I know... I know...

.... I said that I would be updating my blog often. Well. Actually getting time to access the internet for long bouts of time is a different reality when I'm here! So, I completely apologize for vanishing into the woods for a bit of time. Hopefully I can be better at updating here and there. This little blogspot will be reserved for longer posts, my tumblr will do pics and videos (felicidades.tumblr.com), and twitter will have the lil' 140 character or less semi-daily nuggets (twitter.com/laceyfelis). Okay, yeah. Maybe thats overkill but I'm still trying to figure out which one I like best. So I'll just combo for a while. It all ends up posted to facebook anyway. What a lovely hub for our social media.

okay. deep breath. how to start?

I'll put this in chunks. ew. chucks make me think of vomit.
segments? no. thats back to pre-cal with Mrs. Scott and that was traumatic.
cubicles? nope. i'm not a transponster like Chandler (Friends??? anyone???)

Pockets! I love pockets. They are just lovely.

- Orientation was extremely long and tedious. We learned a ton about working the retreat/conference season at Pine Cove, which was super encouraging. Gosh I love how this organization runs. (ASIDE. If you are in Texas and would like to serve a weekend retreat or conference at Pine Cove with your small group, let me know! Its a great (free) retreat opportunity for you to use. Plus I think working together is far more bonding that just hanging out all weekend. the end.) We had great dinners with many different types of leaders from the Pine Cove community and were just stuffed with vision of what this year could be. It was like Thanksgiving when everything looks so good so you stuff it all in your face and can't remember what anything really tasted like. yeah. Thats the way I do Thanksgiving. Maybe you are one of those people who have self control and can't related to my analogy at all. I apologize for your lack of pie and mashed potatoes in your life.

- Part of orientation was ropes training and certification. I had no clue that I was so fearful of heights, but apparently I am. Halfway through the week I was really questioning my value and my place of belonging in our Forge class, but by God's grace and the encouragement of others I finished out the week.... HUGE sigh of relief.

- Trying to live with 24 other people that you don't know at all is really hard. Especially when you aren't quite sure about how they view you. No lie, my insecurity has been just RAGING. The temptation for me to crawl into a shell and not show my personality is really strong, but little pockets of comfort have made it easier for me. One of our classes earlier this week was such a blessing because I got to access one of my passions. Granted, the pressure was on... many people know I love this and would think that I'm awesome at it, when in truth I just love it. I don't excel.... but my joy was so much greater than my desire to live up to the expectations of others.


okay. unfortunately I'm out of time for this very second. oy. I would love to keep on typing. BUT we have covenant meeting in about.... nine minutes and I can't be late. SO savor this little taste for now and I'll be back later.