War Eagle!!

So I know I'm a few days late on the post but my computer was a little bit slower joining me here in STL after the trip to AU.  I had a little bit of trouble with the transition between cars so I went all week without a computer.  NOW though I can show you all about my fall break!

 Katie Traylor and I made a last minute decision to head to Auburn for the AU vs LSU game.  Boy am I glad we went!  After about 11 hours in the car we finally made it to spend time with friends and family for the weekend.
After some fun hanging out friends at Momma G's and their apartment I called it a night to prepare for an early game day! Dad and I set up the tailgate, with much success we were able to get the satellite going! Maybe next time Mr. Craig!

The TigerWalk was also another highlight of the trip.  I wish I had gotten there a few minutes earlier to be a bit closer but it was still great to be in the midst of all the Auburn excitement.

 Lastly, to be in the stadium for the game is probably about the best thing ever. I hope those of you that haven't been in a while get to go soon!

The university showed a video of service men and women repeating the Auburn Creed and thought I was going to cry at the end of it because it was SO good.  Oh and check out the Creed on the side of the new coliseum.  Isn't it gorgeous?! Still haven't gotten to check out the new sorority dorms but maybe I'll get to do that UGA weekend.

Auburn Bound!!

It's official! I'm headed to The Plains this weekend!! What a great last minute, surprise trip for my fall break!

War Eagle!

Busyness

This past week was non-stop.  I worked almost 30 hours, took a midterm, and had a weekend class to attend. Oh and I made myself soup for the week too! Somehow I'm still kicking after all of that!
Working 30 hours is A LOT for a full time student.  School had to take a seat on the back burner while I worked all the time.
Fall break is this weekend and I am ecstatic.  I can't wait to have a few days off to relax and get some work done! I need all the time I can get right now.  I have been so busy I haven't had time to think straight!  I have so many things I want to bake right now and not enough time!  I am ready for some fall goodies. Baked goods that contain pumpkin and spice and everything nice.  I found some treats here that I would like to try, especially the molasses cookies with chocolate chips.

Happy soup and pumpkin spice season to you all.

Grief

I read CS Lewis' A Grief Observed  this past week. First time to read it. I highly recommend it-really good read, and super fast. He describes grief in ways that makes sense to me.  Some of you know what I have been walking through this season with loss and grief of friends and life.   So I just wanted to share some of Lewis' thoughts on grief that really resonated with me this semester as I continue to grow.  But mixed in with all of this grief is hope.  I have been thinking a lot about hope after a conversation with a friend on Tuesday.  So there is hope in the midst of all of this.  Know that  I won't leave you strictly with these thoughts of grief but that there is hope coming later this week.

I have experienced loss and death before, but never in ways like this.  I have learned though that we serve a mighty God and we are more loved than we could ever imagine or comprehend.  The pain is great but the redemption is greater.

  "No one ever told me that grief felt so much life fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is life being afraid. The same fluttering on the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing. 
  At other times it feels like being mildly drunk, or concussed. There is a sort of invisible blanket between the world and me. I find it hard to take in what anyone says. Or perhaps, hard to want to take it in. It is so uninteresting. Yet I want the others to be about me. I dread the moments when the house is empty. If only they would talk to one another and not to me" (1).


  "Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape. As I've already noted, not every bend does. Sometimes the surprise is the opposite one; you are presented with exactly the same sort of country you thought you had left behind miles ago. That is when you wonder whether the valley isn't a circular trench. But it isn't There are partial recurrences, but the sequence doesn't repeat" (69).

Scottish Games

This weekend was the STL Scottish Festival.  I have been waiting all summer for this weekend to roll around so I could go watch the dancing again and just be there to enjoy the festival.  This time I was blessed enough to have a few friends come out to enjoy it with me.  I was able to watch most of the dancing, some of the athletics and a little bit of sheep herding as well.  Usually when I go I stay at the dance tent the whole time but with friends there I was able to enjoy the rest of the festival.
We all had a late lunch while there and I had a a bridie:
 A bridie is similar in shape to a Cornish pasty, but the pastry is not as hard and no potato is used, making it much lighter in texture. It is made of minced beef, sometimes with onions and spices, placed on rolled-out pastry, folded into a semi-circular shape, and finally baked in an oven. (Wikipedia)

Michelle got a meat pie, which it has been AGES since I have had one of those.  Hers was just filled with minced meat.   After eating my bridie I forgot what Scottish food does to you. It sticks around all day. It is definitely not light fare because everything is greasy or fried! It was a beautiful afternoon to be in Forrest Park and enjoy the bagpipes.  I just don't know that I am ready for this cool fall weather!