Leah ROHLF

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July 30, 2004

hola!

as i wrote yesturday about my sisters who sleep talk i remembered a few stories from our trip to mexico this past christmas. i kept this email that i had sent to some friends! it tells a little bit about the sokoll's adventures in a different country! enjoy!

"december, 2003

hey all!
just wanted to pass on a little bit of our adventure down here in barcelo de may , mexico! it has been quite the trip! (sorry if the punctuation is a little off, the keyboards down here a way off!)

first things first-
friday morning on the 19th, we arrived at midway airport in chicago. my dad went and parked the van, we were waiting in line for the flight to cancoon. the lady came by and said, passports or birth certificates please! she came to us and my parents informed her that we were not told that we needed that. we didnt have any of that, only id. here words were , {you are not traveling today then!{ several sokoll girls were on the verge of crying! dad came through however and got on the phone to get joe abdo to run to our house in solon and fax over the birth certificates. however, we were told that we needed originals. we were almost on our way back to solon to get them! dad said he could get a notorie (Sp), but the guy at the airport said they could take care of it (that was after a good 45 min arguing about it ! - i love that my dad is intimidating! ) anyway, joe faxed them from like 3 different locations but we didn{t get them. our luggage had been loaded to standby- therefore we didn{t have it with us. we missed flight number 1. shortly thereafter, they got our birth certificates, and then sheepishly told us that their fax machine had been out of paper for a long time! arg! we were told we could catch a flight out of ohare airport at 3 in the afternoon. we could catch the 1 pm shuttle over there. however, they had lost our luggage. we missed the shuttle while waiting for our bags. my dad then proceeded to hire a limo to take us to the other air port. a taxi would have been the same price with all 7 of us crammed in there! we finally got our luggage back and drove to the other airport in a limo! a black strech limo no less! on our way were were joking about the fact that maybe God didn{t want us to go to mexico. i am not kidding, 3 min later the limo driver crashed into the suburban in front of us at an intersection. luckly, only the limo was damaged so we kept going. my dad has a very nice case of rug burn on his forhead still today! we finally made it to the other air port and passed security and everything! only to find that our flight was delayed 2 hrs. we passed the time by coloring pictures and reading and walking around. i think my parents prayed a lot! after another 1 delay we were finally flying over us and towards our destination. i think we all breathed a sigh of relief as we were all in bed that night at 12{30am! wow.

saturday-
we finally got to see the beautful place where we are staying. the food court is a lot like the dorms. buffett all the way! homemade smoothies and fried fresh doughnuts every morning! thankfully they even have a coffee bar. no carmel lattes however, but i did create my own version of a mocha with hot chocolate and a capachino! the dining room is surrounded by a small moat and has mini waterfalls all around it. it is an open air dining room, with only a roof. small birds fly around and take care of business on random chairs! it is always good to look down before sitting down! they are playing the christmas songs. my favorite is *let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!<<<<<<<<* as everyone is walking around in swim suits!
we then proceeded to lay out all day long. the pool is the biggest i have ever seen and the beach is about 30 sec away. you can do arobics on the beach too! i am like, yeah, right, i came on vacation to lay in the sun, not work out! we pretty much just tried to recover from all of fridays activities on saturday.

sunday-
we woke up to lots of clouds and decided to head to playa de carmen to do a little bartering. not one of my strong points. i don{t deal well with confrontation, so people coming up to me and telling me to buy things, i was like, wow, i have a huge brother here, so back off!" but it was and *experience* so i am told! that afternoon john, amy and i took kiaks (sp) to the ocean, amy and i shared one. she just sat in the back and didn{t do anything, needless to say we drifted to the part where we were supposed to stay away from. woops. it was fun however, but i am still sore. i also tried a little boogie boarding. can i just say i have bad luck with feet? i cut my foot on a rock in the ocean and it was horrible. i was limping around all night. i swore that i hit a nerve cause my whole leg went into horrible stabbing pain and i couldn{t walk at all. then it just went away about 3 hrs later. very weird. i just fell into bed that night again, exhausted and hoping that my feet decide not to get hurt anymore.

monday am-} (my foot is fine this morning!)
deep sea fishing for the whole family! 7*30 am we were in a van headed to the deep blue. lets just say the first 15 min were fun. then amy and sarah both looked very bad. 45 min later they both chucked. wow. the ONE rule of the boat was, if you have to throw up, do it over the back of the boat. amy decided a clear plastic bag was good and sarah tried going over the side. only to miss terriblly and give the guys sitting in the back of the boat something to clean up! (erik, i decided you would like all these details!)- i can only make fun of them cause elizabth, my mom and i were almost about to loose our breakfast as well. remember the cartoons on tv when people turn green on ships? they aren{t joking. elizabeht and i were so sick, but our pride kept us from losing anything in front of the guys sailing the boat. the trip was cut short as the captain delivered all 5 seasick sokoll girls back on the beach to rest and to catch some sun. john and dad headed back out and caught 2 baracutas (sp) 40 and 42 inches long. we meanwhile decided to bury each other in the sand and sip pepsi! ptl! (almost everyone down here serves coke! ) we head back to our hotel to bask in the sun, try out the hot tub and take a very long nap! i never knew vacation could be so exhausting! we are also enjoying watching movies in spanish. thankfully i already saw the moving *anna and the king* a few times in english, so i have a general idea of what is happening!

today-
8 am we are on a bus to the ruins of the mayan culture called *tulum* - very beautiful and quite interesting, but this internet is costing money, so i can tell you about it later 0)

we then proceeded xel-ha- a water park place iwth no slides. we rented skoba gear and swam for a good 3 hrs. there were tons of fish and we had underwater cameras. that was quiet cool! we were very excited to see the sights and to get so close to many water animals! you guys would be quiet proud, i only screamed once cause something caught my leg. i just tried not to think of all the germs and algi- wow, it was overwhelming at times, but i made it! we could have swam with the dolphins, but they wanted 150 bucks for one person for an hr. so we opted not to do that activity!
right now i am waiting in line for the shower so i thought i would drop you guys a line... ok, well a book! but i just had to share before all these moments passed me by and i can{t remember them anymore!

see you all soon!}

feliz navidad!"

confession: about an hr after i sent this email to all my friends i realized that i had food poisoning... bummer. my sisters said that it served me right for telling my friends that they had chucked on the boat! :) haha!

Posted by Leah at 09:33 AM | Comments (8)

July 29, 2004

7.29.04

Warning: There is no order or semblance to these thoughts. I didn't know what to call this entry because the title "Hauling in the Random" was already taken. :)

Congraulations to Amanda Williams on her promotion to branch manager of World State Mortgage!!!!... What state do you live in again?

Emily E- Where are you?

Angie F- I thought of you yesturday as I drove through the McDonalds drive through while talking on my phone... :) oops. I tried to locate your blog entry about the person ordering while talking on the phone- but couldn't find it. Bummer.

For this week- I am living with my parents. The four of us girls (Leah, Amy, Elizabeth and Sarah) are all staying in the same room. Can you say giant slumber party? Ok and can you say huge mess!!! My goodness- I'm pretty sure that the amount of clothes, curling irons, make-up bags and bottles of body spray is amazing. I don't even know what is mine anymore- I just use whatever is closest on the counter! But it has been great- I love being at home. I have also come to the conclusion that two of my sisters talk in their sleep. You will have to ask them personally because they don't like me telling stories about them! :) But I woke up to one of them yelling "markers and chalk lines!" yesturday. They have been working with my parents out at the land building the new house. I would just like to know how many other teenage girls even knows what a chalk line is! :) Ok- actually I'm wonder how many people reading this even know what a chalk line is. It is hard to explain. It is a piece of string completely covered in chalk in a container about the size of a tape measure. It is used to create a straight line between two points. You strech it out tight between the two points and someone "plucks" the string to create a straight line for building. I almost laughed out loud at 6:10am when she was saying that in her sleep. I'm pretty sure only one of Pat Sokoll's daughters would say something like that. Dad, you should be proud! :)

My brother comes home in one month! Yeah!!! Another bonus- he bought a house less than a mile from where all of us girls will be living. The 2nd Sokoll in a row to purchase a house at the age of 19... look out Amy! Your next! I talked to him on the phone the other night and asked him if they (Luke Hibbing and Trystan Woods are his roomates for the next year) were going to have weekly chores. He said he wasn't sure. I told him that three guys living together definitely needed to have the bathroom cleaned on a regular basis. He said, "You could clean it when you come over and cook!" Haha. The cooking I will do... cleaing the bathroom of three guys... that is gonna take a little more persuading.

I love the smell right after it starts raining. Wow. However I am realizing that once the night crawlers head to the surface... I don't like it anymore. One of the worst smells in the world (in my opinion)... worms! Yuck!

But now it is 5:24pm and I get to go home to Solon and spend time with the fam. Until next time...

Posted by Leah at 05:04 PM | Comments (10)

July 28, 2004

God is God.

I am just now finishing the book "Through Gates of Splendor" by Elizabeth Elliot. It is the story of 5 missionary families who were determined that God wanted them to take the message of the gospel to the Auca tribe in the jungles of Ecuador. I have copied several paragraphs into my journal the past few weeks. Here is one from a few days ago.

"God is God. If he is God, he is worthy of my worship and my service. I will find rest nowhere but in his will, and that will is infinitely, immeasurably, unspeadkably beyond my largest notions of what he is up to."

~ Elizabeth Elliot

I love that. God is God... I am not. I know it drives me nuts sometimes that I am not in control and I have no idea what he is up to. However, what kind of God would he be if I could understand him and his ways? He is the master and creator of the universe and yet he desires to know me and to allow good in my life. He calls me to love and obey him... he will take care of the details.

Posted by Leah at 12:24 PM | Comments (5)

July 26, 2004

What a weekend!

Whew! What an eventful weekend! First... Dan and Wendy had their baby on Friday night! Yeah! Jakob is here... finally! I had been calling the baby Shaniqua for the last nine months (because I don't really like calling the baby an "it")- but Wendy told me that I can no longer do that- bummer. Oh well I will survive. That was very exciting though. Then Saturday we went to Cedar Rapids to help Doug Brinkman's brother Ivan move to a new house. Wow... can you say family resemblance? Three of the Brinkman brothers were there- weird! :) Saturday afternoon was spent showering Jessica Anderson with gifts and eating lots of food for her bridal shower. I must say Dana Cramer is one of the most creative people I know. It was a lot of fun! Saturday night- packing.. packing.. PACKING! I ran out of boxes- which was a bummer because we had people coming at noon on Sunday to help us move all our treasures down three flights of stairs. Mrs Cramer came to the rescue again and had a bunch of old boxes in her basement that she let me borrow. Who would have known that it was going to take 5+ boxes to pack a pantry! We did get moved though- 5 girls going to three different locations. 4 hrs, 3 trucks, 3 vans, about 15 helpers + all the abdo boys! Oh and about 36 cans of pop. But praise the Lord- all of my belongings are now sitting in the Meyers garage for a week while we wait until we can move into our new duplex on Aug 1st. Can I just say how thankful I am for a church family? I know that we couldn't have done it without everyone's help. It was hot and tiring work and yet people were laughing and smiling the whole afternoon. Ok- well Box and Jeff K. started smiling after the initial shock of how much stuff 5 girls could cram into our apartments. I think they said to eachother... "Run and hide!!!! run and hide!!!" But we all survived, although I'm sure a few people are a little sore today. I am now staying with my parents for the week until I can move to the new place. What I don't understand is if I can survive a week on one suitcase, pillow and laundry basket... what in the world is in all the boxes I packed??? Lindsy, Amanda and I decided that we are going to sell all our belongings and become missionaries to some far off country. Yes, we want to serve God... but I think we just don't want to haul all that stuff again next weekend! arg! If anyone wants more treasures in heaven... next Sunday am would be a great time to score those! Moving again!

A popular topic as of late: money, finances, budget, tithing, ect
I read these verses this morning:
"Remeber this- a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. Bt the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need and plenty left over to share with others." -2 Cor 9:6-8

I found some sparklers while packing. I'm in the middle of convincing myself that I can build my very own sparkler bomb. I heard Nate S and Dan Shea talking about it. I think it is a pride thing... or so someone else mentioned. :) Hmm... will have to think more on this.

Peace.

Posted by Leah at 12:00 PM | Comments (4)

July 21, 2004

Girls and car places don't mix-

This story was already posted on the Mars Hill board a while back- but I went back to read it after my visit to Midas yesturday. I amaze myself!

"So about two years ago I went to Tuffy to get my oil changed. They informed me that the left boot in my car was cracked and it needed replaced shortly. I then called my father and asked where I should get that done at. He informed me that Trickles/Firestone would be the best. However when I got back to the office that day to call and make the appointment I somehow remembered him saying Goodyear. (Don't ask me how I got those two mixed up!:) I called Goodyear - there was two shops in Ames and I chose the one down by where I worked located on Airport Road. I set up the appointment for the following week. I called Rachel Meyer (then Nixon) to meet me there around 8 am so I could have a ride to work. So I got to the car place on the morning of my appointment and sat in the drive way trying to work myself up to be a confident woman and try desperately to sound like I knew what I was talking about. I even had these fake $6 glasses from Claires that I decided to wear in because they made me look more sophisticated! I walked in there and there is a man at the desk who has a mullet! I should have known right there that this would be a disaster. I walk over to him and say "8:30am appointment for Leah Sokoll." He looks at his book and asks me again who I am. A little exasperated I told him and tried to stay calm. He then gets on the phone for a minute or two. He hangs up, looks at me and says, "You are at the wrong store - you made your appointment for the Lincoln Way store." I about fell through the floor. I tried to argue for a few minutes, but he said they didn't have time and that I went to the wrong store. I was devestated! I had to walk out and tell Rachel what I had done. Once I got to the office I called and cancelled the appointment from the Lincoln Way store. I also called my dad to tell him what I had done. He then informed me that he didn't say Goodyear, he said Trickles / Firestone. Again, humiliating! I call up Firestone and set up the appointment for the next week. The next week at 8:30 am came and I had asked another co-worker to follow me to the place so I could have a ride to work. I had also asked someone for directions. I said "Is Firestone accross from Doughnutland" - they replied "Yes." .... So- I walk in full of confidence on the morning of my appointment. (Besides I tell myself, they have no idea what I did last week! Keep your cool Sokoll- you are all over this!) - I walk over to the desk and say "8:30 appointment for Leah Sokoll." The man looks at his book about 3 times and says.. "What?" So he starts taking down all my info again. I tell him that I had already talked to a lady earlier this week and told them all of this. Midway through my little speech I take a glance around and realize I never saw the words Firestone anywhere. I take about three steps back from the counter and asked if this was Firestone. The man looked up smiled and said "No mam, this is Midas." I almost screamed! And to top it off, this man had the nerve to wink at me and tell me to have a nice day! I seriously thought about decking him- but then my better sense kicked in and I decided to bolt out the door. I was practially running when I reached outside and had to explain to my ride that I was again at the wrong place! (because of course all my co-workers heard the story from the previous week!) I learned that day that Firestone is not across from Doughnutland, it is ATTACHED to Doughnutland. I raced across Lincoln Way and walked into Firestone. I said "Is this Firestone?" A man looked up and said "Yes... how can I help you." I replied with tossing my keys on the counter and walking out saying "8:30 appointment for Sokoll." 3rd time is a charm!

Moral of my story- never go to car places by myself. AND even though fake glasses make me look smarter- well, they don't end up helping much!"

Posted by Leah at 09:59 AM | Comments (6)

July 20, 2004

Hurray!

Right. So today I attempted to get an estimate on my rear rotors and brake pads at Midas. I am happy to say that the event went off without a hitch! No embarassing moments...YES! I now have new rear pads and rotors... although I'm short a few hundred dollars. However, I knew this was coming soon due to the squealing of the brakes each time I slowed down. I was able to plan ahead and save- therefore not completly draining my budget this month.

Other than that, not a very exciting day. So very hot. It makes me thankful that I am just the receptionist and not the chiropractor. He has to touch everyone as they come in the door drenched in sweat. Bummer.

Tonight we are headed for the weekly Mars Hill BYOM (bring your own meat) - hopefully will provide some fun grill stories. After that.. more packing! yeah!!!!

Posted by Leah at 05:04 PM | Comments (4)

July 19, 2004

Rebuttal-

Ok- so in the past week I have had three people apologize for their dirty kitchens. That was NOT my point at all in that blog entry last week. Seriously, it doesn't bother me if other people have messy kitchens... I can still function. I was just stating a matter of preference for MY kitchen! And no- it is not clean all the time, in fact it gets pretty messy sometimes *gasp* ! I just enjoy a clean kitchen - it makes me smile. That was all I was getting at... I'm not hard to please. ;) Therefore- 'people who have messy kitchens are cool'! Ok- that might be streching it a bit- but I saw a sign this weekend that made me think of that!

Moving right along. Did you know that they make purple duct tape? I'm serious. I bought the last roll of "limited edition purple duct tape" on the walmart shelves today! Yeah!! If you haven't already picked up- I'm a huge fan of the color purple. It is going to create 'fun times' while packing this week!

Verse for the day:
"Fear of the Lord gives life, security, and protection from harm." - Proverbs 19:23

I have been thinking the past week a lot about the concept of fearing God. And how many times I see this as a negative thing. Fear of doing things wrong and him punishing me. I'm sure that is a good fear, but I have been trying to think of things in a different way. Walking in the things that God says are good and holy and pleasing to him. Doing the right things in order not to have to face the consequenses. And not going through life with the attitude of what can I get away with, but how much can my life please God and bring a smile to his face. I often think that fearing God brings me to a point of rules, regulations and "no fun". However, if I am trusting what the verse says ... that I can have life, security and protection- why do I find myself running the other way? God's way is best, it is perfect and it is good.

AND! My boss just came in and asked if I thought I could handle another smoothie this afternoon! Yeah bud!

Posted by Leah at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2004

Perks of the job-

Who would have ever thought working for a chiropractor would score someone free smoothies! Not I! However this has been the case this week. My boss has recently decided that he is addicted to smoothies from the Tropical Smoothie Cafe in downtown Iowa City. However, he very much dislikes the parking situation. We came up with a solution. If I go and pick up the smoothies- he treats! And I'm not talking about cheap slushies either- this is the real deal! Tall, cold and made entirely of fresh fruit and ice! Wow. Today I tried "Berry Blast" - strawberries, rasberries and blueberries. YUM!

Posted by Leah at 03:51 PM | Comments (18)

July 14, 2004

12 Tips to Prevent Cold and Flu the "Natural" Way

Now I know that I'm a germ freak- but I wanted to point out to you all that there are other people who agree with me! These tips are provided by msn.com!

#1)WASH YOUR HANDS! The germs can live for hours -- in some cases weeks -- only to be picked up by the next person who touches the same object. So wash your hands often.
#2)Don't Cover Your Sneezes and Coughs With Your Hands -When you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue, then throw it away immediately. If you don't have a tissue, turn your head away from people near you and cough into the air.
#3)Don't Touch Your Face -Cold and flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose, or mouth.
#4)Drink Plenty of Fluids - Water flushes your system, washing out the poisons as it rehydrates you. A typical, healthy adult needs eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day.
#5)Take a Sauna - Researchers aren't clear about the exact role saunas play in prevention, but one 1989 German study found that people who steamed twice a week got half as many colds as those who didn't. One theory: When you take a sauna you inhale air hotter than 80 degrees, a temperature too hot for cold and flu viruses to survive.
#6)Get Fresh Air - A regular dose of fresh air is important, especially in cold weather when central heating dries you out and makes your body more vulnerable to cold and flu viruses.
#7)Do Aerobic Exercise Regularly - Aerobic exercise speeds up the heart to pump larger quantities of blood; makes you breathe faster to help transfer oxygen from your lungs to your blood; and makes you sweat once your body heats up. These exercises help increase the body's natural virus-killing cells
#8)Eat Foods Containing Phytochemicals - "Phyto" means plants, and the natural chemicals in plants give the vitamins in food a supercharged boost. So put away the vitamin pill, and eat dark green, red, and yellow vegetables and fruits.
#9)Eat Yogurt - Some studies have shown that eating a daily cup of low-fat yogurt can reduce your susceptibility to colds by 25 percent. Researchers think the beneficial bacteria in yogurt may stimulate production of immune system substances that fight disease.
#10)Don't Smoke - (hopefully you can figure out that this isn't the best for you without an explanation! :)
#11)Cut Alcohol Consumption - (see #10)
#12)Relax - There's evidence that when you put your relaxation skills into action, your interleukins -- leaders in the immune system response against cold and flu viruses -- increase in the bloodstream. Keep in mind, relaxation is a learnable skill, but it is not doing nothing. People who try to relax, but are in fact bored, show no changes in blood chemicals.

*Ok- well I really just wanted to point out that there is a reason that i'm a fanatic about washing hands! :) But I think I got a little carried away! :)
Peace out-

Posted by Leah at 03:59 PM | Comments (5)

July 13, 2004

Go fish-

I tried and tried to come up with a title to summarize all the ramblings in my brain. No go. Anyway!

I love clean kitchens! It is my favorite chore in the whole house. Monday nights at our house is chore night and I got to clean the kitchen last night. I'm not talking about just doing some dishes and wiping off the table. I'm talking about scrubbing out the microwave, cleaning out the fridge and mopping the floor! Whew! I think it took me a little over an hr-but man that kitchen looked good! I woke up this morning and walked out to get some breakfast and just smiled. Wow. I know I'm weird, but sometimes it doesn't take much to get me to smile. I love things that are clean and look nice!

Moving right along. I'm turing into my mother. (For those of you who just got lost as to how I could go from cleaning kitchens to my mom... well she is a clean freak as well- in fact I think it might be genetic in my case. However the genes missed all my siblings! :) Not that that is a bad thing- I love my mom! And so do many other people. But did you ever have times when you were younger and you swore that you wouldn't do things the way your parents did? I don't mean the big things- I am so happy for the way I was raised. But it is the little things that I do now that makes me very scared. Like last week when I said "Oh, she will be tickled pink!" As soon as I said it, I thought, hey is mom around? I don't normally talk like that. And then to make matters even better my sister jumped in the car on Friday and said "gooshness" - a Cindy Sokoll favorite! And she is only 17! :) But I have come to the conclusion that if I do turn into my mother I am ok with that. I love you mom!

Next: Today a van drove by our office and had DRAIN - RIGHT on the side of it. As it slowly drove away I caught the tag line:

"We come rush'in to get you flush'in!"

Wow.

And last but not least here is a verse that has been on my mind today. I wrote it on a sticky note and posted it to my computer in hopes that I might have it memorized by the end of the day.

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady. Always enthusaistic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is EVER useless." - 1 Corinthians 15:58

Posted by Leah at 12:03 PM | Comments (4)

July 12, 2004

'Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus'

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
And to take him at his word
Just to rest upon his promise
And to know, 'Thus saith the Lord'

Jesus, Jesus how I trust him!
How I've proved him o'er & o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!

We sang this hymn last night- it has been running through my head all morning. Good stuff.

Posted by Leah at 02:17 PM | Comments (1)

July 09, 2004

Shoes!

Ahhh- a topic that brings a smile to my face! I quickly realized after the few comments from my previous entry that the topic of shoes might be a hit! I am just wondering about all you girls out there- on average- how many pairs of shoes do you have? Specifically, how many pairs of black shoes do you have? Ok guys, I guess I would be curious to see how many you all own as well. Nate- I already know that you own 2 or 3... right? Wow. I could never live like that. When I was younger and came home with a new pair of shoes- my dad would look at me with a horrified look on his face. And ask if I really needed another pair of shoes. So I finally just stopped telling him about the new ones that I bought. He caught on though. Whenever he saw a pair of shoes that he didn't recognize he would say.. "Hi honey.. did you get yourself a new pair of shoes?" Nice dad... yes I did, thanks for noticing! :) He still gives me "the look" about how I don't need more shoes- but I usually don't get "the talk" anymore! And now that I have roomates with shoes that are my size and I can get away with wearing all sorts of fun shoes and not having to pay for them all! So come on girls... oh yeah and Dan Bovey- how many shoes do you have? I will have to go home and count mine- I will comment later!

Posted by Leah at 10:48 AM | Comments (21)

July 08, 2004

The life of a college kid...

Oh wait- that is not me. However, I find myself measuring my life by semester and summer breaks. Yet again this month I am faced with another hurdle. You would think I would break out of this funk and just decide to live in the same house for more than one year. But oh no- God said to move! So I am! My new household for the 2004/2005 school year- Brittney Mann, Amanda Tripp, Lindsy Rohlf, Laura Hudson and I are forging new paths as we attempt to create a new household as of Aug 1st. It isn't that I mind packing and moving so much- because I do get to clean a lot of things! Plus it is an excuse to clean out drawers and closets that haven't been opened in months. BUT- what I don't get- or rather what I don't understand are the landlords in this town of Iowa City. The leases end on the 28th of July at noon and the new leases don't start until Aug 1st at noon. That is FOUR days that you and all your treasured belongings are on the street. Praise the Lord friends and family who own large trucks and are willing to let you pile all your possessions into the corner of their basement for four days. But seriously- if one wasn't blessed with a church family, where would they go? I was told to look at all the hotels during those four days- there will be U-Hauls parked out in front of each one of them. Poor college kids having huge slumber parties in these hotel rooms while their tv's, dvd players and sterios are waiting in the parking lot until 12:01pm on Aug 1st. I understand the need to give the landlords some time to walk through the apartments and such- but four days???? What is a girl to do?

Posted by Leah at 12:25 PM | Comments (7)

July 01, 2004

Summers Past

Ever miss the summers when you were a kid? I do! As I was in the middle of arguing with my insurance company yesturday about my medical benefits, I started remembering what I did on sunny afternoons when I was little. The biggest stress in my life was if we were going to play "Indians" and build a tepee outside or drown grasshoppers in super glue and fry them with a magnifying glass. (I only did this once and it was all my brother's idea!) Now don't get me wrong. I love the fact that I can drive, determine my own bed time and eat what I want at church pot lucks. But do you ever miss the days as a kid? As I was staring out the window yesturday I wished I could run through a sprinkler and eat a fudge sickle while sitting under our big willow tree. My brother and sisters and I used to play "Little House on the Prairie"- that was great! No matter how many times we played or when we played --the main plot was that we were stranded and starving to death. John (playing Charles Ingalls) would go out and hunt some fresh meat to keep his family alive! Also another favorite- we had an above ground pool outside that was 3 feet deep. We had a bunch of little friends who lived close by. We would declare a "neighborhood baptism" and take turns dunking them all individually. Eak! I wonder what they told their parents when they got home. "Gee mom, the Sokoll kids baptized me for the 4th time today!" Oh wow.
I had a good time yesturday afternoon remembering the summers past. I'm curious- what did you all do as a kid in the summer sun?

Posted by Leah at 12:22 PM | Comments (32)