christy went west

YOU BUY A SHIRT: I GET SUPPORT!

2010-01-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

http://fisheyed.org/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=4&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2

My sweet friend Drew Chapman (no, not related) went to MSU and was an art major with me. He recently started this non-profit he's been thinking of for a while, and he let me be a part of it! He uses his screen-printing company's--pollchaps-- facilities to print shirt that he then sells through fisheyed.org to raise support for missionaries. I am around $3,000 away from being done and it would be amazing if this could account for a large sum of that...fund raising is good, but I would rather be on campus with the students here at CSU! :)

do you ever have days where...

2010-01-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

you feel like everything you are saying doesn't sound like yourself? Not the real conversations but the small talk that gets you through the day....Its not good or bad, its just not you? And as you say it, you listen and think where is this coming from? I had that kind of a day today. It was amplified when I was at the gym. Perhaps because i needed more water, but i can't say for certain.

Merry Christmas! Here's the winter newsletter...

2009-12-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

Just click on the images below to enlarge them to a readable size:

New NEWSLETTER

2009-09-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

I did this newsletter in a style with hints and touches of the new fliers. I think it'll be big enough to read if you double click on the image. But we'll just see. Thanks for lookin!!

dumb dumb dumb

2009-09-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

i thought i was tryng to follow a friends blog and somehow ended up following myself. How do you take that off? anyone?

hip hip hooray

2009-09-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
GOOD NEWS!! JON FOUND MY CAMERA...the blog will continue. but not enough time right now. Love,
Christy

Growing up...the painful way. (aka The only RUF intern with a warrant out for her arrest for the first YEAR of her employment.)

2009-07-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

As ya'll well know I moved from Mississippi to Colorado this past year in August. Well what many of you may not know, is that on July 26th at 7:26 am I received a traffic ticket. The story goes a little something like this....
One morning Christy woke up very early to buy some paint. She was a little grumpy and concerned that all the responsibilities of the day would last longer than the actual minutes of the day, but she set out on her first quest--determined to conquer. Once she was in the store, she began to relax, delighting in the simple luxury of paint. Lingering sometime over the details of the paint selection, Christy made her purchase and left the store.
On her way home, she unwittingly snickered to herself at the large cop on the small motorcycle headed in the opposite direction on County Line Road. As she tried to hit the dashboard in the sweet-spot that made the tape-deck and speakers work together, it seemed to be a normal day. Then it happened--as the light in front of her turned red, blue lights turned on behind her. THAT FAT MOTORCYCLE COP HAD PULLED HER OVER! Flustered she waited for the green light and then pulled into a nearby Shell station.
While poor Christy searched for her license, registration and insurance, her stomach sank until it was parallel to her knees. The sharp rap on the window brought her from her search with a jolt.
"Ma'am, do you know why I pulled you over?" said Officer Fat.
"No sir, I don't even have a guess!" piped indignant yet timid Christy.
"Ma'am you're not wearing a seatbelt."
"Why, yes I---" to her dismay she looked down to see that in fact, Officer Fat was correct: her seatbelt hung limply to her right.
After Officer Fat, badge number 57, had ticketed her she headed home, sure her day could only get better...and it did. She finished her painting and visited with her dear sister Emily and completed all the things on the list for July 26th.

Fast forward one week. Christy sat at the foot of her bed on the cool hard wood floor in her overly warm house. 6-0-1-8-5-3-2-0-0-1 , her fingers carefully pecked out the Ridgeland clerks office and she prepared her oldest sounding voice.
"City of Ridgeland" answered the male voice on the phone.
"Yes, I received a traffic ticket and this is the number it has on it to call for information about the fine. It was a seatbelt violation."
"What is your driver's license number ma'am?"
"**********."
"Okay, let me look at that....that is twenty-six dollars and fifty cents"
"Where do I send it? and what do I do?"
"Just put a check in an envelope and mail it in to us."
"And that's all I have to do? I am about to leave the state so I need this to be right."
"That's it."
"Ok, thanks."
Feeling very official and grown up Christy wrote her check with her purple pen, addressed the envelope, put on the stamp and that very afternoon dropped it in the out of town box at the MSU post office.
END OF STORY, right??!!

Eleven months later, I go to get my Colorado ID. Apparently, my license has an alert telling them that my ID is suspended in Mississippi and that there is a warrant for my arrest in said state. You can imagine my shock and confusion. I dial the same number of the clerk and wait on hold for so long my 2/3 full battery starts to beep his last wishes as his life slipped away. Using my friend's phone I try again, after a full thirty five minutes of being on hold, a real voice finally answers.
There is no record my check ever came to them. I call my old bank and from July to October there is no record of a $26.50 check being processed. Bad news bears. Terrified, I call the clerk and ask what to do. Remarkably, it's only a 20 dollar late fee. (plus the original $26.50)
I mail the $46.50, I call today (a week later) to make sure they had received the payment. They did. I then ask, if my license is reinstated.
"Well, did you pay the reinstatement fee?"
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of a reinstatement fee. How much is it?"
"I don't know you'll have to call blah blah blah blah..."
So I call the new number and find out, through a series of questions with a lady who obviously thought I was dumb and inconsequential, (I'm sure she's right, but come on, be polite--right?) that in September they mailed a warning to my old address (that I did set up a forwarding address for before I moved!!) And the clerk's office standardly sends a document when there are ten days left before ticketed fee is due. I also discover this latest "reinstatement fee" is $25--cashiers check or money order, and i have to have the receipt for the ticket and late fee.
I think this officially puts me at about a two week time before I am no longer a fugitive from justice.

Though it hurts me to say it--for I have long loved the force of men and women in there standard blue uniform with that proud eagle adorning their chests--I believe the U.S. Postal service has done me a great DIS-service, with three different failures resulting in my possible arrest.

NEW! just for you.

2009-07-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

ok. so, it has been a very long while. sorry. here are some recent photos: they're just from my facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174794&id=26503768&l=5d076af32f
and more here!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174295&id=26503768&l=bb30340924

The first album has the RUF cinco de mayo party and friend and family visits. All good times!!
The second has my trip to telluride. (for the bluegrass festival!) There are an excessive amount of me and cameron, but we are pretty bad at remembering to document us, so we consider it a success. The trip was lovely the people we went with were so fun. However, the world is still broken--I had a 102.2 fever when we got back and realized that "head-ache" that I had attributed to altitude was actually a fever all four days. I also had trouble breathing from all the second hand smoke. Had to pump that inhaler a time or two :( But that information is just so you know telluride is not heaven and don't get too jealous. The trip as a whole had more positives than negatives.
A little funny story...Cam works with high school students and I work with college students so we figured we'd better be "above reproach" and have different tents (which is probably a good idea no matter our occupations but was such a hassle). Because of this we were known around the camp ground as "His and Hers". I think I also heard one couple, who were having a VERY good weekend, refer to us as the mormons. :)

blog litter

2009-01-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

Do ya'll have old blogs you started years ago and forgot about over time?

I just found one...http://www.xanga.com/chattychap

and i think i have two others...i might have to think a while to remember what they were. I'll sleep on it. I wonder how much waste there is out there just lying in the abyss of the internet.

just found another...http://chappy268.vox.com

For those who want to see RUF stuff...

2009-01-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.csu.ruf.org/photo-gallery

p.s.

2009-01-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

on that last post, just copy those links into the browser. I don't know why they didn't turn into links.

Blogger isn't nice today.

2009-01-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post pictures on here, but its not working. So i put them on facebook and it says I can put this public link-- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2147773&l=1c462&id=26503768 -- and ya'll can see them from there. I 'm going to do that with my snow album too because it is beautiful. not to brag, its the snow that made it beautiful. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2142527&l=94918&id=26503768

So anyways. Life is fairly good. I have a virus. But its not awful, just makes me cough and sleep a lot. Cameron's been taking care of me and that's fun. I really enjoyed visiting so many people over the break, but I always feel very odd when I return to Fort Collins. I guess because it is so obvious that I live in two different worlds. I have an old life with all the marvelous old people I know and love so well and a new life with all the new people I am enjoying getting to know and love. But that makes me feel funny. I love it when old people come to the new life cause then I feel very grounded and normal. Odd? perhaps.

I'm a little intimidated that the school year is about to start up again. I feel like the break was a complete break, which is good, but my mind is far away from here when I am far away, and I'm beginning to pull it back and remember how excited I have been about this upcoming semester.

I have a boyfriend. Odd? for me, yes. I like him decidedly. But sometimes I feel real wierded out be the whole thing. Usually, though, I can't believe God made someone so very similar to me and who is so kind to me. I've never had anyone be as thoughtful. Anyways you can keep us in your prayers.

just a little RUF christmas party.

2009-01-07T12:36:00.000-08:00

dirty santa white elephant can be a blast.

Fall Retreat! just a few from game night

2008-10-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

family and home. (i did an awful job of documenting this trip.) I was to excited or busy to take pictures most of the time

2008-10-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

roy is the sweetest dad ever (you should click on this one. its a beautiful picture)

iris does the best faces for her aunt christy

recent mother and me

iris has the silkiest hair

kate has the poutiest faces

roy and i had on matching shirts

dad grandmother me

brother jereme, baby liam

lily loves to dance

grandmother tan dad

lily in daves hat

elk and pumpkins

2008-10-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

bear lake and us

rocky mt national park

elk. (we saw at least 100)

me laura seth ross matt

squirrels ate this within a day of having it out in front of our house. it was a bat with 511 in the wing.

we all carved pumkins!! It was Aprils party idea and i loved it!!

johns was my favorite. "all the way USA"

climbing and house (these are old, sorry i've been so bad at posting)

2008-10-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

me. (you can't tell but i'm wearing like size ten men climbing shoes) I've since been loaned some old ones that are just a little to big from my roommate, but can't wait to be able to buy my own...maybe a christmas present idea?

these published in reverse order of what i was trying for.... and i forgot to take one of our cute bathroom. BUT here s the house.

things that have been rattling around in my head.

2008-09-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

asymmetrical houses. they are lovely really. Most houses have the door in the middle and are pretty similar on opposing sides of the door. Some have a chimeny in the middle and then a window on one side and a door on the other for balance. Not so with the house across the street from mine. I think i really am a fan of this style. Not to say all others are bad, my own house is very symmetrical and i like him quite a bit, but just a thought. Be on the look out for asymmetrical houses.
I really like the squirrels here. They are much redder than ours from home. Perhaps thats why ours were called gray squirrels. Anyways they are very friendly. I often leave my front door wide open during the day. One afternoon as I was walking from the kitchen to my bed room I noticed a darling little fellow on my threshold. He seemed to be intently trying to determine if he should come in or stay out. I took it upon myself to instruct him in the second of his options. As I walked towards him saying, "this isn't really your kind of house lil buddy" he cocked his head to the side almost listening to me and after remaining a while slowly walked off. Hes been back since (perhaps I need to start using the screen door) and i hope to feed him when the ground is frozen and he has a hard time finding his nuts.

On campus the lil guys often stop right in front of me, stand on their haunches with a nut in their mouth and just sit there. I usually have to walk around them. It makes me laugh out loud. I love how such little things can bring such joy to life.

Not quite on such a cheerful side (not even one that you really want to illustrate with a picture) I've been thinking about human nature. It is interesting to me, that when i think i have done something that could in no way hurt someone, I am wrong. When I think I am in the clear-- even then i can cause hurt. Obviously, there are times when I choose to cause hurt and am intentionally harsh--I understand when those actions cause pain. But its truely eye opening when I think I am being kind and that causes suffering too. Ever since I was 11 I have believed very personally that humans (that means me too) are broken even though I'd felt it long before that, I think that was the first time I understood it. My whole belief system is founded on this fact. And yet I am still surprised by how devasted we truely are. I am glad we have a savior that will one day kiss every wound we ever got and every one we ever gave. I am glad he teaches us and enables us to heal now and to grow to love more and harm less, but i can't wait til he makes it to where we are like new, without even the scars from our healed bo-bos.

I found this when i was looking up how to spell squirrels. Sort of ties two posts together and also hits on how we are just broken people running around breaking people. Just turn the animals into people and the light sabers into words.

a month to the day of my arrival, we went climbing!

2008-09-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

This is The Pallace, at Poudre canyon. Only a thirty minute drive from the edge of town. Crazy, right?
Wes and Stef (sweet married people)

Matt. I don't know if this looks as stupid/unsafe as it really was or not. The top of that ledge was about two feet across. Maybe more, but I didn't like the idea of free climbing on it, at all. He's alive and well though so thats a plus.
The colors here make me giddy, and then i start running around so fast that i get really light headed (altitude). But man. Evertime I go out to the mountains I come back with a new awe of God, especially His artistry.

more to come. all the computers i get on, are wierd and i can't find my usb to upload the other images from matt. boo!

a day in the life of a...princess?

2008-09-25T11:57:00.001-07:00

One of my Bosses children had a birthday...it was a Star Wars theme. I got to help, and the morning of said party I went to goodwill to look for a costume. Finding one that looked to me to be a princess dress with a cape, I was excited. I also found some boots. However, the boots were all that i tried on. When i dressed for the party, I realized I had unwittingly purchased a toga. After snippin off the red shoulder throw and adding a waist of gold (which i unknowingly stole from maggie when i moved out...sorry) I made due. I was very dissapointed with the size of my braids though...I thought I had long hair, ya know? This young fellow, made me feel like a success. As he and his mother walked up to the party, he exclaimed "MOM! I know her!!", which made me feel awkward--as I had never met him and his mom was eyeing my funny--until the little lad finished his thought... "That's Princess Leah!!"
Me and the boss. Could be our RUF flyer.... "Is the Force with you?" Come and find out! RUF LSC Room 230

around campus

2008-09-09T15:21:00.001-07:00

nice texture.

this is for aj. its mounted on the wall like a painting.

for momma

after the earthquake

random pond i came apon while trying to find my way home.

Welcome to our House!

2008-09-09T15:16:00.001-07:00

they cut down our big ceders, but it really shows off how cute the little guy is. (referring to the house)

my room

lindsey's room

living room

lookin in the house from the atrium.

oh the disarray of move in day! i'll post new ones of when its all put together!

Tour de FAT! the worlds largest bike parade!

2008-09-09T15:02:00.001-07:00

Lindsey and I decided not to enter formally but we rode around and saw a lot. Which was really fun. Next year we're going all out. We just had too much work to do on our new house! (and jobs)

this is for sam.

thats deann from the art show on the tall bike

these are my friends. cool, i know. i've ridden on the back of that tandem. no big deal. ;)

tid-bits of yesterday

2008-08-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday.....

We went to the bike-in again! It's at the New Belgium Brewery. This is some friends loaded down for the trip across town.

Lindsey has the folding loveseat strapped to her back!

(Got a little dangerous when the chair started hitting the spokes on the back tire...)

Erin has a blanket scarf!

Our bikes, Sittin friendly.

You can't really see, but there are lines of bikes leaned against the fence and hundreds of people in between the fence and the screen. Last night it was upwards of 500!

Local huskey driving a VW van across town, with friend in back seat.

Current house of residence.

bed and belongings

Just a few of the people I miss!

2008-08-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

E-mail me good pictures if you have em! I only have pictures of people I saw after I bought my camera. I love you dearies!!

Around the town

2008-08-18T16:23:00.001-07:00

These are just a few photos of Fort Collins. These are mainly from Old Town...Which is the part of town that I'll be around. Hooray!

This is what happens when you forget your kickstand is down and you drag it over your foot. Nice.