...somewhere i made a wish with lucky denver mint...
Stef, Claire, Kat, Adie, I, and some other friends had dinner down at the Preston docks last night. We ate outside and it was quite a lovely evening. There was an open mic nite at the Student Union and I went for about half an hour...there was a girl there singing Counting Crows songs...it was so cool. There might be another one soon...my flatmate's boyfriend, Phil, said that he'd we could get a time slot and rock out. That would be so much fun!
I'm going to get a hotel reservation for York for tomorrow night. Yadira hasn't seen York yet, and I think I know my way around pretty well now, so we're off to see the MINSTER! There's also a Ghost Walk that leaves from the Minster at sunset and we're going to go get scared silly. As for the rest of today, I've got class from 2-5 and then Stef and I are going skateboarding. I'm really going to maim myself. It's ok though....I've got Harry Potter plasters!
It's going to be a Jimmy Eat World Clarity kind of day. BTW, I got new blue and white Etnies yesterday and they are so yummy!
I'm starting to solidify my spring break plans....we're out of school from April 5-25. I'm planning on spending a week with Ella, one with Rachael, and one with Stef. I'll get to see Broadstairs (just across from France), the Lake District, and Edinburgh. I think it should be a really great trip! I've made some really wonderful friends here and I only hope that they'll come to Kentucky to visit me. England is rocking my world right now!

...i've seen sunny days that i thought would never end...
I took some of my favorite kids to the park today for a few hours to play and feed the ducks, etc. We had an absolute blast being kids together. I've got this essay due tomorrow for Economics of the media industry...it's going to choke the life out of me...I've been putting it off until tonight. I could have started this stupid thing days, even weeks ago, but did I? Heck no. I'd rather just put it off until the night before it's due and it's absolutely crucial that I glue myself to my computer and start typing. These essays are so silly. All they prove is that you can argue a point using the factual information you gather. I could have written this stuff when I was 9 years old. It's really sad how much I procrastinate. If there were a major for procrastination, I would wait until the last minute possible and then sign up for it!

...whatsoever you do to the least of my people...
Yesterday while sitting in church I got an image in my mind that I havn't been able to shake ever since. I thought I'd share it in case anyone is reading. When I was a little Mandy, we're talking 6-7 years old, I got the biggest thrill of helping my mother with the household chores. Whatever she did, I wanted to do as well. She taught me how to take care of a household and keep things running. Particularly though, I loved ironing. I would spent countless moments making sure the seams on my fathers shirts were prefectly pressed and his handkercheifs were perfectly symmetrical. I remember my mom telling me to fold them in half and iron the crease to make little "sailboats." I wanted them to be perfect so that when he got home from work, he would see the work I'd done. It was my little girl way of showing my dad that I loved him.
In a metaphoric way, I've been ironing handkercheifs for people ever since. Although my dad is out of my life now, I've still got a heavenly Father that I want to make proud and do good things for. I try to be as much of a help as I can to those around me so that God can see how neat my creases are. Although I miss the simplicity and immediate joy of having my dad hug me when I'd done a good job, I can look forward to the eternal hug I'll get when my real Father embraces me and says, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
I want to dedicate this entry to the way things used to be between my father. We really had some good times...I'm still smiling.

...i'm calling out your name and your love frees me just the same...
It's finally my favorite day of the week...Sunday. When I was a kid, I always dreaded Sundays because it meant that I had to go to church and sit really still for an hour. Even worse, it meant that I had to go to bed early for school the next day. On the same hand though, many of the foods I used to hate as a child (vegetables and healthy stuff) are now some of my favorites. Likewise, Sunday is now a day I look forward to with great anticipation.
I am up by 9AM every Sunday morning here, getting ready and out the door by a quarter till 10. I get to church and walk down the main isle to be greeted by 3 of the most darling little girls that have ever lived. They always greet me with strong little girl hugs and kisses, and one of them sits in my lap while we listen to the readings and gospel. They sometimes whisper questions to me if they don't understand something. They watch the bread and wine being blessed and turned to the Body and Blood of Christ with silent awe...they are so excited to see it happen. "It's like a miracle," little Emily said to me this morning. Along with her sisters, Alicia and Carla, she sits with me and listens to the life of Christ being told to the people in the church as we sit under the kalidescopic lights from the stained glass windows. After Mass is over, I am pulled into a side room where the partitioners gather...both my hands are holding little hands and there's more than likely a little girl on my back. There are also 2 other children in this family; Pablo and Gabriella but they are too small to do anything but give me a smile or a thumbs up. We speak simple Spanish with each other as their mother, Maribel, is from Spain. She and her husband Carl have been blessed with the most beautiful children I've ever had the pleasure to be around.
As we have coffee, Maribel and I laugh at how her kids are crawling all over me. I couldn't be more happy than to share my Sunday mornings with them having Bible lessons and cookies. They are the light of my days here. Maribel has asked me to meet her and her children at the gates of they nearby English Martyrs Primary School this Tuesday morning at 9. It's my day off, and it's early to get up when you're a college student, but you can bet I'll be there with a huge smile on my face!
Sometimes the beauty of God can only be appreciated in the simple things in life...the smile on a child's face...the love of a mother caring for her children...the joy of making friends with someone and helping each other. I am so thankful today for having a family here in Preston to be part of. I am thankful that every Sunday morning, there is a row of little girls waiting me to take their place in the middle of them and sing hymns with them. What better blessing there is, I cannot imagine.