one step at a time

What a great weekend! Not only was I able to talk to Melinda on the phone on Saturday, but also I made the decision last week to drive to Sam's side of the state to visit her. Surprise :) I am so glad I went. I took of Saturday afternoon and arrived at Lizz's house that evening. The three of us went to dinner and then met up with more people at MegaPlay before heading back to Lizz's for a party. It was such a good time and so good to see my best friend! Deep talks at 3 am about Lady Gaga (she prefers to be called Gaga, actually), Jason Castro, and David Archuleta are the best. I think we finally fell asleep around 4:30 am. When we woke up just a few hours later, we watched the Season 7 Idol Finale. Good times. I hit the road around 11:45, and made it home safely with my road trip cd's. The trip was necessary and made me even more excited for our trip to Nashville in April.

I drove back to my parent's house yesterday afternoon and passed out in my big bed for an hour or so. I miss that bed. My dad took me out to dinner and then drove me back to my Detroit house, where people dressed in green were still out walking the streets from the Corktown St. Patrick's Day Parade. Even though I was still exhausted, I had a really hard time falling asleep last night. Last time I looked at the clock, it was 2 am. Needless to say, it was a very rough wake up call at 5:30. I made it, and I'm here at school. I'm not feeling very well, probably from lack of sleep. Good news is the green group is working, which means an easy day for me. I may take off early if I'm still not feeling well.

On a sad note, I was checking my email last night and noticed I had a facebook message from a former high school classmate. I normally automatically delete my facebook notification emails, but I saw her name and thought it may be something important. I'm glad I read it, because she was informing me that another former classmate passed away. The details have not been released, but she was only 23 years old. I am praying for her family and friends during this hard time. I am the coordinator for our class, so I had to let everyone know via facebook. I'm collecting email addresses so that we can send a donation to the Michigan Humane Society as a class in her name. Pray for peace for all those whose lives she touched.

Since I've been off facebook and twitter, I've been reading more. I've finished Sag Harbor and The Women Who Raised Me and I am almost finished with Cutting Stone. My favorite was The Women Who Raised Me, but here are some of my favorite quotes from each book:

Sag Harbor:
-"I could've made up my own lyrics to what passed between the father and the son, something about misunderstandings, the ones that don't matter and the ones that are everything, but I would've gotten the words wrong. Make up lyrics to someone else's song ad you put yourself in there, botching it all".
-"Out of the speakers emerged a song you'd heard only once before in your life, one that left such a faint record in your brain that it was a memory of a memory. Paralyzed by confusion, you wondered, Where have I heard this before?"
-"If someone was playing their record after all this time, then they actually existed and it wasn't just a dream, their moment onstage. They heard their words again, and were made hold".

The Women Who Raised Me:
"That absolute and unconditional trust in someone else was unbelievable. Could I ever feel that certainty that someone else would never fail to catch me? It seemed impossible."
"To be great, however, meant being fearless. To reach high, risk failure, falling, getting up and starting over. Lessons to be learned".
"Nothing is done alone, even great mean need support. It proved to me that impressive triumphs always had assists, that mentoring happens everywhere and everything, inspired through genuine action."
"If I didn't shovel my way out, I would remain snowboud; if I didn't pull water out of my well, I wouldn't drink; If I didn't lift grain bags, my animals would die and if I didn't spread manure and pitch hay, I couldn't back the fruits of my labor. Once again, I witnessed the truth that abundance was predicated on what your poured into the soil- YOUR soil".
"If I fell while trying my wings, I had to take the leap of faith in believing that someone would be there to catch me".
"It's important to take time, to step back. We all tend to want to do for others, and most of us get pleasure out of it. But don't forget to think about who you are and what nourishes your soul".
"Each is gonna be real different from the next. You don't have to worry, you just gotta be prepared".

Cutting For Stone:
"You are in instrument of God. Don't leave the instrument sitting in it's case. Play! Your 'Gloria' lives within you. the greatest sin is not finding it, ignoring what God made possible in you."
"Make something beautiful of your life".

More to come with that one once I am finished.

Have a great week, everyone <3