Tampa Bay, Yay!

My parents and I just returned from a fun vacation/visiting family in Tampa, FL. I wanted to post while I was there but my grandmother's computer was just a little too archaic for my taste and I had opted out of messing with my trying to bring my laptop along. So that is why I have been gone for the last week and am just getting around to posting several posts all at once.

The first full day in Tampa we headed across the bay in St. Pete to the beach at Fort DeSoto where we have always gone growing up and with all of my boy cousins. It was a gorgeous day, just enough clouds to keep my skin from frying and warm enough that the water felt delicious!

Autumn. Otono. Automne.

Top 10 things that I am happy about/looking forward to/thankful for (in no particular order):

1. It is finally starting to be fall in Oklahoma! My favorite season. Today was downright blustery and chilly. I wore a cardigan...it was heavenly.

2. Friday is my 24th birthday, sounds so bizarre to say that number, wow.

3. This weekend is JBU Homecoming and I am looking forward to many fun friends and sweet reunions!

4. My surgery is less than a month away.

5. I am going to Florida for a week in 5 days!

6. My cold is so much better and may be gone in a few days...God bless Theraflu!

7. I got to talk to my good friend Pepe on Saturday all the way from Guatemala (who ran a marathon the next day, no big deal.)

8. I am receiving so much love and fun from caretaking the Freeman kids this week--they are a true joy in my life.

9. I thank God that my friend Micah's life was spared in a very serious motorcycle accident last week and that his injuries are so minor in comparison to what could have been.

10. I get to see two of my dear housemates this weekend at Homecoming and I am more excited about that than I can put into words. I love and miss 340!

To close I will include a picture of me and the 340 housies last fall in our Halloween costumes. We love playing dress up and apparently never grew out of our American Girl Doll obsession...

tissues, lots of them.

I have a full-blown cold right now. It is not fun and I am house-sitting/babysitting the Freeman kids for the week. I am enjoying that immensely but I need to feel good and energized to stay on top of taking care of a 11, 15, and 17 year old!

Pray that this cold will be short-lived and not an encouraging infection for the already present infection of absess in my system!

I heart CO

I came across this photo my friend Diana took and it made me miss Lake City. It made me miss the Mocha Moose, the best little mountain coffee joint ever. It made me miss Diana because of the goofy man in the middle of the picture that got his butt in the center of our photo and how I remember laughing about that with her. It really made me miss the cute blond, Silas, and all of the other little Hartman grandchildren as well as the Hartmans in general!

Not so fun Fridays....

So this morning was a lot more like a Mondayish morning than a Friday.

My pain medication makes me exhausted during waking hours and restless during the night. So frustrating! So I am up and down all night last night knowing that I am subbing for 7th grade in the morning and need to be pumped and rested.

I wake up at 7 and feel pretty sick, I think I am getting a cold, which is not good because the doctors have told me to stay ultra healthy in order to beat the infection and get the surgery underway...so there's that. So my throat is sore and my eyes are sore and I am contemplating calling in and seeing if they can get another sub. I decide since it is just a half day that it is worth toughing out and getting some pay out of it.

I jump in the shower and the next thing I know our door bell is clicking (it has always been broken, never rings, it clicks!). So I think surely my dad is home and will handle whatever this is, nope. Then I think well mom doesn't leave until 8 so she'll get it, nope she's already gone too. So I run to the door from the shower hair dripping, robe soaking wet, ego bruised because I slipped on the second flight of stairs trying to get down to the front door. I am met by, and I'm not kidding, like 6 men in their late 20s, early 30s who are here to re-roof our house. Awesome, they told us they would come on Saturday, but whatever they are gonna fix our hail-damaged roof. So I am out on the front lawn with them showing them where different things are and moving our cars one by one onto the grass.

Then I call my father--the superintendent where I sub--to tell him I'll be late because his roof is being surprised re-roofed that day. So I'm driving with one hand holding a coffee mug, the other holding my cell phone, then trying to put lipgloss on, and pin my hair back, and mess with the radio station all at once. I also realized that my mug of choice for the week--I tend to go through mug obsessed stages where I am really into one coffee mug that week and will wash it out and use it over and over that week and then get sick of it by Monday and start fresh--is blatantly a Christmas mug with trees and stars and Santa on it. I seriously had not noticed this up until Friday morning, I thought it just had painted things on it, so I guess I am just psychologically excited about the holidays.

I get to school and get signed in and head down the hall where I am hugged several times and greeted with "Mrs. Pritz!" "are you my sub?" "are you Mr. Pritz's daughter?" "are you Mr. Pritz's wife?". So my first hour has eighteen 7th grade boys half of them wearing football jerseys because it's game day. They were interesting, but fun, I had to work hard to keep them reigned in and focused especially since my sore throat is making my voice go fast.

I went home after lunch and couldn't stand the hammering, pounding, nailing, and ripping, and decided to head to Sapulpa's awesome coffee hangout Java Dave's. I am sitting here quietly drinking my soy latte and writing this therapeutic post. I think I might have to take a nap on this overstuffed couch.....

Ireland Revisited

The fall of my Junior year at JBU, which was the semester following my first trip to Northern Ireland, I talked to the students of the Chrisitian school held at my church about my experiences. I also shared with them my experiences ministering in the public schools there. To cap it all of we had Irish tea, scones, and other treats I made from my little Irish cookbook.


Well, they asked if I would come again and show the small group of students my pictures and talk some about the culture and traditions. I also decided to make Irish tea again and Pavlova. Pavlova is the yummy dessert that almost all of my host families made and something we particularly ate the first time I went when we were located in Belfast. I brought the recipe back with me and have made it several times for different occasions here at home. It is very fun to make and such a strange but delicious dessert! The kids really liked it and I enjoyed seeing my pictures again, watching our team DVD from Carryduff, and reminiscing about such an awesome experience I have been blessed to have!

Demo

Well I have decided to use some of my time at home now to redo my bathroom. When we first moved to our house when I was 9 the pastel shades and the heart and dove wallpaper was no big deal, but for the last 7 years or so I have wanted to rip it all apart. Sunday my mom and I along with Laurie and Jessie Freeman did just that. We really got a lot done in a short period, it was awesome, and I'm super excited to get it completely done.

My plan is to paint the walls purple, repaint all the cabinets white, do some funky stenciling or painting in the cut-outs in the cabinets, and get all new vintage looking or silver faucets and fixtures. Stay tuned for more bathroom develpments!