Update fail.

Yeah, I probably qualify as the world's worst blogger. But a lot has happened,  I swear!

Most notably, the arrival of my new baby, the Nikon D3100. Otherwise known as my first DSLR camera.

Please expect a million and a half pictures of random stuff while I figure out this camera :D

My dog, Charlie, complete with motion-blurred tail.

In other exciting news, I leave for Israel in exactly 23 days. Which means I have barely 3 weeks to work everything out! I am so stoked for my return to the Holy Land. Last trip way amazing, and I can't wait to see what new things God has in store for me on my return. I did not anticipate being lucky enough to make a return trip, but He worked it all out for me :) Be praying for all of us as we begin final preparations for our pilgrimage!

A spot of rough luck.

Well, all my plans for this weekend's blogging (and consqeuently, homework accomplishment) went promptly out the window when I smashed my finger in a soundproof metal door Friday at work :(

So, instead of having my nice weekend filled with picnics on historic islands and antique-mall scouring, I sat mostly at home with a lot of vicodin and painstakingly henpecked my huge German assignments. I did get out enough to cuddle my boyfriend & watch Beetlejuice, however. So it wasn't a total wash.

Hopefully tomorrow will hold an update full of diversional anecdotes, 'cause I'm sick of being home! 

so, you are now treated to a view of my messy closet, makeupless face, and Wolverine bandaid.

Old books have this kind of siren call...

... which generally proves completely irresistible to me.

I knew when I heard that the VCU library was having a book sale and that today & tomorrow were the half-off days, I should stay away. I had $17 in my checking account to get me to Monday, and a fiver in my wallet leftover from one of the rare occasions when I actually carried cash. My bookshelf is triple stacked with books that I cannot bear to rid myself of. I have books shoved in random places that somewhat resemble shelving. I have books in storage containers in my closet and under my desk. I have books stacked in corners and books that will spend their days sitting on my nightstand in case of a sleepless night. The last thing I need are MORE books.

And yet, somehow I find myself wandering down the sterile basement hallways in the bottom of the library. And then walking away with three new-to-me books and 10 record albums. Which I have no way of playing, might I add. But hey, I only spent four dollars. I dont have a problem, do I?

In my defense, one book was a gift for Ben. It's a 1947 editon of Roget's Thesaurus, a small leather-bound thing; and he's a sucker for old dictionaries & their ilk. It was only a dollar and was so, so cool. One of the ones that found it's new home with me was a copy of Washington Irving's Tales of a Traveler from 1897. Who am I, to leave such a dignified old book to languish in a home that will not love it? And it had a previous owner's handwriting in it, and I am a sucker for that. I love seeing traces of people who loved books before me. The other book is a 1947 copy of  So Dear to My Heart by Sterling North. Remember that live-action Disney movie about the boy & his little black sheep, and "lavender blue, dilly dilly"? Yeah, it's that story. I remembered the movie from my childhood & figured this book was worth a dollar to me. And it's in such good condition! It almost looks unread.


The records, however, I have no excuse for. I already have a huge stack of all of my parent's old records stashed somewhere among the piles of books because I pitched a fit when they were going to toss them out. So, they gave them all to me. I still need to weed through them and find out what I need to keep or not, but I am lazy so that task waits. But, I found such treasures as the soundtrack to Oliver!, Dan Fogelberg's Nether Lands album, a Christmas album with Julie Andrews & Robert Goulet, the soundtrack from The Glenn Miller story (I am a sucker for him.) and Air Supply. Yes, the album with that horribly corny "I'm all out of love... I'm so lost without you." song. Plus, I got ten of them for a dollar.

Yeah, I probably have a problem.

Dragging.

It's just been such an exhausting summer. Not only have I been working 3 jobs, but I've dealt with major brain surgery for my grandmother, family members relocating, an ambulance ride for my mother due to a heart rate that was >250bpm, my granddad's heart getting converted, a cousin having a horrific jetski accident, and my best friend's mother losing her battle with cancer, all in two short months.

I am just worn out. I feel like looking in God's general direction & just asking why? Would it be so awful for me to have a week without some major trauma? I start school in less than a month & I'm going to have to throw 15 credit hours into the mix.

?!

Momma Lampkin.

... lost her fight with cancer, July 29th, at 5pm. You are missed already.

Sometimes I really think my life is...

... one bad camera angle away from a cheesy soap opera. I can manage to find drama at least once a week, if not more.

Ben's 11 year old cousin, Makenna, had to be med-evaced to MCV yesterday after a jet ski accident on the Rappahannock River. Thankfully she has NO neck injuries or concussion (praise the Lord!) but she has a broken nose, cheekbone, and eye socket. She will require reconstructive surgery to repair the eye socket, I believe, but they are thinking they will not do anything for a few days, till the swelling goes down. As one might imagine, it's a fair sight of pandemonium right now, however. Keep her in your prayers! She is a sweetheart of a girl, and has been such a trooper through the whole ordeal.

While you are busy praying for Makenna, please keep my best friend Sarah Lampkin's family in your prayers as well. Without going into too much detail, her mother is terminally ill & their family is having to make some very tough choices. They are all deserving of your prayers.

Inception for the second time...

... was easily as good as the first, if not better.

It's been a whirlwind weekend. Between Audrey's first birthday, a bridal shower, and the first of many pre-trip Israel meetings, it's a wonder we've all found time to sleep, let alone watch a movie! But we did. Inception is completely wonderful, easily the best movie I've seen in theaters in the last year. Last time, Ben & I went by ourselves, but we finally coerced his parents into seeing it with us (aka, an excuse for us to justify seeing it again haha!) I can say with some conviction that its just as good, if not better the second go round. I will definitely be owning this one!

The Israel meeting went well, I think. There is a lot of interest shown & we are making positive progress. If its possible, I think I am actually MORE excited about this next trip then my first one last March. I left a piece of my heart buried in the soil over there, maybe wafting on the breezes in Jerusalem. I need to stand with the dust of centuries covering my shoes again, to wake up in the morning & look out over the Sea of Galilee or the Old City of Jerusalem. God has really laid Israel on my heart over the last few months... it's like an almost physical ache, and only the thought of returning will ease it. I cannot wait till I can finally obey that calling... and this time not as a tourist, as a leader :) March of 2011 cannot come soon enough!

(Ben & I standing outside the Garden Tomb in the Old City)