Running through my mind today

A million thanks and praise to God... I got my car back almost a week ago and it's been running perfectly. Even better than before it started messing up. I am so blessed.

My weekend was even more perfect than the week that preceded it. Kyle was here for exactly three days and we had a great time just hanging out. Missing him lots already. He's my best friend and having only seen him twice since May is hard, but I guess it makes those random weekend visits more special. And I love that we can pick up right where we left off.

I get to go home next week for the first time since August. I've missed Columbus. And my house. And my family. And all of my Columbus best friends. Can't wait to go back.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART ONE comes out this Thursday night. Tickets for myself, Kari, Amber, Hannah, and Ryan are sitting in my wallet, ready to go. I can't even describe the Potter-induced emotions I am experiencing right now. I can't believe it's so close. I have tons of Harry Potter shirts from midnight book releases/movie premieres in the past (I haven't missed a single one), but I bought this last week especially for Deathly Hallows:

I've also been brushing up on my scar-drawing skills. Kari thinks I'm a fruitcake, but trust me. This is perfectly normal. (For me, anyways.)

I chopped all of my hair off last Thursday. I'm excited to have all of the unhealthy ends gone, and I don't mind the length (touching my shoulder), but I'm not a huge fan of how she cut the layers. They're just too choppy and defined... I'm hoping I'll start to like it more once it grows out a little bit, but for now, it stays in a ponytail 99% of the time.

I've been sorting through a lot of feelings lately. Love feelings. Certain things that happened over the past few days left me feeling super optimistic... but then a couple things happened that left me kind of discouraged. I've been dealing with the same situation for over a year now, so it's nothing new. I'm just continuing to pray for patience and guidance. I know I have some issues I need to work on before anything happens, and so does he, so patience really is key for now. On my part, anyways.

What I've been listening to lately: unreleased Kelly Clarkson tracks. I downloaded them from Kelly Source and put them on my phone, so these songs are always playing: when I'm in the shower, when I'm walking to class, when I'm working in the lab. I don't know how many of them will be on her album that comes out early 2011, but I'm really loving them. Each and every one. That woman is genius and honestly, I love her more and more each day. Some of my favorites include (but definitely are not limited to): Empty Handed, Standing in Front of You, I Remember, I Can't Lose, and Dance.

I am also obsessed with her duet with Jason Aldean, "Don't You Wanna Stay". It's been one of my favorite since I first heard it a few weeks ago. Their voices sound amazing together. I literally had a running countdown to the day when they performed the song live on the CMAs last week. If you missed it, please please please watch it now!

I'm writing this from my apartment, during my one-hour break in classes. In about 25 minutes I'm driving back over to campus for my Education 196 class, then tonight will be consumed by the gym, the boys' volleyball game, studying for tomorrow's Ethics exam, and watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with Hannah, Ryan, and Amber. We all watched the first one on Saturday- it was Hannah's first time watching Harry Potter, EVER- and she loved it! So we made it a goal to watch the first six before going to Thursday's premiere.

Congratulations if you actually read all of these random ramblings, and I hope you all have a great Monday!