Tweets...

Ok. I am on Twitter. I have been for a while, but I'm just getting use to it. The other day a dear dear friend of mine said something to the fact of... "where is my community?" Well friends, I've found mine. I woke up 2 days ago sick with a fever, head cold, etc. Everything you don't want to have during the biggest week of your job. :) I spent from 3:00pm Saturday till this morning at 9a in bed. There were a few moments where I would get up, walk downstairs and hydrate, but other than that... not much movement. Guess what I would wake too?? Little knocks on the door when one of my house mates would brave the germ infested room that I am in to ask if I was ok, to offer to bring me food (which I wasn't interested in.. ugh) or to come and sit and talk for a few minutes. I didn't realize it then, I'll blame it on the cold medicine, but I love these women. I loved the laughter I heard downstairs while I was watching a movie, I loved the whispers as they would walk by my door, and I loved how Maggie still continues to check if I have a temperature! :) What a community I've fallen into.

Hello November

I am currently sitting on our couch, while one house mates is finishing up her weekly chore, one is knitting and watching the Steelers/Pat game, and the other is booking some buses home for the holidays. It seems to be times like these when I smile to myself after a restful weekend. Times like these when our Popcorn Sunday's come around and football is on tv, times like these when i love intentional community. This year in Pittsburgh is going to teach me so much about myself, but what I am most excited about is what I am going to learn about these women that I call friends. Their habits, ticks, pet peeves, passions, etc. As of right now... I know Maggie loves the Steelers and anything Pittsburgh and baking, and worship, and singing... Laura loves a clean kitchen, healthy foods, the farmers market, art, laughing..... alicia loves her family, her faith, trying new things, going out and being active in the community, and the environment. These things aren't the only things they all love, trust me there is more, but I those are the things that come to mind when I think of them. This intentional community stuff isn't easy, but it sure can be fun!

the heat is on...

Well-- it finally happened. We broke down this weekend and turned on the heat. Granted, it isn't very high, it is better than the 54 degrees that it was for a while. We are hoping that we weatherproofed enough to save some money! This week is the first of November. Holy cow where did that come from? There are so many things that happen in November that I don't even know what to do with... Thanksgiving, Our VIP dinner at UP, Laura's Marathon, Weddings galore at work, plus life in the house. I love being busy and having things to do, but I can't believe that it is already November.

Its almost time to break out the Christmas movies and decorations-- lord help me when that time comes.

Have a happy November!!

I carry my Heart...

I knew it would happen. October was over before I saw it coming. Things are flying by in the PULSE house. From the chore wheels spinning, the change of temperature, the creamy soups being made for dinner more often-- we can feel the change of winter coming upon us. We have been weatherproofing and gearing up for some chilly months ahead. Seriously-- Beth has been wearing a scarf and hat since September-- I don't know how the girl will survive winter. :)

Life has been going by quickly. So quickly that sometimes I can't catch up. Whether its phone calls with people not in Pittsburgh or paperwork that should have been done yesterday, I can't seem to get my barrings. I was struggling like that for the past 2 weeks, but something and someone reminded me to slow down for a little bit.
On Wednesday morning I walked into the office and was greeted by Carol and Jeffrey. Two of my favorite people. They were chatting about how Jeffrey's wife is exhausted at work and has been for a long time. "She just isn't happy" was his exact quote. He then said, you need to be able to walk into work daily and find a reason to be there. Find a reason why you are excited to go into work, or a reason you are excited to take on a new activity. You don't have to love the job all the time, but you can love the things you are doing.
After that interaction our Seminar for the day was at the Pittsburgh Project. What an incredible place that is. My awesome God is at work in that ministry and in this city. We walked along paths where gangs still meet, but have slowed down. We heard stories from the hurt that has been caused because of violence and drugs, and listened while Mark took us through his stories of students he mentored that were affected. After the stories, we walked up the road to a baseball field that is now fenced in and is a community garden that is flourishing. Through all the frustration, hurt, hatred, a garden is blooming to help this community. To bring people together and to revitalize the North Side.

So-- my hope for this coming week, not to get frustrated with myself and the work around me, not to let things just become another task. Learn to love my community and become a servant leader...

peace-

I feel blessed....

To be here.
To be drinking hot cinnamon tea.
To have a great place at Union Project.
To be so loved
To laugh daily.

To come home from a weekend away and find friends... and not just housemates.

I AM blessed.

Mighty, Minnie, and maybe a Mickey

What do these three words have in common... a mouse at the end of it. Yes friends, we here at the PULSE house have had some new friends.... or whatever you might call them. Mice. But don't be nervous because we've actually already caught two of them. Even a house full of 8 women can find a way to buy some traps and set them! :) Even if we did have to call our fathers to ask which traps we wanted. We have a chalkboard on the wall and every morning I turn to check if another one was caught.

It's been a pretty uneventful week so far. Work at Union Project is really great and the community that I've surrounded myself with is even better. We eat dinner every night together-- kind of like when I was little!! We talk about our days, our highs and lows, what we have to do this week, when we will be leaving for a PULSE fair at a college or when visitors are coming over. A lot of things-- but one thing we love happens to be those dinners. It's a time of love, of sharing, of community. What we've all come to realized as what PULSE is for many of us.

Weekend full of love, laughter and stronger friendships...

I think as I sit in the living room with my cup of tea and blanket wrapped around me, I feel the fall weather upon me. I know this because I can turn the tv on at any time during the weekend and Football is on, I can walk out the house with a mug of coffee and feel content, I can wear a few layers and not sweat or freeze to death! It is definitely fall weather. I love fall weather. I love everything that comes with it, but I am struggling a little bit because for the past few years, I was blessed to experience fall weather at Bluffton. A place that I love. A place where at moments notice I could find someone to laugh, hug, cry, sing, smile, and walk about the campus with. It was home. I'm adjusting to Bluffton not being "home" anymore. It's more of a challenge than I expected because I not only left Bluffton, but I left people I love.

This weekend was one that was filled with laughter. On Saturday, Laura, Abbi and I ventured out to Southside to register Laura for the "Great Race" which was happening this weekend. We needed to make sure she got her number for the race, but we also just wanted to explore the city. Sometimes... its a bit difficult to catch the buses on the weekend because they only run every few hours. So.. we ran to the bus stop because we didn't want to miss the bus, only to have to sit for 20 minutes for the next one! We made it to our destination and started to pinpoint places that we have already been, but didn't realize where they were. After we made it home with some delicious Rita's (which I will take everyone i know who comes to Pitt there for dessert) we had some friends over for game night!!! :) Friends, talks, food and the Game of Life! What a great weekend!

This morning was Laura's race and 5 housemates took to the bus and early morning with a sign for Laura! We barely made it downtown because of the detours, but we made it with a few minutes to spare. When we saw her run by we were screaming with excitement and come to find out she was the 11th woman to cross the finish line. Dang Laura!! She was rocking!! With a 10k down... we took our shot at walking a few miles to the "favorite restaurant" in Pitt called Pamela's. Our lovely President raves about these pancakes! Food was delicious.

A few things I love about the city..
1. Free things.
2. Delicious food
3. Transportation--even though it can be frustrating.
4. The PULSE house and "family"

I miss home frequently... but I love that I'm learning a lot about myself and the people I'm with!

Keep Peace.