Late

I can't believe I just slept for 12 hours. Holy cow.
My body's kind of sore, I actually think it's from sleeping for so long.
Weird.
But I don't care.
I really needed the hours. Beautiful.

Hot Cocoa

I think I've developed an addiction to a delectable beverage.
Hot cocoa is amazing.
My mom gave me these individual packets of different flavors over winter break and it's kind of ridiculous how amazing some of them are...

I mean, come on. Chocolate graham?
It doesn't get much better than that.

Sleep

I am going to bed when I finish writing this. I'll get about eight hours of sleep. This will be the first time for that semester. I'm really excited. I've been incredibly behind in my sleep, so this should be wonderful for me. Man. I'm so tired... this is beautiful.

Sickness

So apparently Loree has whooping cough. However, some of our friends checked things out and they believe that she actually has mono. Great. Thankfully enough, I have not come in direct contact with spit... or anything like that. Mmm yeah. Thus I should be alright. Leez is freaking out, though. She's already a mild germaphobe; she's got disinfecting wipes and a disinfectant spray that also kills the flu virus. Supposedly. And she's taking at least 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day [and just started on 'calcium chews' tonight!]. I'm not worried about getting sick, I rarely do. Sometimes I get a bit of a sore throat with drainage or whatever, but maybe only once a year. It's too bad about Loree, though. She's been sick a lot this year. She takes somewhat good care of herself. She doesn't eat that great (not a fan of fruit and vegetables) but oh well, I guess. Hm.

Revival

This is Revival Week at Central Christian College of the Bible.
I've never been part of a revival, so I've been asking around as to what, exactly, a revival entails. Most people say that it's just a lot of music and maybe a pretty good message or something like that. I've gotten mixed reviews on the whole event; about half of the people I've spoken with said they really enjoy revivals, the other half said they do not enjoy revivals. Thus, I was curious about what my first revival experience would bring and what my reaction would be. Well, first of all, our chapel service wasn't much different from other chapels. The music was really good, true. And the speaker gave one of the more memorable messages I've heard while here at Central. I went into the beginning of Revival Week with an open mind and heart, and I'm glad. I've been asking God that He would work in the body of Christ at Central throughout the week and just renew our spirits and refresh us with His Spirit. I'm sure the rest of the week will be great and I'm excited to see what it brings.

Studying

I have been studying a lot lately. It's only about to be the third week of school. The library is now my second home. Fortunately, I love my coursework and studying is actually an enjoyable task; it's not so unbearable. Oh, the joys of school. ... And believe it or not, that was not a sarcastic remark.

Driving

Man oh man, I love to drive.
The three-and-a-half hour drive to Moberly/Cedar Rapids is a nice drive, and I enjoy it greatly. There are some fun hills and curves in the great state of Missouri to navigate... Ha.

Away

I came home yesterday. I needed to get away from school.
It was just one of those weeks. Starting Monday - before school even started for the week - I knew I was going to want to come home. Weird, I know. I tried to not feel that way and adjusted my attitude to the best of my ability. I mean, I was even debating whether I really would go home, up to basically an hour before I left. But I'm really glad I decided to leave. I have already had a good time. I will leave around one or so tomorrow afternoon. It'll be nice having my batteries charged an extra bit before next week.

Surprise

I was pleasantly surprised with chapel today. I'm not going to lie - I went into it with a biased viewpoint because of who the speaker was... and that was not fair. He did quite a nice job and I walked away with new knowledge and I walked one more step with God.

I got over the unpleasantness of who the speaker was quickly enough, but one of my friends, who also is not a fan of the teacher that spoke, would not stop making little comments in my ear about the speaker and his message. That irked me a bit. I wanted to say something, but I didn't.

I should have.

Vowels

Hebrew vowels are dumb. There are too many and they all look too similar.
Arabic vowels are not dumb. There are not too many and they do not look similar.

Blech.

Nice

I am nice...
a) always.
b) often.
c) sometimes.
d) rarely.
e) never.

This is a difficult question to answer about myself.
As much as I'd like to say the answer's a, I know that's not true.

I'd say it's most likely b. There's no reason in my mind, however, that it could never be a. Always. Last night (around 11:30) I was being jokingly mean to Loree - with Leez, mind you! - but I made a promise that today was going to be a 'nice day'. I challenged myself to be as nice as possible to everyone. Doesn't sound too hard, right? Right. And honestly, I did pretty well. I really was quite nice. I failed in the end after calling one friend a jerk and then telling another friend that he was a punk... I don't even remember why I said these things, they just came out. And they weren't said in such a way to make them feel bad or anything. But both comments were unnecessary, you know? I really do think that I should make an effort to be more kind to others. Go that extra step. I'll work on it and report back - eventually. !

Inauguration

Today Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America.

Rock on.

[And no, this does not mean I am a "Democrat" - which is also not to say that I am a "Republican". I simply mean... it's cool. Someone new. Fresh. And the first African-American president? Rock. On.]

Glad

I just found out about a coffee house here in Moberly. It's called The Third Place and it's near where I go to church, I believe. I'm really excited about this, because I don't think many other students know about it and it'll be a good place to go study or just get away from Central if need be - without having to go to Columbia. Three cheers.

Homework

I am already ahead on homework.
I am glad.

That is all.

Hair

So just now, I wanted to put my hair up into a ponytail. I pulled it back with my right hand, reached with my left hand for a ponytail holder on my right wrist, and couldn't feel it! It was gone! I always keep a ponytail holder on my right wrist. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. I asked my friend and lovely roommate, Loree, if she knew how to do 'the pencil thing' where you stick a pencil in your hair to get it to stay in a bun. Sadly, she told me that she did not. However, I decided to try it anyway. I twisted my hair into a bun, wove a pencil through it, and said a quick prayer. I lowered my hands... SUCCESS! I felt so triumphant that I couldn't help but write about it. So here I am, writing my blog posts for the day without my hair annoying me. Beautiful.

Settlers

My new favorite game is Settlers of Catan.
I am awful at it, because I don't like the politics that are involved, and I'm not good at thinking ahead for strategy and such.
But I like to play just to play - not play to win.
Such fun.

Number Three

I now have three blogs.
Intense.
For English Comp my teacher has given us writing prompts for each day of class. She said we could either write in an actual journal or blog our writings. Being the avid blogger that I am, I decided to go with the latter. I simply titled the blog with the course title [English Composition GCA 151 A. Looking over the prompts, there should be some interesting writing over the semester. I'm really excited to fulfill this requirement.

Excited

I just finished my first day of classes.
Brilliant.
I have been waiting for this day for basically four weeks.
I love my classes.
I'm taking a pretty full load, but I know I can handle it.
English Composition
Oral Communications
Introduction to Psychology
SALT: Interaction
Acts of the Apostles
History of Israel
Elementary Hebrew
This is going to be a great semester.
I can't wait to see what happens over the next few months.

Good Day

Today was a really good day.

I woke up at 11.
[I was really proud about this because when I'm at school I usually wake up early, even when I don't have to.]
I ate lunch.
I played Settlers of Catan for the first time.
[Settlers is such a fun game! It takes some time to get into the flow of things, but then play goes smoothly.]
I took a nap.
[I took maybe five naps last semester. I plan on changing that. Today was the first day of change.]
I went to get dinner with Emilee.
I watched the boys' basketball game.
[They won, 113-46!]
I set up chairs for chapel.
I went with a large group of people to get some sweet tea at McDonald's.
[Getting McDonald's sweet tea is a joyous event in itself, let alone with a beautiful group of friends.]

I'm about to go to bed, because tomorrow is the first day of classes and, just like last semester, my first class for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is at 8 AM. Brilliant. I seriously can't wait. Man oh man.

I'm pretty sure the entire semester is going to be full of good days. I can't wait to see what happens each day and what God has in store for me.

Me, Myself, and I

I am going to be learning about myself my entire life. I can try to 'find myself' all I want, but in the end it's never going to completely happen. So as I'm slowly learning about myself, day-by-day, it's interesting to see how things unfold before me in way of relationships, emotions, perspectives, objectives, and my walk with God. I am more becoming more aware of my strengths and weaknesses, as well as setbacks and progress. It's kind of like a lifelong assignment. Throughout and after very chapter of my life, I will be able to look back and answer questions or contemplate what I went through. I will know that I was learning constantly - whether through good, solid experiences... or making [hopefully one-time mistakes.

So far, I've come to really like myself.
I have learned an awful lot.
I've had some not only good, but great experiences.
And I've also made some not only bad, but terrible mistakes.

I'm glad.

Baaaaaack

I am back in Moberly and am ecstatic.
Classes start on Wednesday and I can barely contain my excitement.

Oh goodness.

Laughter

Laughter is so good for you.
Not only does it add time to your life, supposedly, but it's also physically good for you. And it just makes you feel great, you know?

I'm glad God gave me a sense of humor. I may not always be able to make people laugh (and I'm totally fine with that), but I am certainly able to laugh about what other people say and do. Even if something is not that funny... chances are I'll laugh anyway. I'm easily amused and I simply love to laugh. Might as well make the most out of every moment, even if it doesn't seem to be very humorous. Obviously I'm not going to laugh when it's inappropriate, I know better than that and can easily discern when laughter is appropriate...

Honestly, though. Even though I tend to cry when I laugh (it doesn't take long for that to happen, either) and get to the point where it hurts to laugh very quickly, I don't mind. I sincerely wish there were more of those moments in my day-to-day life. It's magical.

Happy

It is 7:21 PM.

And I have not been able to stop smiling for the past fourteen minutes.
A single thought is all it takes.
I love that.
This.
I love this.

Break

I am so ready for break to be over.
I want to go back to school.
Ugh.
Sunday afternoon can't come quick enough.
Neither can Wednesday.

School Supplies

I love school supplies.
Every year before school starts I do my best to stay out of Target and Wal-Mart because I am always afraid of going hay-crazy when I see the school supply aisle(s). Nowadays all I need are usually just pens, pencils, and notebooks - but I wish I continued to receive a school supply list from my school. Then I would have perfectly good reason to buy crayons, colored pencils, markers, scissors, glue, folders, highlighters, paints, a ruler, tape, binders, erasers - and, of course, a beautiful school box to put everything in. I am more than positive that I could find perfectly good reasons to buy all of these things more often than I do, but I know myself better than that. If I don't truly need them, then I won't buy them. It's the price you pay for practicality. Oh well. I'm a wife-and-mother-in-training, what can I say?
But I really do love school supplies.
Which is why I was totally stoked to receive some from my mother for Christmas. She is beyond brilliant.

Tuna

I like tuna.
Tonight we are having tuna casserole and I cannot wait.

Just thought I'd let you know.

PS, I did not do my Pollock Painting Project today. I will likely do it on Thursday, as tomorrow I am having lunch with a friend and then later giving blood. Or I could get up early enough to do it before lunch...

We'll see!

Paint

I want to paint like Jackson Pollock.
[My dad doesn't like Pollock because he doesn't think his drip and splatter paintings are true "art". Psh.]
I think I'll do that tomorrow.
I have three canvases my mom bought for me ages ago.
But I never did anything with them.

I am excited for this project.

Deep Breath

What is wrong?

Time

When I look at a clock, it more than often reads 9:11. I told my mom this and she said maybe it means that I'll be a help in the future to a lot of people. Wouldn't that be something?

Names

Christmas, Servant, Brave

These three words are the derivations of what my full name means.

Natalie Paige Keene

Natale [domini] - the day, birth of Christ

Page - one who served an aristocrat; a messenger

Keen, most likely derived from 'Cyne' - one who is brave and shrewd; also thought to mean 'son of the sharp man' - in relation to being wise

For quite some time now - perhaps a year or so - I have been fascinated with names. What they mean, their origin, how they may or may not be represented or 'lived up to' by their owners...

I love my name and the meanings of each separate part. At one point in time I didn't like being named Natalie. For one thing, I thought the meaning was lame and nothing special. This was in middle school, when I truly didn't know God or His Son. And another thing, for some very odd reason, it's difficult for me to say 'Natalie'! Isn't that strange? When I say it aloud, it's like my tongue is tied up in knots or something.

Look up what your name means, if you don't know. Most people I talk about it with don't know what their name means. And I think that's a shame. For all you know, it could really have a lot of power behind it and truly mean something very special.

2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is going to be a great year.
I know it is.

I mean, just look at the numbers:

2009.

They look good.
I like writing the number nine more than the number eight.
So that's an excellent plus.

Another note:

It's my mom's birthday -

Happy Birthday, Mutti! I love you so much!