Dragging the Dog...

Hey there posse! So I couldn't really think of a title, and while I'm writing this I am sitting next to my window and see, for the millionth time, this older man drag his dog down the street. It's really very funny, I see him force this same dog down Ivanhoe every day and the dog always looks at me like, "he's not serious again, is he?!" I always chuckle to myself... so that's the reason behind the title. Very insightful and meaningful, I know... :)

All is well in Chelsealand. I had my midterms last week (a week earlier than everyone else; I think my professors wanted to plan midterms at a time when they thought none would be happening in other classes... except all my professors did it... good planning, guys :) ) and it was a killer. Between three research papers, three exams and teaching a lesson for a class, I was tired. AM tired. But I've been recovering. Last weekend, to prepare for the poopy-poop week I knew I would have, I absconded away with a few of my housemates to study in b-e-a-Utiful Coeur d'Alene and enjoy an evening of unplanned fanciness. We studied at this little coffee shop down by the water (and by study, I mean people watched and chatted) and then got dressed in the Coeur d'Alene Resort bathroom in our fanciest pantsiest dresses and had dinner and desert at the Dockside Restaurant there. It was wonderful to spend some time there with good friends and we were even joined by Mother Nature (it rained cats and dogs and gerbils while we were walking along the dock... of course when we were exactly halfway through the loop... wonderful...) The food was kind of pricy, so we decided to share a meal. A pasta sampler:

As you can see, not enough for four people (the picture even makes it look bigger than it was). So what did we get? That's right. We had a wonderful time, and I was really able to take my mind of the craziness that was the upcoming week.

A lot has been happening. Our Sudanese family had their baby (yay!) and we've been visiting the little guy on a regular basis. He's aDORable, and seems to like us :) here are a few pictures of Steph and I with the baby and Asim (now a Big Bro for the first time) with little Aseal.

I feel so old! Everyone is having babies and getting engaged and thinking about getting engaged and GAH! It's very frightening to think of all the crazy adulthood happening around me, but I am thoroughly enjoying my childhood. It's been a bit strange though...

In other news, classes have been going fine. Kinda stressful but fine. MicroPhys is still a time suck, but I feel like I'm finally getting on top of it. And I found out that the Women's Choir is touring to Seattle December 4-6... just saying :)

I decided, after a summer of theatretastic greatness, that I would audition for Whitworth's Festival of One Acts and got into a show! It's called Hello from Bertha and will be a real challenge for more than one reason. It's definitely a drama, and I will be playing a Jewish prostitute (yeah, wonder how that casting came about...) but I'm excited to put my acting shoes back on.

Steph and I went shopping yesterday for some fun stuff for Coleson and got him a bunch of army stuff from the army surplus. We really hope he'll like it, it's this whole army motif thing going on :) Coleson is doing fine. They'll be putting a feeding tube in in the next few days, but apparently that's pretty common. He just has no appetite and has been losing too much weight so there ya are. His family feels the support and love of their community and friends, so thank you again for your thoughts and prayers and know that it really means a lot to Steph and I. We are currently brainstorming on how to best advertise Coins for Coleson, but we'll be sure to let you know our progress :)

Well, I better get to work on things of a Feminight nature. Just know that I am doing very well, still learning a ton about myself, my faith and my place in the world, but am very happy doing it. I hope you are all doing well and hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Chels

P.S. "What we do is less than one drop in the ocean, but if that drop were missing, the ocean would be lacking something." -Mother Theresa