothing. Poking my head out the window, I noticed a tiny light from the road ahead. As I inched my car forward, it blinked out and another set of oncoming headlights took its place some yards ahead. I crawled along, following just the short distance I could see--one light after another--until the fog cleared. Then I realized that this is how God guides me. He shows me how far I need to go at any given moment. And step-by-step, I move from one light to the next. Confident of God's guidance, I let go of the need to see his complete plan."
Dr. Helen Roseveare, a British medical missionary in Africa from 1953 to 1973

"when you feel like you are on the end of your rope, tie a knot & hang on"
<3 thanks bren

a jam packed entry full of excitement

A lot has happened. I say this a lot, mostly because my life is so full of excitement :)

First. I want to share with you my adventures in the kitchen. I decided that I am going to stop saying I'm a bad chef and actually do something about it. Which is normally how most of my adventures begin...innocent enough. Well for some reason I decided that my first adventures would be with "Gazpacho" a traditional cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalucía..according to wikipedia, which happens to be the most true source of information to date (please see here.) I started cutting and chopping and grinding and before I knew it I had over a gallon of cold soup that I could not eat. I read at the very end of the recipe that it had to sit for 24 hours. awesome. So I made some cucumber dill yogurt stuff...with too much yogurt. Some pictures for your enjoyment before moving on to the next excitement that is my life....






So this past weekend I decided that I would go to colorado. Christa Gorman turned 21 the weekend I ran the Broad St run, so her dad, the AWESOME Tom "tank" Gorman, flew me out to surprise Chris and celebrate with her. We ate a lot, went cycling, hiking, ate some more, went to church and then the weekend was over. It was short but jam packed full of fun and colorado and festiveness. And its okay thats its over, because shes flying in to Philly on Thursday night. I have fun plans for her while shes here...if you want in, and I know you do, let me know. Pictures to follow...but here is one from when I first surprised her! She had NO CLUE I was coming!!


And finally. I know you have heard me talk about LiNK (Liberty in North Korea). I helped host a screening with the organization back in April. Well one of the roadies (Brenda) and I pretty much clicked immediately. And as it turns out, she came back through Philadelphia on her way back to California. So I got to spend some time with her and really show her around Philly...you know, the awesome places. While we walked around, I got interviewed for two different news stations..both airing on Wednesday night (one at 10 and one at 11) I believe the stations were CBS and NBC. And the questions the asked me were so absurd...first, what do I think of Bromance? Please two names to mind.....joni and richard. yuck. And the second news station asked if spicing up your sex life really helps your relationship...which is funny for so many reasons...She was dumb founded when I told her I think sex should be kept for after marriage...whew...so after all that excitement, Brenda and I spent a couple hours just talking in love park. It was beautiful. Then we walked to the library and she met my homeless friends. It was so refreshing and fun to hang out with her. Here are some fun shots of our day-o-fun together.







All in all, a good past couple days, jam packed full of fun and no sleep. And to top it off I saw the kittens inspired by kittens girl on Tyra last night...does life get any better? I submit that it does not...unless you are haley and jason!
CONGRATS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYYAYAY!!

RACE DAY!

Well I did it. I finished my first "half" marathon. It was actually only 10 miles...but who is really counting after 7 anyway? The reason I say I finished my first half marathon you ask? It is because I plan on running more. I know what you are thinking..Carolyn, how fast did you run? do runners really just pee themselves when they are running? And the answer to these questions is trivial (under 2 hours; ask kt fet) but I will tell you this: I ran with style and grace...in other words, I run by dancing and repeating the phrase "I hate my life 2009" OR "I love my life 2009" depending on the level of sarcasm I am feeling at that particular moment in time. I ran for what felt like an eternity. But I loved every second of it! Including the awesome rain (I love rain), the sometimes live bands, and sometimes well dressed bands along with my favorite encourager's posters that read: "You are running faster than my dog!" and "Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much ass"

I loved running with people. I liked that it was an event and a sense of accomplishment at the end. There was a goal at hand. I read this verse before bed last night, and are day with it.

Hebrews 12:1-3
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We started the day with Jesus, we ended the day with Jesus at Liberti and I am ready to sleep like a baby...no alarm for me tomorrow suckas

the website that keeps on giving...

get up.

Oprah rescued Chicago. I cannot believe how huge this is. She literally looked at the camera and charged all of her viewers to go to www.invisiblechildren.com and watch the video. If you have no idea what I am talking about...then you should go there too.

don't sleep through a revolution.

be a part of it.


i am so pumped!

i have neglected the blogging world...one because i hate the term "to blog" and two because it is finals week and three because I have been crazy busy with work, invisible children, and not sleeping.
broad street run this weekend.
and here are some pictures from THE RESCUE! after 27 hours, we were totally rescued by Congressman Patrick Murphy who gave the best speech ever and I was seriously almost in tears. I ended the night with Franklin Fountain ice cream and a pleasant conversation by the pier, followed by some good drinks at Tria...overall awesome weekend, can't really complain :)

beatbox boy

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

The Rescue..

you should read this or at least watch the videos....

Some of you may know about the organization Invisible Children...I have been following it since college and since then have been able to be apart of a couple of their peaceful protests....


Rescue Riders from Jason Russell on Vimeo.


Previous peaceful protests include the Global Night Commute and Displace me...here are some awesome pictures from displace me in DC, ask me about it and I will tell you..I will also tell you about the saltine crackers that I had for breakfast and dinner the night before....we were purposefully starving ourselves







this year's protest is right here in Philadelphia..it's called The Rescue. I am pretty excited about it and I think you should be too. I will be camping out at independence hall with hundreds of other people. The beginning of the march starts in camden and we will walk over the ben franklin bridge to independence mall to sleep overnight and start a movement by making our voices heard. If you have no idea what Invisible children is all about or the injustice going on in Uganda, talk to me about it or go to their website.
If you are the type of person who needs the DETAILS.... go here

or just watch this...

A tribute to Youtube

Along with the Sarah Palin rap (see below) there are a few videos I waste my time watching in life...and I wanted to share them with you so that you can see what I do instead of studying...

















These are the videos that waste my life. And I love them.

moose hunt

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Design my next tattoo

The human mind is weird. You can know things, and know you know them and still not believe them. It interesting how easily you can talk yourself into or out of something no matter how much evidence falls against it. This can be a positive and negative in life I suppose. The doubter who still believes in God although everyone around him/her says not to or it can be negative in that we convince ourselves that our worth lies in what others think of us, no matter how much we know it is not true...i dont know that any of that stream of consciousness made sense. So to dumb the conversation down a little...yesterday, while I was doing laundry, I hung up some clothes I don't like to dry and realized I wear too much black.


Also, I have been seriously itching to get another tattoo....like seriously. And I have so many creative friends, I wonder why I don't utilize them more. So help me. I want it on the inside of my wrist kind of. I was thinking about using the verse Exodus 14:14 but i don't know....send me your ideas, you sketches...if i pick yours, then i'll give you credit..thats about all I can afford right now. free credit.

I can't stop listening to:
Dinner & a Suit: The Bridge
This American Life

A little late, but we heard this in church on Sunday and it's a good Easter reminder....

if the resurrection is true than nothing else in this life matters, if the resurrection is false, than nothing else in this life matters.

Today I slept until noon. That was over 12 hours of sleep because I hadn't slept in 4 days...I think my body is going to be a little off, but it was SO worth it. But now it is 1:23 and I have to work at 4:30...so basically I slept through my whole day.

Andrea and I made up a new language because of my new obsession with the song maps. The words are: They don't love you like i love you, so we're just gonna say "maps" instead of telling each other how much we adore each other...saves time, adds to my obsession. basically a win-win situation.

In closing, here are highlights of my Easter Sunday.

the run report

my knees are so swollen. Katie and I decided to do our "long run" of the week today. We were all set up for 8 miles. I ran about 7.5 of them, while she ran all 8....I have been getting pretty sick and I think I'm running on literally a total of 10 hours of sleep over the past 3 nights between socializing, writing this dag on research paper, and working the opening shifts at Karma 3 mornings in a row...I am hurting!! Needless to say...I couldn't do the last .5 miles...which in retrospect I probably should of, but I honestly think my knee caps would have fallen off...on Washington st...and that really ruins a perfectly pleasant Easter Sunday.

Speaking of Easter...I will post pictures soon of the shenanigans that took place at 2228 when the Larrivee's decided to pay a visit for the holiday...just not now. Now I must write about Asperger's Syndrome.

wait...they dont love you like i love you

My latest obsession is.......skateboarding. I want to really learn so bad. I always say that and I get on a board and I ride for a while and then 3 years go by and I do it again. I need consistency. I need a longboard. I am serious about this.



Also. I am trying to write a graduate level research paper in one night. not a good idea.

And i love rain, just not at 6am when I have to walk to work...i know the old saying april showers bring may flowers...but enough is enough.

another sidenote...i am OBSESSED with the yeah yeah yeah's song: maps. i know im like 2 years late or whatever..but i cant stop listening.

My brightest diamond

When I was in Colorado I used to retreat a lot. I was under a lot of stress, but as long as I "got away" (aka out of the city) then I was fine. It was just something I did, I didn't realize it was something I had to do.
I went on a retreat yesterday. I started the day with prayer and then I discovered Wissahickon Park right outside of Philly. A Lot of people have been telling me I needed to go if I like to be outside or hiking but I never felt like I had time. But the stressors of life proved to be greater than expected during my time in Philly and no stress reliever I had found so far seemed to be working as well as when I would "get away" in Colorado. So I went. And this is what I discovered.










I walked, wandered aimlessly for hours. I prayed. I read. I reflected. I was refreshed. There were no people and no building and no cars and no noise. It was a beautiful oasis and it was exactly what I needed. I had been feeling a little overwhelmed and heavy burned over the past couple days, it had been a hard week, but Wissahickon delivered something beautiful. A diamond in the rough if you will..

Afterwards, I had lunch with Haley, which always brightens up my day, sat in traffic for 2 hours, had class, and then went to the Maundy Thursday Service at Liberti. Incredible. Sometimes I think its easy to forget what Easter is actually about. We prayed and reflected on the gravity of the cross and what Jesus celebrated, sacrificed, and accomplished over these past 4 days...(the last supper, the death, and the resurrection). What a beautiful extreme show of love. It is something I don't quite understand, but being in that room with the candles, the scripture and the other people made me feel like I wasn't alone in this confusion and glorious gift that He so freely gave all who believe (Ephesians 2:8). This is a much bigger weekend than most people give credit to...I'm glad I went yesterday to reflect on it.

Then I watched one of the best episodes of the Office I have seen in a long time (Click on the link to watch)

And ended the night at this little bar with Jojo and Richard and all of his co workers called Sugar Mom's in Olde City and it was actually really fun. Jo discovered some old connections, Robbie showed me how to bust a move and told Jo she had no skills. We also found an old favorite, photo hunt...so all in all my night could not have been much better.

all signs point to serve

Today I had all day off with no plans and my only plan was to start and finish my research paper for my class due at the end of the week...did i do that? no. i did not. But i did get a cool new nose ring



but i did rediscover my yearning and desire to serve others in a tangible way. I had a slight taste of it today and all I can say is I want more. Its like a drug for me. I feel as though God is showing me a great calling of mine is to serve and when I'm not doing it I feel a bit like a fish out of water....or like a joel without a guitar, a haley without some honey, a andrea without dance, a katie without music, a Jo without Ralph Lauren, well you get the picture..

i miss my time here.

Crossing

tomorrow at 1505 Kater at 6pm...you should come see this movie. Free pizza and beer. come on. AND come to church before at 4...

I don't think I could make one more list of all the things that I need to get done in the next 2 weeks. Its overwhelming and all I want to do is sleep, so I keep putting things off and being too social. I gotta cut that out. I wish I could major in talking.

The other day I got home from my run when I realized the steel bar on the side of my knee brace had come out the bottom. I was not about to buy another one, so I decided to sew it up. But I thought to myself...this thread will just unsew itself yet again and I will be annoyed. So I put my thinking cap on and I remembered back to my ballet days of sewing pointe shoes and remembered dental floss. Thats right. I always sewed my pointe shoes with dental floss because it doesn't break! And the worst thing in the middle of a performance is having your ribbons/straps come un-sewn. But all I use now is green minty dental floss. So now my brace smells like mint and is partially green down the side...at least im helping it practice good hygiene or something.



on a side note...i miss dance more and more...if there is one thing i regret in my life, it is not continuing to dance..i need to get back into it. now.

im pregnant.





april fools. ha