ooohhhh...shiny...

it's amazing how the world goes round.

like a disco ball (cue quote from zohan: "disco disco" with dancing)

speaking of disco balls, i bought a sparkly cardigan that resembles a disco ball. seriously, it does. the front of the sweater is covered in silver sequins.

true story. i wore it the other day. and liked it!

didn't like how it would reflect the sun into my eyes while driving

but i did like how it just added something extra to my outfit

i also think it helped that i wore cute shoes to complete the ensemble...

stylin'

i'm trying to be more stylish. i've got a long road ahead of me, but i'm hopeful...

for example, i sometimes straighten my hair. i love my curls, but sometimes they just need to be tamed in order to look stylish and sophistamicated (extra syllables always help)

also, my glasses are red or purple. depends on what color i'm wearing.

the other day i bought a long sweater (bargain at jcp for $3). super cute! and ultra cute when worn with skinny jeans (or leggings) and boots that are on the outside of the skinny jeans (or leggings). and i bought a pair of skinny jeans (gasp!) the other day at sears on clearance (cause i'm a bargain shopper) since i'm still not adventurous to wear the leggings i already own...but i did have the boots. two pair, in fact. black and purple. i went with black since the purple boots clashed with the sweater. and with my purple pea coat (also a bargain)...

but i was pretty stoked since i wore not just a stylish outfit today (coat, sweater, jeans, boots) all new and never worn before. altogether cost less than $50. my sister would be so proud...

splurge part 2 (revised)

i know that i shouldn't, but i just couldn't seem to resist...i went shopping again.

and dropped a lot of money in one day.

well, two days...make that three...

day #1 was thursday afternoon here in bemidji. ventured to fashion bug, where i proceeded to purchase 10 new items. and got some amazing deals. like a new dress jacket, skirt, some dress slacks, shirts, shrug for less than $100. which is pretty amazing considering jackets/blazers can cost that much (or more) in some stores. cause i'm deciding to play along with the expected dress code. at least a little bit.

day #2 was friday. all day friday. as in, megan and i left my house in bemidji a little before 9 am and didn't get back til around midnight.

stop #1 was the outlet mall in albertville.

- dress barn: white summer jacket. first piece of clothing in YEARS where i paid full price. as in, no coupons or sale or clearance or deals of any kind...

- kitchen stores (two of 'em): cookie sheet, round cake pan, cake pan with carrying lid, mortar and pestle (so i can ground up spices...)

- clarks: new pair of super comfortable purple shoes. cause everyone should own purple shoes...

- eddie bauer: down vest (cause i love puffy vests so much that this was the third i've bought this year) and a world travel clock/flashlight/thermometer. yup, it will not only light up the darkness and tell me the time and wake me up, but it will also let me know how hot/cold it is. cause i need my purchases to be able to multi-task just like me

- old navy: pair of jeans for $14. the exact same size/style that i was wearing on my shopping trip

stop #2 was nordstrom rack in maple grove, where bought another super cute jacket for a mere $13 and a cute cami

stop #3 was pf changs, a chinese restaurant with a gluten-free menu. was a really good restaurant. and now i have leftovers. lots of them. cause what i ordered was a ridiculous amount of noodles, chicken and veggies.

stop #4 (and final stop) was ikea. where i bought a drying rack for dishes, a rack to store and display wine/juice bottles, cheap and lightweight comforter, straws, garlic press, sparkling juice, soup ladle. and megan bought me a housewarming gift in the form of a large pot. cause i only had small ones that work for one person but not even two.

day #3 was back in bemidji.

this afternoon i received a package in the mail. my sister had found and sent me some birkenstock sandals. i have to pay her back, but i also had to venture out so that i could exchange them for the right size. fortunately, the famous footwear here had the right size in stock. i called and they said they did. so megan and i traipsed over to the mall.

and after the shoe store, we walked across the hallway in the mall to joann fabrics. where i bought a welcome sign on clearance. of course, it was originally for st patty's day, but i have no problem with replacing the ginormous xmas wreath with a small green sign that says welcome and has three shamrocks hanging down. cause i figure it will work until i leave.

then we ventured to coldstone for our supper. and it was delicious. i like berries. and ice cream.

then we went to target to peruse the clearances and to pick up some trouser socks for me. cause the ones i have keep petering out on me. and it's not warm enough to pull out the no-show liners yet. while perusing, i found a cute black dress on the clearance rack. so i bought it.

then go to a concert. three show choirs from the middle and high schools here in bemidji. and an a capella group known as marcoux corner. and they were fantastic. i would recommend everyone to check them out and see them in concert if they can. cause they were that fantastic.

now it's late and i should think about going to bed.

at least i dont preach tomorrow.

splurge

i admit that i did not have such a good week. at least, i can honestly say that i've had better weeks. cause this was one of the more depressing and i struggled to function due to both rational and irrational anger, frustration and extreme dislike (cause i refuse to hate)...


to put it bluntly, i was not in a very good mood (due to many and various reasons too numerous to count...)


but fortunately, God has blessed me with some amazing friends and family that were willing to listen to me rant and rave and purge myself of most of my horrid emotions


that and some intentional time with bible in hand and a lot of praying


yesterday morning i took off for a quick trip to st paul. 


cause i really had to get out of bemidji. 


i think that this is partly due to the fact that the entire town of bemidji has become the bubble i live and breathe in. much like how the campus at both augustana college and luther seminary became bubbles from which i had to regularly escape, whether to go shopping or eat out or go to a movie or whatever


the other part was that i needed to be around peers.


peers who i do not feel are constantly watching me, judging my abilities, and being overly observant over what i wear or how i act. 


and it was fantastic. 


en route, i stopped by an outlet mall and perused a few stores in search of clothing since i guess my wardrobe needs some revamping. 


at least according to some in my congregation. and because i don't want to offend or fight over my right to wear clothes that the rest of my generation wears (because i'm a pastor now), i bought several new sweaters and shirts. 


i was bitter about that for quite some time, but God is giving me a second chance to approach this slight change with grace and a better attitude. 


for example, i love to shop. so i went shopping. i like having new clothes and not always wearing the same old things in my closet, so i went shopping. so i'm currently on a shopper's high


exciting highlights of my shopping spree: 
- 6 sweaters
- 2 long-sleeve shirts
- 2 tees
- new skirt
- two new tables at ikea (matching side table and coffee table)
- new wine stopper
- 12 bottles of wine (now i just need to have a party so i can drink it...)
- heart-shaped cake pan
- frying pan
- small glass candle plates (you know what i mean, the simple ones to put pillar candles on)
- clothes for my niece who just doesn't stop growing 


and of course, my trip to the twin cities was not just about the shopping. 


it was really all about my friends. 


cause i missed them and wanted to see them.


so i met up with mandi b (who went to ikea and the mall of america with me), katie e (who let me crash at her place, fed me pizza and banana pancakes and took me to trader joe's where i bought a lot of wine), and michelle (who hosted a movie night at her apartment where i also saw rachel, a friend from my camp days). as well as meeting a few new people.


so great to be able to share our stories and experiences since we have not seen each other since last summer (katie, mandi), last semester (michelle) or for a couple years (rachel). 


i have missed not having friends right next door. four hours is not really all that far, but is still too far to see each other that often.


and today i left st paul for another adventure en route to bemidji.


i stopped by cabela's where i bought some new boots. cause i hear that bemidji gets snow (nothing like stating the obvious as there is some on the ground and its only february and there can easily be snow in april since i live so far north in the tundra). and before someone lets me know that i should have bought snowboots last october, i did have some boots. i just bought some new ones. awesome ones that are supposed to keep my feet warm in -32 degrees fahrenheit. 


then i met up in baxter (which can easily be confused with its neighbor brainerd since they are essentially one town) with josh, a friend from my freshman year of college and the last two years at sem. who is on internship only 2 hours away yet we have not met up all that often due to our busy schedules. we chatted as we went shopping. and found some success in ice scrapers on clearance. cause we both know that winter is not over. 


so as i get ready to sign off for the evening, i am finally at peace. God is amazing and is definitely guiding me into some tough situations that will make me stronger. i just am scared of what will come if i struggled to handle this one


i hope that i will be able to update about how the band concert and the tubing (which will be a first time for me) go tomorrow