longest night EVER...

Since I am leaving for a year and my sister and niece (oh yeah, her husband also) moved to Missouri, I had been so sad that I wouldn't get to see them before I leave. My parents and I had the hair-brained idea that we should drive the 12 hours to Missouri when my mom got out of work today (to surprise them) and stay until Saturday. The day was already frustrating for me because my mom didn't get home until later than I thought she would, and when she did get home she decided she needed a shower. We finally got on the road, and were cruising along with me in the back (all the seats down, on the blow up mattress watching Breakfast at Tiffany's) and all of a sudden there was a clanking noise and the van started to shake. Oh crap. There was barely any shoulder and semis kept blowing past us like nobody's business, so there was no way we could put the spare on (which we found out by the manual is underneath in the middle of the van!). It was inevitable for us to get it towed at least to a place that we could put the donut on (if we even could), so dad called the police and they called a tow. The tow truck driver informed us that we would have to get towed to the hotel and that the tire place in town doesn't open until 7am. (We were planning on making it to Springfield at 4ish in the morning... and are still about four or five hours away!) Quite the setback. I was a little ticked, as this is cutting into my "Tori time"! Then we got to the hotel after the nice tow truck man dropped the van off at the tire place and let us get our stuff out. We walked into the one hotel in this nowheresville Indiana town, and were a little scared, as it is quite ghetto and apparently they have had a problem with somebody pulling the fire alarm tonight... *sigh* We got to our room, set our stuff down and I started about the business of figuring how to get connected to the internet. I decided that I should probably plug my computer in, and so I looked at the outlet by my bed and there were already two things plugged in. I started to follow the bottom plug with my had just to see which direction it was coming from so that I could decide if it was something important or if I could unplug it. I barely touched the thing and sparks went flying five inches in all directions and immediately all the power to our room went out!! Needless to day, this is the longest night ever, and nothing else better happen in the new room we are in. If the fire alarm gets pulled while I'm sleeping, I don't think I will be able to keep my sense of humor about the whole situation! :)

A week from today...

A week from today I leave, and the restless nights have already started...

On a happier note, today I went shopping a bought a lot of things I need, like over-the-counter drugs (well I should say my mom bought them for me). One reason I decided to buy a lot of this stuff here (and in bulk at Sams) is that I have already packed one suitcase and weighed it, thinking it was going to be way over the limit (50lbs) and that I didn't have room for such things, and it happened to only be at 40 lbs and it's pretty much full.

Also, I bought an external hard drive today. I have been wanting one for quite some time (my laptop only has 30gig and is almost full), as I don't want to be stuck and not be able to put my pictures from my camera to my laptop. So, since I intend to take a LOT of pictures this year, I decided it was something that I have to have. I was lucky, I was going to purchase a 250gig drive, and the 320gig was on sale for the same price! Already tonight I've freed up over 3 1/2 gigs by moving a lot of my old files and pictures over to it. yay!

I think this has been the most boring blog ever... toiletries and hard drive space? Sorry!

Webcam

Today I finally got the cheap webcam that I purchased in the mail. It's pretty much what I expected it to be: mediocre. The problem for us mac users is that in the way of webcams there are not very many options. It's either the highly expensive iSight or one or two crappy ones. A pc user can go anywhere, even walmart, and purchase an ok webcam from several choices. They don't carry any mac-compatible ones there. Anway, I purcased the icecam by macally so that I can chat with family and friends on skype (a free internet calling and chat service) with video. So yeah, if anyone wants to talk to me on skype when I get to Turkey, I would love that. :)

My new scrapblog

35W Bridge and Anxiety

I have to keep telling myself that the bridge that I've been on probably a thousand times is completely collapsed into the Mississippi... It seems totally unreal! Thank God I've finally gotten ahold of all of my close friends that live there, and they are all O.K. (Thanks for scaring me Leyla by not calling me back right away!!) :P I'm so thankful that some of the lanes were closed for construction, or this would have been an even bigger tragedy than it is. I'm still in shock over it, and I can't look at the images without crying and thanking the Lord that the people I know they are safe...

I was sitting in the doctor's office today (sinus infection, eew) and I started thinking about how in week and a half I will be living in Istanbul... It's entirely surreal right now, almost like the bridge collapsing: it's hard to believe unless you actually see it... and I'll be in Minneapolis for a day before I leave and I'll have to see that wreckage (and maybe then it will seem real). I have so much to do and so many things I have to get before I leave that I feel weighed down by anxiety about it all... (not to mention by a migrane and sinus infection) I'm really in need of some peace and faith right now.

Breakfast a Success

Well, the Pancake Breakfast was a success, but I'm glad it's over! ;) Our church had to have an inspection by the health dept. to get a temporary food license, which was nerve-wracking because we have never had one before, and so didn't know what to expect! After loads of hard work (by mostly my amazing family and Peggy), the inspector said that we had far exceeded his expectations and were given the permit. The breakfast didn't bring as many outsiders in as we had hoped, but it was a great turnout and people were very generous and supportive.

I have found this website to make online scrapbooks (scrapblog) and have had so much fun playing with it! I have started one, and only have the first page done. I will play with it more as soon as Leyla and I leave and start taking pictures. Here's the first page of my scrapblog:
Kinda lame, I know, but I think it's cute. :)

Moo Cards!

Yesterday my Moo cards arrived! It was so exciting to finally go to the mail box and see what I've been waiting for inside. If anybody wants one (or more) they need to let me know what one(s) they want me to send them. Here's what the packaging looks like... and the back of the cards.
















Here's what they look like... there's three that are of me, and the rest are pics that I took last time I was in Turkey. And then on the back is my contact info (and link to the blog so they can stay updated). I'm so excited to start giving them away! :)

One of the most annoying things is waiting for something to come in the mail! I ordered some prayer card type of things from moo and I am getting sooo anxious for them to come! They are going to be so cute... :)

AC Adapter

Today was a good day. It rained! Things outside are trying to look green again, although they aren't quite where they should be. Also, my AC Adapter for my computer came in the mail today! My heart is rejoicing as I am on my OWN computer right now.. I didn't think I would miss my beautiful little 12-inch ibook as much as I have. And... I cut up some strawberries for strawberry shortcake that I'm going to make the cake for in the morning. Oh and I get to go see the new Harry Potter movie tomorrow with my sister and my cousin. Fun times!
I keep trying to think of things I really want to do before I go so that I don't say, "man I wish I would have done 'that' before I left for a whole year...." Camping is one (though I'm fairly sure that I won't get to do seeing as though I don't own a tent...sad), and another is going to a Tigers game. That one will work out if I can find people who want to go with me...
I finished my book "An Island in Istanbul..." and it was so great. It's getting me ever so psyched to get to Turkey! What great kismet that my mom found it at work...
I so appreciate the Lord's faithfulness...

Plane tickets

Well, the plane tickets are all set to go, Leyla and I leave from Minneapolis on August 14th. Today I bought my ticket to Minneapolis for the day before, where I hope to see Julie and have a fun time going out to dinner or something before I leave (hopefully at Loring Pasta Bar). This summer is going by so fast! It has been sneaking up on me...

My mother works for a book publishing company as a book planner, and occasionally she comes across books lying around that she thinks I might have an interest in and grabs them for me. Last week she brought home a book called "An Island in Istanbul: At home on Heybeliada". I was really excited because Heybeli is an island in Istanbul that we visited last time we were there and I loved it there. The book is about a couple that decided to retire and buy some property on that island. It has been such a great thing to read before I leave because it kind of is re-immersing me into the culture before hand, getting me super excited for it.

I just pray that the Lord prepares me for this journey I'm about to embark on. I'm taking the steps I feel Him leading me to take, and I definitely feel that going to teach in Turkey this year is one of them. I don't feel ready for this, but as I have learned so far, you cannot really be prepared for any new stage in your life, and that is what makes it so life-changing, challenging, and ultimately worthwhile. I look forward so much to the new places I will go and the new things I will learn this year. :)