I've moved!

a while ago, actually. new times call for new things.
come visit me :]
the belle account

ouch.

Today has been a rough day.
The kind that makes you want to crawl up under a rock, cry your eyes out and not come out until you're positive the worst it over.

It's the kind of day that makes me so very grateful that I don't have to live it alone.

the big SEVEN7

Things I love most most most in this world.
music
him

traveling

laughing

stell-bell

creation

family

Just a quick list as I'm feeling uber grateful for all I've been given today...

**Runners-up included: cupcakes, dresses, harry potter and sunshine

ahhhhhhhhhhhgggghhhh!

source--unknown

Oooohhhhhh goodness at the homework I have to do this afternoon.
I'm not feeling it.
But I gotta do it.

Which means I'll probably be updating again this afternoon.

Geeeeet ready.

what?

Yea-when did it become July? My sweet summer is slipping away too too fast and I don't like it one bit.

Lots happened since the last time I promised to post more often. (iiiiii suck)

I---->

started a new job
entertained the parents for a visit that was much too short and sweet
got a new roomie
planned a party
made a new friend
took up scratch cooking
took up running again
made an A
started a new book
bought my first pair of Toms

There are pictures coming...sooooooooooooon. I'd say I promise, but my track record says I'd break it.

Love love

I'm back!

...from Costa Rica. :)
And I've jumped right back into life...sad day. The boy and I had a super chill day yesterday. We did some grocery shopping and yogurt eating and movie watching...aaaaaannnnd it was pretty lovely.

Today school starts back. and homework. and being a big kid.
It's still summer though! So I'ma keep it positive.

I'll be back a bit later on with more pictures and the low down on Costa Rica (I was in 2 earthquakes!!!)

Love love
~S

la la la mondays.

Good morning!

It's kind of dreary here today...and COLD! Like...wear a sweater cold. Craziness.
I'm chilling on the couch with the puppy and a cup of tea, getting ready to start my morning.
Lots of class today. And maybe some cleaning. Not a terribly exciting day...good weekend though. :) Went to Dallas and finished alllllllllllll of my assessment giving for the semester. Finally starting to wrap up the semester.

Exciting things coming up-->

DIADELOSO on campus with Colbie Callait :)
Quickie weekend trip to AL for the parents' birthdays
A WEEK off from class
Renegade Craft Fair in Austin
Costa Rica
Sail boat races in Rockwall

Pretty. dang. exciting.

Monday. is. madness.

because. I'm. in. school. all day long.

Looorrrdd it's been a while.
LOTS going on.

Had a most, amazing Easter weekend.
Spent it with the boy's family--eating way too much, browsing flea markets, and racking up in an adult easter egg hunt--with prizes! It was a blast. And I don't have pictures, because I was having wayyy too much fun to stop and pull out the camera.

Finished up a MAJOR school project that had been plaguing me. There's about 3 weeks left in the semester, and it should be pretty easy breezy. A couple papers, one debate and then COSTA RICA! I'm pretty excited for my two week study abroad. :) Should be quite the experience.

Miss Stella celebrated 6 months of life on friday (we bought her a baby pool to play in. Yes, yes, I know. She's a dog. I don't care.) And the boy and I celebrated out 6 months as well! :)

Ahh...she's gotten so big! Kind of makes me sad.

:]

Ready for a low-key week/weekend. The boy bought a grill, so grilled chicken and shrimp is in my future. (yaaaaay!) And maybe a monopoly show off with some friends.
~S

Hi, I'm Stella.

I'm pretty much the happiest dog you'll ever meet. I love my mom, and my dad, and my bear, and feet, and food, and running laps, and riding in cars, and sleeping on top of the couch.

This is my best friend, Jasper. He lives in Alabama. I'll be bigger than him one day.

I'm kind of a genius. I can sit and stay and lay down and roll over and beg and that's a whole lot.

Riding with the windows down is my new favorite thing.

My mom's preeeeeeeetty fond of me, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of me.

No longer a dilemma..

I'm drinking tea out of a soup bowl. Totally solves my problem of having to get up and make more water when I finish my first cup.

happy monday!!!

Weekend update? Why not. I'm up early and procrastinating before I start working on schools things again.

I got bangs. (yaaaaay!)

I helped paint a house downtown.

I made sangria with fresh fruit and taco salad for the boy and I. :)
Super yummy. Lovely Saturday date night. Very chill and perfect.
We stayed in and watched big bang theory, because we're kind of obsessed.

This week has the potential to be quite crazy. I have 2.5 billion assignments due in the next week and a half...and I have this crazy thought that if I work really, really hard maybe I can get them all out of the way before the Easter holiday starts on Thursday. I might just be setting myself up for failure with this one...but I'm pretty motivated right this second!--so we'll see. :)

That's all I've got.
~S

dear blogger, have you fixed yourself?

ohmygoodness it would appear so!!!
Yay! How exciting. :)

Ok. um. let's see.
Texas weather is finally starting to be lovely and wonderful and perfect.
I have all the windows and doors open. I'm listening to music that makes me want to dance around in my kitchen and bake a cake. And it's just a nice, (sunny!) early evening.
When the boy gets here I believe I might suggest we take the pup for a walk through the neighborhood. We shall see. :)

Picture is from the beach sp10 trip--lovely. :)

~S

frkjhf

this is a test...


my blog is sick. :(
sadness. I had lots of pretty pictures to post and blogger just isn't having it.
hope they fix this soon.

when youre drivin down an empty highway...think of me.

stella got a new collar. : )

Miles from where you are...I pray that something picks me up and sets me down in your warm arms...

Brother was in town, and I played all weekend, so!

Today is a study day. It's kindof a Sunday staple these days.

Coffee. Dear John Soundtrack (I need to see this soooooon). My boy. Calm. Despite the studying, I do love these days.

When you hear and you just don't listen...when you're looking but you just don't see....think of me.

I know I know...I keep saying I'm bringing it back, and then I disappear. I'm lame. I know. shhh.
I've decided long introspective, well thought-out blog posts are just too much commitment for this kid right now. I'm doing good to keep my ical updated with writing assignments that have to get done. I've pretty much stopped writing for pleasure completely...how sad. I miss it.

Not giving up though. I found an app for my phone that lets me update blogger--:) Currently, it's not working. It's fails out every time I try to post...but I'm confident they'll get it fixed soon! Until then...how about pictures? Random pictures and small tidbits about the boring little things and the sweet little things and the beautiful little things that currently make up my life?

When I say little, I mean little. My life is all about the little moments right now. They keep my afloat when everything else is homework and bills. But little things are easily forgotten...so I figure as they happen...as I think about it...I can add them here..
And then I can go back and remember. :) And I can share. Because little things should be appreciated. And shared.

:) Yea.

So I'm bringing it back.

I've missed this stupid page.

It's evidently the rainy season in TX right now....I'm not too big a fan, I gotta say. I

miss the sunshine.

Today--I study study study study study. And then a movie. And then study study study study study. And then sleep. And maybe food somewhere in there.

love.

~s

Don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to send out something quick to say hello! I would be blogging in the AIM page, but a lot of us are having trouble getting it to work for us here.

Ministry here is amazing. I got an internship teaching a middle/high school girls bible study on Tuesday afternoons in a village not far from the city. I teach with an interpreter! This next week I'm doing it by myself.

I've also spent a lot of time at the care point down by the dump. That's been so surreal.

I love it though. It's spiritually and emotionally exhausting, which is affecting my physically....but I love it. I love pouring myself out completely.

The heartbreak isn't what I've expected. God's breaking me in ways I hadn't considered....evidently that comes first....

2 weeks left.

I wish I had time for more.

Love you all.
~S

Hi from Swazi!

hello. :)

Well, if you haven't heard already, my team made it to Swaziland late yesterday afternoon. Today has been our first full day out and about in the city, and we did a scavenger hunt to kind of help us get our bearings a little bit. I was the map reader on my team, and I managed to get us everywhere we needed to go without anyone getting raped or mugged or lost or anything like that. So it's been a pretty successfull day.

Our team is staying in a house that is about a 10 minute walk into the city...we have to walk by the dump, which is the most dangerous place in the city, but our home is really nice. We have a gate and a night guard and a PUPPY! It almost feels like home. Almost.

My team is pretty awesome...and if I had time I would go down the list and tell you all of the awesome things about each of them. But there are 18 of us...15 of which are girls. Lots of estrogen, but it's been fun.

Tomorrow we are going into a more rural area for church. I hear it lasts all day here, so that should be interesting. Monday we start ministry. I believe we will be going into the hospital and also to one of the care points, so I should have lots more to share on that front next week.

Notable things...
Evidently you can't use you're left hand in public here in Swaziland. It's the hand used to wipe your butt with, so it's seen as highly disrespectful. Ugggghhhhhhhhh. Strangly enough, there are 4 lefties on my team, so we're all suffering together.

You also can't point with your index finger....try not doing that for the rest of the day.

Water only works half the time.

There's no sense of time in Africa...."I'll meet you at 10." Actually means, "I'll be by to pick you up around noon."

Our first night in, we stayed in Joburg, and right after we got there, a car ran wrecked into a substation and took out all the power and water for the rest of the night/morning.

All we eat is carbs.

Our puppy's name is Nala. Yes, like the lion king.

I'm terribly homesick, and I miss you all.
This is good though.
~Staci

Raise It Up from Stacy Alonzo on Vimeo.