Go Grandma Go!

To the toughest lady I've ever known, an immense source of joy and blessing to all she meets, and one of my favorite people in the whole world. I love you Grandma, fight the fight! Got all my best prayer warriors working for you and Aunt Tanya :)

Check and Mate

Should really be working on a research paper right now (it's going to be an epic victory if I can pull this one off), but just wanted to let y'all know, well those who were waiting with bated breath alongside me, that my Washington Educator's Skills Test (WEST-E) for my biology endorsement has been conquered :D passed by two whole points (which is technically one question... eek) but they call the student who finishes last in medical school doctor, right?! So I am certified and ready to go! I'll be able to teach in Washington state after student teaching :) I cried, jumped up and down, all the usual. Thanks for believing in me :)

Another quick story I thought many would appreciate. I came home from a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving (thanks to all who made it so special :) ) to find more snow than I could shake a stick at. I parked two blocks away and trudged through about a foot and a half of snow (the sidewalk was nonexistant and snow plows filled them anyway), in some areas 3 foot snow banks, with the huge bags of goodies and provisions my mom sent me off with. After falling multiple times into the snow along the way with my comically oversized luggage, I finally made it inside. And promptly realized that my pants zipper was not only down, but flayed open. I thought I'd noticed a draft... at least it was dark when I got home, I'm pretty sure I was a walking sideshow. Best part?! It gets better and better! We got probably a foot and a half continuously throughout the day yesterday and the prospects only look whiter. Imagine me, the most balanced and coordinated person this side of the Mississippi *insert sarcastic tone here* trying to walk down my killer 55 degree driveway to get to a sidewalkless street of cars going 45mph around a slight corner before my house. It's awesome.

Oh, and I got my visa for my trip to Kazakhstan while I was home! Oh the joy! Tis beautiful, and I'm now in the process of applying for a train ticket to Almaty and finding housing there. We were suggested a little B&B called "So Young's Happiness Guesthouse"... looking into it though, kind of sounds like... well, let your imagine roam free.

Alrightyroo, gotta jet to do SOMETHING for this research paper... oh, and exam this afternoon. Been working hard to finish the year strong with homework and have also been spending numerous hours preparing for choir tour, can't wait to get the ball rolling! Hope you're all safe and enjoying this holly jolly holiday season. Love you all like you wouldn't believe :)

Peace and love,
Chels

Computer Fail

Why hellooooooo everyone! Sorry, I totally intended to write sooner, but my computer got... kind of... upset. Long story short, dropped the laptop, bent the computer cord, battery has about 7 minutes of life in it (on a good day) without direct cord hookup, cord is plugged in but doesn't count as connected at times, random spontaneous shut downs, fried and angry hard drive. BUT! Good news! Richard is a computer nerd, Chelsea gets a new hard drive and computer cord, and is now writing. Thank you, Richard :) It's funny, I never realized the easy convenience of having a computer at my fingertips all the time! I had to plan trips to campus before assignments were due... reminds me of when we all planned trips across the Narrows when the new bridge toll took over the lives of Sounders everywhere :) But here I am! My computer is good as new, if not better. Joy!

Anyways, lots lots LOTS has happened since we last spoke. Had a fantastic visit with Jenna, Kyle and the not-so-little Payton Marie a few weekends back (holy cow, how long ago was that?! Time is flying!) and it was absolutely wonderful :) Great family time, had fun with Richard downtown, it was aaaaaallll good! And, cooler yet, Richard surprised me with a visit to my parents to see them and my best friend Chelsea Trotter :D he was in cahoots with them for a while, it was such a blessing and finished up the weekend beautifully. Just what I needed. Again, thank you Richard :)

Wonderful music...

And wonderful scenary!

Since that wonderful getaway, I've been plugging through my last few weeks of the semester by working hard and hardly working... it's crucial to know both, right?! Class has been fairly hectic, especially this past week with a Genetics exam, Evolutionary Biology paper, presentation of high school reform as a policy issue, and creating and presenting at an intercollegiate poster forum. My theme was "A Snapshot of Refugee Students". Spoke to a lot of people about who refugees are and how they differ in choice and obstacles from immigrants (many don't know, it's interesting!) as well as research via anecdotal evidence, literature and interview as to how we as educators can help refugee students feel welcome to learn. PHEW! And even better, last weekend was my WEST-E exam, or Washington Educator's Skills Test- Endorsement. I took the Biology WEST-E and MAN did that SUCK. The exam was only 110 multiple choice questions, but they were based on the most difficult, small details of the hardest classes I've had here at Whitworth. SO not what I expected, everyone said it was cake! Which is what I was banking on... this is my only shot. I need to pass to student teach, but I couldn't take it before this point because I needed Genetics and Evolutionary Biology. And, better yet, the only retake before student teaching is in January, and yes, you guessed it, I'll be in the Big Kaz. I prayed before I went to bed the night before, at the exam with a friend, when they put the test in front of me, and when I put my pencil down. I've got a quaternary prayer thing going on :) I would appreciate your thoughts too. Thanks in advance!

Good news! Seevers has a room!!! We have a dining room and a whole mess of other house issues (plumbing, locks, name it... probably got it), but I feel so much better knowing that she has her own space... it wasn't a good situation. She's graduated to the garage, score! It's kind of interesting right now at the house, a little up in the air, because Steph graduates at the end of the semester and is now probably going home. She has guaranteed work there... I don't see her half as much as I used to, it's a little sad, but I don't want to see her leave! It's really getting to her, she doesn't know what to do, so I would appreciate good juju vibes being sent her way. Again, thanks for that!

In other news, guess what's coming up and has my panties in a bunch?! Actually two things... thankfully not two bunches... KAZAKHSTAN YAY! I sent in my visa application yesterday, so now we just wait with baited breath to make sure they want me. The other thing is... CHOIR TOUR YAY! It's that time of year again... this years concert is called Heaven and Nature Sing, and will truly be a look into Heaven I think. It'll be the Whitworth Choir, Men's Chorus and (ding ding) Women's Choir. We'll be at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue on December 4th at 7pm and will be at First Presbyterian Church of Seattle on December 5th at 3pm. Also, we shall sing in Spokanistan on December 10th at 8pm and 11th at 3pm and 7pm. Students are $15, adults are $18. Okay, commercial over :) it's gonna be a great show though if you're looking for something to do that weekend that involves beautiful music and a trip to the city... just sayin' :)

It's going to be a busy time because (I promised I'd mention it, so here ya go) I'm president of Women's Choir this year. I'm determined to run a choirocracy (you know, off-shoot of democracy... only more in tune) but it'll still be quite the job apparently. I'm flattered, just hope that I can live up to the trust they've given me! I know, it's not that big of a deal, but I still want to do a good job.

Okay, what else... it's thinking of snowing in Spokane! And, thankfully, right in time for Richard and I to travel the pass once more for Thanksgiving! I hope I get to see most of you, unfortunately for him he has to leave Thanksgiving evening... I'm so thankful that he is able to come at all, but he could only get two days off work. But I'll stick around! Festivities shall include: decorating for Christmas and other traditions, getting fat, seeing Harry Potter with my daddy (tradition :) ) and some much needed relaxation. Bring. It. On. Can't really think of much else... it's basically an easy peasy downward slide until then. So, I guess this weekend will be filled with time with friends and time spent wrapped up in a blankie watching the snow with a cup of coco. Hope you're blessed with laughter and learning, and also hope to see you soon!

Peace and love,

Chels

жизнь чудесна

Why helloooooooo everyone! How are you? I hope all's well, and the transition into cloudy gloom has been a good one :) I personally love the rain, as I'm sure most of you Westsiders do (to an extent), and walking to and from school in the foggy drizzle has become like a treat to me. There are some days that I think "really?! REALLY?!", but it quickly passes when I remember, "hey, you have air in your lungs and a beat in your heart, shut up and enjoy it" :)

Well, I still don't feel like a senior except for the senioritis problem. You'd think I would have figured out how to study by now, but NOOOO it's going steadily downhill. Thankfully, I have learned how to manage when motivation was lacking, so I've still been doing okay :) my Genetics class is a bit of work, but I actually understand it pretty well (not everyone in my class can say that, so thank goodness I can still be a functioning, motivationless member!) and Evolutionary Biology is basically a recap of the three other classes I've taken with this same professor (his lessons don't vary much... most of the time my classmates draw on my paper and we make faces at each other... mature, right?! Would it surprise you to hear that one of the culprits is one of the smartest and most promising pre-Med students Whitworth has? I hope that brings you comfort) so the class is basically a wash. Kinda nice though, it being my senior year and all... Most of my education classes are easy peasy, and some are a wee bit of a waste of time (one of those situations where they take three hours to teach what could be taught in 45 minutes to make the class meet credit standards) but one class, Leadership Democracy and Schooling, is probably my favorite class this semester. It's awesome! A three-hour night class that breezes by thanks to a very passionate area of content and a great, humorous and interactive professor. Most of the things we read are painful and, a few times, I've had to put down one of our textbooks and walk away to decompress and calm down. The beautiful thing about hearing these tough situations, though, is that it ignites a fire to take care of the kids that go through these situations. I'm learning a lot in this class, and I'm so thankful...

Other than that, I stepped away from Feminight this year, allowing the reigns to be given to someone who can continue it when I'm gone. This basically leaves volunteering with my Sudanese kids (who are phenomenal... especially Sara, the daughter, she's such an amazing kid. So mature, so helpful and mindful of others needs, she'll be a big force in the world :) ) and choir! Choir tour dates have come out, by the way... we'll be in the Seattle/Bellevue area from December 3-5, singing at the First Presbyterian Church in Bellevue Saturday the 4th at 7pm and singing at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Seattle Sunday the 5th at 3pm. I believe the cost is still $15 dollars for tickets, I'll keep you posted, and I understand that the travel and price and time of year may make this difficult, so PLEASE never feel as though I am pressuring you or will be disappointed in your absence. Just wanted to let you know when they are, and that this year is going to be a great year :) there are a lot of Freshman in the music department this year (because there are a lot of them in every department this year), but we're still singing some great songs. One of the pieces we're singing this year that I am particularly excited about is Mary's Magnificat, which is the Virgin's response to the angel that told her she was to give birth to a son immaculately. It's stunning, unbelievably complicated, and therefore super cool! The choir itself doesn't have a ton of returners, so the dynamic is of course very different from the closeness of last year, but my director has asked me to help in making the group socially cohesive through activities and such. She says "I know you're not an officer, this is a personal favor" :) officer elections should be soon though, and I apparently need to decide if I'd be willing to be President, says my fellow choir-ers... I'll let you know :)

So my house is still pretty good! My housemate, Katie Seevers, is still in the dining room, and is rightfully fed up with it and has even considered moving out. I decided to take a picture of how things have changed so that you can see her and our situation:

The dining room, as you can see, is partitioned off by the tapestry closest to the back wall...

This is Katie's hut. It basically fits a bed and a small bedside table/dresser. Most of her clothes are in the coat closet by the door or are in Winco paper bags by her bed. We all feel terrible, she wakes whenever people come and go or get up for a glass of water... it's pretty rough. Causes unnecessary tension that we thankfully recognize as being frustration with the living situation, but it's still hard. Other than that, we're all so busy with such varying schedules that we don't usually cross paths. But it's all good, that's part of the growing process :) Hopefully Katie's room will be done in about a week, but we're doubtful when considering that there's a possible leak from the upstairs bathroom into the new room and our landlord, once thought to be competent, has whipped out his Sheet Rocking for Dummies and we still hear him saying "umm... I think we screwed up somewhere..." We also haven't had light in our staircases going downstairs for about a month now, a serious issue for a house full of clumsy girls without night vision, and we have issues with the locking mechanism on our front door. Other than that though, it's all golden! Haha...

I've changed a few things around in my room, like pictures and a new bedspread and such, but I won't bore you with those pictures. Instead, meet my new friends!

Many of you remember a fish named Phoebo that I had my freshman year... awesome fish, followed my finger and got excited when I got home (he wagged his fins, I could tell... maybe...). Well, I decided that I missed him and wanted another awesome fish, so I fell in love with the fish above. His name is Phoebo Jr., but I call him P.J. :) he's a lot like my original Phoebo, but in some ways more interactive. I know, you're probably thinking that I'm getting WAY too excited over a fish... but he's cool... I swear.

I also used to have a super cool cactus with three thallus' (plant talk for bodies) that I named Alan, Phil and Stu after the characters from The Hangover, but I had a Chelsea moment and accidentally knocked him over (with flips and everything!)... the three-man wolf pack weren't the same after that, so I had to find a new plant friend that I presumably couldn't kill (I gave Steph a cactus that we named Doug, obviously, and she almost killed him... but she's special :) ) I decided to name my new cactus Nacho, after the greatly respected Nacho Libre and his self-inflicted exile to the wilderness. I know, I name my plants... I don't judge you if you judge me.

A few things about the future... I bought my tickets to Kazakhstan not too long ago! Found a great deal (saved almost $1000, including travelers insurance!) and have a 9 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany on New Years Day :) Basically I'll be flying out from Seattle on New Year's Eve, have a layover in Frankfurt followed by a very short layover in Moscow, Russia (big mess to figure out if we needed a visa for that... usually we would but we think our circumstances excuse us thanks to helpful and knowledgeable resources :) ) and finally into Kazakhstan early morning of the 2nd! We start teaching on the 3rd in a public preschool (yay!) and after a three day weekend at the end of the week (during which we'll be going to Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan and former hideout for Soviet officers) we'll be starting teaching in Astana's QSI (or Quality Schools International), teaching the sons and daughters of international oil tycoons and politicians... quite the difference between the two, but I feel like I'll be seeing a good variety in socioeconomic class and the cultures they have. I've been reading this awesome book called Apples are from Kazakhstan instead of doing homework that's been teaching me a ton about the history and culture of Kazakhstan... I can't begin to explain how excited I am!!! Also, if there's anything in particular that you would like from Kazakhstan, please let me know :)

Also in the future besides student teaching at Northwood Middle School (which I am visiting this next week to help in Dave Gamon's classroom and scope out my students :D), I have made some big decisions about what I plan to do after graduation. Of course it all depends on where the jobs are, but I feel as though God and other circumstances have been pulling me towards the Eugene, Oregon area. I absolutely love the climate and that it's so close to both ocean and mountains, but isn't as crowded as the Westside of Washington, and the fact that my sister, niece and brother are all there and that the University of Oregon has the 4th best Masters in Education program in the nation makes the move natural. It would make life easier for my parents, I could see Payton all I want (don't mean to get all gooey and weird on you guys, but most days I watch the videos of her a few times over and some days it makes me cry... I can't be away from her anymore, which is strange because I hardly know her but she's family...) and teach while I gain residency for a year (which I already wanted to take off from school) to have instate tuition. That and it also feels right, I feel like God is pulling me there and keeping me excited about the change/move. I love new situations, and Spokane has served its purpose to me, but I need a change; I can't stay here. So that's the plan! I can't wait, I feel so blessed and fortunate to have an idea of what I'm doing at the end of this roller coaster... as much as I'll miss Spokane and the people in it, it's because of Whitworth that I love it and the people associated with those memories will be leaving too. Time to take a leap of faith :) these plans might change, but as far as I know this is the most likely outcome.

Wow, I've rambled for a while haha... sorry! I guess I'll leave with some pictures of the last good weekend that I think we'll have over here for a while... Richard and I both had Saturday off, a rare treat, and so I planned a big day for us full of hiking followed by a fancy dinner and dessert in Coeur d'Alene. Here are some pictures from the hike:

We found a cave! So cool, not very deep though...

Here's the view from the cave, zoomed a wee bit of course :)

The Mineral Ridge Loop Trail lookout over Lake Coeur d'Alene... stunning day, creepy family hogging the bench where I planned a picnic lunch. Don't worry, we found some good rocks!

We hiked a little more along the river and found a wonderful little beach that we played on for a while, looking at cool rocks and walking barefoot on the jagged ones :) it was a perfect day!

Okay, I've rambled enough... I hope life is good for you all and that you're loving this wonderful life we have. If there's any way that I can support you, even from over here, let me know!

Love,

Chels

The Beginning of the End

It's the end of the world as we know it... and I feel slightly nauseous :) hello friends, family and... um, others... ! I hope the transition into this new season is gentle and fulfilling. The summer has wrapped up and it is now my second day of my SENIOR YEAR OF COLLEGE! Oy... we had a senior class meeting that I went to (for one reason and one reason only... free t-shirt) on Tuesday (my house called it "Free T-Shirt Day") and they announced that we had 249 days left of our undergraduate careers, just under 6,000 hours! I'm kind of having an existential meltdown... I can't imagine how most of the seniors are feeling, I'm blessed enough in knowing what I want to do with my life! Anyway, my final Whitworth semester (I'll be student teaching in the spring, so that's not entirely true... but it's my last semester of classes actually AT Whitworth) is in full swing! It'll be fairly busy and a few of my classes will be a bit of work, but this will be a much more relaxed semester than some I've had in the past (for example, last semester's madness).

I am in three night classes and two day classes, but my day classes start at 12:50pm :) Finally, a semester with non-8am classes! I know that's not the real world, but everyone else gets them so it's about time I got mine :) This excludes my science lab at 8am on Thursdays, but if that's it I'll take it! I am taking Genetics (toughy and TIME-CONSUMING), Evolutionary Biology (so excited to learn more about the subject to become more knowledgeable about my stance on evolution, intelligent design and my place as an educator in proposing the ideas to my students), Leadership Democracy and Schooling (tons of writing and reading, but gonna be a phenomenal class with one of my favorite Education professors), Teaching English Language Learners, Introduction to Intercultural Education (these last two are half a semester), and Content Area Reading and Writing. Overall, a great semester :) I also had my audition for Women's Choir today, interesting as usual... thankfully, since I'm a returner, they weren't as worried about my lack of preparation as I was. Fun fact: after a three-year study of seeing whether learning an assigned audition piece thirty minutes before said audition turns out well, I can successfully conclude that no, it does not.

The house is wonderful! Housemates are good, place is good, everything is goooood. One of my housemates is currently living in our dining room (seriously... she put up curtains and has basically her own little hut) and we are hoping her room will be done as soon as possible. She's had a rough go of it considering she is living in a common space, was scammed by a mattress company (and therefore without a mattress to put in her dining bedroom), and someone attempted to break into her car... life is rough sometimes, but she's doing well :)

A quick look back to the past... the 27th of August will go down in history as the day I got to quit my job at Magnuson! Huzzah! Best thing ever, that job was a huge blessing considering how long I was able to work and how much it was an hour, but it made me somewhat miserable sometimes. After that I took a day to hang with my housemate and relax, then the day after that Richard and I took a roadtrip to the Westside! We left after he got off work, played by the Columbia River lookout on the way, and made it late that evening. The next day we did SO much fun stuff... I showed him Gig Harbor, Point Defiance/Five Mile Drive/Owen Beach, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Titlow Beach, all capped off with a (very short but fun) visit to my dad at his fire station and dinner with my best friend Chelsea Trotter and Richard's cousin (he joined us from Fort Lewis) at the Tides Tavern... mmmm :) The next day, we spent most all of our time with my daddy, going out and eating basically, and catching the rest of the sights that I missed. Two movies later (Blue Ray of course, it is my dad after all!) we were exhausted, went to bed, and Richard and I woke up at 6am the next morning to get him back in time for work. Kind of a whirlwind weekend, but wonderful also :) here are some pictures:

Tehehe... camel butt :) this picture made me really happy for some reason
Anyway, I'd better do something useful before my night class, like eat dinner maybe... it's hard enough to concentrate, much less on an empty tummy. Love you all :)

Chels

Coming out from under my rock...

Yes, I do live. I live well, as a matter of fact. I'm sorry this is such a long time coming, but I can explain! For a while I was Internetless and since getting Internet my other housemates have been connected to the modem at the times I had a spare moment to blog... we have since gotten a wireless router, so I'm golden! But I've been gone all weekend in Shelton/Portland, so here I am! A lot has been happening...

I turned in my last date of work a while back, so effective the 27th of this month I am unemployed again! WAHOO! I'm very blessed to have the job I do, especially for the pay and for the amount of time I was available, but man it's wearing on me. I'm getting a little tired of being yelled at all day. I could talk for days about some of the calls I've had, but I won't bore you and to be honest I'm trying to block them out haha. My boss was upset that I wasn't sticking around for the school year, but I want to see how stressful my final semester at Whitworth will be before I add on a job including a commute. If I can find a job on campus, shwing! If not, helloooooo super-budget. Anyway, I came back to work today after a long weekend and only 10 days left! Wahoo! That and only one more tutoring session... I can't believe the summer is wrapping up so quickly!

So, as promised, I am ready to reveal my house! Below are pictures of my room, bathroom, living room, kitchen and dining room. Enjoy the adorable college housingness :)

Please don't mind the dishes drying on the rack or soaking in the sink... I just wanted to give you a picture of how it will likely (hopefully) look like throughout the year. Having no dishes at all would be unrealistic and downright dishonest! It was quite the road to get all the bills transferred and names changed and such, but I washed my hands of the old place and am starting anew! To celebrate, when Steph came back into town, we held a barbeque for our friends and second family. There were about 15 of us, it was great! The badminton net was up, the tiny football barbeque was... well, useless until Tarig, the father of my Sudanese kids, came over. Fire + inexperienced barbequer = flipping burgers on the stove. Anyway, we all had a blast. I did take one picture though with my camera. Asim, the 5-year-old, apparently starved himself all day, telling his parents "I don't want to eat yet, I'm having barbeque at Chels and Steph's". So by the time we finally got food warmish, Asim asked for this impressive masterpiece.

Oh yes, the boy I've never seen finish a piece of chicken asked for a double decker cheeseburger. After eating half, he put it in a ziploc baggy and put it in the fridge as a snack for the ride home :)

This past Tuesday (or a week from today if you will), it was Richard's friend Alice's birthday so a small group of us went to Silverwood Theme Park. It was so fun! I had never been so it was great to finally trek over and try it out. There were many memorable moments, including the accidental hour-long detour around Hayden Lake (fun fact: it's a pretty large lake), being spit on by kids while riding the ferris wheel at sunset, helping Richard overcome his fear of rollercoasters (slightly), and trying to skillfully and discretely pick my atomic wedgie in front of the whole group after going down the super duper cool waterslide. It was great, I could go there every day! Except I will admit, after about 7 minutes I wanted to kick/punch/slap each and every speaker in the park that was playing nonstop kiddo banjo music... I can still kind of hear it now... anyway, here's a picture of Richard and I on our Silverwood day of fun! Kinda goofy (on his part... but I'll get him someday):

I haven't figured out how to turn it, so... sorry! Enjoy :)

This past weekend I took a roadtrip with my friend Kendel to Shelton (the parents' cabin), Portland, and Eugene (didn't actually happen, we were going to visit the University of Oregon but decided to wait for when class was in session... I'm looking there for grad school, they have the 4th best program for Masters in Education in the US so it's worth a look!). It was phenomenal to see my wonderful family as well as an old friend (Shoes, or Emily as she was called at birth, goes to Portland State University), but fairly self explanatory so I'll just show a few pictures:

The stunning sunset at the lake cabin :)

My niece is b-e-a-UTiful, she's so perfect! And she's getting SO big...

An example of the beautiful driving weather we had for our nomadic weekend.

I've still got quite a few things to plug away at until the summer is over (school starts September 8th... I think...), so I've been keeping nice and busy in my off time! But don't worry, I play plenty too :) I hope this finds you well, please keep me posted on what's going on with y'all, and have no fear I will not go this long again without blogging :)

Peace out, rainbow trouts

Chels

I'm HOOOOOME!

Oh hey! This is a quick one, just thought I'd let you know that thanks to some absolutely wonderful people *cough* Grandma and Grandpa Book and Richard, not to mention the emotional support of the four other friends who said they would help but forgot that they had to "work" *cough*, I am moved into my new house! It's so wonderfully lovely! Just thought I'd let you know that I can now be reached at a new address:

9905 N Waikiki Rd
Spokane WA 99218

I moved from Ivanhoe to Hawaii in a day, and oh can I tell the difference :) Love y'all! Hope your Fourth's were as wonderful as humanly possible!

Love,
Chels

Magnuson Hotels Weird Call of the Day: I went on a wild goose chase today to find a man a hotel in Santa Cruz, CA that provided those complimentary shampoo's... yes, called multiple hotels to see if they were provided in the rooms. Found nothing, the guy wasn't happy with me. Awesome.