Look at me, being all awake at 10:40 in the morning! This is a big deal for me, considering I've gotten out of bed before 11 or 12 maybe twice in the past 2 weeks. I actually got up at 9:30 this morning and went walking with Julie. It was good times. I always love the conversation we have on our little walks, although the topic of our conversation today made me realize that we are growing up, and that makes me kind of sad. I guess I always thought I could somehow cheat the system and never have to grow up, but it turns out I was wrong. I'm surprisingly ok with that though. I may have to act all grown up on the outside, but on the inside I will always be a little kid. No one can ever tell me I'm too old for Play-Doh and Disney. And besides, I'm pretty excited about the direction my life is going. Growing up may not be completely undesirable after all.

Hooray for holidays! I got to spend 10 glorious days in Arlington, which made me a very happy girl. The last 4 days were the best, because that's when Ryan came to stay with me. He was immersed in my family's crazy antics, and he didn't run away. What can I say? He's a keeper. I'm really happy with the way our relationship is going. I love that we can completely be ourselves around each other and act like idiots, and that's ok. And I love that we can have totally serious and real conversations and that's ok too. We decided to go through the book of Acts together to try to figure out exactly what it is we believe and do and why. This has been a topic I have struggled with for a long time, and I'm really excited to share this part of myself with Ryan. It really excites me to see the spiritual aspect of our relationship beginning to take a more central role. Not that it hasn't been there the whole time, but I know it's kind of been a topic I've tried to dance around a little just because I know we have very different backgrounds in this area. But I'm realizing that unless God is the absolute center and foundation of this relationship, it will never be the best it can be. I think that the differences that exist between my spiritual background and Ryan's spiritual background can be used in very good ways. I know Ryan challenges me all the time to think about things in ways I never even thought of, and hopefully I do the same for him from time to time. I'm pretty sure that as long as we both keep God as top priority and not each other, God will continue to bless us, both individually and together.

So is it completely wrong of me to say that I'm ready for school to start again? I'm not really all that thrilled about the thought of homework and classes and stress, but I am ready for routine in my life. I thrive on structure and routine. I can handle spontaneity as well as the next person, but it drives me crazy that school starts in 6 days and I still don't even know my class schedule! Seriously. I have big plans for this semester too. I plan to actually read for my classes and study for tests in advance. I'm determined to make all A's this semester. No more missing the cut-off by .75 of a point. That's just ridiculous. So yes. That's my life in a nutshell. The end.