Well, after tonight half of my semester will be finished!! Next Tuesday all my midterms will be finished. I think summer classes are easier, but maybe it they are just so quick that you don't have a change to realize how much work they are. Either way I have enjoyed my two classes so far. :) I love learning.

I get to come home tonight to celebrate my birthday and see my family!! I am excited for real meals. I have determined that I should never live on my own. I love to cook, but it just isn't worth it for one person. It is so much more fun to cook for other people. I was telling my mom all the things that I have eaten in the past 9 days up here and it went something like this: stuffing, English muffins, sunchips, granola bars, frosted mini wheats and milk, yogurt, cheese and crackers, crepes, dinner rolls, baked beans, grapes, and kiwis. As I was talking I realized that I am eating a lot of carbs. Carbs seem to be the easiest food to make. Kiwis are my favorite fruit right now.

For my birthday my parents are taking me to see Delirious? next weekend! Their new album continues to grow on me while Coldplay's hasn't increased in my opinion. Sarah gave me Les Mis to listen to and that is my other new music fad right now. I have been listening to it really loud when my two roommates are gone. I love Broadway. I want to go see more musicals. And plays, I would go see plays again too. I hope the Grandi-Howards take me to more plays this year... :D

The gym has been so empty and nice whenever I have gone in the past two weeks. However, last week some girl had a seizure and today the fire alarm went off. Thankfully, both days it was relatively cool outside and I finished my run around campus. It made it a little more interesting. I found out that I can run from my parking spot on campus to the gym in about five minutes. That was pretty sweet. I usually pay 75 cents to park their for an hour. So now I can save money next year and I will just run to the gym.

Another thing, it is so much easier to go to the gym when someone is going with you or you are making someone else go. So hopefully Mom will go with me when I get home. :) I fight myself every day to go to the gym. I tried lifting today, but my chest still hurts from the car accident last week so I gave up and just ran. I wonder when that will get better. I looked online and I think I might have bruised my sternum. Anyone know how long that takes to get better? They didn't say much about it online, but the symptoms sounded like what I have. It hurts when I pull the wrong way, laugh, cough, breath in deeply, and most of all when I turn my neck and upper body to back up my car (weird).

Well, I should get back to studying for my midterms and writing these project management papers. I am beginning to like civil engineering. I especially like Reliability Engineering. I think that would be a neat career. It is under appreciate in the engineering field, but it is really interesting. I would get to break things and find out why they fail. That has always been my favorite thing to do. I love breaking things and then figuring out why they broke and how to make them better. I love learning that there are all these ways to break things that give you information to build things better and how people don't ever think to apply them. I really love everything I have learned in reliability; I would say I have enjoyed both my classes, but I had to write that dumb journal paper for my reliability class last year. That class itself was interesting. I am very happy that I decided to go to grad school. I seriously love learning all this stuff. Okay, I really have to go.

See you in Salisbury this weekend! Going away from home makes home even better when you get to come home. :D One day more all on my own...

Home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home home!!!!

This video just makes me smile. :D
He looks so happy. I love that line about the law of averages.
Michael Crawford is singing on the Wall*e soundtrack!!
Thank you Mrs. Taylor for introducing me to the real phantom of the opera!!

And thanks to Hayley and Sarah for giving me the best birthday present ever two years ago. Seeing Phantom on stage is still such a wonderful memory. I will never forget it. It was lovely. I just smile when I think about that too. I am richly blessed.

New Blog Stuff

I started messing with things last night and then I had to fix all the mistakes that I saw. I know that there are probably many more, but I am going to bed. If you find anything that looks funny or links that don't work please leave a comment and let me know of the flaws. And I am still messing with the colors, but I am tired right now. Good night.

I really liked Coldplay's last album. I've been listening to their new album and so far I only like a few songs off of it, I really don't like two of the songs, and I don't care about the rest. However, I think this video is especially pretty. Apple was brilliant when they put this together. I really don't like Apple so that is saying a lot.

My Friday the thirteenth camping trip and car accident.

I have included pictures and maps below to help with the explanation. So my small group left this morning at 8:30 to head down to the Big Meadows area and go camping for a night. We passed Harrisonburg and headed out of Skyline Drive. I noted them both on the map. Along with a very small town of Elkton and an even smaller town of Grottos. Note those two towns they will be needed later in my story.


The next picture is of the entrance to Skyline Drive. We were following my friend Michelle (far back might I add since my other friend Rebecca is the most cautious driver that I know). And she missed the entrance to Skyline Drive... So at the top of this hill she randomly pulls into this u-turn lane (I would put her in same school of drivers as Stephanie Hornor...maybe not as spastic). I am turning around and looking at the entrance to Skyline Drive because I recognized it and wanted to see if we had really passed it. I never saw Michelle turn. Rebecca did, but when she went to stop her rug was all crammed under the brake petal and wouldn't go down. So I never saw what really happened because I heard Rebecca cry out and as I turned I flew forward into my seat belt. OUCH. We stopped immediately, but Michelle's car flew across the opposite lane of traffic and over the hill between the two roads and into Skyline Drive. Only her one air bag went off, neither of ours did. Needless to say the camping trip was ended here. Everyone was stiff and sore, but we all were walking around and talking. The park rangers were awesome, as were the ambulance drive and the fire men. They were all so sweet and talked to us for a long time. The single cop that showed up (later than everyone else mind you) was extremely grumpy and gave Rebecca a ticket for speeding and for being reckless even though we all (all three of the rest of us) tried to tell him that it wasn't her fault and she is the most careful driver that we know.

Rebecca has AAA and had to go with her car. So I rode along to go with her car and her. The tow truck the cop called was from Grottos (remember on the map where that is). He told us that Grottos had nothing in it for us to wait around in and so he was going to leave us in Elkton where at least they had a few stores to hang out in. Fair enough.

So he left us at a Pizza Hut. We used the restroom and I quizzed the cashier on what was in the area that was fun. She told me to go to a battlefield that is over an hour away (sounds promising this little town does, right?). She told us there was a Dairy Queen and gas station across the street and the other way there was a dollar general. We hung out at DQ for an hour and a half and ate our ice cream and started shaking and just wanting to find some shoulder to cry on. Then we wandered down to Dollar General for some form of entertainment (cribbage maybe?). They didn't have cribbage, but I bought cards and Sorry to play with Rebecca to take her mind off the whole day. Then we happened to look down the street and saw a Subway!! It was wonderful because we hadn't eaten all day since breakfast and it was now around 5:30 and Rebecca's parents were still an hour away. So we went in there and ate subs and played sorry.

After her parents arrived, we drove down to Grottos to pick up all our stuff from the car and then we drove the four hours back to College Park. And now I am back and about to go to bed because I am really tired and sore. Anyhow, what is a story without car pictures. Below is Rebecca's cute little jetta. The poor little thing. Her Dad said it was a lemon anyhow.

If you think about it, you can pray for Rebecca. I know she is going to take it really hard. She already has a pessimistic view on life. So I know this is going to be rough on her. She looked so sad all day and I couldn't even get her to smile, which I can normally do pretty easily. Thanks!!

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!!

This is my new favorite application on google. I have always loved looking at the satellite pictures on google maps, but now they have STREET VIEW!!! It is super awesome coolness. Can you find where in the US of A this picture is? I'll give you a hint, it is in the United States (but those are the only places so far with streets). It shouldn't be too terrible hard. I left the address in from when I was poking around different places in the country. And one more clue: it is more northernish. Out west is so depressing with no trees and all that brown. I am so glad I like in a pretty state. I like the look of the entire east coast. :)

To prove the great stalking capabilities of google maps... I give you the hospital where Sarah Meadow's works. I also found Stef's apartment, but it was too far off the road and kind of blurry.

Lisa Wright has a blog and pictures of her three adorable children!! She is Lisa Sperow for those of you who don't know who I am talking about. My old babysitter.

I graduated last week.
I am a really mechanical engineer now!
And a real physicist.


I stole this picture from Anna. Maybe I will post more later, but they are all on my flash drive, which is on my keys, which is in my room, and I don't want to walk back there because I am making chicken pot pie and german chocolate cake for dinner. I like cooking. I start classes again Tuesday. I am paying for my summer classes so I can finish my degree in a year. I didn't realize summer classes cost SO much more then regular schooling. Yikes. $444 a credit hour. I am taking 6 credit hours. The school would pay for them if I did my degree in two years, but I am trying to finish in a year.

Have you read about this? I felt like crying when I read this. I have always really like Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. They seem so real.

Maria Sue Chapman (2003-2008)
Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him... not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.

Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman's completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type. And yet we trust in a God who was not surprised by this and because of Jesus I am certain through faith in Him we will see Maria again. - Jim Houser (Manager)

What this quote doesn't mention is that one of his sons was driving the car. That makes it incredibly harder on the family. Please pray.
* By mail, send to PO Box 150156 Nashville, TN 37215.
* In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to Shaohannah’s Hope.

In the words of SCC:
"We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end."

edit: Thursday morning

At 9:45 I finished my last exam and left 15 minutes early to go figure out grad school stuff yet again (I am trying to sign up for two classes and one of them isn't showing up...anyhow). At noon I turned in my journal paper. So that means... I am finished undergraduate schooling forever!! And now I am going to go play soccer with Andrew and Chris. Then gym with Michelle one last time before she leaves me. Tonight I am going to dinner with my small group and then Michelle and I are going to watch movies tonight (I'll probably crash since I only had two hours of sleep). Tomorrow I am going to go bike riding with the Howards to get ice cream and then graduation!!! la la la. Who ever thought I would graduate college, God is great. Through my weakness He is strong. :D Weeeeeeeeeeee!

I'm just going to just write down here because it is along the same line of thought. Soccer yesterday day was amazing. I love playing soccer and it rained yesterday for a while during the time we were playing and that made it all the more better. Plus, it was only me and 7 of my favorite guys on campus playing, so that was even better. And I can still play soccer, which is sweet!! So that was great. Then I went on a trip to Michelle's house (in Odenton) to pick up her honor cords that she forgot (no, I didn't buy honor cords because I didn't feel like paying the money for them). Then we took showers and headed to DC for dinner! *green turtle doot doot* Dinner was really good and laughing with all the girls was a blast. Then we headed back to Michelle's house to watch Equilibrium. But the guys called and wanted to play signs. So they came over around 10:30 and stayed to 3 playing signs.

Signs is this new game I just learned. Each person has a sign (like mine was looking at my watch and Andrews was throwing a frisbee and Alision's was opening a book...etc). There is this invisible ball that you are trying to pass around the circle and hide from whomever is in the middle. To pass the ball you must first do your sign (to show that you received the ball) then do someone else's sign (to send the ball), that person must see you and accept the ball by doing their sign and then pass the ball along. It sounds complicated, but it is really fun. The person in the middle goes around asking people if they have the ball until they catch a glimpse of the signs and can follow them to a person and make someone mess up or have the ball for longer than three seconds. It gets pretty intense at some points.

Then I crashed on the floor and slept until 7. And then I went back to the Howard's and slept some more until now (10:50) and now I am going to get dressed to go on a bike ride with the Howard's. We are going to get ice cream. Woohoo. Tonight I am coming home to pack some stuff, get a good night sleep, wake up early to make the Howard's Swedish pancakes tomorrow, and go to graduation!!

Life at school, without school, is great fun. :D I should hang around after finals more often. Everyone but the seniors are leaving this morning though... sad sad sad. I am glad I am coming back next year to see almost everyone.

Best Friends

Anna took us on a photoshoot to Pemberton. I love these pictures. I love these people! I love being home; six days to graduation. :D

Today is national Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!!

*hint*
*hint*

I love chocolate chip cookies. I'll give rain checks and you can send them to me next semester. :D We can pretend that September 20 or October 11 is ccc day and I'll enjoy them just as much (for those of you who didn't plan ahead this year to send me cookies today - heh).

(Scott, Fred (and yes, I am always on a team with another F name making it impossible to assign things by letter - I just think it is funny that I am always with a F since there are so few F names), Allison, Me)
(Cameron, Fred, Me)

Since I haven't posted pictures of me for a while... here are two from today. This is my senior project prototype... (Dad the second one of the back of my head is for you - note the beautiful circuit board and me hooking in the voltmeter - isn't it great? :D Oh, you can also see the red bucket playing double duty by running up the stairs and back down the stairs to act as the holder). Anyhow, sorry but I can't really explain what is going on in these pictures for patten purposes. This is only the prototype, the actual system looks a lot cooler. But I thought I would post pictures (one of the guys is taking the photos - so he isn't in the pictures) of the best team that I have ever had (the best team comes with drawbacks though, they work too hard and we spend too much time in meetings - heh). But if that is what I have to give up to not have to write the entire report (like I have in previous semesters), it is a small price to pay. Anyhow... here is what I have been working on for 16 weeks. It is pretty exciting! The final report is single spaced and 120 pages and the final presentation is tomorrow. I get to wear a suit!! :)

I turned in homework yesterday and that 120 page final project report. I took one final exam today and turned in a presentation for that class and a homework set. I have my final presentation for my senior project tomorrow. And then all I will have left are:

* Mechanics Final (Saturday --> requested to be moved to Tuesday at 2pm and granted. YES!!)

* Reliability Final (Wednesday 8am)

*Reliability Journal Paper (Wednesday 5pm)

* Graduation Main Commencement (Thursday night May 22)

* Graduation School Commencement (Friday noon May 23) and I am so glad I refused to speak at graduation. That would be too much pressure.

Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
“Lord, why was I a guest?

“Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there’s room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?”

I've had those words stuck in my head for the past two days so I thought I would post them here. In other news, I finally got my admission to the graduate school moved from Fall 2008 to Summer 2008. YES!! That means I can take two classes this summer and only have six more to graduation!! I love jumping through all the hoops and filling out all the paperwork to get what I need done. Also for more exciting news, I just bought Jared his birthday present (see below picture). Aren't they nice? I like them. And I am coming home this weekend!! I requested that my Saturday exam be postponed (I have never done that before), but I wanted to be home this weekend. So, I am taking a make-up exam on Tuesday instead. It will be a lot of work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I will have Saturday free now! Woohoo.

Oh the deep deep love

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbid to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love,
Amazing grace

My Dad, Mom, Sarah, Hope, and Jared all came up today and went to church with me and brought me strawberries!! YAY! I made swedish pancakes, peaches, fried apples, and sausages for breakfast (I made them for my small group on Wednesday and I had leftover material). Double YAY! It was so great to see my family and go to church with people I know. Thanks! I really appreciate you driving all the way up here to spend the day with me. :D You have started my week off well.

And Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

I love you so much.

12 days

My life as a Dilbert comic strip... I laughed outloud at this today. Maybe because this is what I am doing for my final reports. They ask us to quote so many cost figures on everything under the sun and how much you think the user is going to have to pay over the entire lifetime of the machine... and on and on and on. So yeah. A lot of it is guessing and using some formulas that sort of make it look more official. It still takes a long time.


This is the comic (thanks to Jared) that started me reading (and enjoying) Dilbert. heh.

C.J. Mahaney is awesome!! He is coming out with a new book soon that is called Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. It comes out in September. But he is previewing parts of the book on his blog right now. This is the 2nd of seven parts (he only has five of them up so far). I think this book sounds like it would be good for many small groups and young women. His latest section (section five) is about the father's responsibility to the daughters. Take your Dad shopping; it is fun. :) Anyhow, I really like this post. He gets to the heart of the matter. I think the American church is afraid to do that a lot of the time. We seem to treat the symptoms but not the cause. And a lot of us don't think because we don't struggle with the same thing guys do. That is dumb. God says to encourage both your brothers and sisters to Godliness. Anyhow, I like the way CJ puts this.

"Any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline. We must start with the attitude of the modest woman.

This emphasis on the heart is front and center in 1 Timothy 2:9. Note the phrase “with modesty and self-control.” All respectable apparel is the result of a godly heart, where modesty and self-control originate. Your wardrobe is a public statement of your personal and private motivation. And if you profess godliness, you should be concerned with cultivating these twin virtues, modesty and self-control.

Modesty means propriety. It means avoiding clothes and adornment that are extravagant or sexually enticing. Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality.

Immodesty, then, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear.

Self-control is, in a word, restraint. Restraint for the purpose of purity; restraint for the purpose of exalting God and not ourselves. Together, these attitudes of modesty and self-control should be the hallmark of the godly woman’s dress.

In Paul and Timothy’s day, modesty and self-control were foreign to many women walking through the local marketplace, just as they were to Jenni and are to the majority of women at the local shopping mall today. And these concepts are certainly foreign to modern fashion designers, whose goal in clothing design is sensual provocation.

But for godly women, modesty and self-control are to be distinctly present in the heart. The question is, are they distinctly present in yours?

Such an attitude will make all the difference in a woman’s dress, as pastor John MacArthur has observed:

How does a woman discern the sometimes fine line between proper dress and dressing to be the center of attention? The answer starts in the intent of the heart. A woman should examine her motives and goals for the way she dresses. Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of womanhood?.... Is it to reveal a humble heart devoted to worshiping God? Or is it to call attention to herself, and flaunt her…beauty? Or worse, to attempt to allure men sexually? A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider carefully how she is dressed, because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance.*

Any conversation about modesty “starts in the intent of the heart.” So consider for a moment, what is the intent of your heart in purchasing clothes to wear? Does a humble heart and a servant’s heart dictate your wardrobe and appearance? Is your shopping informed and governed by modesty and restraint? Or is your dress motivated by a desire for attention and approval from others? Does your style reflect a lack of self-control?

There’s an inseparable link between your heart and your clothes. Your clothes say something about your attitude. If they don’t express a heart that is humble, that desires to please God, that longs to serve others, that’s modest, that exercises self-control, then change must begin in the heart.

For modesty is humility expressed in dress."

edit1: blue (May 6)

There isn't too much interesting stuff happening to talk about. Here is my list of things to do before the semester is finished (oh and I graduate...):

This week:
* I-Beam Built and tested (this Friday, May 2 - finished)
* 8 homework problems for Mechanics (Monday, May 5)
* Senior Class Homework - 3 pages essay on modeling methods (Tuesday, May 6)
* Senior Final Project Report Draft - we are up to 130 pages so far (single spaced) ... (Wednesday, May 7)
* At least a four page essay on Reliability and Absolute limits on parts (Wednesday, May 7)
* Build prototype of turbine (Wednesday, May 7)
* Programming code homework - I have never programmed before this homework is impossible, so far it is 150 lines of code... and I'm like half finished (Thursday, May 8)
* Final Senior Report Due (Friday, May 9)
* Beam Report - already written - 14 pages single spaced (May 9)


Next week:
* 4 homework problems (Monday, May 12)
* Reliability 4 homework problems (Monday, May 12)
* Grad Class Final (Tuesday, May 13)
* Final Presentation Due and Given in Senior Project (Wednesday, May 14)
* Mechanics Final (Saturday, May 17)

The next week after that:
* Grad Class presentation due (Monday, May 19)
* Reliability (grad class) Final (Wednesday, May 21)
* Reliability Journal Paper Due - so far this is 11 pages, single spaced, 10 font....yeah, bleh...(Wednesday, May 21)

*GRADUATION!!!

(Friday, May 23)

Gray text is stuff I have already finished and have marked off my list. The beam project is for my mechanics of materials class - we had to build and I-beam that held 1000 pounds and broke right afterwards. The team that had a beam that reached 1000 lbs and then broke the closest to it won. Out of 120 students, our beam broke the closest at 1069 lbs. It is funny to me since we didn't do any work on the beam at all. My beam partner and I are both seniors and have too much other work to do so we just built the thing because we didn't have time to do any real calculations. I mean, we did a few, but once we got a number that looked good we went with that and didn't try any other designs. So that was pretty nice. ha.

Today, I have spent almost the entire day programming in the wonderful language of Matlab (which really isn't a language... I don't know what you would call it). I am trying to get this wave to propagate over a board so that it can search for the quickest way to route a board with the least amount of wire and the most efficient way. It is SOOO frustrating because I know what I want it to do, but it doesn't do what I want it to do. It is sort of like my flesh. I am sure there is some lesson in this... like stick with battling against the flesh even when it is hard and you are discouraged.

Stef also called me today, which was awesome. I miss my good friend Stef so much some days. Almost as much as I miss my family. Life just isn't as much fun without them around. I am always so happy to hear from her and all about her new life. For some reason I have taken like no pictures with Stef. I guess since we are always on the move when we are together and don't have time for that kind of nonsense. heh. I'd post a picture of her and me, but I can't find any. Anyhow, I thank God for Stephanie Hornor and her friendship. It is a blessing and a great encouragement.

I got to see Derek Webb in concert last night with Sandra McCraken (his wife - my favorite song by her was Goodbye George) at this fun little coffee house right near Tysons Corner Virginia (Vienna I think). Anyhow, I liked Derek Webbs music before I went, but after seeing him in concert I like him even more. He and his wife both sang some of their solo stuff (with one of them playing in the background - they both played guitar and would harmonize with each other - it was really neat - if I could sing I think it would be awesome to write and play music with my husband). They were just so adorable together. It was so cute to watch. And then they sang songs together from their new ep called Ampersand (how cool is that?!?). I love the word Ampersand. Ampersand & ampersand. :D Anyhow, it was a really nice study break just to go down there with some of my friends for his show. He is really entertaining in concert.

And this is one of my favorite songs that we sing at RUF... I found them singing it on youtube. They sound better in concert.

Download the new Coldplay song for FREE tomorrow!!

Thanks Coldplay!

And a free show... details to come...

I love these people!!

These are my favorite six people in the entire world (and a random uncle in the first picture)!! I can't wait to come home and spend some of my summer with them! I miss them all so much. Aren't they beautiful?!? I love them each so much. I have the perfect family; I love being a Harr. It is a great life. Thank God for a family that loves me and cares for me and makes me laugh so often. What fun. I love you all!! I was sitting around thinking about how wonderful you are and how much I miss having you all around last night. It made me very sad. So I just thought I would take the time to tell you all how much I love each and every one of you. :D You are my favorite people in the entire world and I thank God for you all.

Things I LOVE about Spring:
* The smell of fresh cut grass
* Mud between my toes
* Flip Flops
* Dresses and Skirts
* Jumping in puddles
* Flowers in all colors
* Playing outside
* Open windows
* The smell and feel of warm rain

Praise God for changing seasons. Spring is always something to look forward to. I love spring. If I didn't have school it would be my favorite season. I think once school is out spring is going to trump summer and become my favorite season. :D So I guess this is summer's last year as number one. heh.

Blogger just ate my post.

Blah.

Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad
And such was life in Leningrad
-Billy Joel

I woke up at five, drove over 100 miles, waited in line for over an hour, and then found out that the FE was cancelled and postponed to a "later secret date". We will be informed by letter when that date is. So I guess I just sit around and wait for it and keep studying. That has to be one of the most maddening mornings I have experienced in a long time... They could at least offer to pay for gas money seeing as it is so expensive (I paid $3.39/gallon yesterday - or $63.97 to fill my whole car). It was a circus. We had to go to the bathroom before the exam because they said they wouldn't allow us to use the restroom during the exam (WHAT?). We weren't allowed to take anything into the bathroom and there could only be one of us in the bathroom at a time. There was only one toilet. It is held at this national guard armory which is made of stone and looks like a big fortress/prison building. I imagine life in the USSR to be somewhat of what I experienced today at this place. It was deary, dull, and people kept yelling at me to do certain things or to not do other things. We all stood in line quietly with our yellow permission slips of paper, our government issued photo ID, and hard candy (if anyone had food that would take it away from you). They were also making people take off their hooded sweatshirts and checking all calculators to make sure that they all conformed to the standards. Yeah, I'm surprised they were frisking us too. I never got up to the check in desk though, so they might have been. At least I know how to get up there now... I have such fun to look forward to at this later secret date...

Story: I got to this stone armory building and walked to stand in line around 6:45am. After waiting in line forever (excluding a bathroom break from hell - we basically had to stand next to the wall and put all our testing materials down on the ground and file one at a time into the restroom while people were yelling at us), we started getting worried because it was 7:45 and we were supposed to be seated by then. Finally around 7:50 a man sticks his head out the door and says, hold on, we are going to let you in in a minute. Then around 7:55 they let everyone in. They didn't ask for our IDs or check our permission sheets. So we all filed into the main testing room and they yelled at us not to touch anything. Once we were all in this old man gets up to the microphone and says, "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news, you have more time to study. The bad news, you will have to come back to take the exam." You can bet that wasn't met with the warmest welcome ever. ha. I mean, who announces a cancelled exam like that. We have had plenty of time to study! We don't want anymore time to study. That isn't good news to any of us. He then went on to say that they would contact us with a new exam day sometime... This exam is given national only twice a year. So to reschedule is going to be a big deal. I can't imagine having to take it again for at least a month. My best bet is sometime this summer. Woohoo! More studying. It is a good thing I don't really have any summer plans yet.

I guess I'll go start my four projects now or my three sets of homework due next week...

Thanks for your prayers! heh.

I wrote this nice post the other day, but the computer ate it. And since I am studying for this FE exam I figured that I had wasted enough time that day, however, I feel like I should update my blog with something. I was thinking about what I could write about that everyone might be interested in, I could talk about the beautiful cherry blossoms that the Howard's took me to see last week, or how I had lunch with Sarah Meadows yesterday, or about the four different projects that I have to finish before May 10th (three of which I haven't started (two journal papers on how film capacitors fail and the reliability issues with them (don't ask me how they work, I haven't quite figured that out yet), a powerpoint and paper on how to work this computer program that builds circuit boards and routs the wires (which I don't know how to use yet and need to learn), and a building bridge or smoothing structural (which the professor hasn't assigned yet) or how I love the gym or how John (the intern in the basement) and I have almost finished the tree puzzle.

I opted instead to tell you all how much that I like one of my good friends, Jared Shelton, and how I think he is great (and am very thankful that he is my friend). He drove all the way up this morning to come to church with me because he knew that I was all stressed out about the FE and school in general. So he drove two hours to go to church with me and talk to a bunch of people that he doesn't know just because he knew it would make me happier. (On a side note: I totally miss my church. It is amazing and I have never been to a church I like more. Please keep up with your friendliness. It is so boring to not have anyone talk to you and be interested in your life. I love my church.) I just think that is totally sweet and awesome and worth a blog entry. We went to church, then to Chris's house for lunch with RUF, and then to walk around IKEA to check out furniture for Jared's new house. Then Jared had to leave to get back to Sunday evening church, which I also miss like crazy! I always really miss my church on Sundays. Sundays make me homesick for Salisbury more than any other day.

So Jared, if you decide to read my blog this week, thank you for being a dear friend and thank you for driving all the way up here (in the rain) and back to spend six hours of your day with me and four hours driving. Thank you for making me smile and for being a big goober. Sometimes I just need to take a break and laugh. Also, thank you for being serious and listening when I need that too. I thank God for you and for everything He has taught me through you, both the good things and the bad. I start to see how ALL things work for His glory and the good of those who love Him.

46 days until graduation...

There is something very rewarding about getting down on your hands and knees and cleaning the kitchen and bathroom floors. I really enjoy it. I don't enjoy how my hands feel all dried out afterwards, but oh well. I think it would be fun to clean my own floors, well until kids come and then I don't have time to clean the floors and I start going crazy because there is so much to do and I don't have time to do it all. I appreciate being single (single in the sense that I am not married) and childless while I am in school.

And there is something else rewarding about going running at 7:30 in the crisp spring mornings. Ah! It was beautiful out this morning. God has blessed us so much by surrounding us with such beauty. Have you looked at the trees this year? Maybe there are just more of them around this area, but the pink and white cherry blossoms are incredible!! I love them.

Alright, I have to get back to studying for the FE. Two weeks and a few hours until it is all over. I still don't know how I am going to last through an eight how exam - does one's brain work that long? If you think of me in the next two weeks, please pray that I can think clearly for that long and that I get a good night sleep before the exam (April 12th). Thanks!

Oh and thanks to Anna and Emily for coming to visit me on Wednesday! That was so great. You make me so happy. :) I love seeing people I know from home. There is just something great about a little bit of home being here for just a short while. It makes it less lonely and foreign. Below pictures from our Ikea shopping trip (where we ate six huge cinnamon buns). We also went frolfing and to Chipotle!!!

Until next time,
Faith

I really like my name.

A few things I love and experienced over spring break:

* My dad and Mr. Harts Sunday School class
* all the people in the previously mentioned Sunday school class
* my mom's baked chicken
* pineapple
* Hannah and Patrick (and cheese)
* my mom's fudge!
* my brother's sense of humor
* cribbage
* Mrs. Shelton's Swedish pancakes
* finishing crossword puzzles with Jared
* long talks
* boggle
* my sisters
* long walks
* the Taylors (family and house)
* Mary's delight
* rummy
* UNC winning
* Leeland and Casting Crowns
* wearing dresses and skirts
* matching Jared
* chinatown
* flowers!
* getting to use my awesome vase
* wonderful family
* great friends
* sweet Jared

* oh and no classes :D

Remember this movie?

youtube song

We heard the tale since we were young,
Heard the songs that have been sung,
About an evil spell.

Someone beautiful is cursed
We feel sad through every verse
Til a kiss and all is well

The message that no one can teach
Is clearer to someone like me

There is no curse or evil spell
That's worse than one we give ourselves
There is no sorceror as cruel,
As the proud and angry fool.

And yet, we cry life isn't fair
Beneath our cries the truth is there

A power that will break the spell
We should know very well
Is locked within ourselves

Yet we'd rather blame,
And curse our faith and change
We run from everyone to hide from the pain
And all the shame

The story long we knew it well
About a wretched evil spell
A power that will break this curse
Oh I know all too well
Is locked within myself

I'm getting a new ring!!

This is from the order of the engineer. All I have to do is sign the pledge below, which is just common sense. The words in the pledge in square brackets are optional. But I really like the last set in brackets, "in humility and with the need for Divine guidence." I think that is great. The order gives out these rings, they are made of steel and worn on the fifth finger of your working hand, to remind engineers to think about the cost of their work. This started in Canada when a bridge collapsed because of bad engineering and shortcuts. They cut up pieces of the bridge to start making the rings. I like it. It comes in at the end of April! woohoo.

I am an Engineer, in my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations. Since the Stone Age, human progress has been spurred by the engineering genius. Engineers have made usable Nature’s vast resources of material and energy for Humanity's [Mankind’s] benefit. Engineers have vitalized and turned to practical use the principles of science and the means of technology. Were it not for this heritage of accumulated experience, my efforts would be feeble.

As an Engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect, and to uphold devotion to the standards and the dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of Earth’s precious wealth.

As an Engineer[, in humility and with the need for Divine guidance,] I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give the utmost.

UNC beat Duke!

Tyler became only the 3rd junior ever to score 2000 points.

On senior night.

Sweet!!

#1

I banned myself from facebook to study for midterms. It is amazing how much work I have done in just the last day that I have not allowed myself to go to facebook.
So far I have:
* written four cards,
* did the crossword puzzle,
* journalled twice,
* did homework for next week,
* read two and a half chapters of a book (not for school),
* did extra work on our project report,
* and I studied for the FE exam.

And that is just the first 24 hours of being banned from facebook. I am trying to go an entire week. I wonder what else I will add to that list? This should be fun. I like getting things accomplished.

Tonight I decided that I like lentil stew (made by Joe). He makes the chili too. They are both good, especially when we have Trader Joe's cornbread! I also am becoming a huge fan or Good Friends Kashi cerael mixed with Trader Joe's Vanillia Almond Clusters. I am becoming my Dad and mixing ceraels. The Kashi would be to branish for me without the clusters. heh. Jared told me that I should always eat breakfast. So I eat a banana and a bowl of cerael most mornings before I rush out the door. I love having 10 and 11 o'clock classes. It is the best. I get up between 6:30 and 7:00 and have the whole morning to do whatever I want. It is so great.

And I am a HUGE fan of the elliptical machine at the gym ever since I figure out how to read and workout. It is like the best thing since sliced bread. And finally, we sang this song at RUF last night and I remembered how much I loved it and the Newsboys. :)

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ

We've all had a good laugh at me being misquoted in the Diamondback. I answered a whole list of questions and of the list of things they pulled out to phrases and stuck them in. I don't know what is funnier, the quote itself or how they described me.

"I like the stained glass windows," added Faith Harr, a senior mechanical engineering and regular member of the congregation. "It's classy."

We aren't really sure if I am a senior mechanical engineering major or a senior regular member of the congregation. Because if it is the second one, it is even funnier because I specifically told the reporter that I hadn't attended the church yet this year because I had been going home on Sundays. But somehow that translated into a regular member. We've been having a lot of fun with this article.

Thanks, Anna!
I hope you can use at least one of them for your photography class.
My sister is SO talented!
I am so proud of all my siblings.
And I am so happy, I have a new dress!!

This is the program that I have been asked to join and been accepted into for this year and next year. I've spent the last few months trying to narrow down a professor to work with... I have it narrowed down to two or three now. My top choice does not have funding right now to take me on in his lab. So that leaves the other two or I could TA and get my funding that way and do research for free. So, I sort of need to be making a decision sometime soon... please, pray for wisdom. And what the paragraph below doesn't mention is that:
1. I will get my masters in one year.
2. I don't have to take the GRE.
3. I get paid salary. :D
There are other cools things about the program, but those are just the few that stick out. I might also add that I get to play with really cool stuff and work with really smart people and learn all sorts of new things. Oh, and I don't have to write a thesis if I don't want to... hmmm... But then I have to take more classes... so it is either 5 more classes and 9 hours of reseach or 8 more classes and no research.

ENME Joint B.S./M.S. Degree Program

The combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree (B.S./M.S.) Program is available only to current University of Maryland undergraduate students. The minimum requirements for acceptance into the Combined B.S./M.S. program are:

At least a 3.70 G.P.A.
No more than 30 credits of ENME courses remaining for B.S.
No more than 6 credits of CORE requirements remaining for B.S.
At least 3 letters of recommendation
An essay or statement of purpose

This is the research I am thinking about doing. It is probably my second favorite. This is a link to a blog that one of the professors runs. I am going to add it to my blog list as well, but if you want to do some really interesting reading, go here now!! heh.

Yesterday Jared and I celebrated our 29th month anniversary. I thought it was pretty neat that we celebrated our 29th month, in a February, during leap year (so it had 29 days...). It is probably just my insane love of numbers that thought that was cool. Ha.

Oh and for all of you who are married... go run up to your husband and tell him how adorable he is to you and give him a huge hug! I think one of the best things about being married is going to be the freedom to run up to my husband whenever I feel like it and give him a huge hug and tell him how handsome and attractive he is to me. I think that will be great!! So for all of you married people who have the freedom to do that now, go do it!! Living with my best friend is also another great benefit that I look forward to. *sigh* I could come up with a bunch of other things, but I have to get to class. I have been thinking lately that I would really enjoy getting to cook every night, but while I am in school I come home so tired I don't feel like doing anything. ha. Maybe... someday.

My favorite hymn of the week:

Isaac Watts meets igrace

(P.S. the verses are his, the chorus is igrace's)

(P.P.S. Michael W. Smith also sings this song, you may have heard it from him)

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My Richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and love mingled down
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Oh the wonderful cross
Bides me come and die and find
that I may truly live
Oh the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace
draw here and bless your name

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were and an off'ring far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all

Oh the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find
that I may truly live
Oh the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace
draw here and bless your name

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Life so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul. my life, my all
and the beauty and the shame
in the glory of His name
Oh the wonderful cross

Oh the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find
that I may truly live
Oh the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace
draw here and bless your name

The GrandiHowards have to be some of the sweetest people ever.

I came down to breakfast this morning and Mary says, "Faith guess what we..."
Joe says, "no, no, no, Mary don't tell her." He looks at me. "Why do you use Dove soap?"
Me - "Ahhh, because it doesn't make my skin as dry."
Joe - "Well, you should look around upstairs and try to find a surprise for you."
Mary - "That is a much more interesting way of telling her."
Joe - "Mary insisted that we buy you something at Cosco yesterday."

So I went upstairs and looked and there is 14 bars of Dove soap. Like I could ever go through all of that in the next three months. Crazy sweet people. I love them so much!! One bar would have been enough to make me happy. :D

Hi.

I am so uncreative when school is going. I just feel like listing all the things I do each day and boring you all with the details of my life.

So I was going to leave you with this part and save the best for last, but for anyone that only skims and doesn't read the bottom part, here is the best part. I really enjoyed this reading from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening a few days ago. It was made all the better by the song at the end. It is a great hymn that I have had the chance to sing three times already this semester!! I have sung the old version at Mrs. Howard's church and the new version at RUF. Either one is awesome and you should find it somewhere and listen to it. It is my hymn of the semester so far. heh. So it was awesome to have this in my devotions one evening. It made me smile. I've never noticed the song in there before. Good stuff. :)

“There is therefore now no condemnation.”
Romans 8:1
Come, my soul, think thou of this. Believing in Jesus, thou art actually and effectually cleared from guilt; thou art led out of thy prison. Thou art no more in fetters as a bond-slave; thou art delivered now from the bondage of the law; thou art freed from sin, and canst walk at large as a freeman; thy Saviour’s blood has procured thy full discharge. Thou hast a right now to approach thy Father’s throne. No flames of vengeance are there to scare thee now; no fiery sword; justice cannot smite the innocent. Thy disabilities are taken away: thou wast once unable to see thy Father’s face: thou canst see it now. Thou couldst not speak with him: but now thou hast access with boldness. Once there was a fear of hell upon thee; but thou hast no fear of it now, for how can there be punishment for the guiltless? He who believeth is not condemned, and cannot be punished. And more than all, the privileges thou mightst have enjoyed, if thou hadst never sinned, are thine now that thou art justified. All the blessings which thou wouldst have had if thou hadst kept the law, and more, are thine, because Christ has kept it for thee. All the love and the acceptance which perfect obedience could have obtained of God, belong to thee, because Christ was perfectly obedient on thy behalf, and hath imputed all his merits to thy account, that thou mightst be exceeding rich through him, who for thy sake became exceeding poor. Oh! how great the debt of love and gratitude thou owest to thy Saviour!

“A debtor to mercy alone,
Of covenant mercy I sing;
Nor fear with thy righteousness on,
My person and offerings to bring:
The terrors of law and of God,
With me can have nothing to do;
My Saviour’s obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view.”

Yesterday and today I spend all my free hours tracking down where I could get 1) blueprints to the freshman dorms and 2) the figures to how much water they each use. Now why would I want to know that you ask...? Well, I have this paper due on Monday that needs both of those things. I can't write it without the information found in both of these things. So, today at 3:45 I finally got directed to the blueprint archives building (which is in this weird creepy little run down building on like a random part of the campus). I arrived at 3:50 (you say, this is nice... well, not really because you see parking is free at four, you have to pay at 3:50, if you can find a free meter). I found a free meter and paid and walked to the building. This place was crazy. It was a room full of flatfiles. And each flatfile was STUFFED with every drawing that had ever been made of every building on campus. It sort of looked like this picture below. The right hand set would have another row behind them facing the other way that you could walk around in the middle of the room. On the far right was two copiers, a scanner, two desks, and a few tables to spread drawings out on.


And none of them matched, just like in this picture. So I thumbed through they files looking for plumbing diagrams from three of the freshman dorms AND I found them. Each of them was eight pages long. So 3*8=24. I thought for sure that it was going to cost me a fortune to get these copied and I would be stuck in this little messy office for hours copying down the figures I needed. But when I asked the girl working there she told me I could copy up to 25 pages for free. YES!!! So I did. And I am very happy. You can ask Jared because I called him afterward talking a mile a minute like I do when I am really really really excited about something.

These drawings are so neat too. They are all really old and hand drawn. They are beautiful. Engineering used to be such an art. I'm sort of sad that we don't get to learn how to draft and draw such awesome blueprints. Computers have taken away the beauty of blueprints. They all look roughly the same now. I know, it is easier and all, but it just looks so much cooler this way.

So, I still have to track down the water data, but I am halfway there. I've been through 11 different people so far in tracking the water data. I think I may go visit the office of something in person tomorrow if I can track down who would keep such records... And I get to come home this weekend for the women's retreat (where I am rooming with my mother and second mother!!! They are so sweet to include me).

Oh, and I have decided that I like vegetable spaghetti better then meated spaghetti. I like it with zucchini in it. Yum yum yum.

And one more last thing: this bridge in Dubai is going to be neat. Sorry for the vast number of photos. They are all stuck together and I don't feel like editing them. I really only wanted the top one. Oh well.

So I was sitting in my 2 o'clock class and listening to the professor lecture about boolean algebra and exclusive or and nor and nand gates. It was all nice and exciting, but I kept thinking about how I was going to miss that dress rehearsal because of this stupid meeting on Friday morning that I had to stay in College Park for. It was really bothering me because it made me sad and I know it was disappointing to Jared. So about half way through class the idea pops into my head, hey, why don't you drive home tonight, pick up Jared in Centerville and then the ride isn't as boring and go to his play tonight. So I called my dependable mother; I always call her in matters such as coming home because she always says yes. ha. So that is what I did. I went home for the dress rehearsal; no change of clothes or anything. Just me and a few schoolbooks and a box of frosted mini wheats.

* I left school at 3:20 pm.
* Picked Jared up at 4:30 pm at the Queenstown Outlets (where he gave me a dark chocolate Harry and Dave's chocolate bar... oh yum!!).
* Dropped Jared off at 5:40 pm.
* Got home at 6 pm.
* Ate dinner and talked to my family until 7:15 pm.
* Left for the play at 7:30 pm.
* Watched the play from 8 - 10:15 pm.
* Got home again and did my homework from 10:30 - 12:30 am.
* Went to bed at 1 am.
* My alarm went off at 5:45 am.
* Took a shower until 6:00 am.
* I arrived at Chicken Man to meet Jared at 6:30 am.
* He arrived at 6:40 am.
* I dropped him off in Centerville at 7:50 am.
* Parked in College Park at 8:50 am.
* Went to my meeting from 9:00 - 11:40 am.
* Drove to the Howards packed my bags for the weekend.

I have class now and then I am leaving for home again at 3 pm. So that was my last 24 hours. How were yours? Oh, and Charlie's Aunt is hilarious!! Matt is the strangest, but yet funniest old woman you will see in a long while. Buy your tickets today and go see the show. It is worth the drive. Of course when part of the drive is with someone you really like, then it makes it all the better. It was so much easier getting up this morning really early and with no sleep knowing that I was going to see Jared in a few minutes!

And I am having Chipotle for lunch today!! What a great day. You can't get much better then Chipotle, home, Jared, my family, and Charlie's Aunt all in one day.

Just in case you weren't planning on coming to Charlie's Aunt... This picture alone should make you want to come. I found this online today. :D I laughed outloud. This is amazing!

And if Matt in a dress isn't enough for some of you... Jared is wearing a tux! And boy does he look incredibly handsome!! However, in honor of Valentine's Day, let me declare that he is all mine and you all can't have him. And I can say that today because I can be all sappy on valentine's day. :D Too bad I haven't spent any of our three valentine's days together. Poor Jared. Someday maybe... ANYHOW, GO SEE THE PLAY!! It will be amazing.

New travel destination thanks to the grandihowards - The Canadian Rockies, especially Banff and Jasper. Man, oh man. They showed me photos tonight from their trip. AMAZING! The water is turquoise and the mountains are amazing and there are all these waterfalls everywhere. Isn't it wonderful how God created the world in so many different forms and colors? They were showing me pictures and I couldn't believe some of them were real. It is incredible. I just need to get my passport now so I can start traveling to some of these wonderful places.

This is the first picture that I found. There are better ones. The Howards have better ones. But I have homework to finish so I grabbed this one.

For Mrs. Huntington:

I found these on Washington Post's website.
Annie and Anna could come up some time and take pictures of it, but they probably find trees pretty boring. heh.

Grandipop is in the middle of this photo. Doesn't he have a great smile? I love that face. He is great. It is a whole lot of fun living with the Howards. Oh and that reminds me, I need to pick him up a copy of the diamondback so he can do the crossword puzzle. I always almost forget and have to walk back to engineering and get him one. heh. Anyhow, I included this picture because I love when Joe laughs like this and you all need to experience it sometime. :D

So, say you have class at 2 on Fridays. Also, say that one of your good friends has had a rough work week and has been sick and not feeling so great. Now say he is working in Centreville, Md (no, not CentERville, Md because that is near Rockville Md and is much closer to me). You google or mapquest or yahoo map the trip and it is only 1 hour and 11 minutes. Next you think about how much you hate driving. But you decide that when you wake up on Friday morning you are going to drive down and surprise this friend and eat lunch with him at 11:30. Then when you wake up it is raining, but not really that hard, so you decide to make the trip. The way down is pretty nice, just a little misty, but the way back is awful and it starts pouring and is windy. Would you still take the trip? Was I crazy to take this trip down to Centreville? heh.

I don't really think so. You only live once.

I think I would have regretted not going more than going. :) Plus, it only took an hour to get down there on the way down and it was an hour and fifteen minutes on the way back. I got back to campus at 1:40 and walked right to class with about five minutes to spare. It was kinda funny, all the accidents were on the opposite side of the road both coming and going. It was nice. I would have been in so much trouble if the accidents had happened on my side of travel.

And another thing, there is just something about coming over that bay bridge that just says HOME to me. It is a great feeling to be on the Eastern Shore. Oh and the lady at the bridge was so nice on Friday. She was actually friendly and nice (which is funny because it was all rainy and nasty outside, you'd think she'd be even grumpier than normal). Anyhow, it was a nice trip. I encourage you to do things out of the ordinary sometimes. I like adventures. It adds a little fun to life.

So I've decided that I feel sorry for people that live in dorms during college and not with great people like the Howards. Not only do they cook me meal and clean the house and buy me stuff, but they also take me really interesting places and introduce me to many neat friends of theirs, who all have very interesting stories to tell.

Today, I came home from church around 12 and Joe tells me to get ready because we are going to see the biggest White Oak in Maryland and that it is on the farm of one of his friends. So I jump in the car with Pamala, Joe, little Joe, Jasper, and Mary and we all head up to the Rockvilleish area. I am not quite sure where we ended up, we headed up 270 for a while and then ended up in the most lovely place with rolling hills and driving through small little towns with cute little general stores. We passed a lot of big farms and houses and gorgeous houses. And we came to this HUGE farm that is across the road from this mountain called Sugarloaf Mountain. The land is beautiful!! I love rolling hills and trees!!! They are so amazing. Well, anyhow, this farm is huge and amazing as well. It used to be a dairy farm and now is an orchard and a farmhouse (with a wrap around porch (I dream that someday I will own a house with a wrap around porch, or at least a pretty decent size porch in the front of the house...it is a nice dream. I also dream I live on a farm like this that tucked away in a bunch of rolling hills and ponds and trees)).

We walked down a big hill and over some water and around a few fields (where on a few other hills this man has built two guest houses for his kids when they come to stay with him - beautiful). And around into this open area with this big White Oak tree with two chairs under it and a lovely view. Man, it is was so nice. It was like one of those settings that you read about in a book where the main character goes to read or think. It was great. I can't even describe it.

So this man and his wife own this farm. He grew up in Harlem after his parents moved here from Italy (so yes, he has major personal space issues and since he went to College park, he adored me and hung on my arm and got really closed to my face and talked to me a lot). So his mom always wanted to live in the country, but she ended up dying in Harlem and never got to move to the country. So this guy got in to construction and earned a bit of money and ended up buying this farm and he named it Stella's Dream (after his mother). He was the funniest little old man. He loved to talk and he greets you with a giant hug and a kiss. It was a very entertaining day. His wife was very sweet as well. She was really laid back and nice.

So this had been family week at the Howards. I normally see a few family members here or there and not very many of them. The Howards are normally going places and visiting people. Well, in the first week that I have been here I have seen a member of every family's but the Cambridge Howards. Pamela and her two boys have been staying here all weekend (and boy is Jasper a handful). Yesterday Melinda and Kevin came for lunch. Today Vernon and Emily and their two boys came with two of Michaels boys. And tonight David is coming over for the super bowl. So Kate and Damien, you all should stop by and make my week complete (although I saw you last Sunday.... so I can just say in the last eight days instead of the last week).

So yes, I feel sorry for people that live in dorms and eat dinner food. I meet the neatest people and eat the most interesting foods. Yesterday I got to try this Greek dish and a few days ago it was Ethiopian food. And the new intern (who lives in the basement) is a vegetarian, so Joe keeps making fun of me for not eating my salads, but I tell him that John can eat them all now because he likes that sort of stuff. ha ha. Life is always an adventure around here. I am really going to miss this place when I leave. It has been a fun two years. :)

Oh and Mom and Dad, you have to come see this tree sometime this semester. Joe really wants you to. So plan to come up one of these Saturdays, please.