1- Quite hours actually do exist. And are enforced.

2- Sometimes you wake up from a nap and suddenly realize you haven’t cleaned your room in a month.

3- Roomie pictures are a necessary decoration!

4- Just because you’re name is on the door, doesn’t mean you live here.

5- Student teachers do exist… just not until 8 pm.

6- Pinterest= an easy way to get all four of us distracted from homework.

7- Random tins referring to the Royal Wedding will most likely appear when you least expect them… like in the couch… the freezer… your sock drawer… under the pillow… in your back pack…

8- Bathroom mirrors+dry erase markers= a good way to communicate!

9- If it’s been in the refrigerator for more than three months, you can toss it… no questions asked.

10- You cannot lie when you swear on your roommatehood.

I have absolutely adored living with my roommates this year! With one graduating, one getting married, and one sticking with me for next year, it makes me think about how different next year will be. One thing is for sure, though. I will always remember these women and everything they’ve taught me. God has definitely used them in my life in enormous ways this year and I feel so blessed to have been able to experience life with them! We still have another two weeks together (that’s right, they haven’t gotten rid of me yet!) and I know that I am going to treasure them in the deepest parts of my heart.

However, as all college kids will agree, no matter what the volume, homework always manages to complete itself somehow.

In order to get me through this weekend and the short week (Helloooooo Easter break!) I realized that there has to be some sort of sanity mixed into the batter of life. So here are some sprinklings of happiness that I managed to get into my weekend:

1- Kroger Run. My roommate Sarah made an awesome discovery the other day: chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs for less than a dollar at Kroger. Needless to say, I have personally consumed over a dozen and a half since this discovery…

2- Krispy Kreme Hot Light. Did you know that the Krispy Kreme right down the road has a hot light and when it’s on they give away free donuts? Oh yeah, you read right!

3- Crazy Walking. My roommate Ashlyn, for some reason, gets terribly embarrassed when I walk around campus with her. I mean, doesn’t everyone leg lunges/jazz hands while walking to Acorn?

4- Catching up on the Stuff Bethel Students Like blog. I learned in psychology that while studying, one should take short breaks frequently. So a blog entry proves to be quite the entertaining break! (http://stuffbethelstudentslike.wordpress.com/)

5- Trip to the Notre Dame Library. My fellow English major friend Deidre and I traveled to the Notre Dame library to look up resources for our super legit grammar research papers. So this wasn’t really a break from homework, but how can anything feel even remotely like homework when you’re in such a beautiful library? (Or is this just a geeky English major moment?)

This week is definitely going to be super busy and hectic, but I feel as though I’ll survive since Easter break is a very short three days away! Then after break there are only 10 school days left until finals week! And then… SUMMER!! But that’s a while different blog.

It was about 11:45 pm and I was sitting in my room with my roommates helping Sarah with wedding plans. Suddenly, there was a banging on the door. When I opened it I found my RD, Melody, and an unidentified accomplice wearing wigs and the most outrageous outfits I’ve ever seen. Talking in a British accent, my RD asked me to come out. It was then that I realized that there was someone blind-folded sitting on the couch outside my room. They gently tied a blindfold around my head so I couldn’t see, linked my arm with the other girl, and then led us through the halls to another room to gather another girl. We all quickly realized what was going on… we were about to be told where we were set to RA for the coming school year!

They led the three of us, blindfolded all the way, out of our building and over to our neighbors, Shupe. We went to two more rooms until there were a total of five of us. Finally, they took off our blindfolds one by one and let us climb a ladder through the ceiling and onto the roof of Shupe. It was here that they finally announced that the six of us (including the accomplice) were going to be Shupe RA’s, which obviously led to uncontrollable laughter, jumping up and down, screaming, and rejoicing!

We spent the next hour or so talking, taking pictures, and praying for the coming school year. I have NO idea what God has in store for next year, but I am SO excited that I get to be a part of it! All six of us have already begun praying for the freshman girls who will be in the dorm next year, so I know God is up to something. I’m so excited to work with and get to know these five amazing women and also to get to know all the girls who will eventually be on my floor. To say the least, it’s going to be an exciting year!

My friend Amy and I followed the lead of many Bethelians and ate our Acorn dinner by the pond early in the week.

My roommate Sarah and I studied out on the new patio outside our dorm, the Lodge. The bright sun and chirping birds made doing homework on such a nice day bearable!

I had dinner with a group of pretty cool cats outside the Dining Commons. The ponds made for some beautiful scenery as we ate our St. Patty’s Day dinner!

Even the evening was beautiful! In honor of the warm weather that we don’t know will last, my roommate Ashlyn, friend Josh, and I ventured to downtown South Bend for some Chocolate Factory drinks.

After a walk on the path that runs next to the St. Joe River, we ended our night by driving around South Bend, enjoying the historical houses and talking about life. What a great end to a gorgeous week!

As I said before, we don’t know how long this weather will last seeings that it’s still technically winter. However, I’m planning on enjoying it while it’s here as a blessing!

I continued on towards the library and after literally three steps I heard the rapid pounding of footsteps behind me. In that moment I knew. I was good as ambushed. I turned, but it was too late! I had been hit! I was gone. Annihilated. Down and out. Ambushed.

This served as a great learning experience, however. In retrospect I can see that I was way too casual about that game of life and death. If I only had more care, I would have turned around to get that squirt gun! I wouldn’t have left it behind in the first place! Ah, but I suppose it does not do well to dwell in the past. This is an experience I learned from and so next year… next year is the year of total Tammi triumph!

There are a couple of things in particular that I’m especially looking forward to about being on break, though…

1- Home cooking

2- Ignoring Homework (at least, for a little while…)

3- Seeing my 10 siblings

4- Going to the zoo with my little siblings for Elephant Day 

5- Catching up on my reading… for fun!

6- Going to church and seeing everyone again

7- Helping my sister plan her wedding

8- Having movie nights with my siblings

9- Going to my neighborhood library

10- Relaxing!

I know break will be gone before I know it, so I’m really trying to enjoy my relaxation time while I have it! And maybe after a week of changing diapers, helping my sister plan a wedding, trekking little kids all over the city, and being in cold, windy Cleveland, I’ll be ready to come back to school.

I wasn’t able to go my freshman year but I had heard that it was fantastic, so I was eager to go this year. I went with a group of about 8 students to Center for the Homeless in downtown South Bend and together we fed about 50 people. Let me tell ya, it was such an awesome time! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I feel like I need to make, here’s a shocker, a list!

So here are some of the things that really stuck out to me about this service project:

1- God’s provision. As we were scrabbling eggs and frying pancakes, we all began to get a little nervous that there wasn’t going to be enough to feed everyone. However, we kept on cooking and shaking and found that the very last person in line got the very last bit of food. God provided the absolute perfect amount!

2- Getting to talk to the people we were serving. Often times, it can be really intimidating to talk to people who are different than you because you’re not sure quite what to talk about. For this project, it was really cool to see Bethel students step out of their comfort zone and sit with the people we were serving and really engage in conversations. I even got to meet a couple of really neat people and hear just a small bit of their stories. I only wish that we had had more time to get to spend with them!

3- Humbling ourselves. One of the people who came for breakfast, Jay, told me that he knew we were there because we were either being paid to be there, or because we were required to be there for a class. I explained to him that no one there was required  to be there but that we all just wanted to serve them and get to know them a little better. We chatted for a little while and as I talked with him I realized that as Christians, our mission for Praise and Pancakes shouldn’t be to just tell them about Jesus. Our purpose should be to show them the love of Jesus and be there because we have a passionate desire to serve them, not because we think we should as Christians. The attitudes of everyone there were just awesome, so it made talking with Jay even easier because I knew everyone was going in with a servant’s heart.

4- Seeing the teamwork of students. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked around at everyone making breakfast. We ran like a well-oiled machine! Several people were making pancakes, several were serving, and several were replenishing the scrambled eggs supply. Everyone was super respectful and considerate of one another, and they frequently checked on the others to see if they were okay where they were. The communication was between us was great which helped keep our attitudes positive which, in the end, helped us to better serve everyone who came for breakfast.

I could go on and on about all the things I loved, but I think these were the main things. I’m already super excited for next year!

I was walking through the AC after my Oral Interpretations class had ended, planning to go to the computer lab to finish printing the necessary documents for my education portfolio. I had just pulled out my phone to text my roommate about getting dinner when I saw it. It was only a glimpse of a full color flyer out of the corner of my eye but I knew in a moment what it was. I threw my phone back into my pocket and rushed to the sign displaying a boy wearing a cape and holding a huge super-soaker. The word “AMBUSH” was scrawled across the top. Not gonna lie, my heart jumped a little.

Okay, so if you’re a loyal reader (which I’m sure you are) you probably read about my last Ambush experience. (But in case you haven’t…http://www.bethelcollege.edu/blogs/?p=4590 ) (And if you’re thinking, “What is this crazy chick going on about?”… http://www.bethelcollege.edu/blogs/?p=4537 ) Let me tell ya, that is NOT going to happen again this year! You know why? I’ve devised the perfect plan…

The Outline to My Perfect Ambush Plan:

Step 1- Deter Facebook Creepers. The first thing I did last year when I got my name for Ambush was rush to the library to look up the unfortunate soul on Facebook. I figured this was a sure-fire way to figure out what they looked like, who their friends were, what their major was… then I realized I was not dealing with some random amateur. This year, before Ambush even starts, I’ll be changing pictures, my name, my major, my hometown, my interests… anything that could potentially make me an easy target.

Step 2- Abandon all Habits. While I like spontaneity, I’m a horrible creature of habit! Every Monday/Wednesday/Friday I eat at the same place with the same people at the same time. And THAT is what will get you Ambushed! The trick is to be as inconsistent as you can possibly be. A week of being 30 minutes early to class won’t kill ya.

Step 3- Just Go For the Kill. Half the problem is the hesitancy before going for the shot. It’s of the utmost importance that if you see your target, and you think you’re within range, you just go for it. Of course, if you miss, then they’ll know who you are and your chances of catching your target have pretty much gone down the drain.

Step 4- Trust No One. I have a particular friend who sold someone out last year. What did I learn from that? When your casual lunch conversation over your buffalo chicken salad begins to get a bit too personal and questions start flying about who has whom, you’re best bet is to run for it. I don’t care if it’s the kid who sits three seats down in psychology, your roommate, or your mother; loose lips get you shot!

You may be thinking to yourself, “Whoa, Tammi. Aren’t you taking this a little far?” The short answer: absolutely. But hey, isn’t that half the fun?

So next time you’re in the mood for something more than ordinary, maybe you could try one of these (which can ALL be made with things using a Bethel Meal Plan swipe!):

-Sarah’s Milk Shake (DC)

In a cup, put chocolate ice-cream, chocolate milk, and peanut butter. Mix it all together and enjoy!

-Cheesy Pizza Bread (Sufficient)

When ordering, ask for a pizza with the sauce on the side. When your pizza comes out, it’s basically like having super cheesy cheesy bread!

-Banana Boat (DC or Sufficient)

This one can be a little tricky. First, peel one strip off the banana. Next, slice the banana in half while it’s still in the peel, length-wise. Then spread peanut-butter between the banana halves; drizzle with honey. Eat with a spoon and enjoy!

–Taco Salad (Acorn)

This is best on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Order a salad from Acorn with Buffalo Chicken on it. Add whatever other salad toppings you like. Ask for Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips as one of your sides. Crunch them up and put them in your salad. Ta-da! Enjoy!

–Peanut Butter Ice-cream (DC)

Those freshman always have the best ideas. Super easy; mix together vanilla ice-cream and a scoop of peanut. butter Yum-o!

I was sitting last night in my new favorite place to write papers (on my bed with hot cocoa) working on a reflection for my World Literature class over several chapters of the Odyssey. My professor is fantastic about getting us really involved in the reading and engages us in really stimulating discussion questions. So I was typing up my paper while in the back of my mind I thought about the next homework assignment I had for my Evangelism and Discipleship class, which was to practice solitude. It was here that I realized that I love my classes. No, I mean it. I like, love my classes. I hear people complaining all the time about how their classes don’t really relate to anything they’re going to do for the rest of their lives and I can’t help but laugh and say, “Are you serious!?”

So I came up with the top three reasons why I love my Bethel classes so much. Maybe you can relate to my reasons for admiration!

1. They relate to life. I’ll admit, this one is sometimes hard to remember. Especially when I, a future English teacher, was sitting in my Basics of Probability and Statistics class during freshman year. Bethel is a liberal arts school meaning we get a very rounded education. We learn a little about math, science, philosophy, religion, psychology, and music regardless of your major. I cannot even begin to describe how surprised I was the day that I had to figure out the reliability of a statistical study for an education class. Mind blown. So a huge thing I’ve learned this year is that, regardless of whether or not I think I can use my class content in real life, it can all be related to my life and makes me a more well-rounded individual.

2. Bethel professors honestly care. In my Evangelism and Discipleship class our professor is transparent. During the class that we discussed discernment he shared with a us a story about a specific instance in his life that he used God-given discernment. My education professor last semester worked with me to get into a new classroom when my school observations fell through. One professor told me that if I ever needed a reference, he’d be a willing soul. When you connect with your professors like this, you want to go to class! You have stories to share and want to hear the stories and material that they’ll share!

3. You go to class with your friends. One of the best things about going to class is that I go to class with all my friends. I think my dork is showing, but I love the first day of classes because I get to see who are in my classes and, thus, who will make good study partners. It adds a really cool dynamic to the relationships you have, too. You’re not just growing friends, but you have an opportunity to grow academically, which is really neat.

I guess I’m just overwhelmed with gratefulness  that I have the opportunity to come to Bethel and learn with and as a part of a community of believers. It’s a unique experience that only lasts for 4 years so I’m trying to enjoy every moment!