Recap

Yes, once again I have not written in a while. I believe this is the longest span of time I have gone without posting. I need not further iterate that I am a slacker, however. Really, I should htink better of myself.

Much has happened since I last posted, naturally. February was an exciting month. First was the Give Me an Answer 2008 conference at Southern Seminary called Immortal Combat. Due to sleep deprivation, I was half-asleep during the entire conference, but of what I heard in the sessions, it was very good. Plus, we ate Chick-fil-A. I got to hang out with my sister at her apartment one night, and we skipped the last breakout session to hang out as well (during which I drunk vitamin water in an effort to wake up). Traveling with John and our friend Mark was fun too.

The day after we got back from Louisville, John and I (with 14 other Mobapeans) went to Herrin, IL, for a visitation in regards to a dear friend of ours. We all took him out to eat at Steak 'N' Shake and had a good time.

The week of Valentine's Day and the weeks leading up to it, I had the opportunity to help my cousin Shawn propose to his current fiancee. He lives in Arkansas and wanted to propose to her in private in St. Louis, so I was his logical contact. My roommate and my boyfriend helped me with the shopping and the decorating. Shawn and I discussed what the hotel room was to look like, what music was to play, how he was to get the keys, and what lies he had fed his girlfriend to keep it all secret. It was so much fun planning, lying (I know, that's bad.), and decorating! Shawn said the proposal went excellently, and I had the privilege of riding down to Fredericktown with the couple the next day. They will be married June 28th, Lord willing. Congratulations!

My Valentine's Day experience was unlike any other I've had. It is the first time I've had a boyfriend during the holiday, so that in itself provides a big enough difference. It lasted three days for John and me. Wednesday, the 13th, we went to the West County mall to get our pictures taken by The Picture People. We used a coupon John had printed from the Internet for a free 8X10 and a sheet of Valentine's Day wallets. The Picture People are fast, fun, and modern (check out their awesome computer monitors). Plus, we received our pictures hot off the printer a half hour after our sitting! On Thursday, actual Valentine's Day, John took me to McAlister's Deli--I dare say, one of my favorite places to eat--and John tried their awesome food and tea for the first time. Friday, John helped me decorate the hotel room and pull off the huge lie (an accomplice!). Before we left the room to give Shawn the keys, John switched out the CD with his own, on which he burned "Love Me Tender." I had told him that I wanted to dance with him to that song, so that is what we did. I'll write it for you: Awwww!! It was very special.

Rachel came home to visit the weekend after Shawn. That was special too. Aw, I love my sister!

Fast-forwarding to March, as fickle for me as the weather: Madness is surely not confined to NCAA. For my family and me, this month has been up and down. It begins on a high note--John's birthday! Then he came to visit the weekend spring break began and visited my church family for the first time!

Also that Saturday, my mom's foot started hurting, and she began to have a fever and chills that night. (This was after she received a positive report on her foot the week before.) Early the week of spring break my mom went to the doctor, and someone took a culture of the inside of her foot. She had an MRI that Friday, from which she found out that infection is in the bone. That is very serious. Her doctor admitted her into the hospital for a few days the following Monday. She returned home the Thursday before Easter and is now using an IV and can administer her medicine herself.

Besides my mom being out from pain killers during my week off, a mixture of good and bad circumstances shaped my spring break. It was by far not what I hoped it to be, but it honestly could have been worse (as circumstances always can be). Family tension was the cause of most of my ill emotions, not to mention my own disappointment in break being rather uneventful in regards to happy, exciting activities. Mom's birthday was on Thursday. The latter end of my break was especially painful, but I will spare you the highly personal details that would cost the dignity of beloved family to share and possibly expose them to criticism and consequential embarrassment.

Easter followed spring break. If you could hear the tone in my head as I write you would catch the happy exclamation with which I consider Easter. I was so excited for its coming! In the Hovis family, Easter is one of the two biggest holidays (Thanksgiving being the other one). We all get together at my uncle's house and eat, talk, and maybe even nap. This year, and for three years running, we had a wedding shower. Shawn and Megan's shower went very well. I got to ride to and from St. Louis with my sister and go to church with her, so that was great! On the way down, we got to spend extensive time together because we were in traffic for over an hour and a half on I-270 and Highway 40. Flooding, lanes closed, merging... [Sigh}

This week, I have relaxed better than usual though I haven't been sleeping well. It could possibly be because I have interrupted my sleeping pattern with hilarious dorm life. Tuesday night, after my roommate Katie and a friend of ours Kasia, who lives on our hall, exchanged lame comebacks and wrestled around midnight, Kasia and I watched an episode of The Office online then decorated the room with letters, stories, and post-its for Katie to find in the morning. Katie woke up at some point and eventually started laughing while Kasia was labeling her body parts. We labeled several items throughout the room and stuffed every shoe with an "I love you" post-it. He, he, he... we're proud of our work. I went to bed that night a little after four in the morning and got up at a quarter after twelve in the afternoon.

The next night, I "stole" Kasia's phone, and for a while she was very much concerned about where it was. I replanted it in the hall where it had originally fallen out of her pocket. She saw it and quickly put it together that I had put it there. I never openly admitted that it was me, but I did tell her to check her tone settings. That night I turned in at a much better one-thirty. I kept waking up during the night though and couldn't seem to get comfortable, so when I awoke at eight I was terribly tired. It is my habit of hitting snooze until 8:30, but instead of getting up at 8:30 for class when I should, I fell back asleep... Oops. I awoke again a little before nine, knowing that I'd for sure be late for class then, and decided to sleep in and actually rest. I finally got up around 10:35.

My theory is that I am not sleeping recooperatively because my sleeping is inconsistent, and I was not active over Easter and need to expend energy through physical activity. Therefore, today John and I went on a beautiful walk down Conway Road. It rained, but that's okay. I thoroughly enjoyed the warmer temperature (until it started raining and got cold), the plentiful bird songs, the elaborate houses, and, of course, John. Afterward, we talked to Dr. McClain, head of Religion, Ms. Fuquay, English professor and Director of EXCEL (my boss's boss), and Lisa Hessel, who works in PR. We had a nice, relaxing afternoon together.

Now the semester is winding down, papers and tests are piling up, baseball is starting, Lost is on break for five weeks (sad), and I am no longer living in long johns. I really do like spring.