Hot Cup of Tea

I'm sitting here drinking a steaming cup of tea and contemplating how to make my presentation (due tomorrow) for my New Zealand literature class (weird, I know) more interesting.  Each of us in the class was assigned a particular aspect of New Zealand culture to research and present for this week and I'm doing mine on moko, traditional Maori tattooing.  Why am I taking a New Zealand literature class, you might ask?  I have no idea.  I just know this is my last semester and I needed a class to fulfill my final requirement.

This past week has gone by in a blur.  My best friend came up from Fort Wayne last Friday so we could celebrate her 24th birthday (which is actually today).  We had breakfast for dinner at Nick's Patio, got frozen yogurt at Urban Swirl, went to see "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" at the movies, and finished off the night with drinks at Granite City.  (The movie was fantastic, by the way.  I highly recommend it).  The two of us went for an early breakfast the next morning before she had to head back to Fort Wayne and had one of our awesome conversations that we usually have.  I'm very thankful for our friendship.  Oh, and happy birthday!

This week is the second week of the semester and I'm already experiencing severe graduate senior-itis.  May can't come soon enough!  I'm so excited that Justin and I will be walking together at graduation; it's amazing that we get to share that experience together.  Now to just finish these last couple months off strong.  I'm still waiting to hear back from my project director about my proposal (for my independent writing project to graduate).  In the meantime, I'm working on lesson plans for teaching and trying to stay focused on the reading and homework I need to get done for my classes. 

My grandmother has been very sick lately and has been between the hospital and the nursing home the past few months.  She actually started getting sick the day of my wedding (back in October) and wasn't able to make it.  It was hard for me that she wasn't able to be there because we are very close, but I just wanted her to get better.  She's been in and out of the hospital since then and went into a nursing home for the first time during this period.  It's been difficult for me to see her health decline, especially since she keeps getting worse despite all of the treatments she has been receiving.  If you can, please pray for this situation.

Tomorrow is my last work/school day of the week and then it's time to catch up on reading and homework again.  I'm proud to say the New Years goals I've made for myself are coming along nicely. 

Now I just need to finish this presentation on New Zealand.  Ugh.  At least a cup of tea makes everything better.