A Reason to Smile...

What I've learned in the past month

2009-06-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

1.) Marrying my best friend is the best decision I ever made.

2.) Navy life is unpredictable and at times, down right crazy.

3.) Training a 10 week old puppy is both fun and frustrating.

4.) Florida has a plethora of wildlife animals that are very curious about the inside of my house.

5.) Changing your last name and your state of residence in the same week confuses just about everyone.

6.) Car dealers can live up to their reputation.

7.) Making new friends helps you see the world in new ways.

8.) My husband will love me even if I sit on his Oakley's, ruin the muffins, and cry like a baby every time he leaves.

9.) Military bases completely intimidate me.

10.) When dropping your husband off for his deployment, get directions off the military base prior to breaking down like a baby.

Hobbies

2008-11-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

Amos and I had a conversation before he left about my hobbies. I told him I needed to find new hobbies, fill my time with something that makes me happy. He very quickly said, "You don't need to find new hobbies, you need to dig deeper into the ones you have." Very curious, I asked Amos what he thought my hobbies were. His initial answer: Grey's Anatomy. Not funny, smart guy!
On a more serious note, he talked about my guitar, and always wanting to learn to speak Spanish. Then he said this:
"You are lucky enough, that your favorite hobby will someday become your career."
How true! How lucky I am to be doing something I love. And how I had almost forgotten that. I don't like lesson plans, I don't like test, I don't like paperwork. I do love children. I do love teaching.
Today, I opened my text books with new curiosity. I want to learn about teaching. Not for the A's or the 4.0... I want to learn about teaching because I love it.

And I ask you this, what good is a mind like doing twenty thousand leagues under the sea?!?!? :)

Reasons to Smile

2008-07-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a taste of the deep, dark, slippery slope of depression. Not wanting to move, having no motivation to do much of anything, moping around the house like someone just ran over my dog, wanting only to curl up and go to sleep just to make it go away. I got a taste of depression, and that's all I want. I'm a fighter, and as bad as things get, I refuse to give in. So today I have woken up with a new desire to live life to the fullest. A new desire to take life one day at a time and enjoy every moment for what it is and what it is teaching me. I intend to search for reasons to smile, reasons to be happy, reasons to be full of joy in a time that seems all but joyless. So, I hereby start my new blog project. I am going to purposefully look for reasons to smile, and document them here, if nothing else than to prove to myself that God has filled this time in my life with joy. Some of my reasons are sure to be shallow and other may accidentally reach new depths and by no means will they be in order of importance. I will simply post "as the spirit moves" and hopefully this can become a place where you and I can find reasons to smile.

Amazing Technology...

2008-05-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

Who knew that some grocery stores have motion censored lights in the freezer section! It's so much fun! If you come across this amazing invention, the only way to truly appreciate it is to run down the aisle as fast as you can. Believe me, it's an amazing feeling to have that much power. :)

A change of pace

2008-05-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

The finals are over and the grades are in...
I am surrounded by flat land and cornfields...
It's the middle of May and only 60 degrees outside...
I've made two trips to Wal-Mart in the past 24 hours...
The internet is actually moving faster than glacial speed...
I spent the past 4 hours cleaning...
I've been home only a few hours and have already seen 5 people I know...
It's 9:03 and I am the ONLY one awake in the house...

Ahhhhhhh, yes. It must be time for another FayCo Summer. Bring it On!

What a Weekend...

2008-04-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend was much needed.

I slept in until 11:30 on Saturday. Then my fabulous friends and I went down to the lake and cooked hotdogs and s'mores in the fire that Janie built so wonderfully. We threw frisbee and football, and took LOTS of pictures.

It was just what was needed so close to finals week!

Caught between a Pit and a Throne

2008-04-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

The media sells us a multitude of different things, some of which cost us money, others of which cost us more important things like self-esteem. The media sells values, images, and concepts about love, sex, romance, success and possibly the most destructive, normalcy. The media our society has created attempts to fit womanhood into a tiny box that can be tied up with a pretty pink bow. The problem is the message they are selling is full of contradictions. Women are to be innocent and sexy, virginal and experienced, opinionated and submissive. And as Jean Kilbourne says, "As all American women over the age of 5 have come to find out, this is tricky." All throughout video games, advertisements, movies, and television, women are shown caught in the middle of the "good girl/bad girl" fantasy.

The interesting thing about this message is that it is nothing new. Women have had to deal with this contradiction throughout history. What has come to be known as the binary ideology concerning women gained momentum during the Middle Ages when women were taught that they were carrying the legacy of both Eve, the "seductive temptress" responsible for the unrighteousness of man, and the Virgin Mary, who has "redeemed" women and all mankind through the virgin birth of Jesus. Both of these women were used to stereotype all women of medieval times. Women as early as the 8th century were completely confused as to who they were and who they were supposed to be.

Another major problem with this image, is that most modern women do not realize they have been contained within this contradiction because it has become so ingrained into our society. Realizing this fact makes the increasing rate of depression among women in America slightly more understandable. The feminine personality traits desired by our society are the same as those listed by doctors as symptoms of the major personality disorders.

This is the very condensed version of the research I have been doing. Here are something to think about concerning the topic.

How does this contradictory view of women affect both men and women in today's culture?
Is it possible that this theory of women has helped to increase the American divorce rate?
What could be done to rework these views on women into a healthier standard?
Who does the change need to start with? Women? Men? Media?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Hopefully it has been enlightening. If you wish to know more email me at mpfeifer@milligan.edu and I can provide more information.

I Wish I Could...

2008-04-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

...jump into a swimming pool.
...spit watermelon seeds.
...blow bubbles.
...dance.
...lay on a beach.
...read an enjoyable book.
...eat a Popsicle.
...sleep for hours on end.
...laugh about nothing.
...spend time with kids.
...learn something fun.

But instead, I'm studying for Humanities.

Ms. Pfeifer?

2008-04-11T11:10:00.001-07:00

When did this happen? When did I go from Kenzie to Ms. Pfeifer?

Today my friend, Caleb, came over from elementary school to visit Milligan. We were reading From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Which Caleb so observantly pointed out, is an obnoxiously long title for a book.

Before the kids got to Milligan, Professor Bowman handed out name tags for the "adult students." Mine said Ms. Pfeifer. When did the switch happen? Obviously I missed that transformation. I had already told Caleb my name was Kenzie, so I didn't make him call me Ms. Pfeifer (most of all because it weirded me out.)

Our Goodbye Book Celebration went well. We traced Claudia and Jamie's footsteps through NYC and the MET using pamphlets I picked up during my visit with the boy. Even though I'm now apparently Ms. Pfeifer, Caleb still seemed to have fun... and no, it wasn't "teacher fun."

Media Literacy

2008-04-10T20:02:00.001-07:00

I spent some time at an elementary after school program today. For my Media Literacy class we are required to teach a group of students 4 hours of media literacy lessons. My group and I are going to be working through an organization called Coalition for Kids. It is an after school program. At the sight we are at there are about 35, 2-5 graders.

We went today to scout out the place. We needed to see where we would be teaching and what there was available to us. There was a slight misunderstanding and when we arrive, the kids were handed over to our control. Quick thinking stepped in and out came a 45 minute lesson on Violence in media. It actually went really well.

There were a few things that were said by the kids today that surprised me. It goes to show the many different parenting techniques used, which brings variety to a classroom. The first thing we started off with was a conversation about our favorite movies, tv shows, and video games. There were a variety of answers ranging from Tom and Jerry to Knocked Up (this one took me by surprise.) Then there was one little girl named Alleah who took me right back to my childhood. Every time another kid suggested a favorite movie or television show, her little hand would shoot up and she would say, "I'm not allowed to watch that show." I felt awful that she didn't have much to add to the conversation, and most of what she did add was put down my the other kids. I finally came up with an area I knew she would be able to help us in:

"Alleah, can you explain the ratings on television shows and movies?"

Her eyes lite up and she said, "I sure can!" and went on a 5 minutes explanation of what G, PG, and PG-13 meant. My favorite description was PG to which she said, "These shows a kid can watch, but only with mommy. That's what mommy said. Only with mommy. I think it's so she can shut it off when it gets to be for mommy and daddy and not me."

I then asked what the word violence means to the kids and where they see violence. The first answer was "on the playground." I then offered up some words, asking the kids to tell me if they were violent actions or not. I suggested pushing, shoving, smiling, and waving. All of these the kids gave the reasonable answer. Then I suggested winking. To this one little boy said it was very violent. I asked why. I was not prepared for the response:

"Winking is very violent because when one guy winks at another guy, that means their gay and I'm going to have to beat them up. And believe me, that would be violent."

Where do you go with that? What do you say? I'm sure this is only the beginning of shocking answers I will receive from kids.

Isn't it amazing how the only people who can leave me speechless are those under the age of 12?

A Visitor

2008-04-10T11:26:00.001-07:00

Flat Canyon came to visit me this week.

If you haven't read the children's book, Flat Stanley, it's a must. It not really an amazing story (a bulletin board falls on Stanley while he's sleeping causing him to be completely flat), but it serve a great purpose in the classroom.

My friend, Canyon, sent his flat self to Milligan to visit me for a while. I must say we have had a great time. I can't wait for Flat Canyon to go back to his classroom to tell of all the great adventures in TN.

Wade in the Water

2008-04-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today is a beautiful day a Milligan College. It is 77 degrees, sunny.... perfect.
AND THEN...

Yep, that's right... a leak coming down to brighten the day all the way from third floor. We live on the first floor. Suite 121 was wading in an inch of water this morning. We caught at least another 2 inches in our trash can. Must have been a long shower up there on third floor.

Just one of those nights..

2008-04-04T20:37:00.001-07:00

They don't happen very often, but when they do, they come with a bang.

Someone suggested I watch the music video to SheDaisy's "Come Home Soon." That song is a blatant reminder that I'm not exactly where I want to be. One of the lines in that song is "I'll wait my turn until it's our turn to dance." Patience is not my strong point. Never has been, but boy is God teaching me know. Having patience while maintaining optimism is a huge struggle for me.

While listening to the song for a second time, I decided for a little pick me up. Amos and I have just finished planning my trip to NY this summer. I had finally saved up enough money to buy the tickets, which believe me, is NOT an easy feat. I went to the Skybus website only to find they shut their doors. Mom and Dad had warned me this may happened, but I didn't believe it. Trying to be optimistic I checked other airlines only to find tickets priced $100 more expensive. Pretty rough on $50 a week.

Like I said... just one of those nights.

So Much Snow

2008-03-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

I went to NYC to visit Amos over spring break. While I was in NY, OH was hit was a blizzard. I was warned of this by Mom the day before I was scheduled to begin my journey home. Being a full 2 hours away from the airport, I woke up at 6:00 AM to check the internet to see if my flight into Columbus had been delayed. Knowing there was 10 inches of snow, seeing no delay, and having no phone number to call to check the flight's status (since Skybus is so good at keeping "fares low for you" by cutting our all the important parts of a flight service), Amos and I left for the airport. After our two hour journey, we pulled into the airport parking lot to the singing of my ringtone... Mom was calling. She informed me Skybus had decided to delay my flight 2 hours. "No big deal," I thought, "Amos and I can just go hang out somewhere for a few hours." I decided that before we left the airport, I should run in and make sure the flight had been delayed.

Standing behind the Skybus kiosk was a beautiful, foreign women who seemed happy to greet me. "Good morning, thanks for flying Skybus! How can I help you?" I told her of my plan to fly into the blizzard. Before I could utter the first syllable of "Columbus," I was interrupted by an urgent:
"SO MUCH SNOW! YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE HOW MUCH SNOW IS IN OHIO! SO MUCH SNOW! YOU CAN'T LEAVE! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING! SO MUCH SNOW!"

Slightly taken aback by her apparent loss of control, I assured her I was aware of the blizzard and simply needed to know when my flight would be leaving.

"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING! YOU CAN'T LEAVE! SO MUCH SNOW!"

I'm not leaving ever? Seriously... come on. When can I leave?

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? SO MUCH SNOW!"

Right! Got it. Lots of snow. When can I go home?

She finally regained control and informed me my flight had been delayed a few hours and I was free to leave and visit the city. All I had to do was to return an hour before my flight. I thanked her and left with a smile on my face thinking of the fallen snow in Ohio and thanking God for a few more hours with Amos.

An hour later, Amos was sitting outside the airport, waiting for me to check my ETD. My arrival at the Skybus kiosk was greeting with a lovely sign hanging directly in my line of sight which read "Closed." Closed? What does that mean? My plan leaves from here in 2 hours. Can it really be closed? My conversation with the obviously most intelligent person in the airport came to an abrupt halt when my good friend from before, who I began to refer to in my head as "so much snow lady," peeked her head around the door in the back, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we're closed."

I explained to her that they couldn't be closed because I was scheduled to leave within the next few hours. She proceeded to tell me I had misunderstood our previous conversation and what she meant by "free to leave and visit the city" was actually " you need to stay and check in your bags now because the kiosk will be closing." An obvious mistake that anyone could make. Apparently the kiosk closes 30 minutes before the flight is scheduled to take off not regarding delays or cancellations. So, as "So much snow" lady stood clicking her long, red fingernails on the counter I plead my case. She threw in random comments such as, "you should have read the fine print," and "it's not my fault, the computer won't let you through," and I believe there was even a "Geez, lady, give it up!"

After 10 minutes of my sad sob story, she finally realized I wasn't giving it up. She cleared her throat and said, "Alright, if you check in right now, I'll let you go through." Apparently this lady owns the Stewart International Airport and controls all the comings and goings, including the functions of the computer. I forced a thank you and then looked down and remembered I had left my luggage in the car with Amos, in hopes that the flight would have yet another delay. Our eyes met, mine with a look of panic, her's with a look of sheer joy.

"You have two minutes."

Two minutes??!?! Seriously lady... get off your high horse and...

Before I could finish my thought I realized this lady actually could keep me in NY for as long as she wanted. So I called Amos and I ran out the door.

"I NEED MY LUGGAGE!"

"Kenzie, you have like an hour and a half before your plane leaves... you need to calm..."

"I HAVE TWO MINUTES!"

"Kenzie, you must have looked at your watch wrong..."

"Amos, my dear and sweet boyfriend, please be the sweetheart I know you are and bring me my luggage."

(Ok, your right, that's not exactly what I said... but, we'll leave it with that.)

At this point, Amos explained to me there had been an "incident" in the parking lot, and he wasn't able to get out.

"An incident? What does that mean."

"I don't know, Kenzie. Someone was backing out, someone else was pulling forward, another car showed up out of nowhere going the wrong way... long story made short, I can't move my car."

You have got to be kidding me. With no other options, I started my treck to the parking lot. I finally saw the Road Runner. (Amos' car. His horn sounds exactly like Road Runner's MEEP! MEEP!) A few minutes later, I stood out of breath in front of the Skybus kiosk for the third time that morning. After a conversation about the exact number of minutes my journey across the entire airport had taken, "So much Snow" checked me onto the plane. In a quite conversational tone, she also added this nice tidbit of information.

"Oh, by the way, your flight just arrived. You leave in 15 minutes."

Before I could say anything else, I grabbed my bags, turned to leave, and was thankfully greeted by a tremendously short line for security. Amos came sprinting in the door, apparently having escape from the madhouse they call a parking lot. We assumed our position in line behind an adorable, old man. When he arrived at the conveyor belt, it was made certain, this man was in no hurry. Slowly but surely one shoe came off, and then the other one. Amos is whispering lots of patience into my ear as the clock is ticking and I am about to run this poor soul over. His bag goes under the x-ray machine and of course, they stop and decide to question him.

"Sir, what are handcuffs doing in your carry-on bag?"

Handcuffs? Seriously?

He explained to them that he is a retired police officer and is just in the habit of carrying them wherever he goes. As soon they convince him he is required to leave them off the plane, he steps through the metal detector, grabs MY BOOK BAG, and continues on his merry way.

As I stand behind the metal detector, unable to go through yet I yelled, "Umm, excuse me sir, I believe you have my book bag."

He continues walking.

"EXCUSE ME SIR, YOU HAVE MY BAG!"

He continues walking.

Then Amos to the rescue, "Sir, you took our book bag."

He turns around and smiles the cutest, old man smile ever and says, "Well, I guess I do!"

How can you be angry at that? Who knows, but I was.

Running extremely late by this point, as soon as we are through the metal detector, Amos grabs everything from the conveyor belt, and we run. No shoes, no belts, just run. Then I hear the awful sound of something hitting the ground and breaking. I stopped and slowly turned around. There and the floor was the remnants of Amos' phone. Having no time to cry over broken cell phones, I picked up all the pieces to give it a proper burial at a later time and we continued to run. When we arrived at gate B17, we sat down and laughed. Laughed so hard, I had tears running down my cheeks. What else could we do?

But soon after that, the laughing stopped. I was required to pay a $10 check in fee for my luggage. As I was putting away the receipt that I still had in my hand, I realized "So much Snow" had managed to charge me $118. Just a little off. I took a deep breath and went up to the boarding desk at my gate. The lady smiled, said it would be easily taken care of, but I would have to wait because they were in the middle of a shift change. She assured me the next person would be up before my plane took off. And she was right. As soon as she left, I heard a familiar voice behind me, and could hear the haunting sound of long, red fingernails on the counter. "So much Snow" was back. I turned around and gave her the best smile I could muster. After relaying my problem she responded with a curt, "Oh, the woman who doesn't have luggage or a boarding pass and arrives hours late, wants to tell me I made a mistake."

I bit my tongue.

"Well, ma'am, I'm sorry, but you seem to have charged my $118."

She grabbed the receipt and looked at it, only pausing to say over the intercom, "Last boarding call for our flight to Columbus."

She ever so slowly fixed my payment and shoved my new receipt in my face.

I turned around, took my stuff from Amos and said a very tearful goodbye. As I turned back around to "So much Snow" she saw the tears in my eyes and the mascara all over my face, and said, "Awww, rough day at the airport, sweetheart?"

I have never been so close to hitting someone in my entire life.

I wish I could say that was the end of the story. I wish I could say that the rest of the trip was relaxing and fabulous. But oh, how I would be wrong.

When I sat down in my airline seat, I couldn't have been more relived. Yes, I was sad, but I was also on my plane and headed home. My relief lasted until I heard this come over the intercom:

"Good afternoon Skybus customers, this is your captain speaking. As many of you have heard there is horrible weather in Columbus. So, we're going to give this a try, and we'll see how it goes. We should have a speedy take off, seeing how we are first in line for the runway. Ok, correct that, we are the ONLY ones in line for the runway. Looks like we are the only ones fly today folks, so let's give it a go! Please enjoy the ride, and thank you for flying Skybus,"

Not exactly what I wanted to hear. Channeling a Mark Lowery sketch, I was gratefully for my seat on the back of the plane, because there has never been reports of planes crashing tail first. As Mark Lowery would say, "I sit my tail on the tail in order to save my tail." Works for me.

The flight was extremely rough, but we made it. After our landing the intercom clicked in anticipation for the following message:

"Welcome to Columbus, OH. The weather here is.... cold. There is 18 inches of snow on the ground. We were unsure of the safety of that landing, but it looks like we pulled it off as we and the plane are all still intact. Looks like I'm a better pilot than I thought. Thank you for flying Skybus and enjoy your trip to Columbus."

I sprinted off the plane. I figured I shouldn't test my luck by staying on the plane any longer than need be. When I arrived at our hotel on airport grounds, I was greeted by a friendly hotel manager.

"Good Afternoon, ma'am. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for the Pfeifer's room."

"I'm sorry I can't give you that information."

"Oh yeah, that's right.... I'll just call them, that's ok. Thanks for you help though."

"You can't call them."

Excuse me? I can't call my parents?? Do you even know what kind of a day I've had? What do you mean I can't call my parents?

"Well sir, I have my cell phone here, I think I'll just give them a call."

"No, ma'am I'm sorry. I'll have to call them for you. Can I have your name please?"

"I'm their daughter, McKenzie"

"You're their daughter, you say? Right...Ok, hang on a moment please."

As the phone rings, I replay my day in my head. At the end of a day like this, all I know for sure is my name... and now this man is questioning that? You have got to be kidding me!

"Mrs. Pfeifer, there is a girl in the front lobby claiming to be your daughter... would you mind to come retriever her?"

He hung up the phone and I averted my eyes. I couldn't trust what might come out of my mouth.

Needless to say, I have never been so grateful to see my parents. They came into the lobby, and I fought the urge to turn to the manager and stick out my tongue. With tears in my eyes, Mom, Dad, and I walked back to the comfort of our hotel room to wait out the Ohio Blizzard of '08.

When we sat down in the room, Dad gave me a hug and said, "So Kenzie, how was the trip home?"

Oh, Father Dearest, where do I begin?

Election 2008

2008-02-22T06:45:00.001-08:00

I get to vote in the upcoming presidential election. This will be only my second time voting, but my first time voting for president. I decided that if I'm going to vote, I'm going to know who and what I'm voting for. I filed for an absentee ballet, which was fun in itself seeing as I'm going to be in three different states before the primary election and had no idea which address to give them. But I got that worked out.
I even looked into whether I was a Republican or a Democrate. I mean, my family is republican... my whole town is republican for that matter. But who is to say I am. I went through a lot of the issues, actually kinda hoping to be a Democrate just to shake it up a little bit. But I can't do it, at least not in this election. Blame it on working at the LIFE Center for so long, but I just can't get over the abortion issue. So looks like I have to vote with the old boring Republicans. HA!

With a Breaking News Update...

2008-02-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

NEWSFLASH: I can't make decisions.
Yet again here comes the dreaded decision of acting vs. athletics. How many times have I made this decision, and how many times will I have to?
Tennis is not going according to plan and I got thrown into an acting gig and had forgotten how much I loved it. Actually, at the end of my acting debut at Grace Fellowship Church, I was offered the most amazing job, to the point where I was almost ready to drop everything and go. But I didn't, which was probably... ok definantly... the wise decision. But now I'm faced with another one.
Do I start getting my feet wet again in acting, or do I continue on the tennis path? Or do I try once again to manage the balancing act of 18 hours of class, 10 hours of tennis, 10 hours of work, and x number of hours practicing.
This would seem like an easy decision for anyone who didn't know me. I'm not planning on following either path into a career. So it shouldn't matter, shouldn't be that big of a deal. But it's me, and I have a desicion complex... so it does matter and it is a big deal.
So, this weekend, I have a tennis match... that I should just be excited to be playing in... but in reality, I'm scared to death.

Back to school, back to school

2008-01-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

Today is my first day back at Milligan. I feel like a freshman all over again because everyone knows where they are going... except for me.

My Spring Semester '08 has started with an hour of quality time sitting behind the desk at the Milligan library. Apparently no one had been covering my hours while I was gone (completely and totally not my fault) so there was no problem with me showing up to work. My first class is Humanities with Dr. Cook. I scrounged around found out with was on the syllabus for today... and well I probably should be reading that instead of writing a blog. Silly me. Not quite back in the habit yet.

Photo Shoot

2008-01-21T23:37:00.001-08:00

Hanging out with my sister and her family this week has been absolutely amazing. It was great connecting again with her kids, Zoe, Charis, and Miah. To make the week absolutely perfect, Amos was able to be home as well, so Mandy, Tony, Amos, and I all got to hang out late at night after the young and old had been laid down to sleep. This week was awesome and well worth missing the first week of classes and all the makeup work I have waiting for me in the beautiful state of TN.

Today, our last day together, Mandy offered to take Amos and I out and take a few pictures. She's an amazing artist/photographer/writer/person/sister, and therefore we of course jumped at the chance to get awesome pictures and spend time with Mandy. Here's one of our favorites:

You can see some more pictures here

I leave tomorrow morning to head back to TN, back to school, back to work, back to being away from the people I love most. But I have been blessed this week with all the time I have been able to spend with them. Who knows when the opportunity will arise again when I can have all my loved ones together at the same time, so this week will be cherished until the next time.

On a lighter note, heading back to TN is not all bad either. I am surrounded by those I love there too, so no complaints here.

As a side note, thank God for the invention of the cell phone and free calling within your network. Amos and I racked up over 8000 minutes one month.

school's overrated

2008-01-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

Registration starts the 14th.
Class starts the 16th.
Mandy and Tony come home the 17th.
hmmmm....

I'll be in WCH until the 22nd. :)

HELP!

2008-01-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

Why is the picture of the skyline messed up on my blog. I've tried to fix it. It's driving me crazy!!

Weekly Challenge

2008-01-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

Inspired by my sister (whom I get to see VERY SOON!!!!) I am going to take part (kinda) in a weekly challenge called The Best Me. Check it out here.
Week One is to make a list of 5 small things to do for yourself this week. Here's my list.
1.) figure out my plan to get to South Carolina.
2.) play the guitar!
3.) hit the Y every day
4.) paint my fingernails
5.) work everything out to see my sister!

So there it is... and I'm sticking to it. :)

Footsteps in the Hall and Stocking Puppets

2007-12-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

This is the first time EVER I am completely finished with my Christmas shopping before Christmas Eve. I'm very impressed with myself. Everything is brought, wrapped, and part of it even sent to California. I'm soooo excited!

I love new things. But not around Christmas. Christmas is about tradition, at least in my book. Not because it would be any less exciting if we did things a different way, but simply because I LOVE the way we do it. And I've had 20 years of practice at it, and I'm getting pretty good!

We start off the Christmas season with tree decorating while listening to Mariah Carey's Christmas album. Cheesy I know, but I used to love it... ok, still do love it. Our tradition extends even to the specific ornaments each of us puts on the tree.

Then Christmas Eve is always services at our church and then we come home and each open one present... which is usually pj's, but don't tell Mom we've caught on yet. Then we go to bed and wait for Santa. Back in the good 'ole days I would have a slumber party with my sister in order to make the night go faster. She was always really good at Christmas, she even told me one year she heard reindeer on the roof.

Then Christmas morning! Mom comes down the hall and wakes me up. When I was little she would come down the hall and I would have been wide awake for quite a while waiting to hear her footsteps down the hall. Now... I'm still waiting for footsteps, just finishing the rest of my beauty sleep in the mean time. Then we go out to the living room. Dad's sitting in his seat and greets me with, "And here's another country heard from." Mom curls up next to him and says, "Go for it." Then you would think it would be a free for all... especially when I was younger... oh, but no, this is the Pfeifer house. We savor Christmas.

We each get our stockings and one and a time, take turns blindly pulling out one thing. When Dad runs out of things in his stocking he always makes a puppet with it. Well when I say always, he did it once and I haven't let him forget it yet. :)

Then we wait. We wait for Grandma. We wait for good food. We wait for presents. We wait.

I love Christmas. I already told Mom she was going to have to put up with me every year for Christmas from here on out... I don't think I could do Christmas without the footsteps in the hall.

Merry Christmas!

This Is Me

2007-12-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

My sister told me the other day that my blog was lonely.

Its true... I haven't written for a while.

Wanna know why?

I couldn't remember for the life of me what my username and password for Blogger was. So I spent the past few minutes going through all of the possibilities, and obviously I figured it out!

Lessons from my Roommate

2007-09-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

"This is just another lesson to trust God's timing over your own. You can't be in control of this. BE OK WITH THAT!"

2:00 AM brings lots of randomness to suite 121, but sometimes inbetween the chocolate and the movies, there is a split second of soul searching. Without even knowing it, Erica told me exactly what I needed to hear, EXACTLY when I needed to hear it.

God's timing is perfect. I keep telling myself that. It's one of those things that I know to be true but have a hard time living by. I want control. I want specifics. I don't want to wait. But I'm learning. The past week I have focused my efforts (well all those efforts that weren't focused on Humanities) on trusting God's timing and control. I don't want to be in control when I think about it. I tend to screw things up. Although time and time again I have given up the reigns of my life to God and time and time again I feel myself spinning out of control and try to grasp hold of whatever I can. Typically that is a tiny shred of the reigns and I make myself comfortable again in my little created, controlled world. But my grasp is weak and eventually I fall, faster than before, before God's hand catches me and He says (in Kenzie paraphrase) "I told ya so." I hope and pray next time I fall I reach first for God's hand.

Test, Community Groups, and Tennis... Oh My!

2007-09-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

This week starts our first round of testing. I have three this week including a humanities exam on Thursday.

I've managed to mangle my shoulder into a million little pieces, so I'm out of tennis the rest of the week and doing physical therapy with the trainer.

On a better note, I joined a small group at my church with Mr and Mrs. Dorr. Erica and I went last night and it was amazing. God couldn't have worked out the situation any better. Their house is beautiful, the food was amazing, and the people are some of the most interesting I have met in a while. I'm very excited about it. Most of the group is from ESTU and there are a few grad students.

Mrs. Dorr is the children's minister at the church and I have turned in my application with her to begin helping.

So if all goes according to plan:
* i won't fail out of school
* i'll be playing tennis by next monday
* i FINALLY be able to work with kids at church and begin to make this church feel like my church home.

Living With People

2007-09-03T06:23:00.001-07:00

Living with people is inevitable. God created us a dependant people. We live in close proximity to people, especially in a college dorm. We share a couch, a sink, a remote, and sometimes even a toothbrush. In order to survive a healthy family life, a successful college career, a marriage, we must learn to live with people.
"Living" with people is inevitable. God created us a relational people. We thrive on others' thoughts, conversation. As a creature we need people near us, people close to us, to love on us and for us to love on them. But people can be hurtful, weird, and disrespectful. In order to have healthy relationships we must learn to "live" with people.
Learning to live with people is a lot easier for me than learning to "live" with people. I need people around. I need people close simply to carry on a conversation with. Life is better with people. But those same people who bring so much joy to your life are the same people who tear you down. It happens in every relationship from the time we begin having cognitive relationships, "Suzi's my best friend and she said that she didn't want to play with me!", to middle school, "But I thought you were going to share a locker with me?", to high school, "He said he loved me.", to college "And I have to share a bathroom with you?", and I'm assume straight on through the rest of life.
A wild tongue is the hardest part of the body to train and it's sharpness can pierce right through to the very core of an individual. But with every harsh word that is said to me, I can think of 10 that I in return have tossed around in playful jest or even anger. I am at extreme fault in this area of my life as well, and so when the tables turn it gives me an opening to evaluate myself and see if I need to reign in my tongue.
Although words can hurt, they can also heal. The right word spoken by the right person can heal any ailment that may come my way. I thank God for all the words that have been spoken to me this weekend. Some in anger, some in jealousy, but most in love. I love the people that God has blessed me with in my life. And although they are the same people who can knock the wind out of me and make me fall to my knees, they are the very same people who hold out their hand and pull me back up. I hate ending anything with a cliche although a few come to mind (the people who you love the most can also hurt you the most, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.) So instead I will simply say that I am grateful for the pain, the struggles, the fun, and the love that lead to deep, lasting relationships. I am grateful that God has given me the opportunity to learn to "live" with people.

The Couchiad

2007-08-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

WE GOT OUR COUCH! and of course, there's a story to go along with it.

Erica, my 25 lbs dancing roommate :) decide that we could move the couch on our own in our suitemate's car. We drove to our "shady storage shack," as it has affectionately been christened. There we found that although it was open, our loading dock was closed. We decided we had waited long enough for a viable seating arrangement in our room so we pulled into a loading dock down the way a little. We manuevered with our love seat through the mounds of forgotten junk people pay an extraordinary amount to store every month. When we finally reached our destination no matter how we pushed, shoved, twisted, squeezed, pressed, cried, pleaded, begged... the couch wasn't fitting in the car. Eight attempts later we finally resigned our fate and headed back to campus. After calling a friend with a slightly larger car, we started our journey again back to Central Mini Storage. with Thomas' help we achieved victory over the couch and drove back to campus only then to lug the love seat up three flights of steps and making ourselves and the couch think extrememly skinny as we pushed it through the door to Suite 121.

It was the time to celebrate, which I did by "studying" for the next few hours with the love seat. ZzzzZzzzZzzz....

(You know that you have already been in humanities too long when you begin writing Mock Epics about trivial things that no one cares to read. Call me the next Alexander Pope.)

Where the Buffaloes Roam

2007-08-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Summer has now officially come to a close and I am back in the state of TN. Move in went relatively smooth, other than not being able to get in our storage unit. Who needs bed sheets and refrigerators anyway? Our room looks pretty empty as of now, without our couch and tv and such but hopefully we should be able to get in today. FINALLY!

It's good to be back on campus although I am quickly reminded of the frustrations of school. I went and spent a small fortune on books this morning. Also Milligan has decided to block webcam usage on the entire campus. Byebye Skype.

Classes start Wednesday. Work starts Thursday. Tennis starts when Coach comes back.

Looking forward to good times, hard work, and a whole lot of humanities.

A Good Reminder

2007-08-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

This week was FCC's Summer Impact Program. I was asked to be the "figurehead" of VBS. Being a water theme, I have become Lily the Lifeguard. From my pigtailed head to Sammy the Seal around my waist I have become a new character in the eyes of the kids. It's been a really good time. I also told the kids a secret about Lily, she can't swim. So all week I've gotten tips from the kids on how to swim in hopes to learn by Friday when they have a pool party. I've gotten some pretty good lines this week from our little VBSers!

"You're not really Lily. You're Kenzie. You're playing a character just like you played Belle. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"I know you can swim. You taught me how to swim!"

"The pool would never hire you if you couldn't swim. The church only hired you because there isn't a pool here. Didn't you think about that when you agreed to take the job?"

"You don't have to worry at the pool party. I don't think any of us could throw you in the pool!"

It's been lots of fun. And it's a good reminder of how much I love kids and how excited I am to be able to work with them everyday!

Ebenezer and Inigo

2007-08-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

MAN IN BLACK: If you're in such a hurry, you could lower a
                    rope, or a tree branch, or find something
                      useful to do.

INIGO:     I could do that. In fact, I've got some rope
              up here. But I do not think that you will
              accept my help, since I am only waiting
              around to kill you.

MAN IN BLACK: That does put a damper on our relationship.

INIGO:       But I promise I will not kill you until you reach the top.

MAN IN BLACK: That's very comforting. But I'm afraid you'll just have to wait.

INIGO:        I hate wait.

No one has said it better.  I hate wait.

I know where I want to go and what I want to be doing, but it seems like everything is so far off. Now I know as well as the next person that it's all part of the process and things will only be better because of the time spent in anticipation. But I'm so excited to get things going. To be moving forward, making things happen. But instead I sit here, on my couch, twiddling my thumbs, waiting...

I've have always been an indecisive being. And because of that, to make my life easier, God answered all the difficult questions for me years before I needed to know answers, as if to prepare me for what was ahead. I knew I wanted to be a teacher in preschool. I knew I wanted to go to Milligan my 4th grade year. He pointed me toward inner-city teaching my Sophomore year in high school. God has brought a masters program to my attention already. And I praise Him for that, for He only knows that I wouldn't have been able to make those decisions on my own. Knowing years in advance has given me time s to think about it, prepare for it, get excited for it, dream about it. And as that time grows closer, it gets harder to wait. As Inigo said, I hate wait.

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ' Thus far has the Lord helped us'"

God heard my prayers. 1 Samuel 7:12 was brought to my attention at Bible Study this week. I love the idea of an Ebenezer stone. It is a reminder that although we haven't seen into our future, and we don't know what is ahead, we can look in our past and say "Thus far the Lord has helped me." And He has! Thus far, I can see God's fingerprints in every area of my life. Thus far, God has never let me down. Thus far, God has been with me through the craziest times and the times of waiting.

"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun,and his clothes became as white as the light."

Another great message of relief I heard this week was that of the movable mountain. We've all heard "with faith the size of a mustard seed you can move a mountain." But there are somethings that just won't get out of the way. No matter how many times you scream for it to move, it won't budge an inch. If you ask a mountain to move, and it doesn't, could it possibly mean that God wants you to climb that mountain in order to see Him transfigured?

So I stand at the foot of the looming Mountain of Waiting with my Ebenezer stone in hand. Having lost my voice from months of screaming "MOVE!" And yet there it sits, casting a shadow of years of boredom and anxiety. I look down at the stone in my hands and see the fingerprints God has left upon it, making it obvious how evident He has been in my life. And so I start my climb. One foot in front of the other, every once in a while taking a break to look at the Ebenezer stone. And I wait in anticipation for the moment when I reach the top of that mountain and see my God transfigured. At that moment I will bow down and say "thus far, you, Lord, have helped me."

Learning to be Betty

2007-07-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Betty Crocker ain't got nothing on me! With a TON of help from Cooking with Carla, I am quickly moving up the Domestic Scale.

To date I can confidently know when a meatloaf is finished cooking and peel my own apples. I have also been informed that there is an appropriate time to use that funny, crystallized, white stuff that sits in the back of our cabinet by the pepper. Who knew?

And the best part of the whole thing...

Derek and Carla have furnished the beginnings of my kitchen collection. I am now the proud owner of a shiny, new muffin pan.

My next project:

Learning to build bookshelves. Momma Marilyn isn't too happy that her books have been taken out of the oven and left in piles around the floor.

You'll love David's Bridal

2007-07-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Deciding to be sneaky and try wedding dresses at David's Bridal?

ok... kinda fun... a good story at least.

Getting a phone call 10 months later letting you know you won a 5 day all inclusive Honeymoon for you and your finance?

you have got to be kidding me... give me a break.

Hey Bryce? Wanna go on a trip?

Cliff Notes: The Past Two Weeks

2007-06-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

The People: 2 Youth Groups, 4 Leaders
The Trip: CIY and Urban Missions in Chicago
The Prayer: "Dear God, it's been a while since you told me how it was. My life has been an easy ride for a while. I've always heard if your life is rolling easy then you must not be a big enough threat to Satan. Here I am completely devoted to you. Beat me up. Show my my errors. Give me something to work on. Use me. Show me ways in which I can be of service to you."
The Overlooked Obvious: GOD ANSWERS PRAYER
The Result: windows shattered, vans died, plans lost, exits missed, computers stolen, dogs lost, cockroaches crawled, sodas unclaimed, families missed, community broken, people failed, tears fell, hearts broken, speed limits unmet, peaches molded, loud freshman partied, pain grew, sleep forgotten, past remembered, ER frequented, GOD FORGIVING, GOD LOVING, GOD GUIDING, GOD PROTECTING, hugs given, smiles shared, relationships mended, love experienced, friendships built, dog found, futures exposed, caffeine consumed, dreams fulfilled, excitement grew, vans packed, church cleaned, home regained
The Conclusion: GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME. ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD.

An oldie but a goodie

2007-06-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

Mom: So are you enjoying writing on your blog?
Kenzie: Yeah, but it's not something I want to do everyday. Just when the inspiration hits.

So, this is three posts in two days.

This is something I wrote a while ago after a college memory was made.

The background information: My roommates and I went into David's Bridal and acted as though we were planning my wedding. We then posted pictures on the Internet of our wedding party, with no explanation. Obviously, there were a few confused people inquiring as to who my Phantom Fiance might be. I then wrote this public apology and explanation. And it's such a good story, I feel it deserves a comfortable spot here as well.

For all you inquiring minds:
I'm not engaged. I'm not getting married. No worries. BUT... David's Bridal thinks I am. You see, every girl wants to try on a beautiful wedding dress. But good ole' David won't allow this to happen unless your actually engaged. Who would have thought?!?! So...being the marvelous actress that I am (thanks to my wonderful drama teacher) I convinced David and his crew that I soon was going to acquire my MRS degree. We walked into the boutique and were quickly greeted by Courtney, who was obviously being paid through commission. It was sort of reminiscent of a lion surrounding it's prey. She offered me a catalogue and congratulated me on my new engagement. My girls and I, were quickly becoming the next ones to walk down the aisle. As the woman asked questions about my upcoming wedding, I shot off answers, the whole time keeping the "glowing bride" look.

Lion: "When is your wedding?"
Prey: October 2007
Lion: "What's his name?"
Prey: Bryce Williams
Lion: "His middle initial?"
Prey: Oh...uh...
Lion: "O?"
Prey: Uh...Yeah...O
Lion: "How many flower girls?"
Prey: 2
Lion: "How many groomsman?"
Prey: 3
Etc. etc. etc.

As soon as my dearly beloved, Bryce, and I were registered newlyweds, the modeling began. Of course only the most expensive dresses were brought out. Only the best for my Bryce. You could almost see the desire in the Lion's eyes and the drool in her mouth. As one of the girls pulled out a camera to take a few shots of me walking down the catwalk of deceit, she was quickly reprimanded by an onlooking predators. "There's no pictures. I'm sorry ma'am." I saw our plan crumble before my eyes. Who would believe we had pulled this off with any proof? With a tear in my eye, I informed her that my mother lived out of the state and she couldn't make it to help with the wedding preparations. The lions backed off, afraid of the "stressed out bride hormones" they were all too familiar with in their line of work. After all of our names, sizes, and dress style were put into the registry, we decided it was time to call it a day. We left with promises to return closer to the wedding day to retrieve the dresses.

So I suppose this means I have a few apologies to make:

David- Terribly sorry for your wasted time. But if you could do me a favor and take my name out of your registry, my mailbox at school can only hold so much junk mail. Although, I must admit the free (with the purchase of a $10,000 dress) 7 days honeymoon cruise was tempting...

Courtney - Our time together was almost as exciting as watching the Discovery Channel. Although for the first time in history, the prey escaped. Sorry!

Anyone with the name of Bryce O. Williams - Pure coincidence. I swear!

All my love,
Mrs. Bryce O. Williams

In with the Boss

2007-06-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

"Good Afternoon! Thank you for calling CFS. This is McKenzie. How can I help you?"

God has put me in yet another situation to learn how to be grateful. My Dad, who is a business owner, has allowed me the privilege of working at his office as a secretary for the summer. Why is this an amazing opportunity? I get to make my own hours. I am paid better than I would be at any other summer job I could have. I get to spend most of the day with my Dad. Why can't I seem to remember the awesomeness of all this? I sit at a desk for 4 hours a day observing the comings and goings of the gas station across the street. Every once in a while the phone will ring, and when it does I am filled with mixed emotions. "Sweet! I have something to do!" "Please God, don't let them ask me a question." I have decent people skills, which would be what landed me the job to begin with, but I have the knowledge of a 2 year old when it comes to the workings of the business. But, being the boss' daughter, I play up the cuteness factor and plead ignorance, and it usually works out for the best. Although there was that one time when I put the decimal point in the wrong place. I guess $7,000.00 is different than $70,000.00. Who knew?
So today I decided I needed to begin to look on the bright side of this. So here are some of the accomplishments that have flourished from 1-5:00 M-F...

1.) I am not an avid reader, but with four hours in front of me I have managed to put on my reading glasses and dive into a few books that have been in my "someday" pile for sometime. To date I've spent some quality time with Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, and Shaine Claiborne's Irresistable Revolution.

2.) I found a website that has the capabilities of curing even the most chronic cases of boredom. http://www.bored.com/

3.) During a usual afternoon of gas station blues, I began Googling everything from BP's mission statement to the Columbus Zoo's Panda Bears. Somewhere inbetween I typed in "Inner-City Teaching." (To catch some of you up to speed, this is the plan for my Someday. I want to teach in the inner-city of Chicago. I'm sure there will be more on this later.) The first link was to an organization called the Inner-City Teaching Corps. It seems like a reputable source (although I haven't been able to find ANYONE who has heard of it, probably not a good sign.) and I am excited to check into it further.

So aside from the occasional phone mishap and the excitement of the thriving fuel industry, God has used this experience to mold me further into who I am to become. I guess it does pay to have an in with the Boss.

Eat Your Veggies

2007-06-13T17:00:00.001-07:00

The book Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne should come with a warning label. THIS BOOK WILL RUIN ALL YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS. I would recommend everyone read it.

It has made my comfortable life uncomfortable. It has shown me how my feet are firmly planted in my comfort zone. My feeble attempts at stretching my comfort zone were really just to make me more comfortable. I would go to a convention, hear a good sermon, or listen to a "good person" talk and begin to hear a buzz in my ear. Something would pull my earplugs of everyday noise out and let me hear the whisper in my soul, "Kenzie, there's more. You're missing the main point. You're feet are firmly grounded in perception, come see my reality." But after being filtered through my immature-Christian ears I would hear the Sunday school answers being screamed in my ear. "PRAY! SING! INVITE PEOPLE TO CHRUCH! READ YOUR BIBLE!" So I would read my Bible for a week. But I would read the comfort food verses. You know those feel good verses we read over and over again, highlight and leave the ribbon bookmark in, to make ourselves comfortable again. Like "God works for the good of those who love him." but we conveniently overlook "if you love me, you will obey what I command." and "do you love me? feed my sheep." Those aren't highlighted or marked with bookmarks because verses like that require action. They require movement. And once I had run out of Biblical mashed potatoes, I would be done and would sprint deeper into my comfort zone. I had silenced the already faint whisper and was ready to continue my life of comfort.

I've reached a place in my life where that's not enough. I have begin to dig deeper into the Word and reading the words in between the highlighted verses and saw my calling. So I challenge you, read between the highlights. Read the uncomfortable verses. Read the verses that call you to action. Eat the fruits and veggies that God is serving, and leave the comfort food for another day.

You may be asking yourself "Why would I want to read something that is going to make me feel uncomfortable?" and to that I would have only this to say: When you start eating your veggies, start with this one, Luke 9:23-27.