Settling in...

Still a few random posessions which haven't quite found a home
Still no pictures on the walls and too many hair products on my end table
Still trying to sort out how much "mess" will be acceptable in my new, smaller space

But it's getting close...

I moved in a little more than a week ago...I'm now living just off campus in "The Chateau"...a 3 story old house which has been well kept and has a big back yard, plenty of living space, a large kitchen, 6 bedrooms, and only 2 1/2 baths. My room overlooks the back yard on one side and the balcony (which I can access by climbing through the window) on the other. I'm also not facing any streets, which is very nice. I share the house with 5 other girls...all music majors of some kind or other and all very sweet. We've kept the place decently clean and have only struggled to find places to put all of our food.

Since I moved in I've learned:

-If the hamburger is already browned you can't put it in the skillet frozen and expect it not to burn
-Drinking a whole pot of coffee before bed really isn't a good idea
-Modesty is completely optional
-Brownies taste better when you put the eggs in
-The moon can be just as pretty in the city as out of it
-There comes a point in every laundry basket's life where the pleasure of putting it off one more day just doesn't help. On those days, like today, it's best to repeat the Nike mantra and "just do it"
-Money gets spent way faster than you realize it does
-Being a bit overly organized really does help things in the long run
-Having wireless internet is amazing...and an amazing distraction
-Eating more than 4 warm chocolate chunk cookies at a time is not a good plan
-It's easy to live in a house with 5 others and never see any of them...and it'll take intention to set this trend right

I've had lots of visitors in and out to see the house and hang out with the girls. We made cookies one night, made tacos another, watched a movie, chilled on the balcony, and even had a sleepover. It's been fun showing off my place and getting to invite people into my circle of friends. Matt came back this weekend after just a week away, which was fabulous. It was a long weekend so the house was busy and he got to be part of the chaos. Laura and her friend were also home from college for the weekend just in time for Heatherbug's 15th...we enjoyed an afternoon of boating with them and I will see them once more before they leave methinks.

Classes are going well...they will be more difficult but also much more applicable to "real life" (and by "real" I mean "more real" and by "life" I mean "grad school"). I'll have a lot of reading and a TON of study for my biochem class, but everything else looks quite manageable.

This week was NSO (new student outreach) for Intervarsity, which meant mostly that every night there was an event and follow up with new students to get to know them a bit better. We had about 65 people at our first Large Group worship service, which was phenomenal. More wonderful was the diversity of people that we met there who had very differing majors, backgrounds, and religious ideas. Exciting to see some "seekers" come and even hang out afterwards. Creating an inviting environment that isn't overwhelming but still speaks truth is difficult, and we are still working on the kinks. All in all I feel very positive about our first week and the other plans that we have coming up.

I've already contracted my first cold of the semester, leaving me achey and a bit stuffed up. Yet I'm doing my best to stay close to the tea pot and still get some stuff done. It's a beatiful fall day and I'm looking forward to enjoying some time outside. ...once I get that laundry done...

Hope all is well and that you are enjoying your new semester...Blessings,
Morgs