Trimester is finally OVER!!

This tri officially ended for me today! YES! So excited for this break. It will give me a chance to just get away from Providence and think about what has and is going on in my life and here on campus. There are going to be many changes in the rest of the year to come.
I am now a member of Grace Harbor Community Church and am so excited about it. There are a lot of good changes happening within the church and I am excited to see where they go. Pastor Kevin has been talking a lot about church membership and the importance of being a church member and also the importance of the church. This is something that I have never heard before and has not been talked about ever, since I started as a Freshman.
This past week has been crazy. Monday and Tuesday were our "reading" days or study days before finals, so we had no classes, and my roommate Alon, our friend Hannah and myself went to the outlets for some shopping. I have to say, I did pretty well. I only got one thing for myslef and the other things were christmas gifts. Tuesday was our last TNT for the break and was out study TNT. We don't actually study during this time, it's more of a hang out. We talked about the mission opportunities for Spring Break, Florida & Russia. I am so pumped for these and am planning on returning to Russia to continue what has been started there by the students who have gone in previous years. Then we played a game of Cranium and ate pizza.
Wednesday morning I had a 9:20 final and woke up at 7. I just layed in bed for a while and then heard my roommate Alon in the kitchen exclaim "Oh my gosh." I knew it had to do with a mouse. We have been getting little visitors lately because of the cold days every now and then. So we had bought traps. They are plastic ones that react the same as the regular ones inside, except you don't see the dead mouse. Well this mouse was not dead and was trying to push the red flap down inside that was holding it back. We didn't know what to do because we didn't want to let a live mouse outside because it would come right back in. And we are cheap and wanted to re-use the trap. So Alon's fiance suggested first that we drop it out a window hoping it would die because we are on the second floor. We thought that since the trap didn't kill it a drop like that wouldn't either. Them he suggested we stick it in the freezer. So we put it in plastic bags a stuck it in the freezer. Needless to say when we went to empty the trap that night the mouse was not coming out of the trap so we had to just throw the whole thing away.
Today was a nice ending to a long day. I had a 7:10 final this morning and then another at 11:30. I then walked around the mall and bought some christmas gifts. Later tonight my roommate Alissa and I babysat Silas, our pastor's son, the cutest 2 year old ever, for a couple of hours. When they got back it was nice to sit and talk with Kevin and his wife Melissa about things and watch the Office with them.
I am really ready for this break. I cannot wait to see my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister and my dad. I am really excited to bake and cook and just to relax with no pressure, homework or running around. It will be refreshing. Hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Nori the Fish

Funny story....
So my roommate Alon has a fish named Nori.
Well last night she comes into the living room saying that her fish was gone. That is had flopped out of the fish tank. So I went in to take a look and it was gone. She didn't want to look for it, she wanted me to do it because she didn't want to see it. She stood by the door while I looked. I checked her shoes and by her bed and then I thought that there could be a space underneath the side table. So I reached round the back and felt for a space and there was one. I started to pull the side table away and there was the fish laying with its tail bent under it's body on the floor. Alon wouldn't look at it and she wanted me to get rid of it. So I took two dust pans and moved it from the floor to one of the pans. Then I dropped it in the toilet and it flinched. I thought it was just a reflex and then it started breathing. I told Alon and she was in shock. We both were. So we filled a bowl with water and took a ladel (yes a ladel) and scooped it out of the toilet into the bowl. We left it in there overnight and if it died I was to flush it, but it didn't. Nori is alive and happy. It's a good thing Goldfish only have 2 sec memories.

The Past Weekend

I have been really bad lately about posting new posts so I am going to try harder to post them more regularly.
This past weekend was a lot of fun. Thursday 6 of us went out to Chilis for the 3 for $20 deal and had a great time. At one point some of us were in tears because we were laughing so hard. Also we decided that one of my roommates was like a camel because she drank about 8 cups of water and did not have to pee.
Friday was fun becuase we got to go to a Brown Women's Ice Hockey Game. We were about the only people there and the one's with the most spirit even though we don't go to Brown. We had made signs for each of the players, were screaming and had painted our faces. It was a BLAST!!! We plan on going again, plus we get free tickets. Saturday was fun because it was such a beautiful day out and so some of us went to Newport. We walked along the Cliff Walk and saw the mansions, had lunch at Panera and walked around Thames Street. The only downside was that the bus was an hour ride......crazy.

Non - traditional Halloween Party

Pizza, junk food, Scene It, crazy game of Turbo Cranium and talking to 1:45 am....what better way to spend Halloween night. Last night my roommates and I had a non-traditional Halloween party. We hosted a get together for all the students and people who did not want to be in the dorms on this very skanky night or sitting at home. We had about 20 people in the apartment at one point during the night and it was intense. Our entire dining room table was covered in junk food and snacks. People stayed till 1:45 am, which I am glad about because then they did not have to experience a Johnson & Wales/Providence Halloween. I do not understand why people think that it's ok to dress up in the least amount of clothing possible and go and get drunk. And people wonder why they get hit on, raped or butt pinched. Anyways, enough of that rant. Alissa made her famous Hummus, pumpkin seeds and taco dip. I made the cupcakes and famous stove - top popcorn. Elyse brought the games and Sherita brought the pizza. Everyone else brought the snacks and the fun.

Friday night my roommate Alon and I finally carved out mini pumpkins that we bough on Columbus day. They turned out really good actually. Alissa baked the pumpkin seeds for the party....they were soooo good. And Hannah R. came over to finish the movies we started the night before and to color pictures.

Everyone here says that my apple pie is really good and I promised my pastors wife that I would make it with her one day to show here, so that is what I did Friday. It was a lot of fun and I am glad that I was able to spend that time with her talking and getting to know her better. I also made and apple pie for the apartment which is half gone already :{ Get ready Uncle Tony and Aunt Trish, I might be baking up a storm at thanksgiving.

Baptism

I obeyed one of God's commands this evening by being baptized as an outward expression of my faith and acceptance of Christ as my LORD and Savior.

"I was baptized this evening because God commands us to be baptized as an outward confession of our faith and as a promise to follow the LORD, doing his work all the days of our lives. I grew up in a christian home and heard the gospel my entire life. I went to church and participated in Sunday School every sunday. At the age of 12 I accepted Christ into my heart to be my LORD and savior, to do his will and to spread his name until I am taken to meet him in heaven. I accepted christ because I realized that I was a sinner in need of a savior and it is for this reason that Christ died and shed his blood on the cross, to cleanse me of my sins. Coming to Providence for school has changed my life in many ways. I have grown more spiritually and have become much closer to God inmy relationship to him."